#i was thinking about his line ‘see there’s no monsters in the closet. Well now there is but I’m not gonna scare you I’m off duty 😃’

[james-p-sullivan]

ive put a ridiculous amount of monsters inc gifs in the queue

if there’s any specific scenes you guys can think of let me know!

[haveyouseenthisskeleton]

can i please please please please have a reader/(y/n) running into the main papyri for the first time?

like walk in down the street and the skeleton boi walks into us, reader stumbles and stares up at them mouth agape for a solid five seconds before lighting up and say “so.. so cool!”

i just need the boys to know just how cool they are 😔💀

i hope you have an extra awesome day 😎

Undertale Papyrus - He immediately tries to catch you as you fall forward. You stay a solid two minutes just... staring into the other eyes. Uh. Papyrus blushes for some reason, and then you say he's cool, and now he's even more a mess. How did that even happen? He says you're cool too, and then leaves, the face entirely red. A little part of him hopes to see you again and he even feels bad once back home. He didn't even ask your name. Sans is confused why he's so agitated.

Underswap Papyrus - Uh... What did you just say? Honey was about to apologize for bumping into you and now he's completely speechless, mind entirely blank. He just stares at you and randomly says "I'm a skeleton" before blushing to hell when he realizes he just said something stupid. He blips in thin air, so embarrassed. Blue jumps as he just hears Honey muffles scream in his pillow out of nowhere. Honey is troubled.

Underfell Papyrus - He gives you a dark stare as you bump into him, this close to screaming at you to watch where you're going. But then you say he's cool and he's completely disconcerted. ... What? He takes him a good minute to grow back his angry face. W-Well yes! Of course, he's cool! Because monsters are cool, unlike random humans bumping into strangers! And then he leaves, swaggering, very proud of his line. He's so disturbed as he keeps thinking about this though.

Horrortale Papyrus - He's panicking, scared he might have hurt you, and apologizing again and again. Then you just said he's cool. Willow tells you that's alright, he understands if you want to call the pol... Wait, what. He blinks in complete confusion at you, staring at him with stars in the eyes??? Uh... Ok... He pats you on the head awkwardly and wishes you a good day. You catch him turning several times to stare at you as he leaves. That was weird. But nice. But very weird.

Swapfell Papyrus - Rus stares at you in confusion as you say he's cool. Uh. He's so disturbed he gives you his box of nuggets. And then he leaves, staring at you the whole time, as he faceplants right into a pole. You ask if he's alright, he shakes it off and finger guns at you, before teleporting away. Back home, he's cringing so hard. Finger guns, really? What the hell did he do that for? ... And he just realized he lost his nuggets too. Well, that was something.

Fellswap Gold Papyrus - He heard you say he's cool, but uh, he still looks behind him to see if you said that to someone else. Uh. No one. ... Wait, you're talking to him for real? His eyes widened with pure terror. He's not ready to talk to humans yet! No one told him humans could talk to him! As you ask if he's ok, he just starts to hyperventilate, and looks around for something to hug. Well, too bad you're the only thing available. He cling to you all of the sudden, making you flinch in surprise. He then blushes when he realizes what he's doing, apologizes in panic and disappears. He needs to hide in his closet to recover for a bit.

[weebsinstash]

Do you think Vox can make his fingers/dick vibrate? 🤔 And if he can switch out body parts, can he exchange his dick for different models? I feel like if he can do the latter, he's insecure enough to give himself a monster cock 😂

Oh no so it's like, absolutely canon. I don't care if the Instagram accounts aren't deemed official canon anymore because there are definitely certain aspects which are absolutely still in character or could be used as a reference and there was a post exactly about this subject

One of the old Valentino Twitter posts was something about how Vox had smashed Val's TV in a rage and had bought him a new one to replace it, and Valentino commented several things along the lines of "compensating much?" (it was a large tv) and "good thing it doesn't vibrate or I would have a new boyfriend 🤭" outright confirming Vox can vibrate

Pair that with Viv commenting that Vox tops Val because he is LITERALLY TOO INSECURE TO BOTTOM and I think it's basically guaranteed that Vox has stuff he does to his dick in terms of either making it bigger or idk maybe he was spare parts he swaps out. We don't really know the full potential of his body, or even if we are overassuming what he can do. Perhaps just because he modernized his head does not actually mean he can customize his entire body, however I think the ability to do so would fit the narrative of his character: a narcissistic showman personality who craves the limelight and attention and yearns to be seen and adored and staying relevant to the point he loses his own personal identity and even his physical body in pursuit of constantly innovating to try and keep views and keep expanding and making more and more money.

It really depends on his reasons for what he does. Is the money just a bonus, and it's more about the recognition, or is it a combination of several things? Is Vox mostly just insecure, or is he genuinely on that Capital At All Costs grindset?

Either way it's basically guaranteed that this man gave himself a dick upgrade and you cannot convince me of anything else. Seeing people's ideas for what his junk looks like is also fun too. Someone contact the specific subset of the Transformers fandom where it was a trend to design what their hypothetical disks would look like and people were putting neon strip lights along the glans and shit, have some of them get in on this.

You think Vox has like, a drawer or a cabinet full of dicks. Would he collect/commission dicks of different styles until he has like a collection, like he's got a miniature bad dragon marketplace in his closet. Obviously we can have our "calculated CEO menace" stories but we could, in theory, also have "this guy is actually kind of a little freak and develops an unhealthy obsession with trying to see how well you could take all his favorite 'attachments'".

Also just a special shout out to the artists who give him little like, feet pawsies, or shark features like a dorsal fin or sometimes a tail because 😭❤️ idk it's just cute that's it post over now

[pablitogavii]

Pablo finally succeeding at pranking reader with something and she’s really hurt so he has to tell her it was a prank and they have a fluffy ending :)

Well this one went too far Pablito..:)

You were done cleaning the kitchen while your boyfriend of two years was taking his post-training shower. You made some dinner for the both of you smiling at the bouquet of roses he surprised you with when he came home.

You always adored how thoughtful Pablo is and how he would always make random surprises for you even after two years of being together.

While you were smelling one of the roses, you noticed his phone keeps ringing on the dining room table. You two have no problem going into each other's phone, knowing each other's passwords, so you went to see who it was expecting it to be Aurora or his mom.

New Text from Bombon;))

You almost choked seeing your own nickname on his phone but knowing it wasn't you who texted him..Pablo was cheating on you!? And he didn't have the decency to give her another nickname! Hijo de puta!

What you didn't know is that Pablo only turned the shower on and was spying on you from the bedroom while Pedri sent the texts you were currently reading.

bombon;)): you left me craving last night papito

bombon;)): come give me more of that monster cock tonight :*

bombon;)): i miss you so much!

Texts kept coming and you kept reading them while being frozen in place not knowing what to do with yourself. Do you tell him you've seen them? Or do you just leave right now while he is showering??

How could he cheat on you?? He was the last person you've expected to hurt you like this..he knew about your past experience..and he promised to show you how a real man treats a woman he loves..why did he have to hurt you too??

"Amor?" Pablo walked in since you weren't doing anything wanting to see your face expecting you to be angry and yell at him but when he saw tears flooding your face, he was the one who froze in place. What did he do!? Mireda!

"She's texting you..said she misses you after last night. Just..go to her" you said giving him the phone and walking away into the bedroom with tears flooding your face and he cursed himself walking in after you.

"Amor listen to me.." Pablo knew he took this too far, he felt horrible when he saw that you were starting to pack your suitcase. He never wanted to see you do this again..he didn't want you to ever leave your shared home..this wasn't a home without you here!

"Stop calling me that! Just stop! And go to her..I'll be out of here when you get back" you said trying to walk towards the closet but he stops you grabbing your shoulders and making you look up at him with tears falling faster down your cheeks.

"Please don't cry amorcito..it's not real..it was a prank but it's not funny and I'm sorry.." he said and you felt weary not knowing weather you should believe him or not.

"I don't believe you..just let me go!" you said trying to push past him but he pulled you into a tight hug you couldn't get out of since he was much stronger than you.

"Do you really think I would ever do that to you? I love you so much amorcito..you're my whole world and I made you that promise, remember?" he spoke kissing the top of your head but you still didn't fully believe him. You were scared that you've really lost him..that it was over and that broke you.

"So why did you hurt me too?" you cried and he pulled back a little but still holding you tightly so you couldn't leave him. It broke him seeing you like this, he was such an idiot!

"I promise I didn't..here, call the number and see for yourself" he said giving you the phone and you gulped dialing the number shocked to hear Pedri's voice on the other line. Cabróns!

"I hate you! I hate you both!" you hung up crying louder while he hugged you to his chest letting you cry for as long as you needed but making sure you knew he was right there besides you and wasn't going anywhere.

"And you gave her my nickname too.." you sniffled and he raised your chin up to look at your adorable face drying your face with his hand.

"Amor, she doesn't exist..you are my only bombon princesa!" he said and you smiled weakly nodding your head with a pout on your lips that he kissed smiling slowly.

"Really, the nickname hurt you the most??" Pablo said chuckling a little when he saw that you've calmed down and you nodded your head making him laugh and carrying you bridal style onto the couch sitting besides you and letting you cuddle up to him.

"I want to be your only bombon..para siempre" you say kissing his neck to his jaw and he smiled nodding his head moving to the side and kissing your lips passionately.

"And you are bombon..para siempre!?" he said deciding this was the last prank he will ever pull on you.

Hope you like it :) <33

[korvidian]

Watched 'I Saw the TV Glow' last night and tbh... I was not impressed?

Spoilers below the cut.

I have, of course, seen posts going around talking about the movie and the plot points and character interactions, and I am fully convinced that some people have hallucinated a bunch of things that simply Were Not There.

Throughout the film-- and I was honestly quite keen for this movie! The hype had excited me!-- I kept finding myself disappointed every time it fell flat.

It felt like the movie, in trying to be subtle, refused to give its audience anything. They had one scene with a tiny jumpscare with a monster, some frankly awkward looking dances from the villains' sidekicks, and the villain himself had so little screen time or presence he might as well have not appeared.

This movie seemed far more interested in its own aesthetics than anything of substance, and it was not, in any fashion I can tell, trying to make some kind of social commentary about that.

The face to camera telling of so many of the events, of saying how good The Pink Opaque was, without showing more than a handful of scenes, the complete lack of... any real character interactions? It just felt amateurishly trite.

The whole thing gave me the vibe of someone's Year 11 end of year English writing project that honestly would have made a better epistolary novel than a movie, where a teacher gave it a really good grade because it was vaguely edgy and desperate for approval, and then the director/screenwriter did not like... edit it in any way.

It did not feel like Owen and Maddy had any actual friendship or closeness despite the textual 'tell don't show' relationship they're meant to embody through their on-screen personas. They had Justice Smith catatonic for 90% of the movie, like I could see points where it seemed like he desperately wanted to portray literally anything beyond that one screaming scene at the end, and the director made him pull back until you'd have to use an electron microscope to see any action from him whatsoever.

There was no development of the relationship with the mother-- one of the few people who seemed like she cared about Owen-- or even the father, who was relegated to like four lines and mostly sitting out of frame watching television until he too was killed off in a summary skip with no real sense of... any emotional change from Owen?

There was one fragment of a scene with him in a dress, just for those poor audience members who weren't quite sure what the movie was haphazardly trying to go for. And a brief Phoebe Bridgers cameo and another a cool queer artist whose name I don't remember right now but whose song just dragged on in the scene and felt supremely out of place.

There was no exploration of the sense of repressed gender or expression from Owen beyond the small smile in the dress in the mirror, no bit where Maddy's return and taking him to a queer club opens up some of that potential for happiness or just life that Owen could have if he accepted himself and made any positive changes in his life for himself? Even if they had decided to have him decide it was too frightening/dangerous to explore that part of himself further it would have been something.

Owen somehow managed to get a wife and start a family and we see literally nothing of them, even if it was meant to be a 'ohhh the luna juice just made you think you have a family!! they weren't real!!' give the audience like... anything about them beyond a single line so they might actually feel some sense of horror for those made up relationships that maybe also brought Owen a sense of happiness but feeling removed from who he ~truly is~ or, again, any message at all. We get nothing.

No sense at all that like... the 'safe', 'closeted', 'repressed' life/death Owen chooses is worth it to him vs the dangers in the tv show, the representation of that 'true life' he isn't brave enough or ready enough to face.

The plot felt as starved for air as Justice Smith's death rattle asthma cough in the last part of the movie.

Anyone who said that this was a 'love letter to being obsessed over media' has never been obsessed over media and is, moreover, someone I don't think actually watched this film. The movie betrays this sense that the media was profound to the characters by instead revealing The Pink Opaque was actually horribly trite and terrible and does nothing to say that this was fabricated or a deliberate attempt by Mr Melancholy or Owen's subconscious to say that the thing that was his lifeline/way into a better and more fulfilling and exciting life/possible way to avoid the implied death/egodeath of his inner self.

It really seems to laugh at its audience and the idea that media you were obsessed with as a teen could actually be good, even if the effects end up dated and the acting a bit stiff, but there should still be something there.

I would even have liked it if they had decided to portray the horror of watching two people spiralling into a shared delusion, with Maddy desperately pulling Owen into their Bridge to Terabithia-esque wonderworld of maladaptive daydreaming and excitement and attempts to express and explore themselves they couldn't get in Suburban Whereverthefuck. Like, have the burial attempt to 'go back to the show' be real and don't undercut it and just say 'oh I never saw Maddy again' and have that... just not really come up again at all??

Not enough media portrays the insane hyper detailed world-building codependency and shared mythology of two repressed teens, and the highs and lows that come with that dynamic.

I don't think I came into this movie with expectations that were too high, but I think by coming to this movie with any kind of expectation of... something? was its downfall.

[praxisia]

I started a little monster Steve AU from this idea, here’s the first part:

Steve Harrington has a secret.

Billy has been hanging out with Steve for a while now, more or less since he first got to Hawkins, and there’s just something about the guy that strikes Billy as… off.

From what Tommy and Carol had told him, Steve apparently used to act real different. He used to be kind of a hot shot. He was cocky, smug, and always looking for a good time. Then he started going out with some chick named Nancy Wheeler, and apparently he hasn’t been the same since. Not since he caught her and Jonathan Byers practically dry humping in a closet at a house party a few months ago.

Billy gets it though. If he got cheated on with a guy like Jonathan, he’d lose his shit too. The guy is a creep with no friends, no personality, and no money. He’s got all the sex appeal of a soggy napkin. He’s so unremarkable that he’s practically invisible, and yet Steve somehow lost to him.

That’s not what Billy really means, though. Steve’s not weird because he’s stuck on Nancy, Billy has seen to that problem personally. And no, it’s not the fact that Steve’s bi, either. That was obvious since the first time Billy laid eyes on him at that Halloween party. Steve is just too pretty, too well groomed, and frankly wears too much Farrah Fawcett to be fucking straight.

Billy has seen some pictures from a year ago, back around the time he was dating Nancy, and he looked more like a prep than he does now. He used to dress like the boy next door. He tended to comb his hair back, and he used to wear khakis with his polos. Like, by choice. He just looked like someone who would date Nancy, if that makes sense. Since their breakup he dresses more casually, more cool, more like… well, more like Tommy, if Billy was being honest with himself.

But.

But. Steve has been growing his hair out. He’s been styling it differently too, because it's been looking more and more wavy. His eyes seem wider than they used to, they’re more doe-like than he remembers. Sometimes when they go to the mall, he notices the way that Steve will linger behind him and look over the things Billy seemed interested in. He swears that he’s seen a Metallica tape sitting in Steve’s glove box once or twice. And…there was this one time after basketball practice, where Billy got kinda close to Steve when they were alone in the locker room, that he noticed that Steve had used his cologne.

Billy found it kinda cute at the time, and kinda hot too, and he just had to call Steve out on it. He remembers how red Steve got when he asked if Steve snuck some of his cologne from his bag. He remembers the way his breath hitched, the may his voice got higher because of how embarrassed he was to be caught red handed.

Billy figured that maybe Steve was just a bit of a copycat. He figured that maybe Steve was the kind of person to pick up little bits and pieces of things he liked in other people and collect them for himself, the way birds collect shiny things to put in their nest. It was flattering. It was endearing.

Then one night, when Billy was driving Max home from one of her friend’s houses, he spotted Steve’s beamer parked out near the woods. It wasn’t on the shoulder, either, but just inside the tree line so that it was just barely visible from the road when Billy’s headlights hit it a certain way.

At first, Billy didn’t think much of it. Like, was it kinda odd? Yeah… but it’s not like Billy hasn’t done the same when he needed some time to himself, or on nights where he just couldn’t go home. He kinda figured that this was the same thing, figured Steve probably just needed to blow off some steam, and left it alone for a while.

Until he started to see the beamer more and more. Until he realized there was a sense of regularity to it.

There wasn’t exactly a pattern, per se, but there were rules that Steve seemed to follow. He always parked near the woods, usually just past the tree line or off the road if the trees were too thick. He never uses the same spot twice in a row, but he seemed to favor the quarry, lovers lake, and the woods near skull rock. He only ever goes to the woods at night, never during daytime.

Billy has gone up and inspected Steve’s car a couple of times to try and see what he was up to. He’s never seen any blankets or food or anything, so as far as Billy can tell he isn’t sleeping in his car.

Billy did try asking Steve about it once, the morning after he caught sight of the beamer in the woods near Loch Nora, and Steve got kinda weird about it. He said he goes out there to smoke weed or drink sometimes, which is fair. So Billy asked if he could come too sometime.

There was this look that Steve gave him. It’s like the way someone looks at you when they think they might be caught. That little moment when a person’s brain just kinda stops and they get that deer-in-headlights kind of look.

And Steve just kind of… brushed it off. He said to Billy that if he wanted to drink or smoke, he’d rather Billy just come over to his house. And.

He just doesn’t know what it is, but there was something about that whole conversation that just twisted Billy’s insides up. Like. He can’t tell if he should be worried for Steve, or worried about Steve, but he is worried either way.

____________________________

The next time Billy catches the gleam of the beamer in his headlights, he pulls over and parks his car just off the road, and gets out to investigate.

He whips out the flashlight he snagged from his glove box and peers inside the windows but doesn’t see Steve inside. There’s no blankets or spare clothes, no cigarettes or beer, or really anything out of place. It looks exactly the same as always, just like the last time he came out to check on Steve.

Billy shines his light around to look for some kind of sign for where Steve went.

There’s a bit of leaf litter that looks like it’s been kicked up so he follows the trail for a bit. After a couple of minutes of walking the trail just sort of disappears, no foot steps or cigarette buds or anything. He checks behind him to see that his camaro has been reduced to just a few slivers of shiny blue paint in the distance.

“This is so fucking stupid,” Billy says to himself aloud. He could be doing literally anything else right now, like smoking with Eddie, or playing basketball with some guys from the team, or —shit— even just reading a book would be less dumb than this, but instead he’s here making sure Steve isn’t getting super fucked up in the woods and getting eaten by bears or something.

He sighs, “Stop being such a fucking pussy.” He checks his watch and chews his lip a bit. “Twenty minutes. Just a quick look around and then I’ll go. Twenty minutes, tops.”

He trudges on through the trees and over rocks and roots, and winds himself around bushes and logs, until he eventually meets a river. The river is wide and the water is so dark that even in the light of his flashlight he can’t tell how deep it is. He briefly entertains the thought of trying to find a way across, but there aren’t any rocks in the river, and there isn’t anything around he can use as a makeshift bridge. Plus, he doesn’t feel like risking going home soggy and getting river water stuck in his car. Besides, Steve goes out to the woods all the time. Sure, yeah, Steve is spoiled as hell and can’t cook much more than a frozen pizza, but he’s not a baby. He’s probably fine and Billy shouldn’t have gotten so over dramatic about the whole thing.

Billy finds a nice sized rock on the edge of the river and takes a seat. The moon is bright and the stars are out and he really could use a cigarette right now, so he pulls out his pack and lights one.

The rock is cool through his jeans. He takes a long drag off his cigarette and feels his shoulders start to relax a bit. He focuses on the water, on the way it glitters with little patches of broken moonlight, and the way it sounds as it flows. He tries to let the tightness in his muscles go, letting the white noise of the river fill his mind and leach the tension from his body.

Billy leans forward just far enough to dip his fingers into the water. It’s cold to the touch, and it feels so smooth against his skin. It reminds him of the ocean a bit, the way the water laps at his palm.

It makes him think of California.

Billy got a job as a lifeguard at Hawkins’ pool and he’s spending as much time as he can there scraping up every penny he can get his hands on. Money is his ticket out of this backwater shit hole, and he’s got until he graduates to make enough money to get back home to San Diego. The first thing he’s gonna do once he has enough cash is buy his car from Neil; taking the camaro will be way easier than trying to take the bus. Plus, the bastard already makes him pay for the insurance. After that he’s gonna pack up as much stuff as he can without getting caught, collect his diploma, and the moment when everyone has their backs turned he’s gonna hop in his car and never look back.

Billy hasn’t told anyone about his plan yet, not even Steve. He knows he should tell Steve, and he wants to, but… he just can’t right now. He doesn’t know how to explain it in a way that sounds good, in a way that doesn’t make him look like some kind of…coward. Skipping town is just easier.

There’s just one problem.

Max is starting to figure things out at home. She’s seen some of the fights, had a taste of what it means for Neil to get genuinely angry, and in regular Max fashion she still hasn’t figured out how to shut her mouth and keep her head down. She chooses to fight, chooses to argue, and it’s pushing Neil to the edge. At some point, she’s gonna push too far and Neil is going to end up breaking something or someone, and then it’ll only get worse from there. Billy probably won’t be there to protect her when that happens, and knowing Susan, she’s not gonna lift a fucking finger to help.

He knows it‘s selfish, but he was hoping that maybe if he told Steve, then Steve might be able to keep an eye on Max. Steve likes Max. He never gets mad when Billy is forced to babysit her, or bring her with them when they were supposed to be hanging out together. Steve actually enjoys hitting up the arcade or the movies with her, and he watches over her at the pool when Billy is on break. Maybe Steve would leave his door open for Max if Billy leaves.

When he leaves.

Billy checks his watch and realizes that he’s been in the woods for a lot longer than twenty minutes so he gets up and dusts off his pants and—

JUMPS.

Somewhere behind him he hears leaves rustling. He looks around, scanning the landscape. The sound seems like it’s coming from somewhere over the river. He stares hard into the distance, trying to see if he can spot whatever is out here with him.

In the distance he sees a shape through the trees that looks to be about the size of a deer slowly making its way through the woods. He hopes it’s a deer, anyway, and not a bear or mountain lion. He clicks the flashlight on, hoping to scare the thing off, and instead feels his heart stop the second the light lands on the beast.

Its skin is pale gray. It has four long and knobby legs, and those skinny legs hold up a pot bellied and barrel chested body. Two glowing white eyes turn up to look at him and for a moment they stand there, staring each other down. Then the creature raises up onto its hind legs and Billy breaks. His foot slips out from under him as he tries to climb away from the river bed and he smashes his knee hard on the rock under him before he manages to scramble away. He stumbles from the pain but it’s quickly smothered out by the ice that fills his veins the second he realizes that he can hear the creature running after him. Leaves crunch and branches snap and he feels hot breath on the back of his neck. He pumps his legs faster and faster and his lungs catch fire. He’s dodging trees, hurdling over logs and rocks, but something gives way under him and he feels something in his leg crunch—

The ground hits him like a bus.

He wheezes, dazed. When his senses come back to him he realizes he is utterly swallowed in darkness. He can’t find flashlight at all, and his ankle is throbbing with pain. He manages to prop himself up on his elbows and he tries to listen, tries to see if he’s still being followed. A few seconds pass but he hears nothing. He pulls himself up to try to see over the edge of the shallow pit he’s found himself in, but he doesn’t see any shapes moving around in the darkness.

A twig snaps from somewhere above him and he looks up to see the silhouette of the creature climbing through the branches. It moves weightlessly, like a spider with its spindly legs and large belly. Billy presses himself flat up against the wall of the pit. He puts his hand over his mouth, willing himself not to make a sound, and holds his breath as the creature gets closer. He grits his teeth and prays.

The creature slows down as it gets closer and closer to where he’s hiding before pausing almost directly overhead. From where he is, he can see the creature’s neck stretch out to two or three times the length it was seconds ago, its long head turning this way and that. After what feels like an eternity the creature finally gives up. It chooses a nearby tree and climbs down the trunk, its pale body lumbering out of sight. Billy doesn’t dare move to follow it. Instead he waits and he listens. He can hear that thing crawling around him, can hear the crunch of leaves and rocks under its weight.

Eventually, blessedly, the sounds fade. Billy chances a peek over the edge of the pit and finds that the creature has moved on from him.

Billy tries to stand, but his left ankle buckles under his weight and he has to grit his teeth hard to keep from shouting in pain. He takes in a shaky breath through clenched teeth and wipes the tears from his eyes. His hands and arms ache from breaking his fall, and they’re probably gonna bruise, but at least he can use them. He finds a spot where the walls are less steep and hobbles over. Trying to climb out of a pit with only one leg is hard enough, but doing it in the dark while trying to keep as quiet as he can is next to impossible.

But he manages.

He claws his way up and out and he slumps onto his side to catch his breath.

His car can’t be that far away. If he’s quiet, if he’s careful, he can probably make it out of here. He just has to get up and do it.

Between the pain in his leg, the tears in his eyes, and the fear of being caught by that monster, the trek back to his car feels like an eternity. He almost sobs when he sees the glistening of the camaro’s shiny paint through the trees. He overshot the distance to his car by about twenty or thirty feet, but he is finally out of the woods.

He hurries over to his Camaro, blinking tears out of his eyes, and jumps inside.

He puts the key into ignition and suddenly safety feels like it’s just within his reach.

The second he turns his headlights on, he sees it.

There’s a flash of movement. A pale hand with dreadfully, terribly long fingers and the side of a long face ducks behind a tree. His heart drops out of his chest and settles like a lead ball in his guts. It’s here. He was so careful and it’s still HERE!

He feels heat explode in his chest and he throws the car into reverse and slams the gas, turning around in his chair to look out the rear window as he speeds away from the trees. The second his tires are back onto pavement he slams the breaks, jerking the wheel at the same time. The Camaro turns sharply and he almost slides back off the road before he can twist the wheel the other way to try and straighten out.

He wastes no time trying to see if the creature is coming after him. He throws the car into gear and floors it, tires squealing, and he peels off into the night.

[starxrocket11]

Monsters under the bed - Leosagi being cute parents

A monster coming out of under his bed was pretty scary for a little kid. 

Being exactly what was going through the mind of little 5-year-old Jotaro, who was trying his best not to start crying because of that horrible nightmare. 

He sniffled and held his turtle plushie close to his chest. His room was pretty illuminated by the blue bunny night light, courtesy of his Uncle Tello, but for some reason, his closet and the simple thought of looking under his bed were extremely scary. 

He looked at his door being slightly open and he could hear the low volume of the television in the living room. 

Counting in his head, he jumped from his bed and ran so the monster couldn’t get him, making a direct line to the living room where he knew his Dad was, as he knew that sometimes he couldn’t sleep. 

He could see his Dad sitting up from his laying position on the couch, with a worried look directed at him. Jumping to the couch, he immediately was hugged and held close to his Dad’s plastron. 

“Hey, hey, buddy, what’s going on?” His Dad asked while sitting him on his lap and stroking his head. 

“T-there’s a-a monster” He sniffled. 

“A monster?” 

“Y-yeah, under the bed, and-and the closet!” The small bunny felt himself being picked up, which allowed him to put his arms around his Dad’s neck. 

Understanding what was going on, Leo gave him a tight hug and started rubbing his back. 

“Ay nene, It’s ok, you had a nightmare right?” He whispered. 

Jotaro nodded, still hiding in the crook of his neck. 

“Well, I can promise you that there are no monsters here, you know why?” 

It took the small bunny a little bit, but he separated himself from the hug enough to look at his Dad in the eyes. 

“Why?” He tilted his head a little bit. 

It took Leo’s whole mental strength not to coo at the action, that reminded him so much of his husband. 

“Because your Papa and I will have found them and kicked their butt for sure.” He tickled his son’s tummy, smiling softly when he saw him giggle. “They’re super scared of us, so they don’t even come close” 

Jotaro thought about it a little bit, and it made sense. His dad was the best ninja ever and his Papa was a super cool samurai. They kicked bad guy butt all the time! His uncle Mikey told him a ton of stories. 

Nodding, but still not wanting to go to his room, he hugged his Dad again. 

“How about you sleep with us tonight? Tomorrow I’ll make sure to check for any monsters in your room, sounds good?” 

Jotaro nodded again, now leaning his head against his Dad’s shoulder, who gave him his turtle plushie back and he hugged it close. 

Leo turned off the TV and started walking toward his room, where his husband was already sleeping. 

“Mm? Leo?” Usagi asked sleepily while looking up and immediately noticing their son in his arms. “Jotaro? Everything ok?” 

“A small monster problem, but everything’s ok.” Jotaro almost jumped out of Leo’s arms when he got close to the bed. Being immediately hugged by Usagi while the turtle lay down, leaving Jotaro between the both of them. 

“Dad said that monsters don’t get close to the house because they’re super scared of you guys.”  Jotaro couldn’t help but snuggle in his Papa’s chest. Letting out a small yawn. “But I don’t wanna go back until Dad checks, can I stay here?”

“Of course baby” His Papa was rubbing his back softly, which made him more sleepy. “And, your Dad is right about that, monsters are super scared of us”

“Of course, I’m right, as always.” Leo’s smug tone earned him an amused look from Usagi. “Anyways, I think it’s a little bit past your bedtime, nene.”

“Not-” Jotaro was interrupted by his own yawn, “-tired” 

“Mhm, totally” 

The adults noticed that just a couple of seconds later, Jotaro was out like a light. Both looked at him with soft smiles. 

“We have a good kid,” Usagi said, whispering and still rubbing the child’s back. 

“We have the best kid ever” Leo answered, now laying down and thanking the ancestors for the family that he has. 

[piracytheorist]

Do you think any of the Forgers believe in ghosts or have a fear of the supernatural?

Anya is part of a supernatural force, courtesy of her mind-reading powers. And she's a child, so she definitely has some kind of belief or fear of something related. I wonder what kind of nightmares she might have and whether she has the instinct to run to someone for comfort after she's had one, cause she most likely didn't have someone to comfort her after one when she was in the lab or in any of the orphanages. Maybe the scientists drilled into her the thought that nightmares aren't real and there's no monster hiding under her bed or her closet.

She probably believes there are aliens and the kinds of monsters she comes up with.

She's like, five, and her imagination runs wild. And again, she herself is a result of human experimentation and has a dog that can see the future, so her imagination limits are probably even broader than the average five-year-old's. But I don't think she has a particular fear of ghosts or anything. Again, maybe the scientists took that fear away from her and maybe not in the kindest and most supportive of ways.

Twilight is a very logical person, and I doubt he believes in anything he cannot see or prove for himself. Even his own feelings are a difficult concept for him to grasp. Shameless self promo of my time loop fic, in which upon his realization that something supernatural is happening to him, he doesn't think "OMG magic is real! What else, am I gonna see ghosts or whatever?", instead he goes like "Okay, how do I work around this".

He's also a spy, putting himself in danger and dirtying his hands to create the world he wants. He doesn't seem to believe in a higher power or benign force that could help him in his mission; if he wants a better world, he has to work for it himself. He also probably doesn't fear of any divine judgment, I doubt he'd be able to do as much morally questionable stuff if he feared he'd be judged for them in the afterlife. He may not even believe in afterlife, period. How would he deal with the idea that, if judged for his actions, he wouldn't get to see his mother again in the afterlife?

As for Yor, she might be somewhere in the middle. Like Twilight, she took it upon herself to rid the world of dangers; she isn't expecting from a higher power to help her. No-one protected her and her brother when they were innocent, so she might as well dirty her hands to protect her brother, because what kind of a higher being that didn't help them when they needed it would have the footing to judge her for that?

That said, I wonder how accurate the translation of that line of hers is here. Cause here it sounds like she will be punished (by whom? Some higher power? The Shopkeeper if he finds out?) for thinking about harming an innocent person.

In the manga translation, it sounds like just by thinking of hurting an innocent person, she could jinx it and actually cause it to happen... or that if she thinks about it too much, she'll somehow end up convincing herself she should go ahead and harm Fiona?

In any case, she might lean more towards thinking supernatural things could happen, but it's not something that concerns her on a day-to-day basis. I don't think she fears of anything supernatural... if nothing else, because she might be confident enough she'll be able to fight off anything with harmful intentions. Gurl was absolutely ready to fight sharks if needed, I wouldn't doubt she'd be able to kick some ghost and demon ass no problem. I doubt she fears of divine judgment either, but unlike Twilight it wouldn't be because she doubts it exists, but because she concerns herself with the present and protecting what she cares about now. Future her can worry about that. And then kick the ass of the deity or demon punishing her for committing murder on the regular because excuse me sir where were you when me and my brother were two starving war orphans? Yeah, thought so.

(anime only here, don't spoil me for the manga)

[henrysglock]

You ever think about how Brenner said he always thought Henry was out there, hiding in the darkness. You ever think about how that line is followed directly by a recap of them exploring the original lab gate.

And then maybe you wonder about how El managed to escape in 1983. Her escaping out that tunnel, just like Henry showed her in NINA.

Then maybe you think about closet scene in NINA happening at night...despite the massacre happening during the day...and the 1983 escape vibes that has.

And the fact that that scene was entirely spliced in, and we never see closet guy again after that scene.

And then...I just think...Season 1

"And the boy?" "Still missing."

We assume Brenner's talking about Will when he says "the boy", since Will is our main focus at the time, but now, with the "First Message from the UD" not being Will's first time talking from wherever he disappeared to...

I'm not 100% sold anymore.

We've always assumed it was Will talking through the lights whenever they're being helpful, despite ST showing us over and over that the lights blinking and shifting just means someone is near them.

And now, in this latest TFS teaser...

It's the origin of the Upside Down. The first message from the Upside Down.

It does make me wonder who, exactly, was speaking when the lights spelled out RUN.

On a directly related note: Another thing that's struck me as odd all along was the teasing and commentary about monsters in TFS—

There are a lot of monsters.

And I initially went "but how, if no one opens gates until El does it in 1979? Is someone else opening them in the 50s? Are we talking about something else entirely?"

We've always assumed that Henry had never opened a gate/didn't have the ability to open gates because we never see him do it in the flashbacks. We've also assumed that he can't do it because Vecna couldn't do it. But if Henry isn't Vecna...then who's to say what his powers entail?

There's something about the Lost Sister, too. Kali having these vision powers but no remote viewing. All of Kali's One coding, behaviorally, as opposed to El and her refusal to go along with it. El having gate powers and remote viewing (remote viewing seems to be less unique, Ten had it as well, it's less of a tell)...especially when compared to the BTS teaser:

That plus the lost sister having initially been titled "The Lost Brother" and casting for men like Jamie...Something stinks about Henry-El Kali-One copycatting, here.

It makes me wonder who may have been opening gates like the one in the tree...or the one in the wall of the Byers' house, which would have allowed Will to escape, but only ended up drawing attention to him. Something about trying to help and making things worse by doing so.

Anyway, back to my original point.

We all assume Will has powers (and maybe he does, I don't know), and that he was the one who told Joyce to run in ST1, but now I'm wondering if we haven't been duped all along.

After all, who's the boy we just saw in the TFS teaser, the one who's shown using (what seem to be) remote viewing powers while holding hands with Sue Sinclair? How about the boy Patty Newby falls for? The boy Victor Creel loves to the moon and back? The "sensitive" boy who keeps spiders as pets in fully furnished jars? The boy who's so paralleled to Will that it's almost comical?

That's Henry, no?

So when we ask "Who's signaling for Joyce to run?"...let's put Mister "I tried to help, but it only made things worse", the guy who knew Joyce in the 50s, back on the table.

Pretty please. As a treat to me.

[kay-wren]

I'll Come Running - R.C. - Chapter 12

Rafe cracked open every door in that endless corridor. He finally found the room that he was looking for. With a subtle knock on the door he entered, almost scared to disturb her peace. He wondered why he even cared about her peace, she clearly didn't care about his. Not four years ago and certainly not now.

Rafe still didn't have many words for Jessie, but he managed a simple statement.

"If you're going to be here, claiming to be my wife after all these years, then you're going to give me some answers." He sniffled and said coldly looking over at Jessie lounging on the window sill overlooking the water. To Rafe, she hadn't changed a bit, but he could tell she had matured. She still looked beautiful to him, just as beautiful as he thought she was dancing so freely at the Island Club. He wanted that Jessie back, and he thought maybe this was his chance to see if that Jessie was still hiding somewhere in there.

Jessie simply looked over at Rafe, she understood where he was coming from. As much as she hated opening up, she knew he deserved answers. That's the main reason she didn't want to ever see him again, because she would have to have tough conversations. She hated those, and Rafe knew it. Jessie simply nodded in response.

Rafe couldn't believe it was that easy. No snide remark? No snarky comment? No attempt to weasel her way out of it? Odd, but he'll take it.

"Meet me downstairs for dinner. I have reservations for us." He said still showing slight anger. No hope in his voice, but he couldn't have hope until he had clarity.

"What do I need to wear?" She asked almost apologetically, suddenly feeling like a burden. She needed to get her act together. She wasn't a burden, she was his wife, and she wanted what was hers. How could he make her feel guilty so quickly? She knew it was because once she finally laid eyes on him again she would see the hurt she had caused, and like she said years ago, she was cold, but she wasn't heartless. She still had a moral compass that forced her to know that she had some explaining to do.

"You can go through Sarah's summer closet." He said as he stared off and closed the door.

- - -

"You're married to that man?!" JJ screamed over the phone as Jessie was trying to get ready for her date— no, dinner— with Rafe.

Jessie sighed, "Yes, JJ. This is not how I wanted you to find out but... I knew you would."

"Gee, thanks for the warning Jess." He sassed back. "When did you even-"

"It doesn't matter, ok?" Jessie snapped as she threw up her mascara-clad hand in defense even though JJ clearly couldn't see her. She was growing annoyed, but she knew JJ deserved the conversation as well. "We're married and that's all that matters."

"Like... legally? Because you know if this is some star crossed lovers shit than it's not going to hold up in-"

"It's real, JJ. We signed papers. Rafe knows it." Jessie exclaimed with confidence.

The line went dead, clearly JJ was thinking. He had to snap himself out of whatever he was thinking. It made him sick to think that his sister was legally bonded to that monster. He had secretly hoped that it wasn't actually legal.

"Whatever will get the gold back at this point." JJ replied, Jessie could tell he was most likely running his fingers through his knotted hair, tension and confusion clear in his voice.

"Wow, thanks." Jessie said with offense in her voice.

"You know that's not what I meant." JJ argued back in a tone only a brother could.

"Doesn't matter, I'm really starting to feel like a pawn in this little game of yours and I'm not about it." Jessie said louder, hoping Rafe wasn't around to here.

That hurt JJ.

"You know what, you have NO clue how hard it was for me to call you. I knew you wanted nothing to do with Rafe Cameron and-"

"Then why'd you do it, huh?" Jessie sassed. The line went silent again. "Right, the gold. It always goes back to the gold. You're just like dad, you can't let go of something that good even if it kills you trying to have it! Well I'm not like you, JJ. I can quit. I have quit. And I'm going to get this money, make you happy, and then go back to living my life, because unlike you, I actually know when to stop." Jessie finished.

No, THAT hurt JJ. He wasn't like his dad. He just wanted a better life, for Jessie too. This is all he had, and Jessie knew that. She regretted her words immediately.

"Look, JJ, I didn't mean-"

"Save it." He sniffled. "You wanna go home, fine, see if I care. The only reason I'm doing this is because I have nothing else. Not even my sister." He said as his voice cracked.

"Yes you do, JJ, don't be ridic-"

The line went dead.

Jessie had to brush it off. She's done that plenty of times in her life. It was time to have dinner with Rafe, and she couldn't let any emotions get in her way.

She made her way down the stairs in a red silk, cocktail dress with a perfect slit down the front, accompanied by some red strappy heels. Both her and Rafe shared regal exchanges, neither one of them wanting to see the other falter.

Rafe was enamored at her beauty, like no time had passed. Still, he remained stone faced as he watched Jessie glide down the stairs. He clenched his jaw in an attempt to not say what he was thinking. God she was gorgeous.

"You ready to go?" Rafe asked, never taking his gaze off of Jessie as he held his hand out for her with a straight face. He may have been angry with her for a long time now, but he couldn't forsake being a gentleman to his lady. Jessie couldn't help but swoon at the action, remembering all the times before when he acted like a gentlemen towards her. She took his hand and gave him a slight smile as if to silently thank him. They walked to the car that was waiting for them. Rafe wouldn't be driving tonight, probably because he needed security at all times considering the treasure he was in charge of.

Rafe and Jessie rode in silence, neither of them quite sure what to say to the other. Rafe mainly just wanted to wait until they got to the restaurant in hopes of catching Jessie off guard to prompt her to tell him everything he wanted to know. Jessie mainly didn't speak for fear of that exact scenario, she had to remember not to be impressed. She was on a mission, for JJ.

After a short car ride, they arrived at the restaurant, which was just as fancy as the mansion Jessie entered just hours earlier. Rafe helped Jessie out of the car and into the venue, being met with mood lighting like she'd never seen before, a large open dining room, light Bahamian music, and white table cloths meeting the floor. Rafe really spared no expense. Rafe pulled out the chair for Jessie, yet he never cracked a smile since they left for the evening. Rafe seemed... focused. Jessie had to remember that Rafe could play the game just as well as she could. That's what made them so dangerous... so explosive.. for each other. Message received. Game on.

"Anything I can get started to drink?" the waiter asked.

"We'll have the best bottle of wine you got." Rafe stated with a smirk as he looked over at Jessie. "What about you, Jess?"

"I'll just have water please." Jessie smiled politely at the waiter.

"No wine tonight?" Rafe inquired with confusion.

"Better not." Jessie said as she returned the smirk and rested her head on her hand. She knew what he was doing. Trying to wine and dine her wasn't going to work, she needed to stay stone-cold sober for this night. "Besides, I don't really drink anymore." Jessie declared.

Rafe scoffed in disbelief. "Since when?"

"Since I grew up, Rafe." She replied as she took the cloth napkin and laid it flat on her lap, ending her sentence looking back up at Rafe with a serious expression.

"And when was that exactly?" Rafe asked as he knitted his eyebrows together.

"When you gave me no choice." Jessie snapped.

"Oh come on, Jessie. What's the real reason you left?"

"I really left because of you, Rafe. And that's not a surprise to you and you know it. Don't act like you didn't totally screw up what we had." Jessie said with a hint of irritation in her voice. Rafe knew Jessie was right, he didn't press the subject anymore. He simply looked down and nodded in agreement. He unclenched his jaw to speak again.

"Okay, well, uh... how's life?" Rafe attempted a normal conversation.

Jessie laughed, "Life's fine." was all she could muster. That's not what she really wanted to say.

"So what does life look like for you nowadays? Where are you living?" Rafe asked as he poured himself a glass of wine, and poured one for Jessie also despite her previous statement. Jessie brushed off the gesture.

"Life looks like me going to work, coming home, cooking, cleaning, going to sleep, and repeating the same thing every day until I die. Living the dream." Jessie responded sarcastically. "But, hey, I mean I'm sure your life is much more interesting, what have you been up to since I left?"

Rafe just chuckled. "This dinner isn't about me." He calmly proclaimed.

"Then what's it about?" Jessie leaned in hoping to intimidate Rafe.

"It's about you leaving me without so much as a goodbye." Rafe retorted through gritted teeth and an iron fist. Jessie could see him starting to crumble. "We were married, and in love, or so I thought." He trailed off.

"Rafe, this isn't exactly the time or place to unpack this." Jessie explained.

"No, Jessie, this is the perfect time and place to unpack this. Because if we were anywhere in private right now, I would not be able to keep my cool."

Wow. Charming.

"What're you gonna do, Rafe? Huh? Nothing. You know why?" Jessie asked as she leaned in further.

"Yeah, I know exactly why. Because despite all of these years of trying to hate you... I can't." Rafe claimed in a hushed tone with frustration evident in his face as he leaned in closer as well.

"And I can't hate you either, Rafe. So can we please just start out with something a little lighter?" Jessie admitted. Damn it. She let her guard down, but maybe it was just what Rafe needed to hear to get him to calm down, she hoped.

Rafe leaned back in his seat again and spread his legs further apart as if to intentionally take up more room and let himself cool off. He breathed out heavily.

"Yeah, yeah sure." He stated as he took the wine glass in his hand and tried to get back into more of a flirtatious state of mind. "You remember the first time we were dressed up together like this?" He smiled sincerely, clearly regaining the sweet memory.

Jessie looked down at her napkin and smiled as well. "How could I forget?"

[star--joy]

Hold My Hand & Watch the Sun Rise

When Vex is woken by a nightmare, Percy has the perfect remedy: watching the Whitestone sunrise together.

-

Perc'ahlia Week Day One: Dawn/Treasure

-

Rating: Teen and Up Audiences

Warnings: None

Words: 1208

Originally posted: 9/24/23

Ao3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/50305858

The nightmare is a vague thing. Incomprehensible, really. There is no monster, no big bad to be afraid of, nothing of the sort. It’s just dark and empty and Vex is running, running, running, away from nothing and everything at the same time. Thick, syrupy dread pools in her stomach.

When she finally jolts awake, she does not scream, or thrash, or even whimper. No, she’s had far too much practice to allow such obvious distress to show. The only thing to leave her trembling lips is a gasp. Quiet, easily swallowed by the still night air.

Alas, Percy was always a terribly light sleeper. The tiny noise is enough to pull him to consciousness. “Mmh?”

Vex holds still, hoping he’ll decide that nothing is wrong and fall back into a full rest.

No such luck. Her hitched breathing must give her away. Or perhaps he can feel the pounding of her heart from where their bodies press together. Either way, he leans up slightly on his elbow, blinking as he tries to see through the darkness of the room. “Vex, I know you’re awake.”

“No, I’m not,” she huffs, scooting a few inches away so he’s no longer spooning her so closely. “Go back to sleep.”

Percy is silent for a long few moments, but Vex isn’t foolish enough to think he actually listened to her command. Even if she couldn’t feel him watching her, she knows him well enough to know that returning to sleep is now a lost cause for the gunslinger. He’s going to be too focused on making sure she’s okay to get any more rest.

Gods damn him and his loving fucking care.

“Shall I call for Vax?”

“No, I’m fine. Just— please, Percy, I don’t want to talk about it.” The last thing Vex wants is to worry her brother with something as inconsequential as this. She can’t even remember any details of the nightmare, for Pelor’s sake! It’s nothing. She can handle it.

Percy ever-so-gently reaches for her arm, letting his calloused fingers slide down her wrist until their fingers can wrap together. ��Dear Heart,” he whispers, eventually, and Vex curses the way that moniker always sounds so lovely on his lips. “Have you ever seen a proper Whitestone sunrise?”

“…what?”

Without letting go of her hand, Percy reaches over to fumble on the nightstand for his glasses. “It’s extraordinarily beautiful, if you have the patience to see it through. If you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to watch it together.”

Vex turns to peer at him, the squint of her eyes caused half by the dim lighting, half by a confused suspicion. “Why?”

His throat bobs, and he takes a few seconds to consider his answer. “Because I think it would calm you.”

Instinct clamps around Vex, demanding she turn sharp and defensive, deny his care on principle. If it were anyone but Percy, she would probably give into that instinct without hesitation.

As it is, she fights her gut response and tries to meet him in the middle. “Alright. But I’m not talking about it. Yet.”

Percy nods. “Whenever you’re ready, I trust you’ll come to me. Until then, I won’t pry,” he assures her, bringing her hand up to his lips, kissing the fingers before he guides her out of the bed.

Vex’s silky sleep dress ripples around her as she follows her husband, who only makes a quick stop to their closet so he can throw one of his fur-lined tailcoats over her goose-bump covered shoulders before leading her out to the balcony attached to their bedroom. 

The fresh night air is a balm Vex didn’t know she needed as they step outside. No signs of sunlight appear over the trees, but she reckons it won’t be long before it begins to peek out. In the meantime, she sits on the edge of the bench they’d had installed. Percy sits a few inches away from her, connected only by their intertwined hands, but it doesn’t go unnoticed how he keeps his posture open. If, or rather, when she will inevitably want to, Vex will have no trouble curling into his side. Just now, though, she appreciates the distance.

Time passes. Even in the silence, Percy does not twitch, does not fidget. His eyes are locked onto the treeline. Vex pulls her knees up to her chest so she’s hugging her legs, chin resting on her kneecaps. Focuses on breathing, slowly, in and out.

“Look,” Percy whispers, after what she would estimate to be half-an-hour has slipped by. He points to the forest, where the first beams of purple are beginning to cut across the sky, just barely visible. “It’s starting.”

Vex trails her gaze over the slowly-lightening dawn. “Do you watch this often?” she asks, voice raspy with sleep, but steadier than it had been before. The fresh air and silent company has helped her calm down remarkably well. 

“Not for a long time. This used to be my mother’s remedy to our nightmares, when my siblings and I were young.”

While he speaks, Vex tilts herself into his side, and he’s quick to tuck her into his blanket. Her voice is small when she whispers, “I don’t even remember what I dreamed about, really. Isn’t that stupid?”

It’s a relief when he doesn’t immediately sprout off some practiced response, but rather considers it deeply. “It’s illogical, perhaps, but feelings rarely fall into the realm of logic. We’re all bound to have emotions we can’t explain. Whether or not they’re ‘stupid’, as you say, does not have an effect on whether or not we are.”

The answer is so true to Percy that Vex can’t help but snort a tiny laugh. “Eloquent fucker.”

He shares her laughter, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “I’m not called a genius for nothing.”

They lapse into silence once more, and Vex soon finds herself enraptured by the pinks and oranges and yellows that scatter across the dim sky, a mirage she’d been entirely unprepared for. It casts warm light on the city spread out before the forest, as the early-risers begin to leave their homes and do the first errands of the day. Everything is painted in gold. She’d assumed that Percy was exaggerating about the beauty of it all, but looking at it now, there’s no denying how correct he was. “Holy shit,” she whispers.

He pulls her in tighter, running his hand up and down her upper arm. “I told you.”

“Don’t be smug,” she laughs.

“I would never,” he lies, resting his head on top of hers.

The colors continue to mingle and blend as the sun lifts higher and higher. Whitestone’s streets grow busier, shops opening and parents taking children to school. Mingled chatter rises through the air, reaching their ears.

It’s utterly soothing, and Vex cannot help the way her eyes flutter shut for several seconds too long every time she blinks. Percy notices, because of course he does, but does not comment. All he does is tuck his coat more securely around her shoulders and continue to stroke her softly.

When the dawn finishes, she’s long asleep once more. This time, she dreams of nothing but the feeling of being loved.

[lou-iz-stat]

Well I got to episode 5 in my IWTV S1 rewatch…

Truthfully I probably won’t say much about this episode since there is so much of it in season 2 that I think will be revisited. On top of that I am at the end of my semester at school so I probably won’t say much because of that too. Also out of all of the episodes of s1 this the episode that I have seen the least.

But we still have 3 more weeks until season 2 where I have no doubt that s1 will be tame when compared to it. I’m getting more and more nervous each week not going to lie.

Ok… here we go!

IWTV S1 E5: A Vile Hunger for Your Hammering Heart

The episode starts with Daniel reading Claudia’s diary and how she records the last words of the people she kills.

But then Daniel is interrupted by Louis feeding on ‘Rashid’. It is pretty nasty for Louis and Armand to do this in front of Daniel. He even reads his mind to try and throw Daniel off his game. I notice that whenever Daniel tries to talk about something negatively about Claudia, Louis will always try to do something to throw Daniel off that even holds through in the ‘Paris sucks’ clip we have in s2.

It’s funny that Armand tells Daniel he would not let him anywhere near his neck. He must still be mad at Daniel for something maybe Devil’s minion related? 👀

Then we go back to 1923 where Louis thinks that she has gone on a hunger strike because of Charlie but Lestat knows that she is just escaping when they have to go feed. Since they are so similar Lestat knows that Claudia would not skip out on meals.

Also the line “I know what I’d do, but you cut my hands off.” Like!!!!! Fucked up Nikki reference. 😭

Also Lestat reading the diary and the dairy being so graphic ugh… 🤢

Everything is just such a mess… oh boy… with all the bodies coming up

And of course Tom Anderson is trying to distract Loustat since the Police chief is there in the speakeasy.

I feel so much anxiety with all the cops in their home! And Claudia is not helping! 😬

There are still some comical bits such as the “We sell… incinerators.” Louis’s little shrug at Lestat. “To various American cities.” The delivery is actually very funny.

Also what’s funny is Claudia’s acting when the cop opens her door. Her face when she drops the blanket and the closet door opens to show the rotting man.

But all the fun and games stop when the cop is homophobic.

Yes Lestat is a jerk and treats Claudia like shit and still sees Antoinette so Claudia only feels like she has to leave.

Also establishing that Claudia is unable to turn people is a great thing to set up now.

And even though it’s heartbreaking I do love that Claudia gets mad at Louis for not just taking her to a hospital but made Lestat turn her into this monster. Bailey’s acting is just so perfect here.

We go back to Dubai and Daniel is telling Louis some harsh truths about what the public could do with Claudia. Yikes

And their home turns into a ruin after they wake up from their long nap

Man…Fuck Bruce

The part where Louis makes Daniel’s Parkinson’s go out of control as always annoyed me even if Daniel was stepping out of bounce it just never sat right to me. And of course Armand is there to ‘calm Louis down’

We go back once again and we see the scene of Louis saying his final goodbye to Grace and his makes Claudia come home after everything.

Lestat is such a bitch when she comes home. I understand what he is trying to do but it’s just all wrong.

And the fight happens. We will revisit what happened during the fight in the coffin room that we don’t get to see. But as an indication by some parts of the trailer we have already seen a glimpse of it. Hopefully the writers handle it well…

Also the during the drop scene it sounds a lot like what Armand said to Lestat before pushing him off a tower in TVL so I guess we’ll see what comes of it.

Okay good got through that one. Now I can get back to some class work lol.

I cannot believe that we are now 3 weeks away from seeing the premier for season 2 and for some of you, you will be seeing it in about a week and a half. Good luck to the NYC people that get to see it early.

[butmakeitgayblog]

Sorry to bother you but that anon question (the one about CI Lexa being "the little spoon" of cuddles and more) made me wonder about Clarke. I really appreciated your answer about Lexa, it's really interesting especially for her character's psychology but what about Clarke? She is not dumb, even though it is a recurring joke between the two, she is not. Maybe she is emotionally dumb (in an affectionate way, CI Clarke is one of my favourite Clarke's of yours so only love for her) but she is sharp and clever when she wants (😂😂) so I suppose she knows she has this "power" - whether it's given by Lexa or not - and I suppose that at some point, maybe when they're already married (so with a few years behind their backs and out in public), Lexa will talk with Clarke about what does this mean to her, what does it mean to give this particular "power" away to Clarke. So Clarke has to know how important it is to not fuck this up, to not betray it. And I can't stop thinking about how much this power can create a need to protect her wife, to be fair and good to her, because even though they bicker and banter, they know how much the other suffered and they know how much this relationship means. So (I swear I really have a question 😂) my question is: is there a moment where, even though this power is not used in public, except for maybe some holding hands or an arm around Lexa's waist, Clarke uses it to protect Lexa? Because I know Lexa knows how to protect herself, especially against people that don't really know where to draw a line with her, but is there a moment where Clarke is like:"You know what babe? Let me punch this fool in his face for you just for fun, I know you can do it by yourself and I know people expect you to do it, but I'm gonna do it because I'm your wife and I need people to know that I will kill them for you." Something like that, I may have lost my train of thoughts but something like that. I don't know, I can totally see Clarke being scold at home for such a big reaction but then being kissed because of it. CI Clexa (in some ways) remind me of canon Clexa:"Yes, you may be the Heda, but I'll try to kill Nia because she pissed you off."

That last line, right there. That's their dynamic at its very fundamental core.

The thing is, most people don't fully realize the extent to which Lexa allows Clarke to be in control because she is someone who carries and conducts herself with so much poise and power. From an outside perspective it would look more often than not as tho Lexa is just this "I don't need no bitch, I run this shit" woman, and unapologetically so.

But they don't know her the way Clarke does and they certainly don't understand their dynamic. They don't understand that while, yes, Lexa is an extraordinarily strong and self sufficient woman, there will always be that little girl in a black dress and braids, standing next to her dad's casket thinking, "I'm alone now." They don't know that while, yes, Lexa is a Grade A heinous bitch who enjoys manipulation and toying with others, a part of her will always be that little girl who had to teach herself how to survive in a cold and unloving home. Who taught herself that there wasn't anyone else there to really look out for her without a selfish motive driving their actions. Who told herself that it was ok that there was no bigger bed to crawl into at night when she needed protecting from the monsters in her closet.

But when Clarke looks at her wife, she sees that. She sees her exactly as she is. Powerful and conniving and manipulative and hedonistic, but she also sees that scared little version of Lexa as well.

And the urge protect every iteration of this woman makes. Clarke. Go feral.

It's just like the moment when Hellen slapped Lexa. Clarke was this 🤏 close to beating the shit out of her. Lexa knew without a doubt if she hadn't stepped in, Clarke would have closed fist punched her mother repeatedly without question. Clarke maybe 80% bark and biting words - her weapon of choice has always been her words and malicious intellect - but when push comes to literal shove, Clarke fights dirty. She's a brawler. She's not interested in fair fights, she's interested in what will make her win.

That being said, she's also learned a lot from Lexa over the years in the sense that the best course of action is to simply ruin their entire life. Physical fighting is so messy. Half the time you come out looking like a degenerate and taking a knock to your reputation anyway. Hence part of Clarke's less than steller reputation before they were together 😬

So rather than physically fight more, she becomes more nefarious. More of a malignant entity in the life of whoever manages to get themselves in her crosshairs.

Someone in their social circle begins whispering little unsavory rumors about her wife? Clarke will make sure their spouse just so happens to catch wind of their own little dalliances over brunch. A board member challenges Lexa's competence at the helm? Clarke will systematically burn every personal bridge they have within the company until they're voted out. You flirt with her wife beyond what Lexa's comfortable with? She'll pay an escort to seduce yours instead. She'll even pay extra just have them fuck the little Mx. right in your bed (with pictures 🙂). You try and make Lexa look foolish among your peers? Don't be surpised if you're getting pulled over with glove box filled coke. Whether you're into it or not...

She will literally smile in your face while driving a knife square into your back.

The woman has very little conscience and a protective streak a mile wild. While she had her fun punching a few handsy bystanders in her youth, dating and then being married to someone like Lexa for years has had so many delicious advantages, one of which was learning the fine art of subterfuge.

And while Lexa may be the master, it turns her on like crazy when she's surpassed by her very sexy student 😏

[violivs]

NMTDaily: Preparing for Pedro’s Party

- There is SO much clever symbolism in this episode that I didn’t get before. Get ready!

- Aww I love this episode, it’s so sweet to see the girls just being sweet friends having fun.

- Justice for Ursula, they should’ve invited her over to raid the costume closet too!

- Do we know what the occasion is for Pedro’s party? Is it his birthday or something? Or is it just a classic teenage “my parents will be out so I’m throwing a party for no reason other than opportunity” situation?

- Oh my GOD Meg no. I forgot about “nude bodysuits are the worst” “I don’t have to wear the bodysuit!”

- Bea and Meg hugs are cute!

- “You can dress as whatever you want as long as I approve of it” classic overbearing Bea.

- I am CERTAIN that Beatrice’s devil horns are a Much Ado reference but I can’t remember the particulars. 😈 🧐 Isn’t it like, horns represent the cuckold so Benedick swears you’ll never see him with horns in his head like a married man? I feel like that’s talking about bull horns rather than devil horns- but Hero is also brandishing a red cape like a bullfighter in this moment so that works too! This is definitely a reference.

- “Making a point” love a good pun lol

- That is significantly more wigs than I ever had in my dress up box growing up. (Well- mine were Ariel wig, Rapunzel wig, and witch hat with grey hair attached, I guess that’s kinda three wigs, so we are at equal wig numbers. Wig tangent!)

- Bea holding up a leather and metal belt thing and Meg saying “oh that’s mine”. Margaret you are too young to be making that kind of joke. I am shocked!

- “I could be a lion” *roars while wearing a lace curtain as a mane* - see, something about this reminds me so much of the Mechanicals from A Midsummer Night’s Dream and their makeshift costumes. Love that.

- Beatrice’s horrible pink dress that looks like a sea monster also reminds me of a flamingo! 🦩🦩🦩

- I was gonna say imagine Ben’s reaction if Bea went to the party as a flamingo in that dress. But then I realized he might still be watching Bea’s videos at this point in the story, and even if not, he IS still gonna get to see her in this dress when they watch back all the videos together at the end, lol. “You’re a beautiful flamingo!” - Ben, reacting to the dress and making Bea blush, in my headcanon I just made up right now.

- Meg, kind of staring at Bea’s cleavage in the pink dress: “I love it!”

Hero: “I’m sure you do”

Look, maybe this was more slut shaming, but in MY head, this was just the first sign that made us all think Meg was bisexual- and Hero knew it.

- “Pink is scientifically the most painful color for the human eye to look at, so. Enjoy.”

- Punk Hero! Yeah girl, step out of your comfort zone for a night!

- They really are laying on Meg’s characterization as the sexual and outrageous one in this episode. The jokes she makes, trying to get Hero to unbutton an extra button. It makes me worry about her, how that can be used against her, and we know that worry is unfortunately well founded.

- “You’ve gotta hunt him down-“ “Like a PREDATOR” poor Bea is so uncomfortable with the dating/flirting talk and trying to diffuse it here, I almost feel bad for laughing

- “I just don’t think anyone’s that awkward around me. I think I just bring out the best in people.” Never lose that self-confidence, Meg! (Also, this line has def been juxtaposed with Freddie’s anxiety to show how Winterking could work in the lolilo era of the fandom- I think I made one of those edits myself.)

- Meg’s spiky hat after the next cut is giving Dalek tbh

- Oh man, I’m obsessed with Beatrice’s Benedick cosplay. Like, he does have a garish space cat shirt, but when have we ever seen him wear a hat apart from the Where’s Wally sketch, which Bea isn’t supposed to have watched? And he only wears sunglasses once, during a video that has not happened yet. But somehow she expects everyone to get who she’s making fun of right away? And they do?

- Also it’s a great example of how she clearly has Benedick on the brain. Why did you bring Ben up again, apropos of nothing, right after Hero was talking about the boy *she* likes? I see you, Beatrice.

- Love that not only can she not do his accent, she also can’t help making him sound like an annoying small child or an elf or something, lol.

- Wait oh my god! I just noticed that throughout this video, Beatrice is wearing a black watch! Just like the one Ben wears! Somehow I never noticed Bea’s watch before, even though I always notice Ben’s and think how quaint and old-fashioned it is of him to wear an analog wristwatch. I love that. Costuming parallels. Soulmates.

- Beatrice doing the Ben voice: “Yo!”

Meg: “No.”

Ben, in the video description of literally the next video: “yo yo yo!”

Lol amazing she nailed his brand of utter cringe

- “It’s beautiful!” “No, it’s heinous!” “I think that you should never take it off.”

- Can I be overly literal and point out that Hero just said Bea should never take off the shirt that represents Benedick, and then (spoilers) Bea is gonna actually literally proceed to be life partners with Ben forever after? I.e. never taking him off. Squee! It’s a very adorable (heinous?) metaphor!!!

- And it reminds me of “you are too fine to wear for everyday use”, Beatrice comparing another suitor to clothing in the play while shooting him down.

- “Oh, bucket hat? Always!”

- Hero with the boots: “I just want someone to dress up as a cowboy so they can wear these.” Remember this line for the party episodes and look out for cowboys 👀 There will be one!

- Beatrice the ironic/as-a-joke princess! A great moment, a great character choice.

- Also obsessed with her “that’s creeping me out” about wearing a bridal veil and holding a green wig bouquet. TCW found a way to make modern Beatrice say she’ll never marry without actually saying she’ll never marry. Adaptational choices!

- Meg puts the devil horns on Hero and says “I really love you in that” and Hero says “I don’t know about this.” Holy symbolism Batman! Literally visually foreshadowing her being villainized against her will. Wow.

- “Boys, Leo, we’re talking about boys! Come and join us!” Lol

- I always crack up at Leo’s terrible helmet-ass hat hair when they take off his cap. I’m sorry buddy, you need a brush.

- I also love them putting him in the cape and clown wig. He IS about to be clowning hard when the rest of the plot unfolds.

- Bea calling Leo an old man and I am suddenly very relieved to do the math and figure that Leo is still chronologically older than me, even though I’m older now than he was during NMTD. I was about to become the crypt keeper otherwise, my god.

- This is interesting too because now the girls already know Leo thought Pedro liked Hero, so they should be able to head off Claudio’s confusion ahead of time. Why don’t they?

- Also interesting that Leo assumes Bea would be jealous of Hero dating Pedro. That would probably piss Bea off, like “quit assuming I have a crush on every guy I’m nice to, that’s so reductive”. It’s another example of her feeling like the idea of dating is being forced on her.

- We definitely get a taste of Leo’s patriarchal view of Hero and need to pass judgement on her dating life here. Even otherwise good men are steeped in the patriarchy and take certain ideas from that that can quickly turn toxic. The themes of the play are being seeded here. Onward!

- Comment section boogaloo: lots of comments loving Leo and the setup of his character for what’s to come; discussion of how most of this episode was improvised by the actors; comparisons to Darcy Costume Theater from the LBD.

- Best comment award goes to DillyBlue from two months ago, saying “Hero, forget Claudio, Meg is clearly into you!”

- We all see the vision and the vision is that Meg Winter likes girls.

🦩🥭💖

[pilichainartandmemes]

FFVII fic - What Howls Inside Your Head

The way out of that basement of horrors is just a stupid poorly light corridor. It’s easy: Zack only has to prove he still trusts Sephiroth and not turn back. A Doubt Comes In, Hadestown songfic.

I had brainworms listening to Hadestown and somehow only waited a year to write it. Enjoy!

Crossposted on ao3

No warnings except it's Hurt no Comfort.

“So what’s the first thing you’re gonna do when we’re back in Midgar? Me? I’m thinking takeout! Cissnei handed me recs as a thank you for being ‘a delight to shadow’. Probably not a good thing but hey I’ll take the nice food. Oh by the way! There’s this kid in infantry, he hasn’t had great luck with the SOLDIER exam and I was wondering… well if you could give me a tip or two?”

Only the walls and echoes of footsteps answer Zack. That’s completely fine! What kind of friend would he be if he couldn’t handle Seph being out of sight? It’s that stupid basement, that stupid library and that stupid lab rattling his nerves. Once they’re outside, he’ll be able to focus. Then the only thing they’ll have to worry about will be-

SOLDIER is like a den of monsters. Don't go inside.

Shinra. It was bad when they left but now… with what they learnt… Still he couldn’t just leave Kunzel or Aerith like that. Could he convince Sephiroth to stay? …Yeah, right. Zack’s attempts with Genesis and Angeal had worked so well after all. No. Seph wouldn’t stay only for one guy. Not for Zack.

Would he just leave alone then? Sure, he mentioned it on the way to Nibelheim… then what? Maybe the demon of Wutai would be fine living on the run but for how long? He used to see Shinra’s Firsts as pinnacles of strength, all of them. One impaled himself on Zack’s sword, another is dying and set on taking as many as he can with him, the last is this close to flying the coop.

Deep breaths. Deep breaths… The buster sword is a familiar burden on his back. There may be no meaning in fighting for Shinra. Still Zack can fight for his friends, including those he can yet save. He can do this. He has to. No one else has got as close of a shot.

“All that ancient stuff flew over my head, you know? But Guess what! I know a girl down in the slums who is ALSO a Cetra. Maybe you two could bond over the planet and talk about your moms.”

In retrospect spilling that secret of hers wasn’t the smartest thing. Tseng and Aerith will rightfully scold him if, no when they go back, but it’s FINE! Sephiroth wouldn’t do anything harsh, would he?

What about Jenova? Didn’t Hojo say she was not an ancient but a calamity from the sky? After being trapped by Shinra for so long, would that monster give up so readily on Sephiroth? No and neither would Zack put in the same spot.

… He is out of ideas. Still there has to be something, anything! Maybe the hippies at Cosmo Canyon could help out. He’ll take the guy snoring in the coffin at this point. Well he would if he wasn’t afraid of more skeletons from Shinra’s closet falling onto the two of them. And in the middle of that storm a thought stops Zack dead in his tracks: he can’t hear any footsteps.

No, no, no. Sephiroth can’t have just left without him noticing! All of these enhancements, all that training, all that fighting and he can’t even keep an ear out for a friend. Where is the silver lining that kept him going despite Shinra’s bullshit? Where is Sephiroth?

He can’t breathe. He can’t see the end of this tunnel. He can’t hear anything but his own stupid thoughts and his heart hammering in his chest. Fuck it. He has to make sure his friend is here. He has to-

 “No matter what you cannot let your companions see your doubts.” A memory of a lesson with Sephiroth rises above his dread, a glimpse of a far off star in cloudy skies. “They are counting on you to keep calm even as death takes their friends. As long as their leader stands, the formation will hold. You stick the course and do not look-“

Zack turns around.

“Seph, I-“ But he doesn’t get to finish as Sephiroth’s icy glare shoots down any further excuses. Without another word the general heads back towards the library. The last thing Zack hears is that damned door slamming shut once and for all.

[yallemagne]

Why do folk call Dracula thee book about repression when the strange case of men of inhibitions: the novel is right there

I'm so fucking angry I was writing a whole thesis in response to this and tumbles ate it.

When it comes to repression found in men, the typical stuff you see is the Oedipus complex and the idea that all men are feral animals in a perpetual rut. Not really sexy concepts.

But you know what people find sexy??

LYING ABOUT WOMEN!!

What are we even gonna do with J&H? There are no women to project the Madonna and Whore complex onto. Adapters literally have to add a love triangle in order to slutshame women, too much work. But Dracula comes prepackaged with two women to grossly misrepresent.

Blah blah, men find it sexier to lie about women than about men, most people misinterpret the whole basis of Jekyll and Hyde anyway, so they don't realize it's about repression, yada yada yada.

Gross old men like the idea of female sexual repression. Though, not in a way that they would vouch for women's reproductive rights or a female sexual revolution. They love the idea of a "good girl" who secretly wants/needs to be corrupted by their unwelcome advances. It must be a secret! She must not reciprocate! Otherwise, she'll be seen as a whore. Women with internalized misogyny feed into this too. Hate all other women because they're "sluts" but you still want sex? Write a story depicting a good girl being assaulted but paint it as "good" because "she secretly wanted/needed it".

But there's no women in the book J&H to give this treatment to. Adaptations will give Jekyll two girlfriends to match his duality or something, but they're not the focus of the story. It's all about Jekyll.

Most takes I've seen on J&H take the "the true monster is man" approach where they don't explore the themes of repression at all. We get a line about how Jekyll wants to separate good and evil, but it's either never explained or twisted around in an attempt to make him seem more sympathetic. They just simplify it to "spooky potion makes nice doctor mean :0".

Now, male sexual repression. is a fucking doozy. The common misconception is "we're all rapists but we just keep ourselves in check". People who have this viewpoint need to stop. But honestly, I haven't seen a J&H that is explicit except for the Wildhorn musical, and they make him straight in that one. There's no interest in adapting the part where... well, Jekyll is a repressed gay man who just wanted a little relief from his own repression but things all went horribly wrong. They make it more about how Jekyll is a bit of a prude, and then he drinks rude boy juice and becomes a monster.

I don't know if you've heard... but academia is scared of gay people, and Jekyll's unspoken crimes scream gay shenanigans. RLS dangles the idea that Jekyll's been sinning over our heads but won't tell us how. He says "fill in the blanks" and like??? OKAY WELL, WHAT IS STRANGELY MORE CONTROVERSIAL THAN MURDER IN VICTORIAN ENGLAND! HOMOSEXUALITY. He sneaks in the implication that everyone thinks Hyde is Jekyll's lover. Jekyll deciding from a young age: "I cannot be myself, I have to hide everything about me" is a closeted queer mood.

But do you expect people to talk about that? In this society? They just don't get it. Most people misinterpret Dracula being a story where good girls get seduced by a bad man. And then? Jekyll and Hyde is about a good boy who drinks bad boy juice. People fail to realize that Jekyll is originally a mix of good and bad and instead paint it as if Jekyll manifested some daemon with his potion. So then it isn't a story about repression in the eyes of most, it reads more like a possession story.

Also, I'd just argue Dracula is more popular. People find it sexier. There's not a swath of artwork where Hyde is skulking over a sleeping Jekyll in a suggestive manner. But look at any Dracula book cover and there's a good chance it's an illustration of Lucy's boobs. People are hornier about Dracula so they project their poor ideas about repression onto it.