#peak television i'm not even kidding

[from-here-from-me]

Congratulations to the cast and crew of "The Bear," for a record-breaking 23 Emmy nominations!

THE BEAR — Season 2

[popculturebuffet]

The Book of Bill Review: Bye Everyone He'll Remember You All in Therapy (Comission for Emma Fici)

Hello all you happy people and man it's good to be back. After a week's vacation i'm recharged and ready to plunge back into reviewing stuff. For those of you new here i'm Jake, I review various media , mostly cartoons and comics.

Over a week off filled with batman, persona 5, more batman, Truthful Timmy the Blowjob Queen of Saskatoon, and more, I picked up a certain book since my money dropped: Yes folks thanks to a generous friend who also enjoyed the hell out of this book it's time to talk about mildly curesed new york times #1 bestseller The Book of Bill.

The Book of Bill is the latest in something Disney has been doing for a while, some of the only merch they really make for their telveision animation series: Journals! Specifically books following a character from the show in the first person and helping drop some juicy lore. I naturally have all three previous major ones: Journal 3, The Big Book of Spell and Marcy's Journal. There was also one for Ducktales I need to get at some point and an early Star Vs book, but these big three are the important ones, making real books from the show canon and not only being cool props to own, but also nice bits of canon after the show ended. Or in star vs case as the show slowly burst into flames.

Book of Bill continues that trend yet also breaks it: This book is coming out 8 years after the series ended, is an entirely new creation, and is geared towards adults even having a warning label. Granted it's more a pg-13 than the hard r said warning label implies but the fact disney is acknowledging a product from less than 15 to 20 years ago has nostalgic fans is a victory in itself.

And said victory was followed by an even bigger one with the book recently topping the New York Times bestseller list, even topping "we gotta see what that couchfucker is about just in case". This is a huge victory lap that makes me hope we'll get even more content from various disney shows in book form. At the very least it makes the owl house art book an even easier sell and at most i'm hoping Owl House gets more content now, and I wouldn't say no to Hirsch returning to gravity falls if he has another idea. While i'm used enough to Disney's bullshit to see them ignoring this obvious sign, it could really get them to take kids content from this era more seriously or at least try to get it's creators back to get more of that sweet dollar dollar bill ciphers ya'll. Either way this could be a great thing.

Even if it dosen't lead to more books, Book of Bill is great on it's own and something i'm happy to dive into. And since I know it's harder to get the book outside of the us this is also a chance for those of you outside it to get a peak inside. So let's begin as tonight it's gonna get weird.

Book of Bill is diffrent from the other books in that while it follows a narrative, the first half is mostly just bill shenanigans while the second gives us his history from when he was a baby boy baby to he and Ford's messy breakup involving live snakes, it's a small world and jars of spiders.

It works perfectly too: I forgot how much fun bill was till he burst through the page to greet me

Like bill himself the book deftly ballances comedy and horror. Like gravity falls it leans more to the former, as most of bills antics are just him being unsettling and charming as always, but we get plenty of truly disturbing stuff from his collection of heads to a mouth suddnely popping up demanding blood to this lovely bit showing all the many realities where the pines kids didn't exactly win

Also yeah, outside of Bill's fate, the book dosen't move past where Gravity Falls was on the timeline in the extended Disney Television Universe. It does firmly confirm it's all one universe as we get some refrences to owl house with some tapestry showing off the titan and my boy

As well as a cameo we'll get to later. But it's clear Hirsch, for now has no plans to tell us what happened to errybody after the show aside from bill himself and honestly? That's fine. I'd rather he did a full revivial or book about it at some point than drop it in here and before the nightmare fuel sets in the sleep image of the two on the bus with waddles is adorable.

Back on point the book will hit you with horror well but is maily just a non stop parade of good jokes for the first half. The framing device is simple: Bill created this book and Ford found it shortly before he and Stan went off to make movies, make songs and fight around the world. He tried destroying it but befitting spooky books it kept coming back and so he put in an ash williams style warning telling the reader for the love of god don't read more. And like that idiot from evil dead 2013, I didn't listen and pressed on as i'm sure any of you who got the book did too. I mean we already paid our 20 some dollary doos right?

So the book has bill giving the reader advice, trying to trick them and general other wacky nonsense. This book is DENSE with jokes, and there was hardly a page that wasn't meant to be truly horrifying that didn't have one on it. And sometimes even them. Highlights for me from the first half include his self interview where he deflects being phineas' father, dating a howling void and other hot goss, his entire chapter on silly straws (if you murder someone with one it becomes a serious straw), his having you murder an elf for him, dividing a number and brutally murdering it, and Ford claming he'll tell you how to turn ducks into nuclear bombs.. with Bill doing that immediately after and likely being fully aware of what he was doing.

My faviorite bits are him fleshing out his "reality is a hologram" statment

Every bit of this joke works from me from the reveal, to perfectly nailing the classic pokemon trading card style for this gag. Good stuff. Also not sure why the multiverse has only 50 hp, better not to ask.

The other bit I love the most is bill trying to help the readers love life with advice so good it got this book classified as advice

And helping the love cage with some wonderful bilintines

I"m sending I don't want to die alone to my next crush!

This section really is just a vehicle for jokes and general bill chaos for the most part and it does so gloriously. If you liked bill, your gonna love this thing and if you love him.. he'll never love you back but you'll still enjoy this.

The first half does have a few little pitterpats of lore. One of the biggest.. is that we get more dipcifica

Also Dipper's search history as a whole and while some parts I'd rather forget if my brain would let me, there's a lot of good gags here. But yeah Pacifica Northwest Pagent Video. man is crushing. And also mildly creepy but it's still a step up from looking up Wendy's instagram and other things i'd rather not get into because

This segment goes into the casts dreams, most in depthly Dipper, Mabel and McGucket. That last one is just a really hautning page of how much of a tornado his mind is ... bill BARELY got out. Dipper is naturally bill laughing at his embarassment and revealing he put a bunch of fake author images in his head for funzies.

Mabel on the other hand is one of the funniest segments in the entire book as well as revealing exactly HOW he concoted the scheme. A nice thing we get , and that explains why he gave her her own fifedome.. is that bill actually likes mabel as a person. he likes her chaos, loves watching her dreams which is creepy but for him is about as close to kind as he can get. Problem is he went in AFTER the whole Sock Opera mess, so she hates him. Thankfully the people guarding her dreams are Xyler and Kraz, nature's perfect himbos. So he simply gives himself a hat and blonde hair, a neat jacket and the name chill cipher and gets them on board by eating his skateboard. And to his horror has to do a montage from saying no to drugs to teaching a dinosaur with shades to beleivie in himselef. Just imainging bill doing an over the top 80s montage while having the most pissed off uncomfortable look in the world.. it's going to help me sleep at night.

We also find out he found Mable's deepst darkest fantasy... a tape of Mariah Carrey's fantasy.

It's a genuinely good gag and bill finds out from them how down in the dumps she are, her wanting to let summer last etc.. and thus you can thank these himbos for the apocalypse.

Otherwise the only other little tidbits are in a bit on various dreams. We find out Ford is in love with logic (Bill quips he'd be a plansexual which.. accurate), Soos wants to change his name to pins, and Pacifica.. is suffering horrible ptsd. The big bit though is that dipper walked in on a conversation between his parents about something he wouldn't hear and Bill implies it was why they sent them away. It COULD be divorce, it could be somethign else entirely it's honestly hard to tell given both how little we get and the fact it's bill. Bill's about as trustworth as a snake wearing a top hat

On second thought make that Snake mayor stat.. then god emperor.

But yeah you can't really TRUST bill but it's a nice little seed of info nonetheless and it'd be weird if I didn't talk about it. That said I don't have much to say about it. The kids parents MIGHT have had a rough marraige though that would make sense why they cling to each other so much and make Mable's desperation to keep her brother around even more heartbreaking, so i'm all for it.

So then we get to that sweet juicy lore we woudln't stop bugging Alex for: Bill's history. And this may be my faviorite part of the book simply because there's a LOT of good gags and great visuals tucked in here. A crapton of artists who were VERY good at making something look real enough, as well as GF Vetran Emmy Ciecerga who drew all the gravity falls style art for this book and deserves a LOT of credit, make this book look gorgeous. There's all kinds of styles, from 20's newsclippings to photos to disturbing bill images, all of which needed a great graphic design to it. While none of the books so far are slouches in graphics, journal three itself looked gorgeous, this is far and way the best looking of them so far. Since it's bill their not constrained to one style, like marcy's was mimicking her art style (And later Anne's for her third of the book), journal 3 was. Book of Spells has come closest having each queen have a unique style but it still held to star vs.

This being bill this book goes all over the place: you've got brain teasers, photos, photoshopped nightmarish heads, a reaslitic mouth wanting your blood, all kinds of visual trickery that fits what a visually gorgeous nightmare bill could be. Like the other style, a very chaotic style that oscelates from people magazine to several pages of the great gatsby to punish you for wanting to know his weaknesses (get gatsby'd sucker!) all without breaking a sweat.

The history of bill section is where it really gets to shine once he gets to earth.. but before that.. we adress the elephant in the room. What happened to his home dimension?

Yeah one of the biggest bits of narrative blue balls of book of bill is we don't learn hardly anything about the second dimension and learn NOTHING about how it actually died. Both make perfect sense enough narratively to work and it's clear Alex, while great about answering the shows bigger and more importnat mysteries and not just jerking the audience about, does like to keep some things a mystery. The kids parents, shermy pines, why was thor crying that kind of stuff. While I WANTED an answer for my own works, I respect that it honestly worked better to not get one. We get just enough: bill climas to have been well loved by all in the way a flashback would show he wasn't, having seen the third dimension. It adds layers to him and ford's later friendship: both were outcasts with no one at one point or another. But Stanford at least had stan for a while before he was a dick about things.. bill seemingly had no one and is active denial he was hated and feared.

So he tried to merge dimensions.. and we have no idea exactly WHAT happened.. but not knowing.. is more horrifying. Bill tries to retell it but blacks out

It's very clear Bill has ptsd.. and somehow used urkel to kill people. I feared this day would come but never thought such a dread weapon would wind up in the worst hands imaginable.

It's a great section and I honestly like this... it makes the clear bait and switch work as alex knew what we wanted.. but gave us something more fitting the character.. the one moment bill GENINELY regrets.. but due to eons of lying to himself can't admit. He twisted the narrative to be that he freed a bunch of squares when really it was his first mass murder and the only one he clearly still feels bad about. While he was likely always a tad weird, this event is what snapped him into the monster he is, convicning himself their better this way and he did the right thing instead of truly dealing with his guilt. Bill has lied to himself so much he blacks out when even thinking abotu the truth because if he really thought abotu what he did and what happened, he'd have to rethink his whole sense of self. And Bill can't do that because he's built his whole self worth into his ego after this. That he was specail they just didn't get it and it's to the point he can't even be honest that he wasn't liked> he always had ot be great and special. It's honestly.. sad more than anything. That had bill not done this or simply not made what seems like an honest mistake just not to be alone he may of simply been able to escape and find kinship in ways that didn't involve gaslighting and evil overlord ship.

Sadly he did so we find out he found the nightmare dimension , conquered ita nd slowly gathered his henchmaniacas. We find out little btis; 8 ball has a crush on pyronica, pyronica wants to fuck smokey the bear for the sick thrill of pulling it off

A

Teeth is more a team pet.. all stuff i'm glad we have simply because the henchmaniacs never got fleshed out. Pyronica also has a phd. Bill also has a lawyer named dan crabbleman he uses as a scapecrab because of course. His version of peter I suppose.

Eventually though the good times stopped; While they had nightmare dimension prom (death toll 300), it ultimately was found the dimensionw as dying and we find out HOW bill ended up here and why he hates the time baby so much. .

Now granted the section with the time baby, only a few pages.. didn't do much for me. I've never really been a fan of the time baby: he comes off at least a touch evil, if less here since ANYONE comes off less evil when compared to bill, and the only joke they seem to have is he acts like a baby but is an elder god or something. He's one of the weaker weridos our heroes encountered.

Thankfully bill defeats him and the dinsoaurs would rebound eventually

And we'd only have to deal with time baby a few times after this before Bill kills him

So we then find out why Bill was spread about history. Turns out, not suprisingly, he landed in gravity falls which was perfect for his nonsense. In 30 Million BC he found a small tribe and befriended it's local shaman.. then kinda killed that good will when his first portal created the bottomless hole, let loose sea monsters and killed a lot of people.

This is also where something clever about the book comes about, something I hadn't noticed in the show till Bill's history made it clear: While Bill CAN manipulate a person fairly well he has a huge weakness besides tin foil or techno: He dosen't care enough to hide how unhinged he is. Bill by this point in the story, after eons of self denial and surrounding himself with people who either enable him or he tortured until they enabled him presumably, simply can't grasp that maybe giving a kid deer teeth or a head that's always scremaing isn't the way to make a good first or second impression.

And those moments from the show did set this up well: i'd always assumed he did that shit because it was fun. See the "Your insane!" "Sure I am what's your point?" exchange that's the second thing he ever says. But now I get it's .. well still part that, Bill likes fucking with people.. but it's also that he can't turn OFF his need to fuck with people. Even in this very book instead of giving genuine if shallow love advice he wants you to lock someone in a love cage or become johnny cobra arms. And I mean the second one is sound advice if you've got sufficent padding or a venom immunity, who dosen't want cobra arms, but this book really hammers home that Bill , while good at praying on people's desperation... is REALLY bad at actually keeping them on the hook unless their already as mad as he is or their desperate. He has one exception in ford but as this book, journal 3 and the series all establish.. Ford is also weird, dosen't really get people or social norms. Not saying all societal norms are good.. but maybe don't give your grandaughter a gun Sixer.

It dosen't detract from Bill's threat, as Ford comes to horrifying conclude later... no one actually BEAT bill pemrenantly. The shaman simply banished him and gave out the prophcey for the finale.. a prophecy that ended up not working. Bill constnatly gets shooed away or bribed by people to please shoo, shoo good sir shoo.. but it's not till stan after centuries of work on earth that someone actually BEAT him.

But it does humanize him, even if calling him human is not even a stretch it's just innacurate, but it's the term we got: Bill's ultimate weakness isn't his ego or collection of sily straws: it's that he simply CAN'T stop being him long enough for someone to actually buy into his shit. He actually had the founding fathers listneing.. until he called martha washington hot lips. He nearly gets the US Government to get him to the president.. but can't reissit talking about how fun it'd be to set all the nukes off at once. He makes a truly fun looking silly siphonies style cartoon.. but then it's time to relase the bees

Bill for better and for worse can't help but be himself. his schemes usually drive people to madness or away. He's good at preying on people's desperations and it ultimately needed him his three days of weirdmageddon.. but but he's not good at pulling the long con and only managed it once in his long career.

Thankfully while the book has plenty of great failures from bill from his computer to his do wop group the cipher tones (And the insuing country music backlash record calling him the devil. Please the devil threw him out because living with him is like living in a living nightmare).

There's a few slightly meatier episodes: There's his days in the dark ages.. and one of the few times someone actually got the better of him: he seemingly cons a dark wizard into joining him, sending some knights on a fetch quest to get his copy of monty python and the holy grail. How Disney got away with using the full title I have no idea but they did. God I hope it's not the same copy I have. Turns out though said wizard pulled a sandman and trapped him in a glass orb somehow woven with unicorn hair. Granted it does lead to bill goign on a rampage the second he's free but said rampage gets him banned from Europe so we'll call this one a draw.

The other is the anti cipheretes, a turn of the century group that means well and is engaging.. but sadly tried to preent their findings publicly and their leaders gets intionalized. It's honestly sad.. all this guy wanted was bill out of his head and they lost.

There's also said Silly Symphonies detour where the walt disney expy uses it's a small world (not named directly but barley disguised) to drive bill out.

It's another fun section, filling things in and letting bill fuck with history. He even gets a genuinely heroic moment

Yeah Bill deals with the puritans.. and they piss him off something bad, their lack of imagination making most useless to him, their society being horrifcally stuffy even by the cipher standard of "Stuffy assholes won't let me fill a theater with bees. Charlitans", so he helps an abused local housewive used as a footstool discover what laughter is and soon forms a coven. Said coven inacts a bloody coup, sure.. but it was puritan times, this is the only way a feminism could happen.

We then get the penultimate chapter in our story: At this point it's the 80's, do a lot of coke and vote for ronald regan and bill.. is at the end of his rope. His last scheme is easily one of my faviorites...

I know disney won't because they hate merch but I genuinely hoope a fan recreates these to own. Even the 3d model used here would be appricated for printing.

But then... fate threw bill a bone: he started laughing. Uncontrollably.. lights turned yellow his image was on every computer and breakfast cereal... someone.. opened up gravity falls again.

This is where Ford comes in: In a clever twist the next bulk is from Ford's perspective, with Bill having somehow found pages ford torn out. This is great for two reasons: the first is that it allows us to see their story more on the ground.. and the second is it's a resonable explination why pages that would've defintely told dipper who the author was were missing: Bill points out Ford tore them out due to his own shame and vanity. The former was on display in the last mablecorn, with him not telling dipper and only not getting mindwipped because the horrifying experinces recounted in those pages made him get a plate in his head. The second was in the book: Ford's biggest weakness and one Bill fully took advantage of.. was his ego. Ford thinks a LOT of himself and while he is impressive, it's his need to be seen, to be recognized after being ostrachized most of his life that makes him easy to play like a fiddle before bill and made him stubborn and dangerous after.

Ford can't admit he was wrong and had he left that vunerablity in there the show might of gone diffrently and weirdmageddon probably woudln't of happened.

It also covers in the one gap the journal glaringly left out, but again for plot reasons: that winter Ford was at his cabin. It's a geninely touching story: Ford feels lonely, and bad that he didn't get fiddleford anything before McGucket goes to see his wife back home, and spotted dipper and mable's footprints.. and ends up kidnapped by the krampus and having to rescue a bunch of children because of where he lives. What's heartwaring is fiddleford returns.. and while he fucked up his relationship by forgetting to get her a present, though the shippers certainly got one with this story arc, Ford decorates the portal to cheer him up.

The bulk though is about Bill and Ford: While Fiddleford IS his friend, he's gone a lot because he you know has a life. We see a side we didn't really see too much in the journal but makes sense: Lonliness. Ford is just too dang weird and awkward to be around people, can relate and bill takes full advantage of that. We get to see bill play full on manipulative boyfriend as he preys on Ford's ego, need to not be alone and subtly tries to isolate him when stan comes up and after the heartwarming moment above. It's neat to see just how things went wrong, how Ford got played by bill. Like I said Bill can't hide who he is.. but it works here as Ford dosen't get people so while creepy as hell, Bill leaving a giant pile of dead rats in his name for his brithday and getting him karoke drunk is not a red flag. You also get the sense that while bill isn't remotely a good friend, person or triangle, Bill WAS fond of ford, he genuinely liked the guy and gets shitfaced when eh dosen't on "i'm totally fine juice" and crashes an interdimensional mexican restraunt. Also props to alex I didn't know I needed to see Ford and Bill hammered on seperate occaions but here we are.

Naturally it goes south and the post breakup is easily the most serious part of the book. There's still some great jokes, but it shows how horrifying bill can be. His first actions are, after Ford installs his lab's retinal scanner to keep bill out (since the pupil thing isn't just stylistic, it really happens), he beats the poor guys knuckles bloody trying to claw his way out. He revivies Zombies to stop ford at the mourge as it turns out he can control ANYTHING with a brain. That does lead to a really awesome moment I didn't see coming as Ford admits he's missing him.. but his aim is getting better

Yes they called back to THAT of all things.

It's then things get terrifying: Bill starts writing on ford's post it notes, taking his body at intevals since Ford let him in.. and it's something I just never thought of: while we saw what he could do to dipper, we knew it was a bad idea and he was able to get him out pretty quickly. This segment.. shows what happens when bill can come and go as he pleases. Fordapparenly would just pass out for a second and wake pu with notes.. and when Bill got tired of the post it note tag.. he went a bit further with what's easily my faviorite joke of the whole book

It's just so bill. Grante did' be terrified and probably dead from such a stunt, but it's still just.. so damn perfect.

Ford gets him back with it's a small world after all.. only for us to get to the most unsettlign portion of the book. Ford wakes up on the roof and finds bill left a tape. And while a portion of bills shenanigans, memoralized with polaroid are just hilaroius, like slapping a cop or getting a baby girl tatoo.. we also get shit like eating a jar of spiders (And as an arachnophobe the sentence I keep coughing up siders is.. a lot for me ) and hammering his own hand. We'd seen this kind of shit with Dipper.. but this is what he'd do when he dosen't necessarily NEED the body for himself.

The lowest though is Bill.. trying to call stan. And trigger warning for his next image as it's ... pretty fucking rough.

Yes Bill.. nearly sent a suicide note to stan over the phone in ford's name. It's only sheer luck and likely some lawsuits that saved it but it just hits so hard. Even as much as Ford hates stan.. he dosen't want this and is truly terrified. It strips away the wacky nonsense of bill and gets right to the point: bill is gaslighting and abusing ford, even making him forget his own name for a second, until he gets what he wants. The earlier parts showed him playing the more manipulative roll of abuser but now.. we see what happens when bill goes full on petty and vindictive and there's nothing humorous about it.

Thankfully ford got the plate in his head, he called stan, you know the rest.

It's here the book reaches it's climax: Ford contacts the reader again.. but in a nice bit while he begged them before.. he can't blame them. THe post weridmageddon character development shown in journal 3 stuck: he was where they were. Not only that while he hid the book from his family they found it and instead of turning all into bills.. they just laughed. They'd all grown enough to just find his attempts at playing them funny. They all took his embarssing past in stride. As Stan perfectly puts it "So you messed up a bunch. Guess that really makes you a pines". Stan of all people has EVERY reason to never let ford live this down.. yet does because he gets it. Everyone fucks up and it helps Ford see he's human.. and so's bill. Well again eh's a triangle man but he's ultimately as Ford puts it "A sad theater kid desperate for attention". This book isn't some grand demonic tone: it's the sad last effort of someone who already lost.

We get some fun letters from each pines: dipper and mabel both encourage the reader, and Mabel, even if she threatens to fucking murder bill if he goes after her brother again.. even offers Bill tips on getting over ford. Dipper sympathizes with the reader and also threatens to murder him. And stan.. well stand does what he does best.. promote the mystery shack. Yes even when he's not the owner he can't help plug it. But he also gives bill the biggest kick to the nuts of all: he dosen't care. He hasn't had the personal trauma the others have and just sees bill as another werido trying to steal his wallet like every other thursday in this town. Stan Pines murdered one of the greatest villians in history.. and he somehow tops that by not even carring.

We get Bill screaming STANNNLEEEYYY again, having been beaten and the reader convinced not to swap places with bill. Not only that Stan and co also figured out something important: If bill isn't dead but IS trying to escape.. where he is cant be good.

And we finally find out what happened to him. Which is a mild suprise as while it's VERY nice we found out, as seen in the rest of the book alex is keen to keep some secrets close to the chest. He teased at bill's possible return: the statue in the finale, the axotitl he invokes showing up in a non canon choose your own adventure story, that sort of thing... but it wasn't guarnateed going into this book we'd learn. Thankfully Alex, as ever knows when to not tell us stuff and when it'd be a real dick move not to and not in a funny way.

Bill made a deal with the axitotl to reincarnate. For those less familiar, all two of you the axitotl is some mysterious god taking the shape of that adorable creature whose as kind and benevolent as that sounds and even gave BILL a second chance.

He isn't, thankfully stupid.. and thus after a lifetime of lopsided deals.. just like with Stan moments before making this one.. Bill gets hit with a bad one. And the thing is unlike Stan who just flat out tricked Bill like Bill played so many people, the Axitotl didn't lie: it told bill he'd have to repent. It was bill's own ego that assumed he could scheme his way out

Instead bill is now inside the Theraprism, a maximum security dimensional prison that takes all commers and is filled with sterotypical therapy activites like arts and craft and constant group sessions. And while a tad unsettling it's honestly.. nicer a fate than I expected. It's still pure hell for bill.. but the place isn't EVIL. it geninely wants to help it's patients, even the worst people imaginable and while there's things like a sensory deprevation void, it's clearly because this place is essentially arkham asylym but ran compitently and with actual care towards ehabilitation. To let those who genuinely repent reincarnate.. granted there are options like "cloud of spore sor a butterfly" but I get that maybe Freddy Kruger dose'nt need to come back as a wolverine and possibly maul faces. Let him get a chance at that third time around.

But for Bill.. a place to self reflect, heal and come back as something powerful.. as hell. There's no ESCAPE: whatever's running this place is clearly powerful enough to hold fucking BILL down. Darcy's helmet is there too in a nice little cameo and I wouldn't be suprised if every dead disney villian deemed enough of a threat was here. Honestly making Bill and Belos room together is the punishment they deserve. or belos does, Bill would get a kick out of having someone to torment so maybe just let him do it in moderatoin. As a treat if he participates in group.

It's Bill.. trapped in his own personal hell... a place he can't escape through manipulation, surrounded by people he dosen't respect, with the only way out being self reflection and a cursed arts and craft project that was quickly confiscated before it coudl take the reader. Bill's fate was already great in the show.. but this improves on it> Bil got conned twice and is trapped in a hell he could easily escape but never will because he just.. can't grow. He won't. He refuses to. His ego can't take it. So all that's left in the book is bill pathetically whimpering that SOMEONE wil lcome from him.. but with his henchmaniacs thinking he's dead and having spent his life burning bridges.. no one ever will.

This book is amazing. Read it if you can. A truly great little followup that fills in some gaps, is packed densely with jokes, has some really effective horror and has a truly amazing ending. Check it out if you haven't and if you can.

Thanks for reading

[phoenixgrl1412]

DpxDC - Danny Phantom Comics Idea

I've seen a few posts where Danny and the others are huge fans of the Justice League and of certain members. Like, having posters and getting autographs and having merch. Or knowing a hero's entire public history.

But what if some of the Justice League members were the fans, and the Danny Phantom universe was a comic series in the DC universe? And many of the JL heroes grew up on the Danny Phantom comics, which inspired them to become heroes.

I'm imagining Clark Kent, Barry Allen, and even Bruce Wayne grew up in the height of "Phantom mania", when the comics were at their most popular and the phandom was reaching peak numbers. There was also talk of a television show and movies on the big screen. The comic run during their childhood is widely regarded as one of the best runs/timelines, and is the same as DP Universe we know.

The "Phantom mania" as it was called, happened before superheroes/vigilantes, villains, and metas were a thing. And once all of that did became common place, civilians stopped reading that genre. People didn't want to read about real life, they wanted an escape, and the Phantom comics were not that. There were still phans, of course, but not enough to keep the series profitable.

The Phantom comics were not the only hero comic happening at that time, but they did outlast the rest as the writers/whoever else refused to quit working on it until they had no choice. Unlike most hero comics of the time, the writers were able to give the Phantom comics a somewhat rushed and imperfect ending, giving some closure for the series. The comic issues covering the Phantom Planet incident are widely debated by the phandom, with some treating them as canon while others regard it as bad fanfic (for the purpose of this AU, I'm leaning towards Phantom Planet not being canon to the DP universe, but an attempt by the writers of the DC universe to give the series closure when so many other hero comics ended in the middle of a story arc that would never be finished).

There were a few attempted reboots of the Phantom comics, but were poorly done and so different from the "best" run and of such poor quality that they were all flops. The serialization that happened when Clark, Barry, and Bruce were kids is considered to be the last/best/official version of the comics.

For those three, and for other heroes too, the character of Danny Fenton/Phantom and his journey in becoming a hero is such an integral part of how they develop as heroes.

Does Bruce get the idea to become a vigilante/hero thanks to his childhood comic book hero, Phantom? If so, you can't prove it. And so what if he based some of Brucie Wayne's antics on things that Danny or his friends did, you can't prove that either.

(You also can't prove that he dressed up as Phantom for Halloween two years in a row. Alfred can though, and he threatens to pull out the pictures to show the batkids when Bruce is being particularly stubborn.)

For Barry, it's the lab accident. He goes through something similar to what Danny does in his lab accident in the comics (lots of electricity and either chemicals or ectoplasm). Barry struggles with coming to terms with his accident and accepting his new abilities. He isn't sure what to do at first, but he gets reminded of the Phantom comics from when he was a kid. And yeah, Danny isn't real, but his story is still an inspiration and a source of comfort.

Barry rereads through the comics shortly after his accident, and the beginning issues hit home in a way they hadn't before. Danny Fenton had a traumatic lab accident, just like Barry did. And while Barry wasn't half dead, he did come out of his accident with incredible new powers, just like Danny. Those first issues, where Danny is struggling in figuring out his new normal and learning about his abilities through trial and error, resonate with Barry. There are his fears, laid out in print for all to see. Every argument Barry has with himself about what to do with his powers is also there, and it's comforting to know that someone else, even a fictional character, gets it.

Barry decides to become a hero and calls himself The Flash. If his very first (and short-lived) costume design was black and white, and not his now-icon red and yellow, you can't prove anything.

The scenes where Danny is bullied by Dash, after Danny has his powers, might resonate with Clark more than the other bits. Maybe Clark takes the interpretation, as some of the phandom does, that Danny doesn't fight back physically because, with his powers, he could seriously hurt Dash if he did. Maybe he could even kill him if he wasn't careful. And Clark, who at the time is struggling with his own emerging abilities and identity as an alien, rereads his childhood comfort series and sees those scenes. And Clark understands in a way he didn't before, the fear that he could hurt someone accidentally with his strength. And seeing Danny struggle with being accepted by his parents and the town, but knowing he had the unconditional support of his friends and his sister, helps Clark accept himself.

And years later, when he meets his clone, Conner, Clark is infinitely more prepared for the situation and actually handles it well.

And if Clark refers to Lex Luthor as a fruitloop after that, well, only the phandom will understand.

(Lex is furious when it gets brought to his attention. He isn't a phan, but he grew up during that era and couldn't avoid the comics or people talking about them. He resents the implication that he is anything like Vlad Masters, because Lex is clearly more successful. Obviously. But he can't exactly sue Superman for comparing him to a children's comic book villain. Or can he?)

At some point, maybe after a debrief or something, a few of the Justice League members are chit chatting. They somehow start talking about nostalgic things from their childhood. Flash brings up the Phantom comics, and is surprised to learn that Superman and Green Lantern are also fans.

Wonder Woman and Martian Manhunter are unfamiliar with the series, prompting a long conversation about the series and its importance. Superman agrees to lend the pair the first issues to see if they like it.

Meanwhile Batman is just standing in the shadows, wanting to participate in the phandom conversation going on but he can't because it isn't something Batman would do. He eavesdrops instead, making a mental note to acquire another set of the comics for himself.

Bruce's set of comics from when he was a kid, was discovered by a young Dick Grayson. Dick was Robin at this point in time, but the mythos surrounding Robin hadn't been fully developed yet. Dick fell in love with the series, which was one of the only comics to feature a teen hero, like himself. I'm not saying that Dick's love of puns and banter came from Danny, but I'm not saying it didn't.

And does Dick use these old comics he stole from Bruce to bond with his new siblings? Absolutely! He introduces them to Jason first, and they spend hours reading and rereading them together. Jason is the one to discover Danny Phantom fanfiction, and shares it with Dick, who is thrilled to have new Phantom content and something else to bond over with Jason. Dick eventually convinces Jason to write his own, and Jason bounces ideas off of Dick.

(Neither is aware that Bruce overhears one of these conversations and seeks out Jason's fanfic. He reads it and subscribes, and leaves a review that Jason gushes about for weeks).

(And After, when Jason is back but is so, so angry, Jason finds that Danny Fenton is even more relatable then he was before. Where else would there be a character who is half dead and makes death jokes? Reading those comics with Dick are some of the memories that he can look back on without seeing green.)

Tim knows about the comics, when Dick drags them out, but he isn't really a phan. He does like the tech though, so some of his leisure projects are trying to recreate the weapons or making a PDA he can hack the pentagon with. He says he doesn't have a favorite character because he isn't as obsessed with it as Dick and Jason, but he totally does. I want to say it would be Tucker, but that feels like a cheap take, so maybe it is one of the ghosts. Or maybe Dani?

Now, Damian isn't too interested in the story of Danny Phantom, the Halfa Hero. It is his first introduction to comics and that storytelling format though, and Damian is a fan of that. He goes on to learn about other comics and manga, but the Phantom comics will always hold a sense of nostalgia for him as they were his first. And Dick forced Damian to read them with him, and Damian does look back on that forced-bonding fondly, even if he would rather stab himself than admit it. He absolutely makes fanart or a fancomic for Dick for his birthday one year, but makes Dick swear to never show it to anyone else or reveal that Damian drew it.

Dick has put a picture of it in the family chat before Damian is even done talking.

-----

All this being said, please imagine all the chaos and fangirling that would arise if post-canon Danny, from the DP universe, somehow ended up in the DC universe and in front of the Justice League.

[icanseethefuture333]

Hi Desi ! Can i ask you who is stray kids would date a woc of different ethnicities ? Thank you :)

Oop! 😳 Time to spill some more tea then 🤭

MTL to date a WOC outside of Korea in Stray Kids:

(According to my pendulum, based off of their current energy / preferences)

Felix

I.N

Bang Chan

Changbin

Seungmin

Han

Hyunjin

Lee Know

Top row:

Left is Bang Chan, center is I.N, and right is Felix

Bang chan's reasoning for being third most likely is because he's very sexually enticed by woc outside of his race. They peak his interest and finds them attractive. I am pretty sure he's been with them before. Some of you guys might not want to hear this but it's giving he wants to soar his oats with just about anybody 🫣. I'm not really getting any romantic feelings, so he seems non committal or he would date a foreigner, but would really have to think about if he'd marry one. He's not really mature yet long term for a cross cultural or interracial relationship. Bang Chan is still ignorant in some areas of other cultures (he just wants to fuck 🥱). It's just giving like he is aware of other people's culture and then when dating someone who's not from the same culture, it's like he think would make a better partner than someone hasn't before. A know it all who doesn't really know it all ifykwim. When its like he can't hold any of his relationships down, he constantly searches for new beginnings or the next thing sexually (for any Bang Chan fans ready to fight don't be arguing with me on anon in my inbox!!! This is his energy for now, he's in his fuckboy era, do not put the blame on me for this! Sometimes we won't always hear the most pure or positive messages about our faves and that is okay)

Ngl I.N surprised me 😳 even though I did channeled before that his future spouse was someone that had dual citizenships (Korean and British). I was pleased to hear what his response was on dating a woc outside of his country or race. I.N's view on dating a woc that isn't Korean is quite positive. He shows admiration for them and has more pure intentions than I would say in comparison to Bang Chan (💀 I mean no shade??? but eh, I said what I said). I.N would be very supportive and willing to learn about his partner's culture or traditions. He honestly wouldn't care as long as they have similar family structures. I.N is rebellious by nature, so he just cares about his happiness and the happiness of his loved ones.

Felix's reasoning for being most likely to date a woc is given the fact he feels like he is an outsider in his own country and culture as well. He is Korean, but doesn't feel Korean enough? Felix resonates more with how he grew up in Australia and misses that lifestyle. There is water here and what seems like a beach. Felix could outpour a lot of love towards people that are different from him now and doesn't judge based off of racial stereotypes. Being able to travel overseas and meet new people has allowed him to open his mind and broaden his horizons. It's almost as if he was limiting himself in some areas (caring too much about labels, what's Korean, what's not Korean, what makes him Australian or what doesn't make him Australian). Controversial maybe??? Felix could feel more loved and respected by woc outside of Korea (I laughed I'm sorry 💀). There is a cultural difference so maybe they are more expressive with their love language where as in Korea they show it differently (I.E: a foreign woc might be affectionate and show physical touch, where a Korean woman would exchange gifts). Felix's view on dating woc could be more so a romantic fantasy or he likes the relationships he's seen in movies, television, or music videos. I channeled this before in a reading for him but I always think of Harry Styles and his Grammy's performance for "As It Was" to be his ideal romance. (Felix fr just as delulu as the rest of us LMAOOO 🤧)

Middle row:

Left is Changbin, center is Seungmin, and right is Han

Changbin is down for whatever honestly 💀. He's not the type to search for love but more so takes action only if he wants to experience it. He's romantic in general so if anyone could handle him and his quirks, then he's happy. Changbin would be very charming. I feel like he just needs the opportunity to meet a woc? I don't think he's ever dated a woc outside of Korea fr. "I had the plan, I just needed the platform" type of energy 🤣

Seungmin would be a hot mess I'm sorry 💀 I'm not even gonna sugarcoat it. It's like he wants to but he's not doing it based off of realistic decisions. It's more so he has an idea of what it's like to date a woc outside of Korea, but he's not focusing on the sentimental value of what it means to be in a relationship. Seungmin is very picky in general and makes romantic decisions based off of his illusions (another delulu??? Free the Virgos please). So because of his high expectations he would not be able to form long lasting connections. Also woc could be turned off by his behavior as well, they would most likely call him out or reject him because he's not mature enough. They won't tolerate it. Seungmin would just get his feelings hurt but it would be his own fault for being so damn sassy all the time 😂. He is stubborn though, so he would keep trying until he learns his lesson and also he finds the right person who can match his energy. The person he dates would require a looooot of patience because he is not easy to deal with. Very chaotic energy, but funny!

The reason Han is one of the members who is least likely is because he is more shy and introverted. So going up to a person and asking them out in general is not his thing. If Han were to date a woc that wasn't Korean, he'd have to be most likely friends first. "I have anxiety bruh." (💀). He'd want to take his time and get to know the person regardless of what their race is. I don't think he has much of a preference, it's just about who he's attracted to within that time. Han would be protective of his partner though and would express his love through gifts, money, etc.

Bottom row:

Left is Hyunjin & right is Lee Know

Hyunjin for being one of the members who is least likely to date a non-Korean woc is because he is very traditional. Whenever I do readings regarding his love life he always makes this very clear. He finds some woc (yes I said some because it's not a large number of woc he likes💀) beautiful, but it's not something he wants to go through all the trouble for. Too tedious for his liking. Hyunjin's fanbase is mostly in Korea as well so he could focus more on that because that is the attention he is used to getting from, so he cares more about catering to his fans, his family's expectations, as well as his own personal preferences. It's like he's not closed off to the idea, but Hyunjin doesn't like change. He prefers to stick to what he knows and situations that are predictable. To try being in a cross cultural or interracial relationship, it would make Hyunjin really anxious, nervous, and uncomfortable, because it is a type of environment he is not used to. I can say for sure say he's only ever dated a woman who was Korean or of Asian descent. Hyunjin would have to work on his confidence and care more about his own thoughts than other people's thoughts in order to be with a woc that wasn't Korean.

Lee Know is somewhat similar to Hyunjin's response, with a nicer approach. In his opinion, he feels like it requires courage to be in a relationship with a woc outside of Korea. He believes people who date someone that isn't the same race as them go through a lot of hardship. Channeled message: "I think if I was a father and my child looked like me, or looked like me a little less because they had features like their mama, whether their skin was maybe darker or their hair was a different texture. People would be very cruel and it would make me very upset as a dad. It's not a easy route to take. Maybe in the future when I am more brave I will think about it, as for now I am okay with being a coward!" (PLS 💀)

I hope you guys enjoyed this reading! I will be forming my own harem with these 4, take care besties 💋

[steventhusiast]

STWG prompt 3/2/24

prompt: favourite childhood show

pairing/character(s): steddie + their kid

-

Steve's kicking off his shoes after getting home from work when he notices the noise coming from the living room. A distantly familiar theme song accompanied by giggles he knows oh-so-well.

"This is what Star Trek looked like when you were a kid?" He hears Lydia say through her giggles.

"Do not disrespect what I would watch on my Saturday mornings, little miss." Eddie replies.

When the giggles turn into squeals, Steve's finally finished hanging his keys and coat up by the door and has made his way to the doorway of the living room.

Eddie's got their girl tight in his grip as he tickles her tummy, and Lydia's flailing all the limbs she's got around as she squeals for mercy.

"I didn't mean it!" Lydia gasps through her laughter, "I'm sure it was great for its time!"

"For its time?" Eddie squawks back, and his tickles get more viscious, "this is peak television, Lydi-loo!"

"What's going on here?" Steve finally asks, hands on his hips. Eddie stops immediately, smiling at him innocently and letting Lydia squirm away to get the rest of her laughter out and catch her breath on the other side of the couch.

"How was work, darling illegal husband?"

Steve huffs out a laugh at that, but before he can even think about replying, Lydia's finished catching her breath and is ready to accuse her father with a grin on her face.

"Dad's forcing me to watch Star Trek again, but not even good Star Trek! The other one he showed me- the live action -was fine, but this?This is what you guys had to deal with in the 40s or whenever you were kids?" She rants, hands waving about as she goes.

(She definitely takes after Eddie with her dramatics and tendency to monologue.)

And Steve was going to play on her side five seconds ago, but the 40s?

"Eds. Did you hear what she just said?" He asks, one eyebrow raised at their twelve-year-old.

"I think I did. Someone's gotta teach her how to respect quality television." Eddie nods sagely, a smirk tugging at his lips again.

"The 40s, seriously." Steve mutters to himself and shakes his head. But then he has an idea.

"Uh oh." He hears from Lydia as he turns to look at his husband.

They have a conversation through expression only as Lydia watches on. And when they both turn to her with mischievous expressions, she stands from the couch.

"I think I'm just gonna go to my room..." She edges toward the doorway, "got loads of homework, you know how it is-"

"I think you need a visit from the tickle monsters first."

And with that, any post-work plans Steve had are out of the window because an evening-long war in the Munson household has begun. That's okay though. Productivity can wait till tomorrow, Steve's got family memories to create.

[stardustcatcher]

Fluff Alphabet (Danny Wagner)

Pairing: Danny Wagner x Reader

Word Count: 4.2K

Warnings: y'all already know it's fluffy and sweet so make sure to brush after to prevent cavities, marriage, talk of babies, mentions of drinking and being drunk (just trust me), uhh and danny being the sweetest most bestest partner, let me know if i missed anything :)

AN: look at him up there,, doesn't he just look so boyfriend :,) i'm sorry this took a little bit longer, i was having a little bit of writer's block, but i did it and here she is! i love writing for danny, he's just peak romantic boyfriend material. as always, i hope you all enjoy and remember that all feedback (likes, comments, reblogs) is welcomed, appreciated, and encouraged. hearing back from you guys keeps me going :) i love you all <3

taglist

A ctivities - What do they like to do with their s/o? How do they spend their free time with them?

Danny’s favorite way to spend his time with you is just by simply being around you. Even just doing separate things while being in each other’s presence, you could be reading while Danny sits on the other side of the couch scribbling words down in his music journal. It’s one of your favorite things to do with each other, just existing together. Though that’s not all you do, Danny also loves to take you out to local shows, whether it’s bands or artists that he knows/is friends with or just some random show downtown, it’s like he’s immersing you in his world a little bit and he loves it. Since music is essentially his whole life, besides you, it's a fun way to include you in a way that wouldn’t be boring like just sitting in the studio while he works.

B aby - Do they want a family? Why/Why not?

Because he’s still young, kids aren’t in the forefront of Danny’s mind, but that doesn’t mean he never thought about it. He loves his parents, he has a very good relationship with them and has been told that having kids is one of life’s greatest joys. He’d love to experience that for himself, especially with you. He’s had dreams about a couple babies of his own, to give them the experiences he had growing up, though it’s safe to say that those dreams are a long ways away. He’s away for long periods of time, and it’s hard enough to be away from just you, he couldn’t imagine being away from his own hypothetical children. So he would ideally like a family, but not for quite some time. 

C uddle - How do they like to cuddle?

  Danny loves being the big spoon when you two cuddle. He’s large but gentle, your own personal teddy bear. His favorite is when you’re both laying in bed after a long day, a movie on the television, and your head is laying on his chest with his arm wrapped around your shoulder, tracing gentle shapes into the skin. Having you in his arms, protected from the outside world, the two of you locked in your own personal bubble is Danny’s personal happy place. 

D reams - How do they picture their future with their s/o?

Even before your relationship was official, Danny often found himself daydreaming about a future with you. Right when you met, you had wormed your way into his heart and mind and he knew that you were the one he wanted to be with for a long long time, preferably forever but that thought kind of scared him. He’ll often imagine traveling the world with you, taking you along with him to all the places his career lets him go. Whatever he does, he wants you right there with him. Danny wants to spend forever with you, and it took a little while for him to come to terms with that desire since you’re both still young, but the more he thought about it the more comfortable he got with the idea. Any future with you is his dream future. 

E qual - Are they the dominant one in the relationship, or rather passive?

At the beginning of your relationship, Danny was the more dominant one. It was before you two really found your groove with each other and that was just how it worked out, once you both fell into a certain level of comfortability and routine it became a relationship of equals. While around his friends, or social situations pertaining to him, Danny will assume the more dominant role. Though when around your friends or family, or events/situations for you, you’ll take the lead. It really all depends on the circumstance, Danny is very versatile and doesn’t really have a dominant personality in everyday domestic life. But if that’s something you need, if you’re having an off day or just need him to take the lead a little bit more, he has no issue doing that for you and it comes relatively easy. 

F eelings - When did they know they were in love?

Danny knew he was in love with you on your very first date. You’d been friends for a little bit at that point and he had finally mustered up the courage to ask you out, the elation and relief he felt was unlike anything he’s ever felt before. He drove you both out to a clearing near where he lived, it was somewhere he’d gone when he needed time away or he wanted to write, it brought him peace and was absolutely gorgeous. He had packed a picnic basket of all your favorites and guided you out into the clearing, hand in hand. As soon as he saw the smile spread across your face he knew he was completely and utterly in love with you. Hearing you gasp in awe at the beauty of the nature around you, watching you chase after butterflies and watch the sunset, he knew without a doubt that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with you next to him. 

G ratitude - How grateful are they in general? Are they aware of what their s/o is doing for them?

Danny is a very grateful person in general. He is grateful for the amount of opportunities he has been given to live out his dream, for all the cool places he’s got to go and things he’s been able to see, he thanks his lucky stars every day for everything he has and that also extends to you. He’s grateful for everything you do for him, whether that’s acts of kindness or things you choose to miss out on because of him. He know’s his life is not the most stable because of his job and you’ve had to miss out on being able to do or go to certain things because of who he is, and he acknowledges it every time, thanking you and also telling you that you don’t have to work around his schedule and life all the time, but you’re always happy to do it because he’s Danny and you love him endlessly. 

H onesty - Do they have secrets they hide from their s/o? Or do they share everything?

Danny has no secrets to keep from you, the only time he’d ever withhold information from you would be if he was planning something for you. He’ll tell you anything you want to know, he firmly believes that there is no point of secrets in your relationship. He’s not afraid to tell you anything and since he tells you everything it’s created a space for you to tell him anything as well. You both know that you can go to each other and say absolutely anything and there will be absolutely no judgement. 

I nspiration - Did their s/o change them somehow, or the other way around? Like trying out new things or helping them overcome personal problems?

You’ve definitely helped Danny come out of his shell and embrace himself. Prior to your relationship he was rather quiet and shy, happy to fade into the background and play mediator. With you around, he’s become more of himself, both on the outside (like expressing himself with his clothing or trying makeup) and on the inside (just becoming more comfortable with who he is as a person) and it’s something that he will never be able to thank you for enough. 

J ealousy - Do they get jealous easily? How do they deal with it?

  Danny is not a jealous person whatsoever, he’s only ever really gotten jealous once and it was only because another man was blatantly flirting with you in front of him. He claims to not get jealous because he loves you and knows that you love him. He knows you would never choose another person over him, you chose to be with him and only him, so why should he feel threatened by another when he’s already your first and only choice?

K iss - Are they a good kisser? What was the first kiss like?

You had been the one to initiate your first kiss with Danny. It was your birthday and instead of going out all you wanted to do was spend the day with him. You made him promise to not get you anything, not wanting him to spend money on you because you said “his presence was a good enough gift” but he didn’t listen. “Everyone should get to open something on their birthday” he had said, pulling out a little gift bag from behind his back. You lightly scolded him, reminding that you had said no gifts but he just told you to open it. Inside the bag was a book you had been wanting forever and a small box. You looked at him skeptically but he just urged you to open it. You carefully unwrapped the box and inside laid a necklace with a pendant that housed a pressed flower from the clearing where you had your first date. Tears welled in your eyes as you looked up at him, he was biting his lip, nervous that you wouldn’t like it or think that it was dumb. But you just threw your arms around him, squeezing him against you so tightly that you couldn’t breath. “You like it?” he asked when you pulled away. “I love it,” you whispered, hand caressing the side of his face before you gently pressed your lips to his. They were soft and warm, and he tasted like spearmint and the soda he’d been drinking. Danny was by far the best person you’d ever kissed, he tenderly laid a large hand on your jaw and smiled into your lips. It was perfect. 

L ove - Who says ‘I love you’ first

You were the one to say I love you first, and it had been kind of an accident. You’d been out on a date to a bar that Danny and the Kiszkas frequented, just a nice night to relax and let loose. Your job was stressing you out lately and Danny thought it’d be nice for the two of you to get out of the house for a little bit. Needless to say, you ended up indulging a little more than intended and passed out on the Uber ride back home. He helped you inside, making you drink some water and take some aspirin for the impending hangover the tomorrow would surely bring. He took such care with helping you change into some of his pajamas, knowing how much you loathed falling asleep in your outside clothes, and he even carefully wiped off your makeup with the wipes he kept in his bathroom just for you. He got himself changed and laid down in bed with you, and just as you were on the verge of sleep you cuddled into him. “You’re too good to me, Daniel,” you mumbled, cheek squished against his chest. “I love you.”

Danny’s heart skipped a beat and his breath got caught in his chest, not because he didn’t feel the same way, but because he’d been waiting for so long to say those same words to you. He didn’t want to scare you off or think it was too soon, but you’d beat him to it in your drunken haze. “I love you too, honey,” he pressed a kiss to the top of your head, but you were already deep in your dreams. He promised himself that “I love you” would be the first thing he’d tell you when you woke up. 

M emory - What’s their favorite memory together?

A memory that really sticks out in Danny’s mind, and one he finds himself coming back to often, is the first time that you saw him performing. It was relatively early in your relationship and his work was a part of his life he hadn’t shared much with you yet, not that he didn’t want to, the occasion had just never come up. So he had asked you to come the first show of their tour which started in Nashville, you’d been ecstatic having seen on social media how all the fans went all out for the concerts and even though you’d seen videos and heard Danny play, you knew it couldn’t compare to seeing it live and in person. 

When it finally came, it felt like you were just as hyped and full of energy as the boys, you watched in awe at all the people bustling around you, the fans in the pit and the seats all preparing for what seemed like the best night of their lives. It was already magical and the show hadn’t even started yet. Time ticked by and before you knew it, there was a crew member knocking on the dressing room door to tell them there was five minutes to stage, you could see the boys get even more excited as they gathered their things and followed security towards the stage. Right before he went on, you pulled Danny to the side and planted a kiss on his lips, whispering “Break a leg, rockstar,” before a security guard led you to the side of the stage where you’d watch the show. 

As soon as the music started it was like Danny was a completely different person, you felt the magic everyone had spoken about, how when they played they were their truest selves. During his drum solo, you screamed along with the crowd, Danny turning his head toward you while still pounding against the drums and sending you a wink and a smile. Danny felt that show was the best he’d ever played, and if you ask the rest of the band, they’d say the same thing. When it was all over, you’d felt like you were floating and as soon as Danny walked off stage, you launched yourself at him, arms circling his neck face buried in his neck no matter how sweaty he was. You grabbed his face and pressed your lips hard against his, ignoring Sam’s wolf whistle as he passed you. 

When you broke apart, Danny’ll never forget the look in your eyes—pure love and adoration. “You’re fucking amazing,” you whispered as his hands ran up and down your waist. His smile sparkled, he’d heard it before and never let other people’s praise get to his head, but it meant so much coming from you. He was over the moon happy to have shared another part of his life with you. 

N ickel - Do they spoil? Do they buy the person they love everything?

Danny doesn’t spoil in the sense of gifts, though he does buy you things when the urge strikes him, but he prefers to spoil you in terms of doing something nice for you. Whether that be a chore that he knows you hate or just doing something nice for you just because he feels like it. It’s how he shows he cares. 

O n Cloud Nine - What are they like when they are in love? Is it obvious for others? How do they express their feelings?

Danny absolutely glows with love while in your relationship, there is a genuine physical change. He’s already a happy guy, but there’s just a certain gleam about him when you’re together. Even his fans can tell that something is different about him, how happy he looks and how he’s always smiling. His bandmates/brothers obviously know, but even before he’d spilled the beans that he was seeing something, they could see a change in Danny. He plays better, his creative juices always flowing now that he has a muse. He tries not to talk about you constantly, knowing that it would surely be annoying to those around him, but sometimes he just couldn’t help it. When you’re around, Danny seems complete. He’s happy and smiley and everything always seems a little bit better. 

P et Name - What pet names do they use? 

Danny is very traditional in terms of pet names. Some of his favorites are honey, darling, and sweetheart. He enjoys the simplicity of them and feels as though they fit you well. You are his honey, his darling, his sweetheart. He uses pet names more than your actual name most of the time. He likes how blushy you get when he uses them in public, and how you’re so used to them that sometimes you don’t respond to your actual name when he calls. 

Q uirk - Some random ability they have that’s beneficial in a relationship.

Since he’s a tall man he uses his height to his advantage. He likes when you ask him to get things for you, so much so that he’ll purposefully place things higher up so you’ll call for him to get them. Getting you a mug from the top shelf and handing it to you with a kiss on the forehead never fails to put a smile on his face. 

R omance - How romantic are they? What would they do to make their s/o happy? Cliché or rather creative?

Danny is a hopeless romantic, he personally loves the clichés of romanticism and finds them to be the sweetest thing. Early in your relationship, a weekly date night was implemented and it will never be missed. Even when he’s away on tour you’ll have your date nights via video calls, he wouldn’t miss them for the world. There’s been multiple occasions when there were bouquets of flowers waiting for you at your job, a little note attached that read “just because I love you”. It warms your heart and warms his when he gets a text telling him how much you appreciate his little gestures. You weren’t sure how much you believed all the stereotypes of romance before Danny, but when he came into your life, it turned your whole view of it around. 

S upport - Are they helping their s/o achieve their goals? Do they believe in them?

If you say you have a personal goal that you want to achieve, Danny is automatically up and looking at ways to help that dream come to fruition. Not that he thinks you need his help, Danny finds you incredibly strong and talented, he believes you could do anything you put your mind to, but he wants to be however involved you want him to be. Danny wants nothing more than to be a part of your journey, whatever that may be. If you want him right by your side, holding your hand the whole time, that’s what he’ll be. And if you prefer him on the sidelines, cheering you on, he’s happy to do that too. 

T hrill - Do they need to try out new things to spice up your relationship? Or do they prefer a certain routine?

Danny likes a routine, he finds comfort in the stability of it. He likes the routine of a date night every week, your bi-weekly trips to the bookstore and coffee shop every other Sunday. His work life is often so hectic that it’s nice to come home and know that things will be the same there. Though there is also a level of thrill in your relationship, while he’s not necessarily a “risk taker” he’s up to trying anything if you’re right there with him. Say you see something you want to try, a new place you want to go, Danny is up for the adventure if it’ll bring you happiness and you’re next to him. 

U nderstanding - How good do they know their partner? Are they empathetic?

If empathetic was a person, it would be Danny. He’s very compassionate and sweet and understanding. He wants to be able to know you like the back of his hand, he feels like it would only bring you closer. And he does, Danny knows you better than anyone and he loves every part of you. All your little quirks and imperfections he knows and loves them. To him they’re all a part of what makes you the person you are. He takes pride in knowing you as well as he does, being so in tune with you lends a hand to your relationship. He’ll know when you’re feeling uncomfortable or cranky just by the look on your face. He’ll know when you’re happy and excited just by the way you move. How well he knows you is one of his favorite things and he considers it a privilege to be able to know you that well. 

V alue - How important is the relationship to them? What is it worth in comparison to other things in their life?

Your relationship with Danny is the most important thing in his life. He holds you above all and would never do anything to jepordize it. Your relationship is as important to him as his career and his music, you are his family and his love. You’ve made his life better and he can’t picture himself without you. You’re a team and there is no one without the other. You are the most important thing in his life. 

W edding - Do they want to get married? How do they propose? What would the marriage be like?

Danny had dreamt of getting married since he was a little boy, he remembers going to weddings when he was young and he always dreamed of having a love that great that he could share with friends and family. Before he proposed you two had spoken about marriage, just wanting to know if you both were on the same page. You had told him that you couldn’t really see yourself getting married until you met him, that was when he knew that he would marry you. When he proposes to you, it’s in that same clearing that your first date was. He’s very sentimental and knows that spot holds a special place in your heart and his. 

Your wedding is filled with family and friends, it’s everything you pictured and more. You hadn’t believed in marital bliss before getting married to Danny. You didn’t think you could possibly love him more than you did before, but you did. Your relationship is basically the same, just the added perk of being able to call him your husband. You didn’t need a wedding or a piece of paper to show that you loved each other, but being able to share that experience surrounded by friends and family was beautiful. Danny is the perfect husband and you wouldn’t have wanted to be married to anyone else. 

X OXO - Are they very affectionate? Do they love to kiss and cuddle?

Danny is very subtly affectionate while in public, a hand on the small of your back or in your back pocket, a kiss on the temple or cheek, nothing too crazy but he will always have a hand on you just to reassure himself that you’re there and alright. Though at home or around people he’s comfortable with, he’s on you like a fucking koala. Danny loves to kiss and hug and cuddle, he just loves love and showing how much he loves you. There will be multiple occasions when you two are just hanging out at home, watching TV and just relaxing, and suddenly he’ll hook a finger under your chin and kiss you. You’re always blushing and looking at him with a raised eyebrow when he pulls back, a look on your face that says “what was that for?”. He’ll always shrug and throw an arm around your shoulders, pulling you into his side. “Just wanted a kiss,” he’d respond in the sweetest voice, burying his nose in your hair. 

Y earning - How will they cope when they’re missing their partner?

Because there are times when he’s gone alot there are certain things you two have put in place to make it easier on both of you. When he’s home, you’re almost always together, so when he is away it can be very difficult. Even when he’s thousands of miles away, he’ll never miss your weekly date. He thanks the universe for facetime every day when he’s on tour since it's your main form of communication when he’s gone. There’s a facetime call at least every other day and on off days or days when he can’t find time to call you either because they’re so busy or because of the time differences he will text you all day and everyday. There will always be a goodmorning text and a goodnight text and some inbetween to tell you about his day or ask about yours. Even when you can’t answer immediately because of work or time zones, he’ll talk to you as if you’re right there next to him. It helps the distance not feel so great. 

Z eal - Are they willing to go to great lengths for the relationship? If so, what kind of?

Danny would crawl hands and knees to the ends of the earth for you, he didn’t know a love before you. Though he dreamed of it, all love felt like it just existed in movies. When you came along, he knew immediately that he would do anything to make you as happy as you made him. He would do anything to protect you, cherish you, and love you. Danny considers your relationship to be one of the best things that has ever happened to him, if not the best thing, and he would go to the moon and back to keep it. If you wanted the stars, Danny would go up into space and get them himself.

=

taglist: @mintysammykiszka @peachpitpearls @alexxavicry @spark-my-nature @angelbabyyy99 @writingcold

[sabbathbloodysabbeth]

Supernaut (Chapter 2)

Ahh here’s the next chapter to Supernaut! I’m so excited to share it with everyone and here’s the link to the ao3 :)

“Hey kid,” Wayne’s voice is rough and gravily as he talks. He shifts his weight from one foot to the other, that movement alone causing the trailer to make loud creaky noises. Wayne leans over at a slight angle, on the same side he was leaning most of his weight on, to peek into Eddie's room.

Eddie knew Wayne wouldn't just push his way into his room without permission. They each respected the other's boundaries too much to do that. Wayne had always preferred just peaking into his room to see if he was alright or needed anything, and if the door was closed Wayne knew not to bug him. It had been a working system for a while now.

”Yeah, Wayne?” That was the go-ahead for Wayne to slightly push the door open so he could talk to Eddie face-to-face. 

“I'm about to head out, need anything?” He asks as his eyes wander the room like he always did. It was a habit he had picked up from the army, always scanning a room to confirm that there was no danger. This is why Eddie wasn’t surprised when his Uncle raised an eyebrow at the numerous medical books and articles on his bed.

Similar to the door situation, they had created a system of just not asking. It would be much harder to explain than just ignoring it. Typically Eddie was doing research like this for a DnD campaign. Not for someone whose life depended on it. (He was being dramatic, but from how Steve Harrington looked he wouldn’t be surprised if his everyday life depended on what to do and not to do with the information this book was giving him.)

Eddie furrows his eyebrows, moving a hand to rub at his face. His eyes are beginning to strain from spending numerous hours reading. He had a small headache and his stomach growls from not getting up to grab lunch. He was starving but was too focused on the research to pay attention to such human problems. But he didn’t need to bother Wayne about that, Eddie knew how to fend for himself.

“Nope, not that I can think of.” Eddie hums gently. He wiggles around in his spot when he begins to feel what parts of his body fell asleep, such as his ass. 

Eddie offers a small smile to his uncle, who simply gives him a hand gesture to get the boy to go back to whatever he is doing. “Alright, see you in the morning kiddo.” 

When Eddie knows his Uncle is safely in his truck and out of the driveway he dives back into his research. Chewing his lip and pencil as he kept scanning and reading intensely when he found something that could mean something and be understandable.

As time progressed, he was beginning to realize that some medical stuff contradicted itself. One paper said not to sleep for twenty-four hours after a concussion and the next said to get as much rest as possible, even within the first twenty-four hours. Eddie makes sure to take note of this.

“Keep an eye on the patient for repeated vomiting, worsening headaches, visual problems, problems sleeping, trouble balancing, dilated pupils, and problems walking. To have a speedier recovery make sure the patient avoids any physical activity that can lead to another concussion, along with driving, watching too much television, using any illegal substances, or consuming alcohol. If anything worsens you should see a licensed professional immediately.” 

The more he read the more concerned Eddie was for Steve Harrington. He hadn’t paid much attention to the guy but from the short time he had talked to him, he was checking off a decent amount of things that were “noteworthy” and serious enough for a doctor to get involved.

Eddie doesn’t even bother writing that all down, instead he pulls a highlighter out and highlights the entire paragraph to read to Steve when he sees him next. 

He didn't care if the library yelled at him for "Ruining" their book. He's sure that the next person who would be checking this out would be another Steve Harrington. Another Steve Harrington who didn't have time to read over three hundred pages worth of nonsense that doesn't even give any new knowledge. Just common sense like avoiding getting hit in the head. It didn't take a supersonic genius to figure that one out, Sherlock.

Eddie secretly hoped the next person who needed this book, like Steve does, could just skim through the book and find that paragraph.

He figures that he has done enough for the night, and learned all he could to help Steve Harrington. So he allows himself one dramatic flop into his bed before grabbing a leftover joint off his side table. After all of that reading, he deserved one.

However, what he didn’t like to admit was how much anxiety he currently felt over Steve Harrington.

*****

The next day Eddie got up and ready for school much faster than normal. On average, he was out the door by the second period and on campus for the fourth. The perfect time to show up to school as his lunch was fifth.

Today though he had some motivation to get to school on time. He had finished his research the night before and was eager to share it with Steve. (And collect his money of course.)

He had all his research collected and in a normal schoolbag, an item he rarely brings to school. Before he started dealing his drugs from his lunch pal, he used to carry them around in a bag. But it had clashed with the whole metalhead image and was more inconvenient.

He was only bringing one now because of the number of research articles he had snatched. He was a clumsy fool and probably would lose everything if he didn’t secure it in a bag. 

Eddie was eager to share all the information with Steve as soon as possible. It had only been a week since he made the deal with the other in the library, but with everything he learned that still felt like it was too long of a wait.

So he sucked up it and woke up much earlier than he typically would and raced himself to school. He was hoping if he got to school early he would be able to catch Steve in the parking lot and pull the bandaid off quickly. Then afterward drive back home to sleep until lunch period.

Much to his disappointment, Steve’s car was nowhere. Eddie groans as he taps his fingers on his steering wheel, distracted by looking for Steve to notice a familiar figure walking up to his window. 

Gareth's loud knocking makes Eddie jump, completely startled by the sudden noise. Eddie snaps his head to look out his window to see an agitated Gareth peering up at him. His fists were clenching tightly around the straps of his bag and Eddie was confident he could see the flames of hellfire in his eyes.

Eddie makes an over-the-top face at the other as he turns his head back to look behind him before pointing at himself. “You want me?” he mouths out to the other.

"Munson!" Gareth's yell could easily be heard through the glass, which was just a little scary as Eddie had ‘Escape’ by Metallica blaring at full volume. 

Eddie quickly moves to lock his door but the boy seems to catch onto what he is trying to do and quickly pulls the door open. Eddie nearly falls out head first but quickly regains balance by grabbing Gareth's shoulders.

When Eddie was confident he wouldn’t get a concussion, he looked back up at Gareth who was visibly annoyed.

"Hey there buddy!" Eddie's soft accent pops out from the current excitement at hand. 

"Eddie, why are you here?"

"Where?-" Eddie tries to start but Gareth begins to scrunch up his nose, which is never a good sign and Eddie is quick to change what he's about to say, "Oh here! In this fine establishment? Well, I am here to learn Gare bear like any other kid here. You know this is going to be the year I graduate you know? I should take it a bit more seriously shouldn't I?" He was pulling all of that out of his ass and Gareth knew that as well.

Gareth keeps a blank expression on his face and now Eddie isn’t so sure his chances of avoiding a concussion were one to none. He needed to defuse whatever this bomb was and quick.

“Eddie you never show up to school before the fifth period.” Gareth squints at him, “Hell you haven’t woken up past fourth period since the first day of school. So tell me, why are you here this early and why the hell did you not pick me up? I live just up the road from you dude.” His face was a light red, from either being incredibly angry with Eddie or from the mile walk between his house and Hawkins High.

Eddie opens his mouth to say something but is quick to put his most charming smile on as he hops down from his van. He was secretly grateful he didn’t toss his bag in the passenger seat or else Gareth would have been even more suspicious of him.

“Gary, if we drop this and never bring any of this situation up again I shall award you with whatever you want in the campaign tonight.” That was a pretty steep offer but Eddie really didn’t want to seem like a dick friend. He honestly forgot Gareth this morning. 

His offer seems to work in his favor as interest sparks in Gareth's eyes. Gareth is about to say something when from the corner of Eddie’s eye he sees the exact vehicle he was hoping to see moments prior. 

Eddie can’t help but visibly cringe when he realizes that the book recommended a person with a concussion doesn’t drive for a couple of weeks. And from context clues, Steve Harrington had a concussion.

“Eddie?” Gareth speaks louder this time, moving his head in front of Eddie's vision so that he could see him. “Hey did you hear me?” His voice is now growing slightly concerned as he turns his head to look where Eddie is looking. It was very out of character for Eddie not to pay attention to what he was saying. They were best friends after all.

Gareth also sees Steve, the only person Eddie could be looking at step out of his car. From the limited view Eddie had, Gareth looked even more confused. Which was exactly what he was hoping to avoid by getting this whole transaction done sooner rather than later.

Eddie quickly glances back at Harrington, who is stumbling over his feet as he places a hand over his right ear wincing about something. When it was clear the other wasn’t going to fall on his face Eddie turned his attention back on Gareth slightly confused. 

“Huh?” 

“You alright dude? You're not normally this distracted,” Gareth points out warily as he keeps glancing between Eddie and in the direction of Steve.

“Yeah, yeah. I am completely fine my dude.” Eddie awkwardly sticks up two of his thumbs before he moves backward to shut his door. Cursing when he realizes he just locked his key in the van. 

“Fuck!” he curses as he quickly turns to smack at his door. 

“Eddie!” Gareth groans loudly. Moving to the back of the van to kick the back door at a slight angle resulting in it popping open pretty easily. A trick that Eddie purposely implemented just in case of emergencies. (Just like this one) Don’t ask him how he did it, not even he knows.

“I forgot about that.” 

“Eddie, are you going to tell me what's seriously going on?” Gareth squints at his friend. Eddie opens his mouth to only shut it again when he remembers Steve didn’t want him bringing anyone else in on this whole thing.

Taking the hint that Eddie wasn’t going to tell him Gareth sighs, “You aren’t dealing again are you?” He asks in a hushed whisper, his right hand gesturing to the backpack that was on the van floor just a few inches from them.

Eddie opens his mouth trying to act offended but he can’t. If he was Gareth he would think he was dealing again too. Opening his mouth again, he groans loudly when he realizes the only way he could convince the other boy he wasn’t selling was to bring him in on the whole Steve Harrington ordeal.

He moves quickly and shoves Gareth into the back of the van, like he has done multiple times in the past. When he was sure the other was safely in the back he hops in and joins him. Grunting gently as he feels a rip in his pants grows bigger. He quickly shuts the van door and looks back at Gareth. He was being dramatic but boy did he enjoy putting on a show for people

“You can’t tell anyone else what I am about to tell you, not even Freak or Jeff,” Eddie says seriously. 

“Oh my god, did a deal go wrong with Steve Harrington?” Gareth gasps. “He’s not going to snitch on you, is he? Oh my god Eddie you can’t afford to go to jail.” Gareth hisses out as he stays in a hunched stance, already coming up with the scenarios that Eddie could have possibly gotten himself into.

“I did not partake in any sort of drug deal with Steve Harrington. There was a deal but it didn’t involve drugs, it involved books.” 

“Books?” 

“Yeah, you know? The thing with pages and you're supposed to read?” Eddie says partly sarcastic before he moves to the bag to unzip it. Not bothering to pick it up off the floor, he just peels the bag back a little to show Gareth the book Steve had requested him to read and the pages of notes he took to share with Steve. 

“He’s going to pay me a hundred dollars to read this, which I already did and is the reason why I missed practice last night,” Eddie explains. 

“Why?” 

“Gareth have you not seen that boy's skull, It's two dents away from being a crushed can.” Eddie exaggerates. 

“No, I mean why help him read a book? He’s an asshole jock?” Gareth's eyebrows are pinched together, there is no malice behind his words just curiosity. 

“Well young Gare, sometimes you will have to help a jock in need. In this case, dire need, and hope it can benefit you in the future. And I’m getting a hundred dollars, I would be a moron to say no.” Eddie comments before pausing as he answers more seriously.

 “And I don’t know, he looked pretty pathetic in the library. And you noticed how he was walking. He nearly fell on his face just from getting out of the car. What would make me and any other jock different if I didn’t help him learn more about his injuries? If I can possibly prevent him from accidentally killing himself by giving him the information he needs then I’m willing to do that.” Eddie rambles out. 

Gareth listens intently, before pointing out the obvious., “Why doesn’t he just go to the doctor?” 

Eddie shrugs, “No clue.” He admits before an Idea pops into his mind. 

“Hey, is your mom still a nurse?” 

“Is your mom still a whore?” Gareth shoots back.

Eddie squints at the other boy before commenting, “You know you could have just said yes like a normal person.”

“Eddie, when has this friendship ever been normal?”

***

Throughout the day it seemed like some invisible figure was shoving Steve and Eddie closer than normal. Eddie was slowly becoming convinced that they had their own personal invisible man afoot.

When Eddie happened to be going down one hall Steve happened to be coming up the same hall. When Eddie was leaving a class Steve was awkwardly entering it. (Eddie had completely forgotten that Steve was in his third-period class, maybe if Eddie showed up to school more often he would remember small details like this.)

For one, Eddie was glad he was seeing the other everywhere but on the other hand, he was nervous the other was going to figure him out. After all, it was in their contractual agreement that Eddie didn’t tell anyone what he was doing for Steve. And what did Eddie do? He blabbed his mouth to fucking Gareth. Who wouldn’t tell anyone, but it still nerved Eddie that he broken an agreement.

When it was finally his lunch period he was more excited about getting to his table than what he normally was. He purposely swings his metal lunch pal back and forth with a relaxed and cheerful smile as he skips his way to the designated nerd table. 

He had a great campaign planned out for tonight and was excited to share it. He pulled up a chair, even though there was enough room to sit on one of the benches. If he could he would drag the homemade throne from the musical room and sit on that instead. But he’s already gotten in trouble for that.

As he waits for the other boys to join him he pulls out his lunch, carefully pushing his stash of weed to the side in there. Most of the kids in the area smelt like weed anyway so he wasn’t too worried about being sniffed out. Though he had always been worried about being jumped by the basketball team at one point. But other than that, Hawkins High was one of the safer sides of town he could get away with just carrying his stash around. Surprisingly. It also wasn’t like the teachers knew what they were sniffing out for. And if they did know they didn’t care as most times they were buying off from Eddie anyway.

“Hey, Eds.” Jeff greets as he sits down in his normal spot, leaving the seat right next to Eddie free for Gareth. If anyone loved routine it was Gareth. 

“Hey Jeff,” Eddie hums back with a mouth full of pbj. With each bite, he could taste small little flakes of weed that he didn’t bother cleaning out from the sandwich bag before placing his food in it.

He has the great thought of possibly turning a PBJ sandwich into an edible when he catches sight of Steve coming into the cafeteria. Steve was shakily holding a lunch tray as he walked away from his normal seat with Tommy Hagen. Which was a strange behavior as the two had been two peas in a pod for as long as Eddie could remember. 

What was also out of the ordinary for the Harrington boy was how he avoided eye contact with everyone in the room. From across the lunchroom, Eddie could see that the boy's color was still very off, the bruises on his face had only gotten worse with time instead of better and he was still stumbling over his feet a little.

Eddie doesn't stop staring, figuring that enough people are watching Steve that Harrington wouldn’t make eye contact with him. He keeps watching as Steve’s head lifts and he begins to glance around the room, looking for a place to sit. Eddie doesn’t get a chance to look away, caught off guard when Steve’s eyes meet his. They make intense eye contact for a couple of minutes, and Eddie nearly drops his sandwich in the process.

Steve looks away before Eddie can and sits down at an empty table as if he’s never seen Eddie in his life. Or currently had a deal with him. The entire interaction was weird. 

Eddie relaxes a bit before Gareth and Freak finally join them. 

“Hey boys,” Eddie grins. “You ready for tonight?” He can't sit still as he's reminded of the exciting campaign he has in store. He doesn’t stay seated in his chair for long as he climbs into the chair and crouches awkwardly. He keeps eating his sandwich as if he wasn’t acting like a fucking Goblin, and listens to the boys ramble excitedly.

It doesn’t take long before he hears a tray being dropped across the lunchroom. The banging noise echoed over everyone’s voices. He tilts his head curiously to see who the victim is. He almost lets out a groan when he realizes it's Steve Harrington. 

From where Eddie sat he could see Steve bending over and picking up the tray. A decent amount of eyes were back on him again as he waddled to put the tray at the tray station. From the corner of Eddie’s eye, he could see Gareth's head turning to look at him. Eddie knew what the other was going to tell him to do, there was no point in looking at the other but he still does. 

Gareth's face was pulled up in concern as he glanced between Jeff and Freak to make sure they weren’t looking before mouthing out a “Go help him.”

Eddie squints at him, mentally sending Gareth the reasons why he shouldn’t go help him. One is the fact that if he left after Steve that would give the other two boys a bad impression of what Eddie is doing. Like Gareth, they would most likely assume that this was another drug dealing situation and freak out at him. And when they found out that wasn’t the case they would next assume that Eddie was in some weird homoerotic relationship with Steve Harrington and he is pretty sure that would be pushing the line of their acceptance to his queerness. 

Even though he had remotely no interest in the guy.

Eddie rolls his eyes when Gareth just glares at him more. He tries to think fast about what excuse he could use to get away from the table. He glances at Gareth's drink and thinks it's the perfect escape. He purposely reaches over while the two guys aren’t looking and pushes the open bottle of water to spill all over the table and into Eddie's lap. 

Eddie jumps up with a groan, putting on a show. “Gareth, you clumsy bastard,” he says dramatically as he tries to wipe the water from his shirt and his crotch area. Jeff and Freak look between him and Gareth, completely clueless as to what is happening. Dare Eddie say, unexpecting even? 

Eddie was mentally hyping himself up after that stunt, believing that if this was a dexterity check he just rolled a goddamn d20 like a total natural. In his mental gloating, he nearly forgets that there was a purpose behind dumping Gareth's water all over himself. 

“Uh, I’ll be right back. Imma go to the bathroom—” 

Fuck. Eddie may have mastered dexterity but he sure didn’t master common sense. He simply could have just said he had to go to the bathroom. Instead, he made a mess of things and now had wet pants for no reason. From how Gareth looks at him now, it’s fair to assume he was calling Eddie some creative name choices. And a dexterity god was not one of them.

Eddie chuckles, smiling awkwardly before speeding out the lunchroom doors and away from that ungraceful situation. He prays to the metal gods that neither Freak nor Jeff brought up what just happened during DnD tonight.

He glances up and down the halls quickly, hoping to catch sight of Steve. It doesn’t take long to find him as Steve appears around the corner to head towards Eddie. Good, great–this was very convenient. Eddie could tell him what the book said, get paid, and be on his merry way. 

He eagerly moves down the hall, “Hey Harrington,” He says a bit louder so that Steve can catch what he is saying. There is no response from Steve, who hasn’t looked up from the floor since turning the corner. As Eddie moves closer he notices how the boy is holding his ears, as if he were trying to squish them into his skull.  

Eddie pauses for a second and mentally revisits some of the symptoms of head injuries. Some hearing loss was one of them, along with random sporadic ringing noises. He wondered if that was the issue Steve was having now. Eddie keeps walking towards the boy carefully, not wanting to spook the other. When he was in reaching distance he carefully poked the other's shoulder to grab his attention. But even being that careful Steve still jumps and flinches away from him.

Steve looks up, appearing very disoriented. His color is off, and he looks seconds away from throwing up all over Eddie’s new sneakers. “Hey, you okay?” He asks concerned.

“What?” Steve asks loudly. “Sorry can’t hear you over the loud ringing,” his face pinches up, looking even more distressed. 

Eddie was starting to feel uncomfortable, his anxiety was rising in his chest and he didn’t know what he was supposed to do to help the other now while he couldn’t hear him. He glances frantically around the hallway as if anything could help Steve, before deciding the best thing to do was to stay calm.

He turns his attention back on the other as he moves his hand in a ‘follow me’ gesture, and leads the other to his van. It probably looked suspicious, but he was sure that being outside would help the other a lot more than being cramped inside. 

Steve looks even more confused as Eddie gestures for him to get in the back of the van. ‘Don’t worry, I’m not going to kill you.” Eddie snorts as he hops into the van first. Hoping that would ease some of the other's anxiety. 

Eddie sits on the ground, watching the other curiously. Steve looks around for a moment, and at this point Eddie’s confident that the confused goldfish was his new signature look.

Steve awkwardly climbs in and Eddie moves forward just in case. Watching the other stumble in clumsily before Eddie closes the door behind him. Steve shifts his body around as if he didn’t know what to do with it and Eddie is quick to take the lead again. Waving his hand for the other to sit down once more.

Steve looks around the van, taking in the setting while Eddie waits for the other to be able to hear again. Hopefully, it would be soon, but he was willing to wait if necessary. 

When Steve finally turns his head back to Eddie he opens his mouth, wincing a little before he points to his ears. “Sorry, my ears tend to ring louder when I'm in loud places,” he comments as he rubs at them again. 

Eddie nods his head and takes note of that before it quickly grows awkward. “So, why did you bring me into your van?” Steve asks confused. A light chuckle falls from his lips when Eddie starts to move around to grab the bag. Remembering what they were in here for. 

“I finished the book,” He says simply. “And I did take some notes, figured I could tell you the summary if that's cool with you?” He says as he grabs the stack of notes he wrote. 

Steve has an unreadable look on his face as he nods his head carefully. Eddie takes that as his queue and takes a shaky breath as he begins to read off all of the information. Even pulling out the book to read the highlighted section. By the time he’s finished reading it all Steve’s face was pale again. His eyes looked watery and Eddie couldn’t tell if he was going to be sick in his van. 

Steve's hands shake in his lap a little like he was somewhere else. Eddie pinches his eyebrows before hesitating over his words. “I think it would be a good idea if you went to see a Doctor Steve,” he comments. “I know a guy, his mother is a nurse and I can easily take you over and get you checked out and-” Eddie rambles but Steve shakes his head no with a slight sniffle that they both choose to ignore. 

“Nah, I’ll be fine. Handled worse than this.” He laughs bitterly. Eddie furrows his eyebrows, concern taking over him again as he opens his mouth again but shuts it again when he realizes there is no point in trying to persuade Steve Harrington. He had already made up his mind.

“Alright, I see I can’t change your mind.” Eddie chuckles, unsure what he's supposed to do in this situation. But he can’t help himself as he comments, “But please, for the love of god don’t play any sports this season man. I don’t want to hear about how Steve Harrington died on the court.” He was fidgeting with his rings as he said this, shifting his eyes anywhere but on Steve. 

“I’ll be fine, no plans on dying either.” Steve laughs gently. His whole demeanor had changed, from being the most vulnerable Eddie had ever seen him to being the most closed-off a person could be. 

Those were the last words Steve said to him before he hopped out of the van and left to go back into the school. And in his place, where he had been sitting were two one hundred dollar bills.

[msnihilist]

I never get tired of watching The Disaster/The Rerun. Television peaked here, I'm not even kidding.

[the-gayest-show]

Review Bomb! (The Treble With Rivals - Potazel Hazel)

Hi, it's me again! I'm back with another review bomb bc i missed episodes at their airing times and watched some a bit out of order lol

I'm a bit more prepped this time so these reviews come with pictures! (Oooh! Ahhh!)

Enjoy!

The Treble With Rivals:

Mmm, music episode! Goes crazy knowing I can play violin and all but that's besides the point. The point is: we got a new fairy! And new fairy lore? THERE'S A MUSIC WORLD???

Seriously, this place fucks. I love it. I always love it when FOP A New Wish adds new fairies and stuff so music fairy is such fun!

LOOK AT HER DESIGN ITS COOL AF

I liked the OST of this episode tbh, the composers put some good moves into an episode based purely on music.

I also really liked the intro card this time, small detail I know, but the contrast yellow v blue was so fun!

I feel like this episode is *partially* a commentary on school bands/orchestras and how they interact with one another, even if unintentional. I say this because I was in my school's string orchestra this semester and I noticed that there's a whole community of music and little inside jokes (eg. viola slander in the strings community) and stuff so this sorta felt like that. Every band/group has their own little status (especially with size) and this episode showcased a bit of that relationship between music groups that I've witnessed (not that I've ever seen a whole ass rivalry but you get the point I hope).

My one singular complaint is that I felt the "erased music" plot was underwhelming? Like I read the description and thought it'd be a lot bigger in scale (I guess more action? More suspense? Takes up the whole episode?) but it wasn't... which I mean this was alright and all but somehow I thought it'd be a lot more adventurous.

Rattleconda Racers:

Peak episode! It's one of those episodes that likes to play around with setting and such, this time we were essentially stuck in movie style aspect ratio until the end when we went back to 16:9 (mmmm television proportions my beloved)

I liked the dive into the relationship between Hazel and her brother Antony! We saw a bit of them meeting up in The Treble With Rivals but not much of their relationship. I feel like it's super cute! Hazel still seems to be unable to adjust to how different her brother is and how he's got all those new experiences and it makes her feel disconnected and wanting everything to be back to the way it used to be, as shown through the game, where Hazel tries to get Antony to follow the game's path while Antony would rather go around the path and explore beyond.

It's a metaphor for change and excepting change, and how everything around both siblings changed so much (Antony going to college, Hazel moving to a new town) and how they both adjust to their new life.

I liked their little moment of making up with each other after Hazel gets increasingly mad that they aren't playing the game the way they used to, it's a sweet scene and I liked it.

Side note: ADORED Cosmo and Wanda's outfits this episode.

HOW CAN YOU NOT LIKE THESE??!! THEY LOOK FIRE AS HELL!!!! Wanda especially with that dress it legit slays on her to be honest. Cosmo with the cowboy attire and "Cosmo the Kid" nickname is so funny

I also liked the side thing of Wanda really playing into her character but Hazel not letting her. YOU GO GIRL! BE DRAMATIC!! THE PLOT CALLS AND BECKONS FOR IT!!!!

Overall this was one of those fun episodes with a good message and character developments of Hazel and Antony (who we get a proper intro to as well!)

I remember many a people wondering if Antony shows up, then what? Since Hazel in the first episode really revolved around missing her brother and not dealing with moving to a new town, people thought she wouldn't need the fairies afterwards. At least, I think I saw stuff like that but I might as well clear this out of the way. I think Hazel has a lot of internal issues to get through, and she still needs her fairies, and it's pretty evident in this episode.

Dig A Little Deeper:

A fun episode that was basically Hazel having a special interest in geology and the lengths Hazel will go to make a perfect presentation about rocks. It's so rad! There's not really much to say about it. I liked the rock monsters and the adventures, it was quite fun!

The bedazzled wands were a hit with me tbh. I would totally own a bedazzled wand.

AND WE GOT PERI!!!!!!!!!! HE'S BACK!

Potazel Hazel:

[Me when I forget the name of the episode so it surprised me that this is the episode name]

I thought this was a cool as fuck episode.WE GOT ANOTHER NEW CHARACTER WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Mother Nature got that epic design and you can't argue with it. It's cooler than the music fairy' design and I thought she was neat! I'm ADORING the expansion to fairy lore we've been getting, the writers really know what they're doing. God I love this show

Overall this episode was really great! A good one about eating a healthy, balanced meal and such. Great for kids I guess

There was a great fucking song in this one too! I love how Hazel's VA sings, the songs are pretty damn good in this show!

[duckyfruitbat]

YoHoHo, It's a New Era of Pirating

I'm sure a lot of us have been ruminating on this lately, but first I want to draw some parallels.

Picture it, the year is 2005 and you are watching a movie you picked out with your grandma at blockbuster during your weekend visit to give your parents a god damned break from your bullshit. Relatable so far yes? You pop that disk in and sit down as grandma makes the popcorn and an odd little PSA comes up between the previews. It's the infamous pirating PSA that compares downloading films to car jacking. So what do you do? You download copious amounts of pirated music onto the computer under your fathers supervision of course, still pretty relatable right?

You have entered the world of media piracy my friend, an old tradition with a rich culture and history. The early 2000's were some wild times, piracy was at its peak, the internet was a lawless land, and the 2008 housing bubble was just around the corner, truly a glorious time.

Now needless to say, publishing companies hated piracy and were desperately trying to curb it but only through legislation through a government that didn't really care. It was already hard enough to catch one pirate so why waste resources to crack down on it. There was an attempted crackdown by the publishers but that completely failed, one infamous case was a grandma who didn't even have a computer.

This age of piracy was only stopped when Itunes and Netflix made their way online. That was only because everything was on these two websites and later also Hulu. The only people who continued to pirate were kids who didn't have money and anime fans. There were two specialized websites just for them.

Everything was going smoothly, until we get to today, now every studio has at least one streaming service and even then there is no guarantee that their own shows would even be up and they're all owned by the same five corporations. Discovery got in trouble not too long ago for deleting their own shows from their own streaming service. Disney still has a backlog to upload onto Disney+, and there are many exclusives between each site. It's very similar to what cable and satellite television was, gotta pay over a hundred dollars and you don't even watch half the channels. These streaming services are getting too specialized, sure it makes business sense especially when you already have a large library or you're just Disney, but when there are obscure TV channels trying to get their own service, you know something's wrong.

Somehow the music industry didn't go the same path, yes Spotify has its problems, especially for musicians, but it is far better than purchasing entire albums or the old piracy methods that always put your computer at risk.

The obvious consequence of all this is that piracy is once again going up once again. Why? Because it is far easier to pirate than it is to figure out which steaming service that Disney owned show you want to watch is on. The only reason Itunes and Netflix originally won was because it was more convenient to actually pay for the things you wanted to see and not have to worry about malware. That's a lesson that these corporations could benefit from again, but they are if anything stubborn.

Now because of the stubbornness of these corporations I will have a lot to talk about, specifically with all sorts of pirating methods, and some fun stories. I already talked about Tengen and their massive swinging balls of steel as they walked into the patent office to steal from Nintendo, but there is so much more. So plenty of legally dubious fun to be had!

[itsahotminuteinbetween]

okk so for my boys being from 1940s, anything related to music I have down but I have NO IDEA how life operated back then and since you mentioned it I haven't been the same since please talk to me all you want abt the '40s

imma be honest, most of my knowledge on the 40s is either about the war or the precursor to the war, so probably not the most helpful of info-remember to do your own research for extra information!

with that, some quick bullet points cuz I can’t sort thoughts concisely:

Okay so to get into the 40s we gotta go at least 10 years before that cuz that’s also important: the Great Depression hits in 1929-not just in America, but the rest of the world as well-the US supposedly suffers the worst (aside from Germany, which was in debt from the first world war and their crippled economy as a result of the treaty of Versailles). I’m assuming your story takes place in the US?-otherwise I’d probably have to do some digging to find you some facts. But yea, with the stock market crash in the 20’s, tons of people were placed out of jobs, banks closed, people started living out on the streets. Government started creating random corporations to give people jobs after 1932-FDR’s presidency.

Fun fact, the radio was around at this point, so if you wanna listen to tunes, there’s your ticket. TV was a thing, but it became more popular in the mid 40s because it was used to showcase propaganda-televised entertainment became a thing in the 50s.

Anyways, some laws were passed and stuff to give people jobs-not all of them would be considered important for you, I think, cuz most of them were environmental or economical-the Workers Progress Administration was a thing though, and it hired artists and actors and others for their talent, if that’s of any importance.

Corporations weren’t faring much better either, especially the entertainment industry. The 20s were their peak years, with film being introduced and festivals or carnivals brought in cities-but with the crash of the market and extreme poverty, not too many people wanted to spend money on amusement over food. So a lot of those industries lost money and laid off a lot of people before either shutting down or being extremely poor.

Nother fun fact-ovens and stoves existed at this time, similar to how they are today-just in case one of your guys needs to make their human pal some food on their possibly outdated technology. Telephones were also available to the public by the 20s, the landlines.

Games like Monopoly (kinda ironic that it was made during the Depression), Scrabble, Sorry, and the Game of Life (originally made in 1860) were popular at the time-plus actual sports. Yes, kick the can was a thing around this time, you can make that reference.

If you want literature, I'm told island adventure stories were pretty popular for kids at the time (you'd have to double check that one, though, cuz I'm not too sure)-Superman and other heroes were a thing in the late 30's early 40s-Donald Duck comic strips were early 30s. Comedies and dramas/romances were popular in both literature and theatre (Charlie Chaplin was pretty funny), though they had this trope of things magically working in their favor until sometime in the 20s (you're gonna need to check that one cuz again, this isn't really my strong suit).

The Depression really only evened out with the start of the war-the US needed to militarize and stock up on their artillery, which meant a ton of job openings in that department, and other ones related-car companies (yea cars were a thing-you'd have to check how accessible they are though, that's not really my strong suit in history-only thing I remember is Ford releasing a model in the 20s) started building tanks, film productions started making propaganda videos (donald duck was a common character in Disney's anti-nazi propaganda for some reason), toy companies sold toy soldiers and guns to kids to convince them to support the war effort. Propaganda had advanced after ww1, which meant bigger, more eye-catching headlines in the media and clever usage of poster layouts and formatting to persuade people. The US stayed neutral up until 1941, though it did provide resources for the Allies who were fighting Germany.

That's basically all I have about the 40s-again, most of it is about the war and the economy, so not sure how much that would help. Maybe FazCo went bankrupt during the Depression and prompted your carnival to shut down?-I can see it trying to start more locations in the MidWest or something (the Plex is in Utah, if I remember correctly, though I don't know how important that is to your plotline) and scrapped it after the Depression and the War? I dunno, take your story in whichever direction you'd like, it'd be interesting any way you make it! Thanks for the opportunity to ramble, by the way-I hardly ever get to talk history or philosophy on here, so it's pretty refreshing! Hope this helped, thanks for droppin by!

[skzhera]

Hera on the GET REAL w/ Ashley, Peniel, and BM!

*Part 2 of a one shot of Hera from Stray kids on the Dive studio's, Get Real podcast with hosts Ashley Choi, Peniel and BM*

Part 2

Ashely: Are there any embarrassing incidents that your fans don’t know about, or would possibly never know about?

Hera: um…

OH GOD, Yes! I have one pathetic incident.

Well, it was really sad for those employees at the company, quite funny to me.

So one day, I was just wrapping up things at the studio, we were practicing for our next comeback since morning and once everyone left, I decided to stay back and work a little more. It was quite late actually, now that I think of it, it was almost 3 or 4 in the morning. Which meant, very few people at the company; almost none.

I left the studio, slowly shut the door and began walking down the hallway, when I heard some whispering voices. As I got closer to them, I peaked over the corner to see who it was. They were a couple of managers from the company. Coincidentally, they were talking about no one other than me!

*They all laugh noisily*

Ashely: God, what shitty luck!

Peniel: They thought they were alone?

Hera: yeah!

So I slowed down, and tried hearing what they had to say.

Here’s what I heard,-

Peniel: Wait are u allowed to talk about it? I don’t want you to get into trouble!

Hera: f**k it. I’m not even allowed to curse, but here we are.

So, it was two dudes talking,

Dude 1: Man, I heard the kids’ are getting some reality television offers and a couple offers from prank shows and reality castings

Dude 2: woaah

Dude 1: yeah but they aren’t taking any of them. They can’t!

Dude 2: what do mean?

Dude 1: its adorable and cool that they are the same on and off camera which is why even we want to film those, but we can’t do it because of that female chic of theirs.

Dude 2: yeah, the only girl right?

Dude 1: yeah man! That chick’s got no filter. She’s wilder than all the boys combined!

Dude 2: what do u mean?

Dude 1: she is not very girl like man. Korean TV viewers won’t like that. She wears shorts around all the time, dark clothes, dark personality. Curses more than any of the other boys. Man, she isn’t even Korean what is she even doing here?

*Hera finishes laughing her ass out*

BM: Dude, if it were any one else they would have taken it in a hard way. But you, you are a weirdo!

Peniel: Well, they did say she’s wild loll!!

Hera: But its’s not true!

I agree I curse around a lot, but I’m pretty sure the aussies are a tough competition to me!

No wait but hear me out, they weren’t done. There I was trying my best not to laugh out loud at this point. Changbin had joined me on eavesdropping by this time.

Dude 1 but that not it, their entire group’s dynamics behind the camera is bit shocking!! They laugh around all the time, there’s no seriousness. The girl is constantly hitting someone, teasing each other, smacking each other’s butt!

*Hera laughs louder this time, along with dive hosts.*

Peniel: they got a problem with butt hunting? That’s so very stray kids of ya’ll.

Ashely: Aren’t ya’ll doing it, even on stage?

Hera: yeah man! Even our dancers are in on it. We have a lot of fun!

I just find it hilarious, how seriously they were conspiring about me!

Peniel: maybe they want in on it too. Its hilarious.

BM: No, but like I said, all of this is hilarious because she's taking it lightly. If it were any one else, they would have thought of this incident as something so dramatic, they would probably want to leave the company!

Ashely: Honestly, if I were hearing all these things, i wouldn't be so easy. I would have created a scene. I'm not even gonna lie

Hera: No, but the thing is, this was just one incident. I've been hearing all sort of none sense since day one. I'm glad my members love me enough to take some of my share of backlash for me!

Nonetheless, it's gossip that keeps me going!

Laughter rumbles again

Hera's Masterlist!

[go-go-devil]

@silenthillmutual tagged me to list 8 tv shows in order to get to know me better!

I'll fully admit that I actually don't watch tv shows that much anymore, but I will say there's just enough that I have greatly enjoyed and have greatly impacted me

Bojack Horseman - The crown jewel of emotionally-intense adult animated shows (and a massive win for furry media 🐴). May very well be my favorite show if I was ever forced to pick, although there's one other that's tied for that spot...

Twin Peaks - My other favorite show, and definitely my fav live action program I've ever seen. The first two seasons especially create such an immaculate atmosphere of dreams and nightmares precariously balancing themselves in the realms of our reality. The Return I'm still trying to process, but I will say episode 8 makes the entirely revival's existence absolutely worth it

Spongebob Squarepants (Seasons 1-3) - My nostalgia for these seasons doesn't lie, this show truly used to be something special and far more comedicly and even emotionally intelligent than most kids cartoons made before or since.

Monty Python's Flying Circus - Another nostalgic classic for me, even if I was perhaps too young to be watching this show as a wee 8-year-old. Some of the skits haven't aged too well, as to be expected with any comedy show from the 70's, but the ones that have are truly some of the funniest shit on the planet to me XD

Moral Orel - Before Bojack, this was the adult animated show that broke me in the best possible ways. I used to have a tradition of rewatching both parts of "Nature" followed by all of Season 3 on the days leading up to Christmas, which I should perhaps bring back again...

The Twilight Zone (Original Series) - My family and I decided to dedicate several years to watching every episode of this classic piece of television, and it was such a fun experience! It's crazy how such an old show can still have so many stories that remain relevant today

Serial Experiments Lain - Probably my favorite anime tv series. Honestly reminds me a lot of Twin Peaks in how it presents its plot and characters, yet still has such a distinct vibe that hits me just right as someone who remembers the last years of freedom in the Internet before capitalism co-modified it all :')

Avatar: The Last Airbender - Believe it or not, I've only ever watched the entire series all the way through once (not counting the many reruns of episodes I ate up when we still had cable). I will certainly marathon it again at some point, but even still that childhood run-through of this beautifully written show was still enough for me to consider it one of the best I've ever seen!

I'll go ahead and tag @nightwere-mojo @pinkiepiebones @illusionaryneil and @spectrazone. Hopefully these picks taught y'all a little more about me and my tastes ;)

[hondafuckingodyssey]

X-men Apocalypse

So I've been watching through all of the x-men movies in my post deadpool & wolverine madness, and I've felt compelled to write my thoughts on some of them.

I genuinely do not remember liking this movie this much the first time I saw it. I think maybe I just know all the characters better this time around? I was just trying to run through them all before Multiverse of Madness the first time I saw it, and my heart wasn't really in it I think. I did so much more screaming at the television.

Like when they head to Alki lake, and I kept getting more and more excited, because I couldn't remember if our sweet baby boy was in this one. And he was, and he fucked shit up and it was amazing, even if he did look silly with that thing on his head.

I think I love the fight sequences in this one the best. Like, fundamentally the thing with the x-men, is that they work as a team. They get together and fuck shit up, and work with each other's strengths and weaknesses. And I felt like there were a lot of little moments like that. Kurt bamphing his teammates out of danger. Hank freeing up Scott so he can blast the bad guy. Jean letting Logan out of his cage.

And there's that moment when they're standing there at the door with Logan, and it's a little weird because they're all kids for now, but it's like these are all people who are going to love each other some day. (Cause in the comics Logan has slept with all three of them.) And at the time that seemed really touching, ok?

And the big last battle had me with tears just pouring down my face. The way they all work together. Ohanna X-men means family, and family means nobody gets left behind. The way Storm is just broken when she realizes that's her hero down there, and she switches sides. And then Erik throws those big chunks of metal down in a giant X. And then Erik and Storm and Scott are all shooting their attacks at him at once, and I'm yelling at my tv for Jean to get the fuck out there and kick his ass. Whoo. Good fight. Peak X-men.

Mildly annoyed at the way they threw Moira in there. Like all she added to the story was a veneer of heterosexuality. Let the old men be gay. And if you're going to throw a token straight human in, give her something more interesting to do for fucks sake.

Also, if you were to explode all of earths nuclear weapons in the upper atmosphere I'm pretty sure you'd start a nuclear winter. Or did they just go up there into orbit or something?

[mahuhumaling]

what i liked and disliked about pjotv 🔱

now this feels like it's going to be a series, with the first part being my take on the rwrb movie. except, i need to let this out and be a little harsher than my rwrb post only because this adaptation is like a hundred million dollars more expensive than the rwrb adaptation and the entire process from pre to post-prod took longer, so it certainly raises audience expectations. it's marketed as this really objective peak television, with critics backing them up and everything, when still so many things that bug me about it.

omg i planned this to be such a long post but i lost interest some time while this was drafted so now i don't really know how to explain my frustrations. so this will feel incomplete.

what i like first

annabeth seeing the fates and not percy.

luke showing percy around the camp and not annabeth.

what i didn't like

sally jackson's character arc. at first i was a defender of her arc, saying "oh just because gabe isn't explicitly physically abusive, doesn't make him any less of an abuser," and tjat just because sally seems to not be a pushover, doesn't make her powerful when it comes to putting her foot down with gabe. but after how they completed his arc by the end, i'm letting that defense go. 😬 they didn't really achieve the parallel of percy standing his ground against the gods to sally standing her ground against gabe in this.

depiction of neurodivergence. the few instances we get of adhd and dyslexia is when annabeth get distracted by the first trap in Waterland, and the seatwork/activity that percy is reading on the clipboard. other than that... it felt like just an added detail instead of a pervasive part of the character. annabeth reading the sign in the garden emporium in 5 seconds flat? them not constantly moving and evading monster because it's a part of the failure of their journey?

the tone. one of my mutuals said (who is a big fan of the books) they're so sorry but they found it boring. and as much as it pains me to admit... me too. if you know me, i'm really one who doesn't hold fidelity to the source material as the highest regard when adapting. i'm not an idiot — one of the elective classes in my program is literally Adapting Across Genres and Platforms — i know some things simply won't translate 1:1. this isn't the case here because i don't even remember details of what happens in the books! i'm specifically talking about the quest itself: even if they were not as loyal to the books, if they just kept the spirit of them winging shit out with the puzzles and figuring out who the monsters are, then maybe the tone would've worked. i'm so surprised at how drier and darker the tone is for a Disney adaptation show of a Disney Hyperion book. i'm not saying they should start putting on Disney Channel ass laughtracks and goofy music, but aren't we supposed to make this fun and keep kids' attention engaged? like the way they're rubbing in the audiences' noses that the gods are terrible, even more so than usual that it feels like we're already at season 5 levels of jaded, or how many times the percabeth sacrificed themselves for each other that it just diffused tension because of its repetition and also the placement? this would be believable if it was in season 3 and the stakes are higher. we're still in the lightning thief, calm down? i think what makes things emotion is, ironically, if you give it emotional levity: it becomes sadder when a character tries too hard to be cheerful. dire circumstances become more noticeably dire when the characters act like it isn't and that it's normal. that's why TLT works as an introduction book in a pentalogy. for gods' sakes, please let these children improvise more too. the actors of the main trio have incredible humor and chemistry in the behind the scenes videos we see, the stilted memorized lines are really not reflecting well on them.

pacing. someone said they shot themselves in the foot by cramming percy's stay at camp before the quest only in one episode, and i agree. doesn't he stay there for a month before leaving? we could've had a breather in between exposition instead of it feeling like a dump, and at the same time feel overwhelming for percy but not the audience. we could've slowly done world building of the 12 cabins and percy going through each one. a full scene of preparation for capture the flag and annabeth actually strategizing instead of just luke telling us "annabeth is the best and the smartest." i agree when jorrel javier said that the story is community driven, so much like the musical, we could have seen more scenes of the kids back at camp with chiron and mr. d and the satyrs. additional scenes of other characters, instead of dragging out what is only a few pages in the book of the trio in their quest and by doing so, making unnecessary changes. in addition, when i say the pacing is terrible, i mean it's too fast for the camp scenes because they fit everything in one episode, so naturally the rest of the episodes are then dedicated to the entire quest, so then it becomes too slow! the little details of the celestial trio stopping to talk and plan is so???? 😵‍💫 or when annabeth in the casino was like "okay guys we have a few days before the summer solstice deadline we have to hurry" and then DIDN'T HURRY. they could've at least given the audience a sense of urgency: run for their lives and deliver their lines while out of breath. thinking fast and enacting their plan on the go, or The Greek Demigod Trademark of Winging It and relying on their ADHD battle instincts! the editing department also needs to get their shot together by splicing these things faster so it feels better even though it's not a full action scene. THAT is pacing, people. this was well-explained by someone else.

how annabeth chase is written. don't misconstrue this — i'm picking on the writing, not the acting. leah is incredible, but the script of making her only this "six steps ahead wise warrior" removes annabeth's other dimensions. in truth, annabeth gets whiny and awkward and loud, expresses annoyance and frustration in bigger manners. she's twelve years old, let her sometimes act like it! also, relating to the third bullet point: annabeth's scene with hephaestus struck me as particularly odd because since when was she not terrified of angering a god? yes she was standing up for herself, but even she knows better than to talk back? i think i could understand where they were going with that scene, of hephaestus being the most tolerable because he was a victim too, but it simply didn't stick the landing. i mean she literally implies a couple episodes prior to this scene that she doesn't want the gods to think they're impertinent.

Ares and Percy's beef is forced. kinda — there wasn't enough build up to it. maybe because Ares wasn't that similar to Gabe in a sense that Gabe was particularly abusive and of course Percy hated all kinds of bullies, the Ares-Percy duel wasn't as great as it was hyped up to be either, partly courtesy to the volume's sfx of making the beach look sullen and that there are no mortals nearby. (it was supposed to be tne Santa Monica beach, right? i'm not American, did i miss that and it's not actually the beach?) there's something so exciting and marvelous realist about a very bright beach and mortals seeing Ares and Percy probably playfighting or doing beach sports by the beach as a kind of father and son through the Mist. idk. the provoking really is not that much, yet it ticks Percy off to the point . even Ares' "beware, Perseus Jackson. Beware" at the end is not that great either.

telling not showing. now this criticism is overused for pjo, but everyone who uses this criticism doesn't actually know what the writing principle of "show, don't tell" means. i feel that they really made a mistake making percy know about the demigod world immediately instead of making him the fish out of water protagonist archetype because now he recognizes every other monster and it just kills the thrill and surprise and reveals. so now, they're just telling, instead of learning who the hell they're fighting im the heat of the moment — showing.

[fleshmechsystem]

The red survivors (Working title)

By Cal

Chapter 1: New ally.

-BEEP BEEP-

Fuck, I wanted to sleep for five more minutes but I guess I have to force my ass to wake up, at least I don't have work anymore so there's that.

I sat down for a moment to recuperate myself from having some R & R after a long day of bashing the heads of those damned things for the entire afternoon, almost got my ass bit but luckily my jacket saved my life.

Can't be safe nowadays after the outbreak happened, god knows if the power grid or the water would even last for a couple of days. Well, there's no helping it, I guess I need to get some pots to store water with, could help me for a couple of days if I can boil them clean.

After meandering in my thoughts for like a couple of minutes, I decided to put on my boots and get things done. I did some stretches and ate the yogurt I stuffed in my bag and started digging in. It ain't much but it's enough to get me through the day.

As I opened the door, I heard an audible sound coming from the kitchen. Did I leave the window open? Must be those critters again, little shits always breaking shit around.

But this wasn't any critter. I heard an audible groan from the outside, it's definitely not one of those things either, it sounded too alive to be one.

I picked up my trusty axe, and slowly creaked open the door, taking a small peak, the sound definitely stopped. But I couldn't help but be a little cautious so I sneaked around, checking corners for any signs of an ambush.

Of course it could be the sounds I'm hearing again . Always keeping me up at night in the worst ways possible, but no, this one is real unlike last time. At least I hope it is.

I took a deep breath and immediately rushed my way into the kitchen, only to see a dark skinned man with neck length gray hair eating an eggplant with a dumbfounded look on his face.

"Alright what the hell are you doing in here? I don't remember setting a welcome mat for you here pal."

I asked, raising my axe over my shoulders.

"Woah woah! Jush let me fimish thish then we can talk feller!"

The fuck? Is this guy a dumbass or just a moron? Why the hell is he talking while eating? I could barely understand what the hell he even said!

"Could you repeat that without shit in your mouth?" I groaned, putting the axe down to point.

"Sorry! *Gulp* Names' Wiley by the way feller! My Ma always told me to be polite, sorry about that!"

Okay, so I'm now talking to the guy that just broke into the house I'm staying in and started eating food in the fridge. I mean it's not like I didn't do the same but he could've killed me in my sleep.

I was going to ask him something but before the damned words even left my mouth, he looked at his watch and interrupted me. immediately rushed into the television to turn it on.

"Quick! The show is startin! I can't miss exposure survival!" He said hurriedly as he sat his ass down the floor watching attentively.

This guys peculiar, he could've reached for his weapon and tried to attack me but instead opted to watch some damn television.

I feel stupid for doing this but I sat down alongside him to watch the show he was watching.

"Fuck is this?"

"Exposure survival."

"...Okay no aside from that, what's so special about it?"

"Oh well I just liked watchin it everyday mister! Oh oh it's startin!!"

Well I guess I can't really give a shit about this guy, he seems to be friendlier than most folks around these parts… Well the ones that aren't dead anyway.

He has a weird glint in his eyes, almost like he's some gleeful kid at the Spiffo's headquarters. He's definitely something, alright.

"So… Wiley right? That your name? Sounds childish."

"Wiley Rojas is the name mister! Nice to meet you!" He happily says as he extended his hand towards me, which I declined shaking.

"I'm not shaking your hand, it's too dirty."

"Oh sorry mister! I'll be cleanin it up later!" He says slightly embarrassed as he places his hand on the back of his neck as he glues his eyes back to the television.

"You look like you've been through hell, do you not clean up after yourself after taking care of those things?"

No response, guy was too focused watching the show to even notice what I said.

"Hey I'm talking to you, you deaf or something?"

The show ended already but he was still glued to the screen, so I snapped my fingers in front of him to get his attention.

"Knock knock? Is Wiley still there?"

"Oh! Sorry mister, I must've lost track of time again! What were you sayin?"

He asks dumbfounded like a lost dog.

"First of all, stop calling me mister, just call me Rubin. Second of all you look like shit, go clean up in the bathroom then we can go take some more food later."

He didn't respond verbally but he simply smiled at me and went into the bathroom… With his gear still with him.

I guess I'm stuck with this guy for a while. Least I won't be lonely for some time.

-End of Chapter 1-