#It just hit me

[tunguszka20]

"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer"

Odysseus didn't keep Eurylochus, his friend close, he pushed him away so he became his enemy

[naranjapetrificada]

It's not that I don't love a little bit of gossipy, interfering Lucius, but I got to thinking about the look on his face just before he tells Ed off in This is Happening:

He's not delighting in/frustrated by their back and forth, he's annoyed. He's looking at all the work his bizarre little boss put into trying to show Thee Blackbeard a good time, and Ed's been whining about it the whole time, and how Ed isn't seeing how torn up Stede is about the whole thing.

And like, we know for a fact that Lucius has picked up on the vibes, and not because his character is standing in for some world-weary queer who's seen it all. We know because in a previous scene (that is literally the episode title) we see him see it. Even if he had entertained the idea before, he's seeing it happen in front of his eyes. He's not saying "Oh my god this is happening" he's saying "Oh my god this is happening."

And if it's happening, that means Stede isn't just demanding the treasure hunt as another of his misguided little ideas or out of naivety (although both are definitely in play because it's Stede). It also means Stede isn't pouting just because his plan didn't pan out. Lucius, who is regularly shown to be one of the most empathetic people on the crew (aside from my beloved Oluwande), now understands that Stede is desperate to keep Ed entertained (and why) and that the plan for the Day of Adventure falling apart has much higher stakes to Stede for good reason.

So yeah, he's mad. Mad enough to tell off Blackbeard. And I feel like we Flanderize him sometimes and make him intervene in their relationship in fanon just for the hell of it. But when do we actually see him get involved?

When he's mad and feeling protective:

When Stede is sad about Ed leaving:

When he's telling Ed how sad Stede is:

And I guess in way that's less directly about their relationship and more about just being supportive, when Ed is sad in the blanket fort:

I'm not saying it's wrong to write nosy gossipy Lucius, lord knows I've done it. I just think we sell him short if we ignore his empathy and how much that motivates his actions.

[hishoi]

OK BUT WAS I THE ONLY PERSON WHO JUST NOW REALISED EYE OF EDEN IS LITERALLY SUCH A CLEVER NAME.

The eye of the storm: the calmest place in a storm, the middle of a tornado.

Eden: paradise (the garden of eden)

THE EYE OF EDEN MEANS THAT IT'S THE MOST DANGEROUS PLACE IN PARADISE.

[https-hunter]

Same person same exact font

[rewrittenwrongs]

Billy Batson has a long lost twin but instead of being adopted by the Bromfields they were adopted by the Drakes

[metiredlr]

EP 03 / EP 45

[bonez-yard]

I wonder how Lucifer is gonna react the moment he finds out Charlie made a deal with Alastor, regardless if it involved her soul or not.

Would he help find a way to get her out of it? Or must he follow the rules about deals and let her make her end of whatever favor Alastor has in mind.

Oooooh I cannot wait for the second season already

[blu-ish]

Guess who had an Idea for a fanfic. sighhh

[letters-to-rosie]

wait wait idea

timebomb bird shapeshifter AU

[jacenotjason]

do you guys think the demon vs priest episode being ep 6, like the devils number, was on purpose?

[mychlapci]

ou. i had... weird dreams about that old man last night

[minnie-cai]

my cute fanfic girlies realize that new rochelle patrick most likely spits on the floor just because… right?

[queenmelancholy]

What if…?

If Jimmy played the piano, Thomas would play the cello.

[dinitride-art]

Why Byler Would Be a Failure of a Queerbait

Queerbaiting is used to draw in an audience and usually results in a strong fandom. It’s goal is to gather a larger audience, and the audience that would not want queer characters. What I’ve noticed about it, is that it usually is comprised to two straight characters who are good friends. They then sprinkle stuff into interviews outside the media from actors. Things like, maybe she likes her? I guess you’ll just have to find out in the next season! Or saying they could see it happening. Basically anything that would draw in people who want to see a queer pairing, but keeping a reasonable amount of doubt available to those who don’t want to see a queer pairing. Also fan service when the queer bait is being directed at an audience of mostly straight women shipping two male characters. It’s a marketing tactic.

Queer baiting does sometimes result in queer characters, but not the ones that they’re marketing. Or if it is the ones their marketing, they immediately die. The Queer baiting and bury your gays combo. See, supernatural. Having canon queer characters usually isn’t what is intended. They aren’t important to the plot, and can be easily disposed of once they’ve played their part. Their part being covering up any trace of queer bait with the argument that they actually have a queer character in their show. These characters, more often than not, are one dimensional side characters and aren’t there to stay. Main characters revealed as queer, can’t be more than one, and are only revealed at the last possible moment as not to lose the part of the audience not being queer baited.

Stranger Things has two characters that are canonically queer and are relevant to the plot. Robin on her own could be seen as potential queerbait, if byelr were at that time, popular enough to warrant baiting. The queer side character backtrack comes after pressure from a queer baited audience. Not before. Prior to season four, there were more people on tumblr who shipped Mike and El, than Mike and Will. On tumblr. In fact, there were so few byler shippers, that they were in a position where they could be targeted by Mike and El shippers with no consequences. In season three there would be no reason to even think about smoothing over anger from a baited fandom. There was no fandom to be baited. The audience being baited needs to actually be present for it to work.

With one queer character introduced there is no need for another. If Robin were a side character who died in season three then that might allow for another queer character to be introduced in season four. However, Robin is very much alive in season four. She’s not going anywhere and actually has a character arc discussing both her as a person, and her experience as a lesbian in the eighties in Hawkins. That’s pushing it for queer bait. It’s really pushing it.

Will Byers is in love with Mike Wheeler. That’s canon in season four. It’s been built up to since the beginning. If Stranger Things was baiting a queer audience, this would be a weird move. Considering that Byler shippers have never been worth noting before season four, and that Will’s the character that they built the foundation of the show off of, this is a terrible option for queerbaiting. Not because it wouldn’t draw a queer audience that wasn’t to see queer characters, but because it would push away the audience that doesn’t. That is a line that they cannot cross. Will Byers would be crossing that line, and then some. This character is not one that can be thrown away without consequence. He’s important and affects almost everything that happens. I have never seen a main character be queer, and have their story represented in a genuine manner. Never would it affect a central straight relationship. They wouldn’t dare lose a single member of a heteronormative audience.

Two queer characters that are this important are not queer bait. They are not a marketing tactic, they’re integral to the story. Their experiences are integral to the story. Robin Buckley was the first straightbait I have ever witnessed. She is a queer character who was a character first, and queer after the work was put in to make the audience see her as a person. This character is enough to say that Stranger Things represented a queer character well.

Will Byers says that Stranger Things is about queer people. He’s in love with another main character, and it’s affecting the plot. Will Byers being in love with Mike Wheeler is actively changing Mike and El’s relationship. It has been since the beginning.

You can’t queer bait an audience that isn’t there. You can’t bring in a queer character to cover your asses when no one’s accusing you of anything. This isn’t something I’ve ever seen before. Robin is introduced in preparation for Will. It’s the literally opposite of queer baiting. It’s creating a story with queer characters, about queer characters, and marketing it to a straight cisgender audience.

Queer baiting has never been done like this. Because this isn’t queer baiting. It doesn’t effectively function as queer baiting because there was no audience, and their largest audience is the one they’re testing. It is more of a problem to lose a straight audience than a queer one that barely exists.

Byler cannot be queer bait because that’s not how queer bait works. There are not two canon queer characters in a queer bait. Certainly not one of the characters the plot has been centred around since the beginning. And definitely not a character that they would lose members of their audience for writing him as gay.

Will Byers is in love with Mike Wheeler. Will’s relationship to Mike is still important to both of them even after the audience sees this. In fact, Will is affecting Mike’s decisions, and it’s stressed how much he cares for him. Mike and El’s relationship is in shambles and Will is the character they’ve chosen to get involved in that.

This doesn’t happen.

Will is in love with Mike, and he’s still someone who Mike cares about. There’s no distance put in their relationship. They actually spent an entire arc repairing and strengthening it.

Will Byers is in love with Mike Wheeler.

And he’s still alive. He’s still important. He’s still important to Mike.

I literally don’t know what to do with Mike and Will. Because it’s not queer bait. It doesn’t function as queer bait because queer bait is not an aspect of the story. It’s always marketing to an audience. Never an experience or a conversation or anything that’s significance goes further than saying there’s a queer character for the sake of having a queer character.

And it’s never a main character.

When your main character is queer, your story is queer.

They cannot use queer bait as a marketing tactic because they’ve already committed to writing a queer story. Their main audience is not queer. There’s no reason to queer bait a straight audience that doesn’t want queer characters in the first place. It doesn’t work like that. Queer baiting has never worked like this.

This isn’t queer bait. It never has been.

They’re going for it. They are actually going for it. And I can’t wait to see it.

[saintathelstan]

trust // the passenger

[sarroora]

Hola I got my hip surgery today so I'm stoopu doopu in the hospital currently and figured I'd yeet some medical headcanons at you 😁

We know T.C. canonically hates hospitals and I feel like it's probably because someone he was close to died in one (yay sadness)

Also related the gang has to practically drag him to the doctor to get him treated for anything and sometimes they have to go get Dibble to help wrangle and contain him

Chooch and Fancy are both hella dramatic when they get something as harmless as a cold or stubbing their toes a little too hard, they're both slight hypochondriacs lmao

Meanwhile Spook is the opposite of a hypochondriac he could dislocate his shoulder and he'd be like 'nah like I'm fine man don't like get all Worriesville about it pops,' (except when he's sick)

Also Spook doesn't get sick often cos he's got a beefy immune system but when he does get sick it's BAD and he looks like a dying Victorian child that one scene in CGaL be like

Brain gets injured constantly and half the time he has no idea how, that boy's definitely got some form of nerve damage that prevents him from feeling pain like he should so sometimes he'll just come back with a gash in his arm unknowingly and T.C.'s just like 'OH MY GOD'

Dibble has had to have major surgery at some point and didn't tell the gang and oh BOY was T.C. OFFENDED when he found out

Anyways yeah so far so good I'm chilin and I'm gunna start doing EVEN MORE TOP CAT ART N FICS N THINGS because I will be BORED

Yoooooooo it’s done? I wish you a speedy recovery!! 🙏✨🙏✨ (are they givin you the gud stuff there lol jk jk)

And YES

MY TC BUDDY PLS GIMME THESE HCS ANYTIME I NEED EM

“We know T.C. canonically hates hospitals and I feel like it's probably because someone he was close to died in one” Yep, and that’s why I headcanon hospitals to TC are more associated with morgues than recuperation.

Chooch and Fancy totally be little drama kings when they’re sick. And they love being taken care of.

And yes Spook. Asdfgjlkl OMG Spook. He severely understates any pain or injury. And being struck with something annoying like the flu or a cold just makes him curt and snappish.

His time away from the gang in CGaL is taking a toll on his health tho and he’s becoming very thin and gaunt :’(

Brain’s HC is spot on - and whenever he gets an unfortunate case of catching fleas, T.C has no choice but to give him a full bath. It makes him feel guilty, because Brain is very iffy with water. When he was younger and still new to the gang, the first time T.C. had to get him in the bath, Brain began to cry, and T.C. felt horrible. They discovered that for some reason, Brain is very uncomfortable with the feeling of water on his head. Since then, they try to give him a bath without getting any water on there.

Benny is every doctor’s dream patient. He does his best to stay still and quiet whenever he’s being checked or worked on. And he purrs the whole time. He’s the complete opposite of T.C in that he doesn’t hate hospitals and has no associated trauma with them.

I can’t WAIT for some TC fics and stuff and fill my inbox with chats and HCs anytime!