this year is my year

"If I can weasel my way into minor league, you can learn to play. I promise it's easy." 

"It's not easy, Eds. You worked so hard, I mean," —you wiggle your eyebrows at him suggestively— "just look at you." 

"Charmer! No, I mean learning to play is easy. Scoring a goal is easy. You know, so long as there's no goalkeeper there to stop you. I'm gonna let go of your hand now, okay?" 

Eddie skates to just behind the goal where his stick awaits, a puck on the floor beside it. He skates and keeps the puck close, stopping it by your feet. You've managed to skate closer to the goalposts without falling, waiting with your hands out like a tightrope walker. 

"Doing good," Eddie praises, dropping a cold kiss into your temple. He hands you the stick and stations himself at your side.  

You straighten it out. You've held it a few times and Eddie had you practising on dry land before the ice, but it feels heavier now. Your balance isn't automatic anymore. 

"You want help? We can do it like a movie." Eddie sidles up behind you and wraps his arms around you. You feel better knowing he'll catch you before you can fall. 

"How much am I pulling back?" 

"Not a lot from here. If you were skating you might wanna pull it up real high, but the puck's not moving and neither are you." 

"What does Steve say?" you ask, lining up your shot. 

"Put the biscuit in the basket, dickhead?" 

You laugh and hit your puck. It slides across the ice and between the goalposts easily, a small feat for you and a big cause for celebration in Eddie's eyes; he shouts a nonsense sound, his arm behind your back as he shouts, "Yes! Easy-peasy, babe, you're a natural." 

You feel pretty happy about it, all things considered. Even if it wasn't as hard as you imagined, Eddie's pleased, and for a moment you forget you're untrained on the ice and attempt to return his half hug. 

You fall because you think you're going to. Sudden, you remember you might slip, and the panic has you pushing your skate forward in an attempt to dig in. It slides out from under you and Eddie's not on guard, catching your arm but not your back as you smack into the ice. 

"Shit! Shit, come here, sweetheart," he says, pulling you up. 

"Ow, wait," you say. More of a yelp, you wince as your skates slide about, thighs rigid and cold, the bottom of your spine aching, but worst of all is your arm. In his attempt to keep you standing, Eddie's yanked your arm sore in its socket. You don't mean to be dramatic but you're desperate for the hot pain to stop. "Eddie, let go." 

He drops your hand. Unafraid of being unable to stand again, Eddie goes down on his knees. Any skater will give you room. 

"Did I hurt you?" he asks. 

You put your hands on the ice in an attempt to sit up. Eddie holds you down, hands on your thighs. 

"Take five. Did I hurt you?" he asks again, not urgent but teetering, his hand imploring as it travels to your waist. 

You don't want to say yes. "My arm went funny, that's all. Sorry." 

"I'm the sorry one. Said I wouldn't drop you and I did… that's not right, huh?" His hand curls behind your back. 

You're not as hurt as you'd initially thought. Your arm aches sharply and your back will definitely bruise, but Eddie gives you a minute to get to grips with things and stands up expertly, hoisting you into his arms. His arms are lined with fingernail embeddings by the time you get back to the bench, and then you're both sorry. 

"Eddie," you murmur, rubbing your thumbs over the small red crescents softly. 

"How bad is it?" 

"I don't know." You shrug. "Not so bad now." You know Eddie's letting you do what you want because you're hurt, and not because he doesn't want badly to be assessing your arm and your back. "It's my bad, I got spooked."

He catches your gaze, holds it tenderly. Sugary brown with a deep dark iris and the big white grain of the lights above reflected. You skip from one eye to the other. He has more caramel coloured flecks in one. Both are soft and sorry. 

"Is this gonna put a stop to your illustrious hockey career?" he jokes weakly. 

You can't believe you scratched him so bad. "No way. If you want me to be great, I'll be great, just… maybe when my back doesn't feel all tingly." 

Eddie untucks your many shirts with a low hum, fingertips drawing an invisible line over your pain. "It looks okay." He drops his forehead into your neck and hugs your naked stomach, saying, "You're so warm," with his lips pressed to your shoulder. "...M'really sorry I dropped you, babe. I got too excited." 

"Not the first time that's happened," you say. 

Eddie pinches your tummy, his smile audible as you squirm. "Very funny." 

His hair is soft where it lays under your cheek. You let him cuddle up to you until you can't take the cold nor the aching anymore and ask to go home. Eddie insists on carrying you to the changing rooms, you insist on him not doing that, and you compromise by walking with his arm behind your back. 

"I'll try again next weekend," you promise. 

Why Stranger Things?

I'm the daughter of a dude who was a teenager/young adult around the timeline that Stranger Things takes place canonically. So I was raised on a lot of 1980s music, movies and television. My hometown is also very poor, so we often grew up still using appliances and wearing clothes from the 1980s. I also love science fiction and cosmic horror, and the fact that Stranger Things incorporates all of my special interests just made me fall instantly in love!

What's your favorite ship (platonic or romantic) to create for?

My absolute favorite ship in the entire world is... the x reader ship with Eddie Munson! I also enjoy creating for the Chrissy Cunningham x Reader ship, mainly because it's not one I ever really see!

What's your typical writing process like?

Usually, I like to get inspired first. So I hop on my phone, and read a couple of inserts in my To Be Read list. Alternatively, I'll also crack open one of my Stranger Things novels and read a few chapters before I begin. After that, I just kind of decide what scenario I wanna put my characters in. Usually I like to base my stories around a piece of media. One of my stories, "Be My Wife", actually has a central theme revolving around "A Clockwork Orange". Not typically something you'd see in a romance story!

How do you come up with your xReader personas?

It really depends on the type of character I decide I want the reader to be. They don't usually end up in one simple box, and end up becoming these little nesting doll-esque characters that vary in complexity. Some days, Reader might be an autistic woman with a special interest in Disney and Dungeons and Dragons. Other times, reader is an edgy proto-grunge cryptid hunter from a small desert community. Usually, I pick their aesthetic (grunge, cottagecore, cryptidcore, etc.) and then build from there. I really enjoy characters who project one type of outward appearance, but then have a mismatching personality. Example: Hopper!Reader presents as a cutesy cottagecore horse girl, but she swears like a sailor and likes to sock people in the stomach.

What has been your favorite project so far? Why?

So far, my favorite project has been remastering my fanfiction "A Freak and A Basket Case: The Seven Inches of Satanic Panic Edition". I didn't feel like anyone would care about my OC, and I at first made it a reader insert. But after a while, I got inspired by the Stranger Things OC community to rewrite it as an OC fic. I enjoy the remaster a lot more, because I'm finally writing the character as I envisioned her.

What has been your hardest project so far? Why?

My MKUltra!Reader Project has been shelved and scrapped so many times, and that's mainly my fault. I have an idea of where it will go, I just worry that I won't get the responses I want for it…

Have you ever had a creative block?

All the time. Sometimes I end up with a month long one that I just cannot escape. Very frustrating, especially when I have the desire but not the drive to make a move.

Is there a big source of inspiration for you? Books? Art? Games?

I’m usually inspired by a lot of anime, especially ones like Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, One Piece, or any Studio Ghibli film. I like the fact that the stories can be wacky and out there slice-of-life moments, but they often have these deeply emotional scenes where the character finds hope in despair. Alternatively, they often explore every side character and their own story arcs, and I try to do that often with my own stories.

Is there an upcoming project you're particularly excited about?

There’s quite a few! Mostly I’m excited to get into later chapters of “A Freak and A Basket Case”, as well as posting more of my “Space Oddity” reader, and my Hopper!Reader.

Is there anything we didn't ask that you'd like to add?