#Genuinely pretty cool to hear about most of these inventions

[juney-blues]

there's this thing that tme queer trans and intersex people do, where they see trans women talking about transmisogyny, and, through ignorance (whether willful or genuine) they don't, really parse what transmisogyny even is...?

they don't see it as a specific structural oppression that targets trans women, that we are merely describing our relation to.

they see it as this cool new buzzword, they see it as an exclusive club we've made for ourselves, or something like that anyway.

they see the trans community as one big interchangeable block. there isn't a fundamental difference between being transmasc or transfem, we all share the exact same trans identity and the exact same struggles, the specifics not mattering all that much. So they see transmisogyny being talked about, and they don't really, parse it as being different in any way from broader transphobia?"

they see it as us just giving a special name to it, which is how we get a number of incomprehensible takes that boil down in some way or another to:

"i'm not a trans woman but sometimes people mistake me for one, why am i not tma?"

"transmisogyny-affected" is seen as this elevated status of trans-ness that transfems invented and are gatekeeping the door to, rather than a status that is forced upon transfems every second of their lives.

this attitude of "trans women have this thing, why can't I? why isn't this conversation about me" is, pervasive in pretty much everything, not just conversations about transmisogyny. you see it everywhere constantly.

(like so called "transandrophobia", or revealingly, as the term was originally called, "transmisandry") (trust me i'm not averse to the idea of trans men being oppressed in unique ways from other members of the trans community, but 99 times out of 100 you only hear the term used in response to conversations about transmisogyny, so the motivations behind it are extremely transparent)

and honestly i don't know what to do about it, i know earlier i said the wilfullness was sometimes genuine, but honestly most of the time it isn't

there's just not a lot you can do when someone is committed to misunderstanding you because it benefits them

[thatdeadaquarius]

When I’m playing genshin, I’m mostly listening to either Paternity Court, or Steve Wilkos. Imagine the characters hearing all of the stuff and being so scandalized by the results and comments. Or being genuinely disgusted and heartbroken for the victims in more serious cases. I can def see a good chunk of them being invested

I don’t think I’ve listened to those yet! I do occasionally get on a true crime binge listen, however the weirdest thing my characters have heard has gotta be Game Grumps episodes or compilations lol

What if i listened to every season of Buzzfeed Unsolved.

What would we do then my Genshin characters, my people, what then.

I saw someone else write about this true crime documentary thing but they described everyone being pretty terrified or disgusted by the podcasts

Which I definitely think some would be literally horrified lmao

But also I think a lot of them definitely would be invested-

I mean shit,

you're listening to your God and they just start playing this like uncomfortably detailed intricate crime case/murder report???

I would be so interested in what kind of person they were, and why they were listening to true crime stuff, 

so needless to say characters like Heizou and Yelan would definitely be into it, maybe Kujou Sara as well?

I can see Zhongli getting into it too and Raiden

I mean don't get me wrong plenty would be disturbed

like rest in peace Barbara 🙏

but like it would be fascinating to them too!!

cuz they don't know anything about our world so they could learn a lot about it thru listening to this stuff

tho it probably cause a lot of confusion whenever they hear things like phone or computer or car lol

you know stuff that hasn't been invented yet for them or there is no equivalent, but they

would deffo interrogate u about ur world when u get to Teyvat

♤

okay but on a more silly motherfucker note-

what if I was playing Game Grumps around them lol, would they be like oh my God our Creator has the best comedians or hilarious friends

like you know how a king has jesters? 😭

I feel like they would think that instead of a recording definitely, especially because most of these things are just people talking and not like, a speech or something

because audio recordings could exist for them, they would probably get it in concept, they do have Ley lines that do that afterall (and now Kameras)

♧

Omg,

oh no, would they think that you're getting these reports in person??  Or even like your SOLVING all these crimes?? 

esp bc I know myself and I tend to sometimes be talking to Genshin characters like,

"damn that's how he got arrested? How stupid he could've blah blah blah i sound like a hardened cop playing a gacha game lmao blah blah...."

it'd be so funny to see that one play out

when u get whisked away to teyvat and Heizou and Yelan are just:

"oh my God can you help us with all these cases we love your mind, or get your servants to help us?"

THEY WOULDNT EVEN BELIEVE U IF U TRIED TO BE LIKE "no no please ur the professionals idk wtf im doing guys-"

Heizou/Yelan: 🤨🤨

"likely story Most Honorable God, but we heard quite the fascinating theories just last week before u descended, hmmm...."

u cant win, 

honestly everyone would probably just assume ur not only the god who created/built teyvat but also have a domain in justice, comedy or honestly whatever u be playing all the time, including music, people would definitely think ur a music god too

esp if ur like me and u just turn on a cool Spotify playlist while u play sometimes, like they've probably never heard so many radically different genres songs, and so many back to back

(could definitely see a myth about u having an immortal inexhaustible musician band that has access to all the songs of the universe that u make them play for you, once again, would be hard to deny bc that's a pretty accurate description of spotify lol)

♡

srry abt my ✨️ass writing✨️ anon!!

I am getting to these old asks so late I hope u guys r alright with getting answered so late, ya boy has been busy 

Im busy partially bc i have a end of year art exhibition!

Basically at my university, if ur an art major, u have to have some of ur best work from ur time at university and display it in a Senior year art exhibition in the university's art museum! Its super cool! And stressful! :D!!

Anyway im so happy i have no object permanence bc everytime i open my drafts or my inbox, even the old asks :( , are  a new surprise every time :D lmao

Safe Travels,

💀♒️

♡the beloveds♡

@karmawonders / @0rah-s / @randomnatics / @glxssynarvi / @nexylaza / @genshin-impacts-me / @wholesomey-artist

[kittyundercover1]

Mover Kit Lore (What She Thinks About the Movers)

Got inspired from @redgearsmovin

Rich

- Thinks he’s very cool (and sometimes cocky)

- Admires him a lot

- Looks up to him as a leader

- Can sometimes accidentally (or purposely) get clingy

- She can also use his Scribble Sticks pretty well

- Enjoys competing with him in art-related contests

- Side note: I could totally write a oneshot between them competing over a ton of things and have the moment get more and more tense until the others try to get them to calm down or have some sort of epic tiebreaker. Can be very platonic or secretly romantic—I mean WHO SAID THAT—?!

- He knows he can win against her in any sport (except badminton. She’s decent at that. Maybe tennis too)

- Totally doesn’t have a secret crush on him

Dave

- Likes adding stickers and ribbons to his inventions (and on himself)

- Secretly stores her craft supplies in his hat

- Always wanted to know what the inside of his hat looks like (this sounds so funny if you don’t know the show)

- Genuinely, and I mean genuinely tries to high-five him properly, but it’s like there’s some mysterious force that does not allow him to have any sort of hand-to-hand contact besides handshakes and whatnot (one of the many things she finds alluring about him)

- Occasionally zones out whenever he speaks more nerdy than usual (like that one scene in The LEGO Movie)

- Totally doesn’t have a secret crush on him

Scott

- Can always depend on him for a hug or to make her smile

- Thinks he’s very silly (sometimes a little too silly if she’s ever stressed out)

- Enjoys his silly shenanigans

- Goes easier on him whenever he suggests outlandish ideas or gets a bit more excited than usual

- Totally doesn’t have a secret crush on him

Smitty

- Always wondered what he looks like without his glasses on. It’s a very, very, very rare sight for her

- Enjoys going on hikes with him

- Tries learning how to understand Warehouse Mouse as well as he does

- Likes hearing him talk about bird facts

- Totally doesn’t have a secret crush on him

Warehouse Mouse

- Absolutely loves and cherishes the hair accessory he made for her (with the help of Smitty)

- Absolutely fascinated with the idea of having a small animal companion

- Likes eating cheese alongside with him (she often has to protect her portion though)

- She just thinks he’s neat

Nina

- She considers Nina her best friend (and Nina thinks the same thing back)

- They’re really close and love hanging out

- Occasionally confides in her about talking about her totally not non-existent crush on the Movers (Nina lightly teased her about it, but her secret is safe with her)

- “But if you had to say, who do you like the most?”

- “Rich…”

- “Really? I always thought it was Dave?”

- “Everyone keeps saying that!”

- Again, they simply love hanging out with each other

Knit Knots

- Wants to take a nap every time she enters his office

- Tries not to (secretly) complain about him to Nina

- “No offense, Nina, but your uncle is boring…”

- “Tell me about it…”

- “Wait, you agree?”

- “Who wouldn’t?”

- (They both laugh)

- She REALLY zones out whenever he does literally anything

[dreamofmysoul-tsc]

James and Matthew headcanons because TLH is over (;-;) and I adore them and miss them everyday

Matthew calls James "darling" because he knows it "annoys" James but mostly because he adores Jamie (I mentioned this in a previous list of headcanons but y'all will hear it again because I love it)

Harry Styles' cover of Juice by Lizzo is how I imagine Matthew's voice to sound

Matthew tries to convince James to be more adventurous with his fashion choices,,,it never works tho

James rarely cries; Matthew can probably count on one hand how many times he's seen his parabatai cry, but when he does, it breaks Matthew's heart into a million little pieces and he inevitably will start sobbing as well

If they lived in modern times and had cell phones, Matthew would absolutely send James a million pictures of things he sees and people he meets on his voyage. It wouldn't be cool landmarks tho, or like pretty scenery, no, it'd be like photos of a rat he saw stealing a donut, him almost falling into the canals in Venice because he stood up too fast on the boat, Oscar chasing a flock of swans, etc

James, Matthew, and Tom all gather at the Lightwood family tomb on Kit's birthday and the anniversary of his death. They bring lemon tarts to share, though they rarely ever eat one themselves, and talk to him about how much the world is changing, how Kit would've been so excited to learn that the mundanes invented airplanes and televisions and they'd even share with him the scientific contributions Grace has continued to share with Nephilim society (i refuse to believe she stopped being a woman in STEM after she figured out the fire messages)

Matthew is the only person allowed to cut James' hair

they both suck ass at cooking but sometimes James will attempt baking cookies or muffins for everyone; Matthew "helps," and by help I mean he sits on the counter and critiques James' technique until James inevitably throws flour at Matthew's very expensive and one of a kind waistcoat how dare you James

I will die on this hill because I've imagined James like this since his first introduction in The Bane Chronicles: his eyes glow, ok. Not like, very noticeably, but if it's very dark in the room his eyes will let off this iridescent glow kinda like the scales of a fish when they shift in and out of the light. People who don't know James very well or are seeing it for the first time can find it a little unnerving but Matthew never once felt afraid. He likes to call them his own personal north stars ✨✨

James and Matthew will share books back and forth. One will read and annotate it and then give it to the other who does the same. They love seeing each other's little notes as they read

Where Matthew is bright colors and expensive jewels, James tends to stick to the same four colors (black, white, navy, and gold) Occasionally Matthew will convince him to wear heavy gold rings inlaid with precious gems or a dashing emerald waistcoat embroidered in gold because "it will look absolutely lovely on you, Jamie" (and of course it does, in fact, look lovely on him)

They of course have that bestie telepathy that I think most people have with their best friend; when you witness something ridiculous and just give them The Look and they know exactly what you're thinking? Yeah, that's definitely resulted in plenty of instances of James and Matthew bursting into laughter for seemingly no reason while everyone looks on in confusion

Similar to James rarely crying, James doesn't strike me as someone who laughs often. That isn't to say he's unhappy, I just think he only laughs when he genuinely finds something funny. James doesn't do pity laughs, ok, if you say something ridiculous he'll just look at you like ._. Matthew made it his personal mission since they met at the Academy to make James laugh at least once a day. Like a full, unbidden, genuine laugh. Matthew could probably write a 10 page essay on how much he loves James' laugh, how to make him laugh, what never fails to make him laugh, etc

Matthew's love language is physical touch (we all saw him clutching onto James' wrist for dear life throughout this series right?); James' is acts of service.

Whenever Matthew has bad days, days where he struggles to be kind to himself, days when it's difficult for him to feel present, he tends to ask for James. James takes this as the blessing that it is, seeing as a younger Matthew would've bottled it up until it boiled over, and spends all day with him. Sometimes they sit in silence, Matthew simply needing to feel grounded with James' presence; other times, James will read to him, tidy his flat, fix that wobbly table leg Matthew keeps putting off (James is surprisingly handy) and on the really bad days James will hold him, rests his cheek against Matthew's head and reminds him of all the reasons he loves him, why he chose to become his parabatai, and that nothing Matthew could ever ask of James could ever be a burden

James gets Oscar a new collar with a matching doggy bowtie every year on his adoption day; Matthew obviously keeps every collar and switches them out so Oscar can feel like a dapper little gentleman

Anyways I adore these two and I'm still manifesting a Matthew short story collection because no amount of James and Matthew parabatai content will ever be enough

[lazyrants]

My Treehouse (prod 113)

Original airdate: November 11, 2004

Story by Magnus Scheving

Written by Noah Zachary, Cole Louie, Magnus Scheving

Directed by Magnus Scheving

Executive producers - Magnus Scheving, Ragnheidur Melsted, Raymond P. Le Gue, Mark Read, Brown Johnson, Kay Wilson Stallings

Starring Magnus Scheving, Stefan Karl Steffanson, Julianna Rose Mauriello

Puppeteers - Ronald Binion, Gudmondor Thor Karason, Jodi Eichelberger, David Matthew Feldman, Julie Westwood, Amanda Maddock, Sarah Burgess

My Treehouse is the last episode of LazyTown to air in 2004. From here and the rest of the season you can see a slight increase in quality.

The episode begins with Sportacus timing how long it takes for him to cartwheel and flip into the skutla - approx. 14 seconds. He says that this is too slow for saving people, so he tries again. Twelve seconds. Not much of an upgrade, but it's improvement.

Sportacus visits town to see what the kids are doing, and they're hiding in a treehouse - Ziggy, Stephanie, Trixie & Pixel. They've started a secret treehouse in fear that Stingy will hear about it and try and take it all for himself. He's a young little boy, he can't just take a treehouse.. then he takes the treehouse.

He doesn't go far because Sportacus grabs hold of the rope he's using to steal the treehouse because 'if they don't want me in the club, I'll just take the club!...house'. So they change their minds, not because they want to, because they don't want to piss Stingy off, and let him join the club. Milford is making an announcement on the loud-speakers and Robbie.. is sleeping. Outside. After two episodes of doing the same goddamn thing he hasn't learned his mistake.

Anyways, Milford announces a big treehouse building contest with big 'prizes'. Robbie wakes up and decides to listen to the Mayor. I'd just not join, I'm hopeless with building houses. I can't do it in a video game, what makes me think I can do it in real life? Anyways, he announces that they have to be in teams, the best treehouse in town wins, and they get a HUGE trophy.

Watch the episode yourself to see what it looks like. Might not be as astonishing as you think. Anyways, everyone thinks the trophy is really cool, especially Stingy, who wants it the most. The president has ordered one person to help all teams, and for LazyTown, that person is Sportacus.

Robbie is of course, amazed by the trophy and attempts to steal it, but Bessie yells at him (LOL) and he goes away. The kids start building their treehouse, but Ziggy has a bunch of lollipops in his mouth, and Stingy is too busy looking at the trophy.

Other then that, he is hogging all the supplies for the tree house (does he WANT that trophy?). Well, at least he's working on the treehouse. Bessie is getting Milford to build it for him while she relaxes (this is just ridiculous now) and Milford almost falls and drops all the wood, but Sportacus pushes a wheelbarrow so Milford doesn't fall on the ground.

Robbie is also trying hard for that trophy. He is trying his best to build a treehouse but he has no expierence and hurts himself multiple times in the process (smashing a piece of wood with a hammer, making that piece of wood fling onto him, and hitting his hand with a hammer).

He realizes what a waste of time this is (he should have some kinda invention for this task, but he doesn't think so) and decides to cut the kids tree with an axe. But the axe is rubber and it starts shaking, so he scraps that idea. Then Stingy's hammer flies away and instead of moving away, Robbie covers his head. Luckily, Sportacus is there and he catches the hammer. There are two more minutes remaining and the treehouse looks pretty good, the kids perform Teamwork, and Bessie is reading the headline of Lazy Town News: "LAZYTOWN SPRING IN THE AIR". What a boring newspaper. I genuinely don't know why she's always reading the newspaper in this season.

The time is finally up and what's left to do is to send the photos in to the president and see who wins the day after. Sportacus is the man taking the photos and he's wearing a red cloth on his face. Maybe to divert attention? Or to not get hit by the flames?

Bessie does a closeup to the camera, so you can't even see all the hard work that Milford did. Not to mention the photos are black and white (I'm no color expert, but I am pretty sure color photos existed in 2004), so the painting of the treehouse was useless. And Robbie says 'Cheddar' when Sportacus tells him to say 'Cheese'. LOL!

Despite how terrible his treehouse, Robbie still thinks he will win, and he mails the letter in along with everyone else. Anyways, Stingy can't handle the idea of someone getting given the trophy (jeez, it's like there's the secret to life in this trophy) and he rips up the photo so only him and the treehouse can be seen.

More proof that if Stingy is your favourite character, you're a 'fan' who discovered the show in 2017 after We are Number One and The Mine Song and have only watched 3 episodes. Anyways, the winner 'Stingy' is announced the next day and Robbie is on the verge of crying. He did put in a lot of effort and Stingy did almost nothing.

Everyone is unhappy with Stingy (well, maybe not the Mayor considering he doesn't know what Stingy did until Trixie tells everybody), but he is just happy he got the damn trophy. I respect the grind, but I don't respect lying about it.

He goes to the treehouse with the trophy, and they want answers. He says that it's his treehouse because he 'owns' everything used to build it, excluding Stephanie's flower pot, which he throws out. (What a jerky move) So they leave him alone.

To take Stingy off their minds, they play a game of basketball and some of Pixel's video games while Stingy plays ping pong, rock paper scissors, and chess.. alone. He lures Ziggy into visiting the treehouse (Siggi Sæti from 'Let's Go, LazyTown!' (1997) is background music) with candy which is pretty smart. He says he can have tons of candy if he plays with him, but Ziggy declines so Stingy turns the handle and breaks it.

I like how we can see he feels remorse for his actions but doesn't want to show it. It's good writing. Robbie is watching and he sees the trophy and decides to steal it in the mailbox costume and Stingy eventually decides to leave the treehouse (to go apologize), but he nearly falls off and now he's in trouble.

Stephanie hears his yells and convinces Trixie to save him. What character development! She climbs up the tree and tries to grab his hand, but the trophy distracts her and she almost falls until Stingy grabs her hand.

Robbie finally sees his chance to get the trophy (which is in multiple broken parts, but to each their own) but he falls over a leftover piece of wood, and Sportacus has just came to save the two.

Sportacus has saved the two (hip hip hooray), but Robbie is still lying on the ground in his mailbox, and the treehouse is about to fall on him. Thus comes more proof of the power of Sports Candy.

THAT'S RIGHT. HE HOLDS AN ENTIRE TREE HOUSE UP. Anyways, the gang make up, they sing Bing Bang and Robbie is in the lair with the trophy. He polishes it and takes care of it.. then he falls apart.

THE END.

8/10. Amazing lesson.

[fo4-hellhole]

Fallout 4 romanced companions with a S/O(The sole survivor) who was a pre war singer? Like they were featured in pretty popular songs on diamond city radio they even had billboards and posters along with magazines with them strewn in boston they even promoted fashion items and more popular brands they were basically a big shot or should I say they were the face of Massachusetts known as "Mrs./Mr./Mx Massachusetts" back before the bombs dropped.

Even too this day in post war boston they're recognized by the pre-war ghouls even some citizens who are a big time fan of their music and the occasional obsessive collector.

Basically romanced companions dating a pretty famous singer from pre-war america also can it be GN?

I dieded but now im back

Danse:

He’s never really paid any attention to the billboards he’s come across while traveling with the Brotherhood. So he might feel like he’s seen your face somewhere before, but doesn’t realize who you are or where he’s seen you.

He doesn’t actually learn about your history as a pre-war star until he and you meet a pre-war ghoul who recognized your face. Probably just says “Mr./Ms./Mx. Massachusetts, huh? Interesting.” lmao

Lowkey wonders what it’s like to be a celebrity. He might ask you one day.

Deacon:

He probably jokes about it at some point before he realizes you were alive before the war. Says you look like the celebrity on the billboards and jokes that you’re them, without realizing that you’re literally them. If you tell him or if another person points it out someday, he’s genuinely surprised.

Had definitely made some “Hey, you see that that person on the billboards? The one that looks like you? Yeeeeeaah, them and I were in some movies together before the war. We were basically the biggest celebrities around,” kinda comments in the past.

Hancock:

Probably notices the similarity, but doesn’t think you’re actually Mr./Ms./Mx. Massachusetts. Probably jokes, “Y’know, you look just like the person in those old billboards. The pretty one in the Nuka-Cola ads.” But when you explain that, yeah, that’s you, he goes, “Huh, you’re being serious? I’m not tripping right now?”

Totally brags about you sometimes. And if a pre-war ghoul recognizes you, he’s super smug about it, like internally all “Yep, that’s my partner.”

Mac:

Notices the similarity, but doesn’t point it out at first. When you share that you were around before the war, he’s all, “Hey, you’re not… the person on the old prewar billboards, are you?”

Literally thinks it’s the coolest thing ever.

Probably starts asking you questions about prewar life, and what it was like being famous. Sometimes he asks you really stupid questions like “What was it like before electricity was invented?” lmao. It’s kinda like Preston’s Bunker Hill comment

Valentine:

Notices immediately, but doesn’t say anything, cause he assumes you just look like the person on the billboards, or maybe he’s just remembering wrong. Though, once you start traveling with him and you both run across a billboard, he’s mentally like “Ok this is weird, you definitely look EXACTLY like them.”

When you mention that you were born pre-war, that’s when he points out when he noticed the similarity. He’s genuinely surprised when you explain that it’s you, and he probably mentions a memory of OG Nick hearing about you on the news.

Garvey:

He doesn’t actually notice at first, but when you guys eventually pass by one of the billboards, he’ll point out how much you look like them. When you tell him that it’s you, he’s genuinely pretty shocked. But he’s kinda like Mac, he thinks it’s super cool and will probably bombard you with dumb questions about prewar life.

He probably asks you the most about what it’s like being a celebrity. He asks you about how you ended up being Mr./Ms./Mx. Massachusetts, how did you end up on the billboard, were you ever on television, stuff like that.

[inkdemonapologist]

BatDR: Joey's Final Scene is Weird (+ Ink Demon Audrey AU I Guess)

I'm sure I'm not the first person to have this thought but I keep thinking about it, so, some thoughts!! Grain of salt as always since I've mostly osmose'd the game through friends and cutscenes, so there may well be significant things I've missed.

In BatDR, the initial vibe is that Joey Drew has turned over a new leaf, and finally found a better person in himself as a father. It's a good direction for Joey -- rather than trying to be accepted by people who do not owe him forgiveness, instead moving forward and being better for someone new.

But... there's a lot of evidence that isn't quite true. Joey's response to letting go of his hatred for Henry wasn't to admit what he'd done or to end the cycle or even apologise, it was just.... to put an invented Allison Angel in there -- because of the existence of Allison, we know the hellish experience we see in BatIM is what Joey figured it was probably fine to leave Henry looping through after his supposed change of heart. And his imperfect attempts at creating a child apparently only get to see him as an uncle -- only his perfect, special Audrey is Good enough to call him "dad." Maybe Joey genuinely is a little better (it's a pretty low bar) and loves her with a sincerity and humility he wasn't able to find before, but... a decent part of that seems to be because she came out right, because she made him happy.

Thren described it as the "authentic Joey Drew experience" and I love that framing; we all KNOW everything he did in BatIM, everything he's responsible for -- but he's charming, and he loves the player character so much, and it seems like... he must be better! When Joey Drew likes you, Buddy tells us in DCTL, it's the best feeling in the world. And.... I don't think Joey's lying, it's just that loving Audrey (just Audrey) doesn't actually make him a kinder or better person.

One of the places that stands out to me the MOST is his final scene.

This scene is DELIGHTFUL on its own but becomes EXTREMELY WEIRD ONCE YOU PONDER ANY CONTEXT AT ALL -- Joey stands before the Ink Demon, his greatest failure to be kind to a "grinning thing" that once wandered Thomas Connor's office before being locked away in the infirmary, and refers to it as an "evil face" before telling Audrey that she's special, more special than those cartoons he once brought to life, that she's his greatest creation and his family whom he loves, and that they shouldn't dwell on the past. NO WONDER THE INK DEMON MURDERS HIM??? What must it be like to hear your creator tell someone else that they got all the love you were denied, that they were better, more important, and you're still a monster? JOEY YOUR SON IS RIGHT THERE HE CAN HEAR YOU

Part of me thinks this is REALLY GOOD. I'm honestly into the idea of Joey believing himself to be a changed man when he's still falling into old habits, and the idea of a narrative that seems on the surface to be a redemption, when closer inspection reveals it to be just, seeing Joey's biased story, is such an interesting idea? But, since the story itself doesn't really acknowledge it, just glossing over every point to the contrary with a more sincere-seeming emotional beat, it ends up feeling kinda discordant with the story we DO see. As if it were an accident. No one, not even the villains, calls Joey's change of heart into question -- when the Ink Demon pushes back, it's not with justified anger at being openly dissed, but just because the demon's Evil and Audrey has to fight back against it. The idea of Joey as an unreliable narrator of every one of his scenes in BatDR is conceptually cool, but emotionally jarring; I feel like I need an entire extra fic of Audrey coming to terms with the idea that her father really did love her, but maybe he wasn't actually a better or kinder person in the end (and what if Memory Joey could actually face his mistakes in a way her IRL father never managed to....).

But I wanna focus in on one odd other odd thing Joey says to Audrey.

This doesn't quite feel like it goes with what's happening to Audrey -- she has no real reason to be genuinely tempted by the Ink Demon or to believe that her past dooms her to this (Joey Maybe You're Projecting); she's just reasonably freaked out that a big monster subsumed her into himself. It sounds like it's a line from some other scene in a different story, one where Audrey has always been the ink demon and this statement would have some emotional weight.

AND MAN LIKE........ ACTUALLY THAT SURE WOULD SHIFT THE TONE OF THIS SCENE, HUH. Maybe that would actually be really good in a different way???? lets think about this

Joey regretted his actions and, just as Allison had seen the good in him, he sought the good in the Ink Demon -- no longer trying to force his perfect Bendy, but just to give it a choice to be something else. And after many many tries, he was able to give the demon a piece of his own soul, make the demon something almost human. That's Audrey. the ink demon can be trans as a treat

aUDREY HAS EVEN BETTER REASON TO BE ANGRY ABOUT THE REVEAL THAT SHE'S THE DEMON

The demon that exists in the cycle is, like Joey, a memory. It's literally a representation of the past, it speaks to Audrey because it's her own memories, and it starts to take over Audrey as a resurgence of her grudges and anger from when she WAS that creature. She has a reason to have conflicted feelings here.

All of Joey's exhortations to not let the past define you, telling Audrey "you don't have to be this" when she becomes one with the demon -- these suddenly actually apply to her instead of just Joey projecting his own baggage onto her. When he says that she's his family and that he loves her, in this version, it wouldn't be just because she's better than his other creations; it's reaffirming that a love he'd failed to show for a long, long time still applies even when she's big and weird and angry. That family is more important than perfection. It's a resolution, finally, to one of his biggest failures in BatIM.

It would change the scene tremendously; Joey could say a lot of the same things and it would have more genuine emotional weight because it's no longer him ignoring and dissing the ink demon in favour of this shiny new person who makes him feel a lot better about himself, but him specifically refuting how he'd felt before, and saying "I love you so very much" to someone who maybe... really needed to hear that, actually.

The struggle between Audrey and the Demon also becomes emotionally relevant -- it's her grappling with whether she's willing to reset things, or to fall into the same cycle of mistreatment.

Other potential benefits to this change:

Baby Bendy showing up at the end has weird vibes when you know that it's a form the Ink Demon was forced into as a prison, actively doesn't want to be in, and escapes whenever possible... but if the Ink Demon is a representation of Audrey's past resentment, it seems a little less troubling that he could become the cute cartoon once Audrey is at peace with who she is and how she came to be.

If Audrey explicitly has a piece of THE SOUL OF JOEY DREW within her, then there is an immediately intuitive reason why Wilson would need her in order to control the Ink Realm -- and also why she realises that it's hers to influence in the end. I think you could already sorta headcanon this with what we got, but with how important souls were in BatIM and DCTL, it'd be nice to have them come up again.

Anyway I think that's.... enough for this post. Some Joey thoughts and AN AUDREY AU I GUESS!!!

[shima-draws]

Me, clapping my hands: SUPPORT COURSE IZUKU! SUPPORT COURSE IZUKU!! ...WITH A PROSTHETIC!!

I’m sure people have had this idea before but I wanted to put my own spin on it!! And now for the info:

-Izuku's been fascinated with heroes since a young age. However, after finding out he was quirkless, he refused to give up, and switched gears to start investing in the support field. He figured if he couldn't be a pro hero he could at least do his best to help them and be a hero in his own way.

-Izuku's an absolute GENIUS when it comes to inventing--he's on par with Hatsume. However, Hatsume focuses more on support items that break convention and are very innovative and unique. Izuku's focus is more on items that actually help heroes on the field and support their bodies, and items that also allow them to use their quirks to their full extent while still being able to control them properly. (Basically, Izuku's gadgets act as a control stick for heroes that go all out i.e. Toshi.) He also makes a lot of gadgets that support disabled heroes, because--

-Izuku has a prosthetic arm! It's his right one. This was the result of a villain attack that he got involved in after meeting All Might. Toshi blames himself for what happened to Izuku because he couldn't get there in time. He and Izuku are very close--Izuku knows the secret behind Toshi's appearance and he knows about One For All. Mirio is the one to inherit OFA in this AU--so Izuku's very close to him as well! Izuku makes support items for both Toshi and Mirio, to support their quirks. Izuku's gadgets have saved Toshi in a pinch a hundred times over, and are designed to support him when he needs that extra push when he's already reached his limit.

There is more ahead~

-After Izuku lost his arm in the villain accident, Bakugou does a total 180 and starts treating him better. From the start their relationship was less strained than in canon bc Izuku went into doing stuff for support early on, and Bakugou didn't see this as much as a threat compared to if Izuku still wanted to be a pro hero despite being quirkless. Nowadays Bakugou is VERY protective of Izuku--and both of them have reached a point where they're genuine friends. Izuku teases Bakugou a lot and easily snarks back at him when he's being a little shit. Bakugou won't ever admit it openly but Izuku is his best friend :') He cares about him  a lot. He used to defend Izuku constantly back in middle school after the accident, but Izuku soon learned to stand up for himself.

-Going off of that, Bakugou taught Izuku how to fight physically, and they try to spar once or twice a week if they can! It's good practice. Izuku was awful at it at first especially since his sense of balance was off due to the weight of the prosthetic, but Bakugou's a good teacher despite all his shouting lmao. Now Izuku can easily hand his ass to him if he gets into it enough. He can handle himself in a fight pretty brilliantly, even against villains, and Class 1-A quickly learns not to underestimate him.

-Bakugou refuses to get support items from anybody else but Izuku. He bitches at Izuku a lot but Izuku always takes his advice--Bakugou usually offers good tips and pointers on how to improve his gauntlets! Baku always says that while Izuku fucks up all the time (false), he at least trusts him enough to get the job done, while he scorns the rest of the support course fnjdsdd

-Since Izuku isn't in Class 1-A in this AU--guess who is? Yeah, it's Shinsou! Besides Baku Shinsou is probably Izuku's other closest friend, along with Hatsume! Shinsou's got a crush on Izuku and probably knows it won't be reciprocated, but he's fine with that. If Shinsou isn't in class he's most likely hanging out in the development studio with Izuku and Hatsume. The three of them are kinda like a mini Big Three haha, they've got a reputation around UA

-Do not put Izuku and Hatsume in the same room together or they'll bounce insane ideas off of each other and create outrageous things. They get each other super fired up LMAO and go to each other for advice when they need it!

-Izuku has the biggest, most obvious and absolutely endearing crush on one (1) Shouto Todoroki. Bakugou teases him about it CONSTANTLY. The reason for this is because they actually met back in middle school, before Izuku lost his arm--and Todoroki just made a really memorable impression on him bc he was the first person to ever treat him really kindly (they bumped into each other on accident because Izuku was getting chased by bullies, Izuku scraped up his hands, Todoroki chased off the bullies and then iced his injuries, and then they had a really deep conversation about heroes and encouraged each other). Todoroki kinda becomes Izuku's first love in that sense;; ofc it's nothing super serious but Izuku definitely feels all floaty and happy about it afterward. When Izuku gets into UA and notices that Todoroki's in the hero course he almost has a stroke because 1. Izuku gave him encouragement to get into UA waaaay back then and he's shocked Todoroki actually took his advice, 2. He finds out that Todoroki is in fact Todoroki bc they never gave each other their names, so Izuku's Shook his "first love" is actually the son of Endeavor, and 3. Todoroki's grown. He was pretty back in middle school but now. He's hot. HE'S HOT OH NO. After that Izuku keeps noticing him and hears rumors that Todoroki is an ice cold prince type character that has no real feelings. Izuku's like "Someone who takes the time out of their day to save you, heal your hands, and encourage you on your path to be a hero can't be that type of person" so Izuku just KNOWS Todo's actually a very kind boy. Izuku keeps watching him and gets super smitten after the Sports Festival ;) But he's like "He's practically famous, he'd never notice somebody like me, he probably doesn’t even remember me from middle school, haha" (so it's a bit like a celebrity crush). Shinsou and Hatsume bug him about his crush just to see him get flustered and it's very cute lol

-The second time Izuku and Todoroki meet is a goddamn mess and technically counts as their first because Todoroki has a shit memory and can't connect Izuku's face to the boy he met in middle school (also that boy definitely had two flesh arms and Izuku only has one). Todoroki walks in right as one of Izuku's gadgets explodes, absolutely showering him in dust and soot. Izuku freaks out and apologizes a lot while he helps him clean up (while Hatsume is teasing in the background). Note that Izuku's only wearing like a tanktop and sweats, and his hair is all messy and swept back especially since he's wearing his trademark goggles, he's covered in sweat and dirt, he has a really cool looking prosthetic (and Todoroki didn't realize he'd have a thing for that but apparently he does), and Izuku's really fucking toned so Todoroki has a big ol Gay Crisis right there in the development studio. Izuku is INCREDIBLY attractive and Todoroki doesn't know what to do with that info. After Izuku cleans up and manages to get an order for a support item out of Todo, Todo leaves and immediately texts Momo saying, "Yaoyorozu, I think I just had my gay awakening" and on the other side of campus, Momo chokes on her drink. Meanwhile back in the studio Izuku is SCREAMING like "Oh my GOD did that really just happen--did Shouto Todoroki walk in, get blasted by one of my inventions going haywire, let me clean him up and TOUCH HIS CHEST, HATSUME, I GOT TO FEEL HIM UP, and THEN HE ASKED ME TO TAKE AN ORDER, I'M GOING INTO CARDIAC ARREST. TELL MY MOTHER AND TOSHI I LOVED THEM AND TELL TODOROKI I'M SORRY FOR GETTING HIS PERFECT BEAUTIFUL HAIR DIRTY" and she's just laughing her ass off LMAOOOO

-It isn't until their third meeting that Izuku realizes Todoroki doesn't seem to remember him at ALL. And it stings, a lot (but he kinda figured this would happen esp since Todo didn’t recognize him the last time they talked), but he's still happy for the chance to know him now, and get to design support items for him!! Meanwhile Todo's like. Starting to catch on that maybe he DOES know Izuku after all? He isn't sure? But he's definitely falling for him. 

I’ve got more headcanons and stuff but yeah this is all the basics!!! I got so excited to flesh this AU out and make designs fnasjkbdnasds it’s definitely gonna be a fun one to play around with!

I want to either call this the Support Course Hero AU or maybe just Support Hero AU would work--what do you guys think?

[beau-tee]

── Adam. Fluff! HCs

Warning. None, just me writing I guess.

Author’s note. It’s almost 5 am for me, I’m too excited to sleep. I need to practice my english probably incorrect grammar here and there,, so this too long. Just I love too much this beautiful man

愛. Adam despite his laid-back personality is an absolute gentleman, sweet and very protective when it comes to you, like a charming prince. He’s not a very touchy person at first but he becomes affectionate with you. He genuinely enjoys spending time with you though he isn’t clingy he is protective over you and will worry about your safety and well-being. Especially if you are careless, clumsy, or weak in which case, he can be a little bit fatherly towards you, feeling the need to take care of you. Of course, he’ll always make sure you’re taking care of yourself; that you’re eating enough and eating healthily, that you’re getting sufficient amounts of sleep and exercise.

愛. His kisses are deliberate. They’re gentle and sweet, it always feels right. Adam’s kisses last longer but are still gentle and in bed they can get a little more feverish and aren’t limited to just your lips. Eskimo kisses. The Father of Humanity invented them and you cannot tell me otherwise, probably because it requires less effort. He’s more a man of action than words and he’ll try his best to encourage you and support you when he can tell you need it. He’s also the best for raising your self-esteem. He’s always there to help boost your confidence if you need it. Adam seems to find happiness in simple things. He tends to approach things lightheartedly and this helps you if you are pessimistic or who sometimes can be a bit down.

愛. Adam loves to sit with you in peace and be completely comfortable together sitting in complete silence with stolen kisses and touch. Adam gives off an aura of serenity and it’s really comforting without him even trying to be. There wouldn’t be talking, just sitting side by side, enjoying the quiet and warmth your body radiate. And let him play with your hair. He can feel the stress melt away from you as you melt in his arms as his fingers twirl your locks. When he does it is always so gentle, his gestures are so delicate, you can relax every time he brushes you, you can fall asleep sometimes. Cain and Abel enjoy it too! Adam felt his somnolent little one start to nod off against him. He wrapped his arms around him and cradled him softly against him, stroking his head. And your hand stroking the blond hair of your cute Abel who lay on your soft lap, sighing blissfully, causing you to laugh.

愛. He is very considerate and observant and remembers a lot about you and is nearly perfect at coming up with presents for you which he will surprise you with gifts at random times, but especially any time he thinks you need cheering up. Mostly are simple gifts whether it’s flowers, your favourite food, or that pretty dress he saw you eyeing the other day at the store. Loves when you bring him lunch. Adam thinks your food is the most delicious thing ever. Especially when you can sweeten those sour apples of Eden. When you are baking he does enjoy helping you decorate your cakes and cookies though. Also with Cain and Abel stealing some a bit when you’re two not looking.

愛. He doesn’t mind PDA and enjoys holding hand, hugs and kisses kind of enjoys it if you are a bit clingy or touchy. Adam is quite direct. He may not seem like the type to say ‘I love you,’ but in fact, he can say it often and very matter-of-factly, no matter who’s around to hear it. Adam has no shame. He just doesn’t care what others think, he likes to hesitate to rest his head on your shoulder or he’ll come and he’ll lay his head in your lap without a word even as you are busy. Adam doesn’t get jealous very easily at all. He’s chill with everybody, he knows you love him and he has no reason to be really jealous, so he’d it’s not necessarily jealousy if someone was genuinely trying to piss him off. Adam will outright call the other person out, reminding them how disrespectful it is to mess with someone else’s partner. He thinks communication is key in a relationship. He’ll always talk to you if something is bothering him and he’ll expect you to do the same. And if you’re ever uncomfortable, no matter the situation, he’ll be there to help you.

愛. Adam like spending time with his children playing or teaching them things especially anything dealing with animals but even just different things in general like helping them learn to walk or talk or explaining how things work. Just imagine the small proud smile on his face at his son first steps. Adam and his sons rarely argue he is the type of dad that his children could talk to about anything, knowing that he won’t judge them and that he’ll always love them. If one of them would misbehave from time to time, but it might be a rare occurrence since Adam would be the type to talk and always explain why he is saying “No” rather than just say it and expect to be obeyed. M!AU；Adam is the most ‘cool’ dad. Like all of the kids at the school admiring him when he comes to pick his children up. They all just think he looks so cool and strong. But very gentle with the kids.

愛. Adam is not a morning person. He prefers to sleep in, especially if is with you. But always the only exception is when his family needs him or goes to job. Especially if you wake up earlier than either on needs you need just let him hugging and holding you from behind while placing his chin over your shoulder while wrapping his arms under your waist. Mostly Adam stays up just to make sure you fall asleep soundly and he’ll tend to watch you but not in a creepy way. He just likes to take in your beautiful sleeping face and bask in the fact that you’re actually sleeping with him. This makes him realize that you both trust each other fully and that’s when he’s the most comfortable falling asleep when you’re safe and with him. It’d be wonderful and I bet he’d be adorable to wake up next to him. That’s my fantasy.

愛. Adam loves animals. He talks to them all the time. Probably more than he talks to everyone else combined, except for you, of course. He’d love to have a pet with you. Very possibly a bunny. But anyway there is always a bird accompanying him or a small field mouse determined to following him. Adam would much rather read a book with you or go for a peaceful evening stroll. One of his favorite things to do is walk around nature with his family. Would enjoy taking his sons on long walks, carrying one of them on his shoulders, and talking about life. You two are holding his hand all the time, and the short man was rubbing his thumb over your soft hand. You only let go of Adam’s fingers when you wanted to see something up much closer, like the little birds perching on the branches to get closer to Adam and lean towards you or pretty butterflies. You slightly laugh blissfully with your cheerful voice expanding on the environment, which made the scenery most charming.

愛. His voice is absolutely beautiful. He’s amazing at telling stories to keep you entertained. Whether they really happened or not, Adam has plenty of stories to share. He’s spent plenty of time on his own and he’s needed ways to occupy himself. He also likes when you make flower crowns for him and watching you gently weave them into his hair before running your nails down his neck and shoulders. Abel loves to make you flower crowns. He will find your favorite flower and he will sit there for hours trying to make you the best possible flower crown he can come up with. Cain will act like he doesn’t care at first, but quickly practically demands that his brother teach him so he can do it for you too. This two are adorables! One downside though is that they will want to bring home the bugs and little animals they find. But once a time they brought home a skunk.

愛. Adam really enjoys it when you lays on top of him or lays with their head resting on his chest. Your head laying on his chest, and with his arms around your waist, head snuggled up against his chest his hands intertwined with yours. When he’s on your breasts it’s always super comfy for him and being able to hear your heartbeats. He also likes getting to hear it speed up every time his fingers brush against your sides and the small of your back. Adam loves hugging you from behind no matter the height difference, he just enjoys holding you close to you. Adam is a perfect cuddler. He’s strong, warm, and all-encompassing. Adam can kill for you. He doesn't need a reason to protect you and he will always love you. You definitely don’t have to worry about someone getting hurt because he’ll always protect you and your beautiful smile.

[argylemikewheeler]

July 1st, 1985

what the first ep of (my) s3 would look like if the main concept was: both Steve and Will are gay in 1985’s Summer of Love and the town’s enemy is a little more human; loving friendships, very confused adults, and Will Byers Actually Getting Help

“Harrington!”

“Yes, sir.” Steve looked up from his desk. He dropped his crossword and looked to be at attention; the police station’s phone wasn’t ringing, though, so there wasn’t really anything he should have been doing. Hopper stepped out of his office, angling himself toward the door rather than Steve’s desk island.

“Do you think you’ll be able to-- Harrington, what are you doing?” Hopper caught sight of the pocket thesaurus sitting on his desk (the last name written on the inside cover not belonging to Steve, of course). Hopper fixed his sunglasses on the edge of his nose, looking over them and down at Steve.

“I’m just, uh, working on my vocabulary.” Steve said. Hopper blinked twice, waiting. Steve wasn’t going to say the truth: he was dating-- well seeing someone-- way smarter than him. This wasn’t for joy or boredom. He was studying to impress. “It’s college prep, sir.”

“The crossword?” The chief evened his stare. “This your old man’s suggestion?” Of all the things Steve’s father was telling him to do with himself, he  wished  some of it was simply pecking at a crossword over a twelve hour shift.  Fucking off  and  being a better piece of shit son  just wasn’t feasible to accomplish in one summer.

“He swears by it.”

“Okay, well. Uh, moving on from that,” Hopper grabbed his hat from the coat rack. The topic of Steve’s father always made Hopper stiffen up; it was definitely the main reason Hopper gave Steve his job at the station, but it still created more questions. Steve knew Hopper and his father went to high school together, but he never asked his father about those years-- beyond his baseball glory stories. “I’ve got plans tonight and I need to head out early. Can you handle things on your own for a while. At least until the night shift comes in?”

“I’ll be fine.” Steve made sure not to acknowledge the crossword on his desk as he nodded. He was really good at his job, he was. He was also just, unfortunately, still a pretty shitty boyfriend and needed all the vocab help he could get. “What’s the pressing story?”

“I have dinner.” Hopper was already trying to walk out the door. “So  don’t  call me. For the love of God.”

“Oh, don’t worry, Chief. I--” Steve was sure it was the cool July wind that slammed the door on the last half of his sentence. Not Hopper. “won’t... Have a good time, I guess.”

The police station was empty: it was another boring and wonderfully quiet Monday in Hawkins. There’d been some calls to break up disturbances at city hall in the past few days, but somehow everyone just seemed to agree that Mondays-- the longest shift of Steve's whole week-- was the day everyone went about their quietest day.

There were a few officers milling in and out of the back lounge and front door, casting a quick glance to Steve as he muttered and threatened fourteen down and six across. Nancy had been helping close the gaps of his post-high school education-- without knowing just what for-- but had been picking up most hours at the Post to try and elbow her way into their good graces; it put his tutoring on hold. So here he was, groaning at some clues about classical artists he’d never heard of.

There were other reasons Steve was sure the other officers thought he was odd-- things he was  sure  his father had passed along in spitting rants-- but Steve didn’t mind. No one said anything to his face.

“Hey Flo! Is, uh, is Steve here?” The question was asked with the answer already in mind.

Steve sat up in his chair, twisting around to see down the hall to the back entrance to the station. There weren’t many parking spots to fill, but he knew a certain someone who preferred it to street parking.

“Jonathan?”

“Oh, I hear him. Thanks-- hey!” Jonathan hurried out from the hall, his camera bumping against his stomach and bag slapping against his leg in the same rhythm. He’d gotten a new haircut recently: semi-wonky bangs and a closer cut in the back. All thanks to Steve’s peer pressure and Mrs. Byers’s kitchen shears.

“What are you doing here?”

“Sorry to stop by your work like this--” he lowered his voice as he stopped at the corner of Steve’s desk. “I know we said we wouldn’t do that, but we got an extra muffin in the lunch order and I know you’re always starving after a Monday shift so.” Jonathan produced a folded brown paper bag from his satchel. “Here.”

“Oh, thanks.” Steve wanted to say so much more, but had to settle. No more. None of what they’d decided they wouldn’t say. Not until the summer had ended. They wanted to see if they lasted longer than the convenience of loose summer schedules.

“Won’t I see you, uh, later, though?” At eight, when Steve got sent home he always drove straight to Jonathan’s. Jonathan started late on Tuesdays and Steve had off; they had the time to waste. “Or is this your way of telling me to stay home?”

“No! No we’re still... hanging out.” Jonathan had gotten really good at cooking and treated Steve to weekly dinner. It was a nice gesture at first, but Steve started growing fond of the company. They both did around mid-June. “But, I think Mike’s going to be over so. Be  cool , alright? Keep it cool.”

“Cool, got it.” Steve leaned back in his chair. He moved his papers to leave a corner of his desk for Jonathan to sit on. No one was in the main office; it was a harmless invitation.

“I have to get going...” It sounded like an excuse, a dive for safety. “And I’m sure you have, um,  puzzles  to do?” Jonathan pretended not to be endeared. He tried, he really did. He  failed , but Steve pretended he didn’t notice.

“Don’t want to sit and help me figure out the title of Mozart’s last opera?” He patted the desk, daring to be more direct.

“I really have to go.” Jonathan was genuine, looking at his watch. “The Post only let me out early today because I have to go pick up Will from his doctor’s appointment.”

“Wait.” Steve put the cap back on his pen. “Isn’t Will’s therapy on Wednesday?”

“Yeah, but with Mom’s schedule and the store being all weird-- we had to move it to today. And you know we typically have a family night after-- so he feels okay, you know-- but we  can’t  . So,  that’s why Mike’s coming over. Hopefully they’ll be idiots and tire Will out and he’ll sleep okay.” Tension rose in Jonathan’s voice quickly, explaining his day as if going over a laundry list; never rehearsing it but having it memorized.

“I can stay home if you need time, Jonathan.”

“No, really. I want you to come over.” Jonathan sighed and placed his hand on the emptied spot on Steve’s desk. “Besides, you can’t break tradition after a little over  one month , then it was just a weird habit.”

Steve Harrington did not consider his summer fling a w  eird habit . If anything, it was the most sensical thing he’d done in a very long time. Even after getting rejected from all his colleges, and never hearing the end of his father’s lectures, 1985 had been very kind to him. And that was mostly due to Jonathan’s inherent nature to be the same.

“I’ll see you after eight.” Steve smiled and reached for his hand-- but averted to grab a piece of memo paper by the phone.

“I’m sorry to leave in a rush.” Jonathan hitched his bag up, checking his watch again. “I just, I really need to get going.”

“Don’t worry. The muffin is  more  than enough.” Steve said. “And seeing you wasn’t too bad either.”

“Slow day, huh?” Jonathan said. The corner of his mouth quirked with a flattered, embarrassed smile. Steve tried to act nonchalant, like he wasn’t so goddamn relieved to see a familiar and happy face. Especially  his  familiar and happy face. “Well, good thing I have another surprise for you.”

“You can barely fit your camera in that bag, what could you possibly-- hey!” Steve missed grabbing Jonathan’s arm as he walked away, heading for the front door. “Where are you going?” Jonathan kept walking, checking his watch the whole way. “Hello?”

“Delivered right on time.” Jonathan pushed the front door open to the station-- but was nearly knocked over as a green  dash  barreled through it.

"Steve! Steve! Steve!” The dash was suddenly grabbing him by the shoulders. “You got the job!”

“Henderson! Oh my god! You’re back!” In an unlikely impulse, Steve grabbed Dustin in a hug, taking advantage of the change of height. “Holy shit, I nearly forgot! First of the month!”

“See you, Steve.” Jonathan walked across the room to the back entrance again. His hand braced the back of Steve’s chair, brushing across his shoulders.

“O-Okay! Yeah, see you!” Steve sputtered, losing his reminded  cool  in an instant. “Bye.”

Dustin pulled away slowly. “What was that?” It looked like  everyone  was too smart for Steve.

“Nothing. He brought me a surprise lunch-- which was an  obvious decoy to the main event! You! How are you, buddy? How was camp?”

“Oh, it was fantastic. Steve, I  have  to show you all my inventions! Camp was the  best  four weeks  of  my  life .” Dustin hopped up onto the corner of his desk. His heels tapped against the empty metal drawers. He was jittery, nearly uncontainable, but still so composed-- if only to be focused all on Steve.

Steve held his hands out, letting him start. “Lay it on me, Henderson! I want to hear everything. I missed you like crazy.”

“Well, first, obviously. I have to tell you about my girlfriend--”

“Whoa! Whoa!  Girlfriend  ? That fast?” Steve hadn’t been expecting any of his dating advice to work. It had been coming from such a poor and confused part of himself, Steve figured it was destined to fail. Apparently, it was just  Steve  that was-- when flirting with women at least. “Damn, there’s something in you after all!”

“She’s  super  smart, Steve. I’ve never met any girl like her. She’s a genius and she’s so pretty. God, I miss her already-- and I  just  saw her.”

Steve looked over his shoulder. He knew the feeling. “That’s great, man. I mean, I’m super happy for you. Like, that’s  crazy . That’s freaking awesome.”

“So what about you? How are the ladies? I mean, you work for the  Chief  now. All the ladies you could need and more, am I right?”

Steve used to be really good at this part of the lie, but with Dustin it felt cheap. He didn’t need to lie to him, but that was the deal; no matter how much that person was Steve’s best and most beloved friend, their secret was a dead-bolt, vaulted secret.

“Eh, not too great. Only girl my own age I see-- besides Nancy, really-- is the night-shift girl, Robin. But she’s not really-- we’re just friends. She’s alright. Leaves me weird drawings in the memo pad.”

“Ooo, she sounds cool.” Dustin raised his eyebrows. “Do you know her from school?”

“Yeah, we didn’t really run in the same crowds but-- it’s not like that, man. It’s really not.” Steve started unwrapping his lunch. “It’s so not like that with Robin.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means I’m not...  looking  at the moment.”

Steve had originally decided to not go looking for trouble. After he and Nancy split in the beginning of his senior year, he didn’t start looking for an immediate replacement. The illusion of thinking he was in love with Nancy-- capable of being in love with Nancy-- was a hard thing to have come crumbling down. Steve needed time to get his own bearings, to put his feet firmly on the ground, and have them lifted off when his father grabbed him by the lapels and--

Steve hadn’t gone looking for trouble. Hadn’t gone looking for love either. But somehow, both seemed to find him.

Jonathan was late. He usually wasn’t but Will was trying not to be worried. It was a different day than usual and he knew how awful Jonathan’s boss and co-workers were. Will tried not to be worried-- he wasn't. It was just that he had spent an hour talking about the night his father left their family; standing outside the doctor’s office was a bit nerve-wracking. It felt too familiar, even with all the talking and note-scribbling.

Finally, Jonathan’s car pulled into the lot. He was speeding, as much as his car  could  speed: he knew he was late, which made Will feel a little bit better. No one had forgotten him. It was just traffic or his bosses or maybe just hitting all the red lights. As Jonathan stopped in front of the curb and waved Will in, Will could see he was jittery-- he was  upset  that he was late. Will felt bad for counting the minutes.

Not that he did it out of impatience or anything. Will just formed the habit after getting his new watch. It matched Mike’s. Completely on accident, of course.

“Hey, buddy! Sorry I’m late. I was-- I had to run an errand really fast. How long were you waiting.” He moved his bag and threw it onto the backseat. Will would’ve held it on his lap.

“I wasn’t keeping track.” Will said, climbing into the passenger seat. Will wanted to ask if his bag had Jonathan’s camera in it. If everything was okay. He didn’t. It seemed like Jonathan had been in his therapy with Will, just as shaken up. “It’s okay. Thanks for getting me.”

Jonathan waited until Will put on his seat belt. “Of course. We’re always here to pick you up. Therapy is important; you have to go.”

Will laughed before he could stop himself. “You sound like Mom.”  Why?

“Because she’s right.” Therapy was still kind of weird to Will-- since  no one else  in his grade had to do it-- but he humored his family. It was helping, if he had to admit it. But it was still embarrassing sometimes.

His therapist, Dr. Bright--  Rose Marie, as she insisted on being called-- was a send-out from the Lab, but disguised within a private practice just outside of town. She was able to listen to Will talk about what he saw and felt during his time with the Mind Flayer without trying to commit him. Almost nothing was off limits. Almost nothing.

Will checked his watch again.

“Are you excited to see Mike tonight?” The question was pointed, but Will wasn’t sure why it made him nervous. “I mean, I feel like I haven’t seen him in a bit.”

“Oh, yeah. He’s always with El.”

Will was sure they  weren’t  dating. El was just on a year-long stint of self-discovery and, besides Max, Mike was the person she trusted the most to help make as many helpful mistakes as possible. He bought her books to read and new music to try. It was really sweet, seeing Mike take such big strides toward helping their friend. But there was also a part of Will that felt dejected:  his  sort of help had to be prescribed and couldn’t be replaced with a warm laugh from one Mike Wheeler.

Will was sick while his friends were growing.

“Is there something wrong?” Jonathan used to ask the question like Will was one trembling lip away from crying-- but this time, he asked it like Will had his hand on the door, seconds from jumping out. “Will, are you okay?”

“Yeah.” Will nodded. “I’m fine. Just-- I talked a lot today and I’m tired.”

“Do you want to cancel with Mike--”

“No.” Will had been looking forward to having time with Mike--  just  Mike-- for a whole week. He wanted to sit on his floor with his best friend and be a kid again. Just for the night-- maybe draw some of Mike’s old campaigns or sketch out an idea for his own. He just wanted to remember something good about the past four years. After his hour with Dr. Bright, it all felt painful. Like his childhood naivety had been broken and every conversation he overheard in his house dripped with venom and disdain.

Will didn’t like picturing his house that way. It was a place that loved and raised him, a place he felt safe. He didn’t like thinking the conversations he heard being screamed through the walls were trapped in the drywall.

His arms felt heavy and his chest felt like it was made of metal-- he kept tasting it in his mouth. Will leaned back against the seat and reached for the radio. Jonathan turned it down before Will had even changed the station.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I just want to see Mike.” Will said, his mouth too honest and his mind shrouded in guilt. “I just want to see my friend.”

“Okay. Okay.” Jonathan nodded somewhat somberly. “I understand. Let’s go pick him up. He’s at his house right? Not El’s-- o-or The Sinclair’s or anything?”

“No. He’s at his.” Will crossed his arms and tried to find the loose string-- the thing that could uncoil Jonathan’s still-tightening anxiety. “Are you still dating Nancy?”

Jonathan turned to look at Will, nearly crashing the car. That was the wrong string. “What?”

“Nancy? Are you still dating her?”

“I was never dating Nancy.” Jonathan laughed, shaking his head. “I’m not dating Mike’s sister, don’t worry.” The clarification was strange and felt off-topic. Like Jonathan was trying to talk about something else.

“I thought you were. You guys hung out a lot during school.” Will heard her voice through the walls too. Always gentle, never yelling. Except when she was losing at playing cards. Then she shouted.

“She was helping me pass chemistry. That’s all.” Jonathan turned the radio up a little. Will checked his watch. “And then she helped me apply to the Post internship-- she’s great at writing papers, did you know that? A real wordsmith. Is Mike a writer too?”

He was, he  really  was. Grammatically, Will ran out of red pens trying to help, but creatively? Will envied Mike’s ability. “I don’t know. We don’t really talk about that kind of stuff like you two do… Since you two are dating.”

“We’re  not .” Jonathan laughed. Will took advantage of an upcoming stop sign to lean forward and look at his brother’s crimson face. “We’re not, Will, okay? We’re really not. I’d tell you.”

“You’d tell me?”

“Of course! I’d tell you if I… I had a girlfriend. Which I don’t!” He stayed at the stop sign for a bit too long. “Do you?”

There was an option to play dumb, to make Jonathan ask more directly:  do you have a girlfriend, Will ? but it sounded far more painful than being honest, than being as lonely as he was.

“No. I don’t.”

“And you’d tell me. If you were dating someone?” Jonathan looked at Will, hopeful but scarcely so. “You’ll tell me if anything big happens in your life?”

“Yeah.” There wouldn’t be anything happening at all that summer, that was for  damn sure . “Absolutely.”

Steve had about seventy percent of his puzzle done-- fifty of which was because Dustin was an unstoppable genius with no tolerance for Steve’s careful pace. It was just about quarter past seven, and Steve’s back was getting sore from sitting in his chair all day. He only liked sitting when it was in his car, on his way to the Byers's House, careful, of course, to obey all traffic laws.

Steve was packing his crosswords and pens up in the top drawer of his desk when something clattered the back door open. Steve grabbed a pen and whipped around in his seat, as if to wield it like a weapon.

“Hello? Who’s there?”

“Hey dingus.” Luckily, Steve couldn’t even see Robin yet-- or rather, she couldn’t see him or his emphasized eye roll. She could hear him groan though. “Hey, shut up and quit whining. I’m sending you home early.”

Her head popped out from the hallway. Robin’s ponytail was high on her head, the hair flopping over and getting caught in her stringy bangs. She flung her backpack out from behind her and tossed it toward Steve. She wasn’t in her uniform yet, only wearing the buttoned up shirt-- unbuttoned and showing her torn and dyed shirt underneath. She was wearing jogging shorts, her knees torn up and covered with Band-Aids. They reminded Steve of the ones taped to his face after getting a plate smashed into his forehead. Deceivingly cheerful.

“What are you doing here early?” Steve stood and followed her, holding her backpack awkwardly in his hands. “You’re  never  early.” Eight on the dot. Every time.

“I figure you want to get out of here tonight.” She didn’t even stop to look at Steve as they walked into the back room. “Probably want to see your boyfriend.”

Her words weren’t sharp, but Steve still recoiled. He let his arms, and her bag, hang by his sides.

“Who? Jonathan?” The only way Jonathan and Robin had ever met was in the hallways of Hawkins High. She definitely never saw them interact at the station-- or on any of their nights together: they were always indoors. “He’s  not my boyfriend.”

“First off, I didn't even say a name." Shit. "Second, he came in the other day looking for you.” Robin started buttoning her shirt up, fixing the collar as she finally turned to see Steve. “He was really upset-- didn’t even know what time it was to know you weren’t working.”

“Upset?” Technically, it wasn’t Steve’s problem. It was the deal; they didn’t  have  to care about each other’s lives. It was just summer. It was just like any other summer.

“Yeah. Crying, sniffling, snot-- the whole nine, man.” Robin sounded extremely sympathetic despite beginning to change her pants. Steve whipped around, covering his face. “You should go see him. Make sure he’s okay. Be a good boyfriend... shithead.”

“He’s  not--”

“Steve, I’m the last person you should be arguing with.” Robin laughed-- and it was only momentarily threatening. Until, of course, Steve realized what she meant.

Like all good secrets kept at Hawkins PD, Steve kept his mouth shut and nodded even if she wasn’t looking.

“Yes, sir--ma'am-- Robin.”

“So, are you going to go or what, dingus?” She tapped him on the shoulder. “Get out of here-- and tell me all about it Wednesday.”

Steve blinked at her, holding out her bag. As if it was enough thanks to give her back her own property. “Are we… friends, or something?”

“No, of course not.” She winked, slapping his arm. “Just looking out for one of my own.”

After picking Mike up from his house, they drove home in uncharacteristic chatter. Jonathan was the only one speaking, humming along to the radio. Will was exhausted beyond performative small talk; the type that had to be done between two best friends when a third party was present. Mike was great at just sitting with Will in silence, but Jonathan didn’t know that. Instead, the three of them passed around quiet jokes and laughter, answering questions about their friends for Jonathan’s upkeep of information.

Once they got in the house, Jonathan let them wander off into Will’s room as he started pulling pots out of the kitchen cabinets. He wouldn’t bother or pester them about any summer work, either. They would be left alone in their own coupled silence.

Mike was sitting cross-legged on Will’s floor, twisting one of Will's crayons between his fingers. Will needed new ones but he felt funny asking for them as a near-freshman in high school. He liked the glide of wax on paper compared to the scrape of colored pencils. Well, that and the fact he ruined half of his crayons the year prior making a full map of Hawkins in a fugue state and only had two crayons able to be used normally.

“You had doctor stuff today, right?”

Will was digging under his bed for his emptier sketch book. “Yeah. Therapy.  Doctor  doctor stuff was two weeks ago.”

“How was it?” Mike let his hand still and rest in his lap. “Like, what do you do in therapy? Just start talking?”

“Yeah, but it’s more than that. You have to think about stuff too. Doctors ask you questions, sometimes.” Will pulled back and drug his old drawing supplies along the carpet. He sat back on his heels and was able to see Mike over the top of the bed. He didn’t know Will was looking. “You have to have answers.”

“What do they ask about?” Mike kept looking at his hands, unaware of Will. “Upside down stuff?”

“Sometimes.” Will shuffled back around to Mike's side of the bed. He could feel the tiniest bit of rug burn starting. “She asked me about my dad today.”

Mike looked up, almost immediately. “Can she do that?”

“Why can’t she?” Will popped the lid on the retired Tupperware, now his art bin. “I talked about it.”

“I thought you didn’t like to.” Will had never said those words which meant Mike had gathered it from just observing him. “Did you… like talking about it?”

“Not really.” Will laughed. He found a few extra crayons, but of all the wrong colors. “She had this big speech afterward about learned helplessness that I… really didn’t like.” Will tried to keep laughing.

Mike put the crayon back in the bin. “Are you okay, Will?”

“Yeah. It’s just… the same old stuff.” Will shrugged. “Sometimes it just bothers me more than other days.”

Mike bit the inside of his cheek, picking at his words carefully. “You never talk about your dad, Will.”

“Why would I?”

“Because it bothers you. You can talk about anything you want-- I… I would listen.”

“You don’t have to listen to it just because it happened to me, you know. My therapist says you don’t have to experience things with me for them to be real.”

“But I want to know.” Mike looked insulted, almost crushed and collapsed as he sat back on his hands. “That’s your dad,” he said. “And you’re my friend.”

They sat in silence for a while. Mike went back to studying a new crayon, picking at the wrapper. Will felt something forming in his throat. A bubble that was hot, thick and sticky. Not vomit, but not impending tears either.

“I don’t get why he left.” Will said. “I don’t know what happened to our family.”

“Nothing happened. Maybe he just… wasn’t good at being your dad anymore.”

“But then why? What did I do?” Will didn’t want to ask Mike, make him feel responsible for answering, but Will was desperate to ask the universe again.

“Nothing.” Mike said. “I just think he…”

“He what? My dad got tired of me? Didn’t want to raise me?”

“Maybe he actually learned how to take a hint and knew he wasn’t good enough for you and Jonathan-- or your mom.” Mike wanted to be hopeful, to be positive, so badly. He ached, his smile tight and weak. He didn't have the answers, and who was Will to put him in the position to come up with them.

“So he gave up.” Will said.

“That’s not what I meant--”

“I know. I know… That’s just how it feels.” Will shrugged. He smiled at Mike, accepting his help and his warmth. It hurt knowing that Mike was wrong, but still. Will could always pretend a little longer. Anything for Mike.

“Hey! You monsters hungry?” Steve clapped his hands together before gently tapping the door. “Jonathan’s got dinner on the table.”

The door was open. Steve didn’t have to knock. He wanted to, just to prove he wasn’t  too  comfortable, but he also knew Mike was over. And knocking would announce his entrance rather than letting it just be something that just  was  . Rather than being  cool .

Awkwardly and with a lot of weird, throat-clearing fanfare, Steve opened the Byers’s front door and poked his head inside. Jonathan called him in from the kitchen without even needing to say hello, or being surprised by his walking in:  In here, Steve! Dinner’s almost done .

Steve walked through the living room carefully, as if he’d disturb it. There was a tape playing softly-- some band Steve’s never heard of, but didn’t hate. He’d grown to like the way that every song played in the Byers house was always moody and melancholy. The music was always the opposite of how he felt stepping into the kitchen.

Jonathan was at the stove, stirring a pot of something that smelled delicious. He had what looked to be tomato sauce stains on the front of his shirt-- where he wrapped his hand up to open the sauce jar. Steve was able to hide his smile as he shouldered off his uniform jacket and toed off his shoes, claiming a chair at the kitchen table.

“How was work?” Jonathan didn’t stop stirring. He moved like the stove was turned all the way up and he was afraid of burning the food. He spoke that way too.

“It was fine. Not a whole lot.” Steve didn’t want to have anything seem bigger than whatever upset Jonathan-- and seemed to still be upsetting him now. “How was your day?”

“Fine. Will and Mike are in the other room.” He was checking things off his list. Steve stepped up to Jonathan and stood even with him at the stove. He was making one-pot pasta. It really did smell fantastic. Steve was so hungry, even after his lunch.

“How was… the other things in your day? Develop any good pictures?” Steve covered how stupid he sounded by placing his hand on Jonathan’s lower back.

Jonathan stopped stirring and looked at him. Steve tried to keep cool, tried not to show his motives-- his attempt to calm something he couldn’t believe he’d missed spinning out of control, even if he didn’t know what it was. “Nancy walked into the dark room today-- she’s actually the one who gave me the muffin-- and she exposed the photos to light too early. So no, actually.”

Steve really was a bad boyfriend. Even when he wasn’t one yet-- or at all.

“Okay… how was. Everything else?”

“You don’t have to ask about my day, Steve. It’s okay.” Jonathan sighed and spoke evenly. “I’m just a little tired. Really. We don’t have to do the whole…  thing .”

The whole thing where Steve was explicit about how much he really cared about Jonathan and admitted he was sincerely and terrifyingly in love with Jonathan.

“I was asking because I was curious. Not out of obligation.” Steve clarified. His hand slid to rest on Jonathan’s hip. He moved closer, lips aiming to place a commitment-less kiss on his cheek.

“Steve! I said to keep it  cool .” Jonathan ducked back, placing a hand on Steve’s chest. “I don’t want Will to see us.”

“Your brother?” Steve was surprised; of all people Jonathan explicitly wanted to hide from Will seemed kind and forgiving-- not that there was anything  to  forgive, but it was something Steve often checked for. Steve was sure that one of Dustin’s friends would be… like Steve. Or like Jonathan-- maybe. All of them seemed prepared to deal with any of their friends suddenly being different. Far more prepared than Steve ever was.

“Yes. My brother.” Jonathan snapped, banging the spoon against the edge of the pot. “I don’t want him to learn I’m not dating Nancy but  instead  seeing her ex-boyfriend in the same day.” he whispered.

“Wait, what? He thinks you’re with Nancy?” Steve wasn’t sure where they went wrong. They were trying to  obscure  the truth, not lead everyone to a different reality. “D-Do you think Mike does too?”

“I don’t know! I didn’t want to ask and seem weird.” Jonathan sighed again. He sounded tense again. “I told Will I’d tell him if I was seeing anyone… And he promised me the same.”

Steve knew not to press the obvious question-- well   are  you seeing someone, Jonathan?  -- but also didn’t want to touch the obvious implication that Will  needed  to share a secret with Jonathan. Instead, he placed his hands into his pockets and turned to lean against the counter.

“Dinner smells really good, Byers.” There was another name that began with “B” that Steve wasn’t allowed to use, but always wanted to. Byers Byers Byers. Baby baby baby. “Thank you, again, for cooking for me-- for us.”

“You think I’m going to let you starve?” His stirring slowed; the stove cooled down. He nudged Steve’s arm with the spoon. “You coming home late and trying to cook? You mean half-drinking a beer and falling asleep face down on your bed in your uniform, half unbuttoned.”

“You picture that often, Byers?” Steve lifted an eyebrow. “Hm?”

“Don’t flatter yourself.” Jonathan’s lips quirked into a smile again. “But, if you’d like a beer, I think there’s one in the fridge. No one in the house is going to touch it.”

“I can go ask Will if he wants it.”

“Shut up-- do you want it or not?”

“No.” Steve didn’t like drinking when they were together. He’d never really heard the full story about where Mr. Byers went, but he had a father of his own to make those blank spaces fill pretty fast. “But thanks. Don’t want the habit of needing a beer to forget how boring my job is.”

“I thought you liked your job?” Jonathan took a piece of pasta out of the pot and held it out for Steve to test.

He chewed and answered. “I do! It’s nice to have normal hours-- and I’m happy to help have replacements as Flo gets ready to retire but… I don’t know. Sometimes it feels  boring .”

“Would you rather be chasing down a four-legged monster without a face?” Jonathan let out a bubble of genuine laughter, playfully glaring at Steve.

“Frankly, yes! At least we’d all have something to do. I feel like I don’t see everyone anymore.”

“Then throw a party. Don’t wish for anything bad to happen.” Jonathan said firmly. “Let the record show my brother is a very strange magnet for all this… weird shit.”

“You’re right, I’m sorry.” Steve said solemnly. He put his hand on Jonathan’s forearm. “I wish we were all safely doing something exciting. It felt nice to be needed, even if no one knew it was us.”

Jonathan put the spoon down on the counter and pivoted to be looking only at Steve. There was something resting just on the tip of his tongue, just under the surface of their conversation. It would’ve been a digression-- Steve could tell by Jonathan’s tense and furrowed brow-- but he would’ve listened.

“Jonathan?” Steve squeezed his arm, lifting his eyebrows. “What is it?”

“I--” He clenched his jaw, trying to swallow his words. “I think--” Steve knew there was no end to Jonathan’s sentence; merely starting it meant there was trust between them. A careful admission through omission. Steve knew Jonathan was looking at his shoes and wouldn’t be seen as he took in the secret flinches of Jonathan’s face. The crinkle by his left eye, the twitch of his mouth, double blinking--

They both jumped apart as the phone started ringing, practically shaking on the wall. Jonathan stepped away from Steve and left everything unsaid. Again.

Jonathan tucked the phone between his ear and shoulder as he turned to lean against the wall.

“Hello? This is--” His face changed sharply, his eyebrows furrowing. “I told you to stop bothering us. You’re lucky she’s not here to pick up the phone-- I don’t  care !” Jonathan cleared his throat and looked at Steve in a flash of uncertainty and anxiety. “I have the police here right now and if you don’t stop calling me I will send them to your house-- it’s not a threat if you’re the one bothering us. Stop. Calling.” He slammed the phone down and braced his weight against the wall with his other hand.

“Am I considered ‘the police’ now?” Steve said lightly. It was his way of letting Jonathan know he was listening, but not asking direct questions. “I’m not even allowed to have a badge.”

“It counts.” Jonathan said, letting his arms fall down by his sides. Steve stepped over and kept stirring dinner.

“Who was that?”

“No one. Can you go get the boys in the other room? Dinner’s ready.” Jonathan pushed Steve aside to hunch over the stove again.

“Sure.” Steve nodded, knowing he wasn’t seen. “Hey! You monsters hungry? Jonathan’s got dinner on the table.”

Dinner felt weird.

Will couldn’t help but feel like he and Mike had gotten into a fight. Talking about his dad made anything feel sticky, feel like it was violent or volatile. A second from snapping or tearing off, bouncing around the walls and echoing in Will's body. A small conversation between friends-- actually a little  understanding  between  best  friends-- felt like it had been a screaming match, all because it was cut off. There was no apology from Will. He didn't have the chance to tie it all up with an  I’m sorry, I’m really sorry, forget I said anything.

His plea sat heavy on his tongue as he talked to Steve-- who had arrived without notice-- and let Mike make him laugh so hard he nearly shot water out his nose. Will let it all happen under the tremor, the ache, of an apology. And maybe, if he was the best brother and friend he should’ve been, no problems or therapy, it would be enough of an apology.

He wasn't hungry and only ate half his serving of pasta, even though it was usually his favorite of Jonathan's recipes. He did apologize for that though, and it felt right to say aloud. Even if it was misdirected and no one heard it.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry I'm so so sorry. Please come back--

Mike wasn’t tired, Will knew, but he still wanted to go to bed right after their horror movie ended. It was clear Mike hadn't been paying attention to the movie; the entire plot was that dreams were a new horror-scape for monsters to get teenagers. It wasn't too scary to Will; it just felt familiar. The villain looked different, more human, but Will knew what it felt like to dream while wide awake. To watch and be unable to do anything but scratch at the surface--

Convincing Will to get ready for bed, Mike said they’d have all day in the morning. He said that maybe he could convince his mom to let him stay over again if they don’t get all their fun in. Will knew Mike's mom probably would, if only because she felt bad for Will. But he would take the pity. A sleepover wasn't the worst thing to get from pity.

Will could still hear Mike fidgeting in his sleeping bag. He was rubbing his feet together like a cricket and twisting his wristwatch. The plastic scratched the sheer material of his sleeping bag rhythmically: back and forth. back and forth. backandforthbackandforth. It was like Mike was counting the ticks of his silent digital watch. Will began to play with his own watch, keeping it on in bed only because he'd noticed Mike hadn't removed it when they were brushing their teeth that night; apparently the watch was too good to part with.

Time though, was something Will wished he could separate himself from. He could hear the seconds scraping by now. Every moment he kept his friend awake and bored because Will was too weak or (rather and) too  everything  to stay up late again.

Therapy hadn’t even been that bad. Not really. Maybe it could be exhausting but it didn’t count because Will sat in the same spot for an hour. It wasn’t real work. It shouldn’t have counted. Will should’ve been able to hang out with his friend until sunrise, getting in trouble with his mom for being up so late. He should’ve still been a stupid, carefree kid, not a by-gone troubled teenager.

Maybe his dad had seen that from the beginning. Will's dad was always gambling, betting on baseball games he had these incredible "feelings" on. Sometimes he was wrong, but when he was right it was an amazing prediction; having the foresight no one else had. And maybe that was what it was, leaving them when he did. Maybe he saw Will wouldn’t be the second son he wanted after all. Maybe he knew of all the damage that would be done to him, the damage he would cause. Probably saw it from miles-- years-- away. And he left without a single warning to any of it.

What if his father had known? Could've known where he was when he came back into town two years ago? Not gone forever just in the lights. Just out of reach, just through the wall, Dad. What if he had known, been able to see, able to know, but wanted to leave Will Down there being possessed and enveloped and consumed and--

Will felt a chill scurry down his back. The feeling almost had legs. Too many. He felt ice cold, his body going blank-- not numb, but  blank -- for a second. He couldn’t feel his fingers, but could still feel every inch of his body, suddenly pulsing and seizing.

"Will?" Mike asked, sitting up. He gripped the end of the bed and pulled his face closer to Will's. He squinted in the darkness, feeling for Will’s hand. Will couldn’t answer, his jaw tense and breath rattling out of him. "Will, what’s wrong?"

After a (thankfully) non-awkward dinner, Steve and Jonathan washed all the dishes and let the boys watch whatever movie they wanted. Steve didn’t pay attention to what tape he put in the VRC. He was too busy thinking about the hands hidden in the warm soapy water in the kitchen sink. Neither Mike nor Will seemed too bothered by the  disgusting  amount of blood or the scary blade man on the TV. He felt no regret letting them go to bed right after the credits rolled. Jonathan had looked exhausted after putting the last dish away, and dozed off during the climax of the movie-- even slept through the high-pitched screaming.

They waited for the sound of Will’s door closing over before they got into bed.

Jonathan flopped onto his back, a pillow resting between his chest and crossed arms. Steve laid on his side, bracing his weight on his elbow. He poked at Jonathan's furrowed eyebrow lightly.

"What's the problem, Byers?"

"Nothing."

"You are not a really great liar, you do know that right?" That and Steve could still hear Robin's blasé recounting of Jonathan's distress.  Yeah. Crying, sniffling, snot-- the whole nine, man.

Jonathan sighed and turned to look at Steve. He hated being called out. "It's about Will."

"What's wrong with Will? He seemed alright at dinner."

"Yeah, but," Another sigh. "Steve, I think my brother’s gay."

Steve's first response was swallowed and he nodded. "Okay. Okay. And, um, what's the issue with that?" He adjusted himself on the bed, hoping there was more subtlety in that.

"I can't talk to him about it. I mean," Jonathan smiled and reached to touch his face. "This is a very different thing than being fourteen and confused."

"Who says he's confused?"

"I don't mean with himself-- the rest of the world is so confusing, Steve. You see the news... I can't talk to him. I didn't grow up like that. And being with you is... Different. We dated girls before. Will... I don't know. I think he knows already."

"You think he's got feelings for--"

"Oh absolutely." Jonathan nodded, closing his eyes. "Oh, I'm so glad it's not just me who sees it."

"Hopefully Wheeler does too."

"Hey, keep your voice down, he's only a few rooms over ."

"Sorry. Sorry. Me and my big mouth " Steve rested his head on Jonathan's shoulder. "Shut me up, maybe."

"Not until my mom gets back." Jonathan said, rolling up onto his side too. "If I catch her when she comes in the door, she won't come into my room to say good night. I can't have you distracting me until then."

"Your mom is on a date. She's an adult and so are you." Steve kissed Jonathan's shoulder. "You are a working man who just finished a long day at work-- I think you can cuddle up with your boyf--" Steve choked on his own stupidity, feeling his face go red and charisma die on impact. "With me."

"I will. Once my mom is back." Jonathan kissed Steve, as if a parting promise. Only to backtrack on his words immediately. He tucked Steve’s hair back behind his ear, his hands trying not to hold his face. “No--  no . Steve, not until my mom gets back.”

“I can keep an ear out--” As Steve spoke, the power in his bedside lamp dimmed. The power hummed quietly before flickering back up. Jonathan tensed and pushed himself up in bed.

“Did you see that?”

“Yeah, it was just the light, Byers. It’s windy out tonight, maybe a tree brushed a powerline.” Steve pushed Jonathan back down to his pillow-- and back into his own skin again. “It’s  nothing  . What if I turn out the light? Your mom won’t even  see  us in here.”

“No. No, I have to wait for her.”

“What if she doesn’t come back?”

“What!” Jonathan jerked upright again.

“I  meant  what if she’s at Hopper’s or something?” Steve shrugged. “She’s an adult.”

“Steve, that’s my  mom .” Jonathan hissed, swatting at the hand resting on his shoulder.

“I  meant  because she drove there on her own. If she had some wine, maybe she stayed somewhere and is being a smart, responsible parent.” Steve soothed. “Something you don’t have to be right now. You’re not Will’s parent and you aren’t your own. Lay down, will you?”

Jonathan was reluctant, but let Steve ease him back down again. He pulled the pillow tighter to his chest and sighed, his crossed arms sinking deeper. Steve laid down beside him, nose gently touching the end of his shoulder. As he breathed, his short exhales tickled Jonathan’s skin and got him giggling. It was Steve’s secret trick; something that always worked because Jonathan didn’t know it was a pattern-- didn’t know he was ticklish.

“Sorry I was weird today.” Jonathan said suddenly. He wasn’t even grinning.

“What?” They didn’t apologize. There was no need. “You’re worried about stuff-- it’s okay.”

“No, I like our dinners. And I was so uptight. I don’t know. I’m sorry.”

“Okay.” Steve didn’t know what to do with the sentiment. “Apology accepted?”

Jonathan sighed again, blowing it out slowly between his pressed lips. “Lonnie called today.”

“L- your  dad ? Is that who was on the phone?” Steve wasn’t sure what came over him-- or his body-- as he placed an arm over Jonathan’s waist and pulled them together. There was something unspokenly intimate talking about abusive fathers while being nearly sutured together in bed, but Steve pretended he was just having problems hearing Jonathan correctly.

“Yeah.” Jonathan turned, his nose brushing Steve’s. “Said he wants custody of Will. He doesn’t trust Mom, he said.”

“How is he-- He can’t do that.”

“He’s going to try. I don't know where it came from. He still thinks he can win a case because the news says Will just  disappeared into the woods . Like he ran away from us or something.”

“Everyone knows that’s not true.”

“A court might not.” Jonathan sighed, ducking his head down. Steve resisted lifting his chin to hook it over Jonathan’s head, nestling him into his neck. He laid still, listening to his breathing and the gentle creaking of the house--

Jonathan's door was thrown open, both men sitting up quickly, ready to defend themselves and their actions. It was Mike, in his pajamas with his hair sticking out in wild curls. Will stood just behind him in the hallway looking far more awake. Stilted and untousled.

"Mike?"

"Jonathan, quick!"

"What is it?" Jonathan swung his legs around and motioned both boys to come in. "Will?" Mike pushed him into the center of the door frame, although he remained in the hallway, in the light. Will’s hand grabbed at the back of his neck. His face was blank and his eyes were distant.

"Something's wrong." Will said slowly, blinking to focus. "I feel him."

"Feel who?" Jonathan kneeled in front of Will, holding his shoulders. "Feel who, Will?"

"Dad."

[timecryptid]

I might do the 2017 version if I’m desperate. But I’m going to the 2021 version next.

This one’s only an hour, which I knew from my earlier mishap. This one is a lot quieter. The opening animation is pretty good.

I just carried everything I needed with me in high school and most of middle school. The only reason I didn’t one year was because they forced us to use our lockers.

Because you missing is the worst part.

Fregley is totally queer coded.

Susan is better in the older live action movies. Yes for milf factors.

Greg is not a good friend.

I do kind of like Rodricks voice actor. Oh my god he’s my age!

The cheese touch shit is still weird.

Rodrick is kind of an asshole but more nice in a weird way then the movie.

I think Rowleys neurodivergency is shown more in this one.

Joshie feels like a combination of Justin Biebers looks and the weird purity culture shit of the Jonas Brothers.

I just realised the not like other girls girl from the first movie just disappeared. Wonder if she’ll show up here and then disappear again.

I think middle schoolers are more interest in how hot you are. And of course things like social media and hair count I guess. But you’re starting to become romantically and sexually interested in other people.

I sat outside and then sat in the art room at lunch. Where the cool kids were.

I need more stories where it’s all in the kids head and no one cares about this shit. Sure you have bullies and the like but no one cares or will hear if you want to play.

I tricker or treated until my last year of high school. Right before Covid.

Rodrick is going to a high school party? Oh he’s definitely going to get drunk.

I also never had anyone say I was too old to trick or treat. Has anyone ever had that said to them.

The goat man? That’s so stupid.

Seriously this movie needs more Rodrick.

Mannys “Busted” was so cute!!

I was only ever in one club in middle school and then nothing. And I did perfectly fine.

I feel like Greg is a little nicer in this one. Like he’s still an asshole but less of an asshole.

I think Greg was listening to his inner voice. His inner voice was just not nice.

Wait so Zoo Wee Mama was made by Greg in this one? It was Rowleys invention in both the book and the original movie. Why did they change that? It makes Rowley look like kind of a dick. Okay the whole comic section thing is bad in this. Like this is a genuine slight against Greg, Greg has a reason to be upset here.

Was Greg just too mean in the original for them so they had to make him nicer in this one? He’s too sanitary for me. Not enough of a dick.

Also Fregley has a cool ass house. I would love to have an old creepy house.

The voice actors are really good in this. The main ones sound like the original actors.

This weird scene with Fregley and Greg feels like it would have had an sa scene if it weren’t for this being a kids movie.

Just say you’re going to kick their ass.

Why were their three blanks before the cheese part?

I mean technically if he ate the cheese he wouldn’t have touched it.

I mean the original is iconic but this one was a decent remake/adaptation. Though I miss when they would have cool stuff through out the credits. Tomorrow is the last Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie I’m watching. For now at least.

[saltycharacters]

i love love LOVE your designs sm, esp your lion characters! theyre so unique! did any of them take a lot of trial and error to design just right? and if so, which one(s)? theres gotta be fiddling with different concepts to some degree for all of them id think, but i imagine some mightve been harder to come up with than others?

((ps: i like your content and send asks pretty frequently, and from what i can tell, you seem like such a kind and genuinely cool person!! your work is also a big inspo for a younger artist like me!! i hope life has been treating you well!))

Aaaaah thank you!!!! Very flattered to hear that my work has made an impact on you :,]

As for the lions, I actually designed most of them once and right as I drew them, only having a vague idea of what I wanted beforehand. When I went on my lion designing spree, I specifically had a paper with some quick sketches of lion mane ideas and what they were meant to look like, such as a sunflower or egg- everything else was thought of on the spot. However, technically not all of these lions were invented within one year- about half I've actually owned for a long time, and were either pre-existing lion ocs or characters I redesigned into lions. Those were easier to because I already had some groundwork to work off of. Here's some examples;

All that said, I think the lions i struggled with the most were Molian and Ravencrow. Both technically came from old ocs, but I had trouble perfecting the balancing act between preserving that nostalgia and coming up with something fresh and good looking- I'm still not quite happy with either. Molian has way too much going on and RavenCrow's colors could use adjustment.

[canary3d-obsessed]

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed Episode 10 second part

(Masterpost) (Other Canary Meta)

Warning: Spoilers for All 50 Episodes!

Unclean Realm

Lan Wangji has a Louis Henry Sullivan moment on seeing the Nie family home, becoming enraptured by its overwrought monumental architecture after a lifetime of restrained good taste and single-story buildings.

He approaches the fortress with the expression of delighted wonder that he usually reserves for when he’s looking at the moon or at Wei Wuxian.

Wei Wuxian is like, yep that’s a building, all right, but he supports Lan Wangji’s kinks.  

Meng Yao tells them about the Wen Clan directive, and has what appears to be a moment of genuine, affectionate amusement at Nie Huaisang’s reaction.

Jiang Cheng kinda blames the Lans for inventing the whole “indoctrination” thing and for encouraging his brother’s disaster bi tendencies. Wei Wuxian responds by complimenting the Lan Clan, almost like someone who met his true love got some real value out of the instruction he received there.  

(more after the cut)

One of the great ironies of this story is that Wei Wuxian sort of becomes a rogue Lan disciple because of his relationship with Lan Wangji. He relies on Lan temperament techniques, uses music as a primary cultivation method, has committed all of the Lan rules to his supposedly terrible memory and cites them on multiple occasions, and is an important mentor for the younger generation Lan disciples. Because Hanguang-Jun is just that good in bed.

Xue Yang in the background of this conversation is channeling OP’s church-enduring, school-enduring inner 10-year-old.

Nie Mingjue, Chifeng-Zun, appears, and couldn’t be more different than his brother. On first watching this episode, I saw him as a grumpy, sexy, very emotional leather daddy man who is quick to anger. Rewatching, I see someone who’s struggling with a growing illness...the resentful energy kind.

Nie Mingjue’s handling of resentful energy is very different from Wei Wuxian’s straightforward interest and acceptance. NMJ has a traditional cultivator’s view of it, regarding it as evil and as something to resist, while he is literally carrying it on his back. He’s like a secret alcoholic who is preaching temperence, and can’t find a way to be reconciled with himself.  

At this point of the story, Nie Mingjue is keeping it together, but is under a hell of a lot of stress, and Baxia’s blood thirst is already maybe a problem.

The Yunmeng bros think that Nie Huaisang’s fear of his brother is hilarious, because they don’t understand the situation. They think he’s just living in a hideously toxic family dynamic like theirs, when actually he’s in a loving, sorta healthy, if parentless, family that is being crushed under a generational curse.

Compliments for the Yunmeng Bros

I’m not the first meta poster to notice how happy Jiang Cheng is to be praised by Nie Mingjue.

He never gets this at home. Jiang Yanli praises him, but in that watery “you tried your best” way that doesn’t really stick.  Nie Mingjue’s praise really means something, because he is a fearsome warrior and stern authority figure. And this is a double compliment, because Nie Mingjue says he heard it from Lan Xichen, and agrees with it.

Let’s Make Terrible Decisions

Keep Xue Yang alive, says Wei Wuxian, and Meng Yao immediately agrees, although I’m pretty sure he would have proposed that even if WWX hadn’t.

So they do, not realizing that “kill him later” is never a good plan for someone who 1. super needs killing 2. has a whole lot of death-dealing skills.

Future clan leader Jiang Cheng notices how smart and talented Meng Yao is.  Xue Yang finds it hilarious when the trio praises Meng Yao, possibly because their evil team up is already underway.

Boss’ Bed Warmer Son of a Ho

The constant insults toward Meng Yao are about his mom, but there’s another level of leering implication, that Meng Yao seems to encourage in his conversation with the soon-to-be-murdered guard captain.

Nie Mingjue elevated him way above his expectations, and he is ridiculously pretty, which has to create rumors. In the Nightless City scenes when he’s fondling Baxia and telling Nie Mingjue’s family secrets there’s definitely a sense of intimacy that’s not just “loyal retainer.”

I feel like maybe this whole exchange is a bit of theater designed to show Xue Yang something without showing it to anyone else. Meng Yao didn’t need to have this conversation in front of his prisoner.

Let’s Do Exactly What We Said We Wouldn’t

Once the younger quartet are alone with Nie Mingjue, Wei Wuxian crosses the room away from his friends and practically into Lan Wangji’s pocket, if Lan Wangji had pockets.

He has no pockets and also has no personal bubble any more, when it comes to Wei Wuxian.

We could make a weapon out of Yin Iron, Wei Wuxian says, completely forgetting his entire conversation with Lan Yi, apparently. Lan Wangji doesn’t argue with this idea.

Nie Mingjue warns Wei Wuxian not to try it.

I stabbed a man in Qinghe just to watch him die

Nie Mingjue is like the Johnny Cash of the cultivation world, carrying the weight of his poor choices and trying to steer the young folk to the path of righteousness. But--like Johnny Cash--his bad choices have made him really fucking cool, so he isn’t very good at deterring anybody.

Meng Yao Didn’t Come Here to Make Friends

Immediately after Meng Yao’s fellow Nie clan people call him “son of a whore” again, Wei Wuxian meets him, is nice to him, addresses him by his military title, bows to him, asks why he’s away from the party, and thanks him for his service.

But Meng Yao has already decided to make friends with Xue Yang, so Wei Wuxian goes onto his list of people that he doesn’t give a crap about except if they can be useful to him.  Then Meng Yao goes to make out hatch a plot with Xue Yang.

I’ll Sleep On Your Roof

Meeting SongXiao seems to have done away with the last of Lan Wangji’s resistance to his connection with Wei Wuxian.

He hears a noise on the roof and, when realizing it’s Wei Wuxian, he smiles one of his tiny reserved smiles before heading outside.

When he sees Wei Wuxian drunkenly sprawled on the roof, limbs akimbo, wine on his chin and neck, mouth full of poetry about the open road, Lan Wangji gives him the most fond look imaginable.

Then he reluctantly leaves, with his signature “say goodbye, but only when he can’t hear you” thing.

They’ve both come a really long way since their first meeting. Wei Wuxian is openly and vocally attaching himself to Lan Wangji...but is not actually entering his space or asking for anything from him; he just wants to be near him, and wants to let him know that. “I’ll sleep on your roof tonight.”

And Lan Wangji just...loves him. Wei Wuxian is drunk, embarrassing, demonstrative, eager to make a hell weapon out of yin iron, touchy feely, and absurdly sexy. And Lan Wangji is pretty okay with all of that.

I Might Have Been Drunk

Wei Wuxian carefully avoids telling Jiang Cheng where he was last night.

Even if he did get blackout drunk, he would have woken up on Lan Wangji’s roof. And I don’t think he was as drunk as that. He just knows Jiang Cheng wouldn’t like the truth.

Wen Fucking Chao, Again

Wen Chao shows up to be annoying and boring.  This leads to a pretty good fight between Nie Mingjue and Wen Zhuliu. Note that when the chips are down, Nie Huaisang stands with his Gege without any cowering. Almost as if he had hidden reserves of bravery, and is not as helpless as he lets on.

Wen Zhuliu isn’t styled to be super hot, although he’s certainly compelling, and in Dance of the Phoenix he looks good with sensitive-guy hair wispies. I wonder what actor Feng Mingjing looks like out of character?

BRB, adding a tag to my follow list

Battle Bros

When the fighting breaks out, the Yunmeng brothers are decisive and united, with Wei Wuxian giving orders to Jiang Cheng and JC following without hesitation.

I feel like if these two could have gone through a few big battles together, instead of being separated during most of the Sunshot campaign, their whole relationship would have improved. On the battlefield, they respect, trust, and understand each other.  

The Pointy End

Nie Mingjue is holding his own against Wen Zhuliu, but he gets distracted by Meng Yao hollering “Xue Yang has escaped” and then shanking the guard captain right in front of him.

Wen Zhuliu takes advantage of the distraction to aim a very slow stab at Nie Huasang, and Meng Yao jumps in front to get stabbed on his behalf.

When the Yunmeng bros show up to help NMJ, Wen Zhuliu immeiately yanks Wen Chao back behind him and points his sword at Wei Wuxian. He absolutely sees these two as a serious threat.  Considering that eventually WWX is going to kill Wen Chao while JC kills Wen Zhuliu, this concern is not misplaced.

Wei Wuxian tells Wen Chao to stop being such a jerk, and Wen Chao menaces Wei Wuxian and gloats about the burning of cloud recesses. The burning, that is, of some part of cloud recesses that doesn’t include the library, the Jingshi, the main cultivation chamber, the rabbit warren, or Lan Qiren’s house, unless the Lan Clan is really really good at rebuilding things to very exact specifications.

In a rare moment of seeing Meng Yao’s internal thoughts, he is worried about Lan Xichen when he hears about cloud recesses.

The Yelling Part

Now we have the particularly nasty breakup between Nie Mingjue and Meng Yao. It’s...got some layers. Meng Yao is cowering on the floor, but is not apologizing.

He never apologizes throughout this encounter.

孟瑤無悔  - Meng Yao (has) no regrets

This scene is amazing and excruciating to watch, even more when you know what’s ahead.

What the Fuck is Meng Yao’s Plan

On one level this is Meng Yao, manipulative sociopath, setting up a cover story for his aiding and alliance with Xue Yang.  On another, this is Meng Yao, loving subordinate, being tossed aside by his lord because he dared to stand up for himself.

He uses the same “scout’s honor” gesture we’ve seen Wei Wuxian use to swear he’s telling the truth. Wei Wuxian is always lying when he uses this gesture.

I’m...not sure exactly what Meng Yao’s plan is, with all these chess moves? By stabbing the captain in front of NHS, he created an opportunity to plant a cover story about Xue Yang’s escape. He might be hoping that Nie Mingjue will forgive him and keep him on, while Xue Yang can stay in his back pocket to be used later.

Dry eyes? Try Visene

Or he might be intending to get kicked out, given his non-apology. In any case, Nie Mingjue is weeping during this encounter, and Meng Yao...isn’t. He is signaling distress in his voice, expression, and body language, but his eyes are dry up until the last moment, and even then they just glisten a bit. In a show where every actor is an expert at crying on cue, that’s got to be a deliberate choice.

Which isn’t to say that Meng Yao is faking being full of emotion in this scene. It’s just that the emotion isn’t necessarily sorrow.

What Does Nie Mingjue’s Head Think

Flip the view and this is about Nie Mingjue being betrayed by a subordinate, who has turned out to be a self-serving murderer. And on another level it’s Nie Mingjue being betrayed by his lover, who was just using him for advancement.

I rewatched the later episode where we get the scene as Nie Mingjue’s head perceived it, and he’s particularly brokenhearted and disillusioned from his head’s POV.  In that version there is a telling addition to the conversation.

Nie Mingjue asks about the guys who were roasting Meng Yao behind his back. He asks, if I hadn’t come, would you have murdered all of them?

Um. No, dude. Of course fucking not. That’s what a patriarchal authority does. That’s the way an angry Nie Mingjue/Baxia team might solve a problem.

Meng Yao has to use subterfuge to kill his enemies. And while he super hates being called “son of a whore” it’s absolutely not enough to make him kill someone, with the risk murder brings. Likewise, being treated well isn’t enough to make him spare someone. Nie Mingjue totally doesn’t get this, because he’s been the patriarch of this clan his entire adult life.

And Here’s the Actual Problem

There is a betrayal here, but Nie Mingjue is not simply a victim.  Whether it’s a sexual relationship or a non-sexual bond of affection, there can be nothing solid in Nie Mingjue and Meng Yao’s relationship within a feudal society, because it is fundamentally unequal. Even if they love each other deeply - which I’m not convinced either of them does - every encounter they have is tainted with power dynamics.

Meng Yao has been elevated by Nie Mingjue and quite probably taken into his bed, as well as being told many family secrets, but has not been given a new surname (like, for example, Wen Zhuliu was) or independent power. More importantly, Nie Mingjue has not used his authority to remove or punish the many people who disrespect his subordinate.  Lan Qiren would have had all of those gossipy fuckers kneeling in the snow, and Wen Ruohan would feed them to his mosh pit zombies.

Meng Yao is a murderous little snake, but he is right to be angry with Nie Mingjue about some things, and his pursuit of his own agenda is understandable.

Well, That Was a Slice

Meng Yao leaves, hurt, with a dignified bow; just as he did that one time when his dad kicked him down the Carp Tower steps.

Take note, both patriarchal authorities: that is his way of saying “I’m going to murder you one day.”

Nie Mingjue sits with his broken heart, as we realize that we’ve only spent 20 minutes with this guy and we’ve gone on an entire emotional journey with him. This episode packed in a LOT.

Soundtrack: Johnny Cash, Folsom Prison Blues

[anghraine]

I was thinking of why Darcy seems so incredibly relatable, and it’s like ...

1. You know what sucks? Dancing.

“Do you often dance at St. James’s?”

“Never, sir.”

“Do you not think it would be a proper compliment to the place?”

“It is a compliment which I never pay to any place if I can avoid it.”

Look, dancing is fine and cool-looking for other people. For me? Awkward and terrible. Totally avoiding it at every conceivable opportunity (...unless I fall for a girl who’s really into it, I guess).

2. I miss cities :(

“In a country neighbourhood you move in a very confined and unvarying society.”

A lot of people pull a Bingley and are like, well, they both have their advantages and disadvantages, blah blah. But me? No. I’ve lived in small towns for most of my life and it’s suffocating as hell. Sure, it’s a kind of asshole thing to say to your neighbours, but he’s not wrong.

3. The best way to deal with social situations: wandering aimlessly around and only talking to people I already know

[Darcy] declined being introduced to any other lady, and spent the rest of the evening in walking about the room, speaking occasionally to one of his own party.

Like so.

4. A lot of people are good at catching tone and showing expression. Not me!

“I certainly have not the talent which some people possess,” said Darcy, “of conversing easily with those I have never seen before. I cannot catch their tone of conversation, or appear interested in their concerns, as I often see done.”

Right?!

5. Let’s talk about BOOKS

“What a delightful library you have at Pemberley, Mr Darcy!”

“It ought to be good,” he replied, “it has been the work of many generations.”

“And then you have added so much to it yourself, you are always buying books.”

“and to all this she [an accomplished woman] must yet add something more substantial, in the improvement of her mind by extensive reading.”

“What think you of books?” said he, smiling.

“Books—oh! no. I am sure we never read the same, or not with the same feelings.”

“I am sorry you think so; but if that be the case, there can at least be no want of subject. We may compare our different opinions.”

Darcy’s idea of a good time is objectively correct!

6. You should only give in to what other people want if you genuinely believe they’re right

“To yield readily—easily—to the persuasion of a friend is no merit with you.”

“To yield without conviction is no compliment to the understanding of either.”

This!

7. Some people are just so smart and charismatic and appealing that it gets all tangled up in what they look like and idek

he began to find it [her face] was rendered uncommonly intelligent by the beautiful expression of her dark eyes.

LIKE. SO.

8. I shouldn’t respond to people’s strawman arguments, but the temptation is ... so strong ...

“Would Mr Darcy then consider the rashness of your original intentions as atoned for by your obstinacy in adhering to it?”

“Upon my word, I cannot exactly explain the matter; Darcy must speak for himself.”

“You expect me to account for opinions which you choose to call mine, but which I have never acknowledged. Allowing the case, however, to stand according to your representation ...”

The struggle is real!

9. I don’t write quickly, but I do write a lot

“You write uncommonly fast.”

“You are mistaken. I write rather slowly.”

“But do you always write such charming long letters to her, Mr Darcy?”

“They are generally long; but whether always charming it is not for me to determine.”

For a rich and powerful man invented c. 1795, Darcy is determined to be relatable about literally. everything.

10. If I’m holding a grudge about something, you’ll probably hear about it. Over and over and over

“This account then is what he [Bingley] has received from Mr Darcy. I am satisfied. But what does he say of the living?”

“He does not exactly recollect the circumstances, though he has heard them from Mr Darcy more than once.”

(Honestly, it’s pretty funny to me that Darcy just periodically goes on Wickham rants but Bingley only vaguely remembers what he says.)

11. It’s so uncomfortable when strange random people just show up and start talking to you. Like, all you can really do is be vaguely polite and go away. Right?

Mr Darcy was eyeing him with unrestrained wonder, and when at last Mr Collins allowed him time to speak, replied with an air of distant civility. Mr Collins, however, was not discouraged from speaking again, and Mr Darcy’s contempt seemed abundantly increasing with the length of his second speech, and at the end of it he only made him a slight bow, and moved another way.

Right!

I’m sure there’s more, too. Anyway, I love that he’s such an icon, but simultaneously is ... like this. Eternal fave!

[xaharadesert]

Bard MC - Headcanon

Arcana Characters (Main 6) x MC

A/N: Okie dokie, this one is for a very lovely and very patient anon! Their request for an MC who can control magic through music is super cool! Honestly, I didn’t know exactly what a bard was when I first received this request, so I’ll be adding in a couple references about that as a joke :) I also tried to leave it ambiguous between whether the MC sings or plays an instrument, but I may have failed. My apologies, these may be a bit shorter than what you’re all used too, but I was struggling with this a little bit (also I am half asleep as I am finishing this, so I’m sorry if some of it doesn’t make sense). Also, I’m very sorry about using an outdated meme, but the oppurtunity was right there and I had to use it. As always, I recognize Asra’s non-binary gender orientation but will be using he/him pronouns! Please let me know if there are any spelling or grammar mistakes :) Requests are open!

❤️Julian❤️

Oh, yeah, he knows what a bard is

Like a singer... right?

Nope

When you tell him that you control magic through music, he has a small crisis and reevaluates every bard he’s ever met

He suddenly has quite a few questions about the inherent magic of music

Curious as always, he wants to learn more about how music acts as a medium for magic, which means a lot of questions

Most of his questions are based in psychology, because a small part of him that constantly doubts magic believes that you’re just a scientific genius

Overall, he supports you, of course

He loves music and the fact that you can cast spells using it is just an added bonus

Julian is already thinking about all the musical adventures you’ll have together

If you offer to teach him, he’ll respectfully decline

He’ll stick to the ordinary kind of music, thank you

On that note, unless it messes with your magic he will absolutely sing along whenever you’re preparing a spell

If this is a problem he’ll sing quietly to himself to avoid being a distraction

He’s sorry if it’s annoying to you, but he really loves singing

When he’s constantly surrounded by music he finds it hard to keep quiet

But if you’re okay with him joining in? He’ll belt some made-up lyrics at the top of his lungs

He may accidentally sing over you and your music, so even if it was originally fine, it will unintentionally cause problems

🧡Portia🧡

Oh, a bard!

That’s uh... a music thing, right?

I mean, she was mostly right

When you tell her that you can control magic through music she’s ecstatic

Magic in and of itself is super cool, but music too?! That’s amazing!

Portia wasn’t the biggest fan of music before, but you can bet your butt she is now!

She loves listening to you preform magic, and even if your not doing a spell, she loves listening to you

She wants to know what kind of songs control what kind of spells

In fact, she wants to know everything about your magic

You might as well be her official teacher because she never stops asking questions

In fact, asking if you can teach her eventually does come up

She’s a very eager student, although she often goes off track and starts inventing her own music

It’s not as effective, but she’s definitely having fun

Even if she never actually learns the magic part, she learned a cool new musical skill

She’ll create silly little songs to make you laugh

Sometimes when you use a particularly sad song for a spell, she’ll start to tear up

This can be a bit of a distraction, but she swears she’s not actually upset

You’re just amazing at what you do

Once Julian needed your help and her response was “this is so sad, MC play Despacito”

💛Lucio💛

Of course he knows what a bard is!

At least that’s what he claims

In reality he has no idea, he always referred to them as “music people”

So when you tell him about controlling magic through music he’s suddenly feeling a little afraid of every musician he made fun of in the past

He’ll never admit that out loud, though

Lucio thinks what you do is amazing

You can do magic AND you’re musically talented! That’s double the talent!

For a moment he considered mocking Asra for being less talented than you before remembering that you and Asra are friends

That doesn’t stop him from showing off your talents to everyone else, though!

Whether you really want to or not, you’ll probably have to show literally every Vesuvian your abilities at least once

Lucio himself isn’t particularly interested in learning your form of magic

He’d rather watch and listen as you preform spells

He doesn’t really want you to teach anyone else though, but he can’t really stop you if you choose to anyway

Sometimes he’ll ask you to preform a spell just so he can listen to you

He especially loves to hear slower songs for spells that ward off nightmares

When he listens to you, he genuinely feels calm and peaceful

He just exists in a perfect moment, with nobody but you and him

On a side note, though, sometimes when you’re showing off for other people he’ll try to sing along and it’ll always end up sounding horrible

💚Muriel💚

Doesn’t even pretend to know what a bard is

He never really had a reason to know, so he doesn’t

When you first tell him, he feels a bit awkward because he feels as if you expected him to know

But of course, your brand of magic was pretty unique so explaining your abilities was old hat by now

He’s not exactly sure how he feels about your methods

Of course he loves and supports you, but your magic... it’s just... a lot

It seems to require a lot of noise, and it draws way too much attention in his opinion

He would never try to change you, but he shrinks into himself whenever you gain a crowd from performing a spell in public

He starts to feel differently about it the first time he hears a slower song

When your music is soft and soothing he inadvertently feels himself relax

Knowing that you’re beside him, doing what you love, brings him a lot of inexplicable joy

Muriel doesn’t really have any interest in learning your kind of magic for himself, if he’s being honest

Although, he never minds when you want to talk about the complexities

He doesn’t mind very much if you need to practice late at night at home, because he doesn’t need to worry about other people intruding

Personally, he has no real uses for your magic so he never asks for your help

That isn’t to say he won’t accept it; if you want to use a song to help with menial tasks once in a while he won’t complain

The one exception is if you start using it for some creepy spell in the middle of the night

Then he may have a few complaints

💙Asra💙

The only one who actually knows what a bard is without your explanation

He was there throughout most of your magical growth, so he already knows a lot about it

In all honesty, if it weren’t for you, he probably would have been just as oblivious as everyone else

He loves how unique your method of performing magic is

Asra has never met anyone quite like you, and he doubts he ever will

Watching you perform your magic is one of his favourite hobbies (if you can really count that as a hobby)

Observing how your magic interacts with your music is incredible to him

He’s a little jealous, but he’d never say that out loud

You offered to teach him years ago and he eagerly accepted, but he never quite got the hang of it

In the end, he learned most of the theory behind it, but he mostly stuck to his own brand of magic

Even if he does admire your magic more than he admires his own, he does love the contrast between the two of you

(Spoilers) when he brought you back and was re-teaching you most things, your magic was one of the hardest

He felt horrible that he couldn’t properly demonstrate for you, but after teaching you the theories again, you seemed to pick it up on your own

On a side note though, helping you relearn your magic did allow him to grasp a couple of basic spells with your method, which makes him super excited

All in all he’s just thrilled that you have such a strong and unique brand of magic

He’s proud of how much you’ve grown into it, despite not having a proper mentor

Asra is a fan of quite a few unique types of music, but listening to whatever kind of music your using has definitely helped him settle on a few favourite songs

He doesn’t have a favourite kind of musical spell, so he’s excited no matter what kind of magic your performing

One time he even convinced you to cast a spell to heat up some tea faster just because he wanted to hear your music

💜Nadia💜

A bard?

As in, one who recites poetry, correct?

She uses the definition of a bard when describing what she thinks you do

Nadia is pleasantly surprised to find that your definition of bard is much more powerful, although she now has a few questions about how you go about defining words

She doesn’t have very much magical experience, so she was unaware of how unique your brand of magic was

But when she finds out exactly what it is you do?

She’s so excited

Nadia definitely loves music, although she leans toward slightly more refined tastes

She starts to question her favourite songs when she first hears you perform a spell

You manage to convey so much emotion, regardless of how long a spell or song is

She feels her heart pound in her chest whenever you use a lot of emotion in a spell

If you offer to teach her, she’ll have to politely decline

She knows how to play piano, sure, and her singing voice isn’t the worst, but she isn’t particularly interested in studying magic

She’ll just leave that part up to you

Of course, she’s always content to watch you perform, although sometimes it is a bit disruptive

If she needs a quick spell while in a meeting, a whole song can be a bit of a problem

She learns to work around this though, because she would never want you to ever change who you are

Although, she will admit she found it humorous when you chose a particularly aggressive song for a spell when trying to prove a point to Valerius