#Skip Hire Buckingham | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

ladykailitha · 1 year ago

Text

The Magic of Christmas Part 1/8

Here it is, guys! My first Christmas steddie story. It was a blast to write even though sometimes it was struggle to get words down being so close to the holidays.

Summary: Steve doesn't play D&D, not really. But he's been a fan of Eddie Munson's artwork for Wizards of the Coast for years. So after he inherits the business from his dad, he decides the best use of all his dad's money is spend it on a five piece painting for the Party of their characters fighting a purple dragon. So he hires Eddie to do the work, but because it's so labor intensive, Steve offers to pay all of Eddie's bills plus any expenses he has for the paintings. How is Eddie to say no to that, so he doesn't try. He also doesn't try not falling in love with Steve. Will Steve reject him or will Eddie get a little magic for Christmas?

Words: 17012 CW: none Rating: Teen for swearing mostly Relationships: Steddie, background Buckingham, Jancy, Eden/Argyle, Dustin/Suzie, Lumax, and a surprise later in the story. Mike and El aren't dating in this, but neither is Mike and Will. They're single.

Also, Steve comes off as mildly autistic in this. He's based on a lot of my own experiences, so I hope this doesn't scare you off.

Essentially this is Eddie falls first, Steve falls harder over the course of six months. June and July aren't strictly mentioned, but you know it's happening during those two months.

***

Eddie walked into the high rise office building feeling a little out of place. All right, maybe a lot of place, if he was being honest with himself.

Here he was in a faded leather jacket and ripped black jeans in an actual fucking glass elevator to the top floor.

The doors opened up to warm outer office. It was dark woods and deep reds and golds. He had been expecting it to look like the rest of the building. He skipped forward to the woman at the desk a little unsure if he was in the right place.

“Hey, um...” he began, tilting his head. “I think I might be in the wrong place. But I’m Eddie Munson and I have a two o’clock appointment with Steve Harrington?”

She blinked up at him in shock. “This is Steve Harrington’s office, let me look at the schedule. I vaguely remember him making sure I didn’t schedule anything for this time.”

Eddie handed her the card that had Steve’s name on the front and the date and time on the back. She took it from him and nodded. He bit his lip nervously as she fiddled with something on her computer.

“All right,” she said, “I do see that he has an hour of time blocked off, but let me call him.”

Eddie nodded.

“Steve,” she said into the receiver. “I have an Eddie Munson here for you.”

“He’s here?” Eddie could hear the excitement in the person’s voice. “Send him in!”

She smiled. “Will do.” She hung up the phone. “Looks you’re good to go.”

Eddie smiled back. “Thanks.” He leaned over the desk for a moment. “I’m guessing you don’t know what this is about anymore than I do.”

She shook his head. “Nope. But he sounds excited to see you so you should really do that.”

He nodded back and skipped over to the door where it swung open as he reached it. He turned back to her. “Neat trick.”

She grinned back.

Eddie walked through the door and found that the inner office was very much the same as the outer one. All warm and cozy. And...well. Friendly.

Behind the desk leaping to his feet to greet him was the most gorgeous human Eddie had ever laid eyes on. He had floppy dark golden hair with hazel eyes behind neat glasses. His smile was easy and infectious.

“Eddie!” the Greek Adonis in a smartly tailored suit said brightly, sticking his hand out to him. “I’m so glad you came. When I spoke to your agent I got the impression you don’t usually do commissions.”

He half shrugged taking the outstretched hand and shaking it. “It’s been a slow year and I don’t taking the odd commission when it intrigues me.”

Steve blushed. “I intrigued the great Eddie Munson, I’m flattered.”

Eddie raised both eyebrows. “I didn’t realize you were a fan of my work.”

Steve nodded eagerly. “Oh hell yeah. I managed to get a picture of that lovely mural you did to cover the gang signs in the neighborhood before the cops destroyed it.”

Eddie blinked. Well fuck. He didn’t realize anyone had known that was him.

“You didn’t tell the cops it was me, did you?”

Steve laughed, clear and bright. He sat down and gestured for Eddie to do the same. “Rule number one. Don’t tell cops shit.”

Eddie sat down with a thud. “That’s good to know.”

Steve grinned wickedly at him and pulled out a picture of the mural from his desk drawer. He handed it to Eddie for him to look at.

“Usually it’s on my desk,” Steve said. “But I didn’t want to come across as too much of a fan boy right away.”

Eddie ran his fingers over the glass. It was of a pack of wolves howling at the moon rising over a tall mountain range.

“It’s nice to see that it’ll be remembered in some small way,” he murmured.

“I’ve got an photographer friend who can make a copy for you if you’d like,” Steve said softly.

Eddie’s head shot up. “You’d do that?”

This time it was Steve that gave a little half shrug. “I mean I can tell it was important to you so...”

He grinned. “Thanks, man. So what’s this commission you’re wanting me to do?”

Steve blushed again. “Do you still do illustrations for Wizard of the Coast?”

Eddie’s jaw dropped. That’s where Steve knew his art from, fucking D&D? This day couldn’t get any weirder.

He cleared his throat. “Like, sometimes. Right now I’m not happy with them for trying to take the game away from little homebrew gamers like me and my friends. But yeah, beggars can’t be choosers.”

Steve nodded. “God, I wish we could go back to the days were stupid rich people would hire poor artists to paint for them for a year or whatever. Free paint, free room and board.”

“Lack of freedom of expression though,” Eddie laughed.

Steve laughed with him. “Not if you’re sleeping with the mistress of the house.”

Eddie laughed harder. “Sorry, I’d be more likely to be sleeping with the master than the mistress.”

Steve smiled with a little shrug. “I’d probably end up doing both if they were hot enough.”

Eddie’s eyebrows went up. All right, noted. “Though I suppose in the scenario you’d be the master, so you’d be sleeping with the artist and the mistress.”

Steve grinned. “Well that’s certainly true.”

Eddie needed to get this meeting to move on before he leapt over the desk to fuck this gorgeous man senseless. “You want to be paint something in my D&D style?”

Steve lit up and Eddie had bite the inside of his cheek to stop himself from saying something stupid like how hot he found that look on Steve’s face.

“Yeah, I have these...” he said, “well they aren’t kids anymore. But they were when I first met them. They’re really big into D&D. In fact Dustin, the one I’m closest to is the one that got me into your art. They were so well done in the books and then found out you had a website and well...” he blushed. “I really liked the fantasy stuff.”

Eddie smirked. He knew exactly what Steve was talking about. There was a section on his website where you had to put in your credit card information to even view it. Did he know that kids stole their parents’ credit cards to view that part of his site? Sure. But at least it made sure most of the time that the viewer was over the age of eighteen.

There was more to fantasy then elves or dragons. Eddie smiled.

“Did you now?”

Steve blushed deeper. “Not that I want you to do that for this!” he said waving his hands. “They maybe adults now, I’m not that insane! But they have these characters that they’ve had since they were twelve and I was hoping you could paint them fighting a dragon. Especially a purple dragon. Because they are so cool.”

Eddie ran his tongue over his teeth thoughtfully. “What were you thinking in terms of size?”

Steve pulled out another picture and slid it over to Eddie. Eddie picked it up and looked at it. It was one of those wall paintings that were split into separate pieces but if put together it would form a cohesive picture.

“I was thinking 10x18 for the side pieces and 18x24 for the middle piece which would have the dragon,” Steve explained.

“And each of the side pieces would have a different character?”

Steve nodded. “I was wanting it by Christmas, would that give you enough time to do it?”

Eddie sat back and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “I’m mean, I guess. A month for each of the smaller ones and two months for the larger piece. It’s doable. If it’s the only thing I work on for the next six months. So I would require at least half the payment up front.”

Steve nodded and pulled out a piece of paper from a leather folio on his desk and handed it over to him.

Eddie started reading and was about half way down when he realized it was a contract. He usually had his own contract to give clients, especially for projects this big. But looking over Steve’s contract, not only was it better worded, it was a lot better offer for Eddie.

“Do you mind if I take this and show my agent before sign?” he asked.

Steve smiled. “No, of course not. Be my guest. In fact, I insist.”

Eddie relaxed. “Thanks!”

Steve ducked his head bashfully. “I really hope you’ll do it. You’re my favorite artist. Dusty’s too.”

Hoo-boy did Eddie know that look. It was the look of someone who was used to being shut down for their interests because they got too excited talking about it.

It was starting to look like regardless of what Chrissy thought about contract, he was going to do it. Because fuck, no one should have to feel like they were too much.

He stood up and shook his hand. “Is the end of the week okay?”

Steve’s head jerked up in shock. “What?”

“For the contract?” Eddie said, holding up the piece of paper.

“Oh!” Steve murmured. “Yeah. That’ll be a fine.”

Eddie got up and shook Steve’s hand. He walked to the door, but paused at the doorway. He turned back and tilted his head down and around. “You don’t have to limit yourself with me, okay? You can be yourself with me.”

Steve’s jaw dropped. “What? I don’t know what you mean...”

“The look on your face when you were talking about me being your favorite artist,” Eddie explained. “It’s something I see all the time with my friends and even myself. You close yourself off because you think you’re going to be shut down and told to shut up or at the very least dial it back. And I’m saying you don’t have to. Not with me.”

Steve blushed and ducked his head again. “You just want to me flatter the hell out of you.”

Eddie laughed. “I won’t deny that flattering works on me. But I mean it, okay? Don’t limit yourself. The people that mind don’t matter and those that matter won’t mind.”

Steve smiled. “Dr. Seuss. I’ll try to remember that.”

“See that you do,” Eddie said with a laugh. He tapped his hand on the door frame and then walked away.

He was almost to the elevator when the secretary said, “I heard what you said just now. About him not needing to hold back with you. Thank you.”

Eddie paused in his step. He whirled around and then skipped up to the desk. “You don’t need to thank me for that. He deserves to gush about the things he loves.”

“His parents would shut him up every time he would gush about anything,” she said. “Even sports. Which you would think would be the one thing that a boy should gush about, but nope.”

Eddie nodded. “Bastards.” He cocked his head to the side. “You are more than just his secretary aren’t you?”

She laughed. “Best friend and soulmate, Robin Buckley.” She stuck out her hand.

Eddie shook it with a wide smile. “Please to meet you. I’m guessing you’re president of the Steve Harrington Appreciation Society. Where can one sign up?”

Robin laughed. “Signing that contract will do the job I think.” She jutted her chin up at the paper in his hand.

He shrugged. “I got have my agent look at it before I sign anything. She’d murder me otherwise.”

“Fair.”

“See you around, Birdie,” Eddie said with a salute.

She frowned. “Birdie?”

He made a bird with his hands or at least tried with the contract in his hand. “Robin. Bird. Birdie.”

“Oh god,” she sighed. “You’re one of those.”

Eddie threw back his head and laughed. “Yup!” He skipped into elevator and pressed the button to the ground floor. He waved as the elevator lowered him down.

***

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

Tag List: @spectrum-spectre @estrellami-1 @zerokrox-blog @artiststarme @swimmingbirdrunningrock @gregre369 @pyrohonk @a-little-unsteddie @chaosgremlinmunson @chaoticlovingdreamer @maya-custodios-dionach @goodolefashionedloverboi @messrs-weasley @val-from-lawrence @i-must-potato @danili666 @carlyv @rozzieroos @wonderland-girl143-blog @justforthedead89 @emly03 @bookworm0690 @itsall-taken @vecnuthy @bookbinderbitch @redfreckledwolf @littlewildflowerkitten @yikes-a-bee @awkwardgravity1 @scheodingers-muppet @mira-jadeamethyst @cinnamon-mushroomabomination @genderless-spoon @anne-bennett-cosplayer @irregular-child

#my writing #stranger things #steddie #ladykailtiha writes #christmas #artist eddie #businessman steve #autistic steve harrington

278 notes · View notes

garden-of-gay · 4 days ago

Text

Can You Feel It? It's Burlesque! Part 7

We have made it to another part!! This is a longer one, and I'm thrilled because we get Steve and Eddie arguing, followed closely by the tension FINALLY breaking. Plus, some minor Buckingham, which I love writing. Be warned, there is smut in this chapter, and if that is not your forte, stop reading at "Steve walked away with a simple comment" and skip to "The shower was nice". Other than that, I hope you enjoy this chapter <3

Ch 1, Ch2, Ch 3, Ch 4, Ch 5, Ch 6, Ch 7

Also here on Ao3

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Eddie was excited about work. He had never been excited about working before, but since working at the club, he had found himself excited about working. He loved what he did, and he knew the people there, making it a comfortable environment to be himself in. So when he walked into work today and was greeted with an unfamiliar face, he knew he was in for a treat.

“Hey, are you lost?” Eddie called out to the petite blonde who stood, staring at the stage.

“What, sorry?” She asked, turning around.

She was a pretty girl, probably in her early twenties, and had an air of confidence about her that Eddie picked up on immediately.

“I asked if you were lost,” Eddie said.

“What gave you that impression? I’m right where I’m supposed to be,” She said with a smile before turning back to face the stage.

“Spunky,” Eddie thought to himself.

He didn’t know who this girl was, but he liked her already.

“I’m Eddie,” He said, striding over to where she was standing and sticking his hand out.

“I know, I’ve seen you in the paper. I’m Chrissy,” She replied, taking Eddie’s hand and shaking it.

“Well, what brings you here, Chrissy?” Eddie asked.

“I’m a new dancer here. I’m taking over for Billy,” Chrissy said.

Eddie’s eyes widened at this, he had no idea that Billy was no longer at the club. Honestly, it was a relief he was tired of the man’s aggression.

“I had no idea that he didn’t work here anymore. What happened?” Eddie asked Chrissy.

“I don’t know all the details, but apparently, he got into it with Joyce last night and quit. She called me, telling me that if I still wanted to work here, a job had just opened up. I figured I would be a fool not to take it, so I said yes,” Chrissy explained.

“Wow…that’s not shocking. I can’t lie and say I didn’t see this coming,” Eddie replied with a chuckle.

“I know. I’ve been waiting for this to happen since I first met him,” Chrissy said.

“You met him before?” Eddie asked, surprised.

“Yeah, I’m friends with Vickie, and she was the one who put in a good word for me with Joyce when they were hiring for her spot. Obviously, you ended up with her job, but it landed me on Joyce’s radar, which then landed me this job,” She recounted.

“Sorry I stole your job,” Eddie joked.

“It’s fine, you clearly deserved it more because…I mean, look at you now,” Chrissy said, in awe.

“Regardless, I know what it is like to be in between gigs,” Eddie said sheepishly.

“It worked out fine in the end because I get to work here now alongside you. Plus, it gave me time to expand my DJ-ing”, Chrissy said.

“You DJ?” Eddie asked with a laugh.

“Yeah! I’m actually set to DJ Vickie’s wedding,” She explained excitedly.

They both laughed and chatted a bit more before Chrissy told Eddie that she was going to go find Joyce as she had choreography to go over. Eddie found himself liking Chrissy quite a bit and was excited to have her on the crew. He told her as much before he pointed her in the direction of Joyce’s office and made his way backstage to get ready.

The performance that night went off without a hitch. Chrissy was a natural and fit right into the numbers, dancing alongside the others as if she had been there the whole time. She got along with the others easily, and it made him smile. Eddie made sure to invite her to dinner with the rest of the dancers since he knew what it was like to be the new person.

Over dinner, they exchanged stories of being small-town queer kids and the craziness of the big city, by the end of the night, Eddie was now certain that he had found his new best friend in Chrissy.

When Eddie got home, he noticed a couple of things. Number one was that Steve wasn’t on the couch, and upon further inspection—AKA opening the bedroom doors—Eddie saw Steve fast asleep on the bed. This led him to number two, he would have to sleep on the couch tonight in his going-out clothes because the last thing he wanted to do right now was disturb Steve. So Eddie resigned himself to get as comfortable as he could on the couch before eventually dozing off.

Eddie was awoken by the loud sounds of a coffee grinder and the face of a grimacing Steve.

“Morning,” Steve snarked.

“Do you really have to do that at 6 a.m.?” Eddie sleepily shot back.

“Coffee?” Steve asked with a smirk, turning off the coffee grinder for a moment as he spoke before turning it right back on.

“No, but a little peace and quiet would be nice,” Eddie huffed before getting up.

“You are a little overdressed for breakfast,” Steve said.

“My pajamas were in the bedroom, which was occupied,” Eddie remarked.

“You’re never here, so it’d be stupid for me to crash on the couch when there is a perfectly good, EMPTY bed right there,” Steve said before pressing the button on the coffee grinder again, this time just to annoy Eddie.

“So, what do you want? You want the bedroom back?” Eddie asked, annoyed.

“Should be used by someone,” Steve remarked.

“I’m home every night! Maybe not when you think I should be, but I’m here. Last I checked, you’re my roommate, not my mother,” Eddie retorted.

“However, since it is such an issue…what the hell, I’ll take the couch; you can have the bedroom. I don’t care anymore,” Eddie continued.

“FINE!” Steve yelled.

“FINE!” Eddie yelled back, lying back down on the couch.

“You know, you're going to have to move your shit, right?!” Steve said.

“I realize that, genius,” Eddie snarked.

“It is a total mess in there. You got stuff everywhere! Clothes, shoes…hair,” Steve listed.

“JESUS, Steve, what is your problem!? You’re acting like a total prick! Is there something you want to say?” Eddie yelled, storming towards Steve.

“It’s not just me; the people who care about you are worried,” Steve screamed back.

“What people?” Eddie asked more calmly.

“People, you know? People. Your friends at the club! Robin, Barb, Carol, Joyce, and even ME! We’re like a family there, and we look out for each other,” Steve muttered, losing steam.

“Right, you all look out for each other like Lonnie looks after Joyce and Billy looks out for…Oh! Everyone,” Eddie said angrily.

“And Henry? He’s going to look after you? No, it’s fine, it’s fine…because he can make things happen for you. So go ahead and make a deal with the devil,” Steve stated.

“First, Henry is not the devil. He’s a smart businessman who happens to be a gentleman. He knows what he wants, and he goes for it,” Eddie remarked loudly.

“I’m just saying. Life is about the choices you make,” Steve said, walking towards the bedroom.

“The choices I MAKE?! You're a bartender-slash-piano player who writes songs that are never ready!” Eddie yelled in Steve’s face.

“Wow, that’s just perfect…perfect,” Steve said, closing the doors between him and Eddie.

Eddie threw the pillow on the couch at the lamp, and Steve opened the doors to momentarily send Eddie a withering look momentarily.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may kiss the bride,” the officiant's voice rang out in the chapel.

Vickie launched forward to kiss Dan as the room exploded in applause.

The reception was beautiful; everyone was milling about as Dan and Vickie swayed to Forever Young by Alphaville.

“Wait, what do you mean you're still in New York? Why?!” Steve asked into the phone angrily.

He paced back and forth as Nancy talked, but he honestly wasn’t hearing much of it at this point.

“So you just decided not to come?!” Steve ground out, trying to keep the rage at bay.

Nancy said something about how her future depends on this piece and that it could make her career. Or at least that’s what Steve gleaned from it, as he was seeing red at this point.

“Why does every conversation we have end up being about your future?” Steve asked

Steve glanced over to where Eddie was standing, and it just so happened that Eddie looked back at him.

“You know what, you’re right. We definitely should be thinking about our futures, I might just be looking at mine now,” Steve said before hanging up without so much as a goodbye.

Steve continued to look at Eddie for a moment, taking him in, as Eddie stared back at Steve’s angry face.

Eddie broke eye contact, first looking towards the floor and busying himself with his drink.

“That DJ is hot,” Gareth said to Robin.

Robin recognized immediately that he was talking about Chrissy, who was the new dancer at the club and also apparently was a DJ. She forgave him for not knowing that as he had been out the last two weeks sick with the flu. Still, she indulged him as it gave her an excuse to look at Chrissy, who Robin fell in love with the moment she saw her.

“You think so?” Robin asked.

Chrissy glanced up and looked in the direction of Robin and Gareth, making Robin blush.

“She keeps looking at me,” Gareth said with a huff.

“Maybe she is crazy for you, she can sense that you know your way around sound equipment.” Robin dropped her voice into a seductive purr before laughing.

“Really, you think?” Gareth asked with hope in his voice.

She was not going to be the one to burst his bubble that Chrissy was gay, or at least Robin thought she was.

“I think so,” She said as Chrissy continued to look hungrily at Robin, eyes raking over her form.

Robin felt her face heating up but refused to look away; this was a dangerous game, and Robin intended to win.

“She’s gorgeous. I think she likes me,” Gareth said.

“She is gorgeous,” Robin parroted back, taking a sip of her water and continuing to make eye contact.

Steve danced around the floor with Robin and Joyce, both of them trying to cheer him up. He appreciated the sentiment and loved spending time with both women, but right now, he wanted to drown his failed engagement in alcohol.

“Would you ever want this again?” Robin asked Steve

“Maybe, I’m not really sure right now,” Steve said honestly.

“I think you will. Give it plenty of time, and you’ll be itching to get hitched to the person you love,” Robin told him as they swayed about.

“You know, there is only one woman I could see spending the rest of my life with now. "And unfortunately, except for a really drunk night in Reno years where she kissed me and it was weird…she bats for the other team,” Steve said, looking fondly at Robin.

“Oh no, she bats for the pink team,” Robin said with a gentle chuckle.

Steve and Robin continued their sway for a little bit before Robin spun Steve into her and gently said in his ear:

“It wasn’t Reno; it was Tahoe, babe, and yes, it was weird.”

She then proceeded to plant a kiss on his cheek before spinning him back out as they laughed.

Steve had long since found purchase at the bar, leaving Robin to dance with the other guests when he heard someone approach.

“Shot of Patrón, please,” Eddie said next to Steve.

“Make it two,” Steve said to the bartender.

“Looking kind of lonely there, Steve,” Eddie joked, all sing-songy.

“Liberated, maybe. Libated definitely. But lonely? No, never lonely,” Steve jested back.

They had received their shots, and Steve stared at Eddie for a moment.

“Cheers,” Steve said, looking at Eddie.

Eddie just rolled his eyes, leaving Steve to announce a “Clink” before they both downed their shot.

Steve pushed his shoulder into Eddie’s, getting really close to him before asking:

“How’s it going?”

This got Eddie to chuckle before he shoved Steve back.

“God. What are we, in junior high?” Eddie joked.

“Indianapolis, are you still mad at me? You know, cause if you are…bring it on baby,” Steve asked suddenly, getting back into Eddie’s personal space.

“Are you drunk?” Eddie asked.

Steve ignored his question, opting to instead look at Eddie's face for a moment before recognizing the song that was playing.

“Oh, I love this song! YES!” He exclaimed, pointing towards Chrissy’s DJ booth.

Chrissy pointed back at him with a wide grin on her face.

“Oh, you rock,” He said to her.

Eddie began to walk away when he felt a hand grab his.

“Woah, woah, woah…I’m sorry for being a class-A prick,” Steve said, pulling Eddie into a sway on the dance floor.

“You were,” Eddie replied.

“I was,” Steve said in agreement.

“And as of about…some time ago, I’m officially a single man,” Steve explained.

“You and Nancy broke up?” Eddie asked gently.

“That we did, which explains why I’m here alone. So why are you here alone?” Steve questioned.

“Do I really look alone to you?” Eddie asked, eyes shining brightly.

Steve gasped softly.

If you were to ask Steve, he would have told you that Eddie, at that moment, was the most beautiful person he had ever seen. He wanted nothing more than to kiss him.

Instead, he spun Eddie around on the dance floor and swayed with him close to his chest.

Eddie and Steve stumbled into their apartment, both of them had gotten a lot more drunk than they had planned to making them giggly and wobbly.

Steve slammed the door to the apartment shut and accidentally knocked over the lamp with his stumbling.

“Careful,” Eddie giggled and stumbled onto the couch as Steve fought to put the lamp back in its place.

“Oh, my feet are killing me. Take off these shoes, please. Help me,” Eddie whined.

Steve grabbed Eddie’s ankle and began to try and shimmy the shoe off it but didn’t get very far as they were both laughing too hard.

“Wait, wait, be careful,” Eddie laughed as Steve pulled at the shoe.

“I got it. No, no,” Steve exclaimed, knocking over the lamp again.

“Stay,” Steve told the lamp like it was a bad dog.

Eddie laughed some more at this, he was pretty sure he had never laughed as much in his life as he had tonight with Steve. When his laughter died down, he was left just looking at Steve as he looked back. They both stared for a moment, unspoken tension hanging thick in the air before Eddie just gently shrugged at Steve.

“Good night,” Steve said gently, admiring Eddie for a moment before making his way to the bedroom.

“Night,” Eddie replied, admiring Steve as he walked away.

Steve closed the doors to the bedroom, and Eddie laid back on the couch, feeling the exhaustion creep in. He listened to the sounds of Steve shuffling about in the room when he heard the doors open again. There stood Steve, clad in some truly ridiculous pajamas, and Eddie couldn’t help but laugh for a second.

“Cute jammies,” Eddie said with another laugh.

“Robin got these for me, thank you very much, and I haven’t worn them yet,” Steve said with a giggle and a flourish of his hands.

“Go figure,” Eddie huffed.

“I forgot to lock the door,” Steve said, watching as Eddie got situated under the blanket on the couch.

“Got it?” Eddie asked.

“Yep, good night,” Steve said as he sped-walked back to the bedroom and closed the doors again.

“Good night,” Eddie said, amusement apparent in his voice.

A moment later, the doors opened again. This time, Steve was in his pajama bottom sans shirt. It took everything in Eddie not to stare heavily at Steve’s strong physique as he spoke.

“Back again?” He asked.

“Water. Don’t want a hangover,” Steve said as he marched past Eddie into the kitchen, grabbing a glass of water and drinking it before retreating back to the room.

Eddie watched him all the way as he walked, taking the moment to admire the man sent by the gods. Steve looked so handsome in the soft glow of the bedroom light, and Eddie wanted to bite and mark up Steve’s perfect body so that way everyone would know that Eddie had been there. None of that happened though, instead, Eddie said his goodnight to Steve again and watched as he closed the doors yet again.

Eddie had just gotten comfortable on the couch when he heard the doors open for a third time and started to giggle, wondering what Steve could possibly need this time.

“Now, I know—I know I forgot something else,” Steve announced.

Eddie listened to Steve as he listed off the things he had already done, his back turned to the man as he struggled to take off his jewelry.

“That’s it. Hungry. I’m hungry,” Steve said with a snap.

Eddie started to laugh as he realized that Steve was only clad in a pair of boxers that did nothing to hide his dick. Eddie placed his hands over his eyes as he laughed and then decided to take another peek, which caused him to let out a scream as his face started rapidly heating up.

“What is so funny?” Steve asked with a chuckle.

“Steve! Well, you’re—” Eddie started.

The words got lost on the way out when he took another look at Steve and saw that there was a box of cookies now in front of his crotch, which only brought more attention to Steve’s seemingly sizable cock.

“Well, I never,” Steve said with a crunch of a cookie.

“Steve,” Eddie said with a huff. The situation in his pants began to grow ever more precarious as the seconds went by, and Steve was close to him.

“Want a cookie?” Steve asked with a chuckle and a mouthful of cookie.

“No? All right,” Steve said, beginning to walk away as Eddie continued to giggle.

Eddie hoped that the low lamp light hid not only his furious blush but also his growing erection. Steve needed to get out of here quickly, or Eddie was going to do something stupid like pull him down into a kiss.

Steve walked away with a simple comment that Eddie knew where the cookies were if he changed his mind. The doors closed again and Eddie watched as the lamp light in the bedroom went out; he was now left alone with his racing heart and dick that couldn’t get the memo that it was time to calm down.

Eddie got up to take his clothes off when he heard the doors open gently. His heart climbed into his throat as Steve approached him, gently moving his hair off his shoulder and laying a kiss on his neck.

Eddie shuddered for a moment as Steve continued to plant feverish kisses down his neck.

“Steeeve,” Eddie whined.

“What do you want, baby?” Steve asked in a low seductive hum.

“Kiss me, please,” Eddie huffed and was greeted with sweet relief as Steve lifted his face and met him in the middle for a gentle kiss.

It wasn’t enough for Eddie, and he seized forward to meet Steve's lips in a feverish kiss that grew hotter and heavier by the moment. Eddie licked at the seam of Steve’s mouth, asking for permission, which was quickly granted as Steve opened his mouth with a gentle click. Steve tasted like the cookies he had just eaten, and Eddie deepened the kiss with a soft tilt of his head.

After what felt like an eternity of trading hot and heavy kisses, they broke apart for air, both panting and staring into each other's eyes.

“You are the most beautiful person I have ever met,” Steve said in between planting kisses on Eddie’s neck.

“God, you're just so…watching you perform is the hottest thing I’ve ever seen” Steve panted out as he sucked a gentle bruise along Eddie’s pulse point.

Eddie let out a wanton moan as Steve continued marking him up. He would have to use so much concealer to hide these later, but for the moment, he couldn’t think about anything other than the warm, wet heat of Steve’s mouth on his flushed skin.

“Fuuuuuck, Steve,” Eddie moaned.

“God, you're so hot….so perfect for me,” Steve panted as he snaked his hand down Eddie’s back to squeeze his ass.

Eddie could feel Steve’s erection against his thigh, and everything suddenly became ten times more real. Steve was here with him. Steve wanted him like Eddie wanted him, and now was the time for him to prove it.

Eddie met Steve’s lips in another kiss as he began to walk them into the bedroom, stopping when the back of Steve’s knees hit the bed. Breaking the kiss, Eddie shoved Steve down before climbing onto his lap.

“Look at you, all flushed and worked up from me kissing you,” Eddie crooned as he began to trail kisses down Steve’s body, paying special attention to the moles that painted his skin.

Eddie mouthed over Steve’s clothed dick, breathing hot air all over and making Steve shiver. Eddie looked up at Steve as he played with the hem of his boxers, asking for permission.

“Please,” Steve whined.

Eddie took this as all the permission he needed as he ripped down Steve’s boxers to reveal his throbbing dick. Eddie’s mouth watered at the sight, Steve’s dick was big like he thought it would be and it made his own dick grow harder at the sight.

Eddie wasted no time licking a hot stripe from the base to the tip of Steve’s cock only allowing Steve a moment to adjust before he was taking his dick into his mouth.

Eddie set an agonizing pace, hollowing his cheeks on every downstroke and licking the underside the tip with every upstroke. It was driving Steve mad, and it took everything in his power not to begin bucking up into the other man’s mouth.

Eddie knew what he was doing, but he was also growing impatient for Steve’s resolve to snap so he one of his hands from where they had been fisting into the sheets and guided it into his hair hoping Steve got the memo.

Steve seemed to understand what Eddie was hinted at as a moment later the hand in his hair grew tighter and began to gently push his head down.

“Shit, shit, shit, shiiiittt.” Steve slurred out as Eddie pace grew more solid, losing himself in the feeling of Steve’s dick in his mouth.

“God.. Baby, please. Just like that…” Steve muttered between a string of curses.

Eddie looked up between his eyelashes to see that Steve looked utterly wrecked; his face flushed red, sweat dripping down his forehead, and the heavy rise and fall of his chest. It was the hottest sight Eddie had ever seen, and it only egged him on further.

Eddie could feel that Steve was close once the grip on his hair got looser and the bucking of his hips got more frantic.

“I’m gonna—” Steve moaned as he spilled down Eddie’s throat.

Eddie eased Steve through his orgasm before Steve eventually pulled Eddie off with a gentle pop when he became overstimulated. He pulled Eddie up to meet him in a kiss that was just as feverish as before, and as he licked into his mouth, Steve could taste himself on Eddie’s tongue. It was…hot, to say the least.

“So good, baby. So good for me, too good…,” Steve panted.

“I want these off,” Steve growled out the moment he caught his breath, motioning to Eddie’s boxers.

Eddie pulled them off easily, now completely bare in front of Steve. He watched as Steve’s eyes darkened and got hungrier as he took Eddie in.

Steve cautiously wrapped a hand around Eddie’s dick and set a rough pace that had him reeling.

“God, so pretty look at you. Let me hear you, baby, please let me hear you,” Steve begged as he wound Eddie higher and higher.

“Please, Steve,” Eddie moaned.

Steve licked a hot wet stripe down his hand before taking Eddie back into it. With the added slickness, Steve's pace felt better than before, and Eddie could already feel his orgasm tumbling near.

Eddie mouthed at Steve’s shoulder, breathing hot and heavy as he lost himself in the feeling of Steve’s hands on him.

“Please, please, please,” Eddie chanted like a mantra.

“Come on, baby, let go, I got you,” Steve murmured into Eddie’s skin.

This was all it took for Eddie to let go. He came with a shout of Steve’s name, spilling onto the other man's fist and chest.

Eddie rolled off of Steve and laid next to him, panting for a moment before he turned to look at the other man with a smile.

“You know, we should probably shower. I made a mess of you,” Eddie whispered.

Steve looked down to the cum on his chest before he dragged a finger through it and licked it off. Eddie just stared at him bug-eyed before Steve let out a chuckle.

“Yeah, we probably should,” he muttered.

“That was hot…” Eddie said in awe before meeting Steve’s lips in a gentle kiss.

“Let’s shower so we can go to bed, okay?” Steve said gently as he grabbed Eddie’s hand and got up, leading them to the bathroom.

The shower was nice, both men taking turns feeling the warm spray of water on their skin as they traded lazy kisses. Steve washed Eddie’s hair, gently massaging the suds into his scalp, causing Eddie to let out a gentle sigh.

“You know, I could get used to this,” Eddie muttered.

“Maybe you should,” Steve replied, placing a gentle kiss on Eddie’s shoulder.

They stayed there until the water turned cold, and when they got out, Steve helped Eddie towel off. It was really nice and made Eddie feel cared for.

Back in bed, Eddie cuddled up to Steve, laying his head on Steve’s chest. Listening to the sound of his breathing evening out before Eddie closed his eyes and allowed himself to drift off into a peaceful sleep. Tomorrow would bring the need for conversation, but for now, Eddie just let himself enjoy the feeling of Steve’s warm body next to his; maybe in the end, that would be enough.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I hope my boys' being sweet with one another makes up for the hell I have put them through and the slow burn they experienced.

Taglist:

@irregular-child

@disrespectedgoatman

#steddie #steve x eddie #stranger things #eddie munson #steve harrington #platonic stobin #robin buckley #chrissy cunningham #minor buckingham #burlesque au #gardenwrites #fanfic #smut

7 notes · View notes

toenialls · 5 years ago

Text

hi ! here’s a fic rec i made bc what better time to read fics than a quarantine. i’ve ordered them below from longest to shortest. :)

these are all the fics i’ve read/re-read this quarantine

hiding place by alivingfire @alivingfire (365k)

louis never wanted a soulmate, didn’t really care for the whole Bonding thing at all, really. enter harry styles, who’s wanted to be Bonded for as long as he could remember. with one fateful meeting in a x factor bathroom, louis gets a dagger on his arm and the realization that just because harry is his soulmate doesn’t mean it’s mutual.

from the x factor house to madison square garden, from the fountain studios stage to stadiums across the world, louis has to learn to love without losing himself completely, because someday his best friend will Bond to someone and replace louis as the center of his universe. meanwhile, harry begins to think that maybe fate doesn’t actually know what it’s doing after all, because his other half has clearly been right in front of him the whole time. all he has to do now is convince louis to give them a chance.

or, the canon compliant harry and louis love story from the very beginning, where the only difference is that the love between them is literally written on their skin, and there’s only so much they can hide.

relief next to me by dolce_piccante @haydolce (333k)

au- what happens when a baker and a graphic designer meet via a very specific craigslist post? fate, friendship, food, and maybe more.

young & beautiful by velvetoscar @mizzwilde (227k)

louis, to his horror, attends an elitist university in which the name zayn malik means something, niall horan doesn’t stop talking, there are pianos everywhere, and harry styles, only son o a drug-addled, clinically insane ex-rocker, has a perfect smile and empty eyes

now in a minute by thealmightyavocado @avocadolouie (150k)

13 feels like yesterday for many people, but for louis it actually was.more than anything in the world, louis tomlinson dreams of growing up. simply skipping over all the awkward embarrassing years of teenage existence and getting on with life, real life.

so when thirteen-year-old louis wakes up in the body of his thirty-year-old self, he expected his adult life to be picture perfect. and maybe it is. he has it all…or so it seems.

except his favorite person and lifelong best mate, harry styles, is totally missing from the equation and louis doesn’t understand why. he has a lot of catching up to do and as adult life turns out to be more than what he bargained for, louis can’t help wondering why a life that seemed so perfect, feel so empty.

or, the 13 going on 30 au that should have been done years ago.

walk that mile by purpledaisy (149k)

harry stares at him, the line of his jaw standing out scarily. “i wanted to get the most out of this trip so i planned it carefully.” his voice is low and steady and somehow that’s worse than when he was yelling. “so far, you’ve put your sticky fingers on everything i’ve tried to do.”

"sticky fingers?“ louis repeats. offended. “are you saying it’s my fault you got stung by a bee? had you been alone you would have gotten halfway to the dotty diner and ran the car off the road because of an allergic reaction, so don’t go blaming me.”

"polk-a-dot drive in,“ harry spits before getting out of the car. he slams the door shut with a deafening reverb and louis rolls his eyes.

or, a route 66 au where falling in love was never part of the plan.

own the scars by crinkle-eyed-boo @crinkle-eyed-boo (144k)

“but i don’t belong here,” louis insists.

"why do you say that?“ james asks.

"these people are all drug addicts and alcoholics,” louis shrugs. something sparks in james’ eyes. “and you’re not?”

louis has never felt like he was good enough: for his stepdad, for his life-long best friends, for the life he’s supposed to want. after an accident that nearly costs him his life, louis’ parents send him to rehab where he’s forced to make his own decisions. on the long and difficult road to recovery, louis must confront the truths he;s been avoiding about his future, his relationships, and his sense of self-worth. because before he can love anyone else, he’s got to learn how to love himself first.

wear it like a crown by zarah5 @zarahdetand (141k)

au- as a part of a team of fixers hired to handle a gay scandal in buckingham palace, louis expects prince harry to be a lot of things – most notable a royally spoilt brat. never mind that the very same prince harry used to star in quite a number of louis’ teenage fantasies.

unbelievers by isthatyoularry @isthatyoularry (136k)

it’s louis’ senior year, and he’s dead set on doing it right. however, along with his pair of cleats, a healthy dose of sarcasm and his ridiculous best friend, he’s also got a complicated family, a terrifying uncertain future, and a mortal enemy making his life that much worse. mortal enemies “with benefits” was not exactly the plan.

or, the one where louis and harry definitely aren’t friends, and football is everything

empty skies by green_feelings (134k)

for three years, harry has been running from his past. now, he is moving to london and pledges to fulfill only his dream – making it big in the music industry. not everyone has a place, though, and the competition is tough. as is his past catching up to him.

louis is part of the biggest boy band of the world, and getting there meant a lo to hard work, as well as sacrificing parts of his heart and soul. he’s still happy. maybe not as happy as he could be, but who is he to complain?

featuring perrie as harry’s adorable flatmate, niall as his manager, and liam and zayn as louis’ bandmates.

love is a rebellious bird by 100precentsassy @100percentsassy gloria_andrews @gloriaandrews (134k)

au. in which the boys still make music. louis is the concertmaster of the london symphony orchestra, harry is the new! and exciting! interim conductor / ex-cello prodigy who “has made mozart cool again” according to esquire magazine (louis hates him immediately, which is definitely why he internet stalked him in his dark bedroom late at night that one time), and niall is the best. zayn and liam are around too.

don’t hum Bolero

wild love by purpledaisy (130k)

“good,” julia says, clearly pleased to have them both uncomfortable and unable to look at each other. “now, i only have one more question before you can go. what are you planning to do when this experiment ruins your friendship?“

"we said we’d stay friends no matter what,” harry says smoothly his chin lifting in defense.

"that was our one thing going into it,“ louis agrees. “stay friends no matter what.”

julia raises a perfectly manicured eyebrow, “that’s all fine and good. but i hope you realize your emotions aren’t going to realize this is an experiment in the end. if one of you falls for the other and finds out those feelings are not reciprocated you’re not going to be able to laugh it off as a social experiment. i’m not saying you shouldn’t do this, i’m just hoping you’ve considered all of the possible outcomes.”

or, two friends try to date each other for forty days. it’s supposed to be fun until emotions make it complicated

got the sunshine on my shoulders by hattalove @hattalove (124k)

five years ago, harry styles left his tiny home town to make it big as a recording artist, he didn’t have much regard for what he left behind– a life, a family, a husband, who woke up one morning to find him gone.

now, harry has everything he could possibly want. he’s rich, famous, and adored by everyone he meets, including his boyfriend. but when said boyfriend proposes to him, he’s forced to face the uncomfortable facts of his past– and louis, who’s spent the last five years returning every set of divorce papers harry sent him.

or, au based on the movie sweet home alabama.

california sold by isthatyoularry (123k)

notoriously closeted boyband member harry styles is famous on a global scale, meanwhile louis, as his best friend, is back home in manchester living the typical life of a 24 year old. when harry needs louis with him in LA, a publicity stunt gone wrong changes their friendship forever.

or, a fake-relationship au between two lifelong best friends.

the finish line (is a good place for us to start) by loadedgunn @loaded-gunn (122k)

louis tomlinson, one-time formula i world champion, is looking forward to the 2013 season, he’s got zayn in his garage and liam in his ear, he’s got cowell racing backing him despite former indiscretions, he’s got experience and the best race car out there. not to mention he’s the only racer they have, after oliver dropped out late last year.

it hasn’t occured to him that oliver would have to be replaced by february. that is, until he finds himself at a party celebrating harry styles leaving ferarri for cowell. harry hotshot styles, who broke a record last year and is probably looking to make a big splash. harry styles, who is talented and somewhat intimidating. harry styles, who left ferarri for reasons unknown and seems kind of lonely and harmless in person. lonely, harmless, hot as fuck. whatever.

the first thing louis does is take him under his wing. from there it’s nine months of slow-burning romance, the past catching up to them, turning into the human puppy pile that is ot5 and a lot of feelings until, of course, reaching the finish line.

tired tired sea by mediawhore @mediawhorefics (113k)

as a b&b owner on the most remote of all the british isles, louis tomlinson is used to spending the coldest half of the year in complete isolation, with his dog and the sea as sol companions. until one day, a mysterious stranger on a quest to rebuild himself rents a room for the winter.

here in the afterglow by fondleeds @fondleeds (88k)

"if you hadn’t noticed, i don’t have many friends,” louis whispers, the blossom of insecurity in his stomach unfurling and clawing his way into his throat.

harry is silent for a long time, and then he speaks; a soft, slow uncurl that makes louis’ stomach shake. “i’ll be your friend.”

or, 1970’s au. in a tiny town in idaho, louis’ life changed forever by the arrival of a curious stranger.

chasing empty spaces by domesticharry @domestic-harry (79k)

the year is 1934 and harry styles was to inherit the largest tobacco firm in the south. his parents have picked out the “perfect” girl for him to marry and he has the privilege of receiving the highest education possible. the problem was, harry hadn’t realized that he didn’t want nay part of the future until he met a mechanic named, louis tomlinson.

don’t want shelter by kingsofeverything @kingsofeverything (76k)

louis and harry have known each other all their lives. friends as children, they danced around each other as teenagers, and have spent the last twenty-five years either screaming at each other or not speaking at all. except for that one time ten years ago...

when hurricane nicole threatens the coast, they end up stuck together in their families' old vacation home that they begrudgingly co-own.

during the storm, and in the months after, they’re both forced to reevaluate their history and what they mean to each other

money moves by mmaree @zqua1d (74k)

"i’ll cut straight to the chase,“ liam announces. he leans forward, and zayn is met with steely eyes and steepled fingers. "i’m willing to offer you fifty grand if you’ll enter into a small…partnership with me. this would be in addition to your salary at payne innovations, of course. think of it as a bonus.”

zayn narrow his eyes. “what kind of partnership?”

"a fake engagement.“

"oh,” zayn says, relived it’s nothing illegal. “wait–what?”

“a fake engagement,” his boss repeats slowly, as if he’s convinced zayn’s comprehension skills are significantly lacking. “for six months. maybe less if i can pull it off sooner but don’t worry– you’ll be paid the full sum regardless of how long it takes.”

zayn’s suspicious, and he doesn’t even know why. there’s nothing to be suspicious of because, clearly, liam’s lost the plot. zayn’s having a conversation with a complete nutter. there’s no other reasonable explanation.

he clears his throat, searches liam’s eyes for a sign he’s taking the piss. “how long what takes?”

a smile plays at liam’s lips. “for me to be hired as the cto at titan technologies.”

to the ends of the earth by stylinsoncity @aliensingucci (68k)

during a yearlong hiatus, louis visits harry at his cabin in idaho, where long-buried feelings ignite like the fire keeping them warm.

lend me your hand by quickedween (63k)

society has long since decided that the soulmarks everyone is born with are entirely unfashionable. they’re just another way for people of a lower class to scam their way into marrying above their station.

lord louis tomlinson viscount loring, on the other hand, has always believed that he will find his soulmate one day. despite preparing for a match his whole life, he is entirely unprepared for the arrival of gemma styles’ younger brother.

harry styles has been travelling and away from society for over a year. coming back, he intends to spend time with his sister, and slowly reacquaint himself with life in town. he doesn’t need to wait around for a soulmark to determine how his life will play out.

small doses (loving you it’s explosive) by quickedween (40k)

louis tomlinson finds himself at vitality fitness to try and turn his life around after having left his cheating boyfriends of four years. the gym’s owner, liam, quickly becomes a good friend but his right hand man is rude and dismissive from the get-go.

louis and harry continue to clash all while harry is trying to move his way up the ranks in manchester’s amateur boxing circuit, but they can’t seem to stay away from each other.

learning to eat by photo41 (28k)

celebrity chef louis tomlinson has a problem, he’s opening his first restaurant in 9 week . and he has yet to hire a pastry chef- apparently people think he’s “standoffish” and “rude” and “quick to temper” . whatever. he ends u saddled with an annoying, happy-go-lucky rookie who also happens to be obnoxiously good looking. his tv presenter and pop star friends only add to the drama, and for fucks sake would everyone please stop quoting julia child?!

these roads we stumble down by onewasturning @onewasturning (18k)

he’s completely drenched, not one milimetre of him covered in rain, and the old sheepskin cover over the seat is probably going to stink afterwards from the damp. but even with what seems to be a constant tremor shaking his body, brown hair plastered to his forehead, and a blue tinge to his skin, he’s still probably the most gorgeous person that harry has ever seen.

or, harry picks up a hitchhiker in oxford, and it’s a long ride to glasgow.

#this took an embarassing amount of time and its not even all of them #anyways hope this was useful to someone !#also i am allergic to capital letters muah #fic rec #mine

109 notes · View notes

theprogrocker · 8 years ago

Text

Fleetwood Mac - Rumours

Rating: 15/15

Best song: The Chain (or whichever song is playing at any given moment)

“Fleetwood Mac”. What comes to mind when you hear those words? Is it late 70s mainstream pop/soft-rock? The band that turned everything on the radio into soft mush way before the Police did? Stevie Nicks? Lindsey Buckingham? The other girl in the band? How about when someone says “I love Fleetwood Mac”, or “I’m a Fleetwood Mac fan”? Is it “mainstream pop sellout with no taste or artistic sensibility who should listen to King Crimson if they want to hear some TRUE art”? This is all completely understandable, but to a point, it’s also all wrong.

Quick history lesson (feel free to skip this paragraph if you already know or if you don’t really care): Fleetwood Mac started out as a British blues band, a spinoff of John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, and consisted of Peter Green on guitar, Jeremy Spencer on slide guitar, Mick Fleetwood on drums, and Bob Brunning on bass. Green named the band Fleetwood Mac after the rhythm section, and to entice John McVie into joining, and after a few gigs, Bob Brunning (who was only ever intended as a replacement anyway) was out and McVie was in. They released two hardcore blues albums, the latter of which featured a band friend named Christine Perfect on piano. Neither of these albums really established any sort of real identity, though; however successful their singles got (“Albatross”, “Black Magic Woman” (yep, THAT one), “The Green Maralishi”), they weren’t going to make it as a blues band. Green found guitarist Danny Kirwan playing in a basement somewhere and considered it such a shame Kirwan hadn’t made it professionally that he ended up adding him to the band. This added a severely needed change to the band, as Kirwan was more of a folksy guy than anything, and this new influence created an album called Then Play On, which was dark, gloomy, folksy, and bluesy, but definitely not faceless like the band’s previous blues output had been. Green’s schizophrenia overtook him eventually, and he had to leave the band. The next album was dominated by Jeremy Spencer, and it was a 50s parody album called Kiln House. Spencer then left, and John McVie married Christine Perfect. The band found a guitarist named Bob Welch and let him in the band without audition, and Christine Perfect (now Christine McVie) officially joined the band as well. They put out a prog-influenced soft-rock album called Future Games, which is notable for having the first contributions of both Welch and Christine (but pretty boring otherwise). Kirwan had become a serious alcoholic by this time, and his behavior became erratic (smashing guitars, refusing to go on stage, etc.), so there was one more album released with him (Bare Trees, which shows Christine and Welch perfecting their styles and Kirwan finally becoming a rocker) before he was let go. Fleetwood Mac fell into total chaos at this point, and hired a guitarist named Bob Weston and a vocalist named Dave Walker. Both of these contributed one subpar song to the next album, Penguin, which was otherwise dominated by Christine’s pop songs and Welch’s prog ones. Walker was fired, and John McVie became an alcoholic. The band released Mystery to Me, where Welch was given free rein to do songs in lots of genres (no, really, it’s pretty diverse), and it spawned their biggest hit to that point, “Hypnotized” (my favorite pre-1975 Fleetwood Mac song). The album didn’t do so well aside from that, and this, combined with the fact that Bob Weston was having an affair with Fleetwood’s wife, Jenny Boyd (sister of Patti Boyd, the star of a similar love triangle with Eric Clapton and George Harrison and the subject of Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, incidentally), caused enormous tensions within the band. Weston was kicked out, the band’s manager created a band that toured as Fleetwood Mac but had nothing to do with the real band, giant legal battles ensued, the band relocated from England to Los Angeles and fired their manager, and the next album, Heroes Are Hard to Find, featured Christine and Welch fighting hard for creative direction, to subpar results. Welch finally left, and Fleetwood found Lindsey Buckingham in a studio and asked him to join on the strength of a song of his. Buckingham joined on the condition that his girlfriend and music partner Stevie Nicks could also join, and they released a mid-70s mainstream pop/soft-rock album called Fleetwood Mac (clearly a “rebooting of the franchise”- they knew this would be a New Thing), which featured three distinct songwriting personalities: Lindsey Buckingham, the Nervous Rock Guitarist of “Monday Morning” and “I’m So Afraid”; Stevie Nicks, the Mystical Balladeer of “Rhiannon” and “Landslide”; and Christine McVie, the Happy Popper of “Over My Head” and “Say You Love Me”.

Now why did I take the time to painstakingly type all of that out when you could have read it elsewhere online? For one thing, to show that “Fleetwood Mac” actually means a few different things, and that the story does not start and end with Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, especially since Christine McVie had been at least involved with the band since almost the very beginning (though I don’t blame the public for thinking that); and much of the pre-1975 Fleetwood Mac output is underrated; don’t be afraid to try it out, because there’s at least one song I totally love on every single one of those records, barring the first two and Heroes, maybe. For another, to show just how much of a mess this band had been since the dawn of time. And for one more, to show how important historical context has always been for the band; it may have been named after the trusty rhythm section, but it always depended on the actual songwriters, and the nature of the members’ personal troubles often directly affected the quality of the music.

And there is no better proof of that last point than Rumours, one of the best-selling and most critically acclaimed albums the world has ever seen, with a 99/100 on Metacritic. The context for this album (I know, more history, but we’re almost done) is this: Buckingham and Nicks were in a terrible on/off relationship, the McVies were divorcing after eight years of marriage, Fleetwood and his wife were on the verge of divorce after she’d had another affair with his best friend, Nicks became addicted to cocaine, one of Nicks’ songs was continually rejected by the others and she had multiple breakdowns about it (it was left off of the album initially, but restored to later pressings), and the tabloids loved every minute of this and blew everything up. Indeed, the album is titled Rumours in response to the stuff the press was saying, such as that Buckingham and Nicks were the parents of Fleetwood’s daughter (!). Essentially, the band had fallen apart emotionally, but their recording contract demanded a new album, and they all stopped speaking to each other except about the music and lyrics. It follows that the only album that really comes to mind as being as tremendously focused and as connected to its personal context in terms of quality that I can think of is Abbey Road.

Because the songs absolutely rule. You already know most of them from classic rock radio, probably, but if you don’t have this album, nothing I say will do it proper justice—go get it. Each of the three songwriters is at their melodic and emotional peak, which means this album goes off like a bomb. Stevie gets four songs, Christine gets four songs, Lindsey gets three songs, and there’s a collective Band Anthem as well. Describing each of these songs is a fool’s errand; most of them are so ingrained in our culture already that typing out what I think about the melodies of each of them would be like pouring a glass of water into the ocean. Suffice it to say that the whole record is unimpeachable from any technical standpoint; the production is crystal clear, the instruments all sound great, the harmonies are awesome throughout, the solo vocals are brilliant and full of personality (especially Stevie Nicks, whose voice has one of the most eerie, yet easy-to-listen-to timbres I can imagine), the instrumental melodies and playing are great (Lindsey Buckingham is one of the most underrated guitarists in the world, and his ability to depict any emotion, especially total desperation, is unparalleled; special awards for playing on this album go to the acoustic guitar playing on “Never Going Back Again”, the electric guitar soloing on “Go Your Own Way” and “You Make Loving Fun”, and John McVie’s bass solo that leads into the coda of “The Chain”), and the vocal melodies are simply among the best anybody has heard. Verses and choruses and bridges, all are brilliant on literally every song. A slight, slight exception might be Stevie’s closing “Gold Dust Woman”, whose verse melody has always been kinda hard for me to grab, but the “Well did she make you cry…” chorus is superb anyway, and besides, the song is great for other reasons I’ll get to. No, what I’d like to prattle about is the emotional content of the record, which is extremely thick, but often subtle enough so that the album doesn’t lose any accessibility.

A big way to describe this record is “Sunshine Through Tears”, the idea of putting on a happy face even when you’re completely breaking down, and this is exactly what the band was doing when creating it. Buckingham’s songs are just like that; the opening “Second Hand News” has a joyous-sounding melody, and fun acoustic strumming, and it’s a ton of fun to sing along to those “bam-bam-bam”s. But have you taken a look at those lyrics? The song is an ANGRY one, one about being replaced in a relationship and screaming to be left alone (“Won’t you lay me down in the tall grass and let me do my stuff”). Once you know that, it doesn’t take long to hear Lindsey singing this happy melody and imagining him really tearing himself up once he gets to the “I’m just second hand news, I’M JUST SECOND HAND NEWS, YEAH”. Pretty much the same things can be said for “Go Your Own Way”, perhaps Fleetwood Mac’s most famous song and deservedly so. This is also a song, however, of triumph; it may be an angry song at its core, but it’s clear that the subject going their own way will ultimately turn out to be a good thing, and Lindsey is proud enough of himself to admit that (“Loving you isn’t the right thing to do…”). His third contribution, “Never Going Back Again”, is the stripped-down acoustic one with the cute little riff and the trippy humming harmonies, and it’s got a happy folksy melody as well, but it’s a song about a lost opportunity with someone, and it can be fairly depressing if you really listen to it.

Somewhat more depressing are Stevie’s numbers. Stevie, like I said, had grown herself a nice cocaine addiction by the time this album was being made, and oh boy, it shows. “Dreams” is an incredibly subtle song, but really listen to it and tell me you’ve heard anything like that in your life—the stripped-down sound and two-note bassline/constant IV-V alternation that never resolves to I (especially at the end) is an awesome move and it creates an atmosphere of tension and bitterness, and the weird guitar bends and Stevie’s voice give the song a psychedelic swirl, while the passive-aggressive lyrics (basically “Okay, fine, go, but you’ll realize what you’ve lost eventually”) only add to it. As much as I love “Rhiannon”, this song grinds that one’s bones to make its bread. “I Don’t Want to Know”, written way before Stevie and Lindsey joined the band, is probably the song best described by the “Sunshine Through Tears” tag; it’s all based on Stevie and Lindsey practically screaming at each other to a joyful pop melody. This may be the weakest song on the album, and it’s still awesome. “Silver Springs” is a ballad with a fantastic build into another tense, endlessly rising melody, with Stevie screaming her head off (“I will FOLLOW you DOWN ‘til the SOUND of my VOICE will HAUNT you”—her voice certainly will haunt me). Oh, more context—this was the song that was left off the album and relegated to the B-side of “Go Your Own Way” on the pretext that it was weaker than the others, and that’s frankly utter nonsense; I’m not interested in any edition of Rumours that does not include “Silver Springs”. And finally, she gets to close the album with “Gold Dust Woman”, one of the creepiest songs EVER recorded; it’s about her cocaine addiction, and it’s one of the few songs on the album that drops the happy face. The hellish ending, with Stevie and Lindsey screaming over the spooky countryish groove while it slowly intensifies is a terrifying way to end the record, and all the better for it.

The absolute key to Rumours, though, is Christine McVie. Her contributions to this record, and therefore to the world of music, cannot be understated. Over the course of her time in Fleetwood Mac (and, therefore, her marriage to John McVie, which had just ended), she had honed the craft of writing one shiny-happy pop song after another—and her hooks got so good that she should have gone into corporate songwriting. She is the only one who saves the record from drowning in its negative emotions, and does her best to balance those with songs that depict nothing but pure joy and optimism. “Don’t Stop” (one of the most famous from the album, and used in Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign; it may be one of my least favorite songs here but it still totally rules, and it’s sung in duet with Buckingham), “Songbird” (just Chris and a piano this time, a practically perfect piano ballad, and in her words, “a little hymn” to “nobody and everybody”), and “You Make Loving Fun” (her, and Fleetwood Mac’s, first run at disco, with some phenomenal vocal moves like “I’d like to belie-ie-ie-ie-ieve…”) are all happy happy songs, some of the happiest ever made. It’s only near the very end of the record that we get her fourth contribution, “Oh Daddy”, and the walls come crashing down. This song is sarcastic, dark, and just plain defeated (“If there’s a fool around, it’s got to be me”, “And I can’t walk away from you, baby, if I tried”) with a sparse musical backing that really brings to mind poor Chris sitting alone at the piano with a blank expression on her face, defeated by everything; it turns out her other songs were probably a sham, no matter how much she might deny that by saying they were about her relationship with her new boyfriend or that “Oh Daddy” was about Mick Fleetwood. Not even Happy Happy Joy Joy Christine McVie could come out of all of that emotional turmoil in one piece, and that makes this song totally devastating, probably the most devastating on the album because of that. For what it’s worth, this was the song that came closest to knocking “The Chain” off of its perch as Best Song for me.

Oh! That’s right. “The Chain” is unbelievable. All five members (yeah, even the rhythm section for which the band is named) wrote this song together, and if you don’t believe that was a feat, well, I’ll direct you back to those “Context” paragraphs. You probably already know it, and if you don’t, well, like with the whole album, nothing I can say is ever going to do it justice. It does not pretend either; it lays all of that anger out there (“DAMN your love, DAMN your lies”), and I think “the chain” keeping them together could also be said to represent the band’s recording contract forcing out the album. Everything about this song is utter perfection, lyrics to intro to verse to chorus to harmonies to bass solo to guitar solo to coda. Man.

There are only a couple more things I want to talk about with this album. One of them is the brilliant sequencing, just about as brilliant as almost any sequencing on any album (maybe The Beatles and Skylarking beat it, but maybe they don’t). Fade in with that joyful acoustic strumming for an upset song, and this creates some ironic tension. The irony becomes REAL tension on “Dreams”, which famously doesn’t ever resolve, just keeps bobbing up and down until you’re ready to scream. Short acoustic interlude follows with more ironic tension, followed by one of the most optimistic pop-rockers ever recorded, just in case you forgot you were listening to a Mainstream Pop Album, and a necessary respite before the triumphant madness-kept-in-check of “Go Your Own Way”, which is then followed by a mellow, but resplendent love ballad. Then, on the reissue, “Silver Springs” starts out sounding kind of similar to “Songbird”, but grows into a screaming frenzy, and it’s the only way to bridge “Songbird” to the (for the first time) unbridled emotional hell of “The Chain” (do you see why I can’t do without “Silver Springs”? You’d get whiplash by going directly from “Songbird” to “The Chain”!), the climax of the album. An optimistic song is the only thing that could possibly save our nerves after that one, and “You Make Loving Fun” sure qualifies. But it’s a sort of false relief, because then Stevie and Lindsey then reach a total boiling point on “I Don’t Want to Know”, the last upbeat(-sounding) song of the album, and they have a screaming match until the band totally breaks down for “Oh Daddy” and “Gold Dust Woman”, and the record fades away with a haunting country groove while a clearly agonizing Stevie wails the night away.

So how did this become such a popular, mainstream record if it’s such a downer? Simple. The answer is subtlety. Each and every song on this album (except “The Chain” and the last two songs) is catchy and friendly-sounding and either fun or relaxing to listen to, even and especially “Dreams”. “Ross, doesn’t that mean the band sacrificed their artistic integrity to make the record popular?” Well, no. Irony is the record’s greatest emotional weapon, and I think Fleetwood Mac knew that going in. This is why Rumours works on multiple levels: it can work as just a collection of catchy mainstream 70s pop/soft-rock tunes that’s great entertainment to sing along to on a car drive (I have used it many times for that), and it can work just as well as a thrill ride through the entire spectrum of human emotions and interactions (I have used it many times for that as well). It may take a while to tap into that latter one, especially if you grew up hearing the songs out of their context on the radio like I did, but with some time, some education, and some good will, you’ll be as impacted and as thrown around by this record as I am.

The original purpose for any art form is the expression of human emotion. Rumours, therefore, is of the highest art form, because not only does it express those emotions (even if they take a while to uncover), but it creates memorable experiences out of those expressions by also being the catchiest album around. How the five members of Fleetwood Mac were able to go on after this album, which was obviously incredibly taxing on everyone involved, is a Mystery to Me (of course, you could say “Well, they made MONEY off of it”, and I would pretend I hadn’t heard you), especially since Fleetwood Mac couldn’t ever keep the same lineup for two albums in a row previously. But they would never manage to top it, or even come close; Tusk and Say You Will are both great records in their own ways, but the song quality and emotional resonance of either are nowhere near the level of this masterpiece, let alone Mirage, Tango in the Night, or Behind the Mask (and certainly not Time). I frankly wonder if anyone has ever really topped this record, and I’d sure like to hear it if they had. Do I need to listen to it that often? Not really; much of it’s been ingrained in my head since I was a kid. But is it worth anything when I do? You BET it is. What a well-written, great-sounding, ironic, self-contradictory, and utterly fascinating emotional rollercoaster of a record. Unless, of course, it’s just a bunch of simplistic radio fodder for the masses. That’s cool too.

6 notes · View notes

hippothebrave · 8 years ago

Text

Every Character in the d’Artagnan Romances with Mostly Useless Superpowers. (with spoilers!)

Made with @robininthelabyrinth and @eugeniedanglars.

In this universe, superpowers are distributed randomly, but super-powered people tend to join the aristocratic classes for snobbery purposes. Gascons tend not to have powers, instead choosing to run at the enemy screaming.

The Three Musketeers:

d’Artagnan: No powers. Who needs powers when you can just hit things very hard?

Porthos: Super-strength. Like. Is there any other option?

Aramis: Low-level telepathy so that people trust him and are charmed. Also, he’s a supervillain, but that’s nothing new.

Athos: Probability manipulation, but dependent on how noble and honorable and melodramatic he’s being. He does not actually know that; he’s just like this as a person. The probability manipulation also just makes events play out like the drama Athos believes he’s in rather than anything under his control.

Planchet: No superpowers.

Mousqueton: Bedazzling--he can make things glittery. This is why Porthos hired him.

Bazin: Makes an automatic negative impression on people. His personality doesn’t help.

Grimaud: An imprinting power, which imprinted on Athos. Whatever Athos wants or needs, Grimaud can get. Athos wants strawberries from across the globe? Grimaud can get them. Unfortunately, Athos never wants anything. Grimaud is okay with that.

Milady: Can instantly pinpoint someone’s weakness on sight. This is a fairly weak power, but Milady is just ruthless and intelligent enough to use it devastatingly.

Kitty: She can hover.

Rochefort: Like d’Artagnan, no powers. Sadly, sarcasm is not a power.

Constance Bonacieux: Being forgotten--one must make an effort to remember her. This is not useful to her in the slightest, particularly since her enemies make the effort.

Monsieur Bonacieux: ...Inexplicable narrative contrivance? ...no powers.

Monsieur de Treville: No powers.

Cardinal Richelieu: Can talk to cats, and uses them as spies. Also, he moves silently.

Louis XIII: He tested positive for superpowers at a young age, and everyone thought he’d get a powerful, martial superpower. His power is that he can make any flower smell like any other flower. That’s it. He is incredibly bitter about this.

Anne of Austria: She can make plants grow. As a noblewoman, she can’t use these powers in an offensive, or even useful, capacity, so she uses them to make gorgeous bouquets and have flowers grow as she walks. Louis XIII makes them smell like a corpse flower (the worst-smelling flower in existence.)

Duke of Buckingham: No powers.

Lord de Winter: Nope.

Tom Felton: If he so chooses, he can be totally unnoticeable. However, Puritans believe that superpowers are the devil’s work, so he never uses his. Milady gets him to use them in order to kill Buckingham.

Executioner of Bethune: Can throw fireballs. Lives in a wooden town.

Madame de Chevreuse: The more power she gets and the more intrigue she is embroiled in, the younger she stays.

Twenty Years After:

Mordaunt: Walking mood ring--he can tell what people are feeling. Unlike his mother, however, he does not use his powers to the fullest. Or even just well, honestly.

Mazarin: No powers, and hates it, but not as much as Louis XIII and Louis XIV--the Louis-Louis, if you will--hate theirs.

Charles I: Perfect hair, all the time. It doesn’t help him when his head cut off--when his head is held to the crowd, it is the first time his hair has been messy.

Duc de Beaufort: He can always get into a fight when he wants to.

Oliver Cromwell: As a Puritan, even if he has powers, he doesn’t use them.

Raoul de Bragelonne: Like his father, probability manipulation. Raoul’s is mood-based; when he is happy, he has good luck, and when he is sad, he has bad luck. Unfortunately, he is Athos’ son.

Vicomte de Bragelonne (all books):

General Monk: No powers.

Louis XIV: No superpowers, and very upset by this. He spreads the rumor that he can shine like the sun and merely chooses not to, but this is a lie. He is totally powerless.

Marie-Theresa: Minor telekinesis, but as a woman, can only use her powers for party tricks.

The Man in the Iron Mask (Philippe): No powers.

Madame (Henrietta): She sparkles. Not specific sparkles, just a general sparkly-ness.

Charles II: Similar to his sister, Charles II is glittery--“The King of Bling.”

Duke of Buckingham (younger): Like his father, no powers.

Monsieur (Philippe): His clothing is always perfect. He can run into the middle of a battle and still look glorious and gleaming while everyone else is sweaty and dirty. He has developed the fashion sense to flaunt this. Louis XIV absolutely hates this.

Chevalier de Lorraine: Once a week, he can hear a juicy piece of gossip.

de Guiche: He can make it rain, but he can’t make it stop.

de Wardes: He can see in the dark. He declines to tell anyone about this, even when duelling in the dark.

Manicamp: He is unobtrusive, and seems like he belongs anywhere he is. When he's around a group, he's with them, for better or for worse. If he talks to someone, he is generally accepted--"ah yes, Manicamp"--and people generally don't notice where his interests lie unless they think about it.

Louise de la Valliere: She can create spikes on things, which could have been useful if only she were anyone else. As it is, she uses her powers for decoration. Louis XIV is still upset about it.

Athenaïs de Tonnay-Charente: No powers. That's why Louis likes her so much.

Saint-Aignan: No powers. That’s why Louis likes him so much.

Montalais: Can see several minutes into the future.

Malicorne: Farsight--he can see things that are far away. He also taught himself how to read lips.

Colbert: No powers.

Fouquet: The more people like him, the more eloquent he is--he is wittier, funnier, a better poet, etc. His power literally depends on his friends.

Madame de Belliere: She is excellent at games involving throwing things--paper airplanes, frisbee, skipping rocks, tossing a ball in a cup. However, she’s terrible at games with hitting things, like badminton.

Vatel: Perfect at organizing, but that doesn't mean that what he organizes always works out, even though he thinks it does.

Trüchen: No powers.

(A short ficlet written in this universe is here.

If anyone wants to do anything in the universe or ask about a character we missed, please do, just tell me!)

#the d'artagnan romances #d'artagnan #athos #porthos #aramis #the three musketeers #twenty years after #the vicomte de bragelonne #the hippo roars

50 notes · View notes

thewebofslime · 5 years ago

Link

Whistle-blower tells French police that Prince Andrew was a regular visitor to billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein's £7m Paris apartment Detectives in Paris are probing reports that Prince Andrew was at the property Witness claimed he spotted the Duke of York there on more than one occasion Apartment is said to have been used to entertain politicians and businessmen By TERRI-ANN WILLIAMS FOR MAILONLINE PUBLISHED: 04:41 EDT, 29 September 2019 | UPDATED: 10:34 EDT, 29 September 2019 e-mail 58 shares 2 View comments A whistle-blower has told police in France that Prince Andrew had been a regular visitor to billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein's £7million apartment in Paris. Detectives in the French city are now probing reports that the Queen's son was often at the property. It comes as the apartment was raided last week, with officers having discovered a custom-made massage parlour where Epstein and his friends are alleged to have raped their victims. Now a key witness has claimed that he spotted Prince Andrew at the building on more than one occasion. +4 It has been claimed that Prince Andrew (left) visited Jeffrey Epstein's Paris apartment on more than one occasion (Epstein, right) +4 The apartment building (above) owned by Epstein is thought to have hosted parties for businessmen and politicians Speaking to The Sun, the source, who cannot be named for legal reasons said: 'Prince Andrew stayed at the address a number of times including when Epstein was not there.' The paper also reported that the Duke is expected to avoid travelling to the country while the probe is ongoing. The Paris apartment is said to have been used to entertain guests from politicians, businessmen and models. It comes as the Duke of York could become further engulfed in the Epstein scandal, after police in the US seek to talk to alleged victims of the late American billionaire. RELATED ARTICLES Previous 1 2 Next FBI probes Prince Andrew's link to Epstein sex scandal:... Stunning £3,000-a-night hotel where Princess Beatrice... Prince Andrew hires Amber Rudd's former 'master of the dark... SHARE THIS ARTICLE Share The US law enforcement agency expects to interview alleged trafficking victims over the next two months, and Scotland Yard is ready to assist. The FBI are said to be looking to 'several' potential victims in the hope that they can provide more detail. The report quotes former head of royal protection at Scotland Yard, Dai Davies, saying a full investigation would be in Prince Andrew's best interests. 'I would have thought it's in Prince Andrew's interests to clear this matter up,' Mr Davies, who headed Prince Andrew's protection in the late 1990s, told The Sunday Times. +4 Virginia Roberts Giuffre (centre aged 17) claimed in a lawsuit dropped in 2015 that she was forced to have sex with the Duke of York (left) at the London home of Ghislaine Maxwell (right) Virginia Roberts on Prince Andrew: He knows what he did Loaded: 0%Progress: 0%0:00 Previous Play Skip Mute Current Time0:00 / Duration Time1:08 Fullscreen Need Text This is while witnesses in the ongoing French inquiry include 'sex slave' Virginia Roberts', who has appeared on camera, claiming that she was forced to have sex with Prince Andrew when she was just 17. The claims have always been denied by Prince Andrew, however Miss Roberts has said she is prepared to testify against him in court and said he was an 'abuser and participant' in a worldwide sex trafficking ring. It is claimed that the sex trafficking ring also included 12-year-old twin girls that had been 'recruited' in Paris. The identities of the youngsters have been withheld but it is thought that they had been sent to the US for Epstein to abuse – while other girls were attacked in Paris. The whistle-blower has been the caretaker of the Avenue Foch apartment since the early 2000s. Epstein was jailed in the US in 2008 for over a year, however, it is not clear when the whistle-blower's allegation relate to. Also speaking to the Sun, an investigating source said: 'The apartment was searched from top to bottom, and everybody who was associated with (Epstein) will now need to be spoken to. 'Those regularly in residence in the Foch property included politicians, business people and plenty of young models and masseurs, who ended up being raped.' He added that guests also included Epstein's girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, who has denied any criminal behaviour. It was also reported this week that guests at the apartment had included people such as Bill and Melinda Gates. +4 Alleged ties: Jeffrey Epstein's butler Gabriel said Bill and Melinda Gates had visited the pedophile's Paris apartment (couple above in February) Virginia Roberts was forced to have sex with Prince Andrew Loaded: 0%Progress: 0%0:00 Previous Play Skip Mute Current Time0:00 / Duration Time1:55 Fullscreen Need Text Epstein's former Butler, known as Gabriel, who worked there for 18-years, said that Prince Andrew, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Steve Bannon were also guests at the residence - as were a number of 'very young, very thin and very tall girls'. Those girls, who he said in recent years all looked to be of age, were kept separate from the other guests at all times according to Gabriel. Andrew has previously said in a statement: 'At no stage during the limited time I spent with him (Epstein) did I see, witness or suspect any behaviour of the sort that subsequently led to his arrest and conviction.' Buckingham Palace could not be reached for comment this morning. JEFFREY EPSTEIN'S UNDOING: A TIMELINE OF THE MILLIONAIRE PEDOPHILE'S DOWNFALL 1999 - Virginia Roberts Giuffre is allegedly recruited by Ghislaine Maxwell to became Epstein's 'sex slave,' at 17. She also claimed that he forced her to have sex with his friend Prince Andrew, the second son of Queen Elizabeth. 2002 - Trump tells New York Magazine that his friend Epstein 'likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.' 2005 - A 14-year-old girl tells police that Epstein molested her at his Palm Beach mansion. May 2006 - Epstein and two of his associates are charged with multiple counts of unlawful sex acts with a minor. State attorney of the time Barry Krischer, referred the case to a grand jury who heard from just two of the 12 girls law enforcement had gathered as potential witnesses. They returned just one single count of soliciting prostitution. July 2006 - The case is referred to the FBI by the Florida Palm Beach police who were unhappy with how the case was handled. 2007 - Epstein's lawyers meet with Miami's top federal prosecutor Alexander Acosta, who would later become the Secretary of Labor in the Trump administration. They secretly negotiate the 'deal of a lifetime'. June 2008 - After pleading guilty to two prostitution charges, the millionaire was sentenced to 18 months in a low-security prison in exchange for prosecutors ending their investigation into his sex acts with minors and give him immunity from future prosecution related to those charges. In reality, Epstein was able to work from his office six days a week while supposedly incarcerated at the jail. July 2008 - Accusers learned of the deal for the first time. July 2009 - Epstein is released from jail five months early. July 2018 - The Miami Herald publishes investigative journalist Julie K. Brown's exposé on Epstein's long history of alleged sexual abuse and news of the 'deal of a lifetime' after Acosta was made Labor Secretary. February 2019 - The justice department opens an internal review into Epstein's plea deal. July 7, 2019 - Epstein is arrested after his private jet lands at New Jersey's Teterboro Airport from Paris. At the same time, federal agents break into his Manhattan townhouse where they uncovered hundreds of photographs of naked minors. July 8, 2019 - Epstein is charged with sex trafficking charges which detail how he created a network of underage girls in Florida and New York, paying girls as young as 14 to provide 'massages and sex acts.' The charges carry a sentence of up to 45 years in prison. July 11, 2019 - More than a dozen women, not previously known to law enforcement, came forward to accuse him of sex abuse. July 24 - Epstein was found unconscious in his cell after an apparent suicide attempt. He was moved to suicide watch at the Metropolitan Correctional Center. August 9, 2019 - More than 2,000 documents are unsealed which reveal the lurid allegations against Epstein in detail. August 10, 2019 - Epstein is found dead in his cell.

#TheWebOfSlime

0 notes

sandinz · 6 years ago

Text

Our summer kiwi visitors we’ve blogged about so far had booked their passage with us well in advance. Actually at least a year before their arrival. The next one wasn’t quite so planned. It also encompassed a great deal of places and people – leading to a number of blog posts to do the momentous occasion justice.

In March (I think!) this year, I spotted a Facebook post of Barry’s elder brother Ray, who lives in Barry’s hometown Gisborne in New Zealand. It announced his success in being pulled out of a draw for a place in ‘The Brompton World Championship‘. In all honesty I had absolutely no idea what he was talking about! As one does nowadays to acquire information, I Googled it. I discovered it was a race for owners of Brompton fold-up bikes, in London, in July.

Okay, that meant he was coming to London right? I thought I’d better check with him …

Yep.

Actually, his plan was to come to do the race, then spend around three weeks or so with us. He’d just not quite got around to letting us know (here’s where the lol comes in!).

Awesome. Ray had never before given us any inkling of wanting to come to England, quite the opposite. He’d been rather concerned about the vagaries of the British weather. Rightly so usually I hear you say. As you and I now know, he chose a spectacular summer to make his virgin voyage to the Land of Hope and Glory!

We soon found out a lot more about Brompton bikes and the race in question. Ray already had an ‘old’ Brompton. For the race though, his intention was to buy a new one once he arrived in London.

“The Brompton World Championship is our flagship Brompton only racing event. With qualifying heats held in 15 countries and a final in the UK. The event has been running for 10 years and is held in cities around the world. Riders must follow the strict dress code which reflects the heritage of the event.” https://www.brompton.com/events/Brompton-World-Championship

Ray hadn’t had to qualify in a heat anywhere. There are apparently number of tickets worldwide available in a random draw – you have to apply and supply such things as details of age, nationality, and predicted speed. It was his first application, so he was understandably ecstatic to be chosen. Ray’s number and predicted placing was 580, which meant they reckoned he’d finish 580th!

More about the race later …

After much communication and sharing of spreadsheets (loosely it turned out!) of Ray’s itinerary, we both travelled to Heathrow on Wednesday 25th July to meet him off his flight from Hong Kong where he’d spent a few days. We’d contacted some friends in Boreham Wood in advance, as we thought it would be great to tie in a visit to them too. Barry and many of his group of friends from Gisborne had stayed in the area in the 1970s, Barry in 1976 on his inaugural UK trip where he first spotted canals.

We stayed with Jane and Mick on the Wednesday and Thursday night, enjoying much camaraderie and laughter.

The two Teutenberg’s together

An most pleasant balmy evening out with Mick and Jane

Barry and Ray travelled back into London on the Thursday to pick up the Brompton (while I stayed at the house to do Ad-Extra online work – I so love the flexibility of a location independent job), but hit a slight snag and surprisingly Ray ended up the potential owner of not one but two Bromptons! Most confusing. There was a problem re-claiming the VAT on his initial online purchase, so he had to find a way to cancel that and buy another one! It all came out in the wash after some discombobulation and delay – finally successfully taking ownership of the shiny new wheels on Friday afternoon. The race was the following day.

In the meantime, we left Jane and Mick’s and headed to our accommodation for the next three nights in Paddington – unsurprisingly not far from a canal.

We’d previously moored at Paddington Basin in September 2010, for about a week. Barry’s son Tom was with us for a three-week visit, and we had one extremely special night on board when all four of our children were together. For one night only. This is yet to be repeated … Barry’s daughter Jamie was in London at the time on her two-year ‘Overseas Experience’ (OE as kiwis call it), and Lisa and Kim travelled down and up the country respectively to be with us all.

Skip forward eight years and oh my goodness, how the area has changed! We were amazed at how the city here has embraced the canal. A buzzing, thriving, colourful place – especially in the warm sunshine with deckchairs scattered around and a splash area for the children. There were even powered boats for hire (Go Boats) to cruise coolly around whilst nibbling a picnic and sipping Prosecco. And an air of luxury with al fresco dining on a floating pontoon.

Incredibly we arrived at an opportune moment to see the ‘Finger Bridge’ raised. We had no idea what it was, until it lowered, then read that this occurs only at certain times … Brilliant!

The new finger bridge over the Paddington Arm of the Grand Union. Five separate sections that lower and become one. Opened at 12:00pm on certain days, so very lucky to catch it!

The canal in places was covered in a carpet of green weed, possibly from the hot weather. The inventive local coots were making the most of the weed and the detritus they found to build a nest.

We even visited the floating café at Little Venice, that was there in 2010, and had a coffee – returning for a spot of lunch on the Sunday. It’s good to support floating businesses!

The Waterside Cafe in Little Venice still going strong!

Then it was a short long walk (sorry Ray!) to the Brompton store to collect the new wheels – not the blue wheels featured below!

A flash car near Hyde Park – with a parking ticket attached

Buckingham Palace no less

Covent Garden and the voice of an angel

Having a walk around London on Friday, en route to the Brompton store, visiting the Queen’s pad

Hurrah! Possession of Brompton successful

Sheltering from the first rain in weeks

Trying out the Brompton

Ray was over the moon. So much so that he decided to rise early on Saturday, the day of the race, and do a few circuits of St James’s Park where the event was held that evening. Needless to say, Barry and I chose to remain in bed as long as possible in the hotel in Paddington while he whisked himself away!

As stated above, there’s a strict dress code. Lycra is banned. City Slickers is the order of the day. Ray had brought his outfit from New Zealand and fitted in with his companions well.

With almost 600 riders in the final, the cyclists were tasked to race around eight circuits of St James’ Park, zooming past the Queen’s pad each lap.

Arriving at the start of the hospitality to make the most of the much-anticipated day, we partook of what was on offer …

One such joy was standing on the winner’s podium – well you never know!

Another was a rather lovely experience with ‘Thomas Dakin Gin‘. Now we’d never heard of this brand, and still have yet to see it anywhere. But apparently it was first distilled in 1761, not far from where the Bridgewater Canal was built spookily in the same year!

Barry and I and four others heard the story, watched the gregarious chap describe the process, and had a taste of the product with a blend of lemon and honey I seem to recall. Very delicious thank you!

On the Dakin stall they encouraged passers-by to ‘Spin the Wheel’ – I was lucky enough to have a go and win a rather splendid Dakin umbrella! Handy too as it was much-needed the following day …

Supporting the kiwi contingent

Brothers in arms

After many hours of walking around, chatting, drinking and eating, and watching other cycling events, the race finally began.

One of the highlights of this spectacle is the competitors must place their FOLDED Brompton on the opposite side of the track and wait for the whistle. It’s performed in stages so the riders don’t all end up in a tangled mess – though one or two did manage that during the race unfortunately but unsurprisingly …

Once the whistle for your particular group is blown, you all run across and assemble your bicycle before pedalling like crazy round and round and round …

The speed some of the cyclists were going at, and the closeness of the bikes was frightening! Have a look at the video (click here) and be amazed at the craziness of the challenges – you’ll see my back on the gin tasting wagon at 24 seconds in, and Ray and his bike at 28 seconds and one minute 52 seconds.

His finishing place on the day was a highly honourable and deserving 289th. Which is 291 ahead of his predicted 580. Pretty darn amazing I’d say for an almost 64 year-old kiwi! He definitely deserves a medal.

Cambden Town and more sight-seeing

Following the excitement of Saturday, Sunday was our last full day in the capital. Despite us all feeling rather knackered after a long day and much walking and frivolity, we made the most of the time left. Sadly the summer weather turned a little awry, as you’ll see from the grey skies.

We’d planned to meet our fabulous friend Sandra from ‘The Doggie Boat‘ in Camden, as she’s been in and around London this year and we’ve missed each other. More of the green weed proliferated around Camden Lock – crazy stuff.

Snatching a catch up lunch with Sandra

You may have spotted that a few of the images in this post aren’t that great – it’ll be because they’re taken by me, with my iPhone 5, rather than by Barry who’s a far better photographer! The Sandras selfie is quite obviously one of those …

Heading across London again we crossed the River Thames for a tour of The Tate Modern. This incredible space in central London is (mostly) free. We wandered around for a couple of captivating hours, and happily discovered a viewing floor on the top floor of the Blavatnik Building, giving a 360degree view of the city and beyond. It did as well for us as the London Eye would’ve – but for no cost. Marvellous.

Some spectacular views of the London skyline from the viewing level. Most impressive!

Following all that culture, we ventured back out into the elements and continued along the Thames walkway to Tower Bridge. Barry captured many a fine shot along the way, there’s so much to see …

I’m sneaking in a picture of the brothers, despite it being poor quality (mine of course!), because it has both the brothers in …

My new Thomas Dakin umbrella came in tremendously handy!

Goodness, so much seen and done in just four days. And so much was yet to be seen and done …

Meanwhile, we returned to Areandare moored at Penkridge on Monday 30th July, the day before Ray’s birthday, to make some narrowboating memories.