#sure there are a bunch of jokes and one of the main reasons they probably stopped talking was because he turned out a 'homosexual'

[cupidbedsy]

𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲 | 𝘩𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 ♔

➪ summary: afer many milestones of her brothers, she finally comes home for the first hughesbowl

➪ warnings: none (surprises?)

➪ word count: 2.6k

➪ file type: fic + one insta post

➪ sunny's notes: i'm pretty sure this was the first hughes bros fic i wrote so i definitely had to go back and rewrite a bunch of it. for a little context you're a famous youtube vlogger :) also i would definitely reread this one because a lot has changed and i wrote like a thousand more words for this one

© cupidbedsy (sunflower-lilac42) ; do not copy, repost, or translate my work and designs on any other website or here

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⟹ Sunday, December 3, 2023 @ 3:30 in the morning - Naples, Italy

“Hello everyone, my name is y/n, and welcome to my channel if you are new here and welcome back if you’re not! It is currently,” She pauses to take a brief look at her watch, “3:30 in the morning on Sunday, December 3. I am very much still in Italy, but not for long.”

The video cuts and now her camera is sitting on her desk, the windows are opened and the lights are adjusted to be a little bit brighter. She smiles brightly at the camera before she starts talking again, “So you’re probably seeing this mid-December ish whcih means you kind of already know what is going on, but. I am officially flying and moving back home.

“Italy has been such a great experience and I’ve had so much fun here, I’ve learned a ton of new things and I am so grateful for everyone I’ve met. If you know, I’ve been here for almost three years now and I think I’m starting to realize how homesick I am. It’s super nice and amazing here but if I’m honest, I kind of miss ‘the land of the free’. That was a joke, the land of the free part, trust.”

She laughs and continues, “Anyway, the main reason I have decided to come home now is because of my brothers. If you also don’t know, I have three younger brothers, Quinn, Jack, and Luke who are professional hockey players. Quinn plays for the Vancouver Canucks and the other two play for the New Jersey Devils. I honestly have missed so much of their careers, Luke especially and I just really want to be there for the first ever ‘Hughesbowl’ I think they’re calling it.” 

She wipes her eyes, trying not to let the tears fall. She looks around at her room and then back at the camera, “So, I’m flying into New York this morning, my flight leaves at 7 so I should probably get going in a little bit. But yeah, I’ll see you guys when I touch down in New York!”

Videos play of y/n getting ready for the airport, all of her luggage behind her. She navigates her way through the airport, stopping to get some food at the Starbucks and a small drink before sitting and reading her book. After the montage, she is now in a car looking a little tired but her smile is still plastered on her face. 

❛ ━━･❪ ❁ ❫ ･━━ ❜

⟹ Sunday, December 3, 2023 @ 10:21 in the morning - New York City, New York

“So as you can see, I am now in New York!” The camera pans to a girl in the driver's seat, “This is my American homie right here. Oh, it’s so weird being back, everyone still can’t walk and drive to save their lives.

“Anyway, Julia and I are heading to drop my stuff off at her place and then we’re going to go get some brunch, I think? We’ll, or I guess, I will go sightseeing. I leave for Vancouver tomorrow night so I can rest up before the shorter flight. It’s honestly, kind of fun being back home, everything is kind of like how I remembered. I might also break into Jack and Luke’s apartment to steal some Devils merch so I can wear it to the game, but yeah.”

“Do the boys know you’re going?” Julia asks, pulling into the parking lot of her apartment complex.

Y/n shakes her head, “Nobody knows except for you and Tiffany, my friend who lives in Vancouver. So that will be an additional bonus to the game. I’ve set up some things with the arena and I guess, actually, some of the team know so Brock, Petey. I think Jesper and Nico know too, we were talking a little bit earlier together when I got here. Alright, I will see you guys sometime soon!”

Another quick montage plays, Julia and y/n are out and about, going from store to store while y/n gapes at all the things she remembered about visiting Jack before she left. At one point, there was a video of her successfully sneaking into her brother's apartment and stealing one of their beanies they kept on the countertop. 

The next video was of her collapsing onto a bed, “We’re home! It is now almost 10 o'clock here and I am going to get some much-needed rest. Tomorrow I think we’re going to meet up with a few more of our friends which I don’t think I’m going to vlog. Which means, I will see you all when I am headed to the airport!”

❛ ━━･❪ ❁ ❫ ･━━ ❜

⟹ Monday, December 4, 2023 @ 7:00 in the evening - John F Kennedy Airport

“It was already 5 and I am here at the airport,” Y/n pans the camera around before focusing it back on herself, “I am actually starting to get so nervous about this. I mean in a little over 24 hours I get to see my little brothers for the first time in almost 3 years. Wow, that is crazy to say. I ended up going out to an early dinner with some of my friends so I am definitely full for this plane ride. I am going to be landing in Vancouver around 10, basically, I’m going to be falling asleep when I get there.

“I also finished this book which will be in a different video but it was so good and I’m so glad I got to read it. I’m rambling too much, I will see you guys in Canada.”

Footage of the plane played, looking down at the ground below. In the middle of those clips, were videos of y/n either trying not to fall asleep and also her reading. Then, clips of her dragging her luggage through the airport and out the doors to find her friend's car. 

❛ ━━･❪ ❁ ❫ ･━━ ❜

⟹ Monday, December 4, 2023 @ 10:13 in the night - Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

“Oof! It is nearing my bedtime. Also, Tiffany just mentioned to me how weird it looks that I’m coming all the way from Italy with just a suitcase and carry-on. Don’t worry, I didn’t leave my stuff in Italy. I shipped most of my things here to Vancouver because I’m planning on living with Tif over here for a while until I can afford my place. And who knows, maybe Quinn will kidnap me and force me to come live with him.

“That is completely beside the point there. I have now been in three different countries and two different continents in basically 24 hours theoretically if we look at it from completely one time zone, Pacific. I’m going to cry actually, whether that is because of exhaustion or because I get to see my brothers in less than 20 hours, I don’t know. I will see you guys tomorrow, probably somewhere close to the time I leave for Rogers Arena. Tomorrow is the day.”

The video ends with her sighing with a smile on her face, both happy and nervous for the upcoming events to happen. She went to bed that night, comfortably in another bed instead of an airplane seat once more. Tomorrow was going to be a lot and she could only hope everything went to plan.

❛ ━━･❪ ❁ ❫ ･━━ ❜

⟹ Tuesday, December 5, 2023 @ 6:23 in the evening - Rogers Arena

“I am now standing outside of Rogers Arena on this very cold day in Vancouver. I am really wishing I brought another coat, somehow I still have not trained my body to be adaptive in the cold.” She rolls her eyes but smiles nonetheless, “We’re going to go meet with some of the people who are helping me pull this off and if everything works out you should be seeing the video Tiffany is taking from behind me mashed with another video my friend is taking from the stands.”

『••✎••』

Y/n stands nervously in the tunnel, playing with her fingers and picking at the skin around her nails. She bounced slightly on the balls of her feet as she listened to the skating come to a halt. It was like her eyes were trained to find her family no matter where she was or where they were. As soon as everyone stopped and got into their lines, she let out a deep breath when her eyes focused on Quinn standing alongside the others. 

His hair was longer, that was for sure. He looked older, more mature than the last time she had seen them. The last time she had actually talked to them was a few days prior, probably about a week ago. She had texted them a few times but other than that, she was too nervous she would accidentally slip up and tell them about her plan. 

Her eyes moved and they zeroed in on Jack who was conveniently also standing next to Luke. Her eyes widened a bit when she saw Luke, he was taller, much taller than she remembered. Jack almost looked the same in her opinion, the only thing different was his hairstyle but even then, he looked like the younger brother who used to pester her when she wouldn’t make his Mac ‘n Cheese the way he wanted her to. 

On the other hand, the boys were standing, looking at the ground while their feet shuffled back and forth to help keep them steady on the ice. Jack and Luke shoved each other once or twice playfully throughout the opening speeches. Quinn had a million thoughts racing through his head. This would be his first time playing against Luke on big league ice, his first time playing his brothers as captain of his team, the first time they would all be playing together in the NHL on the same ice and she wasn’t here. 

He would never hate or relent his older sister for wanting to go off and study in another country, it was an amazing opportunity. He was, however, upset about everything that she had missed of his. Luke’s draft, Luke’s debut, Luke’s first goal, the start of Luke’s rookie season, Jack’s record-breaking season, him being announced captain, his first game as captain. 

While Jack and Luke weren’t thinking about this, Quinn couldn’t help it. Y/n was his big sister, the person he had looked up to for his whole life, the person who took care of him when he took a big hit on the ice, the person who helped him through his first relationship, the person who made him soup when he was sick. She was practically everything to him. And it hurt that she wasn’t here. 

“This isn’t something we normally do, but we figured since it was a special occasion we would make an exception.”

Everyone in the arena had practically gone quiet at the words, no one knew anything extra was happening tonight. A lot of friends looked at each other in confusion, the teams eyed one another - some knowling and some just as confused as the fans -, y/n got even more nervous as the words she had drilled into her head were spoken out loud. 

“As everyone knows, this is an incredible thing happening tonight, three brothers playing against each other.” The said boys rolled their eyes once more but still had smiles on their faces, “We do know that there is one person missing however.”

Many fans of y/n who happened to be in the audience knew almost exactly what was happening at this moment. While she hadn’t hinted at coming back home, who else would they have been talking about? She was the only Hughes in question who wasn’t here. 

“As she told me when she got here, she couldn’t miss another big milestone for her brothers. So after being away in Italy for 3 years, please welcome famous YouTuber and older sister of Quinn, Jack, and Luke Hughes, y/n Hughes!”

Cheers erupted as she stepped out onto the ice and she waved a little to the fans before being almost knocked to the ground by a body tackling her. Luke’s arms wrapped around his sister tightly, his head resting on hers. She smiled softly and wrapped her arms around him as well, “Hi Lukey.”

His voice was soft, “Hi.”

“When’d you get so tall?”

“I’ve always been tall, you’re just short.” He pulled away, his hands resting on her shoulders as he looked at her. His eyes slightly glistened with tears before he pulled her into another hug. He murmured something at first, causing y/n to have to ask him to repeat it, “I’m really really really really really happy you’re here. I don’t think I could’ve gone another six months without you.”

She frowned and squeezed him a little tired before he ultimately pulled away and let Jack scoop her into a hug as well. Compared to Luke’s, Jack’s hug was relatively short because he was now antsy. This would be the first time in years that he would be playing in front of her and he wanted to make her proud. So when he pulled away about a minute later she looked at him confused. He only smiled at her before speaking, “I got the zoomies now.”

She threw her head back as she laughed, shaking her head at him. Her eyes moved round once more to see Quinn standing a foot or two away from her. When she opened her arms, he all but dove into them like Luke had done earlier. He, however, shed a few tears as his head buried into the shoulder. She patted his back and suddenly she realized how many eyes were actually on them. So while she wanted to continue her reunion with the three of them, she whispered something into his ear and he pulled away nodding. 

She waved one more time at the fans as the applause and made her way to the stands where her parents were. Once she was even slightly near her parents, Ellen pulled her into a hug, asking her a bunch of questions about when and how she got there. 

『••✎••』

After the game, y/n stood with Jim and Ellen as they waited for the boys to be done. She was in the middle of catching them up on her trip here when someone came from behind and hugged her tightly, slightly lifting her up. She squealed and turned around to hit Jack on the arm, “Hey!”

“What?” He said innocently as he threw an arm around her shoulder, “Can I not hug my sister who I haven’t seen in three years?”

“Of course you can.” She wrapped her arms around his torso and side-hugged him, “You just can’t pick me up.”

He scoffed a little, “Someone’s picky.”

“Where’s Luke and Quinn?”

He shrugged, “I don’t know. I was too excited to see you.”

At that moment, Luke and Quinn made their appearance right behind Jack and hit him over the head. Y/n rolled her eyes before hugging each of them, Quinn’s being a little longer than Luke’s. They all stared at each other once they stopped hugging and then they looked at their parents. 

“Can we go get dinner?” Jack asked.

She rolled her eyes, “Only if you’re paying rich boy.”

He shrugged before walking ahead of them. Y/n looped her arms through Quinn and Luke’s, walking down the hallway out of the arena, “Ah my favorite boys.”

“I heard that!”

❛ ━━･❪ ❁ ❫ ･━━ ❜

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[sashaforthewin]

[on Ao3] Rated M, sex mention, Steddie

ATM Boy

The song started as a joke. Eddie wrote it to see Steve's reaction. 

It had a catchy tune and the lyrics began as a love song of sorts. Steve sat on the couch in Gareth's garage tapping his foot along to the heavy beat and smiling at Eddie as he sang. Until he got to the chorus, of course. 

"He's my ATM boy, my ATM boooooooyyyyy"

Steve rolled his eyes, assuming this was some dumb jab at his being rich. He was upper middle class, at best.

"I can tell he loves me / I can tell he's true / cause when we're in bed there's a thing that he lets me doooOOO!"

Steve was already frowning as soon as Eddie mentioned them in bed but Eddie kept singing, holding eye contact the whole time.

"He let's me go ass to mouth, ass to-"

"EDDIE! EDWARD J MUNSON, ABSOLUTELY NOT!"

The song cut off as various members of the band, Eddie most of all, lost their collective shit at Steve's reaction, laughing at his outburst.

Steve strode over to where Eddie was cackling into the mic, hands on hips, and when Eddie didn't stop, Steve just smacked the mic to the floor.

"Hey, that's expensive!"

"Then you better make sure not to sing about our sex life with the rest of your band present after you buy a replacement, huh?"

Everyone except Eddie agreed that Eddie had sort of deserved it and should replace the mic. Steve forgave him fairly quickly, though, since it was just some harmless joking among friends that would laugh it off. 

That was, until the gig. 

Corroded Coffin got booked to open for the metal band Devastator that were out of Indy. They had three times the fan base of Corroded Coffin, so probably upwards of twenty people were at the show. Sure, those people were also local musicians that were friends of the main band, but a fan is a fan, shut up.

Since the gig was at a shitty dive bar in the city, the kids couldn't come; but Robin, Jonathan, and Argyle decided to come along, as well as Murray, for some reason. Nancy had flat out said she didn't want to have to ride all that way to stand in a smoky bar and hear music she hated, so nobody tried to talk her into it.

Steve was up front in one of Eddie's home-made Corroded Coffin tee shirts. He was still wearing his light wash jeans and a pair of bright orange earplugs, though, so he didn't entirely fit in, but he wasn't as out of place as he thought he would be. There was a guy in a yellow disco suit in the crowd, after all. 

The gang were having a great time. Murray along with yellow disco suit dude were both at the center of the moshpit, slamming and being slammed, Jonathan and Argyle stood around Steve, helping block the worst of the crowd while Steve's hearing was muffled and he wasn't paying attention to anything but his boyfriend, and Robin was alternating hanging with Steve and going to hang against the wall where it was safest. 

Eddie and the boys seemed so happy and were doing great, aside from a few minor difficulties. One of Eddie's strings broke during their second song, but the guitarist from Devastator was quick to loan Eddie his own guitar for the rest of the set. 

The  rest of the Corroded Coffin set was going smoothly after the guitar swap. The crowd was really into the music, and Eddie looked like a natural up there. He introduced the band members and thanked the audience and Devastator for having them, and then announced that this next song would be their last. 

As the opening notes rang out, Eddie risked a glance at Steve and cringed. He was furious and Eddie would definitely be sleeping on the couch tonight. 

But the thing was, the song ATM Boy really was very catchy. It was daring, it was sexual, it was devious and queer, but above all, it was a bit of an earworm. The audience went nuts for it, they were screaming when the chorus hit and by the final chorus, a bunch of people were singing along. It went over better than they ever even thought it would. 

Which made it all the worse that Steve continued to stare at Eddie as if he had been betrayed in the worst possible way. He just stood there. Eddie had to force himself to concentrate on the crowd, not on Steve. As soon as the set was done, Corroded Coffin grabbed their shit and made way for Devastator while the party surrounded Steve and tried to pretend they hadn't just heard a very intimate fact about their friend, discussing the crowd energy and how good the boys had done and literally anything that wasn't the elephant in the room. Steve did not participate in the conversation at all, he was quietly seething. 

He refused to talk to or be touched by Eddie the entire rest of the night, making sure to put his arm around Robin so that only their party would know he was the so-called ATM boy. The ride home was awkward and a bit tense, but the fight was saved until they were at home, alone in Steve's house. Steve pulled off his Corroded Coffin shirt and threw it at Eddie's face before storming off up the stairs. 

"Baby, I'm sorry! Baby, come on, it was funny!"

"You asshole, you just told all our friends and Murray that I let you… that I… it was a one time thing! Do not think I am ever letting you do that again after you did this!"

"Yeah, that's fair. But baby, it's just shock value! And it's a surprisingly catchy tune, I don't know why it came out that way but it did! I swear I wrote it to make you laugh, but the guys all wanted to play it at the show. I voted not to but was overruled! Come on, please forgive me. Baby? Please? Baby?"

"Ugh... Fine, okay, fine. I forgive you for humiliating me in front of our friends. At least the kids weren't there and only about thirty people heard it. I guess. And now it's over and I won't see most of those people ever again. So, I guess, yeah, it's kinda funny."

"You know I love you and I respect you so much. I'd let you go ATM on me as an apology."

Steve just huffed a laugh and rolled his eyes, but he allowed Eddie to kiss him and wrap him in a hug. He was just glad this was the end of it.

Months went by and Steve had nearly forgotten about the whole thing. 

Until Eddie and the Coffin boys recorded their first demo. It wasn't anything professional, it was recorded in a large truckstop bathroom with decent acoustics and it was recorded with a portable cassette recorder, but it was recorded nonetheless. 

They had made a bunch of copies, sent them off to a few radio stations, and sold a bunch to indie record stores, handed them out to friends and sold them at their weekly gig. In the second week, a few new people showed up specifically to buy their tape because they had heard their friend's copy.

Eddie was so excited for the growing buzz that he wasn't thinking when he popped the tape into Steve's stereo to celebrate. He had been very careful to only play Steve Side B, never Side A, up until now. 

As soon as ATM Boy came on, Steve slammed on the brakes so hard Eddie nearly broke his face on the dashboard. When he saw Steve's expression, Eddie thought maybe breaking his face would've been preferable. 

Eddie slept on the couch for a week after that, but Steve eventually forgave him. 

Steve had nearly gone back to a completely normal life free of mortifying embarrassment, having convinced himself only subculture dwelling weirdos had heard the song.

But then a local radio station played ATM Boy. Not just once, they put it into their evening rotation. And then another station farther away picked it up. And then another. And then things spiraled from there. 

The only saving grace was that the radio had censored it. The lyrics were now "he lets me go ah- - t'mouth" though Steve suspected people probably still got the gist of it from the rest of the song. 

Corroded Coffin got signed to a record label and they recorded their first album in an actual studio. On the studio release, it was decided for the lyrics to become "he lets me go A T M" even though "to mouth" did not strictly speaking need censoring, it flowed better. 

ATM Boy, meanwhile, was starting to spread. It reached the billboard Top 100 list and started climbing. The band started touring for real, not just road trips to Indy and Chicago. They started selling out mid-sized venues and meeting other bands and forming friendships with fellow creatives. 

Eddie was finally the rock star he had dreamed of. 

And Steve was struggling to be supportive while also wishing he was invisible and unknown to anyone. He was living in constant fear of being found out. Not just because he wasn’t publicly out, but because Steve did not want to be known as the ATM boy and he felt even being seen in Eddie’s presence would damn him. 

At first he refused to tour with Eddie and the band, but after not seeing his boyfriend for months, Steve was both lonely and worried Eddie would cheat or leave him for someone else. It took Eddie a while to notice how badly Steve was handling everything but once he did, he hired Steve as his hairdresser so that he would be able to drag Steve around and have an on-the-books excuse for his constant presence. He groveled and doted on Steve and tried everything in his power to atone for the embarrassment, paranoia, and distress he had caused the man he loved.

There were many rocky years but they managed to stay together through it all. Caring for Steve and focusing on him was actually what helped Eddie avoid the pitfalls of fame that so many bands fell victim to. Who has time to do drugs when they have so many beautiful moles to kiss and a gorgeous toned back to massage?

And on a talk show, nearly forty years after the song ATM Boy was written, Eddie Munson told the audience about his wonderful husband and about the real ATM boy.

“It wasn't my husband, just some other guy I slept with.” 

Unfortunately, two minutes later in the interview he off-handedly mentioned Steve is the only guy he's ever slept with or dated.

[heavenlymorals]

How would you describe Mary’s personality? I always feel like this fandom portrays her to be this very classy, serious, goody-two-shoes but I think she has to have some form of rebellious nature in her considering she’s a “high-society” girl that fell in with an outlaw and brought him home to her daddy. Yeah she may not be as free and spirited compared to the camp girls, but everyone always talks about Arthur’s type being a woman who’s sophisticated - but on a general scale comparing her to the women of her social status, she must fall more on the rebellious side of things no?

Mary is many things. She is melancholic, feisty, calm, rational, thoughtful. She's a person with many emotions and dreams and honestly? She's a delight in the little time we got to know her, even if the circumstances were rather sad. But mostly though? I think Mary is a woman who grew up.

She met Arthur when she was young, super young.

"Oh, we were so very young. Think of how different life could've been."

I mean, she doesn't even look at day over 18 in that pic she had with Arthur. In fact, Arthur looked to be a couple of years older than she was, but that's neither here nor there. The fact is that she was probably way over her head when she fell in love with Arthur and when she agreed to marry him. She realized that love wasn't going to be enough for her in that society and that's a very realistic approach to it, honestly.

If she married Arthur, she'll probably be ostracized from her family, from society, from the people she knew. She'd most likely also be shamed for dishonoring her family and shame back then was no joke, especially for women. People tend to forget this. She'll lose any connections she might've had and that's not even mentioning the lifestyle upheaval because what's the likelyhood that Arthur, still young and foolish, would be able to settle down and live a normal life instead of this nomadic, dangerous lifestyle?

Mary had to think about all these factors. People end relationships for less.

When it comes to fandom, people are too in love with the idea of love that a real reaction to such a situation backfires on the character and strips them of their personality.

Is Mary classy? Sure she is, but she can also be crass ("Don't be a pompous ass, Arthur, it doesn't suit you."). Is she serious? Yeah, she is in serious situations, like all people, but she is playful and joyful with Arthur ("It's sort of beautiful in a tasteless and gaudy sort of way." "That's the only way I know." "Thank you." "Oh I didn't mean it like that-" "I'm sure. You silly man."). Is she a goody two shoes? Most people are, but she also defies her father in the end despite knowing that her entire life would flip upside down if Arthur does decide to run away with her.

She's definitely a high society girl- her family is rich or at least well off, she has servants, she dresses nice. She isn't as "free spirited" as the other girls but why would she be? She didn't have to go through poverty, or her parents getting killed, or having to live an unconventional lifestyle with a bunch of hucksters. She was a law abiding citizen who lived a normal life where culture, etiquette, and roles mattered.

So is Mary rebellious or sophisticated or any of that? Not really. She's just a normal woman. I don't like putting her into a box of being sophisticated or whatever because that's just a disservice to the very realistic writing of her character.

She's just a woman who our main character fell in love of with for one reason or another who is still her own person. She's not a "type" or any of that because she is many things and a realistic woman is one of them.

Thanks for the ask anon 🥺❤️🫶🏼

[1d1195]

Traditional I

Inspiration is funny, ya know?

Definitely multiple parts. Hope you like the idea, wasn't part of my list, but appeared in my brain without warning. Couldn't ignore it. Enjoy!

Main Character messages/Harry messages

Do you not want...a traditional relationship? If you’re paying me, how do you know I’d be a real companionship?

Because only the sweetest person on earth would send a profile out to a bunch of multi-millionaires to pay her a measly 1500 a month AND turn down a higher offer all because it’s more than she wanted.

There was a prominent frown on her face. She could sort of make out the sad, nearly disgusted face of the reflection in the back of half her computer screen. She looked over her profile again and again making sure it wasn’t too desperate but wasn’t overselling something she couldn’t produce. “Ahh...” she felt herself wincing at that reflection and bit her lip nervously as her cursor hovered over the submit button. “Ugh,” she sighed.

When Louis suggested it, she thought he was joking.

“Babe, someone would pay good money for your ass,” he told her.

“What is wrong with you?” She deadpanned.

But here she was. Making the profile to find someone willing to pay for her companionship. That’s what all the websites said. But it was a Sugar Daddy. That’s what it was called. It wasn’t ugly or distasteful. She didn’t care what people did with their lives at all. It wasn’t something that she thought she would have to do for herself until it was her last resort. That didn’t mean it wasn’t something to look at with disdain. She was all for women getting paid to be themselves simply for being lovely.

She didn’t want to do it because she didn’t think she would be good at it. She wasn’t sexy or wild, she didn’t feel beautiful, and obviously her ex didn’t think she was much fun if he was looking elsewhere for quite some time for entertainment both in and out of the bedroom. A stranger with a lot of money probably wouldn’t find her exciting like the other profiles she perused before completing a questionnaire of her own.

In all honesty, it seemed like it would be a second full-time job trying to convince a man that she deserved the money she was asking for and she wasn’t sure she could do that on top of all the other tasks she had to deal with these days. She told herself she wouldn’t let Louis convince her. But she needed the money—a good chunk of money at that. Best case scenario, there would be no takers to supply her with money. She would remain in her needy financial state and would find some other low paying job and try to manage the seemingly endless pile of obligations.

Louis was kind enough to let her stay with him and Eleanor until she figured out her shit. It wasn’t her fault that the guy she was dating cheated on her, broke her heart, and kicked her out of their shared house all in one swoop. She was living for free because they had been together for so long and it was his aunt’s old house near university. She had money and scholarships to pay for classes, so she didn’t need to manage a job while also getting an internship.

It was her final year before she would be awarded her master’s degree. Nothing could go wrong.

Except she returned early from visiting her mom and didn’t tell him.

So, there he was, moaning into another woman’s mouth on their bed.

She would have kicked herself out if he hadn’t done it first. “You could use a better dick in you too, love,” Louis had joked.

With a deep breath, like she was about to jump into a pool, she held her finger over her track pad. One last bout of reasoning ran through her mind. Her full-time internship would pay crumbs. Not enough to afford rent or a place of her own. She needed to get out of Louis and Eleanor’s hair. It was just one year.

Submit.

Blowing out a breath she smacked her laptop shut and headed to Eleanor’s kitchen—she would have said Louis and Eleanor’s kitchen, but Eleanor had a strict “no Louis near the oven” rule. One hand on her box of cereal and another on the silverware drawer to grab a spoon, she was shocked to hear her phone pinged with a message after two minutes. “Shut up,” she muttered to herself. She could almost hear Louis saying I told you so.

She ignored it. The first taker was probably not the way to go—too eager. She wasn’t a prude but the idea of having sex for money wasn’t really what she wanted to sign up for this last year of her program. But then there was another ping. And another.

“What the fuck?” She whispered.

“What is that dating app?” Louis called from the door. The pinging was incessant. “I’ve never heard that one,” he said as he meandered into the kitchen. She turned the volume down and Louis snagged it from her hands.

“Lou—”

“YOU DID IT,” he gasped, practically cheering as he unlocked her phone without her permission. “HOLY SHIT! You’ve got like fifteen takers already, babe. I told you that ass was worth it.”

“Louis, please give—”

He gasped. “Love, are you that dumb?” He asked gazing at her screen.

“What do you—”

“You can’t ask for a crummy fifteen hundred dollars a month,” he rolled his eyes. “You’re going to get all kinds of creeps and people that will make you do despicable things.”

“But I don’t—”

“A fifteen hundred dollars a week would be a lot better, don’t you think?”

“Louis, I just need a little bit of help. I don’t want to take someone’s money if I’m going to be bad at—”

The pinging stopped. “See?” He rolled his eyes placing her phone back in her hands. “Much more selective clientele...and you won’t be bad at it. I’m telling you that ass is going to pay for anything you want.”

“Louis,” she groaned and rubbed her hand over her face.

“Eleanor thinks so too, don’t you love?” He called down the hall.

“You’re home?” She called to her friend supposedly down the hall.

“Is it your profile that you've been whining about all this time? I would have helped you,” she said. “He’s right; your ass is going to be a great selling point,” Eleanor didn’t leave her room.

“I don’t want a ton of money. I just need to get by...” she explained to Louis.

“Yeah, but if you’re going to get paid for sexual activities you need to be compensated appropriately,” he said seriously.

“Why do you know so much about this?” She rolled his eyes. “Eleanor, you know he doesn’t have money, right?”

“Unfortunately!”

Flicking her cheek, he finished pouring the cereal for her (he was only allowed to touch kitchen items that didn’t involve cooking. He only recently upgraded to having microwave privileges again—especially after the baked potato incident). “I just know some girls from my dorm a few years ago talked about it a lot,” he rolled his eyes.

She was quiet while Louis slid the bowl in front of her and she took a few bites. She was still mad and upset about her ex. But she had bills to pay and quick. She frowned. “This is not what I wanted,” she mumbled.

Louis frowned grabbing a second bowl to join her cereal party. “I know, babe, but it’s okay. You’ll do great. Let’s see what your serious options are now.”

She shook her head. “I don’t want to look right now. I’m too nervous.”

Louis chuckled around a bite of his food. “You don’t have to do sexual favors y’know.”

“Based on my research, I think I have to if I want this kind of money.”

He smirked. “Then we better find you a guy with big hands.”

“Jesus Christ.”

*

She didn’t look the next day or even the day after that either. It was too much to think about all at once. Submitting the profile and having her best friend talk about her ass and sexual favors was a bit much. Eleanor eventually came out from the other room and gave her gentle encouragement that Louis often lacked.

There was a bunch of remote training she needed to do before she started her internship on Monday. A company she had never really heard of; it was a good company. Not one that was plastered everywhere, but the research she did on it seemed to show it was a good place that made a good amount of money. She was emailing her supervisor, Niall, who had interviewed her for the position at the time. He was extremely nice, and she was grateful it was one less thing she had to worry about when the rest of her life seemed to be falling apart. She would be Niall’s assistant and learn the ropes of his job that entailed, “really two jobs in one. I just know the owner, so I often get stuck in two roles,” he joked to her.

Good morning Mr. Horan,

              You’ll see that I’ve completed the training required. I’ve attached all the certificates and approvals and sent them to HR as well. This was just for your record. Please let me know if there’s anything else I need to do. I’m very excited to start, is there anything I need to do specifically when I get there to make your life easier? Please let me know.

              Have a great weekend!

Her phone pinged yet again with an alert that someone was interested in giving her money for companionship. She frowned slightly, almost wishing that it wouldn’t ping anymore. She didn’t want Louis knowing and she was really wishing that it didn’t have to be like this. She didn’t want to do this. She wanted to be with her ex and live happily ever after the way she had planned for so many years.

For all the shit to hit the fan in the last, busiest year of her life, she was incredibly sad.

Hello!

              I’m glad you’re excited. You don’t have to do anything special. I’ll show you around on Monday. Don’t stress, you’re going to do great.

              Have a lovely, relaxing weekend as well.

              Best,

(Please call me) Niall

She smirked at his response. This seemed like the least of her worries, but she had heard others didn’t typically last long at this company. Niall probably knew that as well as she did. He probably had to be polite to the rotation of interns coming through his office when his boss didn’t like them.

Another ping.

She sighed and figured it was now or never.

She deleted the creepy pick-up lines and anything that had a picture attachment noted on the message threads. That narrowed her choices down to four. She read through each of the opening messages and only one particularly stood out.

I’d like to give you five thousand dollars a month.

The only reason it stood out was because it was the only thing that was said. The other messages, while kinder than the ones she deleted, talked a lot about themselves and said they liked her profile. You seem cheap, lol wasn’t exactly what she wanted to hear. But there wasn’t a lot to go off of the one negotiating for triple the amount she was asking for.

She looked at the username for a moment trying to make heads or tails of his name. Coming up short she sighed quietly. “Louis? Eleanor?” She called.

With no response she decided she was on her own and clicked on his message thread again.

Thank you, that’s very kind, but I really don’t need all that much. I’m just...a little down on my luck and need enough to afford a place and whatnot. I couldn’t possibly use all that every month.

Hmm... The reply was almost instantaneous. Been waiting for you to reply, love. Can’t say I expected you to say that. You must be new to this whole arrangement.

She frowned. Appearing inept made her feel grumpier than she already was.

I am but I’m not greedy. That’s all. I just want what I need.

I appreciate that. But then you’re on the wrong app love. I want to give you five thousand a month AND pay for your place.

She was really glad Louis wasn’t around. She was blushing madly and there was no way he wouldn’t make fun of her nor take her phone from her himself and send messages she didn’t want to send. Taking a deep breath, she pursed her lips and nodded. I think you’re right...I don’t know. I really need the money. I just...I don’t want to take what I don’t EARN...and I’m not sure I’m comfortable with this arrangement, after all.

You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to, love. I make a lot of money. More than I know what to do with. I give to a lot of charities, and I’d just like to have a bona fide companionship that wasn’t about my money.

She snickered. Maybe you’re on the wrong app.

:(

Sorry, I guess I am new to this. Do you not want...a traditional relationship? If you’re paying me, how do you know I’d be a real companionship?

Because only the sweetest person on earth would send a profile out to a bunch of multi-millionaires to pay her a measly 1500 a month AND turn down a higher offer all because it’s more than she wanted.

She didn’t respond for a while. A few minutes turned into half an hour. Then before she knew it two hours had passed, and she felt like she hadn’t done anything in that time yet somehow no time had passed and the man at the other end had enough of waiting for her reply.

I didn’t mean to scare you. I spend a lot of time scouring these profiles. I want someone GOOD for my money. You hardly want anything. I could pay you what I want and any apartment you wanted before breakfast for a whole year because my company already has that money transferred into its account. I could pay your student loans if you wanted. I just want someone real, and you have the most real and lovely profile I’ve ever seen.

Sucking her lip into her mouth she kind of wanted to share this text with Louis but maybe it was too private. Maybe it was too ridiculous to believe that on her first attempt, her first profile and site she found someone so sweet.

If you don’t want to, I understand. But please be careful. If you’re not interested in traditional relationships this isn’t the site for you.

Then why are you on this site?

To find someone like you.

She frowned. Seems a little predatory :)

He sent an eye rolling emoji. Just trying to help you out, love.

She waited only a few moments this time before replying. You don’t want a traditional relationship?

It’s not a make or break it for this deal. I’m willing to work up to it if needed. I think you’re lovely and would like to spoil you however you see fit.

If she wasn’t careful, she was going to fall in love with his messages. That definitely couldn’t be part of the deal. Pacing in front of Eleanor’s refrigerator, she looked over the message that caused a flutter in her heart. Even her ex didn’t talk like that about her.

I think I’m interested. She messaged. What’s your name?

Harry. Harry Styles, love.

[definatelymrhyde]

Definatelymrhyde’s guide to Worse Than I Had Thought and it’s giant TGSxOther Jekyll and Hyde universe crossovers

Okay so WTIHT is gonna start getting real confusing as of now. So for the convenience of the however many people read it, my editor @jekyll-everything and even myself I’m making a short little guide to explain it!! It’s even completed with Drawings!!

There’s a short summary of the basic plot without spoilers, then how to differentiate the different characters from all the different universes!!

Short story summary for simplicity reasons

Worse than I had thought is based on this idea: TGS Jekyll gets caught up in some experiment that used lots of chemicals and lightning, something happens and he ends up in another dimension where one; It’s in the perpetual state of being a musical, and two; There’s another Jekyll and Hyde there! And a Murderer! Wow! It seems really simple until you get into later in the story…

It was initially meant to be a crack fic but then I started taking it seriously. So now it’s like.. a real actual story.. it’s still partially a comedy with lots of jokes, though!!

SPOILER ALERT FOR CHAPTERS 14/15 FROM THIS POINT ON I GUESS.

THE CHARACTERS!!

This is all the Jekyll and Hyde’s you will meet. First and foremost, the main men themselves, TGS Jekyll and Hyde! We call them Henry and Hyde in the fic. Alternatively, we also call them ��Society Jekyll/Hyde, and Henry had an Alias ‘Henry Wallace.’ Hyde doesn’t have an alias because plot points and I forgot to give him one.

Second, WTIHT Jekyll and Edward! Their universe is where everyone gets stuck. This Jekyll JUST created Hyde and probably hates himself for it. We call these two Jekyll and Edward . Or Musical Jekyll and Edward. They’re not the ones from the musical though. Theyre universe is a mish mash of a bunch of different Jekyll and Hyde univserses! They’re kind of like my own adaptation of the story in a way!

And last but not least, OG Book Jekyll and Hyde!! We call him Dr. Jekyll, The Doctor or Mr. Hyde. This Jekyll and Hyde story is the OG where Hyde is like a spooky alchemical induced Flesh costume and just the same conciousness. However, Jekyll refuses to admit that they’re literally the same conciousness out of pure being a terrible person.

Then there’s some other dudes.

Like the board of govonors who are really non-important.

BUT

This universe has its own Utterson! And it’s Own Lanyon!! Surprise!!

Utterson is essentially the TGS Lanyon of the WTIHT Universe, being WTIHT Jekylls BFF.

WTIHT Lanyon and WTIHT Jekyll however…

We’re gonna say that they’re not on talking terms…

Lucy and Emma/Lisa from the musical are also mentioned!! I’m not sure yet if we will ever see them but they DO make a really cute couple, at least their WTIHT versions do..

Sir Danvers Carew MIGGGT be mentioned later on. Still unsure of that. But like. Oh well. He’s pretty cool. He’s Emma/Lisas father and is very eccentric but just.. understands nothing of what’s happening. He is blissfully unaware but he’s a real good guy I promise.

Anyways, There is also tons of world building for the WTIHT universe that I’m not going to get into right now because I’m gonna be real with you here, it’s long. So that’s all for now!!!

If this made everything somehow more confusing I am SO sorry!! If I was unclear on something please don’t hesitate to ask I don’t bite I promise (Edward might, though.)

[jupitermelichios]

so you've probably seen the news that riverdale ended with the main 4 in an actual, canonical, poly relationship

and that's amazing for a bunch of reasons, including the fact that the number of canon poly relationships on tv are miniscule and also it brings the number of canonically straight main cast members down to 1. Ethel is legitimately the show's token straight representation. love that for her

but to get the full impact of that news, you really also need to know that in order for the polycule to form:

Jughead's transdimensional angel girlfriend has to destroy multiple other timelines to create a new stable timeline for the polycule to live in. timelines destroyed include the one where jughead is immortal and trapped forever in a bunker underneath riverdale, and one where tony and fangs's magical timetravelling gay baby is fighting an evil wizard for control of a train full of evil ghosts

Jughead's magical transdimensional angel girlfriend then returns to the newly created main timeline, and restores the main cast's memories of all the other timelines, which she does by forcing them to watch the show riverdale. That is not a joke or a metaphor she even goes to the trouble to bring a colour tv back to the 1950s so they can watch in colour, except for Clay and Julian, because they did not exist in any of the previous timelines and they're sad about it and refuse to watch a show they're not in.

(Well, Julian technically did exist in the original timeline, but only as a ghost possessing a haunted doll, which doesn't really count)

(Also for some reason as well as the main cast, she makes dilton doily watch it, despite his only contributions to the show being a) dying as a human sacrifice in the og timeline, b) trying to blow up the planet and then dying because of it in the rivervale timeline, and c) gay kevin telling people he has the biggest dick in the 1950s tlmeline, and honestly, I feel like it would be kinder to just not show him any of that)

(ethel does not get to watch riverdale, because she did the only sensible thing any riverdale character has ever done and fucked off to a normal town to have an actual life, because as well as being the token straight character, she's also the token sane one)

After watching Riverdale, all of the main cast except Jughead and Betty decide it sucks and they hate it, and ask tabby to rewipe their memories and only give them the cute bits and not all the serial killers and shit, because the writers have run out of time for subtle metaphors and they weren't sure the audience had fully grasped that the entirely last season of the show is a weird metacommentary on the criticisms people have of the show riverdale so they're just straight up going to have archie andrews look straight to camera and say that the show should have been more like the comics

also I have no idea how only showing them the happy bits works, because that removes 90% of the entire plot so I assume they just have a bunch of completely out of context sex scenes and meals at the diner and nothing else. possibly also some musical numbers, idk if I'd count those as happy memories personally

Betty and Jug chose to keep their memories of the Gargoyle King and Betty's 2 long-lost secret gay serial killer brothers because they're edgy (and also because the writers are annoyed at all the people who say the show should be more like the comics, so they have the smartest characters say they liked the actually and everyone else is being a wimp about all the serial killers, because again, we have run out of time for subtlety)

Having had his memories restored, Jug's like "oh hi tabitha, my secret transdimensional angel girlfriend, I haven't seen you for months, I've really missed you. I'm so glad you're you're back. i love you so much"

And she responds by telling him that she'd chosen to write herself out of the timeline when she fixed in, and she has to return to the great big diner in the sky (not a joke, heaven is a diner in the riverdale universe and, it is heavily implied, also in our universe, so that's something to look forward to), so she freezes time halfway through kissing him and just nopes out of time and space. which is also how I would handle all break ups if I had angel powers tbh

since jug is now single, and all 4 of them just got multiple timeline's worth of fucking one another mainlined straight into their brains, the main 4 decide to all start dating

(they are probably inspired to do this in part by betty's sister, who in the new timeline is a burlesque performer who's stage name is Polly Amorous)

As far as I can tell from the last episode, they tell gay kevin about this and literally no one else, for reasons known only to themselves

also genuinely can't tell if this was the writers wanting a poly relationship for them, or if they just couldn't be bothered with the internet slap fights that would have followed them picking individual monogomous ships to be endgame

they also, hilariously, refuse to say that archie and jug are dating, I assume due to network restrictions, despite archie being canonically bi at this point, so betty's just like 'well sometimes I go to veronica's and we fuck, and the boys do... something we're not going to talk about'

the final episode of the show is a flash forward where as a now old betty is dying, jughead's ghost shows her memories of their teens, in which it's reveal that she has just straight up forgotten about being in a poly relationship

literally she looks at her teen self and is like "wow, I seem weirdly close to veroica jughead and archie" and Jug's ghost has to be like "because we were dating. how do you not remember that we were dating? what the hell? did I mean nothing to you?!"

also old betty specifically seeks out reggie and is like "hey you know how me and you dated, and you and veronica were together for years in multiple timelines, and you archie keep declaring your undying love for one another and nearly fucking, well we're all dating and we specifically decided not to invite you, sucks to be you" and walks away and I have no idea why she did it. justice for reggie

anyway RIP to the greatest television show ever made, it was so gay and so deranged and so meta, and there really will never be anything quite like it again

[thegayhimbo]

Ranking The Stranger Things Tie-Ins:

Now that I've finished the reviews (for the time being), I wanted to do a ranking of all the tie-in comics, graphic novels, and books. Originally, I was just going to do a Top 5 Best and Worst List, but I figured it would be more fun to make a complete list of all the tie-ins while also giving my brief thoughts on each one (especially for those who don't want to read my lengthy reviews). Please note this is all in good fun and just my personal opinion, which can be subjected to change.

Also, this list will NOT include any of the show's episodes, video games, tabletop games, children's tie-in books, the Choose Your Own Adventure book, the Stranger Things Experience, or the stage play The First Shadow.

With that out of the way, let's begin in order from Worst to Best:

#26: Stranger Things Summer Special (See Review Here)

I never cared for Powell and Callahan as characters. They barely have anything to do with the show's main arc, they're NOT funny, and the "bumbling cop" trope is something I've grown tired of in recent years.

The premise of this short, where both of them are conveniently present at key events during season 3 in their lousy pursuit of being "good cops," all the while having constant near-misses with the Upside Down, the Flayed, and the Meat Flayer, is a repetitive joke that quickly grows old. That's not even getting into the huge continuity errors plaguing the short and creating a bunch of plot-holes. Completely unnecessary. Hard pass.

#25: Stranger Things The Bully (See Review Here)

This only ranks slightly higher than Summer Special because I like the artwork better, and it doesn't mess up the show's continuity like the previous comic did. However, that's all this really has going for it.

For whatever reason, they decided to make an entire graphic novel focusing on Troy and James (the bullies from season 1), and all I could think about while reading it is "This is a huge waste of time." I already didn't like Troy to begin with, this comic does NOTHING to improve my opinion of him, and considering that neither James nor Troy have appeared on the show since (and probably aren't coming back for season 5), I don't see what the point of this story was. This paragraph from my review sums it up best:

#24: Stranger Things x TMNT Crossover (See Review Here)

I'm sure there are fans who enjoyed this bizarre trip while embracing its absurdness and surrealism, but I am not one of them. I like TMNT and I like Stranger Things, but I draw the line at saying both properties exist in the same universe. That's not even getting into the haphazard attempts by the writers to make this comic canon with the show. Knowing the Duffer Brothers, that's likely not going to happen.

#23: Stranger Things Tales From Hawkins (See Review Here)

The idea of doing an anthology comic focusing on Hawkins residents was intriguing, but the end result was disappointing. They should have broadened their horizons regarding which characters to focus on, and not just set the stories exclusively in the first 2 seasons.

Murray's story (Issue #2) and the Pumpkin Patch Rivalry (Issue #4) are arguably the best ones. The rest are either forgettable or derivative.

#22: Stranger Things Six (See Review Here)

My first venture into Stranger Things comics. I've come a long way since then! :)

I remember looking forward to this particular comic to learn more about Hawkins Lab, Dr. Brenner, Project MKUltra, and the special kids............only to feel underwhelmed when I actually read it. I wanted to like Francine/Six, but I didn't find her interesting or compelling as a character, and the attempts to include other aspects of the show's lore (i.e. The Upside Down, Terry Ives, El and Kali, etc) felt shoehorned. Combined with the direction season 4 went, and it's a safe bet to say this comic is NOT canon (if it ever was).

#21: Stranger Things Suspicious Minds (See Review Here)

Suspicious Minds ranks slightly higher that Six for doing a better job fleshing out the experiments that were taking place at Hawkins Lab, as well as giving more details about Kali, Terry Ives, the test subjects, and El's biological father Andrew. It helps that Brenner is a threatening presence in this book, and that the narrative excels in maintaining suspense.

However, similar to Six, the events of season 4 render most of this book non-canon. That's not even getting into a major continuity error regarding El's date of birth that sticks out like a sore thumb.

Suspicious Minds serves as a cautionary reminder that if you're a creator and you've planned out a major twist for your show, then you either need to have a direct hands-on approach to how tie-ins are written and approved, or you need to be willing to share that twist with those you've hired to write tie-ins for the universe you're managing.

In any case, it is PAINFULLY CLEAR the Duffer Brothers didn't share information about Henry/One/Vecna with Gwenda Bond when she worte this book (or Paul Dichter for that matter when he helped oversee its development), and boy does it show in the final product. 😖

#20: Stranger Things Kamchatka (See Review Here)

Another example of a comic where the premise sounds intriguing, but they squander it on characters who aren't going to play a role on the show while also giving very little (and in some cases, contradictory) information about the show's lore.

While I liked the darker tone, the Cold War setting, and the spy thriller aspects, the characters didn't do much to impress me, and I was also frustrated by the lack of canon characters (Hopper, Dmitiri, Yuri, etc) who could have been in this comic and weren't. It's not bad, but it is mediocre when it didn't need to be.

#19: Stranger Things Into The Fire (See Review Here)

A sequel that improves on its predecessor (Stranger Things Six). While the comic likely isn't canon for the same reasons Six isn't, I appreciated the personal stakes this time around, I loved the creepy gothic aesthetic they did with Jamie/Nine's hallucinations, and it was nice to see Kali utilized in this story in a meaningful way. Here's hoping the Duffer Brothers wise up and bring Kali back for season 5 because she deserves so much better!

#18: Stranger Things Creature Feature (See Review Here)

One aspect of Season 4 that was disappointing was how little we got to see of the family dynamic with El and the Byers once they moved. It's hinted at, but not explored deeply. Creature Feature dives a little more into that, as well as El's struggles with PTSD, and gives a nice heartwarming scene between El, Jonathan, and Will towards the end that makes the short stand out.

However, the one-shot comic is sadly brief, and it may leave people frustrated about why they didn't go for a longer comic/graphic novel about El and the Byers adjusting to life in Lenora. I would've been interested in seeing that!

#17: Stranger Things The Game Master (See Review Here)

A one-shot comic where we get to see Steve and Nancy back together after the events of season 1 while also getting a surprisingly sweet interaction between Steve and Mike that isn't them griping with one another. I don't care much for Steve and Nancy's relationship, but I did like their attempts to help Mike feel better after El's apparent death. That was enough to elevate this short.

#16: Stranger Things Erica's Quest (See Review Here)

Not a fan of the artwork, but I was happy to witness the Scoop's Troop back together again. I also love how this short confirms Steve has played D&D before, which gives context to that scene in S4 when Dustin calls Steve asking him to be a substitute player in Eddie's D&D campaign.

#15: Stranger Things The Voyage (See Review Here)

Major improvement on Stranger Things Kamchatka. It's highly doubtful the show will include any mention of this comic (though if the Duffer Brothers decide to bring back the Russian arc for S5, I hope they incorporate Dr. Karine as the main antagonist), but the story is scary, suspenseful, and has the kind of gruesomeness you'd expect from an R-Rated horror film.

#14: Stranger Things Darkness On The Edge Of Town (See Reviews Here)

Having grown up reading a lot of murder mysteries, I have a soft spot for the genre. Hearing that Hopper's backstory involved him tracking down a deranged serial killer in New York City back in the 70s while also dealing with a dangerous cult was enough to get me on board with this book.

This novel isn't perfect, but it makes up for its shortcomings in creative ways. Hopper's backstory with the NYPD is fascinating, the story's focus on issues related to poverty, crime, mental health, law enforcement, and societal woes works well (even if they drop the ball towards the end), Hopper's interactions with El in the present are a highlight, and the narrative is effective in keeping the reader invested.

#13: Stranger Things Erica The Great (See Review Here)

A light-hearted graphic novel that bridges Erica's arc between seasons 3 and 4 while expanding on her growth as a character and development as a D&D play. It was cool seeing Erica's friends get their day in the limelight (one of whom might be making an appearance in S5), and the story has enough funny moments to keep the reader entertained.

#12: Stranger Things Flight Of Icarus (See Review Here)

I know fan reaction towards this book was cold when it was first announced, and I'll admit parts of it were hard to read given we all know how Eddie's story ends. I'm not a fan of media that teases false hope to the audience, only to cruelly yank it away.

That being said, I will go to bat for this book: It's well-written, and does a good job expanding on Eddie's character and his relationships with others (Wayne, Al Munson, Jason, etc). I also appreciate the book's themes regarding "forced conformity," and its scathing criticisms towards individuals and institutions (school teachers, law enforcement, students, residents, etc) who scapegoat and punish people like Eddie for existing while allowing (or in some cases, enabling) truly vile people to get away with being vicious and cruel towards "acceptable targets."

Considering how certain individuals on Tumblr and varying social media platforms have been treating others for the past few months, this book couldn't have come during a more relevant time.

#11: Stranger Things Halloween Special (See Review Here)

A delightful Halloween comic taking place before season 1 which centers around the Party telling an urban legend about the Child Eater of Hawkins, which coincidentally has eerie parallels to Vecna. Creepy artwork, an unsettling atmosphere, and a fun twist at the end! :)

#10: Stranger Things Hawkins Horrors (See Review Here)

Same deal as the Halloween Special, except it takes place between Seasons 3 and 4, and features multiple horror stories told by Steve, Robin, Nancy, Max, Lucas, Erica, Dustin, and Mike while they're all trapped in the Video Store during a power outage. The stories are scary and reminiscent of horror anthologies like Tales from the Crypt and Goosebumps, and some of them even cheekily foreshadow certain events that occur in season 4.

#9: Stranger Things Runaway Max (See Reviews Here)

Like Flight of Icarus, this book is hard to read, albeit for a different reason: I don't enjoy stories with characters trapped in abusive situations, and this book does not pull its punches in depicting the utter hell Max suffered through living with both Neil and Billy.

That being said, I grew to have a new appreciation for Max's character because of this book, and I liked seeing her backstory, her perspective on the events of season 2, and her thoughts about the characters she interacts with. I loved seeing her relationship with Lucas develop, I liked her brief interactions with Steve, and there was a satisfying payoff in her standing up to Billy and finally regaining some control over her life. If you love Max's character, this book is for you!

#8: Stranger Things Winter Special (See Review Here)

The closest Stranger Things will ever have for a Christmas Special (not counting the endings of the first two season finales). So many little details (i.e. the way the Party explains different Christmas stories to El and how she visualizes them, the revelation about what happened to the demodog in Joyce's fridge, etc) that make this an enjoyable read.

#7: Stranger Things Lucas On The Line (See Review Here)

One thing I will say for the tie-ins is that I appreciate how they expand the perspectives of characters from the show. Such is the case with Lucas on the Line. It takes place between seasons 3 and 4, and explores Lucas's attempts to come to terms with his trauma, the growing rift between himself and Max, his attempts to balance his strained relationships with his friends and his desire to play basketball and break out of the "nerd" stereotype, and it gives a very brutal but effective portrait of what it's like for Lucas to be one of the few black kids in Hawkins constantly surrounded by people who are either outwardly racist or project their biases and prejudices in truly insidious ways.

There are two reasons I'm not ranking this novel as highly even though it's a fan-favorite: 1.) There are continuity errors that took me out of certain moments while reading it, and 2.) The third act (which is when S4 begins) does a clumsy job tying in with the rest of the book and its themes. I really wish the book had continued with Lucas's story up to the end of S4 instead of stopping halfway through.

#6: Stranger Things The Other Side (See Review Here)

I always wanted to know what was going on with Will in season 1 when he was taken to the Upside Down. This comic thankfully elaborates on that and doesn't disappoint. Will's journey to survive is both intense and terrifying, and the way the comic seamlessly connects itself with the events of season 1 is to be applauded.

I have no clue what the Duffer Brothers plan to reveal in season 5 about the Upside Down and why time froze in 1983 when Will was taken, but considering they talked with the writers and artists for this comic and gave their stamp of approval, I'm hopeful the events of The Other Side won't be retconned.

#5: Stranger Things Science Camp (See Review Here)

Who knew that when Dustin went to Science Camp, he walked right into a Friday the 13th movie? 😂

Don't want to spoil too much about this one, but I had a blast reading it. Dustin's perspective is always entertaining, the comic works as a brilliant introduction for Suzie, and the mystery plaguing the camp is genuinely interesting and has a good twist. High recommendation.

#4: Stranger Things Zombie Boys (See Review Here)

I'm still bitter that the character of Joey Kim never made an appearance on the show despite the camaraderie he had with the Party, as well as how he gave the boys some catharsis from all the shit they were put through in season 1.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed the premise of the Party making a zombie movie, and I appreciated how it handled the characters' trauma without being patronizing. The artwork was also impressive and beautiful to look at. Here's hoping we get more comics and graphic novels like this in the future!

#3: Stranger Things Tomb Of Ybwen (See Review Here)

At its core, the comic manages to explore an aspect that wasn't given much coverage on the show: Will's reaction to Bob's death and his attempts to come to terms with it. All of which culminates in a quest Will undertakes when he finds a map from Bob that (allegedly) leads to an ancient Viking treasure buried in Hawkins.

I don't want to give too much away in terms of spoilers, but the story is both emotional, sad, and heartwarming, and it does an excellent job reinforcing the friendship between all 4 boys while also demonstrating the impact Bob had on Will's life.

#2: Stranger Things and Dungeons and Dragons (See Review Here)

Speaking as someone who's occasionally crafted various fantasy scenarios in my head to cope with the stresses of life, this comic was deeply relatable. The show never shied away from emphasizing the importance of D&D to these characters, and this comic expands on that by illustrating why they became interested in D&D in the first place, how they've used D&D to cope with living in Hawkins, how the events of the first 3 seasons factor into how they play D&D, and how the game evolved with them as they continued to get older. It's like the piece of media from your childhood that stays with you as an adult. Arguably the best comic in the series (so far).

#1: Stranger Things Rebel Robin (See Reviews Here)

My favorite book and tie-in of the series. Speaking as someone who's gay, this story spoke to me on a personal level, and there were a lot of parallels I was drawing between Robin's experiences in high school and my own: The fear of being outed and ostracized. The desire to break free and explore the world. Recognizing the injustices that exist in society and wishing you could do something about them. Getting a nasty dose of reality that people you thought you could trust aren't reliable, and may even be more awful than you anticipated. Been there, done that, still dealing with some aspects of it.

It's funny because even if you take out the plot elements relating to the Upside Down, you still get a great coming-of-age story, and one that speaks to many people, LGBT+ or otherwise.

That concludes the ranking and reviews for right now! Thank you again for those who've been reading them! :)

[77ngiez-archive]

post-good end omori thoughts brought to u by the sunny omori himself

sunny and basil stay really close, mostly because they think everybody else in the group hates them but theyve been thru too much shit together to hate each other. basils the first in the group to get his drivers license (besides hero) and so sometimes he’ll drive up to the city sunny lives in. he’ll leave friday right after school and stay until sunday evening. sunny’s mom is almost always gone working so it’s nice that basil’s around.

basil is also the only one that sunny’s told about headspace. partly because of the aforementioned "wow everybody else probably hates me for killing mari" and partly because. basil could see "something". he doesnt tell basil everything ofc but he tells him a fair amount, and weirdly basil can guess some stuff before sunny says it. or maybe it’s more than guessing, who’s to say?

at any rate, because basil and sunny know about headspace but the others don’t, that’s another reason that they’re closer even when the main friend group reconnects. aubrey will be over at basils and mention that she’s considering dying her hair purple, and basil flinches and is like "are you sure thats a good idea?" and shes like What Are You On About and then he has to avoid the topic.

obviously the rest of the group Does Not hate sunny and basil (except maybe hero a bit, but not even him really, he’s just in a lot of pain), but it takes a bit to get that through their thick (read: traumatized) heads. it ends up being kel who helps sunny realize that he’s been forgiven.

for basil, oddly, it’s kim—she noticed aubrey was acting weird ever since sunny moved, and she felt guilty about having bullied basil in the past, so she tried to talk to him about it. obviously he didn’t tell her about the whole mari thing, but he tried to help her understand what was going on with aubrey a bit because he still cares about her. yadda yadda yadda kim and basil ended up becoming friends somehow, and bcoz aubrey drags kim (aka kim follows her) to a lot of her hangouts with kel and hero, kim ends up picking up on a bunch of stuff that never gets said out loud. and she convinces basil that he is NOT universally hated by everybody except sunny.

sunny completely loses his eye, and so he wears his eyepatch at pretty much all times except when he’s sleeping. even though he’s home alone. he feels like when he looks at things with his missing eye socket, he can see omori and mari. so he just. covers it lol.

hero dates a lot of girls from college. they never last too long, though. he’s never really managed to get over mari, but he knows she’d want him to, so he’s trying. but none of his relationships really work out since his heart still wholly belongs to a dead girl.

kel still bottles things up for a bit. everybody can tell that he’s upset, but he refuses to admit it, until one day aubrey takes him to one of those places where you just break things. kel first treats it like a joke, but he ends up screaming and crying and shouting while he breaks things.

"SUNNY!! BASIL!! I— FUCK YOU!!! I LOVE YOU BUT FUCK YOU!!! I HATE YOU!!! I HATE YOU SUNNY, I HATE YOU BASIL, I HATE YOU HERO, I HATE YOU AUBREY, I HATE YOU HERO!!! I WISH YOU GUYS WOULD STOP NEEDING ME FOR JUST A MOMENT!!! WHY AREN’T I ALLOWED TO BREAK DOWN?! I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU, I HATE ALL OF YOU, EVEN MARI, I HATE EVERYBODY, I HATE EVERYTHING, I HATE IT SO MUCH-!!" and etc

but once he gets it all out, he’s a lot better. he’s even more willing to be vulnerable and talk about things. although he’s only really able to bear his soul with aubrey. for what it’s worth, it’s pretty reciprocal.

speaking of aubrey. she’s probably been coping the best for the past four years, but once sunny tells her the truth, she kinda breaks. she copes with self-destructive behavior, and sometimes drugs (mostly just weed, from the maverick). she stays really close with the hooligans, maybe even closer than with the others. it takes years, and sunny and basil’s permission, but eventually she tells kim everything.

when they reach college, they end up going to the same place—except hero, who’s graduated from medical school but is taking online classes for culinary school without telling his parents.

basil and sunny move in together, because. they’re still very very close. aubrey lives in her car. on purpose. most of the hooligans do, to be honest. they’re still super tight-knit. kel lived in college housing, but eventually hero made him move in with him, which ended up being good for them both.

basil and sunny have hallucinations. sunny’s are mostly omori and the stranger (mari’s gone now, and he thinks maybe she wasn’t a hallucination after all but her ghost, who’s finally moved on now that the group is healing enough). basil’s are mostly something, although sometimes he sees the headspace version of himself. sometimes alive, sometimes with his head crushed like a watermelon. (when he talks about it after a particularly bad nightmare, sunny chokes up, because he never told basil that particular detail.)

uhh yeah this is getting too long soo goodbye for now lol

[koreanbibliophilegirl]

Can I see your oshi no kono but happier au?

!!!! HELLO I ONLY JUST SAW THIS ASK, YES OF COURSE YOU CAN SEE IT :DDDD It's still in WIP jail for now, but I can give you a basic rundown! I'll put it under a cut:

So, Tommy is the main character because I'm an unapologetic Inniter, lol. He is both Aqua and Ruby, and maybe Ai too a little bit!

Originally, he was Tommy Innis, a sick orphan who'd spent nearly his whole life in hospital under the care of Doctors Sam and Ponk(they both have the role of Goro, though not Aqua).

He dies right before his 16th birthday, and on the same day is reborn as Tommy Craft, the son of superstar actress Kristin Trix and famous artist/sculptor Philza Craft. Tommy's a huge fan of both, but he didn't know they were married bc it was kept under wraps. He's really happy he gets a second chance at life though! He wanted to be an actor/singer/whatever-involves-artistic-talent, but he was too sick to do any of it properly- except maybe writing.

Also, Technoblade Craft is his teenage(?) uncle who's already making a name for himself in writing & various sports. Tommy is a fan of him too. Hehe👍

So anyway, Innis!Tommy used to be online friends with this one guy, idk which guy it's gonna be yet. Let's call him Guy for now.

Guy was an aspiring movie director, he* and Tommy often talked about how Tommy would appear in Guy's movie, and they'd both be super successful, and stuff like that- but Tommy died before any of it could happen...

(*: I'm assuming he's gonna end up being a he? Niki, Hannah and Tina all have roles already, and I'm pretty sure Puffy's gonna be Foolish's mom or something, so yeah.)

But!!! He follows Kristin to one of her movie sets, and lo and behold, the director's his old online best friend!

Guy, being 21(?) now, is rising fast in the movie industry. He has Purpled on set as a child actor, but he makes a spur-of-the-moment decision to have Tommy appear with him. Purpled, who's been acting for a while now, understandably isn't too happy at having to act with a complete newbie.

But turns out, Tommy's a natural! Purpled is kinda jealous, though he's also impressed. (You can probably tell by now, but Purpled is Kana. Kekw) Then Tommy teaches Purpled a bunch of new swear words, much to Kristin's amusement and Guy's exasperation. They become friends-for-the-day after that👍

Uuuuhhhh not entirely sure how things are gonna go from here, but something about Techno nearly getting stabbed? He's fine though DW, it's called Oshi No Ko But Happier AU for a reason! :D

Guy dies though.

.......Yeah.😬

BUT that will come later, for now Tommy's gained quite a reputation as a child actor with tons of potential! Under a pseudonym of course, bc he can't really announce himself as the son of two of the most influential artists of the century, not to mention the nephew of one. He gets to learn how to play a bunch of instruments too! (Innis!Tommy, being a sick orphan, had only gotten to learn a few that were easy/cheap to learn, and could fit in a hospital room.) Techno nearly getting killed puts the family on edge though, so they all agree to keep the acting jobs to a minimum until Tommy's older.

Fast forward to 13 years old, Tommy's just started to attend a super-prestigious school specializing in the arts. Turns out Purpled is here too! But Purpled's changed a lot during the time they didn't see each other. He's a lot less expressive- it reminds Tommy that all of Purpled's roles, during the last few years, have been apathetic acts. Tommy's a bit concerned, but Purpled is in the year above his so Tommy can't really catch him in school.

He makes a friend in writing class though! Their name is Ranboo, he's pretty cool! Ranboo introduces him to Tubbo, who's attending a technology-centered school.

Turns out, Ranboo's older sister, Niki, is friends with Techno. She & her queerplatonic partner, Jack Manifold, are co-leaders of the dance team 'Rocket'. Tommy's been calling them Team Rocket as a joke.

Shenanigans happen! Oh and Tommy's family is still searching for the person that ordered a hit on Techno, because what the f*ck.

Around this time Tommy's accidentally gotten super SUPER famous, and he starts to see that a lot of murders have been happening in the entertainment industry for years. The family lawyers & the authorities hadn't made the connection bc of different methods/seemingly different motives/different culprits, some of whom have been caught- but Tommy thinks there might be a connection. It's kinda irrational, he has no evidence, but murders/murder attempts HAVE been happening more often in the last decade or so than before.

Oh yeah!! I haven't drawn any concept art yet, but I have a list of "star pupils". (no pun intended, I genuinely did not expect that to sound like a pun, what the heck.😅)

If I do get around to drawing some characters for Oshi No Ko But Happier AU, I'll be changing the Star Pupil rules from the original manga/anime.

I'm thinking talent in creation- drawing, painting, writing, etc. - would be four points, shaped like a + sign, while performance- acting, singing, playing instruments, etc. - would be four points, but shaped like an x. Talent in only one aspect of each category- ex. Good at writing but bad at drawing, Good at dancing but average at singing- would be a single line or thin shape.

Additionally, the center of the star would get bigger according to your confidence!

So, Phil and Kristin have four-point stars, with Phil's being a + shape and Kristin's being an x shape. Purpled also has an x-shaped four-point star, but his stars have a big center in childhood and grow small in teenage years- and then grow big again, bc as I keep saying, it's Oshi No Ko But Happier AU. Ranboo has a cat's eye pupil-shaped pupil, while Niki and Jack both have lightning bolt-shaped pupils.

Techno has six-point stars, and Tommy has eight-point stars :) Hopefully I can avoid making them too OP by nerfing them in other aspects lol.

Uh, I think that's all for right now! Thank you for the ask, hope you enjoyed my ramblings haha😅

-Lilly xx

[jammys-pkmn-irl-hub]

Welcome! You can call me "Jam" (he/him); I run a bunch of Pokémon IRL blogs and at this point accepted that I'm probably gonna make more! So to prevent the ever-growing list of blogs I have to add to pinned posts, I've now made a hub blog.

Aside from making a listn I'm probably gonna also like. Use this blog to talk about lore stuff that's hard to mention in-character? And maybe even post some off-screen fics that I didn't finish at the time I meant to post them. So consider giving this blog a follow if you. Actually like my work for some reason lmao.

I'm gonna categorize this so:

"Glass Moon" Characters

Most of my characters fall under the same universe that I call the "Glass Moon Lore", because I like to joke that their anime theme song would be the "Glass Moon Dance" by The Vanished People. All of these characters are tied to each other in one way or another, and even tied to characters written by other people! More on that in a different post

Those characters are:

- @profchamomile - Paldea's new regional professor! Looking into ways to make Pokémon care more accessible so trainers in disadvantaged situations may still make sure their pokemon's needs are being met! Will they live up to the expectations that come with replacing the professors that built a literal time machine? Or will their worst fears come to life when the ghosts of their deep dark past come back to haunt them- I mean what?

- @porygon-supremacy - A hacker who totally doesn't care about people, and a mother of four weird pokemon children. Tries her best to be secretive, but her porygons have other plans. If what you hear of her work life concerns you... Well, you might be onto something.

- @anomaly-sanctum - a pokemon sanctuary specializing in the kind of pokemon that other sanctuaries can't. Legendaries, ultra beasts, artificial, you name it. May or may not be run by a former terrorist

- @kidresearcherindigo - Just a normal student of Naranja-Uva academy who loves their friends and family and expresses that in making them laugh! Sure they figured refer to their family as their "pack" and that family largely consists of zoroarks. Sure they may or may not have been to Area Zero. Sure they may or may not have saved the world from team plasma back when they lived in Unova. But they're TOTALLY normal and NOT traumatized!

- @bright-sun-porygon - One of porygon-supremacy's weird pokemon children; a happy-go-lucky porygon2 who wants nothing more than to put a smile on the face of everyone they meet! Their ultimate goals are to bring their loved ones together, get the human learning experience by becoming a student at naranja-uva, and becoming your friend!

Individual Lore Blogs

- @paradox-destroyer - what would happen if Arven couldn't save Mabosstiff? You get an edgy, troubled teenager forced to help a giant lizard get their powers back!

- @area-zero-era-navigator - another Arven blog, but this time he's an AI! Watch as he struggles to navigate human emotion as he's forced to process some of the most difficult emotions of all, such as grief, fear, love, among others

- @witheredcosmos no one special, really. Just a galarian man suffering from an unfortunate position. Certainly has no affiliation Former Chairman Rose or anything... Nevermind the fact that his blog was made a day after the former Chairman's death was announced.

That's it for now; more will be added, I'm sure because when I get an idea it holds me hostage for several nights

My activity tends to fluctuate a lot depending on which plot I'm most hyperfixated with. But interaction is always welcome on any one of them; even if I haven't posted on that blog in a while.

Also follows are from @jammerman64 but shhhhhhhhh don't tell my mutuals on main (/lh)

Feel free to send asks about my characters too if you're curious about anything!

[sepublic]

I find it interesting that the Forbidden Five are from the Wyldness, where the Wolf Tribe is also from. Their army draws on the aesthetics of wolves, as does their dojo, and even the enhanced Wolf Mask warriors have energy claws akin to the Chi avatars of the Wolf Tribe; They’re even the same color, as some Chi avatars are blue, while others are red, with wolves being the latter!

But there are no actual wolves. The Forbidden Five conquered a Tiger tribe that Zarkar and Ras come from. But otherwise, their minions have all been shown or implied to have been human.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the Forbidden Five learned from either a Wolf Tribe, or the same one from Chima; Given their nomadic nature, I wouldn’t be shocked if some of the Wolves who evolved from Chi left the floating continent to explore the rest of their realm. Because Doylist reasons aside, it feels like the Forbidden Five would be interested in Chi if they knew of it; Though tbf, Jordana did have that crystal orb she used to perform Theroxian magic…

But yeah, I’m not putting it past the Five’s imperialistic attitudes and flippant dismissal of Zarkar and his race to have, I dunno. Learned from Wolves, and then stolen their aesthetics and knowledge for themselves, while disregarding actual wolves. Not sure where the humans came from, but Chen knew of a portal connecting Ninjago and the Wyldness, and it’s one the Wolf Clan must’ve been familiar with to surround it with wolf statues… Maybe that’s where they came from. We know the original Wolf Clan, or at least some of its members, were human; Their descendants as Garmadon meets them are, as is Lord Argus.

Even if the Forbidden Five also hail from the Wyldness (Drix certainly looks the part), that’s like saying all humans come from Earth, so we all have claim to each other’s cultures. I’m half-joking when I say the Wolf Clan is itself appropriation. So this is the second time we have a tournament arc where the main villains are people who appropriate the aesthetics of anthropomorphized animals. Fitting that Garmadon would run into their legacy after being directed to by Chen.

And you wanna know the real kicker? With how the Children of the Wolf are distinguished as the last descendants of the original Wolf Clan, who were otherwise petrified fighting Zaiden Kane. I wouldn’t be surprised if the present-day Wolf Clan was just a bunch of impersonators; Thugs Ras hired and trained to do his dirty work. The sets implicate them as humans. Perhaps they’re the dissidents and criminals of Imperium, who were supposed to be swept under the rug, so Ras took them in knowing he’d probably need his own force separate from Beatrix’s, who would have no loyalty to her anyhow.

Because for all their past and apparent reverence for the Forbidden Five… The new Wolf Clan doesn’t bat an eye at Ras enslaving Nokt. When Nokt rebels, they take Ras’ side and have to be brainwashed by Rox to serve the Forbidden Five once more. It’s quite a far cry from Argus, who served directly beneath the Five, and with the old Wolf Clan attempted to honor their legacy and continue their ways, even after Rontu and Egalt defeated his masters.

So it’s karma; Nokt and his comrades impersonated the aesthetics and stole the ways of the Wolf Tribe for their own purposes. They pillaged Zarkar’s people. So now their descendant Ras returns the favor by bastardizing their own army and legacy for his purposes, even having someone wield their own Theroxian magic. The Wolf Masks, as well as the Gong and Mallet of Shattering, now belong to Roby since he imprisoned the new Wolf Clan! Again, a second tournament arc where a dead warrior tribe with animal aesthetics is bastardized, only for those with the original claim, once sealed away, to take revenge on the bodies of the thieves.

That would explain the shift to the Dragonians in S3; Rox could create more Wolf Masks and perhaps another gong and hammer. But we don’t know the logistics it’d take to do that, or train new warriors as well. And while Nokt and Rox know where the Shadow Dojo is and could always go back to it with the others, I can see how they’d have to go for another group that uses sapient animals’ aesthetics. Makes me wonder if the Dragonians are like Imperium in exploiting dragons, or if their bond with their dragons is actually mutualistic. Perhaps S3 will involve villains who actually do work together and care; The Forbidden Five, and the Dragonians and their dragons?

[kitty8804]

My sibling and I just watched Tinker Bell and the Pirate Fairy and we came up with a bunch of sexuality and dating headcannons based on it. The conversation was very funny so I thought I would share our final consensus on this.

Sexualities

Tinker Bell : Pansexual

Get it? Because of Peter Pan. Tink just doesn’t really care. She has always done her own thing and that also applies to who she likes.

Silvermist: Bisexual

I originally thought of her as a lesbian, but her outfit in the Pirate Fairy was the Bi flag colors so she has to be Bi. I think she is a huge disaster bisexual, but is also denser than a brick. You could scream that you are in love with her and she will not get it.

Iridessa: Queer

She definitely isn’t straight. But neither of us can figure out what her sexuality is. We like to think that Iridessa identifies as queer because trying to commit to a single label gives her too much anxiety.

Fawn: Lesbian Asexual Gender Non Conforming

Look at this girl and tell me she doesn’t like girls! I dare you! I just can’t see her dating men at all. As for asexual we decided to use it as an umbrella term. I’m not sure where she lands on the spectrum. She definitely isn’t sex repulsed though. Also I think Fawn identifies as a girl but that doesn’t really mean anything to her. She sometimes uses they/them but very rarely.

Vidia: Lesbian

This girl gives mean lesbian vibes and we all know it. Also she has definitely kissed everyone in the main friend group at least once.

Rosetta: Bi-curious and Trans mtf

To my sibling she gives off huge trans girl vibes and I can definitely see it. I feel like it didn’t take long for her to transition after being born in Pixie Hallow. Maybe a couple months. A year tops. When she did come out everyone was like “Finally! She transitioned!” As for her being Bi-curious we think that she genuinely didn’t realize that girls were an option. It took two of the girls in the friend group dating for Rosetta to realize that she could date girls, and that she her completely normal thoughts about her friends were not as platonic as she thought. I like to think Fawn helped her figure some stuff out. But she does still like men and probably prefers them, even if only slightly. She is still with her boyfriend Sled.

Couples

So we came to the conclusion that Tink and Vidia dated for a bit, but broke up. No one really knows this because they kept it quiet since they have the same friend group and didn’t want things to be awkward if it didn’t work out. In the end the two are just not compatible romantically. Their tempers were the main reason. They joke about it now though.

We came to the conclusion that Tinker and Terence eventually do date. They are both polyamorous and are looking for a third, but no one seems interested.

Silvermist and Fawn are two dumbasses in a pod. They get into so much shit together. They love each other and have no shame.

Finally when watching the Pirate Fairy we noticed that Vidia was usually the one calming down Iridessa when she was having an anxiety attack and it was cute. I actually think they were the first of the friend group to start dating, but were very low key about it. When everyone found out Silvermist and Fawn started dating everyone said that they were the first of the friend group to start dating each other and Vidia just looked at everyone and stated that she and Iridessa had been dating for over a year. Everyone freaked out.

Extras:

Periwinkle: AroAce

Girl thinks she is Pansexual like her sister because she feels the same about everyone. But she doesn’t realize that the feeling is platonic and lack of romantic and sexual interest.

Bobble: Gay Trans ftm

According to my sibling this man is too much of a twink to not be trans. Also this man is totally married to Clank and you can’t tell me other wise.

Clank: Gay

Like I said he and Bobble are married and that’s that.

Queen Clarion: Bisexual

I don’t know. She gives off mom bisexual vibes. I actually think she might have a slight preference for girls. She is madly in love with her boyfriend though.

Fairy Mary: Lesbian

She totally had a huge crush on Queen Clarion, but never pursued it because she could tell that Queen Clarion was not mentally ready for a relationship even if she didn’t know why.

Zarina: Bisexual

This girl is definitely not straight. I feel like she might be interested in being the third that Tink and Terence are looking for idk.

Terence: Just Ken

He is either the straightest dude bro ally in history or he’s Bi. There is no in between.

[cantsayidont]

May–June 1974. Bob Haney, your first name in lunacy, wrote many a strange and silly DC story in the '60s and early '70s, like this bizarre little number from WORLD'S FINEST COMICS #223. As Gotham City is menaced by the sinister Boomerang Killer, a serial killer who murders people with boomerangs (as one does), Batman, aided by ghostly hero Deadman, applies his finely honed sense of ethics to discover a shocking secret!

I should mention, just for the record, that this is not how Deadman's powers work. Deadman can possess people's bodies, but that doesn't give him access to their thoughts or memories; he could only open a safe if he already knew the combination. However, dwelling on this kind of thing in a Bob Haney script is a sure way to make yourself feel like you have a mild concussion.

Anyway, after his discovery, Batman begins acting very squirrely, which Superman quickly notices and calls him out for:

This confrontation seems to be the main reason Superman is in this story at all, since serial killers with boomerangs in Gotham would not normally be his kind of thing, and he could probably have solved the mystery much more quickly if he'd had a mind to. Anyway —

This is all very tragic, and more than slightly ableist even for a Batman story: Thomas Jr. is clearly only a little baby at the time of the accident, so while the doctor might conclude that he had brain damage, insisting he would "always remain mentally unstable...a danger to himself and society!" does not seem an evidence-based conclusion; this is Victorian-era melodrama stuff.

Anyway, Batman subsequently discovers that while Thomas Jr. is indeed the Boomerang Killer, he's been manipulated by a man named Moses Donner, who is attempting to avenge himself on the judge who once sent him to prison by getting Thomas to kill a series of randomly selected innocent people "to blackmail the judge into reversing the decision, though he [Donner] was guilty as sin!" Batman thinks this means Thomas is not responsible for the murders, but:

There's then a bunch of business in a scrapyard, during which Superman kills Donner with a wrecking ball while making an inappropriate "swinger" joke. However, Thomas has disappeared:

Uhh. That's quite an assumption, Deadman, old pal, and it turns out to be completely ill-founded. In the follow-up story in WORLD'S FINEST COMICS #227 (also by Haney, because who else?), Batman has spent the ensuing months wandering the country, brutally assaulting random acrobats and aerialists on the assumption that one of them must be Deadman, using Thomas Jr.'s body to resume his former career as a circus aerialist. Now, to be fair, Batman's concern is not wholly unreasonable: He concedes that Thomas can't do any more boomerang murders if Deadman is possessing him, but if Deadman ever stops possessing Thomas, that could be trouble. However, just randomly attacking (and nearly murdering) a series of innocent acrobats does not seem like a sound plan for finding them, and Superman is distracted with the story's ostensible A-plot, which concerns some nefarious smugglers using illegally imported gold to try to collapse the U.S. dollar, including a silly bit of business about a full-size replica of the Statue of Liberty that's only barely explained.

Anyway, after nearly killing some more people, Batman finds Deadman in Thomas Jr.'s body, just as Superman finds the smugglers. Deadman does indeed have to vacate Thomas's body temporarily, but then:

Okay, sure, I guess? Ordinarily, you'd think someone would react to the fact that Deadman just killed the guy who shot Thomas, but in the previous story, Superman killed someone with a wrecking ball, so I guess it all evens out in the end, or something.

To his credit, Batman does eventually admit he overreacted just a tad, wondering how Deadman is taking it — a great comfort to the various random circus performers Batman has assaulted, I'm sure. However, what's really important is that the ableism remains unquestioned:

That was it for Thomas Wayne Jr. for a while, but Grant Morrison obviously read these stories and took them as inspiration for both JLA: EARTH 2 (where Owlman is the Thomas Wayne Jr. of a parallel Earth) and the BATMAN: R.I.P. saga, which even includes some references to Willowwood Sanitarium.

[haovcrse-a]

ZHAOYI IS CANON TO ME <333

— ✍️, 🤪, 🌦️, ☕️ , 🪐, 🎞️

DKJFSHK AWW :DD <33 ALÉXIOS IS VV CANON TO ME AND I CURRENTLY HAVE 'EM E6 TRUST LIKE THAT'S MY MAIN WDYM???? WHO EVEN IS BLADE !!

✍️: overall, how does the fandom trait you? are you a beloved character, or hated? are you popular, or a minor side character? anything in between?

both fandoms would be split pretty evenly!! some can only see me as one or the other, while a majority understand the complexities of my character! i don't think i'd be hated per say. there will always be those few that say im overrated / trash or wtvr and that's ok! i think i'd be maybe just above average likability hah!

genshin wise, im a side character for both versions! in hsr, i play a little bit of a bigger part in the pencaony arc for both sunhao and gallahao. for zhade, i think id be popular among the angst lovers for the most part hah!

🤪: what is your trait that fanon would exaggerate?

genshin fandom: they'd probably boil me down to my "tsundere" look to the point where i start looking genuinely mean in the eyes of new fans. media literacy becomes dead when it comes to my character <//33 my unwillingness to help heizou despite the subtext between the lines... the occasional light-hearted insults i'd throw ayato's way... or the unsureness of how to express gratitude toward's thoma's actions... guys it's so bad

or making my past the defining factor of my character!! saying that change isn't possible for a long-term thief or merc (though the latter would be argued with dehya's release)

star rail fandom: ooh ok so the ones people would make depend on which universe we're talking about !

zhade — mean doctor who's hogging people's husband TwT LMFAO no bc. i just think "those" types of fans would probably see me as such for sure. blade and i have a very strange relationship to people on the outside; it makes sense for people to think im being excessively blunt.

the other side to this is that they infantilize me. like like those "uwahhhh he's so smol 🥺🥺 must protect" kind of scenarios but isn't just for jokes and is fully serious... 'n when it comes to shipping... it's usually based off a gay stereotype for that reason TwT

gallahao — that gallagher genuinely finds me annoying, and therefore the fandom does too. g!zhao is more sly, teasing, & definitely more outgoing than the other two vers. id get sampo treatment to a degree where people find my fakeness to get what i want annoying (for the plot!!)

sunhao — stoic to the point where i don't—can't—even talk apparently LMFAO. would also probably turn me into a soft boy kfdjghkl.

🌦️: would you be accompanied by mostly fluff or angst fanfics? both? explain why.

hmm a healthy dose of both. genshin would probably have more fluff for sure—most of the angst would be hurt/comfort stuff based on the whole thomayato kidnapping plot. but my genshin s/i's aren't as sad as my hsr ones LMFAO.

hsr... is a toss up. gallahao would have the most fluff, while zhade would have the most angst. sunhao would be a good mix. ooh in general, there would be a bunch of sweet platonic found family stuff too !! angst for zhade for the sole reason of ppl playing around with how we both get possessed often lol. him the mara, me my own powers... also the whole. scared to get close in fear of hurting the other plot ive got going on for my character story!

gallahao would be treated as the sweet side couple. some occasional angst here and there of a case gone wrong, but a majority of it is just flirting and how people image we got together.

sunhao <33 hurt/comfort is the most common. the whole bodyguard x his assignment + childhood friends to lovers?? people go ballistic. lots of sweet moments, and also ofc ones where one of us has to be bleeding out 💀

☕️: what are the most common plots of shipping fics between you and your f/o?

thomayahao — always something to do with miscommunication of some sort.

yizou — they don’t tend to stray away from the whole thief x detective thing much; usually the setting is different (modern aus, cyberpunk, etc.)

kazuscarahao — amnesia. which is admittedly my least favourite trope. usually more canon compliant with things and the whole sumeru plot

sunhao — anything to do with the whole “protector x protected” trope!! doesn’t matter the au, that usually ends up being the plot.

zhade — one of us is injured or possessed and the other is trying to save or disarm the former without killing them. all. the. time. most of the fandom fixate on this point.

🪐: what would be your most popular au and why?

hmm i think modern aus in general would be a fan favourite. they’re versatile and have many sub-aus to fit with them!! those or royalty aus where many make me out to be the knight :DD

🎞️: what ‘canon’ scenes would the fandom point to as evidence for the validity of your ship?

i don’t remember a lot about genshin stuff so i’ll do my hsr ships for now TwT

zhade — hmm i don’t know about actual scenes, but our voice lines are what people point to!! at first glance, it looks like we don’t enjoy each other’s presence. he’s annoyed with my meddling and heals, while i grumble about him always getting excessively hurt. but when you take in the actual voice acting, people realize our words aren’t as sharp!!

there’s also ig a scene after the xianzhou arc. after karka and blade make their escape, at the very end of the last act, there’s a dark screen where it’s just the tow of us having a hushed conversation. it’s just me asking him about the mission and also tending to his injuries while he says my actions aren’t need.

sunhao — literally every scene LMFAO we’re almost always together and he always glances back in my direction throughout the story. ooh also the scene where him and robin are falling through the air… i’m standing on the platform looking at him worriedly, looking as if i’m about to jump to make it to him, before my eyes soften as robin cradles him. obv most people argue that i’m just in awe at the sibling bonds heh but why can’t it be both??

[tunashei]

First impressions of Animoprhs!

I'm listening to the Animorphs series while I work, through Animorphs Aloud - a fan made reading of the series. Here are my first impressions/random thoughts about them! Spoilers below if you haven't read them.

Book 7: The Stranger

I often think how you'd REALLY react if you were faced with something paranormal or magical, because it wouldn't just be the monster or ghost or superhero you have to contend with - but your entire knowledge of the universe flipping on it's head. Legit consider how insane you'd go if you found out monsters were *really* real. And they do this to a random person in the start of most books! Ha.

Kind of surprised they consider a human-alien relationship with any sort of seriousness. How progressive. But then there's been a few hints towards Rachel liking Tobias and he's...a bird. Rachel is very open minded.

Somehow I have my doubts Rachel will move away. The clue is the 47 books that come after this.

Man I feel for Tobias, having to spend the rest of his life as a hawk while potentially watching his friends move on. It's not like he can make new friends. Also how long does he even live? Does he have a hawk lifespan now of 10-15 years?

Rachel wants more firepower and she skips the POLAR BEARS? GIRL. Those things are fucking terrifying! Though I did do a bit of research and turns out when Polar Bears and Grizzlies compete for food it's usually the Polar Bears that leave.

Also I have a hard time believing a bear has more 'firepower' than an elephant. Bit easier to move around and get into places as a bear though.

Still can't get over the frequent use of the slang 'hooked up' to mean meeting. Very different meaning nowadays.

The mental image of them fitting pretty much a centaur into a dressing room is very funny.

Wow. Stopping time definitely blindsided me. This Ellimist is like a god?? Was not expecting that.

The descriptions when the Ellimist is showing off the beauty of earth make me very sad I will likely not get to experience it. It's so sad to know coral reefs exist out there, beauty unparalleled, and you can't simply go and see them. Not without money. It's a cruel joke that we're placed on such an amazing planet and yet how little of it we'll see.

Man this is a genuinely tough decision. I really like Cassie's perspective, that humans are now the endangered animals potentially rejecting the one thing that could save them. Honestly if what seemed like a literal god told me the fight is unwinnable I'd probably give in and tell them to take me to a new planet.

Aaaand now the kids are getting eaten alive. I LOVE the amount of traumatising scenarios in these books. Main reason I started em. Feel a bit bad for the Taxon, imagine eating some innocuous snack and it swells up and bursts you from the inside.

Ax has a thing for cutting off people's arms.

You're the second largest carnivore on land Rachel, Polar Bears got you beat.

Also Rachel totally just murdered a bunch of human people.

Now...time travel? Hm not a big fan of time travel.

Damn the Yeerks invested in free, superfast and wide-covering public transport? I'd vote for them.

This is why I don't like time travel. Is it deterministic? Can it be changed? Boggles the mind. The implication is they refuse the Ellimist's offer and stay and fight, and lose, and Rachel becomes a controller. But why would Ax being there mean the future has changed? Did future-Rachel lie about there being six humans to Visser-Three? Why?

PFFFF I'm sorry but as horrifying as the idea of them killing and consuming Tobias after being infected and turned into controllers is, it's also like Disney-level villainy.

If this is the future and it can be changed, why can't Visser-Three kill them? Sure he wouldn't have controller Rachel so the future would be different but the goal of invading would work?

Well this is looking bleak.

I wonder who is keeping Ellimists in check that they even need rules.

Surprisingly quick and efficient mission! And that's the end of that one. A bit confusing, but I wonder if the Ellimist stuff will get clearer later on.

[ambrossart]

I was wondering if there are rumors surrounding

henry, Victor and belch just like patrick? And what type of rumors ?is it creepy like the rumors about Patrick or is it just some gossip between other teenagers? And what about Evelyn? I honestly find hard to believe there aren't any rumors about her and henry like you said he was the staring type so there are definitely others who caught him staring at her and suspected something

Okay, before jumping in, I just wanna say this: none of the rumors/gossip you’re about to read are “whole school buzzing” kind of rumors. Among the main characters, Patrick is the only “popular” one and even he’s not that popular compared to the actual popular kids like Liz Mueller. Derry High’s got a lot of students, and most of them aren’t too concerned about what a bunch of sophomores are doing. They’ve got their own stuff going on.

Also, nobody can compete with Patrick. Between setting random fires around school and hooking up with just about everyone (including, allegedly, the principal’s wife), this guy can single-handedly keep the rumor mill turning for years. He’s on a whole other level. Patrick may not be popular, but he has reached a certain level of… infamy.

— Henry

Now Henry is also infamous, but not in the fun way that Patrick is. I’ve said this before, but Henry Bowers is radioactive. Most of the students would prefer him to drop out or get expelled—that’s how much they hate him. And it’s not because he’s a bully. Derry’s got plenty of bullies. It’s because he’s so angry and unstable. You can practically feel the rage radiating off of him. It’s very uncomfortable being around Henry. Nobody wants to deal with that.

For that reason, most students aren’t too eager to gossip about him, because if Henry finds out you were talking shit about him, he’s gonna come after you. Period. And for the vast majority of students, the risk simply isn’t worth it. That being said, there’s still some gossip floating around, and this usually comes from bored popular girls who aren’t scared of Henry. People like Greta Bowie, Steph Price, and Manda Bosch. I’m not sure how much of this is going to make it into the story, but at some point, Greta does make up a rumor about Henry and Beverly, just like what happened in the 2017 movie. Greta decides to piggyback off the Manda Bosch rumors in order to hurt Beverly. It’s obviously not true, Henry doesn’t give a shit about some random seventh-grader, but he sees no reason to deny it either, just like he sees no point in denying the current rumor about Manda Bosch. He wants people to think he’s having sex. Lots of sex. It’s way better than having people speculating about his sexuality.

Before moving on, I also want to say this: I think the entire town, on some level, is aware of Henry’s abuse, and they’ve known about it for years. They know it’s there, but they choose not to see it because that would make the situation too complicated and grey. They’d rather believe Henry was born bad. If his dad beats him, it’s probably because he deserves it. It’s very unfortunate.

— Belch

I think the school treats Belch the same way the fandom treats Belch:

Nobody cares about him.

All joking aside, I honestly don’t think people talk about Belch too much. He doesn’t really do anything worthy of gossip. At most, I could see people wondering out loud why he’s still hanging around Henry. As I’ve said in a previous post, Belch is a completely different person when he’s not with Henry, so I could see people being really confused by that friendship. They think he’s better off without him.

— Vic

Vic is kind of in the same boat as Belch. People don’t really spread rumors about him because Vic’s so quiet and keeps to himself.

I do, however, think there’s a small group of girls that like to talk about him amongst each other. Vic’s got a little fanclub going on. Yeah, I imagine there’s a group of like six socially awkward girls that like to talk about him and dare each other to approach him. And when he tells them to fuck off, their hearts get all fluttery. 😂 I won’t elaborate on this any further because I do have some scenes planned for Part 2, but that’s what he’s got going on.

Beyond that, have people seen him talking to Evelyn? Yeah, especially in that math class (which is why Seth wrongfully assumed they were dating). But do they go running to their friends with this information? No, because nobody cares that Victor Criss sometimes talks to Evelyn Tozier. That’s not exactly hot gossip.

— Evelyn

Although Evelyn is the main character of this story, she’s not exactly the main character at school. She’s not popular. In fact, most students find her incredibly annoying (like those people at the bonfire, for instance; they reflect what most people think about Evelyn). Occasionally, mean girls like Steph or Greta spread rumors about her, like the one where she’s addicted to caffeine pills, but that’s about it. Mostly people just make fun of her behind her back. They mock her posters and all her lame anti-bullying campaigns. They laugh when Martin spray-paints the C-word on her locker. It’s all childish stuff like that.

Now you asked if people were suspicious about Henry and Evelyn, if people have noticed Henry staring at her. They absolutely have noticed him staring, but they probably just assume he wants to sleep with her or something (either that or… y'know, kill her. With Henry, that's always a strong possibility). It’s a common cliche, right? The bad boy and the little goodie-two-shoes. Nobody is putting that much thought into it. Nobody is sitting there thinking, “Gee, I wonder if Henry likes her.” They can’t imagine Henry having genuine feelings for anyone, and they definitely can’t picture him dating, especially not someone like Evelyn. Yeah, if Evelyn’s gonna date anyone, it’s gonna be some over-achieving dweeb like Jake Newham. That’s what people assume.

Very few suspect something is going on between Evelyn and Henry.

But some do. Oh, some definitely do…