fairelav

[thefirstlioveyou]

"i didn't want to tell you because the last time i was sick, you made me go to school anyway."

this is a subtle indicator that mike's emotional and physical needs can go ignored. although yes he's lying about being sick in this scene, the fact he saw that as an excuse his mom would buy shows you this may be insight on how he actually feels. he doesn't say things because he knows what will be said, and it's never helpful. it explains why he bottles up his emotions and hides them throughout the rest of the show. and the times he does open up, he's reminded of why he didn't want to in the first place. (and actually, the only person he can tell things without being rejected has been will)

let's explore more instances like this.

-

"i've been bullied my entire life, i understand."

"no you don't."

i get it. i don't hold this against el by any means. but it DOES still carry the theme of mike's issues being ignored. although it's not the POINT of the scene, it's still there. you can put down your pitchforks now.

this boy has been threatened to jump off a cliff and ultimately kill himself, physically bullied, verbally bullied, socially rejected. that had to have stung to hear her say that.

mike hasn't had a proper scene of how he feels about the bullying he's experienced all his life. the moment he does bring it up, it's denied.

-

"these [toys] have emotional value to me."

"don't care. throw it away. also why are you suddenly so rebellious recently? why are your grades lacking? actually, i don't care why. i won't actually bother to ask. just stop doing that."

-

"i know your dnd club is tonight -"

"hellfire."

"why don't you just call it the club for high school dropouts?"

karen not remembering the name to the club is an indication that mike probably doesn't bring the club up or his interests with his parents much. makes sense. they've made it explicitly clear they don't care about the emotional value his interests have to him. and ted's comment directly after yet again reminds him why he never brings it up in the first place.

-

"i want you feel like you can talk to me. i'm here for you."

"no more secrets. from now on we tell each other everything."

such sweet support right? now.. where are they? karen has made no effort to understand mike the way she has for nancy. and although what nancy said is technically something that goes two ways, she's the one that initiated that promise.

i still understand why she and karen are this way to him, and i don't hold it against them! mike is just as emotionally distant to nancy. the wheelers are a very complex family and i can't wait for them to be dissected like bugs in s5.

-

and as i'm typing this, i realize all this makes the subtext in the junkyard make even more sense.

"sometimes it's hard to say what you really feel, especially to the people you care about the most, because what if they don't like the truth?"

anytime mike tells someone what he really feels or thinks, it's been denied, rejected or undermined. it scares him even more that this truth has to do with his sexuality. it puts him at more risk. he's seen how people treat gay people, how brutal they can be. he's internalized all of it despite it not being targeted towards him. it pushes him further into the closet and denial.

if his parents can't even see him more than a rebellious kid with failing grades that is in a "club for high school dropouts," what makes him believe they would accept him for being gay?

if his sister and mom truly are there for him, they truly care, then why didn't they mean what they said? where are they?

obviously, they do. but in mike's perspective, what else is he meant to think from this? what conclusion should he draw? my mom and sister just told me they'll be here for me and we'll be closer, just for them to act otherwise, just for us to be even farther apart. what the hell?

[billys-pretty-babe]

The Angel

Pairings : Billy Hargrove x Fem!Reader

Summary : 2 years have passed since Billy was used as a host for the Mind Flayer and as soon as he recovered, he went back to California where he met you.

Picture from Pinterest

Warnings : Swearing, Karen Wheeler mentions

Word Count : 1.2k

A/N : I couldn't find a gif of him on the floor of the sauna but to me it always looked like ripped away angel wings.

You had always noticed the scars that littered his body, especially the identical large scars on his shoulder blades. Billy was insecure around you at first before he warmed up to you and now he's more than willing to take his shirt off around you, hell he hates the feeling of shirts, claims he's allergic to them.

It was summer time in Santa Barbara, the fan in your room on the highest setting and the two of you lounged around. "We should go see Top Gun." Billy looked at you and scowled, "No, you just want to see Tom Cruise shirtless." You rolled your eyes, "I'm sick of shirtless men," you said, poking fun at him.

"Oh really," your boyfriend asked as he flexed and the scars became slightly more prominent. He never talked about them but Billy noticed the way you looked at them, you never stared, you were taught that staring was rude and disrespectful. "I got these in Hawkins." You nodded, "That's the Indiana place right?" He nodded and laid down, resting his head on your black pillow.

"There was creepy shit in that town, like supernatural shit." You nodded and held his hand. "Um, it was during the summer, I can't really remember the date but I think I was fresh eighteen and I was a lifeguard at the community pool." He furrowed his brow, trying to remember some of the details, sure he had been told about things but he still tried to fill in the gaps on his own.

"There was this mom, Karen was her name, I was going to meet up with her one night at a motel six and on the way to the motel, something hit my car and shattered my windshield, it was a spiderweb shatter. I was at this abandoned warehouse and I was dragged down the stairs by this shadow monster thing." He looked at your face, trying to gage your reaction, ready for the laughs, claiming that he was funny for coming up with an absurd story but it never came.

He was met with soft eyes, eyes that were on his face trying to look for any signs of discomfort. "It did something to me, I can't remember, no matter how hard I try. I had trouble going to work because it didn't like the heat and my skin would burn and I'd get these black veins all over my body." He swallowed the lump in his throat and you rubbed his knuckles.

"It fed off energy so I gathered people, um my co-worker Heather, I don't know what happened to her afterwards. The scars on my back are from a fight in a sauna against this freaky little girl, she was friends with Max." You nodded, knowing who Max was. "They never healed, I'm not sure why. July fourth came and I don't know if you ever heard about it, probably not, I doubt it made the news here but the mall burned down." You nodded, "I heard about it, they said there were two casualties." Billy nodded, "Obviously there weren't, actually, I'm not sure about Hopper but that freaky kid, her name's El or Jane, the kids called her both."

"I was going to sacrifice her and she did this weird shit and got into my head and I felt human again for the first time in a while, even before I got turned into that weird monster. I didn't want anything to happen to her so I was going to sacrifice myself, Max was in the mall with her friends. I was horrible to her and I felt like it was the only way to show her that I cared about her. The monster hit me, here, here and here," he said as he pointed to the scars on his chest, sides and abdomen.

"Apparently someone closed the gate or whatever, I don't remember what they called it but basically, the shadow monster wasn't able to penetrate deep enough to kill me, that's how I got all of these scars." You nodded and looked at each one. "I'm sorry," you said and he looked at you. "What're you apologizing for?" You shrugged, "I don't know, I just feel like I should be sorry. Sorry that it happened to you, I don't know." Billy shook his head, "If none of that happened, I wouldn't be here with you so I guess in a way, I'm glad it happened, Just wish I didn't have the physical reminders." You nodded.

You traced some of the scars, "Your back scars remind me of an angel." He raised a brow, "Baby, I'm far from an angel," he said flirtatiously and winked at you making you laugh at him, your cheeks heating up at the reminder of the previous night that was spent with him. "They remind me of angel wings, like they were taken from you." Billy looked at you before laughing, "You're so cheesy." You groaned and flicked his nose and he laughed as he scrunched it.

"Too bad I can't call you Angel since you already call me that." Billy laughed, "Yup, it's taken, can't be used." You both laughed and he opened his arms for you to lay on his chest and you gladly got comfortable on him, putting your head under his chin. "B." He hummed, "Do you wish you could go back to Hawkins?" "No, I'm glad I got out of it. I wish I could see my sister but she'll be eighteen in a few years, she writes to me a lot plus she's coming to visit in July. She wants to meet you." You smiled against his neck, "You talk about me?" He laughed, "Yeah, of course I do, sent her one of our polaroids too. She thinks you're pretty." You smiled.

"She did mention that when she visits in July she doesn't want to hear happy screams. Whatever that means," he said, acting clueless. You both laughed and he held you tightly, you noticed he did that a lot more lately. He yawned loudly and dramatically smacked his lips and you laughed at him. "Wanna stay the night?" "Is your dad gonna try and chase me over your fence? I can't jump over it again, I ripped a pair of my pants doing that." You bit your lip, trying so hard to keep the laugh in.

"He's in Arizona for business. Won't be back until August and mom has the night shift." He nodded and leaned over to turn off the lamp as he pulled the sheet over your body, knowing that if he got too hot, he would start to panic. He felt your hand search for his and he felt you smile against him as you intertwined your fingers. Your breathing evened out and he let out a happy sigh, he was healing, the physical healing was done and over with a year ago but he was mentally and emotionally healing from everything he's ever gone through.

He still hasn't talked about his dad but maybe he will, Baby Billy still needed to heal after all. You held him slightly tighter in your sleep and he knew you were dreaming and he smiled and kissed the top of your hair before shifting a little and falling asleep with the moonlight being the only light in the room.

[rewrite-this-story]

I know no one watches this show, and that's really unfortunate, but I have so many thoughts about Smash that I want to share, so you all get to either hear them or ignore this post entirely. I don't really care which.

First of all, Megan Hilty is an absolute queen!! I wish her name was more well known on Broadway because wow. Her voice is so powerful and I cry every time I hear her sing don't forget me. And I actually love ivy as a character with all my heart. She's beautiful and strong and so interesting. Yeah, she's flaws and human, but she tries so hard. I was so happy when she started getting the recognition she deserved in season 2. She makes mistakes, but then she gets back up every time. I also think she had incredible potential for directing and would have like to see that explored. She just deserved better in general.

I also don't like Karen at all. Not only is she kinda boring as a character, but she's not nearly as talented as everyone seems to think. Yeah, she's pretty and has a gorgeous voice, but she's really just a so-so actress and dancer. Her songs rarely make me feel anything like Ivy's do. At the end of season 1, I only cried during her version of don't forget me because I felt Ivy's frustration so deeply. Also, Karen is kinda rude and arrogant. Like, she has no clue how theater works but acts like everyone else is constantly out to get her just because they're asking her to do something differently. She can't remember her blocking and then complains that people don't like her. And she's so sensitive. No one can tease her or even comment anything that isn't 100% positive about her without her getting upset. Furthermore, Ivy's an interesting character who makes us really care about her because of how hard she tries and fails only to get back up again. Then, they throw in her past and emotional trauma and struggles with addiction. It's really hard not to care about and root for her. Why should I care about Karen? I liked hit list only because of Jimmy, Kyle, and even Anna. Karen didn't matter at all to me because she didn't really have to struggle or fight for anything. She was kinda just along for the ride.

Third thing, Derek sucks and is super problematic, but it was nice to see him stay to grow and improve. I would've liked to see where season 3 might've taken him. I do really like his relationship with Ivy because she calls him out on stuff, and he actually listens to her. It was dumb that he never saw how truly incredible an actress she was. They would have made a great team after she really became more sure of herself and he realized how awful he was. His obsession with Karen was really weird, but I like to imagine he probably got over it by the end of season 2.

Tom and Julia were interesting, but I was actually happy to see them split at the end of everything. She always kind of took advantage of him and it bothered me. He also deserved a real relationship story, but I'm not surprised he didn't get one since he was a gay character in 2012. His relationship with Kyle was kinda creepy and Kyle should've dated either Sam or that dancer we saw him flirting with earlier in the season. Either one of those would've been less uncomfortable. Him and Sam were also never really a good match. Plus, he did Sam kinda dirty in season 2. But yeah, he should've gotten a good relationship.

I do think Sam should've gotten the lead in hit list. He deserved it, Jimmy didn't. Jimmy did a good job, obviously, but he wasn't reliable and was really uncooperative. He could've just given feedback as a writer instead of being the lead actor. I get why they did it the way they did for the TV show, but realistically, it just didn't make sense.

Kyle's death was awful. I wish we saw more of him. I think his relationship and history with Jimmy was interesting, I think it should've been explorers more instead of Jimmy and Karen, who's relationship was kinda predictable and overused. It would've been nice to see him and Jimmy sing together sometime. I wish he sang a few more songs in general because he has a really cool sound.

Jimmy and Derek also could've had a really interesting relationship if it hadn't centered around Karen as much as it did. I think they could've really helped each other. Jimmy didn't take any bullshit and Derek didn't put up with any bullshit, so they could've kept each other in line. Derek also saw something in Jimmy that few people did and I think it would've been neat to see him become a bit of a mentor.

Finally, Derek and Tom had so much potential that was never explored. Their history and their future are so unclear, but I have so many questions.

So yeah, I really did enjoy the show. It's not the most incredible show ever made, but it was fun and interesting. It's a shame it only got two seasons. I kinda blame the marketing team since so few people know it ever existed.

[saltygilmores]

THOUGHTS WHILE WATCHING GILMORE GIRLS: S3/EP4/ONE’S GOT CLASS THE OTHER ONE DYES (PART 5)

Parts 1-4 and all other episodes are linked in my pinned post.

OMG. PHRASING, LUCAS. PHRASING!! IT'S OKAY EVERYBODY! HE MEANT METAPHORICALLY, PEOPLE.

I mean, your affair with Dean Forrester should already have you on some kind of registry.

Luke is giddy with delight over Lorelai's humilation at the school and is giggling up a storm, a gigglestorm the likes of which I've never heard before from him. Let's alll point and laugh at Lorelai! It's fun.

The KarenDebbies are descending upon us. I can't wait to hear Lorelai say the word "condoms"!

I've never seen him this happy before?

Sadly with no context I wouldn't be able to tell if this was 2023 or 2002. Karens: Why were you discussing your pregnancy, why didn't you change the subject? Lorelai: I tried but they kept coming at me like I was poland and they were Nazis. Urrrp.

In my unrated Gilmore Girls rewrite titled The Hollow, I promise to rewrite this episode so that we see Lorelai throwing condoms at high school students.

Well as long it's just a banana and you don't bring Dean for the subject of your demonstration. KarenDebbie: What kind of mother are you?! Lorelai: The kind that doesn't just gloss over uncomfortable topics!

My ass you don't. She spends a good 75% of season 3 moving heaven and earth to interfere in Jess and Rory's relationship and cockblocking them to make sure these two legal adults don't fuck each other instead of giving Rory any sort of useful information about sex and you should know better than anyone that that's a solid recipe for teen pregnancy, Miss GlossyPants. Speaking of. Guess who else is about to get a fumbling attempt at Awkward Parental Sex Talk? This li'l guy.

We don't want Shane to get pregnant. It would make her already tragic impending death even more tragic.

So, what's up with Luke's apartment? There's a guitar, bongos, and maracas (plus a sign he stole from a bus stop). Does he have a secret past in some kind of salsa band?

Luke referring to a human being as something you can "stash in a closet" like an old box of Monopoly is fucking hilarious. The delivery is also very "Jess are you a gigolo?" and "What are you, a drug dealer now?" Like he knows it's a ridiculous question but he's also mildly concerned that the answer is going to be Yes. And now, for all time favorite exchange in the entire Gilly Girls World:

Jess and Rory are cool and all. But Luke and Jess are it for me. These two are the reason I keep watching. Their dynamic is so perfect and things were never the same after Milo left, not only because of the breakup of Literati but because I desperately miss these two guys playing off each other.

I don't know. I feel like Shane wouldn't give a flying cupcake about getting caught. She had no problem repeatedly barging into the diner to hump Jess' leg while Luke and Lorelai were watching and Luke had to part them like Moses parting the sea to wait tables, and she had no problem playing tonsil hockey with Jess against a tree for hours in view of hundreds of people. More evidence that this little dude is lying and that Closet Girl wasn't actually Shane.

We know, Jesstopher. We know. You little freakazoid.

Amen, brother.

Bolt the doors Lucas he's gonna run! Luke should be pulling a Lorelai and throwing bags of condoms at Jess. Stars Hollow called an emergency town meeting after he drew on a sidewalk with chalk. I can't imagine the fate of both Jess and Luke if it were discovered that Jess planted his demon seed in anyone but especially precious Rory.

I love it when Luke tells Jess to shut up. Fantastic stuff. Luke: If you care about this Shane girl you have to treat her better. Jess: I don't care about her. I don't know her last name. She mentioned it once, didn't stick. We're just "hangin out." Staaahp. Jess is so deliciously blunt and nonchalant about her. Anyone fellow Millenials here? Does anyone else remember that in high school in the late 90's and early 2000's "hooking up" (or in Jess' case, "hanging out") meant literally anything you wanted it to mean and so one of your friends could say "I hooked up with Jason last night" but that could mean they either made out for a few minutes or they were full on bumping uglies or something in between and you often had to ask uncomfortable questions. It was a very confusing time. It kept us all on our toes.

Luke, you have a pair of eyes. You've seen what they do in your diner. There should not exist any doubt that they're not convening in your apartment to play checkers.

I'm telling you, the dynamic of the entire Danes-Mariano family is so complex and interesting and I would twist my nipple for this show to delve into it as much as humanly possible at the expense of pushing Rory and Lorelai to the side (Lorelai off a cliff). I've hit the ceiling for screen shots here on Tumblr.com so here's the last three minutes of the episode: Luke: You need to find a girl you actually care about. Jess: Yah like it's that easy. Luke: Ya huh it's that easy if you try Jess: The girls I like don't give a damn about me. I'm not just gonna sit around hoping they change their minds and notice me, unlike SOME PEOPLE. Luke: Da fuq does that mean Jess: ya fixed any neighbor's porshes *porches lately? Luke: Shut up Jess: I've got a little self esteem Luke: Shut up Jess: Gotta go, Shane's horny again Well, that attempt at the Birds and Bees talk certainly went off the rails. Luke was able to impart to Jess that teenage boys have raging hormones and they tend to like girls and Jess don't be an idiot. It's okay Luke, at least you tried.

[roseaesynstylae]

Star Wars: Republic Commando: Hard Contact, Chapters 5 & 6

Chapter 5

Best piece of kit is the eyeball. It was the first piece of advice Skirata had ever given him.

On one hand, that is legitimately good advice. On the other, every time I see the name Skirata, I feel an automatic urge to start ranting.

"'You're a di'kut,' Hokan said.

[...]

'A di'kut, sir.'

'You've made me look like a di'kut, too. I don't like that.'"

Di'kut Count: 6

Chapter 6

"There could never be home for her. No loves, no attachments, no commitments except the Force."

That wasn't for Etain, that's all for Karen Traviss.

JEDI ARE NOT FORBIDDEN FROM LOVE!!! Here is a post that explains that, and here is another, and here is another.

Oh, look at that phrasing. Loves. I don't know about you, but the word loves, at least in this context, means romantic partners to me. It's the first thing mentioned in that little litany. This going to get a count in future books, but I'll say it here as well: The fact that the women in these books really only exist as cause for men's conflict and/or living fleshlights makes me want to strangle a bitch. Already, we're getting hints of this attitude; in the middle of a very dangerous, emotionally draining situation, she's thinking about how she'll never get a boyfriend. And I do mean boyfriend, because the idea that Etain might like women or just not be interested in romance and/or sex is never even considered.

ATTACHMENT IS NOT A GOOD THING IN STAR WARS!!!! AND ATTACHMENT IS NOT THE SAME THING AS LOVE!!! CHRIST!!! DO WE NEED A GODDAMN FLASHING SIGN IN EVERY STAR WARS WRITER'S WORKPLACE EXPLAINING THAT??!!

Jedi-Bashing: 10 (one for each idiotic listing)

"Etain couldn't actually remember a grandmother, or any of her biological family, of course. Family wasn't familiar or soothing because she had grown up in a commune of Jedi novices, educated and raised and cared for by her own kind, and by that she never meant human."

Again, aimed directly at Traviss.

There is ample canon evidence that the Jedi love and care for each other like family. Look at Ahsoka! Plo Koon is like her father/uncle, Anakin is her older brother, and Obi-Wan is like her uncle. Of course, that's applying traditional familial labels to their order, but it gets the idea across.

Why is Etain thinking like this? Like that above passage says, she was raised in the Jedi Order. She shouldn't be thinking like this, considering that all depictions of younglings show them being very happy with their lives. If I were in her shoes, I'd be thinking about how nice the Jedi Temple is and how much I miss my crechemates.

Oh, I know exactly why.

Even at this early point, Traviss can't hold back her disdain for the Jedi Order. Even though Etain shouldn't be thinking like this, she is so Traviss can bash the Jedi through her POV. In other words:

Jedi-Bashing: 12

Jedi-Bashing: 12

Di'kut Count: 6

Main Post

[arecomicsevengood]

My Favorite Thing Is Drawings

Got book two of Emil Ferris' My Favorite Thing Is Monsters out from the library yesterday. I read book one courtesy of the library too, and so did not necessarily remember all the finer details of the story, but was able to follow along pretty well. The reader is reminded of the basics up front. Ferris is an incredible artist, especially in color, able to capture painting-like effects of depth and texture through the crosshatching of colored pens, and it's always impressive. The thing that is weird about the book is that the most impressive images have basically nothing to do with the overall narrative: Images are copied from paintings in a museum, or from monster magazine covers. (It is possible the monster magazine covers might actually be Ferris' own designs, but within the context of the story they are copied images.) The main character is an artist, named Karen Reyes, narrating her life and telling her story, as well as the story of her family and other people that live in her apartment building, but there is almost a negative correlation between how important something is to the story and how much gusto she attacks it with. One important piece of backstory, once Karen learns it, is specifically described as being so upsetting that she has to draw it in a cartoon style rather than be overwhelmed by it. The book keeps going, chugging along, remaining compelling in its narrative. But then, the book's climax is not depicted at all, elided in a blackout of in-story head injury, as if setting up the story to be resolved in a third volume.

This last part is particularly bizarre or galling because the book is labeled as the conclusion of the story. Ferris and Fantagraphics were engaged in a legal battle after Book One became such a huge success - She made a shocking amount of money in royalties, but it seems like she was offered large advances for future books, and now has a contract with Pantheon for upcoming work, one of which is apparently a prequel to My Favorite Thing Is Monsters. But all of this is on some level besides the point when discussing the work itself. (Although I do think it's weird that reviews say the book ends on a cliffhanger rather than doesn't end. You get to a certain point in the reading when you realize the amount of pages left before the end is not enough to wrap everything up at the pacing the story has been told so far, and then you end up being basically correct.)

But what I think is interesting is, this book is blurbed by Art Spiegelman, Chris Ware, and Alison Bechdel. I'm not tryinand g to offer a hot take where I say the book isn't good - it's quite clear why people would like it. I think one could make a case that this book is more like illustrated prose than comics, but on a certain level, who cares, why make rules when the work is effective. Still, there is a take, which I guess I associate with Sammy Harkham, although I don't know who would disagree, that the way a comic works is, you draw all the parts equally. You make everything as visually interesting as you can, even the boring parts. I haven't seen anyone make the case that Ferris' book is effective because the drawing is sometimes really impressive and other times perfunctory. People instead note that she can really draw, wow, you immediately realize when looking at the book that she can really draw, and then there's this story that's really compelling that pulls you through.

What I have seen though is plenty of people that like comics just not really care, not really engage with the work, given its level of success and price point, and the sort of maybe-resentment that animates a dismissal of "that doesn't seem like it's for me" when a comic hits with the NPR crowd. These people are perhaps not wrong: The book is based around a very specific set of formal specifications that make it unclear what Ferris could do if she didn't have Reyes as her narrating main character to excuse her indulgences and the things she gives short shift to. There is this sort of disjunct of values that emerges between the comics that are like by people who read maybe one comic a decade and one comic a day where maybe the latter would never peruse the comic the former had so enthusiastically recommended to them. My Favorite Thing Is Monsters doesn't need to be good comics in order to be a good book. But you can see in how it doesn't conclude that it still benefits from the expectations people come to comics with, that for all the novelistic structure employed in its nesting stories it is still deferring its conclusion like the soap opera of a classic comic strip or a superhero serial. Part of me loves that, that comics are so much about you living with them and the jokes and energy a drawing conveys that add up to a worldview that they don't need to cohere into a form that carries a conclusive third act. But I'm not seeing anyone make that case for Ferris specifically, the same way I'm not seeing argue that her approach to having the best drawings be narratively extraneous is what engages the reader. I'm just seeing enthusiastic critical hosannas, which the book itself can't quite deliver on, at least in terms of eliciting from me.

[kingly-court]

Fun fact: while I can't deny the comedic potential it implies and some ships that derive from this are very fun, I hate hate hate the implications that Gideon's parents don't love each other/one or both of them are unfaithful. Therefore, while nobody asked me to, mostly to comfort myself, I present

Stupid Bud Gleeful x Mrs Gleeful headcanons!

I like to think that her name is Clara because of that one commercial, but I'll use Karen because you seem to like that variant more.

We shall begin.

They actually talk a lot between each other, we just never get to see it on-screen because their usual convos are not relevant to the plot.

Karen was never really talkative actually, but Bud just tries to get her to chat sometimes because he thinks it might prevent amnesia from progressing. (It is heavily implied that the poor lady is Like That because she got her memory erased many times before)

Post-canon he actually got her to a neurologist and she's getting treatment. Recovery for the win.

Karen steals blankets. Bud kicks in his sleep. No matter where, when, or how, every morning Bud wakes up without a blanket and Karen wakes up on the floor. They're okay with it though.

Bud: "do u like stars"? Karen: "ya, theyre cool" (/ref)

Bud can actually scoop her up like a kitten because she's shorter and he does it whenever he can. She unironically likes being held, so she doesn't mind.

When Karen can't fix her emotional turmoil by vacuuming, she tries to fix it by Sleeping For Way Too Many Hours For A Human. When she does that, Bud doesn't interfere, but tries to get her something nice or write her a comforting message he leaves on the nightstand.

Bud cooks because he doesn't trust Karen with sharp objects. There is thankfully no experience to connect with that, he just doesn't think a person who is not completely mentally okay should be allowed near them. Gideon isn't allowed to have anything sharp either for the same reason.

Karen can randomly remember some fact about Bud that he mentioned literal years ago. It creeps him out /not neg.

Bud likes to play with her hair. Sometimes he braids it to calm down, which works well for both of them.

Literally incapable of sleeping apart.

Bud's parents weren't very fond of Karen but he Literally Did Not Care about their opinion. Still doesn't.

Bud has been looking for her during Weirdmageddon. Almost got caught multiple times because he kept trying to find her. Tried to find Gideon too, but after failing assumed that he stayed somewhere in the prison for safety (he didn't believe it one bit but tried to convince himself of that to stay calm)

Bud literally just kept Karen in a less than 3 ft distance after Weirdmageddon for at least a week because he was pretty terrified of losing her. Sometimes just walked through the house holding Gideon with one arm with Karen over his other shoulder. (Gideon's aversion to touch softened a bit for the first 2 days after weirdmageddon or so due to shock, then he came back to hissing if Bud tried that /lh)

They literally just cried in each other's arms the night after weirdmageddon ended. Grown people. /aff

Really lovey dovey post canon. Gideon pretends that he thinks it's cringe but actually he's really relieved and thankful for it because he has some deep seated paranoia that his mental issues Fucked Up The Relationship Between His Parents and knowing that they love each other still helps him sleep at night.

There was definitely something else but I forgot.

I hope you enjoy these!

“I hope you enjoy these!” Anon casually says, sliding the most personally made post to make me unbelievably happy waking up in the morning, including the fact they even switched around a non-canon character name to a personal HC (oh my god??)

-NO BUT FOR REAL OH MY GOD, I do enjoy this so much, because we’re on the same page. I really do think Bud and his wife just don’t have enough screentime to explore what a complicated relationship that whole household experience must’ve turned it into.

(I too am drawn the ships going the opposite way could produce, but also I’m polyam and 90% of the fandom jokes about polycules so I do a lot of my stuff in that sorta context anyways. I have the weirdest Vee/V polyam setup in the past with some of my other, less canon focused Gleeful work that I even have a playlist on spotify for akdbkdnfd.)

BUT YES YES ALL OF THIS YES. I’m gonna hit some of these beat for beat under the cut because I’m fucking obsessed. BE WARY OF ANY MISTAKES/TYPOS, I’m mobile-bound and typing this out like that.

(The two do talk quite a lot.) YES. We’re not gonna see 100% of their dynamic, with the Gleefuls being such minor supporting characters and Gideon still just being a minor antagonist. (They’re basically narratively treated like Gideon’s little henchmen.) They talk all the time behind the scenes.

(Karen has always been a bit quiet.) “Bookish” is always a word I sorta mentally described Karen with. Always the sort of quiet wallflower types. But that’s not bad!! She’s sorta the polar opposite and balancing force the more social, chatter-box, quick-talking used car salesman Buddy Gleeful.

(Above, cont. The Amnesia) And oh god, the amnesia… I can see him doing so much to try and keep it from progressing to badly or to far. And sitting down and trying to chat with her, good god my HEART.

(Post canon) POST CANON RECOVERY. OUGH. It’s always so important to me that he gets her some sort of help. She’s clearly been suffering. I always personally think her and Bud are co-tandem using the memory gun on themselves, though Bud less so, and seeing her take the downturn she did was heart breaking. He helps her get help in a few different ways, both medical and social support.

(Blankets and Kicking) OH YOU KNOW YOU’RE IN IT WHEN YOU GET TO THIS SORTA HC /SUPER POSITIVE. I love this sorta dynamic as someone who’s had a couple different pretty similar setups kahdksbd. I like to think Bud is pretty cuddly, and goodness is this appreciated any time except for late spring and all through summer.

(Bud likes to pick her up). YES. YESSSS. You can’t hear me cackling but I am, I LIVE to play with Bud’s height. My man is a literal Giant. I know heights in the show are inconsistent but he is so consistently Massive it’s so fun. Hold your wife soft and gentle like a cat 🥹

(Sleeping to cope) Oh as someone with Chronic Fatigue and other issues that cause coma-like sleep patterns, Buddy is the goal sort of guy. I imagine in this sorta case it’s suggestible to also probably leaves things like bottles of water and easy to digest snacks to get her sugar back normalized, because god waking up after that sorta sleep makes you feel like a zombie.

(Cooking, sharps) HE JUST CARES ABOUT THEM I’M GONNA LOSE MY MIND. It makes sense to try and lee them away from unnecessary threats like that, no matter the history of anything they’re both in pretty fragile or volatile states and need that extra boundary.

(Randomly remember fact) Oh that sort of stuff is so sweet I’m?? Especially considering her state with the memory gun involved it’s bound to be such a sweet thing to hear.

(Hair, Have to be in the same bed) NO BUT YOU GET IT. The physical closeness is necessary. It’s probably so grounding for both of them to be around the other, and doing things like that just makes it better. The hair braiding is so sweet oh my lord… And you know these two have to have one of those like big-and-tall California King beds, with how big Bud is aksbjbd

(Bud’s Parents) The vibe here is so good I’m,, The sheer love of one’s wife transcends all sometimes, legitimately and completely.

(Looking for them, weirdmagedon) I’M WASTING AWAY /POSITIVE. Losing them during the literal apocalypse must’ve been so damn stressful. And almost getting caught several times looking for his wife I’m actually sobbing. They’re his whole life and he has no idea if they’re safe at all, and with the state his wife is in and how unstable Gideon is it’s bound to be so terrifying… The sense of loss there is so sad, man D:

(Holding onto them, Crying,Post-Weirdmagedon) YES YES YES YESSSS. Has to keep them close, has to express how hard it was and just sit and cry and hold his wife - just because this was so stressful on all of them. And I don’t doubt that neither of them is complaining. BUT ALSO GODS THE DETAIL WITH GIDEON, I’M SHATTERED. That boy deserves to recover and get hugs and cuddles from his pa again :(

(Lovey-dovey, Post-Canon) Unironically, kids pretending to be grossed out and cringing at their parents but are secretly so glad they’re doing Good is my fucking favorite. You don’t see it much but when you do it hits so damn well. And here it hits especially hard. The kid probably blames himself for so much, and this is a huge weight off his lil ol’ shoulders - even if it shouldn’t be there in the first place. It’s comforting,,

[madamegemknight]

WHO is your favorite muppet. tell me. if you can't decide then top 3?

AUGH this is so difficult. thank you for the top 3 option but even then this was like the greatest challenge of my career there are so many good muppets...this list is definitely subject to change in the future

uhhh one of them definitely has to be Kermit! I know Kermit is kind of the default answer, but he's the default answer for a reason - he's such a versatile character while still retaining such a clear personality, and you can really put Kermit into any situation and it'll work! He's such an interesting character to look at evolution-wise, too, considering he's one of the earliest muppets; Sam and Friends-era Kermit is still recognizable as Kermit, but he's so distinct at the same time. Also this is going to be so cheesy but Kermit is genuinely such a comforting figure to me, that frog is my dad for real <3 sometimes if I'm having a rough day I'll put on a playlist of Kermit Sesame Street moments and just watch him talk to kids or draw the letter J in the air lol

Another is Red Fraggle! Red is SUCH a good character oh my gosh, the Fraggle Rock writers struck gold with her. Fraggle Rock does such a good job at making its characters flawed, if that makes sense, and Red is no exception; she's mean, she's self-obsessed, she refuses to admit when she's wrong, and I LOVE her for it ^-^ but at the same time too she isn't JUST the mean self-obsessed one! She's also the silly one, and the one who Gets Cotterpin when nobody else does and starts a massive domino chain that leads to harmony between the Doozers and the Fraggles, and a great singer, and the star athlete, and Mokey's Totally Platonic Gal Pal, and UGHH I could gush about Red all day she's so well-rounded. It certainly helps that Karen Prell (her puppeteer) is tied for my Favorite Muppet Performer alongside Richard Hunt :)

SPEAKING OF RICHARD HUNT I LOVE FORGETFUL JONES SO MUCH!! probably not the most well-known character, but I was suffering with some memory issues in late 2023 (which thankfully seem to be gone), and as silly as it sounds Forgetful made it somewhat tolerable :) he definitely started out as a joke character, but Richard Hunt was SUCH a good puppeteer and really elevated him to a whole other level. He's so caring and kind and the fact that canonically the two things he'll always remember are his girlfriend's name (Clementine) and that he loves her is just 🥺 oughhh I love Forgetful and Clementine so much, I wish they had appeared more often (and I wish I could actually find the episodes where they do CURSE YOU HBO MAX FOR GETTING RID OF ALL OF YOUR SESAME STREET STUFF)

augh there are still so many muppets I wanna mention. uhhh honorable mentions to: gobo fraggle. boober fraggle. mokey fraggle. wembley fraggle. zondra jim henson hour. digit jim henson hour. cotterpin doozer. emmet otter. alice otter. every single dude from the inner tube pilot. TAMINELLA GRINDERFALL WITCHIEST WITCH OF THEM ALL. melora is not a muppet but she was in a muppet production so I'm counting her. yorick sam and friends. bernice sam and friends. sprocket. miss piggy obviously I love her and her dubiously canon traumatic past. scooter and skeeter. jojo jim henson hour. rowlf. robin. denise muppets 2015 who was done so dirty. sidebottom fraggle. LIMBO HOW COULD I HAVE FORGOTTEN LIMBO. uhhh okay cutting it off here because if I don't this honorable mention will just be me listing off every muppet ever. actually wait tug boo and molly. there now I'm done. thank you for this ask I very much appreciated it :D

[joanthelovely]

Frosty: Should have stayed a song

I'm starting off my December right by watching Frosty the Snowman. I have not watched this in years and was beginning to question why I had removed it from the yearly rotation of animations that I watch. At one point I had watched the short so much that I could quote the commercial that cut in on my tape that had been recorded off of tv. But alas...adulthood cut this from my life...maybe...had I stopped watching it before that?

Here are some thoughts that I had as I watched it with fresher adult eyes that had not seen this in probably 20 years:

I forgot Jimmy Durante was in this. How do I know who that is? How do I not know what that is? He has such a distinctive voice and face...I probably just remember him from all the caricatures in old cartoons. THERE ARE A TON.

I prefer the claymation to this animation. Rankin and Bass did this one through Mushi Production and while I love Osamu Tezuka and his studio with a fiery passion...this was just not good. I even enjoyed the original short from 1953 more than this AND IT WAS LESS ANIMATED.

This guy just kills me...I hate him so much. He's a terrible villain and not just because he's inept...he's so boring. So very boring. And Whiny. Did we really need to have a villain? Does the song have a villain?

The head is the most difficult part...if you know what I mean *eyebrow wiggle*

This is Karen. I don't like Karen. I don't much care for any of the children or the voice acting. I think they turned a perfectly good song into a perfectly terrible short. None of you are believable! I don't believe any of you built a magical snowman who can sing and dance.

Happy Birthday...now lets name our Snowman friend:

Harold? Christopher Columbus? Oatmeal?

Bruh...you can't call him Oatmeal. What kind of a name is Oatmeal for a snowman? Frosty...obviously...sheesh

Which came first? the song? the movie? I didn't actually know the correct answer to that so I had to stop everything and look it up or it would bother me too much to continue.

Looks like the original was out in 1950 with this production hitting in 1969. Jimmy and Gene Autry both sang and released it at the same time....but I swear the radio only plays Jimmy. I'm going to have to go dig up the Autry edition.

Dude takes his hat back even after seeing Frosty come to life…how…why? No one is questioning this. Magic talking snowman. No one is freaking out. Even the Magician is just like...Oh...Its a magic hat...I"ll just take that back.

Silly silly silly.

Please quit doing this. Your point is not made better by repeating it 3 times. He does this a lot. Too much. 0/10 stars

So nonchalant about the living snowman. No one is freaking out...like I get it, new friend...but TALKING SNOWMAN OHMYGODWHYISTHISHAPPENING

I'm alive. What a neat thing to happen to a guy like me. But oh no. I'm gonna melt.

...like right this second? because honestly a good packed snow will last awhile *shrug* maybe slow down

We have trains to the north pole? Where do these children live that that seems like a viable option.

Lets have a parade? Ok ...why not...

Finally! Vindication! The rest of the adults are acting appropriately. You should double take when a walking talking snowman is pulling a pied piper down the center of your town.

3000.04 for a ticket to the north pole. That is really really specific and also a lot of work to pull for a child on her own asking questions. I actually don't know what a train ticket would cost to go that far. Sounds pretty cheap with all the layovers involved.

Karen...you can't go everywhere with your new buddy. Karen, do your parents know where you are?

Lets just put Frosty in the cold car. With the cakes. The cakes that are just out there in the open in the cold car. Must be some super awesome tiering going on there. That can't be sanitary for those cakes, no boxes or nothing.

Little girl, your mother will mind if you travel cross country in a cold car with Frosty. Get your ass home!

I don't like the Magicians voice either. It sounds so familiar but I've not seen anything else this guy has been in.

At least the boxcar was insulated from the wind...now we're just dealing with exposure. I'm sure you holding her can't be good for either of you.

Did you just ask the animals of the forest to light a fire for you?

I guess he didn't need the hat for magic. Dude just blew out a campfire.

They were so lucky that there was a greenhouse at the end of the hill...which then has me pondering why are Poinsettias a Christmas thing when they can't actually grow during Christmas?

This is some terrible buffoonery here. Are you really whining at Santa? Really?

At this point I think I've figured out the reason this hasn't been in the rotation. This story has just gotten to be too nonsensical for me. I love a good fantasy but these non-existent forced relationships just aren't doing it for me. You have a terrible unnecessary villain, an idiot child I just want to yell at for running off like she doesn't have parents that are worried about her, and an idiot snowman who knows he needs to go to the North Pole but thought dragging along Karen was a good idea? At least Rudolph did more world building...

Really, Santa? Just going to leave her up there on the roof?

[monstermaster13]

The initial thing only started because she commented on a reddit post that was on a transformation sub-reddit and that comment was 'Monstermaster13 has entered the chat', it was supposedly about me and the post was 'an anti-real person TF' post (the comment has since been deleted) but I remember joining the discord server to try and clear my name only to get kicked off before I could defend myself (I sadly did not get any screencaps of what happened on my end nor could I go back to the server to report them), the grooming accusation was started by another user and SHE and Brackets very much talked bad things about me to someone I consider a friend on the sub-reddit and on the server which I took as betrayal. The comments in general have been removed by mods now, and while the screenshots don't show the usernames of the people involved in that server's discussion of me, they did not cover up the avatars or the dates (the incident in general started last year), and 'she' very much made two or three 'warning' posts about me, admitted to using a secondary/alt account to call me out (over a post about new users no-less, it was not just specifically new users I had a beef with, it's the 'no gallery content/just posts dumb comments' type).

I blocked her twice, then had to block that alt account only for her to continue to try and 'warn' people about me, yet the person who accused me of grooming did not get asked where he/she got the information from if not from the document that was made about me (the document very much was taking my comments and stories out of context, acting like it was a big gross and disgusting thing for me to do that roleplay I did in 2013 with another character when I did not see anything wrong with it, bringing up Kurvos and Avianine even though they had nothing to do with the events of the document, bringing up the time someone gave me the 'no one cares' comment over a drone transformation pic which also had nothing to do with it). I very much dislike how stuff like this gets spread around about me just because of past actions.

I have never been 'always the villain', not by choice..it's just that some people viewed me as that because I got obsessed over what my friends did in roleplays and things, I admit I can be a vindictive jerk sometimes, I admit i'm not perfect. Do I fight with my friends sometimes, yes, I do, but I don't hate them. And I don't hate all TF artists, it's just in the case of Avianine…well I tried to talk to her once about why she did so many transfur stuff, she complained and called me bossy, and well the Changed stuff she did made her like her a lot less, I used to really like her just because she does Pokemon TF but my opinion on her has changed a lot. When I do 'reviews' I just use a character, some people think this character is me, it's really not. They just take those out of context and act like all I do is complain.

Karen may have screencaps that prove the incident happened but just because my side of the story doesn't have any evidence of the crimes doesn't make it any less true. Keep in mind up until that incident, she only commentated on one review of mine and that was it. I let what she said in that subreddit get to me, yes parts of what she said was true, mainly the story but she only got mad because it touched up on the subject of Covid which one of her loved ones died from and also because I misgendered. Look I got misgendered all the time too despite being male (and preferring to identify as that gender), but I just shrug it off.

Let's just say the allegations about me got particuarly hard for me to cope with that I resorted to going on a suicide subreddit to ask for help, and no I wasn't actually suicidal, just desperate

[novelmonger]

Daredevil season 2, episode 3 thoughts:

I'm starting to see why Frank Castle is the perfect antagonist for Matt in this season. Having Fisk as the villain in the first season made a perfect foil to him because they both loved Hell's Kitchen and wanted to make it better, and both had issues with letting rage take over them and make them brutal, but their methods of bringing about change and the limits to what they were willing to do were so diametrically opposed to each other, their clash was inevitable. Similarly, Frank Castle is doing much of the same things Matt is doing, just going further and doing it in a way indicative of how he's learned the world works. While Matt's view of fighting was framed by his father's boxing, which is a sport and not supposed to ever be lethal, Frank Castle's worldview has been shaped by being a soldier, where you have to make sure you're efficiently and effectively killing people so they won't get back up and cause problems later.

Their conversation on the roof is so compelling and interesting, and you can bet I'll be going back to watch it again many times. You know, I think they actually both have each other pegged, and this is the first time they've even spoken to each other. That's pretty rare to see, but kind of...refreshing? Some people might say you should hold off on that sort of thing until you get closer to the end of the story or there won't be enough suspense or conflict or whatever, but this scene proves that's not true. I'm even more hooked than I was before, because both of them have some really valid points and I want to see how it will all shake out. (Like, obviously Matt's going to win in the end, but how will Frank Castle and the things he says to Matt affect him going forward?)

I wasn't expecting Karen to go after Elliot James (I had to go look up his name, lol) and persuade him to help them, nor was I expecting him to see eye-to-eye with her, but I like it! I've never really bothered to Sort the Daredevil characters, but now that I think about it, Karen is definitely a Slytherin Secondary, with the way she manipulates and persuades people. (I don't mean that in a negative way, btw.) Not sure about her primary; I'll have to think about that some more. (And it would probably help to know the backstory we never learned in season 1.)

I've spent all of five seconds thinking about this, but going with my gut, I think Matt is a Gryffindor/Ravenclaw and Foggy is a Gryffindor/Hufflepuff? Or he might be a double Hufflepuff.

Aw, Grotto died :( I mean, I kind of expected it, but still....

I LOVE FOGGY OH MY GOODNESS! 8D There he goes again, throwing his legal weight around, and it's kick-butt every time! Claire is right; he really is good with people - not just because of his naturally friendly and disarming demeanor, but also because he truly cares about people and knows how to use his expertise to reach them in a way they'll respond to.

Okay, I don't think anything can really top the famous hallway fight from season 1, but all of the fights so far have been good, and the one at the end of this episode, starting in the hallway and moving into the stairwell, was particularly spectacular. Some of the Daredevil fights kind of remind me of the Bourne movies, though I haven't seen them in ages and don't really remember many details. I just remember they were by far the best and most realistic fight scenes I'd ever seen at that point.

[chaithetics]

i saw sharp stick and it was… awakening 😳😳😳 the plot was kinda not good (it felt like it was trying to be absurdist but not fully committed if you know what i mean, but the performances……..)

and honestly i totally get what you feel, i’m still not over succession that’s kinda why i veered toward a rewatch then exploring something new (it felt safer 😂😂😂)

and the BEAR …. honestly jamie lee curtis was phenomenal, it really triggered my flight of fight instinct, it was eerily accurate and painfully familiar. and yeah Clare is just … a character… that’s the best non mean thing i can say 😅😅😅😅😅.

THE FAMILY CHRISTMAS episode left me unwell , it was so heart wrenching knowing what lied ahead for all the characters (especially Mikey). the fact that it was five years too really just drives home just how much and how long of suffering there was.

I too am a sucker for pain that’s why i’m on the hunt in the Mikey fanfic tags because i need moar!

I AM A NATALIE STAN UNTIL THE DAY I DIE season 2 just made me love Pete more, Natalie really is doing her best to break the cycle.

i’ve heard so many good things about Sharp Objects (i think that’s the one with amy adams, who i love, i think she’s criminally underrated, one of the most versatile actresses ever)

i’m wrapping up Punisher season 1 and wow, i forgot how much of hardcore Kastle stan (frank x karen) i was, their chemistry is actually so crazy and they’ve never even kissed, it’s like ‘in a another life’ type of thing. it was so apparent in season 2 of daredevil but i forgot how much it’s expanded upon in season 1 of punisher and honestly how could i forget. (i’m digging in my ao3 bookmarks for the proof lolllll) i also really love the romance between Elektra and Matt (matt really did Karen dirty it’s okay tho she has frank) it’s also very starcrossed… i also think i’m so romance focused because succession and the bear really gave crumbs and said bon appetite 🤪🤪🤪🤪

anyways i do really love the action sequences, and dialogue it’s very comforting and familiar which is what i need lol

now i’m off too browse Kastle tiktok edits hahahaha

I know what you mean! I think the performances of like the two leads were good but the plot wasn't great. It wasn't the worst film I'd ever seen but it certainly wasn't the best. I also just couldn't get over how kind of unbelievable it felt that the MC (I don't remember her name) was such an innocent Mary Sue I guess? And she had come from a very sex positive and open household but didn't even know what a blow job was etc. I felt like Lena Dunham thought she was saying a lot more than what she really was? Also those last shots with the single pair of hands, it reminded me a little of that scene with Theo from Hill House on Netflix with the hands but that was done so much better and had more meaning. Felt like she just wanted to make an artsy sex comedy but couldn't really commit to it. I don't know what to think about the film honestly.

That makes sense! Rewatches are safe haha!

"Clare is just...a character..." DEAD. But you're not wrong that's it sadly. Yes it was truly painful! You're right, suffering is such a long journey and can be such a buildup it's not an overnight thing. SAME I WILL DEFEND NATALIE FOR LIFE! Yes, Pete is so sweet! I recognised the actor from a show called Love and he seems to do a good job of playing sweet goofy men that are simps. We love a simp here, as a woman I am a simp for women. We should all be simps for women! Yes, Natalie is really doing the best to break the cycle! She's doing that for her family she's starting but also with Carmy as well, she's so supportive with him and we see throughout that she really cared about Mikey and tried her best.

Yes, Sharp Objects is with Amy Adams! Same! I love her so much, she is so underrated and precious! I will admit I've made NO progress on Sharp Objects since my reply mentioning it lol...

I LOVE KAREN SO MUCH! I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY SHE GETS SO MUCH HATE FROM THE FANDOM! AND I THINK DEBORAH ANN WOLL DID AN AMAZING JOB PORTRAYING HER! Sorry I just needed to say that! I'm glad that at least most of the fanfic I've read on here writers are kinder to her. They do have great chemistry! I do think she's a great actress and everything I've seen her in she's so talented at having convincing chemistry even if it's subtle. Elektra and Matt makes me sad and anxious. Star-crossed lovers are tragic. Yeah, Succession and The Bear aren't super big in the romance department haha. Makes sense! Comfort is what we need after S4 of Succession and S2 of The Bear. Good luck finding for the Kastle edits!!!!

Thanks for sensing this in Bear Nonnie! Appreciate you! 💗🐻

[euclydya]

I'm keeping Count of how many times the duffer brothers did me wrong in s3 we're halfway through episode 1 and the counter's already at 3

[1nephthys]

It's just platonic.

Word count: ~3.5k

Make it work this time, Steve. (part 3)

PLEASE DO NOT COPY.

Alright, I'm posting this again because I deleted it by mistake (istg I can use Tumblr) anddd I want to add - the title is not about Steve and reader

Everyone was siting in Wheeler's basement, asleep. Everyone except y/n. This is not how it supposed to go. Y/n supposed to sit between Robin and Max on a couch and the whole group supposed taking turns to keep an eye on her.

"Earth to Dustin. Hellooo!" Eddie kept saying on the other side of walky-talky. It was laying beside Steve so he woke up first.

"Eddie?" he asked still kind of out of this world.

"Stevie? Heyy! Listen, I know we are probably not a the best terms, but I will need some food soon. It would be nice if-" Eddie talked on the other side of Dustin's device when Steve finally looked around the room.

His eyes finally laned on the couch. On the empty space between Robin and Max. Exactly were y/n was supposed to sleep. "Not now Eddie" he said quickly. Before the guy on the other end had any chance to answer and beg him to listen, Steve was already on the stairs. Hell, he was already on the corridor, screaming her name.

"Morning, Steve. Are you okay, sweetheart?" Nancy's mom asked him. He looked around and noticed the girl he was looking for. She was sitting with her back to him and headphones on. She probably didn't even heard him. But what important, she was all fine and in one piece.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm sorry. Everything's alright" He answered after a second as he took few deep breaths.

"I think it's so sweet of you to care for your girlfriend. But don't worry she's fine. This murder will not get her in this house." Karen said. She had no idea about anything. This murder could get her anywhere. And he couldn't call her his girlfriend.

"She's not- we broke up. In high school." He explained which gave him a little stab to the heart.

"Oh, I'm sorry" She gave him sympathetic smile.

He ignored her and sat beside y/n. "Hey."

"Hey" she answered as she took her headphones off and put it around her neck.

"You scared me" he said. He didn't sound angry, mad or upset. He sounded worried, really worried.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't sleep." She smiled a little at him "you kept blasting music in my ears, for some reason." he chucked.

"Yeah, sorry 'bout that" he said with a smile, it was making his heart so happy to finally talk with her, even joking when no one was around, just the two of them. He looked at the table and noticed a map and pencil. "What's this?" he asked.

"It's- you know, when I was there I saw some things. There was mainly this red fog but- it's may be stupid but.. also random pieces of- I don't know- a house? Then this fucking towers and- and bodies-"

"Y/n- I'm sorry you needed to see that" He said as he put his hand on her shoulder. She appreciated it.

"It's fine- I'm gonna be okay." she rescued. Not sure if she did it for him or herself. She looked over at map again. "But I saw something specific. The only thing that was actually clear. I saw window- like not just a window. Stained glass with roses. I'm just sure I've seen it somewhere. Now, I'm trying to figure out where exactly." She told him. Steve wanted to help, he was thinking for a few seconds before some idea appeared in his head.

"Can you draw this stained glass?" He asked her as he grabbed the container of crayons and piece of paper that younger Wheeler girl probably left there earlier.

"I will try my best" y/n responded and quickly started drawing. Steve was looking at her hands, he remembered how good of artist she was. As soon as she started coloring he knew this door. He looked at the map, she was too focused on drawing to noticed.

"It's there." He said as he pointed on one of the crosses she made earlier. "It's Victor Creel's house" he looked at her. This house was abandoned for years, some teenagers were making jokes that it was haunted.

"Of course it is. He is connected with Vecna, somehow" she said under her breath.

"I will wake up the rest, we are going there." Steve said as he stand up, y/n after him and soon the whole group were siting in his car without any idea where they were going.

------------

They finally made it to the house. There were little, old playground next to it and a lot of wilted plants. It was ruin, all windows and doors boarded up, but y/n still could see a little bit of this stained glass.

"Is it the house you saw there?" Nancy asked from the back of the car. Y/n was sitting on a passenger seat next to Steve.

"I mean- I guess? The door is the same. And it's make sense." She answered, not taking her eyes off ruined building.

"Alright, we will go. Robin, you will stay there with y/n" Steve ordered, surprising everyone in the car.

"Fine with me" Robin commented.

"No. Are you kidding? Why would I stay there?" Y/n asked him.

"Because it's dangerous. Especially for you. What if he looking for you? And if this place is really connected with him, he might feel you there or something. We're not risking" He explained. Bullshit. She thought.

"He might be right" Dustin said from the back seat.

"You little traitor" Y/n said under her breath. "Come on." she said and before anyone had any chance to stop her, she was out of the car on her way to the door.

"You really tried to stop her?" Max asked, looking at Steve and then Dustin as she got out of the car and went to y/n's side.

Everyone else went after them, Nancy took crowbar and soon they were taking boards off the doors, showing more and more of stained glass.

"What we are looking for in this creepy-ass house, again?" Robin asked as she was looking at Nancy. Steve came to help her.

"We don't know exactly but we know this house is important to Vecna so maybe we will find out where he is. why he's back. why he killed the Creels. And how to stop him before he comes back for y/n." Nancy explained.

"But you don't really think he is in there, do you?" Lucas asked, looking at Steve's back.

"We will find out." Max said, now nerves were getting into her.

Steve dropped last board, showing the group stained glass in all its glory. "Y/n. You sure it's what you saw?" He asked, looking at the girl. Everyone was looking at her, but she barely heard him.

Instead, she heard someone else.

"Y/n." hard, low voice said "What are you doing in here, y/n?"

"Y/n?" Steve said again, since she didn't look away of the door.

"Uh, yeah. I'm- I'm sure it's there" She said after a second.

"Alright" Steve tried to open the door "It's locked." He said, like nobody noticed "Should I knock, see if anybody's home?" he asked.

"No need" Robin said, behind everyone's back, holding a huge rock in her hand. "I found key."

It took her seconds to shatter the window and put her arm in the hole, to open the door from inside.

"Ladies first" she gestured to Steve.

"Very funny" he said sarcastically but went first anyway.

Nancy went behind him, then Dustin, Lucas and Max. Robin was last one, behind y/n since she wasn't too enthusiastic about going in there anyway. They started looking around, Lucas even tried to turn on the light.

"Looks like someone forgot to pay their electric bill." He commented.

Y/n went a little further with her flashlight. She saw it again, this old grandfather clock. "Hey, guys" She said with a lump in her throat. She didn't take her eyes off in when everybody stand around her, looking at it too. "You all see that, right?" she asked them.

"Yeah. Old clock." Dustin said.

"Yeah, you saw it in your visions, right?" Steve asked. She could just nod her head.

"This house have the answers. Somewhere." Nancy said. "Okay, everyone stay in groups. Me and Robin, upstairs."

"I will stay with Steve and y/n." Dustin said, the girls already left. There was no way he would leave his sister with this asshole all alone, after what he heard. Even though she seemed to be less upset than before. She used to act like nothing happened, so maybe now she was doing it too, right?

"Come on Dustin" Max grabbed his wrist and pulled him to one of the rooms before he had any chance to refuse.

"Max you don't understand-" Dustin said when there were just three of them. Max, Dustin and Lucas "he did something stupid and-"

"Weird 'cause since she almost got killed by Vecna she's much nicer to him" Lucas said.

"Yeah! and I don't understand why! She acted like nothing happened for so long and I tried to get them back together and she'd never told me anything!" Dustin said, frustrated.

"Dustin, what are you talking about?" Max asked and then he realized that they still didn't know about this dare. "Let them solve their shit without your help, huh?"

"I don't want her to get hurt." He said quietly.

"Steve would never hurt her." Lucas said and he was right. Somehow. Now, he wouldn't hurt her. Now, he would do anything just to keep her safe.

Meanwhile, Y/n and Steve went upstairs. Y/n had song playing on her headphones which were laying on her shoulders, music was loud enough to feel safe but also hear Steve.

"Hey, can I tell you something?" he asked quietly as they both looked around. She just hummed, to focused on looking at spiders' nets. "I know I have kinda shitty timing, but after what happened- you know in your bathroom. I don't want to argue again, but I almost lost you for lifetime. I- I don't want it to happen y/n, I fucked up, I know I did but I will do anything to fix it." He confessed.

"Steve-" y/n said quietly, she was thinking about him much more lately, about what she should do.

"No y/n- just let me-" he didn't even know what especially he wanted to said but for sure he didn't want her to interrupt him "I know I had so much time to talk to you before all of it happened and now it's much more complicated because of Vecna and Eddie is there but-" Steve said but y/n interrupted him again when she noticed that something reflected the light of her flashlight from the ventilation grille.

"What's that?" She asked, it seemed like she totally ignored Steve's confession.

She rushed over there and lifted the grate. Steve sighed and crouched down beside her. He put his hand down and raised a jar. They saw dead spider inside with net and leaves. It looked like someone long time ago made house for a small insect. There were a lot of jars like this one.

"Steve, don't move" y/n said quietly when she noticed one spider on boy's shoulder. Before she had any chance to say something more, he started shaking it off which made the jar in his hand drop and break on the floor. He grabbed y/n hand and in panic got out of this room closing the door behind them.

"Sorry" he said after a second when he realized he was, in fact, holding her hand. He let her go but maybe, or maybe not, his stomach was full of butterflies and he totally forgot about spiders, Vecna and literally the whole world.

"It's fine" she said as she looked at him, totally not feeling the same butterflies.

"What's going on there?" Nancy asked as she appeared from the other side of corridor.

"Uhh, there was a spider. Were a lot of spiders." Steve said after a second "don't go in there" he added as he pointed at the door he just closed.

"Wait, stop moving" Nancy said as she reached Steve's hair "I got it" Y/n was just standing there, awkwardly, looking anywhere but at her two friends. Who in the world didn't heard the rumors about Steve's feelings for Nancy? Of course, y/n knew there was nothing, Nancy was her friend and she would tell her, but deep down inside, even during their relationship with Steve, she was insecure about it.

"If there's a spider, you're never gonna find it till it lays eggs and the babies spill out." Robin said as she appeared behind Nancy. Y/n looked at her, grateful. Maybe it was just her or maybe the air became less heavy when there wasn't just the three of them.

"What's wrong with you?" Steve asked as he turned around. Y/n chuckled under her breath "And you?" Steve looked at her, then he heard Nancy also did that "Come on, you too?" he asked. "So you all are friends now? Awesome. I mean- It's really is- I mean I know you two were but Robin now too- I mean. You know what I mean." Steve explained, at least he tried. "We should all go out somewhere. After you know, we safe the world and stuff. You know, me, you two, Robin, wherever she went right now-"

"I'm right there!" She said as she stuck her head out from behind the wall "actually looking for something and not asking two girls at once on a date" she tested.

"It's not a date! We had just platonic feelings right there" Steve explained quickly. He pointed his finger between him and Nancy, making sure y/n got what he was talking about.

"Yep, just platonic friendship. Nothing more since freshmen year of high school." She added awkwardly, she had never thought about it but now when Steve was so desperate to show y/n he did not have any romantic feelings towards Nancy, she wanted show her that too. She always crossed her fingers for those two. "But I think it's great idea. Y/n, are you in?" Nancy asked. Right now, y/n thought about Steve and Nancy, she never told any of them how she felt about their relationship, so they never made it clear to her that this was just friendship. She felt like huge stone was lifted from her heart.

"Yeah, I think it will be nice." She answered with a little smile. Robin chuckled from her place but they all heard it. "Let's go back to looking for.. something"

"You're right." Steve said and he went to the next corridor "You're coming?" he asked as he looked at y/n, she nodded.

"So about what you said earlier, before spider attacked you," she chuckled before continuing "what did you mean about Eddie? I mean, you said it's complicated because of Vecna, yeah you for sure right with that, but Eddie part? You don't like him, do you?" She asked as she stopped walking, Steve did the same.

"I mean, I- aren't you two like, like each other?" He asked "It's not that I don't like him, he just- he is friend with Dustin and he-" y/n stopped him.

"Steve, are you jealous?" She asked him seriously.

"What? No. I'm not. Well- maybe a little" he sighed. "he came out of nowhere and now Dustin talk about him all the time and you-"

"Steve calm down. I don't like him in this way. It's just platonic" she said at the same tone as he told her about him and Nancy. "And Dustin really like him. He is happy he has someone in high school. You know, you had never experienced it but when you nerd or freak or not fit anywhere, it's nice to have a friend like you. I'm sure Dustin still like you. But you really need to talk to him." She explained, she was like that too, years ago before she met Steve, so she knew what she was talking about.

But Steve was more focused on something else. Of course, he was glad, hearing that Dustin might still consider him as a friend. But there were other words It's just platonic, his heart almost exploded.

"I- I will talk to him. I don't know how yet, but I will figure it out" He said. "Gosh, I'm sorry for that. I really thought he might- you know" take my place. he didn't said that but it was in the back of his head the whole time.

"It's fine. And don't figure it out for too long, Steve. The longer you wait, the more complicated things become." she said with a little giggle.

"Right." he said under his breath, he didn't find it funny but she was joking with him again. It's a good sign, right?

The song came to an end and Steve reached to y/n's mp3 player "Can I?" He asked, she nodded her head and looked down at his hands. "I wish we had a longer loop" he said a he withdrew the tape.

"It's almost an hour" she said. "I wonder where you get that" she looked at him.

"I have my ways" he said. He didn't even remembered. He had it for so long, somewhere in his room. He left the short version that actually saved her in his car.

"You never liked this song" she told him. Of course she remembered too, every time she wanted to play it, he always said it was cheesy and shitty.

"Well- maybe it's a good reminder of old, good times?" he said. The song started playing again "All done." he smiled at her and stuff became awkward again, when he kept looking in her eyes for a few seconds too long.

"Guys! Come here for a second!" Lucas yelled from downstairs. Y/n and Steve broke eye contact and he cleaned his throat, then they just followed his voice, his definitely not happy voice.

They looked at chandelier. It was shining. "Like the Christmas lights" Nancy said as soon as she appeared with Robin next to Max.

"The Christmas lights?" Robin asked.

"When Will was in the Upside Down, the lights come to life." She explained, really short.

"Vecna is here. Just on the other side." Dustin said. Light turned off again.

"I think he left the room." Robin said.

"Can he hear us? Or see us?" Lucas asked, looking at Max, then y/n.

"Everyone, turn off your flashlights and spread out." Nancy said and everyone did as she said.

"Y/n, stay by my side" Steve ordered, but the girl was already on her way upstairs.

"I'm not a kid, Steve." she said "I will be alright." she also added and she put her headphones on properly. Steve sighed but went other way.

After a minute or two they all heard Robin "I got him!" she yelled. Everyone from theirs side of house started making their way to her. "I had him" She said when her light turned off again. They all were standing in one of the rooms downstairs.

When Steve's flashlight shined he kept it higher. "He's moving" He started going where the light showed him, he looked behind him just for a second, everyone was going behind him. He went upstairs when his light turned off too, again. "Shit. I lost him"

"No, you didn't." Y/n said as his opened the door to attic. All the lights were on there. Just a one light was there, in fact.

"I will go first" Steve said and he did that before y/n had any chance to went there.

"Hold on, guys. What's if it's trap? Guys?" Dustin asked but everyone was already there. Even Robin and her complain about going to attic in abandoned house.

When they got there, their flashlight were flashing much brighter than it normally would. The glass in the light bulb broke. But y/n felt something more. Her head was hurting. So bad, she thought she was going to faint.

She didn't said anything, she didn't even had time. Their flashlight broke and then there were silence. Pain stopped, like it was never really there.

"We should get out of there. Now." Robin said.

"She's right. C'mon" Dustin added.

And they did, they rushed to Steve's car to drive away.

a/n. Again! I'm sorry it took so long and holly molly, thank you all so so much for every like and respond on previous parts!!! I love you all so so much I almost cried when I saw it yesterday. Let me know what you think about it!!

[ronanceisintheair]

Ok, I'll try, uh...

I think I've read a fic like that, but with a different ship. (and also I remember a fic called something like "doctors of love" where Steve and Robin have a podcast and Nancy needs a date to her relatives wedding)

So credits to both (can't remember the name of the first one) for the first part. The other stuff just came to my mind

Nancy needs a date for a wedding (Honestly you don't girl, but also she's annoyed by her relatives constantly kinda insulting her about not having a boyfriend or smth), but she doesn't want to ask any boys out. So after some kind of events, Robin's now dressed up as a boy and pretends to be Nancy's boyfriend at the wedding.

Where she gets interrogated by Karen, since she's never seen the boy in her life, and asked a bunch of questions of what her intentions with her daughter and other stuff. Which Robin's truthfully answers, because she is actually in love with Nancy.

And Nancy actually tried to hide Robin's from her parents (mostly her mom) because she didn't want them to think she has a boyfriend. Because now she needs to invited 'him' over for dinner and Robin's is nervous but also trying not to laugh because this situation is so bizarre.

So they somehow are fake dating with Robin disguising as Nancy's boyfriend for a period of time... Or something idk..

And Karen is absolutely smitten by 'Robbie'. So even after they break up, Karen invites 'him' over. So Robin is kinda stuck as him for a while. And Nancy just falls in love with Robin along the way, because now that Robin's looks like a boy, and is just acting the way she's always acting, Nancy realizes that her feelings are not platonic and that she actually likes girls or smth. Idk. But she thinks something like "if Robin were an actual boy, I'd date her" but because she's smart she's like "Wait a minute...I like her"

Honestly I have no idea. But you said to be unhinged and idk if this actually is unhinged but it's definitely weird.

....

Well I can't think of anything else to add, so that's that.

Oooh that's definitely interesting take on things.

But along the way of reading this synopsis I was like what if Karen already knows? Like not right away obviously, but somewhere down the line Karen figures it out for herself.

She doesn't bring it up to Nancy, she wants Nancy to come to her about it, but she definitely is dropping little hints or emphasized words, maybe making round about conversation to let Nancy know she wouldn't care that she likes girls if she did.

And omg from Robin's perspective she's definitely like; the only reason Nancy likes me is because In this situation I bare a stark likeness to guys.

Maybe one night they're just on the other side of Tipsy, and they're both sitting on the floor and Nancy is talking about how well they have everyone fooled. How much Robin does work as a guy that they're pulling it off. Just completely drunkenly mesmerized by Robin and she kisses her.

And Robin is like, why did she kiss me? No one is around? But she was talking about how I look like a guy? So Robin equates it to yea Nancy would date her if she were a guy, but she's not and she can't change that. And damn if this kiss doesn't make it harder for Robin.

[photogirl894]

I want nothing more right now than this...

(From @oneshot-one-kill)

(From @darthzero22 using lyrics from a song I love)

Both of these wonderful friends made these for me when I was having an absolutely terrible day on Thursday. I just want to run away from everything...and I wish Hunter would be there to run away with me...because things are not great right now.

Below is my explanation of what's been happening. All work drama. It's long cuz I give some prefacing, as well, so if you're not interested, then don't worry about it.

Earlier this school year, I had posted that I was finally happy at my job. For those who don't know or forgot, I work in the special education department at my old high school working as an aide with physically and mentally disabled kids. I'd had some things happen and wanted out, but ended up being unable to leave, but then things got better and I was fine.

Jump to December of 2021, halfway through the school year. I got told by my department head that I was being switched out of my current classroom and moved to be one on one with a new student and I would be working under a different teacher. Wasn't fond of that, but it was whatever. Switches like that can happen. I met the new family and my new student. She's in a wheelchair and had a couple other physical and mental disabilities, but she had a lovely smile and seemed very sweet and fun. I figured we'd have fun together.

The parents...are awful. And they have been since the start. Especially the mother.

She's a full-blown Karen. She's consistently late 10-15+ minutes every day, yet gave me crap for showing up 5 minutes late to pick up her daughter cuz I was meeting with my teacher and even gave me crap for walking out 1 minute late! Everything and everyone has to cater to what she wants. She shows up to the school constantly demanding to see my teacher when she's in the middle of teaching. She's vain and cares way too much about appearances, claiming "no hair should be out of place on her daughter's head because everyone is looking and judging". She comments and nitpicks every little thing I do and has just been awful to me, my teacher and a lot of other people.

That's not even the worst part.

In the very beginning of all this, they came in claiming they'd heard horrible rumors about me, somehow even though they just moved here, and had all these reservations about me. My teacher and VP stood up for me and tried to get them to name their source, but the mom wouldn't. I had a hunch of who it might've been, but I had no idea how they would even know each other, so I kept that to myself.

A lot of things kept happening that made the parents upset, despite me trying my damned hardest to do what they wanted and to do my job, but nothing was ever good enough for them. Finally, this week, they stopped sending their daughter to school. Cut to Thursday, the family shows up to meet with my VP, principal and department head. My mom, who works in the security office and checks people in, told me someone else was with them.

It was the person I had suspected from the very beginning was the one who was spreading nasty rumors about me...and I was so furious, I thought I would kill someone.

It was an old coworker of mine from a school I worked at over 5 years ago. I got fired from that job (for cell phone use, which is bullshit cuz that was how my teacher at the time was communicating with her aides, but that's a whole other stupid thing) and I haven't seen or spoken to this woman since. Funny enough, her name is actually Karen and she is the epitome of the name. She's a 50-something year old woman who I remember was miserable to work with.

I learned from meeting with my principal later that day that Karen met my student's mother on a neighborhood app when she found out I was working at the high school. She claims I was "abusive to special needs children, hitting them, yanking them around, being forceful with them" and I'm "unfit to work with them". She has threatened to go to the district to find out why they're still hiring me and is trying to get my job taken away.

I swear on my life that I would never, ever treat any child in such ways!! I have been working with special ed kids at different levels for 10 years, I have cousins who are special ed, too. There are no grounds for her accusations whatsoever! I have no idea what I did to offend this woman; I was nothing but nice to her! I was so angry and emotional that I ended up going home early on Thursday and then took Friday off cuz I needed a mental and emotional break from everything. My mom went full Mama Bear (bless her) and called my dad, telling him to start finding a lawyer because "We're gonna sue that bitch!!" She told me she would've taken Karen out for me.

On the plus side, I'm now getting switched out of being one on one and being put back in my old classroom, for one thing. I'm getting away from that family, halle-freaking-lujah. Second, my principal has known me since I was student and he knows me very well. He has no intention of firing me and he's not going to let district do anything to me. If anything, HR will most likely defer to his decision and his mind is already made up.

Literally, all Karen has is petty, false gossip and nothing to prove what she says is true. Even so, I have a ton of people I work with who can vouch for me and my character. I even had a hearing years ago with my former principal and the head of HR after I lost my last job and nothing about such accusations was ever mentioned! My dad was in attendance at that meeting and he said the same thing. So there's nothing on my record of anything like that! I would never treat a child the way she claims I did! She's just such a miserable bitch that she has to dig up things from over 5 years ago and try to ruin the life of a young 27 year old woman. She may be all talk with her threats to go to district, but if she does, we're going to issue a cease and desist letter. If that doesn't shut her up, then we're gonna look at suing her for slander and defamation because that's 100% what she's doing. So I may have a long road ahead of me...

I don't know why all of this is happening to me. I have done nothing wrong and I try my absolute best every day to do my job well, especially when it's not an easy job. I'm tired of drama and I'm tired of being the one who suffers for it.

I want to extend my deepest and sincerest gratitude to @oneshot-one-kill , @scarlettroseog , @tech-deck , @thisistheendtimes , @darthzero22 , @cutie-cult-666 , @ilovecrosshair , @superiorsniper and @shadestepping for all being there for me these last couple days. And thank you also to @nimata-beroya , @leias-left-hair-bun-again , @ilikemymendarkandfictional and @locitapurplepink for giving me comfort and support in the days leading up to all of this. Your guys' words, support and willingness to come beat the shit out of Queen Bitch on my behalf has meant the world to me! I'm doing my best to stay strong. I know I most likely don't have much to worry about, but there's still a nagging feeling deep down that things could still go wrong....

I love you all so much. Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers, if that's not too much to ask. I'm really gonna need them.