#man i've read and watched this series multiple times and /i/ had trouble because my memory is swiss cheese

[nouearth]

servicing justice: superman [1]

pairing ; kal-el / clark kent / superman x m!reader. fandom: ; dc, superman. word count ; 2144. series ; servicing justice. genre ; smut. rating ; m. warnings ; bigdick!superman. blowjob. gloryhole. handjob. mouth-fucking. oral (reader giving). sexworker!reader. note ; yeah, okay. maybe i've been watching too much of a certain video genre, ahem. but i hope you guys enjoy my first smut! it's been a WHILE since i've written one, so i know it's rusty, HAHA. looks-wise, i mostly had maws's superman in mind (because the art style is so good and so himbo), but feel free to imagine it with any superman!

it isn’t the most comfortable position to be in. you’ve been kneeling on the floor for quite some time now, waiting for your assigned client. your palms begin to sweat to a minimal but uncomfortable degree. did i fuck up already? you ask yourself as your mind clouds with questions, doubts, and even judgement regarding this new job.

“jesus, what did i get myself into…” you recall the long process it took for you to end up here. the intensive (and ridiculously long) process of reading and signing multiple forms and documents almost had you backing out of this opportunity. though looking back at it, it was understandable since it’s quite unheard of to be… a sex worker for superheroes.

for an incredible pay, your privacy will essentially be stripped away starting from today. all phone messages, calls, and social media activities will be monitored during your venture as a sex worker, and that post-graduate life was not going to pay itself. for the most part, so far everything seemed… great? being driven to work by a chauffeur, having your own personal room and health coverage provided, and most importantly… eating free lunch was not bad at all.

or maybe you’re just naïve.

all you had to do was kneel and suck a few superhumans off. as the newbie, you were told that you’ll be starting on gloryhole duty due to privacy reasons; at least until you built enough camaraderie. though, you didn’t even mind since there would certainly be less strain on your body.

you couldn’t help but snicker at the mere thought of an entire league of superheroes holding a meeting regarding this subject matter. especially since almost everyone in the world, including you, holds these superheroes in such high regard.

“meeting is adjourned until 9 am tomorrow! until then, please help yourself to some delicious food trucks from outer spac-“ your humorous imitation of a noble superhero is silenced when you hear the door opening. within your private booth, all that blocks you from meeting your approaching client is another door with a hole cut through.

your curiosity is piqued when you catch a sight of the man’s physique through the hole. plaid shirt and jeans aside, and assuming he had to underdress, he’s huge. maybe because you’re kneeling right now, or maybe it’s the fact that you’ve never been near a superhero before, but you couldn’t help but be in awe at the size of the man. your eyes complete a full body scan by the time he approaches the door and before you could say something, he does.

“sorry i was late-“ a gentle voice echoes behind the door. contrary to his soft voice, the man’s large hands work aggressively at his belt, unlooping the leather with impatience yet eagerness as he anticipates the mouth that’s been waiting for his arrival. “there was this whole thing with this cat in this tree and then this school bus got hijacked- not my best day, unfortunately.”

“i’m sorry to hear that. sounds like a stressful day, yeah?” your voice is compassionate. you felt bad for the unnamed superhero and a part of you wanted to continue the conversation further, but your job isn’t to listen to their feelings. it’s to pleasure.

“yeah…” a huge sigh of relief expels from the man’s dry throat when he pulls his pants down. frustration stains another one of your client’s sigh, clearly troubled by the restrictive fabric guarding his erection. you watch with parted lips as he couldn’t help but give himself a needy stroke through his tight briefs, fondling his balls then beelining his palm to the very plump tip of his cock. your own cock hardens at this scene, and you find yourself doing the very same. mimicking his impatient hand to tend to the sensitive pressure below, you tiptoe the fine line between frustration and pleasure as your tightening pants and briefs define what it means to be an absolute nuisance. “very stressful.”

it doesn’t take much time before you’re faceful of cock and somehow, you manage to salivate more than you did a minute ago. the man’s throbbing erection is brimmed with thick pre-cum, stress practically leaving his body with every drip. it’s a heavenly sight that’s enough to make you stick your tongue out just in time to catch the substance into your mouth, not wanting to waste a single drop. the salty taste always catches you off-guard yet at the same time, it puts you under a spell. a tantalizing spell that commands you to drag your warm tongue over and back the underside of his thick shaft, completely avoiding the plump glans to have his cock leak even more… stress.

the taste of his musk drives your palm further into your erection, palming at whatever you could as you preoccupy yourself with teasing the man. you almost felt bad for him. contrary to his build, his whimpers are… so small, so weak. you notice his hands grip over the top of the barrier, and it turns you on upon realizing how this supposed hero could become so fragile at the simple taunt of your tongue.

“please…” the superhero whimpers out, needlessly fucking the air in hopes of granting his cock some type of friction. you’re amazed, and a little proud, by how much pre-cum he’s been leaking by now, and it all goes right onto your tongue. the wet muscle follows the natural curve of his cock to meet up with the wet and plump head. his hips buckle into the barrier and feeling it shake, you keep him steady by wrapping your hand around his shaft. you’re addicted at this point. addicted to the salty taste of his pre-cum as your tongue licks and explores into the slit of his cock, while at the same time, your hand works at his large cock in slow, but steady strokes.

“oh christ-“ he breathes out, repeating the same two words under his shaky breath as you continue to pleasure him with your tongue and hand. after a few licks, you pull away to give your tongue a break. in doing so, your grip tightens around his shaft to pace your strokes quicker. when you find a moment where your wrist needs a break, you let your client catch his breath. his cock throbbing more and more with every passing second when your tongue and hand aren’t exploring him, and you bask in the sight of it. you believe you deserve a medal at this point. not for doing a great job (though, it doesn’t seem too far-fetched), but for having control. you haven’t even sucked him off yet, but you’re content on remaining just like this for a while longer. though, that wouldn’t be fair for the superhero.

before he could whimper out another plea, your warm mouth finally wraps around the head of his cock and your ears perk at the sound of his low moan almost instantly. your hand returns to its rightful position around the lower base of his penis as you cycle your tongue over the glans, satisfying your need to taste his musk once more. seconds later, your hand lets go when you push your head farther, taking in an inch more of the hero’s cock. your knees dig into the floor as you push your head more and more, stretching your mouth with his cock until you feel yourself gagging.

“fuck.” you sniffle out when you pull back. perhaps you were challenging yourself too hard. you think to yourself as you catch your breath, using the remaining moment to sloppily jerk him off with your saliva. part of you wanted to challenge yourself to deepthroat him, impress your client on the first day. but you already know you wouldn’t be able to take it… at least, for now.

“you could hurt someone with this, y’know?” for some reason, you thought you needed to crack a joke as if there was an awkward silence that needed to be filled. maybe you just wanted to hear him talk again. his voice is warm and inviting, somewhat fitting for a superhero or even a television host as the moment you hear his voice again, you felt safe.

“i have before- oh god.” you lube up his cock with your spit as you continue to jerk him off, refraining yourself from fucking his slit with your tongue again to concentrate on his words. “which is why i don’t do this much- sex and stuff… it’s all troublesome, really.”

“yeah?” and just when you talked yourself out of challenging yourself, you feel the competitive spark ignite inside of you again. “well, i guess you just have to find the right one. could be anyone, even people you just met.” you try to play it nonchalantly, hoping that double-handing his wet cock would distract him.

he was beyond speechless at this point, moans drawn out by means of your sloppy strokes. you swear you can hear his heartbeat behind the barrier when you lean your head closer to suck him off again. you moan along with him, drawing out every breath of yours as you bob your head up and down, taking more of his cock every time you come down. your hand twists and strokes the remaining few inches that isn’t violated by your tongue and mouth, following your mouth like a reel as your intent to make him cum is fervent more than ever.

it hurts. your mouth hurts by how large your client is and tears brim in your eyes as you hold yourself back from gagging. but you don’t stop yourself because you’ll know it’ll be worth it. your endeavor to please him to the fullest has you drowning out his groans into white noise and you can barely register the fact that you’ve been on paused for a while now. you find yourself in a closer position than before, where your mouth is open, lips fully pressed around the carved hole as the superhero fucks into your mouth, fucks into your gags like you’re his personal flesh light. you didn’t care how dirty you looked, how you had saliva and spittle dripping out from the corners of your mouth and onto the floor. who would see? and you didn’t care that you were too preoccupied to touch your dick right now, because you know you’ll be thinking about this very moment for the rest of your life. and right now, you didn’t know if you wanted to be covered in his cum or to have your mouth be filled with it.

remaining in this position, you glance your teary eyes up at his grip over the barrier again. the strength in his grasp forms small cracks in the material of the barrier and that was the sign you knew you fulfilled your sense of purpose.

“christ, i’m going to come-“ your eyes shut again and you breathe through your noise, bracing for impact. he pushes his cock down your throat and hits that sore spot one last time before unloading his cum into your mouth with a stifled groan. warm, hot seed quickly fills you up and you pull your head back an inch to fully enclose your lips around his cock, ensuring none escape your lips.

in a heartbeat, you swallowed it all. his warm cum coats the back of your throat like medicine and you moan around his cock at the taste, intoxicated. you made sure to lick every inch of his cock clean, calmly slurping any saliva and cum that threatens to leave your mouth as you pull back up with a soft pop, swallowing the remaining remnants of his stress away.

“t-thank you. i needed that…” he pulls his softening cock out, careful in avoiding the hole as he was still sensitive. “did you need a tissue or anything? i think i have one somewhere…” you can hear him rummage through what you can only assume would be his bag and you find it charming, a quiet laugh leaving your swollen lips as you lean back onto your elbows to take a breather and stretch your legs out.

“no, no. i’m okay. i, uh, don’t think i wasted a drop.” you proudly brag, only for him to respond with a shy chuckle. you watch him tidy himself through the hole from a leaned back view, occasionally tilting your head in various angles to see if you could catch a glimpse on who the mysterious superhero is, but the barrier remains an obstruction to your view.

“well then, i… uh… thank you for your service.” he covers up the silence with another laugh and you join in, re-adjusting his pants and belt before turning his back towards you and heading out the booth. “i’ll try not to be late next time.”

© nouearth. please do not repost, plagiarize, or translate my works. and if you like this story, please reblog and leave a like!

[fandoms-in-law]

Ted Wheeler Knows Parenting

Summary: When Ted and Holly run into Steve and his father in Melvalds Ted has a few things to say about the other's parenting style. It ends up with Steve becoming a Wheeler and a lot of changes in that household.

Authors Notes: I've been working on this for a while, but between my days of recovery fic last month and some bad news I got this morning, I just want to post it, leave it where it is and focus on other stories that interest me. I'm going to make it a small series as while most of what I've written is post season 2 there's some bits for season 3 and 4 written too which I'm adding as oneshots.

I'm only posting this first bit here. If you want to read the rest of the series it'll be on AO3 here

/\/\

According to Nancy, nobody's dad's asked as much as he did about school, so Ted accepted that she wanted him to stop.

Mike asserted it was weird that his dad spoke about his hobbies with so much pride so he reduced that amount within his kids hearing.

Then there was Holly just wanting someone to play dolls with and thrilled he'd keep playing when her friends were around because she said he kept the games fun.

He wasn't and wouldn't claim to be the perfect father but hearing Mike's friends claim he was absent in all but body was hurtful. This was how his eldest and middle child asked him to be, and he would be there for his kids friends too, as much as they let him or realised given their own father situations.

Then there was Steve Harrington. Ted didn't know how to react so acted how Karen's dad had, tried to look after Nancy. Even he was able to see Steve would be lost when he was faced with Karen mothering him, as if it was a foreign concept to him.

That reaction made a lot more sense considering the scene Ted and Holly were witnessing now, just outside the supermarket.

"Think about the mud you're putting our name through, Steven. Your mother has been asked multiple times if she should be looking after you at home and can't argue her cases without allusions being made. I thought you knew better than to cause this trouble." Richard was lecturing, gesturing over Steve's body as if to highlight flaws he wasn't stating.

Whatever Mr Harrington was continuing to say Ted ignored, leaning down to Holly who had also noticed Steve and was already looking for permission to go and say hi. For a while she never thought about it but after a few outings with Karen when others weren't so happy to be interrupted he'd made sure to explain to her to check with them if her friends looked busy. Steve however looked like Holly would be a welcome escape from his father so Ted gestured over, encouraging.

"Steve!" She called, excited and hurrying over.

Ted watched as his face lit up and his focus was set on Holly now, as well as the anger that darkened his father's face.

"Holly Jolly, Mr Wheeler, How are you? You been having an adventure?" Steve asked, focusing on the kid as Ted had known he would. Every time he was around it was the easiest way to get him away from Nancy for a bit to suggest Holly asks to play. That'd been how he'd given the 'don't hurt my daughter' talk months back.

"Dad's getting me sweets but sssshhhhh, Mum said I can't have them so we have to hide them when we're home." Holly explained, ignoring Richard clearing his throat since he was a stranger. "Are you getting sweets too?"

"My father says I can't. You're so lucky with yours, Holly Jolly. I've got to get bread and cheese and that's all I'm allowed." Steve's words were joking for Holly but there was something genuine under them that had Ted wondering just what restrictions the boy was facing aside from being criticised and yelled at in public.

He stepped forward, also ignoring Richard for the moment. "I'm sure we can share ours. It's been a while since you came over and I'm sure Karen would love to have you for dinner."

"That'd be-"

"Unacceptable." Richard Harrington interrupts. "Who are you to undermine my sons life?"

Ted looked at the man in judgement. He'd lived in Hawkins for all his life and everyone knew the Harrington's by name and school memories. This was one of the first times he'd encountered the man since school however and what he saw was lacking, both in appearance and impression from Steve's reactions. "Theodore Wheeler. Unlike you I actually know that inviting someone to dinner doesn't undermine them at all. You standing criticising him in front of Melvalds does however, undermines whatever good reputation the Harrington's have thanks entirely to Steve. I see he raised himself rather than you doing any actual work parenting."

Richard scoffed at that, "Good reputation? You call getting into fights good for our name?"

"My son was one of the kids he was protecting as you would know if you were ever home or paid any attention to the newspapers of Hawkins." Ted countered immediately. "Something I can see you'd never do. How about we go and greet Mrs Byers, ask if there are any remaining papers that include that report as well as the invitations for the esteemed Harrington's to make a comment. I doubt the reporters meant yelling in front of a supermarket about their son failing to what? Avoid getting bruises?"

"You have no right to judge me when you're leaving your child in irresponsible hands." Richard snarled, never noticing Steve's step away and attempting to distract Holly.

"Looks pretty responsible to me even if Steve hasn't more than proven himself to me and multiple families including the Chief of Police if I'm not mistaken." Ted replied coolly, turning to lead the way into the store, subtly gesturing for Steve to head down the candy aisle. This wasn't the argument for kids to have or listen to no matter how grown Steve acted.

Almost twenty minutes later, and after the discovery Joyce Byers wasn't working that shift, Ted went to find his kids, ears ringing with some of the words Richard used about his son and reeling with the knowledge that legally or not, for the moment, he had 4 kids.

Steve was watching the end of the aisle with anxious eyes, but had Holly happily holding a couple of toys and talking about a game she was playing. "Sorry for whatever my father said, Mr Wheeler. I hope he's not hurt you." he immediately began, giving the impression that if he wasn't still looking after Holly he'd have already been hurrying off.

"Don't apologise and since you're living with us now you can just call me Ted." He waved the apologies off, bending to his daughter. "Would you like that, Hols? Like Steve to be your big brother as well as Mike?"

"Living with-" Steve cut himself off from asking with a shake of his head. "Can you explain that to me more later?"

Ted nodded, "On the way home I will. Let's get the rest of this list and head off."

[starlightxsvt]

Cohabitation with the Devil | Chapter 1

pairing ➳ devil!jihoon x female!reader

genre ➳ little bit of horror, crack, romance, fluff, eventual smut.

warnings ➳ so much cursing, use of a broom for self defence, beating, mentions of demon summoning, a lil bit of spooky stuff at the beginning.

word count ➳ 2.2k

summary ➳ somehow an entity ends up in your house and it isn't planning on leaving anytime soon. you know trouble comes in many forms but you never thought it would come to you in the form of a rather short but devilishly handsome, extremely annoying demon.

a/n: the first installment is hereeee~ this was really really fun to write so I hope y'all really really enjoy reading this lol. also I realized I unconsciously made this banner Attacca themed??? Lol.

Happy reading!

║ series masterlist ║

Something feels wrong.

Very.

Your apartment feels oddly eerie and unbelievably cold even though it's barely autumn. Chills run down your spine as you sit up in your bed, eyes squinting to see in the darkness; the only shimmer of light pouring through your window. You try your best to scan the room in the darkness of the night but nothing really seems out of place. It's just that you keep feeling weird. Like you are being watched.

You haven't gotten an ounce of sleep since you got in bed which was probably a couple of hours ago. The digital clock beside your bed reads 3:05 am and you groan in annoyance. You have classes tomorrow, you should be sleeping right now.

A sudden sound, just outside of your bedroom, probably in the living area if you had to guess tears you away from the thoughts in your head as you almost jump out of your skin.

What the fuck was that.

It's the middle of the freaking night and you are alone in your place- well not anymore because there has to be someone here, you are confident now.

Did someone break in? Oh shit.

Mustering up all your courage you gently crawl out of your bed and tuck your phone inside your pajama pocket while softly tiptoeing out of your bedroom.

Entering your living area, your eyes try their best to scan the place amid darkness, afraid if you turn the light on you'll alert the intruder. The broom you used for cleaning the mess earlier rests against the counter of your kitchen and hastily you grab it. Clutching it tightly in your hand, you walk around your dimly lit apartment and weirdly, find nothing suspicious.

Frowning you stand in silence in the middle of your living area for a while.

Are you really hearing things? Or did the intruder escape? But there is no sign of breaking in. Huffing in annoyance your hands reach for the light switch in the switch board and as soon as the lights turn on you come face to face with a man, standing a few feet away from you, his blank eyes set on you.

Your first reaction is letting out a blood curdling screech which makes the man flinch and cover his ears. But you don't stop at that, using the broom in your hand you blindly start smacking him, swinging the weapon around wildly to make sure you don't miss. The man stumbles and falls on the ground but just for safety you hit him a few times more before shouting, "You have five seconds to get out of my house you fucking thief!"

The man groans, clutching his head and yells, "What the fuck!"

"What the fuck?" You bellow. "You motherfucking son of a bitch get out right now or I'm calling the police!"

The intruder manages to stand up while you take a few steps back and scowling at you as he hisses, "Oh my Satan! What the fuck is wrong with you, you crazy lady! You fucking called me here!" Scoffing you chuckle dryly, "The nerve of this pervert! Get the fuck out you sleazeball, I've had enough." The man growls, "You literally fucking called me here! And will you stop calling me names?!"

That's it. You've had enough. You reach for your phone in your pocket, ready to call the police only the device doesn't turn on. Frowning, you tap on the screen multiple times, confused as to why it isn't working suddenly. You clearly remember charging it before bed.

"Yeah, it won't work." Your intruder drawls, watching you warily. You whip your head towards him, "What?"

He rolls his eyes, "I said it won't work, lady. Put it aside, it's useless now."

Silently you stare at him. Who is he and what the fuck is he saying?

Rubbing your temples, you try to inhale deeply, "Listen man I'm too tired for this shit. Get out while I'm being nice or I'll kick you out myself."

"You listen, woman. You fucking summoned me here hours ago and now you don't remember? Are you really that dense?" He crosses his arms over his chest, rasing a brow. You gawk at him, more perplexed and annoyed.

Seriously? What the fuck is going on? Is this a nightmare?

Seeing you mute the man sighs frustratedly, "I'm a devil. You and your stupid friends literally summoned me here a while ago? Remember? With that pentagram and shit?"

Okay now you are definitely sure he's a stalker. Gritting your teeth you hiss, "You are really pushing your luck you creep."

The self proclaiming demon lets out an annoyed huff, "You really won't believe me huh?" Before you can reply the broom in your hand is snatched away by an invisible force and starts floating in the air.

Oh my god.

Blinking a few times you make sure you're not seeing things before you let out the second scream of the night. Yelling at the top of your lungs, you stumble while trying to run away and land on your ass, scrambling backwards from whatever he is. "Fucking hell! Stop screaming or I'll gag you woman!" He hollers and the broom drops to the ground and you immediately shut up, covering your mouth with your hands.

The demon starts approaching you while you tremble in fear and then kneels on one knee to come face to face with you. Now that he is close you see the glint of red in his pupils before his eyes go black, completely hollow, full of nothing but darkness which rakes shivers down your spine. You're tempted to scream again but you stop yourself and hold your breath, waiting for him to snap your neck or suck your soul or whatever they do.

"Do you believe me now?" The demon's voice is soft, something you didn't expect and furiously, you nod your head, unable to reply verbally. A triumphant smile crosses his face as he stands back up and motions you towards the couch, "Shall we have a proper conversation now?"

-

You are seated on the couch opposite to the one he's sitting on and you keep squirming and shuffling, trying to attain the most distance between you and that God forsaken creature. He watches you with an amused stare but doesn't speak, letting you try to calm yourself down and stop vibrating in fear. You don't remove your eyes from him for a second, afraid he'll hurt you if you do so. The man- demon, you observe, is dressed in an impeccable crimson suit over a shiny black shirt. His black hair is styled away from his face and appearance wise he looks nothing like what he says he is but an elite business person. His skin is pale, porcelain like and his face is... beautiful if you were to say.

With the lack of words from the two of you, there is nothing but unnerving silence in the air and the rhythmic ticking of the wall clock. When you are unable to bear it any longer you break the ice, "W-what do you want from me?"

"Darling I should be asking you that. You're the one who called me here." The demon raises a brow at you. "No, I didn't, my friends did. Go haunt them or something," you murmur.

He chuckles, "It doesn't work like that. First of all, you all summoned me here, in your house. And secondly you gave me your earrings as the offering. So I'm tied to you." He shrugs.

Earrings? Oh right. The stupid ritual book that Hoshi brought said that the summoners had to place an offering to the demon and the offering had to be a personal belonging. Your dear friends talked you into offering your earrings, an old pair which you didn't use anymore and you happily gave them away, knowing it would never work anyway.

Well, the situation seems different now.

"Fuck," you whisper the lump in your throat and bring your knees closer to your chest. It feels awfully cold. "What do I have to do to get rid of you? Do an exorcism?" You ask the devil and he smirks, a diabolical smirk.

"Have sex with me."

You start choking on your saliva trying to tell yourself that you clearly, definitely heard him wrong. You have to. He is just messing with you. Right?

Your alarmed wide eyes seem to bring much pleasure to the evil entity as he grins, licking his lips.

"I'm Jihoon, by the way. Can't wait to have you underneath me, sweetheart."

Enjoyed reading? Please let me know your thoughts as they really encourage me! Ask box is always open!

Taglist: @amymoonl @deardiarylovegale

© All rights reserved under starlightxsvt 2021. Do not copy, repost, modify, edit, or translate any of my work without my direct consent. This tumblr is the ONLY place where my fics are posted.

[memes-saved-me]

Billy Hargrove and implied Queerness

First off this is focusing on his scenes without Steve because we've all seen those and....they're pretty homoerotic to say the least so I will be bringing your attention to the other factors which lead people to believe Billy is gay or interested in men and not so much women. This isn't very indepth but more surface level observations I've made and seen others make.

(TW: Homophobia and slurs discussed)

Season 2

The first scene we get of Billy he is instantly sexualised by those around him. Tina and Vicki taking interest in him based on his looks while Carol watches on rather unamused. This sets a trend for his character and his relationship with his looks and body, but more importantly how he uses it to his own advantage. Of course this was done to play into the 80s bad boy who all the high school girls fall for but what I'll explain later makes it much more interesting.

The next we see of Billy is with Max on their way home. During this scene he insults the looks of the high school girls, referring to them as cows. We then get a very interesting line "Yeah, we're stuck here and who's fault is that?" Which Max replies to with "Yours."

A response that instantly angers Billy to the point he demands she take responsibility for moving to Hawkins. A topic that has clearly been discussed before because Max's reaction implies this has happened before if not multiple times.

In Runaway Max, which isn't confirmed canon and contradicts a lot of stuff but, we are told that the reason they moved was because Billy was completely off the rails to the point he broke her friends arm. Now. Does that make sense in blaming who's fault the move was? If this is the case it is obviously Billy's fault so why does he keep saying it was her who caused this? She clearly liked being in California so why would she do something to make them move. Unless it was unintentional...

This heavily implies that there is an unspoken incident which involves them both. An incident which triggers such anger and recklessness in Billy to the point he almost runs over Mike, Lucas and Dustin because Max wouldn't say it was her fault. Many have then filled in this gap with Max accidentally telling either Neil or Susan about Billy and another boy, which would make sense with the information or lack of information we are given in canon about the reason they moved.

While at Tina's Halloween party we do not see Billy interact with a single girl. He is seen with Tommy and another boy who then approach Steve with him. It would make sense for girls to be drooling over him in this moment, trying to dance with him or following him inside but no. He makes a beeline for Steve and we do not see him for the rest of the party.

Now, I don't know about you but have you ever seen a teenage boy look less interested in his date? Not only is he not interacting with verbally but also physically. He then gets angry when she calls Max his sister and they drive off without a word. It's implied he is taking her home as he they were waiting for Max, meaning he was probably going to hook up with her but if he was wouldn't he act just a little nicer towards her?

I mentioned before that he is the archetype for 80s bad boy and the girls sure are falling, he just isn't catching them. This is the only time we see him interact with a women his age in a romantic way. If you could call this romantic at all.

When in trouble for letting Max run off while watching her, his response is that he doesn't have the time to go looking for her because he has a date, a date we never see or get the name of, this prompts his father to say the line "So that's why you've been staring at yourself in the mirror like some faggot..."

A line that then prompts Billy to snap and argue back after clearly wanting to get out of this situation as fast and smoothly as possible. Where else have we seen anger brought on by a topic? That's right in the car with Max. There is a trend of Billy reacting with anger to conversations or comments he finds personal or as some sort of attack. This is also when Neil becomes fully angry with Billy as seen in his rather shocked reaction at his response to that line.

This also continues the trend of Billy caring about his looks and using them as a shield of sorts, a shield that doesn't work against his father but everyone else he encounters.

Something to keep in mind, Billy is the only character to be called a homophobic slur by a parental figure other than Will. The character he mirrors in multiple ways including having the same full name William, as well as Will being heavily implied as gay or queer. Both of their father's use homophobic language against them, unlike any of the other characters in the show.

The next we see of him after the incident with Neil is also when we see him interacting with another women in a romantic sense. Karen. This is where his use of his looks and body fully come into play. He uses these assets to get information and affection out of Karen to make his father happy and avoid further punishment.

Now this is my own interpretation but Billy is used to using his body for positive attention and doesn't get that any other way. At no point in the series is he treated like a person other than in S3 by Max and Max only. Everyone else views him in an objectified manner or as a bad guy to avoid.

There is a clear resemblance between Karen and Billy's mother which I'll further discuss in the season 3 section but this leads me to believe he is subconsciously or even consciously wanting positive attention from a motherly figure, he just doesn't know any other way to achieve that.

However, it is very clear that flirting with Karen was an act as seen by the quite jarring juxtaposition of these two frames. The mask fully gone once by himself again. Meaning the only time we see him flirt with a women it isn't genuine at all.

Season 3

Now, continuing off the last point, there is countless girls practically drooling over Billy at the pool but he only accepts this attention from Karen. This exemplifies my theory that he doesn't know how to gain positive affection other than through flirting and well sex, but he only wants this attention from an older women who resembles his mother. Except, again he doesn't know any other way of gaining it. He hasn't had a strong positive female influence in his life since he was 10 years old and by the looks of it every motherly figure has treated him as eye candy and not a teenager crying for help.

He has Heather who is very much his age and flirts with him. Yet, he acts as if she isn't even there and goes straight over to Karen to flirt. The way he acts with Karen should be the way he would act with girls his age, flirting and making advances but we do not see a single example of this.

This part I find extremely interesting because it perfectly mirrors his interaction with Karen in season 2, except instead of dropping the mask he puts it on. The way he looks to his right as if she is sitting there as he practices what he is going to say to her is a clear example of his act coming into play as he prepares to meet up with her. His expression very similar to when he leaves the Wheeler home but it shifts to practice the way he is planning on talking to Karen. A complete reversal from their scene in season 2.

A rather reaching piece of symbolism could be that this also mirrors the way Neil cuts off Billy's date in season 2 as the Mindflayer is a literal representation of him being controlled by his father.

I also find it very interesting that he chooses to flirt with Karen very publicly and this might be reading a little too into it but it comes off as trying to uphold some sort of image. Another example of this is Max saying she hears Billy with girls in his room, something that sure is something he would do but when you put this with everything in this post it also comes off as him trying to prove something.

Another thing I find interesting is the way he acts around Karen, all smiles and friendly is very similar to that of the way he acts at dinner with Heather's parents. An act put on by the Mindflayer, just as he does when flirting with Karen. A mask used for underlying means and not what it shows on the surface.

Conclusion

This is all just my observation and he is not canonically gay or queer but the way he acts around women compared to Steve is a very interesting aspect to his character. If they truly intended for him to be this bad boy ladies man then they failed at presenting that.

One final thing, which I have posted about before is the fact Billy does not use homophobic language towards anyone. Even Steve does in season 1 so it would make sense for a teenage boy trying to upstage another teenage boy to use slurs and such to belittle and bully him. Except he doesn't.

I could write a full dissertation on Billy's implied queerness but a unorganised Tumblr post will have to do. Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

[willwritesablog]

Book Review: Red Dead Redemption by Matt Margini

Published by Boss Fight Books, 2020

Ebook Cost: $4.95, Paperback Cost: $14.95, Paperback + Ebook Bundle: $17.95

8/19/20

This necessarily won't be a comprehensive review of Matt Margini's latest book, Red Dead Redemption, but rather an overview of my experience in reading it and descriptions of some parts that especially stood out to me (and why.)

At the beginning of the book, Margini makes a humble disclaimer that apart from two brief trips, he himself has not been to the west. He corrects the notion that this would immediately disqualify him from writing this book afterword by opening into his central idea; the book is about Easterners' perceptions on the West, and is specifically about a videogame that brings these differences into the limelight, Red Dead Redemption by Rockstar Games.

I give all this exposition because I have never played Red Dead Redemption (or its sequel), I have never been west of Chicago, I've only read 4 western books and I've watched maybe one or two western movies. Beyond watching some beginning and ending cutscenes on YouTube, I went into this book fresh on the series. Besides playing through GTAV, I am still fresh to releases by Rockstar Games.

These factors should immediately disqualify me from writing a review, so I'll amend the notion by stating that my review is largely on the merits of Red Dead Redemption (the book) as a standalone piece.

As a standalone piece Red Dead Redemption functions flawlessly; it's written remarkably well. I was curious and a little skeptical going into this book on how Margini would approach this game, given Rockstar Games' notoriety in being tight-lipped on their development process. This already puts him at a disadvantage, but Margini makes up for it--profoundly--by picking apart every detail in the game and citing it to similar works in film, literature, and in other games that most definitely served as inspiration. Any developer interviews or relevant community reactions towards the game are cited and implemented into the book as well.

Red Dead Redemption by Matt Margini serves as a fascinating index over the western genre, and this is just one of the many things it accomplishes. It bears a strong amount of re-readability (as a small example, the first chapter begins with something the author was told 4 years ago. On the acknowledgements page, the first sentence states how he began scheming this book out four years ago) and contains a lengthy section of citations for extended reading (which also seems to be a feature in all publishings by Boss Fight Books.)

Matt Margini accomplishes multiple smaller things across writing this book--at its core he analyzes the western genre (and the death of the western genre), the mechanics of Red Dead Redemption, and the spirit of Red Dead Redemption (which is roughly a combination of the two.) But a number of related subjects and asides are discussed as well; personal connections to the game and Matt Margini's father are frequent, historical connections being made are not uncommon, and comparisons to other video games and their storytelling are prevalent. One of my favorite sections of the book was when Margini referenced and explained the idea of a "map game," the repeated pattern of modern video games to be open-world, expansive, and then inevitably claustrophobic as the player gathers his or her bearings. "Virtual tourism" is another term he uses here.

The most difficult portion of this book to read, I found, was the longest chapter, "Cowboy." Large sections of this chapter I found myself disagreeing with. In this chapter Margini identifies Owen Wister and his novel The Virginian as what "gave the cowboy his shape as a quintessentially American icon" and proceeds to illustrate him and his novel in a less-than-flattering light. This is discussed to serve as a reference point, as many western works released after The Virginian, Margini argues, carry similar ideological flaws.

Margini follows on this by comparing Wister's ideals to his friend Teddy Roosevelt's ideology and the value he saw in individuals adopting this western ideal. Margini states that Roosevelt's modification of the frontier thesis definitively transitioned its hero from the "humble yeoman farmer" into the chaotic "Daniel Boone, a Davy Crockett... a 'man who knows Indians' but takes their land by force," a character, to paraphrase, who lives outside of society, whose actions serve society, but who does not value society or its rewards itself.

Margini states that Roosevelt's ideals held "deeply racist implications" because his ideal man subjugated or was complicit in subjugating Indians, and also because it roots back to Nietzsche's Übermensch. If his beliefs were this way, I didn't find the book's connection towards this to be very effective. Margini uses very racial language when describing Roosevelt's beliefs, but from what is shown, it doesn't seem like this virtue in subjugation was drawn across racial lines.

Later, in "Cowboy," in closing off the same interlude and in making present-day connections, he alludes to the structure of the game of Red Dead as implicitly strengthening racial prejudices, in that your character, a white man, is able to function at a higher capacity than the other, robotic characters in the game. He concludes this in saying, "Everyone else [in the game] is just--to borrow a term weaponized by contemporary white supremacists--NPCs." Although this is meant as a brief point, Matt Margini either fundamentally misunderstands, or is being disingenuous to, the "NPC" pop culture phenomenon. The idea of the "NPC" and using it as a derogative began by a broader right-wing dissident movement--it was significant for symbolizing an opposition to consumerism, hedonism and nihilism as opposed to anything racial. It's a pretty egregious mischaracterization and show-of-the-hand on where Margini aligns his personal views--he uses a very serious subject (white supremacy) as a boogeyman in referencing a topic his audience is likely ignorant on.

In spite of that and even in other places in the book I feel prone to disagree with, Matt Margini makes his cases very well. Red Dead Redemption would make for an excellent book to read within a book club or even within a filmmaking class due to its wide scope, its excellent analyses and its thought-provoking subject material. The language used within it is stunning as well--such as in the following quote about the ideal of the cowboy, "The way he's 'seen trouble' that the East Coast man hasn't seen, crystallizing a purer kind of virtue that lies beneath a life of vice," the imagery Margini evokes here of an unmoving, bedrock virtue being forged under the pressures of vice is near-perfect. In reading Red Dead Redemption I ended up writing down close to a dozen new words that I had not heard before to look up. And Matt Margini accomplishes all of this in under 200 pages.

As I began with this review, this is in large part a discussion of my personal experience with this book. In keeping with that spirit, I'm rating this book a 4/5 here, however, I went ahead and left smaller reviews on Goodreads and on LibraryThing with full 5 star ratings just to help data analytics. It's gripping, it's seamless, and it's a better book than I could write. It's a book that deserves to be read.

Easy to Binge-Read?: I read it in three sittings (reading through the first four chapters, then reading chapters “Cowboy” and “Violence,” and then finally reading the remaining three chapters), although some might finish it in an afternoon.

Review: 4̶/̶5̶

EDIT, 10/17/20: Too little too late, but attempting to diagnose this book on a 5 point scale was petty and stupid of me. My disagreements with the book cover about half of my review, but only around 2% of its pages. From its discussion of map games to its identification of "every signifcant tourist attraction in Florida [being] the remnant of some early-20th-century megalomaniac’s quasi-utopian passion project," I've cited this book a number of times on other things ever since finishing it.

Rating: 9/10

[carriagelamp]

i've been trying to get back into reading novels but also I enjoy you ranting about your fave things so can you hype discworld for me?

DUDE YES THIS IS PRACTICALLY WHAT I WASMADE FOR (let me pull everyone into this bottomless pit)

The Discworld is a book series thattakes place in a high fantasy world (a flat disc that drifts thoughspace on the back of four elephants on the back of the giant spaceturtle A'Tuin).  Broadly speaking, it takes place in a fantasymedieval-ish period, but this gradually progresses throughout theseries and eventually approaches something like an industrialrevolution.

You know every time you’ve ever read afantasy book and a had a moment where you found yourself thinking “well… this iscool… but real people would never act that way in this sort ofsituation…” well my boy TPratt takes that mentality and fuckingruns with it.  The entireseries is satire, and is basically a love letter to both the fantasygenre and the human race as a whole.  The best thing about these books isthat Terry Pratchett is hilariously funny and unbelievably clever,and he uses that to reach his hand right into the very core ofhumanity and uses this silly fantasy world to poke fun at all thelittle weird ticks and tells that make us human, and he does it allusing trolls and dwarves and wizards and witches and dragons andwerewolves and vampires and Heroes anddamsels-very-much-not-in-distress.

Likedude, holy fuck, this man wrote an entire novel about a charactersetting up the city post office.  Okay?? like… the postoffice.  You’d think it’d beboring as dirt, but it’s one of my favourite books of the seriesbecause Pratchett gives you this notorious conman who was finally captured and was then sentenced and hung by the neckuntil… almost dead.  And then he’s given a choice.  Either thetyrant of the city can finish what the hangman started, or else hecan go become Post Master General… a job that has killed multiplepeople already in a very short period of time under very mysteriouscircumstances.  In that book you have everything from a land pirate, to ghost letters, to demon horses, to a Golem Lady (and a lady golem), to interfering gods, and a race against the clock that gives me fuckingthrills literallyevery single time I read it.  And that’s just one book!  Of a frigginenormous series!  There is so much to choose from!

I knowthe big stopping factor for most people when it comes to theDiscworld is the size.  It’s a pretty big series.  But the beautifulthing about it is that almost every book stands alone and you canjump in practically anywhere.  The more books you read, the betteryou understand the world, but it’s not necessary – it’s like anadded bonus.

How itworks is like this: the BIG OVERARCHING SERIES is called theDiscworld.  All those books more or less go in chronological order,starting with The Colour of Magic and moving forward.  However,within Discworld all the books also fit into a whole bunch of smaller character arcs. So the first few books of the series can be sorted like this:RINCEWINDBOOKRINCEWINDBOOKWITCHESBOOKDEATHBOOKRINCEWINDBOOKWITCHESBOOKINDEPENDENT BOOKCITYWATCH BOOK…etc…So all of them are Discworld books and part of the bigger, chronological story, but ifyou’re reading the Rincewind Arc, you could easily read books 1, 2,skip three and four because they’re parts of different arcs, and thenread book 5.  Get it?  Kinda?  That’s usually how people recommend you readDiscworld – rather than reading THE FIRST DISCWORLD BOOK (which is…honestly… not that great), pick up and read the first book of acharacter arc that interests you.  (Like for me when I read my first book, I inadvertently ended up readingthe thirty-sixth Discworld novel which was also the secondbook of a character arc. And I still understood it all well enough to fallin love with the series.)

Sowhere to start?

Absolutely,without a doubt, my go-to recommendation for people with the CityWatch arc.  The first book of the series is called Gaurds!Guards!  Why start here? Because it has Sam. Fucking. Vimes. Who is probably my single favourite literary character of all times. You have never read about a character who is more badass,kind, clever, and brutally efficient than Sam Vimes, or who has moreheart-breaking integrity.  He is a man who is very, very capable ofbeing terrible, and so he works himself to the bone to make sure he isgood.

Vimeslives in the Discworld’s largest city, Anhk-Morpork, where he’s theCaptain of the failing Night Watch.  This is the city’s policeservice, and it’s a joke.  It’s run by a few incompetents who’drather avoid trouble and who everyone else happily ignores.  Thisstory opens with Sam Vimes, dead drunk in a gutter.  This is SamVimes, this is his life, and he can’t imagine he could have a better one or that it could possibly be worth pursing – he was bright-eyed and hopeful once too but he’s seen the ugliness of the world and the people that inhabit it. The Watch is useless, and so is he.  Everything carries on asnormal… until the night a dragon attacks the city and no one wantsto acknowledge or accept what happened – but Vimes knows what he saw. So Sam Vimes needs to pull together his bumbling little team andfigure out the mystery of the dragon and how to save the city.

Eachbook in the Watch Arc is basically like a murder mystery, if murdermysteries had the added excitement of involving magic, dwarf laws,werewolves, foreign powers, and exactly as much forensic science as you’d expect in themiddle ages.

Ofcourse, if you don’t want to start with the Watch books, there’sother good arcs.  The one with the post office I described is just athree book arc that comes later on in the Discworld series aboutMoist Von Lipwig.  The first book of this series is Going Postal. He’s a smooth-talking ex-conman who’s as curly as a corkscrew andsharp as whip.  These books are some of the funniest, I think,because Lipwig is such an amusing character to read about – hemanipulates and lies and basically tapdances around everyone elsewhile they struggle to keep up with the illusions he’s weaving.  He makes people see the shine…

Toomany men for you so far?  Try the Witches books.  These have an almostexclusive female cast, with a handful of male character playingsupporting roles, which for me at least is a really refreshing change.  Unlike Vimes and Moist, they live outside ofAnkh-Morpork, off in the rural mountainside where they live as villagewitches, a job that is about 10% magic and 90% knowing more thanother people and being Right All The Time.  Their books often aresatires on famous literary works – the first one is called Wyrd Sisters and it’s a play on Macbeth, or the one I just finished reading was areally funny one that was a play on of Phantom of the Opera.

TheTiffany books are similar.  She’s another witch, but unlike GrannyWeatherwax and Nanny Ogg from the Witches Arc who are old, experienced, and incredibly powerful witches, Tiffany is a child, abrand-new witch who is only just beginning to learn the ropes and constantly has to prove herself.  She’stenacious, a little pig-headed, and the sort of person who uses herbaby brother as bait in order to fight a river monster with a fryingpan.  Because how could that be a bad idea?  She’ll spit in the fairy queen’s eyes herself if that’s what it takes.  The first book of thisseries is Wee Free Men, and it’s one of Pratchett’s books that was written for a slightly younger audience, so it’s a slightly shorter, easier read if you wanta more gentle introduction to the series.

Oneother series that I don’t generally recommend that people start with,but which you might like, is the Death Arc.  Where the maincharacter is literally Death himself.  The first book is called Mort,and it’s about a boy who inadvertently becomes Death’s apprentice,and everything that happens to him from there…  This book does come earlier in the Discworld series though, and sometimes I find if you aren’t “used” to Pratchett’s way of writing already when you read it, it can be a little hard to get through.

There’sa couple other arcs besides, and I can tell you about others if you like, butthose ones are sort of my ~favourites~ and the ones that I think aresome of the best for introducing new readers to. (If anyone tries totell you to start with the Rincewind series, politely walk away asfast as you can.)  Still, the Watch series is still my favourite ;)

Here’shoping I won you over, because I am always desperate to make peopledescend into Discworld hell with me~  Let me know if you decide toread any because I am always 150% ready to talk Pratchett with people~