#period drama nerd speaks

[estcaligo]

Please I want more of "Draconias vs Silver's family" drama

and I want Crowley to turn out to be his father

[abuddyforeveryseason]

This is the Buddy for November 6th. Not the handsomest of guys, I'm sure. A bit of a big forehead.

Speaking of big foreheads, I was listening to a podcast with James Urbaniak, and he mentioned he auditioned for Rainn Wilson's role in The Office. I don't know if that's true or not, since that 'cast was more of a series of fictional stories using his real name. But it'd be interesting to see Urbaniak in The Office.

Had that happened, though, I probably wouldn't have been a fan of his, since I'm all about The Venture Bros, it's the best show ever, I love it.

It's funny, but, although I'm a proper nerd who loves comics, manga, cartoons and movies, I never really enjoyed one of those long running narratives with an epic flavor that seem to be what a lot of works are aiming for. Venture Bros itself is probably the closest - a cartoon about a long war between two factions, involving multiple generations of characters, with character development taking the spotlight, and a central mystery personally related to the main characters that ties into the bigger conflict.

But unfortunately, the show was unceremoniously cancelled before a proper conclusion - even before it was officially cancelled, it felt like it was half-cancelled already since it took so long for seasons to come out. A movie came out after a while but it wrapped everything up in a rush, it wasn't an epic ending in and of itself.

And that's one of the things about epic stories - endings are always a bit off. If we're talking big worldbuild-y sagas, the biggest example of it is Game of Thrones, which seemingly cornered the market on disappointing endings. The Song of Ice and Fire book series seems to have gone on a different direction and just not end. Even if those planned last two (or three) books are ever published, everyone's already lost interest after the show did its own, clumsy version of the story.

The ending of Harry Potter, too, wasn't my favorite. To be honest, I think I grew out of it during the period between the publication of the last three books or so (and their plots all mix together in my mind). I never even finished the last few chapters of the Deathly Hallows one. And now there's that crappy prequel saga that's movie-only, seems like the story's completely jumped the shark.

A lot of shows try and go for the "myth arc" concept where the entire show is built up around one story with a main mystery and a supposed grand apotheosis in the finale. And it never works, does it? Lost kind of started the trend, and that show went nowhere. Purgatory stuff and whatnot, right? Those last few episodes of Steven Universe somehow pinned down all the bad stuff about the show, and made it obvious to everyone. Breaking Bad actually managed to do it, but that's not really a nerd show - it's a crime drama, and, yeah, a really good one, but it had a smaller scope. And even that has the prequel that doesn't capture lightning in a bottle like the original did.

Comics are a horse of a different color. There are great runs where one creator has a character in his hands to really explore an epic story, but often the story doesn't reach the end (I'm looking at you, Jack Kirby), or reaches the end but has to continue going with different, often less-talented creatives at the helm. Creator-owned comics are supposed to escape that fate, but they often have trouble being profitable enough to earn an ending, or end up being stretched thin because they're too profitable. Of course creator-owned work is usually a bit too alternative to fit the mold. One sad example is Astro City, which at first felt like a perfect superhero epic, but was abandoned due to writer Kurt Busiek's serious health problems. Poor guy.

The Marvel movies did a good job at it with the Thanos-era movies, but they had to keep going after the heroes beat the god of evil (after all, nobody burns down a money factory), and it all felt a bit like a long "cleaning up the rubble" session without Thanos, Iron Man and Captain America around. Even though some of my favorite movies in that series come after Infinity War, they're the best, mostly despite being part of the MCU, not because of it.

Which is probably why I often prefer shorter stories, as opposed to sprawling sagas. My favorite manga are usually 10 books long at most. Comic book limited series like Watchmen are also pretty memorable. It's also a lot easier to read something that's available as a single book, instead of five hundred issues scattered around different comic book shops - although that problem's not too relevant nowadays thanks to the internet and whatnot.

That's often an issue with entertainment. You usually keep going while the story's good, and once the quality drops, you end it. Like they say in the Dark Knight movies, you either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become a villain. And, funny, the Dark Knight, along Venture Brothers, is one of the few works that managed to escape that curse. It's not my favorite, but it's definitely not a disappointment. And there are some oddball stories that managed to feel epic and strike gold despite their long runs. The Invincible comic, for instance, and one of my favorite underdog webcomics, Doctor McNinja.

Figuring out good endings is one of the hardest stuff about writing, in my opinion.

[triplecrocodilian]

as someone who was bullied in school, let me tell you the most evil shit that ever happened to me

i pretty famously did NOT have a lot of friends throughout school- obviously that's one of the things about getting bullied- and whatever friendships i did have didn't tend to last through us getting separated through having different classes or over the various breaks

i made good friends with someone in middle school, and we were literally connected at the hip. neither of us were popular, i was actively bullied, and both of us felt the pressures of everybody else's expectations due to various degrees of teen expectations and drama

we're going about our school year when suddenly one day, my friend (now considered my best friend) refuses to speak to me. won't look me in the eye, silent treatment, refuses to even acknowledge me in classes we share. having been a bullied kid with a history of losing friends, i took this with equal measures of defeat and despair. we had a connection!! we were besties!! i thought everything was okay!!!

about a month passes. winter break happens. my friend still won't speak to me. i give up on ever getting her back, but i don't lose fondness for people because at that point in my life, i'm way too sad and lonesome to actually become angry when i'm treated badly.

new class schedules come out, and we're in one of the same classes. i pick a spot next to her because, as i said, neither of us are popular and so she's got an empty spot nearby when everywhere else is taken. in any case we get down to it and get through the class together

break period comes around, and she comes up to me crying. she explains that she saw the binder i used for classwork- inside, in a little clear pocket, i kept a photo of the two of us together because despite how our friendship seemingly ended, i still enjoyed what time we had together and regarded her fondly

she says that people in our grade- famously shitty people to me but not her- told her that i was going around behind her back and spreading lies and shit-talking her. that i was laughing about her behind her back and the only reason i hung around was to get more dirt on her to laugh about. she says seeing the photo i kept of us together made her realize that none of that was true, that i really was her friend, and that she'd been giving me the cold shoulder this whole time based on nothing

we made up, of course- again, i held literally no ill will and i was elated to have her back again, but this is something i've never seen really represented in movies or television or most books

was this physically harmful? no. was it somebody shoving me into a locker? no, i was never really physically bothered in school

but this is what i mean by "the most evil thing" that bullies ever did to me. it took a day for my only social link to crumble into nothing, and over a month to make that connection again. my bullies in school were so offended to see two unpopular people happy in each others' company, they thought it was appropriate to destroy the only friendship EITHER of us had

the group of nerds hanging out together at lunch, chilling at the "losers' table"? a lot of school bullies won't stand for that. they will do whatever they can to make sure every one of those people is as isolated and miserable as possible because it's not a case of "they're not like me, so they don't deserve kindness", it's "they're not like me, so they don't deserve ANYTHING"

even now i wonder how many of my previous friendships ended because of these exact machinations, and it took a LONG time to get over the idea that i had nothing to offer, so i didn't deserve companionship

but yeah, bullying is all like. wedgies and spoiled milk.

no piece of teen media has ever accurately depicted the quiet psychological warfare of bullying. bullies on TV are always dumb brutes and not the evil geniuses of emotional manipulation that they are in real life. being given a wedgie and having your lunch money stolen is nothing in comparison to a classmate quietly creating a taboo against speaking to you that they intend to enforce against all the other kids. it’s nothing like continuous cutting comments from people you thought were being nice to you. that way that the work of one kid can make you feel like every person on earth silently hates you and that you are dirty, disgusting, worthless, creepy and useless. that you can have friends but many of them will not speak to you at school for fear of the social consequences on their end. how that damage lasts in any social setting for the rest of your life

[edvinception]

how you look initially isn’t limiting for roles. He can grow out his hair or dye it or wear extensions/hair piece if that’s what the role calls for.

If we limit roles to how people’s hair look: then film would only have like the same 5 actors ever. With that logic, what a slippery slope. Would this rule than apply to anything else? can’t sing? can’t audition for any role that requires it, can’t play guitar? Don’t audition for a biopic film for a musician that plays the guitar. Too skinny? Too pale? Have too many tattoos or not enough? The list goes on - as an actor, it’s about acting and everything else can be taught / have the hair/MOA/costume design do their magic.

For example, some period dramas require some actors to take horse riding lessons. Some films require you to gain muscle, learn how to drive a car, play piano, learn an accent. I think Edvin is okay. That’s what headshots are for (i.e a headshot with him with a full set of hair if casting director asks for one). Casting directors are not looking at how an actor or actress looks now. They are looking to see if they fit the role and everything that follows will require you to change your appearance or gain a new skill.

Another example is Timothée Chalamet for his latest Bob Dylan film. He had to learn how to play the guitar since 2020. Christian Bale had to lose a lot of weight (questionable but he did it) for a role. As an actor auditioning, you are supposed to be a palate or a blank canvas that is malleable for all sorts of roles.

Apologies for the long message, I have friends in the industry and also a film nerd so I wanted to hop on and provide a diff perspective ! I feel like Edvin gets shitted on for all sorts of things

TL:DR - I think Edvin can have some freedom with his hair 😌

Yeah you are right. Although having a buzz cut takes a while to grow back. But there are always ways around that if needed.

I don't think we need to worry at all. Like I said he's not gonna put his career at risk for a hair cut. He knows what he's doing.

Speaking of horseback riding I would love for Edvin to play someone where he needs to learn a skill.

[justshitandanime]

Kono Oto Tomare!/Gather Around This Sound! (Anime) Critic, opinion, no spoilers

The idea is basic: Let’s play an instrument. But now make it look EPIC.

One of the main things that at first catch my eyes about this one was the design. Super polished, smooth, some scenes have an amazing amount of details, even the simple scenes seems to be specially cared. Chef kiss 10/10 only by the visuals.

To the other side, they play music. And the close ups when they play, is ACCURATE. Is not the “let’s animate a little with 3 movements in a loop to make it look like they play”, but when they play, they touch THE CORDS THEY SHOULD TOUCH TO MAKE THE SOUND! Of course, is not 10000% the same but it shows that the ones who animated it, had to copy from a real version a few times. It use real teaching, tempo, notes, training, cords, everything. Is not just pretty, is actually an anime about music.

And of course, the music is AMAZING. The moments when they play seriously, like in the big presentations, you can end CRYING.

The plot can be simple at first, but is so focused in the characters and about what they learn, that you can’t even notice that the 90% of the time they are speaking about music. It get so interesting that can make you really want to learn to play an instrument.

Also, get ready because it have a good amount of drama and sad parts, so you can cry more times of wha you expected.

The characters have personality as fuck, even the main silly nerd one.

Their personal lifes and story show up pretty soon and give them some good depth, specially with the skilled girl and the bad boy.

Also, finally a fat character that is treated as a human. He is not covered with fat jokes, is not “a lazy ass who just eat”, is just another person who is also fat. The only mention about his weight is when he complain that his legs hurt of be sitting, but is just a comment and period. So VERY GOOD.

Score: 4.8/5 and 8.8/10 Very reccomended. Is beautiful to watch (and hear) and interesting as fuck! Specially if you are fan of music.

[morningstarbee]

Okay, final thoughts on Season 1. I finished last night but I just went to sleep.

The dialogue and delivery was a bit hit or miss towards the beginning. I would say the first few episodes suffered a bit from kind of cringey dialogue, a bit of overacting, and some other quality I can't describe.

There were a couple jarring editing moments, like harsh cuts that seemed to cut off a bit of dialogue but that was pretty rare.

With technical stuff out of the way, I'll focus on writing/chracters/plot.

The way the story unfolded and was revealed is pretty good. I think the characters kind of get involved with each other very quickly, but that's kind of just...how it is.

The characterization of most of the characters were pretty on par with what we see from them later, except, notably, Margo? I don't know, I feel like Margo was a bit under utilized in S1, and that her like signature characterization of being very ,, well Margo isn't as present. Like her whole take charge, take no shit, thing isn't really there as much as it is later. She just kinda lets things happen? Especially with how fucked up Eliot was in the last half of the season after Mike, she just kinda doesn't really comfort him at all when he's clearly spiralling? But that's definitely development potential for later.

There is also stuff that's very,, "of its time" like the way Penny keeps insulting Quentin for liking "nerd shit". It's a fucking book, chill. I think that's definitely a product of the writers, and even the original author of the books (I haven't read them but). Like I really don't think I've ever heard of anyone being bullied for liking a book series. Harry Potter/Percy Jackson obsessions are almost like completely normal. But I'm also not a millenial like the characters involved. (Even though HP was a huge millenial thing, but okay). But Julia and Margo are never insulted for liking it? And even Eliot admits to reading them at one point. (But he's gay so I guess that's okay for him. Even though Q is literally bisexual so what is the double standard here?)

Also, I said it throughout my post, but the ships. It's interesting, because while looking for it, I saw a lot of potential for early Queliot in S1. It was only 1x7 The Mayakovsky Circumstance that really threw that out the window. Like I get that Quentin and Alice were getting close, but on my rewatch, I didn't really see anything romantic between them until this? Like they were friends, and I feel like they should have stayed friends. But...they're the main male lead and she's a "nerd" like him so they have to get together. And the Mike thing...I was kind of on Margo's side. Like, this guy comes out of nowhere, and Eliot gets obsessed with him sooo quickly? When he is very known for well, being promiscuous. And it's true that Mike was kind of ignoring Margo and pulling Eliot away from Margo, when they're literally a package deal. He also stops flirting with Quentin after this, but that also could be because Q starts dating Alice. Idk.

But the way El gets so fucked up after this and literally no one does anything??? It's pissing me off ahhh. I think Margo is really confused why he's so upset and doesn't get it (he won't tell her). Quentin is very much busy with his Alice drama (they fight nearly every episode until they break up after the threesome).

Speaking of the threesome, it's very important to me. We see earlier in the episode, that the emotion bomb after drinking the bottles isn't like....it doesn't pull you out of character. It just amplifies and doubles your existing emotions because it's felt all at once, instead of over a period of time. So the fact that they got all hopped up on emotions (and also some alcohol) and then had a threesome is very. Interesting. The three of them are very close before that, and El was very much flirting with Q pretty much the whole first half of the season, including being very touchy with him. Quentin was fully making out with both of them, and by the end, we see that Eliot is the one who fell asleep holding him. Because, like I said, they literally had so much chemistry between them in this season like holy hell. And I think we get even more in season 2, and s3, which if course peaks in Life in the Day when they go to the mosaic.

Anyway. Time to watch s2 :D

Rewatching The Magicians !!

Will be tagged live blogging to mute if you want.

[artemismatchalatte]

Where You might be able to get the Bridgerton Book Series for a Reasonable Price...

If anyone was looking to buy the Bridgerton books, I got most of them (7 out of 8) for about 60 dollars from Books-A-Million. 

I know that on Amazon they were upselling them like crazy (like 32 dollars a copy is a rip off!). Many of the local stores I tried first were out of stock.

I think you can get the whole set for like 70/80ish dollars depending on whether or not you catch a sale deal or not. I did which is why my order was a little cheaper. 

There will also probably be a wait if you do order them this way. Just so you know. I ordered last week and probably won’t get my books until sometime in February. Understandably, they have to restock and wait for shipments.  

[keepingcalmisoverratedgoddamnit]

Dear Satan, there are better places for your demons to hide than my fucking uterus. Evict that mother fucker now or you and I are gunna have words mate.

[munson-blurbs]

Hello! If you’re still taking requests, could I request a “3+1” kind of fic with Eddie where it’s the 3 times he tries to woo/impress his crush and the 1 time he succeeds?

Purple Rain

Eddie's flair for the dramatic doesn't bode well when he tries to impress his crush.

Warnings: language, reference to sex but no smut, Jason Carver being a bully

WC: 2.2k

A/N: This is just basically all fluff with a little bit of angst. But there's a happy ending, don't worry! Thank you for the request <3

--

The First Time

If Eddie's going to graduate this year, he has to actually show up for classes. It's 7:30 AM, but it might as well be the crack of dawn. He has English first period and sluggishly meanders down the hall into the classroom.

"How nice of you to join us today, Mr. Munson," Ms. O'Donnell says with a smirk as Eddie slumps down into his seat. He hears a snicker behind him and swivels around to see you covering your mouth, as if you surprised yourself with your own reaction.

"Something funny?" he whispers. You shake your head, willing a serious expression.

"Okay, folks," O'Donnell announces, "you're going to work with a partner to discuss the symbolism behind the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg from The Great Gatsby."

Before you get a chance to scan the classroom, Eddie plops his book on your desk with a grin. "Hi, partner." He looks at the concert tee you're wearing and points. "Prince fan, huh? Very original."

You exhale and groan inwardly. "Just start," you order, fully expecting him to come up with a bullshit answer.

But Eddie's prepared; not just for class, but to work with you. You always know all the answers, seemingly before O'Donnell even poses the question. Your ex-boyfriend was the valedictorian last year, and he knew he had to step up his game to impress you.

"Wait, I took notes on this," he says, tongue poking out between his lips as he flips through his worn spiral notebook. "A-ha! Here it is." He clears his throat and begins speaking in an exaggerated drawl. "The eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg are like the eyes of God, watching over the characters." He looks up at you proudly.

"Mhm," you agree, taking out a pencil and jotting down his answer. You see his confident smile falter. "What?"

"N-nothing," he mutters, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Did you expect a whole celebration for actually doing your homework?" you laugh, kind of meanly. You feel bad until you remember the last project where he was your partner. "Partner" was too strong of a word, considering you ended up doing the whole thing alone.

"Wouldn't kill you to say 'good job,'" Eddie mumbles, but you roll your eyes and keep writing.

The Second Time

A few days later, you're munching on a peanut butter sandwich and enjoying a conversation with some of your friends from drama club. The cafeteria is buzzing with excitement about the winter formal tonight, but you're not going. College isn't going to pay for itself, so you've picked up an extra shift at work

"I can't believe you're missing the dance," your friend Kate whines, pouting. "It's our senior year!"

"Just call out from work," agrees Jen, popping a potato chip into her mouth. "'S not like they'll fire their star employee."

You sigh. "Even if I wanted to, I don't have a dress, or shoes, or a date."

"What a surprise--the loser doesn't have a date." You cringe as you hear Jason Carver walking past you with his group of basketball cronies. They're all laughing and high-fiving like he said the funniest thing ever.

You want to shrink into the bench, but Jason only raises his voice.

"C'mon, sweetheart, don't be shy," he taunts. "HEY, EVERYBODY! WHO WANTS TO TAKE HAWKINS HIGH'S NUMBER ONE THEATER NERD TO THE WINTER FORMAL?" he yells, a shit-eating grin spreading across his face.

"Jason, just stop," you croak, but he either doesn't hear you or simply doesn't care. Your eyes could bore a hole into the ground when you hear the jock mutter, "oh, what the..."

You lift your gaze to see Eddie Munson walk over. Burying your head in your hands, you just pray that you evaporate.

"Hey, fuckface," Eddie snarls, "leave her alone."

Jason snorts. "Look, it's one freak defending another. A match made in loser heaven." He crosses his arms and takes a step towards Eddie, raising his voice. "You gonna take her to the dance tonight, Munson? Maybe bring her back to your dirty little trailer and take her virginity?"

The last thing you want is more eyes on you, but it seems like Eddie doesn't get memo. He stands up on the table and cups his hands around his mouth. "ATTENTION HAWKINS HIGH FACULTY AND STUDENTS! JASON CARVER HAS A TINY LITTLE PENIS AND HAS TO TAKE OUT HIS AGGRESSION ON INNOCENT WOMEN!" He looks down at you, hoping to get your approval, but you've already dashed out of the room and head for the library, leaving your lunch half-eaten. He packs it back up into the brown paper bag and sets off to find you.

The Third Time

You're at your locker, ready to swap out your math books for history, when you feel a tap on your shoulder. You see long, curly hair out of the corner of your eye. While you can't say that you're excited to see Eddie, you're relieved that it's not Jason.

"Hey," he says with a small smile, "you, uh, you're a waitress, right?"

"Yup. I work at Benny's," you reply, closing your locker and turning the dial.

"Are you working tonight?"

You shake your head. "Nope, I'm off."

He exhales softly. "Could I ask you for a favor?" He doesn't wait for your response before plunging in, "My band plays The Hideout tonight, but two of the waitstaff called out sick. The manager is gonna close tonight and cancel our gig if he can't find someone."

You look up at him, noting a hopeful gleam in his eyes. You could use the money, so you nod. "What time?"

He beams at you, and you notice how warm his smile is. "Um, he would need you there at 8. The shift would end at midnight, but I can convince him to let you out early, after our set."

"Yeah, sounds good."

"Cool," he shoves his hands in his pockets. "I can pick you up at 7:30, if you want."

"It's okay; I have a car." You refuse to climb into his deathtrap of a van that you can hear rumbling down the street from a mile away.

"Oh, yeah, right," he says sheepishly, blushing, "then I'll see you there."

~

The Hideout is a hole-in-the-wall dive bar. As you as you enter, you feel the stickiness of old spilled beer tack onto your shoes. The manager is a middle-aged, stout balding man named Cal.

"All right, girly, just take the orders and smile. Maybe show a little cleavage. Y'get bigger tips," Cal instructs. You roll your eyes as he walks away.

Eddie's band, Corroded Coffin, is setting up onstage. It's basically just the Hellfire Club, plus instruments and sans freshmen. You listen to them warm up as you serve watered-down drinks to creepy old men who watch you intently as you walk away. Eddie's keeping an eye on you the whole time, making sure no one tries anything.

When the show begins, you have to admit that Eddie's stage presence is electrifying. He makes playing guitar look easy, though you're sure he spends nearly every waking moment practicing. You offer him a small smile, and he returns it with a wink.

After an hour, they're wrapping up when Eddie takes the mic. "Gonna switch things up a bit here; do a song we haven't performed before. So, uh, take it easy on us." You raise your eyebrows quizzically and he makes direct eye contact with you while playing a familiar tune.

"I never meant to cause you any sorrow I never meant to cause you any pain I only wanted one time to see you laughing I only wanted to see you Laughing in the purple rain"

His voice is sultry, sending chills down your spine. You forget that you're technically on the clock, setting your tray down on the bar and allowing the music to envelop you. That's when you see another waitress walk by, serving a greasy plate of nachos to a wasted customer. And you realize the real reason Eddie wanted you here.

You listen to the rest of the song with a gigantic smile on your face. The other waitress is also watching, practically eye-fucking Eddie. She bounds over to the makeshift stage as soon as their set is over, running a polishing fingernail down his exposed chest and hooking a finger into his belt loop. You tear your eyes away immediately, tears forming in your eyes. How could you be so stupid? Why would Eddie Munson go for you when he has hot groupie waitresses at his beck and call?

You speed-walk over to Cal. "I'm, um, not feeling great," you mumble, and when he cocks an eyebrow, you pull out your secret weapon: "That time of the month." He squirms uncomfortably, which was your goal.

"All right, let me pay you and tip you out," he says, opening the register.

You shake your head. "I'll come back tomorrow," you promise, and push open the door to the parking lot, deeply breathing in the cold winter air.

Eddie, meanwhile, is trying to politely get away from the flirtatious waitress while keeping an eye on you. It seems like he just looks away for a second before you're gone.

"Fuck," he hisses under his breath.

The Fourth Time

You've been going out of your way to avoid talking to Eddie. You even moved your seat in O'Donnell's class, which you played off by telling her you needed to sit closer to the board to see better. To invite you to watch him play one of your favorite songs and then flirt with someone else in front of you? Your heart pangs every time you think about it.

Eddie's all but given up on impressing you. He doesn't understand why you wouldn't hear him out, let him explain that there was nothing going on between him and the waitress. His friends see the change in his demeanor; he's quiet and sullen while he eats his lunch.

"I just don't know what else I can do!" he laments. "I confront Jason for her in front of the whole damn school, I serenade her at my show..." He throws his hands up in defeat.

"Dude," Lucas Sinclair pipes up from his seat, "have you actually tried doing something for her that's, I don't know, not a public spectacle?"

Dustin Henderson nods. "Yeah, I mean, everything doesn't have to be a production. Just...tell her how you feel. Privately," he emphasizes.

Eddie's eyes widen, a plan formulating in his head. "Who has paper and a pen? C'mon, one of you little sheep has to!"

~

A carefully folded slip of paper falls to the ground when you open your locker after lunch. You open it and read:

Meet me in the drama/Hellfire room right after school. Just you + me, I promise. -E

Your stomach flips. What could he possibly have to say to you? You stuff the note into your pocket; you have three more classes to make up your mind. Hopefully you can figure it out by then.

~

Eddie's already waiting for you when you walk in the room. It's chilly, and you pull your arms to your chest as you make your way towards him.

"You came," he says, smiling softly. It melts your icy exterior enough for you to drop your hands to your sides.

"I did," you confirm. "What did you want to talk about? Your hook-up with that waitress after the show?" It comes out snarkier than you intended, but you can't take it back now.

For the second time today, Eddie is caught off-guard. "Hook-up with...is that why you've been acting like I'm invisible? Because you think I slept with..." He pushes his hair out of his eyes. "No, I definitely didn't get with her."

A sour taste fills your mouth. "Oh," you manage, feeling both stupid and relieved. "I-I'm sorry. I thought..."

"Did you really think I'd invite you to watch me sing a song I learned just for you and then have sex with some waitress that I barely know?" He laughs gently. "Geez, sweetheart, I'd hoped you thought more of me."

He paces as he talks to you. "The real reason is not because I'm some slimy douchebag, contrary to your opinion," his eyes narrow, but they're still playful, "but because I wanted to impress you."

It's your turn to be stunned. "Why?" you ask dumbly, garnering another chuckle from Eddie.

"Why?" he echoes. "Because you're smart, and sweet, and cute, and call me out on my bullshit, and I wanted to take you on a date."

"You could've just asked me, y'know," you say, toying with the hem of your jacket. "Didn't have to go to all those lengths. You made me work on my day off!" you tease, poking his chest with your finger.

Eddie shrugs. "Okay. Do you want to go on a date with me this Friday? Nothing crazy. Just the two of us, dinner at Enzo's, actually getting to talk to each other?"

You look up at him and smile. "Looks like you finally figured me out. Color me impressed, Munson."

--

[lyn-1225]

Movie Night

Pairing: Steve Harrington X Fem!Reader

Warnings: fluff. That’s about it

This imagine is set in season 3 after Nancy

A/n: this was originally a different idea but I thought the full idea would be to long so I’m shorting it to two different imagines. Throughout this imagine I would constantly forget that this was set in the 1980s so I’m sorry if there’s any parts that don’t fit that time period.

——————————————————————————

-Your POV-

Throwing my backpack onto the passenger seat, I swiftly get into the driver seat shutting the door beside me.

Today has been another long day of pointless school work and spending hours in the library. Maybe you’ll use some of the stuff school brings in the future but as of right now to me it’s sort of pointless.

School has never been a problem for me. I’m one of those typical girls that gets good grades does her homework and is called a nerd by her friends. In a joking way obviously. Even since I was a kid I had As and Bs on my report cards. I take pride in it.

Me being good at school meant I was often talked about within a few teachers. One being the math teacher. She would often ask me to tutor other kids that were failing her class. It wasn’t a really big surprise when she asked me to tutor the one and only Steve Harrington.

Although I wasn’t surprised, i wasnt happy about it. I mean sure Steve Harrington any girl would jump on the opportunity to spend long periods of time with him. I wasn’t one of those girls.

I was fine having no contact with any of the popular kids. At least me and my small group of friends weren’t involved with all of the drama the popular kids brought. Which meant Steve was included in that.

Of course I agreed to being his tutor because I wanted to be nice. After countless hours of me and him studying together wether it was at the library, his house, or my house I started to actually like him. At first it was more of a friend type of ‘like’ but the more we talked and the more we hung out the more that ‘like’ started to change into a crush. I couldn’t help it. You can’t choose who you start to like and if you can your not doing it right.

After that school year ended and summer came we started hanging out at least twice a week. From the first time we hung out outside of school and outside of tutoring I knew he was my best friend. That summer was the summer before both of our lives changed with the whole upside down, eleven, bad men, demogorgon, and mind flayer stuff.

My driveway came into full view as I slowly pull in putting my car in park switching off the engine. I grab my bag from off the seat before opening my car door. The door swings shut behind me as I start for the front door pulling out my house key.

My parents weren’t gonna be home till later tonight. They went to visit my aunt who lives on the other side of Hawkins. They insisted that I stay home. How nice of them right?.

I shut the front door hearing the small click of it closing all the way. I let out a long exaggerated sigh dropping my bag down beside the door. I stretch out my slightly sore limbs flinching at the sudden sound of the phone ringing.

Regaining my composure I walk over to the phone picking it up before pressing it to my left ear. “Hello?” I say speaking softly into the phone. “Hey n/n” Steve’s voice comes through the phone bringing a smile to my face.

I love his voice

“Hey Steve” I chuckle messing around with the phone wire that is attached to the wall. “I was wondering-” Steve starts nervousness lacing his tone taking a small breath. “If you would want to come to my house to have a movie night” he finishes seemingly holding in a breath. He’s never been nervous talking to me so I don’t really know why he’s being like this all of a sudden.

It’s cute

“Yeah of course” I pause hearing him slightly sigh in relief. “I’ll be over in 5 ish” I say taking a quick glance at the clock. 7:23 pm. “Okay see you then” Steve says. The line starts to make a small static sound signaling that he hung up. I could practically hear the smile on his face when I said yes.

I place the phone back on the wall grabbing my keys before heading out. I make sure to close and lock the front door before once again getting into my car. Slight nervousness flows through me as my stomach starts to flip. In a good way that is.

My crush on him has only gotten stronger since the time I admitted to myself I liked him.

After a few minutes of driving I pull up to his house admiring its huge structure. I will never get used to his house.

Putting my car in park and shutting it off i walk up to his house shoving my keys into my pants pocket. I knock two times on the door letting him know that I was there. Only a few seconds later Steve opens the door with a smile on his face.

“Hi” I smile playing with my keys that are still in my pocket. After a short period of silence Steve speaks up “Hi come in, come in” He says opening the door a bit wider so I could walk in. He seemed lost in thought.

“Why thank you kind sir” I say stepping into his house looking around as if I’ve never been there before. The door clicks behind me catching my attention. “Still not used to my house are you?” Steve asks walking up next to me. “Nope”. I slightly say under my breath enough for him to hear it. “I don’t think ill ever get used to it” I chuckle walking towards his living room.

I hear him chuckle behind me as I enter his living room. A big smile forms on my face seeing f/m on the tv waiting to be played. The couch has pillows and blankets everywhere along with a bowl of popcorn and two drinks on the end table.

“Wow you really out did yourself Steve” I smile my eyes slightly wide at how amazing this was. “You trying to impress me?” I ask chuckling at my very bad attempt at flirting. “Always” Steve responds walking in front of me before plopping himself down on the couch. I laugh with a bright smile etched into my face making Steve slyly wink at me.

Walking over to the couch i plop myself Down as well making sure I don’t land on him in the process. I adjust myself so I’m comfortable having at least one pillow under me and a blanket draped over my lower half.

I look over to him seeing that he’s already looking at me. “I love this movie” I smile looking towards the tv. “I know that’s why I picked it” he says. (So awkward my god 😂)

I feel the couch shift under me making me turn my head to look in his direction. He reaches towards the end table grabbing the bowl of popcorn before turning back to me “want some?” He asks slightly shoving the bowl towards me. “Sure” I say taking the bowl from him. He once again reaches towards the end table picking up his drink. He then gets up walking up to the tv pressing play.

The movie starts to play gaining my full attention. I take a small handful of popcorn popping a few into my mouth. The taste of butter and a bit of salt fills my mouth. Suddenly the lights go out making me confused.

“It’s not a Movie Night if the lights are on” Steve says directly behind me. I slightly jump in surprise not even realizing he left the couch. He chuckles behind me walking around to where he previously was on the couch making himself comfortable once again.

“No it wouldn’t” I say smiling to myself. Tbh I didn’t know why I was smiling but I was. Maybe it was becuase of the fact that I was having a movie night with my crush/best friend Steve Harrington.

I point the popcorn bowl towards his body him gladly accepting it. He shoves some popcorn in his mouth before throwing a few pieces at me. “Jokes on you im gonna eat those” I chuckle picking up the pieces he threw at me before placing them in my mouth. He laughs eating more popcorn.

I turn back to the movie noticing that it’s almost a quarter of the way done. Time flys when your having fun. The couch shifts again me not really paying attention to it until I feel a warm presence press up against me. Slightly wide eyed I look over to see Steve slightly cuddled up next to me intently staring at the tv eating the popcorn.

Butterfly’s swarm in my stomach making me smile. Me and Steve have hung out many times but we never cuddled or did anything like this. Being honest I’ve never been cuddled nor cuddled someone in my life. I’ve only ever had one boyfriend and that didn’t end well. He dumped me about a week into dating. It was also in the 7th grade.

This feeling was nice. Especially since it was with Steve. Deciding to play along i smile cuddling up into him leaning my head on top of his shoulder. I feel his shoulders slightly tense up at my action. The shock that hit him goes away making his shoulders relax. He leans into my touch still watching the movie.

My eyes start to feel heavy the more I watch the movie and the more comfortable I feel. I let my eyes close feeling the warmth of his body running through me.

I wouldn’t rather be anywhere but where I am right now next to the man I’ve always loved.

——————————————————————————

A/n: sorry about my terrible writing. If anyone has my tips please leave them in the comments it would be very much appreciated. The next part to this will be titled Late Night Swim. It isn’t posted yet but I promise it will be posted soon. Hope you liked the imagine!

[janetsnakehole02]

Things I liked and disliked about Bridgerton season 2 (spoilers below the cut)

Fair warning it’s very long and it’s pretty much just self-catharsis because I needed to write out my thoughts so you can scroll past if you want

Liked:

Kanthony’s chemistry - everyone’s been saying it but it’s off the charts and this season definitely outdid the last one in this regard. The sexual tension was unbearable, to the point where I punched my desk out of frustration more than once. They only had one sex scene but that’s all it took to send me over the edge. 

Jonathan and Simone’s performances - they were the highlight and if they don’t get any nominations or wins this awards season I will be SO UPSET. I might have issues with the way the writers adapted Kanthony’s love story from the book (which I’ll get into) but Jonny and Simone WERE Anthony and Kate. They bodied those characters, period. And as the eldest daughter/older sister to a younger sister in a desi family, I related to Kate even more than I did in the book and I 100% owe that to Simone. She captured Kate’s essence so well and you’re rooting for her from the start.

Benedict - obviously anyone who knows me also knows that this man is my favorite character on the show and I loved every single scene with him in it. I enjoyed seeing him grapple with his art career and also seeing the seeds of his impending identity crisis from AOFAG being sown in this season. Not to mention his comedic timing and one liners were everything. I just wish we got more of him.

Kate and Eloise - this friendship was everything to me and I’m so glad we got those few moments because they do have a lot in common. But again this is something I’d like to have seen more of.

The Dancing On My Own and Wrecking Ball scenes - I loved both those covers and the tension in those scenes was impeccable so I had to give them a separate shoutout. Not to mention both of those scenes are such major turning point in their relationship because they both forced Kate and Anthony to take a good look at their relationship and confront their feelings for one another.

Bridgerton family scenes - this is kind of a given but I did really enjoy their scenes, particularly the ABC ones. Obviously the best was the Bridgertons and Sharmas dancing together. I also loved Anthony and Gregory talking about Edmund, as well as the role reversal of Daphne talking to Anthony and trying to get him to see what’s so clear to her. And of course Anthony’s scenes with Violet. Especially when he just broke down in front of her when he realized Kate was okay. 

Eloise figuring out Penelope was Lady Whistledown - although in the books the Whistledown mystery wasn’t really much of a plotline till RMB, it never made sense to me that Eloise didn’t once question that it could’ve been Penelope. It felt like kind of an insult to her intelligence. It makes much more sense that she figured it out first, honestly. The drama that ensued between Eloise and Penelope this season wasn’t that interesting to me (or rather it made Penelope less likable because she regressed in character development) but I did like this part specifically. It seems in-character for Eloise so I’m happy about that. And overall I think Eloise learned a lot this season and grew up a bit more.

Colin visiting Marina and talking to Phillip - this may be one of the only side plots I actually enjoyed and wouldn’t have minded seeing more of. I’m glad Marina got to speak her mind with Colin, and that he was able to apologize as well as get some closure. Not to mention him nerding out over plants with Phillip was the absolute best. And I love that Phillip and Marina’s relationship, as well as their relationship with their kids, already looks healthier than it was in TSPWL. I love Philoise but I always had an issue with the way JQ treated Marina, and (so far at least) I’m liking the direction the show is headed with this specific plotline.

Disliked:

The amount of time spent on the Featherington plot - maybe if they had made it interesting it would’ve been nice to watch but it just wasn’t at all. That’s just my opinion though I’m sure others might feel differently.

The Sharma family - Edwina and Mary took some real character assassination in this season, Edwina especially. Edwina in the book doesn’t have much substance but the one thing that is absolute is that she cares about her sister just as much as Kate cares about her. That sister relationship is just as important in TVWLM as the love story. The Edwina I know would never have taken Kate for granted the way she did in the show, nor would she have ever had the audacity to make her feel like an outsider by calling her a HALF-SISTER. And as for Mary, I don’t have much against her, simply because the show didn’t develop her or give her much of a relationship with Kate. I do wish she had stood up for Kate when Edwina unfairly took her anger out on her, because that only ended up ostracizing Kate more. #justiceforkatesharmacanigiveherahugplease

The lack of elaboration on Kate’s trauma + the library scene - in TVWLM the beginning of the exploration of Kate’s trauma with thunderstorms is in the library scene. That was so crucial to Anthony and Kate’s relationship and it should have been longer, preferably word-for-word from the book. I understand it’s an adaptation but you can’t change the core moments of a relationship, moments that are the reason this couple is so loved, and then expect the same results. That scene in the book is incredibly pivotal for them emotionally and it was honestly reduced to a moment of sexual tension which is such a disservice. They had PLENTY of those moments in the show and they needed more emotional ones. They needed that library scene to be just the way it was in the book. Kate deserved to have her trauma fully explored and not glossed over for the sake of the engagement drama.

The lack of elaboration on Anthony’s trauma as well - while they did show his relationship with Edmund and how his death ends up changing him, they never fully explore the fact that Anthony fully and firmly believes he is destined to die early like his father. The reasons he doesn’t want to “succumb” to love in the book are so well-defined and he gets the opportunity to face his issues and his grief and get closure in TVWLM, something that we don’t actually see happening in the show. We don’t actually see his emotional growth take place (something I blame on the unnecessary side plots), even though we see him say “I love you” to Kate at the end, we don’t get to see how he got there. Again, I know it’s an adaptation, so not everything will be the same, but this part of the story is so important and it’s what makes Kanthony so Kanthony. The similarities between their trauma, their responsibilities, their issues with death - they only ever really covered their similarities as the eldest sibling in their respective families, and although I liked that, one of my favorite things about Kate and Anthony is how they both help each other process their grief from the loss of a parent, because it’s a feeling both of them understand. They complete each other, literally. And although thanks to Simone and Jonny’s performances I believe these characters love each other, the writing never really showed us how or why they fell in love, which again is a disservice to them. 

The Indian representation - this was all over the fucking place, honestly. There were parts I liked, like Kate shitting on English tea (as she should) and the K3G string quartet cover. But then Kate and Edwina call their parents Amma and Appa (Tamil), Edwina calls Kate Didi (Hindi), Kate calls Edwina Bon (Bengali), and they’re from Mumbai (Marathi/Hindi). And the first thing Kate says to Anthony when she runs into him is baapre - Hindi. So which is it?? Where the fuck are the Sharmas actually from?? It honestly looks like the writers mixed up all of those languages and cultures and thought “no one can tell the difference, it’s all Indian” well I am sorry to be the one to tell you that YES I absolutely can tell the fucking difference. If there’s Amma and Appa then Edwina SHOULD be calling Kate Akka. Also KATHANI?? What were they thinking?? If you make the choice to change the family’s country of origin to India then you need to actually care enough to find out that difference. It seems trivial but you cannot treat Indians like we’re interchangeable. And the fact that Kate is Indian at all makes me uncomfortable because we know that at this point in time India is being colonized by the British. I still think they should have made the Sharmas a normal family in London the way they did with Simon. No one is looking for historical accuracy in Bridgerton so why are you trying to make it worse?

Too many Polin easter eggs and not enough Benophie ones - Benedict and Sophie are headlining the next season yet all I saw was Polin hints episode after episode. Why aren’t we seeing any deliberate hints to Sophie in this season the way we saw hints to Kate in the last season? I was expecting Benophie easter eggs on the level of “tulips - they symbolize passion” or “I shall begin looking for a viscountess - removing love from the equation will make it all the better” and instead they put in the “I’d never marry Penelope Featherington” scene one season early. Not a fan of how they did that, either - Penelope deserved to say to Colin’s face what she said in AOFAG: “I never asked to marry you and I never asked you to ask me either.” Why couldn’t they have hinted at a masquerade at the end instead? Yes Benophie is my #1 Bridgerton ship is it showing

Changing Kanthony’s love story to “scandalous forbidden love” - this is the vibe I got from their relationship this season when in actuality that trope belongs to Benophie. The whole drama behind being ostracized in London society because of that fallout was not necessary at all. To me honestly it diminishes the value of Benophie’s story because their relationship is the one that will ultimately face the most amount of scandal, and now that scandal has already been handed off to Anthony and Kate. Going forward I have this really bad feeling that people who haven’t read the books are going to call the scandal plot “overused” and maybe downplay the severity of the amount of societal shame that Sophie and Benedict are going to face once they see it on screen, when really they’re the first ones to face that level of scandal. And it is so so important that this distinction is made because their relationship had arguably the highest stakes of all the Bridgerton couples and now it may not seem that way. Not to mention I quite like the fact that in the book Anthony and Kate get to know each other better and truly fall in love after marriage, because that made their story (especially from Anthony’s side) so much more interesting. He was hell bent on not marrying for love and he unknowingly ended up doing just that and that makes his inner conflict much more compelling.

TLDR I don’t hate this season and I think Kanthony was okay but my issue is that they shouldn’t just be okay. They are one of the most anticipated couples from the series and this season did not do that anticipation appropriate justice. Their relationship in the show had the right actors and the right chemistry, giving them the potential to be even better than what we got, but the side plots and the excessive love triangle took away too much time, preventing that potential from being fulfilled. We probably could’ve gotten a full library scene, the scene where Anthony helps Kate with the thunderstorms post-marriage, or just any sort of conversational scene with Kate and Anthony that brought more emotional depth to their relationship, if the writers maybe hadn’t wasted time on things like the Featherington plotline or the Whistledown plotline. While Kanthony this season had some nice moments, I’ll always be just a bit upset knowing that they could’ve had the chance to be what they were in the books if they were just in the hands of better writers. 

[joviewinchester]

Part 2 to the supernatural MBAV crossover ✌️ Also this is on crack so I’m sorry in advance. Lol.

“Oh my gosh, Jack! We’ve been living here for two weeks! Do you know what that means?! We actually live here.” Y/N said excitedly.

“Yeah. I like it here I hope we stay awhile.”

“I have a boyfriend now! Do you know how cool that is?”

“You what?!” Dean exclaimed.

“Don’t eavesdrop! It’s none of your concern.”

“Yes it is. I’m your dad!”

“Moms handle the boys and the periods, and she promised me she’d visit sometime this week, so therefore, it’s none of your concern.”

“Since when have you had contact with Amara?”

“Since like a month ago. Uncle Chuck taught her about the world of cellphones. She promised she’d drop by for at least an hour. You don’t think she’s going to flake on me do you?” Tears welled up in her eyes. Dean held his arms out for a hug.

“Hey, come here, kid. Your mom has done a lot of bad things, but if there’s one thing I know for sure about her, it’s that she never says something unless she means it. Now about the boyfriend thing…”

“His name is Benny, he likes Star Wars, and he’s a calculus nerd. Good enough?”

“Come on Dean. Calculus nerd? You have nothing to worry about.” Sam chimed in.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right, Sammy.”

“Does that mean that me and Jack can go hang out with him and our other friends tonight?” Y/N asked hopefully, putting on the puppy eyes she had inherited from her uncle.

“Fine, but don’t be out any later than 1 am okay?”

“Got it. Would you be mad if we left right now?”

“No. It’s fine. Go ahead, but Jack she is not to be left in a room alone with this punk. Got it? Good.”

Y/N rolled her eyes. “Drama queen.” She muttered.

“I heard that!”

“Good!”

All of their friends had already arrived by the time they got there. The only thing missing was pizza.

“Dude the delivery guy was so slow last time though. Someone should just go get it. I’m starving.” Ethan complained.

“Not it.” Y/N and Erica said at the same time. Benny and Jack both looked at Sarah.

“Um…don’t look at me. I’m babysitting.” She gestured to Jane who was sitting peacefully watching Dusk.

“I’ll go.” Jack volunteered. Y/N tossed him the keys to the Jeep.

“Don’t wreck my baby.” She said sternly, laying on the floor beside Jane.

“Careful. You sound like your dad.” Jack joked. Y/N threw a pillow at him.

“Okay. Okay. I’m going.”

“So this Dusk thing, what is it even about?” Y/N asked. Erica immediately jumped in.

“Oh my god. It is so good. You’ve never seen Dusk? It’s about a human who falls in love with a vampire and vice versa, but there’s also this werewolf that’s in love with the girl, but she ends up choosing the vampire because, duh, she’s in love with him, but anyways it’s so good and you have to watch all of them with me some time.”

“I’ve seen the Vampire Diaries but I’ve never watched this.”

“Oh my God. Don’t you just love the Salvatore brothers?”

“I love Damon, but I’m not huge on Stefan. Oh and Katherine is so hot, but my favorites are Kol and Kai.”

“You have a thing for murderers with sociopath tendencies and you’re dating Benny?” Erica asked.

“Okay, just leave me alone. Kai is hot and he had reason to murder his entire family.” Literally the entire room was just looking back and forth between them in confusion.

“Remind me to never leave you two alone.” Sarah said.

“Did you just say murdered his entire family casually in a sentence?” Benny asked.

“Yes. If you guys watched the show you would totally get it. Although Jack doesn’t and I made him watch it but then again his biological dad is literally satan-“

“Wait. Wait. Wait. First of all, Castiel isn’t his biological dad? Second of all what is his biological father a serial killer or something?” Ethan asked.

That was when Y/N registered what she had said. “It’s not my place to tell you guys about his biological dad, so like please don’t tell him I told you anything.”

Everyone agreed and dropped it. Soon after Jack came back with the pizza. “Who’s hungry?”

“I am.” Erica whispered passive aggressively under her breath. Sarah elbowed her and gave her a look, mouthing the words shut up.

Benny, Ethan, Jack, and Jane all grabbed a slice.

“Want one?” Benny asked.

“No I’m fine. Thanks though.” Y/N said. Her mood had noticeably dropped, and it was because she was thinking of her mother. What if she didn’t come like she’d promised? Well, at least her cousin Gabriel promised a visit soon, despite her father’s protest.

“Hey what’s wrong?” Sarah asked her.

“It’s stupid. My mom told me that she was going to visit me sometime this week, but I’m worried she won’t show up.” At that very moment Amara appeared in the room. Now there was a lot of explaining to be done.

“Holy shit! Who are you and how did you do that?!” Ethan exclaimed.

“Wow. Gorgeous alert.” Erica said, ignoring the fact that a woman she didn’t know had just appeared out of nowhere. Y/N immediately jumped up and hugged her.

“I missed you, mom.” She muttered into her hair.

“Mom?!” They all asked at once.

“Woah. Woah. Woah. So what are you then?” Benny asked.

“Why are you guys not very freaked out about this?” Jack asked.

“We know about the supernatural, but nothing like this.” Ethan said still in shock.

“So, you made friends? I’m proud of you. How’s your dad doing?” Amara said.

“Same old. Same old. Sad, confused, protective.”

“Wait how do you guys know about the supernatural?” Jack asked ignoring the side conversation.

“That depends. How do you feel about vampires, warlocks, and seers?” Benny asked.

“Wait! You’re vampires?!” Y/N exclaimed suddenly.

“Not all of us. Just Erica and Sarah.” Ethan said.

“You guys haven’t even the ones killing people have you, because that would suck because then I’d have to kill you.”

“No, but really?! Kill us?!” Sarah exclaimed.

“My family hunts the supernatural! You guys have got to stay on the downlow or my dad and my uncle will straight up kill you and not think twice, please be careful!”

“Are warlocks on that list?” Benny asked.

“Wait, you’re a waflock and you didn’t tell me?!”

“We still don’t know what you two are and I think I speak for everyone when I say I would like to know!”

Y/N sighed. This would be a long conversation. She took in a deep breath. “So, my dad is the vessel of the archangel Michael aka the person Michael needed to possess to win the apocalypse which already happened by the way. My dad kind of saved the world. My Uncle Sam on the other hand is the vessel of Lucifer who is Jack’s biological dad which makes Jack a nephilim, and by the way Lucifer is actually pretty chill. But that’s beside the point. This is Amara my mom aka the darkness aka god’s sister which kind of makes me a Demigod which makes god aka Chuck my uncle and Lucifer, Michael and Gabriel my cousins which makes Jack my second cousin and also by the way Castiel is an angel too. Oh and also my dad is kind of gay for Cas but neither of them will admit but you know, subtext.”

They all looked at her with wide eyes. “If you plan on sticking with me welcome to my dysfunctional family.” She announced.

“Are they okay?” Amara whispered.

“Maybe. I don’t know.” Y/N whispered back.

“Ya know what? Cool. Also can we just talk about how Y/N has hot parents? MILF alert. Like it finally makes sense why she is so pretty.” Erica said casually.

“What’s a MILF?” Amara asked her. Y/N face palmed.

“It’s good. It’s a compliment, but don’t say it to anyone , ever.” Y/N tried to explain.

“Anyways…I guess I’m gonna go and let you all process this interaction. Benny, call me. Bye!” They all left, and Y/N insisted that they take the Jeep and not just teleport.

When they got back to the house everyone kind of just looked at each other awkwardly. “Mom and I are gonna go…what do normal teenage girls do with their non supernatural mothers? Paint their nails? We’ll go do that. See you soon.”

Dean looked at Jack waiting for an explanation. “I’ve got…homework. Yeah. Anyways bye.”

“What just happened?” Sam asked.

Dean shrugged. “Don’t know. Don’t care.”

[chanluster]

the duke and i | {m} ; {f}

teaser | bridgerton! au | f2l! au | approx. 25k words

“The Duke of Hastings can show you much more than what you write of.”

s u m m a r y >> wishing to be a successful writer in the regency period seemed next to impossible for the sole daughter of a dead earl. with arising pressures from your mother to tie the knot, you turn to your dearest friend, hwang hyunjin, duke of hastings and the most eligible, scandalous bachelor of the season, for assistance. when he suggests the insane of idea of marrying each other to help each other, you agree to the proposal, unaware of just how much the duke can teach you of the wonders of matrimony.

w a r n i n g s >> noble! reader, duke! hyunjin, hyunjin is a fucking rake, reader is a fucking nerd, also really really innocent, hyunjin is sosososo hot, a lot of teasing, endearments, sexual tension, kissing, making out, corruption kink!!!!! corruption! fucking! kink! oral (f. receiving) fingering, unprotected sex (stay safe hoemies!!) orgasming on multiple occasions, (kind of) hate sex, there is fluff i promise, tiny bit of angst

p l a y l i s t >> here!

t a g l i s t >> @fivefootfuryanon @h0eforhyunjin16 @seoulicitae @linoscult @aliceu @hwangi @shipsaremything98 @babyyynatty @kabira @danyxthirstae01 @sunseokkies @lunefilm @severetimetravelnerd @minaamhh @starry--koo @ninjaleeknow @hyunjeonnies @inlovewithasa @titleisyettobemade @maedesculpaeusoubi​@healinghyunjin @fleeingreality (send an ask if u wish to be added!!)

a u t h o r ’ s  n o t e >> hello hi i am finally writing this fic!! bridgerton may be problematic but simon basset was still the sexiest man i’ve ever seen in period dramas so here is hyunjin being that exact sex god in this teaser i hope you enjoy <3

back to masterlist

“____, YOU HAVE WRITTEN A BLOODY MASTERPIECE!”

Your entire body stilled.

“I...I did what?”

“Wrote a masterpiece!” He swiped through the pages, lighting up at each word that passed his gaze. “A bestseller! An award winning novel!” 

A smile worked its way onto your lips. “You...you really think so?”

Sighing out in exasperation, he set the papers upon the desk as he began to lose his initial anger. “How could you be embarrassed about something so beautiful?” He put his hand on the gold chair, leaning onto its head. “Your descriptions were lovely, the characters are perfectly imperfect. You have really outdone a lot of the writers in circulation.”

Your shoulders sagged a little — almost as if you had been carrying a heavy burden, and this man had taken it off of you.

You made sure he saw your joy when you said, “Thank you, blondie.”

Seeing the pure contentment upon your face had your friend looking away, eyes narrowing to the plans once again.

“There was, however, one thing which needed improvement.”

The setback had you straightening once again, eager to hear. At least he was not sweetening it fully. “Go on.”

“As I was reading through, right till the end, I noticed a lack of very important details.” 

That was quite strange. “A lack of?” you asked, when you were so sure that you had added too much of everything.

“Yes.”

His fingers drummed against the velvet of the chair.

“I noticed that there was a deep lack of...passion.”

An incredulous look was your reply. “Passion?”

“Yes, passion. Desire.” He jerked his head towards the papers. “I hardly saw any of those emotions in the book.”

This new information was certainly quite worrying. “But I do not understand,” you started. “My whole novel is based on this relationship, of the love that blossoms and grows—”

“I understand that, darling, I really do,” he said. “I know what you are going to say.” 

The drumming continued. “But where is that residing in the chapters? Where is that physical lust implied in the characters?”

Lust. 

You had heard of the word before. Heard of its implications, yet never grasped the weight of its meaning. Was it just another form of longing? 

If only your mother had given you an education on this side of love.

“What do you mean...lust?”

Hyunjin raised a groomed brow. “What else could I mean, angel?”

The way he voiced that question, that endearment had you parting your mouth, unable to say anything. You tried to speak, to say something to ease the tension which came slithering back into the bedroom.

“I...what were you expecting? From the relationship.”

Curling his locks behind his ear, his gaze became obscure. “You spoke of forbidden love, of...of a coupling which should not be occurring but happened through the fate of the universe. Is that right?”

When you nodded, he carried on. “See, I did not sense that from their exchanges. Their emotions are tame, chaste. An innocence which cannot be tainted.

“Now where is the fun in that?”

You dared not break his gaze. “What is that ‘fun’?”

His eyes seemed to darken. “That ‘fun’ in the relationship is physicality. Where is that in your novel?” 

He took a step towards you. “Where are the unbreaking stares? The curious hands, aching to caress another’s? Where are the trembling breaths, the lust-stained sighs that fan lovers’ lips?”

The duke had you craning your neck back as he looked down at you. “Where are the kisses, my darling?”

You gulped. “K-kisses?”

“Yes, kisses,” he repeated softly. “Lips enveloping lips, tasting your inner workings? Travelling to your neck, your collarbone...places which cannot even be whispered in polite society?”

Each part he mentioned had its goosebumps pricking.

The bastard still did not stop. “Where is that passion, ____? Where is that forbidden love, which makes the heart burn wilder?”

And as he descended before you on his knees, hands settling on your lap, you had a feeling swirl up your sides which had never struck you before.

“If I were the man in your book, I would not be tame with you.” 

His eyes offered a new, intimidating darkness. “Because if you were my woman, then I do not think I’d control myself. The moment I’d catch the innocence dancing in your eyes, I’d have waltzed it away into my shadows.

“Only God could save you from my hunger, then.”

Silence descended upon the two of you.

One waiting for the other to speak, and the other unable to form the words to do so.

The moon had illuminated your husband, one side of his face glowing like a celestial being, the other side basked in darkness. How strange, when he had compared himself to it just a few moments before.

You seemed unable to look away from him. His gaze, always intense, now became so penetrating you wondered whether he could glance at your soul, quivering from his feedback. 

Improvements which you still did not quite comprehend, despite the implications.

Somehow, he could see it on your face. “I have a feeling you still do not grasp the idea. Is that correct?”

A half nod. “I…” God, speak! “I just...I have never understood it, Hyunjin.”

Your head dipped down, darting at the plains of your hands. “You asked me about lust, and I simply cannot answer because I do not know. I have never experienced such emotion.

“Hell, I have not witnessed a single action that you spoke of. How could you expect me to write of desires I have never even felt?”

This.

This was unchartered territory. This was a terrain you had not explored with him.

Yes, he was your best friend. But one does not talk of such...dangerous conservation when your best friend happens to be a man — a complete rake, at that.

It seemed as if the rake, too, was thinking the same. 

His legs, a force which had never let him down, threatened to buckle under him. His mouth opened, only for silence to answer you. 

Lord and all His subjects help him. He did not think he could contain it any longer.

And as his eyes exposed you, vulnerable before him, he only knew of one thing — one fact within this ocean of uncertainty you swam in.

He would jump into the waters for you. But not in the notion to haul you out to safety.

No, the duke would drag you down further, with him as your sole saviour.

Or even your destroyer. Your fated undoing.

For the Duke of Hastings will absolutely ruin you, body and soul.

“Hyunjin?”

A blink.

A singular action, dragging him back to dark, dark reality — sweeter than his fantasies as it sat before him, shy and wide-eyed.

An innocent reality all for him to defile.

“Yes, angel?”

You tried not to shudder at his lilting whisper. “How am I to be helped?”

The man did not even think of the possibilities, to your surprise.

If only you knew, how long he had kept them hidden for.

“How about...how about I assist you?”

Confusion washed over your features. “And how would you assist me, Hyunjin? You have never written a novel.”

His answer was a chuckle, revealing slight glimpses of his teeth as he stood.

“That is true, yes.”

Sitting down beside you, he planted his hands behind him on the bed, leaning into the position. 

“But what I can provide aid for is the one feature you lack in your writing.”

His voice right behind gave you a fright.

“Pure, raw lust.”

Looking over yourself, you watched him reclined in ease. Your speech was uneven as you said, “And...and how will you help me with that?”

“Simple, my darling.” A pause, looking you over. “I shall provide you with examples. Show you what truly happens between a man and woman when all they yearn for is each other.”

He saw the further questions in your gaze. The questions you dared not voice out loud, perhaps dared not understand. 

Smirking, he sat himself up, eyes never leaving yours as his hands encircled your own, bunched up in your dress. As his fingers brushed against your linen he felt his skin go aflame. 

“If, of course, you would let me.”

Tilting your head slightly upwards, you sensed a foreign warmth envelop your face, burning at the sight of your friend studying you like an empty canvas, begging to be filled.

Maybe you were an empty sheet of paper, waiting to be painted with guidance by the master. Maybe that master was beside you all along.

“What will you do to me, Hyunjin?”

There it was. The question which may have been his drug — his purest form of opium. 

Because when his hands travelled upwards, sliding to your face and imprisoning you with his stare, he knew he would become addicted.

A shame he did not care for his well-being when you were so fucking tempting.

“Show you what real passion tastes like.”

[asnowperson]

But are you reading Shoukoku no Altair?

As the nerd who spends way too much time while translating Yume no Shizuku, Kin no Torikago, I wanted to make a post on my first "Ottoman" manga: Shoukoku no Altair.

Left: A real-life Mahmut (Ottoman Sultan, Mahmut II). Right: Japanese Mahmut. I know that Altair has nothing to with his time period, but I can't help but think about Mahmut II everytime I hear the name "Mahmut". He's such a boss. So in my mind, a Mahmut can never be as bishounen as Tughril Mahmut.

I first saw that manga in the dark corners of LiveJournal years ago, at a time when there weren't even scanlations. And I LOVED the art. But back then, due to the lack of scans and because I couldn't even read the Japanese title, I forgot about it for years. Yes, I do have a very bad memory.

Fast forward to 2017, Shoukoku no Altair got an anime adaptation. And when was I going to start reading this Ottoman-inspired manga if not now? Like I did with DoD, I expected it to be an orientalist trainwreck. But little did I know that Katou Kotono had a degree in history and the more I got into Altair, the more I would be crying about how ignorant I was. I quickly caught up with the story. And boy, did I love it! (The anime adaptation doesn't do this manga justice. And I'm still mad that they skipped an entire sea battle.)

Published SnA volumes, minus the latest vol. 24, and the fanbook. Japan should bring SAL back already, I want to be able to buy my mangos without developing shipping strategies.

Warning for DoD fans, this is a full shounen manga. There is no shoujo romance to see here (I'm still mad at the editors for forcing that dancer girl in the story in the earlier volumes because a shounen manga had to have a female love interest. I'm glad we didn't get to see her again and if anything, not-Vlad the Impaler's cute daughter would make a better waifu for a pasha like Mahmut). It's about the wars between the not-Ottomans and the not-Holy Roman Empire, complete with some Italian city-state drama. It only has battles, politics and keikakus. Huge armies maneuver in battle, alliances are made and broken, heads fly, armies clash, cities are besieged, we peek at the logistics behind huge armies, and civil war and coup d'états can happen any moment! If you are in DoD for politics, I'm sure you will love Altair because it actually delivers in that department.

My little pasha can't be this smug. Vol. 20, and vol. 9's cover from the Milkazzar Altair art book (2014). Those volume covers have me screaming.

Unlike DoD, Altair is not a fully historical manga, so it's not based on real events nor there's a set time frame for it. But looking at the story elements, we can say that it's set somewhere around the second half of the 15th century. So it's somewhat close to DoD's time frame if we squeeze hard enough. I also think Burak Paşa, the "sultan" in Altair, kind of resembles to an old Suleiman I.

Every little detail in Altair is just chef's kiss! Katou-sensei has a vast knowledge of military tactics and uses it in every chapter of Altair. And huge kudos to Sense Scans and their translator, murakumo, who did a perfect job. Turkish written in kana hurts my brain, and I always check their scans before going "naruhodo!". Go check their Altair blog, it's awesome and has lots of info on the manga and you can find pretty manga artwork there. And after thanking them, go buy the manga in a language you can read, it's very likely licensed in yours.

Now my little inner fangirl will speak: Altair has the finest men and boys. You can't find this many bishounen even in 70s shoujo manga. Even if you don't care about all those battle tactics, you might care about all the bishies! Anyway have this very soft Bayezid to prove my point <3

Can you believe that this is the face of a murderer?

Let me also talk about the art in Shoukoku no Altair: It's gorgeous! That's all I can say. I legit spend minutes looking at the outfits and the accesories. Katou herself said that she was inspired by Turkish jewelry and created Altair. Check this Mahmut swag out:

Vol. 3's cover, scanned from the 2017 art book. I wish I knew how to process my images so that I could do sensei justice.

Shoukoku no Altair is licensed in English by Kodansha, and they are almost up-to-date with Japanese releases. Honestly the best timeline for reading Altair. Go read Altair while waiting for new DoD chapters.

[writing-with-melon]

Writeblr Re-Re-Introduction Updated

It's time for an update. :)

I’m Melon!

27 // she/they // gray ace

I love tea, music, sarcasm, and revolution. And writing I guess…

My alter ego is Latina living in the borderlands (she speaks Spanish and is a beeatch).

I have a film degree I have yet to use, but I’m a film nerd anyway. I also studied literature. (I’m a film/lit nerd)

I post writing tips, neat stuff, and of course stuff about my wips

I write: sci-fi // romance // period pieces // contemporary/urban fantasy // fanfiction // screenplays

My WIPs are:

Newcast Chronicles or The Queen’s Company: A steampunk adventure where the genius inventor Nathaniel Tate teams up with a band of outlaws that call themselves The Queen’s Company when his mentor is brutally murdered. Nathaniel helps the Queen’s Co. on their quest for revenge when he finds they all have a common enemy, a secret government faction, the very same that had his mentor killed. Found family, revenge, and dangerous heists and some time travel, just for fun.

Cursed Pennyroyal and The Wizard Asturia: The story of a cursed spellbreaker and a thief magician whose emotions have been stolen. They couldn't be more different and would never be friends but thanks to an evil spirit they must work together to dissolve a deadly curse that threatens the kingdom's annual masquerade and therefore the genral peace. And if things aren't complicated enough, they fall in love... with each other's alter egos. A world with neat spirits, double identity shenanigans, enemies to lovers, and a masquerade.

Wollstonecraft: (on hiatus) A story of love, family, secrets and werewolves. Emi moves back to her small town in NM, after nearly a decade of being away and she meets Kieran Wollstonecraft, who you guessed it, is a werewolf. After what seems like a one-night stand, she gets mixed up in his family drama which also kind of turns out to be her family drama. It’s a mess, but what are else are you gonna do if you’ve found your true mate?

I also have some Arcana fanfics if you're so inclined, but they are on hiatus: Notes on the Wall and You Knew the Name of the Wolf (Muriel x fem!reader)

You can also find me on wattpad and on Ao3 and again on tumblr @melonreblogsstories a blog dedicated to reblogging other people’s stories, wips, and writeblrs!

I’m looking for more writer friends who just want to talk about their own WIPS. If you’re a writeblr I’d love to check out your blog.

Melon is always super down to be tagged even if she takes a while to respond and her inbox is always open! :)

[hargrove-mayfields]

Day one of the Horror on Cherry Lane Challenge! I’ll be participating this month as a writer! The prompt for today is Knife!

warnings for mentions of suicidal ideation and attempts, death, child abuse, and blood.

Billy met Steve in the psych ward.

Well, they met officially at Tina’s party, but that wasn’t the real Steve. That was the King Steve. Deeper than that though, even the Steve Harrington everyone else saw even after the breakup and the fall from grace still wasn’t the real thing.

That was fake smiles, overdone nonchalance to cover up the wound from his fallen status. Now he was stripped down to himself, all bloody bandages and tired eyes, the boy he was pretending to be finally broken down to reveal this.

Apparently, Ruthie Harrington found her son with his grandfather's switchblade- all the other objects in the house sharper than a spoon and with less sentimental value had already been tossed -bleeding all over her freshly polished linoleum floors. She dropped him off at the hospital a night ago and nobody’s been by to see him since.

Now, it’s by pure coincidence that Billy’s already in on the same day Steve’s admitted.

He’s been locked up the past three days compared to Steve’s one. These small town hicks are jumpier (ha) than he thought, and don’t think doing the walk and turn test on the edge of the quarry after downing a bottle and a half of fireball is as funny as he does. Whatever. Cid would’ve thought that was badass as hell.

So he was admitted, on suicide watch for a stupid joke that wasn’t really worth it, or even really a joke. Max came to visit once. She punched him in the chest as hard as she could and cursed him out for an hour. She’d never done that before. By the time she left they were both in tears, and maybe Billy realized a thing or too about his carelessness. Realized for the first time that someone cared.

But he’s still in here for another week and a half by law, so. He’s not going to mope about it. And while Steve Harrington showing up is about the last thing he’s expecting, he decides that’s at least something he can work with. Definitely brings a little life to the place.

He waits until Steve’s intense watch period is over to bug him, once they’re out of their cramped little rooms for a couple of hours to “socialize” (see, the more sound of mind keep an eye on the other patients while the nurses take their smoke breaks) Billy goes straight to Steve. Him and Harrington are far from friends, but that’s pretty much irrelevant when the only other choices for company are kids younger than them too scared to approach them and people too deep in their midlife crises to bother with teenage drama.

Throwing himself down in the blue plastic chair across from where Steve settled in, Billy kicks his feet up on the table,, “What’s up Harrington? Didn’t expect to see a familiar face in here.”

But Steve, poor Steve, takes one look at Billy with those haunted brown eyes, and his face just falls completely apart. There are tears on his way too pale cheeks before Billy even has a chance to breathe.

The smile drops off of Billy’s face, “Jesus Harrington, I know m’not looking my best surviving on hospital food and cigarettes without a hairbrush, but that’s a little unwarranted.”

“Shut up. Not everything’s about you, Hargrove.”

“Oh I disagree with that. But I get the point. I’ll let ya be.” Billy hums, scooting his chair back and getting up. He stops when Steve starts to speak, “Y-You outta be careful saying that kinda stuff in here.”

“What?”

“That the world revolves around you. They’ll come up with a diagnosis for that and keep you here forever. Drug you ‘til you forget your own name, let alone your status.” Steve tells him with humor, wiping the tears off his face.

Billy nods in understanding, sits back down with an interested smirk, “This ain’t your first time here, is it?”

“Is it yours?”

“Nah. I’ve done some shit on purpose, some on accident. Once it wasn’t even me. But s’never done anything to help so far.”

Steve puffs out a sigh, “Don’t I know it.. I’ve been in and outta this place since I was like, ten. Clearly nothing’s changed.”

“Why? What’s your dirty little secret, Harrington?”

“I cut myself, dumbass.” He deadpans, looking at Billy with a bluntness in his expression that reads more concerning, more like indifference to what he just said than matter-of-fact.

“No shit. But that ain’t the secret.” Billy probes further, can tell he’s getting under that mask Steve wears, “Why do you do it?”

“Legally, I can't tell you. And I don’t think I would anyways.”

“What about if I tell you all about me first? I got no reservations ‘cept the one that got me a bed here.”

“It’s not a hotel, Hargrove.”

“Eh, might as well be. Feels like the damn hotel California.”

“Is that why?”

“Huh? Oh no, I been pullin’ stunts like this long before we left Cali.”

“Like what?”

“Like downing two full bottles of my mother’s meds after she left. Not at the same time obviously, or I wouldn’t be here. Mostly ‘cause my dad didn’t even wanna take me to the hospital either time.” Billy doesn’t look at Steve while he elaborates. Not because he cares, he’s an open book, if a random old woman at the grocery store asked about his last attempt, he’d tell her.

But. He doesn’t like watching people’s faces. Seeing sympathy and concern there. It makes him feel all stupid and guilty. It’s usually not like that with other kids like him, but Steve’s different. He’s got a big heart. Even if there’s no room for himself.

And Billy hurt Steve before. He doesn’t want to see someone he caused pain caring so much about him. He already cracked when Max came to see him. This could be what splits him open, spills out all the things he’s covered up.

So he keeps going, “And like runnin’ out in front of traffic with my friends. They thought we were just playin’ chicken ‘til I stopped dead in front of a station wagon. Metal rims’d done me in for sure if one ‘a the older boys hadn’t pulled me outta the way. Damn near ripped my shirt in half how fast he grabbed me.”

“I’m guessing your parents are the reason why then?”

“Yessir.” Billy deflects, not good at getting deeper into it, “You wanna tell me yours then?”

“I started cutting because Tommy Hagan told me about it. He thought it was freaky, but when he ran his mouth about how they found the neighbor kid in his room, drained of all his blood from his wrists, I wanted to try it. I’ve tried liquor and drugs and all kinds ‘a shit I shouldn’t, but nothin’ stuck like cutting.” Steve pauses for a long time, his eyes going blank, staring right past Billy, “When my mom found out she.. she.. Forget it.”

“Hey, you seen my skeletons. Can’t I see yours?”

“No. I don’t wanna fucking talk about it anymore.” Steve answers, despite his assuredness, his tone wobbling with some unidentifiable emotion.

Talk about mood swings. Billy doesn’t get how nobody would’ve noticed something was up before Steve started carving into himself. Really, he knows someone would have seen it and just ignored it.

It only gets worse though, the reservedness turning to sadness and frustration. None of the words are coming out, but he can tell Steve’s thinking of the stories, reliving all that got him to the here and now. Billy can also tell there’s nothing he can do no to stop him from doomsdaying.

So when Steve is inevitably in the thralls of a panic attack, he tries to hug him tight, to try to get it to stop maybe, that always worked for him at least, but Steve swats him away. Judging from the way he winces, it’s not easy for him to do either, with those thick ass bandages constricting his wrists, but the tears and the pain on his face are buried behind his resolution.

He’s hiding something from Billy.

In hindsight, talking to a new patient about past attempts probably wasn’t his brightest idea anyways, so he switches the subject while Steve works on coming down from his panic attack. He brings up Max and her little nerds, trying to bridge the healthier connections between him and Steve that they’d both been ignoring since the fight. He mentions basketball too, another something they have in common other than trying to kill themselves.

It doesn’t really work, though Steve does stop shaking as bad, just curling up in his little chair and sniffling, pretending not to listen while Billy rambles on and on. But he doesn’t talk. It’s probably better for him not to anyway. Billy himself has been known to say some dumb shit when he’s in distress.

Ultimately, even once the conversation runs out, he stays with Steve until dark. He can tell from the way his gaze sticks to the floor that Steve recovered from his fit a while ago, but he’s embarrassed by having a breakdown in front of him, as if he isn’t in here for the same reason. It helps that he gets it though, and they sit in a comfortable, albeit very prolonged, silence.

Long after Steve gets xanned up and knocked out though, while Billy is still free to wander until the midnight curfew as a low risk patient, he decides to stick with him in his room. Billy’ll never admit it, but he gets nightmares, and he doesn’t want to face that just yet, so with a new friend as an excuse, he’s up half the night watching Steve sleep.

He remembers what happened earlier, how focused Steve was on keeping him away from him, despite his panic, and decides, with a glance at how deeply Steve is sleeping, his greasy hair all strewn about on stiff pillows, that he’s going to figure out what it was.

He snoops around in his bedside drawers, in the bathroom, in the locker in the corner. It’s there he notices the knitted jacket Steve was wearing before, hanging heavy to one side, like there’s something in its pocket. He touches it and feels the outline of something small, so he pulls it out.

He regrets checking though, because it’s a knife. Judging from the old looking engravings on its handle, and the coppery stains within the grooves, it’s specifically the very same one that got Steve hospitalized.

He shoves it in his own back pocket and keeps looking, with a quick glance at Steve, finding a note tucked where the knife had been. Written in perfect scrawl on bond paper that’s been folded a dozen times and stained with tears,

“Do it right next time, why don’t you? Your mother is too soft on you. I’m not paying for this again.

- J.Harrington.”

Billy doesn’t know what to do but throw the note in the trash. Not really in shock, but definitely more than a little fucked up from reading that, he sits on the end of Steve’s bed. His own dad, who'd more than once been the one putting him in the hospital, had never even said anything like that to him.

He didn’t get to talk to Steve much today, but they’ve got as long as Billy’s stuck in here together to fix that. Longer if he just pulls something in front of a nurse. And he wants to, really really wants to.

Because he knows he just met the real Steve, can recognize another broken boy when he sees one, and he knows too, that he never wants to meet a pretty boy like this again.

And if that’s his declaration to get clean, then so fucking be it.

But. He never promised not to hurt anyone. Ultimately he’d still need that outlet.

He keeps the knife. To make sure his pretty boy doesn’t get hurt again.