#the characters mention it in the middle of the movie as ''birdie birdie little birdie'' really should've translated it all too

[sentientstump]

Hey stump! What is your favourite song right now?

hey! at first i was kind of afraid that i didn't have one at the moment. and if i did, it would have been the same as the last time someone asked me that a year or so ago, ahah

but seems like I've forgotten about one and it was pretty recent too

from movie Mimino, here's a link to it! (it's a timestamp on a yt upload of the movie, it has eng subs. the movie not the song sadly)

[xmyshya]

summary: Terushima is here for you. As he’s always been. You just haven’t noticed. genre: fluff, a bit of angst in the beginning warnings: mentions of being neglected (not by characters) betas: @vanille--kiss thank you so much, I love you my birdie! special thanks: @prismatales​ for this beautiful banner! I love you baby a/n: This work is a part of HQHQ server collab with the prompt “When will I be someone’s first choice? Tell me, when?” Check the event’s masterlist here! wc: 674

Terushima is in the middle of dressing up for the date, when he’s interrupted by a violently ringing doorbell. He’s not expecting any guests, and for a moment he considers pretending he’s not home. Curiosity eventually wins, which he’s grateful for, because behind the door he sees you. In tears. To embrace you is what he wants to do, “it would be crossing a line” is what he thinks.

“Come in.” is what he says.

You go to his room and plop on the bed, before noticing clothes everywhere. On a Friday evening. Shit, you didn’t even ask if he had plans, which, of course he did. Yuuji joins you in the middle of your frenzy, with two cups of your favourite hot chocolate, and shuts the door with the heel.

“I uhh, I didn’t know you were busy, I’m sorry, I- I’ll go now, so-” “Oi, babygirl, you’re not going anywhere.” “But I don’t want to interrupt your outing!” “Too late, already cancelled.” “Yuuji…” “Y/N~...”

“So, what happened?”

The faux blonde asks like the best friend that he is, after you take a few sips of the drink and calming down a little. Though, in contrast, feeling your head leant on his shoulder makes him feel agitated.

“He…”

Oh good, your boyfriend did something. He’s mentally scolding himself for being hopeful, this is not about him.

“He went to her. Again.” Sniff.

“We were supposed to go,” sniff “on a date, but he…” sniff “she asked him for help and he cancelled. Third time this week.”

Yuuji is quickly eyeing your form and notices you’re wearing a cute dress. For the date, probably. He wouldn’t let it go to waste, if you were his.

“Didn’t he also bail on you last week?”

Ah, he shouldn’t have said that. Your choked sob confirms. Truth is, it wasn’t just last week. He’s been calling off some of your meetings for a little more than 3 months now, only lately so frequently. The excuses? “Sorry babes, friends invited me to a gaming night.”, “I know we were supposed to watch this movie tonight, but there’s this party and I really wanna go.”, “I know you’re not feeling well, honey, but she needs me more.” You’ve had enough.

“Yeah, and today… Today I told him that I was his girlfriend, that I needed him more than some chick.” “Atta girl!” “So we fought and he… he dumped me.”

You bawl out your eyes onto his shoulder, staining one of his favourite shirts. Terushima doesn’t mind, all that matters is that he has you wrapped tightly in his arms. Even for a price of a few snots on the fabric.

“And it’s always like this, always! Everyone just treats me like a time filler and runs whenever an opportunity comes!” “Hey, that’s not true, babygirl.” “Is it so hard? Would you give up parties and all the other girls for someone?” “I would, for you.”

He didn’t mean to say it out loud.

“When will I be someone’s first choice? Tell me, when?”

You realise what he just said and raise your head to look him in the eyes. His gaze is soft, as he brushes wet hair off of your face, wipes tears with his finger.

“You’ve always been my first choice.”

Memories flash in your mind. Terushima leaving a party, because you called him and said you were scared of going back home from your friend’s house alone. Him going with you to see a movie he hated, when his teammates were having a gathering. Skipping practice to tutor you for a test you were anxious about. And just now, he cancelled another date, just to hear you cry about your now ex-boyfriend. Maybe your feelings for him that you’ve been trying to suppress for so long, are mutual. Maybe you don’t have to suppress them anymore, because, you realise, you’ve always been his first choice. And it’s time to choose him too.

“Yuuji?” “Yes, babygirl?” “I choose you, too.” “What am I, a pokemon?”

[socheckitout-mikey]

hey! this isn't a request or anything but i was just kinda curiou; how did you get into all your interests? like did you see them in tv, a friend request them to you? as long as the question Isnt personal or something I'd love to know !! 💗💗

heya birdie! (': i love this question sm and i'm v happy to answer it! <3

i got into the hobbit in academy when i had this friend who was super into lotr and literally learnt how to write and speak the elven language??? it was v fun and wholesome! (': thorin, fili and kili are my favs and i can't watch BoTFA any more: i have only ever watched it one time! :'(

i got into twilight through that craze in the early 2000's and honestly, i cat fought a girl in my fifth grade class for the last new moon book lmaoo it was wild asf! i remember when i went to see the movie with my dad and younger brothers when it first came out: my dad and brothers fell asleep and i was the only one at the edge of my seat absolutely invested. i love twilight sm despite everyone in my life having enough of me talking about it dhdhdhdh also all of my wives are in this fandom, like leah, rosalie, kate, tanya, maria- the list is endless :-:

i got into the lost boys bc a friend i used to have introduced me to it and i was incredibly hooked after that! i watch that movie like 7 times a day lmaoo i love it sm! i also played it in the background a lot when i was studying bc gotta have that eye candy known as dwayne distracting me haha! also star is so beautiful wth am i meant to do now that i've seen her? :-:

teen wolf was something my younger brothers introduced me to when it first came out and i was so hooked immediately! i have to confess that i haven't gone through even half of the dread doctor season lmaoo i still gotta finish the show. the reason why was bc i spoiled it for myself by finding out brett talbot and lori dies, and since isaac didn't come back i was like "welp, there goes all my hope" dhdhdudhsyeueh but its a solid show and i'm obsessed still to this day! also really sad erica died bc she was my everything, boyd's death still to this day haunts me bc it wasn't right! also, cora never returned and she was my wife too :(

the outsiders was introduced to me in middle school in 8th grade when i lived in canada! i remember the day i walked into english class and my teacher said we'd be reading a new book. it changed my life lmaoooo! i really enjoyed the book and movie, johnny and dally have always been the characters i connected to the most, though dally's death is one that i struggle to read through without crying shsudhdhd i did end up passing my english class that year bc i wrote a whole ass extra chapter and then some (basically a fanfic) about sodapop meeting a new girl called roxanne, there was drama, romance, angst- i got 100% bc i was the only one who didn't do a dumb ass board game or whatever. i remember the whole class cheered for my introverted ass like ew!

some honourable mentions are:

diabolik lovers: got into this when one of my brothers was like, "yo let's watch this shit!" and guys, lemme tell you when i say that yuma mukami can get it-i mean that shit! man's needs to step on me! also shu, subaru, ayato.... who gave them the right?! also yui is so damn precious and i love her sm! (': also yuma is my only personality trait bc he's all i ever talk about irl dhdhdhd

haikyuu!: man, kuroo is something else lemme tell you that! i am also an avid supporter of daichi, iwaizumi, oikawa, bokuto... and many more. the peak comedy that comes from this show gets me every single damn time-and yes, the english dub be funny asf too don't come for me!

free!: guys sousuke is so beautiful and so is rin! nagisa is the cutest little thing i have ever seen in my entire life, he's so precious!

peaky blinders: yooo my brothers got me into this and i am deceased whenever i watch it! i'm not ready for it to end :( alfie solomons is hilarious as hell dhhddjd so sad about john tho :'(

the vampire diaries/the originals: okay, i read some of the books and they were dope! i watched most of the show and it was good! the originals tho- guys when the mikaelsons were introduced lemme just tell you how hyped i was! i love all of them dhdhd even finn grew on me eventually. but rebecca mikaelson has every right to punch me in the throat and i'd thank her! <333

sorry i kinda splurged there and reared my thirsty head but- can you blame me?! - mae

[paceypeternathanslawyer]

Iconic things about The Dick Van Dyke Show

-For the time The Dick Van Dyke Show was incredibly diverse. You got to remember this was the early 1960s, back in the day you were lucky to see African Americans in any capacity and when they were in shows or movies they were strictly in the service industry. That started to change in the late 50s to early 60s and TDVDS was kinda the start of that in Television. People of color were depicted in different capacities than usual. In the episode “That’s My Boy??” the actors Greg Morris and Mimi Dillard played a normal upper middle class family. In this episode Rob thinks that Laura and himself were sent home with the wrong baby from the hospital and he believes that their baby was taken by a family with the last name Peters. The Peters ended up being African American and they were depicted as well dressed and well spoken people who seemed to live in a similar area and walk of life as the Petries and in that episode the black couple is funny and completely sane whereas the white man (Rob) is depicted as the butt of the joke. Also at the end of the episode Rob subtly mentions how their son Richie is getting horrible grades and the Peters’ son is at the top of the class. It’s small things like that, that had never been seen on Television. In a episode named “The Man from My Uncle“ an actor by the name of Godfrey Campbell played an FBI agent. And that’s not counting the numerous POC in smaller roles or as extras in scenes. This was a time where you were lucky to see POC even as extras. -The feminism in TDVDS took amazing strides as well. There were times where Rob is shown to be very insecure, and I think that’s some of the most of it’s time aspects of the show. It’s not great, but it’s realistic. One of my favorite character choices for Laura Petrie is that we find out that she is proficient in self defense.... she learned self defense techniques when she was an entertainer for the troops. In the episode “My Mother Can Beat Up My Father,” a drunk at a bar harasses Laura and Rob tries to defend her and he gets laid out by the drunk. Laura then does a judo throw on the guy and lays him out. It becomes a big thing for Rob in that episode and he’s very insecure about the fact that Laura can take a guy that Rob can’t. But Laura does not apologize for that fact, and in one scene Rob is trying to prove that he’s all tough and so he challenges Laura to do the same throw with him. Laura doesn’t pretend she can’t do it to spare his fragile masculinity, she lays him out and if I remember correctly he broke a few bones. Also the character of Sally Rogers has been touted as one of the first women’s lib characters. She’s a Television writer alongside Rob and Buddy and she is treated with respect and is presumably paid the same as Buddy who is a writer on her same level. She is a proud career woman who is damn good at her job, and is an equal to the men in her workplace. Another big way that TDVDS broke ground was the fact that Laura wears capri pants. Believe it or not that caused a firestorm of controversy.... up to that point housewives had been shown as wearing dresses and skirts on TV and once the dust settled the fact that Mary Tyler Moore wore capri pants on TDVDS caused those pants to become a huge fashion craze in the 60s. -TDVDS became a huge hit starting with the second season against all odds. First off Carl Reiner had created the show a couple years prior and had actually shot a pilot with an entirely different cast and with himself in the lead, at that time it was called “Head Of The Family.” It aired and did not get picked up. Carl just gave up on it and it lay on a shelf collecting dust. A couple years later someone with the William Morris Agency tried to get Carl to retry it and he refused. That agent then went to the most successful producer at that time, Sheldon Leonard. Sheldon was known for having a perfect record for his pilots, absolutely all of them had been picked up to series, some of which were huge hit shows. Sheldon saw the show and immediately saw the potential. He approached Carl about the idea of retrying with an entirely different cast and name.... once a famous producer says they have faith in your show, how can you say no. So they set to the task of finding a cast. Dick Van Dyke was one of the first people to be cast in the show, and at that point Dick was in the middle of a successful run on Broadway in the show “Bye Bye Birdie” which he’d won a Tony Award for, but being successful on Broadway doesn’t usually translate to fame with the general public (up until Lin Manuel Miranda that was true). So not only did they cast an unknown in the lead role but they then turned around and named the show on the said unknown actor. That was an extremely ballsy and risky move. At the time there were a lot of shows named after actors but they were all famous stars like Doris Day etc. To name a show after an unknown actor was unheard of!! They then cast Mary Tyler Moore (who was an unknown), they cast Rose Marie (who was never hugely famous, but had a really good career on radio and in night clubs. But even if you consider her to have been famous, she was kind of a has been), Morey Amsterdam was cast (an unknown), Jerry Paris and Ann Morgan Guilbert were cast (also unknowns). It was really a cast full of unknowns in the leads. There were no big names. Which was really a disadvantage going in. The first season bombed, it was near the end of the Nielsen ratings and morale was severely low at the end of the season. Sheldon Leonard actually got word from a friend who was on the committee that decided which shows were cancelled and which her renewed, that the show had indeed been cancelled and it just hadn’t been announced yet. So Sheldon went into problem solving mode. He knew that going to the network wouldn’t get him anywhere. At that time sponsors were king and TDVDS had one of the biggest sponsors in the game, Proctor And Gamble. So Sheldon flew to Proctor And Gamble’s headquarters and in his own words he “sang mammy” in other words he begged and he charmed their pants off (figuratively) :) At the end of his pitch, they agreed to go to bat for the show... on one condition.... that he found a sponsor to sponsor the second half of the season. So he raced from sponsor to sponsor pitching his show and begging them to co sponsor them. He was in the middle of a pitch when he was alerted that Kent Cigarettes had decided to sponsor their second half. Proctor And Gamble and Kent Cigarettes went up against CBS and demanded that they renew TDVDS or else they would withdraw support from all their other popular shows. And CBS caved and renewed the show. With S2, TDVDS became a massive success and by the end of S5 the network was begging Carl Reiner to make another season but Carl wanted to end the show while they were still on top. TDVDS also became the darling of the awards shows. They continually swept the Emmys every year starting with S2. They won for writing, directing, and acting, it also won Best Comedy in 1966 with it’s final season.

-The scripts were largely based off of real life. Nowadays it’s more common for shows to take ideas from real life, but at the time Carl Reiner’s wish for authenticity was largely unheard of. Writers on the show described the writing sessions as therapy sessions because it would start with Carl probing into their life and them talking about embarrassing things that happened to them. Carl and the writers would take those ideas and make them bigger and crazier but there was always that nugget of truth in there.

-The marriage between Rob and Laura was also iconic. You gotta figure that I Love Lucy was a huge show of the past decade and it really shaped most future shows. In some ways TDVDS was the antithesis of that. Carl wanted to create a show where the main married couple was united... it was them against the world. He shied away from battle of the sexes storylines whenever possible. He wanted Rob and Laura to be clearly in love. And it’s a unique relationship where you can tell that those two have an active sex life... and that was really unique for the time.

-Carl Reiner made a decision at the beginning of the show that he would never use popular slang terms of the 60s. In fact if you watch beginning to end, only one slang term slipped in, in S5. Otherwise, he remarkably kept to that. Because of that crucial decision, TDVDS is not as dated as it could be and it has a very timeless feel to it.

-The cast was known to get along famously, there were only a few moments of tension, otherwise the set was known to be very light and there was little tension. They were all pranksters and the set was alive with hilarity, laughter, and pranks. They used to haze guest stars... most of the guest stars were fine with being hazed but there was one who did not take it so well. During the filming of one episode Robert Vaughn was the guest star and he was on the outskirts of the set waiting for his cue to come in. The actors led the entire cast and crew off the set and turned off the lights and left Robert waiting for his cue for about an hour, until he walked in to see what the holdup was only to find the entire cast and crew gone. It’s hilarious, but he wasn’t too happy. The cast was like a huge family, but most guest stars described them as being very welcoming as well.

Edit. Another iconic thing I almost forgot is the fact that certain episodes are used in film classes as examples of how to write comedy. It’s so funny and iconic that it is the textbook case of how to write comedy shows!!!! When will your favorite show ever... ;)

[generalskales]

Pillow Fort

Read It On Ao3 Here

Characters: Griffin Turner, Original Male Character

Prompt: Griffin and Eiji build a pillow fort.

"You mean to tell me, that despite being alive for what amounts to possibly a thousand years, you have NEVER built a pillow fort?" "That is what I said." "Get all the pillows and blankets in the house that you can find, we're building one."

"It just seems to be, I don't know, not a good use of our time? We can go out and help the ninja with their patrols, or do some chores around the house?" Griffin almost felt sorry for the young immortal, the poor guy doesn't even know how fun a pillow fort is. The brunet just shook his head and smiled at the blonde standing across the room from him, and continued to rearrange the furniture. Eiji just huffed out a sigh and went upstairs to raid the rooms for what he was asked to collect. Not long after the other had left, Griffin had a sudden burst of energy and rushed out the door. He needed to run and he needed to run now. Thankfully for the master of speed, there was a large clearing behind his house just a short hike away from his house. Whenever he got a burst of energy and didn't feel like tearing through the house like a cat at 3 in the morning, he rushed out to run the perimeter of it. Judging from Eiji's face, however, it should have occurred to him to maybe explain this to his roommate after telling him to go fetch something and then bolting. "If this was your idea of a joke then you better explain it because I don't particularly find that funny." Griffin felt embarrassed, mainly because he was caught but also because he kept forgetting to mention that he has to run a few laps at least once a week or else he'll go nonstop for a few days and risk collapse. "You know how elemental masters have to sometimes find an outlet for their elements or else it can possibly kill them? That's kind of what I'm doing here." "I understand, but I would like to be told of this before I'm sent to fetch something and then find you gone, especially when it's this late in the day. Seriously Griffin it's almost sunset, at least tell me where you're going before you rush off like that." "I can't control the energy, sometimes I don't feel like cleaning up the aftermath of an indoor burst." Eiji pondered that last part, before nodding in understanding and agreement. Griffin sighed in relief and was about to ask how he could apologize for the worry he caused before he was cut off by the blonde. "So, why do you care so much about pillow forts? Is it like a family tradition of yours or..." "What? No! Well... Hold on, I need to gather my thoughts coherently." "I'll wait." Griffin didn't feel like he could talk about this topic without letting it slip that he was in love with the other master, not at his track of all places. He made a gesture suggesting that he wanted to carry Eiji to another area, and was relieved when the blonde caught on and held onto him somewhat tightly. "Where are we going?" "Back to the house, we'll talk as we build." "Whatever makes you comfortable Griffin." Griffin never really paid attention to how far away the clearing actually was, he thought it was a lot shorter. Granted, he was usually going so fast it really was just a stone's throw away for him. He felt kind of bad for making Eiji march all the way out to get him. The pillow fort didn't take as long as Griffin had hoped. He planned on focusing so much on building it that he could ignore the inevitable conversation that would end with him broken-hearted and out one wonderful roommate. Eiji, on the other hand, looked pleased with the result. It was a simple little fort, just barely big enough for them to be comfortable, but the look on his face betrayed his emotions. He ducked underneath the blanket they used as the roof and invited Griffin to join, patting the spot next to him. Griffin happily obliged, laying his head on Eiji's thigh. "So, we built the fort, and I think I can see why you were so intent on having me build one with you. It was fun, despite the purpose still being unclear to me." "Well, what do you think the purpose is?" "I read up on it while I was upstairs as to what it was, and the purpose, usually, is to entertain a child? I am not a child and neither are you, so there has to be another reason for your suggestion." "You talk like a nerd." "Says the man who spent half a day teaching me Sonic the Hedgehog lore." "Hey, that's very important information!" "Back to my question, why did we build this?" "Well, like you said it's usually to entertain children, and yet you have never even heard of one much less build one. It's a nice thing to experience as a child and while I understand that your childhood was... far from great, it's something you never even thought to act upon? I don't know exactly, I think I just wanted to give you something nice to remember about me when I'm not around anymore..." Eiji paused, processing what Griffin just told him. He had a look of concern on his face that was usually reserved for a problem with his silk moths. Eiji's eyes were a nice blue, it reminded him of a pool. He would be honored if he could drown in them. "Griffin? Are you okay? You're staring off into space again." "A pool would be a better descriptor..." "I'm sorry a what? Griffin, what are you staring at that has you so enthralled?" Griffin quickly sat up and attempted to hide the blush that was appearing on his face. "Is there something wrong?" "No, no there isn't. I was just thinking about going swimming later..." "Griffin, usually when people lie they avoid eye contact, and you're not even facing me while speaking. Either be honest and tell me what's wrong or you're getting moth therapy." He shuddered at the mere idea of moth therapy, he didn't know what it was but something in the back of his mind said he probably he didn't want to know. He tried to think of an excuse but his mouth moved faster than his brain. "Eyes." "What?" "I was staring into your eyes, they remind me of a pool because I used to go swimming a lot and the water was the same shade as your eyes and gosh they're so pretty." Eiji, unfortunately, went silent. A sign that Griffin has majorly fucked up and he needs to find a way to play it off that wouldn't offend him further. He was interrupted by what was unmistakably laughter. It wasn't the prettiest laugh he's ever heard, but definitely one of the nicer ones. It was genuine, and it helped deter the approaching doubts Griffin had about his feelings. "Thank you! No one's ever really commented on them. Although you've seen my mask, they're usually too terrified to notice! You were enthralled by my eyes? I don't really understand why, because your eyes are even more fascinating!" "How so?" "Griffin... please tell me you're joking." "I don't understand what you find special about my eyes?" "Well, I find your left eye specifically to be interesting, it's two different colors. Brown and blue, split right down the middle it seems. You have sectoral heterochromia." Griffin gave Eiji a confused look and left to go find a mirror. Obviously, he would have noticed his left eye being two different colors... right? He never felt so stupid looking in that mirror, he's had this his whole life and he's just now noticed? He stared intently in the mirror, wondering and slightly hoping that this was some kind of hallucination from lack of sleep. No wonder people did double-takes the rare moments he removed his shades from their proper place. He figured he may have gotten used to it, a lot of people in his family had some strange-looking eyes. Maybe he just thought his eyes were ordinary in comparison. He's known a few people with heterochromia before, but he never thought he had it as well. Eiji was always the smart one, spending possibly thousands of years locked in an evergrowing library of knowledge does that to you. Almost as if the thought summoned the other elemental, Eiji appeared in the doorway, holding a bowl and a pack of popcorn. "Want to watch a movie in the fort with me?" Griffin smiled in the mirror, staring into his roommate's pretty blue eyes. "Sounds great, but I swear if you pick another slasher film then you're dealing with me tonight. I will demand so many apology cuddles you'll wish you never knew me." The blonde smirked and gave him a wink. "Aww, I was looking forward to a Vorhees marathon... I'll go pick something else then, see you in the fort birdy." Griffin was about to backtrack and say that he was joking until he remembered quite vividly the select reasons why he disliked the genre. He's seen enough blood courtesy of that stupid tournament. He shook the thoughts away before staring into the mirror one last time. He had to agree, his eyes were fascinating.

[flohamilton]

Hi love ❤️your work is amazing and I was just wondering if you could write a Steve Harrington x Byers!reader where the reader is Jonathan and wills middle sister and she’s in the house when billy shows up and instead of Steve fighting billy the reader does and she puts up a good fight but billy beats the fuck out of here and when Steve gets to billy he freaks out and fights billy and wins and admits he likes the reader sorry if it’s so specific thank you love ❤️

Protect You

Steve Harrington x Byers!Reader 

Warnings: Fluff, cursing, mentions of blood

hi anon!!! I’m so sorry this took so long, I just really wanted this to be accurate with the actual episode! I really enjoyed writing this and I hope you love it! (I kinda got carried away oops) and thank you so much for sending in a request!!

It seemed to you that all hell was breaking loose at the moment. As if your family hadn’t already been put through enough with your little brother Will’s disappearance a year ago, this year was somehow even worse, as Will was now possessed by this shadow monster thing, and you were too terrified to even question it. Your mom, brothers, and Nancy were currently in Hopper’s cabin, trying to expel the demon-like entity from Will’s body, Hopper and El were closing the gate at the lab, and you were at your house, along with Steve and four very chaotic children. 

You had offered to stay at your house, because it was where you felt most safe, and also because dealing with four kids would have been too dangerous anywhere else. Steve had offered to stay and help hold down the fort, which you were thankful for because to be quite honest you were scared shitless and could use a little company from someone your own age. You also weren’t complaining because you had been crushing on Steve for a while now and having another opportunity to spend some time with him sounded pretty good to you. Well as good as things can be when you are fighting an inter-dimensional monster and all of its spawns. But nonetheless, you were glad Steve was here with you. 

You had always seen Steve around school, and sure you thought he was cute, but his ego was always too much for you to handle. He was so concerned about his title as “King Steve” that you knew he would never give you the time of day. Then Nancy and Steve began dating and you shut off all of your feelings toward Steve for the sake of your friendship with Nancy. You two weren’t the closest of friends, but your brothers were best friends so you saw a lot of each other and you enjoyed her company from time to time. Now that Steve and Nancy had broken up, you felt the familiar feelings coming back, and you knew you were in for trouble. Now that Steve had become involved in this whole demogorgan thing, you got to see his true character. He was a really sweet guy, he enjoyed being around the kids, and you realized he wasn’t the duchy “King Steve” you thought he was. Now it seemed like he was just Steve.

But crushes and love were not what you were concerned about at the moment. The kids were all a little nervous, which was expected, but especially Mike. The poor kid just saw the love of his life for the first time after almost an entire year and she had just been swept away to complete the potentially most dangerous task of any of your lives. You felt bad for the kid. Steve and Dustin had just finished arguing about where to put the demodog, and the general consensus had somehow become your fridge. 

“Is this okay?” Steve asked whilst shoving the creature into your refrigerator, “who am I kidding of course this isn’t okay. Jesus Christ Dustin, why couldn’t we just bury the damn thing!” Steve said shooting you and apologetic look. 

“Because Steve! This is a scientific breakthrough and we can’t just bury it like a dog!” Dustin shouted passionately. 

“I am so sorry, y/n” Steve said once the dog was successfully stored in the fridge, “We will buy you a new fridge.”

“Don’t worry Steve, we’ve got bigger issues at the moment,” You said, chucking slightly, still mind-blown that you were even in this situation. Not only were you nearing the apocalypse but your crush Steve was in your house with you, helping you babysit four kids. 

Meanwhile Mike, Lucas and Max were orchestrating an elaborate plan to storm the tunnels and light a fire to distract the dogs and lead them away from the lab in order to protect El and Hopper. 

“This is not happening. y/n and I promised to keep you shitheads safe, do you understand me?” Steve said, his inner babysitter coming out strong, making you swoon. 

Before anyone could say a word you were interrupted by the sound of an engine revving furiously. Max jumped up and peered out the window. “That’s my brother! He can’t know I’m here, he’ll kill me. He’ll kill us!” She said, a panicked look forming on her face

“Don’t worry Max, Steve and I will take care of this,” You said, putting on your brave face. The apocalypse was literally looming over Hawkins, how bad could Billy Hargrove be? “He’s on my property now and I’ll make him leave. He can’t tell me no.” You said defiantly. 

“No y/n,” Steve spoke up, “I don’t think that’s a good idea, you should stay in here with the kids.” 

“It’s okay Steve, what’s the worst he could do?”

Max opened her mouth to speak against you, but before a word could come out you saw the bright headlights of Billy’s car pull into your drive way. Before anyone could stop you, you were opening your front door and walking out to meet Billy in the drive way. Steve followed behind you anxiously. 

“Can I help you?” You asked, your attitude making an appearance. Billy snarled at your words and you suddenly had major regrets about coming outside. 

“Yeah, what are you doing here, amigo?” Steve asked, now standing protectively in front of you. 

“I could ask you the same thing.” Billy said. Tension becoming so thick you could practically cut it with a knife. 

“We’re watching a movie,” You said, improvising, “Indiana Jones!” 

Billy scoffed, “I’m looking for my sister.” 

“I didn’t even know you had a sister Billy, what makes you think she would be here?” You asked, playing stupid.

“A little birdie told me she was here.” 

“Huh, weird. No one’s here but me and y/n. You’re kinda interrupting movie night, so if you don’t mind…” Steve said, waving his hand off, motioning for Billy to leave.  

“I don’t appreciate being lied to.” Billy snarled. 

“Well she’s not here.” You spoke up. 

“Then who is that?” Billy asked pointing behind you. You turned to see the four kids, looking our from the living room window.

Billy stormed past you barging through your front door. “Hey asshole, you can’t just barge in my house like this!” You shouted at him. Billy swiftly pushed you to the ground, knocking the wind out of you. 

“Oh shit are you okay?” Steve asked, helping you up.

“I think so, just knocked the wind out of me.” You said standing and rushing into your house where Billy was currently holding Lucas against the wall. 

Your inner motherly instincts kicked in and you suddenly had no fear of Billy whatsoever. “Don’t touch him!” You shouted, and suddenly you felt as if you soul had left your body and you were now functioning on autopilot as you punched Billy square in the face.

Unfortunately, your punch had virtually no affect on Billy, “Big mistake.” He said, a maniacal laugh coming from his lips.The next few moments were a blur to you. Billy threw a punch directly to your nose and you were sure it was broken as you felt a tremendous amount of blood gushing from it. Once you were on the ground he repeatedly kicked you in the ribs. He even kicked you in the side of the head and your ears began to ring, the pain becoming too much for you to handle. You heard shouting in the background, but it was only faint. 

Suddenly you saw Steve come up from behind Billy. With one swift punch, Steve had knocked Billy on the floor, and was on top on him, repeatedly punching him in the face over and over again, Billy’s face becoming bloodier and bloodier by the second. A few moments passed before Billy was knocked out cold. 

Steve got off of Billy and rushed over to where you were on the floor, a bloody and whimpering mess. 

“Hey you’re okay,” Steve said, taking your face in his hand, “That asshole isn’t gonna hurt you anymore.” He whispered softly, eyes wide at the destruction Billy had caused to your body.

“Steve,” You whimpered, tears flowing liberally at this point. 

“No, no y/n don’t cry, you’re okay, I got you.” He said, bending down and softly placing a kiss on your forehead. “I need to get you cleaned up. I’m going to take you back to your bedroom, okay y/n?” Steve said, gently picking you up and carrying you in his arms back to your room. He carefully placed you onto your bed making sure to be extra gentle. 

“Just stay still okay, I’m going to get some bandages.” Steve said. You nodded your head slightly and closed your eyes, trying to focus on something other than the extreme pain you were in. 

While Steve was in the bathroom gathering first aid supplies, you heard him talking to the kids. “She’s not good. There’s no way I’m leaving her to go into those tunnels. No way. It has to wait.”

“But Steve this is our only chance!” Dustin said.

“And what about Billy?” Lucas asked, “We can’t just leave him here?”

“I can drive us.” Max said, followed by protests from everyone else. “No I’ve done it before when Billy was drunk. I’m pretty good! Anyway, we can get Billy and drop him off at our house, he’ll be out cold for the night so there’s no chance he will wake up and try to find us. Then we can go to the tunnels ourselves while you stay here and take care of y/n. It’s a great plan!” Max said. 

“Absolutely not.” You heard Steve say in his babysitter tone again. “A. I’m not letting you drive a car, you’re literally 9 years old. And B. I am definitely not letting you go into the tunnels alone.” 

“So what, we wait here with Billy’s useless body and put El and Hopper in even more danger than they already are? I don’t think so Harrington!” Max yelled. You had to admit, Max was mature for her age and you didn’t doubt that she could drive a car. The thought of your favorite kids entering the terrifying tunnels alone made you shiver, but you also had to admit that it was better than leaving El and Hopper for dead. 

“Steve please,” Max begged.

Steve huffed, “Fine. But please do not speed, and don’t forget to turn your headlights on. Also bring a walky-talky and make sure you radio in if anything happens. Okay?” He asked, and you heard everyone agree. “Please be careful. I’m trusting you guys.” Steve paused. “Let me put Billy in the backseat before you go.” You heard the sound of Steve lifting Billy’s unconscious body off the the floor and go outside, followed by faint voices from the kids. You heard an engine rev and you knew the kids had left. 

“Hey sorry to take so long,” Steve said, and you saw that he hand an arm full of various towels, bandages, and rubbing alcohol to clean you up with. 

“It’s all my fault.” You said, voice cracking and tears flowing again. You couldn’t handle the guilt you were already feeling at the thought of Mike, Lucas, Max, and Dustin in danger. 

“Hey no its not, shh, you didn’t do anything wrong, y/n.” Steve said, sitting next to you, wrapping his arm around you as you leaned into him. 

“I had to go and pick a fight with Billy and now you can’t even go with the kids to help them in the tunnels. I could have stayed behind, I would have been okay.” You cried. 

“No, y/n I’m not leaving you.” Steve said, tightening his grip around you. “And I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I have faith in the kids. They’ve been through a lot. They can handle it.” 

You began to cry harder now, “I’m just worried about them.” 

“I know. I am too, but they’ll radio in if anything goes wrong.” Steve said, looking down at you, wiping a tear from your cheek. “Let’s get you cleaned up, alright? Just lay back okay, I’ve got you.” 

You nodded, sniffling. The pain in you body was still debilitating, but you had become more aware of your surroundings. Steve was being the kindest person ever and you were in shock that you were in this crazy situation with Steve. 

“This may hurt a little,” Steve said as he dabbed your nose with a wet towel, and you flinched. “I’m sorry, I’m almost done,” he said wiping away the rest of the blood from your face. 

“I also brought you some ice to hold on your ribs, you got kicked pretty hard.” Steve said, handing you an ice pack. 

“Thank you for taking care of me. You really didn’t have to… Will you come lay with me?” You asked, scooting over in your bed, whimpering at the pain your ribs were causing you.

“Of course,” Steve said, climbing onto the bed next you to. You leaned into him and he put his arm tightly around you shoulder. “I’m so glad you’re alright. I care about you so much and to see you get beat up like that hurt me a lot. I never wanna see you get hurt again, y/n.”

You began tearing up yet again at the thought of Steve being so kind to you. Never in your life had someone been as nice to you as Steve was being now. 

“You look so beautiful when you cry. I mean it makes me really sad when you cry, but you’re so pretty.” Steve said, his face turning slightly red. 

“Even after I just got pummeled?” You asked, giggling. 

“Yes. Always, y/n. Actually,” Steve paused, “there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you.” He took a deep breath, “These past few weeks I feel like we’ve gotten so close and I love it. I love being around you. I mean I always saw you in school and thought you seemed nice, but getting to know you has really made me see how awesome you are. You’re so kind to everyone, you’re a great friend, and you might even be a better babysitter than I am. But that’s beside the point. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I like you. Like a lot. And I can’t wait anymore, I had to tell you. I just care about you so much and seeing you hurt makes me realize that I want to be there to protect you forever.” 

“Steve,” You said, not much louder than a whisper. You were so shocked and your emotions were already all over the place that you could help but let the tears flow again. 

“I’m sorry if that was too much, you don’t have to say anything back. I’m sorry if I made this weird-“ 

You cut him off, “I like you too, a lot actually.” You signed a breath of relief, finally getting it off of your chest. “I’m kinda embarrassed to tell you, but I’ve kinda liked you since sophomore year.”

“Really?” Steve asked, a shocked look on his face, followed by a goofy smile, you nodded. “This is amazing. I can’t believe this is actually happening! The girl of my dreams likes me back!!” Steve said, more to himself this time, making you blush.

You snuggled closer into Steve, if that was even possible. 

“What do you say when all of this is over, and if we actually make it out alive, you let me take you on a date?” Steve asked. 

“I would love that.” You said, sighing. Despite the current situation your heart couldn’t be more happy. 

“Good. So would I.” Steve said, looking down at you, staring into your eyes. He slowly began to lean in, you did as well, almost like you were a magnet being pulled towards him. Steve’s lips gently landed on yours, and you depend this kiss, leaning into him slightly for a few seconds before pulling away. 

“Wow.” Steve said with wide eyes. 

“Yeah, wow.” You said. 

“I’m never leaving you, y/n. I’m always going to be here to protect you. I promise.” Steve said, and eventually the two of you drifted off to sleep. 

A few hours later you were woken by the sound of people entering your house. You sat up quickly, worried you may be in danger. 

“Don’t worry,”  said Steve who was awake next to you, “it’s you mom and brothers, and everyone. Everything’s okay. Its over.” Steve said, pulling you into a tight embrace, not letting you go for anything, and knowing he would continue to protect you and never let you go as long as he could help it. 

Send in your requests!

[codevassie]

@aphfallfandomweek Day 5: Spooky PruCan

CV: It’s late, but here it is! Since it’s kinda a long one and I didn’t have anything planned for Saturday’s prompt, I decided to split it up. This is part one. I don’t have the prompt for today written yet, but I’m thinking of doing a small Spamano drabble tonight. Enjoy! 

Warnings: Blood, Loss, Death

Matthew sat on the stoop of his house. His feet in their scuffed tennis shoes were on the concrete of the little path that led to his family’s front door. His elbows sat on his knees, and his head rested in the palms of his hands. He wore a t-shirt and jeans, only slightly chilled by the autumn breeze, but annoyed when his hair gusted into his face. As he attempted to blow it away, he muttered about getting a haircut.

But his soft, violet eyes could not be distracted long by his thick, fair, annoyingly long hair. There were people trickling out of their homes, little by little, as the evening crept slowly forward. The youngest were always out first, accompanied by parents or siblings, and not quite sure what this ridiculous tradition was all about yet. They’d come out in cute, ridiculous costumes their parents had chosen, giggling from strollers or peering curiously around as they walked hand-in-hand with their chaperone.

Matthew loved it. Loved watching it all, the kids and their fun, the parents and their coaxing. He love the paper witch they always hung on their door, the smell of the carved jack-o’-lantern beside him, waiting as his first trick-or-treater approached.

Matthew smiled in greeting as one shy boy crossed the grass of their lawn–what his parents would probably be complaining about at breakfast the next morning. Matthew, of course, didn’t care all that much about the grass. It died in the autumn anyway.

Instead, watching the boy, he was reminded of himself, carrying a cauldron-shaped pail, watching his sneakers crush brittle grass in contrast to the rest of his clothes, in character for whatever he had chosen to be that year. In the dark, with a cheap flashlight in one hand and candy weighing down the other, watching his sneakers proved to be the single grounding sight of the otherwise ethereal Halloween.

When the little boy stopped before him, he stamped his own sneakers and Matthew notice they were light-up. He pulled his head up from his hands and smiled, turning to retrieve the bowl on his left.

“Hi!” he said, and the boy held out a pillowcase.

“Trick-or-treat!”

Matthew's heart swelled at the words, and he held out the orange plastic candy bowl in offering. He complimented the kid on his awesome Power Rangers costume, for which the boy beamed at him, and let the kid go, who was obviously ready to get off to the next house. There was more candy to get, more door bells to ring, more Halloween to go.

Matthew only wished he could go too.

His parents had told him he was too old for Halloween, now sixteen and practically friendless. They wanted him to go to parties or watch scary movies with them. What was the point in dress-up and trick-or-treating if it was alone?

Which, they had a point, Matthew supposed. Going out alone sounded lame, not to mention lonely. He was too old to take his parents, and his brother wouldn't come with. Matthew had no friends. So Halloween this year would have to be spent from the lonely stoop.

Watching the child go, Matthew pushed up his glasses and set the bowl aside again. When the kid got back to his dad, he held out his pillowcase excitedly and pointed back to Matthew. When the dad looked over, Matthew waved embarrassedly, not sure what he really had to be so embarrassed about.

But the man didn't wave back or smile in greeting. He frowned, causing Matthew to curl in on himself. Looking troubled, the man let his son away, leaving Matthew more lonely than ever.

What a Halloween this was looking to be. All alone on that stoop.

-/-

The sky had finally become dark, bringing out the older kids with it–the kids whose parents didn't think they were too old for Halloween, the kids who had friends to spend the night with.

Matthew continue to sit on the stoop, bathed in the light of the moon. The older kids didn't approach him as much as the younger ones had, mostly steering clear of the weird kid giving out candy instead of out on Halloween night. Matthew recognized a couple of them from his school, but didn't call out to them. He didn’t know any of them all too well for them to have cared.

It probably didn't help that Matthew was out there, sitting in the dark. No one had turned on the front light, leading him to believe his parents had probably forgotten about him out there. Matthew didn't turn it on himself either, though. Perhaps he didn't want anyone else to approach that night. Perhaps he just wanted to observe.

He began eating candy from the bowl, taking advantage of their surplus and the pass he bestowed on himself yearly to eat all the sugar he wanted on Halloween, to go through at least ten of the treats, the colorful wrappers littering the step beside him. He continued watching the trick-or-treaters walk up and down the street, friends pushing one another after a horrible joke, pranksters jumping out of bushes and yelling “boo!” When a breeze flew by, Matthew watched the brown and brittle leaves swirl across the road and between legs and mailboxes. He shivered and rubbed at his exposed arms, kind of regretting his decision to not grab a sweater.

But he wasn't going in. Not yet. If he went in, Halloween would be over and his favorite day of the year would have come and gone. Matthew was willing to freeze if it would just last a little bit longer.

So he tucked his arms close, burying his fingers, which, now that he noticed, he realized have been freezing practically all day. Under his thighs were warm, but it left his arms exposed, and, when his hair fell into his face again, he frowned and started blowing it away again, keeping up a determined pace for a few minutes but failing.

He was so focused on this task, however, that he hadn't even heard when a pair of footsteps approached, not until the figure loomed before him.

Matthew looked up, finding blood-red eyes staring straight at him. He yelled and jumped up, coming face-to-face with the intruder.

Before he could fall back or run away, Matthew’s brain seem to catch up, some sort of faulty on his fight-or-flight, no doubt, and his own eyes widened. “Gilbert?”

“Matthew,” Gilbert said, and Matthew had to take another moment to look him over, making sure it really was who he thought. He had never heard Gilbert's voice sound so… soft before. Gilbert wasn't a quiet guy. But it was him; there was no doubt.

“Hey,” Matthew said with a friendly smile. “Sorry, you scared me.”

Matthew went to sit down, and he scooted to the side, making room for his new guest. Halfway into doing this, though, Matthew paused, wondering why. He and Gilbert weren’t friends. At least, not so much these days. They'd been best friends in middle school, and, while there hadn't been any huge fall out between them, they’d certainly grown apart. What if Gilbert was just there to get Alfred? It seemed that, these days, the two were better friends than Gilbert and Matthew.

And Matthew wasn't bitter. Seriously. Yes, he wished he and Gilbert were still close, that whatever had driven them apart in middle school had never happened, or that he would have tried harder to hold on to it. But he wasn't resentful of the fact they had drifted. If anything, he was disappointed in himself for letting it happen.

But Gilbert seemed happy these days, always laughing when Matthew saw him, or having fun with Antonio and Francis. He had made friends with good people and grown too, grown like he wouldn’t have, saddled with Matthew as his friend.

The knowledge of this didn't stop Matthew from wishing he could have been apart of it, though.

It was too late to pretend he had been shifting his weight or something, though, and the space he’d made on the stoop was obviously the gesture Matthew had meant it to be. Gilbert didn't even hesitate to sit.

But something was up. Gilbert was acting… strange. Which was something else because, usually, Gilbert's normal was strange. He was quiet and he wouldn't look at Matthew, instead tugging at the ends of his hair, which glowed in the light of the moon.

So Matthew did something strange too. He spoke first. “Were you looking for Alfred?”

Gilbert's had snapped up and, finally, he looked at him. Matthew raised his brows in question, waiting, waiting for the gears to move in Gilbert's head, because, at the moment, it looked like he was a robot whose interface was still booting up.

Once, he and Gilbert had both gone as robots for Halloween, back in the days his parents would take them out and Matthew had friends to go with.

Slowly, Gilbert began to shake his head. “No,” he said, and it was slow and careful, rubbing Matthew the wrong way. Gilbert was never... never slow or careful about anything. Something was definitely up. “Why? Have you seen him?”

And that. That was a good question. He hadn’t seen Alfred since he'd started passing out candy. And before that…

“Nevermind,” Gilbert said suddenly, shutting off Matthew's train of thought. “I actually came to see if you were home.”

“Really?” Matthew asked, unable to keep the surprise from his voice. “Why?”

“Oh, you know,” Gilbert said, and he looked away like the vagueness would answer for itself.

“Is something wrong?”

At this, Gilbert frowned, looking at him again. “Hey, does something have to be wrong for me to visit a friend?” He laughed nervously, which only made Matthew nervous to, not to mention suspicious.

“It's Halloween. I'm sure you've got places to TP with Antonio and Francis, don't you?” Matthew asked, and he kept his voice light, despite the uneasy feeling stirring in his gut.

“Nope,” Gilbert said, then he was quiet again. Matthew frowned, but, before he could say anything more, Gilbert spoke again. “I just wanted to see you, Birdy. Is that so bad?”

Birdy. Gilbert hadn't called him that since they were kids, long before they’d drifted. Matthew had almost forgotten about it.

And he laughed.

“Birdy. That's an old one,” he said and, without even thinking, bumped shoulders with his friend. For a moment, all the years had melted away. He wasn't in middle school again, because Matthew knew so much more now. About himself. About Gilbert. About what he felt for the boy who once called him ‘Birdy.’ But, instead, it was as if all those years had melded together, leaving the impression of something less lonely, a reality that, even separate, they had never been quite apart.

“It is, isn't it?” Gilbert said, voice fond, and another tone unfamiliar to Matthew. The unfamiliarity caused Matthew to remember, and that semblance of another reality melted away. He pulled away, but Gilbert didn't seem to notice, caught up in some thought running through his head. “I remember realizing that I’d wanted to call you that again for a long time. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to.”

“You can call me it,” Matthew said, and Gilbert looked over, as if snapping out of a daze. With that, a grin grew, and so appeared a Gilbert he was familiar with. He’d seen sad Gilbert, happy Gilbert, angry Gilbert… so many. But never before had he seen the one that had sat before him just a minute ago. Whatever Gilbert that was was new and foreign, aged.

But, now- now Matthew could see his childhood friend, his middle school tragedy, his high school crush.

The Gilbert that would wink across the classroom at him when he remembered he existed. The Gilbert that cared for his bird and his brother and his friends. And Matthew relaxed. And his fingers weren't so freezing. And that stoop wasn't so lonely.

Matthew almost smiled, full and bright, in return, and he was well on his way before another set of footsteps treaded up the driveway not too far away. For some reason, this brought something icky and gooey pouring into his stomach, lighting up his brain and jump-starting his limbs so they buzzed with the energy to move, to bolt.

Perhaps his fight-or-flight wasn't completely shot, because, at the moment, dread was pushing him to go, leave now before- before-

Before something bad came.

Realizing who it was, who appeared in the dim light of the garage, didn't cease Matthew’s turbulent emotions as much as he thought the sight of his brother would. Alfred posed no threat, despite his Chainsaw Massacre get-up he must have worn for some Halloween party.

When Alfred saw them, he immediately made his way over, the shadows covering his face again once he left the light. He moved slowly, almost sluggishly. He seemed tired. Must have been one hell of a party if he was returning already at ten, looking exhausted.

“Hey, Al,” Matthew called, giving a short wave in his direction, while pulling his legs up to his chest. It was getting colder out.

Alfred ignored him, though, walking until he was in front of Gilbert. “Hey,” he said and Matthew looked between the two. His eyes stuck to Gilbert when he noticed… he looked nervous. That couldn't be-

“Hey,” Gilbert replied and Matthew tore his eyes away, heaving a huge sigh. This conversation was going to take forever if they kept to greetings like this.

“Did you go to a party?” he asked, but Alfred didn't even look at him. He kept his eyes on Gilbert. Suddenly, Matthew was worried something had happened between Alfred and Gilbert, something that rendered his brother pissed enough to keep his attention solely on Gilbert. Alfred wouldn’t ignore Matthew otherwise; he knew how Matthew was about people ignoring him.

But he didn't look ticked. Just… tired. Really really tired.

“Thought you were at Liz's party,” Gilbert said and Alfred shook his head, shoulders sagging even more.

“Couldn't,” he said and left it at that. But his tone was really starting to concern Matthew.

“Al, what's wrong?” he asked and, from the corner of his eye, saw Gilbert flinch. He looked over and caught Gilbert's eye right before Gilbert turned back, looking guilty, to Alfred.

Matthew turn back to, pushing it to the back of his head. He would ask Gilbert about it later. Now, he had to find out what was up with his brother.

But, when he turned back, Al still wasn't looking at him. In fact, he wasn't looking at either of them, instead, eyes fixed behind them, at the door to the house.

Was Alfred mad at… him?

Matthew frowned. “Alfred, don't be like that.”

Again. No response. Not even a flicker of his eyes, his usual tick when Alfred tried to avoid eye contact. He didn’t frown or flinch. He gave no indication at all that he'd heard Matthew.

“Yeah, real mature,” Matthew mumbled, crossing his arms. He stepped closer. Still nothing. “Are you mad at me? At least tell me why.”

When there was still no response, Matthew turn to Gilbert, feeling strangely hurt. With the frustration, he could feel his eyes growing hot. He was confused, he was worried, and he was angry. What could he have done to piss Alfred off so badly? So much that he would ignore Matthew. He knew how much Matthew hated it.

But he couldn't–couldn’t–let on how much it was affecting him. Because there was only one reason Al would stoop this low, and it was to get a rise out of him. He wouldn't let his stupid, jerk brother get to him.

“Gilbert,” he said, voice wavering as he used every ounce of control he possessed to repress it. “Could you tell Alfred, if he's going to ignore me, that I'm perfectly willing to return the favor?”

At this, Gilbert looked panicked for a second, caught between something Matthew couldn't decipher. His red eyes darted between him and Alfred, clearly at a standstill. Then, with a short shake of his head, it was all obvious to Matthew now. He felt his throat closing up and eyes mist, just before blinking rapidly and pulling out another emotion, one that would mask his frustration and tears and betrayal. Matthew held onto his anger like a shield.

“Fine,” he said, stepping back from who he’d thought of–this whole time–as his best friend. “You can both ignore me for all I care. I'm going inside.”

With that, Matthew turned on his heel to the front door, ready to get away as quickly as he could. He should have known. He should have known. Gilbert didn't want him as a friend. He hadn't for years. Why would he have suddenly changed now? He was here for Alfred. Cool Alfred. Fun Alfred. Awesome Alfred. All things Matthew would even agree with if he wasn't so angry and hurt. He loved his brother, but he was ignoring him and he knew what that did to Matthew.

He couldn't stand to be there anymore. He had to go somewhere, be anywhere else. If he didn't get away, he didn't know what he'd do.

Cry, probably.

But, as soon as he turned toward the door, his eyes caught it. Matthew stopped, his anger draining, replacing. Replacing with confusion.

The door was bare.

They always had the paper witch out, though. Matthew had begun putting it up, creating somewhat of a tradition, after he'd found it in an old box of decorations in the attic. His mother thought it looked atrocious, but there was always a smile on her face when she saw it on the front door. When he was young and too short to reach, Alfred had always made himself into a step stool for Matthew to reach the tiny nail on the door.

They always had the paper witch up. Matthew remembered putting it up that year. His parents had been at work, Alfred at a club for school. It was always like that around mid-day. He was alone at the house, where he could study or bake or listen to music in an introverted peace, until the evening when he would sit on the couch and watch TV with his parents or play videogames with his brother. When she’d come home that day, his mother had announced she'd seen the witch by saying, “I see the Ugly Witch of the West is back!”

Back in the present, Matthew immediately looked down, afraid the decoration had dropped and crumpled, or broken. But it wasn't on the ground. There was nothing on the stoop.

No jack-o'-lantern. No plastic bowl of candies. No discarded wrappers. It was bare.

“Wha-” Matthew began, uncomprehendingly.

“He loved Halloween,” Alfred said, at last looking away from the door, the same door Matthew was currently gaping at. “I just couldn't without him, you know?”

“Yeah,�� Gilbert said, and Matthew turned his expression on him, still so lost, so confused.

“And, it's stupid,” Alfred continued. “I hadn't even celebrated it with him in years. Last year, he didn't do anything, but sit here. When I got home, he was still there, and I passed him to go to bed. I had invited him to the party I was going to, but parties were never his jam.”

“They weren't,” Gilbert agreed. His eyes were on Matthew’s, and Matthew still couldn't understand. In his gaze, there was something, something Matthew was supposed to get. And Alfred’s words, they sounded like- But no. No, it couldn't-

“Tomorrow it'll have been a year,” Alfred said. There was silence between them then, neither Gilbert nor Alfred having anything to say on the matter. Matthew certainly didn't. He looked back at the door, where the witch should have been. He’d put it up. He know he had. What if it had been taken? His witch couldn’t have been stolen-

Stolen...

Who are you?

Matthew’s eyes widened at the voice, his own, but in his head. The glimmer of a memory, but…

Emotions flooded him, odd, but familiar. Fear gripped him and he didn’t know why, but he felt as if he’d never been more scared in his life. He felt alone and afraid and in danger. A danger so close and so real, it breathed down his neck from behind him.

Why are you here?

Matthew’s mouth was dry as his vision swam. He became so disoriented that he couldn’t remember where he was, rocking slowly forward and back on his heels, unable to hold himself steady as if on the sea. Then, a voice came through–not one in his head, but outside, in the present.

“Whatever you're here for, could we do it another time?” Alfred's voice suddenly came, like an echo down a long corridor, screaming through a tunnel where Matthew ran and ran but could not get close.

“Yeah, of course, man,” another voice replied. Gilbert. Matthew’s vision began clearing until a light shown through.

The witchless door had opened, light showing through as a figure moved past. Matthew stepped forward, drawn by some inexplicable force. Dread. It replaced his fear and confusion. Dread flooded him and it was all there was. Dread that made him step forward. Dread that made him raise a hand, as he called out, “Wait-”

But the door shut, restoring his vision as the blank surface of it snapped into focus, too bright and too bare. Witchless. Because Matthew hadn't put up the witch that year. He knew that now, somehow. He hadn’t put the decoration up.

The door felt like a barrier. It felt like a good-bye. Unresolved and unfulfilling. Alfred was gone and out of reach, but why didn’t Matthew just go in after him? What held him back?

His head was pounding, a short agony right at his temple. But not quite so short anymore. He felt it and felt it and it didn't feel real, couldn't feel real, but it hurt. It hurt like it was real.

He reached a hand up to press at it, hoping to alleviate some of the pain, but drew back after touching…

Touching something wet. Something that now stained his fingertips red as he held his hand before him.

“Birdy,” Gilbert called behind him, and Matthew was startled to finally be recognized. There was no sense of accomplishment, though. No anger either. Only confusion, a quiet horror.

“I can't remember,” he whispered, thinking of his witch, of his voice in his head, and the blood on his fingers, and the fear that had run through his veins. “I- I-”

“Birdy- Matthew,” Gilbert said, and his voice was closer now, stoppered with emotion. Fear and nervousness. And sadness... “I have to explain.”

But, somewhere deep inside, Matthew already knew. The pounding in his head, so real to him now, but numb, wet, exposed. The voices, like a memory. Alfred, ignoring him, like he hadn't even seen him.

It didn't make sense. It couldn't be real. But he knew.

With searching, desperate eyes, Matthew implored Gilbert.

“Am I dead?”

[sourskittlesberryjuice]

Club Raven: Chapter Two - Anemone

Fic AO3 Master Post Link: https://thesquidliesthuman.tumblr.com/post/175723803062/fic-ao3-link-master-post

Bill sat in a circle with his friends, Bev and Eddie, in the living room of their small shared apartment. They were just sort of talking about whatever had come to mind. A new movie that was soon to release, a test that they had just taken in one of their many courses, or maybe even an odd dream that one of them had had.

That’s one of the things Bill loved about his friends, was that he could talk to them about anything under the sun. Like that jackass, dark haired kid with the coke bottle glasses from one of Bill’s classes who frequently sang a song about ‘you and your johnson’, claiming it was actually from a boat commercial. Another favorite among the many annoying things he happened to do was talk about his ‘peanut butter ayds’, which was supposedly a weight loss candy. Of course, that’s a story for another time, a tale for another day.

As they were sitting in their circle and just letting words fall out of their mouths, the conversation bouncing around back and forth, the attention soon turned to Bev as she started gushing about a man named Ben.

“He’s so sweet, and kind! I can pretty much talk forever and he just sits there with this fond smile on his face and watches,” Bev went on, her cheeks lightly dusted with a rosy pink as her hands waved wildly.

Bill wasn’t exactly sure who Ben was to Beverly. She never mentioned a relationship with the fellow but with the way she talked about him she might as well be a lovesick girl in middle school all over again.

Beverly went on a little longer and then looked over to Eddie, lightly elbowing their shorter, tanner friend in the side. “So, Eddie, what about Mike? How’s he?”

Eddie flushed a cherry red, looking down in his lap and twiddling his thumbs for a moment before looking up again, “he’s very charming, but I kind of expected that, I guess. He’s patient, definitely. And he has this like, look in his eyes. I don’t know how to explain it, exactly, it’s like he’s an old soul. It’s cute.”

Bill looked to both Eddie and Beverly with confusion, “who’s Muh- Mike? And why haven’t I he- heard about him before?” Bill wasn’t exactly sure why Eddie had only told Bev about this person. He decided to assume there was some reason behind it, he must be really special if they felt they had to wait to tell him.

“Oh, uh…” Eddie was the first to answer, he and Bev looking to each other with a certain look that seemed to read, ‘where do we begin?’

Bill found it odd, as usually they always knew what to say. This time, however, they both seemed to be at a loss for words. It almost made the situation awkward, and he decided to take back his question. “You guys do- don’t have to talk about it if y- you don’t want to, I w- was just curious.”

Bill’s stutter had improved over the years, unfortunately for Bill it still lingered. However, his friends were kind about it. They never pushed him to finish a word or try to speak for him. Especially around new people, where his stutter worsened.

Bev and Eddie looked to each other a moment longer before Beverly spoke, “I don’t think we’re allowed to talk about it. At least that’s what somebody said to me when I first asked about it.”

Eddie nodded in agreement, “same here. We can get someone who can talk to you about it? But that’s up to you, Billy.”,

Bill was quite intrigued. What could possibly be so secretive that his friends couldn’t tell him about it? “Uh- um- yeah! Sh- sure. It seems in- interesting.”

Eddie and Bev both nodded looking again to each other before Beverly changed the topic. They talked to each other for hours, before Bev and Eddie both went back to their respective apartments.

-

A few weeks later, Bill had just run out to the store to pick a few things for his apartment. He was walking back to his apartment, letting the warmth of May fill his spirits. As he walked, he was tapped on the shoulder from behind. Bill turned around to face a tall, sort-of lanky gentleman who almost looked familiar. Could it be that kid from his literature class?

No, it couldn’t be. He wasn’t wearing those thick, retro style glasses, for one. His usual thick, unruly mop of hair was nicely styled, and not nearly as frizzy. So who was this guy then, and what did he want from Bill?

“Hello there. Are you Bill Denbrough? Yes? I hope so. I’m Richard Tozier, or Richie depending on who you ask, charmed I’m sure. A little birdie told me you might be interested in a club I’m apart of.” The man, Richie, spoke before Bill could even ask what he needed. Richie’s stance was filled with confidence and self-assurance. He talked and presented himself in such a way that Bill couldn’t help but ask what he meant.

“Uh, y- yeah. I’m B- B- Bill. What is th- this club y- you s- sp- speak of?” Bill mentally curses at himself for stuttering, though he should be somewhat used to it by now. But there’s something about this Richie character, Bill didn’t want to stutter in front of him.

Richie said nothing about Bill’s stutter, this also proved he couldn’t be that kid from lit as he would’ve said something. He spoke smoothly with a charming gleam in his eyes, though the words that came out of his mouth seemed a bit rehearsed. “You see, Bill, I come from a place we call Club Raven. There we take care of pretty boys like yourself and help them to relax. We give them a drink and an ear and help them forget about their cares for a while.”

Bill is handed a black business card with intricate silver details. He looks over the card before looking back at Richie, “s- s- sounds like fu- fun. D- do I just s- sh- show up?”

Richie nodded, flashing a charming smile, “yes, sir. Just walk right in and we’ll get you set up.” He waved goodbye, then walking away. He turned back for a moment, blowing a kiss to Bill with a wink before disappearing behind a corner.

Bill stood there for a moment, frozen. He blinks himself back into reality, swallowing before continuing his walk back to his apartment.

-

“Still other mythology connects the anemone to magical fairies, who were believed to sleep under the petals after they closed at sunset. Perhaps it’s because of this magical and prophetic tales that today in the language of flowers, anemones represent anticipation.” ​

A/N: Hey, here are some fun links that go along with the chapter.

- You and Your Johnson: https://youtu.be/fxVH5sKUlPg

- Ayds Candy: https://youtu.be/yfFs0o6pCxc

- Anemones: https://www.teleflora.com/meaning-of-flowers/anemone

[strangegirlsontv]

All In The Family (Part 1) - Judging Books By Covers

With things being what they are in 2017, All in the Family can be a tough series to discuss.  Not only do you have to look back on it and consider the social and political landscape it was written in, but it is a series that was somewhat misunderstood when it was new and very misunderstood now.  A lot of this misunderstanding comes from a misunderstanding of the lead character, Archie Bunker, who is by far the most defining character in the show.  After all, everything that happens in the show gets filtered through Archie first.

Divorced from the context it was devised in and ignoring the man who made it, far too many people take exactly the wrong messages from Archie.  Watch nearly any of Archie’s rantings and ravings on Youtube and you are almost guaranteed to find comments praising him for “telling it like it is”, saying “Archie gets what’s wrong with America today”, things of that nature.  Archie is frequently described as a “lovable bigot”, but his character was never intended to be this way.  Archie was intended by creator Norman Lear to be wholly unlikeable.  How could anyone like this man who is every kind of bigot in the book, and lets you know this very quickly and very loudly?  Archie is supposed to be so awful and so bigoted that the viewer is supposed to regard him as a clown, a full on parody of how ignorant people can be.

Unfortunately, viewers fell in love with the man, whether it was despite his bigotry or because of it.  Archie isn’t without his redeeming qualities--he does have many sweet moments with his wife Edith and daughter Gloria, when he’s not controlling or berating the two.  He’s also known to do the right thing in the end--sometimes.  At least, he usually doesn’t do the wrongest possible thing in the end.  But the degree to which he has been hailed as a hero, both then and now, is a result of absolutely missing the point of his character.  In the end, Archie is intended to be laughed at, not with.

The subject of homosexuality was not commonly discussed on American television in 1971 when the show began.  However, All in the Family introduced a storyline about gay folks and homophobia within just a few episodes, and although it’s frequently in the context of Archie’s unwavering homophobia, the presence of gay people is never hidden in the show.  Watching Archie casually talk about “fags” isn’t exactly a great time, but it does something a lot of shows didn’t at the time: recognize that gay people exist at all.  

All in the Family ultimately had two episodes centered around homosexuality.  The first of these two episodes is “Judging Books By Covers”, the fifth episode of the series.  The second, “Cousin Liz”, would not air for another six years.  Unfortunately, public views on homosexuality, as well as Archie’s views, change very little in those six years.

The first episode, “Judging Books By Covers”, starts with Michael and Gloria preparing the table for a guest who is coming to lunch.  Michael is a key character to understanding the sort of mechanics to the show--he’s an educated liberal, open minded young Polish man.  He’s everything that Archie finds wrong with the world, and he is the husband of Archie’s daughter Gloria, who largely shares his views.  The struggle between Archie and Michael, between right- and left-wing politics, between older and newer generations is one of the main sources of conflict in the series.  However, in this episode, it only accounts for half of the battle.

While Michael and Gloria prepare for lunch, Archie and his wife Edith enter the home.  The two are having a small argument about clothing donations--Archie refuses to participate in these “handouts”, quite literally saying the phrase “that’s the problem with this country today”.  Seeing Archie is in a bad mood, Michael attempts to avoid him to no avail.  The two bicker mindlessly for a few seconds before Archie learns that Gloria and Michael’s friend Roger is the guest they will be having for lunch, to which he immediately exclaims “Roger the FAIRY?”

It doesn’t take a lot of critical thought to figure out how Archie feels about gay people.  Archie believes in “a man being a man”, he’s presumably religious although he frequently misquotes the Bible, and he’s resistant to any of these “new lifestyles”.  He’s immediately very hostile to the idea of Roger visiting, saying they don’t need any “strange little birdies flying in and out” of his house.  Every mention of Roger is dripping with contempt.

Gloria immediately jumps to Roger’s defense, saying he’s not a “strange little birdie.”  In fact, this brings up the point that Roger (who is not a recurring character, so he’s a mystery at this point) may or may not be gay.  All we know is that Archie believes he is.  Archie quips to Michael that his friend is “as queer as a four dollar bill, and he knows it.”  Gloria and Michael condemn Archie’s homophobia, but Gloria reinforces that what Archie is saying is “an outright lie.”  Michael says that Archie only thinks this because his friend is sensitive and educated and wears glasses, which Archie replies to with a line that for some ungodly reason became a somewhat iconic line from the show: “I never said a guy who wears glasses is a queer.  A guy who wears glasses is a four-eyes, a guy who’s a fag is a queer.”  Cue laugh track and audience applause.

After a bit more arguing (including a bizarre rant from Archie about how England is a “fag country” and how everything the English do is based on “fagdom”, don’t ask me) we finally meet Roger.  Roger has kind of long hair and a neckerchief, which is more than enough proof for Archie.  Roger has just come back from a trip from Europe, and Archie uses this as an opportunity to grill him in the strange ways only Archie could conceive to grill someone.  Super Sleuth Archie’s master plan for outing Roger is to ask him if he did any sports in Europe, like bobsledding.  “Bobsledding, there’s a manly sport,” he says.  Roger says there isn’t a lot of bobsledding in London, where he spent his time.  Ah, London.  As we remember, that’s that town in that “fag country”.   Good enough for Archie Bunker.  Archie has what he thinks he needs and looks to Michael and says “your witness.”

Archie eventually gets tired of listening to Roger and heads out to Kelsey’s Bar to meet up with his friends.  Though most of his friends aren’t quite AS openly bigoted as Archie, they more or less all line up politically.  However, there’s a bit of a debate in the bar over whether workers should go on strike.  The debate over the ethics of striking very quickly devolves into a discussion about a new Swedish film, whose defining feature by the description given seems to be an actress’s large breasts.  Archie isn’t entirely thrilled at the thought, as he’s too worried about these foreign films being too close to pornography.  

It’s vital to understand that although Archie despises an “abnormal” sexuality like being gay, he’s not at all comfortable with his own heterosexuality either.  Sex is a topic Archie does not like to discuss or think about outside of doing the act himself within the context of his marriage to Edith.  Archie has sex, but when he’s not in the middle of having sex he generally doesn’t want to think or hear about sex.  To some degree, it’s likely that his overall discomfort with any kind of sexuality makes his disgust at homosexuality ten times stronger.

As two of Archie’s three friends continue discussing the movie at large, Archie speaks with the third friend, Steve.  Archie remarks that as a bachelor, Steve likely doesn’t have to go see a Swedish film to see all the attractive women he wants.  All Steve answers back is “whatever you say, Archie.”  The two sit down at a table to have a private chat about Steve’s pro football career, which Archie is eager to drool over.  Archie’s face lights up talking about how back in Steve’s day they played “real” football, manly-men-roughing-each-other-up-type football.  Steve isn’t very keen to talk about the two seasons of football he played, but Archie keeps pressing, asking how Steve keeps in such great shape, remarking on his impressive shoulders.

There are definitely some of you that have already figured out where this is going.

Michael and Roger enter the bar, looking to get a pitcher of beer to take back to the house.  Archie quietly mentions to Steve that that’s his son-in-law and “his pal Tinkerbell.”  However, Archie doesn’t get a chance to make any other comments as Roger walks over and greets Steve, shaking his hand.  It turns out Roger and Steve know each other.  Apparently Steve works in a camera shop and Roger bought a lens from him before his Europe trip.  The two exchange a nice goodbye as Roger walks back to Michael, leaving Archie insisting he pays for Steve’s drinks.

As Roger returns to the bar, the bartender Kelsey asks if he’d step aside so he can talk to Michael privately.  Kelsey asks Michael if Roger is straight.  Michael essentially rolls his eyes at the question, to which Kelsey tells him he thought based on his warm greeting to Steve that Roger was “a little uhh... [waggly hand gesture, weird look on face],” which while not an unusual way to refer to gay people in TV of the time, seems a bit awkward after hearing so many “fags” and “fairies” in the episode.  However, Kelsey next tells Michael that he “doesn’t mind Steve”--after all, Steve only comes in for a drink here and there and his shop is nearby.  Plus, Steve doesn’t “camp it up,” as he says, and doesn’t bring in any of his friends.  Kelsey’s main concern is his bar not getting a reputation as a gay hangout.

Michael has other problems.  Michael’s friend Roger isn’t gay, but Archie’s friend Steve apparently is, and Archie doesn’t know.  Back home, everyone is finishing up their meal as Archie walks in.  Roger politely greets Archie as he heads out, which Archie responds to by making a quiet crack about how they could “just open up a window” and “watch him fly out.”  Michael is getting tired of Archie’s comments and threatens that he could tell Archie something that could “really shock [him],” which Archie strongly doubts given his vast life experiences.

There’s then a short diversion involving that old trick where you step a certain number of steps back from a wall, lean forward, lift a chair then stand up, a trick that supposedly only (cis) women can do and (cis) men can’t.  Archie gets incredibly angry that he can’t stand up with the chair in his hands and is fairly sure they’re playing some sort of prank on him.  When he finds out that Roger showed them this trick, Archie makes a snide comment about how Roger could definitely stand up with the chair.  After all, Roger’s not a “real” man.  

Michael’s had enough, and finally lets it loose: he tells Archie that if anyone could really lift that chair, it’s his friend Steve.  Everyone is in disbelief, particularly Archie, who immediately starts yelling.  He’s furious at Michael and begins ranting about how the schools raise kids as “pinkos” and how the young people all have sex all the time “for no reason,” but the final straw is that young people are now “nuts” enough to slander the name of someone like Steve.  This isn’t just an uncomfortable rumor about the big macho all-American football player Archie admires, this is a full on attack on everything Archie believes in.

Archie retreats to Kelsey’s Bar, where Steve and their other friends are noisily watching a boxing match.  After the match, Steve and Archie sit down for a chat, but not before Steve jokingly pretends to punch Archie.  After sitting, Archie challenges Steve to an arm wrestling match, which Steve very quickly and easily wins.  This puts Archie’s mind at ease--just as going to London meant Roger was definitely gay, winning at arm wrestling definitely means Steve is straight.  Archie starts whining about Michael’s “whole generation” to Steve, then begins questioning Steve about Roger.  

Apparently Steve has known Roger for a few years as a customer of his camera shop.  Archie then comments that Steve MUST know that Roger is a “[non-committal waggling finger hand gesture],” to which Steve only asks if that’s what Michael thinks of Roger.  Archie tosses what Michael thinks in the metaphorical trash can and challenges Steve to another arm wrestle.  While arm wrestling Steve asks again what Michael thinks, and Archie admits that Michael thinks Roger is straight, but--and here Archie just flounders around for a moment, only managing to say “he thinks that you’re a f--” before going quiet.  And after a few seconds of silence, Steve says “he’s right, Arch.  He’s right.”

Archie is stunned into silence for a while, but finally manages to say “oh, you mean he’s right about his friend Roger,” but Steve shuts this down immediately, saying “about everything!”  Steve seems flat out amused at Archie’s attempts to dodge the reality of the situation and hands him another beer as he begins to lay it out.

“How long you known me, 10, 12 years?  In all that time, did I ever mention a woman?”

“Well what difference does that make, you’re a bachelor!”

“So?”

“I know, but bachelors are always actin’ sorta private.”

“Exactly.”

Archie still believes the whole thing is a joke, and Steve is starting to think it is too, although not the sort of joke Archie thinks it is.  He tells him, “have it your own way, Arch.  The truth’s in the eye of the beholder anyway.  I’ll see ya later pal.”  Steve gives Archie a bit too hard of a friendly punch to the shoulder as he leaves the bar.  Archie says to no one in particular, “well if that’s the punch of a fruit...,” but his face turns serious for a moment.  It only takes about two seconds of serious thought before Archie literally handwaves it away with a loud dismissive “nyahhhh!!” and walks out.

In the end, Archie may or may not truly believe that his handsome, muscular, football playing all-American friend is gay.  He most likely will continue believing that the slightly effeminate Roger is gay.  Archie is not a man who will allow his worldview to shift even an inch without an extreme fight.  His stubbornness is one of his most defining traits.  But for that two seconds of serious thought, Archie did know the truth.  He simply chose not to accept it, because accepting it would mean that his image of what it means to be a man and what it means to be gay was wrong.  Steve was quite literally Archie’s ideal of what a man should be.  Archie absolutely adores Steve and everything he stands for.  Archie almost looks up to him, despite Archie being significantly older, because Steve is the “real man” Archie wishes he could be.  But now Archie has to come to terms with the fact that the man he spent so much time idolizing is gay.  If he can be gay, then that means gay men aren’t just an easy to spot stereotype that he can handwave away.  It shatters one of Archie’s most fundamental views about the world--that there are men, and there are women, and those are two very specific roles in this world that must be adhered to at all costs.  There are “real men” from the Old Way Of Doing Things and then there are the “pansies” from the New Way These Youngsters Act and there is no crossover.  We all know that this is not the case.  Archie chooses to not know that, and will actively work to make himself believe that this is the world he is in.  It has to be.

I’ve seen several takes on this episode that suggest that Archie’s discomfort comes from the fact that he secretly finds himself attracted to Steve, and that by finding out he’s gay Archie worries that he himself may also have some same-sex attraction.  I can sort of see the temptation to see Archie’s behavior as a crush.  But to be honest, I can’t get on board with this theory.  To me, it just reads like the same old “homophobes are all just secretly gay” stereotype that does far more to hurt gay people than anything else.  Archie does have very strong feelings related to Steve, but they aren’t any kind of romantic feelings.  They’re feelings about Archie himself.  It’s clear that Archie doesn’t even have much of a strong relationship with Steve at all, despite how long they’ve known each other.  After all, Archie didn’t know one of the core things about Steve’s identity, even though he had zero hesitation in effortlessly confirming it with Archie.  It’s likely that most of Steve’s actual friends already knew.  

Steve is merely a vessel through which Archie can channel is feelings about his own masculinity.  Archie isn’t the fit, athletic manly man bachelor that goes on fun sexcapades that he sees Steve as.  He’s just sort of a frumpy, angry old man with a bad job, an absent minded wife and a bleeding heart liberal son in law he can’t stand married to his only daughter.  Steve is the man that Archie could live the American dream vicariously through, the man that could arm wrestle him under the table and packs quite a punch without even trying, and if he accepts that Steve is gay, he can’t see Steve that way anymore, because that would mean living vicariously through a gay man.  So his choices are to either find a new man to absorb the second hand masculinity of, or deny that Steve is gay.  Archie seems to have chosen the latter.

Though the main story wraps up here, there is a brief scene at the end that just sort of acts as the dessert to the main course we’ve been served.  As Archie returns home, a friend of Michael and Gloria’s is doing the chair trick again.  This friend has short hair and a big bulky letterman jacket.  Archie shouts, “I thought you said a guy couldn’t do that!”  But their friend turns around to reveal that they’re actually a semi-butch woman, and she greets him with a friendly, “oh how do you do, Mr. Bunker?”  Archie declares “nowadays you can’t bet on nothin’!”  The usual applause and laughter.

Though Archie’s behavior in this episode was less than stellar, it ultimately has a relatively harmless ending.  Steve sort of laughed things off and went on about his day in the end.  Archie has decided to just not think about things too hard.  But, Archie’s next notable interaction with a gay person is not nearly as pleasant or quiet, six years later in “Cousin Liz.”

[Part 2]

You can watch “Judging Books By Covers” online here.

[zoomyouchasedthedayaway-blog]

Excerpt from Child Bride Chapter 22

Priscilla’s feminine intuition about Ann-Margret had, of course, been correct. Elvis and Ann, according to members of their retinues, had an immediate sexual electricity that crackled on the set and quickly developed into what was obviously a serious love affair. Priscilla had not been in Memphis for four months when she was put to her first and most acid test. Ann began showing up at football games Elvis organized with actor Robert Conrad and other Hollywood stars at Beverly Glen Park. Visitors and Memphis Mafia members attested to her spending nights at Elvis’s rented house on Perugia, where he had returned after staying on Bellagio Road. “He loved Ann,” declared Patti Parry, who had a small part in “Viva” and was on the set throughout the shoot, “and when Ann came, the parties stopped again and I was the only girl again. He had the best time that I had ever seen with any woman. They were like two kids. They partied, they had a good time.” Like Elvis, the red-haired actress and dancer loved motorcycles, and the two took off on their bikes for long rides together in the canyons-just Elvis and Ann, no entourage. This was an increasingly rare occurrence for Elvis, who liked the camaraderie of his salaried band of good ol’ boys and felt more comfortable with them around. Even more unusual, he often picked Ann up himself rather than sending one of the guys. Patti considered them “soul mates.” That concept was endlessly absorbing to Elvis, who was convinced that everyone had a twin soul, that those two souls were one on the “other side,” then were separated and later reunited on earth. One could tell if two people were soul mates, so the theory went, if they looked like each other. The idea of a twin soul had particular resonance for Elvis, who mourned his still-born twin, Jesse Garon, and may have clung to the concept of a soul mate as a means of making himself somehow spiritually whole. Ann-Margret fit almost spookily into Elvis’s metaphysical belief system and his growing intrigue with mirror images. In fact, she was known at the time-just after her breakthrough in “Bye Bye Birdie”- as the “female Elvis,” a high-voltage sex symbol who could sing, dance, and act. She described herself and Elvis as “eerily similar.” In fact, Ann-Margret and Elvis actually physically resembled each other; their faces and bone structures were strikingly alike, down to the crooked-half smile. Ann was taken aback by this duality, later writing in her autobiography that “it was like discovering a long-lost relative.” Just as intriguingly, Ann bore a likeness to Priscilla. The Swedish star and the part-Norwegian eighteen-year-old both had pouty lips, pert noses, wide-set eyes, and heart-shaped faces; as Priscilla grew older, it often became difficult to distinguish her from Ann in certain photographs. They even sounded alike; Ann spoke in a breathy, sexy, baby voice that Priscilla was either born with or effected to emulate the actress, whose kittenish growl was her trademark. To complete the bizarre circle, “when Elvis first met Ann-Margret,” Debra Paget would later recount, “we had the same makeup person at the studio, and he used to tell me that my face and Ann-Margret’s face-our bone structure was exactly the same.” Debra also told of how, in a Vegas hotel in the seventies, her own parents mistook her for Priscilla. The “twinning” theme seemed to dominate Elvis’s love life: Debra Paget’s mother and Elvis’s mother; Gladys Presley and Debra; Debra and Priscilla; Priscilla and Elvis; Elvis and Ann-Margret; Ann-Margret and Priscilla; Debra and Ann-Margret. These were the sorts of parallelisms that Elvis found fascinating and could spend hours pondering. Elvis and Ann-Margret had a relationship that was both intimate and hot. His nicknames for her suggested as much: He called her either Rusty Ammo, after her character in the movie, or Scoobie. “They had a great time and they were madly in love,” in the opinion of Joe Esposito, who knew Elvis’s thoughts probably as well as any of those around him. “Ann and Elvis…like a lot of the same things. They had a good time together. They were always happy.” Even Joe’s wife, Joanie, whose loyalties would lie with Priscilla, considered Elvis and Ann “terrific” together. “Ann had a great sense of humor, and their romance was fun and light.” Priscilla meanwhile was mad with worry, cloistered at Graceland, hearing rumors about Elvis and Ann, reduced to scouring newspapers for bits of gossip. During the first week of August her worst fears were confirmed in Hedda Hopper’s column, which appeared in the Memphis Press- Scimitar. Hopper reported that Elvis and Ann-Margret were dating, and she quoted Ann as saying he was “wonderful.” Priscilla was already despondent over love letters she had found in the office at Graceland from Anita to Elvis, confirming that Elvis had pursued Anita after he left Germany. The fact that Priscilla herself was in love with several other people during that time period did little to assuage her battered feminine pride and not insignificant ego. The problem was that Priscilla and Elvis were essentially the same in matters of sex and romance: Each was accustomed to being the object of others’ intense desire. Priscilla’s dilemma was accepting that she had undertaken to become the girlfriend of a star who would forever relegate her to the background and into a double standard her ego found untenable. “We had already been talking about marriage,” she said later of her reaction to the gossip from the set of “Viva.” What was Elvis doing with Ann-Margret? Priscilla wondered as she waited, anguished and alone at Graceland. “I knew he was dating her. So there was like ‘Wait a minute. What is this?’ And that was where the insecurities were coming in.” Priscilla, as she had with Anita in Germany, methodically studied and ruthlessly critiqued both herself and her latest competition to assess where they stood with Elvis. Ann-Margret, she rationalized, “wasn’t his type.” Or so she tried to convince herself. “As far as a woman to marry, to have children with, it wasn’t there. And I knew how important that was to him, to have kids.” Elvis Presley was at a turning point in his personal life, faced with a choice between two women, Ann-Margret and Priscilla, that would determine the direction of his future. Several of the Presley aides, later in life-Marty Lacker, Lamar Fike, Billy Smith, would contend that Priscilla was Elvis’s second choice, but it was impossible to know whether their opinions were valid, for they were then disenchanted with Priscilla Presley and embroiled in power struggles with her in her role as executrix of Elvis’s estate. Patti Parry, who had no ulterior motives and spent time observing Elvis with both Ann and Priscilla, considered Ann “the love of his life,” and it was clear, both then and later, that Ann-Margret felt the same way about Elvis. Although she refused, our of respect for Elvis, to discuss their love affair publicly, she referred to him in her 1994 memoir as her “soul mate.” Priscilla distracted herself that August with a visit to her family, then living at Travis Air Force Base in northern California and celebrating Paul’s promotion to major. When the filming of “Viva” wrapped at the end of the summer, she and Elvis were reunited at Graceland, where Priscilla spent a gloomy September, morose and anxious about Ann-Margret, whose calls Elvis was not so secretly taking at the house. According to Dee, Ann began phoning her house on Dolan Street, which Elvis took to using for clandestine conversations with the actress. “He was stuck on Ann-Margret I think,” Willie Jane Nichols contends. “At that time, that’s all he’d talk about.” Priscilla would mention to Willie how “bothered” she was by Elvis’s affair with Ann-Margret, and she also turned to Dee for occasional consolation. “She did a lot of crying, and she was angry,” Geraldine Kyle remembers. “She was extremely jealous, as I would have been, very unhappy.” According to Willie Jane, Elvis invited Ann to Graceland. “I’m not coming there with that woman over there,” she reportedly responded. When Priscilla brought up the subject of Ann to Elvis, “he would keep telling her that it wasn’t happening” recalled Joan Esposito, who found herself in the uncomfortable middle, friend to Ann, Priscilla, and Elvis, uncertain what to say to whom: “Elvis just denied everything.” Priscilla had little choice but to reluctantly accept his denials. “But you know,” Priscilla said later, “what he would say to her and what he would tell me were two different things.” Elvis was playing a cagey romantic game with two strong-willed, jealous females, just as he had juggled Anita and Priscilla the year before. Sooner or later something had to give. The situation reached a flash point in October, when Elvis went back to Los Angeles to film his next movie, “Kissin’ Cousins.” Ann-Margret was in London promoting the British release of “Bye Bye Birdie,” so Elvis took Priscilla to Hollywood, which temporarily cheered her. Priscilla found both the movie business and L.A. stimulating, in contrast to Memphis, where she had nothing to do and which she considered dull. Yvonne Craig, Elvis’s female lead in “Kissin’ Cousins,” had met Priscilla briefly during her spring visit to L.A. the year before and noticed a tremendous difference in her bearing and confidence. She had successfully transformed herself into something of a Hollywood sophisticate already, and Yvonne, a starlet of the first order, considered Priscilla stunning and “would never have guessed her to be seventeen.” She thought Priscilla seemed proprietary toward Elvis, as if “she had a sense of her place in his life now.” Elvis’s five-star sapphire had moved from Priscilla’s pinkie to “the correct finger,” as Yvonne put it, a not so subtle suggestion of an engagement ring. Yvonne, in fact, thought Elvis had secretly married Priscilla, which was no doubt the teenager’s intent. During the “Kissin’ Cousins” shoot, quotes attributed to Ann-Margret, taken from London newspapers, began filtering back to the states. It was reported that Ann told the British press that Elvis had given her a round pink bed and that they were going to be married. Elvis, by a number of accounts, was furious. This publicity, according to Priscilla, led to a much-written-about fight between Priscilla and Elvis at the Bel Air house. “He was angry,” Priscilla explained. “He was infuriated, and the marriage gossip caused friction between the two of us. So I asked him what was wrong, and he said I had to leave because Ann-Margret was coming back and he had to settle things.” Priscilla claimed that she used Elvis’s response as an opening to confront him about his affair with Ann, “and then he got really angry with me because now I knew. And he told me that was it. He confided-not confided, it was an argument-that he had been seeing her but he was not seeing her anymore. And he told me he got this bed for her. I mean, he just told me everything. And then I said, ‘Well,vwhat attracted you to her?’ And he told me that he was attracted to her because she was the ultimate compliment to any man. To his ego, more or less. She imitated him. And he was attracted to that. But he knew that she wasn’t what he was looking for…that she was very…nice, but that she would always be competitive with him. And that she was very career-minded, and that he was looking for someone to marry. And that she was a novelty to him. Not long after that, I went back to Memphis.” Others, including Priscilla’s soon-to-be best friend Joan Esposito, offered a different account. “What happened,” said Joan “was that Elvis called Priscilla’s bluff.” Priscilla, according to Joan and others in the Perugia house, confronted Elvis about Ann-Margret, and he pulled her clothes out of the closet and tossed them out onto the driveway, threatening to send her back to her parents-Elvis’s typical reaction when charged with infidelity. “The best defense is offense,” as Joan interpreted it. “He would say, ‘Well then, we’re finished.’ She wasn’t ready for that, and she would get back in line. The fight about Ann “hurt deeply at the time,” Priscilla acknowledged later. She retreated to Graceland as commanded, while Elvis remained in L.A. another two weeks or so, the duration of his “Kissin’ Cousins” shoot. Exactly what transpired between Elvis and Ann-Margret in the weeks that followed is still something of a mystery and is likely to remain that way, for Ann will not discuss it, or Elvis-“even with me,” remarked comedienne Mitzi McCall, “and I’m her closest friend!” Ann-Margret considers Elvis and his memory too special. She insisted, then and later, that she never told British reporters that she was going to marry Elvis, only that they were dating, and she wrote in her book that she cleared this up with Elvis that fall. Yet from that point on, Elvis did a mysterious slow fade from her life, despite the fact that he was in love with her. “I think that the marriage publicity was sort of an excuse for him,” was Joe Esposito’s theory on the breakup. “How to end the romance. He knew it wasn’t going to go any further. I think that was his reasoning how to break off with Ann.” Ann-Margret later referred cryptically to a “promise” Elvis had made that prevented them from being together, though in her words they had “talked about” marriage. “His wish was that we could stay together,” she wrote in her 1994 memoir. “But of course we both knew that was impossible, and that’s what was so very difficult about our relationship. Elvis and I knew he had commitments, promises to keep, and he vowed to keep his word.” Though she never said so directly, Ann-Margret was obviously referring to the Beaulieus’ arrangement with Elvis to Priscilla. “I really believe Elvis told Priscilla’s parents that he was going to marry her…And that was the deal,” Joe explained. Elvis returned to Memphis, and to Priscilla, early in November. What happened next at Graceland indicated that he might have communicated his decision to Ann-Margret, who sent him a telegram that read “I just don’t understand. It was signed “Scoobie,” Elvis’s pet name for her. “And then I found the telegram,” related Priscilla, “and in that telegram was what happened. There were two telegrams. One said ‘I just don’t understand,’ and I believe there was another one with a song title on it, and I don’t recollect what it was. But it indicated that the affair had ended. It was over.” Ann-Margret, according to Joe, who kept in touch with her, was devastated by the way it ended.“ Elvis’s choice of of Priscilla over Ann-Margret was persuasive proof that the die had been cast for Priscilla Beaulieu’s future; that in fact Elvis had commited himself to an eventual marriage. @awesome-prudence

[thorne93]

Opposites Attract (Part 6)

Prompt: Star Wars AU. Businessman!Kylo Ren and artist!Rey. They are worlds apart, so what happens when their worlds collide?

Characters: Kylo Ren, Rey, Finn, Poe, Han, Hux, Leia, Matt the IT Tech (eventually), Anakin Skywalker (mentioned), Luke (mentioned) and a myriad of OFCs

Pairings: Kylo Ren x Rey

Warning: language, meanness…?

Word Count: 2997

Note: This was a team effort of @like-a-bag-of-potatoes my husband, and my bfffll Ben. Thanks everyone!

Song: Only girl in the world - Rihanna

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

(Not my Gif)

The meeting with the client was decent. Kylo and Hux mainly ran the show as the artists sat back and listened, only offering things once in awhile. A couple of times, the client and Kylo slipped into fluent French and someone would remind them to share with the rest of the group. The client let everyone go early at 4, freeing up everyone. Marissa and Jack asked if they could go and Kylo encouraged them to see the sights and be safe. Hux said he was going to tend to some business, leaving Kylo and Rey alone.

They got to the car and the driver of their luxury sedan handed Rey an envelope.

“What’s this?” Rey questioned, looking at the driver and Kylo.

Kylo shrugged, feigning ignorance. “No idea. You should open it.”

She opened it and read the contents. “It...It’s a clue for something?”

“What’s it say?” Kylo asked, biting his lip as he tried not to know.

“It says, ‘I stand as a gate, but steeds guide my way’. Well...What could that be?” she wondered, perplexed as she just stared at the paper.

He was bursting with anticipation, but Rey wasn’t thinking clearly so he nudged her in the right direction.

“There’s only one gate structure I know of in Paris,” he idly said.

Rey’s face lit up and shrieked, “The arc de triomphe!”

Kylo’s face split into a smile and said, “Well let’s see. There could be more clues. Would you want to walk or ride there?”

Rey thought for a moment before asking how far it was. Kylo informed her it was roughly five miles away so she opted for riding. This was her vacation of sorts and she didn’t want to spend it walking all over the place as she did in New York.

They slid into the sleek black sedan and the driver dropped them off near the Arc.

“Oh my God, I can’t believe I’m here,” Rey gasped in awe as she spun around to Kylo, her delight and wonder sending a wave of warmth through him. “This is magnificent!” She raced to the Arc as Kylo meandered behind her, reveling in her childlike happiness.

Searching the Arc, she found another envelope attached to it. “It’s another clue!” she announced.

The night went on like that. Rey finding clues to all of her favorite landmarks. They drove to some, ran to others, Rey squealing the entire time as she soaked up the city of lights with Kylo on her heels. The entire time, he couldn’t help but love how she looked in the night lights, the way her voice sounded when it was delighted, the way her nose crinkled…

Finally, they ended up at a restaurant - the restaurant she wanted to try in fact.

They ordered and were waiting for their food as Rey stared at him.

“What?” he asked as he took a sip of water.

“How did you do it?”

“Do...what?”

“The scavenger hunt…”

“What makes you think I set that up? It could’ve been a gift from the client,” Kylo said simply, avoiding eye contact.

“Because we went to every thing I’ve ever wanted to see in Paris, except the couple of things that require a tour...That’s not just coincidence.”

Kylo smiled lightly as he looked at her and leveled with her, “Fine. I had Hux help me set it up.”

“Hux? The man who can’t stand the sight of me?”

“He’s coming around, he’s just not a people person.”

“Mhm. And how did you know about all the things I wanted to do? Lucky guess?”

“I don’t believe in luck. No, I had help from a little birdie.”

Rey’s mouth screwed to the side. “Would this little birdie happen to be my neighbor and best friend?”

Kylo held his hands up in mock defense. “I protect my sources, Rey.”

“I bet you do,” she teased, sticking her tongue out daintily. “Thank you though, very much for tonight. This was absolutely amazing. I had such a great time. And this,” she said, gesturing around her to the fine dining restaurant, “is the cherry on top.”

“I’m glad to hear you say that,” Kylo honestly said.

The rest of the evening, they made idle chat about music, movies, and the like. Finding out they had a bit in common, and what they didn’t have in common, enlightened them. Conversation flowed easily between them and Rey saw Kylo laugh for the first time, which made a warm feeling spread over her.

When she went back to her room, she found a bouquet of her favorite flowers with a note that said, “I had a good night exploring the city of lights with you. bonne nuit.”

------------------

Tuesday was much like Monday. The meeting drug on all day with the heads, as Hux and Kylo worked with the team nailing down all the different campaigns they wanted to do. The meetings ended around six, which gave Kylo enough time to take a tour a few museums and then to a cafe Kylo enjoyed on his times here.

The next night though, was probably the most treasured by Rey. Kylo walked her into an exhibit, a grin on his face so wide, she’d never seen it that big.

“What are we doing here, Kylo?’ she questioned. He had told her to make sure she was dressed very well and looking her best. Curiosity struck her as she thought they were going to another nice restaurant but in fact, they were going to an artist’s gallery.

Kylo approached a woman a little younger than him with red hair that was talking to a small group of people.

“Hello, I’m Kylo, we spoke on the phone.”

The quirky red headed girl spun around and saw the tall man.

“Oh! Hi!” she squealed in delight, shaking his hand as her company went elsewhere. Meanwhile, Rey gasped and her hand flew to her mouth as she felt her knees almost buckle.

“I’d like you to meet Rey,” he said happily, putting his hand on her shoulder and gesturing to Rey.

“Rey! I’ve heard so much about you!” she said. “I’m--”

“Anita Colbert! You’re my biggest--I mean, I’m your biggest fan. I love your work! Oh my God! What an honor! This is...Wow...This is incredible.”

Anita smiled and laughed, humbled by the response. She extended her hand while putting her free hand over her chest.

“Aww, that’s very sweet. I hear you’re a painter too? That’s amazing. You know, I got my start in NYC as a teen, but moved out to Paris for the atmosphere.”

“I...I didn’t know that,” Rey stammered.

“Would you like to get a drink? The booze is free for the artist,” Anita joked.

Rey glanced around, suddenly realizing she was in Anita’s exhibit.

“Oh my God, these are yours!” Rey gasped.

“Yep,” Anita said, putting Rey’s arm on hers. “You don’t mind if I steal her for a minute, do you?” Anita asked Kylo who shook his head.

“Be my guest.”

Rey looked back at him as if she just won the lottery, her face so elated, Kylo felt his own smile creeping up.

Suddenly, a voice was in his ear. “That seemed to make her happy,” Hux said as he watched them leave.

“Jesus!” Kylo jumped, rolling his eyes when he realized who it was. “Yes, it did.”

“And the scavenger hunt? You never told me how that went.”

“Very well, thank you so much for setting it up. I know that’s not exactly a good use of your time but…”

“Think nothing of it,” he waved off, making Kylo wonder. Hux was not one to do favors, especially any romantic favors.

“What’s got you in a good mood?” Kylo wondered.

“Nothing,” Hux said, turning his mouth down as if to negate any notions.

“Oh? Nothing? Hux, I’ve never seen you do a kind act in your life…”

Hux rolled his eyes and said, “For Godsake man, can’t I just be happy for my friend?”

“No,” Kylo teased.

“Fine. If you must know, you aren’t the only one with your eye on someone…”

“Oh?”

“It seems you and I have a thing for artists.”

“Anita?” Kylo questioned.

“She and I have a date,” Hux informed.

“Look at you,” Kylo congratulated.

“Don’t read too deeply into it. It’s just drinks…”

“Yeah and in the 32 years I’ve known you, you’ve never been on a date...So why the change of heart?”

“I could ask you the same thing, old friend,” Hux smirked before he nodded in front of him, showing that Rey was coming back with Anita.

“Hux, so good to see you again,” Anita chimed. Hux smiled at her and Rey thought she would pass out there from the sheer absurdity of it.

“Do you two know each other?” Rey questioned.

“We’ve met briefly,” Hux explained, his gaze never leaving Anita’s.

“How about we all go get dinner together?!” Rey asked, suddenly thrilled at the idea.

Anita nodded. “I’d like that. Hux and I had planned to grab drinks together but I don’t see why we can’t all go together,” Anita agreed.

Anita showed them a little hideaway restaurant that was underground and only the locals knew about it. Laughs and conversation floated around as Rey felt like she might be on cloud nine. This had to be the best night of her life.

Kylo was feeling similarly. It was a new and great feeling to smile, joke, laugh, with his long time friend, and two beautiful ladies at their table. Anyone who entered the restaurant envied their atmosphere - young, carefree, successful, happy. But they each deserved it, they had all faced their own hardships and paid their dues, this was their time.

----------------

Thursday, Kylo took Rey as soon as the meetings ended at 3 to all of the places she wanted to see to spend more time there. They took guided tours, walking tours, carriage tours...Kylo wanted to ensure she got to experience everything she wanted to see, eat, and hear while there.

Friday was the day that everyone remembers very clearly though.

Sitting at the table of Aphrose and their associates, as well as everyone from Starbase, Inc. Jean Claude, the middle aged man who ran Aphrose was sitting with two other men at the large round table in a wonderful restaurant. It was their last night together so Jean Claude offered to take everyone out for dinner.

Everything went swimmingly through the first course, laughs, jokes, and banter being shared, until Jean Claude set his sights on Rey. At first, she thought it was the stereotypical Frenchmen in him. Flirting slightly with her as the other patrons of dinner conversed with each other, Kylo’s eyes never left their interaction.

“Vous etes si belle que vous regarder est une souffrance,” Jean Claude spoke quickly as he stared at Rey.

Rey blushed and glanced back to Kylo who was clenching his jaw, trying to keep a straight face with the client.

“It means,” Jean Claude started, taking his thumb and forefinger and directing Rey’s attention back to him, “You’re so beautiful that it hurts to look at you.”

Rey blushed harder but not from flattery, she was beginning to be uncomfortable but knowing it was a client, she didn’t want to jeopardize anything so she went along with it.

“Oh, how nice,” she mused, praying he would stop.

“Yes...Tell me, do you have a boyfriend back in America?” Jean Claude asked.

Rey’s mouth went dry from nervousness as she answered, “Uh, no, not at the moment.”

Under the table, Kylo was clenching his fist so hard, his nails were digging into his palm as he rested one hand under his chin to try and steady his face. Kylo knew he would snap the second Jean Claude made a wrong move. Jean Claude had never made any advances on any of Kylo’s employees that he’d ever seen, because had he done so, Kylo would’ve hit him.

Jean Claude leaned even closer and stroked Rey’s cheek, at that moment, Kylo noticed her stiffen under his touch - and not in the good way. Kylo counted to five, before he did anything rash, he wanted Rey to defend herself and if she didn’t he would do it for her.

“So it must get lonely,” Jean Claude cooed.

“Actually, I have many friends who keep me company,” she said.

“Probably none that know how to treat you right,” Jean Claude said and Kylo was .2 seconds away from exploding on his client, but until Rey gave him a clearer signal that she was truly uncomfortable he wouldn’t move.

“I...I have a good time,” Rey said, not sure how to get the man who was three times her age to stop pawing at her.

“But we could have a better time,” Jean Claude tried as his hand dropped to her knee.

“Okay!” Kylo said, making everyone at the table jump. “Jean Claude, stop touching my employee, please.”

“Why? She seems like she’s having a good time.”

“No, I wasn’t,” Rey whispered.

“Oh, you wouldn’t know a good time if it slapped you in the face,” Jean Claude snarled.

“That’s it. Come on, everyone,” Kylo instructed as he wiped his mouth with his napkin and scooted back and helped Rey up.

Everyone obliged their boss and started to leave as Aphrose associates just sat dumbfounded.

“Ren, if you walk away now, I’ll cancel the contract, so help me,” Jean Claude threatened as he waved a finger at him.

Kylo leaned down and evenly said, “Consider it cancelled.”

Kylo put his hand on Rey’s back as everyone went to exit the restaurant before Jean Claude stood up and bellowed, “Your grandfather wouldn’t ruin his company for a piece of ass!”

Kylo whirled, his face red with rage as he swung his arm, his right fist colliding with the overweight man’s jaw, knocking him out effectively. Kylo shook out his hand to get the pain to lessen, as Rey gasped.

“Ren?” Hux asked as Kylo stormed out of the restaurant.

Rey and Hux joined him on the sidewalk as he stood near a tree and stared at the passing cars.

“Ren, are you alright?” Hux questioned with concern as he came up.

“I’ll be fine,” he informed.

“I’ll take everyone back to the hotel,” Hux said, knowing Rey would want a moment with him.

Rey came up and put her hand on his shoulder.

“Hey,” she softly said as he turned to face her, his face a mix of rage and worry.

“I’m so sorry. I should’ve stopped him sooner, I just….I didn’t know if you were okay with it or what…”

Rey scoffed. “No...I just didn’t say anything because they’re our client.”

Kylo stared at her as if she were insane. He grabbed her shoulders and leaned down.

“Rey, I don’t give a shit if it’s Hux or me or my dad or your boyfriend, if you want a man to stop, tell him to fucking stop. Jean Claude is an ass. He’s never acted like that though,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m sorry about that.”

Rey shrugged. “No harm, no foul. I’m just glad you’re here. Thank you, for doing that. No one’s ever stood up like that for me.”

He shrugged. “It needed to be done.”

Rey smiled a childlike smile and took his hand and lead him back to the hotel, swaying their hands slightly as she did so. The sensation made him feel so calm...serene…

They got to the elevator, not saying a word to each other, just peacefully happy in each other’s company when Kylo said, “I’d like to walk you to your room, if you don’t mind. I’m sure Jean Claude’s actions didn’t exactly make you feel safe…”

Rey nodded and said she’d like that.

They stepped off the elevator and went to her room where she slid in her key card. She opened the door, and hesitated a moment before biting her lip and turning around and asked, “Would you like to come in? Just for a drink? I’m still a little...uneasy.”

“Sure thing, Rey,” he sweetly said, happy to oblige her any request.

She made them some old fashioned and sat next to him on the leather couch in her suite, looking out over the city, soaking up her last night here. She sighed with content as his eyes trailed her body, drinking her in. Not in a sexual way exactly, but more observing just how beautifully stunning she was.

She felt his eyes on him and peeled her eyes away to look up at him through her lashes, making his breath catch in his throat.

“You’re so beautiful,” he breathed.

“I think you’re the most handsome man I’ve ever seen,” she admitted in a whisper.

As if being pulled together by a force, they began to lean towards each other. His face so close to hers, his breath was hitting her lips, he hesitated, waiting for her to make the first move. She did, and like that, the tension had finally snapped.

His lips molded hers perfectly, her hands went to his black locks as his tongue slid along her bottom lip, tasting her. His large hands held her sides as he pushed her back on the black leather couch, goosebumps forming all over her skin. Moaning into his mouth, he drank it in, kissing her more and more. Finally, they were getting to feel each other as they had wanted to for months. Their prayers and desires being answered.

The kiss had just started to deepen, him resting between her legs before he stopped, pulled up slightly, and said, “I have to go.”

He stood, Rey reaching out to touch his jacket as she said, “Now? You have to go now?”

“Yes. I’m sorry…”

Running out of her room, he knew he’d made the right decision….So why did he feel like shit?

[godlessriffs]

Comics: A Semi-Love Story

I love comics. Not all comics, mind you; most are aimed at a different demographic from any I represent, and many are straight up trash no matter who their target audience is. What I love is the concept of using pictures to tell stories the way writers use words and filmmakers use the camera. Like movies, comics is a visual medium requiring the artist to make decisions concerning things like shot composition, angle, lighting, and so forth. Like literature, comics can be created with easily obtainable materials by one person working alone (although small teams are much more common) for nowhere near what it costs to make even the cheapest motion pictures, the greatest expense being at the publishing end. It's a best of both worlds situation for anyone willing to exploit it.

What kind of comics am I into? My tastes are kind of unusual, although they didn't start out that way. When I was a child I loved Mad magazine, and I occasionally bought Cracked as well. The first actual comic book, in the sense most people imagine, that I ever sat down and read was the third issue of a four issue miniseries from DC called Tales Of The New Teen Titans. This particular issue told the origin story of the Changeling, the character known today as Beast Boy. It was a really great, epic story (and fortunately I didn't have to have read any other comics to understand what was going on in it), and the art was top notch (as it would be, since the artist, George Perez, was one of the best in the business at that time). That book became the gold standard by which I would judge the quality of all of the comics I would read for some time.

But it was ultimately my younger brother who got me really INTO comics. Some time during the late eighties, he started collecting Spiderman comics, and his hobby began to rub off on the rest of us. My father started collecting Batman and Green Lantern comics, and even my mother got in on it, eventually collecting Teen Titans and an older DC title called Ghosts. At first, I didn't think I'd get sucked into this myself, but when the family paid our first visit to the no-longer-extant Winston-Salem branch of Heroes Aren't Hard To Find at the corner of Burke and Brookstown, I did manage to find something that interested me: Marvel's Star Wars comics.* For a while I was content to collect those, but soon, spurred by fond memories of Saturday morning adventure cartoons like the Superfriends, I started collecting Superman, the Justice League, and a few other DC titles.

My tastes kept evolving, though, and I would eventually abandon the mainstream stuff as I began to cultivate a deep appreciation for the outré. I've mentioned this before in the context of music, and it applies here as well: it's in my nature to keep digging deeper, and I was always happiest when I'd discovered something cool and relatively unknown. In the eighties there was a boom of independent publishers saturating the market with comic books, most of them in black and white. These companies knew they couldn't compete with the big two (Marvel and DC), and for the most part they didn't try. Their subject matter spanned the gamut: there was sci-fi (from space opera all the way to hard science fiction), fantasy (some of it sword and sorcery, some of it truly outlandish), horror, crime noir, funny animal stuff, you name it. Superhero comics weren't unheard of (teams were more prevalent than individual characters), but the ones that did exist tended to be offbeat compared to the majors. I would have bought all of that stuff if I'd had the cash. The comics I did read went really well with the heavy metal I was listening to at the time. Some of them were reprinting old strips from the days of yore; I got my first taste of the original Buck Rogers strips reading Eternity Comics' Cosmic Heroes series.

That eventually led me to seeking out more adult material from the likes of Peter Bagge, Daniel Clowes and Los Bros. Hernandez, the spiritual successors of the underground comix, and ultimately to the undergrounds themselves. My tastes have become EXTREMELY eclectic. I do, however, still love superhero comics, but I'm really only into the ones from the golden age, and some from the silver. The child in me considers the current vogue for gritty, adult oriented superhero comics that aren't supposed to be fun to be wrong-headed and frankly kind of stupid.

Because my approach to comics was so different from that of the rest of my family, I ended up in a much different place than they did. Last I checked, my brother and my father still had all of their comics, but they don't really collect or even read them much any more. Neither one of them ever seemed interested in anything outside the superhero genre. My mother, meanwhile, eventually sold all of hers and only seems to have gotten into comics in the first place because the rest of us were collecting them. I was different. I've known for a long time that there's a fine line between collecting and hoarding, and I'm definitely not into the latter. I've never bought books I couldn't read, nor have I ever been afraid to sell or trade something once I felt like I was done with it. Then I would follow my appetites into ever new directions, and that eventually left me with a strong appreciation for comics as an art form. And because of that, I'm the only member of my family who still enjoys buying and reading comics.

Now, I need to vent about something. Namely, the common stereotype of the comic book collector as a loser shut-in with no social life who takes the hobby way too seriously and freaks out if you get near his precious collection. The ur-example would probably be the comic book guy from the Simpsons. And maybe you remember this exchange from Mallrats:

         Brodie: The usual vault rules apply; touch not, lest ye be touched.

         T.S.: You're such an anal-retentive bastard!

         Brodie: Hey, I tried to teach you to handle comics in the fifth grade, but no, you wanted to play little league instead!

I'm not going to deny that these guys are out there, but as one who has indulged in the hobby himself, albeit not with the same rabid fervor, I can see more or less where they're coming from. For one thing, if you're into Marvel or DC, you've got to read a LOT of books to make heads or tails of what's going on. So if these guys don't have social lives outside of a tiny circle of like-minded geeks, it might be because they can't find the time for them. I'm not sure exactly how much time and mental effort it takes to follow the continuity of the major "universes", but I can't imagine studying advanced calculus would be a much greater challenge.** Meanwhile, if comic collectors seem protective of their stockpiles to an excessive degree, you have to remember that these guys are sinking a lot of money into items that, for the most part, weren't manufactured with preservation in mind.*** Hence the bags and backing boards. And let's be fair - they're right to be a little bit paranoid. Because, and here's where I really climb onto my high horse, there's a flip side to this phenomenon that no one ever wants to talk about.

See, when handling someone else's property, you don't handle it the way you would if it were yours - necessarily. You handle it the way the owner of that property wants it handled. And you certainly don't abuse it or treat it carelessly. Because let's face it, it's generally easier to take care of your personal property than to replace it. Most people, in fact, understand this; it's basic etiquette, after all. But I've noticed, often to my horror and disgust, that when the property in question happens to be a comic book etiquette goes straight down the shitter.

It's insane. Comics are either priceless, irreplaceable treasures, on par with the original Declaration of Independence at the National Archives, or they're disposable junk, no more worthy of value than used toilet paper. There's absolutely no middle ground between the two extremes, and no cross-cultural understanding on either side of the divide.

True story: in my junior year of high school, I played Albert Petersen in my school's production of Bye Bye Birdie. During one pre-rehearsal meeting in the auditorium, Mrs. Santamore, the director and drama teacher, was discussing possible props for the teenage characters to use, and at one point suggested comic books. Now obviously in 1989 you couldn't just go to the drug store and pick up the latest Batman or X-Men issue and expect it to look convincingly retro; you needed something that looked like it was published in the fifties.

Now, at the time, Blackthorne Publishing, one of those black and white independents I mentioned earlier, was running a five-issue miniseries reprinting a strip from the fifties called Beyond Mars (so called because it was set in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter). The covers of these books looked fairly retro, not really 100% of what you would see in the fifties, but close enough for rock 'n' roll as we say. And at that meeting I just happened to have on me a copy of the second issue. So I took it out of my bag and offered it up as an example.

Mrs. Santamore snatched the comic out of my hands and, as she held it up to show the cast, grasped it between her thumb and index finger with a completely unnecessary amount of savage force. I could see new creases forming at the spine where she was squeezing it. I must have made a noise of some kind, because I later heard from two of the crew members, who were backstage at that moment, that they had heard it and immediately thought, "yep, she touched his comic book." To clarify, it wasn't that she touched it, it was that she was manhandling it in a manner guaranteed to damage it. Now, to be fair, that comic was only worth its cover price at that moment and it's probably not worth even that today.**** But come on! Even if I was just going to throw it away later, that's for me to decide, not her.

I've tried to explain this idea point blank to people who look down on comics, and completely failed to make them understand. Such is life, I guess.

Nowadays when I go to the newsstand or the comic shop and check out the latest releases, I'm as disappointed with them as I am with current movies or pop music and for the same reasons. More planning and care is put into the packaging and presentation than into the content itself, and modern technology is being used to make a product that's technically perfect but fails to engage my interest. To be honest, I have a deep prejudice against slick, overproduced... well, anything, but I happen to be living in a culture that's openly hostile to anything that ISN'T slick and overproduced. As with digging deeper, it's also in my nature to support the underdog rather than the already rich and successful corporate giant. Those cheaply produced black and white independents I used to read had a scrappy quality to them you just don't see in the major publishers, and a much more honest type of gritty edginess than you could achieve by, say, making your hero a drug addict or a member of a persecuted minority. I also love a handmade aesthetic, and I can't understand why every publisher in business today wants to use Photoshop to censor the human element from their product. When everybody strives for the same production values, everything ends up looking the same. Where are the risk takers? Unfortunately, I think I know the answer to that one...

Among the items in my current collection is Shadow Warrior #1, published in 1988 by an outfit called Gateway Comics (unrelated to the company of the same name that exists today). It reads like the beginning of something truly epic, like Tolkien but with a dash of Robert E. Howard. It's everything I love about independent comics. It's in black and white, with art that takes advantage of the strengths of the monochrome page; it's lush and exquisitely detailed. It's also slightly amateurish, but to me that just adds street cred. My favorite thing about it, though, is that everything in it was done completely by hand; even features on the cover such as the title, the company logo, the price (U.S. and Canada), and even the copyright notice. No technology more advanced than a pen or brush seems to have come into play until it was time to go to the print shop.

Sadly, no second issue of this book ever came out and the company seems to have gone belly up after the first one. I haven't been able to find any information on why this happened, but sometimes startup business ventures don't work out. (In truth, a lot of independent comics from the eighties that ran for quite a few issues ended before they could be brought to a proper narrative conclusion.) That said, I don't see why the creative team responsible for this book couldn't have continued to work on the story and meanwhile looked for other means of getting new issues published. Insufficiently committed, I guess. After all, I can't imagine that these guys didn't have day jobs; Shadow Warrior looks like a spare time project.

As for why Shadow Warrior failed, I can't imagine the lack of advertising helped matters any, but I have a sad suspicion that the very qualities about this book which attracted me to it in the first place had the opposite effect on just about everybody else. "It's not familiar enough; it makes me uncomfortable." "Its presentation doesn't look professional enough." "It's not in color; black and white is a rip-off." "It's too obscure; it won't appreciate in value." "My friends who love the X-Men will think I'm weird."

At any rate, Shadow Warrior was one among many risks that failed. It wouldn't have if there'd been more readers like me, but there you go.

Now I feel like reading some comics.

 * The Star Wars franchise at that time consisted of five movies, two of which were made for television, two cartoon shows, and one not very fondly remembered holiday special. Marvel's series, which had recently been discontinued, ran only 107 issues, as well as a few annuals and a Return Of The Jedi miniseries. (Which is odd; they began the series with an adaptation of the first movie, and when they adapted The Empire Strikes Back, it was also part of the main series. I have an idea why they adapted ROTJ separately, but that's a discussion for another time.) It was still possible for someone of even my limited means to collect the entire run, although I did get a major assist in the form of a gift from my uncle David, who had collected quite a few of them himself.

** Truth be told, it wasn't just my appetite for more unusual and obscure material that made me lose interest in DC comics. The continuity of the DC Universe was a convoluted mess, even after the company's efforts in the eighties to simplify it and bring it under control. (Beeteedubs, if you know what I'm talking about when I say that the Crisis ruined the DC Universe, congratulations, you're a geek. And an old geek at that.) Superman, in particular, was mired in tedious subplots that not only went nowhere when taken as a whole but barely left Supes any time to do anything heroic. I don't know from Marvel, but I don't get the impression their product was much better. I eventually realized that the big two had basically given readers a choice between reading comics and having a life. Something tells me this was no accident. After all, every minute you spend hanging out with friends is a minute you're not reading comics, and every dollar you spend on dates and cool clothes is a dollar you're not using to BUY comics.

*** Newsprint is notoriously fragile, and becomes more so as it ages. Even once it became apparent that people were beginning to treat comics as cultural artifact, not to mention collectable commodity, it still took a while for comics publishers to catch up. Around the time I started collecting, DC was experimenting with different printing formats. The familiar stapled newsprint book with a semigloss cover was called Standard Format. New Format was like Standard only with Mando paper in place of newsprint; whiter and of slightly better quality. Deluxe Format was high quality archival stock with a semigloss cover. And Prestige Format was semigloss interior, square bound with glossy cardstock; essentially a comic book sized version of the graphic novel format. Other companies were experimenting along the same lines, just not using that particular nomenclature. But most comics were still being printed the old-fashioned way. Of course, today pretty much all comics are slick and built to last, but unfortunately just because they're easy to preserve doesn't mean they're worth collecting.

**** Sadly, my copy of the fourth issue of Beyond Mars was ruined by a printing fuckup wherein half the strips were missing and the other half were printed twice. I never found out if that was an isolated incident or if the problem was endemic to the entire run, and I never got around to buying the final issue.

© 2017 Shawn Christopher Pepper

[golfclashmania93-blog]

The 5-Second Trick For Golf Clash

I've concluded all nine holes now, and was specified what I ought to be with the remaining holes. But now I'm going to overlook the cut w/o staying awarded the rating for my two birdies as an alternative to advancing. Prior to accessing the online generator be sure to read our review under and make an concept about the activity. You will see you type of have to have these boosts so that you can keep up with the best gamers. This video game is usually a blast to Engage in and kills time like no other sport I've at any time performed on a mobile phone. Graphics are Tremendous awesome on my Galaxy 8S. I went forward and completed all the holes and am at -eleven in place of -12. Needs to be Harmless to qualify, but fairly irritating. I contacted them through enable as well, so we will see whenever they make the adjustment. Passionate gamer due to the fact I was just a little child, After i'm not participating in something or producing about the most up-to-date news while in the gaming sector, I observe movies, a lot of them. As we mentioned in the sport’s overview, it’s typically about your own skill, rather than any Specific character rankings and data. That means that if There's two gamers with similar competencies and just the appropriate timing and electricity, the deciding factor will probably be the standard of clubs, which is one area you are able to Management via upgrades. So How can the upgrading mechanic get the job done in Golf Clash? Golf Clash is a refreshing take on the various golf games about the AppStore and PlayStore. This has become the number of games that you just’ll locate no difficulty shelling out on in-app buys. Ditto to the above query, also, how do you change woods in the middle of a sport? The dude I just played nowadays did that Last but not least they disconnected, reconnected, the game froze and I obtained server customer time out or some bs information like that, And that i dropped my entree price. Whole Assessment David Abbott July two, 2017 Took a tad to get use to, took a couple of pictures for me by itself. Misplaced all development Once i had to alter tablets. To make it worse, bad tablet needed to ship it back following a month of rebuilding. Perform on beautiful classes in opposition to gamers around the world in actual-time as you compete in tournaments, 1v1 games and obstacle your Facebook good friends! It’s incredibly likely for gamers to search for all form of approaches to obtain cost-free gems Golf Clash Cheats and cash. That’s mainly because, immediately after the primary couple of several hours, when much better golf equipment present up, they recognize that they’ll by no means manage to purchase them. Unless of course, not surprisingly, they put income into the game. This is often an ordinary security exam that we use to stop spammers from creating pretend accounts and spamming people. You'll be able to Speak to us through the dedicated web page or you could right deliver an e mail to any in the aid men We have now: