#but anyway i do think some conspiracy stuff still goes a little far these days
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petition for rich to talk about the confession and other destiel scenes on stage more
tell me the handprint story again i'll listen
#destiel#there's some things in here where i'm like hmmm not sure you're telling the ~ whole truth ~#but anyway i do think some conspiracy stuff still goes a little far these days#also cath i feel so weird including your tweet in here since you're on tumblr too lol but. for completion purposes i had to
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so this larry situation has started a discussion. i am not a larrie btw but i know rain you used to be one. in my opinion larry is definitely an example of shipping taken too far.
louis's statement kinda scares me "thereâs nothing I can say or do to dispel the believers of that conspiracy. they are so intertwined with what they believe to be the truth now that they wonât actually see the truth for what it is." even after this statement, i saw a few larries who still believe that his management is making him do all this. that gave me the shudders.
if louis and harry used to be a thing and this is how they turned out now, i would happily accept tae and jk to be just friends rather than their relationship turning into something disastrous like larry.
i think for me the only way i will continue to believe in taekook (assuming that they cannot come out officially as a couple) is if they both stay single for pretty much the rest of their life. so this is like a pretty long term theory lol but this will be my ultimate proof. because if they cannot get married or openly be together, its not like they can just tell us that, the only way we can spot it is if both of them are single. and ofc this theory only works out if only tae and jk out of all the members are single well into their age. if literally any other member is also single then this theory doesn't work.
anyways what do you think? what is your version of final proof?
Hi anon!
The difficulty of Larry fandom is that after 1d went on hiatus.. there was close to no real interactions to be witnessed between Harry and Louis. Before hiatus, most Larries were still quite certain they were together and they got to actually watch them interact and look at how they reacted to each other. When that disappeared.. the fandom kinda had to go by clues and fill in the gaps. But that leaves so much room to be wrong. That is why I feel fairly certain that they were together during or for parts of 1d, but perhaps not much after hiatus. Thereâs so much that makes Larry fandom a tough and complicated place. They are dealing with a band thatâs no longer active, two solo artists that are quite different, a lot if newer fans who donât really understand 1d history.. etc. All stuff that makes for a complex situation. Not all Larries are as unhinged (same as how Tkkrs differ from each other), but if you base your opinion on twitter larries đŹ.
I think unhinged theories emerge when fans think they have to speak and fight for their favorite artist. We can kinda see it here too, with some fans talking about members hating each other. To me that is unhinged as well. You are absolutely right in saying Larry fandom (as a whole) takes it too far. Thereâs a lot of unhinged theories going around. I donât think Louis has to do this because of his management, I think he has a lot of control these days. The idea that he doesnât is something that stems from their earlier days, when their label and management did seem to have a lot of control.
It is very important to take note of time passing and of situations changing and I feel that is lacking in Larry fandom. A lot of people hold on to what once was without leaving much room for new developments.
The same thing goes for Tkk. I just try to go with what Tae and Jk show us. I think they have continued to show us their closeness so at this moment I have little reason to doubt that theyâre together. When that changes (and not to bring down the mood or something, but we do not know how enlistment and being apart will effect them) I will still go with what I see and accept if I feel they have broken up. If at any point one of them announces an engagement or marriage.. Iâll take that to mean they split up or that maybe we were wrong (depending on context).
You always have to do with the information you get. In this situation itâs always possible that at one point something comes to light that changes our perspective. For me Taennie wasnât that, but for some it was. For me Tae and/or Jk denying Tkk probably will be, others might still carry on.
My ultimate proof of Tae and Jk being together will be when I see both of them come out in 10+ years or so. If they make it so far ofcourse.. otherwise Iâll probably forever wonder đ. But itâs not that important for me to get ultimate proof of them together. In the end what I want is for them to be happy, whether itâs with each other romantically or platonically.
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 Party For One
Warnings: sub! Aone being a flustered mess, confident dom! Reader, nsfw kinda (grinding, not pg-13 kissing), mention of drugs and alcohol, college au! Aone.
Word count: 2.3k
a/n: ok guys this is my first fanfic so apologies if itâs not too good or if the ending is too rushed. Constructive criticism is always welcome and pls donât forget to like and/or reblog. Thank you!
Aone was not much of a party goer. Although his friends were more outgoing, he in fact was not. He was more of a homebody, mostly leaving his shared apartment with Kenji for school, to get more ramen from the corner shop near his uni or practice with his newly-formed volleyball team; courtesy of his newly-formed friend, Kanji. Then proceeding to come home to shower, nap, wake up, struggle with his homework and then sleep till the next day. He was about to start the fourth activity of his daily routine when the sound of the doorbell rang through the apartment.
Sighing, he left his spot at the kitchen island to open the front door, then trying to close it once Kanjiâs face appeared behind it.
âWoah woah if you wanted some alone time, you shouldâve just said thatâ, the cat-faced friend exclaimed, just barely slipping through the crack in the door. Face adorned with brown freckles and a smile seemingly super glued to his face, he looked like the poster boy of golden retriever boys, âWouldnât matter anyway since Iâm still dragging you to Sugawaraâs tonight.â
Ah yes, Sugaâs party, the one Aone was being forced to go to as a favour for his new friend. The white haired boy uttered a grunt of disapproval as Kanji plopped down onto his couch.
âIâm telling you man, when girls see us walking in together with my beauty and your scowl-,â he smirked while giving Aone a once over, â-theyâll come flocking like parakeets.â Aone ignored his new friendâs rambling and was about to go back to his homework when his phone buzzed. Picking it up and looking at his crushâs name made him do a double take before realizing it was from his class groupchat.
Y/nâ¤: Someone better come pick me up or else Iâm dumping the mary janeđ¤
Sugawara: You live on campus, how did you sneak it in?
Y/nâ¤: Come pick me up and Iâll tell you
Bsf/n: I can see Iâm gonna be on y/n duty tonight. Iâll come get you in 5
Y/nâ¤: Girl Iâll literally marry you donât play with me
                     -5 minutes later-
Y/nâ¤: Psa to everyone in this groupchat, bsf/n and I are married now
Bsf/n: As long as you do my makeup for the party lol
Y/nâ¤: Deal
A slightly dejected sigh left the tall boyâs lips, wishing it was him y/n would joke about marrying to the- wait party?? The realization that y/n was going to the same party as him made heart race with anticipation and although he never talked to her in any of the classes they shared, Aone developed a massive crush on y/n just by seeing the way she interacts with others as well as her personality. Her presence when she walks into a room, beautiful coily/kinky hair either flowing or in a different âprotective styleâ (which Aone ended up googling the meaning to) and her face adorned with a smile so bright, he could feel his ears getting hotter just by its look, it would be foolish to think that no other person in his uni or elsewhere had already snatched her up. Which is why Aone never felt the need to let her know about how much he was falling for her.
He was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of his roommateâs door opening, revealing a clearly tipsy Kenji trying and failing to button up the last button on his silk shirt.
âIs anyone g-gonna help or what..â he slurred, stumbling into the living room, planting himself right in front of Aone who begrudgingly helped him with the last button. Satisfied, the intoxicated boy walks over to Kanji on the couch whoâs currently scrolling through his instagram feed. He gives Kenji a once over before giving a nod of approval to his outfit. He turns to the tall, white haired boy, âAone go change, the party starts in 10 and you know itâll take us half an hour to get there!â, he exclaimed gesturing to Aone with his hands in a shooing manner. He didnât understand what was wrong with his gray shirt and black sweatpants but went to his room to go change anyway, returning six minutes later sporting a green and white checkered shirt with dark blue jeans and black levis. The trio hurriedly leave their apartement, Kanji practically dragging both boys to his car before appointing Aone as the designated driver as the boy was the only one who had no intention to drink at the party.
The ride to the party took much more than half an hour as Aone was forced to drive while simultaneously trying to stop the two boys at the back from drinking any more of the pregame Kanji brought as well as preventing Kenji from messing with the aux cord. In the end, both boys settled on playing Ei8th mile on repeat the rest of the drive, both alternating between rapping DigDat and Aitchâs lines. Finally getting to the address Sugawara sent to the group, the trio hopped out of the car and went to knock on the door, opening to reveal the silver haired boy in all his glory wearing a burger king crown and a drunk smile.âYou guys look li-hiccup-ke you had a fun drife hereâ, opening the door wider to reveal flashing red and purple strobe lights, living room filled with drunk and soon-to-be drunk college students and a hiphop song playing with a loud base that almost made Aoneâs teeth clink. The two drunk boys wasted no time heading to the make shift bar in the kitchen, Aone following reluctantly behind feeling quite awkward in the party setting. Even worse, he was unable to spot y/n in the crowd making his heart drop lower into his stomach.
 No no no no.Â
Even though Aone didnât think y/n would like him the way he likes her, he was hoping he could at least use this party to make himself known to her, maybe forming a friendship with her first before professing his love. Dejectedly, he trudges to the bar, sulking next to his now very drunk friends who are far more interested with the designs on the kitchen counter.Â
âDude itâs so swirlyâŚhow do they make it like that?â one of the boys asks.
âBro it has to be like a top secret thing. Like in the dark web,â the other replied, his eyes widening as his pupils are blown out more.
Not wanting to deal with their drunk conspiracies, Aone heads to the store room in search for some water after not seeing any laid out. Finding a bottle, he quickly gulps it down, faintly hearing the song in the living room change to one with a much deeper base. Leaving the store with his thirst finally quenched, he recognizes the song as Cold by Rico Nasty, her gravely voice echoing around the living room and drowning out some of the chatter which Aone was grateful for.
Ridinâ in a Maserati
Like Scotty Iâm with two hotties
I ainât just walk in the party-
âI brought the drugs to the partyyyyâ, a voice which made Aoneâs heart beat faster screamed, Y/n bursting through the front door with a medium sized pack of marijuana and a tray of what he assumes are pot brownies as the crownd cheered at her arrival. Her eyes wide with excitement, hair in cute little bantu knots (which Aone noted is now probably his favourite hairstyle on her), and dazzling smile still glued to her face. Making a bee line to the kitchen to drop the stuff she was holding, she hugged and greeted the people closest to her, making Aone regret not standing closer to the front door before realizing she was making her way straight to him.âHi Polar Bear!â her scent of f/p enveloping him as she hugged his stomach, hair right next to nose, making the boy short-circuit. Y/n is hugging me. Me. Hugging. She smells so good. I should probably hug her back. But what if thatâs weird. Hugging me. Iâm gonna marry her. Iâm gonna throw u-
âTakanobu woohoo you good?â she whispered in neck, drawing him out of his daydream, while at the same time making blood rush to his lower region. His eyes widen as he turns to see her staring right at him, inches apart and eyes questioning.
âI-Iâm doing well y/n, um you uh look great tonightâ, he managed to blurt out, his compliment making her lips curve into that signature smile. He unconsciously let out a low groan as he felt his jeans tighten even more as his mind raced a mile a minute, envisioning her on top of him, smile turning into a smirk as she runs her hands over his body making him squirm. His neck, his nipples, his happy trail, his-
Once again brought out of his daydream, he looked around to see y/n already gone and dancing in the living room, her presence making her look ethereal in the flashing lights. Smiling slightly, Aone deciding to stop before his imagination made him cream in his pants, decided to go look for his friends spotting both of them laying near a potted plant in the hallway caressing the leaves and muttering under their breaths. He discreetly goes back to the store, getting two bottles of water and placing them on either side of his friends, knowing theyâll be shocked at it âappearingâ.
Sighing tiredly, he briefly thinks of just driving back to his apartment having already seen his crush and hugged her, but decided against it not wanting to feel guilty for abandoning his intoxicated friends. He was about to go to the backyard looking for some fresh air before he heard his name being said in the crowd. Turning around too quickly he bumped into someone, gripping their waist and letting their scent envelop him before he caught a glimpse of their hair.Â
Yes yes God yes
âNobu Iâm so sorry, I was trying to get your attention but you didnât turn around!â y/n exclaimed, gripping his shirt making the boy realize his grip on her waist was tightening significantly. He quickly tried to let go but y/n wasnât having any of it and planted his large palm on her backside, squeezing a little. Aoneâs face had never been as red as it is now from that simple action. Clearing his throat, he gives a tentative squeeze to gauge her reaction and seeing the smirk on her face as her pupils darken. She finally releases her grip on his hand and turns to the dance floor, Aone follow behind.
 As they reach the dance floor, afrobeats fill the air as joro by wizkid which Aone knew was one of y/nâs favourite songs) plays turning the energy of the party to a slower tempo. Y/n turns to the tall boy, once more putting his hands on her waist, before pulling him closer to her, their bodies now pressed against eachother.
Aone can feel her grinding on his pants and begs to any God whoâll listen to please not let him pop a boner right now. Her mouth comes closer to his ear and he can feel her breath making shivers run down his spine. âI could feel it you knowâŚâ she whispers as his eyes widen, embarrassment from though him as he realizes she felt the first boner he popped while hugging her in the kitchen ââŚdidnât peg you as the type. What a pervert you are Nobu.â  Â
That small gesture almost made Aone cream in his pants. Almost. If not for the overwhelming shame he would feel if someone saw him, his dick was already as hard as can be. A murmur left Aoneâs lips and y/n has to strain her neck to hear him over the sound of the music flowing through the house.
âWhat was that Nobu?â
âP-plea-ase,â he whispers, ears a bright shade of red as y/n smirks looking him in the eye to see his pupils blown out, clouded with lust and feeling his member poking her in the thigh.
âPlease what Nobu?â their lips almost touching.
â..Please kiss meâ
âThatâs all you had to say ya damn polar bearâ, finally pressing her lips on his and making the butterflies in his stomach turn into fireworks. He really couldnât believe it. His head felt like it was about to burst from all the blood that rushed into it. Her lips felt so much better, so much better than his imagination. Her hands sliding up to his neck and slipping into the hair on the nape of his neck, he uttered a low groan giving access to y/n to slip her tongue onto his. Aone could feel his precum dampening his briefs and hoped that a dark spot wouldnât be visible by the end of the night. She tried to break the kiss, his head leaning closer not letting her go until she tugged hard on his nape hair forcefully, a string of saliva still connecting them.
âWhat a needy boyâ, she smirked, letting go of him to swipe at the corner of his lips. âWhy didnât I come speak to you earlier?â, he didnât care because for him, this really was worth the wait.
 Aone was not much of a party goer, but heâd have to thank his friends in the morning for forcing him to go to this one.
Tags: @itzgabz22
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new hadestown au: BIKER ! EURYDICE, in which sheâs a rogue lone-wolf biker dwelling in the urban jungle of a Neo Tokyo-type city called Hadestown, wracked with biker gangs, violence, poverty, corruption, and civil unrest, still recovering and rebuilding from an apocalyptic event many years ago. Heavy-handed with the AKIRA inspirations here, haha.
She fights for herself on the dangerous streets, an illegal racer with a consistent top-three placement and a reputation for ferocity that earns her the money she needs to scrape by. And then she meets Orpheus: a dopey bartender who has no place being in her business.
okay okay okay iâm gonna be jumping around a lot here. be warned. thanks @supercantaloupe, @regzillas, @birdmanlyss for your contributions! (sorry if i missed someone itâs been a while)
she's a lone wolf in a city infested with biker gangs and it's brutal
she's run over plenty of limbs in her day
then there's orpheus, this gentle, kind-hearted soul, an indie musician and shes like. fuck. now i gotta keep this bastard safe
puts a long pipe with a mess of bolts and metal on the end in his hands and tells him he'd better buckle up and learn to fight the road
this sort of thing is common among biker gangs to cause destruction and knock people off their bikes onto the road. other types include mallets, hammers, baseball bats, etc
shes small but knows a lot of self defense and is very good at handling herself on the road
besides teaching orpheus to steel himself and yes use that pipe on people, push them off and jam it in their wheels and let it break if it does, she's gotta teach him to hold on while she pulls all this crazy shit on her bike
she avoids taking him on the road because having to fight people gives him so much stress but he also stresses about her so it's all weird
the first time orpheus sees her run over someones arm hes like ""???????????????????!!!!!!!!"
"Don't worry it doesn't happen often" "WHAT IS 'OFTEN'"
she has a red songbird on her helmet and flowers on her jacket
and flowers painted on her bike too probably
or patterns like on the album cover
orpheus thinks itâs the prettiest shit heâs ever seen
so eurydice races, right? everyones like âwho is this tiny little upstartâ and then she takes off her helmet and shakes out her hair and everyone loses it
somethingsomething ig hades (who is something of a crime boss here, similar to Tombstone from the Spectacular Spider-Man cartoon, but not so unambiguously villainous in nature) becomes a contractor and he catches her in like, a bad contract that's hard to get out of without some kind of consequence
and now orpheus has to topple a capitalist again
anyway she like, meets orpheus in this little bar he works at
it's about lower middle class, so it's not too bad but it's still mostly populated by like, poorer people and bikers, etc.
they meet and it's cool and fun blah blah Come Home With Me shit
also this is a scene:
biker!eury: we gotta cross through downtown orpheus: what???? but there's a riot going on there! right now! eury: that's too bad, it's the fastest way! that's why you get this! (tosses him her pipe weapon) orpheus, barely catching it: sajskhsfdfs ???? eury: and i am gonna take this. (kicks open a trunk and takes out a rifle) orpheus: ???????!!!!???!?? WHERE DID YOU GET THAT AND DO WE REALLY NEED IT eury: Yes we do now come on orpheus:Â H-HOW did you get it eury: (loads gun) no worries orpheus: No i have many worries HOW DID YOU--
actually, on this emergency ride, orpheus proves surprisingly competent with her pole weaponâruthless even, and eurydice wonders just where and how the hell he learned that
the conversation she has with him about that is the same one where he shows her his old, old scars
(besides ruthlessâorph has apparently learned how to pose and intimidate. he does stuff like putting the tip of the pole-pipe to the asphalt as theyâre riding, skipping on the road and creating sparks)
eurydice loves her bike more than certain relativesÂ
certain complications lead to it being destroyed by hades as punishment for doing him wrong. and it destroys her. that is her most trusted sacred bike, that thing has been with her since she was a teenager
once she repurposes that devastation into white-hot anger orph has to physically restrain her from hunting hades down and breaking his kneecaps with a thick lead pipe
he's never seen her this absolutely devastated and furious
he goes to persephone for more work because he wants to buy eurydice a new bike
he keeps it a secret from her until he leads her out to a garage, hands over her eyes
(some of these bits are copypasted from my friend @regzillasâ)
orpheus takes his hands off and says Tada!!! it's just like the old one, there's no painted birds but she can do that. She just stands there in total silence mouth open, and orpheus goes 'so? do you like it?' before she bursts into tears. and at first orpheus is like :O!!!!! oh no!!! do you not like it? and eurydice through sobs just says 'nobody's ever done something like this for meâ
it's... beautiful, it's touching, it's deep and it's love and she's so in love and she loves him so much, and she cries and holds him close and takes him in and she's so overwhelmed by her emotions, full of the care that orpheus so freely gives to her; and it's a breath of newness, fresh air in the cycle of dread and bitter anger that haunts the city (but she's still going to find hades and shoot him in the foot)
he just holds her and kisses her head
they spend the day painting it, the day after he buys the bike
hand-painted. and they both leave their handprints in paint on it, like carl and ellie do on their mailbox in the beginning of Up
a significant amount of time is spent thinking of a good name
theres lots of joking and eurydice playfully shoves orpheus and he falls over into paint
okay i wrote something like. Obnoxiously long for orpheus. i sort of have his backstory in this down, but i donât have anything for eurydice unfortunately :( suggestions are welcome! but first: Hermes
biker!au hermes owns a chain of bars, several of which find their patronage among the ruffian youth, several of which are more refined and serve the middle class, and another several of which serve the upper crust hermes has a hand in every world and it serves him pretty well, and his chain is a bit of a channel of communication and its unspoken rule that whatever socioeconomic class or gang or organization you're a part of, hermes' chain is neutral territory no fighting allowed
eurydice walks in and hermes just gives her a Look and taps the 'no fighting' sign and she huffs
hes >:( if anyone does try to start shit. the honor system is strong enough that usually the other patrons will just throw them out, and if there are really problems, they'll hear from hermes personally
he maintains a very strict "no bitching in my fucking kitchen" atmosphere
and now, Orpheus
this really is kind of akira but without the government conspiracies; the city is a neon corrupt hellscape thatâs still struggling to rebuild after an apocalyptic event that wiped it all through. the city is wracked with frustration and violence and anger, there are still urban ruins everywhere and the scars of rebuilding and struggle are plain in every corner of life; plain to see are the shells of ruined buildings, gigantic boats levelled from the sea and left in the middle of inland sectors.
orpheus was abandoned by his mother at an early ageâkind and timid, he had to learn fast how to be suspicious and cautious in cruel ways. he couldnât land himself a spot in any of the groups that other ragtag raging folks had eked out for themselves, still too hesitant or ungraceful or young for any of them. sure, he made friends, sitting and talking with lots of people, but never got to really team upâall he could do was just fight for himself in the blown out corners of the city. weapons made from whatever he had. a young child already spitting blood and teeth in hadestownâs vicious ground-floor landscape.
hermes is his motherâs close old friend, though the times they see each other are few and far between. when he saw him, hermes hardly recognized her son, wild-eyed and clawed and alone in one of the cityâs more dangerous neighborhoods, with a pole full of screws slung over his back. how did she lose track of her kid for so long? he thinks. and takes him in.
hermes eventually realizes that his mother didnât lose him. meanwhile, tiny orpheus, kind-hearted orpheus, despises hermes at first. heâs full of suspicion and desperately wants to lean into hermesâ kindness, but the streets have taught him to hold back. he spits curses at him, though the words slide right off hermesâ shoulders. itâs not genuine. Â just frustrated. and picked off of the delinquents that were his friends, just like most everything else about him.
(hermes knows heâs gotten his trust when orpheus starts getting soft, when heâs crying over littler things; it means heâs been deemed safe to be vulnerable around, and he damn near starts crying himself.)
orpheus owns a little vespa! itâs covered in stickers, some of them worn out and old, some places with just the adhesive and the fuzzy white paper from where he tried to pull them off. some of them arenât even proper stickers and just shit he peeled off from places while he was wandering around and stuck onto the vespa
even in canon i see him as the kind of guy who like. you look at him and think jesus how is this guy still alive heâs so noodly and soft, but heâs unexpectedly sort of street smart
anyway i mentioned this before but didnât elaborate. biker au orph, to eury's surprise, does have his collection of scars, since he had a bit of a rough go at life
also heâs just ungainly and runs into shit
you can see em on his sketch page. he has a bit more than whatâs shown, but whatâs visible is a little slash across the bridge of his nose onto his cheek, and two on his left forearm. he probably has a stab scar in his side from just getting fucking knifed. the ones on his left forearm are from when a drunk coming out of a bar charged him with a fork
eurydice also has scars. kind of hard not to with the kind of life she lives
ok thats it. For Now. i donât know how persephone or the fates or the workers factor in, if at all. I barely know how Hades factors in, mostly what iâve said so far and that he does what he does to support himself and persephone. ah well! just have this
as this is extremely based off of AKIRA, i verily recommend listening to the movieâs soundtrack. besides the fact that it slaps hard as hell, the opening song, Kanedaâs Theme, has the perfect vibes for the city and the tone of eurydice and orpheus riding at night through it
#hadestown#hadestown art#hadestown fanart#hadestown au#broadway#musicals#biker au#my art#this au first came into being because i wanted eurydice with fingerless gloves
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this was requested by @deardmvz ! based off of this lovely post!!
Billy is released from the hospital a few months after heâs out of that place, having been dragged back to his own world a bloody mess by a group of government men in hazmat suits.
They said he was lucky to have spent as long as he did in a toxic environment and come out of it only needing a weekly breath treatment and a couple of bandages. But he knows it wasnât luck.
Because if there was such a thing as lucky, Billy Hargrove was not it.
Rather, it was because heâd learned how to give the monsters over there what for. Didnât hide and come whimpering at the first signs of rescue, begging for their protection like everyone was expecting him to after dealing with monsters and breathing polluted air for six months.
Six months. He couldnât believe that. To him, on the other side, it had felt more like years.
But heâd stumbled out of that place all the same, dripping axe still gripped tight in hand, in case this was his mind giving up, in case his hell wasnât really coming to an end after all, and in the end, he was tougher, more resilient, unafraid.
But the doctors didnât really believe that, did they?
As soon as he was given the clear in the emergency room, onced over for physical injuries heâd thankfully avoided and the doctors having given him something that made him cough up most of the gross stuff thatâd been collecting in his lungs, he was sent straight to the psych ward.
Because he could kill as many monsters as he wanted, and he could spend months as a survivor, doing what nobody before him had been able to without super powers, but he was never going to be able to shake the isolation, the uncertainty of everyday he spent over there. Not without help.
The upside down was a no manâs land, he didnât have the time of day to think about what heâd done, who heâd lost, what had happened to him. But the moment heâs free of it, heâs back to reality.
Back to being the kid down on Cherry, with years of baggage to carry even before all this interdimensional bull that heâd never worked through. With a sister who thought he was dead, and a father who probably wouldnât care less whether or not he was.
They see all of that, so he pushes them away, refusing every attempt the nurses make at helping him. He doesnât want their help anyways, he doesnât want to be in the hospital anymore, and he sure as all hell doesnât want to be a part of some government conspiracy.
But with enough personal questions and screenings, theyâre able to, a couple of weeks into the program, coax it out of him, working him up to the breaking point and the following outpouring of guilt.
Pushing him to admit things about himself heâd never had to look in the face until that hard shell heâd had to build up to protect himself from monsters of all kinds since he was just a kid dissolved away, and he was left a sobbing mess in a support group, going on and on about having chased his mother away, how he was working on chasing his little sister away.
About the way he treated his peers and the way he let others treat him. About Heather Holloway and everyone else and how heâd killed them.
Straight away they get him in to see somebody, something he doesnât really like the sound of at first, but they say theyâre willing to release him from the psych ward if he agrees to go regularly, so itâs worth a shot.
That is, until he realizes he has nowhere to go except back to his house. 5280 Cherry Lane, where Neil Hargrove, the very first monster heâd ever had to fight, would be waiting for him.
He tries to get out of it, to go back to who he was before heâd let all this stuff get to him, but it doesnât last. Heâll bark out nasty things at the nurses and refuse to cooperate when they get to trying to evaluate his head again, but thereâs no bite behind it, and he canât keep it up.
That seemingly infinite well of hatred and pain had been drained by his time on the other side, until he just didnât have it in him to be angry all the time anymore.
Billy tucks his tail and goes to the shrink, signs the release papers at the hospital and goes straight to that first appointment like he isnât terrified of what will happen the minute they let him go home for the first time in forever.
Some part of him knows itâs no different than what heâd already been dealing with in intensive care, but thereâs still something about being out there on his own, shooed away from what had become his sanctuary after escaping just to have some government approved doctor tell him heâs mentally unwell, that doesnât sit right with him, and he walks out of that office even more nervous, more jittery to return than before, but he canât avoid it forever.
The house isnât too far from downtown where the office is, so he just walks home. He thinks of stopping at a payphone and call ahead, to let them know heâll be coming home, but he hasnât exactly been carrying pocket change with him, and he thinks it might be better if theyâre not expecting him anyways.
Itâs bitter cold outside, a dusting of snow on the ground making him walk slow over slippery sidewalks, unused to the conditions, but itâs the most fresh air heâs gotten in a long time, out in the kind of cold he can appreciate.
Over there, it was a clammy kind of cold, the type that clung to his skin and seeped into his bone, like he was under water. But this is different, the sun shining overhead taking off some of the bite, a cross wind that blew his hair back in his face and made the tip of his nose go numb.
By the time he reaches the door, he still doesnât know exactly what heâll say. How does one go about breaking the news to their family that they arenât really dead?
The general idea is this: ring the doorbell, hope against hope that Neil isnât afraid of zombies, appeal to his inner anti-government conspiracy theorist, and pray that heâll buy it for long enough not to shoot him dead and maybe let him inside.
First step goes smoothly, and heâs ready to move on to blocking punches in the case of a kinemortophobic, but when the door is yanked open, itâs not his dad, and the rest of the plan goes out the window. Itâs Max that answers, and before he has time to even process that, she wraps her arms around his torso in a hug tight enough to knock the wind out of him.
He doesnât know what to do, this wasnât what heâd been anticipating, so he kind of just, awkwardly pats her back and tries to ask her if he can come in, but all she does is squeeze him tighter.
Susan peers around a corner in the house, âMax, who was at theâŚâ They lock eyes, and she trails off, a mix of relief and apprehension and maybe something like fear on her face. âBring him inside, dear.â
Max pulls away and lets him in, wiping at stray tears with her sleeve pulled up over her hand. She waits for Billy to sit on the couch, and sits down right next to him, pressing into his side. âWhere were you? We watched you die.â
âWasn't me.â He eyes Susan, trying to communicate to Max that this was top secret, donât tell your step-mom immediately after leaving a government facility information, but Susan chimes in.
âShe told me everything. After what happened she was too upset to remember her agreement. We both signed the NDA.â
And for a second that pisses him off. Not at Max and Susan, but the agents who knew what was happening and still had the nerve to bring them in to threaten them without even bothering to mention he was still alive.
Right now thatâs the part he tries to focus on. That he was still alive, and had better things to worry about than what he couldnât change. âIt was a clone. A fail safe made by the shadow in case your merry band killed me. When he died, I was trapped.â
âIn the upside down?â Maxâs eyes were wide as could be, the color drained from her cheeks. âBut-but that almost killed Will and he was only there for like, a week.â
âDo I look like a scrawny twelve year old kid?â
âMuscles canât protect you from toxic air, jerk.â
Susanâs looks frantic in that way she used to around Billyâs dad, who is notably not present, as she scolds, âThatâs enough, Max. Heâs been through a lot to get here, letâs let him ask some questions.â
It wasnât like Billy really minded Maxâs questions, he was sure heâd have quite a few himself if it was Max who had come back from the presumed grave, but he did have one of his own sitting heavy at the front of his mind. âWhereâs Neil? He get his work schedule changed or something?â
âHeâs gone.â Max deadpans.
At her tone, Billy feels his stomach drop, his heart stutter. âHe died?â
âHeavens no. We got a divorce three months after we buried you, or what we thought was you.â Susan looks at Max tired, remorseful. âHe was never the same without you.â
Things had been close to boiling over even before everything, he worried who had filled his shoes. He nods towards Max. âHow bad was he?â
âBetter and worse. He never laid a finger on us, but he wasâŚâ
An overdramatized shiver runs through Max as she finished her motherâs sentence, âCreepy.â
Susan nodded in agreement and explained, âSo nice, so reserved, it was like we were constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop.â
âAnd heâs not coming back?â
âWhy should he? He didnât even tell us where he was going.â Max scoffs, missing the implication of what he asked. Seeing her still be so clueless made Billy infinitely grateful that Susan had finally given his old man the boot, even if that meant he was somewhere in the middle now.
He figures that was something he was willing to deal with if it meant Max was okay, and Neil wasnât anywhere near her. Now he just needed to know if Susan would be expecting him to go find his dad on his own and move in with him.
He doesnât mean to let as much tension into his voice as he does when he asks, âSo whatâs all this mean for me?â
âWhat else? You are never leaving me again, asshole.â
So it was settled, and judging from the look Susan gave him, she agreed with Maxâs answer. Which was, overwhelming, to say the least.
Not that Neil had exactly been a family man, but the fact that they were willing to accept him back into their home without him around was more than Billy knew how to process just yet.
His room had already been converted into a storage space as Neil had been moving out, dragging everything that had never been unpacked in the first place out into the one space he viewed as disposable.
They thought he was dead, he couldnât have expected them to keep his room the way he left it, and though it did sting a little when he found out half of his stuff was missing, either taken by Neil or thrown out in the process, it was soothed by Max giving him a box of all the things she knew were the most important to him, having snuck in and gone through his belongings herself.
Billy decides to let Susan keep her little storage room, it had been too drafty in there to make for a decent bedroom anyhow, so he moves into the carpeted corner of the basement, which he notices is finished now.
Before, the ceiling had been wide open, half built wooden slats coated in years of dust and cobwebs, a single exposed light bulb offering the only source of light. Now it looked like an actual room, and it made him feel something tight in his chest.
Because Neil had retiled and painted the upstairs bathroom when his first wife left him, and he had finished the basement when he thought his son had too.
Billy doesnât know how heâs supposed to feel about his dad anymore. Heâd been dreading the moment he would have to walk through the doors of his own house out of fear and hatred of that man, but learning he wasnât even there, he almost missed him.
Almost. But then he thought about the way Susan and Max were now, so distinctly different in the comfort they exhibited in their own space, no longer having to constantly cower in fear of the overbearing head of the house, the person heâs free to be now that Neil isnât around, and suddenly heâs not so remorseful.
Though he does catch Susan once, standing in the kitchen one morning and crying over an old photo of her and Neil.
Heâs pretty sure, from the glimpse that he gets, that itâs from the first church registry photoshoot they did as the Hargrove-Mayfields, when the photographer had mindlessly said something like ânow just mom and dad,â making both him and Max gag, which made Susan cry after it was over.
That night had been her first taste of the real Neil Hargrove when Billy got a beating in the parking lot. He still remembers the horrified look on her pale face as she told him it was alright when he apologized, snotty nose and bruises on his skin.
He knew the feeling was the same for her, torn between the man they needed Neil to be and the man he had actually been to them, so he pretended not to see her tears. Silently, she agreed to do the same, and ignore the way he sometimes sat in Neilâs chair with a glazed over look in his eye, or sighed and trained his gaze to the floor when he passed the family photos still hanging in the hallway.
It takes a long while for the three of them to settle. Max is a constant ball of excitement, reminding Billy so many times a day that sheâs happy to have her brother back that he might just cry about it once heâs alone, and Susan and him are nervous 24/7, pinballing off one another as they try and fail to forget the ghosts of the house.
He thinks about leaving for a while, moving in somewhere all on his own, but his therapist tells him itâd only make things worse now, to lose his support system. Besides, he didnât have a penny to his name, so it wasnât like he had much of a choice but to just suck it up and stay with the Mayfields.
In the meantime, he gets himself a job working stock at Melvaldâs. They had an open position after Mrs. Byers skipped town, and he thinks they wouldâve hired just about anybody to try to get back on their feet after the now demolished mall almost put them out of business, even zombie boy 2.0. His boss is understanding enough, doesnât say a word when he has to go into the back and have a panic attack when a grieving family member comes in.
They tell him thatâs whatâs best for him, getting out there and doing something, even if itâs not the something he would ideally be doing at this point in his life. It had never been his intention to stay in Hawkins after graduating, he wanted to go to college back in his home town, but he had to admit it was growing on him some, and setting up roots there was supposed to be good. Maybe that was just the fact he wasnât allowed to leave talking though.
The guy theyâre sending him to, he thinks is somewhat of a quack. His advice is shaky at best, and he treats Billy like some kid, giving him tasks and a reward system more fit for Holly Wheeler than an eighteen year old with enough trauma for the whole town.
So even though he does cooperate, does everything last thing the guy asks of him, he doesnât particularly feel the need to go beyond that, face the deeper set issues his therapist doesnât even know about.
Billyâs lack of cooperation makes the whole thing more complicated, gives him less that his therapist can tell him to work on, so he asks him just to talk to Susan.
Theyâre closer now than ever before, far beyond all the tension and avoidance and misplaced resentment, but they still donât really talk about any more than whatâs necessary. Things like, how was your day, could you help me with this, are you okay, but nothing substantial.
It should be easy, theyâd been living under the same roof since he was twelve, so they should have plenty to talk about, it just never seems like the right time, though he has been thinking about it a lot, the way he treats her despite how much sheâs done for him.
He doesnât really have a plan to bring it up, heâs fully prepared to go back to another appointment the next week reporting no dice, but thereâs one morning where the clock keeps ticking and the both of them are still wide awake in the living room, like a stalemate of whoâll give in to sleep first.
They both look like they need it, Susanâs hair is frazzled, the bags under her eyes as dark as the coffee she drinks. Billy knows heâs not looking so hot either. He doesnât remember the last time he could go to sleep without his subconscious taking him back to that place, so he doesnât even try anymore, just waits until he gets so exhausted heâll pass out into a dreamless sleep.
He doesnât know what it is that compels him to say anything, because itâs not awkward or even tense silence really, but he does, his tired voice cutting into the quiet.
âI dunno how to make it up to you.â Heâs looking down at his hands, at the barely there scars that still litter the skin there. He thinks for a moment about how much worse it couldâve been, before looking to her. âI mean, Iâd get it, if you didnât want me around.â
Susan looks back at him, not having expected him to say anything really, let alone something so heavy. âWhatâs this about, Billy?â
âMânot even your kid, Sus. I just- I dunno. Whyâd you let me back in?â
She looks baffled. âShould I not have?â
âIâm an adult. donât need to be moochinâ off my ex-stepmom.â He feels like he had the very first time he ever met her, scared to look her in the eyes, only this time for an entirely different reason. âMânot your burden to carry.â
âHoney, youâre not mooching. You go to work, you help around the house, you help me with Max. Thatâs more than I could ask for.â She hesitates, unsure of how wide his boundaries are, then adds, âAnd, maybe you arenât my son by any stretch of the imagination, but you will always be Maxâs brother.â
He had been expecting something about his dad, always had some suspicion that heâd forced a dependent on Susan after he left, but the total opposite seems to be true, and that makes a lump rise in his throat.
In the absence of a response, Susan continues, âIf there was one thing you could do for me though, I know you lie to your therapist. Donât.â
He doesnât have it in him to fight it, has enough sense about him to know sheâs right. All he can manage is a breathless, âOkay.â
She pats him on the shoulder gentle as can be, and stands up from the couch. He doesnât look up as she retreats to her bedroom, afraid the tears that had welled up in his eyes would spill over if he did.
When he hears her door close softly is when he lets the tears fall. Itâs still a lot for him, to have someone be so casual in looking out for him in that way he still hadnât quite grasped was possible.
The very next day Billy fesses up, and to his surprise, they donât immediately cart him off when they hear heâs been faking. That had been his biggest fear, with the power that these people held. Theyâd threatened to lock him up if he ever ran his mouth, so he didnât know what to expect.
He did feel stupid though, opening the damn for the same guy who gave him stickers for taking his meds about all the things heâd bottled up. But it works to get him into a better program than what they had him doing before, and he realized heâd had it backwards.
The fear of what they were going to do to him kept them from doing anything at all, and it gave Billy a deep sense of relief, that heâd finally broken free of that.
So instead of being assigned things like brushing his teeth or going outside for five minutes a day, which was decent advice, but completely irrelevant to what he needed, now his therapist had started telling him things like throwing out the razor blade heâd been saving for a rainy day, dumping the last of the nonprescription pills he kept in his night stand.
The more he did, the more complicated they got, until he was told that, in exchange for completing his tasks, he would only have to visit the office once or twice a week instead of every day. His last assignment before that could happen was to make amends with his past.
The most obvious thing the doc wanted him to do was forgive his parents, but Billy didnât know where to even begin on that one, or really, if he had or hadnât already done as much, so he went with the other way first, apologizing to everyone he had, or felt he had hurt.
He started at the cemetery. Max came with him and held his hand as he broke down graveside, begging his repentance for all the people whoâd died last July. Talking to their survivors was strictly out of the question, they still thought he was the hero that tried to save as many as he could and was killed in action, not the one responsible.
That had been the story spread it the public by the people who had known all along he wasnât really dead, monitoring his activity on the other side while they turned murderer into martyr. The more time he spent in the shrink's office, the less sure he was that even he knew what side he was on.
Apologizing to the living proves to be easier. He starts with the Sinclair kid at one of the weekly nerd meetings Max holds at their house, now that itâs safe, pulling him aside for a few to say his piece, which, judging from his reaction, Max had already done most of the heavy lifting for him.
When they came back he got fixed with a glare from the unfamiliar little girl that was always around these days, and he realized he and Lucas had that in common, a weapon of a little sister.
Next came minor inconveniences, people like Tommy who he used as a punching bag just because they were friends. Most of them blew the whole thing off, they were in high school when it happened, didnât understand the moral dilemma of it all, and everyone but maybe one kid who he mightâve punched a little too hard when a fight broke out after football practice forgave him.
Last on his list, the one person standing in the way of what was supposedly the next step of his healing process, was Harrington.
Steveâd had his own fall from grace, and Billy fell much, much harder than he had, so it could be the easiest apology he has to do, but there were reasons it might be the hardest too. He didnât think he deserved forgiveness for the way heâd treated Steve, which heâd never even apologized for in the first place, and it seemed like a cheap shot to be doing it now, more than a whole year after beating his face in.
He tracks him down at work, rifling through shelves lined with tapes he wasnât interested in until he had the guts to approach the counter and ask Steve to follow him outside. The bastard doesnât even look suspicious, doesnât hesitate in giving him his warmest smile and inviting him behind the counter instead with a, âWhatâs on your mind, man?
It should be awkward, uncomfortable at the very least, they're having a conversation that should be happening anywhere but in two folding chairs behind the counter at Family Video, and yet, Billy feels none of that unpleasantry, just a conviviality heâd never expect to have with Steve Harrington, of all people. T the one apology heâd expected to be turned down is accepted with a simple, âItâs okay, Billy.â
Thatâs what made him different. He wasnât like Tommy, whoâd told him to forget anything ever happened, or Susan, who was adamant that it wasnât his fault; Steve actually forgave him without ignoring what he did, and that, that was what this was about.
He finds himself frequenting the video store on his off days, trying to make friends with the one person other than Max he felt like he could trust, who trusted him, and from there it turned to swinging by Steveâs place after work, going out on the weekends together, falling head over heels in love.
That last part Billy tries to deny, tries to rationalize that maybe heâs just clinging to something constant after so long in isolation, but the longer he spends around Steve, the more he knows thereâs no way around it. Billy was so gone for him and his stupid hair and his stupid laugh and his stupid little family video vest.
Thereâs a while where he tries to distance himself a little, feeling guilty about crushing on the only person to extend the olive branch back after he got out, but then Steve starts showing up at his door, and Max would hide a guilty smile behind her hand.
Once summer hits, just a few short weeks shy of the anniversary of when the shadow got Billy, Susan and Max get more and more careful around him, like they donât want to set him off, and he gets that. Sometimes Max or one of her little friends would mention something that had happened last July, a sort of âhey, remember when we,â and he would get a little, off.
Never violent, never cruel, never the Billy he had been before, just, reserved.
He thinks theyâre afraid heâs going to snap. That theyâve gotten the wrong impression from all this recovery stuff. The very last thing he wants is for Max to think just heâs a shmooze, faking being better to get on her good side.
But theyâre not. Theyâre just want to give him his space, after everything, and he knows heâs got to get out of his head about it.
For now though, when heâs afraid he might break his promise, he takes off, but it depends on what kind of day it is where heâll go. Sometimes itâs the pool, at the picnic table on the other side of the fence, or to the cemetery again, making the rounds between all of the markers, the ones he put there, or even to visit the totaled Camaro, sold to a junker and kept in the corner of some private property, his blood still on the seats.
Once, heâd made the mistake of going to the steelworks, just to sit on a railroad tie outside of the place for hours, having a panic attack alone as he tried and failed to forget bad memories, bruised ribs, falling fast, losing control.
None of those were particularly healthy places for him to be spending his free time, so per therapist recommendation, he starts finding better spots to hang out, places that werenât just a way to retraumatize himself.
The problem is that in Hawkins, there isnât anywhere really to go unless he wanted to spend all day in a dingy old diner or in half abandoned shops downtown. He liked taking Max to the drive-in on the outskirts, but the point is he needs somewhere to go away from his step-family.
When Steve finds out about his new assignment, the rides to and from work and quick drop ins just to say hello turn into days off spent at the quarry together, nights spent in front of Steveâs huge TV set.
One day after a double shift at Melvaldâs, they end up out back by the pool. The air conditioning in Steveâs old house was not the best when it came to humidity, and Billy doesnât like to be too hot. Something about the feeling is too familiar, too much like being on the floor of the sauna, sweating bullets and pleading for his life.
Heat is also one of the many things that triggers coughing fits, making him hack up his lungs from the months he spent without clean air to breath, so Steveâs ushering him outside to dip their feet in the pool and get out of the stuffy old house before he gets sick.
The smell of chlorine wading off of the pool isnât all that much better. The strong chemicals make his nose and his throat and his whole chest burn like fire. Just the smell of it is enough that he has to try to remember that that hasn't been his reality for almost a year now, that he isnât in the storage room at the pool downing bottles of poison.
It doesnât bother him so much though, because the bad stuff, thatâs all in the past now, isnât it?
He tries instead to focus on the good things, on the breeze that they do get in the beating down sun and the way it carries cool air off the surface of the pool, offering more relief from the heat than they could get inside Steveâs inferno of a mansion, and on feeling the sunshine warming his skin again, the cold water and the smooth liner against his calves submerged in the pool. He even tries to focus on Steve, leaning all his weight back on his hands outstretched behind him, sitting so close to Billy their knees bump in the water every time Steve kicks his legs out.
And quite frankly, itâs not particularly hard, paying attention Steve with the way heâs practically glowing in the summer sun. As much as winter was his season, his forever pale skin and how he could rock a sweater didnât even hold a candle to the way he looks now.
Maybe he is wearing preppy khaki shorts and a sun visor, but the way his back freckles in the summer, the skin on his cheeks and his shoulders flushing from the heat, his long hair sticking to the back of his neck with sweat, itâs a sight that makes Billy's heart pitta-pat.
Still, as nice of a view as Steve makes for, nothing can distract him from the nagging feeling that has Billy on edge. That sense that his flesh will start burning if he stays out here too long, that heâll lose control of his body. That heâll hurt Steve.
If Steveâs old nail bat propped against the pool shed, or their newer method of self defense, a machete from the hardware store purchased after Billy's last panic attack, hidden underneath of the chairs, offer any indication, the feeling may be mutual.
Despite the aviators perched on Billyâs nose, Steve must notice that distant look in his eye, because he offers Billy a quaint smile and, using one hand to stand up, he announces, âBe right back, gonna go get us some stuff.â
Billy nods and vaguely wonders what âsome stuffâ means before turning his attention back to his surroundings. Back to following his therapists advice and watching the ripples in the pristinely kept water, listening to the rustle of untrimmed grass when a breeze comes through, bumble bees in the neighbors yard, anything at all that might stop his mind from wandering.
Heâs almost feeling grounded again when he feels a chill run down the back of his neck. Goose pimples fan out across his skin, a deep seated cold to contrast the heat. He knows the feeling well, heâd gone through six grueling months using it as his only advantage over the monsters out to get him.
Some rational part of his mind tells him itâs just a bead of sweat rolling down his back, a loose strand of hair from the messy bun Max had put in his hair that morning brushing against his skin, the fact that his legs are still submerged in the 70 degree water, but he isnât feeling rational after that, and he feels panic setting in again.
He wants to go run and tell Steve, wants to grab something to defend himself, but he canât, heâs just, frozen to the spot.
The feeling is gone as quickly as it came, but everything else feels different now.
The pool water feels sticky and warm, almost like itâs sucking him in. The cement surrounding it feels rougher against his palms, and so hot to the touch. Heâs scared to even blink, afraid that on the other side of that calm darkness, heâs in that hell again, and this has all been some delusion.
Thereâs a bang from behind him, and heâs on his feet, heart racing a thousand miles a minute. Heâs just short of reaching for the machete under the chair when he notices itâs just Steve.
Heâs standing by the sliding door, having pushed it open with his knee so far that the glass hit off the other door, and balancing way too much. Feeling like his legs are going to give out from under him and bringing one hand absently to his chest, Billy breathes out, âDamn it, Harrington.â
âSorry.â There's a sheepish smile on his face, which has gone pinker than even the sunburn with a hint of embarrassment. He has a bulky radio balanced on his hip, a glass of something in each hand, and a deck of cards tucked under his chin. âA little help?â
Hurrying up the steps, Billy takes the radio before Steve can drop it and smash it to bits on the concrete. Steve takes the opportunity to explain himself, âI made lemonade, my gramma's recipe, and I thought we could use something to do.â
Maybe itâs reckless, maybe itâs the exact opposite of what he should do, but he puts the radio on the table and lets Steve distract him from that creeping feeling with mundanities.
Itâs almost funny, how getting out of the house for him used to mean partying and sneaking out to wreak drunken havoc on the town. Now it meant sipping lemonade and playing double solitaire and go-fish with the fallen King poolside, like he was in some retirement community or something.
The only thing that kept him from feeling too ridiculous was the radio, which was playing a decent selection of rock music, not too much of the glitzy stuff he pretended not to like or the poppy stuff Steve definitely did.
Once the sun went down, the smallest bit of orange and pink sky disappearing behind the thick trees, and all the breeze had died out, they moved away from the pool's edge to the plastic chairs, pushing two together and sitting cross legged so they were facing one another. The night air was thick with the smell of a burning citronella candle and chlorine.
The cards had been long ago abandoned, both of them favoring just being in each otherâs company, swapping stories of how bad work had sucked that day, and things like plans for the week. Billy sort of just likes having an excuse to look at Steve all night.
Itâs more calm than Billyâs had in a long while since coming back, and he almost get to appreciate it before the chill comes back, this time accompanied by the distant rustling of leaves.
He couldâve pretended it was just a critter moving around or the trees settling, but then they hear the unmistakable sound of a monster's trill further out in the woods, and thereâs no longer any doubt about it.
Steve freezes, looks to Billy with eyes as wide as saucers and, slowly as can be, reaches blindly behind himself until his hand closes around the base of the wooden bat, which had been moved closer as night fell.
He rises to his feet, stopping cold when the chair creaks as his weight lifts off it, trying to make as little noise as possible, an action mostly pointless with the radio still on. Itâs too late anyways, theyâd already been seen. Billy could feel it.
âStay here. Iâm just going to check it out.â
âNo way, out of the two of us, Iâm the only one whoâs ever killed one of those things.â Steve looks like he wants to argue, wants to be noble and brave like he has to be for everyone else, so Billy tells him sternly, âIâm coming with you.â
And maybe Steve doesnât refuse his help, but he isnât looking at Billy either. His gaze, empty and exhausted, is trained on the trees, searching for signs of the monsters theyâre both used to handling on their own. He leans into Billyâs side as they start into the woods, and he can feel him shaking.
The leaves and twigs all along the ground that crunch under their tennis shoes as they move deeper into the woods sound impossibly loud, drawing enough attention to their location that this was guaranteed not to be a surprise attack.
Billy wouldâve preferred it that way, they were easier to kill if they werenât expecting a fight, but he supposed he should just be grateful that theyâd found them before they could make their way into Steveâs backyard and take them by surprise.
They reach a clearing and he gets a dreadful feeling like his entire body has been dipped in ice water, and he knows they're right in the middle of a swarm. Instinctively, he puts his arm out across Steveâs chest. âStop.â
âWhat?â Billy doesnât respond, but as Steveâs eyes adjust, he notices them too. About six or seven demodogs, behind trees and bushes, hiding from their prey. He whispers harshly right into Billyâs ear, âDo you think they see us?â
âNo shit.â
âThen what the hell are they doing?â
âWaiting for their chance. But weâre not gonna give it to them.â He digs the heels of his Chuckâs into the dirt, grip tightening on the machete. He glances over at Steve and tries not to think too hard about the apprehension written across his features, âYou ready for a fight?â
Steve pales, like he was never expecting it to get that far, but they were about thirty feet, maybe further, into the woods already, they wouldnât be able to book it back to Steveâs house in enough time. The damn things were much too fast. He swallows hard, whispers, âHow do I kill one?â
âAim for the base of its skull. Never let it get your weapon in its mouth. Always pay attention to your surroundings.â His voice is quiet, but stern, trying not to let any fear slip into his tone that might make the other boy more afraid. He was the experienced one, if he were to let it show that he was scared, Steve might go running for the hills. âAnd Steve?â
âYeah?â
âPlant your goddamned feet.â Steve nods, furrows his brows and tries to force a breathy chuckle at the call back, but he barely manages a huff, and Billy can tell heâs terrified.
They donât have time to think about it though, in the middle of a swarm he canât let him dwell on it for too long, so he turns his attention off of Steve, and whistles, shouts âHey, assholes! Come and get us!â
Thereâs a breathless second where the dogs donât move an inch, he can tell Steve is about to say something that couldâve gotten the both of them killed so he cuts him off, âGet ready, Harrington.â One of the demodogs, heâs guessing the leader of the freakish pack based on the sheer size of it, shrieks, the cue for the others to start charging them.
These ones are fast, probably faster than even heâs used to, and he doesnât like how close the first one gets to Steve before he brings his bat down it, so he pulls him closer by the back of his shirt, presses their backs together so thereâs less room for a surprise.
The big one comes after Billy, the bigger threat of the two. The sense works as a two way street, if he can tell where they are, they can tell where he is, and they donât like that.
It only takes him a few swings to get it stumbling, two more to finish it off, but in the time it takes him to kill the one, he loses track of where Steve is. Frantically he looks around, taking note of the location of the dogs, until he finds him in the dark a few feet off from where he is, swinging his bat at the runt over and over, making sure it was good and dead.
And Billy would be impressed, except for there was another dog charging him, just a few seconds off from closing its teeth around Steveâs arm on the backswing. Itâs too close for him to try to kill it, so he kicks it, making it hiss and tumble across the muddy ground.
Steve looks over at him, blood spattered on his face and fear in his eyes. Billy wishes he could stop and appreciate the close call, but itâll come back, and thereâs another charging from the other side, so he settles for shouting, âJust remember what I told you and youâll be alright!â
With the biggest out of the way itâs easy pickings, Billy takes out the next one that tries him quick, but another catches him off guard, clamps itâs teeth down hard on the machete, lodging it in its mouth. It gets cut bad, but not enough to really do much damage to it. If he lets go, heâs defenseless, if he doesnât, heâs going to lose his arm.
Thatâs a call heâs almost willing to make, wrenching his weapon free at the risk of getting himself bit, but he doesnât have to, because Steve takes it for him, running over from somewhere and bringing the bat down hard on the back of its head.
It would be too distracting to thank him, so he just nods his way and turns back to the last two dogs still alive, Steve taking the one that was still hiding and leaving the other for him.
At this point, heâs feeling pretty confident, one dog on its own is nothing much to worry about, and it seems it knows it too, because it stops a few feet off, daring him to come at it first. He takes his own advice and plants his feet in the dirt, daring it right back.
It charges him, and he stabs it straight through its head. It was a weak one, a last line of defense they didnât expect to need, and it hisses out itâs final breath after only one go.
Billy hears the one Steve went after scampering off too, judging from the uneven drag of its weight across the forest floor, hurt badly enough it wonât last long.
He tries to feel for any others, but they donât travel in packs that big, not without an order to follow. He rolls his shoulders and relaxes his stance, but he doesnât dare dream of letting go of the machete yet. Even as it drips sticky slime and gore in thick drops onto the ground, even if it feels so heavy in his hands, also splattered with gooey blood.
Thereâs a moment of disturbing calm, the bodies of maimed demodogs scattered all around them as Billy tries to remind himself that theyâre in his world this time, instead of him in theirs. He closes his eyes to shut out the panic and just listens.
Listens for gentle reminders that heâs in the real world. The sound of the katydids in the trees. A stray breeze rustling the leaves, dry from the relentless heat. The distant scratch of tires on pavement. Softly bubbling water from the jets in Steveâs pool.
He notices that the radio is still going, making the whole thing feel somehow more eerie, as if interdimensional monsters lurking in the neighborhood wasnât bad enough on its own. Like when a car goes off the road, still playing a reckless teenager's final anthem. Billy wonders what song heâd like to be playing when he died. Maybe some Misfits.
But he isnât dead, not yet anyhow, and thatâs not the music thatâs drifting out to where heâs still standing stock still in the woods, waiting for reality to hit him.
REO Speedwagon with Canât Fight This Feeling carries softly out to their location, probably one of the lamest songs to fight monsters to if you were to ask Billy.
I can't fight this feeling any longer
And yet I'm still afraid to let it flow
What started out as friendship has grown stronger
I only wish I had the strength to let it show
Though heâs got to admit, itâs not a horrible song for this thing he has going with Steve. After that close call of the dogs stalking so close to his house, Billy doesnât think he has it in him to let the chance to bring it up with Steve slide through his fingers again. Heâd never forgive himself.
I tell myself that I can't hold out forever
I said there is no reason for my fear
âHarrington.â When he opens his eyes again Steve isnât there, and for a second heâs got to fear the worst. To wonder, if the dogs arenât the only thing heâll find dead. âSteve?â
'Cause I feel so secure when we're together
You give my life direction, you make everything so clear
âMâhere, Bill.â He's leaning against a tree, his bat still held close at his side, looking winded, but alright, from what Billy can tell at least. âJust needed to, to catch my breath.â
And even as I wander, I'm keeping you in sight
You're a candle in the window on a cold, dark winter's night
And I'm getting closer than I ever thought I might
âYou scared me, asshole.â Billy gathers his courage, rides the wave of adrenaline to take a step closer, until heâs hovering right in front of him, dangerously close, to say, âListen Steve, there's something Iâve been thinking about for a while, and after this I just, I can't fight it anymore.â
He gets the memo, half-lidded eyes focusing on Billys lips, making him flick his tongue across them on instinct, tasting remnants of strawberry chapstick and lemonade dulled by the scent of copper. âThen don't fight it.â
And I can't fight this feeling anymore
I've forgotten what I started fighting for
It's time to bring this ship into the shore
And throw away the oars, forever
Their weapons are tossed to the ground before Billy closes the small gap that was left between them, ignoring all the muck and goo and blood splattered on their clothes and their skin to cup the side of Steveâs face, kiss him as soft and as sweet as he knows how after a fight like that.
'Cause I can't fight this feeling anymore
I've forgotten what I started fighting for
And if I have to crawl upon the floor, come crashing through your door
Baby, I can't fight this feeling anymore
Steve pulls away too soon, a soft gasp escaping his lips as he leans forward, forcing his weight onto Billy. The magic of the moment comes crashing down, when he notices how dreadfully pale Steve is, even in the darkness of the woods, untouched by street lamps or moon light.
âWhatâs wrong with you?â
Through gritted teeth, he mumbles into Billyâs shirt, âI think one got me.â
âJesus, you're telling me this now?â He helps him lean back against the tree again, feeling he has the right to fret over him after a first kiss. âWhere at?â
âMy leg.â He says it so casual, Billyâs expecting nothing more than a nick, a last attempt at a scratch from a dying dog, but itâs bad.
Skin and muscle are torn through in a gash probably five inches long on Steveâs leg, deep enough he swears he can almost see bone. Itâs already bruised dark, deep purple and black under all the blood, and bent just a little, like the bone had been cracked, but not quite broken.
Billy has to fight the urge to wince, to gag, to let any sort of panic over the severity of the bite show, because he knows Steve hasnât seen it yet, that heâs maybe even in shock right now. The moment he let it show how bad he thought it was, Steve could pass out on him. Or worse.
âWhy didnât you say something?â
âThought we were having a moment.â
âWell Iâd like to have at least a few more, if you wouldnât mind.â He sighs, but he drops the attitude. Stressed as he may be, Steve needs him level headed right now. âCan you walk?â
âSure, yeah.â Something about the way his voice sounds like heâs struggling for air makes Billy not believe him, but he offers him his arm to let him test his weight anyways. It doesnât go well, âSon of a mother bitch!â
âYeah, Iâm gonna take that as a no.â Billy figures itâd be better just to come back for their weapons later than to wait around for a second attack with an injured Steve, or to get sliced to ribbons carrying them and Steve back to the house. Because thatâs what heâs going to have to do, from the looks of it.
He bends down and lets Steve wrap his arms loosely around the back of his neck, and hooks his hands under his knees to lift him. With his leg off the ground, heâs guessing Steve must catch a glimpse of how badly itâs torn up, because he throws his head back and mutters an âOh shit.â to the stars.
Billy wishes his voice sounded more certain when he assures him, âYouâll be alright, just donât look at it.â
Thereâs blood dripping from Steveâs leg on the grass, all on the concrete steps from the backyard that lead into Steveâs house and then the hardwood floors. Billy tries not to think about how theyâre leaving behind a trail that would lead the monster straight to them.
Theyâd killed the dogs though, so he tries his damndest to believe that his biggest worry right now would be not being able to get the stains out before Mr. and Mrs. Harrington got back.
âWhere do you keep the first aid around here?â
âUpstairs bathroom, third door on the right.â
Billy frowns. Trying to get him up the stairs was going to be awkward, the space between the wall and the banister so narrow, and Steveâs legs so long. The only way he can keep from dragging his wound against anything, which heâs almost positive would kill Steve at this point, is to turn sideways.
It feels like it takes forever to get up the steps and walk down the upstairs hallway, dodging side tables and potted plants until they reach the bathroom.
Even once they get there, Billy winces, taking in the tall, but thin door frame. âMânot fitting through here with you, Stevie. Gonna have to let you down.â
âOkay.â His jaw tightens, like he knows itâs gonna be hell to put pressure back on his leg, and Billy thinks about how heâd rather knock out the entire wall than have to watch Steve hurt himself.
But slowly, with Billyâs help, he gets his good foot back on the ground, and his arms unwrap themselves from the back of his neck. Billy keeps one hand holding tight on his hip, to keep him from toppling over while standing on one leg.
âLet me go in first, okay?â Turning around so theyâre facing each other, he gives Steve both of his hands and kicks the half opened door the rest of they way open to reveal the dark bathroom behind him. He gets Steve to use the doorframe as a brace long enough that he can turn the light on, then gives him his hand again.
Steve takes the first step, hopping on one foot and making barely any progress. A steely look crosses his face, like heâs already decided what heâs about to do, and he lets his other foot down to the ground.
âThatâs it, Stevie, just like that,â Billy mutters little encouragements under his breath, tries anything to keep Steve from thinking about walking on a broken leg. âKeep it coming, baby, just a few more steps.â
The closest thing to the door is a double tiered wooden shelf with magazines and towels on it, so Billy pushes the towels onto the floor with one hand and helps Steve sit down on it with the other.
Maybe itâs the wallpaper, but his complexion looks ghastly, all green and grey where he should be flushed and lively. Before he starts getting everything together, Billy puts his hand on Steveâs shoulder. âYou good?â
It was a stupid question, Steve scoffs and says, his voice strained, âNo.â
âAt least youâre honest.â
Steve groans and stares up at the ceiling, ignoring his leg and the puddle of blood spreading on the tiled floor. âShouldnât I be at the hospital right now?â
âNormally, I would say yes,â Billy crouches down by the sink, digging in the cabinets underneath it for the first aid and a rag, âBut closest hospital to us is the general hospital, and theyâre not going to be thinking about demodog infections. Theyâll put a cast on this thing and kill you.â
âOh.â A poor choice of words, because Steve whispers, âIâm not gonna die, am I?â
âNot if you let me take care of you.â
He soaks through three wash rags with blood before the bleeding slows down enough that Billy can clean it, and slowly the shocked state of mind he was in starts to wear off. At least, judging from the way heâs gripping the edge of the shelf heâs sitting on so hard his knuckles turn white, itâs starting to hurt him pretty bad.
But Steve stays agonizingly quiet as Billy works anyways, hardly even wincing, despite the obvious amount of pain heâs in. Billy clicks his tongue, âI know youâre holding back on me, Steve.â
âYouâre one to talk.â Heâs defensive, borderline hysterical. âMister pretending to be tough just because youâve been through this once.â
âNext time Iâll just let the dogs get you, then.â
Ignoring Billy's rudeness, Steve mutters, âIt just hurts so fucking bad.â A tear heâd been trying to hold back slips past, running a track through the dirt and blood that had gotten on his face.
âIâll get some pain meds in you in a minute, just need you to be alert for this.âÂ
He swallows thickly, like heâs scared. âReady for what?â
âWell, youâre gonna need stitches.âÂ
âDo you even know how?âÂ
He didnât. The most heâd ever sewn was a tiny hole in a jacket sleeve, but he didnât feel it wise to tell him that. âI think itâs pretty self-explanatory.âÂ
âNo way. Absolutely not.â Steve grabs his hand tight to emphasize his point. âYou are not coming anywhere near me with a needle.âÂ
âLook, the alternative is it gets infected and you lose the leg. Or, you know, since nobody has ever survived a bite, your life.â Heâs not trying to be snappy, but the more blood Steve loses, the more nervous heâs getting about wasting time arguing.
âMan, could you cut back on being an asshole for like, five minutes.â Billy rolls his eyes and tries to reach for Steveâs leg again, but he pulls away from his touch, blinking real slow like he made himself dizzy or heâs getting sick, before he tacks onto the end, âIâm wounded.âÂ
âI know, I'm just trying to help you, Stevie. Please.âÂ
Sighing and running his fingers through his hair, he puffs his cheeks out with a sigh and gives in with Billyâs pleading. âWhatever, just, get it over with quick.âÂ
He goes back to not saying anything, biting his tongue while Billy tries to do a decent patch up. It looks somehow even gnarlier than before, with crooked and sloppy sutures, but it stops the bleeding for long enough that Billy can wrap it as tight as he can with some gauze and an ace bandage.
He sits back on the balls of his feet, and takes note of how they were definitely going to have to go to the government hospital where heâd been treated in the morning. Steveâs quiet so he asks, âSteve?âÂ
âMâgood.â He assures halfheartedly, leaning forward to hold his head in his hands. âDoinâ just peachy fucking keen.âÂ
They stay upstairs, Billy completely unwilling to try to get Steve back down to the main living room on a busted leg. He'd have to worry about showering and getting the stains thatâre all over the Harringtonâs floors off later, right now he was just worried about making sure Steve made it through.Â
Thereâs a second living room, a foyer, Steve calls it, at the end of the hall, so he takes him in there, lets him sprawl out on the couch while he goes to get a phone and something for Steve to take from the first floor.Â
He snatches up the rotary off the coffee table, and goes digging in the medicine cabinet for pain killers. Near the back is a bottle of Vicodin, thank god for Mrs. Harringtonâs many ailments and her equally surplus supply of pain pills.Â
Before making his way back up to Steve, he remembers to make sure to lock the sliding doors. Not that it would do much to really stop a demodog, but itâs the thought that counts. He decides to tack a blanket up to block the glass too, in hopes that it might make their scent at least a little harder to track.Â
Steve is hesitant to take his motherâs prescription, afraid of the side effects, but then he tries to drag his leg up from the floor to prop it on the coffee table so he can get more comfortable, and his mind changes right quick. He almost convinces Billy to let him take more.
Next is letting somebody know. Part of him wishes they could just sweep this whole thing under the rug and forget it, but this was a small town. The woods behind Steveâs house stretched all the way to the now empty Byersâ residence, to the Wheeler's, and from there to Hopâs cabin.Â
Keeping this a secret would cost lives, that he could be sure of. One measly pack of demodogs weak enough to be taken out by the two of them was guaranteed not to be the last. This was the start of another battle, and they needed as many people as possible to be ready for it.
He sits down with the phone next to Steve on his own cushion, careful not to jostle the couch too much. âDo you know Hopâs number?âÂ
âJust give it here.âÂ
Billy watches Steve dial the number, not a fan of how instinctual an action it seems to be, and as he barely gets a word in edgewise over Hopper on the other end of the line. When he get the chance to breaks the news, the call is over almost immediately, Hop getting ready to warn everyone else. He hangs up with tears in his eyes and a defeated posture.Â
The instant the phone is discarded on the side table, Steve tells him, his voice thick with tears and exhaustion and pain, âI donât wanna do this again, Bill.â He presses the heels of his hands into his eyes and shakes his head. âJust, last time, we were so close to losing Hopper, losing you, and I just- I canât do it.â
âHey. Look at me, Steve. It's not gonna be like last time. You got me now.â Steve does look over at him, his eyes wide, but he only cries harder.Â
Not knowing what else to do, Billy tosses an arm over his shoulder and pulls him close, and Steve leans into his touch, but thereâs a deep frown on his face. Billy thinks his heart breaks clean in two as he insists, in a voice so worn, so dejected, âThatâs just one more thing for me to lose.âÂ
âI say itâs one more person looking out for you.â His heart fluttering in his chest, he prays the kiss in the woods wasnât a heat of the moment thing, and presses another to the side of Steveâs head.Â
As best he can with his leg up on the coffee table, Steve settles up against Billy's side, sighing heavy through his nose.Â
Long enough passes that he thinks Steveâs fallen asleep, the pain meds would hopefully knock him out soon, but then he breaks the silence with a quiet, so gentle Billy almost doesnât hear it, âWill you?â
âWill I what?âÂ
âLook out for me?â The way he says it, itâs almost like heâs embarrassed to ask, so unable to believe that somebody would care about him instead of the other way around.Â
ââCourse.â Billy smiles despite the way seeing Steve so broken makes him feel, lets the fingers on one hand trail lazily up and down Steveâs arm in a way he hopes is comforting. âEven as I wander, I'm keeping you in sight, remember?âÂ
Steve rolls his eyes, but he presses himself somehow even closer to Billy and sighs a little laugh, sniffling. âGod, you're never gonna let that go, are you?âÂ
âHey, Iâd rather remember our first kiss as being to REO Speedwagon, which is super lame by the way, than with you bleeding out in the woods, so.âÂ
âYeah, yeah.â Steve sits up a little straighter so he can look him in the face. Thereâs still some sadness in his expression, but thereâs a hint of a smile too, and Billy will take that as a win any day. Teasingly, Steve says, âMaybe youâll like the second one better.â
âWeâll just have to see wonât we?â He leans in, but itâs Steve who initiates the kiss this time, leading with more heat behind it than before. He tangles his hands in Billy's hair, deepening the kiss with the press of his tongue against Billyâs.Â
The angle isnât very comfortable, a crook forming in Steveâs neck to reach Billy, and they pull apart for a breath. Face flushed beet red, Steve whispers, âHey, Billy?âÂ
Billy hums in response, too flustered to get his words in order, âHm?âÂ
âREO Speedwagon isnât that bad.âÂ
#harringrove#billy x steve#billy hargrove#steve harrington#susan hargrove#max mayfield#ej writer#story by ej!#tw blood#tw injury#how did this end up at over 10k words#i hope i didnt go too far off track with this#my brain just could not stop#I tried to post this two days ago but couldnât because of the text block limit on mobile so Iâm sorry this took so long#hope it was worth the wait but Iâm very self conscious about posting this one#Iâm really hoping this makes some sense because I canât read all the way through it again whoops
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modern au wth biker luke meet the parents
Friend, you brain-thoughts, I like them. <3!
(Modern AU idea.)
Letâs say this takes place sometime after Lukeâs old biker gang comes to town, at least a couple of months afterwards to allow Din to recover from the shenanigans.
I mean, he likes Lukeâs friends just fine, theyâre all good people and he definitely appreciates the fact they were there for Luke and his family when he needed them to be, but...they can be a lot.
So.
A few months down the road and things are pretty much back to normal for Dinâs odd little family, right?
He and Luke attempt to do Real Dates but the universe at large tends to conspire against them in the form of shenanigans like car trouble or that time the the water main broke and Din got roped into helping fix it and other assorted reasons.
Which, honestly, fine with both of them.
Neither of them are all that big on stuff like that, and are just as happy with staying in with takeout and watching a over with Grogu.
(Or, you know, Cara or one of their friends taking Grogu for the night so they can have Alone Time, although half the time that just means one or both of them ends up a snoring, drooling mess before the credits roll on the movie theyâre watching, but thatâs fine too, because sleep? But also morning frisky times and the whatnot, or just being sappy saps who are totes married who send the morning in bed smooching and making fun of their bed hair and dumb faces and anyway, they do just fine, you know?)
Once in a while, though, the planets align or some BS and they get to go on a Real Date.
Tends to result in one or both of them being !!! and ??? because itâs been a while since theyâve been on one of those or they overthink the whole thing like they arenât sickeningly gone over one another and more or less married already, but still!
Must make an effort to show how much they love and cherish the other and want them to feel special and such. (Also, their friends/family have had Meetings about this stuff, insist they have at least one (1) Real Date every six (6) months so they can see how normal human beings socialize.
ANYWAY.
Their anniversary is coming up and everyone insists Din and Luke have one of those Real Dates, right?
There are actual strategy meetings to make sure every possible complication/disaster is accounted for, their friends are going to make sure this thing happens or so help them!!1!
Din is honestly a little terrified of telling them itâs not that serious a matter, and Luke thinks the whole thingâs hilarious. (Gets this wistful look on his face when he gets a glimpse of the war room Dinâs friends set up in the back room of Bobaâs bike shop and makes yet another vague reference about that time his family was at the heart of a vast conspiracy that spanned decades and effects are felt even now, and yeah.
Din gets sent all over the city to Prepare for Real Date.
According to his friends and loved ones he needs a new haircut, and a new suit - which, fair, the last one was from a job and kind of technically stolen because that time he had to go undercover and there was a suit..shop..and anyway, he apologized, but thatâs neither here nor there.
SO.
Dinâs all over the place on errands his friends and loved ones assigned to him and itâs less trouble to go along with all this than trying to reason with them.
(And honestly, heâs kind of looking forward to it in a weird way?)
Anyhow.
Heâs just leaving the final fitting for his suit - all shy and embarrassed because Cara and Fennec went with him to decide on what he/they wanted for him that first time. Theyâd both given him the softest smiles when he settled on one he liked, fabric and color and all that, approved and told him he cleaned up nice and anyway, he kind of likes the thought of doing that for Luke, okay. Itâs...nice.)
Thing is, though.
Heâs had the weirdest feeling the last few days, week, maybe. Like. Itâs weird but he the thing where he used to work as a bounty hunter with/for Boba and he learned to trust his instincts, so heâs not completely caught off guard when he gets cornered in the parking garage after his last fitting.
A couple of guys he doesnât recognize, lean guy in all black and a long coat. Long-ish hair and a scar over one eye. Black gloves - something about that sticks in his head, niggling little thought, something familiar.
The other oneâs broader built, a little shorter. Dinâs mind categorizes him as the muscle. Wearing a dark jacket, baseball cap pulled down to hide his eyes but thereâs something familiar about him too, knocking around in Dinâs head.
Definitely a threat, but itâs the first guy Din knows he doesnât want to turn his back on.
Just this aura of threat, and dangerous, and donât look away from him in Dinâs head and for the first time in a long time he wishes he still carried a gun.
Not that heâs helpless by any means, knows hand-to-hand and all that, martial arts and boxed when he was a kid. Also, you know. That collapsible baton that strictly speaking he shouldnât have, but knowing Boba means exceptions get made, and itâs one heâs never felt all that guilty about. Especially in situations like this one.
Din hasnât gone for it because for all the bad vibes these guys are giving him they havenât done anything yet and heâd rather not be the one to start something.
(Paperwork, you know. Also, his date with Luke.)
Oh, theyâre between him and his minivan, acting like a couple of tough guys with the posturing but itâs not just that.
Din knows the difference between idiots who watch too many action movies and think theyâre worth anything in a fight and the real thing and these two arenât the useless kind.
So far all theyâve done is stand intimidatingly, which is strange as hell, but fits with the rest of Dinâs life, and anyway.
Just as Dinâs starting to wonder if this is going to end in a fight, like, really actually, he hears a bike. Aggressively. Getting closer. Aggressively.
Nothing weird about it because theyâre in a city and people drive bikes, and hey. Parking garage where people sometimes park their bikes while going about their business elsewhere and really, he tells himself, itâs just some random person who rides a bike.
REALLY.
Only thing is.
It sounds familiar?
Like.
Really, unfortunately familiar in that he swears heâs worked on it himself a time or two. Become unbearably fond of itâs owner, and please, please, please donât let it be Luke.
So, you know, of course itâs Luke.
Comes roaring into the parking garage, Din sighing and like oh, goddammit, as he and his two new BFFs listen to Luke approaching.
Bike going vroom vroom and tires squealing as he makes it up every level of the parking garage to where Din and his BFFs are.
And itâs like, thereâs part of him worried Lukeâs going to crash, but the rest of him knows Lukeâs a good driver, knows he knows every little quirk of his bike and how it handles and when Wedge and the others were visiting he got to see Luke show off just how good he is.
(It had been utterly terrifying because potential for death and whatnot? But als super hot, so. You can see how Din is conflicted there.)
Anyway, Din is standing there listening to the love of his life vroom vroom up several levels of the parking garage to, like, rescue him or whatever, and the guys who cornered him are sharing this look like why are we even surprised by this and shrug at each other going from top tier threats looking Very Tired all of a sudden thatâs kind of confusing, and entirely relatable.
FINALLY they see Luke coming up the ramp and heâs headed right for them, does that totally rad thing where he swings the back of the bike around as he screeches to a stop, solidly between Din and the other two.
Dramatic as hell, but to be fair Din had been warned about that, something about it running in the family and anyway.
Luke himself warned Din. Obi-Wan warned Din, as well as sharing stories of the stuff he and Lukeâs dad got up Before while they worked for the same agency. Cody warned Din, shooting a loot at Obi-Wan and dropping his voice so the other man wouldnât overhear âDonât let him fool you, Anakin learned most of that from him,â but there was fondness under the scowl aimed at Obi-Wanâs back that Din understood because, well, Luke.
Everyone in Lukeâs life Dinâs met told him about the Drama that runs in the Skywalker family, so this?
Yeah.
âLuke,â Din says, because the other two are definitely armed, and love of his life who helped expose a massive conspiracy theory and all, but also maybe not the brightest idea to do this right now. Or ever, really. âWhat the hell do you think youâre doing?â
Luke being Luke, he ignores Din.
Reaches up to pull his helmet off, and Din notices heâs not wearing the glove on his right hand, or the synthetic skin over the prosthetic, like he was in a hurry, didnât take the time to âpretty it upâ for other people the way he puts it, vague shrug strange smile on his face, like there was something more important on his mind.Â
(Din never got the full story about it, just knows itâs tied to whatever happened to his family and the everything that turned Lukeâs life upside down, ended up with him in Din and Groguâs life.)
Luke sets his helmet down in front of him, and gives Din a quic once-over, checking to see if heâs okay before he lets out a sigh. Flashes Din a smile, relief, something thatâs simply happy to see him, and a bit like an apology.
Looks like heâs about to say something, but then the lean figure in black takes a step towards them and the smile drops off Lukeâs face and his head snaps around to the other two.
The figure in black stops, goes still.
Din stares because heâs never seen Luke look like that in the time heâs known him.
(Remember a night out with Luke, Obi-Wan, and Cody, Luke laughing about double dates and Obi-Wanâs exasperated smile as they watched Luke and Cody in the middle of a game of pool when a pair of drunk idiots wandered over and tried to pick a fight.
A comment they had been far to overhear but easy enough to figure out with the ugly sneer tossed toward the table Din and Obi-Wan were seated at, something that wiped the tolerant smile off Lukeâs face, had him pushing past Cody who was trying to de-escalate the situation, and saying something that made the drunkard go white. Scared shitless as he dragged his friend away.
Din had looked at Obi-Wan who just sighed, faint smile on his face as he shook his head.
And Din, Din had said heâd ever seen Luke angry before -
âAngry?â Obi-Wan had said, amused? âWell I suppose you wouldnât have.â
Heâd taken a drink, and leaned towards Din like he was sharing a secret, just between the two of them, and laughed. âYou still havenât, by the way, in case you were wondering. Trust me, youâll know when you see it.â
Thereâd been something else too, about Luke taking after his father that way, weight of history Din wasnât privy to behind it and a fond exasperation Din knew well.)
âHey, Dad,â Luke says.
He sounds.
Well, the thing is, Luke doesnât sound angry.
Or, not just angry.
He sounds careful, controlled. Tense. Like heâs a lot of things at the moment, and the wrong word, moved, from his dad - Lukeâs dad - will be the deciding factor.
The figure in all black - Lukeâs dad? - sighs. Rubs the back of his neck with a hand, shares a look with the man next to him who shrugs.
âLuke,â he says, sounding...sheepish, caught out. âDidnât expect to see you here.â
Din winces on his behalf, feels an odd sort of kinship with the other man who snorts, mutters something like not a great idea.
Luke nods, sounds like oh, no, yeah, I totally understand that.
âI know,â he says. âGood thing mom called to tell me you were coming for a visit.â
Lukeâs dad winces. âOh she did, did she?â
It goes on like that for a bit before Anakin apologizes for pulling this nonsense, approaching Din in a parking garage like something from a spy movie -
âWell, I mean,â Luke says later, once things arenât quite so bizarre. âHe is a spy, so. You know.â
They all head to Obi-Wanâs center where they can âtalkâ because Luke was supposed to go there to help with administrative stuff or whatever before Padme called, and anyway, surely Anakin and Rex wouldnât mind?
Obi-Wan takes one look at all of them, the way Luke makes sure to be between Din and the others at all times and pins Anakin with a look.
âOh, Anakin,â he says, amused and dismayed. âWhat did you do?â
Din misses a lot of whatâs said, things going over his head because Luke and unresolved issues and his dadâs earlier antics, and anyway, anyway.
Din gets a call and goes outside to take it, waves off Lukeâs worried look because heâs not done reading his dad the riot act about not being a complete menace about Lukeâs life, dad, câmon.
But the thing is, the callâs not a number he knows, he just needed to get out of there for a moment.
Imagine his surprise, suspicion when he hears, âI hope my idiot of a husband didnât make too bad of a first impression.â
Because itâs Lukeâs mom, and heâs definitely not going to think about how she got his number after the everything with Lukeâs dad, and just.
They have a conversation, one thatâs actually nice. She asks after Luke, if heâs taking care of himself, if Din is helping in that regard. Asks how Dinâs doing, how his adorable son of his is, and Din knows okay. Knows Lukeâs sent her pictures of Din and Grogu, the three of them, when he talks to her, but itâs still a surprise how much he talks about them to her?
When he says that, just a random comment he didnât mean to say thereâs a moment of silence and then she laughs. Tells him her son is head over heels for Din, that sheâs never seen him like this with anyone, and he adores Grogu, and just.
Itâs a lot to take in, hear someone else say, and she must know it because sheâs so gentle the rest of their coversation, laughs again as she asks him not to think too badly about Anakin, and he tells her heâll try, because wow, what a first impression to make,you know?
Just as they end the call the door behind him opens and Din looks up to see Anakin.
He looks...awkward. Embarrassed? Something.
Din watches as Anakin goes over to Lukeâs bike, remembers Luke telling him it used to be his dadâs.
Watches the complicated mess of emotions that wash over Anakinâs face as he looks at the bike, runs a hand along the side of the gas tank Luke repainted when he joined that biker gang of his.
Anakin sighs, shoulders slumping and when he looks at Din he doesnât look like the intimidating figure in the parking garage, like threat and danger and the smart ones run.
He looks. Tired. Worried. Older than he should be, but with what he knows about Lukeâs family Dinâs pretty sure he knows the reason for that. For what h thought he was doing in the parking garage, maybe, Dinâs still on the fence about that.
He understands why Anakin did that, just. Like Luke says, Complicated.
The important thing is that Anakin apologizes to Din. Tells him heâs maybe kind of an idiot - Din is like OH??? - and the Thing with his family that is definitely his fault, but he is trying to work things out with them and heâs just.
A touch overprotective as a result of the everything, so.
He just.
Worries.
Din is like, no, no, he gets it? But maybe try not to look like youâre going to murder your sonâs boyfriend in a parking garage maybe? (Assuming Din survives the Skywalker family.)
Some awkwardness and then Anakinâs like, âI didnât think heâd keep it,â about the bike, because Issues.
And Din is like, well, okay, and tells him what Luke told him about it. About Padme giving Luke the bike and that summer he spent restoring it, about his friends -
âYeah,â Anakin says, and laughs. âNever expetd him to join a biker gang.â
The thing is he doesnât sound surprised by that, or even a little worried. Probably used to hiding bodies, or heâs just met Lukeâs friends and knows there isnât anything to worry about there.
Anakin tells Din about how he got the bike, stories when he was a dumb kid and asks if Luke ever managed to get this things with the bike fixed.
Tells Anakin no, it still acts up and is the reason Din and Luke met when the bike broke down that first time, and to his surprise Anakin actually laughs.
âThatâs...huh. Padme and I met under similar circumstances.â
Which, weird?
But Anakinâs looking at Din with this tentative little smile, and Din is like, well, he doesnât know what just that he understands being protective of his people.
So they talk about the bike, and Din tells him about meeting Luke - leaves out the awkward flirting bits but he can tell from the looks Anakin gives him he fills i the details himself.
And then!
At some point Anakin pulls out a little multi-tool because you canât aways cart a toolbox around with you Din is like, just wonders if Anakin knows Luke carries one for the same reason Well, that and the fact his prosthetic hand can be temperamental and such.
âWell this is definitely better than what I thought Iâd find,â Luke says, surprising the two of them who have kind of taken the bikeâs engine a little somewhere along the way?
Anakin and Din trying to pinpoint whatâs wrong with the bike even though no one has for years by this point, and itâs like uh, ooops?
Because itâs Lukeâs bike now and they didnât mean to, but Luke is just. Amused, fond. Goes over to them and asks if they found the problem yet and when they say no clearly they must continue, and anyway.
Obi-Wan comes out after an hour, maybe two and looks at the three of them with raised eyebrows.
Tells Anakin that Padmeâs flight just landed and Cody and Rex left to pick her up from the airport - which.
Huh, that explains where they went. The three of them notices, waved and all but were caught up in figuring out the bike Issue and didnât give it much thought,
Also, Luke and Din are going to be late for their reservations if they donât get going and then itâs like.
Anakin all flustered because Padme - knows heâs in trouble with the whole parking garage incident but Padme, and Luke and Din share this look with Obi-Wan because itâs seriously adorable.
Also, though, also.
Luke and Din and a quick conversation off to the side while Anakin goes inside to get cleaned up - smudge of oil or grease on his face, and his hands are filthy and just.
Yes.
And then Luke asks if Obi-Wan and COdy had plans for the night, all casual and such, and Obi-Wan has this little smile on his face.
Because he knows these idiots so well, and tells Luke that no, he doesnât actually, is there a reason Lukeâs asking?
And of course Luke is asking because Luke and Din cancelled their reservations, but thereâs a nice restaurant they know that should still have roo for their group if no one object.
Just a nice little family dinner out, and anyway, no pressure?
So of course they do the family dinner thing - Anakin worried because the whole everything from earlier and takes Din and Luke aside and apologizes again, and that they should go have their date and itâs like.
Luke gets this look on his face, all soft and kind of sad and touches his dad on the arm to get him to look at him.
âJust. Donât do anything like that again, alright?â
That look from the parking garage on his face again for a split second, and Anakin clearly sees it, knows understands.
Looks at Din to see what his feelings are on things and Din just shrugs because while it had been a bit much, he did understand, and anyway.
So.
Din gives Luke a ride home to get ready for the dinner - Luke insisting Din show him the new suit...later, which gets poor Din all flustered while Luke laughs at him, and anyway, anyway.
The go off and have their family dinner, where Din is rightfully in awe of Padme and the way Anakin dotes on her. Gets this soft little feeling in his chest at the easy relationship between her and Luke, and leans over to Obi-Wan at one point like.
âAre Cody and Rex related?â because thereâs a definite resemblance between them.
Obi-Wan almost chokes on his wine, and manages to get out something about the two of them being from a big family. Gets this little smile on his face and tells him to ask Boba about it sometime, and anyway.
Padme gets Din alone for a private chat while everyoneâs bringing the cars around and getting ready to say their goodnights.
Apologizes for Anakin again and tells Din they both like him very much, and Din while Din is trying to think of something to say about that Anakin pulls up to the curb.
Padme gives Din a mischievous little grin and presses a kiss to his cheek, tells him that what they like most about him is how happy he makes their son, and while heâs all flustered from that gets in the waiting car with Anakin.
Luke comes over, worried little frown on his face and Din is like, so confused?
Lukeâs parents are so confusing, and Luke laughing at him about it while he herds Din over to the minivan isnât helping, and anyway, anway.
For a day that started rather ominously, it ended surprisingly well.
And!
Din even gets a goodnight kiss for his troubles, so you know, good day.
#star wars nonsense#dinluke#modern au idea#anon#replies#technically not a fic#vagrant fic#ÂŻ\_(ă)_/ÂŻ#Anonymous
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{escort fic}
This idea has been in my head for a while. People on the server seem to like it. Iâve gone back and forth on whether this is ooc or not but nobody has mentioned that it is so Iâm gonna roll with it. Itâs just a concept idea but if people are interested Iâm happy to turn it into a full fic so please do let me know. Can also be read on ao3.
@today-in-fic @mypanicface @improlificinsarcasm  @baronessblixen @foxscully @gillywitch @arboreta @agirlcallednarelle @starbuckthirteen @clarke-oswald
- - -Â
He should go out and meet somebody. Get to know them, fall in love with them, build a relationship with them. Yet, relationships took time, he had been down this road multiple times and each one had ended just as badly as badly as the other, this recent relationship taking it to the next level.
He was divorced from somebody he once worshipped and the custody of their child on the line.
He wasnât going to make a habit out of this. His hand and porn usually did the job but it didnât always fill the void, fill that sense of loneliness that has been there since he was twelve. Sometimes he just wanted physical human companionship, sometimes he just wanted that too much.
Yet still even after swiping a leaflet that fell out of a magazine at the Lone Gunmenâs for an escort agency it took him a week to build up the courage to call them.
He chooses something called âA Girlfriend Experienceâ, picks someone somewhere within his age-range and tries not to feel guilty about the whole thing.
.:.:.:.:.:.
She was running late.
Tardiness never felt like an option with her yet Emily had refused to go to bed even after Dana told her she had to go to work. It had ended with Dana a few minutes behind and Emily asleep in her bed.
But it was time to push that life aside for now, to enter this restaurant as Danielle and Danielle doesnât have a child named Emily or a pile of textbooks to study through.
The restaurant her client had chosen was nice enough; one of those business-y type places that not many wealthy people touched but it was still classy enough to be considered decent to use.
It was rare that she would be fed- food wasnât often part of the price, after all, it was an extra expense. Besides, most of the men she had encountered just wanted a suck and a fuck and maybe the odd therapy session. Maybe around three of her requests were for this Girlfriend Experience and it wasnât like she was rolling in requests that much anyway.
Dana had realised quickly the types of women men went for: blonde, tall, boobs. Short redheads who just about fitted into a B-cup never made the cut that often.
Yet, for whatever reason, she had be chosen. From the emails sent this man seemed nice enough of course from the stories she would hear that wasnât something concrete to go off. People could carefully choose the words they typed, could portray themselves in a certain way online. The same could be said for in person interactions too but people were more likely to slip up during those.
For now, Dana is tucked away, she dons Danielle and approaches able 25 where her companion for the night waits for her.
When she gets there, itâs a gentle tap on the arm, a smile, and a simple âHi, Mulder.â
.:.:.:.:.:.:.
Mulderâs heart stops in his chest as he stares at her, struck with the thought of how breath-taking she is.
He wouldnât say little redheads was his âtypeâ but as he was going through the countless lists of girls he hadnât wanted somebody his type, he wanted no reminder of Diana and so he had chosen her; Danielle, 5â3, 26 years old and the complete opposite to Diana.
He hadnât seen her face before, for whatever reason she had kept it off the page, Mulder hadnât been expecting much in terms of looks because of it yet he canât keep his eyes off her.
He realises sheâs said his name and almost comically stumbles his way to standing up, bashing a leg against the table making the cutlery jump and a brief amount of pain to ripple length ways across his right tigh.
âDanielle,â he says wincing through the pain. Her professional name knowing full well it wasnât her real name. He might be new to this escort world but 1-800 numbers and taught him enough about fake names, maybe he should have considered using one.
She looks to be smiling at his clumsiness, fighting it back, trying to hide it.
A shaky start Mulder thinks, as he pulls out her chair yet sheâs sitting down before he gets a chance to show how much of a gentleman he is.
Heâs looking through the drinks menu when he realises sheâs staring at him, drinking him in. It makes him feel self-conscious.
âWhatâs wrong?â he asks.
Danielle seems to have realised what she was doing, she quickly looks away from him.
âYouâre justâŚdifferent to who I usually meet with,â she says.
Mulder smiles wryly and cocks his head.
âIs that good or bad?â he asks unsure himself.
âThatâs good,â she tells him. âUsually I get theâŚolder men and they definitely donât go out of their way to buy me food.â She lifts her head up and smiles waiting for his reply.
He has none other than how strange he must seem to her right now, how sad. He also tries not to feel jealous at the thought of her with other men. Itâs a thought that comes out of nowhere, a thought he has no right in occupying.
âSo do you come here often?â sheâs asking.
The answer to was that no. It was a drive away from his apartment, away from any potential sightings of colleagues or people he sees on a daily basis.
âNever,â he says realising this could be chaotic.
But sheâs laughing and itâs one of the nicest sounds his eyes have ever heard.
âI hope you didnât come here just to try and impress me.â
âTry?â he counters. âSo I take it youâre not so easily impressed?â
She shrugs. âIâve been told as much.â
Mulder leans in, surprised at how comfortable he feels around her, how at ease he is.
âWell tell me,â he says. âAre you impressed?â
She looks around the establishment, pretending to think.
âHmmâŚI think you could have done better.â
âOkay,â Mulder says leaning back and giving the room a once around himself. He would say heâs done pretty well but sheâs laughing again, giggling actually, and the restaurant doesnât matter.
They order food, not that heâs particularly hungry anymore, but for some reason he doesnât want this to end. Spending $300 a night to talk seems better than spending $300 on an apology.
âSo,â Mulder begins. âWhat do you do aside fromâŚthis.â
He wonders about the answer he will receive. Sheâs lied about her name, will she lie about this or will to follow the truth as much as she can, altering things here and there. He wonders how much of her true name is in her fake name.
âWellâŚthrough the day I study mostly,â she says and this perks his interest.
âWhat do you study?â
âUhâŚâ He sees sheâs searching for an answer and it breaks his heart to know that he isnât getting the truth though he had expected her to be a bit more prepared for these questions.
âChemistry,â she finally says. âI wanted to be a scientist.â She says it almost shyly, tucking her head in and refusing to look at him. He amends his previous thought, perhaps there is a truth after all.
âWanted?â Mulder asks. âIs that still not possible?â
âWellâŚI guess so. Iâm just worried about somebody hiding out aboutâŚthis.â She purses her lips and shrugs.
Mulder wonder if heâll get to ask why she does this but then wonders if thatâll be rude to ask anyway even if did get the chance.
âWell, let me pose you a question,â he says just as their food arrives. âDo you believe in the existence of extraterrestrials?â
He watches as she processes his question, her eyebrows knitting together as she attempts to formulate an answer and Mulder is curious as to what that answer is.
âLogically, I would have to say no,â she says slowly. âGiven the distances needed to travel from the far reaches of space, the energy requirements would exceed the spacecraftâs capabilities.â
Mulder finds himself impressed with her, the certainty in her answer, he wonders if heâs getting a glimpse of a real person beneath the professionalism, other character.
âOkay, conventional wisdom,â he says, he expected it. âBut when convention and science fail us, should we not start looking to the fantastic as answers?â
He thinks heâs caught her, she takes a while to answer, thinking it over through mouthfuls of salads. Mulder is too preoccupied with her mind to worry about the food that goes cold beneath him.
She swallows her food, sitting back in her seat and Mulder waits for the mental foreplay.
âThatâs only if convention and science actually fail us.â
He thinks heâs in love.
.:.:.:.:.:.:.
Thereâs an easiness Dana feels around Mulder. Heâs nothing like her previous clients who see nothing beyond her sexual capabilities. Mulder seems to be interested in her mind, in her and she worries she might have revealed too much of herself to him but itâs rare she finds somebody to match her intellect, her classmates canât keep up with her, her professors shut her down in order to give other members of the class a chance. She feels intellectually frustrated at times.
âWhy do you ask all this?â she inquires.
Mulder shrugs. âOh, itâs just a hobby.â
âTalking about extraterrestrials is a hobby?â
He looks away and mumbles something she doesnât quite catch.
âWhat was what?â she asks.
âI look for them.â
Itâs endearing, how different he is from anyone else sheâs ever met.
âDo you think youâll ever find them?â Itâs not to jest or to make fun of him.
âIâd like to,â Mulder says with an essence of hopefulness in his voice.
.:.:.:.:.:.:.
He makes the decision that he wonât fuck her.
Heâll pay $300 as a fee to access her amazing mind if he must.
They go away from the talk of aliens, something for which Mulder was glad. He has his own secrets locked away and if they continued on the subject anymore, he was worried they would tumble out of his mouth and heâd reveal how spooky he really was. They talk of other stuff, he throws conspiracy theories at her that he barely believes in himself just to hear her debunk them with finesse. She was the one who was right and he was wrong and Mulder is completely okay with that.
He stops when he reaches her hotel, this is the end of one of the best nights of his life. Heâll go home, think of her, perhaps rub one off to the thought of her, and that will be that. Heâll bin that leaflet and theyâll never talk again.
But sheâs stopping when she realises he isnât beside her anymore and turns with a puzzled look on her face.
âTonight was great, Danielle,â he tells her. âI really enjoyed it.â
Her face almost seems to fall when she realises what heâs doing but she picks herself back up again, nodding.
âWell,â she says walking back towards him. âIf weâre not doing that anymore at least let me give you this.â
Her lips touch his and fireworks go off behind him. Mulder feels as though heâs experiencing his first kiss all over again, new and exciting, and a fear that heâs doing something heâs not meant to do.
It doesnât take long before heâs kissing her back, his tongue trying to gain access to her mouth and to her own tongue. She grants him permission, thank god, and he almost melts inside her mouth.
They fall against a wall, his head collides with the brick but he doesnât care, there is nothing else on his mind other than the want to pick her up. Heâs bent at an awkward angle because even in heels her forehead just about reaches his chin. Heâs unsure what to do with his hands, on her hips, on her waist. She seems to become annoyed at his indecisiveness and takes his hands in her own, placing them against her ass all the while not breaking the kiss.
He grows impossibly hard as his senses go into overdrive. He wants her so bad when he said he wouldnât.
âDanielleâŚâ he moans coming up for air.
âDana,â he hears her say and at first heâs confused wondering what sheâs talking about. âCall me Dana.â
The penny drops. Her name!
âDana.â
Sheâs back on him, kissing him harder this time and Mulder was kidding himself before; heâs going to make love to her.
#concept idea#potential fics#au#just another of my out there ideas#for reasons im not going to state#im incredibly worried to post this
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So. Here goes nothing... (1/?)
(Major spoilers for the comic, but since it wonât update anymore (besides PERHAPS some random comic strips/excerpts without context every now and then, but donât count on it), I guess it doesnât matter.)
If you read my answer to the ask posted earlier, you probably know what this post is about. Iâll make a list of every important point I wanted to tackle in the comic, in multiple sections. Be prepared for the long post that awaits you below the cut.
Summary of what was left of Chapter 2
Following their first appearance at the beginning of the chapter, Lolph and Dundgren try to question Blendin, who is staying at a hospital and is still under intense care. They discuss what exactly happened to Blendin in the first place: he was assigned what was supposed to be a routine mission to solve a minor time anomaly in the 21st century, but his time machine exploded when he tried to operate it and he was gravely injured. Dundgren mentions that any normal time device should hardly cause this much damage when malfunctioning, suggesting that Blendinâs level of incompetence is so incredibly high, it somehow managed to make something that shouldnât be able to explode blow up in his face. On the other hand, Lolph starts to wonder if, exactly because it should be impossible, the accident may have had a reason other than just Blendinâs incompetence. Unfortunately, the accident had consequences so grave on Blendinâs physical health, it seemingly also took a toll on his sanity and questioning him only leaves them with esoteric sentences of dubious credibility.
Blendin: âThis is very nice of you⌠to visit me. There isnât much time left. I was starting to feel alone, before everything disappears.â Blendin: âTime Baby will succeed⌠He will free us from this time.â
July 13, 2012 again: back in the gift shop of the Mystery Shack, Wendy and Soos have captured Bill and tied him up to a chair. Wendy starts interrogating him, asking him who or what he is-- throwing in her multiple guesses: the Shapeshifter she defeated with Dipper in the bunker, a paper clone... She doesnât suspect demon possession or a switch-because-of-the-carpet scenario, however. Bill just keeps trying to break free with little success, without answering; and soon, Stan interrupts them when he enters the gift shop as well, followed by the dozen of tourists he took during his latest tour. Wendy and Soos manage to evade Stanâs obvious questions by pretending they were making a new attraction.
Back in Mabelâs Dreamscape, Mabel encourages Dipper to have some fun with Billâs powers, but he is scared of messing up because of just how powerful he is; having seen Billâs powers both in the Mindscape/Dreamscape and in Weirdmageddon when he witnessed the alternate timelines, Dipper knows just how far those powers can go and he isnât sure he can control them. Still, after some teasing Mabel starts a snowball fight with the surrounding ice cream, and gradually the twins have more and more fun starting with the ice cream, then with the tricks Dipper starts to use. When they take a break, Mabel points out that nothing bad happened, and Dipper grows a bit more confident that he can use Billâs powers in a way that isnât dangerous.
Dipper: âI guess itâs easy to do exactly what you want when it literally happens in your mind... Huh.â
Dipper notices itâs almost noon, and Mabel remembers that she was supposed to meet William at Greasyâs Diner for lunch. Mabel is unseasy upon thinking of talking to him again after what happened the day before, and Dipper confirms by showing Williamâs current whereabouts through a peephole that William seems about as worried as she is. Mabel takes a deep breath, makes sure that she will be able to see Dipper whenever she needs (during the night for sure, perhaps earlier if she asks for it). Still, just before Dipper wakes her up... She has a favor to ask him.
Mabel: âNow that you can do lots of magic stuff and all... Could you do something for me?â
Back in the gift shop, the tourists have left and Bill was untied due to Stanâs confusion over the situation. However, he is forced to stay inside and is stuck sitting by Wendyâs side behind the cashier desk. When Mabel goes through the gift shop to go to the Diner, everyone notices that she made a new sweater -- one with a pine tree symbol on it, no less. Bill is enraged but canât stop her from leaving.
William has his first face reveal. He is a blonde 13-year-old, and is already waiting worriedly at Greasyâs Diner when Mabel arrives. He immediately apologizes for what happened on the day before.
William: âAbout yesterday, I... Iâm sorry I said your brother was a bad influence. That was uncalled for.â
Mabel: âYes. Yes it was.â
William is genuinely apologetic, but soon it is revealed that the reason why he thought Dipper and the Mystery Shack were a bad influence was because he doesnât believe at all in the supernatural. Even if Mabel told him about her adventures, he assumed they were just stories she made up while playing in the Mystery Shackâs museum and never believed them to be true. Mabel tries to convince him by showing him some episodes of Dipperâs âGuide to the Unexplainedâ -- a series of videos he used to make and post online at the beginning of their summer break upon arriving in Gravity Falls, but stopped making altogether after Summerween. Sadly, the episodes made up until then did not revolve around exceptionally weird anomalies, and arenât enough to convince William. The only thing William admits to being strange is the fact that every inhabitant of Gravity Falls is âout of their minds.â
Exasperated by Williamâs absurdly high levels of skepticism, Mabel eventually dares him to go on a forest expedition with her, Candy and Grenda on the next day, just so they can show him pretty much anything in the forest that is out of the ordinary. William strongly refuses and tries to dissuade her to go into the forest at all; he has been personally forbidden by his mother from going anywhere near the forest, and he has also read on the local news that there is currently a predator of unknown origin or species on the loose, which has been notably attacking sheep from the nearby farm. Mabel teases him about the fact that he believes that this creature is real, and suggests that it might be a werewolf for example; but William doesnât take her seriously, especially because the creature is supposed to fly.
And... This is the part where my script starts getting wonky. Iâve been trying to fill the holes, but sadly itâs proven to be quite difficult, especially now that I know I wonât be drawing it in comic form anyway. Still, the main plot should be precise enough! The holes are mainly just âthere should be some filler and/or foreshadowing to whatâs coming hereâ, with little more than just prompts for what could be happening.
Back in the Mystery Shackâs gift shop, Wendy tries to sneakily question Bill, but when Stan asks them where Mabel went and Bill tells him she skipped her restocking duty so she could spend time with William at the Diner, Stan asks him to get her back. Bill happily takes this opportunity to slip out of the Mystery Shack, and have an excuse to bother Mabel at the same time.
Eventually, William is obligated to accept Mabelâs terms and intends on coming so he can at least make sure that the girls wonât put themselves in danger upon visiting the forest on their own.
Bill arrives at the Diner. William, thinking he is meeting Dipper again, tries to make amends for the things he said the previous day and says that he earnestly thinks they can start again on the right foot; Bill sadistically mocks him instead, all the while pretending to be Dipper, just so he can ruin Mabelâs hopes of reconciling William and Dipper. Bill finishes Mabel by forcing her to leave, saying that Stan expects her to work at the gift shop like she was supposed to since the beginning.
Mabel gone, William and Bill start to have a tense conversation; well, tense on Williamâs part, while Bill is mostly just having a blast driving William mad. The old fanfic that was the first âdraftâ version of the story has this chapter, which gathers most of the jokes I intended to keep, and at least some of the plot points. Iâll put a warning for awkward English, though. Oh and also, apparently in the old version it was July 3rd and not July 13th, so in the comic the âtomorrow is July 4th so the forest trip canât happen anywayâ excuse wouldnât work.
About the Quetzalcoatlus thing: here, have some fun dinosaur size comparisons & history following my latest research on what the pterodactyl from S1E18: Land Before Swine.
William: âAnd how would you even know all that?â
Bill: âBecause I ate Leonardo da Vinci.â
William: â. . .â
William: â⌠It must have been some VERY cryptic way for you to say that it was one of those conspiracy things mentioned in the old book supposedly written by a genius that you keep reading passionately every day. Right?â
Bill: âOh, so your brain CAN work sometimes!â
Bill gets bit by a soothquito. His bite marks spell âFHOASE CORECULLYâ
Upon leaving the Diner, they both see someone being kidnapped by a member of the Blindeye Society. William insists they immediately go warn the police, but Blubs and Durland prove to be ineffective as ever. Bill slips in one or two facts about the secret society, but William dismisses them completely as other random insane things Bill just happens to say all the time for trolling purposes.
Mabel is back in the Mystery Shack and starts her restocking duty, but her mind is clearly elsewhere. She starts mumbling to herself, but is interrupted by the decapitated head of Larry King who just happened to be in the vents nearby. Mabel isnât surprised at all to see he survived, and when Larry King starts "interviewingâ her about the issues she was mumbling about, she complies. Some time later, while Soos is cleaning up the floor, he overhears Mabel complaining about Bill being a jerk on purpose and making Dipper seem like a terrible person, and ends up hearing pretty much the whole story that way, without Mabel knowing. Soos proceeds to tell Wendy what he heard, helping them putting two and two together-- all the while understanding why Mabel didnât warn them, and why they should stay silent as well. They decide not to tell Mabel they know her secret; but when Bill comes back later, just as Wendyâs shift was about to end, she has just one thing to tell him:
Wendy: âTomorrow 6PM. My place.â
Night time; Bill is annoyed, but not very surprised by the fact that Soos is sleeping with him for the night, in the room on the ground floor where Dipper had relocated. Bill is at least glad he no longer has to pretend to be Dipper around Wendy and him.
Soos proceeds to ask Bill what his intentions were; not just in the present times now that the switch occurred, but also before it.
Soos: âSo you really are that triangle guy from two weeks ago?â
Soos: âNow that I'm thinking about it⌠A lot of things happened two weeks ago. That's when it began to get all wrong. Well, it was already wrong before that, but⌠That's really when you came that everything started to get all weird and⌠bad.â
Soos: âIt all started because of that Summerween night. What did you want with us?â
Soos: âWhy did you tell Dipper that Gideon summoned you?â
Bill: âIt was just a job. Jobs are boring. Thereâs no fun in it if nobodyâs trying to stop you.â
Bill: âOh, and you wanna know the best part? If youâd taken Shooting Star along with you instead of going just the two of you, perhaps you wouldâve had an opportunity to beat me.â
Soos: What did you do with Gideon two weeks ago? Dipper and I knew it wasnât a coincidence that those government guys showed up just the next day.Â
Bill: âSomething that neither Pine Tree nor I want anybody to find out, I bet. Also if I were to tell you, you'd either faint or spend the next fourteen hours trying to explain it all to Red. Funny, but not worth it.â
Soos is disturbed by Billâs attitude, because of course he tries to both troll and traumatize at once, and given how Soos was already terrified of Bill because of the Summerween night (âIâve had nightmares for weeks!â from an earlier comic page), it doesnât help. Soos tries to ask Bill about the deal he made with Gideon -- more specifically, he asks what Bill wanted in return for stealing the code from Stanâs mind. However, Bill doesnât answer and instead opens the bedroom door to reveal that Mabel was trying to eavesdrop.
Mabel was mostly there to make sure that everything was alright, and deduces that Bill hadn't slept at all during the first night and that he intends to never sleep at all, even after she tells him that humans need sleep to survive. Thankfully she came prepared with a âsurprise gift from Candy and Grendaâ, and sprays Bill with Fairy Dust.
Mabel: âThereâs probably enough in that bag to knock out a gremloblin in an instant, so I think heâs good for the night. :pâ
Once Bill is asleep, Dipper takes this chance to come to his Dreamscape and talk to him one-on-one; and, he is not happy at how Bill treated Mabel so far. Still, after a certain point the conversation gets to a more pressing topic.
Bill: âYou saw it happen, didnât you?â
Bill: âWeirdmageddon. You saw it, right?â
Dipper: â. . .â
Bill: âOh-ho, even better! Thereâs a timeline in which YOU make it happen, isnât there?â
Dipper: âThatâs not gonna happen.â
Bill: âLook kid, take it from me. The more you try to actively prevent a specific outcome, the more likely you usually make it happen.â
Dipper: âYou canât make something happen if you specifically stop everything that can lead to it from happening first.â
Dipper: âEven if it includes lying to Mabel⌠ I saw it. If she learns thereâs a way to get me a physical form, sheâll try anything to make it happen and disregard the consequences. I bet she trusts me to keep things under control, but everything else? Thereâs just... Thereâs too many variables. We canât let her know anything about the portal. Or Weirdmageddon.â
Bill: âWell, that doesnât change anything from my original plan anyway.â
Bill: âSo youâre just gonna stay in the Nightmare Realm forever, is that it?â
Dipper: âThatâs not much of a plan so far, but thatâs still an effective way to save the world.â
Bill: âDonât mess with me. You DO know that if you donât make your way to another dimension eventually, youâre just going to die, right?â
Dipper: â... W-what are you talking about?â
Bill: âWait. You REALLY didnât figure that out yet?â
Bill: âThe Nightmare Realm is unstable. Itâs just gonna collapse one of these days, destroy everything in it. Could be in a billion years. Could be tomorrow.â
After leaving Billâs Dreamscape, Dipper decides to visit Wendyâs and tell her everything. He confirms her doubts, tells her the whole story with the carpet... And he tells her about Weirdmageddon and what Bill just told him about the Nightmare Realm.
Dipper: âI mean, itâs better this way for everyone, and of course Iâm not gonna go with Billâs original plan to destroy the laws of physics or whatever, but⌠I-I just donât wanna die, you know?â
Wendy: âDonât worry. Weâll find a way.â
> Summary of chapters 3 and 4
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hhhhhhhhhh guess who drew all the batim characters in prep for the comic theyâre making!
yeah so it took like 4 days to draw all these guys, and it was actually pretty fun figuring out colours and designs and stuff!
(also, update on the Reveries Twisted comic, I have a plan for the first chapter but i have like, 7 tests next week and I havenât started drawing it yet so itâs definitely not going to be coming out anytime soon sdfgsdfsj but i am still working on it!)
anyway, i felt like writing little descriptions for every character, so feel free to read these below the âkeep readingâ line if you feel like it! My ask box is also always open, so if u have any questions feel free to ask
Bertrum Piedmont-he/him, gay/ace
-Started working as a mechanic at about 15 and worked his way up from there -Everyone in the studio @ him: why are u british -His big ego often gets in the way of things, but at his core he's a good person (doing bad shit but ultimately having good intentions is common among these guys shdgfs) -Wlw & mlm solidarity w/ Lacie, who is his most trusted confidant and friend -Actually treats his employees well, even when they do basically nothing all day, so he does a lot of work himself most of the time Linda Stein-she/her, straight as a ruler -Parents immigrated from Spain -She's very catholic and very into 'traditional family values' and that sort of stuff -She is sweet, but her strict morals and black and white ethics often make her do unintentional harm -She is also pretty oblivious to most things Jack Fain-he/him & they/them, pan/ace, OCD -Mother immigrated from China to France, and then he moved to America, it's confusing -Can play the violin really well, but is terrible at composing his own pieces -Peak friend material -Short and round and soft with a love of a good espresso -Kind and quiet but ultimately ineffective and happy to watch from the sidelines Daniel 'Buddy' Lewek-he/him, aro/ace, autistic, jewish -He is curious and observant, but very very naive -He finds it hard to pick up on social cues, and tends to daydream a lot -Never really had a father figure, and unfortunately kind of half sees Joey as one (baaaad choice), but his mother is great -Loves drawing and tends to chew on pens (and most objects really) -Too young Susie Campbell-she/her, demi -Her parents were Russian and she picked up their accent, but taught herself how to cover it up. She is now excellent at voice acting. -Has a birthmark most theatres turned her away for. But luckily voice acting gave her another chance at performance, and the music department really does not care about it. -Her dad was a butcher, so she now knows a concerning amount about how to cut up and dissect meat. -She gets easily attached to things emotionally, and has a whole pile of random bits and bops she keeps on her person because she can't throw them away. -Naive, but smart enough to know how to read and deceive people if needed. Ms Abigail Lambert-she/her, lesbian -A very gifted artist, who is quite frustrated with the business aspect of animation. -Picked up quite a few things about engineering from Lacie. -Stern, but kind. Motherly, if she likes you and you squint hard enough. -Used to fighting for things. -Giving her food is a pretty good way to get her to like you. Being an artist, she forgets to eat at the correct times a lot, so a meals always appreciated. Norman Polk-he/him, gay, albino -Knows how to fix things, knows how to fight, knows how to hide -General cool uncle vibes -He watches people a lot, and gives off some creepy vibes, but he does genuinely care about people -Knows something is up and is determined to find out what (even if he dies trying) -Fought in WW1, then worked at a cinema for a bit. Emma Lamont-she/her, heteroflexible -Keep dancing even when everything goes wrong -Bit of a 'i'm better than these fools' mentality going on -But she's pretty chill, and willing to act when needed -Basically every woman in the studio knows her on the basis that she chills in the girls bathroom. -Hates Joey, but knows those who stir up a bit too much trouble usually 'resign' Sammy Lawrence-he/him, (vocal-romantic) bi/ace, ADD -His dad sucked, so he ran away. He's also the reason he's largely abandoned his faith, but he still holds hope that there is some kind of god out there. -He and Jack are basically brothers, they've known each other for a long time. -He can compose music in his head, but can play basically every instrument. -Tall and thin and sharp with a love of black coffee. -He's actually pretty chill and nice, but the conditions of the studio (workload, noises, dreams) have left him quick to snap and a stressed out mess. -He's pretty oblivious to his own feelings and spends basically all his time thinking about music, so he usually only realises that he has a crush on someone if he hears them singing (hence the vocal-romantic joke) Johnny Hart-he/him (she/her), gay (trans), heart condition -A nervous wreck who avoids everything and everyone -Trans but doesn't realise it, he thinks this level of discomfort has something to do with his heart condition or something like that. -Speaking of which, if he gets genuinely terrified or panicked he could have a heart attack. -Hence why he's a recluse who remains in the organ room and interacts w/ literally no one. -Except Dot and Buddy (who forgets he exists and who he also has a crush on). Wally Franks-he/him, pan -Friends with literally everyone who isn't one of the older folks (and thomas) -Honorary member of the music department because he can play a harmonica and vibes with everyone there. -Tries to put a positive spin on everything, often beyond the point of reason -A mischevous, mildly selfish prankster with a heart of gold -Gossip pals with Susie and Norman The Violinist-she/her, nobody knows -Has literally never expressed an emotion ever -Seems to know things are going to happen before they happen -Just generally pretty weird -She isn't friends with Dot, they're both just vaguely interested in what the others doing -She looks a lot like Allison, but the two have never spoken and nobody knows if they're sisters Thomas Connor-they/them, gynephilia -He is just. So tired. -An actual mechanical genius who gets his work used for the wrong purposes. -Is very of the 'when you're on a path stick to it' mentality -Cold and hard exterior that vertually no one except Allison has ever managed to get through. -He can and will beat you up. Henry Stein-he/him, gay, vitiligo -Nice and hardworking. -Doesn't have many emotions other than to draw. -He's in fucking narnia he's so deep in the closest. -Feels emotions, but buries them deep down and doesn't express them too clearly. -Has difficulty setting healthy boundaries with people and represses himself far too much. Joey Drew-he/him, homoromantic/pansexual, bipolar disorder, alcohol and cigarette addictions -Chaotic, feral, short little man who lies to everyone -Charismatic as hell, but also a terrible friend and person in general -He doesn't blink enough, does not know the meaning of personal space, and hasn't aged for about 4 years, which are all very bad signs. -Doesn't understand how to run a business but does so anyway. Doesn't understand how to interact with people but does so anyway. Doesn't understand how to create life but does so anyway- -He isn't pure evil, he just gets into very bad mindsets and makes poor decisions that lead him down the wrongest way to go. -Does some self evaluation and goes 'maybe this wasn't the right way chief :/' just a bit too late Audrey Dempsey-she/her, lesbian, Borderline Personality Disorder -Feral conspiracy theorist -May or may not be related to multiple studio members -Everyone's called her crazy for years and made her feel like a burden, and she is hellbent on proving everyone wrong -Quite socially awkward, and rather sarcastic with a dark sense of humour -Works for Archgate Allison Pendle-she/her & they/them, androphilic/ace -Is forever lost in a vintage clothing store -Most people say she seems nice, but everyone just kind of subconciously registers that there is something up with her -Knows a lot about the supernatural -The person closest to Joey, which doesn't necessarily mean they're friends -Nobody has ever seen the right side of her face Dot Acciaci-she/her, pan -Her parents are Italian, and she speaks a little herself, usually using it to encrypt her private notes -Mischevious & curious, but ultimately kind -She will find out your secrets, and is very good at reading people -Great storyteller -Struggles with loneliness a lot Dr Eleanor Hackenbush-she/her, aro/ace -Science knows no bounds -Doesn't care what your motivation is, as long as you give her some cash and some experiments -Filled with nothing but utter spite Ms Reina Rodriguez-they/them, demi -Tired of everything -Although she puts up a calm exterior, Rodriguez is very attached to the studio and views it as her 'new family', having a terrible relationship with her old one -Her family drama connects to the fact they're very catholic, but she nobody knows what this drama is other than Joey Tessa Arch-she/her, straight -An absolute bitch -Trusts her husband far too much -Not very smart, but compensates for this for being good looking and rich Shawn Flynn-he/him (intersex), pan -Jovial, but gets angry quickly -Willing to do 'wrong' things if it helps someone else out, kind of like Robin Hood or something -His mother taught him how to sew and he helped her make clothes when he was younger -Found it hard to get a job because he's Irish, so despite being tired of all the bullshit of JDS, he is reluctant to look elsewhere -Friends with Lacie and Grant because they appreciate his humour Lacie Benton-She/her, lesbian, trans -Tougher than the toughies -wlw & mlm solidarity w/ Bertrum, who she views as one of the only genuinely smart people in JDS and who she has worked for for basically all of her life -Feels like something is up, but doesn't notice much if it doesn't connect to her work -Has automatophobia -Friend with Shawn and Grant because she respects their dedication to their work Grant Cohen-He/him, bi, depression, jewish -Absolute madlad at maths -Acts like he doesn't care what you think, cares far too much about what you think -Everyone wants him to just get therapy already -Doesn't have many friends, but has a weird 'we're both horribly overworked' kinship with Sammy, so they usually just chill and smoke together -Friends with Shawn and Lacie because they're actually mentally stable and he needs some rocks Nathan Arch-He/him, straight -You should hate him -You should hate him a lot -Super rich and doesn't pay his workers enough -Silver tongued -Basically a spider. Creates webs of manipulation and lies, sees a lot, and knows plenty about waiting for his prey to come to him.
#magieart#character designs#art ref#bendy and the ink machine#bendy and the dark revival#dreams come to life novel#boris and the dark survival#bertrum piedmont#linda stein#jack fain#daniel 'buddy' lewek#susie campbell#ms abigail lambert#norman polk#emma lamont#sammy lawrence#johnny broken heart#wally franks#the violinist#thomas connor#henry stein#joey drew#audrey dempsey#allison pendle#dot acciaci#dr hackenbush#ms rodriguez#tessa arch#shawn flynn#lacie benton
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Cult Classic
I had a really exhausting week, so Iâm going to try to chill out by writing this thing about cults thatâs been bouncing around in my head since... oh, like January 6th?  For some reason?    But itâs also about my insanely long OC fanfic slash vanity project slash concept album. Join me, wonât you?
Okay, so back in... geez 2018?  Has it been that long?  Around October 2018 I started working out the details for the big climax of the â1000 years agoâ section of my fanfic. From the start I had this idea that the Legendary Super Saiyan would be locked into a death struggle with pretty much the entire Saiyan population, led by a Saiyan King who just canât handle being upstaged.  But I had to figure out a lot of details to make that actually work.  What I finally ended up with was the Jindan Cult.Â
Why a cult? Because I wanted my King character to be the main villain, but also be physically weaker, but also he needed to be powerful enough to challenge the heroine. I came up with all these different ways to beef up his power level without making him a Super Saiyan himself, but ultimately I wanted him to have an army of Siayans at his back.  That led me to consider some sort of magic elixir that would make them all stronger, but especially the king, since heâs ultimately in this for himself. At first, I considered having him mind-control all of his goons, but I spent the mind control nickel in earlier arcs, and Iâll have to use it again later, because Towa and Demigra use it.  Then I thought of drug addiction, which is sort of like mind control but not literal brainwashing or anything like that. And that led me to the cult concept. Â
One major inspiration for me was the real-life cult called âNXIVMâ, which made the news back in 2018 when their leaders started getting arrested, including âSmallvilleâ star Allison Mack.  Every time I read about it, it felt like something from a movie, but it was real.  I guess the celebrity angle made it more bizarre to me, because itâs sort of like âHey, this isnât just some group of randos; someone youâve heard of is in this thing.â  Not that I ever paid much attention to âSmallvilleâ, but you get the idea. She didnât just join NXIVM, she eventually became one of the top recruiters.  Some of the character arcs in my fic were my own attempt to understand how a person goes from Point A to Point B.Â
The big plot hole, though, in my mind, was that I came up with this whole master plan for the bad guys, but it involved sending wave after wave of Saiyan cultists to die in pointless, unwinnable battles against Luffa.   I couldnât have them win much, because if they beat her, theyâd just kill her, and the story would be over.   It struck me as fishy that these Saiyans would sign up for a war where the casualty rate is 100%, but I tried to lampshade it as best I could.  âYeah, all those other chumps couldnât beat Luffa, but Iâll pull it off because Iâm special!â  It still seemed a bit unlikely. Â
But then 2020 happened, and I guess the main thing I learned from that year was that people will accept almost anything in order to believe a comfortable lie. The joke Iâve seen on the internet is that we need to retire the expression âavoid it like the plagueâ, because it turns out a lot of people donât actually avoid plagues very well at all.  The horrifying thing about COVID-19 is how easily people will accept the climbing death tolls.  âOh, well this person was already in bad health, so they would have died eventually anyway.â  I donât want to get too political here, but Iâm pretty sure a lot of the anti-mask, coronavirus-is-a-hoax crowd are the same people who made up tall tales about âdeath panelsâ in Obamacare.   âTheyâre gonna euthanize your grandma!â they would say, but now they say your grandma is acceptable losses if it means reopening bars and restaurants.
Actually, I do mean to get political, because holy fuck, Qanon stormed the Capitol Building.   Look, if you donât believe Joe Biden won the election, I donât know what to tell you, except please get far away from me, right now. If youâre not familiar with Qanon, a few years ago some guy on an image board posted a bunch of cryptic messages and claimed to be an important government figure who would know about important things.   People started âdecipheringâ his âcluesâ and when he stopped posting new ones they started inventing their own âcluesâ and interpreting them any way that suited them.   This led to an overarching narrative that Donald Trump was actually part of this massive sting operation to arrest hundreds, maybe thousands of left-wing politicians, celebrities, and whoever else.   Any day now, he was supposed to have Hilary Clinton arrested, and also JFK Junior would somehow show up and help him, even though heâs been dead for 22 years. Every day, these Qanon guys would add on more bizarre lore to their âtheoriesâ, and every day none of their predictions would come true. Then Trump lost the election, which put them in a bind, because their whole mythology is based on the idea of him saving the world as POTUS, and now he wasnât even going to be POTUS for much longer. Â
Iâm pretty sure this had a lot to do with the lies about election fraud.   Trump himself refused to accept defeat, and his supporters didnât want to accept it either, so they all told each other that it wasnât real, and they believed each other so much that they dug in their heels.  But then theyâd take this stuff to court and the judge would be like âUh, what evidence do you have of mass voter fraud?â and they would just be like âlol nvm!â I mean, if there was proof for any of this, why would they not want a judge to see it?  But for Qanon, it was more than just being sore losers.   They needed all their whackamaroo predictions to come true, and Trump losing re-election would upset the applecart. Â
So then they started telling themselves that they could win this thing through the boring certification process.  I think it was like, December 14 when all the states had to certify their results.  So they held out hope that nothing was over until then.   Then they pinned their hopes on the Electoral College, and that there would be enough faithless electors to hand Trump the victory, in spite of the voters.  I found this one amusing, since I used to see tumblr suggesting the same thing back in 2016, when they were still trying to come up with ways for Bernie Sanders to win. Â
Then they decided Mike Pence could fix everything, because on Jan 6, Congress would officially count the Electoral Votes and formally declare the winner, and Mike Pence would step in and overrule the whole thing, because the Vice-President oversees that process.   Except he just oversees it, he canât legally change the outcome, especially on a whim.   And then the riot at the Capitol happened, and Iâm pretty sure all these Qanon types thought it would mark the beginning of a nationwide uprising, with all seventy-odd million Trump voters going apeshit, but it... didnât work out that way. Â
Then they convinced themselves that everything was building to January 20, because the innauguration was actually a clever trap, and once Joe Biden took the oath of office, he could then be arrested for treason, so you see, they had to make it look like Trump lost the election, because it was the only way to fool Joe Biden into incriminating himself... or... something.  But Jan 20 came and went, so the latest fallback position I heard was that thereâs a double-secret REAL inauguration day, and itâs in March, and the January 20 one isnât legitimate, even though Trump was inaugurated on January 20, 2016, but whatever.   That, or the guy we see in the White House now is actually Trump disguised as Joe Biden, or a Joe Biden android or something.  Â
I think I sort of understood that Qanon is a cult, but I didnât really put the pieces together until the events of January unfolded.   Pre-November, it just seemed like a conspiracy theory, without any real timetables or prophecies, like Flat Earth.   But once the end of the Trump Administration was in sight, it really started to look like all the doomsday cults Iâve heard about over the years. The predicted events wind up failing to come true, and they invent new predictions to explain away the old ones.  Itâs not about the veracity of the claims as much as the claims themselves.   People want to believe thereâs this whole elaborate explanation for everything.   They wanted to believe that Trump was this hypercompetent superheroic messiah, because the alternative is to face the uncertain reality: that he had no idea what he was doing, and real people were going to suffer for it. Â
I think I sort of worked that idea into my fictional cult, but I backed into it.  NXIVM was a sex cult, not a doomsday cult, or an elaborate conspiracy theory, so I was mostly fixated on all the depraved things the cult could do to its members.  But they all share the same lure: a belief system that promises to make everything fit. Iâm not sure what the hook was for NXIVM, but Allison Mack didnât go in thinking about how much fun sex trafficking would be.  That came later, after she was convinced that NXIVM had all the answers, and one of those answers involved sex crimes, apparently.  In the same vein, Qanon attempted to explain mass arrests and executions by claiming that Hilary Clinton eats babies or something.  âWell, I donât want babies to get eaten, so I guess breaking into the Capitol building seems like a reasonable course of action.â Â
Weighed against real life, a bunch of Saiyans accepting a 100% casualty rate doesnât seem so outrageous.  It also helps that sometimes the leaders of these groups can buy into their own hype, and think theyâre infallible when theyâre really not.   This week, I started reading the Darth Plagueis novel again, and Iâve seen the Sith from Star Wars referred to as a cult, but I never gave it a lot of thought until I noticed that Plagueis buys into the whole Dark Side of the Force thing a little too hard.  At times, heâll wax philosophical about how the Jedi are the real bad guys when you think about it, and heâs not just saying that to be manipulative.  He honestly believes that the Sith can save the galaxy from decline, which is stupid and hypocritical, because theyâre the ones causing all the decline.   I always got the impression that Darth Sidious understood that it was all about accumulating power as an end unto itself, and any high-minded talk of necessary evil was just to keep the rubes in line.   Rise of Skywalker plays into that idea nicely.  He somehow survived Episode VI, but he let the Empire collapse, because if he canât rule it, he doesnât want it to exist at all.  But heâs still playing himself, because he thinks he can win by following the same failed ideology that got all the previous Sith Lords killed.  Â
Thatâs pretty much all I have to say about it right now.   I need to move on to other topics, because Towaâs not doing a cult thing, so my fic is moving in a different direction.  But I feel better for getting this out of my head.
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Mission Hill Review: Plan 9 From Mission Hill or I Married a Gay Man From Outer Space!
Commission for @weirdkev27â. Hallowen Havoc marches on! For my first commission ever, I take a look at the cult classic mission hillâs final produced episode and one of itâs most loved. Kevinâs visit to an x rated movie pays off less with boobs and more with a friendship with his elderly gay neighbor and film buff wally and a new appreciation for cinema, only for this new friendship to nearly end over Kevinâs good natured attempt to spotlight Wallyâs only film, the man from pluto. Gay spaceman, a touching gay love story, and a surprisingly likeable guy with a neckbeard insue. Spoilers and full recap FROM PLUTO, under the cut.Â
Well this was a nice suprise. After the utterly draining process of my review of âLetâs Get Dangerousâ, it was a nice suprise to find out one of my handful of fans had tried to comission me a while back and I hadnât realized it, and I was happy to oblige him. I was even happier when I found out what his commission was: Plan 9 From Mission HIll, an episode iâd planned to cover for pride but got squeezed out due to how little iâd planned the month out in advance, a lesson I still REALLY need to learn. Regardless not only was it a nice, funny, and heartwarming ep to cover after the sheer amount of analysis and recapping the last one took, I realized it ended up fitting the spooky season, as thereâs just as much fun to be had in truly fantastic horror movies like âNightmare on Elm Streetâ, âGet Outâ, âChildâs Playâ, âTales from the Hoodâ and âThe Thingâ as there is from so bad itâs great horror films like âHouse (The Japanese one), C.H.U.D. II: Bud The Chud, Terror Toons and House Shark. Seriously watch House Shark iâts hilarious. Hell I fully plan on watching the Gary Busey film Hider in the House tomorrow. I mean itâs a film about hollywoodâs favorite nutball living in the walls and attic of someoneâs house. Whatâs not to love? Maybe it might be entirely boring but thatâs the risk you sometimes take to find so bad itâs gold filmaking. Plus cheeestastic films like these are the reason we have the classsic and incomprable mystery science theater 3000 and itâs succesor rifftrax. So while I need to watch more of them, I have a spot in my likely overtaxed heart for this kind of film, and as a result this episode resonated with me on rewatch in a way it didnât the first time around, even if it was still my faviorite.Â
Backing up a bit as usual I like to give my history with a show first time covering it: Mission HIll was one of a handful of shows picked up by Adult Swim in itâs early days. Since most of Adult Swimâs early originals were 11 minutes at a time when this was still a new and radical thing they were doing having 11 minute shows that werenât sold as half hour pairs of 11 minute episodes, they likely needed more shows to fill up the air and clevelry simply bought the rights to several shows that had only had one season, along with Family Guy and Futurama which as history would bear out both made the shows into huge names in the animation industry but brought both back.. though in Family Guyâs case sometimes dead is better. Point is, several shows got a second life thanks to Cartoon Network if sadly not more seasons, with the sole exception of the utter classic Home Movies which I really need to talk about at some point, and thus are really more associated with Adult Swim than their original networks. Hell before doing this review I genuinely didnât know what Mission HIllâs original networks. But now you know the framework this show came out in what IS Mission Hill anyway?Â
MIssion Hill was a cartoon from the wonderful brains of Bill Oakely and Josh Weinstein, no relation to the MST3K one who due to this confusion now goes by J. Elvis Weinstein instead, who showran the simpsons and did some great episodes, my faviorte of thereâs being $pringfield, aka the casino one.Â
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The show was about Andy, a 24 year old slacker whose happily lazing about after college in his loft with his friends Jim, a stoic but friendly stoner played by Brian Posehn, and Posey, a sensitive hippie. However when he goes to pickup his childhood dog he ends up with an unexpected roomate: His nerdy, sheltered and neurotic brother Kevin, who has a love of sci fi, a type a personality and a habit of going bling blong to focus when studying or just whenever. Heâs also voiced by future robin and future psychopath claming to be robin Scott Mellinville. Also in the building are Carlos and Natalie, an unemployed artist and college professor and their baby Nameless. I forgot they existed. And of course saving the best for last we have the brotherâs neighbors, and a very early gay couple for animated television Wally and Gus, played by the legendary Tom Kenny and Nick Jameson who hasnât done much of note but does a great job anyway. Wally is a fastudious, Gus is angry and very brooklyn, but the two genuinely love each other, makeout frequently, with their first showing off the two as a gay couple, and are an adorable but very beliviable couple. Itâs part of WHY I wanted to spotlight them. The late 90â˛s/early 2000â˛s, the show originally aired in 99 and into 2000 and aired on adult swim in the early 2000 for the curious, were not a great time to be gay in animation with most gay characters used as punchlines and hardly any queer stories. Not only that but just a year earlier will and grace had to have one overly camp chracter and one âregularâ gay character in order to get made. Granted that show has itâs issues but still, the point stands having a gay couple that plays fairly realistically, is shown to both be sexually active and love each other and whoâve been together for decades was a hell of a step for a medium where Family Guy around the same time had a joke with the punchline âWhoa transvestite back off!â Granted Family Guy would do far worse to both the gay and trans communities, but weâll get to that someday. Or sooner if you commission me, but I swear if you do I will pull a gary busey on your house. Point is not only is it INCREIDBLY forward for itâs time but it holds up even now. Thereâs a reason the creators are working on a spinoff/revivial focused on the two and a reason these two tend to be one of the most talked about elements of the show. That and frankly their hilarious having realistic banter.. and also having one episode where Gus has a knife in his head for a whole episode. It helps that this episode, their spotlight one and the last one produced, is also one fo the series best. So with all that build up letâs take a look shall we?Â
We open with Kevin passing a theater showing x rated movies and are shown, over a bunch of times of him passing it him condeming it publicly but his tone clearly telegraphing the classic battle between a teenage boy and his dick. Dick wins and Kevin heads inside and gives us... this.Â
.... If you will excuse me, please enjoy the musical stylings of the late great Zorak while I go shower the âEeEEEEEEUUUUGGggggggHHHhhuuuuuuggghhhhhhhhewwwwuuuuugggghhhhggooooodddddddwwwyyyyyyâ off me.Â
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God rest his soul. Okay iâm good now. Thankfully this isnât an episode about Kevin getting addicted to x-rated theater, and they already did an episode about him masturbating. No really it actually had a good message as Kevin was so embarassed about the incident, he nearly let two other guys, granted not remotley good people who were stealing from there anyway, take the fall. Andy even ends up giving a great speech coming to his defense
âPeople, you mock this boy, but it's your fault he's here today. Your hypocrisy has made this boy a prisoner, terrified of his own sexuality. So much so that he'd rather send two relatively-innocent men to prison than admit he looks at pornography! He thinks his natural urges are filthy and perverted, and why? Because of your conspiracy of silence! Nobody dares admit the truth - that you're all just like him!â
ITâs a damn good moment and a good message. That sadly is still relevant as America still views sex as worse than violence for some weird reason. At least he has the internet now. Anywho when Kevin goes to see whatâs up he runs into Wally who explains the confusion: Heâs just showing old âX-Rated filmsâ. Now some of you are probably wondering âWait non-porn films used to use that?â Or âWait whatâs an x-rating?â Well while I knew some films did used to do that I was honestly curious myself as to why it was retired and why porn films got to use it and took a quick hop to google to find out reading both the wikipedia article for the rating and this vulture article on the subject to get a slightly deeper look at it.Â
Itâs actually quite intresting as I genuinelly also didnât know when the MPAA ratings started for films: When the ratingâs board started in 1968 there were four raitings: G, GP (Later flipped to PG), R and X. X was the modern equivlent of todayâs R really, and films like Last Tango in Paris, Midnight Cowboy and a Clockwork Orange, with Orange even having a poster up at the cinema in this episode and Midnight Cowboy being part of the plot very soon. Weâll get to that in the moment. Point is it allowed filmakers to push the envelope break barriers all that good stuff and makes me curious about those very films, which is a good thing as iâll admit to not being exactly a film buff. But as Kevinâs confusion here shows, eventually the porn industry took a hold of it, using the X as a way to get sex movies into regular cinemas and have an air of legitimacy, hence why Debbie Does Dallas was a mainstream hit.. and yes thatâs an actual film that I only know about thanks to I Love the 70â˛s. If your wondering why the MPAA just couldnât you know, tell them to know or why they didnât take over other ratings it turns out for some weird reason why the G and R ratings were owned by them, and later PG , they forgot to trademark X and by the time they even thought of it it was too late. Hence terms like XXX rated and what not or the ungodly stupid XXX porn parodies. Just.. just give them actual names and slap âA porn parodyâ ont he end if you want to avoid a lawsuit. Naturally the film industry struck back and X soon went from a way to have daring, interesting films.. to basically a threat by the MPAA that your film wouldnât be carried by any major distributors if it had one, with Dawn of the Dead having to just go unrated just to get distributed. The 80â˛s brought the killing stroke: With the rise of big theater chains, mall theaters with restrictions I wasnât aware of, and big home video outlets like blockbuster that didnât carry porn, the x rating was well and truly dead and the MPAA lukewarmly added NC-17 which serves the same bullshit purpose as theaters still refuse to carry them and the MPAA still uses it for essenitally the same reason. Nothing changed! If your wondering why people sometimes have problems with the MPAA, yeah thereâs your answer, as they couldâve campaigned harder for NC-17 but clearly enjoyed having a raiting to hold over films heads.Â
So yeah if you donât know, know you know bud, letâs move on. So yeah Wally explains the confusion and decides to educate Kevin on film by showing him Midnight Cowboy, with John Voight âBefore his head looked like a radishâ and Dustin Hoffman. Also Andy brings up Sphere.. a film I also know nothing about. Hang on... checking Letterboxd and okay. Itâs a Dustin Hoffman starring Sci-Fi film about a research team investigating a mysterious sphere at the bottom of the sea. Huh.. I prefer Cube myself but to each his own. But once Kevin clams up he really enjoys it. Will grant the episode lays it on a tad thick, with Kevin comparing the film to , of all things, Armageddon. I mean I get MIcheal Bay is a good metric for crowd pleasing schlock but still, even nerds have standards. My standards arenât very high at times mind as I still want to watch this sometime today.Â
But I still think even awkward teens have better standards. Then again one of my faviorite films at the time was Saving Silverman which while I canât hate it due to nostalgia , having watched it from 5th grade well into my teens, I can see was not very good. Though it did have R. Lee Ermy being both really funny and turning out to be gay so that was awesome.Â
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And he does make a good point that heroes like Ratzzo Rizzo donât go well on Taco Bell cups.. though it also feels weird to me in 2020 where while not big sellers films with deep stories and unlikeable heroes are some of the biggest on tv and one of them was one of the greatest animated series of the last decade, so things mustâve been pretty damn bleak in 1999. The two also run into Gus who wants dinner and a fight ensues between the couple about the fact Gus owns a restraunt, could just bring his lunch etc. Itâs hilarious and as I said I like how they feel like a couple youâd meet in real life. Sadly I donât have an elderly gay couple in my neighborhood but hereâs hoping. Or maybe iâll be the neighborhoods wally when I grow up who knows. Also Tom Kennyâs delivery is great.Â
Kevin later relays his fun day to his loftmates, with Andy expressing genuine suprise at Wallyâs job and love of art house cinema, as none of them knew what he actually did. Andyâs genuinely shocked and mildly appalled theyâve lived near Wally for so long but having no idea what he does.. but really I had a sweet old lady, Delores who lived next to me for almost my entire life before she moved to be closer to her family, visited her house frequently pet her cats, went to her house after school at one point.. and I cannot tell you what he did, so itâs incredibly relatable. However in a scene thatâs both hilarious but also really, really sweet, the three relate that they do know him well and due to being neighbors after all and know Gus and Wallyâs morning routine: They wake up at 8, Wally brews the Coffee, Gus reads him the funnies, then they shower together while singing college fight songs, and then, with Jim saying this part so picture it in Brian Posehnâs voice please you wonât regret it, argue or have gay sex and then itâs off to work. Itâs really sweet, both in showing off their well worn dynamic with each other, and the fact that the loftmates really DO know these two even if they dontâ know everything and they are close in their own way. Kevin can only give out a âHmâ in response... which is probably the closest he can get to saying touche without breaking into nerdy giggles.Â
Cue the good times montage as Wally introduces Kevin to Ingmar Bergman, who I have heard of even if iâve never seen any of them, and some director I never heard of who made old timey comedies apparently. ITâs a really nice sequence. Kevin also shows 2001: A Space Oddesy to his friends, who are bored to tears by it while Kevinâs enraptured. Which I would say was another heavy-handed swipe at late 90â˛s cinema but being a teen myself who had mostly watched things like Star Wars, I did not gel with 2001 and need to rematch it at some point, so I totally relate to his friends utter boredom and confusion with it given itâs rep. Itâs a visually stunning film. I will however stand by not liking Star Trek: The Motion Picture, as that film TRIES to be 2001 but is instead just really, REALLY boring.Â
But naturally things can be entirely good natured bonding between an elderly gay man and , as Wally puts it in the best line of the episode âThe son god never wanted me to haveâ, as Kevin notices a film coming up that Wally apparently made, and looks to star gus. Wally panics and shoos his young protĂŠgĂŠ away... which yeah he couldâve just you know told him he doesnât like the film or anything else and prevented this episode but then we wouldnât of seen the gay equilvent of plan 9 from outer space so fair enough.Â
At the Gusâ Diner, the loftmates and their neighbors I mentioned earlier look over the poster, and we find out from Gus that that is him, and he starred in a movie.. and naturally Wally explained never showing it to his husband in the simplest way possible: By claming a shark ate it. You know while I watched the show I didnât quite get it when I was younger and itâs probably why it took me decades to revisit it.. but I wish I had sooner this show is REALLY damn funny and iâm really looking forward to that spinoff with Wally and Gus.Â
Wally continues to dodge Kevin, so Kevin, trying to find info about the film and it being lost, goes to the video store.. back when those existed. Something I have to give the show is honestly the use of vhs, visits to video stores, and the movies Kevin mentions are the only things that really date this film. While swapping another Dustin Hoffman film in proved impossible, it is plausible Kevin would see it streaming somewhere. and itâs easy enough to swap Armageddon for Rise of Skywalker given that filmâs just as good.. Last Jedi was excellent though. Point is this story REALLY holds up, which is the sign of a good story: where even if some elements are stamped to the time, the story itself could easily be told again with few changes. Itâs also why iâm not AGAINST Reboots, as my coverage of ducktales makes obvious: As long as stories can still be told or you can retell a story in a unique and intresting way, itâs fine to reuse something. I do think hollywood overdoes it, but Iâve never thought there was genuine harm in it or reviving old franchises. Itâs all in how you do it. But yeah while the local video store dosenât help at all, Andy happens to know just the man for the job, though Jim and Posey nope out of going with them. Also something to note is the series animation: Itâs animated like an old 30â˛s cartoon or a comic strip, modernized a bit in color and realisim, but still having comic strip stuff like shaking head lines, heat lines coming off coffee that sort of thing. I really love it.Â
Anyways the brothers head off to a funky out of the way video store, I wish there were more hole in the wall used media stores where I lived. We mostly have chains like Vintage Stock and Half-Priced Books, though I genuinely love both of those stores and VIntage Stock is the modern equilvent of places like blockbuster honestly. Anyway after Beardo confuses Kevin for an Employee kevin asks him about the man from pluto which Beardo reveals he knows about but is very rare and has few prints. I like Beardo.. heâs a neckbeard who seems more liable to complain abotu some reboot on the fact their rebooting it again rather than âgaspâ women are involved. I prefer my neckbeards just a tad pretentious rather than you know, sexist, homophobic, deranged assholes with nothing better to do. I mean iâm still living at home and didnât get out much before the pandemic either but you dontâ see me bitching every time a franchise gets a female lead.Â
Anyway, Kevin is inspired by that and with help from everyone gets the word out about the film. As youâd expect though this canât end well, as Wally tries avoiding the premire entirely (And we get a great bit where Jim happens to see him trying to flee down the fire escape and Wallyâs expression is priceless)Â
Huh.. I bet thatâs what Rob Reiner when North had itâs premire. As you can probably guess the showing dosenât go well: The film itself is a hilarious combination of the day the earth stood still (the general plot as weâll find out more in a second) and Plan 9 From Outer Space (A cheestatic no budget film with a hulking man brute who canât act as the lead), and in catching the feel of a b-movie itâs utterly perfectly done. This film would go perfect on MST3K and the audienceâs howls of laughter agrees with me.Â
Wally however is utterly humiliated and doesnât want to speak to Kevin which.. yeah is about the only issue I have with an otherwise marvelous episode. While I get Wallyâs humiliation was Kevinâs fault.. Kevin GENUINELY meant well. While Kevin is book smart at his core heâs a dumb kid who didnât know any better and didnât realize Wally hated his film and itâs Wallyâs own damn fault for not telling him. Sure Kevin shouldâve picked up the hint, but given the kid is oblivious and didnât even know what an x raiting is itâs clear heâs not the sharpest crayon in the box when it comes to life experince. Wally had every opportunity to just explain his story but didnât. And I put most of the blame on Wally when heâs you know, the adult. Heâs a 60 or so year old man. He should know better. But it really doesnât take away from the episode entirely. But the loftmates clearly love the film and are quoting bits from it, with jim having a fishbowl on his head, when they run into Wally, though Wally is fine with them admitting itâs crap and he knows it is. We then get what REALLY makes the episode and really makes me primed for a spinoff: Wally and Gusâ backstory, which also makes it obvious the crew was probably going to use the two more had the series got another season.Â
Anyways it was the 50â˛s, Archie Andrews was an average teen and not shredded both in muscle and by a bear that one time, Fonzie was out and about and eyying, and Wally was a first unit director given a shot as the studio asked him for a script having utter faith in him. HIs script was a day the earth stood still esque parable on the Cold War.. until he met Gus who, naturally for Gus, was outrunning a ton of police having stumbled on set and likely defeated them all bare handed because Gus is as incredible as the hulk and likely also comes back through a glowing green door when he dies. So Wally made the tragic mistake of mixing his love life with his career, and lost both Kurt Douglas, who he bumped down from lead for Gus, and Charleton Hesston who just walked off and they got a dinkier stage and worse actors as a result. The resulting film ended Wallyâs career but he was able to sell the rights to cinemas to make enough for them to start over in mission hill and buy the diner.. and at least they had each other. Itâs a really great story that explains why it upsets Wally so much: This was his baby and while he dosenât even for one second regret meeting gus or the life theyâve had, he regrets that his one film was a total trainwreck and goes off to the theater to mope as he plays his film for laughing crowds, as it was naturally held over. I mean when you get the next plan 9 from outer space, this was a bit before the room mind you, you hold onto that shit.Â
Kevin, who heard the whole thing, goes to mope by watching what is likely a MIcheal Bay film, who was a target even then folks. Oh you poor poor fools you knew not how much worse it could get... i.e. robot testicles. Just.. robot testicles. And their MAKING A DELUXE MOVIE DEVISTATOR. Why. Just.. why who wanted this after that scene. Heâs sworn off good movies as he feels he no longer deserves them. Andy however bluntly tells him to cut the pity party, while heâs moping his friend really needs him and when you love somebody, you put your pants on for them. When you love somebody you see it to the end, when you love somebody the conclusions forgone when you love somebody you put your big boy pants right onnnnn! ... Iâll put the song at the end. Point is Kevin goes to help his friend, and as Wally is moping in the projection booth and wonders what he was thinking Kevin tells him the obvious truth: He was thinking of how far heâd go. âYou taught me the best films are personal stories.. and this film is your valentine to Gusâ While Wally starts to break a little, he does point out it doesnât make it good.. but Kevin rightly counters that heâs not so sure of it. Wally sees the audience enjoying the film and goes down, with all of them carrying red light bulbs like the one gus has to show when heâs mad in the film. And Wally finally realizes waht I got to in the beginning: It doesnât matter if a filmâs good or bad, what matters is someone enjoys it. A film can be utterly terrible, and still be good. It can be a mess and still have merit. And Wally finally realizes it doesnât matter if itâs the film he wanted, itâs the film he made for his future husband, itâs a film that brings laughter and sticks in peopleâs heads and really brings them a godo time. Itâs a film worth remembering and Wally finally accepts that and his film as his own. Later that night Kevin and Wally exit the theater, with Wally no longer mad at him and the two still friends or as Wally puts it in the second best line of the episode âAs close as an elderly gay man and a straight boy can beâ Awwww. The two depart and we get a touching final scene as Wally comes home and finds a bottle of wine and a note from gus saying he has a suprise for him> Turns out Gus put on his old space helmet.. but fell asleep in it. So we get a really nice tender moment as Gus takes the helmet off, smooches his husband on his bald head and smiles brightly as the episode ends.
Final Thoughts on The Man From Pluto or I Married a Gay Man From Outer Space: Before you ask each episode had two titles for funzies, the first one to get past the censors and the second for fun and likely what they wouldâve gone with if they could. As for this episode.. itâs spectacular. It holds up well even 20 years later, itâs touching, sweet and really damn funny and makes me want to rewatch the show as a whole again. I highly recommend seeking it out and hope mission hill is eventually made officially available somewhere. Till then you can find the whole series including this episode on YouTube and despite being the last one you could easily watch this one first if you want and itâs a decent enough intro to the show as a whole. I highly recommend it, an utter pleasure to watch. If you liked this review, you can comission your own by PMing me on this very blog, just mention you want to do a comission and we can talk it out. As this review proves, it dosenât have to be a show iâve done before or even one thatâs remotely recent. Hell iâd gladly do Fonz and The Happy Days gang, the animated happy days spinoff thatâs like dr. who but with the Fonz. Yes really. Whatever you want iâll do it as long as itâs not porn for just 5 bucks an episode and 10 for a movie. YOu can also join my patreon, and for 2 dollars a month get acess to my discord (that iâll start once I get patreons) and once I get enough patreons exclusive polls or 10 bucks for all of that and a review of your choice each month. You can find said patreon right here. And even 1 buck a month would be apricated if you can spare it and if not simply reblog this and share it around.  You can also follow this blog for weekly ducktales, loud house and amphibia coverage as they come out. Iâd also personally thank WeirdKev27 for both being a long time fan of this blog and for the comission.Â
Until we meet again say safe, wear a mask, check your atttic for Gary Busey and happy Halloween! Play us out Mr Heere!
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#mission hill#reviews#plan 9 from mission hill#commission#bill oakley#john weinstein#lbgtq#adult swim#kevin french#Gus Duncz#Wally Langford#andy french#jim kubach#posey tyler#brian posehn#scott menville
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Coffee Shop AU- Going on a Snatcher Hunt
So as I was in the middle of working on another new story as well as the next chapter of my OtH! AU story. @doodledrawsthings surprises everyone with a new Coffee Shop AU that I fell in love with! So I had to create something for this AU, and ended up with coming up with three ideas for this AU.
Anyways Coffee Shop AU belongs to @doodledrawsthings
âDad! Dad!â Harriet shouted coming home from school. Luka was in bed enjoying his day off, and not worrying have to go out somewhere, where he would get caught in the middle of transforming. Luka looked up from his book to see his little girl running to him and giving him a hug.
Luka chuckled and hugged his little girl back, âH-hey princess! How was school?â Luka asked.
âIt was good, but I got some good news.â Harriet replied.
âWhat is it?â
âIâm going on my first camping trip!â Harriet cheered.
Luka got up from the bed and looked at his daughter in a mix of surprise and glee. âCamping, with who?â He asked.
âMe, Bonnie and Mu. Sheâs the one organizing it.â Harriet explained.
Luka gulped hearing Muâs name. Since moving with his daughter, Mu and her mom Cookie were the first to welcome them into the neighborhood as well as give Luka a tour of the town. She even recommended him to work at the coffee shop right next to her place.
However, while Cookie was a nice lady her daughter Mu was a different case. For one, Mu enjoyed cryptology as well as hunting down his monster form. However, that wasnât his main concern. Mu tends to be a bit rebellious and snarky getting into fights with kids who pick on her and Harriet, Â even older kids. Luka was worried Mu could be a bad influence on his daughter, but he couldnât say it to Harriet as Mu is her best and first friend she ever made since they were on the run.
âHattie, I know you and Mu are best friends, but you know how she can be with me, right?â Luka asked.
Harriet nodded knowing how her best friendâs goal is to find her father and prove heâs real. âI know, I know, but this is the first time I got to do a hang out with her and Bonnie.â Then Harriet put her hands together and started to beg. âPlease dad. I may not get a chance like this if we have to move again.â
Luka sighed. His daughter was right. They moved so many times, and Harriet never got to have some quality time with friends, or even make friends. âOkay, you can go.â Luka said. Harriet smiled and hugged her dad tight.
âThank you! Thank you! Thank you!â She repeated. Harriet then jumped off the bed and ran to her room to grab her stuff she planned on bringing with her for camping. Once Harriet was fully packed she ran into the room to give her father a kiss before leaving to meet up with Mu and Bonnie.
Meanwhile, Mu and Bonnie just left the grocery store buying an abundant of junk food for them to chow down during their camping trip. âDo we really need all this stuff, Mu? Its just one night in the Subcon Woods.â Bonnie explained as she put the candies in her bag.
âYou and Harriett never been camping before have you?â Mu asked. Bonnie shook her head. Mu sighed and went on to explain about the enjoyment of camping and why they need all this food. âHowever, this camping trip is going to be special!â
âWhy?â Bonnie asked tilting her head.
Mu grabbed a piece of paper from her pocket and gave it to Bonnie. Bonnie unfolded the paper and gulped seeing it wasnât only a camping trip, but also a hunt for the mysterious cryptid, Snatcher. Bonnie looked scared, she knew who the Snatcher was and Mu was planing to hunt him down.
âIts going to be fun! Just us in a dark, creepy forest waiting for a ghost monster to show up!â Mu beamed. âCan you imagine if we caught evidence of it! Weâll be rich, the first ever millionaire 9-year olds!â Mu exclaimed.
Harriet walked by when Mu shoutedâ millionaire 9-year oldsâ chuckling at the thought of it. She knew why, and while she did get nervous her father would be caught by Mu one day, the thought of her and her friends being millionaires made her laugh. Â âSounds like your excited, Mu.â Harriet said.
Mu froze and blushed in embarrassment when her best friend came by ready for their camping trip. Mu chuckled rubbing the back of her head. âH-how much did you hear?â She asked.
âEverything.â Harriet replied, giving a smug smile. Muâs face turned red from embarrassment, as Bow giggled as well.
Mu shook it off and grabbed her bag. âWell come on! We need to make it too the woods by nightfall! Us standing here means were wasting time.â Bonnie and Harriet nodded and followed their friend heading to the Subcon Woods for the night.
Bonnie got scared walking around the dark and spooky Subcon Woods. It was dark, creepy, and anything could come out and snatch them away. As they walked, Bonnie held on to Harrietâs arm for protection. âS-so how far are we going, Mu?â Bonnie asked.
Mu chuckled. âOh were not near the campsite yet.â She replied. Bonnie gulped and held on to Harriet tighter.
âDonât worry Bonnie, were a group as long as we stick together and not separate weâll be fine.â Harriet comforted.
âI hope so.â Bonnie whispered as she kept following her friends. The three girls kept on walking as they passed through a log bridge, towards some bushes, into the middle part of the woods.
This part of the woods and dead burnt trees, a few tree stumps where the girls can sit, and a small fire pit. There was also a red hood similar to the one Mu wore hanging up like a flag waving at the wind. âGirls, welcome to my secret campsite, Camp Mu!â She beamed.
âWow!â Bonnie and Harriet said at the same time. âThis is where you camp?â Harriet asked.
âOh yeah.â Mu replied as she unpacked her stuff including her tent. âEvery Friday night Iâm here looking for weird creatures, cryptids, and the Snatcher,â she started her explanation. Soon she grabbed a net from her bag, âset up a few traps and hope to catch them.â She explained.
âWow! Do you think youâll have a chance to catch it tonight?â Bonnie asked.
Mu nodded. âYep! I plan on putting traps all around our campsite. Hopefully the Snatcher would fall into one of them.â She explained.
Harriet nervously chuckled. âY-yeah! And what do we plan to do when we catch them?â She asked.
Mu chuckled. âLike I said Harriet, since you heard my speech. Weâre going to be millionaires, leave Subcon for good and go on an adventure around the world!â She shouted.
Bonnie smiled and clapped her hands. She would love to travel around the world and see many sights that awaits them. Though she was more to the sights and adventure rather then going cryptid hunting.
âOh yeah.â Harriet chuckled, rubbing the back of her head.
Later, the girls got everything set up for the night, and soon by sunset, which was blocked by so many trees that it looked like nightfall came early, the girls were roasting marshmallows by the fire to make sâmores. The girls were chatting, enjoying their junk food and sâmores and sharing a laugh.
An hour or two later, Bonnie started to get tired and retreated back to the tent to get some rest. This left Mu and Harriett to leave traps all over the woods for the Snatcher to stumble upon. Once all the traps were set, Harriett too retreated to the tent to get some rest as well, while Mu stayed up for a bit.
A while later, Harriett woke up to see Mu was still in awake and looked like she was writing something. Harriet got up from her sleeping bag carefully not to wake up Bonnie and slowly walked over to her friend.
âMu?â Mu jumped giving a squeak, but sighed it was only Harriet who spoke to her.
âDonât scare me like that again.â Mu threatened.
Harriet giggled. âSorry. I mean its just us, Bonnie is asleep.â She explained. Harriet sat close to her friend and looked up at the stars. âDo you plan on staying up all night, till you find the Snatcher?â
Mu scoffed. âWhat do you think?â She asked. âOf course! If I fall asleep Iâll miss it!â
Harriet rolled her eyes. As much as she didnât want to hunt for her own father, she didnât like the fact Mu was going to be out here all alone. Heck, even if they do capture him at least she can try and explain to Mu everything thatâs going on. Â âThink you need some company?â Harriet asked. âIâm willing to stay up till dawn with you.â
Mu thought for a bit and shrugged. âAh what the heck.â Harriet smiled excited that she and Mu can get closer now. It was quiet, except for the crickets chirping as well as the pages of Muâs book being turned. Harriet looked over Muâs shoulder and saw the book she was reading.
The book looked like it was written and had drawings as well as pictures inside it. âDid you write this?â Harriet asked.
Mu nodded. âYeah. I want to make a series of journals talking about cryptids, witches and wizards, and other kinds of magic paranormal stuff in Subcon.â Mu explained. âThis here is my first book!â Mu closed her book and showed the cover with the glowing eyes of the Snatcher as well as a #1 painted on it.
âT-thatâs awesome!â Harriet replied giving a small stutter seeing the Snatcher, her fatherâs eyes on the cover of her friendâs book.
Mu ignored her friendâs nervousness and smiled. âI know! One day Iâll publish my journals so the entire world can read everything about Subcon! Iâll be a famous writer!â She beamed. Harriet chuckled seeing Mu had her future planned.
âYouâll make an excellent writer.â Harriet said.
Mu smiled. âThanks.â Mu looked at her journal and frowned. âDo you think writing about these conspiracies makes me a weirdo?â She asked.
Harriet raised an eyebrow. âNo why do you ask that?â She asked back.
Mu sighed. âJust everyone thinks of me as some dub girl who wears a mustache, looks for creatures that may or may not exist, and goes all cartoony ways to find them.â She explained.
âYour not dumb!â Harriet comforted. âI think its cool your doing this. No one should insult you for doing what you like to do!â
Mu chuckled. âThis is why I like you Harriet your just so nice, and positive. You help others feel better, even though you can get jumpy at times.â Mu replied.
âWell thatâs just how I am. I want people too feel positive then a burden.â Harriet sighed.
Mu frowned she knew that Harrietâs father, Luka divorced his wife before moving here and from what Harriet told her it was a very messy divorce, so messy that she remembered Harriet was about to cry the more she talked about it.
She also hated the fact, Harrietâs own mother didnât truly love her like her own mom. Mu knew momâs had to be caring and kind, and well sweet as sugar, thatâs what Muâs mother explained to her.
Harriet knew what Mu was thinking about, but she had to bring up one question. âMu.â Mu turned to look at her. âI know you have a mom, and since I told you about my mom. I just want to know whereâs your dad?â
Mu froze. She never told anyone about her dad before. She sighed and looked down from her book. âI never met my dad.â Harrietâs head lifted up and turned to Mu. âHe...died when I was just 2 years old.â
âM-Mu Iâm so sorry.â Harriet whispered.
âI-Its fine. I was really young when he passed, so I donât have any fond memories.â Mu reassured. She then sighed and looked down again. âBut I do miss him, and wondered if he never went on that trip, heâll still be alive and we can have a close father and daughter bond like you and your dad.â Mu explained.
Harriet sighed, she knew how that felt only with a mom. âI know how that feels. Wish I was like that with my mom.â
Mu put a hand on her best friendâs shoulder. âHey, if you and your dad need any help just come talk to my mom. Weâll help as much as we can.â She explained.
Harriet gave a small smile and hugged her friend back. Mu smiled and hugged her friend back as well. That is...until a rustle coming from the bushes caused them to let go. Mu smiled widely knowing it could be the Snatcher.
âHarriet grab the camera!â Mu whispered. Harriet was in a mixture of stunned, scared and anxious. Is this the night her father gets caught and Mu finding out sheâs been keeping the cryptid she long hunted for from her. âHarriet!â Mu called out again snapping her friend from her thoughts. Harriet nodded and handed her best friend the camera, which she snatched away.
Mu held the camera close as whatever was coming right in front of them was about to jump up. Harriet covered her eyes and hid behind Mu not wanting to see what will happen next. Just as the figured jumped out Mu took the shot.
âGot it!â Mu cheered. âHuh?â She asked confused. From the bushes wasnât the Snatcher, but a fox.
Harriet opened her eyes and looked over Muâs shoulder to see it was just a fox passing by. âAww, what a cute little fox.â Harriet smiled. Mu sighed and sat down on the floor.
âGreat! Wasted this time for nothing.â Mu sighed.
âHey cheer up.â Harriet said putting her arm around her friend. âYouâll be able to find the Snatcher soon.â
Mu scoffed. âYeah and I thought it would be tonight.â Just as she said that though, she heard someone getting caught in one of her traps. Mu chuckled and ran off towards her trap hoping to see if she had captured the Snatcher.
Harriet followed after her knowing she would have to explain everything if it was her father that did fall into the trap. Or, she could pretend that she didnât know the Snatcher and could try to get her father to go along with it. Whatever, the case may be she may not keep this secret any longer.
âSorry dad, but Mu needs to know.â Harriet whispered to herself. Harriet and Mu made it to the clearing and Mu was even more disappointed at who got caught in her trap this time. Harriet gasped at who got trapped, but was relieved at who it was.
Trapped in Muâs trap was the Snatcher, or at least his human form, Luka Princeton, aka Harrietâs father. âMr. Princeton?â Mu asked. âWhat are you doing out here?â She asked.
âWell, Harriet dropped something when she was about to leave and well I had to hand it to her.â He explained showing a golden necklace with an hourglass engraved on it. Harriet gasped and quickly grabbed the necklace from her father and put it on. âGlad I asked your mom where you were otherwise Iâd be lost.â
âSo I didnât catch the Snatcher?â Mu asked.
Luka gulped, and shook his head. Mu sighed and cut down Luka from her trap as he landed in a hard thud. âCould you be more gentle with your traps?â Luka asked. Mu didnât reply and just marched back to camp, mumbling how she never caught the Snatcher, but her best friendâs dad.
âShould I tell her she caught the Snatcher?â Harriet asked.
Luka shook his head. âNope.â He replied.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So I have a headcanon with this AU on how time pieces with work. Instead of it being an hourglass it be a necklace, and I'll explain more of this headcanon later when I work on the next fanfic for this AU.
#doodledrawsthings#'Coffee Shop AU'#A Hat in Time Coffee Shop AU#Hat Kid#mustache girl#Bow Kid#Snatcher#The Snatcher#just three girls going camping
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I love your two Ursas analysis! If we ignore The Search and take the hints from canon, like her laughing at the siege of Ba Sing Se, do you have a HC for the night Azulon died/where she was all those years? I almost think itâs most plausible that she died or was otherwise incapacitated. And do you think she ever had a âthe FN is evilâ epiphany or it was limited to âyou canât kill Zukoâ? Do you think Ozai abused her, or was just unloving? Maybe he saw no purpose to abusing her, unlike the kids
Ah, Ursa headcanons. Everyoneâs got a set. For me, though, it was less about headcanon than it was about trying to solve the mystery I thought the AtLA cartoon had been setting up. Since âThe Searchâ revealed that there were no real answers to be had, Iâve speculated a bit on what Iâd like to see, but I havenât done much with those ideas since they by their nature contradict canon.
So, my Ursa...
A noble by birth, with her relation to Roku known but not discussed. Sozin and Azulon could have very easily made a pariah out of the family by simply ignoring them and allowing the rest of Fire Nation society antagonize them in a display of performative loyalty. However, Sozin instead reached out to Rokuâs family, explaining that Roku was a traitor but surely his family is loyal to the crown and looking to prove it to avoid any unpleasantness. They agreed, and so Rokuâs family became almost entirely dependent on the Fire Lordâs goodwill and protection. The one alliance they maintained for themselves was with the Fire Sages, as the family had been honored by them for producing the Avatar, even after Roku and Sozin had their falling out. Sozin had been politically pressuring the Sages throughout his life, trying to make them a tool of the crown, and the Sages in turn maintained good relations with Rokuâs family to try to keep some independence. Quite a few of Rokuâs family had even become Sages, over the decades.
(This didnât really work, but it left enough âgoodâ Sages in the organization that when Zuko becomes Fire Lord, he doesnât have to disband the whole organization, just purge the leadership who had been tools of his father. It very much helps that heâs a distant relation to a lot of these better sages, and that is one of the few smooth elements of his first few years in power.)
When Azulon suggested that the youngest daughter, however, would make a good match for Ozai instead of wasting her life in some dusty temple, they readily agreed and handed her over. Ursa herself was fine with this, as she appreciated the Royal Familyâs protection as much as the rest of her clan, and preferred noble society anyway. Plus, back then Ozai made an effort to be charming. Ursa herself was happy as a Fire Nation heiress, and was known to argue passionately about the need to liberate the poor oppressed women of the Water Tribes, who were owned as property by their husbands! My Ursa was a Firebender, and had trained at the Royal Fire Academy for Girls, but the strength of her flames was never matched by her skill or technique. She just never had the stomach for duels or fighting, hence leaning more towards a scholarly education and perhaps a future as a Sage. But getting to be a princess is even better, especially since the war would probably be over soon. She could help raise the Prince(ss) Governors who would rule over the colonies, influencing the world for the better. And she also found Ozai very attractive. Rawr!
Ozai himself I consider to have always been narcissistic jerk. When he was a kid and young teen, this was readily apparent. As he moved into adulthood, he learned how to hide it behind a facade, but more discerning folks could tell that he was just using friendliness and flattery to win allies. Ursa, sadly, was not that perceptive, so she rather liked Ozai, even into the first few years of the marriage.
Then Zuko came along.
Ozai was consistently disappointed in Zuko, and he blamed Ursa for that. He wasnât a full-on monster to her, and never laid a hand on her, but he no longer went to the effort of charming her. Ursa managed to fool herself about this, making excuses for Ozaiâs behavior even as their marriage cooled. She managed to stick it out long enough to produce Azula, which initially placated Ozai. Azula was everything Zuko was not. However, this did not save the marriage, because Ozai now had what he wanted, and saw no further need for Ursa. Again, he didnât bully her, but he made no effort to hide his lack of real interest in her. The marriage was soon in name only, with little interaction between them. Ursa began to see Ozai for what he was, especially with his treatment of Zuko, and began to fear the influence he was having on Azula. This distance did help shield her as Ozai grew crueler and more of a bully as his efforts gain power were thwarted by his clumsiness. The palace and Caldera City are big enough that Ursa was able to avoid him most of the time, and they never shared a suite unless actively trying to have children, even early in the marriage.
However, there was little else Ursa could do. Ozai was not favored by Azulon, but challenging the authority of anyone in the Royal Family would have brought swift and terrible reprisal. Ursa tried to shield Zuko as best she could, and continued to play the part of Wife and Princess in official appearances like social gatherings or audiences with the Fire Lord. She sometimes went over the line in trying to protect her children, which Ozai would punish with cruelties, to the point of mental and emotional abuse, and sometimes physical intimidation, but he was too careful (so far) to risk his reputation by attacking his wife. For that, Iroh was indirectly the one to thank, as he had been a loving family man before the death of his wife, which Azulon approved of, and Ozai was trying to look better than his brother in the eyes of their father.
It all eventually came to a head in events portrayed in the flashbacks of âZuko Alone.â I headcanon that Ursa outright stabbed Azulon to death, to the point where she ruined a good set of her clothes with bloodstains. And then she confessed her crime to the Crimson Guard and Fire Sages. She should have been put to death for treason and murder, and she was prepared for that, but she and Ozai had concocted a better scheme. Ursa called in every favor her family had earned from the Sages to talk to the leadership in the middle of the night. She and Ozai pointed out that Iroh had taken a dim view of the corruption of the Sages and had battled them politically, and told them bluntly that Ozai was their best bet for surviving as an organization. They suggested the Sages should lie about Azulonâs last wishes and pronounce Ozai as the next Fire Lord. In exchange, Ozai would merely banish Ursa as failure of a wife and cover up her crime, so that her family would not have to suffer shame or even outright execution for producing a regicidal traitor. No one would speak of what had happened, no one would get in trouble, and Ozai would be Fire Lord and keep the current system running smoothly. Everyone agreed.
I always figured that Ursa had to have been banished, because in the scene where she says goodbye to Zuko, sheâs wearing a dark hooded cloak. Thatâs universal visual language for âThis character is fleeing into the night.â
I also assumed that everyone (important) knew Azulon had been murdered because of the fishy way Ozai was made Fire Lord by the Sages. Even if they believed Azulon had died of natural causes, where did it come from that he had named Ozai as the new crown prince shortly before his death? I doubt a forged note that no one had ever seen before the night of the guyâs death would be considered very reliable. So I thought there had to be a conspiracy that included the Sages; they were at least in on faking Ozaiâs claim, and so why wouldnât they also be in on the murder? And once all the people in power are perpetrating a conspiracy, the evidence doesnât matter; the truth becomes whatever they want it to be.
Where Ursa goes after that, though, is a lot more nebulous. The way the cartoon finale had Zuko confront Ozai with, âWhere- is- my- mother?â implies that Ozai might actually know, or at least have an idea where to start looking. I also think it would cheapen the power of that scene to have Ozai wiggle out of giving any information. So Ozai has to give Zuko something to go on there, but he also said, âPerhaps,â when Zuko asked during the Day of Black Sun if Ursa lives. So I figure Ursa had to have been banished from the Fire Nation, and Ozai knows either where she left from or her initial destination, but nothing else.
I never formed a solid headcanon about whether Ursa is still alive, though. This is the point where my interest ends, since the comics gave us a completely different Ursa character and mystery, and I expect many Avatar fans are interested in fic that outright contradicts canon. If she lives, I think it would be more interesting if she is indeed a typical Fire Nation imperialist, but I donât think she would actively oppose Zukoâs agenda. It would simply inform their dynamic and create conflict between them. It would be a new challenge for Zuko to overcome in terms of his family. And it might even be a vector for Azula and Ursa to hash out their problems, with Ursa considering that she might almost prefer Azula to have become Fire Lord. But ultimately, Ursa could realize that Azulaâs ways are only destructive, and see that the kindness she always liked in Zuko has to extend to all people of the world, not just the Fire Nation.
But thereâs also a compelling story in Ursa being dead by the time Zuko tracks her down. Perhaps she died in the war, somehow. Whether Ursa is a racist or not doesnât matter as much in this scenario. But It could fuel Zuko��s desire to somehow reconcile with Azula, since thereâs nothing else from his past that he can save.
So thatâs the stuff I came up with.
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i, a fan of superwholock, dissect and give my opinion on the individual shows
idk i thought this would be fun and i currently have 4-5 hours to kill soooo
letâs start with
doctor who
(only new who. i have not seen the older stuff :( )
k. so. i have been a fan of this since i was pretty young. honestly i think i was a little too young to be watching it when my mom first showed me it but thatâs beside the point. basically: i really like dr who
this is probably the best show out of superwholock, both in my opinion and in general. however... i am going to be nitpicky bc why not
1. the canon.Â
(yes the example is abt a dr who episode)
in short, the canon is comprised of a) retcons and b) contradictions. im not an avid follower of canon with any media but good god nobody can keep up with dr who canon
(i am blaming moffat bc i hate him and i think a lot of it is his fault anyway)
2. representation
honestly, the representation isnât bad. however, i would describe it less as âgoodâ and more as âa good starting point.â
for example, there is quite a bit of queer rep, POC rep, and a lot of characters are women. however, while this is nice, the show could still use a lot more rep, and the rep it has currently should probably be improved upon (for example: jack harkness is NOT straight, but he falls under the âmulti-spec person wants to screw everyoneâ stereotype (i have not seen torchwood so this may be amended in that i just needed an example off the top of my head)).
3. story
some people yearn for romance. i yearn for the days when the doc would take their companion to some party, flirt with a tree, the companion almost dies while britney spears is playing in the background, etc. etc.
basically, the story starts out nice. just a bunch of goofing off, maybe a âbig dealâ thing here and there. life was fun.
then, the story changes. (this happened specifically from eleven onward, so yeah you can bet your ass im blaming moffat âcuz itâs his fault) things gradually became less fun. conspiracies ran amok; just when you thought it was over, turns out thereâs an even bigger part of this plan that what you just defeated. the doc actually started caring about the timeline (what happened to time being wibbly wobbly?) sure, there are still fun episodes where the doc and the companion(s) go out for funsies but itâs just not the same as it was.Â
4. morals
morals are good. basically:
you can have a dark past but still have a bright future, and
be kind
bonus 5. cowardice
at least one of the doctors played by one of the male actors should have worn a dress. there were plenty of opportunities but noooooo thereâs a gender binary or something (like,,, theyâre an alien????? if gender on gallifrey is the same as gender on earth i am going to fly to britain and drop kick some writers)
OVERALL
needs work, but p good and enjoyable.
~~~
now itâs time forÂ
sherlock
just. um. ohhh boy. basically
but i am going to do my best
1. representation
eugh. representation was baaaad in this. like, i think the only POC in the entire show that had any significance were the Chinese gang members and that is like,,, incredibly poor rep. i think the innkeepers in thob were gay but thatâs as far as queer rep goes. there were a few women, i would die for all of them, we need more women. also the âim a high functioning sociopathâ line makes me cringe everytime
basically this show had shit representation
2. john
okee heâs a great character right??? the common sense of the operation right??? wrong
he cheated on mary??? and we donât address it like,,, at all??? it made me so fucking mad.Â
(again fuck you moffat and gatiss probably had something to do with it too so im mad at him as well)
3. sherlock
classic âletâs make him a bitchâ mistake. needs the stick surgically removed from his ass
4. story
storyâs actually not that bad. itâs not like, great or anything but i enjoy it
bonus 5. ending
i just want to address it. i think the ending was p good and yall tjlc-ers are just upset that they didnât bang or anything. theyâre literally living in the same [two-room] flat??? and theyâre raising rosie???? TOGETHER???? like what more do you want
anyway sherlockâs ace soooo
OVERALL
eh. needs LOTS of work. i love mrs hudson tho, sheâs beautiful
~~~
and finally
supernatural
ohohoh. boooyyyy.
(plz forgive me this is so shitty but i threw it together in like,,, a minute)
1. story
aight so the first five seasons? p good. not much to say there
the other ten? the skill level of the writing went wayyyyyy down but i still enjoyed it
2. representation
this show is notorious for bad rep and for good reason. kevin, our beloved prophet and the only recurring asian-american character? dead. charlie, so nerdy and fun and also a lesbian? dead. castiel, the angel who was totally gay? dead. basically: if you find yourself in spn and you are not a straight white man, etc etc, you are going to a) die or b) die but in a worse way
3. mythology/treatment of religions
okay so. a while back i had a wicca/witchcraft hyperfixation which was closely followed by a general pagan religions hyperfixation, so i know some stuff here and there abt religions.
and good golly does this show make me MAD
why is christianity the central and most powerful religion? (i know why, itâs a rhetorical question) why do you demonize the other religions?? (again itâs rhetorical)
one thing that really annoys me is when they say something is a âpagan god.â like,,, do you know how many gods that contains??? if you didnât know, a religion is considered pagan if it isnât under the abrahamic religions umbrella. what are the abrahamic religions, you ask? well, they are christianity, judaism, and islam. literally every other religion ever is a pagan religion. so, when they say âitâs a pagan god,â i cry.
back to demonizing... they literally made a greek muse eat someone. my greek mythology phase ended a long time ago and i didnât really get into the muses but i am p sure they didnât eat people. also the fact that it makes hoodoo look dark and stuff when itâs actually more abt peace and healing... i bet ten dollars itâs because hoodoo was created by enslaved african americans
there are so many examples of this show disrespecting religions... i just canât
4. general notes
(for you himym fans: *saluting* general notes) (sorry i couldnât resist)
-the filler episodes/episodes where random shit happened were the best
-the finale memes are *chefâs kiss*
-god thereâs so much abt this show that i canât even choose bc my brain is overloading
-am i glad amara wasnât ganked at the end of s11? yes. am i happy about the dean/amara kiss? gods no
-john winchester đ¤ steven moffat: getting a spot on my âfuck youâ list
OVERALL
there is just. so much improvement needed. however if there is an absolute shit show with likeable characters i tend to gravitate to it
~~~
and for funsies letâs talk abt superwholock as a whole
-honestly im a sucker for crossover fandoms. if you scroll far enough on my blog you may find my rotbtd fanart.Â
-itâs honestly just a fun idea
-thereâs a lot of ways you could make it happen and all of them are fun
-great opportunities for rarepairs so rare no crackshipper has thought of it
~~~
aight thatâs it. thank you for reading! if you have any questions abt my opinions abt other aspects of the shows just ask, i like talking abt this
#dr-who-said... something#as a side note: if you wanna hear abt pagan religions just ask#i may not be fixated on it anymore but i still find them interesting#superwholock
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I was almost ready to comment on how this series is using single-word episode titles, just like "Smallville" did, but now we've got this mouthful playing on a book that was roughly contemporary with that show. It's pretty clunky, but whatever.Â
It's nice that this episode gave us a break from the Luthor story, choosing instead to focus on Lois's investigation and some good character moments for the Kents and Lana's family. The mantra that "life is simpler in Smallville" gets an explicit repudiation, some fences are mended, and some new mysterious antagonists are introduced.
Spoilers ahoy!Â
If not for the enormous amount of COVID-imposed lead time this series had, and the amount of time it takes to write and record and add special effects to a live-action TV show, this episode would feel like a course correction for a lot of the problems I've had with the last couple of installments.Â
I'm writing this a little longer after watching the episode than I typically have, so I'm going to go plot-by-plot rather than chronologically through the episode.Â
Painting the House: a cute scene, and a good way to remind us that, even with all the drama and the teen angst, the Kents are a loving family.Â
Jonathan & Jordan: Jordan joining the football team is a neat plot point that goes in unexpected directions, given how that kind of thing has typically played out in Superman stories. I like the way that it sets up conflict with Jonathan in the beginning, but eventually he realizes that Jordan's not trying to take away the thing that makes him feel special. Jonathan being the one to convince Clark to let Jordan playâand making the case that Jordan's abilities just even the playing field with respect to his sizeâis a good moment of solidarity and understanding for him.Â
And Jordan, for his part, really does seem like he's found what he needed. Being able to take out some aggression on the football fieldâand having Clark's supportâends up being the key to getting a handle on his anger and being able to solve some problems with kindness rather than sulking and violence. I also appreciate that at least one of our initial antagonistsâSeanâhas moved out of that role, at least for now.
Coach Clark: There have been lots of attempts over the years to saddle Superman with various character flaws, but I think the one that fits best is being overprotective. On the macro scale, you get "Must There Be a Superman" and "King of the World," and on a micro scale you get stuff like this, being a bit of a helicopter parent and nearly losing Lois early in their relationship by eavesdropping. It rings true in a way that other attempted flawsâbeing dull-witted or indecisiveâhaven't. So it's nice here to see him realize it and acknowledge his mistakes, and to realize that he doesn't have to make the same choices his father did in order to keep his kids safe. After all, Jonathan Kent I didn't have superpowers. It'll also be nice for Clark to have a place to be earnest, mild-mannered Clark Kent, since he's outside the Daily Planet environment.
Lana and Sarah: Somewhere in my drafts I have a post about poor Lana Lang, a character made to fill a nicheâthe Lois Lane analogue for Superboyâand has never had much of a life outside of that niche. Every time Lana is introduced into adult Clark's life, she has a different deal. She's a TV reporter with a British accent, she's married to Pete Ross, she's a successful engineer, but she's almost always the girl whose life fell to pieces in one way or another after Clark Kent left. It's not fair to either characterâClark's presence in a person's life should elevate them, not devastate themâand while I understand the reason for giving her a failing marriage and conflicts with her children, I do want to see Lana have a happy ending in some adaptation or incarnation.Â
Anyway, I like Sarah as a character, and it's interesting to see how her story parallel's Jordan's, with her mother's overbearing overprotectiveness leading to conflict. It creates a contrast between how Clark and Lana are handling their respective teenage offspring, and gives them a nice bonding moment. It's easy to see how these bonding moments could turn into Lana trying to rekindle the old flame with Clark, and I really hope that doesn't happen, but platonic male-female friendships are rare enough on TV that I can imagine it's hard to set one up without everyone seeing a ship setting sail.Â
Speaking of ships, I know that Jordan and Sarah are an obvious pairing, but I hope Jordan is smart enough not to try to be her rebound relationship (and ruin his reconciliation with Sean). But honestly, I kind of hope Jordan is gay or bi, giving a way to tie his feelings of being different and search for identity to the struggles queer kids commonly face in an explicit way rather than an allegorical one.Â
Seriously though, let Clark and Lois have a strong marriage that doesn't need to be threatened by the Other Woman for unnecessary drama. Let the drama build out of normal family conflicts, not tropes that were sexist and outdated when they were common in the Silver Age.Â
Lois's Story: "The news comes to Lois Lane" seems to be an ongoing theme, as the next lead in her story just walks through the door of the Smallville Gazette. Unsurprisingly for a story involving Lois Lane, this leads to a conspiracy involving disappearing workers and super-powered enforcers. Lois explicitly makes the point I said earlier, that the stories in small towns do matter, and too often get overlooked because there aren't enough reporters covering them.Â
The action scene where Lois is attacked by someone with Kryptonian-level abilities is pretty good. I always like when Superman enters a confrontation by trying to de-escalate before fighting, and I always like when Lois enters a confrontation by trying to fight before calling in the big guns. The fight between Superman and the assailant (who I think is credited as Subjekt 11, but I assumed that character was going to carry forward and, uh, doesn't look like he is) showcases both a nice escalation as Superman learns what the guy's strength is, and some nice uses of powers. The CW effects teams have gotten pretty creative over the years. The one issue I have is that Superman slams the guy through a cinderblock wall right at the start of the fight, before he's tested those abilities, and I feel like that would have done some real damage if he'd guessed wrong and the guy was a baseline human. The No-Prize Answer would be that either he scanned the guy before hitting him and knew, at baseline, that he was a meta, or that he knew Lois wouldn't call him unless she was dealing with a metahuman threat. Still, it bugs me.Â
I do hope we learn more about what Subjekt-11 was. Metahuman? Kryptonian? Some kind of experiment? I'm frankly more interested in the Morgan Edge stuff than alt-universe Luthor.Â
The woman who takes out Subjekt-11âwho I guess was also with Edge at the meeting last episodeâseems to be named Leslie Larr, no doubt a reference to Lesla-Lar, the Silver Age Kandorian villain who happened to be an exact double for Supergirl, because every major character had a double living in Kandor. Whether that means she's Kryptonian or some other swerve is something, I guess, we'll learn later.
Other: I noticed an Easter Egg that I haven't seen reported anywhere else: The Whitty Banter Show! For those who don't remember, Whitty Banter was the host of a Metropolis talk show in the 80s and 90s; there's ads for it all over the Death of Superman Newstime issue. In trying to remind myself what Easter Egg I remembered catching, I also learned that Kryptonsite still exists! What a blast from the past. There was a time, many moons ago, where that was a daily visit for me, along with the Superman Homepage.Â
And Blogger.com, for that matter. But those days are clearly far behind us.
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MY THOUGHTS ON iDKHOW'S ALBUM DEBUT: RAZZMATAZZ
So I DON'T KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME have just released RAZZMATAZZ today and heres what I think...
[SIDE A]
šLEAVE ME ALONE:
A bombastic opening track. Was released in the beginning of August...? Probably? This song just SCREAMS at you with retro futuristic funkiness. It has 8-bity flourishes in the instrumentation and seems to be maybe talking to the same person as Choke (from 1981 E.P.) and the title track Razzmatazz have been (or maybe a separate entity as suggested by the vinyl booklet and Indoctoration?).
Anyway, fantastic track, great opener, and nice mood-setter.
<><><><>
²INDOCTORATION:
It's... eerie. It's not a song in the same sense as Leave Me Alone, despite having a wobbly backing track. It's a spoken interlude that seems to be initiating you into Tellex maybe? It yet again mentions the White Shadows that will be overseeing your progress with Tellex. It seems oddly nostalgic for some reason. That's strange. Overall, solid little piece of lore building that really reinforces the concept aspects.
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ÂłMAD IQs:
It's the first song from this album that wasn't released as a single and it made my jaw literally drop. It has a similar lyrical and vocal structure to the opener and New Invention, but what I like is how much they were able to do with it, though it makes you wonder about how far apart these songs were written; but In the context of the albums concept and the Tellex stuff however, it could be interpreted as a corporate decision, this repetition. The minimal instrumentation in the verses with Ryan's sturdy drumming and Dallon's bassline makes me go fucking bananas. It's so fucking great and full of this punchy energy. And the HARMONIES. YES. "Voluntary victim~" "I'm burning~ in your mad IQs" SIR STOP BEING SO VOCALLY TALENTED. Also I think i heard him shriek right before the bridge which? Snazzy. So Mad IQs, energetic track, filled with more of iDKHOWs signature darkness.
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â´NOBODY LIKE THE OPENING BAND:
Ah yes, Opening Band. Ironic considering how often iDKHOW are the opening band, but I'm sure that's obvious, seeing how they usually sing this one at the start of their gigs. It was actually (I think) the first or second song I didn't know how but found through youtube so I might be pretty biased here. It's a sweet sounding change of pace with the instrumentation being made up of only the piano and tambourine that tells of a typical opening band, that no ones ever heard before and likely will never hear again, via a sympathetic narrator with a hint of the typical iDKHOW teasing. In all honesty, it would've worked better as the album opener, which then could've been followed by Leave Me Alone, but it's a nice change of pace overall.
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âľNEW INVENTION:
I already reviewed this song on my other blog right here so imma keep this brief. It shares similar aspects to Leave Me Alone, with the music video concept and song structure, but It manages to darken the narrative, and the choir-esq harmonies sound like ultra bright neon lights that only push this mood further. It still is a magnificent song and by far one of my favourites in the album.
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âśIN THE GALLOWS:
MASSIVE SHIFT IN STYLE HOLY FUCKOLY-. The track opens with a very cutesy old timey little piano intro and starts the verse with a little funny beat. If you don't listen to the lyrics, it sounds like a silly little oldie song. But as we all know, iDKHOW doesn't do silly. The lines "For you, I'd dieâŞď¸Or kill myselfâŞď¸which ever makes you smile," From just the first verse are a prime example of this. The narrators murderous and suicidal intentions have clouded the romantic attraction into obsession- And I kinda like that, in a poetic way. The chorus is a standout, with the calm start to the explosion in the line "I'd swing from the gallows and wave" that just swings at you with a baseball bat to the chest. Oh, and the sax solo? Magnificent. This whole song is a chefs kiss from me.
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âˇCLUSTERHUG:
I love the lyrics of this song the most of it all. It sounds like a rebellious teenager wrote it after thinking about how shit their hometown is and wanting to get out. It also incorporates how much the narrator would want to do all this with their crush, adding that slightly goofy and pretend-aloof chorus of "only if you'd like me to I could fall in love with you" as if they weren't already in love or at least that's how I see it. The vibe of this song is more pop-y than the rest of the album, but that's more likely because it was repurposed for Razzmatazz after being originally written for The Brobecks, their older band. It's a nice little tune :).
[SIDE B]
â¸SUGAR PILLS:
This. Will. Get. Stuck. In. Your. Head- and. You. Will. Like. It. Basically, just seems like a song about drugs that, for some reason, reminds me of Gorillaz (who I dont even listen to). But the BASSLINE AGAIN- Jesus help me live. It has more of that energy we saw with the first few tracks and adds even more electronic elements. It's probably my second favourite song from this album that's not a single because of how fun the chorus sounds. What else can I say? I can just imagine myself bopping to this in the car screaming 'SUGAR SUGAR SUGAR PILLS' On a hot day.
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âšKISS GOODNIGHT:
It's so sweet đĽş. It's one of those songs I could imagine a character in a movie singing to someone from a stage. If you want pretty song vibes just listen to it. Because it is a pretty song. And that's all I have to say on it. Now allow me to take a moment and shove it into my pretty song playlist that acts like my personal lullaby machine.
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šâ°LIGHTS GO DOWN:
Yes. F u n k y. Give me that sweet sweet disco energy, thank you. It's just filled with all these *â~blingy and sparkly~â* effects, and, combined with the drumming, the result is just glorious. The best part of this song is in my opinion the bridge where it goes darker lyrically and in sound that just naturally slides into another funky-ass sax solo. I can definitely see myself dancing to this at a party and then in later years growing nostalgic for those days.
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ššNEED YOU HERE:
It's supposed to be happy in tone and hopeful slightly but it just makes me sad. It's a song about how, because Dallon has to tour because it's his job, he has to be away from his family often. And he had nO RIGHT ADDING HIS DAUGHTERS VOCALS AND RECORDINGS INTO THE MIX ITS LIKE HE WANTS US TO CRY. It's not my favourite of the album, not going to lie here, but it's also such a sweet song with nice instrumentals and vibe 𼺠so that's all I'll say.
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š²DOOR:
It seems like this one was written around the time sad ukulele music was really at its peak but am I complaining? Fuck no because this song is great. It just gives it to you straight, that if the narrator ever does anything that the recipient doesn't like, they can always cut them out of their life. It's nice in that regard- you don't usually get songs that don't try to deflect the pain or gain pity. We need more of these kinds of songs. The shortness of it really adds to the effect of this being more like a regularly said thing, even though I'm always a bit sad that it ends so fast. It does, however, nicely close the near end of the album before Razzmatazz.
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š³TOMORROW PEOPLE:
Creepy Tellex thank-you note. You're welcome..? I want no part in your conspiracy tho. Go away weird American corporate man voice.
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š³RAZZMATAZZ:
And there it is. The title track. Like new inventions, I have already reviewed it here on that same blog so this will be brief also and more just thoughts. It's a great closer and is more old timey than most of the songs here as well. And with the last instrumental and sax solo, we come to the albums inevitable end... until next time.
[GENERAL THOUGHTS]
Overall, this was a fantastic little debut for iDKHOW and I loved it. So worth the pre-order. The songs were great and the lyrics were just excellent. My only real criticism is that the song order on Side A was a bit strange. I feel a way to fix this would be to throw Nobody Likes The Opening Band into the beginning, then have Leave Me Alone as a second track, and maybe even switch one of the songs on this side with one from Side B (either Mad IQs or New Invention with something else but then that would be kind of stretching it). Or maybe even switching Clusterhug with Mad IQs or New Invention could work. So in general? Razzmatazz good album. Next question.
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Thank you for reading, anyone who happens to see this and have read this. Hope you've enjoyed some of my thoughts on the debut and agreed with at least 2 points I made. See y'all on another review (or shitpost)!
-L.J
#idkhow#i dont know how but they found me#idkhbtfm#the i dont knows#dallon weekes#ryan seaman#lenas opinions#razzmatazz
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