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#also they're all queer so ya know
babybluebanshee · 6 months
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So I finally got my water heater replaced after more than half a year of it leaking and nearly destroying my floor, but that's not the story. The story is of the handyman that installed it.
Dude's name is Chris, and he's your typically midwestern schlub - friendly, apologizes too much, really likes the Cardinals, maybe a little younger than my parents. Hella nice tho, gets the heater installed quickly, and even offers to fix the floorboards it warped (after nearly tripping over the hump it made in the floor twice). Overall, a stress-free experience.
Then, as he's gathering up his tools - "So, I noticed your, uh, banner. Over your bed."*
*(The closet where my water heater is is located in my bedroom because I live in a mobile home, dude wasn't just wandering creepily into my bedroom)
He's referring to a giant pride flag that's hanging over my bed, with the words "Sounds gay, I'm in"
My anxiety spikes instantaneously, thinking oh christ I'm about to get hatecrimed or at least microaggressioned.
But then he says "Yeah, my daughter is gay, and I was wondering, like...where do you guys, ya know, meet up?"
What.
"Because she met her most recent girlfriend when she was in jail, and I keep asking why she doesn't just find a nice lesbian librarian or something and she said 'dad I know they're out there, I just don't know where'. So...like...where do you?"
So I ended up confessing to this nice man who installed my water heater that I don't know of any real gay culture in our mostly Baptist Missouri town of about 18,000 that routinely freaks out over pride displays in the library (I'm sure it exists but I'm lazy and haven't gone looking for it). My girlfriend lives in an area with a rather bustling gay community (we just did a face painting booth for their pride festival a few weeks ago), so maybe have her go out there with some friends, and also a lot of queers I know play dnd so maybe find a nice group of them and network. I then apologized that I wasn't more helpful in getting his daughter settled with a nice, wholesome dyke.
On the plus side, he was not deterred at all, and seemed to be very interested in the fact dnd was so popular amongst the el gee bee tees. I told him the names of some dms I know and told him to go to town. I do not know if the names will be given to his daughter or hoarded for himself so he can join a group and play like he did when he was a teenager and not be called satanic for it.
He's coming to fix my floor next week.
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cheeseanonioncrisps · 10 months
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Something I never hear anyone talk about in the 'why are Young Adults (late teens to early 30s) reading so much Young Adult (teens) fiction These Days' discussion is how surprisingly difficult it can be to transition from kids books to adult fiction.
And I don't mean in terms of content. Forget themes, characters, plots, etc. I'm talking pure practicality.
As a kid, most of the books you read are calibrated to you exactly. Your local library likely has a 'children's' section, and that section is likely split into smaller sub-sections based on age group. 0-5, 5-8, 8-12, teen. A lot of your interests and experiences are pretty easy to guess at based on average developmental stages (eg. most 16-18 year olds will relate to Coming Of Age stories), so it's probably pretty easy for you to walk into a bookshop or library and find a book aimed at you specifically.
But get to 18 (or younger) and start straying into the 'adult' section, and suddenly nothing is calibrated anymore. When people complain that all 'grownup fiction' is about white middle class heterosexual couples going through angsty divorces in their mid-forties, this is what they're complaining about. They can't find books they can personally relate to, or that are about topics that they are interested in.
And yeah, sure, books shouldn't have to be relatable to be good or enjoyable. But there's also nothing wrong with wanting to read a book about young people, when you're young. Or queer people, if you're queer. Or people from your particular culture, religion, or ethnicity.
Even if we ignore the relatability aspect entirely, there's also nothing wrong with wanting to read a fantasy book that isn't just 'Tolkien but drearier' or a sci-fi that wasn't written by some guy in the 1960s who thought that women were just another kind of alien.
The problem is, fundamentally, that finding the books you like amid the haystack is a skill that most people are not being taught.
As a result, when they get past YA and try using the old tricks of just picking up whatever is on the bestseller list at the moment, or whatever their local library is currently touting as their 'book of the week', they frequently end up with something that isn't suited to their tastes.
And maybe they love it and it opens up a whole new genre that they'd never considered, but more often they hate it but feel obliged to slog through because this is a 'grownup book' and they have decided they want to be a 'grownup reader'.
A few times being burned like this, and they come to the conclusion that all adult fiction is boring, and that the people who read it are all either mature geniuses of the type they could only hope to be, or slogging through like they were and only pretending to like it.
Thus they run back to the familiarity of YA—which is fine, to be clear, there's nothing actually wrong with reading YA as an adult— but there's every chance that somewhere on the bookshelves is a potential favourite author of theirs that they will now never know because they were never taught how to find them.
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adamsmasher · 3 months
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Okay it's after 1am and I've had a lot of wine so obviously it's time for a late night wall-of-text post, but this time it's less likely to piss off your weird uncle or whatever because once again, I gotta talk about the best $4.99 a month I've ever spent.
Please, if you haven't yet, I'm begging you to look into all of the incredible content available on the Dropout.tv streaming service (formerly known as College Humor) . Not only did Whose Line Is It Anyway's Wayne Brady say that the Dropout crew are the only ones doing improv comedy on the same level as Whose Line, but they were also one of the only studios/streaming services allowed to work during the writers' strike because their contracts went above and beyond industry standards. (And, from my own observations, Dropout LOVES hiring queer, trans/nonbinary, and BIPOC performers + crew. Obviously I don't know much about the industry, but they seem like one of the most inclusive companies in Hollywood.)
"Alex, thanks for the recommendation! What shows do they have that you think I'll like?" Oh, you're asking me to gush about my favorite tv shows? Don't mind if I do!!!
Are you D&D curious, but took one look at actual play shows like Critical Role and thought "6 hours an episode? and there's like 750 episodes or whatever? oh baby not my adhd ass..." Don't worry, me too (sorry CR I love you I promise). But Dropout has a show called "Dimension 20" where comedians play Dungeons and Dragons with emotional, immersive storytelling, gut-busting laughs, and spectacular set design that makes you forget it's a fully improvised series controlled by the roll of the dice. They even did a miniseries perfect for D&D beginners called "Dungeons and Drag Queens" where absolute novices and Drag Race royalty Jujubee, Monet X Change, Alaska Thunderfuck, and Bob the Drag Queen embark on an adventure full of mystery, intrigue, and stupidity. I mean, Alaska plays a muscle-bound, axe-wielding, caveman-grunting Orc named Princess, what more could you want? Plus, the primary game master Brennan Lee Mulligan is so easy on the eyes. Oh, you're not into dorky ginger dudes? How about Aabria Iyengar, a 6 foot tall goddess who's equally as nerdy as Brennan but loves basketball. that's right, if nothing else, there's eye candy for every person in every season.
"Oh, why aren't there any good game shows on TV?" you wonder, wishing that the Game Show Network could come up with something that isn't a lame remake of a free-to-play phone game. Well how about Game Changer, "the only game show where the game changes every show (except for [...] Game of Games, Taskmaster, and a few others that have come to light AFTER [Game Changer first aired]. That's right, [the] players have no idea what game it is they're about to play. The only way to learn is by playing, the only way to win is by learning, and the only way to begin is by beginning." And yes, I did sit there and watch the beginning of an episode to make sure I was accurately quoting Game Changer host (and Dropout CEO) Sam Reich's description of his flaghship game show that has THREE separate spin-offs. (for context, he only mentions the other shows that copied his in the one episode I pulled up to get an accurate quote. could you imagine how uncomfortable it would be if he said that every episode? hah!)
Are you more of a traditional Whose Line fan? Look no further than Game Changer spin-off Make Some Noise, where contestants act out "improvisational prompts that [they have] never seen before, isn't that right contestants?" ("We won't know if we've seen them before or not until we see them!" Brennan insists every time he's on...)
You like musicals but wish they were less... ya know, scripted? Check out "Play It By Ear", a fully improvised musical! (you may be familiar with its primary cast members Jess McKenna and Zach Reino from the podcast that inspired it all, "Off Book: the Improvised Musical Podcast with Zach and Jess")
Or maybe you're more into trivia, cuz you're a total nerd like me (and every single performer that's ever appeared on dropout.tv). How about "Umm, Actually" where contestants are given an incorrect statement and have to buzz in to correct it - but you have to say "Umm, Actually" first!
Straight up, you can't go wrong on Dropout. Please, check it out. They're nearly doubling the amount of original shows they have in 2024, and no other streaming service is doing it like them. If I haven't convinced you yet, get the 7 day trial and give em a chance. There's no referral code I can give you that gives me some sort of kickback or whatever, I genuinely wrote what looks like a thousand word essay about Dropout at 1am just because I love them so much.
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rottrottencorpse · 4 months
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hey rott, love your cartman hot takes, do you also have any hot takes for kyle?
MAN DO I HAVE HOT TAKES FOR KYLE
(thank you btw!)
Oh boy oh boy
Kyle has anger issues, look at both of his parents as examples: Gerald has blown up at Ike for his trolling bullshit and Shelia is from fucking Jersey. Whether or not Cartman would've antagonized him as much as he did he still would have a temper. He had anger issues in the first few seasons before Cartman was a bother at all and just LOVVED to pick on Eric and be a massive bully.
Tall Kyle canon. I just can't see him being short or the shortest out of all of them. Plus wouldn't it be hilarious if he hit a growth spurt and absolutely used that to his advantage when Eric tries to pull some shit??
While Kyle is academically inclined he's also athletic, so I hate when the fandom just drops him in the "bookworm" or "nerd" category when there's alot more to him. He likes basketball, poetry, he's good with computers, he'd have a super high grade in his classes, he'd probably be pretty damn physically fit and could beat the shit outta someone if he wanted to. Honestly he'd be one of the more popular kids, he gets along with just about anyone. I feel like he'd end up doing tons of extracurriculars in Middle and Highschool to live up to expectations he THINKS his parents have of him.
I ALSO HATE WHEN PEOPLE FEMINIZE HIM. LIKE GOD!!! It just irks me when a character is very clearly given traits or a personality and people just ignore it in favor of making said character however they want. Have fun or whatever, but why are we drawing Kyle like a subby yaoi anime boy 😭😭,, Maybe thats just me but it gives me MASSIVE ick. Like, Cartman wears drag consistently in the show so duh I toss some makeup on him every once in awhile but Kyle? Guys c'mon did we watch the same show?
I don't think Kyle has a very strong moral compass, he THINKS he does but it's pretty common that his opinions can be swayed or change based on the situation or how it affects him. He's not particularly nice to cousin Kyle, whatever HIS reason is, it's not good enough of a reason to try and have your cousin beaten up (TFBW) or sent away on multiple occasions; he was SOO ready to stop defending Ike the second he found out Ike was adopted, just "nah not my brother not my problem" ;
my personal favorite example is in 'Fun Times with Weapons' when they're doing their individual introductions he says and I quote "My nunchucks turn me into Boraku, the deadly but compassionate ninja who protects those in trouble" ,,,, and then Kenny accidentally hits Butters with a ninja star, Cartman suggests they kill Butters to hide the evidence, and Kyle's immediate response is to agree with Eric.
I mean,, for fucks sake dude had murderous intent and was down to kill the Queer Eye guys just cause he couldn't fit in with his friends. That doesn't mean he's not often the voice of reason or right in most situations, but I also wouldn't regard him as being the most morally sound out of the main 4 (I think Kenny holds that title)
This is just a personal take entirely, but I don't get the ship Style when Kyle is the one who likes Stan. More often than not Kyle will just up and bail on Stan whenever he becomes too much of an issue. He didn't want to help Stan in 'Whale Whores', didn't want to get involved in 'Hummels and Heroin',,, I mean we ALLL know Kyle ditches Stan to go hang out with Eric and make Cartman Burgers in 'Assburgers';; in 'Trapped in the Closet' when Stan says he's saving his money and doesn't want to spend it like his friends are doing, this exact exchange happens:
Stan: "Well I can't spend any money."
Cartman: "Fine then, Be a Jew." (Walks off)
Kyle: "Yeah, see ya." (Follows)
I'm not saying Kyle doesn't care about Stan, they're best friends he very clearly does. Like he does EVERYTHING he can to save Stan in the Imagination Land saga, Just sometimes he doesn't care or is a little more focused on himself. Whereas Stan is loyal to a motherfucking fault.
Also personal take- I don't get Scene Kyle. I feel like Kyle would make fun of subcultures like that, he fucking mocked the goth kids. He wouldn't put himself in some group or label like "punk", "scene", "emo", etc. he'd think its kinda stupid. Like , "what's the practicality of wearing all those accessories? Why would you WANT people to stare at you? You bleached your hair to get it that color and now it's RUINED!!"
(ofc people can do whatever they want no hate at all)
Just my high ass takes from watching the show ✋
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troubled-mind · 1 month
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Quick thoughts on Ready, Set, Love
(Thai mini-series that showed up on Netflix recently)
I don't have anything coherent to say about this show but it still lingers in my mind a bit and there's barely any content on it here on Tumblr so I'll give it a go. This is not a pitch but rather a spoiler-free way of getting this colourful mess out of my system.
Setup (according to MDL): In a parallel universe, female newborns vastly outnumber their male counterparts due to an inexplicable pandemic. As men become rarer, they're hailed as "national treasures," and women must win their affections in a government-sponsored competition called "Ready, Set, Love.". I'll add that men are kept on the "Farm" isolated from most of the society. Day (FL) ends up in the show against her own will but decides to win it for personal reasons.
-> First and foremost, this show is one of the most visually pleasing pieces I have seen in quite some time.
The colours, the way it was filmed, the fricking set design, the outfits! It is all VERY consistent throughout the show and a pure feast for the eyes. It definitely screams money. Maybe they put all the budget into the visual appeal and that's why the scripting department was deprived of funds?
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-> And while we are at the visual aspect, the cast is fricking beautiful too.
Yes, I started this show because I enjoy looking at Blue Pongtiwat (who plays the male lead here) in Intern in My Heart (@clairedaring's fault) but I left halfway in love with Jane Jaytiya (Val in the series). And the other characters are very fine as well! I mean, Man Trisanu is here presenting ridiculous dance moves, what's not to like.
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-> What you have to remember though (and it's not a critique, I'm just stating the fact), is the fact that Ready, Set, Love is primarily a romantic comedy aimed at YA enthusiasts.
It's loaded with known and loved tropes. Characters are also easy to decipher (apart from some minor I-didn't-think-you'd-do-this twists). There is some intergenerational trauma standing in the way but you know, it's the power of love that counts. Yes, the finale got me some unnecessary cavities.
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-> Although there are criticisms of government oppression, jabs at the capitalist system, and the world of idols, it is all quite superficial.
I didn't expect anything too profound, but there was so much potential for the story to be less in your face. It made me feel old as if I were reading Let's Dismantle the System: A Guide for Teenagers or something similar. My mind is also still full of questions about the inner workings of that AU that obviously remain unaddressed (How are het women managing outside the Farm? Are they alone for life? Do they all find their inner bi identity? Do they form platonic communities? How is this society coping and bringing up children? I want a dissertation on my desk by tomorrow afternoon)
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-> The writing could have been better.
The pacing is also weird at times, there are moments where it feels like too many scenes were cut, some character development came out of nowhere, and you have to throw logic out of the window more often than not. However, this show is definitely not stalling - you won't be bored, that's for sure. And I would love to be in the writers' room when they came up with all those reality show games because they must have had SO MUCH FUN.
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-> What actually may throw international viewers off though, is the comedy style.
The humour is so, so corny. Although it worked for me, I still wonder why I haven't died from cringe overload (it was close). Maybe the fact that the cheesiest moments happened during the competition itself made it feel less odd. If only the female lead was a little bit less over the top, that would be awesome. Some tonal shifts in her behaviour were too perplexing.
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-> That being said, dear Ready, Set, Love, kudos for queer representation!
In a setup like that, I would be disappointed if we didn't get an F/F couple and indeed we got them. The ladies are sooo fine and vital to the plot. Apart from them, there is even a quite touching gay awakening (music is crucial to that plot point so I might be biased). Also, I read Bovie as ace, because why not. Having such characters in a Thai production widely distributed on a popular platform feels significant somehow. It's like the door to a Netflix-backed Thai BL was slightly opened with this show (I mean, we got a gay dude playing the guitar, scary, I know).
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-> TLDR;
It's quite enjoyable, light-hearted entertainment with a touch of political satire and lots of heart. Go for it if you're open to tons of corny humour, beautiful cinematography and equally beautiful faces. Don't expect deep social commentary or a super coherent plot, and you'll be fine.
-> My most important conclusion from this show?
PAPER NEEDS TO BE PROTECTED.
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justgrey · 27 days
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What if a teen reader ACCIDENTALLY came out to the TF2 mercenaries? "came out" meaning generally queer in sexuality. the teen would be worried and anxious afterward because they don't want the mercs to hate them for it. (this is based on myself as a girl-loving girl but it can be written for any gender)
you ask, you finally receive. Might start cutting requests down. idk, I feel like writing for some reason. Who knows how long that's gonna last, though.
also, REQUESTS ARE OPEN, just be aware that i might not get it out for a long, long time because motivation works weirdly😇
Mercs with a queer reader (PART 1)
Scout, Engineer, Medic
Warnings : fear of being rejected, swearing, a couple of hcs, medic is his own warning
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Being queer is hard. And being able to not tell anyone (if you're like me and wanna live comfortably) is hard too.
The way they find out is if you got really cosy with them, and I'm talking being invited to Engie's barbecues, Spy letting you smoke one of his fancy ass cigars, and Scout tossing balls to you and acting like an older brother towards you kind of cosy.
So, one day, you accidentally let it slip during a conversation at dinner, having gotten way too comfortable.
Everyone except Medic and Spy was there, choosing to skip to do "work" instead. Your words quieted the whole damn room.
Whatever you did next is up to you. Whether you took it on proudly and kept eating or walked off to your bedroom to cry, up to you.
Reactions
Scout
Scout's unfamiliar with queer people. He didn't know any, and he wasn't taught anything about them.
He is especially unfamiliar with queer men. If you are a queer man, he'd be asking you all the time when he first finds out:
"How don't you find her hot? Or her? Do you find 'dat asshole, Spy hot? Is 'dat how dis works???"
Not with the intention of being slightly offensive, though. Just curious because he kind of struggles to wrap his head around the fact you're queer.
He always had a feeling that you weren't straight as a line, though. He hung around you a lot, even if you were annoyed by him, because he kind of wanted to finally be an older brother because he's always been the youngest.
So this is all a learning experience for him.
He'd definitely stay quiet for a little while, scaring you, before he randomly approaches you the next day.
"So... you like, what... in ta' ladies/dudes?"
(If you like girls, he'd definitely be the guy to say, "Holy shit, me too!" As a way to bond)
"Yeah."
"That's cool... that's cool... wanna talk about it more, or do you wanna go play ball?"
"Play ball."
"Let's go play ball, 'den."
Nothing changes about your relationship. Although he does occasionally ask if someone is your type or not, wanting to learn more about you. But in the end, as long as you still wanna hang around with him, he'll be chill.
Engineer
Unlike Scout, he is educated in queer people. He knows a couple, and he thinks they're pretty cool. Medic is also out to him because he's definitely gay (and trans because I like it that way)
Absolutely nothing changes with Engineer. He doesn't treat you any different or ask you any questions, just continues as normal, but encourages you to talk to him about things because he's definitely experienced it himself.
"You know, you could'a told me that earlier. I wouldn't have judged ya'. I've roamed around that area myself a little too."
"YOU WHAT?!?"
He just likes to get out there and try random shit. He looks like a boring guy, but he's way deeper than the southern merc on the surface.
Just talk to him :(
Medic
He wasn't there when you accidentally came out. He was finishing up an experiment on some organs.
When someone does tell him about it, though, he can't care less because he's queer too.
He also transed his gender. It's not my problem, it's yours now.
Definitely did his own top surgery ngl. Madman. Also discovered how to extract testosterone from sources and synthetically make it. Officially, a pioneer in trans healthcare. Hit him up if you want sum.
He treats you normally because he really doesn't give a fuck. He basically comes out to you as well, though:
"So you don't care."
"Nope."
"Why...?"
"What do you think Heavy and I do while we are working together... and the rest of you are eating?"
"..."
"Wait a minute... wait a... oh."
"Ja."
"HOW ARE STILL ALIVE?! 😭"
Definitely in love with his unofficial soul mate, the Heavy weapons guy.
I'm gonna do parts to this, actually. I'll make a part 2 and a part 3 another day that is even more random. I just need a break cause this is just a little bit lengthy. Ty got reading and sorry if it isn't exactly what you wanted 💀. I focused it a lot on the mercs instead of readers' anxiety.
Also, if you don't agree with my medic hcs, lol, fair enough 🥺
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dgaftilwedie · 4 months
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SCOTT PILGRIM TAKES OFF WAS FUCKING NUTS AND I WANNA BE ANNOYING N TALK ABT IT BC I LOVE SCOTT PILGRIM SO MUCH!!!!!!!!
SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT OBVS XD
OKAY SO??? THE FACT THAT THEY LITERALLY SET UP THE FIRST EPISODE LIKE IT WAS GONNA BE JUST LIKE THE COMICS N THEN SCOTT "DIED"????? literally had me questioning fucking EVERYTHING i was watching that episode with the most quizzical look on my face?? also the fucking funeral scene was hysterical bc the way rammy n knives were abt to have a verbal face-off n envy's bitchass shows up n steals the whole show?? i have such a love-hate relationship with her.............
also lucas lee is fucking adorable and i love him :33 rammy becoming friends with roxie n making up with her after everything was something i really needed to see. cuz like for as much as i loved the movie n the comics, i feel like they could've done their relationship so much better. like seeing ramona take responsibility for hurting roxie made me so happy and im so glad they got a redemption arc.
ROXIE IS LITERALLY ME BTW??? her whole interaction with ramona n kim at the end kf the episodr was so silly N THE LEG LOCK HELLO????? also the way she walked off singing the HAMSTER DANXE SONG I LOCE HER
the toddlace thing was also so unexpected but holy shit?? i loved it. bi todd has been my fav headcanon for YEARSSSS and seeing jt happen right in front of my eyes?? WATCHING THAT EPISODE WAS SUCH A TRIP THO I CAN'T STOP QUOTING WALLACE'S "LINES? TRAILER?" BITS BC THEY'RE SO FUNNY
uhmmmmm what elseeeee OH YEAH young neil is a fucking goof n i love him, i really like that gideon (gordon ig 🙄) became like this not evil guy who just lived with julie n kicked it with lucas. the old scott stuff kinds fricked with me but i think it's cool that he became chill with the twins
LMFAOAO THAT SCENE AT THE END WHERE SCOTT'S TRTING TK FIGJRE OIT WHY HE CAN'T KISS RAMONA N HE TRIES TO FIGHT THE TWINS AND THEY'RE LIKE "our robot says we become bros in the future, so we have no intention of fighting you. see ya bro ;)" WAS SO SILLY
obligatory matt mention i love him he's so dumb i love that he took over gideon's entire empire only to turn around and change his mind :3 glad he got his broadway moment....... silly pirate headass
knives n stephen becoming the best brother/sister duo ever was so dope bc like. knives had someone to look up to n make music with n they had a lot of chemistry both personality wise n musically wise
my only critique is that i wanted more lisa ;^; i know she probably would've been out of place but it would've been cool if kim mentioned her to ramona and ramona interviewed her just like she did with her exes yknow :P she was one of my fav characters in the comics n she wasn't in the movie AT ALL so i was hoping she would've appeared in the anime, but alas 😞😞 i also kinda wanted to see where kim's love life went...... i know she's not the focus but she had undeniable chemistry with knives and that moment with roxie... i love that she's totally very queer and open to the idea of experimenting with girls n i wish that would've been expanded upon like how todd n wallace had their moment :33
other than that, i LOVED the anime. i love how we got baited into thinking it was just like the comics and i love what was done with it :3 it was such a goofy show and a lot of it was so jaw-droppingly surprising that i couldn't believe it, but it also had some really sweet, serious, n heart-warming moments which is something i really appreciate in a show :33 it's hard to keep watching something for so long but i binged the show in one day xD i'd give it a solid 9/10 (deducting points just for the sake of what i think was missing and how i don't recommend it for like "beginner" fans)
oki rant concluded!!!!!!! ^___^ there's so much more i wanna say but this is already sooooooo long as it is xD
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also-fours · 4 months
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i usually dont like the parksborn ship because in most adaptations i actually don't see peter and harry as that great of friends
in the raimi films, harry's too busy being a jackass like 90% of the time and being part of this dumbass love triangle
in spectacular, we're told that harry is peter's best friend but because we barely know him he just kinda comes off as kind of a jackass, and then he ACTUALLY becomes a jackass when he starts taking the globulin green and kinda stays like that for the whole show and when he's not being an overt asshole he's barely there or just gets one tiny moment where he talks to peter about mark's addiction
in tnas, yes they're actually great friends but i can't see that as anything but platonic, sorry, there's not exactly any gay tension there, they're just believable as good friends
in tasm, the peter and harry friendship happens so fast and goes downhill so fast that i can't find it as a believable friendship
in the ultimate cartoon, they're great friends there but it's the same thing with tnas, not to mention i can't imagine this version of peter being in ANY relationship with anyone, (aroace king?) and i dont like how this version of harry venom is done
in the 90s cartoon, im tellin ya, i watched the whole thing like a year or two ago, they barely talk i cant see shit there
and in the 2017 cartoon, they're good friends there, but all the teen characters are like. the same character. so you can argue peter being shipped with harry makes as much sense as him being shipped with miles or gwen or anya because they're all the same except anya's angrier and miles is funny
...but in insomniac
holy fuck
they are so fucking gay
they either used to be in a relationship together or they're currently in a poly with MJ
it's so queer-coded
even the actor for harry, graham phillips, agrees
and don't even get me STARTED on how he acts later on in the game
it's such a mix between "i fucking hate you for what you did to me" and "i still love you though can we be nicies again 🥺🥺🥺"
i still don't ship the two but i can totally see them together
also this version of harry? best harry
im sorry but he is
and i am absolutely ASHAMED that my favorite version of harry is the one that becomes venom
yes he did great as venom if you ask me but fuck, man
i like 'em better when he's flying around in green and purple tights
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corrodedcoughin · 1 year
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Listen. Listen. I need more swimmer Steve. I'm not a sports person but I need this. I need more jock Steve. I'm not American so forgive the details but.
One day, Steve, Robin, and Eddie all leave Hawkins together. Nancy's already gone off to take the journalism world by storm. Jon and Argyle are taking it easy, traveling, having a good time. And the kids are still in school.
Robin goes to college studying linguistics, and Steve goes with her on a swimming scholarship. Eddie doesn't know what he wants to do but he wants to be with his friends, and he doesn't want to be in Hawkins anymore. It's a plus that bigger cities have bigger metal scenes. Maybe he can convince Gareth and Jeff to come with him and see if they can really make something of Corroded Coffin.
Steve finds he actually kind of likes college. The swim team. It's different when you decide to go there willingly, with other people who also want to be there. And the swim team. He fucking loves it. He didn't realise how much he missed swimming, being on a team of actually nice fucking dudes who care about the sport. And they're good. But the kicker? So is Steve.
And he didn't really realise it until now. He knew he liked swimming, he knew his coach back in Hawkins likes him, he knew he got made co-captain. But a part of him started to wonder if people complimented him because he was popular and mean. If he got made captain because his dad was rich and influential. But here at college no one knows who King Steve is. No one can see his hair under his swim cap. He's just Steve, a good fucking swimmer.
He comes back from practice to his and Robin's apartment smelling of chlorine and his fruity shampoo, duffelbag slung over his shoulder. His wardrobe is slowly filling with more swim team shirts, hoodies, a professional track suit for meets. And so Robin and Eddie slowly steal his old Hawkins Swim Team shirts, wearing the soft worn cotton as pajamas.
Eddie isn't in college, doesn't want to be, but doesn't mind being dragged to the occasional college party. He got a job at a small hole in the wall music store, and has started up Corroded Coffin in the apartment he shares with Gareth and Jeff. (He stays over with Steve and Robin as often as he can).
Robin is acing her classes, is in Band, and has befriended a small group of other queer women. And you just know on swimming meet or competition days Robin is going to support Steve with Eddie and maybe some of her queer friends - all of them chanting Harrington. And Steve blushes, he's never really had people support him that much before. Tommy and Carol weren't the type ya know?
But now he has Robin, his best friend, love of his platonic life. He spots her wearing his old Hawkins Swim Team Captain sweatshirt with his last name on the back, cheering as loud as she can in the stands.
Next to her is Eddie, still dressed as metal as ever, smiling and laughing and happy to be there. Steve locks eyes with him and smiles when Eddie gives him a little wave, trying to ignore the swooping in his gut. He's bi, he's out, he knows what a crush feels like. He knows he's falling for Eddie but it would ruin him if he confessed to Eddie and got rejected, or they stop being friends or or or. So Steve keeps silent. But maybe he makes sure to stretch and flex his muscles when he knows Eddie's watching.
And Steve's team wins. And they keep winning. He goes to classes and studies with Robin, he goes to Corroded Coffin gigs to watch Eddie (because they're finding their feet in the local metal scene), they go to gay clubs together all 3 of them and walk home at 3am singing at the top of their lungs.
Steve swims laps alone in the dim light of the evening. And Eddie shows up. And they have their first kiss at the side of the pool, reflection of the water reflecting off their faces
Steve and his team make it to the big final competition. And he's nervous as hell. And him and his coach and the whole team agree that they're taking this fucking seriously. So they go for The Big Shave. Going full swimmer and shaving their bodies.
The three of them are all crammed into their tiny bathroom with a trimmer and a pack of razors. Steve shaves his face as normal, a tape playing faintly from the player in the living room. Next is Robin, who teaches Steve how to properly shave his armpits and his legs. Makes a lot of dumb jokes and helps him with the itching. He does a run through with the trimmer, then shaves his legs. Repeats the same with his arms and they help him with the tricky areas. They all agree its fucking weird. Last is the chest hair. The jungle. The one Eddie has been moaning about missing for a solid week. Eddie, who loves to run his fingers through the hair, rest his head on Steve's pecs as they rest in bed together. He gives Steve's chest hair a proper funeral and pretends to cry when Steve is all clean shaven. Robin is so used to Steve walking around the apartment shirtless that she keeps doing double takes whenever she sees him in the corner of her eye.
Competition day arrives, and the kids head up from Hawkins for a weekend in the big city. Chaperoned by Joyce and Hopper? Nancy and Jon and Argyle? idk? And sitting with Robin and Eddie. Steve's never had a crowd that big before. Never had people love and support him like that. He can see El and Will have crafted a sign. Lucas whoops. He knows Dustin's going to be making a joke about his bare chest and how he finally "tamed that jungle" and proceeds to try his hardest to cheer the loudest. And Eddie, his boyfriend, wearing a college swim team shirt underneath his leather jacket, following Steve with his eyes.
Steve and his team win, and he wants nothing more than to run to the stands and kiss Eddie senseless. He's missed him a lot, as Steve's training got more intense. Eddie would stay the night so they could snatch moments of time together but Steve would be awake and showering by 6am to eat and head to the gym. Kissing Eddie as he leaves, smiling fondly at Eddie's sleepy grumbles and mumbles, shuffling into the warmth of where Steve lay. But now he's here and swimming is over for the competitive season and Steve can relax. Take Eddie out on a date. Actually sleep in for once. Wake up with Eddie wrapped in his arms and then stay in bed until Eddie wakes up himself, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and snuggling into Steve's now bare chest.
I have so much to say and no words to say it with. AAAHHHHHH!!!!!! Robin and her queer friends carving out a corner to support Steve from! Whenever there’s a home meet everyone knows not to go to ‘those’ seats because Robin and Eddie could just stare with sad hopeless helpless eyes until the intruder leaves
Eddie mourning the chest hair!!! EXACTLY!!!! He writes an ‘in memoriam’ to Steve’s chest hair, frames it and places it next to Steve’s bed. He has another framed picture but its a drawing of Steve’s hairy chest by Eddie with the quote ‘do it for her’ underneath it. Steve doesn’t know if it’s a motivational prompt for himself or for Eddie and her too scared to ask
Robin getting really into checking out the other teams and seeing what dirt she can dig up so that she can make the competition feel a little less daunting for Steve. She always cheers loudly and obnoxiously and Steve adores her for it
Eddie coming to check in on Steve late night, he’s in the pool but he should be resting, should be at home. Eddie arrived to Steve and robins place only for Robin to announce ‘your boyfriend who isn’t your boyfriend isn’t here. Tell him I’ve made pasta when you see him. Oh and that you are in love with him, thanks so much’ Robin ends the sentence with a wide eyed teeth clenching smile and Eddie walks out the door.
Eddie finds Steve, sitting on the side of the pool, goggles tossed by the edge. Steve looks up and has as good as permanent indentations around his eyes and across his nose. His chest is heaving, hair and body wet. He’s a mess, he’s also the most beautiful person eddie has ever seen and it takes all his strength not to blurt it out. Maybe not tonight, maybe not ever, not if it means he might lose Steve. Eddie doesn’t think anything is worth that.
Steve being bullied into the edge of the booth as his hawkins family take him out for dinner. His heart is full knowing the most important people in his life are here to watch him do something he genuinely enjoys. They aren’t ridiculing him, they want to know about him, they want him to know they care.
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melanielocke · 1 year
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Book recommendations: queer adult fantasy romance
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This is a relatively new genre. Before, pretty much all YA fantasy books are heavy on the romance, but that's becoming more popular in adult, creating fantasy romance as a genre. I read mostly queer fantasy romance. Unfortunately, there aren't many traditionally published ones yet, I think the top rowin the left picture is all of them (if there are any I didn't know of, please let met know). I've excluded sci-fi romance for this post (which is why Winter's Orbit isn't here).
In indie books, I think there are some more, but I'm not super familiar with the indie market. The bottom three in the left picture are all indie books that also come in paperback (many are ebook only and I don't have an ereader). Most of these books I have talked about before but not all of them.
A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland
This is a prince/bodyguard romance set in a kingdom inspired by the Ottoman empire. Kadou is the queen's younger brother, and after a mistake puts him in a bad situation with his sister and the body father of her child, he has to help her uncover a conspiracy to do with forged money.
He gets a new bodyguard, which in this case has both the task of being a guard and being a personal attendant. Evemer hates Kadou at first. He's very duty bound and thinks Kadou does not take his duties as prince seriously.
But they will have to trust each other if they want to get to the bottom of that forged money conspiracy.
Evemer is a very stoic guy. He doesn't talk much. He can go entire days only saying 'Yes, my prince' 'no, my prince' or simply 'my prince' when he tries to convey he is annoyed or disagrees.
Kadou has very well written anxiety, and deals with this in numerous ways, including at first drinking far too much wine to dull his fears. Evemer is at first very judgemental, but over time he comes to understand Kadou better.
There's lots of discussion of ethics in this book, partially to establish how a relationship between them could happen without there being a power imbalance because of it.
Also by this author: several self published books, in 2024 comes their next trad published book, Running Close to the Wind, which is a queer pirate book pitches as Our Flag Means Death x Six of Crows
A Marvellous Light & a Restless Truth by Freya Marske I've already talked about several time
And yet I'm going to do it again. I love the each book features a different couple structure and I'd love to see this more often. It's a great way to have many different major characters but also give all of them their moment to shine and have properly development instead of trying to balance three romances in the same book.
The overarching plot in the trilogy has to do with the conspiracy Robin and Edwin begin to uncover in the first book, something that threatens all magicians of england.
A Marvellous Light features a himbo x librarian m/m couple. They're the softest, sweetest couple of the three in the trilogy to be sure, and I'm planning to reread soon.
A Restless Truth features a sapphic rake x wallflower couple. They're both very chaotic, and I love Maud's energy, as well as the whole sexual awakening arc she has in here, which is so funny.
The third as of yet unpublished book is a Power Unbound, featuring a couple that I think is grump x sunshine but in a asshole x asshole way and it sounds like it's going to be amazing so definitely keep an eye out for that one coming November.
A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows
This is one I don't think I've talked about before. Before reading this, definitely check the content warnings. There's a pretty graphic rape scene very early in the book, as well as several moments of suicidal ideation. That said, this is a healing story, and the character this happens to is doing a lot better when the story ends.
Vel is a prince who ends up in an arranged marriage to a noble girl from a different kingdom. When his preference for men is revealed in a pretty awful way, his family is ready to disown him. But the envoy of his betrothed's family had a better idea, marry his former intended's brother instead.
But before Vel arrives at the castle of his betrothed, he is attacked and nearly killed by assassins who clearly do not want his marriage to take place.
When attacks keep happening after Vel and Cae have gotten married, they will have to rely on each other to figure out what's going.
I love queer arranged marriages in stories, like in Winter's Orbit, so I was super excited when I first found out about this book. This book ends with everything wrapped up, but there is a sequel coming out this December. Unfortunately, that's still pretty far away, but there has been a cover reveal and blurb. The sequel will feature the same main characters.
Then to the indie books
Prince of the Sorrows and Lord of Silver Ashes
These are the first two books in the Rowan Blood series, which the author intends to be an eight book series in total. But since it's an indie series and the author is a pretty fast writer, they come pretty fast after one another. The first one came out last March, and the second one October, and the author released a different book this February. The next book in this series is schedule for late spring somewhere.
This series is set in a fae world, with a parallel historical human world we don't see much of.
Saffron is a beantighe, which is a human servant who is raised in the fae world after his parents made a deal with the fae. His patron sends all these children back to the human world once they become too old, but Saffron wants nothing more to stay in the fae world. To do that, he'll need an academic endorsement from a fae so he can stay and study.
When he accidentally finds out the true name of prince Cylvan, the two strike a deal, Saffron will help him find a way to remove the power on his true name, and Cylvan will give Saffron an endorsement. The only problem is, Saffron has no clue what he's doing and barely taught himself to read.
In the meantime, beantighes are getting killed one after another by a mysterious person known as "the wolf" and it will be up to Saffron to stop the killer, because no one else will.
The first book ends on a cliffhanger, but the second is a bit more wrapped up so I'm not sure what's going to happen in the next book since there will definitely be more. Fortunately, the wait is not super long, but the release date and covers are released much later than for trad publishing
Last is the Fox & the Dryad by Kellen Graves
This book is set in the same world as the Rowan Blood series, but it is a standalone in the modern time period.
Briar is a ballet dancer, and while he enchants many people on the stage, he cannot get the attention of the one person they really want to notice them. So they strike a deal with a fae lady, if he can perform one perfect dance she'll make him the most enchanting thing on two legs. Of course, a dance is never perfect and now he's stuck dancing for the fae lady whenever she asks him too, despite him getting worn out and injured from it.
Malric is the son of said fae lady and used to be a dancer himself. All his siblings are artists and their mother abuses their talents to entertain people at her revels, all at their cost. Malric left, but he finds out his mother struck a deal with Briar, who is now his replacement. Malric wants to rescue Briar, and tries to help him posing as his new dance teacher in the human world as well as a mysterious masked fey lord at the revels. But then he starts developing feelings for Briar, and he has to ask himself if what he's doing is really helping him.
This book takes place a lot more in the human world than the main Rowan Blood series, which ballet playing a big role which I think was done really well. Briar is a masc enby and uses he/they pronouns, and use alters through the book. I think this is the author's best book so far and if you're not looking to get invested in a long unfinished series yet I would try this one first and maybe start Rowan Blood afterwards.
I'll probably do trans characters next as the Wicked Bargain has arrived and I'll start reading it tomorrow
@alastaircarstairsdefenselawyer @life-through-the-eyes-of @astriefer @justanormaldemon @ipromiseiwillwrite @a-dream-dirty-and-bruised @amchara @all-for-the-fanfiction @imsoftforthomastair @ddepressedbookworm @queenlilith43 @wagner-fell @cant-think-of-anything @laylax13s @tessherongraystairs @boredfangirl16 @artist-in-soul @beyondlifebeyonddeath @ikissedsmithparker
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forgetmenauts · 9 months
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Howdy! Could we get a member introduction? I’d love to get to know y’all’s names and pronouns ^^
We actually did an essay and interview for the queer horror zine The Quiet Ones last year where we shared some fun intros! I've included screenshots of our intros here, but if you have a chance, you should check out the zine as well: it's run by a delightful group of queer authors and editors.
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Here's the link to the issue with the Forgetmenauts feature: our bit starts on page 47.
(Fun fact: Kit is also an author and has had a couple of their short stories published in other issues of the zine, under their full name of Katharine Gripp. They're here and here if you want to check them out!)
Image text below the cut:
Walker Staples (they/them) Instrument(s): Guitar/Banjo/Vocals
Favorite scary movie or book: Let the Right One In.
Favorite cryptid: Jackalope. Who in the band is most likely to survive a horror movie, and why?: I think it's gonna be Tyler; most resources, best equipped for building booby traps.
Tyler Gary (he/him) Instrument(s): Clarinet, Saxophone, Trombone, Keys. Favorite scary movie or book: Recently I read Mexican Gothic and while it wasn't my all time favorite, it definitely captured some good haunting creepy vibes. Would recommend for the mushroom horror.
Favorite cryptid: The chupacabra. Who in the band is most likely to survive a horror movie, and why?: I'd be the second or third to die. “Quick everybody, I have a plan! All we have to do is...“ *Dies in a horrible dramatic way*. I think Abe would be last to die. He would disappear early on and we would think he's dead but he actually just went on a hike and came back at the end.
Abe Finkelstein (he/him) Instrument(s): Cello, un-mic'd backup vocals and banter, howling. Favorite scary movie or book: Oryx and Crake. And I listened to a great podcast about Midsommar but will probably never have the guts to watch it.
Favorite cryptid: The Baba Yaga house. Who in the band is most likely to survive a horror movie, and why?: Definitely Emma. She lives on a sailboat and is a great problem solver, and good at engineering. You might think I was on a hike but I was actually dead the WHOLE time.
Danielle (she/her) Instrument(s): Drums!
Favorite scary movie or book: I am scared easily and don't really watch horror movies! You
didn't ask about this, but my favorite scary-ish video games are The Last of Us and Dead Space.
Favorite cryptid: Loveland frog. Who in the band is most likely to survive a horror movie, and why?: Walker, they would out-maneuver the attacker/swarm/ pathogen/whatever the horror of the horror movie is.
Kit Gripp (they/she) Instrument(s): Mandolin, vocals.
Favorite scary movie or book: Sunshine by Robin McKinley (ok so it’s not that scary but there’s lots of blood and vampires, so it counts).
Favorite cryptid: Nessie. Who in the band is most likely to survive a horror movie, and why?: Probably Collin. If it were something corporeal, he'd knock it out with a baseball bat. If it were an angry ghost, he'd talk to it and de-escalate the situation.
Emma Williams Instrument(s): Bass.
Favorite scary movie or book: House of Leaves.
Favorite cryptid: Selkie. Who in the band is most likely to survive a horror movie, and why?: I think Walker would be the most likely to survive because they are very nimble and quick.
Collin (he/him) Instrument(s): Drums!
Favorite scary movie or book: Hard to pick a favorite scary movie! Maybe Let the Right One In (the original one). It's rare that horror films are at once so beautiful, disturbing, and sympathetic to the villain.
Favorite cryptid: Michigan Dogman. Who in the band is most likely to survive a horror movie, and why?: Kit survives the horror movie, for sure. Zombie flick? Kit decapitates the shambling hordes with lethal pirouettes. Teen slasher film? Kit distracts the villain with some concocted-on-the- spot YA fiction just long enough that he doesn't even notice he's walking right into his own poetic and ironic death. Vampire horror show? Please. Kit was the vampire. Kit was always the vampire.
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(I am once again thinking about fallen hero (i never stopped))
Ya know, I feel like one of the reasons that fallen hero resonates so hard, at least for me, is how queer it is. Obviously, you can play as a cishet sidestep, but when you do play a queer sidestep? It *feels* queer.
Its rare that I come across a story that feels unapologetically queer. To me, there's a big difference between a story that features gay characters, a story that "is gay," and a Queer story. And even further, a story that is unapologetically queer.
With Fallen Hero, there's so many moments that are queer in a way I just, don't see often.
(I currently only have 1 sidestep who is a queer transman, so im comin at this from this perspective, but if anyone has played it other ways and would like to add, I would love to hear about your experiences with it)
When I play it, like I said, I currently have 1 sidestep who is a queer transman. So far, I've played it where he romances Ricardo, Wei, and Daniel (plus Ricardo and Wei, and Richard and Daniel). Each of them add something different to the story when they are romancing a transman that I can't help but adore.
The scene with Ricardo in his apartment, and sidestep is about to have the conversation about being trans, sidestep can panic because they don't know what exactly to say, how to do it, and what Ricardo's reaction is going to be. And you know what, yeah, that can be a very scary moment for someone who's trans. How do you tell someone you're trans when you don't know exactly what to say and how they'll react to it? And then, if Sidestep does tell him, Ricardo *cries.* He was so worried about Sidestep, and didn't know if he done something wrong, and he cries. There's also a point where he tries to make a joke or comment to lighten the mood and says something about being more familiar with those parts. And ya know what, ngl, that was a bit in poor taste but really funny. But I'm happy that it was included! Because sometimes people say things trying to lighten the mood and ya know what, sometimes it's a little bit like "why would you say it like that" and sometimes it's also funny. He's not perfect, he doesn't understand everything, but he's *trying.*
Either before or after that ( I can't quite remember, but ik it's within the same set of scenes), Sidestep can talk to him about being bisexual. Depending on the choice you pick, Ricardo can talk about growing up in Texas and that being gay or bisexual wasn't really okay. When he talks about his and Sidestep's past, there's a point where it's like, yeah, he would've been torn to shreds by the media if he was openly bisexual. And yeah, it isn't easy for everyone to come to terms with their sexuality, and it's easier to ignore it that try to deal with it, especially if you're going to experience public backlash on top of being raised in an area that was Not okay with queerness. It's scary!
One of the aspects I specifically love about Ricardo's romance, is that it's messy. You're playing a character that he knew in the past, thought was dead, and comes back into his life after so much has changed. Two people who have been broken down over the years of trauma they had to experience. There's so many ways you can play it that its hard to talk about all the ways in which the variations add their own mess to the situation too. So yeah, the romance can be so queer and so messy at the same time.
With Steel, if you're playing a trans sidestep, he already knows they're trans because of the pictures he got, but it doesn't change anything for him. He's a gay man who tells sidestep that who he sees is a man. It's that simple. He even tells sidestep that he was attracted to Sentinel, who was also trans.
With his romance, there is an age gap, but he didn't have attraction towards sidestep until after they came back, and they tried to become friends with each other. There's also some messiness with his romance if Ortega is a man because he had/has feelings for him.
With Herald, he's open about his attraction, isn't afraid to be who he is, and while at his apartment, he seems a bit nervous, he's also happy. When sidestep talks about being trans, there is a moment where he admits that he isn't sure what to say because he's gotten in trouble for it in the past, but he doesn't care, he happy either way.
For every romance in Fallen Hero, there's something messy about it. Every character has their own past with some kind of shadow looming over it. Everyone makes mistakes, eveyone has something that gives them sharp edges. None of them are perfect people. All of them are struggling with something.
Sidestep is also just an absolute dumpster fire of a person pretty much however you decide to play them. Sidestep, kinda sucks! Even if they're pretty good, by god, do they make dumb decisions!
And I do think its so important to note how much of a mess sidestep is, along with whoever they are with, if they are either a) with someone romantically, b) with someone sexually, or c) not with someone at all, because, imo, it differentiates itself from a story that has gay characters, a "gay" story, and a queer story.
When I think of a queer story, I think of the messy parts. The aspects that aren't "love at first sight" or two people who got it all figured out or "unproblematic" (sidenote: i do think we should remove the term problematic from people for a while), or two conventionally beautiful and young characters falling in love and having the most like. Heterosexual relationship you can have with 2 gay people.
Fallen hero doesn't really have conventional relationships. Even when discussing friendships, it's not conventional.
The story is Queer because of the unapologetically messy characters that exist within its setting. No one is perfect. No one has it all figured out. Sometimes a character doesn't know what to say or they stumble a little during those hard conversations about sexuality and gender. They're allowed to cry, or be confused, or understand. Not to mention that sidestep's morality can fluctuate between a good person who doesn't know what to do, to someone so unapologetically evil and proud. Allowing a character to be queer and their morals to be anywhere on that morality spectrum allows it to be a more queer story imo.
There's so much more that can be said, and could 100% be said by someone who's better at writing down those thoughts. But god, fallen hero is such a beautiful story. The conversations that can be had about it's themes of sexuality, gender, trauma, morality, neurodivergency, among other things is amazing. OUGHA, love this story.
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batpoisonz · 1 month
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My experience as a 2S gaybian:
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Before all this, I was exclusive to "contradictory" labels all the way up until early 2023. I then labeled myself as an mspec lesbian, because as a 2S person, my gender and sexuality are impacted by my cultural experiences way beyond that of someone's binary thinking. Most white transphobes couldn't even comprehend my experiences with me being 2S.
When I was exclu; it was simply just my own ignorance. I was influenced by those around me who did not understand the labels themselves. I listened to their arguments and at the time it made sense. Until inclu people came by and explained the labels to me.
I was the only one in my friend group who sat down to have a discussion with these people. and their arguments made even more sense and disputed all the arguments my friends came up with!! It was an insane and confusing experience. When you want to be loyal to your friends but something they do is just so morally wrong, you wouldn't know what to do either!
This is where I start to understand, and when I started to become critical of both sides. I thought exclu people were "radical" as well, but being "radinclu" simply just wasn't "radical" to me just for including queer people in the QUEER community, ya know?
At the time even tho my stance was changing and developing, I still fought against mspec lesbians and gays; simply because I was scared of being an outcast, that I'd get harassed by exclu people, that people would be racist to me, etc etc. but I soon learned it was the complete opposite.
AS SOMEBODY WHO IS GAYBIAN, when I was exclu I experienced MASS AMOUNTS of racism; to the point I felt like I had to leave twitter (even after I made my account private). I had people questioning my validity as a native american simply because I was an ignorant homophobe.
Say it with me: IGNORANCE DOES NOT EXCUSE RACISM!!
I even had people calling me a chimp, a creature, I've been called a chimera, I got mass reported, I got called multiple racial slurs, of which not all I could even reclaim, I got called a hermaphrodite, way way more happened. my cc got filled with racism and homophobia too!! all because I was ignorant on the subject.
Not once did I call an inclu person (while I was exclu) any of these horrible things or harass them; I just blocked them and moved on with my day.
I will admit I was a bigot for sure but I would NEVER wish any of these things on anyone.
It doesn't stop there though. when I came out as gaybian, I lost almost ALL of my online friends. I also was closeted irl because I had people at my college getting VERY hostile whenever somebody mentioned you can be a bi lesbian.
Those same people were okay with the idea of being a biplatonic lesbian.
basically, my point here is that even as you evolve and grow as a person, become more accepting of not only others but also yourself; the queer community is extremely divided. Even IF everyone agreed that "contradictory" labels weren't an issue, it still wouldn't stop the heartless attacks we all get as queers on the daily. exclus said the SAME THING about neopronouns and xenogenders 7 years ago that they're saying about mspec lesbians and gays today. AND THAT'S A PROBLEM.
The US is climbing towards eradicating all of us as queers; starting with trans people, and they're slowly inching on towards homosexuality. People WITHIN the queer community are more concerned about how we label ourselves, when we all have our own unique oppression as queers, AND SHARED OPPRESSION AS WELL!!
I've legit heard people saying the hate crimes I've experienced as a gaybian don't actually exist and that I'm overreacting because my identity isn't real.
You know who gets the same thing told to THEM?
Most queers will hear that same quote; ESPECIALLY nonbinary people and trans people in general.
everyone who is queer, is queer. whether you "agree" with the labels or not. we are QUEER for a reason.
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foodiewithdahoodie · 9 months
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Only Thing On My Mind Part 3 (Finale)
(Byler makeout/fic request - Will's powers connected to his love. Part 1 here and Part 2 here and AO3 version here)
Will tries steadying his thundering heartbeat that vastly rattles his senses. He takes a series of deep breaths, lips slowly moving to meekly sing “should I stay or should I go” in order to calm down, or in this case, power down. His body begins to glow less, bioluminescent eyes dimming to a normal hazel hue, and skin ceasing to resemble a summer lightning bug’s glimmer. The technology going haywire all around Will, Mike, and Dustin soon quiets as well from his impromptu meditation. 
He’s unintentionally turned on any type of machinery within range that requires electricity or batteries to operate, heightened feelings manifesting into a source of renewable energy to be utilized. Staticky radios went off. Blaring car alarms and horns silenced. Half of the streetlights remain broken after twinkling hard enough the glass fractured. Even the storage closet’s flickering ceiling lights return to their initial soft radiance once Will reins it in.
Mike and Dustin continue to mutely stare at Will, who finally looks at them both in a sheepish haze, nosebleed dripping like he'd been punched and ruddy blush coloring his face. 
“What the hell?!” Dustin doesn’t know what’s the craziest thing ever. Will having powers, or that he walked in on his best friends swapping spit from an intense makeout session. 
Will sniffs a bit and wipes his nose with his inner wrist, lazily gesturing to the abandoned box of toys Mike and him were sent to get earlier, while Mike regains his bearings, glimpsing at a flabbergasted Dustin with a clumsy smile and anxious eyes. 
“Surprise, surprise! We’re… Uh… Dating.”
He’d say more, but Dustin interrupts.
“Will’s got freaking powers! Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!” 
Of course that’s the main topic at hand holding Dustin’s sole attention. He’s a man of science, after all, and undisclosed discoveries were his weakness. Kryptonite, if they're speaking purely in comic book terms. Robin and Steve appear at the door’s threshold soon after. They don’t seem to have heard Dustin’s yelling about Will's newfound superhero qualities, more concerned about why a simple errand run is taking this long and if the boys know anything about the strange electrical surges that have been freshly plaguing the town. It’s Robin’s analytical eyes swiftly absorbing the scene in front of her, clues of Will and Mike’s rumpled clothes and mussed hair, that answers her age-old suspicions about them since her time as a Scoops Ahoy employee. When she first met the duo paladin and cleric in all their glory. 
Instantly, Robin makes eye contact with Will and a gaze of shared comprehension passes over them. A wordless conversation. (Perhaps because last year, Will had caught her in a similar amorous position with Vickie writhing from Robin’s grasp and never said a thing about it).
“Ahem!” She clears her throat, promptly grabbing the toy box, and carting a puzzled Steve away to whence they came, rambling excuses spilling from her beneficial to Will and Mike's current situation. “It’s not that busy at the shelter, so you guys can go home early today! Steve and I got it handled from here on out! Also, it looks like you three need to have a talk! A serious talk at that! Alone. Go do that! Yeah? See ya later, bye!”
Once Robin and Steve skedaddled, leaving the three boys to themselves, Dustin wastes no time in bombarding Mike and Will with earnest questions. They had a lengthy talk about what just occurred, with Dustin heavily invested in Will’s powers, and accruing extensive knowledge on that aspect of him rather than focusing on the other Hawkins’ anomaly he's witnessed - two boys kissing passionately.
Although Dustin does have some innocently ignorant inquiries about queerness in general, the couple is relieved that their equally nerdy friend isn’t disgusted by the notion, choosing to lean into his inquisitive personality. It makes sense to them for Mike and Will too, a few years ago, were naive to their complicated feelings that shifted from platonic to romantic under their own noses. They were ignorant about their burgeoning sexualities, not finding Dustin offensive at all in his interrogations. 
They listen to Dustin expressing extreme interest in running consensually humane experiments on Will in hopes of figuring out what his deal is with electricity. Mike’s also intrigued and in agreement. Will’s becoming more unstable from oversensitivity and his uncontrolled powers keep causing bigger aftereffects that would no doubt catch the government’s eye if unchecked.
“I’ve got a hypothesis!” Dustin announces to them, rubbing his hands together, face displaying eureka, capturing a realization as he explains. “Maybe Will’s powers were never connected to the Upside Down or Vecna to begin with. Maybe they aren’t a result of his possession or True Sight. Will’s like El, matter of speaking, in that he was born this way! And-and-and his genes that have this DNA code of his were dormant in him all along until triggered. Triggered by what? Let’s say he was triggered by overwhelming feelings! Yeah! Cuz Will’s always felt deeper than most of us, ya know?”
His train of thought had gears stirring in the couple’s noggins, having never considered it before. If Vecna channeled hatred and El channels rage, then Will’s must be…
A few days later, since the closet incident, Mike and Will sit at a rectangular table in the renovated Hawkins public library. They’re researching everything to do with electricity, conductors, batteries and all other related subjects. Dustin, on his end, was working on a logbook to store any updates on Will whenever Mike would give him the data collected, and in the meantime chatted up Suzie without revealing too much information about Will’s metahuman status. The library’s not a very popular spot in town, but it still has its fair share of readers on the quest for a good book to immerse in. Mike’s sitting across from Will, a stack of books in between them. 
The area they’re in is quite isolated, infrequently visited by anyone for the section is located by the nonfiction and references aisles, farther inside the building. Mike’s skimming through the pages, soaking up all he can if it’ll help him understand Will’s ever changing body better. Will isn’t as diligent as Mike, though. He never has been the type to be honest. Whenever the Party had study groups, Will was the least engaged, preferring to doodle than review notes. Currently, Will’s sick and tired of reading paragraphs, his brain literally not processing the English language anymore.
He petulantly groans and slouches forward, head on the table and books pushed aside dramatically. Mike takes notice immediately that his boyfriend has reached his limit. 
“Wanna break?” He empathetically asks, raising a brow and Will gloomily looks up at him.
“Can we go, actually? I’m bored outta my mind.”
Mike shakes his head, endearingly glancing at Will’s pouty lips that are calling his name. “Negative, my good man. You know that we have to wait until El’s done with her training. Then we can split.”
Yes, El recently got hired on as a library assistant and today marks her first day on the clock. It’s the perfect environment due to its slow pace, patient staff, and combined with being a great way for El to make money independently. She’d been demanding Hopper find her a job as everyone else prepared for graduation and college. Mike had given her a ride, and he was supposed to drive her back home, Will tagging along to be supportive of El in the first moments of her shift. As much as Mike sided with Will on quitting their research for the day to frolic elsewhere, they couldn’t just ditch El.
“Guess I’ll take a nap, then.” Will states, folding his arms to pillow his head. 
Mike has other ideas, however. Dustin had said to perform experiments and Mike felt their solitude in the library was ideal. It’s hushed enough that a pin could drop and they’d hear it, meaning if footsteps were approaching, they’d be able to separate easily unlike when Joyce, Jonathan, Nancy, Lucas, Max, and Dustin caught them off guard.
“I say we test out your control.” Mike suggests, his foot sliding under the table to gently tap at Will’s ankle flirtatiously. 
Will frowns, doubt in his face. “I dunno. I’m a pretty loose cannon. Volatile. What if I short circuit this entire place and half of Hawkins goes kablooey smithereens?”
Mike’s undeterred by the problematic possibilities. He toes off his shoe, moving his socked foot up Will’s leg gingerly, up to the inner part of his knee, and pauses at going further to the inside of Will’s thigh. Dark brown eyes watch Will’s pupils widen and breath quicken at the dastardly touch. As a last resort, Mike steamily stares with lidded eyes, tender smile shooting Will right through his heart. 
“Well, it’s not just us fooling around,” Will convinces himself, curling a finger, beckoning Mike to come over and sighing in defeat. “Dustin said this is for science, so like, yeah. This is purely for educational purposes.”
“Whatever helps you sleep at night.” Mike snickers, slinking his shoe back on and pushing his chair back, ardently strolling to the other side of the table to sit beside and face Will.
In seconds, the pair are exploring the boundaries centering Will’s powers and how it connects with sensory overload. Mike sits next to Will and pulls him into a torrid, bruising kiss. He maps out his smooches from Will’s supple mouth to the tip of his nose and apples of his cheeks. Avaricious lips land on Will’s forehead, temple, and jaw in a swarm of sprinkling pecks. Mike’s blunt nails desire to scratch Will’s skin, and he carefully scrapes alongside his boyfriend’s exposed arms, creating goosebumps and streaks in his wake. When Mike thinks to take it a step farther, he lets his needy teeth and tongue bite-lick-suck on Will’s appealing neck. 
As Mike’s nuzzling him, Will concentrates on not becoming undone from the licentious laving bestowed upon him unrestrained. He fights back against his threatening nose bleed, his innate reaction to have the air spark with the acrid smell of electricity, and the sensation of Mike’s unbridled love flooding him completely. Will nibbles on his own bottom lip to shush the heavenly and husky moans begging to escape from the depths of him. His hands find purchase on Mike’s shirt, fisting the fabric and likening it to a stress ball. He's failing to ground himself as his emotions elevate to new levels, not even humming his favorite song can tame him.
Will falsely assumes he’d be granted respite, when Mike removes his vicious mouth to climb up Will’s jugular, only to gratifyingly shrill as Mike traces to Will’s earlobe, and blows hot air into the vulnerable ear’s canal that sends quaking shivers throughout the whole body. All the while, Mike’s left hand firmly rests on Will’s right thigh and squeezes the spasming muscles beneath his grabby palm. That ruptures a smidgen of Will’s fleeting composure and his eyes bizarrely glint brilliant, a singular lightbulb above head flaring otherworldly.   
So far, Will’s doing decently. He’s focusing on grasping control of his power by gazing deliberately at the lightbulb, which is getting the brunt of it instead, preserving the entire library’s electrical unit. Mike meticulously observes this, mentally noting, and then yanks Will from his seat. He fixes Will on his lap, back glued to Mike’s chest, clingy arms ensnaring Will’s trembling torso to balance. Glowing hazel eyes never leave the lightbulb as his focal point even with the manhandling. Not when Mike showers a dozen obscenely smacking kisses on Will’s nape. Right where he used to get brutal chills from sensing the Upside Down and Vecna. 
“You’re doing really well.” Mike compliments, softly muttering against the flush skin he’s attacking with perpetual suckling. Will clenches his quivering fists, feeling tingly everywhere. Still, he doesn't falter. Encouraging Mike to do his worst. Countering the onslaught by placating himself.
Abruptly, in the quietness, both of them hear the librarian leading El to their section, teaching her hands-on how the Dewey Decimal system works. Mike unlatches Will straightaway. He comically ducks under the table, crawling to the other side, and returning to his empty chair after Will scoots from his lap to his previous seat.
The librarian and El walk by them without much scrutiny, El nodding and looking enthralled at her given instructions. Mike and Will are pretending to be studying, holding whatever books in their hands to sell it, flipped open to a random page. From the corner of El’s perceptive eye, she immediately sees through the ruse because that’s the exact same trick Mike and her did when Hopper would catch them in her room kissing at the cabin. 
She’s not bothered that her ex and her brother must be secretly dating like the couples in her young adult novels or soap operas. El’s still confused at why being queer is deemed a societal wrong, but she knows well enough from her latest read book series that people usually hide their relationships for legit reasons. The old El would’ve spied to get answers, but she’s matured a lot, and Joyce finally taught her what privacy was after she lived so many years without it, freely breaching others’. So, as El gives a fond wave to the frazzled and slightly apprehensive looking boys, she decides to let them assume she’s none the wiser. Waiting for them to tell her what their relationship status is.
Besides, El herself hasn’t told everyone what specifically happened to her in the lab just yet because just like Mike and Will, she’s just not ready to.  
*******
Karen and Ted have gone to their weekly marriage counseling. They’ve accidentally double booked on the night of Holly's first ever sleepover. This obliges Mike to chaperone his baby sister and her rackety friends in his parents' stead for some stressful hours. Unfortunately by himself. Biding his time for their return. Already, Mike reluctantly played a round of tea party, princesses and ponies, dress-up and makeup. He let Holly style his hair in braids, and pigtails, and a bun because he's trying to give Jonathan a run for his money on the "best older brother" title. Even though Mike stayed animated, he failed at convincing the girls to give D&D a chance. Feelings hurt when they dubbed it a boring board game. Still, he keeps them entertained and out of his hair by putting on a popular kids' movie that’s infected the nation as a modern classic. It’s a splendid diversion to rest his weary bones.
Furthermore, Mike’s a tad creeped out by Holly’s friends having cutesy crushes on him, their eyes giantly mesmerized with every move he makes, as if they realized boys exist beyond icky cooties, him becoming the prime example against his will. He wonders if this is how Nancy felt whenever Dustin pined blatantly for her, relating to his older sister's plight with a clearer and compassionate intellect. Being generous, Mike let Holly borrow the basement and fled to his bedroom to relax for a while, suspecting the girls aren’t as prone to danger like the Party back in their turbulent middle and high school days. 
He combs his bookshelf to catch up on a comic Lucas loaned him, sitting at his desk, switching on the blue pill lamp for ambiance. Mike barely cracks it open, a distracting tapping noise drumming on his window. Without hesitance, Mike unlocks and lifts up his window, incredulity splashing on him when coming across Will hanging riskily on his house's exterior. Apparently, he snuck out, fearlessly breaking Hopper's curfew. It left Mike awestruck by the unforeseen visit. Ambushing flashbacks of Steve entering Nancy’s bedroom window springing to mind.
“What the?! Why’re you here?!” He’s helping Will inside regardless, their hands slotting together faultlessly.
“I’m here cuz I missed you and wanted to see you. Duh. But I can go bike home if I must.” Will rolls his eyes, stopping his climb through the window, instead sluggishly turning around to leave, his acting of a fakeout spot-on because Mike panics and instinctively hauls him in with excess force. 
Will virtually falls into his chest. He looks up to see Mike’s mouth is ajar with pupils dilated, blinking slowly as his brain buffers to keep up with the conversation. 
“Huh? What are you talking about? Missed me? We just saw each other three hours ago.”
“So?” Will shrugs frivolously, cunning smirk matching scampish eyes. “I heard your parents aren’t home.” 
His index and middle finger pertly walk up the expanse of Mike’s bicep, then slides across the scapula to pectoral, directly poking over the skin lodging his boyfriend’s throbbing heart. 
“What are we gonna do about that? Temporary man of the house.”
“But I’m on babysitting duty.” Mike feebly protests, visibly gulping when Will’s spry fingers clutch his shirt collar, tugging him closer, their lips grazing in an almost kiss, featherlight and tantalizing. 
Eyes narrowed, Will mumbles hoarsely, “Well, then be on call. Right now, you’re mine until further notice. Okay?”
That gets an amused laugh from deep within Mike’s belly and Will swallows the merrily laced sounds with a charged seared kiss. Recently, they’ve been justifying running Dustin’s experiments to prove if his hypothesis is correct or not. Mike’s obediently reported to Dustin, divulging in how Will’s obtaining some control over his powers with less mishaps. There are still a few hiccups every now and then, yet not nearly as devastating as before.
Sweet echoes of their lips connecting and slanting together openmouthed coat them in galvanized appreciation. Mike and Will move in sync, swimmingly timing when to breathe, going with the flow and changing angles depending on each inhale and exhale when need be. Will’s cupping Mike’s head, strong fingers winding in thick raven curls to tweak and wrench. Mike hooks his own limber fingers in Will’s belt loops to intimately press against him, hands skidding inside the back pockets of Will's pants, copping a feel through the thick layer of clothing. In practiced motions, graceful fluidity of a peacock dance, the duo find themselves on Mike’s bed. Will has pinned him to the mattress, above the covers, lying fully atop the length of Mike’s body from head to toe in the guise of a weighted blanket. 
Mike doesn’t mind the crushing pressure, reveling in the feel of Will being lubriciously superimposed to his front in a vital way that feeds his touch starvation well. Parts of him still can’t believe Will solely came through just to makeout, that Will saw him worth sneaking out for, but he’s not complaining. A confident Will Byers going after what he wants voluntarily, and that want being Mike Wheeler of all people, has him grateful his best friend’s adoration never wavered in spite of their past hangups. 
“Mike.” Will rasps gruffly, examining the puffy pink lips he’d been nipping wantonly at. Mike’s heart is soaring, filled to the brim with fiery blood and undefinable emotions that have him on a natural high.
“Will.” He gasps, breath labored and weaved with reverence. 
“MIKE!” The screeching of Holly’s voice on the other side of the bedroom door instantaneously bursts their bubble of amatory.
She’s knocking diabolically and jiggling the doorknob, attempting to come in. It's no use. The door’s a solid barrier. Mike horribly wheezes at the close call, knowing if Holly had succeeded, she’d surely go snitching to their parents about him having company over when he’s not supposed to. Yes, that included uninvited guest Will. Mike’s enormously thanking his past self for locking the door in premonition, considering Holly has expressed numerous times to anyone who'll listen, that she has a massive crush on Will with plans of marriage. Mike didn’t need to deal with breaking his baby sister’s heart by traumatizing her with Will binding him in a knot of depraved limbs. 
“MIKE!” She repeats and he realizes his lack of response, recovering from the unwelcomed intermission.
“Yeah, what’s up?!” He can tell his voice is shakily strangled from Will’s insistent snuggling and kindling lips that burn blessedly. 
“Can me and my friends get extra cookies and pop?” 
Karen specifically ordered Mike to monitor Holly and her friends’ junk food intake. He’d fed them their recommended fill of cookies, chips, and canned Coke after a delicious dinner of two large pizzas - all toppings imaginable baked on. If Mike’s mind was in the right state of being, he’d easily tell Holly “no, you’re cut off missy.”
Sadly, Mike’s mind is cloudy, all senses zeroing on Will, his gorgeously bothersome boyfriend that refused to stop kissing and lapping at him in the midst of their predicament. It’s treacherously throwing Mike off his stellarly attentive big brother game. He scarcely hears what else comes from Holly's requests. Probably childish rationale on why it’d be alright and very cool of him to let the girls rampantly scarf down all the snacks in the kitchen.
He desperately pants, squirming pleasurably under Will’s artistic caresses, muzzling himself with his right hand. Throat itching to spill sobs and moans. Mike's desk lamp flashing sporadically is a subtle indicator that Will’s powers have activated, but at least it’s the only electronic device affected in his room. No signs of a bloody nose or Will glowing like a beacon. With Mike's testing and training, Will's been cautiously mastering his ability, compared to previous events. 
“Okay! Sure! Yeah!” Mike rapidly spews while impenetrably hugging Will, burying his nose in strands of silky brown hair to muffle his growingly voluptuous whining.
“REALLY?!” Holly wants a second confirmation and Mike all but screams so she and her friends can beat it. 
“Do whatever, Holly! I don’t care! Leave me alone!” 
The giddy girlish squeals chorus outside his door. Then followed by the marching stomps of rushing downstairs.
“You’re gonna regret that decision.” Will wickedly teases, biting savagely at Mike’s shoulder after rolling up his t-shirt sleeve. 
They resume kissing slovenly, Mike forgetting about his responsibility as the minutes pass and blur. Pushing the limits, Will adventurously scurries lower from his perfectly aligned position. He raises the hem of Mike’s shirt, callously stretching it out and sticking his whole head underneath the hiking fabric, the action shocking Mike's system. Will is faced with a tenuous milky pale belly and nips at unblemished freckled skin with the intention of marking his territory. Lost in satisfaction and Will's boldness, Mike arches and shudders, seizing onto his bed sheets, less he digs his nails into Will, unwittingly lacerating him from the sheer sensitivity he's subdued to.
Both boys are snapped from their white heat fog when a furious Karen is the next person in line knocking on Mike’s door.
“Micheal! You’re supposed to be watching the girls!”
Uh-oh. 
Will dives to the floor in a split second, opting to hide in the closet than crawl under the bed. Mike gives up on fixing his stretched shirt and greets Karen. She snippily informs him on why the house has five girls with tummy aches throwing up everywhere. Mike accepts his scolding without defense. He's at ease that his mother hasn’t noticed the forming hickey on his shoulder from Will’s vampiric teeth indents, and internally acknowledges the guilt eating at him about Holly's preventable nausea. Revoked from his chaperoning duties, Karen tends to Holly and friends after grounding Mike for two weeks straight, banishing him to his room.
Will skulks from the closet, apologetic smile opposing Mike’s drained frown.
“Think of being grounded as a good thing. This is convenient. No one’s gonna bug you. We can be in your room. In private. In peace. Plus, we'll make it up to Holly and let her paint our nails like she's been dying to do for forever.” 
Mike thinks it over. Frown flipping to mirror Will’s cheerful temperament. He nicknamed him Will the Wise for a reason, tackling his boyfriend to the mattress to finish what they started. 
*******
By now, it’s been about two months and a few weeks where Mike and Will eventually let all their loved ones know about their relationship. Karen is supportive, Ted’s apathetic, and Holly’s mourning her first ever crush stolen by her philandering brother Mike. Besides the Wheelers lukewarm response (Ted worrying if being queer’s going to negatively affect Mike’s college career) the couple take everything relatively in stride. They feel relieved because whenever the Party has movie nights, Mike can openly cuddle Will to his heart’s content alongside Lucas and Max on the couch worry free. Jonathan and Mike make a pact to help the other pick out certain birthday and Christmas gifts respectively for Nancy and Will. The same goes for Nancy and Will, who agree to take cooking classes together to make their separate boyfriends’ favorite meals out of love. 
Speaking of love, Dustin deduced from all the gathered data that Will’s powers are linked to his feelings of unadulterated happiness, usually triggered by Mike’s presence and attention. That was another thing that blew the Party, the Byers, Nancy, Steve, and Robin’s mind - Will being naturally born like this - without government tampering whatsoever. El’s excited, though, wanting to tutor Will for once on how to tap in and tap out of his powers the way Kali mentored her in Chicago. 
“Where are you taking us?” Will has on a blindfold, Mike steering him by the shoulders, tenderly nudging him forward through the dense woods.
The ground is uneven with dirt, tree roots, and steep in certain spots one would least expect it. They were just in the Byers-Hopper backyard when Mike said he had something to show him deeper in the woods, a spurring smile on his face that lured Will in without struggle.
“Okay. You can look now.” Mike tugs the blindfold away to present Will with a hefty sycamore tree.
It shocks Will because the tree actually holds a detailed, robustly built treehouse partially encompassing the bulky trunk. There’s a deck, a rope ladder, a sturdy functional roof, and a door with hinges to boot! Mike grabs Will’s wrist to lead him closer to the tree bark, their initials M+W painstakingly carved into it, and just below the words Castle Byers 2.0 hammering in the message just in case.
“You… You really…” Will’s wobbly voice is packed with gravity.
“Speechless, huh?” Mike jests, chest puffed and expression smug. “I spent way too long on this. Everyone helped me out, too. Hopper, Jonathan, Lucas, Dustin, Argyle, and even stupid dumb Steve. We kept it a secret. Hardest thing to do in my life.”
“But why?” Will chokes out, tears of euphoria leaking from him.
Mike devotedly embraces Will, rocking him to and fro, whispering. “I had to. I had to rebuild the space you felt was the safest.”
Will crumples to pieces in Mike’s arms, blown away, and they stand there stewing in the moment. When it’s been a good 15 minutes Mike urges Will to see the interior. They go up the rope ladder. Inside it’s even more spectacular. An assortment of pillows and blankets make the place cozy. Mounds of comics and sci-fi/fantasy books decorate any available surface area. A few flashlights and radios are scattered. Tilted perfectly against the treehouse wall is a brand new sketchbook for Will to draw in. Feelings intensified again in a short timeframe, Will lets himself bask in the addictive sensation of being tremendously cherished after once believing he’d never be lucky enough to experience such a thing. He throws himself onto Mike and rapturously kisses him all over. He hopes Mike knows through his kiss how much he’s mad - infatuated - crazy about him!
In between their trading liplocks, Will relinquishes total control, arduously glowing from his eyes to his body. Mike can feel how comfortingly warm Will’s skin is, resembling freshly washed clothes from the dryer, or the sedating heat of a coffee mug on a brittle winter’s morning. He peppers Will’s lips and neck, giving special treatment to his speckled moles. Mike lets Will gnaw at his constellation of freckles, serenely sucking on any developing hickeys. The surrounding flashlights and radios turn on, electricity zapping everywhere, and not just when they breathlessly attach to each other, sparks flying. 
An unanticipated phenomenon occurs. The bulbs of the flashlights display rainbow beams instead of the usual white or yellow. Mike gets distracted, raising his brows to his hairline at it, then he’s bucking his eyes almost out his sockets, fully inspecting Will’s condition. Quite amazing. Will’s eyes are shimmering every color of the rainbow. His glowing body is also emitting a rainbow psychedelic aura. Unreal. Ethereal. Different.
“Will, you’re literally shining!” Mike awes. 
“I know. I think I’m just really, really happy right now.” Will giggles.
The illumination of violet, yellow, green, blue, and orange shade the treehouse’s interior and its similar to strobe lights at dance clubs. This is the first time Will’s been able to let loose, seeing as they’re in the isolating woods away from Hawkins’ major energy grids and powerlines, and Mike doesn’t want it to end, Will feeling free, so he returns to hungrily kissing his person, his chosen one like normal. Supernatural interruptions be damned. 
Infectious is Will’s unchecked power because when he’s getting smooched again, Mike begins to glow too, just as bright! Dark eyes and pale skin reflecting the same rainbow hue and warmth. Will’s joy spreads and transfers the dazzling feeling of unconditional affection. Sharing his vibrancy. If only until the couple stops nosing each other will the glow shut down. 
In the meantime, in the thick of the woods far from causing another black out, Mike and Will continue to make out and know one thing to be true - magic, like in their D&D campaigns, definitely exists for it’s in his kiss.      
_____
Ok that's it! I finally finished. This was originally just a oneshot meant to ring in Pride but it got outta hand lol Anyways Will's the only one with powers, it's just when he kisses Mike and loses himself, now Mike can shine bright like a diamond with him (only through their intimate moments tho, not by himself, an exchange of energy some might say 😅😄). Mostly wanted to focus on Byler, but hope you enjoyed how everyone reacted to them dating. It's post s5 so I picture the Party and Co being more relaxed/accepting after being child soldiers saving Hawkins. There's more to life than being a bigot/hater after being on Vecna's hitlist. Thanks for rocking with this 3-parter, was totally fun to write it, and yes the plan was to have Byler makeout 9 times in one ficlet cuz go big or go home. P.S. They indeed let Holly paint their nails btw
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cardassiangoodreads · 5 months
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It's still really funny to me when you get authors like Alice Oseman and Casey McQuiston who are obviously exclusively drawing from M/M media that is made for female audiences (like slash fanfiction, or at least the vast majority of it) and then are SHOCKED when people compare their work to BL, which is just the Japanese version of all that. There is M/M media out there that is made with actual gay and bi male audiences in mind, and you don't even have to look particularly far to find it. Queer as Folk. Looking. Movies about gay/bi men by gay/bi male directors. Books about gay/bi men by gay/bi writers. Even if you're just looking at YA, there are gay male YA authors like Adam Silvera and David Levithan whose works you could read. (It's honestly bizarre to say this, when I feel like in broader Western media culture, outside of fandom-y corners of the Internet like Tumblr, the gay stuff made for gay men is way more mainstream than the stuff made for women.) These people could do the research if they want to, but they don't. They're too attached to the idea that just being another variety of LGBTQIA+ themselves means they're somehow an expert on every letter under that acronym, in a way that people with that more specific identity are supposed to also find authentic. But that's just silly. There have always been divisions or just differences of experience within that broad umbrella. You cannot be shocked when a real famous gay man tells you your work is unrelatable to him and that he doubts very many gay men/boys are actually watching it.
And to be absolutely clear, I really don't think that writing M/M content for the female gaze is a problem. I enjoy a lot of this stuff myself. I'm also a lesbian who's liked a fair amount of F/F stuff that's made by men for the male gaze, and frequently more than the equivalent stuff by-and-for-lesbians that I'm "supposed to" like. And I don't think that gay men are the only people to decide what M/M media gets made, especially as they, like any other group of people, can disagree a lot about what that should be. I especially don't think any men need to be policing what women are creating that gets them off.
What I'm saying is to be self-aware about what you're making. If you want to make stuff with the audience of real people with the same identity as your gay/bi male characters, then have enough humility to recognize that if you're a woman or an AFAB nonbinary person that requires doing research. That's not a thing you're just going to instinctively capture if you're exclusively consuming M/M media for women, especially if you have no gay/bi male friends IRL whom you can talk about this stuff! Which is another way you can "research" this. As a woman who is very much a "fujoshi" (in that I enjoy a lot of BL media both Eastern and Western), most of what I know about how and why this stuff is so uninteresting to gay and bi men is from talking to my gay/bi guy friends about it. But in that case, it really helps to make sure that at least some of the guys you're talking to are ones you're meeting IRL, or at least not in fanfiction-writing and fandom-discourse online communities.
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wolfiemcwolferson · 5 months
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Yeah so I was in my hometown for two weeks and one night my sister and I took her shitty car and we drove around to all the places I used to run around at and we looked at the stars and I was hit with so many deep memories of being queer in a tiny town and please take this as my weekend sacrifice 💙
Piarles, of course
Charles shifts around in the seat as his truck idles on the curb.
It doesn’t matter that the athletic board sprung for the higher quality leather after they won state this year, the letterman jacket is still new and stiff.
He texts Alex again.
here
Alex is late. He's always late, but Charles gets it so he lets it fly. He thinks the two of them maybe wouldn't be real friends if they weren't the kids marked by tragedy.
George and Alex were always closer, but something happened with them last year after...well, after and now they hardly talk and Charles gets it because if Pierre hadn't been a stubborn bastard, Charles would have probably pushed him away after his dad died, but also...
Well, his relationship with Pierre is different and he's thinking about texting him now, telling him that he's going to try and dip out early, but then the door of Alex's apartment bangs open and he strides out, pulling his own letterman jacket around his shoulders and so Charles drops his phone in the cupholder and puts his truck in park.
.
They're the last people to show up - which is expected. Everyone else probably came together.
Lando is sitting with some girl that Charles thinks looks vaguely familiar and George is sitting on the toolbox of his truck and Max is standing in the middle of the half-circle, waving his arms around telling some story and Charles backs in, revving his engine like he's going to run him down and Max smacks his tailgate, calling him a motherfucker.
It's a typical Friday night.
Nothing changes.
Not even Caddo driving by in his cop car, shining the light on them and calling out from his driver's seat ain't drinkin, are ya boys?
Lando is absolutely drinking and Charles knows Max is too, but he also knows that Caddo won't do anything about it and that they'll all leave well before curfew.
Max will invite them all back to his dad's place off off 1255 where the alcohol is free as long as Max is winning - that state championship doing work for everyone.
But, Charles also has no plans to go and neither does Alex.
Alex has a bottle of water he’s been sipping out of all night and Charles has a styrofoam cup that he is going to pretend is half liquor if anyone asks, and he's preparing himself for that lie when Lando starts to laugh, pointing at him before the worst thing possible happens.
"What's that on your neck, Leclerc?"
Charles wants to disappear through the pavement. He wants the entire truck to be sucked through the asphalt because Max strides over and shoves at the collar of Charles’ jacket, exposing the hickey there that he has managed to keep out of sight all week until now.
"Holy shit," Max laughs that stupid half-drunk laugh of his. "It's fucking a hickey. Man, who gave you that?"
"Bet it was that girl from out in Cedar Creek." Lando laughs, bumping his shoulder with the girl he's sitting with. She must be from Cedar Creek.
George is the one to say, "Bro, that girl is his cousin."
"Nah," Lando turns around, chunking his empty coke bottle at him. "That's Zo's cousin. That's like, not the same ‘cause they don’t have the same dad?”
"You need to get out of this place, man." Alex says. "It's close enough that it's -"
But Max slaps the tailgate of his own truck and he says, "Let's go back to mine. I'm out of whiskey."
Charles is thankful for Max Verstappen for like the second time in his life and he sinks back against the edge of his truck bed.
"Y'all comin'?" Max points at Alex and Charles even though he knows they're not.
"Visitation tomorrow," is all Alex says, but everyone nods and Charles makes a little driving motion to mean that he's Alex’s ride and they're waved off in a chorus of see you Sunday's and Charles is thankful to escape quickly when he sees George staring at the hickey on his neck with his head tilted.
George is fucking smart. Charles doesn't need him to figure it out.
Alex is waiting for him in the passenger seat, tapping his hands on the dash and smiling at him brightly. "You gonna sneak off to see your Cedar Creek honey?"
Charles knows it's a joke, but it doesn't land on him in a comfortable way. He's tense and worried and it hurts and so he tries to laugh - it comes out all wobbly and Alex immediately stops laughing.
He doesn't say anything else as Charles gets them out of the parking lot and over to the other side of town and he's starting to feel really guilty about it, but then Alex says, "Pierre was visiting from Oklahoma State this last weekend, wasn't he?"
Charles wants to slam on the brakes and throw him out.
Instead, he says real tight, "yeah, he was."
Alex makes a little hum and then taps twice on the dashboard, "Thanks for the ride, man. See ya Monday," and then he all but bails out of the cab before Charles has come to a complete stop and Charles is left breathing too hard.
There's no way he can know.
That's what Charles repeats to himself a hundred times while he drives home.
There's no way he can know.
There's no way he can know.
The lights in his house are off. Arthur is out somewhere and his mom is already in bed so he lets himself in the house and heads straight back to his room, peeling that stiff letterman off and tossing it over the back of one of the dining room chairs.
He's tacky with sweat underneath it despite the temperature being near freezing outside. The panic had crawled all over him and he couldn't shake it off, but he knows what will quell it.
What always quells it…
He pulls his shirt off in one motion, letting it drop in the hamper right inside his door before reaching immediately for the one folded on his desk - plain white, nondescript. Except for the P. Gasly in block lettering on the collar and the shiny white logo on the front that marks it as an official shirt for the Sooner football team, it could be any number of white shirts in his possession.
The faint scent of Pierre's cologne clings to it but that will disappear completely before he can exchange it for a new one so the knowledge that it's been on Pierre's body has to be enough.
Pierre answers on the second ring, a soft baby rings down the line as Charles flops down onto his bed, pressing the phone closer to his ear until it aches.
He breathes in Pierre's scent and he whispers back to him "calamar" and he dreams of a time in which football and this town doesn't keep them in the shadows anymore.
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