#I don’t remember Nancy’s quote

[birb-boyo]

You know what? It’s been a while since I’ve seen one of these, but I feel like today is a good day to bring it back

@trippygalaxy LOVING HOURS

Trippy is an amazing person and a great friend/platonic wife and she needs to remember that!

It’s time to remind Trippy just how amazing and cool and talented and great they are!

@vio-starzz @mushr0oms-and-m0ss @shadowlinktheshadow @raven-does-artstuff-894 @linksarehere @majorproblems77 @whiteperle3 @treasure-goblin @cucco-be-upon-ye @lunawolfiefoxy @next-hero-in-line @nancyheart11 @l3ominor @isasan347 @yourlocaltreesimp

[mvltifxndomchaos]

Steve: You love the pink ones.

Robin: I love the color pink. But I like the chocolate macarons. Steveee! I've already said I wanted these two.

Steve: No. You can't have two.

Robin: But I said...

Steve: You had three this morning.

Robin: I have not!

Steve: Downstairs. I saw you.

Robin: I've had one!

Steve: Not true. Eddie saw you. You’re lying. Why are you lying?

Robin: I am not lying. You are. Eddie!

Eddie: What? I like the chocolate ones as well. I have not had...

Robin: I wanted them!

Steve: I have the solution.

Nancy: Put them back. Stop.

Eddie: Why are you getting involved?

Nancy: Can you not just divide them?

Steve: ...three chocolate this morning!

Robin: I have not! I haven't had...

Nancy: Three banana macarons for the one chocolate.

Robin: Not a chance.

Eddie: That is devious.

Steve: That's very unreasonable.

Eddie: Please!

Steve: Why not? Eddie, you cannot... Why are you getting involved?

[opossumprints]

I'm Your Guy pt 2

part 1, you are here

It’s not very common for the whole party to come together for a meeting that has nothing to do with the end of the world.  Therefore, there are procedures for this kind of thing, Mike has followed every one of them to a tee to bring everyone together.  

So, honestly, it's kinda insulting that nobody's taking it seriously.  

“Mike, buddy” Dustin starts and Mike narrows his eyes, “look, I get where you're coming from–actually no I don’t.”  

If Mike had not been desperately trying to keep his cool for the past hour this would probably be when he starts screaming.  

“And I don’t get what you guys are confused about! We have to keep Eddie away from Steve!” 

“Why?” El pipes up “Eddie and Steve are friends?”  

Mike tries to keep his shoulders from raising around his head. He knows they’re friends, and Steve is allowed to have other friends, but Eddie is a threat. If they stay friends Eddie will drive a wedge between Steve and the party. If that happens that will hurt Mike’s friends; but it's not just them he’s worried about.  

“Look I’ve seen it happen with Nancy” Mike argues “you guys remember how she stopped hanging out with us. She hated babysitting duty” heavy air quotes “and then she was all alone when the friends she left us for left her”  

Mike can see the reluctant agreement on the others faces as he plops onto the couch and crosses his arms.  

“I” he sighs “I just don't want that to happen to Steve”  

“Oh Please!” Max cuts in, huffing in annoyance “sure it could go bad, but it's not like we’re actually gonna get replaced”  

Mike’s about to retaliate when they hear as Steve enters the house and greets Mrs. Wheeler and Holly.  

“Oh, Eddie by the way,” Steve calls, apparently continuing a conversation with the older teen “what movie where you talking about earlier?”  

“Halloween? You want to watch it?” Eddie replies 

There is a kerfuffle of something being set on the counter “Yeah sure, If I leave the twerps sleepover early then I can pick up some snacks.”  

The two boys keep planning but nobody in the basement is listening anymore.  

“okay” Max turns back to look at Mike “how do we get rid of this guy?” 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------Sorry this part is kind of short, I'm not really happy with it but its the best I could do under the circumstances.

Things are getting better now because I don't have to worry about my apartment anymore, so hopefully, the next update will be longer and better written.

[pelorsdyke]

ronancetober - day nine: free day [west wing au]

“What the hell was that?”

When she enters Nancy’s office, the woman in question is scribbling furiously on a yellow legal pad, books and highlighters surrounding her on the desk.

“Good morning, Nancy, it’s nice to see you, Nancy, oh, thank you so much, Robin, it’s nice to see you too.” Nancy replies, not looking up from her task. Robin rolls her eyes.

“Good morning, Nancy. What the hell was that?”

Nancy’s pen runs out of ink and she switches for a replacement, tossing the old one into the wastebasket at her feet. Still, she doesn’t lift her gaze, though whether it’s purposeful or just a symptom of Nancy being deep in her work, Robin doesn’t know.

“I did my job,” Nancy replies, and her voice is sincere, if a little ticked, “you know, the thing where they pay me human money to make sure the President doesn’t get torpedoed by a bunch of idiots?”

“Yeah, well, you also directly undermined me to the press corps,” Robin reminds her, still thinking about the way Vickie Stewart pulled her aside after the briefing not ten minutes ago. “You know,” she mocks, “the thing where they pay me human money to make sure the White House has consistent and accurate messaging?”

At this, Nancy looks up.

“I didn’t undermine you,” she says, instant, and her gaze remains locked on Robin’s. Robin scoffs and Nancy shakes her head, repeats herself. “I didn’t undermine you, Robin.”

“Then what the hell is the Post doing asking me about the Speaker of the House?” Robin replies, and Nancy frowns, considering for a moment. It’s one of the woman’s best qualities, especially given her job description, but sometimes it really pisses Robin off. Sometimes, like right now.

“Speaker’s not elected yet, Nance,” Robin reminds her, and Nancy shoots her a look, I know that, idiot clear across her face.

“What’s Stewart claiming to know?” Nancy asks, and if Robin didn’t know better, she’d think the tone in Nancy’s voice on Vickie’s name is jealousy.

“You don’t know it’s Stewart,” Robin says, just to be difficult.

“Nobody else at the Post would tell you,” Nancy fires back, “they’d just print the story and make it your problem at the next briefing.”

Robin bristles. She feels, honestly, a little protective over the journalists in the press room. She knows there’s staff that think she’s too friendly with them, but it’s important to her job to not be antagonistic as much as it’s important to her personally. There’s a non-zero number of people in the White House who consider the press and politicians to be permanently at each other’s throats, and Robin believes that’s a terrible way to run a country. Journalists are, as much as they’re occasionally pains in her ass, an extension of the American people.

“What’s she saying?” Nancy repeats, and Robin shoves her hands in her pockets, desperate for something to fiddle with.

“That Byers is trying to prop up a Democratic candidate to lessen the pressure during the impending investigation,” Robin says, quoting Vickie directly. “Special prosecutor not withstanding.”

Nancy rolls her eyes. “The President is supporting a candidate from her own party for a position in government. The horror.”

“That’s not the problem and you know it,” Robin replies. “We’re staring down the barrel of an investigation that could make or break the presidency— based on accusations of something she did in fact do, in case you’ve forgotten— and people are starting to suggest it could shift toward impeachment.”

“It’s not gonna shift toward impeachment.”

“It will if you’re an idiot about this!”

Nancy’s eyes narrow. “Choose your next words very carefully.” It’s times like this that Robin remembers she’s the least powerful senior staff member, that Nancy is leagues beyond her.

“There’s discussion of attempts on behalf of the presidency to defraud the American people,” Robin holds up a hand when Nancy begins to cut in, “whether you agree with the assessment is not the point, the point is that it’s the conversation being had. Now this kind of thing, maybe she gets a censure, has a black mark on her presidency. Fine. Not great, but not the end of the world. But there’s been talk for a while now about conspiracy.”

“Conspiracy toward what end?” Nancy sputters.

“Conspiracy to win a presidential election,” Robin replies. It’s another thing she’s quoting verbatim, though this time not from Vickie. “Lying to the American people, it’s tantamount to manipulation in some people’s eyes.”

Nancy sighs, drops her head into her hands.

“So tell me, Nance,” Robin says, gentling her voice, “what the hell you were thinking supporting Byers’ move here.”

“The same thing she was thinking,” Nancy replies, lifting her head to meet Robin’s gaze again, “that the investigation is primarily politically-motivated bullshit from a Republican Party that hates her guts. That they’re trying to tank her chances of re-election. That the special prosecutor is a good guy, but we’d rather have someone on our side in his ear.”

Robin considers her answer for a moment. It’s times like these when she really wants to smack everyone in the cabinet over the head with something heavy. Their instinct to not include her in these discussions is typically built on a not so terrible foundation, she supposes, with the idea that if she doesn’t know something, she can’t tell the press, but it’s also unbearably stupid. She’s the president’s first line of defense, the person who’ll get the questions about it, and it’s not a good way to build trust with the public to have your press secretary be an idiot who doesn’t have a clue what the administration is planning to do. Case in point, Vickie Stewart from the Washington Post suggesting that at the next briefing, she intended to ask Robin a question about the president’s push to elect a Democratic congressperson to be Speaker of the House. Robin had laughed, actually, at first, when the reporter had said it.

It also removes her ability to tell them the actually useful thing to do, media-wise, in times like this.

“Okay,” Robin says, sliding into the seat on the other side of Nancy’s desk, “imagine this. There’s three ways this goes, one of which is a Democratic-led investigation against a Democratic President, which ultimately leads— regardless of if they find her guilty or not— to questions of if we put our finger on the scale.”

Nancy wilts, a little. “You can’t be telling me you want to put Republicans in charge of an investigation into the sanctity of Byers’ election process.”

“I’m not telling you what I want, I’m telling you what we have to do. I’ll tell you, I’ll tell Hopper, I’ll tell Byers, I don’t give a damn. It’s not about what I think, it’s about what the American people think.” Robin pushes on. This is one of the reasons she’s gotten to where she has in her career: not only is she smart, people listen to her when she talks. And she talks a lot.

Nancy quirks an eyebrow, permission to continue.

“Number two,” Robin ticks off on her fingers, “is that the special prosecutor, who, by the way, is well-respected across party lines, runs this case independently. Here, you’re just tossing the coin up in the air. You know that, it’s why none of you were backing off on Speaker candidates. I’m not saying it’s pretty, but it’s politics. You know as well as I do that if he runs a clean investigation with nobody’s help, Byers is looking at a loss.”

Nancy sighs. “I can’t believe she didn’t tell anybody.”

“She told Hopper,” Robin says, though she knows it’s futile, and Nancy scoffs.

“And he did bullshit with it, so that’s not exactly helpful here.” Nancy replies, and Robin has to concede that point. “So then, the third way is…”

“Republicans, yeah.” Robin cuts in. “Don’t look so thrilled.”

“Just seems like we’re asking to get our ass handed to us,” Nancy says, and Robin can’t help chuckling a little.

“We are,” she replies, smirking when Nancy’s brow furrows with confusion. “We’re absolutely asking for them to fuck us over, Wheeler. Keep up. I’m a member of the American public, watching the proceedings, thinking about who I’m gonna vote for, and I see a bunch of Republicans taking a break between their trips to Fox to sit on a panel for forty-five minutes and talk shit about Byers to run a politically-motivated trashing against her from Congress, during an election year?”

Nancy’s jaw drops open a little in surprise, but she quickly swallows down the emotion, the corners of her lips twisting up into a smile instead. “Christ, Buckley,” she says, after a second, “you’re fucking terrifying.”

“Oh, stop,” Robin replies, pleased as punch, “you’re gonna make me blush.”

[1lostsoul0fishbowl]

here’s the rest of that steve chapter especially for you @the-unforgivenn since you wanted more! 😘

(part one is here if you missed it)

“I gotta say, I’ve been threatened with plenty of violence over the last couple weeks, but you’re the first one who’s actually hit first and asked questions later.” Gareth huffs out a sharp, angry sigh. “You gonna give me ‘the talk’, now, too? ‘Cause believe me, there’s nothing you can say that I haven’t already heard from Eddie and Chief Hopper and my sister and Max and Dustin… you’ve already demonstrated remarkably well that if I break her heart you’ll break some other part of my body. I wish I knew why everyone’s already expecting me to break her heart though.”

Steve remembers all too well how it felt to be the guy who nobody thought deserved to be with the amazing girl.

Gareth gingerly prods at his nose. “Jesus, that hurts. Look, I’m gonna do everything I can to make sure I never break Janie’s heart. I know we’re both way too young and we don’t know anything about life or how the world works or any of that shit but I don’t care, man, I love her. If I ever broke her heart I would die before any of you could actually kill me.” He scoffs. “What am I telling you all this for? What would you know about it? You dated a different girl every month in high school. I’m not like you, man, I’m not used to actually getting the girl that I want. But now that I did there isn’t anything that would convince me to let her go. And if I screw things up I’ll go ask Janie to help me fix them without anyone needing to come in and kick my ass to make me, because that’s bullshit.”

It bursts out, filling the room, bouncing and reverberating off the cold echo of tile. Bullshit. Bullshit. Bullshit. It knocks the wind out of Steve, punching him in the gut just as hard as he’d punched Gareth in the face. Bullshit.

“I’m sorry,” Steve gasps. “I’m so sorry.”

Without waiting for a reply, he bolts.

*

He’s not crying, when Dustin and Max find him shivering outside the club’s back door. He is definitively and categorically not crying. He’s just getting some fresh air after a heavy conversation stirred up some bad memories. There’s nothing wrong with fresh crisp night air. Maybe the cold is making his eyes water a little, but that’s all. That’s all it is.

“Finally! We’ve been looking all over for you,” Dustin shouts, rushing to his side, and there— at last— there’s the hug he’s been waiting for. And if he muffles a few soft sobs in Dustin’s curly hair, well, nobody else has to know that.

“Steve,” Max says gently, “I never thought I’d find myself actually quoting Eddie, but… what the actual fuck, dude. What happened to you in there?”

“I don’t know,” he groans. “I don’t know! It’s like I’m not back to my own mind yet, I’m still in Parent Pleasing Mode. I acted like they would’ve, and I hate it. I hate them.”

“If you hate them so much, why’d you even bother going to all those boring parties and doing all that stupid stuff they wanted you to do?” Dustin inquires, and it’s not an unreasonable question, but the answer only makes sense to a few people in a certain way. Max looks like she understands, though Steve wishes she didn’t have to.

“It’s the only way I can get them to notice me at all,” he explains miserably, feeling incredibly foolish. “They didn’t come home because they missed me or wanted to see me. They came home because they needed something from me. And if I gave it to them, then at least for a little while, I wasn’t a disappointment to them.”

He can’t pretend he isn’t crying anymore. “But once they got what they needed they went ahead and left me anyway. They’re always leaving me behind. Everybody leaves me behind.” He hiccups, loud and embarrassing like a little kid, but he can’t even bring himself to care. “Nancy left me behind. Robin’s gonna be leaving me soon too, she might be transferring to University of Illinois Chicago starting in January instead of waiting til next fall. Even you guys are starting to leave me behind. I clearly have no idea what’s going on in your lives anymore, and why would I need to? You’ve got Eddie for that now. A cool big brother is much more fun than an uptight babysitter.” He hiccups again.

“Steve, don’t be ridiculous,” Dustin immediately protests. “Just because we hang out with Eddie doesn’t mean we forgot about you. You’re still my best friend! I’ll always need you around.”

“Since Robin’s inside, I’ll call you ‘dingus’ for her,” Max adds. “We love you, you big dingus. We can love both you and Eddie too, you know, you don’t have to be jealous of him.”

“I’m not!” Steve bursts out. “At least, I didn’t used to be. Maybe I am. When he first started hanging out with you guys and we were getting to be friends, I kinda thought, wow this guy’s as lost as I am. I thought it might be kinda cool if we could help each other figure life out. But he went ahead and got his life together without me, he found a job he loves and… he knows exactly where he’s going and I’m still just stuck at stupid Family Video. All of you guys know where you’re going and I feel like I never did. Except when I was with Nancy.”

“Nancy broke up with Jonathan,” Dustin (un)helpfully supplies.

“But she’d never in a million years come back to me. And she shouldn’t, y’know? I made everything in our relationship all about me. I didn’t look out for her the way I should’ve. Gareth already takes better care of El than I ever did of Nancy, and I punched him in the face for it. And I don’t know why I did that! I didn’t think I was that kind of guy, but maybe I am. I don’t know who I am. Maybe I never did.” He’s sobbing again, not even trying to hide it, and Max and Dustin are both holding him now, trying to soothe him, but he can’t calm down. “I don’t know who I am or what I want, and everyone else does, and you’re all gonna end up leaving me here alone.”

“Steve,” Dustin squeaks out, his voice hoarse since he’s begun to cry, too. “You’re my best friend. You’ll always be my best friend. I could never forget about you. None of us will ever leave you alone.”

“No way,” Max agrees. “And we love you for who you are, not what your job is or whatever college you might or might not get into. We love you because you’re our friend, you protect us and take care of us and even though you grump about being our babysitter you’re always here for all of us, no matter what. None of us could’ve survived the last few years without you. Not even Nancy. You looked after all of us, and you never left any of us behind, so how could we leave you?”

“We never could. We’d never want to.” Dustin sniffles. “You took me in when I didn’t have anybody else. You looked out for me and gave me advice and tried to help me make good decisions. And you listened to me, at a time when nobody else was. You made me feel like I was still important. I wanna do the same thing for you now, because you’re still one of the most important people in my life and you always will be.”

Steve, wrapped up warm in the middle of a tight squishy group hug— Dustin’s specialty— finally manages to get control of his tears again. He doesn’t feel cold or aloof anymore; he feels cozy and safe and, for the first time in a very long time, like it’s okay to simply be what he is in this moment. He draws in a deep breath, which he can’t remember the last time he was actually able to do.

🫂🫂🫂🫂🫂

[in-deep]

If you could only pick one piece of Byler evidence to convince someone that Byler is endgame, what would you pick?

First off - I wrote this stream of consciousness style so please be kind aha.

I’ve been thinking a lot about this question and I think it’s simply the fact that if Mike is in fact straight, then what is his character arc?

Let me explain.

A lot of the GA view Mike as a glorified side character - sidelined after S2 to fulfil the role of El’s incompetent boyfriend whilst simultaneously leaving Will (his best friend) behind and treating him like a dick. The GA also view Mike as straight. For many GA viewers, the idea that Mike is gay/bi, let alone in love with Will, seems implausible and were it to happen, it would come out of nowhere.

Which leaves the question of: what is Mike’s character arc?

From this GA perspective, he doesn’t have one. He’s destined to make up with El in S5 and support her independence, and kindly turn Will down and go on with being besties like the supportive guy they remember him being in S1/S2. If anything, his character has regressed from the early seasons into a douchebag - a mouth breather. 

Not to mention that from this perspective, he has no real internal or external trauma to be unpacked. While this is obviously untrue as it has been made clear by the Duffer brothers and even within the show (Mike’s suicide attempt, Wheeler family discussion around his behaviour at school) that he is struggling with depression, that doesn’t seem to play into their predictions on his ending. If anything, many GA viewers don’t really view his character’s conclusion in S5 as something important because to them, (just to repeat my earlier point) he’s just a glorified side character.

Of course, if you watch the show carefully and focus on Mike, you’ll quickly realise that his character is dealing with a lot of the direct pressures of heteronormativity and internalised homophobia:

His family is your classic nuclear family, Nancy talks about the Wheeler family dynamic extensively in a heart-to-heart with Jonathan 

S1 has a lot of homophobia - all of it is about Will, but a lot of it is targeted and directed toward Mike

There are multiple times he is visually shown to come to realisations about his feelings toward El and Will, respectively. Now I won’t analyse those in this post because technically, none of the contents of those realisations have been made clear to the audience, it’s just my own interpretations. I’m sure this will come back in S5, though.

To show Mike’s queerness in S5 is not changing his sexuality, simply just revealing what has been shown to the audience the entire time. Stranger Things is brilliant at show vs. tell. They tell us something, and then show us something entirely different or even something that directly contradicts what we were told. Much of the GA don’t pick up on this (and tbf I don’t really expect them to, it’s intended to be subtle!).

To reveal concretely that Mike is queer and in love with Will would change everything. It would be shocking! The GA would lose their minds - and many people would, at first, struggle to believe it. But upon rewatching the show, it would all make sense. It would turn what many view as an unimportant character into one of the most well thought-out and planned queer stories in media history (definitely an exaggeration but bear with me aha, I’m not normal about these boys).

What people thought to be an incompetent boyfriend and an absolute dick to his best friend for two seasons in a row would turn out to actually be a deeply traumatised boy struggling to remain on the “normal” path (quote from Finn Wolfhard on Mike), within the bounds of heteronormativity. A boy who desperately wants to play DnD and Nintendo with his best friend, but realises that what he feels for him isn’t “normal”. It would reveal so much about Mike and all the things we never got to see from his perspective.

And in terms of my predictions, I’m absolutely a believer in Mike being Vecna’d, and we’ll finally see Mike’s point of view on all of this. Just imagine Vecna taunting him about how he failed to be normal. He failed to do the “right” thing. He’s been in love with Will since before he even realised it.

So yeah. Byler is real. Byler is endgame. And I’m 10000% certain that Mike is going to become an extremely popular character once we get his insight. He’ll also absolutely need a hug once all is said and done. I will be hysterical. 

But at least he’ll have his cleric <3.

A really good video on Mike's internalised homophobia that essentially sparked me to write this post in the first place, and I highly recommend if you haven't seen it yet, was this one (@lesbianmindflayer) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6IOlmBEEgE&t=80s&ab_channel=LesbianMindflayer

But yeah! What would you pick as your one piece of evidence?

[punchylr]

Nancy Drew Games: analyzing the couples

4. Jacques and Isabelle – There was speculation that Jacques married Isabelle just to get a green card.  If this is true then they will probably break up eventually. ❌

10. Mary and Tex – Good couple! 💚

11. Linda and Hugh – There was speculation about Hugh meeting up with Renee in Rome, and to be honest, I don’t think Hugh should have married someone who wouldn’t be a good stepmother to Jane.  (Linda called Jane a pest, who says that about their own stepdaughter?)  So even though Hugh said he would do what it took for them to be a family again, I kind of think Hugh and Linda eventually broke up. ❌

17. Henry and Summer – I think Henry hopefully came to his senses and broke up with Summer.  I’m sure this is one that everyone can agree on. ❌

19. Kyler and Matt – Matt comes to his senses and realizes he shouldn’t have jeopardized his friendship with Kit just to date Kyler.  But by that point it’s too late and Kit has cut ties with him.  Now his relationship to Kyler has soured since it ended up costing him his best friend.  They fall back into their old pattern of fighting every day, and speak less and less to avoid conflict.  Kyler loses herself in her books and Matt loses himself in the internet.  (This person collected quotes that say Matt is tech-addicted.) ❌

23. Miwako and Rentaro – Rentaro has goals and aspirations beyond romance so I think he should just move to the city like he always wanted.  Too manipulative. ❌

23. Bess and Logan – I actually thought this pairing was kind of cute.  But the main problem is that Logan likely doesn’t live in River Heights. 😢

24. Karl and Mildred – Very happy in Canada together! 💚

28. Colton and Lexie – I don’t like the fact that Lexie accepted the bribe to leave Colton.  If Lexie really loved him then no amount of money could make Lexie stay away.  But I suppose there might be some nuance to this, I mean, maybe Lexie knew that Colton’s family would never accept their relationship and didn’t want to ask Colton to cut ties with his parents just so he could be with Lexie. ❓

28. Wade and Savannah – I’m kind of hoping it works out between these two. 💚

30. Leena and Patrick – There’s nothing glaringly wrong with this couple so maybe it could work out.  Although.  Leena doesn’t remember how she and Patrick got together!?  And Leena was pressuring Patrick to do something unethical that he felt uncomfortable with, during that argument of theirs.  I do like how Leena defended Patrick though about him having a depth that most people don’t see.  And how she was a rugby fan until her favourite player retired.  Just, the things she was saying about him were nice.  They seem like a good balance.  And Patrick stands up for himself when he disagrees with Leena so that’s good.  Though she shouldn’t try to pressure him into things in the first place. 💚❓

32. Elisabet and Magnus – Sea of Darkness was one of the only few games I didn’t rewatch, so I don’t know about them.

[bookwormgirl123]

Enola Holmes

Why I like her: my favourite part of her is how empathetic she is—she’s really smart, yes, but I think her second mont defining trait is definitely her compassion

Why I don’t: idk if this is more enola herself, or more Nancy Springer/the series itself, but I really dislike how she uses poor people?? Idk if that makes sense, but I remember it kind of disturbed (maybe that’s not the right word) me reading the books

favourite book is the peculiar pink fan

(can’t remember any exact quotes, sorry)

Favourite outfit: I don’t think any of her outfits were described in much detail??? I loved the red dress from the first movie tho (sorry)

OTP: she’s good single

BROTP: Sherlock 1000%

Headcannon: she’s asexual (possibly aromantic too)

Unpopular opinion: hmm…her relationship with Cecily isn’t necessarily romantic

Wish for her: she gets over her abandonment issues lol

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: the movies 💀

Five words to describe her: intelligent, kind, lonely, artistic, bookish

Nickname: Nola

I’d love to see your list, if you want!

[loveinhawkins]

‘Steve & Nancy fic (gay Steve character study & introspection)’ is joint 2nd on the WIPs poll for now, so here’s some thoughts ❤️

Steve being gay is an interpretation that’s very personal to me & close to my heart. it’s not mentioned unambiguously in nbtdad, but it’s certainly what i had & continue to have in mind (kinda curious if it came across to anyone in certain scenes—it was at the forefront of my thoughts when he’s recounting his past time at the Simon & Garfunkel concert ❤️) & i more recently hinted at it in the post s1 Steve character study 1983 is calling.

for this fic, i’m still thinking over exactly how to frame it, but i’ve got a quote from little women in mind that Steve resonates with & he ends up getting reminded of it as the book’s in Nancy’s 1983 bedroom in The Upside Down. Steve’s dealing with some guilt & internalised homophobia at the thought of ‘wasting Nancy’s time’ years ago. i also just love taking a look at Steve & Nancy’s friendship, the ideas that while in s2 they were trying & failing to support one another, they click as friends in the future. ❤️

rn i’m thinking there may be some kinda confrontation scene with Eddie when he’s pushing for Steve & Nancy to get back together in the woods, but Steve & Nancy’s relationship is the main focus. undecided on what the main time frame is for the fic so here’s the little women quote & a lil sentence or two ❤️

“Oh, Teddy, I’m sorry, so desperately sorry, I could kill myself if it would do any good! I wish you wouldn’t take it so hard, I can’t help it. You know it’s impossible for people to make themselves love other people if they don’t,” cried Jo inelegantly but remorsefully, as she softly patted his shoulder, remembering the time when he had comforted her so long ago. “They do sometimes,” said a muffled voice from the post. “I don’t believe it’s the right sort of love, and I’d rather not try it,” was the decided answer.

Looking at her now, Steve feels that weight again, pressure behind his ribs. Another crack beneath the surface—too many to count. I’m sorry. I should’ve been able to love you like that.

WIPs Poll

[wrestlingfaves]

Royal Rumble Marathon: 1994

We’re rumbling into 1994.

Spoilers for past Rumbles.

The undercard:

Tatanka vs Bam Bam Bigelow (accompanied by Luna Vachon). Another okay Rumble match for Bam Bam. I like Bigelow but his Rumble matches are rather uninspiring. Let’s talk about Luna – an underappreciated and underrated woman of wrestling, From 1990 to 1993, it was slim pickings for women in North American wrestling (Japan is a different story – the joshis were on fire in this era). The 1990 to 1994 era had three of the all-time greats (Sherri, Luna, and Woman) dominating the scene. Madusa, Missy Hyatt, and Elizabeth made sporadic appearances, but it was the trio I mentioned above that dominated the WWF/WCW/ECW scene.  Luna’s first run in the WWF had a great if short-lived feud with Sherri but she was never used to her full potential. Luna could have had a fantastic feud with Madusa but it didn’t happen. Luna’s second run with the WWE was a complete waste of her potential. Jobbing to Sable? Seriously? The fact that Luna was never a WWF women’s champion is a crime against wrestling. Her WWF career can be summed up as “wasted potential”. At least she’s in the Hall of Fame. Still waiting for Nancy to be recognized for her contributions.

Recap video of the worsening relations between Bret and Owen Hart. One of my all-time favorite feuds in wrestling.

Bret and Owen Hart vs the Quebecers (accompanied by Johnny Polo aka Raven). Fun match – let’s be honest, Bret and Owen don’t have bad matches.  The match continues the road to Wrestlemania and the classic Bret vs Owen match. Bonus feature of a non-grunge/alternative/goth/etc Raven.

Referees and other officials attend to Bret as Owen rants into the camera.

To quote Owen: “And that’s why I kicked your leg out of your leg!”

I.R.S. (Mike Rotunda) vs Razor Ramon (Scott Hall). Another win for the Bad Guy.

A way too long Undertaker/Yokozuna recap video

Undertaker (accompanied by Paul Bearer) vs Yokozuna (accompanied by Mr Fuji and Jim Cornette) in a casket match that sees everyone and their grandmother interfere, specifically: Crush, the Great Kabuki, Genichiro Tenyru, Bam Bam Bigelow, Adam Bomb, Jeff Jarrett, the Headshrinkers, and Diesel (Kevin Nash). Taker loses due to the interference of eleven men. Taker doesn’t sell the defeat long as he disappears from the casket in a mist, reappears on the screen, mumbles nonsense that would make the Ultimate Warrior proud, and ascends in a cloud of smoke. Both meh and stupid at the same time. So many people were involved in this match that they might as well have started the Rumble early. I think the recap video and the aftermath lasted longer than the match itself. Remember when Yokozuna was booked as a monster heel? Yeah, me neither.

Comments from various participants in the Rumble: Savage, Jarrett, Tatanka, Diesel, Doink and Dink, Shawn, Luger.

The Taker-Yoko match must have run too long because Vince announces that due to time constraints there will be 90 seconds between entrants as opposed to the traditional two minutes. I’m telling you; they should have started the Rumble during the Yoko-Taker match.

The entrants, in order of appearance:

Scott Steiner

Headshrinker Samu (accompanied by Afa)

Rick Steiner

Kwang (aka Savio Vega, accompanied by Harvey Wippleman)

Owen Hart

Bart Gunn

Diesel (Kevin Nash)

Bob Backlund (Backlund was considered “old” during this era but he was the same age as the current generation’s main eventers)

Billy Gunn (Tenyru and Kabuki are attacking Luger backstage. Why? I don’t know, I guess all foreign wrestlers must attack men in patriotic tights).

Virgil (per the commentators, he’s the alternate for Kamala)

Randy Savage (Time to see if Randy has finally grasped the rules of the Rumble)

Jeff Jarrett

Crush (Brian Adams)

Doink (accompanied by Dink)

Bam Bam Bigelow (making his 3rd appearance of the night, accompanied by Luna)

Mable (aka Visera, accompanied by Oscar)

Sparky Plug (aka Bob Holly, the alternate for the 1-2-3 Kid who is out with a knee injury)

Shawn Michaels

 Mo (Men On A Mission)

Greg “The Hammer” Valentine

Tatanka

The Great Kabuki

Lex Luger

Genichiro Tenyru

Bastien Booger (aka Norman from WCW, apparently, he was “sick” and never came out

Rick “the Model” Martel

Bret Hart

Samu of the Headshrinkers (accompanied by Afa)

Marty Janetty

Adam Bomb (accompanied by Harvey Wippleman)

Bret and Lex eliminate each other to end the Rumble. The refs argue over whether Bret orLex won the Rumble. Jack Tunney enters the ring and declares the event a tie. But who’s going to Wrestlemania? To be decided.

The camerawork had a big “miss” when Diesel was eliminated. The commentators hyped up that Shawn helped the group eliminate Diesel from the Rumble. All the viewers saw was Michaels standing back and hesitating to join the group. At no point did we Shawn assist in eliminating Diesel.

First-time Rumblers: Scott Steiner, Rick Steiner, Kwang, Bart Gunn, Diesel, Billy Gunn, Jarrett, Crush, Doink, Bam Bam Bigelow, Mabel, Sparky Plug, Mo, Great Kabuki, Lex Luger, Adam Bomb

No one received entrance music, not even the first two entrants.

Random/Surprise Entrants: Great Kabuki, Genichiro Tenyru

Big Man Goes On A Rampage Spot: Diesel

Unite To Throw Out The Heavyweight Spot: Diesel, Mabel

Feuds in the Rumble: Shawn-Marty, Lex – Tenyru/Kabuki

Rating: 4 out of 10 (and the four goes to Bret and Owen, without those two this event is entirely skippable). The Taker-Yoko shenanigans went entirely two long, Kabuki and Tenyru are reduced to generic foreign heels allied with Fuji (or so were told by the commentators, we never see the pair interact with Fuji onscreen but all three are Japanese so they must be connected, right?), average at best undercard matches, even the Rumble itself is boring. My recommendation: watch Bret and Owen’s bits, skip the rest.

Wrestlers and others who have passed away: Howard Finkel, Bam Bam Bigelow, Luna Vachon, Owen Hart, Pat Patterson, Joey Marella, Gorilla Monsoon, Scott Hall, Paul Bearer, Yokozuna, Mr Fuji, Crush, Virgil, Randy Savage, Crush, Mabel, Jack Tunney

Total number of deceased individuals: 17 (tied with the previous year)

[steddieficfind]

I’ve been trying to find a time-travelish fic, but I don’t remember any tags unfortunately. A potential quote is ‘Steve Harrington won’t stop staring at him’ and the fic is from Eddie’s perspective. Most of the gang had traveled back in time to fix everything of course, only those who had died before the ‘travel’ don’t remember anything at all. They eventually tell Eddie and Barb (not sure about Chrissy) about what happens to them and loop them in. I vaguely remember Eddie noticing Steve and Nancy and Robin suddenly hangin together at lunch in the beginning. I just can’t seem to find it, so if anyone knows what I’m talking about pls help

Request 299! Send me an ask if you recognize this fic!

[theempatheticshrub]

On Nostalgia

So, the Oxford dictionary of English defines ‘nostalgia’ to be “a sentimental longing or wistful affection for a period in the past”. Can’t say I disagree with this more positive take on the term. Too often (imo) do I hear about the act of being nostalgic to be a negative thing, something only old people day dreaming of “working on mysteries without a clue” while being “…barely seventeen” and “barely dressed” (thanks to Mr. Seger and Mr. Loaf for those respective references) do. An ex partner of mine certainly thought being nostalgic a “sad” thing. And I suppose I was almost inclined to agree. After all, remember Jack and Diane? We have Mr. Mellencamp to thank for instilling in us a sort of dark anxiety about getting too caught up in the past.

To those nostalgia-is-negative Nancy’s, I say, lighten up! Surely there’s nothing wrong with praising the past. Well, maybe not “praising”—though, couldn’t one argue many religions to be nostalgic for a person or place of another time? (I’m looking at you, JC). Anyway, I didn’t start writing to get all controversial or biblical or political or whatever. Honestly, I just like old stuff. Novelties that are still novel. Much like Madonna, I tend towards being a “material girl”. Am I ashamed of this? Eh, maybe I don’t like the “materialistic” label. But 1980’s Care Bear figurines? Radical.

Was it not some great philosopher that talked about the past and…eh. I guess it’s been awhile since I was in skewl. And honestly, I’d rather just quote song lyrics, anyway: “I’m here for a good time, not a long time”. If you’ve read this far, hey. Thanks. Stay tuned for further garbledee-goop on everything from the aforementioned 1980’s Care Bear figurines (they were poseable!) to why shrubs are indeed empathetic.

Regards,

The Empathetic Shrub

[wroteclassicaly]

I want to clear something up and I think this will maybe make you feel better? Bear with me!! The quote about Eddie “finding Chrissy boring” is taken out of context, And this is coming from a non shipper and has nothing to do with romantic feelings. In that scene Eddie was in a tussle and about to be attacked by Jason, and Chrissy pulls him away. He obviously doesn’t have very positive feelings about Jason and is ilk - high school poster boys that all dress, talk, and act the same - and all don’t like him for being a “freak”. He assumed Chrissy was the same until she stops Jason, then has an extremely vivid memory of them meeting at the talent show, where she shows her humanness, insecurity, nervousness, and a fear of being judged(by people in her family), something he’s familiar with, just in a wider way, and they find comfort in each other. After he remembers and sees her actions, that’s when he opens his mind to think differently about her even as a part of that group. He realizes she kept that part of herself he saw in middle school, and isn’t this “perfect” cardboard cut out image she’s seen and perceived her to be and that he preemptively judged her to be(like how we see him doing in s4 with people like Nancy). He wasn’t talking about her looks, there’s an obvious wider context. She’s still the physical “perfect” Chrissy and it’s not like he opened and changed his mind bc he saw her with her hair messed up or with a metal band t shirt on. He remembered she’s a human who is imperfect and feels imperfect things, and she shows empathy towards him in that moment. And I think that is comforting bc it shows what Eddie values - he values real people as they are and imperfection, even when they’re feeling insecure. And that also applies to you! Eddie is PLENTY imperfect and you still love him, and he’d still love you. I think this goes with the vibe thing too - he’d like you for you.

You’re tugging on my emotions right now. This literally just coasted on my chest and pierced me right in the heart, but also softened the blow. I think you’ve just nailed it perfectly! And it makes me a little less anxious to read ❤️🥹

[stardustpinkart]

Quote One: The jerk even took the popcorn bowl, and of course that was why Tilly was sitting closer to him. Obviously.

"I'm not sure I like Bell's boyfriend." Tilly mused as she laid across the couch cushions, her head propped up by the side of Chip's leg. Chip shrugged, taking another bite of popcorn. "No one does, he's a total bonehead." Quote Two:

"Sleep grappler?" Tilly repeated, looking at Cricket, who seemed both confused and offended.

Chip sighed, ducking back into the bathroom so he could spit. "Yeah, sleep grappler, Cricket's like a leech. As soon as he closes his eyes he just grabs onto the nearest person and doesn't let go."

"Ohhh" Tilly's eyes widened in understanding. "Yeah, Cricket does tend to do that."

Cricket scoffed, throwing his hands to the air in indignation. "Wha- I do not 'grapple' people."

Gloria and Nancy shared a look.

"I don't know, Cricket you do kind of do that, remember that time you fell asleep on your break and I had to wake you up, took me a whole hour to get you off my leg. You're like a.. sleep leech."

"Hey,I already named it sleep grappler." Chip argued as Cricket reveled in the shock of Gloria's epic betrayal. Gloria ignored him as she fixed her pillow.

"I don't know sleep leech does have a nicer ring to it." Tilly commented honestly.

"Tilly." Both Chip and Cricket whined for different reasons. Based on this series of fanfics by @noodlepals https://archiveofourown.org/works/37168771/chapters/92728528  :)

It's such a cute AU, if Chip actually DID become a nicer person like they hinted at(Not that I dont love the villain route they went with, how can you pick just one?). I especially liked these snuggly elements and Cricket being a lil clinger on, so that's what led to this picture. Its really well written, feels like it could be right off the tv. I really enjoyed reading it and its follow up chapters. I’d like to draw some scenes, maybe I will.

[whereareroo]

POPE FRANCIS

WF THOUGHTS (9/15/24).

You all know that I’m a huge fan of Pope Francis. He has broken down so many barriers in the Church. History will remember him as a transformational Pope.

The Pope recently commented on the presidential race in America. Many were surprised. I wasn’t. He reads this blog. In our regular phone calls, we talk about politics all the time.

The Pope said that both of our candidates are “against life.” Here’s the exact quote: “Both are anti-life, both the one who throws out migrants and the one who kills babies- -both of them are against life.” The Pope did not use the name of either candidate.

So what is an American voter supposed to do? The Pope was smart enough to protect his neutrality by evading that question. He said that voters have “to choose the lesser evil.” He then answered the obvious question before it was even asked: “What is the lesser evil? That woman, or that man? I don’t know.” He said that each voter must examine their own conscience and make a decision.

I know what the Pope would do if he could vote in our election.

The Pope abhors abortion. He thinks it’s murder. At the same time, based upon lengthy discussions with people like Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi, he understands that the real issue in America isn’t about abortion itself. Democrats don’t support or encourage abortion. Democrats simply believe that, until the point of viability, our Constitution gives the ultimate decision to the woman and that the government must not intrude upon her right to make that decision. For 50 years, that was the law in America under Roe v. Wade. Because he’s Pope, the Pope doesn’t have the leeway to discuss these legal niceties. He has to stick with the line that abortion is murder.

I guarantee you that the Pope is far more concerned about the abuse of migrants. He feels their pain. I’m certain that the Pope is sickened by the idea that Trump is seeking to deport 10 or 20 million people. Doing so would cause so much pain, upheaval- -and death. The shockwaves would negatively impact an additional an 10 or 20 million people in America. The fallout would spread through the entire world.

The Pope said that anti-migrant policies are “sinful.” He went out of his way to list some of the sins: “sending migrants away;” not letting them develop,” and “not letting them have a life.” I’m sure the Pope’s heart is broken by the anguish and pain that migrants endure on a daily basis when the sword of deportation is dangled above their heads. The Pope’s favorite biblical teaching is “Love Thy Neighbor.” The migrants are living, breathing, people. If forced to make the extremely difficult decision between protecting the lives of migrants or protecting the development of gestational fetuses, I’m confident that the Pope would vote to protect migrants.

In the Pope’s mind, not voting is not an option. He believes that voting is mandatory as a matter of “political morality.” He stated that “if you don’t vote, it’s not good, it’s bad. You have to vote, and you have to choose the lesser evil.” I’m in total agreement with him.

If the Pope disagrees with anything that I said here, I will hear from him promptly. If he wants me to change anything that I said above, I’ll let you know. I think he’ll be fine with this discussion.

[ronanceautistic]

Hiyaaa just wanna imagine this incorrect golden girls quote would be sum up of Wayne and Nancy relationship. She is gotten more nosy in his life while he gotten more comfortable about teasing her.

Nancy: Remember Wayne, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do

Wayne: I think i crossed that line when i got a date.

I love that.