#And downplays this to holly

[bonefall]

Did Brambleclaw actually disown the Three when the secret is revealed? I don't remember this happening (then again, it's been a while) but it does bug me how all three go "Poor brambleclaw :(( He was such a good dad to us and he has to learn we're not even his biokits :(((( poor guy" while simultaneously shitting on Leafpool and Squirrelflight despite them showing them more care and affection before AND after the reveal. If he does disown them, then.... WOW is the double standard real here.

In-canon? It's something you have to approximate. They don't seem to have a concept of ""disowning"" because blood relation is taken as such an insurmountable, FUNDAMENTAL fact of life. He doesn't write them out of his little kitty will and testament, but his actions ARE disowning.

It's as if the fact he is not their biological father is an automatic disowning. From the reveal onwards, he is immediately cold, distant, and the "betrayal" is mentioned often. The Three also explicitly don't blame him for his behavior, like it's just to be expected that he's Not Their Dad anymore.

Lionblaze in particular stares longingly at him several times, really missing him. And like... that's kinda what gets my goat so much

I do believe Brambleclaw is entitled to his feelings of betrayal. I believe Squilf was ultimately in the right to lie, actually, but he's still allowed to be upset and angry that she didn't trust him enough to tell him something so important. THAT SAID, YOU ARE NEVER ENTITLED TO TREAT OTHERS POORLY.

And that's what GETS me. He isn't upset that it was all revealed in such a painful and embarassing way when this could have been avoided, or that his lover struggled with this lie for so long without him, or that he feels he's lost his children. Squilf points it out in The Last Hope-- He's so ANGRY at Squilf that he will THROW HIS FAMILY AWAY

Lionblaze seems desperate to be his son again. Hollyleaf is gone for months, and Brambleclaw is still huffing about the secret when she comes back from the dead. Squilf is fawning in the hopes it makes him talk to her again. Doesn't matter. Brambleclaw Is Upsetti Spaghetti so the narrative will never examine his role in hurting this family he apparently loved so much.

(Narrative seems to understand full well that when Squilf lies for a good reason, that doesn't invalidate the hurt Brambleclaw felt... but when Brambleclaw is upset for a good reason, it actually DOES validate what he put her and his kids through)

In BB it is explicitly a disowning. He cuts them off as his children, and they reciprocate. BB!Lionblaze does so in a ball of fury, vowing that he has ONLY a mother.

[torchlitinthedesert]

I was writing about how Paul started writing with John, and how that story has been told. Once you’ve noticed that Paul wrote songs first, you can’t unsee it. And you can’t help spotting which writers just haven’t noticed, and who is actively going LOOK OVER THERE A SQUIRREL when they have to mention Paul bringing songwriting into the group. (I’m curious to see how the new Ian Leslie book handles this; the first review I’ve seen says the partnership “began in earnest in 1962”, which suggests Leslie has at least looked beyond the usual “they met at Woolton Fete and almost immediately started writing together” take.) Anyway, here’s a LOOK OVER THERE A SQUIRREL compilation, because some of these are outrageous

During the 1960s, the official band narrative presents JohnandPaul as a unit, keeping their contributions carefully balanced. Here’s Hunter Davies, the jumping-off point for most later accounts:

[Paul] played a couple of tunes to John he had written himself. Since he’d started playing the guitar, he had tried to make up a few of his own little tunes. The first tune he played to John that evening was called ‘I Lost My Little Girl’.

Not to be outdone, John immediately started making up his own tunes. He had been elaborating and adapting other people's words and tunes to his own devices for some time, but he hadn't written down proper tunes till Paul appeared with his. Not that Paul's tunes meant much, nor John's. They were very simple and derivative. It was only them coming together, each egging the other on, which suddenly inspired them to write songs for themselves to play.

After the breakup, rock journalism tended to take John’s side, and downplay Paul. Here’s Philip Norman in Shout! (1981), doing a virtuoso hatchet job:

Paul McCartney had always used his guitar to help him make up tunes. His main objective in the Quarry Men, however, was to oust Eric Griffiths from the role of lead guitarist. One night at the Broadway Conservative Club, he prevailed on the others to let him take the solo in a number. He fluffed it and, later, in an attempt to redeem himself, played over to John a song he had written, called I Lost My Little Girl. John, though he had always tinkered with lyrics, had never thought of writing entire songs before. Egged on by Paul - and by Buddy Holly - he felt there could be no harm in trying. Soon he and Paul were each writing songs furiously, as if it were a race.

Did you think, dear reader, that writing your own songs might be a significant artistic breakthrough? No, no, it’s just a backup weapon in Paul’s Machiavellian plot against poor Eric. This is his “main objective”, and he’s manipulated the others into letting him grab a solo. Norman has, by the way, already admitted that the Quarrymen all recognised that Paul was a stronger musician than the rest of the group. Is it reasonable for the best guitarist to want to play a solo? Clearly not.

For maximum whiplash, compare Norman telling the same story 27 years later, in John Lennon: The Life (2008).

The idea of writing original songs to perform, rather than merely recycling other people’s, was firmly rooted in Paul’s mind well before he met John. He had begun trying it virtually from the moment he acquired a guitar, combining melodic gifts inherited from his father with a talent for mimicking and pastiching the American-accented hits of the moment. His first completed song, “I Lost My Little Girl,” had been written in 1956, partly as a diversion from the trauma of his mother’s death, partly as an expression of it. Around the time he joined the Quarrymen, he had something like a dozen other compositions under his belt, mostly picked out on the family upright piano, including a first draft of what would eventually become “When I’m Sixty-four” (which he thought “might come in handy for a musical comedy or something”).

For a fifteen-year-old Liverpool schoolboy - indeed for any ordinary mortal - this was breathtaking presumptuousness. In Britain’s first rock’n’roll era, as for a century before it, songwriting was considered an art verging on the magical. It could be practiced only in London (naturally) by a tiny coterie of music-business insiders, middle-aged men with names like Paddy or Bunny, who alone understood the sacred alchemy of rhyming arms with charms and moon with June.

Just imagine if Norman had published that second version in 1981. Shout! was one of the most influential Beatles books, shaping the narrative for decades to come. Even Norman now admits its extreme bias, but you can still see its lingering influence. (Also, what a natural-born hater Norman is. When he puts his Paul-bashing on hold, he makes up some fictional songwriters to despise instead.)

Next up we have Mark Lewisohn, who doesn’t write Paul as the Evil Grand Vizier, but keeps shuffling the pack to put John front and centre whenever a breakthrough happens. His prologue to Tune In is a snapshot of John and Paul writing together at the very beginning of their partnership:

Towards the end of 1957, John wrote Hello Little Girl and Paul came up with I Lost My Little Girl; the similarity in their titles was apparently coincidental but both were steeped in [Buddy Holly and] the Crickets’ sound…Buddy Holly was the springboard to John and Paul’s songwriting. As John later said: “Practically every Buddy Holly song was three chords, so why not write your own.” Stated so matter-of-factly, it could seem that writing songs was an obvious next move, but it wasn’t. Teenagers all over Britain liked Buddy Holly and rock and roll, but of that great number only a fraction picked up a guitar and tried playing it, and fewer still, in fact hardly anyone, used it as the inspiration to write songs themselves. John and Paul didn’t know anyone else who did it, no one from school or college, no relative or friend… and yet somehow, by nothing more than fate or fluke, they’d found each other, discovered they both wrote songs, and decided to try it together.

When Lewisohn disagrees with the accepted narrative, he’s usually very keen to show you all his evidence for why everyone else is wrong. Here he suggests John wrote Hello Little Girl first, without discussion. Then he quotes John on getting the idea to write songs, before discussing what an important innovation that was. Right at the end, he says they both wrote independently - but John is in prime position throughout.

As you read on, he acknowledges Paul’s pre-Quarrymen songs, framing them as juvenilia (“exceptional for a first attempt by a boy on the cusp of 14”). Giving I Lost My Little Girl a later date than everyone else, Lewisohn notes that when Paul performed it on MTV Unplugged, his “vocal includes a Holly hiccup, pinpointing its creation to post-September 1957”. (Because the way Paul sings something in 1991 must be exactly how he sang it from the beginning.) Lewisohn also ignores the many interviews in which John says he started writing after seeing Paul’s example.

Obviously, these distraction tactics sell Paul short. But I think they harm John, too. If you’re interested in him as an artist, don’t you want to know how he developed? What he learned, how he used those influences to shape his own voice? How he and Paul worked, together and apart? How they saw their partnership, how that fed into their competitiveness, ambitions, or insecurities? Mary Sue Blorbo Leader John is no good to me. And, more than 60 years on, memories have faded and sources have died; we’ve lost so many chances to look at how they really worked. John and Paul both deserve better.

[vampsb4tramps]

Another reason why I think Locke being Gancanagh is a cop out by Holly Black: Oriana. We don’t need to be spoon fed every detail, but this is quite an off screen revelation. Made me scratch my head. Oriana knew this boys mother, they were BFFs. You’re telling me Oriana didn’t know her bestie was Gancanagh? Cause she should have taken Taryn to the side and tell her. Having the ability to love-talk is not something that would have been downplayed in the trilogy unless it was an afterthought created years later. The main reason I think it’s cop out is because she probably didn’t like how she wrote Jude with Locke, or maybe she regretted how fucked the twins relationship became in the trilogy and wanted to redeem Taryn in a fast and simple way. Because that secret fiancé reveal was hanging over Taryn like a black cloud for a long time in the fandom.

[glasskey]

THT True Love and Double Trouble Remix Part 3

Welcome to the 3rd and final part of this remix. In the context of this love triangle Luke is the equivalent to the “home body” or the “boy next door”. For years and years now, in classic love triangle scenarios these slouchers have been “getting the girl” based on the lame-assed rule of “first dibs”. However our heroine isn’t beholden to anyone, SHE makes the rules, and as the infamous Dawson / Pacey / Joey love triangle taught us; the so called “diamond in the rough” is the everyday man’s worst fucking nightmare.

LUKE

Because Luke is the everyday man he presents a perfect vehicle for demonstrating the casual chauvinism experienced by women as a normal daily occurrence. Luke is a homebody with a desire for a wife and an idyllic family, and with this comes all the dynamics of it’s traditionalist ideals. Luke represents the average middle class male persona; educated but self-entitled and somewhat willingly complacent in his efforts to change his or societies attitudes to gender roles and dynamics. As such, the infringements of June’s initial freedoms are concerning rather than alarming and certainly not enough to motivate him into direct action. In Atwoods text Luke actually enjoys some of these restrictions of June’s former freedoms, as they allow him to assert his dominance, thus bolstering his own sense of self confidence. This character aspect has been somewhat downplayed in the series, but we do still see signs of it.

In Atwood’s text, Luke taunts Holly making light of her action against the patriarchy, in the series we see echoes of the two at loggerheads when Holly voices her disapproval of June and Luke’s marriage. Holly’s perception of Luke is as a trap of conventional traditionalism, a direct obstacle between June and her independence. Holly embodies the fight against a patriarchal society and the definitive independent woman. As such she is captured, enslaved and most likely killed off during the inception of Gilead. Moira also voices concerns that Luke will leave her if she cannot produce the child he so desperately desires, leaving June wondering; what if he sees her as primarily a walking womb? June’s insecurity at his faithfulness and her own abilities to provide a child cause her to continuously apologize, and minimize her own anxieties. Ultimately it allows him to take control, determining when they run and enabling his passivity to leave her trapped.

When June returns home she is far from the affectionate, compliant wife he once knew. She is distinctly uncomfortable in a world that somewhat acquiesces to Gilead’s will. She is enraged, vengeful and hypervigilant. After waiting many years for her return, Luke seems determined to “love whoever she turns out to be”, it seems almost defeatist to “let her go” after all this time. However he’s constantly challenged by the person who’s returned to him, and while there are moments of connection they’re tenuous and it’s doubtful that pre Gilead, he would have ever chosen to marry the woman he now knows.

Prior to Gilead’s inception the nature of the physical connection between Luke and June ranged from flirtatious to affectionate. Upon returning from Gilead, physical contact between Luke and June ranges from cautious to violent and finally settles back into a friendly affection. In contrast scenes of unrestrained climactic sex seems to have been reserved almost exclusively for Nick Blaine, drawing a sharp line between the two. In S5 we witness a spontaneously passionate sex scene between Luke and June, but the lighting and positioning hurtles you back to Nick and June’s heated, passionate exchange at the Boston Globe. As June turns away from Luke, it’s difficult not to conclude that June is reliving a distant precious memory. It’s a moment of passion triggered by their mutual hatred of Serena rather than any loving desire for intimacy. In the fading cold light he lies exposed as she remains covered, his attempt to reach her has failed once again.

I truly sympathize with Luke, to me it makes perfect sense that he would TRY and reconnect with June. That he would hope against hope that despite many years of separation and her obvious love for another man, that he might be able to salvage his marriage somehow. Throughout season 4 and 5 we witnessed a man clinging to the past, the moments he connected with June were when he spied the remnants of the woman he once knew, or when hopes of Hannah returning were raised. Maybe, just MAYBE, he hopes, he might be able to get back the family he lost on that icy road so many years ago. Throughout S4 and 5 Luke showed a deepening awareness of June’s altered perception of both him and their relationship. He expressed regret that he’d failed her as a partner and made ill-conceived attempts to redeem his short comings, he tried desperately to hold onto her and the dream of his family…..but it all seemed for naught.

As June bade him farewell at the train station we saw her pivoting from Ep 9 where she told him to let her go, to telling him to come find her. But the borderline disconnection of the last 2 seasons made it seem either like a sentimental goodbye, or an unrealistic attempt to suddenly reconnect these two characters fully. I was moved by the “goodbye’s”, but the “I love you’s” and “come find me’s” left me confused. Had I missed something? Had some immense edit had taken place to save air time?

Both Luke and Nick are cautionary tales but in decisively different ways. Luke is privileged and well educated, he works in a white collar job and he chose a passive role, doing little or nothing to act, at the inception of Gilead. He represents the willful ignorance and complacency of men who assume that power comes at no personal cost. He is a demonstration of men’s responsibility to, not only change their own gender biased beliefs, but be pro-active about changing those around them. In contrast Nick is poor, unemployed, with no higher education and he chose an active role. His position has a great deal to say about the ease of manipulation by the wealthy ruling class. His servile and initially diminutive role of action turns the larger wheels of power for Gilead, as Serena said: “we wouldn’t be here without him”. Both Luke and Nick illustrate the incredible destruction caused to ALL, by both the active practice and social complacency of gender bias. Both challenge our perceptions of guilt and innocence. The Handmaid’s Tale is known for its painfully accurate social commentary, and the inescapable truth is that whether passive or active, both of these roles can be equally devastating.

In S5 we see Serena confronting Luke with the reality of his inaction, provoking a rage filled response. Luke is seething with hatred for Gilead, but there is also an undercurrent of immense guilt and self-loathing for his own apathy.

Luke said nothing, did nothing, ran too late, lost his wife, lost his daughter…….there are consequences. Nick joined the Sons of Jacob, he took part in a right wing regime and he lost his country, his freedom, his daughter and the woman he loves……..there are SO many consequences.

Both of these men signify a journey that male attitudes and society at large must take in order to unstack the deck. Throughout the seasons we’ve seen both Nick and Luke’s painful personal journey of enlightenment, regret and their ultimate choice to change. It’s no coincidence that they BOTH now reside in the “purgatorial” Big House…..it’s time to show true sacrifice and pay the piper.

There seems to be a tendency to attribute a mantel of innocence to Luke for his passivity during the inception of Gilead, furthermore the idea that he’s EARNED some sort of expected devotion through the role of husband and provider. Ironically this attitude reflects the very archaic traditionalism that The Handmaid’s Tale kicks against time and time again. As Holly said, “now’s not the time for settling down, now’s the time to fight.” so when push comes to shove, if either of these boys want to tag along with our rebel, they’d better get ready to gear up and go underground. Rebellion waits for no man.

In story telling great lovers have something that for lack of a better term, could be referred to as “calling cards”. They act like talismans of their deep connection, and Nick and June have a LOT: their hand brushing, foreheads touching, ever present glowing lights, when Nick calls her name, her gasp and eyelash flutter at the mere mention of his name, and the touching of June’s neck. These “calling cards” seem so very conspicuously absent in Luke and June’s relationship, and as the seasons roll on, this is harder and harder to ignore.

The end result is that watching Nick and June fall in love, is like watching two people GENUINELY fall in love for the first time. Regardless of whether this portrayal is the result of June’s overly romanticized narration is irrelevant, the fact remains that Nick Blaine is quite literally being visually described as “the love of her life". In comparison the audience is fed somewhat ordinary glimpses of her life with Luke. The Handmaid’s Tale moves in circles, depicting the turning of seasons and as such June swings back and forth between these men. The end of the shows seasons always somehow cruelly reuniting and yet separating her from Nick. The rule of chances state that the wheel of fortune must finally turn differently this time. But I don’t trust these writers, I never have, they’re erratic and brilliant and you can never trust genius to be predictable. Whether Nick and June end in tragedy, sacrifice or victory is yet to be seen.

[magicaldogtoto]

Big thanks to @kiddysart for drawing my magical girl OCs Rose and Holly!

I've been working on their story for almost two years now--just one of those things I do when I'm not focusing on the other things I'm writing--so I thought it'd be about time to commission art of them. I tried my best to give references for their outfits that didn't rely too much on other, pre-existing magical girls. The shiny, armored bits are definitely inspired by me reading and watching Saint Seiya, though.

A common comment re: magical girl weaponry is that they often look toyetic. In my commission, I used the words "ornate"/"ceremonial" in my description, a thing I got from reading the art book for WETA's Narnia films (they used those words to describe their aesthetic for the children's weapons there; mostly to downplay the darker aspects of children wielding weapons). I really like how they turned out!

In a case of "write what you know," both girls have connections to the Philippines. Rose is fully Filipino (like me), while Holly is half-white (similar to many friends I have). I listen to music while writing and came up with songs to associate with them. Rose's is "Where Is My Mind? (Pixies Cover)" by Tkay Maidza; Holly's is "Swooner" by The Zolas.

I have lots of thoughts about these two; I'll go into more detail about them in the future.

[thegayhimbo]

Stranger Things (2x03): “The Pollywog” Review

If you haven't yet, be sure to check out my other reviews:

Stranger Things Episode Reviews:

Season 1:

The Vanishing of Will Byers

The Weirdo on Maple Street

Holly Jolly

The Body

The Flea and the Acrobat

The Monster

The Bathtub

The Upside Down

Season 2:

MADMAX

Trick or Treat, Freak

Stranger Things Play:

Stranger Things The First Shadow

What’s that old saying? “All good things must come to an end.” That’s the sentiment I felt when watching this episode.

This isn’t meant in a negative connotation towards the show. If anything, I enjoy season 2 and would even argue it’s the best season of the show so far. I like all of the episodes (including “The Lost Sister”), I’m invested in all of the characters arcs (especially compared to other seasons where some arcs were either uninteresting or underdeveloped), they do a great job expanding the world and the mythology without tipping their hand too early, the pacing works while the show takes its time building scenes up for full emotional effect, and this season finds the right balance between horror without making it too dark or mean-spirited (which is an issue I had with seasons 1 and 4) and comedy without going over-the-top at the expense of the characters and their arcs (which is a problem I had with season 3). Even the exploration of serious themes like trauma and abuse are handled with gravitas instead of being played for cheap effect or misery porn.

It's funny, because I remember when season 2 came out how so many people ripped into it for being inferior to the first season. There was even a snide entry at one point on TV Tropes in the “Sophomore Slump” category on the Stranger Things YMMV page where they took every aspect of season 2 (music, characters, 80s callbacks, etc) to rip it to shreds to make it seem like the Duffer Brothers were just checking items off in a box while being derivative and rehashing the same story from season 1. The claim was derogatory and self-righteous in a way that was off-putting. That’s not even getting into all the other awful takes on TV Tropes, or the way fans there will rip into the main characters for every little mistake or unkind thing they do while bending over backwards to downplay/excuse the vileness of characters like Billy, Dr. Brenner, Jason, Angela, etc. This even extended outside TV Tropes. I remember at one point during my time on Reddit that I got downvoted for saying I liked season 2. That’s not even getting into the obnoxious “Stranger Things should have ended after season 1” crowd that’s been all over the internet for a while now. Put a pin in this because we will be gradually discussing how poorly it reflects on the fandom.

Personally, not only have I found these criticisms to be in bad-faith, but it also makes me question how many fans are being willfully obtuse and just want something to complain about. It’s like seeing people unironically criticizing movies like Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Aliens, The Empire Strikes Back, and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (sequel movies that have been cited as inspiration by the Duffer Brothers for how they crafted Season 2) for being derivative.  

On the one hand, I guess you could technically argue those movies take story beats and plot elements from their respective first movies (Terminator coming back in time to eliminate John Connor’s existence, Xenomorphs in a confined area killing people one by one, Rebels fighting the Empire, and Indiana Jones looking for a powerful historical artifact coveted by the villains) and use that to claim those sequels are inferior.

But we know that’s not the case for movie buffs because, while those sequels may have used the same story premise or call-backs from their first films, they also took risks and introduced new elements that came to be beloved. An Arnold Schwarzenegger Terminator sent back in time in T2……………. except it acts as a protector and father-figure to a young John this time, and the characters from that movie get an opportunity to prevent Judgment Day instead of treating it as an inevitability like the first movie did. Aliens featured more Xenomorphs while also introducing the Queen as a new mysterious entity, and continued Ripley’s character development from the first movie. The Empire Strikes Back elevated Vader as a villain while making his rivalry with Luke more personal (“I am your father”) as Luke learns more about the Jedi ways from Yoda. Even Temple of Doom, for all its flaws, went a different direction by not having Christian related artifacts be the central MacGuffin, and introducing an altruistic angle where Indy worked to save a village whose children have been forced into slavery by a cult.

Stranger Things Season 2 did the same thing: It continues the worldbuilding by introducing new mythology aspects (Kali, The Mind Flayer, D’Artagnan, etc), it expanded on character growth from the previous season (Steve and Lucas being two such cases), and while there are similar story beats, it goes in different directions with them: Contrast the way the Nancy/Jonathan/Steve love triangle played out in season 1 vs how it went in season 2, especially factoring in the decision to develop a friendship between Steve and Dustin. Or the introduction of D’Artagnan and the ethical questions about whether monsters from the Upside Down are naturally evil compared to how the Demogorgon was portrayed in the first season. Or the way Hawkins Lab under Brenner was run compared to how it’s managed under Owens. Or Lucas’s hostile reaction towards El being a member of the Party in season 1 contrasting his desire to include Max in the group this season. I could go on, but my point remains the same: Season 2 was NOT derivative, and took risks with the story and its characters. Most of them paid off, and continue to be some of the most popular aspects from the show.

It has been nice over the past few years to see people embrace season 2 compared to when it first came out. I think there’s been a lot more retrospection (especially given the way seasons 3-4 went) that’s made people reevaluate their position on this season (even on characters like Kali) and realize that maybe they judged too harshly. It reminds me of the reception John Carpetner’s The Thing first received when it was released in 1982: It was eviscerated by critics at the time, and called one of the worst science-fiction movies ever made. Today, it’s hailed as a classic.

This is a big reason I’ve started distancing myself from the fandom in recent years, and why I’m wary about “popular fandom opinions,” or the kind of hot takes you see on sites like Reddit, Twitter/X, and TV Tropes: Not only do most of them come off with a biased and myopic reactionary viewpoint that allows no room for nuance, but many of them don’t age well, and in some cases come off like fans are looking for reasons to be upset and find things to complain about. I don’t have the patience for that kind of negative mentality anymore. I’m not saying there aren’t things with the show that can’t or shouldn’t be criticized, or at least discussed, but there’s a big difference to me between saying “This aspect of the show that I like doesn’t work and here’s why” vs “Everything about this season is derivative garbage with nothing good, and it should have ended after season 1.” If you hate the show that much, stop raining on everyone else’s parade and go find something else to watch. Unless, of course, you want to be honest about the real reasons for trashing the show on your Youtube Video Essay (ad revenue and likes/subscribes), or else have nothing better to do except troll.

Sorry, but this is something I’ve needed to get off my chest because it’s been a pet peeve for a while now. People are entitled to their opinions, but I still love this show, and I am waiting for season 5 to conclude before I cast a final judgment. Until then, season 2 remains my favorite.

Let’s start the review:

Part 1: The Love Triangle (Steve/Nancy/Jonathan)

Even though Steve’s role in this episode is minimal, and we won’t see Nancy and Jonathan get together until a few episodes from now, I intend to get everything related to the Steve/Nancy/Jonathan love triangle out of the way here because I don’t want to keep talking about it in later reviews.

This is one arc I wish the show had moved past after season 2, and I’m not happy it got brought back for season 4, or the implication it’s going to play a role in season 5. Part of the reason I tolerated this story when season 2 initially aired was because I thought we would be done with it, and both Nancy, Jonathan, and Steve could move on with their respective arcs without having their characters tied to it. Like I said, I will reserve final judgment when I see how it plays out in season 5, but I’m wary about how they’re going to handle this.

I get the feeling based on the way the Nancy/Steve argument was filmed in this episode (with both characters in the exact same alley where they had their previous argument in season 1’s “The Body”) that we were expected to sympathize with Nancy and view Steve as being petty and self-absorbed, but I ended up feeling bad for Steve by the end of it. Imagine falling in love with someone who one day starts acting strangely and suddenly isn’t interested in spending time with you. When you go to investigate, all while your nasty group of friends are playing on your worst insecurities, you see them with another person in a way that looks like they cheated on you. As if they never truly cared for you at all. In a moment of anger and hurt, you end up nuking the entire relationship and lash out in a way you later feel remorseful over when you realize that, even if that person had cheated on you, it did NOT excuse how you acted, nor did those people deserve it, and you feel awful for hurting them. Keep in mind that when Steve goes to apologize to Jonathan, he was still under the assumption Nancy had cheated on him, but still felt terrible and wanted to make things right. Even when he saw Nancy there, instead of jumping to assumptions like he did last time, he tries to make amends to both Jonathan and Nancy by admitting he messed up and wanting to fix this. In the process, he gets dragged into a nightmare that shatters his entire worldview, nearly gets killed in the process, is traumatized (I know the show doesn’t focus on Steve’s trauma the same way it does with Nancy or even Jonathan, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t there), and leaves him realizing how massively he fucked up. In the aftermath, not only does Nancy dump him (which Steve likely accepted as being deserved) but he’s also coerced into signing a bunch of NDAs and legal documents by government agents threatening to destroy his life if he ever so much as utters a word of this to anyone else. A month later (because Jonathan is unavailable), Nancy comes back wanting to restart the relationship. Considering Nancy even took Steve back at all, I think it’s fair to assume Steve did some massive damage control for her and Jonathan after the slut-shaming at the theater while also putting in the elbow grease to show he had actually changed. During their year together, he’s trying to make the relationship work while Nancy is dealing with her grief over Barbara’s death while he also deals with his own trauma (Like I said before, Steve wanting to engage in normal activities is his way of coping with the horrors so he doesn’t have to think about them) and is doing what he can to be there for her (including going to Barbara’s house at Nancy’s request). However, it doesn’t appear to be enough, and the relationship begins to deteriorate. Then the night of the Halloween Party comes and Steve gets hit with the brutal truth: Nancy doesn’t love him, she considers their entire relationship bullshit, and there’s the implication that she’s may have felt this way for months. Maybe even as far back as December. To say nothing about how her heart belongs to Jonathan.

I know Steve is being snide when he refers to Jonathan as Nancy’s other boyfriend, but he isn’t wrong: She has been longing for Jonathan while she’s been together with Steve, even as Steve’s spent nearly a year trying to make their relationship work. How was that fair to Steve?

I want to be clear that my issue with Nancy isn’t that she fell out of love with Steve. Or even that she fell in love with Jonathan. Given what happened in season 1, I get why she feels the way she does. Steve may be remorseful about what he did, but that doesn’t mean Nancy’s going to forget the way he initially acted. I also don’t hold it against her for wanting to give Steve a second chance and see if they could recapture the spark in their relationship. He did come through for her and Jonathan when push came to shove, and he was someone she could talk to about what had happened the previous year when Jonathan was unavailable.

What I DO have a problem with is Nancy being dishonest with Steve about how she truly felt. If she knew their relationship wasn’t working, she needed to have come clean to him about it and tell him they needed to break up. Steve likely would have been hurt, but he wouldn’t have been as angry as he is here over feeling like he got led along.

This is a big reason I shake my head at the fans who come out with those bizarre misconstructions (like the bad-faith one I called out in my "MADMAX" review about Steve playfully spinning Nancy around near the lockers) trying to make Steve look possessive of Nancy or jealous of Jonathan during the time Nancy got back together with Steve. If Steve truly thought Nancy was in love with Jonathan prior to the Halloween Party, he would have just ended the relationship then and there (like he does here). He isn’t going to play mind games, and he isn’t interested in trying to make a relationship work with someone who clearly doesn’t want to be there. I get Steve has his history as a playboy at the school (or at least that’s what Nancy implied about him in the Pilot episode) but when he’s invested in a relationship, it’s 100%. He isn’t going to half-ass it, and I can’t think of any instances where he was shown fooling around with other girls or pining for someone else while he was with Nancy.

I’ve seen some people compare this scene to the fight El and Mike have in season 4 after El smashed Angela’s face in, with a common point centered on both Mike and Nancy being unable to tell El and Steve that they loved them. While I believe there is a discussion to be had about how Karen and Ted’s loveless relationship has stunted both Nancy and Mike in their ability to be vulnerable and form healthy romances, there is context between these two situations that makes them different: Mike was still in love with El in season 4, and while he might not have been able to say it through letters, he has shown MULTIPLE TIMES that he does love El with or without her powers. He has repeatedly put his life on the line for her, kept her hidden when she was being hunted, and traveled across the country for her. Doesn’t mean Mike hasn’t had his insensitive moments, but he has demonstrated that love through his actions rather than his words. This wasn’t a case of Mike having lost interest in his relationship with El the same way Nancy has with Steve. And Steve knows that. When Steve asks Nancy to say that she loves him, it’s less about hoping there are any feelings left towards him, and more about getting that final confirmation that the relationship is dead.

I’ve also seen some claims about Jonathan lying to Nancy when he later says Steve asked him to take her home the night before. I……………never gotten that impression watching that scene. I get Steve stormed out of the bathroom past Jonathan at the Halloween Party, but I had assumed Jonathan and Steve talked afterwards off-screen prior to Jonathan taking her home, especially since Nancy was already uncooperative with Steve while she was intoxicated, and Steve probably thought Jonathan would have better success getting her home as opposed to if he tried to himself. The fact Steve tells Nancy that he assumed Jonathan would pick her up for school gives the impression Steve knew Nancy had left the party with Jonathan. However, I could see the possibility that Jonathan not only was trying to make Nancy feel better about what happened, but also may have been covering for Steve despite it not being Steve’s best moment. Jonathan remembers how remorseful Steve was after the theater confrontation when he came over to apologize later, and how Steve ended up coming to their rescue, and he likely knew Steve would feel bad later about what happened at the Halloween Party and wanted to extend some grace towards him. So rather than judge Steve in that moment, or try to drive a wedge between Steve and Nancy, Jonathan instead mitigates and doesn’t take sides. However, I consider it up in the air which interpretation (whether Jonathan lied or was being truthful with Nancy) is the correct one.

Not helping matters is we’ve never gotten much info about Steve and Jonathan’s relationship since season 1. I assumed that, while they weren’t exactly best friends at this point, they had started being amicable (if awkward) with one another following their encounter with the Demogorgon. The show hasn’t done much to put these two characters in the same scenes or storylines since season 1, so a lot of their minimal interactions are up for speculation.

It’s frustrating because, aside from the friendship Joe Keery and Charlie Heaton appear to share behind-the-scenes, there was story potential in having Steve and Jonathan form a friendship that was NOT centered on Nancy. Think Ted Lasso and the “Rivals Turned Friends” relationship that Roy Kent and Jamie Tartt develop in seasons 2-3 of that show. Not only did it lead to some neat character development for Jamie and Roy, but it was considered by Ted Lasso fans to be a highlight, and much preferred over the Jamie/Keeley/Roy love triangle with the two of them duking it out for Keeley’s affections. We’ll probably get Steve and Jonathan scenes in season 5, but I have a sinking feeling it’s going to be tied to their love triangle with Nancy rather than any potential friendship they could develop, and that does NOT make me enthusiastic for that arc.

Nancy and Jonathan’s plan to take down Hawkins Lab is something I will analyze in the next review, but I do want to discuss the circumstances of Nancy leaving Steve and getting together with Jonathan. I know for a while Nancy got a lot of hatred for how that went down, including accusations she cheated on Steve, as well as her arc about getting justice for Barbara being dismissed as “pandering” to fans who were unhappy about Barbara’s death (First you guys complain about the show glossing over Barbara’s fate in season 1, but then you complain when it is addressed in season 2? 🙄 Pick a fucking lane and stick with already). That’s not even getting into those misogynistic clickbait articles that came out at the time comparing Nancy unfavorably to Billy, all while shilling the hell out of Billy and propping him up as the best character in season 2. Boy, did those age like spoiled milk. 😒

This is my take on it: I do NOT believe Nancy cheated on Steve, and here is my perspective on why:

When I first saw the fight between Nancy and Steve in this episode, I took that to be the official end of their relationship. One could argue it happened earlier at the Halloween Party when Nancy drunkenly told Steve what she truly thought about them as a couple, and it resulted in Steve leaving Nancy for Jonathan to take home while not picking her up for school the next morning (because he assumed Jonathan would do it). Nancy initially didn’t see it like that, which is why Steve spells it out for her in the alley and refuses to accept her excuse that she was drunk. When he leaves at the end and says “I think that you’re bullshit,” I took that to mean “It’s over between us.” And quite honestly, I think that’s how Nancy took it as well. You could argue there was bad communication and wrongful assumptions on both sides, but the way that scene was framed made it look like it was a break-up. Like both Nancy and Steve realized the relationship was dead in the water with both wanting to move on at this point.

I’m reminded of the infamous “We were on a break” scenario from F.R.I.E.N.D.S, and how, to this day, there’s still a raging debate about whether Ross cheated on Rachel or not. Personally, I don’t believe he did. There’s a lot that can be said about the circumstances which led to what happened (Ross’s insecurities, his refusal to respect Rachel’s boundaries regarding her work life, everything about Mark, etc), but Rachel’s insistence about needing a break from their relationship came off as it sounded: They were no longer together in that moment. Granted, Rachel may have only meant temporarily and didn’t think it would be a permanent breakup (as evident when she told Mark that she didn’t want to take a break, and went back the next morning to Ross to try and make their relationship work), and I still think it’s skeevy Ross slept with a woman mere hours after his “break up” with Rachel despite claiming to still be in love with Rachel (and then tried to cover up what happened so she wouldn’t find out about it), but as far as I’m concerned, he didn’t cheat.

The reason I bring up that moment from F.R.I.E.N.D.S is to emphasize that people are going to have different interpretations about what constitutes the end of a relationship. I said this two reviews ago, but I’m not interested in demonizing one character to prop up the other. I have a problem with Nancy not being honest with Steve beforehand about falling out of love with him, but that doesn’t mean I view her actions in the next few episodes as cheating. Everything I saw gave the impression their relationship was officially over in this episode.

Part 2: El and Hopper

When I made my comment about “All good things must come to an end,” this is one of the things I was referring to. Obviously, not a permanent end for El and Hopper’s relationship, but we know there’s going to be a major blowout in the next episode which will shake up the dynamic between them.

Given Hopper's "prisoner" remark, I’m assuming El’s counting of the days since she started living with Hopper (this being Day 326, which would mean she either got taken in December 11th or 12th, 1983, give or take a day) was inspired by the times she spied on Mike keeping track of the days since her disappearance. In many ways, I get where her impatience is stemming from. She isn’t ungrateful for what Hopper has done for her (as I’m sure some fans out there have suggested previously), but she is confined to one location where she has limited freedom (even if it’s for her own safety), not a lot of options to do anything besides wait around the house, and is relying on the promise of someone who keeps saying “soon” even though that doesn’t appear to be coming.

It doesn’t help Hopper’s case that, despite his claim that he’s “making progress with these people,” we don’t really see that between him and Hawkins Lab (at least not from these past 3 episodes). All of Hopper’s and Dr. Owens conversations up to this point have either been about Will or the Upside Down. Not El. I even question if El’s been brought up between them in the 11 months since Hopper took her in. That’s also including how, despite the year that’s gone by, there still doesn’t seem to be much trust between Hopper and Owens. That whole confrontation where Hopper snarls at Owens that he keeps things “nice and quiet” for Hawkins Lab so that they keep their shit out of his town comes off as Hopper essentially saying “I’m only working with you because I have to, and not because I want to.” That doesn’t exactly say “building trust,” does it?

I get El hasn’t been privy to these conversations (although it’s entirely possible she could have been remote-viewing on Hopper without his knowledge and saw he wasn’t making progress), but she isn’t stupid. She knows Hopper’s mind is elsewhere with his job, and (from her perspective at least) if getting El her freedom was truly a priority, he would have done it already. Instead, Hopper keeps making these reassurances that aren’t panning out, all while enforcing strict control over El not leaving the house under any circumstances, and it’s leaving her frustrated. Hopper being late several times now (both on Halloween, and the night before that) only reinforces this idea for her that it’s okay when he breaks rules or promises, but not when she does it.

There’s also the fact that constantly hiding, never having any freedom to go where you want to without fear of being captured or killed, really isn’t a life. I remember growing up reading a dystopian books series (this was a few years before The Hunger Games came out in 2008) that echoes the dilemma El is going through: Shadow Children by Margaret Peterson Haddix.

Set in an unknown future where overpopulation and food shortages have become a major problem, the Government has established the Population Police as an authoritarian force meant oversee population control. The result is a rule establishing that families can only have two kids. Any potential third child or subsequent ones (known as shadow children) are killed and the families are punished. The series consisted of 7 books, each from the perspective of these shadow children as they explore how being forced to hide most of their lives has impacted them psychologically. The series in many ways is a precursor to the themes The Hunger Games would explore: Government corruption, dehumanization, totalitarianism, children as expendable, rich vs poor, propaganda, you name it. This was a DARK series that was aimed at young adults. I read them in Elementary School, and I still have vivid memories of them. That’s how much of an impact they had.

In the first book. Luke Garner is a shadow child who’s spent his entire life obscured. He can’t go outside anymore (especially since they’ve started developing new houses in the area) in case someone spots him, he must always keep hidden from view, he has been conditioned to stay away from windows out of fear that someone will accidentally see him, and it even gets to the point that Luke’s father orders him to never help in the kitchen in case the Population Police show up at the door. One day (after a particularly harsh fight with his dad) Luke ends up peeking through the vents in his room and sees another child in a house that’s already supposed to have two other kids. Breaking the rules his parents have enforced for his safety, Luke sneaks out to confirm what he saw, and discovers the house has a shadow child named Jen. The rest of the book deals with the relationship the two of them form, which kickstarts a chain of events leading into the rest of the series.

In any case, El’s situation reminds me of Luke’s in that they’re both kids who have been branded “illegal” simply for existing (the difference being people like Brenner want to use El as a weapon as opposed to killing her), both are forced to follow rules by their parents (or in the case of Hopper, El’s adoptive father) for their own safety, both become suppressed by those rules in spite of how well-meaning they are because it restricts their freedom and choices (while also being frustrated by the parental figures who are enforcing them), and both ultimately rebel by breaking the rules in spite of knowing the risks. Luke goes to see Jen whereas El goes to see Mike. And in both scenarios, it doesn’t pan out how they want it to.

With El, she gets spotted by a mother and her child, who immediately phone the police once El flees (guess the rumor about El being a Russian Agent traveled fast in Hawkins, combined with how El caused the swing to wrap up on itself). When she finally gets to the Middle School and sees Mike, she’s hurt and disappointed by what she witnesses.

Aside from her vexation at Hopper’s rigid attitude, a big reason she wanted to physically meet Mike was the fear that he has given up on her and was beginning to move on. El had her suspicions when she spied on Mike in the previous episode and saw him dejectedly put away his walkie-talkie after getting no response. Now she sees Mike interacting with another girl, as if she’s a new interest to him and El’s somehow become replaceable. I know that isn’t what was happening in that scene, but that’s how it comes off to El. That moment where she causes Max to fall off her skateboard isn’t really about Max; it’s about Mike. This isn’t the last time this specific fear will gnaw at El either. We see this again in season 4 when she confronts him about whether Mike still loves her even though she’s lost her powers and is at her lowest point in Lenora. Deep down, she’s worried Mike will eventually lose interest in her. Sadly (as we see in his conversation with Will in season 4) Mike feels the same insecurity about El, and the idea she will eventually leave him one day.

Getting back to Hopper, there’s always been a question about how he views his relationship with El, and I know fans have inquired about whether Hopper is projecting the memory of Sara onto El, or if he sees El as what he was never able to fully have with Sara. It’s murky because there are instances where he engages in some of the same activities he did with Sara when she was still alive.

Take for instance the flashback of Hopper reading Anne of Green Gables to El for bedtime. It’s the same book he read to Sara when she was dying of cancer:

Even tie-ins like Winter Special and Darkness on the Edge of Town have Hopper getting El Hungry Hippos for Christmas because that’s the same game Sara used to play with him:

There’s also how, even if this wasn’t his initial intention, Hopper has started to fill in the role of father to El. Not just in providing for El, but also disciplining her as if she was his own daughter (like he does in the next episode). He’s also the one homeschooling El, and coming down to her level to teach her new words and things she may not have initially known about outside of Hawkins Lab. 

So I think the answer about whether Hopper is projecting Sara onto El is yes and no. He’s going back to what he knew as a father when he had Sara, and he does see a lot of Sara in El, but he also recognizes El is vastly different, including being older and having powers tied to her emotions, as well as the fact that their relationship is based entirely on trust. Not just the father/daughter trust that comes naturally in families, but trust between two people who were initially strangers and have an agreement between one another about what is expected. And so far, that’s being put to the test.

This leads me to a video game outside of Silent Hill that inspired Stranger Things, and likely factored into El and Hopper’s relationship: The Last of Us.

The Last of Us is a 2013 survival adventure video game set in a post-apocalyptic future where an infection known as CBI (Cordyceps Brain Infection) has spread across the human population, turning humans into fungi-like monsters and causing the collapse of civilization.

In the 20 years following CBI’s first appearance, martial law has been declared, authoritarian quarantine zones have been set up to separate the remaining humans from the infected, and a rebel militia group known as the Fireflies are attempting to overthrow the military’s hold and restore the branches of government. The game centers around a former father turned smuggler named Joel who (after a deal involving guns goes wrong) gets tasked with escorting a girl name Ellie to a location where the Fireflies reside. Joel later discovers Ellie is important to the Fireflies because she’s immune to the infection, having been bitten three weeks ago when it usually takes two days for CBI to destroy cognitive brain functions. The hope is the Fireflies can use her to find a cure and develop a vaccine. The rest of the game involves Joel trying to get Ellie to the Fireflies while fighting off infected, military personnel, marauding bandits, and other threats across the United States as they travel from Boston to Salt Lake City.

(Artwork pictures come from Dark Horse Comics and Naughty Dog Studios The Art of The Last of Us)

For the sake of this review, I will just be talking about the first game, and NOT its controversial sequel or the HBO show.

Just like Hopper, Joel had a former daughter (also named Sarah) that he lost the night civilization collapsed. Unlike Sara’s cancer from Stranger Things, Sarah in the game is killed by gunfire when she, Joel, and his brother Tommy tried to escape town when the infection broke out. Both Hopper and Joel feel the loss of their daughters heavily, and work to cope with it. Hopper disappears into drugs, alcohol, and his routine job, and Joel works as a smuggler in the black market to make ends meet. Both men end up encountering a girl (El and Ellie) who are special in some way (El with her powers, and Ellie for being immune to the infection) and remind these men of their biological daughters. Both men become tasked with protecting these girls, and establish 3 rules for the girls to follow. In Joel’s case, it’s that they keep their histories to themselves, Ellie is to never tell anyone about her condition, and that she is to do what Joel says when he says it. In Hopper’s case, it’s that El is always to keep the curtains drawn at home, only open the door for Hopper if she hears his secret knock, and never go out alone (especially during daylight). Both El and Ellie inevitably break the established rules for different reasons.

Additionally, both Hopper and Joel are skilled survivors and invoke traditional masculine traits of self-reliance, gruffness, and a hardened exterior. Unlike with Hopper and El, Joel takes a long time to warm up to Ellie. Initially, he just sees her as a job that he can’t wait to pass responsibility to someone else, and while he isn’t actively hostile towards Ellie, he is cold and shut-off at certain points. Bit-by-bit, as he goes through multiple life-and-death experiences with Ellie, he does begin to open to her (even collecting Savage Starlight comic books on her behalf) and she begins to open to him as well (including reading pun jokes to him to lighten the mood at different points).

Both Ellie and El develop a bond with Joel and Hopper where trust is crucial and yet they can be vulnerable in one another’s presence. They have their arguments, and a central conflict in both The Last of Us and Stranger Things involves whether El and Ellie intend to stay with Hopper and Joel when things reach a breaking point. Ellie in one instance runs off when she realizes Joel intends to pass her off to Tommy for the rest of her journey, and when Joel later tracks her down and confronts her, she calls him out for what he intended to do. Likewise, El will briefly leave Hopper after their fight in the next episode as she begins to decide if this relationship is working for her.

There are more parallels between The Last of Us and Stranger Things (particularly how the moldy environment of the Upside Down compares with the unearthly appearances of CBI and Clickers), but those will be discussed later as we get deeper into season 2.

Part 3: Dustin and D’Artagnan

Interesting fact: Worlds Turned Upside Down reveals this storyline was originally conceived during season 1, but the Duffer Brothers didn’t have room to include it at the time, so they move it to season 2.

In any case, I think it works for the better. Season 1 invoked more of a Jaws and Alien vibe with characters dealing with a hostile monster (a viciously intelligent one at that) and finding a way to destroy the monster while avoiding being killed by it. This season needed to try something different if it intended to revisit monsters from the Upside Down again. One of the ways they did that was through D’Artagnan and his bond with Dustin.

There are several inspirations for this arc, but let’s start with the obvious one first: Gremlins.

Directed by Joe Dante and produced by Steven Spielberg, Gremlins is a 1984 comedy horror film centered around a young man named Billy Peltzer who gets a creature known as a Mogwai for Christmas. With his new pet comes three rules: Never expose it to light (especially sunlight), never get it wet, and never feed it after midnight. Billy Peltzer does his best to try to adhere to the rules, but through a series of accidents and intentional sabotage, the rules eventually are broken, and the results are catastrophic for his town. The movie has a manic energy that drives the story. The Gremlins (which are the result of feeding Mogwai’s past midnight, and can multiply when exposed to water) are delightfully nasty creatures that knowingly cause chaos and attempt to kill several people. The rest of the movie deals with the attempts by the characters to bring their reign of terror to an end before their leader (Stripe) can multiply more of them.

There have been multiple interpretations attached to this movie, from it being a critique of Christmas commercialism, to how Westerners look at Asian culture through an Orientalist perspective (the Mogwai comes from a shop in Chinatown run by Mr. Wing and his grandson), to Americans lack of responsibility, and so on. The last interpretation I raise an eyebrow at because while the movie treats Billy Peltzer like he was irresponsible for how he took care of his Mogwai (named Gizmo), this ignores other circumstances beyond his control. Like the water that accidentally got splashed on Gizmo by Billy’s friend Pete, leading to the creation of more Mogwais (including Stripe). Or the way Stripe was portrayed as a bad egg from the start, compared to Gizmo. Or how Stripe intentionally sabotaged Billy’s clock to make it seem like it was earlier than midnight so that Billy would feed it and the other litter of Mogwais (sans Gizmo), resulting in them morphing into Gremlins. Billy does his best to take responsibility (and helps save the town in the process), but the problem is he’s dealing with a creature he’s never encountered before, and he was given no context beforehand about what would happen if the rules were broken. It doesn’t help that Mr. Wing never had any intention of selling Gizmo in the first place, and the only reason Billy ended up with it is because his father made a deal with Mr. Wing’s grandson.

Dustin’s case is a little different: Initially, he thinks it’s a new species of tadpole/pollywog he’s discovered, and like anyone with a curious mind, he wants to know more about it, and does research into the creature.*

(*Slight continuity error regarding Dustin naming off terrestrial pollywogs: One of the frogs he mentions is Indirana Semipalmata, which is native to the Western Ghats region of India. This name wasn’t used for this particular frog until 1986, two years AFTER the time this season takes place. Beforehand, it was referred to as Rana Semipalmata, namedin 1882 by zoologist Geroge Albert Boulenger as part of the genus Rana (and the subgenus Discodeles). It was only later when zoologist Raymond Ferdinand Laurent put the species in the genus Indirana that it came to be known as that. Not the worst continuity error in the world, but it is notable.)

D’Artagnan does share the Mogwai’s dislike of light (with the added effect of hating heat), it doesn’t need water (though water doesn’t make it multiply like the Mogwais), and similar to the Mogwais who transform into Gremlins if fed after midnight, D’Art goes through his own changes from a pollywog to a demodog in the next few episodes.

When showing D’Art to Will, it hits Will that D’Art is likely from the Upside Down as he remembers the slug-like creature he threw up last year and how similar the chittering sounds in his previous vision of the Upside Down are to D’Art’s.

It's left ambiguous if the slug Will barfed at the end of season 1 was D’Art or not. There was even a debate in Beyond Stranger Things between Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin) and Noah Schnapp (Will) about that flashback. Noah was under the impression the flashback was just meant to highlight that Will recognized the creature (and the chittering sounds it made) as something from the Upside Down, whereas Gaten believed the flashback was specifically connected to D’Art and meant to emphasize that D’Art is the same slug that came out of Will.

What’s confusing is the show doesn’t clarify on whether Will throwing up the slug was a one-time thing, or if he had been throwing up multiple slugs at different points over the past year. I’d assume that if it was the latter, Joyce would have inevitably discovered this (just like she finds out in this episode how Will saw the Mind Flayer on Halloween Night) and it would have been brought up by her in some kind of conversation, just like how she’s mentioned Will’s previous “episodes.” I’d also imagine we’d have heard something about Will being put in quarantine at Hawkins Lab if they thought his body was reproducing more slugs, as opposed to just the check-ups regarding his visions. Add in Lucas’s comment about Will seeing “something that looked like D’Art last year,” and it makes it sound like what happened with Will and that slug back in December was a one and done kind of thing.

If the slug Will threw up was supposed to be D’Art, I find it strange that it took a little over 10 months before D’Art underwent rapid changes (all within the next two days no less). I’ve seen some people speculate Dustin feeding it the three musketeers bar is what triggered D’Art’s massive growth (just like Billy Peltzer feeding the Mogwai’s after midnight turned them into Gremlins), but if that was the case, why didn’t D’Art start transforming earlier? It was literally in Dustin’s trash foraging for food (and had been there for at least a day as we saw from the first episode this season), and I’m hard pressed to believe there weren’t leftovers thrown out that D’Art wasn’t munching on. Or that it wasn’t able to find some kind of food beforehand in the 10 months it had been alive.

In any case, once it’s revealed D’Art is from the Upside Down, the debate over what to do with him starts, and Dustin makes this argument:

This is a major reason why this is one of my favorite arcs from the show: It introduces a new layer of morality to the Upside Down in regards to whether the creatures there are chaotic evil or simply animals trying to survive.

The Demogorgon in the first season was played like the shark from Jaws and the Xenomorph from Alien: While it was depicted as an animal, it had a maliciousness to it that made it unique. The Xenomorph from the first Alien movie was a sadist which enjoyed killing off the crew of the Nostromo, and the shark in Jaws was implied to have been personally motivated to target humans. Likewise, the Demogorgon actions had a vindictiveness tied to how it hunted its prey and stalked characters like Will and Joyce, which made the audience automatically assume that this monster was purposefully malignant.

But then we get to season 2, where it’s revealed that all these creatures are connected to the Mind Flayer via the hive mind. They are beings who have been enslaved, and are subjected to the whims of its master (which include Vecna, as we find out in season 4). Not only does it make one reevaluate the Demogorgon’s behavior in season 1, but arguably the behavior of most of the monsters in the Upside Down: How much of their actions are simple animal instinct that they’re born with, and how much is due to their ties to Vecna/The Mind Flayer?

Mike’s argument to Dustin is that because D’Art is from the Upside Down, it automatically makes him bad. He even goes as far as to use a Star Wars comparison of how everyone on the Death Star was bad to emphasize his point. While Mike is likely just using the movies alone as a reference point, there is the greyer context established later on in the Star Wars Legends (and Disney Canon decades afterwards) regarding slaves who were forced to work on the Death Star, or Imperial officers who began to seriously question the morality of what they were participating in (to the point of engaging in sabotage). Or even those who defected from the Empire in disgust after the Death Star destroyed Alderaan. The point is it’s not as black-and-white as Mike makes it out to be.

By the same token, while Dustin isn’t necessarily wrong in arguing that D’Art isn’t automatically evil, he’s still dealing with a creature where he doesn’t have the full context of what they are or how they’re going to act later. There’s also the fact that (whether it was born with that connection, or if it got infected later after escaping Dustin’s basement) it has the Mind Flayer’s taint attached to it. There were always going to be problems with D’Art down the line.

Some people will argue Dustin was stupid for keeping D’Art around, but I get where he’s coming from: He’s a kid who loves discovering new things, has an interest in pets and science, has found a new creature he wants to know more about, and sees D’Art as endearing. His attachment to D’Art is more emotional rather than logical, to say nothing about how Dustin is the kind of person who looks for different perspectives in people and things as opposed to making myopic judgments.

And in some ways, it pays off in the end: D’Art still acts like a carnivorous wild animal (including eating Dustin’s cat, Mews, because it’s hungry), but it doesn’t have the calculated maliciousness that the Mind Flayer has, and it recognizes the kindness and affection Dustin showed it. It’s that more than anything that allows D’Art to temporarily overcome the Mind Flayer and not attack Dustin and the group in the tunnels during the season finale.

I’m reminded of what Terminator 2: Judgment Day (one of the inspirations for this season) did with its premise. Unlike the first movie, which depicted all terminators and machines as malevolent, T2 introduced a Terminator as a protector for a young John Connor, with John teaching it humanity and human morality, conveying the idea that machines can learn from humans. Likewise, there’s the implication with D’Art that it's capable of understanding human concepts like love, loyalty, kindness, and so on. It may not have human intelligence, but like any pet, it can learn things. If it wasn’t for D’Art’s connection to the Mind Flayer, it’s possible Dustin could have domesticated D’Art in a way that would allow him to live at his house among other humans.

I don’t know where season 5 intends to go with the fate of the Upside Down, but I wonder if they’ll revisit the idea that not all the monsters in the Upside Down are completely subservient to the Mind Flayer. It’s inevitable that Vecna and the Mind Flayer will have to perish, but assuming that doesn’t completely destroy the Upside Down, what will it mean for the Demogorgons and other monsters residing there who aren't connected to the hive mind? Will they just go back to being wild animals? Will they be able to evolve (assuming my theory about the Upside Down from “The Monster” was correct)? Could there be a future where they bond with humans the same way D’Art bonded with Dustin?

On a final note regarding this topic, Dustin gives the name “D’Artagnan” based on the Three Musketeers Bar he feeds D’Art. While the candy inspired the name, I’d also imagine Dustin is one of those kids who would’ve read The D’Artagnan Romances for fun, and knew about the character from those novels. D’Artagnan was the impetuous, hot-headed youth who desired to become a King’s musketeer in France. He was taken under the wing of three other musketeers (Athos, Porthos, and Aramis) whom he’d initially (if accidentally) offended, but later joined swords with against the Cardinal’s guards, and would work with the Musketeers in thwarting the Cardinal’s plans and underlings (Milady de Winter and Comte de Rochefort). D’Artagnan was impulsive and could occasionally blunder, but made up for it with bravery and loyalty, and eventually became a lieutenant for the Musketeers.

I’ll be honest in admitting that I’ve never read the books, but I have seen the 1970s Richard Lester films, which are a lot of fun and invoke the same kind of swashbuckling energy I got from seeing Pirates of the Caribbean as a kid. In any case, D’Artagnan was a perfect name for Dustin’s pet, and many of the same qualities of loyalty and impulsiveness from the character in those movies and books can be seen in Dustin’s beloved demodog.

Part 4: Will and the Upside Down

For as much as Dr. Owens framed Will’s “episodes” as trauma and the anniversary effect to Hopper and Joyce, the implication from the previous episode when he was rewatching his conversation with Will on the TV screens is that he knew more than he was letting on. With the revelation in season 4 that he knew about Henry/One/Vecna along with Brenner, it makes me wonder if he suspected that the “evil” Will was referring to was Vecna, but chose to keep quiet about it to Joyce and Hopper. I don’t know how much Owens was collaborating with Brenner behind closed doors, or if they were even in contact during this time, but there’s a lot here that’s shady, and makes me side-eye Owens. I’m not saying he was being disingenuous about wanting to help Will, but I don’t think he was completely honest with Joyce and Hopper about what he truly suspected.

There are a lot of questions I still have in regards to the Upside Down. The spreading of the underground tunnels being one of them. I know Dr. Owens says in “The Spy” that it was a defense mechanism in response to the burns Hawkins Lab had been implementing on the Gate and the mold/vines from the Upside Down, but I’m curious about how long it took for those tunnels, and the expansion of the Gate underground, to form. Did this only happen in the last couple of days, or has this been a yearlong process? I assumed the latter from what I talked about in my “MADMAX” review, but then there’s Eugene and Merrill and how their crops, which had been fine the week before, all suddenly rotted on October 30th (with other farmers experiencing the same thing), with the implication that the expansion underground was a recent thing. I know this seems like a small detail, but it’s one I’m interested in to understand why the Mind Flayer waited nearly a year before making its move to invade Hawkins. When I was rewatching this episode with a family member and asked them about it, they suggested the idea that it was a lot like a tree or plant growing, where the roots (which represent tunnels in this analogy) initially push deep underground before expanding outwards as the roots slowly come up. If that’s the case, it could explain why the rot is happening now since the tunnels are beginning to rise to the surface.

There’s also the camera Will had on him which fizzles and captures the shape of the Mind Flayer when Will had his “episode” on Halloween Night.

I never understood the logistics of this. Was the idea supposed to be that, because Will was initially holding the camera just as he was experiencing Truesight (as Mike calls it), the camera was able to capture a frame of the Mind Flayer’s form? Did the camera dropping to the ground and fizzling have something to do with it? Was the Mind Flayer’s presence so disruptive (even from the Upside Down) that it left an imprint just by being there that the camera was able to catch? I’m legitimately asking because, even rewatching this, I’m still confused by this scene. If someone can explain this to me, I’d appreciate that.

Speaking of which, let’s talk about Truesight. This is how it’s defined in my D&D Players Handbook (which admittedly is from 2014):

Another source I’ve looked up on Truesight confirm the same idea: Not only does it allow a player to see into the Ethereal Plane, but it also enables them to see in both normal and magical darkness, as well as invisible creatures and objects.

The Upside Down represents a dark mirror to the world (with the exception being that nothing has changed in the Upside Down since November 6th 1983), and Will’s Truesight allows him to see the comings and goings of the creatures there. However, except for the Mind Flayer and its connection to Will, it doesn’t look like any monsters in the Upside Down would be able to hurt Will since he isn’t physically there.

One thing I found curious is the scene where Will finds D’Artagnan in the restroom, and D’Art screeches at Will, causing Will to panic and run just as he has his episode where the Mind Flayer chases him out of the school. Was D’Art’s screech about letting the Mind Flayer know where Will was (assuming D’Art was already under the Mind Flayer’s possession)? Was the screech meant as a warning for Will? Or was it simply just screeching because it thought Will was going to hurt it, and that coincidentally happened when Will’s episode began? I’m a little skeptical about the former interpretation about D’Art warning the Mind Flayer because it’s been shown in previous “episodes” Will’s had (Palace Arcade, the Byers house, when Will was Trick-Or-Treating) that the Mind Flayer seems to know where Will is at all times due to the connection they share. I doubt it needed D’Art to confirm Will’s location in that moment.

Then there’s the whole concept of The Ethereal Plane which Mike references. The Ethereal Plane (sometimes referred to as “The Waveless Sea”) is a plane of existence in D&D resembling a misty, fog-bound dimension that exists between the Inner Planes and the Material Plane. It’s where Demiplanes reside, and it overlaps with the Material Plane.

There are two parts to this plane: The Border Ethereal and The Deep Ethereal. The Border Ethereal consists of every “border” that demiplanes and planes of existence have when they touch the Ethereal. Being at these “borders” and peering into the other side is best described as looking through a “glazed and cloudy window” or even looking through “frosted glass.” The idea is you can see the adjacent world to the Ethereal while on the Ethereal Border, but those objects and people on the other side will look like they’re “made up of multi-colored fogs,” and no sound can escape from the plane to that border. In other words, if you’re in the Border Ethereal, you are invisible, incorporeal, and silent to those in the Material Plane. It comes in handy if a D&D player wants to spy on someone in the Material Plane without having to deal with physical limitations. For instance, if you wanted to get inside a castle and see what’s there without an invitation, you’d be limited in the Material Plane because of the walls of that castle blocking access. However, if you were to use the Ethereal Plane to transverse that, those walls in the Material World wouldn’t be a problem because you’d be able to pass right through them.

If we’re comparing this to Stranger Things, being on the Ethereal Border next to an adjacent plane reminds me a little of characters being next to the Gate at Hawkins Lab, or even the tear El encounters at the Middle School that she escapes through. Viewing the adjacent world through a "glazed window," so to speak:

The Deep Ethereal, meanwhile, is not adjacent to any plane of existence. It’s like an ocean where the further you go out, the quicker you lose the shore (or borders). It is the one travelers in D&D must journey through to reach another world. It's thick with fog, colorful curtains (known as Ethereal Curtains, which act as a barrier between the Deep Ethereal and the Border Ethereal regions), no ground or real gravity, and the time it takes to travel can be minutes, hours, or months. Someone journeying through the Deep Ethereal can’t rely on landmarks (as there are none) and have to instead rely on mentally picturing where they desire to travel to until they find the “correct color curtain” to take them to that plane’s border. Continuing with the ocean analogy, Demiplanes in the Deep Ethereal are like as islands spread about. This video goes more into detail about The Ethereal Plane for those who want to know more information:

It should be noted that in the earlier versions of D&D, The Plane of Shadows, or “The Vale of Shadows” as it is called on the show, was originally considered a demiplane within the Ethereal Plane. Later editions of D&D would change this to be a transitive plane that acted as a dark mirror to the Material World. Considering Season 2 is set in 1984 before those Editions ever came out (or even the release of Manual of the Planes 1st Edition in 1987) it makes sense in-universe why Mike would draw a comparison between Truesight and the Ethereal Plane to the Upside Down and what Will is experiencing.

In Will’s case, his truesight into the Upside Down isn’t quite the same thing as transversing the Ethereal Plane in D&D. While walking in the Ethereal in an area adjacent to the location in the Material World allows a player to overcome physical limitations (like being able to walk through walls or through the ground that would be otherwise impossible to do in the Material Plane), Will in the Upside Down still seems limited by the environment created there. He can’t run through the walls or the ground of the Middle School while the Mind Flayer chases him, and there appears to be the same physical limitations (gravity, walls, etc) that exist in the Upside Down as they do in his world.

I talked a little about Demiplanes in my review of “The Flea and the Acrobat,” particularly in regards to how it relates to the Upside Down, and even Vecna’s mindscape. Demiplanes in the Ethereal Plane are made up of protomatter that can be manipulated to take the shape of worlds and realities, and the mists of the Ethereal are said to be “made up of existence itself.” I have suggested several times the idea of matter in the Upside Down being manipulated to form the world as it was on November 6th 1983, and that the environment of the Upside Down itself is malleable and subjected to change. The question is what or who made this change? Will? El? Vecna? The Mind Flayer? If so, why?

Finally, in regards to Will’s story, there’s his possession by the Mind Flayer. During the lead up to it, I kept thinking about how Will’s situation uncomfortably parallels real-life scenarios of people being stalked by sexual predators before they get violently assaulted. The idea is the predator wants the victim to be afraid, to feel like they can’t escape their situation, before they go in for the attack. It’s about power and fear, and letting the other person know they have no control while they violate them.

It’s why I find the scene of Will getting possessed hard to watch: Bob’s advice to Will was well-meaning, and screaming at the Mind Flayer to “Go Away” was probably the only thing he could do in that situation……….which is why it’s a gut punch when it doesn’t work. The Mind Flayer had the power and control in that situation, and it knew that.

This isn’t just in relation to Will either. The First Shadow had a similar thing going on with Henry/One/Vecna and the Mind Flayer, with the difference being the Mind Flayer acted more like a manipulative abuser that was grooming and gaslighting Henry. Meanwhile with Will, it just goes right for the assault.

I am hoping season 5 does a reversal of this where Will is the one that instills fear into the Mind Flayer, and turns the tables on it. They’ve constantly hammered in this theme of characters standing up to bullies (with the Mind Flayer being the ultimate bully), and it would be nice if Will got to take the power back the next time these two meet.

Part 5: Miscellaneous

I know Mike gets flak for his initial attitude towards Max, and it doesn’t help that later seasons feature them as antagonistic towards one another. While I obviously don’t agree with Mike’s abrasiveness, there is both a logical and emotional component to it that I get.

Logically, Max is a newcomer that Mike only met a few days ago, and he doesn’t know if he can trust her. That’s also factoring in everything related to El and the Upside Down: If Max were to join their Party, she either would have to be let in on their secrets eventually, or else they would have to spend a good chunk of energy constantly lying their asses off to her (which Max would see through immediately). To say nothing about how including Max in their secrets could put her in danger, or result in Government agents visiting her house and either threatening her or forcing her to sign NDAs to keep her quiet. Either way, since Mike considers himself to be the leader of the Party, I don’t think he was thrilled at the idea of including a stranger whom he’d feel personally responsible for if something went wrong.

Then there’s the emotional component: In Mike’s view, Max is essentially pushing out the memory of El, which he resents. He doesn’t have the same attraction to Max that Dustin and Lucas do, which is why it’s hard for him to understand why they like Max and want her in the group. By the same token, Mike has his attraction to El, which neither Lucas nor Dustin have. It doesn’t mean they don’t miss El, but they don’t miss her the same way Mike does. I thought this was clearly spelled out on the show (despite what fans claim otherwise), and even Runaway Max went with that interpretation as well:

It is telling that, even though Mike is rude to her because he wants to push her away, Max still tries to appeal to him by impressing him with her skating skills, and coming up with a unique role for herself in the Party that isn’t pushing El out. For as much as Mike pretends that he doesn’t care about Max, he does find her interesting. He was impressed that she beat the top scores at Palace Arcade (which is why he was spying on her along with his friends in the first episode) and he’s even amused by her skateboarding in the gym despite pretending otherwise. Similarly, for as much as Max acts aloof, her taking Dustin and Lucas’s offer to go Trick-or-Treating and trying to find common ground with Mike shows she wants friends. These two are eerily similar in being stubborn, having a take-charge attitude, and pretending not to care when they actually do.

This episode does start highlighting the differences between Lucas and Dustin in how they approach Max, which subtly foreshadows the direction they’ll go with the love triangle: Lucas is the one who engages in conversation with Max (the topic being about Will) and gives her a little more information without divulging everything about what happened the previous year. He’s interested in talking to her. Dustin, meanwhile, is more invested in his discovery of D’Art, with his interest in Max being secondary. This isn’t necessarily a negative attribute for Dustin since his scientific curiosity is genuine, but when he tries to use D’Art to impress Max, it’s more about what he THINKS would be impressive to her as opposed to what Max is truly interested in. Max doesn’t share the same scientific interests Dustin does (to say nothing about how she's grossed out by D’Art), and she’s looking for someone to talk with right now rather than talk at her.

Scott Clarke’s presentation on Phineas Gage and the personality changes he underwent after his accident was pretty pointed foreshadowing for what to expect once Will was possessed by the Mind Flayer, but I still thought it worked. I am curious about how he would have reacted to seeing D’Art, but I guess it was for the best that he didn’t, and he still was amicable with Dustin afterwards in spite of that. Despite his limited appearances on the show, I’ve always enjoyed Mr. Clarke’s scenes, and his absence in season 4 was noticeable. In Beyond Stranger Things, Randy Havens (who plays Mr. Clarke) discussed how Mr. Clarke acted as a safety net for the Party in Middle School where, regardless of everything else going on in their lives, Mike and his friends could learn interesting topics in Mr. Clarke’s classes, and geek out over things without being made fun of for it. He made their time in school bearable, and was one of the few adults in their lives they could depend on without feeling talked down to or ignored. I have no clue if the show intends to bring him back for season 5, but I hope they do, and that he gets acknowledgement from the boys about the positive impact he had in their lives. Teachers like Mr. Clarke who care that much about their subjects and their students are rare, and his absence in season 4 only highlights how soul-crushing and formulaic high school was for the characters since (aside from Hellfire Club) they had nothing else to look forward to while finishing their education.

Bob Newby continues to be a favorite for me, and his scenes with Will in the car, and Joyce at work, were some of the best moments in this episode. His advice to Will about dealing with his fears was earnest, even if it didn’t work in the context of Will’s situation. The Duffer Brothers revealed in Beyond Stranger Things that Bob was always going to die, but the context for how it would happen changed. In the original draft, Will (under the influence of the Mind Flayer) would have killed Bob, either in this episode or the next one, as opposed to his death by demodogs in “The Mind Flayer.” While I’m still unhappy Bob met a gruesome end, I would have been a lot more upset if they’d gone with a possessed Will being the one who murdered him. Not only would it have been mean-spirited, especially because it would have spat on the relationship Bob and Will had been forming, but also because it would have traumatized Will and forced him to live with that for the rest of his life. It’s already bad enough that Bob’s advice didn’t work, but having it not work and THEN Will killing Bob would have twisted the knife in a way that would have been nihilistic. Bob deserved better than that.

Likewise, Bob’s discussion with Joyce over lunch about bullies was insightful. Though I would argue there’s a component he missed: There comes a breaking point for everyone who’s been subjected to a bully’s cruelty where they will bite back in a way that destroys the bully’s illusion of control and power. We see this with Max at the end of season 2 when she fears that Billy will kill Steve, drugs Billy to prevent this from happening, and then tells him she is done putting up with his abuse and threatens him with the spiked bat to emphasize her point. Likewise, Angela kept pushing El’s button and would not stop with her sadism until El finally snapped and smashed the brat’s face in. Suddenly, Angela didn’t find it so amusing when she was screaming, crying, and bleeding on the ground, to the point she had to be taken to the hospital. In both Angela and Billy’s case, they got the message loud and clear. Billy started treading a lot more carefully around Max following that, and while we never saw what happened to Angela, she is probably going to be a lot more cautious next time unless she wants to get permanent brain damage from the next concussion to her head.

Speaking of Billy, his appearances in this episode were minimal (Thank God). There are only two things I have to say about his scenes: 1.) For as much as Billy continues to project this creepy Alpha Male posturing onto Steve, everything about the way Steve reacts indicates that he isn’t remotely interested in this petty rivalry that Billy wants to start with him. 2.) Billy pretty much leaves Max to skate home on her own, and snaps at the girl he’s with to not refer to Max as his sister. Keep this in mind when we discuss Billy’s reaction to Lucas in the next episode.

Part 6: Song Choices

First song up is “Whistle on the River” by The Mercy Brothers. The song plays after Dustin leaves the library with his books, and we cut to Bob driving Will to school while he tells Will his story of how Mr. Baldo used to scare him.

The song came out in 1966, and it’s got a nice folksy tune to it that’s pleasant to listen to. The song talks about someone who feels a calling and is set to leave someone. (“Cause there's a whistle on the river, and it′s calling with a tune. That′s buried deep inside of me and I'll be leaving soon”). There is a genuine sense that the singer is looking forward to a life of boundless possibilities and wants to pursue them before it’s too late (“I'm like any man who′s in his prime and dreams of things undone. And who must be free to wander where he may”). The song has an optimistic tone, and I can see how it would relate to Bob, with the difference being Bob had no intention of leaving Joyce, and wanted her to come with him on their adventure. Given Bob’s eventual fate, it comes off as harsher in hindsight.

The next song is the one associated with Hopper, and is first heard when El and Hopper clean up the cabin for her to live in: “You Don’t Mess Around With Jim” by Jim Croce.

We will hear this song again in Season 3’s “The Mall Rats” when Hopper is celebrating separating Mike from El. I prefer the song’s use here compared to that later episode. The song deals with a pool hustler named “Big” Jim Walker who has his own gang of hustlers on 42nd street in New York City, and has amassed a reputation as someone you don’t mess with because of how strong and dangerous he is (“You don't tug on Superman's cape. You don't spit into the wind. You don't pull the mask off the old Lone Ranger. And you don't mess around with Jim.”). One day, a country boy named Willie “Slim” McCoy upends the status quo by challenging Jim to a fight after Jim hustled him out of money. A fight breaks out with “Slim” winning and Jim dead, allowing Slim to get his money back and inheriting Jim’s reputation of a tough guy. The final line of the chorus is changed to reflect this: “And you don’t mess around with Slim.” Hopper has developed that tough guy reputation in Hawkins, and considering the number of enemies he’s taken on and won, it’s deserved.

Next song is “Go!” by Tones on Tail, which plays when Billy and Steve face off during basketball practice.

Underneath its electronic beat, there is a positive message about rising above the fears and the negative thoughts persisting in your mind (“Cause your fears are doing nothing for you. Keep your head up, your mind open. You'll always come through.”). This is being played while Steve is in a funk after what happened with Nancy at the Halloween Party, and while he’s losing at basketball to Billy. In a way, it’s like the song is spelling out what Steve needs to do now to get over his current state (Don't put yourself down, you'll never win. So let's all smash through. Through the fear of being real. Through the fear of being really you. 'Cause living it up, it's a big deal. It's good for you.”). The King Steve persona is no longer working for him, and he needs to stop fearing how other people perceive him, and start living as his true self. We will see that play out when Dustin comes into Steve’s story.

Then we have “The Ghost in You” by The Psychedelic Furs. This plays during Nancy and Jonathan’s conversation in the parking lot of the high school regarding her fight with Steve, Jonathan’s situation with Will, and Nancy’s plan to take down Hawkins Lab with Jonathan.

In an interview with Songfacts, Richard Butler (lead singer for The Psychedelic Furs) talked about how the first few lyrics (“A man in my shoes runs a light. And all the papers lied tonight.”) was meant as a metaphor for taking chances. This gets followed by the next few lyrics (“But falling over you. Is the news of the day.”) that this chance is related to love and a relationship. The chorus confirms this (“Inside you the time moves. And she don’t fade.”). The implication is that this was a relationship put on stand-by, and even though times has passed, the feelings are still there and can’t be ignored. (“And love, you can’t give it away.”) Jonathan and Nancy had a connection in season 1 that went beyond simple friendship, and while they did try to move on from that, a year later, it’s clear that things haven’t changed between them. They’re in love.

In the same scene while Nancy and Jonathan talk, Nancy sees a classmate listening to a song on his Walkman, which is where she gets her idea for recording Dr. Owens in the next episode. The song that classmate is listening to is “Clean Cut American Kid” by Ill Repute.

It’s ambiguous is the singer (who’s describing himself as someone who doesn’t smoke, drink, is constantly clean, has a job, and is the epitome of the “clean cut American kid”) is being genuine or sarcastic, but in the context of Nancy and Jonathan, there is an irony in that both have been “clean cut American kids” who are now about to do something illegal to get justice against Hawkins Lab.

Last, but not least, is “How I Feel About You” by Jumpstreet. This plays when Jonathan and Nancy go to her house, talk with Karen briefly, and then go upstairs to call Barbara’s mom.

The song details two people who are implied to have a relationship that went wrong, but want to start over with the intention of doing it right this time, and are trying to sort out their feelings for one another before they commit (“I just don’t know how I feel about you, baby.”) It’s got a soothing 80s melody that’s comforting to listen to, and there is a sense of longing and love in the song that makes you want to see this work out between the two. In relation to Jonathan and Nancy, the parallels are obvious, but I don’t mind. I’ve rooted for both to get together since season 1, and I’m glad they finally did. Fingers crossed that their relationship survives season 5.

Finally, to wrap up this review, here is a Funko Pop of Mr. Clarke because he's awesome!

[isfjmel-phleg]

The Secret Garden (1975), a BBC miniseries adaptation, isn't so strong on production values or snappy pacing, but it's among the better adaptations in terms of similarity to the text and inclusion of--even expansion upon--elements that are often either very downplayed or outright omitted in most other versions. I can't remember if I've commented on it before or not, but how about I give you some observations, episode by episode? I'm a bit critical, but don't take that for dislike at all. There's a lot that I like in this version and a lot about the story that it gets right where others don't.

To give an example of the pacing, there's the glacial introduction, which goes on for nearly a whole minute. The music, however, is lovely.

Opens with some of the Indian servants about to flee the Lennox bungaloo, with mourning cries in the background, then shifts to Mary in bed mid-conversation with a woman named Taina who is taking on the role of the late ayah and trying to convince Mary to leave with her. Mary refuses. We don't get much context for who Mary is in this moment, which wasn't in the book. It does serve as a sort of exposition, but it also introduces something that doesn't make sense. In the book, Mary is forgotten in the panic; here, she's given an opportunity to escape the house in the care of someone who has remembered her, but turns it down out of stubbornness. Very different scenario.

Unlike in the book, we never see her parents (the conversation between Mrs. Lennox and the young officer is omitted), which could have been a helpful exposition device as well as demonstrating Mary's (lack of a) relationship with them.

The creepy near-silence of the dining room as Mary enters it to scavenge (although it seems a bit odd that her bedroom would be directly off a dining room at which her parents hosted parties), with the only noise being a sound of birds, is striking.

However, there's not the most effective sense of drama/menace, which is at least in part due to the nature of this sort of production. In many ways, the BBC adapations of this era were more like filmed stage plays than the more cinematic TV shows we're used to now. This isn't necesarily a bad thing, but it does take a little getting used to.

I think this might be the only film version that includes her encounter with the snake.

The closest we get to context for Mary is exposition from the officers checking the house for survivors. Some of this is from the book's dialogue, but it might have been more effective to have seen some Lennox family dynamics rather than just hearing about them.

There seem to be photos in Mary's room that might be of her parents, but we don't see them very closely.

Sarah Hollis Andrews looks the part of Mary quite well, more so than most other actresses who have played the role. (Mary is blonde in the book but is almost always cast as a brunutte.) Her performance shows some inexperience--takes in which she stumbles over her lines really shouldn't have been left in--but he makes Mary stiff, cold, blunt, and explosive by turns, which is accurate. The glimpse of vulnerability when she asks a second time why no one has come for her and her anger becomes sadness for a moment--that was poignant.

This is the only version that includes the Crawford children (three of them, anyway).

Mr. Craven is introduced with a shot that focuses on his back, which the 1949 version did too (albeit with menace--this miniseries is matter-of-fact about it).

Mary’s relation to Mrs. Craven is mentioned but it's left unclear through which parent.

If you've seen the 90s Jeeves and Wooster series, you might recognize the actor playing Mr. Craven (John Woodnutt) as the same one who played Sir Watkyn Bassett (father of Madeline).

This production chose to cast an older Mr. Craven (the actor was in his early fifties), probably because the book vaguely suggests it? Medlock says that "he was a sour young man," implying that he is no longer young, and his hair is described as "streaked with white."

The costume that Medlock wears on the train is taken straight from the book's description!

You can tell she's trying really hard to make Misselthwaite and the moor sound appealing.

The manor is said to be four hundred years old, not six hundred, because Burton Constable Hall, where the miniseries was filmed, was built around the late 1500s--Elizabethan rather than medieval.

There's less subtlety about the hints of Colin's existence than in the book. Medlock's stopping herself before referring to Mr. Craven's having a son happens in the passing in the text, but here it's very obvious and Mary notices and asks questions.

Mary outright states that she isn't grieving her parents and mentions without a hint of emotion that her mother "was beautiful, but she didn't care." Medlock seems shocked; Mary is matter-of-fact about it all.

Misselthwaite Manor is big and grand but not ominous and gothic as in many other productions. It seems quite grounded in reality--an "ordinary" British country house.

Another seldom-adapted minor character, Mr. Pitcher, Mr. Craven's valet--who is quite cold. This version doesn't really tone down uncaring or unfriendly adults as some other adaptations and retelling do.

The extended sequence of Medlock walking Mary to her room seems to establish the scale of the house as vast.

John "the strong young footman" is a very minor character in the book who is only seen transporting Colin downstairs and into his chair and has maybe one line, but the miniseries expands his role into someone who, along with Martha, often waits on Mary and Colin. This seems to be mainly for exposition purposes, to give Martha someone on her level to talk with.

When Mary first notices the wind wuthering around the house, she gets upset and goes into a flashback to the earlier part of her conversation with Taina. We see a greater extent of Mary's rudeness and her speaking a little Hindi(?). I'm really not sure why this is placed here; featuring the entire conversation at the beginning would have better introduced Mary.

Instead of going to straight to bed on arrival as she does in the book, Mary wanders out of her room and sees Dr. Craven leaving the house. She has questions about why a doctor was visiting and is told that he is Mr. Craven's cousin and visits often. True enough.

Martha is introduced from her POV, peeking at Mary while she sleeps. Jacqueline Hoyle was seventeen when she played this part, and I think she pulls off the big sister role well. She strikes the right balance of warmth and not putting up with nonsense.

John's face as he listens outside Mary's door and realizes that they've acquired yet another difficult child is amusing.

There are actually twelve Sowerby siblings in this one!

Martha's speech about assuming Mary would be ethnically Indian is present but altered in its wording, which is for the better.

There's an emphasis on Martha's and John's POV and reactions--both of them were played by teenagers, and they give off a youthful readiness to be amused as a means of coping with an unpleasant job.

John's weaponizing Mary's "it was the custom" to get her to say please and thank you is hilarious.

It's made clear that there is someone living in the east wing (not the west wing, where Mr. Craven is said to stay) and Mary catches John carrying Colin's breakfast tray. Only episode one and it's already making it clear that there is someone else in this house, even if we don't know yet who is it. I think this is kind of spoiling the mystery with too much information too soon.

Outdoor shot finally! The emphasis is more on Mary than the grounds, though. At this point the scope of the outdoors is kept small to coincide with Mary's narrow perspective.

[thedeathlysallows]

Glow

Pairing: Loki x Fem!Reader (previously established as Sugar Plum)

Summary: And I'm standing here handing you my heart 'cause I couldn't wait anymore

Warnings: depressed reader, angst, smut. Loki using his shadow magic for nsfw purposes, degredation, spanking, bondage, possessive!Loki, hair pulling. Warnings aren't exhaustive

Here's a part 2 to Santa Baby for y'all. I hope it lives up to expectations!

The year passes by in a dull, painful blur of building toys, spreading Christmas cheer, and ignoring the ache in your chest that appears any time you think about Loki.

No phone call.

No letter.

Nothing.

All you have is the ghost of a memory that fades with each excruciatingly boring day.

You can't even practice your magic properly... since... ya know... he was your teacher. Honestly, someone should've picked up on that. You're not your brother who takes everything in stride and seems to perfect everything with the ease expected of a future Santa Claus. You aren't your mother who just knows what to do to make someone feel better and keeps the elves satisfied and cheery without breaking a sweat. You aren't your father who is Santa Claus and brings joy to every living being across the nine realms.

You're... an imposter in a family of saints.

No wonder Loki ditched you as soon as he fucked you.

That's all you deserve.

To be used and tossed aside.

"You okay over there, sugar plum?" Sprinkle peers at you with curious eyes and rosy cheeks.

You clear your throat and straighten your dress. "Just fine, Sprinkle. How's the blushing bride?"

Sprinkle perks up even more, her mouth stretching into a wide smile. "She's perfect! I love Mrs. Claus more than anything in the whole world, but I think your brother picked a good girl! She'll be the perfect Mrs. Claus when your parents retire and pass the title!"

Sprinkle continues chattering but you block her out. You love Sprinkle, you really do, but it's difficult to listen to her go on and on about how perfect your brother's soon to be wife is. You know how perfect she is. You knew it the moment she stepped foot in the North Pole. You could sense it. Sprinkle is right; she will be the perfect Mrs. Claus one day. She'll have beautiful children who will one day also pick the perfect spouse and the tradition will keep going for as long as the world still spins.

And you'll be somewhere watching.

"I need to go. I can hear them starting the music." You cut off Sprinkle before your chest can cave in from the nasty feeling brewing deep inside you.

Anxiety, Doctor Jolly called it.

(You aren't sure about him with his credentials being from Gumdrop University, but your dad swears he's "the best in the biz". You're pretty sure your dad only says that because good ol' Dr. Jolly always prescribes hot chocolate for almost any ailment of your dad's.)

You wind your way through the labyrinth that is your home, meeting the rest of your family at the front entryway. Red and green garland wrap around every available surface, silver tinsel dripping off various fixtures. If this was your wedding you probably would've requested more decorations, but Holly wanted to downplay the whole "Santa thing" as she called it.

"My family thinks they're in Canada," she confided in you last week. "I couldn't tell them the truth, could I?"

No, she couldn't, but you still feel bad she had to lie to her family.

And all for your brother.

Ew.

"Oh, sugar plum, there you are!" Your mother reaches out for you, running her eyes over your perfectly pleated red dress before nodding to herself. "Sprinkle did a wonderful job."

"As usual." You give her a tense smile and turn to Holly. "How are you?"

She nods, looking flushed and excited. "I'm good! I've been waiting months!"

Months.

Holly and your brother have known each other for months.

Loki's known you practically your entire life and you can't get him to talk to you anymore.

"-go sit down," your mother says.

You've clearly caught the tail end of a conversation, but you can't find it in you to care. She tugs on you, wrapping her hand in the crook of your elbow before stepping through the heavy oak doors to head into what your mother affectionately calls "the entertaining room". It sort of reminds you of the throne room in Asgard, but less austere and more homey with all the dark wood and soft fire light. It's decorated similar to the entry hall, with red, green, and silver covering everything. A giant Christmas tree sits in front of the staircase with yellow twinkling lights and various handmade ornaments.

"They made it after all, how lovely!" Your mother nudges you in the side, forcing you to look up from the red aisle runner.

You follow your mother's line of vision only to meet Thor's eyes. He gives you a broad smile and whispers something to the brunette woman sitting on his left side. She looks completely awestruck, taking in everything. Whoever she is, she must mean a lot to Thor if he risked bringing her to the wedding.

You look to Thor's right and your throat constricts. Loki sits with his back straight and legs crossed, lips curved down in a bored frown. He looks up at the same time you and your mother take your seats in the front row. Not even the comfy cream and silver chairs the elves worked so hard on for the wedding can relax you. Loki's eyes burn holes in the back of your skull through the entire ceremony. You even miss your dad pronouncing the happy couple man and wife, you're so desperate to find an escape route.

For an entire year you wanted so desperately for him to say anything to you, and now all you can think about is getting away.

How brave of you.

Face your problems head on, Doctor Jolly told you months ago. It sounded nice at the time. Helpful even. Now? Now not so much.

No, you'll make the rounds at your parents' side and then go hide in your room.

Good?

Good.

The assembled crowd migrates to the dining room and you try to lose Loki in the throng of bodies. Much to your displeasure, it doesn't work at all. In fact, it's like he's zeroed in on you and nothing can distract him from stalking you in the giant room. You dance around him, downing one glass of champagne followed by two more. Eventually, you lose him and feel your shoulders relax.

"Hello, sugar plum," Loki's low voice purrs in your ear.

The tension in your body comes back immediately. "What the fuck do you want?"

He puts his hand over his heart. "How nasty. Is that any way to treat an honored guest?"

"Honored guest?"

"That's what the invitation said."

"Well I sure as shit didn't write that." You pluck a sugar cookie off the tray of a passing elf. "If it had been up to me it would've said something like "stupid liars need not show up"."

He raises a brow. "Stupid liars?"

"Yeah, well, it's a work in progress. But you get the idea!"

"No, actually, I don't believe I do. What exactly did I lie about?"

"Good question! You-" you bite off the cookie, trying to buy yourself some time. Loki just looks at you, half expectant, half amused.

"Admit it," he goads you. "I haven't lied to you."

"You took my virginity," you accuse.

Loki shrugs nonchalantly. "Something anyone could've done, sugar plum."

"But they didn't!" A few people turn their heads curiously in your direction when they hear your raised voice, and your skin heats up in embarrassment. "I didn't let anyone else. I let you and then you just left me."

Loki's mask of cool indifference falters for a second before he slips it back in place. "Did it not occur to you that I was otherwise occupied?"

"Oh, so you finally made that move on Sif now that she's free from Thor?"

"Of all the stupid, childish things to come out of your mouth, that one might earn the top spot." Loki bends so his lips are right at your ear. "It's been no one but you for a year, sugar plum. Shall I prove it?"

You shove him away and tilt your chin in defiance. "Fuck off, Loki. I don't need you."

Without sparing a look back, you leave the dining room and head to your bedroom. You'd rather be alone forever than spend another second in a room with Loki. Besides, everyone is so busy with your brother and Holly that they won't notice you're gone.

Once in the safety of your bedroom, you strip out of your dress, the heavy red velvet pooling around your ankles. A simple green bathrobe sits on the edge of your bed, but before you can grab it, long fingers wrap around your wrist. Loki tugs you toward him with ease.

"I've certainly missed this sight," he purrs.

"How did you-"

"Magic, sugar plum. You would've sensed me sooner had you been practicing with your own."

"Sorry, my teacher fucked me and dumped me, so I've been a bit depressed."

Loki hums. "Yes, so Sprinkle cornered me and told me."

You genuinely have nothing else to say. An entire year of dreaming of this moment, and now it's here, and you can't think of a single thing to say.

"Speechless, darling? I do tend to have that effect on women." He's teasing you, trying to get you to say something, but you still can't find the words. "Come now, sugar plum. I'm sure you have more to say to me."

You open your mouth only to close it before opening it again. "I don't."

"Not even if I said I've missed you every second this past year? Not even if I said losing my mother didn't even compare to losing you?"

You heard about Frigga dying. You even attended her funeral. Loki had been nowhere in sight.

"I wanted you," he continues. "Every second of every day."

"You're lying," you say.

"How can you be so certain?"

"Because..." You swallow the lump in your throat and blink back the tears. "I'm nothing. I'm no one."

"Who's the liar now?"

Your eyes flicker up to meet his. "You know it's the truth."

Green flames flicker and dance in the depths of his gaze. "I've met many beings in my life, sugar plum, and most of them never deserved to exist. But you? You're not one of them."

"Loki, I don't feel-"

"No, you never do. You never feel anything, do you?" He's angry as he pulls you into his chest, his long fingers leaving their mark on the bare skin of your hips. "If you refuse to help yourself, sugar plum, I suppose it's up to me."

He walks you backwards until the backs of your thighs meet your soft bed. The two of you topple over onto it, Loki's body still pressed firmly to your own. Through his finely pressed suit you can feel every single inch of him. What little bit of his skin is exposed is hot, feverish almost.

"I wasn't avoiding you," Loki says with a snarl.

He presses hot kisses to the column of your throat in between words. Something cold and almost mist-like wraps around your wrists, pinning them in place. You look to either side and see large shadows the same shape as Loki looming over you. That's what holds your wrists down. That's what slithers across your breasts, toying with your nipples and leaving goosebumps all over your skin. His shadows.

You struggle to catch your breath. "Then what were you doing?"

"Preparing, darling."

"For what?"

Loki hums, trailing his fingers from your hips to the insides of your thighs. His touch is light, teasing. "For you. You're mine."

"Y-yours?"

He nods. "Mine."

He spreads your thighs, dragging a finger over your slit. His shadows still hold you firmly in place, allowing their master to do as he wishes with your exposed body.

"Tell me, darling," Loki purrs in your ear as he sinks two fingers deep in your cunt. "Why would I want anything that isn't absolutely perfect?"

You bite back a moan and squeeze your eyes shut. You've wanted this, dreamt of this, for a year... and now you're totally overwhelmed to have his attention again. As Loki's fingers pump in and out of you, you arch your back, your brain going foggy with lust.

"You're a goddess," he continues. His lips are right by your ear and he nips at your earlobe. "I've been searching for a place worthy of us for the past year. You were made to rule by my side."

Loki leans back, a flash of green momentarily joining the warm orange glow of the fireplace. His clothes disappear in the flash and he's back on you in a second.

"You were made for me," Loki whispers. The firelight catches the sharp angles of his face, softening his expression. His shadows disappear and it's just the two of you now. Loki withdraws his fingers from your cunt and strokes his cock. "Yes?"

You nod, eager to have him inside you. "Yes!"

"Mmm, good girl."

He flips you over onto your front and grips your ass, fingertips digging into your flesh. His cock prods and your soaked entrance and you moan into the sheets. One of his palms moves to rest against the small of your back while he uses the other to guide himself inside you. It feels so good, so right, to have Loki buried to the hilt inside you. You feel full. Complete.

"Loki," you moan out as you arch your back, fucking yourself on his cock. "Please!"

Loki strokes your hair before grabbing a fistful and yanking your head back. "So pretty when you beg, sugar plum. But a good whore uses her words. Tell me exactly what you want."

You continue bouncing your ass on his cock, desperate for any sort of friction. "Please, Loki, please fuck me please!"

"Is that all? You just want me to fuck you? Is that all you're worth? A hole for me to come in and throw away after?"

"Y-yes." It comes out as a question more than a statement.

Loki's hand comes down on your ass, a loud slap echoing through the room. "Wrong. What did I tell you that you are?"

"A goddess!"

"What else?"

When you take too long to answer he smacks your ass again. "What else?!"

"Yours," you cry out. "I'm yours."

Loki snaps his hips forward, meeting your own desperate grinding. "Fuck yes you are."

You let your upper body fall forward, relaxing into his smooth movements as he fucks into your cunt. He's thick and hard inside you and reaches spots you didn't even know existed. Your mind goes absolutely blank until the only thing that exists is the sensation of Loki inside you. He moans your name, praises falling from his lips.

So good, he says. Mine. All mine.

"L-Loki..." you gasp out his name as your orgasm washes through you, leaving your body tingling in its wake.

"Yes," Loki groans. "My perfect girl."

His cock twitches inside you as he comes, his body draping over yours in the aftermath of his own orgasm. His chest rises and falls quickly as he rolls to his side and pulls you with him.

"Are you leaving now?" You hate how small your voice sounds when you ask the question, but Loki's answer has you sighing in relief.

"Never again, sugar plum. As I said earlier, you're mine. Now and forever. In every lifetime."

[bonebabbles]

Another thing happening in this last book is that, suddenly, all the Clan things they forgot to mention in the previous five are unceremoniously being mentioned offhandedly.

The apprentice system coming out of nowhere when someone mentions it's hard to train their own kits. Thunder worrying for 2 chapters about what will happen to his group if he dies, so he picks Lightning Tail as a deputy. Battle training because of Slash's fully armed LA gangs stealing their markipliers, specifically.

it's the LAST book. It's like they forgot to mention them in 1 - 5 so they're just Here Now, when it actually made a lot more sense to have shown them evolving organically.

....but unfortunately it would have made that sense because it would have come from clear sky being a ghoul and gray wing having REAL flaws. so we can't do it.

Like for examples,

Apprentice System: Clear Sky caused his brother to suffer a painful, lifelong disability because of his egotistical need to push his family to the brink, and Gray Wing was too overprotective to give Jagged Peak the space he needed to figure out his own limits. Having Holly as a mentor (not wife please god change this), who is unbiased, was the right solution (it's also not lost on me that Holly was not mentioned in the Inventing Mentorship scene of Chapter 8. because she's not actually allowed to be a full person with a talent for teaching; just a woman who supports and then is impregnated by Jagged Peak.)

Deputies: All book long we've seen that leaders rely on other cats to check their decisions. Gray Wing was a joint leader with Tall Shadow for a few books. They could have just made it official at any point, by saying "This is my second-in-command while I'm gone" (i mean, yeah gray wing was a bad leader obsessed with downplaying his crappy brother the whole time, and everyone hated Tall Shadow just for idk being a woman but. still.)

Battle Training: clear sky's murder party. they need to defend themselves against him specifically. gray wing prevented them from being prepared and a lot more people died than was necessary.

This could have easily been more organic, but no. Path of Stars is inventing everything they forgot right now.

[andromedasummer]

Halfway through the first Lockwood and Co book and

- It's fun remembering how good Stroud is at writing tension and horror. The descriptions of the ghosts have mostly been incredibly sad, but the way he describes the ghost that killed all of Lucys first team, specifically what isnt seen when they turn the corner and the screaming starts is good. Very fun eerie stuff.

- I'm not sure if I'll be as freaked out reading these as I was the last time as I've gotten into horror media a bit more, esp Junji Ito's works, which are a lot more alarming as ghosts go

- God I love the dynamics between Lucy, George and Lockwood. They're all very flawed but all very real and it's fun watching then bicker and snip at each other on cases.

- Quill is even more pathetic than I remember. It's great it isn't downplayed at all when we first see him. Hes a snide little prick, then theres a hint at the sadder parts of his story and then we see how utterly pathetic he is.

- Lockwood sticking his rapier in the roof and him having to jump to catch it is still the scene thats stuck with me the most from the books and I cheered when I saw it happen in the tv show the other day.

- The only other time Quills been mentioned so far is him getting soaked in excrement while on patrol for ghosts in the London sewers. Paper towel of a man. Favrit character.

- Speaking of favrit character I can't wait till Holly shows up. Its a while away (book 3) but I love her to bits and miss her terribly even if at this point there isnt a her to miss.

- Side note these teenagers are a mess dude breaks into your home tries to kill you with ghosts and attacks you and then bolts and you DON'T notify anyone about it. What are the three of you fucking doing. Fuck the cops and deprac but what do you plan on doing. You've only got those dinky rapier for ghosts.

- God Fairfax is slimy and nasty and cold and I can't wait for him to die at the end of the book

[bertruce]

"the Bermuda Triangle" | fanfic

NCIS. Hollis Mann and Alden Parker.

Note: English isn't my native language.

gif - @mcrsdin

*** Director Leon Vance met her on the second floor of NCIS headquarters, right at the top of the stairs. It felt just like the day they first met all those years ago.

The difference was that now DiNozzo wasn't boring into her back with a surprised look, and McGee wasn't jumping up the stairs two at a time to warn Jethro of her arrival.

Today there was no one to warn.

Hollis closed her eyes for a moment, allowing herself a brief moment of weakness, took a deep breath, and finally smiled at Vance after saying hello.

He was as friendly as ever, looking at her attentively and inquisitively, waiting for something.

"I'm here at your request, Leon," Hollis reminded him when the director still didn't respond with anything but the same inquisitive, studying looks.

"You know, in case... you haven't noticed the change..." Vance began, raising his eyebrows expressively and gesturing slightly toward the common room downstairs.

"Jethro's in Alaska. I know,” Hollis replied evenly, almost casually, though the corner of her lips twitched treacherously.

Vance seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, grinned at some unspoken thoughts, and gestured broadly toward his office. However, the curiosity in his dark eyes was so intense that she felt she didn’t need it, and Hollis almost regretted responding to the director's request and agreeing to help.

She wasn't ready to talk about Jethro—or, for that matter, about how four lonely years in Hawaii had turned out to be much happier for her than the last two weeks in Alaska. And yet again she was only trying to help - to someone who didn't even know how to ask for help.

Unlike Jethro, Vance was at least the very picture of kindness. He filled her in on the details of the stalled investigation at length, making no secret of his team's failures or attempting to downplay them, saying only:

" We did well enough without Gibbs, Hollis, but we did stumble somewhere along the line."

She nodded silently, reserving the right to ignore any mention of Jethro in the future. Just as Jethro had ignored her for nearly three weeks while she tried to save his ass.

But what else could you expect from a man who first calls to warn her that she might be the target of a psychopath hunting him, only to ignore her calls when that psychopath actually shows up on her doorstep?

Save yourself, Hollis. Not for nothing does your resume include twenty years of military service, a stint in the Defense Department, and deployments to "hot spots". You'll figure it out... somehow.

The wound under her shoulder blade, which had healed but still ached, responded unpleasantly. She had to close her eyes again, take a slow, deep breath, and exhale raggedly and longingly.

"Are you okay?" Vance asked, and his quiet voice sounded genuinely concerned.

"Rough flight," Hollis answered shortly, sipping her cold coffee and looking down at the papers on the table again. Well, there wasn’t much required of her today: to act as a liaison between NCIS and the DoD, provide access to classified files, and ensure there were no leaks. Even though McGee was now the only one left from the old field team, Hollis had no qualms about NCIS.

Moreover, the DoD was full of moles—and downright idiots—as Vance had learned from his experience. Deep down, Hollis was glad that, of all the DoD investigators he knew, Vance trusted her.

She took another long look at the investigation summary, finished her coffee in one gulp, and, feeling the familiar excitement rising in her soul, she summed it up:

“I’m in.”

“Of course. But...” Vance made a sly, fox-like face. “No calls to the Secretary of Defense or... who else is on speed dial?”

Hollis couldn't help but smile, even though she knew exactly what scene Vance was remembering: her first conversation with Jethro in six years. Here, in this office.

She had actually had to call the Secretary of Defense to end the jurisdictional dispute.

And honestly, Hollis still didn't understand why Jethro had let his personal side get the better of his work side that day, especially in front of witnesses. And while they had managed to talk and seemingly settle things, he had looked at her like a wild wolf again during the next mission and was unhappy with her interference, which didn't stop him from trusting her with his back when it came to a shootout.

Yes, she had always had his back, and he had left her alone with a mad killer.

Hollis shook off the sad thoughts, allowed the smile she had intended for Vance to warm a little, and then slammed the file closed as she got up from her desk.

"I'd be happy to call the Secretary if I had to. But I don't see anyone brave enough to fight me for jurisdiction."

The door swung open just as Hollis finished speaking, and a loud, righteously angry male voice filled the room.

"What the hell, Leon?! We agreed! If my team made a mistake, we'll fix it. Not some office rat from the DoD!"

Hollis frowned, showing what she thought of this type of work communication, but ultimately decided that her calm, impassive expression would be much better - she was not about to get involved in another pointless argument and fighting for the right to lead the investigation. For once, she was quite content to be an invited guest.

Besides, Hollis understood that the unknown special agent's anger was not directed at her personally, but primarily at his own impotence. The team failed, the investigation was stuck, like a cart bogged down in mud, and new body was added to the morgue this morning...

The new team leader, a burly, gray-haired man, continued to talk to Vance, but Hollis remained silent. She only noted that the special agent who had replaced Jethro seemed no different from him in his usual behavior and also had no regard for work ethic. Well, she had been there, she knew.

"Alden Parker," Vance finally said in a businesslike tone, taking advantage of the pause to turn his entire body away from his irate subordinate and toward Hollis.

Parker turned after him, slower and slower with each passing second, as if he had just noticed the presence of a third party. Hmm, not very attentive for a special agent.

And then, without waiting for Vance to introduce her, he blurted out, "Hollis Mann."

"You two know each other??" Vance was surprised.

"No, we don't" Hollis replied confidently. Of course, she knew in absentia who exactly had taken Jethro's place, but Alden Parker was not Leroy Jethro Gibbs, and that was enough.

"I saw your picture in the file McGee sent," Parker's tone was no longer angry. Already calm, if slightly surprised Parker explained and with a sweeping gesture pushed his thick blond hair off his forehead.

"In the Gibbs Bermuda Triangle?" Vance clarified, and his eyes sparkled with amused curiosity again.

Hollis snorted softly and rolled her eyes - she had nothing to lose. She knew all too well about the "ex-love" file, and the talk that was going around NCIS about her and Jethro - she had witnessed it herself more than once. "The fourth ex-wife", "Gibbs' whisperer" and other, sometimes pleasant, sometimes not so, epithets.

"The Bermuda Triangle"? - Parker asked, puzzled, and switched to a businesslike tone. - Nope. The files on Sharif and Pars.

"Why do you need the files on Sharif and Pars?" - Vance was surprised. "They're old cases. They're both dead.

"Not exactly," Parker winced and leaned his hand wearily on the edge of the table.

"Do you think they might have followers?" Hollis asked cautiously, stepping towards him.

— Maybe... After the bio-attack in Alexandria, the explosion near the Admiralty and yesterday's attempt on McGee's life, we decided to reopen old cases related to terrorism. It seems that we need to look for someone who would want to harm Gibbs or his entourage.

Hollis raised her eyebrows in surprise, looked at Vance, and asked again, raising her voice expressively:

— Yesterday's attempt on McGee? You were going to tell me about that?

— Tim is fine, — Vance waved his hand, and his tone made her hope that McGee really was fine. Which could not be said about the victims in Alexandria.

But Hollis clung much more to the word "yesterday" — the man who had stalked her and Jethro had been lying in the Anchorage morgue for three days and, of course, could not have attempted to kill McGee.

"What makes you think it's about Gibbs?" Hollis asked, turning to Parker and gesturing for him and Vance to sit down; the conversation was going to be long.

"After McGee went to the hospital, we needed more staff, and we accepted Fornell's help." Parker paused, looking at Hollis, silently asking if she knew who he was talking about, and when he received a curt nod, he finally continued, "Fornell's noticed a pattern in the attacks that have happened in Washington over the past month: each one is a copy of one or another of Gibbs's old cases. Ari, Sharif, Dearing, Parsa..."

"Mishnev," Hollis finished, and grabbed the back of her chair, standing there, staring out the window that was behind Vance.

Sergei Mishnev killed Diane (Fornell's wife and one of Jethro's ex-wives). In the end, the bastard got what he deserved, but as strange as it may sound, it was Mishneve who caused Hollis’s seemingly happy marriage to falter and crumble.

She shouldn’t have stayed in Jethro’s basement that night, shouldn’t have drunk the stale, flavorless bourbon from dusty cans, and shouldn’t have gone up to the kitchen for another bottle. And even though nothing had happened between her and Jethro for which she could ask her husband’s forgiveness — just a midnight conversation that was more silent than spoken — she knew when she left Jethro’s house that morning that if she had to choose a man to put herself in the line of fire for him, her first choice would have been Jethro, not the man who had put a ring on her finger and shared his life with her for three years. And so she was right to get a divorce.

Then Mishnev, despite Jethro’s alarm, didn't make no attempt to target her or anyone else but Diane. But years have passed, and Jethro again has another enemy: not a second, not a third, not even a tenth.

“I’d like to believe it’s one terrorist,” Parker continued. “But it’s possible that a cell or network was activated.”

“Gibbs crossed paths with many terrorists,” Vance agreed, turning to Hollis and asking, “Has anything suspicious come through the DoD channel?”

“Give me one minute. I got back from leave a day ago,” Hollis replied, pulling her tablet out of her bag to check the reports.

She knew she had to tell Vance about her trip to Alaska, about her encounter with Jethro and the body in the Anchorage morgue, and how even if the world went to hell, Jethro wasn’t going back to Washington to stop the apocalypse someone wanted for his soul.

Because he was “tired,” because he had “put the past behind him,” because “you’ll figure it out on your own.” He hadn’t even come to Ducky’s funeral. What the hell else was there to talk about?

“Okay,” Hollis gave herself a few more seconds to collect her thoughts, cleared her throat quietly, and pulled up the Anchorage photos on her tablet. “Whoever’s behind this, let’s get these bastards.”

Vance chuckled approvingly, settling back into his director’s chair. Parker stood up from the table and reached for the half-empty coffee pot.

“How about something to eat first? How about Hawaiian manapua with sweet potato? I have a whole box downstairs.” He added, slightly sheepishly, but with a bright smile, “It don’t seem to be very popular with the team. They like desserts more.”

“Hollis had lived in Hawaii” Vance said.

“And there, manapua with sweet potatoes is not popular with anyone. Except perhaps with tourists.”

“You just haven’t had the real thing. I know a restaurant in Alexandria. We’ll close the case, and then we can have dinner there.”

“I’m all for it,” Vance interjected, laying out the paperwork he and Hollis had recently been reviewing on the table.

“Don’t be cheeky, Leon. I didn’t ask you out,” Parker chuckled.

“A date?” Vance played along.

"Shut up, Leon," Hollis said back. Suddenly, she felt a smile forming at the corners of her lips."

gif - @weatherlysexual

[bonefall]

...your breezepelt, lionblaze, and thunderstar post had me very confused for a moment. i was like "shit i know bramble sucks ass but i didn't remember him being an abusive dad". it took me way too long to realize that the abusers in question weren't ALL the boys' dads. [i may be very stupid]

Wellllllllll

Bramble did actually contribute to Lionpaw's abuse, by enabling Ashfur's physical torment. He was told about the beating by Ashfur, so when Holly tried to get help, her father laughed it off. Hollypaw is also not the only one who got a "You're my little pogchamp so I can trust you to be quiet about this" moment; Lionpaw got one too.

Lionpaw's was when Bramblestar started crying about how unfairly judged his genocidal dictator father is. To his child. Lionpaw immediately jumps to comfort him, and this downplaying of how bad Tigerstar was contributes to why Lionpaw was manipulated by Tiger and Hawk in the Dark Forest.

This is downplayed even more than Ashfur's physical beatings of Lionpaw, because even people who acknowledge Bramble is abusive towards Squirrelflight often won't admit he wasn't a great parent either.

[jasper-book-stash]

October 2024 Reading Wrap-Up

The eight books of this month really made me experience the whole span of human emotion. And maybe a couple of the shrimp ones.

Religious Text

None applicable.

1/10 - Why Did They Publish This?

None applicable (thank the gods).

2/10 - Trash

Pure Magic: A Complete Course In Spellcasting | Judika Illes

The amount of times I screeched about citing sources or admitting that the author has none...I didn't get too far. The author was wholeass pulling things out of her ass. This is the epitome of bullshit "feminist" pseudohistory. I couldn't even get to the parts about occultism because the bullshit made me throw the book.

(Side note, I don't think it's very "feminist" to depict women of the past as having a beautiful matriarchal society and then having that taken over by men... Like girl, you are actively shitting upon those who came before you! You are downplaying their struggles and lying!!!)

3/10 - Meh

Horses And The Mystical Path: The Celtic Way Of Expanding The Human Soul | Adele Von Rust Mccormick, Ph.D., Marlena Deborah Mccormick, Ph.D., Thomas E Mccormick, M.D.

Here's the thing. Except for the emphasis on combining a whole bunch of cultures together as Celtic, this was just...not the book for me. I'm not Christian, I'm not struggling with finding my faith in any way, and while I like horses I don't care much for the approach. It was just...boring to me.

4 to 6/10 - Mid-Tier

The Husbands | Holly Gramazio

This was a decent book. It's about a husband-producing attic, and the main female character trying to find out what's going on. But it was very difficult to keep up with all of the characters (because their details often changed with each husband) and the female character got to the point where she was just regularly speedrunning husband options. It feels like this was a little too long for what it was. I probably would have enjoyed it more if it was a novella instead of a novel. But hey, it was a debut novel, and we always love to see more authors coming up and out.

7 to 8/10 - Good With Caveats

Mead Mishaps 2 and 3: That Time I Got Drunk And Yeeted A Love Potion At A Werewolf & That Time I Got Drunk And Saved A Human | Kimberly Lemming

I read and enjoyed book one in September, and book two was just as good and fun, with a mystery incel cult going on. Book three was a little less enjoyable than the first, because it felt like it was setting up for things that never came through, and there's only so much new stuff you can tread with the same approach of "male dragon and [redacted for spoilers] human woman". But it was still stupid and fun and very, very horny. And these ones put content warnings in the beginning, which is very nice!

Mothman: Behind The Red Eyes…The Complete Investigative Library | Jeff Wamsley

My overall feelings about this book is that it's fine, the author's interviewing skills suck shit. There are a lot of newspaper clippings and some of the formatting makes me want to chew rocks, but it's otherwise pretty good. We take a very interesting detour into aliens and the Men in Black. It's also important to note that this is apparently the second Mothman book he's written and he repeatedly references the first one, which I do not have, but it also kinda stands on its own.

It's funny because I did not buy this book. My stepdad's coworker heard my stepdad talking about hopes to eventually go to West Virginia to see the Mothman statue and just. Had the book. And gave it to my stepdad.

Honestly, what a fitting way to acquire such a book.

9/10 - Very Very Good

Providence Girls: A Sapphic Horror Romance | Morgan Dante

This book made me want to chew a hole through sheetrock. That is a compliment. DEFINITELY mind the content warnings. Spoilers coming up, but the spoilers aren't actually that surprising when you remember that this is a Lovecraftian lesbian romance.

So the framing of it is that it's letters between Lavinia Whateley and Asenath Waite. Lavinia escapes being sacrificed in Dunwich and runs until she winds up in East Providence, where Asenath finds her and takes her in. Asenath is slowly turning into a fish person because she's from the mess going on in Arkham and they live together and it's simultaneously an analysis of Lovecraftian horror, living in the 1930s, and sapphic romance. They're so freaking cute.

Lavinia's letters are framed as being post-Azzie's fishification while Azzie's are from before that, but the letters alternate to create a linear narrative despite this non-linear framing.

10/10 - Unironically Recommend To Everyone

Doing Justice: A Prosecutor's Thoughts On Crime, Punishment, And The Rule Of Law | Preet Bharara

If you've been paying attention to the most recent posts on this blog, you're not going to be surprised that I've been going insane over this book. Narrative nonfiction wasn't one that I thought I would enjoy, but now I know that I do. There was only one part that I had to skip, personally, because of the details discussed...but honestly, it was so good. I look forward to reading more of what this author writes.

[mrprettywhenhecries]

i don’t think you notice (what you did to me) [b.h]

five. | new ride

Billy Hargrove ✘ Win Lewis (ofc)

⇾ w.c. 3k words ⇾ warning(s). canon x oc pairing, f!oc, dry humping, hickies

[ masterlist ] [ win lewis bio ]

The next morning Win slept in, waking rested for once, the pleasant ache between her thighs reminding her that last night had been more than just a dream.

“Shit, I should probably call Holly,” she muttered, scrambling out of bed.  By the time she’d gotten home the night before, it had been too late to call, unless she wanted to wake the whole Hampton household.

Stumbling first toward the bathroom, Win stopped short, doing a double take when she spotted her reflection and the large dark hickey nearly the size of a quarter on her neck staring back.  

“Billy!” she groaned, leaning closer to the mirror to get a better look.  “I’m gunna kill him,” she muttered between clenched teeth, though the memory of his mouth on her neck the night before sent her heart racing.

“It’s okay,” she told herself, taking a calming breath.  “I just need some cover up.”  Digging through her makeup bag, she triumphantly clutched the little tube only to realize it was practically empty.  “Shit–” she hissed, tossing the empty concealer into the trash.  At least she had time to get more before school on Monday, plus her dad was probably asleep by now, so she could sneak out without being seen.

The sharp ring of the telephone interrupted her thoughts and she raced back across the room to grab it before it woke her father up.  “Hello?”

“Win?” Holly’s voice asked from the other end of the line.

“Oh hey, I was just about to call you,” Win replied, sinking back atop her bed.

“What happened last night after we left?”

“Uh, well…” Win hesitated, unsure how it might look if she told the truth.

Holly, however, guessed what Win’s reluctance meant before she could finish.  “Oh my God, you slept with him!” she cried.

“Yeah… yeah, I did,” Win admitted with a grimace, waiting for a chastening, but Holly merely let out an excited squeal.

“How was he?” she asked, her voice dropping conspiratorially.

“Well, he made me cum, so that’s better than most of the guys I’ve been with,” Win laughed wryly, downplaying it.  “But really, it was good,” she added, her voice a murmur.  “And… he asked me out,” she admitted.

“And you agreed this time?” Holly asked expectantly.

“...Yes.”

“God, finally,” her friend huffed.  “I mean, come on, you two have had some mondo serious sexual tension since he got here.”

“Holly!”

“Well, it’s true.”

“Alright, fine,” Win exclaimed, eager to steer the conversation elsewhere.  “Enough about me, what happened with you and Steveeee?” she asked pointedly.

“Nothing as exciting as what happened to you,” Holly replied, a twinge of regret in her voice.  “We talked for a bit though, and we have plans to hang out again, just the two of us this time, no offense,” she added with a snort.

“None taken,” Win replied, fighting back a laugh; it seemed her plan had worked.  “I’m glad, though.  You’ll hafta let me know how it goes– ah shit,” she swore, noticing the time.  “Sorry Hol, I gotta run to Melvald’s, I’m all out of coverup.”

There was a pause before Holly responded knowingly.  “Why do you need coverup?”

“Why do you think?” Win snorted before saying goodbye and hanging up.

She hurriedly dressed, throwing on the most high necked shirt she had and biked to Melvald's.  Luckily the local general store was relatively empty when Win arrived, parking her bike and venturing inside.  Mrs. Byers greeted her as she walked past and Win gave her an awkward wave and a smile before making a b-line for the cosmetics.

“There you are,” she muttered, snatching the concealer she used.  After a moment’s deliberation she took a second bottle, just in case this became a regular thing.  

The little bell tied to the front door jingled and Win looked up to see none other than Billy Hargrove enter.  As soon as he caught sight of her, a grin tugged at his lips and he strode over.  “Thought that was your bike out front,” he said, raising an eyebrow at the makeup in her hand.  “What’s that for?” he mused, hooking a finger under the high collar of her shirt and tugging it down before she could stop him.

Billy let out a low whistle at the sight of the mark he’d left on her neck.  “Oops,” was all he said before that smug look overtook his visage once more.

“Oops, my ass,” Win scoffed dryly, directing her best withering glare at him.

“Guess I got a little carried away,” he replied with a shrug.  “Can you blame me though?” he asked, wetting his lips expectantly.

“You know, I’m starting to think it wasn’t actually an accident at all,” Win said, cocking an amused eyebrow at him and Billy huffed a laugh.

“So you’re saying no more hickeys?” he ventured, wearing what could only be described as a pout and Win couldn’t help but laugh.

“I wouldn’t say that.  Just… maybe only where you can see them,” she answered, lowering her voice for his ears alone, though they were basically the only ones in the store at the moment.

“You’re kind of a bad girl, aren’t you?”

“I thought you knew that already, Billy boy,” Win snorted and he shrugged.  

“Honestly, I thought some of it was just for show,” he admitted, a grin playing at his lips.

“You take that back!” Win gasped, giving him a playful shove as she fell into step with him.  “So, what did you come here to buy?” she wondered and Billy’s grin turned wry as he stopped in front of the condoms, plucking a couple packs from the hook.

“You really think we’re gunna need all those?” she teased and it was Billy’s turn to give her a flat look.

“Unless you’re on the pill, then yeah,” he scoffed.  “As far as I’m concerned, we’re just getting started,” he drawled.

Win grinned to herself as they ambled toward the check out.  “I am on the pill, by the way.”

“Oh,” Billy breathed, faltering for a second, as if rethinking the condoms.  “Ah screw it, double assurance is probably better anyway.”  Stepping up to the register, he tossed the condoms on the counter.

“That all for you?” Mrs. Byers asked, glancing between Win and Billy and their purchases.

“This too,” Billy grunted, taking the makeup from Win’s hand and dropping it next to the condoms.

“You don’t have to do that–” Win began, but Billy shook his head.

“Well, it’s kinda my fault you need it,” he murmured, ignoring the way Joyce’s eyebrows climbed.

“Guess you have a point,” Win replied, hoping her face wasn’t too red.

Billy paid and held the door open for her, eyeing her bike leaning against the street lamp before turning back to her.  “You gotta be home right away?”

“No, not really,” Win admitted, checking her watch.

“I’ve got some time before I gotta pick up my bratty step sister from the arcade.  Wanna go for a ride?  I’ll drop you off after,” Billy offered, watching her expectantly.

“Yeah, alright.”

Billy’s lips tugged into probably the most genuine smile Win had seen from him yet and he hoisted her bike into the trunk while she climbed in front.

“Anything remotely fun to do around here?” he asked, reaching into the breast pocket of his jacket for his cigarettes, offering Win one as he peeled out, driving off.

Win thankfully took the pro-offered smoke and leaned in closer to light it from Billy’s Zippo before he shut the lid with a quick flick of his wrist.  She took a deep draw, blowing the smoke toward the window before answering.  “I’m still figuring that out.  I only moved here a couple months before you.”

“I knew you weren’t from around here,” Billy mused, glancing over at her over his aviators before his eyes flicked back to the road.  “You don’t have the look.”

“The look?” Win asked, raising a brow at him.

“Yeah, that small town backwater look,” Billy clarified with a derisive snort.  

Win rolled her eyes, grinning to herself as she flicked the built up trail of ash out the window.  “We could go to Lover’s Lake,” she suggested, carefully avoiding the look Billy shot her.

“Thought you said you hadn’t shacked up with anyone from Hawkins.”

“I haven’t,” Win replied, “but I know things.  I know this it’s the place to go if you wanna be alone.”

Her answer seemed to satisfy Billy and he followed her directions, pulling off the main road. “So where did you move from?” he asked as he parked in a secluded spot, turning the car off, but leaving the radio on, playing softly in the background.

“Not quite as far as you,” Win answered, fiddling with the cigarette between her fingers.  “I’m from Chicago.”

“Chicago, huh?  Why’d you move here of all places?” Billy asked, leaning back, his head rolling against the head read as he turned to look at her.

“It certainly wasn’t my choice,” Win scoffed, bringing the cigarette back to her lips, but Billy didn’t speak, merely waiting for a real answer and Win sighed.

“My dad’s a scientist.  He was working out of a research lab in the city until he got a job offer at Hawkins Labs that he said was too good to pass up,” she explained, watching the smoke wend lazily from the end of her cigarette.  “Nothing’s really changed though, he works the same rancid hours that he did before, it’s just the scenery that’s different,” she muttered.

“Bet you miss it.”

“Yeah, there was always something to do there.  I never felt as lonely as I do here,” Win admitted, putting her cigarette out in the ashtray.

“What about you?  How’d you end up here?” she asked, finally looking back at Billy.

Billy let out a grunt, his eyes dropping to the cigarette nearly burned down to his fingers.  “My dumb step sister kept running away after our parents got married.  A bunch of shit went down and they decided it would be better to get away from it all, get ‘a fresh start’, and that’s why they moved us to Bumfuck, Indiana,” he mocked, scowling before flicking his spent cigarette out the window.

The silence stretched while Win studied his profile.

“Actually, I think Bumfuck’s like fifty miles west of here,” she said in all faux seriousness.

For a moment Billy’s brows pinched together before an amused snort ripped from his nose and he began to laugh.  “Y’know, maybe this shit town’ll be a little more tolerable from here on out,” he said, pulling his sunglasses off and leaning in.

“Yeah?  And why’s that?” Win asked, wanting to hear him say it.

“Will you just c’mere,” Billy huffed, pulling her across the center console into his lap, pushing his seat back so she’d have enough room.

“Billy!” Win gasped, straddling his waist, but whatever else she had waiting on the tip of her tongue dissolved as soon as he kissed her, his arms wrapping around her middle to pull her closer.

Opening her mouth wider for him, she groaned as his tongue met hers, exploring her mouth greedily.  With a moan, she brought her hands to the sides of his face, caressing the sharp lines of his jaw as she kissed him back, her tongue eagerly sliding against his as she canted her hips, grinding against him.

When she felt him stiffen beneath her, a moan caught in her throat and she ground against him harder, a shudder passing through her at the sweet friction against her aching cunt.

“Fuck—“ Billy hissed, his gaze flicking up to hers, ocean blue meeting stormy skies, and Win grinned, drawing his bottom lip between hers, nipping at him before sucking gently, pulling back with a soft pop, a silvery string of saliva still connecting them.

“You have the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen,” she breathed, her hips rolling against him, more insistent now.

“Thought that was supposed to be my line,” Billy grunted, his brows furrowing petulantly. 

 “Jesus Billy, just let me compliment you,” Win huffed, a soft whine leaving her swollen lips as her clit dragged against the now soaked fabric of her panties.

For a long moment he merely watched her, his lips twitching into an incredulous grin, her words going straight through him.

“You keep doin’ that and I’m gunna cum in my jeans,” Billy growled as she bore down harder, chasing her pleasure.  Before Win could counter, asking what would be so wrong with that, Billy’s mouth was hot on her neck, his teeth grazing her flushed skin while his tongue laved against her, sending a shiver racing through her.

“Wait–” she gasped, “what’re you doing?”

“If you’re gunna make me cream my boxers, I’m refreshing this mark, gotta show everyone who you’re with now,” he groaned.  “Sound fair?”

“Ughh fine!” Win huffed, her eyelids fluttering as her pleasure gripped her.  “Fuck, I’m–”  Her hips stuttered as she came, writhing desperately in Billy’s lap before a sharp breath left her lips as he sucked hard at her neck, his hips bucking upward beneath her.

“Fuck–” she breathed, the pair of them stilling, both gasping for breath.  “Did you–?”

“Yeah,” he said, grimacing slightly.  

“Sorry,” Win giggled, biting her lip as she watched him, noticing the way his face flushed.  “That’s so cute.”

“You’re such a brat,” Billy huffed, stealing a kiss before she climbed back into the passenger seat.

“You like it.”

Billy rolled his eyes, grabbing his aviators.  “I’ll take you home, Princess.”

––

Monday morning, Win wrinkled her nose at her reflection as she sponged more concealer over her neck, Billy’s hickey still noticeable despite the thick layer of makeup covering it.

“You gotta be kidding me,” she muttered, dropping the makeup sponge into the sink, giving up.  Moments later, a knock at her bedroom door made her jump and she quickly straightened. “Winnie, you up?  You’re gunna be late,” her father called through the door.

“Yeah, I’m up.  Just finishing up,” she called back, giving herself one last once over in the mirror before grabbing her backpack.  It wasn’t perfect, but it would have to do.

She wasn’t expecting her dad to still be standing by the door when she opened it and she nearly ran into him in her haste.

“Whoa whoa,” David exclaimed, grabbing her arms.  “You alright, kiddo?”

“Yeah, ‘m fine, Dad,” Win answered, trying to turn her head so he wouldn’t notice the dark mark gracing her pale skin.  “Like you said, I’m gunna be late.”  Tearing herself from his grasp, she rushed past him into the kitchen to grab a bite of breakfast.

“Hold up.  What’s that?” David asked, his eyes narrowing as he peered directly at the spot she was hoping to hide.  “Is that what I think it is?”

Win grimaced.  “No,” she answered, popping her Eggo into the toaster and turning away.

“Let me see,” David insisted, stepping forward to catch her chin in his hand, tilting her face so he could get a better look at her neck, his expression darkening.  “Who gave that to you?”

Win set her jaw, quickly pulling away.  “No one.”

“Yeah right, young lady.  Was it that Harrington kid you went out with the other night?”

“Steve?  No, it wasn’t Steve,” Win snorted, grabbing her waffle and taking a bite as soon as it toasted.

“Then who–?”

Before Win could think of an answer, the doorbell rang, drawing both Lewis’s attention and she quickly grasped at the distraction, pulling the door open.  “Billy?” she exclaimed reluctantly, finding him waiting on the front porch, leaning against the door frame, his Camaro idling in the driveway as his sister climbed into the back seat, slamming the door shut behind her.

“What’re you–?”

“Winrey, who’s this?” David asked, coming to greet the newcomer, his lips tugging downward as he took in Billy’s appearance.

“Billy Hargrove, Mr. Lewis,” Billy introduced smoothly, extending his hand for David to shake.  

Win’s father’s frown grew and he glared at Billy’s hand as if it were a viper, before reluctantly taking it.  “And who exactly are you?” he asked, looking between Billy and his daughter.

“Sorry, I thought Win would’ve mentioned me, I’m her boyfriend,” Billy replied, shooting Win a smug look.

“Boyfriend?” David repeated faintly.

“Yup, boyfriend,” Win said, practically pushing Billy out the door before her father could recover.  “But we gotta go, okay?  Bye Dad!” she called, grabbing her backpack and rushing outside to jump in the Camaro.

“What are you doing here?” Win asked as soon as Billy slid in the driver’s seat.

“Thought it was my job to drive you around now, y’know, since we’re dating and all,” he replied, giving David a little wave before putting the car in reverse.  “Besides, I’m pretty sure your usual ride isn’t gunna show up,” he added, giving her a pointed look and Win had to agree.  

“Yeah… you’re probably right about that.  Not that I’m really complaining,” she admitted.

From the backseat Billy’s step sister cleared her throat impatiently.  “You gunna introduce me, or what?” she said flatly, and Billy’s eyes flicked to the rearview mirror.  

“Ugh, fine,” he groaned, rolling his eyes.  “Maxine, this is Win, she’s gunna be riding with us from now on.  Win, this is Maxine, my annoying shitbird of a step sister,” he grunted, focusing on the road.

Win turned in her seat to get a better look at the girl.

“It’s Max, no one calls me Maxine,” she said pointedly, her blue eyes flicking to Win.  “So, you’re actually dating him?” she scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Yeah, guess I am,” Win replied, her lips twitching in amusement.  

“He talks about you a lot, you know–”

“Will you shut up?” Billy snapped, interrupting Max with a glare in the mirror, and Win had to fight back a grin.

“Is that so?” she mused, eyeing his stoic profile as she turned back around.  It seemed like there was more to Billy Hargrove than met the eye.

⇾ taglist: @oliver-sykes @b1tchywheeler @super-unpredictable98 @elliethesuperfruitlover @santacarlahorrorshow @wherethewitchersare

[idolbound]

HELL YEAH, PERMISSION TO GUSH ABOUT LEXIE. Narrowing in on Meredith specifically, I have so much love for how you dive into what made her who she is and consider how she might've changed if xyz had gone differently, yet you don't downplay her faults or misdeeds. She's such a larger than life figure it's easy to forget that she's human at the end of the day. That's the horror: she didn't have to be this way, and someone else could take a similar path

positivity meme. | @starkhvn

Holly!! Thank you so much; I truly have enjoyed getting to explore the What ifs and the potential outcomes if the world had decided differently for Meredith, but also to understand that, out of Thedas' big villains, she's really the only human out of them all, and one that has such a realistic story (as in, it could've happened to anyone given too much power within an institution that enables it rather than keeps it in check). I'm so glad that you appreciate this - and as one of the Kirkwall crew, I love reading what you've built with Seb as well as all your other muses over the years.

[djkerr]

Holly: I don't find any deficiencies in Mr. McVeigh's analysis of the bullets. I do find that he, um-- How shall I say this-- oversold his results in court.

Holly: Uh, it is very easy to get a false negative in gas chromatography, and I think he may have downplayed that here.

Connor: Are you suggesting that Mr McVeigh is lying here, Ms Westfall?

Holly: No, Kurt is one of the most honest people I know. I...I do think he had reason to spin his results. I think that's fair. Given the makeup of the defense team.

Connor: Nothing further, Your Honor.

TGW 07x21 Verdict