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rwprincess · 2 years

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ELECTRIC LOVE ~ CHAPTER 18 (WATCH WAVERLY FEM!OC)

Masterlist

Word Count: 1.2K

Synopsis: On the run from danger, Jules relies on Watch to overcome her fears.

CW: mild anxiety (fear of heights); fluff; Ann being a jerk

All five of them rushed through the woods, panicking and nearly out of breath. Bare branches and rough, scraggly leaves whipped by, nipping at their arms and faces. The homunculi from Shadowmire were in hot pursuit. Ann had advised them to take particular items from the garden, despite Moorpark's disapproval. She reasoned that she couldn't take them herself without raising suspicions and asked the others to 'break in' to assist her search while she waited outside. However, she neglected to tell them that the area would be guarded by these overbearing, ghastly creatures who were now tracking them closely. And, if she were caught amongst these thieves, she too would be as good as dead.

"I think---there's an old bridge--up ahead." Ann panted out, leading the group. She more or less knew the route to take, but she also put herself first in line to give her the most distance between herself and the homunculi, lest they be caught. They burst out of the foliage to indeed find the archaic structure. "There! Just up ahead!"

They approached the rickety bridge, the stone pillars seemed well-intact but the wooden slats forming the actual bridge were questionable. "This looks like it's at least a hundred years old," Sally said.

"I would estimate maybe two..." Watch piped up.

"Well, come on, we haven't got much time!" Ann impressed upon them. As they reached the precipice of the bridge and assessed its footing, Jules froze.

"I…I can't." Jules said as they stepped forward. "I'm afraid of heights. Like, petrified. I can't make it across."

"Hey," Sally said softly, reassuring her, "you can do it."

"Yeah, we're all crossing together!" Adam enthused, optimistically. They tried to coax her, but she stilled at the edge once again and began shaking.

"Oh my God," Ann intoned with frustration, "we don't have time for this!"

"It's not like we can leave her!" Sally yelled in response. She looked back over to Jules and noticed that Watch was standing in front of her, speaking calmly and in a low volume.

"We're right here with you. I'm right here. Just…take my hand, okay? I'll lead you from one side to the other." He offered his hand and she took it, numbly. Somewhere, in the recesses of her brain, she realized how truly monumental this was for him, to offer his touch in order to be helpful…and she became aware of the humming sensation that holding his hand gave her. "Go ahead, guys,” he nodded to the rest of the group and turned his focus back to Jules. “Alright, we're going to just walk over slowly and you're going to just look at me, okay? We're not looking down. I'm just gonna guide you. That's it, one foot in front of the other."

As they traipsed along the bridge, Adam and Sally looked back at the sight. Watch had never been so outwardly patient and understanding before. The two of them exchanged a look of realization, their shared best friend was far beyond an average crush; this was something much different. Still, they pressed on and saved this silent conversation to be spoken about on another day.

“That’s it. Don’t forget to breathe, either. Just gently, slowly, deep in and deep out. You are doing great.” Watch susurrated along, praising each step they made across the bridge, a beacon of constant reassurance and praise. Jules misstepped and shrieked as her ankle rolled unwittingly, absolutely certain she would fall to her doom. But Watch shot out another hand, bracing her arm and drawing back her perspective, “Hey, hey, it’s all right,” he soothed as if talking to a trapped and rabid animal. Her eyes snapped back up to his face, finding a compassionate gaze framed by thick black plastic and lenses. “Just a few more steps.” He tugged her along until they made it to the other side, feet hitting solid ground joyously, reuniting with their friends.

“Finally,” Ann groaned, “let’s get going. The bridge wasn’t going to kill us but the homunculi might.” She set off at a rushed pace and the others were quick to follow. It wasn’t until they passed a thicket of trees that Watch realized he still held Jules’ hand in his. Initially, it made sense to lead her to follow Ann, to propel her onward, out of her frightened state, after conquering the bridge. Now, however, it was less logical. Yet, he did not want to let go. She, too, realized shortly after and dropped her hand from his, filled with gratitude for his contact and commitment, but not wanting to push it further than it needed to be, for his sake. She didn’t want to burden him with that, but he felt the lack immediately, a phantom tingling as though her hand was still entrenched in his.

They soon found that they were no longer being hunted and could navigate their way home comfortably, at an ambling pace. Without the threat of present danger, Sally took to her usual bickering with Ann, blaming her yet again for their situation, but Jules and Watch lingered in the back of the line together. “Thank you, for everything back there.” Jules said softly, still embarrassed at requiring that much help to pass over a bridge, withering or not.

“Like Sally said, it’s not like we were going to leave you,” Watch hummed in response. He acted nonchalant, as if it were the obvious thing to do.

“Yeah, but no one else dragged me across.” She said, huffing a bit. She felt ridiculous that it was even necessary. Looking back on it, it should have been a journey as simple for her as it was for the rest of them.

“I didn’t drag you, I … assisted you. There’s a big difference.”

“Uh huh. Always with the semantics and word specificity.”

“Always.” Watch agreed, a smile playing at his lips as he looked forward, disregarding her concern.

“I’m just sorry it was needed.” She cast her eyes down, still trudging along and he took note of her defeated posture, “But I’m incredibly grateful that you did all that, don’t get me wrong!” She rushed out. Watch took a step in front of her, forcing her to halt her stride. He placed a hand on either of her upper arms, feeling the scruff of the loose flannel there. Always ever-present. He liked the consistency. She looked up, and the look in her eyes signified to him that he should indeed tell her what he was going to.

“Listen, it was not a bother, or anything like that. I did not mind and I would do it a million times over just to get you across. I would never leave you behind. Okay?” He was asking for her agreement, her acknowledgement of what he had said, but all she could think was ‘How could I ever be just okay after he said that and looked at me like that?’

Her heart was pounding and she wasn’t sure she would be steady on her feet if he were to release her. But she mumbled a simple, “Okay,” in response anyway.

#spooksville #spooksville show #watch #watch waverly #watchxfem #watchxoc #adam freeman #ann templeton #sally wilcox #jules fox #heights #bridge #ya romance #the slowest of slow burns #slow burn series #fanfic series

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house-of-slayterr · 2 years

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A show we were robbed of and they only gave us one season…

#my childhood #at least what I can remember lol #spooksville #childhood shows #i was crushing on the main casts #i have to rewatch it #i miss this

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mouseplaid · 10 months

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wanted to rewatch spooksville bc i was feeling nostalgic and the only version on youtube is the spanish dub but im understanding a lot more than i expected so :) hehe

#i just didnt feel like finding somewhere else to watch it tbh. my computers already struggling without me accidently getting a virus #anyways. for a kids show it holds up tbh its fun !#i was SO into this show when i was in middle school its crazy #also...im kinda thinking about writing a skz spooksville au?? expect with them in college not high school bc i would feel weird writing tha #idk i think it would be fun #ive been wanting to write something thats more lighthearted so i feel like this could be a good way to do that #i would actually have to plan it out and make some changes bc theres 8 members and 3 main characters but i think i could make it work #ah actually im excited now im going to go get started

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beautifulmakkaris · 10 months

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If you're missing Lockwood and Co, don't despair! Here are some recommendations from fans of the show and books to help fill the void while we fight for season 2 - please share far and wide <3

All recs are from responses to this post, myself and things I've seen floating around the internet (ie, Goodreads suggestions/lists). Recs may be based on specific characters, ships, tropes, genres, worldbuilding or just general ~vibes.

Please make sure to check all content warnings before reading/watching any recommendations on this list.

Books (standalone)

Spellbound by F. T. Lukens

The Agency for Scandal by Laura Wood

The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston

The Cheat Sheet by Sarah Adams

This May End Badly by Samantha Markum

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling

A Sky Painted Gold by Laura Wood

The Hidden Dragon by Melissa Marr

Trouble by Lex Croucher

Books (series - *ongoing)

Shades of Magic by V. E. Schwab

Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

The Locked Tomb by Tamsyn Muir*

Virals by Kathy Reichs

The Shades of London by Maureen Johnson

The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater

Jackaby by William Ritter

Charlotte Holmes by Brittany Cavallaro

The Checquy Files by Daniel O'Malley

Alex Stern by Leigh Bardugo*

Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerry Maniscalco

Scarlet by A. C. Gaughen

Renegades by Marissa Meyer

The Diviners by Libba Bray

City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab

Percy Jackson & the Olympians by Rick Riordan

Mokee Joe by Peter J. Murray

Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve

Murder Most Unladylike by Robin Stevens*

Letters of Enchantment by Rebecca Ross*

The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix

Dreadwood by Jennifer Killick

The Empyrean by Rebecca Yarros*

The Bartimaeus Sequence by Jonathan Stroud

Ankh-Morpork City Watch (Discworld) by Terry Pratchett

The Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson

Scarlett & Browne by Jonathan Stroud

His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman

Books (graphic novels)

Locke & Key by Joe Hill

Television series (*-ongoing)

School Spirits*

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Shadow & Bone

Wednesday*

Stranger Things*

CW's Nancy Drew

Shadowhunters

Locke & Key

The Bastard Son and the Devil Himself

Spooksville

The Midnight Club

Teen Wolf

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency

Grimm

Please feel free to keep sending recommendations my way and I'll update this list as often as I can! Also let me know if you enjoy anything you found from this list, I'd love to know if you found it helpful :)

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frogsare-friends · 8 months

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okay but i haven't seen anyone make this connection but it's the first thing i thought of the second spoon popped on screen (even before he was spoon). he is literally watch (from spooksville). like, book series turned into a show, named after an object he always has on him, knows stuff everyone else doesn't, gets them into places, smart, kinda nerdy, supportive, besties with the main girl(s). he's so watch, i love him.

#harlan coben's shelter #spoon spindell #shelter #shelter on prime #ema winslow #mickey bolitar #spooksville #watch waverly #why does nobody talk about spooksville

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bluebell-winter · 8 months

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Spooksville ✳ New Gilmore Girls Story

Summary: When Lorelai moved into Stars Hollow with her twins, Rory and Delilah, she found it to be a quaint little town. However, Rory and Delilah discover that the teens there call it Spooksville, instead, because of the strange goings-on in the town. Inspired by the TV show Spooksville.

Genres: Alternate Universe, Spooksville!AU, Supernatural, Mystery

Sneak Peek...

"You two need to be on your toes if you want to survive Spooksville," the blonde girl said.

Rory sounded confused, "Spooksville?"

"You two are new here, so you call it Stars Hollow," the boy explained. "Those who know call it Spooksville."

To Delilah, that sounded like some smug in-joke on the internet. Like 'only the real fans know it's called this or that'.

Read Here: AO3 // Quotev // Wattpad Tag: @arrthurpendragon, @wordspin-shares

#fic: Spooksville #fd: Gilmore Girls #gilmore girls #oc: Delilah Gilmore #oc: Matthew Moor #oc: Samantha Walsh

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ironicsopsychotic · 2 years

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First Line Tag Game! Rules: List the first lines of the last ten stories you published (or works in progress if you’re feeling brave lol). Look to see any patterns you notice yourself, and see if anyone else notices any!

okay imma thank you first (i love this game omg) and say that i WANTED to be ambitious and do both published fics and wips, but i started on wips first and this is long af. so here we are. over half are hoa fics but i threw in some random oneshots for other fandoms.

[10 WORKS IN PROGRESS]

#1 the hard part (hoa; 03. in neddie au series)

Two days. Two days after Amber gave the breakup news, two days of incredibly uncomfortable Sibuna meetings, two days of Eddie blatantly lying to himself that ending their whole tryst wasn't a big deal. Two days of all of that, and then Nina sent him to the clearing in the woods for a solo mission but showed up five minutes after he did.

Two days, and she told him that waiting for things to cool down wasn't cutting it for her. He took in her words slowly, but he took them in, and he took in the meeting place, and then he took her in.

#2 golden opportunity (hoa; jeroy college au)

It's the day after sophomore finals week ends and Joy honestly has to wonder how the fuck Mick convinced everyone to go out drinking in celebration. Drinking itself is fine; drinking with Mick at the helm is a lot like trying to swim upstream without a paddle. No good could possibly come from it.

#3 i summoned you (hoa; nina&eddie time loop s2 finale au)

Nina doesn't remember events normally when Senkhara's using her.

The mask is like a film over her eyes, everything distorted just enough that she doesn't feel like herself. She knows what she's doing when she pushes the mask into her skin, but the moments after shift into slow motion, a nightmare she can't stop.

#4 the hookup (hoa; jamber college au)

Try as he might, Jerome Clarke could not, with whatever remnants of a conscience he had left, claim he didn't know who she was.

#5 definition of an extended play (btr; kucy college soulmate au)

The first time he met Lucy Stone, he figured some part of his soul just knew, even without the mark.

His head's the one that has some catching up to do.

#6 exile (good witch; nace post-s5 finale)

Smiling up at her onstage giving her graduation speech is the very least he can do. He can smile, and clap, and even cheer like all the cheesy coming-of-age movies she'd made him watch over the years.

What he can't do is gather her up in his arms afterward. He can't press a kiss to her temple, congratulating her with words but also with every single love language there is. He can't hold her hand as they all go out to eat before heading back to Grey House for their joint grad party. He can't look her in the eyes and revel in the fact that she knows everything he's feeling, and that she feels it too.

He can't do any of that, so he smiles and hopes it's enough to tide him over.

It isn't.

#7 new place, same feeling (supah ninajs; amanda/flint post-s2)

Spending the summer away from Empire City and the dojo was kind of fucking with her.

#8 road trip to your heart (spooksville; adally +watch road trip)

It starts like this:

road trip. u me and watch.

be seen in public w you? oh hell nah

i'm serious

so am i ;)

adam.

senior year.

senior prom.

you need an opportunity to step up your game before you ask me to it, and i'm more than happy to give you that chance.

#9 it's a wedding, not the end of the world (hoa; after anubis series, jeroy wedding)

kindly join us for

the wedding of

JEROME CLARKE & JOY MERCER

5:00pm | July 31st | Calderstone Park: Ornamental Garden

~lil skip ahead of a joy, patricia, willow, & kt group chat~

[willow] you don't have to worry about a thing, joy!

this'll be the best wedding ever!

[kt] agreed! :)

[patricia] sit back and relax, we've got this

five months later...

"Holy shit, we don't got this."

Alfie kept his face smushed on the outside of the leaning cake box and breathed out harshly. "A little HELP??"

#10 in more ways than one (hoa; neddie s2 soulmate au)

Nina spent the morning after Senkhara marked Amber feeling braindead and searching for long socks.

She felt helpless. She couldn't help getting marked herself; she barely cared about that anymore. Besides Victor seeing it and the occasional burn, it wasn't too bad. Sometimes she could even pretend this was just another fun mystery like the beginning of the previous year. But then Fabian lied to her, he got a mark himself, and she realized that, yet again, she couldn't protect anyone. She couldn't even protect herself against Rufus in their final showdown--Jerome had thrown the flies.

so the trend i'm seeing here is i like starting w a (hopefully) intriguing hook, usually just one line. i try to make it at least a little ominous yet simultaneously all-encompassing of what the fic's about. but i already kinda knew that, so lemme know if you see any other trends? and if you wanna do this game, i tag you! :)

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kaijusrpgbrainstorm · 1 year

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New Year, New Character 2: Day 3

Simon Chung, the "Chosen One", Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Roleplaying Game "When they call me the Chosen One, what they mean is 'we chose wrong'. "I'm just a guy. Sure, I'm pretty important to the football team. And the track team. But really, I'm just a guy who happens to be good at sports. So when some guys in hoods come claiming I'm some big thing in spooksville, dude, what are you smoking? But then the new girl shows up and stomps them all over the floor and I'm just here going, okay? This is a thing that just happened. "And then it keeps happening. Monsters, magic, it's like suddenly everyone is gunning for me. And I'm happy to help, especially since some of this team are smokin' hot, but I'd like a little peace some time, you know?"

Name: Simon Chung

Concept: “Chosen One”

Character Type: White Hat

Hit Points: 40

Drama Points: 20

Attributes:

Strength 2+1 (from Jock)=3

Dexterity 2+1 (from Jock)=3

Constitution 3

Intelligence 3

Perception 3

Willpower 2

Qualities (10+6 from drawbacks)

Attractiveness 2 (2pts)

Good Luck 4 (4pts)

Hard to Kill 2 (2pts)

Jock (3pts)

Nerves of Steel (3pts)

Natural Toughness (2pts)

Drawbacks (9pts)

Adversary: Vampires and Demons (2pts)

Clown (1pt)

Magic Magnet (2pts)

Mental Problems: Mild Recklessness (1pt)

Minority: Korean-American (1pt)

Teenager (2pts)

-1 to intellectual rolls not about Sports (from Jock)

Skills:15+3 from Drawbacks

Acrobatics 2

Art

Computers

Crime

Doctor

Drive

Getting Medieval

Gun Fu

Influence 3

Knowledge 1

Kung Fu 3

Languages 1

Mr Fix-It 2

Notice 3

Occultism

Science

Sport 3+2 (from Jock)=5

Wild Card (x)

#new year new character #character creation challenge #character creation #buffy #buffy the vampire slayer #roleplaying game #roleplaying games #rpg #rpgs #role playing game #role playing games

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dontknowhysteria · 10 months

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8, 20, & 37 for the 3 things ask game!

8. 3 tv shows that you never get bored of

911, Criminal Minds and Spooksville

20. 3 adjectives that you’d use to describe yourself

Short, Sarcastic and dramatic

37. 3 languages you would love to learn

German, Italian and Greek just because

3. 3 songs that mean something to you

Brother - Kodaline, Cruel Kids - Yungblud and That friend - Mad Tsai

#ask game

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yvesdot · 2 years

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HOUSE RAINIER BEGINS APRIL 1ST!

Are you doing Camp NaNoWriMo? Do you need a place to stay for the duration? Do transgender Victorian lesbians sound like good housemates?

Well, you should join HOUSE RAINIER, a Camp NaNo word-crawl-meets-RPG event in my server (colloquially known as the yvescord) starring the three main characters in KAY RAINIER, which I will doggedly be writing. Join a team, search for items, and gain stats in a completely non-canon Choose-Your-Own-Adventure side episode.

In this game, YOU choose what you write (or draw, or edit, or brainstorm), YOU choose when to participate (or spectate), and YOUR actions decide how many times Atlas calls Constantine a bitch. (There is a max of two.)

HOUSE RAINIER is low stakes, open to everyone, and completely on your own terms. Bring your friends! Reblog to spread the word! WELCOME TO HOUSE RAINIER!

ko-fi | Patreon | all writing | book

#Come live in the home of the family getting actively harassed by assassins I tell you on the Ides of March.#txt #camp nanowrimo #yvescord #important writing updates #There's no attached cabin BTW (unless people want one-- I can make one!) so no pressure there either.#Warning if Atlas calls Constantine a bitch in front of Kay she throws knives at him (Atlas not Constantine).#writeblr #writeblr events #writeblr event #writeblr community #nanowrimo #camp nano #camp nano 2022 #camp nanowrimo 2022 #writblr #writers of tumblr #THANK YOU ASTRA @IKILLEDMYOCS FOR SHOWING ME YOUR SPOOKSVILLE WRITINGS!!! Couldn't have done this without you ^__^#house rainier

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valengory1234 · 2 years

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No idea if anyone in the spooksville series fandom is still active, but I found a post on Reddit comparing the books and series, and it included a (supposed) interview with one of the shows writers which I though was interesting. There was allegedly some episodes written for a season two and they sound super interesting!

Also the episodes and their summaries:

(I know the photo is hard to read so I typed out what it said under it)

“I can’t tell you how disappointed I was that we didn’t get a second season. Executive producer Jane Starz and I tried everything we could think of to get it to happen. And it almost did. The Hub ordered six more scripts and at least five of them were written before the plug was pulled. I love them so much to this day that I am heartbroken that they weren’t produced. Here they are:

GIRLS SCHOOL- Sally is sent to the Lilith Academy for Young Ladies, a snooty boarding school that also happens to contain a coven of immortal witches. I wrote this one.

GAMEMASTER- A great script by Ernie Altbacker. The kids are playing a game of GUILLOTINE (established in an earlier episode) when they are accidentally whisked away to a pocket dimension that is a real-world version of the deadly game

HAND IN MARRIAGE- I love this story so much. Jeremy Adams wrote this one. Officer Dugan, who has been dating Watch’s mother, wants to propose to her but two things stand in his way: Watch for one. And also Dugan’s own severed hand, which has crawled back into his life to destroy him!

REWIND- In Mitch Watson’s brilliant script, the gang is sucked into a cursed VHS of a terrible slasher-style horror movie from the 80’s whose director made a deal with the devil to get his awful picture made.

BATTLE OF THE BANDS- Genius writer Jenifer Keene wrote this. Watch and Adam have to infiltrate the school talent show where they suspect a local metal band of using the event to usher in the end of the world.

MASQUERADE- The network wanted more love triangle stuff and I was glad to oblige, especially since we had added Cindy, so it would have been a love pentagon (with Anne included). This was also an episode with a big dance at Shadowbrooke, which I thought could be a sort of prom for our actors, who were always on set. I felt bad that they didn’t get a prom.

We had a whole plan for season two and these were just the tip of the iceberg. I hope if any Spooksville fans read this article, they see these episodes in their dreams.”

#spooksville #spooksville series

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rwprincess · 2 years

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Fluff Piece: Part One (Stranger Things Fred Benson x Fem!Reader)

Masterlist

Word Count: 2.3K

A/N: So, you might recall me complaining 'why isn't there any Fred content?' and like...I believe you should write the fic you wish to see in the world, so here it is. Also, I tagged folks who seemed to share the sentiment and are looking for Fred content.

Synopsis: You join Hawkins’ High’s Weekly Streak staff in order to save your grade, but you stick around because you find yourself falling for senior staff member and editor, Fred Benson.

CW: failing grades, slight anxiety and self-doubt/deprecation (next to Spooksville, this is probably the most wholesome thing I’ve written)

fluff piece

a news story or report which is unimportant, extra.

Your English teacher had roped you into working on the school newspaper, the Weekly Streak, for extra credit. A couple of chapters unread had led to a poor grade and she was always proselytizing the benefits of the newspaper, trying to recruit 'new blood,' usually to no avail. But you needed the boost to your GPA. You reasoned that at the very least, you could try it. And she had tried to sway you with some flattery by saying you could bring a 'new and unique voice' to the Tigers' publication. You figured that most of the people on staff had wanted to be here, that this was one of their interests and they were serious about it. You, however, could appeal to the average student with your views.

“So, what is it exactly I’ll be doing here? Am I writing articles or reviews, or--” you trailed off, not really sure of the scope of the school paper.

"Well, I wouldn't just throw you to the wolves!" Your teacher cackled, as if it were an absurd suggestion. She led you forward and indicated a boy with large glasses and sweater vest over perfectly crisp, ironed khakis. "No, I'll have you shadow one of our best, hardest working staff members, Fred Benson." It seemed like the guy had been volunteered for this task right now. He looked surprised and Mrs. Callahan was laying on the compliments thick, trying to butter him up and get him to agree.

You offered your hand forward to introduce yourself and he took it warily, but politely, and did the same. He eyed you up and down, unsure and possibly disappointed, it was hard to tell. "Well, I will leave you to it, I'm sure you'll show her the ropes!" your teacher encouraged as she turned to leave.

"Wait!" You called out to her, suddenly nervous. Maybe it was Fred's unwavering and serious gaze that made you feel like you were on fire, or maybe it was just the prospect of having to work to prove yourself to a stranger when neither of you seemed to really want you to be here. "You're not staying?" You asked, pleadingly and wide-eyed.

"Oh, no. I have a lot of essays to get through. But you're in good hands," she indicated Fred again and you glanced back up at his stone-serious expression. You had expected to do some articles and turn them in, but here you were being judged already, and by the look in his eyes, not lightly. As soon as your teacher had left, he rounded on you.

"What kind of experience do you have, exactly?" He asked, his withering stare making you feel like he could see right through you, as if he were some prophetic Greek god that could weigh and measure your internal worth, seeing all your faults and failings throughout the cosmos. You swallowed hard.

"I…I don't really know. She, I mean, Mrs. Callahan, just asked me to join and I thought, why not?" This was clearly not the answer he was looking for.

"You thought, 'why not'?" He punctuated every word dryly, tilting his head. "You really don't have a clue about the hard work and dedication it takes to run this paper, or to even contribute, do you?"

You gulped again, feeling small in his presence, which was ironic given his slight frame. "I guess not," you mumbled in return. There was a moment of palpable silence and it seemed as though he was waiting for you to fill it, so you continued, "but I'm willing to learn. I mean, I'd like to learn."

"Good," he replied in kind, "let's start by setting you up with the right materials, then." He took you to their stock-cupboard to gather notebooks and pens, then showed you about the working space and what items you would be using before whisking you away to your first assignment, to follow his lead and take notes for the interview he was conducting with one of the other club leaders.

As you reviewed your notes together to craft your article, Fred bluntly asked you, "Why did Mrs. Callahan ask you to join?"

"Honestly, I'm having doubts about it now but she said something about bringing a 'unique voice' to the paper?"

"And what do you get out of it?" His question caught you off-guard. What would be a 'normal' reason to join an extracurricular activity? "Usually people don't join our staff to see, 'why not.'" He echoed your term from earlier, but more in a mocking tone now.

"Look, I'll be straight with you. She offered me extra credit if I would join and submit some things. I've fallen a little behind lately and…I need it." You shrugged, shrinking further down in your seat, not wanting to be seen or even be present anymore. Fred scoffed in response.

"I can't believe her. She's always trying to get people to join but doesn't take one minute to think about the work that goes into this; not just anybody can do it, you know."

"I see that now," you acquiesced. "It's already way different than I expected."

"You know, you can just go."

"What?"

"I'll submit it under your name, you can get the credit, I can keep the paper how I like, everyone wins." It was an interesting proposition, and while it felt like disagreeing with him put more burden on both of you, you refused.

"No. I'm going to stick with this.Mrs. Callahan has her reasons to ask me to do this and even if I started to make up a grade, I want to stick with it. I want to earn it, okay? She put her trust in me and asked me to do something. I agreed, so I'm going to do it." He looked at you with that weighted gaze again, but somehow seemed to deem you worthy this time.

"All right then, let's get started."

In a matter of weeks, Fred had won you over. His serious demeanor often dropped and you found him making stupid jokes and off-the-wall puns. Sometimes it seemed they were just to make you smile. You no longer felt intimidated by him, though you still aimed to please. You took all of his notes and meticulously worked to become a better writer and reporter. Mostly, though, you found that you oddly wanted to be there because of Fred. Other staff members were nice, sure, and you liked being able to attend different activities to report on, to get out of your bubble, but your favorite moments were those when you and Fred would spend time together, secluded after hours where he'd roll his eyes at your suggestions that maybe the basketball could win a game or you would laugh at one of those idiotic word-plays he'd toss out and he'd smile at you with those perfectly-straightened teeth as you tenderly set a hand on his forearm, only to jerk it away half a second later to tuck in your lap as you looked away. Fred wasn't your usual type; he wasn't the kind to be in a heartthrob magazine and then have his picture tacked to your wall, anyway. But he was real. He was real and sincere and didn't seem to hold back whether his passion or criticism were brutally honest or not.

Meanwhile, Fred appreciated how studious you were, your eagerness to learn, although he never told you that. He had high expectations for all of his staff and eventually, you seemed to pass the test, too. While he lamented that there wasn't really 'hard-hitting news' to be had at Hawkins High, he always wanted each of you researching, digging. However, your supervising teacher insisted on some 'lighter fare,' and you once caught her arguing with Fred about it.

"This is exactly why I asked Y/N to join, so there could be a different perspective and something that isn't so serious."

"What, you want her to waste her work and her…her talent on some fluff piece?" He countered. You were astonished that Fred would challenge an adult in this manner, but also that he was standing up for you and thought you had 'talent.' Again, something he had never expressed to your face. You felt a tight squeeze in your chest and a familiar heat creep up your neck, its flushing pink betraying your internal thoughts. You were flattered in general, but a compliment from Fred, any attention from him these days, really, had you reeling.

"Yes. We need to be a well-rounded publication. I'd like to see something beyond pessimistic coverage of sports games and I'm sure our readers would, too." She left quickly after dealing that blow and you scrambled to make it look as though you hadn't heard the confrontation and busied yourself at a desk as she approached, "Y/N, I'd like you to work on some sort of slice-of-life article this week. Think of a topic and run it by the editor, please." She emphasized the word loudly so that Fred would know it was an assignment for the both of you. You dared to glance up at him in the doorway to the smaller office where they had had their spat. He had a cold gaze and red face directed at her back.

"Fred, I---" you started gently, treading lightly. His expression softened as he turned to you, the ire for Mrs. Callahan burning out almost immediately.

"Whatever topic you want to do is fine, I'm sure. Just…just go ahead." He walked away with balled fists, head hanging low in utter defeat. You were tempted to go after him but felt he would prefer to deal with this alone. The best thing you could do is get to work. Fred wordlessly submitted your work back to you a few days later. It wasn't marked up much, but you didn't take this as an inherently good sign. You approached him quietly as most of the other staff left on assignment or to go home. "Fred? There's not a lot of notes here. Does that mean you enjoyed it or?"

He gave a dry, humorless chuckle. "No, I didn't like it. It was just well-written. Not many mistakes. But it's a banal topic that I didn't really care to write about." His words stung you. You were used to his critiques by now, but they'd never so bluntly been 'I didn't like it' or have an air of 'you've wasted my time' before.

"Oh. Well, I could do something else, but I thought you said any topic would be fine."

"I did. And it was. It's fine. I'm sure it's what other people want to read, 'normal' people as our faculty advisor so kindly put it. She's made it clear that a bunch of nerds can't be the only ones contributing to the paper anymore. We need 'other voices'," this time he did sarcastic air quotes, "to appeal to a broader base. So, write whatever you want, I guess. That's the direction we're taking now."

His crestfallen expression nagged at you the most. This newspaper, while small and humble, was his baby. All of his great effort and care went into it, that much was plain from day one. That fire, that passion to always make it better and not settle for less just because it was some rinky-dink small Midwestern town's high school newspaper was one of the things you admired most about Fred. And now you were taking an active part in tearing that down, without even meaning to. "I'm sorry that that's what you feel like it's come to, I mean, I know how much you---I wish I knew how to fix this. I could talk to her, maybe? Get us back on track?"

"What for? This is what she wants and what she keeps pushing for. Besides, you don't have to be sorry. It's not like you wanted to do this, anyway. You're just here to make up assignments, right? Well, then you'd better do what she tells you to. Make the grade and then get out, while you still can. Feels like a sinking ship at this point."

"Fred, I---"

"No, really." Another humorless laugh rose and caught in his throat, "What's keeping you here anyway? You gave it a try, that's all you wanted out of it, right?"

"No, no, I like working here, I--"

"It's okay. You don't have to lie anymore," he cut you off and you returned his abrupt answer with a confused look. Lie about what? you thought, then he continued, "I think…I think I'm just gonna go home."

"What? But we're behind on the Chess Club piece and the preview interviews for the play."

"What does it matter anymore?" He shrugged and blinked away the wetness from his eyes before leaving the office, looking utterly heartbroken.

You stewed on possibilities to even try to cheer him up, to work on something that would satisfy Mrs. Callahan and also be good enough for Fred, but you kept coming up short. You let yourself get caught in the fatalistic spiral and found yourself thinking, 'well, if it's all coming to an end anyway, why not be risky? Why not tell him how you feel?' It was always a horrifying proposition before; You'd get tongue-tied trying to admit any hint of your feelings towards Fred, save the random compliments you had blurted out and then instantly regretted. But, you might not be working with him much longer, and then when would you have the chance? Alternatively, you could just write it, you were much better at that than speaking, anyway. A smile crept on your face as you decided to be both bold and sneaky at the same time: 'I'll give him a Fluff Piece.' It seemed like a ridiculously easy solution to all your previous pondering, so you began drafting, How To Tell If She's Really Into You, and laced it with your own real emotions, hoping he would read between the lines and see the parallels between your article and your interactions.

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#stranger things 4 #stranger things #no spoilers #fred benson stranger things #fred benson #fred benson x reader #fred benson x fem!reader #look at that wholly adorable baby boi. how could you not love himmm?

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