#i already love the new queer eye season so much

[oh-for-heavens-sake]

lesbians: *exist*

me:

#i already love the new queer eye season so much #queer eye #queer eye season 7 #jonathan van ness #tan france #lesbian #lgbtqia #queer

[thefirstlioveyou]

What will Mike and Will's S5 Fight Be About?

Shawn Levy basically confirme/implied another angsty Byler fight for S5.

But, what will it be about? Some think it'll be about the painting, but personally, I don't think so at all. I believe the fight will be about Mike's internalized homophobia; Mike will be afraid to romantically be with Will and it hurts Will.

First off, I don't think Mike would be mad for him hiding his feelings or lying about the painting. The sole purpose of the painting lie is to open a gate way to Mike knowing how Will feels about him. It's a set up. Why would he be mad that it was Will who thought those amazing things about him? He's in love with Will.

Now, let's see the common traits that all Byler fights have:

miscommunication, but they both want the same thing

is about their relationship

mike projecting

happens pretty early on, episodes 3-4

triggered by a shift in their relationship/mike doing something

they are alone

It's pretty predictable that S5 will focus on Mike's feelings for Will and be in Will's position this time. He's gonna be a yearning, gay mess! However, it doesn't make sense to copy every little thing as that wouldn't bring anything new to the table. It would quite frankly feel lazy and boring.

I actually believe they will be honest about how they feel episodes 3-4 (after Mike discovers the truth about the painting, what would be the shift in their relationship), and it will be a very angsty scene rather than a happily-ever-after moment (for now). Here's how I picture it: Will wants a relationship with Mike, Mike wants one too, but he's reluctant to because of the shame and bit of denial still lingering.

As understanding as one can be in this situation, it's also hurtful to hear on the receiving end. I can imagine it makes Will very upset. After so long of waiting for Mike, waiting to see if his feelings could be reciprocated, he finally gets it but doesn't get to keep it because of the shame Mike feels. Will does indeed feel like a mistake for his sexuality but, as he also states, Mike makes him feel otherwise. So, if he heard the same person that makes him feel better for who he is, say he's wrong for being the same thing he is.... that would HURT Will terribly. In Will's eyes, he will truthfully believe Mike doesn't want him, even if in Mike's POV, he wants nothing more than Will. This is where the miscommunication comes in play.

This is a real thing that happens in many Queer relationships even to today, when one is ready and the other is not yet. There is no bad guy (unless cheating, abuse, etc is involved of course) in these type of situations. You can sympathize with both sides... Which makes this a perfect fight to watch as the audience; it wouldn't make you hate either of the characters.

Some people say Mike’s accepted his sexuality by the end of S4, but I feel like if he did, it wouldn’t really be a good set up for him to be Vecna’d in S5. His struggle with who he is and his relationship with El is crucial to S5. If we keep Mike struggling with his sexuality and his trauma regarding El, this gives a purpose for him to be Vecna'd, which is the perfect way to explain a lot of his character the past seasons. Similar to how Max escaped Vecna the first time, Mike would do something similar (with the help of others, of course). He will have to accept the mistakes he's made, accept past events that were out of his control and accept who he is, or let himself die. Rather than focus so much on saving others or being needed to others, he must save himself now, for himself. He has to finally believe he is the heart. Finally confronting and accepting what he can't change will bring his character and his relationships to a full circle. It would explain his dynamic with El and Will the whole series. He will finally have the self-confidence he lost.

As much as people want Byler to have an established relationship in S5, I don't think that's likely. With a fight already implied to happen again (most likely early on), it wouldn't make much sense? They're a slow burn on top of that... The season is building up to them being together, it's not them already together (at least I don't think so).

The writers can obviously find a different route, but I feel like this would work and fit well. It would save Mike's character perfectly and it connects with the Mike being vecna'd, or at least in danger, theories; It gives it more purpose.

I just can't really imagine what else the fight would be about. It has to be about their relationship and it has to be about it changing in some way. Mike's weird behavior still needs to be explained... so I would think the fight has to be connected to the reason for that behavior. The fight would then be about his internalized homophobia. And if it is, it has to be explicitly about it, not just subtext like S3 fight.

Rather than “It’s not my fault you don’t like girls” and insulting Will, Mike straight up will have to be like, “I’m scared, what if this is wrong? I don’t know how to do this.” “This isn’t right.” This time Mike will be direct how he feels about HIMSELF, but Will would still be hurt because this is the same guy that made him feel better for being Gay…

If this is how the fight plays out, lord hold me because I won’t survive it😭😭😭

#writing this in one go with no revision #byler #mike wheeler #will byers #stranger things

[bengiyo]

She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat 2 Eps 5-8 Stray Thoughts

Last week, we returned to my favorite ladies. They realized they were spending too much on their hangouts, so made the silly decision to just stop hanging out. That broke fairly quickly at least and they just started having more cost-effective meals together. Nomoto got a full time position along with her work bestie, and they're thriving. Nomoto watched her first lesbian film, and has made an internet friend. Kasuga noticed their new neighbor, and so they have begun the process of befriending her.

Episode 5

Very glad both of my favorite food shows with LGBT couples are wading directly into the importance of marriage equality.

Fuck yes we're getting back to the cabbage rolls!

YES!! A WATCH PARTY!!! Invite Kasuga!!

Kasuga is so careful with Nagumo. I'm not sure I'm reading exactly how determined each of them is being about being polite as Kasuga tries to be helpful.

Oh, Nagumo, I hope you find a way to be comfortable eating with them eventually.

Now, Nomoto, you were so close to telling her. Come on!

These cabbage rolls look good. I hadn't thought about putting them in a soup.

Yes, stay focused on Nagumo! We must befriend her!

Episode 6

I like introducing a character who struggles with eating with others into this show. I'm relieved it's only about eating in front of strangers.

That was an incredible eye roll from Kasuga to the message from her aunt.

Kasuga overhearing older women unpack their disdain for the caregiver expectation placed on them them is a good choice.

An asexual lesbian who wants to watch her stories with others. She is one of us. This is the gay sex and celibacy website z after all.

I like Yaku! She was warm to Nomoto, asked a good question about snacks. Admitted she doesn't like cooking in a way that doesn't make Nomoto's hobby seem bad. Then they enjoyed a film together.

Yaku is great. She's letting Nomoto lead here, and giving her encouragement to continue sharing.

Come through, Yaku! There is room for all types of lesbians! Quiet gays who maybe don't want to have a ton of sex can sit with us too!

"Are we in a drama?" Yes, Yaku, and you are the cool, self-actualized queer.

I'm glad Nomoto can share! This will definitely help her get out of her own head.

Episode 7

Oh, is her name Yako? I will start using that spelling.

Sayama, thank you for trying to help your friend confess to her crush, but she is determined for this to be a slow burn show.

Kasuga backs in to park She's better than all of us.

This conversation is ugly. The dad doesn't think he or the eldest son should do anything to help with elder care, but Kasuga should give up her entire life to take care of people who disrespect her. I can see why she's avoided them for this long.

I'm glad we already knew that Kasuga was not given enough to eat in the first season, so this is all reaffirming it and letting us examine the long term impacts.

They're all sharing on the balcony!

They're making donuts together!!!

Nagumo seems like she had a good time, and they're encouraging her to eat some on her own.

Childhood trauma episode, I see.

Nomoto and Kasuga have so much grace for Nagumo. They let her share about herself, asked her how they can best support her, and Nomoto even encouraged Kasuga to take some donuts home so Nagumo isn't the only one leaving with food.

Episode 8

SAYAMA GETS DONUTS TOO! I love this show!!!

Wow, this conversation between Kasuga and Ms. Fujita hit me. The seriousness with which she stressed to Kasuga not to give up her life for her parents landed so hard. This is complicated for me, because I've accepted that my role as the oldest will be that of caregiver in the future.

They turned her room into a storage space and still just expect her to clean it up. I'm glad she put her foot down here. I do believe in giving back the love and care we've received to our parents when they get older, but you are giving back what was given to you. Kasuga is right to not want to spend her adulthood as a household servant to an ungrateful man and his mother.

Wow, this Chosen Family scene took me right the fuck out.

Nomoto is correct. I will also not forgive Kasuga's father for making her feel like this.

She almost said it! We're getting close!

I'm so glad we're expanding the cast this season to deal with more issues affecting Japanese women. I really like that they spent two episodes on Kasuga deciding that the family she's building here is more important to her than the family that mistreated her. I'm so happy that Nomoto has another lesbian friend to talk to. I'm so relieved that Nagumo is opening up to them and starting to share in the warmth our ladies have offered her. I will be thinking about that donut scene for a while. I'm so happy that we have so much more time with them this season.

#Ben watches #she loves to cook and she loves to eat #tsukuritai onna to tabetai onna #japanese gl #gl series

[wen-kexing-apologist]

Hello.....How are you? Thanks so much for sharing your analysis in your blog. I'm new to BL. I felt really helped in finding your blog. I lived in a country where LGBTQ+ is considered taboo and my own family saw it as something sinful. Until I found mlm fanfics (I know it's a ridicilous reason for why now I'm interested in BL & GL media).

Can I ask, what are your top 7 (or top 5) favorite BL media (can be books/ manga/ anime/movies/tv series) ? Why do you love them? And your top 5 (or top 3) favorite GL media? Sorry for asking similar question like from someone before (hope you don't mind).

Thanks again, @wen-kexing-apologist 💐🌻🌷

Hello! So sorry this took so long to respond to, I have been really busy and this write up took me a bit of time to get together. 

Thanks for reaching out, I’m sorry that your family sees queerness as sinful. I’m sure we come from different countries, and different cultures, but I hope I can give you some comfort by saying I am proud of who I am and I love being queer. I love my queer friends, they are without a doubt the kindest and most caring people I have ever met. And you do not need to apologize at all for asking a similar question to a previous ask. I also hope you know that it is not ridiculous at all to have your eyes opened by mlm fanfiction, I promise. 

So my list of (some) of my favorite BLs are:

ITSAY/IPYTM

180 Degree Longitude Passes Through Us 

Moonlight Chicken

—

The Eclipse 

Our Dining Table

La Pluie

He’s Coming to Me 

What Did You Eat Yesterday? (adding this as a special #8 because it is one of my favorites but may be hard to find)

You’re My Sky

Gameboys

Because this is a similar ask to one I recently got I am going to direct you to that for my explanations on 180 Degrees Longitude Passes Through Us (available on Gagaoolala), I Told Sunset About You and I Promise You The Moon (available on Viki), and Moonlight Chicken (available on YouTube) and add three other shows: What Did You Eat Yesterday?, You’re My Sky, and Gameboys.

If you stick around in this fandom long enough you will start to see that Bad Buddy (available on YouTube) is one of most beloved shows on tumblr. I love love love that show, but it is not in my favorites the way these other shows are. However, I would HIGHLY recommend you watch it if you haven’t already. It is incredible, and a very important piece of BL history both for the level of popularity it gained and the way it subverted BL as a genre. 

That said, let’s get in to my favorite BLs and why I love them, again in alphabetical order: 

Gameboys

(Pinoy BL- Season 1: Available on YouTube or Netflix, Season 2: Available on Gagaoolala in Asia or with a VPN that can make it seem like you are in Asia)

Contains Themes of: Quarantine, COVID, death, queer character being outed against their will

I literally just finished the first season of this show today, but have to thank @bengiyo for telling me this is what I should watch next because I absolutely loved it. It is the story of two boys, stuck in quarantine in the Phillipines during the COVID pandemic that meet over an online game and fall in love. I agree with Ben that this is an incredibly well handled pandemic story, the actors are fantastic, their chemistry is believable and natural, and I appreciate that they let these boys be horny for each other. I loved watching the highs and lows of their blossoming relationship and I am so looking forward to watching Season 2 when they are together in person and seeing if and how that changes their dynamic. 

He’s Coming to Me

(Thai BL- Available on YouTube) 

Contains Themes of: death of a teenager (related to heart problems), murder

I talked about this show in one of my tag games as my pick for most underrated series in Thai QL. Which I stand by because this show did not have the distribution it should have due to fan interference because they were upset about Singto being moved from a match up with Krist to instead star opposite Ohm. 

This is a show that I have labeled as By, For, and About Queer people. This is an Aof Noppharnach piece that is just absolutely beautiful in the way it explores the growing realization about your own queerness as Ohm’s character (Thun) starts to develop feelings for Singto’s character (Med). I love the additional layer to this show that comes with Med being a ghost who can only be seen by Thun, and how we don’t just get an explicitly queer character in an explicitly queer relationship, but that we also get a metaphor for queerness in the fact that Thun has to keep himself and his abilities private. When he hangs out with Med in public, no one can see him, and Thun often ends up talking to air, which results in people constantly staring at him in confusion, concern, or disgust. This show will remind you that Ohm has always been The Actor of All Time, the way his voice creaks in this show still haunts me to this day. I liked the mystery element in this show, I loved the rooftop confessions and the coming out scene. I loved all the ways this show was just so so so queer. Now that it has been released to the general public, I think every person who watches Thai BL should watch this show. 

La Pluie 

(Thai BL- Available on IQIYI) 

Contains Themes of: lying to a romantic partner

God this show is an incredible, brilliant, perfectly executed subversion of the soulmates trope. A theme I am generally sensing in the content I am sharing is that queer characters are allowed to be flawed human beings. Tai needs to learn how to use his words, Patts is perfect but does have a temper that he is managing extremely well, Tien is perfect but does constantly undermine and underplay his own emotions to support the other people in his life, Lomfon is rude. This show has a lot of very smart things to say, and allows its characters to both experience desire, and sexual frustration, it uses giving sexual pleasure as a way for a character to maintain control over new forms of intimacy. Myself and my fellow clowns on this website (especially @bengiyo and @lurkingshan) have fought for this show tooth and nail for weeks upon weeks to make sure that as many people as possible were watching this absolutely beautiful show. 

Our Dining Table

(Japanese BL- Available on Gagaoolala)

Contains Themes of: death, child neglect, grief

This is a very short, very sweet, wonderful spot of comfort and warmth. Its main themes are found family and navigating grief. It has the cutest little boy in the world who is just a bouncing ball of sunshine, and he and this show won my entire heart. I love this show for what it says about family, about care and love, sacrifice and healing. Even for the parts of the show that center around pain, this show is just so full of joy. I loved watching Yutaka open up, loved watching Minoru have a chance to relax, I loved Ueda-san getting to watch his son fall in love to become happier by way of existing around his sons’ happiness. I love that Minoru is very much an older brother to Tane, not a parent, despite how much care he gives him, and I love that Yutaka and Tane are genuinely friends. 

The Eclipse

(Thai BL- Available on YouTube)

Contains Themes of: threats against protestors (including cars rolling in to crowds), suicide, grief, internalized homophobia, homophobia, authoritarianism, emotional manipulation, thoughts of suicide, queer character being outed against their will

This is absolutely one of my favorite BLs, beyond the fact that the acting is incredible, the characters are allowed to be very flawed, very complex, and very morally gray the story itself is incredibly layered and is a huge social commentary on rebelling against authoritarianism, the ways in which identities and oppression are leveraged against marginalized people to get them to commit heinous acts against the people they should be standing with and not against. This show touches on so many different things: justice, hypocrisy, manipulation, love, fear, internalized homophobia, rebellion, activism. This show gave me both my favorite war criminal and his rat bastard boyfriend. It has some of my favorite kisses and favorite crying scenes. And it introduced me to the powerhouse duo of First and Khaotung. 

What Did You Eat Yesterday?

(I am honestly not sure where you can find this easily, outside of @kinounaniresource. there is one season, a special, and a movie. There is a Season 2 on the way, and I am also not sure when it is going to be released or if it is going to be released on any particular platform)

Contains Themes of: internalized homophobia, homophobia, character with history of child abuse

I am honestly not sure if this technically qualifies as a BL, but it is certainly a show that centers around an already established, older gay couple. This is a story about a couple staying together, and there is an undercurrent of long carried pain that is tucked so neatly between the layers of cooking, and eating, and love for one another. I do not really know how to explain this show beyond it just being one of the best things out there. We are so so lacking in elder queer content, honestly this is the only show I have seen out of 60+ QLs I have watched in the last year that has a main queer couple over the age of probably 25. I love the dynamic between Shiro and Kenji so much because who doesn’t love couples comprised of one puppy dog of a man and one man with the energy of a very annoyed cat? 

You’re My Sky

(Thai BL- available on Viki) 

Contains Themes of: betrayal, cheating, sports related injury

This show has some of the most beautiful, saturated coloring of any show I have ever seen, the influence of I Told Sunset About You is incredibly clear (which makes sense because a screenwriter and director on You’re My Sky was a Screenwriter on ITSAY/IPYTM). I am not a huge sports person, but I do love a sports drama, and this one does a stellar job with the way it shoots it’s basketball games. It has Suar, who I was first introduced to as Tien in La Pluie as the main character and he is just SO. GOOD. This dude has been in three shows TOTAL and he just absolutely DEMOLISHES this role, and his role in La Pluie. Seriously, even if you could not give two shits about basketball (as a sport I do not, in this show I care very much) you should watch this show just to see Suar run a masterclass in acting. 

Girl Loves 

Unfortunately, there are not a lot of girl love shows that exist, the only one I have even seen coming out of Asia is GAP the series (a handful more exist, but they either seem to not be popular and/or are hard to access). It is an unfortunate reality that we are still fighting for more WLW content, especially GL content where the romance is the main and central plot. So, I don’t have a strong list to give you, because what does exist is limited and often gets canceled, but I will give you what information I do have:

Carmilla 

GAP the Series 

Carmilla 

(Canada- Available on YouTube)

Contains Themes of: student disappearances, death, undeath 

This is an 8 year old Western webseries based on the book of the same name. I watched this around the time it came out and loved it a lot. There are a couple seasons and a movie, all of it is really really good, and was some of the earliest queer representation I had, including having the first non-binary character I had ever seen on screen (does not mean there weren’t others, this is just the first one that I found). This is a webseries so it takes place almost exclusively in one room. 

GAP the Series

(Thai GL- Available on YouTube) 

Contains Themes of: severe homophobia, suicide, emotional abuse, death of a sibling

GAP was fun, it started out really strong, but it did lose me a little bit at the end. But that is mostly because I am not the biggest fan of boss and employee stories where an equal power balance is not established. I think it s a really solid attempt at kickstarting GL into an industry rather than just an occasional one off. This is required viewing in my opinion because of how it was funded, and because it has some of the highest view rates out there for queer Thai shows, and really helped prove that GLs were stories that people really really wanted to see (read: production companies started to realize they could make a lot of money). 

I can offer you a suggestion from other people: 

She Loves to Cook, She Loves to Eat 

(Japanese GL- I have not seen this yet and I am not sure where you can find this show. But I do know that everyone who has seen it loves it, and I plan to watch it soon. A Season 2 was announced recently but is not out yet)

Non GL shows that either have a lesbian or bisexual character and/or have a GL pairing as a side plot: 

Bad Buddy (the second couple, but still has limited screen time)

Secret Crush on You (very minor couple, but has been in a relationship from the beginning)

La Pluie (A very small part of the story)

Lovely Writer (I have not seen this show, I do not know exactly what the plot is, or what purpose this character serves, but I know there is a bisexual character named Tiffy, who won the BL Bisexual Swag 

The Warp Effect (one of the shows with a pretty strong lesbian couple)

Gameboys and Pearl Next Door

A book I really love with a WLW couple in it and a gay character is The Priory of the Orange Tree

GMMTV has started filming their first GL, which we hope will air late this year (or maybe early next year), it’s called 23.5 Degrees and I am very much looking forward to it!

Queer Shows 

I’ll give you some bonus suggestions that are very queer shows, but aren’t defined as BL or GL

The Warp Effect

Gay OK Bangkok

3 Will Be Free

The Owl House 

Deadend Paranormal Park 

The Warp Effect

(Thai- available on YouTube) 

Contains Themes of: abortion, sexual assault, physical assault, internalized homophobia, transphobia, religious trauma, bodyshaming, slut shaming, kink shaming, workplace sexual harassment, homophobia

If it is queer and from Thailand and I love it, odds are extremely high that Jojo Tichakorn wrote and directed it. Despite some very heavy themes this was a very very fun watch, it is one of the most kink positive, sex positive, and queer shows that I have seen. I have a friend who is a sex educator and I want them to watch this show for it’s public speech announcements about getting HPV vaccines and how pelvic exams work. This is not a show I can explain super well, but it is one that I highly recommend, and if you are planning on watching Only Friends, then it is something I consider a required viewing. 

Gay OK Bangkok 

(Thai- available on YouTube)

Contains Themes of: cheating, HIV

This is a very real look at the existence of gay men in Bangkok, I love it so much. This is a pair up between Jojo and Aof, two of my favorite directors. It is not a feel good show, it is an honest one. I think everyone should watch it. 

3 Will Be Free

(Thai- available on YouTube)

Contains Themes of: cheating, manslaughter, murder, murder of a spouse, kidnapping, domestic abuse, sexual assault, strangulation, transphobia, death, gun violence

Once again, a Jojo show, and once again, despite the list of themes within the show, a very fun watch. This is one of, if not the only GMMTV show with a throuple, and is honestly very hilarious by way of three idiots on the run from the mafia, accidentally through mostly shit dumb luck and the fact that everyone is stupid, taking down a criminal empire. 

The Owl House 

(United States- available on Disney+, season 3 available on YouTube) 

Contains Themes of: white supremacy, child abuse, child neglect, heavy trauma, mind and body control, death, possible world destruction

This is an animated show that I love dearly and one I find incredibly important for the next generation of queer people to see. The main character is neurodivergent, she is bisexual and gets a girlfriend, there is a non-binary side character, and there is also just a lot of casual queer representation. This show has a lot to say, and says it well, it is adorable and heartbreaking and everything in between and the fact that it got canceled is honestly a tragedy. 

Dead End: Paranormal Park

(United States- available on Netflix) 

Contains Themes of: possession, murder, death, undeath, paranormal activity, religious infighting, amnesia, animal death, kidnapping, child death, implied transphobia

This is also an animated show that I love dearly and one I find incredibly important for the next generation of queer people to see. The main character is trans, the other main character is neurodivergent and bisexual, there is a lot of casual queer representation. Like The Owl House this show has a lot to say, and says it well, it is adorable and heartbreaking and everything in between and the fact that it got canceled is also a tragedy. 

[I realize for The Owl House and Deadend Paranormal Park that my descriptions are very similar, but I cannot stress enough that these two shows have very different premises and tell very different stories. They are just animated shows that are able to contain a lot more queer representation that the stories that came before them, because of the stories that came before them] 

#gameboys #gameboys 2 #he's coming to me #hctm #la pluie #our dining table #bokura no shokutaku #the eclipse #what did you eat yesterday? #kinou nani tabeta #you're my sky #carmilla #gap the series #bad buddy #secret crush on you #scoy #lovely writer #the warp effect #gay ok bangkok #3 will be free #3wbf #the owl house #toh #dead end paranormal park

[hvenart]

Since Young Royals is over I wanted to take a look at some characters and kinda explain how I interpret them as people. (this is hella long but I’m mostly praising the show and how they handled things cus I’m an optimistic girl who loves life)

First of all you have the students of Hillerska. Hated them.

Genuinely cannot stand most of them and I gotta be honest, I was cheering for the school to close down. The toxicity and pure classism that radiates of that school is sickening but I’m afraid not unrealistic. As Willhelm said it’s in the walls of that place, it’s impossible to get it out. Everyone in Hillerska loves to pretend everything is fine. As Wilhelm said EVERYONE IS FAKE. Not just Hillerska but the monarchy and that entire system is too. While there are most likely very close friendships in the school it seems like nobody really knows or tries to understand each other. They refuse to acknowledge the fundamental problems of the school and instead party and just see the school closing as a sad thing.

Vincent is a perfect example of that. I love how they showed that queerness never was a problem for him. Vincent was fine with Nils being queer cus it doesn’t directly effect the system. Simon being a socialist who can possibly talk about the issues of the school was. I also think that he sees August purely as his role. He sees him as a party animal and having connections to the royal family. That’s the role he fulfills so he’s confused as to why he wants to be more than that because position wise he’s in a perfect situation. Him not knowing what August wants as a person and not knowing his best friend was queer just shows to me how little they know each other. How superficial their friendship is.

Nils is interesting. He’s queer and him being a person of Color all give him an interesting position in the whole system. He probably has a little more empathy and is a little less out of touch than his friends (ex. he is the first person to talk about how fucked up their initiation was) but he chooses to ignore it. I think that for him the pros outweigh the cons because at the end of the day he’s still rich and at the top of the foodchain at hillerska so it makes sense that he has no desire to change anything. Which brings me to why I LOVE felice.

Felice is by far my favourite character (Simon is a close second). She very much could turn a blind eye to everything and be like everyone else but she doesn’t want to anymore. I think being a black girl in Hillerska gave her more sympathy and understanding of the problems but I think even then she could’ve dealt with it like Nils because lets be honest racism is everywhere. But she realises if it’s already this bad for her she can’t imagine how it is for the people of the lower class. It made her see how fucked the hierarchy is and realise how deep it is engraved in the school. She realises that not even her best friends want to truly understand her struggles because it’s awkward for them (I said in another post her friends weren’t as bad as Vincent but honestly they’re just as bad). That realisation made her not wanna go to New York. She doesn’t wanna ignore her problems like everyone else but face them head on and goes to Sara. The one person who at the end wasn’t fake to her.

Im absolutely in love with Sara and Felice’s relationship. They kinda parallel Simon and Wilhelm in a way because Sara was the first truly honest person in Felice’s life just like Simon was to Willhelm although Felice and Sara are the platonic version of that (and while I loved that it portrayed the importance of friendship, my lesbian ass was really wishing they would’ve kissed like the TENSION but that’s just me). I also think that’s why the betrayal of her with August was so painful. She couldn’t care less about August, she cared about the fact that the one person she thought she always could rely on did that to her.

I also loved Sara this season. She’s a very flawed person yes but you could always tell her apologies were sincere. You could tell she had strong feelings for August but she was able to put Felice’s, Simon’s and most importantly her own feelings first. I was really scared they were gonna make her and August get back together in the end (especially with the conversation about giving people second chances in reference to her dad being also possibly about August) but they made sure to stick with her character development.

That brings me to August. He’s a really interesting character to me and I never know how to feel about him. He has done some horrible shit and at first I wanted him to suffer or do something big to try to make things right and I didn’t like how he never truly got his karma but I like how open they left his character. He obviously has some issues (eating disorder, trauma from his initiation,…) but he doesn’t ever delve deeper into them. He acknowledges the things he does and is obviously very sorry but just like the rest of the people in Hillerska and the Monarchy he ignores the causes of it. He never acknowledges his eating disorder. He’s probably aware that he has a problem (cus Simon pointed it out) but ignores it. He ignores the reasoning Sara gives for them not working out and gives her solutions that in the grand scheme will not change things. He still has huge respect for Eric despite what he did to him and the fact that it clearly left lasting traumas and just brushes it off. He longs for the Crown Prince role not even thinking about the harm that it can cause him. I said that he didn’t get karma but that’s not true. I think that the Crown Prince title is a curse and even if Wilhelm didn’t mean it that way, I think he got his final karma at the end by passing that curse down to him.

I love how they handled Wilhelm and Simon. Wilhelm had just like the rest of Hillerska and the monarchy the tendency to ignore things. Simon was the one who had to give him a wake up call and break things off. Simon forced him to face reality. He didn’t understand why Simon saw the title of Crown Prince as such a curse. Everyone ( ex. His mother) around him kept saying how much of a privilege it was that he never took a step back to question if it really was such an honour. His mothers words were so deeply engraved into him that it took him a while to finally be able to hear Simon. Simon wasn’t the reason why he didn’t want to be the Crown Prince, he just made him realise he never wanted any of this in the first place. It was never about Simon it was the fact that Wilhelm as a person was never really for the Monarchy. He loves his mother and the connection to his brother but he finally was able to let it go. He knows his brother still would’ve loved him but the perfect image of his brother the Crown Prince is gone. I don’t think he’s ever gonna forgive August but he has let it go and given him the title he so desperately wanted. His hatred towards him is not strong enough to keep the title of Crown Prince. In the relationship he was the one who needed to change. Sure Simon also went through growth and had to have a lot of understanding but it was Wilhelm who had to realise his core teachings and the way he thought of life were very flawed. He had to be his own person outside of the system that held him down so desperately. And even the mother understands that. She will always be part of the monarchy but she acknowledges that it nearly destroyed her and realises that she doesn’t want that to happen to her son and lets him go.

Hillerska, the monarchy and the classist hierarchy is not gonna change. But some people can. That’s why I think in the end there was no song about revolution. They didn’t have one. Sara, Felice, Wilhelm and Simon were the ones who truly got away from everything. They were able to get away from the schackles of the system and leave it behind. Even if Hillerska did reopen I doubt they would go back. They didn’t revolutionise anything other then themselves. There wasn’t a revolution but an evolution of themselves.

I think that’s a beautiful message. You can’t always change the bad things around you but you can change the things about yourself that were caused by the bad things around you. You can do and be better even when the world isn’t.

#young royals #young royals season three spoilers #young royals season three #young royals season 3 #yr3 #prince wilhelm #wilhelm x simon #simon eriksson #ignore the fact that in the last posts I spelled Wilhelms name wrong multiple times #yr s3 spoilers #also WTF happened to my man Alexander #he was there but didn’t say a SINGLE thing the whole season #other characters also didn’t speak anymore but I was most interested in his thoughts about all of this and Hillerska #MAYBE IT WAS ALEXANDER WHO SPILLED #idk man it’s 1 am I’m tired as hell #I love this show 10/10 #also love the actors #i need to go to sleep

[mixsethaddams]

Something that I think is often overlooked by all of us when we create the Steddie universe is that Steve would absolutely suffer with internalised homophobia.

He had a very WASP-ish upbringing (I say ‘ish’ because I think he’s Catholic but you get my drift) and especially in the 80s that would have brought with it a lot of preconceptions about gay people. Not to mention we know how important social status was to him for a long time, and no doubt his parents instilled that in him. Steve would have been the ‘I’m totally fine with it!’ type who then freaked out as soon as he thought he was being hit on. Being called ‘big boy’ and instantly short circuiting is a great example of this, not to mention him calling Jonathon queer as an insult in season one.

Eddie would have had a lot less to lose in terms of reputation or family interference. We know canonically how much Wayne loved Eddie, and as a heavily queer-coded character (bi, gay, whatever) it’s easy to assume that wouldn’t have been an obstacle. Plus he was already known as a ‘freak’ so adding an extra facet to that wouldn’t be anything new to him. He’s a loud and proud character and doesn’t shy away from being himself or speaking his mind. We even see this in the upside down when he tells Steve about his opinions of him.

It’s lovely to think that Steve would instantly fall into being 100% on board with being in a relationship with a man and kissing and touching, and sharing little sideways glances in public. The much more likely scenario is that no matter how good or right it felt, poor Steve would still panic every time he felt himself enjoying a kiss too much. He might even ignore Eddie in public entirely and only meet with him at night. Eddie would never be invited to Loch Nora and Steve would park a half mile away from Forest Hills so no one saw his car.

It would take months, years even, for our boy to feel totally comfortable in his relationship with Eddie. Only for Eddie knowing that this is really what Steve wants because he whispered it to him in the pitch dark under the covers, the only place he ever felt safe enough to express himself, he wouldn’t have bothered to keep trying. Eddie would have gotten sick of being treated like hell in public and begged for forgiveness in private, told him to find a nice girl to settle down with, and left.

Eddie would stick with him though, and the little milestones would come gradually. The first time Steve kissed him during the day, the first time he touched Eddie’s dick over the sheets without their bodies being hidden away underneath them, the first time he was able to keep his eyes open during sex. Eddie would talk to him, guide him, let him figure out what pace worked best, and never rush him.

Steve would try his best because he wasn’t lying, this was exactly what he wanted, but when you spend that long being told how wrong it was, you can be forgiven for taking a little while to settle into it. He held his breath for so long he almost passed out the first time he held Eddie’s hand in a dark movie theatre, slowly inching over until he could grasp his fingers. It felt dangerous. His mind was screaming at him to let go. Steve was trying, for Eddie.

They’d get there eventually. Steve would hit a lot of dead ends along the way, but Eddie always helped him get back on the right track.

#steddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #eddie stranger things #steve x eddie #steve stranger things #headcanon #steve and eddie #st fanfic #stranger things #steddie ficlet #seth writes

[fiction-pod-recs]

Welcome to the first installment of Fiction Podcast Recommendation Thursday!

I wanted to start out with a favorite of mine, Jar of Rebuke!

[Image ID: The cover art for Jar of Rebuke is shown. It is art of a jar outlined in bright red and filled with black with various cryptid silhouettes inside it, each colored in with the same bright red. There is the top of a humans head that morphs into six tentacles, Next to that is the top half of a bigfoot waving. And in the bottom left there is a three eyed deer. Each of the creatures have their eyes filled in with black. In the center of the jar there is a large key also in red. Underneath the jar there are 6 tentacles in red holding it up, and the background is bright green corn silhouetted on a black background. in the top right "Jar of Rebuke" is spelled out in white letters. /.End ID]

Summary of the show as provided, “ Follow Dr. Jared Hel's journey as he works to re-discover his forgotten past and finds his place within the small Indiana farm town of Wichton and the cryptozoological organization he works for called 'The Enclosure'. These audio journals, and other recordings, dive deep into Midwestern US cryptids and folklore while also telling a mystery about identity, queerness, neurodivergence, and community.”

Season 1 and the first part of season 2 has been completed already with 21 episodes averaging from 10-25 minutes per episode. The second part of season 2 is currently being released with 3 episodes out now, these average around 10-ish minutes in length. Both transcript and content warnings are available!

Now, time for the less serious me gushing about it:

I love Jar of Rebuke so much, it was one of my first fiction podcasts and it is just amazing.

The sound quality is pretty good and the storyline is just aaaaaaaa /pos. I love it, it can be so cozy and so dread inducing at the same time it's amazing! It has amazing representation and i love the way it portrays it!

The voice acting is good, the storyline is good (I've said that twice now but it really is), all of the characters are complex and its just amazing! I really want more people to listen to this because it is really good.

-

Ok, I think this concludes out first fiction podcast rec Thursday. Tell me your thoughts, I am always willing to learn how to better these and if I'm being honest I never was the best at giving recommendations. But nevertheless, I hope you enjoyed and maybe found a new podcast to listen to!

#fiction podcast rec Thursday #jar of rebuke #fiction podcasts #audio drama #audio fiction #fiction podcast #podcast recommendation #podcast recs #described #i do mean it when i said to tell me your thoughts btw #critize the way i do things im begging of you #i do want to make these actually helpful and not just a way for me to yell about the things i love

[inairbinad]

Heaven, Indiana

Part one of three | 6.7k | T | also on ao3 | Part Two | Part Three

A re-imagining of season 3, where Eddie and Robin are already looped in on the Upside Down madness, and Eddie joins Scoops Troop. Part of my Barb Lives AU from the Petals Verse, where everyone lives and the timeline gets wonky as a result. Can be read on its own. @steddie-week day 4 prompts: Familiar / Here Come the Tears

Eddie woke with a jolt from the same, familiar nightmare he’d been having since November. The one where he found himself right back in those unnatural, revolting tunnels beneath Hawkins, on the brink of death with Steve Harrington grasping his hands in fear.

On the dark of his bedroom ceiling he could still see the imprint of Steve’s eyes, wide and terrified that they were about to die. Even now that he was awake Eddie could still feel the pit in his stomach, the burning in his calves from running, the ache of wishing he’d kissed Steve in that moment with a stampede of demodogs charging after them both.

Eddie didn’t need to have creative nightmares anymore, not like he did when he was a kid. The reality of what he and Steve had gone through—and Robin, and the kids, and the rest of them—in the course of trying to save Hawkins from a swarm of actual demogorgons and a goddamn Mind Flayer was more than enough to keep Eddie haunted for the rest of time.

It didn’t help that every single one of those terrified, cursed memories was tied up in want.

His desperation to kiss Steve in that moment haunted his dreams nearly as often as the version where they never made it out of the tunnels all.

Or sometimes Eddie would find himself back in the bus in the junkyard, waiting for Steve to come diving back inside the bus with a hoard of demons at his back. This time Eddie would catch Steve in his arms, breathless and sweating from staring down the gaping maw of death with nothing but a nail bat. Then Eddie would slide his hands into Steve’s hair and his tongue into Steve’s mouth, caring for nothing and no one else while the rot clawed and scratched at the door, desperate to consume them both.

Eddie felt so inexplicably deranged for how much of his lust was tangled up in the violence that he wanted to scream.

Instead he groaned, then finally dragged himself out of bed to take a cold shower and get ready for work.

Eddie wasn’t entirely sure how he’d ended up dressed like a sailor—or rather more like a pirate, considering the tattoos he refused to cover up while he was working, like he was supposed to—and toiling away in the shiny, brand new, and brightly colored Starcourt Mall. But there he was, on time for his shift of scooping ice cream and pretending to be happy about it.

Well, that wasn’t entirely true. Eddie already knew he’d ended up there because of Steve goddamn Harrington: bane of Eddie’s existence and possibly the love his life, all wrapped up into one monster-hunting, child-defending, short-short-wearing package.

The problem with all of this—working with Steve, being friends with Steve, spending way too much of his every waking moment with Steve—was that now Eddie knew Steve was bisexual, and Eddie didn’t know how to deal with that bit of intel. Because knowing that meant every minute Steve wasn’t kissing Eddie, Eddie was going insane. It was one thing for Eddie to quiet the delusion that Steve would ever look in his direction before, back when Eddie assumed Steve was straight. But once Eddie realized he’d accidentally stumbled into some kind of queer-alliance-slash-part-time-monster-hunters club last fall, he’d been decidedly less capable of coping with his crush.

Sure, learning that alternate dimensions and monsters actually existed was enough of a mindfuck to last Eddie a lifetime. But then he had to go and get clobbered with the news that Steve was bi, and Barb and Nancy were dating, Robin was also a lesbian—and Steve Harrington is bi, dear god does that mean I have a shot?

The demogorgons seemed kind of quaint, after that. Even the ones Dustin tried to raise as pets.

It was nice, though, having more people like himself to hang out with. The thought of ever finding other gay friends in Hawkins used to seem laughable to Eddie, but now there was a whole flock of them.

All of this led to Eddie thinking he would enjoy working with Steve and Robin at Scoops Ahoy for the summer, just to have an excuse to be around Steve all day, every day. In that goddamn uniform, too. But it was only making Eddie fall for Steve harder.

So, yeah, Harrington was undoubtedly the reason Eddie was here. And he was late for his shift.

Rather than daydream about him until he showed, Eddie opted to kill the time between customers by having some fun with Robin.

“What about her, Birdie?” Eddie asked, nudging Robin to look across the food court towards a dark-haired girl near the Orange Julius.

Robin twisted to follow Eddie’s eye line until she landed on the girl in question. This was typically how the two of them liked to pass their shifts at Scoops Ahoy together—by playing each other’s wingmen while pretending everyone in Hawkins was draped in a rainbow flag and available to flirt.

“She looks like Nance,” Robin said, scrunching up her nose.

“Is that a problem?” Eddie asked, laughing lightly. He didn’t have much of a peg-leg to stand on, but he was nearly certain that Nancy was objectively pretty.

“No,” Robin shrugged, then started scanning the crowd for a girl more her speed. “I just wouldn’t want Barb to think I’m secretly lusting after her girlfriend.”

“Ah,” Eddie said, nodding slowly. “I forgot how seriously you took this imaginary game of ours.”

Rather than reply, Robin gave him a hearty shove until he went toppling off the counter he’d been perched atop. Eddie laughed as he stumbled to stay upright, but tripped over his own feet in the process. He was already halfway to flat on his ass, a smart remark about Robin’s clumsiness rubbing off on him already perched on his tongue, when he felt a pair of strong arms catch him around the waist. Eddie knew from the solid feel of the chest against his back who had caught him, but the whole thing was a little too ironic for words.

“Good catch, Steve,” Robin laughed, just as Eddie turned his face back and upward to look into Steve’s. “Thought I might’ve killed our friend for a second.”

“I thought I told you to stop throwing him around,” Steve said with a grin. Eddie was still staring at him, still happily leaning into the feel of Steve’s arms wrapped around him. “He’s precious goods.”

Eddie couldn’t help the swell of satisfaction it gave him to hear Steve say that.

“I can’t stop my clumsy from rubbing off on you two,” Robin shrugged. Eddie grunted when at least part of his brain registered how Robin had just stolen his line.

Reluctantly, Eddie reactivated his own legs as he stood up of his own volition instead of relying on Steve. He brushed himself off and tried to act somewhat normal.

“Thanks for the save, Stevie,” Eddie said, doing his best to put on a charming smile. “And for trying to stop Birdie from trying to murder me.”

“Anytime, Eds,” Steve smiled back at full strength, plopping his sailor hat on as he did. “Sorry I’m late, I forgot where I left my keys again. What did I miss?”

“Robin’s got the hots for Nance,” Eddie said, earning himself a thwack from Robin’s own hat to accompany her squeak of indigence.

“I do not!” she cried, looking between Steve and Eddie—who were both giggling under their breath at her—like she couldn’t believe they’d treat her like this. “Assholes. Stop fucking with me.”

“Chrissy Cunningham’s on her way over,” Steve said next, elbowing Eddie in the side and nodding towards the front of the store.

“Oh, ha ha,” Robin grumbled. “Get Robin even more flustered by telling her the prettiest girl in Hawkins is near by, you’re so hilarious, dingus.”

Eddie, obviously a better friend than Steve, was frantically dragging his forefinger back and forth across his throat, trying to signal to Robin to shut the fuck up because Chrissy was, indeed, on her way up to the counter. Robin noticed too late, though, and Steve was having the time of his life watching her face turn red and her eyes get wide as a full moon.

Chrissy, sweetheart that she was, didn’t do much more than take in Robin’s distressed posture with a look of concern. “You okay, Robin?”

If she’d heard Robin calling her the ‘prettiest girl in Hawkins,’ she was doing an excellent job of hiding it. Eddie still noticed a sparkle in her eye that made him suspect she’d heard every word.

Robin gave Eddie a pleading look, like she wanted him to fix this for her, but he shook his head resolutely. She narrowed her eyes at him, then spun on her heel and beamed at Chrissy.

“I’m great, sorry,” Robin said, recovering impressively. “What’s up, Chrissy?”

“Oh, just shopping with some friends,” she shrugged. “Thought I’d come say hi. So, hi.”

“Hi,” Robin repeated, looking a little thunderstruck as Chrissy smiled at her. Eddie couldn’t blame her. Chrissy wasn’t in her usual cheerleader getup, and ironically enough she was in a rainbow colored t-shirt and jean shorts. But Eddie really knew what was driving Robin nuts was the fact that Chrissy was wearing suspenders, and her hair was loose and flowing down past her shoulders.

Eddie had heard many whiney monologues from Robin about how pretty Chrissy was over the last few months. He knew what to look for at this point.

“So, I’m having a party for the Fourth of July,” Chrissy started, then bit her lip as she paused to assess Robin’s face. Eddie zeroed in on it, wondering if maybe there was something reciprocal there that he hadn’t noticed before. “You should come.”

“Me?” Robin asked, really playing into the awkward teenage romcom angle, even if unintentionally.

“Yes,” Chrissy laughed, then she seemed to notice Steve and Eddie for the first time. “All of you should come.”

“We’d love to,” Steve said right away, elbowing Robin in an attempt to make her remember her words, probably. “Right, Rob?”

“Totally!” Robin finally exclaimed, and Steve stepped back to Eddie’s side again as Chrissy filled her in on the details. They tried to pretend like they were minding their own business, talking shop about ice cream like it was extremely important, but naturally they were eavesdropping half to hell.

“So can I get you some ice cream?” Robin asked eventually, slipping into her professional persona.

“Do you do samples?” Chrissy asked, leaning over the glass container to get a look at the flavors.

“Sure,” Robin said, and Eddie knew she’d break the sample limit for Chrissy in a heartbeat.

Steve finally lost control of himself, desperate gossip that he was, and dragged Eddie in the back with him so he could let loose his own commentary with a breathless laugh.

“They’re like, actually really cute. But I thought Rob’s head was going to explode,” Steve whispered. As Eddie moved to listen just on the other side of the passthrough’s sliding doors, Steve sidled up behind him. Then, just to drive Eddie further into the deep end, Steve hooked his chin into the crook of Eddie’s shoulder and rested it there. A shudder ran through Eddie at the feel of Steve’s breath on his neck, and he did his best to cover it up by telling Steve to shut up.

“Shh, you goober,” Eddie grumbled, despite the fact that he was laughing, too. “I’m trying to listen.”

Steve mercifully quieted down but stayed exactly where he was, making it difficult for Eddie to focus on Robin, anyway.

“Do you have a usual favorite?” Robin was asking Chrissy about ice cream flavors, Eddie had to remind himself. That was the important thing happening right now, not Steve’s mouth in such close proximity to his neck.

“I tend to like the fruity ones,” Chrissy answered, and Steve honest-to-god cackled. Eddie did his best to shush him, but he had to literally bite down on his own fist to keep the hilarity of it bottled up, especially when Steve pressed his whole face into Eddie’s shoulder in a poor attempt to stifle himself.

A thud sounded from the other side of the wall, which Eddie was pretty sure came from Robin kicking it in annoyance. Poor Chrissy was just out there being a normal person, and Steve and Eddie had to go and turn into a puddle of giggles over it.

“I swear to god, Stevie,” Eddie sputtered, trying not to give in to Steve’s contagious laughter. “Stop it before Birdie murders us with an ice cream scoop.”

That only made Steve’s shoulders shake harder, because apparently he enjoyed the threat of dying at his best friend’s hand. Then he rested his hands on either side of Eddie’s waist, holding on in a squeezing grip, until Eddie felt his muscles twitch beneath Steve’s fingertips.

“I’m sorry,” Steve wheezed. “But fruity.”

“You’re fruity,” Eddie said under his breath, which only made Steve double over again, clutching onto Eddie harder.

“No shit,” Robin said, suddenly just on the other side of the passthrough. She slid the doors open and glared at them both. “Chrissy definitely thinks I’m insane now, and you’re lucky I don’t come back there and kill you both with my bare hands.”

“Have you considered using the ice cream scoop?” Steve suggested, and now it was Eddie’s turn to let out an ugly, surprised guffaw.

“I deserve a raise,” Robin deadpanned, then slammed the doors shut again.

Steve pulled away from Eddie then, much to Eddie’s dismay. He dabbed at his eyes with the hem of his shirt, revealing a whole lot of abs and a tantalizing bit of hair disappearing beneath his stupidly small shorts.

Eddie swallowed and looked determinedly away, until his eyes landed on the baffling supply of bananas that were waiting to be hung on the wall. He groaned inwardly and tried to focus on getting through the rest of the day in one piece.

Eddie went from doing his usual amount of pining after Steve and surviving just fine, thank you very much, to decidedly not fine at all when the jacked guy who taught aerobics upstairs showed up in the Scoops line.

Eddie didn’t even know why he bothered coming into Scoops in the first place. All he ever did was order the low-fat bullshit that wasn’t even really ice cream, in a tiny portion, and tip like shit.

And somehow Steve found this attractive.

“Would you like to set sail on an ocean of flavor with me?” Steve opened with his usual, company-approved line that he somehow had turned into a come-on. Every time Steve said it like that, with his hip popped and a charming smile on, it made Eddie want to kick himself for being hung up on him. And yet it was wildly adorable in a terrible kind of way, and Eddie had to admit it would have worked on him in an instant.

The buff one didn’t even appreciate it.

“Just the usual, please,” he said with an easy smile. Eddie hated him.

So he decided to give him some shit.

“How was the Jane Fonda tape today?” Eddie asked, leaning across the counter and definitely not doing his actual job. He heard Steve stifle a little laugh, though, so Eddie figured he wasn’t on thin ice just yet.

The aerobics guy’s face pinched, as if there was something wrong with Jane Fonda. Another red flag, as far as Eddie was concerned.

“It’s Jazzercise,” he corrected in a flat tone. “And it was fine. How’s slinging ice cream?”

“Oh, it’s the best job in the world,” Steve cut in just as Eddie opened his mouth mouth in retort. “Especially when we get such great and attractive customers like yourself!”

Steve winked, and Eddie barely held in a scream.

“Right,” the idiot on the other side of the counter remarked. Then he took his ice cream and fled the store.

“Mark one more in the ‘You Suck!’ column,” Robin announced with fanfare and a uncoordinated drumroll as she whipped out her white board. She also gave Eddie a long, knowing look behind Steve’s back. Steve stayed none-the-wiser to Eddie’s misery or to Robin’s ribbing him over it, since he was begrudgingly digging out the Polaroid that they used to mark such special occasions as tallying the board.

Eddie moved over to where Robin stood, knowing she’d want him in the photo with her, despite the fact that he was all but slumped into a pout.

“Photo evidence, please?” Robin cooed at Steve, positively buzzing with satisfaction. Literally, Eddie could feel her glee just from sitting beside her, as she marked another tally on the ‘You Suck” side of Steve’s exploits in flirting.

It wasn’t as bad as if Steve had finally landed a mark on the ‘You Rule’ column, but it still stung in particular every time Steve tried it (however innocently) with another dude—especially the ones that were nothing like Eddie.

It only reminded him that he never had a shot in hell.

“Isn’t the tally evidence enough of my failures?” Steve whined, but he was already moving to take the picture.

“Nope!” Robin said, smacking her lips for emphasis. “Because you could secretly erase some and we both know I’d forget it. Plus, this is the second time you got nothing but a blank stare outta that guy. So. Photo, please!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Steve grumbled, then snapped a picture of Robin holding up the board with a broad smile, and Eddie doing his best not to look like a complete grump about it. Somehow, despite this whole thing being at his expense, Steve still managed to drop the camera from his face with a small smile.

“So, what are we doing tonight?”

———

Robin decided she wouldn’t be joining Steve and Eddie in hanging out at the trailer for the night, because she “didn’t care about getting high nearly as much” as they did, apparently. Instead, she was going to whatever Sapphic movie night Barb and Nance had planned, to which no boys were invited.

Eddie didn’t mind, considering that meant he got Steve to himself. Since Wayne was out at his weekly poker game, they opted to give in to Robin’s assumptions and smoke. Not that Wayne really would have cared, but Eddie liked to give his uncle the option of turning a blind eye when he could.

“Since when do you pout in pictures more than Robin or Max?” Steve asked as Eddie rolled them a joint, killing time by looking through the photos from their shift today.

Since I’m sick of watching you flirt with anyone who isn’t me, Eddie answered honestly in his own head. When he opened his mouth, though, lies poured out.

“I’m starting to feel sorry for your lack of game, man,” Eddie said with a blinding smile. “At some point the board just starts to feel like bullying.”

“I’m fine, Eds,” Steve snorted, clearly unbothered. “But thank you for your concern. Now let me get a better shot of you.”

Eddie sighed, but then relented and gave Steve a fond smile. “Fine.”

After his second bout with the creepy crawlies of the Upside Down last fall (Eddie’s first), Steve had taken to photography as a hobby, and started documenting everything he could in film. Steve said it helped with his nightmares, at first, to be able to look back on the group making good memories while trying to work through the shit ones. Eventually he admitted to Eddie that it was also because he wanted to capture everything good, in case they all died tomorrow.

Jonathan still did most of the heavy lifting there, but Steve carried his own camera around with him almost everywhere, now. Then, once they’d all started at Scoops, he’d swiped his dad’s Polaroid specially just to keep it in his work locker over the summer. He spent entirely too much money on film, despite Robin’s frequent protestations.

“Stop wasting all of your money on the same photos of the kids laughing at us in our uniforms,” she’d say every time Steve came back from spending his break in the camera repair shop restocking on film.

“It’s memories, Rob,” Steve would sigh and reload the camera. “You can’t put a price on those.”

Eddie and Robin would usually exchange a glance imparting their desire to give Steve a lesson in being poor, and pronto, but neither of them really had the heart to do it.

Steve loved that damn camera, though, and Eddie had long ago established that he couldn’t deny Steve anything. So Eddie sat back, trying not to be self conscious as Steve once more studied him through the lens of a camera. His favorite seemed to be trying to catch arty shots of Eddie blowing smoke out of his nostrils, and looking like the burnout that he was.

Much like the Scoops Cam stayed at work, the one Steve was using now tended to hang out on Eddie’s nightstand most of the time. It was a testament to how much time Steve spent at the trailer, if anything. The thought made Eddie smile, and Steve tutted happily at however it looked through the viewfinder. Eddie tried not to run away with delusions of grandeur about what that could mean, but he felt all warm over it anyway.

Eventually Steve seemed pretty satisfied with what he captured, so he set the camera aside, presumably for the next time he came over.

“You were grumpy today,” Steve said, waving the post-flirting Polaroid from earlier in Eddie’s face. Eddie slapped his hand away, but couldn’t keep his face straight. He couldn’t keep anything straight.

“I just don’t understand how you find that preppy asshole attractive,” Eddie said around a lungful of smoke, staring Steve down as best he could, considering they were sitting eye-to-eye on the floor.

“What,” Steve drawled, making grabby hands for the joint until Eddie passed it over. He seemed completely unbothered by the fact that Eddie found his crush on the Jazzercise guy distasteful. “You’ve never been attracted to a preppy asshole before?”

Just you, Eddie thought, grateful that the weed hadn’t loosened his lips enough to let the words spill out into the sticky-sweet ether between them. Eddie had been hopelessly in love with Steve for no less than eight months, now. But who was counting?

“Can’t say that I have,” Eddie lied. Though, was it technically a lie, if he didn’t think Steve was an asshole anymore? Eddie took the technicality and ran with it, but he almost thought there might’ve been a hint of disappointment on Steve’s face. Eddie told himself that was just wishful thinking on his part.

“I just think he looks nice in those shorts, is all,” Steve shrugged before finally taking a drag.

Eddie was really starting to think he’d miscalculated, opting to work the summer at Scoops. Not only was the job shit—the only non-Steve-and-Robin related reason he even remotely enjoyed it was because Erica would come in and boss everyone around, and he would give her shit about the evils of capitalism and watch her nose scrunch up—but it also required watching Steve flirt with and ogle all the customers, regardless of gender, and drive Eddie nuttier than a scoop of butter pecan over it.

The only reason Eddie had any semblance of sanity left was because Steve usually struck out. Or, pretty much always. It was almost like Steve was flirting badly on purpose, some days. And then he’d come home with Eddie anyway. They’d watch movies or get high, fucking around and making fun of whoever had worse sailor-hat hair at the end of the day. It was nice.

Eddie was a real goner, was the point, and he resented the aerobics instructor guy. And his shorts. Eddie had shorts, too, goddamnit.

“He’s not even gay,” Eddie scoffed, flopping backwards to lay flat on the floor of his bedroom. Sometimes he and Steve would lay sprawled across his bed, or stay in the living room where things felt safer, but tonight it was too hot to be anywhere but on the floor. At least down there, Eddie could catch a little bit of a draft from the rickety old air conditioner that was valiantly chugging along to cool the whole trailer. “He just likes watching sweaty women bounce around for a living.”

“Don’t talk about my soulmate like that,” Steve scoffed. He nudged Eddie’s hip with his foot, then laid beside him on the floor, facing in the opposite direction as Eddie. Steve propped his feet up on the bed, then twisted is face to look at Eddie’s, practically pillowing his head on Eddie’s chest as he did. He smirked like he was proud of his joke.

Eddie knew Steve was just kidding around. If anyone was Steve’s soulmate, after all, it was Robin. Eddie was almost used to that jealous demon that lived in the back of his brain, resenting his status as the spare friend in the trio. It was silly and Eddie knew it, especially since he loved the fuck out of Robin. But even in jest, Steve’s comment plunged Eddie into a river of envy. What about me? The demon cried, scraping along the recesses of Eddie’s mind and demanding to be acknowledged.

Eddie did his best to shush it, listening instead to the Judas Priest record he’d put on because somehow, someway, Steve had come to love it.

“Take me now, in your arms, let me rest, safe from harm,” Steve sang along to Hear Come the Tears. The lingering smoke made his voice scratch in just the right kind of delectable way that left the demon doing backflips in Eddie’s mind. “Oh I want to be loved.”

Another thing Eddie had learned about Steve, since his reformation of character had started sometime last year, was that he got handsy when he was high. He took one of Eddie’s hands into his own, then firmly pressed the joint into it. Steve didn’t let go when Eddie’s fingers grasped around it, either. Instead he started playing with Eddie’s rings.

“This one new?” Steve asked, voice low and buzzing right through Eddie’s ribcage.

It wasn’t new, but Eddie couldn’t blame Steve for thinking so. He hardly ever wore the bat carved of silver that Steve was still lazily twisting around Eddie’s index finger. It was one of the first rings he’d ever bought for himself, but once he got his bat tattoo, he thought maybe wearing the ring was overkill. Most of the time, anyway.

That all hardly seemed relevant when Steve was basically holding Eddie’s hand, and noticing little details about him that no one else ever did.

“No, but I don’t wear it much,” Eddie answered, hoping he didn’t sound as desperate as he felt.

“Pretty,” Steve hummed. He stopped playing with the ring and moved to tickle the back of Eddie’s hand with soft fingers, instead.

“It’s probably better suited for you, then,” Eddie admitted aloud, and Steve turned a bashful shade of pink.

That was the other thing about Steve when he got high. He was more prone to blushing.

“Alright,” Steve said with a sly grin, before slipping the ring off Eddie’s finger in a rush. Then he sat back up, crossing his legs beneath him as he put it on himself. He held his hand out in front of his face, assessing. “Oh, yeah. I like it.”

Steve had taken things much too literally, and Eddie saw fit to correct it.

“Gimme it back, you thief!” Eddie cried, snatching for Steve’s hand again. Steve was too quick for him, though, and all Eddie achieved was grazing his fingertips across the heated skin of Steve’s forearm as he dashed out of Eddie’s grasp.

Carefully, Eddie snubbed out what was left of the joint in the ashtray, then scrambled upright and dove at Steve.

For maybe thirty seconds, Eddie had the upper hand. He’d managed to get a grip around Steve’s wrist, and the hand that now housed Eddie’s stolen ring. But once Eddie realized he was practically straddling Steve’s lap, knees locked on either sides of his thighs in a death grip, Eddie was momentarily distracted from his goal. He fumbled sliding the ring off Steve’s finger, accidentally tossing it until it rolled under Eddie’s bed.

Instead of going after it, though, Steve took the opportunity to wrestle Eddie to the floor. In half a stuttered heartbeat on Eddie’s part, he was under the whole weight of Steve, wrists pinned in a surprisingly gentle but firm grip on either side of his head.

Steve laughed above him, pressed so close that Eddie could feel the way Steve’s chest contracted and then swelled again as he breathed. Eddie didn’t know where to look first—the flop of Steve’s hair that hung down between them, the curve of Steve’s perfect mouth, curling up in a self-satisfied smile, or the way Steve’s glassy eyes still sparkled as he looked down at Eddie with a quiet confidence that was driving him wild.

Eddie didn’t know how Steve was still this strong while impaired, but if he didn’t get out from under him soon, Eddie knew there’d be a problem somewhere south of his belt loops to deal with between them. He tried not to wiggle his hips too much as he attempted to break free of Steve’s grasp, but it was no use. Steve only smirked down at him, completely focused on Eddie’s face alone.

“I win,” Steve murmured, then deliberately let his gaze drop to Eddie’s lips.

Eddie felt like he might be hallucinating, to the point where he wondered if Reefer Rick had given him a particularly weird strain, or something, last time they did a deal.

Especially when Steve then darted his tongue across his own bottom lip, a brief flash of wet pink that left Eddie floating, despite being pinned to the ground.

“You—” Eddie began, but the creak of the trailer door opening shocked them both out of whatever had been brewing between them. Steve let go of Eddie in an instant, sitting up and running his hands through his hair as Wayne grunted out, “Ed?” from the living room.

“Back here, Uncle Wayne,” Eddie said, sounding completely dazed.

Wayne poked his head into Eddie’s room and smirked down at him, still sprawled on the floor and probably looking—and smelling—high as a kite. Then Wayne waved at Steve, and said, “When you get the munchies, don’t eat my chips.”

Wayne was gone as fast as he’d come, probably to watch TV and have a beer, but he’d altered the vibe significantly. Steve reeled in whatever had started to peek free just a few moments before, sighed, and snatched the bat ring from under the bed. He handed it back willingly.

“You can wear it,” Eddie tried, but Steve shook his head.

“It’s more your style, anyway,” he said, sounding a little sad about it. Eddie didn’t know what to say in reply, so he silently took the ring and slid it back on his finger.

“The chips might be off the table,” Eddie said, feeling a devilish grin creep onto his face and hoping it would draw Steve back out of whatever shell he’d shrunk into. “But he didn’t say shit about his banana popsicles.”

“I like the way you think, Munson,” Steve smiled back, then they both darted for the freezer in perfect sync.

———

For his next shift with Steve, Eddie was trying not to act weird after whatever the hell had happened in the trailer the night before. He was determined not to get distant or awkward about it, or make Steve feel self-conscious. He didn’t want to be too touchy afterwards either, though, and make Steve assume that Eddie was expecting anything from him.

But that didn’t mean Eddie wasn’t flirting. Eddie was a flirt by nature, after all. It would seem weirder if he didn’t.

“Ahoy, sailor!” Eddie heartily whistled in appreciation just when Steve arrived in all of his short-shorts glory—all in the name of keeping up appearances, of course.

Steve shuffled around a little uneasily in response instead of returning the sentiment, like he normally would have. Robin, who was sitting with Eddie at the table in the ‘captain’s quarters’, squinted at him in question. Eddie shrugged.

“Didn’t get enough beauty sleep?” she asked Steve.

“Huh?” he responded distantly, trying to fix his hat to his hair in a gentle enough way so it wouldn’t flatten what Steve thought was his best feature. (Eddie thought Steve’s best feature was probably his perfectly kissable mouth, or his big brown eyes that Eddie frequently found himself getting lost in, or even that little constellation of moles on his neck that Eddie wanted to bite. But that was neither here nor there.)

“You seem…fidgety,” Robin pointed out.

“Oh. I’m fine,” Steve tried for an unaffected shrug, but it looked more jerky and stilted than anything.

Eddie was doing his level best not to assume that was about him. But considering the fact that Eddie was almost certain Steve had wanted to kiss him the night before, even after the haze of smoke had cleared from his judgment making skills, he didn’t really think it was a coincidence.

Robin seemed to agree that this was between Steve and Eddie, as she started eyeing Eddie suspiciously again. If her face hadn’t been full of questions, Eddie would've assumed Steve had already told her what was going on with him. The fact that he hadn’t only worried Eddie further. Since when did Steve not share every thought in his head with Robin?

Had Eddie seemed too eager last night, maybe? Had Steve sussed out how deep Eddie’s feelings actually ran? Maybe now he wanted to put an extra bit of distance between them, because to Steve it wasn’t that serious. Eddie wanted to kick himself at the thought.

If distance was what Steve wanted, Robin wasn’t allowing for it. Her solution was to find every excuse to stick Eddie and Steve in the back room together most of the afternoon, doing tedious tasks while Robin worked out front. Her excuse was that it was a “slow day” anyway.

So Eddie tried to act as normal as possible in the hopes of signaling that everything between them was fine, whatever Steve’s worries might be. But every time Eddie tried to strike up a conversation, Steve didn’t give him much back by way of response.

“Do you know what happened after the kids snuck in to see Day of the Dead the other night?” Eddie asked, hoping the temptation to gossip might spur Steve into talking. One of their favorite topics of the summer so far had been speculating on what seemed like a gay little love triangle forming between Mike, Eleven, and Will.

“Not really,” Steve shrugged noncommittally.

“At the very least you’d think we might’ve gotten some innocent hand-holding,” Eddie mused.

“Maybe,” Steve merely grunted in response.

Eddie bit his tongue for a while after that, and began to consider if whatever was going on in Steve’s head had nothing to do with him at all. Eddie knew Steve’s parents were in town, and that usually led to most of Steve’s grumpiest moods. Maybe all he needed was the promise of not having to go back to a house he hated after getting off from a job he also hated.

“Hey, you wanna come over tonight?” Eddie offered eventually, then wondered if maybe he should give it more of a veneer of friendship, just in case. “We can probably entice Robin into coming if we let her pick a movie. You guys can stay over, even.”

“Maybe,” Steve finally smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. Eddie thought he might finally be on the right track, but Steve dipped away again. “I should go check on Robin.”

Eddie tried not to pout in Steve’s absence.

He also wasn’t one to give up in the face of a frowning Steve Harrington, so for the rest of their shift he kept trying to do all the things he knew would make Steve laugh. At first, Steve didn’t seem all that impressed with Eddie’s walking him through the several layers of monstrous traps he was laying for the boys’ first official Hellfire campaign, so Eddie switched to stronger tactics. He moved on to his impersonation of Hopper going full Hulk and threatening to kill Mike in new and creative ways, which did earn a pinched smile out of Steve, at least.

But when Steve’s favorite bit—Eddie’s acting out his own mascot creation, Scoop, who was a pirate with spoons for fingers—didn’t do much more than eke a small chuckle out of him, Eddie was just about ready to throw in the towel and ask what the hell was the matter.

That was when they heard the unmistakable sound of Dustin Henderson’s arrival, however.

Steve turned to Eddie with wide eyes, matching Eddie’s in excitement. If Dustin’s long anticipated return from camp couldn’t cheer Steve up, nothing would.

“Steve, Eddie!” Robin called back to them both. “Your child is here!”

“Don’t act like you don’t love me, too, Robin Buckley,” Dustin said, accompanied by that bizarre purring noise he liked to make.

Steve and Eddie simultaneously sprung into action. Eddie led the way out of the swinging door to the front, with Steve hot on his heels and his hands squeezing Eddie’s shoulders in delight.

“Henderson!” They both chorused, as Dustin broke out in a wide, gummy grin upon seeing them. They all launched towards each other, and Steve quite literally squealed, “He’s back!”

Then the three of them immediately proceeded into their complex secret handshake, while Robin looked on in bewilderment. It didn’t matter how many times she’d seen them practice it in minute detail, apparently, it still made her wrinkle her nose in secondhand embarrassment.

Eddie didn’t care. He’d missed Henderson more than he ever expected he would have of a fourteen year old hellion, but Dustin had that effect on him and Steve both. In the months since they’d tracked down a baby fucking demogorgon together, the three of them had only grown further attached.

So when Dustin immediately jumped to exclaiming “We have so much to talk about,” Eddie and Steve didn’t hesitate to set aside the weird vibe between them and buy Dustin a USS Butterscotch.

Twenty minutes later, the two of them had listened to Dustin talk about his “camp girlfriend” ad nauseam, while exchanging a healthy amount of skeptical looks between them. Steve didn’t entirely seem to believe that Suzie was real, and Eddie was mostly with him, but there was something dreamy in the way Dustin talked that Eddie felt a kinship with.

It reminded him how he felt around Steve.

All that went out the window, though, when Dustin started yammering about intercepting secret Russian codes.

“We can be true, American heroes, guys!” Dustin finished his lengthy speech about saving the world, like he hadn’t done enough of that already.

Eddie was beyond skeptical now, but Steve seemed amused, so he played along.

“Heroes, eh?” Eddie asked, casually spinning his sailor cap around in his hands.

“Yes! It’ll be great, I swear. And once we are, you two can have all the ladies you want, and more. As long as her name isn’t Suzie,” Dustin promised them both. It was sincere, if admittedly a little creepy and off base.

Eddie darted a quick glance towards Steve, who obviously found the irony in Dustin’s promising the ladies to Eddie, of all people. He chuckled lightly as he gave Eddie a knowing look, like he was thrilled to know Eddie’s secrets, before breaking eye contact and turning back to Dustin.

“Yeah, alright,” he nodded. “How can we help?”

(part two should be coming with tomorrow's prompts!)

[PART TWO] [PART THREE]

#it's officially past midnight est and if I don't post this before I go to bed I'll forget so #happy day 4! #yes the Fall Out Boy powered Steddie brainworm has indeed infected me as well #hence the title #steddie #steddieweek2023 #fanfic #steve harrington #eddie munson #dani's drafts #stranger things #petals!verse

[fandomsfrillsandfuckingtea]

Save OFMD

Other shows have been brought back through fan action. Now, we fight.

Season 3 was so close - The streaming numbers for season 2 were brilliant, reviews were excellent and fan fervor was and is high DESPITE the 40% FUNDING CUT for the season and its slashing from 10 to 8 episodes. Max was pumping so much money into advertising season 2 still, ramping up new merch, and investing at such a scale that makes NO sense for a show set for cancellation. The cast were getting hyped and active on social media late December. David Jenkins has vouched for the folks at Max and their enthusiasm for a third and final season.

So, why no season 3?

David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros Discovery, the owner of Max and controlling entity, has been cutting shows from the platform early for the tax breaks and follows the no third season strategy as this is usually the point where pay must increase for those employed for the project. Additionally, since he took over leadership, the platform has had a tendency to remove cancelled shows from services VERY QUICKLY and offers no other way of watching. This means if you enjoy something, you have to pirate or potentially never see it again, all for the sake of greed. There's FAR too much love and hard, hard work that goes into projects like these for them to just be wiped from the face of the earth, ESPECIALLY in a time where we have ample ways to preserve things indefinitely.

WBD has seen a 5% drop in stock value recently and this will only get worse if fans become aware of his financial strategy and realise they can't get invested in any Max shows as there's no guarantee they'll be around for long at all. It's made worse by knowing so many wonderful, impactful, meaningful shows are being cut in favour of another 90 Day Fiancé spinoff and other derivative reality shows. No offence to them and their fans, but the market is pretty saturated already and we could all use television with HEART in these times.

If you can, even if you're not a fan of Our Flag Means Death but may be interested in the fight against the current strategy being forced on the likes of Max, consider signing and sharing the petition set up by Renew as a Crew (linked above).

Also, if we can get Neil Gaiman's eye on this, even better. I'm overjoyed we get the last part of the Good Omens story, I just sincerely hope we can get the last act of Our Flag too.

Representation is important. Love is important. We shouldn't have queer representation relegated to it's own category, forced to fight other shows of other genres to be THE queer rep we get to keep on screen. We deserve better.

#save ofmd #save our flag means death #OFMD #our flag means death #David Zaslav get in the bin

[will80sbyers]

Let's talk about Mike's playlist... in a bisexual way!

// this will be all my own speculation. nothing is set. nothing is confirmed. //

First of all, I don't think that the playlists have always a literal meaning for the show because the songs are born from a different context, they are not made for the show like the score (that I think is there just to represent emotions) so the fact that one song talks about love, to me, doesn't mean for sure that that type of love is the "true love" romantic one... in fact I think all of the songs are meant to represent love in a childlike way because the characters were kids...they are there to represent Mike's first crush on El that to him probably seems like real love because it's the first "clear" infatuation he ever recognized as such... small children have big big feelings

I think they chose the songs to represent the relationships, represent the feelings of the characters and maybe foreshadow their whole arc from start to the end of the show!

Songs about Mike & Eleven:

Always something there to remind me by Naked Eyes

“ Well, how can I forget you girl? When there is always something there to remind me. As shadows fall I pass the small cafe where we would dance at night... and I can't help recalling how it felt to kiss and hold you tight ”

» I believe this song is about Mike's grief for Eleven after he thought she was dead in season two

She blinded me with science by Thomas Dolby

“ But it's poetry in motion

When she turned her eyes to me

As deep as any ocean

As sweet as any harmony

Oh, she blinded me with science ”

» clearly first crush stuff!

I Ran (So Far Away) by A Flock of Seagulls

“ I never thought I'd meet a girl like you

With auburn hair and tawny eyes

The kind of eyes that hypnotise me through

» Mike has his first crush on El + theme song about running away... Mike will leave Hawkins one day

When Love Breaks Down by Prefab Sprout

“ My love and I, we work well together but often we're apart

Absence makes the heart lose weight

Till love breaks down, love breaks down

When love breaks down

The things you do

To stop the truth from hurting you

When love breaks down

The lies we tell

They only serve to fool ourselves

When love breaks down

The things you do

To stop the truth from hurting you”

» foreshadowing for s4. Mike's feelings for Eleven are not strong enough to stay alive after she leaves for Lenora, they fight and he is not in love with her!

( they were making Bob already talk with Joyce about leaving Hawkins and going to live together in another place in the future, I believe they had planned the general direction of the show since s2 when the playlists are created and knew that they will leave Hawkins with Eleven )

Don't you want me by The human league

“ I was working as a waitress in a cocktail bar

That much is true

But even then I knew I'd find a much better place

Either with or without you

The five years we have had have been such good at times

I still love you

But now I think it's time I live my life on my own

I guess it's just what I must do”

» this is Eleven's POV... break up song!

You Really Got Me by Silicon Teens

“ Girl, you really got me goin'

You got me so I don't know what I'm doin' now”

» teen relationship

A Victory of Love by Alphaville

“ Waiting for a change in the weather

I'm waiting for a shift in the air,

Could we get it together, ever

Hoping for your return

Hoping for your sweet, sweet return”

» s2 finale, Mike is waiting for El to come back to him

Blue Monday by New Order

“And I thought I was mistaken

And I thought I heard you speak

Tell me how do I feel

Tell me now how should I feel

Now I stand here waiting”

» s2 Mike waiting for El, thinking he saw her and heard her

Too shy by Kajagoogoo

“ You're too shy, shy

Hush hush, eye-to-eye”

» s1 about their first kiss

Be afraid by Franz Ferdinand

“ Don't be afraid if you hear voices”

» s2 Mike thinks he's hearing El in the radio

Songs foreshadowing Mike being queer, Mike leaving Hawkins and the love triangle:

Smalltown boy by Bronski Beat

(no need to put the text because many people have already talked about this song)

I Ran (So Far Away) by A Flock of Seagulls

“ And I ran, I ran so far away

I just ran, I ran all night and day

I couldn't get away ”

Running in the Night by FM-84 & Ollie Wride

In the face of Evil by Magic sword

“ The band consists of The Keeper (mask illuminated in red; keyboard, audio-visual), The Seer (mask illuminated in blue; guitar), and The Weaver (mask illuminated in yellow; drums).”

» this song doesn't have words but I think it foreshadows the love triangle because of the fact that it's a trio color coded like Mike, Will and El

Cars by Gary Numan

“ I know I've started to think

About leaving tonight”

Gunship by Vale of Shadows

“ Open the gates

This old dragon's heart is bleeding

Your throat, my voice

Pull back the ears

Won't you come inside, there's a fire burning

Your teeth, my tongue

Just don't let go and we will be okay

It's the sun of our souls

Into Vale of Shadows

I'm ripped apart but my heart's still beating

Won't wake us up tonight

Run dark to stay alive”

» foreshadowing of season 5? byler in the Upside down?

Run away by International Music System

“ You can run away to search the truth”

Songs about Mike:

A real hero by Electric Youth

“ Back against the wall and odds

With the strength of a will and a cause

Your pursuits are called outstanding

You're emotionally complex

Against the grain of dystopic claims

Not the thoughts your actions entertain

And you have proved to be

A real human being

And a real hero”

» this song is about Mike and his determination to save Will in the first season, he's the driving force that leads to Will being saved

Destination unknown by Missing persons

“ Life is so strange when you don't know

How can you tell where you're going to

You can't be sure of any situation

Something could change and then you won't know

You ask yourself

Where do we go from here

It seems so all too near

Just as far beyond as I can see

I still don't know what this all means to me

So you tell yourself

I have nowhere to go

I don't know what to do

And I don't even know the time of day

I guess it doesn't matter any way

Life is so strange

Destination unknown”

» Mike is confused, he doesn't know what future he will have but he knows life can change at any moment, he is still discovering himself and is open to new possibilities

It's my Life by Talk Talk

“ Funny how I find myself in love with you

If I could buy my reasoning I'd pay to lose

One half won't do

Funny how I find myself in love with you

If I could buy my reasoning I'd pay to lose

One half won't do

I've asked myself, how much do you

Commit yourself?

It's my life

Don't you forget

It's my life

It never ends (it never ends)

Funny how I blind myself, I never knew

If I was sometimes played upon, afraid to lose

I'd tell myself, what good do you do

Convince myself ”

» this is about Mike's love for Will, how he was blind to it but also how he doesn't care about what other people have to say about his life. He will decide.

Mad world by Tears for Fears

“ Went to school and I was very nervous

No one knew me

No one knew me

Hello, teacher, tell me what's my lesson?”

» Mike suffering in his childhood plus his first meeting with Will

No Other Way by Classix Nouveaux

“ Where are the days

The days that time erased

Innocence we’ve had

has been replaced

We were so free of hate

they’ve taken that away

All I see is responsibility forced on me

Never again”

» Mike is traumatized, his life has changed after season 1

(Everyday is) Halloween by Ministry

“ Well any time, any place, anywhere that I go

All the people seem to stop and stare

They say 'why are you dressed like it's Halloween?

You look so absurd, you look so obscene'

O, why can't I live a life for me?

Why should I take the abuse that's served?

Why can't they see they're just like me

It's the same, it's the same in the whole wide world”

» Mike was bullied all his life but he values diversity

Make no mistake by Psyche

“ Got to drop the pressure. Get on the right train. Forget the payback system. That ain't no way to gain. Feeling out of sorts. Don't want to let it end. I feel like I'm overloading. You got me down on my knees. I want to pull the trigger... But I can't find the release ”

» Mike is feeling the pressure of having to make the decisions

War by Frankie goes to Hollywood

» Mike is a pacifist lol

Songs about Will & Mike:

Still haunting me by Magic dance

“ There was this look in your eyes

Like fire burning to take flight

A distant call from the sky

Beckoning you to flee the night

But I cannot fathom why

You would ever leave my side

Forever wondering how it died

And I can't shake it

With your face

Still haunting me”

» this song is about Mike and Will and I think it was foreshadowing their fight in s3, the playlist was created with Netflix before season 2 for its release but I think they started planning the whole arc for byler from season 2

Love is a stranger by Eurythmics

“ Love is a danger

Of a different kind

To take you away

And leave you far behind

And love love love

Is a dangerous drug

You have to receive it

And you still can't

Get enough of the stuff

It's savage and it's cruel

And it shines like destruction

Comes in like the flood

And it seems like religion

It's noble and it's brutal

It distorts and deranges

And it wrenches you up

And you're left like a zombie

And I want you”

» I think this is about byler because their relationship is much more deep and tumultuous than Mike and El's relationship, the feelings Mike has for Will are deeper

Running in the Night by FM-84 & Ollie Wride

“ I used to be the one

I used to be your getaway dreamer

I couldn't get enough

Thinking that we would last forever

Don't know what you're thinking of

Slipping further out of reach

To the edge of town we could go

Away from all the world to see

You were wild trying to set yourself free

I didn't see the signs right in front of me

Oh, I'm running in the night so soon

I've got nothing left to lose

I'm leaving it all behind, running in the night with you

I won't let you get away again

I used to be the one

I used to be your place to land

Under the shadows

Into the palm of my hand

You're always changing the situation

Just when we found paradise

You're always shutting down the conversation

I can never read your mind”

» Mike has feelings for Will, he wants to go away with him and can't understand what Will thinks about them, he was Will's "place to land" in s2 until they started to fight in s3

Something about you ( 7 version ) by Level 42

“ If ever our love was concealed

No one can say that we didn't feel

A million things

And a perfect dream of life

Gone, fragile but free

We remain tender together

If not so in love

It's not so wrong

We're only human after all

These changing years

They add to your confusion

Oh and you need to hear the time

That told the truth

That there is something about you

Baby so right

Don't want to be without you

Baby tonight

Because there's something about you

Baby so right

I couldn't live without you

Baby tonight”

» season 4 byler: Mike was confused but now he knows that he has feelings for Will!

Are "Friends" electric? by Tubeway Army

“ So now I'm alone

Now I can think for myself

About little deals

And issues

And things that I just don't understand

A white lie that night

Or a sly touch at times

I don't think it meant anything to you

So I open the door

It's the 'friend' that I'd left in the hallway

'Please sit down'

A candlelit shadow on a wall near the bed

You know I hate to ask

But are 'friends' electric?

Only mine's broke down

And now I've no-one to love

So I found out your reasons

For the phone calls and smiles

And it hurts

And I'm lonely

And I should never have tried

And I missed you tonight

It must be time to leave

You see it meant everything to me ”

» s3 and s4 - Mike likes Will but he thinks Will is straight and he has no possibility with his best friend... he was confused.. are friends supposed to make you feel like this?

If you leave by Orchestral manouvers in the dark

“ If you leave, don't leave now

Please don't take my heart away

Promise me, just one more night

Then we'll go our separate ways

We've always had time on our side

Now it's fading fast

Every second, every moment

We've gotta make it last

I touch you once, I touch you twice

I won't let go at any price

I need you now like I need you then

You always said we'd still be friends someday”

» s3/4 byler - Mike misses Will when he has to leave for Lenora

You spin me round (Like a record) by Dead or Alive

“ I got to be your friend now, baby

And I would like to move in just a little bit closer

All I know is that to me

You look like you're lots of fun

Open up your lovin' arms

Watch out, here I come

You spin me right 'round, baby

Right 'round like a record, baby

I want your love”

» byler byler byler, Mike made a choice to be Will's friend and now he wants to get closer than that

Space Age Love Song by A Flock of Seagulls

“ I saw your eyes

And you made me smile

For a little while

I was falling in love

I saw your eyes

And you touched my mind

Although it took a while

I was falling in love”

» Mike took a while to understand his feelings for Will, he's in love with him by s4

What is love? by Howard Jones

“ And maybe love is letting people be just what they want to be

The door always must be left unlocked

To love when circumstance may lead someone away from you

And not to spend the time just doubting”

» True love lets you be yourself, Will makes Mike feel like he can be himself... he doesn't have to "act cool" like he did for Eleven

THAT'S ALL, FOLKS!

Thank you for reading 💕

#byler #will byers #mike wheeler #Mike's playlists analysis #bisexual Mike Wheeler

[netflixbyler]

it seriously irks me when people accuse byler shippers of fetishising mlm relationships or claim we only ship them because they “look good together”. i’ve been told countless times that shipping mike & will is sexualising - because they’re “just kids” (cue those same people drooling in excitement when mike & eleven - literal 13 year olds with no romantic experience - were making out obsessively in s3).

there’s a real problem in this fandom - and society in general - that used to make me feel ashamed to even point out queer-coding, because apparently, if a gay couple has any chance of becoming canon, it needs to have 1000x the amount of evidence than a heterosexual couple does for people to actually open their eyes and address the possibility of it happening. otherwise, you’re “forcing a sexuality upon the character”. it’s interesting how they don’t recognise they are doing the exact same thing when they scream ‘MIKE IS STRAIGHT’ in social media comments. i don’t recall that ever being confirmed (news flash: kissing someone of the opposite sex does NOT prove anything, especially if you’re unable to say/write i love you to that person … make it make sense ??). and that dry crap about mike reflecting his parents’ loveless marriage would be a very weak storyline, considering he never expressed any concern towards their relationship dynamic, which was also written in a comedic style rather than a sad one. i heavily doubt that his huge emotional monologue will revolve around a topic that has had absolutely zero build-up (y’all know how much the duffer bros love their parallels to earlier seasons) and would add nothing to his character development.

many people are blinded by heteronormativity, and to be completely honest, i’ve fallen victim to queer-baiting a couple of times, so i’m not saying it’s not a possibility. however, i find it impossible to ignore the growing evidence that mike wheeler is also heavily queer-coded, and the reason why fans are ignorant to the clues is because he presents himself as straight. that’s literally the whole point. that’s why he’s described as “clueless”, and acts awkward/conflicted for no apparent reason. it’s a very accurate depiction of internalised homophobia & forced conformity to a ‘safe’ or ‘normal’ relationship, when in reality, all the cracks in his picture-perfect romance had already been forming since season 3.

#byler #mike wheeler

[incorrecttowerofgodquotes]

Thank you for your queer undertones analysis of tog, i really love it! If you don’t mind, can i ask your opinion about the korean and English translation of tog? It seems like you already said that the English version watered down the queer-coding and the gay subtext in tower of god, is it ok if you tell me some examples of that? I don’t know Korean so i hope this won’t bother you too much. Another question is about Bam growing his hair out again. He even said that he would like it longer, so that’s something he really wants to do. How do you think about that? What’s the reason behind that? And the last question is, could you please do more analysis about the queer subtext in tog? You did amazing job and it will be so great to see more of your analysis. English isn’t my language and i don’t use it daily so sorry if the grammar is too bad. Thank you for reading this and i hope you have a really nice dayyy!!!

Thank you for the ask! I hope you also have a nice day, and your English and grammar were perfectly fine!

1) About Korean, I don’t know any (I just learned how to type with a Korean keyboard) so I don’t know exactly how the translation differs, especially when it comes to the queer lens. I’m also not that knowledgeable on how queer society is seen in South Korea (but I’ll definitely be researching into that later). If anyone here knows even baseline info (but make sure it’s credible) then feel free to share it. From what little I know, LGBT issues in SK are still seen as taboo and kept in their niche subcultures.

2) The growing out or cutting of hair is usually synonymous with a change in character when shown in media. Bam’s hair style at the beginning of Season 2, showed how he isolated himself from others, covering his eyes with his bangs. What struck me upon the start of S3 was that Bam’s hair looked somewhat similar to Khun’s, and that he had a more confident and snarky personality that was subdued in the first two seasons. I don’t think Bam will go back to his FUG hairstyle, but instead gain a new one, one that frames his face better but shows a clear maturity. Bam might start braiding his hair, which would add another similarity to Khun, but I think he’ll just stick with a ponytail for the foreseeable future.

3) Finally for the queer analysis, I’ll probably get up to more of those shenanigans now that we’ve entered the marriage arc. I’ll probably do one over White in the near future. I might also do an analysis over the princesses and how SIU showcases the unrealistic standards women are forced under in an oppressive patriarchy

#vibrating at high speeds about shoe metaphors #thinking so much about Jahad’s shoes #tower of god #tog

[canonically47]

i watched the entirety of total drama 2023 today, and here's how it went (spoilers below!) (no duh...):

got very, very, VERY emotionally attached to zee, laughed my ass off at most of his lines, absolutely adored every minute of him being on screen, and cringed when he announced he had joined both alliances, then got SUPER MAD at chris allowing the players to vote again. what bullshit

found bowie and raj's romance absolutely adorable, although cut a bit short, but they made up for it by bringing everyone back in the finale and having raj cheer for bowie so intensely! also, ADORED wayne and how supportive he was! he was absolutely adorable!!! and after being so into the many queer ships of the fandom, actually hearing the words 'gay' and 'bi' on total drama made me kind of tear up. that was adorable.

also, loved everyone, from wayne to chris and sharks being supportive of bowie and raj, but how much chris emphasized his hatred of emma and chase's relationship. i also hate them, by the way. emma was cool until folding all the way back for chase.

very mixed on ripper. on one side, he is annoying and one big fart joke, but on the other side, he seems like he could genuinely be sweet if he tried hard enough - or not at all! he didn't even want to help millie, but she still found him helpful when giving her advice on how to win priya over again!

weirdly enough, found no new ships except for rajbow. saw some people shipping priya and millie, as well as wayne and raj, but honestly - and this is VERY unusual for me to say - i think those two duos are way better off as platonic! of course, massive respect for those who ship them, they have some cute moments that i guess you could take for romantic if you wanted to, but they're not my style.

the whole goat thing was hilarious. the goats going >:O at bowie saying he has eaten and will eat goat again was just so good.

the pretty boys need to try to make it further, man. justice for caleb. a lot of eliminations were kind of unfair to me, actually, especially axel's, and for ripper i really felt like he could've gone another time. i've already mentioned zee. *sobs* zee............... he is the winner in my eyes. (is it obvious i have a favorite?) (i think it's bowie but zee is tying with him. zee <333)

i kind of disliked millie at the start but hearing her mini-speech about her own insecurities and thinking she's above everyone else...argh i kin her so hard stop she deserves the world.

chef? was actually interested?? in their safety??? up until the finale of course but i found that so weird

i screamed in shock and disappointment when bowie didn't win, but i kind of knew deep down inside they were bold enough to add an openly gay contestant, and although i was certain he would make it to the finale, i was expecting the win to go to priya because they wouldn't go much further than that. next season, though :')

i was very surprised with how major some of the roles were, and how insignificant others were! i feel like lauren, mk and nichelle were hyped up a lot, but i barely got attached to them, while i just saw one or two posts of priya and millie, and assumed they would not even make it to the final ten. i also thought some ships would have more interactions due to some fandom posts - nichelle and axel... the potential was THERE... but they barely got a WORD........

what i'm thinking for next season:

chase and emma break up all over again, but (HOPEFULLY.) this time it's for good, and emma and bowie get a chance to properly reunite and become friends again.

bowie and raj will also be an official couple, but because of that, i doubt chris would let them on the same team.

it would also be fun to see wayne on the same team as bowie, and not raj! bowie talks his ears off about how great raj is, and then wayne does the same (but platonically) and it's great. everyone hates them because all they hear about is raj, raj, raj.

caleb - please, please, god - makes it a bit further this time, and damien makes it to the final five! everyone is shocked, including him.

my ideal final five would be raj, wayne, bowie, zee, and damien, but i seriously doubt that would happen because they always keep things equal between the genders, so, for the sake of the next point, let's say it's raj, axel, zee, nichelle, and bowie.

my ideal elimination order would be:

mk ("we don't want you spying on us again, that's gross")

lauren (costs them the challenge because she got carried away being creepy)

caleb (the votes are rigged against him yet again, this time by julia! goddamn it julia)

ripper (his pride got in the way and cost them the challenge, but he managed to get a bit of redemption in the episodes he was in),

millie (too injured from a challenge to continue, urges priya to keep pushing forward)

julia (people get tired of her bullshit much quicker this time and vote her off before she can cause any more unwanted drama, but spoiler alert, bowie's still here, so you did nothing, guys)

chase (right after emma's major breakup with him! ouch.)

priya (takes it VERY. HARD.)

emma (the votes are rigged against her)

damien (he put up a good fight)

wayne ("WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYNEEEEEEEEEE" - raj)

nichelle (it is found out that she rigged the votes)

bowie ("BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEE" - raj).

the final three are raj, axel, and zee. raj has an alliance with wayne, bowie, emma and zee - zee joined because he wanted to make up for the last failed alliances - and so, raj and zee team up to get axel out (because they literally couldn't otherwise).

side note, bowie still got voted out because nichelle helped by rigging the votes from afar for axel. what the fuck.

so, for the first time in total drama history, the final two are of the same gender! lots of angry letters for that one.

it seems that zee has the win for a while - against all odds! - but, to make up for his boyfriend losing completely last time, raj takes the win, and splits the money between himself, wayne, and bowie! there's a remaining dollar in there somewhere, and zee's mad happy to get it. (raj actually gives him more, but that's between you and me.)

and that's it! i'm obviously very biased because i have favorites, other opinions are welcome if you wanna discuss :D

here is a list of my ranking of the characters (for which this tierlist was used) to finish this post off strong:

#total drama #total drama 2023 #total drama island #tdi #td #td23 #td2023

[lordisitmine]

TTNBD BLOG PART FOUR

Covers chapters 4 and 4.5 of the story.

This is the chapter that gave me the idea to do these commentary blogs in the first place! This is also the longest chapter so far (*distant laughter from the future*)- I originally intended to try and keep each chapter of this story around seven thousand words, so they would all be nice and even, but alas, I’m just too verbose for such consistency. The story has to split the right way, and so that inevitably means that some updates will be longer than others. One of the later chapters I have planned might very well end up being twice as long as this one (*laughs again*), so I’ll really have no place to hide at that point. So, without further adieu, let’s get to it!

CHAPTER FOUR: AT THE TURNING OF THE YEAR

The title of this chapter isn’t directly inspired by anything- there is a folk song with that name, but I hadn’t heard of it until way after I already came up with the title for this chapter. It’s kind of a neat song though, so I’ll link it here- it’s about the changing of the seasons and the nature of mortality, and the kinds of things people think about and sing about at new year’s.

This chapter starts with one of my favourite scenes that I’ve written for this story so far. I think it’s probably my own personality showing through again, but the idea of having a woman dress up for me is like O_o and picking out her clothes for her!? Please. Anyway, Sybil is not being subtle… Lizzy is just really oblivious, though maybe not so shy anymore, based on the way the chapter ends. Don’t worry, don’t worry, we’ll get there.

I know Lizzy’s colour is pink; her outfits in the anime are all based on Lolita fashion, and they’re all in very typical feminine colours. Since she’s grown up now, I wanted her style to reflect that, as well as the changing of the times. And I just think blondes look so good in green. It’s my favourite colour, and it’s the colour of her eyes, so it would make them pop. I have at least one more party scene in this story, though, and she’ll be back in pink and frills for that one. I just wanted to give her a simpler, more classic silhouette for this one, which is what I think Sybil would have picked for her, with the ridiculously large sleeves that were so emblematic of the time.

And a Gibson girl hairstyle! This was a popular hairstyle of the time, albeit a little later, more into the 1910s (Edwardian rather than Victorian). But like I’ve said, I can and will fudge the numbers a little when it comes to historical accuracy, if I think I can get away with it and if I really want to be self-indulgent. This is fanfiction, after all. The hairstyle I described was not the one I ended up drawing. There are some variations when it comes to what constitutes a Gibson girl hairstyle, and of course, it would depend on a given woman’s hair length/texture etc. What I described was simpler, more like the picture on the left, but what I ended up drawing was more like the one on the right, which is so beautiful, and I’m obsessed with how the drawing turned out.

As for Sybil, who I imagine to be more on the masculine end of the fashion spectrum- I wanted her to have a Marlene Dietrich moment (for those unaware, Marlene Dietrich was a singer/actress who was very popular in the WWII era and was known for her bending of gender roles and her queerness). Once again, I’m being anachronistic- Marlene Dietrich and her iconic menswear wouldn’t be a thing until decades later, but I can pretty much guarantee that lesbians have been wearing tuxedos for as long as tuxedos have existed.

Madame LaChance’s shop is called Chanceux en Amour. That’s French for ‘lucky in love’ and since Madame’s name is literally ‘lady luck’, I thought it fit. Women have been seamstresses, both domestically and commercially, for centuries, but for a long time, they did all the labour and reaped none of the benefits. So yeah, this is a women-owned business, baby! We love to see it.

As we know by now, Madame is not only a friend of Sybil and Simeon’s but is connected to Ciel and Sebastian as well. I like to think she treats those boys a little like dolls, like if she comes up with some insane design she wants to try, she’ll test it on them. I swear to God I must have been a fashion/costume designer in another life because I’m obsessed with describing/drawing outfits for my characters in everything always.

I am so incredibly proud of these ones. Ciel and Sebastian are known by their employees and patrons only as the Raven and the Phoenix (I referred in TTEOE to Ciel being like a phoenix and it stuck oops) and I wanted them to have stupid, extravagant outfits to reflect that.

Anyway, yes, Sebastian is wearing thigh-high boots, and yes, you bet they’re the stiletto heels he wears whenever he’s in his true form and we only see his feet! Ciel is in heels too, lol, he would have to be to keep up with Sebastian at all.

I am in love with the idea of the two of them creating this whole mysterious persona around themselves, and I’m a sucker for a masquerade. Ciel’s outfit (the sleeves in particular) was inspired by Shakespearean costumes- I’m a big fan of theatre and Shakespeare and I love when characters in stories have an element of mystery and performance to them. Ciel is nobility, so he’s used to garnering a certain level of attention and respect from the people around him, and I don’t think that would change now that he’s a demon but I also think he would like the element of anonymity that a mask gives him.

I’m a BIG fan of the 2004 Joel Schumacher Phantom of the Opera film (if you couldn’t tell by the way I described the theatre in this chapter, or the outfits I have everyone in). If you’re trying to imagine anything in this chapter, it’s all pretty much lifted directly from the aesthetic of that movie. And I was also listening to the 2013 Baz Luhrman Great Gatsby movie soundtrack when I was writing it too. Yeah yeah, it’s the 1900s not the 1920s but I have to get in the old-timey party mood somehow, and that soundtrack was hugely popular/ I had it on my iPod when I was a teenager and at the height of my Black Butler obsession so. They’re somehow kind of linked in my mind.

Le Cour de Corbeau literally translates to ‘the raven’s heart’ and what is Ciel if not Sebastian’s heart? I’m thinking of writing a one-shot spin-off once TTNBD is done that goes back and explores exactly how Sebastian and Ciel met Madame and ended up owning an entire nightclub. I don’t have the exact timeline of events planned out but I imagine it involved some sort of demonic shenanigans so it should be fun to come up with something.

The club is located in the Montmartre area of Paris, which was one of the main gathering areas of the queer community in Paris in the early twentieth century. Paris in general has been home to many underground gay clubs, salons, cafés and cabarets throughout history. Even to this day, it’s considered one of the queer capitals of the world. I knew I had to pay homage to the queer community in my fic, knowing Ciel and Sebastian were going to be living in Paris.

In chapter nine of To the End of Everything, I wrote a scene where the two of them snuck off from a ball to be together, and they danced in a quiet, dark room, and Ciel had a thought of some day being able to do it in the open. I was thinking of that when I decided to set a chapter in this club.

The scene with Lizzy and Sybil in the carriage on the way to the club was really tricky to write- it’s difficult to write a sort of coming out scene without being able to use any of the modern terminology we use now. I’m of the opinion that homosexuality was talked about in common society a lot more than the history books would have us believe. Humans have been having sex longer than we’ve been doing pretty much anything else, and that must count for something.

Lizzy and Sybil get to dance in this chapter! I spent a long time trying to find the right song for them, and I settled on Serenade for strings in C major my Pyotor Illyich Tchaikovsky. Tchaikozvky’s waltzes have this grandness to them, and they always make me feel like I’m being floated around on a cloud of air, which is how I wanted Lizzy to feel during this scene. I believe I’ve said this before, but music is very important to me and it inspires me greatly, and so I’m always finding ways to subtly work it into my writing.

Speaking of music- let’s talk about the scene with Madame’s performance- one of my favourite Sebaciel tropes is them having sex in semi-public places, during parties or in Ciel’s office or anywhere they might be discovered at any second so Ciel has to try to be quiet while Sebastian will try to make him get loud on purpose. There’s just something so utterly them about it. Also Sebastian leaving his gloves on. Enough said.

The song Madame is singing during this scene is from Mozart’s famous opera Don Giovanni, called Vedrai, Carino- specifically the aria from that scene. In that scene, one of the characters, Masetto, has been beaten up, and his fiancée, Zerlina, finds him and promises she can cure his wounds… with sex. It’s all cheeky double entendre and it’s very romantic and cute.

Here are the lyrics:

Come, come; if that's the worst, there's no great harm done.

Come with me home to supper,

And give your faithful promise, you'll nevermore be jealous;

Those bruises can be cured, where love is zealous.

Come, shall I tell thee,

How what befell thee,

Soon can be cured

By my potent charm?

No garden grows it,

Though it aboundeth,

Like furnace glows it,

Yet none 'twill harm,

All guard and cherish it:

Gold cannot buy it,

Say, wilt thou try it

Soft 'tis, and warm.

Has thy wit flown,

Hear, how it throbs within,

lays his hand on her heart

'Tis all thine own,

Ah, 'tis thine only

The melody is cheerful but lilting, and it builds and builds with a sort of heartbeat rhythm toward the end… I just thought it was perfect for this scene.

Sybil and Madame’s conversation was interesting to write. I realised part way through that I was writing an exchange with only original characters in it. I wasn’t sure how many people would really want to read a story with so much original character content, but the response to this story and especially the characters I’ve created has been wonderful and really touching. Being a writer is the most important thing in the world to me- someday I hope to have my own novels out in the world, so even a little bit of positive attention for the more original aspects of my fanfiction is a big encouragement.

Anyway, onto the next section of commentary, which is the scene between Alois and Claude.

I want to be clear- being a victim of sexual assault or child sexual abuse does not automatically turn you into the kind of person Alois is. It is completely possible for CSA victims to have normal, healthy relationships as adults. Alois, of course, was never in a safe enough space or had the necessary support system to heal from the trauma he endured. Instead, he ended up internalizing the abuse he experienced and convinced himself he was in control of it, that he was the one manipulating and using the old man, and that has led to him having a skewed perception of himself and his own sexuality, as well as an unhealthy relationship with sex in general.

The human mind will convince itself of all sorts of things in the pursuit of survival. People will cope however they can. There is no wrong way to survive. In Alois’s case, he sold his soul to a demon. Clearly, he has much different motivations and boundaries than a regular real-life person- and often in fiction, an unhealthy mind is much more interesting to write and read about, especially when there’s things like demons involved.

From the beginning of planning this story, I wanted Claude and Alois to have a super messy dynamic. I see Alois and Claude as a narrative foil to Ciel and Sebastian- the same dynamic, a young aristocrat and his demon butler, but taken to the opposite extreme conclusion. The same devotion, obsession, even attraction, but inverted- reluctant, resentful, but no less intense and inescapable. Where Sebastian is loyal, Claude is treacherous, but he is no less drawn to Alois, if only because of the contract between them.

Alois and Claude’s dynamic as I write it is this: Alois may be the master, and he may think he is in control, but he will always get more than he bargains for when it comes to Claude. Of course, I’m writing this commentary months after this chapter came out, and I’ve pushed that dynamic even further in subsequent chapters.

As to how it will end between them- well, you’ll have to wait and see.

On to the climatic title moment of the chapter, the countdown to the new year and the new century: I was just a little kid in 1999, so my memories are vague. I remember some stuff about the Y2K scare (for those of you younger than I am who don’t know what I’m talking about, you can google it, I’m not going off on a tangent here 😆. Anyway, I imagine the coming of a new century must be really exciting, more so than any other new year celebration, because it’s far rarer.

And of course, what better moment to kiss a girl you like for the first time than at such a classic, traditional moment? There’s something so gripping about the turning of the year, that moment when it feels like everything is about to change even though it really isn’t. It gives that same sort of exhilarating feeling as kissing someone for the first time. Kissing someone for the first time is terrifying too, but it’s also amazing.

Of course, things are about to go sideways for Lizzy, so she’s not going to get to experience any of what normally comes after such a thing, at least not for a while.

I like to imagine Ciel and Sebastian standing up on that balcony, looking down into the street over the crowds and the fireworks, and Ciel’s jaw just dropping when he sees Lizzy kissing Sybil. Lizzy?? Kissing a girl?? He’s not jealous or anything, obviously, but it must have been quite a shock for him, it’s no wonder he was staring.

CHAPTER FOUR-POINT-FIVE: INTERLUDE; AULD LANG SYNE

There are going to be a few interludes throughout this fic- they’re really just chapters on they’re own, but they’re shorter parts that feel like they need to stand on their own. Also, I like the word ‘interlude’ and wanted an excuse to feel fancy.

Auld Lang Syne is of course a quite well-known (at least in my neck of the woods) Scottish folk song that people typically sing at New Year’s. it was originally a poem written in the Scots dialect by poet Robert Burns, written in 1788, but he said himself that he had “taken it down from an old man”. The first verse and chorus can be directly attributed to a 1711 folk song by James Watson, the rest being attributed to Burns himself. Watson’s original stanza and refrain are the most memorable of the song’s lyrics:

Should Old Acquaintance be forgot,

and never thought upon;

The flames of Love extinguished,

and fully past and gone:

Is thy sweet Heart now grown so cold,

that loving Breast of thine;

That thou canst never once reflect

On old long syne.

Chorus:

On old long syne my Jo,

On old long syne,

That thou canst never once reflect,

On old long syne.

The phrase “auld lang syne” can be translated to mean “old long since”, but in a more general sense just means “times long past”. The phrase “for auld lang syne” can me taken to mean “for the sake of old times”. The song, while generally sung at the stroke of midnight at the new year, can also be used as a general farewell- it’s about remembering the past while moving toward the future. It’s been sung at graduations, funerals, and other such events for this reason.

Thematically, it’s perfect for where we’re at in the story. “Should old acquaintance be forgot, and never thought upon” is sort of an inverse of what’s happening- Lizzy still thinks of Ciel often, and Ciel has just had his past brought back to him despite having moved on from it. “Is thy sweet love now grown so cold, that loving Breast of thine; that thou canst never once reflect on old lang syne?” Has Ciel really lost all attachment to his past- does he really care so little what happens to the people he once cared about that he can’t even be bothered to look back, or to literally go back to his old life in some sense?

Alois is hungover and yet somehow still a little horny- there’s not too much to say about it other than OOF. I always have more fun writing Claude’s inner monologue anyway (I hate him so much but it’s so fun to write him), so the scene at the breakfast table where he makes the comment about Ciel not having the butler Alois does really tickle me. I love when characters throw shade at each other without realising what they’re saying. And the fact that Alois has to go around solving crimes and blames Ciel for it despite never having met him? Delightful. What a whiny bitch he is.

Abberline is the boss man now, and he’s doing his whole strong man though guy in charge routine, but he can’t fool me. He’s just a little guy. Still, though, it’s not great that someone leaked stuff to the press- it’s almost like whoever did it wants to cause a panic and make sure that the message gets sent to someone… I wonder what it could mean?

I don’t actually know if the London news would be published in Paris so quickly. I’m probably stretching historical accuracy to its breaking point haha, but like I always remind myself, I’m the only one who cares about stuff like that, and it’s my story anyway so ultimately, I can do whatever I want!

Ciel and Sebastian would be walking down the street holding hands if it was allowed. They’re so gross and domestic in this story and I’m not even sorry. Thinking about them going to a café in the morning and sitting looking at the paper and people-watching while Ciel eats a mountain of sugary treats and Sebastian drinks his coffee- I am often inclined to think about little else. I promise that when all of this is over, they will go back to doing that. But the main plot of the story has finally caught up with them.

“Would you hate me terribly if I said I wanted to go back to London?”

“I would hate you terribly if you pretended you did not.”

One of the things Sebastian loves most about Ciel is how unapologetic he is about the things he wants. Ciel’s motives as a human were never about being good- only about serving his family’s name, which was an obligation as well as a desire, but also about revenge, about going to any extent to achieve his goals. People so often sacrifice their dreams or wants for the sake of others, or for the sake of politeness, or decency- but Ciel was never like that. In a lot of ways, Ciel is a selfish person, self-indulgent and stubborn and a lot of other things people normally don’t like. So how could a demon like Sebastian not love him?

For the record, I love Ciel also. I call him selfish and stubborn and indulgent and all of these somewhat negative things, but I mean it affectionately. He’s a pretty little bastard and I love him so much. I think he should get everything he asks for and be allowed to do whatever he wants forever. (Me 🤝 Sebastian).

Okay so. I had to kill someone. There had to be a murder to bring Ciel and Sebastian back to London. It wasn’t going to be Lizzy that dies, obviously, but who else could it have been that would have made Ciel even remotely interested? I didn’t want to kill one of Lizzy’s parents, they’re useful characters to have around. Not Abberline- he’s even more important. So, Edward was the natural choice. I don’t think Ciel liked Edward at all- Edward certainly didn’t like him- but neither do I. Or rather, I don’t really have any feelings for Edward as a character whatsoever- he’s so minor. So murdered it is. The more important part is HOW he was murdered, obviously, but the fact that the victim is someone connected to Ciel’s past is also important.

RIP Edward Midford, thanks for your sacrifice to the plot. You will not be forgotten.

I think Lizzy and Sybil would have probably gotten together that day if Edward hadn’t have died and sent Lizzy on a whole new emotional arc. So maybe actually Edward, fuck you for getting murdered and keeping your sister from getting some. And fuck me for writing it that way I guess 😅

Anyway, that’s all for now! I’m on hiatus right now, and I’m working on the outline for the final arc of the story, and also trying to catch up on these. I’m probably going to start grouping chapters together in posts. There ended up being so many more chapters in this story than I originally planned. See you again soon!

#ttnbd #fanfiction #commentary #black butler #kuroshitsuji #sebaciel #about writing #lord speaks #this is almost 4 thousand words lolsob #Spotify

[whenyourshipfinallysetssail]

Just some random

STRANGER THOUGHTS 2

***SPOILERS FOR SEASON 4***

*****My smoldering hot-takes on the season’s hottest DILF. 🥵******

Jeezus, is it a million and one degrees in here, or am I trapped in a Russian Prison with Enzo?

See, that’s funny because you’d think a Russian prison would be cold, but then there’s a hot DILF in there.

Question number one: ok yeah enemies to lovers but has anyone ever tried “helpful prison guard to sexy cell mate?” Is that a trope? Can we make it one?

Now you’re probably asking yourself, does this crazy bitch ship Hopper and Enzo?

And the answer is yes, of course I do, but not in an “I’m gonna be mad if this show doesn’t make this cannon” sort of way. I know nobody is queer-baiting me here. If anyone is queer-baiting me it’s me. I’m very good at it, thank you very much. I can imagine incredibly straight men are in love when they’re on screen together in my eyeline for too long. That said, Ronance, Steddie, Byler, and Jargyle: make it canon or we riot. [How fucking dumb was it when they just threw a random chick at Argyle to show the audience he’s got a big case of the not-gays? Who cares. This show loves smashing straights against each other. Show me some bi 80’s teens or shut the fuck up. Also, watch out, everybody, cause the Mileven Mafia is about to come gunning for me: I don’t give one single fuck about Mike and El’s relationship and I never have. El’s busy, guys. She’s got a whole “facing down an inter-dimensional existential threat/I’ve got two dads but one is abusive and one’s in a gulag” thing going on. Fuckin’ don’t make her date a boy right now.]

Now, back to that gulag. Ah, Enzo. Dimitri “Enzo” Antonov. My imaginary boyfriend that someone else imagined for me, who is never going to date my other imaginary boyfriend from Season 1 [on TV, at least. In head canon it’s already happening and you can’t stop it] for two reasons: A) because obviously Jopper is a thing and the writers aren’t going to suddenly drop that just because we got season 2 of the gay pirates. (But wouldn’t that be WILD? What if they had shot two versions of the ending and they held back Vol. 2 so they could use the gay ending if Our Flag Means Death got renewed? Would the internet survive the aftermath?) And B) my two boyfriends can never date because canonically Season 1 Hopper died in Season 3 when the Duffer Brothers got amnesia and started telling David Harbor to just scream at everyone in every scene. RIP, baby. I still love you.

[Side-Note: I’ve got so many good hashtags for this ship you guys: #jimitri #hopptonov #enzopper #hoppzo. They write themselves. These men fit like puzzle pieces. Sexy, sexy little puzzle pieces. Mmmm. Cold, boys? Why don’t you two papa bears snuggle up for warmth? Yeah . . . Yeah . . . That’s real cozy . . . . . . . ANYWAY]

And of course, C) #jimzo #twopigsinablanket [lol, they’re both cops] is never gonna happen because they’re absolutely setting up my glorious Russian cinnamon roll for a tragic heroic death.

Look, snow-muffin, I love you. You’re the steely-eyed, growly-voiced, salt and peachy mustached, true friend to the death, morally grey Russian with a not-so-secret heart of gold of my fuckin’ dreams. I’d watch a whole spin off that’s just you teaching your son to ice fish in silence. I want you and Mikhail to defect to America and move in with Jim and El and wind up in a super bi thrupple with Chief Hopper and my self insert OC. (Her name is Azelia Moondragon, she has three different color eyes, she can change genitalia at will, she has an IQ of 3.6 billion, and and she’s more powerful than the Mind Flayer, Vecna,El, and eight demogorgons put together . . . Nah, just fuckin’ with you. Her name’s Kate Kauffman and she’s a 38 year old therapist from New Jersey with a secret drinking problem.)

Listen, my ice duke, my proud Siberian wolf, my shot of Svayak with a spoonful of caviar, we both know you could have an AMAZING arc in Season 5. We both know you could wind up snatched by the US government and forced to remain at the lab in Hawkins while the feds scramble to cover up the existence of the Demogorgon you saw, that you could have a moving side mission to bring your son to the US illegally while you help your bestest pal Hop and his annoying girlfriend [no, she’s fine, it’s fine, I like her, they’re good together, not all the hot men want to kiss each other, and that’s ok] parent their sulky teens and save the damn world.

We both know you could fall madly, passionately in love with the mysterious new psychologist that the lab hires to provide you and the other Demogorgon survivors “trauma and readjustment therapy,” but who has secretly been tasked with wiping your memory so you can never go back to Russia and tell the world what you know. We’re both well aware that after she succumbs to your arctic-foxlike charm, Dr. Kate Kauffman could never bare to wipe your memories, that she would instead confess that she is not a psychiatrist, she is in fact a powerful psychic, a subject of the experiment that preceded Hawkins Lab, that in a fit of tears as she laid bare her secrets she would lift up her sleeve to reveal the mark on her wrist, faded, but perfectly legible: “000,” and then as you took her in your arms and told me no harm has been done, all is forgiven, you’re here to protect me now, the two of us would begin to float into the . . .

*Ahem* At any rate . . .

My beautiful near-winter ermine, we both know you have so much potential as a character. But it’s time for both of us to face the harsh, cold facts, so much colder and more harsh than the winters of your beloved homeland.

Dimitri, my darling, here are the reasons we both know you’re definitely not making it out of Season 4 alive:

1) You’ve got a son to get back to. ROOKIE mistake, my love. I’m frankly astonished at you. And you revealed it RIGHT before the big monster battle? I mean, why don’t you just do a big monologue about how you two are going to open up an awesome rabbit farm when you get home? Do you WANT to die? Baby, I volunteer for a suicide hotline. Next time you feel compelled to confess touching details about yourself the night before you face a deadly threat right at the end of a season arc, call me. We can talk it through. You have so many reasons to live!

And of course, that is why you are going to die.

2) Where is Mikhail’s mom?

Now, this one’s interesting. Arguments COULD be made this could go either way.

The facts are these:

You’ve made zero mention of your wife in all this “reflecting upon our lives as we stare into the gaping maw of death” talk. MAYBE your wife divorced you, and that’s why you don’t like to talk about her. Seems unlikely, given Hop got you to punch him by implying she was disloyal. (Although we can’t rule out the possibility that that remark hit just a little too close to home. Perhaps your drive to be seen as a hero of the Motherland in the eyes of your son stems from a need to demonstrate you are the REAL daddy, a bigger, braver, cooler man than the stepfather his mother left you for? Interesting. We can discuss this again in your next session, Dimitri. That is, if we even do any talking next time . . . I mean, what? Huh? Oh! Right, the thingy. Yeah, sorry, I uh, got distracted by the . . . Nevermind.)

ANYWAY, the much more likely answer is, Mikhail’s mommy is deadzo. You are not only a DILF, you are a hot widower, and the show runners are saving this juicy detail for the inevitable “calm before the coming storm,” beat, the moment just before your heroic sacrifice during the final battle or the crazy escape sequence, when Hop says something cheesy like “You’ve got to rest up. Tomorrow you’re gonna need all your strength to hug that wife and kid of yours.”

And you’ll stare just left of camera with your gorgeous, steely gaze, and you’ll say in your low, haunted voice “I will need strength for only one hug. I am all the family my son has left.”

BOOM. You’re dead. The emotional stakes just got higher and all the Duffer Brothers have to do now is fry ‘em up in the bacon grease of tragic irony and serve them to the audience with a side of mashed dream-potatoes as we weep for you. Now your son is an orphan! And Season 5 has a ready-made cute Russian to bring in and fatten with all our collective emotional investment before the final slaughter. [Fun fact: the third ritual sacrifice of a beloved fictional Russian in a series opens an actual real portal to a hell-dimension in our world!!! The last one opened on January 15, 1968, when the finale of The Man From U.N.C.L.E was broadcast! It was only closed by “chance” when the counter spell was “unwittingly” triggered by casting Armie Hammer as Illya Kuryakin in the GUY RITCHIE directed remake. GUY RITCHIE. Did you know he made a King Arthur Movie?! The Lock, Stock, and Every Movie Jason Statham Has Ever Been in guy. Made a remake of a 60’s tv show and a King Arthur movie with WAY TOO MANY GOD DAMN WIZARDS. Anyway, like I said, luckily the portal was closed, but the things which came from its depths still roam our Earth, seeking raw flesh and fun 60’s fashion accessories. Remember, Ritchie has more dark power and arcane knowledge than he’s letting on, and always wear an ascot or a cute colorful beret when you go out or you will perish horribly!]

Then again, there is a hopeful reading of the no-wife-scenario. MAYBE, dead wife means no strings to hold down the season 5 Enzo romantic D plot. MAYBE they’re leaving you open for more hasty and gratuitous hetero coupling! Doctor Kauffman?! Paging Doctor Kauffman to the set of Stranger Things Season 5! They’re prepping for your close up! And after that, you’re making ST history, they’re setting up to shoot the show’s first sex scene with two adults!!!

[remember when we watched two teens awkwardly fuck while Barb was gruesomely murdered in Season 1? That scene has gotten even LESS comfortable somehow as the actors have aged. You look back and see how young they look compared to now and you’re like “yikes! I know the actors were actually twenty, but please! No more babies fucking, thanks!” Glad they stopped doing that shit. If I had to watch El and Mike fuck I’d hurl, for more reasons than one. LEAVE HER ALONE AND LET HER FIGURE OUT HER SHIT GOD DAMN IT I DON’T NEED TO SEE HER PUNCH MIKE’S V CARD I DON’T CARE THIS ISN’T EUPHORIA ITS A GOD DAMN SCI FI 80’s THROWBACK FUN TIME ABOUT PSYCHIC BABIES!]

So, yeah, no wife could mean free meat for the season five Hetero-pairing meat grinder! There’s hope!

. . . Hope? . . . Who am I kidding? I’m sorry, Dimitri, but this is no time, no world for hope! This is Stranger Things! Do you really think we’re gonna make it out of another season with two new cast members still alive like we did in Season 2? No. No, in the end they killed Billy for his hubris in daring to outlast Bob Newby. All good looking things must end, my dear. Let us kill hope now, before she hurts us again.

3) This Show Fucking Loves Killing Precious Russian Moonbeams [alternatively titled “Are The Duffer Brothers Attempting to Summon The Ravening One From Beyond the 9,000th Eye?!?! Stay Tuned For Season 4 to Find Out!”]

I don’t know if, like, everyone in Russia knows everyone in Russia, but, like, probably not? It looks like a pretty big country on the map. But, Enzy, baby, can I call you Enzy? No? Ok, well, Antonov, sweetheart, do you remember Alexi? He was this really cute, funny, enjoyable Russian sidekick they had last season. We had so much fun with him! At first, we thought he was this bad Russian scientist who was going to help screw over our beloved friends, but in the end, he actually teamed up with them! We all really came to love Alexi! He was kind of a fan favorite! People wrote long, rambling things with a lot of weird jokes in them about him on Tumblr. And then . . .

Sound familiar?

Call me a pessimist, but I just don’t think the Duffer Bros can pass up an opportunity to murder a beloved fictional Russian. Besides, it has been long since the gate was opened. The Ravening One cries out for more tender flesh from our own corporeal plane. Its inessence rumbles, its dark mindlessness bends upon our dimension with all the fell, unfeeling intent and obsession of otherworldly instincts. The Duffer Brothers are thinking of doing a 60’s throwback for their next show, and Guy Ritchie is slated to direct the first seance, I mean episode! . . . Plus they’re like so attentive to details, they’d never kill three Russians on accident! Or forget their birthdays.

Dimitri “Enzo” Nikolai Andronic Niklosky Antonov, we could play this little game of denial, dream this little dream of happiness, torture ourselves a little while longer with what can never be. But neither you nor I are fools. Let us say goodbye now. Let us bid farewell to visions of you doing a really cool group side mission for one or two episodes with Steeve and Eddie and Robin and Nancy and Dustin and Max and El. Let us not cling any longer to fantasies of an episode beat where the adults go out on the town and you and Hopper get in a big bar fight with some assholes who are teasing Joyce and Murray, and you do lots of cool punching to some banging 1987 hit like, I don’t know, RICK ASTLEY’S “NEVER GONNA GIVE YOU UP?!?!?!” [Did I do it? Does it count as Rick Rolling if it’s in text?]

Let us let go once and for all of our wistful longing for all the dopamine-explosion moments as you interact and bond and integrate with the entire Stranger Things ensemble, the giddy spectacle of novel combination after novel recombination of beloved characters, that heady right of passage of exploring increasingly bizarre pairings and group dynamics all new ST characters who survive their first season are treated to, until the dread Season 5 finale ultimately tears them all assunder as the eldritch gods of the Upsidedown inevitably triumph and wipe all away with one mighty, slimy tendril of inter-dimensional horror.

All I can say, Enzipie, Dimipants, Antobutt, is that it’s been one hell of a ride. You may be just a corrupt guard of some remote, snowy prison in the middle of nowhere, betrayed by his crooked accomplice, imprisoned alongside his former captive, escaped with the aide of unlikely allies, and doomed by the conventions of narrative drama to die, but you melted my heart.

At least we get to keep Eddie! . . . Right? Duffers? DUFFERS?!

TOUCH HIM AND YOU DIE, GOD DAMN IT!!!

*begins sobbing and singing unintelligible Russian dirges while pounding the table rhythmically with fist*

#enzopper #jimitri #hoppzo #hopptonov #jimzo #two pigs in a blanket #stranger things speculation #stranger things season 4 #st4 spoilers #stranger things #dimitri enzo antonov #enzo stranger things #ronance #steddie #jargyle #Byler #humour #stranger things meme #hopper x enzo

[sanversandfriends]

Fic isn't just an act of repair as Henry Jenkins says, but sometimes a safe place in which to tear everything apart. Here to talk about diving into those darker and grittier character spaces is @nerdsbianhokie, a writer who's been captivating Sanvers and Director Sanvers fans for years.

Tell us a little about yourself. How did you get started writing fic? Have you written for other fandoms? What are your favorite tropes?

Over two decades ago, I was six years old and reading a new book and had the sudden realization that I wanted to make people feel like that book made me feel. Since then, I've been a writer. The first fic I wrote was before I even knew fanfic was a thing. I was barely thirteen years old and all about CSI and had this vivid idea of a very short scene. I quickly found places where fic was hosted, and began to read and post.

Since then, I've moved through fandoms, sometimes staying for a time, like with Bering and Wells, other times only lingering for a brief moment. I watched Supergirl between season 1 and two, after learning that Maggie Sawyer, one of my favorite comic book characters (one of the first openly lesbian characters in mainstream comics? out before the comic code was done away with? what's not to love) was joining the show. I didn't watch beyond the first few episodes of season 3, but the characters have a hold of me and aren't letting go.

Since my time in the Bering and Wells fandom, angst and aus have been my favorite spaces to play in. Exploring darker spaces in the safety of fiction has always been a draw of writing to me, and the Supergirl characters can fit so well in so many different universes.

What were your inspirations for this particular story? What was it about this/these ships that grabbed you?

This fic started as a tumblr post by magicmumu2 about Alex and Maggie reuniting years later because their kids keep getting in trouble at school. I then made it sad by giving Alex a recently dead wife.

I really fell into the idea that Alex and Maggie did move on after their breakup, but then remeet at a later point in their lives. When thinking on how Alex might move on in a way I find interesting, I landed on my beloved Lucy Lane. My ultimate ship for Supergirl is Director Sanvers, so I've written all combinations of Alex, Maggie, and Lucy over the years, but the idea that Alex was happy with Lucy, but then lost Lucy and found Maggie again while still mourning, really pulled me in

Has the time spent away from your story changed your outlook or approach to any of the storylines or themes? Have you had any new inspirations or breakthroughs/revelations in the meantime? 

The time away hasn't really changed much, as I've been distracted by so many other fics, but having new eyes on it has really helped me figure out some things I was stuck on that kept me from working on it more.

 Any advice for new or aspiring fic writers?

Write. The best thing you can do is get ink on the paper. Writing is an art that needs to be practiced just like any other. As somebody with a degree in creative writing, I think the time I've spent writing and the amount of writing I've done has, cumulatively, done more for me than all the classes I took. 

If you were going to promote this fic with a single line, what would it be? 

A deep look into grief and healing, mourning and love.

If you’ve already posted some of your work, please provide a link. 

This is the original post, with the prompt and my initial addition.

I have also posted two separate fics that aren't part of this one but are in the universe as I worked out how Alex and Lucy got together and their family dynamic.

#Supergirl #Fanfic #Sanvers #DirectorSanvers #Finish the Fic