#Now they're best friends who have started doing this whole ��gay for the bit” relationship.

[mechazushi]

If The Core Division Three Members Had Gaming Channels...

Kafka Hibino {A.K.A ComfyManGaming}: Mainly Shop Management Sims or just Sims in general. His most popular series and the one that let him go full time as a content creator was his Power Wash sim Story Time where he got to talk about the craziest things that happened to him in his, like, six different cleaning jobs. ( In order; Landscaper, personal maid service, High rise window washer [tied for origin for most of his craziest stories], Nuclear Power Plant Office janitor, Failed attempt at running his own power wash service, and School Janitor with a car detail side job. {Most recent/longest held job/and also tied for craziest story origin generator with Car Detail Horror stories being second). Can be convinced to play atmospheric games like Journey/Abzu/Fire Watch/Anything thought provoking or emotional.

Reno Ihchikawa{A.K.A IchyChill Breakdowns}: Whatever Windette does, but with less insults. Basically Build Breakdowns and Speedrun Tutorials. Carried with the energy of a tired Indian Math teacher trying to teach calculus to 8th graders. Is also [technically] a PNG tuber, but because he's low energy, the PNG doesn't move much.

Iharu Haruichi {A.K.A SharkBAIT}: Two Channels. One is a horror game channel, Both Indi and Triple A. The other is anything casual, but mainly sticks to Stardew Valley, Animal Crossing, Coral Island, that sort of thing. Fans like to call the Horror one Anxiety and the non-horror one Anti-Anxiety(Each have their own mascots and like to fight each other like Jacksepticeye and Antisepticeye). He has absolutely accidentally cross posted horror vids onto the non horror channel and vice-versa. The community like to pretend that they don't interact with the other channels and when that sort of thing happens, they pretend they've been exposed to horrors beyond comprehension. (yes, even when the horror channel gets a cutesy vid)

Mina Ashiro{ A.K.A Can(n)onGodess/Pr3ttyW1ttl3K1tty}: Also Two channels, but actively makes sure that no one knows she runs both. One is a live stream of FPS set up as no-commentary/with camera (Mainly colorful ones like Valorant). The other is also no commentary with NO camera and its Sim 3 or 4 tips-and-tricks and Minecraft Aesthetic House Build (Mod and No Mod.)

Kikrou Shinomya:{A.K.A Can_It_Doom?} A STEM major that couldn't find a use for her degree as fast as she liked, so she started a Can it Run Doom? channel as a joke, and now it's evolved into a channel where people recommend different setups like Drumset Controler on a Texas TI-84 Graphing Calculator. (Is also currently in the middle of working on a live action Tank Setup for World of Tanks as a subscriber goal.)

Hoshina Soshiro{A.K.A SwordSingerSUPREME} Any game that involves sword fighting and critiques it either Accurately or HARSHLY. Also streams his HEMA training/tournaments. It's very popular (because everyone find him hot) and has since become a bit of an eclectic channel that is split between his Gaming vids, his HEMA vids, and P.O Box unboxing vids where people send him A LOT of gifts. There's also an over an hour video of him playing Let's Hit Each Other With Fake Swords the Card Game with his older brother (who is also in HEMA.) that he made when the channel hit 5 million subscribers.

✨Bonus✨

Gen Narumi{A.K.A xXGenNarumi420Xx}: Plays anything that's currently trending, but his bread and butter is FPS or Run and Guns. (Has confessed to saying "Would" to the Ultrakill Robot.)

Okonogi Konomi{A.K.A BlossomBear}: Indi VTuber that plays exclusively Indi Puzzle games or Puzzle Platformers. Isn't a singing VTuber so much as one that can and will go in-depth on programming and what goes into a VTube model (She made hers and it has two forms : a chibi, curly white haired, anthro bear girl and a white plushi version with orange blossom motifs.) Can and has demonstrated to be an absolute GOD at Minesweeper

Minase{A.K.A MinAction}: A anime/movie/Western Animation reaction channel. Has an uncanny habit of predicting things before they should be obvious.

Hakua{A.K.A HakuaKooksXP} A cooking channel whose shtick is 1000 Ways To Prepare [Insert Food Here.]. She's still currently working her way through rice.

Haruichi Izumo {Goes by his name} Various product review channel.

Aoi Kaguragi {Also goes by his name} A very well made workout channel.

[enhanced-operatives-division]

Junicrane/Starstruck Ramble

I will not be brief, all under the cut

To clear some things right off the bat:

No corpse, no proof with Juniper. Obligatory this is set in a canon where he's alive and adjacent to the agency in some way.

Reggie & Juniper are just gay to me, but I don't mind any interpretation of their sexuality

The games are set in 1967/68 to me (based on a couple bits in game) which is before it was legal to be gay in America at least (1971), which is relevant to how I interpret canon as being somewhat grounded in reality, despite unrealistic elements.

This is just an insane amount of headcanons/elements of and AU all culminated into one post. I will talk about some headcanons like they're just facts because they are established in my head, and it saves me over explaining literally everything, however I will explain some parts a little bit for clarity.

Alright. Actual beginning of the ramble:

Juniper is a character to me who had gotten so lost in his job as an actor and a social presence that in the end his whole life revolved around that 'role'. Because of this, by the time he's put into the situation where he's around the Agency, he basically knows nothing about himself, though he doesn't realise at first. Furthermore, what little identity he had has changed in so many ways. He's no longer a beloved famous actor in the prominence of public light, he's legally dead and he tarnished his career just before he was supposed to die, with the bonus of that making him lose the majority of his estate. From that, he also has horrific facial scarring from the electrical burns from literally having his face fried. I believe a friend of mine made a post about this a while ago (I also think they were the first to think it up also), but, to me, Juniper has a permanent trimmer in his right arm (aka his dominant hand) from the electrical current and it is messing with his nervous system.

All in all, he's not doing great, but he's too proud to admit that he's not doing great, because if anything, what's left of his ego is all he has as a defense since he's deep in unfamiliar water.

Before ending up around the agency (I have multiple interpretations of this, so I'm just going to bring it up generally), he'd never actually seen Reggie, and his only impression of him is a single voicemail, which was his only reference he had to later impersonate him. Juniper probably has very little feelings other than the ones he projects onto him because of Phoenix and that, at the very least, he's physically attracted to Reggie to some degree (that's like the beginning of how everything else would tumble into place in this sort of interpretation at least).

And on Crane's side? His feelings towards Juniper are probably very intense and muddled. On the one hand, he adores musical theatre, and that's his now ex-favourite actor. The thought of just casually being around him blows the bit of fanboy in him away at first because THAT'S the GUY, plus the inklings of a celebrity crush which still poke at him. And then there's the rational side of him, which knows Juniper has committed absolute atrocities on the side of Zoraxis, and hates him for that. Then there's how much Juniper comes off as an asshole at first because he refuses to cooperate with anything the Agency tried to put in place. He finds Juniper endlessly frustrating, and yet he's stuck working with him since, afterall, he's the one who knows the Agency's history with Juniper the best. I imagine him acting a lot like how he does IEYTD 1 around Juniper.

At this point, I'm just describing the pitch for a romcom.

I think the start of their relationship with one another largely started with Juniper trying to wind Crane up. It was a way of getting his attention, and I don't think Juniper knows why he's so dead set on that at first, because I don't think he realises he has a crush on 'this grump' at first. (I think that's actually the fun part about these two, because it's almost like a role reversal of the celebrity crush dynamic. This ex-big name actor has a TERRIBLE crush on an average joe and it is KILLING HIM.) But of course the Agency keeps them together because Juniper is at least conversing with Crane, so it's a start.

Through one way or another, they actually get talking casually, at least mildly at first. It takes Juniper a long time to fully deconstruct the wall he's built, and the thing is, Crane isn't the one trying to deconstruct it, at least at first, because yeah, Juniper realises if he wants Reggie to actually like him in any way, he can't keep winding him up. So they talk. Small talk at first, something rhythmic and almost easy to keep to a script. And over time that turns into actual conversations. Genuine ones in which Reggie rips out the occasional one of his jokes which Juniper is endlessly endeared about. The way he smiles just before he makes them, like he wants to chuckle at what he's about to say before he says it. That's probably when Juniper realised that he does have some vague crush on him, and that it wasn't going away.

This is what kickstarts John I can't-buy-you-things-to-impress-you-so-acts-of-service-it-is Juniper to do little things for him. It mostly starts off as him trying to make Reggie his tea how he likes it. However, the nerve damage in his arm makes that hard, as the weight of the kettle and trying to pour is hard all of a sudden. And he refuses to accept that, so he tries for a very long while. Long enough that Crane would go to investigate what was going on. And when he does see Juniper leaning over a cup with the kettle as he uneasily tries to pour it, and when Crane asks Juniper responds so matter-of-fact that his intention is nothing but genuine. And it catches Reggie off guard because Juniper hadn't done anything like that up to that point, and his very apparent vulnerability is so clearly on show.

It shifts something between them.

From that point on, conversations are longer, more familiar. Both of their attitudes soften, and Reggie makes more jokes. Juniper learns how to better use his left hand while strengthening his right back to a point where it could be used again. Slowly, they're both spending time with one another not because they have to, but just because they can. Little bits at first, not too far outside what they already were doing, but those little bits turned into long bits to a point where the other person's company was genuinely desirable.

As time passes, Juniper probably realises that he doesn't genuinely know much about himself or what hobbies he's into, because he never really had the time when he got big, and his home life in his youth wasn't bad, but it wasn't picturesque. I think Reggie would pick up on it, and absolutely try to introduce him to some things he's into. Some things stick, other things don't (corn husking very much stays Reggie's passion, and John will go with him sometimes because it's him, but it's not something he strongly cares for). Crane introduces him to a lot of music, and it's something that becomes a staple between them, with tracks they listen to more than others (tragically, I know relatively little about 60s music so I couldn't really say what). Occasionally they dance, never anything intense, think slow dancing, but the closeness is nice.

Through all of it, Juniper is battling the worst crush of his life, and he can't stand it, because I think he struggles to read people since he doesn't have anything like a script or a director to refer back to, so he has no idea if Reggie likes him back or if he's just desperate for that to be true. I think because of that any sort of confession between them would be incredibly raw, not only because of the time they live in making it hard for them to be truthful about how they love, but because it's a complete show of Juniper who's worked to be this better person. I don't exactly know how that would go, mainly because I don't have one set version of their dynamic, this post is just a generalisation of main consistent points.

Reggie does like him back, because he's gotten used to Juniper being just this guy, not a figure in the public eye, not a Zoraxis lackey, and not any sort of Agency operative (despite being under their care to some degree). He's someone he genuinely cares for, because they've given one another the time of day to learn one another, and I think because Reggie was a field agent, he was a lot better at reading Juniper than Juniper was at reading him. Eventually Juniper's company becomes something he could see around him for the rest of his life, and I think he accepts that he likes Juniper a lot more gracefully.

I think any affection directed at Juniper would at first be met with him feeling a little muddled. Reggie was a very physically affectionate person when he could be, and sure the initial flirting with one another came with the occasional little touches, but everything now was so deeply intentional. I also don't think Juniper would almost ever get over the novelty of being able to kiss him, or many other gestures, because it made the fact that they were together so very real, and it was great. I do think it comes easier to Reggie, and it's a big way of showing how much he cares, so it's important for Juniper to try and show it back because he knows how much it means to the other.

I like the idea of them eventually living with one another, too. I think Juniper would have always had a quiet little daydream of sorts where he does just live a domestic quiet life, and he can with Reggie (well, as close as they can get between the Agency and Zoraxis always being at odds), and he loves that, and he loves him, and it's immense.

I think they cook for one another a lot, it helps Juniper work on his dexterity in a controlled environment, which means a lot because it's a huge point of insecurity (that and his scars). He does improve, and Crane is proud of that and shows it and it's great. I also think they'd probably cook together too, because they can deal with being in the kitchen together and they work well with one another. It's probably a good way for them to unwind because over time they can do it in relative silence.

As I said before, I also think music is a staple in their household, and that Reggie listens to things on vinyl almost all of the time because he likes the background noise. Sometimes Juniper will catch him chuntering along to the music which he finds endlessly endearing. I wouldn't put it past his dramatic ass to also join in to fluster Reggie, but I also don't think Reggie would mind that terribly because Juniper has listened to the music enough to know the lyrics, and that's huge to him.

I don't think they are without rough patches, no relationship is, but I think the good part about them is that they're willing to talk about it (... eventually). They're used to long conversations, and while they're often less fun conversations, they're needed and they know that, and it works out.

Alright. I think I'm done for now. I haven't mentioned everything, but this definitely got the worst of it out of my system. If you ever want to hear any specific thoughts my ask box is open but other than that, behold my general dynamic for these two which has been festering in my head for years. I think they're great

[agentravensong]

i've had a fic in my drafts for multiple years now (first version of it is from shortly post witch in the web) about paul becoming something of a surrogate dad for hannah (or, more accurately, just beginning on that journey, and then the events of tgwdlm happen). and now i have an idea for a similar story that i think i'm even less likely to finish, so i'm gifting it to tumblr:

bill becoming grace's new, better dad (potentially leading to, depending on how much you want to balloon the scope, the full ccrp gang (minus ted, for timeline reasons we'll get to shortly) becoming psuedo-parental figures for the full npmd protag gang)

to start: bill and grace. i think we can all agree that grace deserves better parents, right? well, there's one reason i think bill is the prime candidate to step into that role for her: they're canonically the same denomination and go to the same church. meaning that a) bill has seen this girl once a week for probably her whole life, so he's got to at least know her a little bit by now, and b) grace probably has a baseline level of respect for and willingness to listen to him, at least compared to any of the other ccrp adults (who are all different denominations).

them having their church in common gives them a starting point, but we also know just how different bill is from grace's parents (for one, he has no problem with his daughter being gay and dating). so being around him could give grace another perspective on life, one she wouldn't be so easily able to dismiss out of hand. there's a chance, however slight, that grace might actually believe him when he shows her there are other ways to be good. other ways to Be.

i guess there's also the possibility that grace's family (and thus grace) could secretly despise bill for not adhering to their version of their denomination's beliefs? but i still think it could work given the right circumstances.

what would be those circumstances, you ask? here's what i think:

the workin boys timeline, post workin boys (gals).

think about it: bill was there, and he has to know grace was there, since she's the one who Dealt with hidgens. imagine being him, and going to church the next sunday, and seeing her there. you'd be at least a little concerned about how she's doing, right?

now, answer me this: do you think grace's parents would be at all equipped to give grace the emotional support she would need after that experience? do you think they'd react at all rationally when they found out about this whole thing?

do you think grace would be able to fully keep up appearances the next time she went to church, after smiting someone in the name of god?

which is to say, i think bill, for as obtuse as he can sometimes be, would notice that she's not okay. and knowing how much he misses alice when she's not around, and how much he always worries for her... i think it's a fair jump to make that bill's fatherly side would start coming out. that he'd offer to be there for grace, and maybe start looking into her family on his own.

and grace, after a short while doing her best to hold things together on her own, cracks, and decides to take him up on that offer.

i think bill would have to do some more developing himself in order to really help grace, because we do see in his relationship with alice that familiar strain of overprotectiveness, even if it's much less dominant than in the chasitys. in that respect, i think setting a version of this idea in the watcher world timeline could be easier, because bill goes through some serious development there... but overall i find that version less interesting for grace, so instead, bill is gonna have to learn the longer way.

it would take a while for bill to start getting at the heart of how grace got messed up by her parents. but i think, with enough time — and maybe some help from a certain social worker and his specially gifted (girl)friend, if we say this timeline is one of the better 50% — he could get there.

now, i mentioned the other npmd teens up top. for the sake of this story, i like imagining that ruth actually survived; she hid when hidgens started murdering and he didn't get to her before the curtains went up. so she gets to be here! yay!

but, uh. none of them are doing too hot. obviously a ruth who lived through that would be traumatized; it might even ruin her love of theater entirely. ritchie saw it all, and i figure ruth wouldn't come out of hiding until after it was all over, so there were a good few minutes at least where he genuinely believed his (maybe best) friend was dead.

and, pete... he wasn't there, but, ya know. he lost his brother. so.

all the kids need help, is the point. and if bill is starting to look after grace, then it's basically inevitable (heh) that he'd start seeing some of ritchie (since he and grace were already kind of friends in this timeline, and i can imagine them developing a trauma bond in the aftermath of the event) and then, by association, ruth. i can even imagine him encouraging grace to hang out with them more as part of her healing, and then they could start having hang-outs at his place, and... plus, i figure the other ccrp adults probably at least vaguely knew about ted's younger brother, so bill doing at least one courtesy check-in on pete makes sense. and pete is friends with richtie and ruth, so, it all comes together!

and at some point, if bill is gonna end up helping out all these teens to some extent, it'll probably become part of his small talk at work, and that's how, if you wanted to, you could get the other adults involved. like, we know paul has babysat for alice before, so i think bill could probably convince him to help out here too... eventually. i mean, it's not like he'd ask him to take them to a musical, given Everything. if paul has started pursuing something with emma, then she can be here too! and charlotte... well, i don't know if we know anything about her opinion on children, and i don't want to stereotype her given she's the only woman of the group. but she's at least generally a nice person; i think she'd be willing to help out when she sees bill starting to get overwhelmed.

which basically just leaves the question of how steph gets involved. my answer: she hears about what happened, then learns that pete's brother was one of the casualties, and through some combo of feeling obligated and having a spark of an interest in pete, reaches out to him to ask how he's doing. so she gets pulled in through him. with this set-up, tho, i figure she probably wouldn't be a major player (though she definitely also deserves a better parent... that can be its own story).

to kind of wrap this up, the point of this whole story concept is that bill accidentally gets a second daughter, figuring out how to be a better dad in the process; and grace, on the precipe of entering adulthood with some fresh trauma, gets a real chance at salvation. a chance to be, relatively, normal. or, whatever she wants to be when free of her parents' expectations and religious standards. anything else for any other characters is a bonus.

(there can also be some alice — bill drama when alice next visits and starts noticing how much bill is devoting himself to this girl that isn't even his daughter. drama that, eventually, results in the two of them becoming closer, and grace getting an honorary older sister!)

(also remember that duke and holloway can be here helping with the kids, if you want them to be. and why wouldn't you?)

like i said up-top, i have no plans to actually write this. y'all can take it and do whatever you want with it. i just hope at least one other person gets something out of this bain blast i had :D

[theghostbunnie]

How do you see Max and Nikki’s relationship?

As siblings

I know that's like sometimes what ppl say when there's a straight pairing popular ship (makki) vs a gay popular one (maxneil) and they don't really mean it they just mean they have a uncomfortbilty or hatred towards one of the ships, but in my mind they're literally twins/hj

I have AUs where they're twins, half siblings, step siblings. I love them sm..There's even a line in one of the end credit rap songs that goes something like "we may not have the same color skin but imma treat em like my twin" and I'm like ah yes,,, something to feed into my delusions/j

((on a more srs note I feel like more ppl should look into the end credit lyrics alot of it seems specifically written to fit Max and might give people a better insight into his characterization))

But enough of my fannon delusions n self indulgence they're obviously not actually siblings they're best friends BUT they didn't start off that way no matter how sweet the "you now have three little bastards to deal with" line is bc in the first season, earlier episodes he's more of an asshole to her bc they're still getting to know each other.

He broke her instrument, quicker to basically tell her to shut up on multiple occasions, ect.

Back to the first episode, Max operates BIG on first impressions. Off the bat he's touching Neil's shoulder, he's impressed by his disrespect to authority, he wants to hotwire the bus with him. But Nikki? Hardly addressing her. Even says "why would you help us?" Bc despite biting him, she appeared to be just a 'little more violent, mini-David.' THAT was his first impression of her. Nikki didn't have his attention or respect technically until he learned her willingness to seek and cause chaos near the end of the episode. There's times at later points where she's clearly getting on his nerves.

I'm pretty sure I already wrote out a whole in depth thing about how Max has issues getting attached to people and will fight it off and deny it once it happens even at the cost of their feelings (points at camp corp episode) where as Nikki is a social person who has been denied a real friend til she came to camp campbell same as Neil, who is NOT a social person. They both start off clingy towards Max for this but Nikki works past it and makes 2 other friends while Neil doesn't.

So recap: Max builds a team of two other kids he can just share a common goal with at first, is a bit of a jerk to Nikki initially at times, but she grows on him and now he really values her as a friend n cares for her deeply.

But now onto NIKKI'S POV: She'd been bullied before, it was a traumatic experience for her yes but that's also the ONLY information we have on any past relationships she's had with peers, kids her own age. Any other time she's talking about someone she knew it's often just her mom. sometimes her dad (often not painting a good picture of him but through a childhood innocence lense) or an animal she knew.

So when she makes her first friend group in camp campbell her only prior experience with one is in the flower scouts. Nikki picked up bad habits from them bc she's a kid and doesn't have the emotional maturity to analyze her every behavior.

So when Max is being the type of person who was being quick to shut her down, who (in her own words) was micro managing her, and only ever seemed like he was having a good time when they were doing what HE planned to do, ofc she's gonna start harboring some complaints. Nikki isn't gonna sit down and talk about her feelings to him like an adult she's gonna do what the flower scouts taught her and you talk shit about the problem to OTHER friends.

This isn't to say she secretly hates him, no I firmly believe she deeply cares about him too but they're both flawed people so their friendship has flaws too that doesn't make it void of care for one another.

You can't unbiasedly hate on Nikki for that scene she's mocking him if you're not even taking into consideration WHAT her original issue was. Nikki shit talks, Max has control issues.

As episodes progress I think they really seem to work past it and become better people AND I THINK THAT'S RLLY SWEET I LOVE THEIR FRIENDSHIP ❣️❣️

The way they interact with each other throughout the series really shows that their differences might cause some clashing but they have FUN together and I think their differences and problems just make them more interesting characters

[bengiyo]

Only Boo! Ep 10 Stray Thoughts

Last week, we moved to Bangkok, and Moo was so ready to start his domestic era with Kang. Kang is still feeling a bit shy about intimacy, but he's trying to find compromises with Moo. They introduced a blank letter concept probably for next week's episode of doom. Moo and friends started their boot camp, and Potae is struggling while Moo is getting griefed over perceived nepotism. Everyone is telling Moo and Kang that they should keep their relationship on the DL, and Moo said fuck that and posted publicly about how much he loves Kang. Potae is currently jealous that Payos is backing off.

I'm glad GMMTV is continuing to model better behavior with the women around the boys lately. Neth cheering about the grand gesture, but leaving when they need to talk about it, is correct.

Wow, Potae! You can't tell your friend you don't want anything to change and then kiss him after a pratfall.

Moo has no idea that Potae already rejected Payos. This is painful. Potae is messing with him and Moo tossed aside his big love. This must look hopeless to Payos. He is only doing this because he wanted to be close to Potae.

The weird bubble they're keeping Moo in is irritating me here. Why ask Potae what to do and not his mom or Shone? I know he's irked with them telling him to be private with Kang, but this is exactly why! He should talk to them!

Fuck you, Potae! You don't get to reject and confuse your best friend, and then get jealous and upset when he signs the no dating contract.

Well, I'm glad he's talking to Kang about it next. I'll accept this path if he talks to his mom later.

Again, this is where the bubble doesn't work for me. Moo just explicitly put himself in the closet. Where is his sense of history, where are his gays, and where are his hags?

They're also keeping Payos out? I cannot forgive this.

And now Kang is leaving. Can we at least get a check in with how his art program is going, or if he's gotten more comfortable with intimacy??

Why would this company reward a snitch?

Is this show really having Payos let go of his hurt because he's also guilty of hiding things??? These things are not equal. Potae was being a jealous dick, and Moo felt out of character crushing Payos's hope.

OH NOW WE REINTRODUCE MOO'S MOM?????????

I would like a translation check in about Kang saying Moo has people who love him unconditionally. Because this contract came with conditions, and fans' love is so fickle. We are in the midst of multiple GMMTV PR issues right now over fans being unreasonable.

This could have been a Love Jones (1977) or Really Love (2020) kind of story. And yet...

Yeah, fumbling the queerness has disconnected me from this story. I'm not even feeling the emotions of this breakup.

1 YEAR LATER????

So we didn't put Potae through any additional training on screen to deal with the fact that he keeps struggling, and now the three of them get to debut with Jang and still have weak timing??

And now we've introduced shipping. I'm going to implode.

How would he not know where Kang was? He probably knew his whole class schedule.

Well, I hated all of this. We skip past the idol competition and training to continue to muddle the story by pretending homophobia doesn't exist. Payos felt like a bystander all episode and not the only other pining gay that Moo connected to. They reintroduce Moo's mom not to help him manage an untenable situation but to instead tell Kang to break up with him. This sucked, and I will not be forgiving this show for this.

[catgirljaneway]

For the character ask game: Kes + 1, 12, 20

Thank you so much for the ask!! (Ask game in question)

1. Why do you like or dislike this character?

Ok! So I'm a huge Kes fan, and I was initially drawn to her because she's got this little aura of joy, and you can't help but love her, which you can see in other character's interactions with her on the show. Any room she walks into instantly gets a little brighter and she's just so fundamentally kind and gentle and full of love.

So that's what initially drew me to her, but what hooked me, was that fact that the longer you watch, the more we learn about her, the more deeply strange she gets. We've got that fantastic scene in elogium where she eats all those fucking bugs with that deranged expression, and of course, my all time favorite, this one scene where the doctor tells Kes he has some autopsy reports for her to read because he knows she loves autopsies. This by the way, is NEVER brought up again which I think is a terrible loss, because what thing to say about a character and then never mention! What a fact!

So you've got this little elfish looking girl, who's still fundamentally kind and gentle, but now we also know "oh she's a bit of a freak!" and she's wicked smart, and then she learn, oh, she's got these terrifying powers at her core and actually she might not be as fundamentally gentle as we (the audience) or kes herself thought. And now Kes has to grapple with this, and she's still a deeply good and loving person at heart, but now she has to try a little harder to suppress these urges and that makes her fundamentally more interesting.

Also her relationships with Janeway and Tuvok and The Doctor all bring me so much joy. Janeway's love for her, and the way she smiles when Kes is around, the way she hugs her when she leaves just!! Rip me to pieces. And Tuvok's mentorship and quiet protection of her?? And that scene when the Doctor holds her in Twisted. Kes has 3 parents, and honestly all three of them think they're taking care of her, but they need her more than she needs them.

And what's kept me loving her, is in a way her missed potential. So much about Kes wasn't explored, so much was left unanswered, and getting to rotate her around in my head and think about all the things she could have been is so fun. I deeply wish she had been used more, because on paper she's such a fascinating, deeply weird character. And she was just starting to come into her own when we leave her. She's broken up with Neelix, she's making her own choices, and I want to imagine where that would have gone. (I have further thoughts on this, but this is already ridiculously long, so I will continue this in a different post)

Long story short, she's a lovable little weird girl, and I like weird little girls. She'd crawl around on all fours and make up weird stories at recess in fourth grade and I like that about her.

Also she reminds me of the "a little guy!" > "oh they're actually fucked up" meme.

12. What's a headcanon you have for this character?

Well I LOVE the art where people make her look a little more bug like. With weird pupils and antennae and such. I love that, I definitely headcanon her looking a bit creepier like that.

I also headcanon her as a lesbian. Her whole relationship with Neelix baffles me. I honestly LOVE them as friends, they're so great when they're just silly best friends, but I cannot stand them as a couple. She's a gay girlie.

20. Which other character is the ideal best friend for this character, the amount of screentime they share doesn't matter?

SEVEN!! Seven!!! GAH! The missed potential! Pretty much a weirdgirls club with Seven, B'elanna, and Kes. Kes would have been the perfect person to help Seven reintegrate into society, because she's patient and kind, and she'd get a huge kick out of Seven's deadpan humor. I mean, the EMH is her best friend, she's very good at dealing with people who others consider hard to get along with.

Kes wouldn't make Seven feel bad about the way she is, or try to pressure her to conform to what she wants from Seven. She'd take her how she was and love her for her whole being, not for what she could be. Also Seven would be Kes's scary dog ❤️ Because people meet Kes and think she's an easy target or a pushover (even though she could probably obliterate anyone if she so felt like it) but then Seven is standing behind her looking menacing and they hurry away as quick as they can, completely unaware they were scared of the wrong blonde.

[favorite-fruity-boy]

Roxxie look so cute, what's their backstory and their relationship like with gene.

do they like gene fam

Pwease tell : 3

you, my friend, have opened the floodgates. this will PROBABLY be very long so. under the cut it gooooes <3

OKAY. im not sure when exactly this takes place as im still working through bits and pieces of their backstory, but at some point, lil Mx Roxxandrew Amor Ruíz(birth name, they have an eccentric mom) moves from Colombia to the USA(specifically, where the show takes place) they moved with their mom, their older sister, younger brothers and younger sister. Roxxie is very shy, ESPECIALLY in a completely new country, in a new school, surrounded by people they dont know. theyre mostly fluent in english, but they tend to slip into spanish easily, which embarrasses them. they become fast friends with Gene. im dipping my toes into mary sue territory because I Feel Like It ok. Roxxie is pretty isolated at first, but through some shenanigans(which im imagining includes Louise, probably getting revenge on someone and needing someone fluent in spanish?) so Roxxie has a taste of Belcher Chaos and ends up really enjoying it. they've played their whole life safe until then. so they end up tagging along often during the Belcher kids' wild adventures. they get along really well with Tina, actually, and kinda see her as a big sister. but after a while of being friends with them all, Roxxie starts to notice Gene a lil bit more..... Bob and Linda eventually meet Roxxie's mom, and Linda and her HIT IT OFF. theyre best friends immediately, they have very similar energies. I think Linda probably suggests a sleepover, sometime after Gene and Roxxie hit best friend status, and wtf is Roxxie supposed to say?? they're an amab nonbinary kid who has a huge fat crush on their best friend, who is a boy. plus they have a loud, gossipy mom. they cant just admit they have a gay little crush on Gene. i mean they probably could and it would be fine but theyre 11 and mostly closeted so. anyway. sleepover happens. Roxxie almost ruins it because theyre so nervous they might throw up, theres drama... the confession happens and is probably really rocky at the start,, but yeah. thats about as far as ive gotten LOL..

theyre really close w/ Gene. like. almost Telepathically Close. their relationship is romantic but verging more on "we're best friends who are so close it just kind of happened naturally" . actually now that i say that would it be funnier for Roxxie to be freaking out during the sleepover and Gene's just like "wait what. we WERENT dating?" idk that sounds like something that would happen anywayyyy.... Roxxie really likes Genes family, too. Linda reminds them of their mom a lot, and Bob is like the weird autistic dad they never got to have. and Tina and Louise are like sisters to Roxxie.

thats all i got so far. TYSM FOR ASKING ME A THING.. i love rambling could u tell :)

[beanghostprincess]

So curious about ur thoughts on Ao No Flag cause I read it when it first came out and yeah after chapter 41 I wanted to rip it to shreds I was so pissed that the author got me to waste so much of my time on a story with an ending I hated that much.

And the premise was so interesting too…. It’s really the only reason I stuck with it even after I started seeing the red flags….

I have... So many thoughts about Ao No Flag... Some of them are positive but sadly, the negativity just erases all of them. It just frustrates me so so much! I feel like I've wasted my time reading this, ngl. I don't even know where to start, if I'm being honest. I have many complaints and I'm sure I'll forget to mention some of my opinions...

Overall, I liked the first half of the manga. I started reading it because I heard about it online some time ago and since I wasn't reading anything else I thought it'd be a good idea to do it! The thing is-- Since every website labeled it as a BL, I started reading it with that thought in mind. Not that I read it only because it was a BL, of course, but I was expecting the main couple to be queer and somewhat talk about the struggles of teenage gay crushes and the mess of, you know, young relationships. With the premise of, again, the queer couple being the main one. Not saying you can't make a BL about stuff other than romance. This isn't the case at all. In fact, I was more than happy to see it was more like a slice of life with romance and drama rather than just the romantic part. But when you're supposedly making a BL or a manga about queerness... I'm expecting it to be one of the main things and to be treated fairly and well.

After reading a few chapters I kinda accepted that perhaps the BL label was a bit of an exaggeration since it's more of a slice of life with romantic drama and like, two gay characters there. It wasn't a problem. I did like the writing, after all, and I wasn't even there for the LGBT+ narrative anyway, I found the story interesting. A guy who's envious of his best friend for always having the "perfect life" (in his eyes) helping a girl date him and both of them falling for each other in the whole process, with the plot twist of the best friend being gay and in love with the main character?? With a side lesbian who's in love with the girl, because of course, lesbians can never be happy even in the simplest of mangas (this is becoming a sub-genre at this point).

I found it interesting. The plot was very captivating and it kept me wanting to read more and more and more. I couldn't care less about whether it was a BL or not, but I still wondered why so many people labeled it as such when... None of that happens. It's like labeling Kuzu No Honkai as a Yuri when it definitely isn't and it just treats queerness as one of the many plots. It did give me that vibe! The whole messy romantic coming-of-age drama with the whole "everyone is selfish and stupid and somehow of a bad person" theme.

The thing is............................... The writing goes downhill so damn quickly. And I say this because it happens abruptly in the last 15 chapters or so, but tbh I could see where it was going from the very beginning. It was just a wild assumption I didn't think would come true.

In no specific order, I'm gonna talk just a little bit about my issues with this manga! Because there are... A few...

1- As a lesbian specifically I feel the need to address the atrocity they did to Masumi's character. It's pretty damn obvious through the whole narrative that she does not like men. Every time she tries to date one? They break up. They treat her crush on Futaba like it's the end of the world for her since she can't cope with it by following society's standards because it's impossible for her to do so. I get it. They're teenagers. She's in love. It can go away with time, even if it hurts like hell now. But that's not the point of her crush on Futaba. It's not that it's only Futaba for her and she couldn't fall for anyone else and after some years she moved on. It's the fact that she liked girls. Women. Not men. See where I'm going with this?

Her whole crisis is not even about falling for her best friend (unlike Touma's narrative), it's about being a lesbian in a world where nobody understands her struggles and she refuses to open up about it because of the fear of being rejected. Which is totally understandable. The ending? Making her get married to a guy? A guy we don't even know? Yeah, she COULD be bisexual, but she definitely isn't because otherwise her whole story would not fucking exist.

"Sexuality is fluid" you could argue, but after 50 chapters of her repeatedly saying she doesn't like men, making her marry one just seems........ Pretty damn homophobic. It truly does look like they're saying it was just a phase and she just "had to understand the other POV and keep her desires a secret". After the conversation with Akiko in which she says she can keep it a secret... It just makes it more obvious that she'll spend her life closeted. Is that really the happy ending you wanna give her? What about the freedom they talked about so much in the manga?

2- That brings me to her conversation with Mami, too. Which, despite being short, left me shocked. And that'd be an understatement. I absolutely adore Mami (she's my favorite character along with Touma and I wish we had more of them together and their friendship) but... Making it look like it's Masumi's fault the fact that nobody understands her because "she doesn't let herself be understood" or "she's being selfish by thinking she's special" is fucking insane. She is special! Nobody understands her! As far as I fucking know, none of you are lesbians. Yes, Mami could try to understand her and even if she could never fully do so (she says so herself) she could support her... But that's not the point. The conversation makes it seem like it's Masumi's fault for being "self-centered". Like, lmao, what did you expect? I'd also be like that if I had nobody to talk to about these things. In fact, I believe this should have been more explored with her dynamic with Touma instead because he can understand her. The way they treat Masumi should be illegal.

3- Talking about Touma........... Ughhhhhhhhasghgashdgajdg3yurgy3grui32gui32gjkjldbakwjbd aAghhhhGYGAGAAHAGJHAGSHDGASHDGAHDGAHGR93WGU3WKB /negative. That's it. That's my opinion of his story.

4- But really, Touma deserved SO MUCH BETTER. I can't stand anything about how they treat his character. He's the main focus in every. Fucking. Character's life. And yet his character is barely a character despite being the most interesting one out of all of them. Nobody addresses the fact that they're all selfish assholes to him. I get that they all view him as this perfect guy with his life all solved, but even so... Even if he were like that... When they realize he isn't, nobody gives a fuck about him.

Futaba and Taichi make this whole plan to get her and Touma together without even thinking about his opinion and what he wants and his freedom. When they're all having this crisis about university, nobody asks him what he wants because nobody asks him about himself and they all just focus on the idea of him. He won't talk about his own issues and thoughts! Why would he? Nobody seems to care and he clearly doesn't want to be a burden. When he breaks his leg? I get that Taichi felt guilty, that's understandable, but he made the whole situation about himself? And the narrative itself too? Futaba saying he was the one suffering the most out of the two??? I'm sorry, what the fuck???

When Kensuke punches him for the simple reason of what??? Being GAY??? Idk about you but where I come from that's called a hate crime and we usually relate it to homophobia-- Nobody and I mean NOBODY asks Touma how he's doing. They blame HIM for being selfish because he fell for his best friend and "put him and Futaba in a difficult position". Masumi even says she doesn't agree with his decision to confess. GIRL???? HE WAS OUTED???? WHAT THE FUCK???????

So we have this gay guy who's been keeping his crush on his best friend as a secret for years, trying to fit in, and feeling just as lonely as everybody else or even MORE because nobody dares to see the real him and everybody uses him to make themselves feel good about their own lives, being ATTACKED by one of his friends for being gay and then blamed for the whole situation that wasn't even his fault. Oh! And then he has to deal with Taichi and Futaba's selfish needs to go to him and make everything better by what?? Screaming to the sea that they love each other?? Okay. Cute. I admit that scene was nice. But I couldn't see past the lack of character development and the fact that if I were him there would not be enough earth in this world for me to run away and be as far from these people as fucking possible.

5- Talking about Kensuke, I fucking hate him. The whole chapter in which they discuss why he started a fight with Touma feels like a whole homophobic speech to try and convince people to understand homophobia. The characters have no personalities and are only used as ideology devices instead of actual human beings. I don't give a fuck whether he was SA by a gay guy?? That's a lame ass excuse for violence and a hate crime??? I get that he might be uncomfortable due to trauma! That's completely understandable! And he might've been impulsive and violent because of that, too. But that doesn't give him the right to use it as an excuse instead of properly apologizing for being scum. Your trauma is not an excuse for your behavior toward others.

And his whole speech about how "it's the same thing as when girls feel uncomfortable around men" is just... Not it. It's not that you are scared of gay guys because of trauma. You're scared of MEN and now that you've seen what some of them are capable of and you've been a victim, you use it as a way of being homophobic when I can assure you it has nothing with being gay and everything with being a man. And yet!!!!!!!!!! And yet!!!!!!!!!!!!! And yet he fucking dares to say that he feels attracted to all women and he's in the right to not understand gay men because "it doesn't make any sense". When he's asked if he feels the same toward all women, he says that yes, he's sexually attracted to all of them. And yes, he only wanted Mami because she was a woman and not because she was... Well, her. And the fact that the whole narrative makes it seem like he's in the right and people should just "try to understand him and his homophobic behavior" is fucking disgusting. "He's free to hate too" not when that freedom is stopping others from being free, he isn't.

6- Everything between Touma and Taichi is so goddamn rushed. The worst thing is that I love their story and their dynamic and they would've made such a great couple if it hadn't been built in....... Just a panel??? They give NO hint that Taichi likes Touma back or even thinks about it. The only thing we have is Futaba telling Touma that NOW Taichi considers him a possibility, despite Taichi making clear that he's in love with Futaba multiple times. They break up off screen and he starts dating Touma also off screen. No character development. No explanation. No nothing. I spent 50 chapters reading this drama for the mangaka to suddenly remember this was supposed to be a BL or what?? I don't give a fuck if it isn't a BL, damn, the genre can change. I don't care. Just make it in character.

7- They talk SO DAMN MUCH about their futures that their career choices are a metaphor at some point. Futaba wants to do gardening and try it out even if she knows it's probably not gonna work (her relationship with Taichi), Mami wants to work as a beautician with her mentality of "everyone deserves to be treated equally" (her relationship with all of her friends, whether they're girls or boys), and both Taichi and Touma give up on their dreams of a toy store and being a baseball player because they don't see them as something real (guessing it's their relationship at first). But they don't bring this up again! Their future is reduced only to romance and we don't know what the fuck they're doing with their lives???? C'mon, at least use it as a metaphor!

I have more things to say, tbh, but in my opinion, the manga would've been way better (focusing on it as a BL, here) if:

The whole plot is the same thing, except it focuses more on Touma's POV too, and his struggles with being perceived as someone he's not. Taichi gets a whole plot about him wanting to be closer to Touma as children (they show this, just not as much) as a metaphor for his possible crush on him, which Touma rejects because he actually does have a crush on Taichi and doesn't want him to know. Taichi gets his whole crisis about liking Futaba and Touma WAY earlier in the manga, at the same time as he has to choose whether to work on his dream of making a toy store or give up on it.

The whole Kensuke thing can happen and it should happen, but focusing on Touma's POV instead and making the narrative treat Kensuke like the asshole he is instead of trying to make him look good. Masumi gets her closure by keeping her crush on Futaba a secret and being helped by Mami to deal with it (because there's nothing wrong with it) and they try to understand each other better without blaming her.

The whole ending pre-time skip is the same, except that Taichi is still figuring things out and we make it clear that both Futaba and him know it might not work between them, but they try. They show their breakup (because not showing it is pointless) and they build in the time skip the relationship between Touma and Taichi (in fact, during the whole manga they should have WAYYYYY more scenes together because they barely do, lmao) and we see them, even if it's just hints of them falling for each other, getting together supposedly.

And THEN in the wedding, Masumi has a girlfriend (god forbid lesbians can have a fucking win) or perhaps just finds happiness in something that isn't romance, Futaba is happy and they mention that perhaps gardening didn't work but she's working in something else related to flowers, Taichi and Touma are together and they both followed their dreams somehow, and idk Mami is the makeup girly and stylist of the wedding and Kensuke is 10 feet underground because I hate him. The end.

If I talk more about this manga I'm gonna be the one committing a hate crime.

[many-gay-magpies]

HELLO CAN I HEAR MORE OF THE WOLF GIRL MURDER CRYPTID???

She sounds so. So. I beg yuo………..

YES YES OH MY GOD ABSOLUTELY

dude you do not even know I have been trembling like an anxious chihuahua just waiting to be able to go full feral about her to someone. this rocks

OKAY SO. the entire story kind of started because i was listening to a song and i was like you know what this would be great for? being the backing track to a cold open where some girl is running through the woods mid-panic attack after having just killed someone. then it kind of grew a plot from there.

(me, foolishly: oh this will probably not take too long or take up too much space. clearly i forgot just how Able i am to ramble when prompted. put the rest under a cut bc it got LONG)

the cryptid wolf girl herself is named rosalind, or roz for short, or possibly rory for short once she figures out some gender stuff later on... the Central Relationship in the story is between her and her little sister anna. they did... NOT have a great life growing up—dad was an abusive alcoholic, mom was a DEPRESSIVE alcoholic and even when they split up, mom kinda left roz to raise/take care of anna completely on her own... things are better now; mom has cleaned herself up and is trying to be better—but like. that messed roz up lmao. go figure.

so for their whole lives growing up, roz and anna were kind of glued together... ROZ was more of a parent to anna than their own mom, and anna went to her for everything. but in the time of the story, anna's started to Grow Up and Grow OUT of needing her big sister for everything, AND ON TOP OF THAT she's just got herself a boyfriend who fucking sucks and reminds roz WAY too much of their dad... (in my mind I feel like when their parents split and dad left, roz was old enough to actually understand how abusive and shitty he was, but to anna it just seemed like he'd abandoned him, so she's probably a bit stupid about relationships because she's searching for the love she never got from her father/searching for a bandaid to the feeling of abandonment she has from him, but she isn't exactly the healthiest about that and latches onto the first guy that shows her attention, thinking it's Love.)

anyways, this whole deal—anna getting distant, anna being stupid about her bf—makes roz feel Some Type Of Way. she's kind of latched onto her position as anna's pseudo-parent as the crux of her self-worth, so now that anna seems to not NEED her anymore she does not take it well. she wants to protect anna from her toxic bf and from HERSELF, but she can't do a thing and just feels useless because everything she TRIES just ends up pushing anna further away from her. then on her birthday, when she's at her friend's house to celebrate (the best friend she's gay af for, zoe), she makes a wish to be able to protect anna like she used to—aaand the literal moon overhears and basically goes "you have a noble desire, i'll give you my blessing" and turns her into a werewolf (sort of - it's not a whole "turn every full moon" deal, just whenever there's a specific trigger)

anyway like a week after roz's bday when she makes the wish, it's homecoming, and her mom (who is also stupid and just thinks roz hates mark (anna's bf) because she's jealous) has asked her to drive anna to this party mark invited her to... which is in the middle of the woods. with a whole bunch of older high school guys. sure, mom, that's bound to be perfectly safe and legal.

roz has been feeling a little off all week and having weird dreams (unbeknownst to her thanks to her new lunar benefactor). after homecoming, she drives anna to her party... but there is NO FUCKIN WAY she trusts those dudes with her, so she sneaks up to spy on them from the bushes to make sure they're not getting up to any unsavory shit and hurting her little sister. (spoiler alert: they absolutely get up to tons of unsavory shit.) so roz is watching these guys, and it's literally all guys, like anna is the ONLY girl, and they're all older—and they're drinking alcohol, getting progressively more wasted, and anna is refusing but mark keeps pressuring her, and eventually he makes some vague allusions to ah... "loosening her up" with the alcohol so he can have his way with her, while touching her in not-so-great ways... and seeing that triggers roz's first transformation. she just full-on catapults in and tears him to SHREDS, literally. then someone stabs her with a beer bottle and she flees, turns back human, and starts freaking the fuck out because she just killed mark.

okay um. i did not intend to just tell you the entire story up to the point that ive written it. but OH WELL I DID! hope u enjoyed that lmao.

the whole premise of the story is that, despite how much it sucks at first, roz being a werewolf actually kind of brings her, her mom, and her sister closer together... the thing is, the moon, when it heard her wish, it didn't just give her what she asked for—it gave her what she NEEDED. and in general i have lots a feelings about werewolves as the representations of our deepest, most repressed emotions and desires, like if you've seen the whole thing about like "the werewolf is the part of you that LOVES YOU. it is the part of you that is mad at how wrongly you've been treated and wants to PROTECT you." yeah. and i have lots of feelings about the MOON and moon deities as gods of honesty, vulnerability, and seeing the truth of our deepest emotions...

so the wolf is kind of all roz's anger issues just smushed into one big wolfy body. a big theme ive started exploring with the story is that being a werewolf isn't exactly CHANGING roz or making her feel things she's never felt before (like, you know. the murder urges), it's just bringing things she ALWAYS FELT to the forefront and making them unignorable. because above all what roz NEEDS is something to force her to face herself to be able to overcome all the self-hatred she has (because BOY SHIT THERE'S A LOT OF IT). which is also where her relationship with zoe (who ive thought, written, and posted about almost more than the relationship between roz and anna... whoops) comes in.

roz and zoe are best friends. they have been since they were five years old, and zoe has been with roz through like ALLLLL the shit of her seventeen long years. roz is incredibly gay and absolutely in love with zoe, but doesn't realize because she's a fucking dumbass and thinks that's a normal way to feel about her best friend (or, like, maybe she kind of knows something's Different and knows what it IS, but she can't ever let herself realize it fully because ✨internalized homophobia✨).

when the whole wolf thing starts out, roz doesn't tell zoe what's happening, because she's afraid zoe will be afraid of or disgusted by this part of her... which she likes to think is the wolf's doing, but she knows it's really ALWAYS been a part of her. roz keeps the secret from zoe for a WHILE because of this, and keeps pushing her away, but zoe (who Knows roz and loves her back just as intensely) will NOT fucking let her. so there's gonna be like this whole stage of incredibly painful pining, where the moon goddess makes roz realize that she's in love with zoe, but she still hasn't even TOLD zoe about the whole werewolf thing, so there ensue events like: roz in wolf form subconsciously seeking out zoe, breaking out of her house in the middle of the night, going to stand below zoe's window, and then waking up in the morning thinking it was a dream until she sees her window is open and her pajamas are shredded to all hell and goes "shit".

eventually, of course, zoe DOES find out (either by accidentally witnessing a transformation one day or because roz finally caves and tells her, i havent decided yet), and spoiler alert, she isn't disgusted or afraid—she's actually, like, wildly attracted to the feral bloodthirsty vengeful side of roz, because that's the embodiment of roz's deepest, more true self, and zoe has wanted nothing more than to know roz completely—and of course it still takes roz a while to realize zoe's wide-eyed, drop-jawed stares at her are not FEAR but I'M SO GAY IM GONNA OASS OUT HOLY SHIT, because she's fucking stupid.

another honorable mention character: himbo soccer team boy tentatively named matt (gonna change either his or mark's name cuz they're too similar) who witnesses roz partially-transform by accident one day and decides he's going to be absolutely ride-or-die for this tormented lesbian werewolf. he's there for her until she finally gets her shit together and tells zoe what's going on, and long after that. they become a cute little bestie trio and matt ABSOLUTELY realizes how gay roz and zoe are for each other before roz does and he's like JESUS CHRIST JUST KISS ALREADY

(also. most worthy of mention in the yet-to-be-written zoe-and-roz scenes i feel feral about: there's gonna be one after zoe finds out where roz has a really bad transformation, and passes out still wolfed-out in zoe's lap... and she's visibly having a nightmare (plus she's still a wolf which means she's still in crisis mode even though she's sleeping), so zoe starts reading aloud to her while she sleeps until she calms down enough to turn back human... and it starts out as just zoe doing what she's ALWAYS done to comfort and soothe roz, but since roz is ASLEEP it devolves into zoe pouring out her true feelings without roz awake to hear them... then roz wakes up in the middle of zoe reciting shakespeare's sonnet 57 to her and it's like. INSANELY gay. and the whole time matt's off to the side like holy shit.)

ANYWAYS YEAH THAT WAS. A LOT HAHA. I hope u like my feral unhinged asshole werewolf girl :)

[ckgrouchy]

B12 headcanons even though no one asked (more random facts based than lore based)

georgie

- seems like one of those guys who make cringe pov tiktoks

- playboy type of guy

- gives "helpful" relationship advice but all his relationships either end really quickly or drag out too long

- gymbro, shows off his muscles to the other members

- tried to act all tough and cool but immediately gets flustered when someone even acts the slightest bit sweet to him

- georgie is just his nickname, he never got over how cringey it sounded especially for his whole persona, but it's what his mom call him and he can't make lose the nickname his mom gave him

tj

- seems very chill, easy to get along with

- had a very close relationship with his sister, therefore treats girls like goddesses (in other words, with respect)

- kinda insecure about his hairline so he hides it with his huge hats

- kind of guy who had bad taste in clothing, wears the most random stuff

parker

- soft baby boi

- likes to sew his own clothes (the other members make fun of him for this, but he doesn't seem to mind)

- only joined the boyband business so he could exploit his looks and earn money

- an artistic kid, he used to show his drawings to his parents (albeit they all ended up in the trash)

- extroverted growing up, so doesn't know the concept of boundaries (he's trying though)

- gives the other band members shitty nicknames based on their appearance

- had neglectful parents, therefore always trying to get attention from someone, anyone

victor

- tomboy

- doesn't have a mother so she ended the way she is today

- sort of a loudmouth, can't shut up about things she's passionate about

- had a lot of brothers, only girl in the family

- mostly wears hand me downs from her brothers

- can put up a fight if desired, once beat up an entire gang

- georgie's teaching her how to become a gymbro

abraham

- incredibly introverted, took a little while for him to settle in

- likes doing mundane activities like organising and cataloging, pretty much helps keep the group on track of upcoming tasks

- lacks in self confidence so he doesn't believe it when he achieves something really big

- boris is his best friend (can't convince me otherwise), they just fit together

- the most rational out of everyone

boris

- incredibly extroverted (even more than parker)

- one of those guys who takes sports WAY too seriously

- plays soccer (or basically any sport) with victor and always loses, despite being a self-proclaimed sports geek

- was once a member of a gang, still wears his old clothes from said gang

- no one takes him seriously and he hates it

- really close with abraham, the neutralizer to his overreacting personality

- usually the one to start fights between the band, usually over something stupid

abraham h

- GAY

- not very approachable because of his resting bitch face

- doesn't like interacting with anyone that much, just generally a silent guy (except when he's ranting or blowing up on everyone)

- the dad of the band, almost always lectures everyone on their behavior like they're children

- legit gets migraines when he sees tj's outfits for the day

- swears... a lot

- argues a lot with boris, they hate each other

constantine

- no one can convince me that he's not trans

- used to have pin straight spiky hair and hated it so much, used lots of product to get fluffy hair he wanted, though it damaged his hair a bit...

- has a reallly fancy name but just sticks to one

- when he was younger, he had a hyperfixation that involved paegants, who knows why

- definitely a queen fan, i can just see it

- used to čüt himself when he was stressed, now his scars are healing

- loves wearing oversized clothing, but hides it from the band

- had an emo phase durning high school

[ash-and-books]

Rating: 3.5/5

Book Blurb: Scream meets Clueless in this YA horror from Adam Sass in which two gay teen BFFs find their friendship tested when a serial killer starts targeting their school’s Queer Club.

Dearie and Cole are inseparable, unlikeable, and (in bad luck for them) totally unbelievable.

From the day they met, Dearie and Cole have been two against the world. But whenever something bad happens at Stone Grove High School, they get blamed. Why? They’re beautiful, flirtatious, dangerously clever queen bees, and they’re always ready to call out their fellow students. But they’ve never faced a bigger threat than surviving senior year, when Mr. Sandman, a famous, never-caught serial killer emerges from a long retirement—and his hunting ground is their school Queer Club.

As evidence and bodies begin piling up and suspicion points at Dearie and Cole, they will need to do whatever it takes to unmask the real killer before they and the rest of Queer Club are taken down. But they’re not getting away from the killer without a fight.

Along the way, they must confront dark truths hidden beneath the surface of their small desert community. When the world is stacked against them and every flop they know is a suspect, can Dearie and Cole stop Mr. Sandman’s rampage? Or will their lonely nights soon be over . . .

Review:

When a Queer club is being specifically targeted by a serial killer two gay best friends will have to find a way to not only survive but take down the killer before they're next! Dearie and Cole are the best of friends, they're inseparable, flirty, and unlikable. Dearie and Cole's friendship isn't for everyone, yes they flirt and hook up with each other, yes they can be rude and a bit mean, but they have each other's backs no matter what. In their town there use to be a serial killer known as Mr. Sandman who targeted individuals who were lonely and sad... but that was years ago and he wasn't caught... but suddenly his calling card is showing up and members of the Queer club are being killed off. Now Dearie and Cole have to stick together more than ever but everyone thinks that they did it and they are the main suspects. Now with the whole town thinking it's them, they'll have to figure out who the real killer is and prove that they aren't guilty... but with a bunch of people faking relationships to not be the next target, old town secrets, things are about to get very complicated! I am a huge fan of queer horror and this was a unique homage to Scream (which just happens to be one of my favorite horror movie franchises) and it definitely was a very unique story. It was a fun read and makes you interested to see what happens to the characters. Dearie and Cole aren't likable but thats what makes them interesting and I do enjoy a murder mystery but the plot felt a bit slow at some points but it might just be a me thing, so I would definitely recommend this for fans of queer horror!

*Thanks Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group, Viking Books for Young Readers for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

[btelling]

11 and 12 for The Squib, please :)

Thank you so much for the question!! Another excellent choice!

11: What do you like best about this fic?

I really love the concept. It's a world that, though horrible, I'm always really excited to return to and think about. The divide between the muggle and wizarding worlds was always something that really fascinated me in canon. And the implications of just how horrible it would be to be a squib didn't really hit me until a later re-read when I was older. Because you're introduced to the concept of Squibs through the lens of Filch, who we all hate, and its this joke. Oh isn't it so funny that this man who is so mean to Harry and his friends has to clean up after all the magical kids and can't even do magic himself (which, god, maintaining a castle that large as one person when you can't even do magic is just cruel, no wonder he was so bitter). But when you really start to peel back the layers of it, you would never really find home in either world. How do you settle for the mundane when you know that Narnia is out there, you just can't access it, not really? And then the wizarding world has also rejected you completely. You're a joke. So while your siblings and relatives are all engaging in literal magic you're just what, being an accountant? While the whole family laughs at you at best or outright denies your existence if they're pureblood? And it's the same for Muggleborns. They have to uproot their entire lives at 11 and leave their world behind for 9 months out of the year every year for 7 straight years. How would that not fracture their relationships with their families and loved ones? Muggle technology can't work inside Hogwarts, so particularly as the Muggle world advances, they're falling further and further behind their friends and relatives. They're completely cut off from their past lives. If they want to communicate home, they have to use the wizarding owl system. If they want to catch up with friends over the summer holidays, they can't talk about their schoolwork or too much about their peers, because oh there's the statute of secrecy. They graduate with qualifications in Transfiguration, they're not going to a traditional university. They're not going back to the Muggle world. It all feels a bit, and to act glib about something incredibly serious and awful, forced assimilation. The implications are really awful if you start to dig just a bit under the surface. The fandom jokes and has theories, but Hermione basically all but stops seeing her parents after GoF - one skiing trip cut short in OotP (thanks Harry) and then she's back to the wizarding world. Because that's where her life is. Now what if we turn up the gas and add more tension to this situation? If these worlds that these characters have to straddle are actively at war with each other, but the muggles have a leg up this time? Well, it was just too tempting to pass up.

12: What do you like least about this fic?

I'd say that, and as much as I loved getting to explore their story, I do wonder if I wasn't writing and posting this chapter by chapter with basically a vague idea at best of where we're going next (we're all in this together), if I'd have gone for such an awful outcome for Dean and Seamus. It felt right at the time, to show how directly impacted more canon characters were by this new world, and I got to zoom out and show more of the world (the scene with the wizard at the bar is a particular favorite of mine) all through the story of a half-blood and a muggleborn traveling together and, again, having to straddle these two worlds. But I never like falling prey to harmful tropes, and I do wish I hadn't "buried the gays" so to speak. Justice for Dean and Seamus, they deserved better.

[theoncomingdoo-dah]

Episode 1.4 Aliens of London

so no one cares but I started watching breaking bad today. I have never seen it so this is my first exposure. it's really damn good so far.

ANYWAYS I remember really liking this episode! Let's go!

Nine just cheesing when Rose is walking off to see her mum.

Also the music starts off so sentimental to just distort and waver down when the 'missing' poster is in shot

And the PANIK in Nines face when he sees the poster.

Also love the face when he says "not 12 hours, it's 12 months. Sorry.' like whoopsie!

BAD WOLF MENTIONED (Like BIG TIME ITS THERE ON THE TARDIS)

Jackie is such a mom. That is a compliment. She's written so believably, like yeah, my mom would go off on me like that too. Holy shit.

And poor Nine. He's just standing there. Soooo awkward. He really just can't do domestics.

The utter offense Rose and Nine get when the officer asks if what's between them is a sexual thing. Not yet dude, they're still figuring things out.

"How old are you then? 40? 45?" Nines face like nope, not even

"STITCH THIS MATE" we stan Jackie Tyler in this house.

Rose's face during this whole thing...she's been here before. Absolutely.

Any scene with Rose and Jackie hits me hard because it reminds me of me and my mom. I'm an only child, just like Rose. I'm my moms baby. At one point, it was just me and her. And honestly I could see my mom acting just like Jackie does in this situation.

"I don't do families." Sure, Jan.

Remember when I said Nine and Rose can't stay mad at each other? Stays true in this interaction. Rose goes from saying "You're so useless..." to Nine to laughing at his jokes.

"Your face!" "It hurts!" "You're so gay!" Just, them. Being them. I love them.

Of course the spaceship hits Big Ben. This is Doctor Who after all.

FANTASTIC

"I'm so glad we got you." 🙄

Another scene that puts Nine waaaaay out of his element. Back at the Tyler's flat with all their friends. He just looks so uncomfortable.

and where's he's wrestling the remote away from the little boy pffft

HARRIET JONES THERE SHE IS

Yes the fart jokes are terrible but I'm also a child and I think they're great and the fact that they actually give a reason for why it happens is pretty great and makes it even funnier

tbh I'd take fart jokes over awkwardly written innuendo any day

"It's just a bit human in there for me." He doesn't even sound disgusted when he speaks, more unnerved? Stressed? Aww.

And the utter JOY he has over the human race actually evolving and changing is wonderful! the fact that he doesn't want to interfere because he wants it to happen naturally!

"TARDIS key." more like "We're moving in together. My home is now your home." Everytime it happens, it's wonderful.

Rose looks all giddy with the key in her hand. 🥹

ELLO E.T

"DOCTAAAAAAAH-!" *CRASH!*

"Damn, you've seen through my cunning plan." The fucking delivery of this line xD

NINE SHUSHING THE SCREWDRIVER. it's such a small scene but I freaking love it

Then walking in on the soliders and smiling at their pointed guns. sirrrrrr

BUT THEN FOLLOW HIM WHEN HE SOUNDS LIKE HE KNOWS WHAT HES TALKING ABOUT

The genuine hurt when they shoot the pig alien. God I love nine. 🥺

"I'm shaking my BOOTY." It's so cheesy and stupid I love it

Seriously, The Slitheen are great. Goofy mother fuckers but when it comes down to brass tacks they are ruthless and terrifying. Those are the best kind of DW baddies.

Honestly, Mickey is justified in how he feels. Accused over and over of killing your girlfriend.

"He's not my boyfriend, Mickey! He's better than that. He's much more important." Yeah I'm completely normal about this line.

"Ricky"

"Think you know your own name, how stupid are you?" NINE CHILL

He's honestly such a twit to Mickey but it's too funny I'm sorry

God you can just see the cracks in Mickey and Rose's relationship. And they weren't caused by the Doctor. They were always there. :(

"I had a wife, mistress and a young farmer." "God I was busy." Jesus Christ.

eeeeyyyy it's UNIT.

"Take me to your leader!"

And then the car ride banter. And him waving at the press!! Sir I just love you so much

"Lloyd George used to drink me under the table." See this is funny because the Doctor really doesn't drink. At all. Each time they've tasted alcohol it makes them gag.

AND HOW INSISTENT HE IS THAT ROSE STAYS WITH HIM GAAAAAH

Look at Rose being all capable without the Doctor around! Looking around for alien technology with Harriet! She's so amazing I love her

"Excuse me, you mind not farting while I'm saving the world?" Iconic.

Maybe I'm immune to bad CG because this isn't even that terrible?

ngl though these costumes are pretty damn sweet.

Conclusion:

Yeah this episode is still a banger. still a big fan of the Slitheen. not my favorite alien in DW (that would probably be the Ood. I miss the Ood...)

I'll be watching WW3 tomorrow probably. Night!

[aikoiya]

This is actually super cute. I was worried for a minute. XD

... I imagine Ghirahim being SO's gay best friend. Just gossiping, giving each other manicures (I imagine that Ghirahim uses one of those metal files that cartoon characters use to escape jail to do his nails XD), & giggling to each other as they quietly, but savagely critique people with horrible fashion sense. Like, just absolutely roasting characters like Tingle with Ghirahim basically going very pale/wailing at the mere sight of the man.

Though, interestingly, I think it'd be interesting if, in the case of an SO who also learned how to use Phantoms, that TotK & OoT can do something similar with SO's Phantom.

... *gasp* Oh my gosh!! How do you think the Dorf Phantoms & SO Phantoms would interact with each other? For some strange reason, I imagine Gan & SO needing to keep them away from each other or they'd immediately become distracted by each other. But, like... In a similar way to how cats do. Oh, heavens! XD Now I have the kabe-don scene in my head, but with SO Phantom instead.

So, because of the whole behaving on an instinctive/subconscious/emotional level, you can sort of watch how the 2 interact to gauge how the ogs are getting on.

And wouldn't it just be hilarious if they tended to get on like an odd mix of a pair of cats obsessed with each other & a couple of hormonal teens.

Like, one minute, they'll be doing what they were ordered to, then suddenly, the other will wander by & it's like how an animal will hear something in the woods & just snap to full attention in the direction of said noise. But they just sort of stare at each other in what looks like slight wonder, curiosity, & caution. If Ganondorf & SO don't do anything to stop it & just sort of observe the odd interaction, the 2 magical constructs have sort of this feline intensity to their stare.

My guess is that the Dorf Phantom is likely the bolder of the 2, so maybe he is the one to make the first move? But it causes SO Phantom to bolt like a frightened doe.

They may be stalking each other now. We don't know. They 2 sort of tiptoe around each other for weeks with them switching who stalks who to examine the other. Then, the distance between them starts to decrease over the next week before they begin to be found, not even a foot away from the other just examining each other.

And it's like the Tarzan & Jane interaction if Jane was also a wild woman. So, just the 2 of them barely a couple inches from each other's faces as they inspect each other intensely. SO Phantom grabbing Dorf Phantom's hand & beginning to examine it curiously. Dorf Phantom running his fingers through SO Phantom's hair & watching in wonder as the strands fall through them.

Over time, they start acting like teenagers' first relationship where OoT Phantom is the delinquent & SO Phantom is the cute, good girl or the nerd that he's crushing hard on but doesn't know how to express it without being a bit aggressive about it. And HW Phantom is just VERY amorous. Just very obviously totally smitten.

And, as time passes, they'll become stupid affectionate with each other. And, for me, I would love for it to act as a reflection of Bandit/Hedony & SO's emotions regarding each other through the course of their relationship. Like, not how they act outwardly, but how they feel about each other.

Which, would likely make it super embarrassing if the 2 were sickeningly schmoopy-doopy when together. Like, they still do what they're told, but once they're done doing their job & are dismissed, but not dispelled, they almost immediately search the other out. But when they are together, it rots the teeth. XD

And sometimes, they'll legit get magical zoomies, will stand facing each other like a Mexican standoff &, suddenly... Something moves & they're both off like bat outta hell! One chasing the other, once more, in an extremely cat-like fashion!

Just a VERY bizarre sort of courting ritual that utterly bewilders anyone who doesn't know that they are constructs made from the pairs' own magic & are, thus, very closely tied to their own emotions.

But, yeah! I just thought of this & now I love it!

Which reminds me! Reblogged a Phantom ask with a cute idea I had a while ago!

The Handsy Hands one!

How would the Ganondorfs (Wind Waker, Ocarina of Time, Twilight Princess, Hyrule Warriors, and Tears of the Kingdom) & Demise react to their SO getting along with their helper/minions?

Windwaker = King Helmaroc, Ocarina of Time = Phantom Ganon, Twilight Princess = Zant, Hyrule Warriors = Zant and Ghirahim, Tears of the Kingdom = Phantom Ganon, Demise = Ghirahim.

If each Ganondorf and Demise were to witness their SO developing a positive relationship with their loyal minions or creatures, their reactions would vary from amusement to mild jealousy, to actual appreciation for the bond. While they might not openly admit it, they’d each be protective and intrigued by the SO’s ability to win over their companions, whose loyalty and fierceness are paramount to their rule. Here’s how each one would react:

Wind Waker Ganondorf and the King Helmaroc

Seeing his SO interacting with the King Helmaroc—a creature most only see as terrifying—would make Wind Waker Ganondorf both surprised and quietly proud. He respects his minions but maintains a strictly professional relationship with them. Witnessing his SO feed, pet, or perhaps even tame the giant bird would be a strange yet oddly endearing sight.

Reaction: He’d watch from a distance, a small smile crossing his face. “So you’ve managed to tame the beast…” he’d say with a hint of amusement, clearly impressed. Deep down, he’d feel reassured knowing his SO is brave enough to stand so close to one of his fiercest allies. If they encourage Helmaroc to follow simple commands or showcase affection, he’d chuckle and tease them. “You’ve a way with creatures, I see.” Helmaroc might become a messenger between them, bringing small treasures or tokens of Ganondorf’s affection.

Ocarina of Time Ganondorf and Phantom Ganon

Phantom Ganon is a manifestation of his magic, loyal only to him and nearly impossible to tame or command by others. But his SO’s patience and kindness would gradually win over even the Phantom, turning it from a specter of terror to a guardian over them. Ganondorf would be intrigued, though mildly possessive.

Reaction: He’d observe with an arched brow, arms folded. “I didn’t realize he would heed another’s voice. He’s always been resistant to any outside command.” Although he’d try to brush it off as irrelevant, he’d be proud, viewing his SO’s influence as an extension of his own power. He might test his SO’s control by summoning Phantom Ganon in their presence, watching intently as the creature responds to them. He’d grin darkly, saying, “Perhaps I’ll lend him to you as your own personal guard.”

Twilight Princess Ganondorf and Zant

Twilight Princess Ganondorf holds a complex relationship with Zant, who worships him almost obsessively. When he sees his SO and Zant interacting amicably—perhaps Zant excitedly following them around, helping with little tasks, or trying to impress them—he’d be half-amused, half-concerned. Zant’s loyalty is absolute, and his SO being able to handle him would be a display of their strength and patience.

Reaction: Ganondorf would chuckle darkly, a faint grin on his face. “Zant can be… persistent,” he���d remark, clearly entertained. Watching Zant’s childlike excitement around his SO would amuse him greatly, though he’d warn his SO not to indulge Zant too much. “He already follows me like a shadow. If he starts shadowing you as well…” He’d leave the thought unfinished but would secretly be pleased. Zant’s devotion, once solely for Ganondorf, would now include his SO, and Ganondorf would see it as another layer of security.

Hyrule Warriors Ganondorf, Zant, and Ghirahim

With both Zant and Ghirahim in his service, Hyrule Warriors Ganondorf’s SO befriending these two eccentric followers would bring a mix of surprise and appreciation. Zant’s eagerness combined with Ghirahim’s flamboyance might overwhelm most, but his SO’s ability to calmly navigate these personalities would speak to their strength and resilience.

Reaction: Ganondorf would lean back, smirking as he watches his SO handle the two with ease. “You’ve patience to spare,” he’d comment, clearly impressed. If his SO managed to keep Zant’s rambling and Ghirahim’s flamboyant monologues under control, he’d see them in a new light, perhaps even tasking them with handling other aspects of his kingdom. “If you can keep these two in line, perhaps you’re suited for greater responsibilities.” He’d be amused and secretly pleased, feeling his SO brings balance to his chaotic court.

Tears of the Kingdom Ganondorf and Phantom Ganon

Phantom Ganon serves as a direct manifestation of his power and malice, and for his SO to be unafraid and able to coexist with such a creature would be a profound act of trust. Watching his SO’s courage and patience with Phantom Ganon would strike him deeply, and he’d feel a quiet admiration for them.

Reaction: He’d watch in silent awe as his SO remains calm around Phantom Ganon, who might even become protective of them. “Not many can withstand his presence without fear,” he’d say in a low voice, his eyes alight with pride. If Phantom Ganon starts actively guarding his SO or responding to their commands, he’d feel a sense of pride that they, too, command an extension of his power. He might test this new relationship in battle, watching with satisfaction as Phantom Ganon protects them loyally.

Demise and Ghirahim

Ghirahim’s loyalty to Demise is absolute, his servitude bordering on obsessive worship. If his SO and Ghirahim develop a positive rapport, Demise might feel surprised, then curious. Watching his SO tolerate Ghirahim’s eccentricities and even respond warmly would amuse him, though he’d still be protective.

Reaction: Demise would chuckle, a dark, guttural sound. “So you’ve tamed him as well?” he’d muse, eyes glittering with both pride and a touch of possessive jealousy. Ghirahim, still reverent to Demise but now also doting on the SO, would create an odd triangle of admiration. Demise would enjoy the dynamic, seeing his SO’s strength in dealing with someone as demanding as Ghirahim. He might even joke, “Perhaps I’ll leave him to you when he grows too tiresome for me.” Despite his amusement, he’d ensure Ghirahim knows his place, keeping his SO’s safety a top priority.

Across the board, each Ganondorf and Demise would be fascinated by their SO’s ability to win over their minions, feeling a mix of pride, amusement, and possessive protectiveness. Some might view their SO’s new relationship with their followers as an asset, while others would see it as a testament to their SO’s strength and resilience. Either way, it would deepen their respect and admiration for their SO, viewing their bond with their minions as both endearing and powerful.

[booasaur]

avatrice is just so perfect so good. it makes so much sense that after all the cruelty she experienced ava would fall for bea who's so methodical and patient, bea who's so deliberately thoughtful and kind and compassionate. and after so many year of practicing control bea would fall for someone who lives so unrestrained with so much joy and curiosity. ugh just meant for each other. and a bit of a queen/knight thing going on too

Oof, anon, that's so well said! They match sooo perfectly, it really couldn't be anyone but Bea for Ava and Ava for Bea. The parts that contrast, the parts that complement, the way they like each other as people even outside all that.

It had to be Bea who first pointed out to Ava to think outside of herself, but so fairly and gently that then she was the one Ava turned to for comfort, earning her trust that quickly and keeping it. And it wasn't a one way thing, their relationship isn't just Bea being the cool, infallible one who helps Ava, when Bea was struggling with being gay and the perception of it, it was Ava who was so accepting it prompted that frankly super romantic "It was everyone but you."

What's more, even as they keep these core tenets of their personalities, you can see how each affects and slowly changes the other. Bea absolutely grounds Ava and has taught and trained her to be more mature and patient and a better leader, but also provides stability and a home base, a partner she knows she can count on, invaluable after everything she's gone through. Bea is more willing to try new things, more open to what might make her happy instead of living only for the church and accepting their harshest judgments.

This has been the culmination of decades of subtext f/f ships that seemed so perfect if only the writers would go there, best friends, enemies, rivals, partners, narrative foils of all kinds, and every time we'd say "if that were a man and a woman they'd go there" but they weren't and they didn't, not until now. Finally it feels like what we're seeing and that the writers are writing is on the same page.

I'd also like to give credit to the three things that for me were so necessary to this ship's success. First, it's main character/main character. I've always talked about this, right, the trajectory of canon f/f over time, starting with temporary sweeps stuff, then guest stars, then side characters, and even when including mains and leads, often the love interest was still a side character who might leave at any point. But this is as main/main as you can get! And doesn't it show? The amount of time, story, development? Whole plot decisions hinging on their feelings for each other? It's incomparable.

Second, the fact that they did a multi-season slow burn. I've talked about this before as well, the vanishly small number of shows where characters who were introduced in one season get together in another. Even smaller when both the characters were in the first episode, indicating their importance to the show, being a pivotal character from the start. It pays off in such a rewarding way when we get that anticipation and building of tension and speaks to the commitment and patience from the writers in doing it over such a long arc. Everything we know about these characters and their relationship we were allowed to observe over a significant amount of time and get truly invested in. Not to criticize those that write the full arc within a season, especially in these cancel-happy times, but y'all can't tell me this didn't feel AMAZING.

And lastly, for the most part this remains a very character-first kinda show, and I have not a single criticism for how they handled Ava, Bea, or Avatrice (though I'm not happy about certain other aspects). What we know about Ava and Bea, their traits that you can list so clearly, they're such fully formed characters and their actions feel so organic and rooted in what we already know about them. That's been so vital in appreciating their whole romance, it's always just made so much sense.

Oh, the queen/knight thing! I didn't even think about that but it's definitely there, and my favorite kind, where the knight character is awesome and protective, but the queen is fighting for the knight just as hard in her own way (see also: Dani/Grace >_>).

This turned out to be truly special, really hoping the show gets one more season at least to cap things off.

[alyssapoprocks]

Already seen too many stupid hot takes on Stranger Things Volume 2, specially around Will's sexuality, so I'm gonna throw my two cents in because it's pissing me off.

Now, I want to start with I ship both Mike/Will and El/Mike, so this isn't coming from a bias.

There is absolutely NO queerbaiting in ST. Will is gay. Will is in love with Mike. That's a fact. Mike is not gay. Mike is in love with El. That's also a fact.

Do I think there's some hints Mike has a little a little bit of feelings for Will under the surface? Yes. And do I think there's perhaps a foreshadowing of them after the end of Volume 2, yes. Does that mean if they don't end up together there's queerbait, NO.

It's not queerbait to have Will be in love with his not gay best friend (and note how I say "not gay" because we have no idea what Mike's sexuality is at this point in time) in fact, it's an incredibly common occurrence for queer kids. Like, how many gay kids haven't had a crush on their not queer best friends?

It's also not queerbait for Will to have never said his sexuality out loud. He's a teenage boy in the 80s, you really think he's going to be out there shouting it from the rooftops? He's terrified. His entire childhood he was called homophobic slurs, you really think he's going to want to actually come out? It doesn't need to be said for it to be real. Robin has never said she's a lesbian out loud. She's just shown to be crushing on a girl, the exact same way Will is with Mike. Doesn't make Robin being a lesbian any less real.

And for people who are like "it's gross to have a queer character used to further a straight relationship" are you even listening to yourself??? Just because Will is gay, doesn't mean he's lost his ability to be a good friend to Mike. He knows he doesn't have a chance with Mike, Mike loves El. There is absolutely nothing wrong with Will helping Mike as his friend. No one would bat an eye if it was a girl who was in love with Mike helping out. Will and Mike's friendship doesn't have to end just because Will is in love with him.

And for the record, you can't cry queerbait on a show that hasn't even ended, especially when so far there has been no queerbait to be seen. Robin is gay. Will is gay. Vickie is clearly feeling something for Robin. These are all facts.

If Will was to turn around and it be said he's actually been in love with El this whole time, then yeah, queerbait. But he's not. He's a gay boy in love with his best friend.

And for the people who claim not having Robin and Vickie end up together (yet, people, the show isn't finished) is queerbait as if a gay character is only gay if they're in a relationship, you suck. Robin is gay. She doesn't need to have a girlfriend for that to be real. It's NOT queerbait for her to be single. I'm a single bisexual, I'm not any less bi because I'm not in a relationship? What sort of dumb argument is that?

Tldr: there is no queerbait in ST. Mike is in love with El and that's not queerbait. Will is allowed to give up his love for Mike's relationship because he knows he doesn't stand a chance and that's not queerbait. Will and Robin are allowed to be single and that's also not queerbait.

And despite this, do I think there's a chance for Mike/Will? Honestly, yes. But if they don't end up together? Still not queerbait, because Mike does love El, this is a fact.

I would love Mike/Will to be endgame, just as much as I would love Mike/El to really be end game. Either way though? Not queerbait.