#why are the only other people in town who know about my religion part of a crazy ass yoga cult!!

[crowwithaccesstotheinternet]

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[rainylana]

Preachers daughter

Eddie Munson x female reader

summary: eddie is becoming obsessed with “plain jane”.

warnings: based around the character/artist of ethel cain. language, reader is described as thin, brown hair/eyes and very plain and boring. eddie describes her as “ditzy” and “weird”. hints of physical abuse/bruising. talk of religion and christianity, church. reader is starved of attention. some angsty shadows around the edges, some fluff here and there. Slight smut, reader tries to give Eddie a blowjob, hints of sexual abuse.

a/n: my first fic in months!! leave me some love and let me know what you think!! also, if this gets enough love and positive feedback i might make another part!

You never spoke unless spoken to, had a plus marks in grades. You never smiled. You had few friends, a couple girls you sat with a lunch, but no one you hung out with outside of school. Eddie had started watching you when senior year came along. He didn’t know why. You hadn’t changed that much. You looked the same, acted the same. You were the same boring, plain Jane. That was what everyone called you. Plain Jane. You tried to not let it hurt your feelings.

Eddie hadn’t interacted with you much. Nodding a hi in class, waving at you on the bus once or twice. Offering an apology if he’d ran into you in the hall. But never really a conversation. He’d spoken a full sentence to you once in the nurses office. His nose had been bleeding from a punch, while you had been in there from a stomach ache. You both had sat in that little room with ice packs and a mint.

He was starting to become obsessed with you, the gang pestered him about it, laughing at him. He always talked about how mysterious you were, wondering why you never spoke. “It’s like she’s amish or something? Did she used to be amish?” He’d asked one day.

He wanted to know more about you, but how? He couldn’t exactly strike up a conversation with you. You barely reciprocated back the words. When the day came when you both finally had an actual interaction, it fueled the fire in his belly, his growing desire to get to know you, to understand why he liked you so much. Right now, he still didn’t know.

On the way back from Hellfire, it was starting to cloud up very darkly. A storm was brewing, and from the looks of it, a bad one. Eddie’s radio was cranked to the max, a new single out by a band he had yet to know the name. He wondered if other people would discover his songs like that one day, by a band they had no idea who’s name belonged to it.

That’s when he saw you, on the side of the road. He knew it was you from the long, brown dress that fell down to your calves, black flats and hair laid straight down your back. Plain Jane. “The hell?” He muttered under his breath, pulling up slowly and rolling down his window.

You stopped abruptly, startled by the oncoming vehicle, looking up to the window, the driver, with wild brown eyes.

“Need a ride, y/n?” His hand laid on the crank of the window. “Looks like we got a hell of a storm coming.”

You looked up to the sky, the wind blowing hair into your mouth. “I’m not supposed to ride with strangers.”

“We’re not strangers.” He chuckled. “You’ve known me since second grade.”

You gave him a look, a long one, holding your gold cross necklace before you eventually nodded, opening up his van door and climbing inside. He offered a hand to you, but you managed inside fine without it.

You lived about five miles north of his place on the outskirts of town, the baptist church, your fathers church, also being a mile from town. Your father was the only preacher in town to have children. The relationship with your parents was complicated. You idolized your mother, loved your father and brother. At the end of the day, that’s what was important and nothing else.

Three minutes into driving. Eddie couldn’t take the silence anymore. “So strangers, huh?” He forced a laugh to break the silence. “You consider me a stranger?”

You looked over at him, confused and in a daze. “No. But you don’t go to church.”

“So?”

“Daddy doesn’t want me to associate with people who don’t believe in God.”

“Who says I don’t believe in God?” He defended, hand on the wheel and other lighting a cigarette. “Just because I don’t go to church doesn’t mean I don’t believe in God, Y/n.”

“Do you?” You said curiously, eyes on the cigarette.

Eddie shrugged his shoulders, blowing smoke out the window. “I don’t not believe in God. I have bad luck as is. I don’t need God pissed at me for not believing in em’, ya know?”

His words didn’t make much sense to you, but regardless, you nodded and kept quiet. It wasn’t in your best interest to pry uncomfortable conversations. However, being the daughter of a preacher meant that students, your peers, liked to confess to you when they had problems. One day, Chrissy Cunningham had needed to get something off her chest, worried she was going to go to hell for smoking weed under the bleachers. You didn’t feel like Eddie needed this kind of treatment; counseling.

Eddie held out the cigarette for you to take, to which you politely accepted. It didn’t surprise him. He knew you smoked. He caught you one day underneath the large oak tree by lovers lake. He’d shocked him almost to his knees. He figured it was your only source of rebellion. He didn’t tease you for it.

You inhaled and exhaled, feeling ten times more relaxed as you breathed in the smoke. You handed it back to him. “Thank you.” You said softly. “It’s nice of you to take me home.”

He waved his hand nonchalantly. “I’m not gonna let the reverend’s daughter walk home in a storm. I probably wouldn’t get into heaven, would I?” He smirked over at you.

You couldn’t help but smile, tucking a hair behind your hair. The corner of his eye caught your hands, purple bruising around your knuckles. He stared at them for a moment, eyes bouncing between you, your hands and the road. They were angry and red, dark around the bone. It looked painful. He gave you one last look, a confused, strange one, before turning his eyes back to the road. How did you hurt your hands so badly? It looked like you’d been beating a punching bag all night long. He forced it out of his mind to stop thinking about it. It wasn’t his business.

“So,” Eddie cleared his throat. “You got big plans this weekend?”

“I’m going to read.” You answered plainly.

“Fun.”

He was kicking himself for being so awkward. He’d been thinking of you for months now, wanting to get you alone so he could understand why you had gotten under his skin. It’s not like you were drop dead gorgeous. You weren’t ugly by any means. You were pretty. But pretty like other girls he went to school with? It’s not like you shared similar interests. Hell, he wouldn’t know. You’d never share your interests with anyone anyways. Your hobbies consisted of reading the bible and sewing on the front porch.

Thunder began rolling in, rain hitting the window shield. Eddie turned on his wipers, quickly rolling up the drivers side window to avoid getting wet. You were looking out your window to the sky, bringing up a nail to bite.

“Scared of storms.” He noticed your habit of anxiety.

“No.” You shook your head. “I love them. I’m hoping for a tornado.”

He gave you a weird look, nodding. “Okay.”

You hoped the storm would destroy your home and everyone in it.

You swallowed back bile and pushed the sinful thoughts from your young mind, taking away your finger and down to your lap. Lightening struck.

“Shit.” Eddie cursed. “Maybe we should pull over. Shouldn’t drive in this.”

You stayed quiet, fingers mentally crossed the storm would worsen. You loved storms, the danger of it all. It could end your life and that excited you. It was up to mother nature whether you lived or died.

“There’s a boat dock with a shack up ahead. Reefer Rick’s place. He’s outta town.” Eddie spoke louder over the pelting rain, which was turning to hail. You both ran to the shack, your feet splashing in muddy puddles that dirtied up your pale legs.

You both panted when you got inside safely. You were cold, wrapping your arms around your freezing body. It was dark and musty, covered in cobwebs and mold, empty paint cans and boxes ruined from the leaky roof. You were warmer running out in the rain.

“Here.” Eddie held out his hellfire jacket to you.

You shook your head. “No, thank you.”

“You’re gonna get yourself a cold.” He kept his arm out stretched. “Come on, you’ve got less layers on than I do.”

“No, thank you.” You repeated. “I don’t like the…well, the logo of your club on the back.” Your cheeks blushed red in embarrassment, hoping not to hurt his feelings after saving you from the icy storm.

He scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Suit yourself.”

Eddie fixed himself comfortably against the wall, huddled up in a little corner, breathing into his hands to warm himself up. You shivered in your spot, arms crossed and feet shuffling to stay warm yourself. “How long do you think the storm will last?”

“Thought you liked storms?” He didn’t look up at you, yet he still smirked slightly.

You swallowed and turned away to look around some more, hoping the movement would keep you from going into hypothermic shock.

An hour later and Eddie had managed to build a fire in a metal trash can that was cut in half. Rick had kept some wood and news papers in the closet, so Eddie used that until he had a descent fire roaring to give off satisfying warmth. The storm really wasn’t letting up. Eddie, was beginning to grow agitated. He’d been waiting months to spend time with you, understand you, and you would barely speak to him.

“How’d you do on the english test?”

It was hypocritical of him to talk about, or show interest in grades when he was riding the fine line of a D and F, but he was tired of the silence.

You sat a few feet away from him, curled up in yourself, his jacket thrown over your shoulders. He insisted you wear it when he heard your teeth start to chatter. Your dress was slightly damp, but growing more dry by the second, your hair ratted.

“I did okay.” You said meekly.

Eddie couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “You sure don’t say much, do you?”

You looked up to find him staring at you inquisitively. “I don’t have anything to say.”

“I think you have plenty to say, actually.” He corrected you, pointing a mud clad finger. “I think you’re just afraid of what people will think.”

“I know what people think of me.” You clasped your cross necklace. “They call me “plain Jane”.” I’m sure you’ve heard it before.”

He had in fact, yes. Even called you the term before, several times.

“It doesn’t matter to me, though.” You shook your head. “Only one person really judges us in the end.”

Eddie looked uneasy at the thought of being judged by…God. He looked you over, swallowing as he shook his head. “Fuckin’ hell.”

His language startled you. “What is it?”

He laughed, shaking a hand. “It’s just…I don’t know. I thought maybe it was fate that I got to pick you up today, so you know…we could get to know each other better.”

You gave him a strange look. “But you already know who I am.”

“I mean,” He stressed in annoyance. “I don’t know, take you out on a date or something? Damn.” He cursed, shaking his head like this was the absolute worst thing he’d ever done.

Your eyes widened and your lips parted. “Me?”

He nodded, leaning back and crossing his arms. He looked like he was a five year old pouting. “I get it if you’re not interested. Just tell me rather than sit there with your mouth hangin’ open.”

You closed it automatically, swallowing nervously. You were completely astonished. You never knew that Eddie had those kinds of feelings for you. Eddie was just…Eddie. He was always there causing mischief and trouble, picking fights here and there. But now that you sat and thought about it, there were many of times you recalled catching his eye in the hallway or the cafeteria. He was handsome. You liked his hair, though you knew your father wouldn’t approve of how long it was.

Your father wouldn’t like this, but he didn’t like you either. There wouldn’t be any chance of being able to go out with Eddie, not being able to risk him seeing the both of you together.

“Maybe,” You started, taking his jacket off your shoulders. “Maybe we could have our date here.”

“Here?” He craned a brow. “In this shack? Would be the cheapest date I’ve ever been on.” He chuckled, scratching above his eyebrow. “So you’re interested then? You’ll go out with me?”

Your smile turned into a frown, your guilt and fear sinking in. Eddie was a man, and just like any man, only wanted one thing. Surely a date was not a date. It was a date. You supposed you didn’t mind, after thinking about it for a moment. You didn’t mind the idea of sleeping with him. It excited you actually, but not anymore than the idea of being taken out, treated like a real lady.

“Alright.” You nodded.

He smiled, clapping his hands together. “Good.”

Five minutes past. No one had said anything. You assumed he wanted you to make the move. You startled him when you crawled over to him. “What are-” Was all he’d gotten out before you were climbing into his lap to roughly kiss him. It was all so sudden, and his body was having a hard time registering what happened. He couldn’t keep up with you.

When he did, he cupped the back of your head and slipped his tongue into your mouth, your own saliva dripping down his chin. Your hand slipped from his chest to his belt, but before you could undue it, Eddie’s eyes opened and narrowed. “Whoa, now,” He chuckled, pushing you back gently. “Slow down.”

“You don’t like it?” You looked hurt. “I thought-”

“Well, yeah,” He chuckled. “I liked what you were doing, but all in good time sweetheart.”

It was so fast and so sudden, everything that had happened. Your heart was still racing from making out, your body still wracking with building pleasure. “I’m sorry.”

“No, don’t apologize.” He scooted up against the wall. “It’s okay. I just want to take you out on an actual date. I didn’t mean I just wanted to fuck you in this old shack.” He snorted, teeth shining in the dark. He looked so amused, so interested in you.

“O-oh.” You stammered. “I didn’t know.”

“Is that okay?” He asked you.

“Oh, yes, yes,” You rushed, glowing red. You didn’t know how dates worked. You didn’t go on them. You weren’t allowed to leave the house very much anyways. You weren’t sure what excuse you’d be able to come up with to get away, but surely you’d come up with something. You were sneaky, after all. Had to be.

Eddie could tell by your body language that you’d never been asked out before. As dirty as it was, that excited him. When the rain stopped, he helped you up, put out the fire and drove you him. He never stopped thinking about your hand on his chest, and neither did you.

[peterspinkrobe]

Revelation - Priest!Miguel x Reader [part 3]

Word count: 2,878

Rating/Warnings: mature. Naughty thoughts and naughty bits. Mentions of parental death, religious content, food, soooo much Catholic guilt.

A/N: I’m so glad you guys are enjoying the series so far! No more money in my budget for commissioned art this month, but I did take this picture of St. Phillip’s Church while visiting my uncle in Charleston. Please let me know what you think of this chapter! If you haven’t read part 1 or part 2, go do that first :p

Tagged peeps: @friendlynbhdzero @ceoofghosts @hoelychildofgod @tayleighuh @luckycandykitten @beebslebobs @milkyardbetter @miaasmf @koimess @miggyswhore (sorry if I missed you in the taglist or if it messed up the tag!!!)

There were two things known about your mother: her cooking and her follow through. She was the delegate for church and community event meals; oftentimes in the kitchen doing the work herself alongside people that respected her and her cooking.

Your mother prided herself in her cooking and it kept her going in times of hurt for you both. She was the one baking casseroles to give to neighbors when dad passed. It was you who had to sit her down to eat something most days.

If God had anything to do with her getting better, it was in giving her that ability to provide in a way some overlooked. She buzzed while she worked her talents in the church’s kitchen now. The previously mentioned follow through evident in her meticulous manner of cleaning right behind herself as she cooked.

That follow through was especially true now as she was making sure you followed the rules she had set in place regarding church and attendance. Not only were you going this Sunday since you missed the last service, but you were also helping with the Wednesday church dinner.

You know she wants the best for you. It took you a long time (and a lot of space) to see that she showed it in the ways she knew how, the ways she was raised. You try to sprinkle the amount of salt she showed you earlier onto the massive amount of rolls. Despite your physical presence where she asked, you know your hearts and values don’t lie within the boundaries of shared faith.

You didn’t mind the service aspect of religion though. In fact, you enjoyed assisting your mother when she helped others in the community. You only pretended to follow the ‘good book’ and ‘walk the righteous path’ to spare her. What you had issues with was the institution of religion itself and some probably never-to-be-resolved personal qualms with the man upstairs. First, why did god have to be a man?

You’d never admit these questions and doubts to her, it would devastate her.

You did, however, admit it to someone.

Your confession last Thursday and the fact that Reverend Miguel was on the receiving end of all your revelations had you waking up suddenly in the night this past week - jolting from the bed, a quickening pulse, and sweat dampening the sheets. The concern in his deep, dark-eyed stare from that day stuck with you. You felt shame, guilt, maybe both, or something else unnamed and it kept you from indulging in the pleasure he had so easily made you feel without even being in the room. You still felt tense knots in your shoulders as you worked.

It was easy to feign sickness when you actually felt feverish and drained after you’d let those inner thoughts become spoken truths.. Your mother worried when you wouldn’t come out of your room. When you missed (skipped) church, she showed her concern and care with homemade chicken noodle soup. Moping, unbothered lasted only another day before she was yanking covers off you and having you run errands around town. ‘Getting back on your feet is the first step to feeling better,’ she retorted to your groans early that Monday morning. No more laying out of church…

You had to think of another way to avoid him. A way to steer clear of any sort of confrontation

You thought about moving away, dramatic, yes, but maybe into the city. Not too far from mom, because she needed help more than she admitted. Tonight was a prime example as her usual kitchen hands said they weren’t feeling well. This was helpful in negating any suspicions your mom had of you lying about being ill. Moving wouldn’t be running away, you were an adult.

You had literally run away though. As soon as the reality of who had taken your confession set in, you ran right out of that booth, back into the bustling city, onto the bumpy bus, and curled up into yourself at home. As you’re thinking about the many help wanted signs and rent postings you saw in the city, you hear chatter that interrupts the flow you two had created in the kitchen.

Mom is being pulled away by another member of the church and she instructs you to make two plates for the people who weren’t able to help her with cooking this evening. You’re pulling the last of the vegetables out of the oven and she hovers a moment, uncomfortable leaving you to the important final preparations.

It’s hard not to feel offended. Five years ago you would have rolled your eyes and commented on how if she didn't trust you, you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place.

“It’s okay,” you assure her as you wash your hands before preparing their plates, “I’ve got this.” You smile gently at her for you know you both need reassurance at times. She pinches her lips together but nods and leaves you alone.

Styrofoam to-go plates were open on the counter, waiting to receive their fill. You eyed the dinner and patted yourself on the back. Mom thought up the meal and did most of the actual ingredient brain power and temperature controls, but you’d done your part as well. It did feel good to do for others even if you still felt down.

A wide pan of meatloaf with a perfect caramelized sauce on top sat as the main course. Alongside it was some cabbage slaw and a broccoli cheddar bake. You make the to-go plates with equal portions and top them each with a roll. Your favorite part were the green onion rolls and you couldn't help but sneak one as the hours of prep and cooking left you famished.

You placed foil over the containers of your mom’s truly famous strawberry cobbler for it to cool when everyone ate. Most of the produce has come from the local farms. You savored the first bite of the fresh roll and marinated on the flavors of home, wondering if you could really leave this behind again.

You’re setting out the plates and silverware for the church members when you hear footsteps behind you. You turn to tell your mom that you’d made the plates, but it’s not her that now joined you in the kitchen.

Tense shoulders, little sleep… you were as tight as a coil ready to spring so you jumped a little when you saw the towering figure as you turned.

Reverend O’Hara’s eyes showed the same concern from last week, but softer. His feet shuffled slightly and he put his hands up as if he had approached an animal in the wild. He had a hesitant, more nervous aura than the suave confidence he usually eluded.

He opened his mouth to speak and you heard him say your name again in that sweet voice…

______________________________________

Standing before you now, Deacon Miguel found himself reflecting on the unexpected confession he heard last week. It was a confession that had stirred within him a mix of emotions and conflicting thoughts.

Miguel had contemplated how to address this delicate situation for it simply couldn’t go ignored. You matter. Your feelings matter. The deacon knew it was crucial that he approach this with compassion and understanding. Faith was a deeply personal journey, and each individual had their own struggles and doubts. Lord knew he’d faced his own in the past and that even if his current standings were solid, they were shaky.

His mind had been consumed by the weight of what he had learned. He couldn't help but feel a profound connection to you when he first placed the communion wafer on your tongue, the tongue that had inadvertently confessed impure thoughts to him. Though your honesty and vulnerability struck a chord within him.

Unbeknownst to you, the deacon struggled with similar doubts and desires. When he heard your confession, his heart weighed heavily with empathy and understanding. Though he couldn’t help the mix of relief in his emotions as well. It was comforting to know he wasn’t alone in grappling with faith, the temptation, and the forbidden attraction that he felt towards you.

Denying his own attraction to you was impossible.

Despite his commitment to his faith and role within the church, he too has found himself captivated by your presence and constantly battled his own desires. Since he’d laid eyes on you that faithful Sunday morning, he’d felt an invisible force bind himself to you. Much like he had bound himself to the service of God Almighty, he found himself wanting to serve you.

Miguel O’Hara couldn’t get that mental image out of his mind. Serving you… The more he tried to control his urges, the harder they became to ignore. He’d been doing what he was told all these many years in the church, abstaining from giving in too much. But no matter how much he tried to uphold the image of chaste, he is merely flesh.

The views of his brothers in Christ were archaic. They forget that the sacrifice of the only Son was done in love, despite our sins. He truly believed that it is natural, God-given even, to experience attraction to fellow flesh. It’s natural to seek a partner in life. He’s human. He’s prone to straying from the path. He is only human. He just hopes that God understands when he asks for forgiveness and repentance.

He struggles with the guilt of falling into temptation when he feels he’ll come undone if he doesn’t allow himself release. He isn’t able to hold back now as much as times prior. Not when you had captivated his spirit.

He also felt guilty for viewing you in the explicit ways that he thought of you. Focusing on the way clothes hugged your body and needing to know what hid in the heaven of your thighs. While Matthew says not to judge others, he also mentions in the Good Book that, “whoever looks […] to lust at someone, has already committed adultery with them in his heart.” If he were to really follow the written word, Miguel would have to pluck out his eyes for his transgressions against you in his mind.

His flesh weakens when he remembers how soft your lips were under the pad of his thumb. The way your eyes looked into his as he cupped your chin.

Cold showers are his usual go-to when it comes to trying to avoid the temptation of touch. His large shoulders hunched slightly when the frigid water fell onto his skin. It’s in vain though each time because his body still radiates heat of passion from thoughts of you. When he looks down at himself, he curses his body’s reaction to thoughts of your mouth. His painfully hard cock begs for your touch. It’s always too much to bear. The tip of him screaming red and leaking despite the cold temperatures.

When he gives in, it’s always too fast. Finally gripping himself the way he’d liked, imagining showing that way to you, he pumped himself with his hand. His grunts steamed the shower even further as he envisioned you with him. Oh, how he longed to feel you and learn you like scripture. His wanton movements force him to brace himself on the shower wall as an image that always brings over the edge flashes his in mind: your legs spread in offering of your own communion. It’s enough to make him see stars as your name echoes in his shower like hallelujahs.

He wishes it wasn’t shame that he felt after. He wishes his comedown was met with comfort from you. He allows the evidence of his shame to wash from himself down the drain, but the feeling is still there. You were more than someone to be lusted over.

While the sexual attraction was strong, he also yearned to know more about you. You’d only revealed little bits of yourself in the confession booth but he was intrigued, nonetheless. He wanted to know more about your conflict with faith, wondered what your childhood was like and what foods you enjoyed, interested in learning your outlook on life. Miguel wanted to learn your personal philosophies as if it were doctrine.

Not seeing you at the previous Sunday service hurt. He understood, given your beliefs, that he couldn’t expect you at church. It wasn’t an attendance issue, which he would not enforce on anyone, but the empty aisle seat in the middle pew made him feel equally as vacant. It didn’t matter to him if you were conflicted or steadfast on Christian values. Matthew 7 held his strongest position on the matter of judgment: it wasn’t his place. He was simply a figurehead of spiritual guidance.

In fact, he had geared his sermon slightly towards you for that Sunday. He couldn’t help the itch to address the issue in a way he was comfortable, through scripture. He didn’t want to convert your faith to Jesus Christ. He wanted to help you restore faith in yourself.

You conjured in him quotes from Corinthians: a book in the Bible that speaks of faith, hope, and love. He carefully highlighted 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 the night of your confession as he crafted his sermon. “[…], our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light, momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” Yes… the Bible is literally referencing heaven as the eternal glory, but it’s all metaphorical. “Unseen” was the key word in this theological message. He knew the congregation visualized pearly gates and mansions of clouds as a reward for the pain they experienced on this terrain. What he had hoped you would have gotten to hear was that there were so many possibilities when one had faith in themselves. He wanted to show you the unlocked potential housed within yourself.

He had a lot to say as he stood before you now. There’s so much you need to know, need to hear.

First, you needed to know that you were wrong.

He said your name to get your attention.

But, there wasn’t a sound after that for a moment, until your mother and a few other members of the church came through the double doors.

________________________________________

You snapped out of the trance Miguel had you locked in with the song of your name on his lips when your mom burst into the kitchen with some of her friends.

You reach to get the cups out of a cabinet and simply ignore the deacon for a moment despite the flush in your cheeks. Easily explainable by the heat of the kitchen.

“Everything is ready! Mom, I’ve got two plates ready to go for later. Come on and eat, everyone!” Your mother’s friends all compliment her on her well behaved child and you catch her eyes. There’s no strictness in her expression. She simply beams at you, her child.

Members of the church start calling out, ‘Let’s eat!’, ‘Smells good!’, and mentioning how they knew they were in for a good meal as it was your mom that did the cooking.

As people pour into the serving area and line up, you hear Reverend Miguel’s voice above the hustle of hungry people.

“Before we enjoy this delicious looking food, let us first thank the cooks and then I suppose we should bless the meal, yes?” He was smiling as he said this, as if prayer before a meal was only a formality. It seemed as though the appreciation for you two was what he was after as you watched the church thank your mother and you for your cooking. You shrugged off the bits of praise you received as it really was your mom who did the majority of the work.

An elder member is selected to lead the church in prayer and everyone bows their head. You’re still riding a buzz from the work, not to mention seeing Miguel again after almost a week. You can’t seem to bring your eyes down.

You scanned the room of bowed heads and smiling faces and found the deacon’s gaze on you again. This time, you smiled at him and nodded in appreciation. The prayer concludes and your mother’s smile at the praise makes your heart feel warm. Due to the spotlight on her cooking she was forced to be first to get her plate of food, something she usually didn’t do until after everyone had gotten their own plate. Sometimes after they’d gotten seconds. She had found her a community of support and love.

As the church members started scooping portions onto plates, you saw Reverend Miguel approach you again. He stands by your side and you watch as the congregation gets their food and he leans to his side a little toward you. He speaks in a hushed tone as he asks,

“Can we go somewhere to talk?” You swallow dryly, but his next word nearly knocks you off your feet.

“Alone?”

[writingquestionsanswered]

Anonymous asked: I have a few questions as an aspiring writer and a current fanfic writer who publishes.

Okay! But if you write fan-fiction, you're already a writer! I'm guessing you mean an aspiring author? ♥

How would you help with distractions and writer's block? I try to dedicate myself to writing, but then I wander off to other stuff and my motivation wanes.

This is not uncommon and there can be a lot of different reasons for why it happens. Understanding the reason behind why it's happening is important for knowing how to fix it. I have a couple posts that will help with this:

5 Reasons You Lost Interest in Your WIP, Plus Fixes! Feeling Unmotivated with WIP Writer’s Block

How do you advise me outlining a huge original story plot with world-building in an organized way that isn't just scattered?

Outlining is really just any method that helps you get all the important pieces of the story out, in order, so that you can use it as a reference while writing. Some people use one big beginning to end summary. Some people like scene lists or timelines. Other people like scene cards or mind maps... Different things work for different people, so part of the work you need to do as a writer is figure out which method/methods work best for you.

I often find, though, that the struggle people have with outlining is less about what method to use and more about how to actually fill out the details, which brings me around to plot and story structure. All stories have structure. Fan-fiction is often short, character-driven fiction, which gives it a different structure from the average novel. That said, even if you're a prolific fan-fiction writer, you may still need to take some time to learn about plot and story structure. I'll link a few posts that will help, but once you understand story structure (all the specific plot points a story should go through), it becomes much easier to know how to outline it.

Guide: How to Outline a Plot Guide: Starting a New (Long Fiction) Story Basic Story Structure Beginning a New Story How to Move a Story Forward Plot Driven vs Character Driven Stories Understanding Goals and Conflict

What advice would you give for writing fictional religions and mythology?

First and foremost, it's important to understand the role religion and mythology play in your story... how do they feed into your characters' beliefs? How do they influence your characters' actions and behavior? How do they guide the forces of power in your story's world? How do they impact the story's conflict/s and plot? Ultimately, you don't want to put a lot of time into creating and fleshing out a religion or mythology that's ultimately unimportant to the story. It helps to focus most on the aspects that truly matter.

Also, you might consider using real world mythology and religions as inspiration... just be careful about cultural appropriation. It's best not to use anything that belongs to an active culture or religion unless it's yours, or unless you do intense research and consult with sensitivity readers to make sure you don't do anything harmful.

And lastly, what sources do you recommend to accurately describe buildings (especially castles and manors) battlefields, geographical locations especially when it comes to mountains and rivers, etc), dresses and clothing especially if it isn't modern, and fighting techniques that are believable (for example, how a smaller woman would fight a larger man without being unrealistic)?

1 - Find Inspiration Sources - No matter when and where your story is set, it's important to find inspiration sources for the places in your story, whether that's buildings, towns, regions, whatever. Not only will this help you imagine and describe what you're envisioning, it will help you immensely with research on specific details.

2 - Time and Place Are Important - Many descriptive details are specific to time and place, so make sure you know that about your inspiration sources and/or the elements in your story. You can do a Google search for layout, architecture, and design (along with relevant location and era information) to find the details you need. For example, "medieval European castle layout" or "Victorian era manor house architectural details." Likewise, you can look for "Tudor era menswear" or "Victorian era dress details."

3 - Fighting Techniques - This again will tie into the time and place when your story is set. However, some fighting techniques will be somewhat timeless. I would strongly suggest heading over to @howtofightwrite for the best information and resources about portraying fighting techniques in writing.

Happy writing!

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I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

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[dangerliesbeforeyou]

ok so i just watched the wicker man (the original one ofc not that awful nicholas cage remake with the bees lol) and rather than making a post about it i ofc am gonna talk about mr king, aka the in9 episode that people kept saying was super similar to the film lol because if i cant relate everything to my hyperfixation then what is the POINT lol?!

first thing i will say is i absolutely LOVED the film!! i often find classic horror films either to be hit or miss (halloween sucked but the exorcist was amazing lol) and this was definitely a hit imo!

and it's super interesting thinking back to mr king and the things they chose to pay homage to from the original! creepy kids, masks and rituals, emphasis on sexuality and the harvest, even the outsider acting as a 'well-meaning coloniser' trying to 'educate' the natives lol

but i think it's in the changes that make mr king super interesting to me (and why it kinda bugs me that people keep just saying it's a remake of the wicker man... like it bugged me BEFORE i watched the film and even more now because they are v different lol something being inspired by a thing doesn't mean it's copying it smh have y'all never heard of a homage!?!?... anyway)

changing the setting to wales was SUCH a good choice imo, a place that is only really recently beginning to properly reclaim some of it's old culture after literally centuries of english colonisation (if you weren't aware, there have been recent pushes for various welsh landmarks and places to be referred to by the welsh name and not the english, which i wholeheartedly support tbh! you can't pronounce yr wyddfa? skill issue lol), and moving the focus from religion to environmental factors also made so much more sense for something set this century!

i also found it interesting the way both deal with the weaponisation of sex and sexuality... in the film it's when the landlord's daughter (willow) tries to seduce the sergeant in order to expose his hypocrisy (and ironically in not giving into it, he sealed his own fate in the end lol), and in the show it's the young girl who lies about alan being sexual towards her (in turn leading towards the whole photograph scene and, ultimately, his own grizzly end lol)... both in a way are responding to the culture of their respective times (the film commentating on the 60s/70s free love culture, mr king responding to the wider #me too movement of the last 10 or so years)

and continuing on from this, part of the horror in both speaks specifically to the audience's discomfort with open discussions and displays of sexuality, and the power that that discomfort holds over us still... and ofc in the film this manifests itself with the idea of christianity vs paganism, highlighting how both are a lot more similar than either side would like to admit to lol...

mr king is a little more murkier, since the emphasis is on environmentalism. in a way it deals a lot more with the concept of rationality (as in, science and the like) vs irrationality (as in, paganism and mysticism) than the original! though in the end the message is the same: that regardless of what or who you believe in, it ain't gonna stop you from being murdered lol! it also positions that in the mr king universe, the sacrifices aren't just the town trying to come back from a bad harvest, but instead a super important yearly ritual that, presumably, is actually working lol?? so what we may perceive as 'irrational' is actually the other way around lol...

one of the big changes from the film is the mystery element. in the film sergeant howie's whole deal is that he's gone to the island to find a young girl... in fact the town's people specifically use the fact they know he will stop at nothing to save her (even by the most degrading and invasive ways possible) as a way to trap him. alan is completely different in this regard, in that he has come to rural wales in order to escape his old life... he's not trying to save anyone, effectively he's running away! and even the mystery of the previous 'mr king' is only really something he looks into to save his own skin... both characters are selfish in the reasons why they end up in their positions, and naive to think that their positions as men in positions of authority would save them!

idkk i just think there's a lot of super fascinating stuff in this episode and how it plays with the aesthetics and themes of the film it was inspired by that i've just kind seen brushed aside just cos the 'twist' at the end was super similar to it lol??

[queerprayers]

hi johanna! i want to try going to church, but feel self-conscious. i live in a small town, my friends are not religious and my family is ex-christian. i'm worried about people judging me, even though i know that shouldn't matter. some of my family seem embarrassed of how christian we used to be and they'd be surprised i want to go to church. i feel equally worried about walking into a church where everyone knows everyone but me or seeing someone i know! any thoughts are welcome. love your blog!

Hello, beloved!

I'm sure you're not alone in this situation—honestly, it can be kinda embarrassing to genuinely want to participate in faith, the way it's embarrassing to be earnest about anything. People who aren't religious can completely misunderstand the motivations and experiences of religious people, and while I don't know why your family left religion, both people who just weren't all that into it and people who have been hurt by or have serious issues with the church can be (sometimes understandably) antagonistic toward people who stay or join. 

Perhaps judgment "shouldn't" matter—but it does, to most everyone. Something something how our brains are wired to desire acceptance—I'm not a psychologist. It makes sense and it's okay. Caring what people think often coexists with empathy—they're both awareness of others, desiring good emotions in others. But we cannot let empathy become fear of ourselves. Empathy extends to our own souls too. Being genuinely faithful in the face of judgment from outside and within your communities takes strength. Creating a life of your own is terrifying. This isn't fair, but it is our calling. 

In recent years, I've embraced the uncool-ness of my earnestness—my beloved amalgam of philosophy and religion that started as an apocalyptic cult and was co-opted by empire and has a lot of weirdos and needs to repent of its crimes and has produced some of the most beautiful art in the world and that attracts people to the walls of churches even after everything. I'm almost glad in some ways that it's not the assumption anymore that everyone is Christian, that more and more you have to go out of your way to be part of this thing. (I'm not completely naive—I know that where I live is a majority Christian country, and I am not pretending oppression or minority status or counterculture. But I am often met with surprise that I'm Christian, and I treasure that.)

The small town thing is its own beast—I live in a city (small but I think it counts), but I currently go to church half an hour away in a very rural area, and there's a specific environment of knowing everyone that I only have a tiny experience with but can imagine how exposed it must feel to try something new or change your life in any small way. And there is definitely a small church culture that can feel intimidating, like sitting at a new table in high school, wondering if somewhere tight knit has room for another. I can never promise this, but I know with my church and many others, welcoming a new person into that tight knit community is the most natural thing in the world. You'll probably get a more personal welcome, and be invited to more potlucks, and I can't promise someone there won't know your mom, but it's doable even as an introvert. Church people want more people at church—in lovely communal ways or in evangelistic ways, and while I hope you meet the former, even the latter has its own welcome. There are definitely ways to dip your toes in the water of church without braving this—like visiting a church while you're out of town, or tuning into a virtual service—but I believe in you to take it a step further. If you come a few minutes late and leave a few minutes early to avoid any conversation, I salute you. If you see someone you know and flee the other direction, I understand. If you go once and have to wait a few months to be brave enough to go back, so be it. But you have as much a right to exist on holy ground as anyone, and you already have common ground to stand on because you want to be there, just like them. I don't know how many churches are near you, but you're already going outside your comfort zone, so you might as well step into one that you're not familiar with—a more traditional mass, or a hippie sing-along. Don't set limits on your journey that is about pushing past limits.

You want to try this out, and it probably feels lonely, and you'll have to stomach surprise and probably being looked down upon by people who feel they know better, feel they have evolved past the need for silly little ritual, or for whom religion only exists as closed-mindedness. I don't know if you're queer, but I've had similar experiences of being the one to embrace where God and my heart lead me, to the embarrassment or shame of those who have never encountered it or have stifled it within themselves.  You'll have to stand your ground, the way anyone who seeks something their family and friends don't has to do. Formulate some answers for questions you may receive—but no one has a right to your story. You're allowed to be casual about things that are deeply personal, you can say "I don't know, I was just curious" when everything in your soul is calling out for this. Being publicly faithful often comes after you've done the reconciling within yourself. Have patience.

If you're into saints, find some who have gone their own way—Francis of Assisi comes to mind. I even think of Moses, telling a member of his own adoptive family to let his people go, standing his ground for people he had only recently come to love. The faithful that have come before us had to live through—and die from—so much. Entering new communities has always needed strength, the strength of God. Often a lonely way at first, but your family's embarrassment or your friends' lack of understanding is not your burden. Their judgment is on them to swallow down or bear the guilt of acting on it. Your choices and calling is for them to reconcile. I'm not saying we should do whatever we want without regard for how it affects others, but you are not causing harm, and any tension will not have been created by you going to church, but by them disliking or not understanding this fact. And tension is sometimes necessary for people to reconcile with—it'll be good for them. You're probably doing them a favor—we all need to learn how to love people the way they will need to. It sucks to feel like a teaching tool, and I don't want to reduce you to that, but so often living a full life means people who can't deal with that have to learn. Looking at someone embracing what you never found a way to flourish within or understand is like looking at the sun sometimes—I've been there. But it is not for us to apologize for the light. And it often happens that being that light will move someone else to bravery.

I'm sorry it falls on you to be brave first. I'm sorry that religion is not simple or easy, but genuine desire can and will take you so far. I have a hunch that after the first time, a lot of things will make more sense. Beginning is half of the journey sometimes. If you've already begun since writing this, I'm very proud of you, and if you haven't, you have so much beautiful time. Faith is not all or nothing, and it is never too late. Life does not begin and end in your small town, and life can and will flourish—you are part of such a big world and history, for better and worse.

God is with you, regardless. God is right there, walking with you, moving your feet over the threshold of places you muster so much bravery just to enter. What shouldn't matter but does, deeply, heartbreakingly, can be both taken seriously and let go of, through the peace of Christ.

<3 Johanna

[avengerscompound]

The Interview - Chapter 19

The Interview - A Captain America Fanfic

Masterlist PREVIOUS //

Rating:  E

Warnings: smut (M/F, vaginal sex)

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Melody Danes

Word Count: 2873

Summary:  Melody Danes gets the break of a lifetime when as a lowly intern, she’s assigned to write a profile piece on Captain America.  Steve Rogers is a hard man not to fall for and as she and Melody get closer and Melody’s career takes off, jealousy leads to sabotage, and the potential to bring her whole world crashing down.

Chapter 19

There were two months of what Melody could only describe as pure bliss.  Work was exciting and fulfilling.  She was loving her home life.  She was getting more time to have a life outside of paying bills and was making time for hanging out with friends and starting new hobbies.  She’d been going out on group dates with her, Steve, Bucky, Bobbi, Matthew, and Sam.  They were quickly becoming a new family group and she hoped they all worked out because she’d hate to lose those dinners.  Best of all, things between her and Steve were calm and it felt like they’d reached some new milestone in the relationship that she couldn’t quite name.  It was more domestic and yet felt deeper.  They had started to talk about their futures more.  It wasn't intentional sit-down and talks about getting married and having kids and what religion they planned to raise them.  It was more that they casually dropped those things into other conversations like they were inevitable.  Steve had mentioned wanting to take her to Europe sometime.  She had said something about what they’d kids would look like.  They’d both casually mentioned parts of town they’d like to move to together.

Melody had never felt so on the same page as someone before.  Every relationship she’d had up until Steve, she’d felt the ticking clock counting down to the end of the relationship.  She did not doubt that Steve was for keeps and she’d debate whether or not to take him home to meet her parents.

It was a tricky situation.  Her relationship with her parents had been strained since she and Bobbi came out.  They still talked but it was much more shallow than it used to be.  They never asked if she was seeing anyone and conversations about Bobbi were usually fairly shallow.

“I love that you are mad at them on my behalf,” Bobbi said when Melody brought the topic up with her.  “But if you want to take Steve back to meet your parents, you should do it.  You know they love you, and I even know they still care about me.  But they’re just having trouble coming to terms with the fact that we’re not who they thought we were.  I plan to take Bucky back home, at the very least to meet Stella, Isla, and Ro.  Hopefully, my Mom and Dad will want to meet him too.  I live in hope.”

“Yeah, but I thought they were people that they showed they weren't too,” Melody said.  “Why do I have to be the bigger person? It’s their job to accept me how I am.  Not the other way around.”

“Think about this then,” she said.  “What if you and Steve end up getting married?  Would you want that to happen without them there?”

She huffed and nodded.  “No.  I guess I’d want them to be there.”

“So do the trip.  Let Steve meet them,” she said.  “You don’t have to go easy on them about the stuff you’re mad about.  You can make sure they know that you’re bi and I’m trans and they need to get used to it.  But you aren’t going to mend any fences here ignoring them,” she said.  “Besides, if anyone could get through to them, it’s Captain freaking America.”

It had left Melody with a lot to think about and she’d decided that maybe before taking Steve home they needed a deep conversation about what they wanted in their lives.

She had met Steve for lunch at the diner they’d met for their first interview, though this time she was dressed far more casually than she had been back then.  He’d gotten there before her and when she’d come in and she’d caught his eye, his whole face lit up.  Melody wondered if he’d always look at her like that.  It made her feel like the most important person on the planet.

He stood before she got to the table and kissed her cheek, his hand running down her arm into her hand.  “You look beautiful,” he said.

She chuckled. “I’m in shorts and a T-shirt.  You’re just a flatterer.”

“Or maybe you’re always beautiful,” he said playfully.

She laughed, taking his hand and kissing his palm.  “You are so smooth.”

“That’s what everyone always says about me,” Steve joked, running his hand along her jaw.

Melody picked up the menu and began to browse it.  “You know what I’m going to have today?” Steve asked.

She looked up at him over the menu.  “Pancakes?” she said hopefully.

“Well, no,” he said. “I want to get a Reuben. But - I will get it with a bowl of soup and a slice of pie à la mode.”

“Look at you,” Melody said.  “Sugar at lunchtime.”

“I know,” he said. “I’ll be all hyped up and then crash and need a long nap.”

Melody broke down into silent giggles, her shoulders shaking. “What an easy job you must have to be able to take naps in the afternoon.”

“Oh yeah,” Steve said.  “Piece of cake.  Anyone could do it.”

Melody hid her face as she broke down into laughter. Her leg bumped against his under the table.  He put his hand on hers and squeezed it.  “Do you know what you’re having?” he asked.

“I think I might go with the wild mushroom potato pancakes,” she said.

He smiled at her.  “Well at least one of us is getting the pancakes, even if they’re potato ones.”

“That’s what I thought,” Melody said.

Steve’s eyes flicked over the menu as they waited for the waitress to come over.  After they’d ordered and she took the menu away, he turned his full attention to her.  “I was considering that Thanksgiving lunch.  I think more out of novelty than anything.  Where else can you get whole turkey legs like that?”

“The only things I can think of are Disney and Universal Studios,” Melody said.

Steve looked startled at her answer.  “Really?”

“Yeah, they sell huge drumsticks so you can feel like a caveman,” she answered and mimed taking a bite of one.

He laughed.  “Is it weird that I’m more tempted to go to a theme park because of that than I would have been otherwise?”

“Well yes, because you don’t like eating in front of strangers,” she said.

Steve laughed hard, his hand going to his chest.  “That’s true.  Maybe all I needed was the ability to eat turkey legs like a caveman.”

Warmth bloomed in Melody’s chest and she linked her fingers with his under the table.  She wished they were sitting on the same side of the booth because she wanted to snuggle right into his side.  Seeing Steve as relaxed and happy as this felt like a blessing reserved just for her.

“Speaking of Thanksgiving,” she said.  “Did you have plans?”

“Not really,” he said.  “I sometimes go down and spend it with Sam and his sister.  Sometimes the team spends it together.  A lot of us don’t have families, so it just depends on if anyone else takes pity on us.  Though I was hoping I’d spend it with you this year.”

She wrinkled her nose at him playfully.  “Really?  I was hoping that too.”

“I figured that’s why you asked.  Would it be with Bobbi too?” he asked.  “You, me, Bucky, and Bobbi.  That could be fun.”

“No Sam and Matt?” she asked.

“Well, Sam will be going to his sister,” Steve said. “But don’t tell Matthew, I think Sam wants to take him home to meet her.”

“Oh, I hope Mattie can do it,” she said. “He is so into Sam.”

“That feeling is very mutual,” Steve said.

She leaned over the table, taking Steve’s hands.  “I’m so into you,” she said.

He smiled and leaned into her.  “That feeling is mutual too,” he said, pecking her lips.

They were interrupted by the waitress with their coffees.  They sat back in their seats and Steve thanked her as she filled their cups.  She blushed a little and mumbled something about it being her pleasure before leaving them alone again.

“So was it with Bobbi?” he asked.

“Well…” she said. “Maybe.  I just wanted to float the idea of taking you home to meet my parents.”

Steve blinked at her, the surprise written all over his features.  “I thought you were estranged.”

“Well, yes.  Kind of.  We don’t talk a lot and when we do it’s very shallow,” she said.  “But they are my family, and I think we’re serious.  Right?  We’re in this for the long term?”

Steve looked at her confused.  “Yes.  Of course.  I didn’t even know that was a question.”

“I just want to make sure we’re on the same page, because going home is stressful.  I want you to meet them if you want to meet them.  But also to introduce them to the person I plan to spend the rest of my life with.  So I just want to make sure that’s where you think we’re going too,” she explained.  Steve opened his mouth to say something and she held up her hand to stop him.  “I know you love me.  And this isn’t about pressuring you.  I don’t expect this conversation to end and for you to start looking for engagement rings.  I just want to make sure that we have all our cards on the table so that in a few years we don’t end up finding out that our ideas of having kids are completely different and it’s a deal breaker.”

A soft smile crossed Steve’s face and he reached over, taking her hands again.  “Wow, you have been overthinking this a lot haven’t you.”

“Well, here’s the thing,” she said.

The waitress chose that moment to bring over their food.  It took a moment for her to put out the plates and top up their coffees.  She was definitely enjoying her opportunity to talk with Steve.  Not that Melody could fault her.

Steve thanked her and told her everything looked great and once again she blushed before she left them alone.

“She’s really star-struck,” Melody said.

“She’s being very sweet,” he said.  “She’s really trying not to let it affect our experience.  I’ve had people try to insert themselves into my meal.”

She laughed.  “I hope not literally.”

Steve wrinkled his nose and bared his teeth. “God, I hope not too.”

Melody let her laughter taper off as she cut up her potato pancakes and Steve pulled his sandwich closer and tore it in half.  “What were you saying?” Steve asked.  “About why you were overthinking taking me home?”

She sighed and took a bite of her food as she gathered her thoughts again.  “Okay.  I knew Bobbi was trans long before she came out to anyone else.  She was scared of telling her parents.  They’re not conservative… but they were pretty traditional about gender roles.  We were never ever worried about my parents accepting us.  They were always really outspoken about LGBT rights.  So when Bobbi came out, her parents told her they didn’t want her in the house living a lie and corrupting her sisters.  We knew - we didn’t even doubt for a second - that my parents would let her stay with us.  But when we came to ask, there was a lot of stammering and making excuses.  Our moms are really close, that’s why we call each other cousins.  So we thought maybe she didn’t want to do that in case it upset Bobbi’s parents and she’d lose the friendship.  Eventually, Mom settled on them maybe having a point and that Bobbi should think about how she was affecting everyone else.  I got really pissed.  I was so angry at them.  I said that this was who Bobbi was and that she was our family and they needed to accept that about her, and I yelled at them. I asked if they’d feel the same way if I brought home a girlfriend.  They didn’t take that well either.  They said don’t be stupid and that I’d always had boyfriends.  They couldn’t even fathom the thought that I could be bi and told me I was just trying to hurt them and it was just a phase.  I couldn’t believe it.  Bobbi and I went and stayed in our car that night.  Bobbi couldn’t stay in a women's shelter, but she made me stay in one for a couple of nights.  Then found a friend we could couch surf with until college started.”

Steve had listened carefully through the whole story, and he’d taken her hand and held it as she spoke.  “I’m so sorry, honey.  For both of you.  That must have been such a letdown for you.”

She nodded and took a breath.  “So if I bring you home to meet them, it’s going to be a thing.  They’ll think they were right about it being a phase or just me trying to hurt them.”

“So you want to be sure that I’m here for the long run,” he finished for her.  “Well, I can tell you, I think about my future and you’re a part of that.  I do want to get married one day.  I don’t know what you think about that.”

“I think that - if I was in love with someone and they didn’t want to get married, that wouldn’t be a deal breaker, but I would love to get married,” she said.  “And if I think about us in the future, we’re married.”

He smiled and lifted her hand and kissed it.  “Me too.”

They took a moment, just looking at each other.  His gaze was so full of love that it was almost overwhelming.  She leaned over the table and stole a kiss.  His hand went to her cheek, holding her there for a moment longer than she’d intended and when she sat back she smiled at him.

“Where would we live?” she asked.

“I keep picturing us in Brooklyn,” he said. “Is that weird?”

“Well, it’s where you think of as home,” she said.  “So no.  That’s a bit of a move from here though.”

“It is.  Would you do it?” he asked.

“I think so.  If we found somewhere we both liked that we could afford,” she said.  “It’d be a bit of traveling for work, but I think we could handle that.”

“It’d be a nice place to raise kids.  We’d be more likely to be able to afford a place with a yard,” he said.

Melody had her fork halfway to her mouth and her face broke into a huge smile.  “You’ve thought about us having kids?”

He nodded.  “Yeah. I’ve thought about it.  I get scared sometimes.  I feel like the work I do - it doesn’t exactly lend itself to a family life.  But I must want it because I think about it so much.”

“I feel like I could be happy without them,” she said.  “But I do want to be a mom.”

“Yeah,” he said.  “I think that might be a good way to describe how I feel.”

Melody finished up her pancake and took a sip of her coffee.  “Do you want to go to Oregon with me for Thanksgiving and meet my parents?”

“I’d love to,” Steve said.

The waitress came over and topped up their coffees again and when Steve finished his soup and sandwich she brought his pie.  Steve shared it with her and they ate together talking about much less serious topics.  The stress she had felt had melted away and while she knew it would come back later when it fully hit her about the logistics of taking Steve Rogers home to meet her parents, for now, she was just happy to feel so safe where she was with Steve.

Her stress returned much sooner than she’d expected, because when they stepped outside the diner they were immediately surrounded by a wall of press, filming, taking photos, and calling out to them.

It was the first time they’d ever been swarmed by the press.  Up until now, there were just vague rumors they were dating and no one seemed to care.  Melody had spent enough time around celebrities to be used to this level of intense press scrutiny, but this was the first time she’d ever been blindsided by it.  She recognized many of the faces in the crowd, including a couple of the celebrity gossip reporters from the Daily Bugle.  The invasion of privacy from her own workplace made her blood boil.

“Shit,” Steve cursed.  “We were having such a good run.”

He shielded her body, putting his arm around her shoulders and using his bulk to hide her from the cameras, and began to muscle his way through the crowd.  “I’m sorry, honey.  I figured they’d get us one day.  I wonder if it was the waitress who told them.  Maybe she heard us talking about getting married and having kids?”

“Maybe…” Melody said, but she wasn’t so sure.  It was possible of course.  She had been excited that she was serving Steve and it could be that she’d spread the word out of excitement.  Somehow Melody doubted it.  This, she felt, might be her fault.

// NEXT

[authoralexharvey]

INTERVIEW WITH A WRITEBLR — @vsnotresponding

Who You Are:

V || They/she

Born and raised in a town in Catalonia, Spain. I always had an interest for stories and storytelling, and art in general, as well as math. I wrote my first book at 17 as my project to graduate high school. I'm currently majoring in math, translating said book, and plotting another one.

What You Write:

What genres do you write in? What age ranges do you write for?

Fantasy, Paranormal, Sci-Fi, Tragedy. Young and New Adult

What genre would you write in for the rest of your life, if you could? What about that genre appeals to you?

fantasy, mainly because i love worldbuilding and i often focus on religions or magic systems

What genre/s will you not write unless you HAVE to? What about that genre turns you off?

i don't think i could ever write a purely romance book. my aroaceness makes it very hard for me to write romance in general.

Who is your target audience? Do you think anyone outside of that would get anything out of your works?

i'm not really sure. i write mostly for me. probably just soft fantasy readers? i think people that enjoy worldbuilding and lore might enjoy my stories too. i think anyone could get something out of my books. the setting is just an excuse to write about other things at the end of the day

What kind of themes do you tend to focus on? What kinds of tropes? What about them appeals to you?

grief and circular time appeal the most to me, also main characters struggling with mental health, feeling displaced and out of place. as for tropes, found family and people who dislike each other forced to work together. i don't know why grief comes up that much in my stories. i am obsessed with thinking about circular time, tho. and the mental health issues of my main characters is mostly projecting. as for the tropes, it's all about finding your people whom you feel like yourself with.

What themes or tropes can you not stand? What about them turn you off?

i can deal with pretty much any trope as long as it's entertaining. certain styles of writing is what ultimately turn me off when reading.

What are you currently working on? How long have you been working on it?

i'm currently translating and posting púlsar, i book i wrote when i was 17. i've been translating for three months, and posting for one. i'm also working on untitled project (that's the actual name for the wip), figuring out plot details and that kinda things. i've been doing that since 2019, when UP was born

Why do you write? What keeps you writing?

i write because i am my own target audience, and because i want to tell my ocs' stories. that's what keeps me going too. i can't just be rid of them, they live rent free in my brain

How long have you been writing? What do you think first drew you to it?

since forever, i guess. i remember writing stories as a kid. i was also an avid reader, and a lonely only child that was left alone to their own devices too often, so i found ways to entertain myself

Where do you get your inspiration from? Is that how you got your inspiration for your current project? If not, where did the inspiration come from?

from my daily life, i guess. púlsar doesn't have that many sources of inspiration that i'm aware of, but UP has lots of influences from my philosophy classes from back in high school. in general, music helps a lot with how i approach my writing.

What work of yours are you most proud of? Why?

some short stories i wrote in high school. they are all writing assignments, but i went so hard on them they are still one of the bests things i've ever written. also my answer to a question in my philosophy final, which i later turned into a short story. circular time, man, i told you

Have you published anything? Do you want to?

i haven't, but i'd like to. i just want to share my worlds and characters with other people

What part of the publishing process most appeals to you? What part least appeals to you?

the sharing, but i also think it's very stressful

What part of the writing process most appeals to you? What part is least appealing?

putting it all together. i love finding out how i've unintentionally set up scenes i hadn't even thought about, or how unimportant details turn vital when i add a new scene

Do you have a writing process? Do you have an ideal setup? Do you write in pure chaos? Talk about your process a bit.

oh boy. my writing process is a mess. it's mostly non linear, and i sit with my stories for a long long time before ever starting to write. i also pull from my drawings. sometimes i'll randomly draw one oc doing something completely arbitrary, and then see that it actually fits with the plot so why not add it. generally, i have a very rough direction of where i want to go, 2 or 3 key scenes i know for sure have to happen, then i put the characters in A Situation and let them take the reins from there. because i've sit with them for so long before actually writing, i'm confident enough in my knowledge of them so i never doubt where they are going, they just go. usually i plan ahead for two or three chapters, mostly a bullet point summary or an explanation of events for UP it's been way more complicated because of the nature of the story and its non linearity

Your Thoughts on Writeblr:

How long have you been a writeblr? What inspired you to join the community?

i joined four months ago. i just wanted to share my work with other like minded people, and i'm honestly glad i did. i've met so many wonderful people in such a short amount of time, and the community is wonderful

Shout out some of your favorite writeblrs. How did you find them and what made you want to follow them?

i recently started following @mjjune. i simply fell in love with their now betaing twtr and their general vibes @moondust-bard has also created a bunch of writblr initiatives like a tag game list, and other ongoing projects and i have to mention @my-cursed-prince. she asked me a lot of questions about circular time, and then i checked out her wips and adopted her ocs on the spot

What is your favorite part about writeblr?

tag/asks games, and in general the community. i like sharing, sure, but it's also nice to be able to talk about worlbuilding and lore and how annoying ocs sometimes are with people that get it

What do you think writeblr could improve on? How do you think we can go about doing so?

huh, i'm not sure. more interaction with actual written stuff would be great, but everyone's busy with their lives outside of here so we can't ask of everyone to read everything that comes across their dashboards every day. it'd be great to have an easy to access place to check old and new writing without having to go to an individual blog every time, but that's also a time consuming project to manage

How do you contribute to the writeblr community? Do you think you could be doing more?

if i see someone asking for asks i always send one. i also try to be encouraging of others as much as i can. i do think i could be doing much more. for starters, i'd like to engage more with written content from other writblrs more, but i can't due to time constraints

What kinds of posts do you most like to interact with?

anything that strikes my fancy. i enjoy posts about the writing process struggles people have, or little thoughts they have as they write or plot

What kind of posts do you most like to make?

i love rambling when someone asks me a question. and also posting púlsar

Finally, anywhere else online we may be able to find you?

i have a half abandoned instagram art account with the same handle (vsnotresponding), and my main tumblr blog @iwrotemyowndeliverancesblog (i talk about maths and complain about life)

[pinchbees]

All of the art of my NPCs for my campaign (so far)

A lil about each of them under the cut (or at least what I can say about them since my players are also tumblrinas)

Peckii is a part of the passage (that's what I call *gags* race because it's stupid to call it that and species is even worse) that lives in their own reality that's basically a dream realm flavored feywild. They're basically a chill lil detective that believes that fate made them and the PCs meet more formally. Since they technically saved each other's lives (Peckii went out of their way to go into the waking world to heal the party and the party went into the resting realm unintentionally and pulled them off of a spike in the ground). Now they just kind of follow the party so they can safely investigate both realms.

Willow is a halfling and the first NPC the party met. She's incredibly skittish and clumsy but she tries to help when she can, even if she's not particularly good at something. Like cooking, she sucks at it but she tries anyway. The party doesn't get to see her that much, even though they live in her home-away-from-home house. That's mostly because she's always ran to do something like work or other like tasks in town or the swamps surrounding it.

Onyx is another halfing of unknown gender and parent of Willow. They run the one and only tavern in Uniwell called Dry Well. They try to be one of those buddy buddy people that basically know everybody and feed everyone they meet. Hell one of the first interactions the party had with them they threw in a pun just to see how they'd react. Though they don't like to talk about themself all too much.

Mist is a water genasi who owns the only alchemy shop left in Uniwell. She's incredibly crabby and tries to get straight to the point whenever she can put her words together to do it. Though that made the party (except one of them, they have shopkeep solidarity) dislike her. She's a hermit for the most part nowadays but she still cares about Uniwell a good lot. Enough to employ the party to put up anything they can so she can inspect it.

This is my son who I hate Rita is a piece of shit that's a part of some mysterious religion with some kinda mission related to the world. She runs her mouth too much so she works with someone who's good at making her not do that. She's incredibly reckless, hell the only reason why the party knows about her is because she smashed trees down her hammer to get somewhere. I also made her talk in a Meowth-like voice.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Michelangelo Signorile at The Signorile Report:

When Jacob Reitan was a student at Mankato West High School in Mankato, Minnesota, where Tim Walz taught social studies in the 1990s—long before a political career that would eventually take him to the Minnesota Governor’s Mansion, and now as the VP running mate on a presidential ticket—Reitan was a student in Gwen Walz’s class.

Reitan was closeted in a time when being gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender was deeply shunned by many Americans, particularly in rural and small-town America. Bullying in schools was rampant from big cities to the most remote parts of the country, and it was often dangerous to be openly queer as hate crimes escalated. “Gwen was my English literature teacher in 10th grade,” Reitan told me in an interview on my SiriusXM Progress program. “And in 10th grade, I knew that I was gay, but I was living in the closet of one. It was an echo chamber. I was out to no one, but I was wrestling with this reality. That was difficult because not only did I not tell anyone that I was gay, I also knew no one who was gay.” Reitan, who would go on to become a gay activist in later years and an attorney, remembers feeling very lonely in the small city of Mankato, the county seat of Blue Earth County, 82 miles south of Minneapolis. On the first day of class with Gwen Walz, she said something at the beginning that stirred Reitan.

“She started the class by saying that this was a safe place for gay and lesbian students,” Reitan vividly recalls. “I had never heard any teacher say anything positive about gay kids from the front of the class. My heart was beating out of my chest. I thought, Does she know that I'm gay? Is that why she's saying this? And it stuck with me.” Reitan soon decided to come out as gay, telling his sister and a good friend first. The third person he came out to was Gwen Walz. “Gwen and I had long conversations about being gay, and she talked about being supportive of a previous student of hers who was openly gay when [she and Tim] were teaching in Nebraska and things that they had done to support that student,” he recounted. “And so I knew that Tim and Gwen were supportive people that I could go to.” Within the year, Reitan, the first student at Mankato West to come out as gay, worked with other students and created the gay-straight alliance at Mankato West. As Vice President Harris noted in her introduction of her running mate in Philadelphia two weeks ago, Tim Walz, the social studies teacher and football coach, became the faculty adviser to the group.

Both Tim and Gwen Walz became lifelong friends of Reitan and his family. Reitan told me about how their faith is what guided them in supporting LGBTQ people. “Tim's core is the concept of treating people with compassion, equality, and justice,” Reitan said. “And it's in Gwen's core too. Gwen, in high school, would talk to me about why it was important to her because of her faith.” “We talked about how I come from a Lutheran family. My grandfather was a Lutheran minister, and she would say that it's because of her Lutheran faith that she does this. They're very religious people. Gwen prays every day. Their concept of religion includes treating people equally and justly.” That is enormously powerful to hear at a time when Donald Trump courts Christian nationalists in the evangelical base who demonize LGBTQ people. He’s promised them, as he did in his first term, to strip the rights of LGBTQ people. much of which is outlined in Project 2025.

Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, calls LGBTQ people “groomers"—a grotesque and dangerous lie that implies we are pedophiles—and is opposed to marriage equality and gender-affirming care for transgender people. So the fact that the Walzes supported marriage equality in 2006 as Tim Walz was embarking upon a run for a congressional seat in a rural, red Minnesota district is pretty astounding. That was a time when President George W. Bush was pushing for a federal marriage amendment, and many states had banned same-sex marriage. Even most Democratic elected officials, including those from urban areas, publicly opposed same-sex marriage. In fact, they saw the middle ground—the safe space—in opposing the federal marriage amendment while opposing marriage equality. It was pretty cowardly. But not Tim Walz. Reitan relayed a story from 2006, when Tim and Gwen Walz were mulling over Tim’s possible run for the U.S. House, and they came to his home for dinner.

Jacob Reitan came out as gay in Gwen Walz’s English Lit class in 1999 at Mankato West High School in Mankato, Minnesota. Reitan helped form a gay-straight alliance that year with Gwen and her husband Tim, who taught social studies.

In 2006, when Tim was gearing up for a Congressional run, he supported marriage equality in a time where many elected Democrats still didn’t support marriage equality or LGBTQ+ rights.

In 2004, his ticketmate Kamala Harris fought for marriage equality in California and refused to defend Prop 8 as Attorney General.

See Also:

Public Notice: Tim Walz's remarkably courageous stand for LGBT youth

[casperghoost]

A rant about my experience growing up Catholic ft. Ghost

Tw: mention of depression and suicide

Man, I want to rant about ghost and explain the entirety of the ghost lore to my mom so badly, but considering that basically everything they sing about is worshipping Satan it’s probably not a good idea lol. Like my parents are too religious and I think I’m already on thin ice… next thing I know they’re gonna drag me back to church with them for the first time in 3 years

I certainly don’t have anything against Christians and I send love to all the ghesties who happen to be religious, but when i used to go to church I did not feel welcome there especially in my teenage years. I live in the type of town that’s full of xenophobic conservatives so after I wanted to start expressing myself as a queer non-binary person, I got so many weird looks every time I went out especially going to church and/or seeing people my parents were friends with.

Throughout all my childhood I went to Sunday school and I never actually wanted to be there. I don’t even remember most of the stuff they taught us, but I remember hearing a bunch of stuff that scared me into following Catholicism (ex. We learned about heaven and hell in like 2nd grade and I was scared shitless that if I didn’t “repent” and do x y and z for the rest of my life I would be stuck in hell for eternity).

So by the time I was 12-13, I started to question everything about the Catholic Church. This was also a time that my mental health was rapidly declining so I hated having to get up at 8am every Sunday (considering school this meant I only got an adequate amount of sleep 6 days a week) to spend an hour worshiping a god I barely believed in anymore. I tried praying for my life to get better so I didn’t have to suffer through depression suicidal thoughts anymore but nothing changed. It only got worse until I hit rock bottom at the age of 14 and I was hospitalized and that started a long and rough journey through recovery.

(Note: religion was not the core reason for my struggles with mental health, but it played a part in it)

Since then, I never returned and I think my parents understand why. In the past year or so, I’ve gotten interested in Satanism and the way it embraces freedom, self-empowerment, and justice. I sorta love listening to ghost and other satanic/ occult-related songs and artists because it makes me feel good about myself. I, like many others, find it liberating to embrace a sort of darker and less traditional style to life.

This started as a silly little post sharing my thoughts about how being obsessed with ghost and satanic stuff could get me in a lot of trouble with the environment I live in, but I love rambling sometimes. This is one of the first times I’ve shared something so personal on tumblr XD …I may of may not delete this later tbh.

I’d be surprised if anyone actually read all this, but if you did, thanks for listening :)

[pheonixkenny]

Since I’ve been playing the SP video games a lot lately I thought I’d introduce you to my New Kid! Her name is Alex. I thought I’d give her a gender-neutral name to go with the whole “ambiguous gender” thing she’s got going on. (I’m ignoring “Dovakin” because that’s not a name you give to a girl.) And yes, I said “her”, my new kid is a girl. I based her a lot on me, since the new kid is basically a self insert character anyways. So I gave her my gender, sexuality, religion, even made her look kinda like me. I have a lot of headcanons for her that I’ll list under the cut.

Alex has selective mutism, so she doesn’t talk much. She does know ASL, but none of the other SP characters do, so that doesn’t help her communicate with them. She carry’s around a notepad and a pen with her to write what she wants to say. She also just texts people to talk, even if they’re only a few feet away.

She’s friends with pretty much everyone in town, but the people she’s closest to are; Wendy (because she knows her true gender and didn’t out her. So she trusts her.), Kenny (they bond over being the only people in town with real superpowers.), and Butters (the first friend she ever made in South Park. Plus, he’s a sweetheart.)

Like me, Alex is a lesbian. Her and Kenny like to talk about hot girls together.

She does eventually trust Kenny with her real gender identity. She figures she owes him that since she knows his big secret. (He’s immortal.) Kenny’s kinda surprised and it’s a little awkward at first because he doesn’t really hang out with girls who aren’t his little sister, but he eventually realizes she’s still the same person she was before and they fall back into their regular dynamic. (They have a brother/sister dynamic after that. Since Kenny does say you remind him of his sister.) Besides, he kinda gets it. He played Princess Kenny, Alex can be King Douchebag if she wants to.

Part of the reason why she hid her gender from everyone (besides the government.) is that she just wanted to play Stick of Truth with the guys. It looked fun.

She does like to do some girly stuff with Wendy too though, since she doesn’t get to very often. So once in a while they’ll turn on a rom com or princess movie and give each other makeovers. (Though Butters is sometimes also down for a good princess movie.)

She doesn’t tell Butters about her gender identity. She likes him but the boy is not great at keeping a secret.

Even though she doesn’t show it, she cares deeply for all her friends. They’re the first ones she’s ever had. (It turns out online followers are different than real friends.)

Doesn’t know how to feel about Eric Cartman. On the one hand, he did bring her into the Stick of Truth game and taught her a lot in it. On the other hand, he did kidnap her parents, so she’s pretty mad about that.

If/when the South Park gang get the government off her back for good. (I know they probably could. I doubt there’s anything these guys can’t do at this point.) Alex gets the most emotional that anyone has ever seen her. It actually kinda freaks them out. She then comes clean about her real gender identity since she doesn’t need to worry about being tracked. Everyone kinda reacts with an “ah, that explains some things.” attitude. Cartman’s really the only one who has a problem with it.

[sweetmariihs2]

What's Eddie Munson's canon sexuality and why it makes so much noise inside the fandom?

[This post opens a very serious discussion about a subject that is so debated in the fandom, so I need everyone to understand that this is just a conversation about the subject and not a fight to see which side is right or not.]

I don't want to be disrespectful or homophobic in any way, because I'm also part of the lgbt community, but apparently you can also be homophobic if you're from the community (believe it or not) and really those people exist, but it's not my case. My opinion is based only on the facts of the show, and I also have written about gay and lesbian couples (not here on tumblr yet) so it's not related to any kind of disrespect to anyone in the community. I hope no one feels offended by the post.

I also don't want to disrespect anyone's headcanons or shipps, because everyone believes in what they want and has their own interests, and that won't change your view about the character or not. Anyone who believes he is something specific will believe it whether they read this or not, but I just want to open a dialogue on the subject, as I have already saw a lot of people bringing this type of conversation about his personality, his attitude, etc.

—

I've seen in several places for months (since season 4 actually came out) the amount of debate about Eddie's sexuality, and after hearing a lot of people talking about it, I decided to say what I think and why I think that, you know?

He is a very popular character and has caught the attention of many people, mainly the alternative community (because he is part of the alternative community, that is, who do not dress or like the same interests as most people), and unlike the alternative community of that time, ours currently has much greater freedom of expression, and with that we are also able to express our sexuality, something that was not possible in the past, at the time when Eddie is portrayed.

Most "standard" people are heterosexual, while lgbt people are very much against this standard of something that is more accepted by the society, which leads to alternative people, who are also different and are marginalized by their lifestyle as well as the lgbt community.

So it's very common for us to link the subject of an lternative person with an lgbt person, and there are also many alternative people who are lgbt (like me for example), and in the 80's there was a lot of prejudice with those two social groups.

But these days the alternative community and the lgbt community can finally expose their sexualities, and as alternatives are often part of fandoms and internet communities in general, they found Eddie Munson and welcomed him for being part of this alternative group. When you like a character a lot and understand them, it is normal to attribute characteristics of yourself to them, for example your beliefs (if you belong to a party or not, a religion or not, are you a feminist or not and etc.), or their sexuality. So many people who are part of the alternative and lgbt community like to believe that he is like them too, for example him being a gay person who couldn't talk freely about his sexuality during the 80's.

Changing the subject for a better understanding of the conclusion of the blog,

Eddie is, canonically, part of one of those groups. The other is still a debate. So he is very marginalized, excluded, cursed, and people always hate him wherever he goes. Because in addition to being a metalhead, his father is apparently a criminal, he has no parents and lives with his uncle, in the trailer park in a small town, that is, he is very poor too. And he's "dumb" (to people) because he flunked out twice. And he sells drugs too, that is, his life is already a disgrace

In addition to the satanic panic of the 80's, then the metalheads were already being persecuted and being accused of murder and doing satanic rituals, they arrested a lot of people for nothing, so Eddie was the biggest terror in the school apparently.

Everyone hates this man, but he doesn't let it get him down. He's very playful, immature, idiotic, and that's partf of his personality. Eddie got used to the bullying and it made him more skittish, he replies back, at this point his reputation is so destroyed that he doesn't even care about destroying it anymore, for example we have that wonderful scene that became a mark for him inside the show:

So he doesn't care if he looks weirder, besides the fact that in metal culture in the 80's people were a little crazy, they made faces on stage, made fun of each other, flicked their hair, "sex, drugs and rock n roll", and that's what Eddie believes in and it's what he's used to do. Being more "crazy" and carefree, Eddie doesn't care about a lot of things related to posture and a lot of masculinity, despite being clear that he is a cis man and has masculine mannerisms made very clear, he doesn't care about, for example, """looking gay """ (using a more blunt term). In other words he doesn't have fragile masculinity, but he does have his own masculinity.

That doesn't change the fact that he can be interested in other men, after all, gay men are still men. However, many people connect his carefree behavior and his rebellion against society with the fact that in addition to being a metalhead, he is also a gay character.

We often see Eddie jumping up and down, talking close to other male characters' faces, and generally embracing with everything he can the fact that he's a different person and he loves being that way, and it's very obvious. But that still doesn't make clear the answer to the question: is he gay or not?

And now we come to my personal belief, based on what Stranger Things showed us: I don't think so.

Many people are already tired of this discussion, and answer that Eddie is bi or pan, simply to end this doubt once and for all. But it doesn't make sense, since within the series he has never shown even the slightest interest in any male, not even in Steve. (please don't kill me)

Is Eddie interested in men?

I know this divides many opinions, and everyone believes what they want as I said, but it is very clear that inside the canon he had no interest in Steve.

All interactions between him and Steve were marked by the simple fact that the two belong to very different social groups. Steve is the bully, and Eddie is bullied. He's been the "King Steve" for years and Eddie was a student at Hawkins High when he was named that, and maybe he and his friends from the time of season one called Eddie a weirdo, they judged him, because as everyone remembers they were idiots.

Eddie says this, literally in the forest scene, which is so often used to defend the fact that he had an interest in Steve. I don't remember exactly what it was, but it was something like, "I didn't want to admit that 'King Steve' was actually a nice guy. Rich parents, popular, ain't that douchebag? No way, that goes against all laws of the universe". The looks they're exchanging are awkward looks, Eddie more like "Seriously you're not going to bully me? I don't trust you. But yeah I can try to be your friend" And Steve is more like "he's such a weird guy (but I don't treat him badly, he just wouldn't be part of my conversation group)" because he does have that social construction that Eddie is weird because he's alternative, and Eddie don't help much either, he's staggering around, stumbling around, generally a little flustered and saying some unrelated things, so Steve thinks it's weird even if he doesn't hate him for it. Do you remember how uncomfortable the silence was when Eddie said "Ozzy? Ozzy Osborne? He took the head off the bat on stage" and Steve thought it was weird as hell, but he didn't say anything.

Steve and Eddie are the perfect embodiment of that meme "mom: son, go play with the neighbor's son // the neighbor's son: *insert something weird as hell here*

People say that Eddie was freaking out about Steve with his shirt off but really he was giving him a dirty look, he was looking at him and judging like "look at how he likes to show off 🙄". And then when Steve and Nancy were having a moment he throws the jacket at Steve and tells him to get dressed, but not because he was jealous of the two of them, but because they were almost climbing on top of each other and Steve was all bragging walking up and down shirtless, no one deserves to be watching live flirting, and he said enough for the two to be quiet for a bit.

The famous "don't ya, big boy?" was because he was teasing Steve, and the scene where he was pointing a broken bottle at Steve, for god's sake, I've seen people freaking out saying they were crazy to kiss each other in that scene.

There's a lot of talk about the black hanky code on his back pocket, that wearing it in the 80's meant he was gay and had bdsm preferences, but the black bandana is also part of metal culture, countless band members have already used this bandana in their back pocket, like James Hetfield (vocalist of Metallica) and Slash from Guns n' Roses. In addition, gays did not use this code in open places because it was very dangerous to be victims of some kind of violence if people found out about their sexuality, so they only used this code in establishments and safe places where there were only gay people and they were not at risk. Eddie uses it everywhere, and I didn't notice, but from what I've heard around, he doesn't keep that bandana in a specific pocket, he changes it at some point in the series, I just don't know which one. And let's face it, the designers only put it there for him to use in his hair during volume 2.

Is Eddie interested in women?

Eddie doesn't have the slightest indication of having any interest in men, but for women he has many. Not an insane amount because his personality doesn't revolve around it (like Billy), but it's still made very clear.

The first one is when he's giving his speech in the cafeteria in the first scene, and he makes way for the cheerleaders to pass with the biggest smile in the world and proceeds to look at them head to the feet when they walk past, even though he's pissed inside and lecturing the kids just now, but yeah, poor boy needs to grab every chance

The second clue is how into Chrissy he was in the forest scene, he is always respectful and at first he was really interested in selling and leaving, but after they started talking he showed interest and started doing things to try to make her laugh, invited her to watch him play, was very charming, even said he had tattoos and even though he had several showing on his arm, he made sure of pulling down the collar of his shirt to show the one he had on his chest. Joseph himself said that he was trying to make it look like Eddie was flirting with her, and he believes he was interested in Chrissy. The Duffers said they had a chemistry that could have been developed but couldn't because Chrissy's death scene was already filmed, also implying that Eddie was interested in her, so it's somewhat clear that he has an interest in her. women.

Maybe, just a thought that i had without any confirmation from anyone, maybe he was hoping that something might develop at his house when he went to get Chrissy the drugs, and who knows, maybe they even used it there and ended up doing something, I don't know. Of course he was always respectful to her and never harassed Chrissy or anything like that, and he wasn't trying to take advantage of her either, but things develop, and he was bringing a girl who was flirting into his house at night where they were completely alone, Eddie you don't even try to be discrete

I wasn't the only one who thought this, because I saw a meme that went like this: "Jason if Chrissy hadn't been attacked by Vecna ​​when she was at Eddie's house: *insert here several pictures of oxen and men with horns*" (this doesn't prove anything, I just thought it was funny to comment)

Other than that, which is what we see in the series, there are other things on the set that imply his sexuality and I decided to comment because they are veryyyy interesting information.

This part here is a little explicit so I would mark it as more +18 information, because it talks about something more personal about him

In a video inside the recording set where Eddie's room is shown in detail, and shows things that were outside the camera in the show, it is possible to see a Heavy Metal magazine (that's the name of the magazine) with a 1986 edition of Druuna.

Druuna is basically a series of erotic comics set in a post-apocalyptic future/sci-fi universe, whose protagonist has sex with men in exchange for a cure for a illness. All, literally all the takes of the comics in which she appears are in compromising positions, wearing very short and tight clothes, and in the comics all the time there are nude scenes and explicit sex scenes, with private parts exposed (basically is a hentai comic). It is even heavily criticized for having a constant objectification of women and some romanticized rape scenes, but let's not talk about this right now...

If that isn't proof enough, this magazine is at the foot of his bed, in front of the bedside table, and on top of that table there are a bunch of little things scattered all over the place. One of these things is a pack of condoms, and this, in addition to indicating that he is a sexually active person or at least cautious and thinks about it, there is also another observation: the two are at his bedside, and within his reach. If it's there he put it on recently, and I'm sure that if it's at the foot of the bed it doesn't belong there and he was reading when he left it lying there. You know what that means.

And yes, we both know that he uses these things. But have you ever thought that maybe he uses them... ate the same time? 💀

Okay I think that's enough for this post. Thank you for reading 😭

Edit:

This kind of blog makes me think "girl, where?? 😭😭😭

wtf that's literally sexual assault

do you REALLY think that Eddie Munson could sexually assault someone?

then with Steve he's probably a monster since you said that he do those things and that they are dating

do you support a ship that one of the guys can sexually assault someone? 😀 (in their logic of course)

"and chrissy is a minor" (she's not, but that's their argument)

ok then you support a ship that one of the guys can be a pedo* and you're okay with that??

it literally makes no sense, they're trying to prove their point but at the end they say that Eddie is a bad person 😭 then why are you trying to put him in a shipp IF YOU SAY THAT HE'S A PED

the REAL representation doesn't really matter for y'all right (and I say this as an LGBTQI+ person).

[kookaburra1701]

1, 8, and 12 for the Violence asks?

The same still goes - I LOVE TO HAVE MY MIND CHANGED! If anyone reads these and thinks of a counter example or a fic/bit of meta that will change my mind, let me have it.

the character everyone gets wrong OK, so this is going to be the one that gets me run out of town, chased by a mob of people with pitchforks, but I'm going to answer the custom follower Kaidan. I get why - he's a fluffy romance mod at heart, and while I have no idea whether he was made in response to the SR mod he is often held as the alternative to Bishop's rapey vibe, and thus ends up being mostly written as an endlessly nurturing, supportive love interest for the DB in fics. But Kaidan dealt with his pain by drowning it in alcohol and moon-sugar, and decided to become a bandit. Only to find out the group he joined weren't bandits they were a DAGON CULT. And it was only AFTER he stood by while the cult tortured and murdered an entire family that he had second thoughts about being a part of it. THEN when he escapes and goes back to Skyrim to sober up, he gets black-bagged and tortured for who knows how long. Dude's f'd in the head and obviously has some incredibly maladaptive coping mechanisms, is what I'm saying, and has some SERIOUS SHIT in his past that any good-to-neutral alignment love interest would have to come to terms with. I LOVE him for it, but it's not a side of him that I see explored much. It's what I'm aiming to explore in Wives of Shor, if I ever manage to finish the damn thing. And ALLLL of this is one of the reasons why I went so feral over @gilgamish 's fic, Tides to Carry Us Home when I came across it - the look at Kaidan through Felix's eyes (someone who is also very mixed up in the head) is DELICIOUS.

8. common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about Please allow me to paraphrase something I tend to see quite a bit. I'm not thinking of any one person, and honestly, mostly it's a take on r/skyrim lol:

"The Nords are prejudiced against Khajiit because they won't let the caravans in the city." Khajiit caravans aren't excluded from the cities because of racism, they're excluded because of a) protectionist economic practices and b) THE CARAVANS ARE DOING AND ENABLING SO MUCH CRIME OH MY GOD don't get me wrong I love them for the "poor us, the Nords are so mean" act they put on very successfully (at least it worked Ysolda) but Ri'saad literally came to Skyrim with a bunch of people in debt-bondage to be a war profiteer. It is totally justified that all of the jarls took one look at that whole situation and said, "OK we don't have enough guards to keep you out of the province as a whole, but you are NOT doing that shit in my city."

12. the unpopular character that you actually like and why more people should like them

HEIMSKR. He has no chill. He has no fear. He has no orthodoxy (if you listen to his speech all the way through he says things that I'm very certain NONE of the other priests of Talos would endorse, like Talos being the head of the pantheon, or Alduin being sent by Talos to punish unbelievers.)

He just stands in the square, all day every day, and yells at the Gildergreen, which is Kyne's sacred tree. Combined with his insistence that Talos is the head of the pantheon (the place of Kyne in that Old Time Nord Religion) I feel like there's actually something going on there. And then if you side with the Imperials even being arrested doesn't stop him yelling about his crackpot theology. We stan a stan.

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

Whats your view on the Case of Päivi Räsänen that she is not guilty of "hate speech". She says its a win for freedom of speech. Which i partly agree, i also dont think its hatespeech to quote the bible and explain why you dont agree with a certain lifestyle, but i think tolerance (not acceptance) is nice and sometimes you can just shut the fuck up. I also dont comment on other peoples relationship, because its not my relationship. Also i dont feel comfortable with someone from an ideology which has a long history of censorship (blasphemy laws) in the past.

Supporting freedom of speech is super-easy when we agree with what's being said. But that's not why it's there or why it's needed. You don't need freedom of speech when everybody's in agreement and likes what's being said. It's much harder to support it when it's something we strongly disagree with or even find appalling and vile.

There's a distinction between supporting what someone says, and supporting their right to say it. And a further distinction between holding and arguing ideas we might not like, and someone actually inciting or advocating violence or the violation of people's rights. Or being compelled to go along with them. It's okay to be a Xian and to believe that everybody needs salvation through Jesus Christ, but you don't get to go round to your work colleagues and tell them that they need to accept Jesus or burn in hell, even if you actually believe it. It's okay to be a Woke and to believe that the world is controlled by invisible nebulous power forces, but you don't get to insist others be trained to believe the same.

It's not just the right to the ideas you have or believe, but how you go about exercising that right. It's the difference between "speech you hate," and "hate speech," which is supposed to be about targeting and inciting. The problem of late has been conflating - deliberately, as much as inadvertently - the former with the latter.

Reminds me of something Ricky Gervais said:

I'm not tweeting anyone, I'm just tweeting, okay. I don't know who's following me. I've got 12 million followers. I don't know who's following me, they can be following me without me knowing, choose to read my tweet and then take that personally.

That's like going into a town square, seeing a big noticeboard and there's a notice, "guitar lessons," and you go, "but I don't fucking want guitar lessons!"

What's this? There's a number here. Right, call that, right. Are you giving guitar lessons? Yeah? I don't fucking want any!

Fine, it's not for you then, just walk away. Don't worry about it.

The culture of victimhood has reframed disagreement as targeting or incitement. Linda Sarsour, Sharia-enthusiast and known pathological liar, has claimed that criticism of Islam is a denial of the right of Muslims to exist. It's not even like, "I'm offended so they're wrong." It's "I'm offended, so they shouldn't be allowed to say it."

I haven't been able to find what Räsänen actually wrote, only various reporting about the case.

But I would argue similar to things I've said before about my own criticism of Islam. I'm allowed to hold anti-Islam views. I can write about them. I can make my arguments and put forth my evidence, quote the scripture, etc. But I don't get to call for Muslims to be hunted down and killed, or to violate their right to their religion. That doesn't mean I can't insist they be held to the same standards as everyone else with regard to how they practice it. They don't get to block roads while praying. They don't get to hang their daughters upside down in a garage to beat their feet for failing to properly recite the quran. The laws of the land still apply.

There's a few reasons why that's important.

There's a liberal principle that laws that are applicable to a society should be created such that you would accept those laws regardless of what part you play in that society: rich, poor, male, female, black, white. (Of course, "antiracism™" and CRT activists explicitly object to such neutrality.)

Or to put it another way, rules you use to control someone else's speech can be used by them to control yours. Political parties do not remain in office forever - except in a dictatorship - and you don't want to create or give them the weapon that they can use against you.

I've been watching what's been going on in Ireland, and as far as I can tell, it's a disaster in the making. Especially the "for the greater good" language. Not only is this an ominous portent of authoritarianism, but even if this isn't misused by its creators, they will not hold office forever. You create a censorship law to silence your enemies, and at the next change of government, they'll use the same laws to silence you. For the greater good.

https://www.nationalreview.com/2023/11/ireland-on-the-verge-of-establishing-an-oppressive-censorship-regime/

Despite superficial similarities to First Amendment jurisprudence in the U.S., the proposed Irish hate-speech statute would all but guarantee its politicized use.

Biden's government tried to set up their own Ministry of Truth, to be headed by someone who was both dangerously unqualified and, much more concerningly, an activist and herself a spreader of disinformation. But again, the ruling party inevitably changes. Maybe not at the next major election, but at some point. And that puts a Ministry of Truth into your opposition's hands, to now wield it against you.

As Christopher Hitchens opined:

"Every time you violate, or propose to violate, the right to free speech of someone else, you in potentia, you’re making a rod for your own back. Because, to whom do you award the right to decide which speech is harmful, or who is the harmful speaker? Or to determine in advance what are the harmful consequences going to be, that we know enough about in advance to prevent? To whom would you give this job? To whom are you going to award the task of being the censor? … To whom you would give the job of deciding for you? Relieve you from the responsibility of hearing what you might have to hear? Do you know anyone? Hands up, do you know anyone to whom you'd give this job? Does anyone have a nominee?"

Don't martyr your opponents. If you silence them, it just makes them noble sacrifices for the cause. (You can't always stop others from martyring themselves.) Remember that it's not just religionists who are prone to venerating martyrs.

It becomes "secret knowledge they don't want you to know" and thus forbidden and attractive. The Streisand effect is a real thing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streisand_effect

The Streisand effect is an unintended consequence of attempts to hide, remove, or censor information, where the effort instead backfires by increasing awareness of that information. It is named after American singer and actress Barbra Streisand, whose attempt to suppress the California Coastal Records Project's photograph of her cliff-top residence in Malibu, California, taken to document California coastal erosion, inadvertently drew far greater attention to the heretofore obscure photograph in 2003.

And it'll just go underground anyway, away from where you can see it, monitor it and deal with it. Positioning people outside of, and in opposition to society, never results in anything good. It's better to let them voluntarily tell you what they're up to, which also makes it easier for you to show others what they're doing.

Like I say, short of actual incitement, libel, etc, things that are already illegal anyway.

This is a long train-of-thought way of saying that I don't have to like what Räsänen has to say, but she has the right to her beliefs, to write about and talk about those beliefs, as long as doing so doesn't violate the rights of others. Including not violating their right to hear people she doesn't like. And not being offended, having to like what she says, is not itself a right.

“Nobody has the right to not be offended. That right doesn’t exist in any declaration I have ever read. If you are offended it is your problem, and frankly lots of things offend lots of people.” -- Salman Rushdie

But we have the same right has her: to have a different idea, to argue it in response to her - even if she finds that offensive - or even to ignore her entirely.

[shmowder]

Haiii, it is the perfect time to talk about my Pathologic self-insert thehe, I like your writing, especially Daniil x reader >:]

Name: Verdell Popov

Age: 28

Job/Credentials:

They worked as a Tailor for the townsfolk, sometimes they sewed for people like Saburovs and Olgimskys. Around the game events with a plaque, they offer their help with sewing clothes, beddings, and other useful stuff like bandages, etc..

Healer, Bound, or NPC?

I didn't think about this that much but I guess an NPC

History / Backstory:

It started when Verdells mother, one of Herb brides, fell in love with a priest, whom she married. Because of her love for him, she had to leave her people The Kin. After Verdell was born, their parent's marriage started to fall apart, because of the father's conflicts with The Kin. Verdells mother was unhappy because of her husband's behavior. Because of their argument, she found out that her husband was manipulating her to believe in his religion. And because of that, took her own life

After their mother's death, Verdell was left with his father who imposed strict rules on them and constantly humiliated them because they were different which he considered a sin. Then when they were growing up, Verdell started to be friends with Bad Grief who introduced them to his three other friends: Artemy Burakh, Lara Ravel, and Stanislav Rubin. Verdells father was later convicted for abusing his power, inciting violence, and hatred. The Kin trapped him in his church, and later they set the church on fire with Father inside. Verdell was a witness to their father's death.

After Father's death, Verdell lives alone in the house, but the Steppe people provide them with support and help. Isidor Burakh sometimes visits Verdell.

The Town is their home, where they know others and the only place they can be with The Kin. They like the Town, they've never been to the Capital and would like to go there someday, but they still prefer their little town.

Their friends are:

Bad Grief. Artemy, Lara and Stakh. The brothers Stamatins are also their friends though they spend most of their time talking to Pyotr because of their interest in drawing, they also talk to Andrey. And Katerina Katina who they met later in their childhood. Sometimes they talk to Soul-and-a-Halves

They believe in the steppe legends.

They respect the families to some extent, especially when they are hired by them for some tailor job, otherwise they obviously don't like The Olgimskys (except Capella) due to their treatment towards their people

At first, they would help the Haruspex since he is their childhood friend and be mostly skeptical of Bachelor since he is from the capital, but when the plague progresses they are willing to help most healers.

Also here's the character reference c:

I absolutely adore them. The detail of having leaves in their hair since their mother was a Herb Bride is making my heart flutter in the best way possible. It's like they're always unawarly carrying a part of her, much like herb brides decorate their hair with twigs, bones, flowers, and plants.

The Apple Basket gang definitely needed an addition, picturing the five of them as children running through the steppe grass fields.

Still young and free of burdens, the biggest concern on their mind is if they can find a cool stick to swordfight with before the day ends.

I wonder if Verdell also fell apart from the friendgroup once Artemy left. Did they also scorn Bad Grief's ways like Rubin did?

Did they try to mend things between the two of them like Lara? Or did they have their own reasons for drifting away.

Which one of their childhood friends were they actually the closest to and which one stayed their friend through adulthood.

The burning of the church is a very clever touch; you gave an actual reason behind why Farkhad built a new cathedral.

But god, seeing their father burn in front of them–Especially after their mother took her own life. Even if that father was a scumbag, it must have left some scars on them. Do they deal with the sight of fire well? Did the elected spires of fire surrounding the plagued areas ever bother them?

Being a tailor and from the kin is a godly combo. I've always liked the ingame designs of the kin clothes, the sigils draw with care, do you know how hard it is to draw–actually draw–coherent letters on clothes before printed designs became a thing? The earthly tones, the many layered clothes, much like the layers of the earth itself.

The dirt on their feet! I just noticed that. Oh my god, they are barefoot, just like herb bride! Tha tattered clothes being a deliberate choice! They are a tailor after all, they could easily stich the holes but they're choosing not to. Because who else wears tattered ripped clothes? Herb Brides. It's a symbol of pride almost, a proof of your achievement. That you toiled and worked so hard, even your clothes turned into shreds.

10/10 symbolism, amazing character design.

Since Verdell is from the kin, they'd be present during the nocturnal ending when the steppe legends come to life.

The art is so beautiful. You did an amazing job with the writing and visuals. Top tier OC.

Them being friends with Bad Grief first made me wonder if it's the same reason they dote on the souls-n-halves every now and then. Do they see the same younger kid Grief in them who took them by the hand to his friendgroup and introduced them with excitement?

Especially while growing up under a suffocating, strict father who made them feel ashamed of who they are. To be gifted kindness in the form of genuine friendship with people who completely accepted them, it must have opened their eye for what the world is really about.

The kin are and will always be a community built on love, on helping each other. A many headed beast. Even Artemy's mother wasn't from the kin, yet that fact is never used to alienate him from his people or culture.

Even if Verdell's mother abandoned her duty as a Herb Bride, even if Verdell was mostly raised by their outsider father, not for a second do I doubt the fact the Kin still see them as part of them. Another extension of their body, a new sprouting branch on the tree of life.

Lastly, I'm so happy to see some good Isidor representation <3 Him checking on Verdell every now and then, remembering them as his son's childhood friend, it's endearing.

-

Thank you for the praise <3 I'm glad you enjoy my writing.