#gonna need quite a few disclaimers on this bad boy once i get it edited and posted

[jtownraindancer]

Missing you already! ...Asshole.

Burn Gorman as Alan Weisberger in Love is Not Enough, 2001

[mitsukui]

make it cream | g.w.

Pairing: George Weasley x female reader.

Summary: George finally tastes a bit of his own medicine ━  a sequel to ‘Good Girl’; if you still haven’t read it, I highly recommend you doing it so, because it’ll make so much more sense! (PART 1! + PART 3!)

Word Count: 2,5k (I know this got a little bit long, but take it as a ‘thank you’ present!)

Warnings: smut! Oral sex (male receiving), masturbation (male receiving), dirty talk, edging, cum play, daddy kink, degratation kink.

Disclaimer: none of the pictures used in the edit below belong to me; I simply put them together.

A/N: the amount of support I got from ‘Good Girl’ was insane, you guys! I could never express how grateful I truly am for each and every one of you. Thank you for all the likes, the reblogs, the messages. I hope you enjoy this sequel as much as you enjoyed the first part. Please, leave me some feedback if you feel like it! My askbox is open for your opinions, thoughts and requests. Thank you so much for your time and attention!  ♡

@gecrgesweasley​ thank you so much for giving me permission to use your idea somehow! ✨

Masterlist!

You had grown a bit tired of it. Enough was enough. It was not like you were unhappy with it; most times, you actually enjoyed it enormously. But now, every single time was the same.

It was high time you dominated George Weasley.

The sensations you felt that night still lurked in your body. Images of his big hands lashing out onto your skin still burned in the back of your mind. The warmth of his saliva on your tongue could still be felt whenever you pressed it against the roof of your mouth. Your legs still trembled slightly when you thought of the overstimulation he put you through after he had fucked your face mercilessly.

That night had been the first of many. Before it, you had never had any complaints about your sex life with your boyfriend. He had always shown himself as a caring and thoughtful partner. But you had been relentlessly suspicious of something within him fighting to make its way to the light.

George’s façade concealed how ravenous he truly was in bed.

And his dominating ways had awoken something in you.

You caught yourself wondering during lunch breaks whether you could make him come undone only with your hands. You visited muggle sex shops after work frequently. You spent long, extra minutes in the shower, pleasuring yourself over the thought of degrading him, exactly like he had done to you so many times before.

All you needed was an opportunity, since you already felt confident enough to try a few things on him. All you needed was an opportunity. And, apparently, all the planets aligned on a Saturday night to lend you a helping hand with that.

As usual, he had decided to work on a few things for Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes in the comfort of his flat, where you tended to spend your weekends at. Midnight was slowly approaching, but he was still going over some numbers and projects he had planned with Fred.

You found him in the kitchen, leaning towards the small squared table. He was still in his uniform, and numerous parchments were spread across the place he was working at. One of his hands supported his chin while the other was used to fiercely scribble new considerations about previously discussed topics.

It was funny how he could turn you on doing the most ridiculous things, such as working. George was a very intelligent man, and whenever he poured his brain out into something, you could feel your knees buckling. The way he would share his and Fred’s projects with you without exception was quite cute, too.

But tonight was not about being cute. Tonight was about torturing him and making him beg.

“It’s late. Almost midnight. Let’s go to bed.” Your voice brought him back to reality, and he offered you a weary smile. In your eyes, the way he threw himself into his passions was beautiful; but, once again, you found yourself secretly desiring to help him relieve all of the stress that existed in his body.

“I’m not tired.” He said in a low voice. “And if I don’t have this ready by tomorrow, Fred is gonna kill me.” As he chuckled, he shook his head to himself.

“Well, he’s not anywhere to be seen here, is he?” You raised your eyebrows playfully. A big difference between the twins was that Fred knew how to disconnect from work when their shift was over. But George was different. He used to go for that extra mile quite often. And to you, that was beautiful, too.  “And I know you’re tired. You know I know you like the back of my hand, right?”

You both stared at each other for a little while in silence before laughing softly. He gave up on pretending he was not tired, because deep down inside he knew you were right, and let his body to sink into the chair. His slender fingers loosened his dark amber tie, and your heart instantly skipped a beat.

“If you don’t want to go to bed, just let me do something for you, then.” You suddenly spat out, unable to control your excitement. The universe was right there, offering you a chance to do what you had been dreaming of for a few weeks. “Please.”

“Damn, princess. You know I go crazy when you beg for something.”

Your teeth were pressed gently onto your lower lip right after you whispered a second plead, and your eyes gained a new devious sparkle to them. The heat between you two was soon to elevate, just like that first night.

George spread his legs a bit and patted his muscular thighs, wordlessly telling you to sit on his lap, which you eagerly complied. You wasted no time in settling your body onto his, and pecking his thin lips once.

You reached out for both of his hands, and you swallowed hard at how big they looked when compared to yours, arousal starting to build up in your loins.

Looking intensely at his eyes, you placed one of his hands around your neck. He was fast to give your skin a delicate squeeze but, somehow, you craved for more. So you took his other hand to your lips.

They wrapped around two of his fingers, and your tongue ran over his skin. His exhaustion made his body more sensible than it usually was, and you felt pleased with yourself as soon as he threw his head back. Husky groans began to leave his lips when you started sucking on his fingers hungrily. You hollowed your cheeks, already moving your head up and down and rocking your hips against his body.

You could feel he was about to switch from groans to real moans, but things could not be that easy for him. You pulled his hand away from his mouth, a string of your saliva still connecting him to you. He sighed heavily due to the frustration that now took over his body.

“You are such a little whore.” He was panting slightly as his eyes fell upon you once again, and there was a light flush on his skin. “Daddy needs to teach you a lesson. Good girls always finish what they started. Open your mouth.”

“No.”

A flash of disbelief splashed across his face and it was almost as if the world had stopped for one or two seconds. He was unsure whether he heard you correctly.

His hands got a grip on your hips, his fingers pressing down onto the soft skin hard enough to leave some bruises there. “I said ‘open your mouth’, princess.”

“And I said ‘no’, Daddy.” A smirk appeared on your lips, adrenaline rushing through your veins faster than blood itself. You tilted your head to the side, and used your fingers to play with his tie and the collar of his shirt. “I’m not taking any orders tonight, Daddy. I’m calling the shots, for a change.”

After that, it did not take long until he was completely undressed in front of you, his hands tied to the back of the chair with his own tie, and his hard cock sprung free, laid on his stomach.

You had barely started teasing him, but he was already whimpering for some mercy. His eyes were closed, his eyebrows furrowed, and he felt like bursting into tears any moment now.

It was fun to be dominated instead of dominating, but it was something he was not used to. He did not know how to control his own instincts that well, and he was suffering. His desire was to cum all over your hands, but you said he could only do that when you allowed him to. Painting your entire body with his own seed was something he loved doing, but being unable to do it whenever he wanted to was causing tiny excruciating  fireworks to explode inside his chest.

Your lips brushed against his left thigh, pampering the freckle-stained area with soft and small kisses. You eyed him while making your way up through his body, your mouth soon reaching his crotch for the first time that night.

He felt the warmth of your lips touching his cock ever so slightly, and returned to whimpering. A delicious wave of desire crashed within your body when you tasted the precum that leaked from his tip. However, you allowed your mouth to be restrained to that area only.

George attempted to buck his hips up to thrust into your mouth, but you immediately leaned back. “Now, don’t be a bad boy, Daddy.” The tip of his cock received a new substitute for pleasure without warning: your fingers.

Loud cries echoed in the kitchen as you ran your fingertips gently over his reddened tip. You were deeply mesmerized by his reactions, yet you wanted more.

“Would you like me to suck your dick, Daddy?” You purred, your voice dripping in lust and excitement over your recently discovered dominance. He nodded vehemently. “Would you like to feel my wet and warm tongue running up and down your shaft?”

Those filthy words were leaving your lips easily, and your nails were scratching his skin lightly. “Can you imagine receiving a sloppy blowjob, Daddy? Tears running down my face as your thick dick hits the back of my throat.” You wrapped your hand around him, and pumped him up and down a few times, your pace being terribly slow.

“My saliva getting mixed with your juices and, then, escaping my lips and dripping down my tits.” Your hand moved in a faster pace, but it was not fast enough for him. His chest started rising and falling, pleasure erupting in his body. “And, finally, your hot seed exploding in my mouth. Can you imagine that, Daddy?”

A giggle slipped out of your lips and went straight to his core. His cock twitched in your hand, and you pretended to be surprised. “Oh! You like that, Daddy?” Up until that moment, you had been enchanted by the sight of his tip disappearing and reappearing in your hands. But you finally looked up at him, and you swore you were in heaven.

George had his eyes closed, a thin layer of sweat covering his forehead. He was tirelessly trying to free his own hands. Even though his lips were apart and trying to say something, nothing was coming out of them.

“You know how much I love to have you in my mouth. You fill me up so well, Daddy! You are so thick, so big, and so veiny.” A little peck was laid on his tip, and his muscles tensed up as he tried again to be freed from the restrains on his wrists.

You finally put an end to his suffering and took all of him at once, his cock indeed hitting the back of your throat. You gagged and tears welled up to your eyes, but you persisted. Pushing your head even further down, you heard him moaning your name.

He was in sheer ecstasy. You carried on sucking him hungrily, and his needy whimpers did not cease. There was something about the way your bodies connected: he fit perfectly into your mouth, and he felt your touch could work wonders on him. Among so many lustful feelings and thoughts, he realized he was hopelessly in love with you.

“I-I’m close, princess.” His back arched a bit, and he groaned loudly. “Don’t stop.”

But you did. You stopped without thinking twice. And he cried out loud, frustration coloring his veins again. George tried to form coherent sentences to express his discontent, but it was difficult to think straight.

“You’re pathetic, Daddy. What do you think people would say if they saw you like that?” His thighs were splattered with delicate kisses like before. His breath was uneven, and he cleared his throat. Your words resonated through your surroundings, but he did not feel embarrassed at all. In fact, he was enjoying this far more than he expected.

“I reckon you are a whore. My whore, Daddy.”

Your fingers danced against his wet tip repeatedly while your other hand gently cupped his balls. His legs trembled violently due to the extra pressure you put onto his sensible tip. He warned you he was close to releasing one more time, but you stopped your movements again.

Your boyfriend mewled shamelessly, sounding like a desperate kitten. It was the second time you were edging him after a long session of teasing, and you could tell he was aching. The veins in his cock were prominent, and his tip was now taken by a dark reddish shade.

“All you have to do is beg, Daddy. I know you can do it.”

“P-Please, princess. Let me cum. I don’t know if I can take it anymore.” The tiredness he had endured all this time became evident on his voice, and you almost felt sorry for him.

He was a hot mess. Sweat dripped from his face, strength no longer existed within him to fight against the wrists restrains, and agony was the only visible feeling on his handsome face.

With a fond smile on your lips, you ordered him to cum for his princess as you pumped his cock in your hands for the last time. When he warned you about his release being close, you let go of his big shaft and watched it as it landed on his stomach.

You whispered dirty nothings as your hands ran up and down his body, and it did not take long for him to feel his orgasm being expelled from his tip. Thick strings of his seed covered the skin on his own stomach.

That was a sight to be proud of.

You moved your body closer to his, at last removing your knees from the cold kitchen floor. Trying to soothe him a bit more, you used your hands to caress the sides of his body that still trembled slightly. Without warning, your tongue collected all of his cum into your mouth. He felt your tongue running up and down, side to side, over his abs, and his torso jolted in overstimulation.

His taste was amazing to you, and you felt incredibly close to him by doing that. You, then, realized you were hopelessly in love with him as well.

With a tad of effort, you finally stood up properly. Your intimate moment had taken its toll on you, too. Knees were sore, legs were weak, and throat was slightly sore.

You leaned down towards his face, and his eyes confessed he could not take any more bit of teasing. Your thumbs stroked his cheek bones, signaling it was really over now. But you still squished his cheeks gently, and his lips opened only for you.

His own cum was soon deposited in his mouth, and he moaned at the new sensation. You brushed your tongue against his lips and, once you were free to talk again, you did. Your voice came out like a hoarse murmur, but George thought it was incredibly sensual.

“Can you swallow it, Daddy?” Your fingers continued on caressing his skin and he nodded weakly, your eyes watching him swallow his own release. “You’re such a good boy.”

“I’m going to fucking destroy you next time, princess.”

“Bring it on, Daddy.”

[searxws]

Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader ; Limerence

—PT.3 (discontinued)

(series masterlist)

Covers episode three Hawkins POV

Disclaimer; I do not own these characters!! Also ⚠️!SPOILERS FOR ST4 IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN IT!⚠️

This story is also being updated to wattpad by the same username, it’s titled “Little Freak“ there’s a playlist and a mood board on that edition.

Summary: Y/N Henderson and Eddie Munson have been dating for quite some time. She goes to his band rehearsals and DnD games, and in return he watches from the gym doors as she cheers. However, what will happen when Eddie is the top suspect in the killing of her teammate, Chrissy?

A/N: hey guys! im so sorry this chapter took so long to come out, recently i've been struggling with some sickness and paranoia, which then caused me to fall into writers block, so i tried my hardest to this chapter out, i hope you enjoy! — courts<3

2.6k words (sorry)

The next morning Y/N was up brushing her teeth, making sure she was ready to go. She went to wake Dustin up to get ready so that Steve could pick them up and head to Reefer Ricks. About fifteen minutes later, the siblings heard a car horn outside their home, Dustin grabbed his bag and they left.

Y/N took a seat in the back seat next to Robin and Max, while Dustin moved to sit in the front. They stopped at the market to pick up some food for Eddie. Things like chips and cereal were now in the car as the group made their way back to Lovers Lake.

When they walked through the door they saw Eddie standing in the corner holding the broken beer bottle from the night before. He must've not known it was them because he ran at them, ready to attack, but when he saw his girlfriend at the head of the group, he retreated.

"GOD you guys cant just do that!" He said to the group in front of him.

Dustin replied "Sorry man." while handing Eddie the bag of food.

Everyone in the group spread out across the boathouse, finding a place to sit. Eddie took a spot next to Y/N and in return the girl took his hand, tracing circles on the dorsal side of his hand.

Eddie opened the food he'd just received, going for the box of honeycomb cereal, which he'd requested the night before.

"So, we have some news, bad or good first?" Dustin said to the kinky haired boy.

"Bad news first, always." He replied, shoving a handful of the cereal into his mouth, acting as if it were a law to receive bad news first.

"So, we tapped into the Hawkins PD dispatch with our Cerebro, they're definitely looking for you. Also they're pretty convinced you killed Chrissy." Dustin said. The mention of the former cheerleaders name caused Eddie to tense up a bit.

"Like, 100% kind of convinced." Max added with a sorrowful face.

"And the good news?" Eddie said, leaning more into Y/N. The girl could tell he was growing nervous.

"Your name hasn't gone public yet. But if we found you so easily then it'd only a matter of time before they find you too." Robin broke the news. "And once that gets out everyone and their shallow-minded mother is gonna be gunning for you." She finished off.

"Hunt the freak, right?" Eddie said while grimacing.

"Exactly." Robin said.

The boy muttered a string of curse words under his breath, only loud enough for Y/N to hear. She then placed her hand around him and onto his shoulder, trying to offer the boy some comfort.

"So before that happens," Dustin said, trying to move the group back onto the plan, "we need to find Vecna, kill him, and prove your innocence." He spoke the plan to Eddie.

"Thats all, Dustin? Thats all?" Eddie said, getting slightly defensive at how easy Dustin made it sound.

"Yeah! No thats pretty much it." Dustin said reassuringly, obviously not getting the hint. Eddie scoffed.

"Listen Eddie," Robin started, "I know everything Dustin is saying sounds totally delusional, but we've actually been through this kind of thing before!" Robin stated.

"I mean, they have, a few times, and I have once!" Said Robin, Eddie looked around to find Steve nodding at hime.

"Mine was more human flesh based, and theres was more smoke related, but bottom line is, collectively, I really feel like we've got this!" Robin said, trying to console Eddie.

"Yeah, see usually we rely on this girl who has super powers, but those kinda went bye-bye so right now were in more of a...." Steve said, trying to think of a word to describe their situation.

"Brainstorming stage?" Max suggested.

"Brainstorming!" Steve repeated while snapping his fingers, as if she'd just hit the exact right place in his mind.

"Theres nothing.. to worry about!" Dustin said, unsure of his own words.

The groups words only made him wonder. And then it hit him. He looked at Y/N with the most bewildered face, as if saying "what the hell?!? demons are real and you never told me?!?" The girl only gave him a "so what?" shrink of the mouth and raise of the eyebrows, as she tilted her head to the side.

Demons and monsters were normal for the girl, and for a while she had forgotten that other people hadn't fought these creatures before, so sometimes she undermined how shocking it is the find out that theres another world under Hawkins.

Suddenly everyones heads snapped to the door. The group had heard police sirens outside. Y/N quickly stood up in front of Eddie protectively before saying

"Tarp! Tarp!" Ushering her boyfriend to get into the boat and under the tarp, as a way of hiding from the cops.

After Eddie was safely under the tarp, the group rushed to the windows to see what was going on. They saw police cars and ambulances rushing past the house. They said goodbye to Eddie, Y/N's gaze lingering on the boy as she rushed out of the house and towards Steve's car.

The group all got in the car, following the police cars to a road behind the trailer park, where they were met with caution tape, and several more floods of emergency vehicles. They could vaguely make out a body on the ground form their respective places in the car, but it was almost a telekinetic mutual decision for them to get out of the car.

From there the group met eyes with Nancy Wheeler, who looked alarmed the moment she saw them. As if she knew something was wrong, and in that moment she had figured it out. She offered the group a slight wave before turning her attention back to the chief of police.

After being questioned by the cops, Nancy walked over to the group of teens. Where she immediately greeted Y/N with a hug. The girls had been friends over the years, connected through their brothers. And Y/N could see the girl needed a friend right now, so she let the girl hug her. The group walked over to a picnic table where Y/N kept an arm around Nancy, trying to offer the girl some sort of comfort. The teens had gotten to talking about what happened.

Nancy had said it was her pal Fred who'd died. She explained how mangled his body was, and how frightened she'd been. In return the other kids explained to her how the same thing had happened to Chrissy, and now Eddie was being blamed for it. Nancy looked at Y/N sympathetically, knowing the former was close with the two. The girl just gave Nancy a shrug, trying to brush off her guilt. It was Eddie, Fred, and Chrissy who needed that, not her.

Nancy turned back to the others and said "You're saying that this... this thing that killed Fred and Chrissy, it's from the Upside Down?"

"If the shoe fits." Steve said back in conformation.

"A working theory is that he attacks with a spell, or a curse. Now whether or not he's doing the bidding of the Mind Flayer, or juts loves killing teens, we don't know." Dustin explained to Nancy who was listening attentively.

"All we know is this is something different. Something new." Max added.

"It doesn't make sense." Nancy said.

"Its.. only a theory." Dustin said, trying to gain the girls allegiance.

"No, Fred and Chrissy don't make sense. I mean, why them?" She quickly said.

"Maybe they were just in he wrong place? They were both at the game." Dustin said, having no factual answer for her question.

"And near the trailer park." Max said, having connected the dots.

"We're at the trailer park.." Steve said, becoming scared.

"Uhhhh.. should we maybe not be here?" Y/N said, "There is something about this place thats always made me feel kind of weird." She finished.

"Fred started acting weird the second we got here." Nancy said.

"Acting weird as in....?" Robin said, wanting to know more.

"Scared, on edge, upset." Nancy confirmed.

"Max said Chrissy was upset too." Dustin said, further linking the two incidents together.

"Yeah, but not here. She was crying in the bathroom at school." Max denied.

"Serial killers stalk their prey before they strike, right?" Y/N questioned.

"So maybe Fred and Chrissy saw this Vecman!" Robin said, understanding what the girl was trying to say.

"Vecna." Dustin corrected.

"I don't know about you guys but if I saw some freaky wizard monster, I would mention it to someone." Steve said, questioning the legitimacy of the situation.

"Maybe they did. I saw Chrissy leaving Ms.Kelley's office one time." Max said.

"If you saw a monster you wouldn't go to the police.. they'd never believe you. But you might go to your.." Y/N said, theorizing.

"Your shrink." Robin finished. Y/N turned and nodded at the girl, confirming that she was thinking the same thing.

The group all quickly got up from the table, deciding to investigate. However, Steve suddenly noticed Nancy branching off from the group.

"Whoa whoa, Nance. Nance! Where 're you going?" He said, slightly jogging after the girl, turning the groups attention to her.

"Oh. Theres just something I wanna check on first." Nancy said, gesturing to her car.

"Something you maybe wanna share with us?" Dustin said, feeling like the group should know where she was going.

"I don't wanna waste your time. It's a real shot in the dark." Nancy said.

"Yeah ok. Are you insane? Flying solo with Vecna on the loose? No it's too dangerous. You need someone... someone to.." Steve turned around and tossed his keys into Robins hands.

"Here, I'll stick with Nance aright? Take the car, check out the shrink." Steve said.

"I don't think you want either of us driving your car." Robin said.

"Why not?" Steve said, placing a hand on his hip.

"Neither of us have licenses!" Y/N said with a frown on her face.

"Why- why don't you have licenses?" Steve asked, slightly nervous for the future of his car.

"Im poor." Robin said.

"You or Eddie always drive me everywhere. I didn't really see the need."

"I can drive!" Max said.

"No no no NO! Never again! No!" He said, remembering when she'd taken the wheel of his car almost three years ago now.

Dustin then made a suggestive face at Steve, offering up himself to drive.

"Not a chance." Steve said in response to Dustins smirk.

"Alright okay. This is stupid. Us ladies will stick together," Robin said, handing Steve the keys and then taking a stance next to Nancy, "Unless you think we need you to protect us." She finished her sentence, with a hint of a smirk on her face.

Steve nodded his head in defeat, walking back towards the car. The two girls walked off as the other three teens saw Steves face grow with rage.

"Always the babysitter. Always the goddamn babysitter!" He said.

"Watch it man." Y/N said, seeing as she wasn't a child.

The group took off. Headed for Ms.Kelleys house.

About 20 minutes later the group watched Max approach her counselors doorstep. They saw her knock on the door, and be ushered inside by the woman.

"Okay. She's in." Steve said, confirming the wherabouts of the red-head.

"Missing collarbones Steve, not eyes." Dustin said from the backseat.

"So.. are we gonna talk about it?" Y/N questioned Steve, who was sitting to her right.

"Huh? Sorry, talk about what?" Steve questioned, playing dumb to the siblings questions.

"Your temporary insanity earlier today, when you basically threw yourself at Nance?" Dustin said, obviously wondering as well.

"Are you implying that I still have a thing for her?" Steve asked.

"No, we're not implying. We're stating." Y/N confirmed for Steve.

"And it relates to your steadfast refusal to date Robin." Dustin said. That caused Y/N and Steve to make eye contact, both pairs widening slightly. Both older kids had known about Robin being lesbian, but Dustin bringing it up was unexpected.

"It's pretty much the only logical explanation." Dustin finished off.

"Yup. That upon others." Steve muttered under his breath, turning his gaze back towards the house, where they saw Max running out. They hastily made their way to the school as soon as Max had hopped in the car.

During their drive, Y/N couldn't help but think about Eddie. Was her doing okay? Did he have enough food? Those were only two of the thoughts that plagued her mind until she heard the whirring of Dustins walkie, which was then replaced by the voice of Lucas Sinclair.

"Lucas? Where the hell have you been??" Dustin questioned.

"Just listen. Are you looking for Eddie?" Lucas asked.

"Yeah! And we found him, no thanks to you!" Dustin snarkily replied, obviously fed up with how the boy hadn't been there to help out the group.

"You guys know that he killed Chrissy right?" Lucas asked, making Y/N fed up with the actions of her brothers old friend.

"Thats bullshit! Eddie tried to save Chrissy." Y/N spoke into the walkie.

"Then why do all the cops say he did it?" Lucas questioned.

Max then grabbed the device from Dustin and started speaking to Lucas.

"Lucas you're so behind its ridiculous, okay? Just meet us at the school, we'll explain everything there." She said.

"I-I can't. I think some real bad shits about to go down." Lucas said.

"What're you talking about? What bad shit?" Max asked him.

All the group got back was static. They didn't hear another word from Lucas, making all of the slightly nervous.

As the four of them were walking into the school, they heard communications form Robin and Nancy, but Y/N didn't pay attention to the conversation. She was only looking for the familiar sign that said "Guidance", however, it was only then that the girl realized she had a splitting headache. God she wished she had some ibuprofen on hand. They reached the door and Max walked forward, key in hand. She unlocked the door and the group made their way inside the office. Y/N had sat in here many times, talking to Ms.Kelley about the absence of her father, and several other personal issues.

"Guys, look over here." Max said, gesturing to the file cabinet.

"These are everyones files, theres Chrissys," Max said, pulling the girls file from the drawer. "Holy shit, Fred was seeing Ms.Kelley too.." She said, again, taking his file from the same drawer.

"Holy...." Dustin trailed off. The three teens watched as Max sat down at a table with both files, and started looking for similarities. Dustin stayed by the file cabinet to see who else had been seeing Ms.Kelley, while Steve and Y/N stood behind Max, reading the files with her.

"Uh... Max, check out these too." Dustin said, tossing his sisters file onto the table along with Max's. Both girls gave Dustin a glare before opening their respective files.

They laid their files on the table and started reading them. All four matched up, despite one difference on Y/Ns file, the girl hadn't been having nightmares like the other three students. She wondered if that set her too far off from the others. Steve looked at her worried, as Dustin made his way over to read the files. Y/N now felt the presence of Steves arm around her. She had to admit, she was frightened. Would she end up like her classmates? Broken at every angle, every joint? Just the thought of it made her shutter. But something was off,

Max had gone still.

[omegawolverine]

Plesse tell me about queerness in the get down!!

okay okay queerness in the get down let's fuckn goooo

disclaimer: I havent watched this show in full for like 5 months at least, probably gonna get something wrong and/or forget some more important bits. also this wasnt proof read I just word vomited

tws: period typical homophobia, abuse mention, f slur use, bury your gays trope, overdose mention, mention of a creepy possible age gap (the age gap hasnt been confirmed so that's why its possible), cops

going from least to most prominent queer characters, let's start with mylene cruz!

so, from the beginning of this show she has an established romantic relationship with ezekiel (although the status of their actual relationship changes frequently throughout the show) and though this was a relationship she was hesitant to pursue, it is clear that she does have romantic feelings for him and if not for them both having growing careers in very different music genres (zeke specifically working in a genre that she repeatedly labels as bad because she thinks they're ruining records + that it isnt real music because they're using someone elses piece and rapping over it, that's not really important here tho lol) they probably wouldve had a much healthier, smooth sailing romance. that being said theres a few things that happen in the show that, while not explicitly clear, or even really good coding at that—to the point where you wont catch if you really arent looking for it (and trust me, I always look for coding, hers was just so little that it flew over my head until I saw someone else mention it)—are still cool to think about!

so, for starters, I wanna mention the toy box performance, which was performed by mylene and regina, who are best friends. that's all cool and shit, and you dont really think much about it...until you hear about the fact that the show runners purposely colored a lot of the scenes in that performance with the bi colors. like. the writers after the show ended basically said "oh yeah there was plans to make her coding more explicit, but our shit got cancelled soooo" and then dropped the fact that she was gonna be bi (or at least implies bi) in the series, which puts a new twist on a few things.

now, besides the bi coloring in the background of the toy box performance (which was mostly on scenes with her and regina, which involved a lot of uh,, lowkey lewd dancing. with each other. in very revealing outfits. wooooo), there's her music! I dont tend to read too much into this one bc, like I said before, her coding is fucking light and the writers themselves said they didnt really get to do much with it, but I think some stuff with her music is interesting. specifically how her, yolanda and regina's song set me free blew up because dizzee, resident (lowkey enby coded) bicon, got their song played in a queer club. also that the song was majorly important to dizzee and started playing literally right as he kissed a boy for the first time and realized "oh shit I like boys that's bonkers". also that the song can be taken in a gay way since literally the entire thing is about becoming your true self, fully and unapologetically, which is what both dizzee and mylene's entire character arcs are about. dizzee (and a lot of other queer people, apparently), heard this song about being set free and it resonated with them so much that they got that shit most of its popularity.

speaking of dizzee and mylene, they parallel each other a lot in the way that their arcs are about them realizing who they are, coming into themselves and no longer just letting people treat them like shit in a sense (dizzee starting to tell people essentially that they can call him weird all they want, they can make fun of how he acts, what he likes, how he dresses, etc. but he likes how he is and quite literally saying "it's okay to be an alien" as he has consistently compared himself to one throughout the show vs mylene learning that if she wants to be a disco singer she needs to put her foot down, not let anyone, not even the love of her life, not even her abusive father, stop her from achieving her dreams, etc. and continuing to pursue her career with or without their support). one more little parallel that I think is interesting is during I think s2 towards the end of the show is when dizzee and thor are shown together having fun with each other, painting all over the building and each other and are basically just being happy and in love together and then they have these clips of them being interspersed with clips of mylene at a party where she is starting to realize that if she wants to get anywhere she needs to be her own main priority and that she needs to put her career and her dream, which is what makes her the happiest, above all else if she wants to succeed. idk I just think how the show made these two into a weird parallel, accidental or not, is neat. maybe not an explicitly queer parallel, but I think at least how her music and whatnot helped dizzee, the main queer character in this show, blossom, is important.

moving on we got shaolin fantastic also known as "oh no your internalized homophobia is showing-"

so, heres a quick list of...interesting shao facts:

Consistently referred to as fag/faggot (shaolin fanfaggot is my personal favorite); he gets really defensive about this despite nobody actually thinking he's queer, it's just people being assholes to be assholes, and he is the only character consistently referred to using a slur, especially a homophobic one, especially for a "straight" character. dizzee, a canonically queer character, is called a fag less than shaolin is even though dizzee actively goes to gay clubs, has a not so secret dude he "hangs out with" and wont let anyone properly meet, paints his nails, wears less than straight clothes even by the 70s standards and is just all around the definition of fucking queer (and I mean like in the weird way, not the gay way). in fact theres only like once I can remember him being called a fag and it had nothing to do with him actually being gay it was literally just like thrown out there the same way you would call someone a bitch.

Has only shown sexual interest in women, yet refuses to have deeper relationships with women in general (possibly because of trauma but who knows) but takes his relationships with his "brothers", specifically zeke, very seriously

Tells zeke and zeke ONLY his real name when zeke was planning to stop being his friend bc shao more or less got boo boo, a like 14 year old black kid, arrested for selling hard drugs; he was clearly scared and trying to do anything to keep zeke around, literally chasing him down the street and hounding him until he got zeke to stop and argue with him

Kept threatening to beat up zeke in the end but couldn't actually bring himself to do so, instead saying that zeke is "fucking lucky" before walking away

Let's zeke get away with things that nobody else can, in general just has a weird soft spot for ezekiel that he shows with nobody else

when shao found dizzee with thor in a vaguely compromising situation (like they were just shirtless covered in paint sleeping next to each other but shao had also seen everything they painted on the walls ((which some of it was sus)), it was clear they had painted on each others bodies and dizzee had been routinely disappearing with this guy for weeks now yet not producing nearly as much art, at least, as far as we audience members know) he didnt judge him but instead, waited for him to get cleaned up and then told him something along the lines of "theres a reason why im so secretive blah blah blah [not everyone needs to know everything about me]", which, in context, kinda implies that he might be a lil. a lil homiesexual. jus a lil.

whenever even the possibility of zeke leaving him comes up he absolutely loses it. he has literally cost ezekiel life changing opportunities because he thought zeke would just up and leave him for them. this could be abandonment issues bc he's a severely traumatized character, and that probably does contribute to it, but it also is just not a reaction he has to any of their other friends just randomly dipping in and out of his life soooooo

generally speaking, this mfer has got either bisexual with a big hard on for zeke coding or homosexual with terrible internalized homophobia and still a hard on for zeke coding. either fucking way, that nigga gay. he gay as hell. gay as fuck man. there wasn't really much to analyze here tbh bc the coding is just so fucking obvious if you look for it or you are/have been a gay person who's dealt with at least a little bit of internalized homophobia.

also, just a sidenote, idk how fucking old shao, but I'm praying hes like at max 19 bc I'm pretty sure zeke is a minor in this show and shao definetly is not so the whole him being heavily implied to have a crush on ezekiel thing is kinda. oof. not oof if zeke is like 17 but any younger than that? OOF.

edit: apparently the characters are only supposed to be a year apart in age but i had no clue about that before writing this post and since shaos age was never actually stated in the show i naturally assumed he was an adult since his actor Looks Like An Adult. this is definetly on me to a certain extent, but i also never saw anything about this when trying to find our their ages so 🤷‍♀️ maybe i just didnt look deep enough, sorry!

now moving on to the main event...marcus dizzee kipling :]

so, first things first, let's talk enby coding bc him being bisexual was already confirmed!

um, to start off, I just wanna say I dont think this enby coding was intentional or even really coding, it's just moreso me being a dizzee kin on main and knowing as a transmasc enby he has very transmasc enby vibes. for example:

cool, gender neutral nickname that everyone calls him

paints nails various different colors

the whole wardrobe is just a transmasc enby heaven...fishnet shirts, jean overalls, jackets and cuffed pants galore, the big colorful pins, etc

gender neutral hairstyle (when I had my fro it was very sexy and made it easy to transition between hyper masc and vaguely fem, which is pog)

comparing himself to/representing himself consistently with an alien character (though this is meant to represent his sexuality, it could also double as a gender thing too, not neccesarily bc of the whole nonbinary alien trope but bc an enby who likes aliens might heavily identify or compare themselves to whatever their idea of an alien is, whether that just be a genderless entity or a motherfucker with fly style and no need to be perceived as anything other Wacky As Hell)

moving on from there, let's talk about how his queerness is presented to us and how, while it may be a really good piece of representation, especially coming from netflix, it still lacks in A Lot of places.

so, let's start with good things!

i personally really like the get down's queer rep with dizzee bc it's (for the most part) nonsexualized and very very soft, about dizzee figuring himself out and realizing there is a place where he fits in, and about two teenagers in the 70s falling in love over their shared passion for street art. it also features an interracial couple where both boys challenge stereotypes both about queer men and men of color, which is epic poggers and very sexy. this piece of rep specifically is very important to me bc I am a queer black person and even tho interracial relationships are mostly normalized now, I've still had people give me shit for primarily dating white people in a town that is...primarily white lol

mm anyways, I can also appreciate how in the get down, dizzee being represented by rumi the alien is not a thing specifically related to gender (as it often is) and instead is about his sexuality and just in general weirdness and how it has led to him being alienated amongst his peers, poc or otherwise. him seeing himself as an alien is not about just his queerness, which is important, it is about him being a queer black man who talks different, acts different, dresses different and is "soft"—he isnt a walking black male stereotype and he wouldnt have been seen as masculine back in the 70s by any stretch of the imagination. this can be relatable to a wide spectrum of queer poc, from queer black men currently who still have to deal with this shit or to people like myself who are afab neurodivergent mixed race enbies that have always been signaled out as weird and alienated for it. dizzee is god rep bc while he has a small part in this show, his parts are very impactful, hard hitting and show queer poc of all ages that they arent alone and that it's okay to "weird", you just need to embrace it because somebody will love you for you, as thor did for dizzee.

that being said theres um. some minor problemas here,,,

namely:

dizzee and thors first kiss

the lack of development this pairing got

the way dizzee was confirmed bisexual off screen, he never said the words himself, just showed interest in both genders

the way dizzee and thor were never even confirmed boyfriends or just fwb so most of the fandom just calls them boyfriends bc Why Not

dizzee was implied fucking DEAD??? AT THE END OF THE SERIES?????? AND THOR WAS IMPLIED ARRESTED?????????????

now, these might have been things that wouldve been fine had the show been given it's full run but it wasnt which is why we are now left with probelms.

so, from the top, let's go over these: dizzee and thor's first (and only "on screen") kiss was one that was shown in a montage of other queer people making over and doing other vaguely romantic/sexual things, one of those things being a whole ass naked titty being mouthed at, but the actual kiss...was just not shown? like they really did just say "yes they kissed <3 you know this from the context clues of it being in a montage with kissing, hickey giving and titty sucking <3 but no we will not show it <3" LIKE HELLO? I SAW A NAKED BOOBIE BUT NOT TWO MEN KISS??? HUH????????

also, dizzee and thor were both fucking high as hell during this bit like this isnt a terrible thing but it's also like sometimes you do shit when you're high that you wouldnt do sober and they just never kissed again on screen so like?? like idk that's not that bad but it does kinda irk me since they deadass got no other on screen intimacy after that unless you including painting on eacher other or sleeping next to each other on a shitty mattress but not touching at all during it bc they were both at opposite ends of the mattress like half way off it

so yeah, that was trash. then we got lack of development, which kinda goes with the "dizzee being a bisexual but he never says it in canon" thing cause like...okay dizzee was already sort of a side character from the get go like he wasnt the mc by any means, but he became way more of a background character as things continued until we basically only saw him for performances or when he was with thor, yet they got no fucking development as a pairing other than "dizzee realize he gay, he like thor, he and thor spend time together and ig probably do some gay stuff but we dont really know bc we only ever see them do graffiti together now" like?? tf am I supposed to do with that shit. answer. quickly. and then theres dizzee not being confirmed bisexual, which is just a running problem with shows literally doing everything to say a character is bi except for having the character just...say they're bi? which would be so easy? like a good way dizzee and thor couldve had some development is by thor teaching dizzee things about the queer community that he didnt even know existed, thor couldve helped him understand what being bi meant and helped him label himself and whatnot but instead we got an off screen confirmation that the writers had bisexual in mind when writing him. which is garbagé.

the whole thor and dizzee never having a confirmed relationship status is also a development problem cause like literally nobody knows if they were just friends who made out, maybe fucked, who knows, or if they were dating bc dizzee does give a love confession but a love confession doesn't mean there is a relationship, especially since thor didn't say he was in love either (as far as I remember, I could be wrong, plus whether or not that really happened or was apart of dizzee literally overdosing during a performance is unclear so 🤪)

and now for the biggest issue...bury your gays trope.

during the season 2 finale, dizzee and thor are chased by cops after they are found doing graffiti, one of the cops is able to catch thor while the other chases dizzee into a train tunnel and there is a train seen headed straight for him before the show cuts to black on a train horn. the show writers claim that if they had gotten another season, dizzee wouldve been alive but since they didnt and since that's essentially super fan trivia knowledge, most people dont fucking know that and instead had to watch a black queer teenager chose death over being fucking arrested by a white cop. on top of that, thor didnt see any of that shit because he was caught and the cop started hauling him off while dizzee was still being chased so thor literally has no clue where his friend/possible boyfriend fucking is or that he's likely dead in a goddamn tunnel all alone, unless you count the fucking pig that chased him in there who wouldve died too. this shows rep was so fucking good as far as most shows go on not having major fucking problems, on not being toxic and over sexualized, etc, etc. and then they just. killed a black queer teenager for no fucking reason. like it was literally the last episode ever, it would add nothing to the plot, it would just devastate fans and devastate it fucking did. I dont cry easy but seeing a character I identified with, who I had hyperfixated on, die because he'd rather that than be arrested is terrible. it fucking sucked.

so yeah. that's my all too extensive thoughts/analysis on the get down's queerness. theres definitely stuff I missed, or misinterpreted, or looked too much into, etc, etc., but this was a fun thing to spend time writing sooo yeah!! thanks for the ask anon, sorry this was just a big rambley info dump, but hopefully you get some enjoyment out of it since it took like 3 hours at least 😭😭 feel free to ask clarifying questions lol

[girlofmanyfandoms]

Advocates

A/n: So, I feel bad for not posting lately, here’s my AU where I take a slightly different take on the Keeper of the Lost Cities series. A few changes that I’m trying to make: more friendship-based, no love triangle, probably more gay, more racially diverse cast (without any harmful stereotypes). I’ll try to stay true to each character’s personality!

I’ll also take this time to say there’s stuff I haven’t released yet, so tell me if you want me to release those!

Disclaimer: This is in no way hating on Shannon’s series, I just wanna see where the story would go if we took a slightly different approach!

Warnings: I didn’t edit this at all-

Word count: 2868

Tag list:  @everyonehasthoughts @imaramennoodle @bookwyrminspiration @holesinmyfalseconfidence @percabetn @an-absolute-travesty @linhammon-roll-bromance101 @linhamon-roll @holesinmyfalseconfidence @linhamon2 @a-lonely-tatertot @loverofallthingssmart

Let me know if you want to be added or if I forgot to tag you!

“Uh, no boys, she’s sitting with me.”

Jensi raised an eyebrow. “What’s wrong with her sitting here, Marella?”

“Nothing! I just need to pull her to the side for some girl talk.” Marella pulled Sophie’s sleeve, navigating across the cafeteria to an empty booth in the corner. Sitting down and adjusting herself, she extended a hand. “Marella Redek. No nicknames. I know the ins and outs of everything around here.”

“Sophie Foster,” Sophie introduced, shaking her hand, though her response came out as a murmur. She brushed her hair out of her face, trying to shrink as small as possible. “But I’m sure you knew that.”

Marella nodded. “You must’ve caused the Council a lot of trouble if you’ve gotten your way into Level Two right after being with humans. What was it like, by the way?”

“Pretty normal, I guess. Well, not for me, I was a highschool senior at 12, and my parents wanted me to attend community college instead of an Ivy League. Even the newspapers were talking about it, and that ticked my parents off big time.”

“What?”

“I know, crazy, right?” Sophie started digging into her lunch. “Why would the news choose a story about a child over actual breaking news?”

“No, I meant those words you used. A high school, college, a new paper? What do they mean?”

“Oh, that’s right! Those are more human terms, sorry,” Sophie apologized. “There are levels of human school: Preschool, which is usually ages 1 to 4, elementary school is from ages 5 to 10, middle school is ages 11 to 13, high school is ages 14 to 17, and college is at least four years, and gives you the certification you need to get a good paying job. Newspapers are just mini books made completely of paper that tell you what’s going on in the world.”

“Oh,” Marella said, looking off into the distance. “I guess I never really thought that human school would be so different from Foxfire. We just have these levels, and then the elite levels. What was your human family like?”

Sophie tugged out an eyelash, which didn’t go unnoticed on Marella’s end. “U-um-“

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be pushing you so much on your first day. I should be helping you adjust.” She toyed with her food. “So, how’s our world been for you so far?”

“A little overwhelming,” Sophie admitted. “I don’t feel half as glamorous as anything around me. We don’t exactly have crystal houses and fancy ball gowns in San Diego.”

“You don’t?” Marella shook her head vigorously. “Right. Sorry. Let’s get back on track. Anything you think you’ll need to know that I can help you with?”

Sophie clutched her knees, now rolled up into a ball. This Marella girl was a bit intense at first, but maybe she wasn’t so bad. After all, she had saved her from sitting with some yes-boys. The declared leader of them seemed friendly, but a little too hyper. No, she decided, Marella wasn’t half bad. “I don’t know. Anything really, you know best.”

“Alright, then. This place is sort of a maze, try to find someone with a similar schedule to you so you can walk together until you know your way around. You know Stina Heks?”

Sophie shivered and nodded, thinking back to seeing her raging through the halls screaming about someone making her bald. She could’ve sworn she heard her say “Disney,” too.

“Stay away from her. Stereotypical bully, not afraid of fighting dirty. The Vackers, Keefe Sencen, and their little bubble are all the buzz. They’re pretty nice, and Sencen’s a bit of a flirt, but if you don’t like attention, maybe steer clear from them.”

Sophie let out a bitter laugh. “Easier said than done. The Vackers are the ones who found me. Fitz brought me here, Alden sent him out to find me, and Della helped me get ready for Foxfire.” Sophie paused to pull out another eyelash. “I don’t think Biana likes me much.

Marella’s eyes widened in shock as she leaned back and blew out a breath.

“Is that bad?” Sophie was panicking a bit now. What had she screwed up now?

“Well, it’s not good for your social status, that’s for sure.” Marella started slicing her food, which resembled Jello. “If you’re on her bad side, you’ll want to stay away from Maruca, too. They’re best friends.”

“Great,” Sophie sighed. One day in and she already had a long list of people to avoid. “Anything else I should know about?”

“Oh, yeah, but I’ll stick to school stuff. Your most difficult subjects are gonna be Elementalism and Alchemy.”

“I can help with that,” a boy called, sliding next to Sophie in the booth and placing his tray down. “Dex Dizznee, by the way.”

“Sophie Foster.” She grinned a bit. Edaline had gone without her to the apothecary and mentioned the “Disneys.” This must’ve been who Stina was shouting at. “I saw what you did to Stina earlier. Wicked move.”

“Finally, someone understands the genius! She deserved it, too, after what a pain she was last year. That’s where the alchemy comes in handy.”

Marella rolled her eyes, and Dex leaned back casually. “Don’t act like you don’t think she deserved it Marella. You know she did.”

“Ok, it was kind of satisfying seeing her run around like that-“

“Yes!”

“-but don’t take it as a sign that I’ll join in. I have a reputation to protect.”

Dex snorted. “Yeah, as the gossip girl.”

“I don’t gossip, I have connections,” she corrected.

“Whatever you say madam,” Dex relented jokingly. “What about you, Soph? Got anything you could build a reputation for?”

“Not really,” she expressed. “I don’t want the spotlight. I just want to make it by here.”

Marella took a bite of her lunch and scoffed. “Good luck with that.”

“Tell you what, my next class is Multispecesial Studies, I can walk you to Alchemy,” Dex offered.

“Really? That would be great, thank you!”

“No problem. It’s hard making it by for people like us.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Marella chugged down her lushberry juice.

“We’re different, special.”

“So, outcasts?” Sophie rested her head in her hand and stirred her drink nonchalantly, taking in the view of the cafeteria. It was remarkably pristine and clean, its white walls with blue accents not showing a hint of grime. With the barstools at tables all around the center and the booths to the side, it looked like every diner’s dream.

“No, not outcasts. Think more sideline supporters.”

“So, advocates,” Sophie helped. “I don’t really see that, but maybe one day. Right now I just want to pass.”

“Well you can’t do that on an empty stomach,” Marella chided playfully. “Eat up. Lady Galvin is a stickler for accuracy.”

————

Fantastic. Sophie had only been there one day and she had already ruined her Alchemy teacher’s favorite cloak. Marella was right, Alchemy was tough. She’d have to take Dex up on his offer. She wandered through the halls, trying to find the way to her next class, P.E. She strolled like this for a few more minutes before a snobby voice called to her from down the hall.

“Lost, new kid?”

Sophie winced. Great. The number one person on her People To Avoid list had already found a way into her world. She attempted to speed walk, but the clacking of leveled boots followed quickly, and she was spun around with a harsh push.

Stina laughed, and for a 12 year old elven child, it sounded quite maniacal. “Why so frightened? I don’t bite. Much.”

Somehow Sophie sincerely doubted that. There had to be some fangs behind that evil smirk. But maybe she could play it cool with this demon in disguise.

“I’m not frightened, just lost. Do you think you could point me to P.E.? I don’t want to be late on my first day.” Sophie held her breath, hoping she came off as casual.

“My pleasure,” Stina grinned a sickeningly sweet smile. “In fact, I’ll walk you there. Wouldn’t want our newest prodigy to miss class because of some weak instructions, now would we?”

“No, of course not.”

Stina linked their arms, acting as if they were old pals going on a walk in the park to catch up. It was silent except for the shuffling of their shoes, so Sophie made sure she was hyper aware of her surroundings, trying to memorize the numbers on each locker and how they connected to the twisting, winding paths of the school.

At this point, she was sure Stina planned to do something crazy to her, like stuff her in a locker or hide her body, so she had to think fast. Luckily, this was her specialty.

“Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry,” Sophie began, stopping abruptly. Stina stumbled a bit, but regained her composure in seconds. “I forgot something at my locker! Oh, I’m so sorry, but Edaline told me I’d need what was in my locker. You go ahead, I shouldn’t keep you from your class! Don’t worry, I’ll find my way to Phys Ed.”

Sophie speed walked away, leaving Stina in the dust. Once she rounded the corner, she took off, speeding through corridors and halls until she ran out of breath. Giving up, she rested her head against the wall, trying to clear her head when she was forced to her feet and slammed into a locker. There was a click, and through the slits, Sophie could see Stina’s eyes crinkled in smugness and satisfaction. Yet through all of this, the only thing Sophie was thinking of was, That was pretty lame on a scale of bullying-ness.

“Good luck getting out of there, Foster,” she remarked. “Now, you get comfortable, I have some business to attend to.”

“Gonna go sharpen your claws?” Sophie snapped.

“No, newbie, I’m going to put the princess of Everglen in her place. Don’t worry, I’ll keep you updated!”

And with that, Stina clacked away, her footsteps receding and the silence finding its way to creep back in.

________

Sophie had no way of telling time. This she had learned when she realized she had in fact left something in her locker: her Imparter and the Ruewen crest. She let out an audible groan of frustration, and tried to occupy herself with her temporary home. There were books about unicorn breeding on the shelf above her, to which Sophie wrinkled her nose. Next, there was a box of animal pins, glittering and shiny, and she was very tempted to stuff a few in her pocket, but she restrained herself. She took to examining the pictures on the door with what little light she had and realized, to her disdain, that this was Stina’s locker.

Sophie shivered in disgust and tried patting herself out and getting the Stina vibes off of her.

“Well, if I’m going to be stuck here, I might as well take advantage of it,” she decided. Sophie put all of her energy into memorizing the photo album beside her, and wound up with some lovely photos of baby Stina, along with some other cherished memories. She was scanning through Stina’s diary and chuckling to herself at her inevitable revenge when yelling came from around the corner. Sophie dropped the journal and shuffled forward a bit, peering through the slits. This could be her saving.

“MESS WITH BIANA ONE MORE TIME-” Maruca had her pinned to the wall and looked ready to murder her, but Stina remained unfazed.

“Relax, duchess, you might be the heir soon,” Stina responded coolly.

That was the breaking point. Maruca opened her locker, which was, unfortunately, next to the one Sophie was trapped in, and slammed it shut.

“Maruca!” Sophie yelled, but Stina rattled in her locker, and shouted curses over her, both to insult Maruca and to put an end to Sophie’s escape plan.

Maruca was quick to exit, and soon enough it was just Stina and Sophie, trapped in their lockers, trying to determine the other person’s next move.

“Do you happen to know how to break down locker doors?” Stina commented dryly.

“Would I still be here if I did?”

“Fair.”

“You got a hairpin?” Sophie asked. “Or some thin piece of metal you can slide in between the crack of our lockers? I might be able to break out of mine by picking the lock.”

“And what about me? Gonna leave me here to rot while you run free?” She harrumphed. “I don’t think so. If I’m suffering you suffer with me.”

“I’ll get you out too, just answer the question and slide the metal through the crack.”

Stina huffed, but Sophie heard the sound of metal on metal scratch as something hit her foot. “My family crest. Do not scratch it.”

“You got it.” Sophie used her fingernails to get a little bit of extra room before sliding the crest through the door. She maneuvered it a bit, and the door let out a click as it swung open. Sophie fell forward face first, but sat up and whooped in victory.

Stina cleared her throat. “I’m still here.”

“Oh, I know,” Sophie poked smugly. “But if I’m going to break you outta there, you’re going to owe me a favor.”

“I do NOT-“

“Fine, then stay there. And spend all day, heck, maybe even until tomorrow, stuck in that cramped locker with no food or water whatsoever.” Sophie began to stroll away slowly, biding for time just in case Stina changed her mind about the offer.

“Fine,” she grumbled. “Just get me out.”

Sophie cheered to herself silently and crouched down in front of the locker and got to work. Stina was peering through the slits in the locker, and for a moment they felt each other’s breath on their faces and they met eyes before glaring at each other and backing up a bit. The door swung open, and Stina came crashing down onto Sophie.

Stina pushed herself off of her quickly, seeming very flustered. She reached out a hand to Sophie, which she took. Stina shook Sophie’s hand off of hers.

“I need my family crest,” she said, looking off to the side uncomfortably.

“Oh,” Sophie frowned, unsure why she felt a little disappointed. Probably because my back hurts and I was just refused the little she could have given as thanks, she thought. “Right. Take it.”

Stina’s fingers brushed against Sophie’s as she took it back and pinned it onto her cloak once more. “Well.” Stina lifted her nose upon in the air, regaining her haughty facade. “Until we meet again, Foster.”

“Yeah, Sophie nodded, getting back to her feet. Once Stina was out of earshot, she muttered, “Hopefully that’s never.”

Sophie dusted herself off, finally registering her circumstances. She was late for class, and she looked disheveled. Stina had just walked off, leaving her lost, confused, and just waiting for a punishment of her lifetime. Sighing, she walked along the edges of a pyramid.

“Ms. Foster,” a cold voice crowed from behind her.

Sophie recognized that voice. Dame Alina. “Yes, ma’am?”

“Is there a particular reason that you’re not in class right now?”

“Uh-“

“Incoming!” a boy screamed from the top of his lungs, a bunch of verminions on his tail. Alina shrieked and ran into a neighboring hall for shelter. Sophie took this as an opportunity to find her way out of this maze and escape Alina’s grasp. She followed the boy until they reached the Healing Center, where he hid until the verminions passed by. Sophie stopped. She could go in and ask whatever medic was present for directions, but the thought of going anywhere near a doctor made her sick to the stomach.

“Can I help you, new girl?”

Sophie jumped. The boy she had been following was right in front of her, and she instinctively slunk back.

“Chill, I won’t hurt you. The name’s Keefe, but you can call me-“

“Sorry Keefe, but I’m really late for class, do you know where P.E. Is?”

He furrowed his eyebrows and massaged his neck, looking a bit hurt. “Uh, yeah, take a left after the next three halls.”

“Thank you!” Sophie bolted to class and arrived there out of breath.

“Sophie! Just in time for us to start splotching,” Dex waved her over. “It’s easy, you just use your telekinesis to move this marble into the other person. If you succeed, it bursts and you get a paint splotch on you.”

“Great,” she muttered. “You won’t believe what I’ve just gone through.”

“Tell me at the end of class. We’re gonna need all of our focus for this.”

“Alright,” she sighed. She couldn’t be upset, seeing Dex that excited lifted her mood just a bit. And that was just the boost she needed.

________

This was it. It was down to her and Fitz for the Splotching Champion title. Sophie gathered her concentration. She could not mess this up.

The splotcher was thrown in between them, and Sophie gave it her all. The marble exploded with a loud boom, and they were both thrown into opposite sides of the room. Sophie saw nothing but the green paint, and then darkness.

[winchester90210]

The BH 90210 Rewrite. 1x17: Stand (Up) And Deliver.

Rewrite Masterlist

Read the previous chapter here!

Chapter Summary: Tensions run high when Brandon decides to run for class president.

Warnings: It’s like 90% angst this week. Everyone’s a jerk at some point in this. Brandon’s a jerk. You’re a jerk. Kelly’s a jerk. Just be prepared haha. There might be a swear word in there somewhere. If any of you find something that should be tagged in the warnings, let me know! 

Words: 4,100. 

My work is not to be reposted and/or edited without my expressed written consent. (Reblogging is fine and encouraged!!!)

A/N: Just a little disclaimer beforehand: I like Kelly. I know this chapter doesn’t exactly paint her in the best way, but all of the relationships will heal in due time. This one was really fun to write and I hope you all enjoy it! Let me know what you guys think!

-

“Brandon, wait up!” You swerve around the clumps of people in the hall to catch up to him, “I’ve got a proposition.”

“Yeah? Your desk or mine?” He wraps his left arm around you, hand warm against your waist as he pulls you close.

 "Well, actually, Andrea has a proposition for you. I’m just the messenger,“ You slip a paper out of the folder in your hands and pass it to him. His head cocks, looking back at you peculiarly.

 “‘Run for office?’ Y/N/N… no one even knows me here.” 

“That’s what makes this so perfect, no one knows you enough to hate you or anything! Look, this is a good idea because from what Andrea told me, the rest of the candidates are a bunch of popular airheads. And with your Kennedy hair and actual set of morals, you’d be a total shoo-in! At least think about it, okay?” He pecks the top of your head, fiddling with the paper in his hand. 

“Yeah, I’ll think about it.”

-

“Yo, politicos! Last-minute dark horse entry into the class presidential elections!” One minor downfall to Brandon’s entry— David Silver. You forgot he was documenting the entire thing and you didn’t find out about it until he was there sticking a camera in your face and asking you what made Brandon such a ‘suitable candidate.’ You might just lose your mind. “Brandon Walsh, the new kid on the West Beverly block.”

“The sister is always the last to know,” Brenda grumbles, leaning back into the lockers as she watches her brother get relentlessly hounded by a few bulky cameras. 

“He kind of looks like a politician,” Kelly shrugs, “He’s got that Kennedy hair.” Kelly watches as well, though she’s much more interested than the candidate’s sister. Brandon turns down the hall and out of sight, the group of cameras following his every move. She bites her lip amorously. “It’s like a magnet.” 

“What?” 

“Power,” she smirks, a devilish glint in her eye. 

Brenda shoots her a warning glare, “Kelly, don’t.”

-

“What great news!” Mrs. Walsh gushes, “You know, we’ve always felt bad about moving here and screwing up your plans to run back home.” 

“Do you think you can pull it off?” Jim questions, sipping his afternoon coffee. 

“Oh! Definitely,” Donna makes her presence known at the entrance of the kitchen, with Kelly not too far behind and… suddenly you feel the urge to leave. Immediately. “The other guy’s a nobody too. No offense.” 

 “I’ve never been friends with a candidate before!” Kelly smiles, rounding the table to go over to Brandon, while you’re off by the kitchen counter with the other twin. 

“Friends with a candidate’s sister,” Brenda corrects. 

“Uh, right,” She nods,  “I’ve never even voted.” She sets her hand on him, her fingertips gently grazing his shoulder. 

Brandon clears his throat, shrugging her hand off of him and moving over to the counter, “Well, you gotta get involved, Kel. It’s important to try to change things.” 

“Oh, I plan to.” 

“Kelly!” Brenda urges. Once she realizes everyone’s eyes are on her, she readjusts herself. “Uh, didn’t you want to um, borrow one of my jackets? Because I have it upstairs if you want to come get it.” Huh. That was… weird. 

-

It’s the next morning, and you’re sitting there at the kitchen table with the Walshes, making button after button after button. It honestly felt like your hands were gonna fall off at this point. The things you do for that boy. 

“So there I was, listening to Donna being heckled and instantly I knew what to do!” Brenda grins, reminiscing about the previous night at The Fall Out. 

“That’s great, honey,” Jim smiles absentmindedly, “Would you pass me that glue, please?” 

“Bren, that’s incredible! You’ll have to drag me along next time, I so want to see that in action.” You’re the only one to actually acknowledge her as you help Cindy glue down something onto one of one thousand campaign buttons. Ugh, you could feel the blisters forming. 

“Definitely! Performance-oriented coffee houses are really happening, I mean, I really felt like a part of it!” 

“Right… Is this button crooked?” Cindy asks, holding it up to her chest to get a second opinion. 

“It’s fine, mom.” Brenda sighs, scooting her chair out from under her. She stands up with a silent huff and stomps to the foyer to greet whoever came to the door a few minutes prior. You know what you’re doing is for Brandon, but you can’t help but think about how Brenda’s holding up throughout all of this. I mean, her parents barely even acknowledge her existence at this point. 

“Well, I was up all night from that toxic cappuccino, thinking about what you said about getting involved…” Kelly’s purring at Brandon in the foyer while Donna stands idly by. “Brandon, I can help you win. I know everyone.” 

“Or how to glom onto everyone,” Donna mutters. 

“And that’s exactly what you need.” Kelly bargains. 

Brenda stalks over to the group, eyeing the persistent girl suspiciously. 

“Kelly, whenever political stuff comes on you switch to MTV,” She raises her eyebrows in disbelief as she objects. She isn’t gonna let Kelly sink her claws into her brother. Not on her watch.

“Look, help from anyone would be appreciated,” Brandon smiles politely, stepping back into the doorway as Kelly tries to bound closer. 

“Help doing what?” Andrea swoops in from behind Brandon and waltzes in through the open door, arms full of rolled up campaign posters. 

“I’m going to run Brandon’s campaign!” Kelly grins. 

“Kelly, he already has someone running his campaign,” Andrea reminds her.

“Yeah, I think Y/N already has it covered,” Brenda jumps in, nodding eagerly. 

“Well, isn’t there enough room for the both of us?” Kelly asks, hitching an eyebrow up. She folds her arms over her chest and starts at the candidate. 

“I really don’t think it’s a good idea, Kel,” Brandon agrees. 

“Oh, come on! You can never have too much help. It’ll be fun.”

-

“Here, I got some cute politician photos,” Kelly offers. Oh yeah. Kelly being here was a real help. “Try to model yourself after these guys, okay?”

“Well, I can see you’ve been busy,” You comment, peering over her shoulder to look at the pictures she prepared. “Gary Hart never even made it to the nominations, Kelly. Besides, what we need to be focusing on are the actual issues. Not if Brandon looks cute enough.” You go and sit back down at Brandon’s desk. 

“Yeah!” Brandon agrees enthusiastically, “See, I had this idea that we could feed the homeless people with all the surplus food they throw out of the cafeteria.” 

“That’s perfect!” You smile approvingly, tapping your fingers against the wooden desk. “And that’s why you’re going to win— you actually use your brain instead of just your face.” 

“Wait!” Kelly cautions, “We have to hit people with what they want for themselves.” 

“Hey,” you hear Brenda’s voice come from the conjoined bathroom, “Big news— I’ve got my own campaign going— to leave school.” 

“Brenda, that is a great idea!” Kelly exclaims, “Yeah, we’ll tell them they can leave school for lunch!” Oh dear.

Brenda stomps back into her room without hesitation and slams the door behind her. You sigh, lifting yourself from the seat. 

“Be right back, B,” you trail after your best friend into her bedroom, sitting beside her on her bed. “You’re serious about quitting school?”

“Yeah, I am serious, actually.” 

“Hey, y’know, in some cases, getting your equivalency could actually be more beneficial. Just because it’s not right for other people doesn’t mean it can’t be right for you.” Well… you didn’t think it was a great idea, but you weren’t about to tell her that. The last thing she needs right now is for another person to dismiss her. And hey, if anyone can pull it off, it’s probably her. 

“Tell my parents that,” she snickers, eyes rolling.

-

You can’t believe you’re even thinking this… but you are so sick of Brandon’s face. You can’t turn down a hall without seeing his picture, seeing his face staring right at you. “Brandon Walsh for CLASS PRESIDENT.”  It was mocking you at this point. And you know, you know, it was partly your idea. But it was mostly Andrea’s. And the idea was to work on the campaign with him as a team. A small two-person team. Maybe even three with Andrea. But not Kelly. Anyone but Kelly. 

You’re sitting with Brenda at  Fall Out and it feels good— getting out of school, out of your house, out of Casa Walsh. Not to mention the great coffee. 

“Rumor has it that some things you learn with Jack you never wanna unlearn,” Sky, the spunky redheaded barista whispers. 

“Are you two…” Brenda trails off, both hands wrapped around her warm coffee mug. 

“No way,” she giggles, “Even good sex ruins a good friendship.” The guy you had met earlier, Jack, treads over, plopping himself down on the empty seat at the table. “Listen, Jack, I really hate to ask you this, believe me… but it’s family crisis time again, I’ve gotta go up to Modesto.” 

“Forget it,” he scoffs,  “every time I house-sit for you we wind up in a fight. It’s always ‘you didn’t water the plants’ or  ‘you forgot to feed the guppy.’”

“Hey, you know, if you need a house sitter I might have a candidate,” Brenda smirks.

-

You watch, horrified as Brandon’s campaign video plays across the Walshes tv screen. It’s self-indulgent superficial nothingness as clip after clip of Brandon being cute and literally nothing else is displayed. This had to be the most incredible thing you’ve ever seen. No selling points, no talk about anything he’s looking to improve, not even a lousy bribe. Wonderful. Very smart move letting Kelly put this together. And it’s only getting better as it freeze frames, with David’s voice-over pulling through. 

“Bran the man! And he can deliver.”  You had to fight off every urge you had to laugh out loud. I mean… come on. Come. On! Bran the man? Way to go, Kel. 

“Bran the man?” Brandon’s just as confused as you are, mouth agape. You have to take a deep breath to suffocate the laugh that’s trying to claw its way up before you speak. And behind that laughter, there was just a little bit of anger. Juuust a little bit.

“Now, okay. As incredible as that was, Kelly, and I mean incredible— you told us… nothing.” 

“That’s the beauty of it! He doesn’t have to say anything.” 

“That’s not a good thing! He could be trying to reinstate nazis or the KKK into West Beverly and we’d have no idea. Brandon, you can’t possibly think this is a good idea!” You protest, eyes wide. 

“Hey, we all want to win, Y/N/N.” Okay. Make that a lot of anger. He was actually going to let that flaming piece of self-indulgent garbage be his campaign video? 

“Well, if this is your way of winning… I think there’s a part of me that actually wants you to lose. I’m out.“ You shove on your jacket, jumping up from your seat and start to foot it out the door.

“Hey, where are you going?”

You shrug carelessly, “I don’t know. Might grab some pie, might rent a movie, maybe a pizza. We’ll see.” You make it out before he can get another word in, the slamming of the door the only sound in the house now. Hah. Bran the Man. Unbelievable. 

“I can’t believe it,” Brandon mumbles, “she totally just deserted me.” 

“Well…” Kelly begins, “I’m still here, Brandon.” He lets out a gravelly sigh, shaking his head as he paces over to the bookshelves. 

“I don’t know. I think she’s right. The whole thing might be a little vain.” 

“Listen, Brandon,” she stalks over to him, voice lowering, “If you really want something… you have to go after it. Hard. Any means necessary.” 

That’s when it clicks for him. Had Kelly had been coming onto him this entire time? He looks down at his feet, chuckling sheepishly, a hint of bitterness peaking through. 

“I’m an idiot, aren’t I?”

 Kelly shakes her head, approaching closer and letting her arms snake around his neck. 

“I wouldn’t say so.” 

“Kelly,” he grabs her wrists and removes them from around him, setting them back at her sides.

“C’mon, no one has to find out,” she purrs, attempting to return to the previous position. 

This time, he’s not so gentle, practically flinging her arms off of him. “What’s your problem? She’s technically not even your girlfriend!" 

“But she’s not not my girlfriend. Just because we haven’t sat and talked and said ‘we’re dating’ doesn’t mean it changes our relationship. I love her, Kelly. And there’s nothing you or anyone else can do about that." 

“But—“ 

 “Let me rephrase this so you understand,” he continues, only speaking fractionally slower. Taunting her. “I’m not going to do this to Y/N. And I’m not gonna self-sabotage after one argument. I don’t know if I’ve been sending off the wrong signals or something— but I have no interest in you romantically. I agreed to let you help so I could get extra help on the campaign. Not so I could see your clumsy, evil attempt at trying to seduce me out of the relationship with the girl I love.” He clears his throat, “Now… Are we clear?”

Kelly exhales in defeat, eyes lightly lined with tears of embarrassment. “Crystal.” 

-

“This place is so cool!” You cheer as you enter through the front door of Sky’s apartment, cheese pizza in hand. 

“I know, right?!” Brenda beams, “I can’t believe I actually convinced my parents to let me stay here for a few days. Then again, maybe they’ve been so focused on Brandon that it slipped right by them.” 

“No way! Parents worship the ground their children walk on, they just never admit it,” you convince, throwing your jacket on the couch.

“That’s probably true,” Brenda laughs, “how’d you convince your parents?”

“I didn’t, Eric did. I swear that kid could talk his way out of a paper bag,” You set the pizza down on the coffee table, kicking your feet up. “So, our first order of business. What are we watching? Dirty Dancing or Risky Business?”

-

You sigh as you and Brenda watch her brother chat up a random jock. Tom or Todd or Mark or something. 

“Brandon hates that jerk,” She notices. Andrea joins you at your other side, scoffing.

“Yeah, well, jerks are voters too,” she adds. 

“I just can’t believe he let himself get manipulated this way!” Brenda might not be able to, but you sure can. 

“Major integrity loss,” Andrea laments. 

“And here comes Svengali,” you fawn sarcastically as Kelly struts her way over, nose wrinkled in disgust. 

“Brenda, how can you wear that costume?”

“Well, Kelly, you put one arm through one sleeve and one through the other,” Brenda taunts back. You’d think with the number of costumes Kelly wears that she’d be a pro by now. 

“First of all, Hippie Witch is out,” She hisses.

“It’s not hippie witch. It’s twin peaks and it’s very in, but that doesn’t matter.”

“What does matter is that it’ll hurt Brandon,” Kelly barks back. Yeah. Like she’s ever cared about Brandon.

“Just till elections, kay, Bren?” You don’t even notice Brandon until he’s there, directly in front of you. He’s like a pop-up book from hell, “so, are you guys coming to the campaign party at Donna’s?”

“As much as we’d love to, we have to stay and house sit for Sky,” you shrug.

“Sounds thrilling,” Kelly comments. 

“Well, Kelly, one day when you’re finally grown up enough to be on your own, maybe you’ll understand having responsibilities beyond finding the best shoes to match your outfit,” you snap. 

-

“Can’t you at least leave the chair?!” You call after the man that’s been carrying out Sky’s possessions for the last twenty minutes, but your voice is raw and it’s all in vain as he carries out the last of it. “There’s nothing left!” 

“Uh, you’re something,” Oh. Jack. Or was it Mark?

“They took everything,”  You bellow, “I mean, I could’ve tried to fight them to the death for it but I’m not sure that would have done any good. The repo man knows no bounds, apparently.” 

“I know, I saw ‘em cruise by. It’s pretty awful. But hey, at least it’s only things. We’ve got what’s important. You… me, Shakespeare the fish, and some Franco-American spaghetti.” He strides into the apartment and over to the oven, to which you follow. He holds his lighter up to it, but to no avail. You jump as there’s a knock at the door. You bounce over, figuring it’s Brenda. And… well, it is. And then some. 

“What’s going on?” You ask, Jack not far behind you. 

“Y/N/N, I’m sorry, I tried to get them to go somewhere else but they wouldn’t listen,” Brenda apologizes genuinely as the group of people push their way in, “Hey, Jack.”

“So this is the fish you’re feeding while the cat’s away, huh? Classy,” Kelly smirks. Crowd after crowd file their way into the apartment every time you believe they’re about to stop. “Where’s the food?”

“Well, I’m sorry, Kelly, but if I knew you were coming I would’ve stocked the place for you!” You retort, eyes narrowing. 

“I tried calling but the phone was disconnected,” she responds and sashays over to the fridge. 

“I’m here at the Walsh campaign party,” oh god. You’d know that voice anywhere. The joyous David Silver. “It’s sort of a standup event, everyone seems to be having a great time!” David speaks professionally to the camera as he walks through the front door and into the bare living room. You give a quick wave to Scott, who’s holding the camera as David continues to lay it on thick. “And here’s the candidate’s sister! The hostess with the mostest!” Brenda storms right up to David, ripping the microphone from his hand. 

“Get out!” The room goes silent as all heads are turned to her as Jack calmly grabs the mic. 

“Uh, friends. Yeomen. Country club men. Lend me those pierced ears. Listen up, how many of you really know what this candidate stands for?” Brenda slowly approaches Brandon, who was in the middle of chatting up potential voters. 

“Do you even know anymore, Brandon? I mean, you’ve sorta turned into this processed candidate, haven’t you? Leaving any real help, any honest shot of winning behind.” 

“David!” Kelly practically catapults herself across the room, grabbing David by the arm, “Why don’t we turn on the video, okay?” Damage control, you presumed. David moves to plug the tv in, but as soon as it goes into the outlet— darkness. And not the metaphorical deep kind of darkness, but literal darkness. The power goes out. 

-

“No manager is listed! What do I do, ring all the bells?” You lament as you turn around to go back into the apartment, met by Steve at the doorway. 

He mumbles as he breezes past you, “Low-rent city, Y/N/N.”

“You’re welcome, Steve!”

“Hey, where’s the fuse box?” Oh joy, the candidate himself. 

“No clue.” 

“No offense, but you really have the apartment from hell!” Kelly snickers. And that’s your finishing touch, tonight. Between the power going out, everything getting repossessed, and Brandon and Kelly the power couple from hell, you can’t take it anymore. 

“You know, you guys just showed up!” You start, arms folded, “You just burst in, not even thinking that Brenda and I might have a life, just assuming that it would be fine to invite yourself to someone else’s apartment!” 

“Y’know, you could’ve been a little more supportive and offered the apartment,” Brandon jeers. 

“Supportive?! Give me a break! What about you, Brandon?! You’ve been so vain and self-absorbed these past two weeks that I’m not even sure you’re the same guy anymore!” You snarl out, and you can almost guarantee that all the neighbors are now privy to the drama, but at the moment you really don’t care. You try to stop the words but the more they flow out the harder they are to stop. You can feel the burning in your eyes as they well up, “and you, Kelly!” You can hear the disgust rolling off your tongue as you say her name, “You just hate when anyone besides yourself gets attention, so you decide to console yourself on Brandon! Why can’t you go for any of the millions of guys in Beverly Hills, why do you have to always go straight for your friend’s boyfriends?!” 

You pause for a moment and inhale deeply, “Look. You guys have had no problem passing me right by, so why don’t you both just keep on going and leave me the hell alone?” 

“C’mon, Y/N. Don’t do this now!” He whips you back around, his grasp firm but gentle enough that if you wanted to keep walking, you could. You look him dead in the eye as your voice softens.

“I’m sorry, it bad timing for your campaign?” 

Brandon sighs, and when the light catches his eye you can see he’s just as thrilled with this fight as you are, tears delicately rimming the edges. He releases his grip on your arm. Taking your hand in his instead, apologetically, he drops his voice down to match yours. 

“I gotta go now. Are you sure you don’t want to come?”

“I don’t even think I want to vote. But hey, you know what, Brandon? Congratulations. You might really have what it takes to be a politician.”

-

“Mr. Walsh, your proposals please.” 

“Uh, my first order of business will be to get rock bands every Friday at lunch.” The room breaks out in an erupting cheer as you and Brenda watch amusedly off to the side. You look down at the “Walsh for Class President” button in your hand, fidgeting with the metal clasp between your fingers as a brief chant of “Walsh! Walsh! Walsh!” starts. God, he had them eating out of his fingers at this point. 

His opponent, Michael Miller, leans into the mic. His voice rings throughout the room skeptically as the cheers settle, “How do you plan to implement this?”

“Well, Uh…” He swallows, “Contact the bands.”

“It’s a little more complicated than that. There are releases and— and permits and insurance. When I was assistant activities committee chairman—“that doesn’t sound like a real title but whatever“—I brought in bands for the prom. Are you aware of all the red tape involved?” 

“Uh…” Come on, Brandon. Say something. “No.” Uh-oh. “But you are. And that’s just one of about fifty reasons why you’re more qualified to be president than I am.” 

Your hear Kelly’s enraged whispers from behind you, “What the hell is he doing?” As you smile down at your hands you know exactly what he was doing. He was being Brandon. 

“And you certainly run a more honorable campaign. During the two weeks of total campaign madness, I set out to be an honest reputable candidate. I ended up with a vague campaign and I seriously hurt the people I love along the way. Not only that, but I’m nowhere near as experienced you as you are. And that’s the reason why I’m throwing my support to you… Mr. President.” Unanimous frustration spreads across the room, groans and everyone else’s aggravated yells sounding out. But you? You’re trying to keep your grin down. 

-

"Hey, B.” You approach him in the hallway as he skids to a stop, letting Steve wander off with Donna and Kelly.

“Oh, hey. You want to talk?" 

"I think we better,” you pause, “I can’t believe you dropped out… I mean, Steve was gonna stuff the ballot box for you and everything. He’s a real friend, that Steve.”

"I’m sorry." 

"Wait– why?" 

"You were right. I was self-absorbed. I got so wrapped up in trying to win any way that I could that in the long run all it did was push you away. I’m sorry."

"I’m sorry too,” you sigh, “as soon as things didn’t go as I planned I ran off. I think it’s safe to say we both did our share of messing up this week." 

"Me a little more so than you, but yeah. I’d say so,"  he nods in agreement. As you peer to the nearest wall, you’re met with yet another Brandon Walsh poster. You smile deviously, yanking a sharpie out of your purse. You raise the marker to the poster and begin to sketch a goatee onto his black and white face with the real one off to your side, chuckling at your immaturity. You hand the sharpie off to him so he can continue to defile his own face. "Remind me to thank Andrea for this experience, will you?" 

-

-

-

-

-

Taglist: @be-patient-be-good @mpmarypoppins @bevelyhills90210 @blueoz @harleylilo88 @princess-ghost-alien @hueycat2004 @l4life @keepcalm-and-beyou​ @palefiregiver​  @rosy-pugs @bitch-imma-head-out-deactivated

[kuriquinn]

Underneath the Underneath [3/?]

Temporary Blanket Disclaimer

First Chapter

AN: Not edited yet. But it’s been written, which is half the battle :D 

Manako Inuzuka sits cross-legged on the glass counter of the surplus shop, scowling down at the week’s ledger. She’s not a fan of numbers or mathematics at all, but even she can see that something is not quite adding up.

Which is bad, because when the numbers don’t add up, she gets the blame for it and ends up taking a pay cut somewhere.

And I already practically live on cup-ramen. If I eat any more of it, I’m gonna turn into that Uzumaki kid...

“Oi! What do you think you’re doing?!” a familiar voice demands, and Saburō Izumo hobbles in from the backroom, wrinkled face pulled tight in disapproval. Manako’s boss is a short, skinny old man with threadbare, iron grey hair that sticks out in every direction, and hands permanently stained and scarred from making explosives.

His favourite pastime is the glare at potential customers who linger in the shop without buying anything. When he’s in a particularly overbearing mood, he puts on a set of thick, round pince-nez glasses to magnify his unimpressed stare.

Since he’s not wearing them now, Manako decides he’s just in a complaining mood and not actually angry. She returns her attention to the ledger.

“How many times do I say? I don’t want your backside smudging up the display!” he scolds. “And what happens when you break the glass? You’re gonna die a horrible, agonizing death from blood loss, then I have to find replacement. The paperwork!”

“Relax, old man, I’ve got enough training to know how to channel chakra to my ass, it won’t break the glass,” Manako retorts, not looking up.

“Ungrateful whelp…No respect for your elders…”

She notices something out of the corner of her eye, and upon re-reading a line of numbers, smirks in triumph—she’s figured out why the numbers don’t look right.

“You’ve overpriced the gunpowder again,” Manako points out. “No one’s going to buy it here when down the street they’re practically giving it away.”

“They’re practically giving it away because it is cheap imitation,” Saburō harrumphs, striding over to tap the book in her hand. “This? This is secret recipe. Passed down to me by my father, who got it from his father, and so on for many generations of—”

“Important people who did important things and had no fun,” Manako cuts him off. “You say this every time, but I’m the one who has to look at the books, and the profit margin ain’t ever as high as you think it is.”

“Profit is profit. And if it’s more than what that old fishwife across town is making, that’s enough.”

“That…isn’t she your wife?”

“And I love her dearly,” Saburō says, tapping his heart with his fist. “But home is home and business is business and I will blow her quaint little stall out of the water.”

“Freaky old fool,” Manako says, unable to hold back a smile. “Fine. But you’re still getting ripped off by the guys selling you the powder. I can hook you up with better quality stuff, for much cheaper, if you’d just—”

“Oi!” he scowls at her over his glasses. “This legitimate business. None of your questionable connections here! At least wait until I’m dead and gone and with a nice memorial stone. Then you can run this place like the black market for all I care. But until then—” he shakes a finger at her, “—we are wholesome, family store!”

“Whose financial model is built around selling tools that kill people, with a side goal of destroying your wife’s business,” Manako deadpans.

“Exactly.”

She sighs and returns her attention to the books. “We’re out of the specialty metsubushi. Really popular with all those new Academy students that figure they should whip out the weapons for every little schoolyard fight. We should restock and raise the price. Ten percent?”

“Fifteen. Once the injuries start, sales will go down. Strike while the iron’s hot,” Saburō says gleefully.

And people say I’m devious, Manako thinks with a snort.  “There were a bunch of kids eyeing the Exploding Spheres, too. We should institute a strict ‘chūnin and older’ policy, or we’re going to have Old Man Third after us about responsible selling.”

“Hmph. We’ll put up a sign. When you’re done with those, come in back, we can get started on the orders for tomorrow.”

“You said I could take the afternoon off,” Manako reminds him.

“Why?”

“Because I asked for it?”

“That doesn’t sound like me.”

“I know. That’s why when you said it, I checked to make sure you weren’t an imposter using Henge and then made you sign a release form?” she prompts, producing a small, crinkled paper written on the back of a receipt.

Saburō leans in and studies it, as if trying to detect a forgery. “I…suppose this seems in order.”

“Oh, shut up, you know you said I could. You complained all day about it,” Manako rolls her eyes.

“Well, I don’t see why you need to go early. What’s more important than making sure you’re well prepared for tomorrow’s business?”

“I have a date.”

“So?”

“So, I haven’t been out in a while and need a break.”

“Why?”

Manako rolls her eyes. “Because young people—which, I’m pretty sure you used to be a long, long, long—”

“Oi!”

“—time ago, like to go out and have fun sometimes.”

“Young people didn’t have fun when I was your age. They were too busy fighting. And working. And being respectful.”

“Good thing we live now, and not then.”

“Hmph. It’s not that grocery boy again?” Saburō wants to know. “He’s not good enough for you.”

“Thanks, and no,” Manako retorts with false modesty. “It’s the girl at the bakery.”

He blinks. “The one who looks like Princess Gale?”

“Exactly.”

“Feh. That won’t end well,” Saburō shakes his head.

Manako crosses her arms and juts her chin out in challenge. “Are you saying she’s out of my league?”

“I say she’s the sort to make noise and get a person in trouble. And you—you’re the type that gets in trouble.” He pauses. “And yes. She’s out of your league.”

“Gee, thanks…”

“Maybe if you were more respectful girl…”

“Wrong Inuzuka.”

“You should ask that girl at that ramen stand. She’s much politer. Or one of those boys who guard the city gate.”

“Pretty sure those two are spoken for,” Manako replies, amused. “And Ayame doesn’t like girls.”

“Pity. She could bring us lunch if she visited you.”

“I love how my dating life is all about what you can get out of it…”

“I’m old. All that’s left is to live life vicariously through you. Even though you have terrible judgement.”

“Says the man getting ready to start a price war with his wife. I hope she makes you sleep on the couch.”

Saburō waves that off.

“Very well. Finish the books and you can go. I will go and prepare for tomorrow. All alone. Even though I have such terrible arthritis in my fingers these days,” he sighs loudly, heading into the back room.

“You’re not guilting me out of the first afternoon off I’ve had in a month,” Manako calls after him.

“You’ll feel bad when my hands cramp up and I can’t work anymore, and we lose the store,” he calls back. “Or at least when it turns out I’m right about that girl. Then you’ll say, ‘oh, I wish I had listened to Uncle Saburō, and stayed to do my work, because now I still have money and my heart isn’t broken’.”

“Try not to inhale anymore of the ingredients back there!” Manako shouts back, but he either doesn’t hear it or chooses to ignore it.

Crotchety old bugger, she thinks fondly as she goes back to the finances. It doesn’t take her long to finish checking the last tallies up, but just as she makes the final calculations, the door opens and closes.  A beat later, her nose twitches at a familiar scent garlic, toad oil and sake—all barely hidden under a layer of artificial fragrance.

Someone’s been to an onsen recently, she thinks as a figure takes up residence in front of her. Closing the store ledgers, Manako leans forward, propping her chin on her palm to regard the tall, white-haired man before her.

“Hey there, Manako,” he drawls, the smile on his face sly despite how he shows all his teeth. “Have you turned eighteen yet?”

“Hey, Jiraiya,” she replies with an equally sly smile. “Have you contracted syphilis yet?”

The sage’s expression falls flat and he pouts at her. “You are a very unpleasant young woman.”

“And you’re a pervert who should be sterilized for the good of womankind.” She swivels around, hopping behind the counter.  “And yet you’re a legend. The universe is funny like that. Nice sunglasses, by the way. Is that really how you sneak around the continent?”

“Hmph. Sunglasses are inconspicuous.”

“You can tuck your hair into your belt. Inconspicuous left the equation about thirty years ago.”

“Well, inconspicuous is overrated anyway. How else would I attract the attention of lovely ladies looking for love?” he smarms.

Manako wrinkles her nose.

“Gross, but points for the alliteration,” she says. “Are all the legendary Sannin as messed up as you?”

“Trust me, I have the least baggage,” Jiraiya grins, pretending to shoot two ‘finger guns’ at her.

“I don’t think you should sound so proud of that.”

“Well, you’re charming as ever,” he sighs. “Is your boss in?”

“I might be convinced to go find him for you if you offered the right incentive.”

“How about because it’s your job?”

“My job is to mind the front counter. If I go in back, how do I know you won’t steal something?”

Jiraiya frowns. “Would you just go and get the old man?”

“In a minute. You owe me something first.”

“Yeah, yeah…” he digs into his pocket and brings out a thick scroll. “Here are all my recommendations. Your devices work surprisingly well, and I’d be keen to bring a few more out with me.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes. The problem is there’s still no market for them in the big cities. The population in outskirts villages and the farmlands think they’re great, though. The farther out of the way, the more they like them.”

“Really?” Manako asks, brightening.

“Problem is, they can’t afford your asking price. So, unless you’re willing to donate a bunch just for exposure…”

“I can’t,” she protests. “They cost most of my paycheck to make!”

“Eh.” Jiraiya shrugs.

“Wait a minute—you mean you didn’t sell any? I didn’t give those to you for charity, you old badger!”

“Hey, watch the name calling! And what are you getting your nose all bent out of joint? You’re really angry I’m offering your product to people in need?”

“Well—no, but—I still gotta eat!”

“Then figure out a solution. Find a way to make them out of cheaper materials or something,” Jiraiya shrugs.

“Or people could just stop being terrible,” Manako grumbles.

“Then we’d all be out of a job,” Jiraiya says sagely, still digging into his pack. “But, failed business ventures aside, I’m not coming to you empty handed.” He drags out half a dozen paperbacks with lurid covers. “Here! The latest wonders from the distant lands.”

Manako lets out an undignified squeal that turns into rather maniacal laughter; luckily, no one is there to hear except Jiraiya. “Gimme!”

“Two of those are signed. I met the authors at a writer’s retreat in Kumo. Both ladies were…heh…more than happy to personalise those.”

Manako shoots him a suspicious look. “There aren’t any…stains I need to worry about on these, are there?”

“Don’t be crude, they’re in their original packaging!” Jiraiya yelps.

“Well, I just want to be sure,” Manako replies. “I’m not the only one reading this stuff, you know. I’ve got a friend who might want to read them after me, and I don’t want to explain why he might want to use gloves while handling them... He’s reading your latest now, though it’s taking him forever.”

“Hey, that was just for you,” Jiraiya complains. “If my publisher finds out your sharing my work before it’s even published yet…”

“Relax—the guy’s a jōnin. If he can be trusted with Konoha’s secrets, I doubt he’ll spill the ending of the latest Icha Icha,” she dismisses.

“Better not,” Jiraiya mutters.

“I’ve got a few things to say about that ending, though,” Manako goes on.

“Later. I’m on official business, which means your constructive criticism will have to wait.”

There’s something in his tone that informs her the time for joking is past. While Manako has never been one for blind respect, she also knows when it’s best to let a joke go.

“He’s in the back room.”

Jiraiya salutes and heads in back.  “Stay weird, kid.”

“Not a problem,” Manako says, studying her stack of new books.

She suddenly has a dilemma in front of her.

Kimiko wouldn’t be that angry if I cancelled, right?

つづく

I had fun with this chapter. It’s been a while since I got to write snappy dialogue, and writing Manako I felt like I was channelling myself. I wish I had a boss like her, though…but hey, we got to see her at work, which is always fun ^_^

And yes, in case you missed the obvious, Manako is bisexual. Always has been, from when I first created her ( I have put hints about that in a few other fics...though I don’t know if anyone caught them ^_^)

Anyhow, hopefully this was a nice, lite bit of reading for you guys. It’s been so long since I had a moment to write anything, so I figured I’d start with light and humorous before I get back into the serious stuff. Next chapter we’ll see Kakashi again 😊 and get a little more Kakashi/Manako action. I just wanted to establish that they have entire lives without the other one in it before getting them into an acquaintanceship/friendship/romance. 

Reviews and constructive criticism are appreciated! You can also find my tip jar here.

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