#ED DOES ENJOY VIOLENCE

[bougiebutchbitch]

cannot believe that 'yelling at your boss when he repeatedly almost gets you and your crew killed and lies to manipulate you into staying when you try to leave, is not emotional abuse, actually' and 'there is such a thing as a mutually toxic and unhealthy relationship where both parties are incredibly shitty to each other - and this is obviously where Ed and Izzy stand until S2, when it becomes blatantly abusive' is a controversial take. But as this is Abuse Apologism And Ableism, The FandomTM, I really should not be surprised

Just.

I was deep in physically and mentally abusive relationships in my teens/twenties - including relationships that started out with mutual toxicity and bad decisions on all sides, but which became outright physical & mental & other sorts of abuse with myself as the victim. I know my shit.

I suppose I can see where 'Izzy emotionally abused Ed' comes from IF people give literally the most uncharitable interpretation to Every Single Scene, and assume Izzy shouts angrily at Ed and negs him all the time rather than this being how he acts when he's incredibly stressed by circumstance caused directly by Ed and at the end of his fucking rope? Which, as we see in S2... Is not the case.

It's not freaking emotional abuse when you're shouting at your boss who keeps almost getting you and your crew killed. Even if this is NOT a kind or productive way to help Ed deal with his mental health, considering that Ed's actions have consequences that he repeatedly and blithely ignores, it's pretty fucking justified!

It's not freaking emotional abuse if your boss OPENLY LOVES MAIMING PEOPLE AND IS MORE THAN HAPPY TO BURN THEM ALIVE and you encourage that, while upholding his right to not kill with his own hands. Even if he has private breakdowns after the fact because he suffers from black-and-white thinking, dissociates himself from any wrongdoing, and is afraid of his potential to become 'a monster'.

Are these choices helpful? No. Are they kind? No. Is Izzy demonstrating Model Citizen Behaviour? Definitely not.

But it's sure as hell not emotional abuse. And it doesn't justify the physical and emotional abuse Ed puts Izzy through in S2.

Nothing you say can 'make' him hit you. If he chooses to hit you (or... choke you out then repeatedly mutilate you and pressure you to commit suicide and makes you constantly live in fear for your life and the lives of people you care about) he makes that decision himself. Yes, even if you shouted at him first. Yes, even if you were arguing. Yes, even if you were in the wrong in that argument. Yes, even if he has a Tragic BackstoryTM and mental health issues. This shit shouldn't be controversial.

Signed: one of those actual abuse survivors.

#izzy hands #israel hands #the izcourse #ofmd izzy #our flag means death #ofmd #to be clear: I think Izzy was an absolute shitbag in S1! #but. as someone who WAS emotionally AND physically abused just. Idk. The amount of straws people are grasping at #that's... not what emotional abuse looks like. holy shit. #if they were trying to depict that then they frankly did a really bad job lol #I think he was jealous and also worried for himself and HIS crew (who weren't the Revenge crew at that point in time) #I think he egged Ed on. But as we see REPEATED THROUGHOUT THE SHOW #ED DOES ENJOY VIOLENCE #HE LOVES A GOOD MAIM #HE BURNS PEOPLE ALIVE #THEN DISSOCIATES - that's what makes his character so fascinating and relatable to me! but he absolutely kills people #he just can't handle the reality of that or what it says about him #Izzy didn't 'make' him do jack shit. S1 is heavily dedicated to showing just how much Izzy never can get Ed to do what he wants #'Ed was afraid of him'?? wtf where do you even GET that from #if anything Ed is afraid of HIMSELF in that final scene. And he has good reason to be! #That self-loathing and fear of the self is INTEGRAL to him! See: when he's ACTUALLY scared of the fucking kraken #Anyway stop making both Ed and Izzy fundamentally boring by making one wholly good and one wholly bad lol #Izzy did bad shit. He got a good redemption arc and died. a lot of his fans are tired of that arc. #Ed did bad shit. He didn't get a good redemption arc and a lot of his fans are pissed about it.

[celeryb1tch]

innocent!reader x experienced!pervert!abby is rotting my brain tonight!!!

18+!! this is lesbian smut!

you sit at a table in the mess hall, abby’s arm wrapped around your shoulders and her friends all enjoying their dinner. casual conversation is thrown around the table, until manny’s new fling is brought up.

“-and i mean, SOAKED the sheets. i couldn’t believe my eyes,” he recounts proudly.

everyone is laughing along or rolling their eyes, but abby notices your hesitance. she leans down toward you with a concerned look. “something wrong?”

you shake your head lightly, looking up at her. “jus’ don’t get it,” you reply.

abby feels her stomach twist. she had known there wasn’t great sex ed on the WLF base, but she and her friends had grown up around doctors like her dad and she realizes she hadn’t know the full extent of just how ignorant you were. and admittedly, it made her excited.

“she squirted when she came,” she tries to explain gently. but you still look utterly confused, even as she goes on.

“…come? and she didn’t pee?” you seem so utterly lost. abby wonders if it makes her a bad person to expose you to these ideas, but you’re both already adults. still, that knot is twisting inside her deriving a sick pleasure from all of this. you had always looked up to abby, and she wondered how wrong it would be to corrupt that relationship with talk of sex- or even a demonstration?

that night, you’re laying in bed thinking about what abby said earlier. with all the training and violence you’d grown up around, you hardly had time to pay attention to the ache between your legs, or how it would usually occur when abby was around. but as you recount that conversation in your mind, it appears once more. you think of her arm wrapping around you, pressing you into her hard front. how she was still warm and sweaty from the gym, and how her flyaways stuck to the sides of her forehead because of that. something inside of you is saying you should be embarrassed, and you don’t know exactly why- but a louder, much louder, part is telling you to confide in your best friend. she would never judge you, right?

you shuffle down a few hallways in your fluffy socks until you reach one of the bigger accommodations: abby’s room. and with a bit of hesitance in your knock, you step back as the door opens immediately.

abby is clearly groggy, and must have also been getting ready for bed. she’s wearing nothing but boxer shorts and the usual black sports bra she has on during patrols and workouts. her hair is tied in her signature braid, with more wispy pieces that have come out throughout the day. “hey, you. everything okay?”

you nod and push past abby inside as was usual. she joins you on her bed, your bare thighs touching as you both sit. her eyes are on you and you can feel it again- that heat. you pull away slightly, squeezing your legs together as it’s the only thing you know eases the feeling.

abby pretends not to notice, just like she does any other time you blatantly stare at her muscles or blush when she touches your waist. she doesn’t want to scare you off, especially when she thinks she can tell what you’re going to ask about.

“you remember earlier at dinner?” you say, biting your lip slightly as unease turns in your tummy. and abby just nods, still looking right at you. “how manny said he made a girl, uh…”

“squirt?” abby offers. she says it so nonchalantly, like it’s nothing. like she’s never in a million years thought about fucking you until you do. like she wasn’t hoping this would happen every second after dinner.

“yeah, well, i realized there’s probably a lot of sex stuff i don’t know, and since you… y’know…”

poor baby, she thinks. how will she ever work up the courage. and abby thinks of all the times she’s teased you about all the women she’s fucked. called you jealous that you had to split quality time with her one night stands. seen you pout about her missing games night because someone asked her on a date in front of you. surely you were going to ask for her expertise- for her to help you out, to show you?

“since your dad was a doctor.”

oh. that was it? you wanted a little anatomy lesson. then what was all the embarrassment for? were you that ashamed of asking for a little bit of guidance?

abby gives you a soft smile and an assurance that she can help. and your body floods with relief. this is normal. you can tell her what you’re feeling and she won’t act weird. she can help you.

you stand up and strip off your pyjama bottoms and big shirt you had likely stolen from abby so long ago you don’t remember whose it was in the first place. and she just watches, small smile still on her face as she looks you over.

“okay, so right here? boobs, obviously.” she points to your chest, and you roll your eyes.

“i know that, stupid. show me the more advanced stuff.”

“you’ll have to take your underwear off then.” so you do.

abby instinctively reaches for it, stroking her fingers between your puffy, wet lips. her eyes are shining with admiration and her cheeks are hot.

you pull away slightly at the bolt of pleasure that spikes through you at her touch. “is it… supposed to look like this? i think there’s something wrong.”

she shakes her head fervently, eyes never leaving your pussy. “you’re just wet, that’s all. did something turn you on?” and at your confusion at the term- “get you excited? when girls see something attractive, they get wet.”

oh no. you can feel dread flooding your senses as you try to scramble for an explanation. that it just happens sometimes. that’s normal, right?

after a pause, and a look at your face, abby knows exactly what happened. “oh. you got wet from me, huh?”

you want to run away and disappear. you swallow a sob, but strangely, you feel that pulsing sensation again. all of this attention from abby isn’t working in your favour.

but she isn’t grimacing in disgust, or even asking you to leave. in fact, abby has a shit-eating grin on her face as she watches you cower in front of her.

“you’re not… mad?” you ask sheepishly.

abby reaches out to you, pulling you onto her lap. “no, baby, of course not. it’s cute.”

relief washes over you, but before you can really relax you feel abby’s hand once again on your folds.

“so wet for me, baby. how long has this been happening?”

a finger skims against a particularly sensitive spot, and you choke on your words, succumbing to the blissful feeling. “s-so long, abs. like forever.”

“poor girl. so pent up, so needy. and too embarrassed to tell me.”

“yeah…” you whine. you’re clinging to abby like a lifeline, overwhelmed by the building tension. it’s unlike anything you’ve experienced before. so intense, so all-consuming.

abby’s fingers are expertly caressing your pussy, steadily adding more pressure so as not to overstimulate you. “this is the clit,” she murmurs, and you feel that electric spark again as she glides over one specific spot at the top.

“it’s too much,” you cry out, wriggling under her grasp.

“that means you’re cumming soon,” she explains with a chuckle. “feels so good, trust me. just ride it out.”

and you trust abby with every ounce of your being, so you try to relax your muscles as much as possible while you feel that climbing feeling come to a boil. and she was so right. you’re huffing tiny sobs into her chest as you come down, her strokes easing as you’re finally able to catch your breath again.

abby cradles you into her, clean hand running through your hair. you can feel the puddle between your thighs dripping down her own and onto the sheets, and you’re so exhausted.

“that was so hot, baby. did such a good job for me.”

“abs, that was… wow.”

she’s smiling down at you, admiring your sweat- wicked face. “bet you wish you’d asked me sooner, huh?”

#abby anderson x reader #abby anderson smut #molly’s abby recs! #molly’s!

[sixstepsaway]

so here's the thing

i've seen a bunch of people say on twitter and stuff how... ed's behavior is very abusive and his anger is dangerous and he isn't romantic lead material because of it

and i get where they're coming from

but to me the main issue isn't putting ed in the position of a romantic lead, but not crafting the narrative around his characterization so that it allows for a spicy romantic pirates-in-love narrative instead of...whatever this is.

i'm going to try and explain this. idk if i'll do well but i'll try

the way she show presents stede is as an innocent baby who isn't really equipped for pirate life. he goes into a fugue/disassociative state whenever there's any real violence, apparently, and needs protecting by other characters when things get too rough - for example when ed is telling ned lowe not to take the poker to stede.

that's fine! it's honestly adorable to see a masc character being so soft around the edges and being protected by other characters this way.

(i'm not going to touch on stede's... eh... not great characterization this season rn)

then there's izzy, who is shown as a bit violent, a bit rough around the edges. he's more likely to draw a sword or throw a punch or hit someone with a chair or take a punch like a champ. violence is just part of life for him and that's okay, it just Is, from small things like smacking stede on the ass to bigger things like being wall slammed, it's not all that big or bad for violence to happen around and with him, he tends to give as good as he gets (there's some nuance here but i'm talking the macro themes not the micro of what izzy does vs is done to him)

and finally there's ed

ed is presented as violent (stabbing knives at guys, telling fang to use the snail fork etc) and used to a life of violence, and then in season 2 he's presented as really violent, his anger coming out in dangerous and terrifying ways

and frankly, i'd be super into it if he and izzy were the main ship and that twisted dynamic from the first two episodes of s2 was explored and fleshed out into something deeper

friends to enemies to lovers who fight and fuck. angry pirates who lay hands on each other, who break the whole ship with each other in the heat of passion.

except instead, s2 gives us... abuse. it gives us izzy cringing and lowering his head and trying to protect the kids crew from ed's angry outbursts.

so when stede comes back and he's still soft around the edges and ed headbutts him and it's deliberate, it's... not a great look, and the vibes are a bit skewed

if stede fought back, if when ed struck out at him he struck back, if they fought rather than it being one-sided, if it was friends to enemies to lovers and not presented as healthy, but maybe they can work their way there, who knows, maybe even more like anne bonnie and mary read because hey, they were doing something very similar?

except they were both into it. they were both enjoying the fighting and the fucking and the burning down the house.

stede's not enjoying it.

i cannot describe how much i hate this sequence just because of the way stede flinches

anne and mary don't!! mary jumps at the unexpected bang but she doesnt flinch, she doesn't cover her face like she thinks the vase will be coming for her not the wall and anne? looks so into it

and the thing is that in real life, no, you don't want to date someone who throws shit around, or headbutts you

but in fiction when it's two fucked up people doing this shit together like anne and mary?

that can be fun.

but instead what we've been given is stede flinching and apologizing to ed and then all of ed's...what, semi-redemption???? is done away from the other collection of people he abused, and then he spends some time on a fishing boat wearing a dog collar and everything is fine because he's good now and won't be doing anything bad ever again

and it's just... poor writing. the vibes are rancid.

i spent a really big chunk of time between s1 and s2 defending ed. i kept saying how what he did to izzy by making him eat his toe wasn't abuse, it was a one-off and abuse isn't a one-off thing it's a pattern, and then s2 made it a pattern.

explicitly. explicitly a pattern.

not just one toe but three.

jim saying "you're in an unhealthy relationship with blackbeard"

and all ed offered izzy was a "sorry about your leg" which might've been fine if izzy survived and they could work on this more, but instead that's all the apology and closure izzy will ever get

ed threw a chair and a vase and made stede flinch in fear and stede was right to do that. what part of any of this implies this will never happen again? that stede won't press the wrong button at some point and be on the receiving end? none of it

and if we'd been presented with a s2 stede bonnet who could handle himself and stand up for himself and fight back, then maybe i could imagine that turning into a weird sexy fucked up anne/mary like thing and maybe that could be why they put that episode in, but instead it feels like that episode was going, "look, see, ed's violence is fine because these two are fine with it with each other"

but stede isn't

ed and izzy or ed and stede in an unhealthy battle of a relationship could be such a fun, interesting and downright sexy thing to watch unfold on tv, and could honestly end somewhere far more down the chill end of the spectrum, but that's not what we've been given here

i cannot argue that ed isn't an abuser anymore, and not just of izzy but of the whole crew. he terrified frenchie.

it's not good writing to try and lean into the idea that ed and the pirates are violent and live a life of violence, so it's okay that ed's been violent, while simultaneously presenting his violence as traumatic and abusive, and then less than three episodes later saying oh it's fine now, he's just a little meow meow who can do no wrong, see?

especially considering they had him murdering people at the end of the season. and sure, you can say the english are just cannon fodder and they dont 'count', but they did before. ed explicitly did not kill before, and that included the english, or the spanish, or anyone else. so either they count or they don't, but flipping him on a dime makes no sense.

ALSO

having ed be the son of an abusive man who threw plates at his mother and made her cringe and then having ed kill his father to protect his mother and then a season later having ed become the kind of man who throws chairs and vases and makes his love interest cringe is, again, not bloody optimal

i want to say again i dont CARE about tv always presenting healthy relationships or tv always giving us aspirational goals. i want messy fucked up dynamics and terrible people making terrible choices, and still, to this day, i fucking love ed teach. i would honestly love to have seen them continue with ed's darkness and bring stede into it and see where they went with that, to have stede kill ned lowe and not just bury his feelings in ed but get off on it, enjoy the violence, and see where that led, but no

and so instead all we end up with is a protagonist who is being set up for a lifetime of abuse from an intimate partner, and a romantic lead who abuses his love interests (and yes. izzy is a love interest, he is set up like one and positioned like one and treated like one), frightens his love interests with his violence, is erratic and most of all inconsistently written. he was so sorry about scaring fang as though he hadn't been deliberately terrifying the whole crew for fuck knows how long? what?!

the whole fandom has spent so long saying, "no no, i know stede bonnet irl was a slave owner, but ofmd is using the names and not any real piracy, it's more disney piracy, you know? so that kind of stuff doesnt exist!" and then they flipped around and went "blackbeard is blackbeard and so he is evil and does all these horrible things" and i dont know how to rationalize the two sides of that because it feels so out of place

i'm getting rambly, this isnt a particularly well constructed thought process, i just feel like we were robbed both of a toxic, violent relationship that could be fun to see explored on tv and a soft and sweet love story between two middle aged men exploring their first loves in one fell swoop and there's no way for s3 to bring either of those things back because they got utterly torpedoed by making ed a horrible person

ugh

#ofmd critical #i hate that i'm using this tag now :c #edward teach #ed teach #ofmd s2 #ofmd season 2 #our flag means death #ofmd spoilers #ofmd meta #i guess #izzy hands #stede bonnet

[bemusedlybespectacled]

y'all. y'all. I cracked the fucking code and I am so fucking mad about it because it's a fix that solves every major problem with the finale:

have ed get shot (injured, not killed) in defense of izzy.

seriously, hear me out, this solves LITERALLY EVERY PROBLEM:

"Ed never gave Izzy a real apology!" "Izzy would never accept one!" okay, then don't have Ed apologize to Izzy verbally. have him apologize by taking a bullet for him. have Izzy cuss out Ed for doing something so stupid while cradling him in his arms.

"Ed never gave the crew a real apology!" okay, then have him get shot defending Izzy as both a subtle callback to Izzy shooting Ed in defense of the crew in "red flags" and as proof that he's changed.

"it makes no sense for Izzy to say the whole crew loves Ed when that hasn't been shown at all!" okay, then show it. any lingering hatred the crew has gets wiped out when they see that Ed really does care about Izzy (keeping in mind that him not treating Izzy well was a major unifying thing for them), and they all work to help him: getting the bullet out, holding his hand, telling him he's going to be okay. Ed's accepted back into the family because of his deeds, not his words, and we get a nice call back to the scene where the crew makes Izzy's leg.

"Izzy's death was all about Ed and Ed's arc and that's fucked up" okay, so have there be a REASON that Ed is the center of attention (the reason being that he's been shot and the entire crew needs to care for him) and make it actually part of Ed's arc (acting selflessly in defense of them when he's been pretty self-centered and not really accepting responsibility this entire time).

"it makes no sense for Ed to retire to an inn on land when we just established that he's bad at things that aren't piracy!" okay, then don't have him retire voluntarily. he needs to recover from his bullet wound on land, and so the crew needs to reluctantly leave him behind.

"it makes no sense for Stede to retire to an inn when his entire arc has been him finding a family in the crew and getting the respect he never had!" okay, so make it a really difficult decision for him – staying on land with Ed, the love of his life, or staying with the crew and being a big bad pirate – and ultimately choose Ed. have Ed even try to talk him into staying with the crew, because he loves piracy so much! but given another choice to leave Ed (one that Ed would be aware of and understand), he stays this time.

"Izzy's death is inconsistent with the rest of the series where the good guys survive absurd levels of violence and the bad guys die hilarious karmic deaths" okay, so don't have him OR Ed die. have Ed get shot, have him be seriously injured, maybe even fake us out by having him get shot on the right side (which is of course the side with the important bits!), and then have him live.

"Izzy dies right when he was starting to enjoy life and find his own family/community outside of Ed!" exactly. so don't kill him. shoot Ed. and then have Ed retire on land.

#ofmd meta #izzy hands #edward teach #ofmd spoilers #ofmd s2 #our flag means death

[celluloidbroomcloset]

I keep thinking about how when Stede kills Ned Low, he really does do it for love. There’s a lot of things that are happening at the edges - his sense of his own inadequacies, his anger at what’s happened, his fear about why Ed loves him - but the reason he does it is for love.

Low can’t live. He will come back. He will go after the crew again. He will take revenge on his own crew. He will go after Ed. Ed will never be safe as long as Low is alive.

And Stede doesn’t enjoy what he does. Committing violence like that takes a piece of him. He thinks he’s betraying the little boy who wanted to pick flowers. But he’s doing it for love.

Both Stede and Ed are inherently gentle men who exist in a culture where men aren’t allowed to be gentle. Both of them are haunted by having to kill and afraid that by killing they’ve poisoned themselves.

I think it’s beautiful that Ed goes to talk to Stede and that this all leads to their first night together, because it’s about love. It’s about Ed saying that he loves Stede, that Stede hasn’t been poisoned or corrupted or defiled because of what he did. He doesn’t have to be violent to love Ed, but Ed knows what it means to kill to protect. Ed stops the poison from spreading by telling Stede what no one told him - “You are still loved. You’re not a monster.”

#ofmd #our flag means death #stede bonnet #edward teach #ed teach #ned low #gentlebeard #ofmd meta #gif #oh you think I don’t have more to say about this show?! #i got so much to say

[piratecaptainscaptainpirates]

I will never understand where the fanon idea that Ed has "anger issues" came from (yeah I know it's the racism just play with me in this space for a moment).

Because before I got into the fandom and started reading fanon takes, one of the things I loved so much about OFMD is how careful the show is to show Ed as someone who explicitly does not get angry very easily. It would've been so easy to paint this brown man in a hyper-violent profession as a hyper-violent person, but by virtue of his hangups around violence, Ed is one of the least violent characters in the show. We're shown early on that violence in this world is normalized and not treated the same as in the real world (we're expected to love Roach, a guy who is bummed about not getting to torture hostages), and we're told Ed enjoys a good maim, but all his violence that we actually see is so performative. He doesn't enjoy it the way other pirates do.

And every time Ed gets angry, we're beaten over the head with how hard you have to push him to make him mad. He will give people so many chances before he gets angry. Like the racist boat captain - he says "what's that supposed to mean" when the captain started being racist and gross, and only got mad once it was clear he was doubling down. In s1e10 he tries to de-escalate after Izzy starts being aggro, and that's after Izzy says he should've let the English kill Ed.

And literally every time Ed does behave violently, not only does it never exceed what is expected in pirate terms (and we're usually told this explicitly, like when Ed mentions cutting toes off as a part of pirate culture he doesn't like the episode before he does that), it is always very calculated and performative. When Ed reacts with violence, it's almost never a passionate thing, it's very cool and thought-through. He is very obviously a man who does not typically react with violence when he's angry.

It just baffles me. Every time I see takes or read fics that talk about Ed's "anger issues," or act like Ed's somehow destined to become abusive towards Stede, it's like...did we watch the same show?

#ofmd #our flag means death #still my biggest fanon pet peeve. makes me leave a fic immediately if characters act like ed has anger issues and we're supposed to agree

[lxvebun]

overflowing love

synopsis: just the boys doting on you

content: soft!Hanma/Rindou/Ran x gender neutral reader. fluff. kissing. consensual waking up by kisses. neck kisses. some canon violence but not towards reader. slightly possessive boys. Use of nicknames pretty baby/angel and sweetheart. let me know if I missed anything.

dark blogs, k!nk blogs and ed blogs do not interact. I will knock your teeth in. Its not hard to respect someones boundaries when it comes to this

୨୧Hanma Shuji

Everyone can see it, the way Shuji softens around you. It's honestly quite funny to see him switch up so quickly once you enter his vicinity. From sitting around with a bored look in his eyes and stern voice throwing around orders (or brutal insults) to physically lighting up, a small smile adorning his face as he makes a grabby hand at you, silently asking you to come into his arms.

"Just need my pretty baby to keep me company, you'll do that for me wont you?" he asks as he pulls you comfortably into his lap, and how could you deny him when his pretty golden eyes are filled with so much love and adoration, while his fingers are tracing heart shapes onto your waist and his lips are pressing soft kisses to your cheek and neck?

It doesn't matter what he was doing before you came in, or who is in the room with him, when Hanma sees you everything else leaves his mind and he's entirely focused on you and your needs. Do you need him? Did you just want to see him? Are you hungry? He can take you out for some food. Do you want to leave? He'll stop the meeting right now!

Some subordinates aren't the biggest fan of Hanma's tendencies when it comes to you, but after what happened the first time someone called him out for it, even going as far to directly insult you about it, no one dares to say anything anymore, or look at you for that measure.

If anyone has a problem with him and his pretty angel and dares to open their mouths about it, that's brave, meet him behind the building and he'll show them exactly why people call him God of Death.

୨୧Haitani Rindou

Rindou has a staring problem. More specifically a problem with staring at you.  Often you catch him looking at you, chin resting on the palm of his hands, blush on his cheeks and little hearts floating around in his eyes, as if he's admiring and studying a painting.

It's not even something he does on purpose. Of course he enjoys looking at his sweetheart, don't get me wrong, But more often than not it's something he does entirely subconscious.

When some of the other executives are over at his place, be it for a meeting or to hangout, his brain randomly decides that he's done with whatever conversation he was having and instead opts to admire you. Just you being you is far more interesting than whatever Sanzu's brabbeling on about.

He enjoys looking at you what more can I say, and can you blame him? Every time he looks at you, warmth spreads throughout his entire body and he falls in love all over again. Every scar and every mole is absolutely gorgeous to him. The way your eyes reflect the moonlight, the way the sun kisses your skin, god it awakens butterflies in him. If you told him you were an angel send down from heaven to watch over him, he would believe it.

No one holds his heart the way you do. Please, treat it gently.

୨୧haitani Ran

It's quite impressive how in tune Ran is with your well being. He picks up on the slightest shifts in your moods, the tone of your voice and expressions. If you're feeling even a tiny bit down, rest assured, Ran knows. He has now made it his life's mission to make you show that pretty smile to him again.

You're the love of his life. He wants nothing more than for you to be happy and taken care of and he's taken it upon himself to do just that. As much as Ran likes being taken care of, enjoying trips to the salon for his hair, getting massages after fights, he adores taking care of you. It's soothing for him as well. He brings hellfire down on people every day. There isn't a day that passes by where he doesn't spit out vile threats or use his trusty baton. So knowing you're safe, relaxed and happy because of him makes him feel a bit more humane

Disrupting his beauty sleep so he can prepare breakfast for you and press kisses to your pretty face as to wake you up instead of that god awful alarm? Tiny sacrifices really, but it's completely worth it seeing that sleepy smile of yours as you pat the spot next to you, silently asking him to come back to bed. And who is he to deny you? if anything it gives him the opportunity to hold you in his arms and feed you bites of breakfast( it makes his heart flutter really

Putting cups on the highest shelf in the cupboard so he has a reason to pick you up? Very amusing to him<3(menace)

Whatever problem you're having, Ran will do his best to solve it, no matter how big or small it is. Be it wrapping you in blankets and holding you in his arms as you cry on his shoulder. Or pay a visit to a creep that doesn't quite understand the gates of hell he opened when they made you uncomfortable.

He was put on this earth to love you, he's certain about that and he will go above and beyond to make sure he's doing a good job at it.

thank you for reading bunnies!<3

#tokyo rev x reader #tokyo rev imagines #tokyo revengers x gender neutral reader #tokyo revengers x reader #ran haitani x reader #rindou x gender neutral reader #rindou haitani x reader #hanma x gender neutral reader #hanma x reader #hanma shuji x reader #hanma #ran haitani #rindou haitani #tokyo rev fluff #hanma fluff #rindou fluff #soft hanma

[bougiebutchbinch]

Before I back away from this subject entirely, I just wanna know.

People who staunchly defend the finale from any and all criticism -

Do you really think disabled fans are being 'ridiculous' for feeling hurt that one of the only canonically disabled central characters (Ed's fanon 'knee brace' does not count lol) and the most severely disabled character and the only character whose arc revolved around accepting and loving his disabled body and prosthetic was killed off? And that he said he wanted to die? And that his prosthetic was used as a grave marker rather than buried with him? Do you think we are 'harrassing' the showrunners by wanting to know just how many disabled people were consulted about Izzy's arc, and whether physically disabled people and amputees were in the writing room when these choices were made?

Do you really think queer fans are being 'dramatic' and 'misunderstanding bury your gays' because they're upset that a character who had a 'coming out' arc (complete with a beautiful drag performance) was immediately killed after finding queer joy, in a show that claimed to be a 'kind' queer romantic comedy? Or for pointing out that every polyamorous character wound up in a monogamous relationship?

Do you really think suicide survivors are being 'too emotional' for feeling let down by a character who attempts suicide and survives, then goes through a beautiful healing arc, only to state that he still wants to die? In a comedy?

Do you really think abuse & domestic violence survivors are 'overreacting' by being disgusted that Izzy, who was violently, repeatedly physically mutilated by his captain, a man who is explicitly shown to have power over him, spent his last words reassuring that same man that he brought this abuse on himself by :checks notes: being jealous of Ed's shiny new boyfriend and briefly causing them to break up last season? Or that the crew apparently 'love Ed' now, despite them being shown to be traumatised by his actions in Ep 1-3?

Do you really think writers and authors are 'misunderstanding a three act structure' or 'defending their blorbo' for pointing out that, if this is the Dark Night Of The Soul, it shouldn't be painted with a weird happy veneer that glosses over Ed's abuse of the crew and Stede's sudden 180 to wanting to retire? Or for being fine with Izzy's death as a concept, but wanting it to have more dramatic impact and to feel meaningful?

To be clear: this is not directed at people who enjoyed the finale. You are fine. Enjoy whatever you like! However, please don't act like your favourite show is above criticism - especially from marginalised groups. That's just shitty, and against the entire ethos that OFMD (allegedly lol) promotes.

#ofmd #our flag means death #ofmd meta #ofmd critical #izzy hands #the izcourse #ed teach #blackbeard #stede bonnet

[iamadequate1717]

Stede in Season 1

After seeing some rather awful bad faith takes flying around after 2x7, I'm throwing out a beginning defense of Stede Bonnet (loml). It seems insulting Ed's fish is the worst thing that anyone has ever seen, and it really seems to be a continuation of anti-Stede sentiments within the fandom and viewing him as a prop for Ed (and sometimes Izzy) rather than his own character. Fanon Stede is ever patient, ever kind, ever devoted to his partner, and I'm seeing a lot of shock that Stede is a flawed, imperfect person with his own needs, that he says things in the heat of the moment, that people are seeing a less interesting character than what DJenks and friends have created. Stede's a fucking lunatic and I like it.

I'm going to break this into a few posts as I ramble on to the end of 2x7. I have big thoughts on the ending, but I need to lead up to it! I am going to try to be as brief as I can up to the lead up, but I'm not happy with certain parts of the fandom right now (it's just a spat, love you all).

(If you haven't seen the "I hate Stede!" and "I'm so mad at Stede!" posts after 2x7, I am so, so jealous of how you have curated your social media experience.)

Part 1: Season 1

I'm going to note first that this is really a more rambly companion piece of this:

In time budgeting, most of Stede's character introduction and motivations are built into 1x1 through 1x3, but you all know it is a common refrain of these episodes: "Just wait for episode 4!" (OK for newbies, but huge side eye from me with people who have watched multiple times.) Episode 4 is when Act 2 of 3 of Season 1 begins. The foundations of the story have been laid, the cast has been fully assembled, and we enter the rising action (i.e., the meat) of the story in 1x4. It is not that Blackbeard alone improved everything: it was the story structure itself that shifted.

Preferring Act 2 (ep 4 to mid ep 8) and saying Act 1 was bad and "boring" is a disservice to the story and really robs yourself of the payoff action in Act 3 of Season 1 (and now Season 2), in particular with regards to Stede's character. It's a TV show, so you don't have to like all parts or watch it equally, but if you're going to criticize Stede and what he does, you can't ignore the part of the story that tells you the why of everything.

For example, we see people saying Prince Ricky is "exactly how Stede used to be!". Episode 3 disagrees.

Ricky is some Evil Star Trek Mirror Universe version of Stede, and they have fundamental differences in their view of piracy, which feeds into the action of the tail end of Season 2: Stede wants to be part of the piracy world, but Ricky thinks he's above it. The few hours in 2x7 that Stede spends enjoying being cool in the Republic of Pirates is overall sweet (sliding past the murder, lol), not a relationship red flag or Stede being a dick. If you tried to join a group and they finally embraced you, how would you initially act? Being excited for a few hours does not mean Stede has made a forever commitment to piracy and not Ed.

But, I digress. To me, Episode 2 (along with 6, 9, and 10) is far and away the peak of Season 1. We see the crew bonding (and those unique interactions are missing in Season 2's truncated runtime), and we get a deeper look into Stede's head: his initial naivety toward violence, his insecurities, his unique captaincy style and problem solving. If I look at just his insecurities, Badminton's Ghost is Stede talking to himself (like Hornigold was vocalizing Ed's feelings in 2x3). Stede is harsh with himself about his abilities and maturity, and we even see that he took Badminton's petty body shaming in 1x1 to heart.

(Oh, I have thoughts on Stede finally being told he's pretty and then instantly dumped!)

But he continues to degrade himself.

"You're a child with a toy" Stede says to himself. Compare this to Ned Low calling him a "bumbling amateur" in 2x6. Real people voicing these thoughts (like Chauncey in 1x9) messes Stede up.

The local therapist clearly lays out the motivation behind 1x9&10, and Stede still continues with the negative self talk.

And then we get the best mantra!

Yes, baby! You can only be as good as you can be, and you deserve the world.

Stede does not banish his guilt that is haunting him, but Ed comes in at Episode 4, and any more serious feelings is all about Ed.

(Second GIF is a joke. I know it's important to Ed's character. Plz, don't be mad.)

Ed is the deuteragonist, and the story now needs to spend time establishing Ed's character and motivations. This doesn't make Stede's go away, but if you only watch Episode 4 and on, that's what it looks like. There are brief moments of Stede's vulnerability and guilt from then, but not much.

(Side note from a Midwesterner: I've spent too much time finding out if "grain tower" is colloquial for "grain silo" somewhere, and I still don't know.)

Ed and Stede just met here. Ed isn't absorbing much of Stede's comments (Stede also feels trapped, Stede has family guilt, etc), but it goes the other way, too, doesn't it? Stede is recovering from his gut-stab, they're still in a life-or-death situation, and Stede is still feeling his guilt (and just saw more guilt ghost hallucinations). Registering and internalizing what Ed is saying doesn't take priority.

And they enter their cute early relationship phase: They have fun together! They can easily talk to one another! Stede easily forgives Ed wanting to kill him!

Again: in between all the cute and fun, all the heavy stuff is about Ed. Stede deals with the aristocrats who mocks Ed. Stede is gentle with Ed's red fabric. Stede listens to Ed's past without judgment. Stede openly accepts Ed as a friend. We don't see Ed engaging with Stede in a reciprocal manner.

(I was so delighted when Stede called some of this out in 2x4.)

Stede is a few steps behind in their relationship: He doesn't know it's a romance. He doesn't know he was flirting with Ed. He's not immediately understanding what the Act of Grace was to Ed (hubby commitment!) as he's having his Nigel guilt, family guilt, and being seconds away from death swamping him all at once.

In the academy, Ed isn't even listening to Stede. He's moved onto his domestic marriage role while Stede is dealing with his demons.

With 2x7, I see people saying, "Ed was very clear in wanting to leave piracy!" If he was speaking to someone fully engaged with him, I would agree. (That also doesn't make Stede having a few hours' fun the worst thing ever.)

(Aside of what I see below: In Season 2, I see overwhelming praise of Ed and Izzy's performances and very little on Stede. This is not to disparage TW or CO, but Ed and Izzy are more in-your-face and obvious with what is going on internally in their scenes and they are nailing the drama scenes. However, Stede becomes quieter, shutting down into himself, when having high feelings, and RD's acting is very subtle and very beautiful in these moments.)

In The (First) Kiss scene, Ed is clear! He just wants to be Ed, and Ed is happy just being with Stede.

But look what Ed walked in on:

Ed is saying things, but Stede is trying to process big feelings of his own at the same time. Stede is there self soothing, still thinking about what Ed ignored him about in the bunks. "How are you handling things so well?" means Stede isn't handling it well. Ed is excited, but he (and apparently some of the audience!) is brushing off all of what Stede is saying while expecting Stede to take to heart everything that Ed is saying. (I mean, the beginning of S2 shows why Ed is so excited for this life change, but it is frustrating!)

If you only feel bad for Ed at the end of 1x9, please try to imagine Stede's perspective: suppose you have low self worth and are consumed with guilt about people you've hurt and then are seconds away from death twice, are you going to be thinking clearly and prioritizing (and recognizing) the feelings of a guy you've known for a few weeks and didn't know you were dating?

Stede has drawn inward this whole conversation. His answers turn monosyllabic, and his body language turns more and more panicy as the heavy reality of everything sets in.

Stede enjoyed The Kiss, but was this the appropriate time for him? (Like Ed enjoyed The Sex, but was that the appropriate time for him?) They aren't in sync yet, but that doesn't make one party's feelings more valid than the other's or one party evil for being a bit ahead.

With 2x7, I don't know why people thought Stede should be a mind reader and be able to quickly piece together a few statements Ed made while Stede was mentally drowning.

I think it should be noted that as of the end of 2x7, Stede is the only crew member who hasn't had mental reflection and/or therapy in Season 2. He realized Mary, Alma, and Louis didn't need him and he was in love with Ed in 1x10, but the voice calling him a child with a toy, an idiot, weak, and ugly is still there.

Continued in Part 2! (Still to come...)

#stede bonnet #stede did nothing wrong #our flag means death #ofmd #ofmd s2 #ofmd 2x07 #ofmd s2e7 #blackbonnet #gentlebeard #ofmd s2 spoilers #ofmd spoilers #rhys darby #Baby's first attempt at GIFs #ofmd meta

[nonpracticinghumanbeing]

So Izzy said a thing.

The thing seems to be a part of a redemption arc and makes him sound like a human rather than a monster.

The Canyon went wild with joy and jubilation. The haters are doing everything they can to rationalize the thing in a way that would fit their point of view. One of these things makes me feel like a part of a wonderful, welcoming, and very queer community. The other makes me perplexed, annoyed, and sad at the same time - in a way that feels very personal.

OFMD is an explicitly and unapologetically queer show. And not just that, it shows a variety of non-normative behaviors (Jackie’s polyamory, Geraldo’s humiliation kink, Lucius and Pete’s penchant for “having an audience” to say nothing of Izzy’s masochistic tendencies) in a completely non-judgmental way, making the viewer feel like all ways of performing one’s sexuality are valid.

Izzy wants to be a part of this world. For all his anger and manipulations, and (yes, let’s call him out for the sake of fairness) his abusive behaviors, he desperately wants to be a part of the world where he is free to love who he loves, in whatever way he is capable of doing so. No matter how much the haters don’t want to acknowledge it, this is ultimately a story about love. Both Con and Daddy Jenkins admitted Izzy is in love with Edward and the fact that the antis are willing to contradict not only the actor (who, may I remind you, was instrumental in shaping Izzy’s character) but also the showrunner is very symptomatic of the larger issue of how queer people have been treated in society.

No one in their right mind chose to become a pirate unless they had no other option. Piracy was fraught with constant danger and meant being an outsider everywhere. The only place one could be more or less safe was between people in the same lifestyle. In OFMD that is represented by the Republic of Pirates, where not being a pirate would get one in trouble. Sure, there is some violence but it comes with the territory and - much more importantly - it’s never motivated by someone being a pirate.

Izzy claims to hate the Republic - and for someone as repressed as him it makes sense. There are people being a different kind of a pirate than Izzy would like there - drunk, rowdy, and undisciplined. He clearly takes great pride in his work and has built his whole identity around being Blackbeard’s first mate. Seeing people be pirates while taking their responsibilities lightly doesn’t fit his worldview because he’s been taught that all of his energy should be spent protecting whatever freedom the pirates managed to carve out for themselves.

Someone once wrote that despite what the popular meme says, Izzy isn’t a real pirate dropped into The Muppet Treasure Island, but rather a hard boiled queer-coded character from a 50s noir movie dropped into today’s Pride. He’s had to keep vigilant against any threat for so long he hasn’t noticed that there was a way to be a pirate/queer and still enjoy one’s life. That one can like frilly robes and be a somewhat competent sea captain. That it is possible to pine for one’s boyfriend and keep one’s crew safe. That being soft doesn’t necessarily mean being weak.

He’s willing to do whatever it takes and sacrifice whatever has to be sacrificed (Stede’s life, Edward’s happiness, his own status of the loyal first mate) to keep his little pirate/queer world safe. It’s this conviction that puts him in the way of Ed and Stede’s relationship and makes him an antagonist. But - and it’s something the haters seem to be incapable of grasping - an antagonist doesn’t have to equal a villain.

Why does Izzy react so violently to Stede, exactly? Why is he willing to go against his captain's wishes in challenging Stede to a duel? Why does he sell Stede out, making a deal with the enemy in the process? Because Stede is a stranger infiltrating Izzy’s safe space. The English are a huge threat, sure, but they are easily identifiable from a distance. Stede seems to Izzy to be something far more dangerous - an outsider worming his way into the heart of Izzy’s world, where he can do truly irreparable damage. The English are cops who chase gay boys around the park. Stede has the potential of being an undercover cop sent into a queer bar in the 1930s to get the dirt on the patrons so they can be blackmailed and arrested.

Of course, he may not be that, but it’s a risk Izzy can’t allow himself to take. With his vision of what it means to be a pirate/queer he's sure he sees through Stede’s ruse. Now, I’m not trying to excuse abusive behavior, as some of Izzy’s choices were hurtful to everyone around him. But as a queer person I do have sympathy for someone (grossly) overreacting in defense of their safe space. Constant vigilance is an inherent part of the queer experience, especially for those living in conservative countries or remembering the times before the Pride.

Like, for example, Con does. Con, who - yes, I will repeat this because it’s super important here - played a huge part in shaping Izzy’s character. Con, who despite having a decades-long career where he often clearly gravitated towards queer characters, only got comfortable enough THIS YEAR (and thanks to this show and this fandom) to publicly come out. Con, who - as a friend wonderfully phrased it - is queer as in start a riot, not as in love wins.

And Izzy is the same. He is a start a riot pirate/queer in a show full of love wins pirates/queers. His way of being what he is is so totally different from everyone around him that it makes him an antagonist. (Sure, there are other start a riot queers in the show - Jim literally kills a man who wronged them and Lucius is very outspoken about his opinions in a way that makes him somewhat radical, but neither of them is as extreme in their ways as Izzy is and neither goes against the main characters’ romance thus becoming an antagonist.) But. The thing is, when you are a part of a minority, when you are being prosecuted and targeted for who you are, you need safe spaces. And those safe spaces need protection, because every freedom can be taken away if wrong people come to power. No doubt the queer movement would look much more tame and palatable to the bigots if we were all the love wins queers. But we desperately need the start a riot queers if we are to survive.

So yeah, you can say Izzy said what he said because he needs a structure and clear hierarchy in his life. He absolutely does. Some of it comes from his submissive and masochistic tendencies, sure (I wrote a lot about that, including a piece for the Above All Else zine). Some of it may come from neurodivergence (some people read Izzy as autistic, I’m not going to discuss this because as a neurotypical person I have nothing of value to say about it). But it also ABSOFUCKINGLUTELY comes from the desperate need to protect his safe space from outsiders.

And there is one more thing the haters conveniently forget about: OFMD is also a show about growth. It’s about Stede turning from a wooden puppet into a real boy and then into a man. It’s about Edward learning there is a life beyond the legend of Blackbeard and peeling off at least some of the leather. And judging from the trailer, it’s about Izzy learning you can be a start a riot pirate while being accepting of the love wins pirates in your life. 

The more I think about it, the more likely I find it that Stede’s “I don’t care what anybody says, he’s actually a good guy” line from the teaser refers to Izzy. But even if it doesn’t, I am 100% sure the haters will be proven wrong. This show never relied on stereotypes and cliches. In fact, it actively does everything to break them (from Jim’s sacred quest for revenge ending up with them befriending Jackie to the only names that get mispronounced being those of white characters) while killing off the real enemies of the pirate/queer crew (Badmintons, Jack, Geraldo) and giving all its characters place to grow.

So, maybe one day we will all learn to love Izzy? 

#ofmd #our flag means death #our flag means gay #izzy hands #ofmd meta #lol i got so pissed off at a really bad take on the line that i'm back to writing meta #thanks to remy for the start a riot / love wins thing! #i'm getting emotional again damn this show #queer representation

[wonderbias]

Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) - Chapter Two

Pairing: Aemond Targaryen x OC (Visenya Targaryen)

Warnings: MDNI, +18, language, violence, manipulation, sexism (style a la medieval), blood, angst, kinslayer Aemond, Valyrian supremacist Daemon.

AN: The dividers are from @itbmojojoejo. Their work is awesome, and they make one of the prettiest dividers I've seen. Any questions/asks/any kind of message, feel free to contact me. Enjoy!

AN2: So...here it is. I've been typing as fast as I can once I got the idea, not even my college projects got this much attention from me. Thank you so much for the support and for waiting, you don't know how much it means to me! As always, this isn't beta-ed so...any mistakes, it was a fairy or a witch. Thank you!

Aemond had never felt so confused in his life. The past few days had been a whirlwind of chaos, tears and so much confusion.

The news that his wife had vanished from their chambers had been sent to every House of the Realm. Everyone was distraught -even his grandfather had been very vocal about his worry- and the Lords were pressing on his family for any information.

The day that Rhaenyra renounces her claim to the Throne her only daughter disappears?

Strange.

“A plot” “A trap” “Too many coincidences” “Doesn’t look good” “Where does this leave us?”

The Lords whispered in the hallways and even in front of the King, the atmosphere was filled with tension and it seemed like nobody wanted to be on the Targaryen’s side.

But the days passed and, as Rhaenyra’s cries could be heard at every hour, the questions started to change -especially when the servants started whispering of seeing the Rouge Prince praying on the Godswood of the Red Keep- towards the Royal family.

“I’ve heard that the princess was lonely.” “She was locked in her room.” “Queen Alicient had forbidden her from contacting her family.” “Silverwing is locked in the Dragon’s Pit, she wasn’t allowed to fly.” “They wanted her gone.” 

Still, even with more questions, not even an answer came. 

The Hand was quick to diminish the rumors and assured everyone that there was a search party for the Princess, ravens had been sent and every House had been ordered to make a search party. The City Watch, with Daemon at its head, had raided Kings Landing in search for any clues or rumors, but it came back empty handed.

Nobody knew what to do.

At the advice of the Master of Law, the Crown and Rhaenyra -after some convincing of the Dowager Queen and Lord Corlys- had agreed on an interrogatory of servants, guards, lords, ladies, and any person who had been that day with Visenya.

After listening to the fifth servant describe how she had been scrubbing the floors of the Great Council’s room, Aemond had felt a stinging pain in the empty eye socket, caused without a doubt by the stress and the lack of sleep. He had tolerated it for some time, focusing on the table and not looking directly at the light, but as time passed the nausea appeared. He had been granted permission to leave the interrogatory by the Hand -the King was obviously very occupied fucking some maid to be present-.

As he moved through the room towards the door, he could feel Daemon’s and Rhaenyra’s eyes piercing his back.

He was pulled from his slumber by a knock in the wall.

A knock in the hidden passageway.

His hand searched for his dagger as he moved out of the bed, swiftly walking to the wall he knew hid the passageway.

Only when he moved closer did he hear the pattern.

tap tap

pause

tap tap tap

Quickly and with his heartbeat resounding in his ear, he opened the entrance.

A body crushed into his, its scent of sandalwood and dried flowers hitting his nose. He pressed his face against the thick black hair, his hands roaming the curves of the body he knew so well, covered by a thick dress. After a few minutes they parted, and the green -almost feline- eyes locked with his lone violet one.

"My Prince...I'm sorry, but I had to see you...alone," thin, bony hands were grabbing his forearms, and her green eyes were shining with something he couldn't pinpoint. "The Master of Whispers has forbidden me from leaving my rooms, and all that I know I've picked it from the servants."

His knuckles softly caressed her cold face, his voice merely a whisper, "She's gone, my Lady."

Alys head tilted slightly forwards, her eyebrows furrowing - not in the gesture he liked oh so much - "What do you mean?"

"Visenya has disappeared, no one knows where she is," was his stoic answer. "Seems like the Seven have blessed me and cursed me at the same time."

The look in his Lady's face slowly morphed from one of slight nervousness to something that the Strong bastard never had shown him: confusion.

A pale hand, a hand that had caressed him and satisfied him so many times, moved to rest on his chest, "My dearest...I've not seen it."

A soft breeze filled the chamber, the light of the candles trembled, projecting shadows behind them. 

'A candle is an offering,' -his Alys had once said- "we ask the Lord of the Light to come into the room...to chase the shadows away, to chase the bad spirits away from us.'

He could see her green eyes fixed on the candle and then moving to the fire at the hearth. A soft furrow appeared between her eyebrows.

'But, sometimes, we can see more in the shadows...the shadows hold all that is putrid... and that the fire can not burn.'

The hand on his chest fell slowly. Mumbling a soft apology, she went back through the same passageway, the door closing behind her.

'The shadows hold the darkest intentions of a person.'

"Princess Visenya was absolutely miserable here, the only thing that gave her joy was sneaking around and going outside to help the people of Flea Bottom," Lady Reyne's voice filled the room. Her honey colored eyes went through every single one of the members of the hearing, staying a bit too long on the Princess parents, her gaze softening. There was a rumbling of papers and Lord Jasper Wylde cleared her voice, "My Lady, all the gates are protected by Gold Cloaks and White Cloaks, there's no proof of-" Her nostrils flared, "Surely a man as intelligent as you knows that there's other ways of sneaking out of the Red Keep. Visenya knew them. And we used them." The Lord Hand's eyes narrowed, but the Lady's tongue was quicker, "Visenya was unprotected. Even I, a mere wife of a minor House that was staying as a guest, had more protection than her." Daemon's eyes fixed upon the Lord Hand, "You kept my daughter without protection?" Otto's answer was quick, his voice raising, "There was no threat to the Princess and she's in the most safe place of Westeros." "Safest place in the world but a Princess of House Targaryen disappeared under all your noses!" Daemon was almost screaming, ready to throw himself at the man, his wife's hand holding him back. "My Lord Hand, Prince Daemon, please, let us calm down," one of the Lords tried to keep peace, and both men sat back down. "My Lady, please continue." Lady Reyne nodded, her chin going slightly up and her hand resting over her pregnant belly, "As I said, the Princess and I are close confidants, we have a beautiful friendship. I had to see my friend withering away every day that passed, and it broke my heart…it still does." She took another breath, "I suggested she run away, back to her parents, she has a dragon, after all. But she didn't want that, her duty was to mend her marriage, even after…" The Lady stopped talking as a sob came over her, her eyes filling with tears, "I-I…forgive me." There was an awkward silence between the people present, only those genuinely worried about the Princess seemed to worry over her tears, Lord Corlys even offered Lady Reyne a handkerchief, which she took with a soft smile. "T-Thank you, my Lord," she dried her tears and took a deep breath. "I am very lucky in my marriage, even though it was born of duty, I have three magnificent children. I know that men have…needs but…” She raised her head, “Prince Aemond took everything from Princess Visenya.”

As soon as he stepped a foot into the dining room, his mother was moving towards him.

"Where were you? You didn't join the search party!" her fingers were digging into his arms, her auburn curls coming out from the green and gold headpiece.

His lone eye scanned the room: the King was sitting at the head of the table, his thumb and forefinger pressing the bridge of his nose -surely hangover, since there was no pitch of wine at the table; the Lord Hand was at his right, his eyes fixed on Aemond while he drank some tea, his hands rearranging the cutlery, and his sister -sweet Queen Helaena- was eating her fruits, her gaze lost in some corner of the room.

"I was sleeping," he finally answered.

Alicient looked at him dumbfounded, her fingers digging even more into his flesh and her eyes holding a storm of emotions, the same ones he had seen in the night of the famous dinner, "Sleeping?"

His hands moved to grasp hers, softly moving them away from his arms, "Yes, mother. I've been on Vhagar's back searching the Kingsroad and the alternative paths, also some forests and tricky spots. I needed sleep."

Aemond moved away from his mother and sat down beside his sister, his hands reaching for the tea and some sausages.

The steps of the Dowager Queen were heavy as she moved to sat down, her face resting on her hands - a moment of vulnerability, a moment where everyone could appreciate how much of a toll this was on the Queen Mother.

After a few minutes, she raised her head and fixed her eyes on Aemond. The regality was back, "Did you -"

"I've given the order to send the Strong bastard back to Harrenhall. She'll be parting tomorrow," Otto said nonchalantly, not caring if he was interrupting the Dowager Queen.

His head turned to look at his grandfather, but this one raised a hand, "Her presence isn't helping us here. The King has already signed the notice." Otto picked the napkin and cleaned his mouth before standing up and leaving the napkin on his seat. "If you excuse me, I have issues to solve, like the matter of a missing Princess."

Before the door closed on his back, the Lord Hand turned and fixed his eyes on Aemond - a gaze that Aegon and Daemon Targaryen knew a little too well, "If you decide to come to another meeting of the Council, by the Seven, have the decency of looking worried."

The door closed softly but slowly behind him, control in every single one of his movements. His words left a bitter taste on Aemond. He was worried, yes, but not for Visenya (how could one worry for someone who was a stranger?) but for his family, for the danger that a mourning mother and father with dragons represented.

His mother's voice distracted him from his thoughts, "I am taking my leave, too. Aemond, it would make me happy for you to join me in my prayers... I know that, if you ask for their guidance, the Seven will help you."

The Dowager Queen stood from her place at the table, lips pressed in a firm line and anguish in her amber eyes, Visenya’s disappearance was taking a toll on her too

"Just so you know, brother, I never signed any "notice" to your bastard lady," Aegon spoke immediately after their mother left, not daring to say the words in the presence of the ‘elders’. "I would never get in between a man's cock and his favorite cunt."

Aemond’s hands focused on cutting the sausage in equal parts, “That’s a consideration I have never expected from you, brother. You are getting softer…metaphorically…and literally too.”

The King laughed at his jab, his hand smacking the table, “Quite the humor for a widower!” Aegon leaned closer and there was now a hint of seriousness in his lilac eyes, but also of doubt, “Tell me, brother, what did you do?”

“You may want to be more specific, my King,” was the only answer he received.

With a quick and graceless motion of his hand, Aegon dismissed the servants, leaving the three siblings alone. He moved closer to his younger brother and, almost mumbling, he asked, “Did you kill her?”

There was no sound in the room, even Helaena had stopped eating and was looking at Aemond. The Queen had a face that was incredibly expressive, but it all lost meaning when one looked at her purple eyes that seemed far away.

Aemond sighed, his voice another whisper, “I did not do anything, she just…vanished.”

At that, the King relaxed back in his seat, but his expression remained the same, “I will be honest, brother: this does not look good."

That seemed to make the One-Eyed Prince laugh - a soft, humorless chuckle erupted from his mouth while his lone violet eye fixed on his brother. Aegon seemed displeased at that, his lower lip encased between his teeth. For the first time in their lives, they were acting just like their birth roles: the older brother scolding the youngest one.

The King drank more of his goblet and wiped his mouth with his sleeve, an expensive-looking black and golden tunic, "Listen…listen to me: I was out that night."

That seemed to catch Aemond's attention, so Aegon continued, "I was not that drunk, yes? I was a bit…lively, but I remember using the hidden passageways and…I locked them."

They locked eyes, really looking into each other's eyes, Aegon's eyes were a pale violet that showed no emotional restraint, so similar to their mother's eyes.

And, for the first time in his life, Aegon showed the same mix of disappointment and fear that Alicient usually had in her eyes when looking at her eldest son.

The doors opened suddenly, interrupting the small talk of the people. The Princess and her Consort turned around to find her firstborn son walking towards them.

Rhaenyra's eyes softened but her tone was serious, "Jace, you shouldn't be here."

Her eldest son was breathing heavily, his eyes darting between his mother and his step-father, "I want to testify."

Daemon and Rhaenyra exchanged a glance between them, until Daemon whispered so that no one could hear them, "Have you been hiding something from us?"

Jacaerys eyes fixed on those of his step-father, "I have."

Rhaenyra sighed and turned around, to inform the other members of the hearing, "Prince Jacaerys will testify now." With that, she moved to sit on her designated chair, Daemon following her.

There was a soft murmur of some Lords whispering, the majority absolutely disinterested in the matter.

The Hand motioned to the chair, "Be brief, please."

Jace stared at him before sitting down, it was obvious nobody wanted to hear him.

(

"Nobody cares for us, Vis," he had said. "Even Lord Corlys looks at me as if I'm a…pretender."

His older sister had thrown him a cushion, "You're the child of the Princess, the Heir. You're legitimate."

He had rolled his eyes, "You know what I mean."

"The fact that our mother had an affair with a Gold Cloak doesn't make you less of a Targaryen," she had replied, her nose furrowed in a mocking manner.

"That's the point, Vis, I'm no Targaryen, I'm a Velaryon. Have you met a dark haired Velaryon?" 

She raised her eyebrows, "We could say that you dye your hair with those inks that father buys from Pentos."

He threw back the cushion, "Are you even listening to me? Stop joking!"

She kicked his calf, her pale eyebrows raised, "I'm listening to you, and what you say is utter shit. You know who is to blame that you are…you? Our grandfather and Lord Corlys. Four eyes and they were fucking blind to notice that Laenor liked men."

"Mother was already pregnant with you when she married, why did she decide to have me?" He whispered.

Her hands went to grab the collar of his chemise, pulling him closer, "Because she wanted to. And because she knew that she could protect you, and that I would when I become Queen."

Time stopped for a minute as brother and sister stared at each other, her hands holding him tight and a fire burning in her eyes. He could see tears pooling in her eyes, and that made his amber colored eyes wet too.

He gave her a watery smile and poked her cheek, "You love me."

"Yes, but I wouldn't dream of being your wife," she teased him, cheeks covered in tears.

"As if I wanted to be your husband, I prefer you as my sister. Mandia," he said.

"And I prefer you as my valonqar," she sniffed before giving him a nudge on his shoulder. "Now, let's finish this wine before father finds us. Where did you take this from?"

He saw her take a big gulp of the sweet drink, "From that room close to the Maester's room."

She stopped drinking, "That's the room of the Valyrian priest."

They both looked at eachother, amber eyes fixed on violet ones. Until she left the bottle of wine on the floor, "You fucking idiot, you grabbed the ceremony wine!"

His eyes opened wide, "What?! Are we married now?!"

"Do I look like I know?! I need to puke!" Visenya quickly stood up and went to the privy, her fingers entering her mouth.

)

Jace smiled at the memory, one of the many he had with his older sister. She loved them fiercely, and even though they were both stubborn and had many arguments, he knew she would always protect him.

Someone cleared their throat, a sign that they were waiting for him to speak, it brought him back to reality.

His baby sister. Luke. Vis.

His fists clenched and he straightened his back. Looking at no one in particular, his voice became sharp as he started talking, “Princess Visenya and I wrote to each other once a week.”

He saw Larys Strong leaning forward in his seat, his head tilting slightly towards Otto Hightower. Good, - he thought- you didn’t know that. His eyes moved towards Daemon and he could see he had also noticed Larys gestures.

Stil, Otto Hightower was adamant on passing this revelation as irrelevant, “I’m sorry, my Prince, but I can’t see how this information is relevant-”

“It is relevant, my Lord Hand, because I keep every single one of Visenya’s letters and, in those letters, she mentions, not only once but several times, that she keeps a diary in secret,” Jace interrupted him.

There was a silence, he could see that even his mother was surprised - no one had expected that.

A lord, Jasper Wylde, he believed, spoke first, “You mean that…there's a written record from the Princess.”

“I know what you are thinking, my Lord, and yes: my sister kept a record of her marriage, her life in the Red Keep and every political discussion she heard of,” he continued, not giving anyone time to think. “Find the diary and you will find out what happened to Princess Visenya.”

A day had passed since that breakfast.

Five since the disappearance.

Of course there was no news about Princess Visenya. The lack of any clues meant that both parties -the Royal family and Visenya's parents- could switch the tides to their favor spreading rumors between the common folk and lower nobles.

What was certain was that the Lords interest in the disappearance of a Targaryen Princess had diminished. Even though Corlys Velaryon insisted that his House would demand answers, the truth was that almost every House was polishing her daughters of marriageable age to, when the time came, present them to the court as candidates to be the prince's wife. Obviously, some Lords were waiting for the opportunity to introduce their daughters to Aemond - Otto Hightower style.

But then, something happened.

After a ride on Vhagar's back, going over some roads and forests, again, Aemond came through one of the passages only to find some Kingsguards, a carriage and Daemon Targaryen in his armor.

Ser Arryk moved forwards, "We have orders from the King and the Council to deliver you to them, my Prince." The White Cloak motioned to the carriage, he seemed a bit distraught.

He took a deep breath through his nose, his eye never leaving his uncle's figure, "Was it necessary to come and pick me up?"

"The Queen Mother insisted," was his answer.

If it was a decision from his mother then she must have had her reasons, but it was somewhat strange that she had allowed this. She always waited for him to come to her to deliver some news. This was odd.

He nodded stiffly and stepped inside the carriage, not having another choice. As the door was closing, a blade made it's way through the crack of the door, "I will join my nephew. Take my horse."

His uncle didn't wait for an answer since he opened the door and climbed inside, sitting in front of him.

They looked at each other, both men analyzing and studying the other as if they were in a duel - slowly circling the prey and waiting for its movements.

The carriage started moving and, soon enough, all that was heard was the wheels through the potholes and the horses hooves hitting the stony pathway. 

He noticed that it was the first time that he was alone with his uncle, a person he had once admired and dreamed of being like him. Another second son. A second son who had made it's own name in the world.

The Rogue Prince. He inspired fear and hatred and his enemies knew him well. All across Westeros they knew Daemon Targaryen for his skills and for wielding Dark Sister.

Aemond Targaryen was only known for having one eye and for being a Kinslayer.

His mother had said that, as long as his actions were led by the grace of the Seven, he would find success and his own name. Everyone would remember him.

But he could see history. They would write about him, without a doubt, but he would be no more than a cripple, the one who had murdered in cold blood his nephew and whose wife had disappeared.

That was not what he had dreamed.

"When Visenya told me she intended to marry you I could not believe it," his uncle had spoken abruptly, his voice clear and firm through the noise. "Mine own daughter mixing with a cripple half-Hightower? I would have preferred if she boarded to Lys."

Daemon's fingers were twisting a ring on his little finger, his violet eyes fixed on it, "You know her answer?"

He kept his mouth shut, internally praying to the Crone to give him strength and prevent his uncle from carrying on this talk.

But the Gods hadn't answered before, why should they now?

"She told me: 'He's intelligent, a good swordsman and ambitious. A second son, after all. But he's incredibly kind and loyal to those who he loves. Just like you. What more can your daughter desire than a man who will love her as her father loves her mother?" his thumb caressed a small ring on his little finger. "So I gave her my approval, as if she needed it. But I gave it to her."

In a second, Dark Sister was stabbing the wood of the carriage beside Aemond - the movement too quick for him to react, "I even braided her hair for her wedding. Do you know that? I walked my daughter to you, you cunt, and you took her from us."

"I am sure that Lord Royce feels the same way about you," Aemond's voice came in a whisper.

Rage flashed in his uncle's eyes, he could now see why he was deadly in the battleground, "Do not even dare to compare my daughter to that bitch." The sword's edge moved closer to Aemond's face until it rested against his jawline, a threat that both of them knew that Daemon Targaryen could fulfill.

The older man moved his face closer, until their noses were almost touching, “You better start praying to the Seven for a quick and merciful death.”

The carriage came to an abrupt stop - Daemon took Dark Sister and pulled it from the carriage wall, sheathing his sword. “Come.”

The door opened and, once his uncle descended, he was facing the stairs to the Red Keep, the Dowager Queen waiting for them, her hands intertwined while her fingers picked against each other. The mask of regality fell for a minute when she saw him coming after his uncle, who immediately walked past her, barely giving her a glance. 

Alicient moved quickly towards her second son, her hands going to grab him in his arms, “What were you doing with him alone?”

“He came with the carriage you sent for me, mother,” his voice was a mere whisper, the close encounter was proof that there were certain ‘loyalists’ to Rhaenyra in the city.

His mother took a deep breath and whispered back, over her shoulder he could see Ser Cole watching over them, “The members of the Hearing want to see you. Your grandfather says that they are adamant on having you there.”

He closed his eye, just what he needed, “Lead the way, then.”

“State your name,” said Lord Corlys.

Her hands grasped the rough fabric of her apron, “R-Rosey, my Lord.” She could feel the gaze of the Cro-Princess Rhaenyra and Prince Daemon fixed upon her, hopeful and impotent. “I was, am, one of Princess Visenya handmaids.”

The sound of a feather against scroll is heard, someone is writing down what she's saying, but she doesn't know the name of the person (or Lord, she thinks for her insides). The Lord Hand looks at her, “What did you do the day of the disappearance?”

Everyone looks so bored, she's another mere servant girl after all, “Me and Wylla prepared the Princess tea and breakfast, as always. Wylla had spent the whole night sewing a dress for the Princess, so by morning she was quite tired, so I was the one to deliver the breakfast to my Lady. When I arrived at the chambers the guards told me that the Princess was indisposed, and that Prince Aemond had instructed to let her rest, so I retired.”

More writing and then the tired voice of the Lord Hand is heard, “Thank you, Rosey. You may retire now.”

She gulps and stands, her eyes fixed on the floor as she walks towards the door.

“Why did Wylla spend a whole night sewing the Princess dress?” Princess Rhaenyra’s voice sounded void of emotion.

“Princess, how is that relevant? The girl has already declared-” Otto Hightower started speaking again, only to be interrupted.

“The Princess is asking a mere question, as the mother of the Princess she has every right to keep the interrogation,” Prince Daemon interrupted the Lord Hand. His violet eyes moved until they were fixed on Rosey, “Sit back, girl.”

Rosey moved nervously on her spot and walked towards the chair, only to raise her eyes and find Lord Corlys giving her an encouraging nod, “It'll be just a few moments, Rosey.”

Biting her lip, she sits on the chair and looks at the floor, “Wylla did it because it was one of Princess Visenya's favorite dresses… and she wanted to wear it at the signing of the Peace Treaty.”

Unconsciously, she lifts her head to look at Princess Rhaenyra (Always look at me in the eye, -her Princess had said to her and Wylla- and be honest. I'll be honest with you too.) and she's struck by the similarity between mother and daughter, by the way their mouths curve in the same soft smile.

She can hear her lady's laugh in her ears, making her heart ache. She can also hear her crying, and she's reminded of the metallic scent.

("You must promise me that you will not say a word."

"Princess-" Wylla had tried to make her see reason.

"No, Wylla, not a word. And you too Rosey, not a word."

She had choked on her tears while cleaning the cuts on the delicate skin, "But, my Lady-"

"No. Just…obey. Not a word.")

Maybe it was the pain of losing her beloved Lady, maybe it was the sleepless nights, maybe it was the way she had seen Wylla praying on her knees hoping that their Lady would come back.

Maybe having lost everything meant that she had lost the fear.

"Princess Rhaenyra, Prince Daemon, there's something that you should know."

As the doors closed behind him, he immediately knew something was wrong. There were four people sitting at the table.

His grandfather was standing at the end of the table, face red and morphed into a mask of rage. Larys Strong was standing in one corner, his eyes going over the people in the room, barely fixing on him

“Prince Aemond,” the voice of Rhaenyra filled the room. He barely turned his head, but it was enough to see some Lords and Ladies, not enough to fill the room, but enough to make his mouth go dry.

What in the Seven Hells was this?

“Brother,” that was a way to catch his attention, and he turned to look at Rhaenyra. Her hair was filled with braids, in the same way he had seen Visenya’s hair so many times, but her lips were pressed in a thin line. “You must be wondering what are you doing here, so I will be brief.”

Her pale hands moved over the table, the sound of parchment being moved was heard, “This…Hearing has received disturbing news during the few days we have been working.”

He opened his mouth to speak, his eye darting to his grandfather for a clue, only to receive an unperceivable shake of his head. Don’t say anything.

So he looked back at his half-sister and nodded, that seemed to surprise her but she hid that quickly, “Were you aware that the Princess Visenya, your own wife, felt lonely at the Red Keep? That she wasn’t given the same treatment as the members of the Royal Family?”

That was it? His mouth moved quicker than his brain, “Visenya never liked Ladies-in-Waiting, so if she felt lonely it was partly her fault. She insisted that she didn’t need ladies going over her as if she was a bored child.”

Princess Rhaenyra exchanged a look with her husband and Lord Jasper Wylde, “Your answer to the second question?”

He sighed, his thumb and forefinger pressing between them the fabric of his riding gear, “I can’t speak of that matter…she was always happy attending her own duties as the wife of a Prince.”

There was a mocking snort from Daemon, but it was Corlys Velaryon who spoke, “Wife of a Prince? She was already a Princess. And before King Viserys last wish, the heir of his heir.”

The man’s eyes fixed on him, “You meant to tell me that my granddaughter never attended a Council meeting? Never went to visit the city?”

Aemond shrugged his shoulders, almost imperceptible, “She liked to take Silverwing on long rides and reading.”

There was silence in the room, which Daemon interrupted, “I think I used to know my late wife, Lady Royce, better than that. And she hated me.”

There were some laughs in the room, but Aemond interrupted them, “We were just…distanced, but that does not mean that I didn’t know my wife.”

“I wonder what caused that distance,” muttered Daemon Targaryen. “Now, we have spoken to Layde Reyne and she states that Princess Visenya was more like a prisoner than a Princess.”

His eyebrows furrowed, “The lady wife of Lord Reyne? What does she have to do with this?”

He saw his grandfather close his eyes for a moment, until Rhaenyra spoke again, confusion in her voice, “You don’t know the name of your wife’s closest friend?”

He scoffed, looking over the four persons, “I would remember if Visenya told me that.”

The four members of the Hearing looked at each other, while his grandfather stared at him with pure anger.

Princess Rhaenyra started to talk but was interrupted by a hand on her shoulder, her husband and uncle now speaking, “Did Visenya write to someone?”

He pressed his lips together, “To her parents only. And to her brothers and siblings, but much more sporadically.”

He remembered Visenya writing on her desk, the calligraphy was precise and neat, her fingers never smudging the ink.

Prince Daemon smiled, the predatory smile that his mother swore he had when he killed someone, “So you don’t know that Visenya kept close contact with her brother, Jacaerys? They wrote once a week to each other.”

Once again, he furrowed his eyebrows, his lilac eye moving over the persons sitting in front of him, "I-I didn't know."

Rhaenyra looked at him, her lilac eyes void of emotion, "You don't know what my daughter did here. You don't know who her friends were. You don't know she wrote to her brother once a week. Tell me, Prince Aemond, what do you know?"

"I just know that I left my wife in our shared chambers in the morning five days ago, and she vanished," he quickly replied, his temper already showing. "We might have some differences, yes, but she's still my wife and responsibility, and -"

"A responsibility that you planned to shove away," Rhaenyra interrupted him, her tone cold and slightly shaky. "You planned to nullify your marriage to my daughter so that you could marry the new lady of Harrenhall."

It felt as if he had been punched, the air suddenly leaving his lungs and his eye moving to look at his grandfather, "I…" But what was left to say?

Rhaenyra stood and grabbed the papers, not minding him, addressing the guards, "You may bring her in."

He turned around when the doors opened, hoping to find his mother or his sister, someone to give him answers.

He certainly didn't expect Alys.

His lady walked into the room, clad into a dark green gown, her green eyes moving throughout the room. But she didn't look at him. Not once. Not even when she stood a few feet away from him.

"Alys Rivers. Soon to be Alys Strong. Repeat your words," was the order from Lord Corlys.

Alys took a deep breath, it looked like she was nervous, her hands fidgeting with her gown, but Aemond knew better: she was pretending, "Y-Yes, my Lord. I know that Prince Aemond Targaryen wanted his wife gone."

Liar. Traitor. Witch

"And how could possibly a woman of your…standing could be so close to the Prince," Rhaenyra asked, her tone filled with fake curiosity and superiority.

That made Alys press her lips together, a real sign that she was pissed, "I was close to him and-"

Somebody sighed and rumbled through the papers, "It states here that: 'Prince Aemond and I became closer during his stay at Harrenhall. First, I was his maid. Then, I became his lover. Our contact didn't cease even when he returned to Kings Landing, for he would visit me weekly. A moon ago he told me of his plan of leaving his wife and marrying me, that way he would become the new Lord of Harrenhall.' So…Lady Alys, is that true?"

For the first time since she entered, Aemond recognized the woman close to him - one full of resentment and bitterness, "Yes, your highness."

Rhaenyra stared at Alys, both pairs of eyes fixed on the other, a sort of unspoken threat in the former Crown Princess's eyes. A threat that the Strong bastard seemed to pick up quickly, since her whole demeanor returned to a submissive one, her head going down slowly.

A smirk appeared on Rhaenyra's face, a cold and calculating one, "Well…since that is clear, I want you to repeat your previous words, spoken to this Hearing earlier."

Alys swallowed and, for the first time since she had arrived, she turned her head slightly to look at Aemond, "Prince Aemond hated his wife and couldn't wait for her to be gone. My silence was bought with the threat of not legitimizing my birth."

Her voice turned firmer, "I realized I was being manipulated by him, it was all a plan so that he could earn a lordship easily."

“I had no way to turn against a Prince, I was his spoil of war. In Harrenhall I had no one that I could confide in or ask for help. His grip on me tightened when I revealed that I could see visions on the fire and…” she lowered her stare to the ground.

Traitor. Whore.

“And…?” Rhaenyra pressed, seeking an answer.

The dark-haired woman sniffed softly and straightened her back, “He asked me to perform a spell on her…one that prevented her from carrying a child.”

Chaos erupted in the room. Lords, ladies, servants screaming and talking in disbelief at the confession.

Aemond felt cold all of the sudden. The same sensation crawling up his spine like when he had returned from Storms End.

He could see his grandfather reaching for a chair, not being capable of staying on his feet for a minute longer.

Lord Jasper Wylde was white as a sheet, but his hand slammed the table several times, “Silence! Silence!”

Not many people obeyed. He could hear some insults thrown at him, there were people spitting on the floor, as if cursing him.

He turned his head to his left, his breath leaving his lungs as he watched his mother standing with her hands against her chest, tears falling from her eyes. It was her eyes that made him feel dizzy and sick.

You are not son of mine, they said.

Prince Daemon’s voice was heard, and that was all that it took for the people to calm down, “You may retire, Lady Alys.”

His former mistress turned around, walking towards the doors, not even sparing him a glance.

“Now, bring Prince Jacaerys Velaryon, Lady Reyne, and Princess Visenya’s maid, Rosey,” he commanded.

He had barely any time to react, his mind buzzing and his ears ringing, when his nephew and a young woman entered the room.

Clad in a Velaryon blue cape over a black and red riding gear, Jacaerys Velaryon did not even spare him a glance. Aemond gritted his teeth, even now the bastard thought himself more of a man than Aemond, a true born son.

The young woman beside him, wearing a simple servant dress and an apron over it, looked incredibly nervous, her hands playing with the fabric of her dress. 

The lady wife of Lord Reyne was wearing an ugly pink dress that looked like a huge cake giving the advanced state of her pregnancy, jewels sewn into her pronounced neckline, her brown hair twisted into some braids and a sour expression on her long face.

“Prince Jacaerys, reveal to the Prince what you have found,” commanded Daemon, a predatory smile on his face.

The oldest of Princess Rhaenyra’s sons stepped forward and raised a thick and worn out book, its cover black, “This is the diary of Princess Visenya Targaryen. In it my sister describes the entirety of her marriage to Prince Aemond…as well as the physical abuse to which she was subjected.”

More gasps from the court, more chills crawling up Aemond’s spine.

“Here is an entrance of a few months after-” Jacaerys interrupted himself, the words still hard to process. “After…Prince Lucerys death.”

Still, he continued, “In it the Princess wrote: ‘...when I finally mustered up the courage to mend the relationship with my husband and ask him to lay with me, to start trying to get pregnant, he laughed at me. I did not understand: I told him I had decided to put away the grief of the death of my dearest brother at his hands, so that we could return to our marital duties. He struck me. His hand went to my hair, tugging it so hard that it left a bruise on my scalp. Then he slapped me again before leaving the bedchamber. I stayed on the floor, the stone cold against my hot cheek.’”

“Here is another entry: ‘...the King called me a ‘whore, just like her mother’ during dinner. Nobody said anything to him. Not even my husband.’ And here is another: ‘...finally managed to get a dagger and a few hours of sleep a day. I need to be careful. There are so many people praying that I am gone.’ “

The court was in utter silence, no one daring to speak.

Jace closed the diary, “There are many more entries like that. But one thing is for sure: Visenya was being abused and her life was in danger.”

Daemon nodded, his hand grabbing his wife’s own, “Lady Reyne. Tell us.”

The woman in a pink dress stepped forward, her pointy chin tilted upwards defiantly, “The Princess told me how afraid she was of her husband, how he kicked her and slapped her. She also told me how she had found out about her husband’s plan to get rid of her and marry a mistress he had in Harrenhall. Apparently, he had been taking money from her dowry coffer to buy gifts for his mistress. He also was the one to order for her to be completely isolated.”

People started talking again, but that didn't seem to stop Daemon Targaryen, “Thank you, my Lady. Now, Rosie, please come forward.”

The trembling girl stepped forward, “W-What his highness, Prince Jacaerys tell us is true, my Prince. Wylla and I were the ones that cleaned up the bruises and cuts from the Princess. We bathed her bruised body and cleaned up her tears.”

The servant’s head raised and her brown eyes fixed on Aemond, her pale face filled with red spots, “You harmed my Princess, and even then, she asked you to try and mend things. My poor Lady still loved you, even though you hurt her, she longed for you.”

The memory of Visenya asking him to mend things came over him, her hands over his asking for a second opportunity.

Tears ran down the servant’s face, and Aemond did not need two eyes to see that every woman in there, and some men, were in the same state.

Still, the girl did not stop, “Princess Visenya asked that of you because she was with child.”

TAG LIST: @snh96 @neenieweenie @marihoneywk @tinykryptonitewerewolf @tired-night-owl

#aemond targaryen #aemond targaryen fanfic #hotd fanfic #aemond targaryen x you #aemond targaryen x original character #aemond targaryen x oc #aemond targaryen x reader #aemond targaryen x ofc #mine

[honey-flustered]

Cruel Little Vixen 6

Rockstar!Perv!Eddie Munson x Journalist!Reader

Summary: It seems like whenever you and Eddie are happily content in your relationship, everyone else is miserable. What happens when your job and his fame is on the line once the secret’s out?

NO READ MORE LINE BREAK ADDED DUE TO GLITCH

A/N: I want to thank you guys again for the immense amount of support! I swear I never expected this series to blow up the way it did but I am so fucking grateful. No words can describe it ❤️❤️ This chapter’s a little angsty, little fluffy. It was supposed to be a really long chapter but I’ve decided to split it into the next chapter but it’ll still be about two chapters left. I’m sorry I took soooo long it’s been one hell of a week but I do hope you all enjoy!! SMUT NEXT CHAPTER GONNA GO BRAZY

>>>>Series Masterlist Part 6 of 8

Word Count: 8.5k+

Warnings: angsty, fluffy fluff 😊❤️, soft!eddie, boyfriend!eddie, needy!eddie, yandere!eddie makes a small appearance, fighting/little violence, little crying, reader paints eddie’s nails, small dirty talk from the metalhead, kissing, handholding, secret relationship, reader has an enemy, marijuana ingestion, Stevie Nicks appearance, special gift from reader to Eddie 💕

“Hold still. You’re gonna mess it up.” You giggle.

Eddie’s sat between your legs, slumped with his head on your chest. The way he insisted you to paint his nails because “it’ll be like painting your own nails”. Although, you knew the real reason was an excuse to rest his head on the pillowy mounds.

You didn’t mind, though. You found him so adorable, staring up at you with those big round eyes and a goofy smile on his face. He’s much more manageable when he’s in this state of bliss.

“You’re taking so long,” He groans.

“I’m almost done, ya big baby.” You say, kissing his forehead. He smiles, rubbing your thigh with his free hand.

You blow on the last finger you’ve painted, him studying the way your full lips pursed. The cool air sending shivers down his spine. Part of him wishes you hadn’t felt it but the other part of him wants you to know the effect you had on him.

He’s never been so vulnerable with any woman he’s dated. It was always surface level, figuring it was just easier that way. He believes it stems from his days back in high school when not many girls cared to look in his direction. He was “The Freak” after all and associating with him was social suicide. He’d like to imagine that if things had gone differently back then with your interaction with him, you’d accept him fully as he was. Nerd and all.

“All done!” You snap him from his thoughts. He looks down at his fingernails painted a deep, dark shade of blue.

“Looks great, little vixen. Should we try them out?” He peels away from your body now facing you. Pulling you by your legs so their spread apart. He climbs in between them, hands traveling up both thighs.

“I think they’d look great riiight…” Eddie presses two fingers against your clothed core, applying pressure. “Here.”

“No, Eddie,” You sigh. “As much as, I’d love to christen this hotel room. Your manager and your stylist will be stopping by soon. If they see me in your clothes, they’ll know for sure we’re sleeping together.”

“What does it matter? It’s like you want this to be a secret or something.”

“Well…yeah.” You twiddle with your fingers, nervously.

“Really? Huh. This is bringing up some unresolved high school trauma.” Eddie says, looking into space.

“I thought this was what we both wanted? To protect our careers?”

“I don’t remember having this talk.”

“Then, let’s have it now. We have to keep us a secret. If my boss finds out, he might pull the exposé and that’ll be the end of my career. As for you, rockstar, you’re supposed to be living that bachelor lifestyle. Having a girlfriend is only going to ruin that image. Your manager wouldn’t like that.”

“Fuck him.”

“Eds…if not for me, then do it for yourself. You’re living out your wildest dreams. You used to play in shady garages and ghost town venues wishing you could prove yourself. Now you’re touring the world, performing side by side with the greats of our time. This is your moment.”

“Okay.” He says in a dry tone.

“You mad at me?” You pout, rubbing your head on his shoulder like a cat and staring up at him,

His expressionless face instantly attempts to fight off a smile, clearly amused. “You look so cute in my sweater how can I be mad. But ya know what’d make me feel really good?”

You clamped your thighs together, adjusting yourself in the oversized sweater so you looked halfway decent. “Your manager’ll show up any moment now.”

“I just want a kiss.”

“I have to leave while I still have time.”

“You’re really gonna leave me hangin’?” He smiles innocently but the sinister aura around him says otherwise.

Yet, you lean in to kiss him anyway, falling into his trap of temptation. Could such sinful lips ever carry innocence? No, they were made to cause destruction. Bring you to your end. You were losing track of reality. Kissing him disregards space and time.

“Get it together, y/n! He wants this. Pull away! You know what this lead to.” Says the angel on your shoulder.

But the louder, ‘much more fun to listen to’ demon on your shoulder says, “FUCK THAT! KISS THE BOY! KISS HIM HARDDD!”

And you did so while climbing him like a tree. He moans his approval, nails digging into your plushy thighs. You circle your hips down, feeling him growing beneath.

Then, you hear the unmistakable sound of Eddie’s obnoxiously loud manager…In front of Eddie’s door!!

Curse that hedonistic bitch in me.

You roll off him, eyes searching for a place to hide just as you hear a knock.

“This is your fault.” You whisper.

“My fault?!” He whisper-yells.

“Tell me where to hide.”

“The closet?”

“They’ll go through your wardrobe.”

“Underneath the bed?”

You exhaled deeply, lowering to the ground. “I can’t believe I’m doing this. This is college all over again.”

“You’ve gotta tell me that story sometime.” He says, intrigued.

The sounds of banging grows louder. Eddie strides for the door, looking back to make sure that you’re hidden as you roll underneath the bed.

You hear the door locks click open and Mr. Neds immediately begins ranting at Eddie. “What took you so long, kid? We’re on crunch time. The boys are nearly dressed and you haven’t even changed out of your loungewear. And that hair! It’s all over the place!Where’s the hairstylist I sent up here?”

So that was all the knocking earlier this morning while you were resting in Eddie’s arms. Neither of you wanting to get up from exhaustion of your sexual marathon and because it meant breaking the cycle of warmth you both provided one another.

“My hair’s fine. My fans dig it this way.” Eddie defends.

“There’s an art to messy hair, Francis. Your hair’s not rockstar messy, it’s just messy. I’m calling another hairstylist. Maeve, pick out something that screams ‘sex symbol’.” Mr. Neds orders, walking out the room.

“Hello, Mr Francis,” The stylist greets, excitedly. “I’ll be your stylist for this tour. When I’m done, you’ll look as good as Mick Jagger. Although…you already are quite good looking.”

You roll your eyes at this. Here we go.

“I’m a huge fan by the way. Possibly the biggest fan.”She giggles, a hint a seduction paints her words.

“I like when pretty girls like you listen to my music.” You can just hear the smugness in his voice. He’s clearly aware that you’re listening in all of this, possibly thinking he could make you jealous. Ha! Not gonna happen.

She giggles some more. “You think I’m pretty?”

“Course I do, doll.”

Doll?! That bastard!

“I’ll go pick out your clothes and maybe…you could get out of those clothes. I can help you if you’d like.”She lays it on thick.

You’re sure that Eddie’s going to push this further to get a rise out of you. You can already feel your blood begin to boil, your heart aching. Instead, you’re stunned to hear him drop the act.

“Actually, Maeve...I’ll pass. Hope you can respect that.”

“Oh, a-are you sure?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay,” She grumbles in defeat. “I’ll get started with the outfit choices then.”

You smile to yourself, impressed. You hadn’t realize just how devoted Eddie was to this relationship. He meant it when he said you were his and he couldn’t possibly think of hurting you in such a way and messing things up.

The door swings open again and Mr. Neds walks in along with bandmate, Mel Tomas. Mel does a spin around flashing his look for Eddie to see. “I’m not sure how she’ll top this look for you. Pretty sure I’m hot enough to be the new favorite of the band.” He flexes his arms.

Eddie gestures discreetly with his eyes, calling the attention of the bass guitarist. Mel confused at first, scratches his head only for his eyes to immediately widen when he spots you beneath. You wave and smile awkwardly.

“Anyone want towels?” Mel blurts.

“What?” Mr. Neds questions. “The hell would we need towels for?”

“You’re looking a little sweaty, big guy. No worries. I’ll get the towel cart from the hall and bring it in here.” Mel projects his voice, hinting his plan while causing Maeve and Mr. Neds to stare in utter bewilderment.

Mel returns with the cart. Eddie doing all he can to stifle his laughter, watching him roll it in for you. For you to climb into the bottom shelf. A towel is draped over the sides to keep you from being spotted. He throws a towel for everyone in the room to keep any suspicions. “Going into the hallway now.” He calls out.

It’s a good thing he didn’t go into acting.

Once you’re a far distance enough, you crawl out and brought yourself to your feet. Mel shakes his head at you. “Et tú, y/n?”

“I know what it looks like…but it’s really not what you think it is.”

“I think it looks like you two are a thing.”

“Okay, so it is what you think. Please don’t tell anyone.” You clasp your hands together, pleading.

“Your secret’s safe with me. I’m just surprised Eddie managed to win you over.”

“Ughh, you say it like I’m some trophy.” You roll your eyes.

“Didn’t mean any offense. It’s just you’re so much badass than he’ll ever be.” He laughs, nudging your shoulder.

You flip your hair dramatically, smirking. “This is why you’re the smart one.”

—————

Mantra•esque. It was this generation’s Woodstock. 4 days of the hottest artists performing and Corroded Coffin’s making its large scale debut. People took this festival very seriously. Both when it came to the musical performances and the way you dress. You don’t go dressed in a casual t-shirt with your favorite band plastered on it. No. This was meant to be treated as if going to a rave. Brightly colored, scantily clad outfits that leave little to the imagination; Glitter makeup and wild hair; Eccentric shoes and body bedazzle, it was the time to dress like the hottest alien in town. A second halloween, if you will. Only even sluttier.

You’ve heard nothing or seen anything like it but it’s eye opening to say the least. With the help of your best friend over the phone, you’d managed to pick out a butterfly-themed rave look of a pink body suit accompanied with wings, fishnet tights, combat boots, body glitter and makeup.

Eddie didn’t let you out of his sight the moment you’d made it to the festival pit. He wouldn’t risk any guy trying to sweet talk you and him not being able to do anything about it.

He takes your hand and you know you should pull your hand away since there are all these witnesses. Yet, you romanticized the idea of him shamelessly holding your hand to show you off as his.

“When do you and the boys go up?”

“We go right Hell’s Fury. They’re a new band, too. They’re not so bad. The lead guitarist could use some lessons though.”

“Can’t you give a compliment without backhanding it.” You laugh.

“It’s not a backhanded compliment. It’s criticism and feedback. You of all people should understand, little miss journalist.”

“Well, that may be true but—” You let out an audibly gasp when you reach around the backstage, spotting a the very famous Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac. “T-t-that’s Ste—Do you know who that is?!”

“Of course I—”

“Stevie Nicks!” You interrupt, shrieking.

“That was right in my ear,” Eddie says, wagging a finger in his ear. “Wanna go over to meet her?”

“N-no way. I couldn’t. They say you should never meet your heroes. What if she doesn’t like me?”

“Not possible. You get a chance to be this close to her. Ya gotta go for it.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I’m just gonna walk up and say ‘hi’.” You stood frozen, paralyzed by fear.

“You’re not moving.” Eddie whispers.

“I will!” You say, defiantly as you continue to still in position.

He sighs. “I’ve got this, little one.”

He walks forward. You follow quickly behind him, hiding yourself like a scared kitten as you peeked over his shoulder.

Stevie Nicks spots your approach, amused when you shy away from her gaze. Eddie breaks the ice, chatting her up and introducing himself before making the final introduction for you.

“This is Y/n, she’s…my g—good friend.” He saves his near slip of the tongue. “Come on, Don’t be shy.”

He steps out of the way, revealing you to the singer. Your knees knock from your evident trembling. “M-m-my name is Y/n. B-but you already know that because h-h-he just introduced me. I’m a huge fan and I-I just wanted to say hi. So…hi!”

You say the last part a bit too loudly, causing her to jolt back but her smile never falters. Eddie smiles as well, entertained by the idea that you do actually fangirl.

It was clear to Stevie that there was something more between you. It was Stevie freaking Nicks. She sensed these things and the tension radiating between you two was as heated as the sun. “Isn’t it interesting how two people from very different worlds find each other?”

“Huh?” You both say simultaneously.

She giggles. “It was lovely meeting you, Y/n. Here,” She turns her attention to Eddie, removing the shawl around her shoulders and handing it to him. “A gift from me…to you…to her. Let her know you’ve got her and there’s no need to fight the feeling. I’ve gotta go in 5 but this was nice. Lookin’ forward to seeing you play, Francis. Good luck.”

She walks off, joining her group and leaving you soaring in your mind. You twirled around to face Eddie, jumping up and down in excitement. “You heard what she said. That’s for me.”

“She also said to stop fighting the feeling, yet you do. All the time. I’m starting to believe the old man at the diner was speaking specifically about you.“

“So I shouldn’t fight the rage I’m feeling towards you right now?” You hissed.

“What if…I give you your gift after the show?”

“Or…” You quickly retrieve the shawl, wrapping it around his neck and tugging him closer to you. “I could have it now and you’ll be rewarded for introducing me to my idol.”

You tug at the ends of the apparel a final time, forcing his lips to collide against yours. He smiles into the kiss and it makes you do the same. Once you pulled away, you snake the shawl from around him and brought it to your shoulders.

“What can I say? I had to stand up for my girl,” You blush at his words only to immediately sneer as the next sentence leave his lips. “You were such a goddamn scaredy cat.”

“It’s Fleetwood Mac.” You say, matter-of-factly.

“I mean, Stevie Nick’s great and all…but she’s no Metallica or Ozzy.”

“Oh, Quit the ‘cool dude’ act. I saw you blushing when she said she’d be watching you on stage. Also, I may have done some digging in your hidden cassettes collection. I know for sure you were internally screaming in her presence. Nothing to be ashamed of, though. Just means you’ve got great taste.”

He scrunches up his nose in adorably feigned anger. “You’re too nosy for your own good.”

“It’s only ever for my own good.”

——————

“You go on in 15, boys,” Mr. Neds announces, bum-rushing through the dressing trailer. “Pull yourselves together. Junie, ya getting this?”

“Ya know it, boss.” The photographer says, flashing the boys for another photo and blinding them.

“Hey! What happened to the photographer my boss specifically chose to accompany me?” You inquire the manager, crossing your arms.

“Oh, that guy? He didn’t make the cut. I’m looking for state of the art photos iconic enough to be plastered in every teen girl’s bedroom. Junie, here, knows what the girls want.” Mr. Neds says, pridefully. He pats his photographer on the shoulder, leaving the trailer to talk about their plans for a calendar edition.

“That’s disturbing,” You muttered before noticing the state of anxiety the boys were currently in. Each boy having their own fears.

Mel’s worries involved his outfit not being flashy enough. Judas’s worries involved his many exes being in the crowd seeking his head. Jessie’s worries involve his irrational fear of him popping a boner on stage while performing his drum solo.

Then there was Eddie, who was a mix of all their anxieties and more. What if he missed a beat, or he sings off key, or his hand cramps up during his guitar solo? He was THEE Francis the Freak. The lead man. The one who inspired the band itself. There was no room to fuck up or it meant the end for all of Corroded Coffin.

“You boys don’t look so good.” You say, concerned.

“I’ve gotta change my clothes.” Mel says, rushing over to the clothing rack.

“I’ve gotta find a helmet.” Judas says, also rummaging through wardrobe.

“I’ve gotta get duct tape.” Jessie searches through a nearby drawer.

Confused, you shook your head focusing on your boyfriend. “Eddie…you okay?”

“I don’t know about this, Y/n. Maybe we’ll just call this a night.”

“You can’t! You’ve performed in front of a crowd before. I’ve seen you up there. There’s nothing to be afraid of. You’re amazing.”

“You’ve seen me in decently-sized venues. But this…the whole world’s watching,” He lets out a dry laugh. “This was Corroded Coffin’s dream. The real Corroded Coffin. My buddies Gareth, Sid and Jeff were the ones meant to be by my side rocking the fuck out, headbanging, and saying ‘fuck all’ to whoever. But now it’s just me with these random dudes and I’m supposed to pretend like it’s always been this way.”

You hug around his waist, pressing your cheek against his chest. “You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. But your friends are probably watching somewhere back in Hawkins, waiting to see you live out your moment. They wouldn’t want you to miss this opportunity because of them. Would they?”

He shakes his head ‘no’.

“Exactly. Again, if this isn’t what you want then you don’t have to go out there. But if it is, then you show them who you are. You’re not just Francis. You’re Eddie Munson of Hawkins, Indiana. The Freak with insane guitar skills and crazy vocals. The mop-headed metalhead that shredded ‘Master of Puppets’ in a room full of boring Hollywood executives. You aren’t you because you’re famous. You’re who you are because that’s just who you are. No other explanation. And even if things get overwhelming and you decide you’ve had enough of this, you’ll always have me cheering you on in the sidelines because I believe in you. I always did.” You look up at him, feeling him let out a breath of relief.

“Yeah?”

“Mhm.” You gave him a small smile.

“That makes me feel a whole lot better.”

“Knew it would,” You say, brushing your shoulder in a celebratory manner. “You go and get those boys together. You’ve got a crowd to amaze.”

He nods, a newfound confidence taking over. Striding over to his silly bandmates, he cups his hands over his mouth to project his voice. “Hey, fuckwads,” The boys quickly halt their actions, turning their attention to the leas singer. He continues. “We’ve got 10 minutes before it’s showtime and you’re all acting as if you were caught with your hands on your dicks.”

Eddie pauses, glaring at Jessie who quickly pulls his hands out of his jeans.

“This isn’t new to us. We’ve been here before. It’s bigger and scarier. No doubt. But we’re better than this. We’re better than that fucking Hell’s Fury band and they went out there despite having the world’s shittiest guitarist. No more backing out. No more excuses. Today’s the day to prove ourselves. Now are we gonna rock the fuck out or not?!”

“I was born ready, ya cunt.” Judas chortles.

“Watch your female-targeted language. There’s a lady in here, you fuckin idiot.” Jessie disapproves.

“Sorry. ‘I was born ready, ya vagina.’ Satisfied?”

“I’m ready, too.” Mel chimes in.

“Then, let’s do this shit,” Eddie says, encouragingly. “We’ve got 5 minutes until spotlight. We’re movin out.”

With that, the boys hooted and hollered before rushing out of the trailer. Eddie nearly running behind them when he notices you staying back.

“You coming?”

“I won’t be standing side stage. I’ll lay my blanket front row with all the other sleazy journalists,” You quip. “That way you won’t have to constantly look on the side of you to make sure I’m there.”

“But I’ll be able to see you, right?”

“Of course…ooh!” You were just reminded of something. Rummaging through your small butterfly-winged backpack, you pulled out a little gift. “I was gonna wait til after the performance but I think you might need it. Just for a little boost.”

He looks down at it and smiles. It was the famous green mushroom sweater that he’d complimented you for years ago.

“You’ve given me enough gifts so that’s my gift to you.”

“Thanks, little vixen,” His famous smile returns, pressing a kiss to your cheek. “This’ll be perfect. See you after the show?”

“I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be waiting for you.”

——————

You quickly went to take your place in the front, noticing the band’s manager walking briskly up and down near the stage. The photographer beside him, flashing away with his camera at the empty stage.

“Have a seat, you two,” You say, patting the clear space on your blanket. “All this pacing back and forth and flashing is giving me headache. You’re going to ruin the experience for everyone.”

“I can’t help it! My ass is on the line with these boys.” Mr. Neds voices.

“Have a little faith. Now sit down or I’ll make the crowd revolt against you.” You threatened.

“Ughh, fine.” Mr. Neds plops down.

“The camera boy, too.” You ordered.

“But…”

“Sit!”

He quickly, sits down. “It’s Junie by the way. Not camera boy.”

“Don’t care.” You shrug.

The stage lights wave around at the crowd before shutting off. The stage going dark. Everyone waits in anticipation. Silence. The sound of a guitar rift pierces the air and the clashing of cymbals ring out then you hear one that familiar guttural screamo voice as the song “Follow the Leader” begins to play.

“Take me to your leader. I will fuck him up then eat her. I’m fuckin bottom feeder. A fiending twisted creature…”

The lights flash up, revealing the band. The crowd goes berserk, screaming and immediately rising to their feet to dance.

Mr. Neds’s big smile quickly falls flat. “What the fuck is he wearing?”

Eddie had removed the ripped up tank top shirt that the stylist had given him. Instead he’s shirtless, donning your mushroom sweater.

“Whoooo!” You cheered on, jumping and clapping as the song picked up. Even Junie had eaten up the look, taking pictures of the band in every angle he could think of.

Once Mel takes over with vocals, Eddie shoots you a quick wink and you nearly fangirled yourself. Maybe someday, you’ll let him know that you were secretly a new fan of his. Once his ego deflates, of course.

Assuming that’s something that could possibly happen.

You felt your stomach grumble when you spot Junie scarfing down a brownie.

“Where’d you get that?” You ask.

“Some really nice girls over there said it’ll be just what I need. I wasn’t even aware I was hungry.”

“Let me get a bite. I’m starved.”

He hands it over to you. You bite into it and it tasted slightly off. Aside from that, it was the right texture. Soft and sweet.

“This is so good.” You moaned.

“I know right.” Junie through bites.

“Wanna bite, Mr.Neds?” You offered.

“No, my blood sugars already so high, my stress levels are through the roof, my diet’s gone to shit…”

“Boy, you need a vacation. More for me and Junie boy.” You say, popping another piece into your mouth.

———

After two encores, the band finished their first day on stage. 3 more days to go and so far it looks to be a success. Once all performances ended, it was time for the after party. A large bonfire set up.

By this point, a familiar feeling took over you. The same feeling you felt when you smoked that joint with Eddie back home. Then, you realized…you were high as fuck. Higher than a motherfucking kite. This is exactly what your mother warned you about all those years. Taking goodies from a stranger is bad. Very bad.

You and Junie were laughing away at just about anything. “I don’t know if you noticed this, Junie, but we just ate pot brownies.”

“I’ve never been high.” He laughs.

“Neither have I up until about couple weeks ago.” You huffed another fit of laughter.

“You’re both idiots,” Mr. Neds mutters. “You’ve got jobs to do. Search for those boys and take some pictures and write something inspirational. Time is money.”

“Take a chill pill.” You say, rolling your eyes. Standing to your feet, you began your search for Eddie through the crowd. The thing about these hippie festivals is that every long-haired man reminded you of him.

“Eddie?!” You say turning over a random guy. Not him. Then another. And another until you bumped into a hard chest. You quickly turned to apologize. “S-sorry. I’m looking for my boyfriend—hey! I know you! You’re that prick photographer from Billy’s bar. You set me up with that photo. I hope you know.”

“Why is it that I always happen to meet you when you’re under the influence?”

“I’m not drunk, okay. I’m just a little high. Excuse me for thinking people give away brownies for the kindness of it all. What are you doing here, anyway?“

“I travel where the story goes. I also follow celebrities in search for my next project. And I’ll have you know, I didn’t take that picture of you and Francis.”

“You expect me to believe you? You can wait til hell freezes over and I wouldn’t believe you. Now if you’ll excuse me…”

Just as you were about to walk away, he stops you in his tracks as he says, “Why? Looking to meet up with your boyfriend…Francis?”

“What are you talking about?”

“So where’s that boyfriend you’ve been looking for? If not Francis, then who’s the lucky man?” He says, dropping the innocent act.

“I have no idea what you’re trying to insinuate but Francis and I…are strictly professional.”

“Then, show me your boyfriend.”

“I don’t need to.”

“Because you have something to hide.”

“Because it’s none of your fucking business!”

“I’m her boyfriend,” You hear behind you. It was Junie the photographer, unceremoniously yet heroically stumbling over to you. “So back off buddy.”

“And you’re expecting me to believe this loser’s with you?” Cole laughs.

“Let’s go, Junie.” You grab his hand only for Cole to break the contact.

“Let’s be honest here, Y/n,” Cole invades your space. “Creative to Creative. We both know the truth.”

“Leave us alone.” You growl, trying to leave but Cole continues to block your path. A crowd soon beginning to form.

“Let us go!” Junie attempts to swing at Cole, who catches his fist in midair, punching him so hard it knocks him backward. The back of Junie’s head rears back, slamming against your mouth as you catch him before he could hit the ground. Your lips split and bleed but you ignore the sting, tending to the poor guy.

“Junie!” You call out, worried, before shooting daggers at Cole. “You asshole!”

“Hey, man. That’s not cool.” Says a voice from the crowd.

“None of this concerns you! Any of you. This is business! The whore’s not gonna get away with it.”

“Say that again.” A familiar voice says, the crowd parts a path for a very heated Eddie.

Cole smiles, wickedly. “Finally! This is what the fuck I’ve been waiting for. A goddamn hell of a story.”

Eddie sees you on your knees, cradling the wounded photographer. He sees red when he spots your busted lip, stomping forward towards his target.

“Eddie! Wait!” You forgotten to use his stage name around the crowd, more concerned with stopping him from doing anything that would get him in serious trouble. He looks back at you, still pissed as ever. You warm up your expression. “Don’t do it. Let’s just get out of here.”

He clenches and unclenches his fists. Cole convinced that he wouldn’t dare listen to you as a hotheaded rockstar. But Eddie does, glaring at the sorry excuse of a man one last time before helping you up as well as Junie.

“I’m sorry,” He says, regretfully. “I should’ve looked for you. It was just so many people that I couldn’t get to you.”

“It’s okay. You’re here now.” You smiled. Patting Junie on the shoulder, Eddie led the way to leave. The crowd cheers and it causes the testosterone in the instigating enemy to rise.

“Have fun with another one of your whores, Francis.” Cole calls out.

Eddie stops in his tracks and you knew all hell will break loose. “No, Eddie. Don’t!”

He turns on his heels, rushing over to the heckling fool. Cole believes he’ll get a one up on Eddie, swinging his fist to connect with his face. Eddie reverses this action using Cole’s own hand to punch him square in the face.

The crowd cheers and laughs as a disoriented Cole falls back into the dirt.

Walking back over to you, Eddie rolls his shoulders to release any tension. “You’re my witness. He punched himself.”

———-

The night started out celebratory. The group popping champagne in Eddie’s hotel room. It was supposed to be a night out in town to end the night right but the boys had another 3 days to perform so they would soon be heading to bed.

“You were incredible, Junie. Super brave. Thank you for coming to my rescue.” You say, squeezing his hand.

“Yeah, that was pretty badass.” Eddie compliments.

“Aww, it’s no big. Always wanted to get in a fight with a guy that looked like my high school bully.” Junie comments.

“So that’s why I got my ass kicked at my party. You two were an item the entire time,” Jessie says. “You gonna kick every guy’s ass that even remotely stands near her?”

“Oh, hell yeah. 100%.” Eddie affirms.

“What did I tell you?” You say, tugging on his ear. “I can handle myself.”

“Ow, ow, ow. My ears are still freshly pierced.” Eddie hisses.

The group laughs and the festivities continue up until there’s a hard knock on the door that halts it altogether. Eddie answers the door and the look on his manager’s face indicated that this was no joyous news.

“Awww, what is it now? You’re harshing our mellow, man.” Eddie groans.

“Yeah, what’s got your knickers in a twist?” Judas questions.

“The executive editor of Hey Hello Magazine is thinking of pressing charges.” Mr. Neds says, solemnly.

“Why would the editor…oh my god?” It just hit you that Cole was not only a photographer but a writer of that magazine.

“What is going on with you, Eddie? I used to beg you to take on the bad boy persona in interview now all of a sudden your exactly that,” Mr. Neds sighs. “You’ve fought your bandmate and now you’re getting into fights with influential writers? What is it? What’s making you act out of control?”

Eddie glanced over his shoulder, back at you. You shake your head, fearing he’s give it up.

He looks back at his manager. “It’s nothing…. The dickhead started it first. I didn’t punch him. He punched himself and he’s too embarrassed to admit it.”

“No more of these shenanigans, Eddie. You’re actions have consequences. To lessen your erratic behavior, I’ve come up with a solution you won’t like but it’s for your own good. I’ll be assigning you all bodyguards.”

“Nooo.” “What the fuck?” “Are kidding me?” The boys protest all at once.

“Yes. Because even if you didn’t start the fight, people will look for a fight just to ruin your careers because of jealousy and greed. People are searching for big payouts and assault from a famous star is their big break. But luckily for you, the editor has agreed to drop all charges on one condition.”

“What?” Eddie asks.

“He wants a meeting…with your journalist.”

“Hell no.” He growls.

“It’s not your choice. It’s the lady’s. So..whadya say say, Y/n?” Mr. Neds turns his attention to you.

“I’ll do it.” You say with no hesitation.

“Great! I’ll make the arrangements.”

Eddie glares at you. “Would you all excuse me? I’m going to escort my journalist to her room. She’s not thinking straight with all the pot she’s ingested.”

He takes your hand, leading you out his door and towards yours. “What the hell? Why’d you agree to it? It’s only what he wants.”

“Because it’ll get him to shut up. He’s riding the high of this story he thinks he’ll get from me and you.. His issues are with me and only I can end it.”

“If I knew the journalism world was this bad, I would’ve never signed up for this expose and put you through this.”

“But then we’d never be the way we are now. I don’t regret that. Do you?”

“Of course not.”

“Then, let me do this for you.” You cup his face, fingers laced in his curls.

He nods.

“You looked good in my sweater, by the way.” You smiled, playfully.

He smirks. “Wanna taken it off?”

“I want to. So bad and so much. But I’m sooo high.”

“That’s one of the best time to fuck.”

“Everyone’s right across the hall and I don’t think I’m sober enough to be quiet. Buuut… you can put me to bed in the non-sexual way.” You smiled, turning around and pulling off your tiny bag and the shawl for him to access your zipper.

He lowers it, slowly bringing down your bodysuit to kiss your shoulder. It all felt so sensual. The bodysuit pools around your feet. Your bare breasts make contact with the cool air, sensitive buds hardening. You were only in your black thong and fishnets.

He runs his large hands over the front of your thighs, pressing his erection against your ass. Hooking his index fingers in the sides of your tights, he brings them down your legs as well.

When you felt him try to do the same with your panties, you pull away. “You’re being naughty.”

“Why are you being such a tease?” He groans. “I thought you were mine.”

“I am yours.”

“Then, show me.”

You chuckled, crawling onto your bed on all fours. You exaggerated the arch in your back, ass in the air as you swayed side to side. Then, you roll into the shawl wrapping it around you and shielding your breasts from his eager eyes.

“I’m not gonna fuck you, Eddie.”

“Hope you know that this will be the most energetic I’ll be for these few days. If you don’t take advantage now…you’ll regret it.” He singsongs the last part.

“Goodnight.” You singsong back, curling up to your pillow.

He couldn’t help but laugh, staring down at your exhausted figure. Pulling the blanket over you, He kisses your forehead. “No more taking brownies from strangers.”

“Yes, daddy.” You mumbled, drifting off to sleep.

He tries to remove the shawl around you but you grip it tighter in your slumber. With one last smile, he shuts off the lights and leaves you to dream peacefully.

——————-

The next day would be hell for you and Eddie. You didn’t even get the chance to see him much. His entire day was spent rehearsing for day two of tonight’s festival. Meanwhile, you’d gotten a call from Murray who was very disappointed in you for being behind on your work, so you spent your day writing with little motivation.

You’re mind had gone elsewhere. To more pressing depressing matters. Cole. Your new arch nemesis. Your rivalry. Your enemy. All the names in the book that would describe his fate in your eyes. He needed to go down and hard. But how?

Tonight, you’ll be missing Corroded Coffin’s second appearance because you were meeting up with him to discuss whatever his evil plans were for you.

All you could do is see off the boys in the afternoon as they gathered onto the giant tour bus toward destination.

“You really don’t have to do this? I can just get a lawyer. He wouldn’t stand a chance.” Eddie says.

“I need to do this or he’ll just keep coming after me. You’ll be okay?”

“I’ll do my best,” He nods. “I’ll see you late tonight?”

“What about your new friends?” You whispered, gesturing to the two giant bodyguards a few feet behind him.

“I have my ways.” He smirks, mischievously.

“Whatever you plan on doing…don’t.” You teased, pulling his hat over his face.

He lifts the brim over his eyes with a finger. “This is why I don’t wear these darn things. I’ll be noting this to Maeve,” He jokes, then spreads out his arms for a hug. You go in for a handshake instead, reminding him that you were both in public.He reluctantly shakes it.

With a final goodbye from the boys, everyone boarded the bus and were off on the road.

Now that they were off doing their work, you’ll be doing yours. It was time to dive into the mind of the sleaziest journalist. If this was a dog eat dog world then you’ll gladly join the game. You were going to get some dirt on Cole and make him pay.

——————

You sat across the devil in a tea shop. He smiles a dangerous smile, believing he’s won.

“First, I wanna start off by saying that I apologize to you, Y/n. I didn’t mean to call you a whore.”

“Fuck you. I don’t care for your apologies.”

“You’re very well entitled to not forgive me. I just needed to get that off my chest. How’s your lip, by the way? It doesn’t look bad from what I see.”

“Let’s cut the bullshit, Cole. I’m not here for small talk. What the fuck do you want from me? Why are you trying to sabotage my exposé?”

“Because you’ve talked down on my Magazine enough. You and your company! Then you write this article and now you’re all I see. Everywhere. ‘30 Days With A Rockstar’. I’ve had enough! But soon… the world will know the truth. ‘Francis The Freak dating his journalist?’. Your exposé will be seen as bias. And my story on you will crush yours.”

“So you started a fight and threatened to press charges…because you want to make a better story?”

“I was never going to press any actual charges. I just knew it was the only way you’d agree to meet me again. Because you care about him. Because you’re a couple.”

“We’re not!”

“I have eyes all around, Y/n. I really didn’t take that photo of you and Francis at the bar. But I did write the article. I’ll admit it. As you already know, I’m the exec and lead editor of Hey Hello and I don’t take to kindly of the slander my company’s faced at the hands of your company. So, I’ll give you three options. Either work with me and give me the rights to your story or you could tell me the full story about you and Francis or I can really press charges and everyone loses.”

“How about a fourth option? You leave me and Francis alone…and I won’t put out an article about you getting sexual favors from your female employees so they can secure their jobs. Abuse of power story? You’ll never work in this business again.”

His eyes widened. “I’ve never done such a thing.”

“Tell that to the several employees that have come forward to personally speak with me. I have eyes and ears, too, ya know.”

“You bitch!” He snarled.

“Awww, I thought we were friends.” You teased, pouting.

“You just wait. I will find the truth. And when I do, you’ll be just another slut that fell for a trashy rockstar.”

You slap him, causing him to yelp. “Go ahead and press charges on me, too. Fuck you and your shitty magazine.”

You shot up from your seat, walking out. Not once looking back. Little did he know, you’d already released the article on him. That morning, you’d found your motivation to write after all.

———

It was 3 am and the Band had yet returned. Even if you wanted to see Eddie, you knew his guards would be right outside his door, keeping you seeing him at these hours.

Right now you’re lying in bed, moping as you began to question your relationship. Maybe you’d both jumped into it too soon. Everything is moving so fast and now you had a huge target on your back which, in turn, would effect Eddie.

Little taps hit against your window, you rise your head up in confusion. You sauntered over to the window, lifting it up and glancing down. Eddie waves at you from below.

“Eddie!”

“Shhhh!” He holds out his hands, signifying you to lower your voice.

“How’d you get out here? I thought you’d be guarded up in your hotel room.”

“I snuck out. Climbed out my window and took the stairs on the side of the building. Told you I’d come see you so here I am. Now you climb out.”

“No! It’s dangerous,” You stared in horror at the rickety metal stairs. “These look all rusty and unstable.”

“But I’ve got somewhere to show you.” He says, throwing up his arms in frustration.

“Fine, but I’m going out and down on the elevator like a normal person.”

“All that work when you could just come down this way?”

“It’s not work. It’s safe.” You throw on a coat over your nightgown and then some boots, before heading out the door. The bodyguards outside Eddie’s door spot you.

“Just leaving for some fresh air.” You explained, nervously. They turned their attention away from you, speaking amongst themselves.

You rushed down to the lobby and made it out to see Eddie, turning to smile as he held out his hand. You take it and he immediately leads the way.

“You’re a bad influence.” You laugh.

“So, I’ve been told.”

It was not a far distance from the hotel where you headed off to. You found yourself at an intimate park setting that had a showing of ‘Rocky Picture Horror Show’ playing on a big projector screen. Couples sitting on their respective blankets as they watched the film.

“I love this movie.” You whispered.

“Yeah? So do I.”

He lays out the blanket for you both to sit, finding a nice spot in a corner by the bushes.

“How’d you know they’d be playing a showing so late this night?”

“Dirk told me.”

“You mean the lead guitarist from Hell’s Fury. You’re on first name bases now? Are you going to braid each other’s hairs, too?”

“Please stop talking,” He says, trying not to laugh. “He’s actually not a bad guy. Hell of a stoner, though.”

“Glad your meeting more people in your circle.”

He nods. “I guess.”

“Thank you for bringing me out here. I needed this. Especially, after my meet up with that loser.”

“How was it?”

“This guy’s been on my tail the entire time since I’ve started this article. He’s been jealous of my success. The misogynistic pig. He said either I tell him about us or join him.”

“Join him? Like Darth Vader?”

“You nerd,” You giggled. “Yeah, just like Darth Vader.”

“So what happened after that?”

“I blackmailed him. Told him I’d out his scandal about his power imbalance and perverted behavior towards his female colleagues. I’m already in the works of outing him, though. No woman should ever work with that creep.”

“Ooo, you can get dirty.”

You shrug, playing off cool. “I can be a real bitch.”

“Oh, I know.”

“Fuck you!” You shove him, saying it loud enough for a couple people to shush you.

“Sorry.” You and Eddie whisper in unison.

——

It’s now 5 am. You’re on your way back to the hotel, laughing and quoting lines from the movie. Eddie insisted you both take the metal stairs this time which you reluctantly take. Him following close behind in case you faint from looking down. When you made it to your window, you climbed in first.

“We’re a little like Romeo and Juliet. Don’t ya think?It’s kinda romantic.”

He kisses you softly after you say this, making your steady heartbeat pound furiously in your chest. He breaks the kiss, licking his lips.

“Does Romeo get to climb into Juliet’s window and rock her world?”

“I thought you wouldn’t have energy for that?”

“I’ve got enough.” He attempts to climb in but you put your hand over his face, stopping him.

“No. You need sleep, big boy. Your day begins at 7.”

“You’re really missing out on some blessings, little vixen. I’m in the mood to eat pussy.”

You shuddered. So. Very. Tempting. That mouth as infuriating as it can be when he spoke, it was just as talented at many other things including knowing it’s way around the female anatomy. “I’ll pass.” You squeaked.

“Sure bout that? I’m looking to make those legs shake. Fuck you with my fingers and tongue,” He does have a nice, thick…long tongue. “Drink you til your stupid and can barely speak.”

You clamp your thighs together. “Ughh, no!”

Mustering up the shred of restraint you had left, you shut the window and locked it, leaving him standing there dazed.

His face drops in a dull look as he sticks up his two middle fingers at you. You do the same, causing you both to burst with laughter. With a final dramatic bow, he says his goodbye and makes his exit down the stairs.

You flung yourself onto the mattress. You couldn’t believed you turned him down. He’s literally your fucking boyfriend! Take advantage! Where was the shoulder demon bitch when ya needed her?!

God, that pretty mouth. I’m such a stupid bitch.

Then, your mind recalled Chrissy’s ‘gift’ to you. With a sigh, you retrieve the item from the drawer. It wasn’t him. But it would be enough.

———

It wasn’t enough! The remaining few days of the show caused your private nights with Eddie to grow shorter and shorter. The moments when you didn’t have to sneak around were spent being as far apart from one another as possible to deter any suspicions from his manager. Eddie had gotten extremely fatigue from the long days of rehearsal and having to perform on stage hours after. You worried that the boys would soon burn out.

When he’d snuck into your bedroom after the last night of Manta•esque, he’d all but crashed face first into your mattress. He only had enough energy for you both to the night for some writing ideas. He excitedly yet tiredly spoke of receiving praise letters from some of his favorite artists who’ve seen the event televised.

“It’s insane,” He yawns. “People actually like our music. They want to hear more from us. We’re already in talks of getting signed to an official label and having a new album.”

“That’s incredible!” You say, placing his head in your lap and playing in his hair.

“Right.” He yawns, once again.

“Shouldn’t you be heading to bed?”

“Wanna stay here.” He grumbles against your thigh.

“It’s not a good idea.”

“So what? I miss you. And who knows if I’ll ever get this much time with you again?“

“Why do you mean?”

He’s quiet.

“Eds?” You called for his attention.

“I’ll be touring again,” He admits. “It’ll be around the time the exposé’s done.”

“Okay? We’ll still get to see each other.”

“No,” He sits up. “At least not for a while. My manager’s got us a tour around Asia then back to Europe for France. I’ll only be staying in Hawkins for about a week and a half then I’m back on the road again.”

Tears began to well up in your eyes. “I knew we shouldn’t have done this.”

You stand to your feet, heading for the door when he grasps your wrist. “Where are you going?”

“I just need to go somewhere to think.”

He caresses your face. “Y/n, I want to be with you.”

“We’ll hardly ever see each other.”

“Then, I won’t do the tour.”

“Don’t be ridiculous!”

“Or you can come with me! I don’t fucking know! I just don’t want this to end. I can’t go back to life without you.”

“Neither can I. I wouldn’t feel like myself without you.”

“So does this mean you’ll leave with me? We won’t have to hide our relationship.”

“I can’t just drop everything and travel the world with you, Eddie. I have my dreams, too. I can’t go with you.”

“Don’t say that.” He begs, narrowing the gap between your lips.

“I can’t…” You say, weaker this time, eyes fluttering closed as he closes the gap between your lips. He kisses away your tears.

You’re lost in his kiss, wrapping your arms around him when a throat clears forcing you both to jolt apart. There stood Mr. Neds with the extra key card you’d given Eddie.

You were so fucked.

————-

“I come to your bedroom and your missing. Window’s open. I knew you snuck out at that point. I’ve always had this gut feeling that there was something going on between you and this fully confirms it,” Mr. Neds turns his attention to you. “I warned you the first day that this would happen. I told you that this would be serious shit and yet, unsurprisingly, you sleep with him.”

“Back off. It’s not her fault.” Eddie defends.

“Both of you are to blame! All this time these unfortunate events that keep happening and it was all because you two are secretly dating. A poorly kept secret at that. You both are all over each other. I’ve been in denial but this proves my concerns.”

“Please don’t tell my boss. He’ll pull the article and this will all be over.”

“I won’t tell him anything. I want this exposé out as badly as you. People are loving it so far. But no more secrets. At least not between us. If this is what you both want, I won’t stop you. But it could only ever be in private. This stays here. No one else will know.” Mr. Neds states.

Only he couldn’t be more wrong. This secret will soon go beyond these walls because in about the next 2 days at approximately 12:30 pm on a Tuesday, the whole world will read about the scandalous romance between a rockstar and his journalist.

Taglist: @that-idiot125 @strangerthingsstories5255

@haylaansmi @tlclick73 @chcolateeyelver

@apolixyan @micheledawn1975 @maystecc @gay-weirdo262772 @itswormtrain @httpmedxsa

@3m0xbunn1 @bebe0701

@lokiofasgard616 @joeyfilth @secretdryrose

@sammararaven @cherrytree69 @bimbobaggins69 @nicolaj1978 @idgafboutyou @eddiesgffff @briasnow-blog @sweetdreamer1010 @sleepyghostygirl @babeyglo @idkidknemore @e0509 @brittney69 @samunson83 @hellfire-puppet

@moonisu @mopeymopeymouse @lluviamg06

@shinydixon @cherrysoda444 @lovelyvivii @therese01 @keiracottreau @mirrorsstuff @eddiemunson95 @e-munson666

@munson-fixation @paradoxicalconundrum @lulukings92 @sherrylyn628 @szalipcombo @elamity @munsonswhore86 @kellsck @die-irre-blog @creoleguurl @edsforehead @munsonswhore86

#eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson smut #joseph quinn #eddie munson x reader smut #eddie munson x you #eddie stranger things #stranger things x reader #stranger things smut #perv!eddie munson #soft!eddie munson #eddie munson angst #eddie munson au #boyfriend!eddie munson #stranger things fanfic #eddie munson fanfiction #joseph quinn smut #joseph quinn fanfic #eddie munson fluff #joe quinn #eddie munson x yn #rockstar!eddie munson #rockstar!eddie #rockstar au #stranger things fandom #eddie munson my beloved #eddie munson x fem!reader #badboy!eddie #joseph quinn fanfiction #joseph quinn fluff

[something-about-sunflowers]

Maybe this is a controversial take (it shouldn’t be, its in the text) but.

People really need to come to terms with the fact that Edward ‘loves a good maim‘, ‘made some poor bloke eat his own toes for a laugh’, ‘thoroughly enjoyed whippies/yardies/turtle vs crab/Calico Jack’s Whole Deal’, ‘Blackbeard always wins and I don’t even have to try and I’m bored of that’, ‘first instinct is to go for the gun’, ‘gouged an eye out of some lad’s skull and called it an anecdote’, ‘set a ship on fire with people still inside and called it a technicality’, ‘capable of becoming the Kraken’ Teach enjoys violence. (No moral judgements here, violence is rarely taken seriously by the narrative and he’s literally a pirate)

On the flip side: Israel ‘flashy sword work without so much as scratching Stede’, ‘concerned about the loss of lives of the Queen Anne’s crew’, ‘offers a quick death for Stede to Edward’, ‘loser is banished from the ship’, ‘negotiated for only Stede to be killed despite the rest of the pirates on the ship’, ‘takes away rations instead of flogging for insubordination’, ‘wants Blackbeard because people don’t fight Blackbeard’ Hands does not, actually, enjoy violence. He puts on a lot of bluster but ultimately everything he does is meant to keep himself (and Edward) safe, which requires a reputation for violence but necessitates a lack of actual serious violence (for the sake of violence at least).

Ed likes violence because its enrichment for his perpetually under-stimulated ADHD mind, he is the tiger with the meat pumpkin. Izzy doesn’t like violence because he just wants to survive and its so much harder to do that if you’re getting in needless fights.

I don’t necessarily agree that Izzy is a cut and dry masochist, it might be the only way he knows how to connect (intricate rituals and all that) but I don’t think its something he’d go for first if he knew there were other options that were safe to want (its why he’s so perplexed by Lucius, who has the connections without the violence), but even if you do think he is: its a different kind of violence. Its not violence for the sake of violence. Its an exchange of trust. ‘I trust you to hurt me but not to harm me.’

Idk I feel like I’m always repeating myself in my meta posts lmao, but like. I can’t just not say something and let people continue to be wrong about fictional characters on the internet can I? lmfao That’d be awful.

#the dork is being a dork #izzy hands #edward teach #when i tell you how fuckin hesitant i am to tag ed lmfao #i should not feel like im poking a hornets nest because im tagging everyone's favorite woobie 'not technically' murderous pirate #talking about how‚ canonically‚ he is actually pretty murderous and he's happy to be #(i LIKE ed and i like him violent! but he's fucked up! not uniquely fucked up and i like him BECAUSE he's fucked up anyway but he is!) #and because im also saying that everyone's favorite scapegoat isn't actually the devil in the form of a 5 foot nothing man with a great rack #and a daddy kink #anyway this isn't in response to anything #just something i've been thinking about lately

[princesssmars]

I NEED ;) a poly Steve Harrington and Eddie Munson fic with either any kind of reader. Maybe protecting each other in the upside down, or being completely parents to the kids (lots of cute fluff), or reader is with Mike/will/the others because they went with Mike to see el and Will and Eddie/Steve thinks they are safe there and it’s funny because it then goes to their pov and their being shot at (maybe they call each other at some point and their like got to go we’re running from the literal FBI).

Relationship HC's - poly!steddie x reader

-

MY FIRST REQUEST MFS LETS GO also you guys work quick lmaooo. but I also like eddie more than I thought I would so here this is. i wanted to include both if you were with them vs with mike will and johnathan so idk if it works but uh yeah enjoy it anyway (anon im sorry this took me 5 years)

cw: uhhh fluff, violence bc Stranger Things. i guess scary things bc Stranger Things. a hiiint of spice bc i cant help myself

so here the three of you are, the ex-king, the freak and the nerd

how you got together ? no idea

most likely you and eddie met steve while going to pick a movie as a treat for him since you tutor him so he wont fail senior year a third time

steve went through his usual bi panic when he saw these two pretty people walk into the store and tried to turn on The Harrington Charm™️ and lets just say hes lucky you both thought he was cute

so badda bing badda boom ur all dating

the party loving you to bits

not being upset when you get asked to "babysit" or just hang out with them, like being an extra for hellfire, chilling and listening to music with max, etc.

and also eddie adores you for being into dnd, he tried to get steve into it and he loves him but was like nah 😐

jane and will even start to like you before they visit based on everyones letters

steve being highkey lowkey jealous because eddie already basically stole lucas dustin and mike and here you go winning over everyone 💀

but he does love it, as we've learned mans wants a whole damn hockey team of harringtons so seeing you being so good with kids does something to him

breeding kink anyone

then that just makes me thing of the three of you lying in bed late at night talking about the future you all want

if its rich boy!steve then him thinking of moving you all to some big house near the city with enough room for the 3 9 of you <3

you and eds def tease him for it but the idea of staying in a nice house and raising a family with them doesnt sound that bad...

but then spring break happens

you think itll be fun, a chance to relax from your studies, chill with your friends, maybe even go on a date or two with your loves

then the next thing you know your house phone is blowing up because dustin n steve say your eddie is wanted for the murder of chrissy fucing cunnigham

greaaaat

now your all driving around in the woods and you find eddie nd hes so god damn terrified and grabs you n steve and hugs you so tight :(

you and eddie being shocked but also kind of hurt when finding out about the upside down and stuff bc why didnt steve warn yall about this shit ???

but he was scared of putting you both in danger wanted you both to be safe etc etc

valid ofc bc hes definitely not pytting the loves of his life in danger hello ??

you and steve being so hesitant to leave eddie by himself so you leave him a bunch of kisses to get him by <3

and then after all this your girls max is cursed next ? and some stupid high school jocks are hunting your boyfriend ?

best spring break ever .

this was messy as shit and i might continue but until then peace out .

#steddie x reader #stranger things x reader #stranger things #steve harrington #steve harrington x reader #eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x steve harrington #poly reader #from ur beloved procrastinator

[allthinky]

Ed Won't Hurt Stede

I've been thinking about this since I first started reading "fix-it" fics last summer. There is one school of thought about Ed's "Kraken era," that he is so angry at Stede for leaving him on that dock, and that if Stede comes back and tries to reconcile, Ed will try to hurt or kill him.

At first I was happy to just enjoy the drama (and pathos) of it all, but eventually it dawned on me that this is a really fucked up narrative.

I am an academic, do some gender analysis on occasion, and one thing that's pretty much a rule is that if a woman wants to leave a hetero relationship, she gets to do that. So many women are killed by their partners, or ex-partners, because the man in the hetero pairing just cannot stand to be left alone, cannot stand his "wife" or whatever showing that kind of autonomy. He owns her, he tells her what's acceptable, etc.

I'm obviously gonna keep this short, and overly simplistic, but it struck me just how awful it would be if Ed (Blackbeard, the Kraken) assaulted Stede when Stede returns. Yes, Stede's not a woman, and yes, these are pirate-y contexts where violence does a lot of communicative work (LOL). But fuck it. I know we get Olu suggesting that Ed will murder Stede, and Stede is clueless and the thing gets played a bit for laughs. (That's a "Friends" call out? I wouldn't know.)

If we know one thing, it's that Ed and Stede love each other. They don't always know it themselves, but we get to know this as the audience. I don't know whether Ed will want to hurt Stede in the show, to express his anger and hurt that way. But I hope he doesn't.

Ed didn't take up violence as his tool in response to Stede's disappearance until the confrontation with Izzy. Shoving Lucius overboard and marooning the Crew were horrible, but are maybe the pirate equivalent of avoiding your ex's friends after a break up. And, of course, the only way he can maintain his Blackbeard persona, which seems like his only choice in the aftermath of the Izzy confrontation.

But "punishing" Stede for leaving him (which, we know, is not really what Stede did but Ed certainly assumes that it's what happened) is the epitome of ugly, toxic, patriarchal, masculine bullshit that I think Jenkins &Co. are trying to critique.

A lover/partner who leaves their lover/partner should not be punished, despite the fact that it's a kind of betrayal. And here's hoping that however Ed and Stede reunite, OFMD will make that as clear as possible, on the way to making us laugh and cry some more.

#ofmd #our flag means death #stede bonnet #edward teach #gentlebeard #how pretentious is this? #really #on a scale of 1-10 #ugh

[celluloidbroomcloset]

Thinking about this some more, I don't think that Ed systematically dismembering Izzy is entirely centered on Stede, but on what Stede represented as well, and what has been done to Ed himself, independent of Stede.

(Please note, I'm not casting a moral judgment on characters' actions here, but trying to explain what it seems to mean to the narrative and the character arcs and development, both literally as well as figuratively.)

When we first meet Ed, he's already tired and bored, to the point that he says that the only adventure left will be death. The alternative that Stede represents isn't just the man himself, and the love that Ed develops for him, but the possibility that life can be more than being "just Blackbeard."

There's a lot of discussion of Ed being allowed to be "just Ed," but in a lot of ways the things that Ed is are a whole combination of personas and realities. Blackbeard is a persona, yes, and it's also a part of him - it enables him to survive, it protects him, and it ultimately comes to protect the people he loves, including Stede. The problem is that Blackbeard has so completely taken over Ed—in large part due to Izzy, but also due to Ed's fears about his identity—that he doesn't know who he is outside of the persona.

Stede gives him space and encouragement to explore who he is, just as he does with the rest of the Revenge crew. He sees Ed as Ed first, he listens to Ed's complaints about how he's depicted in the caricature, and he encourages Ed to try different things, from going to a fancy party to going on a treasure hunt, finding excitement in the discovery of a petrified orange, storytime with the crew, enjoying good brandy, putting on a fun show.

None of it is prescriptive—most of the things they do are up to Ed whether or not to participate in, and many are proposed by Ed himself. Stede never condescends. It's not Stede remaking Ed in his own image, but lending him support in what he wants to try, and protecting him when he's hurt. Stede barely seems aware that he's doing it. He sees no reason not to encourage Ed in what makes Ed happy - and what winds up making Ed happy is Stede himself.

So Izzy's constant threats against Stede are more than just threats against the man Ed loves, but the entire process of Ed discovering his own identity. Izzy is fully invested in maintaining who Blackbeard is—and he makes it clear that "Blackbeard" is indeed that violent caricature—and there is no flexibility outside of that. So the more Ed becomes an independent person, the harder Izzy pushes back and the more he threatens the existence of the man who "did something to my boss's brain."

When Stede leaves, as many have pointed out, Ed doesn't suddenly go back to being Blackbeard. It's the combination of very deep grief and self-loathing and the violence committed by Izzy as he insists Ed become Blackbeard rather than "whatever this thing you've become" that result in the Kraken. Ed's breakdown is catalyzed in the stripping away of pieces of himself—all the happiness, all the fun, all the things that were building on repressed desires and needs, severed from his soul. He does this emotionally and psychologically, but also physically—throwing out books, slashing up paintings, removing all traces of softness and gentleness.

Izzy announces that "Blackbeard is himself again," as though this identity, the caricature of violence, is all that Ed is, and the joy and softness that Stede helped Ed find in himself was never real (an echo, in some ways, of Ed's mother telling him that "we're just not those kinds of people," though this time emanating from a monstrous father).

Ed is aware of what is being killed inside him, and specifically what role Izzy plays in his self-murder, because Ed has been dying bit by bit for years. He externalizes his suffering and the monstrosity that has been forced upon him and starts, almost immediately, cutting away pieces of Izzy's body, bit by bit. The final taking of the leg is the physical manifestation of Izzy severing Stede, and all the softness and gentleness, and love, he represented, from Ed's soul.

Nearing the end of that scene, Ed turns his back on Izzy and spreads his arms. Izzy starts laughing hysterically, telling him "clean up your own fucking mess, I'm not doing it, I've been doing it all my fucking life." Izzy still doesn't understand, though Ed has once more told him, fairly explicitly, exactly why he no longer has a leg. And Ed is resigned—he'll go and die a different way, knowing that Izzy still doesn't understand what he did to him.

Because at that moment, Ed’s fully convinced that Izzy has indeed killed Edward Teach - that all that is left is the monstrosity of the Kraken, with the softness finally cut away. That's not the end, of course, because Ed isn't the Kraken, but it will never be Izzy who helps him to see that and embrace life again. It will be Ed himself, who works through his hatred of himself, then hears a voice begging him to live and decides that he wants to.

#ofmd #our flag means death #ofmd season 2 #ofmd meta #my wee thoughts #stede bonnet #edward teach #ed teach #kraken ed #blackbeard #izzy hands #tw: abuse #gif #i think there's a lot more to be said about this but also i'm tired of talking about izzy