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meet-me-backstage · 1 year ago

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𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐨 𝐄𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲

𝐂𝐡𝐚��𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐢𝐯𝐞 ⎈ 𝐎𝐳𝐳𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐫

𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 🦇 Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader

𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 🦇 You get dragged into the unfathomable events at Starcourt Mall by your hopeless crush on Billy Hargrove and new-found middle-schooler friends. You struggle to cope with the trauma which gradually costs you your popular cheerleader reputation when you return to high school for senior year. Though this loss first appears to be the end of the world, you learn that there's worse things than levelling down in popularity.

Though even in darkness, there is always a light - for you this is Eddie Munson, who you gain an unlikely friendship in and fall for him in the process.

𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒃𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒍𝒐𝒕𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒖𝒑𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏𝒔, 𝒔𝒎𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒚 𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈!

𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 🦇 smoking, mention of and consumption of drugs, horror themes, violence (in the upside down and probs Steve losing another fight (•̀ᴗ•́)و jk jk he's king), nightmares, mention of and consumption of alcohol, mention of and a near death experience, death, bad language, blood, bullying, mention of vomit and vomiting, some domestic (mainly verbal and emotional) abuse(‼️), mention of suicidal thoughts, mention of suicide, mention of self-harm, allusion to eating disorder and smUUT so you have to be 18+ to read this series❗️

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐢𝐯𝐞 🦇 3.2K words

𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐢𝐯𝐞 🦇 Bad language… I think that’s all but if anyone notices any others just let me know!

𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 - 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞, 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝, 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲, 𝐫𝐞𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐠!

𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲, 𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐨 𝐄𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝! <𝟑

⇜ 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐫 ⎈ 𝐄𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐞

You opened your locker in the morning of a school-day in late January of 1985 to take out your History book and noticed a piece of paper twisting as it fell from your locker. You squinted your eyes, knowing immediately that it wasn't yours, your locker was immaculately tidy and no scraps of paper would usually be found in there.

Out of your own curiosity you picked it up, your heart rate quickening when you did. Please don't be a detention slip or something from Billy, you silently pleaded that it wasn't yet another nickname associated with hitting Billy - you’d had enough, even if it was a more positive reaction than you’d expected... your heart was still hurt, so much so that you were avoiding Rebecca and Billy at all costs in school.

It was the last thing you expected to receive, a cute doodle of a Tiger next to a vague note... 'Hi'.

Your head whipped from side to side at students passing by... no one was being obvious about slipping it inside the door of your locker.

Chrissy had been your first thought, but it wouldn't have made sense because you had just arrived at school together and parted ways to go to your lockers... if it was her then she'd have to have an impressive set of magic tricks up her sleeve - plus, you figured that if it had been Chrissy she would've drawn a bunny as they are her favorite animal... her room, from what you remember on visits after middle school, was filled with rabbit paraphernalia.

Even though you didn't know who had written the note, you thought it was sweet and it brought a smile to your face in the middle of a very loud corridor - you put it back in your locker gently and walked to your first lesson with a skip in your step, feeling a boost of confidence and a sense of ease towards the day ahead…

🦇𝟐𝟗𝐭𝐡 𝐌𝐚𝐲, 𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟓 🦇

You stare down at all five of them on your bed with Chrissy stood next to you... all five pieces of paper are lined up in order. Your face is showing the exact same confusion that you felt when you found the first note in your locker back in January.

"So - you've been getting them every month since the start of the year?" Chrissy asks as she sits herself down down at your vanity desk, she glances at you through the mirror, looking deep in thought.

"Mhm - every month without fail," you trace your finger over the one that wrote 'stick it to the man!', it makes you smile absentmindedly - it is your favorite of them all because it sounds like something Mason would say, it is also the most recent one you’d received, "I never knew a little tiger would make me so happy," you giggle, "I love getting them - I really do, they've been a little bit of fresh air... if I didn't have these... and you," you grin at her, "It would've been a very few miserable and lonely months."

"I thought you weren't going to mention me then! I ditched what could have potentially been a date with Jason for this," she jokes and gestures between the both of you.

"Of course I was gonna mention you!" You laugh with her and look around your room sheepishly, "You’re my best friend," You blurt, looking at Chrissy with sincere eyes and red cheeks because those words felt like a love confession to you, you didn’t say them lightly. You’d never had a best friend before her… except for Mason - but he is your brother. Chrissy, on the other hand, you consider to be the first of your chosen family.

"And you’re mine," she giggles with a warm smile before skipping back to your bed, where you are still stood. She leans over the drawings, her brows furrow as she examines closer, "They're labelled... Ozzy."

"I guess it's a pretty cute name for a tiger," you shrug.

She smiles and shakes her head, "No, I mean - yes, it's a cute tiger name, but - what if it's a hint to the... doodler themselves?"

You gasp, "That would be wickedly cool - how come I never thought of that?" You close your eyes. You know no one named Ozzy, or anyone with the nickname at school... the name is so familiar to you, whenever you say it you feel an intense sense of deja vu and it itches at the tip of your tongue, making your face scrunch up in even deeper thought... Ozzy - Ozzy - Ozzy - Ozzy Osbourne! “Ozzy Osbourne!” You chant out loud, gaining a startled look from Chrissy.

“What?” She asks in a small voice.

“Ozzy Osbourne is the only Ozzy that I know,” you state in a confident and excited tone because you’d finally made a breakthrough with these goddamn notes.

Chrissy only looks more confused by your sudden outburst, “Who?”

“Oh - no one, just the prince of Darkness, the king of bats, the Great Ozz!” You exclaim in a frenzy of adrenaline that takes Chrissy even more by surprise.

She blinks at you, a faint, slightly nervous smile on her pink lips, “You think that this - Ozzy - Osbourne guy - wrote it?” She asks unsurely, her brows now furrowed.

Blood rushes to your cheeks again as you realise that Chrissy has no idea who Ozzy Osbourne is - I should have known. It saddens you, knowing that the only person who shares your love for Black Sabbath is Mason, and he’s unreachable.

You shake your head, “No, but maybe someone who listens to his music,” you desperately try to think again as another name itched at the tip of your tongue, someone else who worships Ozzy Osbourne.

‘Do you know Behind The Wall Of Sleep?’

Your small voice echoes in your mind, followed by another one that’s slightly only slightly deeper and blurrier. You find that the more you open your eyes, the clearer the voice gets.

‘Do I know it? I've bled with it!’

Eddie Munson.

Your eyes are open wide now at the possibility that the notes could be from Eddie. You shake your head as the likelihood of him writing them for you becomes more and more ridiculous because - why would he do that for me after the way I treated him after he saved my life?

He probably hates me more than Billy does-

Chrissy gasps, interrupting your thoughts, making you snap back to reality, "What is it?!" You ask, startled.

Chrissy looks down at you excitedly, "Ozzy - Billy - Billy - Ozzy," she emphasises the last part of each name as if you are sat in a middle school classroom and she is the teacher.

You stare at her blankly, like she'd asked you to solve the most difficult maths question ever, “And?”

She sits down on the bed with you, the pieces of paper in-between the two of you, "The names are so similar - the double letters - and they end the same," she continues to think, "And he plays for the tigers too!" she places her finger on one of the drawings, "I think it's Billy!"

Your eyebrows furrow and you shake your head profusely - Billy hadn't even looked at me since that night, "Billy hates me."

Chrissy visibly deflates and frowns at you, "Maybe he's too scared to talk to you after what happened at the party... maybe this is his kinda weird way of apologising to you," she trails off as you stand yourself up, biting your thumb and starting to pace your room... your mind trying to put two and two together.

"It can't be - I'm dead to Billy Hargrove.” It pains you to say it. You had been desperately fighting an internal battle since the night you slapped him, avoiding him at all costs him because it hurt just to even look at him, knowing that he used you to get closer to your sister… somehow, in some stupid twisted way, you still felt so guilty for humiliating him the way you did, and thought of so many alternate scenarios that didn’t end up costing you him - his attention… You also didn’t want to get hurt again.

"No you're no-."

"Yes I am - and I - want it to stay that way," you lie through gritted teeth. You say it to protect yourself because deep down you want it to be Billy. Your infatuation with him still existed, it hadn’t just slipped through your fingers like you wished it had.

Chrissy pats the space next to her that isn’t taken by the small pieces of paper. You slowly sit beside her with a sigh, "Would it be so bad if it was him?” She asks and you shrug as a response. “I mean - I know he was a jerk, but - you have to admit, these notes are pretty sweet, don't you think?" She mumbles softly, resting her head on top of yours, "Maybe he's changed - maybe you knocked some sense into him," she giggles softly and wraps an arm around you now.

You giggle softly, “Maybe.”

After a few seconds your laughter dies down and Chrissy’s head shifts so that she can see your face better, “Do you think that you’d forgive him? If he is the mystery doodler?” She asks in a serious, but gentle voice.

You move your head too so that yours and Chrissy’s foreheads are half touching, “I - I don’t know,” you mumble unsurely, looking into her green eyes before quickly blinking away, looking down at your lap.

The only thing that you’re sure of, is that until you have proof that Billy is the mystery doodler, you have to continue avoiding him for your own sanity.

You both laid on your stomachs on your bed after deciding that anything Billy Hargrove related is banned from your girls night. Chrissy and you look through magazines while talking about the latest movie you’d watched at the movies after your shift in Starcourt, 'Desperately Seeking Susan' - Madonna's badass outfits...

'those diamanté covered black boots,' you sigh together dreamily. Together you decide that you need to make it your mission to find a pair exactly like them at Starcourt.

Your mom soon knocks on your bedroom door to tell you and Chrissy that dinner is ready... then, to your dismay, leaves your bedroom door open.

"All parents do that, huh," Chrissy mumbles with yet another giggle as you both climb off of your bed and go downstairs.

Dinner is awkward, the glances between the four of you... your mom loves Chrissy to death, so dinner mainly consists of her complimenting Chrissy while you and Becky refuse to make eye contact while eating your food.

Moments like this make you miss your dad, how he’d make an awkward situation funny by telling a few ‘dad’ jokes. I need to see him more often. You’d put off visiting him because the trailer park is on the other side of town - plus the place creeps you out because Rebecca once told you that ‘the devil himself lives there’.

🦇 𝟑𝟎𝐭𝐡 𝐌𝐚𝐲, 𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟓 🦇

The next morning you meet Chrissy at your usual spot to walk to school. When Jason sees you his face visibly drops, but he still waves and looks at Chrissy, he might as well have had hearts for pupils as he gives her his usual charming, smug grin and a tight hug.

You guess that he’s probably a little pissed off that Chrissy decided to hang out with you instead of him yesterday, but you shrug it off and start to walk alongside them.

Chrissy walks in the middle and mentions the notes again, catching Jason's attention... he seems nervous at the mention of Billy being the doodler, but agreed with her even though he supposedly knows nothing about the notes you’d been receiving... unless he knows something about Billy's connection to them, he follows him around like a shadow - maybe Jason has overheard something, you think.

"I guess I'll have to wait and see if the next one is a little more... obvious," you trail off, sheepishly glancing between Chrissy and Jason, their arms are knocking into each other because of how close they are. You look down, noticing the bigger distance between you and Chrissy. You frown as you hear them flirt so you unconsciously start walking ahead... until you notice that you can’t hear their footsteps anymore. You turn around and see him kissing her cheek while she is grinning from ear to ear.

It's not like you want Jason to kiss you on the cheek… not at all, that’s the last thing that’s on your mind. The sight of the two of them so obviously falling for each other, it reminds you of what could’ve happened between you and Billy if Tina’s New Year party hadn’t ended the way it did. You also don’t want to lose Chrissy because of Jason because- something feels off... the way that he worships Billy and has been glaring at you ever since the news broke that you slapped his idol.

You quickly come to your senses and pick your head back up, "Did you want to check out that movie later, Chris? You know, the one on the poster we saw - Teen Wolf?" You ask confidently, walking backwards until they catch up with you.

Jason looks down at Chrissy, who has her mouth slightly agape, "Oh - er," she manages to utter before looking down, choosing not to answer.

"We're going on a date after school - to see that movie actually," Jason states, he looks smug and you are left dumbfounded because Chrissy hadn't mentioned this last night, perhaps she called him after leaving your place. She eventually lifts her head in response to Jason nudging her. She is grinning while looking nothing less than guilty, "It'll be fun - we'll get the largest box of popcorn, go to the diner after... been excited to see it since we planned it last night hm?"

Chrissy smiles up at him shyly before looking down again, "Yeah," she giggles and finally, she looks at you - her smile falters as if to say 'I'm sorry'.

You suddenly feel the need to get away from them. Since Chrissy is not an option of your port of call for advice, you think of 'Ozzy the Tiger' - 'stick it to the man!', "Cool, um - I think I’m gonna head back home, I didn't really sleep because er - I have a - er - a stuffy nose so... I actually don't feel too good," you stutter over your words before dramatically coughing and heading back the way you’d came, "Have a nice time - see ya around!” You call without looking back.

You sprint home through the woods and climb to your bedroom window while trying to be as quiet as possible, knowing that mom would be home.

I need to see dad. You knew that mom would not approve of you skipping school, especially just to go to the trailer park to visit your dad. Stick it to the man!

You fall to your knees on the floor, hard enough to leave a bruise, and search under your bed for your basketball. Ah! You spot it once you’re halfway under, rolling it towards you. Once you are cradling it in your arms, you wipe the remaining dust off because you hadn’t held it in years. You look out of your window, noticing your mom out there hanging the laundry. "Fuck," you whisper before sneaking out of your room and running down the stairs.

You’re out of there in a blaze after picking up your bicycle and putting the basketball in the basket hanging from the handlebar.

The area around the trailer park always gave you the creeps, there aren’t any houses apart from an abandoned one that looks like something out of a horror movie. The grass surrounding it is yellow rather than a fresh green and every possible entrance is boarded up. Everything between it and your dad's trailer is woods, transmission towers, abandoned cracked roads and tumbleweed. However, anywhere is better than being at your mom's house right now, you tell yourself.

As you cycle into the trailer park you fall off of your bike because of the uneven ground. There is a group of people sitting outside their trailer and a lone man in a flannel and jeans who is watching you as you pick yourself up and get back on your bike, "Are you alright, darlin'?"

You nod and smile at him through the stinging pain coming from your elbow, and cycle by until just seconds later you’re directly outside your dad's trailer. The only thing that your mom let him take from her house was your basketball net, which he'd nailed to a board that is propped against the trailer itself. You shoot the basketball into the net effortlessly and head inside the trailer... It’s - a mess... he’d probably let it get this way after assuming that you and Rebecca were never going to visit him again.

“Not anymore, dad - I'm here,” You mumble to yourself and pick up some empty beer cans. You tidied after that, did his laundry and got out some cans of spaghetti hoops that you could heat up together once he is home from work.

You noticed that your little 'stick it to the man!' piece of paper had fallen on the floor beside the door, you picked it up and held it tightly because it feels so precious to you, a reminder of when Mason was around... you want so much to be carefree with him again even just for an hour.

Like your thoughts had been answered, you hear your ball being bounced outside. You grow curious, looking out of the window and seeing the man that had called out to you before... he threw the ball successfully into the basket and you raise your brows, smiling a little.

"Wanna - play a game?" You call shyly from the door, running down the steps.

"I'll sure as hell try, darlin'," he chuckles and gently passes you the ball, "You're Graham’s daughter, right?"

You nod and hum, dribbling the ball.

"I'm a good friend o'his - we keep an eye on each other's trailers because he works during the day - I work at night, y’see?" He explains, keeping his eyes on the ball before rolling his eyes at himself, "Before I forget - I'm Wayne," he holds his hand out and you shake it, his hand is rough like his entire exterior, but he seems nice and you decide to trust him if your dad is friends with him.

You quickly shoot another hoop and Wayne whistles.

"You've got some skill.”

He seems intrigued by your basketball skills and settles to watching you after he'd gotten tired of playing. He tells you about his ‘ole high school years’, how ‘back in the day’ he tried for the basketball team but didn’t make the cut.

When your dad arrives back home he pats Wayne's back and looks at you, surprised, like he is going to cry because he hasn’t seen you in so long... he hugs you tightly and you wrap your arms tight around him too.

"What brings you here?" He chuckles.

"I missed you," You smile and he holds you even tighter, as if he hadn’t been expecting to hear you say it, "and my basketball hoop," you giggle.

"It makes me really happy to see you playing again," he mumbles and you open your eyes to see Wayne, he waves before walking to... the Munson trailer? He's Eddie's father?

"A little tiger told me to stick it to the man - so I am," you giggle again as he pulls away from the hug to hold onto your shoulders.

You can see that his mind is bringing him back to old times between you, him and Mason - playing in the front yard. He grins, but there is sadness in his eyes as he strokes your hair, "I'm glad you came."

"I'm glad I'm here," you look up at him, smiling and ignoring the noises coming from the woods around you.

Your dad tries to spot any doubt in your eyes and smiles when he doesn't see any. He ruffles your hair, "Hows about a game?"

You play basketball with him for hours... for once you feel like yourself - not just the cheerleader, the popular girl, the sucker-puncher, the keg queen, the little miss… you are unapologetically being you and you are content.

Your dad gets the ball from you while you are lost in your thoughts, "No, that's cheating!" You laugh hysterically as he shoots the ball but misses the net, you quickly swoop in and grab it before slam dunking it into the basket. You hear your dad cheering behind you, making you grin even more until you see him...

Eddie - he is stood by his trailer watching you, but when he notices that you are looking back at him he jumps, looking around to see if you are actually looking at him and not something behind him... he looks shocked but... he smiles, it is such a shy, unsure smile, and it reaches one corner of his lips more than the other.

Your dad notices that you aren’t playing anymore and turns to look where you are looking, immediately seeing Eddie. You don’t return Eddie's smile, but your dad waves at him and Eddie waves half-heartedly back - he gives you that look, the doe eyed look that he'd given you when he gave you his hand, recognised you as ‘Tink’ and you called him a ‘freak’.

I need to get away!

You panic, "I'm er - hungry - yeah - hungry. 'M gonna go inside - and warm up our - dinner," you turn away from Eddie and your dad before sprinting inside, hugging the basketball tightly into your stomach.

Together, you and your dad stood at the stove, he is holding onto a pan of spaghetti hoops while you stir them with a wooden spoon occasionally. You are both silent, but nudge each other a couple times to lighten the awkward silence and laugh.

You spoon some hoops from the pan for a taste check, something your mom would've yelled at you for - but your dad just laughs it off. Even as you sit at the small table for two, you are slouching with your elbows on the table as you eat... you feel completely relaxed here with him.

"It's nice to see you smiling. All I've thought about recently is if you and Becky are alright - it's all I care about. I know things have been hard for you since - well - Mason left us... and he was your best pal for a brother... a bit of a loose cannon, but he made you happy," he explains and trails off, but his mouth stays open. You tilt your head, frowning, taken aback at Mason's name falling from your dad's lips, "and - I couldn't help but notice the way you um - noticed Munson's nephew out there," he points over his shoulder.

"Munson's - nephew?" Eddie is Wayne's nephew?

"Yes - Eddie, I've not spoken to the boy properly before, but Wayne speaks highly of him. ‘M pretty sure he took the boy in after his dad got sent to jail - Wayne's brother. Waynes had the kid living in his trailer for years, basically his dad... as far as Eddie and Wayne are concerned, the guy in prison is dead to 'em," dad sighs and you find yourself leaning more forward - where is his mom? You suddenly feel even worse for reacting so negatively towards him, "Anyway - they've been through a lot and it made me happy to see that you were getting along with them today. I know Eddie is a bit of an odd kid... kind of reminds me of Mason, the girly hair and free spirit - I reckon he'd be a great pal for you to have."

You hum in response, not knowing what to say because he'd mistaken yours and Eddie's distanced encounter for a budding friendship. The thought of being Eddie's friend hadn't crossed your mind in a long long time... not until now.

⇝ 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐢𝐱 ⎈ 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠! 𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞, 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐄𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐆!!!!! 𝐈𝐭'𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐝𝐚𝐲 <𝟑

𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 ‘𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐨 𝐄𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲’ 𝐨𝐫 ’𝐄𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐞 𝐌𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐧’ 𝐭𝐚𝐠-𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰!

𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐒 ↯

𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐨 𝐄𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲

@sadbitchfangirl @ali-r3n

𝐄𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐞 𝐌𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐧

@introvertedmouse @munsonology @fastnights @kathieycarrerarosshley @marjoriea13 @goldengunspinkrosses-blog @lolalanaie @neteyamsluvts

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thenighttrain · 1 year ago

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books read in 2023

finally continuing my yearly tradition. all rated out of 5 stars. bolded are my faves!

The Daughters of Izdihar (The Alamaxa Duology, #1) by Hadeer Elsbai ★★★☆☆

A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland ★★★☆☆

Last Violent Call (Secret Shanghai, #3.5) by Chloe Gong ★★★☆☆

The Magician's Daughter by H.G. Parry ★★★★☆

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi (Amina al-Sirafi, #1) by Shannon Chakraborty ★★★☆☆

The Lies of the Ajungo (Forever Desert, #1) by Moses Ose Utomi ★★★☆☆

The Surviving Sky (Rages, #1) by Kritika H. Rao ★★★☆☆

The Will of the Many (Hierarchy, #1) by James Islington ★★★☆☆

Immortal Longings (Flesh and False Gods, #1) by Chloe Gong ★★☆☆☆

Gods of the Wyrdwood (Forsaken, #1) by R.J. Barker ★★★☆☆

To Shape a Dragon's Breath (Nampeshiweisit, #1) by Moniquill Blackgoose ★★★☆☆

Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1) by Rebecca Yarros ★★★☆☆

The Third Daughter by Adrienne Tooley ★★★☆☆

After the Dragons by Cynthia Zhang ★★★★☆

Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang ★★★★☆

White Trash Warlock (Adam Binder, #1) by David R. Slayton ★★★★☆

The River Has Teeth by Erica Waters ★★★☆☆

The Drowned Woods by Emily Lloyd-Jones ★★★☆☆

All That’s Left in the World by Erik J. Brown ★★★☆☆

Fury of the Dragon Goddess (Adventures of Sik Aziz #2) ★★★★☆

The Water Outlaws by S.L. Huang ★★★★☆

My Dear Henry: A Jekyll & Hyde Remix by Kalynn Bayron ★★★☆☆

Serwa Boateng's Guide to Vampire Hunting (Serwa Boateng, #1) by Roseanne A. Brown ★★★☆☆

Hamra and the Jungle of Memories by Hanna Alkaf ★★★★☆

Bonesmith (House of the Dead, #1) by Nicki Pau Preto ★★★☆☆

Garden of the Cursed (Garden of the Cursed, #1) by Katy Rose Pool ★★★★☆

Race to the Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse ★★★☆☆

Don't Want to Be Your Monster by Deke Moulton DNF

The Buried and the Bound (The Buried and the Bound, #1) by Rochelle Hassan ★★★★☆

The Meadows by Stephanie Oakes ★★★☆☆

If Found, Return to Hell by Em X. Liu ★★★☆☆

Amari and the Night Brothers (Supernatural Investigations, #1) by B.B. Alston ★★★★☆

Starter Villain by John Scalzi ★★★★☆

Amari and the Great Game (Supernatural Investigations, #2) by B.B. Alston ★★★☆☆

The Chalice of the Gods (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #6) by Rick Riordan ★★★★☆

The Fragile Threads of Power (Threads of Power, #1) by V.E. Schwab ★★★☆☆

The Hexologists (The Hexologists, #1) by Josiah Bancroft ★★★☆☆

Foul Heart Huntsman (Foul Lady Fortune, #2) by Chloe Gong ★★★☆☆

Darkhearts by James L. Sutter ★★☆☆☆

The City Beautiful by Aden Polydoros ★★★★☆

Séance Tea Party by Reimena Yee ★★★☆☆

The Prince's Poisoned Vow (Infernal War Saga, #1) by Hailey Turner ★★★☆☆

The Emperor's Bone Palace (Infernal War Saga #2) by Hailey Turner ★★★★☆

Beholder by Ryan La Sala ★★★★☆

Curious Tides by Pascale Lacelle ★★★★☆

The Forest Demands Its Due Kosoko Jackson ★★★☆☆

Reforged by Seth Haddon ★★★☆☆

The Scarlet Alchemist (The Scarlet Alchemist, #1) by Kylie Lee Baker ★★★★☆

Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White DNF

The Spirit Glass by Roshani Chokshi ★★★☆☆

Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs ★★★☆☆

All That Consumes Us by Erica Waters ★★☆☆☆

Frostheart (Frostheart, #1) by Jamie Littler ★★★★☆

The Vanquishers (The Vanquishers, #1) by Kalynn Bayron ★★★★☆

When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller ★★★☆☆

Dark Moon, Shallow Sea (The Gods of Night and Day #1) by David R. Slayton ★★★☆☆

Dark Heir (Dark Rise, #2) by C.S. Pacat ★★★★☆

#books #leanne speaks

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thoughtfullyrainynightmare · 9 months ago

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Heyo 💘 For the ship game, how about Nozel x Vanessa, Yosuga x Mereoleona and (thinks about something outside of the box) Magna x Rebecca? I would have also asked for Fuegoleon x Solara, but since you've already answered them. Except of course if you want to talk some more ;)

Hiya~! ^^

Ooo! Hmm...

Nozel x Vanessa

(Kinda) doesn't make sense (??) and ... doesn't (??) compel me ??

Like.... I feel bad typing that, but it's not something for which I'd write a fic if I was not prompted to do that, if it makes sense? As in, if it wasn't requested, I wouldn't make content for it, so I can't say that it compels me in that essence. But I can't say that I'd dislike it either, because I do write fics for it it, and I absolutely don't mind writing fics for it. It's just not a love relationship for me with this ship. The reason why I say that it wouldn't make sense, is that I don't think they've really interacted in canon, and I'm still struggling to piece in my head how they'd get together. As in, usually, if I'm writing for a ship, and I have it established (at least in my head) how a ship came to be, then I have an easier time with picturing how the ship operates.

Overall I don't mind the ship, it's just not something that I love for me. (But I am also very biased for Nozel being shipped with my mutuals' OCs... ^^')

Vanessa is the flirty one, and Nozel is the stern one. But they're also birds in cages. Only that Vanessa has broken out, Nozel hasn't, not really at least (yet). So, while I say that it doesn't make sense, there are absolutely thematics to both of them that work with this ship.

They're just two birds from two very different cages.

Yosuga x Mereoleona

Makes sense and compels me

She's the firey lion woman and he's the tiger man. They could (probably) take each other on in a fight, and though I think Yosuga would lose, he would not be sorry for losing.

I know, I know, this ship is kinda hinted at in canon, but I can just see these two locking eyes and saying "you. fight me." after which (the brawl) they'd build mutual respect, and from there on a relationship.

For me, this ship just works, for some reason. And Mereo would wife Yosuga.

Magna x Rebecca

makes sense and doesn't compel me

I can see Magna settling down in some point, and being the good guy, the Real Man(tm) that he is, I can see him being a Family Man(tm). And Rebecca, while having to have looked after her younger siblings, is Motherly(tm). So, I can see these two working out.

It wouldn't be a particularly fun paring, but it kinda does make sense. However, I'm not particularly interested in it. It's just another personal preference. But overall, I'm neutral towards this ship as well.

#ship ask game #lovely mutuals #I feel like emphasizing that I absolutely don't mean to place any kind of hate for Nozessa #it's just not a personal fave #and aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa #I feel kinda bad about gushing about my ship T^T but I love them your honour #and I am very biased for it #but also... I don't want to gush about it too much and potentially push away other Fue fans #(maybe it's an irrational fear but I don't want to seem like I'm gatekeeping him by being too overtly happy over my ship)#shy shy shy

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evander2511 · 2 years ago

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So i wanna know how the interaction between your crossover of talespin x rimba racer between shere khan as reluctant father figure to tag

Something like this

Shere khan : I didn't understand why people care so much about their dumb cub until I got a dumb cub myself. I've only had tag for a day and a half. But if anything happened to him, I would kill everyone in this room and then myself

Tag : You... scare.. me

Also that sound from tiktok meme or tiktok trend that describe it perfectly

There's another one this gif. Tag racing gleefully and shere khan confused seeing tag expression face

Another thing imagine bagheera, baloo, rebecca see shere khan with a young adult malayan tiger and he's also holding a smoothie

Baloo, bagheera, rebecca cunningham, : Whatcha got here?

Shere khan : A smoothie

#rimba racer #tag rimba racer #shere khan #talespin shere khan #crossover #rimba racer x talespin #reluctant father figure shere khan #baloo #bagheera #rebecca cunningham

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bookclub4m · 2 years ago

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Episode 176 - Fantasy

This episode we’re talking about the genre of Fantasy! We discuss whether fantasy needs magic, clam powers, forklore, Tears of the Kingdom, worksonas, It’s Always My First Day at Wizard School, and more!

You can download the podcast directly, find it on Libsyn, or get it through Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, or your favourite podcast delivery system.

In this episode

Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray | Jam Edwards

Things We Read (or tried to…)

The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo

When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain by Nghi Vo

Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse

Storm of Locusts by Rebecca Roanhorse

Sing, Nightingale by Marie Hélène Poitras, translated by Rhonda Mullins

A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark

The Haunting of Tram Car 015 by P. Djèlí Clark

Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune, narrated by Kirt Graves

The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw

Lakelore by Anna-Marie McLemore

Babel: An Arcane History by R.F. Kuang

The Chill by Scott Carson

Nothing but Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw

Big Machine by Victor LaValle

Other Media We Mentioned

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey (Wikipedia)

Elfquest by Wendy and Richard Pini (Wikipedia)

Read it online free!

Steven Universe (Wikipedia)

Sailor Moon (Wikipedia)

Squire by Sara Alfageeh and Nadia Shammas

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

The Golden Compass / Northern Lights by Philip Pullman

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Redwall (Wikipedia) Brian Jacques

The Discworld Mapp: Being the Onlie True and Mostlie Accurate Mappe of the Fantastyk and Magical Dyscworlde by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Briggs

Discworld (Wikipedia)

The Chronicles of Narnia (Wikipedia) by C.S. Lewis

The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce

Wise Child by Monica Furlong

Juniper by Monica Furlong

The Sandman (comic book) (Wikipedia)

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Wikipedia)

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Wikipedia)

Yakuza 0 (Wikipedia)

A Song of Ice and Fire (Wikipedia) by George R. R. Martin

The series of novels on which the television series Game of Thrones is based

The Wheel of Time (Wikipedia) by Robert Jordan

The Black God's Drums by P. Djèlí Clark

Leaving Mundania: Inside the Transformative World of Live Action Role-Playing Games by Lizzie Stark

Links, Articles, and Things

X-Men (Wikipedia)

Scarlet Witch

Magik (Illyana Rasputina) (though her magic powers are separate from her mutation)

Magical girl (Wikipedia)

Alebrije (Wikipedia)

Dungeons & Dragons (Wikipedia)

Independence Day (1996 film) (Wikipedia)

30 Fantasy fiction by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) Authors

Every month Book Club for Masochists: A Readers’ Advisory Podcasts chooses a genre at random and we read and discuss books from that genre. We also put together book lists for each episode/genre that feature works by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) authors. All of the lists can be found here.

Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki

Road of the Lost by Nafiza Azad

A Broken Blade by Melissa Blair

A Thousand Steps into Night by Traci Chee

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi

The Unbroken by C.L. Clark

The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

VenCo by Cherie Dimaline

The Daughters of Izdihar by Hadeer Elsbai

We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal

Blood Scion by Deborah Falaye

The Gilda Stories by Jewelle Gomez

The Lost Dreamer by Lizz Huerta

Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

The Björkan Sagas by Harold R. Johnson

Untethered Sky by Fonda Lee

Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim

A Magic Steeped in Poison by Judy I. Lin

The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

The Return of the Sorceress by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

The Famished Road by Ben Okri

Beasts Made of Night by Tochi Onyebuchi

The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter

Give us feedback!

Fill out the form to ask for a recommendation or suggest a genre or title for us to read!

Check out our Tumblr, follow us on Twitter or Instagram, join our Facebook Group, or send us an email!

Join us again on Tuesday, June 20th we’re talking about celebrity book clubs and one book reading campaigns!

Then on Tuesday, July 4th we’ll be discussing non-fiction books about UFOs and Aliens!

#episodes #fantasy #fiction #genres

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sillyfriendssharingablog · 1 year ago

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never really analised here Azedi's relationship with her friends during at the Foxhaund so here yall go even if you didn't ask.

Tiger and Mantis are literally best bros in every sense of the term. They had met eachother pretty much the same time as Eli and her did, when they were kids. Tiger is more open with Mantis than with her lover himself, so everytime she has to whine about something she goes to Mantis, even if sometimes he gets annoyed. Mantis knows every little shit about Tiger, not only because he reads minds but because he is one of the very few Tiger as ever felt comfortable enough to be open about her problems. When they were younger Azedi saw him as a younger sibling, like she always did whenever she met someone even slightly younger than her that was in desperate need of affection, and even after years, she somewhat still does. Even if they are very open with each other Mantis isn't good at giving advices, and can't keep a secret. And he's also painfully honest. He often encourages her to do things that would make Liquid mad, just for the hell of it. He also can't stand Liquid and Tiger being a thing because they are a trio and he doesn't want to be a third wheel, but has never really interfered with them. He accepted his fate as the single gay uncle that will babysit their children, even if they wont have those probably.

Tiger and Wolf are very intimate. They have a very dedicate relationship and Tiger probably spends more time with Wolf than with Liquid. Wolf reminds Tiger a lot of Quiet, so she is especially attached to her in their friend group, even trying to protect her often. They also are very attracted to each other. Like they are both in relationships that fulfill them and make them happy, but they would totally have slept together if it wasn't for those. They flirt, compliment each other, have a very close proximity, but never bang because they love their partners. Liquid is very jealous of Wolf, since he knows that they have this affinity with each other. He often tries to interrupt them when he catches them being way to close, but he gets punched by the both of them as a response. Ive already mentioned it but Tiger x Wolf is a sideship that I had created when Tiger's character was still a WIP, and even if that will never happen, I still think they would have worked pretty well.

Tiger and Dr Nightingale (other oc) have a more sisterly type of bond. Rebecca is more naive and had a pretty decent life unlike Tiger, and she isn't fully ready to face the world that she works in, since Rebecca had been protected all her life by her mother and when Tiger met her she had just recently lost her. Tiger immidietly felt a protective instinct towards her and they bonded immidietly. Even though Tiger is older, she accepts lightheartedly when Rebecca gives her advices. They are the absolute gossip icons and everytime someone tells Tiger something she rushes to Nightingale to talk about it. They also share a ton of intrests together, sometimes Azedi even feels like Nightingale is just her but that had grown up far from war with a loving and supportive family.

#mgs #metal gear solid #mgs1 #metal gear #metal gear series #mgs oc #metal gear oc #mgs oc [bloody tiger]#mgs oc [dr nightingale]#oc fun fact #oc #sniper wolf mgs #psycho mantis #tretij rebenok #I accidently made Liquid look like a bad boyfriend in this lol

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adamburt1984 · 1 year ago

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My Wafius (Updates)

Anime: Chisato Nishikigi, Takina Inoue & Kurumi (Lycoris Recoil), Rebecca (Cyberpunk Edgerunner), Akame (Akame Ga Kill), Black Rock Shooter, Karen Araragi (Monogatari), Suzuha Amane (Steins Gate), Ouka Yuuouji (Noucome), Karuta Roromiya (Inu-x-Boku-ss), Miu Fuurinji, Kurumi Ebisuzawa (School Live).

Video Game: Obera Dia Vanille (Final Fantasy XIII series), Marie Rose and Honoka (Both Dead or Alive series), Cammy White (Street Fighter series), Kasumi (Dead or Alive series), Hitomi (Dead or Alive series), Red Dress/Checkpoint Fairy (Spyro Reignited Trilogy), Zoe (Spyro Reignited Trilogy), Fauns from Fracture Hills (Spyro Reignited Trilogy), Bianca (Spyro Reignited Trilogy), Bella Goth, Liberty Lee, Candy & Yuki Behr, Summer Holiday, Pleasant Twins, few others in The Sims 4, Kasumi Yoshizawa (Persona 5 Royal), Sumire Yoshizawa (Persona 5 Royal), Hifumi Togo (Persona 5 Royal), Lavenza (Persona 5 Royal).

Genshin Impact: Hu Toa, Lumine, Amber, Yoimiya, Raiden Ei, Kamisato Ayaka, Sangonomiya Kokomi, Xiangling, Ganyu, Kaqing, Kirara, Noelle, Jean, Kuki Shinobou, Navia, Charlotte, Jeht, Rana, Ying'er, Estelle, Eremite Dersert Clearwater, Zhiqonq, Nilou, Faruzan, Candace, Dehya, Layla, Idyia, Ningguang, Yun Jin, Xinyan, Yan Fei, Lynette, Sucrose.

Cartoon: Ty Lee (Avatar: The Last Airbender).

Pony: Derpy, Minuette, Pinkie Pie, Starlight Glimour, Twilight Sparkle.

Equestria Girls character: Derpy, Sunset Shimmer, Lemon Zest, Pinkie Pie.

Comic Books: X-23, Honey Badger, Batgirl (Stephanie Brown), Spiderwoman.

Other: Hatsune Miku, Rin Kagamine, Kasane Teto, IA, ONE, Yukari Yuzuki, Wendys (Wendys Mascot), Kizuna Ai, Kaguya Luna, Kiyru Coco, Gawr Gura, Usada Pekora, Minato Aqua, Inugami Korone, Watson Amelia, Hoshimachi Suisei, Shirakami Fubuki.

Female I dislike most: Ume Shiraume (Ben-To), Agnes Joubert (Tiger & Bunny), Haruhi Suzumiya (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya), Suphia Myne (The Rising of The Shield Hero), Quinella (Sword Art Online Alicization), Asuka Langley Soryu (Neon Genesis Evangelion), Maya Ibuki (Neon Genesis Evangelion), Ran (KonoSuba), Most girls in A Certain Magical Index, Three typical girls who don't want to be bothered, say they got boyfriends and busy fliping their phone (from an Anime).

#fictional characters #fictional female characters #video games #anime #manga #comic books #superheroes #cartoons #vr tubers #my little pony #genshin impact #equestria girls #vocaloid #hololive #waifus #waifu

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fallenangelx00 · 5 months ago

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Battles of Remnant: The Non-RWBY Characters

A few of the girls not from RWBY, there will be boys too, they're just not fun to list

DC Characters

Jessica Cruz/Green Lantern VIII - Human

Mari McCabe/Vixen - Faunus

Koriand’r/Starfire - Human

Courtney Whitmore/Stargirl - Human

Judy Garrick/The Boom - Faunus (Gazelle)

Lorena Marquez/Aquagirl - Typhos

Elizabeth “Bette” Kane - Typhos

Mia Dearden/Speedy - Faunus

Astrid Arkham/Arkham Knight - Typhos

Marilyn Moonlight - Human

Lyrl Dox/Brainiac 3 - Android

Indigo Dox/Brainiac 8 - Android

Tina/Platinum - Android

Lace/Copper - Android

Antonia Monetti/Argent - Typhos

Tara Markov/Terra - Human

Kiran Singh/Solstice - Human

Holly Granger/Hawk - Faunus

Dawn Granger/Dove - Faunus

Marvel Characters

Kate Bishop/Hawkeye II - Human

Jubilation Lee/ Jubilee - Human

Elizabeth “Betsy” Braddock/Psylocke - Human

Ava Ayala/White Tiger - Typhos

Elizabeth “Liz” Allen/Firestar -Typhos

Riri Williams/Iron Heart -Faunus

Laura Kinney/X-23 - Faunus

Aña Corazón/Araña - Human

Shuri/Black Panther - Faunus

Nico Minoru/Sister Grimm - Typhos

Viv Vision - Android

Geer Nelson/Tigra - Faunus

Bobbi Morse/Mockingbird - Typhos

Illyana Rasputina/Magik - Typhos

America Chavez/Ms. America - Human

Nadia Van Dyne/Wasp - Human

Cassandra Lang/Stinger - Human

Francine Frye/Electro - Faunus

Overwatch Characters

Lena Oxton/Tracer - Human

Brigitte Lindholm - Human

Hana Song/D.Va - Faunus

Kiriko Kamori -Faunus

Odessa "Dez" Stone/Junker Queen - Typhos

Olivia Colomar/Sombra - Human

Amélie Lacroix (née Guillard)/Widow Maker - Typhos

Mei-Ling Zhou - Faunus

Elizabeth Caledonia "Calamity" Ashe - Human

Vivian Chase/Sojourn - Faunus

Cyberpunk 2077 Characters

Valerie - Human

Rebecca Watson - Human

Panam Paler - Human

Judy Álvarez - Faunus

Song So Mi/Song Bird - Typhos

Beatrice Ellen Trieste/8ugbear - Faunus

Alena Xenakis - Typhos

Bree Whitney - Typhos

Hanako Arasaka - Human

Meredith Stout - Human

Bleach Characters

Soi Fon - Faunus

Tatsuki Arisawa - Human

Tier Harribel - Typhos

Candice Catnipp - Human

Isane Kotetsu - Faunus

Ikumi Unagiya - Human

Cirucci Sanderwicci - Typhos

Liltotto Lamperd - Human

Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck -Typhos

Senna Ichinose - Faunus

My Hero Academia Characters

Moe Kamiji/Burnin - Human

Kaoruko Awata/Bubble Girl - Human

Rumi Usagiyama/Mirko - Faunus

Anan Kurose/Thirteen - Human

Himiko Toga - Typhos

Ibara Shiozaki/Vine - Human

Setsuna Tokage/Lizardy - Faunus

Reiko Yanagi/Emily - Human

Kaina Tsutsumi/Lady Nagant - Typhos

Nemuri Kayama/Midnight - Human

#rwby #fndm #rwby fanfiction #dc comics #marvel comics #overwatch #cyberpunk 2077 #bleach #my hero academia

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raveneesimo · 9 months ago

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Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: SU***Rebecca Sugar*** "Tiger Millionaire" Concept Drawing

#su #stevenuniverse #crewniverse

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midori-laboratories · 2 years ago

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Ashes In The Fall - Chapter 1: Resettlement I

Book 2 of the Calendula Chronicles

Resident evil, Wesker X OC

Paper Tigers is over. Welcome back to the main story.

Story Summary: Marigold Ashford escaped the mansion, only to face new incarceration with a familiar jailor. She may yet have to make a deal with the devil, if she can unearth what this Faustian bargain would cost her.

There is always something left to lose.

Chapter summary: Marigold regains briefly consciousness following the events at the end of Flowers and Ash, and puts a face to her new circumstances.

The world jolted, and Marigold Ashford was back in the world again.

But only just. Her eyes fluttered open. They felt heavy. Her limbs felt heavy. There seemed to be only the faintest connection to her body, a small frayed line of command, and it was being used to keep her eyes open.

A moment passed. The connection strengthened, little by little. Finally, she found the strength to raise her head just a little, to look up.

The sun had only just set. She was seated, belted into what seemed to be a large van. Her wrists had been cuffed together, secured to bonds around her thighs. She’d wager that her feet were similarly bound, but couldn’t quite connect to them at the moment.

She had been sent to wait at the motel for pickup. Exhausted and overwhelmed, she had drank a solid liter of vodka in an effort to forestall her nightmares. It hadn’t worked.

And then, something had awoken her. Gleaming red eyes in the din. And darkness again.

And now, this.

The driver wasn’t visible to her, but the radio was cheerily informing her that it was 11:37 in the evening, and the traffic for the hour was just -

“That was faster than expected,” A man’s voice came from her left. She might have yelped, but all she could manage was a sharp intake of breath. Her tongue felt twice as large as it should, like trying to gather a weighted blanket the size of an eight-person tent.

I know that voice.

Of course she did. Very slowly, she let her head tip to look in that direction. Somehow, it didn’t feel like a good idea to feign sleep.

Albert Wesker, the man who had entrapped her under the Spencer mansion all those years ago, had been calmly observing her struggle back to consciousness over the last several minutes. Despite the light almost being gone, he was wearing sunglasses. It struck her as funny, although all she managed was a lip twitch.

The van continued in silence for a few more moments. Wesker seemed quite comfortable for someone who had been impaled through the chest - something she had gone out of her way to confirm with a witness before leaving Raccoon City in the first place. She moved her jaw experimentally. The world was getting just a bit clearer.

“Spry for a corpse,” she managed to rasp out. Her mouth was so dry. Marigold closed her eyes, panting from the effort of treating to speak. That feeling from the forest had been him. Had he been tracking her all day, through Raccoon City? Had Ada been in on it, or was this an interception?

Marigold opened her eyes again, struggling to focus. She was panting, and she realized belatedly why. The van was an enclosed space, and Wesker’s scent had changed in a sharp way that she’d come to realize over the course of less than two days was her own attunement to the virus. The story Rebecca had told her had seemed like a suicide charge. Ridiculous...unless the point was to believably and unquestionably be seen to die.

Wesker had infected himself with the virus, and there hadn’t been a damned thing she could do to fight him off.

“Air…can't breathe in here.” It was dark in the van, but her night vision had steadily improved since her exposure thirty years prior. Marigold knew that she likely had a dull green eyeshine; the gardener used to wonder aloud whose sheep had gotten loose on the grounds, an assumption made after she had been out running in the evenings. It had only really developed over the last year or so before capture; it was still noticeable. It was likely stronger now, given the time gap.

A click, and somewhere, a fan came on. It was marginally better. She was still panting. “Don’t suppose you...have my medication? I...had it on me.”

“Not on hand, I’m afraid. You’ll have to work through it. Water is a possibility.”

She flinched at the thought, even as her throat screamed for relief. Every time he touched her, bad things happened. That was the thought that lodged in her mind, screaming and clattering around the cage her body had become. “No tank,” She said, sharp. She tried to push, but she was still foggy, unfocused.

Wesker paused. “No,” he said, voice low. He slipped the sunglasses from his face, and his eyes briefly pulsed red. “I think we can manage other accommodations this time around.” He reached down to a bag tucked into the van’s door pocket (no window crank?) extracting an injector. “For now, it’ll be simpler if you sleep for a while longer.” She didn’t catch the movement, not until she felt the firm grip under her jaw, his thumb pushing it up and out of the way until the pinch of the injector came. It held her down until the darkness flowed back over her once more.

(for reference: the only direct, two-way interaction these two have previously had was in Ashes in the Fall; otherwise, it's either been cat-and-mouse, actively stalking, or within a lab setting.)

#calendula chronicles #ashes in the fall #resident evil fanfiction #marigold ashford #albert wesker x oc

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meet-me-backstage · 1 year ago

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𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐨 𝐄𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 ⎈ 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐥��

𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 🦇 Eddie Munson x Fem!reader

Though even in darkness, there is always a light - for you this is Eddie Munson, who you gain an unlikely friendship in and fall for him in the process.

𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 🦇 smoking, mention of and consumption of drugs, horror themes, violence (in the upside down and probs Steve losing another fight (•̀ᴗ•́)و jk jk he's king), mention of and consumption of alcohol, mention of and a near death experience, death, nightmares, bad language, blood, bullying, mention of vomit and vomiting, some domestic (mainly verbal and emotional) abuse(‼️), mention of suicidal thoughts, mention of suicide, mention of self-harm, allusion to eating disorder and smUUT so you have to be 18+ to read this series❗️

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 🦇 4.8K words.

𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 🦇 allusion to eating disorder, domestic (verbal) abuse and mention of a near death experience.

⇜ 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑻𝒘𝒐 ⎈ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐲

🦇 𝟏𝐬𝐭 𝐉𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲, 𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟓 🦇

You are as still as a statue on your bed, staring into the darkness of your floral wallpapered room while you listen to the noises outside... soon you hear the front door open and shut, mumbles, Alex and Rebecca are home. You wonder what they think of you, what all the popular crowd at Hawkins High would think of you after tonight... you wince.

About ten minutes after you can hear your door creak open, you just know that it’s Rebecca checking to see if you’d made it back home - you quickly shut your eyes to avoid any contact.

The feeling that is left, the anger, it had become tired - it feels like a hangover and once Rebecca leaves you fall asleep until morning.

You look blankly out of your window, watching as the sunlight beams into your room through the curtains. You rub your eyes, taking a look at the Tiger emblem for Hawkins High on a flag hung up on your wall.

You want to rip it down - it reminding you of Billy and your screwed reputation, but you are way too tired to do anything that requires climbing furniture.

You sigh, honeycomb cereal sounds really good right now. You journey downstairs, it feels like you are travelling an extremely dangerous route to find treasure. You silently celebrate as you grab the honeycomb without any obstacles. You turn on your heel, your arm deep in the box of honeycomb and your hand grabbing a handful of it.

"Oh god - look at the state of you," It is your mom, now stood in front of you. She scarily looks down at the box of honey comb and then at your chipmunk-like cheeks that is filled with the stuff.

"Mom, please," you whine, "I had a really horrible start to the year," you sigh shakily. You couldn't lie - your tired brain couldn't think of a logical one for why you look the way you do, why you are stuffing your mouth.

She looks at you in disbelief, you avoid her eyes and stare at the curlers in her naturally dark hair, "Never-mind that - your tights!" Her eyes flicker downward at the ladders and rips in them from falling onto the sidewalk when Eddie pushed you away from probable death. She looks disappointed, a look you are used to getting from her, "Did anyone see you like this?" She gestures towards your outfit, your 'state'.

The words 'Eddie Munson' - it is like you physically can’t say them, not only because you don’t want to cause him any trouble, but because your mom would be even more ashamed if you told her that he'd been the one to cause the rips in your tights, "I - a few people at the party - this wasn't Billy... we didn't-," you blush, lowering your voice and you gesture at yourself, "Someone saved me from - being hit by a car-."

Your mom covers her face with her hands, "I am going to have to spend all afternoon trying to fix them for you."

Your face drops as she completely disregards you telling her that you had almost been roadkill last night, "I can - just get new ones?" You suggest, pointing your thumb over your shoulder before shoving your hand back into the cereal box, eating some more honeycomb.

"No - you won't get the right pair for yourself. Knowing you, you'd probably buy a basketball instead if I gave you the money," she rambles, suddenly snatching the honeycomb away from you , "And give that here, you fat pig - you'll tear them even more if you keep stuffing your mouth with junk!"

"Mom!" you whine again, stumbling backwards onto your ass. You stand back up, fiddling with your hands... ashamed of yourself, scared, "I - gave up basketball years ago," you mumble shakily, shrugging... defeated.

She still doesn’t trust you, you can tell - but you don’t stay long to hear the rest of what she has to say, but you do hear her say as you run upstairs: 'Why can't you be just like your sister?'

Why can’t I? I tried, but clearly not hard enough.

You stand in front of your closet just staring at the clothes in front of you - most of them had once been Rebecca's.

Your eyes lock with the only dark item of clothing in there - Mason's leather jacket, he'd given it to you as an 'I'll be back' token, it was one of his favorites and you never wore it because it was so much bigger than you, even now - you can’t wear it anyway, knowing your mom would rip it off of you and chuck it away.

You grab some of your hand-me-downs from Rebecca - a mustard sweater with a terrier dog on it, it was colourful with sequins, with some denim shorts... they were once stuffed at the back of your closet, you hated the sweater, still do, but mom had put them on hangers, trying to encourage you to wear it.

You consider climbing out of your bedroom window to go to Starcourt Mall, but figure that if your mom and Rebecca saw you in this awful outfit, they'd see that you are trying to be good after your behaviour last night.

You walk down the stairs. Rebecca is at the table, as is Alex and they both turn to look at you - Rebecca stays silent, it’s like she doesn’t care... like your mom.

Rebecca takes a sip of her black coffee, awkwardly looking at you from above the mug. You walk to the front door, choosing to put on your pink sneakers rather than your favorite, the black chunky boots.

"Are you okay, little miss?" You hear behind you, it is Alex - out of all three of them. Alex cared and spoke up most of the time before, it’s quite refreshing because he’s been gone for so long.

You look at him over your shoulder, his blonde hair is in a tidy mess, he is still sat at the table but he'd turned slightly so that half his body is facing you. He is wearing a white tank top and some black tracksuit bottoms.

Lost for words again, you just stand there, waiting to be saved... forgiven for your behaviour last night.

"She's fine, you're skipping breakfast this morning, aren't you sweetheart?" Your mom speaks up in a sweet but ominous tone, placing an omelette on the table in front of Rebecca, who is still sipping her drink like you aren’t silently pleading for help with your eyes - you thought that her sisterly instinct may kick in, but that was something that she never seemed to pick up.

"T-that's exactly right - I'm going to Starcourt... to get new tights," you speak with abrupt enthusiasm, while reaching for the front door’s handle.

You take your lilac bicycle that has little fire and lightning stickers on the frame and cycle away... while ‘home’ is still in sight, you look over your shoulder at it - no one, not even Alex had come out to chase after you, to tell you to come back or even wish you a 'happy new year', most of you knew that they would never and had already accepted it, but a part of you still hoped anyway.

The hopeful side of you makes your eyes water, but you forcefully wipe them away on your shoulders before shaking your head and using all of your leg power to get to the mall as soon as possible before anymore stupid thoughts linger on the surface of your mind.

You take in the quiet sights, cycling past Enzo's, the townhall, the community pool - it is like a ghost town, everyone is probably home with their families celebrating New Years Day.

Once you reach Starcourt, you tie your bike up outside, yours being the only one there. However, it looks like the mall isn’t completely empty because there are moms and dads making their way into it with their kids, or friends together, laughing and looking forward to the day ahead. Knowing yours would be the complete opposite - bleak - you force yourself to look away... grab the tights, pay for them and go, climb to my room, be alone.

The mall is full of life, neon lights and music, a dramatic contrast to home - you find it refreshing and it makes you smile for the first time today. You look around from the entrance, it smells of ice cream which you assume is coming from 'Scoops Ahoy'... it is inviting. You’d never been here on your own, you often followed Rebecca around when she went shopping but you never really took in your surroundings. You recognise the horse miniature fairground ride because it is close to 'The Gap'... There it is - next to JCPenney.

The pink walls burst from inside of the store, it usually thrived with the popular crowd of Hawkins High, but today it is barren. Perfect. You walk into the store, being suddenly immersed in a variety of patterns, but you head strictly for the tights which are stacked towards the back of the store.

As you bend over to grab a pair of tights, you notice Chrissy between the gap on the other side of the shelf - your heart jolts, a sudden wave of nerves flow through you at the sight of her, she is unloading boxes of clothes and hanging them up. When did she start working here?!

She comes your way, putting some socks on the shelving and you pretend you’re browsing, "Can I hel- little miss, hi!" Her head peeks up over the shelving and you can only see her bright and sparkling green eyes, "what are you doing here?!" She asks, seeming nervous, but sweet as always and you smile widely as if you hadn't previously spotted her.

I could ask you the same question, "Just buying... tights," you snicker at yourself, holding up the tights in your hand. She smiles, but it doesn’t quite reach her eyes - she looks exhausted, her eye-bags prominent, yet she still stands out as vibrant as a rainbow to you, "Do you need help with anything?" You ask out of the blue.

She looks around, her eyes wide as if she hadn't expected you to offer, "But, aren't you here celebrating with Becky - your family?"

Your eyes travel downward to the white tile floor awkwardly, your cheeks also blushing pink, "N-no - no family... just me," you shrug your shoulders and force a giggle.

There is a sense of understanding that you get from her even though she doesn’t say anything in response. "Oh - well, you could help me unload boxes? I really don't want to cause you any trouble though," she pouts, holding her own hands. Her hair is tightly tied into a ponytail dangling beside her head and it swings as she speaks.

"It's no trouble... I'd love to help," you give her a warm smile, it'd be a good pass time, also she looks like she could do with the help. You hadn't spent much time together lately as you’d got so caught up with Billy, Rebecca, the parties. You realise that maybe you should've been spending more time with Chrissy instead.

Chrissy smiles, it now reaches her eyes as if no one had ever offered her help, "Thank you so much, little miss!" She says excitedly and her features suddenly brighten even more, making you feel warm inside. You follow behind her towards the stack of boxes. She has a skip in her step now, which makes you raise a brow, not expecting her to be so happy to see you, but it immediately brightens your day, "You're a life saver, seriously - it's been so dead in here today."

You kneel on the floor, emptying the boxes one by one... you are determined to help, to get something right for once - it is easy enough to figure out where things are meant to go... you share glances and accidentally brush hands, awkwardly smiling at each other - it feels so good and you decide in the midst of hanging a black shirt-dress covered with a colourful pattern of lines and shapes: I want to spend more time here.

"Closing time, Chrissy!" A female voice calls, a constant tap of high-heels becomes louder, you assume it is Chrissy's boss, "Wouldn't want you slaving away anymore when it's New Year's Da- oh, who's this?" The woman comes into view, looking down at you sat next to Chrissy, sorting through the final box. She is no older than thirty and has kind-looking features.

"A friend from school - everyone calls her little miss," Chrissy answers with a high pitched giggle. Apart from Eddie, you think. Your smile falters for a moment at the reality that Chrissy had completely forgotten ‘Tink’, the nickname she came up with for you.

The woman smiles warmly, which is not what you expected. You smile shyly, "Hi - I know Chrissy from school, bumped into her and wanted to help ou-," you began to ramble, thinking you’d be chucked out for 'disrupting'.

"It's okay, sweetie - that's so thoughtful, we could all do with a friend like you. I’m Dana, by the way," she states and takes a look around at the work that her you and Chrissy had done, "Impressive - you two got a lot done in little time which means," she checks her watch, "I will make it to my sister's family - lunch," she giggles breathlessly, "I thought I wouldn't make it - you are welcome back, little miss - anytime."

You hadn't felt so welcome in a place before. You can’t stop the smile on your face, knowing it meant that you can spend more time with Chrissy, "I'll definitely be back," you keep grinning at Dana and then at Chrissy, who's clapping her hands together excitedly.

"Amazing - you’re hired!" she holds her hand out of you to shake, which you take quickly, "as a token of my thanks for your help - take a pink backpack from old stock, they’re behind the counter - Chrissy can take one too!" Dana grins before letting go of your hand and walking towards the exit of the store. She looks over her shoulder and taps the doorframe, glancing at Chrissy, "Chrissy, could you shut the store?"

"For sure!" Chrissy nods.

"See you later, girls - happy new year!" She exclaims, grinning one last time, and after you and Chrissy return a 'happy new year!', she leaves.

You and Chrissy are left alone, "So-."

"So," Chrissy giggles.

You think, "So - you wanna grab those backpacks and get some ice cream?" At first she seems unsure at your suggestion about the ice cream, "If - if you don't have any plans with your family or anything-."

She shakes her head, "No - I’d like to catch up with you! ‘M gonna get the spare keys for the shutter and the backpacks - we’re gonna be matching!" she rushes towards the cashier desk and disappears behind it for a moment.

She actually wants to match… with me? She might not after she finds out what happened at the party.

With her enthusiastic demeanour, the way she giggled, almost tripping running back to you with two small and very pastel pink backpacks - it told you that she really did want to be with you and you felt even more guilty for not spending enough alone time with her, for not approaching her at her locker and asking her how her day was going, or gone to her when you found a cheerleading routine difficult...

“Here!” She giggles, passing you one of the backpacks before she slides both her arms into the straps of her backpack and you do the same with yours.

Chrissy jumps up to put the store key in the hole to activate the shutter and fails, so you decide to help. You hold the key with her, so the force of putting the key in would be doubly effective, "Okay, we jump on the count of - three," you say and she nods, you giggle before starting to count down, "One - two - three!"

You jump in unison and with your arm strength combined, you got the key in. On your fall back down, the knee that had been hurt from falling on the concrete last night hits the floor, you wince and laugh at the same time.

"Oh no! Are you okay?" She laughs nervously and helps you back onto your feet

"Still - alive," you keep laughing through the pain and she looks at you with a toothy, but nervous grin before pressing the shutter button and holding it down.

You walk together to ‘Scoops Ahoy’ with your matching pink backpacks hanging from your backs - it has a sailor-eque vibe, even the man working there is wearing a sailor outfit... he looks - ridiculous.You and Chrissy share an amused look because he does not look happy to be wearing it. He stands while holding onto the edges of the counter waiting for you to decide what you are going to have with a very serious, 'no bullshit' expression on your face.

"Mmm, they all look so yummy!" You hum enthusiastically, "Can I have two scoops of caramel apple ice cream please?" the excitement of getting two scoops makes you grin because if your mom were here right now, you’d have none at all... you wouldn't have even looked at ‘Scoops Ahoy’ because if you did, mom would’ve said something along the lines of ‘I don’t want to have to alter your skirts again, sweetheart’ or ‘I’ll have to gut you like the fat pig that you are’.

"Cone or tub?" The man asks, grabbing the scooper.

"Cone," you blurt and turn to Chrissy, who looks nervous, especially when the man looks at her after handing you your delicious-looking ice cream cone.

"Can I er - have one scoop of Strawberry, please?" She asks, her voice smaller than usual - the man, who you now know is called ‘Danny’ after reading his nametag, gives her another expectant look, "In a tub."

You look at her quizzically, but she looks happy once she has the tub in her hand, the pink ice cream had a tiny spoon burrowed into it while yours was dripping down the cone already and you slurp it up, earning a giggle from Chrissy.

"Mom would kill me if she saw me eating here," she admits straight away once you’ve sat yourselves down at a table in the parlour.

"Me too," you giggle nervously, "It can be our little secret."

She relaxes into her seat more and scoops little bits of her ice cream at a time, she keeps her head down low and you assume she does this because she doesn’t want anybody to see her... you lower your head too, at least we are on the same boat, or... banana boat - you giggle, wiping your mouth with the back of your hand. Even though Chrissy has no idea why you are giggling, she joins you anyway, it’s like she enjoys seeing you 'misbehave'.

"Did you have a good New Year's Eve?" She asks, politely wiping her mouth with a navy napkin she'd picked up at the counter before she sat down.

You take a deep and shaky breath, "it was the - worst - I did - something - bad and I'm afraid everyone's either going to hate me for it," you stutter out, trying to be humorous even though you’re still hurting for your reputation... Billy - I didn't even let him explain. Chrissy's mouth is parted and you can tell that she’s aching for you to tell her what happened, like anything remotely dramatic is 'forbidden fruit' to her, "I slapped Billy Hargrove... unprovoked - so hard my hand can still feel it," your heart can too.

Chrissy gasps, "No way!" She almost drops her ice cream tub, but manages to compose herself, "Where?"

"At Tina's place - she had a party last night."

"You were there? At a senior’s party?" She asks as if it had been the coolest thing in the world to be at one of Tina’s parties.

It’s like she knew something you didn't, which naturally makes you curious,"You heard about it?"

"I - I heard that the cops broke off the party - I think because of complaints made by neighbours... including my mom, she was on the phone ranting about it ruining our firework display... the 'youth of today's noise'," she rolls her eyes, timidly mimicking her mom’s voice.

"It was probably a good thing that I left early even though the circumstances weren't... great anyway," you trail off with a giggle, "What put the cherry on top was nearly being hit by a car and pushed ontothegroundbyEddieMunson-," your voice drops in volume when you mention Eddie - I shouldn't have mentioned him.

"What - who?" She asks, her face blank and her eyes wide.

Either she didn't remember Eddie or you’d spoken too fast - you aren’t sure, but you are somewhat relieved that she hadn't heard.

You shake your head and focus on the blue, square tabletop, "Never-mind - it was just... a lot for one night," you take a few deep breaths, "I don't know how I'm going to walk into the school again - the thought is making me shake in my boots, you know?" The idea of being forced to confront the consequences of last night is making my heart clench with fear, I behaved so badly. You frown.

"You could - walk to school with me?" Chrissy suggests.

"Yeah?" You ask, unsure, but hopeful that the presence of Chrissy would ease any 'first day back after a holiday and hitting one of the popular seniors' nerves.

"Of course - I'm sure you'll be fine anyway, since Billy seems to be a bit of a jerk," she nods, giggling, "And that's probably putting it lightly."

You giggle and hesitantly nod in agreement, "I'm starting to see that now," it physically hurt to hear yourself say those words when you couldn’t help but blamed myself for what you did last night.

"I meet Jason outside the library at ten past seven so you could meet us there maybe?" She blushes at the mention of Jason Carver, who you only knew because he sat at the same table in the cafeteria - he is one of the basketball players that could potentially take over as captain when Steve Harrington graduates. You exchanged glances with Jason but you hadn’t yet spoken to him.

"Jason, hm?" You wiggle your eyebrows, changing the subject.

You’d noticed the way that Chrissy looked at him, the way he'd always sit next to her in the cafeteria or on a break during pep rally rehearsals. It was the same exact way you looked at Billy, except Jason definitely reciprocates the crush that Chrissy has on him - even in your current untrusting state towards boys, it’s so obvious to you and everyone else on the cheer team, who openly teased them to their faces about their crushes on each other often, making them blush.

Chrissy nods, blushing furiously now, "Yeah - he's a good f-friend," she grins, shrugging.

"Mhmmm," you drag out with a mischievous smile.

She tilts her head, grinning, "what?" Her cheeks as pink as the ice cream she'd just eaten.

"Nothinggg - he seems nice," you chuckle and shrug one shoulder, tilting your head too, playfully copying her.

Her dainty hands rest on the table, "Yeah - he's really nice, kind of mean to me sometimes - I think it's - maybe - because he - he likes me," she stutters, her brain trying to process the fact that Jason could potentially like her, she shakes her head and giggles at herself, "Do you think that he could - maybe?"

As you open your mouth to answer, to firmly tell her that ‘yes, he does like you’, you notice her looking to her right, she squeaks, "Fudge!" She ducks away from the window separating you from from the rest of the mall, "Put your head down, it's my mom!" She whispers desperately, putting her hand on your shoulder, which gives you yet another warm feeling exactly where she touches you. You notice her mom near the escalators, and you quickly duck your head too, "She's here to pick me up."

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to keep you so long," you whisper back with worry - I know how she feels.

"Don't - don't be sorry, little miss - this has been so fun," she smiles, you both have a moment where you’re just smiling before going back to panicking, "- but I wasn't exaggerating when I said she'd be mad if she saw me here."

You bite your lips together and fiddle with the tips of your hair, "Errr - maybe I could distract her while you sneak outta here - or we could sneak together. There are a couple plant pots we could hide behind?"

"Either way we're gonna look so weird to everyone else," she nervously looks around.

You nod in agreement, then you peek out the window and notice her mom sitting down at one of the benches now, facing away from ‘Scoops Ahoy’, "She's facing away and sitting down - as long as she stays that way you should be fine."

Chrissy still looks alarmingly nervous, her hands are shaking and it starts to make you think and put all of the pieces together - her mom is exactly like mine... and if her mom sees me with Chrissy walking out of Scoops Ahoy, she’ll call my mom because they were best friends before, Mrs Cunningham used to come over for tea after school while me and Chrissy used to play dolls in Becky’s room. Suddenly your heart starts to race at the risk, "I'll sneak with you, okay?" She looks up at you, "We're in this together, Chris."

She hums shakily and nods.

"C'mon, l-let's go," you try to hide your nerves as you whisper and slide off of your seat and onto your feet. Instead of standing up straight you keep the upper-half of your body low. You look over your shoulder at Chrissy, who is clearly embarrassed by having to do this and glances at Danny, the waiter, who is distracted by serving another customer now.

You act as her shield and in-between crawling out of ‘Scoops Ahoy’ and reaching the first plant pot, which is double your size, Chrissy grabs your hand for reassurance while you keep a close eye on her mom.

On your way to the next plant pot Chrissy let’s go of your hand, which makes you feel unusually disheartened... you shake it off and hide behind the next pot with her. An elderly couple walks past you, giving you both confused looks, in response you smiled shyly and wave as they continue to walk away, shaking their heads disapprovingly.

"I don't think your mom will know that we've been stuffing our faces with ice cream now that we're... here," you state with a little smile, "If she asks we'll just say we've been eating the leaves from these plants… actually - she’d probably have more of a problem with that too,” you giggle.

Chrissy laughs, her face scrunching up, "I don’t know what’s worse," I don’t know either... what my mom would prefer, "Would you come with me? To my mom? I just feel I'd be more - comfortable with you there."

"S-sure," you stutter, nervous, which she notices immediately.

"You don't have to, little miss - I'm not gonna make you," she looks worried, thinking she'd scared you - it’s her mom that does.

You walk side by side, your posture upright when you become visible to Chrissy's mom, who is applying nude lipstick to her lips with the help of a pocket-mirror. She sees you immediately after putting the mirror back into her handbag, "Ah, there you are, Chrissy," she stands up suddenly, fiddling with the skirt of her floral dress, "I was beginning to think I'd have to file a missing persons report."

Chrissy smiles, holding her own hands to soothe her anxiousness, "Hi mom - I bumped into little miss as I was shutting up the store and we er- decided to do some - shopping."

"Hi, Mrs Cunningham," you greet her with a small smile and wave as she finally decides to make eye contact with you... she’s always thought I was trouble. They used to talk shit about me over the telephone all the damn time, her and mom.

She looks you up and down, taking in the outfit that you’d chosen... you can see her approval of it because she gives you an impressed smile, "Good afternoon," she nods before looking back at her daughter, tutting and reaching forward to push away some of Chrissy's fringe, messy from our plant pot to plant pot adventure, "You don't have any bags?"

Chrissy glances at you... lost.

Your face lights up before you spin around, showing Mrs Cunningham the pink mini backpack, “Bags! We got bags!” You point over your shoulder, tapping the top of the backpack and Chrissy nods, turning to show hers too. "And er- Chrissy saw a dress that she loved - you know, the polka dot one," you nod at Chrissy, you both now facing Mrs Cunningham again - you hope you are being convincing enough.

Chrissy nods, "Yes - it was so pretty, mom," she enthuses and gives her mom the toothiest of smiles, "But then I realised the time - so me and little miss are going to go shopping again next weekend," she gets very caught up in the lie, but you can tell that the part about you meeting up again is the truth... you can tell by the 'Chrissy-esque' smile she is giving you.

"Yes - I can't wait!" You smile too, hoping she can tell between your truths and lies too... you bring your hand towards her, holding out your pinky to link with hers in hopes that she'd further understand you being truthful by a pinky promise.

You remember how in middle school she’d always pinky promise if she ever borrowed one of Becky’s dolls or one of your pencils in class.

She doesn’t take more than a second to link her pinky with mine with the same radiant smile gracing her lips.

"Lovely," Mrs Cunningham giggles, "Come along now, Chrissy - Tony and your father will be expecting their lunch any minute," she starts to walk, holding her arm out towards Chrissy, who decides to hug you instead.

"Thank you," she whispers in your ear, squeezing you for a moment and before you know it, she is walking away from you, following her mom.

Once she'd caught up with her, she is in her mom's grasp - Mrs Cunningham puts an arm around Chrissy as they walk out of the mall, leaving you stood there... alone. Though after today, you feel like Chrissy is going to be there for you from now on.

I feel less alone.

⇝ 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑭𝒐𝒖𝒓 ⎈ 𝐄𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐞

𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐒 ↯

𝑭𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝑯𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝑻𝒐 𝑬𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚

@sadbitchfangirl

𝑬𝒅𝒅𝒊𝒆 𝑴𝒖𝒏𝒔𝒐𝒏

@munsonology @introvertedmouse @fastnights @kathieycarrerarosshley @marjoriea13 @goldengunspinkrosses-blog @lolalanaie @neteyamsluvts

⎈

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wlw-webcomic-bracket · 2 years ago

Text

Part two!

P.E.T.S. (Tasha and Tourmaline)

Pandora's Devils (Evie and Jack)

PaperTeeth! (Avery and Scarlet)

Paradise (Pam Gripps and Evon Bali)

Paranatural (Mina and Valerie)

Penny & Aggie (Penny and Aggie)

Pink Sugar (Blake, Rocko, Artemis, and Satya)

Pinky and Pepper Forever (Pinky and Pepper)

Please Bully Me, Miss Villainess! (Evie and Elsa)

Poppy O'Possum (Poppy and Kit)

Princess x Pistolier (Katrya and Annilysse)

Purple Hyacinth (Belladonna and Neyra)

Questionable Content (Faye and Bubbles; Dora and Tai)

Rain (Rain and Emilly)

Rainbow! (Boo and Mimi)

Realta (Elowen and Amelia)

Ring My Bell (Mai Sohn and Chungyeon Lee)

Rock and Riot (Connie and Carla)

Sanguine (Red and Morgan)

Savior (Seyeon, Wohn, and Juyi)

Serenity Rose (Serenity and Catrina)

Seven Days in Silverglen (Tess and Mira)

She Makes Hungry (Kou and Villi)

Shootaround (Hotaru, Kayla, and Elise; Ana Sofia and Lakka)

Sister Claire (Catherine and Oscar)

Sleepless Domain (Undine and Kokoro; Amy and Carina)

Somebody To You (Lia and Jian)

Sparklecare (Rem and Mood)

SpellAstra (Mana and Nova)

Starward Lovers (Jen and Rocker)

Strawberry Seafoam (Rouge and Koris)

Sunflowers & Lavender (Penny and Bianca)

Sunny and Rainy (Sunny and Rainy)

Surprise! You're Gay! (Bianca and Chandler)

Tamen De Gushi/Their Story (Sun Jing and Qiu Tong)

That Time I Was Blackmailed By the Class's Green Tea Bitch (Xiao Lu and Tong Tong)

The Best Girl (Amy and Kay)

The City Between (Rebecca and Marnie)

The Four of Them (Mari and Mica)

The Greenhouse (Mica, Liv, and Red)

The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn't a Guy at All (Aya and Mitsuki)

The Prettiest Platypus (Lillie and Beverly)

The Sea in You (Corinth and Skylla)

The Shepherd's Sword (Shep and Wayne)

The Stoop Gallants (Mica and Alta)

The Sweetness of Salt (Leah and Sha)

Tiger, Tiger (Ludovica and Luck)

Trixie Slaughteraxe for President (Trixie and Klara)

Unfamiliar (Sun and Babs)

Us Right Now (Rina and Noa)

Vampire Girlfriends (Tabitha and Poppy)

Vowrune (Hilda and Viwyn)

What's a Soulmate (Jessica and Rose)

Widdershins (Verity and Patience)

Wilde Life (Eliza and Darcy)

Witch Watch (Witch and Checkpoint Guard)

YU+ME: Dream (Fiona and Lia)

WEBCOMIC DIRECTORY

Half the reason I created this tournament is so I could find new webcomics to read, and I know a bunch of you are following it for the same reason.

So: Here is a directory of every webcomic that was submitted!

Please note that this list is Very Long, so (1) I have not read most of these webcomics and can't vouch for their content, and (2) I have not tested any of these links, but I can fix any errors if you point them out.

Comics are listed in alphabetical order, with the featured couple(s) or poly ship(s) in parentheses. Broken into two parts because Tumblr only allows 100 links per post and there are 140 comics.

180° Angel (Sam and Lilith)

2 Slices (Ruka and Rio)

A Week in Warrigilla (Hazel and Willie)

A&H Club (Adrian and Hildegard)

Alice and the Nightmare (Edith and Quinn)

Alien Heart (Ivy and Rosa)

Always Human (Sunati and Austen)

Balderdash (Georgie and Afia)

Band vs Band (Honey Hart and Turpentine)

Blindsprings (Ember and Irelia)

Boyfriends (Jock, Prep, Nerd, and Goth)

Bugtopia (Arachne and Scarlet)

Burn Away (Abella and Edie)

Charity Case (Sylvia and Jerry)

Circuits and Veins (Ai and Aki)

Console Her (Claudia and Ava)

Cucumber Quest (Almond and Peridot; Piano and Ametrine)

Cursed Princess Club (Nell and Jolie)

Dame Daffodil (Charo and Alesea)

Daughter of the Lilies (Lyra and Margot)

Dead Winter (Lizzie and Alice)

Dicebox (Griffin and Molly)

Dirt Creek Runs Red with Blood (Ines and Sarepia)

Dom&Mor (Dominique and Morgan)

Dresden Codak (Kimiko and Elith)

Drop-Out (Lola and Sugar)

Dumbing of Age (Becky and Dina; Jennifer/Billie and Ruth)

El Goonish Shive (Ellen and Nanase; Catalina and Rhoda; Diane and Lucy)

Eldritch Darling (Ina and CJ)

Encore! (Quinn and Hana)

Ennui Go (Izzy, Darcy, and Tanya)

Errant (Sarin and Jules)

Facing the Sun (Aarya and Liza)

Finding Wonderland (Alex and Lucky)

Flowers For the Arsonist (Lucia and Paige)

Four Leaf (Carla and Lina)

Gals (Croix, Sam, Lux, and Charlotte)

Ghoul Crush (Sison and Laguna)

Girly (Otra and Winter)

Glitterlaced (Goldie and Luck)

Go Get a Roomie (Roomie and Lillian)

Guide to the Land of Monsters (Arnatuk and Tove)

Gunnerkrigg Court (Kat and Paz; Zimmy and Gamma)

Hard Lacquer (Claire and Robin; Claire and Petra)

Heartstopper (Darcy and Tara)

Heir's Game (Sevilia and Ilianna)

Her Tale of Shim Chong (Shim Chong and Madam Jang)

High Class Homos (Sapphia and Odette; Sapphia and Marla)

Homestuck (Rose and Kanaya; Calliope and Roxy; Vriska and Meenah; Vriska and Terezi)

How to Be a Werewolf (Marin and Marisa)

I Love Amy (Amy and Bibi)

I Want to Be a Cute Anime Girl (Cheryl and Delilah)

I'm the Villainess but the Heroine's Trying to Capture Me (Nelly and Nancy)

In My Heart (Wantanabe Yuki and Sasaki Mari)

Isadora (Isaline and Theodora)

It's Okay to Like Girls (Sophie and Olivia)

Kidd Commander (Phineas and Agatha)

Kill Six Billion Demons (Allison and Ciocie Cioelle)

Kiss It Goodbye (Aruka and Yukimi)

Lady of the Shard (Radiant Goddess and Acolyte; Radiant Goddess and Old God)

Lesbiampires (Daphne and Veronika)

Lore Olympus (Athena and Hestia)

Mage & Demon Queen (Malori and Velverosa)

Matchmaker (Kimmy and Marlowe)

Missing Monday (Foyle and Monday)

Monsters and Girls (Lili and Sera)

Motherlover (Imogen and Alex)

Moving In (Jackie and Riley)

Muted (Camilla, Nyra, and Dendro)

My Dragon Girlfriend (Dani and Christie; Callie and Olive)

My Sweet Archenemy (Mad Spade and Miss Sunshine)

My Wish Is to Fall In Love Until You Die (Shiina and Mimi; Seiran and Ari)

Namesake (Selva and Alice)

Nano List (Chacha and Zavi)

Never Satisfied (Neith and Isra)

Nevermore (Lenore and Annabel Lee)

Night Owls and Summer Skies (Emma and Vivian)

Not So Shoujo Love Story (Rei and Hanna)

Octopus Pie (Jane and Marigold)

Offbeat (Beau and Julie)

On a Sunbeam (Mia and Grace; Alma and Char)

On Borrowed Time (Rune and Dielle)

Osora (Celia and Catalina)

Remaining links in part two!

124 notes · View notes

honeybadgerwritings · 2 years ago

Text

Bandana And The Bracelet

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Reader

Requested: OMG OKAY i was thinking about what to request for eddie or steve because i read your elevator fic and fell in love instantly. Would you write a 4 + 1 concept for eddie? I just love those! Maybe with a popular!reader? And i know some people are tired of that but i just adore some opposites attract shit lmao

Um if you want an idea: the 4 times reader ignored him and the 1 time she/they didn't. If you don't have time to write right now or that just doesn't give you any inspiration i totally understand! Lots of love 💕💕💕💕💕💕

Warnings: Heavy Mentions of Abuse and Violence, Blood, Angst, Panic Attack, Drug Usage, Arguments, Insults, My Overuse of Italics (Please let me know if I missed any!!!)

A/N: Haha decided to do a 5+1 instead, I decided to give Andy the most basic last name I could think of, because I don’t think he has one.

ALSO PLEASE DON’T MURDER ME FOR HOW LONG IT TOOK ME TO GET THIS FIC OUT!!! ITS BEEN A ROUGH MONTH AND A HALF!

Summary: 5 times you ignored Eddie + the 1 time you didn’t.

For the sake of this fic, You, Eddie, Chrissy, Robin, Andy, and Jason are all in senior year. Steve one year older and graduated.

Not Edited

(Will get it done ASAP)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1. The Tickle Fight

An ensemble of heavy metal echoes in your ears as Jawbreaker by Judas Priest blasts throughout the Munson trailer. You huff in frustration, flipping over the chair cushion in the living room as you look for your green bracelet. Eddie is proving himself to be absolutely useless as he leans against the wall, watching you scramble around, desperate to find it. He smirks to himself as you do so, feeling it sit in his back pocket. You huff in frustration, wiping sweat from your brow as you look up at him.

“Are you gonna help me or just sit there?” You sass, placing a hand on your hip. He raises an eyebrow at you,

“Actually I’m pretty content over here.”

You groan, throwing the cushion at him. You hope it catches him off guard and hits him in the face, but you’re not so lucky as he snatches it, tossing it in his hands.

“Easy tiger,” he laughs, watching as you slowly become more and more frustrated. “Why do you need it so badly anyways?”

A sigh leaves your lips as you rub your arm, fingers fiddling with a button on your denim jacket, and your eyes are fixated on the floorboards. Eddie’s eyebrows furrow as he watches you become flustered all of a sudden, almost like you’re embarrassed to tell him.

“Hey,” he bends down to meet your gaze, and you’ll be damned if you ever admit that his pretty eyes make your stomach do flips, and your heart beat faster, “What is it sweetheart?”

“It’s just-” the pet name makes your brain sputter for a moment and you bite your inner cheek. You know he’s definitely about to judge you for your next words, “We start Sophomore year tomorrow and I wanna look good. The bracelet is the only thing I have that matches the outfit I picked.”

You can tell by his reaction that he’s confused, so you elaborate before he can get any words out, “If I dress nice maybe I can get in with some of the popular girls. You know, like Chrissy and Rebecca…. and then it might be easier for me to join the cheer team.”

His mouth drops open in pure shock as you stand there before him. Your eyes meet the ground once again as you fiddle with the hem of your jacket nervously. The silence is only broken once his laugh cuts through the air, and you look up at him in surprise. His head is thrown back as he clutches the cushion in his grip, having to lean back into the wall to support himself.

You frown, a pout forming on your lips as you cross your arms and glare at him, “What’s so funny about that?”

He shakes his head, huffing out a few more laughs as he tries to calm himself down. He bends over in an attempt to catch his breath, which allows you to spot the bracelet dangling from his back pocket. You grin at that, figuring that he’d taken it, but you had to be sure first. He stands back up as the last of his chuckles escape him.

“I’m sorry- I’m sorry I….” He huffs out, smiling, “You just looked like a kicked puppy. Like I was going to be upset with you over that.” Now it’s your turn to be confused.

“But I thought you hate the cheer team. You always make fun of them.”

“Ah ah ah,” he corrects you, “I make fun of their boyfriends, who are all douche bags to me. I think you’d be a great cheerleader sweetheart.”

You smile bashfully and he smirks as your cheeks grow pink.

“In fact, I have something that might even match better.” You raise an eyebrow at him as he makes his way into his room. He comes back, a green bandana in hand. He gestures for you to hold out your wrist and you do so, letting him tie it neatly. You can’t help but grin as you watch him, admiring the fact that his tongue is sticking out as he focuses.

“See? Perfect.” He stands up, a proud smile on his face, “Much better than any old bracelet.”

Your heart feels like it’s grown three sizes. What the hell is happening to you?

You roll your eyes, and lean in, making it seem like you’re just going to hug him. Instead, you dodge his outstretched arms and attempt to snatch the bracelet from his back pocket. He jumps out of the way, taking a few steps back as he giggles like a little school girl.

“You thief! I knew you had it!”

He rolls his eyes at you, crossing his arms, “You absolutely did not.”

“Did too!”

He sticks his tongue out at you, “Did not.”

You jab him in the stomach, emitting a surprised squeal from him as he tries to get away. If there’s one weakness you know Eddie Munson has, it’s that he’s incredibly ticklish.

He tries to push you away from him, but he fails, toppling over onto his back. You crawl on top of him, continuing to dig your fingers into his sides, his stomach and his neck. Laughs and squeals leave his lips in between his desperate pleas for you to stop,

“Pl-please stop! I’m sorry! I-I’m sorry!” He giggles, attempting to push you off of him. You just laugh, ignoring him and continuing your attack, his protests being drowned out by Judas Priest.

You may have never gotten your bracelet back, but at least you got to keep the bandana.

2. The Actual Fight

It’s cold. And rainy. And dark.

Which means that the last place you want to be right now is upset and waiting outside your best friends trailer in your cheer uniform. It’s currently the middle of October and you had your first ever pep rally as a cheerleader tonight. You had been so excited, spending hours practicing the different routines that you were supposed to do.

The night had gone great too. You’d remembered every single move and routine without messing up once, and you had so much fun while doing it. Until you realized someone was missing in the crowd.

Eddie.

Your feelings had only grown for him in recent months. Developing from a simply crush, to you being absolutely giddy any time his name was mentioned. He’d been super excited to watch you perform too, promising you over and over again for weeks that he would be there tonight.

“How could I miss my favorite girl doing something she loves?” He’d said to you.

I don’t know Eddie, but apparently you could.

He was also supposed to be your ride home, but since he never showed up you had to hitch a ride with Chrissy back to your house. You didn’t mind that though, she’s actually very sweet and had spent a lot of time helping you practice the different routines. She’s a good friend to you.

You had thanked her after she dropped you off and watched her car pull away before turning to head inside. You didn’t even make it to the front door before your mind wandered to Eddie. Maybe there was a reason he hadn’t shown up to the pep rally. Maybe he was sick… or hurt. You couldn’t bear not at least checking up on him.

So you grabbed your bike and began the 3 mile trek to the trailer park.

Now here you are, standing in the trickling rain and banging on door of the Munson residence with your fist. Part of you hopes that there’s something actually wrong with him. Because if he ditched you for no reason, you’re going to be pissed.

“Jesus Christ- I’m coming!” His voice is muffled through the metal walls before the door flies open, revealing a very disheveled, very high, Eddie Munson. Your heart sinks in disappointment as his eyebrows furrow in confusion at the sight of you.

“Sweetheart? What are you doing here?” He asks, reeking of weed. You take a step back shaking your head in disappointment. The pet name doesn’t have the same affect on you that it normally does; this time it physically hurts to hear.

“I could ask you the same thing.” He’s confused, you can tell, “You were supposed to be there tonight Eddie.” He shakes his head, still lost. You sigh, clearly aggravated as you gesture to your cheer outfit. A look of recognition fills his eyes and you expect him to feel bad, falling to his knees and beg you for forgiveness like his dramatic self normally would.

He doesn’t even flinch.

“Okay?”

But you do.

“Okay? What do you mean okay? You promised me that you would be there. And what- you ditched me to get high?” You ask incredulously. He opens his mouth to respond before one of the doors behind him creaks open and a sickeningly sweet voice fills the air,

“Eddie can you tell the cheerleader to hurry it up please?”

Oh.

You flinch again, just now noticing how his pants are on completely backwards and there’s remnants of lipstick on his cheek. Oh my god. He had completely ditched you for another girl. You’d be lying if you said it didn’t feel like a stab to the heart; a jealous rage filling you.

“Yeah baby, I’ll be there in just a minute.” Eddie calls back and you scowl. So that’s it? Mystery girl is “baby,” but you’ve been downgraded to just “the cheerleader” to him?

You can’t help but scoff as you hear her shut the door behind her. Eddie watches carefully as your eyes fill with rage, becoming slightly irritated himself.

“The cheerleader?” You ask, and he shrugs.

“Well, you are one aren’t you?” He snaps back. You take another step back at his tone, never having heard him speak like that towards you.

“Yeah I am…. I thought that wasn’t a problem for you.” You mumble, head hanging low at this point. You hear him huff, and tears start to brim your eyes.

“It’s not. You’re the one making it a problem.” His nonchalant attitude causes you to snap,

“You were supposed to be there! You told me over and over again for weeks about how excited you were to see me perform! And then- what- you ditched me to get high and sleep with some girl? Do you even know her?”

He’s angry now, opening his mouth to yell, but you cut him off again, “You know what? I don’t even care about her at this point. You were my ride home too Eddie, and you weren’t there. Best friends don’t do that kind of shit to each other.”

It’s like he ignores almost everything you had just said.

“Well you made it home just fine didn’t you?” He asks bitterly.

“No thanks to you, asshole.” His eyes widen in surprise at your words. You had hardly ever cussed around him, let alone at him. A mix of both guilt and dread begin to sink in as he realizes the full extent of your anger,

“Listen, you came at a bad time and-”

The tears begin to fall down your cheeks as you grab your bike, hopping on. You wish it were you he’d been so quick to defend. You wish it were you he was spending his night with. You wish it were you in that trailer instead of some random girl.

“Yeah I can see that. But you don’t have to worry about that happening again, I won’t be coming around anymore.” You begin to peddle off, needing to be away from him. His face falls as he watches you,

“C’mon don’t be like that!” He calls,

“Sweetheart please…” he tries again. But you don’t turn around. You don’t even acknowledge him as you bike off into the night, your tears mixing with the rain as they soak your cheeks.

3. The Band Practice

The rest of the year had gone by in a flash and it was now Summer in Hawkins once again. Your sophomore year had been great to be honest. You’d gotten solid grades, passed your drivers test, and made plenty of new friends from the cheer squad, and while they could definitely be pretty mean and judgmental, they were better than nothing.

Except Chrissy though, she’s an absolute saint. She’s there for you and always seems to know what to say. She’s heard about what happened between you and Eddie about a million times, and while she doesn’t agree with his behavior, she thinks you should try to talk to him.

That’s one of the only pieces of advice that you haven’t taken from her. You know that her heart’s in the right place but… you just can’t. It’s too late at this point.

But that’s okay, because she’s been avoiding the advice you’ve given to her for months. You’ve told her to dump Jason about fifty times by now and she just won’t, even though she thinks he’s a total douche bag. Either way she’s a sweetheart to you, and an amazing friend.

Just like Eddie was. The thought lingers in the back of your mind.

You shake your head, trying to will away your thoughts. As much as you hate to admit it, you really do miss Eddie. The two of you had been best friends for almost a decade, but after that night you never spoke again. It definitely hurt, cutting out his friendship cold turkey. It was just some stupid fight, and honestly you had expected him to be apologizing by Monday night so the two of you could celebrate your monthly watching of ‘The Thing.’

But you guess he took what you had said to heart.

“I won’t be coming around anymore.”

Even though he had been completely in the wrong that night, you still regretted your choice of words. Maybe you’d still be friends with him. Maybe you’d still be able to show up at his trailer at midnight with your problems.

Maybe you wouldn’t have an overwhelming feeling of dread as you stare at him playing his guitar in Gareth��s garage.

You’d been on a run, trying to get back into shape for cheerleading. It‘s supposed to start up along with school in about a month, and you decided it was better to be prepared instead of feeling exhausted at the end of every practice, like the year prior.

While you had been busy with your new popular friends, Eddie had also been quite busy. He’d reformed his old band from middle school, keeping the name corroded coffin, and he’d started a D&D club called Hellfire. He runs it with his buddies Jeff, Mick, and Gareth, and honestly, he seems happier with them. Happier without you.

Gareth’s house has always been on your typical running route, but their band practices have never overlapped with your usual runs. Until now at least. You’d stopped in your tracks completely in the absolute worst spot too.

At the end of the fucking driveway. Right in their line of sight.

You can’t take your eyes off of Eddie though. He’s definitely grown another inch or two taller, and his hair has gotten longer. He wears rings on his fingers now, and he’s no longer wearing his old, worn out black shoes, but instead crisp, new, white ones.

He looks good. Like really good.

It isn’t until the song they’re playing ends and he looks up that you even realize you’re staring.

He’s surprised to see you of course, you’d be surprised too. But then his eyes light up and he gives you a wave. You can’t help but give him a small smile, shyly returning the wave. He cracks a smile and you blush. God you miss this boy.

You watch as he holds up a finger to you as if to say, “one second,” before he turns to the other boys.

You realize what he’s doing and immediately panic. He’s going to come up to you. He’s going to talk to you. Your fight or flight instincts kick in, flight immediately winning as you turn your heel and continue your run, leaving Eddie behind once again.

Eddie turns around after setting his guitar down, only to find that you’re gone. He peeks his head around the corner of the garage and watches as you run down the street, away from him.

A sense of deja vu washes over him from the night your friendship had ended and he sighs, masking the disappointment from his face before picking up the guitar and plastering on a fake smile.

“Alright, where were we?”

4. The Parking Lot

Senior year hits you like a bus. Your years of mischief and dark clothing have been put behind you, and you’re now one of the Hawkins High, “It girls.”

You’ve been named Co-Captain of the cheer squad alongside Chrissy, who is the Captain, you’re constantly making appearances at parties and many other social events, you’re in the running for homecoming Queen, and you’re even dating Andy Johnson, one of the star varsity basketball players.

From the outside, most people would say that your life is great. But in reality, you’re drowning.

The constant partying, drinking, and socializing is way too much for you. Keeping up the stereotypical “good girl who always dresses up” image you’ve created for yourself has caused you to have so many breakdowns that you’ve lost count of them all.

And spending hours at night just to figure out what you’re going to wear the next day, then going to school with eye bags and a forced smile? It’s exhausting. And it’s not like your parents are ever around to help you, with how “devoted to their work” they are.

“Honey it’s nothing personal.” Your mom had said over the phone for the last three birthdays, “Your father and I have work to do. Go hang out with your friends today.”

It was bullshit. Your whole life had become a stupid pile of bullshit, and you were left to deal with it alone.

All while trying to keep your shithead of a boyfriend happy.

It’s wearing you down to bone. These days you look in the mirror and don’t even recognize yourself. You never used to care what other people thought of you, but when the other cheerleaders are constantly judging your outfits, your makeup, and your attitude?

It doesn’t matter how many times Chrissy tells you to ignore them, it still gets to you, and she’s the only one who can see that.

Well, and Eddie of course.

He’s kept his distance for over the last year and a half, taking the hint you gave him that day at his band practice. But that doesn’t mean he stopped keeping an eye on you. He watched from afar as you slowly climbed the social ladder, becoming extremely popular within only a few months.

At first he was happy for you, even if it hurt, he was still happy that you had moved on and made something better for yourself. And then he started to notice it.

The way you slouch over in class, eyes slowly drooping shut until you’re called on by a teacher. The way you force your smile while talking to the other cheerleaders. The way you always fiddle with your clothing or your hair, nervous that somethings fallen out of place.

The way you seem completely uncomfortable around your asshole boyfriend.

He can tell that you’re close to your breaking point, as he’s seen you burst at the seams before, but he doesn’t want to overstep the line you’ve so adamantly drawn out between the two of you.

So he stays away. Close enough to where he’s there if you ever need him, and far enough that you’re not bothered.

Little does he know, you’d never be bothered by him. You miss him so much that it physically hurts. But you’re stuck in this façade, fearful of what might happen if you break out of it.

You’re ashamed of how often you lay in bed and wish that things had gone differently that night. That maybe you could’ve given him a chance to explain, or even come by the next day and communicated your frustrations. But no, you had to let your anger get in the way and fuck it all up. It was just a stupid pep rally after all, and it’s pretty much ruined your life. It was just the shove you needed to be sent spiraling down the rabbit hole. You’ve dug yourself a hole six feet deep, with no way to crawl out.

Which is why you’re here now, after school, dragging your feet along as you trudge to Chrissy’s car. Cheer practice had been cancelled for the day so you actually have time to do your homework, pick out a cute outfit for tomorrow, and pass out completely.

You can’t help but sigh happily as you daydream about your bed. However, your blissful thoughts are rudely interrupted by a string of insults flying through the air. You whip your head around to find the last thing you wanted to see,

“You think you’re tough shit freak? You think you can stalk my girlfriend and get away with it?”

Andy and Jason have Eddie cornered.

You know that they like to pick on him from time to time, but Eddie can most certainly hold his own, and it’s never gotten physical. Andy’s violence was usually just reserved for you. Until now.

Jason throws the first punch, hitting Eddie square in the jaw.

Eddie’s always been a good fighter, but not when it’s two against one. That’s just unfair.

His head whips back but he recovers quickly, throwing a punch of his own. A sickening crack fills the air as his fist connects with Jason’s nose. You mentally cheer as you witness Jason stumble backwards, only to watch in horror as Eddie’s punched in the cheek by none other than your boyfriend. Another punch is thrown into his gut and he falls to his knees, taking punches and kicks from both boys.

Your immediate gut instinct is to run over there and defend Eddie, and you almost do, but about five steps in, your body forces itself to stop, as you see Andy with his raised fist. You’re paralyzed with fear.

You’ve experienced his hits before, and you’re absolutely petrified of him. The hundreds of dollars worth of foundation and concealer you’ve gone through are enough proof for you to realize that you can’t do anything to stop this.

Eddie’s eyes meet yours through the chaos and his eyes can’t help but soften as he watches the tears trickle down your cheeks. Even as he’s being beaten to hell, all he can worry about is you. You can’t force yourself to keep watching though, turning away from the scene, doing your best to drown it out, to ignore it.

Soon enough you have arms wrapped around you and you’re being pulled into someone’s chest. You catch a whiff of perfume as you try to breathe, recognizing the signature floral scent anywhere.

Chrissy.

“JASON THAT’S ENOUGH!” She rages and you tremble harder in her arms, never having heard her sound so angry.

Silence ensues after that, Jason and Andy ceasing their attack on poor Eddie. They realize that a crowd has now gathered, witnessing everything that had just gone down. Chrissy holds you tight, gently shushing your cries as teachers begin to push their way through everyone.

“It’s okay…it’s okay it’s over. He’s alright.”

You nod your head shakily against her chest, titling it to the side to catch a glimpse of another student helping Eddie up. He’s beaten up pretty bad, but all he can focus on is you. The two of you hold eye contact for a moment before your lip starts to wobble. You manage to mouth an apology to him before your view is cut off by a very angry Andy, who’s currently marching towards you.

He grabs you by the wrist as he walks by, practically yanking you from Chrissy’s arms and dragging you with him.

“Ow! Andy-”

“Shut the fuck up and let’s go.” He practically growls, dragging you towards his truck.

“Actually Andy…” Chrissy’s voice cuts through the air like a knife. The girl who usually sounds so sweet, now sounds like she could bite Andy’s head off, “Her and I were going to study tonight. So I suggest you let her go.”

Andy stops in his tracks and you almost crash into him. He turns to glare at Chrissy, only to realize just how many people are staring at him right now. He huffs out an aggravated breath before releasing his tight grip on your wrist.

“Of course.” He smiles bitterly, his voice sickeningly sweet, “She’s all yours.” He bends down to your ear,

“Don’t think for one second I’m gonna fucking forget about this. Next time I see you, we’re gonna have a little talk.” He whispers, his tone ever threatening. You don’t even know what you did wrong, but you’re too petrified to ask. He places a kiss to your temple for show, before pushing you away from him. You stumble back into Chrissy’s arms and she holds you tight once again in an attempt to calm your trembling self.

“Chrissy I-” you hear Jason attempt to explain himself.

“Don’t. Just fucking don’t, Jason. Go home.” She hisses at him. You can’t see but you can only imagine how he’s solemnly hanging his head right now, walking back to his car like a kicked puppy. It takes Chrissy a moment to notice that the crowd is still gathered, witnessing this whole interaction.

“Cmon, let’s go to my car.” She ushers, gently.

You nod, trailing behind her as she leads you by the hand. When the two of you are finally settled inside, you take a moment to process everything that’s gone down in the last 10 minutes. Chrissy watches you carefully, keeping a hand on your shoulder as your hands slowly begin to stop trembling and you take a deep breath.

“Are you okay?” She asks you, tone full of concern. You shake your head, wondering where the hell everything in your life had gone so wrong.

“Did he see any of that?” You ask, knowing she’ll understand what you’re referring to. She shakes her head,

“I don’t think so. He was limping away by the time Andy grabbed you.” You sigh in relief and she bites her lip in contemplation, “Why do you stay with him?” She whispers.

You think about it for a moment. Remembering back to the earlier days of your relationship. You had thought he was cute, and sweet, and funny. And when he had finally asked you out, you were over the moon, never having been in a relationship before. But then he changed. He stopped being sweet, and started begging for sex, getting angry every time you told him that you weren’t ready. By the time you were, you’d found out that he’d been sleeping with other girls. So many other girls. The first time you tried to confront him about it was the first time he hit you.

That was the last time you had any complaints. But it definitely wasn’t the last of the abuse.

The two of you have been together for show for the last nine months. He doesn’t kiss you, he doesn’t show you affection, and he doesn’t touch you. Yet, he refuses to break it off, even though when the two of you are alone he’s nothing but scary. You’re terrified of what he’ll do if you try to break up with him again.

You think back to last month, when the two of you stood in the Family Video parking lot as you tried to end things with him. He’d backhanded you across the face right then and there. The only thing that saved you that day was a very angry Steve Harrington who had marched up to Andy in his uniform and practically thrown him off of the property.

You and Steve had talked occasionally before, mainly through Eddie and Robin who’re both technically mutual friends. The two of you had always bonded over your feelings of loneliness within your families. You’d confided in him that day, telling him every last detail about what had been going on with you lately, while you cried in his arms. You were begging him not to tell Eddie anything, and he agreed, reluctantly, but he agreed.

As long as you stayed away from Andy of course.

You knew you couldn’t keep that promise though. He’d be back, and Steve ‘The Hair’ Harrington couldn’t protect you forever. So you lied through your teeth, convincing him you’d be done with your boyfriend for good. And since he isn’t in high school anymore, you hoped it be a lot easier to hide it from him.

But by the next Monday, you and Andy were officially back on as a couple. Holding hands in the high school hallways had never felt so draining, especially since there was a large purple bruise on your cheek that had been doused in concealer.

You shrug your shoulders, sniffling, “He’ll hurt me if I try to leave him again.”

She stays silent for a moment, pondering what she can do to help you before she reaches back behind her seat. You do your best to wipe your face of any tears before she places something in your lap.

A first aid kit.

“What-” she cuts you off,

“I saw him go back behind the football field. Probably to that old picnic bench he deals at.” She looks at you sadly, but you shake your head.

“No…no I can’t. There’s no way he’d even want me to-” she grips your shoulders gently, turning you towards her with a small smile.

“You’ve been putting this off for way too long. I’ve seen the way he looks at you…the way he looked at you just now. Even when he was bleeding and bruised all he cared about was you.” You huff, contemplating her words,

“But what if he-” you attempt one final time.

“He won’t. Now go. I’ll wait here until you guys come back.”

You nod, taking a deep breath before stepping out of the car, first aid kid in hand. You slowly make your way towards the woods, anxiety filling you to the brim.

Fuck.

5. The Picnic Bench

The woods are cold; the trees preventing the sun from keeping the November air bearable. And you wore a fucking skirt to school today.

Great idea.

In your defense, you didn’t think you’d be outside for more than 5 minutes today. But here you are, trudging your way through mud and leaves behind Hawkins High School, first aid kit in hand.

God why did Chrissy have to be so convincing.

There was still time to turn around. You could tell her that Eddie had wanted nothing to do with you, and told you to fuck off. You could go home and finally lay in your comfy bed, and pass out for ten hours straight. You could avoid any and all interaction with him like you had been for the last two years and spare yourself from what could be the most awkward situation you’ve ever put yourself into.

But your feet don’t stop moving, because you know better. You could never do that to Eddie. Whether he wants to admit it or not, he needs someone right now. And you’re the only someone around.

The small clearing comes more into view with every step that you take, and low and behold, there sits Eddie on top of the picnic bench holding his head in his hands. You pause for a moment, unsure of how to go about this. You watch as his body trembles and you can hear him sniffle, your heart shattering as he does. You’ve never seen him like this, and you want nothing more than fix the broken boy in front of you.

The broken boy you created, your thoughts echo, a horrible weight of guilt settling on top of your shoulders.

You take another slow step towards him and a twig snaps under your foot, causing his head to whip around in fear. You curse, holding your hands up in an effort to show you’re no threat to him.

Not that he would ever actually think that.

“It’s me… It’s just me,” You state calmly. He huffs out a breath of relief, wincing before he turns back away from you, quickly wiping his tears from his cheeks. You watch as he does, feeling a pang in your chest at the fact that he’s hiding from you. You make your way over, setting the first aid kit down on the bench as you kneel in front of him.

Your hands reach up, cradling his bruised face as your thumbs gently brush the tears from his cheeks. He lets you, though he doesn’t say anything, nor does he make eye contact with you, his eyes glued to the floor. “Oh Eds…” you sigh, reaching for the first aid kit.

He glances at it, shaking his head at you, “No.”

You freeze, eyeing him carefully, “What?”

His puppy dog eyes stay focused on the ground as he pleads defeatedly, “No don’t- please don’t. You don’t have to.”

His body is trembling, his bottom lip and eyebrow are both split, his left eye is swollen, his jaw is starting to form different hues of black and blue, and based on the damage that had been done to his stomach and ribs, you had no doubt that his torso looked just the same. And yet here he is, pleading for you to walk away. But there’s no way you’re going to leave him out here alone.

There’s no way you’re going to leave him ever again.

You reach into the first aid kit, pulling out an antiseptic wipe before reaching up to dab at the slit in his eyebrow, “Of course I do.”

He winces as the alcohol seeps into his cut, cleaning them. He sniffles, attempting one last time to convince you that you don’t have to help him, “I’m serious, you really don’t have to.”

You ignore him, continuing to lightly dab at his wounds.

Your hands work slowly as you carefully clean and bandage each cut, the two of you sitting in silence, save for the occasional hiss of pain from him, immediately followed by a mumbled apology from you.

Once you finish you slowly put everything back into the first aid kit, the two of you continuing to sit in silence. You chew on your lip, not really knowing what to say. You can’t help but think of what things were like three years ago, when this would never have happened. Back then there had never been an awkward moment between the two of you. Yet here you are, nervous thoughts wracking your brain and watching as he nervously played with the ends of his hair. You take a moment to gather your scrambled thoughts as you take a deep breath,

“I’m sorry.”

You both say it at the same time, wide eyes meeting. He grins shyly, and you can’t help the small laugh that leaves your lips,

“What the hell are you sorry for?”

His eyebrows furrow at your question, eyes swimming with confusion as he wonders whether your serious or not. What the hell isn’t he sorry for at this point?

“Well- everything?” He huffs out, “For getting into a fight with your boyfriend, for making you feel like you need to take care of me, for pushing my way into your business, even after you made it clear you want nothing to do with me, for…that night.” he trails off, remembering how you had looked, standing in the rain and begging for some kind of an explanation from him, when in reality, he didn’t have one.

You shake your head at his words, “That- that night was so…”

“Stupid?” He fills in, and you nod.

“I don’t even know why I was so worked up over some dumb pep rally,” you laugh sadly, head hung low. Eddie watches carefully as your hand comes up to your cheek, quickly trying to wipe a tear away. He sighs heavily, patting the spot next to him on the bench and you look up at him in confusion.

“Cmon, get up here.”

You oblige, sniffling as you stand up from your spot on the ground. You sit down next to him, suddenly aware of the cold air around you once more. Your arms wrap around your body as a chill runs up your spine. You don’t even notice that Eddie’s removed his leather jacket until he’s placing it around your shoulders.

It smells like him. The same cheap cologne he’s worn since freshman year, a hint of weed, a hint of cigarettes… and mint? That’s new.

You nod, wordlessly thanking him, and he responds by snaking his arm around your shoulders, scooting closer to you until you’re joined at the hip. Without even thinking about it, you lay your head on his shoulder and he rubs your arm.

It’s silent for a few moments, the two of you just taking in this moment together, as the cold November air nips at your skin.

“You were worked up over ‘some dumb pep rally’ because it was important to you, and I bailed.” His voice cuts through the air, filled to brim with regret.

“Eddie-” he shakes his head.

“I bailed on you to get high and sleep with some random chick. I messed up, and I disappointed you without even apologizing for it. You shouldn’t have to feel like any of that was your fault, because it wasn’t,” you watch as his face falls into one of remorse, “It was mine, and I’m sorry. I never should’ve done that to you. You didn’t deserve it.”

You’re silent for a moment, not really sure what to say as you hear him sniffle. You lean impossibly closer to him, placing a kiss onto his cheek.

“Maybe not, but I forgive you. I forgave you a long time ago if I’m being honest, I just didn’t know how to talk to you again. I was scared you would hate me.” You huff, teeth still slightly chattering, “But you sure as hell didn’t deserve two years of silence from me. I’m sorry too Eds.” You mumble, and he chuckles.

“I personally would disagree, but I forgive you too sweetheart.” He places a kiss on your hairline

You haven’t heard him call you that in so long. So long that you never realized how much you missed it until now. Your boyfriend never even gave you the time of day, let alone cute nicknames or pet names.

Which reminds you…

“Hey Eds?” You ask shyly, head still leaning on his shoulder. He hums in response, encouraging you to continue. You twiddle your thumbs nervously in your lap as you open your mouth to speak once again, “Why um- why did you get into a fight with Andy?”

He tenses, as if he’d forgotten the actual reason that the two of you are here. His hand pauses it’s movements briefly on your arm, and he clears his throat,

“I uh…,” he pauses, causing you to grow more nervous. “Harrington,” he confesses and you feel your heart sink, “Harrington told me everything yesterday. So I confronted Andy about it and well…” He trails off.

Okay well…Shit.

You retract from his grasp in an instant, moving away from the picnic table all together. A mix of panic and betrayal covers your features, and he eyes you carefully, arms extended towards you in an effort to calm you.

“Woah woah woah, okay baby…take it easy-” you shake your head. He can’t know, he just can’t. Because if he knows… and Andy knows that he knows…

You’re fucked.

“H-he’s lying! Whatever Steve said to you it’s not true, I-I swear!” You choke out, pure panic lacing your voice as your breathing picks up drastically. His eyebrows furrow and he glances down at your arm momentarily,

“I saw that little exchange in the parking lot, so tell that to the bruises on your wrist.” You look down and sure enough, purple outlines of Andy’s fingerprints coated your wrist where he had grabbed you. Your eyes pinch shut and tears leak down your cheeks.

“No… no no no you can’t- Steve promised he wouldn’t- oh god- this can’t be happening- shit Andy’s gonna-”

You can’t think straight, holding in your cries and stumbling backwards as your breathing keeps up it’s rapid pace. You don’t even notice the branch on the ground until you stumble over it, landing on your ass. The impact causes the damn inside of you to break, strangled sobs forcing their way from your throat.

Your head’s spinning, your body is trembling, and you can’t breathe. You can’t tell if you’re numb from your breakdown or from the cold, but you don’t really care at this point. Everything that’s been building up inside of you for the last two years is all coming out. Not only that, but now that Eddie knows everything, Andy’s going to hurt you. Andy’s going to hurt Eddie again. You curl in on yourself, mumbling apology after apology through your cries.

You hardly feel Eddie’s presence as he quickly squats next to you, but even through your hazy mind and panicked breaths you’re able to make out some of his words,

“I’m…touch…okay?”

You nod your head rapidly, barely understanding what he’s asking, but begging for some sort of comfort.

Warm hands find their way underneath your arms, slowly lifting you into an embrace. Eddie sits on the ground with you, one of his hands rubbing your back calmingly, while the other gently squeezes the back of your neck, attempting to ground you. Your body trembles against his, and your face rests tucked into where his shoulder and neck meet. You continue to cry and wheeze, legs straddling his lap.

“I’m so sorry- I can’t- I don’t know how to stop it I’m sorry-”

God you feel pathetic.

“It’s okay, It’s okay. You don’t have to be sorry for anything. Just breathe, I’ve got you.”

He holds you tight, gently rocking the two of you back and forth. His chin is placed on top of your head, and his mind is running with about a hundred different questions. But he tables them for later, putting all of his focus onto you. You need him right now; for the first time in two years you need him. He wasn’t about to fail you again.

“E-Eddie…” you cry weakly, and he shushes you.

“I’m here sweetheart, I’m right here. Not going anywhere, I promise.” He reaches up, gently grabbing your hand from where it sits around his neck, and places it on his chest, “Feel that? Feel my breathing? I want you to try your best to follow it. Deep breaths now, c’mon.”

You attempt to follow them, but it’s hard. Your breaths remain short and panicked as you try to inhale deeply. Eddie can sense your growing frustration, but he continues to gently guide you, knowing it takes time.

You try once more, only to have your breathing stutter again. What is supposed to be a groan of exasperation, quickly becomes a painful, desperate wheeze as it leaves your lips.

“Shh, I know honey. You can do it, just keep breathing for me.”

You do, taking your time to inhale carefully. You focus less on the raging thoughts of Andy in your head, and more on the expansion of your lungs. Finally, your breathing starts to slow and you’re able to take in a deep breath of air, much to yours, and Eddie’s relief. He continues holding you for a few minutes longer, allowing you to fully relax in his arms.

“I thought you stopped having panic attacks?” He gently asks, breaking the silence. You nod, sniffling as you lean back to look at him; his eyes are swimming with nothing but pure concern for you. “Yeah, I did, until a couple months ago. Turns out I really don’t like being in the spotlight as much as I thought I would.” You look down, avoiding his pitiful gaze, “How the fuck did Steve know anyway?” You ask, wondering if Eddie even had the answer to that.

He did in fact have the answer. A deep chuckle rumbled in his chest and he gently poked your forehead, “Forgetful thing aren’t you? Must’ve forgotten we go to school with Buckley.” The amusement in his eyes only grows as your own widen in realization, and your head drops into your hands, a frustrated groan escaping you.

“God I’m so stupid.” He reaches up, rubbing your arm’s comfortingly, “Maybe a little.”

That earns him a shove and he laughs again, but you don’t. You look back down in utter shame that you had tried to keep all this a secret in the first place.

“I’m sorry-” He shakes his head, not having it.

“No. Absolutely not. Don’t do that to yourself,” you stare at him, dumbfounded.

“But I-”

He reaches up, cradling your face, thumbs gently wiping away the tear stains from your cheeks, “My sweet girl, you have nothing to be sorry for.” Your heart stutters for just a moment, “I’m sorry I wasn’t there. I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you. But I’ll be damned if I let that piece of shit lay a hand on you ever again.”

You don’t know what to do. You think about crying again, maybe laughing, getting on your knees and thanking him profusely. But none of those seem right.

So you find yourself leaning in, and you kiss him.

He stills at first, in what seems to be utter shock. He doesn’t move for so long in fact, that you begin to pull away in shame, before his hands are tangling in your hair and he kisses you back. Hard. Like he’s been waiting for this moment his entire life.

Unbeknownst to you, he has been.

His lips are soft. Softer than you ever imagined. It has you absolutely melting against him, deepening the kiss as your body becomes weightless, feeling like you’re floating on water. He gently swipes his tongue against your bottom lip, and you don’t fight him, your mouth falling open and welcoming him. It’s as if time stopped, as if no one else exists but the two of you.

You reluctantly pull away from him, panting as your foreheads rest against each other. Your eyes remain closed for a moment, processing what you’d just done. His thumb circles the apple of your cheek for a few seconds, before it trails down to your bottom lip, gently tracing it. You slowly open your eyes to meet his, staring at you in complete adoration, a small smile gracing his face.

“Gotta say, I’ve been dreaming of that since freshman year.” You blush a deep red at that, a shy giggle escaping you. You drop your head against his shoulder once again before lifting your wrist, revealing the green bandana he’d given you that one fateful day,

“Sophomore year.”

A shit eating grin forms on his lips, and he tilts his head back, whole body shaking with laughter. You can’t help but lift your head and watch him in amusement. God he’s so pretty.

“There’s no way!” He exclaims, and your eyebrows furrow in confusion, “What?”

He lifts his own wrist, revealing the bracelet he’d stolen from you that same fateful day. Your eyes widen in realization and you join in on his laughter.

“You still wear it?” You can help but to ask in disbelief, and he smiles,

“Never took it off.”

You blush, shaking your head, “Neither did I.”

The two of you sit in a comfortable silence on the forest floor for another moment before he speaks up again, a cheeky grin covering his features,

“We’re just big ol’ idiots aren’t we?” You nod without missing a beat,

“The biggest.”

6. The Hallway

“And then I told him to fuck off! Can you believe it?” Chrissy exclaims excitedly. She’s finally broken things off with Jason and is currently giving you and Robin all of the details as the three of you walk out of Mrs. Clicks class.

You can’t help but be equally as excited, it just radiates off of her, and it’s contagious.

“That’s amazing Chris!” You wrap an arm around her shoulders and she giggles, feeling giddy as all hell.

“What about you?” Robin asks can’t help but ask, “How are you doing?”

After yours and Eddie’s little escapade in the woods, the two of you had made your way back to the parking lot, where Chrissy was still waiting in her car. Eddie had offered to give you a ride home, but you politely declined, offering to come over later that night. He obliged, but not before kissing you once again.

Chrissy honked the horn mid make out session and the two of you had parted with laughs.

When you made it back to her car she was losing her mind, absolutely ecstatic for the two of you. She also couldn’t help spewing out a few, “I told you so, I’ve been telling you for years.”

You’d been dropped off at home with a cheerful goodbye to Chrissy, before getting ready to see Eddie. Within two hours you were at his trailer for the first time in years, greeting Wayne with the biggest hug ever.

“It’s good to see you kiddo.” He’d said, and he meant it.

That was a week ago, and so far you had been able to avoid Andy, while simultaneously seeing Eddie every day.

“Honestly? I feel better than I’ve felt in years. I missed him so much, and now that he’s back in my life, it’s like a breath of fresh air.”

She beams at that, genuine happy to hear you’re doing better. “And Andy?” Chrissy asks. You huff out a breath. “I’ve been avoiding him like the plague. Haven’t seen him since last week.” They both giggle at that,

“Maybe you can keep avoiding him until he forgets about you entirely.” Chrissy pipes up. Robin can’t help but retort, “That shouldn’t take too long, considering he’s dumber than a pile of bricks.” You laugh at that, like full on belly laugh. You can’t help it because it’s true. There’s stupid, and then there’s Andy level stupid. You look over to Robin, suddenly feeling immensely grateful for her and Harrington.

“Seriously though Robin, I can’t thank you and Steve enough.” She waves off your thanks with a ‘pfft.’

“I didn’t even know! You and Andy just came up in a conversation and I swear to god Steve’s face went white as a fricken ghost. He like, immediately called Eddie and told him to come over. I was completely lost until he explained everything to the two of us. I’ll be sure to pass your ‘thank you’ off to mama bear Steve though.”

“Still,” Chrissy chimes in, “She’s lucky to have friends like you guys looking out for her.”

“Damn right she is! Cause if that asshole ever tries to lay another hand on you, I’ll fight him myself.”

“Robin,” you giggle, “You’re the most uncoordinated person I’ve ever met.”

“Yeah and I’ll still fist fight him.” She gets into a mock fighting stance, throwing a few fake punches like she’s a video game character, before bursting out laughing.

However, your laughs are cut off as Chrissy abruptly stops walking.

“Uh oh.”

You look up and immediately feel your smile fading at the sight in front of you. There stood Andy, holding Eddie by the collar of his leather jacket, pinning him up against the lockers. At first, fear spreads throughout your whole body. For yourself, for Eddie, for your friends on either side of you…

But then it turns to rage.

You reach into your backpack, grabbing your very sturdy, very big biology textbook. You turn to Chrissy, wordlessly handing her your bag. She looks at you in both fear and confusion, but nevertheless take it from your arms and into yours.

“Hang on-” Robin whispers, quickly figuring out where this is going. You shake your head, turning to her, “It’s okay. I’ll be fine.”

You turn your attention back to Eddie, who looks a mix of furious and fearful. You waste no time, making your way over to them. Eddie’s eye catches yours, widening in fear at what could happen to you. He shakes his head, urging you to walk away. To keep yourself safe. But you’re done dealing with Andy. And you’re done leaving Eddie.

“Hey dick!” You yell, catching the attention of the asshole jock. He doesn’t even get the chance to fully look at you before you’re swinging the textbook at his head. He stumbles back with a grunt, holding his head in his hands as he curses up a storm. By the looks of it you’ve broken his nose. With how much blood is dripping down his face, it seems like the only possible answer.

Everyone in the hallway has stopped to watch in shock as the seemingly “perfect couple” falls apart right before their eyes.

“If you put your hands on me or any of my friends ever again, I will ruin your fucking life. Do you understand me?” He scoffs at that, not even really paying attention to you, too busy cradling his nose. His answer doesn’t satisfy you though, and you don’t have much time before teachers start showing up. So what else is there for you to do other than kick him right in the dick.

He falls to his knees with a cry, and the whole crowd gasps and ‘ooos’ as he writhes on the ground. “I said, do you understand me?” You ask calmly.

“Yes!” He chokes out pathetically, “Fuck- Yes! I understand!”

Finally satisfied, you gently grab Eddie by the sleeve of his jacket, dragging him away from the scene, and through the crowd back to your friends. “Holy shit.” Chrissy mumbles, eyes widened in shock as you take your bag back from her.

“Holy shit!” Robin beams, as if she’s just witnessed the most badass thing ever.

“Holy shit…” Eddie praises, almost like he’s…turned on?

Jesus fucking Christ-

“So!” You clear your throat, “Lunch anyone?” You ask, abruptly trying to change the subject. All three of them nod, still absolutely dumbfounded as they make their way with you to the cafeteria.

“You know,” Eddie whispers into you ear as the two of you walk side by side, “That was pretty hot.” You can’t help but roll your eyes, biting your bottom lip to hide your grin.

“Keep it in your pants Munson.” You whisper back and he chuckles,

“Oh I will, for now at least.” He winks at you and you blush, heat rushing all the way down to your neck. He chuckles at you before reaching for you hand, lacing his fingers through yours.

And that’s how the two of you walk, hands intertwined, with a green bandana wrapped around one wrist, and a green bracelet around the other.

#fiction #imagines #stranger things #eddie munson #writers #humor #angst #angst with a happy ending #steve harrington #steve and robin #robin buckley #eddie munson x reader #eddie stranger things #stranger things au

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