#but i offer this little doodle of my child
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OOC.
last eri doodle from the vault hehe, i'll post more after my exam ;;w;;; excuse the watermark for my other acc
I just rlly like how i did his hair for this one !!! for hsr au 🥹🥹
#♡. 「 ooc . my art 」#♡. 「 ooc 」#muse (1): eri hiiragi.#no i don't have a fave muse because#i gave birth to eri myself#he is my child and therefore naturally#i dote on him like this#JBERHJFHJEBRFBHJERF#i know it is very constant by now#but i offer this little doodle of my child
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5 Tips for Building a Sustainable Writing Practice
Every year, we’re lucky to have great sponsors for our nonprofit events. First Draft Pro, a 2023 Camp NaNoWriMo sponsor, is a great writing app—whether you’re writing solo or with a co-author. Here are a few tips for building a sustainable writing practice, brought to you by author Ariana Brown and First Draft Pro.
We’ve all heard the advice to “write every day,” as if it were that easy! Translation: suck it up, no one cares if you’re tired. But what if there was another way to get writing done, without being unkind to yourself?
Hi, I’m Ariana Brown, and I teach writers how to create a writing practice that is sustainable, flexible, and fulfilling. Most of my students are chronically ill, disabled, neurodivergent, or simply exhausted from the daily stresses of life. I know writing isn’t your only responsibility—capitalism makes sure of that! But I strongly believe that writing should be an enjoyable activity you look forward to.
Below I’ve compiled my top tips for exhausted writers who want to be kinder to themselves—and still get the work done.
1. Add pleasure to your writing routine.
Sensory pleasures are neither frivolous nor are they only for children. They’re a crucial part of being alive! They give us something to look forward to when times are tough and we need motivation. Candles, soft blankets, cold beverages, mood lighting, dance breaks, yummy treats—whatever you choose, make sure it’s something you love. Paint your nails a fun color so you have something beautiful to look at while you’re typing away. Make a playlist of your favorite songs and after you finish a chapter, blast one song so loudly you have to get up and dance. Then, get back to writing. Remember, even for the most focused among us, pleasure is a better motivator than shame.
2. Be clear about your intentions.
What brought you to writing in the first place? For some, it was the ability to escape into our imaginations. For others, it was the chance to finally express what we’d been holding inside. Identify your reason for writing, then ask yourself: Am I still enjoying this? Do I still feel connected to my reason for writing? If not, explore how you can strengthen your connection to your inner child’s reason for writing.
3. Work with your brain, not against it.
If we know that everyone’s brain works differently, why do we force strict discipline and linear processes on ourselves? My advice: find or create a writing process that works for you. Maybe you love outlines; maybe you prefer to see where the words take you. Either way, make space for wandering, play, and discovery as you write. Take brain breaks. Doodle, map, dance, and draw when you get distracted. Body double with other writers, try new exercises and prompts to make the writing sing, and take plenty of breaks to stretch your body and talk to friends. We come to writing with our whole selves. Listen to your body, don’t shut it off.
4. Find a writing community.
You don’t have to wait for a community to come to you! I offer co-writing sessions on Zoom four times a month for my Patreon supporters, but do what works for you. Attend local open mics as an audience member and cheer on your peers. Invite your best friends to your living room once a month for a two hour writing/crafting session. Or check your local library and bookstores for free workshops and author events. You don’t have to do this work alone.
5. Develop a gratitude practice.
Finishing your draft is a huge accomplishment, but it’s not the only milestone to be celebrated. Consider creating opportunities to thank yourself throughout your writing practice. You’re doing an amazing and difficult thing. The fact that you keep showing up is worthy of celebration. Whether you decide to journal, rest, pray, meditate, or reward yourself, a little gratitude goes a long way.
Ariana Brown is a queer writer from San Antonio, TX, based in Houston. She is the author of We Are Owed (Grieveland, 2021) and Sana Sana (Game Over Books, 2020), and a national collegiate poetry slam champion. Ariana holds an MFA in Poetry, MS in Library and Information Science, and a BA in African Diaspora Studies and Mexican American Studies. She has been writing, teaching, and performing for over a decade. Follow her online @ArianaThePoet and www.arianabrown.com.
#nanowrimo#writing advice#executive dysfunction#neurodivergent writers#disabled writers#by nano sponsor#first draft pro#ariana brown
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Drawings
summary: You buy Grogu art supplies.
word count: 678
tags: pure fluff, gn!reader, crayons exist in the sw universe bc i said so
a/n: part of my 500 words a day series. the letter is D for drawings!
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
The brand-new Nevarro marketplace was bustling with vibrant life. You swept through the crowd with Grogu in your arms, looking for things that would brighten up your new home. On your way to the florist, a smaller stall filled with art supplies caught your eye.
After being on the run for so long, it would be nice for Grogu to get to be a child for once and do normal childlike activities. You and Din already enrolled him in the local school and the supplies would be useful as well. You looked over the many different mediums laid out on the table.
“Do you want to try watercolors or crayons, Grogu? Or maybe acrylics?” You tapped your chin. His babble did not offer much help for your indecision, but you came to a decision soon enough.
—
“I’m home!” You announced, balancing a bouquet of red and yellow flowers in one arm along with a bag filled to the brim with half the art supply stall and Grogu in the other. You made your way to the kitchen and set him down on his high chair.
Din appeared from the bedroom, helmet-free, and rushed to take the overflowing flowers from you. “I could have helped you carry all this.”
“We could handle it.” You turned to Grogu, setting down the bag of art supplies in front of him. “Right, sweetheart?”
“What are these?” Din peeked inside the bag and pulled out a pan of watercolors. He inspected the box as if he’d never seen them before. You supposed being brought up under the Creed and being a bounty hunter most of his life didn’t allow time for leisurely activities like coloring. Maybe arts and crafts would be good for both boys.
“For Grogu, figured it’d be a nice little hobby for him.” You took out the stack of papers you bought and the rest of the supplies, laying it all out on the table for Grogu to choose from. He grabbed for a silver marker, fumbling with it a bit, teething on the cap. You helped him uncap it and drew a simple circle. “See? You can draw with it.”
When you placed the marker back in his hand, he recreated your circle, a bit lopsided and wobbly. You clapped your hands and cheered, “Perfect! Good job, bug.”
He let out a cheerful giggle and continued dragging the marker across the page in random directions.
Din chuckled. “He’ll be an artist in no time.”
The two of you got to work preparing dinner, leaving Grogu to continue drawing at the table. You would occasionally glance back at his artwork, seeing the new colors he was using and attempting to decipher what he was drawing. Din guessed it was a mountain and you chose a tree.
By the time you were setting the table, he’d gone through several sheets of paper, filled with various scribbles and colors.
You plucked the marker from his hand and shook your head when he whined. “You’ll get to draw after dinner.”
Neither of you would have imagined the monster you created by giving him art supplies. He drew day and night, changing mediums and improving by the day. You and Din would sit and draw with him whenever you were free, praising each abstract doodle and painting. But, his paper supply was running thin and you were planning to take a trip to the market again.
“Hey!”
You poked your head into the living room to find Din crouched by the front door, running his finger across a blob of green marker colored onto the wall. As you approached, you realized it was not just a blob, but a head with two long ears sticking out. On either side of the head was another drawing that looked suspiciously like Din’s helmet and your face.
“A family portrait?” You mused, a proud smile forming on your lips as you crouched beside the two. You picked up a red marker and uncapped it to draw a large heart around the three heads.
“Hm,” Din hummed, “Perfect.”
#din djarin x reader#din djarin x you#the mandalorian fluff#the mandalorian fanfic#the mandalorian fanfiction#the mandalorian#my works
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☾ PERFECT PLAN ? ; PARK GUNWOOK
gunwook masterlist / zb1 masterlist ; wc 0.76k
➛ genre / trope ; shy cofident ➛ warnings ; cursing , mentions of food
“ PLEASE. “
“ no. “
“ PRETTY PLEASE ? “
“ no. “
yuqi shook your arm back and forth using her whiny baby voice while you gave her a judgemental yet unimpressed look.
she pouted , letting out a small puff of frustration as she laid her head on your shoulder.
“ i’m not that mean , plus i’m waiting for him to make the first move. “
“ yeah by the time he does we’d might as well marry each other and have kids. “
you looked down at her , “ i’m down. “
the bell rung. the end of recess.
yuqi chuckled sitting back up straight and putting both of her hands on your shoulders , giving you her best serious face that she could muster up.
although that just made her look like an angry cat.
“ my dear child , i might separate from you once again to enter the gates of hell which you may know as chemistry. i trust thou will know what to do when the time comes. “
yuqi gave your shoulder a firm hard pat before picking up her things and leaving your classroom with a ‘ cya ‘
“ … what the fuck yuqi. “
after she left it got you thinking… should you carry out this elaborate yet stupid plan.
both you and yuqi were aware that the class president , and seat-mate , gunwook had a massive crush on you.
to be fair , he wasn’t very good at hiding it.
it started from casual talk when you became seat-mates then texting , passing notes and cute doodles during class , copying his homework , him borrowing your items , you borrowing his jacket to sleep on. [ he tried to discourage you from this activity but he couldn’t help but take this chance to admire your features as you slept. ]
overtime you noticed the small little details such as him blushing whenever you accidentally brushed fingers or the frequent glances he’d give you.
this was confirmed when another one of your friends , gyuvin , asked gunwook in which he went on a full tangent on his small [ big ] crush on you.
you easily fell for the class president too , just that you were way better that hiding it.
after weighing the pros and cons you decided to go through with the plan , after-all the worse thing that could happen is embarrassing yourself and having to drop out of school to not show your face in school again.
plan recap : ask who is crush is , he wouldn’t say who it is , you reveal it , confess and he confesses and boom. easy.
you took a deep breath mentally preparing yourself for the incoming events. which just on queue , the wooden doors slid open revealing the man himself.
“ hey ! you didn’t go to the cafeteria today soo i got you a small snack. “
gunwook pulled out a egg and mayo sandwich , offering it to you.
you smiled thanking him placing the sandwich on your desk.
“ also i have to ask you something. “
“ yeah ? “
“ do you have a crush ? “
you saw his eyes slightly widen and the way his shoulders tensed up a bit. a small blush coated his puffy cheeks and he started fiddling with his fingers.
‘ he’s more shy than i’d thought he’d be ‘ you thought , fighting the urge to giggle.
“ yeah , its you. “
gunwook looked at you with a sudden surge of confidence , he maintained eye contact his body now leaned back onto the chair with his arms crossed. [ although the blush still remains on his face ]
that.. did not go according to plan.
“ wait wait do you not feel the same way ? oh shit i’m so sorry ! gyuvin told me to just say it whenever the day comes but like oh my god why did i listen to the guy ?! “
“ no ! i… do feel the same way it’s just , wow , i didn’t expect you to be so straightforward. “
his face instantly relaxed as he let out a few embarrassed yet amused chuckles.
“ so… you like me too ? “ he asked all smily and giggly seemingly unable to revert back to a resting face.
“ was it not obvious ? actually yours was way obvious. “
“ no it wasn’t , i hid it well. “
“ oh please the whole school probably knew “
the playful banter continued and underneath the tables his hands reached for yours , intertwining them in a perfect fit.
“ OH MY GOD LOOK GYUVIN THEY’RE HOLDING HANDS ! THEY’RE— “
“ JESUS SHUT UP YUQI THE HALLWAY ISN’T SOUNDPROOF. “
“ SHUT UP LET ME HAVE MY MOMENT. “
“ ITS THEIR MOMENT ? YOU’RE JUST CREEPILY STARING AT THEM FROM THE WINDOW. “
“ YOU’RE DOING THE SAME ? “
divider by @animatedglittergraphics-n-more
©️ yrthr 2023
#zb1#zb1 fluff#zb1 drabbles#zb1 imagines#zb1 x reader#zb1 scenarios#zb1 fics#zerobaseone imagines#zerobaseone x reader#zerobaseone#boys planet imagines#boys planet scenarios#park gunwook#zerobaseone gunwook#gunwook imagines#kim gyuvin#zb1 reactions#zb1work
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The Sea Prince; Hunting Party announcement!
okay maybe this isn’t the oneshot I promised but it’s gonna be good I promise-
SO! As of recent, I finished up the revised outline to The Sea Prince’s act one, named Hunting Party! The plot has a lot more going on and I’m in love with this story so much more. This means sooner or later the prologue will come out! As soon as it does, we’ll come to the next important thing;
Beta readers!
Preferably, I’d want three! I have one already, so two more would be great!
What do beta readers do?
They help give feedback and act as a sort of test audience! I’ll need it with all the things packed into this storyline ehehe. There’s a lot in store! I’d want to make sure I’m giving off the right impression with my writing and the like.
I will give the summary of The Sea Prince (and Act One!) under the cut, and as a treat, here is a doodle I’ve made of Act Two Scott and Martyn, they get little changes in their designs <3
There’s one doodle under the cut that has blood (it isn’t red, but blood is blood!) so here’s your warning for it!
THE SEA PRINCE.
In a world full of deadly, man-eating sea monsters there are specialized teams of people who’s job and legacy is to eradicate the horrors of the deep. Monster hunters, hunters for short, are funded by guilds to personal employers to seek out the dangerous beasts and let the sea live in a peaceful, monster-free environment for the animals and humans to thrive.
A notorious hunter group, the Canaries, are led by brothers Joel and Grian Solidarity and are personally funded by His Royal Majesty as one of the best hunters the kingdom has to offer. Such luxuries give them the access to powerful weapons and a rivalry with the best naval commanders, known as TIES. These two groups are summoned to a meeting as the King sends them on their most daring commission yet; find and capture a sea prince.
Sea Princes are, by nature, mythological. They don’t exist. They’re hunter stories meant to scare children and keep the population from wanting to explore the seas, if not for the very real monsters that infest the waters. Capturing one, not to mention proving they exist would be a challenge. This is the King they were working under though, and if he says to find a sea prince and capture it, they’ll do it. Besides, if they were able to, they would be put down in the history books.
Martyn always believed they existed. A child born from hunters, stories about their bloody past and murderous rage haunts and excites him. From the god-like treasure they hide underneath the waves to the feuding war against the mermaids, he’s made it his goal to kill a sea prince. It’s what he wants the most after all.
Well. There was also Scott.
Scott Major is a beautiful man who works in a tavern, never in his life has he been out to sea. Martyn swears to him that once his life goal is complete, he’ll stay. The call of the sea is somehow always there, as if it was right in front of him. Martyn risks his life every single moment he boards the ship, but he always comes back in one piece. He has to.
He can’t risk losing Scott too.
ACT ONE: HUNTING PARTY.
Being sent on a mission to capture a sea prince, the Canaries and TIES form a bet; whoever finds evidence of a prince first can lead the mission. Agreeing under pride, they set out. Martyn has his heart set on fulfilling his dream, but it doesn’t look like Scott is too thrilled with the idea. He’ll understand.
What the hunters don’t know is that their goal charters out of their control and they are forced to seek refuge on an island everyone believes to be cursed. The Scarlet Witch haunts the isle, and every hunting ship that enters will never exit.
They’ll be the first to prove that wrong.
Elements/ general themes the story will contain;
- Nightmares
- Sea horror (monsters attacking ships, fear of the ocean, those types of things)
- fights and injuries (they bleed!)
- character death
- slow burn. really slow burn but a lot of flirting and sweet moments between the two
- worldbuilding
- found family
- there’s likely more to which I’ll add unto!
This story has become a very big passion of mine and I’d love to be able to tell this with the most clarity and enjoyment I can provide! If you’re interested in becoming a beta, I’d like you to comment under the post or reblog it to why you’d want to beta read it and the like :D it’s not a first come first serve basis and it will be open until I finish the prologue, which is in about a week or two from now. Goodluck in applying! I and @mewhoismyself are going to look through what you guys got, but no pressure, seriously! <3
With the beta readers and synopsis out of the way, here’s some sneak peeks to the next batch of designs along with some sketches I made for Act One! I wonder if you can figure out the context behind those words ;)
Just some minor changes with Martyn and Scott! Scott’s hair is more red tinted and darker so he’s more ginger, while Martyn is more clean-shaven! Maybe he has some stubble the next time I sketch him, but he looks more youthful here! I also realize that these are all the winners, but it does make sense with how important they are to the story :0!
Now, unto the designs! Can you guess who’s who?
Super excited to finish this batch and work on their lore; I’ll finish this before the prologue!
And that’s all i got for now, I hope you’re all just as excited as I am as the project gets to come to life after all these months. Act One is coming soon!
#the sea prince au#limited life#limited life smp#life smp#life series#trafficblr#traffic series#scott smajor#smajor1995#smajor fanart#dangthatsalongname#martyn inthelittlewood#martyn itlw#inthelittlewood#majorwood#mean gills#coral kids#pearlescentmoon#grian
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It had been a year.
Though part of her suspected it had been longer. It felt like an eternity.
Sometimes she felt like the only peace she could truly find anymore were these night walks with her son.
He'd been born a few months before it happened. Yet he didn't understand a thing, of course. He was merely a child.
One who tugged now on her wrist, with a distressed whine as he looks over his shoulder, brows furrowed.
"Stain? What's wrong?" She turns her head to look down at him in concern. She knew her son was extremely prone to having sudden rushes of anxiety. She'd hoped the soothe bell around his neck would improve it, but it had only lessened a small amount.
"Scarf!" Once the word escaped him, Pigment had never turned as fast. Looking back on it, she's not sure why. Perhaps part of her hoped her father remained out there. But she knew the answer all too well.
It had been a year.
Fate was a despicable thing, taking her father. She'd thought maybe she'd stop having hope that he'd come back. She knew he was gone. And she knew she wouldn't see anything as she turned around.
"Stain, there's nothing there. You needn't worry." She tries to comfort him but the young Mewtwo doesn't take his eyes off the tree. Her frown depends.
She gives his hand a gentle squeeze, but he still doesn't avert his gaze, instead beginning to wave one of his arms, his legs beginning to bounce as he rocked on his feet. "There! There!" He squeaked out, scrambling to hide behind her hip. Pigment breathes out.
"I'll check, okay? Just to be sure." She offers. Stain looks up at her, his eyes wide before his chin lowers in the tiny symbol of a nod. Releasing his hand lightly, she glides herself closer to the tree, peering her head around it.
"I told you, nothing's there."
And nothing was. She wasn't sure why he'd been so panicked. He's rather skittish, but still, not enough to be startled by well..air. She decides to come to the conclusion that perhaps he saw some sort of other 'mon on its night route.
"Ma! Saw Scarf!" He's waving both hands now, his fur spiked as he looks around with nervous glances. A strange detail to keep bringing up. Her heart sinks as her own mind recalls a scarf, her hand drifting up to clasp at the bandana over her shoulders.
A swift shake of her head as she leans down and lifts Stain into her arms, tucking his head against her chest.
"It's alright. I'll protect you."
And so, a hum emerges from her. A tune that once it reaches Stain, it causes his eyelids to flutter downwards, a tiny yawn escaping him as his trembling slowly starts to cease.
Perhaps she should've checked behind the tree twice.
A shadow looms there now, his eyes narrowed as his fingers grip the fabric he wears. The blue was now much darker. His fingers now claws.
He'd changed after death, he'd noticed. So had the world, it appeared. After all, it had been a year.
How foolish of he to think it could all stay the same.
_______
End.
Woop that was a long one. I came up with this during school.
I'd had the general idea for a while after seeing some of Tc's asks about what if Scarfy died and decided to do a little something.
My backgrounds aren't top tier but the flowers in the front are Forget-me-nots.
For clarification: this isn't supposed to be bashing on these characters for not recovering in a year after Scarfy's death. It's meant to show that grief lasts a long time. And sometimes it takes time to completely settle. Pigment is still sort of coming to terms with it, part of her struggling to believe he's truly gone.
These characters belong to @xxtc-96xx !!
Also, in this, I made the choice that after a Pokemon dies, they become y'know a ghost. Or in Scarfy's case, a ghost fusion. He became a Haunter fusion since Pig technically has Gengar blood and I'm pretty sure Stains would-be fusion is a Gastly.
I might do more doodles and such about this, but here's the first! I genuinely really like this idea and may or may not have gotten some inspiration from Ghosting by Mother Mother.
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(Yes I'm reusing this image too busy to doodle a new one :''( life has been super crazy as of late )
Second Vol in The Assistant series: In the arms of a Devil
Rated: E
F/M Cardinal Copia x F!Reader
Papa Emeritus IV x F!Reader
Also read it on my Ao3 here
Previous Vol. : The Assistant
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5
Part 6: Scent
Your patience was nearing its end as you stood by the window looking over the ministries garden watching your fellow siblings of sin some tending to the gardens, some sitting below the few trees that offered an abundance of shade, the weather had decided to act right for once and allowed everyone a day outside, you however, decided to stay indoors.
As much as you tried to convince yourself that things were okie dokie they weren't, you missed Copia like hell and your chest ached from it, well it was either that or allergies or perhaps both. You've considered talking to Gemma, the only Prime mover you knew of who had been with her Papa during his touring era.
Each time you went to talk to her you gave yourself excuses not to bother her those excuses now becoming ridiculous.
With everyone outside enjoying the sunny day the Abbey was quiet so you chose to sit in the cafeteria once the walls of your dorm room started to get to you feeling as if they were closing in. Sitting down at one of the many tables with a muffin you had gotten from the kitchen, picking little pieces off of it like an overgrown crab.
Sweet Satan, you felt weird, you never thought you could miss someone this much you didn't even miss Secondo this much when he was out of the office for a long period of time... pausing you frowned, with all that had happened that sounded pretty harsh, being lost in thought you plucked another piece of the muffin popping it into your mouth followed by another.
"Child what's got you down in the dumps?."
The sudden voice made you jump looking up to see Sister Twist looking down at you her hands on her hips concern written all over her face.
"Satanas, Twist don't spook me like that." The redhead only shrugged before sitting in the chair across from you the thing giving a slight whine.
"I forgot how cheesy these things were, you'd think with how much Imperator bitches about the budget and cash there would be a stockpile for new cafeteria chairs at least, things look like they're from the fuckin sixties" Twist snickered however when she didn't hear you join in either laughing or ragging on Imperator she knew something was on your mind.
"Hey." Twist snapped her fingers a few times getting your attention.
"Talk to me, what's eating at you, and don't say nothing 'cause momma Twist knows."
You rolled your eyes before answering.
"Just with the tour and all and.." You trailed off looking for the right words.
"You miss your man". Your cheeks turned a light shade of red nodding adverting your eyes from the older sister of sin.
"You miss Copia and you feel weird for missing him so much because you've never missed or depended on someone else who wasn't blood-related that and you feel like your heart is being ripped out through your rib cage." You opened your mouth to speak however Twist held up her hand silencing you.
"And even though you still talk to him on the phone or text it feels like it's not enough and yadda yadda." You stayed silent staring at her before uttering a little 'fuck you' which made the older sibling laugh.
"There's nothing wrong with feeling this way, it's natural to feel this way when you miss someone you love."
Love, you did love him right?, you remembered the day you told Secondo that you loved him back when he declared his love for you the thought put an uneasy pit in your stomach which caused you to push the muffin aside, why were you even asking yourself this?, you just had teenage phone sex last night with the man. You felt a hand rest on your shoulder Twist wore a kind smile.
"You'll know the answer when he comes back, sweetie." You smiled and rested your hand above hers the moment was short-lived as Lenti came running into the cafeteria.
"Twist! Omega, Divine, Alpha, and Terzo are fucking in the music room again!."
"Oh for the love of sweet Satan, those fuckers are gonna get a boot up their ass."
"Careful they might like that." You chimed in as Twist pushed the chair in heading to the music room complaining the entire way, the last time those four got into it in the music room Pebble's drumset was a casualty and Sister Imperator was furious about having to buy a whole new set for the ghoul. The sound of something hitting the floor and the yelling of Imperator's voice pulled you from your thoughts.
"You daft idiots!, Be careful with this equipment it's very important and very expensive!." Getting up from your seat you wandered over to the door seeing that the ghouls were moving a bunch of medical equipment, was someone sick?
"Sister?." you asked stepping from the cafeteria, Imperator turned quickly to face you a smile coming to her face her demeanor changing quickly.
"Hello dear."
"What's all this?."
"It is for Papa Nihil when he gets back from tour with Cardi, don't you worry about it I have everything under control" She offered the fakest of smiles before following the ghouls walking away her red heels clicking and clacking on the floor.
The 'short time apart' felt more like years apart the only good thing that happened in your opinion was that Sister Imperator had given you the option of going back to your old dorm room or staying in the current one alongside Copia given the fact that you two were an item, you of course chose to stay in the shared room one because you did not feel like packing everything up and two once Copia got back you were going to stick to him like glue.
Your day off finally came, the day when you could just lay around your dorm room and not have to worry about anything other than flopping your face into Copia's pillow and breathing in the fleeting scent you hadn't even bothered to change out of your pajamas.
Rolling over in bed you went face-first into the soft depths of your Cardinal's pillow breathing in-- it was then that you realized that his scent was gone from the fabric, you started to think, what could you do? you needed his scent you needed to feel as if he was there, the worry was starting to set in, and then it hit you.. but were you that desperate?
.....Yes, yes you were...
Scooting closer to the edge of his side of the bed you opened the nightstand digging around in the drawer. Sometimes the lack of organization of his personal items got to you and made you want to shake him but on the other hand, it also gave you things to do. While you were on your search you looked at some of the things he had tucked away in there.
A list of numbers, a few unopened juice boxes, several pens, pictures, loose change, and receipts however it wasn't just any receipts they were from the couple nights you and him half-assedly eloped there was even one from the gas station. A smile had worked its way to your face as you looked over each one recounting each item there was also a list there in his scratchy handwriting of things you liked and didn't like, your smile only grew wider as your fingers slid over the indented paper following the pen marks the Chinese menu you both had ordered from.
You remembered when you accidentally launched a shrimp at the television screen that night, the memory earned a quiet laugh, putting the items back you were on the move again until your searching fingers finally found what you were looking for.
Closing the nightstand's drawer you sat up holding a bottle, it was Copia's cologne your thumb ran over the elegant lettering feeling the different textures on the label, after mentally telling yourself how crazy and weird you were several small sprays were sprayed onto his pillow and one on yourself.
The bottle was placed back inside the nightstand drawer, and the pillow now damp with the scent was turned over the damp side against the bed sheet once again you flopped face-first into it this time being hit with the strong scent of your man. You felt your whole body tingle and warm up as soon as you breathed in his scent your skin prickling with goosebumps, it made you giddy picturing Copia there with you tangled up in the blankets enjoying your time together.
It was weird sometimes, how a simple scent could make a body heat up, your thighs squeezed together dulling the throb that started as soon as his scent filled your nostrils, your mind thinking about those hands of his and the way they felt when he slid them along your body and gripped your soft flesh the smooth of the leather.
Your hand has started to trace the patterns on your body picturing that they were his fingers, his palms, and you were a willing victim under his expert touches, your Cardinals name was whispered past your lips as your fingertips came to the swell of your pussy lips.
You could picture him there staring down at you, kissing you his fingers teasing you driving you wild, his tongue swirling with yours in the timeless dance of love. You were about to sink your fingers inside of yourself when there was a knock at the door making you halt your actions and look up.
Rolling your eyes you stayed quiet maybe if you didn't make a sound whoever it was would just go away thinking that you weren't home, you thought it had worked but there the knocking was again, flopping your pillow over your face you groaned into it before getting up washing your hands and answering the door. Unlocking the handle and deadbolt you opened the door being face to face with Sister Imperator once again at this point you almost swore this woman was stalking you.
"Sister?." You asked doing your best not to sound annoyed.
"Evening, I have some-- unfortunate news for you."
--------------------------------------------
TAG LIST: Please message me if you would like to be added to the tag list!
@thesoundresoundsecho @xpapaemeritus @copiasprincipessa @siouxbauhaus
#the band ghost#ghost#copia#cardinal copia#ghostau#papa emeritus iv#Cardinal Copia x F!Reader#cardinal copia x reader#papa emeritus 4#papa emeritus iv x reader#Papa Emeritus x F!reader#sister imperator#sister twist#Divine ghoulette#ghoulette oc#ghouls#nameless ghouls#ghost ghouls#unmasked ghouls
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Doodle Pants// Dabihawks childhood au featuring. Mama Rei
Every day, Touya came home with his uniform an absolute mess. Shirt untucked and wrinkled, pant legs dirty up to the knees and ripped, and the sweater missing for the third time in a row that month. Touya’s disheveled appearance was usually followed by a phone call from his teacher about another fight he got into with one of his classmates, which earned him a scolding from his father.
Every day, Rei would remind her oldest son that if he wanted to avoid his father’s anger, he should stop getting into fights and be more careful when playing outside, but every day was more or less the same and the calls started to come even before Touya did, and despite every parent-teacher conference, every trip to apologize to the parents of the child that got the shit kicked out of them, every parenting book, bribery – Touya still came home a mess and with another pink slip in his hand to give to his parents.
That was until one day.
Rei had already felt that something was missing from her daily routine until she heard the front door pop open and Touya announced his arrival.
“I’m home!”
Rei took a breath, bracing herself for whatever state her son had come home in and the inevitable demerit that came with it. She floated from the kitchen to the front room, a gentle smile playing across her face.
“Welcome home, Touya–”
She stopped, brows arching in surprise.
Touya had an ear-to-ear grin stretched across his face. The only thing in his hands were the straps of his book bag, but that wasn’t what caught Rei off guard. Touya’s uniform was covered from collar to cuff with multi-colored pen doodles. They were shaky and ranged from flowers to what she could only assume were clouds and stars.
She stifled a giggle. “Well, you sure are colorful today!”
“Yup,” Touya replied, already starting to head for the kitchen.
“Can I ask what the occasion is?”
Touya stopped. He turned his head to glance at his mom and he shrugged. “Was just bored.”
He turned his head back around and walked right into the kitchen, the conversation clearly being over on Touya’s end.
Rei didn’t receive a phone call that day.
From that day on, Touya came home covered in doodles. Enji still wasn’t happy about the overall state of most of his clothes, but Rei reminded him that it was better to power wash them every few days rather than buy him an entire new wardrobe like they used to do. The calls became few and far between, the pink slips disappeared into thin air, and Touya had an overall happier demeanor when he came back from school in the afternoon.
Rei was glad that her son – and by extension, his father – was seemingly in better spirits, though she couldn’t help but wonder who was really drawing Touya every day. Her son was no contortionist. His arms could not reach behind his back far enough for the doodles around his shoulder blades and the center of his back.
The doodles were also quite shaky– shakier than Touya's own handwriting. But Touya remained tight-lipped on the true culprit for the longest time. Rei thought it best to just leave it alone. He was improving and happier and that’s all that mattered.
｡･ﾟﾟ･ ･ﾟﾟ･｡
Touya brought Keigo home on a Friday afternoon. He was a small boy for his age - especially with those big red wings of his. He seemed quiet too, letting Touya do most of the talking when he introduced him.
“He’s my friend,” Touya said, clipped and matter-of-factly, “From school.”
“N-Nice to meet you,” Keigo mumbled, looking down at his hole-covered shoes.
He definitely was not a friend from school. Not his school, at least. Rei knew all the kids in Touya’s class given the numerous altercations he had with them.
Keigo was nowhere in that catalog.
Rei simply offered him a warm smile, “It’s nice to meet you too, Keigo.”
“We can play in my room,” Touya grabbed his little hand and tried pulling him down the opposite hallway, “C’mon-”
“Touya!” Rei called, “Don’t you have homework to do?”
Touya pouted, rolling his eyes. “Mooooomm…”
“You and Keigo can play after you finish. If you want, I can make you snacks.”
Keigo’s golden eyes brightened, leaving Touya no choice but to relent.
They all headed into the kitchen. The boys sat at the kitchen table while Rei fixed a fruit platter for them. She listened as Touya explained everything he was doing to Keigo, who looked on in curiosity. It was about a minute or two into his explanation of his book report that she saw it:
Keigo reached into Touya’s pencil bag, pulled out a blue ballpoint pen, and began drawing small flowers along Touya’s shirt collar. He still listened - the shine of interest remained - but he started to draw along the hem of his shirt sleeves while Touya seemed completely unbothered, if a bit pink in the cheeks. He picked out more pens and drew more little doodles on any free space he could find on Touya’s shirt.
Rei felt her heart swell. She wanted to just leave them be and enjoy their moment together, but Keigo needed to eat and given how small he was, he hadn’t been doing a lot of it. She walked over and carefully set down the plate of fruit in front of them. Keigo immediately pulled away, looking down at his hands.
“Eat as much as you want,” she said, though it was more directed at the red winged boy than Touya.
“Thanks mom!”
She tilted her head to the side, “Is Keigo going to be staying for dinner?”
Touya looked up from his work and turned to Keigo, “I dunno, can you?”
Keigo’s face fell into a frown and he slowly shook his head.
“That’s alright,” Rei said, “I’ll be sure to send you home with something. As a gift.”
Keigo nodded, still not meeting her eyes. “Thank you…”
Rei left shortly after, hearing Touya trying to start up a conversation with his feathered friend with an excitement Rei had never heard from her son that didn’t involve trying to train with his father. It was new and untethered, almost like a breath of fresh air after being suffocated by smog.
Touya was happy - really happy.
Rei started down the hallway to Enji’s home office. She gathered an armful of highlighters, pens, and the few markers in his drawers.
She sent Keigo home with them and a sizable tupperware of food that night.
(This was a lot more Rei centered than I initially thougt it would be. Still a little wonky but I'm still trying to get back into the grove of things. Thanks to everyone who voted on the poll! Will probably make another one soon).
#my writing#writing#bri writes#dabihawks#dabihawks au#toukei#hotwings#rei todoroki#touya todoroki#keigo takami#mha hawks#mha dabi#bnha hawks#fluff#drabble#tw: childhood trauma#childhood friends au
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HI!I LOVEEEE YOUR WRITING!!!!
Can i pls pls plssss request a one shot with gojo and his girlfriend,where his gf always get really excited about snowing,to the point of jumping up and down and her eyes twinkling like a child?!
Its snowing in my city and i keep jumping up and down ;)
Scribbles and Doodles: { Let it Snow }
—Gojo Satoru X Reader
"Hi sweetheart, thank you for your kind words, I'm sorry it took me so long. Research and my job kept me preoccupied. I hope it's still snowing and be careful too! Have tons of warm stuff to keep you toasty and snug in the winter!" —Grey,
Satoru woke up to a chilly morning. He remembers turning the air condition mid-2 of the dawn after getting chills but now, it was even colder. Peeling off his mask, Satoru turn to his window and saw the grey skies, and he has to double-take at the white thing slowly falling off and cluttering on his windowsill.
It's snowing.
And by any chance, he's hearing a familiar voice faintly laughing.
Satoru groaned, pulling off the covers from his naked body. Rubbing his bleary eyes, he walks to his window and looks down. As if in a queue, you run through the small pile of gathering snow, a wide smile adorning your face, still in your hoodie pajamas.
"She'll catch a cold." Satoru clicked his tongue and grab his clothes. His muscles are aching and he'd rather sleep than trudge into the frosty powder winter has to offer. Satoru stop his tracks and went back to the bedroom. Rummaging through the cabinets he found his jacket and went out of the room.
"'Toru! It's snowing!" You shrilled at him. You ran in his direction and almost tripped on the slippery ground.
"Fuck, Baby, you trying to give me a heart attack?" Satoru held your arms and steadied you.
You just grinned in reply and stood on your tiptoes, grazing your lips to smear a kiss on your boyfriend's cheeks before turning your heel and tumbling on the snow again.
"Slow down, you little rascal, you wanna catch a cold or somethin'?" Satoru pulled back the scruff of your hoodie making you recoil and yelp.
He wraps his thickest available jacket around you, zipping the thing that reaches your ankles all thanks to his height, and pulls the hood over your head.
"There," Satoru smirked at your pout. "Now that's what you call a burrito."
"I can't move!" You flail around with difficulty, all the blame falling into the jacket's thick insulation. "'Toru! Get this off, you cheater, you're not even wearing one." You accused.
Satoru is tempted to hold a carrot around your nose but throws off the idea if he doesn't wanna sleep on the couch. After all winter's privilege is getting to cuddle you more to share warmth.
"I don't catch a cold, because I'm the stro—" Satoru pointed at himself assuringly.
"Because you're abnormal." You deadpanned and turn around, marching off.
"Hey! That's just mean. Come back here!" Satoru bends down and makes a ball of snow throwing it on you.
"Y-You!" You turned around only to get hit by another on your chest. It didn't take long for you and Satoru to have a snowball war filling the front yard with squeals and snowballs hitting whatever it hits.
By the time you're both spent, laying on the snow with a snow angel behind you both, your hands are all numb from the snow and Satoru's nose is almost as red as Rudolph's. Both of you panting but holding your hands together. This time a thin layer of Satoru's Infinity encases you to keep snow from getting in your eyes. Catching your breaths you both went inside, got into a warm bath, and eventually found yourselves tucked on the couch of the living room, hot cocoa in your hand, a bowl of chicken broth in Satoru's, and a thick quilt covering the two of you.
The snow quietly piles up outside, sweeping the city into a white wonderland. You and Satoru curled up on each other, snug and cuddled in each others' arms.
—GreyCaelum
PLAGIARISM IS A CRIME
Check out the Masterlist for more
All rights and credits of the Jujutsu Kaisen character(s) mentioned image(s) and song(s) used belongs to their respective owner(s)
General Series Taglist: @ice-icebaby @aeanya @lexiene @tender-rosiey
#scribbles and doddles#warm winter for everyone#gojo fluff#gojo x reader fluff#jjk gojo fluff#greycaelum#gojo x y/n#gojo x you
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small town
Chapter 23 - Cum on Feel the Noize
IN THIS CHAPTER: Yearbook messages, unlikely friendships, and Corroded Coffin puts on a show [13.8k]
WARNINGS: mentions of dead parents (eddie's mom), child neglect (not very graphic, eddie as kid), underaged drinking (no one gets drunk), low self-worth
A/N: i know. i promise you, i know. but i did say i was never gonna abandon this fic, so if you didn't believe me, that's on you, buddy. blame my job for my two month absence - three new people joined my team and one of those left last week, it's been hectic. this is an extra long chapter as a sorry for making you wait for so long. i hope you are all okay and still interested in my dumb little story, we have a lot more to go before we say goodbye. <3 (btw lemme know if you wanna be added to the taglist!)
masterlist - prev - next | playlist
Girls, rock your boys
We’ll get wild, wild, wild
Monday, June 9th - 1986
The last Monday before graduation was Kyle Foster’s most anticipated day of the year; not because it meant that school attendance was officially an afterthought for most of the school’s population, but because it was the day the overpriced yearbooks he had been working on all these months were ready to be picked up, their pages waiting to be filled with doodles in colorful pens and silly stickers. He was particularly proud of this year’s edition, with its green leatherette hardback cover and bright photos printed in glossy paper, everything on them carefully arranged by the Yearbook Club with evident care and love for their craft. For a few hours, Kyle got to feel like he was hot shit. Teachers congratulated him and his fellow club members for their wonderful work, people he’d never talked to before in his life asked him to sign their yearbooks, and the basketball team kept patting his back in the hallways in between classes to thank him for the double spread with pictures of them lifting their championship trophy. Life was good, but even though he was enjoying his surely short-lived popularity, there was only one person Kyle was particularly looking forward to seeing. As faith would have it, he found that exact guy leaning against his locker waiting for him between third and fourth period, a yearbook under his arm and a piece of minty gum in his mouth.
“Hey, man,” Eddie greeted, pulling him into a bro-ey side hug that didn’t suit his personality in the slightest. “Nice work.”
“What’s up, Munson? Heard you’re finally leaving this place.”
“Yeah, about damn time,” the tall metalhead laughed, and Kyle thought he’d never seen him carry himself with such levity before. “Wanted to thank you, y’know? I mean, I know I kinda bribed you to do it but you came through for us and went above and beyond with the design and everything, so, thank you.”
“Ah, it was nothing, dude. Couldn’t ruin the yearbook by giving your club a shitty spread,” Kyle downplayed his work, but they both knew he had enjoyed the secret assignment.
“Well, then. Would the artist care to sign his masterpiece?” Eddie joked, extending his yearbook to Kyle with a jet black pen tucked into it.
Kyle nodded, surprised by the request, and went straight to the blank pages at the back. From what he could see, no one had signed it yet. He realized then this was Eddie giving him a definitive olive branch, whatever feud they’d had over his little debt more than ready to be buried in the sand and thoroughly forgotten. He quickly penned a generic “have a good summer!” message at the top corner, slowing down while writing his name when he felt Eddie’s hand slip something into his front jean pocket. Ah, there it is, Kyle thought, smiling to himself as the weight of the small weed baggie Eddie had promised in exchange for his rule breaking could be felt through the rough fabric. He gave the book back to his newest acquaintance before opening his messenger bag and retrieving his own, shocking Eddie with his silent offering. Kyle was not only accepting his olive branch but returning the gesture, and so Eddie signed his name in a little unoccupied corner, adding a smiley face with devil horns under it for good measure.
“Pleasure doing business with you, Foster,” he said genuinely, tucking his trusty pen into his back pocket.
“Likewise, Munson.”
“We look so fucking badass,” Gareth said, eyes stuck to himself holding a knight’s helmet under his arm in the Hellfire section of the yearbook.
“I know, right?” Jeff said, giddy. “Kinda wanna get it framed. You think they’ll give us copies if we ask?”
The Hellfire Club was enjoying a peaceful lunch outside, the day still perfectly warm despite the constant clouds that perpetually obscured the sky over Hawkins, Indiana. The older boys were doodling on each other’s yearbooks, laughing about bad portraits and accidental funny faces belonging to classmates, while Dustin and Mike quietly muttered to one another at the head of the picnic table. They looked like they were arguing about something important but no one else seemed to have noticed - if they did, they were giving them space to resolve it on their own. Pretending like she wasn’t eavesdropping while she wrote a heartfelt message in Donny’s yearbook, Dottie listened carefully, worried about Dustin who seemed to be particularly distraught at Mike’s disinterest in cooperating with him.
“I’m just saying, aren’t you tired of acting like you’re still upset with him?” Dustin asked.
“I’m not acting, I am pissed off,” Mike huffed. “I don’t get why you aren’t. He cut us off and he’s never coming back, get it through your head.”
“Well, maybe he feels like we cut him off. Have you even tried talking to him since Spring break?”
“No, why would I?”
“Mike,” Dustin was nearing his breaking point.
“What? Did you?”
“Yes!” he threw his hands in the air. “I called him the next day because I’m not an asshole!”
“If you talked to him, why isn’t he here then, huh?” Mike asked, icy. “Why is he still hanging out with them?”
“I said I called him, not that I talked to him,” Dustin grumbled. “He wasn’t home, he… he was at a party with the jocks- Look, all I’m saying is that I feel like shit, okay? I think we’re all being idiots right now and we should talk about it. This is just like what happened when we found El and-”
“This is nothing like what happened with El. He was just scared-”
“We were twelve, Mike. We didn’t know what we were doing, maybe- maybe he was right and we should have been scared! And maybe he shouldn’t have to be the one to always apologize first!”
“He ditched us!”
“Oh, grow up,” Dustin said, getting up from the bench with his yearbook in hand and hurrying to catch up with a redheaded girl who looked about his age.
Dottie watched how Mike gathered his things and disappeared into the cafeteria without saying goodbye, giving off moody teenager vibes to anyone who dared to cross his path. Meanwhile, Dustin was now animatedly chatting with his mystery friend near the doors - the girl he was talking to was signing his book and rolling her eyes at something he was saying, a shy but still clearly fond smile on her face. Dottie felt like she’d seen her before somewhere, but never talking to Dustin. She seemed nice, if a little sassy. I guess that’s why she’s friends with Dustin, she thought.
“Really? You got him a sweater? In June?” Jeff’s laughter brought back her attention to the table: she quickly doodled a little daisy next to her name at the bottom of her message and gave the yearbook back to Donny.
“He’s always wearing sweaters at the office, okay? And also, it’s not like he’s gonna grow two sizes before Winter starts,” Gareth defended himself. “It’s still gonna fit him in a couple of months.”
“What are we talking about?” Dottie asked, leaning her head onto Eddie’s shoulder as he stole one of her apple slices.
“Father’s Day. Gareth got his Dad a wool sweater.”
“It was on sale!”
“What did you get for your dad, then?” she asked Jeff.
“New slippers. His old ones were falling apart.”
“Very thoughtful. You?” she turned to Donny.
“Nothing yet. I kinda wanna get my Dad a funny shirt but I haven’t seen any good ones around. D’you think it’s too late to get one printed?” he asked at large.
“Oh, Eddie bought a cute one the other day!” Dottie said conversationally, looking up at the long haired boy from her place on his shoulder. “They had a bunch of graphic shirts at that store near Melvald’s, right?”
“On Mulberry? Sweet, what did you get?” Donny asked, munching on some grapes.
“Found this ugly thing with a brown Care Bear at the front that says World’s Best Grandma,” Eddie said, half a smile pulling at the corner of his lips. “Thought it was funny.”
“You’re gonna get your teeth kicked in if you wear a Care Bears shirt in public, dude,” Gareth snickered.
“Well, good thing I’m not gonna be the one wearing it then.”
Father’s Day was historically somewhat of a weird day for Eddie. When he was a little kid and still hadn’t developed a mouth filter, other moms at the park or strangers at a store would sometimes see him wandering around unsupervised, think he was lost, and ask him where his Mom was; he’d always reply with a simple “oh, no, my Mom is dead”, like the answer wasn’t absolutely devastating to hear coming from someone who hadn’t learned how to tie his own shoes yet. Like clockwork, they’d all sputter out an awkward apology, feeling sorry about unknowingly asking a young child about something so painful like losing a parent at such a tender age. A couple of times some of them went so far as to offer to buy him a snack, as if that could distract him from the tragedy of his Mom’s untimely death and, in turn, make themselves feel better about being nosy. Eddie, however, didn’t mind the questions. He liked telling people that Maureen was dead, because he learned very quickly that those were the only times people saw him as someone to take care of; just a little innocent boy having to grow up without the woman who’d loved him most, instead of shunning him as soon they inevitably found out he was Wyatt Munson’s devil spawn.
Another thing Eddie learned very early on, was that his Dad didn’t care about Father’s Day, mainly because most of the time he didn’t even care to acknowledge he had a son unless it was useful to him. And so, after the second year in a row Wyatt threw into the trash can the crafts Eddie had done for him at school without so much as looking at them, the drawings stayed in his backpack and the treats the teachers gave to all their kiddos to gift to the most important men in their lives got hidden in an old shoe box underneath his bed. There they waited until the older man passed out on his couch with a beer in his hand, and the littlest Munson got to eat them in secret without anyone calling him a pig for smearing chocolate all over his face and fingers. No, Father’s Day had always been a weird day for Eddie - at least until he moved in with Wayne.
The first Father’s Day Wayne and Eddie spent together came after almost eight months of living together. There had been a Halloween, a Thanksgiving, a Christmas, Eddie’s 9th birthday, and a Mother’s Day spent along with Grandma before that, but Eddie’s little stomach still churned with the thought of Wayne dismissing him on a special occasion like Father’s Day. He quietly waited in bed after the sun rose, ears perked up for any noise coming from the living room but the minutes ticked by and Wayne didn’t get up, busy catching up on some much needed sleep after a long week at the plant. The youngest Munson impatiently crept along the hallway until he reached his Uncle’s side, kneeling on the carpet next to his fold-out bed and observing his chest go up and down with each breath he took.
“Uncle Wayne,” Eddie whispered, but the older man didn’t so much as flinch. “Uncle Wayne,” he tried a little louder, softly shaking his arm.
“Huh?” Wayne opened his eyes, startled to find his nephew’s tiny fingers wrapped around his forearm. “What’s going on? You okay, Ed?”
“Mhm,” he nodded, wild curls bobbing along with the movement. “I- I made something. At school.”
“Yeah? What d’you got there?”
Eddie lifted a piece of paper, the sun filtering through the moth-eaten curtains helping Wayne read along. Happy Father’s Day, said the handmade card written by a teacher and decorated by his nephew, each letter colored inside with a different crayon. Wayne’s heart sank when he realized he’d forgotten what day it was. He didn’t even know which hole Wyatt was currently being kept in, but he guessed he could call his Ma and ask her about it if Eddie wanted to pay his Dad a visit. Or at the very least, he could take the kid to the post office to mail his shitty excuse of a father a letter he most likely didn’t give a damn about. Wyatt hadn’t called once since he’d gotten himself locked up, and Wayne tried not to think too much about Eddie stiffening up whenever the phone rang when he first moved into the trailer with him. He didn’t want to do it, didn’t want to have jackshit to do with his little brother anymore but he’d do it anyway even if he knew it was a bad idea, because Wayne Munson would have walked barefoot to the end of the world if it made Eddie happy, and God only knew that that boy deserved a small mercy for once.
Wayne peeled the card open curiously and felt his chest tighten up when he saw how wrong he’d been. Inside there was a crude drawing of two figures, one bigger than the other one: it was him and Eddie, standing on bright green grass, a big yellow sun with a smiley face at the upper left corner of the page, and a tree with juicy red apples to the right side. The figures were holding hands and Wayne was wearing a trucker hat - the same blue one that was resting on the kitchen counter next to his keys. At the bottom right of the card, written with the nicest calligraphy Wayne had seen from his nephew yet, was a simple I love you in purple crayon.
“You drew this for me?” Wayne asked, trying to get his emotions together.
“D’you like it? Miss Mullins gave us Hershey’s Kisses too,” he lifted a little paper bag that looked like it had been squished in transit. “I’m sorry I ate one without asking. I wanted to know what they tasted like, but I can buy you more! I have money left over from my birthday-”
“That’s okay, Ed. You can have as many as you want if you brush your teeth after,” the eldest Munson sat up tiredly and pulled his boy from the floor into a hug. “Thank you for the card. You’re very good at drawing, y’know that?”
“Miss Mullins says I’m good at art and music,” Eddie beamed. “And sometimes Math too but I get distracted. She says my reading’s not very good though.”
“You’re a smart boy, just keep practicin’ and you’ll get better,” Wayne said, feeling his nephew’s body sink into his arms the longer he held him. “Hey, how ‘bout you go get ready while I take a shower, huh? We can go get pancakes at Benny’s.”
“Really? Can I get whipped cream on mine? And chocolate chips?”
“You can get whatever you want, boy. Go on, go get dressed,” the older man ushered him down the hallway towards what used to be his bedroom and locked himself in the bathroom for a little privacy.
Wayne cried in the shower that day, much like he’d done after Thanksgiving dinner, when Eddie said he was thankful he got to live with him, even if it was just for a little bit. He got Wyatt to sign away his parental rights before Christmas came around after that. Wayne stuck the card to the fridge door with a carrot shaped magnet and drove himself and his nephew to Benny’s where Eddie ordered chocolate chip banana pancakes that Wayne ended up eating half of after the 9-year-old’s tummy became too full to keep going. Upon returning home, they spent the rest of the day watching cartoons and practicing Eddie’s reading during the commercials. When the littlest Munson fell asleep on the couch after the sun had set, his energy finally depleted, Wayne helped him put on his pajamas and tucked him to bed, stopping to kiss his curly head before he retreated back to the living room for a nightcap.
“Good night, son,” he’d said, turning off the lights, and for once, Eddie didn’t go to sleep wishing he was Wayne’s, because he knew he was and Wayne knew it too.
“You got Wayne a World’s Best Grandma shirt for Father’s Day?” Donny said, amused. “He’s gonna think you knocked someone up.”
“Of course not,” Eddie scoffed at him like he’d just said the stupidest thing ever. “He’d think I knocked someone up if it said World’s Best Grandpa, but it doesn’t say that, does it? Therefore, funny shirt.”
“You were there with him and you let him buy it?” Jeff looked at Dottie, whose cheeks felt like they were burning upon remembering Wayne’s resigned attempt at a Birds and The Bees talk two weekends prior.
“I… I thought it was funny too,” she admitted sheepishly.
“You two are spending way too much time together,” Gareth shook his head. “When did you even go shopping?”
“Last week after band practice,” Dottie said, mischief in her eyes. “Don’t tell my Dad if you see him because I told him I was at yours all afternoon so he wouldn’t snoop around and find his gift.”
“What did you get him?” Donny asked.
“A bunch of candy and a book. The guy at the store recommended it, he said it was pretty new. It’s called Ender’s Game, I think?”
“Oh, I read that one,” Jeff said, frowning.
“What, is it bad?”
“No, I think your Dad might like it," he shrugged. "But you know me, I don't like military shit.”
“How could we forget about you being Mr. Pacifist,” Gareth poked fun at him goodnaturedly and Jeff shoved him gently in return.
“Hey, speaking of band practice,” Eddie said, lips curling upwards as he leaned into Dottie’s personal space. “You think your Dad's gonna let you come to The Hideout tomorrow?”
“On a school night? Keep dreaming.”
“Oh, come on, no one’s even taking attendance anymore,” he pressed on.
“I’m pretty sure Mr. Russell took a nap in class today,” Gareth said, spreading a rumor he’d heard about the old Algebra teacher.
“He did. I was there, I heard him snore,” Donny nodded.
“There you go, darling. Not even the teachers give a shit anymore. So, what do you say?" Eddie batted his eyelashes dramatically.
"You know I wanna go, I just don't think he's gonna let me. Can't you wait one more week? He promised I won’t have a curfew anymore after graduation," she bargained.
"You say that like you don’t already know we’re gonna ask you to come next week too," Gareth said, grinning. “Besides, what kind of manager are you if you don’t come to all our shows?”
“Wasn’t aware I had signed any official contracts. Do I get health insurance?” Dottie joked.
“You get one box of kiddie bandages and we’ll drive you to the hospital if and only if any bones stick out,” Donny said.
“Wow, what a deal. I’m in,” she laughed.
“You’re gonna come then?” they all looked at her expectantly.
“Alright, fine, I’ll ask him. But if he says no you aren’t allowed to be mad at me because it’s definitely not my fault,” she finally relented.
“If he locks you up we’ll help you escape the tower, princess, don’t worry about it,” Eddie said, his breath ghosting the side of her head, and she shivered in anticipation for the new adventure that was to come.
James working past the time Hawkins High School let its students out had proven to be heaven-sent to the new couple looking for places to hang out without any prying eyes around. Eddie and Dottie were lying on her bed, hiding away from the world in her room, the radio on at a low volume playing Top 40 hits. Van Halen’s Why Can’t This Be Love was setting the perfect mood for Eddie to kiss his not-yet-girlfriend stupid - their movements still shy and exploring, neither of them rushing to get ahead of themselves. In recent days, they had progressed from chaste and giggly pecks to something much more slow and romantic, making the most of their moments alone to make each other feel comfortable and loved. Eddie hovered over her, tummy pressed against Dottie’s while supporting most of his weight on his elbows, his hands free to gently caress her cheekbones and jaw between kisses, stopping every so often to look at her dazed smile if only to will himself to believe that the girl he was so in love with was as equally smitten with him as he was with her.
Dottie let her fingers wander up his arms, one of her hands tangling in his unruly hair and occasionally pushing stray curls behind his ears to get a glimpse of those deep chocolate colored eyes she adored so much. Her other arm sneaked into his t-shirt sleeve, nails drawing barely-there patterns on the back of his shoulder, making him hum like the stray cats at the trailer park when they let him pet them after being fed. The delicate white curtains swayed calmly, brushing against the pillows in the windowsill, the gentle breeze outside rustling the leaves in nearby trees. Everything felt so peaceful, warm, and cozy. She felt like she could spend an entire lifetime like this, with the boy that had swept her off her feet so thoroughly that she almost felt like she was floating whenever he was around.
“What are you thinkin’ about?” Eddie asked in a soft voice, index finger brushing down the slope of her nose.
“You.”
“Me?”
“Mhm,” she smiled, fondly. “You’re so pretty.”
“You’re pretty. Beautiful. Gorgeous even,” he lifted his eyebrows and pouted, making her giggle at his antics. “I wanted to play a song for you tomorrow but the guys said it didn’t fit with the rest of the setlist.”
“Which song was it?”
“Nope,” he shook his head, curls tickling her. “I’m not telling you. We’ll play it in Indy.”
“I have to wait a whole month? That’s so rude!”
“It’ll be worth it, you’ll see,” he muttered, leaning down to kiss her again, and she accepted his love eagerly.
The low rumble of a car pulling into the driveway burst their cozy bubble, Eddie groaning as his head fell forward onto Dottie’s shoulder, making her snort loudly. He scrambled off her bed and dropped himself on her desk chair, fingers dancing on top of her scented Mr. Sketch markers before settling on the brown one and lifting it up to his nose to smell the cinnamon embedded in the ink. She watched him with an oddly enamored smile on her face, like him sniffing her stationery supplies was the most charming thing she’d seen him do yet. He twirled a marker between his fingers before drumming with it once on her yearbook resting unassumingly on her desk.
“Can I draw something for you in here?” he asked, tapping the hardcover again with the cap of the marker.
“Can I write something sappy in yours in exchange?”
“Knock yourself out, darling,” Eddie smiled, pulling his yearbook out of his ratty backpack and tossing it onto her bed where it made a soft thud upon colliding with her comforter.
When James climbed up the stairs to greet his daughter after a long day at work, he found both teens deeply engrossed in their tasks: Eddie’s long hair was draped like a curtain obscuring his sketch from view as he worked steadily with his chewed up pencil while Dottie was lying on her front decorating a corner of a page with her colorful pens. James leaned onto the door frame when she looked up, gifting him the same smile she used to give him as a toddler when he picked her up from daycare.
“Yearbooks are out?” the eldest Burke asked, nodding towards the book in her hands.
“Yeah! Ed’s drawing in mine but look, we got a full page!” Dottie said, rising onto her knees to show him Hellfire’s spread.
James sat at the foot of her bed, glancing at the glossy pictures in front of him. He couldn’t recall Dottie being so excited about a yearbook before, but he supposed she’d never really been a part of any club at her old school and this was an important first for her. There was Dustin front and center, arms and legs bent like a lifeless puppet being held by strings, Erica’s hand poised in the air as if she was the one controlling him while Mike and Gareth lifted her up in a princess-like manner, a tiara glinting on her head and a school flag draping down her back. Jeff and Donny scowled at each other dramatically, engaged in a lethal fight that Jeff was clearly winning, his sword pressed to the middle of Donny’s golden scepter. But it was his own daughter and the boy that kept smelling markers before he put them to paper a few feet away from him that really caught his attention.
Eddie lounged on his throne with a fake skull in his hand, rings twinkling in the room’s moody light, and legs spread out like he was a despot king about to order someone’s head to be cut off. Dottie stared at the camera with a mischievous smirk, hands cradled around a crystal orb, looking like she knew something no one else did and was more than ready to drop a cryptic riddle that would ruin your entire life. They were playing characters, just like everyone else in the picture: Mike was the loyal knight, Dustin was the terrifying jester, Erica was the bratty princess. Except Eddie’s arm was curled around Dottie like she was his most prized possession, devotion noticeable in his seemingly innocent posture. He might have been the one sitting on the throne and she on the chair’s arm as his trusty advisor, but it was very much clear to anyone that stopped to truly look at them that even though he was the King, she had him wrapped around her finger. It shouldn’t have been a surprise - after all, since 1953 the song did say God save the Queen, not the King.
“It looks super cool, right?” Dottie asked, eyes shining. “Jeff wants to ask the Yearbook Club if we can get copies, I’d love to put one on my corkboard.”
“That sounds great, honey! It’s very theatrical,” James agreed, scanning down the list of names: Edward Munson - Chapter Leader, Donatello Andrea Vitale - Treasurer, Jeffrey Thomas Patton - Secretary… “Who’s Lucas?”
“Huh?”
“Lucas Charles Sinclair?” he asked. “His name is on the list but I don’t see him in the photo.”
“Oh, that’s Erica’s brother. He was in the club before I joined, right, Ed?”
“Yeah,” Eddie said, lips tight. “He, uh- he quit before Spring break. Conflicting schedules.”
“Ah, that’s a bummer,” James nodded, knowing first hand how scheduling was the greatest enemy of a D&D party. “Why isn’t Erica on the list though?”
“She’s still in middle school so she’s not, like, entirely allowed to be in the club actually?” Dottie grimaced. “But Eddie thought she should at least be in the picture. I mean, I’m there and she’s known these guys for longer than I do.”
“She only joined a couple of weeks before you did,” Eddie shrugged. “But a member is a member, no matter when they joined.”
“Spoken like a true leader,” James smiled, flipping the pages to find the senior portraits.
He reached the B section and immediately found his daughter, her red knitted sweater barely visible, the picture cutting off just below her shoulders. She was smiling in it, yes, but she didn’t really look happy. She seemed nervous, perhaps even a bit apprehensive. Her eyes were dull despite the bright lights behind the camera, and the little dimple below the right corner of her lip that she’d inherited from her Mom was nowhere to be found. In comparison with the wicked witch that had been staring at him in the Hellfire Club’s group photo, this girl looked like a shell of herself. Empty. Lost. Scared. Two months had passed between the two pictures, and one more since the last one had been taken, and James realized he couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen her glow as much as she did every day now. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he looked at her and wondered why he hadn’t done anything to prevent her light from dimming so much right in front of him. Bitterly, he realized the proper question wasn’t why he hadn’t done anything, but instead why hadn’t he ever noticed it had been dimmed in the first place up until that moment.
“I’m so proud of you, honey,” he muttered, pulling her into a hug and letting out a heavy sigh courtesy of his own inadequacies as a parent.
“You’re not gonna cry, are you? Because you’re gonna make me cry if you cry,” she said in a joking manner, tears already threatening to climb up to the surface.
“You’re just really big now and it sneaks up on me sometimes, that’s all. I’m getting emotional in my old age,” he laughed, turning back the pages to Hellfire Dottie - the happier Dottie. “Your hair looks really pretty like this.”
“Yeah. Feels more me, I think,” Dottie agreed. “I need to get the ends trimmed before graduation, though.”
“If it keeps getting shorter I’m afraid you’re gonna end up bald soon.”
“I’ll go to a salon this time, promise,” she laughed.
“Still can’t believe you just-” James did a cutting gesture with his index and middle fingers. “-went to town on it.”
“Wait, what? You chopped off your own hair? When?” Eddie asked curiously, reminding them both that he was listening to their conversation.
“I thought you knew about this!” Dottie said. “I had really long hair back in New York.”
“It reached the top of her jeans,” James added.
“No way! Why did you cut it?”
“I just needed a fresh start, y’know? New school, new haircut. It wasn’t that big of a deal,” she shrugged.
“Honey, you snipped it all off at the first gas station we stopped at on our way from New York. Almost gave me a heart attack when you came out of that bathroom.”
“You’re kidding,” Eddie stared at her in disbelief.
“Nope,” said James. “Had to take her to a hairdresser to even it out as soon as we got here.”
“In my defense, it didn’t look that bad. It was just… very layered,” Dottie said.
“You’re lucky you chickened out and didn’t cut it shorter or you’d be looking like a boy right now.”
“Yeah, yeah, we get it, I’m not a hair stylist. I’ll stay away from scissors and let the pros handle it next time,” she rolled her eyes at her Dad.
“Well, I’m gonna go get a shower,” James announced, returning Eddie’s yearbook to his daughter. “You staying for dinner, Ed?”
“No, thank you, sir, Wayne’s waiting for me. Just gotta finish this drawing and I’ll be out of your hair for the night,” Eddie said, lifting the book in his hands as if to demonstrate he wasn’t just wasting time.
“You’re never a bother, kid. You can stay as long as you’d like.”
“T-thank you, sir,” he said in a small voice when James walked past him and ruffled his hair affectionately as he left.
“Dad? Wait, hold up-”
Dottie launched herself into the hallway and caught up to her Dad when he was halfway through his bedroom door. She nervously looked up at him and James lifted an eyebrow, curious.
“Would it be okay if I went to The Hideout to see the guys play tomorrow?” she asked, chewing on her own lip.
“Honey, it’s a school night-”
“I know but the teachers aren’t even taking attendance anymore. And I swear I’m not gonna skip the next day! Please, I’ll be back before midnight.”
“Dot-”
“You know Jeff’s dad wouldn’t let him do it if he was coming back home at 3 am every week on school nights. Please let me go? I really, really, really wanna see them play.”
“Would you be riding with Eddie?” James sighed.
“Yeah, he’s Gareth’s ride. His drum kit doesn’t fit in Donny’s car.”
“Okay, you can go-”
“Thank you!”
“-but! You gotta be back by midnight, okay?” he said, stern. “I don’t care if the teachers aren’t doing their jobs anymore, school’s not out until Friday. You’re not on holiday yet.”
“I know, I won’t break the curfew, I promise-”
“And you can’t drink any alcohol either. If I have to pick you up from the station for any reason, you’re grounded until September.”
“I won’t drink a drop, Dad, I swear. I just wanna see the guys play,” she pleaded with doe eyes.
“Fine. You can go,” James finally relented.
“Thank you!” Dottie shrieked, hugging her Dad and shaking him in her excitement. “Thank you, thank you, thank you-”
“Alright, alright, calm down. Just be careful, okay? And call-”
“Call you if anything happens. I know. Thank you,” she kissed his cheek and ran back into her bedroom where James heard Eddie scream “fuck yeah!”, followed by a loud thump and bright laughter.
That night after dinner, Dottie sat on her windowsill looking at the inside of her wardrobe, mentally putting together an outfit that wouldn’t make her stand out like a sore thumb in the dingy bar. Jeans and sneakers are fine, Eddie had said when she asked him about it, but she knew the guys dressed up for their gigs, and she wanted to fit in. Maybe she should have asked her soon-to-be-boyfriend to lend her one of his band t-shirts, but then again, Eddie had a tendency to get grabby whenever she wore his clothes lately, even if it was just a borrowed sweatshirt when she got cold during a movie night. It was better to be lowkey about this; they were already pushing it a lot lately with the secret daily hangouts and the doing errands together thing. Borrowing his clothes in such a public event like his own band’s gig was as big a declaration of love as they came.
Yes, it was best to keep this under wraps, for the sake of all their friendships with the rest of the boys. She’d wear her own clothes to her very first Corroded Coffin show, and she’d be extra careful with her yearbook when she gave it to her friends at The Weekly Streak to sign. No one had to know that Eddie had drawn a very realistic looking arrangement of daisies on a corner of a page, along with an incredibly telling message that would be hard to explain if anyone read it. However, nothing was stopping her from letting the words he’d written in his usual chicken scratch form behind her eyelids as she let sleep take her under, a perpetual lovesick smile tattooed on her face.Thank you for believing in me, darling, he’d said. I love you now and always. Your Endearing Eddie.
Tuesday, June 10th - 1986
If there was anyone in Hawkins who had bad timing when it came to scheduling business transactions that happened outdoors, it was Eddie Munson. He was in such a hurry to sell most of his stash before he was due to start his first ever real job at Thatcher Tires the following week that he’d failed to account for the permanent drizzle that haunted Hawkins most of the time, and thus, had to move from his preferred selling spot in the woods to the back of the East classroom wing, his back pressed to the warm brick to shield himself from the droplets falling from the sky.
While he was busy earning much wanted cash so he could take his still-not-official-girlfriend out on a date to celebrate their graduation, Dottie and Gareth were lounging in his van, side door cracked open to let some of the day’s heat out. The almost empty parking lot looked menacing surrounded by a thick haze, a moderate breeze directing the drops of water to hit the van’s windshield in a comforting rhythm. Gareth was, as usual, being a menace. He was going through Eddie’s tapes, exchanging their cases to mess with his friend, and never letting a song reach the end before he was skipping forward to the next one. Dottie would have complained about it if she wasn’t so concentrated on her knitting, the summer baby blanket she was working on spread out over her legs. She was in the middle of calculating if the soft cotton yarn she had left was enough to finish the row she was currently knitting when Gareth turned around in the passenger seat to catch her attention.
“You excited about tonight?” he asked, glancing at the songlist at the back of a mixtape.
“Yeah, it should be fun! Though I’m not sure what I’m gonna wear yet,” she put down her needles and stretched in her seat. “Eddie said sneakers and jeans were fine, but I don’t wanna look lost, y’know.”
“Pick the oldest, shittiest clothes you have and you’ll fit in just fine. Most of the drunks in there go after work, it’s always a lot of plaid, jeans, and dirt.”
“You’re not selling this to me very well.”
“I don’t have to,” he grinned. “Eddie says jump, you jump.”
“No, I don’t-”
“Hey, there you are!”
She was about to tell Gareth off when Chrissy appeared from the mist, shielding herself from the rain by holding her cheer cardigan above her head. Immediately, Dottie slid the van door open a bit more so she could climb in, moving all her knitting supplies to her lap so the strawberry blonde girl could sit next to her. Gareth looked at both girls awkwardly and muttered a quick hello before turning in his seat again and busying himself back with the mixtapes.
“I didn’t know you knitted,” Chrissy said, thumbing the corner of the blanket. “This is so pretty.”
“Thank you,” Dottie smiled. “It’s a gift for my Aunt, she’s having a baby in a couple of months.”
“Aw, that’s sweet! Let me guess, a girl?” she said, pointing at the baby pink yarn.
“How could you tell?” Dottie said with good natured sarcasm. “Her name’s gonna be Rose so… pink for Rosie! It’s not very original but I’m hoping she still likes it even though she’ll be born in the middle of summer.”
“I’m sure she’ll love it. I used mine until I was in preschool, there’s no age limit for a good blankie,” Chrissy said, kindly. “I wish I could do creative stuff like this, it looks fun. I tried to learn to sew when I was younger but my Mom’s so not a good teacher. She made me cry once because I forgot to put the presser foot down.”
“I could teach you a few things if you want,” Dottie offered. “I’m not an expert, but my Aunt is, like, the most perfectionist person on the planet and she taught me everything I know so…”
“You’d do that?”
“Do what, teach you?” the blonde nodded in response. “Of course! We’re friends! And it’s a great skill to have, it comes in handy more than you think.”
“We’re friends?” Chrissy asked, eyes suddenly shiny.
“After everything you’ve done for- Chrissy, of course we’re friends,” Dottie said, grabbing the other girl’s hand.
“Oh, thank goodness,” she breathed out, a quiet laugh escaping her lips. “I feel so much better about asking you to sign my yearbook now, I didn’t know if I was being weird or not.”
“For future reference, we like weird here,” the brunette said in a stage whisper, leaning down to get her own yearbook out of her backpack. “Besides, I kinda wanted to ask you to sign mine too so we’re even.”
The girls exchanged books and quickly got to signing, aware that Gareth was pretending like he wasn’t in the same vehicle as them. He didn’t want to turn up the music and rudely drown their conversation, so he distracted himself by drumming on Eddie’s dashboard with two pens, wondering what on Earth had Chrissy done for Dottie that made her so thankful towards the cheerleader. Dottie grabbed her nicest black pen and found an empty space under Eddie’s message. He’d written Don’t be a stranger, Chrissy the Cheery (and thank you for the advice! See you at the wedding) next to a crude drawing in blue ink of a girl with a ponytail lifting one pompon and doing devil horns with the other hand.
After thinking about what she wanted to say to the cheerful blonde, Dottie settled on a nice simple message that was cryptic enough should anyone else read it, but also something that conveyed just how truly grateful she was for this new found friendship. Have a fantastic summer!, the note opened. Thank you for everything. Call me whenever! At the end, right next to her name and a little daisy, she wrote down her phone number. The word everything was underlined twice. When she gave it back to her rightful owner and saw the message Chrissy had written on pink ink on her yearbook, she let out a girly giggle. It was so lovely to get to know you, have a good summer! Let’s hang out soon, it read. Below, Chrissy had also written down her phone number. Both teens looked at each other with a knowing grin and hugged, not paying any attention to the metalhead who’d put them on each other’s path hopping onto the driver’s seat of his van, hair damp from the rain.
“Aw, aren’t you two cute,” Eddie said, grinning. “Did she sign it?”
“We both did,” Chrissy said, returning the smile. “How were the sales?”
“Great! I’m selling my last bit on Thursday and then I’m keeping the rest for myself. A man’s gotta have his vices.”
“What a shame,” the blonde shook her head. “Hawkins is losing its nicest dealer to the workforce.”
“I’m the only dealer you know, sweetheart.”
“Because you’re the nicest one, keep up! I’m gonna have to buy from sleazy dudes now, ugh,” she said while she gathered her things to leave.
“You should have enough to last you until you leave for your pre-season with what I sold you today,” he frowned, concerned that every time Chrissy bought from him, the amounts she asked for kept increasing.
“Yeah, maybe,” she said and shrugged, sliding the door van open and hopping off. “See you around, guys!”
The three of them watched her jog towards the school with her cardigan draped over her head again, her petite figure losing definition in the haze. Eddie clicked on his seatbelt - a habit he’d picked up since he started driving Dottie around - and pulled out of the school’s parking lot, winking once at the girl on his backseat when he put his hand on Gareth’s headrest to reverse into the open road. Dottie rolled her eyes at him, picking up her knitting needles once again. Gareth stared at the school building until it disappeared from sight before he turned to his friends.
“I still can’t believe Chrissy Cunningham is not only super nice to us freaks, but also smokes weed,” he said, making both of the other teens laugh.
James Burke did not think that moving to the town he had grown up in as a quiet wallflower would result in an exponential growth in his daughter’s social life, but truth be told, he wasn’t exactly upset about it. Before packing up her whole life and facing the Big Drive to Hawkins, Dottie had never once gone out for the night on a weekday, much less during the school year. But James had agreed to it, and Dottie had promised to be home before midnight, which brought them to the living room where the tired father sat in his armchair and amusedly watched his daughter pace the entirety of the room swinging her arms around with each step she took.
“You’re gonna burn a hole in the carpet, honey.”
“Good. This carpet gives me allergies.”
James chuckled, following her with his eyes as she padded her way to the window once more and peered outside yet again despite knowing that she would hear Eddie’s van first before seeing it, as per usual. She sighed dramatically and resumed her pacing, glancing at the clock on the wall anxiously. Mildly embarrassed upon noticing that her friends were still perfectly on schedule, she took a few deep breaths and tried to get her emotions in control before their arrival.
“You know you can call me if you get there and want to leave, right?”
“I know, Dad,” she rolled her eyes at him. “Stop offering to pick me up from places, you know Eddie’s gonna drive me back whenever I ask.”
“Yeah, that doesn’t exactly comfort me as much as you think it does, honey. That van looks like it’s gonna die on him at any second.”
“Oh, come on,” Dottie argued. “He loves that van, he takes good care of it.”
“The fumes that come out of that thing say otherwise, but I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt since he’s gonna be a mechanic and all now.”
And speak of the devil, thought James, as the aforementioned smoky van appeared down the street while playing loud metal music. Dottie hurried to grab her keys and a jacket, ready to bolt out of the door and get to the damn dive bar already, but her Dad insisted on walking with her outside to say hi. Eddie and Gareth waved at them as they approached, lowering the music so they could greet the older man properly.
“Good evening, boys,” James said, hands on his hips in a typical Dad pose but with a friendly smile on his face. “How are we feeling? Excited for the show?”
“Hell yeah!” Gareth said, grinning. “We’re gonna kill it, the setlist is awesome tonight.”
“You let him add an Anthrax song to it, didn’t you?” Dottie laughed knowingly, sliding the side door open and climbing in.
“We’re closing with Metal Thrashing Mad,” Gareth looked at her with an expression of triumph.
“Sounds like it’s gonna be a riot,” James chuckled and turned to his daughter. “Have fun, but don’t get into too much trouble. Midnight, okay?”
“I’ll get back here by 11, sir, I promise,” Eddie said, nodding once.
“Midnight’s okay, Ed,” the eldest Burke said, putting his trust in the young man’s hands; Eddie nodded again in understanding. “Have a good show!”
The man patted the side of the van as a goodbye and headed back inside, privately enjoying how much he could make Eddie squirm with just a few well placed words. He liked Eddie, he really did - he was polite, unapologetically himself, resourceful, kind. He loved his friends and wore his heart on his sleeve. And he loved Dottie, that much was clear to literally everyone that surrounded the teens. James didn’t know what the situation was like between them at the moment, but he could tell something had shifted based on recent interactions he’d witnessed. In his opinion, there seemed to be some sort of deeper connection between them since that fateful party they had gone to just a handful of days earlier, but James had to admit, albeit a little reluctantly, that even though he had been on the lookout for signs of a romantic relationship developing, not a lot had truly changed.
Eddie and Dottie had always been unusually close even upon first meeting, that was an undeniable fact about their friendship. It was hard to pinpoint if anything romantic had blossomed between them when Eddie had been calling her darling since the very first moment he laid eyes on her, or when Dottie gravitated towards him at any given moment, even in rooms filled with other people. Their hugs, while always having lasted longer than a regular friendly hug, were chaste and innocent, their main purpose always to comfort and to reassure. Eddie’s hands always stayed above her waist, not even so much as accidentally dropping to her hips in James’ presence, and any compromising position he’d found them in was at best playful, certainly never inappropriate.
It wasn’t that James was particularly concerned with the nature of the teens’ relationship; after all, he had been a teen himself once, he wasn’t an idiot. If anything was bound to happen, they weren’t going to ask for his permission beforehand. No, his worries were more about the knowledge that Dottie and Eddie dating while having the same group of friends could make a potential fall out incredibly painful for both of them, and the poor man was just desperately trying to protect his daughter as best as he could. He already felt like he had failed her once, he couldn’t let her down again. And yet, despite being cognizant of the dangers ahead, James found himself trusting Eddie because if Dottie trusted him, how could he not trust that his daughter knew better than her own Dad did about the matters of her heart?
“Okay, be honest, guys. How do I look?” Dottie asked, shoving half her body between the front seats so they could look at her better at the first stop sign.
“You look gorgeous, princess,” said Eddie.
“Like a toddler,” said Gareth, at the same time.
“Gareth, what the fuck,” Eddie deadpanned, swatting at his friend’s chest.
“What? She’s lucky they don’t ask for IDs,” he said, doubling down.
“You don’t tell a girl she looks like a toddler when she dresses up, you asshat,” Eddie said. “See, this is why you can’t get a girlfriend, you know nothing about women.”
“How would you know any better, you don’t have a girlfriend either!” Gareth retorted, making Eddie snort. If he only knew…
“You two bicker like an old married couple, did you know that?” Dottie said, settling back on her seat.
“That’s because we are,” Eddie joked, grabbing Gareth’s hand and giving him a kiss on the knuckles, making his friend yank his arm out of his grasp while the older boy laughed loudly.
Everyone was in good spirits as they journeyed to The Hideout, but whether she wanted them to or not, Gareth’s words made Dottie pause. Both boys had told her dark, casual clothes would be okay when she’d asked them for advice, so she’d gone with a striped dark blue and white t-shirt and black jean overalls, her trusty Reeboks matching Eddie’s keeping her feet comfortable. She glanced at both of her friends through the rearview mirror and compared her clothes to theirs, but that would never be a fair fight: they were dressed for the stage, not to be a spectator like she was. Gareth was wearing a loose shirt with the sleeves cut out, leather bracelets with spikes decorating each wrist along with his usual rings perched on his fingers. He had a flannel tied at his hip and his jeans were incredibly distressed, something that his Mom hadn’t been too happy about when she found out he’d ripped them himself on their driveway with a sharp rock. Eddie sat next to him, tapping on the steering wheel lightly as they talked about the setlist, looking like a vision straight out of his wildest rockstar dreams in acid wash denim and chains. Admittedly, his eyeliner did look terribly smudged, but he more than made up for it with enthusiasm and a giddy grin etched permanently into his features.
There was no comparison and there would never be one. Dottie simply didn’t fit in. They were undiscovered rockstars, masters of their craft who had poured blood, sweat and tears into a yet unfulfilled dream, and she was just the high school friend who was lucky enough to meet them before they blew up. She tried to be excited for them, to join in on the fun, but all she could think about was how Eddie was destined for bigger things than to be chained to an elementary school teacher and the white picket fence she had always dreamed of when she was living in a tiny apartment with her Dad back in New York.
Unaware of her inner turmoil, Eddie pulled into The Hideout’s parking lot next to Donny’s car, Gareth excitedly hollering out of the co-pilot’s window to get their friends’ attention. Donny took one last drag of his cigarette before throwing it to the side, and hurried to meet them along with Jeff, hugs and pats on their backs exchanged before immediately busying themselves unloading both vehicles. Dottie was quick to mask her discomfort by helping out; a task that forced her to stay focused was always a welcome distraction for her worried brain. The boys chatted loudly, their tired grunts filling the eerily empty parking lot as they moved heavy amps and Gareth’s drum kit into the bar through a service door to the side of the building, leaving Dottie to trail behind them carrying cables and drumsticks.
“Hey, you okay?” Jeff asked, taking a mic stand from her hands, back pressed to the metal service door to keep it open.
“Yeah! Yeah, I’m just nervous,” she lied, her smile failing to reach her eyes. “Never been to a place like this before.”
“No one here bites, I promise,” he nudged her shoulder. “And if they do, we’ll fight them for you. You’re with the band, you’re a VIP now.”
“My heroes,” she said, pretending to swoon.
The small exchange might have gone unnoticed had Eddie not become finely attuned to the girl’s emotions even when she wasn’t sharing them out loud. Something wasn’t right, he was sure of it, and he was determined to find out what it was before their set started. He wanted her to enjoy this, to see him doing one of the things he loved most, to let her into a space that up until now had been sacred for him. The Hideout’s little stage wasn’t the Madison Square Garden, but with her in the crowd, he felt like it was the most important show he’d ever play in his entire life.
“I really like your shirt,” Dottie was telling Donny about his Iron Maiden tee, holding his bass for him as he searched for a pedal that had gotten lost in the back of his car. “The black makes your eyes pop out.”
“But I need my eyes,” he whined jokingly.
“You know what I mean, dumbass,” she laughed, softly hitting his leg with her sneaker.
“I was gonna wear something else actually but I couldn’t find it,” he said, frowning at his car’s messy floor. “I have this Halloween shirt- aha!”
“Did you find it?”
“Yep, it was under the mat,” he climbed out of the car and pulled his pants up higher. “My ass wasn’t showing, was it?”
“I would never let you show your ass in public,” Dottie said, giving him back his bass. “We got everything? What do we do now?”
“Yeah, we just need to set up and-”
“Hey man, can you start without us?” Eddie asked, sitting on the back of his open van and patting his pockets for his cigarettes. “Need her help with something.”
“Uh- yeah, sure,” Donny said, looking at both of them suspiciously and noticing how Dottie appeared to be as equally confused as he was. “Don’t take too long.”
Donny hoisted his bass case over his shoulder and disappeared into the building, throwing one last look at them for good measure. While Eddie busied himself lighting up a cig, Dottie shifted her weight from foot to foot nervously. What on Earth could Eddie want her help with right now? Was he… was he going to tell her to leave? Had he realized this was no place for her and didn’t want anyone to see she was with them? Or with him?
“Come ‘ere,” Eddie said, widening his legs so she could stand between them. “You gonna tell me what’s going on or do I gotta tickle it out of you?”
“You know I don’t like tickles.”
“Then I guess you’re gonna have to spill, don’t you, princess?” he flicked some of his ash to the side and wrapped an arm around her hips to bring her closer. “What is it, huh? My eyeliner’s that bad you can’t even look at me?”
“No,” she muttered, lips curling into a resigned pout. “You look pretty.”
“I look like shit. People might confuse me with a raccoon.”
“A pretty raccoon,” the right corner of her mouth lifted into a tentative smile and he took that as a win.
“If it’s not my eyeliner, what’s bothering you then? You wanna go home? ‘Cause I’ll drive you back right now if you want me to, just say the word.”
“No, no,” she quickly shook her head, curls bouncing around but her eyes were still stuck to his knees. “I wanna see you play.”
“Baby, I know something’s upsetting you. Talk to me, come on. We’ve been good at that lately,” he pleaded, thumb sneaking into the side of her overalls and under her shirt to rub comforting circles on her skin.
“It’s just-,” Dottie huffed, crossing her arms and curling on herself. “I feel weird, okay? I look like an idiot.”
“What are you talking about?” Eddie frowned.
“Ed, I’m wearing overalls.”
“And?”
“What do you mean, and? You look like a fucking rockstar and I’m some random toddler following you around. I don’t fit in, Gareth’s right.”
“Okay, first of all, fuck Gareth,” she opened her mouth to argue but he beat her to it. “No, no, fuck Gareth. He doesn’t know shit about fashion, never trust anything he says, okay? He used to wear polos every day before he met me, you knew that? He can’t judge anyone. And I love your overalls. You look adorable in them.”
“But I don’t want to look adorable!” Dottie stomped on the ground, which only furthered his point. “You look so badass, why couldn’t I look like that?”
“You wanna look badass? I’ll give you any of my shirts next time, I promise,” Eddie pulled her closer until she uncrossed her arms and rested them on his shoulders. “But don’t listen to that dumbass. I love how you dress. I really fuckin’ do, babe.”
“Yeah? The toddler thing gets you going?” she asked, melting under his earnest eyes.
“Nah, that’s all you, darling,” he stretched himself up to kiss her gently. “You get me going. And you always fit in with me, alright?”
“Okay.”
“Nope, come on, you gotta say it.”
“Eddie.”
“I’m waiting,” he sang.
“You’re insufferable sometimes,” she rolled her eyes, but this time her smile was much more genuine. “Fine. I fit in with you.”
“Always.”
“Always.”
“Good,” he took one last drag of his cigarette and threw it away, lifting himself up to close the van doors and direct into the bar. “We’re gonna talk about this later though. I know you’re still thinking about it.”
“It’s scary how much you know me,” she mused, leaning onto his side for courage as they walked to the front door.
“What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t pay attention to you?” he said, opening the door to let her in.
Boyfriend. He had called himself her boyfriend. They hadn’t discussed what they were yet; Eddie was adamant about asking her out properly on Graduation Day but it felt good to hear that he knew what he meant to her. That he wanted the same thing she did, even if her anxious heart got in the way sometimes. Dottie was so sure he’d get bored of her once he realized how truly boring she was, but failed to consider that in all their months together as friends, Eddie had learned to love their differences and cherished them deeply. Why would he want someone who was just like him? He was an idiot in his opinion, he’d hate it if she was equally impulsive, messy and brash as he was. She was soft where he was rough, logical where he was a dreamer, practical where he was ignorant. And in turn Eddie felt capable where she was inexperienced, bold where she was shy, and calm where she was nervous. Two puzzle pieces that are cut the exact same way never fit, and Eddie was confident in the knowledge that they were alike, yet different where it mattered the most. It was just a matter of time until she got to see things like he did, and he’d be damned if he didn’t help her get there faster.
“Dave! What’s up?” Eddie hollered as he approached the bar, a bald man with a bushy beard greeted him with a big smile.
“Hey, Ed! The guys told me the big news, I’m proud of you, kid,” Dave said, putting down his rag and a glass to pat Eddie’s back over the counter. “You brought a new friend today?”
“Thanks, man. Yeah, this is Dottie,” he introduced them. “Dot, Dave, he’s the owner - Dave, Dot. Treat her right, okay? She’s our manager.”
“No shit,” Dave laughed. “How did that happen?”
“I got them a gig in Indy next month and they offered me the job,” Dottie said, slipping onto a bar stool next to Eddie. “We should talk business sometime.”
“That’s my girl,” Eddie beamed, squeezing her hand before walking backwards to the stage. “Give her anything she wants, I’ll cover her tab!”
“So, you’re Eddie’s girl, huh,” Dave said, eyes glinting.
“I guess I am,” Dottie smiled, before her expression dropped in realization. “Could you- We’re not, like- The guys-”
“Secret’s safe with me, doll,” he winked at her. “I knew something was up when Ed started adding ballads to their setlist. Now, what’s your poison? On the house.”
“Would root beer be an acceptable choice?” she asked, cheeks burning under her skin.
“Depends. You want ice cream with it?” he threw his rag over his shoulder.
“I’ll never say no to a little vanilla.”
“Attagirl. I can see why he likes you,” Dave said, and disappeared down the kitchen door in search of a scoop of ice cream.
Dottie turned around in her stool to look at her friends happily setting up for their show, palpable excitement coursing through their veins. Gareth was hunched over his drum kit, tightening and loosening the skin until it was perfect while he heard the story Donny was retelling, Eddie laughing loudly and Jeff cringing while uncoiling a cable. They looked happy, barely controlled energy bouncing around the room much to everyone’s amusement. Two older men sat in a corner of the bar, mugs filled with frothy beer and a bowl of peanuts shared between them - they lifted up their drinks and smiled at her in acknowledgement when she glanced their way. Dave was funny, charming and a little bit kooky, all the right ingredients for a good bartender. He kept Dottie busy by telling her stories about every regular that was in the bar, and introduced her to the two men as “the boys’ boss, so no funny business with her”. Rudy and B.B. ate it up, calling her bosslady in all further interactions, asking her about their friendship with Corroded Coffin and telling her silly stories they had collected about her friends over their years as The Hideout’s only band with a permanent slot.
It was clear to Dottie that this was a family built on routine and comradery. They had nicknames for each other, knew about beverage preferences and medical conditions, asked about parents, wives and children. B.B. was all too glad to have someone new to show off the pictures he kept in his wallet, his five grandchildren looking up at Dot from the glossy paper as he shared names and little anecdotes about them proudly. When it was time for Corroded Coffin to finally start playing, everyone paid attention and even cheered when the first few notes of Black Sabbath’s Paranoid began. Dottie sang along to every single word that came out of Jeff’s mic, thinking about that very first time she’d seen them play in Gareth’s garage. This felt equally warm, homey, and handcrafted. A labor of love.
Corroded Coffin was a sight that begged to be seen. They were loud and unapologetic; they crooned to the outcasts, the freaks, the weirdos. Lee with his prosthetic leg and handlebar mustache, Rudy with his white hair and beer belly, Shonda with her leather vest and scary-looking motorbike parked outside. These drunkards were their very first fans, and they enjoyed the Tuesday night gig as much as anyone could enjoy first row seats to a Metallica show in a big arena. During a water break between songs, Lee asked for a Judas Priest song and the boys indulged him, Gareth immediately launching into a complex beat that made him break one of his drumsticks in half at the end. He looked the happiest Dottie had ever seen him.
The half hour show came to a close, and Corroded Coffin said their goodbyes with pure elation and sweat dripping down their faces. Dottie wanted to help them load everything back into the cars, but Shonda kept her busy and glued to her stool talking about New York and the best food places she had encountered on her travels. If Dottie recognized some of the mentioned spots as known queer hangouts she’d always wanted to go to but couldn’t because she was underage, she said nothing, but the knowledge only endeared the older lady more to her. When the guys had finished putting everything away, they surrounded Dottie at the bar and Dave presented them with a beer each. Yes, it was illegal to serve alcohol to minors, but no one cared. They’d earned those fair and square, and what was the big issue with a little toast between friends to the Hellfire Class of ‘86 who would be graduating in just a few short days?
“Since when do you go dry after a show, Ed?” Dave said, grabbing the bottle Eddie had pushed back into his hand.
“I’m driving her around tonight,” Eddie said, nodding towards Dottie who was lost in conversation with Jeff. “Her Dad might kill me if we get pulled over and I’m drunk, and I actually like being alive.”
“She’s got you whipped,” B.B. commented, making the rest of the older men laugh while Eddie’s ears burned red at the light teasing.
“Good for her. Someone had to do it at some point,” Rudy said, lifting his frothy beer to his lips, and truth be told, Eddie was more than happy to admit they were right.
Dottie was not expecting Eddie to pull over halfway between her house and Gareth’s after dropping him and his drum kit off, but it soon became clear that he wasn’t about to let her go to bed without talking about what had happened earlier. He was still a little jittery from the show, adrenaline starting to run off now that they were surrounded by the quiet of the night in a deserted street, truly alone for the first time all day. After reaching to click her seatbelt off, he helped her crawl sideways onto his lap, resting her weight half on him and half on the driver’s door, legs draped over the center console and stretching towards the co-pilot’s seat. Despite the fact that he’d just played a 30 minute set and still felt a little bit damp with sweat from his performance, he took the time to bask in the sense of calm that washed over him. This is the best part of my day, he thought, lazily pressing kisses to the side of her head as she played with his rings, a dazed smile on her face.
“I fuckin’ love you,” he whispered, pushing her hair behind her ear and making her squirm in delight when he pressed another kiss to her temple.
“I love you too. You’re my favorite rockstar,” she muttered back, nosing his cheek.
“You had a good time?”
“The best. Everyone was so nice.”
“They better be,” he said dramatically, lifting his hand into a menacing fist. “Or else I’d have to kill them.”
“Stop,” she laughed, arms wrapping around him. “I’m sorry if I worried you earlier. I was being silly and got too into my own head.”
“You gonna tell me what that was about? And don’t say it was about your overalls, because I know it wasn’t,” he lifted her hand to his lips to kiss her knuckles gently.
“I don’t know, I guess… I was just thinking about the future, and-”
“Uh-oh. Is this it? Are you breaking up with me? Shit, I knew that old dog Rudy was gonna take you away from me.”
“Shut up,” Dottie slapped his chest lightly as she laughed and he pretended to be in excruciating pain, slumping against his seat. “I… I was just wondering if there’s gonna be a place for me, y’know? In your future? And I got upset thinking that maybe there wouldn’t be.”
“Why would you think that?” Eddie asked, uncharacteristically serious.
“I mean… I dunno,” she admitted. “You’re gonna be a huge rockstar and I’m just, like… your boring high school sweetheart that wants to become a teacher. Is that really what you want for your life?”
“Yes. I want you.”
“Eddie, I’m being serious.”
“Yeah, me too,” his hand came up to hold her face. “I’m not gonna become a rockstar, Dot. That ship sailed a long time ago.”
“You’re only twenty-”
“It’s not about my age. Jeff’s leaving Hawkins and he’s gonna be a fancy businessman with a- a fuckin’ pacifist non-profit org or whatever people do in West Virginia,” she snorted at his words and he continued. “Gareth’s probably gonna become the greatest studio percussionist in the world for all we know, and Donny has his family’s restaurant to take care of. We’re all going separate ways, and I don’t wanna do the rockstar thing without them. Like, that’s my band, y’know? I’m not gonna go solo, it’s all of us or no one.”
“I get that, I do but… I just don’t want to be the reason you give up on your dreams,” she admitted. “You’re gonna resent me if you do, and I don’t want you to wake up one day and realize that you are unhappy and you hate me.”
“I could never hate you and I’m not giving up on anything because of you, darling, I promise. Is it really that hard to believe that I want a normal, peaceful life with you?” he shrugged.
“But you hate normal.”
“No, I don’t. I thought I did but… I can’t be hanging onto a maybe forever, babe. I can’t do that to Wayne. I want to help him out, have a good job so I can pay for things around the house, move out before I turn 30. Give him back his goddamn bedroom, for fuck’s sake,” Eddie scoffed bitterly, thinking about his poor Uncle’s back after years of sleeping on that shitty fold-out bed. “I want to make his life easier. He deserves that much.”
“But you could help him out even more if you became a rockstar. You could- you could buy him a big house, and he wouldn’t have to work anymore, he could just retire,” Dottie pressed on. “Didn’t you want to get out of Hawkins? Travel the world?”
“Yeah, but I think I’d miss you too much if I was away on the road all the time. I’m already suffering about you going to Michigan and that’s only three hours away. I can’t get on a tour bus and not see you for eight months, you know I’ll die if you don’t kiss me regularly,” he joked.
“What makes you think I wouldn’t be right there with you on the tour bus if you asked?” she joked back but her voice was so, so earnest.
“Darling, I could never do that to you. I could never ask you to give up on a full ride scholarship for me, fuck. You earned that shit, you have to go and get your degree so I can brag about how smart you are to everyone I talk to.”
“But who’s gonna keep the groupies away from you if I’m not there?” she whispered dramatically.
“I’ll chase them out, let the guys have all of them. Got the best and only groupie I need right here,” he squeezed her to make the remnants of her insecurities go away before kissing her forehead.
“I’m not a groupie though, I’m your manager,” Dottie reminded him. “I’ll have you know, Dave and I are gonna discuss business soon.”
“Yeah? You gonna look out for us? Read all our contracts before we sign them?” Eddie played along, smirking up at her.
“I’ll get you moved from Tuesdays to Thursdays, you’ll see.”
“God, you’re so hot when you know what you want.”
“Eddie!”
“What, my girl is the smartest manager in the world and I can’t find that hot? Fuckin’ sue me then,” he laughed and leaned in to kiss her, feeling incredibly lucky about the fact that she chased his lips for more when he pulled away. “I’m being serious, though. I know you don’t believe me when I say I don’t want that rockstar shit anymore, and this is way too brave of me considering we haven’t even gone on our first official date yet, but… I dunno. I kinda really like the idea of coming back home after a long day at work and getting to hold you like this. I used to think having a normal life was so lame because I never had it and now it’s all I can think about.”
Eddie had told himself throughout his whole childhood that he didn’t want to live like his classmates. He didn’t want to have family dinners every night like they did, because it meant he would have had to eat vegetables like broccoli and carrots instead of whatever unhealthy snack he could make for himself while his Dad was out of the house for the night. He didn’t want to have perfect attendance at school, because he liked whenever he could sleep in until late before “going on an adventure” on Wyatt’s Good Days. He liked spending his summers with his Grandma, stuffing his face full of ice cream and pie, and he liked when Wayne had a few days off from his job as a trucker and returned to Hawkins bringing dumb trinkets he had probably bought at a gas station on his way home, but felt like treasures to the youngest Munson. Eddie had told himself he didn’t want anything more than what he had throughout his childhood, because Wyatt said whining was for pussies and for girls, and his son wasn’t either of those things, are you?
It wasn’t until Eddie moved in with Wayne that he found out he really liked carrots because they were unexpectedly sweet and that he didn’t like grapefruit because it was bitter. He didn’t skip a single day of school for a month and his teacher put a gold star next to his name on the wall. His clothes were now always clean, and he didn’t have to wash ketchup stains in the school’s bathroom anymore to hide them from his Dad because his shirt would be hanging from the clothesline the next day like the offending red splat had never been there in the first place. Eddie thought that living in a real house was bullshit, because he lived in a trailer now and the trailer park was fun. He could feed and pet the strays and go to the playground whenever he wanted, and the people who lived there said hi to him when they saw him collecting flat rocks to skip at the lake when Wayne took him fishing on weekends, and sometimes the old lady next door would give him a bite of watermelon if he asked nicely.
But now Eddie was 20, and he wasn’t scared of admitting he wanted more. He wanted a water heater that didn’t randomly die on him, and a bedroom without mold stains, and Wayne to have the privacy he so very much deserved after 12 years of sleeping in the living room. He wanted a garage like Gareth’s, a backyard like Jeff’s, and a loud but loving family like Donny’s. And whenever he thought about those things lately, he always ended up dreaming about lying on a big comfy couch after a hot shower with his sleepy girlfriend pressed to his side and the decadent smell of a roast cooking away in the oven. No rush, no worries. Just love.
“I think about it too,” Dottie said quietly, jostling him out of his cozy fantasy.
“You do?” he asked, surprised.
“I never had a house until we moved here, I’ve always lived in small apartments before. And it’s not like that’s a bad thing, because it isn’t! I’m really grateful I always had a roof over my head. But I used to dream a lot about having a house like my grandparents when I was younger, and… I don’t know. When I think about it now you are there too. I know, I know it’s a lot, we haven’t even, like, talked about-”
“No, no, that-,” Eddie said, an unfamiliar warmth spreading in his chest. “That sounds really nice, darling. Tell me more? About our future house?”
“Well… it changes all the time. When I see something I like, I add it so it’s always different,” she said, cheeks warm at his soft gaze. “Like, it didn’t have a front porch until I met you, but now I know I definitely want one.”
“Why did you add a porch when you met me?”
“Because you have one! I love it when we sit outside when it’s rainy, it feels really peaceful. And also I think it’s really cute that Wayne waits for you there sometimes. I… I kinda wanna do that.”
“You wanna wait for me to come home on our front porch?” Eddie asked, grip tightening around her waist.
“Mhm,” she buried her head on his neck, closing her eyes like she could see themselves in the future. “We should get a swing, I can make cushions for it. And plant fruit trees in the backyard.”
“We could set up the basement to host D&D nights,” he continued. “And a dog. We should definitely get a dog.”
“Yes. A big dog.”
“A big black dog, and we can name him Ozzy,” he smiled.
“Aw, I wanted to name him Bilbo,” she pouted.
“You can’t name a black dog Bilbo, that’s a name for a brown dog,” Eddie argued.
“We can have two dogs then, one black and one brown.”
“That’s too much, we need space for the kids.”
“K-kids?” Dottie lifted her head and stared at him like he’d just grown two heads.
“I thought you wanted kids?” he was confused.
“I do, I just… I didn’t think you wanted kids,” she admitted. “And we’re still so young, it feels strange to talk about that.”
“I mean, I definitely don’t want kids right now but maybe in like… five years-”
“Ten,” she said, in a tone that left no room to argue.
“Ten years sounds great. We could have kids in ten years, right? I’m not gonna be a loser by then.”
“Eddie, you’re not a loser,” she frowned.
“Wait until after graduation to make big statements like that, babe.”
“You’re not a loser. You’re the best rockstar mechanic in the world and Ozzy, the kids and I love you.”
“Fuck,” he groaned, wiping his face with his hand. “Princess, you can’t shit like that or I’m gonna ask you to marry me before our first date.”
“Ed?” Dottie said nervously; his hand fell from his face to her thighs and he looked at her. “Are we… are we moving too fast? We haven’t even been on a real date and we’re already talking about, like, marriage and living together-”
“We’re just goofin’ around, babe,” he said, grabbing her hand. “We don’t have to do anything until we’re ready. You gotta go to Michigan first and get your degree, and I have to move out of Wayne’s, we have time. I’m just, uh, putting my cards on the table early so you can yell at me if I start being stupid. That alright with you?”
“Yeah. Yeah, that’s alright with me,” she smiled back at him.
“Besides, everyone at The Hideout knows you’re my girl now. That’s bigger than marriage - if we break up they’ll take your side.”
“Am I?”
“Huh?”
“Am I your girl?” Dottie asked, knowing the answer but still wanting to hear it from his lips.
“You know you are,” he pulled her into a kiss before singing softly. “My girl, talkin’ ‘bout my girl… my girl!”
“You’re so silly,” she giggled, noses bumping in the dark.
“But I’m your silly. You’re mine and I’m yours, okay? So no more getting upset at whatever bullshit Gareth says. I’ll kick his ass.”
“It’s not his fault. My brain just hates me sometimes.”
“I’ll fight your brain,” he said, making her giggle again. “You’re It for me, darling. We fit in together. It’s just that easy.”
“Easy,” she repeated.
Eddie had told himself a lot of lies growing up, but the biggest one was that he didn’t want a normal, quiet life, because that was lame and he wasn’t going to conform to the system like everyone else did. He understood now that maybe, just maybe, having the most regular, happy, love-filled life he could get with his high school sweetheart turned elementary school teacher and a big black dog named Ozzy, in a house with a swing on the front porch, enough rooms for children that didn’t exist yet, and a basement where he could DM as many campaigns as he could think of, would probably be the biggest act of defiance he could do in the eyes of a town who thought he would never be deserving of the common luxuries everyone else got to have without having to fight for them.
taglist: @munsonology @kurdtbean @every1lovesanunderdog @eg-dr3amer3
#bunny writes#small town fic#eddie munson fanfic#eddie munson x reader#eddie munson x female character#eddie munson x ofc#eddie munson x oc#eddie munson fluff#eddie munson angst#eddie munson fic#stranger things 4#stranger things#hellfire club#corroded coffin#eddie munson#gareth stranger things#jeff stranger things#dustin henderson#mike wheeler#max mayfield#lucas sinclair#chrissy cunningham#wayne munson#joseph quinn#baby's first fic
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Here to drop some random ml hcs or scenarios on yall and then probably disappear for another month.
Before becoming ladybug, Marinette would always convince her friends to play in the rain or jump in puddles. Right after becoming ladybug the idea of asking Alya to don a raincoat and come outside seemed childish. After being Ladybug for a while, rain only reminds her that there are people out there that she can't help. People who have storms in their brains so strong that even Hawkmoth avoids them. Nino, the closest friend she's had since childhood notices for a second that she no longer looks at puddles with wonder. He brings Alya and Adrien to Marinette on a rainy day, telling them to wear raincoats and clogs. Neither know what clogs are. They get there, waiting outside as Nino went up. Marinette is kindof against it, saying its a waist of time or she was too busy but Nino drags her down anyway. Nino runs out to join Alya and Adrien who were already jumping in puddles but he turns back when he notices Marinette hesitate under the over hang. She's asking herself existential questions like how can she act like a child and play in the rain when someone might need her. Nino grabs her hand and pulls her arm into the downpour making them both laugh as it instantly soaked what little if her sleave was exposed. In that moment she remembered why she loved the rain so much and they all played in the rain like kids because they are kids and they are allowed to enjoy the little things. The rain eventually stopped but they didn't, jumping in puddles and dancing without a care in the world.
(If you can't tell i am releasing all of the creativity that has been trapped within me since my last post.)
After using the dragon miraculous a couple more times kagami starts to collect little trinkets and tells no one, not even her mother. They are her little secret and they belong to her alone.
(When yall think of dragon side effects, do yall see her as cold blooded or a literal heater? I like the heater because when everyone is in t-shits and pants, Kagami literally exhales steam.)
Every time Juleka mutters indecipherably, there was a curse word somewhere in her statement.
Nino and Marinette eat Funyuns but Nino prefers off brand. Adrian eats salt and vinegar chips. Alya eats cheetos. Chloe eats the vegetable chips. Lila eats the vegetable straw chips. Sabrina eats the cheddar pringles, not necessarily by choice. Juleka eats purple doritos. Luka and Zoe eat blue doritos. Rose eats spicy doritos. Kagami does not eat chips but she will take one from any of them if offered. Also, Mylene and Ivan eat basic potato chips together, Kim eats cheese doodles, Max eats different flavours of ruffles and Nathaniel and Alix sit away from everyone eating seaweed.
(If i missed someone I'm sorry, i got the important people. (A part of me feels like i might've mixed up Chloe and Lila on the vibe check but oh well.))
Marinette has bubbles in her desk because they remind her of Nino.
Alya trys to start controlled discourse when her friends drink different sodas but everyone is just glad they get a mini pickmeup of caffeine.
#miraculous ladybug#lmb#miraculous lb#miraculous#marinette dupain cheng#marinette dupen chang#adrien agreste#alya cesaire#nino lahiffe#chloe bourgeois#lila rossi#kagami tsuguri#juleka couffaine#im not tagging everyone#miracuclass#akuma class
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Stupid, silly Namor or Attuma fic ideas. Don’t think too hard about these they’re just funny little ideas. Pls tag me if you write or get inspired by any of these. Like always, there are no rules:
1. The reader is labeled as the village idiot because she likes to sing with her head underwater to "sing to the mermaids". The village ridicules her for it. One day, she is swept out in a riptide, and no one is willing to come to her aid—no one from the village, that is.
2. Reader is full of bad puns and dad jokes, much to the chagrin of Namor/Attuma. "Why are seagulls called seagulls?"
“Stop now.”
“Because if they flew over bays, they'd be bagels! Oh hey, What did one wave say to the other?"
“I swear, if you make one more ocean related pun, I will murder you on this island and tell everyone you died in a shipwreck."
"...well, someone's salty."
3. You put a message in a bottle and set it out to sea in the hopes it’ll reach Namor/Attuma so you can be pen pals. “Oh my god I love you but you’re so stupid.” They say because you have no idea that’s not how mail works.
4. You’re in love with Namor/Attuma, but you’re also obsessed with monsters and cryptids so you keep asking them questions like “Is the Kraken real?? What about 6 headed hydras? Have you seen Nessie?? Are they friendly? Darling tell meeeeeee”
5. Reader does that stupid prank thing where she pretends to do a magic trick with an egg and a bottle of water. She’s like “Ok now look inside” and squeezes the bottle, spraying water in Attuma/Namor’s face and runs away cackling.
6. You introduce Namor/Attuma to a wonderful human invention - Water beds. They are less than amused. Reader, consider your sexy time privileges revoked😑
7. Attuma/Namor trying to teach reader combat and how to fight like a Talokanil but reader keeps making it sexy and Namor/Attuma is like “Ok maybe we should stop. You’re not even listening to me or learning anything properly!” And reader is like “Oh I’m learning all the right techniques perfectly. 😏😘”
8. Those videos from EVNautilus of the people in a submarine coming across a dumbo octopus and a googly eyed stubby squid but instead it’s scientist reader being shown Talokan by Attuma or Namor and fawning over the sea creatures because they’re just little guys. Sweet underwater babies. And reader being like “it’s just a baby can I adopt it pls” 🥺 and Namor or Attuma being like “pay attention. Remember why we’re here.”
9. “Your child brings home a raccoon, mistaking it for a cat and begs to keep it” trope but instead it’s Namor/Attuma and their child has brought home an anglerfish or some other hideous abomination of the sea. It’s surprisingly docile and follows the child around like a pet anyway so can we keep it??? Please father 🥺
10. Namor and Jeff the Land Shark crossover. That’s it. That’s the post. Reader wants to adopt Jeff as their child. He’s just a baby 🥺
11. Peter Pan “They were just having a bit of fun, weren’t you, girls?”
“We were only trying to drown her” Mermaid Lagoon AU
12. “General, I’ve brought the cartographer into the war meeting today. I believe you owe her an apology for ruining all her maps when you stab them to dramatically mark a location.” (What if the “cartographer” is actually Attuma’s small daughter or sister drawing doodles of maps and playing pretend/mirroring what her dad or brother does because she wants to help and it’s all in jest hehe)
13. 2 days ago you went to an animal shelter and adopted the most adorable cat. What you don’t know is, he’s the reincarnation of an Aztec god. Your food offerings are unacceptable and that ugly small box that feels like it’s made from scratchy carpet will not do. No. He’ll be sleeping in your bed with you. Don’t try to lock him out; he’ll just scream and sing the songs of his people until you let him back in. (Or maybe through a magic mishap Namor has been accidentally transformed into a cat. Yeah Namor as a cat AU. I told you these ideas were silly.)
14. “Would you still love me if I was a worm” meme With Namor or Attuma but instead it’s “Would you still love me if I was a sea cucumber” or something ocean related
15. Namor or Attuma are taking their daughter trick or treating this year and ask what she wants to be for Halloween. A superhero, a mermaid, a princess? No. She wants to be a horseshoe crab. Possible Modern AU.
16. Reader goes to the beach often and befriends the seagulls/pelicans. So they start to bring her gifts like shells, rocks, etc. Except one day they bring you a golden bracelet, beaded necklace, or jade earrings (your choice of which). It’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. A few days later, Namor shows up at the beach, looking very annoyed as he asks for his necklace/bracelet/or earrings back.
17. You and Namor or Attuma meet on the beach in your special spot. You don’t get to be with him often considering he’s kept away by his responsibilities and loyalty to Talokan, and you’re human. It’s usually your only chance to have time where you can just quietly love each other. Except a stupid fucking seagull or pelican has been following you to both the beach and your home; squawking incessantly, wreaking havoc and basically cockblocking you. Untitled Goose Game AU but it’s a seagull/pelican.
#namor x reader#attuma x reader#namor imagine#namor x you#namor x y/n#namor fic#don’t examine these too closely#Dumb thoughts and ideas for silly time#sort of crack!fic ideas if you will#fic ideas
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Been thinking abt. Cyn
Thinking abt her maybe. wanting to let the Solver in partly out of wanting to kill humans (at least the ones in the mansion), wanting the power to make them suffer the way they made her suffer (like. considering how badly they treated her I’d be surprised if she didn’t have any sort of vengeful intent tbh).
Thinking abt her carrying out that goal, and it feels so good to finally lash back that she keeps going farther with it until it results in the Earth being destroyed
Thinking abt how the Solver’s own goals go way beyond the destruction of a single planet, and Cyn discovering this at some point…. and realizing then that, as much she wanted to destroy and rend and avenge herself and dronekind in general, she doesn’t want this. But at this point it’s too late; she’s too far integrated into the Solver (or the Solver into her) to be able to do much to frustrate its plans
so why even try? she’s helpless all over again - but it said it wouldn’t discard her, so if she just… sticks to the background, tunes it all out, maybe it’ll hurt less
to suffer in silence is better than suffering with it
YES. YES. YES.YES.YES.ESY.ESY.ESY.ESY HOLY FUUUUUCK OH MYG OD oh . hoh mygod you got my fucking thoughts down to a T i genuinely dont think icould add much to this.
thius is EXACTLY how i think about it. i feel like what makes it worse in my brain is the fact that cyn appears... very young. with the assumption that n v & j are programmed to be roughly 18-21 in age then they were evn younger as butlers and consdiering cyn is n's YOUNGER BROTHER... she must have been little. she was a child. she didnt want to die. she was given a chance; not only to come back, but to deliver justice to the terrible people who did this to her and her sibling(s.) an offer she had no reason to refuse; especially because of how young she was.
it feels good at first, she thinks shes ddoing the right thing; she finally has the power to make sure those she loves are safe;!!!!!!! but all power comes at a price and she was too little to comprehend it :( eventually getting payback against tessas parents becomes getting payback on the entire human race... and what are a few drone casualties to the solver of the absolute fabric? all life is life, whether organic or not, and will be destroyed in the exponential end.
bit by bit, she loses herself. she doenst know when shes in control versus when the solver is in control. was it worth it, to see her brother again? to see him grow hopeless as her thoughts drifted away from her grasp and she was no longer herself. to watch your sister fall into the solvers grasp, just as you realize you had. to be the one to chop off your brothers head and slaughter countless humans. all you wanted to do was keep everyone you love safe. you just wanted to help!
your family is... alive, more or less... but was it worth all the anguish your efforts lead to? to see them thrown yet again into situations they're completely helpless in? you were just a child; and you still are, as you were not given the chance to grow... so what can you do about it?
AM YET AGAIN YOU MAKE ME GO INSANE. GOD I LOVE THESE FUCKING ROBOTS THEY R SO FUCKING COOL.
also heres a doodle i never finished :)
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let me love your OCs
masterlist
to request a doodle, read and reblog this post. (currently CLOSED)
rocket art | my OCs | current queue | main masterlist
petra quill, petra again, moon, juno, rose ♡
doodle requests are currently CLOSED.
i reserve the right to choose & reorganize my queue based on wherever inspiration strikes (it's not that i don't like your OC ~ it's just that my creativity is a fickle thing). i do tend to most enjoy drawing humanoid femmes with reckless hair in the gotg fandom, so they will probably get priority.
avery, jolie, fleuret, chérie | ken, brita, star, akira | ember, mori, magril, dori
Akira (@bakaotakulife) look at this shiny blue-haired badass. she has such an interesting backstory and you'll want to follow her creator to find out more about what happens next, i'm just saying.
Avery Malloli (@evolvingchaoswitch) is a fuckin badass bar-owner with sexy arm-muscles and tattoos and both i and jolie have crushes on them.
Brita (@pretty-chips) is such a pure, delightfully fun character with record-store-clerk vibes. Thank you for letting me draw her. She is a glowing sunbeam-soul.
♡ another Brita wearing a terran t-shirt gifted to her by my oc, Jolie Spinner
Chérie (Cherry) (@aliasrocket) I have a crush. 10/10 would attempt to flirt with (badly). Thank you so much for creating her and letting me doodle her!
Dori (@funkydancingdinosaur ) i have deeply loved having the chance to draw and paint tadoria. they are so rad and i love their bioluminescent fucken eyes. i may end up having to draw them again at some point just to play with those eyes again. so fuckin cool
Ember (@thirteens-lucky-tardis) this girl is a fucking dragon. she’s got such interesting background lore and she’s cool as fuck. i vow i will, someday, draw her wings. truly a rich and interesting oc with great interactions with rocket! thank you gif letting me doodle her!
Erit (@hipothermia) is a super-interesting cat-like alien with some mind-control powers, gorgeous patterning, and she's besties with rocket (i get it. they both like to annoy quill.) SUPER cool character, SUPER fun to draw! ♡♡
Fleuret (@elegant-fleuret) is my personal caffeine deity. i now pray to her for the ability to scrape myself out of bed and for deliverance from coffee crashes. she is also the dj of knowhere which is possibly the coolest fucking job in the universe and i would like to be her friend.
J'me (@caesarhamato22) is a badass babe and i loved getting to try some new things and make up some guns. plus making something for jay is like. making an offering to a god. such a fucken honor
Jolie (Window Across the Galaxy) - my gremlin child. just some scritchy-scratchy character concepts. feel free not to look if you want to imagine Jo in your own way.
♡ another series of low-rent jolies
♡ the "real" Jolie doodle - refined, finished, && in color
♡ a favorite scene of Jolie & Rocket (Chapter IV. Got There First.)
♡ i just wanted to add other folks' beautiful art of jolie here too. i am so grateful for these treasures ♡♡
very first portrait of jolie by @raccoonmybeloved ~ so fucking cute i died
sims of jo by @evolvingchaoswitch ~ particularly love her paint-spattered outfit
an absolutely drool-worthy nsfw of rocket & jolie by @lazarel-3000 that permanently has altered my brain chemistry and lives in my mind forever ♡♡♡
Juno (@lazarel-3000) is one of my favorite OCs ever. she is everything. i want to be her && i want to date her (unfortunately she only has eyes for rocket).
♡ a rough little juno sketch because i just love her that much (+ it was a birthday thing!)
♡ another juno [NSFW], covered in sparklies, per one of my fave scenes from The All of You
♡ my favorite juno so far ~ a lineless portrait. she's so fuckin gorgeous and i cannot get enough of her!
Ken (@thismonthshyperfixation) ken is a very rad-as-hell woodworker who meets pete on terra. they go on a space-road-trip to knowhere so ken can meet rocket. they have very cool hair and tattoos and i wanna hang out with them and talk about making stuff
Magril (@rxin3akamallory) i have so enjoyed getting to know magril over the months that rxin3 has been patiently waiting for this doodle. she's such a clever, resourceful, resilient little sweetheart, an opossum, and a halfworld refugee who escaped via a ravager ship. plus her eye is a camera?? i love her!!
Dr Meti Geer (@luci-j) look, if you wanna read a VERY charming and hilarious fanfiction series about a half-celestial feline(ish) genius and chief veterinarian of knowhere who almost break's rocket's junk by falling off a roof and then accidentally married my favorite raccoon, you need to check out meti's story. i love getting to try my hand at drawing the illustrious dr geer and i am grateful for the opportunity to try and practice my extremely-limited hand at anthropomorphic characters. HE'S SO CUTE
Moon (@glow-autumz) with Rose (see below). Thank you for letting me draw these two lovelies. You know I headcanon them as interdimensional besties ♡
♡ another Moon (@glow-autumz) Thank you again for letting me illustrate some of Moon's rad powers. i am OBSESSED. I appreciate so much you bringing her to life!
♡ a Moon-Mermaid (@glow-autumz) because she has captured my imagination. Thank you for letting me continue to doodle your amazing, gravity-defying, gorgeous-haired girl!
Mori (@blueberrysquire) this adorable badass is an alien space psychologist who focuses on shepherding folks across the threshold of life and death. they live incredibly long and their lore is rad as fuck. i took way too long to draw this character but they are an absolute delight and you should read more about them!
Petra Quill [NSFW] (@hibatasblog) so this version of peter is rad as hell and i wanted to draw them in their seductive shi'ar lingerie. petra quill is the darling version of peter quill who features large in all of this author's rocket x fanfiction and i love them. this particular sequence is from casino royale and you should check them out on ao3!
♡ another Petra (+Rocket!), chilling on the eclector (@hibatasblog) a scene starring the two babies from hibata's fanfic entanglement. it's truly the warmest hug of a story and you should all read it ASAP. (this is actually a complete art piece, with like a background and everything lol)
Rose (@love-for-faeries-go-burrrr ) & Moon (see above) Thank you for letting me draw these two lovelies. You know I headcanon them as interdimensional besties ♡
♡ Another Rose (@love-for-faeries-go-burrrr) because I love her so, so much. aka rose gets her wings back
Star (@cleo-is-babygirl) is a pure fluffy little sundrop and a brilliant self-taught medic/surgeon. she is also the first tanuki/anthropomorphic animal i have drawn other than rocket so i was very nervous but i did my best. thank you for letting me try something new and expand my experience, friend!
#let me love them#other people's characters#i just love drawing pretty girls#gotg oc#rocket x oc#original character#space princess#let me love your ocs ♡rfh#gotg fanart#rocket raccoon fanfiction#gotg fanfiction#guardians of the galaxy#reader insert#rocket racoon x reader#fan art#rfh masterlist#rfh art
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what are your age hcs for tatsuki and soutarou? and misc hcs for urotsuki?
Gonna be blunt, head is a cluttered junkyard and I'm a rambler with zero self control when right conditions are met [you ask about Special Interests]. plus am tired and really out of it from work cause we had inventory and i ordered too many lunchables [oscar mayer can go to hell]. Will do best to make this coherent, or at least intelligible, but apologies if it's a bit of a mess.
Age Headcanons [If we're going for what they are in game]
Short answer: Soutarou is late 20s-early 30s, Tatsuki ranges between 15-18. [tho ofc when I draw shippy stuff it's an AU and they're both early 20s]
Long answer: Actually thought about this on and off a decent bit and could never really get more than a vague, "Somewhere around this area" for them.
Soutarou is somewhere between late 20s and early 30s. He's old enough to have experienced some shit, try to get clean and back on his feet and get some manual labor experience, and have that ripped from him. Plus some time to isolate and have those thoughts wreck havoc on his mental state.
Tatsuki on the other hand is messier and harder to really give an age to. They could be a kid escaping into fairy tales to avoid reality, or a young adult [18-20] that was forced to grow up too fast and is now suffering from dealing with their fractured identity [have thought about Debris endings occurring around Tats 18th birthday, because they have the "You're not a child, so why do you hold onto such stupid childish fantasies?" thoughts to go on top of everything else and it sorta just breaks them.]
Misc Uro Headcanons
Big Deep angsty Uro hc/kinda what shapes her core for me
You might've heard the quote, “I think the saddest people always try their hardest to make people happy because they know what it’s like to feel absolutely worthless and they don’t want anyone else to feel like that." by Robin Williams. This more or less summarizes my view of Urotsuki at the core. She may not be weighed down by what other dreamers have gone through, but she knows what it's like to be trapped in darkness and though it may not show, she is doing her best to make others happy because she doesn't want others to go through that. [side note: this is huge part of reason for shipping her with Tatsuki. Feel like they'd be the same, tho Tats is way more introverted. That angsty, "You see through the smiles or notice the little things and softly nudge me to say you understand and are there." sorta thing].
Going off that; for the longest time have hc'd that Uro has struggled with an ED and self image issues in the past and a big part of why she loves food and is okay with being herself, and is so supportive of others doing the same, is because she had to fight to get to where she is and is doing her best to make sure others can simply see the joy in life without experiencing the hell she went through.
More lighthearted/Uro's a goofball hcs
Uro is somewhat lactose intolerant but keeps getting sick because she won't. fucking. stop. eating cheese. Or questionable foods in general. "It smells alright so it's probably fine." [narrator voice: It wasn't fine] sorta things.
Probs mentioned this one before but eh, Uro and Sou are one of few dreamers with a drivers license, and Uro's driving doesn't exactly leave most passengers feeling safe so Sou is constantly stepping in when she offers people a ride. The two bicker at each other like an old couple a surprisingly good bit when eyes aren't on them. This paired with them both being older and able to get drunk makes for quite a scene. [Sabi's laughing, Tats is on the floor trying and failing to hide it.]
She did have a dedicated dream diary at some point, but during a depressive period would start to fill and decorate it with random stuff [silly doodles, poems, stickers , ect], and it's now more like a thought scrapbook or therapeutic outlet for her. Pages that are just her jotting down memories that make her happy have little sticky note bookmarks so she can flip through them when feeling down.
Her head is a mess and all over the place, and her counting sheep is like a ritual she semi-depends on to fall asleep since it gets her to focus on one thing and relax [its a sorta behavioral dependency that if she was somehow barred from doing, she'd probs stress out and not be able to sleep.]
Hope you enjoyed or were at least satisfied with rambling anon ◠⸜⸝◠~
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Doodle (part 1?)
Pairing: Haechan x reader
Word count: 1417
Genre: fluff, attempted and horribly failed comedy
Warnings: swearing, cringe and theres no kiss in this part </3 let me know if i missed any!
••••••••
A light hits my face, making me immediately move my tired arm to my face, hoping to block the horrid light from my eyes for the hope of at least getting a few more seconds of sleep.
Well that’s what I was at least hoping for before a loud voice had to interrupt me, which of course belonged to lee donghyuck, who, was also my longterm friend since middle school when we met through an awkward encounter of when my boyfriend of 2 months broke up with me, 13 year old me was obviously heartbroken and what made it even worse was hyucks loud ass laugh that could be heard from across the globe. We somehow became friends shortly after, which made me become bewitched under his charm and somehow gain a life long crush on him.
Resuming to the current situation in our 3rd year of college, here I am trying to ignore his desperate whines to get me up, there was a reason i decided to not get a roommate but if a knew hyuck would technically be the same thing then maybe i would’ve opted for the roommate option earlier on.
“wake up” haechan screams into my ear for about the millionth time making me inch one bit closer to slapping the shit out of him
“Lee donghyuck will you please just shut the fuck up, its saturday for gods damn sake.” The annoyance evident in my voice
“but you promised to take me to the new cat cafe” the grown ass man whines
“Do I fucking look like your sugar mommy to you?” istg if he says yes ill slap him
“youre not but, I am willing to take the offer just incase” that’s when I slap him for real making him let out an exaggerated yelp
“thats it. Ask one of your other hoes, im not taking you anymore”
Sadly, it seemed to not work as here I am walking with this absolute man-child to a cat cafe, once we arrived there I (obviously) firstly looked at the exterior, it was a cute little pink and off white cafe with a rusty pink chalkboard sitting outside for todays menu, a few white tables and seats with some flowers on each table to decorate it,
“It’s so cute” I squealed
“I told you it would be nice” hyuck replies but I just ignore him.
As we go in there were a few people already sitting there, eating a pastry or drinking something with adorable cats on their laps. We walked to a table by a window and grabbed the menus, taking a look at them before a waiter comes
“Hello, have you already decided on what to order yet?” She asks,
“Just a few more minutes please” I reply before she says something again
“Ok, also you too are a very cute and good-looking couple” she smiles not knowing of my mini heart attack that I’m having right now,
“Oh, we’re not a-” I answer back in shock before being interrupted by hyuck
“Oh god, she’s like a sister to me” he says in a (fake but i’m to dumb to realize) disgusted tone which, to be honest, it hurt quite a bit but I brushed it off, there’s no way I could still have a crush on him after all this time, right?
“My apologies” she smiles back before leaving.
“Well, have you decided on what to eat yet?” I ask trying to brush off the heartbreak and embarrassment rushing through my body at that second
***** (Time skip cuz Im not gonna put that much detail into that one scene)
It’s Monday (sadly) and I’m being dragged from my beloved bed by haechan as usual, earlier then usual to class,he wanted to ‘be early’ though I know it was probably to chose who would be his new girlfriend (It’s taking me a lot to hold back from slapping him and telling him I’m right here) because it’s apparently been way to long since he’s had a girlfriend (literally like 9 months).
“You know you could’ve just went alone without me” I whine
“I might look weird if I go alone won’t it look weird when I go alone and just look at other girls”
“No it would make me look like a creep”
“Do you know how many people think we are dating? Like 5 million, I think you would rather want to be a creep then a cheater to people who don’t know us”
“Now that you say that, you’re sadly correct? Y’know what, leave I’ll do this myself” He replies while trying to push me the other way
“Can you stop pushing me you shithead? Just in case you forgot we have the same class!”
********
“Can you please stop hitting me!” I complain to Haechan who’s been hitting me for almost the whole lesson
“I’m bored”
“And I’m trying to learn, so please for the sake of others and me would you please stop”
“How would it hurt others?” He says in a blunt voice
“How am I gonna support my future family because I’m getting rejected at every job because I didn’t pay attention during class?”
“I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to support us”
What the actual fuck. “Lee Donghyuck.”
“Not the government name. Scary.” He says in a ‘scared’ tone yet I could hear the smirk on his face.
***********
I don’t know why I even chose to accept to go to a party with hyuck but here I am walking with him to the party
“Why did we have to walk?” Haechan whines
“Because you need to get up and walk, exercise is important”
“Don’t act like the last time you even went near a gym was when you wanted to get something to eat from the mcdonalds next to it”
“Oh, look! We’re here!” I say trying to change the topic of this convo
“Don’t try to change the subject!”
***
“Hyuck stop drinking, you’ve had so many shots I’m not even sure how you’re even alive right now” I complain to him
“You’re not my mother” he whined, clearly drunk.
“Do you want to end up like him?” I point over to mark who’s on the couch next to a bucket of puke grasping onto staying awake which the possibility of that happening is less possible than him getting hoes “Cause I don’t feel like taking care of you in that state” I look over to haechan who is trying to look like hes asleep, keyword; trying.
“Stop pretending to be asleep, you know that trick never works on me”
“Damn it” he replies clearly bummed out about the fact it didn’t work as usual
“Now get up, I’m not going to let you stay at this place any drunker than you already are
“I don’t wanna” He has the nerve to reply knowing he’ll oblige anyways the second I say it again
“It isn’t choice get up” This time he thankfully gets up, slightly staggering before I let him hold onto me for support
“I’ll call a cab” I say after we walk out the door and he just nods most likely not listening yet still looking at me like a toddler seeing it’s favorite cartoon on tv
“You’re really pretty actually” He says out of nowhere breaking the silence
“Hyuck it’s not the time for jokes right now, you’re just drunk you’re speaking nonsense” I say, brushing of the butterflies in my stomach
“I’m not lying though” Haechan whines like a child “Couldn’t you tell that I’ve liked you ever since I’ve met you?” he says again in a more serious tone this time
“I thought you were just joking all the time when you flirted with me, besides you’re always ‘girl hunting’” I mutter, still a bit shocked
“I only do that because I think you don’t like me back”
“I thought I was pretty clear about my feelings too”
“Not really” he mutters but I choose to ignore it
“Let’s talk about this at my dorm, the cabs coming” I say still in a tiny bit of shock
“I wanna talk about this us now though”
“Fine”
“So, are we like a couple now?” I question
“I hope we are” he smiles at me
“Let’s talk more when you are sober ok?”
“I’m sobering up though” he pouts at me
“Barely.”
*****
The end? (I might make a part 2 when theyre like a couple idk or the next morning, yall decide)
#Haechan x reader#nct dream x reader#nct dream imagines#nct dream fluff#nct dream scenarios#lee donghyuck x reader#nct dream#127 x reader#nct x reader#nct imagines#nct u#nct 2023#nct 127
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