#please i want people to talk about richard and theo with

[ericssad]

Red angel anon, do u perhaps hv recs for other age gap bogosian works pls

I know you didn’t ask for all this I’m so sorry!!!

Disclaimer 1: I’m not making any sort of presumptions about Eric’s own proclivity or lack thereof towards younger women or people or anything like that. I think age gaps are largely an avenue to explore the human (mostly male) psyche in Eric’s works as well as to say something about the characters themselves. It’s never really included just to be titillating and usually serves a narrative function and whether that’s plot or character development wise, it’s there for a reason.

Disclaimer 2: With the exception of Wasted Beauty which I don’t have access to without buying the book so I haven’t read it yet, I’m only able to talk about the works I’ve read/watched. There could be more that weren’t included in this list and if there are, let me know.

Taking a page from Eric’s book (literally) and starting with a quote: “Middle-aged men fall for young women because youth revives the walking dead.” - Eric Bogosian, Perforated Heart

Talk Radio (movie): Barry (unknown age?) & Laura (age also unknown)

Barry and Laura’s relationship being one with an age gap was a change from the play but Eric did write the screenplay so I’m including them. We don’t know their ages but Laura says she listened to Barry’s show when she was in high school and then there’s their exchange at the end of the film:

“I’m too old for you, Laura.”

“Ow.”

“I mean you don’t know about Vietnam, Easy Rider, Beatles.”

“Start over, Grandpa.”

Mall: Jeff (19) & Donna (age unknown but I estimate anywhere from mid to late 20s to early to mid 30s but she could be older. Her age is unclear but she is married with kids) and Danny (37) & Adelle (18)

CW: mention of sexual assault

Mall is disturbing by design but the two sexual encounters in it are especially so. I won’t include graphic quotes but just something to take into account if you were wanting to read the book. This also contains mild spoilers.

Jeff and Donna meet at a restaurant bar after they’ve both left the mall a shooting and fire has occurred at. Jeff has already taken acid at this point and is steadily drinking. Jeff lies and says he’s a college student and Donna clearly knows he isn’t but that doesn’t deter her. They leave and have sex. For Jeff it’s a dissociative experience and framed as something he feels he has to do to be a man. Subsequently, he has a breakdown after Donna leaves. Something interesting about Jeff and Donna (which I will also talk about in regard to Theo in Perforated Heart but in a different way) is that Eric puts the lens of desire on the male character from the female perspective.

“Donna watched Jeff's lips move. They moved in lovely round shapes. Blue eyes, clear. Clear and pretty.”

This is more Donna’s conquest than Jeff’s and later you see that is most definitely the case. More quotes about Jeff and Donna:

“Before this Jeff had never fantasized about older women. Now he allowed himself the pleasure of imagining this mature, buxom woman naked in his arms. Of course, he knew she was out of his league, he was a scruffy guy not even in college yet.”

"Wow. Those were the days. Tell me the truth, you're not a college student." Donna was liking him more every minute.”

“Jeff thought, I'm in the young man phase now. Young men have sex with anonymous women, commit petty crimes and gamble and drink too much. Taking acid is like drinking too much. After tonight I will strike out to some faraway city where I will starve for a while, then meet a mentor, a traveler like myself. I'll master some incredibly difficult skill like ice climbing or Japanese sword fighting, but never use it. Then the greater adventures will begin. All I need to have is-”

Danny and Adelle’s interaction is all graphic so I’ll just be succinct and say that Danny is essentially immobilized by handcuffs and Adelle tortures and sexually assaults him.

Wasted Beauty: Reba (20) & Rick (45)

Not much I can say about this one since I haven’t read it and I’m not sure if those are the ages they met at or not but from what I can glean from the one review of it, they have at least a 20 year age gap.

Red Angel: David (age unknown) & Leena (age unknown)

You already know this one but I wanted to be comprehensive! David is a guest professor and Leena is a grad student with whom he has a sexual evening with.

(To anyone who hasn’t read it) Warning: I highly recommend this play but there is a really uncomfortable imaginary pedophilic handjob scene. It’s hard to explain exactly what happens in it without getting graphic. There’s no actual underage sex as the fantasizing and sex during it is between adults but…yeah proceed with caution.

“DAVID: Please don't flirt me with me, Leena. You're too beautiful and I'm too old. I might get all excited and have an aneurysm right in front of you.”

“DAVID: How can you be so wise? You're just a kid.

LEENA: I'm not wise. I'm young and smart. I know what I am.

DAVID: You are wise. Wise and beautiful. It's starting to dawn on me. You're astonishing. Like an undiscovered country.”

Perforated Heart: Richard (mid 50s) & Unnamed woman (28) and Richard & Sarah (late 20s)

+ Richard & Theo (~27/28)*

Richard about the unnamed woman: “She was a writer, of course. And marginally interesting because twenty years ago when she was eight years old, her father accidentally shot her mother in the leg, severing the femoral artery.”

Richard about Sarah: “She likes drama because she thinks it makes her a better writer. She's still young, she doesn't understand that what doesn't kill you doesn't make you stronger, it wears you out and weakens what little integrity you have. She seeks authenticity and gravitas. Why else would a woman in her late twenties bother with an old fucker like me? Of course if I passed away she'd mourn.”

+ “The meal, like every meal now, was accompanied by a cocktail of pills which only served to remind me how fragile I was. Sarah and I exited the restaurant, me creeping like a retiree. The waitress waved to Sarah as we left, mouthing "Bye now!" I realized she thought Sarah was a dutiful daughter taking her old dad out for an airing.”

*Okay, hear me out on this one! Theo can certainly be interpreted as a representation of Richard’s younger self and as a son-like figure and while I think those things are true I also think Theo, by nature of falling into the ingenue writer and biggest fan who has read all of the main character’s work archetype that Eric is fond of and who all of the younger female sexual/romantic interests- with the exception of Adelle- fall into, is also an object of desire for Richard in some sense. The language Eric, and therefore Richard, uses to describe Theo is in line with descriptions of female characters and the rare instances (Jeff and the infamous “thin guy with big brown eyes that was so beautiful he could have been a girl”) in which Eric describes a male character’s physical appearance in a way that’s not either negative, dismissive or dispassionate. Eric does not tend to describe his male characters and you could argue that it’s because the male characters are usually the point of view from which the story is being told so of course they don’t go on about their appearances but especially in PH you don’t get a sense of how any of the male characters look except for Theo. At most a guy will be “handsome” but Theo is “…a beautiful young man with chestnut curls and soulful eyes.” Similarly to the young female characters that look up to Eric’s male protagonists, Theo is “…brimming with his future, with his need.” Other people desire Theo too: “As we sat, I noticed two young women at the next table trying to catch his eye.” This mention of attraction validation is common with the female characters like in Talk Radio: Laura is pretty so other people comment on it and Barry, as “her man,” is validated by other men. Theo is beautiful; other people think so too!

But later it becomes much more obvious that Richard is completely projecting on to Theo and that causes him to sabotage any potential good relationship they could have had (classic Richard) as he starts to ignore Theo’s- who it is painfully obvious has imprinted on Richard- texts and calls.

This derailed into the Richard and Theo ramblings of a crazy person but here are more quotes about Theo:

“It was energizing to spend time with Theo. If I had had a son with 'Gitte, would he have been like Theo? No matter. He has entered my life like a gift. And I need a friend right now. I need someone who will listen respectfully to what I have to say.”

“Do I have to describe the ride or the night Theo stayed in my house? Despite my reservations, Theo was a brilliant young man, and it was pleasant to spend time with him. He knew my work and the work of most of my contemporaries. He understood the context. He understood how the writing came together and what my part had been in it all.”

“The next morning, we picked up coffee and corn muffins at the minimart and drove into the city. By the time we got there, I had given an entire seminar on method. And recounted all the "John" stories I could think of. Theo hung on every word. Theo confessed that since 'Gitte gave him my books to read, he had always known he would meet me one day. He was almost tearful with gratitude to have had the time together. He asked me if I would read his work. Of course I said yes.”

“I invited Theo to my reading at the St. Mark's Poetry Project…When I found Theo afterward I could see that he was impressed. But there was also a glint of agitation in his eye. We got a bite to eat at Veselka's. He picked at his food while I waited for him to laud my read-ing. Instead, he asked if I'd read his pages yet. I lied, saying I was halfway through them and didn't want to comment until I'd finished. His expression was that of an eager pup, waiting for the ball to be tossed.”

“As I entered the men's room, my cell phone rang. It was Theo. Somehow he had already heard [that Richard had won an award].”

“And so this kid Theo walks into my life. Lovely, vibrant, eager, ambitious, handsome, obnoxious, self involved Theo. He made a decision to visit the lion in his den. Thought the lion would help him out. No, Theo. Lions don't give aid, they watch the young and helpless pups with apparent disinterest. Then they eat them.”

[whileurmine]

it should have made him unwind, it usually did. her hand on his back like a escape valve for the tension building in his chest. it should have worked like magic, one simple touch and all the tension would disappear from his shoulders, back. it didn't. there was a tie hanging around his neck and it was daring him to pick a side between happiness and being a good brother. ties should not speak. let alone to make false dichotomies like that. it was all very distressing. "i'm not nervous, i'm just—" he breathed in, slowly. imagining a room full of people walking over to him, shaking hands, faking smiles, asking about Richard, and his grandfather, and his mom and his hat, where was his hat, he looked so weird without it. his mouth moved around nothing, he breathed out slower. "i don't like the way i sound in these kind of parties." he had always only hear it after the fact. like an echo of his own voice. some horrible sentence like well, of course, they got divorce, you know how she got her money. the sort of thing that stripped him bare of everything he had ever learned and made him sound like a spoiled kid in his boarding school uniform. he did not want her to see him like this. did not want to do this without her. he landed on drinking some more of his beer instead. "do you think if i run away they'll notice?" leaning to the side until he could rest his head to her lap. richard owned him a million favors, for this, a hundred million, a billion, actually, and nash was gonna cash them in this time. "can you try?" it was almost a whine. "if theo is late too, no one will be mad at me."

theo chuckled softly, shaking his head. his attention shifting back and forth between her face and her dress. "no, this whole thing should be yours, really. say the word and i'll transfer all of it to your name." a small laugh rolling off his lips as he leaned forward to kiss her. adoration, that was the word for it, the name for the feeling that flooded his every sense every time he looked at her. it was the sort of thing that begged even when it already had it in its hands. it was repetitive whine of please, don't leave whenever his heartbeat. it was everything. "okay." theo tried focusing back on the world around them. his smile wide and ready. "double r is already downstairs talking to people. people usually focus on him more, unless they got like a nephew they want to give a music career to or something." he laughed. "our job is to be very beautiful— which, you know, so far so good — and be very charming. usually, i'll be honest, it's either the parents of people i went to boarding school with, my mom's friends or someone who is trying to skip the richard line by getting me to walk up to him with them. they are gonna ask me if i play my little guitar at family events, we are gonna act like we are not offended, and it's gonna be great." theo chuckled.

"it's hm," noah blinked a few times, running a hand through his tired eyes to encourage them back into focus. "i'm practicing method acting, actually, for a future project." he laughed softly, sitting up slowly. a few heavy blinks required to let out a yawn as he allowed himself a moment to look at her. properly look at her. "god." a sigh rolled off his lips. "you are beautiful." whispered out like it was meant only for himself. when noah moved next it was to slap his own face a little bit. pale cheeks marked red to easily. his phone was a flurry of texts and complaints, where are you, where is your dad, did you go get nash, noah, nooooooahhhhh, if i have to go up there to get you, i swear to god, you are no longer gonna be allowed to use the jet. he sighed heavily, dropping his head back against his bed. "i fell a sleep." he confessed with a pout. "my life is really hard, okay? you know how often i have to do the new york-texas flight. too often! how come they won't move all the family business to where my school is?" grumbled out with a sigh. "i do want that coffee yes."

solana could tell from the very first moment he'd brought it up that this whole thing was a point of tension for him. she had no point of reference for wealth and events like this, and wasn't quite sure how to help him through it since she hadn't done anything like it herself, except to be by his side through it. christmas for her was what most people expected she was sure: dinner with family both close and extended, opening gifts and rummaging through stockings, laughing together in the living room and diffusing arguments over cookies and cocoa and a corny movie.

she was fully dressed in her gown and heels, hair and makeup done up as she came over to him. his words made her nod, and while she didn't know exactly what he was feeling, she figured she could probably guess. he never seemed like the kind of person who would actually like this kind of thing. " you don't need to justify anything to me. you nervous, baby?? " she rubbed his back. " yeah, july's been up with theo since yesterday i think?? she said he got them matching outfits. they're gonna be thing one and thing two, " she grinned. " i can text her and ask her though?? see if they wanna swing by first?? "

july had never been happier for theo's excited energy, she'd been feeding off of it from the moment she'd been back with him. she felt she was going to need it. although she was a performer literally for a living, she'd never been the best at handing having all eyes on her. one would think that coming to this in a matching outfit to his would make it worse, but for for some reason she found getting all jazzed up to be a decent cushion to the nerves that threatened just under the surface. she was trying her hardest not to think about richard being there... this ball was going to be big enough, she hoped they wouldn't cross paths at all so she wouldn't have to put on a face less sincere for him in case anyone took notice. july grinned wide, her previous thoughts fading as he held her. " i feel like a princess, " she giggled. " well i'm personally glad it wasn't, way too much pressure. i think i'd crack like a teapot, "

she had thought she was running late. she'd rushed out of her condo and didn't bother getting ready, just bringing everything she needed with her in one of her family's cars and gave her driver the instructions. yamile had thought she'd be met with annoyance and complaining, but was both relieved and a little annoyed to find that noah was totally asleep. so first, she took her time to get dressed since apparently they had the time ( and even if they didn't, oh well ), then only once she'd strapped on her heels and rubbed on some lidocane on her feet so she wouldn't feel them, did she go to wake him up. " you were snoring, damn near, " she noted, reaching out with her thumb to wipe at the corner of his mouth. " i brought you coffee if you want some. and uh, you might want to look at your phone 'cause it was going off a lot while you were taking your little nap, "

[gophergal]

Gopher writing smut?! Well I certainly wouldn't say no to that~ But also your OCs seem very cool and am intrigued, yell at me about them! Please?

Well it wouldn’t exactly be the first smut I’ve ever written but i’m hyped that y’all like my rat son enough to want smut of him  ANYWAY LISTEN TO ME TALK ABOUT MY TRASH CHILDREN

Ok! So, I’ll start with Theo (Theodora Chester), since she’s the one I have the most info about for sure. She’s 20 years old and very interested in very feminine, often slightly retro, fashion. She’s also known as The Teddybear Killer due to the bear mask she wears to hide her identity. She sees art in death, in the restful way that people look when the life is drained from their eyes. Because of this, she prefers slightly less messy methods, but doesn’t necessarily worry about blood if that isn’t possible. Her go to is poison, but she also might do some strangulation or bludgeoning. Theo’s a hopeless romantic and the type to read all the harlequin romance novels and Nicholas Sparks books she can find. She photographs the crime scenes after doing a bit of posing and composing the scene. She’s in a committed relationship with Ivy Kassir (@hex-sabo-all-hooks ‘s oc).

Nora Richards (35) was training to become a doctor in her younger years, but got caught in an accidental fire that caused serious damage to her body and prevented her from completing her schooling. While recovering from her injuries, she fell in with a group of organ traffickers that convinced her to lend her skills to their group, though she eventually struck out on her own. She became acquainted with Blaise while she was in medical school, but lost touch for many years. Due to his own crimes, she easily found him again to reestablish their friendship. She’s rather quiet and reserved, easily irritated by loud or high energy people. Also a total mom friend, especially to anyone younger than her. She has a complicated relationship with Blaise, but see’s Theo as a little sister of sorts.

Blaise Johnson (30) went into the army when he was 18, but was quickly discharged because of his violent tendencies, refusal to follow orders, insubordination. He’s a sadist, satisfying that urge both sexually and homicidally. He enjoys being in complete control of situations and is known by many as extremely charming. He’s the kind of guy that’ll make you laugh and make you feel like the only person in the world, but deep down you know something is slightly off with how he’s acting. He likes animals, especially dogs. 

[scturnine]

i’m making this list of plots i’ve been wanting to do along with fcs i’m down to use/want to play against. if you want to plot together, send over a dm! you can definitely like this too, but sometimes i just forget to check the notes. my about me is here and my rules are here. i’m very bored, so i’m super active at the moment. * means i really need :))

plots 

* a pop star and her backup guitarist/tour manager/opening act/some sort of somebody that would be on tour. cute flirtation during rehearsals. tour bus antics. late night kisses on the balcony of a hotel room under the moonlight. paparazzi catching the loving gazes. rumors starting to swirl. just yes.

literally any musician/normal person plot pls 

i want a plot where a fan sneaks into a concert by claiming s/he’s one of the band member’s girlfriends (or boyfriends) and the security asks the band member and they’re like yeah we’re dating even though they’re noT AND THEY BECOME LIKE A GROUPIE AND HOOK UP BACKSTAGE OK

muse a and muse b have been paranormal investigators for years, they spend their time speaking about the supernatural world & performing house calls. the two come face to face with a heinous haunting and it has now become their job to expel the spirits from that house. and just when they think they’re finished, they realized the spirit has followed them home.

modern bonnie and clyde x 

* plot based off robbers by the 1975. 1975 robbers inspired plot with two people living off the little money they have and what they knick from the gas stations they rob. super romantic road trips, dangerous robberies, sentimental nights on their floor bed. 

small musician who plays at little venues and the bartender start getting involved and have a cute romance while the musician begins to grow. 

pirate captain (f) and captain of the navy (m) fall for each other after they’ve been playing cat and mouse for months when they come face to face once again and one of them is severely injured. the other helps the injured and their relationship continues to change. 

two actors or musicians, one’s younger and the other is more of a veteran who’s lost their spark. the older one is increasingly jealous of the other who has been winning all the awards lately, and now they have to work together on a project like an album or movie. 

* tbh i kind of want a plot based around two celebs whose characters are a ship in the show they’re on and the’ve always been really close friends, always goofing off behind the scenes and having a grand old time, and are crazy comfortable aroud each other but then the time comes where they have to do a sex scene and it’s like a revelation of “wow they’re really good looking… their hands feel so nice on my skin like this…their lips are so warm and soft… they’re good at kissing….i wonder what this would be like if it were real” and it gets really awkward/cute and they always get flustered around each other because they can’t stop thinking about it and PLEASE

please come at me with some phantom of the opera or old timey forbidden love 1800s type of shit because i live for it and i want to make edits of our eventual ships with photoshop that i just cracked. xoxo i’m a good writer i swear. my rules and about page are on my page, and i have a discord if you’d like to talk or write on there!

oh to be an aggressive hockey guy who gets into fights during matches and has to be patched up afterwords by the exasperated medic who has a soft spot for me who’s always telling me to be careful and sometimes we fight over my reckless attitude and maybe it gets heated one night and the medic yells “i care about you asshole!!” and i need to reevaluate our every single interaction

bodyguard/celeb plot

plot based off killing eve !!

1700s witch and witch hunter

* older mob boss or whatever who runs a few money laundering business falls in love with a 20-something year old bartender at one of his bars 

les mis plot les mis plot les mis plot les mis plot idc WHICH CHARACTERS

any mob plot tbh i love that shit 

wanted opposites 

* nick o’malley

* matt healy 

kendrick sampson

kian lawley

zazie beetz

dylan llewellyn

* thomas doherty

keira knightley

harry fuckin styles

gregg sulkin

victoria pedretti

luke hemmings

* oliver jackson-cohen

jack davenport

richard madden

jodie comer

james norton

jack lowden

theo james

wanted faces 

courtney eaton 

astrid berges-frisbey

adelaide kane

victoria pedretti

margaret qualley

zazie beetz

sydney sweeney

madison eiseman

felicity jones

probably more i’m not thinking of rn but i’m pretty chill 

[draslihanxfahri-bailey]

How do you stop yourself from feeling like a mistake? From feeling like everything was your fault and that no matter how hard you tried, it still wasn't good enough? You weren't good enough? Within a matter of minutes, Aslihan felt like a child again. Wondering: why her biological parents gave her up and left nothing to give the orphanage any indication as to who she is or where she came from? Why they hadn't tried to get her back, especially after having Safiye? And yet, at the same time, feeling so incredibly guilty for thinking about them when she knew how lucky she was to have her family. To have grown up with the Baileys, to have found a mother in Jasmine, a father in Richard, and a brother in Theo, to have felt completely and utterly loved by them. They never judged her for her questions about the people who gave her up nor her curiosity over where she came from; But her own guilt was hard to give up. She felt like a teenager again. Wondering: why did all her classmates hate her and for how young yet how smart she is? Why she was so terrified of telling her professors about all the ways they tormented and hurt her? Why, no matter what she did, she wasn't good enough for them? She felt like the young 20-something year old girl again. Wondering: why wasn't she good enough to be Alex's mother? Why wasn't Theo allowed to be in their lives and was taken far too soon? Why wasn't she good enough for Atlas to talk about their past? Why did Jesse leave her? Why did Ray feel it was better to break her heart than to confide her in about trying to find his sister? Why was nothing that she did good enough?

In a matter of moments, every single question about her own self-worth came rushing back to her. Leaving her to question if she was even worthy of her position at the museum. Logically, she knew she was. And Eli's never-ending support helped with that. Though, perhaps that was the thing about self-worth: some days, it was easier to fall back into your insecurities than to your confidence.

She smiled softly at his words, just a tiny chuckle finding its way to leave her lips, when her features fell. Quickly shaking her head, dark eyes frantic, as she began to say, "Please, baby, don't. Tensions have been high since Lisa sent that parcel for Phoebe here and I really don't want to risk making things worse." Reaching out to cup his face with her hand, her thumb tracing over his cheek, she continued gently, "But... I do appreciate it. So, so much." If she wasn't so worried about the consequences, perhaps she would feel more inclined to her boyfriend having a chat. Knowing that he would do everything in his power to call out the higher-up and raise her up. Yet, while he wasn't able to do so with him, he was able to do so with her. And as upset as she still was and working towards getting down from such an emotional high, she needed this. She needed his passionate words, his protectiveness, his understanding, his ever-ready moment to cheer her on, his compassion, his love. Above all, she needed his love in a moment where she struggled to love herself. She allowed him to pull her closer and she leaned against him, her hands moving to wrap around his neck and finding their way into his dark curls. Intertwining in them as she found herself tethered to the man she loved with her entire being. Tethering back down to earth and away from the self-deprecation and self-hatred that crept back into her mind and heart after such a horrible moment. She took deep breaths as she listened, holding them in and counting to five before letting them out, repeating as much as needed as her eyes were closed. "Okay," she whispered. Opening her eyes to look back at Eli's, finding warmth and strength in them as she nodded. Smiling gently. "Okay... I won't. Thank you, my love. You've always known how to help me to stop beating myself up. I just... hate that, for a moment there, I allowed myself to fall back into who I use to be. Who I've worked so hard to move on from. It's scary how easy that was to do. To fall back into." ||📜@elifalvey

Elijah was able to piece together the context clues of the conversation that must have transpired before his arrival without Aslihan even having to say anything, and the confusion on his face already started to morph into a frown — which was probably more like a scowl, with the way that anger started to bubble up inside of him — by the time she confirmed his suspicions. Of course that idiot that he'd seen stomping around the hallway was the reason for her tears, and hell, he was probably the reason that the entire damn museum appeared to be walking on eggshells too. And of course he couldn't have shown up even just a few minutes earlier to bare witness to the interaction, the work of unfortunate timing landing the musician a front row seat to the aftermath instead. God, he wished that he was faster, was able to get here sooner. Protectiveness easily surged through him the longer that he watched her cry, each new word spilling out of her mouth breaking his heart more and more.

The first thing that came out of his mouth, before he could properly think the suggestion through, was a disgruntled, "Fucking dickhead, probably doesn't know his head from his own fucking arse. Do you want me to go talk to him?" Undoubtedly, it was an utterly horrible idea; any scenario where Elijah shared words with the man that had some semblance of power over Aslihan would surely only make the situation ten times worse. He'd have nothing nice to say, and it would be a disaster. However, he'd do it. He'd do it in a heartbeat as long as his girlfriend gave him the green light, more than pleased to let him know that there wasn't a scenario on this green Earth where she deserved to be talked down to like that. "Baby, no — you're not —" He exhaled a sigh through his nose, putting aside the tissues on her desk to grab both of her hands again. He squeezed reassuringly, held the pressure for a moment before he urged, "Aslihan, look at me. You're not a fuck up, okay? I can put every single cent I own on the fact that you didn't make whatever stupid mistake he's blaming you for — and you know what? Even if by some miracle you did, that doesn't mean he has any right to make you feel like that." He let go to grab the arms of Aslihan's chair instead, pulling her closer towards him as the wheels scraped against the floor. He pressed a kiss to her temple, keeping his lips close as he whispered, "Don't say that." It wasn't true. It was just a manifestation of insecurities that snuck up on her, and he knew that. "You're the perfect person for this project and you know it, honey. Fucking hell, this entire damn place could be in the palm of your hands tomorrow and you wouldn't even break a sweat about it. Whatever ugly thoughts you're thinking up there, they're not true. He's just —" he paused, unsure of which insult was the correct one here. Uneducated? Jealous? That was another reason why he wished that he'd come earlier, so he could've known exactly what he said in order to debunk it all. "— Ridiculous. Completely fucking ridiculous. Don't entertain it."

( @draslihanxfahri-bailey )

[mcttys]

* ･ﾟ ❀ { cis male . he/him } wait ! is that HARRY STYLES we see moving into bloom 36 ? oh no , its just MATTHEW “MATTY” HARRISON ! bloom’s newest tenant is a TWENTY FIVE year old WRITER from CAMDEN, MAINE — yellow spring’s just got a whole lot brighter . if the HOPELESS ROMANTIC isn’t stowed away in their loft , you can almost always find them WRITING AT THE IVY . 

hello !! i’m sam and i am so excited to be here. i have been looking for a place to play my bb matty for quite some time. i’m tweaking his backstory a little bit to fit better with the plot but he is just a soft lazy love sick mess of a boy whomst i love dearly and hope you can tolerate as well ! please see below for some headcanons 

full name: matthew “matty” ryan harrison  age: twenty- five birth date: march 7, 1995, 3:13 pm zodiac: pisces sun, taurus moon, leo rising  hometown: camden, maine religion: raised roman catholic but kind of agnostic now  sexual/romantic orientation: bisexual / biromantic  character parallels: rob gordon (high fidelity the movie), richard papen (the secret history), theo decker (the goldfinch), charlie (perks of being a wallflower) aesthetics: hazy golden afternoons, second hand poetry books, a yearning for the italian country side, worn out vintage t-shirts

pinterest board

writer by choice, romantic by chance: i have this in his pinterest board and i feel like it rly sums him up! he’s such a romantic to the point that it is a flaw. he romanticizes everything which has gotten him into trouble before. i.e....mistaking things that are certainly not love, for love. 

you may say he’s a dreamer: big goals! big ambitions! big lazy boy! he has dreams to move to a big city like new york or paris, to live in a chic and cozy apartment, to write 3/4 of the year and vacation in some beautiful getaway in the south of italy every summer. somewhat unattainable especially considering he’s currently drowning in student loans but a boy can dream?

i kno that u got daddy issues: grew up in a small, picturesque town in maine. you know the boy romanticized it yes sir he did !! but that doesn’t mean he had a perfect childhood. he was an only child of a loveless romance. his mother and father had him at 16 and 17, respectively, and tried to make it work despite the lack of actual emotional connection between them. his dad and he never really bonded, especially since matty was more interested in reading picture books and playing dress up than he was tossing a baseball outside. he’d always been closer with his mother. still, it didn’t hurt any less when he came home from school one day at eight years old, his father’s things gone. it didn’t hurt any less to watch his mom cry over him for days.

money, money, money, must be funny: after spending four years of undergrad  studying literature and creative writing at brown university in rhode island, the kid is swimming in debt. he got involved in some shady businesses for money, doing things he didn’t really want to be doing, and still feels ashamed of today, so he doesn’t really talk about his past much! but, the reason he moved to yellow springs was because he fell in l*ve back in rhode island. it ended up going south, quick, so he packed up his things, took what little savings he had, and found yellow springs. this was when he was twenty-three so he’s been living in the bloom apartments for about 2 years now? 

sloth and the seven deadly sins: matty is a total homebody, but that isn’t to say he doesn’t like going out at all. he does! he’s just kind of a wallflower when he goes out. much more of an observer. he does prefer to stay in tho, with a huge fluffy blanket and a big cup of tea. please...have sleepovers with him. he’s a huge cuddler.

another delusional pisces: yes...he has his head in the clouds okay! sometimes they are so far up in the clouds that it’s hard to tell if he’s living in the same reality as everyone else. something he perceives as true is often totally false. it’s often why he thinks he’s in love after 1 date and everyone else is like that’s called INFATUATION , MATTHEW . 

wash your dishes and take out the garbage!: not a slob but quite messy. his room has clothes strewn all over the place and he can never keep his papers organized. he often forgets tea cups in his room until the entire collection of mugs ends up on his bed side table and he’s like whoops ! and brings them out to the kitchen 

cat: has a cat named cat. basically when he still lived in rhode island for school he came back to his place one day and he realized a cat had followed him home. and he was like shoo cat ! and she didn’t listen . he was like . i can’t take you in here cat . no pets allowed . anyway he ended up having a full on conversation with this cat in the hallway and then the cat followed him inside his dorm ANYWAY and he hid her  and took care of her for the rest of the semester and just called her cat and now that’s her name and he took her with him to yellow springs and they are best friends 

wanted connections: dang u know i want them all but !! let’s think. 

ambiguously gay duo - give me a brotp where everyone is like “are they....you know....” but it’s just PURE , UNADULTERATED FRIENDSHIP  (m/nb) river

ok this is piggy backing off the above because they very well could be the same connection but the schmidt to his nick. matty is lazy and unmotivated but extremely creative and needs someone who is motivated and passionate and they make a good dynamic duo !  inspo: ( x , x , x ) (f/m/nb) zane

cuddle buddy - this can be completely platonic but if any muses love to hang around the house as much as he does !! please give him someone to be lazy with (f/m/nb) sumi

unrequited love - it’s a bad religion !!! give me someone matty is head over heels for but they just........do not feel the same way.  (f/m/nb)

muse - matty is a writer, so i would love to have certain eccentric characters be people he models his own characters after ? i think that would be so cute and this could work for a few connects  :( (f/m/nb) selene

extrovert to his introvert - someone who drags him out to social gatherings, makes him do things outside of his apartment, yknow. forces him to get out and get active ! he probably would not go to parties if it were not for this person (f/m/nb) gemma

exes - matty’s been here for 2 years so this all depends on timelines. but ! give me exes on bad terms ! exes on good terms ! anything ! (f/m/nb) domenica 

ex fwbs / one night stands - on the same note, matty is the type of guy who falls in love in 0.02 seconds but can fall out of love just as fast. this would be one of those circumstances (f/m/nb)

college friends - matty went to brown university in rhode island so if we got any pretentious ivy leaguers in the house say aye 

[queenkeeleyhawes]

REPOST: queenkeeleyhawes’s official ranking of keeley’s male character counterparts

**reposting because i added theo (i forgot him the first time), added martin (mutual friends) because i recently watched it. removed david from top tier after i revisited some things. moved sven to top tier because it’s what he deserves. and moved gene hunt lower because let’s be honest, he’s the worst.**

this list includes: husbands, boyfriends, bosses, and other male coworkers. there is some of her work that i left off because her part was too small. i started this list originally at 5 am a couple of weeks ago. these are my personal opinions. please don’t come for me. most are pretty self-explanatory too but i did list reasons anyway. if you happen to disagree with me, that’s fine, but i’m pretty set in my ways so even if we have a nice conversation, you’re unlikely to change my mind. ** SEMI(?) SPOILERS AHEAD**

Top Tier 

Spiros - hello he literally did everything for her and her family. took such good care of them from day one. literally found them a house when they got on the island. and furniture. and a maid. he got her ring back when she sold it to bribe those thugs in series 1. attempted to tutor gerry when she couldn’t find anyone else. held her when she needed a good cry after hugh nearly died and after florence could have died delivering her baby. watched her children while she went back home briefly. built gerry his zoo. the list goes on and on.

Caspar -  saw her for who she was. was impressed by her mind. “you’re beautiful as well as good. one of those things i can't change. the other i never will.” that is all. 

Fabian - *crying emojis* he literally cared so much for her. always wanted to be with her. literally put her aunt into a home and paid for it when it was not cheap. pretty much disowned his eldest daughter for her. after everything still adored her.

Samuel P. - hoo boy it’s a lot. clearly they made a connection. but he respected her and her marriage to not pursue it further when she put an end to it. was so happy for her when she found her son.

Jarvis - he just loved her so much. the lil hotel kissing scene. the way they looked at each other. ugh. we’re not even going to talk about them singing together in rehearsal. i don’t have it in me.

Dick Dewey - i mean hello. good on the eyes. sweetheart. loved her so much. the hand washing scene. the lake scene. saved her father from the bear trap and let some other dude take the credit.  made all the boys apologize to her via song after they humiliated her in church. 

Danny - let her move in with him when he saw how terrible her living arrangements were. so much more. i really wanted them to end up together.

Theo  - obviously, he belongs in Top Tier because he was always just absolutely wonderful to louisa and to gerry (duh) and he always gave her the best advice. like I truly believe they were best friends and though he didn’t include himself, he was definitely part of the “men she loved the most on the island.” also he’s an “honorary woman.” the end.

Sven - literally saved her son from dying. brought her nets for her olives. let gerry borrow a goat. eventually i liked them together and i think they could have worked...but...you know.

Good Tier

Harry - cool dad. loved their relationship. he took care of her.

Tom - they were very good friends and he treated her so well. he genuinely cared for her as an employee. obviously the real chemistry was there but i'm honestly glad they didn’t go in that direction.

Ray - listen i know he’s an ass but he’s the ass that you actually love. and she changed him for the better. i loved the dynamic between him and alex and as they grew as friends. plus dean and keeley just played off each other so nicely.

Daniel - she just wanted him to call about that damn flat but he finally had his little break through by the end so he can stay and obviously matthew and keeley working together is *heart eyes.*

Richard Shaw - he had his issues but he really did love kathleen and even though he was basically in denial about their son and did some things she didn’t like...he was a good man who took care of her.

David - i mean it was literally his job to save her and he did try (we’re not gonna talk about the end of episode 3). i believe he really put her at ease and was making her change her opinions and views on so many things. but there were issues...we can’t deny that.

Mr Morley - we didn’t see them interact much...but he’s fine.

Chris - he’s fine as co-workers go. i think he definitely respected alex eventually but he wasn’t my favorite.

Will (MI-5) - he was fine. a little boring but fine and he literally was not even cute. really zoe??? he did love her. and she did end up having a good life with him.

Bad Tier

Martin Grantham - almost cheated on his wife for revenge. told her potential boss she had mental health problems just to keep her from getting the job. believed a rumor that she had hired a solicitor so he hired one out of spite. umm the bar scene with their son. everything he did with peter. enough said.

Rob Graham - he almost cheated on his wife. he was in slight denial about their son. didn’t want to get a dog. loved her and he clearly fought to stay with her. a few points for that.

Joe M*cb*th - was just kinda there? not horrible but not great.

Steve A - do i really even need to explain? he’s just so infuriating. you’re probably wondering why he’s not lower on this list...but...well just wait until you see the rest.

Mr Royal - he just generally sucks and also he ruined her dessert in that one lil scene and was just horrible. and he fucking slapped her, knocking her to the ground???? no sir.

Peter - the jealousy i mean come on and he terrorized her. nearly killed her best friend. not to mention i’m about 99.8% sure he stole her cat.

Hugh - ugh he was with her to make vasillia jealous. i don’t care what he tried to say. and i hate that he called her angel when that’s what her husband called her. also i think she just liked the idea of them and then realized how quickly it wasn’t going to work out, especially when he wanted her to go back to england when they hadn’t even been there that long and clearly corfu made her happy?!?!? purposefully hurt spiros.

Miles Mollison - it literally took him hearing his mother calling his wife a failure for him to grow a spine?!?!? and dude your wife looked like that *long sigh*

Trash Tier 

Billy - how many times did she have to ask him about getting a job. the jealousy. he didn’t do anything???? he took care of jake so he gets points for that. but he made her feel like crap for it so….bye. and he told tina even though angela didn’t want to tell anyone.

Michael - literally tried to murder her.

Othello - actually murdered her.

Dennis Hamilton  - crazy, jealous. possessive. made her get an abortion. spent all of her money. just gross.

Alec Wilson - hello he literally had another wife and two other children that she knew of. and he only gave her 5 measly fucking pounds….rude. 

Terry Leather - had an affair with another woman. kinda redeemed himself in the end but not really. 

Hallam - literally had an affair with her sister. forced her to take in lotte when she was terrified she’d lose their baby. was trash to his little sister after making a big deal about getting her out of the asylum. was horrible to blanche. was fine (?) with the staff but not really?? 

Sam Webster - had an affair. got another woman pregnant when that’s something his wife wanted again. literally never believed her about anything. blamed her for alice’s death and then later tried to tell her not to blame herself when she was depressed. horrible to their son. just an all around shitty person.

Roger - jealous of j’s power. racist remark about david. tells her something she specifically said she doesn’t care to hear. and let’s be honest he was probably bopping some blonde 20 year old.

Dryden - wouldn’t leave his wife. forced her to get an abortion. literally picked up a 15 year old at some gathering for a bj. gross gross gross.

Gene - grade A asshole. i literally do not understand why people love them together??? he was the one who saved her as a child??? but then almost hooked up with her in the afterlife??? creepy. no matter how many times i re-watch, i cannot find any redeeming qualities in him or any reason why they should be together. also he was a sexist, homophobic, RACIST pig. i don't care it was the 80s...gross. this one you definitely will not be able to fight me on.

[kaspbrak-tozier-reddie]

Band of Toziers - 4/?- ao3 

Pairings: Reddie, Storis, Byler

Words: 14.5k

Preview:

- The Losers come over as soon as Eddie send them a text, with a 'Code WTF?!' - The Party drive up to Derry to meet Richie after Mike sends them all a text Just a sappy chapter on Mike, Boris and Richie meeting the Party and Losers Club.

We're now getting some Reddie, Storis and Byler stuff now ❤

Notes:

Because there are two Mikes, I'm calling Mike Wheeler 'Mike' and Mike Hanlon 'Michael', when the two are in the same place. If I get lazy or lose track, I may refer to both by their surnames just to lessen the confusion.

This does jump from boy to boy, so I'm sorry but it should get better. I've never done this sort of thing before.

An hour after Eddie had sent a 'Code WTF' (Unique situation - changes per person), Bev rushes over. She doesn't bother with the front door and jumps in through Richie's bedroom window.

"Uhhh, did you make a clone machine?" Bev asks as soon as she picks herself off the floor. She eyeballs the three Richie's in the room, noting the subtle differences between the 3 and picks out her Richie, the only one with the bad eyesight. The other two look like weird variations of Richie's personalities.

Happy Richie:

Okay, now she's reaching, but that's just the vibe he gives her.

Emo Richie:

Fall Out Boy,

My Chemical Romance, and

Panic! at the Disco.

maybe industrial

maybe a plug

double lobe

Bev's reaching, but she wants to have fun before they come by and trash her judgement.

"Hi I'm Michael, but you can call me Mike," the one dressed in bright colours says, holding out his hand towards the young redhead.

"Hi, Mike," Bev replies.

"I'm Boris," the emo looking Richie says.

"Hi, I'm Beverly, but please call me Bev," she replies. Her strong demeanour falters into shyness. Nothing about this is okay. Why hadn’t Richie told any of them about his family?

”So, uh, I’ll explain when the others get here,” Richie says.

As they all wait for the rest of the Losers to arrive, the 5 of them sit in absolute silence. Bev is confused, watching as the three Toziers interacted with each other just by eye glances. She noted a heap of similarities in their demeanours. "Weird right?" Eddie asks.

"Yeah, and here I thought one Richie was enough," Bev replies.

Richie's bedroom door swings open and in walks the rest of the Losers Club. "SUP FUCKERS?!" Bill screams as he enters, then he sees the 3 Toziers sitting around Richie's desk. "Oh shit!" Stan, Ben and Mike spot the 3 Toziers in the room. Completely disregarding Eddie and Bev who are chilling by the window.

"Richard, did you finally make that cloning machine? The one you've been talking about?" Stan asks.

"Nope," Richie replies. "This is my twin brother, Mike." He gestures to the identical twin in the bright clothing, "and this is our cousin, Boris."

As Boris looks at the rest of the Losers, he locks eyes with a blonde-haired boy. He smiles slightly, at him, and the boy smiles back.

Now was Richie's introduction of the Losers, all groaning in dread

"Guys, this is Big Bill, our ring leader. If he jumped off a cliff, he'd expect us all to follow," Richie says as he hugs the leader.

"This is Haystack, he's a gifted poet. It got him a girl that's way outta his league," Richie points to Bev and tussles Ben's hair.

"This is Mike Meyers, you know, that dude from Austin Powers. Mike's our nerd, he lives in the library."

"Finally, we have Staniel or Stanley Urine, either one works. He likes watching birds, at first I thought he liked watching girls but I found out he meant the actual animals. So I promise, he's not a creepoid."

Mike and Boris laugh simultaneously.

"Ignore him," Stan says. "I'm Stanley Uris, that's Mike Hanlon, Ben Hanscom and Bill Denbrough." Stan throws a quick smile to Boris before looking away, blushing.

Beverly catches it in her peripheral vision. Stan's demeanour changed as soon as he saw Boris. "Eddie, do you know if Stan had a crush on Richie at some point?" Bev asks the hypochondriac. Eddie feels a pinch of jealousy running through his veins but still thinks upon it. He wasn't subtle with his feelings, but if Stan did have a crush on Richie, it would've been subtle. The hypochondriac tries to get into Stan's mind but comes up blank.

"I don't think so, why?" Eddie responds.

"I swear I just saw Stan blush."

Eddie sits upright and looks directly at Stan.  He tries to hide his jealousy, and takes his time before saying, "Richie?"

Bev shakes her head, "Boris."

Eddie wants to laugh, that can't be right. Stan is emotionless and often talks about dying or birds. So, it can't be true, that Stan blushed, Bev must've been seeing things. But then he sees it for himself, Stan is laughing with Boris, his cheeks are bright red but he doesn't even care. He elbows Bev and gestures to Stan, she smirks, then turns back to Eddie. "So, what about you and the Trashmouth? Told him yet?"

"No," Eddie lies through gritted teeth. He has to talk to Richie about it first before they tell the Losers.

*

"So, Mike, you seeing anyone?" Ben asks Richie's twin.

"Yeah, my best friend, Will Byers," Mike replies.

"Gee Rich, step up your game and ask out Eddie," Bill says.

"I thought that - " Mike sees Richie shaking his head; he doesn't continue.

Much like Eddie, Richie wants to wait until he has spoken to his hypochondriac boyfriend.

Richie listens in on Mike, learning about his group of friends. Like Richie's group, they have a name for themselves. Instead of the 'Losers Club', Mike's group calls themselves the Party.

There's a shit ton of similarities between the two groups that Richie realises as Mike explains. The Party sit in Mike's basement playing Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) and the Losers Club sit in an underground bunker (clubhouse) doing god knows what, mostly drinking and playing 'truth or dare' or 'never have I ever'.

Then as Mike starts explaining his friends, Richie quickly learns that Mike's their ring leader like Bill's the Losers Club's leader.

Will sounds a bit like Eddie;

Dustin = Richie;

Lucas = Stan;

Jane = Ben;

Maxine 'Max' = Bev; and

Steve = Mike.

Richie got all of that just by Mike's descriptions of his friends. It amazes Richie, sometimes, how fast his mind works. Maybe it also has something to do with his undiagnosed ADHD.

"Anyone want anything to drink?" Richie asks, they all said 'yes'. "Eds, can you help me?"

"How many times, Richard? Don't call me 'Eds'!" Eddie responds and gets up, following his tall boyfriend down the stairs.

*

"Hey, Boris, can I talk to you for a second?" Beverly asks the 'emo-looking' Richie.

"Yeah, okay," Boris replies, he gets up from his seat on the desk and sits on the window sill, beside Bev.

"Do you like Stan?" It catches Boris off guard, it stammers a little. "It's just, he's been blushing like mad and he never really does that." Boris looks towards the blonde-haired boy for the umpteenth time today.

There are several things that Boris notices about the bird expert. The way he stands when talking to people; perfect posture. His hand gestures as he speaks. Boris is not one to believe in 'love at first sight' but he thinks that he can let this one slide. There's just something different about Stanley compared to Theo. He started to like Theo a few months after they started to hang out, maybe it was the drugs or the alcohol but he's been sober for 48 hours now. He hasn't had a craving for weed, coke or alcohol since he laid his eyes on the blonde-haired boy.

Beverly nudges Boris, "you're staring," she states. "I can hook you two up if you want?"

"No thank you, Beverly. I need to get to know Kolibri first," Boris says.

"'Kolibri'?"

"It means Hummingbird in Russian." Boris removes himself and goes back to join Mike and the others.

Bev just lets it sink in, 'Hummingbird'. Why did he call Stan a Hummingbird?

He did make Stan laugh before; it makes sense. Maybe.

Stan looks over to Bev, she quickly signals over. He mutters a quick 'sorry' to Mike, and pads over to Bev. "You called?" Stan says.

"Do you like Boris?" Bev asks, cutting to the chase, she's not in the mood for that airy-fairy bullshit.

"No, maybe, yes? I don't know," Stan sighs.

He too isn't one to believe in 'love at first sight', he finds it bullshit. But he couldn't explain his feelings about Boris any other way.

"He called you a hummingbird, in Russian."

"It's the way I laugh, it sounds like I'm humming." Stan smiles and blushes. Beverly had only ever seen one person do that, and that was Eddie whenever he spoke about Richie. With Eddie, it was a sign of embarrassment and shame because of the bullshit lies Sonia fed him. But Stan? Stan's is because he's shy, he's opening up to Beverly about something that he would normally go to Richie for. Richie would make a joke, to break the tension, but would 100% support him.

"Is it weird? He looks so much like Richie, I need to talk to him." Stan gets up and goes downstairs to where Richie and Eddie are pouring everyone a drink.

*

"Richie, Eddie, can I talk to you both ab - " Stan cuts himself off as he walks in on Richie and Eddie kissing. "Never mind." He does a 180 and heads back to the stairs.

"Wait!" Richie calls, "We'll explain just tell us what you wanted, please."

"Okay, I'll go first," Stan says, he sighs, "I may have developed some sort of crush on your cousin." Eddie's jaw drops; he didn't misread Stan. Richie smiles, which freaks Stanley out. "Why are you smiling?"

"Because it's cute!" Richie exclaims.

"But he looks like you! I just don't think - "

"You worried you'd get feelings for me or something?"  

Stan pauses for a bit and looks at the ground. "I don't know, maybe. You both look alike, he's basically like you. So's Mike."

"Stan, look at me." Stan moves his head up and meets Richie's eyes. "Look me dead in the eyes and tell me that you only see me as a friend."

Stan looks to Eddie, who's still got his lips parted. The blonde boy smiles momentarily at Eddie, then looks back to Richie. He searches Richie's face, looking at the similarities between Boris and him; physically. Okay, so Richie's kinda hot, Stan thinks, but as he gets to the personality, Boris is more chill and conventional. He isn't spontaneous like Richie is.

Richie is bothersome, his jokes are appalling and not to mention his flirting with Eddie. Considering what Stan just saw in the kitchen, he's hoping that Richie will be less vexatious. But then again, even before Eddie, Richie was annoying. Who knew a 5-year-old could be that irritating? Also, he's astonishingly intelligent, barely has to study for anything and will still pass with flying colours (it'll be interesting to see what he'll be like at college). Stan's spent too much time with the trashmouth that he's not fully attracted to him, besides his looks. But that's because Boris, who looks a lot like Richie, opened a floodgate.

"I like you as a friend," Stan says, staring at Richie.

"Also, Stan, please don't say anything to the others about Rich and me, please," Eddie says.

"Wouldn't dream of it, Kaspbrak," Stan replies and grabs a tray off the bench.

*

The three boys carry up a tray each of the drinks, for the Losers, Mike and Boris. Richie gives Stan a wink and shoves him lightly into Boris, causing him to fall directly into Boris' lap. Stan gives a tight embarrassed smile at Boris before giving Richie the middle finger, to which, Richie responds with his own.

Mike watches from the sidelines, looking between both Richie, Stan & Boris. He nudges Michael, "Does that normally happen?" Mike asks.

"Hmm, no, Stan and Richie say one or two words to each other. Then just stare,"  Michael replies. "Richie smiling at Stan? That's not normal."

"When Richie tried to set Stan up with Greg, he smiled exactly ... " Bill trails off and looks directly to Stan, who, by the way. hasn't bothered to remove himself from Boris' lap. "Oh."

Even Ben and Bev notice the smile that Richie is giving Stan, whenever their eyes lock. Everyone in that damn room can see that Richie and Stan are best friends. Mike Wheeler thought that maybe Richie and Stan hated each other but that smile; that god damn smile ... It's living proof that Stan likes Richie's opinion. Because Richie and Stan are best friends.

Bev walks over to the three boys, leaving her boyfriend with Richie and Eddie. "You know, Stan told me that he needed to speak to Richie," Bev says.

"That makes no sense," Michael says. "Stan has never once asked for Richie's advice."

"Whenever Richie and I have our smoke sessions on Fridays, he tells me if Stan had spoken to him," Bev explains. "Not to mention, Richie goes to him before he comes to me."

"Wait, wait. Does that mean that Stan found out that Richie was gay before you did?" Bill asks. Bev nodded. "If you knew for a whole 5 months, Stan knew for what? 5, 6? Months?"

"8, actually." The boys' jaws drop; Stan had kept a secret for 8 months and said nothing?

It puzzles the Losers as to why the two-act like they hate each other when, in reality, they're the best of friends.

Mike is just listening in by this point when he starts to get a little bored - he's not going to lie. He decides to talk with the others on the opposite side of the room.

"How's it going, Mike?" Eddie asks.

"Good, good. This is the chaos that I miss," The Party's leader says. "It was before we met Jane and Maxine, it was just us boys."

"Chaotic as fuck?" Richie chimes in, Mike laughs and nods his head. "Say, Mikey, invite your friends up. We've got the room and I'm sure mom won't care. If not, we can chill at Mike's farm."

Mike shrugs and pulls his phone out from his pocket. He opens the Party's group chat inviting the Party up to Derry.

**** **** ****

A few hours later, the Losers, Boris and Mike all head down to the clubhouse. Showing the two newcomers the ropes. As per usual, Eddie and Richie sit in the hammock, just not head to toe like normal. More like sitting side-by-side, cuddling. "Say, Koromyslo, you and Edward? Yeah?" Boris pipes up. Richie ignores the question, only focusing on the unknown word that sounds a Russian translation of sorts.

"What's a 'koromyslo'?" Richie asks.

"Rocker," Boris says monotonously. "So you and Edward? Yes?" Stan giggles.

"You fucking snitch, Stan!" Richie yelps.

"I said nothing, you two are so obvious!" Stan laughs. "You always sit head to toe. Now you're cuddling?"

"You're insufferable," Richie mutters.

"He isn't denying it," Beverly says. "Did you two finally admit your feelings?"

Richie rolls his eyes and looks at Eddie, the boy beside him nods head slowly with caution. The Trashmouth cups Eddie's face in his hands and kisses him. He goes to lean down a little more, trying his best to get in a comfortable position but accidentally leans too much into Eddie. The hammock rocks dangerously and tips the two boys out.

Richie's glasses are just millimetres from falling off his face and are held up by Eddie's shoulder. Quickly fixing them, he looks up to see Eddie straddling him. "Well, I like this view," Richie says. Eddie groans in disgust.

Why? Goddammit, Richie! Eddie thinks to himself

"Come on guys! Leave this place for our innocent childhoods!" Ben groans.

Eddie pushes himself off Richie, dusting himself down before holding out his hand for Richie. "Damn, then I can't tell you ... eh, who am I kidding? I've jerked off to the thought of Eddie's mom down here," Richie says.

"BEEP BEEP RICHIE!" All 6 Losers groan and Eddie punches him in the arm.

"Why do I like you?" Eddie mutters.

Richie looks somewhat offended but knows that Eddie is 100% joking. The two reposition on the hammock and Richie leans over to grab a comic book. His backpack sits by the wooden post that's barely within arms reach. Bev watches on, silently hoping that the hammock tips over again; that would be priceless.

*

Mike and Boris watch the Losers Club sit around minding their own business. Richie and Eddie are reading a comic together, while Stan is bird watching, from a hole in the ceiling. Bev, Ben, Mike (Hanlon) and Bill are playing cards quietly by the swing.

The only sounds that can be heard are the rustling of pages turning; rope squeaking, as the hammock rocks gently; leaves rustling above them, and birds chirping.

Suddenly a buzzing noise interrupts the silence, every head in the underground bunker turns to Mike. He pulls his phone from his pocket.

"Hey, babe?" Mike answers.

"We'll be there in like a day. We're catching a flight now," Will says on the other side of the call.

"Okay, see you tomorrow, Will. Love you."

"Love you too."

Mike hangs up the phone. "What?" Everyone goes back to what they were doing, leaving Mike to his thoughts.

"It's 6 pm, guys," Bill says.

"Crap! Mom's not going to be happy! I'll be grounded for sure!" Eddie says.

"You're staying at mine, remember?" Richie says as he helps Eddie out of the hammock.

"Shoot, sorry, Rich."

"All good, Eds."

Mike follows but looks back to Boris, who's waiting patiently for Stan. The Wheeler boy sees something in his cousin's eye; a look that he's seen today and every day, for the past year. It's the look of love, no doubt about it. He climbs up the corroded aluminium ladder where Richie and Eddie are waiting. Mike feels a slight wind change and sees Eddie shiver. As if on intuition, his brother wraps his arms, tightly, around the hypochondriac. "Hurry, you two. Eddie will get hypothermia!" Mike calls.

"It's not that - " Stan emerges from the bunker and immediately gets hit with the wind change. "Never mind, it's a wee bit chilly."

Boris quickly hoists himself up and shrugs off his leather jacket, enveloping it around Stan's shoulders. The boy blushes ferociously, as he tugs the jacket's opening together, he leans into Boris for extra warmth.

As the 5 of them walk up to the streets of Derry, Mike feels like he's 5th wheeling, slowing down his pace to walk behind the couples - one couple; Richie breaks his awkwardness.

"I was thinking since your friends and boyfriend are coming tomorrow, what if we go on a camping trip? The 6 of us? The week before we're set to go to college?" Richie says.

"Hang on Rich, 6 of us?" Stan asks.

"Well, wouldn't want Boris to be 5th wheeling now, would we?" Richie replies, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Yeah, but why me?" Stan states.

Richie simply points to the leather jacket that's enveloped around the blonde's shoulders. Stan reddens again, leaning into Boris to conceal his embarrassment, but that only makes it worse.

**** **** ****

The following day, Mike awaits the arrival of his friends. All but Dustin and Lucas were coming, due to last-minute college plans and family vacations, the two couldn't make it; but Max, Will and El are coming. The three of them are catching a taxi into town. "When were you friends supposed to get here?" Maggie asks Mike.

"9 am," Mike replies, still pacing impatiently. The clock on the wall reads '11 am', the Party is 2 hours late and Mike's starting to worry. "Maybe their flight's delayed."

Maggie nods, hugging her second son briefly before heading off to work, leaving Mike and Richie alone, in the kitchen. The Wheeler boy checks his phone again for the 10th time within the past 20 minutes, still no messages from his friends. Richie makes another cup of coffee for himself, putting himself in the way of Mike's pacing line.

"Check the Snapmap," Richie says, getting annoyed with his brother's pacing.

"I don't have snap chat, and neither do my friends," Mike replies.

Abruptly, a boy comes down the stairs in nothing but boxers, huffing out in annoyance. Boris could hear the two of them, all the way upstairs. He's usually a heavy sleeper so how the fuck is Eddie still asleep?

"What even is social media?" Boris replies groggily.

"Did you seriously just get up?" Mike ripostes.

"Yes, now quiet. I need my normal 4 cups of coffee before anyone talks to me," Boris says and grabs the pot of coffee, pouring it into a mug that he pulls from the cabinet above. Richie and Boris leave the kitchen to wake up elsewhere, allowing Mike to deal with his chaotic crisis.

*

Finally, 3 hours later, the Party shows up, "What the hell?" Mike says as he stands on the bottom-most stair. "Where have you guys been?!"

"Our taxi broke down, we had to walk all the way here. No reception." Will puffs out.

"Mike, who's at the - oh, hello," Richie says as he goes down the stairs. "I take it, you're Will." Will just about faints when he sees Richie and it doesn't help that Boris exits from the kitchen, causing poor Will to faint.

Richie yells for Eddie with his 2 fanny packs (that he no longer uses) but still has first aid supplies.

The feisty young lad comes bounding down the stairs with a cold and wet cloth. "Well, lay him down," Eddie says. "And Boris, Richie, mind if you leave the room? I don't want him to faint again." The trashmouth and the emo leave the room, while Eddie tends to Will.

"Richie wasn't kidding," Mike says.

"Yeah well, you pick up a few things when your mom makes you think you're sick when you not," Eddie retorts; he turns his head to look at the girls. "Hey, I'm Eddie, Mike's told us all about you."

"I'm El, and this is Max," the brunette says. "Who were those boys?"

"The one with the glasses is Richie, my boyfriend and Mike's brother. They had no idea that the other existed until yesterday." Eddie explains. "The other, dressed in black, is Boris, their cousin. He was adopted by a Russian family when his parents died. His story is super morbid."

Will stirs on the couch and Mike rushes to take Eddie's place beside Will, keeping the cool cloth on his head. "What happened?" Will asks.

"You fainted, guess my brother and cousin are a bit too much," Mike says. "You okay?"

Will nods and Mike leans down to peck his lips.

"Don't worry, I'll bring them out, just don't faint on me again," Mike says.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Will replies, the boy spots Eddie in his peripheral vision. "I'm Will Byers."

"Eddie Kaspbrak," Eddie replies and takes the cloth off Will's forehead.

Mike walks back out with Richie and Boris; the two boys behind him, scratch the backs of their heads nervously as they are introduced to each of the Party members. So as it turned out, Mike and El dated before Mike got with Will. It had taken El moving away with the Byers for Mike to realise that he wasn't in love with El, he was in love with Will. "I had spoken to El, about it," Mike says, "thankfully she was understanding."

"We were better off as friends anyway," El states.

It's awkward for a moment, and Richie thinks of a good icebreaker. "Shall we head down to the quarry?" Richie asks.

"Where Koromyslo?" Boris asks.

"You know where we were yesterday?" Boris and Mike nod, "It's a few yards further, it's where we like to go swimming."

"Ahem!" Eddie fake coughs.

"Sorry, most of us, like to go swimming. Eddie hates it because there are germs," Richie fixes. "But, babe, let me just say that there are germs everywhere you go, including a hospital."

Eddie rolls his eyes. "If we're going, we need swimwear," Eddie says. El and Max look at each other, "Shit, Richie maybe we should go and get Bev."

Richie whips his phone out and immediately starts texting the redhead and not even 2 minutes later, she's bursting into the Tozier residence.

"I heard two gals needed swimmers," Bev says. "Hello, I'm Beverly Marsh, the only girl in the group of 7 dirty annoying, chaotic boys."

"Piss off Marsh, I just wanted the swimmers. You're not coming," Richie spits, then starts laughing and as does Bev. "Sorry, she can be a bit of a handful sometimes. Ignore her, she's just happy that she has other females to talk to."

The redhead sticks her tongue out at the trashmouth, only to get a middle finger in return. "Well Bev, I'm Maxine, Max for short. And this is El," the other redhead says. "I think we're going to get along just fine." Bev leads them up the stairs, letting the 4 boys wonder what the fuck just happened.

"Girls." They all said simultaneously.

**** **** ****

As the lot of them finally made it to the quarry, they are aced with the massive cliff. "Is it safe to jump?" Max asks.

"We do it all the time," Richie says.

"Yeah, after Bev constantly shows us up," Eddie replies and on cue the redhead pushes past everyone, jumping straight into the murky green water below. Boris goes next, somersaulting into the water.

"Oh come on!" Richie cries and goes to do a run up.

"No! Don't you dare, that's dangerous"' Eddie says sternly, Richie gestures to Boris. "You're clumsy and idiotic; he's probably done a heap of practice. Do. Not. Do. It."

Taking his boyfriend's advice he just does a basic run and jump, landing feet first in the disgusting water below.

Since Eddie is left with the newcomers he links them up, standing in between El and Will, taking both their hands in his and guiding them forward. Mike spits out the shitty water that got into his mouth and as does Eddie.

Boris, Bev and Mike immediately start to splash each other and wrestle, in the water; while Richie sits on the sandbank to get to know the others a bit.

Max starts off, talking about how she beat Mike's highest score on an arcade game. It was the initial reason as to why she thought Mike hated her. ' 'MadMax' beat my high score '. Richie and her, got talking about skateboarding, he had always wanted to try it but never got around to it. "I'll show you, I taught El not too long ago and now she's a pro," Max says.

"Well, in that case, sign me up," Richie replies.

El's next. She had fled the orphanage when she was 12/13, she met Mike, Dustin and Lucas in the woods one rainy night while they were looking for Will. Richie starts to laugh as El said that Mike hid her in his basement for a solid few months without no one knowing besides Dustin and Lucas.

Before Will can say a word, Richie feels cold water on his now partially dry hair. "You're dead Marsh!" Richie bellows.

"It wasn't Marsh this time," Eddie teases.

"I don't care that I love you, you're going down Kaspbrak!"

Will, Max and El watch on as Richie and Eddie tackle each other, laughing.

[calcetineys]

Theo fails.

Note: There’s some references in here that are kind of important, but if you’re not familiar with it, basically all you need to know is that the people they’re talking about are snakes and they love each other.

Stiles hadn’t expected to get rid of Theo like this. 

To be honest, he was sort of hoping for something a little more poetic, unexpected but completely expected, something ridiculous like the rest of this goddamn mess. The scenario he thought most likely would be Scott standing over Theo like he had with Belasko and telling him that he could either run or get something else broken.

Stiles would even be there a few paces behind Scott and say his dutiful line again: “I’d run.”

But something even more expectedly unexpected happened. 

Theo was dying because he was a failure. 

After what- nine years of doing just fine, suddenly his body decided ‘yup, that’s enough of that’, and started to shut down. And at a very inconvenient time too, when they were fighting (trying to survive) the Doctors. 

Probably the only reason that those sons of bitches hadn’t offed this other son of a bitch was because they didn’t have their usual offing equipment. Stiles supposes Theo should count his blessings, but then he remembers why euthanasia is a thing, because Theo breathing is disgustingly damp and his ears are bleeding silver. 

He figures the whole thing has to be pretty painful. 

Then Theo does that thing he does where he makes things difficult for Stiles, and calls his name, despite how clearly it hurts him to speak, what with all the blood and bile and mercury Stiles is sure is building up in the back of his throat.

“Stiles,” Theo says again, this time trying to lift a hand slick with mercury. 

“Yeah, alright,” Stiles says, ducking down to avoiding getting hit by the Doctors and crawling his way to the dying chimera, because he really does not want to hear his name bastardized by that squelching voice again. 

But Theo never does what Stiles wants, and he says his name again as he leans over Theo, his voice horrifying and relieved that Stiles actually came to him.  

Stiles really doesn’t want to look at the matching expression.

So he tries lifting Theo’s shoulders to get him into a sitting position, which is a lot harder than Stiles thought it would be, and he only started doing it because he figured it wouldn’t be an easy task and thereby take up a lot of Theo’s Dying Hour and relieve Stiles of having to, you know, deal with that. 

“Alright, well, now you’re less likely to suffocate by your own internal fluids,” Stiles says once Theo’s in a more or less seated position against the wall. “Now you can, um, die with dignity? What do doctors says here?”

“Stiles,” oh, well, there goes that hope. 

“Uh, yeah, I’ll listen if you quit saying my name,” Stiles says, wincing because he should be gentler, because Theo’s dying but well. It’s Theo. 

He reminds himself that Theo did call out to him, literally with one of his dying breaths, and he can’t imagine that the dying boy next to him thinks there’s anything to gain from doing such a strange thing. 

Stiles wonders if that means that everything Theo’s tried to convince him of since the whole ‘hey, I’m actually a chimera and you were right about me all along, but now let me tell you why you were also wrong’ reveal happened. 

Unless he’s going to ask Stiles to avenge him or something.  

Yeah, Stiles tells himself. That’s really more likely to be the reason.

Except- Theo doesn’t ask for Stiles to go kill someone for him, or draw an X on the dusty floor with his blood or breathe out any names that Stiles should definitely remember and find the people to whom said names belong and make a nightmare of said people’s lives. 

No, he says a different name for a very different reason and reaches his hand towards Stiles again, more up than out, because his position really was on the ‘less’ side of ‘more or less sitting’. 

He’s so pathetic that Stiles lets him take his hand, and doesn’t even fully wince at the wet feeling of Theo’s skin.  

“I-” Theo says, heaving a big, horrible breath. “I wanted to be your Richard.”

“…is that some weird way of saying you wanted to be my dick?” Stiles asks, because he doesn’t understand what Theo could be talking about, especially when he’s dying. Although, maybe Theo would have had better results if he pretended to be someone named Richard instead of pretending to be the same boy Stiles and Scott knew in grade school. “Because, Theo, depending on which meaning of the word you’re going with, you definitely are.”

He looks up at Stiles, a pained smile on his face and grips his hand tight. “I wanted- wanted to be your Richard. I wanted you to be my Emily.”

Stiles blinks at him. 

“Gilmore Girls references? Now?”

Theo nods, the motion seeming difficult. 

“Wait, why are you Richard, aside from the dick discussion, and the fact you have more facial hair than me? Because I meet more of the criteria,” Stiles says, not completely sure why he’s humoring the awful person slumped in front on him. “I’m taller, and Emily was the main one scheming which- come on, is a you thing more than it is mine.”

“Because,” Theo says, voice wet, likely due to the blood bubbling up at his lips. “Emily outlives him.”

Stiles stares at him, sort of expecting those to be his final words, because they are sufficiently dramatic- a favored quality for Theo. It would even be sort of poetic, because the last thing Theo would say before death was something about life, and well, Stiles didn’t think he’d see the last of Theo without some sort of flair. 

But Theo’s eyes don’t roll back or go dark, his chest still heaves and he keeps looking at Stiles, waiting for a reaction. 

“Well… I appreciate the sentiment,” Stiles says, and it’s not really a lie, because that’s probably the nicest thing Theo’s ever said to him. That Stiles believed, anyway.  “Uh, did this revelation come before or after the whole- choking on mercury thing?”

Theo makes this god-awful noise, and Stiles is pretty sure it’s supposed to be a laugh. 

“Before,” Theo says, sucking in a sharp breath and clutching at his side with his free hand. “Way before.”

“Ah.”

“Stiles,” Theo says, somehow managing to sound amused instead of sounding like death. “I’m dying. Give me a little more than that, please.”

“You know, I would have thought it more likely that someone would beg me to shut up with their dying breath, not to talk more. I’m going to tell people about this when they say I talk too much.”

“Glad to be of service,” Theo sounds like he means it. 

“Uhh…” Stiles says, the sound more like a groan than a word.

“I know you don’t believe me-” Theo starts to say, only to choke off and yeah, maybe the Doctors were actually merciful to put their chimeras down when they started leaking mercury. 

“Oh, if I had dime for every time you said that to me,” Stiles says, partly so Theo doesn’t have to speak and mostly because it’s true. “Might be able to get the Jeep out of the shop.”

Theo sucks in a breath, grinning, teeth grotesque.  

“New seat covers too. Or well, seat covers period.”

“Maybe an air freshener to hide the smoke smell?” 

Stiles has to look away, because he doesn’t want to think about that night. 

Except, Theo makes a sound that Stiles guesses is a whine, and his eyes are pleading as Stiles looks back at him, as though Stiles turning away pained him.

“Stiles-”

“Hey, we had a deal, remember? I listen to you dying and you don’t say my name in your truly horrific dying voice.”

“Guess I won’t be-” Theo says, trying to sit up more, “-keeping my end of this deal.”

Stiles presses his lips together and looks away again.  

“I would have, though,” Theo says, like he wants Stiles to look at him again. And Stiles doesn’t want to admit that he sounds genuine.. “I would have- mm- been a good Richard.”

“I can never watch this show again,” Stiles mutters. 

“No- ugh- watch it-” Theo seems really determined and Stiles starts to panic. That can’t be a good sign. “I would have been.” 

“Would, could, should,” Stiles says quietly, not even to be cruel, looking at Theo’s hand in his.  

“I should have,” Theo chokes out, and the tears on his face are clear now, instead of silver. “I should have.”

“Yeah, well,” Stiles says, glancing towards the sounds of the fighting. He’s sort of surprised that when he looks back, Theo’s still alive, because, again, he’s still expecting clichés. “Nice to know you realize I’m at least the consolation prize.”

“You’re not,” Theo pants. “I should have- huug. Should have realized- ahh- that the rest didn’t matter.”

“I’ll say I believe you,” Stiles says, now not knowing if he’s the one lying or not. 

Theo smiles, and it’s not all grotesque teeth this time. It seems happy, so maybe Stiles is telling the truth, or maybe Theo’s too gone to listen for a lie. 

“You know, this is probably the worst thing you’ve ever done to me,” Stiles says. 

“Dying?” Theo asks, holding an amused expression for a longer than Stiles would have thought possible. 

“Like this. Clutching my hand, telling me all your regrets. Ruining Gilmore Girls for me.”

“That’s- what you’re worried about?”

“I guess. I’m still not great at handling the whole death thing. I should be, considering how much I have to deal with it.”

“Sorry.”

“Yeah, I bet.”

“I am, Stiles.”

“Again, with the name! I’m going to have to start going by my given name, okay?”

“Mi-”

Stiles puts his hand over Theo’s mouth. “Don’t.”

Theo just closes his eyes. Then Stiles feels his mouth move, hears a little sound and there’s not much he’s ever been certain about with Theo, but he knows the dying boy is mouthing sorry again.  

“Thanks,” Stiles says, because it’s more than he expected. 

And Theo starts throwing up. Right into his hand, which is- 

“Lovely,” Stiles says, no heat in his voice, because he’s way past that point. “You know, that wasn’t even really throwing up? It was more like a waterfall coming out of your mouth. God, I thought I had enough nightmare fodder before.”   

Stiles didn’t think Theo could make a more horrific noise than he already had. 

Stiles should have known better.

It’s a laugh, he knows, but it’s little more than a gurgle and then Theo does something even worse.

“God- gah- I love you.”

“Well, now, this is the worse thing you’ve ever done to me.”

“I wanted- a life with you.”

“And I want you to stop talking about this.”

“I do.”

“Stop.”

“Okay,” Theo gasps. “I will. Just- ugh- hold me. And I’ll stop.”

Stiles stares at him. He should just crawl away.

He doesn’t.

He doesn’t expect Theo to actually stop talking, and he’s finds he’s right, because as soon as he has Theo leaning back against his chest, he looks up at Stiles and starts speaking again.

“I love you- if you believe one thing- that’s it.”

“Okay,” Stiles says, not thinking it will actually get him to stop.

“Look at me,” Theo pants, his face slick with sweat. “You are loved. You.”

Stiles pauses, because putting it that way- putting it that way-

“By you. You’re one of the only people to ever say that to me. What does that say about the kind of person I am?”

But his eyes are stinging, because right now the kind of person he feels like is someone powerless. Someone who couldn’t do anything, and he’s tired of it. He can’t even save the bad guy’s life and those are notoriously easy to save.

He couldn’t save the people he did love and he can’t save the ones that-

But Theo’s still dying and he can’t do anything about that. He can’t lie, and won’t lie and tell Theo things he’s not even asking to hear. But-

Stiles presses his mouth against Theo’s wet forehead and keeps it there because he can’t handle pulling it away and having to acknowledge that the blood and mercury on Theo’s skin is now also on his own.  

“Best person-”

His voice makes Stiles believe he means it.

“Best,” Theo breathes again.

“Stop,” Stiles whispers back, the metallic taste finally forcing its way into his mouth.  

And Theo does.  

Later, Stiles will tell himself that he doesn’t know when Theo actually dies, that it was too loud, his ears too weak, his mind too distracted.

He’ll tell himself that he believes it.

[marywardvvell]

Theories: Zelda isn’t pregnant on P3 like some want her to be. I’m praying she’s not. Hopefully Zelda won’t revert back to being mean to Hilda b/c of her marriage. I want them to at least talk about methuselah trying to sexually coerce Hilda (I’m hoping they will but ppl keep telling me otherwise). We’ll get more of Hilda/Dr.Cee. ♥️ Blackwood might die but at whose hands I don’t know?? I feel like Nabrina will be saved. For some reason I want more Hilda/Theo scenes. I don’t know why tho💀.

oooooo there’s a lot here so I’m going to reply with bullet point.

Oh people think she’s pregnant? I thought she was before p2 came out, because the spoon scene, but I don’t think she is for p3. Why do people think she’s pregnant?

I agree, I hope Zelda is nicer to Hilda now too, I get that they’re supposed to be evil or whatever but it’s hard to watch

PLEASE LET THE SPELLMAN SISTER TALK THINGS OUT.

Yes more Dr. C and Hilda! my favorite hetro couple on the show lol, too pure for this world

i want Blackwood to die but I”m not sure if he will? Richard was there during the finale so ??????????

idk if I agree or disagree about nabrina yet, I’m still weighting all the info, I do think it’s going to be angsty for them in p3 at least

Yes PLEASE all the Hilda and Theo scenes. they should team up to fight a demon or something.

send me all your theories/unpopular opinions/caos thoughts!

[i-fan-misha-do-you]

Just A Girl in Arkham (Jerome x reader) Part 2

Word Count: 2130 Warnings: ‘therapy’, blood, Galavans, murder. Take your pick. A/N: Okey Dokey, so obviously there will be more than two parts, sorry most of this was dialogue from the episode, and don’t worry, you’ll be back more next chapter.

It had been three weeks since you’d met Jerome. In those three weeks, you’d killed four people. Three guards and one patient. The asylum only knew about two of those murders. But, back to solitary you would go.  You were sitting at a table with Jerome, straight jacket finally gone, when four guards charged into the room. They seemed to be looking for someone, and you quickly realized that someone was you. Ducking under the table just in time, you pulled Jerome under with you once they had gone.  “What’s with the disappearing act, doll face?” He asked in amusement.  You pressed a finger to your lips in response. Once you were sure the guards were out of hearing range, you answered him.  “Those four souls that will not be missed,” you hinted. Jerome immediately caught on.  “Well sugar, you know I think you’ve got balls to keep killing inside this mad house,” he said in admiration, “but you had to have known they’d find ‘em sooner or later.” You sighed.  “I know, but they were just so…,” you made a face as you tried to find the word you were looking for, “there. Ugh, so annoying, and nagging. And that one creep with Babs…”  “Hey, hey,” Jerome consoled you, rubbing your arms up and down in a comforting way, “it’s ok. You’ll be fine.”  “No, I won’t, J.” You shook your head. “If I go back to solitary, I don’t get to see you.” He thought for a moment before a wide grin split across his face.  “Well, we both know you’ll eventually be found, so how about a ‘going away’ surprise?” He offered. You slowly nodded and Jerome clapped his hands together excitedly.  “Ok, close your eyes.” He instructed. You did so, and a moment later you felt his lips pressed against yours. They were slightly chapped, but still soft. You hummed and responded immediately. After several moments, you pulled away, both of you breathing heavily.  “Hmm, you’re not too bad at that Valeska. Guess I’ll have to keep you around.” You said with a grin.  “Ditto for you, sweets.” He said, tossing you a smile. At that moment, Barbra, (whom you had been getting along smashingly with.) decided to poke her head under the table.  “Umm, Y/n, hun. Yea, they know you’re in here. I’d go peaceably. They’ve got sedatives and tasers.” She warned. You turned back to Jerome and smirked.  “Showtime, babe.” You said, kissing him square on the lips one last time before crawling out from under the table.  You stood up and instantly caught the guards eye.  You noticed your doctor there, as well as about five more guards.  “All this for me?” You asked, placing your hand over your heart and pretending to be flattered.  “Patient number 6663, come forward with your hands on your head. Move slowly.” A large guard standing across the table from you instructed. You just grinned and shook your head, letting your hand drop. Out of the corner of your eye you could see Jerome get out from under the table.  “Sorry kid, no go.” You said, still smiling. Your doctor spoke up.   “Y/n, please do as they ask.” He pleaded. “You’ve really been doing so much better.”  “Hmm,” you pretended to think about it. “Nope.”  You jumped up onto the table and then the guard, wrapping your legs around his neck and squeezing until he fell over from lack of air. You stood and whipped your head around to find another guard advancing toward you. You dove to the floor and rolled before kicking his legs out from under him. Just as you were getting up, you felt something sting at your back, then your side, then two on your front. You felt the stings turn into jolts, and realized too late that they were electrocuting you with their tasers.  This incapacitated you long enough for them to hold you down and force you into a transfer chair. Two hauled you up and forced you to sit in the chair while the others strapped down your wrists, forearms, ankles, calves, and thighs. Another strapped your head to the chair using a band that went over your forehead, and one that went around your chin.  “Ha ha,” you laughed humorlessly. “Ya got me!” You said loudly. Although you were being forced to look in the same direction, you could see guards holding Jerome and Barbra back with your peripheral vision. You contemplated telling them you’d be fine, but decided against it when the guards formed a circle around you, tasers pointed in your direction.  Though you knew it made you seem even more unstable, you laughed softly the entire time the guards transported you to the solitary level of the asylum. However, when you stopped, you were not where you expected to be. Instead of the normal dingy cell with no windows, you were in front of a large door that read: ‘ELECTROTHERAPY’.  You furrowed your eyebrows and sent a glare at your doctor.   “I’m sorry, Miss L/n, I know I said I wouldn’t, but we’re running out of options for you.” Your doctor sighed as he opened the door. The guards brought you into the ‘therapy’ room, but if you were being honest, it looked more like a torture room. Everything was metal, except for the walls, which were painted stark white.   A nurse hurried over and gave you a shot of a blue liquid. You growled at her and she scurried away quicker than she’d come.  The drug affected you almost immediately. Looking around, everything was either fuzzy or blurry, the objects and people just shapes to you. The guards waited for the drug to reach maximum power before loosening the straps on you. You tried to get up and run, fight, do anything, but the second you stood up your legs quit, and three of the guards caught you roughly. They shoved you into a large metal chair, and although you were numb, you felt the cold metal biting at your skin. It wasn’t unlike a dentist’s chair; someone pushed a button and it laid back like a table. You felt your arms and legs being grabbed and held down by large hands. When the hands left your skin, thick strips of leather replaced them.  And just like that, the drugs wore off. You could instantly feel heavy straps on your torso, up your legs, and down your arms. You smirked up at your doctor, whom you could see clearly now.  “This is gonna be fun.” ---------------------------------------------------------

 Jerome bolted upright. There it was again. It hadn’t stopped since you’d been taken down to solitary. He winced as it sounded yet again. Your screams, followed by your laughter. Not the laughter Jerome loved to hear; not the way you’d laugh when he told you a joke, or when you‘d plotted killing the guard who kept harassing Barbra. It was forced. Pained.  And it broke Jerome’s heart.  He fell back onto his stiff mattress, covering his head with his pillow. How your screams managed to carry up to the first level, Jerome had no idea. He could only imagine what they were doing to you, and it was killing him. ------------------------------------------------------------

 Two weeks. Two weeks you’d been in solitary. Jerome had started to plan out a way to go see you. If this was torture for him, he couldn’t imagine how it was for you. Especially since you were the one actually being tortured.  He was currently sitting at the table with Richard, Barbra, Greenwood, Helzinger, and Dobkins when Barbra suddenly announced she was bored.  “I’m bored without Y/n. This is no fun. Someone tell a story.” She said, looking around from her position; laying on Richard’s lap. Said man spoke up after a moment, and began telling a story about playing polo in collage.  Not very far into the story, a fat, pale man with strange hair stumbled into the common area.   “I am Zaardon, the Soul Reaper!” He announced loudly, as if he expected everyone to be afraid of him. Everyone simply stared at him for a moment before going back to what they were talking about, Richard returning to his story. He tried again to make himself seem important, getting up on the table to do so. Still, no one paid him any mind, that is, until he fell over. Barbra shot him a semi-interested expression, and everyone else followed suit once a blue smoky substance began to pour out of his mouth.  Barbra placed a hand over her mouth and began coughing violently. Richard next, then Jerome, until everyone was convulsing fiercely. One by one, they dropped like flies. The last thing Jerome made out before going dark was a woman walking in through the gates. --------------------------------------------------------

    “What the hell is this place?” Greenwood was the first to speak, bringing anyone who was still asleep into consciousness. Jerome frowned as he noticed he was strapped to a trolley type piece of metal.    “It ain’t Arkham, anyhow. Things are looking up!” Jerome said as he looked over at the cannibal, his face lighting up at the end of his sentence.  “Welcome!” A new voice brought all eyes to the man who’d just walked in. “Everyone, my name is Theo Galavan, this is my sister, Tabitha.” He gestured to the beautiful African American woman behind him. Some of the boys started making inappropriate noises at her, and Theo held up his hand to silence them.  “I understand you’re feeling confused, scared, a little groggy, but please relax. Today is the first day of a wonderful future for all of you if you want… well now, the question is, who are you?” He began walking down the line. “The world sees criminal lunatics, I see brilliance, I see charisma, and power...” he trailed off as he approached Barbra. “I see power.” He said softly.  “Yes, my man, exactly,” Jerome interrupted, smiling widely,” it is so spooky, that is me to a T. These other bozos, I don’t know, but you’re singing my song.”  “Quiet, Jerome. That’s enough.” Richard cut him off in a scolding tone.   “Imagine a group of brilliant outlaws like yourself, each selected for their unique ability all working together as a team, imagine the synergy, imagine the impact…Gotham would tremble before you.” Theo finished his little speech, walking up to Richard. “Well that sounds fabulous,” Barbra spoke up, gaining Theo’s attention,” but I’m not a brilliant outlaw, I just have, hmm,” she thought for a second,” issues.” She decided.  “You have ferocity, and beauty, and desire, and that’s enough. Come with me Barbra,” Theo spoke, hooking a finger under Barbra’s chin,” whatever you want in the world, it’s yours.”  “Theo, that’s your name, right?” Richard piped up, drawing Mr. Galavans attention away from Barbra. “Theo, you’re getting way ahead of yourself here, first of all, keep your hands off her, second this whole magic team, I gotta pass. I don’t take orders. Good luck on everything though, it’s an intriguing concept.”  “This is very disappointing,” Galavan said, frowning.  “Oh,” Richard scoffed, “fair play. You want a reward for busting us out of Arkham? I am grateful. How does a million bucks sound, pretty good? I can get it for you today, as soon as I hit the street.”  “Money’s not the concern. I had such high hopes for you, and any anticipated sexual jealousy that poisons the well…you have to go, Tabitha will see you out.”  A few men untied Richard, and he shook out his shirt before walking towards Barbra.  “Miss Kean is coming with me.” He stated.  “Oh, she doesn’t want to go where you’re going.” Theo said in a bored tone. At that moment, Tabitha snapped the whip that had been at her side up, and encircled Richard’s neck. Pulling back harshly, she threw him on the ground in front of her while everyone watched. She briskly walked over to him and straddled him, pulling out a knife and stabbing it repeatedly into his chest. Blood splattered across Greenwoods face. Barbra was breathing heavily, and Jerome was laughing at the scene in front of him.  Tabitha looked up at her brother with a dark smile on her face.  “Anyone else want to leave?” Theo asked. Everyone shook their heads slightly.  “Good.” He said, turning to go.  “Mr. Galavan!” Jerome called after him, and he froze, turning to face the ginger. He raised an eyebrow at him and waited for him to speak.  “I have a request.” Jerome said, smiling.

[ourreferences02]

seventy-three questions

I guess this is like if some random person wanted to interview my kids, idk. Ignore how some things capitalized on their own, ik it’s very annoying. not to mention, I didn’t bold or italicize anything. there’s too many words in this post it would take too much time, sorry. have fun reading all of this

q: what’s your favorite movie you’ve seen in the past month?

Richard: Richard peter Johnson. it’s about me. for sure.

bella: to the bone. I forget if they have a trigger warning. I don’t know, I liked it.

calum: john wick. there’s a lot of cool stuff

leia: frozen and moana!!!

q: favorite animal?

Richard: I honestly don’t know. for shits and giggles, maybe cougars

bella: um... when I was little I really liked birds, bunnies, lions, and lambs

calum: dragons are super strong and op

leia: puppiessssssss

q: best friend’s name?

Richard: sam

bella: i’m not very close with anyone. ally, I guess

calum: kirk junior

leia: luke

q: book you plan on reading?

Richard: the catcher in the rye

bella: pride and prejudice

calum: I want to get the guiness book of world records for 2017

leia: the blue fairy book. it’s about fairy tales

q: something that positively shaped you?

Richard: sick as it sounds, my girlfriend set herself on fire and had to go to the hospital. it was because of me, and when she made it out of that experience with no burns it somehow got me to be more appreciative and inspired me to stop being such a dick sometimes

bella: theo.

calum: I heard about LeBron james

leia: life

q: biggest secret?

Richard: don’t have one, really

bella: it wouldn’t be a secret if I told someone, would it?

leia: I found out that my best friend is sleeping beauty! but a boy!

calum: not telling. i’m not retarded.

q: on a scale of one to ten, how excited are you about life right now?

Richard: ten? idk

bella: 6... hehe

calum: five is average. so five.

leia: a bagillion gazillion and one

q: iPhone or android?

Richard: androids have potato cameras

bella: iPhone. I guess if they’re too expensive an android would be okay

calum: aren’t andriods robots

leia: aye aye captain hahahhahhahhahhaha

q: twitter or Instagram?

Richard: twitter

bella: definitely Instagram

calum: I like jetpack joyride

leia: graham crackers?

q: who should everyone be following right now?

Richard: me. just kidding, um... my friends tyrone and Tanisha. they’re living on their own for the most part, with two twin babies, at fifteen. kudos

bella: not kim Kardashian.

calum: stalkers. show them how they make other people feel.... oh sorry, wrong kind of following

q: favorite food?

Richard: I can’t come up with something so i’m just going to say pizza

Bella: i like chicken alfredo pasta. I’m not sure if it’s my favorite though

Calum: hot dogs

Leia: crackers

q: least favorite food?

Richard: cornbread. I’ve seen timmy wolf down a whole loaf. It was huge. There was a lot of blowing chunks after. Scarring, tbh

Bella: never liked green beans

Calum: eggplants, carrots, and bananas

Leia: steak is hard for me to chew sometimes

q: what do you love on your pizza?

Richard: cheese

Bella: cheese. Oh, richard said that too? Ffs

calum: pepperonis

Leia: anchovies! Just kidding, i’m joking!

q: favorite drink?

Richard: i’ve got no clue. water is very underrated

Bella: i used to love lemonade. Haven’t had that in years. Oh, right. I like tea, coffee, root beer, yeah

Calum: i’ve never had vodka, but vodka

Leia: do slushies count?

q: favorite dessert?

Richard: i’m a fabulous dessert -wink- um, no, in all seriousness, chocolate ice cream

Bella: huh. I haven’t had dessert in a while either. Shit.

Calum: chocolate chip cookies

Leia: everything sweet

q: dark chocolate or milk chocolate?

Richard: well I know how tyrone would answer this. I guess milk chocolate

Bella: milk?

Calum: both

Leia: ooooooh, one second, i’ll be back! NO IT’S NOT TO GET CHOCOLATE

q: coffee or tea?

Richard: coffee

Bella: they’re both good for photos, coffee tastes better, but tea is better for you

Calum: alcohol

q: hardest decision?

Richard: what to answer for this question. That counts?!

Bella: life or death. I chose life, obviously

Calum: i’m bored

Leia: my mom asked me if i wanted a dog or a cat! I said dog, but she never got either one

q: favorite fruit?

Richard: peach. -eyebrow wiggle- I actually don’t know

Bella: pineapple, mango, peach, blueberry, blackberry, raspberry, watermelon...

Calum: pear

Leia: applllllllles!!!

q: favorite singer or songwriter?

Richard: shawn mendes. I’M JOKING

Bella: isabella vail. Sorry, no self-promo? Okay, theo herondale -grin-

Calum: eminem

Leia: idina menzel

q: favorite song?

Richard: can’t say

Bella: that’s a lot of pressure

Calum: i’m hungry

Leia: I’VE BEEN STARING AT THE EDGE OF THE WAT-

q: if you could sing a duet with anyone, who would it be?

Richard: shawn mendes. I’M STILL JOKING I SWEAR

Bella: theo.

Calum: that’s gay

Leia: MOANA

q: if you had a tattoo, where would it be?

Richard: could i get a tramp stamp

Bella: i can’t choose, whoops

Calum: my arm

Leia: but they’re permanent!!

q: to be or not to be?

Richard: to be

Bella: to be or not to be.. ahh.. Love it

Calum: not to be

Leia: tooooo beeeeeeee... Two bees?

q: bird-watching or whale-watching?

Richard: whale-watching but only if i could ride the whale

Bella: bird-watching, they make such pretty sounds

Calum: a bird shit on my head

Leia: whale-watching because then i could see mermaids too!!!

q: best gift ever received?

Richard: sofia and will, thank you so much for your second creation. Not that the other ones aren’t good i just mean i love wed oh god just shut up richard. Praise you guys, hallelujah. Rest in peace, will. Would’ve been nice to get a “NOW YOU BE CAREFUL WITH MY DAUGHTER!” chat.

Bella: meeting theo was the best thing that’s ever happened to me.. wait is anyone going to see this? Oh god please no UM OKAY best gift other than that, i got a purple flower pin from.. someone.. Although i technically didn’t get it from them..i don’t want to think about this, never mind

Calum: my mom got a basketball hoop for me

Leia: everything!!

q: best gift you’ve ever given?

Richard: i once decorated bella in glitter and shit and then tried to give her to my mom. Yeah, i still don’t know why i did that. Awww, my little sissie, i’m gonna give her a hug after this

Bella: i wouldn’t know

Calum: i gave kirk junior a whole pack of gum once

Leia: i gave luke’s grandma a pretty flower. She’s really nice.

q: last gift you gave a friend?

Richard: the cornbread timmy threw up

Bella: i’ve never had a real friend, um, i gave annabelle a horse necklace and dora a set of nail polish. But they’re just people i talk to sometimes. Plus annabelle.. ugh

Calum: i gave savannah a pencil. Hope she liked it

Leia: i gave my mom a hug today!!

q: favorite video game?

Richard: OH MINECRAFT FOR SUUUUUUUURE!!! sorry i’m not in a serious mood

Bella: i don’t really play video games, the sims, i guess

Calum: call of duty games

Leia: roblox!! I like the pizza delivery game

q: favorite meme?

Richard: oh boy

Bella: are you serious? Right in front of my salad?

Calum: the spongebob music one

Leia: what’s a meem

q: last country visited?

Richard: greece

Bella: greece

Calum: how much longer

Leia: greece

q: favorite body part on a human?

Richard: well this could get some perverted answers

Bella: eyes. But “eyeballs” sounds atrocious.

Calum: pussy

Leia: their hearts!!!!!!

q: favorite color?

Richard: i like reds, blues, greens, idk

Bella: i loved yellow when i was younger. Blues are good too. As for the stuff that’s not on the rainbow, i guess i like black, gray, silver, gold, and white. Oh red is good sometimes

Calum: red, green, orange

Leia: light blue

q: least favorite color?

Richard: that murky brown and green mixture -shudder-

Bella: the colors that we can’t see or imagine. So frustrating.

Calum: yellow

Leia: i like all of the colors, i wouldn’t want any to feel bad about themselves

q: diamonds or pearls?

Richard: i mean there are no pearls in minecraft... OKAY I’LL STOP

Bella: diamonds

Calum: you could sell the diamonds and be rich

Leia: great grandma grace had pearls

q: heels or flats?

Richard: i lost a bet to a guy in a chiffon skirt, but i make these high heels work

Bella: it depends

Calum: heels are sexy.

Leia: no girl can walk in heels, can they? OMG BELLA YOU’RE WALKING IN HEELS

q: pilates or yoga?

Richard: how about just working out

Bella: yoga

Calum: there’s yoga instructor porn

Leia: you mean pirates or yoda? Yoda is in star wars with princess leia, so yoda

q: jogging or swimming?

Richard: swimming for sure

Bella: i mean, i love swimming. But it’s hard to go near a pool when you’ve drowned yourself. I’m sorry i keep being gloomy

Calum: sorry, i fell asleep

Leia: swimming!

q: best way to de-stress?

Richard: hahahhahhahah

Bella: talking to someone, hugging someone, etc.

Calum: sleeping helps

Leia: just breathe! ahhhh...

q: if you had one superpower, what would it be?

Richard:i heard about a superpower that is all the superpowers

Bella: richard told me abo- he said that too?!

q: weirdest person you ever met?

Richard: the howler or the tricycle guy

Bella: theo. -devilish grin- nO I’M KIDDING DON’T TELL HIM I SAID THAT! Awe, i feel bad

Calum: my whole family

Leia: i don’t know, everyone’s weird in their own way

q: favorite flower?

Richard: i don’t know about many besides roses

Bella: i could list my top 50 if you want

Calum: ew

Leia: dandelions grant wishes!

q: last time you cried?

Richard: when my girlfriend was in the hospital

Bella: ...

Calum: crying is for chumps

Leia: i’m too happy to cry

q: do you like your handwriting?

Richard: no?

Bella: im not sure

Calum: oh bitch i fell asleep again

Leia: i forget to dot my i’s sometimes

q: do you bake?

Richard: i live in a house with girls, of course. OH SHOOT WAS THAT SEXIST, I’M SO SORRY I DIDN’T MEAN IT LIKE TH- oh right. Forgot about calum. LOVE YA CAL

Bella: baking and cooking are both fun

Calum: no. i eat the baked goods though

Leia: i eat the cookie dough heheh

q: least favorite thing about yourself?

Richard: my anger issues

Bella: my luck

Calum: i’m amazing

Leia: i-i love myself!!! haha..

q: favorite thing about yourself?

Richard: idk

Bella: haha

Calum: everything

Leia: i think i’m nice

q: who do you miss most?

Richard: ggg. Great grandma grace

Bella: not ben. I liked you when you were alive, but you are unbearable as a ghost

Calum: i just want to play basketball

Leia: everyone who is in heaven!!!

q: what are you listening to right now?

Richard: the wind, i guess

Bella: arctic monkeys

Calum: leia trying to sing. She sucks

Leia: my favorite tarzan song

q: favorite smell?

Richard: um

Bella: rain, books, fire, theo, dryer sheets, flowers, oh no did i say theo? -blush- please don’t put that in

Calum: no idea

Leia: freshly baked sugar cookies, bella’s are better than my mom’s!

q: last person you talked to on the phone?

Richard: sam. He’s giving me updates on gilly and her baby. I hope she’s doing okay..

Bella: i got some type of hate call from someone. Idk who.

Calum: kirk junior and i were talking about basketball

Leia: luke. He said i’m giving him mixed signals. I have no clue what that means

q: last person you sent a text to?

Richard: tyrone

Bella: charlie

Calum: i don’t have a phone.. one day

Leia: look! The lollipop made my tongue blue!!!

q: sport you wish you could play?

Richard: is archery a sport? Because that’s cool

Bella: i don’t play any sports -sigh-

Calum: i do play basketball, but i really like basketball, so basketball.

Leia: i wish i could ice skate more

q: hair color?

Richard: a medium/dark brown

Bella: i’m a brunetteeeee

Calum: light brown

Leia: blonde!

q: eye color?

Richard: green. Idk about greater detail

Bella: crystal blue? It’s like a blue but if you turned the saturation down a bit and put some shine in there

Calum: i don’t check

Leia: blue, like blue whale

q: scary films or happy endings?

Richard: both

Bella: happy endings

Calum: no real man likes happy endings

Leia: scary movies scare me

q: favorite season?

Richard: tough

Bella: it really depends. Spring is very rainy but i like the rain. Summer is super hot but school’s out and it’s beautiful out. Fall comes with the colorful tree leaves and the clothing, and winter is cold but you have hot chocolate and oversized sweaters

Calum: i bet bella gave a long answer. Loser.

Leia: summer!

q: sexual fantasy?

Richard: where did that come from

Bella: -beet red- w-what?

Calum: huh

Leia: what’s that?

q: hugs or kisses?

Richard: both

Bella: bot- HE SAID THAT TOO? WTH

Calum: neither

Leia: hug time!

q: rolling stones or the beatles?

Richard: the beatles

Bella: the beatles, for sure

Calum: how many left?

Leia: why are we talking about things in the garden

q: favorite sex position?

Richard: i swear this came out of nowhere

Bella: -blink-

Calum: missions. Missionary? Yeah, that’s what i meant

Leia: i’m so confused

q: farthest you’ve been from home?

Richard: i died twice. Dk where i ended up

Bella: see i killed myself, and then i was in some sort of darkness for a week until i decided to come back

Calum: are we close to finished

Leia: look at this nail polish! Isn’t it so pretty?!

q: left or right?

Richard: the price is right

Bella: right

Calum: left

Leia: right

q: lipstick or lip gloss?

Richard: um

Bella: lipstick

Calum: almost?

Leia: lip gloss

q: scariest dream?

Richard: you’d know if i pissed myself

Bella: ..don’t want to talk about it, sorry

Calum: im not scared of anything

Leia: cookeh im mah mout, un segont

q: favorite type of hair?

Richard: i guess i like head hair over pubic hair

Bella: depends

Calum: hairless cats

Leia: those naked rodents

q: title of your autobiography?

Richard: one second, let me think of something

Bella: i wouldn’t write an autobiography

Calum: Perfection

Leia: my life

q: favorite sound?

Richard: did i really just fall asleep

Bella: sorry, what? I was doodling.

Calum: basketballs bouncing

Leia: water

q: favorite animal?

Richard: wasn’t this already a question

Bella: On the other side of a street I knew, stood a girl that looked like you, i guess thats deja vu

Calum: there has to be only a couple left

Leia: what

q: girl crush?

Richard: there’s this girl named wednesday herondale, she’s honestly my dream girl -grin-

Bella: how’d you know i’m bi? nO NOT BIPOLAR

Calum: i-i don’t h-have one..

Leia: i love my sister!

q: last photograph you took?

Richard: you’d expect it to be a nude because i’m a teenage boy, yeah, yeah, i see you.. well, i’ll have you know, it’s a picture of... my girlfriend. isn’t she beautiful, look at her!

Bella: okay so this one is o- fine. Don’t let me go into detail.

Calum: i took this selfie on my ipad by accident. I have a double chin in it haha WAIT WE’RE DONE?! YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Leia: oh this one’s of my finger! whoops!

[whatdimissmotherfuckers]

One Date

This is a series called Maybe that’s the Problem. Part 1 Part 2 Pairing: Philip x Reader Word count: 3140 Summary: You have a long and interesting conversation with Philip at his house. God, that sounds awful Notes: Art for the Richard/Philip Scene Art for Richard in general I’m really happy with this, I hope you enjoy it! Also, no warnings? I think so. It took me long enough, I know. XD It was nothing special.

You would just go there to have a little fun and nothing more.

Philip wasn’t able to do change anything, not in just one day. Furthermore, you wanted to find out more about him. When you knew enough, your interest would probably fade away just as soon as it had appeared. It was the unknown what attracted you and gave you this tingling sensation every time you saw him. Surely.

But still,  this whole day, you had been nervous, even though you had no reason to be.Why should you? You've  already been to his home one time. Not that this memory had been very pleasant, or, for that matter, very clear, but at least there still was one.

An audible sigh escaped from your lips, as you slid further down on your seat, which didn't  go by unnoticed, since you were sitting in the cafeteria with all of your friends.John nudged you encouragingly.

“Everything alright?”, he asked in a soft voice, and you nod eagerly, a bit too enthusiastic. It didn’t come across very convincing, because Theo looked at you with slightly raised eyebrows.

“You’re not eating anything”, she noticed and pushed your tray a little bit closer towards you. However, you only raised your hands in a defensive way, with a disapproving frown on your face.

“I just don’t like the food, That’s all”, you claimed, fully aware, that the lie would be busted in just a second. Abigail wiped over the table with her hand with a swift motion and scoffed.

“Come on. The only one who complains about the food is my brother, and you know that.”

You sighed again.

Now it was time to admit what was really going on. Otherwise, they wouldn’t stop questioning your behaviour for the rest of the day.

“It’s just because of Philip”, you muttered meekly, but loud enough, that a big discussion broke out at your table.

“Ohhh, love goes through the stomach!”, Abigail taunted, fluttering her eyelashes, while you rolled your eyes at the unnecessary comment.

“Shut up, Nabby. I don’t love him. I don’t even care about him”, you insisted, but you had barely finished your sentence, as John started laughing. Sometimes you just wanted to punch him in the face.

“Oh well, you shouldn’t be worried then. After all, you don’t care about him, right?”, he said and looped an arm around your shoulders.

“Shut up, Quince”, you groaned, mildly annoyed.But somehow, there was something true about his statement. But only temporary. After this day all this weird emotions would change. Now, you didn’t know at this point just how right you were.

Nervously, you took a last look at the front camera of your smartphone. You had tidied yourself up a bit more than normally.

Why did you, actually?

Just because, was your answer, as you were standing on the staircase in front of the entrance of the Hamilton Estate.Today the glossy marble panels seemed way more intimidating than the last time you were here, and you nervously began to fidget around, before pressing the chromed bell, which had the name Hamilton written on it in sweeping, cursive letters.

You could hear the quiet ringing of the bell and immediately felt your heartbeat racing.It took a while, till someone in the house actually responded. To be exact, you could hear a dull voice shouting.

“Angelica, please open the door!” Silence followed. Your heart began to calm down a bit, but the door still didn’t budge an inch. You were tempted to ring the bell a second time, as suddenly someone ripped the door open.

A middle aged man stood before you. His face was marked from long nights of working. He had dark eyes, and even darker bags under them. His black hair was combed diligently to give a better view of his face, and he looked just as well-groomed as he look tired.

“Oh, good afternoon”, he greeted you, and his voice seemed a lot softer than the one you knew from various tv-shows. You couldn’t get more out of you than a shy smile and a “Hello.”He shook hands with you, and you noticed that his hand was covered in blots of ink, which made you smile a bit.

“You must be a friend of Angelica”, he assumed, as a girl, supposedly your age, walked towards the two of you. She had dark brown hair, that was braided into a plait, and just as dark eyes as her father. Her stare was focused on you, but she was frowning.

You denied.

“No, I’m a friend of philip”, you explained and another genuine smile spread across your face.

“That’s nice”, he said bute before he could go on, his daughter interrupted him.

“You’re lying. Philip doesn’t have friends. He only has bitches to fuck”, she mocked and Alexander turned to face her with a stern gaze.

“I didn’t teach you to use that kind of language, Angelica!”, he reminded his daughter, who turned away with a cocky motion of her hand.

“Yeah, you haven’t taught me this language, because you were busy fucking this one lady!”, she scoffed before walking up the stairs, and the last thing you heard was a loud smash of a door. You could see a switch of emotions on Alexander's face, but only for a split second.

“I'm sorry.” He apologized quickly, and you could hear another set of footsteps behind him, coming  towards you.

“Hello Pa. Are you alright?”, asked Philip’s voice behind his father, before he revealed himself, pulling his the older man into a little hug. As Philip let go, he quickly introduce his father to you.

“This is Alexander. My dad, I guess you figured that.”  Leaving no time for further action, he continued to speak.

“We'll go into the garden, Pa. Is that okay?”, he asked, and his father nodded, stepping out of the way.

“I'll be in my office, if you need anything.”

Taking your hand carefully into his,  Philip softly pulled you away from the door through the corridor into the winter garden. Arriving there, you were greeted by Georges, who was currently sketching something onto a canvas.

“Hello, you two”, he beamed, while shifting around in his seat, happy to see you again.

“I'm drawing my father, and I plan on giving it to Alexandre. Je veux lui donne un cadeau. Philip, tu traduis?”, he explained, but the last part was relatively hard to understand, since your knowledge on the french language was limited to the word “baguette”.

“He says he wants to make a present for my father”, translated Philip, while smiling softly and placing a hand on Georges’ shoulder.

“It looks amazing”, he assured his french exchange student and then walked around him to take two glasses from a table.

“Do you like lemonade?”, he asked you politely, before grabbing a jug.You couldn't do more but to simply nod. The sudden change of his personality was catching you completely off-guard. After he had filled up the glasses with liquid, he passed on of them to you and then indicated you to continue walking.

Swiftly, he opened the door to his terrace and you were immediately greeted with a breathtaking view. The terrace was standing a bit elevated and under it, a fresh, green lawn spread across the ground.A staircase lead you to a path made out of huge, reddish stones which wriggled through the whole garden and ended at a magnificent little pond. The water itself was a little dull, but the huge water lilies completely made up for that.At the fence, which surrounded the whole property, neat beds of roses had been placed, and behind them, dark ivy branches framed the fence. When you had finally teared your gaze away from the beautifully arranged flowers, you focused on the astonishing little sculptures of animals, that seemed to be watching the flowerbeds.

You felt like you ended up inside one of these professionally designed garden, which you only knew from photos in catalogs.

“Wow.” You put forth, after what seemed to be an eternity, which earned you a light chuckle from Philip.

“Come on, let's sit down”, he suggested and just now you noticed the comfortable seating accommodation directly on the terrace, which was presented in such a way  that you still had clear view of the scenery. A few moments later, the two of you had seated yourselves and you enjoyed the warm sunrays on your skin.“

You actually managed to surprise me”, you began, glimpsing over to the freckled boy.

“What? I don't want to brag, but I think our garden is the last thing that should-” You quickly interrupted him before he could continue.

“I’m not talking about the garden, you idiot.” Uncomprehending, he gave you a confused glance.

“What do you mean then?”, Philip asked,  and a smile spread across your face.

“The way you talk to your family of course. Well, and I added Georges to your family”, you explained, brushing a strand of hair behind your ear.

“That's alright, Georges is a part of my family, at least I feel that way”, he told you with a serious expression.

“Why should I behave any other way?”, he questioned briskly and you shrugged.

“It's just... Well.. You just seem a bit different in school, I guess. I mean, I don't want to offend you!” You stumble over your own words and your cheeks feel more warm from second to second. How should you say that you think he was an asshole right into his face? And since when were you afraid to hurt his feelings? You felt weirdly conflicted, but it seemed that Philip was already getting the hint.

“Oh, yeah. I'm  only nice to people who actually deserve my attention. My family belongs to those people. But the most students in our school are only after my popularity or my money. That's right  why I don't waste my time on them”, he stated and turned his head to have a better look at you.You noticed, how his curls bounced every time he tilted his head, which you thought was very cute.

His observant gaze was almost a bit unpleasant,because it was so unusual, but after his change of mind,there was not a thing Philip could do to shock you.You let one of your hand glide over you black pants, which felt pretty heated, thanks to the weather.

“Would it be better for you if you weren't as popular as you are now?”, you asked him after a while and you heard Philip exhaling deeply.You shouldn't have asked this question, should you?

Already regretting it a little bit, you open your mouth to take it back, but Philip was already starting to answer it, while combing through his hair with one of his hands.

“Yeah. I mean, when you're  not popular, then nobody is interested in what you like and what you don't like. What your family does, and what your family shouldn't have done. The things that you do are the only things that count. I hate all this gossip. I like talking to people and I have absolutely no problem with being in the limelight, but I don't  want to stand above other people! What kind of existence do you have, if people only like you because you  have a lot of money, or because of the fact that your dad is one of the most influential people of the whole country? I want people to like me for the person that I am”, he explained, choosing his words carefully and clearly emphasised.

You were left gaping in astonishment.You hadn’t expected Philip to have such intense, deep thoughts.

Even if you knew it was wrong to judge him without really knowing him.Completely amazed, you stared at him, while he was completely absorbed in his speech and you adored the way he gestured with his hands when he spoke.After thinking about it a little bit, you started to find his hands weirdly attractive, with his long, delicate fingers and soft palms.

“Did I talk too much?”, he asked after a while of silence, and you hastily shake your head.

“I’m sorry for not saying anything. I just thought it was very inspirational”, you replied then, after he had flashed you a smile, that almost made you jump up from your seat.So much üositivity from him was certainly not something you were used to and it just enchanted you completely.

“Why, would you like to trade places with me?”, queried Philip curiously and you shook your head a second time.

“No, I don’t wanna trade with anyone. Of course, there are many things that didn’t work out like I wanted them to, but still, in some way, they all shaped me to the person I am. Which is probably not the greatest thing… But you get what I mean.”He nodded understandingly.

“It makes sense, but I can’t agree. Some things just aren’t meant to happen. But still, they do.”  You heard the bitter undertone in his voice and decided not to dig further into the subject.You didn’t have to rub salt into the wound.

“I think so too”, you said, exhaling before you add:”Can I ask you something? How did you meet Richard Price? You two seem to be very close.”

Philip looked at you confusedly, raising an eyebrow, before he clapped his hand to his forehead.

“Oh, you’re relatively new here, right? The story has gotten pretty famous, so I was a bit confused right now”, he remembered and you agreed, while leaning a bit more forward over the armrest of your chair, to be closer to your vis-à-vis. A gentle scent of his cologne met you, and you had to get a grip of yourself so you wouldn’t inhale too deeply.

“Yeah, I moved here when this school’s year started”, you confirmed.

“Rich told me that, I think.”

A small break followed, before he continued.

“It was the first year on this school, and he asked me if he could sit at my table. I thought he only wanted to sit there to use me, so I was like: No dick, you can't sit here. And then we got into a huge argument. Well, to be honest, to say it was an argument would be a lie. He punched me, and I… hit back. And so on. Long story short, after that we were sitting in the nurse's office with bloody noses and we started to talk. We apologised. And we both came to the conclusion that we were pretty cool people. So, as we both got to our classes, we behaved like we had been friends for our entire lives.”

After you had listened to his story, you gave him a little smile.

“You easily make new friends”, you assumed afterwards.

“Yeah, I think I have a good eye for people”, he replied.

“Does that apply to me too?”, you dug deeper into the subject and couldn’t believe how fond you sounded. What the hell was wrong with you?

“I think so, yes. Otherwise I wouldn’t tell Rich about you”, he explained, while giving you a wink and you felt how your heart skipped a beat.

All these emotions that you had been feeling the whole week now, the tingling sensation in your stomach, the heat that came up in your body, when he looked at you, all these things felt more intense now, and you had a faint assumption that they wouldn’t be gone that fast.

The conversation continued for a longer period of time and the two of you talked about various topics, whether it was about the school, your family, or just random things that came to your mind.The time passed by in a flesh, and before you knew it, the warm sunrays were replaced by a chilly breeze. A bit worried, you take a look at your watch.

“I should head home now”, you decide, and Philip nods slowly.

“Yeah you should. I’ll escort you to the door”, he offered politely and you both rose from your seats.You had to stretch yourself a bit first, it had been a couple of hours of sitting.

As the two of you made your way through the winter garden, Georges was already gone. On the place he had been sitting, rested a marvelous piece of artwork.You didn’t know the person he had painted, but you remembered he had been talking about his father.

Continuing to walk, you finally arrived at the entrance of the estate, and Philip was staring at you with a look of expectancy.

You scratched the back of your head bashfully, not knowing, what you should say.

“Hah. Well, That’s it, right? One date”, you said awkwardly, as Philip stepped closer towards you.

“It was fun. You’re a good person, I think”, he told you, before pulling you into a long, warm hug.“Thank you, I appreciate it. But I must say, I’m pretty amazed by your sudden change of nature. Oh, and another thing.”

He released you from his embrace, and a broad grin was spread across your face.

“I’m (Y/N).”

Before you could take any further action, he had already pulled you close and his lips were laying on yours. Your eyes fluttered shut and you felt, how the kiss changed into a unique kind of heat, that filled your whole body.It was a moment that you’ve been waiting for, without even knowing it.

Slowly, the two of you parted, and you felt how your hands were shaking.

“I think, there should be more than just one date”, he suggested and you nodded hastily, feeling your cheeks redden even more.

“I should really go”, you muttered awkwardly, and teared yourself away from him clumsily, before turning around.

“See you on monday!”, he hollered, as you walked down the marbled stairs and you shout a “Yes” back to him, without even thinking about what he had asked.

You needed to process all of the things that just happened.

Feeling like a hurricane was raging inside your hand, you quickened your pace, till you were almost running.

A big grin was plastered onto your face, and you couldn’t get rid of it, no matter what kind of looks the people walking by were giving you.It took a while till you had calmed down, and still, there were so many thoughts going on in your brain, that you felt like your head was about to burst.

 Only a few seconds later, you had pulled out your smartphone and typed a fast message with trembling hands.

I was wrong, Abigail. I think I like him. A lot.

[docrotten]

The Haunting (1963) - Episode 46 - Decades of Horror: The Classic Era

“... I leave before the dark. We live over in town, miles away. … We couldn't hear you. In the night. No one could. ... No one will come any nearer than that. In the night. In the dark.”  Okay, get the picture? Hill House is an inviting and comforting place to stay, right? In fact, you’ll feel so at home, you might never want to leave. Join this episode’s Grue Crew - Whitney Collazo, Chad Hunt, and Jeff Mohr - as they brave a few nights in Hill House with The Haunting (1963)!

Decades of Horror: The Classic Era Episode 46 – The Haunting (1963)

Dr. Markway (Richard Johnson), a researcher in psychic phenomena, has gained permission to stay in Hill House, a 90-year-old mansion with an evil, deadly history. Markway invites six people with a variety of psychic abilities to accompany him as research assistants, but only two take the bait: Eleanor (Julie Harris), a woman with a history of poltergeist phenomena, and Theo (Claire Bloom), who has proven ESP abilities. Luke (Russ Tamblyn), a member of the owning family and a skeptic, comes along to keep an eye on his property. Mrs. Dudley (Rosalie Crutchley), one of the caretakers of Hill House, makes an appearance early on to ominously warn the researchers that after dark, they will be alone and no one will come to help them. Almost immediately, Hill House begins to exert its power over the interlopers. They only last three nights and not everyone survives The Haunting.

The film is brilliantly directed by Robert Wise, sandwiched between his Oscar-winning efforts on West Side Story (1961) and The Sound of Music (1965). Wise, one of Val Lewton’s acolytes at RKO, exhibits mastery of Lewton’s preference for implicit, rather than explicit, danger in The Haunting. The screenplay by Nelson Gidding, adapted from Shirley Jackson’s novel, The Haunting of Hill House (1959), deftly establishes the four personalities of the research team members, their interpersonal relationships, and how Hill House interacts with and affects them. The acting, cinematography, and music fit the filmmakers’ vision perfectly, ramping up its nearly unbearable, sinister atmosphere.

Once again, the Decades of Horror: The Classic Era Grue Crew have a much greater appreciation for the film they discussed than they had going into this episode. Whitney loves the character of Eleanor and Julie Harris’ portrayal. She also likes the way the story walks a tightrope between the supernatural and insanity. On the other hand, Chad is all over the supernatural justification of events in The Haunting and loves the scenes with the inexplicable pounding on the Eleanor’s and Theo’s bedroom walls. Jeff was entranced with the optical distortions created by Wise’s intentional use of a not-ready-for-primetime lens and loved the introductory “history of Hill House” scenes. Of course, Chad managed to, yet again, find a Batman reference. Your Grue Crew highly recommends The Haunting (1963) as one of the top haunted house films in history, and especially now as a comparison to the recent Netflix series, The Haunting of Hill House.

The Decades of Horror: The Classic Era Grue Crew plan to release a new episode every other week. The next episode in our very flexible schedule will be Herk Harvey’s one-off classic, Carnival of Souls (1962).

Please let us know what you think of Decades of Horror: The Classic Era! After all, without you, we’re just four nutjobs talking about the films we love. Send us an email or leave us a message, a review, or a comment at GruesomeMagazine.com, iTunes, or the Gruesome Magazine Horror News Radio Facebook group.

To each of you from each of us, “Thank you so much for listening!”

Check out this episode!

[the-writer-blog-posts-blog]

The Thoughts of the Dead -part one

The Picture Dorian Gray, an interesting book to say the least, all about the undefined love of Basil, the ego of the never aging Dorian and the unforgettable sins of the man in the painting. All unreal, all made up to those who are normally boring. But what if it had been true, what if a painting, or drawing, or carving had, maybe not captured our sins but stolen our mortality. Unlikely right? Yeah well, I never liked Oscar Wilde; he was a tad to arrogant for me. My brother liked him, talked long and hard about his story with him, even took the stand in a courtroom trying to vouch for Oscar being straight. Of course it didn’t work, had too much evidence against him. My brother said it was a shame, but they still remained friends afterwards. Richard was never the type to judge, he even tried to set Oscar up with our youngest half brother Seb, but by the time that idea came about Seb looked young enough to be Oscar’s son, which again was a shame.

Richard was there when he died. I think they’d been friends for so long he’d forgotten Oscar eventually had to die. He dealt with it the best that anyone could in that situation, but never the less you could still feel his pain. Seb wasn’t best pleased either. He always liked the idea of dating a writer, still hasn’t happened though. Surprising really, seeing the type of people he hangs out with, seems somewhat ridiculous he hasn’t, but then again he’s been saying “writers these days aren’t what they used to be” for the past six decades.  Idiot if you ask me, art, whether it’s paintings, clothing or literature, goes in fashions. The artwork of 1432 is very different of the art work of 1902, hence he’s just complaining about the literature style of the day, which from someone who used to read newly printed Greek mythology like it was the bee’s bollocks is slightly obnoxious. But I suppose that’s Seb, he likes the writer not the written. I can see his perspective, would try it myself but I can’t help but hate people so I tend to avoid the talkative types at all cost.

“Amelia?” Richard called from down stairs. I didn’t answer of course. I was too busy thinking of how to bring my other siblings into the page of writing in front of me. “Amelia!” he called again. I looked up from my typewriter. I had had the thing for a good hundred and thirty years, it was originally smooth and entirely painted black but now it’s old and rusted. More trouble than it’s worth these days but still one of my most liked possessions. The damn thing’s always jamming which, of course, annoyed me but it gave me a much needed break from my computer and always ended up reminding me of something that happened over a century ago that I hadn’t thought about in decades. “Amelia?” He called for the third time. You’d think he’d know where I am seeing as I’ve been in this room for the past two days. “WHAT!” I finally called back. He popped his head round the door smiling and said “Theo’s back” I smiled back at him thinking of how long it had been since seeing our little sister.

Unlike Sebastian, Theo has been married since it was legalised in the UK in 2014, she wanted a London wedding, but has been with her wife since 1205. They were officially married on the 15th of December because they met on that date during an elaborate 1490th birthday party thrown in Theo’s honour by a close friend at the time, Eleanor Kingston. They were dating by Christmas and have been together ever since. I didn’t get to meet April for a while though, didn’t even get told about her until the following year but once I did, I approved. Back when we were alive, due to me being the oldest member of our existing family that we knew of, I got a say in who my siblings married. Alex and Kenny, my triplet sisters, weren’t known of, Cian was thrown into his father’s family as the bastard sibling and Richard grew up thinking he was his mother’s child and the sixth or nine children. When I originally married Theo off, I married her to a man. I knew she was a lesbian, we didn’t have a name for it back then but she described it and I understood, therefore I married her to a boy named George Stevenson who was also gay. I said I would be the only witness for the consummation and if they decided they didn’t want to do it they didn’t have to, I’d lie and say they did. They didn’t at the time, but they eventually went on to have children which they we’re very pleased about to say the least. For the life of me I can’t remember what they called them but it’ll come to me later.

They went away on their honeymoon the day after and haven’t been back since. I miss them both but I know better than anyone having time away from our family is always good. We all do it now and then. Seb usually goes to the Alps which sounds weird but isn’t. He’s been doing it for so long the family that owns the building he repeatedly stays in have stories about him that have been told for generations. By this point no one knows the stories are about him, but he still likes hearing them when he goes and always tells me how they’ve changed when he comes to back. Seb is the only one of us that disappears on their own now, Cian (my oldest, younger half-brother) used to but then he met Mike (his husband) and they started to travel together.

I didn’t find out about Mike as “quickly” as I found out about April. It was probably because Cian told Theo she was disgusting when he found out she liked girls. He eventually came around though, after I slapped him round the back of the head and said he was being arrogant and selfishly stupid in front of his friends. I think he felt awkward, as if we’d do the same to him, which didn’t and never would. They’ve also been on their honeymoon for a while, Theo and April originally wanted to tie the knot on New Year’s Eve to start 2015 married. Because they didn’t, Cian and Mike thought it was a wonderful idea to steal, well Mike did anyway. Cian didn’t care, he had the opinion that he’d been with Mike for 607 years so an extra couple of years not being married wasn’t going to hurt. April agreed with Cian however would never say it out loud in front of Theo due to the fact they’d spent the last eight centuries together and April didn’t want their relationship to end.

Although Cian and Mike have been together ninety eight years less than Theo and April they’ve been spending most of their wedding anniversaries together as a foursome. They didn’t spend their first one together but then again, I wouldn’t have either, even though my siblings and I have been on this planet for millenniums we still appreciate the firsts. Mike was Cian’s first boyfriend. He was in denial for years, married nine times in his mortality and didn’t like, let alone love, any of them. Necessarily seven of them died, most people did in those days we had really bad immune systems, but he did divorce two. Unknowingly at the time of his mortality both Mina Elysia Milas, his fourth wife, and Lucia Stratos, his ninth wife, had between them carried and given birth to his three of his children. Daniel Crispus Milas and Amelia Eve Milas were twins born on the 6th of December 26AD and Cian Statos was born on the 18th of August 34AD. They alone carried on the traveller and witch genes.

Richard and I have usually been referred to as home. Where ever we go, separate or together our siblings eventually come back to us as if we’re their parents. That’s only been a resent thing with me; I disappeared for the first 1451 years of our immortality trying to find a way out of it. Didn’t work, I’m still here, but for a while I thought I would. Our family was notaries for being able to see the future, I was even born with the skill, but all I could see was the past and how much I missed it. But that’s a story for another time.

“Really? Do you know how long for? Did she bring April? If she didn’t then we both know she’s not staying long.” I said quickly not allowing Richard to answer any of the questions I was asking him. I turned away from him, unknowingly placed a hand on my chin and turned back to the typewriter. “Wait, if Aprils here, does that mean they’ve finished their honey moon? Are they going…” I was cut off by a great lump running straight into me and knocking me off my chair. I lay on my back looking at the ceiling. The lump was still on me with its arms around my waist and head on my chest. “You were taking too long. I didn’t travel all this way just to see Sexton you know!” Theo sat up so she was straddling my stomach and continued on her, rather loud, one sided conversation. “I’ve also brought presents but you’re going to have to come down and see what they are.” She said still straddling me. “I take it you had a good time. April must be tired.” I said sarcastically once she’d finally stopped talking. Theo slapped my shoulder while trying to look hurt by my statement but instead just looked as joyful as ever. “I am actually. From your position I can see you’ve forgotten how impatient and energetic she is.” April said while positioning herself in the door way next to Richard with a grin on her face. “Do you know what I love most about my wife and older sister, Sexton?” Theo asked while looking sideways as if trying to scowl at her spouse. “Is it the fact they talk about you like you’re the five year old daughter they have joint custody over?” Richard answered looking smug because they we were getting told off and he wasn’t. “Also stop calling me Sexton; you know I prefer my first name over my second.” Sexton’s smugness disappeared while he speaking as if he realised what he was saying needed more eyebrow lowering than he was using. “Yes that is exactly why brother. And no, I’ve been calling you your middle name since I was born, why on Earth would I stop now?” Theo said while finally getting off of me. Sexton rolled his eyes, turned around, and went back down stairs. Theo followed him, stopping momentarily at the door to let April kiss her forehead and whisper “sorry” quietly before continuing on her way.

�

[tragicbooks]

7 real actions you can take after the Women's March and 1 you shouldn't.

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24 hours after Donald Trump took the oath of office, millions of people around the world took to the streets. It was the biggest protest in U.S. history, and it took place on every single continent. Yes, including Antarctica.

Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images.

The message of the Women's March was clear: We the people will stand up for what we believe in, to protect our rights and to protect the rights of others who are in jeopardy under the Trump administration. Over 2 million people showed up to do just that.

Whether you attended a women's march or just watched the coverage, it was hard not to be moved and inspired.

Celebrities, politicians, influencers, and people of every age, gender, and nationality marched in solidarity for the rights of women, immigrants, Muslims, the LGBTQ community, and other groups that Trump as president has promised to further marginalize.

As great as it was, the march certainly was not the entirety of the resistance. It was just the beginning.

If you want to carry on the work of the Women's March, here are seven things you can do right now:

(Plus one thing you shouldn't do.)

1. Follow the march organizers — national and local — on social media.

The Women's March on Washington was put together by a fierce group of badass women who will be the first to tell you that what's really important is what happens next. In fact, the Women's March website has already released a 10 Actions/100 Days list of things you can do to carry the message forward.

Tamika Mallory, Carmen Perez, Bob Bland, and Linda Sarsour are four of the main organizers for the D.C. march, and there are many others. Follow them on Facebook and Twitter to get updates and information on how you can be a part of the key next steps.

Gloria Steinem (middle) with Women's March organizers in Washington, D.C. Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images.

Many of the march organizers have been facing harassment online, and there are currently hashtag campaigns to support them and stand with them in solidarity.

If you attended a march in your town, find out who organized it and get in touch with them, too. They'll be able to tell you about future organizing efforts local to you.

2. There are going to be more opportunities to march. Start spreading the word.

Activists are already planning to march on Saturday, April 15, 2017, in an effort to get Trump to release his tax returns to the public.

Let's plan a nationwide #DivestDonald and #showusyourtaxes protest for Saturday, April 15 https://t.co/Wo9DY9eEGP

— Jennifer Taub (@jentaub) January 22, 2017

That march can be as big as the Women's March, but it's going to take some serious on-the-ground organizing. In other words, it's going to take people like you talking about it and getting others excited.

I ENDORSE THIS 100%. This is the next march. This is the next demonstration. Please RT, everyone. Every city. https://t.co/lgVLknPnnG

— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) January 23, 2017

There is another march planned in April for climate action, and many others will be popping up. Keep an eye out, and keep others informed.

3. Call your representatives.

I know — you're probably tired of hearing it, right?

Well, think of it this way: The next time someone tells you to call your representatives, wouldn't it be nice to say, "I already do. All the time. Because I'm a person who understands the power of raising my voice for the issues I care about, and I know that my elected officials are paid to listen to me."

Remember, just because your elected official isn't from your political party, that doesn't mean you can't call them. Once they're elected, their job is to serve all their constituents. So go ahead and make your voice heard.

To find your representative's contact info, click here.

4. Become a member or volunteer for organizations that need support.

You've heard the call for donations before. Organizations like (deep breath) ... Planned Parenthood, the National Resources Defense Council, the Center for Reproductive Rights, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the International Refugee Assistance Project, The Trevor Project for LGBTQ youth, the NAACP, the National Network of Abortion Funds, Black Girls Code, the ACLU, the National Women's Law Center, NARAL, Girls Write Now, the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Purple Purse, All Above All, Moms Demand Action, No Kid Hungry, Greenpeace, the Southern Poverty Law Center, ProPublica, The Anti-Defamation League, the Human Rights Campaign, Americans for Immigrant Justice, the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, Lambda Legal, Know Your IX, Immigration Impact, Emily's List, the Climate Science Legal Defense Fund, Everytown for Gun Safety, GLAAD, and so many more, are all going to need a lot of support over the next four years.

A one-time donation might not be enough. Consider a monthly recurring donation (if it's a small amount, you might not even notice it), or at least sign up for the email newsletter that a lot of these organizations have. That way you'll regularly get information on how to support the issues you care about.

Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards speaks at the Women's March. Photo by Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images.

If you can't donate? Look for volunteer opportunities. These organizations will need all the help they can get.

Planned Parenthood even has a thorough, itemized list of things you can do right now to stand with them.

5. Form a rapid-response team with your friends.

If the Women's March taught us anything, it's that those of us who reject the policies proposed by the incoming administration are not alone. There are millions of us, and we're all over the world.

One way to make sure you actually have the time to take action is to gather a handful of friends and form a rapid-response team. That means that every time you want to mobilize (to attend a protest or volunteer or start a phone bank to protest a specific piece of legislation), you have a group of people you can rely on to join you.

Do it right now! Start a group message on your phone, and get your friends involved. First mission: Come up with a badass team name.

6. Start playing politics.

Tired of all these politicians messing with your lives and enacting laws that you either disagree with or are directly endangered by? Yeah, there's a lot of that going around.

The thing is, politics is a team sport, and you're on a team whether you like it or not. You might as well start playing.

Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images.

Vote in your local elections and campaign and volunteer for politicians you like. Vote in the midterms in 2018! This nifty site called Swing Left lets you look up your nearest "swing district" — where the last election was decided by a thin margin. Focusing on those areas means you can make a real, political difference.

Most of all, don't forget you can run for office too. Consider it even more seriously if you're a woman, a person of color, and/or LGBTQ. There are resources available to help you with the specific steps and challenges you will face.

Be the change, diversity, and representation you want to see in the world.

7. Read up. On everything.

Now that the GOP has a clear runway to do pretty much whatever they want, they're going to be busy. An important part of making sure your voice is heard when you disagree with their proposals is to keep track of what's going on. You'll need to know when the Senate is voting on that bill you hate and when the law that takes your 3-year-old's teddy bear away goes into effect.

That means reading the news, the real news, and supporting the real journalism that will be helping to get information to the public.

One thing you shouldn't do? Don't assume others will act.

If there's one thing you should not do in the coming years, it's sit back and assume others will act for you. The Women's March was a success because people got involved and actually showed up.

They didn't just say, "Oh, it's great that someone's doing that. I hope it's a success." They got on planes, they crashed on couches, they brought friends, they showed up for real.

Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images.

We're going to need more of that. A lot more. Don't assume that organizing, resisting, and fighting is someone else's job. We're all in this together.

Whatever you do, do something.

It's not going to be easy, but standing up for the things you believe in is important and necessary. It's what we all signed up for when we decided not to move to Canada after the election.

So pull yourself up, and look at as many pictures of the Women's March around the world as you can until you realize that you have the power to make change.

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