#and then afterwards do halloween activities

[estrel]

not feeling too great 🤩

[hanjsquokka]

( 🎃 ) ⠀𓏔⠀ fall dates with bf! skz.

stray kids ot8 × fem!reader (separately), fluff/humor , warnings : kissing/making out in felix's, pet names , wc : 2.6k

a/n : hyunjin's is actually based on something that happened to me with my family lol 😭 one of the most disappointing days in my life. i hope you guys like this <3 also this layout is inspired by my lovely deni @.hyunebunx 🩷🩷

ʚɞ ⁺˖ ⸝⸝ CHAN ⸻ visiting a pumpkin patch

You and Chan planned a date to visit a pumpkin patch because you've never done that before. Your boyfriend was more than excited on the drive to the location, rambling about the different activities you could do. He made sure the two of you were dressed accordingly (and matching, obviously) before you headed out to the local pumpkin patch.

Halloween was one of your favorite holidays, but this was the first time you were going to go and buy pumpkins to decorate your home with, and supposedly learn how to carve them as well, according to Chan.

The farm was bustling with many people looking for the orange vegetables, taking photos and squatting down next to the big ones to see if they could lift them up. Chan was also one of them, wanting to show off the fruits of his recent workouts and easily picked up a very large bright orange pumpkin.

“Be careful, if you drop it, we have to pay for a broken orange squash,” you warned after he stumbled with one of them. “It's not a squash… is it?” He looked at you with a bewildered expression after you told him that it was indeed part of the squash family.

Afterwards, you sampled some of the desserts available in the stalls—from pies to cakes. You managed to convince Chan to take home a pie after you had a bite and swore you could never make something like this yourself.

The farm also had a corn maze, which you participated in and got lost after a few wrong turns. You almost gave up and decided to start a new life amongst the corn when Chan spotted a few other people and not so secretly followed them, holding your hand tightly in his, and finally exited the maze.

The two of you also won second place in a pumpkin carving contest, much to your boyfriend's enthusiasm. He carried the prize winning vegetable like a trophy with a red color ribbon stuck on it all the way back to your car.

ʚɞ ⁺˖ ⸝⸝ MINHO ⸻ camping in the woods

When Minho proposed the idea of camping, you were initially scared. Camping in the woods during spooky season? But, after he teased you for being a scaredy-cat, you couldn't let him win, which was how you ended up in the middle of the woods (in an allocated camping site), watching your boyfriend set up a tent because you were going to poke a hole with your clumsiness. You didn't mind him though, because it found it much more entertaining to watch him do the work. It was very attractive.

“Why do you keep looking at me like that?” He questioned when he caught your eyes on him while he was setting up the firepit. “Like what?” You asked back. “Like that stupid emoji with heart eyes.”

Unfortunately, you did not have a pillow to throw at him.

When night fell and the two of you sat side by side on foldable chairs, roasting marshmallows after your hearty campfire dinner (Minho was crazy good at everything related to camping, you wondered why he never asked to go camping with you before). “Be careful, it's hot,” he warned but you still managed to burn your mouth on the fluffy, toasted delicacy. “Idiot,” he chided. There was no malice in his words, only affection, you knew that as he took the stick away from you and handed a bottle of water.

He refrained from telling you a scary story, instead opting to lay down next to you on a blanket and stargaze while you went on and on about the constellations or whatever—he was just listening to your voice and not comprehending the information. When you got back in the tent, he grumbled when you snuggled up next to him, something about giving him even less space, but you smiled against his skin when you felt his arms coil around you and pull you close.

ʚɞ ⁺˖ ⸝⸝ CHANGBIN ⸻ go halloween shopping

Your boyfriend was going all out this year for the holiday, you understood that after the second hour you spent at the store, watching him sift through decorations for your home and for the party he wanted to host on the weekend.

“Bin… it's been hours and you picked out two things!” You groaned, pushing the shopping cart after him. The two things were two packets of chocolates. “I can't just buy anything. It has to be perfect, babe,” he retaliated, picking up a skeleton decoration and plopping it in the cart. Your date wasn't going as you expected, but amidst your frustration, you did find it endearing that Changbin was being so picky about find the perfect stuff.

You also managed to scare him with those jump scare witch things that suddenly pop out with you step on a button. You were laughing so hard your stomach hurt, which made Changbin annoyed, poking you to stop you from making his cheeks turn even more red.

Eventually you did stop and you continued strolling down the aisles. “Okay, Sexy Red Riding Hood and the Wolf,” he said, showing a costume, “Buff Peter Pan and Tinkerbell,” he picked up the last one, “or Barbie and Ken except I'm Barbie.” He smiled like those were the best choices. You let him choose, all of them equally amusing to you, to which he let out a happy giggle and put the third one into the shopping cart. You rolled your eyes, of course, and followed after him. He did finish his endless spree, and apologized for making you tail after him for so long by taking you to a coffee shop and buying you the season specials.

ʚɞ ⁺˖ ⸝⸝ HYUNJIN ⸻ driving to see the fall colors

It was your idea to go out to see the fall colors early morning on the weekend since the drive there would take a while. Hyunjin sat in the driver's seat, not exactly happy about being on the road at seven in the morning, but you told him it would be worth losing sleep. You saw multiple videos and posts on social media that told you that this was the best spot to see all the different shades of red and orange that the leaves were in, along with the rest of the scenic view and the sunset if you were able to catch it.

Well… the website was wrong. Not to be rude, but it was probably exactly the same as you could've seen in the park. Your boyfriend gave you the sassiest side eye possible when you two stood, looking over the railing along with a couple other people who joined on the trek up a mountain. The trees were mostly yellow or brown and very dull, nothing like on social media.

“My new inspiration is so… vibrant,” Hyunjin drawled. “I'm sorry!” You apologized quickly, feeling even more guilty for making him come here on his day off for absolutely nothing. “I thought it would look really pretty.” You frowned. You heard him sigh beside you before he slung an arm over your shoulder and you to his side, nuzzling his nose against your jaw. “I know… I know… It's okay. I didn't expect it to look so un-picturesque either.” He rubbed your shoulder over your coat when you frowned even more. He chuckled. “Don't frown so much, love, I like it better when you smile.”

Despite the disappointment, your day out wasn't all bad. You had fun singing (mostly listening to your boyfriend's sing) along with Hyunjin in the car with the windows down, trekking up the mountain and nearly falling into a pile of leaves, eating lunch at a place that was weirdly obsessed with grizzly bears and then driving back home.

While you were staring out the window, trying not to fall asleep at a red light, you noticed the trees, all of which were in bright shades of red and orange. You tapped Hyunjin on his shoulder and pointed to it and told him to go in the other direction that you were supposed to go in, which confused him but he followed and parked the car where you asked him to. You eagerly jumped out and dragged him along to see the trees, showing him that your date was not a total waste after all.

He painted a photo that he took of you a week later and hung it in the living room.

ʚɞ ⁺˖ ⸝⸝ JISUNG ⸻ having a harry potter movie marathon

You and your boyfriend were supposed to go to a movie theater to watch a horror film that was recently released, you'd been talking about it ever since you saw the trailer and you got even more pumped up when you saw it was releasing during the Halloween month. Jisung, however, wasn't as thrilled as you but never told you outright that he didn't want to go. But, after a few times of mentioning the film to him and not getting a enthusiastic response, you realized he might not want to watch a scary movie in the cinema (he told you he wasn't scared, but the last time you watched Coraline said otherwise).

So, on the day you were supposed to go, he was surprised to find you setting up for a movie night in the living room. “Aren't we going to be late, baby?” He asked, his steps slowing down as he neared the couch. There were snacks on the coffee table and blankets and extra pillows on the end of the couch. “What are you…?”

“Movie night,” you replied, a smile on your face. “I changed my mind. I borrowed my friend's DVD's of all the Harry Potter movies.” You watched the confusion on his face morph into a soft smile and then a big grin as he came over to hug you tightly and kiss your cheek before saying he needed to change into the proper attire—which were his Gryffindor pajamas, and settled down beside you, leaning his head on your shoulder and pressed play on the remote.

Watching these movies was much enjoyable for both of you, you realized that as you laughed along to Jisung reciting all the lines in a British accent, your face growing warm at the pure joy on his face. You made it to the fourth movie before he finally dozed off, his head lolling to the side. You carefully adjusted him so he was leaning on you and wrapped the blankets around closer before closing your eyes as well.

ʚɞ ⁺˖ ⸝⸝ FELIX ⸻ baking fall themed treats

“Chan said he bought too many pumpkins, so I'm trying out some new recipes,” Felix answered when you asked him what he was doing in the kitchen surrounded by an ungodly number of pumpkins and a few apples and a king ingredients. Which was how the two of you ended up in an impromptu baking date, making more desserts than you could eat in a day.

You worked side by side, although you weren't getting much work done because he kept tugging your hand and kissing you, flour sticking to your cheeks when he cupped your face and deepened the kiss. Safe to say, you were doing less baking, more making out, all thanks to Felix even though it was him who wanted to bake in the first place.

When the pumpkin cake was finally done, he slathered on buttercream before handing it to you and looked at you with hopeful eyes, you could practically see the tail wagging behind him as he awaited your opinion. You took a spoonful and immediately felt a warm tingle spread through your body.

“It's so good,” you let out a sound of satisfaction, closing your eyes for a few moments to savor the taste, and then eating some more. “I was scared you might've messed something up with how distracted you were.” You pushed the plate towards him, expecting him to eat as well, but he just pulled you in for another kiss, making you gasp into his mouth. “Tastes sweet,” Felix said with a nod, wiping his bottom lip with his thumb, looking at your flustered reaction with a smirk.

ʚɞ ⁺˖ ⸝⸝ SEUNGMIN ⸻ going to a haunted house

“This is a bad idea,” you said nervously as Seungmin pulled you towards the carnival attraction. Your local carnival had a haunted house set up since it was October, and while you had joked it was be fun to go there, Seungmin didn't seem to read your tone and took you seriously, pulling you along after spending some time at the game booths. “It's not scary, okay?” He said, chuckling at the way you looked at it with wide eyes. “Just hold onto me if you get scared.”

The haunted house was not not scary. It was in fact very scary. Whoever designed it needed a raise because not three steps into the house and you nearly jumped out of your skin as a ghost popped up in front of you. Even your boyfriend was frightened, you felt him jump a little, not as much as you, but he did jump. He cleared his throat, adjusting his coat and shook his head. “See, totally not scary. We must've triggered a wire.” You couldn't see his face because it was pretty dark, but he didn't pull away when you laced your fingers with his and held him in a death grip.

You took small steps, rounding a corner when there yet another jumpscare and you basically climbed onto Seungmin out of fear. There were no teasing remarks or comments, he was just quiet as you both kept going through the house. There was eerie music playing that just kept getting louder and louder, until you passed by a room, the door opening by itself with a loud creak and suddenly, a clown jumped at you. This time, both of you screamed.

When you exited the horror house, you both didn't speak a word until you were sitting down on a bench far away and mutually agreed to not speak a word of the incident again.

ʚɞ ⁺˖ ⸝⸝ JEONGIN ⸻ attending a costume party

There was no compromise with Jeongin. He would go all our for a costume party, especially since the one you were going to was hosted by one of his friends who said he had the best costume ever. Jeongin wasn't one to back down from a challenge, so he told you the characters you were going to dress up as, which made you raise a brow.

Beetlejuice and his wide Lydia.

In retrospect, it was a creative costume. You both spent a long time making the costume by yourselves and then the makeup on the day of the party.

“I feel like we're going to stand out,” you said, feeling hesitant to walk into the house. “Babe, it's a Halloween party. Everyone will stand out.” Jeongin assured you and led you inside. There were a lot of people, all dressed up just like he said they would, from old classics to characters from newer films. Many complimented the both of you, envious of your idea. Jeongin totally forgot about the competition with his friend and started enjoying himself, having drinks and dancing with you. He didn't know it, but his friend took one look and accepted his defeat (or whatever). There was a couples contest, in which both of you won first place, earning a large bag of candy.

But your boyfriend was too tipsy and busy staring at you with heart eyes to bother with the prize and instead was eager to get out of the party so he could have a proper look at his wife (he was taking the role a little too seriously) back home.

TAGLIST : @stayconnecteed @starlostastronaut @ta3baee @caitlyn98s @bbokari711 @oddracha @n1nme4r @dprkbyn @sleepyleeji @realrintaro @starlostseungmin @frequentlykit @cookiesandcreammy @baby-stay92 @15092000volcano @starseungs @peterparkoure @katchowbbie @kayleefriedchicken

comment/send an ask/dm me to be added or removed from the taglist 💕 or fill out this form 🫶🏼

©hanjsquokka | copying, translating or republishing my work is strictly prohibited

[autisticshadowthehedgehog]

The original meaning of the term "Final Girl," from 1987's "Her Body, Himself: Gender in the Slasher Film" by Carol J. Clover, was "a woman who is a sole survivor of a group who are chased by the villain, and who gets the final confrontation with said villain [whether she wins or not is not considered] because of some implied moral superiority." As an example, Jamie Lee Curtis's character of Laurie Strode in 1978's Halloween is the sole survivor of the teenagers that Michael Myers hunts, and gets the climactic scene with him, though she's not the one who defeats him. Her character is the only one of her friend group who does not (onscreen at least) partake in drugs, alcohol or sexual activity.

The term "final girl" has expanded over the years, often losing the moral superiority clause (see: Sidney Prescott in Scream, Maxine in X) or having other survivor(s) so long as the girl gets the final confrontation (the sisters in the recent Scream movies, Dana Polk in Cabin in the Woods). The most common deviation is losing the moral superiority clause, with the characters either being just as moral as their group or even being morally in the wrong but still surviving as a subversion or deconstruction of the trope. A common addition is a prior connection to the villain, though this is not necessary.

With all that being said,

As always, Girl is a gender-neutral term when it comes to having fun. I decided not to count Knuckles because we don't know his full backstory in-game and the word-of-god answer is that his species died of disease, and also because he'd be the funny answer everyone would pick immediately so that doesn't count guys.

Important Notes to Consider:

Tikal:

Last Survivor: Somewhat. Other echidnas seem to have survived Chaos's attack, but Tikal was the last character alive shown onscreen, and the only other named characters in her time period did not survive.

Final Confrontation: Applies. She is the one to seal Chaos into the Master Emerald.

Moral Superiority: Applies. She's the only one in her tribe willing to stand up to her warmongering dad.

Shadow:

Last Survivor: Applies. While some people seem to have escaped the ARK massacre (like the Commander), all other named characters are either killed or captured and killed afterwards.

Final Confrontation: Debatable. There isn't actually a singular monster attacking the ARK, instead it's the entire military. Shadow however does get a confrontation with the Biolizard and later with Black Doom. Do they count for this though? You decide.

Moral Superiority: Not Applicable. Shadow isn't inherently morally above or below the other people on the ARK who died.

Cosmo:

Last Survivor: Mostly Applies. She is the last survivor specifically of her species. Everyone else in the Sonic Crew survives to the final confrontation, but her species is toast.

Final Confrontation: Applies. Cosmo is the last to interact with Dark Oak in the initial genocide, and the one to eventually defeat him (along with Tails, but really it was Cosmo's sacrifice that actually killed him).

Moral Superiority: Not Applicable. The rest of her species are portrayed as innocent and undeserving of their fate, and her survival was purely due to her fear making her accept a deal with Dark Oak and the implication that he's her father.

Silver:

Last Survivor: Mostly Applies. He and Blaze are the only seen survivors of Iblis's assault. Blaze absorbs Iblis and dips, but Silver does have a fight with Solaris in the final ending.

Final Confrontation: Somewhat. Blaze and Silver both boss fight Iblis, and Blaze gets the final confrontation and defeat. However, Silver partakes in the defeat of Solaris, who technically is Iblis.

Moral Superiority: Not Applicable. Silver isn't given moral superiority towards anyone who dies.

Sonic Forces Avatar:

Last Survivor: Somewhat. Avatar is the last survivor of their village due to them fleeing from Infinite. They join up with a group following this and assist Sonic in defeating Infinite.

Final Confrontation: Somewhat. Sonic is also there.

Moral Superiority: Debatable. Like Cosmo, the other civilians are portrayed as innocent and Avatar only escapes due to their perceived cowardice. They are shown to be Extra Special Besties with Sonic which helps them defeat Infinite through the power of Love, so that may count?

Whisper:

Last Survivor: Mostly Applies. Whisper is the last Diamond Cutter after Mimic kills her entire squad and betrays them. She goes solo until eventually confronting Mimic and then helping found a reformed Diamond Cutters.

Final Confrontation: Debatable. Mimic is still an active threat in the comics, but Whisper did get a climactic confrontation with him in Tangle & Whisper.

Moral Superiority: Not Applicable. Whisper only survived because Claire requested she stay behind due to her intuition.

Sonic in '06 specifically:

Last Survivor: Mostly Applies. Sonic is the only character who remembers that the '06 timeline occurred, making him the technical only survivor of its events. Ignore the fact he died at one point, he got better.

Final Confrontation: Mostly Applies. Sonic leads the attack against Solaris in the Final Boss fight, but Elise is the one to blow out the candle and reset the timeline.

Moral Superiority: Debatable. All the other characters are "heroes" but Sonic is the Biggest Best Hero Of Them All That The Chaos Emeralds Love Soooo Much, and he also is the one to selflessly insist on the timeline reset so that the whole Solaris Destruction Thing never happens.

[leafofkudzu]

Happy soon-to-be November, everyone! There's a chill in the air, and one last chance for spookiness before the Mad King leaves for another year, so let's storm the Reaper's Gate and show the Underworld what-for - it's time for another art party hosted by my guild, Verdant Shield [VS]!

For those who aren’t familiar with art parties, they’re a concept carried over from Final Fantasy XIV - in-game get-togethers for artists/writers/creatives of all types to hang out, chat, and create together! Get your favorite character/look together, head to the location, find someone that catches your eye, and create! Afterwards, everyone posts their creations in a shared tag (ours is #VSArtParty) so others can see, interact, and share! Tl;dr: the ‘goal’ of an art party isn’t to be drawn, but to draw others, and share with the community!

Time and /squadjoin information is under the cut, but will also be posted again via reblogs as the squads go up on the day of the party. Do note that because EU's time change has happened but NA's has not, there will not be an hour break in between this month!

Location Information:

In the spirit of the oncoming snow but also ongoing spooky (for a few more days at least), Reaper's Gate is a snowy side area along the east side of Lornar's Pass - you can't see it in the guide picture, but it's just north of where the Twisted Marionette is!

Do note that at night multiple spooky enemies spawn in the area, so come prepared to fight them off during the darker hours of the party!

Time & Squad Details:

As we always do, we’ll be having two parties - one on EU servers and one on NA ones - except this time due to time change differences between regions, there will not be the usual hour break in between! People tend to arrive early and/or jump between accounts as soon as the break comes up, so don’t be surprised to see tags and announcements going up ahead of schedule!

The first party will be on EU servers and begin at 9pm Central European Time (aka 4pm Eastern Daylight Time or 4 hours before in-game reset). I’ll be hosting on my EU alt account, so to join either /squadjoin or whisper Runa Gravemourn for an invite.

The second party will be on NA servers and begin at 7pm Eastern Daylight Time (aka 12am Central European Time or an hour before in-game reset). I’ll be hosting this one on my main account, so to join either /squadjoin or whisper Beldahvia for an invite.

Closing Words:

Consider this a bit of a last hurrah for Halloween before it heads off for another year, and also consider this another little random fighting activity for us to do since we'll have some Underworld critters to deal with periodically. Expect Wintersday next month, and....I guess the 2 year celebration after that! Wow, that's wild. Thank you all for coming out to these events, I truly treasure each and every one, and every one of you! Take care, and I'll see you this Saturday - and many more first-Saturdays to come! ♥

[domreader-headcannon-scenarios]

Hello! I really love your works sm, can i request a sfw or nsfw head cannons of the angels from WHB? Thank you!!

I’m so glad you liked them!! So I’m tryna write the angels as best I can Gabriel is the only one I’ve met outside of a event, I’ve seen the other two in the Halloween event! I like em but ngl they have…unique kinks I needed to google hifth

I hope you enjoy!!

Over all cw: blaspheme (I think?? ((Angels worshiping you)), death (not main characters), abuse of power

Sfw/nsft hcs on Angels!

-

Gabriel

Cw: inappropriate boners,

He basically a guard dog standing over your shoulder 24/7 to keep you safe, he calls you his ‘Lord/Lady/Highness’ and has an army of angels who think the same of you

He’s not very affectionate but if you just say ‘hold me/my hand’ or ‘kiss me’ he’d do it in a heart beat. As his God he only wants you pleased

He’s a terrible cook and somehow steals food and is terrifying good at getting away with it (it must be an angel thing??) he dosent even lie saying he made it, he’s just vague where it came from (only once have you caught him in the act and you made him apologize, but the person gave him the food regardless)

He dust a lot in your home and you cant help but notice the ‘home made’ duster he ‘found’ has feathers matching his wings…

Nsft

Canon Kink: Hierophilia; deriving sexual pleasure from religion, religious places and objects as well as find the act itself religious

He enjoys watching you participate in religious activities…maybe too much. He also finds pleasure in treating you as his god.

You jokingly thought of making him go to church, only for him to jump at the chance. He lowkey regretted it when you didn’t touch him, and made him stay squirming in his seat instead of helping him get off. He for whatever reason thought you’d let him jerk off or would touch him yourself as you were holy, nothing you did was wrong but…touching himself in this place is

You’ve actually caught him touching himself to you praying before, he got bashful upon getting caught but you swear you’ve heard him doing it after that, you just don’t catch him in the act (though you’ve caught him awkwardly standing by and adjusting himself)

He’s got a adorablely small and sensitive cock and he genuinely doesn’t need it touched to cum, roll it between your fingers for a few minutes and he’s trembling as he spills out all his cum

Michael

Cw: murder, inappropriate boners

He’s strict with everyone around you, but not you, in his eyes you are the law since he serves only you, you cant do wrong

He’s terrible if you have guest, he demands they now to you and though he’ll settle if you tell him to, he watches them like a hawk and makes sure nothing gets out of hand

You see that leash? If you get mad and pull on it, he will calm down and you have his full attention, give it another tug downwards, and he’ll drop to his knees in front of you, and anyone else in the room

He likes brushing and styling your hair, he’ll try to help you bathe, insisting you don’t need to lift a finger, he will take care of everything, just relax

Nsft

Canon Kink: Erotophonophilia; ‘Muder kink’, deriving sexual gratification from killing or watching someone get killed (BOY IS THIS A HARD KINK TO CASUALLY WORK WOTH)

If push comes to shove he has a habit of killing people who harass you too much/threaten you, but he gets…really excited afterwards and is pressing his thighs together to hide his erection, especially if you’re clearly not in the mood

You’ve seen him get in fights while still aroused from the last kill an honestly, when in public you sometimes just force a chastity cage on him to discourage him acting out

Though he believes self pleasure, or just the act in general is…sinful, he will do anything for you with no qualms, he only feels good when you touch him anyway

He suffered from wet dreams whenever you’re around him or he has objects with your scent

When he want to fool around desperately he will walk right up to you, kneel and beg you to touch his neither regions, stroking, slapping, pinching, doesn’t matter as long as you touch him

Raphael

Cw: messy kitchens, messy person, furniture abuse,

He’s messy and kinda gets annoying at times since he discovered how much fun it is to smash condiment packages

He’s good about cleaning, and he even cooks to make up for the mess…but he’s a sloppy cook too but at least it’s not intentional this time

He doesn’t understand that the furniture isn’t trying to hurt you and doesn’t need to be punished. He’s broken threee tables, one bed post and five chairs since he’s moved to being your ‘Guardian Angel’, all for tripping you or you stubbed your toe on them

He’s not affectionate but he’s not distant, he just follows your lead, he stands close by and if you ask him to come over he flops in your lap and looks up at you like a puppy. He likes when you watch tv and let him lay across your lap, he falls asleep easily that way

Nsft

Canon Kink: Automysophilia; getting sexual gratification from defiling oneself, being dirty or defiled

He enjoys getting messy with cum, blood, dirt, just about anything. He will be blissed if you strip him and cover him in…well it’s up to you ;)

He has no qualms with jerking off in front of you if you don’t want to touch him while he’s too messy, but he wants you to be fully clothed while he’s sprawled out naked in front of you

He’s fucked slime before since it feels…weirdly good around his shaft, to the point he gets excited when he sees it around the house. You had to punish him for thinking he could ‘fool around’ with it then hide it away again

He’s got a very sensitive halo, while other angels get off to them being touched like a devils horns, he avoids it since it brings him to his knees in seconds

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Do you think all the characters are assholes?

Because i think they are despite their tragic backstories and i also don't think they appreciate Yuu enough, except for maybe the first years

I mean, the TWST characters are (mostly) inspired by Disney villains... Plus, they’re immature high schoolers still in the process of emotionally maturing. Of course they're not going to be perfect balls of sunshine. They're all going to be rude or have faults in their own ways, but they also have their strengths and charm points. I do call them assholes (lovingly), but I would hesitate to slap a singular label on any of the characters when they're all very well-rounded and morally ambiguous.

On the topic of Yuu, I think it makes sense that most of the cast doesn't really "appreciate" them. To begin with, most of the characters are not the openly sentimental types; they wouldn’t overtly express that gratitude even if it were present. Then we have to consider that Yuu isn't directly involved in their character growth or arcs in most cases; it's often the other characters who are confronting the OB boys or instigating, physically battling them to snap them out of it, and then comforting them afterwards.

As early as book 1, that pattern holds true. Ace is the one that initially pissed Riddle off. Adeuce are dueling Riddle. Ace decks Riddle and claims his last straw. Trey is the one calling out to Riddle as he's losing it. It's the members of Heartslabyul who gather around Riddle when he reawakens following the OB. (I'm not going to go through and list off what happens in every single book, but I'm sure you can think of many other instances... Lilia insulting Leona, Deuce and Epel having the heart-to-heart on the beach, Octavinelle's plot against Jamil, the twins checking up on Azul post-OB, etc.) To me, it feels like it is the boys and their bonds with one another responsible for the change, not Yuu's involvement. Yuu is usually along for the ride and actually does and says very little despite all the fandom jokes about "being the school's unpaid but overworked therapist" or Crowley's shallow claim that Yuu can help the boys learn to cooperate (which feels more like a vague ruse only shown in the prologue to shoehorn Yuu into the plot). There's actually very little in-game that shows them being active in helping the students change for the better. Much of the time, the boys can resolve their own struggles to get along without Yuu being there (like all those pair-ups in book 6–sure, it may have taken a while, but the fact remains that they did eventually resolve their own issues and cooperate without Yuu having to orchestrate for them; this also happens many times in events like Port Fest, Wish Upon a Star, Ghost Marriage, the Halloween events, etc). A very common complaint (at least among English speaking players) is that Yuu isn’t “involved enough” or that they don’t have a big impact on the events of the story. Therefore, most of the boys not feeling close or indebted to Yuu makes sense from their POV. What has Yuu actually and explicitly done to help them? Not much. It’s mainly in individual fan interpretations where Yuu/a Yuusona/an OC in Yuu’s role is actually able to play a more substantial part in each characters’ life and growth. In general, the standard in-game Yuu is more of a "fly on the wall" character that witnesses events unfold rather than someone who plays a large role in each book. The boys are seemingly the main characters, not Yuu. It's just convenient to have Yuu/a blank slate in the story because they, as an outsider, need TWST concepts explained to them (thus making it easier to give exposition to the players who may also be unfamiliar with the information). The first years, by comparison, are closer to Yuu simply because 1) Yuu is implied to be in the same year level as them (so they're more likely to be exposed to one another) and 2) their preestablished relationships with Grim, Ace, and Deuce opens them up more to first year interactions. "Friends of friends", if you will. It makes more sense than Yuu being appreciated and loved by everyone/most people in the main cast of 22ish. (How many people do you know irl that have 22ish significant friends?) They spend the most time together. Everyone else tends to stick to their own groups (with maybe the exception of Heartslabyul, since Yuu is already close with Adeuce). They’re just... not as intimate with Yuu, and therefore not as inclined to find much appreciation for them.

I want to clarify that this doesn’t mean there are zero instances of the characters outside of the first years expressing gratitude toward Yuu. Like, of the OB boys, it’s only Vil who consistently apologizes for the trouble he caused (note though: it’s not specifically to Yuu, but to everyone in the VDC/SDC squad. Yuu is then given prize money from most of the other boys as thanks for letting them crash at Ramshackle… Of those, only Kalim cites being grateful that he was able to stay and have fun with everyone because of Yuu green lighting the decision. This makes sense, as Kalim’s one of the few who wears his heart on his sleeve and is friendly to most. It just isn’t true for the majority of the cast, and we shouldn’t expect it to be.

As late as book 5, you can see characters like Leona not being so happy to be called out to or for Grim to act all buddy-buddy with him. That indicates to me that the rest of the cast is not that close to Yuu + related parties and doesn't have a real reason to be. (Note: I'm not counting character voice lines here as proof of friendliness with Yuu, as it can be argued that the relationships and events explored in the cards don't run in tandem with the main story and are meant more as fanservice for the players.)

Again, while it's not that fun to read in a narrative, it does leave things open-ended for anyone who wants to self-insert or to expand on those blank relationships for their own characters. I believe this is by design to appeal on an individual level to players. You get out of it what you put into it!

[mattatouilletkachuk]

haunted house with quinn

49. “If you get scared, don’t come crying to me.”

October was the best part of the year in your opinion. Autumn was amazing but it was only around Halloween that certain activities were available. Last year you and Quinn went to a corn maze, bobbed for apples, and even went to a fright fest. You had to leave the last one early because as much as you enjoyed the spooky atmosphere you might have been a little too frightened to finish it.

Earlier in the month you had gone to a pumpkin patch and picked apples and you had even gotten Quinn to wear matching costumes with you.

It had taken you months to figure out how you could possibly top last year's fun and when you finally thought you had found it you brought the idea to your boyfriend.

“You want to do a haunted house?” Quinn looked at you quizzically.

You pushed your phone into his space a bit more as if he couldn’t see the information clearly enough.

“Yeah, it’ll be tons of fun.” You said, excitedly. “Afterwards they have a scary movie marathon starting with Child’s play and ending with Nightmare on Elm’s street. They even have another corn maze that we can do if we go early enough.”

“It took us forever to get through the one last year.”

“Yeah, but this one has people in costume chasing you through it,” you pointed to the screen and finally he took your phone to scroll through the website you had up.

“Don’t you think this might be too scary for you?” He asked as he handed the phone back to you.

You frowned at him and crossed your arms over your chest.

“I’m a big girl, Quinny, I can handle it.”

He only raised one of his dark eyebrows at you and said, “I’ll go but if you get scared don’t come crying to me.”

A large smile split across your face as you jumped in excitement. You kissed his cheek and when you pulled back you nodded your head enthusiastically, “Deal!”

-

You had made it through the corn maze successfully, beating last year's time by two minutes. Quinn claimed it was the man dressed as an evil clown chasing them but that didn’t matter to you because you still beat your personal record.

You were practically bouncing as the two of you waited in line for your turn to enter the haunted house. Lights were strobing and loud scary noises were playing and it only made you more excited. You didn’t miss the exasperated but fond looks Quinn was giving you and when it was finally your turn to enter you grabbed his hand and tugged him behind you.

You refused to admit that Quinn was right. You lasted all of two minutes before you were too scared and were let out of a side entrance. The people working there were understanding and despite Quinn’s claim that you couldn’t come crying to him, you were wrapped up in his arms as tears fell down your face and you got your breathing to even out.

“I really thought I could do it this year,” you mumbled into his chest.

Quinn ran his hand through your hair and sun circles into your back as you shook.

“Maybe we can go home and watch Halloweentown or something. That always puts you in a good mood.”

You perked up at the mention of one of your favorite childhood Halloween movies. Pulling away slightly to look up into your boyfriend's eyes you smiled slightly. “We could even have hot chocolate?”

“Of course,” he said simply as he wiped the remaining tears from your face.

It wasn’t until the two of you were back in his car that you finally said what you had been thinking about since exiting the haunted house.

“Maybe next year will be the year that I finally make it through that place.”

Quinn looked at you in surprise before finally shaking his head and chuckling. “I don’t know what I’m going to do with you.”

[ofoceansandtombsanew]

Hello!!

Could we get some wholesome headcanons of domestic life with Derek and/or spoiling him, because this man deserves the whole world!! Thank you for opening your requests!! :))

Oh absolutely, this king deserves it!

Life with Derek is, unsurprisingly, something very light and fulfilling

Affection rolls off of Derek as easy as breathing. After so long of practically punishing himself for not being perfect, Derek doesn't suppress those feelings or desires anymore

If he wants to say it, he says it. If he wants to feel it, he feels it. Derek has plenty of regrets but being with you isn't one of them

If you enjoy sweets, Derek likes to the eat your favorite candies so he tastes like them when you kiss

As someone who likes to look out for everyone else, it's easy for Derek to forget to look out for himself. So you do it for him. If he's about to take too much onto his plate, you gently nudge him that's okay to share the load or tell someone their request isn't something he can do right now

Every other week the two of you remember you're adults that can do whatever you want now, no restraints and no parents telling you what to do. Whenever that happens, you add something to your list of 'Things we couldn't do as kids that we'll do now as adults'

So far you've gotten a pet, went to a bakery to buy a cake for no special occasion and you've woken up unable to sleep at 2am and decided to cook a whole feast for no reason since neither of you had work that day

When it comes to your pet, you have to begrudgingly admit your baby likes Derek a little bit more than you. Not by much, of course. Derek can't help teasing you when it comes to that: "she loves you, just not as much as she loves me."

Every other Sunday, you have some sort of family hangout with his family. Sometimes it's brunch other times it is lunch or dinner and whipping out some consoles and playing video games

Every summer it's tradition to visit the boardwalk you went to as young teens sans your families. A day just for the two of you, no responsibilities or any other people to look after. You get your face painted, indulge in funnel cakes and then top the night off with the ferris wheel

As if calling back to your summer lemonade excursion, one winter the two of you get the bright idea to make your own mulled wine during a trip to the grocery store. Now it's a winter tradition and each year you change the recipe little by little until it is perfect

While there's nothing wrong with dinner or a movie, the two of you like having experiential dates when possible. Going to a cooking class, giving horseback riding a try, things of that nature. It's nice having a story to tell afterwards

One Halloween, you both went as each other. Derek as you, you as Derek. It got quite a bit of laughs out of your family and friends

One sleepy spring evening, Derek tiredly confesses he fell in love with you pretty much at first sight and he's really happy you return his feelings even after he almost shot himself in the foot with his high standards for himself

One cheesy romantic couple activity you want to knock off your bucket list is being on a kiss cam during a sports game. You actually manage to do it to... it just took Derek a second to notice you were on camera

[beomie3]

pumpkin latte - k.th

bf!taehyun x reader

summary — you spend the night in; carving pumpkins, watching horror movies, and making halloween themed lattes with your barista boyfriend <3

wc — 2k

content — cuddles, kisses, tooth rotting fluff ^_^

✩ this is fic 1/5 of my halloween spooky series!

⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆ ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆ ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆ ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾

october; the month of all things spooky, spicy, enchanted, you name it. but you couldn't deny it was most especially the month when people your age loved to go out every night and party, doing god knows what.

but for you and taehyun, october was the month you spent afternoons decorating your apartment with all kinds of adorable fall decor, cozying up on the couch afterward with lots of snacks to binge your favorite scary movies. maybe cuddle up in bed later with some hot tea and talk about your days, stare into his starry eyes.  

the point is, the two of you didn't feel the need to go out and be social. as homebodies, staying in with one another was more than enough to make your day special. just in the comfort of one another; you in the comfort of his baggy clothes and him in the comfort of your arms. it was just perfect. most especially during the fall season.

it was so perfect, in fact, that you had developed little traditions over time; pumpkin carving competitions, knitting cute scarves and hats for each other, baking cookies, brewing fall-themed comfort drinks.

that was one of many pros of having a barista boyfriend; he knew every single recipe to exist. and he had made you a plethora of lattes over the years. but your absolute favorite had always been his pumpkin lattes. crafted to perfection, you could almost taste his love in every sip. 

tonight, you had his favorite butterscotch cookies in the oven as you waited for him to get home from work, lighting some fall candles to prep the apartment for your hardworking boyfriend <3

at the sound of his key in the knob, your heart practically lit up, a smile spreading across your face when you saw his glowing face come around the corner and into the kitchen with two large pumpkins in each of his arms.

"taehyunnie!!" you run around the kitchen island, arms outstretched to help him with a pumpkin, hugging his baggy sweater once his arms are free.

he smelled of coffee and warm cinnamon rolls, the scent of working in a cafe all day. it was your favorite scent in the world.

"two pumpkins for our competition which i'm beating you at, by the way," he kisses your forehead in between words, each hand gently squishing your cheeks together so you can't argue back.

when you seem you're about to say something, he catches your words with his soft lips instead, gently pressing them to yours. a clever way to win a nonexistent argument. you pull away after kissing his lips, a glint of mischief in your eyes. 

pumpkin carving competitions; one of your and taehyun's favorite fall activities that you always looked forward to. you have exactly one hour to carve your pumpkins, and then you send photos of the finished product to your friend group, having them judge who won. the winner got to pick the movie after. it never got old. 

although, in the grand scheme of things, the winner or loser of the competition doesn't matter because both pumpkins always end up on the windowsill, happily flickering like the warm glow of your love. 

it isn't until he's at the sink, sleeves rolled up to his elbows washing his hands that you get him back, hugging him from behind and standing on your tip toes to blow cool air in his ear. he shivers against you, a small shriek leaving his mouth as he laughs. 

"okay maybe i'll let you win," he turns around once he's dried his hands off with a towel, smirking down at you. 

"we'll see about that," you snake your arms around his neck, just to grab a cookie from the platter that was on the shelf behind him, taking a bite and then turning around to start brewing the coffee for your lattes. 

his eyes lingered on you, smile growing on his lips at your teasing gesture, throwing the towel over his shoulder before going to help you. he just couldn't contain his love.

snaking his arms around your waist, he hugged you tightly, chin on your shoulder, gentle eyes on your working hands. i love you against your ear with the warmth of his breath brought a sparkle to your chest, and you swore your heart couldn't fill with any more love.

the scent of coffee swirled into your nose as you helped one another prepare the lattes, his soft hands guiding the small cup of foam over your mug to make a cute design of a kitty. clinking your mugs together, you took a sip, already melting into your favorite warm drink, laughing into your mug when taehyun sported a white mustache on his top lip from the foam, leaning over to lick it off with a gentle kiss to his lips.

~

"three...two..." you intensely stared at each other from opposite ends of the table, pumpkin carving utensils in hand as you readied yourself to carve the best pumpkin in existence, your boyfriend finding your determination the cutest thing in the world. 

"one!" you shouted and quickly got to work, brows furrowed as you focused on the design you carefully etched into the pumpkin. the reason he loved this so much was to observe you, tongue caught in your teeth as you precisely carved, just wanting to watch you forever. 

and taehyun being taehyun; naturally gifted at everything he does, was a very skilled pumpkin carver. he got to work, determined to carve you your favorite animal because he knew it would make you happy. 

but of course, one hour was a long time to go without getting up and having some sort of physical contact with your boyfriend because looking at him from afar was only so fulfilling before you just had to go hug him. 

you both took small breaks, dancing to music in the middle of the kitchen or sipping on the remainder of your lattes, feeling a little dizzy after he spun you around a little too much. 

the hour passed by and it was time for the grand reveal, sitting on taehyun's lap with his hands cupped over your eyes as he counted down from three. revealing his masterpiece, a grin spread from cheek to cheek at the cutest carving of you and him as kittens snuggling under a heart that had your initials in it. you could almost tear up at his thoughtfulness. 

he was distracted by your pumpkin; the carving of your friend group as little animals, finding it the cutest thing in the world. he found it adorable how you carved him as a squirrel, beomgyu as a bear, soobin as a bunny, yeonjun as a fox, and hueningkai as a penguin, 100% sure they'd immediately vote for yours when you sent your photos in the groupchat, and that made him happy. 

your phones repeatedly dinged with messages from the boys, hearting your picture and complimenting you on how cute their animals are. beomgyu texted asking why his animal was a bear and not a cool tiger, soobin sent a picture of himself with a bunny filter on, and kai texted: awe taehyunnie's is so cute! his being the only vote for your boyfriend's pumpkin. your friends always supported and gushed over your relationship, wanting nothing but the best for you. 

you and tae laughed, replying to some of the boys' messages and ultimately sending them a selfie of the two of you with your pumpkins, sure to send another one later with what they looked like in the windowsill. or they would all just come over and see it for themselves tomorrow, as they all agreed upon in the group chat. 

after placing a faux candle in each of your pumpkins and displaying them in the window, you ran outside, hands intertwined together as the cool october breeze blew your hair back, feeling nostalgic as the crisp air smelled of bonfire and evergreen trees.

the warm glow coming from the window was enough to make you wrap your arms around the tall boy before you tightly, standing on your tiptoes to press a kiss to his nose, his bright smile illuminating the evening and you swore your love for him could never ever end.  

~

although it was your pick for the movie night, you still let the cozy boy beside you have some say, holding three dvd cases out in front of him as he closed his eyes and randomly picked one.

his pick made you jump up in excitement because this film was one of your favorites and you claimed it was super scary, when in reality you knew it was just to make taehyun hold onto you tighter (and he would anyway).

cozying up with some caramel kettle corn and seconds of your favorite pumpkin latte, warming your hands with the warm mug, taehyun draped fluffy blankets over you and plopped back down on the couch next to you. 

you snuggled into him, breathing him in, taking in his warmth. he was simply your comfort boy, serotonin flooding your brain with every breath you took. relaxing into him, the muscles in your body slowly unraveling until you were completely still and relaxed. 

the sound of his laugh when one of the characters in the movie did something stupid was your favorite sound in the world, looking up at him with a giggle of your own, watching the star-shaped lights that draped from the ceiling reflect in his large glassy eyes. straight, dark brown hair parted over his pretty eyebrows. he couldn't have been more perfect.

of course, popcorn was sent flying in the air several times because your boyfriend was prone to getting jump scared, hiding his face in the crook of your neck and barely peeking out an eye when the scene got too scary, clutching your hand tightly.

“it’s okay tae it’s only a movi- AHH!” obviously, you were just as prone to jump scares no matter how many times you’d seen the movie. but it’s okay because hugging your comfort boy under the warm blankets reminded you that you were safe, always.

~

the movie had ended and although you were only a bit sleepy, taehyun picked you up and carried you to the bathroom to start your night routine so that you didn’t have to walk, gently setting you on the counter.

brushing your teeth and doing your skincare together had always been one of your favorite parts of the night, always feeling lucky that your had a boyfriend with the brightest smile and most beautiful skin on the entire planet. and of course, he shared the details of his routine with you.

“wait- i made you something,” his eyes light up as he suddenly remembers something and quickly runs out of the bathroom, returning with his hands behind his back.

shutting your eyes, something you feel you’ve done countless times in anticipation for his surprises, you feel him tuck your hair behind your ears and situate a soft pressure around your forehead.

“i knitted this for you…” you open your eyes at the sound of his soft voice and see for yourself in the mirror that he had knitted you a fluffy black headband with tiny cat ears on it to keep your hair out of your face. “…i hope it’s helpful.” he smiles at you in the mirror.

your cheeks grew pink with how much you gushed over his mere thoughtfulness and innocent gesture, melting over the fact that he put much time and effort into knitting this, considering how tedious and time consuming it is.

your eyes said it all; how grateful you were to have such an amazing person like kang taehyun in your life. you hugged his neck, peppering his face with kisses as he scrunched his nose. “i’ll have to knit you one too, so we can match.”

at the sound of that, your boyfriend’s large eyes lit up in excitement, smile beaming right into your heart. he helped you with the rest of your skincare, gently rubbing various lotions in for you and squishing your cheeks like he always did. snuggling into bed together, you ended the night with cuddles, deep talks and staring into his dreamy eyes until you couldn’t hold them open any longer.

his love truly felt like a cozy fall night in, warm blankets, star shaped fairy lights, the soft glow of jack-o-lanterns from your window sill, and best of all, pumpkin lattes.

🐿️<3

⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆ ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆ ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆ ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾

a/n — thank you for reading pt. 1 of my halloween spooky series!! 🐻 is up next :) comment if you would like to be added to the tags list if you aren’t already!! stay tuned ^_^ 🎃

tagslist: @love-be0m @izzyexe @mhasimp666 @alialialisstuff @beomnioa @cherryynoir @caaaptaaainamericaaa @airax1

©beomie3

[iomoru]

Iomoru’s Halloween Special 2024 | Part. 2

➢ 𝐀/𝐧: Check other parts on "Iomoru'sHalloweenSpecial2024" tag!

➢ 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Modern! Au, Halloween! Au, Fluff, Gn! Reader, Liyue Boys x Reader, Second Person, Proofread

➢ 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐬: Baizhu, Chongyun, Gaming, Xiao, Xinqiu, Zhongli

➢ 𝐒𝐲𝐩𝐧𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐬: How they would spend Halloween with their s/o

© ²⁰²⁴ ɪᴏᴍᴏʀᴜ ✰ do not repost, translate, plagiarize, use to train ai, or share my work on other social media platforms.

Part. 1, Part. 2, Part. 3, Part. 4, Part. 5, Part. 6, Part. 7, Part. 8

Baizhu:

Baizhu would suggest a serene evening spent at his herbal shop, where he transforms it into a cozy Halloween-themed tea party. He carefully brews spooky-flavored teas and serves them in elegant cups while discussing the folklore behind Halloween traditions. With dim lighting and gentle music, he enjoys sharing ghost stories that he makes lighthearted and humorous, often incorporating some herbal remedies into the tales to keep the mood relaxed.

Chongyun:

Chongyun would be determined to embrace the Halloween spirit, so he takes you to a local haunted house, though he’s a bit nervous about the spooky atmosphere. Clinging to your arm, he insists on protecting you from any “evil spirits” inside. His excitement grows as he realizes it’s all in good fun, and by the end of the night, he’s filled with laughter, especially after you tease him about how cute he looks when he gets startled.

Gaming:

Gaming would want to try a Halloween-themed escape room, where you both can put your wits to the test. His enthusiasm for puzzles and problem-solving shines through as he leads you through the challenges. He loves the thrill of racing against the clock, and every time you successfully solve a clue, he cheers with a grin, making it a competitive yet fun experience. Afterward, he treats you to a festive dinner to celebrate your successful escape!

Xiao:

Xiao, preferring a quieter evening, would invite you to watch a classic horror movie marathon at his place. He might seem stoic, but he secretly enjoys the thrill of the suspenseful films. Occasionally, he’ll sneak glances at you during the scariest scenes, ready to protect you if you get frightened. Afterward, he surprises you with some homemade snacks he learned to make, wanting to share a piece of his life with you while creating a cozy atmosphere.

Xinqiu:

Xinqiu would be all about the Halloween festivities, leading you to a local festival filled with fun activities like pumpkin carving and ghost stories. He’d enthusiastically encourage you to take part in all the games and even volunteers to help you carve the best pumpkin possible. With a charming smile, he’d recite spooky poems and tales throughout the night, making it a memorable celebration filled with laughter and creativity.

Zhongli:

Zhongli would host an elegant Halloween dinner at his home, complete with intricately themed dishes and decorations inspired by ancient customs. He’d educate you on the history of Halloween while sharing delightful anecdotes from Liyue’s traditions. After the meal, you both would enjoy a quiet evening of storytelling, where he’d recount tales of myth and folklore, creating a warm and enchanting atmosphere that perfectly balances the spooky and the scholarly.

[scryptids]

location: some party in the middle district

closed starter for: @sparepcrts (constantine)

while she didn't party as much as she had been, mia couldn't help but indulge in the halloween shindigs that everyone seemed to be throwing. jovi was busy, constantine hadn't answered her texts in hours, and if she stayed at home any longer, she feared she may explode. and so she put on a costume that resembled a little black cat (complete with ears), and dragged herself to the middle district. she didn't need to be with familiar faces to have fun as long as she was drunk enough.

she'd only been wandering around for a few minutes, a drink in her hand, when she rounded a corner and stopped dead in her tracks. she was more than aware of what constantine did for work --- in fact, if he didn't have his job, they never would've met --- but this was the first time she'd seen him actively doing it since her party. he seemed to be pressed close to another person, that familiar, charming smile on his lips that always made her heart flutter. deep down, mia always knew that she wasn't special; he'd been hired to flirt with her, after all. the continuous hookups afterwards had just been a perk, but now she felt a pang in her chest. no amount of preparing could've made this feeling any better.

mia planned to slip out of the room unnoticed. he didn't need to see her, just like she needed to forget that she'd seen him. she needed to ignore the pang in her chest, but just as mia was about to turn and retreat, she found her gaze locked on constantine's. there was clearly no turning back now.

"hi," she muttered, doing her best not to shift her gaze to the person he was hired to entertain. "i'm sorry. i didn't...i didn't know you were here. i can leave. i'll leave. forget i was here."

[soleminisanction]

Do u think Stephanie is capable of murder 👁 👄 👁 (spooky Halloween ask happy October)

Decisively, yes. Objectively and canonically. She actively tried to murder her own father in her first appearance. The only reason she didn't kill someone as Robin was sheer dumb luck -- and then she argued afterwards that she was in the right because the dude was a bad guy who threatened her (reposted here to update the image description).

And she'd gone through the same beats again with Cass and the Penguin the month before, also as Robin. The only reason she didn't shoot Black Mask in the face was because of character development that they scaled back immediately after bringing her back from the dead.

It is, I think, important to her character that Steph is more than capable of murder and only hasn't done it yet because of the influence of the Bats. I do think that she's different from say, Damian, in that she's not desensitized to murder -- I think if she ever actually managed to kill somebody she'd be immediately horrified with herself. (See: how she reacted the second her stolen 'violently take control of the criminal underground' plan predictably devolved into a massacre and then a gang war -- the whole narrative core of Steph's War Games arc is her finally Finding Out after years of Fucking Around with a Bat-safety net she's been taking for granted).

Like I said in the linked post -- if Steph had never met Batman, she'd have killed a bitch by now, and it probably would've ended badly for her.

[woah-uhuh-uhuh-uhuh]

(ALMOST) EVERYTHING I NOTICED FROM BAC BMC

NOTE: spot check me!

It was the Two Rivers script, but I still haven't read the whole Two Rivers script so if I mention something I noticed that’s actually just… in the script… lmk!

Also: if you also saw the BAC production (or if you are the BAC people???) and I missed something, let me know!!! Literally anything at all I will put it here I’d love to approach comprehensiveness!!

ALSO: Spoilers! If you plan on going to Jake’s Halloween Party maybe wait? Or don’t!!

CHARACTERS

Madeline

Putting Madeline here because the first thing I noticed in the whole show is she’s ACTUALLY A FRANCOPHILE and it’s so funny ldksjfjsfksdlf. She wears a beret, and people put on a stereotypical French accent whenever they quote her djslkfjsfkfds And during the play backstage someone (I think Chloe?) runs up to her, smacks her beret off and yells “You’re not French!”

Jeremy

OH oh oh oh oh. Bac Jeremy my beloved…. I swear like 30% of Christine’s autism was generously donated to Jeremy for this production jlkdsfjdls

He has this habit where he’ll put his hands in his cardigan pockets and push his them around in front of him or on his body to feel the tension of the jacket stretching. Patrick said this quirk was based on a neurodivergent kid he knows. I don’t have photo evidence and IDK how to describe it perfectly but i did draw it here (x). It wasn't exactly like that though OTL

He does it whenever he’s nervous (so almost CONSTANTLY) up until BMC P.1 when the SQUIP tells him to take his hands out of his pockets. During that song you can see him trying to put his hands back safe in his pockets but afterwards he never does it again, even after The Play. He also doesn’t do it when he’s with Michael, even at the beginning, so I take it to mean it goes away when he’s comfortable. 

I think he flinches and cowers a lot (compared to other Jeremys, that is). Whenever Rich surprises him, Jeremy jumps and protectively throws his arms over his face. I think he reacts similarly to other people a few times - I don’t remember when exactly though… There’s also several times where he’ll stand totally petrified out of fear, like when Rich is writing “boyf” or when Chloe’s coming onto him. By all of this I basically mean it’s really obvious he’s been physically abused (presumably by Rich).

Just in general, his freakouts are very physical, he’ll kinda do these stiff arm movements or cover his face in his elbow etc. Off the top of my head this happens during Upgrade and also at the end of The Play when Christine’s singing to him.

All this to say he has a very very visible physicality to his awkwardness and I love it. I don’t just mean that on a character acting level, I also mean like if you’re sitting behind him in class your attention will actively be caught by his awkwardness. 

He also has a deeper register which he uses mostly in a joke context? He used it in normal conversation a few times too, I think more towards the end.

I noticed him standing just a little pigeon-toed near the beginning. I don’t know if this carried through the whole thing though.

Clothes: his cardigan is blackish with a blue outline, and he wears it over a green shirt with a question mark (I perceived it as a Gravity Falls shirt but might be wrong). The eminem shirt is black and I dont remember what he wears it with…. At the party he has a cyborg shirt and a visor, and after the party he has a white shirt with a flannel and khakis (or maybe light corduroys). In VIMH he has another fandom shirt on but I don’t remember what it was sorry it was 11pm ljfsdlkfjdslkfs

Its so obvious I’m a Jeremy stan this entry is the largest one sorry 🧍

Mr. Heere

He seemed less depressed and more just out of touch in this one? During Two Player Game, he seems decently chipper, if annoyed, though of course he’s still unable to dress himself and unwilling to put genuine effort in with his son. 

When he says “Good talk” he gives Jeremy a friendly shoulder punch. Right before Pants Song, as usual, he says “I could ground you!” Jeremy says “I don’t think you could,” and gives his dad the same shoulder punch while saying “Good talk.” AAAAAAH.

Michael

He seemed less frenetic and anxious than the Troy!Michael I’m used to (sorry that’s my only reference for Michael lol). 

He was generally loud and exuberant. A very excitable but down-to-earth Michael. 

MITB was amazing. I was nervous because it’s obviously (obviously) the best song so there’s a lot of pressure but no it was done perfectly. Sad as fuck. Perhaps moreso because this Michael was especially normal until now. (Also because pre-MITB Jeremy was extra mean in this production)

For some reason, I found it easier to picture this Michael being a childhood & school friend? Maybe just because this production seriously pulled my psyche straight back to highschool in a way the others haven’t been able to lol. 

I maybe got the sense that he’s really trying to act like he doesn’t care as much about Jeremy as he does. 

BTW I’m obsessed with the fact that his idea of a creeper costume is a mask and a shirt that just says creeps on it. I know that’s kinda textual at this point but taken together with the mask its lkesdjfsdjflksdf

Christine

Amazing ballet (?) choreography going on during her intro. I think that might be standard Christine choreo but still! Stunning.

I could actually picture her as an averagely popular girl in this one? Not sure why. Maybe more nervous in her relationships but more confident in other contexts, but I could be pulling that out of my ass. 

I could also be thinking this because she has cool hair (space buns!) and likes Taylor Swift in this one. 

Some of her songs had these really melancholy notes where I didn’t expect them - particularly in GTIKBI Reprise (/pos! I was like oh shit!!! every time)

Rich

He has painted nails! They’re black. 

He had fruity energy the whole time but it got progressively more intense. No I can’t elaborate actually I don’t know why I perceived it like this but I did sldjkfsf

After he comes out it gets more explicit; he starts wearing a pink headband in VIMH (he also gains glasses I think? Unless they’re still Michael’s) and during bows he flashed a paper fan that had the gay flag inside. 

IMO, it was implied that the house fire was a suicide attempt. I say this for purely textual reasons -  because he doesn’t mention trying getting the SQUIP out of his head, and because Jeremy’s SQUIP later implies it was a suicide attempt. But his behavior around the fire - looking dazed while rhythmically flicking a lighter - could also indicate squipzophrenia. (Maybe it’s the same amount of implied as usual - To be fair, I’ve never really understood why Rich set a fire in the first place…)

Brooke

Very wholesome and I love her. IDK Broadway Brooke is very campy, and BAC Brooke is more like a normal sweet girl but maybe that’s just me 

Compared to Broadway, way more respectful of Jeremy’s space. She doesn’t really try to physically seduce him in upgrade instead they just have a cute lil conversation. Also when she tells Jeremy she got cheated on, she doesn’t initiate contact by petting his hair (like in Broadway) - instead the roles are reversed and they hold hands comfortingly, and Jeremy is the one to escalate that by rubbing her hand in a slightly forward way. 

Her French was awful!!! sdjkfldjsfkdsf It was the whole time but Tres Magnifique = "Trays Mag-nuh-Fike" is the one that really killed me

Chloe

Not to be backhanded… but she was really good at being a bitch??? Especially the scene where she’s giving Christine advice

Maybe closetedly wlw based on the delivery of “I like gay people” and the events of The Play??

The Chloe Jenna friendship intrigues me so much… what’s going on there…

Jenna 

Sadder than Broadway Jenna… 

When Chloe mentions her in play rehearsal she jumps up from across the room and says “I’m here!!” to no reaction.

Later in Smartphone Hour -  J: “....because you are my closest friend-” C: “No I’m not” J: “Yeah I know….” Jenna sounds kinda genuinely bummed lol. Either she wasn’t expecting that or she’s *very* aware of it and it’s making her sad. My impression was more the latter.

During VIMH she’s wearing a sweater that’s colored like the lesbian flag??? (EDIT: the actor, Diana, said this was intentional and her Jenna is a lesbian!)

Idk idk actor so good she made me care so much more about Jenna dsfljdf

Jake

Maybe a touch more upfront about the fact that he feels a lot of pressure in his life

He was dumb <3

Mrs. Reyes

She’s a woman in this one!

She has a hippie thing going on i think?? Like a boho mom (affectionate)

Pronounces Reyes with a (several second long) rolled R at the beginning

Doesn’t do the stiff announcer-like angle that the broadway guy does. Her comedy is more crazy cat ladyish

The hot pocket breaks were preceded by an actual alarm sound I think???? bonkers fkljd

Ensemble

BIG ENSEMBLE WAS SO FUN…. They had so many funny bits going on in the background it was soooo good and another reason I wish I could watch it over and over because I couldn’t be paying attention to everything at once OTL

Scene by scene

Organized by song, but scene notes are in there too!

More Than Survive

"Madeline was all like-" *bad french accent* "ohohoho, I'll only sleep with you if you beat me at ze pool~"

“Oh my god he is like totally getting off on that” ← right before this Jeremy starts pointing at them awkwardly from a distance, I think in an attempt to get to his locker?? 

“I like gay people” - the way Chloe says this is kinda like “idk what the big deal is because *i* think gay people are soooo neat” which got a lot of audience laugh. I think she was talking to Jenna but I don’t remember 

“I don’t wanna be a baller” (or whenever the class scene is) - Jeremy’s sitting in the back of class and everyone turns to throw paper balls at him. I was like oh my god he’s being genuinely bullied so hard in this one…. Then again maybe that’s just how he feels?

There’s this awesome chair choreo at the end where everyone’s laying down chairs in front of Jeremy for him to walk on and taking them away from the back to put back in the front as he makes his way downstage.

Scene: Michael's "You don't have to do this!" kind of came across as a shout of protest. (But of course still tempered with, "of course i'll make fun of you forever if you don't)

Play Rehearsal

"This is where you meet for the swim team" --- Instead of looking confused, Jeremy immediately acts like ok byeee - he might be eager to back out of the conversation and/or immediately accepts her answer as literal and wants to leave asap out of embarrassment.

“I also have a touch of ADD” - she trails off and stands there kind of in a daze for a moment, before remembering that she’s in the middle of a song. 

“And can I mention that was really one of my best roles, DID YOU SEE THAT?!" She shouts this very proudly. And after her 'do you find that?' bit she doesn’t give Jeremy time to even try to respond, so it’s a little less rude lol. 

Jeremy was very anxious, and somewhat in a bad way? As in the exchange was a bit off-putting to him.

Scene: “thank god the popular kids are here” - there are SO MANY kids entering. I’m not sure what to make of it! Popular as in everyone’s popular compared to Jeremy and Christine? Or is this a whole clique? Or is Reyes just talking about the popular kids and the other guys also just show up? 

Mrs. Reyes: ~"Our funds will be diverted. To the frisbee golf team. What even is frisbee golf?" Across the room, Jake holds up a frisbee and silently points at it, trying to get Reyes' attention. She doesn't notice.

After scene: Jake’s “pressure to be the best at everything” is said very genuinely, not for laughs at his arrogance which is how I usually read it

Squip Song

Rich actor KILLED it just gotta put that out there

“So it’s like….” Jeremy takes an extended moment to walk to the edge of the stall and look behind to make sure nobody’s there - “...drugs?”

In the end of the song, Rich rubs his dirty hands all over Jeremy's arm.

The Squip Enters

Scene: Payless: “Wolverine” was great djklsfjdsf I’ve never thought about him before. (It was also the actor’s birthday!) When they enter he’s playing the knife-finger game. He threatens Jeremy with the knife at some point (either “400 dollars” or “all sales are final!” I think?). I can’t really describe the character acting but he was very entertainingly unhinged. He's called “Scary Stockboy” in the script & playbill and I thought that was a misnomer until the scene happened lmao. No that was accurate. 

Scene: when they enter the food court there’s like a photo of a mall food court on the back wall but not from the perspective of the scene at all it was like a background that abstractly tells you where you are?? As someone who loves kitsch I enjoyed this, it happens with a few other scenes too 

There’s a couple making out obnoxiously at the mall that someone (I think it was Michael?) had to step over to get to the table. I think they had some great thematically relevant background acting in this scene but I cannot remember it exactly I am so sorry OTL

Michael is buying Ecto-Cooler! It tastes like ghosts.

Jeremy “mourns in his chili fries” by laying his head down on the table. Jake and Christine sit at the table together without noticing him. Then Jeremy pops up and they have the usual exchange (“I didn’t see you!” “Yeah, you’re kind of hard to notice”). I thought that was a really neat staging!! And it makes more sense why he even tries to talk to her in this scene lol

Mild discomfort - The first half Jeremy just stands next to the table and kinda screams in pain. Then the second half he falls to the ground and is thrashing, again mostly just in pain. (Pretty sure that’s how every production goes but I think the intensity of the spasming is pretty variable so I’m describing it here)

When the SQUIP first appears, he offers to appear as Kermit the Frog, Barack Obama, and Gilbert Gottfried, and does a little impression for each one:

The imitations the Squip does are as follows: Kermit the Frog “hi ho Kermit the frog here, we’re gonna fix your life Yayyyyy”, Obama “My fellow Squip, if sync up we can change this loser” and Gilbert Gottfried “So Grandma and the dog are on the table…” - Courtesy of director Chris Guell because I couldn't remember them OTL (thank you!!!)

Also in the middle of this Jeremy says "That's a terrible Obama impression..."

Be more Chill p.1

Brooke and Chloe are shopping on the upstage side of the clothes rack; when Jeremy picks out the girls shirt, Brooke appears through the gap in the clothes and surprises him.

After the song, one of the ensemble steals the clothes rack and the mall cop chases him off stage in a very cartoonishly stiff sprint.

Do you wanna ride?

After the first rejection, Brooke goes to Chloe, who points out the satchel she has belted around her waist. As she starts to sing again she slowly unbuckles it and holds it behind her back. 

Jeremy is very into it by the end and the girls have him dancing along with the music. I think you can see that in one of the promo videos too :P

Be More Chill p.2

Scene: When Jeremy’s going to bed after the mall, instead of sleepily singing, he uses a silly deep voice to say something like “yeah be more chill i’m gonna be more chill i’m gonna be so chill that ice is relatively warm”

After Rich talks to Jeremy (“hey, tallass, where’s my money?” and then they sync up) he spots a girl across the stage and yells “Hey, where’s my money?” then chases her down the hall. 

Guy that I’d Kinda be Into

Scene: during the rehearsal - JR: "Bring me patient zero!" Then Chloe, sitting on the ground, looks through her script for like 45 seconds until finding her line: "Cough!"

At “I’ve been activating your pheromones” - Jeremy starts and looks at his armpits, then as the song continues he slowly pulls his arms up to rest behind his head, it was very comedic djflkdsf. He also uses one hand to waft from his armpit before returning to that position. Guy...

I think this is also the scene he uses a script to hide his boner??

They were so cute at the end!!! Just sitting next to each other in rehearsal and kinda leaning in towards each other. Very real very high school. 

Upgrade

Scene: While Jeremy and SQUIP argue about Eminem, Brooke is (silently) describing the accident. She mimes hitting a hockey puck, then being impaled in the guts repeatedly.

Instead of literal bleachers (at least visually), Brooke and Jeremy go sit on the top of the stairs that lead off of the stage and into the audience. They kinda playfully walk around the railings and stuff, and at the point in the Broadway version where they start aggressively making out, instead they just sit next to each other and talk and it’s very cute :) 

Jeremy’s freaking the fuck out in the middle and it’s so obviously sensory overload auauuauuauaugh. He was like contorting to cover his head in his arms. Guy…

Halloween

Brooke’s costume is a sexy dalmatian! She has an eyespot and a black and white skirt + other spotty white clothes. Jeremy’s cyborg costume only extends to the shirt & a visor. I think it matched with the squip’s visor?

THE PROJECTOR…. On the background was the funniest background it could possibly be it was like a graphic of a cartoon skeleton holding a wooden sign that said “Jake’s Halloween Party”. IDK if that’s a poster he got printed or if it’s an extremely camp way of abstractly giving us the setting or what but I WAS LOSING IT SLKDJFKDSJFSD 

I WISH I had a picture of it, but in lieu of that I recreated it for you and I swear it was like 95% exactly like this. just projected on the wall behind the stage.

Do you wanna hang?

Right before this scene, there’s a huge group choreo where people dance with partners, and in the last move one partner spins the other one down, who lands on the floor looking up at them. Jeremy ends up on the floor and Chloe walks up and stands over him while inviting him to come with her. 

TW - This scene is always sexual assault, but the tone felt especially dark this time – maybe it was just seeing it live, though. 

Jeremy’s standing frozen still as the song starts and kind of visibly recoiling as Chloe walks around him. She walks behind him and shoves her hands into his coat pockets, which makes him flinch. Extra upsetting because like I said before I think his coat pockets are kind of a place of safety for him :(((

Pretty sure the SQUIP's Japanese was different from the Broadway. Wasn't sure quite what he said, but it I think it *didnt* include these from the Broadway one: お腹が空いた (I'm hungry) and お疲れ様 ('pleasure doing business with you,' i think?)

Michael in the Bathroom

Scene: Jeremy seems very shaken after DYWH and sits on the bathtub sadly; when Michael reveals himself Jeremy flips out.

Michael talks about “his clever disguise” and makes monster growls (meant as creeper hisses?) - I think with the tone that he’s trying to get Jeremy to respond to the joke, or point out the reference or something. When that fails, he starts getting serious. 

“Get out of my way, loser” is delivered very confidently. 

After Michael says he’s on his period, Jenna opens the door a crack to hand him a tampon dsjfkldsjflkdsjf. He throws it in the bathtub later at “I’m a creeper in a bathroom….”

Also of course, he’s in a creeper mask lol

Song: WONDERFULLY done. Honestly don’t have much to say it was just great. I get desensitized to that song after hearing it so much, but seeing it live definitely brought a spark to it.

“And I look in the mirror and the present is clearer…” section is like the *key* part of this song to me and Connor Introna did it really well. His voice started breaking at mirror, and of course he did the little sob and everything it was just chefs kiss

Guy that I’d Kinda be Into Reprise

When Jeremy asks why Rich didn’t give him a warning and Rich starts saying “warning” over and over, he says it at a steady rhythm until he gets off stage. Then Jeremy tries to rouse a drunken partier to say “So that was weird…” and Rich’s “Warning” randomly interrupts Jeremy like 3 times to comedic effect before he can get the words out

"Popular people are messed up" - less in response to Rich & more in response to the guy Rich is talking to passing out drunk (iirc)

This is just a 2R things but it hit me so just pointing out she just says “I’m not Juliet” in this one (rather than we’re not romeo and juliet) and auuauguughghg poor Christine :(

Weird noises: it’s kinda like a dinosaur impression in this one? They both go like RAAHH and make claw hands in the air. Then Jeremy stands up and pretends to be driving a car (I think???? lol) and Christine copies him

Christine starts standing up while Jeremy’s still asking her out. As soon as he finishes the question she immediately rejects him. That is to say, she saw where this was going and already knew her answer.

After the scene, Rich walks back across the room, flicking a lighter on and off in a daze. 

ALSO: Ensemble were very entertaining in the whole party! During this scene there were 3 of them playing spin the bottle downstage left and it had like a whole arc to it sdnjkfdfdsf Also guys passed out on the floor and on the couch 

Smartphone Hour

Starts w/ Jenna sitting on the edge of the stage, dangling her legs over the pit. 

Brooke is sadly eating Rich’s loaf of bread. (After she forgives Chloe she passes it to some other actor offstage which I probably wasn’t supposed to see but it was funny lol. communal machete bread)

THE PROJECTOR….. Everyone was holding phones and in the background was footage from their front-facing cameras (prerecorded, but it synced pretty well with the live actors). Then you could see the GUI of them typing some of the lyrics (“rich fled to bombay!!”) into imessage and twitter

AND THEN you see footage of the house burning down on an insta reel…. An unremarkable suburban house where you can see flames consuming the roof. This same footage plays on a few people’s reels, then there’s also footage of firemen coming and putting the fire out and its SO REALISTIC i was losing it 

Around “Changed my profile pic to you” it shows a bunch of (presumably) instagram photos of Rich like in his house and at school or wherever and i wont lie it made me feel for him a lot more. They were like actual full staged photos :( like thats a real guy in there… 

Pitiful children

Scene: When Jenna asks if the SQUIP is a drug, she does the same extended thing of checking to see that nobody’s watching that Jeremy did in The Squip Song

The Pants Song

Scene: see my notes on Mr. Heere aaaaaauguh

Michael’s sitting on his front steps while smoking weed from a tiny green bong. You can tell it’s his front steps because there’s a mailbox next to him labeled MELL BOX in big letters dslkfjdskfjs

Michael’s wearing pants - I think that’s just textually accurate but reporting it anyway

When Mr. Heere comes over (“do you love him?”), he puts one leg on the top step and Michael is eye-level with his crotch. Michael has trouble tearing his eyes away. This happens a few times. In my opinion, it made him come off as a lot more high than he usually does lol

If I remember correctly, they get very intense and like shoulder-grabby at one point. Could’ve been a different scene though I dont remember OTL OTL

The Play

Michael comes out of the audience!!! It was cool it was meta lol

PINKBERRY CANON SDLKFJDKLFJKFJLSF. Brooke and Chloe have the Two Rivers dialogue (He didn’t sleep with you? He didn’t sleep with me!) then after Sisters forever! they do these actions to the rhythm of three staccato beats: “Jinx!” *high five(?)* *KISS ON THE LIPS* and instantly pull away. They're extremely normal about it and are just standing there afterwards without moving or acknowledging it. 

Despite being in the middle of a zombie apocalypse, Jeremy is dumbstruck and stares at them for a few beats before moving on to the next line. It was amazing. No notes. 

Jeremy is horrified when Christine starts singing to him. She walks robotically over to him and speaks kind of like she’s reading off a script (hehehe). Jeremy is backing up against a wall and freaking out almost like he’s trying to get away from her. No implication at all that he’s tempted. 

When everyone starts screaming in pain, Michael is screaming in triumph. (Or at least he looked very triumphant, I don’t remember if he screamed lol)

Voices in My Head

Rich is in a wheelchair. Also he doesn't have a lisp.

Rich is wearing Michael’s glasses. When he starts asking about Michael, Michael shows up and takes his glasses back. I think Rich steals them back at some point too? 

Michael acts a lil flirty with Rich - approximately "I'm sure you'll find something very special," then in a tiny high voice: “but not with meeeee…!” and he pushes Rich’s wheelchair so he rolls offstage jdsfkldsfkfd

At “Tell her that she excites you sexually” Rich does a little wheelie to (presumably) represent a pelvic thrust (all of these Rich moments were excellent I loved this Rich sm)

Christine’s squip was Taylor Swift this time!

At “I know the last thing I deserve is another shot, but…” He trails off and there’s a pause before “Just say what’s on your mind, Jeremy.” I know they get together obviously, but it felt like it could go either way! Maybe because it was live.

(And then they cccccome on lets go and do bows, in character i think, and it was amazing the end)

I was gonna write a TLDR here but honestly all of it was amazing and if you want the highlights it’s pretty much just the stuff I bolded!

Also end note the actors were all soooo nice and they let me ramble to them about jeremy for several minutes Q____Q it was amazing im so happy about this still I wish I got their signatures sjdlfkjdsfkdsf

I hope everyone gets to watch the show at some point but otherwise I hope this can be useful to someone!!

[jenyifer]

Boston and Nick + Eye Contact

I have watched the Boston and Nick scenes more times than I can count and… my chaos boys do not always say what they are really thinking… however their eyes write sonnets

When the series starts off Boston in particular looks like he is studying Nick at all times. It’s low key creepy because Nick will look away especially when he’s feeling insecure. BUT Boston is always watching so when Nick gets like this Boston will grab Nicks neck or shoulder and look directly into his eyes to reassure him EveryTime. I don’t blame Nick for falling for the inner Boston when he is giving him these eyes all the time making Nick feel like he’s the only man in the room or world for that matter.

When they have their big fight Boston makes eye contact with Nick trying to figure him out see where he missed the fact that Nick was going to betray him. I think we hear about this when Boston tells Atom he needs to get better at understanding people. Boston thought by staring into Nick’s eyes he knew Nick would never leave or betray him. But he was wrong. Upon the realization that Nick loves him Boston has to deny it. He’s devastated that he didn’t see this or his own feelings in Nick’s brown eyes. Knocking Nick to the ground showed how scared he was. I also think blocking nick on everything and avoiding him was partly because Boston knows he can’t control himself with Nick. Boston is SCARED. He can’t control either of them. He doesn’t understand. So at the Halloween party Boston desperately tried to ignore Nick not look directly at him because all those feelings bubble up again making him feel like he’s choking guilty. He shouldn’t have let this happen in the first place. When he does make eye contact with Nick I think he had resolved himself to end things with him twist the knife.

The eye contact comes as he questions nick and says oh boy does he hurt Nick badly. Who is Nick to Judge Boston. Nick had come into the Halloween conversation not afraid of Boston but excited to see him. Nick is almost bouncing looking at Boston trying to feel their connection again. Then Boston ruins it. Shreds it. There is nothing worse Boston could have said to Nick. Nick just wanted to be ANYONE to Boston and Boston knows it. Boston successfully scared and hurt Nick into believing he was and had always been nothing to him.

When the bathroom scene starts Nick is desperate to have Boston look at him again but Boston is actively trying to keep his cool. He doesn’t want to feel what he know is his own real emotions about Nick anymore. It’s dangerous for both him and Nick. But Boston is an addict he has to listen hand on that door he could have shut it or said something to make Nick go away but he can’t. He needs Nick. Boston doesn’t want this to be the last time. Nick is scared by Bostons reaction and the memory of last conversation so his initial lines about Boston not needing to forgive him are all spoken to Bostons feet. He continues to have anxious eye flickers. Boston first looks up at “I just wanted to tell you that” and Nick and Bostons eyes meet for the tiniest of moments and Nicks voice becomes so incredibly soft as he talks about how fucking happy Boston made him before they both lose contact again. They play a bit of eye ping pong as Nick talks about how famous Boston will be and his friends until finally….

They make eye contact the whole time Nick tells Boston he loves him and not to change. Because they both know it’s terribly true. Boston wants to believe now that Nick can still love him after all Boston has done. Boston feels incredibly alone. But here Nick is infront of him being terribly brave

Nick loses it afterwards afraid of what will be on Bostons face as he leaves and Boston too looks scared to look at Nick as they part. Neither one of them wants this to be good bye but both of them are so afraid of the other rejecting them. Boston doesn’t even deny Nick is his ex to bathroom boy he’s so spun up in his emotions for Nick.

Boston follows Nick and I think this look on Bostons face is when he realizes he loves Nick way too much. He’s not mad. Boston also wants Nick to be happy and it’s heart breaking to watch Nick without him looking back. Nick can move on now. But Bostons emotions of love are so loud he’s immobilized. Frozen in a world he’s made for himself staring at the man he loves.

[dallonwrites]

lover boy - wip (re)intro

How do you navigate love after losing the person you loved the most?

I realised I don't like writing WIP intros where I just list everything super neatly + have a nice official summary so I am just going to infodump!! Lover Boy is an Adult Literary/Historical novel set in the late 1980s that follows a gay man's navigation of love, sexuality, community and grief after losing his best friend to AIDS. It's inspired by my own experiences of grief + caretaking and the dissertation I did on grief in queer AIDS narratives. It follows Beau, my beautiful special boy, and is like patchwork quilt of all of his avenues of love -- romantic, sexual, platonic, familial, communal, self -- that is stitched together with the grief from this one major loss. This is paralleled with chronological flashbacks telling the story of Bobby's illness, and how Beau took care of him.

Beau and Bobby are best friends who were platonically in love with each other, who had to adapt their relationship as Bobby got sicker and Beau became his caretaker, and in the midst of this adversity became closer than ever. Beau is a lover of love in all ways, who thinks the best holidays Halloween and Valentines Day, who loves sex but is bad at not falling in love afterwards, who has a soft heart, who also has a massive crush on George Michael. Bobby loved his life, his friends and going to the club with them, scenic hikes and swimming, his pet snake named Judas, leather and heavy metal and activism and also the Muppets (his fave was Gonzo btw). He was obsessed with volcanoes and wanted to be a volcanologist. And Beau misses him so much!!! He is trying to understand what his life is now after losing such a big part of it. He is trying to understand what kind of love he wants. He also is trying really hard not to fall back in love with his ex boyfriend who is back in the picture. And he is not really doing any of this well!!

Other features of this novel:

Gay + Autistic protagonist who doesn't know he is autistic but his special interest is horror movies and it shows (favourites are anything monstrous + full of bloodsoaked practical effects. Favourite of all time is The Lost Boys). Beau literally looks towards horror movies to try and understand grief and loss

Protagonist is a guy who actively wants to be haunted and is looking for any signs of ghosts

Lesbian + Gay + Bi + Trans + everything solidarity. An honouring of that history. Exploration on how the AIDS crisis shaped and reshaped community and identity because well, I did an entire dissertation on it and I am not putting that to waste!!! It is interesting and important!!

A narrative that is brutally honest about grief and death, and all the ways it is messy and complicated. A narrative that also doesn't always take itself seriously because sadness and joy are always holding hands

Narrative that plays around with form (video transcripts, letters, journal entries, descriptions of art) and POV (past + present tense blended together, third person present that often dips into second)

Exploration of caretaking on a community level and an intimate, one to one level. Look into how love is often all the little ways we help each other hold on.

Exploration of disability and sickness and how it shapes your identity, your relationship with yourself and others, especially when you're young (I also have a novella planned actually exploring this from Bobby's POV, but you didn't hear that from me!!!!)

The idea that grief never gets smaller, just your life grows around it

The idea that you can love your friends!!! You can be in love with them!! And that love is no "lesser" than romantic love, and it is just as beautiful and big and bright. Even when Beau navigates romantic relationships, these aren't put on a pedestal above any other type of love

A golden retriever named Atlas (Beau's own beautiful, special boy)

This is a personal project that I'm not publishing, but it means a lot to me so I will talk about it a lot!!! I've been playing around with it in its current form for about a year now and am finally making a dent in an actual first draft. My want is to share long, in depth pieces about how I navigate writing a story like this somewhere like Substack, and also all the fun of drafting it along the way. Expect infodumps and excerpts!!!

[jasontoddsmommyissues]

Halloween with Eddie

Masterlist

Eddie takes Halloween very seriously. From the second those first leaves of the year start falling from the trees, he’s ready to go. As his girlfriend, you have the honor of partaking in what amounts to a month-long celebration of all things spooky with him. 

Normally, he’s not much of a planner, but he’ll carefully create a schedule to fit in all of his favorite activities during the month of October. 

First is of course decorating, which happens promptly on October 1st (or, if Wayne allows it, sometimes even earlier). The Munson’s don’t have a ton of decorations, but Eddie finds a way to make the most of what they do have (when you two move into your own place, he’ll definitely become the kind of person that goes all out building super intricate scenes in your front yard every year). The pumpkin patch is also a must, so you can pick out some good carving pumpkins. Eddie always comes up with some elaborate design for his. A creature from DND or a metal band logo. It takes a lot of work, but it always comes out looking incredible. 

Obviously, Haunted Houses are a favorite. Eddie likes to play big and tough, promising that it’s not scary, he’ll protect you, until something actually pops out at him, which will undoubtedly elicit a terrified shriek. If you mention it to him afterwards, he’ll insist that he totally wasn’t scared. Speaking of being scared, horror movie marathons are a big tradition, too. You love that particular activity, if only because it gives you an excuse to cuddle up to him extra tight if something “scary” happens. 

When it comes to dressing up, Eddie doesn’t mess around. This year, the two of you decide on a couples costume of Aragorn and Arwen, and Eddie makes it his mission to create the best Lord of the Rings themed costumes Hawkins has ever seen. You two end up finding generic knight and princess costumes, which will simply not do for Eddie. He spends hours with paint and sponges reworking the plastic armor so that it looks appropriately battle worn. He convinces some friends in the drama department to hook you up with prosthetic elf ears and hand makes you a circlet out of wire and a cool gemstone he found by the quarry. Not a lot of people fully understand the reference, but even they have to agree you two look awesome. 

Once the festivities are over, your Aragorn takes you to bed, and the two of you spend the night cuddling. He can’t actually offer you Gondor and Arnor, but snuggled up next to him, you think his room in the trailer will do just fine.