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steddiealltheway · 2 years

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Rockstar AU in which Corroded Coffin is slowly becoming more and more famous to the point that Dustin and Mike are STRESSING that after this next concert, the tickets will go through the roof with their pricing. So they have to go now.

Lucas isn’t as big of a fan, but he still wants to go. And Will takes any opportunity he can to hang out with Mike so he joins in on the need to go.

They all realize that they can’t drive, and someone will have to take them.

So they go about nagging Nancy who outright refuses no matter what they bribe her with. Jonathan apologizes because he has work that night and can’t call out.

All the boys agree that there’s no way they’re asking their parents.

Dustin reluctantly offers up Steve as their last option.

“No fucking way!” Mike yells. “He’s so fucking lame and probably doesn’t even know what Corroded Coffin is! I’d rather have my mom take us!”

Lucas points out that if Mrs. Wheeler goes, she will tell all the other moms about it, and the lead singer and guitarist Eddie Munson is known for his… unhinged theatrics.

Will hesitantly says, “I wouldn’t mind if Steve goes with us.”

Mike’s eyes snap to him. Will shrugs. Dustin prays that this will be enough.

“Fine.” Mike gives up. “But if they kick us out because of him, I’ll never let you live this down!”

“Mike, that doesn’t even make sense,” Lucas comments.

“He hasn’t even agreed yet,” Dustin reminds them, already heading out the door to ride over to Steve’s and ask. The others trail behind him.

“Like he’ll have any other plans,” Mike sneers.

The ride over is filled with Mike making rude remarks and the other boys asking what his fucking problem is.

“I just don’t want Eddie thinking we’re lame!” He finally confesses, praying that the cool air is enough to blame for the flush on his face.

Will catches his eye, and Mike nearly falls off his bike. Luckily, he can play it off since they’ve made it to Steve’s.

Dustin is ushered forward because he’s the favorite. He knocks and Steve almost immediately answers.

“Steve! Dude! How are-”

“Nope,” Steve immediately says, jutting his hip out, leaning against the doorframe.

Dustin gapes. “I didn’t even ask anything.”

Steve crosses his arms and looks around the group. “I know that look. It’s the ‘we need a babysitter’ look. I’m not doing it this time.”

Dustin pushes past him and the others follow behind him into the house.

“Hey hey hey! I didn’t even- take off your shoes at least!” Steve yells after them.

Will already has his shoes off while Mike rolls his eyes at Steve, begrudgingly taking his shoes off. Lucas apologizes. Dustin doesn’t even bother to untie his shoes.

“You have to take us to this concert. You owe me,” Dustin says.

“Owe you for what?”

“For… for telling me my hair looked good at the snowball dance!” Dustin exclaims proudly, complimenting himself on his improvisation skills.

All the other boys rapidly agree with Dustin while Steve tries to argue that it did look good. The conversation derails quickly into a general argument until Mike unexpectedly speaks up, “Alright! Enough.”

He digs through his backpack with alarming urgency and pulls out a picture of… Eddie Munson?

“We need to see him. This may be our only chance! And when I tell you that you were my last option, I mean that you were my last option. I would rather have my fucking dad take us! But they insisted it be you. You have to understand that begging you like this- this is rock bottom for me. But I beg you. Please take us,” Mike finish dramatically thrusting the picture into Steve’s hands.

“Dude, why the fuck do you have a picture of Eddie Munson in your backpack?” Dustin asks and the other boys join in egging him on.

They’re all oblivious to Steve’s little crisis over the image of the metalhead until he suddenly announces, “I’ll do it. I’ll take you guys.”

Dustin immediately yells and hugs him. Lucas and Will hug each other as Mike snatches the image back and stuffs it into his backpack again - face beet red.

“Wait, when is it?” Steve asks breaking the hug.

Dustin stammers out a few, “Well, it’s funny that you asks… so funny actually. Hilarious. Funniest thing I’ve heard all day…” All the boys make their way to the front door.

“Dustin…”

“It’s tomorrow night at ten! We’ll be here at nine!” Dustin yells immediately rushing out the door and slamming it behind him.

The boys all laugh as the rush to their bikes, hearing Steve yell, “Always the goddamn babysitter!”

-:-:-:-:-:-

Nevertheless, Steve rushes into his car at 9:05, while Dustin and Mike scream that they’re going to be late as if it’s the end of the world. About ten minutes into the ride, Mike finally notices what Steve is wearing.

“Uh, Steve. Please tell me you have something on under that,” Mike groans.

Steve glances down at his yellow sweater and asks, “What’s wrong with this?”

This sends Mike spiraling while Dustin laughs, “You’re joking, right? Tell me you’re joking.”

Steve shakes his head. Dustin joins in with Mike’s breakdown.

When they get there, Steve realizes what they mean. In the venue - that is on the surprisingly smaller side - there isn’t a single person who isn’t sporting either a t-shirt from the latest album Hellfire or wearing all black.

Steve sticks out like a sore thumb. The people around him give him looks, but he doesn’t really care since he’s never heard of Corroded Coffin. Besides, with him standing a few rows away from the stage, there’s no way the band would spot him.

The opening band is alright and gets the crowd really going to the point where Steve can see why none of the kids wanted one of their parents to bring them. He gets lost in the general vibe of the place, reminding him of a way more intense version of the big high school parties he used to go to. He knows Dustin would kick him in the shins if he told him that.

Once the opening band walks off stage, the lights go out, startling the audience. “What the hell-” Dustin says before loud chords play out with a flash of lights.

Steve catches Will and Mike holding hands in one flash and in the next they’ve broken away with red faces.

Steve would laugh fondly at the pair, if there wasn’t a sudden spotlight on Eddie Munson. And fuck he’s gorgeous. His eyes flicker over the crowd, and Steve swears that his eyes narrow when he looks toward him, but there’s no way he can see anything in the spotlight.

He sings into the mic, and Steve’s heart beats a little faster. Thank you kids for making him take them here.

A few songs in, Steve is relaxing into the music which isn’t his usual taste, but there’s something about Eddie that… makes him want to hear more.

There’s an odd pause between songs when Eddie begins talking to the audience. He pulls his hair in front of his mouth and is… oddly adorable. He seems to get flustered by the crowd while simultaneously radiating with all the praise.

He introduces each band mate and gives them a look before saying, “They’re going to kill me for this, but we’re going to do something new tonight.”

One member - Gareth - gives Eddie a look like not again.

The audience waits in anticipation for Eddie to announce whatever scheme he’s thought up. “Ladies, gentlemen, and everything beyond and in between… we’re going to invite someone to the stage.”

Steve laughs as Mike and Dustin fight to get Eddie’s attention.

Eddie takes his time, holding his hand above his eyes to block out the stage lights and actually observe the audience. Eddie laughs darkly into the mic. “I won’t lie to you guys. I had this person picked out from the moment I saw him. Welcome Mr. Yellow Sweater to the stage!”

Steve’s heart drops in his chest and everyone around him turns to him as if they’re going to murder him - especially Mike. Dustin, Lucas, and Will, on the other hand, excitedly shove him along, ushering him to the stage.

Steve makes his way to the edge of the stage and looks up to see Eddie holding his hand out. Steve takes it and perfectly scales the stage, ending up right up in Eddie Munson’s personal space. “Well, hello there, pretty boy. What’s your name?”

Steve is thankful that only he can hear Eddie’s words. “Steve,” he manages to choke out.

“Steve, please tell me you spilled something on your shirt and this was the only thing left for you to wear,” Eddie says.

Steve looks down at his sweater once again because hey, what’s wrong with his sweater? He shakes his head.

“You keep getting better and better…” Eddie looks him up and down.

The drummer yells, “Eddie! The fans are getting restless. Get on with whatever this is!”

Eddie shoots him a apologetic look and tugs Steve towards the microphone. “Everyone, meet Steve the exact person I pictured when writing this song.” The crowd begins screaming as a few notes ring out. Steve has never heard this song in his life but it somehow sounds familiar.

Eddie pulls a stool forward and whispers, “Take a seat, sweetheart.”

Steve immediately sits down and prays that his face isn’t as red as he imagines it to be. Eddie shamelessly eyes him up and down as he sings some song about a place like Hell called The Upside Down with demobats, strange vines, and what sounds like the budding romance with a stranger.

It’s weird as fuck, but somehow Steve just gets it.

As the final notes ring out, Eddie looks off as if he’s recalling some memory or trying too. He shakes his head and says to the audience, “Let’s give another round of the applause to the poor soul I dragged up here.” The audience roars with applause that confuses the shit out of Steve, but luckily it drowns out Eddie saying in Steve’s ear, “Meet me after the show at the back right door.” He cocks his head towards the back at Steve’s left.

Steve immediately replies, “Okay, but I have four kids with me.”

Eddie’s eyebrows shoot up.

“They’re my… friends.”

Eddie stares at him in disbelief and huffs out a laugh. “You’re full of surprises, Steve. I’m happy to meet them.”

Steve nods at him not knowing what else to do and makes his way to the edge of the stage and hops down. As he makes his way back to the kids he can’t help but think what the fuck just happened.

All the boys are yelling, asking what he said to him and why did he choose him and is he nice and…

“He said he wants to meet us after the show,” Steve says first.

“What did you say to him?!” Mike shouts.

“I told him that we couldn’t because Wheeler here has a strict bedtime.”

All the boys’ jaws drop, and Steve is actually afraid Mike will murder him. “I’m kidding. I said we would,” Steve says nonchalantly leaving out the part where Eddie had rendered him speechless after asking to just see him.

The rest of the concert passes pretty quickly, and Steve tries not to get his hopes up that the winks Eddie gives the audience are all directed at him.

As Eddie wishes everyone a goodnight and makes his way off stage, Steve’s heart starts pounding in his chest. Mike and Dustin are frantically trying to appear cooler than they are while Lucas and Will try to muffle their laughter. Steve guides them towards where Eddie had told him to go, going directly against the flow of everyone exiting the venue.

Steve looks around, making sure no one else is following them and pushes the door. It swings open and Steve steps through expecting some sort of security to be blocking him but… there’s no one.

There’s a loud shout of “Holy fucking shit!” chanted over and over again down the hall, with more people joining in. Steve follows the noise cautiously until he gets to a door that is slightly cracked. Sounds of squealing, laughter, and floorboards creaking - from what sounds like people jumping up and down - ring out through the crack.

Steve pushes the door open and is met with a startled shout that comes from none other than Eddie Munson. “Man, you’ve got to get better security in this place,” Steve says without thinking but Eddie’s bandmates are nodding in agreement and shouting out things like “That’s what we’ve been telling him!”

Dustin pushes past Steve and gets down on one knee to bow and say, “My lord,” he stands up and continues, “I am Dustin Henderson. Huge fan.” He holds out his hand and giggles as Eddie bows back and shakes it.

“Pleasure to meet you, Dustin. Never change.”

Dustin’s smile widens into what is an almost terrifying grin of joy. Steve turns to find Mike gaping at Eddie, frozen in place.

Eddie smiles at Mike and asks, “And you are?”

“Mike,” the boy chokes out. He clears his throat. “Mike Wheeler.”

“Good to meet you, man,” Eddie says, resting a hand on his shoulder and squeezing briefly.

Steve’s heart warms at the interactions, he turns around to find Will and Lucas nearly hiding behind him. He nearly tells them to get a grip, but he knows what it’s like being under Eddie’s gaze for the first time and can’t blame them.

“Eddie, this is Will and Lucas,” Steve introduces them as if Eddie’s one of his friends or something.

Will blushes when Eddie shakes his hand, and Lucas makes a comment about loving his work which Eddie thanks him for.

“Well,” Eddie says, “I can’t wait to speak to you guys more, but I’m going to request a few minutes with Steve here. If that’s alright?” Eddie holds eye contact with Steve who looks at the other kids first - who are all urging him to say yes with their eyes - then he nods his confirmation. Eddie tries to hold back a smile. “I hope the rest of my band can provide entertainment that isn’t lame.”

“Hey, fuck you, man! What do you mean your band?!” Is the general response from the other members before the four boys are firing questions at them.

Eddie pulls Steve into a small dressing room and closes the door. Steve doesn’t know what he’s expecting but it certainly isn’t Eddie’s response. “I’m so sorry, dude. I- I don’t what came over me up there,” Eddie’s face has dropped and he’s fidgeting with his rings looking endearingly awkward. He continues pacing and going on, “I just saw you, and, really, stage Eddie is a huge flirt, but I’ve never singled someone out like that before. And you clearly aren’t even a fan. Are you a fan?” Eddie questions, eyes narrowed, invading Steve’s personal space.

“I am now,” Steve replies, glad that his charm has suddenly made a reappearance. Eddie blushes and he pulls a strand of hair in front his face. Steve finds him absolutely adorable.

“I guess I just wanted to apologize... again. You’re just... so familiar, and I needed a closer look. Because... I meant what I said about you. You’re exactly who I pictured and... Fuck, I’m coming on way too strong right now.” Eddie sits down in an uncomfortable looking foldable chair, burying his face in his hands.

“You know,” Steve says slowly approaching Eddie, “I hadn’t even heard of you or your band before those kids showed up at my door yesterday.”

Eddie sarcastically replies, “Thanks.”

Steve shakes his head. “No, that- that’s not what I mean. I mean... I almost didn’t take them here. I truly didn’t want to.”

Eddie looks up and smiles amusedly at Steve. “You’re really digging yourself a deeper hole right now.”

“I-” Steve sighs and grabs the chair closest to him, drags it directly in front of Eddie, and immediately sits across from him, so they’re eye to eye. “I wasn’t going to until Mike showed me a picture of you. And something in me told me I needed to go; you know? That I somehow had to meet you. And that song, man, it was so fucking weird-” Eddie snorts. Steve continues, “But I understood everything you were saying as if it was... weird deja vu or something. I don’t know.”

Eddie holds eye contact with him for a few moments, searching his eyes for any lies. He shakes his head and sighs, “I know exactly what you mean. But maybe we’re both crazy.”

“Maybe,” Steve replies. He boldly grabs Eddie’s hands and holds them in his. He glances down at their hands and smiles. Then, he catches sight of his watch and more specifically the time. He shoots up. “Shit! I have to go. The kids’ parents are going to absolutely kill me if we don’t head back soon.”

Eddie stands and nods at Steve. Neither of them wants to leave each other’s company. Steve frantically looks around and spots a pen. He scribbles his home number onto Eddie’s arm and rushes out of the room. “Guys, we need to head out.”

“What? Why?” Mike asks, and man that kid needs to keep that attitude in check.

“Check the time,” Steve suggests. The boys look at their watches.

“Shit, shit, shit,” Dustin says then turns dramatically towards the group. “Gentlemen, it was lovely meeting you, I can’t wait to see you again one day.” He nods his head and rushes out the door. The other boys hurriedly say their goodbyes and rush out.

Steve holds eye contact with Eddie for a moment then hurries after the boys. He wonders when he will call.

(Oh gosh... is this... unfinished??? I meant to finish it. Anyways, Eddie definitely calls Steve and when they meet up again Steve is like “How the hell do you still have my number on your arm?” and Eddie nonchalantly replies, “I got it tattooed so I wouldn’t lose it.”)

#steddie #steddie fic #steddie fanfic #slight byler #steve harrington #eddie munson #eddie rockstar au #homophobia doesn't exist in this universe #simply does not

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morimementa · 5 months

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I had the most wonderful dream a few nights ago about Welcome Home and I would like to share with you all because I am a nerd.

Eddie delivered a package to Frank's, only for them to realize it was addressed to both of them. The box is full of fabric and sewing supplies. They showed it to Poppy and Wally who explained that it was a kit to make themselves a baby and they could choose whether or not to make one. Frank expressed confusion as to how Wally knew that.

Wally: I thought everybody knew that...*confused face*

Of course, they set to work on sewing. Partway through, Frank gets emotional because What If? What if they can't be perfect, just so parents for her?! Eddie is quick to reassure him that no parent is perfect, but they're going to do their best and everything will be great!

In the end they have a little baby girl made and I remember them holding her when she blinked and then came to life!

It was so precious! I just want good things for them...

#welcome home #text post #dreams #frank frankly #eddie dear #cute #what impending horror? What black mold? This is just a cute puppet show with cute gay puppets!#I think I caught a peek into a universe where Welcome Home is a slice of life show #and homophobia doesn't exist #it was nice

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saviourkingslut · 2 years

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just saw a post that went like "[media] was revolutionary for having gay representation in it without it being a comedic trope. it came out in 2012, gay marriage wouldn't be legalised for years" and it's like. sitting there and 100% recognising the importance of this particular piece of media for its representation and importance to many queer people but also sighing at the way the usa's legalisation of queer marriage and by extension the usa's queer history and usamericans queer experiences are always seen as the ultimate benchmark for lgbtq+ experiences worldwide, making it seem like different experiences and histories don't even exist

#like. the way the legalisation of gay marriage in the usa is emphasised and referred to #to the point that it's almost conceptualised as the universal legalisation of gay marriage #which... in my country it was legalised in 2000. i grew up never knowing anything else but gay marriage being legal #and im not saying that my country doesn't have problems with queer rep and homophobia bc it has many #but by and large they're different from the ones in the usa #the context is different. the laws are different the histories are different the experiences are different #and sometimes it gets tiring to see that diversity that exists in all countries and populations worldwide #get seemingly shoved under the rug of the (white) usamerican experience #curry rambles

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songbirddoodles · 2 years

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totally nuts completely cracked and frankly absolutely BONKERS whenever i see a fictional universe wherein, like, magic canonically exists and there’s all these different species and complex, intricate lore and worldbuilding, and somehow, some way, the one (1) gay character’s main plotline is STILL inevitably that they are gay and are suffering because of it. everything comes to a grinding halt while for them the minute they figure out they’re queer. it’s like, oh this guy can shoot fire out of his hands, yeah. there’s giant flying beasts all about and people can just go to different dimensions at will or something. but a world without homophobia? unimaginable. piss yourself now

#to be clear this is NOT in reference to any particular piece of media.#last post i reblogged just reminded me of how often i've encountered this weird phenomenon in the TV shows i've watched/books i've read #in the last few years #i don't have a great dislike for them either or even any real anger at the writers who do this!#90% of the time it's not being done maliciously!#it's just...as a queer person myself it gets a bit...frustrating when a character is finally revealed to be queer #and the moment they do any interesting plotline of theirs is (at least momentarily) put on hold #just for the show/book/what have you to stare at their audience and explain that homophobia/transphobia/etc. does in fact still exist here #are you seriously going to tell me that there are people with actual magical powers in this universe #but a world that is for once completely void of vile bigotry against my community is /reaching/? THAT'S too far huh?#please don't misunderstand what i'm saying here either. canonical homophobia doesn't automatically negate good rep!#but you know. can the queer character just continue with whatever it is that they were there to do in the first place WHILE being queer?#i could talk more about this and why i think it is that this is like...the main way that lgbtq characters are revealed as lgbtq #by straight creators but naw. no. no thanks. i choose to love myself #birdy chirps #q word

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grunkle-scrooge · 10 months

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Make no mistake, NIMONA is gay as hell. It's one of the reasons the film was dropped by Disney. But in the film's universe, homophobia doesn't seem to exist (despite it being touched on in the original comic). Nobody thinks twice about Ballister and Ambrosius being together. ...But that doesn't mean prejudice doesn't still exist in this fantasy world. Ballister isn't hated for being gay. He's hated for being a commoner trying to be a knight of the realm. Just like how Nimona is hated for being a "monster." Homophobia may not exist in this world, but classism does. Prejudice is a moving target. If the powers that be decide they don't want you around, they'll make up some new criteria to exclude you. Don't let them.

#nimona #animation #film #nd stevenson #ballister x ambrosius #ballister #ambrosius #lgbtq #classism #gay #netflix

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2btheanswertothequestion · 1 year

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She finds out about it a few weeks after her classes start. It happens by chance, and almost seems too good to be true.

But it's not.

The University of Illinois does actually have its own newspaper for gays and lesbians. It exists, made explicitly for them, by them.

And Robin needs it.

It requires some snooping, though it's basically nothing after everything she did at Starcourt. Soon enough, she is $8.50 ($7.50 for a yearly subscription and $0.5 each for the two previous issues) poorer in dollars and infinitely richer in happiness.

People Like Us: News, opinions, and features for the C-U gay and lesbian community it says on the front page. Issues 2 and 3 are both 8 pages long while the first issue is slightly shorter. They have everything. News about marches in Chicago and local gay-friendly businesses. Opinion pieces on places to meet up and homophobia. Roommate ads, reviews, and personal stories. News about AIDS. And, in the very back, a blurb proclaiming LESBIAN CONTRIBUTORS WANTED.

Maybe that'll be her one day. She's no Nancy, but she can write. For now, though, she's content with reading. It's almost overwhelming to hold the papers, knowing that it's made by people like her. That someone like her might be reading the same words at the same time. Less lonely, in a way.

No one else on campus knows about her. Ellen, her dorm mate, seems fine so far, but Robin won't take her chances just yet. She struck gold with Steve, Eddie, and the kids, but someday her luck will run out. So she hides the issues in a hard folder under her mattress whenever she isn't reading.

Then she gets the October issue in her hand and nearly dies of excitement. On the front page, the news section is announcing that "two highly acclaimed gay/lesbian films are set to appear on campus this month". The groundbreaking Desert Hearts and Parting Glances will be screened four times each, one week apart from each other, at the end of the month.

At her first opportunity, she calls and tells Steve about it.

"You have to come and see them with me!" she says. "I can't go alone!"

So he does, and he barely complains about the 3-hour drive.

On Sunday, October 19, he shows up at 7 in front of her building. They catch up while having a bite to eat before the film. It's mostly her talking, blabbing about classes and professors and new people and Illinois and the college experience while he chews his half of the pizza, staring at her with big eyes that scream I missed you, I missed you, I missed you!

She takes every chance she gets to knock their feet together under the table and clutches his arm on their way to the film. Just in case her own eyes don't scream it back loud enough.

By the time Desert Hearts starts, she's giddy. She knows only what the newspaper told her: that it's about a soon-to-be-divorced college professor meeting a lesbian country girl in Reno in the 50s, and that it includes a 'climactic lovemaking scene'. Both facts have her squirming with excitement, her seat squeaking beneath her.

The lights go out and the movie starts. It's slow-paced and atmospheric, using the Nevada scenery to its advantage. Parts of it are actually really slow, but she doesn't mind, especially not as it builds and builds toward Vivian ultimately accepting her attraction to Cay.

Steve is with her from beginning to end, scoffing at the antagonistic stepmother, squeezing her hand when the lovers are separated, and squeezing some more when they're reunited. When they reach the intimate scene, he gasps loudly. Then both of them succumb to a giggle fit and must stifle themselves lest they be thrown out. The newspaper was right – it is pretty hot stuff.

There's no dramatic declaration of love at the end, no the ending is as slow and quiet as the rest of it. Still, it hits hard. A sledgehammer to the chest, shattering her ribs and smearing her heart all over. Because these women look each other in the eyes and say 'I love you'. They say 'I want you'. They say 'she just reached in and put a string of lights around my heart', and they say it like it's normal. Which, Robin knows it is. But her world is small and their world is the silver screen and they say it like it's normal.

Steve turns to her when the credits roll and the lights come back on, saying it was good. But when she looks at him, his face falls. Arms wrapping around her, he pulls her into his lap and guides her face into the crook of his neck. Fingers cramping where they clutch his shirt, she buries herself deep and cries, cries, cries. She thinks she hears someone ask if she's okay, but Steve shoos them off, so it doesn't matter.

He walks her home in comfortable silence. As they stop outside her building he tucks her hair behind her ear and offers to stay with her. But she tells him no – he has work in the morning, so she'll have to make do without him.

The responsible thing to do after waving him off is go to bed, wake up early for class. Instead, she steers her step to the nearest payphone and punches in a California number. Minutes later she's got Vickie on the line, wondering if she's okay and if she's been crying. Robin reassures her, then recounts the evening. Soon Vickie's bell of a laughter envelops her; they discuss who's the Cay to whose Vivian until Robin runs out of coins.

Next week, Steve is back and they do it all over again, except this time they eat burgers. They even snatch the same seats they had the previous screening.

Parting Glances follows a gay couple for 24 hours of their daily life. Because they're established, their intimate scene happens much earlier. Steve's muttering about how unfair it is that it's less explicit than the lesbian scene has pride burn in her chest, even as she shushes him.

All in all, it's a really good film. It doesn't hit her as hard since it's about gay men and no lesbians, but it still hits. Again, because it's presented as something normal. They're people in love, and they have jobs and problems and dreams and friends. The hardest hit of them all is Nick, who has AIDS but not in a pitiful way. He's a rockstar with a sense of humor, still cool and charismatic. Sexy, even, thanks to the oozing confidence and the intensity of his gaze.

Steve is quietly contemplative on the way out. She slips her hand into his and lets him think. It's first when they're halfway home that she breaks the silence. Spinning so she's walking backward in front of him, him holding her waist to steer her away from lampposts and curbs, she asks:

"Did you like it?"

"I did. But it left me a little sad." He shrugs. "I just hope Nick survives and gets back together with Michael."

She chews the inside of her cheek. "I don't know if… I mean, AIDS is-"

"I know, Robbie, I'm keeping myself up to date. Or I try. It's just… It's very…" Steve sighs, shaking his head. "You know."

And she does know. The fear of being targeted and the frustration of being helpless. The fury of knowing diseases are supposed to be cured, until the ones affected are people who aren't supposed to exist in the first place.

Steve says, "I think he'll be okay. Nick."

"Yeah," she says, a little choked up.

"And he and Michael will be happy."

"Yes."

"And Cay will stay on the train, or Vivian will return to Nevada, and they'll be together. For real."

"They will. And even if they don't," she reaches up to cup his cheeks, caressing his stubbled jawline, "they'll have someone else. Someone just as good. Or better."

His gaze on her is heavy and bright, boring through, seeing inside. He nods.

"Or better," he says.

With that, he grabs and swings her around (in a pretty impressive move, not that she'll admit it to him) until she's latched onto his back. Then he carries her home.

It's maybe 50 degrees out, so not freezing but enough to leave you shivering if your jacket is old and getting threadbare, like Robin's. She's not cold, though, because Steve always runs hot. His back is firm and his grip on her thighs is secure; she burrows into him, absorbing his warmth and familiar scent. Lulled, not to sleep per se, but to rest by his even strides, she dreams of all the beautiful things she wants to have, and even more vividly of the things she wants to keep.

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People Like Us was a real newspaper. You can find the issues that helped inspire this fic here.

(Oh, and you should really watch both those films if you haven't already.)

#stranger things #stranger things fanfiction #stobin #platonic stobin #robin buckley #steve harrington #just taking a short break from november paramedic to finish this #my writing

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shortpplfedup · 11 months

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The burn is slow because Jeng is a goddamn professional. If he's going to date somebody at work, a subordinate, he's got to be really effing sure it's not a passing fancy for either of them. He basically told Jaab that he thinks familiarity generally breeds contempt, hence why he's spending so much time with Pat; he's trying to take his own advice. But instead of feeling less he's feeling more, every day, every interaction. He doesn't know what Pat is feeling though, maybe he's alone in this, and if so he's not going to move forward. Pat is giving him hints that he likes him too, but again, is that something transient or something stronger and more rooted? He simply doesn't know. So yeah, he's not about to just randomly make out with him or confess how he feels. Jeng is very aware of the pitfalls here. He wants Pat to get to know him as both a boss and just a person, because he wants him to know that he can separate his professional and personal selves (jury currently out on how successfully that endeavour is going). He encourages Pat to be firm in his boundaries and speak up for himself because if/when he does confess, he wants Pat to understand and feel that he can say no. If/when Jeng does make a move, it will either be very restrained and polite, or EXTREMELY all-control-out-the-window messy. If Pat moves first, a distinct possibility, it will DEFINITELY be messy. 'How's this gonna happen? What's going to move the dial?' are the questions I am most excited to have answered by this series. What's certain is that whoever moves first will be absolutely mortified in the moment by their behaviour...lol.

I love this slow burn because it makes ABSOLUTE SENSE. It's not just two people holding back because the story has to be drawn out, there are real concrete reasons for them taking their time to suss each other out and decide what to do, even if they are attracted. If Pat is discovered to be dating the boss those vicious bitches at work will eat him alive. He has to determine if it's worth it to him. Jeng is already struggling to earn credibility and a level of respect from his subordinates. He also has to consider the reactions of his fellow managers and superiors, entangled with the additional mess of some of them being his family. He has to consider the impacts to Pat as well, he does have a duty of care to a young employee under his supervision. Just showing interest in Pat is an ethical minefield. And that's before you consider them being queer in a show universe where homophobia exists and will also impact them. There are so many reasons to go painfully slowly here, especially if he thinks he can just eventually get over his crush and not have to deal with any of this. It's a realistic portrayal of falling in love between subordinate/superior at work and I am enjoying the hell out of it.

#step by step #step by step the series

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slayerkitty · 8 months

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Let's Talk About Trust, Baby

I've seen a lot of posts where people are really confused about Mew and where his head might be at with regard to his relationship with Top. Why he hasn't given Top the boyfriend title back, why they haven't had sex yet, etc. That led me down a rabbit hole of thinking about the relationships between the characters and the one thing all relationships need to function - TRUST. If you don't trust your significant other or your friends/family, etc, what kind of relationship can you even have? I tried to break this down in groups/pairs and some of it might not be as thought out, so there may be more on this as the show goes on but here we go.

The Fab Four

So there's a lot of context we're missing about the relationships between our core four dysfunctional besties (Note: So far, Cheum doesn't seem that dysfunctional, you're doing amazing sweetie!) such as how they met, how long have they been friends (what the hell Ray and Mew got up to that one night... *ahem* I digress). Now, we don't have any real answers to these questions (yet) so I'm taking some educated guesses based on my own college experiences and what I've generally picked up from other university BLs typical story telling.

I feel like the four of them met during orientation (except maybe Ray and Mew, I'm waffling on thoughts that they've known each other since high school). Most university BLs set it up that the mains meet during orientation, bond during whatever torture the seniors are putting the freshman through and kind of build their friend groups based on that.

I also feel like they may have gravitated toward each other or remained a group because they're all queer. BLs can go either way on whether or not homophobia exists in their narrative and I think that Only Friends is going the more realistic route (and it's Jojo) so I think that I can definitely see them bonding over being queer. They find an LGBTQ bar and it becomes their thing to do together. Most friendship groups form because people just sort of fall in together due to circumstance and they seem no different.

But do they trust each other? Signs point to yes. (I was shocked too, lol)

Mew and Cheum: We haven't had much focus on her, but he seems to value her opinion and listen to her advice. (We also know that April likes him from the time they've spent together and he likes April, so I would say he and Cheum probably have pretty good trust built up.)

Mew and Boston: He believed without a single doubt when Boston said that Top had never had a lover longer than 3 months and that Top would probably, as Ray put it "nail and bail" once Mew and Top have sex. Cheum also believed Boston. Do I think Boston was lying here? No. But neither do they and that's important. Does Boston trust Mew? I think he does. His issues with Mew are not about trust.

Mew and Ray: These two vibe a little different than the rest of the group. They seem closer; they seem like they've talked about "the deep stuff" (vs maybe superficial topics with their other friends). Their first one on one scene has them talking about Ray's alcoholism seriously (even though Mew doesn't push about it as much as I would have liked) and you can tell there's an intimacy there that the other group members don't share. Whether that stems from whatever it is that happened that night in the video (I am salivating about this, it's delicious, I need more info) or because they've been friends for longer, I don't know.

Let's move on to the pairs:

Cheum and April: Do they trust each other? I assume so? Cheum goes out drinking with the boys at least once a week and April seems okay with that (we haven't heard otherwise), so I'll say yes? (Jojo, I NEED MORE OF THEM. I DON'T HAVE ENOUGH TO EVEN ANALYZE. GIVE US MORE.)

Sand and Ray: I'm gonna call this one as Sand does not trust Ray, but Ray trusts Sand. Sand knows that Ray is a walking red flag and he's trying to resist but Ray is making it really hard. *ahem* Ray bailing mid-make out is not helping Sand's trust issue. If you look at how Sand has cared for Ray since episode one, however, Ray most likely trusts Sand. I mean, Ray talked about his mom to Sand. I think that's a biiiig deal.

Mew and Top: Thanks to Boston, neither of them trusts the other. And this, right here, is why Mew has not moved the relationship forward. HE DOESN'T TRUST TOP. He's still worried that Top will "nail and bail". Remember Mew's checklist from episode two? He only checks off "gets along with my friends" (HAH!) and "respects me" but not "doesn't lie to me". We can infer this means it hasn't been marked off since he doesn't mention it to anyone in this episode. Given that a lot of us clocked Mew potentially spotting Boston's trunks on the floor in the shower, along with him questioning if Top was telling the truth about the fire, it's clear this is the one thing holding him back.

If Mew agrees to be Top's boyfriend, then the expectation of sex becomes a lot higher (it shouldn't but that's a different discussion to be had). It's also implied in the narrative (and from Jojo) that Mew is a very structured person and he doesn't like to lose control (re-watch the counter scene from episode one. You know you want to. I'll wait). The moment that Mew realizes that he is way too into what they're doing, he panics because he doesn't have control over the situation.

Up until episode three, Top did trust Mew. He trusted him enough to get vulnerable and then Boston blew it up by fabricating a narrative backed with evidence of...something between Ray and Mew (I'm seriously dying for this scene, I need it).

Another thing I am having thoughts about is that in this episode, Top referred to himself as Mew's boyfriend and so did Cheum and Mew didn't deny it like he did in episode two. When Top's *ahem* "buddy" approached them at the silent disco, it was very clear that Mew expected Top to introduce Mew as his boyfriend and was visibly (if momentarily) upset that he didn't.

Boston and Nick: Yes and no, but also no and no, respectively. So Boston trusts Nick with some things but not everything which leads to him lying, gaslighting and manipulating (he's a triple threat). In turn, Nick lies right back, because what else can he do? (a lot of things actually, oh Nick, you are starting to spiral hard.) This leads Nick to rigging the CCTV video to show on his phone and to wiretap Boston's car, which just shows you his trust in Boston is non-existent.

In conclusion: Trust is another theme the show seems to be exploring: earning it, keeping it, and what you do after trust is broken. I think it can tie back into the ongoing ephemerality discussion as well: trust isn't permanent. You have to earn it, maintain it, and once broken, it's gone (and seldom can be repaired).

Also, everyone needs therapy.

Tagging the Ephemerality Squad: @waitmyturtles, @chickenstrangers, @lurkingshan, @twig-tea, @ranchthoughts, @clara-maybe-ontheroad

Hope I didn't forget anyone!

#only friends the series #thai bl #only friends meta #Hope this made sense

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technicallyverycowboy · 4 months

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playboyy: no fags, no femmes

okay, so. playboyy meta. thanks to @lugarn, @chaos0pikachu, and @cryptidafter for talking all this out with me <3

i originally started this post with "not to be that guy," but honestly, i do want to be that guy. because so much of the critique and analysis of playboyy i'm seeing is a) grounded in a lack of knowledge about queer history and aesthetics and b) veers unintentionally but wildly into unexamined homophobia.

so, given i'm going to reference susan sontag's notes on camp several times, i've decided i might as well go full queer studies major about it and copy the list style she uses. (i would highly recommend reading notes on camp. it is academic and somewhat dense, but it's a tame 13 pages)

1. so many people are confidently asserting that playboyy is not camp, regardless of what the creatives behind the show think. to which i have to ask: how are you defining camp? what things are campy to y'all?

2. the personal definition of camp that i arrived at after writing a bunch of papers about it is two-fold: camp is exaggeration, treating things that are serious casually and treating things that are casual seriously. camp is about an aesthetic of inhabiting a role, where something is a little bit off or being something that it's not meant to be.

and to be clear, this is a wildly incomplete and simplified definition, because one of the points of camp is that it's a vibe, not something concrete. It’s also something that shifts over time the relationship between queerness and society changes.

2a. camp often intersects and overlaps with surrealism, like in rocky horror picture show. very often media that is campy exits the mundane world and enters a heightened world of exaggeration and stylization.

3. so, is playboyy campy? i sure as hell think it is. i think lugarn and chaos0pikachu both made really good points about the campiness of playboyy and it being specifically sexwork camp. (both replies are at that link.)

4. a brief list of things that specifically resonated as campy to me: first throwing american dollars in the pool for soong to catch, zouey's fantasy of feeling up teena in art class, every single element of nant's room (especially the projected images), captain's sports plot that involved zero doing the sport and 100% fucking and fantasy, the softly romantic framing of nuth and phob's sex scenes, jump's pleather tank top & coverall combination, prom wearing assless chaps to a rooftop party at 2:30 in the afternoon, the entire concept of investigating a disappearance via a themed party... i could go on and on, but i said this was brief.

5. i think the actual problem a lot of people have with playboyy is that it doesn't care about straight people.

6. what i mean by that is that playboyy is not a universal story. you could not plug different characters with different sexualities into the plot and preserve the essence of the story. the gayness of the characters is integral to the plot. the sex work is integral to the plot. this is not a world where homophobia doesn't exist and being gay is just like being straight.

7. additionally, these characters are all performing gender in a specifically queer way. they are femmes and fags, they are obvious, they are clockable, they're visible. when nice gays talk about the people who are giving gays a bad reputation and making it harder for everyone (to assimilate into heteropatriarchy) they're talking about playboyy gays.

8. comparing playboyy to only friends is low hanging fruit at this point, but i would argue that the reason boston stood out in that cast and was so viciously punished by the ending is because he was a fag stuck in a nice gays narrative.

9. and this is where the fandom homophobia comes in. so, so many people describe these characters and chaotic and messy, watchable as incoherent and vaguely amusing from a distance, but without real substance. the resulting narrative is often that no one could take their characters or their stories seriously or resonate with them.

10. again, why? why was ray and sand's high and low, blow up fights, calling each other whores relatable but soong and first's miscommunications about what they mean to each other unbelievable chaos? why is white taking black's place an acceptable plot point, but nont pretending to be nant is absurd?

11. most bls do not deal with flamboyance except in limited capacities by comedic side characters. flamboyance is a baseline trait for most of the playboyy characters. so if they feel too much, too loud, too out there, consider asking yourself why they do.

12. to a large extent, i think a lot of the criticism of playboyy is rooted in a bad faith refusal to engage with the show beyond a surface level pearl clutching about the sexual content. the unspoken belief here being that sex scenes are inherently vulgar distractions. they can't be integral to characters or their relationships. they can't be vital pieces of a narrative.

to which i say, there are nine thousand other BLs out there where the kissing is chaste and sex scenes are ~tastefully abstracted shots of shoulder blades and hands. watch those instead.

13. if you decide you want to watch it anyway, take a couple minutes to examine what parts of the show make you uncomfortable and why. and to be clear, i think there’s a lot of value in watching things that make you uncomfortable; media is often one of the best ways to dip into interrogating your emotional responses from a safe distance.

but don’t use discomfort to dismiss the possibility that there’s meaningful artistic and stylistic choices made to serve a meaningful narrative. take a second to sit with your reactions and ask yourself where it’s coming from.

#playboyy #playboyy meta #i want you all to know i hunted through three emails to find the rhetoric of camp essay i wrote in college for this

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thestargayzingetherian · 9 months

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She-Ra is the most radical feminist thing ever... by barely engaging with feminist or radical politics at all

It's... honestly surprising how radical and feminist and progressive She-Ra is by simply... not engaging with feminist ideas at all in-universe. A lot of people love to say Catra and Glimmer are girl-bosses or how a lot of journalists like to call the show "girl power" and whatnot... when that's really not true at all. I think this is because She-Ra takes place in a constructed world fantasy setting that's so divorced from our world, where all the societal problems we deal with like homophobia, racism, transphobia and sexism, don't exist. Other fantasy and sci-fi settings do share some of this, but a lot of them have it a bit implicitly in their DNA in places due to being based on or connected to our real-world cultures or being written by liberal feminist creators who think just putting women in power is a job well done. She-Ra treats everything in its setting as normal.

Every kingdom being run by a princess/queen? Perfectly normal. The show could easily show princes and whatnot in charge, it just chooses not to. Same-sex relationships? Completely normal and so is same-sex couples having kids. Trans and enby folk? perfectly normal and no one blinks an eye or even misgenders anyone. Even fucking Hordak and Shadow Weaver don't misgender DT. And why would they? There's nothing in this world that is comparable to the things in our world that prepetuated the idealogies of a strict gender binary. There's also no racism too, which again, why would there be because there's nothing in the setting of anyone wanting to use racism or xenophobia to fuel their ideals. Hell, Horde Prime one could argue is actually above the sorts of bigots in our own real world. He sees all conflict and division as beneath him, wanting to purify the universe and even uses Catra's and Adora's love for each other to his advantage.

There's also no such thing as a unified Etherian Government and each kingdom seems more like a small community with a leader, who could honestly be anyone. The Princess Alliance is more like a communal agreement that don't really have strict harsh laws, just general agreements that they each respect. There's the fact Brightmoon doesn't have a shown dungeon either, implying a form of restorative justice.

Add all this up and you have a universe that's full of endless creativity that honestly also feels like a safe place where a queer creative or fan can truly belong. I honestly can't say that a lot about a lot of things I love which always have some unfortunate asterisk about them. She-Ra has none of that to me. It is not perfect, but damn, is it a standard I honestly find a lot of things hard to beat.

#catradora #she-ra #spop #analysis #feminism #anarchism #leftism

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wangxianficfinder · 7 months

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In the mood for...

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1. hi!! for the next itmf, it was always spoken in the novel, and sometimes in fics how jfm favoured wwx over his children. despite the fact that as readers we definitely see the contrary, are there fics where this is true? where jfm actually prefers wwx's company over his children, or even just jc?? no wwx bashing pls, i just found out it exists and i hated every word of that fic. thank you!! <3

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2. Itmf fics where wangxian are on a battlefield fighting in a war. I love the angst of being in love in a place with little hope. @gentil-minou

The Vermillion Ribbon by Unforth (E, 233k, wangxian, Wen WWX, politics, slow burn, enemies to friends to lovers, hurt WWX, hurt LWJ, whump, serious injury, off-screen torture, hurt/comfort, angst, marriage of convenience, abusive father figures, panic attacks, trauma, ptsd, dissociation, pining, suicidal thoughts, miscommunication, touch starved LWJ, light dom/sub, feels, family feels, brotherly feels, LQR is a dick, abusive lan sect, emotional hurt/comfort, healing, recovery, Happy Ending)

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3. Hi! I think this is an ask for the itmf but I’m not sure actually :/ anyways I’ve had exams for about the last two months so I couldn’t read any new fics and now that I’m finally free I don’t know where to start! Can you rec the best (completed, wangxian) fics you’ve read in the last months? Thanks luv :D

The Scarlet Lotus by rainbowninja167 (M, 137k, WangXian, Marriage of Convenience, Secret Identity, Fix-It, Angst with a Happy Ending, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, Canon-Typical Violence, canon-typical war crimes, Yunmeng Bros, Slow Burn, Mutual Pining, Miscommunication)

Going on charmingly by scribbet (T, 21k, WangXian, Teenage LWJ, Cloud Recesses Shenanigans, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, WWX is BSSR's Disciple, Genius WWX, Petty LWJ, Meddling LXC, Canon Divergence, JFM Doesn't Adopt WWX, Technically pre-relationship, but in the typical Wangxian way of them being in deep but just not acknowledging it yet, POV LWJ)

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4. (This is my first time asking, so pwease pardon mistakes ʕ⁠´⁠•⁠ ⁠ᴥ⁠•⁠`⁠ʔ)

I'm in a mood for a fic where the drama version of Wangxian(or either one of them) meet the cql version! Thanks in advance ❤️ @dizzydandelionsandhyperhydrillas

The Young, the Horny, the Jaded and the Jade: Partners in Time by Admiranda (M, 55k, WIP, WangXian, Established couple, Crossover, road trip with your older selves, teasing your younger selves about their obvious crushes, yin iron does yin iron things, mdzs/cql crossover, adult wangxian, Teenage Wangxian) i don't know quite if it fits (asker said drama version meet cql (did they mean audio drama?)), but a potential for #4: post-canon novel wangxian meet teenage cql wangxian (WIP, very cute)

#9 of this post might have some recs you would like

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5. Hi, for the next in-the-mood-for, can I request fake!dating of the "I will be your intentionally annoying fake date to your family function / work do/ ex's wedding/etc" flavour. Many thank!

❤️ save a sword, ride a socialist by sysrae (E, 33k, WangXian, Modern with Magic, College/University, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Single Parent WWX, Homophobia, LQR’s A+ Parenting, Angst with a Happy Ending, Idiots to lovers)

Their Side of the Bargain by airinshaw (E, 21k, WangXian, Modern AU, Fake/Pretend Relationship, There Was Only One Bed, Getting Together, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, Roommates, Minor ChengSang)

we don't need to talk about it by vesna (mrsronweasley) (E, 48k, WangXian, Modern AU, Fake Dating, the slimmest of premises, there was only one bedroom, There Was Only One Bed, kissing to prove you're dating, being idiots to prove you're dating, Pining while fucking, background NieLan)

The Mistletoe Virgin by Vamillepudding (G, 12k, WangXian, Modern AU, Romantic Comedy, Friends to Lovers, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Deaf LWH, Christmas)

Veritas by trickybonmot (E, 19k, WangXian, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Modern: No Powers, Humor, Mutual Pining, There Was Only One Bed, Jins Being Jins, Wine Bro JZX, Good Sibling JC, light consensual non-consent, Surprise Fix-it Fic, Weddings, Wine, Hijinks & Shenanigans)

Gremlin Twitter Boyfriend (Twitter thread) by nyanxian Podfic + transcript (T, 5-6H - 38k, wangxian, modern, Social Media, Failboats In Love, Twitter Fic, Pining, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Matchmaking, Podfic, Multiple Voices, Sound Effects, Audio Format: MP3, Audio Format: Streaming, Warning: Jokes about Suicide)

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6. has anyone found a fic where wwx tells jc to put him down if he becomes an actual threat to their family, and after it seems like jyl died, jc does mercy kill wwx as agreed?

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7. ITMF request! I have a hankering for fic where the Jiang siblings turn against LWJ b/c they think he's broken WWX's heart. Would love it to be CR arc era, but modern AU is okay too. I really just want JYL to go off on LWJ, either freezing him out or giving him a piece of her mind. No Jiang bashing, tho'. @kimboo-york

the earthquake in the room by phnelt (E, 39k, WangXian, College/University, Modern: No Powers, Canada, Getting Together, Mentions of lwj/others, inter-faculty romance, strangers to lovers to frenemies to lovers, mostly book characterisation) Modern AU, JYL engages in a cold war with LXC because LWJ doesn't know how to communicate his feelings to WWX and keeps hurting him

could you find a way to let me down slowly, if you're leaving baby let me down slowly by ravenditefairylights (M, 36k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Golden Core Reveal, Implied/Referenced Sex, Miscommunication, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Twin Prides of Yúnmèng Dynamics, Hurt WWX, Mutual Pining, Unreliable Narrator, Self-Esteem Issues, Twin Prides of Yúnmèng Feels, Protective Siblings, Trauma, Slightly dubious consent, courtesy of drunk sex, Inventor WWX, Genius WWX, Phoenix Mountain, Chronic Pain, Getting Together, Fix-It of Sorts, One Braincell Trio, PTSD) has both Jiang siblings angry with LWJ after he and WWX sleep together while drunk, only for LWJ to run out the next morning

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8. Hi! Is there any fic where wwx and lwj really had their own garden? left the cultivation world (or maybe not) but they have a simple life

call me home and I'll build you a throne by ana_cp (E, 51k, WangXian, Post-Canon, Post-CQL, Canon Compliant, Getting Together, Developing Relationship, Gūsū Lán Juniors Dynamics, Touch-Starved Non-Sexual Intimacy, ... and then Sexual Intimacy, Nightmares, Hurt/Comfort, Domestic Fluff, WWX Has a New Golden Core, Farmer WWX, Chief Cultivator LWJ, Mutual Pining, Communication, Quietly Falling Into a Married Life, Light Angst, (because they don't think they deserve each other), Wholesome, POV LWJ, POV WWX, LWJ in braids agenda, Sharing a Bed, WWX's Birthday, Semi-Public Sex, Inventor WWX, Jealous WWX)

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9. Hey for the next itmf post can you rec some post canon protective LWJ

Nice work if you can get it by deliciousblizzardshark (M, 11k, WangXian, Protective LWJ, Genius WWX, Post-Canon, Fluff and Humor, Getting Together, Chief Cultivator LWJ, Soft WangXian, Hand Jobs, Blow Jobs, a very very small amount of smut, also a possessed squirrel, [Podfic] Nice work if you can get it by deliciousblizzardshark)

~*~

10. itmf nmj refusing to swear brotherhood to jgy? could still do that with lxc and/or someone else! i would love to see the ramifications of that 💙

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11. In the mood for… I want to know if you all can share stories were A-Yuan is at Koi Tower when he's a child. Specially with Wei Wuxian. Fix its, time travel, second chance, anything where A-Yuan and Wangxian are happy at the end. Specially if the Wens are all alive and also having a chance for happiness!! Thank you!! Be well, Monica @monicaop21

To Mourn the Young Man by Iamnotawriter (T, 56k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon-Typical Violence, BAMF WWX, Most people live, but not the bad guys, Burial Mounds Settlement Days, Hurt/Comfort, Golden Core Reveal)

changing the path by aurora_chiroptera (G, 2k, LSZ & WWX, WWX & JC, Canon Divergence, POV WWX, wn jzx and jl all appear briefly as well!)

~*~

12. any fics like three changes by orange crushed? something where they’re good friends before they get together? and/or ones that are kind of like a romantic comedies? @willesnelson

undone (the spreadsheet song) series by spookykingdomstarlight (E, 282k, wangxian, modern, Artists, Communication failure, Mutual Pining, mutual obliviousness, Demisexual WWX, Eventual Smut, Gossip, Getting Together, Mentions of Past Lan Wangji/OMCs, Crack Treated Seriously, Friends to Friends With Benefits to Lovers, LWJ's horniness for WWX accidentally turns him into a sex god with everyone except WWX (sorry WWX), POV WWX, Angst with a Happy Ending)

only bought this dress so you could take it off by mirrorofprinces (E, 13k, WangXian, Modern AU, Roommates/Housemates, Slow Burn, Friends to Lovers, Pining, Crossdressing, well wwx wears slutty fashionnova outfits a lot, and lwj thinks about it a normal amount, Brief Misunderstandings, mentions of lwj/others, Bisexual WWX, Idiots in Love, Getting Together, let wwx be tan, let wwx have wavy hair, background NieLan, background sangcheng if you squint)

living in my memory/living in my mouth by tardigradeschool (T, 32k, WangXian, Modern AU, Reincarnation, Canon Divergence, College/University, Modern with Magic, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Sharing a Bed, Nightmares, Light Angst, Epistolary, (sort of), POV Alternating, Mutual Pining, Friends to Lovers)

r/relationships by vespertineflora (T, 8k, WangXian, Modern AU, Social Media, Viral Reddit Post, Pining, Crushes, Friends to Lovers, Awkward Flirting, Romantic Gestures, Romantic Comedy, Love Confessions, Kissing, Happy Ending, r/relationships [podfic] by someplacelikebolivia)

🧡 Baby, You're the End of June by panicking (T, 24k, WangXian, Recreational Soccer, Modern AU, Single parent WWX, Fluff, Slow Burn, Mutual pining)

Lans Never Kiss and Tell by FeelsForBreakfast (E, 30k, WangXian, Modern AU, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Humor, lwj FUCKS, Mutual Pining, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, modern diaspora au)

our own kind of magic. by scarletwanlian (T, 18k, WangXian, Modern AU, 5+1 Things, Fluff, Humor, Mutual Pining, Friends to Lovers, Magic, Magical Realism, College/University, Slice of Life!, Witch!WWX, Banter)

live from new york by varnes (E, 87k, wangxian, JYL/JZX, This is a SNL AU, however the juniors are featured and there are lots of shenanigans!, slow burn, friends to lovers, pining, getting together, happy ending)

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13. ITMF: I know I had a fic in my bookmarks that involved the Cold Spring Cave refusing to let Wei Wuxian leave if he and Lan Wangji didn’t consummate the handfasting. I can’t find it, though, so I’m looking for fics like that with a fuck or die sort of feel. Found it lol, but would love other suggestions (In the Cold Dark by mondengel) @rosethornewrites

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14. Hello there! I've read a lot of fics where WangJi gets cursed with a truth spell or similar and he has to, like, speak his mind and can't shut up. But!!! I haven't read any with a cursed Wei WuXian! And I think it would be hilarious! He tends to minimize his worries and his pains and always jokes around everything, but what would happen if he had to be SINCERE?! Do you have fics like this to recommend??? @randomsuggestedname

i'm a drop in your ocean by starknjarvis (T, 11k, WangXian, truth curse, Post-Canon, so much dialogue, drama characterizations, Get Together, Truth Spells, Love Confessions) and Silence Like a Cancer Grows by julomaiboulomai (M, 12k, Yunmeng Siblings, LXC & WWX, truth curse, Suicidal Thoughts, Canon Divergence, Whump, Hurt/Comfort, Dissociation, WWX Needs a Hug, Golden Core Reveal, LXC did not sign up for this, Hopeful Ending) both have WWX cursed to tell the truth.

~*~

15. Hi! I recently read an MDZS/Harry Potter Crossover where WWX & LWJ went to Hogwarts to help with something and now I just crave more MDZS crossovers where MDZS characters interact with other stories and are BAMFs, do any of you have any recommendations? (PS, It doesn't have to be Harry Potter, it can be any other story, I've read an MLB one I liked as well, so.) @i-like-snakes-and-spiders

Darkness shrouded in light by MomImBusy (T, 68k, wangxian, erasermic, crossover, BNHA, Canon Divergence, Mineta Minoru Doesn't Exist, WWX is a Little Shit, WWX is here to fuck some shit up, mentions of abuse, Courtesy of the entire mdzs cast, Parental Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead, Parental Yamada Hizashi | Present Mic, Angst,bBAMF WWX, Necromancy in a quirk world, WIP)

Diplomatic Incidents by Ariaste (M, 35k, WangXian, IB/DP, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Getting Together, Linguistics, Translation Spells, canon-typical borderline alcoholism, Fluff, a touch of angst for spice, being in love but not admitting you want to sleep together, Versus, sleeping together but not admitting you're in love, Post-Canon, post-canon for MDZS anyway, during-canon for DAI)

Come by it Honestly by ladyshadowdrake (M, 25k, Geraskier, WangXian, The Witcher Crossover, Crossover, Adventure)

Wei Wuxian Makes a Wish series by natcat5 (M, 119k, wangxian, major character death, underage, madoka magica au, modern w/ magic, time travel, high school au, body horror, self-harm, angst w/ bittersweet ending, time loop, mental instability, suicidal thoughts)

The Hanging Tree series by chatonnerie (T, 41k, wangxian, hunger games au, minor character death, violence, blood, limb loss, sickness, recovery, torture)

Wei Wuxian is the Actual Bogeyman (no, really) by chatonnerie (T, 57k, WangXian, Rise of the Guardians AU, Crack, not gonna lie, i mean they literally call wwx the bogeyman my poor brain could not resist, TW:Death, I mean, Jack Frost cannonically dies)

Castle in the Wastes by ailuridae (abigailnicole) (T, 41k, wangxian, Howl’s Moving Castle fusion, personified Chenqing, canon typical violence)

The Altogether Ooky WangXian Family by FluffyHippogriff (T, 57k, WIP, WangXian, 3Zun, Modern AU, Addams Family AU, Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, mostly because death can be overcome with the help of a little necromancy, Kid Fic, Comedy)

Grandmaster of the Magical Arts series by HollowNightmare (T, 305k, WangXian, Hogwarts, Harry Potter Setting, Chinese Hogwarts?, Slice of Life, Developing Friendships, POV Alternating, lwj is an anxious bean, Light Angst, Hurt/Comfort)

~*~

16. Hello! I wanted to ask if you know any WWX appreciative/wwx protection squad type of fics? I've check the wwx centric tag, everyone loves wwx tag and even the wwx protection squad tag itself but I'm having a hard time finding fics where other characters are protective over wwx (preferably at least 2 people

the thread may stretch or tangle but it will never break by RoseThorne (E, 88k, WIP, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Soulmates, Self-Esteem Issues, Fix-It, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, PTSD, Handfasting, Panic Attacks, Getting Together, First Time, Aftercare, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Torture, Scars, Chronic Pain, Golden Core Reveal, First Time, Switching, sex-related injury, LWJ Stays at the Burial Mounds, LSZ is a Wèi, Good Sibling JC, Dissociation, Burial Mounds Settlement Days)

🧡 rain falls and soaks into the earth series by RoseThorne (T, 53k, WangXian, WIP, Near Death Experience, Attempt Drowning, Madam Yu Bashing, Recovery, No war AU)

~*~

17. Hi! I just read the amazing fic "Say my name and his in the same breath" that was linked over on WangxianFicRecs, and it reminded me of one of my favorite things to read, which is LWJ harming WWX — intentionally or unintentionally — and being very, very guilty about it. Do you have suggestions for fics with that element? Thanks!

💙 Wish I could forget the taste of your skin and the feel of your hands pinning me down by KizuKatana (E, 63k, wangxian, WQ & WWX & WN, modern w/ cultivation, getting back together, BAMF WWX, BAMF LWJ, case fic, pining)

🧡 Life as a House by Terri Botta (Isilwath) (T, 55k, WangXian, Modern AU, Post-Divorce, Father-Son Relationship, Reconciliation, Therapy, Angst with a happy ending)

Honesty is the Best Policy (Except if You’re an Asshole) by piecrust (E, 22k, WangXian, Porn with Feelings, College/University)

~*~

If you didn’t get an answer to your ask here, don’t forget to make use of @mdzs-kinkmeme and MDZS KINK MEME on Dreamwidth. Authors actually do use them for ideas. You may get what you order!***Your prompt doesn’t have to be kink! Fluff, crack, whatever - it’s all good!***

#wangxian #wangxianficfinder #mdzs #the untamed #long post #i'm in the mood for a fic #wangxian fic recs #wangxian fic search

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koeniginderskizzen · 1 month

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Firstly, thank you so much, and I probably should've asked what kind of shipping wars, since the most shipping toxicity I see from Goh is sadly lowkey homophobia.

Secondly, I wanted to get this done sooner, but university exists.

Oh well.

When I red this I thought, "of course, I'd love to do that" since I really love Goh as a character as well.

He's very entertaining with a rich personality and great chemistry with Ash (and I don't really care about his ability to turn every ball into a master ball).

So my first thought was to draw him playing a Pokémon game with every single Pokémon game ever included in the illustration.

But quickly 2 problems made themselves clear, namely what kind of self-offing mission would it be to really look up every. single. game?

And secondly, isn't exactly that the issue?

One of the main reasons why people don't like Goh is because he catches so many Pokémon flawlessly without effort. Wouldn't him owning every single game ever just support that?

So then it came to my mind that I should just draw him the way he managed to resonate with me the most.

He's lonely, and he doesn't know why.

I haven't watched the series in a while, let alone that episode, but the most memorable, and my favourite Goh episode in the anime was when Sobble evolved and became withdrawn.

What stuck in my head was Goh remembering how he himself was quite the loner as a child, and when he was asked why that was, he just didn't know. That and him giving Drizzle it's space and them crying under the stars together.

Like, dude, he just like me for real.

Before I developed the skills to understand why I was such a loner/ lonely I got asked that same question, and I didn't know either, the people that asked me also never really understood. (And of course I also enjoy a good cry under the stars 🥲)

That aside, I'm not that happy with how the picture turned out, since we don't see that much of Goh (but then, that's also kinda the point, ig), it's a bit less lively than my other artworks, and I had quite the trouble with positioning him, but I think it's decent enough, I just hope you like it as well.

#pokémon #anipoke #goh pokemon #gou pokemon #pokemon journeys

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justafriend-ql · 1 year

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rewatching my school president with the knowledge that homophobia does in fact exist within the universe of the series is such a crazy experience because it adds an extra layer of meaning and interpretation to so many lines and moments that we often either overlooked or explained away during the first watch-through.

first off: the music club's rule about not having lovers as a kind-of-sort-of metaphor for society not being accepting of LGBTQ+ couples (i.e., main obstacle in tinn and gun's relationship)

the fact that tiwson knows about tinn's massive crush on gun before the beginning of the series (meaning tinn trusted tiw enough to tell him)

gun's stunned silence when tinn admits he's hitting on him during the pool scene and the kind of scared look on gun's face when he gets flustered after looking into tinn's eyes in episode 3

tinn pointedly asking gun "are you okay with that?" after he indirectly confesses his feelings by the pool in episode 5/6

gun saying "you can't control something like this, can you?" after tinn's previously mentioned confession of feelings at the beginning of episode 6

gun's anxiety about what it means to accept that tinn likes him and he likes tinn back (e.g., "has it ever occurred to you that there are things you want to ask, but you're too afraid to?")

the look of trepidation on sound's face after filming the medal kiss scene with win in episode 6 and realizing he has Feelings

everyone in chinzhilla being on board with filming a bl version of the 'just being friendly' music video (because they're all gay or allies lmao)

tinn interpreting gun's mention of the dating rule after his implied love confession as rejection + gun clarifying that "it doesn't mean he feels bad about it" in episode 6 (music club dating ban as a metaphor for homophobia again)

tinn and gun having to hide the fact that they are seeing each other while at the aquarium with yo and nook, who can openly date (ostensibly because of the music club dating ban, which oddly enough doesn't prevent yo from pursuing nook - there's that music club dating ban metaphor again)

gun repeatedly voicing his concern that it would be easier for tinn if he decided to hit on someone else (e.g., a girl)

tinn's out-of-control gay fantasies as a possible coping mechanism for the fact that he can't be open about his feelings with his family or anyone at school (besides tiw and gun)

yak telling sound he has to accept "what he's really into" in order to write a good love song (and sound clearly glancing at win afterwards)

gun telling tinn "be patient. when i win hot wave, everything will get better. at least with our friends" when they hide from tinn's mom outside of tinn's house at the beginning of episode 10 (music club dating ban metaphor again + hints at concern that tinn's mom may not accept their relationship)

tinn feeling comfortable enough with gun's mom to tell her about his crush on gun while keeping it a secret from his own mom

tinn's mom not knowing tinn could sing as an allusion for how she doesn't know about other aspects of tinn's true self (i.e., his sexuality) either

gun telling tinn that after hot wave, "whatever shitty rules there are" can't stop them (foreshadowing the hostile reaction they get to their relationship in episode 12)

there's probably more but these are the ones i can think of off the top of my head. many of these comments/moments could make sense in the context of a universe without homophobia (i.e., due to general shyness/anxiety about relationships, the music club's dating ban, etc.), but it's neat to interpret them through the lens of heteronormativity/homophobia too.

it's interesting to me that we as a fandom didn't really pick up on the fact that there was homophobia in the universe of the series as it was airing despite all these "signs." it's almost like the show was leading us to ignore or explain them away, just like many of the characters do before they're forced to confront homophobia in episode 12.

#my school president #msp #my school president the series #my school president meta #does this make sense or has the brain rot overtaken me

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olderthannetfic · 2 years

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Now I'm at the point where I think if someone in the queer community is trying to tell women, femmes, afab people/whoever to stop enjoying BL, they also need to be consistent and tell all queer men to stop doing drag because they both engage with gender in the same way.

Everything those folks tell afab people [they're 1) capitalizing on male queerness without any of the struggles that come along with it or 2) depicting x identity without authenticity or 3) it's not #ownvoices/representation or 4) it's using stereotypes of x group that have historically harmed them] also apply to queer men who do drag in terms of them exploiting women for entertainment. Women are a marginalized group in society; that's a fact. A cis queer man will never truly understand what it's like to be a woman. A cis drag queen will likely never have to know what it's like to be constantly told from infancy your body and sexuality just exist for men. Your interests in fashion or makeup or academics are just for men. [By this logic, a cis woman could reasonably find an issue with a cis man then taking this aspect of personal and societal struggle and bastardizing it for entertainment/humor when women every day are killed, harassed, and attacked for not performing femininity for men.] Cis drag queens also use stereotypes of femininity as punchlines or jokes in this escapism when the ones who have to deal with the fallout in society are women. Drag queens are no more "representation" for women than BL characters are for queer men. No one goes to a drag show if that's what they want, and drag queens shouldn't be expected to do that, just like afab BL creators shouldn't be forced to conform to what anyone thinks is "good representation" for queer men. No queer man has been hurt by BL, just like no cis woman has been hurt by drag. Let's be consistent.

Now, is it also true that there are a lot of nonbinary and trans women who do drag as a way to express their gender? Yes. Are they likely the majority of drag queens? No. So, how would we decide who can appropriate aspects of the female experience? We can't. The same goes for afab BL fans and creators. Yeah, lots are trans or nonbinary, but it's ridiculous to expect everyone to out themselves or write a biographical manifesto to justify their tastes in entertainment. Are there drag queens who are misogynistic? Yes, the most famous example is RuPaul. Does this apply to all? No. Just like BL fans and homophobia.

However, everyone knows that talk of getting rid of drag queens is a common talking point of conservatives. This talk around afab BL fans should be considered in the same way.

Huzzah!

I've pointed this out many times. Hell, I've seen a blog post from a BL type author who is leery of women writing BL that pointed out the same thing and came to a similar conclusion.

One of the more interesting commentaries on the cis gay male culture aspects of all this was in David Halperin's How to be Gay. Either I'm misremembering, or the kindle price has dropped from academic book horror levels to something more acceptable, at least to my US eye. ($14.16 currently) I highly recommend it.

He uses the word 'appropriation' to talk about what drag queens do, though he doesn't mean it in a "and that is obviously universally bad" way. He explicitly addresses the fact that some women will find drag misogynist, and that's okay. It's okay that they feel this way. It's okay that a subculture makes art for a particular audience that may be offputting or disturbing to other audiences.

The book is about a lot more than just drag. It goes into all of that cis gay male culture like loving The Golden Girls and venerating tragic women of classic Hollywood. I have sometimes, as a woman, felt almost like I was tresspassing on gay men's territory to love Joan Crawford and her ilk. Which, if you think about it, is fucking nuts.

Halperin doesn't talk about BL at all, at least not in that book, but his observations are like a mirror of fandom and inform a lot of how I look at #ownvoices.

The book is based on a class he taught with that same joke title. The point was that he did not find the performance of normative US cis gay male culture ("What a dump!", Golden Girls love, etc.) to be at all natural. He had to learn it. All his friends laughed about how he was the last guy to teach anyone "how to be gay".

Anyway, as he taught the class, he noticed something that shocked him: students were connecting with The Golden Girls and campy, queer-coded old Broadway plays much more than with the direct, literal representation, even when that representation was on Broadway in a similar tone and type of media.

The book is his exploration of why. To boil it down: gay men were seeking things that felt true internally, not externally. They were often identifying with situations and dynamics or with all of the characters. They didn't necessarily want to be told "Here's your self insert! Now relate!" It's full of the same kind of talk of critical distance that oldschool slash meta engages in.

I actually have a whole long meta piece about this: What I Want is To(o) Direct.

I got the idea after reading Halperin and bounced up to Francesca Coppa at a con to blather about it. She was like "Oh, I just wrote a book chapter on that." That chapter is: Slash/Drag: Appropriation and Visibility in the Age of Hamilton. You can find it in A Companion to Media Fandom and Fan Studies.

Drag is great, but I hate the misogynist attitude that men can borrow from women to express their oppression or their interior worlds metaphorically, but women cannot borrow from men for the same purpose.

The inevitable transphobia that comes with strict policing of either is just the cherry on an already towering shit sundae.

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therainscene · 6 months

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Crazy together: Byler, Cthulhu, and cosmic horror

Cthulhu is a queer horror film from 2007 that I've always been fond of. I rewatched it recently and was struck by some of its similarities to Stranger Things: small town vibes, conformity themes, cosmic horror as queer allegory, a gay protagonist with a childhood best friend slash love interest named Mike...

The film has an ambiguously villainous ending for its main character, Russ Marsh, and it's an ending that suits this story pretty well, imo -- so given how much it reminds me of Will's story, I thought it would be interesting to compare the two.

[Content warning for rape and (bloody) attempted suicide, both depicted in the movie and mentioned below the cut.]

youtube

👆 [That's the entire movie available for free on YouTube, courtesy of its director. You don't need to watch it to understand this analysis tho. Spoilers ahead.]

Cthulhu is a (very) loose adaptation of The Shadow over Innsmouth, a cosmic horror story about an outsider who arrives in a small fishing town and unearths a cult that interbreeds with immortal sea-dwelling monsters. He ends up making the horrifying discovery that he's descended from the cult's founder and thus doomed to turn into a monster himself.

The film uses this premise to talk about queerness: As an openly gay man, Russ has always been an outsider and was never going to participate in his hometown's, uh, traditions. Unfortunately, his father is the cult's leader and his sister is infertile -- Russ must participate.

[Yes, that's Cara Buono. If you enjoyed her portrayal of Karen as a loving but deeply conformist family member who does a better job of supporting the status quo than supporting her loved one, but just wished her character was more one-dimensional -- then this is the movie for you!]

Russ doesn't actually know much about the cult at the start of the film -- he fled to the city in his teens and dismisses his father's proselytizing as "Joseph Smith frontier horseshit" -- so it isn't until he returns for his mother's funeral that he begins to unravel the truth.

It's a good metaphor for how it feels to look back on a bigoted or abusive upbringing and realize: wow, that was a lot more fucked up than I thought it was.

As you might expect from cosmic horror though, this isn't a healing or empowering process for Russ.

Rather, he just keeps running into brutal reminders of how powerless he is in the face of the town's overwhelming, ingrained homophobia: at one point he's raped to satisfy his father's need for an heir; at another he's falsely jailed for the rape and murder of a boy he was trying to rescue from the cult.

It's similar to the torture Will endures in S1 and S2: he's kidnapped and symbolically raped, reflecting Troy's coded "killed by some other queer" comment, then bullied for having the audacity to survive it. He even stands up to a literal eldritch monstrosity and is rewarded for his bravery with yet more loss of autonomy.

You might be wondering if these stories even count as cosmic horror. Cthulhu only ever vaguely hints at the existence of, well, Cthulhu, and Stranger Things (which deliberately tweaks its genre every season) reveals that the Mind Flayer was basically just some guy all along.

But I think it's a bit of a misconception that cosmic horror is about star-sized masses of eyeballs and tentacles that drive you insane with their inhuman incomprehensibility.

Really, cosmic horror is about powerlessness, inevitability, and comprehending all too well. To know that horrors exist beyond the everyday facade of human existence -- whether they take the form of unknowable monstrosities from the void or of violent bigotry in an otherwise pleasant town -- is to know that your existence is nothing more than a delicate soap bubble floating in a vast, uncaring universe made exclusively of sharp edges. Even if you return to the everyday world, you can never return to blissful ignorance.

And that’s what drives you insane.

Will has something of a knowledge motif following him around: He's a wizard named Will the Wise. He illuminates. He has True Sight. He's a super-spy. He's part of the hive mind. He was studied in the lab. He was violated at school and in a library. His neck prickles when Vecna is close. He knows what Vecna is thinking.

It's too much cursed knowledge for one little boy to bear.

But he doesn't have to bear it alone.

Will is lucky to have a bunch of loving friends and family, and their support does a lot to help him cope... but even his fiercest supporters, Joyce and Jonathan, tend to be absent for long swathes of time. There's only one character who can be consistently found by Will's side through the majority of every season, and that's the boy who promised to go crazy with him.

[Strictly speaking Mike wasn't by his side in S1... but he fought hard to bring him home the whole time they were apart. Tomayto tomahto.]

Russ has a Mike too. (Literally -- his name is Michael Shields lol.) His childhood best friend reconnects with him soon after he arrives back in town and pretty much immediately becomes his sole trusted confidant as Russ falls down the cultist rabbit hole.

A quick aside -- Russ's past with Mike is a glimpse into a possible future for Byler.

Russ and Will have both been saved by their Mikes from giving in to the despair of being treated so brutally by their towns: Russ's Mike caught him mid-suicide attempt when they were teenagers--

--and Will's Mike, of course, helped rescue him from the Upside Down and sat patiently with him the whole time he was possessed.

Unfortunately, both Mikes are also conformists who are unwilling to leave the safety of comphet. Russ ran away to a more liberal environment where he could exist in peace, but Mike stayed behind and married a woman. This could easily end up being Byler's fate too.

So while Russ and Will might be alive thanks to their Mikes, they now have to live the rest of their lives without the love of the boy who gave them the drive to face it in the first place.

And it isn't as though the boy doesn't want to love him back.

The jury is officially still out on Byler, but Russ's backstory is very much not about a sad gay boy having to get over his sad gay crush on his straight best friend -- it's about a pair of would-be lovers getting torn apart by a town that refuses to let them be themselves.

I want to emphasize that both of these pairings consist of a visibly gay guy and a straight-passing guy.

In both stories it's typically the visibly queer one who actually interacts with the horrors, while the straight-passing one tends to observe from a position of relative safety, either escaping before anything too nasty happens to him, or more often, simply learning about the horrors second-hand from the visible one.

(There's one key exception at the end of Cthulhu -- but we'll come back to that.)

This is such an important dynamic that it's even unsubtly foreshadowed in Byler's first scene together:

This informs the way the characters support each other. We've already seen the obvious the safe one acts as a mental tether for the endangered one so he doesn't go insane with despair dynamic, but there's a reversal too: the authentic one inspires the conformist to join him in what was never really insanity so much as a different way of looking at the world.

Russ doesn't have any designs on seducing Mike -- much like Will, all he expects is some support from his best friend -- but his dogged questioning of the town's status quo still leads directly to Mike breaking out of comphet and admitting to what he's always really wanted:

[Learn from your elders, Byers: this is the proper way to respond when your love interest says that home just isn't the same without you.]

But Cthulhu's protagonists are confident adults who know how to quickly resolve their romantic tension. Byler are frightened kids in a five-act coming-of-age story -- their version is a little messier.

Mike has always been inspired by Will, right from the very first episode -- he decided to risk looking for him in the woods because he figured that's what his brave and kind friend Will would do.

The first two seasons thus show us Byler's dynamic at its best: an endless feedback loop of Will's strength and insight inspires Mike and Mike's devotion supports Will. (Very cleric and paladin of them.) But they're still children at this point, and don't really notice the blossoming queerness in their relationship yet.

S3 adds puberty to the mix and oh boy do they notice the queerness now. Too scary no thank you cancel unsubscribe uninstall. Will's bravery falters. Mike devotes himself to the grim duty of having a girlfriend. The loop breaks under the pressure.

They fight about it in the same location that introduced us to their dynamic and call each other out on failing to hold up their respective ends of the bargain:

"Why aren't you there for me anymore?"

"Why are you refusing to face reality all of a sudden?"

Note that Will's knowledge motif makes a return here -- just before the fight, he dresses up in his Will the Wise costume in an effort to inspire Mike again. But the tone of the scene is silly and cringey -- as correct as Will is to point out that they don't need to abandon their childhood dynamic just because they're growing up, pretending that it isn't going to mature as they age is, um. Unsustainable.

Deep down, Will knows that he'll eventually have to address the terrifying truth that keeps tapping insistently at the back of his neck.

By S4, Mike is starting to come around -- he's still deep in comphet, but he at least recognizes that it's making him unhappy, so he reaches out to Will the Wise for advice. Unfortunately, Will learned the wrong lesson in S3, and all the advice he offers is designed to push Mike back into the arms of comphet.

By the end of the season, Will has even orchestrated a grand heterosexual love confession in the foolish hope that sacrificing his heart on the altar of heteronormativity might finally make the horrors go away. (How's that working out for you, Byers?)

And so we've arrived at that ambiguously villainous ending.

By the climax of Cthulhu, Russ has uncovered the awful truth: his mother was murdered by his father to lure him home, extract offspring from him, and trigger the apocalypse. It's already begun; there's no stopping it. Shambling horrors -- his ancestors -- emerge from the rising sea. Russ is expected to become the immortal leader of this sunken new world.

He and Mike make plans to flee town together, but Russ runs into his father. He's brought to the shore to admire his kingdom before being handed a weapon and commanded to make sacrifice to Cthulhu:

Russ glances between Mike and his father, assessing his options. Soon even the cities will be consumed; he can't Smalltown Boy his way out of this again.

He raises his weapon--

--cut to black, roll credits.

All too often, queer villainy is shown from a straight perspective, presenting queerness as inherently threatening. This is the type of villainy embodied by Vecna: he's a vengeful and predatory outcast who forces his version of reality on others (especially children) and refuses to compromise his dangerous nature.

Cthulhu shows us queer villainy from a queer perspective. Russ, like Will, is harmless: he's kind, has no interest in vengeance, and just wants to live his life in peace. What drives him to villainy is the temptation to throw queerness under the bus in the twisted belief that appeasing the majority is the key to escaping homophobia.

Of course, there is no escape. Sacrificing the man who trusted him to guide him gently into the reality of queerness just means he's succumbed to the madness and become a homophobe himself.

S4 concludes with Will in a similar position to Russ: teetering on the precipice of madness as he helplessly watches the world fall apart at the hands of the villain who would stop at nothing to force him to join his cause.

But where their situations differ is in what cause that villain represents.

Russ's antagonist is a straight homophobe, representing societal homophobia -- far too powerful a force for one man and his lover to have any hope of defeating. But Will's antagonist is that offensively queer-coded-for-straights villain, representing internalized homophobia -- all along, the prickling at the back of Will's neck has been his own instincts warning him of what happens when you allow bigots and abusers to have a say in how you define yourself.

True love can certainly defeat that.

Unlike Russ, Will hasn't reached the end of his story yet--

--and unlike his older namesake, Mike isn't kneeling on the sacrificial altar, but standing by the side of the boy he promised to go crazy with, ready to face the horrors of Hawkins -- together.

[@bylerween2023 day 4 🐙]

#bylerween2023 #day 4 #psychological horror #cosmic horror #cthulhu #stranger things #byler #will byers #mike wheeler #my analysis #tw self harm #tw rape

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