#I could write it from neil's too if you want but idk

[show-us-kaidenshenandoah]

Wicked Gelphie fans, i need you guys so badly to know how well Elphaba/Glinda are "good timeline"d "history doesnt repeat, it rhymes"-ified by Dorothy/Princess Ozma in Baum's original Oz book series. like. Dorothy/Ozma get everything; theyre the sweet, intimate friends-to-"??? are they a couple?"-ified political power-sapphic-duo that Gelphie would have wanted to be. like??

if you merge canons, fam... Wicked-Glinda must be struggling, seeing Dorothy/Ozma be everything she and Elphaba could have been.... omfg... the angst potential, the envy of watching a couple of sapphic childhood sweethearts get everything they were denied, fulfill Glinda and Elphie's dreams, and seemingly so easily too...

(also!! they even CAN look like a kid-Glinda and kid-Elphaba! there's canon to justify that kind of appearance paralleling!!)

faq below if you want more context

edit, psa: i did read these books from like.. the ages of 10 to like 14 or so, maybe as young as 8? idk, i dont remember. anyway. its been a decade since i picked them back up. and i didnt think this would gain as much traction as it has been after 100+ notes in less than 24 hours. uh. so. take my chronic memory loss-addled summarization with a grain of salt?? like? i just wrote this post so i didnt have to re-vent (agAIN) to my friends about how much i fucking love Dorothy/Ozma, period, much less in parallel to Gelphie. so. enjoy, carry on, and whatnot lmao

1️⃣: there's Oz books? plural???

yes, Baum wrote 14 books about Oz, actually. also, he wrote them under the appointment of "the royal historian of Oz" instead of "author", so there's other "official" Oz books by other "royal historians of Oz"

Baum wrote so much bc (he needed money, yes, but also:) kids would send him questions in fan-mail, and he would proceed to answer them via new novels. so he never planned to make more Oz books, he just (wasnt good with money and also) was routinely inspired by the kids who wrote to him and would write the stuff they wanted to learn about Oz and whatnot

2️⃣: does Dorothy go back to Oz? wasn't it all a dream for her??

yeah, Dorothy returns to Oz a lot in the books, she eventually even moves to live there permanently. bc, in the book series, it's a real place

only in the 1939 film was Oz ever a dream

3️⃣: how does Dorothy look like Glinda OR Elphaba?? what are you talking about?

okay so, "The Wizard of Oz" has an illustrator, W. W. Denslow. in the book, Dorothy is confirmed to be wearing a blue-white gingham dress (she changes outfits tho, she doesnt always wear the same dress all 14 books like she's some cartoon character); but im pretty sure her hair was all Denslow(? i could be remembering wrong. p sure im not tho??). this is what the 1939 movie based her appearance off of. so i can see why youd go "she doesnt look like Glinda or Elphaba"

BUT Denslow and Baum started feuding. so for the rest of the Oz books that Baum wrote, he had a different illustrator by the name of John R. Neil

and Neil decided to give Dorothy for every one of the books he illustrated (so, 13 of Baum's books to Denslow's 1 book of Baum's) a cute lil blonde bob, making her look like what i assume blonde-Glinda looked like as a child. i think she'd approve lol

so!! Dorothy very much looks like a trendy little Glinda, with her cute blonde bob, her fashionable drop-waist dress, and bows for most of the Baum series, actually!

(also, Neil had a preference for dressing Dorothy in this red and polka-dot number, but, again, she does wear other outfits)

(lmao also look at Tin-Man and Scarecrow with blonde-Dorothy, they look like her two gay dads encouraging her to just go be herself at school?? i love them)

(also, if you see "Eloise At The Plaza"-energy in this Dorothy design, im right there with you lol)

4️⃣: who is Ozma??

she's the Princess of Oz. she eventually appears in the second book of the series. she rules Oz after the Wizard

she's actually a really interesting transwoman allegory too. (spoilers for a book from the early 1900s?) she was born a little girl named Ozma, but has a spell put on her as a baby to be genderbent and was socially raised as a little boy under a different name, and she later realizes who she truly is: a girl. she finds the transformation scary, as she returns to her girl-form she always truly was, but she feels better and more herself now that she is Ozma again. i dont think L. Frank Baum intentionally wrote her to be a trans allegory, but you can very obviously see why our trans elders fucking LOVED Ozma back in the early 1900s

also, she has a similar "sir, you fucked up" relationship with the Wizard as Elphaba*. and, also like Elphaba, Ozma politically tries to make things in Oz better (just.. unlike Elphaba, Ozma has the power and support to do just that p much asap)

* (edit for contextual clarification on how the Wizard fucked up: the Wizard fucked up with Ozma because he is ultimately and p directly the reason why she was genderbent/hidden. he deposed of her family and sent her away. Baum decided later on to backtrack a little bit on this(?) because he wanted to bring back the Wizard and, in order for Baum to do that, has to try to not make him SO terribly horrible??? so like. Ozma does end up forgiving him and tolerates him amd he's nicer, later on, within the books. but i doubt any modern adaptation of the books would follow that, personally. even as a kid, i went "bullshit" and headcanoned that Ozma fucking hated the guy and, at best, MAYBE tolerated him for Dorothy, but overall did not like him for justifiable reasons! i think the direction society seems to have taken the Wizard is interesting, and i wouldnt be surprised if there was at least one future adaptation that made him The Bad Guy in a very Rumplestiltskin in the Once Upon A Time TV show kind of way. but like. in the books, they do END UP getting along. i just forever disagree with Baum on that lol i think the Wizard fucked up, and in book 2 of the series (the one where Ozma is, y'know, introduced), it is obvious the Wizard FUCKED UP. but yeah. also, Ozma does get her dad back. her mom was kind of never in the picture to begin with, specifically in a Ponyo's Mom kind of way, like, she made Oz and then left it for her husband and kid to rule, so. yeah. im getting off track. my point is the Wizard did a full-on coup on her family and then banished her and genderbent her so no one would recognize that she had claim to the throne he was sitting on!! he fucked up! so, like, i personally hc that Elphaba founded the "i hate the Wizard" club to which everyone slowly joined, like Fieyro and etc, and Ozma is their youngest member. the Wizard did both Elphie and Ozma so dirty, omfg)

it also should be mentioned, Ozma in NBC's "Emerald City" was casted as Black (her actress being Jordan Loughran). so, though Ozma does not have green skin (but also? neither did the Wicked Witch of the West in the books, she wasn't green there. that was a 1939 film decision to make her green. so! Ozma could be green!! why not!), but she does have Black features to theoretically remind Glinda of Cynthia Eviro's Elphaba when you consider that casting. or, if you prefer a Jewish!Elphaba casting, a'la Idina Menzel's Elphaba, i think Ozma's book design works well to interpretively parallel those features too. or both, if you like the sound of a Black-Jewish Elphaba and Ozma paralleling lol

(edit, because i thought i mentioned this but? no?? i didnt?? i must have misclicked or something to have deleted the paragraph. im so sorry, here you go:) also, when Ozma was a boy, she was basically enslaved to her jailor of a caretaker. which one could interpret as "oh, a Cinderella story!", sure. but, with a Black Ozma, it does read as an intergenerational grief-formed power-fantasy that is both empowering and poignant for Ozma to have ran away from her enslavement and gone on to become a princess afterwards. to any Black folks who may be going "is this going to trigger me?" about Ozma having been a child-slave, i remind you that Baum wrote this intentionally for children, so, no, the books do not sit in the trauma and horror of enslavement, but whether or not it would trigger you yourself is up to your discretion. i will say, Baum did NOT write the American Girls' Addy of his time (context: a children's book about a child-slave that does go into the horrors, some, though in a kid-friendly way) or Louis Sachar's Holes (i asssume i dont have explain Holes since its movie was such a hit), i remember it as even more kid-friendly than either of those also-children's books, so i would assume most people would be fine? but you are responsible for your own mental well-being, i urge you to confirm if it is fine for yourself however you need to do that. but, yes, you can use this backstory as further evidence for your Ozma being Black, of course! you can have Ozma be Black regardless, but if you want this as further evidence, go ahead! and also, it does parallel Ozma to Elphaba in the sense that Elphaba's family mistreats Elphaba! (i will, regardless of if you prefer a Jewish and/or Black Elphaba, add that doing so is also a nice "fuck you" to Baum in how, being a white man of the late 1800s and early 1900s, did end up throwing in racist and/or antisemitic caricatures here and there within his 14 books, unfortunately. i, an Indigenous American, remember as a child still immensely enjoying Oz despite Baum being racist towards Native Americans. if youre curious on the egregious level of it all and if the story could still be enjoyable, id say it's in the realm of Peter Pan, Willy Wonka, and Matilda of "wow. that is shitty. im going to pretend this thing i love is good instead via cognitive dissonance")

regardless, in John R Neil's illustrations, Ozma does have black hair, so that too coincides with modern understandings of Elphaba

(there is also her appearance in Disney's "Return to Oz", performed by Emma Ridley, where she is blonde. but, though i love that spooky movie, that's neither here nor there. as far as im aware, only in that movie has Ozma not had black hair)

anyway, she rules Oz; and by book 3, becomes really close friends with Dorothy. they're not a canon couple, not anymore than Gelphie is, but they are such close and affectionate friends that they are so easy to ship as childhood sweethearts (so, no, there is no moment of 🎶loathing🎶, but i find that sweetness makes them an angstier parallel for Glinda to watch over, personally lol)

like here's some illustrations from the books of them just being two "gal pals". no wonder our queer elders shipped them lmao and this isn't even all of their illustrations together, this is just the first spurts that google shot out at me lmao

also??? this is them with book-Glinda. not only do they look absolutely darling, also, yes, Dorothy becomes a princess, because Ozma said so. they co-rule Oz together. they are just too sweet, fam, i love these two little childhood sweethearts, i choose to see Dorothy's princess-ship as the same as two kids promising to marry one another when they grow up. this is so cute

and can you imagine Wicked-Glinda? looking down at these two, seeing what could have between herself and Elphaba had things turned out different??? im making myself sad

(also "Book of Glinda" is so wild. both in terms of "...Baum, how do you not see this as queer?" like with one example being like "Baum, you put that Glinda has 100s of single women at her beck and call in her palace, this is so easy to see as sapphic, sir"... and then, over here, we have John R Neil repeatedly reading "gave a platonic, innocent kiss" and going "okay, so, uh, making out? i dont do platonic kissing" lmao anYWAAAAYYYY, THAT'S NOT RELEVANT HERE)

🌟5️⃣ bonus:

so, you might have a few follow-up questions. like, what is "Elphaba" like in the books? what does she look like?

well, she's really only in the first book. she's one-note, evil, dies. she's not green-skinned, and she isn't given any sort of name. she is only called "the Wicked Witch of the West", that's it, she is not Elphaba

however, i will mention the Wicked Witch of the West, in the books, is a fashion disaster and i want to see her look used as evidence that "yes, goth-Elphaba and dark-academia-Elphaba are 10/10, but also?? kitschy grandma-core knitwear-Elphaba × her fashionably Barbie pink girlfriend". i'd love to see art of that. i'm just saying

also?? this isn't related to her at all but guess what

Scarecrow/Tin-Man was like THE ship for our queer elders. they are so emotionally intimate, they live together, it's great, look at these pictures of them being absolute bros (can you see why they were shipped so hard)

i bring this up, bc you could argue Fieyro/Boq if you merge canons to make your own narrative and whatnot. guess Fieryo and Boq kinda had their own mirrored 🎶loathing🎶 period under that framing lmao

or, if you hate Boq, youll probably love the Tin-Man's angsty "ship of Theseus"-like backstory as the once-Nick Chopper(: his human name, pre-tin-ification) that is in the books

so! enjoy that knowledge!! theyre super cute in the books, i love them. again, not a canon ship, but still beloved by our elder queers, just like Ozma and Dorothy

i hope it makes even more sense now why our queer elders used the phrase "Are you a friend of Dorothy?" as code to see if someone else was queer, not even taking into account the 1939 movie or Judy Garland's relationship with the queer community

anyway, albeit this is all the basics generalized, that should be everything

but yeah!! Ozma and Dorothy reminding Glinda of what could have been, of what she lost, being the sweeter "next generation" version of Gelphie?? tugs so hard at my heartstrings

but yeah, do whatever you want with Gelphie, Fieryo, and Part 2. im just saying. the angst potential of being envious and living vicariously through someone and seeing other people get the happy ending you were denied?? is right there lol

(edit: this awesome video by Kaz Rowe JUST came out if you want to hear more about the Oz book series, its queerness, its author, its GLARING PROBLEMS including but not limited to instances of racism, and so on and so forth. Kaz Rowe is a fantastic video-essayist, so i hope you watch the video and enjoy their hard-polished craftsmanship)

[redsummermoon]

Hello, I have one! What if the reader (female, if possible) and the rest of the poets are all supposed to hang out, but one by one everyone gets busy or caught up. So at the last second it just ends up being the reader and Meeks, and they’re alone watching TV. He talks about just leaving to study for a test (so they don’t have to be alone, because he secretly likes her). Then maybe a kiss scene or something comes on tv, and they try to laugh it off because it’s kinda awkward. Then I’ll let you finish it from there, lol.

It doesn’t have to be just like that, of course. But anyway, have a great day!

Meeks was my fav character before Charlie... might have to start writing for him too.. idk

A Lovely Night

Steven Meeks x reader CW: use of Y/N, female reader, modern day college [2.3k words] 

Y/N stared at her phone, thumbs hovering over the screen, before typing out a message to the group.

"Remember Dead Poet hang out, my dorm at 7 if anyone’s still interested!" she texted, hitting send.

She had been looking forward to tonight all week, hoping the Dead Poets could all come together to watch La La Land. The movie had been on her list for a while, and she thought the others might appreciate the film. As the minutes passed, her phone buzzed one by one with responses. Most of them excuses.

Neil: "Sorry, Y/N! Todd and I are heading to see this local theater production. Catch you next time?"

Cameron: "Test in a month. Gotta start prepping now. Maybe next time."

Charlie: "Double date tonight with Knox! I’ll tell you how it goes after. You’ll survive without me, promise."

Y/N sighed, a small laugh escaping her lips. Of course, Charlie had something going on, and Cameron, well, she expected that response from him. But now, it looked like her movie night was going to be smaller than she hoped. There were only two left unaccounted for: Pitts and Meeks.

Meanwhile, Meeks sat on the edge of his bed, staring at his phone with wide eyes. Y/N had invited him (and everyone else) to her dorm, and while he had been excited at first, the idea of being alone with her, even just for a movie, was terrifying. His crush on her wasn’t a secret, at least not to himself, but it was something he hadn’t quite figured out how to handle yet. Being around Y/N made his thoughts scramble, and he didn’t want to do something awkward.

"Pitts!" Meeks called across the dorm room, his voice tight with nerves.

Pitts looked up from his laptop. "Yeah?"

"You’re... you’re going to the movie night with me, right?" Meeks fidgeted, his hands twisting together as he waited for his friend’s response.

Pitts raised an eyebrow. "Wasn’t planning on it, but I’m free. Why? You need me there?"

Meeks nodded rapidly, his face flushed. "Please. I... I can’t go alone. Not with Y/N. I... I don’t want it to be weird."

Pitts gave him a knowing grin. "Ahh, I see. You’ve got it bad."

Meeks groaned, burying his face in his hands. "It’s not funny. I don’t know how to act around her."

"Relax, I’ll go," Pitts said, chuckling as he closed his laptop. "I won’t leave you hanging."

Relief washed over Meeks as he grabbed his phone, quickly typing out a message to Y/N.

"Hey, Pitts and I will be there!"

Y/N smiled and set her phone down. Her roommate had gone home for the weekend, giving her the whole dorm to herself, but it could use a little cleaning. She wiped down the already-clean desk, fluffed the pillows on her bed, and adjusted the blankets, making sure everything was perfect. Even if it was just going to be Meeks and Pitts tonight, she wanted things to feel cozy and welcoming.

A part of her, though, secretly wished it could just be Meeks. She felt a flutter of nervous energy at the thought, biting her lip as she arranged her bed so it could double as a seat for watching the movie. The TV on her dresser was angled just right, ready for La La Land.

Y/N had been nursing a crush on Meeks for a while now, though she’d never admit it to anyone. There was something about his quiet intelligence, his awkward but sweet way of talking, that always made her heart race. But every time she thought about doing something like flirting or even just being a little more open, her nerves got the best of her. She could never quite bring herself to act on it, afraid that maybe she’d misread the situation or make him uncomfortable.

But tonight, she couldn’t help but feel a little giddy. Maybe something would be different. Maybe, with Pitts there as a buffer, she could relax and enjoy Meeks’ company without worrying too much.

At the same time, the thought of being alone with Meeks excited her. She knew he made her nervous in the best way possible, and she couldn’t figure out how to balance that. Y/N glanced at her phone, checking the time, feeling that familiar flutter of anxiety and excitement.

“Okay, it’s just a movie night,” she muttered to herself, taking a deep breath. “Nothing to freak out about.”

Still, her heart pounded a little faster. Maybe tonight would bring them just a little closer.

Meeks and Pitts made their way across campus, the cool evening air doing little to calm the pounding in Meeks' chest. He clutched his phone nervously, re-reading Y/N's text and hoping that tonight wouldn’t be a disaster. Pitts walked beside him, chatting easily about something Meeks wasn’t quite paying attention to. His thoughts were entirely on Y/N.

When they reached Y/N's dorm hall, Pitts slowed down, glancing at Meeks with a sly grin. "You know, I, uh... just remembered, I’ve got this thing I have to do."

Meeks froze. "What thing?"

"You know, a... uh... a thing. Class stuff," Pitts mumbled vaguely, already stepping back from the door. "But, hey, you’ve got this, Meeks. Have fun."

Before Meeks could protest, Pitts raised his fist and knocked on the door, then bolted down the hall with a quick, "Good luck!"

Meeks stood there, speechless, as Y/N’s door opened. His face flushed bright red as Y/N appeared in the doorway, smiling brightly at him, though her eyes quickly darted behind him.

"Meeks!" she said happily. "Hey! Where’s Pitts?"

Meeks swallowed hard, his throat dry. "Um... It’s just, uh, me," he stammered, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot. "Pitts had... something come up."

Y/N’s smile faltered for a split second. "Oh... I see."

Her voice was soft, a hint of nerves creeping in. She quickly tried to cover it, but Meeks caught the slight change, and his heart sank. He interpreted her hesitation as disappointment. Maybe she didn’t want to be stuck alone with him.

"I-I can go," Meeks said, stepping back, his voice stumbling. "I should probably be studying for that test Cameron’s studying for too."

Before he could make his retreat, Y/N’s hand shot out and grabbed his. The warmth of her fingers sent a shock through him, and he froze in place, staring at her hand holding his.

"I really want you here, Meeks," Y/N said, her voice more certain now. "Let’s watch the movie. Just the two of us, okay?"

Meeks blinked, his face burning, but he nodded slowly. "O-Okay. Yeah."

Y/N smiled, pulling him gently into the room. The door clicked shut behind them, and the sound seemed to echo in the sudden quiet. They stood there for a moment, Y/N letting go of his hand to straighten the pillows on her bed.

"Go ahead and sit," Y/N said with a soft smile. "I’ll grab snacks. I’ve got popcorn and some candy."

Meeks nodded and awkwardly sat on the edge of her bed, glancing around the cozy dorm room. His heart raced, knowing they were alone now, and the thought of just the two of them watching a movie together made his palms sweat.

Y/N returned a moment later, arms full with a bowl of popcorn and a variety of candy. She set them down on the small table next to her bed before pausing. "Do you want to share a blanket?" she asked, her voice casual, though she seemed a little nervous.

Meeks nodded again, quietly. "Sure."

Y/N grabbed a large, soft blanket and threw it over both of them, the fabric draping across their laps. She settled in beside him, her shoulder lightly brushing his as she grabbed the remote to start La La Land. The movie began, and for a while, they sat in comfortable silence, occasionally making small talk between bites of popcorn. Meeks was too nervous to make a lot of conversation, but Y/N’s presence beside him was both calming and nerve-wracking. He tried to focus on the screen, but every time she shifted slightly next to him, his mind raced.

Then came the planetarium scene. The stars swirled on the screen, and the music swelled as Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone began to dance, spinning in slow, dreamlike circles. Meeks could feel his pulse quicken as the characters drew closer, the tension building until they finally kissed.

Meeks nearly jumped at the sight, his body stiffening as a wave of embarrassment washed over him. He could feel the heat creeping up his neck and to his face, turning bright red. Y/N, noticing the movement, glanced over at him, catching his flushed expression. A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips, but she stayed quiet, her own nerves making her play with the hem of the blanket.

Neither of them said anything, their mutual awkwardness filling the space between them. Y/N glanced back at the screen, deciding to ignore the moment for now, though her heart was racing just as much as Meeks’.

They watched the rest of the movie in near silence, both pretending the earlier tension wasn’t lingering. When the credits rolled, Y/N let out a soft sigh.

"I loved it," she said, reaching over for some of the now-cold popcorn. "But... I hated the ending."

Meeks nodded in agreement, still a little red. "Yeah... they were in love. They should’ve ended up together."

Y/N smiled at him, their earlier awkwardness fading slightly now that the movie was over. "Exactly. It’s just... sad. It wasn’t supposed to be like that."

Meeks felt a little braver now, glancing over at her. "Maybe in a different version of the story, they do."

"Maybe." Y/N smiled softly, still thinking about the movie. She glanced at Meeks, her expression becoming more serious as she spoke, almost dreamily. “I want that someday.”

Meeks blinked, looking at her with curiosity. “Want what?”

“To be in love,” Y/N said quietly, her eyes meeting his with a sincerity that made his heart pound.

Meeks felt a surge of panic and excitement all at once. He swallowed hard, trying to muster the courage to respond. “I think I can help with that.”

Y/N’s eyes widened, a mixture of surprise and excitement washing over her. “You can?” she asked, leaning in slightly, her voice full of hope.

Meeks took a deep breath. “I-I love you, Y/N,” he admitted, his voice shaking slightly. “I’ve been scared because I’m so shy, and I didn’t know if you felt the same. But you… you’re everything to me. I think the world of you. I want to give you everything you’ve ever wanted.”

Y/N’s heart fluttered at his words. She smiled warmly, reaching for his hand. “I’ve always admired you, Meeks. I think we’d be good for each other.”

Meeks’ face lit up, and for a moment, they just stared at each other, the weight of their confessions hanging in the air.

Y/N then smirked, her mind drifting back to the movie. “You know, that kiss scene... maybe we should try it sometime.”

Meeks, still a little dazed, blinked. “What, flying?” he teased, a shy smile tugging at his lips.

Y/N rolled her eyes, playfully nudging him before leaning in and pressing a soft kiss to his lips. Meeks froze, his mind racing. The kiss was brief but sweet, and when Y/N pulled away, Meeks felt like he was going to implode.

“T-thank you,�� Meeks stammered, his face a deep shade of red. Without thinking, he jumped up, nearly tripping over his own feet as he headed for the door. “Goodnight!” he called out, rushing out of the room.

The door clicked shut behind him, and he stood in the hallway, breathless. After a moment, he realized something important. He knocked on the door again, his heart pounding in his chest.

Y/N opened the door, her face filled with curiosity. “Meeks?”

“Does this mean we’re dating?” Meeks asked, his voice a little shaky but determined.

Y/N’s smile widened, a soft laugh escaping her lips. “I want it if you do.”

Meeks’ nerves melted away as he stepped forward and kissed her again, this time with more bravery, letting himself savor the moment. When they finally pulled apart, he grinned. “Goodnight, Y/N.”

“Goodnight, Meeks,” she whispered back, watching him leave with a smile still on her face.

As Meeks made his way down the dorm hallway, feeling lighter than air, he opened the building door only to be met with the grinning faces of all the Dead Poets waiting outside. He stopped in his tracks, his eyes wide with surprise.

“How was your date?” Pitts asked, leaning forward eagerly.

Meeks, still flustered and red-faced, managed to stammer, “W-we kissed.”

The entire group erupted into cheers, whoops, and laughter. Charlie patted him hard on the back, grinning from ear to ear. “That’s our Meeks!”

Todd and Neil exchanged knowing smiles, while Knox nodded approvingly. Meeks blinked, still processing everything. “Wait... how did you all know?”

Charlie chuckled, throwing an arm around Meeks' shoulder. “This was a plan to set you up all along, buddy.”

Meeks looked around at his friends, realization dawning on him. “You... you set this whole thing up?”

“We knew you two liked each other but were too shy to do anything about it,” Neil added, his eyes twinkling. “So we helped things along.”

Meeks smiled, feeling warmth spread through his chest. “Thanks, guys.”

“Anytime, lover boy!” Charlie teased with a wink as they all laughed and walked back to their dorms, leaving Meeks with the best night of his life.

[angstyteenpoems]

Okay I promised I would write a dps book hate post and here it goes. This is gonna be long btw

1. Just, the writing. It’s so fast paced, to be able to cut a 2h movie into about 160 pages makes it lose a lot of character. There are few moments when it’s just describing, it’s always action action speaking small adjective action. Also it feels cheap?? I don’t know if that’s the right word but just one example, when Neil after practicing for the play comes into his room and finds his father there ready to reprimand him, in the movie you can feel the tension and dread. Wanna hear how it’s in the book? “Neil walked into his room. To his surprise, his father was sitting at the table!” No suspension. It feels childish. Also the emotions change way too quickly, a character goes from crying to laughing in two lines. I could rant about this forever but I gotta move to the next part.

2. The characters. Neil loses a lot of his charm. He feels almost mean. Like when Todd is explaining his childhood Neil thinks to himself “No wonder Todd is so screwed up.” Huh??? Neil would never think or say that? Todd also falls flat. There’s no dimension to him. It’s just boy whose parents treat him bad because brother is better. Their actions and emotions feel wrong and they do things that make zero sense. Also their emotions are described badly? In the movie when Charlie is smirking, in the book he’s described as giving a look? How is a person who hasn’t watched the movie supposed to interpret that?

3. The changes. I understand that you can’t just ctrl c ctrl v the movie but cmon. In the movie when Mr.Keating reprimands Charlie from doing the phone call from god he says “doesn’t mean chocking on the bone.” Want to hear the super clever synonym the books writer came up with? “doesn’t mean getting the bone stuck in your throat.” Like what. Just at that point invent a new line, don’t massacre it to the point that it feels clumsy and weird. Also, some really important parts are cut out, like a lot of anderperry parts but I’ll get into that later.

4. Knox Overstreet, yes he requires a whole section. When I started reading the book, I wondered if they’d change the part where Knox was rlly creepy and almost assaulted Chris. Well guess what? THEY MADE HIM WORSE! Like, he literally gropes her, and it’s written to be comedic? He is disgusting in the book, way worse. In the movie you can think him to be a stupid teen boy, here he just feels like a predator who shouldn’t be near a woman ever again in his life.

5. Just the weird predatory vibe of the book? Like the girls Charlie brings into the cave are in their twenties, and Mr.Keating teaches a class where he literally shows the students soft core porn. And the whole Knox thing. And I wouldn’t be opposed to this if it was truly explored and Knox faced some consequences for his actions or the boys would comment on how creepy it is that the girls are in their twenties trying to get with teens but no. It’s all played for laughs.

6. Anderperry erasure. And yea this is kinda stupid but idk, it feels less gay? Like the writer heteroed it? Feels ridiculous to say and it is but like, the scene where Todd and Neil throw the desk set? There’s no throwing, Neil just makes a “funny” joke about the desk set and Todd tells about his family. And this could be really good and a way to differentiate from the movie but it’s done so clumsily and badly that it feels lacking knowing what could’ve happened. Also when Neil and Todd do the iconic “No.” “What do you mean no?” Thing, there’s no scene where Neil chases Todd and calls him Walt Whitman. And again, this could’ve been a really good way to differentiate from the movie but the scene just ends when the conversation stops. Also the scene where they are practicing lines at the dock that isn’t in the movie, yk the iconic “God I love this!” “What, me?” Line?? Yeah, it’s gone. Changed to “God I love this!” “Acting?” it loses a lot of its character.

Closing remarks: I understand that it is really hard to capture a film onto paper but if you can’t do it properly, DONT DO IT. If you have to resort to awkward dialogue and a lacking storyline, just don’t do it. If you like the book, I understand, it has some charm to it but it really didn’t sit well with me. I dont suggest reading it. If anyone is reading this I’m really surprised since I doubt anyone wants to read this rant. Anyway I’ll be rewatching dps and trying to bleach this terrible book from my mind.

Also please add more criticism towards the book if you want, since I probably forgot a lot of things.

[rikomoriyama01]

while we're talking about noras writing. I think parts of the way riko is written in the original is bad too. I think she makes him dumb when it's needed for the story. killing seth to me made no sense. if riko has the power to kill members of the foxes... kill Andrew!! riko is obviously very talented, surely he could have also analysed that seth was messing up the team, and killing him (ironically) only helps the foxes.

so. kill Andrew. Kevin comes running back. not only have the foxes lost one of their best strikers and their best goalkeeper. they can't even play anymore!! they've lost one too many players to meet the requirement. it's over. done.

and ik some Andrew stan is gonna say he couldn't be killed but bfr. Andrew is strong and a good fighter, yes, but riko could easily hire a well seasoned hit man or even a damn team of them if needed. make it look like a suicide, an accident, or even a murder! doesn't matter. the press thinks Andrew is insane and he's hated. Kevin comes running back and the ravens spin it as Kevin needing support in his grief from his team & family blah blah blah.

obviously riko doesn't do this cuz then the plot is fucked. but then don't establish that he can kill members of the foxes. have him do something else idk.

Apreciate that you managed to come up with something i had not heard so far in the fandom, tho i see the sentiment a bit differently. i think assuming that riko could deduce this much about foxes bond is bit of stretch, on top of it riko specifically wanted to kill a striker to put more pressure on kevin and neil with kevins damaged hand. so this leaves seth and matt and seth is clearly much lower profile death case considering matt has rich surgeon dad you could think that killing andrew would be too hot to pull off for that reason too considering andrew was somewhat involwed with the policeman investigatign his case in the past (excuse me i rember almost nothing of that plot by now the guy he called piggy or whatever) We also can``t assume that Riko could get just ... everything. he is second fmaily branch and tetsujis lil pet project i think if anythign i'm bothered by how inconsistent his range of power and infulence is That said Riko i smart and poses danger, he ha sskills and is not stupid. But its very easy to forget that if you spend too mcuh time readign tumblr tags or fanfics because the fandom makes sure to present him as biggest clown ever simply because nboody likes him . I gues good character writing is not smh ppl bother with when they hate someone lol Riko is good villian with a lot of flavs and his ego getting in his way, i think in very fitting way riko biggest enemy is riko himself and the way tetsujis upbirnging shaped him The fact that our mc is nobody but neil fuckgin josten and his side is damned andrew minyard do not help rikos case. you have 2 people who went throguh hell facign off again one motherfucker still stuck in it. if our mc's were different people riko would seem like different kind of threat . as it is he is just nuisance. but this is not fault of authors writtign this is issue of reader simplifying his role in the story and ignoring it simply because .. he's the villian ? and forced need to put all spotlight on other characters. people forget those books would not be as good if riko was the pathetic loser they write him as in fan content

[l1ndseyper3z]

Hi there! Could you please write a dead poets society fic for Neil x Todd (anderperry) where they’re on a date and they’re playfully flirting/flustering each other? I think they’re neat.

Hey! They are neat, so thanks for the request. I hope you don't mind me making this slightly Christmas-themed, I'm just in the spirit !! I know it's short but I hope you enjoy it.

~ Regular Nights ~

Ship: Neil Perry X Todd Anderson (Anderperry)

Fandom: Dead Poets Society (1989)

Requested?: Yes!

Warnings: Sex references/implications ig? idk this is just very fluffy! I suppose you could consider this a modern AU as obviously a gay couple sadly couldn't go on a date in public during the 50s but apart from that it isn't laid on at all so the choice is yours

Dates had become something normal for Neil and Todd. At least once a month, always on a Saturday night, a play followed by food at the pair's favourite out-of-the-way diner. This was the set routine, it worked and they stuck to it. Today was no different.

"How did you not like it?! The way the lead portrayed Malvolio was near perfect!" With no hurry, Neil whined as the two walked, hand in hand along the snow-covered street.

"I dunno... it wasn't anything to do with the actors, the actual play was just boring." Todd chuckled as he pushed open the door to their regular end to a date night. One difference, this time the small building was decorated with warm white Christmas lights.

The pair walked inside, wiping their feet on the door mat to ensure they didn't walk snow all through the place. As Neil led Todd to "their" table in the corner, he sighed dramatically. "I can't believe I have a boyfriend who can't appreciate the beauty of Twelfth Night!"

"I'd rather appreciate your beauty," Todd uttered, almost too casually, especially for him. Neil's face flushed a warm tone of pink, juxtaposing the cool pale the cold rendered him.

Todd chuckled at his boyfriend's rapidly reddening face but chose not to torment him any more. Not just yet, anyway.

"Stop laughing! You know I'll get you back later tonight anyways" Neil retorted with a suggestive smirk. He was glad they could have back-and-forths like this. When the pair met, he was scared to say anything that could even slightly hurt his feelings. Now, they'd learnt each other's limits.

As Todd caught wind of what Neil was implying and a similar warm blush crept upon his cheeks, the darker-haired boy slipped up from his seat and headed over to the counter. He didn't even need to ask what Todd wanted, he just knew. It was the little things like this that made him fall more and more in love with Neil every day.

As he came back to the table, Todd pulled out his wallet. "How much?" he questioned with little emotion laced through his voice as he flicked through the notes, preparing to give the assumed amount.

Neil calmly rejected the other boy's money. "Nothing, you paid last time, remember?"

"So? I'm still loaded from my birthday cause my parents finally got the hint I didn't want the same desk set for the third year in a row"

Neil chuckled. "Seriously, babe, it's my turn to pay" He pushed the wallet away. "If anything I should be paying for the pretty company I've been graced with". Todd's face flushed pink again, this time deeper.

"You know calling me pretty makes me awkward.."

"That's exactly why I do it." Neil cooly retorted

Todd decided he wanted to carry on this little game the two had been playing. He grabbed Neil's hand, lifted it up to his lips and pressed a gentle kiss on the back of his hand. Neil's confident demeanour dropped at once.

"So cocky till you're not" Todd teased with a gentle voice. He could actually be quite sassy around those he was comfortable with, it just took time to get to that stage.

"Whatever" Neil muttered with a mock scowl, although there was no malice in his tone. The two smiled at each other and dug into their food. These regular nights were comfortable. These regular nights were simple. These regular nights were the best things that had ever happened to the boys. No matter how basic, they wouldn't change them for the world.

[neilisok]

I was always a reader/listener and didn't really want to write something my own on tumblr, but after I read the extra chapters of aftg I had too much feelings, that I just need to share. (Sorry for my English in advance lol)

MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE EXTRA CHAPTERS

The first chapter, Wymack's pov: OMG I LOVE HIM SO SO SO MUCH. The way he nows that Neil is always using the stairs and is kinda jealous of him (same bro lol, even tho I'm not that old), the way that Kevin's alcoholism he considers a problem and tries to do something about it, the way that Abby and him fought the first few days about Wymacks "not his problem". IMHO I think Kevin wanted to confess that Wymack was his father after he said that Kevin represented his mother a lot. I loved the way that Kevin chose to improve himself and go to Betsy, even tho he doesn't like her very much (lol, poor Betsy the raven trio doesn't like her) and even tho he could just take the alcohol from Andrew he chose not to do so. I almost cried, when Wymack remembered blood on his and at the last sentence when he went "to find a drink of his own" omg

The Second chapter, Betsy's pov: This made me remember what happened to Andrew, and omg, have you seen how Betsy and Andrew behaved??? The "Now everybody knows" from Andrew just killed me. But does he actually mean his family, or the Spears mother (so sorry I forgot her name), or both??? Like if he also meant the Spears, then I'm gonna kms, bc if I remember correctly, in Nora's posts (or I just read too much fanfiction idk), the mother tried to defend Drake till the end. But I think, it's more likely that he meant Aaron and Nicky. I just loved how Wymack just respected Andrew and left when he was asked to, or when he came back, he made sure that they would hear him. AND I also really need to know when Andrew said to Betsy that Neil is " Kevin's problem now, the end!". I also had a little chuckle when I read about how Wymack found that Betsy likes musicals the hard way. Did she drag him to watch a musical, and he didn't like it lol? I also almost cried when she said that she was proud of Andrew, it just shows how much he healed. I ALSO CAN'T SMILE AT ANDREW'S HUMOR

Wymack: "Now that you're doomed to bounce off the walls all night, any plans?"

Andrew: "Chaos and mayhem."

AAH I CAN'T WITH HIM

The third chapter, Aaron's pov: I didn't think that I needed this. I read a lot of fanfiction about how they came to this conclusion that Andrew chooses Neil, but this one is so much better than anything that I read, better than any other Aaron's reaction. I liked the way that even tho Andrew trusted Bee, he still didn't come out to her, and it's so much like coming out in real life. It doesn't matter how much you trust the person, doesn't matter that person you trust you know will accept you, you are still scared how would they react when you will come out to them. I also liked what Aaron said about Nicky: he is grateful that Nicky was there for him when he needed that, but sometimes he is too much about being gay which Aaron doesnt like, but he knows that Nicky does it, so he instantly will know who to trust, because he doesn't want to experience the same hatred from people he loved again. So Aaron doesn't mind gay people, he just doesn't like how Nicky shows his "gayness" (idk is it the right word?). The way Aaron instantly understood that Betsy knew that he wanted to become a neurosurgeon, and remembers the only time he said he wanted to become one, and just understood everything. I loved the way Aaron just uses Betsy and Neil in his favour, and makes Andrew chose Neil, and also saying that he won't leave Andrew's life, when he chooses Neil. And also the last part, when Andrew and Aaron were leaving after Andrew made his choice, and Aaron says that Andrew is dating a mafioso (lol i can't) and Andrew as always says that he doesn't, and Aaron just calls him "Liar". And can we talk about how this man talks about Kaitlyn?? It just really shows how he loves her, you should have seen my face when he said that he wants to spend his life with her.

OMG Can we also talk about the way Andrew tried to change the topic to his scars??? And Aaron will think about that later?? I just know the night that he will think about that he just won't sleep

[ifitmeanslosingyouthenno]

terrible things

day 2 whumptober prompt: alternative "shivering"

cw: mentioned stillbirth/miscarriage, car accidents, memory loss (not really but kinda)

aaron finds him in the back porch again, even if the rain has been going steadily for the past few hours 

even from inside, through the glass door, he can see neil’s shaking

he doesn’t know if the shivering is from the cold or… 

he doesn’t know if neil realizes he’s shaking

he doesn’t bother to grab an umbrella, before he’s putting on his boots and a thick jacket, hesitating before he’s grabbing kate’s for neil too

the rain isn’t too heavy, somewhere between drizzle and actual rain, but aaron isn’t sure how long neil has been standing here

knowing him it could be anywhere between 15 minutes and 3 hours before aaron found out he had left his bed again

“neil? can you hear me?”

to his credit, neil doesn’t startle, simply blinks his eyes sluggishly, taking a few seconds to focus on the man in front of him

“andrew?”

for all that aaron hated neil for years, for all that he thought neil didn’t deserve andrew, for all that he thought andrew could have gone for anyone but the most irritating man alive, his own heart skips a bit at the vulnerability in neil’s voice, so unfamiliar yet the only thing he’s heard for the past few weeks

“no, it’s aaron remember? you’ve been staying with me and kate for about 3 weeks now”

for all that aaron would have done anything to never interact with neil josten again when they were in college, the confused look on his face makes him miss when things were simpler

“i- where’s andrew? where’s my-?”

it seems an unconscious movement, the way his hands settle on his belly, and it makes aaron’s eyes sting

“why don’t we head inside neil? the rain’s cold and you don’t have a jacket, you’re shivering”

as if only now realizing, neil moves so that he’s holding himself, hugging his stomach tightly

“no, i’m not- i want andrew”

aaron doesn’t even know when he started associating college with simpler times

“he’s- he’s not here remember? he’s visiting nicky in germany, you’ve been staying with me and kate”

neil’s lips are trembling, and his eyes widen almost childishly, “when is he coming back?”

oh how he wishes he could turn back time

how he wishes andrew and neil hadn’t gotten in that accident as they headed to the hospital for the baby’s birth

how he wishes they hadn’t left the hospital with a wooden box instead of a baby, potentially permanent damage to neil’s cognitive state and a career ending fracture for andrew

it’s been months now, and aaron doesn’t know if what made andrew leave was the loss of the baby or the loss of neil

realistically it was most likely both

he wishes he wouldn’t have to lie to neil, but seeing as he doesn’t have the slightless idea where andrew was, it was too late for that

“soon, remember? he said he was coming back soon”

“soon, yeah, he’s- he’s coming back”

there’s so much certainty in his voice, aaron can’t stop a few tears from falling

“yeah, so why don’t we wait for him inside huh? let’s get you dry and warm, come on”

neil’s quiet obedience, and the way he mindlessly follows aaron’s direction as they head back inside, and aaron makes sure he towels down and puts on some warm clothes is so fucking wrong

this isn’t neil josten

he wishes he could fucking turn back time

aaron watches as he, once again, gets under the covers

“goodnight drew”

neil is still shivering

and now so is aaron

ngl i cried a bit writing this lol, like this went veeeery differently to what i had planned, like the idea was for andrew to find neil shivering on the roof after a nightmare and idk where the fuck this came from also yes neil is trans in this au because my mind said so in the middle of writing this and yes they end up in a car accident on the way to the hospital bc neil is in labor, and it's bad enough that neil gets traumatic head injury with bad damage that could or could not revert, and it's a stillbirth, bc they were rushing to the hospital bc neil wasn't neil his due date yet, and he could feel something was wrong, and in the end due to complications from the birth itself plus the complications brought by the accident just weren't compatible with the baby surviving :( and yes andrew is alive, he just couldn't stand everything happening to them, like aaron says, he lost his unborn child, he lost the man that he loves, and he got frustrated, he hurt too much and he left, but not before making sure aaron would look after neil this is probably one of the saddest things i've written lol sorry if it's too much and so very sorry for ranting here and yes the title is from terrible things by mayday parade

[melatonoia]

So uhh I wrote something about what could be a conversation from todd and neil would look like and idk u guys judge it

Todd finished with his studies and opened his phone only to see Neil’s message notification

As Todd opens the phone, a message by Neil left a funny and confused reaction at the same time in Todd’s face

Neil: (He greeted Todd in a somewhat sarcastic way) Good Evening princess !

Todd: Neil? Is this you?

Neil: HAHAHAHA i just wanted to check on you because Charlie told me you are focusing too much on your studies and I swear, you have to take some rest sometimes yk?

Todd: Oh, i am okay actually- You’ve been also away for a while which makes me kind of miss you

Neil: Kind of missing me? You must miss me arranging your sleeping position at midnight and tucking back your blanket on?

Todd: Hey!!! I swear!! *keyboard smash*

Neil: (He seemed relieved about knowing that Todd is okay) Hey what about this, when i get back from here, we go out together!

(It’s been exactly 24.8 seconds since Todd did not respond or have seen Neil’s message and Neil was somehow kind of.., panicking)

Neil: Hey, are you still there??-

(Meanwhile, Todd is on his notes app writing a poem and he basically has do not disturb on *introvert things*)

(6 Minutes later Todd finally saw the message and as he was pasting the poem Neil quickly sent);

Neil: Hey!! Are you okay??? I’ve been waiting for your response and why did it took you so long?? (Maximum of 2 paragraphs long of scolding)

(The poem was sent and Todd giggled)

Todd: Oh sorry! i had my do not disturb on and i did not realized you asked me to go out! But do you think this poem i made is decent??

Neil: (clearly kicking his feet and flabbergasted about the poem written by Todd that has been sent to him) Well it is more THAN decent and i guess, that also answers my question then.. GOODNIGHT!! 😘

Todd: Hey! Uh…

-Neil Perry reacted ❤️ to your message-

[stabbyfoxandrew]

I almost forgot it was wednesday!!! Idk what i want more this week but i think arsonist neil is the cliffhanger i need answers to the most so that one please? (p.s. you are awesome and i love your writing so much and it makes me so happy that you choose to share it with us every week)

WIP Wednesday (4/3) | Arsonist Neil / Firefighter Andrew AU (Part 136)

Neil’s day has been utterly uneventful. All he’s done is thought about Andrew. And how, for the first time in his life, he had a chance to connect with someone and wimped out before he could even really try. It’s frustrating as all hell, this strange feeling. He’s not sure if it’s regret or disappointment or what.

But he hates it.

He’s so preoccupied that he finds he can’t even enjoy the game he’s watching and turns it off three minutes into the second half. Of course, he’s recording it with the hotel’s DVR service so he can watch it later. He’s not a complete idiot. Just… a half-idiot.

He keeps trying to think of something to tell Andrew. A reason for running that he’ll understand. But it’s sort of impossible. So the truth is the only way. And that’s still a problem. To this day, he can barely stand to think his father’s name. Saying it aloud? Impossible.

There must be a way to explain without giving up every gruesome detail. Neil just has to find a way to meet Andrew halfway. Literally. There’s got to be a place where they could talk where Neil wouldn’t feel trapped.

And once he finds it, he will invite Andrew there and tell him a minced up version of the truth. And they’ll be friends again. Neil thinks. He’s tried writing himself a script on the hotel’s memo pad. But it’s strange to try to plan this out. It’s not genuine. It’s… a few layers closer to someone he doesn’t want to be.

When Neil goes out to get an early lunch he drives past the fire station, just because he can. There are a few cars parked behind it. Along with a school bus. He’s not sure if one of the cars is Andrew’s. He rules out the gigantic blue pick up truck. It’s just too big. And the yellow Volkswagen Beetle definitely isn’t Andrew’s style. That leaves the GS and the medium-sized SUV.

If Neil had to guess, it’s the GS. He considers stopping to leave a note on the windshield since he still hasn’t been able to bring himself to put his Andrew-phone back together. But if someone saw him… That wouldn’t be good. 

Neil finally tears his eyes away from the parking lot and makes his turn. He's getting tacos today, he reminds himself. This is good. He really likes tacos.

But unfortunately, they taste sort of like dirt.

[addictedtoking]

Snippet of something. Steve and El both came from the lab, season 3 canon divergence thing, kinda angsty. Idk. I tried.

———

“We wrote to each other.”

Billy looks over at El from the third rewind of Grease, waiting for her to continue. “When we were learning, we would write to each other. As practice. He would tell me to have a good day. Or what he was doing.”

She paused, sniffled. Billy offered no comfort; he didn’t know how and she wouldn’t want it. “And I would tell him what was on my mind-“ this time she swallowed and when she spoke again it was wet “and when we were apart we would write letters to read when we got back together and-“ the sob was nasally and so so heart wrenching that Billy wanted her to stop. But she needed to get this out. “And I know he can’t read them but I need to… I need to” she finally looked at him and Billy felt his own eyes turn moist. “I need to tell someone how I feel.”

Billy, yet in the face of such emotion, didn’t let the tears fall down his cheeks. “You could-“ he took a breath “-you could write to me.”

El swallowed and wiped her tears. “You can write to me too.” She looked at the tv again. “It’s good to get it out. That’s what he said.”

Billy nodded, even tho she couldn’t see it. Wiping cheeks from absent tears, he said, “I’ll add that to the list.”

…

It was rough, in the beginning. He was angry and this town was shitty and dad was shitty and Max-

Anyways. The plate. The fight. The drugs. When he woke up the next morning groggy and with Neil yelling down the hall, he had no regrets. Max was home and in fine condition. His face hurt a little, but that’s fine. It’s all fine. Except for when Neil took whatever was bothering him out on him. But that’s fine. It’s not max- the little shit head who doesn’t listen.

He spent the rest of the weekend working out and drinking. By Monday, he was somewhat prepared for high school again. So he sprayed his cologne, gathered the shitbird, and sped off to school.

He had no regrets when he walked into first period. Nor when he skipped second to smoke behind the bleachers. Nor third period. Lunch. Fourth. Fifth. Sixth. Seven-

There, he saw the fallen king, sporting a bruised face and cuts bandaged by pink bandaids with butterflies. The coach was telling him to take the period off. Obviously he had a recovering concussion and needed the break. After all, there’s a black ring around his left eye and his cheek is purple and his lips are split but no less plump-

Billy scored four fouls.

He refused to regret it.

Billy refused to regret a lot of things.

Billy will think he should have regretted more to prepare him for this.

It was bad in the beginning. Now it might be worse.

…

Billy wasn’t all there. He remembered going to work. He remembered driving around in his car. He remembered the warehouse.

Then it’s blurry. There are images. And the beach. And a girl. And Steve-

And then he wakes up in a hospital bed. Max is at his side. Her face is all blotchy and an ugly red from crying, but they’re not close enough for it to be over him.

“Who was it?” He croaks. He wants water.

Max startles, finally noticing him. She blinks like she doesn’t know what he said. He’ll need something to drink before he says it again.

Max gives him water from the cup, eye tearing up again while he sips. A single tear rolls down her cheek and she furiously wipes it away. He would normally sneer at her tears, wrinkled face and spotty flush, but he needs to know who, who died, who did he kill-

“Steve’s gone.”

…

Robin-before-the-Russians thought the worst day of her life was when Tammy Thompson blew her off to try snuggling up to Steve Harrington. Robin-after-the-Russians has had a far worse day.

It’s also Steve Harringtons fault, but not because he stole a girl. No. That would be a concern for Robin-before-the-Russians. This Robin, the one walking up to a bunch of kids, knows this will be the worst day ever. This day will surpass the day her parents discover she’s a lesbian and it will surpass the day she dies.

This terrible day is Steve harringtons fault. Because apparently he’s more than pretty hair and pompous clothing. Because he’s actually a badass that takes down evil monsters with his mind. Because he’s dead.

The kids see her coming towards them, and they look behind her where Steve would be. But he’s not there, so they look back at her. The curly haired one, Dustin, Steve’s best friend, Steve’s brother- sees it in her eyes first. His face crumples and he falls, a tiny “no” leaving his lips.

The red one follows after, going down on a knee beside dustin. One by one, Robin watches them realize. One by one, the shock and grief overtakes their innocent faces.

Robin doesn’t notice she’s not walking anymore when another girl runs past her towards to group. Seeing their distress, she turns back and faces Robin and oh-

Robin sees Steve in her brown eyes, in her clothing, in the blood dripping from her nose.

Maybe she can see the sadness on Robin like Steve, because look is all it takes. The girl let’s out the harshest, most gut-wrenching scream. She realizes he’s gone.

He’s gone.

The children grab her as she falls into them, a pile of misery if she’s ever seen one.

Robin takes another step before her legs give out. It might have been from the drugs, from the lack of food, from the torture. It doesn’t matter. The kids just lost their protector and nothing she can do will bring him back. Their image blurs as Robin succumbs to the tears as well.

Yes. It’s all Steve Harringtons fault. She just wishes he were here so she could tell him that.

…

The days after are bad, with the grief and the recovery. The town has lost so much in one night, so many lives stripped away in one single building.

The nights are worse. For those in the fire, it’s a long, dark time filled with torture devices, enclosed spaces, and monsters wearing people as masks.

Dustin doesn’t sleep much. Usually, after this happens, he has someone there to wake him up from nightmares. The first time, the party had slept in wills room and he could wake up and see his friend sleeping in his bed. The second time, he spent the night at Steve’s house, who hadn’t minded when he crawled into bed with him and El.

It was not the beginning of their friendship, already too far past that, but it was somewhere about midway. As the months passed, dustin will joined Steve’s and El’s little family in the backseat of a beemer, in the yellow kitchen, in the last dredges of milkshakes. He and Steve and el became Dustin-Steve-and-El then just Dustin-and-Steve as summer began and everyone flourishes out. He’d thought this summer would be the best with his science camp and new girlfriend and Steve and ice cream and secret Russian messages-

So. This time, afterward, there’s no one. Lucas and Erica are stuck at their parents, max at the hospital with Billy, Mike and will hidding in the formers basement, and El-

Dustin hesitates less than he should’ve before shakily getting out of bed. The walkie sits on his desk, where it has been just in case he needed Steve. But Steve’s not here, so it sits there uselessly.

But know he picks it up and dials into channel 4, “you there? Over.”

There is a long pause before another voice gives a quiet “yeah. Over.”

The device is quiet again while they wait for the other to say something. El relents first.

“I miss him. Over.”

Dustin backs up until his thighs touch his bed, then he kind of falls back onto his sheets. He stares at the ceiling as he replies “me too. Over.”

Silence again. El is probably looking at the ceiling too. He can picture her looking up. It’s not her ceiling, covered in posters and stars and paint splatters. Instead, it’s probably the Byers, the ceiling above wills bed: wood planks and dark swirls. She hasn’t gone back into their house since he-

“Do you want to have a sleepover? Over.”

He waits for her reply, clutching the walkie to his chest. For a minute, he thinks she’s not going to respond until she croaks “yeah” a pause, her voice is clearer “I’ll be there in 10. Over.”

“Copy. Over and out.”

Dustin sits up and unlocks his window.

…

Max helps Billy get from the hospital to the car, then from the car to the house. Then, later that night, she helps him to the bathroom.

She doesn’t talk to him. Doesn’t mention Neil’s silent neglect. Doesn’t mention Susan’s air headed absence. Doesn’t mention the mall. Doesn’t mention what he did.

Still.

It’s a little too much. He’s not weak. He doesn’t esnt need his 14 year old sister to take care of him. But every time Max is there to do something for him and he feels a rush of anger and it’s so big it might explode out of him and jab at her-

It just.

Goes away.

Steve - Seven - Harrington had mind powers. He’s heard the kids talk about it over the walkie talkie Max keeps locked in her room. He heard about the nudges and pulls and keeping it there.

Now he knows what Harrington did to Neil. The lack of care. Absence of anger or annoyance. Just a mellow man living his days in a mellow town. No wonder the abuse stopped.

Now he thinks Harrington did something to him.

He’s on bed rest for almost three weeks. He has a lot of time to think.

And every time Max brings him water without asking or adjusts his pillows, and the anger and annoyance rise up and release just as fast to leave him cooler and more rational-

He thinks he’s kinda ok with it.

…

Max doesn’t sleep.

Her eyes are dry and crusty. There’s bags upon bags under them, black and sunken. Her mind is slow and she can barely tell what anyone’s saying to her the first time. She’s so tired it’s all she thinks about.

The nightmares are worse than the tiredness.

Steve’s bleeding from his nose and mouth, and some’s coming from his ears too.

It’s okay, he says.

It’s gonna be okay, he tells her.

He kisses her forehead. It does not distract her from the lie.

Go with Billy, he said.

Billy will protect you, he told her.

Billy carried El and Mike from the mall, but in this dream he’s carrying her instead.

She watches Steve get smaller, and smaller, and smaller.

He does not go to her no matter how much she screams.

…

Billy doesn’t remember what happened.

But the kids do.

Robin’s the one to tell him though, bundled up in blankets and sitting in a room with all the lights on. It’s the end of August. She shivers despite the heat.

“You- it had found the kids - Mike, Max, and El - and Mike was down and Max almost was, and y- it was toting off El over your shoulder. Steve found you- it.”

He doesn’t get mad at her mistakes. His body carried a monster. (was the mind flayer the only monster though? Was it not just you? Billy- BILLY).

“What did I do?”

Robin blinked her eyes a few times. She looked into his, though his baby blues didn’t hold as many tears. “You hit him.”

He tries to hold in his confusion - a hit wouldn’t have taken him down - but she sees it anyways. She swallows and holds up a hand.

A moment.

Two.

“The Russians banged him up pretty bad. There were too many of them for him to use his mind powers - manipulation thing - good enough, so he just distracted them from me,” she swallows again and sips from the water she clutches like a life line, “But he was fine- not with the drugs of course - but he wasn’t keeling over yet-“

She sobs again. Billy’s eyes remain dry. It’s awkward.

“But he tried to stop it and it hit him again and again until he could get to you-“ another sob, “and when I found him again after he sent you off there was blood coming from his mouth and I had to help him walk to the elevator and he wouldn’t sit because I don’t think he could get back up if he did and it was too much on top of closing the gate and I couldn’t carry him-“

She’s full on sobbing now, and for a second he regrets sharing the pot. He didn’t want to deal with this. He was not the person to deal with their emotions. He did not belong in this family.

He shouldn’t after what happened. What he did.

Still, he pats her shoulder and lets her curl up next to him until she falls asleep. Then, he lays her down and wraps the blankets around her.

He is not a good caretaker. So he leaves after that. But he leaves the lights on for her so she doesn’t wake up in the dark.

…

Here’s what happened:

Russians opened gate under mall.

Mind flayer started possessing people.

Billy got possessed and then helped mind flayer possess other people.

Russians attack ice cream scoopers.

Mind flayer attacks children.

Adults kidnap and commit grand theft auto with a Russian man to help stop both of the above.

Russian man dies.

Children distract mind flayer from its prey.

Possessed Billy finds prey, takes it, and then is intercepted by prey’s brother.

Possessed Billy beats up Prey’s brother.

Brother has another nearly fatal concussion. He undoes possession on Billy, brainwashes him into taking and protecting kids, then escapes down to Russian base with his ice cream scooping friend. Superboy closes gate, liquifies his brain because he had too many traumatic brain injuries, and is near death as mall starts collapsing around him.

Ice cream scooping friend has to abandon him to make it out alive.

No-longer-possessed Billy protects kids until mind flayer is killed. Promptly passes out from previous injuries.

That’s all he could get out of Chief Hopper.

Chief Hopper was shitfaced and mourning his child.

Chief hopper still doesn’t blame Billy.

Billy wishes he did.

[rigginsstreet]

What do you think about a deaf billy AU?

where Neil moved his family to the middle of nowhere Indiana because he knows 80s bumfuck nowhere doesn’t have a lot of support for disabled ppl and hates his son (as we all know)

At first billy tries to hide it, he had gotten used to learning how to read lips and make inferences on what people were saying, if he happened to miss something? He’d just brush it off, saying he wasn’t paying attention.

Billy might have a slight deaf voice, Neil probably came along with his “no son of mine” spiel so Billy had to learn how to speak as Neil thought was “normal”.

Steve begins to notice something different about Billy; slowed reaction time, really focusing on people’s faces, etc, and brings it up to Joyce.

Joyce, concerned, waits until the next time Billy is in her store to ask if everything is okay. Billy panics, he thought he was doing perfect, if he doesn’t his dads gonna kill him, so he very quickly excuses himself out of the store.

Maybe some further concerned Steve and Joyce? Teaming up to help out Billy? 🥹

i am into all of this. i wanna say way back in the early days of the fandom there was a deaf!billy fic i read.... or it was steve. or it was neither of them and im thinking of another fandom entirely lmfao anyway!

this would put their little staredown at tinas in a whole new context...honestly it puts a lot of billy scenes in new context that boy loves to look and watch and observe.

i would also like to bring in cali bros argilly and say that argyle and billy learned to sign together back home bc neil surely wasnt going to put billy in classes and surely not learn himself, maybe billy had teachers at school who helped? but argyle wanted to learn too since they were besties and he was really the only person billy could talk to after that. so when the hargroves move to indiana billys on his own again and since he doesnt want to out himself as being deaf and ask if anyone knows how to sign, he just pretends to be aloof and like he doesnt give a shit about what anyone says to him (which isnt like... untrue lol)

if he and max still have a bad relationship in this au maybe she hasnt bothered to learn how to sign either cuz like... why is she gonna need it to talk to billy? they dont talk period

steve calling billys name when hes not looking trying to get his attention and it never working so a lightbulb goes off in his head and he starts writing notes to see if that works and sure enough...

joyce picking up books from the library and learning very basic signs for the next time billy comes into the store. she's just trying to be polite but it still makes billy panicky that someone knows. ooooh if neil and billy come into the store one day and she overhears neil giving billy shit about not listening to him and how he needs to get his shit together etc etc and she immediately decides this man needs to be put down like she is not having it but she also knows theres not a whole lot she can do right now besides make her presence known and get him to back down.

steve helping billy out in the classes they share together and even in the classes they dont he finds a way to get notes from other people without letting them know its for billy, and billys constantly wondering how steve keeps pulling this off but steve wont reveal his secrets. them developing this silent language on the basketball court that makes them unbeatable... many thoughts many thoughts

idk how joyce and steve end up joining forces in all of this but i know they do!

[pumpumdemsugah]

Completely agree about fandom stuff. I’m a frequent lurker in a handful of fandoms and people have always been strange and obsessive but even comparing five years ago and now the difference is stark. I think of how people used to acknowledge that headcanons and fan theories were their own creations and that they were hoping for the best but now with all the social media access there’s a lot of entitlement and begging and it’s embarrassing to watch. Wanting better or non stereotypical, harmful writing/screentime or people with lived experiences in the writing room is one thing but seeing people insist that there’s something secret going on and then throw tantrums when the straight character ends up being straight like the show said all along or shit like that puts me off so many things. 1/2

Yes there are times when shows say one thing and present another but for the most part things are what they say they are (also stop watching if you feel jerked around? this isn’t a hostage situation) Idk I feel like any adult that can’t watch something without needing it to relate exactly to them is a major loser or whiteness/‘queerness’ has eroded their brain. They would die being a black lesbian woman and watching shit because 9/10 our representation is a joke. And I know queerbaiting is real but a lot of it is simply fan delusion especially when it comes to white guys. Like I wouldn’t have watched it anyway because it seemed uninteresting but seeing how the fans are up neil gaimans ass about his show is so pathetic. The loss of private forums to speculate and be weird and write fanfiction has done major damage. People will go on social media and fully @ creators/writers explaining why the characters they created are actually this instead of that with a straight face and their full government names attached. Grown adults too. Where is the self awareness and shame lmao 2/2

Honestly! " It isn't a hostage situation" sometimes it's just time to drop a show and mourn what could have been. There are some shows that have been ruined because creatives didn't want to piss off fans by killing off someone that needed to die

It's very entitled and it's burning up whatever good will and willingness creators have about even listening or interacting with fans because for some the only answer is treating their headcannons as just as important as the shit you created from the ground up. It's nice to hear how people interpret your art but when it's obvious they don't care about what your creation is and it's simply an empty vessel for them to occupy with no regard or actual engagement it makes you wonder what they even got from the story especially if they chronically have to do this.

Sometimes characters are written in such a way it doesn't matter and creators may change their minds because something is added they love but again this is usually behind the scenes with the input and direction of the creator

I love when something is changed and it becomes a core part of the story like with an interview with the vampire, so much is gained by Louis being black and from New Orleans. You can tell so much care and thought was put into it. The change becomes a reason why leaving humanity behind is so difficult, no wonder he locked himself away in that casket of a building in Dubai.

There's a place for everything but you have to learn how to act and learn shame

[jtl-fics]

i just want you to know that I've started watching The Fantastic Race (I'd never heard of it before) and i too cannot stop imagining Andreil in it.. but also a Foxes/Exy only edition.

like, one is Foxes only, 10 teams, either with some of the freshmen, or while Seth is still alive/in an AU where he survives.

one is Andreil against other Americans where they dominate everything

and one is Andreil, Kevin/jeremy, riko/jean, and some other teams from other American Exy teams

i will eat this thing upppp!! please write it, i beg of you lmao

I do love me some Amazing Race. I think I could give you a Miracle Year of Collegiate Exy version of the Amazing Race.

I think maybe after their initial run through and victory Neil and Andrew are like absolute fan favorites and even though Neil, Andrew, nor the show ever say it there is a general belief that Neil and Andrew got together BECAUSE of the show. Any follow-up publicity on it has Neil and Andrew just staring at the camera like "Are u for fucking real?"

The thing with these shows is that fan favorites get asked to go back ALL the time and Neil gets a lot of very lucrative sponsorships that make the Moriyamas VERY happy after it.

They offer the same deal, a cut on the % that they will take from earnings and this time it's just for competing and this time it's a deal given to. They want the Miracle Generation of the Foxes to come and if every one does then Ichirou will lower Neil, Jean, and Kevin's %s owed to 50% (Maybe the deals are that good, maybe Ichirou is a big fan of the show, maybe he has a finger in it's production. This is mostly just like rationale on why the fuck they'd all do this. Especially Neil and Andrew since like Andrew had a bad time on those planes).

Either way not a single Fox disagrees. Arrangements are made for everyone's kids / pets. Shit is talked.

The Miracle Generation Race is ON.

The Teams are As Follows:

(Fox) Neil Josten & Andrew Minyard (Orange) (Dating)

(Fox) Kevin Day & David Wymack (Green) (Father-Son)

(Fox) Dan Wilds-Boyd & Matt Wilds-Boyd (Yellow) (Married)

(Fox) Allison Reynolds & Renee Johnson (Pink) (BFFs)

(Fox) Aaron Minyard & Katelyn Minyard (Blue) (Engaged)

(Fox) Nicky Klose & Erik Klose (Purple) (Married)

(Trojan) Jean Moreau & Jeremy Knox (Red) (Dating)

(Raven) Johnson & Reacher (Black) (Friends)

(Trojan) Alvarez & Laila (White) (Dating)

(Raven) Thea Muldani & Jenkins (Teal) (Friends)

(Penn) Penn State Coach & Penn State Captain (Grey) (Friends? IDK I ran out of people to be honest and thought well maybe we just have some throwaway team to lose first)

One of the funnier things I could do with that is that this Miracle season is also fan favorite season too and they want the cast to come back but no one can be with their same partner again. So you get shit like Neil and Jean, Jeremy and Andrew, Allison and Kevin, Renee and Aaron, Wymack and Nicky, etc.

[lifenconcepts]

you do have oc’s yes. give the lore now. That is an order, mister /j /nf

BHSXHHDOBSOXBXBI HAVE TOO MANY

UHM

I GOT LIKE A MILLION ESSAYS OF LORE FOR MOST BUT HERE ARE THE INTRODUCTIONS:

For this show I wanted to write I have 3 main guys I love dearly, Lifen Heid who is the main dude and German- is secretly holding some kind of power and yet isn’t aware of it. This spirit guy Fhelix (quite OP but is so fed up with every being that he litterally does not use his powers at all except for his main goal) knows though and was set off on a journey to help him become a god like he once was but can’t say what he’s doing otherwise they would both die an agonising death. They got some chemistry and lore together plus I advanced the plot into a full blown book. Robin, a side character whom I love dearly, is a pathetic little kid who was forced to flee from his planet from false vigilante accusations and resides in the realm (this whole new world only accessible through a portal) with Fhelix, whole ordeal, and also some other people that also had the same fate, basically heroes turned sour and he got trapped into their little group (There’s this massive group and all got their individual relationship with one another and personality but in short they’re like 15-23 year old losers with some sort of dramatic past and incredible talents (lemme tell you about them..) ) So there’s Batrose - an emo shithead who is 99% a sadist and is a very good swordsman, and despite that, he is in a relationship with Florence, an absolute sweetheart who also is quite a dangerous individual. Basically that meme template where they both can absolutely kill you but one visibly has intention and the other is bubbly. Both dress somewhat goth. There’s also Dan, a daredevil cat hybrid who always looks for trouble and is a horrid influence on Robin but I still love him, not too much older then him. Westifer is this ginger kid the same age as Dan and yet is much more secluded than the rest and has an amulet passed down from generation to generation which allows him to practically bend water to his will, but he sort of struggles with it. He has a floating blob of water he can activate anytime and it’s somewhat sentient and has bubbles for eyes but mostly just helps him get to places sometimes as it’s body can act as a cushion. Also has a pet flamingo named fern. There are some other others but they’re not worthy enough of being saved in my mind.

one of my newest two is Neil Wolfman, he got a shitload of lore which I could copy and paste here in a second. Absolutely adore him but in short he’s a pathetic little soggy boy who has a car and out of paranoia spends most time out in the suburbs and owns an adorable German shepherd named Arc. also this mad scientist I haven’t bothered with making a name for that I do quite love and is my most attacked character for art fight!

also idk if it counts but just any variety of me whenever I draw myself, ranges from abstract concept to realistic depiction to absolute goofy doodle to entirely new creature or human.

I also realised like not lately that they almost all were some representation from me and I was incredibly surprised.

[codename-adler]

uh hi uh hey what scene in a fic of yours would you most want to rewrite from someone else's perspective? and what character would you most want to explore from someone who's not super involved's perspective? (like andrew & neils relationship from the pov of someone they're playing against or something like that)

-@allforthefuckinggays

at last, i shall respond!

no bc i'm like, so sorry?? this is such a great question and it's soooooo nice of you @allforthefuckinggays 😭 i have no excuse. i only have an answer.

there are so many possibilities it's difficult to settle on one, and every second i think of another idea. overall, though, for the 'what scene in a fic of yours would you most want to rewrite from someone else's perspective?' part, it always comes back to writing Andrew's pov whenever Aaron is found injured in dance 'til you find someone to die for . partly because i would loooove to be able to write Andrew pov, accurately in character, because to me that seems impossible. Nora Sakavic really put her whole crack & cocaine when bringing him to life, it's a skill i don't think i possess. then if i could write Andrew pov well... i am like Neil. i want to see him lose control. but inside. i'd want his inner monologue while Aaron's just laying there on the concrete, motionless, paling by the second, and Andrew cannot do anything about it. plus, up until now in the fic, he was medicated still; what do those thoughts look like while in a battle with seeing Aaron, Andrew's priority despite appearances, so beat up and the physical evidence of Andrew's failure in their deal? madness. that's what i want. wish i could read that. wish i could write that.

then, 'what character would you most want to explore from someone who's not super involved's perspective?': Andrew from Jeremy pov. hands down. no hesitation. idk what it is about those 2 that draw me in and makes me want to connect them so bad. maybe i have expectations set too high when it comes to Jeremy, but i can't help feeling like he would not treat Andrew the way the Foxes have. maybe because Kevin trusts him, with Jean, and handed him over knowing/hoping it was for the best; and god knows Jean and Andrew are the same side of the same coin. (PSA: HAVE NOT READ TSC YET, PLEASE DO NOT SPOIL IN ANY WAY OR FORM.) so, i'd like to see what Jeremy sees when he looks at Andrew, what he thinks of him, what he deduces, from observing him and talking with him. oh i want them to talk so so bad. even if it does not lead to the dream friendship of my heart. and even if they never speak, i want Jeremy's version of Andrew. even if it's a brief rant of Jeremy's gushing over Andrew's Exy skills and performance. i want it. i need it. like, the Ravens-Foxes Championships showdown from Jeremy's perspective?? Andrew breaking Riko's arm live from the Jeremy broadcast?? PLEASE. and it's not about Andreil at all, i don't really care about Jeremy's opinion/perspective on that. i just want Andrew Minyard (Jeremy's Version).

[annwrites]

All I do is listen to music & come up with story ideas. But I'm too exhausted to write anything.

Misc. notes below of said ideas, nonetheless, however.

So the part in my Preacher's Daughter fic where they go to the abandoned church at night in chapter 4 was actually inspired by Kristin Michael Hayter's Saved! album. Because I had this scene idea of wandering into an abandoned church at night where something just feels...wrong while listening to it. Almost as if its congregation fled from it some time ago. It's known not why. Perhaps because others came upon them & saw they were doing terrible things & wanted them gone. Banished. Or because the location no longer was suitable to their needs.

I know that chapter doesn't give those vibes, but the scene of reader & Billy sitting in the pew in that church waiting for Old Nick to take the pulpit originated from the aforementioned idea.

I would still like to do something more, in regards to writing something inspired by that album, but I think it would have to be an original story, tbh. Nothing fanfic-wise suits it.

Like...all I have in mind is a young woman wandering the woods at night, & finding this dilapidated Baptist or Pentecostal church that she's never even heard of being in this before. And as she begins to snoop along those things which were left behind, a cassette tape, or record with homemade music on it is amongst the objects abandoned.

It unsettles her when she first attempts at listening to it, due to its nature. Almost like it's not for her ears. It is something which was meant only for those who worshipped at that church's altar to hear. Nevertheless, she gradually works her way through the tape, and when she gets to the end, there's...perhaps a message.

A message indicating it was very-much meant to be found. And that whosoever finds it has been given a gift. An invitation. To join them. Their church. But they must find them. And the clues for where they have gone lie within the tape in their hands. It must be dissected. Only through destruction do you achieve rebirth, perhaps.

Unravel the spools and find its secrets.

Idk.

I'm still playing with ideas for my cultmember!reader x Billy fic, which is inspired by Nicole Dollanganger's Married in Mount Airy album.

I think the Satanic Panic is going to play a large part in why Neil chooses for he & Billy to join this community. The notes I have so far about this plot device is that Billy is angry & rebellious. He's drinking, smoking, having promiscuous sex, driving recklessly & acquiring tickets. His father sees him as irresponsible & disrespectful. He's also falling behind at school & getting into trouble. He's hanging out with undesirables, listening to vulgar rock music, etc.

So, moving to Mount Airy could be seen as a good, fresh start to finally straighten him out.

I do intend to borrow various aspects from different cults to build my own.

For example, "Flirty Fishing" from Children of God aka The Family International will be how Neil is initially lured in. He meets a woman in town who slowly "reels him in" with her body & 'feminine wiles', so to speak. She convinces him that life atop their mountain is so much better than the sodom below. It will save his son.

So, he sells his house, Billy's car, most of their belongings, and ofc this money will serve their new...community instead.

Billy is absolutely heartbroken & distraught, feeling like he's been utterly betrayed. And while he may not say it, he's terrified of what's happening to him/his life: this sudden uprooting & having the one thing he cared about more than anything else taken away from him—his Camaro. His dad is shifting into an entirely different person & he's never felt more alone in the world.

But then reader is there.

Initially, he hates her like everyone else from within the compound, but she's sweet to him & tries her best to be understanding of how he must be feeling.

And when their prophet pushes the two of them into an arranged marriage, Billy is livid over the prospect at first, until reader helps him to realize how it's truly a positive thing. Through their marriage, they will be given their own home, which he will become head of. It will be a safe place—will be whatever he wants it to be. So he relents & thus consents to their union.

I might have the cult use Bibles which contain only the Old Testament within them, bc they don't know that the New one exists. Meaning they believe there's no way to be forgiven for their sins (the Crucifixion), so they best not sin to begin with.

My serialkiller!billy fic is inspired by about 4 different things: Ethel Cain's songs August Underground, Western Nights, & her new album Perverts, as well as the TV show Sharp Objects.

So, I intend—as of the date that I post this—for the fic to be at least 2 parts (not to be mistaken for chapters). The first part will be entitled August Underground & will cover Billy's murders of young women in Hawkins, as well as he & reader falling into a relationship & subsequently in love. A relationship which he is constantly planning for. Planning on how to bury himself inside her head until he has her wrapped coil-tight around his finger. Until she's starry-eyed & sees him as everything she's been hoping & praying for since she was a little girl who dreamed of fairytales.

Until.

Billy takes her into the woods where the first murder occurred—unbeknownst to her—and has sex with her in that very spot. And then he takes her to the town cemetery late & night & gives her oral while she's seated upon the headstone of another victim of his, which he spills cum all over when he finishes. Just his small way of disrespecting & desecrating it.

The time will come when she slowly begins to put pieces together.

Perhaps she & Nancy go out walking one day & Nancy relays to her that the woods they're walking in...right over there near that all-too familiar log is where Tina—Nancy's late friend—was killed. And then reader gently confronts Billy & he plays ignorant—makes her believe that he had no idea. That he's so incredibly sorry for ever taking her to that spot & for them doing what they did there. And she believes him.

Until she can't get it out of her mind & she goes to the cemetery alone one day & sees that the headstone he gave her oral upon is that of another girl who was recently murdered.

She keeps what she's beginning to fear to herself.

But through these discoveries, the rose-tinted glasses have begun to lift.

He...can't be, surely. But then she begins to watch him more closely. Observes him. And she bears witness to things she didn't notice before. Just...odd mannerisms. And how truly short his temper is. And how he'll leave the house at odd hours. How he'll talk & whisper unintelligibly to himself when he thinks she's not around.

She begins to snoop. Desperate for proof one way or the other.

And then she finds it (I'm unsure what 'it' is yet, however). And Billy catches her red-handed. And she panics. But he isn't upset or angry.

He's glad: no more lying & hiding who he truly is anymore. This was the last piece of himself he had to share with her. And now, she can have all of him—the light & the dark.

All she can think is how unhinged he sounds.

And he can see it in her eyes: she's afraid, she wants out. She'll tell.

So he devises a plan. Just stay one last night with him, and he'll let her go. She's the only girl he's ever loved; he could never harm her. Just trust him for this one last night. And she stays bc she knows it's not truly a request. And she's afraid of telling him no in his moment.

He drugs her dinner.

And she wakes in the backseat of his Camaro the next state over.

And thus begins the Western Nights portion of the fic.