#while the show is from the perspective of someone watching it happen to someone else. and trying to be there for them

[no-byler-doubt-here]

Hii, what's your favourite byler moment/detail from each season?

hiiii thanks for the ask! this is lowk a tough question but i’ll try answering it 😭

Season 1

Although Mike and Will had minimal scenes where they were actually together, I think my favorite Byler-related scene is probably when Will’s “body” was pulled from the quarry. What I specifically like about this scene/subsequent scenes is how we were only given insight into how Will’s “death” immediately affected Mike independently from everyone else. We saw Mike go home and cry in his mother’s arms, heck, we even got a scene of Mike biking home while crying taken away from us. We didn’t get similar scenes for neither Dustin nor Lucas, displaying the show’s further emphasis on Will’s particular relationship with Mike rather than anyone else.

Season 2

This season is SOOOO hard to choose from because it’s literally a Byler goldmine. If I had to choose one scene, however, I think I’d pick the shed scene when we learn about how Mike and Will became friends. Not only do I love this scene for the way it was blocked, making it seem like Mike and Will were the only ones in a dead silent black void, but I also love it for what it tells us about why they are friends. We are told from Mike’s perspective that not only did he see Will all alone on the playground, but Mike felt alone too. They both started at the same level: feeling out of place, like no one else was there for them.

I find the importance of this detail vital when compared to the origins of Mike and El’s relationship. Mike had his friends — he didn’t feel alone in the same way El did. She was in need of shelter, protection, and someone to show her an ounce of love. Of course, Mike gave her all that, but as the subsequent seasons developed, that base that their relationship started with didn’t sustain anymore as El gradually started to grow into her own person.

Essentially, I find the comparison of Mike meeting Will (a decision Mike actively made) vs. meeting El (a total coincidence) and the circumstances of what each party contributed in each relationship really telling about the substantiality of each. While Mike and Will started from the same place and grew together, Mike was there for El when she simply needed survival. As straight-up survival was becoming less of her main concern and her confusion of her own identity grew, Mileven started deteriorating because she realized she didn’t need a romantic relationship to determine her own being (hence why I believe El will initiate a breakup in ST5).

Season 3

Oh boy. I’m going to be basic here and say the infamous rain fight 😜😜. As an internalized-homophobia-Mike-Wheeler truther, I strongly believe Mike often projects his complicated emotions onto Will through their arguments, the rain fight being the first instance. His aggressive retort to Will’s concern about their party falling apart wrongfully pointed out how Will was the only party member who didn’t have a girlfriend when Will was more concerned about the party’s relationship with one another. Mike’s “it’s not my fault you don’t like girls!” was coupled by a hostile tone and almost disgusted face.

My genuine #1 reason for this being Mike projecting his internalized homophobia onto Will is because HOW ELSE DO YOU DEFEND HIM HERE?? If he isn’t projecting, he’d be spitting straight homophobic words in Will’s face when he knows Will is bullied and was abused for the same reasons. If season 5 comes out and Mike happens to be straight and totally happy with El, I think I’ll genuinely hate his character.

Season 4

This season is oh-so rich in Byler analysis that I feel like I learn something new everyday. I feel like my favorite scene for this season is always changing, so I’d say my favorite one at the moment is probably the second bedroom scene with the infamous, “I didn’t say,” “You didn’t have to.” Besides this obviously being a genuine conversation between the two of them, the first couple times I watched this scene I always felt an extreme amount of second-hand-embarrassment, and I could never pinpoint why. It wasn’t until I read someone directly point out how flirty this scene was that I realized that’s why I always somewhat cringed. Mike and Will, but especially Mike, are genuinely insane for this whole conversation. I think their final exchange, “Cool,” “Cool,” was especially corny 😭😭. Like seriously if Mike feels absolutely NOTHING for Will then WHY ARE THEY FLIRTING SO MUCH IT’S PAINFUL.

[spiderb00bs]

- DEER PROTECTOR #2

(Adult) Lottie Matthews x (Adult) reader  

“Lottie needs to know where her protector went, and why did her protector break her promise?” 

Genre – angst?/crazy ass shit    Warnings – none

part 1 | part 2

Now playing – A Little Death, by The Neighbourhood 

“Make me feel like i am breathing. Feel like i am human.” 

The sunlight streamed in through the window, the open curtains making the sun's rays go straight into your eyes. Turning over in bed, you groped through the sheets, looking for the brunette you wanted so much. Unfortunately, the bed was cold, and the only thing you could touch was your wife's pillow.

Finally opening your eyes, you saw the bedside clock ticking 09:05 AM. It was Saturday and you were relieved to have the day off. After everything that had happened to you, no one imagined that you could be living so well, or so it seemed. Working as a policewoman was never exactly your dream, nor was it ever close to being one, but after all the events in the forest, you saw that this world would give you a new perspective, and a chance to hide everything that happened in that woods.

You did it to protect yourself, and nothing more.

Going downstairs - after changing and doing your morning routine - you smelled pancakes and coffee wafting through the room, your daughter lying comfortably on the couch, eating a bowl of cereal and watching some TV show.

“Good morning.” Leaving a kiss on the girl's forehead, you saw her smile at you.

“Good morning, Mom.” Your daughter had always been one of your greatest loves, and even though the decision to have children had happened too quickly in your judgment, you would never regret anything to do with that girl. “ Can Callie sleep here tonight?”

Your daughter and Shauna's daughter were almost forced to be best friends from the moment they met. As resistant as you were to the Sardecki's coming into your life, you couldn't deny that having someone else who shared the same experiences as you wasn't so bad - and Shauna is also very convincing when she wants to be.

"Of course. Do her parents know?“

”You know I can't do anything without my mother around." Callie's voice rang out from the living room. Watching the girl leave the kitchen, you rolled your eyes as the Sardecki girl sat down next to your daughter, Tessa, on the sofa.

"Of course you're already here. I should have known." You said as you made your way to the kitchen.

“Thanks, Mom.”

"Yeah. Thanks!"

Rolling your eyes again at the jokes of the two teenage girls, you went into the kitchen. The sun's rays were streaming in through the window, making the woman at the counter look even more beautiful. The smell of coffee was strongly impregnated in the room, and the combination of the smell of breakfast and the sight of your wife in a pair of sleep shorts and a shirt of yours - too big for her - made your heart grow warm.

Your arms went around your wife's waist, while you planted kisses on her shoulders. “Good morning, my love.”

“Good morning!” The woman said, turning to face you. “The house is full, no funny business.”

Your hands ran from her waist to her hips, a groan of disapproval leaving your lips. "I know. I'm going for a run." You step back slightly, raising your hands as if trying to reach the woman.

“Is that the only way to keep your hands off me?” Leaning against the doorframe, you watched your wife bite her lower lip, looking at you with fun.

The look in her eyes reminded you of someone, someone you didn't want to remember. The big brown eyes looking at you made you feel slightly sick, you always had to force yourself to let all these thoughts out of your head.

It's not her. She's your wife, the mother of your child, and you love her.

“You shouldn't tease me.”

It's the last thing you say before you walk to the front door, hearing your wife's laughter echo lightly in your ears.

Running had always been easy for you, the skill you had on the football pitch accompanying you for the rest of your life. The burning in your legs gave you a good feeling, the feeling of still being alive. The sweat dripping down your forehead made you feel like you were on the pitch again, as did the sun beating down on you.

Keeping your body in shape was something you had to do, being a police officer demanded a lot, even if there weren't many crimes in Wiskayok, the police chief still demanded that you be able to chase down rebellious teenagers or convenience store robbers.

You were always one of the fastest girls on the team, second only to Shauna. You remember how good it felt to run down the field and feel the ball on your foot. Remembering times at school were never very good for you, they always brought you back to a specific person, a person you couldn't remember.

All those years, all those words, all those moments, everything. It's behind you, you have a better life, a family, wife, children, you have a good job, you have a nice house, you have nice friends, you have a normal life, you've managed to move on.

Running means nothing.

You took a deep breath, feeling the wind blow across your face before a curtain of smoke replaced the fresh air. A truck braked sharply and everything happened as quickly as you remember. The masked people, the black bag over your head, you trying to fight off all those hands on you and the little pinch - of what you assumed was a needle - on your skin. It was all you felt before your eyes closed.

Your eyes blinked slightly, trying to get used to the light after being induced to sleep for hours was one of the worst things you'd ever experienced. Scrambling out of bed, you could see where you were, a small cabin, maybe a small cottage? The wood looked sturdy, the kind of thing a rich person would buy to pretend to have a life like other people less well-off. It was cute, but for a moment, it reminded you of mornings you wanted to forget.

“Hi...” The sound of the voice snapped you out of your trance, making you notice the figure of the woman standing in the doorway. A tray in her hands. “I've brought you some breakfast.”

Breakfast? Was it still time for breakfast? How long did you sleep?

Trying to get out of bed, you were pulled to lie down on the soft mattress again, finally realizing that your wrists were tied to the wooden headboard.

“What the fuck?” You whispered as you tried to unchain your wrists. To no avail.

“Please don't do this.” The woman said, approaching you as she placed the tray on the bedside table. “We don't want you to get hurt.”

Raising an eyebrow, you tried to sit up a little, as much as the restraints allowed you to do. "Us? Who the fuck is us? Who the fuck are you?"

Your questions were ignored as if they were nothing, the mysterious woman just walking away from you when she saw how stressed you were.

“Don't worry, I'll call her.” Was the last thing the woman said before rushing out the door.

"WAIT! CALL WHO?" You shouted, struggling and trying to get the woman's attention, who by this point was already far from the hut. “HOW AM I GOING TO EAT WITH MY HANDS TIED?”

Giving up the fight, you lay back on the soft pillows. Wiggling your wrists one last time, as if you needed to make sure they were still holding you.

“Fuck!”

It wasn't long before the door opened again. This time, the person standing in front of you didn't look like a stranger, but someone you knew very well. The facial features had changed, now matured by time and the tragic events the woman had experienced. But you could still recognize her.  

You could see the familiarity in her movements, her eyes, her smile, her clothes and the way your heart raced when you smelled her perfume fill the room. The same fragrance you had missed for years and years. 

"Lottie?" 

The woman's smile seemed calming, it would probably work on you if she still had power over you.

“You slept a lot, you must be hungry.” The woman's words made something in your chest stir.

How long is “a lot”? Minutes? Hours? Days? Fuck! Days? You couldn't have slept for days, could you? You have a family at home, you have a life! A life that certainly doesn't include being kidnapped by your clinically insane ex-girlfriend.

“How long did I sleep?” You asked, watching as the woman approached you, dragging a chair that was in the corner of the room closer to the bed where you were handcuffed.

You kept looking at Lottie, trying to find her eyes while all the woman did was look at the tray of food, spearing a strawberry with a fork and raising her hand, bringing the food to your mouth. “Come on, you need to eat…”

“I need to go home!”

Lottie's eyes finally met yours, the woman sighing before putting down her fork, only to pick up a mug of strange tea.

“Come on, be a good girl for me.”

Looking into the woman's eyes, you hesitated. It had been a long time since you'd last seen Lottie, and now, here she was, offering you a tea that looked a lot like what she used to make when you were out in the wilderness - which honestly, wasn't your favorite.

Opening your mouth, you let Lottie feed you, taking a sip of the drink while you had the brunette's eyes on you.

Lottie watched you almost as if you were a force of nature, as if you were a monkey that had learned to ride a bike, or as if you were the cure for cancer.

Charlotte Matthews was still fascinated by you.

“I thought we'd meet under different circumstances.” It was the first thing she said to you that made you feel something other than confusion. The thing that made you feel an emptiness in your chest.

“You couldn't have visitors…”

“You wouldn't visit me!”

There was no controlling your breathing at this point. She was right, you wouldn't.

“I was trying to rebuild my life…”

“You were trying to get me out of it!”

You didn't want to, but you had to.

"You got married, you have a daughter, you have a family. You've moved on without me."

“Lottie, we were children…”

“YOU PROMISED ME!”

Lottie's scream made your blood run cold. All the memories, the feelings, the fear, still very much alive in your brain. The reason you had rushed into marriage was in front of you, the reason for all your most beautiful dreams and most horrible nightmares was there, demanding from you what you had promised her.

Your mouth opened, but no words came out. Everything you had today was built with the intention of making you forget this woman. And now, here she is, charging at you, like death coming for your soul.

“I couldn't wait for you...” The hoarseness in your voice made the hairs on the back of Lottie's neck stand on end, it was almost as if she had screamed at your voice.

“Yes, you could.” Charlotte's voice was cautious, it sounded as if she was warning you to stay away from a dangerous area, as if you couldn't cross certain invisible lines. "You just refused. You broke a promise!"

Charlotte's words entered your ears like knives piercing your eardrums, every word, every accusation, every tone, making you shrivel up as if your head was going to explode.

“WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?”

The wooden headboard shook as you pulled violently on the chains, trying to lift yourself over the woman sitting in front of you, desperately trying to get out of this evil interrogation, which sucked all the air out of you and made you realize that you could never breathe properly without Lottie.

“You would ruin me, Lottie.”

The woman's eyes looked at you as if you were some kind of rare animal. As if you were there attacking her while she was only there to tear out your gentler side.

“My love...” Lottie put down the tray, got up from the chair, and sat down on the mattress with you.

Sharing the same space as her made you nervous, as if you couldn't control yourself before going back to your primitive instincts. That instinct that said you needed Charlotte Matthews.

That was always there.

Lottie's hand came up, reaching closer to you and organizing the messy strands of your hair. Her touch was exactly as you remembered it.

“Tell me.”

The woman's hand slipped down, running from your hair to your cheek, jaw, neck, until it reached your chest, close to your heart. "I can feel you. I always could."

It all seemed too much, and for a moment, you swore you were going out of your mind.

Lottie's touch was comfortable, it felt like home. And that's what you saw when you raised your eyes to look at the brunette.

Lottie. Your Lottie.

The bangs were still the same, and she was sitting there with that look you could never understand. The fuzzy pink top and pink plaid skirt from when you went to that stupid party in the woods. That same party where the girls fought over something you don't remember, that same party where Lottie said nice things about you, that same party that ended with the brunette on your lap - in her huge empty house - while she took off your shirt.

“It's you.”

The woman's hand slid lower and lower, her touch being vaguely forgotten as you felt the hot tears welling up in your eyes.

You hadn't cried in years.

“It's still me, my love.” Lottie's warm hand slipped into your shirt. Her hands still knew exactly which way to go, no matter how much time passed. “You just need to see this.”

Moving closer, the dark-haired woman put each of her legs on your sides, straddling you and pinning you down with her, more than you were before. The eyes were the same, the smell, the look of satisfaction before the kiss...

The lips.

When Lottie's lips touched yours, everything you had built collapsed like a sandcastle when a wave hits it. Everything you'd held in for so long finally breaking free with a kiss.

Lottie's hands were still on your skin, and the sensation was familiar, comfortable and chilling. Her fingernails trailing down your abs as she kissed her way down your jaw and neck, making you swallow a moan of pleasure.

“Lottie...”

You felt her hands undoing the buttons of your pants.

“Yes, my love?”

Her fingertips moved nimbly upwards, and the satisfying click was heard across the room, making the pressure on your wrists lessen.

“Isn't that wrong?” Your hands instantly went to her hips, guiding the movements the woman made on top of you.

“No, we'll never be wrong.”

After this season all I need is a break to take in everything that's happened.

but relax, no spoilers.

anyway, hope you're guys well. I'm a bit sick, but nothing to stop me from bringing a bit of writing magic to you.

urgh, I feel like I'm talking like an old man. anyway,

drink water and be safe,

xoxo, spider.

[johanna-swann]

I think a pattern with Buck is that he needs validation from his friends, but he doesn't know he needs that. Which can be difficult, it can even be annoying, but it's not worse than any other character "flaw" like, Idk, making too many movie references or being a perfectionist or whatever. It can be endearing too. Noticing this about a friend and watching them light up when you find things to praise them for, building up their self-esteem. That's what friends are for.

But what happens a lot with the firefam is that the other members talk about Buck behind his back - not in a gossipy way, often actually in a positive way. They say things like "despite making fun of him I know he's not actually an idiot", "well think about it from his perspective" or "I'm worried about him". They say things to each other that express how much they care and how they appreciate him for all he is, but they very rarely say any of that to Buck's face.

For someone like Buck who grew up assuming there's for some reason something unloveable about him (shout-out to the Buckley parents) that kind of stuff doesn't go without saying. He won't just assume his friends love him and think about him in their freetime. And no-one seems to realise that, not even Buck himself.

Worse, they kind of re-inforce his self-esteem issues. They tell him he's stupid for worrying about losing touch if they aren't a team at work anymore, they make jokes at his expense (which is also normal among friends, but Buck seems to be the butt of the joke an awful lot), tell him he's exhausting or selfish or immature, anytime there's any sort of fight between Buck and someone else there's no-one who just takes his side.

They don't seem to understand how insecure Buck is behind his daredevil attitude. He's confident in his career, he's a confident flirter, he's a loud and out-going person - but he is extremely insecure about the space he's allowed to take up in the firefam's personal lives. And because he himself doesn't even understand why it throws him for a loop so much when it seems like his friends haven't considered him or don't take him or his concerns seriously, he doesn't just outright speak up about it either.

This dynamic isn't new, but it feels like in earlier seasons the writers were more careful to balance it out whereas lately they isolated Buck and dialed up the firefam's lack of care. Maddie's "you're lonely? learn to be alone then", the fight with Eddie, everybody supporting Hen turning down the promotion but saying nothing about Buck wanting to transfer, Buck being excluded from a lot of the Buckley-Han & Wilson outings even after both his boyfriend and best friend left him, Bobby's death, everyone ignoring Buck and his grief - that's not normal or good unless it leads somewhere and I doubt it does. This is not the kind of show where things mean anything.

And I think that's what's driving every Buck fan a little insane right now. The writers didn't take care of him, neither did his family, but it's portrayed as normal and Buck's insecurity about these kinds of things is a long established character trait and the combination is terrible. Every character went through it in season 8, every character went through losing Bobby, but only Buck went through all of it alone while also having deep rooted fears about being left behind by his family.

[tojisbestslut]

𝗨𝗻𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗔𝘁 𝗗𝘂𝘀𝗸 — Vampire! Ambessa x Explorer! Reader [Modern au]

𝗦𝘆𝗻𝗼𝗽𝘀𝗶𝘀: your family always believed your weird hobbies would led to your death one day. You'd always scoff and roll your eyes at them, knowing from your heart that they were wrong, or were they? ✎ word count: 1.3k — part 2

Cw: afab reader, horror, breaking into ambessa's mansion without permission, reality escaping, facing consequences, reader's backstory explained — m.list

Black sheep, if they could've picked an example to demonstrate the phrase it'd absolutely be you. Picking up weird hobbies since the early days, having imaginary friends entertaining you when your parents would fight and scream at each other in the background, finding rare insects while exploring deep in the backyard and bringing them back inside with excitement for everyone to see, only for them to yell at you, throwing both you and the insect outside.

But you didn't mind, it'd always been like that, whether you stopped being weird or not. Life's always been hard, the house was always filled with arguments rooting from pure hatred, school always filled with losers who thought the world revolved around them, father's eyes always narrowed towards you with disgust, mother's tone always bitter and angry. None of these happened because of some silly stupid things you did as a hobby, they happen simply because life is shit. But deep down in your heart, where your inner child can't accept why everything is so unreasonably and unnecessarily hard, you blame yourself, feeling a little at ease having someone to throw your anger at.

And that's why before everyone else hated you, you hated yourself, more than anyone ever could. The hatred you held towards yourself grew so big you began devaluing your worth, slowly believing you're simply trash. It must've been it, that must've been the reason everything was so hard to reach, because you're trash and don't deserve to have an easy life. You couldn't have convinced yourself otherwise, and you didn't attempt to, knowing not finding any other reasons for your problems would drive you insane.

Exploring was a fancy name you gave to your guilty pleasure, it gave the nasty hobby a character and you a chance to show it off, telling everyone with pride and arrogance that you were an explorer and had such a cool job. The truth was, you had a different take on exploring. It all started in middle school, when your best friend went on a trip. She had a perfect life, clothes always new, parents always picking her after school with their fancy car, hair always done differently everyday. And that made you so curious, about how it must've felt living like that.

So one night when they were still away, you broke into their house. You didn't steal anything, didn't touch nor move a single thing. You just stood there and looked at everything, watching with surprise at how the new territory was so different from your home. Everything was organized and neat, walls filled with pictures of the family members, lots of flowers all around the place, the snack shelf completely filled. That night you sat there for hours and just stared at everything, enjoying the new feeling of being in a home filled with love.

Since then, you fell in love with exploring life from different people's perspectives. It was such a great feeling, feeling something other than going home to your parents yelling and your little brother crying in a corner. This went on for years, and you grew more skilled in it, knowing what to do to never get caught or cause any trouble. Even though you were now an adult and moved out, leaving your shitty life behind, the habit was still deeply rooted in you, the only thing of your past life you weren't able to escape.

Parking your car under a tree, you stepped out, grabbing your backpack from the back seat. The crows kept croaking angrily in the sky, moving in circles and jumping into the tall trees, making dried leaves fall to the wet ground. A lightning struck in the dark sky and lightened the view of the old castle for a second, sending a slight shiver down your spine, wondering if you were doing something stupid. It's probably best to not trust whatever you read on the internet, but you lived for doing dangerous things. And the fact that you've never been caught breaking here and there gave you a huge ego, making you unable to realize things actually have consequences.

There was this random article you saw about a property that had been attempted for decades, rumors saying the family living there suddenly vanished half a century ago. It was so deep in the forest and far from everything that no one really bothered buying or destroying it. It just sat there, tall and huge, windows broken and glass covering the ground around it, walls black and land surrounding it suspiciously dry and empty of any grass compared to the rest of the area. It looked like something out of those fantasy novels you used to read when you were a teenager.

Walking towards the huge wooden door with your flashlight in hand, you stood behind it for a second and for some reason, you knocked. After a few seconds of silence you scoffed at your stupid attempt and shook your head, putting your head on the heavy door trying to force it open. As you continued struggling with the door, your body froze and your mind went blank, hearing footsteps from inside walking towards the door.

You immediately took a step back in panic, thinking you were hallucinating, your mind playing games on you, or it was just a random stick that moved because of the wind, the crowds yelling and the wind screaming through the broken windows made you unable to separate everything you were hearing. Gulping, you took a deep breath, telling yourself to stop being a coward. As you walked back towards the door and took one step forward, it opened.

The criking sound of the worn out wood rubbing against the floor echoed through your ears, mixing with the loud sound of your heartbeat filling your ears as every other sound instantly turned into a blur. It took a few seconds for the door to fully open and it felt like a thousand years for you, as you stood there immobile, your mind screaming at you to run back to your car and drive as fast as you can, your body too much in shock to even allow you to breathe properly.

Your eyes widened at her sight, standing tall and looking down at you with such annoyed gaze as if you were a piece of garbage. Her eyes black and one eyebrow raised, as she stared your pitiful self down. Grabbing your flashlight tightly as if it was going to keep you safe, knees shaking and eyes widened, lips slightly parted apart and your lower jaw shook in fear and cold, you looked pathetic. You opened your mouth a few times like a fish, trying to get your words out, but your brain had already left you many seconds ago.

Your eyes drifted behind her for half a second, feeling confused at the sight. Unlike the outside where everything was worn out and broken, the inside was heavily filled with luxurious stuff, dark red and black walls covering the place, a huge fireplace reaching the ceiling. The warmth from the inside touched your skin and gave you the tiniest bit of comfort through the horror you were experiencing.

"And here I was, thinking I had a bad day." She spoke, making you jump from her deep voice, looking back at her with fear. "It's not everyday supper comes to your door" you yelped in fear as she grabbed your arm, dragging you inside. The sounds of your screams immediately faded away as the heavy door slammed back, the loud thump echoing through the area, the only remaining sound being heard. The crows had gone silent, sitting politely on the trees, rain had stopped and everything looked peaceful. Like nothing has ever happened.

a/n: comment if you want to be added to the tag list, and do tell if you have any suggestions for the next part (⁠◔⁠‿⁠◔⁠)

[lune-moon-nuit]

Not Just El’s Boyfriend and El’s Dad: The Untold Bond Between Hopper and Mike

I saw a tweet today from a Byler fan saying she was starting to have doubts about Byler… because of a behind-the-scenes photo from Season 5 showing Hopper talking to Mike. And I just—why?

Why such doubt just because these two are interacting?

Even before Hopper became El’s adoptive father, Mike knew him. He wasn’t some stranger parachuted into the story. He was the sheriff of Hawkins—a small town where everyone knows everyone. Mike grew up hearing his name. Hopper is also a childhood friend of Joyce��� Joyce, who happens to be the mother of Mike’s best friend, Will. And honestly? It’s not far-fetched to assume that either Karen or Ted probably knew Hopper, or at least someone in that circle, from high school.

Their dynamic didn’t start with El. It started in Season 1, before Mike even met her.

When Will disappeared, Hopper was the one leading the search. He showed up, talked to the kids, went to the school. From Mike’s perspective, Hopper was someone who gave a damn. A man who was actively trying to bring his best friend home. That matters. That sticks.

Let’s not forget that it was Hopper who revived Will in the Upside Down—giving him CPR. He literally brought Will back from the dead. That’s Mike’s best friend. That’s a moment Mike never saw, but that shaped everything.

Later, between season 1 and season 2, Hopper regularly took Will to Hawkins Lab for his check-ups with Joyce. It wasn’t a one-time thing. Will greets him casually in the parking lot like it’s completely normal. Like it’s routine. There’s clearly an established connection.

And then… Season 2 happened.

The massacre at the lab. Hopper and Mike were both there—start to finish. They saw people die. They were chased. They witnessed the same horrors, narrowly escaped death themselves, and were both powerless in the face of Bob’s death—forced to watch as Joyce broke down while Will, completely possessed, had to be sedated against his will. They were together in the cabin during the recalling memories speeches-like scene, trying to bring Will back. Hopper was literally present—along with Joyce and Jonathan—when Mike delivered that emotional monologue to Will, during one of the most raw and vulnerable moments we’ve ever seen from him. We tend to forget that because the scene is shot to highlight the intimacy between Mike and Will—it’s framed like a one-on-one, emphasizing their unique emotional bond—but Joyce, Jonathan, and Hopper are very much there.

He was standing right there when Mike delivered one of the most raw, gut-wrenching speeches in the series—begging Will to come back to him.

Yes, the scene is framed to highlight Mike and Will’s emotional intimacy—but Hopper? Hopper heard that speech. He witnessed it. He saw this kid be the emotional anchor for his best friend. Hopper knows Mike’s heart.

And that makes what happens next hit even harder.

Because when El returns, and Mike snaps—screaming, hitting, sobbing into Hopper’s chest—it’s not just about El.

Yes, Mike was angry upon learning that Hopper knew El was alive and had hidden her all this time—he clearly felt betrayed. But when Mike starts punching Hopper in the chest and stomach like a worn-out 13-year-old kid using a punching bag, it’s the culmination of everything he’s endured.

When Mike’s voice cracks and he yells, “I BLAME YOU, YOU LIAR PIECE OF SHIT,” and when he hits Hopper like a worn-out kid who doesn’t know where else to put the pain—that’s not just teenage angst. That’s trauma. That’s a breaking point.

Yes, part of his anger is directed at Hopper.

But part of it is directed inward. Part of it is the world. Part of it is grief.

And especially part of it is GUILT (I really suggest you all to read this analysis divided in 2 part : here and here to get all the level of the meaning of this scene cause this is more deep than I could ever explain with the whole context).

Because Mike :

had just witnessed Will screaming in agony, burning from the inside out; he watched his best friend possessed, triggering a massacre in the lab that got Bob killed—putting Mike, Joyce, and Hopper’s lives in danger. Then came the desperate monologue to Will, with no guarantee they’d succeed in saving him. And right after that, El—who Mike thought was dead because of him—suddenly appears in front of him, alive. All of that, in less than 24 hours.

it’s not just about El. It never was just about El.

Hopper lets Mike hit him. He just stands there and takes it. Doesn’t flinch, doesn’t raise his voice, doesn’t defend himself. Just keeps repeating, “It’s okay, kid, it’s okay,” until Mike physically collapses into him. And that—god—that moment says everything. Because this isn’t just a kid lashing out at the man who lied about El. It’s a boy who’s been through hell for a year straight, and finally has someone steady enough to catch him when he falls apart.

Part of that moment is about having hidden El from him, sure, but another part of it is about a father figure catching a 13-year-old boy who has been a powerless witness to trauma, loss, and grief over and over again for an entire year—especially when it comes to the people he’s most deeply attached to. Not to mention the survivor’s guilt he’s been carrying (needlessly, in the end, since El was alive and not even that far from him) since her “fake” death at the end of season 1. And in the end, he breaks down.

Mike isn’t just angry. He’s grieving. He’s traumatized. He’s full of guilt and helplessness and fear. And Hopper, in that moment, sees all of it. He becomes more than the guy who hid El—he becomes the only adult who actually shows up emotionally for Mike. Because let’s be honest: Karen and Ted? Completely absent. It literally takes government agents storming their house for them to realize something is going on with their son. Meanwhile, Mike is sneaking out, harboring a traumatized girl with powers in their basement, nearly dying—and his parents are... what? Clueless. Dismissing him. Throwing away his DnD toys like it’ll cure his PTSD?

You know what gets completely overlooked when people talk about Mike Wheeler? The way his emotional insecurity isn’t just about El, or Will, or being a teenage boy in the middle of supernatural chaos—it’s about home. It’s about growing up in a house that looks stable on the outside but is emotionally hollow on the inside.

Despite the evident affection and surface-level stability that Karen and Ted Wheeler provide for their children, their parenting is marked by an emotional detachment that borders on benign neglect.

Karen and Ted Wheeler do love their kids. That’s not the issue. But their parenting—especially toward Mike—is so passive, so emotionally disconnected, that it borders on neglect. Not abuse. Not cruelty. Just... this quiet, dangerous absence.

Their love is not in question, nor is their fundamental decency; however, their consistent failure to emotionally attune to their son’s psychological needs results in a subtle but deeply rooted emotional insecurity within him. Mike, a child marked by repeated exposure to trauma, loss, and existential danger, is left largely to his own devices in processing these events. His parents’ passivity—especially Ted’s emotional absence and Karen’s well-meaning but ultimately insufficient interventions—creates a vacuum where containment, validation, and guidance should exist. The absence of firm emotional scaffolding leaves Mike both untethered and prematurely burdened with responsibilities no child his age should bear alone.

Mike is not okay. He’s lived through trauma after trauma—losing Will, almost losing El, watching people die, constantly bracing for the next crisis—and his parents’ response? “We’re grounding you. And also, we’re throwing away your DnD figures because you're acting out.” Like. What??

The only time we see them try to “discipline” Mike is by throwing away his emotionally meaningful toys as punishment in season 2 because he’s acting out due to post-traumatic depression from season 1. Instead of recognizing that their son is clearly not doing well and that the events during the week of Will’s disappearance have affected him more deeply than they realize—and maybe thinking, “We should talk to him or consider getting professional help”—their reaction is, “We’re tired of your bratty behavior. We know you’ve had a rough year, but our patience has limits, so guess what? Say goodbye to your toys. Maybe that’ll force you to grow up.”

Karen tries. She really does. But it’s all surface-level. And Ted? He’s just there. Like furniture. There’s no containment. No emotional guidance. No adult who sits down and says, “I see you're not okay. Let’s talk.” So Mike is left alone. Emotionally untethered. Forced to grow up too fast. Carrying the weight of other people’s safety on his back at age 13. That kind of internal loneliness leaves scars.

And this is where Hopper becomes so important.

Not because he replaces Mike’s parents. But because he offers—intentionally or not—a counterbalance. Hopper is messy. He oversteps. He lashes out when he’s scared. But at least he shows up. He reacts. He cares. His boundary-setting may be rough around the edges (season 3 definitely fumbled this by leaning too hard into the angry-dad trope), but for a kid like Mike? Even those flawed boundaries can feel like emotional safety.

Hopper, though far from a perfect guardian, instinctively offers Mike what his parents fail to: a consistent, if flawed, sense of containment. Through boundary-setting—sometimes executed harshly or inappropriately, as seen in season 3—Hopper imposes structure on Mike’s emotional chaos. These boundaries, while often expressed through anger or control, paradoxically become a source of safety for Mike. For a boy who has been allowed too much emotional leeway in a home where silence replaces dialogue, even Hopper’s brusque interventions can feel like acts of recognition. They affirm that someone is watching, someone is caring, someone is willing to step in—even if imperfectly.

Moreover, beneath the surface-level tension between Hopper and Mike lies a complex web of mutual respect and trust. Their arguments are not devoid of affection; rather, they are rooted in two people who care deeply, but are ill-equipped to articulate their emotional truths directly. Hopper sees Mike’s potential and his pain. Mike, in turn, gravitates toward Hopper—not just as El’s father, but as a rare adult who actively engages with his inner world, who reacts to his behavior, and who, crucially, tries to protect him (in the supernatural plot). The emotional stakes between them are not incidental—they are the product of shared trauma, mirrored protectiveness, and the unspoken recognition that, in the absence of ideal parental figures, one can become the anchor the other didn’t know they needed.

Because someone is watching. Someone notices. Someone cares enough to push back.

There’s something quietly powerful about the way Mike gravitates toward Hopper—not as El’s dad, not as a government connection, but as one of the only adults in his life who actually engages with his pain. Hopper doesn’t always get it right, but he tries. And Mike feels that. He recognizes it.

Their arguments aren’t signs of a broken relationship—they’re proof that a relationship exists at all. Because for Mike, silence is the default. Pretending he’s fine is survival.

Their bond is raw. Imperfect. Messy. But it’s real. It’s two people carrying more than they should. Two people shaped by loss. Two people trying to protect others at the cost of themselves. And in that connection, something stabilizing forms.

In this light, their bond is not defined by harmony, but by the quiet resilience of chosen family: messy, unresolved, but emotionally significant. Hopper, by offering boundaries where none existed, unknowingly gives Mike a template for emotional security—one that helps him survive, and perhaps begin to heal.

So yeah, Hopper doesn’t just become El’s dad. He becomes a kind of father to Mike, too. A reflection of what parenting should look like—not perfect, but present. And by offering Mike even the rough blueprint of emotional safety, Hopper gives him a chance to build something better inside himself.

Not harmony. Not resolution. But resilience. The quiet kind. The kind that says, “I’ll catch you, even if no one else does.” (the scene in season 2).

Mike grows up in a house where no one notices his distress until he starts yelling. He’s surrounded by adults who don’t see him. So of course he clings to the people who do. People who are in the trenches with him. People who have also suffered, who understand.

That’s why this idea that a scene between Hopper and Mike is automatically "Mileven proof" feels so… reductive. Hopper and Mike have a connection that runs way deeper than El. It’s forged in trauma, grief, survival. Hopper became a second parental figure for Mike long before Season 3 tried to turn their dynamic into a rom-com dad-vs-boyfriend cliché.

And yeah—Season 3 did a disservice to both of them. Hopper threatening Mike was messed up. The “keep the door open” speech was condescending. And even though they clearly clash, and Hopper absolutely oversteps in how he treats Mike (it’s obviously not okay to threaten a 14-year-old boy—he’s dealing with his own emotional baggage too), he’s not wrong when he says Mike and El’s relationship is unbalanced and unhealthy for both of them. Codependency isn't healthy.

But when they hug again at the end of Season 4? That moment isn’t just about making peace.

To me, it echoes the season 2 hug, where Hopper catches Mike in a moment of total collapse and provides him with physical and emotional safety—a moment of release for a 13-year-old kid who’s been holding it all in, in survival mode, doing everything he can to protect, help, and save the people he loves, people he keeps watching disappear or “die” right in front of his eyes, far too many times.

It’s Hopper being there for Mike again. Not just as “El’s dad,” but as someone who knows what this kid has survived. As someone who cares.

I’m rambling a bit, but all of this is to say: a scene between Mike and Hopper is not inherently “Mileven” proof. Yes, El is a point of connection between them—Mike is dating her (at least in seasons 3 and 4), and Hopper is her adoptive father—but Hopper is also a paternal figure for Mike in his own way.

And honestly? If anything ever happened to Ted (which… narratively, wouldn’t shock me), I fully believe Hopper would step into that father figure role for Mike without hesitation. Not just because of El. Not just because of Joyce. But because he already has. And because—if you believe in Byler—he’d be stepping in as the stepfather of the boy his daughter used to date... and the boy his stepson is in love with.

Anyway. Just... let Hopper and Mike have their own arc. Let their relationship breathe. Not everything has to circle back to Mileven. Some connections are just... deeper than that.

What’s happening between Hopper and Mike isn’t just “my daughter’s boyfriend vs. protective dad” trope. It’s the unfolding of something so much more layered: a bond between a grieving man learning how to be a father again (with El), and a traumatized boy who’s never really had an emotionally present father to begin with.

Mike doesn’t get what he needs at home. His trauma is invisible there. His emotional needs are overlooked. So when Hopper steps in—not perfectly, not gently, but consistently; not always healthy, but undeniably real— that’s not just plot filler. That’s emotional architecture. That’s a lifeline.

They fight. They clash. But their scenes (especially in season 2 and their reunion in season 4) are charged with unsaid things—grief, care, anger, protection, recognition. Because Hopper sees Mike. He pushes him. He shows up when it matters. And for a kid like Mike, that’s huge.

Their interactions are saturated with shared grief, protective instincts, and a silent understanding of loss—elements that establish a paternal dynamic rooted in survival, empathy, and mutual care.

This isn’t just about narrative function. It’s about what happens when two people who’ve both lost too much accidentally build a bridge between them.

To reduce their connection to “El’s boyfriend and her dad” is to miss the point completely. This is not about romance. It’s about what it means to be seen by an adult when you’re a hurting kid. About the way Hopper gives Mike the one thing no one else in his life does: emotional attunement. Not just authority. Not just rules. Care.

Hopper, despite his flaws and missteps, becomes the only adult male figure who consistently shows up for Mike in moments of crisis, offering not just discipline or authority, but something far more scarce in Mike’s life: emotional attunement.

Their connection is not only one of narrative convenience—it’s a poignant commentary on found family, the need for adult recognition in adolescent trauma, and the quiet, often unnoticed ways that surrogate bonds can form in the shadow of disaster.

It’s messy. It’s flawed. It’s not even fully conscious.

But it’s real.

So no… Hopper and Mike having a moment in Season 5? That doesn’t threaten Byler. It enriches the story. It grounds Mike. It reminds us that, for all his fire, Mike Wheeler is a kid who’s been looking for safety for a long time. And maybe—just maybe—he finds a bit of it in the last place he’d admit: a grumpy old sheriff who never stopped showing up.

[whereserpentswalk]

When you were in elementary school, you knew a demon. It wasn't that weird; you live in a big city with a lot of interdimensional portals set up for trade. There were a lot of angels, and demons, and fae and reapers and eldritch things in every school you were in. She was your best friend in elementary school, you hadn't even heard of demons before you met her, and you didn't really understand her as different. She had black eyes, and horns, and wings and sharp teeth, but it didn't register as anything to you. Her father was living on earth because he was working as a consultant for a tech company (who are always looking for demon consultants as you know), so she was there for good.

You always used to play together. She used to fly outside of your apartment while you tried to hit her with a nerf gun. She got kind of afraid when she learned that there were real guns that humans used to kill things with. You always missed after that, for her sake. You remember her showing you magic for the first time, and how impressive it was that she could do that, it was just a training spell that children learn, but it was so impressive to someone from a race that would never use magic. You stayed friends with her throughout middle school, you introduced her to all the shows you liked, stuff like Steven Universe or Clone Wars that most demons would never get a chance to see, and she showed you the type of sci-fi that demons watch, that most humans wouldn't get a chance to see. Both of your parents didn't want you seeing each other as you got older, her father had a low opinion of humans, and your parents were afraid of him. You were too young to understand why.

When you were in high school, you didn't see her for a while. You were going to a specialized art school, and she was going, somewhere else. From what you knew most of her friends were also demons at that point. And you learned a bit more about what demons were like as a society, what so many of them did to humans. You saw her again senior year, she was different already, she dressed in a sharp business suit like her father always did, and the way she talked was so much more formal. When you told her you were going to art school she laughed, and said you'd never make money that way. She was so excited to be going to a college back in the abyss the next year, while meanwhile you were staying in your home city, and going to an art college the next year. It was weird to think you might never see her again. You asked her if she wanted to end up like the other demons, if she really wanted to leave, she didn't give you an answer, she just quietly told you that it's what her father wanted.

You chose to spend a bit more time with her, before she left and you stayed. You told jokes to each other like you did all those years ago. You showed her science fiction, all those wonderful worlds that existed only in imagination, it had been years since she touched that kind of story, but you never lost such passion, maybe she didn't either, but it wasn't like an eighteen-year-old demon, with popular demon friends, could just like whatever she wanted to. You spent a lot of time in your room together, there was a moment when you were looking into her black eyes, and you let her put her hand on your breast. She coyly asked you if she could see your reproductive organs, demons didn't have them, so she always want to see, you almost let something happen between the two of you, but as you spread your leg, and she wrapped her soft wings around you, you could feel her tasting a bit of your soul. She wasn't sucking it out of you, not yet, just licking it a bit to see what it tasted like. You didn't let things go any further, she said it's her instinct to desire human souls, but it wasn't, her father had taught her how demons see vulnerble humans.

You went to your college, and learned about perspective, and color, and sketched live models. Meanwhile, she was out in the abyss, out in her home plane, learning about business, and legal technicalities, and practiced taking souls from live prey. You never tried to contact her again. It wasn't safe.

You did see her one last time. She showed up at your apartment one night. You had a pretty successful webcomic going, the type of science fiction that you always wanted to write and draw. She was the head of a failed startup in the abyss, it was part of a tech bandwagon she was too late to. You barely recognized her when you saw her, she really had started looking like a demon, that black armor with gold trimmings and shining rubies, her hair slicked back to better show her horns, her skin pale from the sunless abyss. She begged you to talk to her, she asked for your IP, had a contract for you to sign in blood. You asked her to leave but she didn't. You could tell she didn't want to be there, but demons are taught to abandon their failed, she seemed lonely. She said she's sleep with you if you wanted, but her fangs were out, and her tongue ready to taste a human soul. You had a shotgun ready with silver bullets to deal with this type of thing, you chased her out of your apartment, shooting those silver bullets at her as she flew outside your window. You missed of course, for her sake.

[nitw]

i have to talk about the kellys from scarlet hollow. i HAVE to. or more specifically i have to talk about dr. joan kelly and her relationship with reese. SPOILERS FOR CHAPTER 4 OF THE GAME!! (also this is gonna get super long)

the "supernatural child held hostage by their caretaker/parental figure out of fear" trope is nothing new, and i've seen it done well. while it can serve as an allegory for lots of things, it hits VERY hard with me as someone who's been institutionalized for most of their childhood due to mental illness and disability. that kinda isolation can lead to severe self-doubt, trust issues and pent up anger.

scarlet hollow is my new favorite example of this trope, because it does something i don't often see: it humanizes the abuser and paints a realistic, tragic picture of it all from the perspectives of both parties, while giving the audience full control over their own perspective. and it becomes all the more scary and relatable to me for it.

let me start out by being very clear - dr. kelly is an abuser. i'm using that word in the most literal sense: abuse is about control. abuse is about consciously taking away someone's authority over their own life and denying them basic needs/rights. that DOESN'T mean it has to come from a place of malice or hatred!! joan explicitly states that she loves her son, and that she hates doing what she does, but she's also explicitly aware of what it means for them both. she knows what she's doing, she knows it'd be unacceptable if it wasn't necessary - and she's an abuser for it.

but the thing that really gets me about her? it's the fact that this is ALL ON HER. it's LITERALLY a self-fulfilling prophecy.

according to her, reese first showed symptoms of not being totally human as a preteen, which worried her but wasn't enough to warrant any action. it was only after a violent outburst that she started seeing him as a threat to be dealt with. what's interesting and REALLY IMPORTANT to note here is that despite this, despite genuinely fearing what was now a monster in her eyes... she still saw reese as her son. or more accurately; she also saw that monster as her son. her desire to keep him alive is almost entirely driven by not wanting to kill what used to be just her son. she mourned him too much. she still does.

what dr. kelly's internal conflict comes down to is less about ethics and more about responsibility. if you condemn her at any point for the torture she's inflicting on reese, she'll make it very clear that this is "the lesser evil" to her. it's not something she enjoys, but she does not want to feel guilty for it, because it's not guilt that's trapping her; it's fear. fear and stubbornness. an inability to see or work past the grave she dug for herself years ago out of fear. she was acting desperately when she decided to poison and isolate him to keep him docile, and reese was just a kid back then. but now he's an adult, and in all that time, joan has come to terms with her choice, and that desperation has turned into stoic complacency. she's fully internalized this as a permanent solution. and also, in all that time, she has NEVER once considered an alternative.

and that's the kicker. ask yourself; what would have happened if she tried anything else? what would have happened if these security measures were always meant to be temporary, so that she could buy time for both of them to calm down and talk about it together? what would have happened if she did nothing at all, and just put her trust in reese himself? would it have been more or less risky to take a different route while he was still a kid?

the answer is that we'll never know any of these things because joan never tried. as soon as she saw her child as A Problem, her first instinct was to subdue him and lock him away from the world, without directly harming him. and she spent the next several years never regretting that decision, even as she watched reese grow chronically ill and more depressed by the second, even as they stopped treating each other like family, even as she could feel herself becoming afraid of him again with how much more unpredictable he is as self-aware adult.

everything about this is just..... so so SO familiar to me that it makes me wanna scream. there's no recipe for hopelessness quite like a parent taking away your chance at a normal childhood for reasons you couldn't understand, and only really seeing it for what it was years later when you're old enough to make your own judgements, all because they were scared to admit that they might've been wrong.

if i had a maw like that i would've been on the news.

[eddiezpaghetti]

Okay, so my experience with Stranger Things is a weird one.

I didn't care when it first came out, started to watch it out of "might as well" in 2020, wasn't interested in it enough to make it past S2, forgot about it outside of going "oh, hey, cool, there's a lesbian in it now, I guess," in S3, got really annoyed when "Running Up That Hill" got popular from it because it was a song I listened to on fucking loop after one of my best friends died in high school and I fully expected its appearance in the show to ignore the whole survivor's guilt theme of the song (and was very happy to learn later that it did the exact opposite of ignoring the lyrics), saw people drawing Eddie, suddenly got a lot more interested, watched just the fourth season like a fucking psychopath because I was seriously only there for Eddie, then got interested enough to start the show over properly, having mostly forgotten what I did watch of the show before.

And let me tell you something from the perspective of someone who started with the complete fourth season, who wasn't there from the start, who wasn't tainted by ship goggles or this internal battle of hope and despair, who wasn't theorizing about what the painting could be or expecting Mike and Will to kiss when Volume 2 happened or rooting for Mike and Eleven's relationship to go down in flames or whatever the fuck. Just someone who went blind into Season 4.

It's really fucking obvious that Will and Mike are gonna be endgame.

Like holy fuck. It's so fucking blatant I don't even know why people are nervous.

No sane fucking person would shoot this scene this way if they wanted the audience to care about El and Mike as a couple. Despite being all blurry in the background, Will's reaction to what's happening here is smackdab in the fucking middle, clearly showing that the important part is what's going through his head here. What he's feeling. It's like the opposite of that scene from Kingdom Hearts II where Sora and Riku reunite and Kairi just fucking vanishes into the aether while it's happening because, despite the fact that she was standing between them when the scene began, she doesn't matter to the scene, so she's just kind of gone when the camera angle changes. Will could have been behind one of their heads, or so far in the distance he blends in with the background, but he's not. He's so obvious that despite being massively blurred out, he's still the first goddamn thing you look at. What, you think that's an accident? You think he's in the middle of this dramatic fucking scene because of a mistake? He basically has a big flashing neon arrow pointing at him with "THIS IS THE POINT" being screamed through a megaphone.

And then this?

They're paired up like they're taking fucking prom pictures. Each one of these pairs is so fucking close to one another and so fucking far from everyone else. It's not, "Oh, they're standing vaguely near each other in a group shot," it's fucking Noah's Ark out here. Again, there's no way to take this as an accident. It's not just a framing issue. If they wanted to make the shot look balanced while still not hiding anyone else behind El, they would have scattered people around much more naturally. Even if they wanted to keep Nancy with Jonathan and Hopper with Joyce, there's so much room on that hill for three people to stand on El's left and three on her right. But they didn't do that. They put Mike and Will together on purpose in the most obvious way possible.

Like I get that coming up with crackpot theories is fun in and of itself and I'm not blaming anyone for having fun. I totally get the appeal of arguing a point and reaching for every stupid little thing to pull into it because it's like a game, okay? I've done that. But if you're trying to actually convince someone (whether it's someone who wants to believe or someone who's pissed at the very idea that Mike and Will could be in love), stay away from blue and yellow lights, stay away from costume design, stay away from the existence of closets in backgrounds. And don't worry about whether Mike's gay or bi when he's in love with Will either way. I'll give you a little tip about persuasion: You're only as strong as your weakest argument. Even if you've got strong stuff in there, too, the person you're trying to convince is going to dismiss anything you say as complete insanity the second you start going on an entire tangent about the shape of a character's fucking pocket.

Sometimes, clothes are just clothes. Sometimes, there's a closet in the background because it helps establish that a character is in a bedroom. Sometimes, blue and yellow are just a couple of colors that look nice together. And sure, it might be set designers and costume designers and cinematographers smirking and winking at the audience from behind the camera. But if the show was just those things, instead of those things in the context of everything else, they wouldn't be saying anything of note.

But this?

This tells a story all on its own. Someone with no context can look at this and automatically assume that each paired person is standing with someone they care about deeply, seeking comfort as they watch some sort of disaster unfold. And yeah, romantic couples usually come in twos, and we live in an amatonormative society, so that's going to be the first association anyone makes seeing a bunch of people paired off.

It's the same reason you look at this

And go, "Oh..."

"Those two are probably a couple."

And I genuinely don't understand how people could have watched S4 Vol. 2 and gotten scared. Because as someone who went in with no investment whatsoever, I just looked at these two--

--and went, "Oh, those two are a couple. Good for them." And I moved on. Shut up about the trees for five seconds and just see the forest for what it is.

Oh, and if you're still nervous? Little thing from a storyteller here: You don't leave a hanging thread like "Will confessed his romantic feelings for Mike by projecting them onto El, but Mike either didn't understand or at least didn't say he understood," without coming back to that later. That's Chekov's gun hanging on the wall, babes. It's gonna fire at some point. If Mike was going to reject Will's feelings, if they weren't relevant, they would have had that discussion in Argyle's van. There'd be no reason to leave you in suspense.

[warblogs17282]

Stolas & his unrealistic ideas of love and romance that are still present in Apology Tour.

tldr at bottom

'I just want to be someone's someone' Now, while Stolas does have good intentions with that line, I feel like it's just gonna damage Stolas in the long run, because of how inept Stolas is at romance and love in general, because like with Blitz, I feel like Stolas is gonna keep falling into the same mistakes, and therefore making major blunders every time he tries. We can see one of these in the full moon episode.

'I want you to stay here with me, because you want to.' Major blunder 1: As we know, rom-coms are generally exaggerated compared to real life for entertainment reasons, as we can clearly see in s1 e7, 'That's a mood gabriella.', Stolas is very clearly still influenced by these shows in his love life, and this line proves it.

There's a lack of much needed nuance in that statement Stolas proposes to Blitz, Stolas phrases it as a yes or no thing during the entire episode, including the duet at the start, Blitz rightfully calls Stolas out for this, saying 'Can I get a minute to think.' even Blitz calls Stolas out for the lack of nuance, proving that statement lacked nuance from the very beginning, and Stolas instantly takes Blitz's reaction to that statement as a huge no in his mind, which in Stolas' perspective, Stolas thinks that Blitz never cared about him outside of the sex/arrangement, which is why he just walks off like how he did. Stolas is just caught up in his own feelings at that time.

'Why won't you love me Alejandro!' All that is going through Stolas' head right now when trying to fix his relationship is this, it is very clearly exaggerated television, so, Stolas thinks of himself as the Gabriella, trying to win Blitz's love via rom-com means, he's already gone through the 'why' part, so now, with the problem supposedly gone for Stolas (the crystal) what reason would Blitz have to not return Stolas' love? Because that's how it goes in most rom-coms, most of them always have this happy ending around this time, and Stolas believes he has reached that point, so as much as he goes on about giving Blitz this choice, he's most likely always had it in the back of his mind that Blitz has no actual reason to not return his love, so that's why he phrases it like a yes or no question, because Stolas is probably hoping way too much that Blitz will say yes, and why Stolas is sticking to a script of sorts, which is very clear to see when Stolas is giving Blitz the crystal. You know what else is scripted? That's right, a rom-com.

And now back to Apology Tour, the line 'I want to feel wanted, but like in a romantic way, like I'm standing out in the rain at a train station and someone is shouting "Harriet, don't get on that train! It's going to London and I cannot live without you!"' This line is the real killer, this shows pretty much every idea of romance and love Stolas has is from a rom-com, because he instantly associates being romantic with a line from a rom-com, which Blitz instantly points out to Stolas as he should. I understand Stolas follows this up with actual good things that should happen in a romantic relationship, but the issue is that Stolas instantly went for the rom-com angle first, which is really telling about how much his viewpoint about romance and love has been warped from being isolated all his life and watching these rom-coms. His entire point that Stolas makes there is rooted in exaggerated, scripted rom-coms, which will keep causing Stolas to make blunders in relationships.

Now, we do have the song where Stolas has clearly learned from his time with Blitz, but that's not enough to learn from to be able to avoid making mistakes in the future, Stolas has yet to learn so many of his mistakes, the racism thing, the specifics of why Stolas and Blitz argued that morning to give a few examples.

Stolas is doomed to repeat his mistakes and keep driving people away if he cannot learn and resolve these mistakes and problems properly, he will fall into similar patterns and mistakes. Plus, Stolas' point here is also quite flawed, 'never let you feel so...', rom-coms most of the time have their happy ending, this is what Stolas thinks healthy relationships are like, always in this 'happy ending' of sorts, with emotions such as sadness and anger at each other being something that should never happen. This is incredibly flawed thinking on Stolas' part, sure being in a healthy, loving relationship does make you feel better more of the time, but there's still always sadness and anger in relationships, such as arguments for example, these happen in relationships, and they can also be a part of a healthy relationship, Stolas fails to see this and instead paints an unrealistic image of a relationship to himself, the proof of this being the fact Stolas says the word 'never' in that part.

tldr: Stolas still has problems with how relationships actually work, with a grand majority of these problems stemming from Stolas being inept because he was isolated all his life, and because he let rom-coms paint the true image of what a healthy relationship looks like to Stolas.

[hina-has-no-life]

About the Full Moon and Apology Tour discourse

Helluva Boss is, in it's essence, a show about Blitz and his relationships. Everything that happens only happens because of the way people feel about Blitz and how he feels about them. But the show has taken a unique approach to this.

Usually a show like this keeps the POV on the main character, which would be Blitz here. But Helluva Boss has not done that.

Every episode before Full Moon and Apology Tour has been shown from the perspective of another person or multiple people. But Blitz hasn't been the POV character in a single one. At most we got Blitz reaction as seen by other people. He's shown like a background character in his own life for a majority of the show.

We get Moxxie and Stolas POV in Murder Family while being shown what happens with Blitz and Millie through a neutral lense. In LooLooLand it's Stolas and Via's POV, it's Loona in Spring Broken. It's omnipotent in Cherubs and Striker/Moxxie in Harvest Moon. The show breaks the trend for the first time in Truth Seekers with Blitz trip sequence and even then, that is the only time we see the world through Blitz eyes, the rest of the episode we see things from Moxxie and Millie's view. Ozzie's is from a mostly neutral POV but with a certain twist to Stolas and his feelings. Season 2 continues the trend, we get the most Blitz lore we ever had within the show in Oops through Fizz POV and his story.

Full Moon and Apology Tour break the trend. Full Moon is a split POV between Stolas and Blitz while showing us what happens behind the scenes with the rest of I.M.P. but we are put into Blitz life, the way he spends his day while shown Stolas feelings and motivations for the episode. It created a dissonance because while we are shown Stolas feelings we are also shown Blitz day and his POV.

The moment Stolas and Blitz meet we are firmly put into Blitz POV, we don't see Stolas again unless Blitz is focusing on him. The switch is so seemlessly that you only notice it upon a second watch where you directly look for details you missed. And Apology Tour takes that moment of us being in Blitz head and runs with it.

The whole episode we are put in Blitz shoes. While we get to see what happens with Stolas, it's only because we need to know what Blitz is walking into. The whole episode we aren't put into the POV of someone else and solely focused on Blitz.

Blitz hates himself and his first assumption is always that people hate him. That's why the whole episode is so harsh towards him, because we are in his head and see the world the way Blitz sees it. The episode makes us feel like Blitz does in every moment we see. The artistic direction even goes the extra mile and often shows us the things as if we literally see it through his eyes. Those shots are small but scattered throughout the whole episode.

Ghostfuckers also shows us Blitz POV but it also shows us Millie's. Seeing things through Millie's eyes softens the world for us again. Because to Blitz the world is a harsh and unforgiving hellscape where he suffers but Millie brings in that more positive perspective he lacks.

Full Moon and Apology Tour force the viewer to live through Blitz eyes instead of just letting us watch him from afar and judge him. It makes us confront that uneasy and hurtful truth that Blitz is a very hurt individual. The show forces you to confront the fact that the world Blitz lives in is a different one, it's one where nothing is certain and if he doesn't give up everything he is then he will be made to suffer.

It's terrifyingly genius to start this with the episodes that are the harshest to Blitz.

[splashesdarling]

Tbh any time someone tries to insist that loumand's relationship wasn't done dirty i'm wondering what kind of show we watched. if they actually did handle it properly we wouldn't have gotten dreamstat forced into many of their paris scenes (which happened mainly because AMC executives complained about not enough samstat presence). we wouldn't have gotten a rushed break up scene and much of their dialogue cut to shove in a contrived loustat reunion that even sam thought was tasteless.

i didn't go into s2 expecting a wholesome and unproblematic relationship. the tragedy in paris along with armand's betrayal severely impacted them, but it made for a compelling story. i did expect writers to at least do it justice without propping up an important relationship at the expense of another. there is plenty of time in future seasons to explore more of loustat but they couldn't even handle one season of louis with someone else?

it was already annoying about how the marketing paired off the actors with their respective white partners in interviews to appease loud book fans. it's still strange how in the books it was undeniable that louis loved and was attracted to armand and vice versa (iwtv was told from louis' perspective long after they parted ways and yet he still remembered how he felt about armand). but in the show adaptation people want to insist it's all ambiguous and fake. that they never cared for each other in for their while relationship and that the entirety of 77+ years was all ultimately about the blonde man when both louis and armand are adapted as poc. funny how that works.

[sammys-magical-au]

New Star Wars headcanon/imagine time!!

So in the novel Gambit: Stealth (which I haven’t read yet but I WILL) there’s this really beautiful line I came across from Anakin’s perspective, talking about the Clones in the 501st:

“But he knew them as individuals, and he loved them for themselves. He could list each man’s scars, recite each man’s quirks, describe each man’s idiosyncratic hair. Close-helmeted, in full body armour, he knew everyone of them by his walk. Blindfold me and I’ll tell you who laughed.”

And the part that really specifically got me is that last sentence, because a) that’s literally so cute and implies that Anakin has heard his troopers laugh often enough to differentiate between them, and b) it’s another instance of an unwitting parallel on my part, because of this snippet I wrote for a wip a while ago (a wip I will finish btw, I swear-)

Lionel is also very observant of/picks up on the differences, no matter how small, between the Clones they meet, and can tell them apart by their laugh.

So that being said, knowing Anakin and Nel’s friendship and their competitiveness, if either of them ever said anything about being able to tell Clones apart based on their laugh alone, I can easily see them turning it into a challenge. They both put on blindfolds and have to guess which 501st Clone is laughing, and the winner is whoever correctly guesses the most.

It also just ends up being a good time for the 501st (and Ahsoka, who can’t help but join in) as they try to make each other laugh without giving away anything else that might identify them. I’m imagining a lot of jumbled shushing and scuffling happening, and the whole thing turning into more of a try not to laugh contest where they keep trying increasingly ridiculous things to get each other to break.

- Rex definitely tries the hardest not to crack (because he’s the CAPTAIN and he’s supposed to be STOIC and STERN), which involves a lot of cute face scrunching and biting the inside of his mouth but inevitably ends in him laughing at something relatively unfunny - bonus points if it was because Cody showed up while someone (probably Fives) was in the middle of doing a stupid bit and gives Rex the most perplexed look

- Kix is actually the hardest to break, even Sister and Jesse have a hard time getting him to so much as smile - until they both get this look in their eyes and pull out some kind of inside joke between the three of them that finally gets him

- Fives is an absolute MENACE the entire time, definitely not afraid to resort to tickling if it’s taking way too long (which ends up biting him in the ass when all his previous victims gang up on him during his turn). He even made Echo shriek at one point and Anakin immediately whipped off the blindfold to turn around and make sure everything was okay

- Echo doesn’t even really care about the competition, he’s about revenge, especially against Fives. This is just to make up for the fact that he feels like his laugh is more easily identifiable as it’s way squeakier than most Clones’.

- Jesse and Hardcase end up being the easiest to break every time, these poor guys laugh at everything. All Fives had to do was look at Jesse and he lost it immediately.

- Sister also ends up being harder to break because hardly anyone knows her humour, and Kix probably ends up getting her back with the same inside joke she and Jesse used on him before.

- Someone (we won’t say who, it was Hardcase) resorted to just farting really loudly to try and get a laugh. It didn’t work.

- Echo and Fives teaming up together definitely broke the others the most because the shit they’d do was just so ridiculous 🤣

- Ahsoka meanwhile is content to watch all of this for half of the competition without joining in.

In the end, it ends up being a tie between Lionel and Anakin, but ofc that wasn’t good enough for either of them so they promised to do a rematch someday… 👀

[bloggingboutburgers]

Hey, allo anon with an ace partner here. I wanted to say thank you so much for the well wishes! I figured I would send this in here again, so anyone else who is curious about what this experience looks like from the other side can see it.

My girlfriend came out to me a little over 2 years into our relationship. At the time it surprised me a lot, because she'd never given me any signs that she wasn't enjoying what we were doing. After we talked more I understood that she wasn't repulsed by sex and she didn't hate it, but she didn't really love it either and wanted to stop doing it for a while (so a sex-neutral ace).

Honestly, at the time, I did get anxious about it. Not just because of social conventions, but because I had viewed sex as an important bonding part of our relationship. I don't do well with change, and I was super worried about how a lack of sex would change our dynamic. I also had some insecurities about my own body, and my girlfriend admitting that she didn't see me as sexy was upsetting. But after speaking to my therapist, I realized that I was projecting my own issues on to the relationship. So I spoke with her again, and she reassured me that she wanted to be with me, and that she was confiding these feelings because she trusted me. She likes how I look, she just doesn't have the same sexual impulses I do.

So, I realized this was pretty much like cuddling. I love physical touch a lot, and I want to cuddle for a much longer time than she does. I like it when someone lies on top of me. She doesn't want me on top of her chest during cuddling. She still cuddles with me, but she tells me when she's satisfied, and we stop.

A few months went by, and I noticed that she wasn't spending any less time with me; she was actually spending more. We would still call every evening when we didn't meet up in person, we would still joke around, and she still told me she loved me and did everything she could to show it to me. We also began trying out new stuff together, and playing games and watching stuff more often. We also still had plenty of physical intimacy with things like cuddling and kissing, which made me really happy.

I realized that I didn't feel like anything was missing from the relationship. I just needed her to show and tell me she loved me in the ways she normally did. Sure, I am still attracted to her that way, but it wasn't something that would make or break the relationship.

It's been years since she came out, and at this point, I never expect anything sexual. It happens rarely, and I always check in with her multiple times before and during. We stop at any point she tells me. There are quite a few hard boundaries about what is and isn't off limits, and I always keep them in mind. I would rather satisfy myself forever than make her uncomfortable, and she knows it.

It's been over 5 years and we are still going strong. I am hoping to ask her to marry me in the next few years, because honestly, I can't picture wanting anyone else by my side. She is kind, funny, beautiful, intelligent, and treats me well. I could never ask for anything more from a partner.

Thank you SO MUCH for sharing. I myself definitely lack knowledge of what it feels like from an allo's perspective, so this was very educational for me, but beyond that... You have no idea how much hope this gives me.

From you being aware of how much sex meant to you in the context of your relationship and still being fine without it, to just... Heck, even your therapist for not blaming her for the situation. Therapy is still very much, in my country at least, an area where the absence or lower levels of sexual attraction will be hastily labelled as something wrong physically or mentally, so... Yeah, the amount of relief I felt reading that, you have no idea. And I can only imagine how much your partner appreciates it too.

Honestly I teared up a bit reading this - I sincerely wish you guys all the best and I hope you have a bright future ahead! (Also fun fact, seems you guys have been together as long as my partner and I have, it's nice to be able to relate to that too hehe^^)

[jeonscatalyst]

About the ham/pink sausage thing I'd love to know if you think bucking up at ur partner(Assuming jkk are couple or have romantic feelings for e/o) like that in front of other ppl can happen btw couples...... friends? Yes. Siblings? Yes. But couples? I wonder......if my partner does that (jk was kinda pissed because they questioned his knowledge of food or wtv that is) in front of other ppl I'd feel disrespectful maybe not by siblings and friends but definitely by my partner. Of course i don't believe any of the members have that kinda nature where they hit someone that's completely false I believe that. Can you imagine you and your partner in their place? Your partner bucking up at you like that in public? You won't feel disrespected? And i know you'll say jk was joking, he joked when he did it second time but the first time was his honest reaction. It irritated him that they didn't belive he was right.

Hi anon,

Short answer to your question is yes, it can happen. I’ve seen so many people give so many takes about the pink sausage/ham moment but I refrained from saying anything about it until I got my thoughts in order. So many times when people judge other’s actions they look at it from a perspective that they are used to or through a particular lens that makes sense to them forgetting that in this big world with over 7 billion people, there are different people, different cultures and ways of life so what might mean one thing to you, might mean something else to a different person.

I don’t understand why that was a big deal to people ( I mean I do kinda but…) because anyone who has watched even one kdrama or knows even a little bit about Koreans in general knows that koreans do that alot when they are mad or irritated. They buck at other people like they are going to hit them with no intention of actually hitting them. Parents do it to kids, siblings do it to each other and even people in seasoned relationships relationships do it as well. Jk wasn’t going to hit Jimin, that’s for sure. It’s just that was a knee jerk reaction at that point and from the reactions of Tae and Jimin, that wasn’t something Jungkook did often because Jimin didn’t seem used to it judging from his reaction.

I understand what you mean about feeling disrespected especially if that is something that happens in public but I doubt some koreans will see it that way mostly because it is something they are used to. Plus, sometimes people could be intentionally or unintentionally disrespectful to their partners, that isn’t news.

While that moment left a bad taste in some people’s mouths, I actually found it cute….not necessarily because Jungkook bucked at Jimin but because when you watch that scene, you notice that Tae was the one who started saying it was ham and he was also the one who kept insisting it was while Jimin only said it once but that one time Jimin said it was the only time Jungkook doubted himself about it. I also found it interesting that even though Tae was the one who repeatedly insisted that it wasn’t pink sausage, we only saw Jk’s emotions towards Jimin and nothing towards Tae. Now, most people whom I like to call shallow or fickle would rejoice at the fact that Tae didn’t react to Tae who was the instigator but reacted to Jimin who only said it once but to anyone who understands human emotions and knows a little bit of something about life, that single moment right there was more than enough to tell whom among the two Jungkook is emotionally closer to.

That moment to me will go down in history as one of the biggest moments that showed just how close and comfortable Jikook are with each other.

Typically, you are more likely to get annoyed at someone you are closer to because you have more expectations of them than the ones you are not as close to. There is also an emotional investment. Being closer to someone usually means you care more about their opinions and actions so when they do something that bothers you, it impacts you more deeply. You generally also feel more comfortable expressing or showing your frustration at someone you feel closest to because your relationship with them feels secure so you are not worried about how you might come off because you both know each other extremely well, while with a friend you are not as close to, you tend to be more forgiving or less affected by their behavior because your emotional investment is lower, and your expectations might not be as high. Anyone who watches that clip would wonder why on earth Jk only expressed his annoyance at Jimin and not Tae who actually started and instigated the whole thing and this is not to say Taekook aren’t close because we know they are but Jikook just have an insanely deeper emotional connection and bond.

Some people think Jungkook was just joking but I think he was truly annoyed and maybe even a little hurt, and his annoyance (though might sound abit silly) probably came from the fact that he expected Jimin to side with him but Jimin didn’t or expected Jimin to trust his judgement more. To so many people it might have just been a silly argument about ham and pink sausage bit to Jungkook, it was probably more and some might to relate or understand his annoyance but that doesn’t mean his feelings about the whole thing shouldn’t be respected.

Jimin’s reaction was also very telling and even though he handled things in a funny and dramatic way, I think Jungkook’s actions shocked him to a certain extent and he probably felt bad about it but he must have understood at some point why Jungkook reacted so intensely. Jimin’s actions also shows how much he knows and is emotionally close to Jungkook because if that were another person, Jimin would have probably cussed them out but he had this extra patience with Jungkook probably because he understood why Jungkook got like that. Compare the way Tae reacted after Jungkook made a statement about him being weak to Jimin’s reaction. One of them was clearly the reaction of a friend (Tae straight up warned Jungkook not to take things far else someone would see blood) but Jimin’s reaction was more….emotional. Jungkook’s reaction in the two cases too were telling. With Tae he was quick to say “yes sir” when Tae called him out but with Jimin, he didn’t look like he was ready to let go of the annoyance yet and even after they finished eating he kept glaring at Jimin till Jimin apologized.

Reminds me of that Live from May 2019 in Newjersey where Jimin and Jin turned off the Live before Jk arrived and Jk was so pissed he went to start his own Live. All Jin had to do to get Jk’s forgiveness was apologize once while Jimin had to follow him to his room apologizing yet Jk still didn’t let him off easy. These are things that could seem very trivial to people but that shows you that Jungkook might just have more expectations when it comes to Jimin while he doesn’t really get that affected by other’s actions. The rainy day story is also a good example that shows how Jimin’s opinions affect Jungkook differently. He has mentioned so many times that he tries to emulate Jimin’s actions so that already says alot about how much he values Jimin’s opinions and how much expectations he generally has when it comes to him so when he feels disappointed, it just triggers a more emotional response. It also gets a little weirder when you remember that Jimin is actually Jungkook’s hyung which means that Jimin could have easily scolded him like Tae did with Jk realizing that he had just been disrespectful to someone older and ready to apologize yet that is not the reaction we got from them at all.

So anon, I can see why you would see things the way you do but you always have to consider context and the context here would be that, different things are acceptable in different cultures or societies and things have different meanings to different people. And yes, if Jimin is Jungkook’s lover he might have felt disrespected sometimes things like that happen in relationships anyway so it’s nothing new imo.

[jynjackets]

I really appreciate you sharing your thoughts on these matters. I'm frustrated that this show is receiving so much praise and being held on such a pedestal. It's worth of criticism just like anything else. Also I saw people on twitter saying you are a racist if you ship rebelcaptain and prefer Cassian with Jyn over Bix and Cassian but like, its not even a shipping thing for me, I feel uncomfortable when women are sidelined in romantic arcs and I feel like that's valid??? Like there's a lot of issues happening at once.

Hi thank you anon <3 People are hella stupid. It’s a lot right now, but it will die down just as s1 did. I hope it helps if i can put some truths into perspective tho.

1. Andor is a flop.

Streaming services are not legally obligated to share their numbers but your most reliable source will be to check Nielsen ratings. Season 1 was a flop.

These are fan made Nielsen-based charts pulled during the middle of when the acolyte was airing. You can do your own updated research and the numbers will not be different. Data for all series before the acolyte show that Andor was the second least watched star wars show on Disney+ all time.

This is partly where a lot of the “you guys aren’t nearly as intelligent as we are” argument comes from because this show is just super unpopular. Deadass nobody cares and it makes them upset.

It was so severely unpopular that ABC and Hulu scheduled to air 6 of the 12 episodes for free. Until the first 2 episodes flopped so hard they pulled the rest from the schedule before it could air. Later, Disney posted the entire series to YouTube to garner more audience for season 2. Season 2’s lets-get-this-over-with 3-week block release schedule is most logically due to s1’s overall failure.

Nielsen needs some weeks to release the complete numbers but what we know already is that Andor S2 failed to make the Top 10 for at least 2 out of the three arcs with most notably its premiere having missed out. That’s quite embarrassing when all your Emmy competitors, even the ‘boring’ ones, have zero problem with this. They also have won a total of zero Emmy’s. So much for critically acclaimed.

2. Social media sucks right now more than ever

I don’t think people seem to remember that twitter is literally owned by Elon Musk. If people are drawing dicks on teslas why are people still using twitter? But they’re also not. Since the takeover, twitter has lost around 7 million users while making no revenue. New AI features and purchase-able exposure has made it unusable while the demographic has also largely shifted to noticeably less poc users. This is also similar for reddit.

So not only do we have a shit platform, we are looking at one of the worst star wars (emphasis on star wars!) fanbases on a shit platform. That post about being a racist rebelcaptain shipper if you don’t like bin, is stupid as fuck. I’m 90% sure it’s coming from someone white. Even if it’s not they’re still fucking stupid and get off making shitty discourse. These people want to talk race relations when their favorite show consistently hates black and brown people. And the most important topic for them is how race is a factor in picking a fictional girlfriend. be so fr.

Back to the show, season 1 was criticized for being boring which many agreed and voiced. The special case with season 2 is that everyone that loved it will be returning, while other parties are completely checked out, making for a very polarizing fanbase. So in looking up conversation about season 2, you’re only going to find the exact type of people that have no problem with gratuitous sexual assault and latinophobia, having not bat an eye at the sexualization and racism of s1. We are looking inside a bag labeled dead bird and expecting to find something else.

Sorry to blurb!

These are just my own affirmations that help me stay sane in this mess. You said you believe women shouldn’t be sidelined for shitty romantic arcs. You are right and you know it. Remain confident in the fact that you know what’s right even when everyone else makes you feel insane. They want you to cave, they want a reaction. You dont need to fight it but you need to keep yourself safe which includes protecting your values.

Also last thing if you’re still here. Deadass, everyone just watch rogue one. and have a good cry about it.

For me, watching it again and i was reminded how there really isn’t a movie that has made me want to kill myself (compliment) like rogue one. I don’t love the movie because it was made by disney star wars, i love it for what it was on its own and what it meant to me. If something is going to even COMPARE to that feeling it gives me, it sure as fuck not going to be a hyperflop anti-women fanfic youtube series. It all becomes so small when i’m reminded that a character like jyn was even a possibility.

[auburnitzy]

How the TRAFFIC LIGHT TRIO realize that they have feelings for you

CHARACTERS — RED SON + MK + MEI (SEPERATE)

DISCALIMER - PURE FLUFF

WORDS - 790+ words

(Do not follow if you want to see more content of this. I only do this rarely and I am mainly an OC x Canon blog).

RED SON (260 words)

Red Son is familiar with seeing love from a third-person's perspective. He's seen how his parents deeply love one another, so he has a general idea of what happens when one falls on love.

... Or so he thought. When Red Son develops feelings for you, he will mistake it for hatred. He will act more stand-offish and aloof with you, and in turn, you act defensive around him.

But he'll accidentally spill his unrecognized feelings to one of the other members.

"That annoying brat (Y/N) gets on my nerves." He huffs, crossing his arms. "Even the sight of them makes my heart race. I despise them so much."

Mei, who watches romcoms and is familiar with the emotional language Red Son speaks, quickly snapped her head towards him, eyes wide and jaw agape before it turned into a mischievous and teasing smile. "Ooh~! Somebody's got a crush~!"

Red Son sputters, blinking in surprise with his eyes furrowed. "What an absurd notion!-"

Later after that, he researches the symptoms of love in order to deny it - but instead, an epiphany comes to him the longer he researched the symptoms.

Red Son's stubborn, but he's not delusional to deny the evidence that was presented right in front of his eyes.

He'll still be the same, fiery-tempered Red Son, but towards you, he's a bit softer.

His stares will linger, and the tips of his hair will sizzle and produce smoke (and in rare cases, catches fire).

The rest of the Traffic Light Trio will complain about his obvious favortism towards you.

MEI (270 words)

Similar to Red Son, Mei is familiar with seeing love from a third-person's perspective, but also terrible at realizing her own feelings.

At first, she'll mistake her romantic feelings for admiration. She'll turn clingy, will invite you to hangout with her and MK (she'd actually prefer it if he didn't, only sometimes!) frequently, and will show you off on her streams and social media (with consent, of course!)

Realization happens one day while she's at her home, texting you until you send a message with the combination of a smiley-face and a heart emoji.

Immediately, she lies down on her stomach, a pillow below her chin as she giggles and kicks her feet.

When she's done doing that, she immediately widens her eyes in surprise as she gasps, her hands feeling the heat in her cheeks as realization settled.

"Oh gosh, I'm in love with them..!"

It takes her more than 10 minutes to even reply back.

From that point on, she'll become even more clingy, and will increase the amount of trackers and hidden cameras on you. (She canonically does this in the show.)

She's a competitive person, and she can't stand losing you to someone else, so she'll confess as soon as she gets the signal that you like her too.

If she hasn't received any signals yet, she'll be bit territorial over you.

"Haha! Yeah!" She chuckled, wrapping an arm around your neck as she puts her cheek against yours. "This is (Y/N)! We're extremely close, so we're like, more than besties!"

"Oh, so like, best-best friends?" MK inquired.

Mei's eye only twitched back in reply.

MK (264 words)

I doubt MK even knows what he is feeling most of the time, let alone romantic feelings, so it'll take him a really, really long time to realize that he loves you.

He'll mistake his feelings for you for friendship and deep admiration. Even when his heart beats faster around you, or his stares linger a bit too long on you, or the fact that even the simplest of things, such as your smile... or your presence in general, will brighten up his whole day.

He gets so confused that he'll either ask Pigsy or Tang (maybe even both) about the things he's feeling.

"Why does my heart beat so fast when I'm around (Y/N)?" MK tilted his head in confusion. "And why do they often appear on my mind? And why are they so amazing?"

Meanwhile (Pigsy/Tang) will just feel three things at once; exasperation, disbelief, and amusement, because how is MK so dense to the point that he's literally describing the symptoms of being lovestruck to them?

"MK, buddy, you're in love."

"Oh!" MK blinked, before averting his gaze as he scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment with a nervous smile. "... Oh. Haha... I guess I am!"

... He didn't even deny it.

After that, he'll become more touchy, will show-off his abilities to you more frequently along with receiving neat, little gifts here and there (he's been saving up for those!).

All of his friends know about it. Not just the rest of the Traffic Light Trio, but the whole Monkie Gang.

And they're all rooting for him.