#of course billy is acting like a child??

[rabbit-ina-trenchcoat]

ppl got so pissed off when shazam 2 came out and billy was acting his age even as shazam like bro idk if ur aware but 18 year olds are not any smarter than 17 year olds and its weird to assume they are

[ballinandcantgetup452]

I'm really fond of Billy Batson being like the 4th or 5th superhero to debut. Like, he pops up RIGHT after the trinity pops up. I think it's a prime chance to see essentially a newly reborn DCU through a child's eyes. Not in like the New Frontier "Wow! Look at all of these guys!" way (not to knock that, it's still great when moments like that do happen). But in the "everybody is green enough that the idea that this grown man is acting like an 11 year old is extremely suspect" kind of way.

Every member of the trinity has generally the same reaction.

Clark is much more of a "this is the only other person who will TALK to me... BUT he's also probably autistic". Where he's cordial and kind to Billy but also keeps his distance. He's a country bumpkin, and as an autistic person who's ALSO a country bumpkin, I can bet that he'd use the signature "be kind at a distance and let him work it out himself" strategy that I most often see used. Not to say that Clark is going to be a jerk about it. He just knows that he's not qualified to help and since he's an adult he can take care of himself.

Bruce ALSO assumes that Billy is autistic. Especially since the first time he even MEETS Captain Marvel is when he's interrupted on a stakeout. I always envisioned a Year 2 Bruce not being cruel to strangers, but also not being nice either. He just kind of ignores him until eventually he calls Captain Marvel over to whatever he's doing and explains what's going on. Bruce is the kindest to Billy, even if it's not as overt as Clark's.

On theme, Diana ALSO assumes that Billy is autistic after meeting him. Of course, she assumes that after somebody explains the concept of autism to her after explaining how something's just off with "that guy". She's not fond of the fact that some asshole is using the power of old gods, but lets it slide because she doesn't know how to confront that and can tell that the conversation and confrontation with him simply isn't worth it. She's a whole lot more proper and Billy finds her nice and all, but a little bit too grown up for his taste.

Billy isn't a founding member or anything, but once he is indicted, each member of the trinity keeps an eye out on him. Batman doesn't find out that Billy is a LITERAL child until he's a couple of years in with Dick. So he just keeps the lie going. It's easier to tell somebody "he's autistic" instead of "he's a 12 year old swapping bodies with an adult deity"

Any other potential headcanons that can come with Billy Batson becoming the 4th or 5th or just a really early superhero?

[amomentsescape]

Yandere slashers and sinclair brothers with a reader that is pregnant and therfore much more clingy and cuddly and emotionally attached?

Yandere! Slashers with Reader That is Pregnant and Super Clingy

Yandere! Slashers x Reader (Separate)

Includes: Freddy, Michael, Jason, Thomas, Bubba, Brahms, Norman, Billy, Stu, Vincent, Bo, & Lester

Warnings: Typical Yandere behavior, pregnancy of course

A/N: I hope you enjoy! Also, starting today, I will be including the Sinclair brothers in ALL future Slasher requests by default!

Freddy Krueger

Ah, he knew you'd come around

Even just hearing your voice has him sprinting to you, wanting nothing more than to tend to you

Seeing you reach out and ask for his affection leaves him with the biggest grin you've ever seen

Won't give you any time alone either

Wherever he is, you are

Will rub his hand over your growing stomach whenever he holds you

Just know now that you've given him a taste of what it's like to be wanted, he's not going to let you change that even once you have the baby

Michael Myers

He will complain about this newfound clinginess of yours

He enjoyed when you were more standoffish, and he had to force you to give him the attention he desired

Things feel just a little too easy now

He just hopes things will go back to how they were before once you have the child

Although, there still won't be much time alone with a baby crying all the time

But he misses the old you

It's why he took you in the first place

Jason Voorhees

God, why couldn't it be like this all of the time?

He actually feels needed and desired in a way that he didn't before

Hearing you call for him and feeling you squished against his side makes him even happier about you being pregnant (if that's even possible)

Will silently thank your full belly every night while you're sleeping, grateful that you need him so much

He really hopes this affection for him grows along with your stomach

He needs you, and now you need him

It's exactly what he wanted

Thomas Hewitt

He is almost unable to keep up with your demands, but God does he love it

You can call him names, scream at him, do whatever you want if it means he gets to hold you like this all of the time

Will rub your feet, spoon you, and massage your back if your heart desires

Will constantly check in on you

Hell, he has barely left the house for the last couple weeks

Not only because he wants to take care of you

He just enjoys how much attention you're giving him

And he wants to soak it all up while he has the chance

Bubba Sawyer

You've never seen him so happy and giggly before

Every single smile or touch you give him sends him into a fit of bubbly energy

But if you give him a little, he takes it to a lot

A simple hug will have him rolling you over and squeezing you like your life depended on it

A kiss on the cheek has him pressing his lips on every square inch of your skin

Thankfully, you don't mind right now

Any other person would find it to be overbearing, but you can't help but relish in it

He hopes this will never change and will only increase once the baby is born

Brahms Heelshire

He loves the constant affection

There's no limit to this man on how much you can give him

But he can't help the slight feeling of dread that pools in his stomach

He knows the pregnancy is aiding in this change

And he fears that once the baby is born, all attention towards him will be put towards the child or will disappear altogether

He can send himself into fits of rage just by thinking too much about this situation

Be gentle with him, and it will all be fine

But now that you've given him a taste of what he so desperately desires, there's no way you can go back

He will never let you

Norman Bates

Any single look or word you say to Norman has him flushing the darkest shade of red you've ever seen

His stuttering increases, he finds himself clumsier than usual, and he can barely sleep at night

He acts like a little boy with a crush

And the fact that you're carrying his child only increases that giddy feeling inside of him

He's still hesitant to initiate anything with you, but he will never say no to you if you ask him for anything

He feels so happy, like his dreams are coming true

He can't wait for you all to be a little family

And if this is what it's like whenever you're pregnant...

He's going to want a big family

Billy Loomis

Billy likes a challenge, but now you're just giving in so easily

He can't say he doesn't mind it though

He may act all cool and tough about you being so clingy with him, but there's a part of him that loves having you depend on him

He's your lover and provider

He likes it this way

But the moment you seem just the slightest bit off, he is going in on you, starting arguments and making accusations that aren't even true

So be careful where you tread

You've ignited something in him, and he likes it

Stu Macher

This works out for Stu because knowing you're carrying his child also brings out his clingy and affectionate side

It's like being one and the same, always seeming to call out for each other at the same time

He's a big foodie, so you bet he'll always bring you your favorite snacks

He might even become more comfortable and let you out in public with him occasionally

He thrives off of your attention

Will talk to your belly and say how lucky they've made him

Becomes the tiniest bit delusional and believes that you won't ever leave him now

Not that you really wanted to, but if you did, he would never let you

Vincent Sinclair

Your sudden increase in attention has Vincent all bashful

Will immediately become more shy but loves every second of it

Will beg on his knees if you ask him to

He's willing to go to literally any length to make you (and the baby) happy

Will lay and spend time with you for however long you ask

He's also big into getting you food and drinks that you're craving

As long as you hug him and tell him just how much you love him, he'll do anything for you

Bo Sinclair

He has mixed feelings about the sudden change in your neediness

It does boost his ego quite a bit and makes him feel like you really need him

You're just so helpless so of course he needs to help you

But at the same time, he's a bit annoyed

He has plenty of things to do

Spending 24/7 with you and giving you affection all the time isn't his thing

It all depends on what mood you catch him in

If he's feeling good, you being clingy doesn't bother him

But if he's already irritated, you being all over will only make it worse

Just tread carefully around him

Lester Sinclair

He can feel himself melt every time you ask for a simple hug or kiss

Feeling you crawl into bed with him in the middle of the night plasters the biggest smile on his face

He lives for your attention and touch

You could slap him and he'd be happy

Anytime you cuddle up to him, he's immediately reaching for your growing belly, wanting to give his child some attention too

Will compliment you repeatedly over your new found attachment

Prays every night that this is a permanent change

[dio-niisio]

It's the middle of the night in Fawsett city, it's very cold and Billy Batson is trying to sleep, curling up with his favorite plushie tiger in a dark alley in the heart of the city.

Suddenly his communicator starts making noise, the Justice League needs him! And he is on his way! He gets up and starts to get out of the alley, he speaks with confidence!

"Hello! Yes I am here!"

".... Who are you? We need to talk to Captain Marvel...?"

Oh no. That's Batman. Oh shit.

He forgot to turn into Marvel first, and now everything is gonna be bad! He doesn't need another foster home! He's doing good by himself! And now the Justice League hates him!

"Be calm." It's Solomon! He always gives good advice"You are a kid right now, act like it! Pretend to be Billy."

"Oh! You mean... Uh... Dad?" Ok now that's a long shot there's no way-

"Yes sweetie... your dad.... Can you give this to him...?"

No way. No bloody way. (He's spending too much time with Constantine.)

"Ok! Just a moment!"

SHAZAM!

"Hi hello? Captain Marvel here."

"..."

"Hello? Is there anyone there?" Do you think he knows? "Be patient."

"Captain Marvel, Batman here. We are gonna have to talk about this at a later date. Right now we need your help with-"

------

The next day, when Captain went to deliver his report of the mission at the Watchtower tensions were high and everyone seemed to be staring at him.

Oh that's not good.

"Marvel! Mind if we have a word with you?" Batman says, right behind him is Superman and the both of them don't seem to be too amused, well at least Batman isn't.

Oh that's definitely not good.

"Of course not! What can I help you guys with?" He looks at the clock in the nearest wall.

"We won't take too much of your time. Just going to ask you to please not let the communication devices near your child again." Oh they really believed that?!

"Oh ok! Uh... You know how they can get... Haha..." That's gonna be awkward to deal with....

"We are not judging you!!" Superman says a bit too fast. "It's good to know more about you! I mean family it's a good thing to have! I mean we know you are a private person-"

"Don't worry about it. I won't let it happen again! For now Billy will not be near the comms!"

Well shit.

"Well it's getting a bit late... And uh... I really gotta be home..." Get out of there! Before you say something more stupid!!

As the captain was leaving he could feel Batman looking at him, before he completely left the room he looked back only to see him starting to search for something on his personal computer (it's no batcomputer but it does his job) and the only thing he can think of is "I'm so screwed".

Sure one name isn't a lot, but he looks just like his dad, and making the comparison is not gonna be hard for the world's best detective.

And he really doesn't want to pretend to be his dad. Well not again at least.

Well time to pretend to kill my kid! Again.

That time with that fairy prince was really unfortunate.

[lavena]

I really need to see Billy, child of Fawcett, The magic city, using magic first asking questions later.

Like give me a Batfam adoption fic where billy is terrified of his Gotham family knowing he has magic because Batman *hates* magic and metas, and he doesn't know if other gothamites share the same sentiments.

I really want to see a bruce has to reveal he is Batman before they realize Billy has magic, and billy is just terrified.

"Oh my gods the man who *hates* magic is my adoptive father, there is no possible way he or his family could accept magic into their household" type thoughts, he is completely spiraling and bruce, trying his hardest, reaches out to comfort him.

Billy of course reacts badly, he is used to Fawcett foster families knowing about magic and given his track record of disappearing, most believe he has magic.

If billy wants to escape he has to act fast and act now. If he falters even a second a ward could be placed against him and he will have to fight tooth and nail to escape again. He won't be locked up again.

He throws his hands up as if to block a strike, chants a single incantation, and is gone in a glorious golden spiral. Leaving behind nothing but the last remnants of his too fast breathing and a well-worn backpack that will have nothing in it come morning.

[puppetwoman17]

No because I actually wanna talk more about Billy getting a call/email about his dad’s remains years later, because the concept is just so life-altering.

Like, imagine that you’re Billy, who had to deal with his father never coming home and his sister not remembering much from before. After years of dealing with all the hurt and trauma, he’s finally at a place he likes. He’s older, he has his sister back, and they’re extremely close. He has friends in and out of the hero community. He’s trusted within that community. He has a good job. He makes enough so he’s not starving. And while the wounds from his parents’ brutal deaths are still there, they aren’t as bad. They’re healing slowly, but healing nonetheless.

And then everything comes crashing down. And whatever point he gets the email or phone call does not matter. That’s honestly one of the worst parts of this. He could be waking up to a new day. Going to bed.ar the watchtower. Doing his job. Going on a date. Going out with the JL. He could be doing ANYTHING and it wouldn’t matter.

And it’s more likely for him to get an email about it. Idk why I think this, but I do. So you can probably imagine how it feels for him to get a random email from a random @ that says “C.C. Batson’s Remains Found”. Like, what the fuck do you mean? What do you MEAN?

Ebenezer got the email. He is absolutely fuming and refuses to have anything to do with it, so it’s left to Billy, because of course it is.

What does he look like to the League? To his friends? One moment, he’s the same as he’s ever been, talking and laughing and finally acting like the child he is at heart, and then his phone lights up and he reads something on it—

He goes completely pale. He doesn’t speak. He doesn’t react when someone touches him or says anything. He just stutters out that he needs to go and asks for a sick day, or a sick week, or a sick whatever, because he doesn’t care. He just makes a run for it before anyone can ask.

They try to ask around, but Mary and Junior are offline soon after him. Dudley suspends Captain Marvel Inc.. Whiz Radio announces that the Whiz Kid segment will be doing reruns for the next two months. Diana is getting missed calls from all of her Fawcett war buddies.

Meanwhile, Billy spends agonizing days, weeks, waiting for his father’s remains to finally come home. There are warnings. From Adam. From Dudley. Hell, from the email sender. All about how gruesome C.C. looks. And billy is angry because that’s his father and he shouldn’t be so disgusted about finally seeing him again.

And then he finally does get to see him. He gets to see his dad after so many years. His ACTUAL, real dad, and not just Captain Marvel on the tv screen—

And he can’t look. He can’t. He just looks too…

Billy throws up all over the good-looking clothes he bought, because he thought the quality would make up for that entire situation. But of course it doesn’t.

Dad’s home, and Billy, for the first time, wishes he wasn’t. When he’s finally in the ground, next to his wife, next to their daughter’s empty coffin, all he can do is cry in shame.

[praisetheaxolotl]

The Arsonist Theory, Part 2: We Get It, The Billboard Was A Metaphor

Part 1: Mandibles!

First off, I want to say thank you all for giving the first part of my theory such love! I appreciate each and every one of you and I'm so happy that you all like my theories so much!

For those who are new here, the Arsonist Theory proposes that Bill wasn't alone in destroying his dimension- rather, he was used by a third party. This is part two of four, with the remaining two parts coming out very, very soon.

Also, same as before:

MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE BOOK OF BILL, INCLUDING SOLUTIONS TO CIPHERS

Let's get into it, shall we?

In The Great Gatsby, certain motifs have more than one symbolic meani-- no, really, stay with me here!!

...Okay, fine. Let's back up.

In the Book Of Bill, you'll find a webpage called thisisnotawebsitedotcom.com. Go there, and you'll be prompted to enter a password. Go back to the Book of Bill, and hidden in a stretched-text section, you'll see the phrase NEED A PASSWORD? FINE, I'LL TALK / IT'S THE NAME OF THE EYEBALL DOC.

"The eyeball doc" is from the excerpts of The Great Gatsby further back in the book-- T.J. Eckleburg.

(Honestly, this explanation is moreso that context doesn't get lost to time.)

So... Gatsby. T.J. Eckleburg.

Hirsch could have chosen any number of public domain novels for that gag in the book... so why this one? Why tie it in by making it the password?

I believe it has some significance to the greater plot. Furthermore, eye doctors in general are a large point of Bill's early life in Euclidia. Take the silly straws- the red one has a numeric cipher, while the other three use a Caesar cipher.

In the order of RGBY, they read as follows:

TWISTED OUT OF SHAPE AFTER THE KILL / THE GHOSTS OF HIS FAMILY ARE HAUNTING HIM STILL Eye doctor of a different kind / Who wants to make his patients blind The doctor says / Three sips a day / Will make the visions / Go away Fussy eater / Baby Billy / Wouldn't drink / Unless it's silly

These ciphers refer to a certain couple of tidbits Bill tells us about his home.

One- He could see the third dimension. A rare mutation.

Two- Talking about it at all was illegal.

So, what were his parents to do when their son started talking about nonsense that was illegal to even mention? Well, if your child started acting strange and seeing things that weren't there... you would take them to the doctor.

It's clear to me that Bill's parents were concerned about the "visions" their son was experiencing, and took him to the doctor to cure them- an eye doctor that wants to make his patients blind. The blue straw explains how the medicine is supposed to work. The yellow straw explains why Bill has such a fondness for silly straws- he was a picky little kid, and hated his medicine, so his parents got him silly straws to drink it out of.

I wonder if that's why he collects them- because they remind him of home, of his mother urging him to take his medicine, of his life before all of this happened.

But never mind all that.

The thing is, an eye doctor is crucial to Bill's past, which of course brings me back to T.J. Eckleburg.

In The Great Gatsby, certain motifs have more than one symbolic meaning, and the eyes of T.J. Eckleburg are no exception.

(Okay full disclosure, I have not actually read Gatsby and I'm Sparknotes-ing this shit. But, so did all of you when you were assigned this in high school, so we're even.)

They appear on a billboard in a place called the Valley Of Ashes, and at first, they seem to symbolize God. But as the scenes continue, they take on a different meaning.

See, our POV character, Nick, is going on this journey to meet the mistress of his friend. Nick is aware that this is an immoral action, yet does it anyway. Now, the eyes of Eckleburg cast judgement... along with issue a warning.

They now take on a new meaning-- a foreboding omen about the tragedy that lies in wait, inching ever closer. The tragedy in Gatsby being the death of Myrtle, the mistress, and subsequent string of deaths that follow it-- and, curiously, Nick states that the eyes of Eckleburg almost supernaturally draw him someplace... which ends up being where Myrtle is.

Both a higher being, and a warning of a horrible tragedy that ends in death upon death upon death... curious!

What's more curious is when Bill is admonishing the story and Un-Gatsby-ing us, he says this:

The billboard is a metaphor? Why mention that? Out of all the symbolism in this book, why the billboard? Is it because it was mentioned in the preceding pages? Then why mention the theme of the American Dream being a myth? That wasn't on those pages! If you had to mention symbolism, the green light would have been the most iconic example of it from the book.

So why the billboard?

Is, perhaps, the image of some sort of higher power watching you, admonishing you of the tragedy you will have a hand in causing, supernaturally pulling you to someone that will be the catalyst for it all.... relevant somehow, to Bill?

(And, as a sidenote- the theme of the American Dream being hollow could also apply here, as Bill got what he wanted- freedom into the third dimension, Weirdmageddon, all of it. But he's still not happy and still wracked with guilt over Euclidia, ultimately an interloper in a place he doesn't belong in, just as Nick says at the end of the novel that he is a Midwesterner unsuited to life in the East Coast city.)

Let's talk about Flatland.

It's interesting to note that in the original novel, A. Square does have help witnessing the third dimension-- a Sphere contacts him, and tells him about the third dimension, intending to use the Square as a conduit to educating the rest of Flatland.

This, of course, leads to mass imprisonments and executions, one of said imprisonments being of the Square's own brother, with the Square being imprisoned himself at the end of the book.

Point being... in the original story of Flatland, the two-dimensional outsider was visited by a higher being, one that used him to alter Flatland and only ended up causing chaos and ruining lives.

All I'm saying is, the Book of Bill and Bill's story in general draws parallels to two existing books-- Flatland, and now The Great Gatsby. It would be foolish to write this off as a random occurrence when the game of Gravity Falls has always been analyzing the smallest of details. I believe the choice in book was on purpose, and moreso, that it was specifically used to hint that maybe Bill wasn't alone in all this. There was some kind of higher being that influenced him, just as the Square was influenced. That looked down upon him with impossibly wide eyes, pulling him closer and closer to ruin.

Oh, by the way-- Bill up there mentions being touchy about his weaknesses ever since... something. This is clearly his death, but... is that all he means? But that's gonna be in part four.

Next time, it's all about the many cycles and the distinct breaking of them present in Gravity Falls itself, and what that means for Bill as the villain and foil to them.

Part 3: Journey To The Vicious Spiral Nebula

Part 4: Blame The Arson, Not The Fire

[p0lyn3sian]

Muti slasher with a reader that loves to bake, eat, and share

But the reader is like feeding them the sweets like a baby

AAHHH, THIS REQUEST OMGGG!!! I LOVE THIS REQUEST THANKS SO MUCH ANON FOR REQUESTING THIS!!

(I think I went overboard on this one lmaoo)

Slashers: Michael, Jason, Bubba, Thomas, Billy and Stu, Billy lenz, Brahms, Carrie, Hannibal x Will, & The lost boys!

LIKES AND/OR REBLOGS ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED!

Feeding slashers sweet treats!

Michael Myers:

This silent man actually does love when you bake something for him, especially that he has a sweet tooth! Like he'll be popping out of nowhere just to see what you are baking! And just watch you do the stuff from scratch.

If you want to share with Michael, this man will literally steal the whole damn plate just to eat the whole thing in front of your face..! Which makes you pissed every time he does that, and you would ignore whenever he tries to ask for those baked treats.

Michael does not want to be fed like a baby, he would most likely slap your hand away that's full of treats onto the floor.. Which Michael had to clean that up since he acted like a full on child for that.

Jason Voorhees:

When he found out that you would love to bake, he immediately wanted to try whatever pastries/deserts you would make! He'll also help you with whatever you need help with your baking!

Sharing these treats with Jason is like heaven to him! He loves seeing his darling making faces of how delicious your sweets are!

When you get the chance to feed these sweets to him, Jason gets really embarrassed that he's getting fed, but he's not complaining! He actually loves it when you feed him, cooing at him, and praising him for how much of a handsome boy he is!

Bubba Sawyer:

He LOVES LOVES your baking!! He'll be blubbering about how delicious your baking is, and how flaky it is when he bites into it! (His brothers are a little jealous, that their little brother has a baker that feeds him 🌚.)

When you share the new sweets you made, he'll be jumping up and down, wanting to try your new recipe! He then starts blubbering praises of how good it is, and that you should start feeding him that!

Now feeding Bubba, he's really shy but that doesn't matter, because getting fed by you and your sweets will be treating him like a baby, wanting more and more! But for you, you are so glad Bubba loves your sweets, and of course you love feeding him too! It makes both you and him happy as ever!

Thomas Hewitt:

This big burly man will be wanting to try your sweets of course! He immediately smelt the fresh apple pie, thinking that it was his mama making it, because he loves his Mama's apple pie!

When he got up there, he was surprised that you were baking! So of course he needed to try your apple pie! Once he bit into the apple pie, he was over the world! Making grunts of how good it is, and praising you with his grunts!

You then grabbed the chair and went beside Thomas, and grabbed a piece of apple pie, and tried to feed him. Which surprised him since you wanted to try feeding him, but he didn't care he just bit into it, and then he looked into your eyes, and Thomas put the piece of apple pie down from your hand and gave you a hug for how delicious your pie is!

Billy & Stu:

Now these two, especially Stu are a menace! When they found out you loved to bake, of course their big mouths wanted to try your sweets! Begging you if you are making more sweets, or making new sweets too!

Stu loves how you make your sweets by scratch and Billy loves how you make so much effort just to feed those sweets to them! So sharing your baked sweets to them, it's something that they will never forget!

When feeding them your baked treats to them, they'll be giving so much praise for how good it is, and asking you to feed them more! While feeding these two, they both have the audacity to start moaning while eating, so you gave them a smack to the head for that..

Billy Lenz:

You kind of knew Billy when you were staying with the sorority girls. Sometimes at midnight, there will be noises of clattering downstairs, so you had to investigate what was all that noise. Seeing a person opening up what's left over your baked brownies, froze still.. You then chuckle at the feeling of how you knew that the "moaner" was eating your brownies!

Wherever there's a chance during nights, you'll be baking treats for the "attic" man, because that's what you call him when he shows you where he hides most times. But he then told you his name, which made you happy that he told you his name, so of course you had to make more cookies for him!

For Billy, he doesn't like when people feed him, so getting fed by you would make him move away from you.. He just thinks that it's weird and he could just feed the treats to himself if he wanted to. Which you completely understand that if he doesn't want that, you'll have to leave him be.

Brahms Heelshire:

Brahms has been bugging you for the past few hours to make him treats! Which made him pissed that you will be fully ignoring him, so the only way to get your attention, is by acting like a full on child..

He'll be full on child mode, making messes, yelling, and crying. Hearing him being like a grown man child is something that you really hate, and you gave in and started baking a batch of treats for him.

After baking those treats for him, he'll be forcing you to hand feed them to him, because he wants to be a big baby. You had to tell him to say 'please' after what he wanted, and he said it, just so you could feed him.. But seriously he loves you so much, and he wouldn't know what to do without you and your baking!

Carrie White:

You loved to bake too? So does Carrie! Both you and Carrie will be making batches of whatever treats you guys like! Carrie loves how you make anything with chocolate, and you love her cakes that she likes to bake!

Sharing recipes with Carrie is always fun! Both you and her will be trying out new recipes with each other, and taste test them! Carrie's favorite recipe from you is the brownies, but with melted chocolate inside! As for you, you like her baked cakes! She makes so many and they're all so good, which you couldn't pick but whichever you like that's your favorite cake from her!

You and Carrie love sharing food too! Which isn't weird for the both of you since you've been sharing food since you guys were little! So you both love making "Here comes the airplane" or anything else than that, while feeding each other! Which makes it funny while eating, and just laughter filled in the air!

Hannibal & Will:

These two love your baking! They both praise and coo at you for making these delicious treats for them! For Will, he will give you cuddles for making the treats and for Hannibal, he'll be cooking your favorite dish/food for making the treats too!

Sharing your baked treats to them, makes them fall in love with you more! These two will be giving you love for making these treats for them, they'll also do everything for you too! They're really helpful after giving them your baked treats!

Will kinda does want to be fed by you, but for Hannibal he doesn't want to since he's a clean man, but he would most likely feed you though.. but they both love you very much just for feeding them your baked treats!

The Lost Boys (David, Dwayne, Paul & Marko):

Feeding these vampires is something you kinda hate but also love at the same time! They love your baked treats a lot, (maybe too much) because they'll be bugging you to make more and more! And if they want more, that means your money will be gone within a week..

They love you so much for sharing your baked treats! Even though they know that you are running out of money for baking these treats for them, the only way these vampires will do is steal money of course, just for you to make more..!

They love to be fed by you, especially Paul and Marko, but for David and Dwayne it might take some time for these two. But over all they love you so much, that they will literally make them feed your baked treats over and over again (Even if your broke 🌚).

[xoluvx]

Hi could you do how Billie would act when we’re pregnant with her child pls thank you!!<33

oh yes so so cuteeee <3

just imagine. billie is about to release another album and of course she's doing her famous paint splattered CDs. you go with her, even though you're very pregnant and probably should be resting. she'd told you to rest, but you just wanted to be with her. it was a tradition. you hadn't missed one of these since you started dating.

you're wearing a mask, of course, because billie is super protective and wants nothing to happen to you or the baby. like seriously if she could have you behind plexiglass right now, she would. jk but not really.

while she's splattering paint, finneas comes out with a smaller bucket of paint and paint brush. billie smiles big taking it from him. "come here," she calls to you and you waddled over to her, hands on your hips.

your bump was out, everyone was used to it. who could blame you, it was hot and you were pregnant. you got a pass.

billie held the paint brush to your bump. she made a heart, a smiley face, and finally wrote 'baby eilish' across the belly. she smiled happily at her work while you recorded the whole thing. her eyes were bright, her smile brighter.

her lips melted with yours in a sweet kiss.

all throughout the pregnancy she was extra cautious. she made sure you had everything you needed. like everything. didn't matter if she had to drive somewhere in the middle of the night. not that you would let her.

she loved to show off your belly. she was always taking pictures of your bump. laying in bed with her head resting on it or her lips on your skin. in the kitchen when you were baking and she insisted the apron just looked so freaking cute around your belly. when you were at her parents' house and her mom touched your belly to feel the baby kick. her camera roll was full of bump photos and her instagram stories often got a glimpse of your pregnant journey during her photo dumps.

she just couldn't wait to be a mom and the fact that you were the one carrying her child just made it all the more special. she'd brag about that all day every day.

[chaoticallyfluffy]

Ok consider:

A new hero emerges and the Justice League watches him for a while who make sure he’s not a threat. They see this giant clumsy man who moves like he’s not used to his body, smiles goofily every time he saves someone, and is clearly inexperienced with his powers and they’re all just like. Ah. This is a child.

Except they don’t think he’s a ten year old or however old Billy is at the time, no no. Clearly this hero came into existence shortly before his first appearance, just a few months ago. They don’t know how or why but It’s not the weirdest thing they’ve seen so it’s pretty easy to believe.

But they can’t just leave this toddler with the powers of a god to stumble around and potentially hurt someone by accident, nor go down the wrong path and become a villain. So of course they decide to ‘subtly’ guide him without alerting him to the fact they’re onto him.

They introduce themselves but instead of inviting him to the league they pop by every once in a while to ‘subtly’ teach him about responsibility and power, but also about love and humanity. They try to teach him to enjoy life and that he doesn’t have to act like an adult around them, instead encouraging him to enjoy his childhood even if it’s not an ordinary one.

(Too bad the Justice League suck at subtlety.)

Billy is certain they somehow found out he’s a kid before they even met him, probably because of Batman’s freaky know-it-all powers, but he isn’t very worried as they seem nice and don’t treat him like he’s dumb or fragile. They respect him as a hero despite his age so he lets himself act like a kid around them after a while.

When he gets comfortable enough to detransform Billy thinks that’s his identity reveal. The league thinks that he magicked himself a body that’s more of a representation of his true self and fits his developmental age better, possibly as a way to blend in with humans and experience what it’s like to be a normal child. Good for him!

Basically Billy gets a bunch of super powered parents and the Justice League get a newborn man that they think they’re raising from scratch lol

[blankwashed]

PART 1 PART 2 IS HERE!

Satoru Gojo (role play, praise kink, katoptronophilia)

Satoru looooves to role-play, even when the both of you aren’t having sex. Why? Because having the pressure of the world on your shoulders is not something anyone likes. This was an idea suggested by you when you first saw him stressed. At first, it didn’t have anything to do with sex but you thought, hey, why not. Surprisingly, Satoru accepted your idea.

Ah yes, of course Satoru has a praise kink. The man himself gets pleasure whenever he hears praises from you. “Such a big cock, daddy” “Your fingers give me so much pleasure, Toru”. He has this kink ever since he was born but only sexually when he met you.

Katoptronophilia. Similar to the second kink, he loves himself. Whenever you’re away or on a night out with your friends, Satoru would sit in front of the mirror, looking at himself while jacking off. Hands around his own neck, choking himself as if it were you. But when he cums, he strangely will moan his own name.

Nanami Kento (melolagnia, praise kink, breeding kink)

Kento definitely is triggered sexually by music. Listening to jazz and R&B are his favourite whenever he's with you. Frank Sinatra and Billie Holiday are his go-to choices while fingering you with his thick and calloused fingers.

It's clear as day that Kento has a praise kink. It makes all the difference when you're his boss. "Such a good report, Kento." "You deserve a promotion, Kento.". Totally gives him a boner when you say it.

Daddy Kento would surely have a breeding kink, in my opinion. The way he leads his workmates already shows his natural dominance and protectiveness. He would risk his life for them without a second thought, displaying a level of commitment that is undeniably attractive. You can picture him, strong and commanding, taking control in the bedroom with the same intensity. The very thought of him, his firm hands on your hips, his deep voice promising to breed you, ignites a fire within you. The way he moves, the way he looks at you, everything about him screams power and control, making you crave his touch, his attention, his love. Suguru Geto (breeding kink, group sex, dirty talk)

Suguru's breeding kink stems from his desire for control. The thought of his partner carrying his child excites him, a way where his dominance is shown.

Whenever Sugu has group sex, all he thinks about is control and exhibiting dominance. He would be in command and be satisfied by others. He wants to be in control of your pleasure. "Do as I say" or "You're mine to use" are some of the phrases he would say while he sees how wet you've become.

He would surely be into dirty talk. Sex doesn't have to always be in the bedroom for him. Raunchy texts and photos that he sends to you would assist you in getting off. Choso Kamo (blood play, protection kink, vore)

Choso would use his power to manipulate blood to enhance intimacy and control in various ways. His ability to control blood could be used to create intense, unique sensations during intimate moments.

We all know that Choso is very protective over his siblings. The act of safeguarding someone would heighten his arousal, making him feel powerful and needed. He would say "trust me, princess” or "i'll make you feel good" whenever your anxiety kicks you on the bed.

The idea of consuming or being consumed, of holding life and power within himself. Usually, Choso would be a softie, a blank canvas so this fetish taps into his intense desire for intimacy and control. He gets off with the concepts of protection and possession Toji Fushiguro (gagging, dd/lg, money kink)

It's clear as day that this man has a gag kink. If you don't think so, then I don't know which Toji Fushiguro we're talking about. BUT, he definitely shows his s/o tons of love and care. Everything is consensual but who wouldn't want Toji to wrap his big hands around their neck?

This is pretty cliche but the man loves power. It doesn't matter what kind of fantasy we're talking about but there's no doubt that he wants you to be his little. Or a switch. "ride daddy just like that, slut" or "how's this feel, princess?"

AH OF COURSE, money. Imagine this, you coming home from work with your pay in hand. The whiff of money would remind him of the times when he was broke and desperate for it. His eyes would darken with a mix of hunger and nostalgia, a reminder of the struggles he faced. The sight of you holding the cash would ignite something primal in him, a desire to reclaim those moments, but this time with power and control. The both of you would role-play as a thief and victim to spice things up.

[radioactiveparker]

The Breakfast Club - Eddie Munson X Fem!Cheerleader!Reader

Part Four - Hand Over The Purse

Summary - The kids get high and share a little more about themselves. Some more than they probably wanted to. (A retelling of The Breakfast Club, written and directed by John Hughes).

Warnings - Strong Language / Drug Use / Kleptomania / Abusive Relationship / Dysfunctional Families / Child Abuse / Sexual References / Pyromania and Fire

Word Count - 5.4k

(Series Masterlist) (Masterlist)

(Part One) (Part Two) (Part Three) (Part Four) (Part Five)

~~~~~

Saturday.

October 25th, 1986.

Hawkins High Library.

2:00pm

~~~~~

Eddie sat on the beanbag chair, putting the finishing touches on a joint as long as a dictionary page. You sat down beside him, squeezing to fit on the chair together, and laughed at the size of the joint. He smiled proudly. He licked the blunt all over to ensure that it stayed together, keeping his eyes locked on yours. He held it up to your mouth and blindly fished his lighter out of his pocket, not once taking his eyes off you. You tried not to act nervous, but if you were unconvincing, Eddie didn't say so. You wished he'd say something to ease whatever this tension was between the two of you. The chocolate swirls of his irises were making your mind go blank. He struck the lighter and held it under the end. You closed your eyes to shy away from his attentive stare and moved in on the joint. There was a brief pause, and you were hyperaware of Eddie's presence beside you. With a shuffle of his jacket, you could feel him moving closer to place the blunt to your lips. Eddie couldn't help but stare at you like this. Your eyelashes resting softly above your cheeks, and your lips pouted ever so slightly in such a kissable way.

Eddie smoothly replaced the joint with his lips.

You unknowingly pressed your lips to his and sucked. Your eyes snapped open to see Eddie, lips against your and his eyes delicately closed. Despite all of the alarms ringing in your head, you didn't move away and instead close your eyes again. Eddie smiled against your lips. In reality, the kiss only lasted about five seconds, but it felt like time had come to a stand still. The kiss made your stomach drop. Not necessarily in a bad way. It's kind of like when you hit the first drop of a rollercoaster; terrifying but thrilling all the same. His lips felt like the inside of a rose petal. It was a bit unexpected from a guy like Eddie, but you weren't complaining. Billy's lips were always chapped, and he used far too much teeth and tongue for your liking.

Billy.

You pulled away abruptly.

You swiftly wiped your lips on the back of your hand, praying that Eddie couldn't see how they were shaking and gave him an unamused look. He just laughed at his little prank, loving how flustered he made you. If your mind was blank before, it was the complete opposite now. You were practically drowning in your own thoughts, struggling to keep your head above them all as more and more weighed you down. You thought of Eddie and how much you had come to tolerate him over the course of a few hours. You thought of the kiss, albeit it was barely more than a quick peck, and how much you had actually enjoyed it. Then you thought of Billy. You thought about how he would react if he found out you had kissed Eddie. Had you technically cheated? Eddie kissed you, not the other way around. But you enjoyed it. The fluttering butterflies Eddie had given you quickly turned into a nest of guilty spiders crawling under your skin.

You rolled your eyes and handed out a hand for Eddie to pass you the blunt, not trusting him to give it to you properly this time. You felt like you were more desperate to smoke now than ever, if only to clear your mind. Eddie passed it to you with little defiance over your new found trust issues. You held it to your lips and took a puff. It wasn't so different than smoking a cigarette, which you only did socially, so the initial inhale wasn't so bad. But your eyes closed as you struggled to keep the dope in your lungs. Your cheeks puffed in and out, and you gaged. Your lungs expelled the smoke out, leaving you coughing and choking. Eddie laughed beside you, patting you on the back in an effort to help clear your airways.

"You good, Sweetheart?" He chuckled.

You continued to cough, only holding a thumbs up sarcastically.

Once you had finally collected yourself, you bravely tried again. You went to put the joint to your lips again when Eddie stopped you. You looked at him confused when he took the joint from your hands.

"Let me try something I think would help."

"What are you going to do?" You said cautiously. After that kiss, you weren't sure you liked him being so vague.

"Shotgun."

"Shotgun?"

"You'll see. You just gotta breathe in the smoke, okay?"

This all sounded a bit sketchy to you, but Eddie knew what he was doing. 

You hoped.

He took a hit and held it in his mouth. He tenderly placed a hand on the back of your neck, pulling you in closer. Your hand rested on his chest, so you didn't topple on top of him. He lightly pressed his lips onto yours and opened his mouth, exhaling slowly. You caught on quickly, despite the shock of Eddie practically kissing you again, and began to suck the smoke in. It was far easier this time, the smoke feeling far more diluted than when you drew it from the source. Your eyes fluttered closed at the feeling of Eddie's lips brushing against yours, and resisted temptation to lean in and kiss him again. You inhaled as slowly as you could to keep Eddie close for as long as possible, but your lungs were reaching full capacity, and you had to pull away to release the air from them. Eddie looked pleased when you didn't have another coughing fit.

You bravely reached for the blunt and took it from his hands, suddenly feeling the urge to please and impress him. You wrapped your lips around the end of the blunt and inhaled once again. The hit wasn't so bad this time. Now you were more prepared. Your lungs surrendered to the smoke and allowed it to fill them up. You exhaled a lot smoother this time, feeling a little disappointed with the lack of effect the weed seemed to have on you. You didn't feel any different, aside from your heart hammering in your chest. You couldn't decide if that was from the joint, Eddie, or the guilt creeping through your system.

Eddie had an impressed smile on his face. He took the blunt from you and took a hit himself, a lot more expertly than you had. He lay back on the bean bag and blew the smoke upwards towards the ceiling. The movement had you sinking into the chair until you were practically cuddled up into Eddie's side. He placed an arm around your shoulders as he got himself more comfortable.

You shared a few more hits when Robin approached the two of you gingerly. She felt like she was intruding, but she felt in dire need of a smoke. She sat on one of the single sofas beside Eddie and asked to join in. Eddie felt satisfaction that he had been able to influence the others to join him, just out of spite for Steve and Nancy. He wondered if they would join in, too.

He passed the joint to Robin, who took a hit effortlessly. He wasn't as shocked as you were at her mastery of smoking. Eddie knew Robin from band and had managed to convince Robin and a few others to smoke with him and the other guys from Corroded Coffin. It wasn't a common occurrence, but whenever he offered, Robin was always the first to say yes.

"You know, my cousin Si, he's from Canada." Robin rambled. "He got high once, and he started eating like really weird foods, and then he just felt like he didn't belong anywhere. Kinda like 'Twilight Zone', you know?"

You took another hit after her. When you passed the blunt to Eddie, the world was moving frame by frame. Your head began to feel lighter and lighter until you felt like you were floating. Eddie watched you with numbed concern and started laughing. At first, you thought you must have said something funny, but Robin started laughing too. You realised you must have looked completely off your face, and soon, you were laughing too. Your eyes squinted shut with laughter. Coloured patterns moved across the insides of your eyelids. Lots of slowly rotating geometric shapes in multicolours floated in all directions, crossing and colliding with each other. When you opened your eyes again, you stopped acknowledging where you were. You felt like you were high on a cloud with your friends laughing beside you.

~~~~~

2:30pm

~~~~~

You didn't remember when Steve joined in, but he appeared from one of the seclusion rooms without his pants and began running around the library. You all watched in bewilderment as he continued his wild, uninhibited race around the bookshelves. He finished outside of the office he had come out of and went back inside without a word.

Nancy pinched the bridge of her nose at his behaviour. She couldn't believe he had managed to convince himself to smoke weed, despite her pleads not to. She was the only one completely sober. She sat by herself in one of the listening rooms, away from the others but close enough to keep her eye on them. It was a small room with a turntable, speakers, a panel of controls and switches, and racks of records. She fiddled with the record jacket in her hands. She took the record out of the sleeve and placed it on the turn table. The music came out louder than she was expecting, and she scrambled to turn it down. Much to her disappointment, she had managed to alert the others.

Eddie waltzed in, looked around, and began going through the records. The others follow loosely behind, thankfully Steve with his pants on this time. Soon, Nancy's small means of escape felt like an overcrowded borstal.

"What a bunch of shit records." Eddie complained and moved to another row.

Eddie saw a cover that piqued his interest and replaced the record on the turntable. He set down the tonearm, and the record hissed and popped before playing some German folk song. He moved his arms far too enthusiastically for what was playing, mocking some air drums.

"Nice beat."

"That is the worst sound I ever heard." You complained with your hands coving your ears.

"What else is there?" Robin chimed.

"Not much."

Eddie turned back to the racks. He started thumbing through the records again. The others joined in. Eddie pulled out another choice selection and put it on, ripping the old record off the turntable. It was opera. A prima donna started shrieking. Eddie mocked her by singing in a ridiculous, high-pitched voice. You laughed before joining in, then Steve and Robin joined too humorously. Even Nancy had to crack a smile at that.

"Wait! I have something we can listen to." You exclaimed and rushed out of the room once the laughter had died down.

You fished through your bag and came back with Prince's Purple Rain album that you took earlier.

"Where did you get that?" Eddie questioned.

"Took it from the teacher's lounge when Steve and I used the drink machine."

Eddie was impressed by that. He took it from you and put it on the turntable. Prince's 'Let's Go Crazy' played, and his voice drifted from the speakers, "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to get through this thing called life. Electric word life. It means forever, and that's a mighty long time..."

Eddie turned the volume up as loud as he could without Principal Higgins hearing it, as the drums set in. Everyone, bar Nancy, filtered out of the room to began to dance. Eddie leaned against the doorframe, tapping his foot to the beat as he watched the others. They jumped and swung their arms, rocking to the strumming of the guitar. He took particular interest in you. You were standing in a shaft of sunlight streaming from between the blinds, head bowed as you twirled and pranced on your feet. You were vaguely aware of Eddie watching you. You found yourself concentrating a lot harder to stay on your feet. You spun and swayed your hips, interpreting the music with your body. You glistened with perspiration as you lost yourself to the music and set your inhibitions aside. Eddie's eyes widened as he carefully studied your body, subtly adjusting his pants. He tried not to think about the way you had wiggled out of your turtle neck, leaving yourself in just your cheerleading top and cardigan when you began having a hot flush.

The next song played until completion, and you finished your dance with a sensuous flourish. You look to Eddie, who gave you an applause. Your cardigan was half hanging off your shoulders, exposing the soft flesh of your upper arms, and your skirt had managed to hike itself further up your thigh. You blushed, hoping that you hadn't given Eddie more of a show than you had intended. But it was nothing that he hadn't seen before.

Perv.

The drums tapered off to a slow dance type beat, giving you a chance to catch your breath. You extended a hand out to Eddie. He had been so engrossed in checking you out that it took him a second to realise you were asking him to dance. He smirked and stalked his way over to you, clasping your hand in his. You tried to fight any intimidation as he towered over you. He was at least a whole head taller than you. The two of you stood a few inches away from each other, holding each others hands in front of you as you slowly started swaying to the beat. Eddie tugged on your hands to pull you closer until you collided with his chest. You rested your head there, hearing the rapid beating of his heart as you wrapped your arms around his waist. He embraced you in his, relaxing his cheek on the top of your head. The smell of your shampoo clouded his senses. He could feel the tension shifting from your bones, and you cuddled him closer. You fell in step together, letting the rhythm control your movements. Your entire body was in tingles, like someone had taken your bottle cap off and was filling your body with fizzy soda. The scenery surrounding you dissolved until it was just you and Eddie. He brushed a hand against your cheek, his body acting on his own. You lifted your head, and Eddie guided to look in his eyes. Your hands move to wrap around his neck, pressing your chests together, giving him no choice but to become one with you. You were in pure paradise. Your fingers played with the stray strands at the nape of his neck that had fallen out of his loose bun. In that moment, you were completely his.

You felt like there was a hole in your heart being filled. You never had this with Billy. He was too forward and fast-paced. He didn't take the time to love you, to appreciate you. Instead, his version of proving his love to you was by not starting a row. The only time you felt like you were in a normal relationship was when he wasn't yelling at you. But recently those times proved less and less. You hid your face in Eddie's shoulder to conceal your teary eyes.

You blinked your tears away when he nudged you with his nose. You looked at him again, his eyes swimming in concern.

"You good?"

You nodded, giving him a pitiful smile. He didn't believe you, but he thought it best not to press. He took a deep breath and pulled you into a much needed hug. You found it hard to believe that Eddie had this side to him. His walls were always up so high, but maybe you were enough to trigger the cracks to bring them down.

Just as they started to crumble, the song came to an end. The two of you tensed, suddenly aware of how close you were. Eddie cleared his throat and took a step back. You felt cold. The others sat on the beanbag chairs, watching you with raised eyebrows and smirks on their lips. You could feel yourself flushing but moved to join them. Eddie followed behind with an exaggerated swagger, as if nothing had happened. You all sat in a loose circle, stoned and relaxed. They included you and Eddie in their conversation.

"So, you got a middle name?" Nancy asked you. It seemed that, after being together for about six hours, they finally decided to get to know one another.

You gave her a sly, I'll-never-tell look.

"I'll bet you can't guess my middle name." Eddie said cheerily, wanting to play along.

"Wait, so your real name isn't Eddie 'The Freak' Munson." Steve faked surprise.

Eddie sent him a glare, about to open his mouth before Robin jumped in. "It's Waylon."

"Your birthday's October 31st, you weigh 178 pounds, you're five feet, eleven inches, and your social security number's 027-03-8619."

Everybody looked at her as much for her entering the conversation as for her correct guess. Eddie was completely stunned.

"Are you a psychic?" Steve gasped.

She rolled her eyes with a shake of her head.

"Then do you want to tell me how you know all of this about me?" Eddie didn't seem as impressed as the others.

Eddie wasn't one to tell his personal information to a bunch of strangers. He had spent a lot of time carefully engineering the walls he built around him. He was aggrieved to find that he had managed to slip up. You saw shoulders tense, and you knew that the wall you had managed to break into was building itself back up.

"I stole your wallet, dingus. While you were slow dancing with your 'Sweetheart'."

Eddie slapped his pockets. Sure enough, his wallet was missing.

"Give it, thief!"

Robin chuckled, taking his wallet out of her pocket. She chucked it to Eddie, who quickly opened it and checked through to see if anything was missing.

"Give me a break. What's there to steal? A couple of bucks and a beaver shot."

"A what?"

"He's got a nudie picture in there, I saw it."

"Let's see." Steve reached out, but Eddie pulled it back.

"I want to see Eddie's wallet." You suddenly felt jealous. Who was this nude woman? Did he know her? Was it his girlfriend? Would Eddie keep a nudie picture of you in his wallet?

"Hand over the purse." Eddie countered.

You paused as you quickly tried to remember if there was anything embarrassing in your purse. Eddie dug his wallet back out. You reached for your bag. You held them out for each other. Eddie yanked the purse from you at the same time you took his wallet. Steve offered his wallet to Robin in exchange for her bag and then exchanged Robin's bag for Nancy's purse.

Steve opened Nancy's purse carefully, as if it held a treasure. He pulled out makeup container after makeup container, eyeliner tubes, lipstick tubes, gloss pots, tiny jars, brushes, pencils, combs, hairbrushes - a ridiculous amount of stuff. You fished through Eddie's wallet. You took out his license, his social security card, and a Mastercard.

You studied the Mastercard. "Who's Myron Lee Fong?"

Eddie pulled out your Walkman and tangled headphones from your bag, studying the tapes you carried with you. He was surprised by your mixed taste in music; Madonna, Beastie Boys, Michael Jackson, Journey, and David Bowie.

"Got me." He shrugged, trying to refrain himself from unwinding your tapes.

"Is this a stolen card?"

"No, it's a found-in-the-parking-lot card."

"Isn't it illegal?"

"Only if I use it." He winked.

"What do you have it for if you don't use it?"

"Status."

His answer confused you. You would have asked him what he meant, but with his lack of response to your questions, you didn't think you were going to get much of an explanation.

"This is the worst fake ID I've ever seen. Do you realise you made yourself 68?" Nancy giggled as she searched through Robin's bag.

She passed the fake ID around, and everyone chuckled at it.

"That was supposed to be the year I was born." Robin sighed, snatching it back, not enjoying everyone laughing at her, even if she had found it funny herself. "I goofed it."

"What do you need a fake ID for?"

She looked at you like it was obvious. "So I can vote."

Everyone shared a laugh. Nancy dumped the rest of Robin's bag in front of her on the floor; traveller's checks, a birth certificate, socks, a baggie of underwear, spare t-shirt, toothbrush and toothpaste, a tiny Teddy bear and a scad of tampons.

"You always carry this much shit in your bag?" Eddie picked up a tampon, examining it as if he was debating whether or not it would fit up his nose.

"Yeah," Robin's demeanour suddenly turned sombre. "You never know when you have to jam."

"Run away?" Nancy asked, eyes big with pity.

"Run away."

"For good?"

"For good. As far as I can get."

"No matter how bad things got, I'd never run away from home. Living with assholes is preferable to living on the street." Steve interjected.

"That's your opinion."

"Are you gonna be like a shopping bag lady? You know, like, sit in alleyways and like talk to buildings and wear men's shoes and that kinda thing?" Eddie asked.

You gave him a nudge. He obviously wasn't reading the room. It wouldn't be the first time. Any moment you were expecting Robin to tell some big secret about herself, or even just break down crying. Eddie wasn't exactly making things any easier for her.

"I'll do what I have to."

"Why do you have to do anything?" Your question was more of an encouragement, letting her know that she was in a safe place. There was no judgement coming from you.

You had thought about running away before, every kid probably had at some point, but you knew that you wouldn't ever actually do it. Robin, however, was primed and ready to go at any second. The thought made you sad, and you remembered how she had looked when you first walked into the library this morning; red eyed and sniffle nosed. You wondered what had happened to her.

Robin turned to Steve. They shared a look. Something told you that Steve already knew what was up with Robin and why she wanted to run away. But how? They were the most unlikely duo ever. Surely Robin didn't know Steve well enough to open up to him.

"I don't think my parents accept me for who I am."

"You'd subject yourself to the violent dangers of the street because your parents don't accept you?" Eddie scoffed. "Welcome to the fucking club."

"Rob, everybody's home life is unsatisfying." You continued as if Eddie hadn't spoken, trying to reason with Robin. "If it wasn't, people'd live with their parents forever."

"No Sweetheart, I think hers is beyond what people like us think is unsatisfying."

Robin shifts in her seat, clearly uncomfortable with all of the attention to her problem. "Never mind. Everything's cool."

"What's the deal?"

"There's no deal, dingus. Forget it. There's no problem." Robin didn't want to talk about it anymore. "What do you care? Leave me alone."

"You're carrying all that crap in your purse. Either you really want to run away or you want people to think you really want to run away."

"Eddie!" You gasped. You couldn't understand why he was having such a big reaction to what Robin had said.

"Eat shit!" Robin threw Steve's wallet to the ground and stormed off.

Steve picked up his wallet. He didn't look offended that she had thrown it, he just made sure that everything was still in there before looking longingly at Robin. You could see the gears turning in his head as he debated whether or not to go after her. He rose from his seat, but Nancy held onto his arm, shaking her head.

"I think it would be best just to let her cool off."

You turned to Eddie, a confusing mix of fury and sympathy churning in your stomach. "You shouldn't've said that."

"Whatever, Buckley's got a fucking stick up her ass."

"Go apologise to her."

Everyone stilled, turning to you with wide eyes, shocked that you had the balls to boss Eddie around. You felt yourself buckle slightly under Eddie's stare, but held your ground.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me, Eddie. You should go and apologise to her." You looked up at him with big puppy dog eyes. "Please."

Fuck.

Eddie shifted under your gaze. He was torn between keeping his stance and yielding to your orders. Something about you looking up at him like that did something for him. He tried his best not to, but he couldn't help but think about you looking like that on your knees for him. He shook the thought from his head before he conjured up too many salacious details. With a deep exhale through his nose, he reluctantly stood and made his way over to Robin. The others watched with open mouths. Nobody tells Eddie what to do, much less Eddie doing what he's told.

He reused to admit he had some sort of soft spot for you, instead he decided that he was doing this because he wanted to. He knew Robin. She was one of the few who actually treated him like a human being. He walked into the seclusion room to see Robin sat at the table with her head in her arms.

"Hey, Buckley, can we talk?"

She lifted her head from the desk, eyes red and blurred with tears. Her lip curled angrily. "There's nothing to talk about."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah!"

Eddie shook his head in offence. "Okay, fine. Do what you want. Sorry to disturb your self wallowing."

He turned to join the others. Robin watched as he started back towards the door and a realisation flooded her. She didn't want him to go. She just doesn't know how to accept help.

"Wait!"

Eddie stopped abruptly and did a 180 back to her. She struggled to meet his eyes. Her mouth bobbed open like a fish as she raked her brain for the words to say. Help me. Listen to me. Say something so I don't have to. For once in her life, chronic rambler Robin Buckley had nothing to say.

Eddie moved towards her carefully like he was walking towards a lion rather than a sad teenage girl. He calmly sat in the seat opposite her, fiddling with the rings on his fingers awkwardly as he waited for her to speak.

"So what is it?" Eddie couldn't wait any longer. "What's wrong?"

There was some sympathy there, but to her, he didn't really sound like he was too concerned. But he was willing to listen and support and that was enough for Robin.

She lowered her head. She wanted to let it all out, but she just didn't know how to present it. Eddie could see she was struggling. He couldn't stop the pity swirling in his gut.

"Is it bad?" He offered.

Robin nodded sadly.

Eddie grimaced expecting something horrible. He suggests the worst to get it over with. "Child abuse?"

Robin nodded again.

"What do they do to you?" Eddie braced himself for a horror story.

"They ignore me."

Eddie stared at her, too startled to say anything helpful.

His sympathy seemed to melt away at her confession, replaced by incredulity. That's it? He thought to himself. The shit he put up with from his parents, he wished that they had ignored him. He opened his mouth to rant and rave about how bad his life was, but he paused when he finally met his eye. This wasn't about Eddie. Right now, this was about Robin. She was brave to confess something like that. Heck, Eddie hadn't even managed to work up the courage to express any of his true feelings.

"I'm sorry that you have to go through that, Rob."

What else could he have said? He had never been ignored a day in his life, always being yelled at or heckled, or punched, or kicked. He couldn't tell her that everything was going to be okay because he didn't know if it would be. He had never been in that situation before to tell her. But apparently that was all he needed to say.

She gave him a weak smile and wiped her eyes on her jumper sleeve with an appreciative nod. "Thank you."

He fidgeted a bit and tried to alleviate the awkwardness. He looked back and forth between Robin and the door, itching for the lighter in his pocket. He wished he could do more to comfort her, but the silence was eating him alive.

"You don't have to stay, dingus."

He hid his relief and with a quiet 'I'll leave you to it' he headed back to the others.

You and Nancy were sat chatting while Steve fiddled with one of Robins tampons. He looked carefully to see if the girls were watching him, then he peeled the wrapper off and examined the contents. He checked it out very carefully. An idea occurred to him. He put the tube to his lips and blew. The tampon fired from the tube and halfway across the room.

Eddie caught a glimpse of your conversation before you noticed he was there.

"But do you like him?" Nancy whispered.

"I don't want to."

"But do you?" 

You sighed, fighting a smile. "I do."

Steve's exclamation had startled you and successfully drew your conversation to a conclusion. Eddie's ears had perked up while his heart deflated. There was someone you liked. Someone that most definitely couldn't be him. Why would you like him? He's been nothing but an ass to you for the past seven hours. And even though it was his own fault, Eddie couldn't help feeling disheartened by that.

"How is she?" Steve asked before Eddie could think any more of it.

He took a seat beside Steve. You had to resist a frown when he did. He had practically been glued to your side all day, what was different now? You shuffled awkwardly, moving to fill the empty space you had left for him.

"She'll be fine." Eddie brushed him off spitefully, pulling his knees to his chest and crossing his arms, pouting like a toddler who hadn't got what they wanted.

"What's up with you, face-ache?"

"Piss off." 

He stood up harshly, stomping his feet as he walked back to his seat at the desk. But not your desk, where he had been sat all day, the desk he had originally sat behind you. He put his feet up on the desk, ripped his lighter and the few pencils he had stolen this morning out of his pocket and began to try and burn them.

You all shared a confused stare, when Robin caught your eye. She walked out of the seclusion room, her eyes red from crying as she wiped her nose on a tissue from her pocket. She sat back down with you all and shared a smile as if nothing had happened.

"What did you say to him?" You asked, wanting answers about Eddie's sudden change in behaviour.

"Nothing. He did most of the talking actually." She shied.

"Then what's up with him?"

"No idea, he seemed fine when he left."

That was the truth, but upon over hearing your most recent confession, Eddie's heart had turned stone. The small hopeful part of him, a part of him he didn't even know existed, had thought that maybe he had a chance with you. He was proud of himself for finally growing on you, but perhaps it was more of a spread - a disease like some kind of fungus that you wanted rid of. Why would you, Cheerleading Captain, like someone like Eddie. You were on two completely different levels, way out of his league.  You hung out with Jason Carver and Carol Perkins, Tommy H and Chrissy Cunningham. He hated those guys. But why were you so different?

 He hadn't realised until hearing how you liked someone else, just how much he actually liked you.

Maybe more.

~~~~~

<<<Previous // Next>>>

~~~~~

Taglist: @cruwushes @the-ch0sen-on3 @namelesshumanperson @ali-r3n @cadence73 @munsonssweets @ahoyyharrington @mewchiili @yourdailymemedelivery @httpsunflowers @b-irock @coolglittercornbae @sav12321 @cumslutforaemond @siriuslysmoking @learninglinesintherainn @peaches-roses-sins @lodeddiperrodrick @catherinnn @lilocapoca @minniedreamers @melaninjhs @chaosfrogsonfire @levylovegood @bowsforsienna @rcailleachcola @spookysace24

[samcvrpenters]

word count:  2.2k+

pairing:  joe goldberg x fem! reader

summary:  you’ve always been curious about joe, but now the opportunity that had been forced upon you made you wish you stayed curious. 

warnings:  murder, gore, obsession, manipulation

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

you were always one for being curious— no matter what the situation was or how dangerous it could possibly be. it was in your nature. in fact, it was in a human’s nature to be curious. 

whether it would just be some sort of birthday surprise and you deeply wanted to know the contents of that small box that was wrapped up in red, glossy wrapping paper and tied tightly with that blue bow, or whether it was the darkest secret that could ever be told to a human. the darkest secret that could ever be kept as a human.

usually secrets were kept for a reason. usually for the element of surprise in a positive light, or kept to protect someone’s feelings, or kept purely because they were so horrific nobody could know.

he was no different. 

joe goldberg was an enigma. 

one moment he could be the sweetest, most open man that would tell you exactly what you wanted to hear. the next moment he could be so mysterious and closed off about everything that you simply didn’t know what to believe.

he wanted you to see him as the first person that you had in mind whenever you thought of someone who could care for you. date you. provide for you in the best way possible. he wanted you to believe that he was some sort of saviour. some sort of knight that could protect you. he wanted you to believe it, even if he didn’t admit it to himself.

yet, some day, that horrible side of him that he tried so hard to suppress would come crawling out. it was some sort of monster that would be crawling under a toddler’s bed, making the child afraid and screaming for help. screaming for some parent to come and whisk away the nightmare.

but he was the nightmare, and he couldn’t be stopped. not by anyone. he would be sure to dispose of them in a manner that wouldn’t let them return and wouldn’t raise suspicion.

seeing that man talk to you made his skin crawl. his blood boiled whenever he saw the interaction. of course, he couldn’t help it. he had his habits. he had his obsessions. this was just something that he couldn’t drop. not even for you. 

the murder had been a horrible one.

joe started by drawing the man out. he had to act smoothly. act like everything was okay. he had to be swift. he had to be careful. it was a strange scene to put into mind.

what even was his name? 

he could remember the scruffy handwriting that had been placed on that small piece of paper that you had received from the man. he was obviously not good enough for you. nobody was good enough for you apart from joe. the handwriting from billy was enough to prove that you deserved better.

it was an obviously broken pen, splodges of ink pushed down harshly into the delicate paper and causing it to look even messier than it could be. 

he had wrote his address down though, and joe could take this information.

he didn’t have much. he didn’t need much. not where he was anyway. he would transfer the body at a later stage to somewhere that he could properly dispose of it. but for now? he had to allow himself to enjoy— no. he shouldn’t enjoy it. he wasn’t a sadist. he was doing this for you.

it was only a simple slash to billy’s throat that solved all of his problems— no, all of your problems. it had cut directly into his airway and had rendered him breathless. 

he was so glad that he had his car with him, as he managed to pull the corpse into the vehicle with no suspicion from anyone.

he had fled to the grocery store that he worked at, which had multiple facilities and equipment that he could actually put to use. especially in such a situation like this. he needed all of this.

the machete had been slammed through the flesh of the man. the man who had been so poor to you and only deserved the worst treatment with his death. it was a painful crack in the bone once joe had managed to slice the finger off. he momentarily considered keeping the severed finger to store in his trophy box before disregarding it.

the same process was used with the rest of the fingers, pushing it into a small bag in which he would discard of later. he removed the ring from the man’s finger too.

how dare he.

he was married and he had the audacity to ask you out on a date? he actually wanted to make a connection with you even though he had a loving significant other at home who would be devastated to hear the news of his death?

he let a scoff escape his lips as he looked down at billy, grabbing a bone saw from the side. 

the process was slow and painful, but the way that the bone crunched underneath the material and the flesh appeared to have crimson all over its soft material made him feel warm inside. the saw marks were obvious as he pulled the limb away from the torso of the man, before pushing it through the meat grinder supplied at the side.

it made an awful sound as it was pushed through the piece of equipment, flesh being pushed through the other side and piling up on top of other pieces. 

in some way, he would like to frame it.

what joe didn’t account for during this small process was the fact that you had come to the store in order to supply it.

you had worked there for years. why else would joe be at some lowly grocery store when he could be out doing something to do with books? literature? he would much rather be doing that then trying to arrange cabbages every day.

you had slipped the key into the lock and you were so quiet about it.

he only wished that you could’ve been a little louder so he had time to prepare. time to get rid of everything. time to hide things so you wouldn’t see.

you liked him, didn’t you? well. this would certainly be a testament to how much.

you had never really planned on going out with billy. you didn’t want to upset him though, no. you were too angelic for that. you took the note but never actually planned on going. why would you? he didn’t deserve you in the slightest.

you had noticed that the light was on in one of the rooms— the kitchen, it seemed. “that’s strange.” you mused as you walked down the hallway so slowly that something astronomical could have happened in the room and you were just so bored by it that you ignored any signs of danger.

you were never one for horror, but you knew that if you were in a movie, the audience would be screaming at you to run and hide.

you didn’t think that far ahead. 

when you had managed to bring yourself into the room with the freshly made corpse on the table, you could feel the nausea build up in your veins, keys of the store dropping onto the floor, where the blood had spilt. 

you let out a horrified shriek as you stumbled back and out of the room, leaving the keys on the floor to prevent yourself from having to get that horrible metallic smell on your fingers.

“oh my god, oh my god.” you had been so panicked by the dead body that you hadn’t even noticed the murderer who was standing so close to the body,

“stop— stop panicking—“ joe had took multiple steps towards you, his hand immediately setting down the bone saw and raising both of his hands up in the air to show that there was no weapon in them. well, not anymore. 

he never wanted you to see him like this. bloody and messy and dishevelled.

“there’s a—“ you stop yourself from speaking for a moment because of how much you were trembling in fear, stepping back into the wall that was in the hallway you had just come from. “there’s a body— and.. and there’s you—“

“and i did this for you.” well, the cat was out of the bag now. no reason to try and hide his true intentions with you. with your life. with the people who had interacted with you. he took another step forward. thank god he was wearing those plastic shoe coverings. “i did this to make sure that you’re safe. i did this all for you.”

you almost find yourself vomiting because of the whole situation. in fact, you were sure a little bit had managed to escape your mouth and fall onto the clean tiling of the floor. 

a difference to the horrors of the kitchen.

you liked him, sure. but did you truly like him enough to accept all of this? his strange infatuation with you that would run wild whenever it got the chance to? it was horrible. everything was horrible.

you quickly reach into your bag, pulling out your phone. to call the police? sure.

“no, no. no. there’s no need for that.” he quickly walks forward, snatching your phone out of your hand before you could protest. he wasn’t one for ruining your things, but he could make you keep this under wraps. he quickly tosses your phone next to the keys you had dropped on the floor, in that huge pool of blood.

you had yourself pressed up against the wall and he was barely even near you. is that how you thought of him? someone who would hurt you? he could never do that to you.

at this point, he didn’t mind if you completely liked him or not. as long as you understood the situation you were in, that’s all that mattered.

he couldn’t kill you.

“this looks bad for you.” joe’s words were smooth, like he had instantly switched to someone who knew what he was talking about. knew what he was doing. but there was some malicious intentions in his voice. you could sense it. “murdering a man who gave you his information? who wanted you as a date instead of his beloved?”

you were immediately caught off guard. was he trying to pin all of this on you? no way. he probably would never go through with it anyway, but it was worth it to try and get you on his side. “what? no— i didn’t— i didn’t kill him!” to say you were getting emotional was an understatement.

“that’s not what the public will think when they see this crime scene.” joe simply stated, his facial expression unreadable to you. “i can put this all on you. you’re the only one who has access to this store at night that people know about. you’re the one who’s personal items are drenched in the man’s blood. you’re to blame.”

he was playing a sick game, wasn’t he? was he really this twisted and you hadn’t even noticed before? what the hell?

“but…” joe’s voice lowered, his eyes glancing at you as he shuffled in his space. “you don’t tell anyone and i can get it all cleaned up. i can make sure nobody would ever suspect you. nobody would ever suspect either of us. it’ll be perfect.”

“you’re— you’re manipulating me. you’re pretending that i did everything wrong— but they’ll never believe you if you tell them anything like that. i didn’t do it, you did!” your words were true. he was manipulating you. but for good reason. he didn’t want to get arrested. how else was he meant to protect you from men like billy?

“i can make a very convincing story.” his response was simple and plain, and left you almost in tears because of how much he was doing. how much he was doing to keep you. 

you were speechless, pretty much, breath hitching every now and again to control your emotions. you knew he could clean it up. he seemed like he knew what he was doing with this, almost as if he was a professional. and you knew he could frame you. 

“you’re a horrible person.” you manage to whisper even with all the tension going on in the room. you were still managing to speak, somehow. you were still managing to insult him. the man who was only making sure that he had a chance with you.

“you don’t mean that. you’re just upset that i’ve outsmarted you.” he really had changed, hadn’t he? what could have made him act like this? well, he had already told you, but did you truly believe him when he said it was for you? 

because it was for you.

it was all for you. 

he reached into one of the drawers of the kitchen after retreating from you, pulling out a pair of gloves. “come on. you can get your phone and keys out of that mess on the floor. i’ll do the rest.” 

watching him lay the gloves on the kitchen counter, next to the corpse of someone you once knew was terrible. you were petrified. anything could happen to you now that you knew.

you would never have dreamed of him being like this. yet, here you were. now helping him disguise the murder of someone who was after you.

you could say that your thoughts about him were totally different now.

[hothammies]

mad max, the party's zoomer - apoc au character details under the cut!

---

max's role in the party:

a runner - fast and quiet, tends to be the one who makes out with the most supplies

mechanic - knows best about cars and is one of the party's designated drivers (the other being mike)

medic - not as skilled with plants and medicine like will, but is good with first aid and physical treatment!

thief - who the party sends out if they need to "borrow" from other groups (second nature to her)

skills + hobbies:

incredible with melee weapons and hand-to-hand combat -> everything she knows was taught to her by billy

decent shot, but prefers using melee way more!

stealthy, like a ninja - her and el are the quietest in the party! max's fighting style is much more brawler-like despite this

good with card games (likes poker, speed and BS) -> likes to play them with the party a lot, but in particular with dustin and lucas

skateboards whenever she can -> her favorite thing to do next to driving!

really loves listening to music (fave artists are madonna, taylor swift and destiny's child) -> likes having el or will in shotgun so they can listen together!

quirks / fun facts:

whenever dustin goes to bed, max takes his current handheld and tries to beat his high score on whatever retro game he's currently playing (dustin does not know its max who's actively beating his ass on dig dug and tetris)

she took billy's jacket and baseball bat and made them her own - very complicated relationship with him and her upbringing with her stepbro made her very skeptical and suspicious of others (especially the party when she first met them)

when she steals things, she tries to keep the party in mind when grabbing extra :')

--- other notes: ladies and gentlemen, our newest addition - maxine! i'll admit, the two characters i think i'm most shoddy on for their characterizations are dustin and max. since max's story in my au is so heavily tied to her issues with trusting people again (specifically men) and family, i'm scared that it will make her character intrinsically tied to relationships instead of having her own character. i'll try my very best for it not to be that way, of course!

for now, she's how i imagine her in the show - she's still a cheeky, sarcastic, stubborn and awesome tomboy with insurmountable trust and distance issues, and i love her for that! the circumstances that drew her to the party are currently a secret, but i will establish now that billy is tied to her storyline and how the party meets her for the first time - while billy's an interesting character in his own right, i straight up don't like him :P so i'm warning people now that billy's more a plot device for max's arc and i probably won't be diving incredibly deep into his character. this is a party centric au after all!

when i was thinking of max's character, i was trying to keep the things she liked in mind and why she was so cool in the first place! ofc, she had to skateboard, even if it was only a little, and she's honestly just great at games in general (to dustin's dismay).

her upbringing in canon and the way she acts is pure "survival instinct" behavior. she knows first aid, she knows how to drive, she escapes vecna, she's incredibly independent! she's a fighter, through and through. she's also not really one to hesitate often to be hands on, and i can see it in the way she acted seasons 2-4 :')

lucas is almost done - maybe a few days give or take!

[yellowjackets96]

the way you do the things you do / angus tully x reader — part one

summary / chaos is only natural when barton's resident misfit strikes up a bond with the middle child of the school's most despised instructor.

warnings / none

word count / 1,300+

hii! this one goes out to the very wise anon who suggested a plot revolving around angus and mr. hunham's kid, which, i must say, is an utterly brilliant concept. however, it turned out to be a lot longer than just a mere one-shot like my first one had been, so it'll probably end up being two or three parts. i hope that's okay, lovely anon. thank you for sharing your brilliance with me!

Moreso than anything else, the relationship between the two of you started as an agreement. Well, an unspoken one, but an agreement nonetheless. Somebody had to look out for the two of you, on equal footing as outliers, as social rejects, as the odd men out. No one could be better for that role than you yourselves. 

To your utter dismay, ever since your parents made the decision to ship you off to Barton Academy in order to get you “the best education available” for high school (which was made possible by your father’s half-off tuition staff discount), you found yourself under a level of scrutiny that you never once faced at your old public junior high. It was not your intention to be perceived as the offspring of the most hated man there, either, but word travels quicker than a deer crossing the road at Barton. A concept introduced to the dean on a Sunday morning ends up widely-understood knowledge by a Monday evening. You’d already been written off as the ‘spawn of Satan’ before you even started your first class. Tough fuckin’ luck.

On the other hand, Angus’s isolation was entirely self-imposed. Following several years of what his mother had promised would be a “short-lived maintenance phase,” he became fed up with the entire process — the constant shifting and forced socialization and paperwork and meetings with headmasters. Lather, rinse, repeat, over and over until he felt utterly insane. He grew to resist society’s forced conditioning of him, lashing out the only way he knew how, through acts of adolescent rebellion. Due to how much you contrast from your stickler father, you eventually saw eye to eye with Angus on this. Once you had finally worn him down to the point of dragging a tragic backstory out of him, you understood why, because, of course no teenager could possibly be interested in the art of befriending their peers and engrossing themselves in a community at their third consecutive school. 

But it didn’t start off too swimmingly.

He entered your life on the strangest day of the week, during the least-interesting possible time of year — a Thursday in late February. You learned of his arrival through the grapevine, mere hours before you first saw him. Perched at a seat towards the very corner of the dining hall, you had become increasingly intrigued by the nearby nonstop chatter from a group populated by Georgie Jackson, Philip McNamara, Billy Wolfe, and Teddy Kountze, a rare sight in the seven o’clock breakfast setting, which was typically chock full of half-dead, completely exhausted teenagers.

“You wanna bet it’s gonna be another freak?” Teddy had grumbled, shaking his head dismissively at something optimistic Georgie must have said. “They’re half the school, at this point.”

He not-so-transparently nodded towards you, earning him in-sync laughs from the more agreeable Philip and Billy, and a halfhearted head shake from Georgie. “Christ, dude. And you wonder why we’re the only kids who tolerate you.”

Teddy threw his hands up defensively. “Hey, I’m just sayin’! We could benefit from someone actually cool and fun.”

“God, could you imagine how cool a girl would be?” Billy daydreamed, practically drooling.

The shaggy-haired blonde smirked. “You’re telling me. That’s all I wanted since I first enrolled here. Would be nice if old man Woodrup would do what the student body actually wants, for once.”

“Instead,” Philip piped up, wearing a dejected pouty frown. “I’m hearing this guy got kicked outta three different schools.”

Your curiosity piqued, you finally jumped in, against your better judgment. “What could possibly get a teenage boy tossed from not one, not two, but three schools? That sounds utterly ridiculous.”

The energy sufficiently changed as Teddy shot you a poisonous glare, you watched the trio of his small-time henchmen sink into their seats, seemingly anxious at how angry you were about to make him. His scrunched-up face twisted into a confident smirk, like he was one-thousand percent confident he could ensure you would never speak to him again. “What’s it to you, Walleye Jr.? You think I’d lie about some shit like that? Would you tell your daddy if I did?”

A scoff escaping your throat, you leaned back into your seat, slightly dejected. “Well, no, but-”

“That’s what I thought,” Teddy said, his lackeys chuckling in unison, practically on cue. “And you wonder why you don’t have any friends, loser.”

Just like that, enforced unnecessary social hierarchy had left you right back where you were before, with more questions than you could ever get proper answers for.

Once lunch period rolled around, you figured you may as well not try your luck again. 

Wrapping a gentle fist against the surface of your father’s door, you barely had to stand by for more than a few moments before he greeted you, the smile that he saved for you and the rest of your family plastered across his cheeks as he slung an arm across your shoulder, pulling you into a casual hug. Due to the academy’s policy of teacher’s children not being allowed to take their parent’s classes to avoid favoritism, you no longer spent time with him every day as you typically did with your mother back home. The reunion was definitely something you had been yearning for since you last saw him, even though it must have been no less than a week ago last Sunday. For the first time in far too long, something at Barton brought joy back to you. 

“How have you been, sweetheart?” your father asked, his reading glasses bouncing slightly on the bridge of his nose as he sat back down at his desk. He pointed to the chair on the other end of it, offering it to you. You gladly accepted, tugging the seat out and sliding into it.

You shrugged at the question, trying not to pay Kountze and his gang of blockheads too much mind. “Fine. Haven’t really done anything too notable or special.”

“Well, hey,” he offered, sliding a sheet labeled roll call across the desk to you. “Maybe this’ll brighten your spirits, despite how much the prospect of it annoys me.”

As soon as he finishes speaking, you instantly know what he was referring to, your eyes catching on the highlighted name sandwiched between Neil Sweeney and Todd Wedderling, bearing an emboldened word next to it — Angus Tully (NEW). And then, like it were on cue, the door behind the two of you swung open, revealing the sight of an instantly-enrapturing bearer of deeply brown eyes.

“Ah, Mr. Tully,” your father remarked, rising from the desk to greet him. “What a coincidence. I was just introducing them to you.”

Angus snorted. “All good things, I hope.”

“You’ve yet to prove us otherwise,” the older man quipped, before quickly turning toward you. “This is my middle child, the one Dr. Woodrup told you about. They’re a sophomore like you, so even though you won’t be in my class together, I’m sure you’ll be seeing a lot of each other.”

Picking up on the hint, you offer the other teenager a hand, which he casually shakes. “Pleasure to meet you, Angus.”

The brunette offered a crooked half-smile, enough to draw one out of you, too. “Nice to meet you as well.” Everything about him seemed natural — the way he didn’t force his grin, the warmth of his palm, the distinct waviness of his mud-shaded curls. This school left you perpetually surrounded by well-off jackasses, standing where they were currently placed via generational wealth, rather than strength and perseverance, working off of their own merits as your father had. Not to say that Tully was dissimilar in that manner, but he just felt so distinctly different, like he was not even trying to cultivate a phony persona in the effort of impressing others. If only everyone were like him. Maybe Barton would be bearable after all.

[madelynraemunson]

CALL ME WHAT YOU WANT 𓆩♡𓆪

(strip club owner!eddie x fem!exotic dancer!hargrove!x reader)

𝐌𝐎𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐍 𝐀𝐔 18+ MDNI

Book #1 of the Hellfire Gentlemen's Club series (completed)

* loosely inspired by Sara Cate’s “Salacious Players Club” series

🔥 EXTRA CONTENT HERE 🔥

↳ chapters: 001, 002*, 003** , 004**, 005 , 006 , 007* , 008**, 009, 010, 011, 012* , 013**, 014** , 015, 016** , 017, 018, 019, 020*

* = somewhat smutty chapters , ** = smut chapters

Summary: 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐍𝐄𝐄𝐃 𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐘 𝐅𝐀𝐒𝐓. After getting kicked out by your brother, you have no other choice but to take off your big girl pants and add stripper to your resume. Desperate to pay the bills and support your little sister, are you willing to accept the risks that come with such a perilous profession? With the stage name ‘Shy Girl’, you take the leap of faith, weaponizing your divine femininity to steal the hearts of all the bachelors in Hawkins — including Eddie Munson’s, the owner of Hellfire Gentlemen’s Club.

warnings & disclaimers — slow burn, eventual smut (a lot of it), voyeurism, mutual pining, sexual tension, jealousy, drug/alcohol, profanities, sexual harassment, domestic violence

Welcome to Hellfire.

theme song: meet you in hell by jade lemac “Look me in my eyes. I know that you’re scared. You see yourself and you cry for help. Look me in my eyes. Tell me it’s not fair. If you taught me well, I’ll meet you in hell.”

Chapter 001: Wolves

The Hargroves are cursed. Generationally, that is. One night Billy takes it too far, costing him the only thing he had left... his sisters.

TW — abuse, domestic violence, blood, profanities, implications of infidelity, death

word count: 8.5k words

author's note: there are four different acts to this introductory chapter :) so much foundation to lay down and i spent forever on this to craft it perfectly for you guys. thank you for being as excited about this fanfic as I am releasing it. i hope you all enjoy! -madelyn

tags: @changemunson , @the-fairy-anon , @ali-r3n

_______________𓆩♡𓆪_______________

"Once I ran to you. Now I run from you."

♡

Duality of man. Mom was always a firm believer in that notion. In fact, she always used to say, "Inside of you, there are two wolves: a good one and a bad one. Depending on which mouth you feed, one will triumph the other.”

It became more evident when she died.

“YOU FUCKING SLUT. GRAB YOUR SHIT AND GO.”

Once identical in every aspect, the differences between you and your brother slowly began to unravel over time.

Being ‘good wolf’ was impossible while living under the same roof as Billy. So you settled for neutral wolf instead. Meanwhile, the big, bad wolf possessed him at age 15, when he realized hitting your father back would get him to back off.

It was 2010, post-homecoming game.

Dad nearly flung Billy into another dimension when he came home. The preferred alternative would have been attempting to reason with one another, but it just wasn’t something that was normalized in the Hargrove household. Communicating with words was a daunting task; but not nearly as daunting as accountability.

“I’M DONE WITH YOU, BILLY. GRAB YOUR SHIT AND GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY FUCKING HOUSE.”

“I’m a literal minor, you can’t do this, Dad!” Billy wailed. "PLEASE!"

Over a football game.

The Friday Night Lights were a staple of Vista Palms High School. That and all of its nacho-eating, pot-smoking, LMFAO-playing, neon-filled goodness.

"C’mon V-P, c’mon, let’s beat S-D!” For weeks Billy had been chanting that mantra. There was no clearer indication that it’s where he would be the night of the championship game. He didn’t communicate it, of course, but it was implied. But still, it didn’t cross Dad’s mind.

Any parent who thought their child was coming home on time — and sober — that night was a foolish one. Especially if their kid was a sophomore with senior status.

“You sure as hell don't act like one,” Dad spat. “Coming home, acting all grown." Little did Dad know Billy was there for community service. Billy was a good student. More than anything he wanted a full ride to a UC, mainly to get away from home. Either that or military. Maybe then, walking on eggshells and being accused of something he didn't do — like drinking and doing drugs — would be a seasonal occurence instead of daily. "ACTING LIKE YOU PAY THE BILLS. YOU DON'T. YOUR MOM AND I DO.”

Dad knew he hit a nerve. It was his signature move aside from alienating his victims to establish control. While the feeling of getting your wings clipped really did you in, reactive abuse was Billy's top trigger, especially when Mom was mentioned. After all, Billy was the one who found Her.

Through glassy eyes and gritted teeth, Billy closed up his fists before mustering up the courage to say, “I’m…not…calling Sue... the operative word.”

Dad snarled. “Like there’s anyone else physically here you’ve reserved that title for?”

Oh.

"This tainted love you've given-"

Billy took the bait, lunging forward to grab Dad. As if on cue, Dad winded up his arm, assuming his usual position. You managed to assert yourself between in hopes of stopping them. Suddenly the back of Dad's hand collided with your cheek, sprawling you onto the couch. Billy watched horrified while you fought to keep your eyes open, growing anxious when all you could hear was the room pulsating around you at the highest frequency you had ever heard in your 15 long years of life. Enough was enough.

One punch. Bridge of the nose. Game over. The control Dad had over you both had ceased.

Billy rushed to your aid while Dad took a few moments to gather himself. It was then his beat-in, throbbing eyes realized that the little boy he mercilessly pushed around was no longer there. His own little Frankenstein had taken his place.

"I gave you all a boy could give you"

"Oh my god, Sissy," Billy cried, crouching down to run a soothing hand through your hair. "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay," you sniff, wrapping a hand around his arm. "I'm fine, Billy. I promise."

"I'm not gonna let that son of a bitch hurt you ever again," he vowed. "I'm gonna fuck him up and anyone else who tries."

"I love you, Brother."

"I love you, Sissy." The magnitude of power that surged through Billy melted into every neuron in his body, the warmth of its adrenaline imitating a tender — long overdue — embrace. He became fully enveloped in what was like an electric current, its tide higher than any wave he's ever surfed. It became more exhilarating than cruising down the I-5 in his Camaro at 130 MPH, and more intoxicating than any keg of beer he's ever swigged at a Wanna-be Project X Party.

It was the rush Billy had been searching for his whole life.

Every high Billy ever pursued before that rapidly declined in value. He would trade in anything for the static that had encoded itself into him. He felt untouchable, a luxury your father couldn’t afford his wife and children.

"YOU PUT YOUR HANDS ON HER AGAIN, YOU'RE DEAD DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"

From that day forward, feeling respected was a freedom Billy was not willing to sacrifice, ever.

"Take my tears and that's not nearly all-"

But now Billy is the abuser, something you never imagined happening given his innately soft personality.

"Oh, tainted love. Don't touch me! Please.”

Slapping. Biting. Choking each other out. Pulling each other’s hair. Calling each other names. Spitting. Throwing things. Who would’ve thought the Hargrove twins were capable of the same horrors as their parents?

Yesterday was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Billy’s voice, like nails on a chalkboard, clawed at your brain in agonizing intervals.

“That’s all Max is. A pathetic little liar.”

“She will do anything for any bit of attention…even whore herself out to all the men in Del Mar.”

“You can get out. And stay out. Since you wanna act so grown all the damn time.”

He became the very thing — or person rather — he sought to destroy. The very person who indirectly, but explicably killed your mother.

And deep down you feared that if you and your stepsister Max don’t get out of that house, you’d both suffer that same fate.

“It's fucking JULY and 90 degrees out!” your sister retaliated. “What do you want me to wear to the beach? Fucking sweats?"

Max was out with friends the night prior. They hosted a birthday bonfire for her at the beach. She broke curfew and got a ride home from a friend. A guy friend. Billy wasn’t having it.

Max always got the short end of the stick. She was an easy target for Billy’s antics. Being the literal carbon copy of the woman he hates the most didn’t make it any better, and neither did taking the bait whenever Billy dealt it to “keep the peace”. Max believes being and acting helpless would get Billy to back down. It was far from the truth. In reality, she was feeding him his supply.

And what a volatile supply it is.

Mom also had another saying: "Anger is just grief with nowhere to go".

So you watched Billy and Max go back and forth with their pickleball tournament-o-insults, shouting at one another to their lungs’ capacity, their dead, black pupils strangling each other mentally while they gathered the physical strength to do so as well. You kept an arm halfway up and torso slightly turned in case you needed to butt in.

“I do this because I love you, Maxine,” Billy insisted. “So just SHUT UP and stop being a little cunt. Okay?”

“You stop being a presumptuous asshole first,” Max fired back. “We’re fighting again — why? Because someone with a penis drove me home? And we broke curfew by 10 minutes? I don’t control traffi-”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” he dismissed her. “Just say you wanted some dick and call it a night.”

Classic slut-shaming, as if Billy’s Instagram following wasn’t all models, strippers, and OnlyFans girls.

Before you could even process what was happening, the blurbs of their argument skidded to a halt when Max finally broke. Billy watched in subtle amusement as she screamed, her fist meeting the wall repeatedly out of frustration.

Reactive abuse is Billy’s favorite abuse tactic.

“Someone who’s not guilty wouldn’t react like this,” Billy quipped in a sing-song voice, eyeing the new hole in the dry wall that Max had created.

There was no sense in backtracking if Billy already got what he wanted. Max just needed the last word. Before any of you could process it, an acrylic storage box soared through the air, hitting Billy right in the groin. He roared in agony while Max attempted to collect herself off to the side. She still saw red.

That’s when the knife came out.

One slice to the brow and it was over. To ensure the last word was his to keep, Billy ended up chucking a knife at your sister.

“OHMYGOD!” Max shrieked repeatedly, entering the ‘freeze’ stage of her shock. “OHMYGOD, OHMYGOD, I’M BLEEDING! I’M BLEEDING, THERE’S BLOOD!”

It was then you realized, the little boy you vowed to protect and refused to leave behind was long gone. Dad’s essence had taken his place now.

“You just don’t know when to FUCKING STOP, do you?” you exclaimed, putting pressure on Max’s eyebrow with a washcloth as she wailed. Suddenly it was Dad you were talking to. They had the same apathetic, dead look in their eyes. “I don’t care who said or did what, throwing a fucking KNIFE?”

“Me?” Billy tutted. “You wanna call me crazy, who did that?” He was referring to the hole in the wall. “And who was the one to throw shit first? EXACTLY. EXACTLY.”

While Billy was technically correct, he would never admit to what he did to provoke you two.

“So you can both get out if you’d like. Be my fucking guests.”

You and Max exchanged one look. The look. It was time. You both were ready and now had the green light. Now was the chance to bolt without immediate consequences.

So you and your sister spent several minutes rummaging through your pre-packed belongings while Billy continued to shit-talk aimlessly around the rental you shared. The place soon reeked of cheap bud and gas station gin. Trash bags were soon filled with your favorite clothes and you shoved them into as many of your childhood suitcases as possible. Struggling to see past your tear-coated eyes, you reached for your books, the ones you've hollowed out 300 pages deep to pocket all the tips from your waitressing job, and shoved the loose bills into your crossbody. You’d sort through them later. Lastly, you popped the cap off the bottom of your salt lamp. There was a pre-paid Visa you bought several months beforehand waiting for you. With trembling hands, you grasped it and whispered a gratitude to the Universe before tucking it neatly into the back pocket of your Levi’s.

When it was all said and done and everything was loaded into your car, you focus on the hole in the dry wall one last time.

Never again.

Billy was complacent throughout the entirety of the event. You glared at him while he continued to soothe himself with drugs and alcohol, refusing to own up to the irreversible damage he caused your little family.

“SIS,” Max boomed from outside. “LET’S GO!”

A part of you used to pity Billy, but now his destructive behavior took away any ounce of guilt you felt for leaving him.

You never fought back until you had no other choice. Similarly, and tragically, Billy shared that very sentiment.

Who the villain is in the narrative relied solely on whose lens you are looking through.

It took you by surprise all the time. How could identical twins, who grew up in the same environment, end up so different from one another?

“I love you, though you hurt me so. Now I’m gonna pack my things and go." - Tainted Love by Soft Cell

There are two wolves inside of everyone.

——————————𓇼——————--------

"Are the pieces of you in the pieces of me? I'm just so scared you're who I'll be. When I erupt just like you do, they look at me like I look at you" - DNA by Lia Marie Johnson

The heart-wrenching ballad by Lia Marie Johnson dissolves as you crank the dial to the left. Music is always depressing when Max has the aux chord.

"Did you hear what I said?" you question her.

Max abruptly sits up and reorients herself, attempting to shrug off the trance “DNA” had put her in for a few minutes.

"No, sorry. What'd you say again?"

"Do you need a bathroom break?"

"I'll go at the airport.”

"Okay, but if you change your mind and decide to take a leak one last time, I'll be happy to oblige.”

Swami’s is also an exit away and you’re just fixing for a hot meal before takeoff. But you don’t directly say that. Besides, Max loses her appetite when she’s upset and may only have room for shitty airplane food.

“I’ll just eat on the plane.”

Stale pretzels and flat soda it is.

Despite the decrease in appetite, Max is holding up well. As well as anyone-who-was-nearly-stabbed-by-her-brother-and-is-now-moving-states-away-from-everything-she’s-ever-known-with-her-sister could be.

It wasn’t your first choice to leave California. In fact, you did everything you could to avoid it. But nonetheless, anyone with a conscious and only $4,000 to their name would make the wise decision to move away to somewhere more affordable.

Enter your online friend, Robin.

Working ungodly hours six days a week to pay the bills took up so much of your time that you had no friends in San Diego — albeit high school friends who would have never guessed how you and Billy turned out. Those friends had happy families anyway. They couldn’t hold space for you. Your online friend Robin, who you met on an art forum, however knew your family dynamic and was there for everything. But she lived in Indiana with her partner and was never able to offer you any physical comfort.

You entertained Robin’s idea of moving to where she lives, a small town in Indiana called Hawkins just 20 minutes southeast of the city. Living under the radar to get your ducks in a row seemed like such a perfect plan, but you didn’t want to do so at the expense of Max losing her only support system she had outside of you.

Moving would’ve also meant pulling her out of school, which wouldn’t be possible because Billy was her legal guardian. Now that she’s graduated high school, and today is her 18th birthday, the game has changed completely.

“Donovan texted me happy birthday,” Max reports, finally disclosing a fragment of her inner conscience. “Thought it was sweet.”

You can’t help but smile. "You thought he wouldn’t?”

She refrains from rolling her eyes and shifts them towards the rocky beach cliffs outside her window.

“You know,” you add. “I really think you two could make long distance work. I’ve never seen so much chemistry between two people before.”

Max scoffs. "Yeah right. Long distance with a guy going to Santa Barbara for college?” She fiddles with the strings of the knit poncho resting atop her lap. “I'd be breaking my own heart."

You bite your lip to stop the waterworks. Max doesn’t deserve any of this. She deserves to enjoy bonfires with her skater friends, surf all the tubular waves, and go on all the nature hikes without worrying about her stepbrother’s codependent-fits-of-rage waiting for her when she comes home. She deserves to eat fried funnel cake at the county fair and share a kiss with the boy of her dreams atop a Ferris wheel on the 4th of July. She deserves a San Diego summer, not a summer spent in hiding from her abuser in the middle of buttfuck nowhere.

Max decides to change the subject.

“So what’s Robin like? Your online friend.”

“She’s very sweet,” you breathe. “Been, uh, telling her about Billy for a long time now. Her arms have been open since day one.”

“And her girlfriend?”

“Vicky’s the best,” you insist. “A match made in heaven for sure. It’s like they’re the same person, just different font.”

You get a giggle out of Max. Her laughter during such a turbulent time is like music to your ears. The non-depressing kind.

“I’m really sorry I couldn’t get you a gift this year.”

She side eyes you.

“What are you talking about? You quite literally gave me the best gift of all.”

“Did I? What did I give you?”

“You gave me safety.”

And with that, you give yourself a mental pat on the back, confident you made the right choice despite how foreign everything currently felt. The conversation dies down while you and Max ride on, driving further and further away from the Park and Ride you spent the night at, off Coast Highway, and onto the I-5 one last time.

Boarding the plane is a swift process. Your plane is a two-seater, so Max gets the window and you get the aisle. After receiving your snacks and drinks, you decide to play white noise and dissociate for the next five hours. It’s safe to do so, anyways. Liminal spaces were not something you took for granted.

Meanwhile, Max looks out the window, watching as the world she has come to know her whole life shrinks right before her eyes, before disappearing underneath a quilt of soft white cumulus clouds.

“This is 18.”

Goodbye, San Diego.

—————— ✈︎ ———————

Hello, Hawkins.

“Please, make yourself at home,” Robin incites, trudging through the miscellaneous projects that sit at her feet. “As if we weren’t DIY freaks enough, the pandemic really just amplified that.”

The pandemic was a hard time for everyone. You lost your fine dining gig and abruptly switched to UberEats to adjust to the flow of takeout. Billy couldn’t go to the gym, his happy place, and it took a toll on him mentally. Max broke quarantine multiple times to see Donovan, which didn’t sit well with your brother. He of course lashed out on her and also proclaimed that people like her were the reason why America hadn’t opened up yet.

“And I get no time at the gym!” Billy screamed. “So now I have to do this—”

You learned that a decent lamp costed $70 that night.

That wasn’t your first rodeo though. You and Billy grew up replacing furniture all the time. You two would gather up your money and spend it on replacing whatever needed replacing for Mom’s birthday. She always wanted to make your house feel like a home. Feel lived in. You and Billy thought you were heroes doing it, but it dawns on you now that you two were just babies.

“Oh!” Vicky interrupts. “Before we forget…”

You and Max watch her as she scrambles around, looking for something that she seemed ecstatic about.

“Happy birthday, Max!”

“No way, Kate Bush!” Max exclaims as she accepts the gift, an original Kate Bush vinyl record of her album Hounds of Love.

"Wow," you beam, rubbing your sister’s back. “Way to fuel her 80's hyperfixation, huh?"

“We found this at the thrift store,” Vicky boasted. “Knew we had to get it for ya.”

“It’s the real deal too," Robin adds. "Look, printed 1985.”

“It’s perfect,” Max gushes. “Can’t wait to play it on my Crosley.”

She thanks them both and hugs them before running back to the living room to get the rest of your belongings. You listen as she hums some of Kate Bush’s discography along the way.

You then observe Max as she unpacks her things one by one, slightly peppered with remnants of the California sand and the snobby fee it took to ship it all here via cargo. She then proceeds to sit on the new bed to check the springing quality, testing its bounce factor and comparing it to that of her old bed.

You let out a bittersweet sigh.

Suddenly you're eight years old, doing the same thing at the local motel Mom managed to snag a couple nights from when Dad trashed the house.

You turn to look in the mirror atop your new dresser.

Suddenly, you're Mom. Quite literally. You both have the same wavy blonde hair, scattered freckles across your nose that Billy used to call “stardust”, and the same tsunami blue eyes. It makes it no wonder why you and Dad never got along. You are Mom’s spitting image — and Billy is Dad’s.

Funny how life turns out.

You graze the crows feet at the outer corner of your eyes, realizing now how many years have silently passed you by, and then take note of the stress-defined scars in the form of eye baggage from all the sleepless nights that came as a souvenir.

You’ve put up with so much. For so long. The trauma is starting to manifest itself physically.

Robin snaps you back into present day. "So I was thinking we go to Applebee's for dinner, walk around Old Town, get you guys settled and unpacked when we return, Jenga at night, and then-"

She stops when she sees the horrified expression on your face.

“Hey…” the pitch in her comforting, raspy voice heightens. “What’s the matter?”

Your voice breaks. “It’s…” you manage. “It’s been a lot.”

Robin pats your back. “I know. I’m so sorry.”

Without looking, Robin snags a few tissues from a box laying around and gives them to you. You blot the tears away, careful not to mess up the makeup you had on with the intention to make you look less…dead.

“Sue didn’t even call and wish her happy birthday. Her own mother.”

“I’m so sorry,” Robin repeats.

“Every day I watch Max store her trauma in the box... and just shove it into the corner where it gathers dust,” you continue. “If she doesn't unpack it..."

You didn’t even want to think of the collateral damage you and your brother caused her. A part of you wants to think Maxine has remained untouched from that side of you, but the dry blood on her outer brow was a reminder that it was far too late to shelter her from that.

"You see yourself in her."

"And my mom in myself,” you admit. “Now more than ever.”

You rub your eyes.

“I’m rambling, I know. It’s just… SO aggravating. Max deserves better.”

“She’s handling it really well.”

“We don’t know that. I know Max. She’s a pro at hiding her feelings.”

“She’s being strong for you, like you are for her. It’s very endearing, whether you both admit it to each other or not.”

She rubs your arm.

“For as long as Vicky and I are here, you and Maxine have a soft place to land. We are here for you. Y’all are safe.”

You two glance over at Max, who is now unpacking your Zen Basics Himalayan salt lamp. She sets it on top your new bedside table, a reupholstered one whose old wood was painted over by an earthy olive green, the old hardware replaced by eccentric shaped, neutral-toned knobs. Her Crosley sits on your floor, now playing a track off Kate Bush's vinyl while she stares out the window. Your new view for the foreseeable future.

Can't you see where memories are kept bright?

Tripping on the water like a laughing girl

Time in her eyes is spawning past life

One with the ocean and the woman unfurled

Holding all the love that waits for you here

Catch us now for I am your future

A kiss on the wind and we'll make the land.

Dinnertime comes fast, but you blame it on the time zone difference. You call shotgun and ride with Robin in the passenger seat, catching up with your best friend while Vicky and Max watch YouTube shorts in the backseat.

Robin gives you a backstory of everything you pass on the way to Applebees, from the schools to churches to family-owned gas stations. She and Vicky seem to know everyone by a first-name basis, naming random people off and knowing exactly who that is every so often. You try to stay engaged, but the only thing on your mind is where you’re going to apply for a job.

Robin drives into a plaza next.

"This used to be a mall, but now it's completely empty," Robin continues pointing to an empty building with remnants of a star symbol etched on it. "E-commerce really turned this strip into a ghost town."

"So basically, if I wanted a job, it would have to be any of these food places, an office of sorts, or an off-brand Blockbuster store?"

"Family Video is closing too," Vicky chimes in. "It's sad. But I guess Hawkins needs yet another overpriced coffee shop."

"You could always work at the gentlemen's club," Max jokes, pointing off to the side.

You turn to where she’s pointing and take note of the matte black rectangular building by the Sizzler’s. It didn’t seem out of place, but the silhouette of an exotic dancer with devil horns gave the sinister establishment away. You couldn’t read the name of the club, but a part of you tries to.

Robin slightly turns and nods in that direction. "Oh yeah. I heard the girls there make bank in tips."

“I made bank in La Jolla doing fine dining,” you point out. “Maybe I can do the same thing here. But at a similar establishment.”

“Fanciest restaurant you’ll get here is Benny’s,” Vicky says. “You’re gonna have to go to the city for fine dining. I don’t think the commute is worth.”

“Guess stripper is your best option,” Max nudges you.

You shoot a glare her way. “Very funny.”

"I know, I was joking," she scoffs. "Billy would kill you anyways."

Billy would literally go insane if you dared to work at a strip club. The slut-shaming would never end. Not that he never slut-shamed you anyway. There was always something for him to be misogynistic and hypocritical about.

Then it hits you. Billy isn't here. And you really need the money since in this day and age, $4,000 meant nothing. You peer over at the gentlemen's club one last time as it shrinks out of view the further Robin drives.

HELLFIRE.

-----------𓆩♡𓆪------------

Dungeons & Dragons.

Of course one of the very few strip clubs in Hawkins has to be the dorkiest.

But you understand the vision. Beyond the cobblestone entrance, the veil between real life and fantasy thins.

As you near the club with nothing but a purse and car keys in hand, you notice that there’s already security by the door. You’re surprised to see a leaner guy, tall and slender with soft blonde hair and a soft grin to match. He catches sight of you and greets you with a nod.

“Good afternoon,” he says. “How are you today?”

“I’m good,” you nod. You reach for your wallet and give him your ID. Typical screening process. “Yourself?”

“Not too shabby,” he replies.

He examines your ID card. You notice his surprise when his eyes slightly widen before retracting shortly after. You guess that he was wondering why you are here out of all places. You peer over at his name tag while he concludes his screening. Henry.

Upon verification of your identity, the friendly security guard returns your card to you.

“Let me give you a wrist band.”

He motions for you to hold an arm out. You extend your right arm to him and watch as he gracefully pulls a paper wristband out of his pocket, clasping it into place with the side that read “21+” facing upwards.

You take the time to admire the gentleness of this man. The softness of his face. His dreamy gaze.

“Any weapons on you?”

“Uh…” you stammer. “Just pepper spray?”

A laugh escapes from his nostrils. “That’s fine, my dear.”

“I hope I don’t have to use it.”

“Don’t worry, darling. Under my watch, you won’t.”

Henry gently strokes your hand before motioning you inside.

“Enjoy the show.”

“Thanks,” you smile politely.

It’s a slow afternoon, but granted no one goes to a strip club at 2 PM. The Hellfire Gentlemen’s Club was comprehensively laced with playful innuendos. The accent wall by the entrance showcases an array of chains and handcuffs. Kukris, nun-chucks, and flails all of different variants and sizes are displayed on the walls, the point of balance being a vintage pulp print of a metal puppeteer. On the print, "OBEY YOUR MASTER" is written in edgy bubble letters.

Kinky.

And there’s a bonus of this themed club: the ladies are dressed in cloaks. You watch as beautiful women from all walks of life strut around the joint, leaving the clients with only their imagination to guess what’s underneath the tantalizing, medieval velvet.

There are LED signs that lit up corners of the space, indicating what they were for. KAS’ KORNER: GRAB A BITE, DRAGON'S BREATH: HOOKAH LOUNGE, and POTIONS — the bar.

You catch a glimpse of the private show rooms, or at least what you think are the private show rooms.

The LED sign to those rooms read, "I PUT A SPELL ON YOU AND NOW YOU'RE MINE."

The general seating area for the main event reads VECNA’S LAIR.

The Dungeon Master of this joint thought of every possible detail he could and ironed it into perfection.

Surely, someone who truly plays would adore every aspect of all the details, but it was evident that everyone came here for the same reason:

Girls, girls, girls.

You walk over to the bar to see two men conversing behind it.

One looked to be in his late 20s, with scruffy chestnut brown hair, some tired eyes, peach fuzz, and a patterned shirt decorated in a kaleidoscope of colors — a shirt meticulously calculated by quite possibly a girlfriend.

The other looked like he had another year left before being allowed to be behind that counter... of course judging by the “Hawkins High School class of 2021” on his insulated water bottle in his hand, a cracked iPhone in the other, and Beats with a small basketball sticker on it.

When you appear in their periphery, the conversation between the two gradually comes to a stop.

“Whoa,” the younger man hums. “New face. Welcome.”

“Hi. What do you recommend?”

“In terms of what?” the younger man questions slyly. There’s a timidness to the young man’s spirit, making his flirtatious demeanor somewhat dorky. The age appropriate bartender nudges him.

“Drinks, hotshot,” you refrain from chuckling. “Drinks.”

“Depends what you’re into,” the younger man replies, the slyness continuing. “If you’re into light liquors, Jonathan can make you a mean Cîroc with pineapple juice. But if you’re more into the dark stuff…”

He gestures up and down on himself.

“Then look no further.”

“That was very painful to listen to,” the older one who you assume is Jonathan cringes. “Can you get anymore corny?”

“Ta-ha!” the younger one tsks. “He said could I get any more corny. Can you get any more bitchless?”

“I have a girlfriend, Lucas.”

“Emphasis on the singular sense.”

“Nance is all I need.”

"Nancy is all you can pull," Lucas chuckles. "With that goofy ass shirt, man. Stop playing with me."

So you weren’t the only one who thought the shirt was absolutely ridiculous. It had "Bad Bitch Repellant" written all over it.

Jonathan whacks Lucas with the cloth that was sitting atop his shoulder. You request a double Tito’s straight on the rocks from Jonathan to which he automatically starts to make. Lucas continues to interrogate you.

“As you heard, my name is Lucas. Lucas Sinclair.” He extends his hands to you. “But my favorite ladies call me 'Dark Chocolate'. You can call me, 'The Man of Your Dreams' though.”

You take the youngster’s hand in yours and shake it. His heavy locker room cologne makes your nose swell, an uneven mix of what you believe is Axe and — is that Dior?

You tell Lucas your name then hit him with a, “But you can call me ‘When You’re Thirty’.”

Lucas laughs at your joke, beaming up at you as he does so. Then he nods to communicate a gracious fair enough. The flirting, you could sense, was in good nature, playful.

“It was worth a shot,” he shrugs. “Do you have a younger sister by any chance?”

“Oh in your dreams, mister.”

Jonathan chuckles and rubs Lucas’s back.

"That’s enough man, can you go buss that table over there?"

Lucas gives a thumbs up before putting his Beats on and walking away. You divert your attention back to Jonathan who is now done with making your drink.

“Alright… I got a Tito’s double shot — straight — on the rocks,” Jonathan announces as he slides your vice on over. He studies you as you take the drink and request to keep the tab open. “I’m inclined to ask. Are you okay?”

When you’re not around Billy, you wear your heart on your sleeve. It wouldn’t hurt to trauma dump on a stranger. Especially one who asked.

“Pretty far from okay,” you answer before chugging it. “Can’t you tell? It’s 2PM and I’m consoling…” You slosh the drink around in your hand. “…my man Tito.”

“I see that.”

“It’s been a long day,” you continue. “It’s my second day in Hawkins so I thought I’d scope this place out. Dilly dally for a bit.”

“Second day?” Jonathan questions. “As in…ever?”

“Yeah, just moved here.”

The bartender looks around as if he’s missed something. “But…why?”

It’s a fair reaction. If the welcome sign is correct, Hawkins only has a population of 1,314 people. 1,316 now including you and Maxine.

“My friend lives here and convinced me to make the move,” is what you explain, though it only seems to make Jonathan more confused. “Couldn’t take the heat Cali was dishing out. Hawkins seemed like the perfect place to slow down.”

“Oh man,” Jonathan mutters. “California to here, what a change.”

“You lived here long?”

“Lived here my whole life,” he answers as a matter of factly.

“What made you get a job at Hellfire?”

Jonathan didn’t have to think. “I love booze.”

You laugh together, raising your half-empty class to clink his invisible one.

“I hate 9-5s,” Jonathan draws on. “Working from home ‘bout damn near drove me insane, don’t know how my mom does it with such ease. My boss here smokes me out on occasion and my friends make me nachos.” He smiles. “Can’t think of anything better.”

“There we go.”

"I’ve also just been looking out for women my whole life," he adds. "Bout time I get some financial compensation for it, no?"

“Amen to that,” You chug the last of your drink. “Thanks for your service.”

"Pleasure is mine. Anything else I can do for ya?"

You think. "Hm, probably not you, but maybe the hiring manager can do something for me."

"You're looking to work here?" he clarifies as you nod. "Oh sweet, you're going to wanna talk to Eddie. He's the owner."

"And a dweeb," says a significantly younger looking fellow as he slides into the conversation.

“Here we go.”

In front of you now is a gentleman around Lucas’s age with wild curly brown hair. You watch as he helps himself to a club soda, dunking three large wedges of lemon into his cup as well.

The guy offers you a playful, pearly white grin. “Eddie may own a nice club with some smokin' hot babes, but he's got no game whatsoever."

“Hey Dustin.”

“Sup, man.”

“You think so?" you challenge him.

"I know so,” the boy who you now know as Dustin insists. “Can't talk up a chick to save his life."

"Yeah," Jonathan says, half-jokingly. "He's the bitchless one."

Dustin glances between you both, slightly puzzled.

You shake your head. "No way."

"I wouldn't say he's that bad," Dustin says. "I actually think he's seeing someone casually. But in general, dude's got zero rizz."

"Projecting are we?" Jonathan nudges him.

“HELL. NO.” Dustin booms. You attempt to refrain from laughing. “My game is what got me the baddest gal at science camp. Eddie? Clumsy as hell, stutters on his words, he's got the anxiety level of someone who drinks cold brew on an empty stomach… Now that I say it out loud, I think he does drink cold brew on an empty stomach. Some chicks dig it though, which is good for him.”

Curly was fun to observe. Once he’s done talking down on the club owner, Dustin politely walks over and shakes your hand, bowing to you like you’re a princess of sorts. You later find it that like Lucas, Dustin works as a bus boy and server, and his girlfriend makes sure that he remains in Kas’ Korner at all times. Dustin has about two years left before legally being permitted behind the POTIONS bar, but that doesn’t stop him from using it as his own storage shed.

You watch as he grabs some deodorant and hair pomade from an old shoe box under the counter.

“Anyways, later,” Dustin holds up a peace sign, starting towards the door. “I'm not on today, I'm just hitting the gym with Steve."

“Later, man!” Jonathan calls after him.

“Deuces. Say hello to Dark Chocolate for me.”

Before he could get any further, the loud swinging of a door closeby causes him to halt in place.

“ALRIGHT!” a loud, gruff voice booms from that direction. “Which one of you shitheads forgot to take inventory on the 10th?!”

You can’t help but turn your body towards the ruckus. And to your own pleasant surprise, you don’t regret it. Emerging from the door comes the possible shift lead, a tall and broad man with medium length wavy brown hair, chocolate-colored, youthful doe eyes that contradicted the deep lines on his face, bleach white Chuck Taylor’s, ripped black jeans, and a Hellfire Club baseball tee with the logo smack-dab in the middle.

The man looked to be in his mid to late 20s, with an assertiveness in his stride. His lips, a perfectly formed bow with a smirk-like undertone. The cool rings that rest upon his fingers look icy as they sway at his side, shining in contrast to his dark clothing.

The man is too tunnel-visioned to see where he was going. But that doesn’t stop Dustin from looking absolutely mortified.

“The 10th and the 11th,” the man clarifies. “So for all we know, we might need new kegs and ground chili, which is one more thing I have to d-”

Finally he looks up, with you being the first thing he sees. Proximity taking him aback, he snaps out of his stress-induced trance and softens up at the sight of you. You meet his eyes, big and beautiful with long wispy lashes and you can’t help but mimic the flutter in your heart in the form of a smile.

“Whoa.” He says, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Whoa, indeed.

“Sorry about that.”

“It’s Eddie’s first day back, he tends to get a little in the zone,” Dustin explains.

Eddie.

Does that mean…

“Are you the hiring manager?”

You didn’t know who you were expecting, but it certainly wasn’t the man in front of you. He must be proud of himself, having such a successful business so early in the game.

Eddie gathers himself quickly.

“Dungeon Master, hiring manager, manager, owner, sanitations, re-stocker,” Mr. Jack-of-all-trades confirms. “I do it all.” He grimaces at Dustin. "Since you know, some people don't wanna work."

"You said I can have off!" Dustin exclaims defensively. "I worked for you before the weekend already and I wasn’t even on the 10th and 11th, fuck outta here."

All it takes is a scowl his way from the boss and Dustin is radio silent. The look on Eddie's face definitely said "Watch your tone". Eyes are all on you once more soon after.

Eddie’s gaze softens when he looks at you.

“Were you…looking to apply?”

“Yeah,” you reply sheepishly. “As a dancer. I’d like to perform here.”

“You don’t sound too confident.”

“Some guys like shy girls,” you shrug.

He laughs, a dark honey kind of laugh that just oozed from the back of his throat. “That they do.” His voice deepens drastically. Eddie studies you. “Any dancing experience?”

“Dancing, yes.”

“Stripping experience?”

“None.”

“Hm,” Eddie says. “What do you have experience in?”

“I danced for a bit…I have good core strength,” you explain vaguely. “And I’ve worked in the restaurant industry so I’d say customer service is my superpower.”

Eddie soaks in the information.

“I know how to talk to people,” you continue. “I know the right things to say. Favorite pass time is upselling drinks. And dessert…”

You wait for Eddie to take the low hanging fruit. He doesn’t.

"Any experience with the pole?”

Your cheeks grow hot. You decide to lie.

"No.”

“Kinda essential for this profession, sweetheart.”

"I know," you respond humbly. "I wouldn’t doubt it for a second..." you scan the room. “So uh, do I need a permit to perform here?”

“Nah, Hawkins is a lawless wasteland pretty much,” he sighs placing his hands on his hips. “And my club does things a little different anyways. The ladies also don’t pay to perform, we pay them to.”

Shit. Strippers pay to perform at venues?

“The dining experience is what brings the base revenue in,” Lucas explains, returning from wherever he had been. “The ladies are a luxury.”

“And should be treated as such,” Jonathan chimes in.

“I take it you don’t work at any other clubs?” Eddie questions judging by your wide eyes attempting to take in every bit of information that has been dumped on you. The man sees right through your mask.

“No, but I-”

“I personally like to give everyone a chance,” Eddie says. “So don’t worry babe, you’re good. Even though you don’t have any experience, your energy tells me that you have potential. Wanna show us what you can do?”

Your heart sinks. The handsome club owner called you babe. And you’re also being asked to perform with the little experience you have — in front of girls who had tons of experience.

“Here? Now?”

Eddie nods.

You weren’t prepared to dance today. But with your sister and the mountain of debt on your mind, you are willing to do anything. So you walk over to Jonathan and tell him what song you feel most comfortable performing to and stretch as he takes the time to find it. When all is said and done, you make your way to the icy pillar made of chrome steel that was calling for your attention.

You exhale deeply.

Back to the old stomping grounds. The last time you worked with a pole you were wearing Heeley’s and light up sneakers. Of course in place of the horny spectators there were playground supervisors, and the only “bars” there were monkey bars. Oh, and you were 8, not 28.

The slut-shaming still existed, though. One time a boy told you that you were acting like a ‘hoe’ for trying to do a trick upside down. To Billy’s retaliation though. Before you knew it, the same boy was being shoved down and dragged across the wood chips, acquiring a series of splinters along the way. Admin phoned home. You and Billy got spanked. But, of course, Billy had no regrets. While you both cooled off together, you remember him grazing your hand, telling you he’d beat that kid up “a gajillion times over”.

He kept that promise. Except as you two grew older, it was you he was doing it to. A gajillion times over.

You laugh at the bittersweet nostalgia.

“Whenever you’re ready, babe,” Eddie says.

You give Jonathan a thumbs up to play your song selection. Soon, Hellfire Gentlemen’s Club is filled with the catchy, seductive tune that is Layla by Eric Clapton.

You start with a small stroll around the pole. Then a dramatic dip to flaunt your bouncy golden locks. Soon, the women of Hellfire gather around with the men following soon after to watch you work your magic in Vecna’s crowded Lair.

If muscle memory is in your favor, they are in for a good show.

What will you do when you get lonely

No one waiting by your side?

You've been running, hiding much too long

You know it's just your foolish pride

Eddie claims a seat at a throne directly in front of the pole. He studies your technique, your movements, your facial expressions. You aren’t sure if reality is projecting onto you or if you’re dizzy from all the spinning, but you almost see a slight smile spread across the club owner’s face. It prompts you to keep going.

Layla, got me on my knees

Layla, begging, darling, please Layla

Darling, won't you ease my worried mind?

It’s a lot harder, your techniques and tricks. Most likely since you weigh more than 50 pounds now and had to exert more energy to keep yourself balanced an aligned. But nonetheless, you persist.

Tried to give you consolation

Your old man had let you down

Like a fool, I fell in love with you

You turned my whole world upside down

You buck your hips upward from you back arch to go into an upside down position. It earns you some hooting and cheering from the crowd.

“You better work, mamas!” a dancer cheers.

“I KNOW THAT’S RIGHT!”

“YOU GO GIRL!”

“YAAAS!”

Layla, got me on my knees

Layla, I'm begging, darling, please Layla

Darling, won't you ease my worried mind?

Eddie watches intently, leaning backwards with his hands clasped forward. You feel his eyes burn through you, from the top of your head down to your toes. You feel as if he’s mentally scoring you like you’re at a competition, but the sisterhood that cheers you on makes you feel slightly less intimidated.

“SHE’S SO GOOD!” comes a high-pitched voice in the crowd. “I FREAKING LOVE HER!”

You turn to look at your own personal cheerleader, a bright-eyed cute little redhead with pigtails with an outfit that looks like an ode to Britney Spears’ “Hit Me Baby One More Time”. She has cherry hair ties that hold her two pigtails at the bottom.

You watch her clap and jump up and down, cheering you on with a beam in her eyes that made you feel like your souls have been friends for decades.

Motivated to attempt more risqué moves, you jump into the splits before kicking your legs around to end on your knees.

Clapping and whistling erupts from the lair. Once it dies down, Eddie stands up, offering you a delighted series of slow claps as he makes his way towards you.

"That was really good, Shy Girl. I like how you finished your set."

“Aw, thanks Eddie.”

He walks around you.

"Go like this?" Eddie does a stretching motion, lifting his hand up.

You imitate him and reach up.

"Okay, and... turn like this? Then pop your ass out a bit more."

The word rolled off the club owner's tongue like it was nothing. It was done in a way that was professional, a hint of respect in his tone with no sort of ulterior motive.

You swallow hard, attempting to internally tame the goosebumps on rising upon your skin. He’s just giving feedback, he’s just giving feedback. This is a professional line of work.

You do as he says as he circles around you, fingers grazing on the cool floor of the stage just inches away from your thighs. He taps them in thought.

"For a beginner you’re pretty damn good,” he says.

“Yeah?” you look up at him and smile.

“Yeah,” his voice deepens. “You’re a natural. All that shyness just went away.”

Well, it’s about to return, you think to yourself.

“Are you sure you haven’t done this before?”

“Not in this specific setting.”

There’s a slight shift in his eyes as his imagination wanders. The dimples at the side of his mouth concave slightly.

“I gotcha.”

Eddie clears his throat. “So uh, when can you start?”

Today is Wednesday. You have tomorrow, Friday, and the weekend to settle you and Max in and make any last minute stops. Then the appointment with the other loan officer and DMV appointment on Monday. Tuesday afternoons are dry — everywhere so that left the earliest you can start as

"Next Tuesday? In the evening?"

A soft snort escapes from the club owner’s nose.

"Driest night of the week," he comments, looking around his club.

He turns back to you.

"But a good time for orientation. Works for me, Shy Girl. Can I call you that?”

You smirk. “So I got the job?”

He nods.

“Then you can call me what you want,” you smile shaking his hand. “In this case I’m Shy Girl Hargrove.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” he smiles. He knows you’re flirting. Eddie accepts your hand and shakes it firmly.

“Eddie. Pleased to formally meet you. And welcome to Hellfire.”

You two exchange contact information for professional purposes before he leaves. You study Eddie as he sees himself out, planting a firm, teasing smack on Lucas’s stomach on his way and whispering something to Jonathan as well.

Your cheerleader from the crowd excitedly makes her way over.

“I know a dancer slash gymnast when I see one,” she chirps. “I’m Chrissy. Stage name is Cherry.”

You two shake hands and exchange further compliments with one another. Your heart swells when you realize you’re slowly starting to find community.

“It’s so nice to meet you.”

Others come and say hello, but you’ve tuned out all the faces because all you can think about is Eddie. His demeanor. The way he carries himself. His presence alone was something so intoxicating that it lingered around the place in his absence.

Your heart flutters.

“Oh, Hargrove!” Jonathan says. “Before you go I just wanted you to know that you don’t have to worry about the drink.”

“Oh?” you respond. “No?”

“Eddie says it’s on the house.”

You smile and Jonathan returns the favor, making sure you see him when he voids your entire tab. As you wave bye to all your spectators, you release a grateful sigh. You felt very humbled about this new, yet unexpected beginning.

The happiness soon wears off when the events that just unfolded dawn on you. Suddenly, the flutter in your heart moves to your stomach, settling in a way that feels eerie. The unknown is pestering you again. Wrong, but oh so right and necessary.

You take in the area around you. You have a place to call home. You’re a stripper now. Your boss just bought your drink. You’re going to have money coming in. Oh, and YOU’RE A STRIPPER NOW.

Then it dawns on you. You need to go shopping.