#the things i remember about it are 1. the main character (?) was a middle school-aged black girl

[honeybeeofficial]

trying and failing to find a movie that I must have watched sometime before 2006 that imprinted on my memory just enough to drive me nuts but not enough to actually be searchable

[findafight]

I think the most insufferable part of the “Steve is the worst” refrain is that even when the change is acknowledged, they constantly make out like he’s on thin ice.

But the funniest part has to be that they write this whilst also having pretty much every new main cast member they add to show take a shine to him;

Billy just wants Steve to pay attention to him (and was bitterly disappointed that Steve was just some dude and not the raging asshole that everyone’s told him about)

Max hates teenage boys, but concludes she has found the one good one

Robin enjoys his company despite herself and becomes soul bonded to him

Eddie ends up being straight (I’m sorry) up *enchanted* by Steve, and we have a whole scene of him trying desperately to communicate this to him - of course Nancy wants you, dude! Who wouldn’t?

I know we’ve joked about Joe’s charisma, but canonically Steve’s must be *otherworldly*. Clearly the only reason Nancy didn’t let him fuck that old man was because the writers needed to make things difficult for them.

The show simultaneously trying to remind us Steve used to be a dick but is actually the most charming lad in all the land and is everybody's favourite most specialest boy. Like they try to make us remember Steve being mean but then it's also telling us he's a silly billy driving his bestie to school without questioning it and not knowing she doesn't even know how to drive. How are we supposed to think he's gonna backslide.

Lmaooo billy being disappointed Steve's not an asshole. It's no fun winning for him if it wasn't actually a competition :(

Max: no teenage boys allowed

Steve and Lucas: *exist*

Max: okay I will make an exception because they seem very nice

Dustin just consistently telling everyone he meets Steve is the coolest most badass person alive. Can you imagine the hero worship Suzie has heard?? (Suzie is also a Steve Stan and she hasn't even MET him)

Robin spends one month in close proximity to Steve and she's like well. Guess he's my best friend now!! And she was probably actively trying to not like him! And yet here we are! She liked him before they got tortured and she was probably so ticked off about how she, too, has fallen platonically for the Harrington charm. Not fair. Embarrassing.

Eddie spends less than a week around Steve and immediately joins his little cheer squad with Robin and Dustin. Like, if they wanted us to know that Steve was a dick to people for no reason in highschool Eddie would've been the person to use to demonstrate that, or the tension between who he was and who he is, but they don't! Eddie just admits he made assumptions about Steve without knowing much about him other than his rich parents and big house and popularity with girls, (saying more about himself than Steve) and then immediately jumps on the Steve bandwagon because now he can't understand why anyone who spent any amount of time with Steve wouldn't like him!

Even Nancy wasn't immune to Steve's charms in S4, and she had previously broken up with him messily! But all it took was a little bit of the town in danger and Steve trying to make sure everyone's on the same page while Looking Good for her to be Gazing Lustfully at him. That's why S2 and S3 had them separate for so long. Too long around him and she'd remember that she does find him cute and funny and brave and also hot.

Reasons Nancy stopped Steve from Fucking That Old Man: 1) writers needed them finding out info to be more of a struggle 2) they also probably didn't want a middle aged supposedly professional man sleeping with one of their teenage characters I guess 3) Nancy would have been wild with jealousy about the whole thing and stancy revival would have been much more obvious earlier, much more Nancy driven, and much funnier.

[cecekeating]

My 614 Jordayla Analysis/Commentary pt.3

Now let’s go back to the housing situation. After Layla has a brief chat with Preach, she realizes that what she and Jordan need is a home, not a house. I am happy to be wrong but so far, the writing is pointing to Jordayla taking over the Baker home. If you recall in 401 when she tells her father that “it is not about the house, it is about the home”. The next time we see Layla after that scene with her father, she is moving into the Baker house. The Baker house has been Layla's residence since S4 until she married Jordan. This house is also where she grew up with Jordan and Olivia since middle school. We even have a laylivia childhood flashback in that house. So home for Layla is the Baker house.

For Jordan, obviously, this is his childhood home but also in 517, he tells Spencer that the Baker house still feels like home even though Coop is now in his room. While there was an undertone of Layla who he considers his home living in the house, I still believe that Jordan always knows that the Baker house is where he will always call home. So I am expecting Jordayla to take over the Baker home and I will be very surprised if NK and Oby go a different route in 615 with this housing arrangement.

Jordayla pregnancy theories!  I feel this episode dropped major pregnancy hints through the writing. Between Jordan cooking for Layla, him patting her tummy and Layla wearing pink in this episode, I feel it is very clear that Jordayla will be getting a parenting arc. In the worst case scenario, the audience would likely find out about Layla being pregnant in the early episodes of S7. This is the worst case scenario. I am also sure of Jordayla having a daughter, I am not so sure of a son yet.

Now this brings me to the wild theory I am about to share with you.

I don’t know if it is me but have you noticed the writing sort of building up Amina and Layla? Starting from 611. I am beginning to think Amina might be the new gen character or at least one of the new gen characters. When we heard of the new gen stuff, I think a lot of us assumed it would be a coach Baker and Spencer type situation. I don’t know why we didn’t consider the fact that the new gen character will likely be a female character from Crenshaw being mentored by a new gen Baker who is female. It is definitely Billy and Spencer all over again but it is also different because we are looking at female characters. If this is the route NK is going, I am here for it because it will keep things fresh and allow the writers to be more creative. So I can see Amina likely being the new ‘Spencer’ that gets mentored by a Baker only that the Baker is Layla. 

From a storytelling perspective, this makes a lot of sense. Amina has quite a bit in common with Layla. Just like Layla she lost her mother at a very young age. Remember Amina’s mother is Mo (the main antagonist in season 3) and her uncle is Tyrone. Both her uncle and mother are/were gang members and her father Preach used to be a gang member. Preach, her father fired the shot that killed Mo, her mother. I don’t think Amina is fully aware of this yet. Amina had a pretty fleshed out arc in seasons 4 and 5 that showed her curiosity to know the truth about what happened to her mother. From season 4, you can see she sort of had an idea of what was going on. She was also involved in a custody battle between Preach and her grandparents. So just like Layla, she had a pretty tough background as a kid. So you can see there is already so much material with Amina’s character that the writers can pull from to bring in high stakes drama. 

There are also some hints in the writing that she is already in a ‘teen phase’ with Preach. Preach grounded her in this episode. I can see her having tensions with her dad which is similar to teen Layla in seasons 1 and 2 and a bit of season 3 and  the tensions she had with JP Keating. This tension can become something else if Amina eventually understands/finds out more about the circumstances surrounding her mother’s death and the role her father played in it. If the writers play their cards right, the Amina arc is already brewing to be a really messy drama on AA. For more complexity, the writing can have Amina struggle with grief, depression or for a change, become a wild rebellious teen that Preach struggles to handle and we have our hands full. 

With other characters, Amina fits in very well too. She knows Patience very well and since she did/does some drama in high school(611), I can see Patience step in here as Patience is a musician and also has broadway experience. Coop blends in so well here too. Coop was front and center in the custody battle, Coop knew her mother very well and other than Preach, Coop is likely the only other character that has a full picture on the lives of her uncle and mother. Again, another source of drama. 

Going back to Layla, the storyline has been strongly hinting on her being the mother of a little girl. Having Layla mentor Amina makes loads of sense as Layla can begin to process motherhood or prep for motherhood through the lens of supporting Amina. I can see her relationship with Amina force her to really think about what type of mother she wants to be for her daughter. This will land better if it happens while Layla is pregnant or if she has a newborn daughter. Both Amina and Layla being young women that lost mothers at a very young age, in quite tragic circumstances (murder and suicide)  takes the Layla/Amina dynamic to a deeper level. I can see the writing continue to flesh out Monica/Layla a little bit more too, especially as Monica Keating was a huge part of Layla’s arc this season.

So Amina being the new gen character that the show decides to focus on will not come as a shock to me. Again this is what I have seen from the writing. I don’t know NK’s plan and which actors she plans to bring back  but this is likely where I can see the writing on All American heading. If all the stuff I have written makes no sense, please throw it out. This is my writer brain, fan theory brain here and I just wanted to yap all about it. If you also have some extra theories, I would love to hear! DM on Twitter or on here and let us yap away!

This episode also sort of dropped clues on the vibe S7 will likely have. I am thinking the vibe shifts into a more lighter, feel-good, wholesome vibe with maybe a strong family vibe lean. There was just something very light about this episode because even the writing for Spelivia (who normally have their writing lean into more serious, angsty stuff) were written to be pretty light and comedic. The next episode seems pretty emotional too. I am thinking this will likely be the vibe next season and I expect the audience to change a little bit because of this shift.

So that is all the yappings for this episode. There are still some loose ends to tie up with Jordayla so I will surely be back next week with more yappings. I personally loved this episode and I am looking forward to seeing how NK closes season 6 for us. 

[dropintomanga]

What Smoking Entails in Manga

Last year, a survey was given to Japanese manga publishers about what top 5 manga to recommend for 2023 and the number one title was symbolic of many things related to Japanese culture - one of which was smoking.

The title was called Smoking Behind the Supermarket With You by Jinushi. I got a chance to read Volume 1 recently and it's a very fascinating romantic comedy about a middle-aged salaryman and a early 20s' female convenience store clerk and how they're bound by their love of smoking. The author made a comment saying that their admiration of how cool smoking was in fiction was a huge inspiration in creating the story.

Which got me thinking about how much smoking is prevalent in the anime and manga worlds and how much characters who smoke are beloved by many.

When I was still exploring new titles to follow in my '20s, one that stood out to me was Great Teacher Onizuka. The main character was someone who was a total idiot, but was pretty badass. Oh yeah, he smoked. I later got into Rurouni Kenshin and fell in love with Saito Hajime. Oh yeah, he smokes. A LOT. It's funny because I got into comics because of X-Men and the characters Wolverine and Gambit smoked quite a bit. I liked both, but not as much as the anime/manga characters who smoked.

When you think about it, there's a lot of anime/manga characters who smoke. Sanji from One Piece, Revy from Black Lagoon, Nara Shikamaru from Naruto, Toshiro Hijikata from Gintama, several adult characters from Cowboy Bebop (like Spike Siegel pictured above) - I could go on.

In video games, there's Yakuza/Like a Dragon characters and one of my favorite heroines ever, VA-11 Hall-A's Jill Stingray, smokes.

I love how cool all of those characters look when they smoke and I don't even smoke. I don't want to because of all the health risks smoking entails. My father used to be a smoker, but quit before I reached junior high school because he was having health problems.

At the same time, I do something a bit silly. I pretend to smoke with the air around me. I like to pretend I'm holding an imaginary cigarette to my mouth and inhale/exhale oxygen when no one's looking. It's a habit I've built from following my favorite characters who smoke.

Smoking is indeed something that shouldn't be romanticized. But I think about why people smoke in the first place - particularly my dad and Chinese people (particularly men) smoked. I remember one time when I was at a Chinese doctor's office, there was a video played for Chinese people addicted to smoking. There was a doctor in the video who said when Chinese people immigrate to the United States, they're often exposed to a lot of stressors (usually related to acculturation) that weigh a ton. Smoking is one way to help process and relieve their stress. They're coming from a country where smoking is definitely the norm in their culture.

There's a lot of talk about smoking being a sign of maturity and surviving through tough times. I decided to look up the relationship between smoking and mental health/illness. It's not surprising that there's negative effects. People with depression and anxiety may smoke a bit more than those who aren't affected by them. What makes it really hard for them to quit is that smoking has social benefits. Nicotine can help calm nerves and make smokers feel more confident in behaving in a proper social manner.

When I think about the many characters who smoke, smoking does help them before they get ready to take on a big task involving other people. It's literally the calm before the storm. Hell, I do "oxygen smoke" as a way to feel calm before facing reality or having big conversations with my friends. But I was drilled so hard by United States anti-drug programs (when compared to Asia) that I didn't want to feel like I was dying. That's why I never took the plunge despite the coolness of smoking found in Japanese media and try to encourage anti-smoking measures. Plus I think it helped that I wasn't super-stressed despite my mental illness to the point where I resorted to substances. Plus I had people who genuinely cared about my well-being and a somewhat optimistic belief in the best of humanity.

While Japanese media (and other Asian media in general) continues to showcase smoking to a decent degree, there's contentious pushback in America over the portrayal of smoking in their media. Yet smoking rates in Japan have gone down though quite a bit over the years due to anti-smoking measures. It's not as low as health organizations would like, but progress is progress.

The only thing I think we can agree on is that the world is so cruel and there should be wider acknowledgement of how the bad parts of life can lead people down to dangerous substances in order to cope. I think this is what creators intend to show when they have characters who smoke. Yeah, they look cool, but they're flawed people trying to find some sense of meaning/connection to worlds that disappoint them over and over again.

We're just trying to find ways to breathe life into inner peace, whether it's with oxygen or smoke.

[enamis1]

Crack AU where the Membranes are chasing Miyuki for the alimony she owes them. Please, just hear me out. puts on tinfoil hat & shipping goggles from Transformers fandom (Possibly OOC for certain characters) 2 major things happen: 1.)Violetta doesn't die in an accident & gets to be a mom to her test tube babies. This results in Gaz being a lot less aloof (tho still sarcastic) & Dib having slightly better social skills. 2.) Miyuki decides to be a bit of a heartbreaker & ditches the polycule Membranes after they've started up the process to create Dib & Gaz, right in the middle of the night. She takes back control of the Irken Empire & doesn't say much regarding where she was. Zim only survives because Miyuki shows up again after he was sent to Earth, & she doesn't remember the coordinates back there. No, she doesn't still have feelings for the Membranes that she buried because they would get in the way of ruling the Irken Empire, shut up about it. When Violetta meets Zim, she instantly realizes what he is, & this convo happens: Violetta: "VICTOR, GET THE SPRAY BOTTLE!" Prof Membrane: "My dear Violetta, what brou-" Violetta: "We have a Code Gold." Cue an absolute mess where Zim is confused as to how these humans know about Irkens beforehand, Dib realizes his parents are aliensmoochers, Skoodge seriously questions what his Tallest was thinking & the Resisty are really confused by their new "allies". Things get even weirder when the Florpus Hole is brought into the equation.

firstly i must congratulate you for one-shot k.o.ing me with that opening sentence 😂

and secondly, put them shipping goggles down you don't need them. you (very nearly) nailed the whole main au in one go 🤣🤣 i've had this one drawing knocking around for ages and now's reason enough to post it

the filename was ot3

anyway

you are absolutely right, the Membrane family would have remained (partly) sane(er) if Violetta would've stuck around. or at least they would have been terrible parents in completely new and weird ways! ("dad let me bring the portable particle accelerator to school, why?") ("idc you have a math test today, we're flying to japan for the GameSwatch launch event")

and when Zim would show his face. uh.

Vi would absolutely take no shit. woman scorned and all that. poor guy would get sent packing in speeds Dib could've never dreamed of. having an alien empress crashing on you couch removed all threatening mystique the species might ever have had

As for Miyuki herself? alimony? nah. there's better ways to fleece the Irken Empire

[cabeswaterdrowned]

arguing over how the godly DNA thing does/doesn’t impact shipping in pjoverse (aside from like, actual siblings obviously) is actually the stupidest thing ever. Just accept that the explanation was half assed / not written in a logical well thought out way but that we as a fandom have no choice but to accept it at face value and see it as a situation that isn’t analogous to the real world. I would say it’s similar to consuming paranormal media where all the main relationships are paranormal x immortal and you have to accept that as a trope of the genre / norm of the world rather than argue about 100 yr age gap vs 2000 year or something, when neither is appropriate and neither is analogous to like a teen show romanticizing a student-teacher relationship in a school setting which is technically less of a gap but sooo much more harmful in how it influences/relates to situations that happen just like that every day in reality (and this isn’t about ships with immortal x mortal like that in this verse necessarily since there are very few of them/it is not the norm, so I get people being uncomfortable with them (I Hate C*leo but my reasons for hating them aren’t necessarily that one)). There’s a false equivalency in trying to make demigod relationships out to be analogous to real life ones in that way and I haven’t seen one argument about this that isn’t blatantly just someone disliking a specific ship and trying to badmouth it and in doing so coming off as a hypocrite.

Like let’s see, ‘shipping Jasicois Disgusting idc what Rick says about DNA people are going to hell for shipping First Cousins 1!1’ okay… do you feel that way about Jercy? If you say yes you also hate that for the same reason do you feel that way about Pipabeth because Athena and Artemis are both daughters of Zeus making them ‘first cousins’ too (and here’s where I think you start losing people because in reality a lot of these arguments are based around the mlm ships but ignore the wlw ones because fandom has a very 2d way of interacting with ships like Pipabeth a lot of the time where sure a fan will say they Like the ship but they’ve never in reality ever given actual thought to their dynamic enough to notice this (also applies to things like arguing about a 1.5 year age gap for other ships like Jasico/Valdangelo maybe Jercy if they actually remember their 1.5 age difference but not being able to catch that Annabeth is also 1.5 years older than Piper because again it’s usually transparent when people haven’t actually payed the attention the female characters and f/f dynamics they pretend to, also 1.5 years is not a serious age gap like 3+ years is when it comes to ya/middle grade but this isn’t about that) And if you are taking the stance that what Rick said about godly DNA is like, a lie (when it is fantasy world-building albeit poorly constructed but still world-building) how are you going to ship Any of the demigods together if your answer is like amount of distances the family tree that’s also a bizarre/weird take because do you think shipping second cousins would be better/less gross/less harmful? Like by ‘Gods do have DNA actually’ logic Zeus is Athena’s father and Poseidon is Zeus’s brother so that makes Poseidon Annabeth’s great uncle and Percy Annabeth’s (As a die-hard Percabeth can’t believe I have to actually type this out to make a point I hate ya’ll for making me have to think about it this much 🤮🤢) Uncle ???!! Similar with Nico to Will and Hazel to Frank. Do you still believe what you originally spoke about? Like unless the take you have is that no demigods are shippable / you hate all ships between them the way these takes operate is Clearly not actually about like activism it’s because you dislike a ship and want to put it down/make it seem like other people should not ship it, be serious, and in the process you actually made everything much weirder and grosser than it needed to be in the first place. 

And like listen… you can just hate a ship! There are always some valid criticisms of ships/dynamics I’m including ones I personally ship in this. You can State your actual reasons for not liking the ship instead of this hypocritical faux-activism. For example I personally dislike Jercy as a ship because I think it’s overrated and boring compared to more interesting dynamics, their relationship could have been a good one but almost all their interactions in the books involved this weird toxic masculinity macho bs that seemed ooc for both of them and I didn’t enjoy reading about them together much. But I’m not going to try and tell Jercy shippers that shipping Jercy is problematic and terrible because they’re cousins or a toxic relationship or something because I have a functioning brain thank you very much! People can go for what I don’t personally like. See it’s very simple. You don’t even have to have reasons like I gave! You can just not vibe with something.

*P*rcicos dni this is not about you! No I don’t think the cousins argument holds weight there anymore than for other ships but their age gap + power imbalance Is troubling in a real world context in a way that doesn’t apply to other ships I mentioned ( Frazel similar in age gap but not in power dynamics, and I dislike Frazel too) the combination of 3.5ish years age gap + Nico having idolized Percy to an unhealthy degree for years/since he was a ten year old child + Percy very much views Nico as a child in his narration in pjo and that means he would never look at him in a romantic light at any point in the future, if you think otherwise you just don’t care or get Percy’s characterization frankly. I don’t support relationships that have such a troubling imbalance in a real world context. (It should go without saying L*kabeth L*kercy Th*labeth and dynamics with super egregious imbalances like that dni again not about you).

Most of the really irritating stuff I’ve seen about this is on twt I just felt the need to write all this out here 

[booktomoviebrawl]

We are not judging how bad the movie is, we are judging which adapted the book the worst. There are good movies that are bad adaptions.

Propaganda below the cut (spoilers may apply)

Ella Enchanted:

Literally just They Would Not Fucking Say That the whole time. Also wtf is up with the holding hands and singing with the ogres??? BOOK ELLA HELPED GET THEM KILLED

The movie completely missed the point of the book. The characters were changed, the plot was changed, the message was changed!! The book is a coming of age story that expands upon Cinderella, explaining all bizarre set ups on the story. Ella's autonomy is taken away from her constantly and it is a horrible struggle for her! In the movie, it is mostly treated as a joke. And we don't see Ella come up with creative ways to defy her curse, like she does in the book. The romance in the movie is a strange "not like other girls" story we see over and over again in movies. In the book, it is a friendship formed by two people who have a lack of control in their lives and become close friends who then fall in love after years of knowing each other. There are more reasons it was a bad adaptation but those are my main points of contention as of right now.

The book was subtle, witty and generally amazing. Ella is a strong character, the exploration of her grief over losing her mother takes up a good 1/3 of the book, all the characters are complex and interesting, and she and Prince Charmont are a romantic couple who actually like each other. Its messaging is about autonomy and strength of will, and its world is rich and interesting and well-built with all its magical creatures. Meanwhile, the movie strips out all of the complexities, completely changes the plot from Cinderella to Hamlet, makes Ella and Char a standard Bickering Romcom Couple, and makes its message more about "we all need to get along!" by making all the fantasy races boring and one-note. As a movie, it's...meh, but as an adaptation, THEY MURDERED MY GIRL!

Fahrenheit 451:

The attempt to modernize the story to include the internet really didn’t work. Neither did replacing the book people painstakingly preserving knowledge with dumb technobabble about rewriting a bird’s DNA to include the text of every book ever written. Worst of all was what they did to Clarisse McClellan; turning her from a blithe spirit who inspires Montag to be a better person into a traitor selling out the book people. They also aged her up to make her a love interest for Montag because of course they did.

Okay so I don't remember the plots that well since I only watched the movie once in middle school BUT I do remember how VISCERALLY ANGRY the movie made me feel. For one, they didn't stick to the plot of the book AT ALL. The movie killed the protag, Guy Montag, at the end, when he got to live and rebuild society in the book. In addition, there was a character, Clarisse McClellan, who was a teenage girl (and possibly a daughter figure to Montag) in the books, but then was aged up to be Montag's LOVE INTEREST in the movie, which felt incredibly gross to me. There are probably other things that I'm missing, but these are the two that I remember.

The original book is a perfect example of what happens when you suppress the written word. It focused less on the relationship with humans and technology and more on the freedom of press access. In a world only a few books are allowed, that would also mean only a few ideas would be.

Now I’m talking about the modern movie by HBO. The wife is gone, who stood as an amazing parallel to Guy Montag’s thoughts of her just being okay with living in her dystopia while Guy questioned it. The girl is now a love interested, while in the book she was there to help Montag explore his worldview more. Also, books was more about censorship than human’s relationship with technology. Yes there are themes of it. But the movie makes Montag into a social media star.

Speaking of Clarisse (the girl), she’s a traitor to the resistance in the movie, she tells Montag where the books of the old lady are. It’s the resistance against a world where free speech is limited. And the old lady goes “heres the code word” *sets herself on fire* while in the book after the books are set ablaze she just burns with them.

the books are also in the DNA of a bird.

Like what the fuck is this movie Fahrenheit 451 is an A-B type of story! If it ain’t broke. Don’t fix it

[doisensei]

30-35: the remembered treatment pt. 1

is it cheating if it's an episode i commissioned to be subbed...? regardless, this is one of my favorite episodes ever, and i think it's time i finally sat down and composed my thoughts about it. this will be leaning into shipping territory, so if you aren't a fan of ridoi, i wouldn't click further.

characters featured: rikichi, doi, yamada, yamada's wife, rantarou, bouta, kirimaru, shinbei

brief summary: the day rikichi and doi met.

i like how the episode starts with establishing rantarou and doi's roles within the school. the main trio's involvement with their respective committees is one of my favorite parts about them. their personalities really shine in them! rantarou being the medic of the three is so fitting.

poor doi. i always, like. get a little emo about the kids not picking up on things. i saw a fan comic in the past that hc'd the reason why doi gets so ill when the kids do poorly is because one of his previous students died during their drills, and it reminds him of the weight of his duties as a teacher. if the kids don't understand or are just not fit to be a ninja, they won't make it very far. it's very telling that in tsudoi material, he retires after the hagumi graduate. those are his babies, and while i believe he loves what he does, i bet the stress and grief of what may or may not happen to his students just becomes too much.

these two are so cute. i'll have to talk about them in a future episode review, too. bouta's admiration for rikichi is just adorable. sometimes i forget bouta is the older one... it makes me laugh that rikichi gets annoyed over how many people have ninja-crushes on him. stop being so dreamy, then!

alright. the shipping delusions are starting early. here we go.

i've noticed that rikichi notably softens around doi. with other characters, he has far less patience. i think it's cute when rikichi gets angry, since it really shows his age, but i think with their history, rikichi would find it difficult to snap at doi, even if doi does tease him on occasion. look at that gentle smile over recalling their past together and tell me that he isn't in love.

it kills me how, like... yamada treats this more like an obligation. not understanding that there's more to just a family picnic than getting it done. the scenery matters! this will be a core rikichi memory for reasons that no one predicted.

his smile and optimism, gone. auh, poor rikichi. his father isn't doing it maliciously, of course. he wants his son to be strong and well trained for the dangerous future he has ahead of him, but... it's clear that rikichi is more than lonely. i often think about how they literally live in the middle of nowhere. rikichi doesn't have any friends, and he isn't even allowed to be a kid. everything about rikichi revolves around being a ninja. that's a lot of pressure to put on a child. no wonder he dedicates his time so much to work. and then it makes sense why he becomes so attached to doi. that's the only other person he's made a connection with besides his parents.

a smile you just want to protect. look how happy he is. fuck!!! this is all he wanted! happy family time! moments like these must be rare for the yamada family, especially when you consider how things are when he's 18. the flowers are genuinely so pretty, too. i love that somewhere so beautiful was stained with violence.

there's a lot of cute details in this episode, like how yamada is the first to notice doi's presence / the sound of fighting, even before he falls.

no time for your picnic, rikichi. an angel has fallen into it. this encounter is soooo stereotypical shoujo. the love of your life falling from above, lives forever changed, a fateful encounter.

doi really is so effortlessly beautiful. it drives me a little insane. i love 19!doi's look a lot. in character sheets, he's noticeably shorter-- insane to think that he's still growing. his hair is so pretty, too. i know the show jokes about how his hair is damaged, but please!! leave it like this!! it's pretty!! it's curious that doi doesn't put a lot of effort into his appearance in canon (neglecting his hair, forgetting to wash clothes, probably constantly covered in shinbei snot); i figure that's probably a habit after his parents were killed and he had to fend for himself. no time to care about how you look when you just need to survive. despite this he is the most beautiful ninja to ever exist.

one thing i think is sooooo fucking cute is how rikichi is almost, like. transfixed on doi. even though there's another ninja a few feet away, rikichi's gaze is fully centered on doi. that doesn't change, either! the next few shots of rikichi, he's still only looking at doi.

i know he's grumpy about the picnic being ruined (rikichi voice ojan desu!) but i wonder if he's also, like. a little embarrassed being around a stranger. i have this fanfic idea in my head where, like. there's a little more slowburn in rikichi growing to like doi. i imagine his ninja training makes him suspicious towards doi, and i bet there'd be jealousy over how his father instantly takes to him. viewing him as an intruder before doi's kindness wears him down.

i'm really excited for the movie to expand on what's happening here. i've heard conflicting information about what amako-sensei intended for this, and i feel like the movie will make it a lot more concrete. what happened, doi... i really like ninmyu12's setting for doi's backstory-- i hope it'll be something a little similar. there's something really striking about someone so kind and gentle like doi being raised by assassins. i like nintama moments where they don't stray away from the reality of being a ninja, too. doi could've died here if it wasn't for the yamada's help.

doi looks so taken aback. i bet it's been a long time since he'd been shown unconditional kindness. poor thing.

another delusional take. i wonder if doi was still apprehensive around the couple, but hearing a child's voice relaxed his nerves, just a little. surely they can't be dangerous people if they have a little boy with them...

and oops. so, like, i didn't mean to make this a two parter, but tumblr's image limit is ruining my life. so you'll have to bare with me and wait for me to ramble on about the other half of a seven minute episode.

[nakimesbiwa]

All for you~

Bullied!Fem!Reader. I'm not going to put who's going to be the crush or the main factor. So, read to see for yourself! Also, a warning for Yandere themes, only in the other parts though. AND MOST IMPORTANTLY- All the characters are aged up;( The last thing; is that I got this idea, painfully from c.ai.. So the reader goes by (Ukiouma, Uki, or even Ukio.), and if you don't like the name you can switch it!

This is Part 1.

Today, Ukiouma is packing up, she finally got accepted into a school, which means, she doesn't have to go back and forth between her home and school- they have dorms. Although she isn't abandoning her home, she surely will miss it. As she picks up her backpack she sighs, "Mom and Dad would be proud of me..", she smiles. Unluckily, a few months ago- her parents died in a car accident that set Ukiouma in a depression, but to her parent's wishes- she still pushed toward her goal. She quietly walks out of her room as she closes the door, running downstairs. She finally reaches the front door, she looks back and all she does is just a simple smile before opening the door and walking out. Since the school she applied for isn't far away, she walked there as the sun shines brightly on her face- which gets her hot of course but she doesn't stop there.

Luckily, since it's the first day, the students get one day off to unpack their stuff- and the school is still open which causes people to hang out in the meantime. Ukiouma looks at the school which is surprisingly huge and is connected to the dorms, and it has three pathways; one is to the school, the other one is to a garden, and lastly, the other one is to the dorms. She slowly walks to the dorm's pathway as she feels nervous about starting school tomorrow- She hasn't had a good experience with people (Students.) as she was bullied at her other school. It left a bad scar on her, it was so bad that it made her kind of unstable, mentally. With all these thoughts going on in her head she finally goes to the end of the path, she looks up to see the dorms, and as the school is; it's huge. She can see a few people which makes her anxious. She makes her way up the stairs. looking around and they seem nice- She finally makes it up to her dorm and she opens it; it reminds her of a Japanese apartment, which is a good thing. She takes off her shoes at the entrance and sets her backpack down, She is going to unpack her things later as she was kind of too lazy to do it herself. And it even has a kitchen, stove, TABLES, STOOLS, A SMALL LIVING ROOM, AND ONE BEDROOM? This dorm had it all and she liked it. But then she remembered that they had a uniform and that the paper said it should be sitting right in her room, so she went there and the bedroom was… Good? But the uniform looked better. The thing she hoped was that the skirt wouldn't be that short, this one was middle-length. But mind off that- all she wanted to do was chill or sleep, she thought of going on a walk in the garden! Just to get a first impression of it.

She gets out of her dorm and walks down the stairs, she walks to the garden pathway, she looks around- all the flowers, plants, and mushrooms look so pretty to her that she just wants to steal them but sadly she can't. As she's walking down the path she stops to see this very pretty flower as she leans in towards it and looks down to see more, she sees a SNAKE. She leans back a bit. She is frozen, she's sweating and is scared… But who snake is this, all she wanted to do was to scream and run away or walk away as she usually does… But after 10 whole minutes, she gets the courage to slowly pick up the snack and analyze it. It's white and has red eyes, well that's a one-of-a-kind snake! She slowly but gently pets it as she says, "Now… W-who do you belong t-t-to?", she looks around because surely this pretty snake must have an owner right?! She walks with it while the snake slithers around her arm, even if the snake bites her- she tries not to throw it across from her. She just stares at the snake as she walks, and that leads her to bump into somebody but she slightly loses her grip on the snake. As she looks up a person is standing or towering over her as they look down at her. A voice says, "I-is.. That- my snake?", the person says in a low voice, Ukiouma slightly blushes, "I-i-i- Wait.. It's… Yours?", She tilts her head a bit as she regains her position. "Uh.. Yes? I… Been looking for it, for a while now.", In Ukiouma's mind- it makes an 'oh' sound as she nervously smiles and hands it back to him after that she quietly asks- in her kind nature, "If-you..um… Don't mind me asking… What's your name?", He stares at her, "My name is Obanai- But you can call me iguro.", Ukiouma nods at him as she looks away but looks back. "Uh.. Thank you for telling me your name!", She giggles nervously. Iguro nods slightly, "Thank you for giving me my snake back..", He whispers, "Is your name.. Ukiouma by chance?", Ukiouma gets shocked and creeped out by how he knows her name but they only just meant- but it gets overshadowed by her kindness and her just thinking that it's just a convinced. "Yea.. That's my name!", Obanai smiles slightly but you can't see it, because he has a white mask on. "I have to go… But I hope we meet again okay?", He says in an unexpectedly soft tone, Ukiouma nods, "Me too! Bye!" Before Obanai does, Ukiouma turns away but that thought of Iguro knowing her name is making her feel weird, but hopefully it's not as weird as she sees it right? As she enters her dorm, she already feels like it's been a long day, and the stress seems to be getting on to her as she lazily walks to her room and flops on the bed, immediately falling asleep.

She wakes up and slowly opens her eyes, she yawns and thinks to herself, "I hate this already…Hm.", She sits up on her bed and looks around- she already regrets not unpacking her stuff but she gets through it. She gets up and walks to her bathroom, lowering her doe eyes as she sees how messy her hair is. Luckily, they already have a pre-hairbrush there, so she quickly uses it- after that, she puts some skeleton clips on her hair. She smiles and gets out as she picks out one of the pairs of uniforms she has walked back, and puts it on. Feeling somewhat proud; she puts on a black jacket and her shoes- finds that it is 6:30 am by looking at her phone; she lazes around and finds time to unpack her clothes and items to make it easier for her the next morning. She's so busy doing this that she doesn't know that it's 7:20 am by now. She looks back at her phone and immediately gets up and runs to the front door, running to the campus to get to her first class. Finally, reaching the front door of the school it takes her to use a little bit of her strength to just open one door. She sighed and mumbled to herself, "I-I hope.. I-am not late..T-to c-class.", As she walked down the hallway it was almost empty in fact, but then she remembered that she hadn't even brought her school bag and her schedule sheet.. So she's lost at peak here. All she remembered was that it said 13- WAIT 13? OH.. And 2nd floor. She ran up the stairs but slowed down her pace as she reached the front slider door, the fact is, she was so nervous as she was late to her first-ever class. She slowly opens the door as everyone stares at her, and the teacher gives a quick glare before going back to her class as she sits down she still stares at her but it has gone down to a few, and it makes her feel weird… s like a normal student, she takes notes, but she can still see someone looking at her, no.. Just one person looking at her. What was it? Her eyes look slightly to the side and sees this boy- who looks like a girl.. he has hair loose with two clumps protruding slightly from each side of his head, a set of marginally shorter hair left down to frame his face, and unruly bangs over his forehead. And His pale turquoise eyes are large and empty-looking, staring right at her with no expression whichsoever. What does he want? Why is he staring at her like that? Her eyes slowly go back to her work but she gets an aura a him that he.. dangerous? But he didn't look like that type of person, so it got overshadowed easily as she shouldn't be thinking of a person she hadn't even met before, and she shouldn't judge a book by its cover, he can be a good person after all!..

(His not a dangerous person… Right? RIGHT?)

[belit0]

Unbreakable Bond (part 1)

TW: none (yet)

Pairing: Uchiha Izuna / reader

All humans are born with a guardian angel, yet they can only see them face to face when turning 20 years old.

(Y/N)'s seems a little bit unconventional, because where all protective beings are serene and calm, hers knows only chaos and violence. Hell breaks loose over their heads when they finally meet, and as her angel's purpose gets compromised, it forces an ancient war to take place between the two.

Uchiha clan, but with a twist.

Sooooo, hi!! I decided to come up with a fic exclusively for all my Izuna lovers!! Being part of a community that loves a character with zero visibility in the fandom, makes me take the determination of writing everything I want to read for him. I have been thinking about this idea for quite some time, and just haven't had the time to write. Here, finally, is chapter 1, and there will be lots more to come, cause I'm planning to make this a series for him!! So yeah, I hope you guys enjoy this as much as I do, writing content for Izuna is my first passion. I'll appreciate any type of feedback and interaction you want to give me, and if you have any suggestions, let me know!!

As (Y/N) remembers, her guardian angel was always chaos.

While other people received calm and peaceful solutions to their conflicts, her companion was always violent.

When (Y/N) was five, she had the naive idea to play in the forest behind her house.

Climbing different trees and hiding in the bushes, she stumbled upon a beehive, hidden high up. In her innocence, the little girl wanted to investigate, quickly provoking the honeycomb's owners. The insects proceeded to attack her, but before one of them could even sting her, the tree fell to the ground, severed from its trunk in a perfect slash, crushing them all in the process. (Y/N) landed without any trouble on her two legs, as if someone had picked her up and placed her gently on the ground. At her age, she did not understand what saved her from such a brutal attack and fall, and it was the perfect opportunity for her parents took to explain the spiritual presence that would be with her for life.

At the age of 12, a group of three girls decided to pick on her at school.

They would taunt her purely out of envy, wanting to make her feel less, despised, and ugly. They would say horrible things to her, bully her in the corridors, and abuse her, destroying her self-esteem. One time, the leader of the group decided to physically attack (Y/N). Before the girl's hand could connect with her face, she went flying backward, slamming into a wall and falling to the ground in an explosion of crying. There was a mark on her chest as if someone had kicked her before she could get close. They never intimidated or messed with her again, knowing something powerful surrounded and protected (Y/N).

At 15, she met the first repulsive man of her life.

One of her classmates, hopelessly in love with her, had no better idea than to try to win her over with teasing and harassment. He would insist again and again on his love, pestering and chasing her wherever she went. He didn't understand how repellent and unattractive his attitude was, leading a group of annoying young men who were only dedicated to disturbing girls. One particular afternoon after school, the group of idiots followed her on her way out, berating her in mid-stride. They surrounded her with more than 6 boys, with the main idiot standing in the middle of the circle. Before any of them could do anything to her, they all fell to the ground in coordination. There was blood everywhere, broken arms, mangled noses, and legs contorted at unnatural angles. (Y/N) thanked aloud the angel who must have been around her, and walked out of the scene in shock.

When her first boss, at the age of eighteen, wanted to get handsy with her at work and misuse his authority, the man's house appeared all over the local news channels in flames. No one could explain the cause of the fire, but all his belongings had been destroyed in the blaze, leaving him completely homeless.

(Y/N) was aware guardian had unusual ways of acting, comparing her experiences with those of her parents and friends. No one had ever had such a fiery and violent spiritual companion, crude in his actions and ways of protecting.

Her parents, for example, lived a quiet life with their protectors. Both their angels resided between heaven and the forest behind their house, visiting them and coming when summoned, dividing their time between above and earth. What her friends related was a similar situation. Their companions were not with them all the time, coming only when needed or called by their humans.

In (Y/N)'s case, it seemed to be with her 24/7. It helped her in the mornings to gather her things for school, with books flying from one side of the room to the other and landing perfectly inside her backpack. During work, and in the summer months, the angel would generate a cold draught of air for when she wanted to go out for a break, and during winter, a warm stream of wind to keep her warm.

It was a pleasant companion, a constant presence, someone to always count on.

(Y/N) has never seen her guardian and does not know its name, has no idea if it is a man or a woman, the color of its eyes or skin, or what its hair looks like. She only knows their bond is stronger than anyone else's with their celestial beings.

In a few weeks, she will be twenty and will have to face the physical image of her partner for the first time. To know, finally, who is hidden in that cloak of invisibility constantly separating them.

On a hot summer night, (Y/N) returns from work and walks quietly on her way home, constantly thinking about what it will be like to meet her angel. She has only a few hours left, and soon will be face to face with the one who has been with her since the beginning of her life.

One of her closest friends had her birthday 3 days earlier, living the experience before and being able to tell her a little about it. The girl recounted how she met her spiritual companion, a female angel named Sakura, with pink hair and green eyes. The heavenly entity waited for her sitting at the table, and when the clock struck 12:00, she was finally able to see her. They talked about everything that had happened to the young woman during their years of invisible separation, and at the end of the night, the angel retired to heaven, letting her know she could call her whenever she wished.

The experience sounded calm and serene, friendly, but for some reason, (Y/N) sensed hers would not go the same way.

She arrived at her lonely flat at about 10:30 and decided to take a bath, be in the most presentable condition. When she got out of the shower, she did a short video call with her parents, who were miles away since she moved to study in another city.

When looking at the clock again, it was 11:30.

She ordered some food and it arrived 10 minutes before 12:00. (Y/N) rushed to eat, as if she had to be still and silent as her twenties loomed over her head. She finished her plate in less than five minutes, at the sensation of the last french fry getting stuck in her throat.

Desperate and alone, she began to choke, no less than three minutes before the special moment. She tried to stick her fingers down her throat, running to the bathroom in panic, trying to free her airway. No longer keeping track of time, her only priority was to stay alive and not be killed by a potato. Her vision started to blur, with less and less air in her lungs, while she collapsed to the floor in front of the toilet.

Just when she thought there was no hope, she felt two hands grab her under her arms, lifting her up and pressing into her stomach.

After several pushes, the rest of the unchewed fry flew out of her mouth, as (Y/N) coughed and tried to catch her breath. She fainted before she could see the identity of the one who had saved her, further postponing meeting her angel.

[wilsons-striped-ties]

april tc challenge (days 1-30 one shot)

April TC Challenge by @morethanwords0475

done this back in may, don't know why i didn't post this but it's updated to passion fruit!

Day 1: Happy April Fool's! Have you ever pranked your tc; if so, how did they react?

nope but ive surprised him with a birthday present and he was so stunned

Day 2: What is the earliest thing you can remember about your tc?

i was walking around with some seniors and saw him and back then i was like year one so i didn't know who he was and my seniors were like oh that's passion fruit, he's super scary but he's a good teacher

Day 3: Do you like your tc's subject? Do you consider yourself to be good at it?

MY FAVOURITE SUBJECT!! i used to be the top of his class

Day 4: How do you feel about your age gap?

i don't even know our age gap

Day 5: Have you ever said anything to you tc that showed you favored them? Have they said anything like that to you?

HELP ME last saturday i went back to my high school for their 100 year anniversary musical and somehow ended up telling him that he's my favorite teacher before running down the stairs :' he's called me his star history student and apparently bragged about me a couple times before

Day 6: Have you ever noticed any small habits they have? If so, what comes to mind first?

he paces a lot while standing up and his resting position is hands behind is back. he never buttons his shirts to the max, there's always at least two buttons undone unless he needs to wear a tie, and he'll run his hand through his hair absentmindedly, and he talks softer when he's one on one, or when he's giving instructions to me, and he'll always say "come on lah" in the same tone, same facial expression, same pronunciation. when he doesn't remember a particular detail about the chapter, he'll wave his hand around in the same way, and he will always lean to the side and shift his weight around whenever he's talking, he just can't stand still :'

Day 7: What gift would you like to be able to give them, regardless of if it's realistic or not?

i'd like to gift him my book, like be able to dedicate it to him in the dedications because he's the muse and main character of my book, but it's still in process

Day 8: Does your tc ever talk about what it was like when they were still a student?

yup, he was telling us once how he used to play truant HAHA

Day 9: Does your tc have a significant other? If so, what do you know about them, and how do you feel about them?

he has a wife and three kids, i don't know anything about his wife but his kids i know some stuff about, and ive seen his youngest son a lot because he goes to the middle school that's affiliated with my high school

Day 10: What is the longest time you've gone without seeing them?

maybe a month or two? i try my best to go back to my high school every now and then

Day 11: What do other people usually think of them?

those who have been in his class say he's super funny and his predictions for the national exam topics are eerily accurate, those who haven't been in his class say he's scary looking, they think he's a gangster LMAO

Day 12: Do you often make up excuses to speak to them? What kinds of excuses do you like to use?

OH FOR SURE i go back to school in hopes of seeing him, i ask him questions when i was still a student, i did so many practice papers for him to go through with me

Day 13: Other than the subject they teach, what are they really passionate about?

i feel he's passionate about family, he always seems so gentle around the topic of his family and he's really a compassionate and understanding person, he values family and kindness a lot and i that about him, he's also big on knowledge in general and also feel he's passionate about his looks LMAO he always dresses really cool and he always wants to look good and stuff and it's kinda cute

Day 14: What is a skill you really wish your tc had?

i wish that he would sing more, he has such a good singing voice but he doesn't sing out of teasing us :( i also wish he wrote poems or books or short stories or anything really, he looks like he has a really interesting perspective on life and just looks so poetry coded please and why does he look like such a guitar player...

Day 15: Which MBTI personality do you think they are? (If you don't do MBTI, which Hogwarts House do you think they'd be in?)

he's definitely a slytherclaw, not sure about his mbti but i would KILL to know his mbti

Day 16: if you could go back in time and choose, would you still choose to develop feelings for your tc?

I WOULD SLAP MY YOUNGER SELF how could i have been so blind??? the most perfect man (him) was right in front of me and i stupidly chased after mango... i regret my entire prom man i could have made so many memories with passion fruit :'

Day 17: If it was the last time you would ever be able to see your tc, what is one thing you would never leave without saying to them?

would tell him that he's built my confidence and self esteem up and never brought it down before, something that nobody has ever done before and he's taught me not to be afraid to put my opinions out and that I'll never know if I don't try, so he's given me the spirit of curiosity and trying no matter the circumstances and the odds and that he's genuinely my favorite teacher and that i do love him :'

Day 18: When was the first time you cried because of them?

never cried cause of him before <3

Day 19: How well do you think you know them?

i definitely only know like 30% of him :'

Day 20: Do you ever lie to them? About what?

i hardly ever lie so nope

Day 21: What is the longest time you've spent with them?

one on one maybe around forty minutes or so, in a class/with people maybe an hour plus

Day 22: If you have had other tcs in the past (or right now), how are they similar to or different from your current (or primary) tc?

mango vs passion fruit: I guess the difference between the two of them is that they're polar opposites HAHA

Day 23: Have you ever seen your tc in clothes they don't usually wear? Casual clothes if they wear formal attire or the other way around?

he always wears a dress shirt and dress pants 24/7 but during photo takings/formal events he wears ties and I'm like woah okay, and ive seen him wear our house shirts or just polo/soccer team shirts and it looks quite cute on him, ive seen him in shorts before and ive died before

Day 24: When was the last time they made your heart thump?

every. single. time. i. see. him. especially when we make eye contact ajajsjdgfdks

Day 25: How do you think your tc would react if you confided in them that you felt sad or stressed or anxious?

i think he would show me so much care and concern that it would physically wrench my soul, he's always so sweet and he is the kind of person to check in on you if he knows something's up, or follow up with you and he would definitely reassure me that he has full confidence in me :'

Day 26: What is the best dream you've had of them?

i dont knowww unfortunately i dont dream a lot about him but there was one time in a dream he initiated a photo with me

Day 27: What is the saddest/scariest dream you've had of them?

glad to say that I haven't got any dreams like that regarding him before

Day 28: Does your tc ever bring you up to other students/teachers that you know of?

oh definitely, my friend from another class told me he praised me in front of them 😭

Day 29: Do you see them as being a romantic person? Are you?

HE WOULD BEEE hes so tender and thoughtful and really really really sweet and he takes the initiative and hes just so wonderful hes definitely romantic... im a hopeless romantic enough said

Day 30: How have they changed since you two first met? How have you changed?

hes played around with his hair more and the way his beard outlines his jawline is insane now, hes more casual and comfortable around me and hes also able to joke with me more hehe. im more confident in terms of speaking my opinions out, im more comfortable with being myself around him, and i think because of them, im more thoughtful and i put in more effort in studies and gifts and my wardrobe too HAHAHHA

[star-mum]

the ages in Teen Wolf make no fucking sense and the MTV writers made it MY ISSUES SPECIFICALLY

insane rambling (and very bad math) under the cut

I was thinking.... the Hales weren't recluses ??? (post fire Derek doesn't count, he's been through stuff) cause Derek went to highschool like normal ??? So WHYYYY (besides convenient writing) doesn't ANYONE REMEMBER THEM ??????

Like yeah Derek was older than the main cast, whatever, but CORA ????? SHE'S THEIR AGE ???? THEY PROBABLY ALL WENT TO PRESCHOOL TOGETHER ???? AT LEAST MIDDLE SCHOOL ????

SO !!! i have JUST NOW decided that Cora, Derek and Laura are 3 years apart from each other. "What about Talia and Peter?" you ask me and if you'd given me a FUCKING SECOND I'D TELL YOU !!! GEEZ !!!

Okay so IF we assume Peter is in his early 20s when Derek is in highschool considering ONLY the actor who played him in the Paige Flashback then okay, fine they're like almost 20 years apart BUT !!! Look at Peter now !!! LOOK AT HIM !!! THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN IN 4-6 YEARS (depending on how old you think s1 Derek is) (we'll get to that too, hold on) SO !!!! Im gonna ignore that weird casting choice and confidently give Talia and Peter a 13 years age difference, why ? you ask... idk sounds like a good number, I like things in 3s- WRONG !!! I DID EXTENSIVE MATH AND THINKING ON THIS !!!

We're gonna take some liberty here and assume Wolf Born Families are a bit traditional when it comes to kids and stuff SO Talia would've probably had her first kid in her very early 20s BUT we also need to consider that she was The Alpha of the house (and I refuse to believe Hale isn't HER family name) (OH ALSO !! Since the spark passed from her to Laura we can assume, cause I want to, that, at least, the Hale Pack worked as a matriarchy) which demands a lot of respect and work soooo I'm gonna go with her being about 24-25 when she had Laura

WHICH !!! Would've made Peter 11-12, which is not that different from the age gap he has with Talia, so he probably used to look at Laura much more as a sister than a niece (you know for the pain and suffering and drama) SO !!! when Derek was 15, Peter was 29-30 aaaand 29 makes the most sense to me, so I'd go with that!

Please dont get me started on the contradicting age of our "teen" cast !! Scott is 15 and then 18 in 10 months ???? Doesn't make sense !!!! So to ME the teen cast is all 17 in season 1 !!! except for Alison who's a year older and very understandably insecure about turning 19 and still being in highschool. And then in the span of 10 months we roll around to Scott's 18 birthday !! hooray time is linear !!!

All this to say, these are all people around the same age as our main characters AND THEY WERE PART OF THE TOWN !!!! HOW COME NO ONE REMEMBERS THEM ????

Even if we operate on the belief that Derek is, during season one, between 19-22 (which feels correct to me) that still makes the family fire NOT THAT LONG AGO (4-6 years) HOW COME PEOPLE ARE FORGETTING ABOUT IT ALREADY ????

Cora is the same age as EVERYBODY ELSE !!!! did they not go to middle school together ? do they not remember her ? who was she friends with ? Before Paige died Derek was very well integrated into High School culture, we have no reason to believe either of his sisters were homeschooled. Peter was a grOWN ADULT !!! I KNOW THE HALES WERE OLD MONEY RICH BUT DID HE NOT HAVE A JOB ???? DID HE NOT HAVE A LAW FIRM TO WORK AT ??? (recently came across a "Peter Hale had a law degree" post and it's canon to me forever now) Did Laura not pick up her siblings from school not a SINGLE DAY OF THEIR LIFE ????

OH !! WHICH REMINDS ME !! Derek said at some point that the fire happened when he and his sister were still at school and I'm pretty sure that was on s1 so he obviously meant Laura (i don't think the writers had Cora planned from the beginning, she was there to work in Erica's place) BUT !!! What if he did mean Cora, he walked his little 12 yo sister to school because he's Big Sister Laura (18 yo) was away for college at that time !!! And Kate had no choice but to leave those 3 out cause Laura wouldn't have come home without a good reason and Cora went to school at the time was Derek just a different building

This brings me to my (hopefully) final point: what the fuck is Deatons problem ???? He was Talia's emissary, he knew the pack inside and out and they very OBVIOUSLY KNEW HIM !!! HE WAS BESIDE THEIR ALPHA ALL THE DAMN TIME !!! How come Derek didn't recognize him ???? My vague memory on the dialogue between Deaton and Peter in s1 makes it seem like they Knew Each Other, in that ominous way... why didn't Derek ?? He wasn't a small child, he knew Deaton too, he could've remembered him ????

Again... things that feel like they were written into the plot only AFTER s1 aired

[tunawithsoysauce]

Stuff you might wanna know :3

about ~me~

Name: Finn/Todd Henriksson

Age: 13 (2011)

Swedish, third generation Finnish

Weird

Transboy

Bisexual

👆 the main stuff. Scroll for a bit more detailed bullshit.

▪︎I LOVE MUSIC!!! I go to a music highschool, my parents are musicians and I love singing and playing french horn. Fun thing, right!?

▪︎I'M TRANS (wow!) I'm transmasc, and have been as long as I can remember (I came out at eight, I believe?) And my pronouns are he/him! I'm a boy. Only boy.

▪︎I USUALLY DONT KNOW WHAT IM DOING (wha) I don't know what im doing. Most of the time. Id like to believe im kind and try to be good, but you know. It is what it is.

▪︎HAIR DYE AND ROCKS! (lmao what) i love dying my hair. And rocks. Not cool rocks. Just... rocks.

▪︎ART!!!! (YIPPIE !) I love drawing and writing and stuff like that. Very fun. Its like the only thing I do haha

▪︎NERD!!! (OFc) I love fixating on stuff. Which leads me to our next segment...

▪︎Interests (online)

The main ones AREEEE: *drumroll*

1. Doctor who! (My sister used to love it. She showed me it all and now im as big a nerd as she is.)

2. Sherlock holmes! (Or Sherlock & co. Both. Mostly just the novels. The BBC show if you make me.)

3. Good omens! Or Neil gaiman in general! (He's very cool)

Eeeeh otherwise im very obsessed with loads of stuffs. Just. Ask me if ive seen something, ill probably have.

Family!

▪︎Mum & dad! (My mum's mean sometimes. Not all the time. She can be good. She’s just... she has a diffrent way of loving.) (Dad! He's amazing. I love him.)

▪︎ main siblings! (I have two fully bio siblings. Otto, and Ruben. Otto is 6 and Ruben is 14. Otto is silly, my big brother is amazing. He's my true rolemodel :))

▪︎ half siblings (I DONT ACTUALLY CALL THEM HALF SIBLINGS)

A) -Anna!! She's the one im closest to. She’s the youngest (26) and has a cat and a fiancee (Jim.) Jim's cool. Very silly. He's also sort of a role model, for me. He's been in my life for all of it, I think? My sister had a boyfriend before that. He was very quiet. Anna is very nice and I love having sleepovers with her. She was also the one who introduced me to Doctor who!! We always have so much fun. She really likes the beatles. Don't know why I put that there. She just really likes them. Felt important.

B) Malin!! My middle big sister. She’s awesome, and She’s got a whole family. A husband (He's amazing and so so so smart i literally think he's so cool) which i think is very rad, and my neice !!! He's called Einar. He's 3. He calls me "uncle Todd" (AJSKSJJDKD)

C) My biggest brother Mattias. He's quiet, but also very awesome. His girlfriend is very nice too. She has green hairdye in her hair. :3)

▪︎FRIENDS!!!

I LOVE MY FRIENDS!!!

This includes:

1. Leija! We met in the beginning of fourth grade. She’s weird like me. And awesome. I love her.

2. Elsa!!! She's been my best friend all my life. Our mums know eachother. She’s kind and beautiful and always makes me happy.

3. Elvira!!! My mandatory lesbian friend. That's a joke. She’s cool. And very nice. She never speaks ill of anyone. She’s truly the kindest human ever.

4. Sofie!!! A non-binary chaos machine. I love them. They're always a joy to be around.

5. Max!!! My absolute best friend. He's amazing even though we barely met even a year ago. I visit him frequently.

5. Jack!!! (Love interest? Kind of dating?)

Side characters (wtf)

▪︎My therapist!! She's called Emma. Uh.

▪︎My father figure!!! Otto. Not to be confused with my little brother.

▪︎ My Swedish teacher!! I just think she's awesome. She’s also called Anna. Not to be confused with my sister.

▪︎ All my finnish friends! Jesus christ if I named all of the finnish blokes ive befriended id die typing.

▪︎ this random dude I met on reddit i haven't talked to for two months :D

▪︎Sofia!! A lady at my school. She’s awesome. She’s practically my step mum. She’s held me while I cried in the nurses office more than I can think.

▪︎ uhm

Hobbies!!

Mondays: french horn B)

Tuesdays: dancing!! (With Elvira:))

Wednesdays: orchestra!! (French horn)

Thursdays: TSS!! (A place you can hang out at)

Fridays: bugging my music teacher and playing drums with my bassist friend until I get kicked out!

School

As previously mentioned i go to a music school. We have music everyday. Its awesome.

I love swedish, music, art, english, french, and history.

I hate P.E, math, science and homeroom.

Bye :33

[drizzileiscool]

so like what is poyopoyo

ik its a puzzle game but i didnt know it had characaters

sig looks silly i like him

glad you asked!

*AUTISM MODE ENGAGE*

puyo puyo (ぷよぷよ) is a japanese puzzle game originally created by compile (but they went bankrupt) and owned by sega!

the series originally started as a spinoff of a dungeon crawling game called madou monogatari (I know jack diddly squat about madou). in puyo puyo the main characters of that game (as well as a few enemies) fight each other using magic spells casted by connecting 4 or more of the same colored puyos together to pop them!

the compile era of the puyo puyo series stars Arle from the madou monogatari series as the protagonist, where in most games she attempts to stop satan (that's actually the villain's name) from doing a bunch of evil stuff. arle's also got a magical rabbit thing as a companion, his name is carbuncle and he likes curry :) other characters from this era that continue to show up in newer games are schezo, a dark mage who accidentally turns every sentence into an innuendo, and rulue, a fighting queen who has a crush on satan.

psst! 3 of the compile era games are available on switch! sega ages puyo puyo 1 and 2 are both ten bucks and if you have nso you can play the snes version of 2 on snes online!

both sega and nintendo tried to localize these games, but in doing so, they stripped the games of their original madou monogatari personality and replaced them with other games. sega localized pp1 as a game you might recognize as Doctor Robotnick's Mean Bean Machine, while nintendo made the slightly more obscure Kirby's Avalanche (ALSO AVAILABLE ON SNES NSO!!)

a BUNCH of stuff happened, the localized games didn't do well, puyo puyo became more popular than madou, and compile went bankrupt after years of shoving puyo puyo down everyone's throats non-stop

they then handed the rights to puyo puyo to sega, but completely forgot about the rights to madou, meaning madou monogatari is completely dead at this point with no hope of a reboot, and puyo puyo is still goin strong.

when sega got puyo puyo they decided to completely rebrand the game, and it ditched it's dark dungeon crawler aesthetic for a more fun colorful vibrant tone, and thus, Puyo Pop Fever was born.

Fever was a sort of reboot for the franchise, starring a new protagonist named Amitie, a very cheerful student who goes to a magic school, and a bunch of more awesome colorful characters (and arle she's still here)! A sequel to puyo pop fever was released in japan called Puyo Puyo Fever 2, but due to the poor sales in the US, the game never made it over to america and this would be the last localized puyo game. for at least 10 years.

also puyo puyo fever 2 introduced sig!!! the best boy!!! fun fact he's half demon but does not care about that at all and instead of doing all the traditional demon things like taking over worlds he simply don't care. he's got the bug autism and likes bugs very much :)

uhh MORE TIME SKIP! another reboot was created called Puyo Puyo 7! New protagonist named Ringo who is a regular middle school student and does regular japanese middle schooler stuff until Arle comes back and is possessed by something and is all like "you have the power. you can pop puyos now." and crazy highjinks ensue!

ANOTHER TIME SKIP!

puyo puyo 15th anniversary is released and surprise surprise it's also a reboot but this time it features (almost) ALL the important characters from the previous games! woo! and then 5 years after that 20th anniversary happened which was much better!

*WHWHOOOOSH TIME SKIP*

a crossover game between puyo puyo and tetris called Puyo Puyo Tetris was released in 2014! remember this!

*FINAL TIME SKIP I PROMISE*

oh hey remember what I just said? guess what! it's 2017 and sega is acknowledging for the first time people in america want puyo puyo! they then release a localized version of puyo puyo tetris onto nintendo switch and other platforms and it's a hit! people liked it! they liked it so much that in 2020 it got a direct sequel which wasn't just left to rot in the prison of region exclusivity and actually got localized as well! hooray for puyo puyo!!

that's basically the entire puyo puyo series history in a nutshell *autism disengage*

there were some games I left out because this was getting too long but who cares

if you're looking to play a puyo puyo game and you own a nintendo switch you can try any of these!

Sega ages - Puyo Puyo: The arcade version of the original Puyo Puyo game.

Sega Ages - Puyo Puyo 2: Arcade version of the second game (text is all in japanese, but it's purchasable on the american eshop!)

Nintendo Switch Online - SNES Online - Super Puyo Puyo 2: The SNES version of puyo puyo 2

Nintendo Switch Online - SNES Online - Kirby's Avalanche: An attempt for an english localization of pp1 featuring iconic kirby characters!

NSO Expansion Pack - Sega Genesis Online - Doctor Robotnick's Mean Bean Machine: Another localization attempt, featuring robots from the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog cartoon! sonic does not make an appearance in this game.

Sonic Mania: One of the bosses in sonic mania has you playing Puyo Puyo against Eggman, and once you beat that boss you unlock a special mean bean machine side mode!

Puyo Puyo Champions: A puyo puyo game purely focused on competitive play, with no story. You can play using either normal puyo puyo rules, or the special ruleset introduced in fever.

Puyo Puyo Tetris: A crossover game between puyo puyo and tetris, featuring new characters based off the tetris blocks! Has a pretty ok story, the localizers took a few liberties here and there, sometimes they didn't understand the references to things and left them out.

Puyo Puyo Tetris 2: A direct sequel to the game I just mentioned. Improves upon the story alot, all the previous characters return as well as 2 new characters! There were also a few characters added in later through free dlc! Currently the second newest puyo puyo game, and also the second most definitive with a bunch of cool sidemodes!

Currently, the newest game in the series is Puyo Puyo Puzzle Pop, which is THE definitive puyo puyo game! unfortunately it's stuck on apple arcade so you need an iphone, a bluetooth controller, and a subscription for that if you wanna play. this game technically is incomplete as the story is being added in through updates, but what they've got now is really interesting!! they're finally doing something with the "sig is half demon" concept and now he's the villain of the game! so cool! god I want this game ported to consoles so badly... SEGAAAA GIVE ME EDGY SIG!!!

there's also a japan exclusive mobile gacha game called puyo puyo quest. it's aight. I've played it once and then deleted it because gacha games update regularly and my phone is running low on space.

and that's everything about puyo puyo thanks for asking

[thestobingirlie]

I saw a post saying that Steve was a huge bully, and that it's mentioned in every season that he bullied others so much and other characters talk about how bad he affected them.

And I was just thinking where?

The worst we get is season 1. With breaking Jonathan's camera, and then the fight in the alley. Breaking the camera was 100% justified. There were photos of a minor changing. And even without the photos of Nancy, it was a massive invasion of Steve's privacy. And the fight Steve was somewhat provoked into saying those things. Yes, a lot of what he said was uncalled for, but he was provoked by the photos, then seeing Nancy and Jonathan together in Nancy's room despite the photos, and then Nancy and Jonathan showing up together in the alley just sealed the deal that there was something going on. He's a bit of an asshole, but not a bully. And sure, he gets referred to as "that douchebag, Steve Harrington" by Lucas in episode 1, but the kids don't know him at this point. They've most likely never met him, and anything that they know about him is hearsay.

Season 2, I don't think there's any mention of him being a bully or even much of a mention of him being an asshole. It's obvious that Jonathan doesn't really like Steve, but that's more jealousy. And sure, the kids don't seem fond of him to start with, and he's the last resort, but they don't really know him, so they don't yet have a reason to trust him. They would have only met him in passing, Mike might have met him for a bit longer at times, but not enough to actually know Steve.

Season 3. Robin says that Steve was an asshole and a douchebag, but she admits to having a biased view. She said that she felt that way because he wasn't paying attention to Tammy Thompson and she was jealous because of it. And him not remembering her from the class they shared. Not remembering someone doesn't mean that he's an asshole. We don't know how many students were at Hawkins High, but the few scenes we see of more of the student body, there looked like quite a lot. I went to a small school (100-120 kids each year) and I barely recognised and remembered some of the kids I had classes with. And I really didn't recognise anyone that wasn't the same age as me. It doesn't make Steve a bully, it just makes him a little self-centred in the way teenagers are.

Season 4, the only scene we get is his talk with Eddie. And Eddie admitted he was wrong to consider Steve a douchebag, and it was just based off of assumptions of him, because he didn't actually know him.

(This person also said that Billy wasn't a bully on the same post. Even if you discount all his interactions with the other main characters, his first scene in season 3 he is literally bullying a child. He is shouting at this kid and repeatedly calling him lard-ass in front of a crowded public pool.)

i feel like i saw that post, and i just scrolled past lol. it’s so weird when people take characters that are obviously biased at their word when there is evidence to the contrary.

no one has ever said that steve bullied them, they’ve called him names, but never about personal experiences with steve, just because of their assumptions.

yeah. i will always defend the breaking of the camera in s1, and anyone that defends him with ‘jonathan’s poor’ like… maybe he shouldn’t have taken pictures of people looking through the fucking trees into a house. and yeah, the fight is fucked up, steve says stuff he shouldn’t, slutshames nancy, and it’s all disgusting. but it’s not bullying.

s2, there’s nothing to imply steve’s treated anyone badly, and in s3, like you said, robin doesn’t actually mention any bad behaviour from steve, she just takes out her anger on him because he could have tammy thompson, he has all her attention and he doesn’t even look her way.

then yeah, s4, eddie admits he was wrong about steve, that he made presumptions because steve was rich and hot.

(omfg i hate that scene with billy calling that kid a lard ass, because those middle age mothers literally see billy calling a child names and are still looking lustfully at him!!)

but yeah, steve isn’t a bully, to say he is one is just… wrong lmao. the freaks and geeks all take out their anger at not being popular on steve, unfairly, and to just believe them when all evidence does against what they say, is kinda funny

[finxwrites]

So I saw some cool fanart and got a craving for an Age of Sail au of Stranger Things, but I kept tripping up on how a proper fancy naval ship has like a hundred guys at least. I do not want a hundred guys. That is way too many guys. Half the point of this show is the secrecy, the “no one would believe me if I told them,” the us-against-the-world isolation that’s inherent to all of its genres.

There are two solutions to this problem. One is to shrug and ignore it, focusing only on the main characters and treating the rest as a faceless crowd with conveniently uniform opinions. This is the standard for writing these stories anyway, so it’s not like it’s even cheating really.

The other is to just…leave the guys behind. At the bottom of the sea. Sorry, guys.

Hopper was a captain of the Royal Navy, on track to be an admiral someday, but that was then. These days he captains a merchantman with a skeleton crew, because despite everything he couldn’t quite let go of the sea. He never takes his eyes off the horizon. That’s not quite the same as never looking back, but it’s the best he’s got.

His crew is the folks he works with in canon. This means they’re going to be apprised of the horrors before we’re done, unlike in canon, but I’m okay with that.

He knows Joyce Byers from the old days, when they were both kids going wild together, and even after he got himself a position as a midshipman, whenever he came into port they’d spend a night going wild together again, for old times’ sake. They remember this fondly, but they haven’t spoken in years – they saw each other once in the time after Lonnie left, and only once.

Hopper takes on passengers sometimes, to make up profits when margins are slim. This time he takes on Joyce and Jonathan, who are traveling to the Americas for a fresh start; and Nancy Wheeler and her companion/lady’s maid Barb, who are going to visit an aunt in the Caribbean. Will and Mike have been friends for years, even before the two of them took service on the same ship a year ago, so Joyce has promised to look after Nancy on her trip.

Will, Mike, Dustin, and Lucas are midshipmen in the royal navy, all serving on the same ship. Someone’s parents are landed gentry, maybe with a seat in the House of Lords or something, so some strings are pulled to get that ship to escort Hopper’s, or to get Hopper’s ship into the convoy that the boys’ ship is guarding, or however that works. I have not done research :P We’re going to call the boys’ ship the HMS Middlefast, because they’re. um. in middle school. Look I didn’t think too hard about this and neither should you. The Hawkins was already taken, that’s Hopper’s ship.

Also serving on the Middlefast: Steve! He’s a lieutenant, aka one rank below the captain, even though he’s like nineteen and has barely been at sea a full year. (His dad 100% bought his rank.) He starts courting Nancy almost as soon as he lays eyes on her.

Tommy’s also on the Middlefast, because we need him there as a set piece for Steve’s character arc. Unfortunately this means Tommy will not survive this story. Sorry, Tommy.

In my defense there’s no evidence he survived in canon either. It’s not like we ever see him again after his fight with Steve! For all we know he and Carol got eaten in the woods while Steve was cleaning off that marquee.

You know who else is on the Middlefast? A snappish midshipman called Max who keeps to himself and doesn’t seem to want to be friends with anyone. Dustin and Lucas think he’s really cool and spend a lot of time trying to befriend him whenever Will is hanging out with his family on the Hawkins. (Mike does not think Max is cool, he insists, he thinks Max is annoying. The feeling is mutual. They’ll get over it eventually, but not before they almost die a lot.)

We’re going to just smush seasons 1 and 2 together, because I’m the boss and I say so. (Also bc s2 is kind of about Things Festering, and being unable to move on, and PTSD, and that just doesn’t jive for this au. We’re not going to hold still long enough for anything to fester, this is just one really long, really cursed voyage.)

So that’s how things stand for a while. Steve and Will take every excuse they can to get assigned duties on the Hawkins, and after a while the captain of the Middlefast just gives up and makes Steve & the boys the default option for whenever someone needs to go stand watch there or whatever. 

Will hangs out with Jonathan and his mom a lot, and spends the rest of his time playing silly games with his friends. (They should be standing watch, yes, and they do, but also they’re twelve, they goof off a lot. The only people on the Hawkins who ever berate them for it are Hopper and Steve, and Steve’s busy wooing Nancy while Hopper does not actually care that much, so it’s not like they have that big an incentive to stop.)

Steve and Nancy are dancing around each other as she puts up the protest she knows she’s supposed to, while Barb is increasingly done with her nonsense but does her best to be supportive.

The night everything changes, two terrible things occur.

Nancy finally lets Steve into her bed. This is not one of the terrible things, although Nancy will think of it as one for some time to come. It will be a while before she can untangle her guilt from that which she does not actually regret.

Barb decides that there are certain things she doesn’t want to overhear her best friend doing and goes for a walk along the deck. It’s a clouded night, not even stars to keep her company, but she leans on the railing and gazes out into the blackness anyway.

Will is on watch that night. Jonathan usually keeps him company when he’s on watch alone, but he’s been trying to learn all he can about navigation from Hopper’s pilot, both because he believes in picking up useful skills when he can and because if he helps with the calculations the pilot will slip him a bit of money for it. It’s not a salary, it’s not reliable, but it’s extra cash and he knows how deeply his mom dipped into their funds for this gamble on a new life. So Jonathan is too tired to stay up all night with Will. Will sends him off to bed with a laugh and a roll of his eyes—“I’ll be fine, Jonathan, oh my god, I’m not a baby, I’m not going to die of boredom without you.” 

This is not one of the terrible things either, but Jonathan will think of it as one for the rest of his life.

The first terrible thing happens with no witness but one: a good man dies. He dies helping a frightened little girl, who sees his death and flees faster and further than those chasing her had thought possible. She weeps as she runs. Her salt tears drip into the salt waves beneath her feet.

The second terrible thing appears as a glimmer of moonlight on the black waves. The glimmer spreads, slow and viscous as molasses, and brightens as it does. And yet the moon is still hidden behind thick clouds.

The light spreads upward, illuminating the rotted hull of an old, old ship. The ship itself seems to glow in the false moonlight. The light spreads further: the deck, the quarterdeck, the poop deck, the forecastle, all bare of any souls, living or otherwise. A broken bowsprit over a figurehead so encrusted in barnacles it’s impossible to make out what it was once meant to be. Three masts in full square rigging, the sails billowing taut before the wind despite the huge ragged holes torn through the fabric. 

A ghost ship, hollow with haunting. And it sails straight for the Hawkins.

It sails through the Hawkins.

It does not leave empty.

Nancy wakes in the dark before morning. (Steve does not.) She goes outside. She’s not looking for Barb; she hasn’t thought of Barb once that night, with a casual selfishness she has not yet outgrown. But she finds Barb’s shawl, soaked through with seawater, caught on the deck railing. It’s glowing like the still-absent moon. 

The glow disappears in the first weak light of dawn. It does not return. No one believes her the next morning when she insists it was real.

And so, the aftermath. 

In this story, Nancy and Joyce are united in their insistence that something happened. In this story, there is no obvious explanation for the disappearances: yes, they fell overboard, so tragic, it happens, but why both of them? On a calm sea? There’s something wrong here. Neither captain wants to admit it, but they both know it to be true. 

In this story, the boys are convinced Will is hiding somewhere. They know him: they know he’s careful and sensible and has been at sea over a year, and wouldn’t just fall overboard like an idiot. They know he’s dutiful when they’re not dragging him away with games, and wouldn’t leave his post unless he saw something. They think he witnessed something awful—a crime, a murder, maybe Barb’s murder!—and he’s hiding from a scurrilous villain. They steal through every nook and cranny of both ships looking for him. 

They find a girl instead. She is terribly afraid. When they decide they have to tell their captain about her, a huge wave crashes through the nearest porthole and blocks their passage.

They’re far above the waterline. There’s no way for a wave to reach them so high. They all rush to the porthole to confirm it, and then bicker amongst themselves about what’s going on.

It takes another wave before they realize it’s El.

In this story, Joyce dreams of her missing son. She dreams of him at the stern of a ghost ship, reaching for her. She wakes at the railing of the Hawkins, reaching back, about to step overboard into the waves.

It’s Hopper who grabs her before she can go over the side. He turns her around to shake her, demand answers, and his words die in his throat.

Her eyes are glowing. They’re filled with eerie light from end to end. Like phosphorescence. Like moonlight.

She blinks awake. The light vanishes. She registers where she is, who’s holding her, and the grief-worn lines on her face harden with determination. “He’s alive,” she swears. “He’s alive, Hop, I know he is.”

This time, he believes her.

Some plot stuff happens. Honestly I’m not too fussed about pinning it down just now; I’d rather leave some wiggle room in case I ever actually write any of this. Here’s the gist + some essential bits:

We’re going to lean hard on the fantasy elements. The whole point of an Age of Sail au is to change the aesthetic, after all, and this story’s aesthetic includes ghost ships and hungry mermaids and ancient curses.

El can walk on water. She can command the waves to some extent. If she strains herself, she can summon a storm. She’s a child of the sea; when she begs the sea for aid, the sea heeds her.

She can find the ghost ship, too. At some point she’ll point them toward it and they’ll sail to its home port. 

Its home port is an island found on no map, because it’s actually a massive sea turtle whose shell is overgrown with greenery. It’s where El grew up, raised—no, more like kept—by a witch (Brenner) who can command the creatures and spirits of the sea. Of which she is one.

I really want to have Brenner work for the East India Trading Company. They’re just such good villains for the setting! Plus the way they operate semi-autonomously, not really answering to any government and without a hugely centralized hierarchy, gives them room for a top-secret laboratory magic island full of experimental sorcery.

But I also like the vibe of a mad witch alone with his monsters, and after all half the fun of an au is changing things around. I don’t need to give the man a laboratory and official funding.

Decisions, decisions…

Anyway, Brenner sent the ghost ship to find El. She managed to hide herself from it, so it scooped up the closest people it found: a kid about her size and shape, and a girl who was acutely alone. (Ghost ships have some rather unusual criteria for what makes two people similar.)

Nancy’s going to go on an expedition onto the turtle island to find Barb and blow shit up. This fic, should it ever exist, will be called Cherry Bomb. Possibly Jonathan (and maybe Steve!) will come along, but the story is hers. She deserves to blow shit up.

Maybe she even gets to Barb in time to save her. Or maybe she doesn’t, but Barb isn’t entirely lost—she might be a ghost, bound to a locket that Nancy wears ever after round her neck; she might have been transformed into a siren, or a selkie, or some stranger creature; she might be cursed with an enchanted sleep. Maybe Nancy gets to carry Barb with her and search for some way to save her. Maybe they both get a second chance.

Steve gets that character arc. He talks shit to Jonathan, gets punched in the face, rows over to the Hawkins on a dinghy to apologize, and then gets caught up in the sudden escalation of plot and is onboard when everyone goes to the turtle island.

The HMS Middlefast sinks. Probably when a kraken eats it. Sorry, Middlefast. Our main cast is conveniently on the Hawkins when it happens.

Possibly the captain of the Middlefast decided that the sensible thing to do when faced with a witch who commands the dark powers of the sea is to arrest him. So now there’s a witch in the brig, laughing at them, and, well, it goes about as you’d expect.

At some point it comes out that Max is a girl who disguised herself as a boy to run away from home and have adventures. Not sure how she became a midshipman, since her family definitely didn’t buy her commission; possibly she started as a ship’s boy and earned the rank for valor in combat.

Possibly she gets tossed in the brig or something and the boys bust her out and smuggle her onto the Hawkins. None of the adults over there really care about the impropriety, they’re too busy dealing with ghosts.

Kali is also a daughter of the sea. A siren, maybe, who beguiles with her song. Or maybe she’s something totally unique, like El—perhaps she commands the winds as El commands the waves, and she and her tiny crew of pirates always have fair skies and a strong tailwind. 

As in canon, she invites El to join her. She promises freedom, agency, and the chance to know herself truly and fully. (If we go with Brenner working for the East India Trading Company, she can promise vengeance, too.)

As in canon, El declines, and chooses instead to go back and save her friends. Possibly from that kraken.

This fic is called A Room Where the Light Won’t Find Us. It’s about finding a place you belong; it’s about hiding, and choosing not to hide anymore despite the risks; it’s about fear, and family, and the struggle between being a wild, glorious, unfettered thing and binding yourself to others through love.

Will gets possessed for a bit. Sorry, Will. Maybe the ghost ship anchors itself in his ribs and keeps trying to steal him away again. Maybe he slowly becomes a siren, eaten away from within until there’s nothing but a coyly smiling monster that wants to draw you in and drown you. Maybe it’s a leviathan of the deep, long buried in slumber, and Brenner planted some seed in Will that’s calling to that creature so that it slowly wakes.

At the end Brenner gets eaten by a kraken, El manages to excise the evil thing from Will, Nancy blows some shit up and maybe sort-of rescues Barb, Joyce gets her son back, they all live happily ever after. (Except for everyone who’s now at the bottom of the sea in the wreck of the Middlefast. Sorry, everyone.) We sail along peacefully for a while, perhaps make it all the way to the Caribbean, and then—ACT TWO!