#Doug is certainly happy about it :)

[sysig]

The time for regrets has long passed (Patreon)

[keeryhours]

wildflower chapter six

Eddie Munson x Henderson! female reader, Steve Harrington x reader

Main Masterlist

Series Masterlist

Eddie Munson Masterlist

Steve Harrington Masterlist

Summary:

When Eddie lets you down, you find comfort elsewhere.

Warnings:

Smut (18+), unprotected sex, p in v, oral (m and f receiving), accidental creampie, angst

Word Count: 5.5k

A/N:

Happy New Year and happy Wildflower update day! 🥳 I hope you enjoy!

—

Your days at the diner were never interesting. The most action you ever saw was the occasional rude customer you got to throw out. But it wasn’t often (anymore, at least) that Corroded Coffin came in to eat.

Thankfully the restaurant was pretty dead when they came in, but the customers that were there jumped up, asking for autographs the second the four boys walked in the door. The guys were polite, quickly signing some napkins and menus before excusing themselves.

“Hey, pretty lady,” Eddie greeted as he slid into a booth in your section, Gareth, Jeff, and Doug following.

“Hey mama, long time no see,” Gareth said, a knowing look on his face. Eddie kicked him under the table, Gareth hissing a quiet Ow!

You blushed deeply as you handed them each a menu. “You told them?”

“Uh, yeah,” Eddie said, giving the other boys a look that said please don’t say anything stupid. “Is that okay?”

“Yeah, of course,” you assured him quickly. “He’s…your son, too.”

The words struck Eddie unexpectedly deep, filling him with a sense of warmth and love. He smiled, the confirmation bringing him a sense of pride. “Hey, I was thinking I could come by tonight after you get off? Hang out with you both for a little while?”

“Yeah, that would be great,” you said, smiling at Eddie like he was the only person in the room. “He’d like that. He’s been asking about Ebbie since you left.”

Eddie chuckled. It was definitely cute, and he loved that Asher had been thinking about him, but he couldn’t help but wonder when the title of Dad would be earned. He wanted to be Dad. He wanted Asher to be a Munson. “I’ve missed him too.”

You were happy to hear that. You wanted Eddie and Asher to have a relationship. You never thought the day would come, but now that it had, you realized this was what you had been longing for all along.

“What can I get you guys today?” You asked, pulling out your notepad and pen with your usual customer service smile.

Eddie held his hand up, indicating he wanted to speak first. “Well, are you on the menu?”

The guys at the table all groaned as you rolled your eyes, a blush on your cheeks as you raised a hand to cover the embarrassed smile on your lips. “Oh my god. You did not just say that.”

Eddie didn’t falter. “I mean, all this food looks delicious, but you look better.”

You smacked his arm lightly with the pad of paper. “Eddie Munson!”

The guys all busted out laughing, causing you to join in. Eddie blushed, but never took his eyes off of you.

Eventually, you got orders from all the boys. They ordered practically the whole menu between them, burgers and fries and chicken tenders and just about everything else, including the desserts.

“Okay guys, let me just put this in and I’ll be right back with your drinks.”

As you turned and walked away, Eddie watched you. He watched the sway of your hips as you walked, the way your hair hung just right on your shoulders. He watched the way your little uniform dress hugged your curves and showed off your legs. He didn’t think he had a thing for housewives, but the apron was certainly doing something for him.

Gareth snapped him out of his thoughts by literally snapping in his face. “Uh, hello. Earth to Eddie.”

Eddie turned to look at the guys, who were all staring at him. “What?”

Gareth sat back in his seat. “So, what made you not call her for two years? Because you look like you’re about to pounce on her at any second.”

Eddie’s jaw clenched. He didn’t want to talk about this right now, or ever again, really. He knew how badly he fucked up. He had heard it from everyone endlessly, especially himself. “Gar-“

“Yeah, man, did you need to see her again to remember how hot she is?” Jeff asked with a laugh. “I mean, she always was-“

Eddie smacked a hand down on the table, startling the other guys. “Enough. Don’t talk about her like that.”

It was quiet for a second, then his three bandmates all started laughing.

“Oh, Eddie, man,” Doug said through his laughter. “You’ve got it bad.”

As you turned around with the four drinks on your tray, you saw the boys laughing. You couldn’t help the old high school fear that they were laughing at you.

But Eddie also seemed perfectly happy in his new life without you. You wondered if he missed you at all. If he ever thought about you on the road. If he slept with other women.

You reached the table and placed the drinks down, remembering perfectly who had ordered what. “Can I help you guys with anything else right now?” You asked, waitress persona back in place.

“I think we’re good for now,” Gareth answered. You looked at Eddie, but his cheerful expression from earlier was now gone.

“Alright, just let me know if you need anything. I’ll be back with your food shortly.”

Once the lunch rush hit, the diner was packed. Your section was full and you were kept much too busy to worry much about the Corroded Coffin boys, although you did feel bad that their meal kept getting interrupted by over eager fans.

Eventually, you noticed the guys had left. You moved over to their table to clear it off, gathering plates and dishes.

You gasped when you saw the $200 tip that was left for you.

—

“Ebbie coming?” Asher asked for about the millionth time that evening.

“He’s supposed to, buddy,” you told him, fingers tracing through his curls as you eyed the clock again. It was almost bedtime for Asher, and Eddie still hadn’t showed. He was supposed to be here hours ago.

“When?” He asked again.

“I don’t know, Ash,” you admitted, looking down at his big sad brown eyes that reminded you so much of his father’s. “It’s almost bedtime, though. Maybe Eddie will come visit tomorrow?”

“No!” The toddler stamped his foot down, tears welling in his eyes as he looked up at you with all his nearly 2-year-old anger. “No bed! Ebbie.”

Your heart broke for him. You wished you had let it be a surprise, because giving him this hope and then having to take it away was too much. His dad had just come into his life and he was already being unreliable. It made you question the whole thing all over again.

“I’m sorry buddy,” you told him again. “We’ll do something fun tomorrow. Let’s go take a bath and get in your pajamas, huh?”

Reluctantly, the little boy went with you. You ran his bath, playing with him in the water which had him giggling again. You were happy to see him happy, but the ache in your chest over Eddie’s no-show wouldn’t be forgotten.

By the time his bath was over and Asher was dried off and dressed in his Thomas pajamas, he was rubbing his eyes. You tucked him into bed, read him some of his favorite books, and he was already drifting off as you left the room, closing the door softly behind you.

You covered your face with your hands as the tears began to fall. You felt like you had let Asher down yourself, and that’s something you never wanted to do. Something you swore you wouldn’t do. And letting his father do it was something you swore against when Eddie came back into your lives.

You walked into the living room, eyeing the picture frames decorating the hallway as you walked past. The memories had you smiling to yourself. One of them stopped you short - it was you and Steve at Asher’s first birthday, Asher smiling between you. There was so much joy in that photo.

Steve. Steve, who had always been there. Steve, who had never let Asher down a day in his life and would never even dream of it. Steve, who would do anything for both of you.

You had made up your mind by the time you got to the living room. You lifted the phone from the receiver, dialed the familiar number and listened to it ring.

“Hello?” Steve answered after only a few seconds.

“It’s me,” you said through sniffles, wiping away the tears that had managed to fall without you noticing.

“What’s wrong?” Steve asked, suddenly very serious. “Are you okay? Is Asher okay? Did something happen?”

You huffed a small laugh - it was just such a Steve reaction. “We’re okay. Just…Eddie was supposed to come over tonight, and he never showed up.”

“That asshole,” Steve hissed on the other end of the line. “Why not?”

“I don’t know…I haven’t heard from him.”

Steve sighed. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. How did Asher take it?”

“Not well,” you admitted. “He was really upset.”

“That pisses me off,” Steve said, sighing again. “Do you want me to come over?”

“…Would you?” You asked finally, realizing that’s exactly what you wanted right now.

“Of course. I was watching some movies with Robin, but I’ll gladly kick her out.” You heard something thrown at him, then a “Hey!” and some laughter.

“I don’t want to ruin your night-“

“You’re not ruining anything. I’ll be there in 10, okay?”

“Okay,” you smiled softly to yourself, then hung up the phone.

You wondered if you should make something for you both to eat. It was already 10pm, too late for anything substantial and he probably wasn’t hungry anyway. You settled for taking the cookie dough out of the fridge, lining up the balls of dough on the baking sheet. You were just putting the tray in the oven when the front door opened.

“Hey,” you greeted, wiping your hands on a dish towel. “I’m really happy you came over. I put some cookies in the oven.”

Steve crossed the kitchen quickly, wrapping you in a tight hug within his strong arms. You let yourself melt into the embrace, the feeling of guilt in your chest turning to one of warmth instead. He placed a kiss on the top of your head.

“Of course, you know I’m here any time you need me.” Steve cracked the oven door open, peeking inside. “Nice! Chocolate chip, a classic.”

You giggled as he closed the door, then turned to look at you, leaning against the counter. “Now tell me what happened.”

You recounted the story, starting with Eddie and the guys showing up at the diner. By the time you were done talking, the oven timer was going off. You slipped the oven mitts onto your hands and opened the door, pulling the tray of hot cookies out.

“I can’t believe he would just say he was coming and not show up or call or anything.” Steve shook his head. “These look delicious, by the way.”

Once the cookies were cool, you piled some onto a plate and went to sit on the couch. Steve brought one of the movies he and Robin hadn’t gotten to - Hellraiser - and you started it, although you weren’t paying the most attention as you kept chatting.

The air began to chill the exposed skin of your legs, sending shivers through your body. You pulled a blanket from the back of the couch to spread over your laps. Steve wrapped an arm around your shoulders and you cuddled into his side.

“You know you deserve better than this, right?” Steve whispered.

You looked up at him. “What do you mean?”

“I mean you and Ash deserve better than someone unreliable. You deserve more than getting stood up.”

You let out a long sigh. “I don’t know. I feel like there has to be some reason. Eddie wouldn’t…I don’t know, the Eddie I knew wouldn’t have done this.”

Steve was quiet for a minute. “You haven’t talked to him for years, sweetheart. Things change.”

He was right, but the words made your stomach ache. You didn’t like thinking about the old Eddie, your Eddie, being gone now. But he had a point. You weren’t the same girl he left behind, either.

You pushed a stray piece of hair behind your ear. You were lost in thought, the movie long forgotten.

“You’re so beautiful,” Steve said quietly, his fingers gently brushing over your cheek. “You deserve the world.”

“That’s not true-“

“It is,” Steve said firmly. “You’re a beautiful, incredible woman. An amazing mom. Did I mention hot?”

You started laughing then, covering your blushing face with your hands. “Oh my god, stop.”

“I’m serious, though,” Steve said, chuckling lightly. “You are all of those things. I wish you could see your worth. I wish you could see yourself the way I see you.”

He gently grabbed your wrists, pulling your hands away from your face. Your eyes met his, seeing something behind them you’d never quite seen before. “Steve?”

His gaze flicked down to your lips. His tongue darted out to lick his own, like he was thinking about something. Then he leaned in, pressing his lips to yours. Your eyes widened, completely shocked by his move, but you didn’t push him away. You found you didn’t entirely mind it.

Steve pulled away quickly. “Fuck, I’m so sorry. I don’t know why I did that.”

It was completely unexpected. Completely out of nowhere. Steve was your best friend in the world, and it had never been more than that. You had always been off limits, always been Eddie’s girl. But…you weren’t upset at him. It was honestly…nice.

“It’s okay, Stevie…” You trailed a fingertip over his jaw. “I kind of liked it.”

He grinned sheepishly. “You…liked it?”

“Yeah,” you admitted softly. “Maybe we could…do it again?”

Steve smiled at that. He placed his hands on your waist, pulling you closer to him on the couch. Your hands rested on his biceps, and you both leaned in until your lips were locked together once again.

It was strange, to think it was Steve’s lips on your own. You honestly hadn’t had many experiences outside of Eddie. He was your first boyfriend, and your last. It almost felt wrong, even though you and Eddie hadn’t been together for years, but it also felt right, as cheesy as that sounds.

His hands tightened on your waist as his tongue slipped into your mouth, exploring your own with an eagerness. He tasted so nice, like peppermint and the cookies you had eaten together. You moaned into the kiss, which made him moan back.

He placed a kiss to the corner of your lips before working over your jawline. When he reached your neck, he began sucking softly at the skin, wanting desperately to mark you up and claim you as his finally, but he knew he couldn’t leave hickies when you’d have to cover them for work and potentially have questions from Asher. So, he restrained himself, moving to a different spot whenever he worried it would start to bruise.

Your head was tilted to the side, eyes closed and soft moans leaving your lips as he devoured you, pulling you as close as you could get to each other. You took it a step further, swinging a leg over his lap and straddling him.

You could immediately feel how hard he was beneath you. He knew it, too.

“Sorry,” he said with a blush. “You’re just-“

You cut him off by grinding down onto the hardened bulge, making him groan loudly in surprise. You quickly covered his mouth with your hand, laughing quietly. “Shh!” Steve nodded, and you removed your hand.

“Just feels so good,” he mumbled, moving back to kissing your neck. His hands slid around to grab at your ass. He had longed to do that for as long as he could remember, and now that he had his hands on you, it was even better than he pictured in his head all those nights alone. The way your ass fit perfectly in his large hands, the plush of it when he squeezed, it made him impossibly hard.

He moved back up to your lips, kissing you feverishly. You bit down on his bottom lip, and he groaned quietly, his tongue darting out to lick at yours. The kiss had become sloppy, messy, and desperate, all tangled tongues and quiet moans and hands everywhere.

“Steve,” you moaned, his name feeling strange on your tongue in this context. Strange, but nice.

He moaned your name in return, guiding your hips to keep grinding on him. “Fuck, baby. You’re gonna make me cum in my pants like a fucking teenager if you keep doing this.”

You giggled, giving him one last movement along his aching cock before you climbed off of him. He watched you curiously, wondering if you’d changed your mind, and desperately hoping that wasn’t the case.

He realized all his fears were unfounded as you sunk to your knees in front of him, holding eye contact. His eyes widened and his lips parted, hands clenching into fists on the couch cushions.

“Sweetheart,” he said, voice raspy as he looked down at you on your knees for him. “You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”

You smirked at him as you hooked your fingers into the waistband of his sweatpants and began to pull them down. His erection was obvious in his boxers, straining against the thin material like it was begging for you. “I want to,” you said simply. His cock twitched at your answer.

You pulled his boxers down, exposing his hard cock to your hungry eyes. You practically drooled at the sight. He was big. Like, really big.

You wrapped your hand around it, struggling to close your fingers around his girth. He moaned at the contact, his cock twitching again in your hand. You stroked him a couple times, but he was already rock hard. You leaned forward and licked the precum from his tip.

“Sh- shit!” Steve hissed. “You really don’t have to-“ His head fell back as you engulfed his cock in your mouth, his protests turning to groans of pleasure. “Oh fuck.”

You took him deeper, as deep as you could fit him. You were a bit out of practice admittedly, so you kept gagging on him, but he seemed to love that. He fought to keep his eyes open as he watched you suck his cock, not wanting to miss a single second, but the feeling kept making his eyelids flutter closed.

“Jesus fucking Christ,” he moaned, one hand moving to rest on the back of your head. He didn’t force you, everything you were doing to him was like heaven already. “You’re so good at this, oh my god.”

You almost laughed, but managed to keep up your motions instead. You paid extra attention to the underside of his cock with your tongue as you sucked him, sucking hard at the tip every now and then, which made his hips buck up into your mouth with a whiney moan. You gently massaged his balls in your hand as you worshipped his cock. You absolutely loved the way your best friend was falling apart for you, because of you.

His grip on your hair tightened, and you could feel his thighs tensing beneath your hands. You could tell he was getting close, even before he said “Baby, I’m gonna cum if you don’t stop-“

You pulled off of him, a string of saliva connecting your plush lips to his dick. He looked at you with an expression of love and adoration and even pain. Like he loved you so much it hurt.

He pulled you to him, kissing you deeply again. He pulled his sweatpants back up. “Fuck. That was amazing,” he said, breathless. “Let’s go to your room?”

You nodded, and then nearly screamed as Steve picked you up bridal style. He carried you quietly to your bedroom and laid you gently on the bed. He pulled his shirt over his head, pushing his sweats and boxers back down. He was completely naked before you now, and your eyes roamed over him, enjoying the view maybe a little too much.

He moved for you then, pushing your shirt up as he placed kisses against your stomach, trailing up higher and higher until he reached your breasts. He pushed the shirt up and over your head then wrapped his lips around one of your nipples. Your head fell back against the pillows and you moaned quietly at the feeling of his hot mouth against your sensitive nipples. He gave both equal attention, before kissing back down your body.

“You are so beautiful,” he said. “The most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen in my life.”

Your heart swelled in your chest at his words, but you were quickly distracted when he began pulling your shorts and panties down your legs. Once you were naked, he spread your legs, eyes raking over your body, and especially your pussy, like a man starved.

He laid on his stomach between your legs, hands holding your shaking thighs apart. You were nervous - it had been a long time, and you hadn’t exactly been expecting this to happen.

He flattened his tongue and licked a stripe along your folds. You moaned, a hand covering your mouth to keep yourself quiet, because you weren’t sure if you’d have the self control for this.

“You taste so sweet,” he said, burying his face in your pussy and breathing it in like his favorite cologne. “Your pussy is perfect. Even better than I imagined.”

You didn’t focus too hard on that last part, quickly distracted by his tongue flicking over your clit before he wrapped his lips around it. You gasped, back arching as he began to devour you fully.

You had to grab a pillow and hold it over your face, because you couldn’t control the noises Steve was pulling from your body. You were powerless against the pleasure he was giving you, able to do nothing but ride it like a wave, fingers gripping white knuckled into the pillow case.

Steve was much better than your fingers or any toys. He had your orgasm building quickly, stronger than you’d felt in years. You held the pillow tightly against your face as you cried out when your orgasm hit, hips grinding up against Steve’s greedy mouth. He lapped up every bit of slick hungrily, moaning against your pussy.

When you had come down completely, Steve kissed along your thighs, biting gently on the skin there - he could mark you here, at least, where only he could see. He left light bruises on the inside of your thighs. When he was satisfied he moved up your body again slowly. He kissed you again, letting you taste yourself on his tongue.

You could feel his cock hard and insistent against you. You wanted him badly, so badly you couldn’t believe how desperate you felt for him. You were soaking wet, hips grinding against him as you were desperate for him to fill you.

“I- I don’t have a condom,” Steve said like it pained him, looking down at you. “We can stop-“

“No,” you said quickly. You had come this far after not having sex for two years (at least sober, the night with Eddie after the show had also happened), and you really did not want to stop now. “We can keep going. Just pull out.”

He nodded quickly. “Yeah. Okay.” He reached down, lining himself up at your entrance. You jumped at the feeling at first, so unfamiliar now. And Steve was big. Not that Eddie wasn’t, but…two years. You barely even remembered the hookup.

“I’ll go slow,” Steve said, sensing your apprehension. “Tell me if you want me to stop, okay?”

“Okay,” you said quietly, your heart beating hard in your chest. Steve being so sweet was making this easier, but you knew you wouldn’t want him to stop. “I’m ready.”

Steve slowly pushed inside. He only had his tip in when you clenched your eyes shut, fingernails digging into the skin of his biceps.

“Is this okay?” Steve asked quietly, placing gentle kisses along your cheek. He was carefully thrusting in deeper, moving at as slow of a pace as possible. It took every bit of restraint in his body not to pound you into the mattress.

“Yes,” you said, voice quiet. You were slowly adjusting around him, wanting him deeper and deeper. “Please, more.”

Steve groaned against your ear, pressing in deeper until he finally bottomed out. His hips were pressed flush against yours, his cock completely buried in your tight, perfect heat. It was the most incredible thing he’d ever felt.

“Fuck, baby, you feel so good,” he moaned. He intertwined his fingers with yours, holding your hand above your head as his other arm held him up. “Wanna make you feel so good. Wanna make you cum again, feel you cum around my cock.”

You whimpered at his words, wanting them all to come true. “Please,” you whispered instead.

Steve hummed, pulling his hips back before slowly rolling them into you again. You both moaned at the perfect friction created between you, the way his cock filled you up. Like a piece of you that had been missing.

He set a slow pace to start, rolling his hips against yours in a perfect rhythm. The only sounds in the room were the gentle creaking of the bed and the soft breathy moans from both of you. Steve held your hand tightly over your head, your left gripping onto his right arm for leverage.

When he could tell you weren’t in any pain, he sped up his movements, watching your face carefully for any sign you weren’t enjoying yourself. Instead he saw your beautiful features twist in pleasure, pleasure that he was giving you. Only him. Only Steve.

“You’re incredible,” he said, looking down at you with total adoration. “Absolutely incredible.”

You pulled him down into a heated kiss, your left hand moving up to tangle in his hair. He started fucking you faster, skin slapping against yours as he began really pounding into you.

Steve pulled away to watch you again, finding himself addicted to the way you looked when getting fucked. He looked down at where you were joined, watching his cock disappear inside your perfect cunt. He had to look away before he came immediately.

Little “ah-ah-ah!”s were spilling from your lips, making Steve feel like he’d never been so turned on in his entire life. Everything about you was perfect to him. Everything about this was more than he ever dreamed of, alone with his cock in his hand.

“I’m so close, Stevie,” you whined, pulling him close to you. He was fucking you at the perfect angle, cock hitting just the right spot deep inside. Somewhere you could never reach on your own.

“Cum for me, baby, please,” he said, letting go of your hand to reach between you and rub circles on your clit. “Need to feel you cum all around my dick.”

The extra stimulation on your clit combined with the sensation of his cock filling you completely, pressing against your g-spot with every thrust, sent you over the edge a second time. You came hard, burying your face in his neck as you cried out in pleasure.

It was too much for Steve. Your pussy clenched around him over and over as you rode out your orgasm, and it was so good, and you were just so wet and tight, it sent him over the edge himself before he even knew what was happening.

He moaned your name over and over as he came inside you, ropes of his cum coating your walls. You rode each other through your orgasms, bodies intertwined.

It wasn’t until you came down that you both realized what happened. Steve pulled out of you, a look of pure fear on his face. “Jesus, fuck, I’m so sorry. I’m so fucking sorry. I’m such an idiot. I-I don’t know what happened, I just…”

“Steve,” you said, placing a hand on his arm to calm his panic. “It’s okay. I…I can go to the doctor, get the pill.”

He visibly calmed once you said that. He placed a hand on your thigh, looking at you seriously. “I’ll take you. I’ll pay for it.”

“Okay,” you agreed softly. “Now come cuddle with me. Unless you’re planning to leave?”

“No!” He said quickly. “No, of course not. You’re not…you’re not just some hookup.” He crawled back into the bed with you, leaning against the pillows. He held an arm out and you cuddled against his side.

Your fingertips idly traced along his chest, feeling the softness of his chest hair. Steve played with your hair gently, twirling your curls around his finger. You were close to drifting off.

Your moments of quiet bliss were interrupted by a knock at the door. You both froze, wondering who could possibly be here at this hour. You had an idea, but you didn’t like the thought of it.

The knock sounded at the door again, and you jumped up. “I’ve got to get that before they wake up Asher.” You pulled your panties back on and grabbed the first shirt you saw.

“Wait, I’m coming with you,” Steve said, fumbling for his own pants, but you were already out of the bedroom.

You opened the door, and your fears were confirmed.

“Eddie,” you said, more like a statement. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m so sorry,” he said in a rush. He was out of breath, like he’d ran here. “We were working in the studio today, and I- I got caught up, and I didn’t realize the time, I was just so caught up in the music and the band that I didn’t think-“

Eddie stopped cold as he looked at something over your shoulder. You turned and saw Steve standing there like a deer in headlights. He was shirtless, only wearing his sweatpants hung low on his hips. It felt like deja vu, only reversed this time.

You turned back to Eddie, who was now looking down at what you were wearing. Steve’s shirt. You hadn’t even noticed what you’d thrown on.

Eddie looked at you with a look of pure horror on his face. You’d think you were still together, like you’d cheated on him with Steve right in front of him. That’s how it felt to Eddie, at least.

“Jesus, what- what did you do?” Eddie asked. His eyes were filled with pain, and even though you weren’t together and you owed him nothing, you felt like the absolute worst person on the planet.

“Ed…”

“Listen man, it’s-“

Eddie held up his hand, silencing the other man. “I…do not want to hear from you right now.”

“Eddie, you’re being unfair,” you said.

“Unfair! How am I being unfair?” Eddie scoffed. He couldn’t even look at the two of you. “I just walked in on you having sex with Steve Harrington-“

“Okay, first of all, you did not walk in on us having sex,” you pointed out. “And second of all, did you forget we’re not together?”

Your words hit him like a punch to the gut. Sure, he knew that, but - you’d slept together since he’d been home. It may have been a drunken hookup, but still. You were still kind of his girl, weren’t you? You’d always been. You always would be. Right?

“That doesn’t matter, it’s still-“

“It’s still what?” You asked. “Tell me, Eddie, were you celibate those two years on tour? Or did you fuck groupies after shows while you left me and your son behind?”

Eddie’s face tensed. “That’s not fair. I didn’t know about my son.”

“True,” you said, “but you didn’t answer the other question.”

Eddie stayed silent. It was answer enough. The whole apartment was awkwardly silent, the tension in the air palpable, like a weight over you all.

“You know, you really let Asher down today,” you said. “He was excited to see you. He asked about you all night until he went to bed.”

Eddie’s heart broke. “I’m so sorry. I never meant for that to happen. I never meant to hurt him, or you.” He swallowed. “But does that mean you had to run into the arms of Steve Harrington?”

“Eddie…” you sighed. “I think you should leave. It’s late. We can talk about this later.”

Eddie just looked at you, then to Steve. He shook his head. “Yeah. We’ll talk later.”

And with that, he turned and left the apartment, wanting to slam the door but at least having the forethought not to since Asher was asleep. He walked down the hall, down the stairs, to the parking lot. His trusty van was there. He had driven himself this time.

There were so many memories in that van, memories with you. Hell, Asher was probably conceived in the back of the damn thing. Eddie climbed into the front seat and lay his head on the steering wheel.

And he cried.

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[coraniaid]

OK, so, for context:

I don't like Agent Riley Finn, at all. He is one of my least favorite characters in Buffy, by quite some distance. I hated him even before the events of Season 5, and I only continued to hate him afterwards. I think the show would be significantly improved if his character had never been introduced. I think Whedon's idea that Buffy and Riley represent the show's one "happy and healthy relationship" is nonsensical.

I don't like As You Were. It's arguably Doug Petrie's worst episode (well, worst so far, anyway: let's not forgive him for his Season 7 episodes just yet).

I don't even really like Season 6 much (certainly not as much as so many people on Tumblr pretend to do). I think the concept of the season is very good but the execution is often decidedly lacking. It is not a season I often feel the urge to rewatch.

But, that being said, I'll confess it is somewhat bizarre to see so many people reblogging a post that says As You Were would have been improved if Riley showed up contrite and humble and openly ashamed of his [yes, unquestionably terrible and indefensible] actions in Season 5, or that the episode is one last attempt by the writers to force the audience to like him. To me, that is just ... obviously not true. I don't even see how it could be true.

As You Were is barely about Riley Finn at all. It's about Buffy. Specifically it's about what most of Season 6 is about: Buffy being miserable and depressed, struggling with bills and a soul-crushing mininum wage job, resenting her friends for having brought her back to life, romanticizing her past and (wrongly) convinced that she somehow 'came back wrong'. Riley is only in the episode to further that aim.

So, yes, the episode ignores all of Riley's [very real, very irritating, very hard to forgive] flaws and past failings and instead presents him as a dashing and attractive ex-boyfriend; as the perfect guy who somehow got away. Yes, it focuses on how much Buffy's own fortunes have declined since they broke up. Yes, Buffy is meant to find him attractive and be sad that he's married to somebody else already. Yes, the show deliberately sets up Riley as being competent and put together and high status while Buffy herself is none of these things. But this isn't because the writers are somehow trying to trick you into liking Riley (it would obviously be a very stupid and ineffective way to do that if it were! it demonstrably doesn't actually make anybody who didn't like Riley change their mind! why assume that it is trying to?). It is because this is how Buffy sees things herself.

The episode is about Buffy first, and Riley ..., not even third. He is a plot device. Just as in Season 3's Gingerbread (when Joyce is possessed and tries to burn Buffy at the stake as part of her campaign to cleanse Sunnydale of all things supernatural), or Helpless (when Giles puts his loyalty to the Council above Buffy's own safety and well-being), in As You Were Riley exists primarily to tell us something about Buffy. In Season 3, Buffy was afraid that being a Slayer would ruin her relationship with her mother and that Giles didn't really want to be the replacement father figure she clearly wanted him to be, and those episodes have her fears come true. Both Joyce and Giles act in pretty repellent (and arguably out-of-character) ways in their respective episodes, but those actions are justified in that they are consistent with Buffy's own view of the world. You could replace both of them with nightmare versions of their characters (like Hank Summers in Season 1's Nightmares) and both episodes would play out the same way (and have the same glaring lack of follow-up in later episodes).

So too in As You Were. The writers are probably more sympathetic to Riley than the average Tumblr user in 2024, but they don't particularly care if you like Riley or not. He's not been in the show for a year and after this he's never going to be in it again. This isn't about him. What is important is that Buffy herself misses Riley and her relationship with him: not necessarily because Riley was so great [again, he wasn't: Riley sucks] but because he's a part of her older life that she wishes she could go back to. A time when she had a 'normal' relationship and was still in college (and doing well academically!) and her mom was still alive and things seemed to be going well for her. Because she misses the version of Buffy that she used to be. (Who exactly are we supposed to think the 'you' of As You Were refers to? I don't think it's Agent Finn...)

Sure, I'd personally think better of Riley Finn as a person if he showed up looking sheepish and told Buffy he was sorry for how badly he behaved in Season 5 and he said he'd fund all her future bills and help her get back into college before dedicating the rest of his life to campaigning against both missionary work and US-backed (para)military actions in South and Central America. I'd think better of Joyce if she'd ignored the two demon kids only she could see and supported her real daughter better, too. Or of Giles if he hadn't ever gone along with the plan of hypnotizing and drugging a teenage girl he'd sworn to take care of and protect and who, less than a year earlier, he'd promised his unconditional "support and respect".

But Riley being a decent human being and making Buffy feel better about herself wouldn't make As You Were a "better" episode. It would make it a completely different episode, one that belonged in a completely different season. It would make it something that was utterly at odds, tonally and thematically, with the version of Season 6 that actually exists. This is not a season where nice things happen to Buffy, and if you think it should be I honestly don't think you like the story the season is trying to tell very much.

As You Were is not primarily "the episode where Riley comes back" (in which the writers then decided to talk about how great Riley was with the aim of making the fans like him while Buffy ends up feeling like shit and being embarrassed about how her own life is going as some sort of collateral damage). It is an episode where Buffy continues to feel like shit and be embarrased about how badly her life is going (and, in order to further Buffy's arc, this time Riley is there too to make her feel worse).

Do I think that it works to have Riley fill the role he does in this episode? Well, no, not really. Like I said at the top of this post, I don't like Riley and I don't enjoy seeing him on my television screen. Into The Woods' awful ending makes me pretty angry and it is a shame we never got any pushback on the idea that Buffy "letting Riley go" was a mistake. Riley wasn't ever the perfect boyfriend As You Were has Buffy remember him as. This isn't one of the better episodes of Season 6. But an improved version of the episode wouldn't have Riley act like a better person. That more palatable, more fan-friendly version of Riley just isn't compatible with the story the show is telling. An improved version of the episode that was still trying to tell the same fundamental story wouldn't have Riley Finn in it at all.

[rainbow-nerdss]

Hi Sorcha!! So many great options to choose from 😁. I think I'm gonna go with...

👧👧👧👧👧

🤫🤫🤫🤫🤫

😎😎😎😎😎

Happy writing! 🥰🩷

Thank you Maggie!!

here we go 😁

15 sentences for dad!buck 👧

“Someone looks chipper,” Chim says, clapping Buck on the back as he walks into the locker room. “Maddie didn’t tell you?” Buck asks. He’d called her, almost as soon as Róisín left, and told her everything.  “Oh, I was in the room while you two talked. I’m happy for you, dad.” Even in Chim’s playful, cheering tone, Buck feels a rush of delight at the word.  Dad.  He gets to be that, now. “Maddie said it was unexpected, though?” Chim prompts, sitting down to take off his shoes.  “Yeah. We were just playing, and she brought up not having a dad—totally out of the blue, and… Róisín gave me the go-ahead.” “That must’ve been hard for her,” Hen muses. “I think it was.” Buck folds his arms. “I get it, you know? She’s done good, on her own. Fia didn’t need a dad, but—” “But you’re good for her,” Hen finishes the sentence for him, and Buck ducks his head. 

15 for secret relationship 🤫

Bobby watches carefully as their shift progresses. Buck doesn’t spend all that much time on his phone, which is unusual for him. Usually, when he’s dating someone, he’s constantly texting them, but he seems to be even more glued to Eddie’s side than usual. Bobby isn’t being nosy—that’s what he tells himself. He’s just looking out for Buck. He wants to make sure this new guy, whoever it is, is someone who isn’t going to hurt him.  “Hey, Buck?” Bobby asks, approaching the couch where Buck and Eddie are sitting together. They both look up with twin expressions of feigned innocence.  “Yeah, Cap?”  “Can we talk?” Buck looks back at Eddie, then shakes his head. “Sure. Yeah, we can talk.” They sit at the kitchen island, just far away from the others to have a hint of privacy, without drawing attention to it.  Bobby clasps his hand together, taking in the way Buck is sitting. He certainly looks like he’s happy in whatever relationship he’s in, but Bobby can’t say he loves the secrecy. 

and 15 for bodyguard! 😎

“Not sure I can really speak on it, considering I’m the reason he got hurt in the first place,” he says. “Keep stirring, Buck,” Bobby reminds him. “That’s not true. Doug is the only person responsible for that.” “I know.” Buck picks the spatula up again, and continues stirring the onions. “I know it’s not my fault, but I still don’t want to influence his decision—it should be his decision, right?” “It should be, yes. That doesn’t mean you don’t get to have thoughts and feelings about it. Do you want him to go back to bodyguard work?” Buck closes his eyes, and actually thinks about it for the first time. He thinks about Eddie, working with another wealthy, entitled jerk. He thinks of how Eddie had acted during the first days  of working with him, the stiff way he held himself, the way he kept everything so close to the chest.  Looking back, knowing Eddie as he does now—he’d been unhappy.  “I want him to be happy. I want him to do what he loves. I don’t know whether he loves personal security.”

Thanks again, it's great to get to work on bodyguard again, honestly! I am so close to finishing it!! ❤️

[cal-daisies-and-briars]

Fic Update: go and kill, go and die

Happy Saturday! I spent a long day doing dog stuff. But because of some very large emoji asks, here's chapter five!

Summary:

Buck is reunited with his sister, and makes a new friend.

Snippet:

He comes skidding to a stop, breathless, the moment he sees her. 

“MADDIE!” 

It’s her. It’s really her. She looks like shit, granted. Sunburnt, overly thin, and tired. But it’s her. His big sister. The one he hasn’t seen since she sent him packing in her Jeep six years ago. 

She’s standing with a man who is most certainly not Doug, and a child who is too old to be hers. Unless she was hiding something pretty significant when he saw her last. Buck’s first thought is that he finds the man far more handsome than Doug. Which is, admittedly, a strange thought to have about the man his sister arrived with.

---

Tagging:

@epicbuddieficrecs @theotherbuckley @sevenweeksofunrepression @slowlyfoggydestiny @goldenbcnes

@diazsdimples @exhuastedpigeon @aquamarineglitter @loserdiaz @steadfastsaturnsrings

@your-catfish-friend @incorrect9-1-1 @hawaiianlove808 @babytrapperdiaz @watchyourbuck

@lyricfulloflight @tizniz @aroeddiediaz @estheticpotaeto @buckleybabyblues

@buddieswhvre @l0v3t0hat3y0u @mage8 @theautumnbard @lightningmcqueer8

@kultiras

As always, let me know if you'd like to be added to my writing updates tags :)

[buk0wskis]

let’s face it, i’m fashionably late.

well hello! name’s marshall. (mars works too!) my pronouns are he/him and i’m 22 years old. usually i’m a twitter addict, but recently i thought, y’know, why not expand to other platforms… and look where that got me.

in all seriousness, though, happy to be here.

currently my special interest is aaron stanford, so definitely expect a lot of him around these parts. from what it looks like, a good majority of posts about, say, 12 monkeys or nikita, are from years back (there are some recent posts though!), but genuinely i’ve got no problem being the One Guy that talks about some of those older sources. naturally, i would like to encourage a resurgence. like, this shit’s still fire, guys. inform the children.

ah, also, i have a lesser hyperfixation in brenton thwaites! love bro to bits fr. i wouldn’t be surprised if his face ends up somewhere over here, too. :)

i do like to write in my off-time; it’s just been a while since i’ve cooked up something new, but the aaron hyperfix has certainly inspired me to kick things into gear again. maybe some of that will be on here in the future, who knows? (i do really only write oc x canon content, it’s just kinda how i roll. my ao3 is only titans dickkory, which immediately disproves the prior statement… i was on a kick when i cranked those ones out. dunno when i’ll be putting more stuff on there, though.)

OH something i actually would love to brag about, if i may: i make character playlists! and pretty damn good ones if i do say so myself. i’ve made a lot of mixes for brenton characters, but there’s a couple mixes relating to some of aaron’s most popular roles that i recently made public. (and more on the way!) all of my character mixes are lyric-based, so genre whiplash won’t be that uncommon of a find. regardless, i’m proud of them! i’ll post a masterlist of what i’ve got out at a later date. :)

where else you can find me:

twt: buk0wskis

bluesky: buk0wskis.bsky.social

spotify: buk0wskis

ao3: buk0wskis

letterboxd: buk0wskis

instagram: idolfangz

OHHH SHIT BEFORE I FORGET. i most definitely plan on showing off my halloween costumes this year once they’re all put together. i like having more than one costume; keeps me motivated to show off my current interests, especially irl. this year, i’ve got two: doug bukowski from the hills have eyes ‘06 and wastelander pyro from deadpool & wolverine. (pyro girlies, i’m with you. like that’s my goat. i went and saw dp&w like six times total just so i could see john and his stellar 2 minutes and roughly 24 seconds of screen time.)

[thebreakfastgenie]

⭐ the Carlye fic

Aaaa thank you! My poor, obscure fic.

This whole fic came out of the lyric that became the title, because I just got the feeling that line "she would've liked to say she loved the man, but she didn't like to lie" described Carlye's marriage to Doug. It didn't sound especially passionate, certainly not in comparison to her relationship with Hawkeye. But Doug gave her his time and attention when Hawkeye couldn't. That's why I decided for their first meeting, Doug regrets not approaching her and ditches work to run back and try to catch her. Hawkeye would never do that, and of course you can't blame him because you can't walk out on a surgery the way you can on a meeting. But that's the central problem for Carlye.

The man’s face brightens, but just then her plate of eggs comes out, and her hunger takes her attention. When she looks up, he’s gone. She eats her breakfast and doesn’t give him another thought, until she hears the door chime while she’s paying she check and turns to see him rushing back in, red-faced.   He lights up when he sees her. It’s cold outside, but he’s sweating.  “I made it in time!” he pants. “I was so sure you’d be gone… I made it all the way to the office, just kicking myself for not asking your name…” 

In trying to flesh out Carlye I came up with this woman who just wants to be a free, independent person. I decided to have her not love college for something different, although I think maybe she goes back to school someday, after the end of the fic.

Carlye and Hawkeye meeting in surgery was important to me. He talks about her nursing skills, so they obviously worked together back then, and it just kind of made sense. The skill and dedication is attractive to both of them, but of course Hawkeye's dedication drives them apart in the end.

I wanted her relationships with both Hawkeye and Doug to tell us something about her. It's not about Hawkeye or about Doug, but about how Carlye is with them and what that reveals about her.

I ended the fic kind of abruptly without getting to it, because I wanted to leave it open, but in my mind Doug forgives the affair but they divorce a few years later anyway.

The flat feels smaller the more alone she feels. He had a way of opening up rooms with his words, his crazy, believable dreams. Now the hunter green walls box her in. Now she thinks maybe it’s a good thing she can’t talk to him about it. If she gives him a chance to beg her, she’ll stay, and she thinks she’ll die if she does.  When she can’t take it anymore, she slips out in the night. She knows she should feel bad about it, and she does. The guilt clings to her and her gut twists with how badly she misses him. 

I have always felt the reason she left the way she did is that she couldn't give him a chance to beg her to stay, because it would have worked. I mean, look at how fast "no, it can be better" works several years later. The relationship isn't working for her, but she still loves him, and leaving is hard and painful. But she's sincere when she says "I know I hurt you."

He isn’t always exciting, but she never catches him muttering the names of suturing techniques while he runs his hands over her chest, 

I am slightly obsessed with this image. Rather than sexualizing medicine, he's medicalizing sex. Sometimes I think it would have been better if this had a happier counterpart, maybe the two of them doing anatomical dirty talk and joking about playing doctor early in their courtship. But I think the style of the fic would need to be slightly different for that to fit.

The version of this that's posted is the second draft and I think it improved a lot from the first one. I'm happy with it! The part about Carlye fantasizing about Hawkeye was better in my head when I first thought of it but alas I was half-asleep. It happens.

I just really love Carlye. Partly I have a huge lesbian crush on Blythe Danner. But I just love her and I love her dynamic with Hawkeye. I'm fascinated by the fact that they lived together unmarried in the 1940s. I wasn't trying to accomplish anything in particular with this fic, I just had a lot to say about Carlye Breslin Walton. Obviously I still do haha.

[rosemariad]

Supernatural season 13

I've heard of the widower arc that takes place during the early part of this season but geez

Dean looks so depressed – the desolation, the hopelessness. Poor Dean Bean, lost his angel yet again. You can't help but feel for the poor guy (for now…)

Then the instant 180, uno reverse this man takes in his demeanor. He's so happy Cas is back. AND having a big cowboy adventure! They're spoiling this man after the widower arc. Jack & Sam are not down for it but Dean's been so miserable they shut the fuck up.

Dean swallowing deeply when Cas quotes Tombstone – confirmation they have movie nights together (ALONE??????) if they were alone during these movie nights – they're basically dating w/o clarifying that they are actually dating – and they're coparenting, my goodness! The domestication is real!

We later find out Dean snuck a quick shot of Cas in the little cowboy hat he made him wear for the case. Wow.

But as a side note - I did NOT appreciate how shitty Dean was to Jack. He was basically abusing him verbally like WTF give the kid a damn chance - don’t make death threats to the newborn child that was literally born yesterday like the fuck #jackdefensesquad. Like anything bad that jack actually does, he’ll think back to the moments where Dean was like ‘oh he’s a monster’ ’when you go dark side, I’ll be the one to kill you’ yeah like maybe that’s what pushed him to that point. It’s no surprise Jack chooses to leave. My ass would’ve been gone. Also was Cas made aware of the threats Dean made to Jack???

They’re making it REALLY HARD to like Dean this season. MoC was bad, Demon!Dean too but evil forces were at work. This time he got no excuse — threatening at 16 yr old girl who has no one in her corner. They’re basically forcing her to help them for nothing in return. Unbelievable 🤬 And Sam, wtf? Would it kill you to stand up to your fuckin’ brother!

Anyway - Jack’s power is totally cool though.

Kaia…was killed by an alternate self? Whaaaaaat?

So this was the season they tried for the Wayward Girls? Shame it didn’t work out…like the premise is cool BUT since the main show barely give the women characters the time of day, is it any wonder that a pilot didn’t work? The showrunners only seem good with moments - but no building up of the narrative like the male counterparts AKA main cast. Also - what would be the conflict - give people a reason to keep watching the girls - their storylines seem more or less resolved - Jody has already mourned the loss of her family, its not like she became Batman or something to fight a war against criminality. Claire has also gotten past the loss of her parents (as far as we know but honestly she should’ve been part of the main narrative as her life had been directly affected by Castiel’s actions and we all know why Cas bothers to get up in the morning…anyway), Donna doesn’t seem to have anything going on - she’s divorced but over it, Alex is over her dark past, Patience is just seeming to get a hand of her abilities - like where are the stakes??? Sam and Dean had a whole quest to embark on, then they had to navigate fraternal relationship while fighting monsters all the time, slowly unraveling an overarching narrative that’s taken over their lives. Where’s that for the ladies????

I spoke too soon - Donna’s niece gets kidnapped and Doug is her boyfriend (wow totally forgot about that guy, certainly didn’t think he’d return) and once he gets turned into a vampire but cured of it, he’s done. Before he leaves Donna, he calls her a hero. Honestly, if I ended up having a partner/lover who killed dangerous supernatural creatures, I wouldn’t leave them. I’d stick by them and have them teach me a few things. Oh well. Maybe Donna will run to Jody to have a shoulder to cry on ;) I know y’all JodyxDonna shippers are out there.

Scoobynatural was fucking legendary! I loved watching Scooby doo as a kid, from when they were literal babies, to the OG episodes, to the revamp from the early 2000s, all the movies! (Zombie Island was the best!). It was a genuine delight watching the Winchesters (and Cas) cross paths with Mystery Inc. makes me wish they met Buffy and Ash from Evil Dead. That would’ve been awesome! Watching Dean say scooby dooby doo was total cringe tho :/ I love that Cas shut him down 🤣🤣

That ascot though? He’s wearing it all wrong, its supposed to be stuffed in, like how Fred wears it. And certainly not worn with plaid. SMH…

But now I totally want Supernatural as a fucking cartoon! Just like Scooby Doo - it would’ve been fucking glorious, Dean’s unhinge-able jaw, the kooky facial expressions, the comedic effects, and who knows, it would’ve given the show-runners the artistic freedom to reveal the true form of angels, namely, Castiel’s. Oh well.

Donatello is…dead? I know they said Brain dead but after Amara sucked out his soul and Cas fucked up his brain, isn’t he better off dead? Par for the course for a prophet though, sucks for him.

Funny how Rowena suddenly wants to be the good mom and try to bring her demon son back after CENTURIES of chances. Sure she may not have known what became of Fergus since she left him, but I’m sure it wouldn’t have taken much to find out. She just didn’t want to. Now she’s filled with regret. And Sam’s destined to murder her? And she didn’t take him out? Okay, well then I guess it’s only a matter of time until she dies😒 not this season though, she’s too useful with her witchy powers to be killed off until she serves whatever purpose is convenient 😒

Angels are almost extinct :( I know they’re meant to be seen as controlling jerks but so is Dean XD lol anyway that’s a bummer with devastating consequences cuz if there’s no angels - they said all the souls will fall to Earth and become ghosts - billions in number - yeah. If it were me I would’ve just said the souls disappear but it ain’t my show 🤷🏽‍♀️

Naomi is back and I don’t even care - I’m sorry but I just don’t care about Apocalypse world either, I feel like it’s a grand waste of time. The fact that Charlie and Bobby are there doesn’t even matter cuz it’s not them. It’s not the Charlie and Bobby we got to know before. They’re just counterparts of another world, echoes of the fallen. When Dean says I can’t lose you, dude you literally just met her. And they’re expected to what, abandon the world they were born into? The fuck?

And fuck this show for killing Kevin TWICE!!! Kevin you were too precious for this universe/multiverse, whatever.

ketch is the latest (aside from rowena) of former villains/enemies/antagonist in supernatural that's suddenly we're supposed to be sympathetic towards since they switch sides and help the winchesters for a change but what's the reason??? I feel it's a little out there that Dean especially would let ketch live after what he put his mom through but whatever. since the show runners insisted with this whole apocalypse world crap, Dean would have died without ketch's help 😑

Gabriel has returned…only to die…again…awesome. at least he got to fuck rowena before he passed away 🤣😅

Luci got fucked over hahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahaha

Bobby x Mary, oh man John would be roaring in his grave…if he had one 🤣 [got burned to ashes in season 2], Bobby finna take his whole family, first his sons now his wife ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

Luci resurrected someone? And nothing bad happened? Now tht’s a twist. I figured since he’s Satan she’d turn into a demon or something, but i guess not cuz we’re definitely not gonna see her again…

You know since I’ve seen The Boys I can see a resemblance between homelander and the devil, they both blow up in anger very similarly. When jack tells Luci, you’re not my father, he raged in a way that was eerily like Homelander would’ve. Just thought I’d point that out…

Dean lets in Alt-Michael - Oh Lord above its the apocalypse all over again (this was a cool shot though) - meanwhile what’s OG Michael doing? Is he still in the Cage with Adam? Really? You had to bring an extra Michael into this nonsense? Ok 🙄 You know if Luci had possessed Sam too, it would’ve been a wrap!

Jack is powerless…for now? This poor kid was gonna kill himself?! Honey why? Ugh I’m blaming Dean for this. He put the seed in that kid’s head he was nothing but trouble and he was going to sacrifice himself, poor baby!

Cas why would you let Dean go?!?! Too sad to follow him into battle after Dean let Alt-Michael in?

Why can’t Sam get a super powerful Big Bad kill huh? Why is it always Dean? Geez.

So the only good things to happen this season were Scooby Doo and Jack meeting Cas. Ugh, their meetup was soo cute ^_^

Welp only 2 seasons left, the last that’s over 20 episodes. Which means we only have 40 episodes to go til the end…goodie 😅

[popculturelib]

Fanzine Friday #19: Happy Halloween Magazine v. 3 no. 1 (2000) by the Global Halloween Alliance

Happy Halloween Magazine was a zine that "focused on Halloween, the historical and contemporary celebrations of Halloween, promoting a positive view of Halloween, and providing a network of Halloween lovers." While we only have this one issue, it's certainly jam-packed with Halloween enthusiasm. Check out some of these listings from its table of contents:

"How To's: Planning a Home Haunted House or Room" by Sarah Briggs

"Screams for Charity!" by Kathy Marcrum

"I Haunted GM" by Larry Redmond

"Doug Elliot's Ghoulishly Fun, Salt-Free, Environmentally-Save [sic], FDIC-Insured Vampire Trivia Quiz and Answers" by Doug Elliot

The featured article is about Bob Burns (a film editor) and his "Halloween Extravaganzas": elaborate haunted houses at his home in Burbank, California, in the 1960s-70s. The article focuses on Burns' new alien "friend" that arrived at his home in 2000, as seen on the cover.

Longtime Tumblr users will be interested to know that this edition features a review of Andrew Gold's album Halloween Howls (1996). Why that's significant: Halloween Howls is the album in which the beloved "Spooky Scary Skeletons" can be found! Gold wrote the song and its fellows to fill a niche of catchy Halloween songs that weren't too scary for his daughters. Did you know that "Spooky Scary Skeletons" was written to emphasize the letter 'S' on every major word?

The Browne Popular Culture Library (BPCL), founded in 1969, is the most comprehensive archive of its kind in the United States.  Our focus and mission is to acquire and preserve research materials on American Popular Culture (post 1876) for curricular and research use. Visit our website at https://www.bgsu.edu/library/pcl.html.

[petrifiedcrange]

Alma Bonnet is going to be the most badass pirate captain the seven seas have ever seen when she gets older.

She doesn't know when exactly she decided that — maybe when she was playing pirates with her dad ( the fact that her dad also went on to become a real pirate captain didn't help... even though until they reunited and she understood his reasons for leaving — he didn't leave them, her and Louis, he left the life that made both him and mom unhappy and now they are both happy and dad visits often, though not often enough, bringing his whole crew and Mr Hands along, so Alma can't really complain about the way it all turned out in the end — she wanted to become a pirate captain partly to spite her dad, because she was going to be the only Bonnet history remembered ) or when he was reading her pirate tales when she was younger or maybe she knew she was going to be a pirate captain since the moment she was born.

But she is going to be a pirate captain, and in order to become one, she needs to train a lot, like Mr Hands says ( he is the most badass pirate she's ever known and she doesn't quite understand why he isn't a captain because he certainly is better with the crew than Uncle Ed and sometimes her dad are ) but her mom can't know she is training ( because she thinks she is still too young for that, as if she is as little as Louis is ) so Alma developed a routine of training very early in the morning, before the sun rises, while her mom is painting during the day and late in the evening after mom and Louis go to bed.

This day wasn't supposed to be any different — she got up and took her sword from where it's tucked safely under her bed and was about to sneak out of her room when she suddenly heard footsteps in the hall.

This was new.

So Alma waited until the creaking of the second from the top step of the staircase alerted her to the fact that whoever was wondering the halls — her mom, most likely, and Doug because she heard two pairs of feet — was beginning to descend it and carefully peaked out, seeing her mom and a man she vaguely recognized but couldn't quite place go downstairs, talking quietly.

Curiosity getting the better of her — she was her father's daughter after all — she stepped into the hall and tried to creep close enough to hear what they were talking about. But by the time she made it to the staircase, their voices already faded.

A door, however, opened at the end of the hall and Alma barely had time to think about how much activity was suddenly going on in their house and that something must have being afoot and hide in the shadow before... her dad stepped out of a room and closed the door behind him gingerly, as if afraid of making noise ( which was logical if for some reason he didn't want her and Louis to know he was here which would be very odd but not unlikely, considering the way he creeped past Louis' bedroom ).

He didn't seem to notice her as he began to descend the staircase, even though he literally passed her on his way, and Alma could either praise herself on how well she hid herself... or get increasingly worried because the frown on her dad's face suggested he was simply too distracted by something bad or unpleasant to notice her.

In the end, unsure which route to take but feeling strange cold feeling pool in her gut, something like premonition, Alma peaked downstairs, didn't see anyone and turned towards the door her dad exited, quickly crossing the distance and, after a moment's hesitation as to how better to handle the situation, pressing her ear to the wood to listen to what was going on inside.

Murmuring, too quiet to be intelligible through the door, met her ear.

Biting her lip, Alma looked down at the sword she was still holding in her hands and thought about her options.

She could go back to her room and wait till the morning and see if her mom ( and dad? ) would tell her what was going on.

She could go on to have her trainining session like she initially planned.

Or she could open the door and see what was going on inside.

The first two options would probably be the most reasonable.

But Alma Bonnet was her father's daughter and future pirate captain and wasn't satisfied with the idea of simply minding her own business while something strange was going on inside her own house.

So she tightened her hold on her sword, turned the doorknob and resolutely stepped inside.

@unrely ( Izzy ) gets a semi-plotted starter from Alma based on that idea we discussed of Stede and Ed bringing Izzy to Barbados post-S2 to recover in better conditions. I imagine the man Mary was with is a trusted doctor ( probably someone she knows through Evelyn ) and Izzy and Ed are in that room Stede exited, Ed staying behind by Izzy's bedside.

[gaps-between-stories]

Fic Preview

Check out a sneak peek up an upcoming installment of my Step-Dad series Bonus (featuring a very special sneak peek at Sofia, who has me wrapped around her finger just as much as her grandfather's).

After four years of university, three years of law school, six months of studying, a 7-hour long exam, and fifteen more agonizing minutes, Alma was finding out her Bar results today. She’d flown back home from Ontario the day after her exam, sleeping for about a week straight before beginning her anxious wait for her results. 

Their kitchen had smelled incredible the past week given the behemoth amount of stress baking she was doing, and Stede and Ed had started pawning off her baked goods to the neighbors, coworkers, anyone who would take them. They were drowning in banana breads and strawberry jams and while they loved her baking, it was getting overwhelming. This was one of her healthiest coping mechanisms so they were more than encouraging, although Ed had had to talk her down from cutting her own bangs about three nights ago. 

Their kitchen had also become a concert hall for Taylor Swift, whose never ending discography Alma still listened to religiously, blasting it at a volume that Ed was convinced was to prevent her from hearing her own thoughts. 

Today their kitchen was in a flurry of chaos as Alma managed to cram seven different baking pans into their oven while scream-singing 1989, checking her phone every three minutes for the time. 

Stede wasn’t helping any by asking her every time she checked her phone whether she’d heard back yet. 

Doug was trying to set up Louis on a facetime call, a seemingly easy task made all the more complicated by the shoddy service the kid had up in the Yukon right now. 

And Mary was currently running late, having missed her ferry over from the island. That last tidbit certainly wasn’t helping soothe Alma’s frayed nerves right now. 

Ed was mostly trying to stay out of the way, counting down the remaining fifteen minutes til the results were posted as patiently as he could. He had been occupying himself by entertaining Sofia, who was more than happy to bounce between all three of her grandfathers to keep her out from under her mother’s foot. But about twenty minutes ago she’d demanded that Ed pick her up, before promptly falling asleep in his arms. 

The music suddenly cut out. 

“Uh-oh.” Doug had tried to mutter it under his breath, tried to keep it to himself, but Stede and Alma’s bat hearing prevented that. 

“Why uh-oh?” They demanded in unison. 

Doug clicked the laptop a few times, Louis’ face frozen on the screen, then checked his phone, grimacing. “Looks like there’s an issue with the wifi. I’m going to need to reset the router.” 

Alma’s head dropped into her hands on the counter, screaming into her palm. Stede moved to show Doug where their wifi router was, which was of course on the second floor, leaving Edward alone with Alma in the now silent kitchen. 

Alma exhaled deeply, dragging her hands down her face. “I’m just gonna go lay down in the street if you need me.” 

Ed shot her a disapproving look. “Orange.” 

She rolled her eyes, letting out an exasperated sigh. “Oh come on, I’m not allowed one joke right now?” 

“It’s not the one joke I’m worried about.” 

“Dad, seriously, it’s fine. I’m fine.” She licked the batter off of her spatula to demonstrate how fine she was, gesturing to her growing baking clutter. 

“What time does Eleanor’s flight get it?” He asked, tactfully changing the subject as he gently shifted Sophia on his hip, doing his best not to stir her from her napping. She snuggled her head deeper into the crook of his neck, letting out the smallest of sighs in her sleep as she did. 

“6 pm,” she answered, checking her phone again. Seven minutes. Her fiance was presenting at a conference in the States this weekend and wouldn’t be able to make it before the results came in. “She’s probably somewhere over Nebraska right now,” she groaned.

[hal-boy]

Finally finished House of Leaves (actually, I read it twice lol), and I really enjoyed it!! Though note I am the type to read literary criticism of actual real-life movies for fun, so I was able to get my head around the Navidson Record's format rather quickly: YMMV on that front.

On that note, I was originally interested in this book because I was basically told it was a good intro to ergodic lit, and I feel that it was: the style of 2 seperate stories being told almost simultaneously was rather engaging and, though certainly complicated to keep track of at times, I found I really like the genre! I bought a copy of S (which is a nightmare to look up: it's by Doug Dorst and JJ Abrams, yes the starwar guy) which I'm going to hopefully get around to reading soon :)

I'm typically not the type to say "go in as unspoiled as possible" about media, but because this is a book designed specifically around old passages being recontextualized by new information I'd say it's worth going in without much prior knowledge. A note, though: at one point relatively early on, there's a footnote that says (paraphrasing) "if you want to figure out what this character's deal is, flip to this section in the appendix, but if you want to figure it out yourself then don't read that part." I chose not to read that passage until after I finished my first readthrough of the book, and I was very happy with my choice given how significant that section is to understanding that character. I recommend holding off on that part.

Tagging @kimtranssexler cause you wanted to know my thoughts when I finally finished it :)

[clonerightsagenda]

10 First Lines Game

Tagged by @specialagentartemis

“Rules: share the first lines of ten of your most recent fanfics and tag ten people. If you have written less than ten, don’t be shy and share anyway ❤️”

The person who tagged me also mentioned original work which is handy because that's the biggest thing I'm working on right now.

Also this post got wildly out of control length-wise, because I wanted to do full openers rather than a single sentence, so under a cut it goes.

So........ moving backwards from publication order, I guess, including Exclusive Sneak Peeks of podcast girls week content...

BEA: However old you are, wherever you live, you’ve almost certainly encountered some version of the Dracula story

From my upcoming Arden Dracula AU for PGW which I had a blast with and may be my nichest published fic ever. I am very good at expending my effort on things 2 people will read.

Officer Eiffel wouldn’t have walked into a mad scientist's evil lair.

No, Doug corrects himself, he would've. He did, a whole bunch of times before he knew Hilbert's lab was an evil lair, until he got banned for being clumsy and not caring if he broke things. He even went afterward, every time something else happened to this clunker of a body – another thing he didn’t care if he broke.

From a document titled "evil lair thing", a surprise other PGW project that was a surprise to me also. These things happen. How is it PGW-related, you may ask? You will have to wait and find out.

You are accessing a finding aid for records created or maintained by Hippolyta Space Corporation (HSC) collected after the acquisition of Outer Bounds Space Exploration Company.

Finding aids are a tool to assist researchers in using our collections. They introduce a collection’s scope and context and identify the arrangement of materials. Some finding aids may describe collections with folder- or item-level granularity. Finding aids are created by company archivists to improve access to our materials.

Finding aids are a way for you to tell people which parts of the story you think are important.

Finding aids are a map.

To what?

First page of space archives!!! Wrapping up yet another major revision rn. Its day will come....

Now time to go to ao3 and find out what my seven most recently published fics are.

PLAYA LA POZA DEL OBISPO, ARECIBO, PUERTO RICO – MIDDAY

Isabel Lovelace is standing on a beach. Waves crash over rocks, shooting spray into the air.

She hears a voice from behind her.

From "Monster in the Middle". Script format, in case you couldn't tell.

EIFFEL

Hey Hera, are you there?

HERA

I'm here, Officer Eiffel. What is it?

(teasing)

Do you need a clarification on military protocol?

From "The Couples Agenda". Also scriptfic. Sue me; they're fast.

Isabel Lovelace went out for drinks with the people under her command once.

She was fresh out of training and they were sizing her up, trying to figure out what kind of officer she would be. She wanted to let them know she was one of the real ones, happy to rub elbows with the enlisted folks, or maybe she was just tired of having to keep her nose clean.

She woke up the next morning to the reality that West Point wasn't a party school, she hadn't had more than one drink in a night in years, and the entire driving population of New York City seemed to be slamming on their horns inside her skull.

Her head feels like that now. Her mouth doesn't taste like she’s gargled an IPA, though, so there's that.

From "Not the Only One"

Here's a story. You're born broken.

That's not the politically correct term. It's not the one I would have chosen either. Not because I care about making you feel better, but because it's imprecise. You didn't start out different and then break down. This was how you were made. Like highly original thought patterns, or 500 petabytes of random-access memory, or… freckles. Are humans born with freckles? You remember some of the other children at your orphanage had them, so they start early, at least.

You liked broken, though. If something's part of who you are, well, there's not much you can do about that. But broken? Broken can be fixed.

From "Born Broken"

Isabel Lovelace gets out of bed every morning. She pulls on clothing in a battle against zero gravity that has become second nature. She brushes her teeth.

Isabel Lovelace cannot do any of these things. She is dead, reduced to less than ashes floating at the heart of a star-that-is-not-a-star. She has been dead for years.

Isabel Lovelace gets out of bed anyway.

From "Door Number Three"

“Ok,” Hera says. “You can open your eyes now.”

From "Everyone Ready"

Doug was born on a space station a few minutes away from crashing into a star.

Not literally. Literally, he was born on Earth (Boston, Massachusetts; Hera tells him). But as far as he remembers? Hello world, smack into the middle of a bunch of people’s worst day of their lives, or one of them. Part of why it was the worst day of a bunch of people’s lives.

Woohoo.

From "The Doug Eiffel Reunion Tour"

Wow, 10 fics (including 3 not on ao3) took me 3 years back. I am not a quantity poster. Hopefully I am a quality poster. (Doing only ao3 stuff would've taken me all the way back to my HS era.... a near miss indeed.)

I never know who to tag for stuff like this.

[ivankahasbeentreatedsounfairly]

By Maureen Dowd

The cardinal should go to confession.

Timothy Dolan let a white-tie charity dinner in New York showcase that most uncharitable of men, Donald Trump.

At the annual Al Smith dinner, Dolan suffused the impious Trump in the pious glow of Catholic charities. Dolan looked on with a doting expression as Trump made his usual degrading, scatological comments about his foils, this time cloaked as humor.

“We have someone in the White House who can barely talk, barely put together two coherent sentences, who seems to have mental faculties of a child,” Trump told the New York fat cats. “It’s a person who has nothing going, no intelligence whatsoever. But enough about Kamala Harris.”

Trump also offered this beauty: “I used to think the Democrats were crazy for saying that men have periods. But then I met Tim Walz.” When Trump joked about keeping Doug Emhoff away from nannies, even he admitted it was “too tough.”

As he did in 2016 when he crudely attacked Hillary Clinton as she sat on the dais, Trump added a rancid cloud to what used to be a good-tempered bipartisan roast.

Dolan could have stood up and told Trump “Enough!” We have been longing for that voice of authority who could deliver the Joseph Welch line — “Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last?” — to our modern Joe McCarthy. It is the church’s job, after all, to teach right from wrong.

Instead of telling Trump he was over the line, Dolan enabled him in his blasphemous effort to cast his campaign as a quasi-religious crusade and himself as a saintly martyr saved by God. The conservative cardinal didn’t care about soiling the legacy of the great Democratic patriot Al Smith.

Like Trump, Smith, the “Happy Warrior,” was a native New Yorker — half Irish and half Italian. His track was the reverse of Trump’s, starting in politics and ending in skyscrapers. Smith was born into an Irish community nestled under the Brooklyn Bridge and left school at 14, after his father died, to help his family by working at the Fulton Fish Market. When his political career ended, he became the president of the corporation that built the Empire State Building. From his office in the sky, he could see the street he grew up on.

The gregarious four-term governor of New York believed deeply in lifting up the less fortunate, and in America’s founding principles. Emotionally devastated after helping investigate the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire that killed scores of women and girls in 1911, he crusaded to create laws for safer working conditions.

Anti-Catholic bigotry destroyed his presidential bid in 1928, and he hated bigotry of all kinds. He early on decried lynching, racial violence, the Ku Klux Klan and Naziism. He would have detested Trump, a bigot cynically stoking racial fears and bloodthirsty impulses to get elected.

Unlike Trump, Smith was a man of faith. He died with a prayer on his lips, next to his parish priest. He had no patience for bickering and was praised in his obits as “warmhearted” and “honest as the noonday sun.”

Despite Trump’s contention this past week that he has a “good heart” and his father had a “big, big heart,” both Trumps’ hearts were cold. Young Donald helped his dad, Fred, refuse Black tenants.

Trump is proudly amoral. He disdains the Christian values I was taught by nuns and priests. His only values are self-interest and self-gratification. He has replaced a code of ethics with the Narcissus pool.

Certainly, Dolan is happy with Trump’s abortion crackdown. But can’t he see that Trump is corroding our country’s moral core? Trying to steal an election violates the Eighth Commandment. And Trump has broken the commandments about cheating and lying and coveting.

As Anne Applebaum points out in The Atlantic, Trump uses the language of Stalin, Hitler and Mussolini to rouse hate and violence. This, while sacrilegiously calling Jan. 6 a “day of love.” He compares the jailed rioting thugs to the Japanese interned in World War II. It’s not a big leap to saying migrants are “poisoning the blood of our country” and calling his political opponents “vermin,” given his belief — inherited from his father with the “big heart” — in superior genes and blood lines.

This past week, he called Democrats “evil,” “dangerous” and the “enemy from within,” limning them as a bigger threat than Russia and China, a threat that he said might require him to sic the military on his opponents. He denounced the national treasure Nancy Pelosi — who is a devout Catholic — and her husband — who was attacked with a hammer by a far-right conspiracy theorist — as “sick” and “evil.”

The echoes of McCarthyism reverberated when Trump was asked at a town hall whether he really believed the debunked story that Haitian immigrants were eating neighbors’ cats and dogs. “I was just saying what has been reported,” an unrepentant Trump replied. “All I do is report.”

The pols on the dais looked like a Last Supper for this unnerving election. Hopefully, it’s not a Last Supper for the Republic.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/19/opinion/trump-catholic-al-smith-dinner.html

[camplofi]

BSOTS 179 - In Conversation With Douglas Whitfield

All comments, questions, and general feedback can be sent to radiobsots@gmail.com.  Record a voice message and send it my way or leave one at the Speakpipe page!

You can subscribe to Radio BSOTS via the following options: RSS feed ||| Apple Podcasts ||| Spotify ||| Google Podcasts Amazon Music ||| Stitcher ||| TuneIn ||| iHeartRadio

Connect with Camp Lo-Fi via social media: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

This episode's track list (title / artist / source / license):

1.  Beached (Featuring Martin Bogren, Johannes Hehrmann & Jero Castella) by Spiedkiks [blocSonic] (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) (2022)

2.  Senseless Song by Natasha Beller [blocSonic] (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) (2018)

3.  Ideas Of Singularity by ƘÏÐ ƉΔŦΛ [Abstrakt Reflections] (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) (2021)

4.  On The Edge (featuring Javolenus, SackJo22, Ezra Skull, Kara Square, & The Concept of Energy) by Wiseman [ccMixter] (CC BY-NC 4.0) (2023)

5.  Potzilla Inda Middle (Featuring Pot-C) by Spiedkiks [blocSonic]  (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) (2022)

Along with my lifelong obsession with sound and an undying allegiance to music, there is a genuine interest in that place where technology, copyright, and music all meet up.  The life that I want to live involves three things:  music appreciation, sonic curation, and media preservation.  The more that I hang out in the world of Creative Commons licensed music, the more it seems like this world covers all three of those factors.  

This episode just fell into my lap suddenly.  It was three weeks ago that Douglas Whitfield contacted me about appearing on the podcast and making the rounds to a few shows prior to Netlabel Day.  It was the perfect opportunity to learn more about Creative Commons music and the licenses that these works are released under from someone who is immersed in that world far more than I am.  Doug is one of the co-founders of the CC Community Music Awards and used to co-host the Music Manumit Podcast alongside Tom Ray of the band Lorenzo's Music, interviewing other CC musicians and tech developers for several years.  He also works as a contracts manager for blocGLOBAL alongside Michael Gregoire (founder and owner of the blocSonic netlabel).  On top of that, he's also a co-host of the weekly CCCMA Listening Party on YouTube, showcasing videos from CC musicians from across the globe.

Admittedly, there are times during this interview where things can get a bit technical, particularly when talking about the CC licenses themselves and how they function.  However, I hope that this episode (along with the next one) can serve as a beneficial resource for those just finding out about the world of CC music and want a more intricate explanation of how it all works.  Speaking of music, a handful of tunes break up the conversation here and there, including an introspective electronic tune from the Abstrakt Reflections netlabel, a bouncy and sample-happy groove from the CCMixter community, and three from blocSonic (including a pair of tunes from 2023 CCCMA winners Spiedkiks).  This one's a bit different from how things usually go on the BSOTS podcast feed, but I think that the change of pace is one that came at the right time.  I certainly hope that you enjoy the featured musical selections and that the information shared on this episode is both interesting and helpful.

Other key info: Tha Bloc Report Episode 30: The Doug Whitfield Episode Ryno The Bearded Headphonica netlabel

Theme music by Cy Tru and edited by Macedonia.  ID drops by Fave and EJ Flavors (may they rest in power).

The content of this show has been released under a CC-BY-SA license.  All works within this show retain their original releases.  See the show notes at bsots.com for more information.

    Another BSOTS podcast episode for the people...

[urapunk2023]

The Kinks: How the Slice of an Amp Birthed a New Genre

by Corinna Boeck

When The Kinks– whose lineup at the time included brothers Ray and Dave Davies, Mick Avory, and Peter Quaife– recorded “You Really Got Me” in 1964, no one knew they would be releasing a record that would forever change the trajectory of rock music. 

In a time of Beatlemania in the UK, record companies were keen on emulating their sound with new acts. One such act was The Kinks. The band’s chief songwriter, Ray Davies, originally wanted to create R&B music, but this would change within the band’s first three singles. The development of The Kinks’ sound was something of a microcosm of the development of rock music in general, as the genre originated as a contemporary extension of R&B. 

Ray Davies originally wrote “You Really Got Me” on the piano as an R&B track. Initially, the record company they were signed to, Pye Records, refused to let them record the song, because their producers didn’t see it becoming a hit. After a number of successful performances of the song in the months that followed, the label finally let them record it. According to “The Kinks: All Day and All of the Night" by Doug Hinman, Ray recalled, “They said, ‘You’re going to go in the studio and they’re going to let you do ‘You Really Got Me’. You’re happy now, are you?’” (Hinman 2004) The original recording from their session at Pye was much slower and bluesier. Ray was unimpressed with the results, and opposed its release. After much dispute, Pye agreed to let them re-record the song, as long as they paid for the session time. It was during this session that Dave Davies made the seemingly destructive but effectively revolutionary decision to slice part of the speaker of his amp with a razor, creating a distorted sound. This decision, however, came from anger rather than an attempt to reshape rock music. Davies told The Guardian in 2013, “I was full of rage… I was very depressed and fooling around with a razor blade. I could easily have slashed my wrists, but I had a little green amplifier, an Elpico, that was sounding crap. I thought, "I'll teach it" – and slashed the speaker cone.” The result, when hooked up to another louder amp, was a raw, gritty, compelling sound that became the final released recording of “You Really Got Me” in July 1964. The song’s quick, punchy guitar had an undeniable energy that kept people wanting more. The sound was revolutionary for the time, and led to their immediate rise and landed them a number one spot on the NME charts later that month.

The lyrics consist mainly of a few lines repeated several times over throughout the song, including “Girl, you really got me goin'/You got me so I don't know what I'm doin'” and “Girl, you really got me now/You got me so I can't sleep at night”, and, of course, just “You really got me/You really got me/You really got me” This simplicity conveys the point of the song, which Ray Davies says was about being “so overwhelmed by the presence of another person and you can’t put two words together.”

From the beginning, The Kinks went against attempts to perfectly groom them for commercial success, from attempts to keep their sound consistent with what was popular or fixing their physical appearances, such as trying to hide the gap in Ray’s front teeth. The band kept their instinct of self-expression, leading to their experimental sound that captivated listeners– after conventional production failed to produce them a hit. Some call The Kinks the first punk band, but there really isn’t a way to pin down just one. The Kinks weren’t intentionally “punk”, though their name certainly makes them sound like a punk group– punk rock had yet to really exist, and even when the genre and the culture surrounding it took off, it would still be years before the biggest acts in the scene would embrace the word or even take kindly to it. Nonetheless, the origins of The Kinks’ success has an undeniable punk ethos in that they just fought to do things their own way, and it was with “You Really Got Me” that their insistence on getting the sound right over creating something designed for commercial popularity proved not only successful, but crucial. But sound wasn’t the only way “You Really Got Me” embodied the spirit of what would be punk. Dave Davies said “When we started recording we couldn’t argue with the record company. But this time we insisted on doing what we wanted. Well, what could we lose?… the song came out of a working-class environment, people fighting for something.” Particularly in the UK, the Punk movement, which grew in the 70s, was at its core a working-class movement, born of young people dissatisfied with the economy and with suburban culture. 

But the true results of “You Really Got Me”’s influence would continue to unfold over the next two decades. Numerous metal and rock bands, from The Ramones to The Clash to Oasis have named The Kinks as an influence, and this sound started with that song. Pete Townshend of The Who called Ray Davies’ lyrics “"a new kind of poetry and a new kind of language for pop writing that influenced [him] from the very, very, very beginning.”

That gritty sound that they used, not just on “You Really Got Me” but on various other tracks, from other songs on their debut album including “All Day and All of the Night” and “Revenge” to later hits like “Lola”, set their sound apart from other groups. The combination of Ray’s striking, poetic lyrics with Dave’s pioneer guitar riffs (the group has been called “predecessors of the whole three-chord genre”) made them one of the most influential bands of the British invasion, and the genesis of heavy metal and punk rock.