#South of Nowhere Episodes

[chenfordsrollisi]

South of Nowhere Season 1

Note: Let me know the seasons and episode number if links don't work. I'll be adding alt links. Please let me know if they do or don't work as well, thanks. Season 1! Episodes 1&2: Secret Truths [Alt Link: Episodes 1&2: Secret Truths] Episode 3: Friends, Lovers, Brothers and Others [Alt Link: Episode 3: Friends, Lovers, Brothers and Others] Episode 4: Put Out or Get Out [Alt Link: Episode 4: Put Out Or Get Out] Episode 5: First Time [Alt Link: Episode 5: First Time] Episode 6: Girl’s Guide to Dating [Alt Link: Episode 6: Girl's Guide to Dating] Episode 7: Friends with Benefits [Alt Link: Episode 7: Friends with Benefits] Episode 8: Under My Skin [Alt Link: Episode 8: Under My Skin] Episode 9: Shake, Rattle & Roll [Alt Link: Episode 9: Shake, Rattle & Roll] Episode 10: Say It Ain’t So, Spencer [Alt Link: Episode 10: Say It Ain't So, Spencer] Episode 11: What Just Happened? [Alt Link: Episode 11: What Just Happened?]

#South of Nowhere #South of Nowhere Episodes #South of Nowhere Season 1 #Spashley #Ashley Davies #Spencer Carlin

[herbertpocketsfidgettoys]

Great expectations reference

#south park #south park fanart #herbert pocket #pip pirrup #estella havisham #great expectations #this scene should of been in the episode #this is the only part I remember from the 1946 version #it was so out of nowhere to #I love it though #also yes I didn’t read the book befor watching the film adaptation #I do have the book I just never feel like reading it

[andysapril]

2k23 Pride Celebration:

Scenes → South of Nowhere, 1x05

#spashley #south of nowhere #spashleyedit #sonedit #spencer carlin #ashley davies #mine: son #mine: spashley #** #2k23pride #this episode was part of my queer awakening

[horsechestnut]

South of Nowhere is so funny. Every episode is just...

A Plot: Spencer thinks she’s gay, but also Aiden is kind of cute. Either her or Ashley makes a new friend and the other gets extremely jealous over it.

B Plot: Clay struggles with racism and/or his own internal struggles about being a black teenager raised by a white family and trying to find his place in the black community. 50% chance of something traumatic happening to him that will never be mentioned again.

C Plot (optional): Glen is a teenage boy. 

#i'm on like the seventh episode #and every single episode Spencer flip flops on the gay topic #there are so many lesbians in this show though #did not expect that #south of nowhere #i was told this was like a knock off Degrassi #and I do see it to an extent #we'll see how it progresses

[lazycats-stuff]

You the oneshot where the reader didn't have a choice until batfam rescued him . I kinda want to see the batfam reactions to the thighs he didn't get to experience like chocolate, cartoons and a birthday that shocked them the most and what's even worse is that readers handler just sends him to a very difficult mission like a deserted island to fend for himself on his birthday which reader didn't know about

Aww, some family fluff... You got it my dear anon. Also, the request season has started.

Summary: (Y/N) told his family about his lack of experience with usual stuff. Even more with his birthday. Absolutely no one is having it.

Batfamily & male!reader, PART 2, PART 3,

Warnings: Fluff, family wants to kill someone, mentions of missions from (Y/N)'s past.

After saving (Y/N) from his handler, it was obvious that he didn't... Indulge in certain things as any normal kids would. Sure, Damian didn't too, considering his upbringing, but (Y/N) was on a whole another level of not knowing anything.

It started with chocolate. Alfred has made some chocolate cake out of nowhere and he called the others down to eat if they wanted too. Of course, everyone would do so. I mean, who wouldn't want to try Alfred's delicious creations?

Everyone jumped at the news, basically pushing each others out of the way. (Y/N) didn't understand why they would do it. It's just food. He walked in confused, sitting down. He frowned at the sight of a chocolate cake.

" What's wrong (Y/N)? " Bruce asked, digging into the sugary delight.

" I never had anything with chocolate before. I wasn't allowed to have sugar. " (Y/N) confessed and Jason nearly choked on his piece.

" No. " Jason said, in complete and utter disbelief. Everyone glanced at (Y/N), also shocked that he has never had sugar. Of any kind probably.

" How about you try it? " Bruce prompted and Alfred put a chocolate cake in front of (Y/N). He took a fork and put it in his mouth and everyone saw how gingerly he tried it.

It seemed he liked it by the way his eyes widened and the way he relaxed.

" Do you like it? " Bruce asked, clearly already knowing the answer.

" I think I would like a second slice. " (Y/N) admitted and Alfred smiled widely. It's a win and progress. (Y/N) is never the one to voice what he wants and making him explicitly say what he wants is like pulling teeth.

" Of course master (Y/N), but I'm afraid you can't have more than two per day. " Alfred said, already putting some rules down.

" Okay. " (Y/N) said. Bruce decided to put some rules down because rules are all he knows. But they were very relaxed rules. Such as at least 8 hours of sleep, some exercise and a healthy amount of vegetables.

(Y/N) is kind of afraid of Alfred. He saw that Alfred is the one to not mess with and he respected it.

(Y/N) stayed silent as he ate. Bruce already a mental note to buy more sweets for (Y/N) to try.

After the whole cake fiasco, everyone decided to help (Y/N) experience some actual fragments of childhood. So what do they decide to do?

Cartoon marathon.

Jason wanted to watch South Park because he knows (Y/N) will love it. It's pure satire and Jason loved it. Whenever he could catch some free time, he would watch it and it would take a national emergency to stop.

And that's why Jason is leading (Y/N) to the living room.

" What is South Park even? " (Y/N) asked as he entered the living room, quickly moving to his spot.

" One of the best cartoons ever made. " Jason simply said and (Y/N) shook his head.

" It's pure satire. " Dick elaborated and (Y/N) nodded in understanding. (Y/N) liked satire. He considered himself to be a sarcastic person, more so now when he lived with the Waynes. Damian and (Y/N) just communicated via sarcasm and it was fun.

They started from the first episode and (Y/N) chuckled quietly. Everyone turned their heads. Holy shit. It's a beautiful sound too, coming from (Y/N). When they make him laugh properly, they are going to commemorate it once it happens.

" What? " (Y/N) asked, looking at the all.

" You have an adorable laugh. " Jason explained and (Y/N) turned his head away. He didn't want them to see his blush. Nobody has ever told him that. There was never any type of affection from his handler. If he got a 'good job', he could consider it the best praise.

After months of digging, Bruce found (Y/N)'s birthday. Bruce is definitely going to brag about this for the years to come. And he found out just in time. It's going to be in a few days and they wanted to surprise (Y/N).

(Y/N) is observant by nature and keeping this surprise as a secret is not an easy feat. Bruce could see that (Y/N) was already suspicious, especially with the way everyone brushes him off with the exact same excuses and some times they distract him with sparring, cases and all in all just stupid things.

Alfred made a chocolate cake, now (Y/N)'s favorite and the others got him some things that they thought that (Y/N) would like. Jason had a major task of bringing (Y/N) to the dining room.

They all waited with the stuff, knowing that (Y/N) wouldn't like sudden surprise and sudden noise. (Y/N) stopped as he took in the sight of a cake with candles on them.

" Happy birthday. " Bruce said, with a smile on his face.

" What? " (Y/N) asked quietly and their faces fell.

" You never had a birthday before? " Dick asked, feeling sad for (Y/N).

" Not really. I was usually sent on missions during that time. The last one was spent on a deserted island. " (Y/N) said, shuddering at the mere memory of the mission. Bruce walked towards (Y/N) and brought him into his own embrace.

" From now on, we are going to replace all of those memories with some more precious ones. Okay? " Bruce asked and (Y/N) felt something warm in his core. Something that he has never felt before.

Everyone agreed with Bruce, joining in on the hug. (Y/N) never liked to be touched, but he has grown to like it with the others. They weren't abrasive with it and Dick was the most touchy one, he understood his boundaries.

" Can I eat the cake now? " (Y/N) asked, squished in between all of them. Everyone chuckled at the suggestion and let go of (Y/N). The celebration went by without a hitch and it was filled with smiles, even from members who don't smile to much.

#dc comics #dc x male reader #x male reader #batfamily #bruce wayne x male reader #jason todd x male reader #batkids #batman x male reader #red hood x male reader #damian wayne x male reader #robin x male reader #tim drake x male reader #red robin x male reader #dick grayson x male reader #nightwing x male reader

[genericpuff]

bit out of nowhere but LO Hades reminds me so much to Bojack Horseman idk how to explain it

Oh we've talked about this extensively in the ULO chat circles n such, especially when it comes to the most climactic scene in the show, the second interview:

The entire tone of the show showcases a very bitter reality with a lot of celebrities and people in power. There are some messed up things that happen throughout the course of the show, but they always feel like they're being used for comedy or brushed under the rug with comedy, because the show is, after all, a comedy. But I feel like that was the point, because it's not until the final season that everything that happened throughout finally catches up to Bojack, and suddenly... it's not funny anymore. There's no punchline. It really reflects just how much people in power don't see their abuse or wrongdoings as "big deals", sometimes they even see it as "just some funny thing that happened", all while the onlookers and victims of their behavior and abuse either become so acquainted with it they don't even see it as abuse anymore until they finally break away from it (Diana, Todd, Princess Caroline, etc.) OR they fight to be heard while the media tries to snuff them out. So then when the consequences finally catch up to them, there are no laughs to be heard, as much as the perpetrator in question may try their best to pass it off as "not a big deal" or believe they shouldn't be held accountable because "it happened a long time ago".

Anyone who sees Biscuits Braxby as the villain here is missing the overall point - Bojack has been responsible for literally ruining people's lives on several occasions, and has never been held accountable.

And yeah, I see a lot of that in LO as well, but the issue is the framing of the story isn't making it clear if it's actually going to have its "Come to Jesus" moment with Hades and Persephone, or if it's just gonna keep celebrating them as the heroes.

There were no consequences for Hades pulling out Alex's eye. They played the resolution out for comedy.

There were no consequences for Persephone turning Minthe into a mint plant. They played the scenario out for comedy literally by the end of the very same episode and then well into the next one.

There were no consequences for Persephone cornering Tori at his job. The entire thing was played up for comedy.

There were no consequences for Persephone raiding Leuce's home. She was rewarded with sex from Hades and it was, you guessed it, played up for comedy.

Just like with Bojack Horseman, we don't see Hades or Persephone treat these situations as seriously as they ought to. They ultimately don't care how other people feel or how they may be affected by their own actions, they only care about themselves. Just like with Bojack, we see Hades enter sexual relationships with women who are in a much weaker position than him, women who stand to lose far more than he would if the relationship went south.

(I need you all to realize that Hades is literally blackmailing her. He is trying to pay her off with a management position or some kind of severance and framing it in such a way to manipulate her into thinking it's 'better' for her that she take the deal, all for the sake of getting her out of the picture because he's with Persephone now. This is blackmail. And the narrative wants us to root for Hades here.)

Shit, I would argue Bojack is still a better character than Hades and Persephone because we 1.) see how the consequences of his actions do affect him on a deeper level (through his anxiety and self-hatred which he spends a long time wallowing in, making his situation worse, rather than seeking help for) and 2.) he actually does eventually start to seek help, but unfortunately there's only so much one person can do to fix themselves when their actions still haven't been brought to justice and their mindset hasn't truly changed; which is what we see in the final part of the show when, despite Bojack's attempts to be a better person, the Sarah-Lynn case catches up to him, and in his final moments up on that stage with Biscuits Braxby, we see his true nature come out - he thinks being an addict should absolve him from what he's done to others.

Sounds familiar, doesn't it? Except replace "addict" with "traumatized" as many of Persephone and Hades' actions are swept under the rug with "they went through trauma so it's fine". Despite the fact that other characters who have also been through trauma aren't given that same grace (Thanatos, Demeter, Minthe, etc.)

You could also go a step further and call out how the fans themselves will defend their actions as "but they're gods!!! gods were terrible all the time in the myths!" but isn't it funny how myth accuracy only ever comes up when it comes to defending Hades and Persephone? Meanwhile you'll never see anyone bring it up when it comes to Apollo SA'ing Persephone, or Hades having an emotional affair with Persephone, or any of the other number of things that Rachel rewrote for her 'retelling'. It's not funny haha, it's funny yikes.

I can only imagine how the fans feel seeing Hades and Persephone called out must be similar to how first-time viewers like myself felt seeing Bojack be put on the cross by Biscuits Braxby - "you're being an asshole, he's working on himself!" "leave him alone!!!" "the media is making a monster out of him!" "he's really not THAT bad!"

But he is. They are. And unlike Bojack Horseman, I unfortunately can no longer have the good faith in believing Hades and Persephone will have their comeuppance, or the people they've hurt will get their retribution. I have no hope that Persephone will see that she's the Sarah-Lynn of the relationship, a girl who was groomed into an abuser at the hands of an abuser, who had no chance of doing better because the person she fell for pulled her down to his level. I don't have any faith in Rachel whatsoever that she'll manage to end this story with any message besides "it's fine for Persephone and Hades to be who they are, because they're rich and powerful and really horny for each other!"

And Hades doesn't think he has any power over women.

#lore olympus critical #anti lore olympus #lo critical #ask me anything #ama #anon ama #anon ask me anything

[soraontop]

SORA of ENHYPEN 𓊆ྀི❤︎𓊇ྀི

STAGE NAME sora (소라)

BIRTH NAME jung sora (정소라)

POSITION - *

BIRTHDAY october 31st, 2003

ZODIAC SIGN scorpio

CHINESE ZODIAC goat

HEIGHT 162cm (5’3”)

WEIGHT 44kg (99lbs)

BLOOD TYPE a

MBTI ENTP

NATIONALITY korean

REPRESENTATIVE EMOJI 🐯

MIC. COLOR pink

SORA FACTS

She is from Ilsan, South Korea.

She is the oldest child of four, and has three younger brothers. (2009, 2014, 2018)

Training Period: 3 years, 2 months/2015–2018 (Cre.Ker Ent) 1 year, 3 months/2019–2020 (BigHit Ent.)

She was in I.O.I previously and placed 2nd in Produce 101 Season 1 with 782,883 votes.

She ranked 2nd in the final episode of I-LAND with 1,362,913 votes.

She is the current MC for Inkigayo with Yeonjun and Woonhak. (July 2023)

She is a former Cre.Ker and BigHit Entertainments trainee and knows The Boyz well from training with them.

She played Jungkook’s partner in ‘Love Yourself’ highlight reel.

Byeolies is Sora’s fandom name created by fans.

Education: Chadwick International School

Sora speaks Korean and English fluently. She understands Japanese but isn’t confident in speaking it.

Her English name is Lucy. She chose it because she liked the song Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds.

Her favorite colors are lavender and coral.

She was on a swim team when she was younger.

She auditioned as a joke in 2015.

She has her own room in ENHYPEN’s dorm.

She has a Chihuahua named Miso.

She played Jung Somi in The Man From Nowhere in 2010, the daughter of Won Bin’s character in the movie who was kidnapped. She won Best New Actress at the 2010 Korean Film Awards for her role.

She also played Do Kyunghee, Cha Eunwoo’s character’s sister, in My Gangnam Beauty in 2018.

She is childhood friends with RIIZE’s Seunghan. (WeVerse 2023.09.8)

Specialty: Vocal and dance

Hobbies: Making friends, drawing, taking care of others

Charming Point: Her eyes, lips and cheeks

Her nickname(s) are Korea’s Golden Girl, Doll, ‘Malgeumi’ (bright), Da Vinci, Mermaid, ‘Nation’s Girl Next Door’, ‘Nation’s Little Sister’, Star.

Likes: Jay, Sunoo, swimming, her dog, makeup

Dislikes: Waking up, being taken care of, pineapple pizza, Mint Choco

Motto: Expect nothing.

* Position is currently being inferred.

inspired by @enmi-land & @laladellakang <3

poly ot7 enhypen fic with female 8th member, don’t like don’t read !!!

#˖ ࣪ . ࿐ ♡ ˚ . sora ⌗ profile #enhypen #enhypen 8th member #enhypen female addition #enhypen addition #kpop female oc #kpop female addition #enhypen imagines #enhypen scenarios #enhypen fluff #enhypen reactions #kpop imagines #kpop scenarios #bts female addition #txt female addition #txt 6th member #le sserafim 6th member #stray kids 9th member #ateez 9th member

[teacookiesandpeace]

What if Pip had survived somehow?

Well, it's kind of hard to imagine that he even managed to survive after literally turning into bloody pink gum in episode 201, but I tried to fit a few things into context. (I don't doubt anything else when it comes from south park)

Well, Pip would probably be in the hospital for a long time since he was totally crushed and turned into a pink bloody gum by Mecha Barbra. I think Joe or the possible family that takes care of him would be taking care of him in the hospital, after a long time recovering, he recovers but with sequelae, he loses the ability to walk and an arm in addition to having scars all over his body

He would also wear different clothes probably, since his clothes were wrinkled as well, I wanted to keep the boy's style as it is something iconic of his

And as for his relationship with other people, I think he would still be kind and polite, but traumatized (honestly, anyone would be traumatized if a giant dinosaur appeared out of nowhere and just crushed you like a bug) I think the boys would continue to make fun of him like they used to, but only when they were forced to interact with Pip since they probably don't care about his existence anymore

Maybe Pip talks to Damien sometimes, but I wouldn't be too sure, though I'd like to see these two being friends and hanging out together

I'm pretty sure he'd talk to Butters again, they'd definitely get along, and maybe Dougie would do too

Even though Estella has completely disappeared from the show, I think she would at least visit him to see how he's doing

#south park #south park au #southpark #my art #south park art #sp au #sp pip #pip south park #south park pip #pip pirrup #pip pirrip #damien thorn #sp damien #damien south park #south park damien #eric cartman #sp cartman #south park cartman #estella havisham #sp estella #butters stotch #sp butters #butters sp #what if pip survived

[jewbeloved]

hihihiiii!!!!

can I request the main 4 with an fem s/o who is a actor in a famous tv show? I love ur work SM!!!

Team Stan with an s/o who is an actor in a TV show📺🎬🎬

Warnings: None

Gender: Female

💙 Stan Marsh 🌀

This boy probably never knew you were an actor of a TV show until he was watching Terrence and Phillip and an ad of the show you're acting for came up on the TV.

He was a little annoyed at first because this random TV show out of nowhere interrupted his session of watching Terrance and Phillip.

He was about to change the channel back to Terrence and Phillip until he saw an actress come up to the front of the stage and announce the next episodes they're going to be playing in.

Stan immediately without another second recognized you by your voice as soon as you started talking.

You're an actor of a TV show? Why didn't you tell him? How is this even possible?

When he met up with his friends at school, they told him about this famous TV show that is going around in south park and it's the one that had you as an actor in it.

And that's when Stan saw you organizing your locker for your next class, mostly everyone in the school didn't know you were the same actress that was on TV.

You had no idea how much Stan enjoys watching the show, he mostly only watches the episodes that features you in it.

Stan wonders if he should or should not confront you now that he knows you're an actor.

He will confront later, for now he just wants to enjoy your presence and hearing your voice in this TV show that he's now going to get addicted to watching to.💙💙💙💙💙💙

💚 Kyle Broflovski 🌲

When his mom heard this new TV show that has gotten really popular recently, she had to check out it before she lets her son watch it.

And let's pray that she doesn't find anything wrong with it or else she probably might complain and start a war with the state or country that owns this TV show you're performing for 😭😭😭😭

But anyways, just like Stan. Kyle never knew you were a famous actress for the TV show that has gotten popular.

That was until he saw everybody in school crowding you and talking about how they saw you in the TV show they watched.

Of course Kyle didn't believe it but went to go check it out for himself to see if everyone was lying.

He was actually surprised when he saw you acting as a character in one of the episodes, I guess everyone was telling the truth after all but why did you never tell him about this?

But he brushed it off since you probably weren't comfortable enough to tell him so he won't hold you accountable for that. But he is still curious.

Even if you didn't tell him you were an actress of the TV show, he didn't mind it either way.

This TV show probably might be even better then Terrance and Phillip 💚💚💚💚💚

❤️ Eric Cartman 🍔

Okay kewl.

You actually told him about it yourself and he responded with his normal 'kewl'. It may seem like Cartman doesn't care but he actually watched the TV show you're an actress for.

If the company that owns the TV show is holding an intermission standby where fans of the show can come in and meet the actresses. He's definitely going to go to it so he can see you.

You were actually surprised to see that Cartman came. You don't know how big of a fan he is of the TV show.

If his friends find out they'll probably tease him about it with Cartman also denying and saying that he thinks the TV show is shit and whatnot.

Even if you talk to Cartman about it, he'll still be in denial but you know your boyfriend's ways, he definitely likes it.❤️❤️❤️❤️🏵️

🧡 Kenny Mccormick 🐁

You indeed also told Kenny about it, but he probably won't be able to watch it since the television he has is really old and rusty and it doesn't always work.

But he is also amazed to see you actually being an actress of a show that has gotten popular in his school even his friends are also talking about it.

Kenny probably begs Cartman to let him use his TV so he can watch the episode that has recently aired that involves you in it.

Cartman of course has to be an ass about it so his mom gladly allowed Kenny to use the TV.

And when Kenny is watching the episodes, he barely even sleeps because he doesn't want to miss a single moment when you are on screen. The mf needs some sleep 😭😭

So you decided to step in and help Kenny get some sleep.🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡

#south park x reader #south park #stan marsh x reader #kyle broflovski x reader #eric cartman x reader #kenny mccormick x reader #stan marsh #kyle broflovski #eric cartman #kenny mccormick #actress #actor #southpark blog #southpark sp #sp x reader #x reader #southpark x y/n #southpark scenarios #southpark headcanons

[theladyrebecca2]

Stranger Things: The First Shadow (My spoiler-filled review and thoughts)

“Nerds, do you copy?”

Buckle up, because this is a long one! I've tried to remember as much as I can from when I saw the play on Dec 5th.

Disclaimer: This is in no way a complete recollection of things that happened. They really packed a LOT into it. This is just what I can personally recall, helped along by other reviews and recollections I’ve found online that sparked my memory. 

If you don't want to be spoiled, don't read any further!

Act 1.

After an epic intro scene, where soldiers on a ship at sea get dragged off by demogorgons (more on this later), we’re shown the Stranger Things intro exactly as though we’re watching an episode.

Chapter One: The Girl from Nowhere.

Hawkins, 1959. 

It opens with a young Bob Newby on air, talking on his radio show (the founder of Hawkins AV club! <3). We learn that he actually has an adopted sister, Patty Newby. She’s black, so she feels like an outsider (bear in mind it’s the 1950s/60s, so… yeah.) Principle Newby, their father and only remaining parent, is also very religious. 

He’s also the pastor (?) at the local church, and often makes Patty go to the church with him. She admits to Bob that she only likes to go to listen in on people’s confessions (some of which are really juicy). She also enjoys the choir there (?) as she likes to sing.  

Principal Newby doesn’t like that Bob and Patty read comic books. There’s talk about how some things are discouraged or outright forbidden because they involve sex (gasp!) and morally ambiguous behaviour. Patty in particular is looked down on by her father for acting rebellious. He disapproves of her answering him back. 

Instead of praying to God, Patty prays to Wonder Woman.

One of the first sections in the show’s programme is dedicated to the impact of comic books and science fiction on kids in the 1950s:

[This has always been the way with fiction. Whether you are talking about adventure, fantasy or sci-fi, stories set in faraway places reflect the anxieties of the here and now. Just as the children in Stranger Things turn to a fantasy game to help them make imaginative sense of a dangerous world, so we escape to alien landscapes to think about ourselves. As South Africa novelist Lauren Beukes once said, “By imagining the unimaginable, it’s possible to make reality more bearable.”]

[As Patty in Stranger Things: The First Shadow is aware, however, whether male or female, superheroes were almost exclusively white. Unless you happened to get hold of a copy of All-Negro Comics, published in 1947 by Black journalist Orrin Cromwell Evans, Black children would not see themselves represented in popular culture.]

[... in this age of technological advance and political uncertainty, [comic books] provided the thrills, the escapism and the imaginative fuel that audiences, young and old, needed more than ever.”] - Mark Fisher

Next, we’re introduced to Joyce. She’s Joyce Maldonado at this point. She’s half undressed and trying to find her clothes, obviously fooling around with Lonnie Byers, who is already talking down to her in a very casual way, telling her she’ll never amount to anything and that she’ll never leave Hawkins like she dreams of. It was another example of only physical attraction existing between two characters - there’s little to no emotional compatibility there. I sort of had the vibe that the scene was effectively introducing Joyce and Lonnie’s unequal power dynamics as they are in the show moving forwards. Lonnie sits with his legs encasing Joyce as they both sit on a mattress, and she’s visibly vulnerable in her bra, listening to him say these casually demeaning things to her. 

Joyce wants to direct the school play, although she’s pretending to Principal Newby that they’re doing Oklahoma. Oklahoma will serve as a smokescreen for the real play she wants to direct: The Dark of the Moon. This has its own page in the programme too: 

[From the depths of Scottish folklore to the Broadway stage, the journey of The Dark of the Moon is as shrouded in mystery and intrigue as the contents of the piece itself. Over the course of several hundred years, the story evolved from humble beginnings (The Ballad of Barbara Allen) into something rather darker and more brooding than its simpler folktale roots.] [In its original versions, it seems to have been an innocent, if tragic, ballad about a young man who dies of unrequited love, only for the grief-stricken object of his affection to follow him to the grave. There, they become a rose and a briar respectively, destined to be intertwined for all eternity.] - The Creel House front door, anyone?

[In 1939, it had somehow become part of the Appalachian mountain lore of the north-eastern USA… [sometimes] with a central theme of divorce rather than death. But perhaps its oddest reincarnation is as a regular feature in the annual school play catalogue across the United States… retitled The Dark of the Moon, the play recasts Barbara Allen as a young maiden desired by a witch boy whose request to be made human is granted on the condition that she is faithful to him for a year. When that condition is tested to destruction, tragedy naturally (or unnaturally) ensues. The play is rich with allegory, including themes as knotty as religious fanaticism, demonic possession and mob psychology, and with its plot of star-crossed lovers meeting across the divide between this world and a mystical parallel one, it’s a kind of Gothic Romeo and Juliet.]  -Michael Davies

In the next few scenes we’re introduced to a whole host of characters as they come into the high school, and eventually gather around for the casting of Joyce’s play:

Ted Wheeler, school jock, Mr Popular. Very much a ‘peaked in high school’ vibe. 🙈

Karen Childress, Ted’s popular cheerleader girlfriend. Ted and Karen are depicted as two teens who can barely keep their hands off each other. They constantly make out. It’s suggested that Karen is only dating him because he’s popular and um… well-endowed. 

Walter Henderson (who must be Dustin’s dad) is a total dick. He’s openly racist towards Patty at one point, earning him glares and snappy remarks from both of the Sinclairs who are present at the time. Patty has a horrible nickname at school, “mystery meat”, because of her unknown origins. But it’s clear with Walter's comments that her race also plays a factor in her general ostracisation. 

Claudia Yount (Dustin’s Mom). She has a cat called Prancer, and is dating Walter. I thought it was very fan-servicey to include Dustin’s parents at all, because we know canonically that Dustin and his mom only moved to Hawkins when he was 4th Grade. So I guess Claudia and Walter moved away, had Dustin elsewhere, then Claudia came back to Hawkins again with Dustin after Walter had left/divorced her?? 

Sue and Charles Sinclair. Again, it was a cute Easter Egg to include them, but all the parents of the OG boys being there felt very fan-servicey - especially with them all already being coupled up in high school. It felt too unrealistic and a bit jarring. I’m choosing to take this as they were literally intended as cute little Easter Eggs, and as prime opportunity for comedic relief (e.g. seeing Ted Wheeler as a total player, in total opposition to the Ted we know). 

Alan Munson. He’s a little strange and quirky, a lot like Eddie. He has a rock and roll vibe, and sticks out his tongue and does devil horns with his fingers, lol. The others don’t seem to know what to make of him, but there’s no animosity or anything. He’s really funny in all his scenes.

And of course, Jim Hopper Junior. To me, Young Hopper was like… a weird mixture of old Hopper from the show, and Steve! The actor did a great job, but yeah, it was giving Steve more than Hopper in some places (to me, at least). I don't know if this was intentional.

Hopper has some dad issues - his father is the chief of police, and they don’t get on. There’s a whole scene later on in the show where they even have a physical fight in the police station (although this isn’t depicted super seriously, and is actually part of a larger comedic section that involves some of the other cops in the station getting involved for laughs. At the end, Hopper and his dad sort of come to an agreement.) It’s kind of slapstick. They’re all falling over each other, and there’s even a part where one male cop falls against another face forward onto a desk, and it’s pretty suggestive (one is sort of mounted behind the other). Idk if this was supposed to be a standard ‘gay joke’ just for lols, or if it was more that the cops had an unexpected ‘moment’ together (they take a while to part from each other, and then they avoid each other’s eyes, so… idk). Just something I noticed happening off to the side.

Anyway, back to Act 1. We’re taken away from Hawkins High to outside the Creel house, and introduced to the Creels moving into Hawkins, just like they appear in the show’s flashbacks. They’ve moved from Nevada, and the reason they’ve moved is because something had happened with Henry, and this is meant to be a new start - it’s left ambiguous as to what exactly happened, but there’s mention of a kid that had been ‘left in a wheelchair’. 

At first, Virginia Creel seems somewhat loving towards her son, hugging and kissing him and trying to act ‘normal’, but she’s clearly unsettled by him. Henry is unpredictable, and almost seems to switch between different personalities: one that’s familiar, shy but friendly, and one that quickly rages and turns violent. 

Whilst it’s not explained WHY yet, we clearly see that Henry is somehow ALREADY under the influence of the Mind Flayer - and that he has powers.

Virginia becomes more and more openly terrified of Henry as the play goes on. Meanwhile, Victor Creel is generally absent the whole time as he’s dealing with his own ‘demons’ (severe PTSD from the war). People in Hawkins think he’s odd and weird. Remember that nobody understands PTSD at this point in time. 

Again, we get a spread in the programme about this: “These are the tranquilized fifties… the legacy of trauma in post-war America”:

[It is very likely that Corporal Victor Creel, 9th Airforce, missed the birth of his son Henry in 1945… Getting their bodies back to the US would be a huge undertaking… getting their minds home would be another problem, and one which no-one had thought to predict.] [Victor Creel is a familiar figure to us now: shellshocked, prone to outbursts, turning to alcohol to numb his trauma… what to do with the man who has seen atrocities - who is in himself a living testament to the fact that they exist, that they happen - who, in Victor’s case, may even have committed them himself? The answer was to bury him. Though shellshock was first given its name in the aftermath of the First World War… there was no widespread study of PTSD until after the Vietnam War, even though more than double the amount of American soldiers showed symptoms of PTSD during WW2 than WW1… Those suffering on the front were sedated and told they were exhausted… once they made it home, they were told not to talk about it: that they were lucky to be alive.]

[One response in particular would have been familiar to the Creels - the child who becomes aloof from their father, and who disengages from the emotional life of the family… Much like Jim Hopper and his father, there was often immense love between these children and their fathers, but they had no way to talk about the pain they were feeling.] -Beth Kelly

Henry is clearly lonely and feels misunderstood when he first moves to Hawkins. It’s like he’s aware that there’s a darker side of him that’s dangerous, but he can’t fully explain why he does certain things (e.g whatever he did to the kid left in a wheelchair). There’s a scene where he sees the smoke of the Mindflayer swirling around him in the void, and he yells, "What are you??"

He’s the new kid at Hawkins High. People at school think he’s strange. They’re not necessarily cruel to him, but they’re not really sure how to take him either. Joyce is pleasant to him. But the only person he really connects with is Patty Newby - who we know is also a bit of an outsider at the school because of her peculiar origins and skin colour.

It’s clear there is an instant connection between Henry and Patty. Henry in particular is obviously crushing on Patty, and acts awkward around her. They bond over their love of comic books, and decide to be friends. 

Anyway - back to Joyce’s play. So the reason she wants to direct the play in the first place is to impress some visitors from a university, so she can achieve a scholarship to study theatre outside of Hawkins. 

It involves “witches, satanism, religious allegory”. Lots of things that Principal Newby would definitely disapprove of (hence why she pretends that they’re doing Oklahoma). 

Joyce talks about the overarching message: “That’s what it’s all about in the end, isn’t it? Whether love can conquer fear.” (paraphrased). I think that was perhaps a really meta moment, and applies to THIS play and even Stranger Things as a whole.

Also there was something like, “they’re witches, not lesbians!”/ “They were witches as well as lesbians”… “Does it matter?” (again, paraphrasing, I can’t recall the actual lines, and I think this was either said at this point by Joyce and someone else, or a conversation that happened earlier between Bob and Patty when they were talking about a comic or story they had read. I’m sorry, I can’t remember!) But I thought it could be a reference to the Fear Street trilogy, maybe. I was on the lookout for any kind of LGBTQ+ imagery or dialogue, and yet my brain still managed to forget details by the end of it all (Act 1 needed to be 20 minutes longer, seriously. They went through so much dialogue so quickly, it was difficult to keep up. I feel like I need to see the whole thing again to properly take it all in).

Maybe I was tripping, or maybe I misheard, but I thought there was also a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it line about “the ending is happy and gay”. I wish my brain would have held onto those lines, but it happened so quickly. Something like, “the ending will be happy and gay”… “isn’t that what everyone wants?” Now, I’m certain they meant ‘gay’ as in ‘happy’ in the context, but I couldn’t help but side-eye that moment a little because it’s an outdated term in today’s language. It was, I believe, a quick exchange between Joyce and… I want to say Bob? Or possibly Walter? I honestly cannot remember. I'm begging people not to run away with this because it’s also totally possible that it was said in a derivative sense, like, “this story is dark, gothic and tragic... not happy and gay”, you know? "That's what everyone wants, right?" "Maybe, but this ends in tragedy." I really hope someone, ANYONE else caught these lines, and can give me their own two cents on it. (Curse my shit memory and also just how FAST those lines were coming at us during those scenes in Act 1… like guys, please slow down so I can actually take in what you’re saying!) 

Anyway. Joyce is having trouble casting the main leads, John and Barbara Allen, as the two are lovers and will need to kiss, and nobody seems to have the right chemistry or is taking it seriously enough. 

At one point, Karen (acting as the female lead) confidently and passionately kisses Bob (acting the male lead), who’s awkward and flustered afterwards (this is done for the audience lols). 

After hearing her beautiful singing voice (encouraged by Henry), Joyce decides to cast Patty as her female lead. Meanwhile Henry has unwittingly found himself in this room along with everyone, and accidentally gets involved in the casting process. Joyce sees that Patty and Henry have chemistry together, so she decides to cast Henry as her male lead too. 

Henry and Patty grow closer. Henry tells Patty that he’s bad, and she should stay away from him. She doesn’t listen, and says just because someone has done some bad things, it doesn’t make them a bad person.

At one point they sit side by side by the confessional at church. Henry admits to her that he has powers. He tells Patty that he can hear what people are thinking - all the time. It drives him crazy (and says people are always ‘pretending’ to be normal. The vibe is very much in tune with his speech in Season 4 about how everyone is just in a silly little play, all playing pretend with each other, all trapped in these notions of living their lives in a way that society thinks is acceptable or desirable).

As an example later on in a separate scene, he points to Karen and Ted and tells Patty, “she thinks he’s an idiot, and he’s scared of her.” He points to more characters in this scene and says more about them (like Claudia and Walter, Sue and Charles, maybe even Joyce and Hopper?) but unfortunately I can only remember Ted and Karen’s. 

Patty convinces Henry that his powers are not evil, and that he should be able to control them and use them for good. Henry then creates a "vision" for Patty, where she can freely sing with people listening, and everyone around her joins in and appreciates her talent (I think she sings "Dream a Little Dream of Me"? Unless this happens later on. There’s definitely a moment where she sings a bit of that song. Henry associates it with Patty.)

In this vision, even Patty's father is supportive of her and her singing, and it’s quite a funny moment how she imagines him dressed in a saucy red cape, dancing in a way that he *definitely* wouldn’t approve of in real life.

So it seems Henry is actually able to show people their dreams as well as their nightmares. It suggests his powers are his own at this point (at least to an extent), and not necessarily always controlled by the Mind Flayer. 

Victor sees Henry talking to Patty at school, and mentions this to Virginia. He describes it as “harmless, just Puppy Love”, a first crush. 

Virginia is still worried, and tells Henry to stay away from Patty (for her protection). Henry gets angry. We keep hearing his voice change when he changes, like a deep, monstrous voice. It’s creepy, like it’s not really him in those moments - it’s like the Mindflayer using Henry’s body, speaking through him. 

While in the attic (his new favourite spot), Henry keeps becoming influenced by the Mind Flayer. He travels to the void frequently, from where he proceeds to start killing animals - the first of which is Dustin’s mom’s cat. It’s just like the Vecna attacks in Season 4, snapping their bones and blinding them. 

Henry seems to be aware that he’s the one responsible for these killings, and he keeps on going back to the attic, and the void, to keep doing it - but it’s unclear just how aware or remorseful he is about all this, or whether it’s 100% possessed!Henry during those moments. It certainly seems like it’s the Mindflayer making him want to do those things. When he first approaches Prancer, he’s friendly, calm and softly-spoken. The attack happens very suddenly and afterwards, I think Henry sort of ‘comes to’ and cries out in distress/remorse? 

Either way, Henry is definitely under the Mind Flayer's control at that point, and you can see the Mind Flayer smoke flying around in the void next to him. 

After Claudia’s cat turns up dead, Hopper is immediately on the case, wanting to find the culprit. He starts questioning people, and ends up approaching Henry at school.

I want to clear Hopper’s name in something here! I saw someone say that, in the play, it’s stated that Hopper says he hates cats. Whilst this *is* something Hopper tells Henry at this point, it was clear to me that Hopper was only playing mind games in the way an investigator will try to get a suspected criminal to confess: ‘The truth is, I hate cats. So I actually just want to shake the hand of the person who did it - they’re a hero in my book!’ He’s totally bluffing, and it’s just meant to show that he’s already thinking and working like a detective. Regardless, the tactic doesn’t work, and Henry brushes him off. Hopper remains none the wiser. 

When more animals start being killed in the same way, Hopper is the one who figures out that they’re all pets of Hawkins High School students who are taking part in Joyce’s play. He goes to her to request her help, and she and Bob both end up going out to look for clues with him (complete with torches, this gave major Season 1 vibes). 

Joyce and Hopper’s relationship is mostly antagonistic, but it’s clear they like each other and they flirt a bit. Meanwhile Bob admires Joyce from afar, wanting only to impress her and to find the courage to tell her how he really feels. There's some love triangle imagery throughout with where they stand. (Note: Bob does eventually admit to Joyce how he feels at the end, but she casually rebuffs him. I'm so glad they eventually ended up together because Bob was just too pure.)

Henry continues to be haunted by images of a monster reflected back at him in a mirror. I think we’re meant to take that as a representation of Mind Flayer!possessed Henry. He’s clearly afraid of himself, and what he’s capable of. 

The Mind Flayer appears to him as Patty, and taunts him by saying cruel things, like saying that he will end up killing her. In the vision, Patty starts pulling off her own hair until we see her brain. We hear a deep monstrous voice taunting Henry, saying he “will kill many, many more” - that they have seen it happen, and it is his destiny. (Time travel hints? The Mind Flayer can apparently see into his future, unless this was just an empty taunt that unfortunately came true, or a self-fulfilling prophecy). 

[Evidently, there’s something deeply disturbing at the heart of the human psyche about the possibility of uncovering the horrific within itself. When that horror is externalised… it creates a symbolic representation of our own nightmares, perhaps allowing us to tackle them more objectively and overcome those dark, disturbing impulses within us all.] 

[By investing fictional creations with the qualities we most fear - the horrifying, animalistic sides of our nature - we can, perhaps, face them more objectively and convince ourselves that we do, ultimately, have control over them… and ourselves.]

[... Perhaps the monster we fear most is the one we see reflected in the mirror. As Professor Mulrooney puts it: “The monsters in these tales are not necessarily the people we would call the monsters - Frankenstein’s creature or Dracula. The scariest part of these books is the humans.”] -Michael Davies 

The real Patty then interrupts the vision, and asks Henry if he can help her find her mother using his powers. He’s wary of doing so, but agrees to help her. He says she will have to come with him to his attic. 

Once inside, Patty tells him that it’s cold in there. Henry says he likes it cold. 

When Henry enters the void, he successfully locates Patty’s mom. She’s a singer, a show girl, working on a stage in Vegas. Patty asks him what she looks like. Henry says she looks like Patty. That she’s beautiful.

Suddenly, he loses control, and is once again visited by the Mind Flayer. Patty’s mom morphs into a terrifying figure who chases Henry through the void… and eventually catches him. 

We see the Mindflayer going into Henry inside the void, very similar to Will in Season 2 on the school field. (This happens either at this moment, or in a flashback at another point of the play. But it’s at some point!!) I think this was showing us that whoever Henry was, he’s fast disappearing into the darkness of the Mind Flayer, and vice versa - it’s like a fusion. 

Meanwhile, Mr Newby learns that Patty and Henry have been hanging out together a lot. He’s greatly displeased by this, and decides to go to the Creel House to fetch Patty and put an end to the budding romance. Romeo and Juliet vibes be vibing hard.

Downstairs, he speaks to Victor Creel, who is having a PTSD related episode and acting strangely. He says his wife believes the house is haunted by an ancient demon, and with everything that’s happened (and by how the lights keep flashing), he’s beginning to believe her. He feels like his demons have followed him from the war. 

Mr Newby then overhears the commotion from upstairs, and goes up to investigate. In the attic, Henry is holding Patty’s hand very tightly. He’s twitching and yelling as he fights against the Mind Flayer’s possession, and this frightens Patty. When her father walks in, he demands that Patty lets go of Henry’s hand. She tries, but he’s holding on too tightly. “I can’t!” Patty cries out.

Mr Newby is then attacked by Henry, controlled by the Mind Flayer. His body starts to rise up. Patty encourages Henry to fight back by telling him that she believes he is good, and that she loves him.

“Say it back!” she pleads to him. “Say it back!”

Henry responds and says he loves her too. Because of the love exchange, he manages to momentarily break out of the Mind Flayer’s control: Mr Newby drops to the floor, alive but badly injured. 

Joyce, Hopper and Bob were downstairs at this point, having followed radio anomalies to the Creel House (which they did via a machine that Bob built for them). They freak out and run away, and all come to the conclusion that creepy, crazy Victor Creel is the one responsible for Mr Newby’s injuries, as well as the string of violent animal deaths. 

[Joyce has some basis for believing Victor capable of violent crime, based as this may be in her own father’s war experience… When Joyce opens her copy of the DSM, first published in 1952, she will find no entry for PTSD… Instead, the symptoms she might recognise from her father were incorporated into depression or schizophrenia, rather than their own diagnosis. Short of a name for what they were suffering, traumatised veterans were left to find their own way through nightmares - through violence, alcohol or isolation.]  -Beth Kelly (from the Stranger Things: The First Shadow programme)

After the commotion, Henry removes his blindfold. Patty's father has broken through the attic floor, and he’s seriously injured. Patty is very afraid and upset. After a brief time skip (to the next day or two I think), we learn that Patty is staying away from Henry, who is worried that he’s ruined everything. The Mind Flayer starts to creep back in. We see a possessed Henry back in the attic, and Virginia comes up to him and says that she wants to help him, but she doesn’t know how. She reminds him that he needs to stay away from people to protect them. She talks about Patty, telling Henry that he shouldn’t see her anymore.

Possessed!Henry smirks and asks her if she’s jealous. There’s something insidious and disturbing in the way he asks it. Virginia recoils from her son and her “everything-is-going-to-be-okay” facade crumbles. We see she’s absolutely terrified of who Henry has become.

Henry creates a vision, so that it appears as though his pet spiders escape from their jars, and they run all over Virginia as she screams. She flees from the attic as Henry’s dark taunts follow her.

Henry’s sister Alice comes to the mouth of the attic. "Where is Henry?" She asks.

Henry: "He’s right here."

Alice: "You’re not him."

At this point, it was like the Mindflayer had almost completely merged with Henry. The lines had become more and more blurred as the play went on, and now it’s becoming hard to separate them - the ‘real’ Henry is finding it hard to come through and fight the possession. The Mind Flayer is winning. 

This really reminded me of Will and his own possession with the Mindflayer in Season 2. How they described it like a virus taking over, and how Will could have continued ‘disappearing’ until there was no more Will left. 

After the incident with Mr Newby, and her terror with Henry in the attic, Virginia has finally had enough. She willingly hands her son over to an “interested party” who describes himself as a doctor (who we know is Dr Brenner). He vows to take Henry to Hawkins Lab, where he’ll be safe, and contained. 

When he wakes up in the hospital, Mr Newby reveals to Patty that he actually stole her as a baby (?) in an effort to revive his relationship with his wife by having another child to care for - but it didn’t work, and his wife left him. He feels guilty about it, and wants to confess this to her after he almost died.

He tells her that he was attacked by a monster who made him relive his worst nightmares, and that “the boy”, Henry, actually fought back and saved him from death. He then draws the Mind Flayer on a piece of paper, hands it to his daughter, and tells her that this is what he saw.

After learning that Henry actually saved her father, Patty returns to his house to search for him, but it’s too late - Dr. Brenner has already taken him to the lab. However, she is able to communicate by calling out to him.

Henry contacts Patty through the void, where she is able to both speak and see him, despite him being at the lab. She tells him that she knows he is still a good person, and that he should return home.

———

Act 2.

On screen:

Chapter Two: Captain Midnight

So here’s the thing - the play paints us a totally different picture than Season 4 did in regards to Henry/Vecna. 

Henry was not inherently evil, like S4 suggested to many people - he was actually just a regular boy until ‘an incident’ occurred when he was younger, which is what gave him powers and started his possession in the first place. The end of S4 makes us think that El sent Henry to the Upside Down, which is where he meets the shadow monster and morphs it into the Mind Flayer with his powers.

But that wasn’t Henry’s first time there, nor was it the first time he saw the Mind Flayer. That was all just a REUNION.

It’s revealed that Henry actually disappeared into another dimension (Dimension X/ Upside Down) for a period of 12 hours when he was just a kid. He got lost near some caves in the Nevada desert, and when he returned, he had "completely changed in personality". 

He came back odd, ‘not normal’, and couldn’t socialise well. He also returned with dangerous powers, which he violently inflicts on animals. The Mind Flayer had clearly started possessing him from that early point, way before he even came to Hawkins. 

Let’s go back to the very beginning of the play - to the soldiers on the ship. It was Brenner’s father and his crew that were aboard this ship, the USS Eldridge, which had accidentally travelled into Dimension X/The Upside Down as a result of electromagnetic activity. 

This is based on The Philadelphia Experiment, or Project Rainbow, said to have taken place in the Second World War. The programme had a double spread on this: 

[Allegedly, wartime experiments caused the supernatural disappearance of a US naval ship… Project Rainbow was based on Einstein’s research into unified field theory through which [he] hoped to create a single theoretical framework to encompass all fundamental forces, including electromagnetism and gravity.] 

[Carl Allen claimed to have witnessed a strange event in October 1943 involving the naval destroyer escort USS Eldridge and scientists who were working on highly confidential technology which would make ships invisible to the enemy by using powerful electromagnetic fields to ‘bend’ light around them. According to Allen, they succeeded in doing just that. In fact, Allen said the ship was also briefly teleported 275 miles away to Norfolk, Virginia, before reappearing in Philadelphia. …It’s been suggested that the Eldridge’s official logs could have been deliberately altered… with the whole of Project Rainbow moving beyond top secret clarification.]  -Catherine Jones

Brenner’s father is the only survivor of this terrifying event. After returning from Dimension X and taken to a hospital, injured and dying, we learn that his blood type is now “unique” from any other human being. He won't survive a blood transfusion. His ravings about Dimension X before his death haunted and inspired Brenner for the rest of his life. Brenner started an experiment focused on finding and travelling back to Dimension X; his ultimate goal was to "create a gate" to reach it again.

Brenner enacted these experiments in the Nevada desert, where one day, one of his agents ran away with some of Brenner’s equipment near some desert caves. The agent was never found, but a Captain Midnight spyglass was - which was the exact spot where Henry went missing in Dimension X as a little boy for 12 hours. Brenner therefore began searching for the mysterious Captain Midnight comic-book fan who went to Dimension X and returned, watching him and keeping an eye on him. This is what led him to Hawkins: following Henry. 

Brenner tells us that Henry’s powers emerged after he visited Dimension X, and just like his father, his blood type is “unique”. He collects several samples from him. He also tells Henry that his powers become stronger each time he kills, and that’s why he gets so much satisfaction out of it. Brenner also tells Henry that he would get even stronger if he kills human beings, rather than animals.

During one scene, Brenner uses special equipment to see into and hear Henry's mind. He pushes Henry to the limit so he can hear and catch a glimpse of Dimension X. We hear noises similar to the Mind Flayer in Season 2 when Will goes into the Upside Down on Halloween night. The shape of the Mind Flayer appears on the screen (or was it the head of a Demogorgon? It was definitely something Upside-Downy), while Henry convulses. After this incident, Henry asks Brenner, “Can you take me back there?" 

Brenner also introduces the idea of anger to fuel Henry's power. On several instances he riles Henry up to get him angry, insulting him - and the result is always violence. He succeeds in getting Henry to kill a mouse/rat, which explodes into a bloody mess inside its cage, and then tries to convince him to kill a criminal who has been transferred to the lab with an agreement to be killed (he has a date with the electric chair later that week regardless). 

Henry refuses. He’s been speaking to Patty in the void, who has convinced him that he’s good and that he should return home. Brenner is frustrated with this, and becomes sure that Henry has someone that is "holding him back". He vows to find and remove this obstacle. But after Henry leaves the lab, Brenner tells his agents to let him go. He cannot force Henry to kill. “It has to be his choice."

Brenner is shown to have significant influence over Virginia. He’s been providing her with medication/tranquilisers, and tells her that her son desperately needs his help. He encourages Virginia to tell him who the person Henry is attached to. She does. Brenner promises her that he will take Henry back into the lab and that he won’t leave again. 

After Henry returns home, he reads his family's minds and learns that they are all afraid of him and unhappy with his return. He goes into his mother's memories and learns of the last interaction she had with Brenner, including that she wonders if he “may never have been good”, and whether "this was who he was the whole time." He knows that she was willing to give him up to Brenner forever. 

This is when the Creel murders happen, just like they’re shown in Season 4. Virginia Creel and Alice Creel are both murdered at the dinner table - and we know Victor is going to be blamed for it.

Is this Henry’s own mind now, turned to darkness and hate, or is it the Mind Flayer intent on eliminating all of Henry’s attachments? A monster who’s made a monster. I think it’s all left open to interpretation on purpose. 

After the death of his mother and sister, Henry goes straight to Hawkins High to find Patty, hoping to reach her before Brenner does. While at the school, he runs into Joyce, who voices to him her suspicions surrounding the animal killings, and what happened to Mr Newby at the Creel House.

At first, Henry thinks Joyce has worked it out, and that she knows it was him all along. “I wish you hadn’t done that…” he says, stepping closer. But Joyce clarifies just in time that she believes Henry’s father is the one who is dangerous, and that she believes he’s responsible for the terrible things that've happened in Hawkins recently. Maybe this is what gives Henry the idea to frame his father. Either way, he leaves Joyce alive. 

Both Brenner and Henry find Patty on the stage rafters, up on a high catwalk, ready to perform her part in the play. She’s initially wearing a set of wings as a prop, which are attached to the rafter to be lowered. Henry unties her from these wings, pleading with her to run away with him. An argument ensues with Brenner, where he attempts to convince Henry that Patty is his weakness, and that he needs to kill her to let her go. Patty tells Henry not to listen to him. 

During this argument, Henry loses control once more, and the Mind Flayer takes over. This results in Patty slow-motion falling from the rafters as the shape of the Mind Flayer overwhelms the stage. She hits the floor on her back, presumed dead. 

(The stage effects for this particular scene were absolutely incredible, by the way.)

Henry is later seen back at the lab. He’s fully subdued, confined to a straitjacket, mouth gagged, and sat in a wheelchair. Brenner says the implant (Soteria) is in, about to take effect.

If we believe what Season 4 showed us, the play skipped the part where Henry appeared dead alongside his mother and sister (just before Victor is then blamed and incarcerated at Pennhurst Asylum). So assuming that Brenner played a part in covering up Henry’s involvement in the Creel murders, Henry is presumed dead by the town at this point too. Unfortunately the play doesn’t address this, as instead we see Henry run immediately from the dinner table murder scene, straight to Hawkins High to find Patty. It’s a big inconsistency which I guess they want us to explain away with Henry being an “unreliable narrator” in the show. I guess he gave Nancy the abridged version of what happened!

Anyway, it appears that Henry later finds Patty in the void, despite Brenner telling him that he killed her. It seems she has successfully left Hawkins and found her mother in Las Vegas, just as she always dreamed of doing. She uses a walking stick, but otherwise appears alive and well. 

We hear and see static as Henry watches the scene unfold, and Patty glances over her shoulder, like she senses him. But then she turns her back and walks into the distance with her mother. 

An alternative take that I heard from someone, was that perhaps Patty is truthfully still seriously injured and is actually in a coma (similar to Max). They thought that maybe the final scene of Patty with her mother was actually just something that Henry was creating for her in her mind, as a sort of last semblance of goodness and love. I don’t think that’s what was intended, but it was an interesting take that I wanted to include! 

As the show nears its end, we’re presented with a series of newspaper articles relaying the tragic Creel Murders in Hawkins (possibly the same ones that Nancy and Robin find in Season 4). The Creel family all dead, Victor is blamed and sent to the asylum. The empty Creel House remains, a reminder of the horrors. It then shifts back to Hawkins lab, who are now recruiting pregnant women for experimentation. 

Brenner introduces a pregnant woman to Henry (who is still bound to a chair and fully subdued) and explains to him that the "blood transfusion" finally worked on a subject. He points to the woman's belly and remarks, “One, meet Two!" “You are as much a father to them as I am,” Brenner says at one point. Then, “Come… meet your brothers and sisters.” Even though we know Henry is not in any way related to the lab kids, they definitely played into the father/guardian/creator metaphor in the play. If not family by blood, then by circumstance. 

We see photos of the babies created in the lab, with their numbers underneath. We can recognise Eight as young Kali. Eventually we get to Ten, at which point the stage focuses on a now older Henry, wearing his recognisable Season 4 orderly outfit. He kneels beside a child with buzzed hair. 

"Hello, Eleven. Come with me.” He takes her by the hand, and they walk into the distance together. 

———

Some final thoughts:

Because of the incident with Patty during Joyce's play, we can infer that's why she is unsuccessful in her goal to impress the university, and remains stuck in Hawkins - just like Lonnie said she would.

Lonnie is awful, and I’m in two minds about how he’s handled in the play. They did a good job to show he’s always been a douchebag, and unlike what I’ve seen some people say, I actually think it was horribly believable that Joyce (who they establish likes 'bad boys') ends up going back to him and having kids with him. We know from Season 1 that there’s emotional abuse with Joyce and Lonnie, and to me, it makes horrible, horrible sense that it all ends up the way it does. I’m just not sure how I feel about Lonnie being used as any kind of comedic effect in the play (he makes a brief reappearance at the police station, where he’s been lying drunkenly handcuffed on some chairs the whole time during a scene... “It wasn’t me! I didn’t do it!" he says, or something to that effect). I feel like using him in that way diminishes how truly awful he is as a character. Maybe I’m just being too sensitive, but I’d much rather they had kept all the laughs and jokes for the other characters, and treated Lonnie completely seriously the whole way through. I don’t want to see him in any way ‘likeable’ or ‘relatable’ or ‘funny’, you know? Not even for cheap audience laughs. This is a guy who called his own kid son a f*g. Let's treat that with the gravity and solemnity it deserves, please.

Louis McCartney and Ella Karuna Williams as Henry Creel and Patty were great, and Isabella Pappas as Joyce was amazing. Dr Brenner was nicely emulated by Patrick Vaill (I personally think he was one of the most believable characters from stage to show). The best performance of all though was Christopher Buckley as Bob. Like, damn, give that kid all the awards! He was so believable as a young Bob, I actually forgot it wasn’t somehow a young Sean Astin on stage. *chef’s kiss*

As previously mentioned, all the parents of the kids are present in the play (and already coupled up). None of these characters are particularly fleshed out, and I think they’re mainly just there as fun ‘Easter Eggs’ to connect it with the show. E.g having Claudia own another cat that gets killed, seeing Ted Wheeler ironically as some kind of jock god who gets all the ladies (and cheats on Karen with, by the way!), Joyce holding an axe prop near the end mid-rant (“Why am I holding this??”) and Hopper making a remark about breaking his own foot (which he does in Season 4). 

They definitely seemed to be going back on the whole ‘it was Henry/Vecna the whole time’ thing from Season 4: the Mind Flayer has been pulling the strings from way before El sent Henry to Dimension X/Upside Down. We even see the Mind Flayer in the shape of a giant eldritch spider during the play, way before Henry appears to ‘shape’ it in Season 4. However, I think it’s also possible that Henry DID actually manage to take control of the Mind Flayer the second time he arrived in Dimension X (as we see at the end of S4). At that point, he’s killed all the lab kids and staff at Hawkins Lab, so he will be much more powerful now compared to the Henry from the play. By now he’s completely embraced the Mind Flayer’s philosophy, and is acting in its stead entirely on his own volition. Honestly? I think they’re going to leave it ambiguous on purpose. I think that’s why the play is technically canon, but totally not necessary before seeing Season 5. I think Henry and the Mindflayer are 'one' (lol) at this point - I think that’s what Vecna technically is. He’s like an amalgamation of this terrifying eldritch being that we can never begin to understand, but at the same time also something that is still deeply, deeply human.

The Henry side of him seems to be lost, but in a way Brenner was right - his feelings for Patty, whether ‘Puppy Love’ or real - was his one redeeming weakness in his early teen years. Judging from the play, I think it’s possible we might see a tragic sort of redemption moment in S5 (which I personally have mixed feelings about). But I do believe the play is supposed to be entirely separate, and that it’s possible Patty will continue not to be mentioned or relevant in the show (I hope I’m wrong). I just can’t help but be cautious in assuming the Mind Flayer is still the one in control after what they set up at the end of Season 4 (especially with Will saying, “it’s weird to know who it was this whole time” re: his own kidnapping and possession). I think Henry has become his darkest self as Vecna.

Speaking of Will… there were noticeably a LOT of parallels with him in Henry. Henry wears pretty much exactly Will’s outfit from Season 4, yellow tones with beige and brown. Meanwhile Patty wears a blue cardigan and a blue dress - at least in Act 1. I’m not hugely into the blue-and-yellow thing in a serious way, but even I noticed there were blue and yellow motifs for Henry and Patty. She wears a bright yellow top with her blue cardigan at one point too. I think there was definitely a mixture of both Will and El in Henry’s character.

Meanwhile Patty had noticeable similarities to Mike. She’s rebellious, outspoken, loves comic books, and worships superheroes.

Seeing the play hasn’t impacted my beliefs or hopes for Byler in any way. I think there are potentially good things to be taken from the writing, and potentially bad things too. My current confidence has neither been raised nor lowered, but what I will say is that it’s undeniable that the Henry x Patty relationship mirrors both Mileven and Byler, but especially Mileven. Hentty is obviously a star-crossed tragedy, deliberately set up like Romeo and Juliet, which we know is NEVER a good thing. I do find it interesting that their love confessions were an exchange, unlike Mike’s monologue. Patty is the one ‘present’, whilst Henry is the one trapped in the void with his eyes closed/blindfold on. It’s a high stakes moment. Patty tells Henry in desperation that she loves him, but she follows this up by pleading with him to say it back. I didn’t see anyone else talking about this, but it really stood out to me.

The play’s themes and messages still reflected what I believe the show to be about: rejecting forced conformity (it dealt with people’s ideas about what it means to be “normal” to fit in, about sex not being taboo, harmful black and white morality, and the damage that can occur from enforcing religious dogma)... and of course, like Joyce said, that love will ultimately conquer fear. Over and out!

[This kind of introspection throws up unsettling and complex ideas about the nature of human morality. What does it mean to be human? Who gets to decide who is “other”? How do we treat those who are different from us? These are huge issues, and far too esoteric for most of us to deal with in abstract. So the way we choose to explore them is in stories.] - Michael Davies

#stranger things: the first shadow #the first shadow #st: tfs #tfs #tfs spoilers #spoiler #spoilers #stranger things #byler #< target audience #personal

[comradekatara]

I don't know if you talked about this before but your last post made me curious, what are your thoughts on prince wu? like as a character in general.

i probably have talked about him before, but i truly do not care for that obnoxious little fop. prince wu rly exemplifies one of the worst phenomena in lok, which is introducing an aggravating, hammy side character and then having them overstay their welcome and crowding out the already bloated ensemble without ever actually endearing us to them in the first place. the presence of these two bit clowns wastes narrative space that could have been afforded to an actually interesting, plot relevant principal player, and every interesting facet of the ostensible main cast is relegated to subtext in favor of allowing these frustrating little nothings to chew the scenery. the fact that prince wu is paired with mako for the entirety of book 4 thus means that i cannot even enjoy seeing one of my favorite characters, because every scene he’s in is dedicated to some guy i have no reason to care about. iirc, mako gets exactly one episode where he isn’t babysitting the little prince, and it’s to follow korra around like a lost puppy (again, i like mako a lot, but his dynamic with korra is just tedious). i don’t understand why this show insisted on focalizing figures of generational importance (like the avatar’s children, or monarchs) and/or wealthy capitalists (ceos and technocrats) instead of allowing the only two normal people in the entire unwieldy ensemble (mako and bolin) to actually be given the depth they deserved as main characters without being paired with some wealthy maniac of political importance. i don’t mind wacky geniuses or well intentioned idiots when utilized correctly, but their presence (wu, varrick, bumi, etc etc) seemed like its only purpose was to make us (characters and audience alike) suffer. the fact that i’m expected to believe that wu abdicates the throne in favor of abolishing the monarchy altogether after a season of watching him do nothing but behave like an entitled, spoiled brat who lives to humiliate mako with his petty demands is laughable. the fact that he is also inexplicably one of the only south asian coded characters in all of avatar is absurd. i can’t even call it outright racist because i fear we’re actually somehow meant to like this guy. (sidenote: why is every single brown guy in this show with the exception of korra’s dad either a mustache twirling villain or a complete idiot? who hurt you bryke… what happened to sokka our best friend sokka…) there’s also of course the fact that since he is such an eminent imbecile, his effeminacy is played for laughs (as is his emasculating dependence on mako), which is an interesting joke for a season of television that broke new ground in the annals of lgbt media history. the connection between spoiled entitlement and femininity isn’t actually as hilarious as the lok writers may think. he’s a homophobic caricature of a guileless dandy who is insufferable to watch. his unfunny theatrics take up precious screentime that could have been given to far more engaging, compelling characters. we’re expected to forgive and redeem him via his out of nowhere eleventh hour turn to anti-monarchist radicalism. well i, for one, do not.

#softlatine #wu #asks #lok crit #why did they make him brown tho…… i for one think wu should’ve been avatar’s only BLOND #it’s crazy to me that ppl ship him w mako. can you guys not distinguish between sincere homoertism and homophobic jokes #or do you people just not care

[sludgewolf]

We need to talk about the lack of "filler" in series that're been released recently

I just watched a video about ATLA and it's filler or lack there of and, they're right, ATLA doesn't have filler episodes as we define "filler episodes" now. Our understanding of filler is closer to what's used for anime that is, non canon episodes that are made so the anime doesn't catch up with the manga. Applying this to western animation (I say animation bc I graduated in it thus a better understanding and I don't really watch many live action series so I don't have much of a say) we ended up with the impression that it means "episodes that don't move the plot forward"

Which, doesn't make sense with Western animation since most of it isn't a adaptation of something else, or with comic adaptations for ex, they're mostly adaptations of various arcs coming together as a single story. Smt very different from the manga to anime adaptation process

Comparing ATLA who positively doesn't have "filler" and X-men 97 who negatively doesn't have "filler" is a good example of what I'm trying to say.

Not all of ATLA episodes move the "learn the elements and defeat the firelord" plot forward and that's good thank fuck not all episodes are rushing ahead to throwing this 12yo we barely know into a battle with a full grown adult who's perpetrating a war against the rest of the world. Instead we actually get to know the characters, we see them traveling from the South to the North Pole instead of spawning where the plot demands, we see Aang adapt to the world post iceberg nap and learn to be the avatar, we see the effect the 100 year war had in this world. And most of all, the more "filler" episodes contributed to the pacing of the series, when binging the series now I still feel like the Gaang traveled across the whole world and didn't just teleport to the plot.

Opposed to X-men 97, don't get me wrong I'm absolutely loving it but the story is always being racing forward at a breakneck speed. They did try to pace it better inter cutting the main plot with Scott, Jean, Madelyne, Wolverine's whole deal and the "LifeDeath " plot, but if there wasn't the weekly wait for the next episode we would not have any time to breathe and digest what happened in the episodes.

I'm still confused on how Madelyne went from trying to have a normal life outside the x-men to being in Genosha's council. Still on Madelyne, I didn't care that they had to part ways with Nathan, ik he's their baby and all that, but as soon as they named the baby Nathan I knew they were throwing that baby to the future to complete the time loop of him being in the original series. And that's because they never got the chance to try to make us care, the writing team couldn't waste time with that since they only had 8 episodes to tell all these stories, the speed that the plot is being taken makes me believe that when writing this season Disney still hadn't signed on the second season and when they did it was too late to rework the script.

This whole thing is reminding me of Hazbin Hotel's pacing problems, analyzing it as if I didn't watch the pilot, we just met the characters and suddenly had to care that they were going to die in six months, we don't really know Charlie other than 1. she's Lucifer's daughter, 2. daddy issues that aren't rly addressed besides jokes, 3. she's with Vaggie (other character we didn't get to know) and 4. she's the owner of the hotel and wants to rehabilitate the sinners. The worst part of it is, we teleported from the start of the season to 6 months later out of nowhere and suddenly we're at the finale with the big boss battle. Of course HuskDust is a more popular ship than Charlie and Vaggie, we never got the chance to see them being together other than in episodes when the characters are being dragged by the plot while Angel and Husk had an episode where we met them and got the time to see them interact without being pushed by the extermination plot

This is exactly why "filler episodes" are important, we should actually know who these characters are before the big fight at the end so we can actually care about what happens to them. X-men 97 may not suffer that much from it but it's because we already knew most of the characters, but we never got to meet this version of Madelyne, see her going out alone to a world that hates her existence, see her morn having been forced to send her baby off to the future and maybe not being able to see him ever again and finally see never see how did she even end up in Genosha.

Or Storm, sure we got a two parter, but how did she get to fuck knows where to meet Forge in that bar, what did she go through during the time she was traveling alone, it's not as if people wouldn't recognize her as a x-men even if she'd left the team, maybe see more of how the relationship between her and Forge developed, cuz I didn't get why she still wants to be with him even after he basically created the tec that was turned into the weapons used to kill mutants, that's smt one can't just forgive, and yes I'd like to see her as she struggles with not having her powers, smt other than she feeling lonely without the wind (this would work even as just a montage with sad music as she travels to the fuckall haunted desert)

On a rly quick note on Invincible I do think they did a good job with their pacing and character development with the time they had, I'd like to have seen a bit more of Rex's development from complete douche to Lizard Leader homemade lobotomy to where we are now, but on the Grayson family whole thing they did an amazing job at showing how they're dealing with the aftermath of season 1, there was just a little jump from Debbie downing a bottle of wine every day to full bug mom mode but I do think she'd step up to it no doubt.

Maybe just some scenes of her still working through s1 trauma and questioning wtf is wrong w Nolan bc from her perspective he just killed hundreds of ppl on Earth, almost killed Mark, fucked off to space and suddenly there's a purple half bug baby living in her house calling her mom. But I don't think that's strictly necessary since there's always fanfiction to bridge this gap and it's just a minor thing that bothered me

TLDR: Filler in western cartoons isn't really filler, these are just episodes to help develop the world or characters without having to rush with the plot and also episodes that help with the pacing of the story, thus showing the passage of time or great distances being crossed without having the characters spawn at the next plot point. And we do need it specially for shows that are intended for binging, such as most shows now. What determines good filler from bad filler here is good writing

#atla #avatar the last airbender #x men 97 #hazbin hotel #invincible #animation discussion #on writing #pls feel free to add to this id love to see other ppls opinions on this #moss thoughts #just had to get this out #i do think in my friend group im the most annoying one when it comes to analyzing the script and how things are executed #im also the only comics nerd so i dont have anyone to talk to so to here it all goes

[chorusofkhonshu]

Noone was going to die.

Mostly I made this because I guess people on some platforms were saying Noone was wrong for going with the Ferryman or that she should have stayed with Otto. So I guess I made this to inform that, no, she could not have stayed with Otto. Well she could have, maybe, but she would have died shortly after. She made the best possible choice to survive when she didn't know it at the time, and here's why. In the first episode she is already ill, she survived the water sickness but still has these lingering headaches. We even get told that the flower that she got from her parents died that morning as well. Get to that soon. Following the first episode Noone's condition slowly deteriorates more and more. The headaches get stronger, she starts to scratch behind her ear. The EEG machines hurt her head as well, she doesn't like the way they feel, a burning sensation in her head growing stronger and stronger. Then along comes episode 4 where near the end of the episode she starts to react violently to whatever happened to her at the end of the nightmare. Episode 5, back to that flower I mentioned earlier. Otto gets her an exact replacement to the one her parents got her. This is where we find out what kind of flower was given to her by her parents. That flower being a Chrysanthemum. In different parts of the world these flowers have many different meanings depending on their color. However it seems to be in Europe for the most part that these flowers are for gravesides or mourning the dead regardless of color. If this wasn't important they wouldn't have bothered mentioning the type of flower. Finally the last episode. There is a time jump of 2 or 3 days. Otto says so. Noone vanished again, this time a whole night, reappearing at sunrise in the south wing of the institute. She was then confined for two days. When Otto goes to see her, I can only assume she is in a haggard state because A. her illness has progress further and B. While she is scared to sleep, she still wants to and has presumably been trying to sleep, she says the nurse keeps interrupting her, the fire in her head hurting now more than ever. She's been kept awake for two days and nights, not allowed to sleep. Her stomach is also hurting yet Otto forces her to eat the sleep inducing candy. He does not want to wait for her to sleep and needs her to be in a deep sleep. You know the rest, she goes to Nowhere. My conclusion? Everyone one knew she was going to die. Her parents, probably other doctors before coming to Otto, he's a psychologist I guess so it makes sense for him not to find out until he sent her up for radiology. This is why her parents come to see her even once! They are bad parents, this is why her disappearance will be swept under the rug. Everyone expects her to die! They used to live in a crappy apartment but moved into a rich house, probably because of money they got when Noone was pronounced a survivor of the "water sickness" as she was paraded around on television to show the world there is a cure. How do you think that would look if the kid you paraded around as cured just up and died? That the cure was a lie? If the water sickness is a huge pandemic if could even be the case that the government is involved, silencing everything to prevent the truth that no cure exists. Her going to Nowhere was the only choice she had. I don't think Otto knew she was dying, mostly because he is blinded by the pursuit of the Ferryman. But this was her only chance to continue living. Listen, if it was me and I had the choice between staying in our world and going to Nowhere, I'd stay here. Now if I'm dying? You best believe I'm taking my chances in Nowhere.

#little nightmares #the sounds of nightmares #noone #tson #tson noone #tson otto #little nightmares theory

[heartthrobin]

olive green dreams

jj. maybank x curvy!reader

wc: 2.8k

warnings: minor allusions to smut, swearing, disgusting amounts of fluff

an: i just know that JJ is a huge sl-t for a thick gal and there’s nothing you can say to convince me otherwise

summary: between you, the marsh and that god-blessed green bikini: JJ can’t think straight enough to put even one foot in front of the other.

the afternoon was cool and the water gurgled happily beneath the HMS Pogue.

the vessel swayed over the murky depths of the marsh where the anchor had been dropped south of where they'd launched it still when the sun was lingering behind JJ's head.

it was now ahead of him, loitering at the edge of the waterline in the distance - another thirty minutes and it would be gone, he knew it.

well, he would know, had he been watching the sun set at all.

your laugh bounced off the deck, rippled over the water and flowed like music into JJ's ears.

Pope was leaning over the edge of the boat with a child's fishing net, stabbing it enthusiastically into the water.

you'd just told him that he deserved a spot on next week's episode of Deadliest Catch and hadn't stopped cackling to yourself in the five minutes since. the nearly empty flask in your hand probably had something to do with it.

this was JJ's favourite type of afternoon. out on the water, enough drinks to quench a small village and the brush of the warm sun over his naked arms.

sure, this exact moment could be made better - maybe if John B would turn down the volume on his make-out session with Sarah in the helm or if Kiara passed back the blunt he'd handed her over five minutes ago - but honestly, JJ couldn't imagine a better way to spend his time than staring at you over the length of the deck.

it converts what's left of his brainwaves to static white noise and he can't think a whole sentence straight when you sigh like that, resting your head over your left shoulder to watch a log float by.

and today you'd made it worse. so much worse.

someone had gone and convinced you into buying the prettiest olive green bikini and it was the best and worst thing you'd ever done.

his frames rested comfortably against his face and he hoped they were enough to convince everyone else on the boat that he was watching the sunset that drifted unimportantly behind your frame in the distance.

Pope called something to you: hey come check this out, i read about these in a marine biology textbook the other day—

you shifted to join him, leaning over the edge to gaze into the water and - oh my god - your bikini bottoms rode up the soft flesh of your ass, exposing where the sun had been depraved from touching.

your thighs were so wide and so plush, they pressed up against the floor of the dinghy. you gasped quietly at something Pope pointed out and JJ's shorts felt suddenly tighter than when he'd pulled them on that morning.

"you're literally pathetic, you know that right?"

the sound of Kie's voice made him jump. she fell down into the open space beside him, motioning for him to take the almost smoked down blunt from between her fingers.

he took it.

but it wasn't a question. his cheeks reddened embarrassingly, he knew he'd been caught.

"you've been staring at her like a fucking lost puppy the whole afternoon." Kie took a swig from a can of beer she pulled out from seemingly nowhere, "since we first met her actually. it's painful to watch."

the sunglasses clearly hadn't been living up to the potential JJ had hoped for them.

"shut up, no i'm not." he sucked on the end of the blunt. "no pogue-on-pogue macking, remember?"

Kie scoffed. "like that's stopped any of us before."

like a moth to light, his eyes could find nowhere to rest but back on you. he was surprised to find your gaze on him, flickering quickly between himself and Kiara.

"J, Kie!" you were rising off the floor of the boat, brushing some dust from the deck off your stomach. JJ's breath caught in his throat at the sight. "come join us, we're jumping in!"

your stomach was thick and full and your hips spilled over the sides of the bikini bottoms where you'd tied little bows. god, if only he could get his hands on you. he'd press you against his front, dig his fingertips into your hips until they bruise and suck you bottom lip between his—

"yeah yeah, we're coming. give us a sec." Kie waves up at you.

you nodded, meeting JJ's eye and offering him a wink that warmed the space behind his belly button before turning to dive after Pope into the murky green water.

Kie took a long last sip from the can, pushing off the deck to stand. she turned to JJ, leaning against her knees to meet his eye-level:

"you know Brett? works down at The Wreck with my parents?"

JJ knew the guy. he lumbered around the restaurant like a bull, hung a little too close around you. it didn't help that you giggled at his conversation when he brought you cola tonics.

"yeah. why?"

"he asked me yesterday whether you-know-who—" she motioned to where your head was bobbing out of the reeds, "—was single. said he wanted to ask her out."

JJ's fists curled at his side. "and what did you say?"

"i said she's single. what, should i have lied?" Kie turned from him, skipping towards the end of the boat now. "so better make hay while the sun is still shining, JJ, or someone else will."

it was followed by a loud plop as she dove into the water.

-

the Chateaux was good for a crash, always infinitely better than his dad’s place, but sometimes JJ wondered how he or anyone got any sleep in the place.

the bugs whirred loudly beyond the wall and the birds had been arguing for at least the last hour.

from the window he could see the sky turning a nearly indistinguishable shade of dark violet. morning creeped over the Outer Banks.

sleep continued to elude JJ, and after the last couple hours staring up at the ceiling: he was prompted to stand from where he’d crashed against the couch.

he crept around the house, Kie and Pope were in the spare bedroom while John B and Sarah shared his room. JJ peeked quietly into each, scanning for sign of life.

his brow tightened, he swore he’d seen you disappear into the spare room with Kie and Pope. but the space between them was empty, aside from the little area occupied by their interwoven hands.

the front door squeaked as JJ pulled it open. he looked out over the yard, his suspicions confirmed as he made out the shape of a dark mass against the purple sky lying still in the hammock.

soft crunching echoed with each step he took towards you, leaves and twigs and creatures crushing between his toes.

you were curled up into yourself, arms wrapped over your sides and your knees up against your chest.

JJ was surprised to find the violet skies reflected back up at him from the whites of your eyes. you were awake.

“J?”

your soft voice was like a gentle brush against his cheek and it lured him closer.

“yeah, it’s me.”

he climbed with his knees to the middle of the hammock where it sunk with your weight.

“why you up this early?” you whispered.

he shrugged, been up thinking about you.

“birds kept me up.”

you nodded. the crisp breeze of the morning whipped at your exposed legs, you twitched.

“cold?”

your eyes never left where they hovered over the edge of the water in the distance, where the sun would soon emerge from.

“kinda.”

JJ shifted so he lay with his arm pressed up against yours, then dared to stir a little more until his arm draped behind your shoulders.

his heart crept up into his throat when your head came to rest on the space over his collarbone.

a few moments passed like this and after a while JJ thought you might have passed out.

“saw you staring at me on the Pogue today.”

his heart slipped from his throat and sunk to the bottom of his stomach like an anchor.

“i— when? why would i be staring at you?”

that came out wrong, definitely wrong.

but you didn’t seem disturbed, letting off a soft chuckle into the morning air.

“thought it might have something to do with the new bikini i bought, thought you might like it.”

your hand came up over JJ’s naked torso, to rest carefully over the warm skin there. he hoped you didn’t notice how it made him shiver.

“but i think i’ll just take it back.”

“no!” his voice had ejected from him like a loose cannon.

this time, you looked up at him - an amused smile curling at the edges of your lips.

god, looking at him like that up through your eyelashes could make him your bitch, a prisoner to your heart. it already had.

“i mean …” he said more softly, carding his fingers through his hair: “i mean no, it’s a nice costume. good. uh, pretty.”

you laughed softly, nuzzling your head closer against his chest. “go to sleep, JJ.”

he took a deep breath before shutting his eyes, this time sleep came to him before he had chance to reach for it.

-

“hey, who’s running to fetch the pizza?”

the lounge in the Chateux had been converted to a movie cinema.

Pope set up the projector to screen against the back wall, pillows and blankets were strewn across the floor.

Kie announced earlier that afternoon that she’d managed find a watchable copy of some or other horror movie she didn’t shut up about on one of her illegal websites. the occasion called for a family movie night.

JJ grabbed the keys off the counter. “i’ll drive.”

he was halfway to the door when John B called after him. “hey! you can’t go alone.”

Sarah grinned from beside him and JJ could already tell what this was.

“yeah,” she pestered, “y/n, why don’t you go with him.”

you’d been shaking spice into the popcorn bowl. you set it down, looking up at him.

naivety shon in your eyes.

“sure.”

Casa Italiano was the last good pizza place in The Cut. before the hurricane they used to deliver, these days they’re collection only.

Pope had already called a half hour before you and JJ had left, “they should be done by the time you get there.”

Twinkie rumbled beneath JJ, the wheel shivered against his hands.

afternoon sun gleamed in through the window, against your hair and over your arms. the radio mumbled quietly. the wind whipped at his face and teased at the neckline of your shirt.

JJ practically spoke the whole ride over. he raved on about how he bet that they didn’t potholes even half the size of The Cut’s over in Figure Eight, also about how irritating Kie and Pope have been lately - their almost, kind of, ‘should they, could they’ thing - but mostly about how badly he wanted to get his hands on a Centurion Ri237 if they ever fell back into that gold.

“i’ll get you one for your birthday, pretty boy.”

pretty boy.

he guffawed and you laughed. he adjusted his hat and tried not to think about how all he actually wanted for his birthday was to rip you out of that green bikini and drag his tongue up your neck before taking you out to dinner or the movies or wherever you wanted to go just as long as you giggled like how you were doing right then—

Twinkie rumbled to a stop. you jumped out before he’d even reached for the handbrake.

he twisted the keys from the ignition and jumped out after you.

the door jingled as he followed you in and the smell of freshly baked pizza was enough to get JJ’s eyes rolling to the back of his head.

there were a couple people occupying seats across the cramped shop. the chatter was loud, but it died to a hum when your hand brushed against his - trying to catch his attention.

“come on.”

the wait in the line was short and quickly JJ was faced with the twinkle-eyed girl at the counter. she had blue dyed hair and two eyebrow rings - admittedly she was pretty.

and it seemed Fiona, as the name-tag suggested, thought the same of him.

“hey,” you spoke beside him, voice alight in friendliness, “we‘re here to collect order 513?”

but her eyes never left the perimeter of JJ’s face.

they only briefly glanced down at the computer screen against the table. “yeah, yeah. it’s ready … let me grab it.”

she batted her eyelashes at him before turning to grab the boxes from the kitchen window.

JJ was a good looking boy. he knew the feeling, knew well enough that it’s kinder to just pretend he doesn’t notice their little-too-long looks over his blonde hair and broad shoulders.

it seemed you didn’t read that same memo, though, because your finger came to dig into his left side.

you were grinning, your eyebrows dancing as you motioned back to her.

“she’s pretty!” you whispered.

he shrugged. not as pretty as you.

the boxes were dropped against the counter and slid carefully over.

JJ handed her a twenty, her fingers brushed against his palm. she handed him his change, her fingers brushed against his palm.

“right,” JJ motioned towards the pizzas, grabbing them hastily, “thanks.”

“bye now.” Fiona wiggled her fingers at him.

“thanks!” you called over your shoulder, but she wasn’t concerned.

the door jingled again behind JJ as it swung to a close.

it had barely shut before you were laughing loudly, “oh she had the hots for you, dude.”

“what can i say, everyone does.”

you punched his arm and he pretended to wince. “ow—!”

“wait a minute …”

he followed your eyes, they had latched into the bundle of serviettes attached to the top of the box.

you made a fast grab for the one on the top, blue ink leaking through the paper.

holding it up to the light, you read loudly: “hey cutie, this is my number - give me a call sometime.”

JJ had the nerve to blush.

“that’s so sweet.” you mumbled to yourself.

the car had come quickly into reach, a fact that JJ was grateful for. he grabbed at the passenger door, holding it open for you.

“enough with the cupid shit, get in the car.”

but you had stopped, arms crossed petulantly with something between a smirk and a grimace painted across your delicate features.

“you gonna call her?”

JJ set the pizza on the dashboard.

“i don’t know. maybe?”

“gonna ask her on a date?”

your expression had sunk.

JJ’s head cocked to the side, he watched you carefully. a grin began to pull at his mouth.

“why are you so interested? jealous?”

the glare of the sun bounced off of the pavement and flickered at him from the black of your eyes.

“psh.” you rolled them at him. “in your dreams.”

you were lying. you did that thing with your pinky, you’d rub it against your thumb when you lied.

but he didn’t mention it.

“let’s go, pizza’s getting cold.”

he grabbed for the door handle again, jiggling the door: tempting you into climbing in.

“fine.”

you closed the gap, passing under his chin and a millisecond from climbing up into the passenger seat of Twinkie when Kie’s voice rung in JJ’s head: better make hay while the sun is still shining, JJ.

like grabbing a live wire with wet hands, he spoke.

“hey,”

you looked up.

he took your chin in his fist, steering you with his thumb until his lips collapsed onto yours.

the gasp you let off was enough to melt JJ against the pavement and he’d lost all control of his bodily functions. autopilot snuck his arm along your waist and pulled you flush against him, kissing you until he’d forgotten how to breath.

it was his turn to gasp when your tongue crossed the space between the lips connected to his.

JJ moaned quietly.

“you make such pretty noises, J.” it was muffled by his own mouth but he could hear it kilometers away.

he laughed against you. “cheeky.”

“if you don’t like it, there’s always Fiona waiting inside.”

JJ’s fingertips curled into your sides. “stop being a smart-ass.”

he pulled back slightly, just enough so that he could still feel your hot breath on his lips.

“let me take you out?” he whispered.

your eyebrow firmed, smirk dripping in mischievousness.

“depends. where you gonna take me, lover boy?”

JJ could sink into the look you were giving him just then.

“wherever you wanna go … as long as you’re wearing that fucking olive green bikini.”

#jj maybank x reader #jj maybank #outer banks #jj maybank imagine #jj maybank one shot #jj maybank one shots #jj maybank fic rec #jj maybank fic recs

[portlandwithyou]

Fraser/Vecchio- A Personal Reflection

Now I came to Due South on the trail of the killers of my father-- wait, no, that's not quite right. Let me try again. I came to Due South on the trail of this gif set. Eaion sold me the instant I saw it. I knew I had to see these two guys who were stuck in crevasse together.

One slight problem- the gif set is from the very end of the show and I had a daunting sixty-some-odd episodes, and a whole different partner, between me and it. It's fine, I told myself; I'll check out the first guy, see if he's worth it, and if he's not, I'll move on to the main attraction.

So I started at the beginning--and that's where I fell in with the show, the characters, and a brand new ship. These are my thoughts about the Due South pilot, written out while I re-watched the pilot.

I liked Fraser instantly. It's not hard to in those first few minutes; he's a grieving son who is searching for his father. He's sweet, he's polite, he's dedicated to justice-- literally what more could you ask for?

What I didn't expect was to like this first Ray so quickly. When he strode down to Fraser doing statute duty, shirt open, chain visible, loud mouth going, I knew I was in love.

But I hadn't yet spotted the ship on the horizon. I was simply enjoying the burgeoning friendship as we met Diefenbaker and began our investigation.

I started to see the glimmer of something in the scene where Ray find Fraser reading Bob Fraser's journal in the diner. I adore that we see Ray opening up to Fraser about his no-good father, and we get that sharp contrast between the two.

But the ship finally took form during the dinner scene. I am a complete sucker for the way the Vecchios immediately take him in as one of their own. I mean, the way Ma Vecchio says she likes him because he's polite-- does that not read like something you would say if he brought a girlfriend home?? It's so natural for Fraser to be there. It's like he was always a missing piece in Ray's life.

Just, oh gosh, the way Ray so clearly trusts Fraser (he brings him into his home!) and the way they're already falling into place makes me grin like a total fool. That's literally what I'm doing as I write this!

Then, we get to see them track down a lead together. Now, this is an integral moment in a buddy cop dynamic. They have to have some chemistry as they solve cases, and by god, Due South delivers in spades when the time comes. Fraser trying his hand at one of Ray's hunches! They're already rubbing off on each other. And Ray gets a great moment of comedy as he reacts to Fraser's first licking scene.

So here's another thing that kills me-- Ray calls them friends as they walk to the Chinatown apartment! They have an immediate connection! I'm screaming! They are meant to be together!

After they establish that they're friends, we get to see some angst—beautiful, wonderful angst. Everyone is at their lowest, and circumstances are pulling Ray and Fraser apart. Tell me this isn't just the normal 2/3rds point in a romance novel where our couple is pushed apart.

But that makes their reunion so much sweeter. Ray came all the way up to bumfuck nowhere NWT after solving a case he probably wasn't even on anymore! He was that eager to come up there and tell Fraser what he'd discovered.

And then, of course, they look you right in the eye and have Fraser ask, "Can I help you out of that?" I AM SCREAMING! Literally kicking my feet up! They know what they're doing!

Next is the big fight/chase sequence where Fraser gets to drive Ray around on a dog sled which is cute and sweet.

Special mention here of Diefenbaker, as I've mostly been glossing over his cuteness. And he's a poor baby at the end.

Finally, we have the ending. Not Ray riding off into the distance together-- I'm talking about when Fraser is standing guard outside of the consulate again, and Ray is already back prattling at his new best friend. ❤️

#this is lame #SORRY IF IT IS #but I just have so many feelings about Ray and Fraser #ds30below #due south

[sayoneee]

☆ HEATWAVES

it's the middle of summer and everything's so hot, but bachira decides it's his chance to sneak into your room (1k)

contains: bachira meguru x fem! reader. possibly ooc bachira (first time writing for him). no mentions of blue lock. ambiguous relationship. not proofread

kashaf’s note: this is very very very indulgent.

“MEGURU? WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” you asked, swiftly sitting up from your sprawled position on your bed, your phone forgotten and abandoned on your sheets as a random tiktok audio looped in the background. propping yourself up against one of the pillows tossed haphazardly across your bed, you watched with a mixture of amusement as he stepped into your room, with a care that he usually lacked, kicking off his converse in the corner and closing your window behind him with a soft click. 

the summer heat had turned your room into an inferno, and you felt as if you were in your own personal circle of hell. the stifling heat clung to your skin, heavy and suffocating, like an unwanted embrace. beads of sweat had formed on your skin, and your hair stuck to your forehead in damp tendrils, despite the air conditioning being on full blast for the past hour. 

bachira grinned, filled with a promise of cool relief, eyes lighting up as they locked on you, a man who had stumbled upon an oasis in the desert, “i missed you?” he offered, running a hand through his hair. 

you rolled your eyes, folding your arms across your chest, a  mockingly reserved posture, thinly veiling your shared enthusiasm at the sight of him, “more like you missed my ac.”

stepping closer, bachira wiped at the sweat glistening to his forehead, grin still in place, “i heard through the grapevine that your room was cold.” the reference to that one south park episode you had watched the first time you had been over at his house causes a carousel of memories—of his cold hands and shy smile in the dark of his room—to float to the forefront of your mind. 

an exasperated groan escaped your lips, accompanied by a melodramatic flop backward onto your bed, “it’s literally a sauna in here, and i can’t even open the window, only hot air will come in,” you paused, “what’s your excuse for being here?”

“decided to brave the heatwave, babe,” he winked, taking a seat on the chair positioned in front of your bed. 

“how aren’t you feeling hot right now—do you ever feel hot?” you twisted onto your side, looking at him critically as he played with the old teddy bear he had won for you set on your desk. 

“only when i’m around you, baby,” bachira grins, proud of himself for drawing out a smile from you at the cringey line. 

“you’re literally impossible,” you smiled, playing with the edges of the blanket folded at the end of your bed. 

bachira’s retort is delivered with confidence, his self-assured grin never wavering, “you love me though.”

choosing not to provide him with the satisfaction of a direct answer, you grabbed a pillow from your side and sent it sailing toward him, a playful non-answer. bachira retaliated with equal enthusiasm, and before you knew it, the two of you were immersed in an intense pillow fight. laughter bubbled forth with each pillow thrown, the tension of the stifling heat momentarily forgotten.

out of nowhere, bachira launched himself at you, his weight toppling you backward onto the mattress. his breath ghosted warmly against your ear, the proximity sending shivers down your spine, "c’mon, pretty, tell me you missed me too."

amid the laughter and mock struggles, your response tumbled out, a concession laced with mirth, "maybe a little." your resistance waned as he pinned your hands above your head, your defeated state bringing an end to the wrestling, "meguru, you're actually gonna get me in trouble."

his laughter enveloped the room, a sound almost as familiar as the call of your own name, “getting into trouble can’t be that bad.”

you met his gaze, unimpressed by his nonchalance, your tone borderline childish, “i won’t be able to see you for like ever.”

“okay, nevermind, it is that bad,” bachira conceded, smiling. his eyes lit up, a tell-tale sign of when he had another bright idea; almost on a separate plane of thought entirely, he suggested, “let’s go to the roof.’

you raised your eyebrows at him, regarding his expression skeptically, “will you be quieter on the roof—so we don’t get caught?”

ignoring your question, bachira grinned, his fingers brushing away the damp strands of hair clinging to your forehead. in a quick moment, he surged to his feet, suddenly standing up and extending his hand toward you, “c’mon, last one there has to give the winner whatever they want.”

used to bachira’s antics, a competitive spark ignited within you, and a grin tugs at your lips, “you’re so on.” wasting no time, with unyielding determination, you shoved past his outstretched hand and propelled yourself out your window. 

bachira was quick to follow, overtaking you with ease, his movements marked by a fluidity only years of soccer training could develop, giving him an edge over you. his laughter followed you, and when in one moment you were in the lead, in the next, you found yourself trying futilely to catch up to him. 

upon joining him on the rooftop, bachira immediately drew you into his side, an arm encircling your shoulder as the cool night breeze danced around you. “i won,” he declared, a triumphant grin illuminating his features endearingly. it’s hard not to smile back, not when he’s looking at you like that. you burrowed closer into his side as he decided on his prize. 

you didn’t have to wait long, however, as he suddenly leaned closer, the mischievous glint dancing in his eyes reminding you of fireflies and your shared childhood, he demanded, “i want a kiss.”

bachira closed his eyes, waiting for you to make your move, and you, gathering your courage—embarrassed at his ability to make you concede so easily—swiftly pressed your lips to his cheek in a fleeting caress, the moment disappearing as quick as it had occurred. 

he opened his eyes, grin still intact, “not what i meant, pretty, but i’ll take it.”

© sayoneee on tumblr. do not repost, translate, plagiarize or claim any of my works as your own.

#blue lock x reader #bachira meguru x reader #bachira x reader #meguru bachira x reader #bllk x reader #bachira imagine #bachira imagines #bachira x yn #bachira x y/n #bllk imagine #bllk imagines #bllk x yn #bllk x y/n #bachira meguru fluff #bachira fluff #bllk fluff #bachira meguru x you #meguru bachira x yn #meguru bachira x y/n #meguru bachira fluff #meguru bachira x you #bllk x you #bachira meguru x fem! reader #meguru bachira x fem! reader #bllk x female reader #bachira meguru x female reader #meguru bachira x female reader #blue lock x yn #kashaf ki likhai