#like will and el are siblings so yeah they fight

[tharett]

Heyyyyyy

So like

Squidcraft 3? 😼 Squidcraft 3 fanart??

Yeah, non-existent

Probably won't see it from my part until a month after HAHAHA

N e ways have a Sonicfication of Death Family *shakes and throws it like a molotov*

Will drop a Sonicfication WIP later actually so look foward to that xdxd

Edit [eng]: holy shit I forgot about my context 💀

The top left corner drawing is just the siblings fighting and the two bottom ones (left corner and right corner) are each of the siblings' Adoption Day experiences

[Esp]

Hola que talll

Pues

El Squidcraft 3? 😼 Fanart del Squidcraft 3??

No existe

Probablemente no verás contenido de eso de mi parte hasta después de un mes JAJAJA

Comoquiera, tengan arte de nuestro querido Death Family pero version Sonic *los sacude y se los arroja como si fuera un molotov*

También les mostraré otro WIP de los cubitos en el universo de Sonic después, entonces se esperan para eso xdxd

Edit [esp]: ptm me olvide sobre el contexto 💀

El de la orilla de arriba a la izquierda solo son los dos peleándose (como las varias veces que se pelearon jajaj) y los dos dibujitos de abajo (de las orillas de la izquierda y la derecha) son las experiencias individuales de los dos en el Día de la Adopción

[queenie-ofthe-void]

A Very Hopper Holidays

Hopper POV || wc: 3.7k || tags: smoking, recreational drugs, grouchy old men dealing with their feelings, smart-ass Eddie Munson, meet-cute Steddie, Steve and Max siblings, El thinks Steve is cute (so does Eddie), emotionally available Wayne Munson gives the best advice, holiday fluff, found family

This is a companion piece to my fic The Babysitter Chronicles, but can be read separately!

Brief background: Wayne patched Steve up after his fight with Billy in s2

Hopper’s freezing his goddamn balls off out here, waiting on the front stoop in the dark, banging his fist on the door. There’s no answer, but the lights are all on and it’s dinnertime on Christmas Eve. So someone’s fucking home, and the sooner they answer the sooner he can leave.

“Dammit, Wayne. Open the door so I can give you a damn present, or next time I pick up your nephew maybe I throw him in jail for the night instead of bringing him home.”

Sure enough, the door flies open, but it’s not Wayne on the other side. The kid’s standing there, layered in enough flannel shirts and sweatpants to dress all of El’s shithead friends with some left over. Hopper watches as he drags the sleeve of an oversized black flannel across his red and dripping nose, shifting uncomfortably and eyes darting side to side.

“Munson,” Hopper crosses his arms, “where the hell’s your uncle?”

Even bundled up like a little kid, he still tries to make himself bigger, taller, meaner, like he always does when Hopper picks him up. “Not here.” The tone is flat, devoid of Munson’s usual snark as a particularly intense gust of wind slams the screen door open against the side of the trailer.

“It’s Christmas eve, what do you mean he’s not here?”

“He’s working.”

Hopper scoffs. “You’re telling me your uncle works Christmas eve?”

Munson scoffs back at him, a dramatic mockery of Hopper’s own tone. “We’re Jewish, asshole.”

Well, shit.

He doesn’t have time for the kid’s hardass act. All he wanted to do was drop off a simple thank you and also merry christmas but now probably happy hanukkah gift and be on his way to his own family. He can only hope El spares him a bit of holiday mercy for making her wait. 

“Kid, can I just come in?” He takes another step up, only for Munson to block his path.

His eyes grate across Hopper’s jacket, noting the star on the chest. “No cops in the trailer.” 

A low grumble forces its way up Hopper’s throat which breaks into a frustrated groan when another gust of wind scrapes the exposed skin on his cheeks. He stamps his feet on the stairs hoping it’ll keep the blood flow going to his toes as they start to tingle. Munson’s wrapped his hands up inside the sleeves of what’s most likely one of Wayne’s old jackets.

“Look,” Eddie starts, sniffling another drip back inside his nose, “if you could just–”

But Hopper cuts him off with a deranged laugh, head thrown back in dismay at this entire situation. “No, you look here. You’re going to listen to exactly what I have to say.”

Eddie’s taken a step back, and yeah, Hopper supposes he’s never seen the Chief of Police actually freak out before. But it’s been a long day of wellness checks and stove fires, and Eddie’s the only thing standing between him and a night of kid’s Christmas movies and spiked eggnog.

So he pushes forward, spurred on by the kid’s once-in-a-lifetime stunned silence. “Now it’s clear that Wayne’s working nights, probably earning holiday hours to pay for the radiator which is pretty obviously busted, given the ten to twenty shirts you’re wearing. Meaning you’re alone, in a tin box with a tiny space heater that’s so old it’s a fire hazard shoved into the corner of your room.” The Chief walks up the stairs, standing on the step just before the door so he’s towering over Eddie, who shrinks in on himself just a bit. 

“Here’s what’s going to happen, Munson.” Hopper ticks off each gloved finger as his list of demands grows, Eddie’s growing wider in time. “You’re going to let me inside so I can piss and blow my nose, since I’ve been standing out here for too fucking long. You’re going to pack a bag, you’re going to call your uncle, and you’re going to tell him you’re staying with me for the night.”

Eddie stammers, mouth flapping around words he can’t find fast enough. It doesn’t matter, because Hopper’s on a roll now.

“Then,” he steamrolls Eddie again, pushing his way into the trailer, closing the door as Eddie stumbles backwards down onto the couch, “you’re going to eat my food, you’re going to watch our movies, you’re going to smile when we smile and laugh when we laugh because even if you’re Jewish you can still have a damn good fucking Christmas eve!”

He’s sick and tired of stupid teenage boys trying to be something they aren’t, like they’re manly or tough or strong for barely surviving on their own, practically raising themselves. And the best way Hopper can drill that into their thick skulls is to get them to shut the fuck up and feed them.

The silence lingers on the frost coating the inside of the windows and the crust of dried snot on Eddie’s sleeve. The kid’s avoiding eye contact, like Hopper will just leave if he’s ignored. But if Hopper can outlast guards in the POW camp, and a little girl who hates green beans, then he can sure as hell outlast Eddie goddamn Munson. So Hopper waits. And waits. 

It pays off, like he knew it would. The kid gets up, storms towards one end of the trailer. Hopper slowly follows down the narrow hallway and sees Eddie viciously shoving rumpled clothes into a backpack, mumbling about pigs and asshole cops. 

After all’s said and done, they’re pulling up to the cabin about twenty minutes later. The front door opens with a bang in greeting, causing Eddie to jump out of his skin. But when they step through the now open door into the warmth of the living room, there’s no one there to greet them.

Ah, so she’s a little upset.

El’s door is closed, like it’s not supposed to be. Light shines out from underneath, and he can hear soft voices inside. The whispers are abruptly hushed when he knocks on her door. “El, honey, I need you to open the door. Six inches, remember?” Hopper tries turning the handle but it doesn’t budge. Honestly he can’t help but wonder why he bothered to install a door with no lock when she’s got superpowers– that’s on him, he supposes. 

He turns around to find Munson standing awkwardly in the middle of the living room. “Take your jacket off, put your shit down, and stay a while, will ya?” Hopper laughs at Eddie’s incredulous expression, eyebrows scrunched together and lips pursed tight. 

“Ok,” Eddie drags the sound out in question as he sets his pack next to the couch, “who opened the fucking door?”

“Hey, language!" Hopper calls, Max’s voice echoing his own.

Eddie startles, head whipping between Hopper’s no-doubt exasperated expression and El’s still-closed bedroom door. He drags his hands down his face and sighs as her mimicry sends the girls into a fit of giggles. He hasn’t decided yet if Max is a good influence on El, even if Hopper knows it’s not himself she’s mocking.

He hears the creak of the bathroom door opening as Steve walks back into the living room. Hopper can’t help but turn to watch the show, the two boys coming face to face. 

Munson’s oversized black and red flannel covers the ripped sleeves of whatever tattered, black band t-shirt he’s wearing. Which would be on par with what he normally looks like, except it’s contrasted against bright blue, wool pajama pants with little white snowflakes on them. When Hopper first spotted them at the trailer, a teasing smirk on his face, Munson only rolled his eyes and argued they were the warmest clean pair he had.

Harrington, on the other hand, has lived his entire life in locker rooms and an empty house. Which means that he once again forgot to bring a shirt to change into after his shower. It's not normally a problem-- except when El catches him, a blush lighting up her face like a goddamn Christmas tree, accompanied by incessant giggles that make Hopper want to drown himself.

What is a problem is Munson’s shameless gawking, mouth wide enough to catch a whole swarm of flies. His blush puts El's to shame, red blotches burst across his neck like hives. Hopper can practically see the steam rolling out of the guy’s ears, hearts popping out of his eyes as he just stares and stares his fill, completely unaware that Hopper’s still standing less than five feet from him.

Thankfully, so far Steve is none the wiser. He’s got a cotton swab in his ear, head tipped down as he double-knots his Tigersharks swim team sweatpants. Hopper notices they hang baggy and loose around his hips. Another shitty reminder of how much weight the kid’s lost since getting kicked off the team because of his ‘incident’ with Hargrove. He wonders about the last time the kid ate a decent meal, and pushes down the rising anger at the most realistic answer, which is not recent enough for his liking. Hopper has the same gnawing concern when he looks back at Munson, dark circles under his eyes, skinny as a bean-pole. 

He’s got to stop taking in strays.

“Harrington, we’ve talked about this.” Hop tries to keep the frustration out of his voice, but if he has to watch El swoon over the kid’s wet hair and bare chest again he’s gonna blow a gasket. “Put a damn shirt on.”

“Oh, yeah sorry, Hop.” Which is the exact moment Steve decides to turn his head. They both catch Munson giving Steve a once over, who then chokes on his own spit when he notices Steve looking back at him. Hopper knows Harrington’s trying to turn over a new leaf, but he also knows the kind of people Richard and Helen Harrington are. So he’s a little surprised when, instead of having to stop a potential hate crime, he notices a similar blush bloom across Steve’s chest– or maybe it’s the heat from the shower. 

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Muson’s screech is so high it could set dogs howling. Steve flinches at the outburst, and Hopper hopes this little interaction doesn’t trigger another migraine for the kid. He was barely pushing through when Hop picked him up yesterday, but seems to be feeling better today.

“Munson, I need you to tone it down,” Hopper argues. It goes unnoticed.

Steve’s sputtering. He runs a nervous hand through his hair and of-fucking-course Munson gasps, swoons just like El. Harrington’s free hand fumbles for a shirt hem that isn’t there. He realizes he’s half naked and turns into a deer in headlights, hands frantically moving over his chest like he doesn’t know how to hide himself. Unfortunately the unintentional groping sends Munson into a coughing fit. 

“Me? What the hell are you doing here, Munson?”

Munson scoffs, crossing his arms as he backs himself into the wall behind him. “The high and mighty Chief of Police here basically kidnapped me. Forced me to pack a bag and tossed me into his truck.” Ah, there’s the Munson he expected. Except if it wasn’t for how many times Hopper’s hauled the kid in, he might not have noticed the nervous energy in Eddie’s twitchy fingers and shifty eyes. “He failed to mention–” he waves around at everything until Munson’s wild gesturing lands on a half-naked, sweats hung low, hair slicked back, barefoot Steve Harrington.

The squeal of El’s door opening behind him propels Hopper full-speed into the living room towards Steve’s duffle. He pulls out the first shirt he manages to find. It hits Steve in the face, and they both breathe a sigh of relief when he pulls it on.

“Aww,” El complains, before her eyes grow ten sizes too big when she catches Hopper glaring back at her. 

“Who the hell is this guy?” Max asks. She makes her way toward the kitchen, dragging El with her to help pull out dishes and cups. 

“Apparently another kidnapping victim.” Steve huffs, annoyed, before making his way over to the girls. “Munson, get over here and help me set the food out.”

Steve doesn’t even look up from where he’s pulling a large cast iron out of the oven, so he misses the absolutely priceless distress scrawled into Eddie’s bulging eyes and flapping hands. Looking back and forth between Harrington and Hopper, Eddie points to himself in confusion as if Steve hadn’t asked him by name. Hopper can only chuckle at the kid’s antics. He rolls his eyes and tilts his head toward the kitchen so Munson finally gets the jist, moving across the cabin in double-time. 

It’s a more intense Christmas dinner than Hopper was hoping for, but after introductions and a full stomach, everyone’s relaxed a bit. El and Max curl up on the couch next to him, snuggled under the same blanket surrounded by bowls of popcorn and half eaten bags of candy. The boys, finally over whatever awkward tension laced between them earlier, are sitting rather comfortably next to each other, poking fun at the cliche holiday movies that Hopper secretly enjoys.

Well after the girls are tucked in and the boys have set up a mess of sleeping bags and blankets on the living room floor, Hopper moves quiet as a mouse across the trailer to Eddie’s duffle. After a quick search, he pulls a joint from a hidden zipper pocket hand-sewn inside the lining.

Kid must think he’s so smart, like he’s the first guy to ever sell drugs.

Hopper deserves a little treat after all the shit he’s been through this year. It’s been ages since he’s smoked, and with the boys here to help watch over the kids, he thinks he can allow himself time to relax for just a little bit. He’s earned it. Plus, it’s not his fault the damned kid decided to try to sneak his stash here. Hop’s not an idiot, even though the boys clearly thought so when they went out for some ‘fresh air’ earlier and came back looking a little less fresh than when they left.

So he brushes the snow off of his favorite lawn chair, wraps himself up in a tattered old blanket, and lights up in the cold, winter air. 

Hop loved smoking in high school, so he takes a long inhale, reveling in the burn heating his chest. Unfortunately, Hopper hasn’t been a teenager in a long, long time. His coughing fit is loud enough to wake his non-existent neighbors. But when he can finally breathe fresh air again, there’s no noise to be heard from inside.

He goes slower this time, tugging on little puffs as he watches the snow fall between the pine trees. It’s quiet, a good quiet, filled with the rustling of rabbits in the brush and bugs singing in the night. Even the joint is absolute shit, like most of Munson’s wares. It’s still enough for him to relax, to appreciate what unfortunate circumstances have gifted him, and keep him from dwelling on what he’s lost. 

Less than an hour’s passed when a pair of headlights shine down the drive. Wayne steps out of his beat-up truck, in only slightly better condition than Eddie’s van, and makes his way over. Without a word, Hopper gets up and grabs another folding chair propped against the end-railing and sets it next to his own.

The joint’s gone by now, but Hopper pulls out a pack of smokes and offers one to Wayne, who silently takes it with just a slight nod of his head in thanks. Out of the corner of his eye, Hopper notices Wayne’s worn-down work boots have a gash at the front, exposing the hard steel underneath the suede. He’s wearing a large, thick flannel that looks exactly like the one Eddie was wearing when Hopper found him, and it’s just as oversized on the old man. 

There’s almost nothing similar between Wayne and his nephew. Wayne’s always been a quiet one. A guy who’d make his way to the back of a crowded room, who kept his head down when he knew what was good for him. And Eddie is– is really just something else. Loud, obnoxious, brash, a kid with a well-crafted personality faker than government coverup. Almost one of a kind, if Hopper didn’t happen to know another boy just like him.

Wayne clears his throat, stubs out the bud with his boot in a little pile of snow. “Got a note from my foreman saying you kidnapped my boy.” His tone is gruff, but Hopper catches the small uptick to the man’s chapped lips.

He doesn’t say anything when Hopper heads inside. It takes him a minute to find the wrapped bottle and two glasses. While he meanders around, he checks that the boys are still both snoring away and the girls are sound asleep amidst a pile of stuffed animals.

When he closes the front door behind him, Jim hands the bottle to Wayne and sets the two glasses into the snow between them. Wayne hums in thought, turning the bottle over in his hand. “Macallen single?”

Jim actually croaks, chest light and filled with laughter when he clocks the mirth in Wayne’s teasing eyes. Maybe him and Eddie aren’t so different after all, both having a shithead sense of humor.

“Just Johnny.” Jim wipes a hand down his face like that’ll hide the sincerity in his smile. “You helped patch up my kid, Wayne. You didn’t save the goddamn world.”

The light in Wayne’s eyes dims only slightly. Instead of unwrapping the bottle, he unscrews the lid off the top, ripping the paper off with it, and pours them both half a glass. They silently cheers, even though the air between them has shifted slightly. 

“Thought that boy was a Harrington, not a Hopper.” It should sting, but it doesn’t, because Wayne’s not that type of man. It’s a genuine question, one that Jim’s not sure how to answer. So he keeps silent, hoping Wayne will cave and move on like his kid does when things stay too quiet. But Wayne sits, and sits, and his own gut finally starts to roil. Ah, so that's what it feels like.

“Apparently I’m good at picking up strays.” Jim’s attempt at a joke falls flat between them. He pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs. “Although, I think I got to Harrington a little too late.”

Wayne takes a decent sip from his glass, smacking his lips together. He peers out into the dark, just beyond the porch railing. But Jim can tell he’s not looking at the woods in front of them or the starry sky overhead. Wayne’s looking at something that’s long behind him.

“Ya know, Harrington didn’t look much different than my boy did when he showed up lookin’ like a dropped sack of peaches. Just a little thing he was; no hair, clothes that didn’t fit. Hell, I’d almost been able to see his ribs if it weren't for the bruises.” Wayne’s looking down at his feet now, scuffing the snow off the bottom of his boots. He downs his glass in one go before pouring himself another. 

“I beat myself up for too long for not doing something sooner. My own nephew, my own brother, livin’ only two towns over, and I had no idea it was that bad. Told m’self over and over that I should’ve known, should’ve helped sooner.” Wayne heaves a heavy sigh before looking up at Jim again. There’s guilt in the crinkles around his eyes, but it’s quickly replaced with resolve. “You might not’ve always been there for the Harrington kid, but that don’t mean he don’t need you now. Maybe more than ever, by the look of him. And if he’s got you watchin’ out for him, maybe he’ll turn out more Hopper than Harrington afterall.”

Jim can’t take the intense eye contact anymore and firmly looks away, finishing his glass and extending it out to Wayne for a refill. It’s quiet, Wayne’s patience sitting on his shoulders like the world’s most uncomfortable blanket. But even blankets that are scratchy as hell can still be warm.

After a while, the silence releases enough tension that he can sit back again, and the two men slowly sip their whiskey and watch dawn break through the trees. Wayne grabs the bottle as he moves to stand and pats Jim’s shoulder a little too hard. The man’s stronger than he looks.

“Why don’t you bring Eddie back yourself a little bit later, give me a chance to fix that radiator. Plus, being around Harrington might be good for him,” he chuckles to himself, hopping into his truck. “Maybe show the boy not every kid who don’t wear all black ain’t a damn conformist suburban yuppie.” Jim laughs, Wayne’s mockery a spot on impression.

All’s still quiet in the cabin, each kid right where he left them. He’s not sure if it’s the joint, the two whiskeys, Wayne’s advice, or just a combination of everything, but there’s a heat behind his eyes he hasn’t had to deal with in a long time. He’s not typically a crier– happy or sad. The only time he’s cried since Sarah was in the elevator shaft, El collapsed in his arms just after closing the gate. And even then, it was only a few stray tears.

Now he’s unspooling wads of toilet paper to blow his damn nose in, crying like a kid who got coal in their stocking. Except this isn’t like when he thought he’d lost El, or when he’d held Sarah’s hand when she took her last breath. Jim Hopper’s happier than he’s been in a long, long time. And after the shit awful year he’s had– that they’ve all had– he lets himself revel in the joy of having a family again.

Gorgeous graphics provided by @steddiecameraroll-graphics

And as always, thank you to @carolperkinsexgirlfriend for telling me "I think your calling might be writing well-meaning, grumpy old men" and also, "you just understand the spirit of The Old Man", but mostly just thank you for being an amazing beta reader <3

[gayofthefae]

Shoutout to the writing of and inclusion of the line "Yeah, for Mom's work" that just so clearly makes sure to clarify: this is not characters who don't like each other. This is siblings fighting.

Will sees Joyce as El's mom and El as his sister and that is not revokable when he's mad, it is a universal truth to him now. He's upset with her but he is upset with his sister and they wanted to make sure you knew that that's what this is to him. This isn't season 3, he isn't tense with his crush's girlfriend. He's just having a squabble with his sister, which she is first now.

[sistertotheknowitall]

Tim is crying.

Now Jason hears Tim crying and how he sounds just heartbroken. And this upsets Jason, and Jason is mad. He doesn’t know why he’s mad but it’s the same feeling of anger he gets when any of his siblings are badly injured. Like he’s not just pissed at them for being stupid and getting hurt, but like he’s pissed at the thing that hurt them. So he can’t say why he cares just that he does.

So Jason takes it upon himself to get back at the ducker who hurt his brother replacement.

Now I know this can sound like hurt/comfort and trying big brother Jason with a side of angst for Tim.

But that’s not where my mind first went to.

Hear me out!

Now Tim is crying for a silly reason, okay? (He’s been up too late and saw a puppy rescue video that had him sobbing and then he thinks to himself ‘okay wow, big emotions, time to sleep.’)

Jason hears Tim and he may not know what’s going on but he’s connecting the dots. He’s connecting the wrong dots. But he’s connecting the dots all the same. He has come to the conclusion that Kon-El/Connor, Tim’s boyfriend, has upset Tim and/or broke up with him. Now mind you he has not talked to Tim.

So Jason calls Dick because Bruce changed the password to the vault with the kryptonite and Dick has a weird ability to correctly guess Bruce’s passwords. (When asked Dick said he knew based on Bruce’s mood that week. As if that answered the question.)

Now Dick is confused, “Why do you need kryptonite? Oh god, you’re not going to try and fight Clark are you? Please don’t. He gets so sad.”

And Jason doesn’t really explain the reason just what he thinks he knows, which is 1)Kon and Tim got into a fight and maybe broke up and 2) Tim is sobbing in his room and “now I have to kill Kon.”

“Kon and Tim? Jason. They weren’t dating.”

“Oh poor little Goldie. Always so oblivious.”

“….. were they actually dating?”

“Yeah? Why else would they be glued at the hip? And the flirting? They’re always flirting! If they’re not together I’m eating my left foot.”

“Why the left one?”

“I like the right one better.”

“Wow…. I can’t believe it. They were together this whole time and he didn’t tell me. Am I not a good brother? Why couldn’t he tell me?”

“It doesn’t matter! Are you gonna help me kill Superboy or not?”

“……… yeah, sure. The code is 10 1 18 18 15.”

“Seriously?”

“Well, he is the favorite.”

Cue Jason hunting down Superboy and Superboy being really confused. Dick has informed the others of Tim’s break up and they cheer Jason on but do not get involved. Eventually Superman and Batman do get involved once they realize what’s happening. Jason has to explain and Tim is embarrassed. Kon is amused but also why does Jason kill first ask questions later?

[alcalystrasz]

Mike's "It's not my fault you don't like girls" line wasn't reflected to Will, to accuse him of not liking girls, but himself.

From Will's pov, Mike is arguing with him about being straight and liking girls - which is the common step for teenagers, which is why he says "we're not kids anymore". Will felt like his childhood was taken away from him because of the demogorgon in s1 and the mind flayer in s2. And now he's being shout at for not being like a "normal" teenager, and acting childish.

From Mike's pov, he's getting more and more conscious about his possible romantic feelings for Mike and so to remove that idea from his mind, he started to date El, thinking these thoughts were gonna disappear. But they didn't. What he said there, those were his own feelings, these were what he was saying to himself. "Why don't you like girls like everyone, like Lucas, like Dustin? You're not falling for a guy now, are you? Am I?" This sentence, that hurt Will, hurt Mike first.

What Will thought is that Mike knows (a little bit atleast) that he's into guys that's why he ran away and was hurt so much. He thought Mike was being homophobic, that's one part of why he destroyed his only safe place: Castle Byers. This place filled with memories about his childhood and... about Mike.

When Will pulled up the shocked face, Mike felt bad. Because he realized he just reflected his own feelings, his own thoughts on his best friend, for no reason. He was overwhelmed by that idea since the end of s2.

Ending up dancing with a girl, seeing Will dance with another girl, feeling more distant then and ending up leaving their childhood for teenagehood, which includes having girlfriends.

Mike said "Look, I'm not tryina be a jerk, okay?" Because he knows he just hurt Will. And he doesn't want to be a jerk, a homophobe. "I mean what did you think, really? You thought we were never gonna get girlfriends? That we were just gonna sit in my basement all day and play games for the rest of our lives?" And to that, Will says yes. "Yeah. I guess I did. I really did..."

Will's only wish is to have friends to hang out with and enjoy what they like the most. He doesn't care about not having Mike as his boyfriend because right now, he thinks he's straight. So he doesn't mind suffering in silence, waiting for those feelings to go away and move on from Mike.

Mike's wish is to feel needed. He feels like alone he's not worth anything. El needs him, and he loves that idea of being needed. But what he doesn't seem to understand is that Will needs him too. Because of the distance with California, Mike only cared about the one person he can hide his sexuality from and the one person he feels like they care about him: El.

He doesn't know Will likes him. And at the end of s4 only, it looks like he almost fully accepted himself: by his room decoration (the half naked dragon, the poster with 2 half naked people), by the way he is with El (which looks like siblings energy) and with how he acts with Will.

So this, "It's not my fault you don't like girls" is Mike's own feelings reflected on Will. This idea of not liking girls evolves through time, through seasons. At the end of S3, he understands he might have actual feelings, romantic feelings, for Will and in S4 it looks like he fully accepted those feelings and stopped denying them.

Although at the beginning, he keeps the distance with Will, it is only a thing for him to stay away from the person he likes. We all feel a bit awkward next to our crush, don't we? Will noticed that and he thought it was because he was feeling less close to him and more to El (so still the idea of him being straight).

Mike proves the opposite when he admits to Will, later on, that "Maybe I was worrying too much about El, and I don't know, maybe I feel like I lost you or something." He knows he's been considering El more rather than Will because she needs him, like he feels to. He didn't considered that Will needed him, especially because of their fight in the rain where Will left Mike, showing him from Mike's pov that he doesn't need him.

The feeling of losing Will was haunting Mike. He felt depressed after he left for California because he knew he liked him and he was also depressed because El, the person he likes a lot platonically, who needs him also left.

In the end, Mike understands that those words directed to Will, were for him only. Fighting this thought for months, and a year (maybe years but he was too young to realize it), was a lot for him.

[lorax-devito]

Ahhh melvins fist kiss,such a lovely,romantic moment with such tenderness and definitely not el thinking and getting really happy over the fact that they might become siblings

okay I will admit malnourished fallopian tube can have some cute moments but this kiss just rubbed me the wrong way…it just seems very…forced and yeah,I get that ‘actions speak louder than words’ and all that but it’s just with the context it all just seems a bit…icky…

I’m not saying like forced himself into el but he kinda did,not in a technically bad way bc el never said no and all the complex stuff I’m not going to get into but by forced I mean that Mike got influenced or forced by Lucas and well el,she was fresh outta the lab she had no clue what was happening and as much as a want to regain my self from bringing up the whole ‘you’d be my brother’ incident (bc I bring it up a lot when comparing byler or using Melvin as an example for smth )I’m going too bc omg 😭the girl was not only okay with them just being bffs but she was exited over the idea of them being related and yeah,in els eyes that’s probably just friends considering the whole oh yeah,she was raised in a lab and called (I forgot her name) the other girl in leather her sister and papa told the other kids that they were all siblings and all that messed up stuff so ig she just sees siblings as friends or (the whole thing in s4 with her getting bullied in the lab and battered by the other kids In the lab) potential bullies.idk that’s just how I veiwed it but anyways here’s the byler stuff-

I’m leaning more onto the ‘passionate,sudden,I’ve gotta have you righty here right now’ kinda kiss with byler (if that’s the right way to explain it lol) but I also think a slow, gentle kiss with byler would be such a good contrast to mouldy eggs rushed kiss.the best way I can describe it is like the kiss in the fan fic ‘wills fluffy hair’ (I’ll link it at the bottom).

(I’m pretty sure that’s the right fic but they all kind of merge into one so if I got it wrong and realise I’ll change it later 💀)

if you can’t be bothered to read it basically Mike asks if will is okay,will cry’s bc he thinks Mike is lying/teasing him,it’s angst and I love it

basically the kids would be slow and Mike and will just taking their time,no interruptions,they keep asking each other is every inch or so that they move closer is okay and if anyone thinks ‘ewww that’s not hot or anything’ CONSENT IS MF HOT OK IM ALL FOR THE BIG ROMANTIC KISS WHERE THEY GO ALL IN AND ITS MESSY AND STUFF BUT IT CAN STILL BE ROMANTIC WITH CONSENT-okay,mini rant over,anyway they are both so terrified bc (Im pretty sure I’m quoting a fic rn😭god help me) is this allowed? Are they allowed to do this? It feels so wrong yet so right.

they have one small kiss,they’re lips barely touching or they are rlly close,noses brushing up against one another,neither one of them daring to be the one to break the small wall between their lips and omg I think I’ve done it again,good god I’ve quoted a fic,again😭

basically they are both so nervous and scared and then suddenly for one small moment everything goes away,they’re kissing and oh god it feels like heaven and then they both start crying and the just keep being big romantic,cheesy dorks and it’s emotional and all of the miscommunication gets cleared up and yeah,I just think that’s a nice way the byler kiss could go,I’m still a huge rain fight kiss fan (tbh I like most scenarios where they kiss and fall in live and are happy forever😭) but this is also nice,it itches a different kind a scratch,plus I just know that Noah would be able to pull his best acting skills out for that scene and melt our hearts which he’ll do anyway but we all know how this he is at crying scenes (I mean he’s had a lot of practice,I’m looking at you suffer bros🥲)

I think it’s is the right fic but as I said if I notice that I got it wrong then I’ll change it later,it’s still an amazing fic tho,so much angst😭😭

[pessimisticpigeonsworld]

https://www.tumblr.com/blissfulphilospher/748378340909531136/so-i-dont-know-why-i-am-posting-this-but-i-had?source=share

It's funny when these people pretend to like book! Rhaenyra, and when they explain why they like her, they basically describe her in the same way that people who hate her do.

También es irónico cómo estas personas se llaman a sí mismas "equipo de mujeres malvadas" y luego lloran y vilipendian a Rhaenyra porque no quería estar en una fiesta de cumpleaños donde le iban a faltar el respeto, y luego dicen que estaba siendo mala con un niño, del que ni siquiera ha hecho una broma inofensiva. ¿Se supone que debo creer que te gustan personajes como Cersei cuando ni siquiera soportas a un adolescente con razones justificables para estar enojado?

Yeah I've got manyyyy issues with people like op. Like you said, the way they describe Rhaenyra is...telling. As is how they describe Alicent.

First of all: op claims that Alicent tried to "mend the relationship" between Rhaenyra and Aegon. That's just false. Alicent proposed Viserys marry Aegon to Rhaenyra, in an attempt to get Aegon closer to the throne. Which is partially why Viserys refused to approve the match.

Op is engaging in a lot of speculation, like the claim that "Daemon manipulated Rhaenyra" into hating her siblings. There's literally no evidence that Rhaenyra hates her siblings prior to Luke's murder. Is she close to them? Not her brothers, no, but she did have some kind of relationship with Helaena, as is implied by her calling her "my sweet sister, Helaena."

I'm not going to go into how op sees Daemon, but I will say, how they view him and Rhaenyra is basically just how Hess does. Rhaenyra isn't allowed to form her own opinions on her family, negative or otherwise, and Daemon is an evil monster.

I will agree with op that Rhaenyra isn't a good person, however, that's the only time. The things op accuses Rhaenyra of are...really not true other than the fact that she fed Vaemond to Syrax.

They accuse her of "offering her brothers for Laenor...she hosted a lavish feast in a starving city, she was a woman and let the men do the fighting."

Let's unpack that. The quote op is referring to concerning Laenor is:

"My half-brothers would be more to his taste," [Rhaenyra] told the king.

Fire & Blood: Heirs of the Dragon - A Question of Succession

This is taken out of context in the worst possible way by op. Rhaenyra is arguing with her father about marrying Laenor, trying to convince him not to force her to marry him. She's referencing the fact that Laenor is gay, she's in no way "offering" her brothers to him. This is an intentional choice to interpret Rhaenyra's choices as they're written in the worst possible light.

Op continues this with a very tired argument many Rhaenyra antis use: that Rhaenyra feasted in KL. The only evidence of this happening is from Septon Eustace. A man who wasn't even in KL, was noted by the writers of F&B to be unreliable due to his hatred of Rhaenyra, and who literally crowned Aegon. So, using critical thinking, we can infere that the idea that Rhaenyra feasted in KL is extremely unlikely.

As for the fighting, yes Rhaenyra didn't fight. That was due to the fact that she had no training and was recovering from a traumatic miscarriage. Normally I wouldn't point this out as an issue, but op groups it in with Rhaenyra's "flaws". Somehow, Rhaenyra not fighting in battles is a mark against her as a person. Again, intentionally a bad faith interpretation.

No, I agree with op that HOTD's changes to Rhaenyra are shitty, but the reasons are just very off. For example:

I agree with parts of this, but I do want to point out a few things. Such as, why are they calling out Arya fans? Like what does that have to do with anything? I'm sure it's because Arya is a non-conforming woman, which op isn't a fan of, considering their seeming obsession with femininity. It shows how op's personal biases are influencing their view of both the show and the book.

I'm right there with you anon on the their spiel about Aegon's birthday. Rhaenyra was being disrespected and undermined by everyone after the birth of her brother. Is it any wonder that she wasn't excited to go to an event where everyone was expecting her to be disinherited? Op literally was just saying how they loved Rhaenyra "hating" her siblings lmao.

Op also complains about the white hart incident, as well as Aegon's prophecy. This is very much a revealing complaint. They said they hate Rhaenyra being made into the "protagonist" of the show. This is interesting since Rhaenyra is the protagonist of the Dance in the book too. She's morally gray, but it's still a fact; the greens are the antagonists and the blacks are the protagonists. The white hart was confirmation of Rhaenyra being the true heir, something which is also true in the book. I don't understand how that fact being affirmed is wrong.

As for Aegon's prophecy, this is something almost every single Rhaenyra anti has complained about. This is something GRRM himself told the showrunners he wanted, which some people complain is a retcon. It's not, the books aren't done yet, this is GRRM giving us new information about his unfinished work. It also confirmed how off the rails D&D's ending is according to what GRRM has planned for the books.

Anyway, op also really hates daemyra, another thing that's very much book accurate. Op purposefully chooses to ignore any textual evidence that daemyra was more than a political alliance, but they have a history of picking and choosing canon.

I very much agree with you anon about how shallow op's love of Cersei seems to be. They strike me as the kind of person who refuses to see the grayness GRRM is known for. After all, they are frothing at the mouth at the idea of Rhaenyra being a complex character, so I somehow doubt that they can appreciate Cersei's complexity.

[hashimasims]

On the last day of Summer Elucea sets up a get together with Oliana, Paka'a, and Tera. With her new number and email she's been keeping in touch with them regularly but has been so busy with her little farm that she hasn't actually seen them. Tera has suggested that none of them be invited over to the house in case they were followed if she really didn't want Kana or Absalom to find her. But with the location she chose she doesn't know if that was strictly true anymore.

Oliana: Wow El you are PREGNANT pregnant! I feel like it's been forever since we last saw you. Are you sure you're only in your second trimester? You look like you should already be in the Labor stage.

Elucea: *laughs* I'm at the end of it and should switch to the third trimester any day now so maybe I already have a third trimester belly. I am having twins after all so it could just be that

Paka'a: Are you sure this cafe in Evergreen Harbor was the best option if you're still hiding from Tae and Kana? Oh El! You should see him though! Taehyung I mean. He's all tatted up now! Like I knew you found him attractive but DAMN!* If you don't get back with him I might take a shot at it. I see the two of them working out at Movers and Shakers together all the time and I'm there like three times a week!

Tera: What better place to meet then right under their noses? They'd never look here.

Elucea: - to Paka'a - Together? And since when do you go to the gym?

Oliana: They comes with me and Leila. They take the Yoga classes together while I workout. And yeah they're always together. After you sold your house in Sulani, which they were living in when you were kidnapped, the two of them moved back into Kan's apartment here.

Elucea: So they're getting along? Maybe friends?

Tera: I wouldn't say they've necessarily become friends but they've been friendly in public. At least until they get into the boxing ring and spar with each other. Then you'd think we were watching some sort of Gladiator match or UFC fight.

Elucea: The Watcher downloaded a Boxing Mod? And how would you know? You never leave the house! It was like pulling teeth to get you out today.

Tera: I have audio processors and your sisters like to talk. And of course it was because with me gone your siblings have to care for their offspring themselves. And they're none too happy for this upgrade you purchased, same as you their children are calling me Mom and not them.

Elucea's eyes flash to the Dragon as she looks at Tera before she can get it back under control, hoping no one saw. No one here cared that she was Occult, with Paka'a being Mer same as her, but would they end their friendship over the Dragon?

Elucea: Like I give a Woohock I've pissed them off. For all intents and purposes you ARE their mother.

Paka'a: Anyway . . . No Mod but maybe The Watcher thought about it or they planned on screenshots or something because there's definitely a "ring" built there but either way every time we go they're in there sparring so *shrugs*

Elucea finishes her coffee date with her friends not really paying too much attention to the conversation. She's thinking about her men. Are things better? Tera says no and she would know better than anyone because when they talk over the phone she tells Elucea how they keep coming around looking for her so she interacts with them more than anyone else. So why do Paka'a and Oliana's words seem to ring with more truth than Tera's?

Beginning|Previous|Next

*Watcher's notes: Upon writing this ↓ this was the only thing going on in my head 🤣🤣

[greenfiend]

Hi!

I think I know what your theory is about :) An Inception-like ending? If that's what you're thinking, I'm considering that too. I'm neutral about it, I just follow the clues and never rule anything out. So, yeah, maybe we'll see something like that. Maybe the epilogue scenes are what Will is imagining (writing), not real life, and the bar scene is similar to the church scene in LOST, the last time Will wants to see everyone together, in his mind. The people who are still alive and the ones they lost. But maybe some of those moments really happen. There are many possibilities!

I have a draft about the 3x03 dnd campaign you mentioned. I have two different interpretations about it. If I find it, I'll tag you :)

I noticed some possible hints at an Inception-like ending. Of course, they could mean other things, the writers took inspiration from so many stories. Ok, the fact that mind spaces exist in ST and we can see memories (labyrinths of memories/timelines?) Nina. The Alice in Wonderland references. Henry saying that the kids are still with him, in his mind, a parallel to Kali's friend saying that they were all dead but Kali saved them. Plus, the kids in the Creel house in the S5 BTS. Troy saying that now that he's dead, Will is a fairy and lives in fairyland (Peter Pan never gets old, like a memory). Dream circles, the Neverending Story, in which Bastian recreates Fantasia, including characters that were dead. Max in S4 and El in S2 asking, "Are you real?" "Did I make you?" But I interpret these lines as I made you be here, even if you shouldn't (be alive?), not as I created you.

As you probably know, I have a different theory about El and the meaning of the ghosts references. I think all these people are real, but they're like Lorraine and the other characters in the BTTF bad timeline. Perfoming in a silly, terrible play/not living their real lives. I think there are hints that El was born stillborn, or maybe died when she was five, and that she and other characters, like Hopper, are only alive ("crawled backwards"/back in time/were brought back to life) because of what happened to Will. And El basically took his place. The Superman/Clark Kent/twin imagery. I'm not sure Will lived in the lab though. The article in S1 suggests that he was only there for a week. Maybe it was enough.

Anyway, I think El's very existence is connected to Will ("If not siblings by blood, siblings by circumstance. They share a common bond that is not of this world", from the 4x08 script). But imo there's too much grief around her character, for her to be just a projection. And it's not just about her. I think the ghosts references are about other people who died in the past. Will, Henry, and Max's story is a big hint at what happened to them. It would be more meaningful (IMO), an inspiring story, like the teacher says in 4x01. Kids trying to "get a message through", "to talk to her daddy/parents". To live, despite everything that has been done to them. There are many parents grieving in this story. Parents who fight for their children, even when they're told that there's no hope, and parents who feel like they failed them, or even caused their suffering. Interesting that the mothers keep fighting and the fathers feel like they are curses or black holes that destroy everything. But it seems the opposite for Henry, hm... I have a theory about that.

It's also interesting to me that there's always this confusion, very intentional, about kids/babies being alive or dead. Maybe that's the point and what the loop or Will's mind is doing. Some of the characters that should be dead are alive. Hopper even says "They liked me better when I was dead." The kid in the pumpkin patch says You're dead! The man in 2x07 says "You're dead. We're all dead", to El. Will is in fairyland, but after his death. The UD is a place of decay and death. The kids are in Henry's mind, after they died. Hopper was seeing Sarah after her death, etc.

People dealing with the death of a loved one keep seeing them, hearing them, like ghosts. But since this is a sci-fi show, it is possible that there's some sort of time travel/loop and that people who died are alive. If they're really stuck, it's like torture, because their families can't move on, they can't heal. And grief can drive you insane. And trauma is literally haunting these people, with monsters and tendrils! But we can also see this as parents and their children, or friends, who got a second chance to live. Or maybe, to forgive and say goodbye. Because in the end, when they will break the loop, someone will be gone, for real this time. But they will always live in the memories of the people who loved them. Or even in Will's "realm". The bittersweet ending. But also surprising and happy, like Hopper says in his letter.

Lol, sorry for this long message. It's a stormy day, I'm drinking tea and eating biscuits, and of course I had to talk about one of my favorite shows! :)

Yes yes! It is Inception like. A story within a story within a story.

Please tag me! That 3x03 campaign is major foreshadowing without a doubt.

YES YES YES! Exactly! There's a reason for all of those references. It's not just random. It's like a dream, but not exactly.

I'm still unsure about many of the characters and the roles. So I had to narrow the theory down to Will and Mike's story. I think they are the key players, the "Gods" if you will. But I am fascinated to know which characters are "real" beyond the story we see within the show. I have some ideas but I'm really not sure.

Yeah many of them will live on... just not the way we think/expect.

I'll be finishing the entire theory post soon. It's the most emotionally draining one to write on. But I do think the concept is correct, my details just might be off!

[taleya15]

Will’s late birthday present

Will woke up right at 7:00 AM, making sure that he was ready to go to the airport. He debated whether or not to bring Mike the painting he made or not. He ultimately decided that he would. He wrapped it up gently in his hands and remembered exactly what today was. His birthday. He’s officially 15 years old today, and he’s more than excited to spend it with his best friend and his sister. By the time Argyle had shown up, all three of the Byers siblings were ready to go. On the way there, for some unknown reason Jonathan and Argyle hadddd to smoke on the way there.

But not even the terrible smell could dim Will’s energy. He was so excited to see his best friend. Especially since they haven’t spoken in a long time. He really hopes that Mike remembers what today is. By the time Mike’s plane lands, he’s anxiously watching the other passengers on the plane leave before him. He doesn’t know why, but the thought of seeing Will. He- he gives Mike butterflies in a way he doesn’t understand. During that first phone call he noticed something different. His voice in particular, it was deeper by at least three octaves.

He couldn’t find a reasonable explanation for why butterflies erupted in his stomach. That’s not why he didn’t talk to Will though. Joyce had gotten a telemarketer job. She’s always on the phone, Mike hates it. He misses his best friend, but at the same time. He’s been dreading this moment for a week straight. When Mike finally gains his courage to move he puts his sunglasses over his eyes and finally walks out.

The second he’s out, he spots El and waves to her and El instantly runs to him. She crushes him instantly in a bone crushing hug. He grunts before figuring out how to get her off him. He feels almost embarrassed? Especially that Will saw it.

“Wait stop you’re gonna squish your present.” She unlaced herself from him, to see the flowers that he had picked for her. Her smile reach’s her eyes as she looks at them.

“Yeah I picked these for you in Hawkins I know you like purple so I got some purple. But I also know you like yellow so I got you yellow- but actually now I’m thinking it’s too much yellow. I-”

“Mike. It’s perfect.” She smiles kindly at him and reads the note saying “from Mike.” She sighs sadly at that. But a now fake smile goes to her face and she shoves the disappointment down.

“Oh! Hey!” Mike finally addressed Will, and that’s when he remembered what today was. He hugged Will hard almost knocking him back. Mike gently whispered in his ear.

“Happy birthday.” They pull away and Will smiles brightly at him with a light pink blush brushing his cheeks.

“Thanks Mike.”

“I um- I got you something to.”

“Yeah?” Mike pulled out a comic book from his bag and handed it to him. It’s nothing special just a flash comic, but to Will it meant everything to him.

“Thank you Mike! I love it. Oh! I have something for you to.” Will got a confused look from Mike until he unravels his painting. He worked on it for almost a month now. He wanted it to be as perfect as possible, he created a DND scene with the party fighting a huge three headed dragon. Will was nervous about Mike’s reaction at first, but seeing the smile and eye twinkle made it all worth it.

“You painted this?”

“Yeah! Do you um like it?”

“Of course I do Will thank you!” Will smiled and Mike suddenly realized there were other people there as well. He addressed Jonathan simply and put his sunglasses over his head. The other man smiled at him and Mike nodded back to him.

“So, shall we go?” He addresses everyone, and they all make the move to leave. Mike subconsciously wraps his arm around El, and she leans closer to him. While Will is a few steps behind El.

“I have the entire day planned first we’re having breakfast burritos.”

“What? Burritos for breakfast?” El giggles before responding. Remembering how weird that sounded to her to.

“I know trust me!”

“No, I trust you it just seems a little weird.” Mike glances over Els head by accident, and makes eye contact with Will. He doesn’t know why, but it makes him instantly flustered. He looks down instantly and kisses El’s head. Pushing down the butterflies in his stomach. He’s griping the painting in his hand lightly, making sure nothing happens to it.

“Then of course we’re going to rink o mania!” Mike’s brought out of his trance at that sentence.

“Ok, what’s rink o mania?”

“It’s the most fun place in Lenora! It has skating games!”

“Oh, cool. Are your friends going to meet us there?”

“Friends? What friends?” Will piped in instantly at that. Neither Will or El has “friends” in fact El’s been getting bullied this entire time. El’s attention snaps to him. She instantly hits him in the stomach with her flowers.

“Ya know, Stacy and Angela.” She glares daggers at him but Will doesn’t care.

“Angela?” He questions back at her, his eyes are daring her in a way. So she instantly looks back down.

*Time skip to at the rink o mania!*

The crew sits down at the bench and they then notice that, Mike doesn’t have socks. Will speaks up and shows him where they are.

“Here I’ll go with you.” Mike nods instantly, and they walk over to the counter. In line is when Will finally addresses all the lies.

“El. She hasn’t been telling you everything.”

“What? What do you mean?”

“She’s not friends with Stacy and Angela. She’s actually been being bullied by them. Almost this whole time. And yeah, we’ve been to parties here; but for mom’s work. Not because of what she implied.” Mike’s face hardens and screws up into a scowl.

“Bullshit!”

“Have I ever lied to you before?”

“I-” whatever sentence dies in Mikes throat when he realizes what Will says.

“I’ll- I’ll talk to her ok? But let’s not ruin your birthday alright?” Will smiles and nods, Mike smiles back and Will heads back to El. He sits down in his original seat and just puts his skates on. Ignoring the questioning look of his sister. Just as he ties his last skate, Mike plops down in between them.

“So! I asked for vomit green, and I got vomit green. Isn’t that awesome?” Both El and Will chuckle at that, and Mike grows a proud little smile to his face. Not realizing that El is getting increasingly anxious. She doesn’t know what her brother said to her boyfriend, and scared that he’ll find out the lies she’s been spinning. She doesn’t address it though, and neither do the boys.

Somehow El had managed to keep the lies up. Not ever addressing it until the next morning. Except El didn’t get out of her room for breakfast. So Mike brought the now cold egos to her. Not noticing the sad sigh, that he gets from Will. Mike doesn’t remember it then but El wasn’t wrong when she wrote to him saying that the painting was for the person he likes.

Mike gently knocks on El’s door before walking in and setting the waffles down. “Hoppers cabin right?” She nods as he goes to sit on her bed.

“So, are we not going to talk about it?” She turns towards him confused.

“Talk about what?”

“The- well ya, know. The lying last night I mean.”

“I didn’t lie.” She stands instinctively feeling uncomfortable under his gaze.

“El. I could tell. Why don’t you tell me what’s going on? I’m willing to listen. I care for you so much! You know that.”

“Care.” El scoffs before responding back to him.

“But you don’t love me anymore?”

“Who- who said that I didn’t?”

“You never say it.” Instead of defensive, now El just feels hurt. In a way, Mike and El switched there emotions and Mike new feels as defensive as she did.

“I say it.” El scoffs again before going into a box that has all the things that Mike sent her. She pulls out a small pile of letters and starts reading the final greeting of each one.

“From Mike. From Mike. From Mike. From! From! From!” Her voice breaks at the last “from” And Mike finally stands up as well.

“El! Come on your being ridiculous, that- that doesn’t mean anything.”

“Then say it.”

“What?”

“Just. Tell me that you love me, please.”

“I- I.”

“Get out.”

“What? El, come on.”

“I said GET OUT MIKE!”

Mike feeling defeated leaves the room and goes down to the basement. There lives the only person who actually knows Mike. He walks down to see Will lying on his bed throwing a ball in the air. Mike enters the room and closes the door. That’s when Will notices him, and sits up to greet him.

“Oh, hey Mike! Are you ok?” Mike just sighs, and shakes his head before joining Will on the bed.

“What’s wrong?”

“El. We just had a fight, like a big one. Like one you can’t come back from, I don’t think.”

“Why? What happened?”

“I- well she wanted me to say something. But I just couldn’t.” Will seems to understand what he was supposed to say. Even though he’s never been in a relationship before, he’s seen quite a few of them to know what he meant.

“I think sometimes it’s just scary to open up like that, to say what you really feel.” Mike nods in understanding, not realizing what Will is actually talking about. They stay silent for a moment, until Mike dramatically falls back onto the bed. Will chuckles before laying back with him.

“Why are girls so hard?” Will chuckles again before answering.

“No idea Mike.” Will smiles to himself thinking of a gay joke. And if Will had enough courage he’d say it out loud, but sadly he does not. So they just go back to comfortable silence. Will thinks that they’re done talking, but in the tiny break of silence; Mike finally remembers EXACTLY what El had sent him about in the last letter.

In particular, what that painting meant. So with all the confidence he could muster, he asked the question that could completely change their relationship.

“Will- do you um- like me?” At first Will just chuckles, then it becomes a full laugh.

“No Mike, since kindergarten I’ve been pretending that I like you.” Mike’s lips curl up, his eyes were uncomfortable.

“Will. I’m- I’m being serious here.” Instantly Will prop’s himself up with his elbow. He’s looking at Mike confused, like he couldn’t understand what he was talking about.

“Mike, what are you talking about?” Mike at first couldn’t speak, he could only mirror Will’s posture. He couldn’t even look at Will from the neck up. All he could do, was memorize the plaid pattern on Wills yellow shirt. He was staring intestinally at his stomach, under Mike’s gaze Will started to feel flustered.

He started to fidget with his fingers, and look at Mike uncomfortably. “Mike.” Finally being able to snap himself out of his trance. He looked Will in his eyes.

“Do you- do you um have a crush on me?” Will eyes seemed to widen three sizes.

“I- what- what do you mean?” Will swallows the lump in his throat. In sync Mike seems to be doing the same. Mike without any once of control, he glances at Will’s lips. Will’s heart rate seems to increase, he’s almost frozen in place. Mike for a fleeting moment seems to get confident by how flustered Will became in the two seconds since he clarified.

“Do. You. Like. Me?” His voice lowers an octave, and a blush immediately tints his cheeks. Will can only nod in conformation. A blush this time hits Mike’s cheeks, and Will seems to smile.

“Do you um like me to?” Mike smiles and nods a little.

“Yeah, I- I think I do.” The boys smile, and in sync they subconsciously move closer to each other. Then without either of them thinking about it, they kiss. It’s barely anything, barely even a peck. But to both boys it was completely world changing. Even though Mike had been able to make out with someone for a way longer time. This kiss seemed to knock the wind out of him.

And for Will… even though it was his first kiss. He felt like he finally knew what everyone meant when they’d say when they felt like they were on cloud nine when they’d kiss someone. Finally for both boys, they felt as though they could live. Not just survive. It was the best late birthday gift, Will could’ve ever asked for.

Note!

I’d like to thank everyone once again for the 500 likes! And i hope you all like this one shot!

[asbealthgn]

decided to lengthen this post!

eddie’s heard all about the girl with the super powers.

at least, he thought he had. steve, dustin, max, and robin talked about her at length when they were explaining the upside down to him in rick’s boathouse. the image he had in his head was of a girl larger than life, of a wonder woman type who could command a room. which is why he’s very surprised when he meets the quiet girl who saved the world.

it’s about a week after he’s released from the hospital, once nancy (who has somehow become the taskmaster when it comes to his care) deems him recovered enough to socialize with the rest of the party. although apparently he’s not yet to the point where she’ll let him leave the trailer. it’s no use fighting against her. wayne’s been her number one fan since the day they met, so he keeps telling eddie what that girl says goes.

but eddie’s excited that everyone else can finally come visit. max shows up first, having just been released from the hospital the day before. then it’s steve and robin with dustin in tow (eddie feels a slight fluttering seeing steve. he hasn’t quite taken the time to parse out whatever feelings may have developed over spring break). next comes nancy with mike and the sinclairs. finally, jonathan byers arrives with the two eddie hasn’t met before—will and el.

eddie’s first thought is of how small el seems. for a girl just a few weeks out from restoring peace to the planet, she nearly disappears in the already overcrowded trailer. eddie watches her hug max, wave to nancy, and then step back as the boys launch into some loud argument. always the same with them.

jonathan gestures for eddie to come over and meet his siblings. will only spares a second from his conversation with the boys to say hi to eddie before he’s returning. el, though, gives him a cautious smile and hello. it’s a halting few moments of small talk where eddie does way too much of the talking. he knows he should reign it in. 

he keeps seeing el smooth her hand over her buzzed hair. 

“that’s a cool cut you’ve got there,” eddie says.

her eyes flick sideways to jonathan and then back to eddie. “thank you,” she says, sounding uncertain. her gaze wanders then, and eddie follows it to where nancy is talking to steve and robin. specifically, wanders to nancy’s hair. 

“you miss your old hair?” eddie guesses.

el nods. “it was pretty.”

considering, eddie holds a finger up. “wait there,” he says before darting back to his room. wayne gets on his case for it being a wreck in here, but eddie knows where everything is. it’s how he finds the photo album he’s looking for in seconds, flipping to the right page and sliding one of the photos out from its sleeve. 

he rejoins el and jonathan, who have now also been joined by will. “there ya go,” eddie says, handing el the picture. it’s of him when he was in eighth grade, hair buzzed like el’s with a guitar in his hand and a big grin on his face.

el looks between the photo and eddie. a ghost of a smile plays on her lips. “your hair was like mine,” she says.

“yep,” eddie says, “i’m tellin’ ya, buzzed hair can be pretty metal.”

“metal?”

“it’s like bitchin’,” will chimes in.

“yeah, absolutely,” eddie says, “buzzed hair is bitchin’.”

el’s smile gets stronger. “metal,” she whispers, almost to herself. then she hands eddie the photo back. “maybe i should learn to play the guitar. so i can be extra metal.”

eddie grins. “hell yeah,” he says, “anytime, you come by and i’ll teach you.”

she nods. “it is a deal.”

[gayofthefae]

Thinking about how it's only love triangle blocking here

And you know what? I'm gonna argue that's not even what this is as I look at it. No, I'm gonna SAY it. Because if it was about Will's biased narration the consistent blocking throughout the day wouldn't be Will between Mike and El.

It's only even close to looking like Mike is between the two of them symbolizing his emotional state EVER because of this shot, and that's not even what it means.

I looked at it for two seconds longer and realized that this shot is about the fact that Mike as a topic is currently separating Will and El. Will and El's relationship is what this blocking is about, not Mike's relationship with them.

I mean, that's literally what this shot does. They're talking and he slides in between them, silencing them. He interrupts them. The important pairing in this scene is Will and El.

Yeah. So we never get love triangle blocking (except that weird straightbait poster that made it look like El was choosing between her boyfriend and her brother in like a Japan convention or something). Not once. This is sibling fighting blocking and it's the closest thing we ever get: a scene that focuses on Mike being nothing more than an interruption with nothing of pertinence to say then zooms in away from him. Oh, woe is him, he's so torn between this decision he hasn't made.

Edit: the do, actually, in the car home and the hospital. Both times, Mike looks over at El and not Will, and they only happen when he has two simultaneous issues with them - romance aside - or after he's re-trapped himself with El.

So still. Either torn between them platonically or instead of "I'm torn" it's "I have to be standing over here but I wish I was standing closer to you, I'm sorry". Got it...

[ao3feed-brucewayne]

No Time To Die

by a_depressed_starfish Everything hurts. His muscles, his head, his heart. Everything. Tim’s whole body and mind just…hurts. So he does what he does best. He puts it all aside to deal with later. Broken arm? I’ll deal with that later. Pounding headache? I’ll deal with that later. Fight with Bernard? I’ll deal with that later. Yeah, you get the picture. Tim knows he should deal with it all now, but he's just too busy. He has a meeting to go to, patrol later, an important case to solve. So. Many. Things. or Tim overworks himself a lot, but he has his family to help. Not that he knows that. ---------------------- fic title is No Time To Die by Billie Eilish Words: 536, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English Fandoms: DCU, Young Justice - All Media Types, Batman - All Media Types Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death Categories: F/F, F/M, M/M Characters: Tim Drake (DCU), Jason Todd, Bernard Dowd, Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, Damian Wayne, Duke Thomas, Stephanie Brown, Cassandra Cain, Kon-El | Conner Kent, Alfred Pennyworth, Bart Allen, Barbara Gordon Relationships: Bernard Dowd/Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown/Cassandra Cain, Barbara Gordon/Dick Grayson, Batfamily Members & Batfamily Members (DCU), Tim Drake & Jason Todd, Tim Drake & Dick Grayson, Tim Drake & Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake & Damian Wayne, Stephanie Brown & Tim Drake, Cassandra Cain & Tim Drake, Tim Drake & Duke Thomas, Tim Drake & Alfred Pennyworth, Tim Drake/Kon-El | Conner Kent, Tim Drake & Kon-El | Conner Kent, Tim Drake & Barbara Gordon, Bart Allen & Tim Drake, Batfamily Members & Alfred Pennyworth Additional Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Tim Drake's Missing Spleen, Tim Drake and Jason Todd are Siblings, Tim Drake and Damian Wayne are Siblings, Tim Drake and Dick Grayson are Siblings, Cassandra Cain and Tim Drake are Siblings, Tim Drake-centric (DCU), Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, No Smut, Maybe - Freeform, Major Character Death comes much later, I FEEL SO BAD ABOUT IT, Feral Tim Drake, Minor Barbara Gordon/Dick Grayson, Minor Stephanie Brown/Cassandra Cain, Good Sibling Duke Thomas, Duke Thomas is a Batfamily Member, Duke Thomas is Signal, Damian Wayne is Robin, Bruce Wayne is Batman, Stephanie Brown is Spoiler, Good Sibling Cassandra Cain, Cassandra Cain is Black Bat, Dick Grayson is Nightwing, Barbara Gordon is Oracle, Barbara Gordon in a Wheelchair, Jason Todd is Red Hood, Kon-El | Conner Kent is Superboy, Bart Allen is Impulse, Bruce Wayne Tries to Be a Good Parent, AU where the batfam is healthy, mostly - Freeform, Not Canon Compliant, no beta we die like jason todd, No Lesbians Die, gay peple tho, gay people (person) die via https://ift.tt/XZFSNms

[acowardinmordor]

Idle thoughts for the historical royalty au it turns out I want to read, but can’t be bothered to write.

This is a fairly young or small kingdom. Early Plantagenets but less established.

Steve’s mom is more in the category of Eleanor of Aquitaine. She’s off in her own lands trying to fix the mess that the King made. The King forbade her taking Steve with her and they both have other lovers. Steve’s mom had several failed pregnancies when he was young, and at least one or two siblings that died too young for him to really remember.

The King is fighting yet another push against Not-France. Has been gone for at least two years, will be gone at least one more. Left his advisors and council in place, and gave Steve very little authority. He’s basically Henry the first. Except he’s Richard

Most of the important Lords and families left the capital when the King did, either to go on campaign, or back to their own homes. The adults who remain are either greedy and manipulative or too low ranked to have another option. Lots of the children of families are left there as good faith

Nancy and Barb are the daughters of nobility, not known for their social standing. Carol and Tommy are trying very hard to get/stay in Steve’s favor so they can elevate their and their families’ status. Joyce got elevated to a role like a chatelaine because the prior died while the king was gone. Hopper is Captain of the Guard.

Magic exists if you ask the right person, but in any official sense or statement there is science, religion, and blasphemous rumors.

El is for sure somewhere in the changeling shade of things. But in the sense that she got stolen, lived with the Unseelie Court, and escaped. Because he is the reason I am in this fandom; El follows the sound of music and laughter and finds Eddie.

Eddie lives with his uncle, who was in the last war, took an arrow to the knee and can’t serve again. Does odd jobs and repairs things for people. Eddie is supposed to be apprenticing as a scribe, but hates writing down ledgers of how much the Lords spend and how much they tax. It’s doomed from the start. But, it means he’s the rare example of a poor kid in the city who can read and write. He makes spare money telling stories, writing down and using bits of histories and rumors he hears while apprenticing. And because he travels from the town up to the court, he’s also doing a bit of unofficial trade.

Lucas helps at the stables. Mike wants to be a knight, but was too young to go with the king to war. Younger kids went, but the Wheelers are just noblé enough that he didn’t. Only son privileges. Will was sick as a kid, so he’s seen as kind of a ‘what’s the point’ but he learned to read a little, then spent so long sick he taught himself more.

Dustin flits around the court and castle, bullying people into explaining things to him. He has learned many things, and is still a little genius, but his reading is kinda self taught so he can’t always say why he’s right beyond saying that he is. Claudia came with the Queens court but stayed after the Queen left again. She’s in a weird important-but-not-noble position. Steve adores her because she was around more than his mom.

Actually. Yeah. Dial up the magic a little. The King conquered the region and stomped out most of the hedge-witch type folks. Also pissed off some of the more powerful ones as they fled. But the big piece is that he broke A Thing™ that served to hold the worlds separate. That was a least 15 years ago. The leak is slow/irs been getting worse.

Lucas’s family isn’t nobility, but they’re wealthier than some of the nobles. He’s the personable son with a fondness for horses, racing, hunts, etc.

Max and family moved to Hawkins and something something, Max is now working at a smithy. It’s not what she should be doing, but she’s really good at it. Also: horseshoes gets us LuMax.

Maybe the Hargrove were noble, mayfields weren’t. Lord Hargrove went to war, Billy has been there too, and the second you look away from max she’s back to doing what she wants.

Murray is something like a hedgewitch.

The Russians become some of the conquered people, looking for an opportunity to reclaim and lacking that: a chance to fuck things up for Hawkins.

Creel is def a kid from wayyy long ago, who got conned by the fae, but spent so long there that he’s got magic of his own, and a love/hate with a humans.

[threewaywithdelusion]

I’ve been seeing a lot of posts complaining about mom Steve and I have thoughts.

Like, I agree with a lot of it. Honestly, fictional parents confuse me sometimes (especially when people write them stricter than canon), even when they aren’t teenage boys. Like Hopper? Absolutely cares about his kids dating. El is going to be fighting to bring Mike over for the rest of her life. They’re going to be 20-something with Hopper still trying to stick them in separate rooms. Even once they get married, Hopper’s gonna grumble about them getting to share a bed. (He’ll be more careful not to overstep with Joyce’s boys, especially Jonathan since he’s older, but Will is definitely going to get a speech about being the man in the relationship and treating your girlfriend with respect (and then a later, much more confused speech about treating your boyfriend with respect)).

Joyce? That woman has been through way too much shit to give a shit. Jonathan wants Nancy to sleep over? Done. Will’s gay? Not a problem, here are some condoms. El’s sneaking Mike through the window so Hopper won’t see? Joyce walks by and casually says “the back door is unlocked, you might want to try that instead.”

Sorry, I got sidetracked. The point is Steve. If he was gonna be like anyone’s parents, it would be my parents (“you’re doing nerd stuff alone at home on a Friday night? Don’t you have friends? Go to a party!”). But barring that, he’s definitely the older brother, even if they call him mom.

He doesn’t care if they swear! El says “frick” or “gosh darn” in front of him one time because she heard it somewhere and he sits her down and teaches her proper swear words so she won’t get teased in school. He rents the kids r-rated movies and then lies to their parents faces when they have nightmares. He hears them say something anatomically impossible about sex and ends up giving them a sex talk. He chaperones their parties because he’s cooler than an adult but still old enough to make sure no one’s drinking themselves to death, and then ends up cleaning puke out of the shower. He kisses his co-chaperone at the party (you can pick your favorite Steve love interest) and all the freshmen squeal and stare and he has to go hide upstairs.

He’s in his pjs in bed and gets a frantic walkie-talkie call from Dustin that they have to go to the store RIGHT NOW because he wants to buy something and the sale ends at midnight. Steve says no a million times but gets bribed into it when Dustin promises to watch a basketball game with him in exchange for the ride. (My little sister did this to me. She wanted to go to TARGET to buy SHEETS. She was a weird child).

Steve’s the one they call when they need something but can’t go to their parents. He buys them booze and condoms and fake IDs, all of which come with lectures on being safe and a million threats on how he’ll kill them if they act stupid. He picks them up from parties when they’ve overdone it. He bails them out of jail (Dustin or El would absolutely get themselves arrested somehow) and doesn’t tell their parents but brings it up every chance he gets for the rest of forever.

Yeah, they call him mom. They’re trying to annoy him, because that’s what little siblings do. And Steve is definitely their big brother.

[krunktrunk]

it's late but I need to get this out

IDEAL COMING OUT SCENE FOR MIKE (FOR ME PERSONALLY, IDC IF ITS THE FIRST TIME HE COMES OUT I JUST WOULD LOVE FOR THIS TO HAPPEN) (not the best writing it's just kind of a basic what I want to happen)

Mike's said something wrong again, he and Will had a fight, or he fully realized something and basically broke down. he runs away, in the middle of the literal end of the world, and everyone freaks out about where he is. Nancy goes out to find him (or multiple but she goes out) and goes to the junkyard.

she finds Mike there, either sitting in a old bus or the backseat of a rundown car, he's crying and curled himself up, as much as his limbs can. she's angry at him for running away and she's ready to yell at him but seeing him in this state makes her soften, she quietly sits down beside him and looks straight ahead.

Mike looks at her, but doesn't say anything. "why did you leave?" she asks, he just sniffles and shrugs. "come on Mike, talk to me" he uncurls himself slightly. "there's something wrong with me" Nancy is confused, of course she is. "what do you mean?" "why couldn't I just love her?" he says it more to himself, Nancy starts to understand. this is about eleven. "you're only young, the one for you will come eventually, it's not weird to not be in love at this age" she thinks she's helping, but Mike cries more. "that's the issue, I have met the one, i met them a long time ago,but I can't ever be with them" she looks interested, maybe picking up on the non-gender specific pronoun. "why?" Mike curls himself up more. "because it's wrong"

it finally clicks. Nancy sinks back into the seat, staying quiet for a moment. the only noise is Mike's sobs, but the camera is focused on Nancy as her face scrunches, confusion and slight sadness. her face lightens up just slightly, a smile forming as she starts to speak.

"do you remember the first time you watched superman?" Mike looks up, confused, but his sobs stop slightly. "because I do.. you were obsessed, like so much that we had to buy the DVD because we were spending so much money hiring it" she's laughing, but Mike just looks confused. "could you tell me about this person.. the one that is the one for you?" and Mike does, he says features about Will, and Nancy's gathered by this point who Mike likes, she already kind of figured. "why did you bring up superman?" it was a weird comment afterall, but Nancy laughs and explains.

"you were so obsessed, with superman, didn't care much for when he was Clark Kent.. but then you met Will" Mike freezes a little, but Nancy continues. "and instead of dragging me to watch the movies with you, you dragged him.. and he liked him as Clark Kent, so you did too.. even though you always had a thing for super powers" Mike 100% has a thing for a super powers so I don't think it would be unusual for him to have a crush on superman as he compared El to him lmao.

they keep talking, and Nancy talks more about his obsession with superman, and Clark Kent, but it turns more and more into Will, just without saying the name. like will using Els name to speak about his emotions.

"because.. everyone taught you to like superman, he was the better cooler version, he was who everyone liked.. but you liked Clark Kent, and there's nothing wrong with liking Clark Kent, even if everyone else likes superman" Mike nods, the scene slightly reminiscent of Wills coming out to Jonathan, not actually saying it but implying it, Nancy just doing it a bit more obviously.

I then feel like at the end of it she would say something like, "are you going to talk to Will?" to really show that she understands, and Mike will say yes, and they will hug and they will say how much they love and care for eachother because they are siblings and yeah.

that was long lol. I will forever spread my Mike has a crush on superman propaganda