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averagewriter-inthedark · 1 year

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Lover 💗 | Bradley Bradshaw Imagine

TGM masterlist

Characters & Pairings: Bradley Bradshaw x singer!reader (female/romance)

Content Warnings: fluff, mentions of sexism, references to pop culture, profanity | female!reader (she/her) | wc: 5.6k

Requested 📨 yes/no (for @auroradawnwrites 💗)

Premise : When it came to her love life, singer and songwriter Y/n L/n had a reputation where it felt like the world was against her to the point she doubted ever finding her perfect match. Being in the industry for so long made it difficult to envision what a life with her potential soulmate would be like. But sometimes great things come to people who are patient. And finding the person who made Y/n feel like the only girl in the world had that reputation flicker away like dust on a bookshelf.

Note: I know I keep apologizing for the long waits in my requests but I promise it’s because of having to balance school, random shit happening in my life, and wanting to put out a developed, well-thought out story that the requested person deserves 🥹 and I realized about week ago when I started writing this one after finally getting to it after it was sent in February. @auroradawnwrites I saw that you posted last month that you were leaving your blog but if you happen to see this on another account or still have the notifications on for that blog just know I’m so sorry for this taking so long and I hope it was everything you imagined 😭

Songs headcanonned for singer!reader: ‘Love Story,’ ‘Bad Blood,’ ‘Look What You Made Me Do,’ ‘Getaway Car’ ‘You Need To Calm Down’ by Taylor Swift. ‘Love’ by Lana Del Rey. Albums mentioned that are headcanonned for singer!reader: ‘Lover’, ‘1989’ (I just changed it to 1986 to suit the headcanonned year of birth for reader), ‘Reputation,’ ‘Fearless,’ ‘Red’

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“Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome back our next guest,” Jimmy Fallon grins to the audience, arm slightly raising towards the curtains. “She’s been a friend to The Tonight Show for a long time. Here to celebrate twenty years since her debut and to talk about her newest album ‘Lover,’ singer and songwriter—the one and only, Y/n L/n!!”

There’s no need to turn on the sign reading ‘Applause,’ because the audience are on their feet when the curtains draw open slightly to reveal the beaming popstar. People are waving frantically, whistling, some even on the verge of tears at the fact they were in the presence of their idol. It was even hard hearing the band play from the noise

Y/n smiled the entire walk to Jimmy, blowing kisses at the crowd before embracing the man in a hug and settling down on the arm chair. “Wow, wow, wow,” he shouted, watching her give one last wave as he sat in his own chair. “Hi, Y/n.”

“Hi, Jimmy! It’s wonderful to see you again.”

“It’s great to see you too, it’s been awhile since we’ve had you on, huh?” Both make faces indicating they were thinking about her last appearance on the show.

“I think it’s been almost…six years,” Y/n tapped her lips with a finger. “Pre-pandemic I believe—because I haven’t really done much since 2019.”

“Yeah, you took a bit of a break.”

“A much needed one,” she chuckled, “But it feels so great to be back. I’ve been taking this time to really put time into discovering who I am as a person and what is next for me. I’m so grateful for the fans who’ve supported me all this time—I know,” she looks to the camera, “I know I kept you waiting, but fear not, I am back and better than ever.” The statement ignites a holler and applause from the crowd.

Jimmy claps with the audience, “That’s what I’m talking about. What can you tell us about this new music you’ve been working on? I know I mentioned your upcoming one, but you actually announced you will be releasing another at the end of this year, correct?”

Instantly Y/n lights up, “That’s right, Jimmy. For starters Lover is probably my most personal album to date. During the pandemic I basically shut myself off from everyone—and the world because I deleted the social media apps off my phone,” there’s a light chuckle from the crowd, “which made everyone go crazy thinking I died. But I can assure you I was just trying to put all my time and energy into writing, producing, selecting which songs would go on the track list. Each song is there for a specific reason—telling a story per say, and I feel listeners will be able to relate in some way.”

“Why the name ‘Lover,’?” Jimmy asked with curiosity, “is it a metaphor for the story or does it have a deeper meaning?” Judging by the cheesy smile Y/n started to do, Jimmy straightened his posture. “Are you….?”

“It’s for the lovers, you know?” Y/n shrugged nonchalantly. Those around didn’t buy it, leaning forward in their seats with curious eyes. “Yeah it’s about love and those feelings where you think your heart is about to burst from your chest. Like I said, many will be able to relate to it.”

Jimmy gave a look, “So did someone in your life inspire it perhaps?”

Instead of answering right at that second, Y/n remained grinning as the face of inspiration and the owner of her heart appeared in her mind. His gorgeous hazel eyes glowing under the sunlight. The feeling of his warm body against hers each time he held her in his arms. Tickling sensations from his mustache when he rained kisses across her skin. The sound of his laugh whenever he made a joke or she did something silly just to see him smile. Fingers dancing across the piano while they sang their favorite songs in their own private concert.

Her lover. Her life. Her reason for waking up everyday in an endless state of bliss. The person who inspired nearly every song on the album, best describing it as a love letter to him.

Relationships and romance had been a complicated part of Y/n’s life and career. A reputation often frowned upon despite only seeing a small picture.

It all started one summer day in Nashville, Tennessee. 17-year-old Y/n had big dreams and aspirations of being a singer, spending her free time playing guitar and writing songs about teenage experiences. Growing up in Tennessee, the birthplace of country music, Y/n was surrounded by the legacy of icons like Dolly Parton, The Dixie Chicks, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Reba McEntire, and Kenny Rogers. It was all she listened to growing up, though she did dabble in pop and R&B—going on to cite Aaliyah, TLC, Whitney Houston, and David Bowie as influences in her music.

“I hear the high school is having a talent show Friday night,” her coworker hummed, handing over the now clean plate to be dried. “Did you sign up?”

“No,” Y/n tiredly exhaled. It was pushing 8 o’clock and she still had one more hour until closing. Working at a popular diner gave Y/n the ability to save for college and an apartment, but it meant working more hours than what she legally was supposed to—on top of balancing school and band. “I have a pre-cal test on monday so I planned to stay in and study.”

“Oh c’mon! You’ve been itching to sign up all year—why back out now? All for a test you know you’ll get an A on?”

Y/n rolled her eyes, taking another plate to dry, “That’s reaching and you know it.”

“Y/n, you’re one of the smartest people in our grade. Literally will be in the top five come graduation. It’s a Friday night and the whole school is gonna be there,” her friend pleads to her, “you’ve got a voice that’s meant to be heard and songs that should be on the radio.”

The teen gives a ‘I don’t think so,’ shrug, “Eh, I feel my style is not exactly what country music is looking for.”

“Maybe so…but maybe it’s what it needs.”

Guitar in hand and shaking like a leaf, Y/n pulled everything in her to drum her fingers on the strings. The spotlight shining down on her made her squint, unable to see into the crowd save for the silhouette of their heads.

“Just breathe, Y/n,” she mentally told herself. It was dead quiet in the auditorium after a light applause when the drama teacher called her name. And since she wasn’t using an electric guitar, there was no way to hook hers up to the speakers. “Breathe and let your voice do the work.”

Clearing her throat, her lips curled into a shy smile, “This is an original song I’ve been working on. Hope you like it.” Slowly the tune began to echo through the auditorium. Y/n’s voice was shaky at the beginning, but soon found confidence when she closed her eyes and pictured herself in the comfort of her own room.

“We were both young when I first saw you.”

“I close my eyes and the flashback starts, I’m standing’ there.”

“On a balcony in summer air.”

Those in the crowd perked up, schoolmates looking at each other with impressed gazes.

“See the lights, see the party, the ball gowns.”

“See you make your way through the crowd, and say, “Hello.”

“Little did I know.”

Finally finding her rhythm, a genuine grin broke out on her face.

“That you were Romeo, you were throwin’ pebbles.”

“And my daddy said, “Stay away from Juliet—and I was cryin’ on the staircase,”

“Beggin’ you, “Please don’t go,” she let her voice drag out the ‘go’, igniting jaws to be dropped. “And I said.”

“Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone. I'll be waiting, all there’s left to do is run.”

“You’ll be the prince and I’ll be the princess.”

“It’s a love story, baby, just say, ‘Yes.’”

Needless to say, Y/n went home with the winning trophy….and a meeting with Capitol Records Nashville.

Going to college was no longer the plan for Y/n once her signature hit the contract. 3 albums and a promise to take country music by storm was the new future. Staring as soon as her tassel turned from right to left with the class of 2004. Y/n packed up her tiny Honda Civic with everything she had, kissed her family goodbye with plans to see them for the holidays and settled into a cozy studio apartment smack in the middle of Nashville.

“You have a unique voice and lyrical direction, Y/n,” Randy Kingston, one of the execs at CRN said to her one day. “You’re not full country—by that I mean there’s a pop element you bring to the table. Country-Pop if you will.”

Y/n didn’t know how to respond except nod, “Uhhh yeah? I listen to a lot of different genres—-Pop being a big one. A-and I like to experiment by adding different….flavors to my music.” Her expression turns nervous, “is that gonna be a problem, sir?”

Randy rubbed the bottom of his chin with a hand, “No, I don’t think it will. It’s refreshing and something new. Frankly I think you’re gonna do well with the youngin’s. Your age range will likely be the best receivers.”

Turns out Randy was right. Releasing her first two singles were met with wide recognition from teenagers and young adults. Topping the country music charts for several weeks. During that time Y/n began working on her debut self-titled album on top of filming her first music video for ‘Love Story’. When it dropped, it didn’t just get noticed within the country scene. MTV released it during their early morning showings most people played when getting ready for school and work. Doing so allowed ‘Love Story’ to get more attention that people who were not even country fans were purchasing the single.

“Platinum?!” Y/n screamed at the sight of the framed record indicating ‘Love Story’ sold one million copies.

“Platinum,” Randy grinned, presenting it to her. “Well done, kiddo. You deserve it.” He also dropped the ball that Ellen Degeneres called to schedule an appearance—which nearly had Y/n drop the frame in her hands.

The Ellen Degeneres Show was the first public interview Y/n had ever done. And….it was the first time she was questioned about her love life. Something that would become her greatest nemesis throughout her entire career.

“So your song ‘Love Story’ is all about love, yes?” Ellen asked, igniting a laugh from the audience given the title of the song made it obvious what it was about.

“Yes.”

“So does that mean you got some love going on for yourself? Anyone who inspired this for you?”

“U-Uh, no?” It came out more like a question, causing the audience to laugh while she nervously smiled. “Not really—I-I’m not dating anyone currently, but the song sorta came from my love for romance novels and movies. Everyone desires love,” she nods to herself, “and I wanted to write something that people could relate to. Plus I love Romeo and Juliet—which is the big inspiration for the song.”

Following the appearance on Ellen, Y/n focused on writing music and releasing her albums. Her unique sound of combining country with elements of pop and R&B had listeners from all over the world drawn to her. It was a new era of country music.

But not everyone was very accepting of it.

Older generations and die hard lovers of traditional country were very unwelcoming to Y/n. They felt she didn’t belong in the genre and was better suited for pop. Though Y/n agreed to some extent, she feared making the transition from country to full pop wouldn’t be wise. She was still roughly new to the industry, trusting the judgment of her label who she was contracted to do 3 albums for. So she continued to fulfill her duty until the right moment came.

By the end of the first decade in the 21st century, Y/n had established herself one of the leading artists in country music with four Grammys, six MTV Moonmen, four AMA’s, five Billboard awards and 12 CMA’s. She appeared twice on SNL, performed at Dick Clark’s New Year Rockin’ Eve, and even collaborated with Miranda Lambert.

Yet the media liked to only talk about Y/n’s dating history.

In the first year of her career, Y/n briefly dated Jesse McCartney after first meeting at the 2005 Kids Choice Awards. Shortly after their breakup she was seen with Harry Potter actor Tom Felton, but nothing came out of it. The ‘date’ the media thought had actually been a handout between several of their mutual friends where they happened to be pictured smiling and laughing. After that incident Y/n did get into a five month long relationship with Leonardo DiCaprio, who was twelve years older than her and sparked endless conversation in the media.

Then in 2007-2009 Y/n became involved with Eddie Redmayne following their introduction to each other at Ellen Degeneres’ birthday party. They remained friends afterwards, but their relationship inspired a lot of Y/n’s work which resulted in people criticizing her for making too many break up songs.

“You’ve had quite the track record when it comes to the romance scene, Y/n,” David Letterman voiced during her appearance on his show. The singer was overcome with immediate dread. Again was she subjected to questions about her love life when it was no one’s business. But of course, if there’s one thing men like David have, it’s the audacity. “Which brings me to my next questions: are you dating anyone? And are they gonna have a song about them once you two break up?”

Now unfortunately it was common knowledge late night show hosts were disrespectful towards their guests and didn’t know what boundaries were. Though this was known, however, there was still the underlying pressure to keep silent by smiling and pushing through. Sometimes playing it off like it doesn’t affect you was better than having an outburst and being criticized more by the media. Displaying any offense would label them emotional and sensitive.

Though she wanted nothing more than to walk off the set and cry in her dressing room, Y/n swallowed the lump in her throat and answered as calmly as she could muster. “I’m not seeing anyone at the moment. I just want to focus on my music and what comes from my heart is what I put out.”

When Y/n did get into a relationship or was seen on a friendly date—hell even being spotted when out with a male friend for lunch had paparazzi and tabloids bombarding her.

“Is love in the air….again? Country music’s it girl, 24-year-old Y/n L/n, was seen holding hands with Australian actor Xavier Samuel who’s playing Riley Biers in the upcoming third installment of The Twilight Saga. Just this past March Y/n was linked to the son of Tennessee’s Attorney General. Let’s not forget L/n was in a two year romance with Eddie Redmayne before calling it quits last fall. Fans are starting to notice a pattern when it comes to L/n’s relationships and album releases. Should we expect her new single to drop within the next year? And will this romance with Samuel blossom into something long term or end as a spur of the moment flame?”

Notice how all the attention is Y/n and her life? Never once were the men she dated ever asked questions like she was—even if they had a history rivaling hers. Take Leo for example. The women he dated only got younger than Y/n as the years went on and people barely bat an eye.

After the release of her third studio album with CRN, Y/n had a tough decision to make. By that point her last album had more pop than country. The reaction of the fans was pretty much, “You need to just label yourself a pop artist now.” “‘Red’ was literally 90% Pop with 10% Country.” “Stop saying you’re a country music star when the last album you put out was anything but country.”

So…it was safe to say it was time to make the move to a different genre. Thankfully Capitol Records in Los Angeles was ready with the pen in hand to sign Y/n on. There she had creative control on what she put out and Y/n was excited to get started on a new era in her life.

2012 would go down as the year where Y/n was on the edge of her seat with how her career would go. Fans were mixed about her going to pop despite her recent music having mostly pop elements. Then there was the fact she was dating Tyler Hoechlin from Teen Wolf which had fangirls hating her guts for dating their celebrity crush.

What’s sad is Y/n was used to that reception whenever she was in a relationship with a public figure. First Jesse then Tom, Leo, Eddie, and Xavier. Can’t forget the times she got caught on dates with Robert Pattinson, Micheal B. Jordan, and Chris Evans. Then there were the incidents where the paparazzi captured her making out with Sebastian Stan at an after party and leaving the 2011 Grammys with Nate Buzoliac before he made it big as Kol Mikaelson in The Vampire Diaries.

Getting a break was not in the cards for the singer.

When things ended with Tyler in 2015, Y/n told herself she would not date anyone for awhile. Her album ‘1986’ was met with critical acclaim and positive reception from fans, earning her more awards to her growing collection, including the Grammy for Album of the Year. The entire time on tour she focused on having fun and not worrying about what people thought of her. Yeah she still got questions from interviews and hosts about dating she’d simply reply with, “I’m single, and let’s not entertain that further. Next question.”

@ inmyreputationera: I guess @Y/nL/n86 decided romance isn’t exactly her thing. I wonder how that’ll change her music.

@ stanningselenerr: not me checking @ Y/ndatingupdates daily for any new info.

Those were just the handful of tweets Y/n saw everyday on her Twitter feed. It got to the point she’d have to mute notifications whenever she was tagged. While she hated doing so because she loved interacting with fans, the singer needed time away from the constant surveillance of her personal life.

So fast forward to mid-summer of 2018. Y/n hadn’t put out an album in nearly three years nor had she been dating anyone. Yeah people still asked her from time to time though she learned to not let it affect her. Honestly it was a breath of fresh air. She was happy, healthy, and living her best life. Putting her heart and soul into songwriting which was heavily inspired by the reputation she’d garnered since her debut. Not to mention developing closer bonds with her friends and family after making the impulse decision in 2017 to move back to Tennessee. It felt good to be back home. Returning to her roots and the place that started it all after being away for so many years. It was a great time.

Now she was due back to Los Angeles to meet with her manager and producers. Y/n was ready to get back into the studio as much as her fans were telling her they were waiting for new music. With a first-class ticket in hand, Y/n boarded her red-eye flight from Nashville International to LAX and settled in for the five hour flight. It would have them landing at just after 3am Pacific time and while Y/n wanted to rest, she could not for the life of her sleep on a plane.

Approaching her seat Y/n noticed a man in a military uniform seated in the seat beside hers. “Excuse me,” she caught his attention, his head raising where he put two and two together by her hand pointing to the window seat.

“Oh sorry, ma’am,” it took everything in Y/n not to stare at him when he got up. He was very handsome. In his uniform, hazel eyes and sun kissed skin. The most notable feature was his mustache that most men could not pull off yet he seemed to.

“Do you need help with that?” The question pulled her from her mini daydream. He was referring to the carryon bag in her hand.

“Oh I got it—.”

“It’s no problem,” he was already taking the bag from her, securing it in the overhead compartment.

“Thank you so much,” Y/n thanked him while moving into the row, placing her purse in her lap when she sat down. The man returned to his seat just as the next wave of passengers boarded.

Manny, her personal bodyguard who’d been with Y/n since her first tour, was seated in front of her. When they got the tickets he purposely told her to have them separated saying, “I need my beauty sleep and while I love you, you will talk the entire time.” Sure enough when Y/n leaned over to ask him a question Manny was already knocked out, buckled in with his eye mask over his eyes and earbuds in.

Well that left Y/n with little to do. And when she went to retrieve her Kindle she groaned at the realization she forgot to turn back her reading light.

“Everything okay?” She saw the man in her peripheral vision slightly turn his head.

“Yeah just…annoyed with myself. I thought I packed my reading light but I must’ve misplaced it.” God that made her sound like a grandma.

His response was an ‘ah’ sound. “Wish I could help ya there, but I’m not usually equipped with something like that.”

“It’s fine,” she chuckled, buckling in her seatbelt. “It was to pass the time—I can’t sleep on flights. Even though it's midnight and I should feel tired.”

“I’m the same,” he suddenly extended a hand, “I’m Bradley by the way.”

Hesitant to reply in case he were to react to her name, Y/n pushed back any concern and gave a warm smile as she took his hand, “I’m Y/n. Nice to meet you, Bradley.”

“Y/n…” her name was repeated slowly, Bradley’s eyes consorting as though they were deep in thought. A wave of dread and nerves coursed through her. Then Bradley grinned, “Oh! I thought you looked familiar. You sing that song—what was it, ‘Love Story?’ Sorry I don’t mean to sound weird,” he let go of her hand when he realized he was still shaking it. “And I don’t want to bother you. I just can’t help but go, ‘wow!’”

“No-no-no, it’s okay! You’re totally fine.” Before long the two fell into conversation following the typical pre-flight announcements. Y/n was amazed by how natural it felt talking to Bradley. She discovered he was a Naval aviator, coming home from an assignment overseas and was flying to L.A to visit some friends. Bradley had been a graduate of UVA and attended the elite Fighter Weapons School, marking ten years with the navy that year.

“Forgive me for admitting this,” he said after the first hour into the flight, lowering his voice when a passenger trying to sleep glared at them. “But while I know who you are…I’m not really familiar with your work. Y-yeah I mentioned your one song but that’s literally all I know,” he laughed nervously. “My taste in music, I’m embarrassed to say aloud, is very limited.”

Y/n tilts her head, “how limited?”

“Uh, I pretty much only listen to the 1950s all the way to the 80s. Dabbling in what’s popular nowadays once in a blue moon. My karaoke songs are all Jerry Lewis” Bradley gives a gentle smile, “And while I can easily do a Google search, I’d much rather hear it from you if you don’t mind telling me.”

What’s that saying again? Oh that’s right, ‘And the rest was history.’

No but literally Y/n could barely contain her attraction to Bradley after he said that to her. She hoped to God she didn’t look like a fool as she spoke of her career and cool places she’s been. Time flew as they talked. In fact the two were so caught up in their conversation they talked the remainder of the journey to L.A, ending with the exchange of phone numbers and the promise to meet up.

It was decided right from the get go that Bradley and Y/n wanted to keep their relationship hidden. Regardless if the one date went somewhere, the last thing Y/n wanted was to have Bradley in the public eye and cause complications with his job. And let’s not forget her album was releasing within the next year. So, there was going to be a lot of attention on her wherever she went.

“The fact we’ve managed to keep this quiet for a year is outstanding,” Y/n said through a mouthful of cake. Bradley had surprised her with her favorite kind, the icing on the top reading, ‘Happy Anniversary, baby—we’ve got them fooled.’

She couldn’t believe they were already marking one year. Time didn’t seem to exist when she was with Bradley. He was everything she envisioned in a partner. Caring, compassionate, funny, intuitive. Listened to her concerns and communicated. Never made her doubt herself or paid attention to the media.

When she brought up her reputation, or better yet the one the press painted her out to have, Bradley stopped her and said, “who you have history with is not my business—unless they did something to hurt you because then I’ll have a problem with them. And those people talking nonsense about you have nothing else better to do with themselves. I care about you, Y/n. The only one who has influence on how I see you, is you. And I see you as the most beautiful, hardworking, intelligent person who knows her worth. Fuck what they say.”

Yeah that night ended with her jumping his bones.

Bradley took a fork full of his own into his mouth, “I for sure thought they were gonna catch us the night I snuck you on base.” After their first meeting in L.A, Bradley had returned to Virginia while Y/n remained to work on her album. It was a couple months before she went home to Tennessee, then for the holidays they planned to meet up when Y/n was on her way to New York. Sneaking her on base involved the two going undercover where they met at a discreet location and having Y/n shove herself under blankets in his backseat.

The singer laughed at the memory, “Thank Goodness for Shania. Had she not posted that photo to ‘tip off’ the paps then we’d have a whole different outcome.” Bradley laughed with her, placing his fork down on the napkin.

“I’m sorry I can’t be there for your release day,” Bradley had been called back to Top Gun for a special detachment by the Navy. Unfortunately the timing was right when her sixth studio album would drop. The details were still unclear, but that it was a team mission where he would compete against his colleagues. Y/n had yet to meet any of Bradley’s friends and vice versa. The only people in her circle who knew of their relationship were her manager, Manny, and family. But when you signed up to keep your love life private, it meant friends were lost in the dark.

“It’s okay, Roo,” she told him. “We’ll have our own celebration.” Another cake, this time with the design being the album’s cover art on it, was brought over the day before Bradley was set to fly to San Diego and the two had their private release party with just the two of them. The music was blasting through the speakers, Y/n jumping up and down with Bradley who was singing at the top of his lungs.

“Band-aids don’t fix bullet holes! You say sorry just for show! If you live like that, you live with ghosts!”

“I’m in a getaway car. I left you in a motel bar. Put the money in a bag and I stole the key—that was the last time you ever saw me—Oh!”

“Ooh, look what you made me do! Look what you made me do! Look what you just made me do!”

Champagne was popped, kisses were shared, and they danced the entire night until it came time to sleep.

They FaceTimed whenever Bradley had free time, even if it was in the later hours of the night. Those three weeks Y/n felt her heart long for Bradley in a way it had never done with her previous partners. She felt his excitement, his distress. The day he left for the mission Y/n paced around her home for hours—unable to focus on anything and overcome with nausea. It was as though her mind was trying to tell her something was wrong.

Relief came at around nightfall, the singer tripping as she raced to grab her phone when it rang. Seeing Bradley’s picture pop up had the breath she was holding in release. “Oh thanks God,” was the first thing she said.

“I’m coming back to you,” was his response. Tears pricked in the corner of her eyes, hand going to her chest to calm the rapid beat of her heart.

“I would expect nothing less, Lieutenant Bradshaw.”

Several celebrations were in store for the couple when Bradley returned to the east coast. Not only did he receive a medal from the Navy for his brave actions but got a promotion. Y/n’s album hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the first hour of its release, prompting a record number of sales in a single night for the singer.

“I’m so proud of you, Bradley,” she praised, patting the new patch on his uniform indicating he was now a Lieutenant Commander. She was met with a sweet kiss on the lips.

“Thank you, baby. I’m proud of you too—you’re gonna win everything come awards season.”

During the 2020 Grammy’s, Bradley leaped from the couch in absolute joy when Y/n’s name was called for the winner of Pop Album of the Year and Record of The Year. She missed out on Album of the Year, but that was okay. She was now the owner of 12 Grammys in total. Coming home the following night Y/n’s home was decorated with balloons, a banner reading, ‘Congratulations!!’ and of course, a cake with an edible Grammy topper.

And so it came time for a break. Six albums in a fifteen-year long career, Y/n kept it under the wraps that she wouldn’t be putting out another album for some time. Fans had started to notice she was more uplifted and vibrant in interviews, posting things on social media that were suspicious. For example she uploaded a photo of red roses, captioning it “the symbol of love.” Then there was the screenshotting of well known love songs and posting them on her story.

@ Y/nstansince04: is it me or does @Y/nL/n86 appear happier than usual? Is she hiding something?

@ getawaycarlover_: @Y/nL/n86 totally has a man or someone in her life. That recent Instagram post had all the hints.

@ fearlessdefender: I bet it’s a normal guy she’s with and not a celebrity. If it was we’d probably would’ve known by now who it was.

@ Y/ns_red_lipstick: honestly if Y/n does have a boyfriend then I’m happy for her and wish them the best. She deserves to be happy and we should respect their privacy. She doesn’t have to share with the world if it’s their desire to keep it secret.

Right when the world went to chaos at the brink of a global pandemic, Y/n thought, “you know what, I’m gonna just delete my social media—not my accounts but the apps on my phone. I want to go off the grid for a bit and just enjoy my family and boyfriend.” Not having the constant shadow of social media on her back made it easier for the singer on the break she desired.

Everyday she fell more in love with Bradley. She had been visiting him when quarantine happened so they basically went to the next step in their relationship by living together. Again, it all felt natural. They settled into a domestic life with each other early on with homemade dinners, movie nights, nerf gun wars, and karaoke contests. Bradley on the piano and Y/n with her guitar, being each other’s act and audience in their private concert.

“You shake my nerves and you rattle my brain. Too much love drives a man insane. You broke my will, but what a thrill. Goodness gracious, great balls of fire!”

“Romeo take me somewhere we can be alone. I’ll be waiting, all there’s left to do is run. You’ll be the prince and I’ll be the princess. It’s a love story, baby just say, ‘Yes!’”

Late nights were reserved for drives with the speakers blasting. Y/n camera roll would be filled with endless videos of the two, but mostly of Bradley jamming to his favorite songs. More often than usual the thought of, “I’m gonna marry this man,” would cross her mind.

“You ain’t nothin’ but a hound dog. Cryin’ all the time. You ain’t nothin’ but a hound dog. Cryin’ all the time. Well, you ain’t never caught a rabbit and you ain’t no friend of mine!”

Y/n would lean her body out the window when it was a clear road where they were the only ones, hair blowing and the light from the moon shining down on her. Her beautiful voice carried in the night sky, Bradley in absolute awe of her and wanting to capture the moment forever.

“I came home in the mornin’ light—my mother says, ‘when you gonna live your life right?’ Oh momma dear, we’re not the fortunate ones. And girls, they wanna have fun. Oh girls just wanna have fun!”

But was supposed to be maybe two years at most…..ended up being close to five.

Honestly Y/n was surprised to still have fans. To say they were shitting bricks when she out of the blue dropped a cover art for her upcoming single, ‘Love’ would be an understatement. They were losing their fucking minds.

@ Y/nwhereforartthou: IS THIS REALLY HAPPENING OH MY FUCKING SHIT! PLEASE TELL ME THIS AINT A JOKE Y/N IS COMING BACK AFTER FIVE FUCKING YEARS

@ stilladirectionerbby: *insert Micheal Scott gif* OH MY GOD IT’S HAPPENING—Y/N’S RELEASING NEW MUSIC

@ MTV: when all hope was lost, our prayers were answered….by @Y/nL/n86

Then she announced in the same week they were getting not one but two albums that year.

@ themadalorianswife: TWO ALBUMS?!?! WE GETTING TWO?!?! GOD FUCKING BLESS

@ daddyisastateofmind: oh mother is spoiling us after making us wait so long and I absolutely am here for it.

@ neveroutofstyle_: love how @Y/nL/n86 basically said “this is my sorry for falling off the face of the earth, please forgive me.” On behalf of the fandom, we forgive you queen.

And wanna know something else?

What was even more impressive than becoming a ghost for five years with little to no sightings by the paparazzi, was that she and Bradley had yet to be discovered. Her lover was just as good of a ghost as she was. Their secret was like trying to find the Holy Grail.

Hidden like a treasure the world desired to unearth.

And on their six year anniversary, Bradley got them the same cake as the first time he did. The icing reading, "Happy 7 years, baby—we’ve totally got them fooled.”

…………….

TGM Tag list: @avaleineandafryingpan , @caitsymichelle13 , @poppyalice2001 , @cutelittlepotatofry , @luckyladycreator2 , @americaarse , @elenavampire21 , @back-tooo-black , @wildellaa , @artemissunn , @pinkpantheris

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scoops-aboy86 · 2 months

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We see a lot of chubby Steve/weight gain post-high school but I think it would be interesting to see some fics where he’s still in school. Maybe he has to give up sports due to the concussions or something?

You're right and you should say it!! I have a bit of that in my love spell no go AU, before Starcourt happens and Steve goes full trauma-fueled must be able to protect everyone I know mode.

So... might not be what you were hoping for but I wrote an almost 3k addition to that fic, during the part where Steve is still at Hawkins High. Swim is over for the year (and Steve avoids his pool now), and while he's still on the basketball team he's also smoking weed (helps with the nightmares, getting enough sleep, better mood, etc.) and snacking more. He's in the starter belly stage but has no complaints.

Part 1, (YOU ARE HERE), part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8, part 9, part 10, part 11 of the love spell no go au

The weed he bought from Munson is a godsend, and Steve wonders why he hadn’t thought of it before… only to remember that Nancy wouldn’t have approved. (Although she’s not a priss, exactly, she had barely even touched alcohol since the night Barb died. Until Halloween.) But he can sleep through the lonely nights now, which is worth even that hurtful pang of realization—that maybe, Nancy hadn’t been very good for him.

(Sure, she had helped him study. And his grades had improved. But sometimes, too, she would smile and say, “You’re an idiot, Steve Harrington.” It had been cute at first, before Barb, when the smile had still been real.)

Whenever he thinks about that, or feels particularly lonely, he digs into his stash for a quick smoke out his bedroom window—never by the pool, not anymore. He gets into the habit of snacking after, even if it’s while doing his homework, because even when he’s a little bit stoned it’s somehow easier to focus on shit when he’s doing something else at the same time, and chewing works.

(Nancy hadn’t liked it when he’d fiddled with his pencil or a rubber band or a Rubix cube or anything while she’d quizzed him with flashcards, even though he’d tried to tell her it helped. She’d fussed at him about it until he’d just… stopped.)

Other times, he zones out in front of the tv while working his way through a sandwich or a bag of chips or a sleeve of Oreos. Or takeout, a lot of the time, because his culinary skills pretty much stop at sandwiches, up to and including scrambling an egg for a breakfast sandwich. But a man cannot live on scrambled eggs alone, he’s learned that the hard way, so pizza or burgers or pasta in cardboard containers it is.

It’s not just the munchies. After a while Steve gets into the habit of just… eating. It's not like his parents are around to notice, and Dustin and the other kids he babysits sometimes (for all that Mike protests that they aren’t babies and don’t need a sitter; what they do consistently need, however, is rides) don't care as long as he springs for enough that they can have some too. No one at school would dare say it to his face, and somehow it still doesn't manage to fully tank his slightly flagging reputation, but Steve is definitely starting to put on weight. He doesn’t care.

He starts going to parties again half for a change of scenery, half for a change of food options. Pizza still makes a frequent appearance, but there’s popcorn and flavors of chips that he doesn’t usually buy and various kinds of snack mixes. (His favorites are anything that include M&Ms.) Sometimes, there are even cupcakes or cookies. He doesn’t dance, doesn’t even drink all that much and sticks to just beer when he does, never the punch. Most of the kids who come to these parties are there for the booze and the makeout opportunities, but he turns up to people-watch, bopping his head in time with the music if it's a song he likes, and park himself by whatever food the party has to offer. Sometimes Steve buys from Eddie if he's there, offers to share joints with him that Eddie, still wary, turns down. When the food runs out, Steve leaves.

Tonight, though, Tammy Thompson just will not leave him alone and he’s at a loss for what to do about it. She’s been talking his ear off about wanting to move to Nashville and become a country singer the entire time he’s been working on this extra large pepperoni and sausage with black olives—not his first choice, but it’s still hot enough for the cheese to stretch whenever he picks up the next slice, warm tomato sauce and grease dripping down the front of his polo more often than he can always catch with a napkin.

“Did you want some?” he asks at some point, to be polite and hopefully indicate that he doesn’t care that she’s trying to tell him something.

He can tell immediately that it doesn’t work, because Tammy lights up from simply being addressed, even though her answer is, “Oh, no thank you, I’m a vegetarian.”

“Right,” Steve mumbles, and crams nearly half of his next slice of meat-laden pizza in his mouth. Maybe if he talks with his mouth full. “More for me, then.”

The words come out muffled, but she still beams and offers to grab him something to drink, jumping up and scampering off before Steve even has a chance to respond. He sighs, downs the rest of the beer he’s been nursing, and takes the new one she brings him without saying thank you. Between the next pieces of pizza he pops it open, chugs it, and belches; she puts a hand on his arm.

For a moment, at that, Steve feels a faint stirring of interest. He likes his food, did even before dropping swimming and picking up weed, and well before it started to show. Now that it has, he feels comfortable in his softer body. Good. And maybe… maybe he could handle dating someone who doesn’t mind how much he likes it. He imagines Tammy running her immaculately painted nails over his skin, places he’s noticed have been getting more sensitive lately, and suppresses a shiver.

“Could you pass me that bowl of M&Ms over there?” he asks, testing the waters. Yeah, he could probably reach it if he stretched, but he’s starting to fill up and doesn’t feel like putting the extra pressure on his stomach. He sits back a little in his chair instead, shifting to get comfortable and laying a hand on his belly where it bows out over the waistband of his jeans. “Sorry, just, you know. Big appetite lately.”

“Oh, that’s okay, I don’t mind,” Tammy says with a giggle as she fetches the bowl for him. “Besides, you’re an athlete! I’m sure you’ll work it off in no time on the court.”

And yeah, no, that vague interest curdles immediately. As far as Steve is concerned, the only parts of himself he wants to get rid of are all in his head—the heartbroken parts, the nightmare and trauma parts, the desperately lonely and needy parts. But he’s not so lonely that he’ll hook up with a girl who’s willing in spite of how he looks, because what else could she possibly be interested in? His personality?

He barely even has one. King Steve has always been bullshit, Nancy was right about that much.

Through the crowd, he spots curly hair and a flash of dark leather—Eddie. Good, he’d been hoping to buy more tonight, and this is as good an excuse to exit this conversation as any.

Steve grabs a handful of M&Ms to shove in his mouth and flips the lid of the pizza box closed, handing the bowl back to Tammy and taking the box with him when he stands. “Well, enjoy the rest of the party,” he blurts. “I’ve gotta go see a guy about some drugs. Bye!”

As he makes his escape, some girl that he thinks he might have class with or something just about shoulder-checks him, but he’s solid enough that she ends up stumbling from the impact instead. The glare she gives him could peel paint… which is actually kind of refreshing, after enduring Tammy’s simpering for the better part of an hour.

To Eddie’s perpetual frustration, now that Steve Harrington has started buying weed from him he can never seem to be free of the guy. Case in point: the “Hey, Munson, wait up!” that follows him to the backyard of tonight’s house party slash business venture.

He waits until he’s down the patio steps before whipping around, prepared to glare and snap an impatient what do you want, Harrington, but ends up staring at a pizza box that’s being shoved in his face.

“Pizza?” Steve says.

Eddie blinks at the box, then at the boy holding it. “This isn’t your party. Doesn’t that mean it’s not your pizza to offer?”

“It might as well be, I’ve eaten most of it,” Steve replies. “No one seemed to notice, that makes it fair game.”

Once, Eddie had been selling at a party and been bitched out for touching a single cookie, because those were for guests. He wants to scowl, but then his gaze flicks down to the partly open box and sees that there aren’t many slices left, eyes fixing on the evidence dripped down the front of Steve’s shirt and the way it’s… tight, across his middle. “You ate all but three slices of an entire extra large?”

He’s not sure what answer he expects to get. Maybe something like Of course not, dickhead, or maybe just, What, like it’s hard? But all Steve says is, “Yep.” And keeps looking at him with those sweet hazel eyes that seem bight and not too clouded by alcohol.

Still, Eddie is wary. “Okay… You first.”

Steve just shrugs and pulls out a slice, taking a bite before Eddie snatches it out of his hand. “Hey!”

“Just making sure it wasn’t poisoned first, sweetheart,” Eddie retorts, sneering for the excuse to call a pretty boy sweetheart in semi-public, butterflies stirring in his stomach at getting away with it. “Don’t worry, the rest is all yours.”

“Who’s tried to poison you?” Steve asks in a perplexed tone, folding the last two slices together to make a pizza sandwich and tossing the empty box onto the deck. Still following Eddie, because of course this is Eddie’s life. Love spell was a spectacular failure, but he’s still got the boy of his dreams following him around like a lost duckling because he’s got drugs. Fucking fantastic.

And Eddie doesn’t want to get into the whole thing—those rumors from when Eddie had been in seventh grade and Steve had been in sixth, for all that they’re both in the same grade now, about some kid who’d been sent to the ER from a bad reaction to itching powder. There were variations where it had gotten in his eyes and nearly blinded him, or on his food and made his throat swell shut, or in his underwear and turned his dick so red his balls fell off. In reality, he had only gone to the nurse with a bad rash and hadn’t even been allowed to go home, but it left a goddamn impression.

He doesn’t want to get into it, not if Steve either doesn’t remember the rumors or hasn’t connected them to his present day self, so he just rolls his eyes and says, “Are you looking to buy or what?”

Steve immediately brightens a bit, like a golden retriever spotting someone holding a tennis ball. “Yeah, I smoked the last I had before coming here but it’s already worn off I think.” And takes a big bite of his two pizza slices.

So Eddie leads him to a darker nook around the side of the house for the deal, trying not to stare at the way Steve’s cheeks bow out while he chews, like a damn chipmunk. It’s cute. He’s kind of angry that it’s cute, that there’s still a part of him that lights up when Steve looks happy, satisfied, content—and right now all of those boxes are checked.

“Want to smoke a little now?” Steve offers, once he’s paid and taken the baggie one handed, popped the rest of the food in his mouth, licked his fingers clean, and pulled out a pack of rolling papers. And Eddie pauses too long before answering, long enough that Steve takes the lack of refusal as a yes.

Which Eddie should correct, because he usually says no to that sort of thing, especially when he’s at parties specifically to sell. He’s turned Steve down before, even; it’s like the guy has a whole thing about offering whenever he plans on lighting up asap. Eddie knows better to fall into that trap.

But it’s a nice night. The weather is mild for spring, business has been good, and Steve licks his lips to get the last traces of pizza sauce before his tongue darts out to wet the paper and finish rolling the joint. Nice and tight, like the denim hugging Steve’s ass and thighs tighter recently. So Eddie sticks around, breaks his rule and tries to keep his face clear of any evidence that he is fixated on the few degrees of separation between smoking and kissing, heart hammering the entire time. He tells himself it’s a one time only thing, but knows he might be lying. Recognizes how addictive this could be.

“Thanks for being here,” Steve says after passing the joint back and forth a few times, his eyes glazed and drooping. “Really needed this tonight.”

“That’s what I’m here for, man,” Eddie replies. He’s leaning against the side of the house practically shoulder to shoulder with his crush, and the high washing over him is really taking the edge off the jagged yearning in his chest. Like, he still wants, but he’s happy just floating in the present moment, content with the indirect sharing of spit. And this is… This is okay.

Surprisingly okay.

It throws Eddie for a loop because it’s at odds with the whole King Steve image. The whole puppet master persona that isn’t a bully, but can with a few words cut someone down socially to where the bullies could reach them, if they so wish. Popular kids at Hawkins High walk around with their noses in the air like they’ve never smelled a fart and refuse to start now, but this is the guy they turn around and start brown-nosing. King Steve isn’t nice, he’s used to being waited on. Kings do not say thank you to the court jester for simply carrying out his profession.

Just Steve, though, is different. Just Steve is chill and finished most of an entire huge pizza while mostly sober, is filling out his clothes even better these days in Eddie’s opinion, and currently looks the most at peace he’s ever seen a person. No walls, no guard… Just Steve.

Okay, that one split joint had gone straight to his head, god damn.

“Well, I’m gonna take off,” Eddie announces, and can’t tell if he’s said it too loud or not. He pushes off the wall with a shake of his head. “You snagged pretty much the last of my inventory, so I’ll just get out of here before someone starts handing out the torches and pitchforks.”

Steve chuckles. “Like any of those guys in there know how to make a torch,” he scoffs. He manages to say it in a way that almost makes Eddie lean in. Makes him feel like he’s been let in on some sort of inside joke, like they could but those losers couldn’t.

Which is—Okay, so Eddie does in theory know how to make a torch, he’d looked into it for one of his earliest homebrew campaigns, but Steve Harringnton? The very idea of Steve whipping off his shirt, tying it to a branch, soaking the end in something flammable, and lighting it up is something out of fantasy. Out of specific fantasies that he has had. It snaps Eddie out of the hazy bubble of they that Steve had somehow created with just a few words, and holy shit. Was that one of the side effects of his wonky spell, or was that Just Steve?

“Yeah, sure,” Eddie scoffs back, putting more distance between them even though he does want to lean in, dammit, but he wants Steve to want it too. Even though it’s on the tip of his tongue to ask the guy if he has a ride home, or if he wants to swing by the mom and pop ice cream place on Main for desert or something; Eddie has been practicing swallowing down urges like that since he’d hit adolescence. “Find me next time you need to top up your stash, Harrington.”

He walks away fast enough that if Steve responds he doesn’t hear it, heading for the back gate that he’d left the house for in the first place. His van is parked strategically nearby for a quick getaway, just in case the party got out of hand and a neighbor called the cops.

And if his dreams that night feature a completely relaxed Steve Harrington chewing on never ending slices of pizza and that blissful look of peace on his face, his lips shiny with spit and grease, it’s not like Eddie is ever going to tell anyone.

Tag list (comment to be added): @hotluncheddie @8em-em-em8 @anaibis @connected-dots @lawrencebshoggoth

#love spell no go au #wg steddie #chubby steve harrington #eddie munson #mentions of past stancy #tammy thompson #i have nothing against tammy but she is very much pursuing steve because of the love spell more than anything else #pre-relationship steddie #this fic will eventually be up on ao3... i just want to finish it first

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simp41ida · 1 year

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Hi I love your work! iida is so underappreciated you truly are team carry!

If you have the time, I'd like to request an iida x fem!reader who (tw. sh) used to self harm on her thighs so no one would see, and she's been clean for a year but she found out she was failing a class and went back to old habits and iida walks in on her treating the injuries so they don't get infected and when he asks, she tells him and asks him not to tell anyone, and the reason she didn't ask for help before is that no one helped her when she asked, so eventually she stopped trying. the rest is up to you! if you don't want to do this request I fully understand and it's okay!

i hope I did this request thing right, once again, I love your writing and you're such an amazing person! love you!!

warnings: self harm (fem!pronouns)

notes: as someone who struggles with this too, i’d be more than happy to write this for you <33 love you too!!

⚠️trigger warning under the cut⚠️

one day after class

(wow what a great post starter)

present mic pulled you out into the hallway after class

he wanted to let you know that you're not doing so good in one of your classes

since the only voice he knows is his loud one, he kind of said it a little loud

nobody else heard, but it didn't make you feel very easy the way he said it so loud.

after the four words he said to you, you felt all of your emotions crumble into a little pile of dust right where your feet are supposed to be

and then you still had to do all of the other classes for the day with that feeling inside of your stomach and in the back of your throat.

iida definitely knew something was up because he's observant over the people it wouldn't be weird to watch over like that

like he wouldn't watch bakugou he way he watches over you

it makes him feel funny (trust me he's tried it just to make sure the whole class was safe in his explosive presence)

but this isn't about him.

it's about you <33

when you went back to the dorms for the night, it was the last they saw you until school tomorrow

except for iida because he tried bringing you dinner just because he loves you that much.

you told him you weren't hungry and he didn't want to pressure you into opening the door so he just left you be

why you were in your room for so long, oh, that's a whole different story

when you got into your dorm, you tried to see if there was anything you could do to boost your grade

when you saw that there was no other assignments incomplete, you were upset

so upset for so many reasons

you failed something, you can't fix that said something, and you're just so tired of doing as much as you can do and it's still not good enough

later that night, you relapsed

it's an awful feeling, really

but that awful feeling made everything else go away, if only for a minute

after everything, you knew that you needed to take care of the small, line shaped injuries on your thighs.

the shorts you had on made them easy to access to it would be quick (plan is to just pour some hydrogen peroxide on them, wait for them to bubble and stop bleeding, slap some band-aids on them, and just go)

this would've worked out just fine if you weren't hesitating because you were scared someone would walk in on you.

as soon as you started peeling open the first band-aid package, a familiar face makes himself known by opening the door

his face drops at the whole scene

"please don't say anything to anyone, iida"

as soon as he heard those words, he knew what was going on

there are keywords that hint out how stuff went down.

he also knows there is no other way for you to get that many injuries on the same spot on your thighs in just one day

he may seem oblivious, but he is far from stupid

he'll help you with the rest of the bandaging (only after you say it's okay, of course)

and then he'll ask you to talk to him about it

like "do you want to tell me what happened and why it ended up like this?"

if you told him about last time, it would make sense to him why you would default back to it

if you didn't, he's going to try to understand as much as he can

he refrains from asking questions just in case they're rude

when you tell him that you have asked for help before, he will be so mad that nobody decided to get you the help that you were so bravely willing to get

he lets you know that no matter what time it is, or the day, or the month, or the year, he will stop everything just to help you

he loves you so much more than you know

he won't tell anyone unless you want him to in the instance of getting help

he'll lay with you even if its against the rules because your happiness is worth way more than one scolding from a teacher

then again, how would they know he's in there anyways?

#star writes #my hero acedamia #mha x reader #mha fluff #mha #iida x you #iida x reader #tenya iida x reader #mha iida #tenya iida #♠mars #♠mercury #♠venus #♠starwrites #starwrites #♠star writes

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carpememes · 4 months

Text

KLAUS starters

feel free to change pronouns

“Stop, don’t tell me. Let me guess…. I give up. Who are you?”

“Can I get your something to drink? Espresso, cappuccino?”

“Aren’t you supposed to be in equestrian training?”

“No worries, I’ve got someone covering for me.”

“I’m gonna take one last look around the old place so I can forget it.”

“There you have it! But, hey, we gave it the old college try didn’t we?”

“Guess I’ll just go pack up and head home then. Too bad! Darn, oh darn!”

“You’re right! When will I grow up? When will I stop squandering these opportunities- that you so kindly forced me into- and become my own man?”

“I guess I must really hanker down and rethink my priorities.”

“You think I’m just going to watch you purposely fail and then let you waltz right back to a privileged life void of any purpose or meaning?”

“You can’t cheat, bribe or squirm your way out of this one.”

“Thank you, Dad! This is really wonderful, father, thank you so much!”

“I love this terrible coach ride. Thank you so much.”

“Nice boat. Any chance we might actually get on it today?”

“I thought there would be some sort of a reception.”

“This is no way to treat a person. Certainly not THIS person.”

“Come to the counter, I’ll be right out!”

“What kind of town has a Battle Bell?”

“Welcome to _, home ot the world’s finest feuds.”

“Are you gonna buy something, or are you just here to chit-chat?”

“Holy moley, that’s you?! What happened?”

“Mingling with their sworn enemy spawn? Can’t have that!”

“So now I’m reduced to doing this so I can get some money and start fresh far, far away from here.”

“Are. You going. To buy something?!”

“C’mon, sport! I saved the best for last.”

“Go home, you loser!”

“Oh, I get it. Did my father put you up to this?”

“Show me where I’m really staying. I’d like a hot bath and a look at the dinner menu.”

“That’s it! This place is the worst! I’m going home!”

“I hate it here! It’s so cold and icky and the people are mean to me!”

“Nice guy. Loves visitors.

“Hello? I’m in your house.”

“Better alive in the gutter than hacked into pieces! No thank you!”

“Please don’t chop me up and scatter my parts in the woods!”

“In there? What? No way. You must be kidding.”

“Please! Open this! Why are you doing this to me?”

“These better sound sad. Do they sound sad?”

“Probably not an axe murderer. Though, still is a possibility but, most likely, no.”

“Remember me from the nice breaking and entering the other night?”

“That is… totally normal!”

“Centuries of glorious hatred passed down through generations!”

“Now, I just know you didn’t mean to disrespect all of that heritage. Right?”

“Telling children to go to school to learn to write? What is wrong with you?!”

“I’m so close to getting out. I am not about to let you mess it all up.”

“Whatever you’re doing, leave me OUT OF IT.”

“Not a word. You just sit there and be all magical and awesome.”

“Are we going to learn something today?”

“Look, if you have to be here, at least be quiet.”

“Let’s make a deal- If I teach you something will you get out of here? Please?”

“Friends of yours, I take it?… They seemed nice.”

“A flying sleigh… pulled by magical reindeer?”

“Oh look. It CAN laugh.”

“What are you doing at our ambush?”

“So we must band together in peace… To help stop this peace?”

“Back home I’ve got pretty much everything.”

“Back home I’ve got pretty much everything. But here I’m just another irrelevant,pointless… nobody.”“

Hey. You’re a pretty good listener, y’know?”

“How many nights do you lie awake, in the darkest place?”

“If happy lives a mile away, a couple steps is all it takes.”

“If kindness lives in everyone, then all it takes is standing up.”

“Can’t touch it, see it- but you can always feel it.”

“The greatest things you’ll ever know are invisible.”

“How have we never defeated you?”

“We wanted children. Lots of them.”

“We kept waiting, but they never came.”

“Even now, sometimes, it almost like she’s still...”

“After she was gone, I guess I got lost.”

“Yknow what? No homework! Am I the best teacher ever or what?”

“I just thought I’d give the place an update.”

“Check it out, I think it looks pretty good.”

“Someone would have to be pretty stupid to want to leave this place now.”

“Oh, wow. You have no idea what you’ve done, do you?”

“Not quite the same place is it?”

“A true act of good will always sparks another.”

“Everybody’s out to get something, right?”

“Oh, well. Best leave it alone, I say. I’m sure it’s nothing that could fester and eventually become a source of regret.”

“He said he’d never been more proud of me... And he hugged me. Can you believe that?”

“This town was built on resentment and spite.”

“Let’s go. We’re done here.”

“Kids talk. And if kids happen to talk about their parents forming an angry mob then, y’know, teachers listen.”

“Then you showed up and made it complicated, as usual.”

“So all this was for nothing?”

“Shall we then?”

“What did you expect of course she loved me.”

“I’m coming, Love.”

“It was as if he had just... faded away.”

“What happened to him after that... How, why... I can’t even begin to comprehend.”

“I stopped trying to make sense of it a long time ago.”

“What I do know is that, once a year, I get to see my friend.”

#klaus #netflix klaus #sentence starters #klaus starters #christmas starters #reposting an updated version of this meme with more starters on the list

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wuntrum · 1 year

Note

How long have you been drawing the saints for girls? what are all the members like personality wise? :0

soooo saints for girls started out as a different little project right at the start of the pandemic (i was missing concerts a whole lot so i made up my own little band to play with like barbie dolls in my head lkjsdf), here's the original art of cass + frankie + ry + jas

buuut this version ^ of jas doesn't exist anymore (also that jas was the bassist lol), and vincent didn't exist yet...i drew them a little bit but never fully did much just because other stuff (college) kinda got in the way? (also their whole story was more concepty, like they were called whytokay like Y2k (because ry sees a vision of a future where music is outlawed and she has to put together this band to save the world, which still happens a little bit but not to this extent lol), and also that game YIIK got released and it made me really sour on that name LOL).

at the end of 2021 i wanted to revisit them and maybe design merch for my thesis in art school but i realized that if my professors tried to tell me what to do with them i would've killed everybody and then myself so <3 we didn't do that

and after the late summer of mcr i went back and really wanted to commit focus to them again :) jas 1.0 never really made much sense to me (honestly none of them are very fem, and just like where i'm at with my own life rn, i wanted them to be explicitly androgynous / genderqueer so.) jas 2.0 came about + i made vincent to kind of fill the pretentious void left by jas 1.0 LOLLL

so yeah ive been drawing them for almost 3 years now :3 but saints for girls as they exist today only came about in like october 2022. and for their personalities, i'm gonna put all the answers for the uquiz below because they're a pretty good starter for their personalities (still working on their Exact dynamics, so i don't wanna commit to anything more yet) (also spoilers for the uquiz lol)

#asks #saints for girls #my art #long post but i wanted to be thorough sldkjflsf #also changed rys hair from only pigtails -> mullet for versatility #it also just doesnt suit her vibe anymore to have them. and they were hard to draw #frankie also used to have blue in their hair which was fun #but idk theyre like a natural guy. minus the piercings. maybe someday for an album cycle theyll dye it again #OH also everyones body type was too similar before lol <3 thats a change for sure

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jucyfruit · 15 days

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‘Media Is the Third Parent’: A Conversation With Lucy Dacus

by Justin Joffe | 2/22/17

The music that we love is an accumulation of narratives. The stories those songs tell, the memories they create for us and the truths that their writers have lived all become an important rubber band ball of context and experience, informing our connection to them in ways we don’t always immediately get.

So when a young artist emerges from the formless depths of adolescence near-fully formed, the narrative starts taking shape even before we understand it. Cries of nepotism, entitlement, and business collusion often drown out the true origin story of someone who takes to a big stage so all of a sudden, whether or not those cries have any merit. And in the case of Lucy Dacus, a 21-year old singer/songwriter from Richmond Virginia with a remarkably deep and powerful voice, no such assumptions about her recent ascension ring the least bit true.

Adopted at a young age and creatively nurtured by her piano-playing mother, Dacus’ musicality was embedded in her home life from the get go. Her debut, No Burden, was recorded by her guitarist Jacob Blizard as part of his winter project at music school Oberlin and released by hometown label EggHunt Records last February. Almost immediately, Dacus’ husky alto caught the attention of larger labels—over 20 of them—requiring her to take some time sifting through the muck and the mud, fielding offers and inquiries guided largely by her convictions and her gut.

Six months later she signed with venerable independent label Matador Records, and their reissue of Dacus’ No Burden last fall gave hope to this whole generation of self-starters. Dacus’ reverb-drenched, alt-country-dusted songs cut to the question of how an artist in the public eye can still live away from what Sartre called “the gaze of the other”, free from expectations of beauty or lapses in trust, living and working only by the standards they set for themselves.

We caught up over the phone to discuss what it means to take personal agency over your work in a time when art and politics seem pretty much inseparable.

How ya doin’?

Good, I’m in Canada! Hopefully my connection will be good, but if it starts to break up I’ll blame it on that.

So, were you looking at a hearse or a limousine? That lyric of yours reminds me of one of my favorite Leonard Cohen lyrics, “Thought I saw an eagle, but it might have been a vulture, never could decide.”

Yeah, that one’s really good.

Much of your album speaks to trust and navigating uncharted waters, but can you unpack that rhetorical question for me?

I guess the point of that song, “Troublemaker, Doppelganger” is trying to navigate the worth of beauty, and if it’s hurtful or helpful to value beauty. If it’s a curse or a blessing. Is that something really negative and morbid, like the hearse, or is it the limousine—a glamorous symbol of enjoying life?

I’m trying to connect how your interest in the aesthetic side of media, between your time in film school and your time as a photo editor, has informed your perspective on our habits of consumption and decision making. Is that something that weighs on your mind often?

Yeah! The media, and how we’re taught to read it, has a huge impact on who we become as people. When you’re a kid you learn whatever your parents think, until you start taking in media. Because all your friends are your age as well, media is the third parent that you ever have. So I think about that a lot, what visual imagery is teaching us, and media in general having a huge impact. But it’s ambiguous—if you haven’t learned the cultural symbolism where media is coming from, it can be really confusing.

You said that you felt this record was possible because you went into it without any expectations, during the writing and recording process. But the minute any work is released to the public, media expectations become imposed upon us. I guess it’s what Sartre called “the gaze of the other”. How do you keep that purity of intention during your process while operating inside someone else’s media infrastructure, an infrastructure that you didn’t build? It’s something I feel that you’re in a particularly great place to help us with.

[Laughs] A lot of the songs for the next record were actually written well before we spoke to a label or had any kind of coverage, so at least for the next record, I haven’t had to deal with that. But of course I’m still writing, and I think the biggest aspect of it that keeps me from catering to our current infrastructure is not trying to write. I don’t ever sit down and say, “OK, I need to write a song” or “I need to crank something out” or “I have to make something that will satisfy the people around me.” That’s never been a concern, I don’t think that should be a concern, and it means I maybe don’t write at a quick pace anymore, but everything that I do write is stuff that just comes to me the way any other thought does. So far it doesn’t feel like anything that I’ve written is compromised by the fact that we have a label now.

You’ve spoken about how you had to develop a bit more business acumen after this album was finished and you were shopping your project around a bit. Do you almost learn those things so that you can know when you don’t have to use them, in a way? When you don’t have to have your guard up with them?

Yeah, I really enjoy navigating the business aspect of having a band, and there is a great amount of instinct. You don’t wanna work with people who make you feel weird, even if they’re super qualified. You don’t want to feel like you’re being used by anybody, even though you are submitting to that in some way, in some mutual using of whoever you end up working with. But there’s a fine line that’s hard to describe between being taken advantage of and having a partnership. I feel like that might be different for everybody, but I would just suggest that anyone getting into this take their time and compare a lot of different companies or whatever you’re choosing. Be comparative about decision making , because you don’t have to rush into things.

That ties into the themes of trust on this record, too, which is funny because you wrote these songs before having to navigate those waters. You wrote, “I wanna live in a world where I can keep my doors open, but who knows what’d get in and what’d get out.” Would it be a stretch to connect that lyric toward your path of ascension in the music sphere, toward your approach to how you present yourself? Are you talking about trust in the abstract here?

Absolutely. The more you learn the more wise you’re supposed to be, but I still reflect upon myself as a child, or even just myself pre-audience, kind of contemplating on where my creativity came from at that point and always trying to stay connected to why I originally started writing. I did write that song a while ago, but luckily it still rings true.

I talked to Joe Steinhardt of Don Giovanni a few weeks ago, and he’s of the mind that the big three media companies are turning into the big three tech companies, insofar as Apple, Google and Amazon are eating whole industries of art, commerce and media. It got me wondering what we can do. Now obviously you’re on Matador, and they have a great reputation around doing right for their artists’ sustainability. What are you, and they, doing right when it comes to giving artists some agency over their own work?

I guess there’s two ways to approach this question. There’s technically retaining the rights to your own music, being structurally independent and not feeding into major labels or major companies, but then there’s also this idea of retaining agency in a more metaphysical sense.

I think both are important. Matador’s an independent label, which was part of the reason that we chose them. Myself, I feel like I still have ownership over my own work. Like I said, you just have to retain your writing process and not force anything. That’s what helps me feel like I still have a handle on what I make—it’s coming from me because of me, not because of anything else.

On top of that, I really like and respect bands that do more than just the typical structuring of recording, releasing and touring an album. Bands that are socially active, bands that are not afraid to talk about their belief systems explicitly. I’ve been inspired by that, and that feels like not just taking agency over your own work, but taking agency over the responsibility that you’ve been granted by a fanbase. Really contemplating your fanbase and being present with the people who listen to your music.

That begs the very timely and topical question, too—if all art comes from culture, and cultures are being stigmatized right now, then isn’t all art political? The question’s kind of irrelevant when the creative class is kind of a marginalized community in its own right, but I guess I’m just wondering how your value system responds to right now, as you come into the creative class professionally at a time when a lot of people are freaking out about the abolishment of the National Endowment of the Arts and similar public-funded avenues for creative programs or dialogues. What’s your role in pushing back against that?

The solution we came up with as a band for this tour was raising money for local charities at each of the shows that we’ve been playing. That feels like a pretty effective form of activism so far, but beyond that, I would hope that the music we make and tour causes people to consider not necessarily the specific current events happening around the world, but what’s behind them—power struggles, contemptment and these other things behind the negativity that we see, a lack of fulfillment in people.

It’s nobody’s actual job, but I personally admire people who see it as their responsibility. Whether its actual resources going to real life projects, charities or charities, that’s one piece of it. But like I said, the content of the music can really change people’s mindset, and I know that I’ve definitely been changed by some musicians and lyrics that I’ve heard. Like I said, media is the third parent to anybody. I would just hope that people write things that call for more thought instead of less thought. That could make a huge difference.

(x)

#lucy dacus #interview #2017 #february 2017 #the new york observer #archival

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muertawrites · 2 years

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Eddie looking at high school girls and he’s like oh no these are children I can’t wait to leave here

Because he’s busy drooling at the college babes (he loves the concept and the intelligence), the hot bartender, the cute librarian, the hot waitress, the alluring music store employee, the milfs, etc

I can just picture him leaning casually on a door frame or on a table/counter flirting with them and impressing them with his knowledge of things or just asking them questions about themselves and things they’re knowledgeable about

(just a heads up i am very much going to project here lololol)

warning: this gets a little explicit. i'm not marking it 18+ because the most explicit parts are in reference to ancient art and culture, and are not p*rnographic. discretion is still strongly advised.

eddie munson likes his women fully developed. in every way.

once he finally graduates he gets the fuck out of hawkins and moves to a chill college town with the members of corroded coffin (can't break up the band), probably somewhere in the pacific northwest. he works at a music shop and plays gigs in local bars. makes absolute bank dealing to desperate college students.

and there's this girl. oh god this girl. he sees her around the high street all the time - in a coffee shop writing a paper, at her job at the book store, in her pajamas getting chips at the 7-eleven in the middle of the night.

he isn't stalking her. he's just... observant. like how he knows she's studying art history from the textbooks she always has. and that she always orders a caramel macchiato with soy milk when she goes to the cafe. and that she's probably lactose intolerant because she always picks the cheese off her pre-made sandwiches from the dining hall. and that her favorite band is echo & the bunnymen because that's what's always playing from her headphones.

... okay maybe he is stalking her a little bit.

he decides he has to talk to her. he goes into the book store while she's working one day, picking up a couple fantasy paperbacks from the bargain bin. she's stooped over a textbook about grecian pottery and my god is she gorgeous. hair messy, unwashed, knotted up on her head. gnawing on a pencil as she reads. scribbling little doodles of totally jacked olympians on the edges of her notes. disheveled from a lack of sleep.

"what's with the tiny dicks in greek art?" eddie blurts as he approaches the counter.

you snap your head up, startled by his question.

munson, you fucking idiot. you ask her about chodes as a conversation starter?? what the fuck is wrong with you.

surprisingly, though, once you regain yourself, you actually look... intrigued. eager. the sparkle of excitement in your eyes is unmistakeable, and entirely adorable.

"it's actually really culturally significant," you reply, setting your notes aside. "the greeks were like. obsessed with the male physique and how it related to personality. and having a big dick was seen as animalistic, brutish. the smaller your junk, the more like the gods you were - smarter, more dignified, better behaved. the only subjects in greek art that have large members are creatures like satyrs and centaurs, and they're always portrayed as being beastly, controlled by their sexual urges. even men in greek erotica have small cocks."

he's in love. eddie munson is in love with this girl.

so of course he has to go and say something ridiculously dumb to her.

"well, guess that's why i was held back twice in high school."

ohhhhh my god shut up. you blew it. buy your shit and never come back.

to his relief, you giggle. and it isn't polite, either - it's a genuine, amused laugh, the curl of your lips and swell of your cheeks as beautiful as any work of art.

he chuckles breathily, his face going completely pink.

"sorry," he mumbles, mortified with himself. "i'm, uh... i'm eddie."

"nice to finally meet you, eddie." you hold your hand out, savoring the feeling of his rough, calloused palm as it connects with yours. "i... i see you around a lot. actually caught your gig a few weeks ago. your band is good."

"really?"

you giggle at his surprise. he's so fucking cute.

"yeah! i mean i was pretty drunk but i still enjoyed it."

he laughs, his tongue poking out from between his lips as he gazed at you, totally lost in your eyes. you realize you're still holding his hand, but neither of you moves to change that.

"can i buy you a drink sometime?" eddie asks. "i'd like to pick your brain some more about penises in ancient art."

you can't help the smile that takes over your features as you nod.

"yeah," you reply. "i'd love that. maybe... you could help me with a case study."

the suggestive undertones in your voice make him melt.

he's doomed.

#eddie munson #eddie asks #eddie munson blurb #eddie munson brainrot #eddie munson drabble #eddie munson headcanon #muerta's works #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x you

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rfaromance · 9 months

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hello! I'm new to ur page, so i know ur taking time off for health reasons (get that rest bae take care of urself) but i was wondering if u could do a hc about how the RFA would react to a metalhead/heavy goth mc!! I've been playing the game again but it's weird being a heavy alternative enby and being compared to rika lmfao. thank u so much if u end up doing this one!! ♡

Yoosung is the one who immediately gets roasted for comparing you to Rika. "It's not about appearance!" he'd whine. "I don't even know what they look like beyond this profile picture!" Even when you're gushing about the latest release from your fave heavy metal band and going on your latest (valid) anti-capitalism rant, he would still be enamored. "It's their heart. They have a good heart that wants what's best for good people." Rika is a state of being, an ideal, a concept he has put on a pedestal to help him cope with his grief. He thinks the fact that you have more piercings than Rika is neat, actually, and may want your help the next time he touches up his roots.

Zen finds you to be a kindred spirit, of sorts. Someone who goes against the grain, against how society "expects" people to behave. Ever devoted to his friends, he may actually start acting overprotective! He knows he got into a lot of trouble as a teen, and he doesn't want you to make the same mistakes. You may have to gently remind him that just because you dress a certain way doesn't mean you act a certain way, and that stereotypes don't benefit anybody! (He quickly apologizes and goes back to being his usual self, but he will dote on you quite a bit.)

Jaehee of course is one of the people reprimanding Yoosung for comparing you to Rika. Some may think that someone as straight-laced as Jaehee, a top student and hard worker, may look down on alternative folks. On the contrary, she admires you! When growing up, she always worked herself to the bone and kept quiet, behaving in a way that wouldn't inconvenience her aunt & uncle. She actually wishes she could express herself more instead of just plowing through school and work to land a well-paying job, all in the name of "not being a burden." Maybe you can teach her how to be more comfortable with herself and her own wishes and desires, instead of following the path that she (and capitalism) thought was "best" for her.

707 thinks you're super cool. Genuinely. For starters, you're going to have him reflecting a lot on his own gender identity. He knows he loves dressing in women's clothes, but he also has days where he wants to be a strong & handsome man. The idea that he can be both or neither... Sorry, he's going to be having a Talk with his new nonbinary bestie. He's also going to want your help with his makeup. Oh, my goodness. He's going to look at the bands you're into and look at your own appearance and go, "Teach me eyeliner. I am begging. I will get on my knees and beg." Much like Zen, however, he will worry a bit. He knows you're a kind soul, but he also knows his agency (and others like it) are quick to prey upon those who feel they don't have a place in the world. "Don't answer any phone calls from strangers, you hear?" (As if you weren't led to the apartment by a mysterious text in the first place....)

Jumin is another one who people may expect to be judgmental or critical. Instead, he's fascinated. At first you may feel like a bit of a guinea pig or science experiment with the way he just flings questions at you, but it's his way of expressing his interest. Jumin is someone who doesn't openly talk about his interests because apparently, a perfect CEO-in-line isn't supposed to enjoy the nuances of dark magic, the supernatural, or reality shows where cats compete to see who can carry the heaviest fish. Your openness and unapologetically being yourself will catch his interest. He cares about you a lot.

#rfa #mystic messenger #mysmes #mysme #mm #headcanon #thanks for the ask!#anon #I am SO sorry this took so long :')

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scover-va · 6 months

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I need to know more about Michael's mom... Is she a cool mom?

SHE IS A VERY COOL MOM janet afton you will always be famous. to me

Im taking this as a chance to finally ramble abt her anyways so Janet's core inspo when designing her was to avoid 2 key things. Don't make her like Immortal & Th Restless's Clara (due to clara representing michael, not mrs afton, so i wanted to avoid that), and don't base her too heavily off of Ballora. I still have ties to Ballora's character (a music-based theme, blue-centric colour palette, im sure there were more basic ideas but everything else is more hc than themes to keep up) due to my hc thingy of each Funtime having ties to William's wife + kids, but yknow.

But yeah. Funky lady who played bass guitar + did backup vocals in a band during her high school and college years. Literally her and William dating can be summed up by "Seriously, what do you see in that guy?!" "He makes me laugh." bc she was and is WAY out of his goddamn league. Not just bc of the whole serial killer thing he was just an even bigger loser in college. Normal people dont develop a crush on a woman after she nearly breaks your nose and makes you bleed, William /j

But yeah uhh. I also dont like the idea of her being absent or neglectful purely because I got way too attached to her (i was originally gonna do that just to make things easy for myself but. Pretty lady,,, I am a very simple lesbian what can i say) so like. She obviously wasnt the greatest, most fantastic mom to ever exist given she was kinda maybe sorta well aware William was making some weird fucking clowns, but like. Hey. She tried. Also side note my reasoning for her being absent during the whole. Yknow. '83 event (and just evan's bday in general) is bc Evan + Elizabeth are twins and Elizabeth demanded a girls-only trip for her bday, and Janet promised Evan she'd do something just as special for him when she got back. That never happened bc he died lmao loser /j

But yeah uhh. Shes got a lot of regrets. Wishes she coulda done a lot of things better. Kinda dies with those regrets. Ive seen people say that one of fnaf's charms is that no character is 100% good and i LOVE that, and wanted to keep it up with Janet. Good mom and overall a good person, however made some bad decisions along the way and whatnot.

Im still working out specifics (ive been slowly working on a lil private fic abt her and william meeting + their early relationship) but uhhh. Minor notes that dont get their own paragraphs is that William sampled her voice for Ballora so yay easy voice claim, she had an on and off relationship with her band's lead singer (her name's Bev), her birth name is actually Janice Schmidt but if you call her Janice she'll knock at least 2 of ur teeth out, she's a runaway teen and got adopted by this older couple bc her home life kinda sucked (idk specifics yet), and also girlie has an extensive criminal record of minor angsty teen type charges. Also teen Mike dying his hair and then 2020's Michael's hairstyle are both kinda references to Janet's hair because he wnated to look less like his father. Thats all ty. No read more bc you WILL look at my mrs afton post, boy /j

Actually no theres more that im remembering as i write the tags and edit a few details. Back to her and William because god im insane about them. So for starters it. Well i was gonna say Janet was def the first to flirt but i think William definitely developed a crush first and they only kept talking bc of said crush so its kinda up for debate. Anyways yeah at first it was a HUGE sorta like "Well he's funny especially when I fluster him so this can be just a fun lil thing" but because they chatted more they def kinda like. Clicked more. William was a huge fan of listening to her music (from. a distance. he looked kinda like a creep but at least janet only misinterpreted it once) but like *specifically* janet he didnt give a fucking shit abt the rest of the band. Uhh. They had their first run-in and janet kinda. Well. Punched him in the nose before he cleared up that he is NOT a pervert or anything weird like that (bc a guy that looks older than he is staring from a distance when there is a clear crowd he could join kinda gave janet the Wrong idea), then they later bumped into each other in the hall and chatted for a bit, then they kinda just kept "accidentally" running into one another. Uhhh. Some cigaerette-themed flirting and a house party later, yay dating :] can you tell where the current cut-off of the fic is /j Also idk how to put this down properly but they are both runaways and can kinda. Get that vibe from one another. Literally Michael is like some fucked up abomination of the both of them between the troubled past + weird situationship thing + runaway stuff + a lot of minor details that arent important rn. I just. Yeah Janet means the world to me go thru her tag on my blog for some art. Not all of my janet art is posted but the non-posted stuff is all concept work/doodles or just. Shit im too embarrassed to post lmao. Anyways NOW im done ty for reading

#scov.txt #janet afton #fnaf: hauntings of the past au #scov.ocs #it goes into the oc tag bc fuck you thats why #RRAUAGAH I AM. SO INSANE OVER HER #afton family and their weird gay situationships. aka will + henry and mike + jeremy and janet + bev #IK A LOT OF THIS ISNT EVEN ABT HER KIDS im so sorry #i dont have a lotta thoughts on evan and honestly i domt have a lot of family details figured out #like. everything is kinda just. general basics #plus also i dont wanna give janet too much focus on account of shes not. extremely important #she has her role to play in the au but theres far more influential characters yknow??#anyways for those of you who have read this far both w/ post and tags. i have one last thing to share #my gf and i have a spinoff au and she and henry are currently dating (both got divorced long in advance dw)#(like. several decades ago. bc this is ghost shenanigans in the sb era)#thats all ty and gn (<- not sleeping its just night where i am)

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slickshoesareyoucrazy · 2 months

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A little over a week ago I made a post here about sobbing crying because I couldn't text A when I was nervous, and everything was hard.

Well today I'm not crying, but I'm going to make another one about not being able to text him about good stuff. I'm just going to write what id have texted him here without context and exposition, so it won't mean anything to anyone but me here. But I want to tell someone, so here we go.

J and the Boy and I went to see D's daughter play basketball in the high school district tournament tonight. Holy shit, man, she's so good. She won the division 1 award for Ms. Hustle. I know that's not surprising really, because she's D's daughter and all but still. Awesome.

B was there too, and D's wife and both D's son and B's son. Our family sat in between D and B and we got commentary and play-by-play in stereo and it was hilarious. They played our old high school, and the head girls' coach now dressed up like he would be on TV for the NCAA tournament or something and D and B would not let it go. "Look at Coach over here, taking it serious with his vest and tie and his church shoes on." 😂😂😂😂😂

Our old high school's band straight up played Cherry Poppin' Daddies' Zoot Suit Riot. The whole song. Made me think about you big time. Swing at the high school game. If they start playing ska I'm gonna die. 😂😂😂

D's daughter's team was up 30 at halftime. They put the JV kids in the whole second half and still extended the lead. So of course then D and B were loud and vocal at the opposing coach to let the bench kids play. "Come on, Coach! Let 'em get a little court time. Rest the starters. At least let 'em take the workout shirts off!" (Dude, he didn't let the bench kids play even down 40+ with 2 minutes to go. WTF?!)

D's son stood up and applauded his sister until she was totally off the court and D and his wife both filmed him doing it. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️🥹 J and I told the Boy, "See? Every parent does it." The Boy said, "That still doesn't make me like it." 😂😂😂❤️

Tonight was a really good night, man. And I'm a little weepy about shit now but I'm not really sad. I'm just thinking that I literally had all of my most favorite people around me tonight except you. I wish you were there.

But you were sort of there, weren't you? Zoot Suit Riot? Really? 😂😂😂😂😂 That fucking song will be in my head all night now. (For real if a high school band plays Adam Ant's Goody Two Shoes or Reel Big Fish's Sell Out or a They Might Be Giants song with a bunch of horn in it at a game before this season is over, I'm just assuming that's definitely you at the game with us.)

Still miss you all the time. But tonight was good. So I'm telling you about it. ❤️

#personal #grief #still cried but I'm not sad #I'll always miss him but tonight was good

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zponds · 5 months

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Sailor Moon Sailor Stars and Sailor Moon Cosmos - The Sailor Starlights

Recently, I had a discussion with @sailormoonrewrite about the Sailor Starlights and I came to the realization; the Sailor Starlights are JERKS. Why, you ask? Well… for starters, Serena/Usagi was FORCED to go on a date with one of the three; Seiya, when Serena/Usagi obviously had a boyfriend she loved, and Seiya was obviously rude to Serena/Usagi. On top of that, the three starlights mocked Darien/Mamaoru when for all they know, he could be dead. Just thinking about that makes my stomach ache… BUT, with the whole idea of rewriting the classic Sailor Moon anime to make it more memorable and iconic, all that rudeness and forced dating and mocking Darien/Mamoru are COMPLETELY GONE.

Now this whole rewrite will make the Sailor Starlights look and feel much better as characters as they’ll go through a character arc though our Sailor Stars (season 5) that’ll make them warm up to the Sailor Guardians, the Sailor Quartet and Tuxedo Mask. But before I go over that, i wanna explain the starlights’ role in the manga.

In the manga, the Sailor Starlights appear and while Seiya develops a crush on Serena/Usagi, Seiya’s much less creepy about it and realizes that Seyia’s feelings are unrequited as Serena/Usagi already has a lover; Darien/Mamoru. The Starlights also find out that their leader; Princess Kakyuu is found out to be a sailor scout herself. There’s also a subplot where the Starlights are pretending to be Darien/Mamoru in order to warn Serena/Usagi about Sailor Galaxia and to prevent Serena/Usagi from having a complete metal breakdown over Darien/Mamoru’s death at the hands of Sailor Galaxia… and Galaxia eventually kills the Sailor Starlights as well.

Now with that explained, it’s time to go over the Starlights’ arc in the classic anime rewrite. Now as a quick side note, they’d still take the public identities of Kou Seiya Kou Taiki snd Kou Yaten and create the band “Nagareboshi He” in order to blend in and hide their true identities as beings from another world.

ARC part 1 (Sailor Moon Sailor Stars) - When the Sailor Starlights; Sailor Star Fighter, Sailor Star Maker and Sailor Star Healer first arrive on earth to search for their princess, Kakyuu, they’d act rude to the Sailor Guardians and Sailor Quartet at first. However, over the course of Sailor Stars (season 5), the three would start to slowly warm up to the Sailor Guardians and Sailor Quartet, being impressed by the Sailor Guardians’ and Sailor Quartet’s kindness and determination to protect the earth, and the Starlights even help the Sailor Guardians and Sailor Quartet fight the Sailor Animamates. Eventually, in the season 5 finale (episode 200 overall), the Starlights reveal that the reason they acted rude at first upon arriving on earth is because their home planet, Kinmoku, was destroyed by Sailor Galaxia. And the loss of their homes, friends, families and planet left severe trauma and psychological damage on the Starlights.

ARC part 2 (Sailor Moon Cosmos) - In Sailor Moon Cosmos (season 6), the Sailor Starlights would join Judan High School to further bond with the Sailor Guardians, even joining some of the clubs the Sailor Guardians are in. And near the end of season 6, Darien/Mamoru is killed by Sailor Galaxia and Serena/Usagi watches in horror. As a result, Serena/Usagi doesn’t know what’s real anymore. She has visions and even nightmares of Darien/Mamoru dying but is receiving letters from him. Serena/Usagi doesn’t know it, but the Sailor Starlights are pretending to be Darien/Mamoru by using their men disguises, and they’re doing this because they’re doing their best to make sure that Serena/Usagi doesn’t suffer the same amount of psychological damage that they did. Eventually when the ultimate final battle comes, the Sailor Starlights are the last to be killed by Sailor Galaxia after she kills the 9 Eternal Sailor Guardians, the Sailor Quartet, and Princess Kakyuu. But in the series finale (episode 250), after Sailor Chaos (Sailor Galaxia’s ultimate form) is defeated by Sailor Moon, with the help of Sailor Cosmos (Chibichibi’s ultimate form) the Sailor Starlights are revived alongside Tuxedo Mask/Darien/Mamoru, Princess Kakyuu, other 9 Sailor Guardians and the Sailor Quartet. With earth safe and Kinmoku being brought back thanks to Sailors Cosmos and Moon, the Sailor Starlights bid their friends farewell and head back to their home planet as shooting stars.

And that’s the whole arc for the Sailor Starlights for my classic Sailor Moon anime rewrite. And huge thanks to @sailormoonrewrite for helping me with this whole thing regarding the Sailor Starlights. And more posts going over other ideas and objectives I have in mind for my classic Sailor Moon anime rewrite will arrive soon, so stay tuned.

#bishoujo senshi sailor moon #pretty guardian sailor moon #sailor moon #sailor moon anime #sailor moon classic #sailor moon 90s #sailor star fighter #seiya kou #sailor star maker #taiki kou #sailor star healer #yaten kou #time travel #rewrite #sailor moon rewrite #sailor moon rewrite classic

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karmic-vibes · 2 years

Text

If I Can Dream

4 - Skies More Blue

cw: gender dysphoria

Year: 1985

Steve and Eden continued dating, much to the surprise of all the teens in Hawkins. Throughout their six months of being together, Steve had tried to move their relationship further, but Eden kept pushing it off. Steve was respectful and always listened to her, but he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t a little annoyed.

One afternoon, once Wayne had left for work for the night, Steve and Eden were making out on the bed. Steve was trying to undress his girlfriend, but she nervously pushed him off.

“Okay, okay, sorry, sorry…” he sighed. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Eden said. “Sorry…”

“No, it’s okay,” he lied.

“No, it’s clearly not. What’s going on?”

“It’s nothing, Ed, just drop it.”

“But, Steve–“

“I said it’s fine, Eddie. Please, just leave it alone.” Eden rolled her eyes before placing a kiss on Steve’s cheek and getting up from the bed. “Leaving me?” he teased.

“I have band practice, dingus, you know that.”

“I thought you said it was cancelled this week?”

“No, Steve, that was last week.”

“Oh… sorry…”

“It’s fine,” she huffed as she threw a sweatshirt on.

“Aren’t you gonna be hot in that? Well, hotter than you already are?”

“Nice.”

“Thank you,” he smiled proudly.

“I’ll be fine. If I get too hot I’ll simply take it off. Not the end of the world, Stevie.” Steve quietly giggled. “What?”

“Nothing, I just like it when you call me that.” He got up from the bed and wrapped his arms around Eden.

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah…” He kissed at her neck, making her quietly hum. Steve began to suck a mark into her collarbone, but she quickly shoved him away. “What now?”

“Dude, Wayne would kill me if I had a hickey.”

“No, honey, he would kill me.”

“Yeah, but then me.”

“He wouldn’t have the guts to kill you.”

“And why’s that?”

“Because, Eds, you’re absolutely and completely, utterly terrifying.”

“Don’t you forget it. I gotta go.” She kissed him on the cheek, grabbed her guitar and headed for the door.

“Uh, Eddie, wait!” She stopped in her tracks and raised a brow.

“Yeah?”

“I know it’s not really your thing, but do you wanna go to prom? O-Or at least consider going?”

“Yeah, Steve, I figured we were going anyway. No way in hell you’d ever let me live down missing prom.”

“Hey–“

“I’ll be at Gareth’s if you need me.” She kissed his soft lips one last time. “Bye.”

“Bye…”

While it was short notice, Eden still managed to get herself prom-ready. Despite Steve never properly asking her sooner, she always figured they were going regardless. After all, she wasn’t about to deprive the most popular guy in school of going to prom—that would just be cruel.

She was searching the thrift stores for weeks on end before she managed to find the perfect dress. It was a black, floor-length dress that hung off her shoulders with shear sleeves cuffing partway down her arm. The gown was A-line, ruffling near her shins all the way to the floor, showcasing the red ribbon detailing on each ruffle. On her own accord, she added a thick red ribbon around her waist as a makeshift belt, and to compliment the details on the lower part of the dress.

Eden had stolen some of Steve’s hair supplies, and over the coming weeks, learned how to properly maintain her hair. She took the time to section off her hair and tended to each ringlet that fell from her head. While she was tending to her curls, her bangs sat in curlers with the hopes to gain a little more volume.

Her make-up was simple, similar to the Snow Ball. She applied eyeliner, mascara, and blush, but instead of gloss, opted for a red lipstick. It wasn’t much, by any means, but it was enough for her. Regardless of what she did, she knew Steve would love it.

Before Eden stepped into her dress, she spent a grueling amount of time binding down her chest. Steve still didn’t know how she felt about herself, for several reasons. For starters, she wasn’t able to properly articulate everything or fully explain why she did some of the things she did (like binding down her breasts or withholding sex because she didn’t want him to see said bound chest). Then, on the other side of the coin, she thought he would leave her.

Eden couldn’t bear the thought of losing Steve, especially over something like this. While she couldn’t control her own thoughts and feelings, she could control what her boyfriend saw. As far as he was concerned, he’s dating Eden Munson—just a ditzy freak who likes to play Dungeons and Dragons and make music with her band. He didn’t need to knew she preferred being called Ed or Eddie, he didn’t need to know she bound her breasts, and he certainly didn’t need to know that she identified as a man.

Once she secured her bandage, she put on her dress, adjusting it accordingly so the Ace wrap wouldn’t show above the seam. She popped on a pair of red flats, clipped on all her jewelry, slid on all her rings. She was ready—as much as she despised staring at herself, she forced herself to be ready.

Around five, Steve pulled up in his car and let himself into the trailer. Wayne had just woken up from a nap and greeted the young boy at the door. Steve was holding the corsage box in his left hand and a bouquet of poppies in his right. Soon, Eden emerged from her room, bringing tears to Steve’s eyes.

“Wow…” he whispered. “How do you get more gorgeous every time I see you?”

“I could ask you the same,” Eden smiled, heading for the fridge to grab Steve’s boutonnière. “Hi, by the way.” She quickly pecked Steve on the lips before giggling and wiping off the lipstick residue. “For you, dingus.”

Eden retrieved the red rose from the clear box and pinned it to the lapel of Steve’s black tuxedo. Steve did the same with the matching rose, sliding it onto Eden’s wrist.

“Oh, and for you.” He handed her the bouquet, smiling fondly.

“Thanks, honey. Wayne, would you mind putting these in some water?”

“Not at all, E. Have fun tonight, you guys.”

“We will!”

“Harrington, back by–“

“Eleven, I know the drill.”

“Good. Have a great time. Stay safe!”

The two went to the dance, where it was more or less a repeat of the Snow Ball. Eden encouraged Steve to go with his friends, he said he wouldn’t dare do such a thing. Billy pestered Eden, just to get under Steve’s skin. And the lovely couple only danced to the slow song of the evening: Love Me Tender, by Elvis Presley.

Steve held his date close as Eden’s cheek was (willingly) smushed against Steve’s chest. Eden’s arms were linked under Steve’s, forcing him to stay close to her. Steve’s eyes were closed as he rested his head atop of his girlfriend’s, smiling into her hair. The world melted around them, as it always did when they were together.

That night, when Steve drove Eden home, he followed her inside where the two began making out on Eden’s bed (a regular occurrence for the past few months). While Wayne said he wanted them home by a certain time, he knew he would be out at work by the time they got home. He trusted Steve that he’d get his niece back on time—he had never given him a reason not to.

Steve had thrown his jacket to the wind as he hovered over Eden, hands resting on her hips. Her hands were laced in his hair, hips on either side of him. Steve pulled her closer, hand snaking under her dress, slowly traveling up her thigh. In a panic, Eden pushed him off and sat up on the bed.

“Is it me?” Steve spat.

“What?”

“Is it me?”

“Is what you?”

“Why won’t you sleep with me, Ed? Huh? Are you worried that I’ll give you something? Genuinely, what is it?”

“No, that’s not it at all.”

“Then what is it?”

“It’s me, Stevie. Okay? It’s me, I’m the problem.”

“How on earth would you be the problem? You’re perfect, Eds.”

“I’m far from it, Steve.”

“What?”

Eden’s eyes began to tear up. She bit the insides of her cheeks as she refused to make eye contact with her boyfriend.

“Do you ever feel like… like you’re not yourself?”

“I used to.”

“How?”

“I don’t know, I just felt like I was hanging out with the wrong people. Being someone I wasn’t, y’know?” Eden slowly nodded. “Why do you ask?”

“I don’t…” She let out a frustrated huff before wiping her tears away. “I don’t feel like I belong in this body, Stevie. I don’t feel like I’m myself.”

“Are you okay? Did you take something when I wasn’t looking?” He placed the back of his hand to her forehead, quickly being swat away by Eden.

“No, I didn’t take anything, idiot…”

“Then why do you not feel like you’re in your own body?” Eden gently tilted her head at the naïve boy, eyes soft and glassy.

“Steve…” She barely croaked out, moving down the neckline of her dress, revealing her bandages.

“Oh…” His eyes widened.

“Oh…” She adjusted her dress and wiped her damp cheeks.

“Come here.” He had her stand up, turn around, and began unzipping her dress.

“Steve, what on earth– did you even hear what I said?”

“Yeah, I did. Slide your dress off.”

“What? No.”

“You need to take the wrap off… it’s cutting into you… let me help.”

“Steve–“

“Ed, for Christ’s sake, let me help you get this shit off.”

“You don’t… you don’t care that I’m not a girl?”

“Why would I care? I love you and I just want you to be happy.”

“You love me?” Eden turned around to face her boyfriend in disbelief.

“Duh. Spin, come on.”

“You-You don’t wanna break up with me?”

“God, no.” He unraveled the stretched out material and threw it to the ground, carefully averting his eyes from Eden’s chest. “Ed, if this is why you didn’t sleep with me, you could’ve just told me.”

“It’s not exactly an easy thing to tell people, Steve.” She had thrown on one of Steve’s basketball shirts he had left behind ages ago.

“You look sexy in my shirt,” Steve said, trying to lighten the mood. “And thanks for trusting me enough to tell me…”

“Thanks.” Eden rolled her eyes before involuntarily chuckling.

“So, Ed…” Steve stepped closer and rested his hands on her waist.

“Steven?”

“Since you aren’t a girl… what should I call you?”

“I like Ed and Eddie…”

“And how should I introduce you?” Eddie pursed his lips, knowing exactly what his boyfriend was getting at, knowing what he wanted him to say.

“However you want to introduce me, big boy,” he replied, pushing Steve’s buttons.

“Oh? Big boy? How would you know?” he teased.

“I’ve heard things, Harrington.”

“Good things?”

“Oh, very good things.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah… you know, you should show me, sometime. For scientific purposes. I need to confirm or den–hey!” He chuckled as Steve playfully tackled him onto the bed. The two began sloppily kissing in between giggles.

“I’ve been trying–“ Kiss. “To show you–“ Kiss. “For the past–“ Kiss. “Six months, stupid.” Kiss.

“Pardon me–“ Kiss. “For not wanting–“ Kiss. “To get attached–“ Kiss. “To someone who might leave me.” Kiss.

“Leave you?” Steve sat up. “Why would I leave you?”

“Because I’m a dude? Keep up, Stevie.”

“Oh, wait, you were serious about that? About me breaking up with you?”

“Uh, yeah?”

“You didn’t… you didn’t know I’m bi?”

“How on earth would I know that?”

“I don’t know, I-I thought it was obvious!”

“Well it’s not!”

“Okay, well, regardless, can we fuck, or are you gonna hold out until we’re married?”

“Married? Hmm, I like the sound of that, Harrington.”

“Munson–“

“Jesus Christ, Steve, yes! Trust me, it’s been killing me as much as it’s been killing you!”

“Oh, thank god.”

#eddie munson #eddie st4 #eddie stranger things #gay #st4 #steddie #steve harrington #steve x eddie #stranger things #lgbt pride #lgbtq #pride #trans eddie munson #transgender

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