#mysterious mike... what is his deal......

[dykesynthezoid]

I do think Mike Flanagan using Fall of the House of Usher for some vague inspiration at least makes more sense than him using The Turn of the Screw. Bc FotHoU at least has themes about family and the inner rot of the upper class, but meanwhile with Bly Manor it was like… Why did you even pick this story to adapt??? It was clear he just didn’t have any remote interest in any of the themes of the original story, so the only things that got translated to the screen were like. Names, and the fact that there were two kids, a governess, and some ghosts. And that’s where the similarities ended.

Like The Turn of the Screw has so much you can dig into about repressed sexuality and neuroticism and the cycle of abuse. But Bly Manor doesn’t end up reflecting any of that even remotely. It was clear he just wanted to keep exploring the same themes that were previously interesting to him; which is fine, I just don’t know why he chose to “adapt” that story then. And it’s not like I would expect any of his shows to be accurate adaptations, but even the Haunting of Hill House felt at least somewhat thematically in line with the original book. Bly however is just. A totally different story. So idk why he bothered with it.

It’s also funny to me that he’s made multiple shows based on gothic literature and yet the only work of his that actually feels gothic to me is Midnight Mass, which you know. Wasn’t one of the ones based on a gothic story.

[ughdontbeboring]

Let Me In

Smoke X Black/WoC Reader X Stack (👀😮‍💨🥵)

A night at the speakeasy that changes y’all lives forever

warnings: uh angst? and twin Mike’s lol (I wish there was smut but maybe once I see the movie idk)

( SONG FROM SOUNDTRACK BY MY FAV MUST LISTEN 😭

so I just had to come back here and update with a song by Tanrélle for the soundtrack!! I just heard it and it soooo the soundtrack for this scene I wrote OMG I CANT DEAL )

side note: not sure if I even wrote that out correctly but the twins share reader there is no incest in the pairing. I thought about this late at night after seeing the trailer that just dropped and yea lol I haven’t been in Mike’s fanfic section in a while and all my Killmonger fics I never post so funny enough without the movie even being out this is my first fic for Mike ever posted.

I may follow up and do more after the movie drops and I see more of their personalities only time will tell. I’m def playing around with something a little prequel just to show their dynamic a bit but again time will tell 🥵

it’s so early on idk what to even tag this 😭 is anyone even reading this now or are we waiting on the movie to drop??

❤️💙

Smoke stood there yelling trying to calm down the group of hysterical night goers who now found themselves in an impossible situation. A situation that shouldn’t be a reality but let the old tales tell it, it was just as true. 

And now your small group of survivors is finding that out. 

The lively party under the moon light quickly taking a turn after unwanted guests arrived odd and full of smiles. 

It started with that Mary woman who had flirted her way in. She was out of place here and maybe that’s why Stack seemed so intrigued. He never could turn down a mystery, your wild boy.

Now there was no way out that any of you could see just yet but you knew Smoke would think of something, he always did.

Pearl wailed in front of everybody, her body shaking uncontrollably as the other women rushed surrounding her, trying to give some comfort.

You seen Delta take that moment to approach Smoke who was deep in thought, closer to the front door than anyone else. That far away look on his face when he was racking his brain for a solution. 

The realization that Stack had become a night creature, a vampire from the folklore of time immortal, from tales stretching across the world in different cultures, different languages was unfathomable. He had become whatever they were and it was settling into the group with dread. 

But none more devastated than Smoke and you. 

Now while Smoke was thinking of this with the rationality of surviving you just couldn’t accept this. 

“Smoke what we gon’ do without Stack?” Delta tried to whisper. He was unsuccessful because you could still hear him even with the group of women between y’all. 

You feel the room spinning again and you just need a moment. Hearing him speaking of Stack in that way had the air rushing from your lungs. No not Stack. You thought. Not like this. 

You know Smoke said for everyone to stay together and away from the walls, the doors, the windows any part of the foundation but you just need a moment because you feel like you can’t fucking breathe. 

Everyone is occupied when you slip away silent in your kitten heels you had choose for the night, your careful to not make noise with your form fitting dress that’s decorated with beadwork at the hem. All night the dress had swayed and shinned in the low lit speakeasy. You had danced all night your dress adding its own sound to the lively music with the heavy beadwork while switching between the strong arms of your boys during every song when the other wasn’t busy. 

Stack danced with you and Smoke would just hold you and kinda sway as you danced on him. Ever the serious one. 

You find yourself in the smaller back room that’s used for storage with a back entrance. Even though you needed a moment the small space was quickly becoming suffocating causing your grief and disbelief to swell within you. It choked you. Now you felt like you were standing out in the fields on a hottest summer Mississippi day. You felt like you were dying.

You quickly realized you were hyperventilating. You needed air. 

Over your deep breathing you hear softly yet unmistakably beyond the door “It’s ok baby”. Your blood goes cold and your body freezes. 

“Stack?” You question softly as your eyes start to water while staring straight ahead of you. 

“Yea, it’s me baby” He says in his familiar thick accent. 

“Ho-how?” You stutter in disbelief. How’d he know you were back here? Out of everyone it could have been how’d he know it was you? Was he alone? So many questions ran through your head without ever making it to your lips.

“Baby I knew it was you. Don’t cry babygirl just open the door fo’ me” He coo’s softly. 

“I-I can’t” you replied sounding even unconvinced to your own ears. It feels wrong to deny him. 

“Why? Baby I don’t wanna be out here no more all alone. let me in so I can get away from these crazy crackers” He mutters a little bit impatiently. That bit wasn’t your Stack. Stack out of the both of them always was patient with you, it was almost sickening how he caved for you. 

His patience’s with you gave people the false hood of a saint when his reality was he could flip in a moment. Just like Smokes quietness and how gentle he was with you gave people a false impression of calm man. They were both ticking time bombs on any given day, at any moment. 

“And it’s really you Stack?” You ask again begging your mind to believe what your heart does. That he’s still in there somewhere. 

It’s quiet for a moment before he's able to muster an almost forced reply. “Of course-“

“The hell you doing?” You hear barked behind you in that deep Mississippi drawl. 

It’s not even seconds later when you feel his presence behind you and his large hand gripping your arm yanking you slightly back.

“It’s Stack! We have to help him! Let him in! Please Smoke!” You beg facing the other half of your heart, staring up into Smokes eyes. You seen the anger and the hurt swirling in the deep brown.  

“It ain’t him!” He yells down at you as he towers above you. His handsome face menacing as always. 

You’re not sure if everyone had come back with Smoke or if they’re just getting there but you feel everyone’s eyes on you. You know they must think you crazy. You seen what everyone else outside the speakeasy did to eachother yet here you are begging for Smoke to find a way to save Stack, bring him back to you.

“Oh come on now no fighting with our babygirl, just open up fo’ me twin” Stack taunts from the other side of the door. 

The sound of his voice has you staring at the door with your conviction growing before Smoke is pulling your attention back to him. 

“Aye. Hey baby look at me that’s not Stack. Not no more” He tries again with concern flickering in his eyes. He’s not sure what will happen if he can’t get you to accept it. His stomach turns with the thoughts of all the possibilities. He can’t loose you too. Not now not never. 

“Please! Please I can’t-I can’t leave him out there!! He’s not safe” You begged staring up at him. Your eyes pleading with him to understand. 

But that flicker of concern is quickly extinguished by the anger that replaces it in his brown eyes. He’s shaking you as he turns you to face him. He needs you to understand.

He yells your name full of anger. “You’re not safe if you let him in! He’ll kill you and everyone else in this fucking place!” He roars at you. 

It’s starting to dawn on Smoke he may have to take more precautions if you don’t show him you’ve accepted what has happened to Stack.

You’re not sure why he allows it or if you’ve just caught him off guard but you yank your arm away and move near the door. 

You can feel the tension in the room at your sudden proximity to the door. There’s a small opening in the door just about your eye level in your short heels. It’s about the length of your middle finger and horizontal. 

“Stack pl-please baby please tell me it’s really you. You’re still my Stack, right?” You beg softly as you stare at Stack’s throat that you can see through the opening. Your fingers inching up to right below the hole.  He’s some how closer and your pointer finger ventures outside just barely to run along his full bottom lip. You shudder at the feel of his skin and how it’s something between hot and cool but not warm. It was odd and unsettling.

There’s a long pause and you can feel Smoke slowly move closer to you. 

The silence is deafening to you as your heart starts to pick back up. 

You see him shift a bit and when you crane you neck your able to see his eyes. You couldn’t see Stacks eyes before, not this close anyway since he changed.

They’re grey almost sliver and mostly lifeless, the brown warmth from them missing. But the guilt that flickers across them fans the embers of your hope. 

What is said next is so soft you almost don’t hear it if it wasn’t for the view you also had of his lips with the way he’s tilted his eyes to look down at you. 

But the rasp of his voice is unmistakable when he whispers “I love you” 

Your heart can’t take it and even if his eyes are different your Stack is still in there somewhere. Your hand rushes the door handle. 

It’s not Smokes booming voice behind you yelling “NO!” that startles you, it’s the earth shaking bang on the door in-front of you when you can do longer see Stack’s eyes that freezes your movements. Your hand inches from the handle.

The bang comes again as Stack yells “Let me in!”. Your body feels like you were just dumped into the Mississippi during winter. The cold realization settles over you. No he’s not your Stack, not fully at least.

Had he not banged on the door startling you, you would have surly opened it and thrown yourself into his arms. This was his way of showing you, your Stack that was still in there was trying to get through to you over the force that was consuming his body. He was trying to scare you.

The next bang is just as loud and aggressive and it causes you to stumble, falling back, your hands breaking the fall and scraping against the wooden floor as your bottom takes most of the impact. 

Your heart is racing faster than you thought possible as you stare up wide eyed at the door Stack continues to bang against 

“LET ME IN!” 

You feel Smokes rough hands wrap around your waist pulling you up. His arms wrap around you as you snob in your hands. His full soft lips at your neck shhing and comforting you.

“It’s ok baby, gonna be ok, you safe with me” Smoke whispers softly against you. 

They always had their different ways of dealing with you and it just worked having both of them. It wasn’t unusual for Smoke to be so soft with you but it didn’t happen as often as it did with Stack. Smoke was definitely your grumpy one, hardly if ever smiling if it wasn’t for you. 

They both came in your life at the same time sweeping you off your feet without even trying, They both pulled you in in their own way true to their own personalities. When you realize that you couldn’t choose you decided you would walk away, and they refused to let you go. They decided it was only right to share you with boundaries in place over loosing you. It was by far nothing any of you had experienced before or would have been willing with anyone else. But here the three of you were years later. You never looked back. 

“You and your man could be together and even better if you come out or let us in little lady” It’s another voice the room full of people hear, his voice, the white man who brought this hell to their little speakeasy paradise.

“Such a pretty pretty thing, we’d make you a queen” he continues with a groan almost like he was thinking of how your blood would taste or maybe even more sexual thoughts. Either way it caused you to shudder in Smokes arms pressing more into him. 

You know you aren’t mistaken when you hear a familiar growl. It’s not him it’s Stack. The sound causes your stomach to turn a bit knowing that’s the part of him that’s still Stack. He was always so jealous it was a wonder he was able to handle the relationship of 3. Even turning didn’t seem to change that in him. It was a sound you heard many many times before. A man any man would be beat within an inch of his life for disrespecting Stack or Smoke by gazing upon you for a moment too long. 

You’re not sure if you should be happy or devastated by the realization. Apart of you wants to be with him, be whatever he is now. Stay by his side like he had always been by hers. 

But then you feel the warm squeeze of Smoke’s arms behind you and his hands turning you into his chest as the tears you didn’t notice start again keep falling. 

Smoke’s large hands grab your face softly and his thumbs wipes the tears away. You couldn’t give up, not when you still had your Smoke. You had to fight for him even if that meant letting go of Stack or whatever Stack had become. 

His face is close to yours making you hold eye contact. 

“Shh baby m’ here, you safe. Just stay here with me” He says watching you, you nod finally giving him some relief you’re starting to accept this night and the twisted turn of fate. “If that was still Stack he’d want you safe baby. We both know that. He’d want you safe and with me.”

You shake your head in understanding but it doesn’t stop the tears. He leans in to softly kiss them away. 

“We gon’ be good. Ight baby? I got you.” He promises holding your eyes in place with the conviction in his. 

And you believe him. Not matter how impossible the situation seemed you believed him to always come through for you. 

“Did y’all hear that? Where’s that coming from” Delta panics leaving the room to search for the source. 

You steal a glance back and notice that Stack is still staring through the opening as Smoke pulls you away. 

“I love you” you whisper back with a finale look before turing into Smoke’s embrace as he leads you safely away from the temptation of his twin. 

Smoke knows that Stack is still in there somewhere but his bloodlust seems to be his main controller and  he can’t let you hold out on hope and get yourself killed or worse turned trying to prove your love. Trying to prove Stack is still in there. 

So he keeps you close as possible as they enter the main room following the rest of the group. 

“I love you Smoke” you say softly as you stop and look up at him. 

Smoke knows you do just as much as you love Stack, you’ve never shown favorites. He loves you more than he’ll ever be able to say, you both know that. After tonight though he might have to work on being able to tell you just how much he does. 

Smoke doesn’t care what happens tonight as long as he gets you safely away from this. Not only for himself but for Stack too. 

❤️💙

[cube-cumb3r]

now i dont disagree i dont think its nothing like something random the fandom just latched onto that secretly means Nothing all along!! i think its Something ... like theres just a strange constant Presence of this Friend thats everywhere but we literally know nothing about Like. and with these new chapters becoming less obscure bottom of the iceberg peculiarity and more and more Wait this actually Is something??

but i like mysterys and unexplained weird things yknow. maybe there will be a truely awesome mindBlowing explanation one day where everything will make sense but as for now weve got several Friend appearances/references with so little to go off and i would be totally satisfied with it just never actually being fully explained.like theorizing is like crack tome but there are somethings where i dont expect them to ever have clear answers

i feel similarly about Wing Ding Gaster Undertale where if we never fully know what the fuck is up with that man i would think thatd be awesome like I love how we still arent 100% sure if the mystery person sprite is him to This day like. that rules. THAT RULES!!!But i suspect w deltarune its also not impossibke he too will get an awesome explanation and suddently oh its all coming together Fuckk maybe the Knight Wing Ding Gaster Cat Petterz Spamtenna Tail Mike Papyrus December Sans Is Befriending Toriel Shelter SOUL = FRIEND INSIDE ME!!!!!!

deltarune fans are so mystery allergic like wym you're trying to "solve" image friend. can it not be a weird freak little thing that is never explained

Ok i'm so sorry Cube I do have to slightly disagree with you on this one and start larping as the green pippin Mike guy because I DON'T KNOW.... LIKE....... FRIEND SEEMS LIKE IT'S SHOWING UP *TOO* MUCH TO BE NOTHING!!!!!! TO BE TOTALLY UNEXPLAINED FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!

Cause like i will not be MAD if it's a little freak that's never explained.... But then why does it show up in Queen's basement AND in one of the darkness mazes? Why is its stupid fucking face in ralsei's dark world explanation?? Why is it in the Creepypasta video game with Eram. WHY CAN YOU ALSO SEE ITS EYES IN EMPTY ROOMS OF THE CREEPYPASTA VIDEO GAME?????? WHY CAN YOU ONLY PLAY THE CREEPYPASTA GAME WITH A PINK AND YELLOW CONTROLLER THAT APPEARS OUT OF NOWHERE??????????????????????????????

Also what came first the Friend or the Spamton

But also like every time the friendheads start actually saying shit about this thing they lose me. No offense to them. I just. Again. Mike Cat Petterz Tail Hell Smile Cat Shelter = Friend = Statements dreamed up by the Utterly Deranged.

I want to believe. I want to believe in Friend. I want to love my Friend. But nothing feels true to me. Nothing feels right.

Maybe the real Friend was insi [I am rapidly swarmed by a pack of forest gnomes who leave me nothing but bones

[hypertechnica]

exploring unexplained darkner lore: WHEN does a darkner gain consciousness, exactly?

alternate title: WOODY THEORY IS ACTUALLY RELEVANT BUT NOT IN THE WAY WE THOUGHT??? MAYBE???

there are so many unanswered questions regarding how darkners and dark worlds “work” and i’m really fascinated by the worldbuilding put out so far - but we still don’t really know what the deal is, not really.

the way ralsei explains dark worlds in chapter 3 basically tells us what we already know, but explicitly - darkners are objects in the light world. they’re not “real” and derive “purpose” from being needed by lightners (which is a whole can of worms.)

as evidenced by lancer’s “all gone!” reaction to susie asking where his dark world went in chapter 2, sealing dark fountains DOES effectively destroy the world, but not necessarily the people inside it (if you decide to recruit them.) there’s an obvious ethical dilemma here that’s been on people’s minds since chapter 1 came out. to me, the biggest question is:

does the dark world always exist, inaccessible to lightners, or is it physically created and destroyed on the same day? are the fountains portals or creators?

the repeated phrase “the unending pillar of darkness that gives my body form” (ralsei’s unused manual)/“the dark fountain that gives the world form” (tv time credits) (there might be more instances im forgetting idk) does imply the latter, as well as the descriptions of “creating fountains” “making dark worlds” as opposed to, say, “opening doors” to them.

but the concept of time here is… weird. darkners consistently refer to the past, every dark world we enter has history, darkners even speak of people from other dark worlds! and the histories always parallel what happened to their corresponding object and space in the light world. chaos king is bitter and hates lightners because they abandoned him and everyone else - because they’re toys left in an abandoned classroom. cyber city doesn’t have this problem because they’re situated in a computer library regularly used by lightners, but queen is struggling with the internet outage. kris’ living room is… a child of divorce. and chapter 4? man i don’t even know. the darkners in the church are so cryptic i haven’t been able to analyse it properly.

so if darkners remember their lives as objects, were they always alive, or were they created by the fountains and “implanted” with those memories? are they even “real” memories?

chapter 3 raises the most questions regarding this. tenna KNOWS kris, watched them grow up. ramb comments on how kris and their friends used to play make believe WITH THE SAME OBJECTS we know now - im failing to remember the line but i know it mentioned how queen and king were at war! and in chapter 4 it’s revealed that dark worlds are warped by the mind that creates them. this raises so many questions - are all objects in the light world sentient and able to communicate with each other, just invisible to lightners? or are objects “summoned” into consciousness with memories of their lives automatically created for them?

and that made me fucking realize. ARE DARKNERS LIKE THE TOYS IN FUCKING TOY STORY???? THINK ABOUT IT. TGINK ANBOUT IT

tenna’s past with spamton is a huge indicator of this - they were business partners, right? and they had a falling out because of a mutual misunderstanding involving the mysterious person calling spamton and making him a Big Shot. well, how the hell did spamton know tenna, if they’re from different dark worlds?

in what i’m fairly certain is game tenna’s last piece of dialogue in the sword route, he says “they never should have brought that computer home…”

spamton knows tenna and mike before tenna’s dark world is created. they communicated and had a relationship before ANY of the dark worlds were created if we take “1997” as the literal year of spamton being a big shot. all because the dreemurs brought a computer home, allowing tenna to meet spamton… now, you could argue that this is because the prophecy is controlling everything, but we already see ways in which the prophecy has been contradicted, so i’m uncertain if the prophecy has THAT strong of a hold on the world. (if that ages bad in the next ten years womp womp)

AND. although we don’t know if this is every object or just objects that have previously been animated via fountains, but tenna shows signs of sentience even in the light world!!! y’all know the line of dialogue with mettaton where he plays a “salacious music video”!!!! look!!!!! THE OBJECTS ARE SENTIENT ITS FUCKING TOY STORY

DARKNERS EITHER LITERALLY LIVE AS SENTIENT OBJECTS (LIKE TOY STORY, THE BRAVE LITTLE TOASTER, ETC) OR IN A MORE ETHEREAL SENSE LIVE ON A SEPARATE PLANE OF EXISTENCE AS DARKNERS BUT CAN ONLY DIRECTLY INTERACT W LIGHTNERS WHEN A FOUNTAIN GIVES THEM ANTHROPOMORPHIC FORM

WAITER! MORE WOODY THEORY PLEASE gets shot 57 times

[paradiseismine]

All at once - Finnverse x reader

Pairing: Finnverse characters x f!reader

Summary: the Finnverse kidnapped you, and now all of Finn’s characters want to take turns claiming your body as theirs… Yes, that’s exactly what you read (Richie included!!)

Warnings: Yandere! Also some veryyyy lewd stuff that came out of some dark corner in my brain the other day - this is basically a gang bang.

Disclaimer: yes, this is virtually impossible, I know. But please, my lovelies, let’s just step into this little fantasy world together (I promise you’ll have a good time).

Love note from Nina: I’m SO fucking back, you guys.

The Finnverse had taken you as their ultimate muse, spying on you for months as they plotted a way to steal you from your life and into theirs. Miles and Boris insisted on kidnapping you bluntly, without any warm up or explanation. Trevor and Ziggy were ultimately against it, trying to go for a more “beauty and the beast” type of deal - they’d kind of lock you in, but make it so comfortable and enjoyable that you’d want to stay. Everyone’s opinion was heard, and they settled for a slower approach to avoid scaring you off.

First, you met Mike - his braveness, leadership and softness had you wonderstruck in mere days, and you knew you’d fall for him. You simply did.

But that’s when Ziggy came along. And then Richie. And then Miles, with his dark eyes and mysterious behavior. And then Boris, with his sensual accent. And when you thought you didn’t have any more space in your heart for anyone, Trevor came along.

They were all perfect and imperfect in their own little ways: Richie made your stomach hurt from laughing at his jokes; Mike’s warm hands made you feel safer than ever; Ziggy’s care and love for you made your heart flutter; Boris released something wild within you; Miles intrigued you with his sharp tongue; and Trevor swept you off your feet with his adorable clumsiness and interesting ghost talk.

As you got smitten with each and every one of them, you couldn’t help but feel guilty too - having affairs with so many boys at the same time… it seemed so slutty of you. It all got more intense and more complicated, so you told them all, individually, that you couldn’t take the romance any further, afraid you’d break the other boys’ hearts, even though you were interested in all of them for different reasons. They explained that they all lived together and that it wasn’t a problem, you could carry on with each budding relationship simultaneously, they wouldn’t mind sharing.

You found it weird, but did as you pleased, and even when they invited you in to their place, asking you to pack a suitcase beforehand, you had no idea you wouldn’t be allowed to leave anymore. Miles’ manor was the place they lived in and the place they chose to keep you in, as it was more spacious and less prone to distractions than anywhere else, so they could all focus on their only mission: make you fall deeply in love with them, make you want to stay, make you their wife.

At first, you didn’t understand why you couldn’t see your family or friends anymore, why you had to quit your job and switch all of your classes for online ones. They just wanted you to hang around the house, no need for anything else - they’d provide you with nice food, clothing, presents, anything you could possibly need or wish for.

The days passed, and soon, you were used to living with the Finnverse: Richie biking with you every morning (just around the gardens of the manor, as you weren’t allowed to leave the property), Mike playing board games with you after lunch, Miles buying you expensive gifts, Boris keeping you stocked with any drugs you’d wish to try, Ziggy taking beautiful pictures of you and editing them to perfection for your instagram profile, and Trevor keeping you safe from any ghosts as you watched horror movies with him at night.

They all loved the routine and the company, even if they’d argue about you sometimes, being so jealous of each other - if Ziggy spotted you giving Trevor a kiss at the porch, he’d pout like a toddler until you kissed him too. Miles was the most jealous one, and would give the most aggressive jealousy outbursts, but if you stepped in, his heart would melt - the same thing happened to Boris in a lower scale, and these two would fight like cat and dog if it weren’t for you. Richie and Mike, interestingly, were competitive only with each other, not caring much for the others; whilst Trevor and Ziggy were a bit more chill, even if still jealous.

You had never gone all the way with any of the boys, even though you felt so lustful sometimes. What you didn’t know, though, is that they all had a deal - they were allowed small advances if you started them (kisses, cuddles, a make out session), but no third base and definitely no home run. The first time they’d get to sink their cocks into you, they’d do it all at once, together. And that was going to be tonight.

They had discussed every minor detail of what was allowed and what wasn’t - none of them could cum in your mouth or eat you out this time, for instance. They all could fondle, kiss and lick all over your body, but no hickeys or bite marks were permitted. They’d all listen to you very attentively, and if you felt uncomfortable at any point, they’d stop immediately.

At 7:30 pm of that Saturday, a very nice dinner was served, even nicer than usual: all your favorites were included, the very best china that the Fairchild family had was put to use and a nice ambient light was on to set the mood. All the boys were behaving nicely (no dick jokes from Richie, no bickering from Miles and Boris, no elbows on the table, nothing) and you were having a great time.

After everyone was done eating, the house keepers were asked to remove the china and cutlery from the dining table, leaving it bare (as it was before the meal), and then go home. You were kept entertained by Ziggy and Richie at the living room, whilst Ziggy played the piano for you and Richie made up silly lyrics to go with the song.

Mike came in and asked if you could sit with the others at the table, as you all needed to talk. He seemed very serious, so you got up and complied. Ziggy and Richie tagged along, and you came to see the rest of the boys waiting for you eagerly around the table.

“Good evening again, love” Miles smiled mischievously as he spoke. “Did you have a good dinner? Was everything to your liking?”

“Absolutely” you answered, happy. “Mikey said you all wanted to talk… Did anything happen?”

“You happened to our lives, y/n” Mike answered, eyes sparkling as they met yours. “And we have never been happier”

“You make our days brighter and we love you so much” Boris stepped in, his accent never failing to warm your heart.

“But you know, we’re… men, and men have their, uh, needs…” Ziggy shyly added.

“She knows what we need, she needs it too” Richie rolled his eyes at Ziggy.

“So we wanted to turn those furtive kisses and long make out sessions into something bigger…” Trevor said, winking at you.

“And what they mean is” Miles concluded, bringing the attention back to himself. “Would you let us have you tonight, my love?”

“You-you mean…” your mouth opened in what turned out to be a smile. You caught onto their tone immediately, but just couldn’t believe what was happening. “You all want to-to go all the way with me? Like, at the same time?”

“Just this first time” Mike reassured, as he sensed that you could be apprehensive. “We all talked about it before, and we couldn’t let you have separate first times with each one, it would drive us crazy with jealousy” he shook his head. “So… what do you say?”

“I…” your eyes darted to each one of them, as they looked at you hopefully. “I think I can take it… Just, you know, i need you to take it slow”

“We’ll do as you wish, princess” Miles stepped closer and kissed your hand chivalrously, a devilish grin plastered on his face. He looked at the other boys excitedly, but tried to keep his cool. “You heard our lady”

After taking off their shirts, one by one, they all came closer, huddling together around you. The only person fully naked in the room would be you (that’s what they had previously decided, after a lot of “ew, dude, I don’t wanna see your dick” and “i know y’all are gonna feel bad ‘cause I’m so much bigger than you”), but they’d make sure you’re comfortable.

Boris stepped closer and held your dress’ thin straps as he looked maliciously into your eyes, waiting for permission to pull them down. It was a beautiful silk dress Miles had given you a month ago, but as it was so form-fitting, you couldn’t wear anything underneath it.

“Can I take it off, принцесса?” he asked you, mischievous. You nodded eagerly, letting out a little chuckle. “Is going to be fun, you’ll see”

Your dress soon pooled at your feet, and Boris wasted no time. He put his lips to yours in a brief and gentle kiss, then let go and took a step back. You stepped out of your dress and tried to take a step back, only to bump into Miles’ embrace.

He towered behind you, supporting your already faltering body and gently tucking your hair behind your ears, ice-cold fingers lingering down the sides of your neck. The other boys had also begun touching your body, so excited by the occasion - you couldn’t resist them in the slightest, only fluttering your eyes closed with pleasure in response. Miles’ hot breath approached your right earlobe, and sent a shiver down your spine as he spoke, his voice so raspy and soft.

“You belong to us now, baby girl, you know that, right?” You nodded, lips pursed, eyes shut, your body tingling with lust. “Yeah? Do you want us to use you? Do you want to be our little sex doll?”

“Yes…” you were able to utter, your mouth agape as Trevor and Mike suckled into your nipples so eagerly.

“We fuck you hard but we still treat you like princess too, kochanie” Boris cooed to your other ear, planting kisses down your shoulder and back.

Your legs were spread apart, and Ziggy and Richie were both at your feet, one on each side. Ziggy slowly untied your sandals and removed them, taking the time to massage your feet and kiss them delicately as he did. Richie, on the other hand, caressed your left thigh lustily as his lips followed along, peppering your skin in warm kisses and careful bites. Marking your body was something declared forbidden when they discussed their nightly activities with you.

You could barely process the waves of pleasure your body was receiving - Miles and Boris kissing your neck delightedly; Trevor and Mike swirling their tongues around your nipples and groping your breasts hungrily; Richie and Ziggy making your legs tremble in their hands with each and every movement. Your eyes were fluttering with desire as you felt someone’s fingers gently entering your drooling cunt.

“She’s ready” Richie declared in a nearly whispering voice, discreetly pulling air between his teeth as his fingers left your core with a clear string of your arousal still attached to them. He couldn’t help but pop them in his mouth, licking his lips at your taste. That wasn’t allowed, but the others let it slide just this once. You were soaking wet, almost drunk on their touch, so they had other things in mind.

They all detached themselves from your body, stepping back as to contain any impulse. The deal was that they would each get a turn, at the order previously discussed, no alterations, no improvising.

“Lay back, love” Miles cooed to your ear as he guided you to lie down on the table. “You’re gonna be our feast tonight”.

Mike came in first - being a natural leader, he orchestrated most of the encounter in the first place, establishing rules and procedures for your pleasure and safety, of course. He approached your laid body, bringing you closer to the edge of the table, so your legs were dangling and your slit was in a better position.

He bent over and kissed you, savoring you slowly as his tongue slipped into your mouth, his hands wandering from your breasts to your waist, grabbing and groping everything he could. His lips left your mouth and went down your neck, breathing your scent in deeply, teeth nibbling softly into the tender skin of your neck. His warm hands explored the curve of your waist as his lips tended to your belly and navel, leaving a final kiss right above your slit (which was the discussed limit). He withdrew his touch hesitantly, as he wanted to please you further than what was allowed, but simply couldn’t.

“Can I?” He inquired, reddened lips and starry eyes. You knew exactly what he meant.

“Please, love” you begged, so wet and breathless.

Mike unzipped his pants, lowering his underwear lightly and exposing his throbbing member. He spread your thighs apart slowly, fingers brushing against your soaked slit, as if double checking your arousal. He pushed his length carefully into your core, eyes closing involuntarily for a moment and suppressing a faint moan.

“Is this ok, princess?” He asked softly, his fingers brushing a small hair strand off your face. “Am I hurting you?”

“N-no, love, keep going” you responded, eyes focusing on his movements, his beautiful hands, how caring and gentle he was. Your hands were on his nape, touching his hair and scalp ghostly - you were so aroused you could barely move.

His thrusts were precise and delicate, as he knew you still had a long way to go, and had to keep it comfortable for you. He kept his upper body glued to yours, kissing your lips enchantedly, tongue invading your mouth and moaning faintly into it. His lower belly would brush against your soaked clit every now and then, with the perfect amount of friction - maybe it was just how horny you were, but your walls tightened around him as you were brought to an abrupt orgasm. Your mouth gaped and your nails clawed at his chest and upper arms, completely taken by the sensation.

You felt a shiver, your body shaking with arousal as Mike picked up the pace and his hot load soon seeped into your core, your legs trembling, arms tingling, your whole body feeling that delicious lightness after a wave of pleasure. He moaned and sighed, satisfied, cheeks flushed and breath heavy.

“You’re amazing, love” he panted, his head also dizzy with lust. He had thought about this moment for such a long time. “Thank you so much for letting me… I love you”

You kissed his lips once more, nudging your nose on his playfully. “And I love you”

Mike kissed your forehead and stepped back, knowing his time was up.

Richie was the next one in line. Similarly, he bent over and kissed your lips with such pleasure, you could feel your slit flutter once again.

“Feeling good, doll?” he whispered to your ear and bit your neck gently. You moaned in response and nodded, as Richie’s fingers played with your soaked clit, tracing it softly, his bottom lip caught by his teeth, eyes flickering with lust behind his thick glasses. “Right here, yeah?”

“Yeah, love, just like that” you whimpered, thighs closing as if to trap his fingers within you, wanting to prolong that feeling.

“I’ll only cum after you do, okay?” he said, unbuckling his belt and lowering his pants and underwear just a bit, in the same way Mike had done it.

Richie sank himself into you gently, his fingers finding their way back to your swollen clit. He kept a slower pace with his thrusts, focusing on your pleasure instead. Your arms were around his torso, nails scratching his back with each swirl of those magic fingers into your bundle of nerves. His shaft would come in and out of you in a steady rhythm, adding to the buildup of your arousal, getting you closer and closer to another mercurial high. He could feel your spasms and the way your moans suddenly stopped, and looked up to see you cumming for him - that just had to be the best thing he had ever seen. Your back arched and your mouth gaped once again, head tingling deliciously as you rode out of your second orgasm of that night. Richie smiled at his conquest, satisfied.

“Can I?” He asked, and you knew exactly what he meant.

“Sure, my love” you sighed, still out of breath as you gently smiled at him.

“Thank you, princess” he kissed your lips one last time before picking up the pace with his thrusts. You were noticeably wetter after cumming, and that drove Richie crazy.

His movements were wild as he sunk himself into you as deep as he possibly could; his tender touch on your face not matching his wildness in any way. Soon, you heard him hiss whilst his eyes rolled in pleasure - another hot load of cum being added to your soaking wet slit.

“I’m crazy for you, doll. Thank you so much for letting me have you” he said, his crooked smile melting your heart.

Richie bid you goodbye with a kiss on the valley between your breasts, “on your heart”.

Then came Boris - his cheeky smile tugging at the corners of his lips, hands slowly wandering around your naked body.

He kissed you as well, his warm chest pressing into yours in such a delicious feeling. But the devilish grin he had on implied that he wasn’t going to be as delicate as his counterparts.

“Can you stand up, love? Are legs too shaky?” he asked, chuckling softly.

“I think I can” you chuckled back at him.

As you stood up, he took your hand and made you turn your back to him, bending you over the table this time. Boris splayed kisses down your back, hands caressing your waist and ass, grabbing and groping wherever he could. His rough hands hit your arse lightly, a loud smacking sound echoing through the dining room.

You could hear Boris unbuckling his belt and unzipping his pants just like the others, but your body still quivered when his hot erection touched your soaked entrance.

“Acht, such good pussy you have, moje serce” he moaned, delighted as his pinkish tip glided over your core, teasing. “Can I fuck you?”

“Please” you moaned back, as your head turned to gaze at him lustfully.

Boris slipped his length inside you quite easily, as you were so wet and filled with cum. He thrusted slowly at first, probably afraid of finishing too soon. But your cunt was making splashy sounds with arousal, and he couldn’t hold back any longer.

“Delicious pussy you have, love, so good to fuck” he moaned, thrusting fast and strongly into you. “I-I have to cum… I make you cum after, yes?” He uttered, breathless.

“Sure, baby, relieve yourself in me” you looked back at him, feeling so naughty. “Fill me up, that’s what I want”

Boris whimpered and moaned like a madman as he came inside you, his load thick and abundant. He probably hadn’t even touched himself that week, saving up every drop for you.

When he came down from his high, calmer, he sat you on the table, leaning in to kiss you properly, hands fondling your breasts hungrily. You took his dominant hand and put over your needy cunt gently. He chuckled and inserted two of his fingers inside you, curling them in; his thumb circling your clit eagerly. You were so wet, your insides so overflowing with cum (both yours and theirs), that it was quite easy to get you to orgasm again - a few nibbles and whispers to your ear in polish and russian, and soon your core clenched around Boris’ fingers. It was an unusually long orgasm, as he kept touching you and you kept cumming, your vision blurry and your legs trembling.

When he sensed you had ridden out of it, Boris kissed your whole face playfully, a cocky smile on his lips.

“Did you like, kochanie?” He asked, his broken English making you smile too.

“Loved it, darling” you said, pecking his lips sweetly. He kissed your hand to bid you goodbye and stepped back.

Ziggy was next, but he wished he had his phone with him. Your body was so beautiful alone, and that lighting was just perfect - he would have loved to capture the moment with a picture or two before setting it aside - but being present with you would be even better than his fantasies.

“Another one, baby?” he asked, cock already in his hand, gently thrusting his hardened length into your core, so full and leaking out three loads of cum. “You’re so full already, aren’t you? Can you take another one?” He said softly, fucking your drenched pussy in a slow and steady pace while his fingers reached for your clit.

“Yes” you moaned, so ecstatic. Your hair was messy and your eyeliner was slightly runny, but you felt so confident, so desired, so sexy around them.

“Such a beautiful little slut for your men, aren’t you?” His wet fingers traced your labia slowly. “You got such a delicious pussy, you know that?” You were a moaning mess at this point, your body soft and dizzy with desire. Ziggy chuckled.

“I can’t wait to get a better taste of you next time, you have no idea”

He leaned forward and finally kissed your lips, managing to lightly suckle on your tongue somehow, something you’d never done before, but it felt so good.

The pressure you felt between your hips could have made you orgasm alone, but his feather light touch to your clit made it impossible not to cum.

Your uneven breath and squirming body gave you away instantly - you were putty in his hands.

“You’re gonna cum for me, baby girl? Yeah, you’re gonna squeeze me with your tight little pussy?”

You didn’t need much after that. Your walls convulsed around his girth, your brain melting into that pleasure as Ziggy spilled inside you, his eyes rolling and moans escaping his lips.

“You’re so hot, y/n” he whispered, smiling as his fingers gently touched your hair. “Are you ok, love?”

“Yeah” you panted. “I’m doing great, baby”

Ziggy chuckled as he pulled you closer to another kiss - you wouldn’t be caught dead saying it, but you always thought he was the best kisser of the bunch. You savored his lips for a bit longer, his tongue slipping gently into your mouth and getting you to moan into his lips. His time was up, though, and he soon had to kiss you goodbye.

Trevor came along right after, giving your fucked out face a gentle caress before cooing sweet words to your ears.

“You’re doing so good for us, aren’t you, princess? Taking us so well” Trev’s hands reached for your breasts, groping them eagerly as he put his lips to yours.

His kiss was slow and malicious, his tongue slipping into your mouth and savoring you. Your head felt lighter than ever, your eyes rolling involuntarily as you felt Trevor chuckle softly, enjoying your submission.

“Ready?” he asked, forehead resting on yours, eyes studying your face as he glided his tip over your entrance, already leaking with precum.

“Give me all your cum, love” you responded, ecstatic.

“That’s what I wanted to hear” he smiled cockily, thick length slithering into you. He whimpered and moaned as your walls squeezed him inside, desperate to milk his cock as much as you possibly could - you wanted all of him.

Trev grabbed your legs and put them over his shoulders, one on each side. The position allowed him to thrust his length deeply into you, reaching a different angle and unleashing another dimension of pleasure. Your back was arched, your weak arms holding onto Trevor’s shoulders as best as they could as he thrusted into you in a feral way, the warmth of your abused hole adding to his pleasure.

“Your pussy is so full of cum already, isn’t it, baby? Is that how you like it? To be leaking with your men’s cum?”

You felt so profane, so slutty, so lusted after… Your eyes squeezed shut and another climax of pleasure took over - instead of a whole-body electric shock, like the last ones, this one felt like being dragged into the sea by a huge wave, and you surely wouldn’t mind drowning in Trevor’s embrace.

The warmth of his cum seeping into your cunt brought you another orgasm right as you were riding out of the first one, his seed so maddeningly abundant. It was now possible to see your pussy painted white with cum, some of it dripping down your inner thighs with any movement of yours. You slowly fell back into the table, your back touching its cold surface with relief, as you were so hot and bothered. Trev towered over you, leaning in to kiss you one last time.

“Thank you for this, angel” his fingers traced your features gently as he spoke, “You have no idea how much we love and desire you”

You smiled and he kissed you tenderly, hands groping your breasts again, trying to capture the feeling of your skin in his hands forever. He parted the kiss and stepped back, lightheaded and grinning.

Last one in line was Miles - even though it was all taking place at his home, he let the others have their fun as he waited patiently for his turn to claim you.

He bent over to reach for your lips, but his kiss was wilder, messier, his touch on your shoulders so harsh it would probably violate the rules and leave bruises on your delicate skin.

“I don’t really know how to be as gentle as they are, love” his eyes were lighter than usual as he spoke, his tone sincere and caring. “I’m a little rougher, but I love you just as much, my queen”

His hardened member entered your slit at once, your walls so slippery and pulsating. His eyes rolled in pleasure, whimpers escaping his lips as he thrusted. Your cunt was so full of cum from all the loads of your lovers, you were not only leaking onto the table, but also dripping on the ground. Miles pulled your body up, so you were sitting on the table and face to face with him.

His lips and tongue invaded your mouth in a feral way, one hand gripping your hair firmly as he kissed you, his other hand holding onto your thigh. He withdrew his lips and smiled mischievously, taking pleasure in your desperate and lustful expression as you shot your eyes at his.

“This is how you prefer to be, isn’t it, my little slut? All full of your men’s cum, fucked dumb by their cocks?” Miles’ gaze was intense and confident. He knew he could make your legs shaky just from his words.

You crossed your legs around his waist, urging for him to go even deeper into you, as deep as he possibly could. Your cunt was a drooling mess of fluids at this point, getting Miles’ navel sticky with cum as he thrusted.

“I’m gonna fill you up so deep, you’ll be dripping with my cum for days” he held firmly onto your neck, forcing you to look at him.

“Yes, love, please” you begged. “I won’t be filled to the brim without your cum, I need it”

Miles smirked as he picked up the pace, grunting and whimpering softly as he finally spilled into you. The warmth that invaded your body was enough to send you over the edge one last time, your back arching and mouth gaping, your eyes squeezed shut in pleasure. Miles had an arm around your back to support you, and as you both rode out of your highs, you found yourself embracing him, panting.

He touched your face softly, caressing your cheeks as he spoke.

“Thank you so much for letting us have you tonight, little one” Miles smiled, his eyes softer and his forehead slightly damp. “Now, let us take care of you, yes? Will you let us take care of our woman?”

As they were all done, a nice bubble bath was already waiting for you, and the boys took you upstairs slowly, considering your wobbly legs and overall tiredness. Mike washed your body tenderly with your favorite shower gel; Boris dried you off with the softest towel he could find; Trevor massaged some vanilla body lotion on you; Ziggy finished it off massaging your feet with a stronger balm and helping you put on a pair of fluffy socks. When you were done, Miles helped you get dressed in a brand new nightgown he had bought for you earlier that day. Before you could go to bed, Richie helped you with your skincare routine and put toothpaste on your toothbrush so you could brush your teeth. When you were ready, they all lied down on the giant bed you were given when you first came to the manor - all you had to do was join them. As you cuddled them in bed, you couldn’t feel happier even if you tried.

“Thank you so much for tonight… We could do this again, you know” you said, your body limp from the extenuating activities. “Any day, my loves”

You heard chuckles and jokes faintly as your eyelids felt heavier, drifting off to sleep. You loved the Finnverse so much, it was even better to have them all at once.

[delusionaltogether]

I feel like the reason why so many people don't believe in the possibility of Byler (because let's be honest, there's so many irrefutable evidence that they just choose to ignore but actually at this point they're very aware that it makes sense) is because they think there's no point for the show to leave Mike's feelings for Will so implicit or "hidden", but there's actually a very simple explanation for this (btw sorry if there's any mistakes English is not my native language so i used a translator):

Stranger Things has never been a series that exposes everything in a didactic way, especially when it comes to complex feelings and identities that are in internal conflict.

While Will's feelings are shown more clearly in the series (i think because he has already gone through the process of self-knowledge or at least a good part of it and is suffering in silence), Mike doesn't know how to deal with his feelings. He's stuck in an image of what he "should" be: the boyfriend of the girl with super powers, the idealized straight hero. But what he shows for Eleven doesn't even come close to the emotional depth he has with Will. With El he is robotic, insecure, distant. With Will he is vulnerable, protective... (Not saying he doesn't care about El, we know that's not true but i hope you understand what im trying to say)

"They could have at least made GA aware of this"

And who said they didn't? As I said before, Stranger Things has never been a series that shows everything blatantly. It has always been about subtext, symbolism and internal development.

They wouldn't just simply make Mike admit his feelings for Will that easily, because saying what he really feels would require him to confront things he is not ready to accept.

The series does show Mike's feelings for Will, but you have to want to see it: it's in the lingering glances, the way he always seems to be more truly himself when he's with Will and a lot of other things i could say here but i still have a lot to say.

They showed:

• Mike acting weird and uncomfortable around Eleven throughout season 4;

• Stuck trying to directly tell her he loves her, only being capable of such an act in one of the most tense moments of the series, when her life was at stake and her friend 's life too;

• Mike being the only main character who didn't have an emotional arc resolved, precisely because he still hasn't understood or accepted what he feels.

It was the same thing with the "love triangle" of Nancy, Steve and Jonathan. Nancy had a hard time telling Steve she loved him because she no longer loved him, but she didn't go around shouting that she loved Jonathan either. It took her a long time to figure that out. It was subtle, but evident to anyone who paid attention. It was something that developed little by little, with looks, deep conversations, the way Nancy felt more understood by Jonathan. The series showed their chemistry without forcing obvious romantic scenes. It wasn't a blatant love triangle. So why do you need byler to be so obvious to see that it's not a one-sided thing?

Also, if Mike's feelings for Will were so explicit, the tension in the narrative would disappear. The audience already knows what Will feels. The mystery lies precisely in Mike. The doubt, the discomfort, the contradictory signals... It's this ambiguity that makes the story more interesting. The drama is in not knowing for sure.

[kabr0ztrousers]

There's this tired worn out guy and he can't help but fantasize about how nice it would be to be a hucow that spends his days getting his chest and dick milked, but everywhere only seems to hire women since it's much easier to induce lactation. He's sitting at this boring desk at work when a mysterious email shows up inviting him to trial run the newest technology in the hucow field!! When he arrives it's better than he can even fathom. Little does he know that this trial run is aired on TV for the entire world to see. People can send in money and control just how fast, slow, hard, or soft the machines milk or fuck him.

Kabr0z Writes episode 63: Reality TV

Find the rest of the Kabr0z Writes anthology here!

CWs: intox; dubcon; implements; restraints; humiliation; coercion; overstim;

A/N: This wasn't requested to be another Chitinid story, but there's only 2 continuities I have ongoing where hucows feature, and this is the one where it isn't an underground practice. I'm not against spinning out another continuity, but couching it where things are already set up helps streamline the process

########################################

A month ago, the old library had been flattened. That was the last interesting thing that had happened in this city, and since then Mike's life has been an unending sequence of cubicle walls and tedious emails. He sighed. Half the world spirited away to be milked stupid, spending the entire remainder of their lives in chemically induced ecstasy to harvest their sexual fluids, and he managed to wind up behind a desk.

Not that Mike hadn't tried, he wrote to his city supervisor, even tried going above his head to regional governor, but was met with the same response every time: his best place was where he was, sat behind a desk so Chitinid anthropologists could study him as the drab monotony of the passing days slowly drove him mad. No wonder they got resistance cells, even if they didn't admit they existed. Of course, everyone knew there was a resistance, libraries don't get demolished via high-caliber autocannons because of termites.

A notification pinged in the corner of the screen Mike had been ignoring for the last hour. A half page of corporate lorem ipsum left behind by his train of thought. He opened the email and scanned it, finger poised over the delete key.

"You have been Selected" came the subject line

Weird, spam didn't exist any more. Nobody had anything to steal, companies didn't have any information to pillage, there wasn't even anything worth destroying. He read on

"Congratulations!

You have been selected to take part in a viability study involving human livestock material harvesting. You have been selected because either you have registered interest with your city supervisor, or your usefulness has been re-evaluated"

Well, he'd definitely made his interest well known. The rest of the email detailed where to go, what to bring, when to be there. One final sentence capped off the message, reminding the recipients that this is in fact not optional. Mike would either go willingly, or he would be taken. That's one way to deal with people not reading their email.

There wasn't much required to bring. Civilian travel documents, ID card, and the clothes on his back. Only he turned up, either everyone else was trying to hide or nobody else was selected from his area, either way, he probably wouldn't find out. Transparency was never at the top of their lists of priorities.

A gunship swung down low, the silent engine didn't even disturb the treetops as the vessel passed within inches of them. A voice came over the loudspeaker, a Chitinid speaking English

"Citizen Lewis, Michael. Identity recognised. Stand by for transfer"

Stand by for transfer. Sounds like he wasn't about to be atomised by weapons fire at least. Always a plus

A confinement field engulfed him. The tingling blue light surrounding you before the world disappeared, replaced with a holding cell. Exactly as expected.

There's no way to measure time in a Chitinid holding cell. The walls are blank, the lighting flat. This one didn't even seem to have a door.

Mike tried to sleep, without success. Chitinids never seemed to realise that blue light stops humans going to sleep, either that or they just didn't care. So he sat on the floor. The ship could be anywhere, going at any speed, there's no way to know. Mike had an idea of where it was probably headed, the human farms were kept in great facilities on the moon. They were visible even without a telescope, even if the ship traffic to and from wasn't.

The lights in the room brightened, the air becoming charged. The whole room was filled with a confinement field. The world flipped, beaming the hapless man down, completely nude, onto a metal table.

He couldn't move, he must have been sent from one confinement field to another. This didn't match what he'd been told about these facilities. Normally the people in these facilities would be held in huge spaces, hundreds of them plugged into machines with little to no conception of privacy. The room Mike found himself in was small, with only the table he was held to and only one device on the ceiling for company. A screen flickered to life, covering an entire wall of the room. Mike could see himself in it, the blue light of the containment casting him in a sickly pallor as the machine on the ceiling whirred to life.

A cup suctioned itself to his crotch as tubes carrying drugs attached themselves to his arms. A voice filled the room "Welcome, citizen, to the game of your life! You're live on channel nine!"

What?

A sound effect played. A number appeared on the screen and drugs pushed into Mike's bloodstream. He gasped as his skin flushed, turning red and immediately glistening with perspiration. Another noise, more drugs. His cock was achingly hard now, starting to throb into the tube surrounding it. The field parted his legs, bringing his knees upwards as a probe pushed against his asshole. Another noise and it pressed in, the cold metal making him wince before a tingling electric current ran through his prostate to the tip of his cock. The noises were speeding up, each one driving more drugs into him. Mike's chest became heavy, tits starting to bud, already leaking creamy milk as his cock dribbled precum.

A different noise, louder, more discordant, accompanied by the quick chattering of a Chitinid. The gentle electric pulsing from the probe in Mike's ass intensified for a moment. His hips bucked as his balls clenched, a rope of cum jetting from the tip of his cock. Then another, and another. The cocktail of alien aphrodisiac flowing into his body kept his cock hard and cooperative, but did nothing to stop his balls aching or the shaft burning as another noise jolted him again. His tits were leaking more now, probes fixing themselves to his nipples to collect the fluids, pumping and sucking the liquid out as the new tits kept growing at an alarming rate.

He groaned, partially from the exertions of the repeated orgasms, partly from the growing pains on his chest. The vocalisation caused a flurry of noises, the drugs hammering into his body causing him to twitch and convulse as a stream of thick cum pumped from his cock, getting thin and watery as his balls emptied out.

Mike's groans grew weaker, turning to wheezing sobs as the stimulation took its toll. His cock was still throbbing, trying to pump out ever more but nothing came, only the clenching of his drained nutsack sending painful lances through him.

The screen went dark. The stimulation stopped.

"Good show! Same time tomorrow!"

####################################

Well, I'll admit I'd lost faith in this one at about the halfway mark but feel like I pulled it back at the end

As always, any requests, ideas, scenarios, lore questions, etc, send an ask. I try to answer non-request asks quickly but if you bundle a question or something with a req, it'll get answered when you get your story

[castlebyersafterdark]

Thinking about how Will loves to put on make up has got me in a chokehold.

Imagine Mike coming home early one day because he and Will have dinner reservations (or anything like that) and he walks in on Will putting on his eyeliner, face full of glittery make up, and my man is stunned.

Will wanted to surprise Mike by prettying himself up for their date but is upset because he can’t get it right and he needs everything to go perfectly

but Mike is now just focused on ruining Will’s make up (and the bed sheets).

They had to cancel their dinner plans 🤭

"We're going to be late again," said not annoyed or irritated as Mike lingered in the doorway, but matter of fact.

He peeked around the counter and glanced at the absent sway of Will's hips, butt poked out enticingly as Will leaned closer to the mirror. He bit his lip and smiled, then stepped back, giving him space. Fought back temptation.

Will hummed in acknowledgement from the bathroom and said no more. He was trying to concentrate. And not poke his eye again. He'd had to start over on the left eye twice. Artist's hands, typically steady, hadn't mastered the art of tracing soft, chalky pencil against slightly damp skin just yet. He didn't want to look like a clown - and a very sad one at that. Or maybe a raccoon. Either way. Not the look he was going for - that being, the mysterious artist type.

This was a brave step for him.

"What are you doing in there?"

"Can you go wait in the living room or something?" Will asked, not annoyed or irritated either, but nervous.

He wanted to get this right. He wanted to look pretty. It had been a hard enough decision to decide to try this for a night out. His previous little experiments had been subtle, private so far. But they were going out, to a nice dinner in a nice restaurant he felt safe being himself in. Taking a taxi. Alone in the dark backseat, together in some fancy booth. Him and Mike, being their very best selves after working so hard for a treat like this.

"If you want me, too. I can. I just-"

"Just, what? I want to surprise you."

Oh no. Wrong thing to have said to Mike Wheeler, who could never let a damn thing go.

(continued below...)

"A surprise?"

"Mike. Please. It's not that big of a deal," he lied and said no more after Mike's continued pleading inquiries.

Mike groaned and left the doorway. Didn't head to the living room, though, but sat on the edge of the bed. Too antsy, he scooted back, propped against the headboard, legs sprawled, arms like a wingspan across the pillows. He shifted and mustered up a sultry look, hoping that Will would walk out to find him there like an enticing gift soon enough.

He glanced at their bedside clock and saw they actually had a decent amount of time. Yes. They had time. He'd only wanted to play it safe, get out early, factor in unpredictable city traffic.

Mike contemplated unbuckling and getting his own surprise ready. Debated, and spread his legs, palmed at his slightly hard dick, beginning to take interest. They might have time for something quick. Maybe. Better not...

After only several minutes had passed, and barely that, he gave up. He couldn't take it.

"Hey, Will, sorry - oh. Oh, baby look at you."

Will, distracted after concentrating deeply on putting the finishing touches on his look, turned instantly at the sound of Mike's voice this time. Instinctual. Without thinking. He shrugged and gave a coy smile, masking his nerves. Hoped he didn't look stupid. Faked some confidence.

"I've seen me."

"You've seen you. Uh-huh. Have you really?" Mike stepped forward, sly smile in place. "Look at you."

Mike spun Will to face the mirror and hugged him from behind, kiss placed to the back of his head. He stepped back and shook his head. He wanted to devour him.

Will placed the cap back on the make-up and set it down on the counter. Mike traced a finger down the strong line of Will's jaw, contrast to the softness of his other features. He used a finger to tip Will's face up from where he'd cast his gaze to the floor. Needed to see him fully, needed Will to know how how effected he was.

"You are so beautiful, Will. I mean it. So gorgeous. Gosh, I love you."

Will squeaked at the quickness of the kiss that followed, with Mike swooping down to kiss the fresh color on his lips and squeeze him around the waist, drawn flush from thigh to chest. Mike pressed him against the counter, heard the sound of small plastic items clatter over and bounce into the sink and laughed at Will's whine.

"Mike, you're gonna ruin it," Will giggled, and swiped at the corner of his mouth where the light pink color had already smeared a little. It stuck on Mike's bottom lip, too, a slash of pink across his perpetually red mouth.

"Isn't that the point," Mike answered, voice deep and quiet, like low thunder reverberated across marble walls.

"For later. Haven't even gotten to wear it out the door, yet," Will protested but he already could tell his work was going to have to be reapplied before they left the apartment now, going by the look in Mike's eyes.

Will was transfixed to the spot, trapped. Heart rate rising. The foxes were circling the meadow. Little rabbit had nowhere to run.

Mike hummed and kissed his cheek, pulled back to stare at those pretty, dark rimmed eyes. Dark but soft. Carefully, artfully applied liner and mascara, just enough to enhance those bright, doe eyes. Made them look even bigger. Some sort of barely there powder made his skin shimmer and glow on the high points of his cheeks and the side of his face. Made him look otherworldly, delicate. And his mouth - fuck, his mouth. Pouty and pink, stained a perfect color and glossy on top. A vision. Subtle, but with effort that made him look effortless. Like he was supposed to look like that.

Skin soft as ever, hair combed and styled and falling just so, strands slipping between Mike's fingers as he carded a hand through. Flushed cheeks - natural, embarrassed slightly by the situation but excited by Mike's obvious appreciation. Smooth skin, freshly shaven, and the rest of his skin subtly applied with scents of vanilla and deep spice.

Mike was starving.

Dinner could wait.

Mike pressed him harder against the bathroom counter, moving from cheek to neck with kisses that avoided smudging Will's mouth further. Will moaned under the attention, head tilted to the side. Mike undid a few buttons, pushed the silky shirt over Will's shoulder as he mapped a path across his warm, bare skin, hot kisses to every little freckle and mole on his shoulder. He knew what he was doing. He knew every trick and button to push. Teeth to skin, mouth sucking hard at the hollow his Will's neck. A knee raised between Will's thighs, feeling his excitement grow, feeling how Will was just as instantly keyed up as him.

"What time is it?" Will gasped as Mike passed a thumb back and forth over his nipple, hissing through the jolt of pleasurable ache that shot down to his cock when Mike pinched and rolled the bud.

"I don't know. I don't care. We have time."

"Seemed impatient to get going before."

"Was I? Doesn't sound like me at all."

Will didn't answer and sprung into action. Fine. He wanted to play now.

He pushed off the counter and led Mike backwards from the bathroom to their bedroom, and shoved Mike down onto the bed. Mike's legs spread on muscle memory as Will shouldered his way in, already grappling at Mike's belt buckle.

Will's mouth was on Mike as soon as his pants and briefs were shoved partially down, out of the way only enough for Will to get at hot skin, mouth watering for it. Lips sealed over the leaking tips, savoring the taste like he was breaking a hunger strike. His talented tongue, his lips stretched and sliding down. Breath harsh through his nose. He was drooling around it, working his jaw to take Mike down further, now the impatient one.

He gagged on Mike's length, too eager, and received a soothing hand cradled his face to slow him down. Mike said as much out loud. Will didn't want that. He wanted to look pretty and he wanted to be used.

He pulled off and sat back on his heels, looking up at Mike. Make up mostly still intact, save for the smeared pink around the corners of his lips - some was left on the skin of Mike's dick. Will saw it, wanted to lick it off.

Soon enough.

Watery eyes. Wide. Pleading. Mouth open, tongue out. And Mike was the one who took action now.

It was a blur from there. Pants fell the rest of the way to the floor, clank of belt buckle. Big hands cradled the back of Will's skull. Cock slid between perfect, pink lips, heavy in Will's mouth. Will let his body go slack along with his jaw, hyper aware of his shoulders, his neck, releasing the tension and working his throat, fighting the urge to choke as Mike guided him, shallow thrust fucking his mouth and driving into a deep grind as Will swallowed him down.

So wet. An entire mess. Make-up ruined as the perfect, pretty color across Will's lips had mostly disappeared. Mixed with the saliva that dripped down his chin, spat from his mouth as Mike pulled off at at a painful sounding gag, only for Will to dive back in and suck him harder after several heaving gasps, hand flying over Mike's dick until he was ready.

Tears in the mix. Shimmer from Will's cheeks rubbed off on Mike' s hands and wrists, tiny specs of glitter embedded in Mike's pubes. Neither were going to notice that one. Didn't matter. Will gripped the back of Mike's thighs and swallowed and sucked and moaned until Mike pulled back, shallow thrusts until he spilled over Will's tongue and lips, painting him with a new color to replace the one he ruined.

Mike collapsed to the bed, bouncing on the mattress as his legs gave out. Will was pulled along with him, still gripped around his thighs. They laughed together and resettled. Will rested against Mike's bare thigh, draped across him, taking deep breaths after licking his lips as clean as possible at that point. Sticky mouth pressed to pale skin. Mike pet at his hair as he caught his own breath, as variations of "fuck, what the fuck, oh my god Will, what the fuck" were muttered above Will's head. He pressed nimble fingers along Will's jaw, soothing to the sure ache.

Will looked up at Mike and if he hadn't just come, Mike would have stiffened up full right then and there. Stirrings, though, a definite twitch as he took in the sight of Will. Debauched. Ruined. Like a fallen angel, landing directly into his lap. A big splotch of black makeup was smeared across Mike's leg along with a streak of come. Nothing compared to the state of Will.

Will's once so precise and demure eyeliner and lash application was smudged and streaked, bare patches in odd places as the rest followed sweat and tear tracks down flushed cheeks, mixed with the tiny bits of shimmer that remained on his face, overall shiny with spit and everything else.

"How do I look?"

Mike burst out a laugh at Will's quiet question, then hauled the man up into his lap, only to fall backwards onto the mattress together in a tangle of limbs and clothing. Mike kicked off his pants and reached down to start undressing Will, eager to repay and miss their dinner reservation entirely...

[spacerangersam]

I have nothing better to do, so I thought I'd make a post of all my Ghosts fics 

A Place Called Home - patcap, multi-chapter. A (semi faithful) rewrite of the first episode of ghosts, but with Pat and Captain as the married couple who inherited Button Manor, and Pat as the one who can see ghosts. Aka, the ghostswap au

The Big What If - patcap, one-shot. A roleswap fic about Pat having a minor crisis after receiving a Facebook message from his husband's long lost first love

What's in a Name? - patcap, multi-chapter. A ghostswap fic centred around Captain and his worry Daley doesn't view him as a father

Till Death Do Us Part - patcap, multi-chapter. A ghostswap fic where Pat and Captain renew their vows so that Alison and Mike, who died in two different eras, can get ‘married’ through them 

Humble Beginnings - patcap, one-shot. A ghostswap fic where Pat explains how he and Captain met, and stumbled their way into dating

Right-Hand Man -  patcap, one-shot. Au where Pat is Captain's lieutenant, and only through death can they truly be together 

The Space In-Between (name liable to change) - patcap, multi-chapter. Pat can see ghosts, and after moving into Button Manor, uses that gift to help various spirits move on, including the one that seems strangely attached to the Captain 

A Year Behind Locked Doors - patulian (Pat x Juian), multi-chapter. Alive 90s au, following his messy divorce, Pat moves in with his friend of dubious morality, Julian, who's been hiding away in Button Manor, never leaving, for months to escape the press and public

Another Place, Another Time - captainxpatxhavers, multi-chapter. A ghostswap au, though technically not in continuity with the other fics. Married couple Pat and Cap invite Cap's old lieutenant Havers to visit them for a few weeks, where old desires are reignited and new ones bloom

One Tea Eternally Full, Please - patcap, one-shot. An end of the world, m.agnus archives style fic where Pats's alone, traversing a nightmare dimension, until he's saved by his now distinctly monstrous crush

The Haunting of Button Manor - patcap, multi-chapter. Pat, Kitty and Mary are semi-famous ghost hunters, brought to Button Manor to deal with some ghosts. It gets super fucking weird

Where The Land Meets The Sea - patcap, multi-chapter. A post ww2 mermaid au with Captain as a wounded mermaid Pat is forced to take care of 

Of Fangs and Claws - patcap, patulian, patcapulian, multi-chapter, unfinished (possibly? on-going?). After Alison is bitten by an unknown werewolf, her and Mike are invited into the magical realm by a friendly pack of werewolves. Together with the aloof Button vampires, they team up to find just who attacked Alison and why

Heebie Jeebies - patcap, one-shot. A roleswap au where Mike is the one who can see ghosts, and all the ghosts’ eras are swapped about. Pat is the ww2 home guard captain, Captain is a regency era duke, and they have a little Halloween romance

If You or I Were Smarter People We’d Probably Just Leave (But the Narrative Dictates That We Can’t, So I Guess We’ll Just Be Idiots Instead) - patcap, multi-chapter. 90s alive au where Pat can see ghosts. After Barclay Beg-Chetwynde kicks the bucket during an argument with Pat, inside Button Manor, he decides to spend his afterlife tormenting Pat.

Hag Stone Luck - maryxannie, one-shot. Annie has a crush on the strange woman who often drifts her bakery, and finally gets the chance to actually talk to her

From Ffynone To Surrey - patcap, multi-chapter. Welsh mythos au. After a drunken night out where he was almost mugged, Captain becomes determined to find out just who his mysterious saviour is, and just why there's so many strange things happening at Button Manor 

For One Night, and One Night Only - patcap, multi-chapter. 70s au. Pat's the lead man of an up-and-coming band, struggling to make the next great album while dealing with his wife and best mate, both members of the band, sleeping together behind his back. Captain is a not-so-secret fanboy, eager to get close to his favourite star

The Blooms of May - patcap, multi-chapter. A medieval-meet-regency fantasy au where Captain is a cold, distant lord, Pat his long-suffering hand, aka bodyguard. When all the lords of the land gather, Lady Fanny reveals someone is trying to kill her, and ropes Cap and Pat into her search to unmask the villain.

Nos Et Cedamus Amori - patcap, one-shot. Roman au, Captain is a Commander in the Roman army, and Patrick a nymph that haunts the baths at night

Burgundy Blues - platonic poetrybadge (aka Pat and Thomas), one-shot. A short modern au fluff piece where they get mushy about being friends during a night out

Stand and Deliver - patcap, multi-chapter. A highwaymen au where Captain is a nobleman captured by a gang of dandy highwaymen and has an enemies to lovers arc with the most mysterious one in the group

By The Gracious Hand of God - patcap, multi-chapter. Locked Tomb inspired. Captain is a history teacher living a simple life, having nightly dreams about a person who doesn't exist. But, things go pears shaped when he finds out that person is in fact real, the father to one of his students, Daley, and has been missing for years

Tender Is the Touch - humphreyxpat, one-shot. A roleswap au where Pat's a ww2 captain, Humphrey's a Stuart hanged for being a witch, and Pat gives a massage so good that they have to kiss about it

The Good, The Bad, and The Cursed - patulian, multi-chapter. One Halloween night, two strangers, disgraced MP Julian Fawcett and local nobody scoutmaster Pat Butcher, are attacked by mysterious beasts. Upon realising they aren't quite human anymore, the pair stick together as they try to figure out what happened and grapple with their changing bodies. Aka a werewolf vampire fic

[tianasficrecs168]

The Sandman Fic Recs

Magnolia35: Moonflower (Hob/Dream) • "Hob has to do a double take because Dream is crying; big, ugly, hiccuping sobs that wrack his skeletal frame to the point where Dream looks like a leaf in the wind. The raven that’d been following the man the last time they met— Mike or Martin or Matthew or something— pecks at the guys shoes. The story of how Hob Gadling starts a pub, beats up a god, stares down Death, falls in love with Dream of the Endless, and amasses a small army of fidget cubes. Not necessarily in that order.

TinyButFierce: "Into Darkness and Howling (I'll Keep Him From Drowning)" (Hob/Dream) It was beginning to sound like Roderick Burgess had something or someone trapped in his basement. Hob was starting to wonder if he should do something about that.

MonstrousRegiment: “The Uses of Adversity” (Hob/Dream) What led Hob Gadling — at the time known as Robert Stranger, because he’d been in a permanent state of pettiness from 1889 to about 1904 and now he was stuck with it — to the dank, cold, and dark basement of the Burgess house on March of 1957 was not so much coincidence or fate as it was curiosity. Yeah. Cats isn’t the only thing it kills. Alright, wait. Back up. Let’s start from the beginning. It was 1957 and Hob Gadling was, by no action or choice of his own, sort of — it’s a bit embarrassing — a criminal master. Not mastermind! He hadn’t planned any of it. Honestly.

CeruleanHeart: - “Darker, Still” (...) (Hob/Dream) When Dream doesn't show up for their appointment in 1989, Hob decides to devote a part of his immortality to looking for his mysterious friend. He is dedicated not to wait and hope for another century for the slim chance of seeing him again. Even if he has to bribe, lie and steal, use every trick in the book he's learned in the past 600 years, he will find him. After over a century, Dream has almost given up on the hope of ever escaping his prison when help finally shows up in the form of someone least expected, compelling him to re-evaluate the nature of his interest in an old acquaintance.

Snits: - “Country Roads (Take Me Home)” (Hob/Dream) • Hob and Dream go back to Hob's for a nightcap. While they're there, they address some trauma, and Hob finally learns the name of the man(-shaped being) he's known for seven hundred years.

Sonhoedestrazao: “These days of dust” (Hob/Dream) There is something different about him, though his appearance is identical. The curious part of Hob Gadling, the one that ensures that his wish to live persists through the ages, can’t wait to figure out what it is exactly. (Or: the New Inn encounter continued.)

Sonhoedestrazao: “Stuck in a season” (…) (Hob/Dream) Hob Gadling opens his eyes in the year of our Lord of 1889, in a tavern that he somehow knows no longer exists, among people long dead. Alone at a table for two, he leans over and says to no one in particular, “He’ll be back. You’ll see.” (Or: how to deal when your nameless friends keeps appearing in dreams and a talking bird approaches you with dating advice.)

Majestickasztan: “Painted by sorrow” (Hob/Dream) • When Hob looked up and found his oldest friend looking back, he was, one could say, taken aback. But when you're immortal and things go according to your expectations, life gets very boring very quickly, so he couldn't bring himself to complain. Not that he wanted to. He was pining for this guy since 1489, after all.

KatieKat527: “Perchance to” (Dream/Hob) • Hob Gadling muses on modern advancements. Only as they pertain to a sleepy morning in bed with his “stranger.”

Newfandomnewpseud (Broodthaers): “A Mug’s Game” (Dream/Hob) Hob Gadling teaches history, flirts with Death, gets a boyfriend, and accidentally breaks the laws of the universe.

Brackets (…) means it's still being updated/not done/WIP – and I'm paying close attention to it

Zeros with a strikethrough (000) Disappeared off the net (I still have a doc of it saved somewhere)

A black dot • means it's a one-shot

Ship with + means it's either time travel or dimension hopping – something along those lines

A heart ♡ means it's focused on Sexy times (it's pure filth PWP)

[iridescentpull]

I'm working on a full transcription for Fit & Pac's secret conversation during their date and I've already covered half of it. Here are some of my favorite bits! (the full transcription should come out tomorrow if everything goes well, so fingers crossed!)

Fit: Um, so… This is… So remember the day I told you, like, Agent 18 and Foolish?

Pac: Yeah, they are kinda like something? The man with the uplifted pants.

Fit: That was– that was a test to see if you could keep a secret and you passed– you CAN keep a secret, ‘cause I didn’t hear anything else from that from anyone else on the island. Um.. so..

Pac: Hmm.

Fit: So… If I tell you about this, promise you will not tell anyone?

Pac: *stutters* No– yeah, yeah, no– how can I say this? –uh, my mouth is a rock– no, that’s not the word, that’s not the slang, uh *sigh* I don’t know, sorry, but I won’t tell anyone, you know? T-That’s a secret I will keep for my life, you know? It’s gonna go with me in my coffin, you know? I’m gonna keep it– I’m sorry.

Fit: Okay… okay, ‘cause I want you to know once I tell you this, there’s no going back.

Pac: Really? But, like– this sounds like really bad stuff, like, really bad. Like, a super secret-secret I can’t tell anyone? I don’t know, that sounds… I’m scared

Fit: Me too.

Pac: O-Oh… Oh my God.

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

Fit: I was sent to Quesadilla Island for a very specific purpose, yes. 

Pac: Which- Which purpose it is?

Fit: So I made a deal with someone that I would come to Quesadilla Island and obtain the player data of everyone here. And in return, I’d get paid a lot of money. But, I- I… since being on the island, though, I didn’t expect to get attached to anyone like, Ramon, or you… um, and my boss gave me one year to complete my mission of obtaining all of this player data, um

Pac: So… So you’re gonna leave… You’re gonna leave.

Fit: Well, here’s the thing, Pac– even if I complete the mission, I- I’m not leaving. Because… *stutters* I-I, I know Quesadilla Island is not exactly the best place in the world, like– we’re stuck here and the Federation are assholes but like, I care about the people on this island, like you, Ramon– we have all our friends like Mike, Philza, you know? Like– Tubbo. It’s just, I’m not planning on– even if I complete the mission, I’m not planning on leaving. 

Pac: No, that’s– that’s good to hear, you know Fit? You are very important to me as well as Ramon, Richarlyson, Mike, all my family here; and it’s good to know that you got my back, and I also have yours for anything you need…. But *stutters* I’m also scared, like– you made a deal with someone else? Like, it’s not related to the Federation? And, like, why do you need to handle the player’s datas, like, what’s up with the player data? Are there some hidden secrets? And you also have to deliver my player data as well?

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

Pac: Yeah, uh-huh? That’s him? You’ve been working for the Naked Slenderman?

Fit: *laughs* No, no, no– he has a very similar appearance to that. He’s like all white, but like… it’s almost like he’s hiding what his true form is. Everything’s a secret with my boss, everything’s a secret

Pac: You are kinda like mysterious too… I noticed, you know? You don’t talk much about your life, or about your goals. So it’s really nice for me to hear that from you. You know what I’m trying to say?

Fit: No, I understand. Yeah, no– I appreciate that. 

Pac: You kinda trust on me, so I think that this is really serious. 

Fit: Thank you–

Pac: That is something that I will remember all my life, that you trust me.

Fit: *laughs* I’m glad Pac. But listen– when I, the reason I said that you to keep this a secret is… If the Federation finds out, they’ll kill me. If the Rebellion finds out, they’ll probably also kill me! So that’s why– 

Pac: Oh my God the Rebellion!

Fit: It’s, yeah, so like- but–

Pac: Amiga!

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

Pac: Do you– Do you have my player data?

Fit: No. I think I–

Pac: W-Well, can I hand out to you– can I hand you my player data?

Fit: *laughs in disbelief* Well! Well that–

Pac: Can I? Fit: –that would certainly make it easier! But um… I think– I don’t know, my boss asked me for more than just that; the emotions of people, I don’t know what he meant by that, but like– how, how we react to things on the island. Like, all the things we go through, like– pain, our joy...

[fazedlight]

Hiding (Cat Grant musings)

The girl is hiding something.

It had been a frequent refrain in Cat’s mind, ever since Kiera’s interview. What kind of millennial goes around talking about how average and not-special they are? The girl was too smart to act braindead.

Was the girl a war criminal? Faked her death from some mafia and lived life under the radar? I mean, really, all this subterfuge, and for what? The girl didn’t seem to be trying to give an air of mystery, but Cat could smell a story. She was going to get to the bottom of this.

Then the new caped heroine arrived, and Cat kicked herself for not having seen it earlier. It had taken her an entire three days to figure out the identity of the second kryptonian. She supposed it could be forgiven - after all, Kiera was somehow younger than Clark Kent, and he had been an infant when his parents shipped him off to Earth and his planet died. The timeline was confusing, before her interview with Supergirl cleared that up.

The girl is hiding something.

Kiera had practically marched into the office when she declared “I want to be a reporter” with her entire chest. Which, obviously, Cat could spot talent when it was in front of her. But the bumbling superhero assistant had said that with such confidence. Where had that come from?

The girl is hiding something.

And then there had been this Mike, of the interns, that Kiera was dragging along. It was beyond Cat why Kiera thought that relationship was a good fit, from a man who only seemed to cause her aggravation at every turn. God, that trope was so tired and boring, perhaps some sort of indicator of a mental break. Technically Kiera was old enough for a midlife crisis... perhaps Cat could get a referral from her therapist…

“Two people I love are trapped on that ship, and if we destroy it…”

That’s when Cat realized, when the epiphany slammed into her. Yes, yes, Kiera was hiding her caped shenanigans, was hiding Mike’s identity, yadda yadda. But the biggest secret was what Kiera was hiding from herself. Cat wanted to shake the girl. A super and a Luthor? That would be a combination like the world had never seen.

Snapper was dealing with a lovesick puppy. No wonder he was so irritated.

Of course, reporter-hero aside, there were other things going in Cat’s life. Her role in the world felt increasingly narrow, increasingly restrictive, and she needed to see something new. A woman’s life and self-discovery doesn’t end at 30, as much as the media pretends otherwise. Besides, wasn’t there a time in every hero’s life when Gandalf needed to die so Luke could fight the Star War? Or whatever.

She was sure she’d be back. In the meantime, the world could see what Kiera - Kara - would become.

[statusquoergo]

way too late to be timely but conveniently just after the premiere of "batman returns" (s01e04), i'm finally getting my shit together to write up my impression of suits la and why i have no intention of watching it on the regular.

obviously this review is only reflective of my personal feelings and experience of the show, which, you may have already gathered, is not especially favorable, so if you happen to enjoy or think highly of it, you might want to stop reading. or keep reading, depending on your predilections.

the premiere episode of suits la is a fucking mess.

the vast majority of characters, i.e., basically all of them except for ted (and dylan, victoria justice's character) are shoved onscreen with no introduction whatsoever; their names, their roles, their connection to the firm, their connection to each other, i have no idea what any of it is. the dialogue is a clumsy mix of attempts to recreate the banter of og suits (e.g., between ted (new harvey) and rick (not remotely new mike)) and apparent attempts to address some of the more glaring oversights of og suits (e.g., making it very, very clear that amanda (samantha/jessica pastiche and professional pro bono lawyer (apparently that's a thing now, sorry mike)) doesn't work for ted and therefore is fair game for him to pursue a relationship), and i don't particularly care about any of them. which is fine, because i also don't like any of them. or trust them. at all.

so, hey, remember back in og suits, s06e01, when mike was in prison and all the associates left the firm? remember how mournful and tragic it was to see louis and harvey and jessica walking through the empty office? remember how much that actually mattered for the plot and the characters, and how not-surprising-but-still-surprising and how big of a deal we all immediately knew it was?

this show tries to do that at the beginning of act two. of episode one.

"the merger," which has been vaguely but repeatedly referred to throughout the first act and built up to be some kind of big deal long in the works and finally coming to fruition, was apparently destined for failure, because stuart, up to now portrayed as ted's good friend and co-managing partner, always intended to stab him in the back by cutting him out of it and stealing about half the firm employees and clients in order to do so. and...okay, sure. whatever. bummer for ted, i guess.

other plot shit happens in the episode, but this is the main thing i remember mostly because it's handled so incredibly poorly. also the episode is so cluttered and jumps around so much that i had to keep pausing it and taking notes to keep track of what was going on. literally, i have three and a half pages of notes just to keep track of the plot.

apart from being really needlessly confusing, the show doesn't seem to know quite what tone it's trying to set. the office banter has the potential to be fun and flirty and all the hallmarks of the blue sky era of usa that defined the first few season of og suits, but i don't know or like any of the characters well enough to be invested, and it doesn't counterbalance well with ted's big brooding dramatic flashbacks. also ted is kind of an asshole. and not in the fun harvey specter way, either, he's just a dick.

not to mention, there's no unique hook. it's a legal...dramedy, sort of, but not a very good one. none of the characters have any rare and exploitable traits like mike's eidetic memory, and there aren't any big secrets like mike being a fraud. ted left new york because his brother was killed by the mob due to a case ted was trying, and i'm sure there are some more details to that, but like. that's not a mystery. that's just information pending. it's not fun enough to be og suits, it's not procedural enough to be law & order, it's not dark and mysterious enough to be mr. robot. i suspect part of the problem is due to the fact that it was initially pitched as a show about hollywood agents, but after the "summer of suits" (2023), netflix demanded it be reworked as a suits spinoff, and it suffered some kind of identity crisis. not to say it would've worked the other way, but i guess we'll never know.

as for "batman returns." harvey's appearance has been advertised and plugged and primed as some really big deal for the show, and something definitely worth tuning in for (ratings have been dropping sharply since the pilot). and...all we get are some flashback scenes, showing harvey and ted playing in some prosecutorial baseball league together. and harvey and ted "bantering" about which of them is batman (despite this being, again, 2010, which, again, is before harvey meets mike). and harvey warning ted that someone in his office is feeding information to the mob, i assume to justify harvey's eventual arrival in la as they try to make ted more interesting by exploring his tragic backstory some more.

i know gabriel has said he's doing this to "pass the baton" to the new cast, but this doesn't read that way to me so much as a scrambling attempt to link the new series with the original. he's been very candid that's he's doing this "for the fans," rather than to give harvey any sort of closure he's been missing, which tracks well with his behavior during the original run; when harvey and donna got together in season 9, gabriel said something similar:

"I am all for what the fans want. You've got to give the fans what they want, so that's what we're going to do."

from a production standpoint, this feels more like the first time mike came back to og suits (s09e05): it was heavily promoted, it was an obvious ratings grab, it didn't need to happen or serve any real purpose from a plot perspective, and it backfired pretty badly (viewership was among the lowest of the entire season and the episode wasn't well reviewed). if nothing else, i suppose they are comfortingly consistent.

anyway.

suffice it to say i was not impressed.

[milevenstancyendgame]

Mike's Intuition

Something I haven't seen talked about yet, is Mike's talent of intuition.

We see the most of it in s1, I think. His immediate connection to Eleven is the first glimpse we get of it. Whether you see it as love at first sight or not (the s4 monologue confirmed that, but that's not the point), he acted in a deeply compassionate, empathetic, and very mature way for his age (compare Lucas and Dustin's reactions). Instead of being freaked out by El, he just saw a lost child in need, and he understood that she must have gone through something awful, even though he had no idea what it was (just look at his face when he sees El holding the soft sweater to her cheek).

He also just "knew" that she wasn't a dangerous/bad person. Which was something the others were very worried about, especially after she displayed her superpowers. He just felt sorry for her and instantly liked her, just like that.

I think his most consequential decision came after he asked El to ring at their door, so his Mum could call for help, and she refused and made it clear that it would get both of them killed.

Instead of freaking out, he did what? Turned his bike around after having departed for school, and went straight back home to give El company for the day and play host to her.

Seriously, the switch is astounding. One moment, El thinks he's gonna tell his Mum about her and they will all die, and the next they are playing and laughing like happy, little children.

There's zero logic in this decision, it's just Mike acting on pure gut instinct. He cares for this girl without knowing why, despite knowing nothing about her, except that she means danger, and he just follows that feeling.

And nothing changed that, not her powers, not when the danger became real.

When El recognises Will on the photo, he also immediately believes that she can help them to find Will, and he never wavers in this conviction. But all that happened, was that she wordlessly pointed at Will.

Lucas' reaction to Mike's belief in this is actually really helpful to emphasise their strengths - Lucas is the voice of reason, while Mike is the voice of intuition. Dustin is in-between them.

Which is also why they make such a great team - they balance each other out, and you need both to solve a mystery. And typically in this kind of crime or mystery-solving story, you need at least a few characters who just follow their hunches, even though they know that it doesn't make any sense rationally and might just lead to a dead-end.

Mike is exactly that character (and Joyce is too, btw. There's even a beautiful visual parallel of both of them running into someone's arms at the end of "Holly Jolly"). When they pack their things for "expedition Mirkwood", Lucas once again doubts the whole plan and El, but Mike shushes him with "Just trust me on this one, okay?", which effectively shuts Lucas up. So it seems like they have good reason to trust Mike's intuition.

I also think that there was a good deal of self-blame afflicting him after they saw Will's fake body, and this was (among other things) the reason why he lashed out so strongly at El. He had trusted her, and he also had trusted his own evaluation of her and his belief that she would lead them to an ALIVE Will (which others had doubted). Even though there really was no reason to believe that Will would still be alive, just because El had presumably seen him at some point.

But then El uses the walkie talkie to prove to Mike that Will really is still alive, and it shows us that Mike's intuition had been right the whole time - again, like Joyce's.

Throughout the rest of s1, Mike remains the most open to any new explanations and possibilities that open up (like the idea of an interdimensional gate).

When Nancy and Hopper call them on the walkie talkie, he's immediately inclined to respond and makes the final decision.

After they team up with the teens and adults, and Hopper asks El to confirm the details of the gate, Dustin wonders "How does he know all of that?" And Mike responds "Because he's been there," giving us another neat example of his deeper understanding/reading of what's going on.

In s2, he likewise senses from the get-go that something seriously dangerous is happening to Will, so he supports him. He has no trouble understanding what Will is sharing about his supernatural experience and he easily syncs with Joyce in trying to connect Will's vine tunnel drawings (crazy together, lol). And again, he connects the dots and realises that the Mind-flayer lured them into a trap.

His intuition also remains just as adamant about El still being alive, as it had been about Will being still alive in s1! And the fact that he actually could sense El in the void is BIG. This boy has superpowers of his own.

S3 and s4 moved him into more comedic scenes/genre, so we saw less of this, but it's still a core character trait:

In s3, he again notices Will's unease in the cinema. He also was right on the money about El overexerting herself (which only got confirmed in s4 by Brenner, who said she had suffered from something like a stroke), which no one except Lucas (!!!) paid any heed to ("Oh shit, is that like a thing?").

In s4, apart from the comedy, the focus is precisely on Mike's insecurity and self-doubt overshadowing his intuitive understanding. Will has to give him a pep-talk and remind him of why he's their leader, which is the cue for him to tap into his superpower and pour out his heart/love to El to save her (Will's "You're the heart, okay? Remember that!" is pretty cryptic, even with the knowledge of what he's referring to, but Mike immediately switches from a panicking mind to his heart/intuition).

[darkcrowprincess]

Byler thoughts:

Byler fics I wish people would write instead of the same tired old modern au/high school aus I keep finding(yelling at myself that I could do it but I'm too fucking lazy):

Byler au where they both get trapped in the upside down together in season 1.

Byler au where Will and Mike are kids with powers with numbers that run away and escape together. And El is the normal kid thats friends with the party that accidentally finds them.

Byler au Mike is possessed instead of Will.

More possessiongate mike fics with byler.

More manifestation theory Mike fics(or really any at all!) with byler.

Mike being Verca's next victim after Max with Byler.

The creels and the wheelers being related fics with byler.

Adult Byler that are together in the future end up in the past fics.

Byler au where El and Mike broke up in season 3 and stayed broken up. Will and Mike are the ones who wrote letters to each other while El and Mike drifted apart.

Byler fantasy au.

Byler au where Will didn't come back till season 4 as Vecna's mind controlled spy.

Byler au where they solve mysteries with the party.

Byler au where they're supernatural hunters with the party.

Byler jumanji 1995 au

Byler Casper au

Byler boarding school in the 80s au.

Byler goonies au with the party.

Byler au where they search for any type of treasure.

Byler world war 2 aus.

Byler reincarnation au where they are soulmates in each past life.

Byler au where Mike was taken instead of Will.

Byler au where canon divergence in season 2 possessed Will gets taken back to the upside down with Mike as a hostage.

Byler au where Mike gets kidnapped by Vecna before he could get on his plane.

Byler au Mike gets possessed in season 2 instead of Will.

Byler au Will has amnesia after being free of his possession in season 2 which causes Mike to cling to Will more and try to get him to remember.

Byler au Mike kisses Will in anger instead of saying what he said during the rain scene in season 3. Causing Will to run away.

Byler Pride and Prejudice au.

Byler bridgerton au.

Byler au where El did die in season one. Like obviously died. They have her dead body. And Mike dealing with the guilt of that while also dealing with his feelings for Will.

Byler au, Mike gets possessed instead of Billy in season 3.

Byler time travel au's to fix season 4.

Byler au where Mike didn't kiss El at the snowball, because he and Will left early to wall around the school by themselves. Completely missing El.

Byler au where El never came back in season 2.

Byler au Mike gets taken by the vines/Vecna in season 2 and disappears.

Byler au where Joyce is the one to get taken by the Russians instead of Hopper and is thought to have died. The boys stay with Hopper. Hopper than goes with Muarry to Russia to save Joyce. Meaning all of the party is together when the Vecna thing happens.

Byler au where Will was actuallh kidnapped by Lonnie (their is no Eleven) and Mike and the party have to save him.

Byler au where Mike gets shot bad while they escape from the government in season 4. He lives but Will takes care of him. He was probably protecting Will when it happen.

Byler au Mike and Will get taken by Brenner and the government instead of El in season 4.

Byler star wars au. Where Mike is a prince/ambassador and Will is a jedi. Or vice versa.

Byler harry potter au

Byler Narnia au

Byler lord of the ringers au

(Don't like don't read. Post hate and I'll block you)

[eastofthemoon]

All Bets Are Off

Jim wasn’t walking quickly down the hall, but he wasn’t dragging his feet either. His steps were steady, almost determined. Everyone should have gathered in the art room by now.

His phone vibrated. Jim gently shifted the small black box he was carrying to his other arm as he reached into his pocket to pull it out.

He took a quick glance. Just a text from his mom asking him to buy milk on the way home. Easy enough, but not relevant in this moment, so he swiped the message aside. He also swiped at the other message he forgot to dismiss earlier.

Emergency meeting! Tiffany from class 3-A is an alien princess!

Jim tucked the phone back into his pocket as he approached the door and entered.

The room was filled with people. Looks like everyone in the inner ring had responded to the message. Most were chatting among themselves. The newer members of the group were standing off in the far corner of the room, quiet in their uncertainty.

He glanced around and spotted Jessie, his second in command. As expected she was sitting on top of the teacher’s desk and nonchalantly swinging her legs. Upon seeing Jim, she stepped off and clapped her hands.

“Alright, he’s here!” she called. “Hush up!”

Everyone went silent as Jim sat at the desk. He nudged his glasses causing them to flash a blinding glint of light and opened the box.

“To confirm for everyone,” he said as he cleared his throat. “An alien princess? You're certain”

“Saw it myself,” Charlie shouted as he opened his can of pop and took a sip. “Spaceship hovering behind the equipment shed, had a bracelet to disguise her appearance, royal-looking tiara. Was confessing her love to Mike, something about him catching her in a game of tag as kids being some kind of marriage proposal in her culture?”

“Did they see you?” Jessie asked.

“Naw,” Charlie said. “Mind you, I got the vibe Tiffany didn’t care if anyone saw and Mike was in too much shock to notice.”

“Very well. Then let this be the occasion that we settle matters,” Jim pronounced as he reached into the box and brought up the awaited small blue book thick with pages and numbers. He let it land on the desk with a loud thud. Carefully, Jim flipped through the pages until he found the section.

“Let’s see, according to this Betty and Zane were both betting she was an alien,” he said as he reached in and withdrew a small pile of bills, “so they win the ‘what's the deal with that mystery girl who keeps breaking doors’ pot!”

“We really needed a better name for that,” Jessie remarked.

A series of groans were heard as Betty and Zane exchanged high fives.

“YES!” Zane cried. “Told you all she was an alien.”

George banged his head against the desk. “I KNEW I should have gone with alien,” he shot a glare at his boyfriend “but you just HAD to convince me you had evidence she was actually an angel.”

“US TOO!” cried several other people in the group.

“I saw her with wings!” Luke shot back. “Who wouldn’t assume that?!”

Geroge grumbled. “You’re buying me extra popcorn on our next movie date.”

“Well, I was right too,” Lisa called as she puffed out her chest.

Jim raised an eyebrow and checked the book. “No, you wagered 10 bucks she was a robot.”

“Same thing!”

“No, it’s not,” Betty called.

“It is if you’ve seen transformers!”

“That’s not related to this at all!”

“This school is so weird,” Polly said from her spot with the other newer members of the ring.

Allen shrugged. “You get used to it.”

“Okay, okay,” Jessie called to regain control. “While we’re all here, let’s discuss updates to our other ongoing wagers.”

Jim adjusted his glasses as he flipped back a few pages. “Have we learned anything more about the pizza chef who keeps smashing through walls?”

“It’s starting to sound like he’s some kind of martial artist, but no confirmation yet,” Charlie said.

Allen raised his hand. “I did see him hovering around Rachel from 1-A a lot.” He wrinkled his brow. “Kept muttering about being her true fiance?”

Luke’s jaw dropped. “WHAT?! That'd bring her up to five fiances! Shouldn’t that be illegal?”

Jim flipped a page. “Illegal or not, if that can be confirmed, that means Charlie will win the ‘will Rachel Wilson end up with any more fiances this year’ pot.”

“WAHOO!” Charlie cried.

“That reminds me,” Jessie said as she tapped Jim’s shoulder. “We need to refund everyone's wagers on the ‘new class pet from Mrs. Freezy’s last field trip’ pot.”

Jim frowned. “Why?”

“I talked to the biology club, they said we don’t want to know.”

“Noted,” Jim said as he went to the page, crossed out one line and carefully counting out coins and bills.

“Where are we on that vampire in Class 2-D?” George asked.

“Confirmed who it was, his name is Walter,” Zane replied. “He and Daisy went on a ‘friendly date’ last weekend,” he said as he used his fingers as air quotes, “but still not officially a couple and no kiss.”

“How?” Luke yelled. “They’ve been walking circles around each other for five months?!”

“Oh, we’ve seen worse,” Jessie said. “You weren’t here when that witch got together with Morgan. Took those girls over a YEAR before they actually kissed.”

“And Morgan had died twice first,” Betty remarked with a sigh. “We still haven’t been able to clean off the scorch marks from the gym walls.”

Charlie scratched his chin. “Twice? Didn’t she die more times than that when-?”

“Nope, stopping you right there,” Jessie said. “Rule three! Time loops don’t count!”

“Anyway,” Jim said as he brought out his pen and clicked it. “Would anyone who hasn't already lost like to change their bets on when Daisy and Walter?”

“I’m keeping mine to a year,” Betty cried.

Luke grunted and sighed. “I had six months, but I'll bump mine up to a year too. 'Friendly date', seriously...”

“I’m keeping mine to seven months and...two weeks,” said Polly, from the new-members corner.

Polly’s eyes widened. “Oh, dang it!”

“I’m keeping mine to six months,” Jessie said as she pointed to the paper. “I know Daisy, she doesn’t have a lot of patience.”

“Okay,” Jim said as he wrote it down. “Also, a reminder for the new members. If you're a time traveller, you’re free to comment but you’re not actually allowed to bet for obvious reasons.”

Archive of Our Own

Full credit to my husband for giving me this prompt. I also have a ko-fi for those interested.