#1989 water movie

[atomic-chronoscaph]

Christian Slater and Winona Ryder - Heathers (1989)

[yourartmatters-itswhatgotmehere]

https://twitter.com/scuttlesz/status/1663244654609825797?s=20

https://x.com/scuttlesz/status/1663244654609825797

https://x.com/scuttlesz/status/1663317722648698881

+ 

https://twitter.com/alexguerinss/status/1760385955498766828

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https://yourartmatters-itswhatgotmehere.tumblr.com/post/736134370771025920/23

https://yourartmatters-itswhatgotmehere.tumblr.com/post/723826151852818432/the-little-mermaid-2023-bloopers

https://yourartmatters-itswhatgotmehere.tumblr.com/post/721568602844790784/this-means-the-world-to-me-my-two-ariels

https://yourartmatters-itswhatgotmehere.tumblr.com/post/715658847591759872/im-screaming-i-just-love-love-love-every-second

https://yourartmatters-itswhatgotmehere.tumblr.com/post/718666713582960640/after-thelittlemermaid2023-my-tlm-love-ig-post

https://yourartmatters-itswhatgotmehere.tumblr.com/post/740478933802352640/jess-you-are-so-loved-twt-fallen-thread

[anecdotal-acorn]

The Little Mermaid (1989) Dir. Ron Clements and John Musker

[jeandejard3n]

The Abyss: Alien Secret Base

[hillaryisaboss]

A film set to unwinnable expectations. Too “woke” for having Halle Bailey play Ariel; not “woke” enough because it is still a classic fairytale written by Hans Christian Andersen in 1837, where a princess falls in-love with a prince.

What I saw was a fabulous live-action adaptation. The acting & music is truly on-point.

Disney also added backstory to the Prince, which was very worthwhile storytelling. Visually, it was a stunning movie. The water effects on the hair are a sight-to-behold. And if you’ve seen Pirates of the Caribbean, it is that style/mood mixed with Disney magic & great songs.

Though the 2023 live-action will never be our cartoon imagination from childhood, the original film from 1989 will always be there for us to watch over-and-over again.

However, if you watch the other live-action Disney adaptations, this one truly is the best one by far. Some just want to hate it for whatever reason.

Halle Bailey did a phenomenal job as Ariel & I saw many African American kids in the audience at the theatre. Representation matters ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

Go see The Little Mermaid!! It is the right film for the moment — a moment where Disney is being banned in Florida.

Sing & celebrate under the sea with this truly amazing film!! Go Halle Go!! Our Disney heroine 🧜🏾‍♀️

[hey-jac]

Tumblr, can you do something for me? Can you please leave a flower for my cousin, who died by suicide in 2023?

You can do this one of three ways:

Leave a flower on his Find a Grave page. (This link will take you to an external website. Note that in order to leave a flower this way, you must have an account with Find a Grave.)

Reblog this post with with a flower in your tags.

Reply to this post with a flower.

Here are some flowers you can copy/paste:

✿❀❁🌸🌺🌻🌼🌷🌹

If you are reblogging or replying, please feel free to also use one or more of the additional emojis beneath the Keep reading cut. (They represent some of the good memories from our childhood together.)

Any kind messages are also appreciated. It has been a year ago today (September 9, 2024), and I am struggling.

Activities

Video Games

🎮 Playing Video Games

🚲 Riding Bikes

🐸 Catching Toads; Raising Frogs

🌌 Visiting the Planetarium

🎡 Visiting the Amusement Park

🎢 Riding Roller-coasters

��� Visiting the Water Park

🏊 Taking Swimming Lessons; Going to the Pool

🛼 Visiting the Skating Rink

🚂 Visiting the Train Museum; Living Near the Railroad Tracks

🛝 Visiting the Park

🏸 Playing Badminton (But Making it Up)

🎯 Playing Darts (The Very Pointy Kind)

🚚 Using Everything as a Playground (Including the Moving Trucks)

TV & Movies

👾 Arcade Games; Atari; Space Invaders

🧩 Banjo-Kazooie (N64)

🍔 Burgertime (NES)

🦍 Diddy Kong Racing (N64); Donkey Kong Country (SNES)

🐲 Dragon Warrior (NES)

🍖 The Legend of Zelda (NES)

🍞 Quest 64 (N64)

🍄 Super Mario Bros 1 & 2 (NES); Mario 64 (N64)

💭 Animaniacs (1993-1998)

🦆 Darkwing Duck (1991-1992); DuckTales (1987-1990)

💔 Dragonheart (1996)

🐳 Free Willy (1993)

🧚 Hook (1991)

💋 Indiana Jones (original movies, 1981-1989)

🏺 Jason and the Argonauts (1963)

🦖 Jurassic Park (1993)

🦁 The Lion King (1994); Timon & Pumbaa (1995-1999)

👽 Men in Black (1997)

💥 Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (1993-1996)

🐁 Pinky and the Brain (1995-1998)

🔮 Sinbad (movies by Columbia Pictures, 1958-1977)

🌟 Star Wars (original trilogy, 1977-1983)

🐻 TaleSpin (1990-1991)

🐢 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987-1996)

🧨 Tiny Toon Adventures (1990-1995)

🤠 They Call Me Trinity (1970); Trinity Is Still My Name (1971)

🍫 Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)

🐬 Zeus and Roxanne (1997)

[thegothicalice]

I absolutely love your style and was wondering as a cinemaphile what obscure, off the wall horror movies would you suggest for the spooky season?

Uhhhh how about various levels of obscure from the 80s and 90s? (Not a complete lists because I’ve seen literally thousands of films and forget half of what I watch and use Letterboxd to keep track)

1999– Idle Hands, Don’t Look Under the Bed, Bats, Ravenous, In Dreams, Lighthouse, Stir of Echos, Audition, Kolobos

1998—The Last Broadcast, Devil in the Flesh, Whispering Corridors, Urban Legend, Shadowbuilder, The Eternal, The Quiet Family, Strangeland, Deep Rising, The Wisdom of Crocodiles, Tomie

1997– The Relic, The Ugly, Event Horizon, Cure, Wax Mask, Snow White: A Tale of Terror, Quicksilver Highway, Office Killer, The Night Flier

1996– From Dusk til Dawn, Little Witches, Uncle Sam, The Frighteners, The Dentist, Karmina, Thesis, Tromeo & Juliet,

1995– Blood & Donuts, Screamers, Tales from the Hood, The Demolitionist, Mushrooms, The Girl With the Hungry Eyes, The Day of the Beast, Serpent’s Lair, Rumpelstiltskin, Mute Witness, Evil Ed, Project: Metalbeast, Habit, The Addiction, Tales From the Crypt: Demon Knight, Lord of Illusions

1994– Tammy & the T Rex, In the Mouth of Madness, Lurking Fear, Cemetery Man, Death Machine, Brainscan, Nadja

1993– Love Bites, Doppelgänger, Necronomicon, Body Bags, Ed & His Dead Mother, Dark Waters, Skinner, Jack Be Nimble, Ticks, Carnosaur, The Temp

1992– Death Becomes Her, The Vagrant, Tale of a Vampire, The Unnameable II, Innocent Blood, Dr Giggles, Auntie Lee’s Meat Pies, Aswang, Sleepwalkers, Netherworld, Split Second

1991– The Resurrected, The Boneyard, Body Parts, Popcorn, Subspecies, There’s Nothing Out There, Highway to Hell, The Runestone, Cast a Deadly Spell, Children of the Night

1990– Frankenhooker, Fear, Nightbreed, Lisa, Mom, Grim Prairie Tales, Shakma, Pale Blood, Baby Blood, Mirror Mirror, Hardware, Meridian, Def by Temptation, The Vampire Family, Reflecting Skin, Demonia

1989– Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat, Nightlife, I Madman, Dr. Caligari, The Black Cat, Paganini Horror, Phantom of the Mall: Eric’s Revenge, The Dead Pit, The Phantom of the Opera, Dead Calm, Intruder, The House of Usher

1988– Paperhouse, Spider Labyrinth, Spell Caster, Sorority Babes in the Slime-Bowl-O-Rama, Cellar Dweller, Pin, 976-EVIL, Brain Damage, Rejuvenatrix, Blood Relations, Party Line, The Unnamable, The Wicked

1987– Psychos in Love, Blood Rage, The Caller, Stagefright, Graveyard Shift, American Gothic, Street Trash, From a Whisper to a Scream, Blood Diner

1986– Spookies, Poison for the Fairies, Vamp, Gothic, Deadtime Stories, TerrorVision, Witchboard, Trick or Treat

1985– The Doctor and the Devils, Phenomena, The Stuff

1984– Decoder, The Company of Wolves, Monster Dog, Sole Survivor, Special Effects

1983– The Lift, Wilczyca (She Wolf), Eyes of Fire, House of Long Shadows, The Hunger, Angst, Curtains, Blood Beat, Mortuary, The Keep

1982– Ferat Vampire, Next of Kin, The Sender, Tenebre, One Dark Night, The Living Dead Girl, Superstition, Alone in the Dark, Parasite

1981– The Black Cat, Fear No Evil, Dead & Buried, Possession, Night School, The Monster Club, Allison’s Birthday, Frightmare, Ghost Story, The Funhouse, The Pit, Evilspeak, Strange Behavior, The Nesting

1980– Macabre, Fade to Black, The Ninth Configuration, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

These are all just what I’ve recorded on my personal Letterboxd since I started it in April of 2017, I’ve seen plenty more but tried to just pick possibly less-known stuff, some bad and some good.

[kudotsurugi]

Random Thought: Why does all "90's Anime style" fanart just look like Sailor Moon?

Okay, obviously not all fanart looks like it. But if you were to type in "90s anime style" here on Tumblr or DeviantArt at the time of this post, it at least seems to be the majority stand-in for 90s anime aesthetic, right? Especially in the characters' eyes.

Don't me wrong, this is not a knock against Sailor Moon. It is a great anime, and the collective character designs by Kazuko Tadano, Ikuko Ito, and Mari Tominaga among other staff are iconic. So iconic that Tadano was brought back as the character designer for the latest Sailor Moon movies. That is quite the staying power.

But let's be fair, there are plenty of 90s anime out there that can also be used as inspiration. So, here are the names of 11 character designers alongside some gifs of shows/projects they worked on in that role. Some you may not know but you've seen their work, and others you probably know for their distinct art style or association with a franchise.

Things worth noting: First, the years listed here with some anime may reflect when the artists' work started airing, rather than when the anime itself actually started. Some folks listed here enter their projects mid-production in other roles, while others are in the role from the start. Second, each entry will list 1 or 2 projects aired/released during the 90s, but it will be noted if the artist's role continues beyond that with certain franchises. Lastly, these artists are listed in no particular order, so no "top 11" hierarchy. With that said, here's our examples:

Hisashi Eguchi (Roujin Z[1991], Sonic the Hedgehog CD [1993])

2. Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru(Dragon Ball franchise (Z [1993-96], GT [1996], Daima [2024]), Digimon franchise [1999-2002, 2019-2023])

3. Kumiko Takahashi (Cardcaptor Sakura [1998-2000], Birdy The Mighty[1996])

4. Takahiro Yoshimatsu (Trigun[1998], Slayers franchise[1995-97])

5. Atsuko Nakajima (Ranma 1/2[1989-1992], You're Under Arrest[1996])

6. Sayuri Ichiishi (Pokémon[Pokémon design: 1996-present, human character design: 1996-2017])

7. Atsuko Ishida (Magic Knight Rayearth[1994-1995])

8. Masaya Onishi (Yu Yu Hakusho[1993-1994])

9. Toshihiro Kawamoto(Cowboy Bebop[1998-1999], Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team[1996])

10. Hiroshi Osaka(Gundam franchise[Mobile Suit Victory Gundam: 1993-1994, Mobile Fighter G-Gundam:1994-1995])

11. Yoshiyuki Sadamoto(Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water[1990-1991], Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise[1995-1997, 2007-2021])

Might've leaned a bit more on the Shonen side of things than Shojo, but I hope you can see my point😅. There are tons of 90s anime out there with their own unique feel and aesthetic. These are only 11 names that I found.

For anyone drawing 90s anime style fanart, I hope this has given you some inspiration, and I encourage anyone reading this to look up your favourite anime on Anime News Network's encyclopedia and see who's responsible for helping bring your favorite characters to life on screen and what other shows they've worked on.

[milfjagger]

horror recs 2024

categories are a little broad but take from it what you will. personal favs are in bold and a * next to the name means this movie genuinely scared me

serial killers/stalkers/home invasion the black phone (2021) the invisible man (2020) hannibal (series; 2013-2015) maniac (2012) american psycho (2000) the silence of the lambs (1991) opera (1987) tourist trap (1979) halloween (1978) deep red (1975) black christmas (1974) the texas chain saw massacre (1974) peeping tom (1960)

ghosts/hauntings talk to me (2022) the haunting of hill house (series; 2018) i am the pretty thing that lives in the house (2016) under the shadow (2016) crimson peak (2015) mama (2013) the orphanage (2007) lake mungo (2008)* dark water (2005) the ring (2002) the others (2001) the devil's backbone (2001) ring (1998)* candyman (1992) poltergeist (1982) the haunting (1963) the innocents (1961)

vampires interview with the vampire (series; 2022- ) midnight mass (series; 2021) let the right one in (2008) bram stoker's dracula (1992) near dark (1987) the lost boys (1987) fright night (1985) dracula (1958) nosferatu (1922)

werewolves dog soldiers (2002) ginger snaps (2000) & ginger snaps 2 (2004) the howling (1981) an american werewolf in london (1981)

demons/witches longlegs (2024)* smile (2022)* incantation (2022)* hereditary (2018)* suspiria (2018) veronica (2017)* terrified (2017)* pyewacket (2017)* the autopsy of jane doe (2016) the exorcist (series; 2016-2018) the blackcoat's daughter (2015) the witch (2015)* evil dead (2013) the exorcism of emily rose (2005) the blair witch project (1999) the craft (1996) hellraiser (1987) suspiria (1977) the exorcist (1973) the devil rides out (1968) rosemary's baby (1968) black sunday (1960)

survival horror yellowjackets (series; 2021 - ) the terror (series; 2017) rogue (2007) the descent (2005)* open water (2003)

sci-fi horror crimes of the future (2022) annihilation (2018)* the fly (1986) the thing (1982) alien (1979) & aliens (1986)

monster movies willow creek (2013)* troll hunter (2010) the host (2006) pumpkinhead (1988)

folk horror the ritual (2017)* wake wood (2009)* the hallow (2015) pet sematary (1989) the wicker man (1973) the blood on satan's claw (1971) night of the demon (1957)

fantasy/fairytale horror gretel and hansel (2020) red riding hood (2011) the juniper tree (1990) the company of wolves (1984) psychological horror (that doesn't fit better into another category) candyman (2021) the lighthouse (2019) us (2019) get out (2017) gerald's game (2017) a cure for wellness (2016) the invitation (2015) it follows (2014)* excision (2012) may (2002) frailty (2001) dead ringers (1988) gothic (1986) carrie (1976) cat people (1942)

indie/experimental (mileage may vary) enys men (2022) skinamarink (2022) bones and all (2022) men (2022) the house (2022) relic (2020)* saint maud (2019) mandy (2018) the wind (2018) raw (2016)

balls to the wall crazy/fun as hell evil dead rise (2023) fall of the house of usher (series; 2023) late night with the devil (2023) saw movies (2004-2023) the menu (2022) nope (2022) malignant (2021) escape room (2019) & escape room: tournament of champions (2021) run (2020) the chilling adventures of sabrina (series; 2018-2020) 31 (2016) the boy (2016) american mary (2012) repo! the genetic opera (2007) trick 'r' treat (2007) sweeney todd (2007) dead silence (2007) house of wax (2005) house of 1000 corpses (2003) final destination (2000) ravenous (1999) lair of the white worm (1988) brain damage (1988) the texas chainsaw massacre 2 (1986) re-animator (1985) & bride of re-animator (1990) evil dead movies (1981-1992) phantom of the paradise (1974)

[heartbreakgrill]

how you get the girl: calum hood.

1989 (Heartbreak Grill’s Version)

stand there like a ghost, shaking from the rain. she’ll open up the door and say, ‘are you insane?’

“there’s someone here for you!”

i looked up from my computer screen, eyes trailing across the rainy window, pattering softly from the droplets that drenched the glass. my roommate passed my room, lazily shouting the sentence through the open door.

i furrowed my brows. i wasn’t expecting anybody, and i didn’t have any packages that were getting delivered- at least, not until tomorrow.

“who is it?” i shouted down the hall, towards the living room, as i stepped from my room.

“don’t know. some boy,” she replied. the television unpaused and a laughter track interrupted any further conversation we could have.

i turned back towards the front door. a blurry shadow was illuminated through the frosted panes of the door. it was a tall man. part of me worried that this was the moment at the beginning of a horror movie, when girls like me always died.

part of me worried it was someone worse.

i latched a hand around the door knob, cowering in on myself as the brisk wind gushed through the foyer of the apartment. goosebumps nibbled at my skin. i shivered. my hair wafted over my shoulders.

and my eyes focused on the figure looming over my doorstep, their black clothing dripping with water, hair soaked to the scalp.

my jaw slackened, my eyes widened. “what the fuck are you doing here?”

calum let out a heavy sigh, as though he’d been holding his breath since the last time we spoke. my eyes drug over his stormy demeanor, images flashing through my mind of a time i tried so hard not to remember.

“calum,” i insisted, “what are you doing here? what- don’t you have tour? shouldn’t you be in- in mexico right now?”

“i had to see you,” he rushed out.

rain splashed on my bare feet, against the exposed skin on my arms, as the sky continued pouring. i flinched at the cold droplets.

“what…” i couldn’t put together many words right now, but i knew, “you need to come in, you’re gonna get sick!”

i stepped aside, ushering him into the foyer. the carpet dampened under his converse and a puddle started forming on the hardwood. calum shook his hair out, spraying water across my shirt like a dog fresh out of a bath.

i huffed, “um…let me get- a towel. hang on. stay,” i gestured to him like he really was an animal.

he chuckled shortly.

say it’s been a long six months and you were too afraid to tell her what you want.

i ushered calum into my room, shoving a towel into his hands. i lay another one across the floor to clean up his mess. he shed his converse, his jacket, tossing it into my hamper.

“you still have my zeppelin shirt,” he stated, memory clear as a day.

“is that what you came here for?” i crossed my arms, a little defensive at his somewhat rude accusation.

calum dried his curls out with the towel. he chuckled again at my words. “no…i-“ he ran the towel over his face, then pointed at his body, “i’m soaked. you have my shirt.”

“oh!” i straightened up, red in the face at my lack of understanding. “yeah…i…”

i ashamedly dug through my pajama drawer, pulling out the top-big t-shirt that i resisted the urge to wear to sleep sometimes. i turned my body away from calum as he began to take off his shirt, with no warning. but, i could him in the mirror.

my eyes trailed over his body, as sure as my fingertips remember it.

say it’s been a long six months, and you were too afraid to tell her what you want.

calum spoke my name, a sound so sweet, so sacred, that my body wracked with anticipation, with a drawing want for what we had.

i looked back at him, arms uncrossing themselves. “why are you here, calum?” my tone had dropped, a saddened furrow pulling my brows together. “it’s been…six months.”

“i know,” calum stepped towards me, hands shaking before him. he lay them out like a truce. i wanted to grab them, to hit them yet hold them. to curse them and worship their fingertips.

i pressed my own fingers to my forehead, cooling the heat that sprouted there. “what- just please, say something! i don’t hear from you for six months and you just…show up, out of the blue? what’s going on?”

calum fidgeted with the ring on his finger, rolled his lips together. they were nervous habits i’d picked up on in the short time we’d spent together.

flickering memories i’d never seemed to be able to forget.

“i’m sorry,” calum shook his head, as if rejecting his own actions. “im sorry for leaving. im sorry for not saying goodbye. im sorry for…for not telling you…”

and that’s how it works, that’s how you get the girl.

“telling me what?” i could feel frustrated, angry tears welling up in my eyes. i was just so…how could he do this?

how could he come into my life, unexpectedly, make me feel things i’d never known before, then shut the door on a chapter that had gone unfinished?

then, pick back up the book after six months, as though he could just finish me off whenever he so pleased?

“telling me what, calum?” i pressed, taking a step closer.

“telling you that i love you,” he nearly whispered it, as though he was scared of the confession, as though it would shift the entire world.

i blinked.

calum stared back at me, the hood in his eyes flooding over with confusion as the silence lingered on. “i…” he tried to find some new words, tried to fill the blanks, “i love you, y/n. i’ve loved you since i saw you at the bar that night. i- i haven’t been able to forget you, and i-“

“get out.”

calum’s words stalled. his lips sat parted, the unfinished sentences lingering on the tip of his tongue. he ran it over his lips, “what?”

i crossed my arms again, tightening the clutches, as if to hold myself together, to hold myself strong. i wasn’t going to give into this.

“get out. go. leave. go back to mexico and go play your stupid little concert,” my voice was low because i was afraid that if i spoke any louder, i would crack. i’d cry.

i’d tell him that i love him too.

but i just couldn’t.

“what-?” calum went to defend himself, to try to explain the situation.

but, i was shoving his shoulder. i was gathering his shoes, tossing his coat at him, opening the front door. he battled me, weakly, sputtering out useless words, twisting around to face me, though i kept pushing.

“leave me alone.”

remind her how it used to be with pictures in frames of kisses on cheeks.

i locked the door. calum’s shadow lingered on the porch, blackened against the light. i reached a finger up towards the button and shut the porch light off. i heard calum groan.

the tears fell down my cheeks.

i had spent the last six months getting over him.

i had spent hours in therapy, wondering why he had never picked me in the first place, why he had abandoned me like an unwanted path of his life.

i had grieved a relationship that never even got to exist, i had gotten over somebody who i never even had in the first place. i had rebuilt myself, i had redownloaded the dating apps. i was starting over.

i was moving on.

and now he was here and i felt like that naive girl from six months ago.

i went back to my desk. i crossed my legs, balanced my chin on my fist, and stared at my computer screen, blankly. my mind spurred with unwanted thoughts, my heart palpitating with emotions i had been used to not feeling for so long.

i typed out a few words for my essay, hoping it would stimulate the academic side of my brain. maybe if i focused on something else, i could pretend like tonight never even happened.

i continued on my assignment, until i reached a pass. there was a section of the reading that referenced another book. i needed to get it from my closet.

of course, while i was reaching for the textbook, a box, tucked far into the corner of my closet- the corner of my mind- came toppling down onto my head. i helped at the impact, rubbing the minor injury as i reached down for the shoebox.

my brows furrowed at the sight. when it rained, it poured.

i slowly lowered myself to my knees, shaking hands reaching out for the spilled contents of the box. pictures, ticket stubs, receipts, dry flower petals, a pop can tab, candy wrappers, a ring, and a thing of red lipstick.

calum and i, at the state fair, riding the carousel like we were just kids. kissing when we hit the top, and we could see the entire town. us at the diner, two straws for one milkshake, a plate of fries, and a song on the jukebox that we’d dance to every night he stayed over. in the recording studio, on the couch, sprawled out like old friends, listening to ash and luke argue over a single beat of a song, and discovering a pair of lyrics calum had written about me.

concerts, comedy shows, basketball tournaments, high school football games, recitals we had been to.

a print out of a plane ticket to australia for next month, now refunded in my bank account. a promise for a visit that would never come to fruition.

red roses for my birthday, red roses for my grade of an a in a hard class, red roses for a friday night dinner, red roses for a late night visit. red lipstick i’d wear when we went out, just to leave vibrant, still, stuck lip prints on his cheek.

tell her how you must have lost your mind when you left her all alone and never told her why. that’s how you lost the girl.

i gathered the items back into the box with hands that would not stop shaking. it took longer than it should have because i ruminated on every detail. i held every photo like a piece of glass, examining its contents like i could renter the moment and fix things before they broke.

i set the box on my bed, gently sitting down beside it. i didn’t know where to go, what to do. i needed to work things out, i needed to find an answer.

because i loved him, too.

i found myself reaching for my phone, dialing his number. i found myself under an umbrella, headed towards that old diner.

“thanks for meeting me.”

i wrapped my frozen fingers around the steaming cup of coffee, grateful for the radiating warmth. the air conditioning was still sputtering above us and i shivered.

“y-yeah,” i barely nodded, still unsure of what to say.

calum took a sip of his own coffee. he gulped. he licked his lips. he prodded at the ketchup bottle on our table with a stray straw. his eyes trailed over to the colorful machine on the table. “they raised the price of the jukebox.”

i followed his gaze. so they had. it used to be 50¢ per song. now it was $1.00.

“hm,” i remarked, staring at the dollar sign. “strange.”

“you didn’t know?” calum inquired, looking to me with a raised brow.

i shrugged, “i haven’t been here since…”

“july,” he filled in my gap. “it’s been…since july.”

“ah,” i nodded once. “seems like forever ago.”

“i know.”

a thick pass of silence sat stale in the air.

i nursed a few sips of my coffee. if he wanted, then he should talk. i would not be the one figuring this out. i would not beg him to make up for the loss he’d made me grieve.

eventually, he whispered, “i had to go.”

i flicked my eyes up to his before pulling them back down to the table. he dropped his head, chin against his chest, defeated. “i’m sorry. i’ll say it a million times- i’m sorry. i had to go. we- we decided last minute to announce the tour. there was a lot of bullshit we had to handle before starting it. and i, i don’t know…i didn’t want you to get caught up in the drama of it all. i didn’t want the world to get its hands on you…”

“so, you ghost me? you leave with no letter, no text, nothing?” i blinked back a tear. “wow…my knight in shining armor. thanks, calum.”

he huffed at himself, “no…i- listen, please-“

“no,” i denied him, “no, you listen, okay? i devoted myself to you for six months. i centered my whole life on you. i fell in love with you and i- gave you everything. because you were everything to me. and, i fucking waited and waited for you to say something, to tell me you wanted me, to ask me to drop everything and come with you because i would have! i would have gone to the ends of the earth with you because i loved you.

“and you left me,” i quickly brushed away tears as they rushed from my eyes, pattering against the table like the raindrops outside the diner window.

calum didn’t respond. he shuffled in his seat, leaning back, head dropping again.

and you know that i don’t want you to go. and say you want me.

i couldn’t handle it anymore. i’d given him a chance. i’d heard him out. his explanation just wasn’t enough for the heartbreak i’d had to handle.

so, i pushed up out of the booth, tugging my purse strap over my shoulder, my hood over my head. i veered for the door, passing our waitress with a half-hearted, “excuse me.”

i cursed the diner for being so big, for the exit to be on the other side of the building from where our usual table sat. i cursed that friday evening for drawing in so many customers to watch me, mascara blackening my cheeks, snot on my nose, storm like a baby from the restaurant.

just as my hand reached the bar on the door, the jukebox wound to life. the regular radio had been playing from the louder speakers because no one really paid for the old sound machine anymore. it didn’t have any modern songs, and it cost too much, apparently.

a familiar sultry beat came from the rusty speakers. my sneakers squeaked against the linoleum floors. i pushed the strap of my purse further up my shoulder. my heart tugged itself back towards the table, but i grounded the soles of my shoes.

i turned my head, caught his eye. he smiled, sadly. his hand had been cranking the knob on the quarter insert and it slowly dropped to the table. i glanced my eyes over the back of the diner, near the bathrooms, where a space sat for dancing, abandoned by the modern years. i saw two people dancing, consuming one another, lost in the thrill of it all. lost in the music.

and then you say i want you for worse or for better, i would wait forever and ever.

i crossed my arms over my chest and slowly walked back to the table. i slid back into the booth, dropping my purse down beside me.

“why did you leave?” i whispered, that heartbroken disbelief still heavy on my chest.

“i was scared,” calum admitted. he reached a hand across the table.

i leaned back, away from it. “of what?”

“of you,” he let out a breathy laugh. i didn’t smile. calum frowned again, searched for words, “i was scared of what loving you might mean. when we were here to record the album, we got to pretend like we were normal people for a while. i didn’t have to care about the pressure from the fans, staying sober, being a good person. life just came easy and naturally. but, if i left here with your heart in my hands- things would get hard. i wouldn’t be able to keep you distant from my real life. i wouldn’t be able to keep you sacred. nothing would be normal for us ever again.”

i understood it, now. i didn’t like it- i was still angry about it. but it made sense.

he wanted a peaceful love, but life made it so everything was rocky. not even i could prevent the world to taint this.

“i couldn’t…” calum trailed off. he reached out his hand again. “i can’t do it with out you anymore. i don’t care…”

he lost his words. i set a hand upon the table, fingers inching near his. he gratefully pressed his fingertips into mine, opening my palm. i stared at our hands. electricity crackled under my skin.

“i want you and i don’t care about the rest of the world. we’ll deal with it. we’ll figure it out. if it means losing you…these past six months have been hard. i’m sure you know what i mean…”

i nodded with a hopeless chuckle. “yeah, i do.”

broke your heart i’ll put it back together. i would wait forever and ever.

“i struggled with staying sober cause i just…i felt so stupid and worthless. i know i put you through so much pain. i know leaving was wrong and awful and i’ll never forgive myself for not even explaining it. i never want to…i never want to leave you again,” he was crying.

“calum, i…” i took his hand in both mine, “i don’t know. i’m just…you took so much of me with you. i had to learn how to exist without those parts of myself. i had to relearn who i was. i had to grieve her- us. it was so hard- you just left me. but…i don’t know. i need time. i need time to think and…”

“i know, i know, i know,” calum nodded quickly. “no, i know. i don’t expect…i don’t expect any answers. i don’t expect you to confess your feelings for me. i just…i needed to tell you that i love you. i couldn’t go another day without you knowing it. i needed to tell you and…and try to get you back.”

“well,” i glanced up from our hands, meeting his eye with a hopeful smile, “i think you got me.”

and that’s how it works. that’s how you got the girl.

[gaykarstaagforever]

Heathers (1989)

"If everyone jumped off a bridge, would you?"

"...Probably."

[TRIGGER WARNING: The movie is about murder, suicide, depression, anxiety and bullying, and it's a Rated-R movie from 1989, so SA is going to keep coming up. I'm going to be referencing all of that in this review. Also I'm a gay man and will be teasing people who have made this movie their personality, so tap out now if you and your cool vinyl collection can't deal with that.]

The movie starts as a fun black comedic take-down of saccharine 80s John Hughes teen romance movies. New-kid-in-school badboy edgelord JD, and repentant former wannabe cool girl Veronica, hook up and decide to live out the ultimate bullied nerd fantasy by getting revenge on Heather, Veronica's frenemy and leader of the Heathers, the most popular clique in school.

But when things go darker than Veronica planned, the comedic satire becomes a Shakespearean melodrama, as Veronica is suddenly confronted by the surreal consequences of what she's done, including realizing that the simplest solution to a problem may in fact make everything a hell of a lot worse.

I'm not going to spoil it for the 5 of you who haven't seen this yet. Everyone else (including me now) has seen it, as it is probably one of the most universally-popular Internet-culture movies there is. You've seen at least one meme from it.

Probably this one.

While a flop in 1989, it quickly became a cult movie on home media, even by the late 90s being one of those movies your older brother and his friends introduced you to to let you know they didn't think you were a lame stupid baby anymore. And it seems now with streaming it is still kind of in that spot, the older brothers with tapes being replaced by Gen X / Millennials posting about how cool it is in front of teenaged lurkers.

So how did I miss it? I WAS the older brother growing up, and I was 7 when it came out. And when I did go back and get into all the 80s movies I missed out on by being a toddler when they were new, I stumbled into the Hughes stuff, notably Pretty in Pink, which is fundamentally the movie Heathers is mocking. As cynical and jaded as I am, I'm also a fruitcake, so I love me some sappy sunny crap (if it's to a greater artistic point, which the Hughes movies are). What I knew of Heathers had me thinking it was merely a demonstration of pretentious anti "popular media" whining from the sort of people who wear outdated hats and are insufferable about punk music.

...And it totally is. But also, it's more than that. It's actually really good and smart and occasionally insightful, when it restrains itself from all the emo "I can be your devil or your angle" posturing. Which, to be fair, it also makes fun of. Before that was even a thing.

Christian Slater and Wynonna Rider have fantastic chemistry, and there's never enough of the two of them just enjoying each other's company. Even when they're arguing, it feels like a real couple going through something they'll almost certainly get over in a few hours (until they very much can't, and then they'll literally try to kill each other). Passion, is the word for it. Sardonic and low-key most of the time, but still passion. And that's always delightful.

It's well-shot and well-directed, with good uses of lighting and dynamic camera angles. There is a lot of scenes that are just two people talking, and it's never boring. Impressive for filmmakers who were, at the time, fresh-faced and working with a small budget. The style ends up being like if John Waters (no relation to Dan Waters, who wrote it) had directed Corman's Rock and Roll High School: goofy and surreal and sarcastic, but also willing to get dark and push boundaries to make a point.

All the characters - even joke side ones - are thoughtfully drawn, given emotional depth and realistic motivations, even when they're doing something stagey and broad in this highly stylized, Tim Burton-esque dark fairytale world. Wynonna Rider fought for the role against all advice, and it is perfectly in-line with the characters she played and the movies she played them in of this era, Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands. Maybe even Bram Stoker's Dracula, if we're talking surreal melodramatic action-horror with disco lighting.

It is a movie with lots of big ideas (probably too many), but it manages to get those across effectively. What starts as a simple teenager revenge fantasy morphs into an armchair analysis of what America does to its children - instead of nurturing them and preparing them for the adult world, it points at them and gawks, and cashes in on their fear and self-loathing and predictable self-destruction. Everyone in the cruel high school world of Heathers is both a perpetrator and a victim, desperately fighting for survival by both submitting to abuse, and then immediately turning around and heaping it on someone "beneath" them. Death here isn't genuinely mourned or reflected upon; everyone simply starts plotting how they're going to exploit this new gap in the line. And whether the victims kill themselves or are murdered only matters as far as someone can spin that into self-promotion. Even the priest at the funeral (the late great Glenn Shadix, Beetlejuice again!) uses the supposed suicide of a child as an opportunity to make a ham-fisted youth-oriented alter call.

By the end of the movie, Veronica has triumphantly decided to rise up - not merely against the popular kids and exploitative / apathetic adults - but against the entire system of unending cruelty she didn't even know she was still playing a part in when she was actively attacking it. This finally sets her at odds with JD, who is too consumed by hatred to realize that the violence he thinks is a solution is fundamentally part of the problem.

And yet, as they come to blows, Veronica is also replaying the very same game that led her to become one of the Heathers in the first place, and then turn on them: use people to secure power, they use and hurt you, so you attack them. She knows the whole system is bad and broken and wants out, and seems to acknowledge the only way out is through earnest friendships and "growing out" of being shallow and petty. But by the end of the movie, despite her rebuke of JD...has she managed it? Maybe, maybe not. Maybe the system is inescapable, and all you can hope to do is find a way to force it to work for you. And choose then to make it less cruel. Maybe.

It's not a good or happy ending, it's just an ending. But a thought-provoking one, and the movie does it well.

...Mostly. The dialogue is trying very hard to be distinctively witty, but mostly comes across like a worse version of Clueless-ese, with more gratuitous vulgarities and no kitschy charm. A writer being very proud of how smart they are, without noticing that real people don't talk like this because it's awkward and obnoxious. Everyone's dialogue is basically interchangeable, including between the kids and adults (JD and his lunatic father have a fun distinctive thing they do, but that's about it). Now, lines being awkward and obnoxious doesn't mean they aren't eminently meme-able. In fact, that usually means they are. And they certainly are here. Nearly every scene has a memorable bon mot that can be endlessly parroted by people doing that so you won't notice their off-putting personality. ...I wouldn't call that a win for anyone, but it is certainly a thing.

Remember: just because someone said it in a movie, doesn't mean it's inherently funny or profound or relevant to the conversation you've currently having. And you're not suddenly smart because you found a movie quote that you think expresses your exceptional hot take. In fact, that might be a sign that your are NOT in fact smart or insightful. Just putting that out there.

Also the "mineral water is for fags" thing is only funny because it's stupid. It was stupid then. That's the point of that being in the movie, to show how stupid these podunk morons in Ohio are. Stop repeating that 'joke.' It isn't funny out of context.

Gen X. Looking at you on this one. It's just you trying to give yourselves permission to still call people "fags." Doesn't work that way.

Christian Slater claims he was "channeling Jack Nicholson for this film." Yeah, okay, dude. And for the rest of your life, all the time. He's still a good actor and very charming here, but if that "Christian Slater" thing he does annoys you, it's at 11 here.

The pacing and tone get pretty muddled after the initial black revenge comedy stuff stops, as the movie uneasily transitions to its second major focus. It stops being funny entirely for awhile, until near the end when it suddenly remembers that was supposed to be a part of this, then sitcomy stuff elbows its way in. And JD's plans post-breakup with Veronica are left vague until they suddenly aren't, and I feel like I missed something. I didn't, and there's a point to them doing it this way, but it is handled kind of confusingly.

The movie is a scaled-down version of whatever epic Greek tragicomedy the writer originally dreamed up, and the studio demanded the pitch-black orginal ending be changed. And you can kind of feel that throughout. As an R-rated movie it is a lot tamer than it feels like it should be, and I for one wish the kills were gorier and more over-the-top. That more fits the tone. Maybe that was never the original intention, but you don't do Titus Andronicus without getting gross with it, you know?

Any SA stuff is handled tactfully, and there isn't much of it, and it serves a narrative purpose. But that still feels like something that is only in here because it's 1989 and R-rated movies have to go there. And I don't feel like they really give those incidents the kind of emotional impact they should have on the victims. But again, this is a surreal world of unending cruelty, so maybe people shrug that off here. It's more my personal preference, if you're going to be gross to women in a movie (probably stop that, unless that's what the movie is about. Rape and molestation are not screenplay spices.)

The good far outweighs the bad, though. And Heathers is good, and is deservedly a timeless cult-classic for growing boys and girls, given what it deals with and how well it deals with it. It's entertaining and it makes you think, which is what good movies do. And it's endlessly meme-able, and that's okay, even if the people who meme it the most are silently warning you that they're pretentious and annoying about music. And that's only sort-of the movie's fault.

Also all the women in this movie have 9 lbs of dry fly-away hair that is just...painful. I realize this "unkempt Barbie hair" style was the best we could do at the time, but... I feel like I can hear it crunching every time they move.

Oh, and shoulder pads for days, shoulder pads FOREVER. I will never understand why the hell the 80s thought women weren't boxy enough. It was a thing.

[hippiegoth97]

Into the Fire: An Eddie Munson x Reader Story Pt. 40

Collage by me :)

Master List

Part 39

Tag List: @keikoraven @ar-jupiter @alcielo1438 @cairro-xx @stolen-in-moonlight

@micheledawn1975 @janiejenn @rafeyscurtainbangs @melodymunson @spacedoutdaydreamer

@veemoon @sariahs-stuff @feral-pumpkin-energy @comeonatmebruh @munsoneightysixx

@morgthemagpie @josephquinnsfreckles @jenniquinn @songbirdmunson @cometzombie

@spookybabey @daggerdaggerkitten @nina6708 @sanctumdemunson @yourdailymemedelivery

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@mediocredreams @bloodibambiidoll @taintedcigs @ali-r3n @emxxblog @losingmygrasponreality

Content Warning 18+ Only, Minors DNI: swearing, mentions of smut, light crying, angsty memories, brief mentions of abuse, piles and piles of fluff

Word Count: 8.2k

divider by @strangergraphics

Part 40: A Marshmallow World

The weeks leading up to Christmas Eve are nothing short of bustling. The holiday season is always quite the whirlwind, between shopping for gifts and trying to fit as many festive activities into one month as possible. Luckily, you've already gotten through first semester finals, on break until the new year. Work, on the other hand, has been unexpectedly demanding. With National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation released on the first of the month, the theater has been packed for every single showing. Add on the annual It's a Wonderful Life and Miracle on 34th Street screenings, and neither you, nor the rest of the Hawk staff, have had a moment to breathe.

You've never seen anything like it, not even during summer blockbusters. Because of this, it's all hands on deck almost every single day. The popcorn never goes stale, sodas run out left and right, there's a constant need to restock candy and cups and the like. And the lines. Lines and lines of people with no visible end in sight. You can't help wondering where they're all coming from, Hawkins surely can't have this many people in it. You suppose you could be drawing in the denizens of the surrounding rural towns, or various loved-ones come to visit. Or, the movie is just that good, enough to convince people to come see it over and over. By the time you usher the last showing out the door every night, you and your team are left frazzled, sweaty, and exhausted. And then you clean up and do it all over again the next day.

Despite the absolute insanity work has been putting you through these last few weeks, you and Eddie have still managed to make time for each other. The holiday season is your favorite time of year. The sparkling snow, the cheery music, the magic that lingers in the air. Eddie, knowing this of course, has done everything in his power to make this year as wonderful as all the rest, if not more.

Early on in the month, Eddie insists that you both go pick out a tree and some pretty ornaments and string lights to make your apartment more festive. You opt for a plastic tree, as they're easier to move around and store later on. Sure, the scent of pine from the real thing is amazing, but actual trees are a lot more work than one would think. They need constant watering, and the needles get everywhere, which you just know Arwen would make quick work of eating and then regurgitating onto the carpet.

Saturday, December 2nd, 1989

"How's that look, baby? Is it full enough?" Eddie asks as he unfolds the last couple branches on his half of the tree. He hopes his work is to your liking, the flocked green plastic is starting to make his hands itch. You'd just brought it and the accompaniments home a couple hours ago, practically bouncing with excitement in your van seat on the way. The second you both carried the big box through the door, you wanted to set it up. And what kind of man would Eddie be to deny you?

You take a glance at his efforts from your side of the tree, and give him a satisfied nod. "It looks great. Time for the lights!" You clap your hands together, hopping up and down as you go to retrieve the boxes of twinkle lights from the coffee table. You hum along to the festive song on the radio as you move, fully caught up in the spirit of the season.

"You really love Christmas, huh?" Eddie says with a chuckle, finding your childlike glee extremely adorable. It's been a while since you've been this excited. That's not to say you've been unhappy, or anything. But he's just glad to see you overcome with joy, cherishing every passing second like a precious gift.

"I really do, Eds." You sigh blissfully, turning to him with boxes in hand. "It's just so...perfect. Ya know?" You say, smiling so bright as his hands meet your hips.

"Well, I can't say holidays have ever been all that fun at the Munson household, sweetheart. I mean, Wayne always did his best, but it was never like this." Eddie shrugs, not wanting to sour your ecstatic mood. He's never been all that big on holidays, they usually turned out to be a huge disappointment when he was still with his parents. Halloween was okay, he could cobble together a costume and escape the house for a few hours to get some free candy. The only candy he'd have all year. But there weren't any turkey dinners, or presents under the tree, or even a tree at all. He'd be the one kid at school who got nothing for Christmas, not even something lame like socks. He considered himself lucky if he wasn't gifted a beating.

But Wayne changed all that. His uncle couldn't give him the world, but he did what he could. Chinese take-out and one present for each of them was more than enough. Eddie always made whatever gift he gave to Wayne, per his uncle's request. A clay ashtray here, a painted mug there, lots of drawings and handmade cards, too. And in return, Wayne worked his ass off all year to get his nephew something he really, really wanted.

One year he'll always find the most special, was when Wayne gifted him his first guitar. It was an acoustic. The perfect thing to get him started. And Eddie practiced on that thing until his fingers blistered and bled. Day in and day out, perfecting chords and simple songs like "Hot Cross Buns", until Wayne got him a Beatles songbook the next year. Eddie still has that guitar to this day, it sits in a closet in your apartment, with the words 'this machine slays dragons' painted around the body. He's shown it to you before, giving you a brief history behind it. It's long since out of tune, but he can't ever bear to part with it.

"But, I think this year, it will be perfect. Because I'm with you." Eddie says lovingly, pulling himself out of his brief contemplation of the past. With you, he has a real chance to have the kind of Christmas he's always dreamed of. He brings you in closer, the boxes of lights pressed between his chest and your own. You both lean in for a kiss, your mouths meeting in the middle. Content sounds escape you, his tongue slipping past your lips for a moment. "Let's get those lights up, hm?" He smiles as you break away, his forehead resting against yours.

"Yeah." You nod excitedly, practically squealing with delight as you go back to the tree. You nearly rip the boxes of lights open, pulling the bundles out and dropping the cardboard onto the floor. Arwen comes padding over at the sound, curiously poking her head inside one of the boxes. She then shoves herself inside, only fitting half-way. The cat rolls onto her back, her front paws batting playfully at the clear plastic window. "Aw, looks like someone's found a new toy." You giggle.

"She's so amused by the simplest things." Eddie chuckles, shaking his head. He knew cats love balls of string and chasing mice, but watching Arwen pounce into paper grocery bags or use empty boxes as hiding places is an interesting phenomenon in his eyes.

You work together unraveling the strings of lights, then wrapping them around the circumference of the tree. Eddie plugs them into the wall once they're in place, twinkles of white, blue, red, and green blinking on in unison. The thin, cylindrical bulbs create a cozy glow from the corner of the room, warming your heart as the season slowly comes alive inside your home. Eddie retrieves the packs of ornaments from their shopping bags, bringing them over so you can dress the tree branches together. You're sticking to the classics, red and green baubles, and festive shapes like snowmen and candy canes.

It takes about an hour to have every branch covered, and ensure no two ornaments next to each other are the same. You're very picky about their distribution, Eddie finds. You can't help it, the tree looks uneven somehow if all the same shape or color are on one side. But he's patient, following your numerous corrections of 'no, put that one there', and 'this one here, Eds'. You've done this far more times than he has, so he trusts your judgment on the subject. When you're all finished, with a few ornaments left over, it's time to place the star on top.

"You wanna put the star on, love?" Eddie asks, holding the red and gold star your way.

"No, I think you should." You reply simply, gently pushing his hands back towards himself.

"Really?" He asks, surprised you want him to have the honor.

"Hell yeah! It's your first tree, right? I've put the star on for, like, twenty-one years straight. It's only fair you get to do it this year." You say sweetly, moving one of the dining chairs next to the tree. You pat the seat, ushering him over to step up onto it. "All yours, baby." You smile, eager to see him finish this out.

"Sweet." He grins, coming over to stand on the chair. He wobbles slightly at the height.

You hold it steady so he doesn't fall, gazing up at him. "Just make sure it's on straight." You encourage him. Eddie raises his hands up, holding the star. He brings it down atop the very tallest branch, lacing it through the loop inside and bending it to secure the star. He moves it around to make it perfectly straight, his tongue sticking out as he fiddles with it. He eventually lets it go, making sure it's not crooked and will hold the weight. "That's perfect, Eddie." You praise, holding your hand out to help him back down. He takes hold of it, rejoining you on the ground a second later. You move the chair out of the way, allowing you both to see the dressed tree in all its glory. "Look what we did, baby. Isn't it pretty?" You say contently as he stands behind you, wrapping his arms around you to keep your body close. You lean back into him, admiring your hard work.

"It's beautiful." Eddie replies in agreement, squeezing you a little in his hold. The dark green of the tree has provided the perfect canvas for the colorful dressings. The lights reflect off the ornaments, casting shimmers on the branches, wall, and floor. And the star on top gleams like a beacon of hope. It looks just like the trees he's seen in the movies or store windows, but it's a thousand times better in real life, in his own home. He doesn't think he's ever seen anything so gorgeous before. Except you, of course. "Should I make some hot cocoa, sweetheart?" Eddie asks softly, leaning his head down to press a warm kiss to your throat.

"Mmm, that sounds perfect." You melt in his grasp, savoring the way his lips feel on your sweet-spot.

"Whipped cream?" He asks again, another kiss traveling lower.

"Yes, please." You let out a sigh, tilting your head to the side.

"Cinnamon on top?" He continues, pressing his lips on you one last time, right where your skin ends and your sweater begins.

"Uh-huh." You answer lowly, suddenly feeling very warm.

"You got it, babydoll." Eddie smirks against your skin, pulling away from you entirely to prepare the hot chocolate.

"Fuck me." You mutter once he's out of earshot, completely weak in the knees. You weren't expecting him to pull out that move, but it's got you very revved up regardless.

Eddie just barely hears you and chuckles to himself in the kitchen, assuming you're still standing exactly where he left you. All hot and bothered, rose-flushed cheeks and panties quickly becoming soaked. He's sure you're thinking him quite the tease right now. But he has every intention of keeping the promise his kisses have made. You'll cuddle up together on the couch, share your innocent beverage. And then, he'll fuck your needy little brains out.

And he does. Eddie brings the mugs over from the kitchen, finding you waiting for him on the sofa. You stay sitting up, hoping to control your desires. That is, until his large hands find their way to your shoulders. They rub and squeeze your muscles, working out the knots you'd racked up from the stress of the season. It takes no time at all for you to become pliable in his hands, eyes falling closed as little moans and groans leave your lips. Your head falls back to rest on his shoulder as he massages you. He knows damn well that his magic fingers are your greatest weakness.

Eddie smirks at how fucked-out you are already, practically drooling onto his shirt because it just feels so good. It's not long after that the cocoa is left to go cold, and your clothes are nothing but litter on the floor. You find yourselves screwing six ways from Sunday, hands, mouths, and various interlocking parts working feverishly to get you both off. The sweet scents of artificial pine and chocolate surround you, mingling with the primal stench of sex and sweat. The energy switches from rough and hard, to soft and tender, and back again numerous times. By the end of it all, you're out of breath and exhausted after what feels like well-spent hours. And Arwen is still playing around in her new box.

Wednesday, December 13th, 1989

About a week and a half later, you manage to convince Eddie to go ice skating with you on Lover's Lake. He was apprehensive at first, given his rather clumsy nature. He's worried about falling on his ass and looking stupid. But with your assurance that it happens to everyone, he agrees to go with you.

You hop out of the passenger side of the van once Eddie's pulled up to the lake. There's a good twenty people skating around the ice, mostly couples and a family or two. A small heated hut to rent skates and buy hot beverages sits a few yards away, run by volunteers, usually from the middle and high school. It appears Mr. Clarke 一Dustin's old science teacher一 is manning it today, looking rather cozy behind the counter.

"Hurry up, Eds!" You call to your love excitedly, leaning against the van as you wait for him to join you. You're all bundled up in your matching blue coat, hat, gloves, and scarf. Underneath is your festive sweater, and a knee-length red skirt paired with thick knitted white leggings covers your lower half, cozy black boots on your feet.

"Relax, Y/N. The ice will still be there in a minute." Eddie huffs, coming around from the driver's side. He's layered up, too, per your insistence. A red beanie covers his head, his long tresses falling down from the bottom. His scarf and mittens are the same color, a nice contrast to his black puffer jacket. His jeans are thankfully thicker and without holes today, as well. You'd hate for him to catch cold out here, and he won't have any fun if he's shivering the whole time.

"There's no need to be cranky, love. We're gonna have fun." You tut at him, pulling your hands from your pockets and placing them on Eddie's shoulders. He softens at your touch, though he's still pretty on edge. This is all so new for him, skating...on ice. Sounds kinda dangerous, if he's being honest. "Still nervous?" You ask, noticing the worry in his eyes.

"Yeah." Eddie admits, rolling his eyes. He's well aware that he's being a total weenie right now, afraid of a little fall. Or the blade of his skate somehow cutting you, or the ice falling through beneath his feet. Or一

"Eddie, it's gonna be fine. I swear. No blade accidents, no thin ice, no concussions. Okay?" You say reassuringly, raising your hands to cup his reddened cheeks. "I'm gonna be with you the whole time. You don't have to worry, I'm a pro." You smile, somewhat cockily. Your confidence makes him crack one too.

"Is that so? You know how to do jumps, and spins, and stuff?" Eddie asks, teasing as there's no way you're that advanced.

"Well, no. But I've mastered the basic technique, and I can skate backwards. And that's all you really need to know." You reply matter-of-factly.

"Oh, so...not really a pro, then?" Eddie presses with a chuckle, earning a playful smack across his chest.

"Whatever!" You scoff, officially done wasting time. "You're just stalling, let's go!" You pull Eddie along towards the booth, snow crunching underfoot as you go. You reach the counter, the heat from inside the hut radiating out towards you. "Hey there, Mr. Clarke! You warm enough in there?" You politely greet the man, met with his kind smile.

"Oh, you bet!" Mr. Clarke chuckles. "What size do you need, Ms. Henderson?" He asks. You give him your size, and Eddie's. Clarke retrieves the pairs of skates, exchanging them for a couple bucks. "Well, you two have fun out there. The ice is perfect today!"

"We will. Thanks, Mr. Clarke!" You say, leaving the booth to find an empty bench to sit down and change your shoes.

"Real close with the science teacher, huh?" Eddie asks, taking off his left shoe.

"Nah, not really. I know him from when I used to pick Dustin up from A.V. Club. Why? Are you jealous?" You joke.

"No way. He's not your type." He shakes his head, sure of his own statement.

"I dunno, he does have a pretty sweet mustache..." You play up your 'attraction' to the older man, biting your lip in an exaggerated manner as you gaze back towards the booth.

"Oh, please! You hate it when I'm even a little too scruffy! I doubt you'd enjoy kissing that caterpillar on his face." Eddie retorts, getting a little too serious now.

"Who said I'd be kissing it?" You ask, implying you'd be riding it instead. Eddie just stares at you a moment, suddenly unsure if you're playing around or not. "Oh my god, I'm kidding!" You burst out laughing at his dumbfounded expression, putting your hand over his to get your point across. "Eddie, he's old enough to be my dad!" This makes Eddie laugh, thankful that you were indeed joking.

"Sorry, you're right." Eddie sighs once the laughter dies down. "Maybe I do get a little jealous sometimes." He rolls his eyes at himself, feeling rather childish about it.

"I know." You say, before continuing. "But it's sweet. And you don't go overboard with it. You know, 'asserting your dominance' or whatever. And it's kinda hot, too..." You can't help the mischievous smile that grows on your lips.

"Really?" Eddie asks, as if this is breaking news to him.

"Well, yeah. When other guys check me out, you'll hold me a little tighter, and kiss me a little harder. I love it when you do that. It makes me feel sexy, and desired, and loved." You explain, a light blush spreading on your cheeks.

"Wow, I..." He scoffs, unable to believe it. Over nine months together, and he never knew you found his mildly possessive nature so attractive before. He never really thought you noticed, given how touchy he is with you. "...I didn't know that." He finishes with a grin, glad that you're still able to surprise each other after all this time.

"Well, now you do. Let's get these skates on, hm?" You say with a giggle.

"Sure thing, angel." Eddie replies, pulling his skates onto his feet. You help him lace them up nice and tight, making sure he won't trip. You've long since had your own secured and ready to go.

"Okay, I'm gonna help you up now." You say, holding out your hands to himself as you stand in the snow on your own skates. "Take my hands, and slowly stand up."

"'Kay." Eddie replies, puffing his cheeks as he exhales. He grabs hold of your hands, carefully using your weight to stand up. His ass leaves the seat of the bench, his legs slowly straightening until he's at his typical couple of inches above you. He stumbles slightly, almost falling over. "Shit." He gasps, about to panic. But you steady him, not letting go for anything.

"Just relax, baby. You've got this." You encourage him as he wobbles, his ankles threatening to give out from under him. "Plant your feet. I don't want you to twist an ankle." You instruct.

"Okay, okay." He murmurs, trying his hardest to maintain balance. He forces himself to calm down, putting his weight on each foot. The teetering stops, and he lets out a sigh of relief.

"There ya go. Nice job, Eds. Now for the hard part."

"That wasn't the hard part?" Eddie's eyes widen, unsure if he can really go through with this.

"Sorry. I shouldn't have said that. Just stay still." You shake your head dismissively, letting go of one of his hands so you can stand beside him and lead him to the ice. "Just carefully walk towards the lake, and stop a couple feet before the edge." He gives you a silent nod, far too focused on not falling over to speak. You continue to walk him through this, taking baby steps toward the frozen surface. You stop once you're at the end of the bank, taking both of Eddie's hands again. "Okay, this next part is gonna be a little tricky. But just follow my lead. Okay?" You say kindly, finding Eddie's frightened eyes.

"Let's do it." Eddie nods again, eager to keep going before he gives up altogether. So far, he absolutely hates this. But he hopes that once he figures it out, he can actually have some fun with you.

"Alright. I'm gonna walk back onto the ice. One step at a time." You say as you look behind you. You bring your left foot back, and Eddie's right follows your path, stopping on the edge of the snow. The blade of your skate meets the ice, only sliding the slightest bit. Eddie flinches at the sudden movement. "It's okay, Eds. Other foot now." Your right foot meets the other, his left following suit. You take a moment to let Eddie breathe, he's been holding your hands extremely tight during this part. "Ready for your turn now?" You ask.

"Yeah." He forces a smile, failing to hold in his pathetic whimper of fear.

"Okay, left foot first." You tell him. You watch as he raises it, apprehensively bringing it back down on the slick surface. It slips forward suddenly, almost sending him lunging forward with a fearful yelp. But you stop him, holding him tight. "It's okay. Straighten out." You give him a nod, you know he can do this. He stands upright, his foot sliding back to where he initially placed it. "Good. Other foot now."

"Shit." He mutters, immediately regretting bringing his right foot forward and onto the ice. It lands much smoother than the left, and he's miraculously still standing.

"You did it, baby." You giggle in delight, happy that you've successfully got Eddie on the lake. "Wanna try moving around now?" You ask, biting your lip excitedly.

"I'd love to, sweetheart. But I don't think I can." Eddie replies, feeling completely stuck in place. He's afraid to move a single muscle, worried it'll send him flying.

"That's alright. I can pull you around for a while first. If you want." You offer with a casual shrug. You weren't too dissimilar to Eddie your first time on the ice. It's scary, not having your own two feet planted firmly on the ground. He's no doubt feeling like his legs have turned to stone, frozen in fear.

"Okay." He nods again. As terrified as he is, he trusts you. You know how to do all this, you can help him get used to it.

"Alright, you'd better hang on tight, then." You get yourself ready, pointing the toes of your feet together. You then begin a slow backstroke, pushing your foot back and out to move the two of you in that direction. It takes a few strokes to build a steady speed, given you have to pull Eddie's weight along with you. But soon enough, you're making a smooth trip around the lake. You keep looking behind you to keep from running into anyone, but you make sure to check in on Eddie as you move. "Havin' fun now, love?" You ask, noticing some of his fear has melted away.

"Y-yeah. It's pretty nice." Eddie smiles genuinely, meeting your eyes. He's still scared shirtless of falling over, but he's also over the moon. The gentle speed you're pulling him along at feels really nice. Just gliding around, almost weightless.

You take him all the way around the perimeter of the lake, casually passing by other couples, and parents with kids. By the time you're near your bench again, you think he's ready to try skating on his own. "Alright, time to try it for yourself." You say, dropping one of his hands and going to his side again.

"Y/N...I dunno if I can." Eddie whimpers, biting his lip nervously.

"You didn't know if you could make it to the ice, either. But you did. You can do this. I'll still be holding your hand. If you go down, so do I." You reassure him again, stroking his arm with your free hand. The touch draws his eyes to yours again, and he finds your loving expression beaming at him.

"Alright. Fine." He sighs, mentally cursing you for using basic logic and reason.

"Okay. So, you gotta bend your knees a little. Like this." You demonstrate, waiting for Eddie to copy you. He does, and you keep going. "Okay. Then, you're gonna put your feet together, and sweep out to move yourself forward. Like this." You show him one stroke, pushing your left foot out and bringing it back in. It moves you a little bit ahead of him, but his eyes watch every second of it studiously. "Try it."

"And this is where it all goes to shit." Eddie jokes dryly, before mimicking your action almost perfectly. He's standing right beside you again, a stunned look on his face at how easy that was. "That's it?" He asks, almost annoyed.

"Yep. That's it. Wanna keep going?" You ask, finding his surprise so damn adorable.

"You bet your ass I do!" He laughs cockily, ready to get this shit going. For real this time.

"Let's stop wasting time, then!" You say excitedly, squeezing his hand. You both sweep your feet in sync this time, propelling yourselves forward. Eddie still holds tightly onto you, his free arm extended out to maintain his balance. But you're both smiling, and giggling, and having a really great time.

"Thanks for being patient with me, princess." Eddie says sweetly, gazing at you with nearly heart-shaped pupils.

"I'll always be patient with you, Eds. It's not very hard to be." You reply with a smile. "Besides, everyone's scared their first time on the ice."

"Oh, yeah? Even a pro like you?" He teases.

"Yep. Granted, I was like, five at the time." You laugh, remembering the very first time you'd come to Lover's Lake in the wintertime. Dad had brought you, a 'Daddy-daughter day', he called it. He'd laced up your skates for you, and held your hands just like you've done for Eddie today. You fell at least ten times in the first hour, and you almost gave up altogether. But Dad insisted you keep trying, offering to buy you a nice warm apple cider from the hut if you made it one whole lap without falling over. So you did just that. You landed on your ass again and again, having to start over. But you didn't give up, and Dad beamed with pride once you'd finally pulled it off. You were extremely sore and bruised the next day, but you didn't even care. The sweet, cinnamony taste of cider made it all worth the Epsom salt bath and numerous doses of children's aspirin.

From then on, the trip to the lake became an annual tradition for you two. Dad took you for seven years, each one better than the last. Just the two of you, able to bond and be happy together. Even when your parents were fighting, this frozen lake was a place completely free from that. At least for a couple of hours. During these special outings, you were transformed into 'Daddy's Little Ice Princess'. He'd twirl you around, and lift you up in the air while you pulled some form of graceful ballet pose. You'd hold hands while doing endless gliding laps, sharing cider on the bench to warm yourselves back up. It was your favorite activity of the entire season, and you looked forward to it all year round.

After Dad skipped town, though...skating became a solitary, somewhat sad affair. Dustin's never had any interest, and Mom has the balance of an elephant standing on a bowling ball. So you'd make the trip to the lake alone, silently circling the lake with tears in your eyes. It was probably what started you on the path to being so overly independent. The person who showed you how to do this magical, wonderful thing was gone. And to avoid running the risk of that ever happening again, you started doing everything you possibly could all by yourself. You couldn't rely on anyone. Not without the fear that, one day, they would abandon you, too. Not Mom, not Dustin. Nobody. All you had that was for sure, was yourself. Until Eddie came into your life.

"Aw, I bet you were so cute back then. All pink mittens and pigtails." Eddie teases again, nudging you out of your thoughts with his elbow.

"Oh, you have no idea." You chuckle, wiping away a stray tear when he's not looking. Though you could just blame it on the cold air getting to you if he saw.

"Bet you were still just as bossy, too." He smirks, glancing at you again.

"Maybe." You mutter, hating to admit that he's right. But what can you say? You've always been ambitious and driven.

"I don't mind. It's one of my favorite things about you." Eddie says softly, rubbing your hand with his thumb.

"I'm glad you think so, Eds." You giggle, trying to resist the urge to sniffle.

"Something wrong, angel?" Eddie asks, noticing your eyes are looking a little watery. Sure, it could just be the winter air. But they weren't like that a minute ago, and you've made quite a few laps around the lake now.

"No. It's nothing." You say shortly, shaking your head. Eddie doesn't let it go, holding your gaze, and you sigh. "This is something I used to do with my dad." You explain calmly, no onslaught of tears waiting to fall. For once. "And after he left, I've always done this on my own. And it's..." You pause and shrug, grasping for the words. You look deep into his loving eyes, and miraculously manage to find them. "It's just nice to have someone to share it with again." You smile, the warmth of Eddie's love radiating within your heart.

"And I'm more than happy to be that someone, sweetheart." He replies, leaning over to give you a gentle kiss. His lips meet yours, cold as ice for a moment, before warming up again. As your mouths are connected in this loving moment, however, Eddie's right foot makes contact with a raised bump in the ice. This sends him tumbling down on his back, which unfortunately brings you down with him. You both shriek in surprise, your feet snatching themselves from under you. Your stomachs drop, and the wind is knocked out of your lungs as you hit the surface of the lake.

"Fuck." You grunt breathlessly, fighting to bring air back into your chest.

"Sorry...my fault." Eddie gasps out his apology, turning his head to look at you. "You okay?" He feels awful for being the reason you both totally ate it. But he couldn't help it, your beautiful lips needed kissing.

"I'm fine, it could've been worse." You reply, slowly regaining the ability to breathe. Eddie starts laughing, taking you by surprise. You raise an eyebrow, curious what that's about. "What's so funny?"

"I'm j一" He tries to answer through his cackling. "I'm just picturing how we must've looked going down!" He gets the words out, his face going red as his voice goes all squeaky. His infectious laughter spreads to you, leaving the both of you a howling mess on the ice. The visual of you sharing a romantic moment, only to fall on your asses a moment later is quite hilarious to you. And now here you are, flat on your backs, laughing up a storm as the other skaters glide past you with worrisome eyes.

"Okay..." You take a deep breath once you calm down. "I think we've had enough for one day. Let's give the skates back, and get some apple cider to go. How's that sound?" You ask, getting onto your knees so you can stand back up.

"That sounds perfect, babydoll." Eddie agrees, following your lead once again to get the hell out of here.

The remaining days leading up to the 24th are swirled in mystery for the two of you. You do your Christmas shopping separately from one another, you go with Mom and Dustin, and Eddie tags along with Steve and Robin. You've agreed to get each other one big gift, and a few smaller ones like clothes or books. You have absolutely no clue what your special present from Eddie is going to be, but he's been spending a lot of time after work...someplace. He claims he's helping Wayne fix up a few things at the trailer, but you don't buy that for a second. You're dying to know what he's up to, it must be pretty amazing if he's spending this much time on it.

As for you, you knew exactly what you had to get for Eddie. There's a gorgeous, and pricey guitar he's had his eye on for months. A B.C. Rich Mockingbird. Apparently, it's pretty popular among a few famous guitarists, and Eddie's eyes lit up the second he saw it in the local music store. There were a few colors to choose from, but only one seemed to capture his true attention. Slick, black as motor oil, with a sleek and dynamic shape. You're not even one to know all that much about instruments, but this guitar is sexy as hell. And if it's what your love desires, then he shall have it wrapped up and waiting for him underneath the tree this year.

Sunday, December 24th, 1989

You roll over in bed on the morning of Christmas Eve, your arm absent-mindedly searching for Eddie beside you. When your palm meets empty sheets, you perk your head up to look around the room. Daylight barely peeks through the drawn blinds on the bedroom window, casting the room in a dim gray hue. "Eddie?" You call out sleepily, thinking he maybe just went to the bathroom. But when you look over, the door is closed, which is never the case if he's coming back to bed. It seems he's gotten up before you, which isn't typical of him at all. Early bird getting the worm, Eddie is not. You're guessing he wanted to let you sleep in, perhaps while he prepares his 'surprise'.

Quiet footsteps descend down the hall towards you, and the door opens. "Hey, sweetheart. What's up?" Eddie asks as he comes into the room.

"Nothing. I just woke up, and I didn't know where you were." You answer, rubbing the sleep from your eyes.

"I've just been getting your special present ready, baby. Let's have some cereal, and then I'll show you what it is." He replies, excited to give you your gift.

"Okay." You nod, and hop out of bed to go with him to the kitchen. Arwen is munching away at her own breakfast, her face buried in the bowl. She may be smart, but she isn't exactly one for manners. Eddie pours the bowls of cereal, Frosted Flakes for you, and Honeycomb for himself. He brings them over to the table, sitting down beside you. His right hand goes for his spoon, while the other rubs your thigh.

"You sleep okay, babydoll?" He asks, bringing a bite to his mouth.

"Yeah, think I could tell you were missing before I woke up, though." You answer, remembering how cold the bed felt without him in it.

"Sorry about that. I didn't want to leave you in bed all alone. But I promise, it'll be worth it." He gives your flesh a loving squeeze, flashing his charming smile.

"I'm sure it will be, Eds. And I'm looking forward to giving you your present, too." You giggle, digging into your breakfast. You continue to eat in comfortable silence, Eddie's hand still stroking your thigh as you do. You love having him touch you in some way as much as possible. It doesn't matter which way he does it, or if it leads to something more. Just the feeling of some part of him against you, it's comforting.

Once you're finished, Eddie insists you get dressed and come outside to the parking lot with him. You find this a bit strange, but you also noticed he hasn't put anything else under the tree with the other gifts. You do as he says, with him practically yanking you out the door to go downstairs once you're ready. You reach the ground floor, and he doesn't stop for a second. He pushes the door open, leading you outside into the cold morning. He keeps going until you reach the parking lot. And you finally see it. A bright blue 1979 Datsun 280ZX, parked right beside Eddie's van with a massive red bow on top of it.

"Eddie, you didn't!" You squeal excitedly. You've been wanting a car of your own for so long. You'd even dragged him along to a dealership months ago to look at used ones, but nothing was quite within your price range. This exact model had your eyes lighting up, and your mind cursing your lack of funds. Cars aren't really an area of interest for you, but you could tell just by looking at it that the Datsun is one sweet ride. But this passing fascination was so long ago, you didn't think he'd remember. And you sure as shit didn't expect him to buy it for you.

"I did. She's all yours, sweetheart." Eddie beams, dangling the keys in front of you. You snatch them excitedly, cradling them in your own hands.

"How the hell did you afford this?" You question, hoping he didn't steal it or something.

"Let's just say I'll be paying it off until I'm forty." Eddie chuckles, finding the look of pure joy on your face worth every last penny. He considers himself lucky that he convinced the dealer to knock off a few hundred bucks. The car may be in almost pristine condition, but it's also a decade old. And Wayne may have taught him a trick or two when it comes to haggling.

"You're the best boyfriend in the world! You know that, right?" You ask happily, putting your hands on his chest. His arms wrap around you out of instinct, pulling you closer.

"I only know that it's what you deserve, princess." He replies, giving you a gentle peck on the lips. "C'mon, let's take a quick drive." He suggests with a grin, patting your butt to usher you towards your new ride.

"Fuck yeah! Gotta christen the seats!" You cackle, leaving his side to get into the driver's side. The interior is a dark blue suede-like material, soft and comfortable. Perfect for the one thing that's on your mind right now.

"Someone's gonna end up on the naughty list." Eddie laughs, carefully taking the massive bow off the roof. He tosses it in the back, sliding into the passenger seat. It's an odd feeling for him, not being the one driving. Sure, you've driven the van a couple of times. Or driven him in Claudia's car. But this is different, because this badass blue machine is yours. Truly yours.

"I'll gladly be on a thousand naughty lists, if it means I get to properly thank you for this bitchin' present." You say seriously, turning the key in the ignition. The car roars to life, and you're speeding off before Eddie can get another word in. The only destination you have in mind, is the woods.

After you return home from your little 'drive', it's time for Eddie to receive his present. He carelessly sheds his coat and plops down on the couch, still rather dazed from how crazy you went on him earlier. You've always been, in his words, insatiable. But you were seriously something else once you put the Datsun in park and climbed on top of him in the passenger seat. It took every ounce of willpower not to cum in the first couple minutes, with all the insane shit you were doing to him.

"It's your turn now, love." You say sweetly, still riding the intense high you'd managed to reach no more than twenty minutes ago. You bring the gift over to him, large and heavy in your hands. You set it across his lap, and take a seat next to him on the sofa.

"Think I already had a turn in the car, baby." Eddie jokes. He glances down at the long, massive thing you've presented him with. What the hell could it be?

"Mmm, you sure did." You purr, leaning over to nibble his earlobe.

"Angel..." He groans at the contact, his spent cock twitching in his jeans.

"Go on. Open it." You say lowly, your hand coming up to rest on his shoulder.

"Don't have to tell me twice." He chuckles lightly. He tears away the pretty wrapping paper, revealing a cardboard box. He pulls the top open, and his jaw drops. "No fuckin' way." He gasps, finding himself face to face with the B.C. Rich Mockingbird. Just when he thought he'd won at gift-giving this year, you go and buy the guitar he's been borderline lusting over for fuck knows how long.

"Yes. Fuckin'. Way. Merry Christmas, my love." You plant a kiss on his cheek, ecstatic to see him left speechless.

His hands apprehensively reach for the neck of the guitar, as if it's the most fragile thing in the world. He carefully pulls the instrument out of its box, turning it so the body can rest in his lap and he can get a real feel for it. It's all shiny and new, not a single fingerprint or scratch to be seen. And it's absolute heaven in his hands. "This is amazing, Y/N. Easily the best present I've ever gotten." Eddie says after a good couple minutes of silently inspecting every inch of the Mockingbird. "Thank you."

"You're very welcome, Eds. You deserve it, and so much more." You exchange another kiss, trying your damnedest not to deepen it. You're expected at your mother's soon, and there's no time for another detour. "Alright, we'd better get ready to go."

"Do we have to?" He whines, giving you puppy eyes and pouting his lower lip. He's dying to test out his new guitar, get her tuned just right and hear her sing. 

"Yes we do, Eds. Mom's expecting us. You can play with your new toy later." You reply, refusing to give in to his charms.

"Okay." He sighs, putting the Mockingbird back in its box for safe keeping. He'd hate for Arwen to get curious and chew on the strings, or scratch the slick paint job.

"It's only for a couple of hours. You'll survive." You giggle at his sulking, getting up to put your coat and shoes on again. "I'll drive." You say as you're both about to leave the apartment for the second time today.

"Whatever you want, babydoll." Eddie's mood lightens again at recalling how happy his gift has made you. The guitar can wait, it's not like it's gonna disappear into thin air. He follows you back down the hall with gifts in hand, descending the stairs and out the door to the lot. You both hop into the Datsun, and head on your way to Claudia's house.

"Merry Christmas, you two!" Mom says cheerfully as you come inside, dressed in her Frosty the Snowman sweater. She's worn it every year for as long as you can remember.

"Merry Christmas, Mom." You reply.

"Merry Christmas, Claudia." Eddie says.

"Oh, who's car is that?" Mom asks when she says the Datsun sitting in the driveway.

"It's mine. Eddie bought it for me." You answer excitedly, flashing her the keys.

"Well, that's great, sugarpuff! I know you've wanted a car for a while now." Mom chuckles, remembering the few times you begged her to buy you a junker back in high school.

"Sweet ride. How'd you swing that, Eddie?" Dustin asks, approaching you both at the doorway.

"Dusty, it's not polite to ask things like that." Mom chides him.

"It's fine, Claudia. I'm sure Y/N thought I stole the car when she first saw it." Eddie teases, nudging you with his elbow. "I got a pretty good deal, though. Wayne taught me how to bargain." He adds with a shrug as he takes off his coat to reveal a festive sweater of his own. You have the same one on, a red and green knitted thing with patterns of snowflakes and reindeer on it.

"What the hell is that?" Dustin snorts at the sight, trying to hold back his laughter. Eddie has never worn anything remotely Christmas-y in all the years he's known him.

"What?" Eddie quirks an eyebrow, wondering what Dustin's deal is. Following the boy's eyes, he looks down at his sweater. He looks back at the young man, glaring now. "One word, to anyone, and you won't see another Christmas." He threatens, hoping Dustin will have the good sense to keep quiet, and not tell a single soul about it. He has a bad-boy reputation to uphold, after all. Though he will admit he really likes the sweater. It’s warm, and comfortable. And you picked it out.

"Not a peep. Besides, you guys look...cute." Dustin says nervously, knowing a threat from his former dungeon master is not one to be taken lightly.

"Thank you, Dustin. I thought so, too." You giggle, taking Eddie's hand in yours. "Although, I think the sweater looks better on you, baby."

"Okay, dinner's almost ready. Oh, and you can put the presents under the tree, Y/N." Mom says, having left the room to check on the Cornish hens currently roasting in the oven.

"Sure thing, Mom." You reply, letting go of Eddie's hand to put the gifts down.

"Hey, um, Claudia? Can we talk for a minute?" Eddie asks abruptly, taking the three of you by surprise. You look over at him from your crouch beside the Christmas tree, finding him fidgeting with his fingers, suddenly nervous about something.

"Sure. We can talk in my room." Mom answers, gesturing for Eddie to follow her down the hallway. You and Dustin share an odd look once they leave the room.

"What's that about?" Dustin asks, but you honestly have no idea.

"Beats me. He hasn't mentioned anything that he'd need to talk to Mom about." You shrug, placing the gifts you brought with the others.

"Do you think it's about Wayne? That maybe he's sick or something?" Dustin keeps the questions coming, which are only setting alarm bells off in your head.

"No. He would've told me about that. But, he has been over at the trailer a lot lately. That's what he said, anyway. 'Helping Wayne fix stuff', or something." You reply, wondering what the hell is going on. Eddie's given you no indication that anything is wrong, nor has Wayne in the few times you've seen him lately. You suppose they could keep something serious amongst themselves, but why would they? It's not making any sense.

"Weird." Dustin says.

"Yeah." You murmur, your mind going to all sorts of unpleasant places. What if Wayne's PTSD has gotten worse? Or if he has cancer? What if Eddie has been lying to you, and he's seeing someone else? You really don't want to think about these things, but you can't help where your mind wanders off to.

It feels like an eternity until Mom and Eddie finally come out of her room. Once they do, you notice their eyes are teary, but not in a sad way. They're wearing mile-long smiles on their faces, and Mom gives Eddie a joyful hug in the middle of the hallway. And it finally clicks. What they discussed isn't anything remotely bad at all. No, you realize now that what Eddie wanted from your mother was her blessing.

To be continued...

[holbrookswifey]

Cure my pain

James Hetfield (1989 ajfa era) x reader

Summary: You woke up with your period while sleeping in bed with James. When he wakes up and sees you in pain, he tends to you and helps you to like an amazing boyfriend

Warnings: No major warnings just blood and period talk

A/N: I wasn't planning on posting this on Tumblr since it was a private fic for me and my friend @metallicames but they encouraged me to post it, so here it is! Enjoy a calm and gentle James fic 🥰

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It's very early in the morning, and you're in bed with James. As you start to awaken from your sleep, you feel a sharp pain run through your lower body, making your eyes snap open. The pain comes back again a bit stronger in waves, so you decide to head to the bathroom to see what was causing the pain.

As you peel back the blankets, you see a small spot of red underneath you and on the sheets. Blood. You had forgotten you were due this week, but the pain isn't helping much. You clutch your stomach as you make your way to the bathroom, pulling down your pants as you sit on the toilet to check yourself, to which you see a lot of blood in your underwear, illiciting a pained but frustrated sigh, rubbing your forehead with your other hand.

You slide down your blood soaked underwear and sweatpants onto the floor, putting them in the hamper as you wrap your towel around your waist and heading back into the bedroom to grab some fresh clothes.

James wakes up to the sound of the nightstand drawer closing as well as the bathroom door opening and closing with a soft click. He sits up and rubs his eyes, a bit concerned why you're up so early and hiding in the bathroom.

"Babe?" He calls to you, but he sits his hand close to where you were laying before, touching wet fabric. His eyes immediately look down and peel back the covers, seeing the blood on your side of the bed.

He immediately pieces it together that you're on your period, so he climbs out of bed only wearing sweatpants of his own as he pads over to the door, gently knocking on the door with his knuckles.

"Babe, you okay?" James asks quietly before he hears the lock on the door click open, to which he turns the door knob and looks in, seeing you with your shirt on but a towel around your waist, sitting on the edge of the toilet seat. He walks over to you and crouches in front of you, resting his hands on your towel covered legs.

"What's going on, baby?" James asks in a surprisingly soft tone. "Just in a lot of pain." You reply, still clutching your stomach.

James strokes your knee with his thumb, a solemn look on his face. "You got your period?" He asks another question with pure understanding and concern.

Your cheeks turn pink as you remember the blood on your side of the bed.

"I'm sorry, James. I forgot it was this week and i-i'll change the sheets soon I promise." You stutter, almost on the verge of tears from both pain and embarrassment.

Before you can say anything else, he shakes his head and rests his hand on your cheek. "Babe, no it's okay. You can't control when you start bleeding. And don't worry about the sheets, okay?" He replies, his eyes soft and comforting.

You know you can't protest against his words, so you just nod in response. James leans up and presses a tender kiss on your forehead before he asks you another thing. "How about you have a nice warm bath, and I'll fix you up some cocoa and we can watch a movie?" He asks, his eyes widen for half a second and go back to normal with a handsome smile on his face, knowing that you love those things.

You crack a smile before you nod, which makes James smile even more, tapping your knee before he stands up, leaning down and kissing you on the lips tenderly before he walks over to the tub, turning on the water, adjusting it to the temperature he knows you like the most and helps you undress, guiding you into the tub with gentleness you never knew he had.

As soon as you sit down in the warm water, he leans down again so he's crouching, helping you clean yourself up from the blood that got all over your thighs. While you finish cleaning yourself up, he rubs your back with gentleness and peppers you with kisses to help you feel better.

"I'll be back, okay?" James says, which you reply with a nod. He smiles softly and presses a soft kiss to the side of your neck before exiting the bathroom.

He comes back after a little bit of time, and he crouches back down next to you, reaching over and gently caressing your back with his hands. You close your eyes and you sigh in content as he massages your back to take your mind off of the pain you're in, wishing nothing more than to take it away from you to stop your monthly suffering.

He keeps whispering words of support and assuring you that the pain will go away as time goes on, his big hands still working on your tensed up back muscles to help you feel better at least a little bit of the pain. He keeps pressing gentle kisses across your neck, lips, cheeks and all over your face from time to time, not minding that his shirt is a little wet from touching the lingering water on the sides of the tub.

What seemed like an eternity, he hears the kettle boil the water that he turned on a while ago. "Meet me in the living room, baby. I habe a surprise that you'll like." He says softly as he stops the massages and walks out of the bathroom and into the kitchen.

After a while, you finish cleaning yourself up, and you hop out of the bathtub, letting the water drain as you dry yourself and put on your clothes. When you put on your underwear, you see that James has left both a pad and a tampon, which makes you feel a lot of happy emotions. You finish getting dressed and you exit the bathroom, the pain in your stomach has settled a little as you enter the living room.

When you enter the living room, you see a small basket with your favourite snacks, comfort items and a little note from James. As you pick it up and read it, it says:

"Hi, my love. I know you're in a lot of pain so I decided to make you this while you were in the 'tub. I remember everything you like, so I hope this makes your day a little less painful and more smiley and happy. Oh and I also changed the sheets so don't worry about those too.

- Love your handsome boyfriend xo"

You smile as you read the little note, inspecting the basket. Right on cue, James walks in with two mugs, placing them down on the coffee table.

"Hey baby." James says with a comforting smile before sitting down next to you. He reaches over and hands you your cup of cocoa, smiling softly as he sees your smile when you take it.

"Thank you, babe. I can't believe you did all of this." You say with a hint of surprise, still in awe of the basket. "It's the least I can do." He replies as he hands you some period relief medication.

"Take these. You'll feel much better." As he says that, you take the pills, taking both pills one by one with a mouthful of cocoa.

You smile in appreciation as he returns the same look, reaching over and grabbing the TV remote before leaning back and pulling you closer to his side, pressing a soft kiss to your temple as he scrolls through the channels. He stops before he smirks, offering you the remote.

"What're we watching, baby?" James asks as you take the remote with gentleness.

"Something we both like." You reply as you turn on a movie you both love.

You both lay back and relax, resting your head on his shoulder as he brings his hand around your waist, being very delicate and caresses your side before his hand searches for yours. Once it does, you both interlace fingers as you hold hands, watching the movie with content and relaxed looks.

[bitter69uk]

“Why does everybody think I’m so wild? I’m not wild. I happen to stumble onto wildness. It gets in my path.” Cookie Mueller

"Cookie looked like Janis Joplin-meets-Jayne Mansfield, a redneck hippie with a little bit of glamour drag thrown in. She never led a safe life, unsafe was her middle name. She lived on the edge, always." John Waters

Born on this day 75 years ago: vivacious bad girl, writer, go-go dancer, advice columnist, art critic, drug dealer, globe-trotter and avant-garde New York scene-maker Cookie Mueller (née Dorothy Karen Mueller, 2 March 1949 – 10 November 1989). She’s a fiercely charismatic presence in early John Waters "gutter films" like Multiple Maniacs (1970), Pink Flamingos (1972) and Female Trouble (1974). Her close confidante, photographer Nan Goldin would describe Mueller as “the most fabulous woman I’d ever seen ... She was the starlet of the Lower East Side: a poetess, a short-story writer, she starred in John Waters’ early movies. She was sort of the queen of the whole downtown social scene.” (Unsurprisingly, Goldin has an eye for vivid detail. In the wrenching 2022 documentary All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, she recalls that the first time she met Cookie in Provincetown in the 1970s, Mueller was wearing vintage Springolator heels held together with safety pins!). I highly recommend investigating Mueller’s wry and elegant autobiographical musings like Walking Through Clear Water in a Pool Painted Black or Garden of Ashes (recently reissued) – or Chloe Griffin’s excellent 2014 biography Edgewise: A Picture of Cookie Mueller. Pictured: portrait of Mueller by Bob Berg.

[majorhortonisonleaveinlondon]

An updated (January 9, 2025 9:04pm pst) list of WW2 movies and TV shows in chronological order

thought out WW2 -(Imitation Game 2014) -(The Book Thief 2013) -(The Zookeeper’s Wife 2017) -(The Pianist 2002)

1937

October 26, 1937 Defence of Sihang Warehouse (The Eight Hundred 2020)

December 13, 1937 Nanjing Massacre - (John Rabe 2009) - (The Flowers of War 2011)

1938

Fall of 1938 (Munich – The Edge of War 2022)

1939

Summer 1939 (Six Minutes to Midnight 2020)

September 3, 1939 King George VI first wartime speech (King’s Speech 2010)

September 17, 1939, Soviet Union Invitation of Poland (The Way Back 2010)

November 30, 1939 Soviet Union invades Finland (The Winter War 1989)

1940

April 9, 1940 Operation Weserübung -(April 9th [movie] 2015) -(King’s Choice 2016) -(Narvik 2022) -(War Sailors 2023)

April 27, 1940 (Into the White 2011)

June 4, 1940 -Churchill gives “We Shall Fight on the Beaches” speech (Darkest Hour 2017) -Dunkirk Evaluation (Dunkirk 2017)

July 10-October 31, 1940 Battle of Britain (Battle of Britain 1969)

1941

May 1941 (Call to Spy 2019)

June 22, 1941 Operation Barbarossa -(Fortress of War [The Brest Fortres 2010) -(Defiance 2008)

September 8, 1941, Siege of Leningrad begins. -(Battle of Leningrad [Saving Leningrad] 2019) -(Leningrad 2009)

October 1941 Battle of Moscow (The Last Frontier [The Final Stand] 2020)

October 1941 Battle of Sevastopol (Battle for Sevastopol 2015)

December 7, 1941, the Empire of Japan attacks Pearl Harbor (Tora! Tora! Tora! 1970)

December 8, 1941 Japan invades Shanghai International Settlement (Empire of the Sun 1987)

1942

January 20, 1942, Wannsee Conference (Conspiracy 2001)

February 1942 Battle of the Atlantic (Greyhound 2020)

February 1942 (The Railway Man 2013)

February 19, 1942, Bombing of Darwin (Australia 2008)

Spring 1942 (U-571 2000)

April 18, 1942 The Doolittle Raid (In Harm’s Way 2018)

June 4, 1942 Battle of Midway (Midway 2019)

1942 Summer Occupation of Jersey Island (Another Mother’s Son 2017 Prime)

July, 10 1942 Easy Company Trains in Camp Tocca (Band of Brothers 01x10 Currahee 2001)

July 21, 1942, Kokoda Track Campaign (Kokoda: 39th Battalion 2006)

August 7, 1942, 1st Marine Division land on Guadalcanal (The Pacific Ep. 1 Guadalcanal/Leckie 2010)

August 19, 1942, Dieppe Raid (Dieppe 1993)

August 23, 1942 Battle of Stalingrad begins (Stalingrad 1993)

September 1942 Formation of Troop 30 (Age of Heroes 2011)

September 18, 1942, 7th Marines Land on Guadalcanal (The Pacific Ep. 2 Basilone 2010)

Autumn of 1942 Battle of the Atlantic (Das Boot 1981)

October 18, 1942, Operation Grouse (Heavy Water War Ep. 2 2015)

November 8, 1942, Operation Torch (The Big Red One 1980)

November 10-17 1942 Vasily Zaytsev kills 225 German Soldiers during the Battle of Stalingrad (Enemy at the Gates 2001)

December 1942 The 1st Marine Division on Guadalcanal is relieved (The Pacific Ep. 3 Melbourne 2010)

December 15, 1942, Battle of Mount Austen (Thin Red Line 1998)

1943

March 13-14 1943, liquidation of the Kraków Ghetto -(Schindler’s List 1993)

April 17, 1943 Operation Mincemeat (Operation Mincemeat 2021)

April 19, 1943, beginning of the Warsaw Uprising (Uprising 2001)

May 4, 1943, Final Mission of The Memphis Bell (Memphis Bell 1990)

May 15, 1943, Salamo Arouch and his family arrive in Auschwitz Concentration Camp (Triumph of the Spirit 1989)

May 27, 1943 Louis Zamperini plane crashes on a search and rescue mission (Unbroken 2014)

May 30, 1943 first All-American Girls Professional Baseball League game played (A League of Their Own 1992)

June 25, 1943, 100th Bomb Group flew its first 8th Air Force combat mission (Master of the Air: Part One 2024)

July 1943 -(The Tuskegee Airmen 1995) -(The Liberator Ep. 1 2020) -(Heavy Water War Ep. 5 2015)

July 16, 1943, The 100th Bomb Group bombed U-Boats in Tronbhdim (Masters of the Air: Part Two 2024)

August 17, 1943 the 4th Bomb Wing of the 100th Bomb Group bombed Regenberg (Masters of the Air: Part Three 2024)

September 16, 1943, William Quinn and Charles Bailey leave Belgium (Masters of the Air: Part Four 2024)

September 18, 1943 John ‘Bucky’ Egan returns from leave to join the mission to bomb Munster (Master of the Air: Part Five 2024

October 14, 1943, John ‘Bucky’ Egan interrogated at Dulag Lut, Frankfurt Germany (Masters of the Air: Part Six 2024)

December 26, 1943, 1st Marine Division lands on Cape Gloucester (The Pacific Ep. 4 Gloucester/Pavuvu/Banika 2010)

1944

January 22, 1944, Battle of Anzio -(The Liberator Ep. 2 2020) -(Red Tails 2012) -(Anzio 1968)

February 20, 1944, Hydro Ferry bombing (Heavy Water War Ep. 6 2015)

March 7, 1944, Stalag Luft III Sagan, Germany, Germans find the concealed radio Bucky was using to learn news of the War (Master of the Air: Part Seven 2024)

March 24/25, 1944 Allied Mass Escape of Stalag Luft III (The Great Escape 1963)

June 1944 (Cross of Iron 1977)

June 6, 1944, 00:48 & 01:40 First airborne troops begin to land on Normandy (Band of Brothers 02x10 Day of Days 2001)

June 6, 1944, 06:30 D-Day landings -(Storming Juno 2010)

-(Saving Private Ryan 1998)

June 10, 1944, Easy Company Takes Carentan (Band of Brothers 03x10 Carentan 2001)

June 15-July 9, 1944 Battle of Saipan

-(Windtalkers 2002)

-(Oba: The Last Samurai 2011)

July, 1944 The Monuments Men land in Normandy (The Monuments Men 2014)

July 20, 1944 Operation Valkyrie (Valkyrie 2008)

August 12, 1944, The 332nd Fighter Group attack Radar stations in Southern France (Masters of the Air: Part Eight 2024)

September 15, 1944, U.S. Marines landed on Peleliu at 08:32 (the Pacific Ep. 5 2010)

September 16, 1944, U.S Marines take Peleliu Airfield (the Pacific Ep. 5 2010)

September 17, 1944, Operation Market Garden

-(Band of Brothers 04x10 Replacements 2001)

-(A Bridge Too Far 1977)

October 2, 1944 Battle of Scheldt (Forgotten Battle 2021)

October 12, 1944, Battle of Peleliu, Assault on Bloody Nose Ridge (the Pacific Ep. 7 Peleliu Hills 2010)

October 13, 1944, Rovaniemi public buildings were destroyed (Sisu 2022)

October 14, 1944, Erwin Rommel is arrested (Rommel 2012 Prime)

October 22/23, 1944, 2100 – 0200 Operation Pegasus (Band of Brothers 05x10 Crossroads 2001)

November 1944 middle of the Battle of Hürtgen Forest (When Trumpets Fade 1998)

December 16, 1944, Battle of the Bulge (Band of Brothers 06x10 Bastogne 2001)

December 1944 (Hart’s War 2002)

1945

January 2, 1945 (The Liberator Ep 3 2020)

January 10, 1945 (Attack Force Z)

January 13, 1945, Battle of Foy (Band of Brothers 07x10 The Breaking Point 2001)

January 30, 1945 The Raid at Cabanatuan (The Great Raid 2002)

February 14, 1945, David Webb rejoins the 506th in Haguenau (Band of Brothers 08x10 The Last Patrol 2001)

February 19, 1945, Battle of Iwo Jima starts. - (Letters from Iwo Jima 2006) - (The Pacific Ep. 8 Iwo Jima 2010) - (Flags of our Fathers 2006)

February 15, 1945, 6888 Battalion was inspected and marched in review before Major General John C. H. Lee (Six Triple Eight 2024)

March 7, 1945, Battle of Remagen (The Bridge at Remagen 1969)

March 21, 1945, Operation Carthage (The Bombardment 2021)

April, 1945 (Fury 2014)

April 5, 1945, 506th Finds abandoned Concentration Camp (Band of Brothers 09x10 Why We Fight 2001)

April 17, 1945 Lee Miller arrives at Concentration Camp Buchenwald (Lee 2023)

April 26, 1945, near the end of the war in Europe (A Woman in Berlin 2008)

April 29, 1945, 45th Infantry Division liberated Dachau Concentration camp (The Liberator Ep. 4 2020)

May 2, 1945, Fall of Berlin -(Downfall 2004) -(Jojo Rabbit 2019)

May 1945 Battle of Okinawa -(Hacksaw Ridge 2016) -(The Pacific Ep. 9 Okinawa 2010)

May 7, 1945, Germany Surrenders V-E Day - (Master of the Air: Part Nine 2024) - (Band of Brothers 10x10 Points 2001)

July 30, 1945, USS Indianapolis sank. (USS Indianapolis 2016)

August 15, 1945, The Empire of Japan surrenders end of the War. -(Oppenheimer 2023) -(The Pacific Part Ten: Home 2010)

September 11, 1945 US Military search and Arrest Japanese Leaders for war crimes (Emperor 2012)

1946 April 29, 1946 Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal (Tokyo Trial 2016)

[haveyouseenthismovie-poll]

End of month update - March (+ April 1st)

Hello, all! Sorry that this update is a day late, I didn't get around to posting it yesterday.

This is the end-of-month update, where I post Tumblr’s current top four films that have received the highest percentage of “yes,” “no,” and “haven’t even heard of this movie” votes.

As of today, the top four films with the highest percentage of “yes” votes are:

Finding Nemo (2003) | Shrek (2001) | Monsters, Inc. (2001) | The Lion King (1994)

Next, the top four films with the highest percentage of “no” votes are:

Sausage Party (2016) | Sharknado 2: The Second One (2014) | All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) | Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

This top four changed through the new additions of Sausage Party (2016) and All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), which replaced Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! (2015) and Scarface (1983).

Finally, the top four films with the highest percentage of “haven’t even heard of this movie” votes are:

Monica and Friends: Bonds (2019) | Monsturd (2003) | Heroic Losers (2019) | Death Trance (2005)

This top four changed through the new additions of Monsturd (2003) and Death Trance (2005), which replaced Mahana (2016) and Capernaum (2018)

Currently, The Incredibles (2004) is the still only film to receive absolutely zero “haven’t heard of this” votes.

That’s it for March’s end-of-month update! Remember that you can view last month’s update by clicking here. Additionally, you can view the full ranked Letterboxd lists of movies that have come up on this blog by clicking the following links:

This list is ranked from highest-to-lowest percentage of “yes” votes.

This list is ranked from highest-to-lowest percentage of “no” votes.

This list is ranked from highest-to-lowest percentage of “haven’t even heard of this movie” votes.

Remember to vote on the polls that are currently running: Jane Eyre (2011) | Lady Macbeth (2016) | The Water Diviner (2014) | Thoroughbreds (2017) | Suspiria (2018) | Closely Watched Trains (1966) | Atonement (2007) | The Official Story (1985) | Fright Night (1985) | Ernest & Celestine (2012) | Central Station (1998) | The Hitcher (1986) | The Company of Wolves (1984) | Predestination (2014) | Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004) | This Is England (2006) | Crimson Peak (2015) | The Love Witch (2016) | Lost in Translation (2003) | Romeo + Juliet (1996) | Santa Claus (1959) | Tokyo Drifter (1966) | A Fistful of Dollars (1964) | Brain Damage (1988) | Society (1989) | Watership Down (1978) | Frankenhooker (1990) | Mars Attacks! (1996) | Super 8 (2011) | Goosebumps (2015) | Goncharov (1973) | The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) | The Secret of Moonacre (2008) | Coraline (2009) | The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)