#lucas wants to fit in with the 'cool kids '' more than his friends do but he still chooses his friends over anyone else

[gffa]

Disney, hire me as your Attachment Advisor, I will shove so many George Lucas quotes at your producers and writers, I will shove so many context-laden clips from the movies and TCW at your creatives, I will make powerpoint essays about how it's more Buddhist-aligned, not Attachment Theory-aligned, I will cite literally every time attachment has ever been discussed by Lucas AND in the show itself and show you that it's always aligned with fear, possessive feelings, and selfishness, I will do this work for you for free, I can even literally just point you to my Jedi Citations collection, DISNEY, HIRE ME AS YOUR ATTACHMENT ADVISOR, I CAN HELP YOU.

Everything I saw in the show aligned perfectly with my view of what the Jedi mean by attachment from the movies (especially with Episode II). You fail to understand that George Lucas words outside of the movies mean shit. You cane have the largest collection of words that has come out of Lucas's ass and it still does not change the movies. Look at the poster for AOTC. A Jedi shall not know love. Obi-Wan speaks beautifully about the undercurrent of remorse he feels for not being able to have an attachment with Satine because he lives by the Jedi Code which forbids it.

You people are so delusional.

Hi! You are so right bestie it has been way too long since I've talked about my love for Mace Windu! You are so right to have brought this up and I will meet your challenge! He is the Force's strongest soldier because the absolute nonsense he has to put up with every day, as someone who deals with the rest of the Council being hilarious assholes, who deals with Kenobi and Skywalker's nonsense, who has Yoda as a friend, and yet he seems to genuinely like all of these people?? Even when they're bonkers?? My man is stronger than I could ever be.

Not to mention, he goes on a whole ass mission with Jar-Jar, has to watch him make out with his girlfriend, the queen of the planet who told falsehoods about your family, and you have nothing but patience and kind words to say about them, and you only roll your eyes a little at Jar-Jar's antics, something even Padme does and she's worked with him even longer than you have, and by the end, you're friends with him, you like him and would probably hang out with him again if the chance arose???? Mace Windu is on ANOTHER LEVEL from what I would have done in his position!

And he's a former theater nerd! "The Council's gain was the theater's loss." Jocasta Nu says about how he didn't have time for it anymore after he got so busy with the Council, like can you IMAGINE Mace Windu doing plays? I want to know sooooooo bad how Jedi plays are different from non-Force-sensitive people's plays, I want to know what kind of cool effects they create with the Force, I want to know if they use their psychic empath abilities to literally connect with their audience! I want to know DOES MACE WINDU HELP THE YOUNGLINGS STAGE CUTE LITTLE PLAYS IN THE CRECHE? BECAUSE I BET HE DOES.

Because that man is so good with kids! Remember that Star Wars Adventures comic where he was so gentle and sweet with the little Twi'lek girl? Reaching down to help her up, smiling openly at her, walking with her back to her village to make sure she was safe, talking with her to make sure she understood how important and valuable she was in the galaxy? Because I'm still not over that!

His relationship with Anakin in canon is pretty great, too, like, yeah, Anakin should take a seat and stop borderline pitching a fit about getting a rank he didn't earn, and Mace still offered to believe him, despite that Anakin had accepted Palpatine's forcing the Council to put him on it. He still trusted Anakin to help him in that fight against Palpatine! Plus, oh, man, their banter on the Endurance when they're teaching the cadets? That was such good-natured teasing, that was exactly the kind of banter Anakin would have had with Obi-Wan, and by the end of that whole fiasco (do you ever think about when Anakin was in danger and Mace yelled, "Anakin!" and desperately yanked him to safety, because he was worried about him? because I think about that a lot), Mace complimented Artoo by saying he saw what Anakin saw in him, that he was complimenting Anakin at the same time? Or pretty much EVERY interaction between Mace and Yoda is absolute hilarity, the side-eye they give each other, the teasing Yoda does when Mace is on a mission with Jar-Jar, the way Mace holds his hand out in the comics for Yoda to springboard off of into the middle of a fight? ICONIC FRIENDSHIP, I WOULD TAKE A WHOLE NOVEL ABOUT IT, DISNEY.

Or that time even AT THE END OF THE CLONE WARS, like they are just a MONTH out from Revenge of the Sith, if that, and Mace is STILL trying to get the droids to stand down, that he's destroyed thousands of them, none of them have listened, but he's still trying, offering them a better life away from the war, a purpose again, even if he knows it probably won't work, that man still believed in compassion for anyone and everyone. Like, baby Boba Fett TRIED TO KILL HIM and Mace STILL argued for leniency and rehabilitation, rather than jail, because he saw a young child who was hurting and he wanted better for him. He was direct with Boba, he didn't try to befriend him, Boba would never have accepted that, but he told him, you're going to have to get over your hatred for me, he says this for Boba's sake, not his own, because he knows what poison the desire for revenge is, look at the path it's already leading Boba down.

Or EVERYTHING WITH THE ZILLO BEAST, he tried so hard to rescue that poor creature, he fought the Senate so hard, he was so gentle with the hand he carefully pressed to its face, even when the Zillo beast was dangerous, even when it had attacked them and could so easily kill more, he wanted leniency for it, he wanted to save it because he understood where it was coming from.

Or EVERYTHING WITH PROSSET DIBS, that guy tried to murder him, was ranting about how he would dance on their graves or whatever, and Mace looks at him and says, we need to help him, it's our duty to help him find the light again. And his big punishment is literally just library duty, because when Mace can decide the outcome, that guy always goes for helping people, always goes for the option that would bring them back to the light.

Even as a young Padawan, his greatest struggle was to temper his anger, which was sparked because PEOPLE WERE BEING HURT by the false prophet on Mathas, he was angry because he saw how many people were suffering and the people in charge just let it happen, his heart hangs heavy when he witnesses people in pain, because Mace Windu deeply, deeply cares about the people in the galaxy.

He cared about civilians, he cared about clones, he cared about his fellow Jedi, he didn't have to be bouncy or super smiley to show that, either. It was in every action he took. He cared so much.

And, okay, yeah, he was COOL AS HELL AND WOULD HAVE BEATEN PALPATINE'S WRINKLED ASS IN A FAIR FIGHT.

OR THAT TIME ON RYLOTH THAT WAS LITTERALLY THE COOLEST SCENE THEY EVER ANIMATED, THE SOUND DROP? THE ABSOLUTE BANGER PHYSICAL STUNTS MACE WAS CAPABLE OF? GODDAMN HE WAS SO GOOD.

AND LEST WE FORGET--CUTEST BB YOUNGLING EVER!!!!

[terabyteturtle]

Fighter #14 - Bowser

- He’s jealous of how long Charizard can use Flamethrower. If Bowser uses Fire Breath for too long, he’ll gas out.

- Whenever he's super angry, his footsteps will shake the whole floor. There've been plenty of times in which the Koopalings get scared and think there’s an earthquake before realizing that dear ol’ dad just got beat by Mario again.

- Incineroar has become a good friend of his, and is also a great wrestling coach. The two of them often train and practice wrestling moves together.

- If the Koopa King ever needs some time to himself, he’ll find a secluded spot and tuck away inside his shell. He likes going behind bushes the most because the other fighters have a lesser chance of finding him there. No one has discovered his hiding spot…yet.

- If anyone messes with his kids, they're getting a giga knuckle sandwich straight to the face. He's very protective of them when they're in Smash, mainly because there's so many fighters who could easily hurt them.

- The villains tease and mess around with each other so much to the point where it’s borderline bullying. Once, Ridley wrapped his tail around Bowser’s leg and tugged it back as he walked past, causing the Koopa King to face-plant. It takes a lot to damage Bowser, but considering Ridley’s strength, that really hurt.

- Incineroar let him try some Poke Beans once, and he actually really likes them. Bowser’s not sure what that says about him, though. After tough matches, Incineroar always brings some to share. 

- During the summer, when the fighters have cookouts outside, Bowser is always in charge of the barbeque. Put him in front of the grill and he’ll come back with some of the best burgers, hot dogs, and ribs the fighters have ever tasted. Typically, he’s not good at cooking, so it’s a mystery as to how he can get it to be so good.

- Every Friday night, he’ll play Rummy and Poker with Wario, Meta Knight, and King Dedede. Wario always wants to play for money, but the other three know better and would rather play for fun. Every now and then, King K. Rool might join in as well.

- Bowser LOVES classic rock and hair metal, especially from the 80s. He usually has it playing in the background whenever he’s playing cards with the other villains.

- If the Koopalings’ clown cars are broken, he’ll not only fix them, but he’ll add new, cool weapons that he thinks they’ll like. 

- He’s still smitten with Peach and has a little notebook in which he writes down different ideas for asking her out. If he decides to stick with a plan, he’ll usually have Meta Knight and King Dedede help him out with it.

- More than anything, Bowser cares deeply about being a good father to the Koopalings and constantly worries that someone or something will affect how they view him. If he loses a match, will they think he’s too weak? If he sides with Mario, will they think he’s gone soft? If he does something too evil, will they get scared and turn on him? What do other fighters say about him when he’s not around? Do they tell them good things, bad things, or something in between? Or do they, perhaps, say nothing at all? Bowser’s children love him, and he knows that, but he still can’t help but worry.

- Every time someone complains about the Koopalings’ antics, Bowser can’t help but chuckle. If they think one silly prank is bad, then they don’t want to see how they behave back home.

- Various fighters have mistaken him for a turtle upon first meeting him, but his reactions were vastly different depending on who it was and how they were saying it. Fighters like Lucas and Pit innocently believed that he was a giant turtle, to which he politely explained to them that he was something much different. Fighters like Ridley and Sephiroth, on the other hand, practically mocked him about it, which sent the Koopa King into a fiery fit of rage.

- Despite his wedding plans having been foiled, he still really wants to marry Peach. The Koopalings know that she’s not their real mother, but they still refer to her as such, which breaks his heart even more. He gets really infuriated if a fighter tries reminding them that Peach isn’t actually related to them.

- Kazooie really has it out for him for some reason. Banjo’s fine, but Kazooie does not like Bowser at all, going so far as to leave him “presents” outside his bedroom door.

- When the Koopalings are playing with some of the other younger fighters, they’ll often rope Bowser into the fun as well. This has caused him to form some unlikely bonds with fighters like Ness, Lucas, Villager, and Toon Link.

- They didn’t like each other initially, but over time, Bowser and K. Rool have become as close as brothers. Sure, their egos cause them to fight sometimes, but they’ll always have each other’s backs.

- Bowser is fully aware that he has a short temper and has actually been trying to keep it in check more often. He's making progress, albeit not very much.

- Nowadays, Bowser can keep his Giga form under control, but back then, there were many times in which he lost control as Giga Bowser and nearly destroyed the entire stage. It'd get so bad that both Master Hand and Crazy Hand would have to step in.

- It took him a while to adjust to the fact that there was another Roy in the mansion who was also essentially a prince.

- Knowing how many retro characters there are both on the roster and working as Assist Trophies, he silently prays that his imposter “twin” doesn’t show up. Bowser doesn’t know who that guy is or where he came from, but for a while he falsely referred to himself as “Bowser’s brother” and “the Duke of the Koopas”. One day, he just disappeared, which freaked him out even more. Will he ever return again? Bowser hopes not.

- Because Wario has a monstrous appetite, Bowser is often caught up in schemes to sneak him some extra food (which he'll only agree to if he gets his fair share of the grub). They almost always fail, though.

- Despite all of their differences, Bowser has actually become good friends with the other villains. Well, most of them. Sephiroth and Kazuya haven’t warmed up to him yet, and Dark Samus just freaks him out.

- However, their friendship does not mean that they don’t fight. The villains are all pretty hot-headed and prideful, so arguments break out frequently among them. Out of all of them, Bowser finds himself arguing with K. Rool and Ganondorf the most.

- One time, there was a gopher infestation in the gardens, and of all fighters, Master Hand decided to send Bowser, Ness, and Ike to deal with it. They were a heavily dysfunctional trio, but after a lot of trial and error, they managed to get it done.

- Bowser has his own giant scratching post that he’ll take his anger out on. It’s a miracle that thing is still in one piece.

- As feeble as he thinks Toad is, Bowser can’t help but admire his courage. No matter what, he’s always willing to stick up for people, especially Princess Peach. Unlike most others, Toad doesn’t cower in fear or run away upon crossing Bowser’s path. In fact, he’ll step straight into it if it means protecting someone from harm. Despite the two being on opposing sides, Bowser can’t help but have a weird respect for him.

- Bowser thought that since he had so many spikes on his back that he couldn’t possibly be used as a stepping stool, but he was proven wrong when Yoshi needed something on the top shelf of the fridge and the Koopa King was the only one around to help him. Ever since then, Yoshi, Jigglypuff, and even Olimar have used him to give them a boost on several occasions.

- One time, as a prank, Lemmy painted his shell blue while he was sleeping. Unbeknownst to him, that paint was a special permanent type and wouldn’t come off no matter what Bowser tried to do. The only way they managed to take it off was to have Robin cast some spell on it.

- His favorite song from the Smash soundtrack is King Bowser - Super Mario Bros. 3. It's literally his theme, but made better with all of the sick metal riffs—how could he not love it?

[dinitride-art]

Mike and Will’s arguments and fights affect each other in different ways, but they are both still affected by what they say to each other. Usually when we look at the rain fight, we see how Mike’s words affect Will, and sometimes how Mike’s words may be reflecting his own feelings. It’s not as often that I see people talking about how Will’s words might have affected Mike, and how Mike may have interpreted them.

“Will, you can’t leave. It’s raining. It’s a cool campaign. It really is. We’re just not in the mood right now.”

“Yeah, Mike. That’s the problem. You guys are never in the mood anymore. You’re ruining our party.”

A lot of people tell Mike he’s doing things wrong in season three. Hopper disapproves of Mike and El’s relationship and goes as far as to lie about Mike’s nana and threaten him because he thinks that Mike is doing something wrong. Max tells him that how he talks about and treats El is wrong and calls him controlling over her powers and person. Lucas makes fun of Mike and El’s relationship and compares it to his and Max’s. He and Max go on dates, he’s “spending quality time with [his] girlfriend” at the movies. Everyone is telling Mike that he’s doing something wrong in his and El’s relationship, that he is the problem. Then Will tells him that he’s “ruining [their] party.” Not only is Mike being told that he’s the one that’s ruining his and El’s relationship but he’s being told that he’s ruining everyone’s friendships as well.

Mike is being told that he’s the problem in almost every aspect of his life. That there’s something wrong with how he’s treating El and how he’s treating his friends, and there is but Mike isn’t trying to be a bad friend, he’s trying to be normal. He’s being told that he’s being normal incorrectly. Something about Mike doesn’t allow for him to fit into the idea of normal like Max and Lucas, and now Will is telling him that his inability to be normal extends to the rest of his life. It’s Mike that is ruining everything because he can’t figure out how he’s supposed to exist.

“That’s not true.”

“Really? I here Dustin right now? See? You don’t know and you don’t even care and obviously be doesn’t either, and I don’t blame him. You’re destroying everything- and for what? So you can swap spit with some stupid girl?”

Will lists how Mike is messing up in both his relationship with El and with the rest of the party. He singles Mike out, they’re not talking about Lucas and Mike anymore, they’re just talking about Mike. Lucas can have a girlfriend and not ruin the party, but Mike can’t do the same. Will tells him that, “[he’s] destroying everything.” Mike is ruining the party, he’s destroying it, something about Mike makes him unable to be like Lucas. Something about Mike is ruining everything. Mike is “destroying everything” “so [he] can swap spit with some stupid girl.” Mike and El’s relationship hasn’t been much more than kissing in Hopper’s cabin and Mike knows this. Mike’s ruining everything so he can play at being in a relationship. Will devalues Mike and El’s relationship because of his own feelings and frustration about it, but in doing so he implies that Mike and El’s relationship isn’t real.

Something about Mike is destroying everything and his relationship with his girlfriend isn’t a real relationship.

“El’s not stupid. It’s not my fault you don’t like girls. I’m not trying to be a jerk, okay? But we’re not kids anymore. I mean, what did you think, really? That we were never gonna get girlfriends? We were just gonna sit in my basement all day and play games for the rest of our lives?”

Mike doesn’t deny anything Will says. He focus’s on Will calling El stupid, and he tries to deflect the implications of Will’s words. Mike has a girlfriend and he likes a girl like he’s supposed to, this is what is normal. He’s doing everything right. “[they’re] not kids anymore” they have to grow up and figure out how to fit in. They’re supposed to get girlfriends. They aren’t allowed to to want this for the rest of their lives. Mike is doing everything right. He’s trying to be normal. He’s trying to be like Lucas.

Mike doesn’t deny that he’s destroying everything. There’s something wrong with him. Hopper can see it, Lucas can see it, and now Will’s telling him that whatever is wrong with Mike is ruining everything. Mike is trying to do everything right, but he’s still doing everything wrong.

“Yeah. I guess I did. I really did.”

Will tells him that he thought they were going to do that for the rest of their lives, that he didn’t think it was wrong to want that. He tells Mike that he doesn’t want to try to be normal like Mike.

Mike’s ruining everything by trying to be normal and Will tells him that he didn’t need to be normal.

“Will. Will! Will, come on!”

Will just told Mike that the reason Mike was ruining everything was because he’s trying to change.

Mike doesn’t kiss El back at the end of season three. He doesn’t tell her that he loves her back. He doesn’t even write that he loves her. He joins Hellfire with Dustin. He admires Eddie Munson, a guy who stands out and doesn’t care who says anything about it. He wears black jeans and black converse and is completely comfortable being a nerd, a freak. Lucas is the one trying to be normal and Mike refuses to do the same.

Will told him that was okay because he wanted that too.

Then when Mike gets to Lenora, he still doesn’t tell El that he loves her. He barely kisses her. He’s cold to Will because he thinks Will made a painting for someone who he likes, a girl. He thinks Will is doing the exact same thing that he yelled at Mike for doing less than a year ago but Mike learns pretty quick that isn’t true. Will’s still pushing him, he’s still asking about their relationship and Mike defends himself at first, but once he figures out that Will hasn’t been trying to be normal, he cools off. He listens to what Will has to say. He apologizes to Will. He tells Will that he didn’t deserve it, that Mike was the one who was wrong.

Will keeps telling him that everything is okay.

Their conversations have opposite effects on each other. Will thinks that he’s pushing Mike towards El, and Mike thinks that Will is telling him that it’s okay not to be normal- which he is because Will is drawing from his own feelings when talking to Mike.

Then Will gives Mike the painting. All of his words match with what Will’s been saying to him, that it’s okay to be different, that who he is isn’t going to push everyone away, that him and Will are going to be okay.

“You’re the heart!”

The monologue is when Mike realizes that Will’s pushing him towards El. When someone’s life is on the line, you can’t be who you are. So he tells El that he loves her, even if he knows that he doesn’t. He’s scared that something bad is going to happen, and he’s managed to pretend to be normal before, even if he was ruining everything.

By the end of season four, Mike has made a decision. He isn’t trying to be with El anymore. He doesn’t follow her to go talk to her, or stand next to her when they look at the storm over Hawkins. He chooses to stand in between Will and El at the hospital because he’s choosing to stand next to Will.

Mike told El he loved her and Max died. He’s done with destroying things, with ruining everything trying to be normal.

He’s staying with Will because that’s where he wants to be, not where everyone is telling him he’s supposed to be.

[kittythelitter]

I've just been ping-ponging back and forth between Stranger Things and Batfam obsessions so here's a very self indulgent combination.

Au where Steve Harrington is Jack Drake's slightly older first cousin. They were close until Steve's parents disowned him and then reconnected sporadically when Jack was a young adult, but when Steve and Eddie got married, Janet severed ties claiming she thought Steve and his loser rockstar husband would be a bad influence on Tim. Jack reconciles with him when he wakes up from his coma, and asks Steve to take care of Tim if anything happens to him(Jack). When Jack is killed Steve and Eddie become Tim's guardians.

Rough Timeline.

1966 - Eddie is born

1967- Steve Harrington is born

1974- Jack Drake is born

1980- Bruce Wayne is born

1982- Clark Kent is adopted by the Kents

1983-6 -ST seasons 1-4

1987 - Upsidedown Closes for the last time + the Wayne's are killed in front of their son.

1990- Dick Grayson is Born

1995- Jason is born

1996- Cass is born

1999 - Tim is born/the Batman starts his stuff

2001 - Flying Graysons/first Superman sightings

2004 - the Justice League is formed, Boston legalizes gay marriage.

2005 - steddie marriage. Janet Drake throws a hissy fit and Jack and Steve stop speaking.

2007- Dick Quits Robin, Damian is born, andJason becomes Robin

2010- Jason Dies

2011- Tim becomes Robin

2013- Janet dies, Jack is in a coma

2014 - Jack wakes up. Wants to reconnect with his family (including Steve and Eddie), titans tower ™️

2015 - Damian arrives, Jack finds out. Steph is Robin and "dies"

2016 - Jack dies and Steve and Eddie get custody of Tim. Kon and Bart die temporarily.

Tim is going thru it and also suddenly has two VERY attentive guardians who have been dealing with weird bullshit longer than even Batman. They find out about Robin and lecture Batman and insist that if Tim's gonna pull a Dustin then Steve gets to babysit (be on comms).

Steve insists he's too old to be a vigilante but he is on comms all the time and on more than one occasion busts into a scene hitting goons with the batmobile and rescuing Bruce and Tim. He also basically forcefully adopts Jason after he finds out about titans tower. Eddie just laughs, but Jason used to be a big fan of Eddie's band so he is automatically the cool dad.

Somewhere in here Steve and Eddie kind of adopt Dick, Damian, Cass and Steph

Barbara and Max meet and it's Chaos.

Bruce tries to complain that Steve and Eddie are stealing his kids and Eddie's like. Alfred do you want some coparents? We'll adopt a full grown man. We've got kids older than Bruce that we consider to be ours. And Alfred is like. I'd love the help. He's a handful.

Anyway when Bruce "dies" and Tim's like. He's not dead! Steve is like. Yeah. I've seen weirder. Let me call supergirl- not Kara. My supergirl. Eleven. Yeah. You remember her right? She might be able to find him with her mind powers. No she's not a meta. She's had powers since before metas were a thing.

And El finds him and with her help the Justice League can get Bruce back pretty quickly. They offer her a position and she's like. I'm retired. But I'll always help a friend in need, so keep my number.

Anyways the ST crew are all adults and Tired because they thought when the justice league came around they'd be done. But Steve just keeps acquiring children who insist on getting themselves in trouble so even though he is fifty and Tired with chronic migraines and tinnitus he is still going to be the Best Damn Babysitter there is, and none of his friends/kids will let him do it alone.

Steve managed to keep it all from them before he needed to ask El for help but once the dam breaks they're all in and out of Gotham and meeting the Justice League and causing trouble left and right.

Lucas and Will both try to keep out of it and maintain their quiet lives but end up becoming emotional support/therapists/mentors to young heroes.

Dustin somehow gets to do some work on the Watchtower.

Erica, despite being in her early 40s, is trying to get the Teen Titans to unionize.

Nancy has access to guns she really really shouldn't.

Jonathan and Clark get along really well. Argyle can somehow understand the Flashes when they're talking at almost full speed.

And when Robin (Buckley not Batman-and-) meets Wonder Woman she cries.

[superhollymag]

Location Swap AU - It Lives Anthology

@ila-appreciationweek

Pretty late but this is for day 7 - Wildcard.

I recently got a case of a brain rot for an AU for the It Lives Anthology. Couldn’t resist writing it down even though it’s not in fic form so here we are.

I’d call it...

The Location Swap AU

Yeah it’s a lame name but it describes what the AU is about the best.

Basically, the Pine Springs crew and the Westchester childhood friends swap backstories and locations where their stories take place. That’s about it but I do have several ideas for how things would be different here. Any suggestions are appreciated.

.~.

Let’s start with the crew from Pine Springs.

- Harper and Elliot are still half-siblings here. I may make Marie and Todd live in this AU or I could have them dead before the story begins and have Arthur be their guardian, though the former option is more like how the original story of ILITW plays out, with the parents overseas and unable to interfere.

- Kyle/one of Danni's cousins would take Jane’s place as the friend who got killed. I haven’t decided on which one to choose yet since whoever I choose will be the main motivation for betrayal for one of the girls. Danni was considered since she can betray the group out of love for her family if her nerve is too low, and Imogen is considered to sort of parallel her and Noah. (They lose someone important to them, though one of them keeps a cool head while the other goes off the deep end)

- Tom and Andy are still childhood friends. Andy just never met the other friends here until he moves to Pine Springs.

- I’ve had thoughts of having Josephine and Redfield switch places here though it would clash with canon and the timeline quite a lot. So it’s kinda undecided on what the spirit the gang encounters when they were kids here so let’s just call it the spirit.

- Robbie could be like Connor in ILITW or become apart of the main squad with a nerve score. Haven’t decided yet.

- No idea how Elliot can be fitted into the story, but I do imagine he would try to support Harper and possibly ends up in a coma and possessed.

- I have no idea whether or not I would want the bully trio (Britney, Cody and Jocelyn) to be switched. In the end, I decided no. But I do think Britney needs to be replaced or something since Lily’s not here.

- The cultists from the Society would get switched here. Kelley takes Bhatt’s place for example, and Imogen’s parents will swap with Noah and Jane’s mother.

.~.

As for the Westchester childhood friends...

- Mayor Green’s role here would probably be like Astrid’s. The leader of the Society keeping things under wraps and has been torturing a soul for years now. She, like Astrid, still cares for her children and gives her life to protect Stacy when she’s about to be killed.

- Connor would be like Elliot here, since Devon doesn’t have any siblings that can be used in his place. The lake ghost would try and use him against Mayor Green, but he gets dragged below the dam instead. In turn, any scene that has Harper trying to contact or worrying over Elliot will be replaced by Stacy and her worrying over Connor’s safety.

- Noah and Jane is exactly like Imogen and Kyle. Jane dies from the lake ghost and Noah has to accept that fact, though he would probably have it worse than Imogen since he grew up with Jane from the moment they were born. Like Imogen, he loses nerve more easily than the rest of the group.

- Group nerve is increased 800 since you know, more people here. In exchange, there will be more scenes and opportunities to boost nerve for everyone. Plus probably lower nerve check thresholds.

- Who gets tempted with an offer, I have no idea. I narrowed down the candidates to Stacy and Noah but I’m still unsure.

- Bhatt would probably remain as a professor here but her role would be like Kelley. She helps Lucas from his issues from his parents and taught him that he deserves more than them, essentially acting like a mother figure to him.

- Sheriff Cunningham is quite a challenge to figure out. I have no idea what he should be, clueless about everything or be apart of the Society? Though I probably lean more into having him be apart of them for more drama and angst and stuff.

- I decided that for the fight on the boat in chapters 11 and 12, you would make choices that would determine who remains on the boat and who gets thrown off. No matter what, at least three or four people which includes Devon must be remaining on the boat until chapter 12.

- Though if I do have to default who gets thrown off and who gets to stay, I would have Dan and Lily get thrown off, whoever else gets thrown overboard will depend on who your love interest is. (Ex: Ava is your LI, that would result in Lucas and Andy getting thrown into the water. Stacy is the only one immune to this, even if she is tossed into the water, her mother would probably try and find her, in which case all the other LIs gets dunked into the sea.)

- The chapters would probably be longer and have more scenes in order to give players more time to build up nerve.

- I have two solutions to the collectibles thing. The first is to give everyone an item and a weapon tailored to them, the second is to only give four people weapons and four people items. No idea which is better but if the first one is chosen, then some weapons and items will be free.

- Soooooo, the Arthur thing huh...decided that Cid would be the best alternative. I have no idea why, it just makes sense to me since Devon doesn’t really know anyone else in the family. So eh. Best I can come up with is: parents get killed, Cid adopts Devon, Devon keeps last name and they move to Pine Springs.

- If I were to have Redfield take Josephine’s place here, he and Cid would be friends until the ‘betrayal’ thingy.

[rydain]

Yuletide 2023 Letter

Dear Yuletide author,

Thank you so much for writing for me! For anyone unfamiliar with a requested fandom, here there be spoilers - please do be warned. For anyone curious about my own writing, I’m over on AO3 under my usual handle.

General Preferences

Yes Please

Canon tone and setting, or a fitting interpretation thereof for a particular bobblehead murder house of 1920s glamour and modern memetic humor. A strong sense of optimism if said tone allows for it, earned as it might be through its share of angst. Drama stemming from the pressures of setting and conflicts of personal goals and life paths. Emphasis on the sweet within any bitterness. Competent characters trying to do better for themselves, futile as it might be at times. Sex if it fits and is comfortable to write, fade to black otherwise.

Hell No

Nonconsensual sex - coercion or rape. Graphic descriptions of illness, violence, or injuries. Non-canon character death. Non-canon abusive interpretations of characters. Lives effectively being ruined. Emphasis on bigotry - excessive slurs or a focus of the narrative rather than a natural influence on how characters are seen or required to live their lives. Stupidity, immaturity, and general facilitation of petty drama from characters thoughtful enough to damn well know better. Humiliation and embarrassment humor. Focus on non-canon pregnancy or parenthood.

The Breakfast Club

Claire Standish, Allison Reynolds

I’d just love to see more with either or both of these characters - especially more about who they are as people, and how the detention experience continued to shape their growth.

Some possible inspiration -

Post-movie mutual appreciation - anywhere from just happy to see each other around to having closer friendly and/or romantic relations.

The aftermath of their awkward hookups with Bender and Andy, whether any of that goes anywhere (short or long term) or remains a one-off reflex of rebellion and the weird bonding aspect of detention.

Flipping the script of Allison’s obligatory goth-to-prep makeover. Does any of that actually vibe with her to incorporate in her own way? Does she encourage Claire to try out a change of style?

Do not want -

Bender/Brian (as a couple - friendship is fine) or Vernon/any of the kids.

Strange Horticulture

I love the bleak yet cozy Edwardian setting and the fantastic catalog of plants created for the game. I’d especially love to see more of the actual horticulture and the townspeople, either canon or original - studying and researching plants, dealing with difficult ailments and people, perhaps even winning over some cynics and skeptics. The more fantastical aspects of the game’s plot can certainly be mentioned - I’d simply prefer a focus on the more everyday business that it leaves so much room to dig into.

Creative formatting (including images), sequences of short stories, and epistolary framing are all very much welcome.

The Sexy Brutale

Gold Skull, Lafcadio

These two represent a duality of torment and forgiveness that I’d love to see explored - either together, or separately if you prefer to focus on one or the other.

Some possible inspiration -

Lafcadio is both an idealized aspect of Lucas and an old friend of his. Was Gold Skull respectively inspired by someone Lucas knew, or is he all in his head?

What does Gold Skull actually do when you see him around the manor? Is he also working behind the scenes in his own way, or more so observing and introspecting? In the prior loops before you take control of Lafcadio, what sort of interaction might they have?

Conversations with each other, and/or Lucas - either in the background of Lucas’ self-torment, or after the ending of the game - helping him come to terms with the tragedy in their own ways.

Greyson Greyson, Redd Rockridge

I ship Greyson and Redd like FedEx, as my fandom presence will attest. If you’d rather write them as friends or colleagues or newly minted partners in shenanigans, that’s absolutely cool, too. My main request is for them to be happy and better off for each other’s influence - either alive in a world where the terrible, horrible, no good spoiler never befalls them, or as ghosts carrying on with the tomfoolery. I’m also cool with full on AU if you want to have fun with these archetypes in some other setting, including a crossover.

I love these boys’ professional competence and intellect - but I also love how their flailing about the theater throws much of that out the window for the sake of bleak humor - so it would be hilarious to see some scenario devolve into a comedy of errors because they’re too busy checking each other out and/or flirting.

Any and all other end game couples and friendships (as friends or romantic partners) are welcome, as are feel-good polyamorous implications or explorations.

Some possible inspiration -

Treasure hunts! How did they get involved with these in the first place? What else were they after - successfully or amusingly not - besides that damn egg?

They're said to be the life of the party. Let's see more masquerade fun times, please!

In a full on alternate universe, they’re both brought onto some heist or other scheme.

[queenie-ofthe-void]

@strangersteddierthings you've triggered a full scale rant! I was thinking about it more from Will's perspective, but I think the dislike would be mutual.

Ok I'm gonna expand on the semi-hot take I left in the tags. This is a bit longer than I expected, but I have Feelings.

I don't think Eddie and Will would get along (pre-Eddie's S4 character development ie Steve Harrington). I'm going to try to stick to canon as much as possible while making some plausible assumptions along the way.

tl;dr: DON'T SPLIT THE PARTY!! Canonically, the boys not going to watch Lucas play is Eddie's fault. And I think Will's willing to prioritize friendship over any preconceived notions about high school social hierarchy that Eddie Munson tries to convince them is true.

Initially, I bet Will's stoked to meet an older guy who owns his Freak label in a way Will never could as Zombie Boy. His friends are excited to play DnD again, and there are even a few other guys who like playing too. And I think meeting Zombie Boy, a kid who came back from the dead, would be exciting for Eddie. He'd probably think of Will as just another Freak like him.

But I also think the novelty would fade fast. I think for Will more than Eddie, but Eddie eventually too.

Will would have to watch Mike become completely enamored with Eddie, going so far as to change his hair, clothes, and music taste. We know Will's a bit jealous of El, and it would definitely be worse with Eddie. With El, Mike is still essentially himself, and Will would hold it against Eddie how much Mike was willing to change to fit his expectations of cool (yet wouldn't play DnD when Will asked repeatedly in S3).

Eddie's loud and abrasive, physical in an aggressive way when we first meet him. He manhandles the boys, shouts, slams his fists, etc. Will is traumatized not just from the Upside Down but from his Dad too. We know Lonnie was abusive, and after the UD, Will's anxiety gets worse. Eddie would be a constant trigger. Will's also particularly uncomfortable with any sort of spotlight on him, so the table top tirades would be a social nightmare. He wants to fly under the radar, and being friends with Eddie would make that impossible.

Back to DON'T SPLIT THE PARTY

It all comes down to Lucas. For real. And I've had so many rants about this so here I go again!

Will doesn't have proficiency with athletics, so I'm not saying he'd like basketball or any other sport. But Will's willing to go above and beyond for his friends (eg standing at the top of an unshaded hill under the scorching summer sun all day to build a massive radio tower just so Dustin can talk to a girl they don't even believe is real)! He'd see Lucas struggle to balance basketball and Hellfire (while losing Max at the same time).

The biggest issue is Eddie driving a wedge between Lucas and the rest of them solely because of basketball. The vibe from the first episode of S4 is that the boys did their best to vouch for Lucas right up until the championship game, but it's clear the pressure from Hellfire was there before. Eddie is the obvious leader, like they literally stop laughing when he looks at them wrong. He's got total control over the group. He's the reason the Party splits.

Will wouldn't allow Dustin and Mike to back down from defending Lucas. If he's willing to call them out on their bullshit in S3 (spending too much time with their girlfriends) then he'd do it in S4 too, especially in defense of someone else and not just himself. He goes out of his way for the people close to him, and he'd call them out for not doing the same for Lucas.

Once Eddie starts to figure all of this out, I think the shine wears off quick with keeping Will around. I absolutely adore Eddie Munson but in S4e1 that boy is NOT talking about sheep he wants to protect, he's talking about indoctrinating other nerds into his own way of thinking. Will might be a quiet kid, but after a dad like Lonnie, surviving the UD, being possessed, and figuring out his sexuality, I don't think Will would be so easily swayed, especially if it means turning against a Party member. And Eddie wouldn't like that at all.

Dustin would’ve played D&D with Will in season three

[schrijverr]

Your Name in Every Corner

Eddie’s perspective on Steve as he first learns about his good side from the Freshman he takes under his wing and then witnesses it when he gets dragged into the whole Upside Down business, learning that King Steve is no more and Steve is actually a good dude.

On AO3.

Ships: Steve x Eddie

Warnings: mentions of period typical homophobia

King Steve Dethroned: Jonathan's POV, Robin's POV & Eddie's POV.

~~~~~~~~~~

Eddie knows Steve Harrington. Of course, he does. He was only a year above him during his rise to popularity and douchbaggery, then shared his second time doing Senior Year with the man, before he was finally free of King Steve in every corner of the school.

Sure, he wasn’t terrible when they shared Senior Year, but Eddie knows his kind. Has watched him all the years before. He knows how to avoid, how not to engage.

Most likely, his survival avoidance tactics just worked well. Steve walked the podium, Eddie didn’t, but was glad to see him gone.

However, Steve isn’t gone.

He is physically, but somehow he surrounds Eddie more than ever now that he isn’t here. And all that is because of one kid only. Dustin Henderson. The kid worships Steve for some odd reason and while Eddie loves the kid, he is stuck with him, thus so with his talk about Steve.

Eddie spots them on the first day back at school. He’s in the cafeteria eating his lunch as usual when they enter. A group of nerds, obviously Freshmen, looking way out of their depths. So, Eddie saunters over and saves them.

They eagerly join their table and inquire after the shirts, soon signing up for the Hellfire Club. Yeah, this year is good. Eddie can feel it.

With three new members, their legacy as Hellfire will be secured as he finally walks that goddamn stage. So, he’s in a pretty good mood as they set up the campaign for this year. Eddie is naturally running it and he wonders how those kids will fit into the party dynamic.

Excitedly, he sits on his throne, looking over his victims, uhm, troops, and grins: “Everyone ready for the start of the most epic campaign known to man?”

“Hell yeah,” Jeff says and the new recruits nod.

Dustin then says: “But we do have to be done by ten, because Steve’s picking us up and he hates it if we make him wait.”

“He doesn’t hate us,” Mike rolls his eyes. “He just doesn’t let you pick the music until he breaks under your eyes, because he’s a massive looser.”

“Don’t say that, Mike,” Lucas buds in. “You literally based your character off him.”

“Wait, Steve Harrington?” Eddie asks, realizing who they’re talking about and wondering why the hell the human fighter with a spiked club and a heart of gold that Mike plays is in any way based on his sister’s ex boyfriend.

“Yeah?” Dustin confirms, like it’s weird that Eddie is asking, while the other members look at the three of them like they have extra heads. “He’s cool,” Dustin shrugs.

“Exactly,” Gareth says. “He’s cool. Why the fuck is he picking you up from school after your DnD night?”

“Oh,” Dustin says like that explanation makes more sense. Before showing he didn’t understand the comment at all as he explains: “He doesn’t want us biking out when it’s so late and he has a car and the time. So, he offered.”

“Steve. King Steve. Offered to drive you home, because he was what? Worried about you?” Eddie laughs disbelievingly.

“Yeah,” Lucas shrugs like that’s an explanation.

The four original Hellfire Club members share a look that tells each other that they’re all not buying it. But Eddie isn’t about to let his first DnD night of the year be ruined by Steve Harrington of all people, so he claps his hands to get the attention of everyone, deciding to drop it.

Maybe Nancy asked Steve, because she was worried about her brother. The rumor is that Steve is trying to get back into her pants now that her boyfriend moved to California and Eddie wouldn't think him above driving her little brother and his friends home to do it.

If those kids have a bit of a hero worship of the cooler older kid that they saw in passing, then that will fade quickly. Douchbags will always be revealed in time.

Soon, he forgets about Steve and gets into the story, leading the party to the first obstacle. He is impressed with the kids. They have a good strategic mind and play well together. A perfect addition to his campaign.

Still, when the night is over, he can’t help, but remember that King Steve is picking them up. He tries to tell himself he wants to see to make sure Steve isn’t a total dick to his Freshmen, but a part of him knows he’s just too curious not to go look.

As they said, Steve’s car is in the parking lot, the man in question leaning against the hood, wearing a strange vest.

“What the hell are you wearing,” Dustin calls out to Steve when he sees and Eddie raises his brows at the fact that Dustin dares to speak to Steve like that.

He half expects Steve to get angry, to snap back, but instead he looks on in surprise as Steve rolls his eyes and calls back: “It’s called a work uniform. You know, since I have a job, Henderson. Someone has to pay for all the gas I use up driving you lot around. Now get in the car, or I’m not driving you to the arcade this weekend.”

Quickly, the three of them scramble into the car and Eddie watches as Dustin puts a tape into the player like he’s done it a million times before. ABBA loudly blares from the speakers as the car pulls out of the lot, faintly Eddie thinks he hears Steve yell something about seat belts, but the whole picture is already too absurd, so Eddie pretends he imagines it.

Steve truly came to pick them up.

King Steve came out of work to pick up three nerdy Freshmen like it was a totally normal thing for him to do. Acting like he drove them around often. Often enough to have them all act comfortably in his car.

It just doesn’t seem like a thing Steve would do, Eddie thinks as he gets into his own van. Internally he tries to rationalize it. Maybe Steve is getting paid. The word is that his parents cut him off and he’s lucky he was allowed to stay in the house and keep his car. Maybe the kids’ parent pay him for it and he thinks it’s easy money.

The reason sounds a bit far fetched for Eddie’s taste, but it’s plausible (and he hasn’t forgotten about the getting into Nancy’s pants theory). Much more plausible than Steve wanting to do this, so he accepts it into his worldview and speeds off as he lets the whole interaction go.

And Eddie is sure he wouldn't have though twice about the whole thing if Steve didn’t become a frequent topic of conversation at his table.

Apparently, his newly adopted Freshmen adore Steve and think he is the coolest person to ever grace the earth. Even Mike thinks so, though he denies it vehemently. So, each session Eddie has to listen to how cool Steve is.

“Oh, this is like when Steve faced off against Dart and his friends!” Lucas says and Eddie wants to yell: ‘How is my cool monsters surrounding you from all sides unexpectedly anything like something Steve has done? And who the hell is Dart?’

He makes an awesome hidden base under this town and Dustin tells Mike next to him: “It’s kind of like what happened this summer. Is your Steve throwing himself in front of danger to save me?” and Mike says: “My character is not based off Steve!” while Eddie desperately wants to ask: ‘What the hell did you do this summer? And why the fuck were you hanging out with Steve?’

At some point Mike’s fighter dies so that the rest of the party can escape and Eddie feels great about the moment. It’s a beautiful end for the character and they’re all basking in it when Dustin comments: “Steve never did win a fight, did he?”

“He wasn’t based off Steve,” Mike complains, but he’s smiling at the comment.

“Oh, he so was, Mike,” Lucas pipes up.

“Uh-huh,” Dustin nods vigorously. “That self-sacrificing move you just pulled that got your character killed? Total Steve move.”

And Eddie is about to rip his hair out, because even his beautifully crafted moment in his story is tainted by fucking King Steve. So, he finally explodes: “In what way does this remind you of Steve? Like, for real. How?”

The three look surprised at his outburst, then share the look they sometimes share. Before they all shrug and Dustin says: “Uhm, last year Billy came after Max when Steve was watching us over at the Byers’ house. Billy was about to beat up Lucas, so Steve went out there to stop him.”

“Yeah, and he got the shit kicked out of him,” Mike rolls his eyes.

“But it was cool,” Lucas protests.

“Billy smashed a plate on his head and everything,” Dustin adds. “Come on. Even Max thought it was cool. She never thinks anything is cool.”

And Eddie wouldn't have believed them if he hadn’t watched Steve come in with his face all bruised up, ignoring Billy sending him smug looks. It just sounds absurd. Though, he does think the plate is an exaggeration, one doesn’t just walk away from that.

“Alright, alright,” he cuts in, before the discussion can get out of hand. “I get it. Whatever. Lets focus back on the game.”

Luckily that works and they all get back to it. Mike doesn’t have a new character yet, but he delight in meddling anyway, calling out suggestions.

Once they’re done. Dustin wants to ask a few more questions about the campaign. So, he hangs around while Eddie packs up and walks with Eddie when he locks up.

Outside, he can hear Mike’s voice going: “I died. We were fleeing and we couldn't get out on time, so I was a distraction, but my character died.”

“That sucks, man.” And is that Steve’s voice? “You were excited about playing a fighter for once, right? Making another one?”

“Nah, I’m better at playing magic users. Guess, I never was a fighter type,” Mike answers, though he sounds normal it seems like there’s more to that statement that Eddie is privy to.

“You are. You can make a sorcerer based of El, I’m sure she’d love that. And you can’t deny she’s a fighter,” Steve suggests and Eddie is still reeling over the fact that not only is Steve still picking the kids up, he is also talking DnD with them, like he actually cares about their game.

Dustin calls out a greeting and Eddie looks away like he wasn’t interested. Quickly waving goodbye to Dustin as he hurries to his car. He doesn’t want to interact with this Steve. This strange Steve, who is just not Steve-like at all.

Eddie is focusing on finally graduating, he doesn’t need to be thinking about weird Steve. A Steve, who dresses in comfortable soft looking clothes and talks about DnD. A Steve who is good with kids. Not mean.

And he is almost glad when Lucas joins the basketball team later, telling them how Steve is helping him run drills. Because, he can say to himself, see, Steve is pushing this kids towards being sheep jocks. He wants a little posse to carry along his name and found the perfect targets to do that for him.

Even if it makes no sense that Steve is being nice to a few Freshmen to keep his name in high school of all places, especially since all the Senior girls still giggle as they whisper his name. It fits in his views and he’s holding onto that.

In hindsight, it’s embarrassing how much he clings to the douche King Steve image.

Because he doesn’t let it go, the distaste at Steve growing when he sees him pull up into the trailer park a few weeks later, frowning. At first he thinks Steve must have a date here, however unlikely it is that he would want to come close to any of the girls here, but then Lucas gets out of the car and calls out: “Thanks, Steve.”

“No problem,” Steve smiles gently, that smile turning into a grin as he yells: “Don’t do anything I wouldn't do, Sinclair. And don’t do some of the thing I did do.”

“Shove off,” Lucas grimaces like it’s an older brother teasing him instead of the king of Hawkins High.

Max, the girl who lives across from Eddie, has come out of the trailer in time to catch the words Steve yelled. She flips him off, even if she’s smiling. She yells: “Fuck off, old man. We’re not doing anything. Not everyone is a pervert in high school.”

“I wasn’t a pervert,” Steve protest, through the opened window.

“Slut then,” Max shrugs, before dragging a laughing Lucas through the door.

Eddie watches as Steve pouts for a second. Yeah, he also can barely believe that he just watched King Steve drop off Lucas to hang out with his girlfriend, teasing the kids like an embarrassing brother. Not only that, but said girlfriend jokingly called him a slut and he let her. Hell, he’s only pouting in his car about it.

Then Steve drives off and Eddie tries to muster irritation at the peppy radio music he hears floating over, even if he never thought he’d hear Steve sing along to Madonna, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel.

And then again he ignores what his brain could put together, but refuses, because the notion is fucking ridiculous. He’s out in the city, having driven his van out there, because it’s where they have stores that actually sell stuff for DnD. He has some extra money left, and he needs a few more figurines for the next battle he’s planning.

Something that seems almost impossible is the fact that he hears Steve Harrington’s voice. “Yeah, uhm, it’s the dice, but not with six sides. I’m looking for sets? Dice sets, I think?”

The clerk must say something, because the Steve-soundalike laughs: “It’s not my thing, no. It’s a present for my kids, they love this nerd shit.”

Eddie relaxes at the sound. Whoever this guy is, he has kids and Steve decidedly doesn’t have kids (that anyone knows off, because honestly Eddie wouldn't be surprised if Steve had knocked up a girl at some point, but those wouldn’t be old enough to be playing DnD yet). The man at the counter just sounds like Steve, that’s all, and it’s weird to go looking at him just because he sounds like someone Eddie dislikes.

Still, he can’t help but think of the man when Dustin, Lucas and Mike show off their new dice sets at the next session (all picked to fit perfectly with them).

Like he said, it’s ridiculous to think Steve would drive all the way to the closest big city to buy dice sets for a few Freshmen he doesn’t like so that they can play a nerdy game. It’s just stupid coincidence. King Steve buying DnD dice just doesn’t happen.

Eddie doesn’t ask how they got the dice, however.

After that, it slips his mind. Sure, he still has to listen loudly proclaim that Steve is a badass whenever he can, but he manages to avoid the man himself. If he is still picking up the kids after DnD nights, Eddie is too busy packing away the stuff. If he drives them to the arcade, Eddie doesn’t know. And with Lucas and Max breaking up, he doesn’t see Steve at the trailer park much, except the few times he brought Max home (something Eddie ignores).

If asked, he will laugh about why he should be interested what Steve is doing. He’s too busy trying to finally graduate to be busy with the former Mister Popular. He has never cared about that sort of thing, why start?

Why would he want to know what Steve is doing? Why should his brain wonder about this new Steve that gives rides, buys dice and is actually nice? It’s stupid. Those kids just have a very bad case of hero worship and Eddie is desperate to not make it his problem.

Naturally, the universe has a funny way of turning against him, because a girl dies right in front of his eyes and before he knows it, he’s on the run.

He’s in hiding, but found.

He’s scared, feeling trapped.

He’s holding a broken glass bottle to the throat of Steve Harrington.

Because of fucking course Steve has decided to- to what? To help Dustin in his attempt to help Eddie? To believe that Eddie is innocent? To be nice?

Though, at the moment, he looks more scared than anything else. He flinches away from the sharp edge of the glasses and softly but frantically swears on Dustin’s mother, his hands raised in a deescalating and placating manner.

And no matter how unbelievable it is, it can’t be stranger than what he saw in his trailer. So, despite all his instincts he lets Steve go, believing that they’re truly there to help, and sinks to the floor, still clutching the broken bottle to his chest.

They ask him what happened. What happened is that a girl, Chrissy, kind Chrissy, suddenly levitated and broken all her bones right in front of him. Something that should not be able to happen. Something that no one would believe if they could also blame him.

“You wouldn't believe me,” he says.

But they assure him they will and then they actually do. They listen to him talk about a floating girl that broke right in front of his eyes and instead of calling him a freak or insane, they nod their heads. They share looks. Then explain the wildest shit to him, dragging him into a world that he would have loved to never know.

Yet here he is, learning more and more crazy facts about what has happened in Hawkins since ‘83 and how this group was involved every single time. And suddenly Steve and the hero worship the kids have of him makes a lot more sense.

Because, Steve is there for them. He’s not there to solve the mystery or get the glory, he’s just there to make sure none of the dipshits die. Eddie can see it in how he hovers behind them, ushering them through doors, backing up their stories in his own way and how he rests assuring hands on their shoulders.

It’s incredibly obvious that Steve is there for the kids and the kids only. Sure, he is protective over Nancy and Robin as well, but it’s nothing like how he is about the kids.

Eddie can hardly believe his eyes as he watches Steve, Steve Harrington, King Steve, that Steve, put his hands on his hips as he sternly tells the group: “No, those snacks are for Eddie. We can get you snacks on the drive back, he can’t. I asked if you wanted something when we bought them and you all said no.”

“You were eating chips on the way here,” Dustin protests.

“Yes, I bought those for myself,” Steve replies, raising a brow daring Dustin to say more about it, to which the kid wilts as he gives in. When he does, Steve nods satisfied as if he was waiting for that reaction, like the mom-tone (because there’s no use calling it anything else) usually works. Like this happens often.

Then he smiles at Eddie and his heart skips a beat. It’s a gentle, assuring smile, the kind that says ‘don’t worry, I have your back,’ and the weirdest part is that Eddie believes that smile, that it makes him feel safe and cared for.

So, he eats his snacks as they walk towards… a portal apparently, because a compass is wonky. This is his life now.

There Eddie witnesses that stubborn protectively self-sacrificing streak he has heard Dustin and Lucas mention during their game, always followed by Mike complaining his character wasn’t based off Steve (which Eddie was side-eyeing a lot more, having heard of the nail bat).

Because Steve offers to jump in the water, without taking no for an answer, like it’s obvious that he’s the one that is going to be put in danger. And with the way Robin and Nancy let him, maybe it is obvious to everyone that Steve is going to stand between them and danger. However, they also value him enough to follow him without hesitation after they’ve all watched in horror as he is dragged down into the deeps by god knows what.

And then Eddie confirms to himself once again that he is very, very gay as he watches Steve rip a bat in two.

Fucking hell, those kids just had to be right about Steve being a badass, didn’t they?

Thus, all that Eddie has clung to during this year comes crashing down. He has to confront that the reason he didn’t want to think that Steve is different – has become nice and caring – is because then he would have to face that not only is Steve very fucking hot, he also cares. Truly the full package.

Eddie isn’t ready for Steve to be the full package. Yet, here they are, and the aesthetic admiration of the boy he’s always had is turning into a full blown crush. And the last thing Eddie needs on top of an alternate dimension and murder charges is another crush on a straight boy.

So, he pushes it all down, telling Steve about how Nancy jumped after him in the hopes that them getting together would break his heart enough to snap him out of his crush.

However, as this week has already shown him, the universe hates him, so that doesn’t happen. No, instead Steve walks around in nothing but his vest for a long while, letting Eddie make comments he can’t keep behind his teeth even if they are bound to get them punched out at some point if he keeps this up.

But that doesn’t happen. Steve takes the teasing flirty remarks Eddie can’t keep contained with only mild confusion, which seems close to his normal state. It appears that Steve is there to do a job and nothing is throwing him off, not other dimensions, a gaggle of loud kids, the cops on their tail, Robin’s rambling or Eddie’s joking flirting that is close to not-joking.

Luckily (if you want to call it that), Eddie is stopped by the universe before he can make an embarrassing mistake. Albeit in the worst way possible, because Eddie is waking up in a hospital before he knows it.

Oh, no, the universe is not done with him.

Steve is sitting there next to his uncle, Dustin leaning against him, both asleep in an uncomfortable hospital chair when he wakes up.

So, it takes his uncle a moment to realize Eddie is awake, he’s so stunned by the sight. Logically, he knows that Steve is probably there to support Dustin, because if there’s one thing he has learned about Steve, it’s that he’ll do anything – anything – for those kids. Yet, for a few moments he tries to kid himself into thinking Steve is there for him.

Then he locks eyes with his uncle, who shoots out of his seat, hurrying to his bedside. Eddie has never been more happy to see his uncle. He’s missed Wayne so so much. Nancy told him how his uncle didn’t doubt his innocence for a moment and he has never been more happy with living with the man.

“Hey,” he croaks. “How long was I out for?”

“A week,” his uncle says. “Sorry, I wasn’t here the whole time, but I’m glad you made some good friends, kid. That one hasn’t left once.”

“Dustin?” Eddie asks, not sure who Wayne is indicating.

Wayne shakes his head and points to Steve. “No, the other one. Read you The Hobbit. Apologized to me for not keeping you safe. Bit of an idiot if he thinks I care about that when he brought you home to me.”

Eddie can’t believe what he’s hearing. He has already come to terms with the fact that Steve is actually a good dude, but it’s a bit surreal to learn that he’d do that for Eddie. He’s pretty sure he’s heard Dustin complain about how Steve never reads the books he recommends. Yet, Steve sat by Eddie’s sickbed and read him his favorite book.

In hindsight, Eddie isn’t sure if it’s lucky that Steve and Dustin wake to find him awake, before he can think about too much, or not.

However, there is something that makes his heart flip as he sees the subconscious blinding smile Steve gives him once he sees Eddie awake. A smile that is gone by the time Dustin stops hugging him, having jumped Eddie the moment he noticed.

They don’t have the time to talk much, because soon, the room is filled with nurses and a doctor that check him over and inform Eddie of his condition. With the amount of blood he has lost, he’s lucky to be alive. The bites will take time to heal and then he will have to rebuilt the muscle tissue that was shredded by the bats. It will be quite the recovery, but he’s going to be okay.

After the nurses leave, his uncle has to say goodbye, since he still has to go to work. Eddie is sad to see him gone, but he is glad Wayne managed to be there when he woke up.

Once his uncle is gone, Dustin fills him in about what has happened since he went under. How El came and stopped Venca, before Max could get seriously hurt (though she does have a broken leg and arm), how Nancy, Robin and Steve flambeed the shit out of Vecna, killing him, and how Steve carried Eddie out of the Upside Down like a damsel.

At the last one Eddie blushes and Steve looks away, not meeting his eyes as he mutters: “It was nothing, man. He’s overreacting.”

“No, I’m not,” Dustin protests. “He came running when he saw you, sliding down to his knees and feeling for your pulse. He gave you CPR and mouth to mouth, before sweeping you up in a bridal carry. Then he carried you up the new rope, like slung you over his shoulder and just climbed out of there. It was so cool!”

“Alright, alright, Dustin,” Steve stops him and Eddie is glad for it, because he sure can’t in his flustered state. “Eddie just woke up, I don’t think he wants to be annoyed with all that shit.”

Dustin pouts, but listens, switching topics to his now proven innocence in the media and how the government made sure to paint him as a hero, getting injured saving a few kids (Dustin, Erica, Max and Lucas) from serial killer Henry Creel.

Steve adds: “You’re probably going to get approached by men in suits soon now that you’re finally awake. They’ll make you sign a bunch on NDAs. Don’t worry too much about it. Happens every time.”

“Jesus, how many times did you sign those?” Eddie asks.

“This was the fourth time,” Steve shrugs. “Not as bad as last time when me and Robin were questioned about that Russian base for hours, before they let us go.”

“You’re gonna have to tell me that story in full sometime,” Eddie says.

“Course,” Steve promises with a small smile, which makes Eddie feel things.

God, he should really try to get over that stupid crush, because that shy smile and soft assurance is very comforting. And Eddie really wants to tell him that he looks beautiful like that.

Before he can embarrass himself, however, Dustin checks his watch and curses. He ignores Steve’s soft warning about language as he says: “I have to go home or my mom will freak.” He adds an explanation, “Nearly got murdered according to the news and all that.”

Eddie nods, expecting Steve to get up, jingling his car keys and saying goodbye, but that doesn’t happen. Instead, Dustin gives Steve a hug, before dragging out his goodbye to Eddie, then bounces out of the room.

Once he has left the room, Eddie gives Steve an inquiring look, raising a questioning brow.

Suddenly Steve seems to remember that Eddie is awake and he blushes brightly. Eddie didn’t even know that King Steve could blush. But this isn’t really King Steve, this is Steve, the babysitter and hero.

“I’m sorry,” Steve says. “I- uhm, I didn’t want you to be alone, so I stayed. Kinda habit now, but I can go if you want to be alone. No problem.”

His head is filled with the memory of being alone with Chrissy’s corpse, alone hiding out in the shed, alone and being swarmed by bats. Quickly he shakes his head, reaching out to Steve before he can get up as he says: “No. Stay.”

Steve lowers himself back into the chair without question and Eddie can almost kid himself into thinking he looks relieved about Eddie’s (highly embarrassing) request to stay.

It’s awkward for a second, then Steve says: “The Hobbit is actually a better book than I expected.”

Eddie lights up at the mention of his favorite book and launches into a rant about it, practically interrogating Steve about where he is and what part he likes best. Until they’re talking, conversation flowing easily between them.

Over the next few weeks, Eddie recovers. During the day Dustin often joins him and his uncle is there whenever he can. However, Steve is the constant. He only went home once to get more clothes and pick up some things for Eddie, but he is mostly there.

The two boys talk about everything and nothing, Steve continues reading The Hobbit and they listen to music together, Eddie claiming Steve needs to be educated and Steve letting him with only an eyeroll.

Slowly Eddie gets better. He sleeps less, walks more and every day his infatuation with Steve grows bigger.

It’s really fucking embarrassing if Eddie is honest with himself. For all his protests about not becoming a sheep, it only took a few weeks of hanging around Steve to feel like all the girls he has always seen buzzing around the man. To lay and think about Steve’s hair, charming smile, muscled arms etc.

But it’s also different, because he knows Steve. He knows that he is nothing like the guy Eddie used to see in the halls of Hawkins High.

This Steve read The Hobbit, talks to Eddie about DnD, trying to understand it for the kids and asking questions about the campaign Eddie is planning. He listens to Eddie’s music, not always liking it, but enough to bop his head and sing along from time to time. He worries for Eddie when he twinges in pain, makes sure he is okay, herds the kids away when they’re too loud and Eddie is tired.

All in all, he’s a great guy and Eddie blushes around him, trying to play it off by playfully flirting with the man more. Something Steve doesn’t seem to mind. Even like, if Eddie wants to fool himself into thinking the flush is about more than embarrassment from Eddie’s comments.

Then, a month and a half after waking up, Eddie walks out of the hospital on his own two legs (though he’s supported by Steve’s muscular arms, his brain busy with replaying Dustin’s recount of his saving).

His uncle couldn't be there, so Steve has offered to drive him home.

He helps Eddie into the car, buckling him in, before flushing and saying: “I’m so sorry that was a total mom-move. I mean, the kids already tease me about it, no need to around proving them right even more and-”

“It’s okay, sweetheart,” Eddie cuts off the apologetic rambles, before they can continue.

“Ah, oh, uhm, okay,” Steve splutters, quickly retreating and closing the door, before hurrying to the other side of the car and sliding in. He takes a deep breath, turning to Eddie, then bites his lip, before shaking his head and pointing to the dashboard. “I have tapes in there, pick whatever you like.”

Eddie feels a weird tension and wonders what happened. He opens the dashboard and laughs, pulling out tapes: “Really, Stevie? Madonna? Wham!? Whitney Houston? Cyndi Lauper? ABBA? No wonder those kids call you a mom.”

“Oh shut up,” Steve grins. “If I want to be a dancing queen, I can be, Munson.”

“Is that so, princess?” Eddie teases, wanting to hit himself when he does. Sure, sweetheart hasn’t been much better, but if he is going to get his ass kicked by Steve ‘princess’ would be the pet name to do it.

However, Steve doesn’t punch him, he just blushes again and grips the steering wheel tightly, not looking at Eddie.

The silence drags out.

It’s awkward. Eddie may not have gotten his teeth punched out, but he’s pretty sure he has finally made Steve uncomfortable. Because he’s a fucking idiot, who can’t keep words to himself and Steve doesn’t have to take that from Eddie. It’s likely harder to ignore without a huge threat hanging over them. So he has to fix this, before he ruins this friendship, which is already more than he could have hoped for.

“Steve…” he starts uncertainly, wanting to reach out.

“No, it’s fine,” Steve says tersely.

“It’s obviously not fine,” Eddie protests. “I made you uncomfortable, sorry.”

Steve gives him a shocked look. “What? No, you- you didn’t make me uncomfortable,” he objects, like it’s a given. Then he looks away, flush still coloring his cheeks and mutters: “You just keep giving me hope.”

“Hope?” Eddie repeats softly, not really able to believe what he’s hearing.

The blush brightens impossibly even more and Steve huffs: “I know. It’s stupid. Believe me, Robin has already made fun of my unrequited crush on you at lengths.”

At those words Eddie’s brain short-circuits. Steve- Steve has a crush. On him? Holy fuck, Steve Harrington just confessed to having a crush on him. Eddie Munson. He is sitting there blushing because Eddie called him princess and that apparently makes him flustered. Because he has a crush. On Eddie.

Then the words unrequited hit him and his brain catches up to the fact that Steve is still gripping the steering wheel tightly, obviously waiting for rejection. And Eddie is just sitting there, staring at him without saying a word.

Before he can rectify the mistake, Steve says: “If you’re going to call me slurs, please just do so, Eds.”

“What? No!” Eddie exclaims quickly. “No, no, no, of course not. Fuck, of course not, Steve. Gods, no, I wouldn't do that.”

“You won’t?” Steve asks tentatively, risking a glance at Eddie.

And fuck, his eyes are really fucking pretty. Eddie looks for a moment, then shakes his head, softly replying: “No, would be pretty hypocritical of me. You know, making fun of your sexuality and crush when I also have a crush on you.”

Steve was about to look away, but at the confession he whips his head around, eyes growing wide as he breathes: “You do?”

Eddie smiles, a giddy feeling taking over his body. He nods and confirms: “I do.”

At that Steve smiles back, his face splitting in two, eyes sparkling. He looks absolutely beautiful and Eddie now gets to say that without having to make a joke about it. So he does. And enjoys how Steve blushes, deciding it’s much prettier in combination with that soft smile.

In a moment of boldness, Eddie says: “So, does this mean you’ll say yes, if I ask you on a date with me, pretty boy?”

And Steve is nodding, before agreeing, an equally giddy smile on his face as he starts the car.

In that second, Eddie feels on top of the world. He has been cleared of murder charges, he has lived to tell the tale and now he has an amazing man on his side that has agreed to go on a date with him, along with many friends by their sides. ‘86 is truly shaping up to be his year.

So, yeah, Eddie knows Steve Harrington. Of course, he does. He is the best babysitter he has ever known with more mom-tendencies than a twenty-year-old should, along with the prettiest blush he has seen. He has taken up space in every corner of Eddie’s life and he can’t be happier that he’s there.

Eddie has witnessed his princess in every way and he has to say, he likes Steve Harrington a whole lot more than King Steve.

[gryffinwall]

Lucas Friar Appreciation Post

Lucas often gets a bad rap for not being able to choose between the girls during the Not-a-Triangle situation – the phrase “fuckboy” gets used a lot – so it's only fitting he's the next one to receive an appreciation post.

1. Lucas put in a lot of work to be a better person, and it shows.

We know him as New York Lucas, who keeps his cool, makes good grades, and stays out of trouble. But it’s pretty clear he had to work through a LOT before transforming into the easy-going Lucas we've come to know. Not a lot of grown-ass adults can successfully manage their anger issues, so it’s pretty dang impressive Lucas was able to do it on his own.

2. He’s a great friend who will always be there for anyone who needs him.

Lucas was quick to defend Farkle when cool jock bro Billy called him a nothing. He stood up for Zay against that 30-something middle school kid even though it meant Lucas himself possibly getting in trouble for it. He felt crushed at not being able to protect the gang from the high school seniors. And of course, in spite of everything I just said about his anger management prowess, he was ready to stand up for Riley when he realized she was being bullied. He was the protector of the group, and he took his job seriously.

3. Lucas truly supported Maya’s art.

Oh look, my Lucaya bias is showing again! But it’s true – Lucas was consistently a huge source of support for Maya when it came to her art. He encouraged her to keep trying when she was ready to give up, and who could forget when he didn’t want the arts program to get cut because he knew those classes made her happy? Sure, Riley and the others supported her too, but Lucas seemed to have a better understanding of how deeply Maya's art meant to her.

4. The Not-a-Triangle was hard on him because he genuinely didn’t want to hurt either of the girls.

Okay, this one might be controversial. After all, it’s where he gets his fuckboy reputation. But hear me out: Lucas cared more about not hurting the girls and not damaging their friendship than he did about what he would get out of picking one of them. I won’t deny that some of that has to do with guilt, but let’s get real, how many guys would feel that upset over hurting someone he cared about that he was practically unwilling to make a decision at his own expense? And let's call it like it is: Lucas clearly felt unheard for a long time during that whole situationship. The girls were very much a part of why it took him so long to decide, but somehow the blame falls mainly on him.

5. He was surprisingly well-rounded for being the “face.”

Farkle called him “just a face” a lot and that couldn't be farther from the truth. Lucas was a great athlete, but he worked hard in school to the point of winning an athlete scholar award. He had a clear vision of what he wanted to do in life (become a veterinarian, in case you’ve forgotten). He also was elected class president, was vocal about his religious beliefs, got cast as Romeo in the school play, showed he cared more about ethics than money and won a bull riding competition. He also had a good sense of humour and was able to "tangle" with Maya, her words, pretty easily. We got a hint of an interesting family dynamic, what with his mother being the doting, loving parent and his dad being a bit of a hardass (remember Lucas calling his dad “sir”? Yikes.). And of course, there's also his aforementioned anger issues and his mysterious past involving getting held back a grade. Lucas easily could’ve just been the cute boy with not a lot going on, but he ended up being a far more interesting character than expected.

[sugar-petals]

SuperM Fluff & NSFW Notes

↳ 🌹aka some of their romantic antics plus random 18+ imagines 👋

warnings ⚠️ rated (super) m, boyfriends hc, porn mentions, partial fem!reader, sex toys

FLUFF

since baekhyun knows how to make scented candles, he creates one for you as a birthday present with your favorite fragrances.

every entry in mark’s diary involves fond thoughts about you.

taemin kisses you more than his cat kkoongie on a daily basis so let that sink in. his smooch obsession is getting out of hand.

lucas, having giant fingers after all, learns how to knit in order to make you a warm scarf. he’s still a bit clumsy with it and had to call kun for advice, but the result is surprisingly proper and quickly becomes your favorite item. it’s a little huge but well, he thinks in his dimensions. lucas’ next project is a beanie.

ten overwhelms you with pet names. in fact, he seemingly seems to come up with a new one each day.

kai is a candlelight dinner, rose petals and music kinda guy. he does every old-school thing in the book.

taeyong can cuddle endlessly in bed. he just doesn’t wanna leave.

lucas gladly shares his sweaters. they’re ginormous so, perfect cuddle material.

baekhyun is already a fool. so — when he falls in love, he becomes an even bigger fool. or, the contrary happens: he becomes dead silent around his partner because he’s so enthralled. he can take this more seriously than you think.

mark likes to write little cards and many many texts to express his love.

lucas is the type who can help you put on your jeans when they were shrinking a bit too much in the dryer. he’s pretty sexy like that and things can get really touchy.

cheesy fucking kai, and there’s only one guy who would do this, has actually lowered himself over a puddle once so you would have a bridge. brushed it off like a daily workout rep.

not one shower missed without baekhyun joining you. yes, it’s not always sexy time, he likes it when you shampoo his hair and whisper sweet nothings. and obviously: it’ll all devolve to a laughing fit.

taeyong is the type who wants to be proposed to.

taemin will get a motorcycle license and take you for a frequent ride. he loves getting those kind of back hugs.

both ten and lucas are great at making bracelets. wayv’s dorm is fully equipped with charms, strings, and pearls, so expect matching ones for you.

we’ve seen it, that one’s his favorite move. kai wraps his hand around your shoulder when you walk together.

mark will ALWAYS share his melon.

making you swoon on a DVD evening is lucas’ favorite hobby. he will buy you the most sugary-sweet romance movies. he will often browse streaming sites to select the latest sentimental plots. all these dramas seem to have a male lead who is suspiciously tall and lanky.

if you allow him, taeyong customizes your white tees with his cute drawings.

since taemin swims in money thanks to his profession as the god of kpop (yes, this is a registered job name because i say so), he can fulfill you any wish. he’s stingy and pouty when the shinee hyungs can pay, and the motherfucker baekhyun is even richer since his albums have been taking off so he opens his mochi wallet when superm is gathered, but you... are a different case. taemin will humbly empty his entire pockets when he overhears you gushing over something. there’s a voice in his mind going: must splurge!!

mark loves christmas, you establish an annual tradition to stage a whole couple evening.

baekhyun likes to play charades and especially do karaoke with you. he’s always cutely wiggling his butt and dances like a drunk uncle. he hits the high notes anyway and makes sure you score 100 points.

taeyong can make out with you while at the same time making sure that the milk doesn’t get burned on the stove. kiss’n’stirr multitask tyong alert. gotta make sure the cocoa is served in time, you know.

all the members enjoy playing board games. yep, imagine the fun and sheer chaos.

lucas has the funniest laugh ever indeed. he’ll react to all your jokes, no matter how lame they might be. intensely reassuring.

taemin’s hand is basically glued to yours.

taeyong and mark are the kinds of boyfriends that spoil their partner with skincare. fancy a nice face massage with a nice fragrant oil?

baekhyun has been baking heart-shaped pizzas ever since you started dating. he just can’t make them round anymore.

mark will join you on anything you’re currently bingewatching. 

kai sometimes — only half-jokingly — goes down on both knees bowing forward with his hands on the ground just to show how much he wants to thank you. in case you didn’t notice: this guy treats you like a deity.

ten usually gets confused glances from the other members whenever he gets the current date wrong: he simply loses track of time with you.

lucas makes a habit of buying you flowers every other week. but on unpredictable occasions, and he arranges them in places you’d never expect.

taemin will build you a weird-looking snowman to make you laugh, and give it an even stranger name. ten will build one that looks like you. kai doesn’t build snowmen, he just stands there challenging you to throw snow balls at him.

mark will hang out with you at the beach constantly bringing his guitar. he’ll serenade you all the time.

returning from three months of touring, baekhyun has once climbed your balcony when your parents were in the other room. yep, he was that desperate to see you. somebody give this man a rope and helmet.

taeyong writes down heartfelt confessions on 365 folded slips of paper so you can open one every day. your reactions will range from ‘awwh!’ to straight-up tears.

ten does regular couple yoga with you. a mildly challenging form, not the circus acrobat version. he’ll do the difficult parts anyway. you can pretzel this guy up, he’ll do anything to make you laugh.

when it rains you hook your arm around his, and lucas always holds the umbrella. even the wildest gush of wind can’t make it turn inside out. you arrive home entirely dry. xuxi is so cute, he’s also a great source of cooling shadow in the summer without even trying.

taemin’s skinship overdrive doesn’t stop with endless hand-holding, back hugs and kisses. he wants to lay down in your lap whenever he can. he looks damn pretty with his hair splaying there. if you work on your laptop, you can pretty much count to ten and he’s already nestled there.

kai does pushups with you on his back. it’s a staple. each time he does one, he says ‘i love you’. he increases his count every day.

NSFW

it’s no secret that taeyong is great at acting or pulling off any outfit and costume. expect roleplay of the finest kind — literally. he looks good in a firefighter uniform. you’ll be burning up pretty much automatically.

taemin can’t keep his tongue in. it’s terrible. he’s always in the mood for head. his sloppy noises are the absolute worst, it turns you on way too fast.

lucas had some major problems finding condoms that fit him.

ten and taemin are so switchy, they have an unresolved power struggle going on. begs for a dominant third party to help them out.

kai owns expensive latex gear.

baekhyun may be the king of vocals and breath technique, but if you push him far enough he does get hoarse.

taemin often jokes how kai will one day break his dick from fucking too hard.

meanwhile, mark’s dick is already falling off – from fucking too often. this guy has some major hormones going for him. no surprise, a guy who can promote in four kpop groups at the same time is a stamina king.

taeyong likes eating pussy with another party involved. three’s a crowd my friend. sometimes it’s taemin who unleashes his spit waterfall power, sometimes it’s baekhyun who preoccupies himself with nibbling at the inner thigh while taeyong digs in.

taemin owns the most underwear.

mark takes valerian drops because he is so nervous in bed. it never really goes away, it’s his nature.

taeyong keeps a lube collection. a different flavor for all occasions. he likes associating certain scents with specific body parts.

kai has a heels kink. he literally goes wild over it.

taemin likes to have sex with favorite glasses on.

taeyong and kai are the most likely to cry during sex. baekhyun as well if you rough him up enough. 

mark gets rock hard the fastest, followed by kai. he’s a grower.

taeyong gets the best inspiration for a song when he gets a casual dick riding.

taemin watches extremely x-rated erotic thrillers and bdsm flicks that are heavy on the plot. he gets more invested in the characters and actors than you think. since his japanese is amazing? of course he also owns a giant 90s hentai collection. 

when he’s jerking off, baekhyun chokes himself. a) because he’d make too much noise otherwise and b) because asphyxiation is his favorite thing.

kai feels pleasure in his every cell. he cums the hardest. and, as you can expect, his body expresses it the most extremely, accurately, passionately. if you’ve seen it even once, you’ll never look at him the same again.

taemin has less experience than his discography claims, but more than you’d think. he researches sexual techniques as well. you can brace yourself.

mark has not just a tiger inside, but a freak inside, waiting to be unleashed.

sex while gaming is a go-to activity for baekhyun.

lucas has the best stamina when it comes to getting head.

taemin throws his head back during sex. and no, he doesn’t T-pose. i’m kidding — of course he does. but only when he’s on his back.

taeyong tends to grip a pillow when he cums.

or he humps one when he’s by himself.

ten has the best taste in sexy time playlists.

baekhyun has the best taste in singing his own playlist along.

oh, the things kai has bought at a gas station at 3AM.

baekhyun sucks strap the best. he can open his mouth the widest, drools a lot, and makes the best noises unsurprisingly.

how to turn on lee taemin? he likes getting slapped.

since he’s the most avid and most diverse eater, lucas’ sperm tastes the best. he’s shove 50 fruits into his system just to give you a sweet experience.

mark is absolutely a starfish. 

kai wears fishnet tops if you fancy it.

curiously, baekhyun out of all people doesn’t announce when he’s cumming. you’ll hear it, though.

taeyong’s dildo collection is one for the books.

taemin has visited a pro dominatrix a couple times. needless to say, he was the #1 favorite client at the dungeon. having fully submerged into a fantasy world, taemin was one whip crack away from falling in love with the mistress. but then covid happened and the venue closed.

mark’s dick looks really pretty.

taemin can grind on the strap at every humanly possible angle. he’s almost always ready to take it. he carries a prep kit.

kai — that fucker — knows how to make you wet the most with his bare hands. prepare for the thigh ride of your life, too.

taeyong, baekhyun, and taemin have the best arches. kai is coming for the top three as well. ten’s arch is so good, it can’t be considered one anymore.

baekhyun knows every adult movie out there. theoretically, nothing can shock him. in reality, he melts in your hands.

taeyong is so sexually active with you, he has quit eating garlic.

kai will exploit your muscle kink in any way he can.

taemin, being a devil, has that one button on his phone that he can press when you go out for dinner. he’s OBSESSED with getting you off. once you head home, it’s basically running down your thighs.

ten has once opened a condom with scissors to scare away a date that grew weird on him by the time it got to the do.

lucas is too tall for doing missionary normally.

this will surprise nobody: mark is great at constantly keeping up the dirty talk.

baekhyun’s car is sort of like a brothel on wheels. he can’t count how many times he got down and dirty in there. he cleans it all up by himself.

kai can technically grip you the hardest but he’s the gentlest and great at caressing the whole body.

taemin has the easiest time saying what precisely he wants. he is also the best people reader — most your wishes he can pretty intuit. taemin observes your interests well.

ten likes his hair pulled and makes angelic noises when you do so.

baekhyun likes camgirls and erotic chats with strangers online. he spends a lot of money for nsfw internet encounters.

[beginningisending]

HOUSE M.D x WarriorCats

FelidaeMD is yet another crossover between HouseMD and WarriorCats, where I will be actively rewriting the series, along with adjusting it to fit the warriors series.

This is a remaster post for the designs that I created before, and overall I might make a fic for this AU, but no promises! Anyone is free to use these designs for unrelated things or for their own stories and AUs.

Pt. 2!

Designs + info after the message under the cut!

I'm back! I had a really nasty case of artblock, along with the times I actually wanted to draw, I was busy. But, I am now back with these designs!

my motivation just sucks!!! who needs it!!

Either way, I hope you do like these designs, and I will hopefully get back on my more motivated grind.

ESKERVIEW - ESKERSTAR ( Vogler )

These designs r actually kind of backwards I realize, since Vogler, to my memory, was bald, while Tritter at least had some hair, but this felt more fitting to me. A simple, unassuming Bombay I felt was fitting, especially since I know someone with a Bombay and they're the sweetest thing ever. Just a personality you wouldn't expect from someone you thought was so much better.

TRIPPING ( Tritter )

My first thought for Tritter was "what am I gonna do with this man" and it took a hot second, but I have finally figured it out. Bald cat. He's the only design in this batch that has a non-canonical scar to his character, because I thought it was FITTING and I wanted to draw it.

CINDERPINE ( Park )

I sent my friend a sketch of a concept for Park, and they were like "yeah park with a little baby tail that checks out" so I wasn't the only idiot with this idea!! I thought of her haircut so that was my main motivation for her tail, a short little thing that barely counts. She was actually kind of a challenge to get done, since I COULDN'T GET THE RIGHT COLORS FOR HER without being too close to Voglers dark colors since I realized I went for warm-tones and black on them both. That speaks more for my lack of design ability, in all raw honesty.

JAGGEDAPPLE ( Adams )

She was actually the hardest one to design. Out of all the characters. I couldn't figure out how to design her, but I did decide to do a cool, muted tone on her since s8 had shitass lighting that made it look like someone scrubbed the camera with dirt. I'm bad with designs, as I stated before, but I'm especially bad with colors, so trying to design yet another brown cat was actually very difficult for me. tbh I had trouble w all these designs!!

MORNINGMAPLE ( Masters )

My first thought was a Somali, so that was easy. At first I was worried she'd look too much like Cameron, but I quickly realized I was at least better than that. Her pelt becomes a bit duller post-House to show her change, because it was certainly something for a short period of time! I gave her the cheek dots because I was thinking of like the dot blush cartoons have. Anyways, yeah! That's it

I won't make any promises, official references, or due dates, but if I do get bored, I might make designs for side/background characters like Wilson's wives, Stacy, Lucas, Taubs kids, and Rachel. But, once more, no promises! Only if I get bored enough lol. If u have recommendations for any of them, go ahead and tell me some.

HOUSE M.D × WarriorCats

FelidaeMD is yet another crossover between HouseMD and WarriorCats, where I will be actively rewriting the series, along with adjusting it to fit the warriors series.

This is a remaster post for the designs that I created before, and overall I might make a fic for this AU, but no promises! Anyone is free to use these designs for unrelated things or for their own stories and AUs.

Designs + info under the cut!

LINENCURL - LINENSTAR ( Cuddy )

Norwegian-Forest-Cat based! I took inspiration off of a sheep, because of her bangs within the show always reminded me of one.. and idk she has sheep vibes. She also has extra toes on one of her front paws! No reason, just cuz I thought it'd be cool.

JASPERWREN ( Wilson )

Based on an American-Curl +a little heart-like dot on his face! He's the Mediator of the clan they're within, cuz I thought it'd be fitting. More wavy-ish fur.

HARSHGUST ( House )

He's a Cornish-Rex mix. I saw this in a certain Warriors-AU and really liked it, but I can't remember the goddamned name of it (going feral rn). Either way, credits to them! One of his front claws is declawed, just for some detail, and he is the main medicine cat of the clan. Also! Cats, and many animals, can get blood clots and things like that, so it's the same thing that fucked up his leg. No monster or anything like that.

EVERGREENFALL ( Foreman )

I really love his design.. idk why.. he's a Burmese mix, and yeah! He's another medicine cat that House mentored, and stuff like that. Simple. Idk I just love drawing him too!! Also! Extra toes like Cuddy, cuz after all, he does replace her.

AIRYCHIRP ( Cameron )

A Somali! I couldn't decide if I wanted to lean blonde or brown, cuz I think of both when I see her... but I thought an in-between would fit better. I love her chronically sad look... she's so funky...

RAVENCOIL ( Chase )

A marbled Bengal. He didn't change much... as u can tell. It's just him. Same paws / tail being a lighter color as House, following in his paw steps and stuff.... idk. he.

REEDHAIL ( Thirteen )

No real reasoning in her design! I decided on a rex mix with other stuff in there cuz I thought her being a mix was more fitting, is all. (I think the rex part came to me from the same au as the house-rex thing, but I can't remember! sry!!)

VASTAMBER ( Amber )

Her design came easily to me. I saw it since day one, as a simple wirehair cat. It just immediately came to mind. This graceful, golden wirehair who just always looks so.. oddly relaxed.

COLDTAIL ( Taub )

Scottish fold was so obvious.. and also from the same one as House/13, I believe? Idk I just thought it was rlly fitting! I wish I could've gone further with his design, but overall, it's Taub. I think it matches him well enough! itty bitty guy....

LYREKRILL ( Kutner )

Kutner was either gonna be a snowshoe or Siamese, and I thought Siamese fit better, so here he is! I rlly like how simple he is, and Siamese are honestly some of my favorite cats so obv I like him... if only he stuck around for longer. But he definitely made his impact on the show.

Since I cannot add anymore images (yes, very unfortunate) and Vogler / Tritter didn't change designs one bit, they won't be in this post. I'll post them later on probably, but yeah.

They did get clean refs tho.

Plainsclan — Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital

Boarclan — Voglers Clan

PrincetonClan — Clan near the edges of the city where Vogler comes from

[ravenadottir]

I am wanting to write a love story about Lucas and mc but I have never written anything before. Any advice?

hi there!

thank you so much for this ask, it's so cool you want my advice 🥺

alright, about writing lucas in a love story scenario... and a few other tips about him as a character.

just a reminder: these are not restrictive, it's just suggestions. you don't have to write him as a certain trope or in a certain type of story just because i said it fits him.

◌ story tropes that would fit with him perfectly: enemies-to-lovers, friends-to-lovers, friends with benefits that turns into love, meet cute that they agree on just sex but it turns into love (long but i don't have a name for it lol).

◌ tropes that fit him really well: jealousy, soft or hard dom!lucas, afraid of falling in love, afraid of commitment, "playboy" with a heart of gold.

◌ lucas has many layers to be explored, so i would definitely write him as a stereotype at first, so you can have a clear outline of how to work his depths later.

for example: his entrance could imply he's a stuck up, and later on he reveals he's afraid of first impressions because he's terrible at them, "i always look boastful but it's really not the case... most of the times anyway."

◌ he loves teasing whoever he likes/loves.

◌ sarcasm is of the essence, he doesn't live without it.

◌ his love language is to banter with someone. it's also a turn-on.

◌ definitely make him hesitant to trust your main character on a romantic level.

◌ trusting of friendships at first.

◌ lucas' mind travels miles at times, most of those it goes to a bad place of insecurity and sense of not deserving good things, so i would explore that.

◌ romantically speaking he's very dedicated... who am i kidding, he's dedicated in every aspect of a relationship. he's the type to fall into it so deep he might lose the sense of what it means to be with someone.

◌ the type to like space and time to himself. it doesn't mean he would push your main character away, just that sometimes he needs time by himself to think.

◌ loves travelling and sharing those places with someone special.

◌ he definitely has a found family he trusts and relies on more than his actual parents.

◌ he's an older brother to henrik so he would feel too vulnerable to confide in him, still, he would do it because lucas trusts that boy so much.

◌ dialogues with him (at least when i write him) get lengthy because he likes everything on the table, he hates misunderstandings and unspoken feelings, so you might have fun with that.

◌ direct language, objective words and clean conversations. it's not him being cold... it's mostly about how he hates wasting time with flourishing when you can actually have a real conversation.

◌ immediately he affirms your main character can be honest with him at all times. he would rather have the hard and cold truth than imagining what's going on "which can get so much worse in my head".

◌ during dialogues (again, how i write him) he doesn't move his legs much, i mostly focus on his hands and wrists. when he's nervous he fiddles a lot with his watch and necklace.

◌ his presence is really important during the dialogues because it's so imposing. he's the type of person that commands the room without saying anything. for instance, when he walks into a room he never turns his back to close the door, he does it behind his own back.

◌ a song that reminds me of him so much: play with fire, by sam yinnesz feat. yacht money. these lyrics i believe mostly express his personality in a nutshell, especially about how vindictive he can be if someone crosses him.

◌ a song that sets the tone of how he acts on *clears throat* certain circumstances: 강박 (red lights), by bang chan and hyunjin. the lyrics REALLY tell you everything you need to know how he feels when he's in love with someone.

◌ lucas' masterlist (individual posts) ◌

i write him in every ask i receive here so if you're looking for specific situations i'm pretty sure you'll find it here lol

i think that's it. there's lots of headcanon lists on his masterlist (the link above) where you can find a lot of different prompts. there's also a really long character sheet i wrote for him here.

also, so sorry anon! i put this on queue on accident, before finishing the tips. they continue down here!

● when you write anything remotely long it's important to have an outline, basically a list of things you want to happen in your story (events, dialogues, situations, encounters, new characters and when those events happen).

● when you have an idea of what you want to do i highly advise you to have a plan for each chapter. you don't have to know exactly what's gonna happen but it's nice to have a guide made by you at the beginning. that guide can come in handy if you hit a block.

● starting a chapter. don't worry about how you're gonna hook your reader to stay reading. plenty of people always say it's important that the first page is perfect, or even the first sentence. DON'T LISTEN TO THAT, it's not real and it adds way more pressure into your creative process. you'll know what sentence to start with when you finish editing the chapter and what direction it's going.

● worry about the consistency in the characters' actions and personality, those are essential for a good story. mostly of what i call bad or lazy writing are based on the way the author didn't keep up with what they presented on the first few chapters.

● one thing i do the most is ask myself "would real people talk like this, or divulge information like this?" and if the answer is 'no' i rarely use it.

● info dump is necessary, otherwise how are you gonna inform your reader about certain things? the one advice about this is to take your time and not rush with it. dialogues can be the key to your story, more than narration. when hitting a wall on what to do, keep this in mind "if this conversation was between two real people, would they talk like this? or ask things in this way?" and if the answer is no, you should change it, because it sounds more like you're conveying information and that can be distracting to the reader.

● some mistakes made in writing break the immersion, such as the author telling instead of showing. i want to take conclusions on my own instead of having them handed to me by the author.

example: mary was angry at her brother because he broke her toy and demanded explanations.

instead, try "mary walked into the room with wide eyes after hearing a thud, her fingers hidden in a fist as she looked down on the floor, a small part of what she knew was from her favorite toy. she almost stepped on the remaining pieces when advancing towards her brother, cheeks reddening with each step. before she could stop herself, mary growled intensely, pulling her brother's shirt with a wild motion of her hand. "why did you do that?!" she said, staring at him pointedly.

the first one should be your outline, not your dialogue.

● writing is subjective, what is good for me might not be good for you, so even though technique is important, feeling comes neck and neck with it.

● research, research, research! whatever you want to talk about, whether is a place, clothes, mannerisms, a certain culture, never guess! doing research is a huge part of writing and in my opinion really fun.

● any time you think you're done with a chapter but there's a little doubt on the back of your head, leave it alone for a couple of days. work on other things and then come back and revise it. because while you're constantly reading the same thing sometimes it means you're losing track of what you want to happen there and it makes editing impossible.

● word count means nothing. it doesn't matter if you have a long or short word count, if the story is concise and good nobody cares about how lengthy or brief it is.

● stay true to what you like. sometimes you might catch yourself thinking you didn't do a good job because your story might not have as many hits as you would hope. IF YOU WERE HAPPY ABOUT IT WHEN IT WAS ON YOUR DOCS WHY WOULD THAT CHANGE AFTER IT WAS POSTED? numbers don't mean quality.

[yurtletheturtlehenderson]

COSMIC - S1:E3; Chapter Three, Holly, Jolly - [Pt. 1]

A Will Byers x Male!Reader Series

𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥, 𝘠/𝘯, 𝘔𝘪𝘬𝘦, 𝘋𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘓𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭. 𝘈 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳.

|| 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫'𝐬 𝐏𝐎𝐕 ||

El sat on Mike's couch, fiddling with the supercomm while the rest of us gathered around the D&D table.

"We just tell our parents we have AV Club after school. That'll give us at least a few hours for Operation Mirkwood." Mike states.

I nod my head in agreement. I never liked lying to my mom, but this was our best bet. If it will give us time to find Will, I'm all in. However, based on Lucas's nervous shifting, he isn't as sure.

"You seriously think that the wei- uh, El knows where Will is?" Lucas darts his eyes at me as he catches himself.

"Just trust me on this, okay?" Mike pleads.

"He's right. Will would do the same for any one of us." My words come out softer than anticipated and I look to Lucas, Mike then Dustin. I can tell they agree with me.

"Okay."

"Did you get the supplies?" Mike asks the three of us.

I straighten up, ready to present what I brought to the table. Lucas perks up, reaching down into his backpack and begins listing off the things he brought.

"Yeah. Binoculars... from 'Nam. Army knife... also from 'Nam. Hammer, camouflage bandana, and the wrist rocket." He pulls out the yellow wrist rocket excitedly, and I chuckle to myself, impressed.

"You're gonna take out the Demogorgon with a slingshot?" Dustin asked, unimpressed.

I scoff and look at my brother, knowing well enough it was better than what he brought.

"Well, what were you planning on doing, throwing a Nutty Bar at it?" I ask with a hint of humor in my tone. Lucas however, takes offense to Dustin's words.

"First of all, it's a wrist rocket. And second of all, the Demogorgon's not real." I look down at my shoes. "It's made up. But if there is something out there, I'm gonna shoot it in the eye..." he pulls back the empty sling and lets it loose, nearly hitting Dustin in the face. "-and blind it."

I have to say, I've got to agree with Lucas's logic here. Then again, we never thought that anyone could move things with their mind and look what El did. I am pulled from my thoughts when I hear Mike sigh.

"Y/n?" He looked to me hopefully.

"Well, with all things considered, I figured at one point or another we would end up needing this." I pulled the makeshift first aid kit from my backpack. Among it was a handful of ace bandage wraps, gauze, ointment. Some band-aids, and even a small pair of tweezers.

I smile proudly and look to Mike who nods his head in approval. "Good idea. We don't know for sure what we are up against." He looks to my brother. "Dustin, what did you get?"

Dustin perks up and empties the contents of his bag out onto the table.

"Well, alrighty." I look to my friends to try and gouge their reactions. "So, we've got..."

Dustin begins naming off all the snacks he brought as Mike and Lucas stare at him with a confused glance.

"-Nutty Bars, Bazooka, Pez, Smarties, Pringles, Nilla Wafers, apple, banana and trail mix." He finishes off with a proud smile, and I can't help but feel bad for him. I mean, I see where he's coming from. It's smart to have snacks in case, but I also feel like it might be a last resort type of thing.

"Seriously?"

"We need energy for our travels. For stamina. And besides, why do we even need weapons anyway? We have her."

"She shut one door!"

"With her mind! Are you kidding me? That's insane! Imagine all the other cool stuff she could do. Like..." His face lights up and he runs over to the plastic Millennium Falcon and picks it up. Oh, this'll be interesting.

"I bet... that she could make this fly! Hey. Hey. Okay, concentrate. Okay?"

I stand there, crossing my arms with an amused look on my face.

She stares blankly at him as he lets the toy fall to the ground with an obnoxious clatter.

"Okay, one more time." She looks back at him, the faint look of mock confusion crosses her face and I bring my hand up to my mouth to try and hide the growing smirk.

"Okay."

I notice from the corner of my eye as Lucas drops his head in what looks to be a mix of disappointment and embarrassment.

"Use your powers, okay?" He drops it again and I can see the amusement in her eyes, which only makes me giggle.

"She's not a dog!" Mike yells.

He stomped over and ripped the toy out of his hands, while I made eye contact with El and we shared a smile.

"Kids! It's time for school!" Mrs. Wheeler's voice carries through to the basement.

We all hastily pack up our things and Lucas and Dustin run up the stairs. Meanwhile, Mike and I stayed behind to say goodbye to El.

"We are gonna need you to stay here, okay?" I ask kindly. She nods her head.

"But you can't make any noise and you can't leave." Michael pleads. She seems uneasy about this but nods in agreement.

"Michael! Y/n!"

I'm about to say something when Mike turns around suddenly and shouts. "COMING!" I jump back slightly, a laugh escaping.

"You know those power lines?" he returns to El, in a completely calm voice, as if nothing happened.

She looks between us confused. "Powerline?"

"Yeah. The ones behind my house?"

"Yes."

"Meet us there, after school." I pipe up, catching on to what Mike was thinking.

"After school?"

"Yeah, 3:15." She sends us an apologetic look, she was clearly confused.

"Mike, what about your watch?" I nudge him, gesturing to his wristwatch. I would give her mine, but I don't have one.

He catches on quickly and begins taking off his watch.

"Ah." Once it's off his wrist, he gestures for her wrist.

El smiles slightly and lets him put the watch on her wrist. She looks to Mike, a smile still on her face as he adjusts the watch. I smile to myself.

'They are too cute.'

"When the numbers read three-one-five, meet us there," I said, grabbing her attention.

She looks down at the watch and recites my instructions.

"Three-one-five."

I smile at her and give a small nod. "Yeah. Three-one-five."

She smiles kindly at me, then at Mike once more. It might just be me, but I could have sworn I saw him blushing. Suddenly, he jumps up and runs up the stairs. I stand up, and dig into my extra bag I brought from home and bring it over to her.

"So, I didn't want you to be bored so I brought some things you might like." I open the bag quickly, knowing I'm keeping everybody waiting. I pull a couple of puzzles and some paper and pens.

"I don't know if you know what puzzles are but I brought you some of my favorites." I place some of my favorite puzzles on the table next to her and she eyes them curiously.

"It's a picture that is in a bunch of different pieces, and you try to fit them all back together. It's a great way to pass the time. And, I didn't know what else you might like so I just grabbed some paper and some of my best pens. You can draw all you want. I wish we could stay with you, but we have to go to school so nobody will suspect anything. We'll be back. Promise." I smile at her and she returns it.

I swing my backpack over my shoulder and wave goodbye before darting up the stairs.

Halfway up, I stop in my tracks and run back to the bottom for a moment.

"Oh. And if you get hungry, you are more than welcome to have Dustin's snacks." I wink and run to catch up.

[shamelessships]

Yeesh. I was looking for wholesome Luca x Alberto content to post, but I stumbled across a Reddit post that essentially shit on people who ship Luca and Alberto. Essentially, it was saying we “get help,” and this made me feel irritated and misunderstood. Their arguments were that close friendship does not equal gay (I agree), the boys are just kids (they are 13 and 14 in the movie, so yeah), and the director confirmed that they are just friends (that’s cool).

Firstly, I actually don’t think that Luca and Alberto are explicitly “gay.” I prefer to think that they have a special place in their hearts for each other. You can fall in love with whoever you want to without identifying with a label. I’ve read lots of works where a guy prefers women, but he makes an exception for a special man in his life.

I respect canon and abide by it more than my creative mind would like me to. All I know about this adorable duo is:

A) They touch each other a LOT for comfort. I’ll have to count it, but it’s more than most platonic male friend pairings I’ve seen on screen.

B) Both of them share same dream of running away and traveling the world on a SINGLE Vespa. Like, they could get two Vespas; one for each of them! But nope, they want to be together for the ride on the same seat.

C) Alberto gets jealous and you can see him frown during the split second when Giulia touches Luca’s hand. A character’s jealousy over seeing physical contact between two people is usually an indicator of romantic interest.

D) There’s something subtle with their relationship that I can’t quite verbalize. They have a shared background, both being shapeshifting seafolk. They have opposite but parallel experiences with how they were parented. They make a great team and support each other. They helped each other grow. These are all platonic qualities that make up a solid foundation for a thriving relationship in fiction. You can’t help but cheer for it.

E) I have a theory that if you shifted their genders around… i.e. Luca was a girl and Giulia was a boy, more people would pick up on the budding romance between Alberto and Luca.

Secondly, I don’t think there is anything wrong about shipping children or teens with each other. I think it depends on the type of “ship” you’re building. Not all romance needs to be sexual. In fact, fluff is my life and feels much more rewarding to produce and consume.

I also don’t think it’s right to bar children from seeing any romance in their movies, shows, books, comics, etc. because it’s a part of growing up. Kids get crushes! It’s better to have healthy examples of love of all kinds across all mediums made for kids and teens. It shouldn’t be the focus, but a solid romantic B Plot was what I lived for back in the day.

I do think it’s iffy to depict young people in sexual situations. The reality is, lots of youth between the ages of 13-15 start experimenting with romance and sex— I sure did at that age. That being said, writing about two underaged people as an adult author has to be nuanced and fit into a larger story or moral lesson, otherwise it can fall into “creepy and inappropriate” territory.

(Side note: I got traumatized as a kid when I read a story about children 5-8 years old getting abused and violated in graphic detail. I forgot the title of the book and the name of the author, but I do not recommend. At all. I assume it was a way for the author to process their own childhood trauma, but like… why was this book published!? I’m saying this because I don’t tolerate children being put in those types of situations, fictional or not.)

The Harry Potter series featured a lot of platonic relationships! And what happened? The kids got together when they grew up! Did people bat an eye when people were shipping Hermione and Draco? Or Ron and Harry? Yes, probably. But I don’t think it was about them being “too young” to be shipped. Their romantic relationships started out as friendships.

I’m certain that lots of people who ship the two are in fact, ALSO KIDS of the same age group as the characters. It’s not fair to reprimand them for shipping as they please. When I was 15, I shipped characters like crazy.

Lastly, Enrico Casarosa’s announcement that the characters aren’t gay is cool with me! Refer to the first point above as to why.

Fine, they’re not gay. But they clearly love each other. Love doesn’t have to be sexual or romantic. You can love your friends.

There is a concept called “Death of the Author,” and it’s defined as:

literary criticism which holds that an author's intentions and biographical facts (the author's politics, religion, etc) should hold no weight when coming to an interpretation of his or her writing; that is, that a writer's interpretation of his own work is no more valid than the interpretations of any of the readers. The logic is fairly simple: Books are meant to be read, not written, and so the ways readers interpret them are more important and "real" than the ways writers write them.

(Source: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DeathOfTheAuthor)

Basically, once your work is out for the world to consume, it’s fair game for everyone who consumes it to analyze it. This is why stories are really cool. People can extract completely different meanings and interpretations after watching or reading the same exact piece of work.

Whatever the canonical status of their romantic doesn’t matter too much to me. I just want them to be together, sharing a lifetime of friendship and love. (Heck, it’s what I want for myself and my partner.)

Would it be nice for them to deepen their bond later on in life when they’re adults? Heck yeah!

Besides, I always hear people highly recommend marrying your best friend.

So yeah, maybe I will get help…

Get help on coming up with fresh new Luca/Alberto content! 😜

Thanks for the creative fuel.

[fablesuntold]

@musingmemories

Talking about things. An area in their relationship they’d struggled with greatly since day one of meeting each other— Max more so than him when it came to letting people in. It was where most of their past arguments had stemmed from, Max’s short fuse eventually blowing whenever Lucas refused to let something go and instead kept pushing her to open up when she clearly wasn’t ready to. Of course he hadn’t meant to be so tenacious with it, his constant ‘are you okays’ and ‘you don’t look fines ’ coming from a place of love and concern. But he’d overstepped a boundary, hadn’t he? That much he realised now. Apparently they both still had some growing to do, an acknowledgment made and agreed on under a sort of ‘pact’ that Max would agree to be more vocal with her feelings as long as he eased up whenever she got too uncomfortable— to which, honestly? Lucas was proud of her for. A massive step for the both of them in their friendship.

Was friends the correct label for what they were..?

Complicated was the more appropriate term. After all, what umbrella did ‘awkward exes with possible lingering feelings for each other but are too afraid to admit them’ fit under?

Thoughts derailing like a runaway train the second Max’s hand reached for his own, Lucas couldn’t help but to wince at that insinuation that he was afraid to touch her. That was partly true, but not in the way she thought. “I know.. I know. I just didn’t know if you wanted me to or not. Sorry.” There he went again making things more complicated than they needed to be. Could he just stop overthinking for once and steady his racing heart? Above all else, Lucas knew that Max loathed when people treated her like she was made from porcelain, especially more than ever now after Vecna’s attack on her. The same attack that made her feel like a burden apparently, the protective side of him piping up to shut that mindset down immediately.

“Max, c’mon. You’ve never been a burden to me. You never will be. And I.. I hate that we didn’t talk sooner too. That’s not me blaming you or anything either, it was nobody’s fault. It’s just..” inhaling a much needed breath to cut himself off from his rambling, another thing Lucas had realised was that he always felt the need to overcompensate where he didn’t have to. Another thing to work on. Baby steps, right? At least they were learning together.

There was one thing he needed to get off his chest though. Something that had bothered him since him and Max had crossed paths.

“I don’t like it when you talk so lowly about yourself, you know? Like you don’t even matter.” She mattered to him, and if Lucas had one wish? He’d wish that Max could have the ability to see herself the way he saw her.. not as the burden she believed herself to be. “If anyone else said those things about you, I’d have to like.. beat them up or something.” Or exchange serious words with them because who was he kidding? Lucas Sinclair wasn’t a fighter.. well, only when he needed to be. “That includes yourself, by the way.” Eyebrow raised challengingly at her, Lucas couldn’t stop the small grin that fought its way onto his face— a feeling that almost felt foreign, given it had been absent for so long.

Permission now granted to touch her, Lucas gingerly allowed his fingers to wove in between the gaps in hers. “Seriously though.. you’re cool, funny, really pretty.. and dare I say it, totally tubular~!” Spoken in what could possibly be dubbed the worst accent in the world, Lucas stifled the chuckles that almost escaped him, lips thinning in the process and teeth seeking out his lower one. Although he may have sounded like he was joking; Lucas meant every single word. Max was.. something else. “..I guess what I’m really trying to say is that I’m glad you’re still here, MadMax. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” Too far? It didn’t matter. As Max had put it, it was time to finally talk about things. Time to finally be open.

@musingmemories sent in: ❝ i’ve been having nightmares... ❞ — from Max Mayfield to Lucas Sinclair ✨

‘I’ve been having nightmares..” Never had Max’s tone sounded more vulnerable.

Nightmares. Lucas was no stranger to them either— and since that fateful night at the Creel house which had almost claimed Max’s life? They’d only become more frequently intense. Funny how things could change in the blink of an eye. Once a deep sleeper, even the loudest crash of thunder that rumbled through their small town wouldn’t have been enough to drag him from his slumber? Now, though? A pin dropping was all it took for Lucas to startle awake in the middle of the night. Insomnia. Something his therapist had concluded— a result of trauma after having watched his ex-girlfriend friend almost die in the massive earthquake that had rocked Hawkins and almost tore the town in two. Oh if only people knew the real extent of just of how deeply his trauma lay— and that the suspected natural disaster Hawkins had suffered through wasn’t so natural after all.. rather the Upside Down attempting to fight its way up to the surface.

In this instance, his guilt ridden conscience hadn’t been what had his eyelids fluttering open at the first crack of dawn. It was the rustling of sheets coming from Max’s bedroom, paired with distressed grunts that had Lucas springing into action in order to carefully coax her awake with a few gentle shakes. Which lead to where they currently were now— him perched on the edge of her bed.. a place he’d spent most of his nights and early mornings since Max had been discharged from the hospital and he’d opted to sleep on the couch of her dingy trailer until her mother returned from her well-needed stay at rehab.

That’s what friends did, didn’t they? They looked out for each other during hard times. And with Vecna still lurking in the shadows somewhere, waiting for another perfectly timed opportunity to strike again.. there wasn’t a chance in hell he was leaving Max’s side until their ‘Zoomer’ was back on her feet properly. And even after, whether she liked it or not.

“Are these nightmares about him..?” Not daring to utter Vecna’s name out loud as if the mere mention of him would somehow cause him to magically appear right before their very eyes, Lucas allowed his fingers to gingerly stroke along the rough texture of the only cast that still remained on her healing arm— due to be removed tomorrow if things went according to plan and her x-ray gave the all clear.

They weren’t back together. Not by a long shot. Skin on skin contact was still a no-no he assumed, and so this would have to suffice. “You know he’s not around anymore, right? He can’t hurt you. Plus, El’s back. We’re all gonna make sure nothing happens to you.” Could he actually follow through on that promise this time though? He’d failed her. Unsuccessful in pulling her out in time before Vecna got his ghastly claws on her. And it was all his fault. His fault that she’d ended up in this whole mess to begin with— ‘do you accept the risk?’ A question he so desperately wished he could take back. Even the attempts at consolation from the rest of the party couldn’t quell the festering shame he felt whenever he looked at Max. Useless. That’s what he was to her. What he would always be.

Eyebrows furrowing in frustration, Lucas allowed his head to drop slightly, lips thinning into a straight line as onyx orbs focused down on the patterns his fingers traced. “Things are gonna get better. So don’t give up, okay? I know that’s easier said than done, but..” Trailing off with a shake of his head, it was hard to determine whether those words were meant to soothe her or himself.

[swannkings]

so i finished s4 of stranger things

my biggest questions:

what happened to the school counselor, max's mom, the hawkins police chief and officer, the other members of hellfire club, the one other henchman of jason's that erica dick kicked, the rest of the sinclair family, dustin's mom?

what happened to dr owens?

what happened to dmitri?

what was the reason lucas' black team mate was yoinked by vecna? if guilt is a factor and none was explicitly given for him, are we to assume it was because he felt terrible being part of a mob headed by a white jesus freak, who can be entirely interpreted as a white supremacist, that was hunting down another black teen?

my biggest issues:

i mean, the racism. the duffers are really good about making racist characters (and even making them somewhat sympathetic) -- having those characters in the time period and setting of the show is fine, however, none of the white characters ever say anything contrary or stick up for the black characters.

as much as i enjoy max and lucas, it's kind of weird max never acknowledged billy being a racist pos and neither did any of lucas' other friends.

i'm still stuck on the part where mike doesn't understand why lucas would want to fit it. LOOK AROUND DUMBASS.

the part where erica is chased down by the white high school boy and held down was stomach turning.

the entire hopper/joyce/russia plot. i can do without anymore russia plot in this show. i can do without prison camps and cold war red scare shit. it's bizarre to have this whole international political sub-plot when the duffers can't bring themselves to acknowledge what was actually happening on american soil.

yuri wasn't a funny character.

the jokes about hopper losing weight because he was imprisoned and starved for months weren't funny.

for some reason poverty seems to be played as a joke on this show. but most of the characters do come from middle-class republican families so that shouldn't surprise me.

the queer quotient:

robin and vickie will probably get together at the very end of the series, if they both survive. or they'll be secretly dating because it's 1986 in indiana, but it'll be funny. homophobia is a lighthearted joke, remember? boobies!

will is a gay teen boy in 1986. i do not expect him to come out to anyone other than jonathan and joyce. i don't think there will ever be a chance of him directly telling mike how he feels. the best i'd hope for is he comes out, mike gives some heartfelt speech about how being different is a gift or something, and then will moves back to california and meets someone new.

worst case scenario: season 5 spells doom and will dies to save the world and no one ever knows he's gay.

mike wheeler being a shit:

he's always been like this.

i kind of suspect mike is a duffer insert.

i have never liked the part where mike clearly has been infatuated with el since s1. it isn't love, it's infatuation. it's a problem the show has and the characters have never been allowed to be self-aware.

like, he literally says he's based everything about his and el's relationship around the fact that she's "special." she has powers, he doesn't. she's cool, he's not. she has no real grasp of being an average kid, he does and she has to rely on him because of it.

mike says he loves el and doesn't notice something is wrong with will because mike isn't a character, he's a device. he has no personality other than being told he's a leader. he has to say he loves el because that's the trope. he has to ignore will because it creates drama.

no offense to finn, but mike is a paper bag puppet and i wish the duffers would let him grow a personality other than being incredibly dense, ignorant, and unintentionally bigoted.

final thoughts:

this whole season was a hate crime. visually appealing, great soundtrack, but insensitive, dismissive, and abusive. more so than previous seasons, and that's including billy "certain type of people" hargrove's whole ass showing in season 2.

i feel like filming in a former nazi prison camp where thousands of jews and rroma were murdered, having a season long plot of a black kid being singled out and culminating with him being at gunpoint of some righteous white guy, and having every character with authority buying into eddie being a satanic murderer long enough to form a mob with the intent of killing him (and the police just stand there with their thumbs up their asses) is appallingly, disgustingly bad.