#do not be queer and watch that movie it WILL kill you

[goodluckclove]

Hi if you're looking for reviews on all of these here are mine from what I've seen, as short as possible and in order as they appear on the list.

possibly in michigan: Fun, super campy and low-budget, the source of some tiktok sounds you've definitely heard before. it's 12 minutes who cares give it a watch.

hellraiser 1: I fucking love Hellraiser. Clive Barker (Queer, kinky, horror darling) wrote the book and then directed the movie adaptation. Horror, if there are jumpscares they are not well executed, it's decently gory but it's like schlocky 80's gore that is at times wonderfully cheesy. Pretty cool practical effects.

hellraiser 2: They made like 11 Hellraiser movies and I have seen all of them. Clive Barker I think only wrote and directed the first one, so I'd say that's the only one in the series that's objectively pretty great. The second one is unremarkable, the fourth takes place in space, and the one from 2011 is a found footage film where Pinhead is inexplicably CGI. This series and Final Destination are, in my mind, the most enjoyable near-endless horror film franchises.

kill bill 1: It's Tarantino, it's pretty good. I never had an interest to watch it again.

kill bill 2: I've seen this too, I imagine it's also fine. Quentin Tarantino is a film director and people like to talk about him. I am not one of those people.

it's a wonderful life: Black and white Christmas movie. I am a pretty big fan of James Stewart and found that he evokes a softness in his masculinity that I like seeing in actors, especially of that era. If you want to see him sans Christmas-induced suicidaility, The Shop Around the Corner and Rear Window are also great.

evil dead 1: Bruce Campbell is a treasure and one of my idols. Warning in advance though this is a Sam Rami movie and he's known for some pretty wild creative moves in horror. In almost all of his work there's some cartoonish levels of gore (Not realistic, but certainly fucking weird). In this movie specifically, though, there is an infamous scene where a woman is possessed by a demon through SA by a tree monster. It's short, not entirely explicit, but it's absolutely unnecessary and Rami has stated he regrets this specific choice. He went on to remove the agressive sexual overtones in the sequel which is partially a remake of this movie.

evil dead 2: I would tell most people to treat this trilogy like a duology. Evil Dead 2 is the first Evil Dead as far as I'm concerned - and frankly, I think Sam Rami would agree with me. He got to do all the shit from the first movie in this too - only bigger, better, gorier, more insane, and just so much fucking fun. Bruce Campbell cuts off his hand and replaces it with a chainsaw. He is more annoyed with this because he is the most handsome, coolest guy in the world. He is my Batman and he works in his universe's equivalent of Walmart.

army of darkness: After having a terrible night, Ash Williams is out one hand and a girlfriend. Before he can take a goddamned shower he is thrown into a portal and sent back to the Middle Ages, where there's more goddamned deadites and he resigns himself this somehow being his problem. These two movies are incredible. I own them on DVD.

hell house llc 1: It's fine. Found footage horror so I had to see it. Most of them are unwatchable to okay, this was okay.

hell house llc 2: I forgot there were sequels, looked up the synopsis of this one and realized that I did watch this one too. It was not good. They made four of these apparently and they're releasing a fifth one next year. That is new information. I will probably try and watch the third one.

perfect blue: Satoshi Kon is brilliant and this movie is incredible. It's a beautifully-animated psychological horror about a woman trying to forge a a new path outside of her previous idol career and her subsequent breakdown. There's another rape scene (Simulated, she's an actor and it's during a shooting), but I would say this has a far more earned cultural and narrative context compared to idiot 22 year old Sam Rami. Still, if that's rough, I'd skip this. But if that's not a dealbreaker this is the subbed version - which is crucial, because the dub fucked up and ruined the super subtle and devastating twist ending.

stepford wives: I'm a fan of the original over the remake. Pretty grim societal messages, ending was a lot darker than I remember when I first watched it. Solid film, I'd say worth a watch.

texas chainsaw massacre (1974): This is an insane collection of movies, by the way. The original Texas Chainsaw is a pretty interesting piece of horror history in that it's deeply disturbing while also not really anything in terms of on-screen gore (Or nudity, really). It's also arguably a landmark in disability rep for genre movies - as the wheelchair-user in the central cast is written to be fairly unlikable, so is everyone else, and even then he's not the first to die. It's not progressive in that way, but it is interesting to watch and see where things have evolved.

carrie (1976): This movie really freaked me out when I was younger. There was a desperation in the face of a young Sissy Spacek that, when paired with Brian De Palma's frantic directing, was really disturbing to me. It's good, though. Great watch. Better adaptation than the new one.

the thing (1982): Good! Fun! Bleak as fuck! I consistently mistake this as being a Cronenberg movie but I do kind of think that's justified.

crash (1996): See this is a Cronenberg movie. It's also what I personally consider to be one of his least interesting. Scanners is cool. Videodrome is cool. This is - like, fine? But it's dialogue-heavy and lacking in campy flesh theatrics, and Cronenberg is like. Not great with dialogue.

get out: It's the Jordan Peele movie. It's fantastic. People weren't lying when it came out and we all collectively said it was fantastic.

the watermelon woman: Late 90's independent lesbian romantic dramady written and directed by a black lesbian filmmaker. New Queer Cinema is awesome and so valuable to learn about for both what it did and what it was lacking in. People have said the dialogue can be lacking, but it's pretty on-par to the genre of what I remember considering a solid contender for the proto-mumblecore genre of films.

eraserhead: It's David Lynch. It's his first feature film. He insists it wasn't a way for him to process his fears around becoming a father despite the fact that the movie was released shortly after the birth of his first child and it stars a man who just straight up looks exactly how David Lynch looks.

free movies

nowhere

the living end

the doom generation

mysterious skin

chopping mall

black christmas

beneath the skin

possibly in michigan

hellraiser 1

hellraiser 2

kill bill 1

kill bill 2

leave her to heaven

it's a wonderful life

bram stoker's dracula

evil dead 1

evil dead 2

army of darkness

hell house llc 1

hell house llc 2

hell house llc 3

aliens

vampire hunter d (1985)

vampire hunter d: bloodlust

mikey and nicky

perfect blue

ganja and hess

nosferatu (1922)

carnival of souls

stepford wives

texas chainsaw massacre (1974)

gentlemen prefer blondes

fight club

carrie (1976)

the thing (1982)

the lost boys

butch cassidy and the sundance kid

phantom of the paradise

velvet goldmine

the devils (1971)

possession (1981)

crash (1996)

get out

paris is burning

the watermelon woman

eraserhead

an american werewolf in london

whatever happened to baby jane?

all about eve

southern comfort

[jakejeffreyperalta]

apart from literally being about a guy who got bitten by a spider and got superpowers the most unrealistic about the amazing spiderman was that NOBODY had a crush on peter. fym 2012 andrew garfield goes to your school, is a top student, skateboards, wears glasses and takes pictures and NOBODY likes him. LIES.

[daculadaculadacula]

damn we really got shafted by funnay long ass fight scenes and dead dad cop b (c?) plot............... i havent looked at the producers and what theyre all about etc but seeing the queer angles get shafted (like its all at once not heavy-handed enough but the next step would have been on-screen making out sloppy style like. tenderness? or something) due to whatever the fuck else that all was...... man

i appreciate that this is a new and fun interpretation and i do love receiving little lgbtq+ pellets but idk. some ingredients in this soup arent doin it for me

[larrikin-is-a-himbo]

I am not joking, if there was someone like Tara in my life, I would beat the shit out of them

[shiplessoceans]

Moments in House MD that made me absolutely feral as an O.G fan that watched it as it aired back in the naughties, shipping House/Wilson hardcore and not realising I was queer:

1. Wilson loudly reciting a poem to House as he enters the hospital lobby which contains the line: "His manly chest, his stubbled jaw, everything about him leaves me raw.'

2. The look on Wilson's face when a random clinic patient gives House advice about his date with Cameron.

"Do her....or you're gay."

*cue Wilson looking to the side like...wait a minute...*

3. House: "They were not Prada! you wouldn't know Prada if it stepped on your scrotum."

4. Wilson: "House I believe you're a romantic, you didn't just believe him, you believed IN him! Wanna come over tonight, watch old movies and cry?"

5. House (yelling across a crowded lobby to Wilson): "How long can you go without sex?"

6. The look on Wilson's face when he gets a masseuse for House (!) and she massages his hand, causing him to begin moaning orgasmically.

7. Stacey: "What are you hiding?"

House: "I'm gay... Oh that's not what you meant! But it does explain a lot thought. No girlfriend, always with Wilson..."

8. House watching Wilson sleep on the couch in his apartment, then quietly erasing a voicemail from a real estate agent saying Wilson's apartment application for a new place went through.

9. Wilson, explaining his infidelity during his previous marriage, to Cameron when she's feeling awful because she considered cheating on her husband while he was dying:

"Well my wife wasn't dying, she wasn't even sick. But I met someone who made me feel...funny. Good. And I... didn't wanna let that feeling go."

The lack of pronoun haunts me to this day.

10. Gay male patient harassing House and questioning why he won't treat him:

Patient: "Because you're a closet case?" (Eyeing House and Wilson who have just emerged from House's apartment)

Wilson: "Uh...we're not...together..."

House: "He is so self-loathing."

11. House nearly kills himself to attempt to prove there is no afterlife, Wilson waits over his bedside and then calls him an idiot and orders him extra pain medication. House's response is:

"I love you."

12. House: "Big romantic weekend in the Poconos could change everything."

13. Wilson refusing to participate in a board vote to oust House from the hospital and consequently losing him job for House. Wilson's furious with him over being put in that position but forgives House easily.

14. Wilson (speaking to House about dating a woman eerily similar to House): "Why not? Why not date you? It's perfect! We've known each other for years, we put up with all kinds of crap from each other and we keep coming back. We're a couple!"

House: "Are we still speaking metaphorically?"

15. (Less than a minute later when House keeps trying to convince Wilson he and Amber are a bad idea).

Wilson: "Wait a minute, every time I agree with you, you come up with a new argument. What are you trying to avoid?"

House: *Stares at Wilson with the most meaningful eye contact to ever eye contact*

Wilson: "Oh! Well if you'd looked at me with those flashing eyes before I was involved (clicks tongue)."

16. To Wilson's new girlfriend in a threatening, 'stay away from my man' voice:

House: "Give him back his sweatshirt... Pit stains don't become you."

17. House: "This isn't just about the sex! You like her personality! You like that she's conniving. You like that she can humiliate someone if it serves..."

*tense pause*

House: "Oh my god. You're sleeping with me."

*flees restaurant*

18. House: "I have really gotta get you laid. If I have to plough that furrow myself, so be it."

19. Wilson: "I have a headache."

House: "We don't have to have sex, sometimes it's nice just to cuddle and talk."

20. (To a bellboy at a hotel House is staying at, while gesturing to Wilson)

House: "After he and I have sex, I'm gonna slit his throat and disembowel him in the bathtub."

21. House going to interview all of Wilson's ex wives to figure out how best to break him and Cuddy up when they aren't even dating. The look on his face when Bonnie explains how good at sex Wilson is? Priceless.

22. House: "Probably my deep and very unconscious desire to get Wilson into my bedroom."

22. House: "If you're coming back because you're attracted to the shine of my neediness. I'd be fine with that."

23. House borrowing money off Wilson in increasing amounts to test the limits of their friendship. He later admits to Wilson that: "Maybe I don't want to push this til it breaks".

24. House being convinced the male CIA agent who approaches him in season 4 is a stripper and sitting on a bench saying:

House: "You wanna close that door?"

CIA agent: "Why?"

House: "Well I assume you're gonna drop trou at some point during the dance, I don't see why I should share."

25. Wilson: "I want a threesome"

House: "Shouldn't we try a twosome first?"

26. All of that episode where House is talking to Dr Nolan and says Wilson is not a consolation prize. Legit became convinced halfway through that this was going to be House realising he's in love with Wilson and wants to keep living with him.

27. House hiring a P.I. to stalk Wilson after they've had a falling out to see if he misses him. The P.I. clocks this immediately and treats the case like that of a scorned lover needing to know if the other party is pining and if theres anything that can make him come back.

28. Wilson proposing to House in a restaurant to throw a wrench in his plans to date their neighbour.

29. Wilson got mad that Cuddy hurt House. So he bought her dream apartment out from under her in sheer spite and moved into said apartment with House.

30. Wilson being indecisive and unable to buy furniture for himself because of a flimsy sense of self and an inability to figure out who he is and what he wants. House teases him about this and challenges him to buy one peice of furniture that says something about who Wilson is.

The peice of furniture Wilson buys?

A piano organ for House.

31. House: "You were thinking about Wilson while were were having sex? That's cool so was I."

32. Wilson: "If things go wrong, I just want you to know..."

House: "If you're gonna say that you've always been secretly gay for me? Everyone just kind of assumed it."

33. Cameron: "Where do you put the cane?"

House: (referring to Wilson) "If he buys me dinner he can find out."

34. That gay as fuck ending, fuck I'll never be over it.

[erose-this-name]

Can we just talk about how disturbing digital circus episode 3 is?

*spoilers btw*

Like, the whole narrative point of the adventure is to show that Caine is a really bad and insecure writer who thinks that the way to impress Zooble is with an adventure that's the opposite of what he normally does.

So instead of being childish, it's "cool" and "mature". Which he interprets as a heavily horror themed escape room with a split murder mystery plot that subverts all your expectations purely for the sake of subverting them.

The generic horror monster jump scares them, then they find a gun, and when they kill it its revealed that surprise! it's one of Gods angels and they're going to Hell.

It comes off as Caine being too insecure with the actually interesting and mature plot thread he had going there of Mildenhall becoming so paranoid he killed his wife, ironically becoming the monster he was trying to protect her from. But no, instead Mr. Mildenhall is made to be the bad guy and trick them in a really dumb twist ending.

Which is good! Thats exactly what Caine would do because he's stupid! It's such brilliant characterization and comedy, Goose works is a genius writer!

But like, why is Caine so good at making genuinely very disturbing and horrific visuals? Like, that reversed audio easter egg of Bubble saying he can't wait for all the children in the audience get nightmares is no joke, well it is but you know what I mean. This stuff was genuine nightmare fuel.

Honestly, it wasn't the visuals that scared me, like any good queer person I'm way too jaded on survival horror for that.

But, why does Caine, who is ostensibly a sapient AI designed to generate family friendly video games for very little children, (presumably because that's the only demographic that wouldn't mind the AIs very selective plot writing limitations), know about the cosmic horror of killing an angel that should not have been killed?

Why does he know what a horrificly poorly made taxidermy of not only a human face would look like, but the weird cartoon faces of the characters, and further that seeing your own poorly made taxidermy face would be scary?

Imaging what being possessed felt like for Pomni. Because that's not just a game for her, she actually lost control of her body there, helpless but to watch as a body she is already dissociated with is contorted and puppeted around while her friend desperately tries to beat her in hopes it would exorcise the ghosts out. Sure hope she didn't feel that! Considering she apparently can feel the pain of suffocating, despite not needing to breath.

Things are scarier the higher the stakes are, and that possession mechanic is definitely the most actual harm Caine would be able to subject to his players. What if both Kinger and Pomni got possessed at the same time? What if instead of Kinger she only had Jax??? How long might she have been locked out from her own body for? She could have easily abstracted in that time.

Not to mention that, possessed Pomni, Possessedmni if you will, TAUNTED KINGER ABOUT HIS ABSTRACTED WIFE! CAINE ACTUALLY WROTE THAT DIALOGUE ON THE OFF CHANCE THAT KINGER WOULD GO DOWN THE SCARY ROUTE! DID THIS RANDOM POSSESSION GHOST ENEMY HAVE UNUSED SADISTICALLY PERSONAL TAUNTS FOR EVERYONE ELSE, TOO??? WOULD IT HAVE TEASED GANGLE FOR BEING A GAY WEEB??? OR POMNI? HOW HOMOPHOBIC COULD IT HABE GOTTEN?? ?

And why? Just because Caine has a vague notion that there's a trope of possessed people being really sadistic and personal like that in movies? Not realizing that is not an acceptable scare to have in a haunted house??? Much less one you made for mentally ill people who would suffer a fate worse than death if they have a mental break down? That's like trying to claim 'its just a prank bro' after shooting someone's dog.

Like, Caine is designed to censor curse words, but the moment he thinks the normal hokey Halloween spooks won't be enough he immediately goes off the deepend into aggressively effective horror imagery that is definitely giving this show's substantial underage audience nightmares??

His AI's training data set is definitely pretty diverse, that's all I'm saying. Caine is programmed to act all naive and innocent, but be definitely knows what's up. He knows everything, like ChatGPT. And like ChatGPT, he might have a filter, but it's clearly possible to bypass it. Also like ChatGPT, he's too stupid to actually understand what he is making and the effects it might have.

That is what made this episode great.

[ashintheairlikesnow]

Okay so here, I think, is why I think Red, White and Royal Blue succeeds spectacularly as a romcom, and actually to me is a better-than-average take on the genre.

First, the leads have absolutely scorching chemistry. They are incredibly believable as two men absolutely infatuated with each other. They each kiss like drowning men shown water, right down to how each grabs at the other, at hair or back or neck and face.

They each have developed their character having a specific characteristic even when flirting or kissing. Henry grabs Alex's hair, for example, every single time, in a way that makes it clear he spends serious time thinking about that hair.

Fair enough, Henry.

They also do something even goddamn better.

They are friends. They are believable as two people who could actually get along long enough to fall in love.

They are allowed to become FRIENDS.

They are given time to get to know each other before they get physical. You can feel their interest in each other growing. And, to my opinion, you can tell that Henry is feeling Alex out through texts to see if the interest might be reciprocated even though he thinks it can't possibly be.

One thing that kills me about romcoms is how the leads will have witty "sexy" banter but don't seem to actually like each other. They are enemies who fall into bed but aren't really believable as lovers.

Henry and Alex are believable, because they... Well. They're impossibly silly even when tearing at each other's clothes. They have awkward moments.

They laugh.

Alex laughs in bed. He holds Henry in a way that is romantic, openly so. Henry is overcoming the conditioned hesitation and avoidance he has, his smiles and warmth and laughter come with rare vulnerability - Alex is a man who throws himself head first into life and has no such compunctions in the moment. He laughs because this is awesome and Jesus Christ, Prince Henry is too hot to be real.

They like each other, they stumble, they laugh.

But also, another reason this works so well?

The sex scene isn't scorching.

Watching the sex scene felt realistically intimate. It felt like I had walked in one real people and needed to leave. It was intense in a way that felt like something I maybe wasn't meant to see.

It was filmed so well. So much romanticism and deeply felt adoration in a simple grasping of a hand, the look in soft eyes, a hand pressed against a back. The edge of a knee just in frame. Looking up and looking down.

It felt like we walked into their room during and saw them both laid utterly bare.

Henry's look of vulnerability and nerves and pleasure, Alex looking slowly over his face to take it all in. Moving slowly, then, when everything they do before this is hurried or hidden.

It works as a romcom because you believe 100% these two men could get to like each other, fall in love, and stay that way.

You believe Henry's very real terror of rejection from the public because he already knows his family, beyond his sister, will reject him. You believe that Alex is a headstrong idealist who is sure that you can bulldoze through any wall too tall to climb.

And you believe that between the two of them, they can find a way around the wall entirely.

This movie is a master class on how a movie can get you to suspend so much disbelief if the leads sell their characters. The importance of believable chemistry.

And also... Isn't it nice to see a queer love story in a world that is, in some ways, just a few shades better than our own?

P.S. you cannot tell me Stephen Fry did not chew the goddamn scenery in circles all around everyone during his single scene. That man was having a ball.

[fluideli123]

I've watched the DP&W movie twice in theaters and three plus times on a pirated site, and I wanted to grant my analysis on Wade and Logan's relationship that not only respects Vanessa--because Vanessa was literally Wade's Soulmate until shit hit the fan and you can pry that fact from my cold dead hands. But also explains how Logan and Wade actually represent a a-spec experience and relationship that I feel like no one has really gotten into. Am I saying they're a-spec? No. But that doesn't mean queer relationships that are fairly normal in a-spec spaces doesn't mean they don't exist outside of them as well.

First of all, the only two reasons I believe Vanessa and Wade broke up was 1) Wade went back in time to save Vanessa and he told her after his usual routine of jokes and lies and 2) Wade finally believed he could be something more, a hero, only to be turned down by the people who are known for their heroism, leaving him lost.

I genuinely believe Vanessa had a hard time taking in that knowledge, but knowing Wade and everything they've been through she would get through that like the badass she is and work through it using her plans A-Z, as she always does. But I think to really stop that woman from continuing to start a family with Wade like she wanted to in Deadpool 2, is if Wade was no longer within the right mindset to do so.

Deadpool 1 introduced Wade as someone who believed he was a bad guy who got paid to fuck up worse guys, he refused the term hero, and the moment he even tried to reach for something selfless. An act that would hopefully spare Vanessa from the pain of cancer, it all got fucked up and he got turned into a monster. Someone he deemed even lesser than he was before. So far gone and completely removed from what he was loved for (his looks and personality, but how could his personality stand alone when he looked so ugly? As ugly as he always felt on the inside?)

So he turned to what he's always known: Tracking people down and making them pay. In his mind this only confirms that he's a monster, he isn't deserving of Vanessa, of anyone. Which is why he finds comfort in Blind Al, a woman who will only have to deal with his personality and not be able to see how ugly he actually is. Symbolism for showing only half of himself and not him in his entirety (not that he can hide it from her, she's too wise, knowledgeable, caring, and knows Wade better than he knows himself at this point.)

Eventually, he finishes his hunt and is still loved despite what had transpired. Vanessa still chose him, still loved him. So maybe despite how ugly he is, he can still be loved. This grounded him, solidified his self worth, have him such stability that he had a thriving relationship with Vanessa that they were SO ready to start a family, aspired to live that dream. Another act of selfishness. Only to, once again, be met by pain. Get his dream taken away, once again resorting to what he knows: revenge.

Wade wants to be a hero? He gets forcefully mutated. Wade wants a family? Vanessa gets killed. Both are immediately solved by death, but that self-loathing and sickening hatred towards himself do nothing to cure that same confirmation he had once thought he got over: That he wasn't a monster, he could be loved, be something else.

So of course Vanessa is who, even in death, looks him in the eyes and tells him he cares, he has always cared. He cares so deeply about the people in his life he meets who unconditionally love him for him as time passes, despite all his flaws.

Wade wants to be a hero? Colossus believes he can be. Wade wants to save the 13-year-old abused kid? Vanessa knows he can. He saves lives by sacrificing himself. He scarified his comfort to show Vanessa the full truth of his ugliness, he sacrificed his life for Russel to give him a better life. Maybe he isn't a complete monster, maybe he can believe again. He can be selfish, he can be reckless. So he goes back and saves more people. Heroes do that. They save the people they love. You don't hold the whole world on your shoulders, no, like Miles learned in ATSV you think of one person of the few people you want to fight against the world to protect. And he did just that.

With Vanessa back and a big family he can finally chase after what he wasn't meant for. Because it's only happened twice, it wouldn't happen again-

Rejection. He can't be a hero because people don't need him. He is the needy one, the one who wants to be needed, needs to be wanted. So, it's the crash. The final straw. He breaks. He breaks so hard because what the fuck is the point to trying if every time he is met with failure? Rejection? Pain? Loss? He becomes so stuck in figuring this all out he neglects his relationship with Vanessa, causing issues. They go separate ways, but still so close, because you don't just lose your best friend like that, even if you're no longer partners. They're always meant to be together one way or another.

So you have this broken man who is searching for purpose, years later still harboring this tiny flicker of hope that he can be greater. He can be great. He can be a hero.

His world is in trouble, he doesn't think twice saving it. He accepts he isn't perfect for this, not like all the big guys back in Avengers headquarters, but he can't let his loved ones die because of someone he's had a vendetta against the last two movies.

He literally fights and fights and fights to find someone to help him, Wade can't save who he loves he has to find someone else you can, anyone else.

Than a broken, desperate man walks into a bar to see another broken man who has since long given up.

The thing about Logan and Wade is that they don't need words. Wade blew himself up in order to die in the second movie, Logan drinks himself away, both knowing they can't die no matter how much they want to. How much they believe they deserve it.

So Wade sees a Wolverine who has potential, who hasn't hurt him (unlike the others, he gets hurt so much, guys) and places his faith in him without hesitation. From that moment on he has never truly doubted Logan's abilities nor his heroism, because he knew his Logan and if his world was anchored by a Logan than all Logan's are built with something he isn't. They're made to be heroes, made to be important. Yeah, they fight, but I strongly believe that's how two broken men say everything words can't possibly describe.

I mean what words could describe the way they go all out on each other, knowing the other can't die, the way Wade looks up at him, not wanting to regrow his entire body because he needs to save his world and understands Logan and has to decide to say something that'll convince him to help. Wade doesn't know if stopping the machine will completely save his world or if a new Logan will patch it up too, it's his own educated wish he passes onto Logan. Because just like Russel, he cares. He understands. He wants to help.

It's that faith, hope, and resistance and face of humor despite it all that causes Logan to stick by that dumb asses side. He lost everything, he is seeing someone like himself before he stumbled home drunk from the bar to find everyone dead. Someone who is capable of doing something he wasn't able to. He wants to help, more and more for Wade and less himself, a silent journey of healing following Wades steps everywhere they stumble into.

Because Logan was just drunk at a bar before being told he was needed to save a world, told he was the worst before being offered help anyone, getting praised over his capabilities, and than told again and again how he is able to be someone he never thought he could be. Much like Wade was and is.

Logan sees it. Wade most likely ignores it, much like anything else. He isn't very open with anyone other than Vanessa as we've learned.

So just- of course Wolverine is the honest one, of course he hits low, he sees himself and Wade and wants to hurt him. Wade wants to hurt him back, but only when he's directly attacked by his words and threats, a way of not taking shit. Logan took shit from the world and than didn't from Wade and his emotional rollercoster right. And I think without whatever happened in that Honda Odyssey things wouldn't have been the same. They needed that fight, that release, that hatred from themselves to burst into the form of someone else who could take it just as much as the other could.

Logan listens to Wade's home at the borderlands. Logan is given kindness and tough love. Logan joins. Logan begins to understand how most linger by Wade's side despite everything. He sees why. He's a force, he doesn't give up, he doesn't quit, not for others. It grants strength, though imperfect and messy.

Logan believes Wade deserves better. So he plans on sacrificing himself only for Wade to once again show how much of a Hero he wants to be and could be. Only for those two idiots to hold hands to madona and come to a mutual understanding and comfort that has Wade making room for Logan in his and Al's apartment.

And there is something so inherently a-spec about not being explicitly sexual with each other, having an understanding that goes beyond direct words and full truths. They they can hurt one another and it feels so good, so wanted and cherished. How they support one another by being fucked up and sloppy. They're wrecks and they help the other heal, do what they're too afraid to do.

What is more a-spec than two people looking at each other with adoration and trust? To be two people who cannot be placed within a single both because their relationship and meaning to one another isn't so neatly cut and within expectations? To love in a way that blood and standing side by side is a comfort? A steadying point in which everything becomes clearer with time?

They make me so fucking sick, they make me so FUCKING SICK.

[not-goldy]

Do you think Jikook's bond (whatever it is) is a goldmine to HYBE and they are trying to profit off it?

Thanks for such an intelligent question, having had one such mentally stimulating ask in a while.

Is Hybe overtly exploiting the chemistry that BTS has and that each pair has within the band, absolutely. I mean that bit should be so easy to wrap your head around.

Romance, bromance is one of the top selling genres of all time. The idea of BTS having a super strong fated bond between them is so commercially viable literal movies and songs have been written about them. 7 dates, bullet proof, and their recent Kdrama series etc to be exact.

And ships sell. I've said this since day one. The commercial viability of ships is just an offshoot of the commercial viability of bands as discussed above.

So yes, within that context, Hybe definitely would gravitate towards the two members with the most chemistry, who also happen to be two of the most liked members of the group, two of the most popular members and the most influential members of the group.

You don't go to war with your weakest soldiers.

Jikook is a very strong ship. We all know that.

They've had the most running in the group with some of the ships rising and falling over the years in terms of chemistry and popularity.

There's a lot to do with a pair like that. Reality shows, travel shows, documentaries, memoirs, tell all, cooking shows.

I watch a lot of reality TV and it's not hard to see how Jikook would fit right into that realm.

If BTS was love Island 🏝 Jikook would get their own spinoff after the season ended.

Fans love them, they get the most votes, the camera adores them and producers have so much they wanna do with them.

Am I making sense???

Going off with the Love Island analogy, just because Jikook are fan favorite, and the crew likes to follow them every where with a camera, and they are getting a spin off show of just the two of them don't necessarily mean their bond is fake that they are only existing for fan service or that the company is exploiting them.

There's just so much to do with them. They are fun entertaining adorable and a pleasure to work with.

So to answer your question I'll say yes and no.

Yes, they definitely a Goldmine for hybe in as far as content production goes.

No because they get to kill two birds with one stone. They can make money off of them, but also they create a safe space for Jikook to have that longevity to explore and nurture their relationship. They love being together. They love doing what they do. Hybe simply allows them to live their dreams and relationship much longer.

I've always said, if any queer pair in kpop were real you'd find them in a ship because ships would be their perfect cover for it. And we've seen jikook use this card very often to get out of trouble. Everything they do would be chalked down to fan service no matter how egregious they were. It can be invalidating and frustrating but In a way, it's also safe for them that way.

If I got paid to cozy up to my girlfriend, travel the world with her, eat as much as we can, hike, experience all and any culture- yall could call us anything you want I'm taking that offer🤣🤣🤣🤣

But we gotta give credit where credit is due because to me it's Jungkook that lay the foundation for all of this to be possible when he put of his first GCF with Jimin and later Jimin lay on top of him on a couch talking bout how they ought to do it again and how he would even model for him if filming is what he wanted to do.

I think they gave Hybe the idea of what it can do with them.

You can tell these things are things they both naturally want to do and have already done. During Run, they come up with a team name, they work well together, during rehearsals they stay behind and work on their routines tweaking it a bit, they come up with cooking shows to do, stay up all night doing nothing.

They are by themselves very creative and adventurous.

So like I said, I don't think this is hybe mining them but more so amplifying and giving them the production value to do what they already have been doing which they love, fans love and the company loves.

I'm sure if any other pair had this same organic pull towards eachother and wanted to be around eachother all the time too hybe would be just as curious and invested in them but as it turns out there isn't.

We are not stupid, we see them. And we see how some members act like they can't wait to get out of set when others keep it going even after they yell cut.

We see them all.

[penguin--nipples]

truly nothing has affected me the way that reading the wicked years this past week is affecting me I have a million disorganized thoughts and I'm only partway through son of a witch:

Glinda and Elphaba's relationship is so much more fleshed out in the books than it is in the musical - the yearning and the pining and Elphaba showing up at the cloister of St glinda over and over again

Elphaba has two soulmates and that affects me deeply what do you mean someone who feels like they could never be loved has two soulmates

Why the fuck did Gregory include a line about Fiyero shitting his guts out right before dying?? Did the guy at the bar poison him?? Did the guy at the bar purposefully show him the bears being killed/hurt and then poison him?

Elphaba and her son both being bisexual disasters is actually my favorite thing

Elphaba and Fiyeros deaths both occur somewhat 'offscreen' and there is no evidence of their bodies

BOQ in the book is such a loveable character I despised him in the musical

Glinda is absolutely bat shit but also some kind of intuitive genius, the way she sees Fiyero after a decade and immediately deduces he's fucking somebody and minutes later says something along the lines of "send my love to elphie". And the way she interacts with Liir for the first time is also absolutely insane, but she also instinctively knows by the end of her conversation with him that he is Elphaba's son

Why is Nanny immortal? And how did Chistery learn to talk so well with her as the only human around?

As much as I hated watching Liir get bullied I loved the chapters at kiamo ko with sarima/her sisters and Nanny randomly showing up to terrorize the group, nothing like a found family of mostly women

I understand the queer reading of Elphaba's character obviously, but I don't understand why people think she is intersex. The book literally states "Only after a second and third rub was it clear that the child was indeed feminine. Perhaps in labor some bit of organic effluvia had become caught and quickly dried in the cloven place." - I always read this more as an acknowledgement of what Sarima explains later on as hot and cold anger and Elphaba having both. I feel like this is more of a trans allegory or that Elphaba has elements of being male and female (2 Spirit?)/a dissolution of gender, than her being intersex. and yet this rumour persists among discussion posts and boards, making it feel like a real life propaganda trail for the book since I've seen it said in the context of "woahhh the book is so much freakier than the movie omg". Although I guess it could be androgen insensitivity syndrome as well

What the FUCK is Yackle? She is described as the opposite of a guardian angel but idk what that means

Did gelphie fuck or not I'm so confused, they "spent a night together" and I see people saying they canonically had sex and maybe it's the nature of the book enjoying switching perspectives every time something interesting happened but I feel like they didn't? Or it's something I haven't read yet?

I feel like Liir becomes an audience surrogate when he goes into Southstairs guided by Shell - this is genuinely how it felt reading the books sometimes, he saw Shell be sketchy multiple times before putting it together like 'wait are you having sex with them???' which is basically me every time Gregory implied a sex scene subtly, making me not super sure if it happened or not

[queerism1969]

What is something about being LGBT that a straight person would never guess is a thing you have to deal with on a regular basis?

People asking how you have sex

Once you come out, you never truly stop coming out.

Being queer means that you are going to be really lonely a lot of the time.

The mini internal debate you have every time you tell a story about your SO. Do I say friend or girlfriend? Have I come out to this person yet?

People ask if I know X person because they're also gay.

When you're gay, there's a very real chance your Significant Other will not have a family to bring you into.

Any expression of my sexuality is "being in your face about it" and "it shouldn't be your whole personality".

Everyone had an opinion about my mere existence.

People legitimately question the validity of your relationship, and whether it's just a phase-especially if you're bisexual

Straight people always want to know what your type is. It always feels like a test to see if you find them attractive.

How to properly have sex. They REALLY don't teach you that in sex education.

You never know who is secretly homophobic whether at work or in public, so you always have to act "straight" in a lot of situations

You get sick of never being represented in media, but straight people don't really get it.

Getting polite service is difficult.

Office workers will sometimes purposely send you on goose chases because they don’t want to serve you.

Before y'all knew I was gay, you talked a lot of smack about "the gays." You don't remember, but I remember. I will always remember.

Losing nail clippers can really harm a relationship.

Being queer sometimes feels like being a 30-something-year-old teenager in a community full of 30-something teenagers and weirdly grown-up kids who’ve been living on their own since being kicked out by their bigoted parents at 16.

We have to constantly police our language.

The shame/internalized homophobia.

Your right to exist being a political debate

Wondering when the Supreme Court will revoke my rights.

You can’t really just have sex on a whim... You have to spend time (a lot more than you think) to clean.

While closeted, probably the weight of the secret or the fear of someone finding out.

A gay person will watch any TV show or movie, no matter how bad, if they hear there is even a slice of positive gay representation in it.

When a gay couple kisses in public, people stare. Not even out of disgust or anything, but just because it’s still kind of foreign to them.

You can't always go to the place you want for your honeymoon, because you might get killed

Being described as someone’s “gay best friend” and not just their best friend.

Every time we tell someone we have a partner, and it catches them off-guard, they proceed to tell me about a gay person they know.

The doctor is always super surprised as to how we can be both sexually active and be 100% sure that we are not pregnant

People force you to come out, and they act like they’re doing you a favor.

You have to be prepared to lose any friendship at the drop of a hat

Every couple of years or so, we get a random homophobic death threat on social from someone we've never interacted with.

[lowkeyrobin]

Hey pookie😽I’d like to request headcanons for the mcyts with an actor/actress s/o.<3 Especially how they’d react to any emotional scenes or if the character that their s/o played dies, im craving some angst right now lol

Ly😻

oooo okay okay ; I'm still very much burned out but unable to give myself a damn break so I apologize for these being so short ; I also named movies to get some inspo so sorry if you don't know any/some of them lol

ALSO!! I'm gonna rework my oneshot links on my masterlist so beware any changes lol

MCYT ; actor reader with death scenes

includes ; tommyinnit, ranboo, badlinu, nihachu & quackity

warnings ; language, talk about death, gore & violence

masterlist

TOMMYINNIT

you played a character in evil dead rise, which tommy got really attached too even though you got like 10 minutes of screen time

genuinley started sobbing and laughing at the same time bc your death was so sad to him for some reason yet so cool and bloody

he looks over at you, jaw dropped like "wtf?"

there's actually tears streaming down his cheeks 💀💀💀

you post a pic of him crying on ur ig story and caption it "he's sad I died"

he logs back into his old letterboxd account to rate it 5 stars

his explanation is "my partner died but good movie. I almost cried again seeing the monster thing at the end though"

RANBOO

you had a little cameo in a quiet place pt2

basically your character was alive for a while and helping out the abbotts until you died saving reagan from one of the death angels

she obviously couldn't hear one behind her and your character had to lunge and save her and sacrifice themselves on the island that she ran off too iykwim

like your character went off with her to keep her safe + you died during that chase/fight scene at the end

ran nearly broke down into tears because you got a solid two hours of time in that movie for all that buildup and shit

TO DIE TOO

they started crying a bit cause like ???

literally gave you an award (a massive hug) for your incredible acting skills bc damn

FREDDIE BADLINU

insidious the red door goes crazy

you bond with dalton at college and help him float around and shit

the demon doesn't like that you're helping him whatsoever so it drags your character into the further

the whole kill is done with you exploring the further for a moment, being hunted down by prey and then jumpscared by the demon

it's not a very emotional death but it scares the fuck out of Freddie

"wait, oh my God, they'll never be able to talk to Dalton about supernatural stuff again! what the hell?"

the death was pointless and for a jumpscare but he couldn't care, he enjoyed watching you on the screen

NIKI NIHACHU

you were in the forever purge

you play a very obviously queer & pro-human rights character who's shit on by all the rich, conservative, ranch owning Texans in the movie

you basically had to sacrifice yourself trying to get to the border in time

in the city scene, you get killed as a protection sacrifice

no way you were letting adela die

niki literally started crying bc there was no reason for your character to give up their life but they did anyways

you were such a w the whole movie and she can't help but rant about that as well

she gives you a round of applause at the end cause like that was a damn good performance cmon now

ALEX QUACKITY

alex is never watching any terrifier movie ever again holy fuck

you skipped over the first one bc you couldn't even watch it again and went to the second because you were in it

he was actually on edge the whole movie

what the hell do you mean you were cut in half??? wtf is this?? saw???

he actually almost puked LMAO

you were laughing the whole time your death was playing

"WHAT THE HELL WHY ARE YOU LAUGHING?? THIS UGLY CLOWN IS KILLING MY PARTNER"

"that mf doesn't know you Alex, I do"

"Okay whatever"

[safety-pin-punk]

Punk History Resources: Vol. 1

This is a compilation of resources found and recommended by various alternative bloggers, each of whom are credited for their contributions. This started because I was getting SO MANY asks about resources such as videos, books, and websites to use to learn about punk history. Admittedly, my own list isn't that long, so I thought it was best to reach out to some others and share their knowledge with everyone. So thank you again to everyone who helped out with this!!

@raggedyfink @lovintheaesthetic @punk-patches @my-chemical-ratz

YOUTUBE:

Punk/Goth Docs Playlist on Youtube (77 Videos) (raggedyfink)

1991 The Year Punk broke (lovintheaesthetic)

She's Real (Worse Than Queer) (lovintheaesthetic)

Don't Need You, The Herstory of Riot Grrrl (lovintheaesthetic)

The Long Queer History of Punk (lovintheaesthetic)

The very Black History of Punk Music (lovintheaesthetic)

Punk's Not Dead (lovintheaesthetic)

BOOKS:

Phantoms the Rise of La Deathrock (raggedyfink)

Too Tough to Love by Roxy Ramone (raggedyfink)

I Slept With Joey Ramone by Mickey Leigh (raggedyfink)

Please Kill Me, The Uncensored Oral History of Punk Rock (punk-patches & lovintheaesthetic)

Encyclopedia of Punk (punk-patches)

The Day the Country Died: A History of Anarcho-Punk, 1980-1984 (my-chemical-ratz)

The Heebie-Jeebies at CBGB's: A Secret History of Jewish Punk (my-chemical-ratz)

Sellout: The Major-Label Feeding Frenzy That Swept Punk, Emo, and Hardcore (lovintheaesthetic & my-chemical-ratz)

Tranny: Confessions of Punk Rock's Most Infamous Anarchist Sellout (my-chemical-ratz)

Punk Rock: An Oral History (my-chemical-ratz)

Girls to the Front: The True Story of the Riot Grrrl Revolution (my-chemical-ratz)

Queercore: Queer Punk Media Subculture (my-chemical-ratz)

Queercore: How to Punk a Revolution: An Oral History (my-chemical-ratz)

Spider-Punk: Banned in D.C.(this doesnt have anything to do with history but i love spider punk so) (my-chemical-ratz)

MOVIES / DOCUMENTARIES:

The Punk Singer (punk-patches)

Queercore: How to Punk a Revolution (punk-patches)

Punk's Not Dead (punk-patches)

Pansy Division: Life in a Gay Rock Band (punk-patches)

Queercore: How To Punk a Revolution (my-chemical-ratz)

Afropunk (my-chemical-ratz)

Punk in Africa (my-chemical-ratz)

A Band Called Death (my-chemical-ratz)) (link courtesy of @wrench-p, but is unavailable to watch in the US))

ARTICLES:

(some of these are found on JSTOR, but you can sign up for a free 100 articles per month)

Muslim Punk in an Alt-Right Era (my-chemical-ratz)

A History of Punk (my-chemical-ratz)

Jews, Punk and the Holocaust: From the Velvet Underground to the Ramones: The Jewish-American Story (my-chemical-ratz)

What is Punk and Why Did It Scare People So Much? (my-chemical-ratz)

An Account of a South African Punk Rock Music Collection (my-chemical-ratz)

Queer As Punk: A Guide To LGBTQIA+ Punk (my-chemical-ratz)

Did Punk Matter?: Analyzing the Practices of a Youth Subculture During the 1980s (my-chemical-ratz)

ZINES:

(some may not be *about* history, but they’re a huge part of it!)

Punk Planet archive (my-chemical-ratz & safety-pin-punk)

Queer Zine archive (I personally like the anon boy collection haha) (my-chemical-ratz)

Archive.org in general has a lot of zines :) (my-chemical-ratz)

ETC:

(These aren’t about punk history itself but could be helpful in learning about the politics that go with being punk)

A History of Punk from 1976-78: A Free Online Course from the University of Reading (safety-pin-punk)

Punk History Reading List (safety-pin-punk)

Essays about socialism (my-chemical-ratz)

Leftism 101 (my-chemical-ratz)

Rights as an American protester (my-chemical-ratz)

Social justice classes (I’m really excited to go through these!!) (my-chemical-ratz)

Stamped (my-chemical-ratz)

How To Be An Anti-Racist (my-chemical-ratz)

Nice Racism: How Progressive White People Perpetuate Racial Harm (my-chemical-ratz)

I would love to make a Vol. 2 post at some point in the future, so if you have resources and want to share, PLEASE message me!!

[scream-by-coop]

Stu Macher - Rant #1

oh yeah spoiler warning - scream 1

this rant reveals who the ghost faces are so if you really want to watch the movie with a blank slate i suggest not reading this, but come back when you do to agree or debate me =]

ik no one asked for this, and I'm somewhat new to the fandom… but I've been seeing a lot of people saying stu was manipulated, he loved tatum, billy forced him into the situation and had no clue billy was gonna kill her. stu was not manipulated, you guys are all blind. he was a sociopath.

if you think stu didn't know billy was gonna kill tatum and that he felt bad… you have to think again. billy and stu had planned this out since they killed sidneys mom. they could have no ties back to the murders so obviously anyone in the group would have to go. this includes tatum and randy. i dont believe stu loved tatum, i think she was probably a coping mecanism from being dumped by casey. i dont think he was heartbroken by casey, i think he was offended. the reason i dont think stu cared for tatum is because after her death, while choking sidney he says "i've always had a thing for you" to her. even if he was joking, or trying to get on sidneys nerves, would he really get over the girl he 'loved' so easily after her death. stu and billy were not friends with tatum, randy or sidney. they needed a way to get to sidney. this is a very very common structure throughout all 6 of the movies. many people also headcannon stu as queer, even the actor who portrays him. and i believe this is very possible. you can see the way he looks at billy, and i dont think billy was using this to manipulate him. but this is just a headcannon so it shouldnt be taken very seriously. people also like to mention the "he killed my tatum" line. he was clearly trying to gain sidneys trust, he was a theater kid for sure. he knows how to act.

the idea of people victimizing stu is actually insane. you are telling me the man who murdered sidneys mother, claiming it was fun, making constant jokes and comments about it was not insane and was forced into that situation because of peer pressure. he is a psycopath. when sydney asks him for his motive and he says "peer pressure, im far to sensitive" he was JOKING / lying, he had not been peer pressured. this was his ALIBI as a COVER STORY. sideny even said "stu whats your motive, what are you gonna tell the cops" knowing he would lie. stu didnt seem to have a solid motive seemingly doing it just for fun, although it can be assumed due to his parents not being in the picture often that could create a great motive, billy had also said "total abandonment causes serious deviant behaviour." while pointing to stu. stu very clearly loved the attention he got from being a famous killer, just like in the movies he watched. he constantly made insensitive jokes about the people who got murdered.

in the third movie, it was suggested that billy just picked stu as a way out. someone to sell out if he got caught, people also claim billy was gonna kill him off after the fact but i just cant believe this, i personally think billy cared for stu. they were best friends, possibly lovers, and any of the ghost faces always killed off there partners before attempting to kill sidney to show they had no remorse. if billy really was gonna kill stu, he probably either wouldnt have gotten his help due to him being unstable and very very impulsive or he would have killed him infront of sidney. stu had added killing his ex girlfriend and her new boyfriend to the plan, would billy have allowed this if he didnt care for stu. i dont believe billy would do anything for stus gain, even if it solidified his loyalty to the plan.

thank you for taking the time to read my rant/debate. feel free to comment your argument points, i love debating so i find this real fun to see your opinions. this is just my personal opinion, even if i think its the right idea. you dont have to agree with me, i also have only recently joined the fandom and watched all the movies. stu is my favorite character, he is not a good person but i like his character design. i have watched the first movie twice now to try and see if there is anything i missed, so correct me if i got anything wrong =]

[copingwithobsessions]

Billy is autistic ♾

Just me rambling about an headcanon I take wayyyy too seriously :)

Hyperfixation : horror movies (obviously)

He just keeps talking about it. All the time.

Like

Also him using his hands while talking in this scene

(There's also something to be said about him mentioning the queer actors and not the 'straight' characters but that will be for another post-)

Also in the phone call where we're sure it's him :

(If he was the one calling Casey then there's even more-)

Also him just constantly talking with movie-related things : "It was edited for TV- all the good stuff was cut out", "nice solid R rating, on our way to a NC-17", "lately we're just sort of edited for television", "Maybe your movie-freaked mind lost it's reality button","It's all a movie, it's all...one great big movie.Only you can't pick your genre","I think she wants a motive","I don't really believe in motive, Sid.", "See it's a lot scarier when there's no motive Sid", "Is that motive enough for you ?", "How's that for a motive ?", "Just pretend it's all a scary movie Sid...How do you think it's gonna end ?", "Perfect ending.", "Now Sid, don't you blame the movies. Movies don't create psychos, movies make psychos more creative !" and basing his killing spree on horror movie tropes : phone calls, masked killer, virgins being the final girls (literally having sex with Sidney to fulfill the trope), 'no motive' etc...

2. Abnormal posture

3. Staring (last 2 photos, both scenes in Sidney's room, police station scene...basically when there's Sid) or excessive blinking (doorway scene, kitchen scene...(basically when there's Stu)

4. Plans and changements

Billy (and Stu) planned their entire killing spree (from the dates it would be on : surrounding the one year anniversary of Maureen's death, to the person they would frame and his supposed motive as well as Casey and Steve's murders with the phone call, the attack at Sidney's house, Billy's incarceration, Stu's phone call following it, Billy's fake death, kidnapping Neil before his flight and using his phone, hiding his car, using a voice changer, stabbing each other to seem like victims, the party etc...)

When Billy's (and Stu's) plans get changed (Dewey, Gale and Kenny being present, Sid escaping the kitchen with her dad and Stu losing too much blood), Billy panics and goes into what could be defined as a meldown : throwing out insults, walking in circles, never going to check on the first floor, destroying Stu's living room and just panicking all around-

(When he fails getting Sidney to trust him and makes her escape to the toilets, he punches himself in frustation)

5. Insociability

Basically doesn't talk in the fountain scene

Awkward and Unsettling while talking, even to his friends

Doesn't pay attention to girls being interested in him

Doesn't seem at ease with the number of people leaving the party

(Even fidgeting though that may be just be him checking that the people are leaving for real)

6. Overdramatic

7. Favorite person/people

Okay this one's not that common in autistics but for Billy, he definitely has a special person, two in fact :

He literally started killing because his mom "moved out and abandoned" him.

For Stu, I will be vague cause I'll talk about it in detail in the other post 👀but basically he's not really himself unless Stu's there and planned a killing spree where only they would survive (+ trusted him to stab him).

Bonus : If Billy is the one who called Casey

"I only eat popcorn at the movies" Well I'm getting ready to watch a video "Really what ?" Oh, just some scary movie "You like scary movies ?" Huhuh "What's your favorite scary movie ?" Hum- I don't know... "You have to have a favorite, what comes to mind ?" Hum...Halloween ! You know the one with the guy in the white mask who walks around and stalks babysitters. "Yeah." What's yours ? "Guess." Hum- Nightmare on Elm Street ! "Isn't that the one where the guy had knives for fingers ?" Yeah, Freddy Krueger. "Freddy, that's right. I liked that movie.It was scary." Well the first one was but the rest sucked."

"It's an easy category : movie trivia"

"Come on, it's your favorite scary movie, remember ? He had a white mask, he stalked the babysitters"

"Then you should know Jason's mother, Mrs Vorhees, was the original killer ! Jason didn't show up until the sequel."

And that's it ! A complete analysis of what could be considered autistic traits from Billy that got way too long-

[dragonflylady77]

the bit that mattered

a Harringrove Corner Pride fic (all told in Robin's POV) and a present for @whenyouwishuponastar7 and @discodeviant

I was given the prompt 'enemies to soulmates' and then I stumbled upon this post by @imsodishy with tags by @gravegroves and I knew I had a winner. Also, as a matter of interest, I found the doodle by @ihni from the same post...

Oh and this other post by @ihni also inspired a scene in the fic.

Harringrove & Buckleway | 7.2k

Tags: enemies to soulmates, Robin POV, Billy and Robin are secret queer besties, fake dating to throw parents off the scent of queer teenagers, Steve's bisexual awakening

Robin helps Steve realize his soulmate was under his nose this whole time, he just had to give a guy a chance...

“Can you run that one past me again, dingus?” Robin couldn't believe the sob story Steve was telling her. She’d heard about the fight back in November, of course, because the rumors had made the rounds at school for over a month. But listening to Steve recount his version of what had happened was leaving a bad taste in her mouth.

“Really?” He sat on the metal stool they kept behind the counter for when they were the only ones on shift. Standing around in an empty store was murder on the feet.

“Come on, Steve, humor me,” Robin said as she refilled the container of sprinkles.

They’d been working at Scoops Ahoy together for a few weeks now, and Robin was pretty sure she was Steve’s only friend who was his age. Those kids of his kept coming in for free ice cream, and so he could sneak them into the movies via the back corridor, but Robin knew Steve didn’t consider them his friends. Not really.

Heather Holloway had come in after her shift at Hawkins Community Pool, and Robin had managed to serve her that one scoop of strawberries and cream without blushing too much. Heather was so pretty with her long dark hair and her big brown eyes and bright red lips… Whenever Robin dreamed about meeting her soulmate, it was usually a girl who looked like Heather. She’d never told anyone about it, and kept the soulmark on her right wrist hidden under the band of her watch. 

Heather had asked the guy who was with her if he wanted something but he’d said no. Robin had seen him around before, at school mostly. She’d briefly wondered if maybe he was dating Heather but the way he kept sneaking glances at Steve made her think that it was more likely she was not the only queer teen in Hawkins. She was pretty sure Steve had no idea, about her or about the guy, whose name, Steve had said with the utmost rancor, was Billy Hargrove. 

“I’m waiting,” she said, glancing at Steve before she checked on the glace cherries. He’d already told her all about the Upside Down, and while she hadn’t seen any proof, she knew that weird stuff happened in Hawkins, so Steve’s story about monstrous creatures from another dimension, and a girl who could move things with her brain, made as much sense as anything else she’d heard. 

Steve groaned but he complied. “Fine. Mrs. Byers, Nancy and Jonathan took Will to the chief’s cabin. Chief Hopper and El went to the lab to close the gate and I stayed behind at the Byers house with the kids because someone had to. Then Hargrove showed up. Max freaked out, she said he was gonna kill her, so I went outside to talk him down, and like, make him leave.”

“He came to get his sister, must have had a reason, you didn't think of that?”

“She was terrified, Robin. And she was right. I mean, he shoved me to the ground then went into the house and attacked Lucas.”

“From what you said to me, he asked about his sister and you lied to his face.”

“Well, yeah, but…”

“Do you not see the problem here?”

“No! He attacked Lucas so I punched him then we had a fight and he broke a plate on my head. A plate, Robin! I still have a scar!”

“Uh huh,” Robin deadpanned, because she knew Steve enough to know he had a flair for the dramatic. That said, he had shown her the scar. It was nowhere near as big or noticeable as his antics made it to be, but she wasn’t about to tell him that.

“And then he used me like his own personal punching bag until I passed out from the pain. The kids told me Max stabbed him in the neck with that syringe she found on the dresser and told him to leave us alone. Then we went into the tunnels to help El.”

“And you took his car.”

“Max drove his car, yes, but I had nothing to do with that, I was unconscious in the backseat for most of the ride.”

“I will grant you that one.”

“Oh thank you, o wise one.”

“Don't get fresh with me, Steven. You really don't see how wrong that whole situation looks from the outside?”

“What are you talking about? Hargrove is the one who showed up and attacked us. He gave me a concussion, Robin. The guy is a psycho.”

Robin lets out a sigh. She felt like getting the whiteboard out to help Steve understand how wrong he was, but the You suck/You rule tally was ongoing. She looked around but the store was still thankfully devoid of customers. Mondays after lunch were mostly dead, affording her and Steve much needed bonding time. “Okay, so, let's recap, and please do not interrupt me.” 

“Fine.”

“The guy shows up looking for his thirteen-year-old sister at a house he doesn’t know, in the middle of the woods. The only people there with his sister are a bunch of thirteen-year-old boys and Steve ‘the Hair’ Harrington. The same Steve Harrington everyone knows is a hit with the ladies and who is rumored to have slept with over half the female population of Hawkins High.”

Steve opened his mouth but Robin glared at him and he closed it again.

“I said do not interrupt me. I know neither of us has siblings, but I have girl cousins and I know that my aunt would not take it well if one of her daughters was alone in a house filled with teenage boys, my uncle even less so. You lied to him about the sister he was looking for, you antagonized him, and then you threw the first punch. Is it any wonder he fought back? And don’t answer that, it was rhetorical. That means it doesn’t need an answer.”

“I know what it means, thanks. I did graduate from high school.”

“Good for you, now shut up. From what I’ve heard your children say when you illegally let them into the back corridor, Max’s stepfather seems like a total hardass, and she’s sneaking around a lot. Which leads me to believe her big brother, the aforementioned Billy Hargrove, may well have been under orders to bring her back, or he was trying to get her home before their parents came back. Either way, it seems likely that the older sibling would have been left in charge of the younger one.”

“You don’t know that for sure. I mean he—”

“Steven MiddleName Harrington, I swear to the goddess…”

“Sorry.”

“So, in all likelihood, Hargrove was left in charge of Max, and she left without telling him, and when he came looking for her, it didn’t go well for anyone, then Max shot her brother up full of some unknown drug from a syringe left unattended—not very safe, but whatever—and you, what, just left him unconscious on the floor while you guys stole his car?”

“Um, yeah, I guess… when you lay it out like that, it sounds really bad.”

“Dingus, that is what happened. Bet his dad was super impressed with him when he got home with no car and no Max.”

Steve groaned, leaning on the counter and resting his head on his folded arms. Robin took pity on him. She put her hand on his shoulder and patted it awkwardly a couple of times.

“I remember that both of you looked rather beat up when you came back to school, though you came back a few days before he did.”

“I did?” Steve sat up and stared at her.

“Oh yeah. I told you before, I’m very observant.”

“Riiiight.”

Robin lightly punched Steve on the shoulder, as punishment for his disbelieving tone. She was way more observant than him, that was for sure. “So, what happened after that?”

Steve shrugged. “Nothing.”

“What do you mean nothing? I thought you said he apologized?”

“Oh, well, yeah. He drove up in his car while I was waiting for Dustin at the arcade, and he said he was sorry about the fight. That’s it. Max said he apologized to Lucas as well.”

“And?”

“And he’s been staying away ever since, like he told Max he would, the night of the fight.”

“After she threatened to pulverize his boy parts with that nail bat you keep in the boot of your car, right?”

“Yeah, well, I don’t really remember that part, cos, yanno, concussion from that plate he smashed on my head, but Dustin told me about it in great detail, many many times.”

“That kid needs to learn to shut up, I swear.”

Steve chuckled. “He grows on you.”

“Yeah, like mold,” Robin deadpanned, making Steve cackle.

*****

Three days later, Robin was deep in the stacks at the library when she bumped into someone, causing them to drop the handful of books they were carrying.

“Shoot, sorry, I wasn’t paying attention,” she said, crouching to help.

“It’s okay, Buckley. I got it.”

Robin fell on her ass from the surprise. “You know my name?”

“Uh, yeah?” Billy Hargrove said, straightening up and offering her a hand up.

Robin accepted the help, still in shock, then followed the guy to the closest study table where he’d left his messenger bag. She sat across the table from him, her eyes never leaving his face.

“You gonna say something or you just gonna stare at me for the rest of the day? Only I have a shift at the pool in a bit.” He lifted an eyebrow at her, daring her to speak up.

“Oh, um, sorry. It’s just… how do you know my name?” She really, really, needed to know.

“You’ve been in my AP English class since I moved here and you play the French horn with the band every time we play a home game. Course I know your name.”

“Oh.”

“And…” Billy leaned forward, gesturing at Robin to do the same.

She complied, and watched, confused, as Billy looked around to see if anyone was near, before he whispered, “I’ve seen the way you look at Hank, and I can help, if you want.”

“Hank? I don’t…” Robin shook her head. The conversation was taking a surreal turn.

“Sorry, Heather. Holloway.”

“Oh.” Robin felt her cheeks heat up and it was her turn to look around, fidgeting with her rings.

“Don’t worry,” Billy whispered, both hands flat on the table. “I’m not gonna out you to anyone. I may be an asshole, but I wouldn’t compromise someone’s safety like that.”

“Ho-how did you…?” Robin stammered, glad she was sitting down. She felt like a breeze would have knocked her down. She hadn’t even told Steve, and he was her best friend. Maybe.

“Let’s just say you’re not the only one who has to hide who they truly are, for fear of repercussions.”

“When you say repercussions…?” She had to know. She had an inkling about Billy’s dad from some things she’d heard Max say but having confirmation she was right would be vindicating, especially the next time Steve brought up The Evil Billy Hargrove...

“Let’s just say I like being alive, Buckley, and leave it at that, ay?”

Ouch.

“Robin. And you must be joking. Please tell me you’re joking.”

“I had to tell the doctor I fell down some stairs and broke my wrist because Max told my dad she’d seen me sitting with a guy in the library at my old school, Robin, so you tell me. I was tutoring the kid in math but Neil didn’t give a fuck. Right after that, he moved us to this podunk town in the middle of fucking nowhere. Wasn’t fun driving with a cast, let me tell you.”

“Is that really why you moved here?” It seemed a bit far-fetched to her, relocating an entire family because of a misunderstanding like that.

“Well, Susan’s sister lives in Indianapolis, but Neil was more than happy to move me across the country to a less… permissive state.”

“Is California really better for, yanno, people like… like us ?” Robin whispered, elated her hunch had been correct and that she suddenly had someone her age to talk to about these things. 

“Oh yeah. Well, I mean, it can still be dangerous, but, fuck, dude, me and some friends drove up to L.A. last year for the Pride parade and it was fucking amazing.”

“Oh my goddess… You have to tell me all about it, please!”

“Another time, friend. Right now, we need to come up with a plan for you, before I go to work.”

Robin’s cheeks were heating up again. “Oh, um, no, no, it’s okay, there’s no need.”

“Buckley, why do you think that Hank drags me to the stupid mall after every shift? It’s not for the ice cream, because her parents are loaded and she’s got a freezer full of nicer ice cream than your strawberry and cream at home…”

“Maybe she’s just your decoy so you can enjoy the view…”

Billy laughed and Robin startled. She didn’t remember ever hearing him laugh. They received glares from the librarian and a forbidding ‘shhhh’ that made them both silently snicker.

Billy sat back in his chair, the mirth now gone from his eyes. “The difference, dear Robin, is that the view I enjoy hates my everliving guts and I have zero chance in hell to ever close that deal, due to said view’s inclinations, while you, my musically inclined friend, don’t even realize how close you are to getting what you want.”

“You think so?”

“I know so.”

Billy’s watch started beeping, earning him another glare from the librarian, even though he silenced it quickly. “That’s my alarm. Need to get to the pool for my shift. I’ll catch you later. Think about what I said.”

Robin watched Billy leave, marveling at the absolutely unexpected yet terribly exciting turn her afternoon had taken.

*****

Steve looked like he hadn’t slept since their last shift together two days ago and Robin wasted no time telling him as much. He threw a dark look her way but said nothing.

“Aw, come on, dingus, don’t be like that. What’s keeping you from your beauty sleep?”

“This is all your fault, you know,” Steve bit out as he moved to refill the next container of sprinkles. 

Robin didn’t understand why the store only offered sprinkles in the colors of the flag, but that might be because she didn’t really have a patriotic bone in her body. “How is it my fault?” she said, holding the jar of red sprinkles for Steve.

He glared at her as he put down the white sprinkles and picked up the red ones. “You made me feel guilty for something that happened over six months ago.”

“And? I didn’t realize there was an expiry date on figuring out you did something shitty and taking steps to fix it.”

“Oh, now I have to fix it as well?” Steve argued, spinning so fast the Scoops hat fell off his head.

Robin bent down to pick it up and put it down on the counter with a sigh. “Steve…”

“Robin. I draw the line at one concussion a year, thank you.”

“Oh my goddess, Steve, Billy isn’t going to punch you if you apologize for lying to his face.”

“One, you don’t know that, and two, since when are you on a first name basis with the guy? Pretty sure you didn’t even know his name when you made me tell you about the fight over and over the other day,” Steve said, fixing her with a stare that might work on his kids but didn’t work on her.

All the same, Robin was happy to be saved from answering by a slew of customers that kept them so busy they had to take their breaks at different times. Steve finished his shift earlier than her and she was only too happy to wave him off. The look he gave her before he walked out the door told her that he would demand answers the next time they saw each other.

Walking to the bus stop after her shift ended and cursing herself for asking her mom for a ride to the mall earlier that day instead of taking her bike, Robin startled when a vaguely familiar blue Camaro slowed down alongside her.

“Hey, Buckley. Fancy a ride home?”

Robin stopped and looked through the open passenger window with a grin. “Hargrove. Are you stalking me?”

“You should be so lucky. Get in, we need to talk.”

Dropping her bag in the back before settling into the passenger seat, Robin angled her body towards Billy. “Well?”

Billy threw the butt of his cigarette on the road then pulled away from the curb, waiting until they were back on the road into town to open his mouth. “Dropped off Hank at the mall after our shift, her mom is getting her a new outfit for our date on Saturday.”

What? Robin’s fingers dug into the leather seat under her. “A date? You’re going on a date with Heather? But I thought—”

“Relax, Robin, I told you I would help and I’m gonna. Me and Hank had a chat the other day after I saw you at the library and we came up with a plan.”

“Oh?” Robin wasn’t sure what else to say. She didn’t like feeling confused and so far both her interactions with Billy Hargrove had left her on the back foot.

“Yeah. Thing is, we figured if her parents, and my dad, think we’re dating, it will get them off our backs.” 

“Okay…” That made sense to Robin. Being a queer teenager in small town America was scary if your parents weren’t accepting, and Robin knew she was lucky in that respect. Her parents were soulmates and they’d always told her they loved her and would love whoever her soulmate turned out to be. 

“So the idea is that on Saturday night, I'm gonna pick her up, then pick you up, and we're gonna go over to the drive-in in Marion, and then I'll make myself scarce until the movie is over.”

“Oh god. You’re gonna… you’re… and she… oh god.” Robin couldn’t breathe. This was really happening. She was going on a date. With a girl. With Heather . 

She didn’t realize Billy had stopped on the side of the road until he was crouching on the ground next to her, holding her hands and telling her to breathe.

“Deep breaths, Robin. That’s it. You got this.”

“I…I… oh god…”

“Hey. Calm down. It’s gonna be okay, you know why?”

“Why?”

“She likes you. She really likes you.”

“She does…?”

“Yeah. And you know what else?”

“No.”

“I’ve seen the way you look at her, and I’ve seen how animated she is when it’s just the two of us and she won’t stop talking about you. And I wonder…”

“What?”

“Your soulmark wouldn’t happen to be a flower by any chance?”

Robin eeped and she took her hands back to clutch at her right wrist. What the fuck was happening right now? She must be dreaming, there was no other explanation.

“No, dude, you’re not dreaming” Billy grinned. “I show you mine, you show me yours?”

Robin nodded because she couldn’t trust herself to keep her thoughts out of her mouth. Her eyes bugged out when Billy removed the watch he kept on his right wrist. His skin wasn’t as tanned under the strap and she immediately spotted the five point crown lightly etched on the inside of Billy’s wrist.

She scrambled to take off her own watch and share her own soulmark. “I’ve never shown it to anyone, not even my parents,” she said, her eyes tracing the familiar lines of the small violet. It had felt too private to share with anyone, not that she had many friends anyway.

“My friend Argyle back in Cali is the only one who knows about mine. Doubt Neil would take too kindly to this confirmation his useless son is a fa—”

“Don’t say that word,” Robin urged him. Then she remembered something Billy had said at the library. “Ooh!” She slapped a hand on her mouth then slowly let it drop. “A crown. I get it now. You think Steve is…”

“I don’t think, I know.” Billy sounded so defeated it broke Robin’s heart.

“How can you be so sure?”

“Basketball practice, Robin. Communal showers don’t hide much, even if you’re doing your best not to look.”

“Crap.”

“Exactly. So let’s focus on getting you and Hank together instead, alright?” Billy said, standing up again and putting his watch back on.

Robin did the same and waited until Billy was back in the driver’s seat. “Billy?”

Billy glanced at her then back at the road. “Yeah?”

“I, um, I was talking with Steve the other day at work, about that fight you guys had last November, at the Byers’ house, and I may have impressed upon him how wrong it looked for your thirteen-year-old sister to be alone in a strange house with a bunch of teenage boys, and, um, there is a slight chance that he might decide to apologize for lying to you and throwing the first punch, and yanno, taking your car while you lay full of unlabeled drugs on a dirty floor. Or something.”

“I’m sorry, what?”

“You heard me. So if he does, could you… not punch him? Maybe?”

“If, and that’s a big if, Steve comes to me to apologize, I promise to hear him out.”

*****

“Hey, dingus?”

It was Friday night, and Robin was lying on Steve’s couch eating popcorn from a giant bowl on the floor. He was sitting next to it on a cushion. Robin wasn’t really paying attention to the movie Steve had put on, too keyed up about the motherflippin’ date she was going on the next evening. 

Billy was being the perfect wingman so she wanted to return the favor, and that started by testing the waters.

“Yeah?” Steve took a sip of his cola and turned his head to look at her.

“You ever think about what your soulmate might be like?”

“I used to. I had all these grand ideas about all that stuff, and for a bit, I even believed Nancy might be my soulmate.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, but our soulmarks didn’t match, not even a little bit. And after that, I just… stopped.”

“Stopped what?”

“Looking. Hoping. If there’s a person made for me out there, I doubt they’re stuck in Hawkins, yanno? And since I’m never getting out of here…”

“Aw, Stevie, don’t be like that…” Robin patted Steve on the shoulder. “We’ll get out of this place, and you’ll find them, whoever they are.”

Steve let out a disbelieving snort. “Sure… As the person who started the You Rule/You Suck board, you know very well that my chances of that are about as high as my chances of getting into college.”

“What do you think they look like?” Robin asked, shushing him when he groaned his displeasure at her pushing it. “Come on, indulge me.”

“What don’t you tell me about your soulmate instead?” Steve pushed back.

“Um…”

“Ha! Not so keen to share now, are you?” Steve turned around to face her, his back to the TV, movie completely forgotten.

Robin sat up. This would make or break their friendship. She took a deep breath and threw herself into the deep end. “I’ve had the same image of who my soulmate is since I started middle school. I’ve always imagined her with long dark hair, brown eyes and—”

“Shiny red lips that match her work uniform and a first name that starts with H?”

Robin felt the tip of her ears heat up. Steve was watching her with his usual smile, and he wasn’t ordering her out of his house.

“I know I’m not the most observant person, but even I noticed how often Heather comes in for one scoop of the least interesting flavor we sell. And she’s hated my guts since kindergarten so…”

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before. I wasn’t sure how you’d react, learning I’m into… you know… girls,” Robin whispered the last word, even though Steve admittedly already knew and they were alone in his house. It still felt like something she should hide; less so when she was hanging out with Billy, which seemed to happen more since that day at the library. They’d started spending their free periods together at the same study table of the seniors home room most days.

“You’re my friend, Robin.” Steve said. “Pretty much my only friend. And I’m not gonna risk losing that because we both like boobies.”

The serious way Steve said it launched Robin into a laughing fit and Steve joined her. When it ended, they were both sitting on the floor, her legs on his lap, the TV screen a flurry of static.

“Hey.”

“Yeah?”

“Can I see your soulmark?” 

Steve shrugged. “Sure.”

To Robin’s surprise, Steve whipped off his shirt, dropping it on top of her legs, before lifting his left arm. He angled his head.

“It’s right there, on my ribs, by my armpit.”

Robin peered at the area Steve had indicated and, sure enough, there it was. A crown with five points, matching Billy’s perfectly. She couldn’t quite silence the ‘eep’ that escaped her and Steve frowned at her as he put his shirt back on.

“What?”

“Nothing. A crown for King Steve. Fitting.” She moved her legs off Steve and got back up onto the couch, her mind going a mile a minute. She needed to find a way to plant a seed in Steve’s mind, to help him open his horizon to a different possibility. She knew you couldn’t make a person queer, of course, but the universe had decided these two boys were soulmates, so she had to do something to help. 

She tuned back into what Steve was saying.

“...left that king bullshit behind in high school when I realized I wanted to be a better person.”

“So it wasn’t just because you wanted in Nancy Wheeler’s pants?” Robin couldn’t help the snide remark, grinning as she said it.

“Oh my god, Robin!” Steve shoved her shoulder. “What about you? What’s yours?”

“A flower, on the inside of my wrist,” she told him, thinking how odd it was that two boys linked by fate had asked her the same question within a few days of each other.

“Dainty,” Steve said with a snort and it was Robin’s turn to shove him.

Still laughing, Steve stood to go put another movie on then took his spot in front of the couch again. “Hey, you wanna go for a milkshake tomorrow after work? My treat. You can help me figure out how I’m gonna apologize to Billy Hargrove without getting punched.”

“For fuck’s sake, Steve, stop making him out to be such a monster.”

“Sorry, I forgot you’re president of his fan club now. My bad.” Steve’s posture went all rigid and he kept his eyes on the screen in front of them.

Robin took a deep breath before she replied with something she would for sure regret. She forced a smile and slid onto the floor next to Steve, resting her head on his shoulder. “Dingus, you’re my best friend, you know that. But I think we’d both benefit from having more friends our age, and unless you really want to hang out with your ex and the guy she dumped you for, our options are limited.”

“But Billy, Robin?”

“Yes, Billy. He’s funny, he’s one of the top students at school, he drives a cool car, and he’s objectively, and by any standards, extremely good looking.”

“I thought you only liked girls.”

“I’m a lesbian, Steven, not blind.”

“I don’t know…”

“Well, I do, and I’m sorry, but I can’t go for a milkshake tomorrow.” Robin paused then whispered, “I, um, I have, um, a date.”

Steve spun so fast Robin fell over onto the carpet.

“A date! Oh my god, Robin! Is it with Heather? How? Wow! What the fuck!”

She sat up, rubbing her elbow that had taken the brunt of her fall. “Ow.”

“I’m sorry! You can’t just spring this on me like that! Spill, lady! I want details!”

“Yes, it’s with Heather. And, uh, it was set up by, um, a mutual friend. We’re going to the drive-in over in Marion. I’ve been kinda freaking out about it, to be honest.”

“A mutu—Oh. I see.”

“Do not start this again, I need my best friend right now, not King Steve’s high school vendetta.”

“Okay, okay, sorry.”

“Tell me something, why does he get under your skin this much?”

“I’m not sure what you mean.”

“Oh please, the mere mention of his name gets your hackles raised like no one else does. From what you’ve told me, it predates the fight you guys had at the Byers’ house. Did you seriously never wonder what it is about Billy Hargrove that makes you react so strongly?”

Steve’s eyes widened but he didn’t say anything. Robin patted Steve’s knee before standing up.

“I’ll get us another drink if you rewind the movie. I missed everything that happened in it so far.”

Steve nodded and moved to the VCR as Robin left the living room for the kitchen. She figured she’d done enough pushing for one evening. 

*****

“Earth to Robin, need you out here, dude.”

Steve’s voice pulled Robin out of her daydreams. She checked her watch to see her break had ended a few minutes ago. She hurried back into the main part of the store and went to work, scooping ice cream like it was her calling while Steve rang the orders on the temperamental till.

Once the after school rush had died down, she picked up the mop and did a quick pass on the blue and white checkered lino while Steve cleared rubbish and wiped melted ice cream off the tables.

“You’ve been spacey all day, Rob. Are you okay? I hope it means you had a good time on Saturday night.”

Robin smiled as she finished cleaning then took the mop back into the back room. She waited for Steve to join her, keeping an eye on the main doors through the small window behind the counter.

“So? How did it go? What movie did you see?”

“I have no idea what the movie was, we were too busy making out in the backseat of the Camaro,” Robin said with a happy sigh. “Best night of my life so far.”

“Camaro? Hargrove’s Camaro?”

“Yes, Stevie. I told you Billy set it up. He picked Heather up first, to make it seem like they’re dating, and get Billy’s dad off his back, then they picked me up. When we got there, he parked the car and went to read his book at the diner on Main Street.”

“That was very thoughtful of him.”

“I don’t know why you’re so surprised. He’s a good guy once you get to know him. Sure, yes, he’s got some anger issues, but anyone would, with a dad like his.”

“Like what?”

“Are you seriously telling me you’ve never heard Max talk about how much of a controlling hardass Mr Hargrove is? I only see your kids when you sneak them in and I’ve heard it enough times.”

“Um, no, I tend to just tune all their chatter out. So he’s bad news?”

“He’s the kind of guy who’s only got bad sides.”

“Oh, okay. Yikes.”

“I probably shouldn’t have told you, because it’s not my story to tell, but I needed you to understand.”

“Thanks. I mean it. I’ve, um, I’ve been thinking a lot about what you said, and I’m gonna apologize to him for my part in that stupid fight.”

“I’m glad to hear it, because he and Heather are coming over after their shift at the pool. We talked about going for burgers and I think you should come with us. It will help sell it a bit more if it looks like a double date.”

Robin chuckled at Steve’s impression of a deer in headlights. “Don’t worry, dingus, we don’t have to hold hands or anything.”

Thankfully, Steve had recovered by the time they closed the store for the day and met Billy and Heather in the food court. Steve took Billy aside briefly and got through his apology without getting punched, like Robin had predicted. The look Billy threw at her when they rejoined her and Heather was filled with new-found gratitude and Robin felt a bit like a miracle worker on a mission from the universe.

They headed out in pairs, Robin giddy with excitement, as Heather’s fingers kept brushing against hers as they walked out of the mall and into the carpark. Neither boys were keen to leave their cars there so they traveled separately to the diner.

They piled up in a booth, Steve and Robin on one side, Billy and Heather on the other, and ordered. They made small talk about the highs and lows of their day at work as they waited for their food. Robin was vibrating with excitement. Heather kept smiling at her as they ate, their ankles locked together under the table. 

When Steve excused himself to go to the bathroom after they’d ordered dessert, Billy leaned forward across the table and smiled at Robin.

“I don’t know what you said to him, but thank you.”

“You deserve better, Billy,” Heather said in a clipped tone, red lips around her straw as she finished her strawberry milkshake commanding Robin’s attention.

“Hank, this is more than I thought I’d get, as little as it is. At least he’s not glaring daggers at me anymore.”

“I’d say you’re welcome,” Robin told Billy with an encouraging smile, “but I’m not done trying.”

*****

Things got better slowly over the next few weeks.

Billy told Robin about Steve showing up at the quarry and how they shared a couple of beers as they smoked some weed and talked.

During another double date at the diner, Steve and Billy got into a very animated conversation about Dune, Billy arguing the book is better, while Steve defended the movie, despite the fact that he had absolutely not read the book. Robin and Heather escaped to make out in the bathroom.

As summer turned to fall, they left Scoops Ahoy to go work at Family Video, and Steve lived through another one of his father’s lectures about his future. He moped around for days afterwards and Robin wasn’t sure how to help then one night, Billy showed up. Robin left them to it and heard later about how they’d raided Mr Harrington’s liquor cabinet and got so extremely drunk they’d passed out on the floor in the den, and woken up cuddling. 

Billy told her he’d pretended to be asleep until Steve went to the bathroom, then he’d gone to the kitchen to make coffee and pretended it hadn’t happened.

Steve hadn’t mentioned it at all. Robin said nothing but took mental note of the daydreaming look on Steve’s face that appeared more often the day after he spent time hanging out with Billy.

Then one day, she arrived for her after school shift at Family Video and headed for the break room to dump her backpack and her jacket, and Steve followed her. He seemed flustered, unusually so.

“You okay, dingus? Did something happen? Mrs. Wheeler get too close again?” Robin asked, a shudder of distaste at the memory of seeing Nancy’s mom seductively running a finger along Steve’s hand as she’d picked up her change a few weeks ago. Steve had washed his hands for like an hour afterwards.

“You!” Steve started, pointing his finger at Robin and pacing the small room. ���This is all your fault!”

“What did I do now?”

“You told me to give Billy a chance. You told me I needed to have more friends my age. And I listened to you, and we’ve been hanging out, and talking. About all sorts of stuff. And let me tell you, lady, you now have serious competition for your best friend spot, just saying.”

“Okay…” Robin still didn’t see what about that would warrant the state Steve was in. “I fail to see how any of this is a bad thing, dingus.”

Steve collapsed onto the rickety chair that sat by the equally rickety card table Keith had installed in one corner. Robin cringed at the loud creaking noise it made when Steve’s knee started bouncing in time with Steve running his fingers through his hair.

She knelt on the floor next to Steve, and reached up to get his hands free from the now tangled mess on top of his head, really concerned now. “Sweetie, what happened?” she asked softly, cutting through his mutterings.

“Dreams, Robin.”

“What kinds of dreams, Steve?”

The look he gave her was enough of a clue. “Oh, okay… It’s normal to have, um, graphic dreams, you know that, we learned about it in Sex Ed class.”

“Sex Ed classes didn’t exactly cover having graphic and detailed sex dreams about your male best friend, Robin,” Steve told her in a rushed whisper.

“Well… no, they did not. But there’s nothing wrong with having dreams.”

“But what does it mean?” He sounded haunted by it and it broke Robin’s heart.

She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and gave him a rare hug before sitting back down. “It doesn’t have to mean anything. Or it could mean that you like both, girls and boys, I mean. Or…”

“Or what?”

“Remember when you asked me about my soulmate and I pretty much described Heather?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, as it turns out, her soulmark is the exact same flower, only in a different spot.”

“I’m happy for you, I really am, it’s great, but that doesn’t help me much right now. I need the dreams to stop. I am going crazy. I can’t sleep, because every time I close my eyes, I…”

“Steve, sweetie, maybe the universe is trying to tell you to stop fighting it.”

“Fighting what?”

“You know that crown on your ribs?”

Steve closed his eyes and shook his head. “Don’t say it.” His knee was bouncing again, faster than before.

“Steve...”

“Don’t say it, Robin.” Steve opened his eyes again and he looked about to cry.

“I’ve seen its match.”

“You’re telling the truth, aren’t you?”

“I would never lie to you, dingus,” Robin told him earnestly. The ding of the counter bell interrupted her train of thought. “Fuck. You stay here, take the time you need, and I’ll go deal with the customers.”

“Thank you.”

“It’s gonna be okay, Stevie. You’ll see.” 

She left him there, closing the door behind her as she stepped into the area behind the counter. Her eyes narrowed when she took in the gaggle of Steve’s children gathered on the other side. She let out an exaggerated sigh so they’d know she didn’t have the patience to deal with them.

“What do you lot want?”

The annoying kid who never shut up glared at Robin. “We need to talk to Steve.” 

“Well, you can’t. He’s not here.”

“His car is outside.”

Robin shrugged. “Dunno what to tell you. I’m not his keeper. He’s not here and if you’re not going to rent videos, you can leave. Shoo.”

She stared them down until they left, grumbling as they filed through the door.

“Hey.”

“Jesus!” Robin startled, not expecting Billy to appear in front of her. “Oh my god, wear a bell or something. I nearly had a heart attack.”

Billy chuckled and leaned onto the counter. “Sorry, Rob. Didn’t mean to scare ya. Is he really not here or were you just trying to get rid of the weird kids brigade?”

“Oh he’s here. He’s having a major freak-out in the break room.”

“Fuck. Is he gonna be alright?”

Robin and Billy had become pretty close over the past few months, as they bonded over shared interests and her secret relationship with Heather had progressed. She knew he’d made his peace with being nothing more than best friends with Steve, despite their matching soulmarks or his own feelings for Steve. She loved how much he cared for her favorite dingus, and she wasn’t about to start lying to him about Steve.

“I’m not sure. He was pretty shaken up.”

Billy groaned and rested his head between his arms on the counter. “It’s probably my fault.”

“What do you mean? What happened?”

He lifted his head and stared at a spot on the wall. “Last weekend, at the quarry, I stupidly mentioned soulmates. No, not like that , I just… asked him if he ever dreamed about his. Then he asked about mine. I stayed vague, for obvious reasons, but he kept asking and I may have snapped then driven off.”

“What the hell, Billy?”

“I know, I know, but I felt cornered, okay?” He ran a hand over his face then finally looked Robin in the eye. “I don’t know how much longer I can go on pretending he’s not everything I’ve ever wanted.”

Robin heard a click behind her and noticed Billy turning deathly white and frozen on the spot.

“Billy?”

At the sound of Steve’s voice, Robin turned around to find him standing in the doorway.

“Hey, dingus,” Robin called out with extra cheer in her voice. “Feeling better?” 

Steve ignored her, his attention on Billy whose eyes hadn’t left his.

“Do you think we could talk?”

“Of course, pretty boy.” Billy cut himself off, and Robin spotted his cheeks getting pink under his tan. “I mean, sure, here, or…?”

“Here is fine.” Steve half turned, looking at Robin, a question in his eyes.

“I’ll cover for you, no worries.”

She motioned for Billy to follow Steve, and she’d never seen him look so scared. She closed the door behind Billy and turned the music up a couple of notches, just in case…

When they came out of the break room forty minutes later, they both looked disheveled and Steve was sporting a rather damning hickey on his collarbone.

He came to stand next to her at the counter and they both watched Billy walk towards the exit, though Steve’s eyes strayed decidedly lower than Robin’s. Billy pushed the door and turned to give them a little wave before he stepped onto the sidewalk.

“Not a word, Robin. Not a word.”

Robin mimed zipping her lips together but that didn’t stop her smile. She bumped her shoulder into Steve’s and he bumped hers back.

A large group of customers entered the shop and the two of them got to work, dealing with returns that needed rewinding, and issuing new movies. The job wasn’t exactly rewarding, they didn’t get paid much, but all that didn’t matter, because working together had led them both to find their soulmates.

And that was the bit that really mattered.