#winstuk

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some sketches

#really brought together by my fondness for the smiley winstons at the end there...having particularly spontaneous drawings: not my forte #so gathering up & overlaying the most fun / comprehensible recent ones just for little a something #winston billions #w/varying obviousness (or obscurity): #winstuk #taylip #& some even more Free For All [winston ft. some degree of implicit intimate contexts w/perhaps other people] #corned beef

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stock down like a falling knife: tayston

stock down but only after significant volatility that had me thinking it might go the other way for a while: riawin

stock down not because of anything that happened between them but because of my deeply diminished respect for them as individuals and as a unit: taylip

stock up: winstuk

#that's the moral of this story. winstuk es numero uno #billions #7x03 #tayston #riawin #taylip #winstuk

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billions could only have a gay man, who was married, and died by the end of that season; only deal with taylor's upending of presumed cishettery by having everyone who's not terrible be automatically down without putting some crisis about it on them, as the better approach to trying to have people talk about it (true, certainly in this case); extent of its room for rian's latent nonbinariness being "never wearing skirts/dresses, always wearing makeup though"....all that is to say, even with neither of them allowed to be "truly" cishet, b/c that's the rewarded realm for superior people, billions could never do winstuk. but they could be kissing right now

#winston & tuk: cannot be cishet in a way that matters (billions means this as an insult. i mean it as a testimonial) #sure convincing that winston's own ideals are like ''wow im the straightest in the world'' after One alleged official dating experience #and Two crushes on nonbinary people. and being the One person who's a) supported tuk b) without telling him to Stop Being A Loser #the one way other characters can Elevate(tm) tuk more than winston: not Really support him; just tell him to Become worthier #while winston: does not do this #anyway nobody at all gets to be ''truly'' ''ideally'' cishet; just like other inventions re the Correctest body/mind's look & behavior #tbt yrs & yrs ago some random lady talking abt ''queering'' her marriage by having a cellphone or smthing like ma'am i agree nowadays fr #winston Cannot have a ''correct'' sexuality even if he's supposedly ''at least'' cishet with it #neither can tuk; next most loserest dumped no gf nerd! neither Unglasses'd; neither Thin; winston's autistic; tuk isn't white.... #show goes ''well just look at & listen to him XD'' towards winston on occasion; usually doesn't ''overtly'' do this; doesn't re: tuk.... #meanwhile the idea that well Non Hot(tm) people who have no place in ideals & fantasy of Correctness & what's most desired? #they can get with Each Other :) that doesn't threaten things haha don't know how wrong they are. or have accepted All They Deserve (less) #billions is so proximately capable of letting these two be Involved in this way lmao. but it also Isn't #can barely handle taylor & just avoids addressing as much outright as often; again: one gay man; neatly married; neatly deceased.... #iconic total hc's: supplementary dynamics the ladies who are also friends they hooked up w/in 6x11 having a fourway abt it #no anxious negotiating of what must be done & must not be done to keep it all cishet ''enough'' lol. congrats to them all #winston billions #winstuk #was already thinking winston could be dating someone we don't know abt till billions tried to reassure us oh he hasn't Of Course lol right #same is true for tuk ofc but he gets the same treatment (ft. ben's utter mysteriousness re: Any mention of past dating history....) #riawin could've been great & was completely welcome; issue became how the abusiveness there would just also manifest re: sex / romance #totally won't find resonance / overlap b/w ableism & homophobia in how winston's sexuality is seen as mere sex drive that's also gross btw #tuk's really also framed the same way like Of Course You'd Be Rejected; and Any desires would become repulsively Too Much #b/c the superior parties have to want it for it to be correct! & they'd never want You! you're just completely wrong & outside of it all #winston talking at all? Too Much. he must be talked To; & that is so usually begrudging & nonideal #other ppl being horney like well of course. pretty epic really #like w/e winston's sucking & fucking & [Saluting] if he isn't dating at all. like good for him. he can make out w/tuk one way or another #''winston can go fuck himself'' (like one bg dialogue person straightup says) Okay. He Is. party for one? this too can be Sex

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btw took a shot at drawing winstuk earlier but as can be the way it wasn't happening. so for now let's take a moment & picture it. i'm thinking a nice chill comfortable hangout. that while sitting side by side it's so doable like i'm looking at your hands in your lap while we talk :) or try kissing, classic

rotate em

#winstuk #winston billions #call it an extra interactive post here. although i suppose that implies interaction w/the post itself in cyberspace. whichever #their relationship / one potentially ft. kissing for sure / they individually: too powerful for billions. who & what Wasn't.... #everyone at tmc too powerful though rian's potential thusly was yoinked away after 5x07 rip #ben & tuk & bentuk of course. taylor extremely like their constant plotline: stifled & hindered by the Priority of these mfs.... #those prioritized mfs being everyone Not too powerful for billions lol #ofc it's everyone described by the lgw verse who Is beyond the scope & capability of the series #i.e. (sick of being) the weirdo the wuss the underdog (being) the misfit the old school analog (being) the oddball the weakling freak #the failure the sucker the please don't speak #refer to that last post abt it lol billions is just like ohh but you shouldn't need a squip you should just like Be A Chloe already #but if you aren't then Yeah Of Course learn from the organic aba the characterized at least partly internalized aba #hm wonder what they'd feel about how jeremy finds a niche amongst the Popular Crowd rather than just becoming invisible & silent (: #or having the Decency to stay on the fringes & affirm the whole approach by passing along the Violence like rich #anyways lmfao. winstuk having nice times. a somethingship whatevership they wantship #as always Soooo [grabs] #just little a moment little a treat for us to have

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fun concept re winstuk is winston being the Crushed On party for once in his life

#not to say necessarily unilaterally lmao but you know. anything else it's like say at least basically simultaneous initial interest.... #who knows what's been going on Just Out Of Frame since they just wander in frame together in 5x08 suddenly #and then we never touch on them interacting again until over a whole season later lol #why not like. here's winston & his joie de vivre...someone paying attention to you / offering earnest support / validation / hype #co crying in bathrooms; having conversations just in or out of frame; he Is so good at math; he's like bestie im getting you laid.... #having his hot quant summer see him in only a tee multiple times.... #just seems feasible and a fun idea. winston not having to be nervous from the start for once in a scenario.... #all the realms of hcs to me....even winston & tuk being friends is like okay feels like Also the realm of hcs & what ifs lol #sure it's there some in canon but so is and so has been the amicability b/w rian and winston and the show shrugs that off so #winston billions #winstuk #For Once In His Life is a figure of speech

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ideas about pseudo love triangle antics for benstuk who we guess end up married and winston as the third party here. pseudo in "not considering 'b/c winston is dating someone or trying to!' as the main factor ever, though it could feature" and "also romance is fake and i oppose it" sort of getting in the way of possible frameworks being peak relevant. it's that through these characters' interactions, components and aspects of character could be (dis/un)covered, changes &/or actions could be prompted, kind of like wow this really rendered this character dynamic

for example like peak general situation: tuk & ben meeting & having a dynamic as in canon. later on winston befriending tuk &/or vice versa as in canon. this ultimately goes well enough re: whether this can also be a triumvirate as in canon but along the way: biumvirate shakeups!

less peak general: put benston in there somehow. discuss

pseudo love triangle like ohh ben&tuk existing but now tuk is hanging out with this other guy & ben is like :( in possibly various ways & degrees. Revealingly. does not resolve "properly" insofar as these are my ideas so inevitably it'd be shit like oh yeah sure i, tuk, will date you, ben, but not like "oh i gotta break up with winston over this" b/c we weren't dating but not like "oh i've never made out &/or hooked up with winston" b/c i have. forever gonna decide in further character dynamics that there was a fun "two pairs of preexisting friends bond further via: this casual foursome & hanging out thusly" just out of frame thanks to canon, for example. see:

winston's involvement in laying the foundation for bentuk by way of "tuk questions his sexuality" lmao like. crashing the party with drinks & maybe someone Is like "idk would you make out with each other lol" as just a quick skill check like well if these people get pissed off at the affront to their heterosexuality & leave then nbd, but if not, the Are here, conveniently, joie de vivrely....winston responding immediately like =D 4x08 style utterly repurposed lol & tuk is not affronted really but still a bit nervous & especially so re: "oh no is my failure to reject a possible wisp of homoeroticism gonna get me in shit already with Coworkers still a dozen feet away :(" but mostly joking for now so just [didn't fail the skill check] enough & back to the joie de vivre. later on it's like "yeah we had a foursome but if there was a woman involved maybe that makes it sufficiently Not Gay / Straight? still keeping it secret ofc" later on was like lol there can even be drama like winston is comfortable around tuk / about it, Too comfortable vs tuk's simmering crisis here, where winston's canon "failure to indeed be Sufficiently defensive against / repulsed by even potential wisps of homoeroticism ft. yourself (&/or in general really)" is in play, ease & affection can be another manifestation of that failure with or without trying to flirt, hook up again, anything ""further"", The Intimacies....like it could just make tuk nervous & [oh no! the dissonance within me! the Questions i'm not yet willing to fully ask much less answer!] like perhaps there's increased distance as a result, whether in antics of suddenly trying to avoid winston, whether in rising impatience / annoyance around winston which is a real ":(" one, but, Drama....tossing & turning like my Past drama with my middle school bestie betrayal with music of significance to our relationship....it would resolve, along with the "as winston encourages confidence in tuk, it could apply to [yeah it's Wrong around here to not be straight(tm) but] confidence" & like wouldn't it be hilarious then to discover ben like oh all along i've been queer & just keeping it to myself b/c Yeah :/ You know (anyone does know) & wouldn't it be easier to discover you're down to get married to ben. bonus: combine things yolo, bentuk & winstuk being largely separate before this, ben is :( about it in a way, gradual winstuk rift for no externally obvious reason that neither of them are happy about either but it's secretly tuk's Questioning time that he's not really willing or even able to name much less discuss right off, surprising benston moment somehow in winston having cause to try asking for a hint from ben b/c not like he's unused to friendships souring or starting sour & continuing apace but it does feel like something's gone wrong & he sure feels :( about it in a way.....no moments of mere total psychouts cleared up & cleared away nor of asserting exclusivity in some form to save the day. getting expansive & tangled in there good for them

#been mustering the wherewithal to verbalize for this one for a couple of days lol....concepts; rotated #winston billions #benston #winstuk #bentuk #in that ao3 field like well the / and the & would both be right. and they'd both be wrong in ways. (uses both for good measure generally) #thinking of all 3 name portmanteaus like Bwinstuk lmao #always fun also to imagine this process like tuk thinking winston's simply fr this like bastion of confidence. his joie de vivre.... #his freespirited nature & grabbable waist....being quite Thrown realizing like oh winston's more like me really; in essence.... #quantessentially....

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vague winstuk drama maybe they don't interact for like months until coincidentally running into each other at a bar they've both been to together before and having that face-to-face reunion, maybe helpfully for them & the world mpc no longer exists at this point

like maybe winston just reflexively, not really particularly misguidedly, would refuse any contact from anyone connected to mpc outside official channels (and even then), like even tuk, entirely plausible that they're not at this point like decidedly, with plenty of history of mutual reassurance / clear emergent evidence, so Close that winston could even muster an exception for tuk, even if he'd consider a text or buzz at the door or w/e else from him At All vs much less so from anyone else. plus obvious added reason to [avoid everyone / reject any reaching out] of like just knowing probably everyone's further laughing at you, and by and large they probably are, and that even if they aren't, still having to feel like it, having every reason to assume the worst when Everyone was like That to him even at the supposed Best....adding to some Loath To Interact W/Any Of Them At All, even if some people have obviously always been nicer, and those people are tuk and maybe kind of ben. still graced w/as much as / more than any former quanternary employee's ever been shitted on on their way out. and like yeah maybe winston could and still would immediately connect w/tuk outside of being coworkers like yeah let's hang out please i would be especially glad for something like that....but in this case let's say he couldn't or doesn't

and on tuk's side maybe he is also again like not exactly feeling like they're already close enough that he should Definitely press, should Definitely be trying to kick down the door like hey bestie i Know nothing is right with the world if i can't talk w/you or visit b/c you're not responding to some still fairly distant channels of communication....and maybe he's just also nervous like at all aware everyone wanted to devour winston at the bottom of the food chain / that that happened, and uncomfortably aware he's immediately adjacent to that kind of treatment, and what protects him is likewise like [being ignored at best] with the help Sometimes of shielding from like one ally, but then also like a patronizing kind of pity to make stomping on him not worth it / also unsupportive support that isn't anyone really accepting him as is but rather organic aba like "well you could & should try being more Correct tuk, not as much of a loser as you are rn, and Then people might be more decent to you"....the awareness that being friendly to winston was indeed another thing that was Less correct

but then anyways they run into each other in-person like oh hey 😳 simply finding it easy to get along again immediately anyways. simply being like yeah did miss you and wish we'd kept interacting but also you do know how it is (they do) and can just step back into being actually genuinely friendly and supportive and understanding and sympathetic Now and not need to then be Immediately so much closer but again have the chance for it, and/or just maintaining [i do want to keep spending time with you] indefinitely. the rare peers alliances, theirs could never flourish at work so let's share nests outside of it finally

#and like ofc when i say ''they're not so close they'd both feel like [oh guaranteed we'd Talk About This'' #i don't mean they then can't have like kissed; hung out / talked; had mutual moral support; figuratively/literally slept together #though now it's like jotted that down thanks maybe winston's shyer about literally sleeping with people then.... #potentially adding to [first Accidental sleepover] scenarios indeed perhaps ft. tuk #winston billions #just everyone getting nervous + winston having every cause to just be as on edge / safer than sorry towards Everyone/Everything there.... #and of course also just mutually not knowing how to deal with it. not having Experience not just dealing with it on your own #which means even themselves invalidating their own feelings presumably & just moving ahead anyways b/c the world goes on #winstuk #and/or like sure tuk just comes over while winston is lying on the floor like haha hi yeah & nobody goes for Talking About Things #goes for ''despite all that we can still just hang out & actually enjoy each other's company / interacting w/each other''

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knock on wood but already had the thought about how the potential What If winstuk of ostensible post-7x03/WDE could just be....boisterous. effulgent. vibrant.

#and it could Not Be. we could have tuk be like i; specifically; hate you; specifically. bit of a damper esp. not assuming further material #but if there's the setup for Contrast Surprise in ''everyone hates winston & has been assaulting him or not moved to make sure he's not #assaulted all day'' bad time & he ends up Unleashed. perfect time to meet just out of frame like knock knock it's me your actual friennd... #anyways i have boundless thoughts; feelings abt WDE Impends that i won't try to expound & enumerate via thirty tags limits #representative is how atm the vibe is [mild] but earlier did have an adrenal response to secondhand info. which is also just a tuesday but #winston billions #winstuk #it could sure just be everyone lining up for a last chance at telling winston they wish he was dead & then forget he exists next ep #like what happens when he's been offscreen for a moment all these five seasons lol #and of course i've thought abt ''well it's not even off the table he litchreally dies offscreen lol lmao'' #it's just like 4x11 time to lose forty followers overnight #causing mpc problems? maybe someone will kill you for real. #then his life will have served its highest purpose: upping the stakes for people who matter (rian going ''hope that doesnt happen to me'') #but this would be as likely as anyone following up on winston ever to even realize if he's alive or not. maybe if they Had to ask him smth #billions probably wouldn't be that mean but who even knows. do you want maximal drama out of the winston sendoff or not #like thanks for naming an episode after him and his dick energy i guess....could've just written him out offscreen entirely #but i also have the standards of ''yes i'm gonna be pissed if/when they write him out w/o treating him like another Person in universe'' #and even if they do at all in some ways. i'll also be annoyed if they stick to the tradition of not letting taylor talk to him #i know someone official liked my livetweet about that backpat. you all had better do any damn thing. sigh. anyways #only Some expounding. the winstuk setup potential could also be cuntrageous as it'd be great if winston could be more generally

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also appreciating thee range we get to just make up for winston re: What Ifs for intimate relationships :) fully unhindered by canon, wherein those for him & his ilk are only mentioned like "yeah losers get dumped" vs that what's worth devoted screentime is "ofc you're a catch worth effort, until finally [the business] effects are too much" like, thrilling always lol

tayston the eternal the iconic like, quasi rivals even through kompenso & that delightful little push & pull, to situationship fwb, to [what are we? including [friends]?? / i have feelings for you not telling you which ones], to lovers, or to [alleged lack of personal connection], or to that but back to lovers, etc & so forth. can have no drama, light drama, quite a bit of it, a metric ton. get to fuck a lot, talk a lot, hang out together, have trans & autistic solidarity & understanding. be hilarious, and so serious. what Isn't there to say? they can have the range, & beyond it. it's what they deserve

benston like, theoretically smoother basically immediately mutual [want to date] feelings, to dating, the obvious use of axe cap noncompete for drama, but also, it can be not that. or it can make them exes, or not, or they can meet in s5 for quasi rivals to hmm nvm. let's kiss. being able to go like yeah fuck it simultaneous benston & tayston (& taylaur), tmc polycule always guaranteed a good time. some drama as well just in any degree of a slowburn due to classic presumed [this Can't be mutual]ness, winston thinking people don't just like him, supposedly especially when they're Sweet, ben faced w/someone with what's sort of an Intensity compared to his own usual demeanor, when usually that spells being run over at 500mph, even if ppl supposedly find him Sweet....even if winston supposedly does that. but imo that's like, quantingly, in how he "drives fast" in the first place, which is, moves in microseconds. if he were to ever be interpersonally punching ppl in the face & running them over, we might've been shown that once....even when sparring indirectly with ben it's like, this is quite subdued & fleeting lol especially compared w/what either of them get from other ppl like all the time. or, heck, we can imagine they held on to some semi petty quasi rivalry a while after that, until basically forgetting to keep that up one day / effectively both failing to keep a straight (lol) face about it eventually. canon offers so much room that we can just do whatever

even re: tmc polycule that like, somewhat bonus humorous what if that is mafee noticing he's at the lgbtquant fund & going "am i an outlier or? how would i Know know....how do you get in on a sexual encounter w/another man...." like crashing around questioning & winston is like, okay look, in the interest of convenience & preempting any potential disasters. and then that makes their [friends, sometimes? but also mafee is, somewhat mafeely, a dick to him sometimes, including that he can't even muster caring abt winston being harassed, threatened, & attacked by dollar bill more than he cares about how upset dollar bill must be to be doing that, much less how winston can go above & beyond to help bill feel better] "funnier" if winston duly supplied some sexual experimentation data points for him lol like. also their nonzero work friendsishness being funnier too. just a little low stakes something to go smh about and only talk about as much as mafee might ever stumble through it some more lol

the rich opportunities of riawin being obvious, canon-supplied even if you have to branch off from it into an au where they're actual friends, or else go with a version where they're eventual ex-somethings where that relationship was a mistake (mostly actually for winston, of course, though rian may see it the other way around as the superior party, as well as anyone who agrees w/that perspective)....immediate quasi rivalry, including both the quasi rivals And crush [get out of my fund] feelings for winston before rian presumably is aware he exists, for a head start on marination lol, as well as the inherent humor in winston just being more intensely affected all around at first....in the au, opportunity to go from those quasi rivals for enrichment to quasi friends to just also friends for real lol, a potential (relative to billions, and/or relative to anything) slowburn to also lovers, to an actually totally alright situationship / fwbship, whatever you want, really. a marker here just being like, unless it's the more canon compliant [any greater degree of intimacy on whatever front could only make this relationship worse for winston] route, i imagine this Relationship as pretty drama lite, to free. just chilling & vibing, for the most part. it was also canon, after all, that said Yeah winston's crushing right away but he's also just rolling with it nbd, and so is rian. not difficult to incorporate this into a very like, patiently & spontaneously developing whatsoevership

winstuk to me can be just the maximum flexible & chill like. imagining that for once if anything winston is the one more / first crushed uponst. don't even need any guaranteed out & out crushes(tm), to me. quasi rivalry, apparently offscreen they stumble into just a full throttle earnest friendship, Okay, fine by me. winston the vivacious spontaneous fun sexy playful party here, being to tuk who nobody reliably is to him but he could easily imagine he'd like it if someone was, that is: hand on shoulder (literally. waoh) like Don't shut up you Are allowed to do things other ppl are....talked about though imagining ofc tuk's perspex on [canon quant'em dynamic: ri&win misfortunes] as someone who'd even pay attention to winston, much less also even potentially sympathize w/him more than rian, or even simply As Much, since rian's slings & arrows are the momentary irritation with winston getting a bit too comfy thinking he's someone who doesn't deserve revulsion & rejection & what all, & winston's are being hurt on purpose at any moment any time, all the time....a contrast w/all that vivacity & confidence & etc that winston can consistently have around tuk; tuk also being someone pwned & punished for "deserving" it being a loser or whatever. got the glasses boys over here as well, between just the two of them, nerd alert?? and the idea of tuk realizing he can Also take on the role of [trying to be emotionally supportive like how he'd want to get from other people] to winston, tentatively, vs winston perhaps also being a bit anxious to Not show any want or need for that to tuk b/c like, he also doesn't have even the "ben does sometimes relate to tuk as the Senior / More Correct one but does also ofc try to be kind & supportive to him too" figure anywhere around him, so far as we get to see gleaning it much more rarely, fleetingly, partially from taylor....how's he gonna know he Can ever get something like that from anyone at work, even a work friend, see: his experiences getting support (hint: he gets none, Less Than, since probably they also made it worse / took it away) from like theoretically / sometimes friendly coworkers during/after a miserable to distressing experience....

plus like, a parallel to masking, like oh but tuk likes the me who's always been fine & low to no maintenance & vivacious & cheerful around him, so, continue to be that around him....and, naturally, being able to more earnestly & directly acknowledge & interact w/the mutual [reasons they actually Don't get to have all this self-confidence /-esteem] as an evolution beyond finding it more possible to have that For each other than themselves. and the fun of like bestie let's go strive for some casual sex at this venue tonite, like hell yeah i'll roll with that. winston actually being viewed more regularly outside of the curse of the context of [their jobs] lol, especially as he just like errs on the side of Follow Your Heart Be Yourself lmao the playfulness, the joie de vivre, the idiosyncracy & spontaneity, the fact that it never has to be a big deal to, in fact, be someone's casual hookup....have a bit of group sex together, winston basically flirting w/tuk to hype him up & tuk is like "does he mean all this strictly hypothetically, or" & eventually venturing this wherein winston can be like, no not really lol, there can be Misunderstanding here in this realm / just a lot of time spent Not risking more direct communication asking abt these seemingly risky things, or it can be smoother sailing like no i'll kiss you for real. winston like hey Do don't cry, i Will make sure you get some, and i mean that by "i'm down to do it myself if nothing else," w/all the unmitigated vivacity to reassure this isn't like, merely solemnly begrudging. can be like "are you offering to fuck like, as a friend" and winston can be like "hell yea" and blow him, no punchline here. and comfortably evolving into "this doesn't even have to be something we do as like, 'backup'" like yes we'll hang out & might have sex & might do that even if one or both of us has also hooked up w/other ppl anyways. can hang on to that even if someone's dating other ppl. or not, but it's chill. or they do date each other, or they don't, and also don't kiss. the real delights of Any & All these combos of relationships being the way they're just a total [free space] & i'm like, hey, what i'm after is [person seeing winston as a person; consciously wanting & pursuing their dynamic] & not at all pressed to have this be like, so who's his one true love lol. shoutout to winston kissing & fucking around

#some more Just Saying Some Things #winston billions #truly Thee Range b/c canon isn't bothered w/imagining this kind of stuff so won't get in the way.... #tayston #benston #riawin #winstuk #mafon.... #going ''f that the closest anyone's gotten to kissing winston was dollar bill harassing him on half a dozen fronts at once'' #[among us kill report noise] smash cut to rian's Wendy Dollar Bill ness as much or more than being similar to taylor & winston #f for respects And disrespects.... #rian being shit to winston being one of her most actual consistent points of [character]ness & it can't even get real focus. lord #riawin fun fr so long as you know. it gets to be the What If he & rian were actual friends? all you need there #and then the canon [abusive friendship] offers the ability to Explore That; canon itself just isn't taking it #whether it'll be explored in winston's reacting to it forced to matter b/c it causes issues for others on some Practical front. shrug #doubt even then that rian would reflect on her own or even have anyone else reflect on it or suggest that she does #just like man classic winston being a dick (energy) like [among us defeat sound] #a game where ppl Do know when you're autistic. it's like the edit fr lol #get his ass....winston was not the imposter #also ofc just also imagining winston has unnamed unseen friends &/or lovers just out of frame laughing too at any / all the time

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"=) ☀️" - winston quant kid 2 billions

#winston billions #corned beef #musing on other concepts to theoretically draw but then i get going like [bust of winston with some Expression] like yes hahaha Yes #connecting too to concepts i was musing on today. from winston to autistic experiences re: that + irl to [omg. resonance w/an aesthetique] #to that being incorporated at all here with a beaming a glowing a beacon a cherished light... #was thinking abt winston & the opposite of cassandra times. abt plucking characters out of canon where they can only be supports for the #s1 epic(tm) mfs for one. abt [yeah being autistic is like that huh] abt ben kim cooking club abt winstuk quantedge

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snapshots collage style 📷 w/the initial framework being [a lens of “what if someone Liked him”] lol crushing on winnie ✨

#been a minute since an orange & purple palette...was going for Warmth again & it's not not. but v sunsetty lol #so like it's not outright winstuk but of course i was remembering my own post like ''what if winston was the Crushed On party for once'' def #so true op....absolutely never gonna happen in canon but canon is [9900 decibel cacophony] [that's what canon is; not a truck going by joke] #winston billions #corned beef #anyways difficult to follow up any drawing so spontaneously capturing the charming je ne sais quoi of [last winston drawing] lol but that is #simply inevitable when those wins are scattered in there. still having fun & being ourselves #another link in back to back [winston w/his arms overhead]....this time not based on one blurry bg glimpsed pose or anything lol #more like: quant stretching offers coworkers tantalizing glimpse of bare midriff #winston wears one [just a tee] in one scene in the tmc niche & now you can't tell me anything...don't think he's yet worn a V neck though... #he also hasn't been seen taking off his glasses or stretching or laughing with too much joie de vivre or being crushed on #as always: it's about having fun & being ourselves. for me atm that means somersaulting into bed at half past 8. oof quarter to 9

[unproduciblesmackdown]

ideal scenario is that i like thinking about this like, essential short story adventure where winston and tuk hook up w/a couple [that bachelorette party] members, and as a foursome/quartet because they have these parallel stories of two pairs of friends who are like "sure i'd have sex with you if things aligned for that" and now are living that short story about expanding a dynamic & becoming closer friends for the end of it (of course billions only wrote winston as standing next to tuk next episode, instead of rian as he's often written to be standing with incl in a previous finale, to shove him out of the path of getting material and let taylor have confusing nonresolution w/rian based on this proximity and coincidence instead. but who can't say that that, And winston next not even trying to sit with tmc in the last finale appearance which at this point is probably for the best and instead again hanging out with tuk and then ben, isn't about having been closer for whatever all happened there in obtaining casual sex together)

and they can have perpendicular stories of also just having some nice chats and enjoying other interactions together such that maybe it's just fun for this one night of crossing paths, maybe anyone stays in touch at all, who even knows, if winston or tuk are dating anyone it's probably only going to come up again in how they were last dumped for being too much effort for how unepic they are, so godspeed to offscreen unmentioned dating. but just friendly acquaintanceship, or again this one-time spontaneously crossed paths night's acquaintanceship, is also a lot of fun. and why not imagine that winston "he's not allowed to not feel self-loathing or, by doing basic things like talking or initiating Or oppositng anything, Not operating as though he's too low in a social hierarchy here to be allowed thusly" type of material where his spontaneity, vivacity to bon vivantocity, self-assurance that is apparently arrogance/aggression to every who thinks he ought to be self-effacing instead, etc, is actually just a social success in other less wretched non-work situations, and his personality is taken as a contribution to the proceedings even before anyone takes up his proffered contribution of himself as a potential sexual partner. and lending confidence to tuk as like one person who won't, at any given time, go into hostile mode with him or even like take up the position of issuing this criticism, which is an inherently elevated (over tuk) one when it's a unilateral thing. such that tuk's personality can be a potential contribution as well. and winston and tuk's Friendship Developing Moments can be happening then, too, b/c Maybe they've hung out outside work on their own aleady, but also maybe they've never really been interacting with a larger group outside work, such that that group is less likely to include some people, or entirely people, who will suddenly go sicko mode on either or both of them. and then meanwhile, who knows anything abt this bachelorette party, could be already a cohesive friend group who all see each other all the time, or people who see each other more infrequently meeting up on this trip, or a mix; could be fun and chill or something so scheduled/demanding it's kind of like a work trip, or fluctuate....and of course zero info abt the individuals such that imagining anything abt them is entire OC territory, and i'm bad at that, or at coming up with stories, so not exactly a lot of details here from me but godspeed if two of them unlock another tier of friendship here b/c like parallel to winston and tuk, they're like hmm okay so we're mutually down re: potentially having a foursome here, and spending some time away from the larger group

(or of course the scenario that tuk and winston can also have that moment but just as putting "and/or: a threesome?" as an option, and that tips the scales for someone who might've otherwise felt more indecisive like "hmmmm casual convenient hookup, or spending more time out & about like this / whatever other activity...." but then is like oho Well, if it's a threesome, i'll seize that opportunity, sure....such that then maybe afterwards [winston and tuk hanging out together] happens sooner, if the third member feels more third wheel about things lol, since now they'd be the only two who already know each other. like ooh who knows, round n+1 in the aftermath just one on one (and/or i mean, maybe another thing the third party's still around for, re: further casual sex opportunities that don't just fall into your lap every day), and/or talk, watch tron together, go back out on the town even. where the conclusion of this truly is the essence of "it Is easy to imagine that winston and tuk are real Genuine Friends for the implicit further offscreen time spent together outside work / interactions between them here. and fun" and with that flair of "and give that a juxtaposed parallel in it being the same for a couple bachelorette attendees, why not, good for them"

#winston billions #not even overt winstuk ideas. at least not in the sense that this or other ideas i have in that realm would necessarily be distinct from #the realm of ideas abt their being actual regular friends. even when it's like ''ooh & what if they kissed'' ideas. #it's [aroace] it's [relationship anarchy] it's [for the most part if i use ''romance/romantic'' as a term it's a shorthand for convenience] #not the most interesting dynamic i'm working towards here. like even w/the world of [many Tayston ideas that involve their both extensively #navigating this world of What Are We] most fun ideas aren't that they Just want to say ''i love you(tm)'' especially not wherein that in #turn is supposed to be a shorthand for Romance; Huh? that itself elides everything else w/more Meaning that can be discussed or organically #figured out by further navigation when what's more honestly going on is that they want more options in how they interact w/each other #which is included in fun ideas that they do enjoy & go ''jk unless??'' when ppl assume they Are dating / together romantically(tm) lol.... #all that to really take a long tangential way around to ''and i don't even think much abt what billions canon could offer re tuk & winston #being friends beyond further very occasional very isolated very peripheral glances outside of knowing a) it'll be a joke on both of them #and/or b) it'll be a joke on just winston; in that tuk is the one who must Transcend this genuine friendship'' and i certainly don't expect #much in general given that i'm not even presuming winston's not written out early in season 7 or anything #to even write some nebulous Positive Enough / Genuine Enough riawin dynamic material for my tayriawin wip sure is essentially equivalent w/ #writing this What If Their Friendship Was Positive/Genuine Enough. and tbh taking it back to pre 5x08 rian of the short hair & busy desk #when there was still that potential re being a character b/c whoops weren't yet cast into being taylor's mirror & only plot Device vs Drive #great times out here. could get actual character material if she's actually criticized vs w/e taylor says abt her is [their mood ring] #evidently hypocritical in how she treats winston; which is to say: uses him; most often by bullying him; & seems to have interacted w/his #ever indeed having a crush on her by consciously taking advantage of that for....only more bullying. so based on That canon precedence it's #like....considerations of how they could interact now that might be more romance(tm) proximate are. certainly not Good lol. #the one true This Could Be Good And Enjoyable billions canon has proven to yield: Put It All On Taylip Baby. As Personal All/Anythings 🙏🙏 #hilariously similar Seeming premise w/riawin like wow they're rivals when feeling petty but can & want to work together. they're peers. #they're foily. they're offbeat enough. they're a duo of somethings. they're Aware of the language & the rules & the behaviors. they're #crucially unusually cooperative in general but esp. with each other....and yet. apparently At All Costs winston must be a joke and rian mus #be correct; other characters insisting on thusly so much that there's no indication the writers are even aware of any other possibilities #when perhaps core themes of analyzing perceived intrinsic vs extrinsic incongruity fails to apply this to Autistic Ppl Are Real....shrugh! #i have no idea if the fact rian has no clue she also ever uses people to her benefit & will keep at it b/c she can get away with it is also #aligned thusly like. writers think pwning winston is A Neutral; Unquestionably Correct simple fact of human interactions/relations. #still nonzero suspicion that [no; rian isn't meant to simply be correct] but if you write him off / nobody's said shit to her except for #winston himself (ignored by characters & potentially viewers) or even blinked; as has been the case so far....then where are we exactly.

[unproduciblesmackdown]

yeah yknow all of wde is Revealing in like okay so the way billions saw the entire potential of winston as a character (besides the overlapping "plot device for others" given to any/all roles at points) was defined & bounded as "a transgressor (should not be here) who IS here so that he can be a punching bag (for the power trip delight of other characters, but even more so for the power trip delight of viewers, since all characters apparently would be even more delighted by getting rid of him, but don't, for no reason internal to the show (it's for the delightful power trip pov voyeurism for viewers))"

but it also feels like a particular little bonus Telling element that in this episode, there's two separate & unrelated instances of "taylor says we're killing winston. sacker says not literally, for legal record. taylor says Maybe idc" and "rian says you're killing winston, not literally, & i don't want to Help unless you ask me twice, in which case, okay, idc" like. it's almost as though the show for all intents & purposes Is making the grand finale logical conclusion for "this punching bag shouldn't even be here!!!" be, in fact, to essentially let people kill him. first of all, obviously, it gets rid of him. second of all, it's Okay because billions absolutely has Us, team Selves, the Winners, versus Those guys, team Others, the Losers (as ever, with some gradation along the dichotomy)....the peak winners have motivations & feelings (wendy. wendy is the peak winner. lesser winners' motivations & feelings are determined by what preserves the priority & Fact of wendy's Good Intentions / Correctness) & the more of a loser a character is, the less interiority they have. always expecting the effort put into showing fleeting Reactions of winston being hurt / expressing this to get Any later payoff &/or at least be intended as inspiration for the audience to critically reflect on how other characters are acting towards him, but no, actually it was to voyeuristically relish the power to make your cringe annoying coworker suffer & withdraw / shut down as a result. got their ass

we have all these same characters like :o hand to face Morally Aghast that prince & scooter wouldn't write off killing an employee so that prince doesn't look bad for leveraging compounding superiority in most forms of power to use that person as he wanted, knowing it would hurt them, knowing his power constrains their autonomy, yknow, a context of abuse. (while billions thinks it can Preclude abuse(tm) so we're not Too shocked by going way too far out of its way to assure us physical force wasn't involved, don't worry about prince in fact precluding all employees' choice to show up at his house rager by making it a Work Requirement under false pretenses, it's masking the very power as everyone's mega boss he used to make people show up to be like see haha we're not talking work & it's fun pranks. & then billions is like yeah i guess if prince was like "i'm sorry you feel that way" he'd be in the clear but b/c he talked to an Inherent Winner, who just so happens to be much more vulnerable hegemonically, in a rude way as though they were an Inherent Loser who is much more vulnerable Deservedly? only now are we sure like oh he Could've been a little birthday boy who can't help being horny which means Needing to have sex with a woman & oh no the employees his kids' age are totally seducing him anyways what's he supposed to do? take responsibility for his actions? well he had the benefit of the doubt until he Confessed that he knows the victim in this scenario was not actually the only person capable of making choices & dealing with the consequences of their actions, & again, did so by suggesting they're Not as much of an inherent winner as we know they are! lord. like this said Nothing no wonder it was dropped into effective irrelevance immediately afterwards. will just hold a grudge forever it was written at all. oh & we're worried about Literal murder, so again just expecting a surface level kneejerk "well. that's bad. right" from the audience.) end parenthetical relevant segue into:

that b/c we're standing at the podium slowly trying out "uh we all agree....murder. is....bad. right" if we keep saying "not literally killing haha. not literally murder. maybe. but we're not that concerned, Caring re: winston might suggest he's too winnerly (a person) after all & start toppling things, so a) nobody cares too much about there being any particular line between winston's 'metaphorical' killing (death! it just Happened! taylor said we unalive whoever takes from us. nothing Unlike prince about this, nothing his enemies whose campaign against him is the entire point of the season & this series conclusion should have to confront or like spare a passing thought about or Not confront, where that has any relevance. see: no difference between wendy & prince? but we didn't see Her do physical violence At A Winner (didn't we enjoy the physical violence towards winston, a loser, in wde just as in times before? not like he might die, so! wahoo) & she's not talking about nukes being on the table for her presidency, so! like yeah this was truly the most thought provoking conflict between two characters that really Said Something. let's revisit our "reveal" that prince is bad b/c he talks down to a victim who, crucially, is too inherently epic to be a victim b/c that's a State Of Mind, not status based on experiences in the context of power dynamics, control, whose autonomy is restricted. in fact, this victim is so inherently epic as to, again, Also be the exact same & feel entitled to, for one, sex with whomever they want b/c they want it, as well as partners with no privacy from them, and oh yeah their good friend winston who is a victim of theirs based on his experiences (being hurt by them, repeatedly & deliberately) in a context of power dynamics (rian preferred & supported by all shared higher ups via their formal & informal power, winston autistic, last & actually least but not irrelevant, rian being aware winston likes her being another tool to leverage in Knowing he has a bonus layer of vulnerability here) & control & whose autonomy is restricted (winston's, amidst the general hostile work environment / bullying from all levels but also having the most regular/specific bully in rian, all higher ups hate him, all coworkers too (emphasized in wde. this Extra hates him!!), rian's the one who gets to tell him to shut up & go away after she's participating in / oft initiating a 1 on 1 exchange with him, jumping in to insult him, Be In Charge of the dynamic which always looks like successfully shutting him down / hurting him, while winston never has any such leverage, & his much more subdued / indirect efforts to get her to stop (e.g. even Showing he's been hurt, Withdrawing b/c he's being hurt) have no effect)

how many parentheses were open idek. wait i did an a) and not yet the b), classic. okay a) nobody Actually cares about "of course there's a fiery line b/w Not Killing For Real & Killing For Real :o" despite this being expressed so clearly 4 min ago by again basically everyone involved in wde, & b) i'm not sure what my original idea of (b) was but another thing is that even the people who "care" Do Not Care. rian's patronizing "it's wrong, but i value him at all" perspective towards winston where she's thinking of herself as his older sibling, for no reason but the show's perspective of infantilization of an autistic character as channeled through rian, next best winner after wendy perhaps b/c they didn't think of anything for rian to do but be the correct body available for a man's subplot ft. his sexual activity (with a woman. the only possibility for non losers. rip the one married gay guy) amidst the higher calling of: just channel Correctness at all times. scintillating stuff, totally doesn't make her not a character. the fact that this non character's trait involves "inevitably is absorbed into being an interchangeable bog standard axe capper totally at home amidst the other [no transcending] assholes" and "the entire time her main idiosyncrasy was abusing winston" but no criticism to be done there about Correctness seen in billions' characters! she was always Too Nice! b/c other sufficiently correct characters said so, & this was supported by the broader context of the material as a whole. rian learned So Much from taylor! b/c she said so! are you not convinced? check out: the blatant evasion of providing even One Specific Example! wendy did so much crucial copiloting for taylor even when they Thought they should fly solo! b/c they said so! It Makes Sense! why, remember the time wendy narced on what taylor confided in her to axe to enable axe's shitty treatment of them? then hurt them as much as she possibly could with legally confidential patient info b/c she Didn't succeed in enabling axe b/c taylor had known she would try? & then chastised them for reporting the hipaa violation even though it wasn't them & she violated hipaa? remember when wendy couldn't be fucked to tell axe cappers to maybe stop trying to do transphobic assaults targeting taylor & anyone else until an investor Could've seen signs of Antics & then she did so by making taylor & co be there while she said Both Sides? perhaps when taylor offered a new business partnership to wendy at 40% against their own gf's (& everyone else's) advice & wendy was like Okay Thanks, lost interest immediately, then gave her shares to axe despite taylor specifically asking her not to do that b/c of how vulnerable that made them & tmc to axe & his bullshit, from the malicious to 'i don't care but that doesn't mean i can't or won't crash this into the ground & you with it? it's an expression of my power how much i don't Have to care, And how much it hurts You despite this!'"

i'm sure you Know wendy was that crucial copilot all along. & i'm sure you Know winston is an insufferable nonperson who is The One Person With Responsibility For The Consequences Of His Actions every time he speaks & everyone around him goes sicko mode to force him to shut up now & forever. this is because!! you Know it because!!! he's so!!! he's always!!!! well anyways & did i mention that the degree to which I Don't Have To Care to dole out destructive effects b/c of my power over you & you having to care very much about said destructive effects is also the manifestation of the power context here? well. what's that have to do with winston. we aren't Really killing him for real, but we don't really care about that, someone else will say yeah the goal is his (metaphorical!) death but i care to just Not directly contribute, except, i do not care. like how i don't really care to Not treat this person with contempt & always only in ways in accordance with our Superior/Inferior Winner/Loser Person/Object dynamic, that is: doing what i want to him, the more hurtful = the more blatant the expression of power = the more rewarding! we're only killing him figuratively which isn't a sin okay. but we don't have to care & we Do have to enjoy the power trip as much as possible b/c this is the point of the episode, b/c this is billions' own logical conclusion in its idea of winston, the inferior mostly not a person who definitely shouldn't get to be here, & when that sure might extend to "in this plane of existence" like well don't worry anyways b/c we aren't just killing him metaphorically, but narratively ;) he's a fictional person who is just written out now, as he Must be, b/c he's a transgressor with mere "abilities" rather than having Inherent Value as an winner allistic True Person with those abilities. there are no consequences to winston being hurt b/c the only consequences written are [none] & it's just assumed everyone, of Team The Consummate Self vs these inferior Others whom We recognize in winston, Correctly enjoys [power trip: attack assault harass surveil violate the autist!] pov, the episode, the experience

but they did sure write in Twice an acknowledgment "so we're basically killing him? god fucking finally?" kind of as though it was Unavoidable in this escalation of like ooh teehee what is Everything We Want To Do To Winston? well it's clear he's considered wrong to exist, yeah. & by "he's considered wrong" i also mean that billions means "the actions of his Betters to 'punish' his existence, i.e. use him however they want, since that's all that can validate the sense of Superiority that just might be the core of one's identity, which can sure include enacting whatever seeming control over the situation, like ability to inflict harm/destruction & otherwise be suppressing ways for the inferior party to act autonomously. oh what's that, there's no Hard Line between this & "kill them if you want to, b/c you can?" when it's like well, Some People bring it upon themselves in being inferior & certainly in being inferior & Transgressing the "norms" of their place in the hierarchy (we were all simply Glad winston was leaving, glad to show up & throw things at him at his way out & take this last chance to punish his existence! but then he disrespected our property rights :( which needs to be answered by a show of force against Him, the person. for our image. aaand wags's ego!!! some strangers said they didn't think he was epic & Powerful :( restoring reputation of epic powerful man means killing the autistic guy) rather than an Actual universally applied rule of sputtering indignation whoa whoa of Course literal murder is ridiculous to truly consider. i mean, how could any of you sickos. just b/c an employer could look bad? are you kidding? smh! but we're still cool :)

it's kind of like a quicker version of billions trying to Just Say It Correctly walk through its attempt to invoke like "men in business/political power taking advantage of various aspects of that power to extract sex from women navigating their kingdom on their whim? i mean. that's bad, right" despite this being irreconciliable with billions' belief that if you are a winner you do in fact Deserve to have sex b/c you want it. you Are entitled to it. you see, in this fictional world where we just write that happening, sexual partners do keep cropping up voluntarily for winners! of Course everyone's down! with the counterpart of losers being unfuckable, with Incorrect sexualities that, like said losers as "people," Transgress by existing, & are treated as obtrusive, disgusting if not threatening, deviant if not pathological. winston is treated worse for "he was nice to rian after everyone knowing about her cringe comp sexploits w/like the worst person possible. b/c he's been nice to her as coworker & friend all along WRONG b/c he LIKES her i.e. ew ew ew ew god he's horny" than prince is treated for being the one who took advantage of her b/c hey he's only human, he's horny sometimes, cmon. it's not His fault he knowingly uses his superior power to ensure he gets off using much more Vulnerable people's bodies so they'll try to survive that power difference by keeping quiet & protecting his image XD it IS winston's fault that well just look at him. :/ well you just Know he has [imagine any trait you'd put in a Cringe Comp of Loser things! apply it yeah it's canon nobody cares, lol] you just Know he doesn't have a Good Dick, b/c there are Good Bodies and god gives them to Superior people, we're Telling you he doesn't, as is Deserved by him, like the show put On Screen Factual Text to virtually pants him & him alone as a joke in the burn rate episode. like the show keeps having people physically assault him & sexually harass him but haha they wouldn't literally fuck him so it's not actually that! they wouldn't literally kill him so it's Fun & Epic!! but i mean winston Is someone who like, has to Learn things about sex. who else has had to? women? queer people? disabled people? that's right, Inferiors, billions doesn't have to say, b/c billions can just present this romp through indulging the desire to punish autistic existence. wendy experiences the consequences of her actions & feels bad, & while billions doesn't suggest she Shouldn't, it also handily tempers it by being like "she's back at it again 5 min later though. & forever after that. to her inevitable ultimate reward b/c we decided from the start she's our heart & our hero b/c she's the Elite 0.01% in her interiority :) she Deserves it" & "wow, often taylor, don't you feel bad for taking action so that wendy experiences a consequence of her hurting you, like even expressing that she did as much? there will be other, more lasting consequences for you too still. you Should be at the center of the s7 Kill Prince (not literally. we don't even have to clarify! we would have no contempt if we did!) subplot but sorry :) you were not Born in this series as Best Person, wendy. stay out of her way"

anyways & it's like, yknow, same as how we could get "wow The Cost Of Business Moves, The Cost Of Power Therein, The Cost Of Emotional Hangups Behind It All...." like montage, break out a song, just have the shot of someone like damn :/ whatever whatever, over similar conflicts & breakups so long as winners were involved (winston's material here being very much like lauren's, oh you're not loyal enough (and wendy just betrayed me & to my face expressed she doesn't give a shit & will do it b/c she feels like it & i'm lashing out with that Extra motivation behind it)? sabotaged! lauren comes back like "well we can be business friendly right?" wrong, again for no apparent reason taylor cares so much about Image that ep & prince cares so much about the principle of power relations over anything else! he might be fine though. except both instances lauren gets a mini monologue to criticize / respond to taylor on her way out (even when Likewise business sabotaged in the very end too) while winston gets One frustrated remark to them that is deflected like yeah well up yours rword, and tbt the time he Did get to successfully mini monologue criticize them, mafee got to yell at him over him being a loser as everyone else watches & approves, lauren later Personally agrees ft. pranking taylor by pretending to break up with them & they still compliment her & approve, taylor only comes around between eps with no credit to winston's points. & of course, lauren gets to date taylor winner 2 winner, while the idea winston could cozy up in kompenso & make a move b/c Of Course? laughable &/or repulsive, comedy or horror At him. oh yeah honorary mention to how it was only laughable &/or repulsive he had a crush on rian but they do make sure to throw it in his face this episode, b/c just like the rest of it, winston isn't a person in his world, he is a primarily External Phenomenon & our reactions to it are what define reality. ha ha tell him his crush helped destroy him b/c nobody cares, why? b/c this is all about the power trip baby, it's Yours by proxy!!!) like again billions Kind Of realizes some problems here but a) i mean haha you get it. you get why it's nbd. & b) again hey just say it. have a character correctly go "pffft i mean that was like, quote unquote Mean lmfao but soooo fun epic i love you you're truly The Winner" just have characters be like "yeah time for him to be dead. figuratively i guess. we don't care about that. we care about Our Journey making it happen" like yes truly you reconciled it. no way would it have actually been completely set up by precedent & validated by relevance to Themes, Character Arcs, did i mention the most important Themes including stated expectations that the viewer question & criticize people like axe, gasp, in season 1, whoa, Literally killing someone???? but hurting your local autist as much as you want is fun & games & we do like that haha god fuck them so hard, figuratively! b/c lmfao gross they objectively deserve to never have sex & Transgress to want to, (WE'RE only human. them? not so much) much less have it (these aberrations will realize their sad mistake. or just get sick of dating someone with this insufferable personality! (laundry list of ways ableist ppl describe autistic ppl w/o knowing they're autistic. winston's annoying! obnoxious! a dick! etc whatever. i mean you get it. you objectively agree. he Is. don't you see, can't you just tell. We know how They are))

anyways can you imagine if everyone who is doing the same shit prince does was confronted with "despite how the episode is written, winston didn't just get here today, could expect an Unfriendly business relationship no matter what (or just be pissed off about the one he had as an employee the whole time, even in tmc's peak independent heyday. do it pettily) & be ready to counter with a bunch of actually relevant dirt on people & their business enterprises, which they have to at least think about & like decide why they're Beyond that, decide how they have to change to Become beyond it, or, yknow, Not be beyond it! themes besides that billions makes sure to execute "win for violent ableism simmering within you. and probably without, this is in fact bog standard 'every day treating winston like this b/c he dared exist' shit in reaction to someone being autistic" more than it makes sure to execute "why These characters have meaningful motivation against These characters, as the main plot of the whole series finale season, kind of pertinent to peak important themes!!" like ah fuck that. if you're not favored by the gods for your winnerness no matter you're actually doing, then yeah, billions has some problems! which it is Not willing to tackle, thanks. didn't you all enjoy seeing the Finale of finally, finally, getting to make winston stop existing? not literally, in that world, but eh not b/c anyone Cares or Wants to. for the legal record. and when, in fiction, he does just stop existing in the story, last minute reappearances to merely be Used once more barely withstanding. and all the characters forget about him, including the Weirdos who Cared Too Much, tuk who has to be punished out of actual friendliness towards winston, rian, who is the most hurtful towards him but if she went Out Of Her Way to hurt winston, Or to actually help him, soooo for no reason yeah sure she'll actually help kill him if you ask & have no followup questions for him or anyone else much less being the vessel for criticism over it, like she had to be for lauren's sake, winner 2 winner. billions would be in shambles otherwise. and that's the power of an autistic character. like taylor & their power as nonbinary character: if you don't stop holding them back by the scruff of their neck & placing others immutably above them in the billions hierarchy, it all falls apart. it would've also been Very Easy for: winston agrees to do taylor a favor, this feuding & dragging winston back into line is a stunt that gets this algorithm situated at mpc with no questions asked in the face of the satisfaction of a successful power trip, they just ask winston to sabotage things later. no changes needed. we just dare to mitigate the contempt for & ever exacerbated gulf between any winners & winston, who we Love to hate. & there'd have to be Reasoning in dialing it back. which i guess was exhausted with s3's "oh well winston is chastened. he was in the wrong for bucking the potential employers' power trip, taylor lashing out at him for lashing out at that? welcome to the double standards he doesn't like & is wrong about. b/c he's obnoxious." & the reasoning might just unveil some issues & inconsistencies in Other ideas employed & assumed around here. like the ones behind "oh haha we hate winston. we love to kill him. on sight" & ramping that up forever, maybe

anyways winston & taylor & tayston & riawin & rian (nonbinary if you're not a coward. an actual character if you're not a coward. someone who is actually against bullying, for reasons, instead of "when it's done to her. bullying's #1 fan when it's her #1 hobby b/c winston's inferior & b/c She Can" if you're not [billions can't Argue a "bullying is bad??" stance b/c it's not if it's winston]) all too much for billions. a firm anti bullying stance too much for billions. anti compulsory sexuality stance too much for billions. thinking about power dynamics, thinking about "maybe reality isn't an Objective dichotomous hierarchy of winners & losers where abuse just needs to happen by the right people against the right people," too much to actually assume a kneejerk response against "well let's just kill him. brought it upon himself." (we do not consider killing prince for a moment lmao. even as we make clear we Need to take him out b/c of all the people he Would consider killing, amidst his politics that some superiors deserve to reign over some inferiors lives). rimming is too much for billions lmao. jerking off. everyone being people. autism. transgenderism. it's shit over there

#winston billions #winston & taylor's autistic handshake trans resonance parallels intertwinings alliances understandings appreciations etc.... #autism acceptance day/week/month. it sure is #the punctuation here is just gestures okay lmao so many only opened never closed brackets parentheses quotation marks.... #it's called creating possibilities #same with sentences; paragraphs just kind of transforming into other threads along the way lol #tayston #riawin #didn't quite mention winstuk or benston. sorry fellas. winston and his Impossible To Be Truly Cishet self latching onto the nonbinarity....

[nothingunrealistic]

thinking abt Society If (Akd As) Taylor Gets To Sing and know you've mentioned thus before but what are a top pick or several for what song could be applied thus. can be attuned to knowing the KoppLevs genre & canon scene tendencies & or not particularly hold to that as a more flexible transformative scenario idea or whatall. plus like especial lyrics that would be the highlight presuming it's not a full song or that some lyrical or musical moments would be extra fun

i think this is best answered in terms of the two scenarios i’ve contemplated wherein Taylor Gets To Sing — not necessarily scenes that would happen Within the show proper, but situations that could still be considered basically canon compliant — as follows:

scenario #1

taylor & philip leave prince cap at the end of a long workday, getting in the same elevator and riding down together, and oops! the power’s gone out and the elevator’s stuck! they can’t easily contact anyone because elevators have terrible cell reception & wifi connectivity! and either there isn’t a backup generator or it isn’t powering the elevator, because the plot demands it! so they’re stuck in the elevator for an unknown amount of time with only one another for company and distraction. they do their best to make conversation, which at one point leads to an impromptu game of truth or dare, which leads to philip daring taylor to sing something, anything, for just ten seconds. after some consideration, taylor sings the first few lines of the chorus of super bass by nicki minaj. (i have to imagine that the one time they referenced nicki minaj says something about their music taste.) naturally, taylor then dares philip to sing something, anything, for twice that long. he goes with all right now by free, which is the unofficial fight song of stanford university. (both the original version and the leland stanford junior university marching band’s version are on my rotation of Songs To Think About Philip To.)

scenario #2

prince cap karaoke! specifically, the younger employees at prince cap (for this purpose, “younger” = under 35 or so) are going to a bar for karaoke under taylor & philip’s leadership, as a bonding exercise, and the understanding is that everyone Must get up and perform at least once. taylor doesn’t really think this should apply to them, though, and they spend a good part of the evening quietly debating this with philip and restating their refusal to sing in front of people while the following performances happen:

winston and peach duet on don’t go breaking my heart by elton john and kiki dee. it’s very fun.

ben kim sings my life would suck without you by kelly clarkson. half the reason behind this choice is that daniel k. isaac said in an interview that he’d once sung a kelly clarkson song at karaoke. the other half is that it probably resonates with how he feels about his coworkers / prince cap in general. sad but true.

sacker sings tears dry on their own by amy winehouse. she kills it, because she canonically was in an a cappella group in college and also canonically is good at literally everything she tries. is she thinking about one or both connerty brothers? maybe!

tuk is reluctant to get on stage; winston convinces him to do a duet of i don’t dance from high school musical 2. it’s a little clunky, but they both have fun. obviously tuk sings chad’s part and winston sings ryan’s part. here’s how winstuk can still win!

philip, who is still trying to convince taylor to sing something, gets up and sings wichita lineman by glen campbell. it’s out of place with what their group (and everyone else at the bar) has been singing, and it takes people by surprise, ultimately in a good way.

rian sings go your own way by fleetwood mac. it feels very pointed, but no one’s completely sure who it’s pointed at. (taylor has the best chance of guessing correctly, though.)

and finally, taylor gets on stage — and brings winston along. when the music starts, it seems that taylor is going to sing common people by pulp. however, it quickly becomes clear that taylor is actually doing william shatner’s version of common people, in which most of the lyrics are spoken rather than sung, and winston is covering the sung lines in that version. most people at the bar think this is kind of a weird move. philip thinks it’s hilarious and is begrudgingly impressed by taylor exploiting the loophole in “everyone must get up and perform at least once.”

since that’s been accomplished, all the prince cappers gradually leave to head home. philip and taylor leave around the same time, and while they’re waiting for rides, he can’t help pointing out that they still haven’t actually sung, which is the point of karaoke. and, with no one around to hear them except philip, taylor sings head over feet by alanis morrisette. not the whole song — they won’t have time for that anyway with their uber arriving soon — but just enough to leave philip wondering.

#for many of these i am leaving [significance of the lyrics] as an exercise for the reader / listener #inbox #unproduciblesmackdown #billions #taylor mason #philip charyn #taylip #winston billions #ben kim #kate sacker #tuk lal #rian billions #and i figure this counts as #soundtrack posting #oh fun fact! that alanis morrisette song is considered to have coined the term “friends with benefits” #(although it's used in the song with a slightly different meaning than the phrase typically has today)

[unproduciblesmackdown]

WIP Files Game tagged by @nothingunrealistic

RULES: post the names of the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it!

au where i had the organized approach to Have wip folders. but i also like to finish one effort in a straight shot, so returning to them after stepping away doesn't tend to be too relevant. like, i forgot abt plenty of these writing wips b/c the vast majority are just several sentences or paragraphs from one night's effort that i just saved; f for those that got hundreds or thousands of words & many nights' efforts in, but we have fun. plus just like some [throwing down ideas] docs are included, for more fun:

another riawin attempt rian pov evening out

benston attempt

benston breakup

benston fic another attempt he's nice to everyone

benston post hookup was it a mistake

benston pwp

benston take two

benston tomato plant

ideas plans planning tayriawin threesome hookup

ideas re riawin fic

just a casual swing at horny tayston

just having a start at tayriawin threesome

mellman

my tayston pwp lol as though

october started tayriawin effort

planning benston fic

planning more tayston riawin triawin attention sex fic

polycule foursome maybe winston fic

riawin cassandra future idea

riawin fic in bed

riawin fic written out attempt

riawin fic

riawin not great fwb fic attempt

riawin evening out hookup take 2

starting yet another attempt at tayston riawin triawin fic

taking a stab at a riawin fic cozy and sexy lol yolo

tayston crying sex

tayston fwb fic

tayston take two

triawin taylor fucking winston while rian watches wahoo yay fic

winston hcs

winston winstuk fic not going anywhere billions

inverse of re: writing, i finish most drawing efforts i started. but, similarly, here's some that were, like, throwing down ideas, unfinished, or restarted (ft. a good amount of this being material that's been posted in intermittent "here's some stuff that didn't get finished" collages)

adjudicator outfit

another tayston handjob take

barely benston kiss

benston cooking kiss

benston looking at each other sketch

calving 1, 2

color scheme for kleinsen sunset

effort attempt at a super scary play section animatic

just some winston sketches messing around

kissing winston

mess of an effort at tayston quant head

of course i'm coming with you

rian getting winston off from behind

rian taylor winston working together

riawin kiss angled

riawin kiss isn't going so hot here lol

riawin kissing

riawin spoon

setting up winston and tuk sketches possibly

sketches riawin snowfall streetlight

tayston couch kiss

tayston handjob i hope

tayston hug rest against chest

tayston laugh

tayston winston taylor wip offering hot drinks

winnie n tay

winston beset by bisexuality

winston cozy plant shaded blue green sleep

winston lingeries

winston shadow about to be kissed

zeke matthews goosebumps design effort the first

#fun to go through & revisit / compile these b/c obviously my naming conventions made me laugh some #and revisit myself like what's even in here / stuff even if i vaguely remember it's been months. w/the [not tending to pick it back up] #got that one wip still going....wrote in it last night in fact.... #all the more [Having Sex] Times in the writing wips when i need the bonus drive to even try writing abt sm shit happening lol #winston billions #i don't think there's much here that's Of Intrigue but it was fun for me to do lol. we do love information & compilation out here #always funny like just ''this is another try at this'' version 6.5 or something

[unproduciblesmackdown]

meanwhile the general idea, since god knows if i’d ever successfully Write A Scene, is kicked off with the mental image like “ha ha classic, wouldn’t it be fun if someone like gave winston a flower as a nice gesture & he was like :o :o o///o” a bit on the spot but having a pleasant time b/c it’s hard to pwn someone like that, so long as it’s not some involved prank setup, but also i could incorporate it into the writing that maybe his delight is undercut by any suspicion it Could be....and seemed most likely that that person could be rian, but it’d be sort of quite a gesture from someone who Knows he likes her, supposing it Wasn’t a joke, so that’s kind of a commitment regarding the [writing it a bit Ambiguously?] factor lol

anyways with little indication of there being even close to that much encouragement from the material re: riawin ever being mutual, and the thought of “well hey slide it over to a Winston And Tuk Are Friends moment,” it’s readily like, could be a lighthearted friendly gesture from someone if there Is that established friendship there, suppose they hang out outside work regularly enough & this can also happen in such a setting, suppose it’s something convenient like valentine’s day where flowers offering is more of a general thing than like, it’s Your anniversary or whatever other more specific relationship [floral gesture] occasion, maybe it’s not even a real one just for convenient durability in the scene where you’re trying to keep track of it lol / to emphasize it’s just like a casual nice thing and not pretending to be fancy / easier to get ahold of if it’s a day when real flowers to offer someone are more in demand across the board.....figure out a way like tuk just Has these in the first place, could have someone around to have nominally / more casually offered them to him in turn, and is now like ha ha winston here you go buddy, and winston is like ha ha thank you, and then is hit by the freight train of [accumulating Feelings of He’s Been Having A Crush For Ages Now & It’s Not Gonna Happen] and [he keeps clearly hoping for positive responses / earnest moments of connection with others out here in general & rarely gets it / often is given shit For these efforts] and [idk, last we ever heard he doesn’t like himself] and [another reason it’s a cute image is b/c you know, it’s easy to imagine he hardly gets this kind of thing a lot, much less is totally surprised by it, even like, as a fun spontaneous friendly gesture] and [idk he’s on billions, he’s got Problems, maybe he’s also generally lonely and suddenly being hit with Unrequited Crush Malaise on romantic relationships day might combine with a lot of things] and so then you’ve got tuk trying to walk through the situation of “now winston is clearly and suddenly Quite Upset and Having A Time” trying to ask clear, practical questions about what he might do to mitigate it lmfao, winston trying to respond helpfully and maybe retain some dignity if he doesn’t quite feel they’re at a [yes i’d comfortably openly weep in front of this person, yes i presume they wouldn’t be annoyed if i did] place, but it’s not like, the hugest deal, he’s basically fine and Just Having A Moment, but also not quite fine overall b/c it’s billions & he’s winston & it’s always plausible he could ever have any breaking points getting Openly Upset in various ways over things, even if so far so his being written to just roll with it all forever b/c he can’t be taken so seriously by serious characters as to confront them & get a response, save 4x11 / 4x12 as the closest example, and that was more about taylor’s arc obviously than like, hope winston’s feeling okay after all this lol......just having spontaneous situations out here where for once someone can & will deal with / interact with the fact winston has feelings, & with the intent to have a helpful/positive effect there

#winston billions #riawin #winstuk #again Mentioned / Invoked lol.... #here w/the context of presumed (and maybe accurately so) unrequited re the former and like; ambiguous / potential undercurrent on the latter #Winston Has Emotions That Are Acknowledged / Not An Annoyance In Itself times.... #easy to hear like a ''would it help if x'' ''should i y'' in enough matter of factness from tuk to be somewhat humorous #while winston is having a time but Also trying to respond to these things helpfully lol....manage to Navigate A Situation....