#i might ask for it as my bday gift from my parents

[p0orbaby]

Could you do a blurb for alexia and reader and their daughters first bday? so fluffy it rottens my teeth

-

You’re standing in the kitchen, staring at the cake. It’s a two-tier monstrosity with pink icing and miniature elephants, because apparently, your daughter loves elephants. This is an assumption since she’s only one and her favourite activity seems to be slamming her tiny fists against the table and screaming at the Peppa Pig theme song. You glance over at Alexia, who’s meticulously arranging balloons into some sort of Pinterest-inspired arch. It’s tragic, really, because the balloons are deflating faster than her patience.

“You know she won’t remember any of this, right?” you say, leaning against the counter, arms crossed, watching her struggle with a particularly rebellious balloon.

Alexia doesn’t look up. “It’s not for her,” she mutters, teeth gritted, “it’s for us. And the photos. For the grandparents. You know”

You do know. The grandparents, who’ll scrutinise every detail, subtly implying that the cake should’ve been homemade and the balloons should’ve been organic or something. You glance at the clock. Two hours until the guests arrive. Two hours until you’re knee-deep in small talk with people you barely tolerate, discussing the milestones of babies that are all the same. They roll over, they laugh, they scream, and then they eat something they shouldn’t.

Speaking of, the baby—your baby—is currently sitting in her high chair, aggressively smearing mashed banana across her face like it’s avant-garde war paint. You sigh. At least she’s quiet for once. There’s a moment of eerie calm, like you’re in the eye of a storm. It won’t last. You sip your coffee, which is lukewarm and bitter, and stare at the pile of gifts in the corner of the room.

“Why do people insist on wrapping things for a one-year-old?” you ask, more to yourself than Alexia. “She’s going to eat the paper. And cry. In that order”

Alexia finally gives up on the balloon arch. “You’re right,” she says, walking over and inspecting the cake like it might explode. “But they want to feel like they contributed something. Everyone’s desperate to be relevant in a baby’s life”

You nod, because that’s exactly it. The party isn’t for the baby, or for you, or even Alexia. It’s for all these people who want to feel like they’ve done something. Like attending a one-year-old’s birthday party is some kind of moral achievement. A gold star for being a functional human.

The doorbell rings, far too early for guests, which means it’s probably your neighbour, Carol, who always shows up with unsolicited advice on baby care, as though she invented parenting. You open the door, and sure enough, it’s Carol, holding a gift bag that screams I bought this on sale at El Corte Inglés.

“Thought I’d come early to help,” she says, stepping inside without waiting for an invitation. Her eyes scan the room, resting on the cake. “Oh, you didn’t make it yourself?”

“Bought it,” you say, deadpan. “From the shop. With money”

Carol doesn’t laugh, doesn’t even blink. “Ah, well, the important thing is she’ll enjoy it. At this age, it’s all about the memories”

You glance at your daughter, now vigorously attempting to fling the banana off her high chair.

“She won’t remember this,” you say, but Carol’s already unpacking her baby advice, Alexia’s gone back to fighting with the balloons, and you’re suddenly wondering why you didn’t just fake an illness and cancel the entire thing.

“Happy birthday,” you mutter, to no one in particular.

[aerowolf]

the mercs realize it's your bday and you didn't tell anyone because your family doesn't do birthdays

I’m so sorry this is a mess between British and American english. I have an American parent and a Canadian one so it messed me up lolll

if didn't include a Merc you wanted, feel free to request and I'll try and add them :]

includes: Miss Pauling & offense classes

cute platonic, gn!reader

warnings: n/a, this is basically all fluff

You'd rather not make a big deal of it being your birthday, even though it is you were taught that birthdays aren't a big deal and your family never really did them.

You kind of wish someone would care but you feel guilty about that so you choose not to tell anyone about it

The only one of these who actually knows it's your birthday is Miss Pauling, who’s seen your personnel files

Miss Pauling

She knows it's your birthday, and instead of ignoring it she decides to at least discreetly make it a good day for you

She arrives on base for a routine inspection, clipboard in hand, but once she's done with the main thing, instead of leaving, she comes to your room

"I saw that it's your birthday today. I don't know if you celebrate, or anything, but, uh, I thought you'd like a gift. Maybe."

She hands you a box, inside are some candy bars and a plush of a bear

"I know it's not exactly the nicest thing, and I know it's kinda... stereotypical... but, y'know, I thought you'd like something. So, happy birthday. From me.” She’s really shy about it, you get the feeling she didn’t--probably still doesn’t--really get to celebrate birthdays either. 

She offers you a ride on her motorbike, something nice, on the open road--away from this base for a little while. You accept, taking a seat behind her, enjoying the open air--though it is pretty hot out. You guys talk, just enjoying the time.

She smiles at you as you get back. “Happy birthday. You deserve it.”

You thank her and even give her a hug. It’s nice that you got this for once. 

Scout

He has no idea whatsoever that it’s your birthday. He’s interacting with you like usual, teasing you, just hanging out. You’re happy as you talk that day; he’s always good at making you laugh and smile.

At some point he notices that you’re a little down, as much as you may try to hide it, he can tell. You’re his friend, and even though he might act like he doesn’t care sometimes, you know he does. A lot.

You tell yourself you don’t want anything on your birthday, that it’s easier if no one knows, but secretly, you do.

“Hey, what’s up? C’mon, ya know I can tell when something’s wrong.” 

You tell him it’s nothing. 

“You sure? Really? You’re kinda… I dunno, sadder than usual.” After he asks a few times, you finally come out and tell him. You don’t say much. Just “It’s my birthday.”

“No kiddin’? Well, why didn’t ya tell me?” He comes off pretty strong. You feel kind of apologetic for mentioning it, and look away from him. “Aw, hey. Y’know what--it don’t matter. I’m gonna throw you a party like you ain’t never seen, believe me.”

You try to tell him you don’t want a party--well, you do. Maybe. No you don’t. Well, sure. But not a big one. He’s really sweet and enthusiastic about it. “Someone like you deserves a big birthday--but if you don’t want it, dat’s okay. Ya know, we could just hang out, or somethin’. You n’ me, yeah?” 

You tell him you’d like that a lot. You both find a quiet spot in the base where you can just talk. He messes around, too, and pops in a Tom Jones record. 

He’s a little shy, a little embarrassed, but he even sings happy birthday to you. He just seems glad no one can hear him. He doesn’t have a gift handy for you, but he ends up scribbling you a quick doodle of him telling you happy birthday. It’s misspelt, but the drawing is cute, and you keep it. “I hope ya had a good day. I’m just sorry I didn’t know sooner.” You tell him that it wasn’t his fault, how could he have known? 

After all is done, he gives you an awkward hug. You smile and return it.

Soldier

He’s a little crazy so he’s just hanging around base, today he had the idea to strip and cover himself in honey, so everyone has had to convince him to please not do that, and now he’s just moping around, muttering about how anti patriotic this all is.

You sit next to him and mope as well. Unlike him, no one knows the reason you’re moping. To anyone else’s point of view, you’re just comforting him--for whatever weird reason. But he sees that you’re just as sad as him.

“What’s wrong, maggot? Is there someone who needs to see my fists meet their face?”

You tell him no, no one did anything. You’re a little intimidated by him, and you don’t see much reason to tell him anyways. But it’s nice sitting with a friend. 

“If it’s not a person, then… it must be an object! Give it to me and I will destroy it immediately.” He’s being as sweet as he can, you smile and shake your head.

You sit there for a bit, smiling as you watch the other mercs come and go. Today isn’t a bad day, just a little sad. Later, you plan to find some kind of sweet treat to eat alone.

Soldier stands up, at attention, and points at you. “MAGGOT, AS YOUR SUPERIOR AND SENIOR, I ORDER YOU TO TELL ME WHAT IS WRONG!”

With a sad smile and a chuckle you finally tell him.

“Your birthday?” Soldier seems genuinely surprised. He places a hand on his chin and thinks. “We cannot go without celebrating! This is momentous!”

Although you try to protest, he turns to the base, stating to every other merc, “LISTEN UP! IT IS Y/N’S BIRTHDAY AND WE WILL CELEBRATE!” 

He makes it his personal mission to decorate for a party that very evening, even gets a cake and everything. He makes every other merc sing happy birthday with him. Maybe this isn’t so bad.

You give him a big hug, and he is surprised at first, but proceeds to give a gentle laugh and hug back.

Pyro

You see Pyro colouring with crayons and coloured pencils on their break, and you sit by them. You don’t really understand what they’re saying a lot of the time, but you enjoy hanging out with them. It’s a long period of silence before you join them in colouring. Regardless of your artistic skills, they’re impressed and encourage you, and are very happy when you show them what you’ve been working on. 

After a little while you get kind of bored and sad. You’ve tried to enjoy this day but it’s another bittersweet birthday. You’re happy to hang out with Pyro though, even though they don’t know what day it is.

Pyro notices that you’ve stopped colouring with them, and that you’re looking at the ground instead, messing with the cracks in the floor.

“Huddah hrmmf mmmrph?” You don’t understand what they’re saying exactly, but you smile at them. They seem to be asking what’s wrong, why you stopped, why you seem so sad.

You hesitate for a moment before finally confessing. They seem to mostly understand what you mean, and they lean back, thinking. 

After a few seconds, they stand up and help pull you off the floor. They point to their room, and you follow them. It’s an odd combination of scorch marks, colourful drawings, weapons, and art supplies. They lead you to a wardrobe and pull out a box. 

Surprisingly, you can see that it's fully wrapped. Did they somehow know it was your birthday? Do they keep these gifts on hand for the mercs?

You won’t get an answer, but they excitedly push it out and offer it to you. “Huddah hmmph!” They sound almost like they are smiling behind the mask. You take the box and open it. It’s got crayons, pencils, and… wow, that’s a drawing of you and them.

You smile, almost ready to tear up, and thank them. You give them a hug, and you notice that they’re hugging you back even harder. Maybe they don’t really understand, but this is sweet.

[padfootastic]

please say more about jilypad + diverging parenting styles... perhaps even a possible scenario >:) i imagine harry has very cunning tactics for using this to his advantage

helloooooo <3 thank u for this ask bc i love talking about these three and harry. i went looking thru the archives to find this post; my first foray into this side, and really, i’ve never looked back after that.

so i’ve talked ab this a bit before but i fully think that james was a very overprotective ‘mother hen’ type parent. i tend to read his behaviour in lily’s bday letter to sirius as being scared of his child on a broomstick and i fully, fully think he’ll never be able to let go of that as harry grows up. he’ll be anxious and suspicious and paranoid, and his first instant will always be to wrap harry up in cotton wool and hide him away. (i low-key connect this to his childhood as well; going from being spoiled and sheltered to dropped in the middle of a war, black & white thinking, living in extremes etc etc makes it v hard for him to be Normal about his child. as he shouldn’t be, really, but yeah) that’s why he thrives during the initial years; he never minds the hard parts of being a new parent, loves it in fact, and it makes it better that he can keep harry close to him at all times w/o coming off as a helicopter parent (not that the notion bothers him ofc).

it’s good, then, that he has two partners to even the scales, no? i think lily was the most…balanced out of the three. she had a relatively normal childhood, grew up in a working class family/neighbourhood and had to deal w adversity from a young age so she’s developed a nice, thick skin. she also has a sibling with whom she has a v rocky relationship so she knows that kids are, ykno, a bit unhinged. and a little bit of hardship is not a problem. i hc her as needing time to get used to parenthood, unlike james who stepped into it natural as breathing, or even sirius who loved harry on much on first sight that it made up for everything else. ofc lily loved her son, but it didn’t come w the same blinding intensity of her partners and made her feel really shitty in the beginning. but, i think she’d shine during his teen years actually, because she’s not overbearing or intense and becomes the quiet, calm strength that a hormonal, spotty teen boy would probably need.

and sirius <3 our poor baby falls in love with harry, perhaps even more quickly than james, with such startling speed that it shakes his entire foundation. he doesn’t regret it but he’s constantly discombobulated. i also imagine that…it takes him longer to settle into the role of parent, esp bc he’s not biologically one ykno? not like it matters to anyone, ofc, but it takes him a long time to truly accept his authority and place, to believe that he has just as much right as j&l to be there, to parent harry. this has the consequence of him always being more indulgent than the other two; after all, he considered himself a godfather before a parent and a lot of that thinking stayed. he lets harry get away with stuff the others might not (and the little mf figures this out later); some of it also comes from sirius seeing so much shit, and facing so much shit himself, that he rationalises a lot of stuff as ‘well, this isn’t the worst it can be, so what’s the harm’ (because his life has been such a roller coaster that he’s forgotten that not everyone’s like that, if that makes sense?)

its obviously not this clear cut but i imagine harry looks at it like this: if he needs unconditional love, he goes to james; rationality and logic, lily; acceptance and calm, sirius. when someone has to be beat up for hurting harry, james steps in. if he needs help burying a body, it’s sirius. dealing with some asshole boss/teacher/classmate’s mother who’s making harry’s life hell? lily. i can keep going but,,,u get the idea, right? this makes sense, i hope lol

i actually think harry’s first birthday is a great example. sirius pushes the boundaries by gifting lil harry a broom; james loses his mind running after him; lily places an industrial sticking charm on harry’s butt, leans back with a glass of wine, and enjoys the show. even as he grows up, lily and james act as the disciplinarian, and sirius is the emotional outlet. all of them fill in each other’s cracks so well, and it’s only when harry grows up that he realises how effortlessly they worked off each other to parent him.

also oh man o man. harry being cunning is,,,,,see, i’ve not considered it this far but it makes perfect sense. i think canon harry actually had so much manipulative energy and it’s often overlooked for his goofier traits but! this is the same dude who used his dead parents to trick slughorn into revealing sensitive info! imagine if that could be channelled into his jilypad interactions 😈

it’s like, it takes him a bit, because his three parents r so smooth, but once he realises that all of them have certain weak spots, he does NOT hesitate to exploit them. (it has the unintended consequence of truly strengthening the jilypad relationship into an unbreakable one bc one thing their kid taught them is to have ironclad communication going at all times so nothing they’ve said, or not said, is used against them). so like, he knows if he wants to sneak out to a party, it has to be sirius and in a specific way—‘i’ll be totally safe, papa, plus i really wanna see what it’s like and idk when it’ll get a chance to again’. if he widens his eyes to pitiful levels, pouts a little, and blinks faster than usual, then james is putty in his arms as long as he’s separated from the other two. divide and conquer becomes the main tool in harry’s arsenal, actually. lily’s the toughest nut to crack, purely bc she doesn’t run on emotions or irreverence, but harry soon learns that if he comes up with a solid, logical case that proves his argument has unbiased merit then he has a good chance of getting her to say yes. (this is good, bc u can arrange words in the correct order, but u can’t always control emotions)

so overall yeah, you’d think one kid + 3 parents would be an easy bet, but harry keeps them on their toes all the fkn time.

[lexstellaris]

Crimmas and bday presents! :D I got one more bday present (at least one more) I'll get on NYE from my brother and SIL when we go out for lunch.

And yes, I did ask for a trig book I am That kind of autistic lmao. :D

(in which, much rambling and other photos, hence the cut)

Christmas was good though. We had a formal lamb roast dinner Christmas eve with the parents, as mum likes doing the formal dinner thing, and we also had a dinner for Solstice as well, which was also nice.

My solstice table! :D Would have preferred doing blue and gold for Star Festival stuffs, but I didn't have enough for that, so. I did this instead. The globe is my mum's, she wanted it included too.

Christmas itself was pretty chill. Opened presents with the parents in the morning, then we headed over to my brother and SIL's house for lunch. We tend to just do a chill lunch with the kids, and everyone has their fave foods, so it's not a struggle. There's cold meats, dips, cheeses, sushi for tiny nephew, and we tend to bring salads. It works out quite well really.

I also got my first and only spiced ginger beer all season, as one of my SIL's teacher friends had gifted to her. These have been sparse as fuck to find here in Perth this year for some reason. I have missed them so much. <3

We also got custom crackers and my SIL and niece had put together, including these custom cracker hats. :D This is mine! Finally, a paper crown that isn't too big for my head. :D

Anyway. There was much chatter, and a bunch of games and the boys were mostly well behaved? Though there were ofc moments. They tend to set each other off, so sometimes they can be difficult. But they were pretty good that day.

We had leftovers from the Christmas eve roast for dinner when we got home, and spent yesterday recovering lol. Not much planned for today, which is my BIRFDAY. :D We might get something for dinner, or we'll just have idk dino nuggies or something idk no one has made any plans lol.

We'll go out properly for lunch on NYE for my birthday and mum's, along with brother, SIL, and tiny niece, who is now old enough to come with us. We go NYE as SIL's mum offers to babysit that day so we can go out for lunch together. And NYE lunch is way easier to book than dinner lol so.

Anyway. OH. And a friend also bought me PlateUp! so we can play that together and learn to hate ourselves /j XD Anyway. That has been my Crimmas thank u for coming to my blog post. <3

[weekend-whip]

My bday’s coming up on the 7th so I might as well ask, how does the gang like to celebrate their big day/how did they celebrate it before they met each other? (I know it’s hard to do every character, so you can just do the main ones!!!)

Ah, happy pre-birthday for now, then :D

Kai:

Before- Hasn't celebrated a birthday since he was 7, which was the last birthday he had with his parents (and when he got his katanas). Tends to gloss over the date, but Nya's small gifts to him anyway never fail to jog his memories.

After- Tries not to make a big deal out of his birthday, attempting to "keep up with tradition" but once Nya lets it slip to the other guys, Kai's never getting out of a "surprise" celebration again (also listen the Kai Birthday fic is almost done I have 23 days to get it done IT WILL BE DOOONE)

Jay:

Before- Had a small family get-together with his parents, sometimes would invite a friend (if he had any at the time), but otherwise didn't do anything lavish. His birthdays were always cozy affairs that always led to nice, warm memories

After- Has had to deal with a string of prank gifts from Cole in the past, but other than that, his parties tend to run on the more chaotic side, especially after getting his powers snksnknk. Ropes everyone into a Video Game Tournament that lasts all the way into the night.

Cole:

Before- His birthdays were large, formal, stiff, boring affairs attended by family members he'd long since forgotten his relations to and important strangers looking to get in good with his father. Only good thing about his parties were the cakes his mom would make–but alas, even those were short-lived.

After- Tries to be humble and chill when receiving presents/cake/a real party but still winds up horrendously touched at the gestures and dissolves into a teary mess every time. Likes having loud music during the festivities and forcing everyone to dance with him at least once.

Zane:

Before- Similar to Jay, his birthday celebrations were a mostly familiar affair spent just with his parents, but with plenty of books for presents and delicious food to be had, and he never needed much more than that—the company was already plenty enough.

After- Gets melancholic in the birthdays that follow the regaining of his memories, leading to him never feeling all-too festive. Will indulge in the others' insistence to at least exchange gifts and cake, but will then spend the rest of the time visiting his parents' graves.

Nya:

Before- While Kai never celebrated his own, he always made sure Nya had a little something on her birthday, whether it be a special dessert or scraping up enough money together to buy something. Nya always has to stamp down some of her more fanciful hopes, but just the same, Kai's never left her disappointed on the day either.

After- Doesn't necessarily like being the center of attention, but having the boys heed her beck and call for the day is something of a nice change of pace. They're always trying to outdo one another when it comes to gifts, though Jay always does manage to give her the best ones—don't let Kai know that, though. Her day is not perfect unless there is triple chocolate ice cream present, however.

Lloyd:

Before- Never really had a bad birthday, just, they tended to be empty and lonely when it was just him, his mom, special takeout, one present, and a homemade cake. Knowing there was family who could be there but weren't, or friends he could have but didn't always tended to put a damper on things, leaving Lloyd to feel somewhat indifferent about it.

After-...hence why he doesn't really go out of his way to remind anyone when the day does pass by—they're usually busy stopping the world from ending anyway—but when the stars do align in his favor, he likes to go out and do something fun for his birthday, preferably something he hasn't experienced.

Jesse:

Before- With his birthday being the day before Valentine's, most people get the dates mixed up and wind up missing his birthday completely, including his grandma (just old and forgetful) and his dad (just a jerk). Has only ever had a fully successful party on his birthday, like, once. (This has also led to V-Day being full of him getting not-actually-valentine gifts and just oops-forgot-when-your-birthday-was gifts at school. If he gets anything.)

After- Pls throw this child a surprise party on the right day he'll love you forever. Otherwise is perfectly fine with just some small get-together or an evening out, as long as people just remember. (Cole, being Cole, mixes up the dates the first time around and winds up feeling soooo guilty that he makes absolutely sure he never does it again. He feels so awful about it that Jesse can't even be properly mad at him).

Olivia:

Before- When Omar was in command, he (and Olivia) would always make sure every member of the Army knew when it was her birthday, demanding good wishes and gifts from the masses. And, out of the whole army, Olivia's birthday is the only one that's celebrated, much to Bridget's annoyance as usual. But, hey, to the rest of the army? It's a free day off (with cake!)

After- ...her birthday's about to fall smack in the middle of the Dark Island arc soooo y'know...

[my-silly-rabbit]

1, 10, 11, + 16 for the self insert asks! for bonbon!!!

1. what are the basics of your self insert? name, date of birth, height, etc.? name: Bonbon Benson

age: around mid 25+ to mid 30's. it depends on the timeline. birthday: 1/12. same as mine! i give all my s/i my bday~

height: mmmmmmmm idk. 5'4 . my height ig lol

likes: FREDDY FAZBEAR'S PIZZARIA! and mainly Springbonnie ~!, pizza, dancing, pop music, video games, and robotics. dislikes: spicy food, uncomfy fabrics, silence but also sudden loud noises, kids that aren't Williams.

fun facts: she ALWAYS wears bunny ears that she made herself.

uummmmmmmmm idk lmao 10. how do the other characters feel about your self insert and f/o’s relationship? oooo i have a lot to this one

henry: depending on the universe, sees Bonbon as a casual friend. he's happy that William found love again and finds her a joy, though can get on his nerves. post..... everything, he sees her as an obstacle to drag around his mission to find William. they both have opposing views and Bonbon has stopped hiding her involvement but she says if he rats her out, she won't hold bad. henry values his plans to die more than just feeling the minor satisfaction of seeing her behind bars plus shes part of all this too. she deserves to be set aflame like the rest of this mess. even if when they find springtrap, they tackle and bite each other and break their hips. they are glued together till shit is settled. bonbon WANTS to die with william. That is her main mission if henry plans to kill him. she would LIKE to take him home but..... she's old and tired of being alone. if complying a bit means seeing him again, she'd...try. but it's not easy. (tbh them actually bonding in a fucked up way might actually be cute but the outcome is the same.) michael" oooh boy. he did NOT like her at first. too clean and cutesy. anyone who likes his dad SUCKS (besides uncle henry). but as she starts babystting, he realizes that she has a bit of a 'cool babysitter' edge. not telling his parents about minor shit and talking with him instead of shouting or ignoring. she knows that the aftons arent the best parents and is blunt with michael about it. Michael is confused why someone like her still cares about people who arent good parents and he never truly got an answer for that.

post....everything, Michael starts to see her as a second mother but bonbon admittedly doesn't try to keep in touch. michael looks too much like him...but she still tries to have him over from time to time he helps her to make sure her house isn't a total mess.

by the time Michael goes missing, she's already hunting William down with henry, and both beet with Michael again at the same time. he gets the biggest hug but Michael, who was most likely told by Henry her crimes, pushes her away and yells at her that she never truly cared and was just around for his father. that she never truly wanted him around and just used him for labor. Despite Bonbon crying after being yelled at.....he's not wrong. bonbon sucks guys can u tell lmao.

Elisabeth: oh boy. bonbon tried EVERYTHING to get this girl to like her. everything under the sun. gifts, praise, ignoring her, giving her space, being in her face, bribes, secrets, but NOTHING would keep this lil lady from stopping her "BONBON IS THE WORST BABYSITTER WE EVER HAD!!" tantrums. even when Michael and even try to tell her to quit it and she is not that bad and lets them off the hook for a LOT, she never quits. maybe its "IM DADDY'S PRINCESS" attitude or just having another girl(?) in the house but she just can't stand bonbon. bonbon loves her dearly! She is William's favorite! how can she not!! she tries SO HARD to get her to like her but NOTHING WORKS.

Even: he's glad to finally have a shoulder to cry on. though Bonbon admittedly has little empathy about his fear of the animatronic. she cant see it and tries to get him to like them to no avail. but she gives up after a while and doesn't torment him with them.

Clara / mrs. Afton: in universes where they are a polycule. Clara adores bonbon. bonbon was very nervous about even the idea of suggesting something together but god., they already were something. she gives her face kisses way too casually, and hugs her every time she sees bonbon. clara thinks bonbon is the best person to include in their family and bonbon adores her right back. she always worries that hes not 'good enough' for such a pretty woman but shes perfect in Clara's eyes. tbh they might be more in love then bonbon and Afton are but there love for each other is just as strong for him together.

11. what kind of outfit(s) does your self insert wear? mmmm take this art and some photoes from my pintrest

16. freebie! name a fact about your self insert you want everyone to know.

UUMM OH! The reason she sews buttons on her clothes is to fidget with them. they are her main fidget and she loves the smooth texture and shapes.

[confessionblog]

Ive known my best friend since we were in elementary school and he's licherally my favorite person. We're not the 'pact to get married if we're both single in however long' type, tho. I even brought it up once in it felt silly to even imagine lol, like we're both gay (mlm wlw solidarity), p sure im ace, and we just kinda live opposite lifestyles. Im a home body, still live with my parents, kinda suck at socializing even tho im an extravert, and Way too sharing while he's currently on a year-long cross-country roadtrip all by himself, self sufficient, closed book but Great at socializing (like half our friends have admitted to having a crush on him at some point 😅) etc point is we love each other but not like that. Now that he's been gone nearly a whole year with plans to fly to hawaii, im starting to realize he might not ever come visit..? His mom's moved away and half the reason he took this trip was to get out of our podunk town and away from all these people that kno him from highschool n whoever else. Idk, i suppose i figured i was an acception to that, being 4 years apart n more like family, but maybe not, maybe thats still too close to home..

Sorry uh, the real confession here is that my parents have been building an off grid house for the past 10 years (doin it all entirely alone so progress is slow) and during moms bday dinner last week they each confessed to realizing they'd always imagined my friend n i both moving into this new house which is 🥺🥺 so so sweet?? He really is like family so i guess it does make a lot of sense that they'd just been picturing both of us living there, but i guess theyre also only realizing he might not actually come back even just to visit..? I hope we're wrong, id like to imagine a time in the future where he comes to stay with us for a couple months every so often, like a migratory bird. Bringing tales of his travels and upcoming plans and using that time to rest, you kno..? Maybe thats too fantastical for the world we live in now...

It doesn't hurt to ask! He could fill a room with trinkets from his expeditions like an old explorer (theyre just from gift shops)

[haryuwu]

Omooo thank you for the tag!!! I was kinda skeptical if I should write a fic for this but I think a comic is much more appropriate for me! I'll come back to this when it is Lulu's bday which is gonna be next year, Jan 9;;

Okay so—FACEPALM BRIGADE BDAY PARTY???

I think I haven't mentioned this here before but Lulu is indeed the new member of facepalm brigade, Ruggie told MC/Yuu. ALSO THEY ARE ALL SILVER/WHITE HEADS. WHO SAID THAT IT'S NOT OFFICIAL??

So Silver wanted to plan a surprise for Lulu so she could feel that she belongs in NRC. I think at this time the facepalm brigade has been together for months so it's natural to throw a party for your friend!

I also can imagine Silver asking Malleus and Lilia if they can throw a party in Diasomnia, they gave him permission since they knew Lulu is still trying to get a simple bday celebration. But on one condition, Malleus has to bake a cake for her. Why? Well...he just wants to? He wanted to enjoy her bday even if it's a small one and that he's uninvited or was forgotten to be invited(?)

Anyway, Kalim was the first one to greet her happy bday. He beat Silver to it, maybe he just said it loudly than Silver but I can tell they said it at the same time. Silver sings her a bday song instead since she didn't hear him loud enough 🥺

I haven't thought of Riddle's relationship with Lulu so I'm just gonna say they are both pressured children by their parents. They are pretty smart kids, they might actually provide notes to each other. Riddle prolly came there to greet her and eat some tarts.

Oh boi, idk about this one...Jade creeps her out at first but they eventually started getting along when she worked part time at Monstro. Maybe he has been a gentleman towards her or maybe he's just plotting something. Thank you for the numerous gifts though, I hope all of em are mushroom merch.

And lastly...man this breaks my heart for Lulu. But this is also the safest way to avoid Rook? Idk their current relationship here, but I do hope that Rook greets her late in the evening since he recently got the news from Vil like, "Aren't you going to greet the girl you've been pursuing?"

"Oh mon dieu...!" And comes running out of Pomefiore dorm to go to Ramshackle dorm, greeting her at the second floor room's window with a poem prepared. Pls leave my bbg alone, she's gonna sleep.

Time for tags! No pressure tho @datboredpencil @kitsubishinya @dibbledoodle @chifuyusangel @kunehori @cupiddstarrie @mochawulfie, or you can just tag anyone who wants to join!

Ace planned the surprise/first to greet me.

Leona baked the birthday cake. (But I bet he asked Ruggie to do it.)

Kalim bought the food and drinks and also came uninvited. 🤣

Vil sings.

Lilia gave me lots of presents.

Jack ate all the food. (He never gonna do that)

And Silver forgot my birthday. 🤣

[4voisper]

UMMMMM idk if i’d be able to go but uh. if i can,,,,, i would need someone to drive me to go see day6 in detroit bc my parents wouldn’t do it but i wanna go

[teetlestansecond]

saw the one about how the rise turtles are with reader's birthday and as someone who has massive birthday blues and absolutely avoids telling anyone my birthday, i instantly thought of this

seperate, romantic and platonic hcs of how the rise boys are when they realize they dont know female reader's birthday and neither does April. cue either solo or group missions into trying to find out her birthday. theres shenanigans of them trying to various methods like spending a whole year trying to observe in what day reader acts particularly different to try to guess when is it, trying to get through her legal documents (no avail she kicked them out lmao), simply asking her only to either get a different date each time or a hard no, etc.

when they eventually do find out, they come to know that its because reader doesnt really like herself and it just makes her overthink all sorts of things like how much time they wasted, their mortality, etc. and practically begs the turtles to not celebrate it.

they respect her wishes but still cant help that after finding out when her bday is, they act more sweeter and plan dinnner get togethers as a casual and "subtle" way to celebrate it and the reader appreciates all of it

as someone who has very mixed feelings about my own birthday i really enjoyed this one

rise! turtles x birthday blues!reader

Raph! ❤️

it’s a big brother thing, okay? Raph needs to know certain things. your favorite color, if you like coffee or tea or hot cocoa, when your birthday is. he just needs that information.

but after a year of being friends he realizes he actually doesn’t know when your birthday is. and after asking the others and realizing they don’t know either, he makes it his job to find out.

the first thing he does is ask, because he figures you’ll just tell him. much to his surprise, though, you don’t. you tell him it’s not important and leave it at.

and Raph genuinely doesn’t know what to make of it. of course it’s important, it’s your special day!

if you won’t tell him, he’ll just have to figure it out himself. he drops by your place and tries to look at your calendar. it’s not marked there, but before he can check anywhere else you realize what he’s doing and put a stop to it pretty quickly.

he tries two more times to find clues in your room but you thwart him every time and so he leaves it alone.

he pays attention to the other people in your life, hoping they might wish you a happy birthday while he’s in earshot or give you a gift.

and this is what ends up working for him. he catches your parents wishing you a happy birthday and he absolutely lights up.

he decides to throw you a surprise party and goes to get supplies with April’s help, but on their way back to the lair they bump into you and you realize upon seeing the party supplies that they must have realized today was your birthday.

so you quickly tell them both not to tell the others. your birthday is a tricky day for you, you don’t like the extra attention and the last thing you want is a party.

Raph doesn’t get it. he sees birthdays as things to be celebrated but you’re visibly upset at the idea of celebrating and so he asks April to take the party supplies to her place.

and while she does that, Raph takes you down to his room to talk it over. he tries to understand things from your point of view, which you appreciate.

you try to explain that you have a rocky relationship with yourself, and that because of it you don’t particularly enjoy.

and honestly? Raph can understand that. but he also tells you that your birthday is important to him because you’re important to him.

it’s sweet, but you’re still adamant about not celebrating. so Raph settles on a compromise.

if you’re dating, he takes you out on a date. it’s just the two of you, and it’s very lowkey. he’ll take you somewhere nice in the hidden city and will end the night by giving you a little gift. he never outright wishes you a happy birthday, and instead uses the day as a chance to let you know how much he loves you.

if things are platonic between you guys, he just invites you to hang out with him and the others and makes sure they watch your favorite movie while eating pizza. again it’s lowkey and your birthday isn’t mentioned, it’s just his own way of making sure you get to enjoy a nice day where he and the others can celebrate you without you feeling overwhelmed.

Leo! 💙

Leo is an astrology bitch and he needs to know your birthday early on, so he asks you early on.

you lie to him, and he knows it because the vibes don’t fit at all. but he figures if he asks you again you’ll probably lie again, so he just evaluates you over the span of a few months and then narrows it down to a series of dates he thinks are your birthday.

and he takes that finished list to the one person he knows would be able to tell him if he was right or not - Donnie.

because Donnie knows these things about everyone. why? no one knows, no one dares to ask.

and lo and behold, one of the dates Leo has suspected was indeed your birthday.

which is great, but this leaves a big question in his mind - why did you lie in the first place?

he swings by your place the day after he gets his answer so he can talk to you about it.

and you have to admit, you’re stunned he was able to figure you out so easily. zodiac signs are not supposed to be that accurate.

he’s pretty pleased with himself, but Leo only lingers on that for a little bit before he gets more serious and asks you why you lied to him.

you don’t want to talk about it, but you know if you don’t explain yourself to him he’ll probably tell the others and make a big deal of it and you don’t want that.

so you confess. you have a lot of anxiety surrounding mortality and your birthday makes it a lot worse. so you usually just hunker down and try to ignore the day until it passes.

and Leo kind of gets it. he’s been more worried about mortality than he used to be himself.

so he does his best to make you feel heard. but at the same time, he does want to celebrate your birthday. he wants you to feel alive that day instead of hiding away. so you both agree to let the others know, but to not actually celebrate if you don’t want to.

instead, everyone agrees that you can come spend the day in the lair and decide what gets done that day. if you want to just sit around all day, they join you. if you want to go somewhere, they take you. it’s your day, and Leo and the others are happy to just be there with you.

but if there’s any romance between you and Leo, he does start gifting you with plants on your birthday. they’re never big, but they’re beautiful signs of life and he hopes that they’ll remind you to enjoy the beauty in living even when you’re trying not to think about what comes after.

Donnie! 💜

let’s not kid ourselves. Donnie knows your birthday.

don’t ask how or why. he just does and he’s not going to explain himself.

he asks you about a week before your birthday what you want to do and you tell him you’re not interested in celebrating at all.

you feel like you’re falling behind in life and your birthday makes you feel especially aware of your perceived shortcomings. so you try and ignore the day whenever it comes around.

the feeling is one Donnie knows well, feeling like he’s falling behind in areas others seem to thrive in. he’s done a lot but it feels like for all his successes, he has so many more failures.

either way, he gets your point and doesn’t really try to push it.

he decides to make your birthday a quiet affair. he invites you to the lair and the two of you will do something small together before catching a movie or going on an adventure with the others.

it becomes a day to just relax and focus on you instead of your deeds, because Donnie wants you to remember that your value isn’t tied to the things you’ve done or have yet to do.

you said he could tell the others if he wanted to so long as he tells them not to make a whole deal about it.

Donnie absolutely refuses to tell anyone though, unless they bribe him or come ask him about the specific date.

if you’re dating Donnie, he usually invites you to spend the night, and you two hang out in his lab. sometimes you do something together, other times you’ll each do your own thing and enjoy the company of the other.

a few times the two of you just play music and dance. you won’t tell him, but that’s your favorite way to spend the night.

Mikey, featuring April! 🧡💚

it actually takes Mikey a while to realize he doesn’t know when your birthday is.

and of course he has to figure it out, because birthdays are important! and he wants to celebrate yours!

but April tells him that you’ve always been tight-lipped about when your birthday is. she’s never known, and she’s known you for years.

her solution has always been to get you a gift on her own birthday, which you’ve always found sweet.

because of this, most people assume you and April share a birthday, but April assures Mikey that you guys don’t.

this confuses Mikey, but it doesn’t keep him from asking you when your birthday is. and like April said, you didn’t tell him.

so, Mikey and April resort to plan b: breaking into school.

it’s a covert, stealth mission. they break in, get into the administrative office, and go through student files until they find yours.

neither does anything with that information right away, because they really don’t know what to do.

it’s clear to them both that you don’t want to celebrate, and they don’t want to throw a party or anything and end up making you feel uncomfortable.

the two of them talk about it nearly every day for months, and before they know it it’s your birthday.

and they kind of just wing it.

you find two gifts outside your bedroom door. there’s no name or anything on either one, they’re just there for you.

and a couple of hours later, Mikey and April both show up wanting to take you out.

if you’re dating one of them, they come alone and take you out for an activity date before the other joins and the three of you grab lunch together.

they buy you a slice of cake and you know what it’s for but they never mention it and you don’t want to mention it either.

it’s just a thing the three of you do, and it warms your heart every year.

[meganlpie]

Marks

Based on this request:  I know it’s your bday, but I would die for the gift of a Snape Soulmate AU from you!! Please! Maybe one where soulmates can see everything written on their soulmate’s skin…everything so the reader ends up with the dark mark even though she’s a Muggle or at least Muggle-born? (I also would be interested in reading your Horvath Soulmate AU)

Here you are! *I do not own ANY HP characters, unfortunately. They are the property of Rowling.* 

Warnings: Angst...just angst. (Just remember, you lovelies voted for this). Mentions of magical violence, blood, injury, and death.

Pairings: Severus Snape x fem!reader(sort of. Can also be read as gn!reader)

The day the mark appeared on your skin, you were confused. All the years you could have seen marks on your skin, this was the first one your soulmate had done himself. You weren't sure how you knew, but you were certain the various bruises and scars along your soulmate's body did not come from them. So this mark, this tattoo, was a surprise that sent shivers down your spine.

         The Dark Mark was known to all people in the wizarding world, even Muggle-born witches like you. The mark of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. The mark his followers were branded with. And your soulmate was one of them. It broke your heart for them, whoever they were. You hated that fate was cruel as to decide that every mark your soulmate made or received on their skin showed up…every mark except for names.

         That didn't stop you from spending many evenings writing to your soulmate. You were grateful to your parents for supplying you with Muggle pens in addition to your quills. Quills hurt if you write on yourself with them. You would use those to write to your soulmate. Not that they ever wrote back. You never knew, but you hoped that whoever they were would know that you were there for them whenever they were ready to finally meet. It wasn't until you were fully grown and the wizarding world was in danger from a resurrected Voldemort that you FINALLY learned who your soulmate was.

         You were fighting against the Death Eaters that had invaded Hogwarts when you felt something on your neck. Unlike all your other soulmate marks, this one hurt. It almost felt like fire under your skin and you could feel the blood dripping down your neck. Your heart began pounding against your rib cage. Where was your soulmate? What had happened to them?

         You were so distracted for a moment that you almost got yourself hurt. Luckily for you, you had Molly Weasley near you. She was a great friend who looked out for others. You gave her a smile before you rushed off. The chances were good that your soulmate was here, in the school, or just outside it. If that was true, you needed to find them before it was too late.

         You ran through the collapsing school, taking down Death Eaters as you went. Part of you expected to fall down in pain yourself when you hit one. Your soulmate had the Dark Mark after all. But you hadn't received another mark since the one on your neck. Either your soulmate had gotten to safety or they were…no you couldn't think that way. Not yet.

         High and low you search to no avail. There was no sign of anyone else with a neck injury. After a while, you gave up. The Death Eaters disappeared from the school, at least for the time being. You sank to the ground, your head in your hands. You sat there fighting back tears until you felt someone reaching out to touch your neck. "Don't bother," you muttered, "It's from my soulmate."

         "Your soulmate, Professor?" You recognized the voice of Hermione Granger. You glanced up at her with a tired smile. It did your heart good to see her alive and somewhat well. "Yes." Her brows furrowed and she frowned. "Your soulmate was Professor Snape?"

         Your eyes widened. "S-Severus? Why do you think that?" you asked. Hermione explained what she and her two best friends had seen. "I think it might be too late," she whispered. You shook your head before jumping up. You needed to get to him. If you could save him, you had to at least try. "Hold on, Severus," you pleaded softly, "Please, hold on."

         As you ran, Severus was the only thing on your mind. You couldn't believe it. You'd been going to school and then working near him for years. How had you never figured out what he was to you? Had he known? You really couldn't complain. While you weren't the closest two people could be, Severus didn't seem to despise you the way he did most other people. You couldn't have been mated to someone much, much worse. The chance for love to grow was there. Fate had paired you together for a reason, right?

         You burst into the boat house, your eyes easily finding the slumped over form of your soulmate. "Severus," you breathed out. You ran to him, once again sinking to your knees. You noticed the dried blood on his neck and the tear stains on his cheek. "Oh, Severus." He took a ragged breath as you pulled out your wand to at least try to help.

         Severus's hand came up for a moment before it fell to the floor again. "Don't," came the strangled groan from his lips. "It's too late." You shook your head. Tears began pricking your eyes again. "No. I don't believe that. There has to be something." Severus lazily moved his head in a "no" motion. "The venom has already spread. There's no time."

         You sniffled. "What can I do?" He let out a choked chuckle. "You have done enough." You gave him a look and he gestured to his sleeve. With as much care as possible, you rolled up the sleeve and let the tears finally fall. "Be safe, Soulmate. I expect to meet you when this is over." The words you'd written before the start of the battle were still there.

         "Thank you, Y/N. Thank you for giving me what I needed all these years. Thank you for giving me hope." You smiled up at him as the light left his eyes. "Severus?" you squeaked. No response. "S-Severus, please." Still nothing. You knew nothing could change that. With a shaking hand, you reached over and closed his eyes.

         He was gone. You let yourself cry, your shoulders shaking with your sobs. Your soulmate was ripped from you unfairly and there was nothing you could do. Severus Snape: Slytherin, Professor, Death Eater, Headmaster, Soulmate. Whoever he once was to the world was no more. Stories would live on, but Severus wouldn't. He had left you with nothing but your memories and one final mark. A mark on your soul that would never fade and would hurt forever.

(a/n: I hope you like it! It hurt me to write.)

Forever Tags: @fizzyxcustard​ @brewsthespirit-blog​ @sirkekselord​ @aikibriarrose​ @lady-of-lies​ @esoltis280​ @stories-by-shanna-p​ @dark-angel-is-back​ @motleymoose​ @supernatural4life2022​

Harry Potter Tags are OPEN!

[mageofarcane]

hey hey, hope youve been doing well!! <3 ive lost sm sleep trying to tier pls i was ready to collapse

also tysm both of you for the kind words!! your headcanons inspired me to share mine and im glad that i did!! <3 also also horribly off topic but i go by he/they pronouns and ppl literally never use they/them and i think i sobbed a little seeing someone actually use it (which makes NO sense bc you didnt even know my preferred pronouns but im happy anyway sldhfk)

okay okay anyway i present you with short but sweet rui birthday headcanons!!

wxs would def try to give you a role in the birthday show

if you accept, rui would be rly touched seeing you try your best for him, and he would be so so happy watching you get along with wxs!!

if you cant enter the sekai, rui would love to spend his evening (or the next day) with you!!

he would adore and appreciate any plan you make for his special day, but he would def tease you about it (very lovingly)

if you asked him what he wanted to do, he would suggest a shopping trip for materials!! cue holding hands and talking about wtv while he shops for parts <3

he adores literally any gift you give him!!

if its something he can display, he would have it with him in his workshop!! if its something he can wear, he would always be wearing it!!

and while he absolutely adores the gift you gave him, he would treasure the time spent with you most <3

he thought that his birthdays would always be lonely but he was proven wrong, and he wouldnt have it any other way

happy (belated) birthday to rui <3

- tsukasa anon!!

You're back! I'm so happy! Tiering was pretty tough this last event, but now you can finally rest if you haven't already. Thank you for letting me know your pronouns so I know for the future. If I don't much about who I'm talking about I just use they/them by default, but I'm glad I got it right for you!

I feel bad for not doing much for Rui's birthday writing wise. I've just been creatively dead the past week. Thank you so much for the cute bday headcanons for him <3

He would be so moved seeing you taking part in a performance just for him. Even more so if you normally don't like going on stage and all.

I feel like you'd have to make one on one time with him the next day cause I'm sure Tsukasa and the others had a huge party for him. He couldn't care less about what he did or where he went or even what gift were given to him for his birthday (though he'd of course cherish it all), he is just so happy he now has people in his life to spend his birthday with, aside from just his parents and Nene. But regardless, spending a day going out to shop for things to use for the projects he loves making and getting a meal at a restaurant he loves all with the person he loves so dearly? He couldn't think of a better way to spend the day with you.

This might be a bit random, but I've had so many questions and ideas regarding the Sekai and who outside of the main 4 per group could be able to enter. Like, just thinking with wxs - if someone were to join their troupe to perform and help them reach their dreams, would they then be able to enter the Sekai? Let's say Rui dates someone and that person gets pretty close to the other three too, would they be able to enter, whether it be through their own untitled song or being near one of the others when they play it? I'm sure if Rui or any of the others were dating someone outside of their troupe, they'd have to tell them about the Sekai just because it's such a huge secret to keep from a partner, even if they can't enter and could only see the v singers through the phone holograms. I wanna know so bad lol

[beepboop358]

My Byler theories/predictions for S4

Since s4 is already confirmed to not be the last season, I don’t think Byler will officially get together in s4. I do think that we are definitely going to get a large amount of Byler’s development in s4 though, we just aren’t at the finish line yet. Since Byler has been being developed all through each of the seasons, I think the writers are playing the long game with Mike and Will. I really appreciate a queer romance that is so well developped, especially in something so popular! I think the season will end on a note where it’s understood what Mike has been struggling with, It’s made known that Will is gay, and that Mike has feelings for Will, and Will has feelings for Mike.

My predictions/theories for Byler in s4:

Mike might be acting a little off at school and Dustin is going to notice his odd behavior and ask what’s up

I think Mike will be getting in trouble at school and at home (based on whenever he doesn’t have Will/El around he does stupid things - like graffitti the bathroom wall, plagiarize essays, curse at adults, etc.) I don’t know if Mike knows about Eddie dealing drugs, but he might and he might get drugs from Eddie and do them to cope with everything he is struggling with. His parents might ground him for doing drugs, and forbid him from going to visit the Byers, and then we could get our runaway smalltown boy montage! LOL

Lonnie might come to visit the Byers in California for Will’s birthday. He will probably show up because he thinks they have money now, or he wants to sue Starcourt like he wanted to sue the quarry in s1. Mike will also be there visiting for Will’s birthday. Lonnie will mock Will and make fun of him like he always did, but he will also hate Mike. Lonnie will definitely notice Will and Mike’s dynamics and he will definitely comment about it. He might even call them homophobic slurs like we know he used to do with Will when he was younger. Lonnie will probably make Will cry and Mike upset. Lonnie might possibly “out” him and Mike before they are out and confirm it themselves. Some of the movies on the stranger writers twitter for s4 also hint at this, as well as having the baseball references. There are also hints to Will’s birthday throughout the show: The rainbow happy birthday mug seen in the crazy together scene, the “sorry i forgot your birthday card” in Will’s room from Lonnie, and Joyce’s speech in the shed discussing Will’s 8th birthday and his “rainbow ship”. Jonathan also mentions how Lonnie made him kill a rabbit on his 10th birthday and he cried for a week after, just more hints that if Lonnie shows up for Will’s bday, it’s gonna be bad.

Mike might get Will a watch for his birthday. This would reference the clocks being central to the s4 plot, and “not wanting things to change/turning back the clock” in Hopper’s letter

Will is being homophobically bullied at his new school again, possibly references to Will having HIV/AIDS because the height of the epidemic was in the 80’s and it was very stigmatized

Mike will call Will more than he will call El. Will might be slightly surprised by this, El’s frequent calling will annoy Mike and he might turn off his walkie talkie. (basically the reverse of what Mike said would happen in the s3 ending mileven scene)

Mike and Will will be in the same location for most of the season, like s2. They will not leave each other’s sides for the majority of the time they are together.

S4 Group Predictions:

- El, Will, Mike trio together with Jonathan and Argyle. (we will get some obvious tension between El, Will, and Mike, and Mike will hate Argyle at first)

- Robin, Steve, Erica, Max, Dustin, Lucas, Vickie, Eddie, Nancy

- Joyce, Murray, etc?

- Hopper and the other Russians (Dimitri, etc)

The rift between Mike and El will continue to grow.

When Mike comes to visit, she will notice he seems much more interested in Will.

El will ask why the bullies call Will those things (queer/fairy/gay/homo, probably f slurs too), what it means and if he really is “a queer”.

I don’t know if Will is going to come out to El. They have never interacted before, and I doubt Will trusts her or really likes her much mainly, because of Mike. Unless they get super close during the time not portrayed on screen between s3 and s4, or by being all each other has in California, I don’t know if  he will come out to El. I could see this going either way depending on how their friendship develops. I definitely do not think Will is going to tell El he likes Mike, even if he does confide in her he is gay. I think she will find out eventually but in some other way, probably just from Mike’s behavior towards Will.

El will eventually realize she doesn’t actually love Mike and let go of the ‘romance’ aspect of their bond, but still highly value him as a friend.

Mike might be called homophobic slurs at school as well. Mike will definitely be teased (regardless of his sexuality) because he is in the hellfire club and since satanic panic is sweeping the town, people look at D&D as if it is a satanic game, and he will be teased because of that.

Based on the leaked bts pics, I have a theory a cheerleader, or someone else, might show interest in Mike.  Mike will not reciprocate and she will call him out for it asking why he doesn't like her because “any other guy at this school would” or something like that, maybe even ask “what are you gay or something”. It would certainly be good for Mike’s narrative but idk if it will happen.

Will may confide in Jonathan about his feelings for Mike and the things the bullies say to him at school. Jonathan will be supportive of Will, as will Joyce. I think he will also try to protect Will from Lonnie and they will both defend Will to Lonnie.

I think we need a scene of Mike with his Mom telling him to follow his heart, like who you like, etc. because life is too short to waste it being miserable or something like that. This could be inspired by Mike’s parents seperating, but idk. This could also encourage Mike to initiate more romantic things with Will.

I would love to get a scene of Will confronting Mike for “Joining another party”, after Will said he wouldn’t.

Will and Mike need to discuss what was said in their fight.

I think since Mike's been holding in a lot of turmoil and struggling with his sexuality for so long we might get a small breakdown scene from him, of him telling Will he’s really sorry for how he treated him last summer, and for all the things he said to Will. Mike will profusely apologize and also hint at how he’s confused and been dealing with a lot.

I think Mike will be the first one to break down and confess he has feelings for Will and has been struggling with coming to terms with his sexuality.

Once Will has confirmation Mike is also struggling with his sexuality, Will might come out to him. I would love for him to reference the fight being like “You were right. I don’t like girls.” (from @itsonlystrange ‘s 4x07 byler script it’s so good!) I don't know if Will will confess he likes Mike to his face or not. I don't think it's likely given how shy Will is and how afraid he is of Mike not reciprocating, but who knows.

Mike may initiate a kiss between him and Will - towards the end of the season probably (eyewitness parallel - explained in my byler proof google slides)

I think Mike and Will might write letters to each other, with some love-y connotations. There is a lot of evidence for this in the canon comics of them writing notes to each other, and that cryptic tweet from stranger writers twitter with a blocked out message and the date Will went missing saying it wasn’t about a couple or hopper. Maybe byler related? This tweet may not be a letter but it might be. The most popular theories are that the message is to Will, “love mike”, which I love. https://twitter.com/strangerwriters/status/1184945905973153792?lang=en

Will has a new haircut (bts pics) and Mike will gush over it. Maybe some gay-panicking too hopefully

I think El will be either physically or at least emotionally distant the entire season from the other kids (again following the pattern of even and odd seasons) El needs some personal development this season, since she didn’t get any in s3.

El might confront Mike and ask if he is gay and if he likes Will, which could be El’s motivation to go off on a journey of her own to learn more about her own life. I don’t think it will be a huge fight, but El might make some references to him always lying to her. I think Mike might just kind of try to talk his way out of it at first, but he will eventually break. This might be a two part discussion and Mike doesn’t admit she is right until later. I don’t think it makes sense for El to be heartbroken (explained in my byler proof slides), just slightly annoyed. This is based off of the movie Tootsie which they borrowed the “gift” idea from in s3 already. In the movie, the girlfriend then after receiving the gift asks “Michael” if he is gay.

I really think eventually El will realize it’s okay because she doesn’t love him romantically either, and once she realizes that her own personal development can really begin.

I think we will see a noticeable change in Mike’s demeanor. I think Mike will mainly just be trying to hide that he is gay now. He joined the hellfire club so we know he’s playing d&d again meaning he is reverting back to his true self, not the weird act he put on in s3 trying to be straight and change himself. He is still struggling, but he knows he likes Will. Regardless that doesn’t mean he is going to be super clear about how he feels. He is going to be extremely afraid of opening up and then getting hurt by Will. He will probably do some of his usual ‘lead Will on and then shut it down’ thing. And I really want Will to call him out on this. This could also lead to Mike breaking down in front of Will and confessing. I think we are going to get a lot of 'Mike gay panicking' moments, he's going to be extremely afraid of being found out/suspected.

Byler things I really want to happen that we may get because they would have narrative significance:

I really want flashbacks to those 3 months of summer between the starcourt explosion and the Byers moving, of moments between Mike and Will when they hang out alone together, with some obvious romantic tension. Like where they are super playful and almost kiss, or they are kind of touchy, or something in the realm of that. I think we need a flashback of something that explains Will’s flirty nature at the very end of s3 with Mike, because he doesn't normally act like that. I want noticeable “is something going on with them?” vibes. This could also happen during the thanksgiving/christmas flashbacks.

I hope we get flashbacks of Mike going to the Byers for Thanksgiving, and the Byers coming back to Hawkins for Christmas. Preferably of some Mike and Will moments that hint at Mike’s confusion or how he feels “so alone” without Will, maybe with some “crazy together” references too! I’d also love some tension between the 3 of them, maybe this is when El starts to get suspicious of Mike liking Will.

Hopefully we get some shots of Mike biking past the byers old house and going to look at castle byers and reminiscing.

I’d love to get a flashback of Mike the day the Byers moved away, of him crying or being upset, alone in his room/basement while looking at Will’s drawings or pictures of Will and him together. Mainly to confirm for people that Mike was upset about Will moving, not as much El.

This one does not seem super probable, but it is a very popular theory. Idk if it’s possible because of location logistics, but if they spend enough time together, I’d love for Mike to get to know Robin better, and Will too. Maybe once everyone comes together at the end of the season, she will notice their dynamics and could help guide and inspire them to be themselves. Hey maybe thats for s5 :) But I do think it’s a possibility that Mike may work at the video store with Steve and Robin, and she will pick up on Mike’s behavior and understand, whether she communicates that to him or not.

[cattles-bians]

exes au part 11

post directory

obsetress: i'm about to fully fall asleep but i have been thinking about exes au danvi and like the isabel of it all and dani dating a single mom and how just like

obsetress: vi is so protective of isabel and as much as she loves dani like

obsetress: she took SO LONG before introducing her and then like

obsetress: when they broke up dani left and dani wasnt in isabels life anymore and dani was so good for isabel and viola just feels so fuckin shitty and blames herself and

obsetress: but i'm also thinkin bout soft fluffy stuff too like how much dani loves isabel and how much vi loves watching isabel w dani and

em: hey hannah what the fuck

obsetress: isabel has a nightmare one night and goes to her mom's room and dani's there too and she just curls up between them

em: do you think when they finally reconnected dani was like hey um. does isabel remember me. would it be weird if

obsetress: FUCK

obsetress: this absolutely happens

em: viola is VERY apprehensive at first

obsetress: god yeah esp after getting so hurt by it but

obsetress: viola sure cannot say no to dani!

em: i love some dani with kids tho

em: maybe too soft but do u think for at least a couple years dani would like. send isabel a bday card

em: like dead air otherwise

em: hmm idk i am chewing that one over more

obsetress: god it's hard i think dani wants to but she doesn't

obsetress: i could see dani writing them and holding onto them

em: oh that’s even worse

obsetress: even tho she really doesnt think she'll ever talk to vi again

em: what a soft and depressing thought. thank u. i resent u.

obsetress: yeah it hurts!

obsetress: but then she does! and she gives them all to isabel when she's older maybe

em: hold on i’m gonna bawl

em: sometimes my parents will be like um. do u remember this person and i’m like uh i don’t remember people i worked w two years ago let alone

em: but i think isabel does

em: i will be thinking about this all afternoon bestie have a wonderful slumber

[em note: em yells in hannahs DMs while she's asleep dot png]

em: no um. mate im still furious about the isabel of it all wtf

em: thinking about um. like ok i dont wanna use isabel as a prop but this is certainly one of those times where

em: violas been hurt before and viola's hurt other people before because she's deeply troubled and i feel like that would be one of the first times she sorta. sure she licks her wounds and feels miserable for herself but its also like uh

em: really sobering to realise This Hurts Isabel Too

em: because yknow violas very gatekeep gaslight girlboss i think shes got a strong enough sense of self that nothing really shakes that. maybe even to a deluded degree. i dont think she goes to therapy because shes like wow im fucked up i gotta get help, she's more like

em: shes really driven by her love for isabel!! gestures WILDLY

em: realised this is an au where parents get therapy and dont pass their traumas onto their kids and i want OFF this WILD RIDE im so tired of discovering things about myself through the realm of fiction

obsetress: yeah same i kept thinking about it too alfkadlsfkjdasf

obsetress: i want to reply to every single line of the isabel thing but i'm not gonna do that so let me just say: YEAH

obsetress: like isabel is her cornerstone full stop everything comes down to isabel

em: dani's probably so nervous reconnecting w isabel again. absolutely spinning her lil wheels

em: they set up a lil date and time and dani's doing her gay nervous babble abt if isabel even remembers her or god forbid resents her n jamies like...

em: im pursing my lips as i draw a line on the whiteboard between jamie's whole childhood and isabels and shaking my head Goddamn It

em: jamie lets dani babble it out n pauses and reflects on what she's saying n then jamie's like. the fact ur nervous means u care. n kids are v good at picking up when ppl care. you'll be alright.

obsetress: god yeah this bit i can just. hear it

obsetress: it's so visceral

---

em: viola

obsetress: god my favorite taurus hedonist

[em note: hannah yells in em's DMs while em is asleep dot png]

obsetress: god fuck what was i thinking about isabel this morning like

obsetress: that's what i get for daydreamin between snoozes and not writing it down alas

obsetress: but just like how excited isabel is to see dani again when she does and also like, isabel and rebecca

obsetress: then i started thinking about

obsetress: rebecca and vi getting married and vi's always like i'm not gonna get married again it's bullshit and rebecca's like it's not for me but then they just

obsetress: like they live together and they share everything and rebecca looks out for isabel just as much and they get to a point and it's like

obsetress: oh. oh

obsetress: like they're both like it's the logical thing to do. it's logical and it's safe and we should have this extra layer of protection but also it's like

obsetress: they find themselves more and more excited a lil you know? and just thinking about how isabel's there and how excited isabel is and

obsetress: but god yeah what i was thinking about this morning like. one day vi has to tell isabel dani's not gonna be coming around anymore and like

obsetress: isabel doesn't really understand and she's so sad and then vi feels even shittier

obsetress: and she's like "we'll be okay. it's you and me, remember? moving mountains"

obsetress: "you me us, right?"

obsetress: the first time rebecca meets her she brings her a book as a gift and is like "this was one of my favorites" and

obsetress: OH I REMEMBERED

obsetress: so like when dani sees isabel again finally (and yknow as nervous as dani was vi was even more on edge because it's so inconsistent and is she gonna understand yknow? and the two of them just spiral––which is also another thing about the two of them in a relationship! i think they push each other down spirals)

obsetress: jamie's there too and dani's like "this is... this is, uh, jamie" and it's like you said jamie isabel parallels and so jamie's like a lil tender

obsetress: spoiler: isabel and jamie end up bonding the most

obsetress: jamie's like running around with isabel on her shoulders and then showing her all these plants and taking her to gardens and

obsetress: another tentative jamie vi alliance

em: isabel mikey hangout When

obsetress: isabel mikey hangout!

obsetress: they're hanging with isabel and she and jamie have a very spirited discussion where isabel's like "i wanna be a princess" and dani's like "why not a knight?" and jamie's like "why not opt out of the feudalistic hierarchy entirely and ditch the kingdom for the high seas?" and convinces isabel to go full pirate

obsetress: and then isabel kinda passes out with her head in jamie's lap and jamie's just kinda idly playing with her hair (vi is already like "am i... attracted to jamie in this moment?")

obsetress: and jamie's like "y'know, i should bring mikey round next time isabel's here" and viola's like "......who?" and jamie's like "my little brother? mikey?" and viola's like "right.... right"

obsetress: cut to later, when dani and jamie have retired to vi and becca's guest room: "since when does jamie have a little brother?" "she always has, babe"

em: kinda obsessed w like. violas love for isabel means her wires get crossed when the surly gardener is Good With Kids

obsetress: yeah

obsetress: mikey and isabel immediately hit it off i think

obsetress: a bit of an odd couple because i think isabel is definitely, like, her mother's daughter and mikey is............. mikey

obsetress: but i think they meet in the middle and help each other grow and play pirates together

em: viola is like. of course mikey and isabel will get along. isabel is wonderful. but jamie is quietly Sweating about the whole thing

em: so damvibecca are having their afternoon tea and their little cakes and jamie is Quietly sweating and she’s like ‘quiet is good, right? like they’re not tryna k-‘ and then there’s the sound of two 8 year olds (idk how old they are tbh) YELLING as they chase each other down the hall w wrapping paper tubes

obsetress: nervous babbling dani x quietly sweating jamie, an otp

em: isabel has gotten into the make up n given them both black eyes n scars and moustaches n everyone’s like oh no how’s viola gonna feel about this but viola is DELIGHTED

obsetress: dani's like "chill you all she's gonna––" and then viola is getting up and asking them to do her face too

em: made a parrot outta a sock and newspaper

obsetress: viola playing pirates w isabel and mikey

em: kids w their endless creativity n absolute disregard for personal property is truly a thing of dreams

obsetress: mikey gives her a paper tube and she disarms isabel, takes hers, and offers it very seriously to jamie

em: cuteeee

obsetress: rebecca's giving dani a look and dani is completely unfazed and reaching for another tea cake

em: absolutely unflappable dani clayton

em: dani and rebecca sharing a Look like hey have you ever seen her this gleeful

obsetress: there is something very tasty about jamie taylor having a direct hand in making viola so gleeful

em: takes a village!

obsetress: when viola's two big loves are sitting five feet away from them both

em: everyone changes everyone for the better

em: fucken soft ass chat over here

obsetress: everyone changes everyone for the better

obsetress: soft as hell

em: thesis statement everyone likes each other so much (jamie pretends she doesn’t)

obsetress: (jamie pretends she doesn't) (jamie might like everyone the most)

obsetress: viola registers mikey for isabel's school n pays full tuition

em: oh my god

obsetress: jamie is horrified and refuses to accept it and viola waves a hand and is like "too late, deposit's non-refundable"

em: (they carpool)

obsetress: PLEASE

obsetress: oh god and like

obsetress: flora and miles go there too

obsetress: full circle complete

em: broke: highschool au woke: guardians of primary schoolers au

obsetress: dani jamie in bed jamie's like "you don't...... think it's weird?" "hmm?" "mikey going to.... school with our boss' kids?" "why would that be weird" "i dunno" "he also goes to school with my ex's kid" "he's best friends with your ex's kid" "and that's not weird, is it?" (grumbles) "not anymore" "so why would this be?"

em: jamie’s ribbing mikey for his silly tie and straw hat but she teaches him how to tie a tie and also she keeps crying for some reason???

obsetress: oh fuck

em: mikey: can’t i just get a fake tie >:/

jamie: no because when u have a real tie you can leave it untied a little as an act of rebellion

obsetress: god it's jamie crying for me

em: i love that big baby

obsetress: so much!

em: jamies like idk what’s gotten into me i never cry n danis like. raises one eye brow and mentally checks off all the times jamie has absolutely bawled watching a movie

em: not even a sad movie

em: dani plays along

em: maybe ur getting soft in ur old age jamie

obsetress: jamie i cry three four times a day five if i'm being honest taylor

em: thinking about their weekly weekend lunch w damvibecca and hannah and owen and miles and flora and

obsetress: dfjsldkfjslfslfj

obsetress: god big found family

obsetress: you know viola doesn't like

obsetress: dani and jamie respectfully toe around whatever the fuck owen and hannah have going on but viola just does not suffer it. she's so blunt to them

em: big viola grin and all ‘owen, hannah, i assume you will be each other’s dates?’ (owen chokes on his tiny egg sandwich)

em: hannah grose is serene and unreadable as she dabs a bit off yolk off owens moustache

em: maybe even a bit pleased

obsetress: everyone is always so tense when viola and hannah get together because neither of them take shit yknow

obsetress: and everyone's like "which way is this gonna go"

em: god. peak snarky broads

obsetress: but usually they end up good. two apex predators where one is a lil vicious but the other is so confident in its status that it just chills

em: they have the Best gossip

obsetress: would love to sit in and listen as they drink tea and gossip tbh

em: viola presses owen on hannah and he goes red and viola presses hannah on owen and she does a little wouldnt-you-like-to-know into her tea

em: viola nee willoughby and hannah grose friendship is. truly something i never knew i needed until now

em: they’re both just that lil bit older than the rest of the gang too

obsetress: an important coalition

obsetress: hannah grose! hannah looking out for rebecca and that's the couple times she gets a lil testy w vi

obsetress: mikey and isabel besties but flora and mikey get along really well and isabel and miles do too i think

em: the sheer chaos of a taylor-lloyd-windgrave story time

obsetress: LDKFjKLSDJF HELP

obsetress: taylor lloyd wingrave story time

obsetress: jamie suddenly very invested in story time

obsetress: dani's like "i know this is the first time you've actually cared about story time, babe, so let me give you some pointers"

em: i was just in my head thinking fondly about like. jamie is a drop out and plays a lil dumb sometimes for fun but also prolly reads a lot especially to mikey and now i’m like. wait i’m talking to Ms Floras Two Moms herself

em: idk if i had that headcanon before i read she taught me a lesson alright but yknow what! doesn’t matter it’s a beautiful one

obsetress: thank youuuu i love it a lot

obsetress: jamie big reader is generally one of my fave headcanons tbh i'm glad it seems to be widely accepted. can't even explain why it's just nice

em: sometimes i will talk 2 ppl about my passionate drop out jamie taylor belief n then they’re like but she’s smart (it’s only happened a couple times hahsj) and i’m like these aren’t mutually exclusive!! this is my very biased experience but my friends who do manual labor for a living seem to read so much more than my friends who don’t

em: your brain wants to chew over things while the hands are workin i reckon

obsetress: yes yes yes yes yes

obsetress: i think that's also like (sighs heavily)

obsetress: symptomatic of hegemonic perceptions of the working class

em: i love when u sigh heavily it’s always a fun take

obsetress: i think jamie is v clever and reflective and like if there's one thing i've learned getting older it's

obsetress: smart doesn't matter i think the most insightful most thoughtful people are the most reflective ones

obsetress: like none of it fuckin matters just be a nice person

[melchron]

Nightmare Time Episode 3 Thoughts

I usually save this for the end of my thoughts but I have to say this now. OMG MATT DAHAN!!! I WILL NEVER NOT BE IMPRESSED BY HIM! Usually with the episodes I catch 1 or 2 motifs but I swear I caught everyone this time. And they all fit so well. My attention was evenly split between the music and the story this time. It was so freaking good. Matt deserves all the awards like omg.

I think this is the least laggy the theme has been. Good job going all out for the last one!

I said to my mom "Did Shashona record this video?" and she did!! Great cinematography Shashona!!

I also pointed out the Tim's daddy mask. I said "Aww he's wearing a mask for his son!". I guess my mom got confused and forgot Tim's name because she thought I was talking about Dylan's (nonexistent) son.

THE DRILL PRESSES!!

LEX AND ETHAN

I kind of already knew this but I love that Ethan knows cars. I just likes that he has a hobby.

Lex cares about Tom so much I love it.

WHY DID JANE TRY TO KILL ETHAN?!?!?!? TOM DOESN'T WANT TO MAKE LOVE TO HIM!!!! DID SHE HAVE SOME PERSONAL REASONS LIKE WHY!?!??!

That Lexthan interaction was so cute. I love how he saw she was super sorry and scared and he just stopped being mad and comforted her. They are so cute I can't handle it!!

KENDALL!!! Ok so through out this whole thing I know everyone was excited for their favorite character to come back but I really just wanted to see Kendall again. I guess after BF I assumed we would never see her again because I couldn't see them working with children becoming a normal thing. But when the original cast announcement came out I got so happy to see her name. So I was super excited to see her.

Her covering her hair with a beanie looks better than the wig

UNCLE PAUL I'M SOFT I CAN'T HANDLE THIS!!!!!

Cineplex Teen is like Larry from tawog. I guess we should start calling him Obnoxious Teen then. Until we get a name.

I love that Tim immediately likes Becky. Wish I could say the same for my stepparents.

Santa Claus Is Going To High School bb. Also I want to hear the rest of that song. Also also how many wigs does Lauren own?

TONY GREEN

Why must they make love to this movie everytime? Can't we simply just watch it and make fun of like normal people? That way Tim can enjoy it too.

Good for Jane for making sure her son doesn't have to eat disgusting school lunch. She gets good mom points.

Aww Becky reassuring him he's not a Dummy

Becky is like really horny this episode. Honestly Tom's into so go ahead girl

JAIME IS JANE

OK OK OK SO Jane said they were driving home from her parents house. Which means they were still alive when Jane died. That was only a year and a half ago so the Perkins parents might have died more recently than we thought. It's like Spring of 2019 right? So Jane died around Fall 2017. I don't remember if this was said in the show (it probably was and I'm saying nothing new) but I think Black Friday takes place about a year after her death. Tgwdlm took place October 2018. They have to have died only a few months before then. How long had Emma been in Hatchetfield before tgwdlm? Maybe there is a possibility we can see a flashback of an interaction with her parents depending on how long it's been. Also that means Emma lost her whole family in the span of a few months omg. And Tim lost his mom and his grandparents in that time. I want to see how they grieved with all of that. Also I know I'm crossing universes here but Emma also almost died the same day Jane did. Some strange force must really have it out for the Perkins family. Good on Emma for surviving like a champ.

Ok so I thought they went scouting for girls because Jane didn't want the man she loved to have to devote the rest of his life to a car. I thought she was trying to help him move on. She was getting good lover points but those have since been redacted.

Jane is definitely bi and I love that for her. I don't care if she tried to kill her new crush. It was new enough for it to mean nothing.

GREENPEACE GIRL

Tom does look like a creep ngl

Jane reminds us she's a car a lot. Like girl we get it.

No. No. No. NO NO NO NO NO NO NOPE! We're not talking about it. I don't want to. I stared at James the whole and honestly same dude. I saw Nick in my peripheral vision and loved/hated that he was laughing. RIP to me watching this with my mom. RIP to Kendall. Actually rip to everyone who had to sit through that. RIP to Jaime and Dylan for having to perform that. RIP to the cursed rehearsals. Matt and Nick seriously took the time to sit down and write that. What the heck you two?!? This made me more uncomfy than the entirety of mamd and Ted's character combined. I wish I was exaggerating. Maybe this was just me but it felt longer than it needed to. The relief and worry I felt when Tim walked in is a feeling I can not explain. Glad he was clueless.

Tim sweetie I love you but SHUT UP

Jane is crazy and Jaime is doing such an amazing job at portraying that.

Yes Tom. Because grave digging is way crazier than possessed cars.

I asked my mom why the didn't just go grave digging for Jane's body but my mom said the body is probably all rotted and gross so that explains that.

Why didn't Becky just go inside? If she went far enough I doubt Jane would have been able to hit her even if she managed to break into the house. Also let's assume Becky's house had an upstairs. There, perfect safety.

Did Becky seriously die in the same woods as Stanley?

Ok so I thought the tree thing was a reference to little Irish girl Becky from the Black Friday sk10 stream. But now it seems like something more serious and bad happened so I'm curious.

DID JANE GET TOM ARRESTED?!?!? It seemed like she could drive herself at that point. Why not let him get out and get Becky yourself? Is this that self confidence thing Tom talked about?

Is she really about to have her son be obsessed with Ms. Becky for the rest of their lives or is she gonna tell him?

This next episode made me physically jump twice. I say literally a lot but I promise you I'm using it correctly when I say I literally jumped.

KENDALL'S SINGING

I saw the thing about the ukelele being a bday gift from the cast so this was super sweet

Ok personal time. My grandmother's name is Pamela and my mom decided to permanently cut ties with her a few months ago due to her abusive behavior. Me and my sibling are still allowed to talk to her whenever we please but we haven't seen her as much as we used to. I got kind of scared watching this with my mom because I was scared this would trigger something. She didn't say anything and I didn't want to bother her about if she was fine so I didn't say anything. Anyway this just kind of hit different for me.

JAIME'S RANGE OMG

"I want to be alone with my man." Ms what are you about to do to your Tv?

DON'T GIVE HER BEER

Duke seems chill. I like him.

LEX AND ETHAN GOT ARRESTED!?!?!? FOR SELLING HER PILLS!?!??! THAT SHE TOLD THEM TO SELL!?!?!? I HATE HER!!!

Does Ms. Foster have a type or is being male good enough?

Hannah's 14? I thought she was the same age as Tim. I could have sworn in the BF commentary track they said she was 9 or 10. Did my brain make that up?

How does Kim change her hair so quickly? She did this in episode 2 too? I could never. I am very impressed.

Curt and Kim talking over the phone while standing shoulder to shoulder was funnier than it should have been

Ms. Holloway is cool. YAY MOSTLY GOOD WITCHES

How does Ms. Holloway know? I need a backstory please!!

Ok so I saw Jon in his cape and thought he might be the with. But then I saw James in his cape I y'know stopped thinking that. Anyway I'm obsessed with Jon and James in capes. Kind of wish Corey had one too.

OH I JUST THOUGHT THIS AS I'M TYPING NOW ok so that tree she was talking to at the beginning was one of the tree people. I'm embarrassed it took me this long to realise it.

Hannah is way too calm about these talking trees and sometimes spider ladies. I respect that.

There was a lot of black and white theming in this episode. More than normal. It makes me more curious about what exactly Hannah's connection to it is.

Hannah almost died in her own mind. I was kinda hating Ms. Holloway in this moment because she forced Hannah to go into her mind. But I know she had to so I'm cool with her again.

THE STARLIGHT THEATER

Did she really say just don't be scared next time? Like miss some actual advice would help.

CAN MS. HOLLOWAY'S MIND LEAVE HANNAH ALONE?? Like I know you didn't get the reaction you wanted out of her but you're seriously gonna give up and go for a little girl instead. Pathetic.

"What's shakin', Banana?" That was the first time I jumped.

WIGGLY

What exactly is that 6-legged girl? I wish we had a visual. Also how couldn't Ms. Holloway help her? What was her issue? Npmd you got anything for me?

Wiley. Just seeing him come up. That was the second time I jumped.

Also everyone already said this but props to Joey for his commitment. Shaving in between episodes like omg sir you didn't have to go all out for this. But you did and I appreciate you for it. Also HE KEPT THE JACKET?? WHAT!??! Just fully committed to this character go off Joey!!

Usually I would laugh at stuff phasing through the green screen but this just made it creepier.

HOLLOWAY AND WILEY/WILBUR BACKSTORY PLEASE

But also I love how the script had him listed at Wilbur above his lines. I remember Nick called him Wilbur once in the commentary track (possibly by accident) but it's nice to have it in cannon. I don't remember I any of the characters called him Wilbur because I'm so used to seeing Wilbur and Wiley used interchangeably but this was just nice to have canonized.

DUKE PAY ATTENTION!! FREAKING USELESS RIGHT NOW!!!

Dang Wiley she was already being choked in the physical world you didn't have to choke her in her mind too calm down

YAY MORE DOLLS

NICK I WAS KIDDING ABOUT AN APOTHEOSIS DOLL

Is the mouth one (I see we've named him Nibbly. Good because his full name is too long to type out) gonna be the npmd villain? The pick color theme seems cool.

ANGELA'S TRANSITION THOUGH!!! Omg she switched roles seamlessly. And her voice too!! Go off Angela.

MARIAH IS WEBBY

This is random and unrelated but I never noticed how big Mariah's eyes were before.

So Webby and the Doll Gang are all siblings? I find it interesting that the were described to all where black. And Webby's color theme is white. Like how the good and bad ukeleles were white and black. This might sound really dumb see as we don't have a 100% accurate visual of the black and white but I wonder if Webby ever left would it be 100% black? Like if Wiggly went through the portal would it become a little less black? Does this make sense? Also I'm starting to see the black and white as less of a bad place. Its starting to see more ominously neutral.

Hannah's favorite show is He-Man no I do accept criticism.

Ms. Holloway is a nerd. She saw Hannah make the reference and was like "Huh. I f she likes He-Man maybe making this hat a reference will make her like me." She would only know if she watched the show. But then again she seems to be stuck in the 80s so maybe she just thinks that's what's popular with the kids.

MS. HOLLOWAY PLEASE GET LEX AND ETHAN BACK

AND ANOTHER GREAT SONG TO END IT OFF

This episode was......a lot. So much happened. Loved all of it. I am scared of Nick and Matt's minds but also incredibly grateful for them. As usual everyone's acting was top notch.

I love this episode.

Also I'm just gonna say it. Jon ruined Nick's season one reveal.

[kumeko]

For @dickgraysonexchange2020, for courage_boss! I had a lot of fun with this one.

Prompt: Dick gets a coupon book for his bday and uses all but the last one.

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If there was one good thing about Bruce Wayne’s string of adoptions, it was that events were never a quiet affair. No matter how much Jason or Damian might have wanted them to be. Dick, on the other hand, embraced the fullness of the manor. The place felt too empty and stuffy on a normal day, what with most of the family out and about.

 It was only for special days, like his birthday, that everyone gathered together again. Between his friends and family, every room felt full, the manor bursting with sound and life. A far cry from the dreary dinners when it had just been the three of them, with Bruce awkwardly figuring out parenting and Alfred kindly filling in the gaps.

 Walking around with a slice of cake, Dick spotted Alfred and grinned. He meandered over. “Alfred, one of these days, you’re going to realize just how much you’d make running a restaurant.”

 Alfred chuckled. “Perhaps, Master Richard, but the last time I left, the manor collapsed.” His expression was fond. “It’s too much work fixing it after.”

 “That…” Dick couldn’t even argue. Anytime Alfred left on vacation, sabbatical, whatever, nothing went right. The kitchen burned. Bruce forgot to eat or sleep. Mold and dust became new tenants. “It’s all a ploy to keep you here longer.”

 “Then it is certainly working.” His smile looked more amused than weary. “You certainly do keep me on my toes.”

“Dick!” Tim poked his head out of the study. Spotting him, he gestured for him to come. “Got a sec?”

 “It’s only a party,” Dick teased, nodding to Alfred before going. “Not like I have anything important to miss.”

 Tim rolled his eyes. “You could have been talking to someone.” Despite his cavalier words, his cheeks reddened from embarrassment.

 Dick didn’t press the matter, storing it away instead for later teasing. “What’s up?” he asked as he stepped into the study.

 There was no such thing as a small room in the Wayne manor. Yet, crowded with Damian, Cassandra, Tim, Bruce, and Jason, the study suddenly felt cozy. Dick grinned, unable to help himself. “The whole gang’s here!”

 Jason clicked his teeth. “Let’s get it over with.”

 “For once, I agree with the failure,” Damian added, crossing his arms.

 “Aww, don’t be like that.” Dick sidled up to them, planting himself in between. Before they could react, he loped an arm around their shoulders. “You both came, after all.”

 “I made sure of it,” Bruce said simply. Dick wasn’t sure what that entailed. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to.

 Damian squawked. “I didn’t—”

 “Don’t you—” Jason growled, tossing off Dick’s arm.

 “We got you a gift!” Tim interrupted, before a fight could erupt. He held out a small, neatly wrapped box. The wrapping paper and ribbon were a soft blue, matching his Nightwing costume. “Everyone chipped in.”

 “Chipped in?” Dick reluctantly let go of the two to accept. Ignoring how Damian and Jason immediately escaped to the other side of the room, he carefully pulled the ribbons and unwrapped. What could it possibly be, if everyone chipped in and it was so tiny? Tickets? A gadget? A thick wad of cash?

 Oddly enough, none of those. Instead there was a small book inside, roughly the size of a chequebook. Scrawled neatly on the top was Coupons.

 “A coupon book?” Confused, he looked up at Tim. “You guys chipped in for a coupon book?”

 “Look inside,” Tim encouraged, his smile so wide it nearly split his face in half.

 “Okay…” Still bemused, he quickly flipped through the pages. Defeat your enemies. Do a chore. Take the night off. Massage. The writing differed from page to page, from Damian’s neat, cramped writing to Cassandra’s messy flowing one. Most of them were made by Tim though, and they were of course all the normal ones.

 It was better than anything he’d imagined. Feeling utterly soft, he quickly hugged Tim. “Thanks.” Without missing a beat, he pounced on Damian and Jason. Despite their protests, they didn’t squirm out of his grip. Finally, he rounded on Cass and Bruce, both of which hugged him back awkwardly, as though they weren’t sure quite how.

 “I can’t believe you made this,” he said, finally untangling himself.

 “Well, considering everything we have, it’s hard to buy gifts.” Tim shrugged. “Steph had the idea, actually.”

 Well, that made sense. She always had the fun, interesting ideas.  Dick made note to thank her later. “I can’t believe you two agreed to this,” he said, looking at Damian and Jason.

 “A little strong arming from Cass,” Tim explained.

 “I did not get threa—” Damian protested, glaring at Tim. Hopefully this didn’t lead to the two of them stabbing each other in the batcave later. Then again, there was a clean the batcave ticket too, maybe he could have them clean up after their mess.

 “I did not have to…convince Damian,” Cassandra replied stiffly. Despite how much time had passed, words were still her second most fluent language. “He was…agreeing to this.”

 “Really?” Jason guffawed.

 “That’s because no one can strong arm me,” Damian growled, his lips curling into a sneer as he glared at Jason. “And that means she did strong arm you.”

 “Stop,” Bruce warned, rubbing his forehead. “We’re in the middle of a party.”

 “Oh, don’t worry, I have that covered.” Dick whistled as he flipped through the coupon book, stopping at one of them. Tearing it out, he grinned. “Now, one of you two has to compliment me…who should I pick?”

 -x-

 “You…want me to cook?” Cassandra’s brow furrowed as she stared at the little slip of paper in her hands.

 “More or less.” Dick grinned as he led the way to his kitchen. His apartment was a small thing compared to the manor, but it was home, and there was something energizing about having someone over. If there was one thing he loved about the coupon book above all else, it was that it gave him an excuse to invite his far-flung family over.

 She cocked her head, still looking troubled. “I am not…good at it.”

 “That’s fine!” Dick hummed as he pulled out two aprons from his cupboard, handing one over to her. “As long as it’s edible.”

 “You…have one too?” Cassandra awkwardly stared at the bird-print apron, then at him.

 Laughing, he slowly put it on, demonstrating how to tie it all together. He should have expected that; his family was more comfortable fighting than they were in the kitchen, and it showed. “Yeah, we’ll cook together. It’s more fun that way, right?”

 Cassandra smiled, a small thing, and nodded. “Yes.”

 -x-

 Standing next to the old grandfather clock, Bruce crossed his arms. Honestly, he didn’t need to wear a mask to intimidate; his scowl was more than enough to scare off any random two-bit goon. “This isn’t what they were intended for.”

 Despite his words, he still hadn’t opened the passage to the batcave, and Dick considered that victory. It at least meant that Bruce was willing to hear him out. Holding out the paper, he shook his head. “How? I’m using them.”

 Bruce’s frown grew deeper. “Dick, that is supposed to be a night off for you.”

 “No, it just says night off.” Honestly, Bruce should have known better: Dick loved arguing semantics. Finding loopholes in Bruce’s rules was what he lived for. “So I’m giving you a night off.”

 “I—”

 “Babs and the Birds of Prey agreed to cover.” Dick pressed the coupon on Bruce’s chest confidently. “You’re not in the middle of a case. Perfect time for a night in.”

 “Dick…” Bruce ran a hand through his hair. Another push and he’d cave in. “Look, I appreciate it, but…”

 “Master Richard, Master Bruce.” Alfred stepped into the room and while Dick would never accuse him of something as underhanded as eavesdropping, the timing was suspect. “I have prepared the living room for your marathon. Master Timothy and Miss Cassandra are already there, though Master Damian has refused to join.”

 “Et tu, Alfred?” Bruce sighed, giving in. “Fine, but drag Damian down too, Dick. He’s not allowed to worm his way out.”

 “The if I go down, he goes down with me gambit.” Dick grinned. “I got it covered.”

 -x-

 Tim stared at the fruity mocktail he was holding, worrying his bottom lip. “I don’t think this is what Jason had in mind.”

 “I never go by what Jason has in mind,” Dick countered, drinking his own cocktail. Sipping from his ridiculously curly straw, he leaned back in his seat. “It’s always more fun that way.”

 “That’s…true,” Tim reluctantly agreed, surveying the rest of the batcave.

 Honestly, there couldn’t be anything better than relaxing by the computer, eating popcorn, and watching Damian and Jason handle all of the cleaning. Sure, they had automated robots and machines to handle this. This chore had been struck from the list years ago, after Bruce had upgraded the whole cave.

 Yet, sometimes Dick just wanted to see things done the old-fashioned way. Like Jason washing the batcar. Or Damian scrubbing the costumes. Both of them were quietly swearing as they worked, occasionally shooting him a dirty glare. He didn’t have to read their minds to know he’d have to watch his sleep for the next week; if they could murder him, they would.

 “Don’t forget the bat droppings,” he added cheerfully.

 If he was going to die young, might as well go out with a bang.

  -x-

 Dick sighed as he stared at the coupon book. In the span of a month, he’d managed to use almost all thirty of them, most of them in the most frivolous way possible. He didn’t regret it; it had been fun. No matter what ridiculous thing he came up with, his family had done it. Begrudgingly, at times, but they’d still done it.

 The whole thing had given them so many excuses to hang out, no matter what else was going on in their lives. And now it was all over. All he had left was a single Do whatever you say for a day ticket. One last one and the gift would be done.

 He sighed again. This gift was far too precious to use on a passing whim. Carefully, he folded up that last coupon, tucking it in securely into his wallet. Dick would save it for the best opportunity, for the final memory that couldn’t be replaced. A rainy day when he needed a pick-me-up.

 More importantly, it literally would force someone to do whatever he said for a day. Power like that had to be considered before he used it.