#on mobile. sorry there’s no read more

[rainbowvamp]

merlin live thoughts - compiled for your convenience - ep 1

[added to give context.]

[narration begins]

kilgarha [not going to spell his name right don’t care] calls merlin a young man in the narrative intro and then switches to boy the next time. why is he a young boy in the little voice over?

[intro music plays. scenes playing over intro music] why don’t i recognize any of the scenes in this intro? has it been this long?

[back to Merlin hiking to camelot] saw merlin wanted it to be lancelot. was sad. usually i start with the lancelot eps but i am not. not today. [ :( ]

he smiles cute. what a dork. good for him.

[merlin walks into Camelot and doesn’t know they’re about to kill a guy] he’s so excited for the little horns blowing and then it’s like heart break. oh baby. baby. poor baby. what a terrible introduction

why does uther say his [own] name like that? i hate him.

what’s fair and just about killing a guy uther?

i want to have a mean nickname for uther but uther is already a bad name.

[after they kill the guy I am confused] what societal -ism is magic an allegory for in this damn show????

[angry mom yelling at uther from the place where her son’s just been killed] hammurabi’s code? okay girl ig.

[girl goes in a puff of smoke] best magic disappearance in the whole show. not used nearly enough. more people should disappear like the dead guys mom.

[merlin wanders around looking for gaius] he’s holding his little backpack straps the whole time and it makes him look so young. baby. baby. baby.

[first view of gaius office/chambers/whatever] i like the set for-

[pauses to obsess about weird set choices] wait i’m sorry. what the fuck is this

[description in alt text]

why do you have this? i’m cackling because there’s no explanation that i can think of that isn’t joyous or hilarious. is there an ao3 tag for Gaius’ weird rabbit mask? missed opportunity not to have this be the mask merlin wears in my enchanted fic [mercelot cinderella au]. fuck. that would’ve been hilarious. comedy rewrite of the enchanted fic where Lancelot falls in love with merlin while he’s wearing this.

okay. unpausing now.

[gaius falls over a railing that has probably been there for 20 years] how has this old man survived this long if that’s all it takes to make him fall the heck down his own stairs in his own house.

[gaius freaking out about Merlin’s magic and it triggers my daddy issues] gaius is very yelly. yells yells yells.

[Gaius says] who are you?? i love this line

[tbh I have no idea what this is a reaction to] gaius is funny in this episode. why isn’t he like this all the time?

gaius’ actor is so earnest when he says thank you. last time anyone will say that to merlin in this show. lol

merlin has his own room and a window. living large! all i can think about is lancleot standing by the window. but it’s fine.

collin is such a good actor. he’s so enthralled by camelot at night.

[voice over of hunith’s letter] gaius is charged with keeping merlin safe. forgot that.

also, “may god save you both” feels like it doesn’t fit.

[morgana’s telling uther killing the sorcerer sucked] i love morgana’s accent. is it in the rest of the show? if not we deserved more of it.

“the more brutal you are the more enemies you’ll create” including morgana. especially morgana. morgana was right.

[lady helen in her tent, but I couldn’t remember her name was lady helen] love the little mindless humming while the singing lady braids her hair. lady helen. good for her. she has a good smile.

also she missed some hair while she was braiding but we all make choices.

[knights protect lady helen and also dies] sometimes i forget there are knights other than the ones we like.

[lady helen killed by doll stabing] don’t see how having your son killed gives you the moral high ground to kill an innocent person. seems like this makes you the bad guy as well.

how does kilgaha [not changing it] know merlin’s name. i should know this shouldn’t i. idr. [I don’t remember. You’ll see this a lot if I keep doing these]

gaius just taking care of merlin is so cute.

he dropped the water on purpose. [so merlin would pause it with his magic like a little testy test]

[merlin grabs a mop for spilled water] what a good boy cleaning up without being asked.

“don’t do magic merlin” neither gaius nor merlin has any idea how to stop him from doing magic.

[gives the guy the medicine he’s not supposed to take all at once and doesn’t finish his warning ] merlin: stands there and watches him drunk the medicine all at once when he could’ve stopped him.

[arthur being an ass to that little boy with the wooden circle scene] arthur’s hair is kind of good in this scene and it makes me mad because this scene makes me want to claw his fucking eyes out.

who is that kid[with the wooden circle that Arthur throws knives at]?he deserved better.

[arthur says] “run” ugh i want to fucking hurt him. not in a fun way.

[merlin no arthur start to argue] i know they’re establishing that Arthur will grow and merlin has courage, but… ugh.

merlin is also sassy. “i could never have a friend who could be such an ass”

[merlin’s I could take you apart with less than that line] “don’t use magic” immediately intends to use magic to hurt the crown fucking prince. dummy. fails at it because has some sense. dummier

[merlin gets thrown in jail] also. jail? for what? attacking royalty? too high a sentence. unrealistic. [/j]

[fake lady helen enters to meet uther]lady helen’s dress is really weirdly designed. good hair though.

gross that uther kisses her hand. gross that uther.

[I forgot why-]merlin sleeping on a bed of straw? oh that’s right. jail.

gaius taking care of merlin again. [gets merlin out of prison. But there are conditons I remember the scene]

oh it’s the stocks!

gwen is coming!

gaius is laughing. what a jerk. who probably saved merlin from a. couple years in prison. so ig it’s fine.

i love that gwen is in camelot red. it’s so pretty on her and probably signifies who she’ll be later.

[gwen says Merlin’s not a big hero type] she’s so unintentionally mean and awkward. i love her.

“you don’t look like that.”

“i’m in disguise” [merlin’s smile is so cute]

he has such a cute smile.

[Gaius says]“you are a question that has never been posed before merlin.”!!!!

kilgarah :( trapped below. so sad. [kilgarah is calling merlin]

[merlin takes lady helen a potion for her voice] the preparation for lady helen’s voice looks nasty.

merlin is nosy. what the fuck bro. you can’t just do that.

okay plot, but wtf?

[lady helen discovers him in her room.]he looks so suspicious. he doesn’t even say what it is. he just hands her a suspicious bottle from his suspicious hand. don’t drink it girl!

[arthur and merlin meet on the street] god i fucking hate arthur. in this ep.

he [merlin] takes off his coat. they’re gonna throw down.

[arthur throws merlin a mace!] okay, but fighting a subject with a fucking mace? what the fuck “my lord”? [me quoting what merlin just said because I think I’m clever]

“how long have you been training to be a prat my lord” is one of the best lines in this show.

[they destroy various stalls while they fight] also, arthur better be paying for any wears that he is ruining with his little pissing contest.

love that arthur is being beaten up by inanimate objects. love less that he gets to win @ the end.

gaius is yelling again :/

[merlin while gaius is telling him he can’t use magic] “if i can’t use magic i might as well die” that’s a homosexual metaphor if i have ever heard one.

gaius is giving me whiplash with the yelling and then the caring. i cant process it. ik that’s probably how normal parents behave but that just isn’t vibing w/ me. [*]

uther is eating a strawberry and i hate him for it because i like strawberries.

he looks like the guy from buffy in this scene. hate that.

i am too emotionally basic for the complexity of these characters. help. [*this is me processing my inability to process gaius earlier]

merlin: hears a voice[kilgarah] and goes looking for it in the middle of the night.

merlin: this is a good idea.

[merlin covered gaius with covers before he sneaks out] love that the magic is just stop motion of them moving the blanket up him. we love practical effects.

[in the dungeons] knights playing dice. ig we should be writing more about that now.

the dice keep moving and none of them are thinking “magic”. why?

i can’t even fault merlin for going to find kilgarah because i too would go somewhere potentially dangerous if i felt like i was wanted there.

cgi on this dragon is… well. it’s there.

[I decide I want to know how many times destiny is said in this series]

destiny count : 1, 2,

merlin: arthur is the worst. um, i kind of don’t want him to succeed. i would kill him myself if i could

destiny count : 3

i want merlin to escape his destiny, actually.

destiny count : 4

where is kilgarah even going? just away . perching where he can’t be seen to be mysterious.

[merlin going around the castle to give morgana a potion]a jaunty little jog up the stairs.

[morgana thinks merlin is Gwen and she starts to get undressed.] um… real sus not to announce you aren’t who she thinks you are merlin…

[arthur is such a jester] morgana is right about arthur. if someone hasn’t already saved arthurthejester as a url, they should. that’s a good one.

[gwen walks in while merlin is pretending to be gwen] gwen should be mad about this actually. if i were gwen i would simply stomp on merlin’s toes for being in the lady morgana’s room without permission while she was changing. that’s 2008 for you ig.

the weird arthur/morgana thing they almost did. i’m glad they didn’t do that.

[maid sees real lady helen in the mirror] lady helen kills a maid. not worker friendly. don’t approve.

i’m not mad she wants to kill arthur. im mad about all the other people she kills to kill arthur. do assassination normally girl. don’t kill commoners to get back a nobles.

[morgana walks into the feast in the red dress] i think morgana looks very nice. it’s gross that merlin says god have mercy. it’s also gross my most beloved demisexual merlin is looking at her with lust. not compliant with my headcanon. episode is bad now. [\j]

merlin and gwen interacting gives me life. i love them. i genuinely love them. i apologize for any fic i have ever written where they weren’t absolutely together.

they’re not flirting, but they’re flirting.

[re: men gwen would date] “obviously not you.” i love her. she’s so awkward. it makes my heart so happy.

[back in lady Helen’s room] i think the dead maid twitched! she lives! she just passed out! oh good :) stop killing servants 2k22

uthers crown looks stupid. i hate him.

he looks at her[lady helen] with gross eyes.

what language is she [lady helen]singing in? someone? anyone?

i am also entranced by pretty people singing pretty songs.

merlin is so smart covering his ears. baby. baby. baby.

why the cobwebs though?

if she was just gonna stab him [arthur] why didn’t she just sneak into his room disguised as one of his guards to do that? like… knights are noblemen, kill them if you want.

[when merlin saves arthur] i appreciate that we’re seeing merlin be a good person, but he should have simply let him die.

[uther makes merlin a manservant] “i will reward you by making you a servant and usurping you from whatever life you have to serve my terrible son.”

the only good thing about this is arthur also does not want merlin to be his manservant.

[gaius going> now you can keep the prince safe w/ magic] protect the prince with your magic? this could be queerer. this should be queerer :/

merlin being handed the magic book

[pause thought to] destiny count : 5

is like being shown that other gay people existed and thrived in the time before. it matters so much to see those real artifacts of queerness. i made magic queer again. i feel better.

final thoughts:

i love merlin, gwen, morgana

i wish lancelot was here

gaius is fine ig

arthur and uther make me want to commit real actual criminal murder.

stop killing common people to injure the nobility. this is wrong and unforgivable.

okay. ep 1! this was fun. i’ll post this eventually. maybe. if you’re reading this i posted it.

00:25 - june 30

#lore rewatches merlin #chaos lore #on mobile. sorry there’s no read more #long post

[eldritch-thrumming]

When witches turn eighteen years old, it’s customary for them to be sent out into the world, to practice their magic and find their calling. So when Eddie Munson’s birthday passes in July, he packs a suitcase, says goodbye to his Uncle Wayne—the best garden witch in the tri-county area, ask anyone!—zips his cat into the neck of his leather jacket (whom he’d cleverly named Kitty when he was six years old), climbs on his broom, and sets off for the city on the coast.

Once he gets there, Eddie’s not entirely sure where to go. He’s never actually been to the city before, but he’d heard so many stories—from classmates and friends, from travelers passing through his small town who’d come searching for Wayne’s recipes, from the witches who returned after their year-long apprenticeships—that he’d known since he was thirteen that he had to see it for himself. He wanders the cobblestone streets with his broom and his bag and marvels at the crowds. He watches a magician perform on the street—doesn’t miss it when he slips a card up his sleeve or shifts a coin through his fingers, but it still makes him smile—before he stumbles onto a ‘help wanted’ sign in a shop window. Kitty lets out a tiny meow from where she’s tucked under Eddie’s chin, like she’s trying to get his attention. Eddie glances down at her and she shifts her gaze from his face to the sign and back again.

“Alright, I hear ya,” Eddie murmurs, grinning and cupping a hand over her head for a quick pet.

A tiny bell jingles overhead as Eddie pushes open the front door. Immediately, he’s met with the smell of baking bread and sugary frosting. He breathes deep, giving Kitty another pat on her head. He stands at the counter for a moment before a boy around his age appears from the back room.

“Hi, welcome to The Bakery. What can I help you with?” The boy is grinning wide, wiping his flour-covered hands on his apron. He’s got soft brown hair and eyes to match. Eddie meets his gaze and feels himself blush.

“Um, you have a ‘help wanted’ sign in your window?” Eddie hooks his thumb over his shoulder, gesturing at the sign.

“Oh! Yeah, we just put that up today actually. We’re looking for a delivery person,” the boy is still grinning, eyeing Eddie’s broom. “I’m Steve.” He holds out his hand over the counter for Eddie to shake.

“Eddie.” Steve’s hand is surprisingly soft when Eddie shakes it.

“The job comes with a room over the bakery, our hours are from 6am to 5pm every day but Thursday, and we’d like you to start immediately.”

“Oh, um. Just like that?”

Steve grins again. “I may not be smart, but even I know not to turn away a witch when one comes knocking.” He knocks his knuckles against the wooden counter and Eddie returns his smile. “Come on, I’ll show you the room.” Steve turns to head back the way he came and Eddie takes a moment to look down at Kitty. She blinks at him, all-knowing, and it makes Eddie blush again. He rolls his eyes and sticks his tongue out at her before following behind Steve.

He follows Steve out the bakery’s back door and up a set of wooden stairs that lead from the garden to a small deck, where Steve pulls a key from his pocket and unlocks one of the two doors. He gestures for Eddie to step through the doorway before following behind him.

“The room is furnished, there’s a small stove there in the corner with a sink and a washroom just over there,” Steve gestures to a door on the opposite wall from the tiny bed. “My apartment’s the next door over and I have a full kitchen, which you’re welcome to use if you need to. Here’s your key,” Steve drops the warm piece of metal into Eddie’s palm, “and I’ll have the spare key to my place and the bakery for you tomorrow. Make yourself at home and head down to the bakery tomorrow morning.” Steve pats him on the shoulder before heading back out of the tiny room and down into the bakery.

Eddie is left to do nothing but blink at the empty space Steve had left behind. He’s not entirely sure what just happened, but he’s pretty sure he’s landed both a job and a place to stay. Not bad for his first day in the city.

~*~

A year passes and Eddie is happy. He writes to Wayne and tells him all about Steve and the recipes he tries out in the bakery. Tells Wayne that he suspects that Steve might have some witch blood he doesn’t know about; the things he can do with buttercream are pure magic. Eddie visits Wayne once for his birthday—it’s a long way by broom—weighed down by pastries and cakes that Steve insists he take home with him.

Eddie starts to learn the landscape of the city, learns when to fly over the coastline and when to keep tight to the city streets. He makes his own posters, starts to do some deliveries after hours too, which leads him to meet all sorts of interesting people. He meets artists and performers, writers and teachers, even the man who services the big clock at the center of the city (which Eddie finds particularly impressive).

He spends time with Steve. Steve is funny and smart, despite what he’d said the first day Eddie had met him. He can cook, not just bake, and he insists that Eddie joins him for dinner at least three nights a week. At first, Eddie had tried to say no to Steve’s invitations, thinking that Steve was just being polite, but Steve had insisted and Eddie realized that Steve was actually pretty lonely. He wasn’t from the city and he didn’t have much family; he’d come here when his parents had died. He’d apprenticed with an older woman named Claudia, who’d left the bakery to him when she’d retired not too long ago. Steve’s eyes go soft whenever he mentions her. Her son, Dustin, still helps them around the bakery three days a week, counting down the days until he leaves for university (he only ever relays the amount of days and Eddie’s pretty bad at math, but by his count, Dustin’s still got about three years to go).

Steve also talks about his best friend, Robin, who’s away at art school. Steve is hoping when she comes back in the spring, she’ll work at the bakery decorating the cakes. Eddie’s surprised to learn that Robin is also a witch; he hadn’t known many witches to go to art school.

The year passes in dinners and picnics, in deliveries and odd jobs, and when spring is finally turning over into summer again, Robin arrives home to the bakery.

“Stevie!” A voice calls from the front of the shop, scratchy and warm, drowning out the jingle of the bell. Eddie is sat on the counter in the back room, completely entranced by the way Steve’s arm muscles jump under his skin as he kneads bread dough. He’s barely listening to some story Steve’s telling about something Dustin had done the other day.

Eddie watches as Steve stops what he’s doing completely. “Robbie?” A smile spreads across Steve’s face, quick and involuntary. He doesn’t even pause to wipe his hands before he’s rushing into the front of the shop. Eddie watches through the door as a pretty girl with short blond hair throws her arms around Steve’s neck. He lifts her off the ground, spinning her around, leaving flour fingerprints across the back of her navy t-shirt.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming today?” Steve asks when he’s finally returned her to an upright position on her own two feet.

“Because then it wouldn’t have been a surprise, dingus.” She pokes a finger into his ribs and he half-heartedly tries to shove her away.

Watching them, Eddie feels something tighten in his chest that he can’t quite explain. He knows this is Robin—he’s seen pictures of her before—knows she’s Steve’s best friend, but this is more than mere friendship. This is something else entirely. Something magic. Eddie’s a good witch. He knows true love when he sees it.

“You have to meet Eddie,” Steve says before calling through the doorway, “Eddie, come meet Robin!”

Eddie hops off the counter and does as he’s told.

~*~

A few weeks later, Eddie wakes with a pounding headache. There’s a breeze coming through his window off the coast and it makes him shiver. He coughs and looks around for Kitty, but she isn’t curled in her usual spot on his pillow. Eddie sniffles.

He pulls himself from his bed and feels dizzy. He washes his face and drinks some orange juice before he heads down to the bakery.

“Wow, you look awful,” Robin says by way of greeting. She grimaces as he comes through the doorway.

“Gee thanks,” Eddie grumbles half-heartedly in her direction. His voice sounds heavy and hoarse.

Steve crosses the room from where he stands in front of the ovens and presses the back of his hand to Eddie’s forehead. “Eddie, you’re burning up. You should go back to bed. I’ll bring you soup later.” He pushes Eddie in the direction of the back door.

“But the deliveries,” Eddie mumbles, eyes already half closing as he dreams of getting back into his sleep-warm bed.

Steve smiles softly. “Don’t worry. Robin and Dustin can handle it.” Eddie glances behind Steve at Robin, who nods at Eddie reassuringly.

“Okay.” Eddie’s voice is a whisper and then he’s stumbling back up the stairs and falling into his bed. He wonders again where Kitty’s run off to.

~*~

Eddie is in and out of consciousness for three days. He has strange dreams, some of them nightmares where monsters chase after him as he tries to fly away on his broom; others are about Steve and Robin and even Dustin, good dreams of the life he’s made here for himself.

Steve keeps his promise and brings him soup every day, helping Eddie sit up against his pillows and even helping Eddie spoon the broth into his mouth. Eddie thinks he maybe should be a little embarrassed about it, but it’s so nice and comforting that he can’t. It reminds him of home, of recipes from Wayne’s garden.

Robin comes to sit with him on the second night, stroking his hair and humming lullabies while he drifts off.

On the third day, when Eddie is starting to feel better, Kitty finally reappears. Eddie asks her where she’d run off to, but she doesn’t answer. She’s been keeping secrets lately.

~*~

After three days, Eddie finally returns to work. Steve gives him the first delivery, tells him Dustin and Robin can continue to help out, just for a few days, so Eddie doesn’t overexert himself. Eddie nods.

He ties the tiny pastry box to the handle of his broom and mounts it on the sidewalk outside. He kicks off from the cobblestones. Nothing happens. Flying had always come easily to Eddie. It was second nature to him, something he never really had to think about. Not all witches could fly, but Eddie can’t really remember a time when he couldn’t.

He tries to kick off from the sidewalk again. Again, nothing happens. Eddie can feel the panic rise in his chest. He swallows, tries again. Still nothing.

He hears himself let out a small whimper and he’s glad Steve’s gone back inside and can’t hear him. He glances through the shop window and sees Robin’s clever eyes watching him. She meets his gaze. He can see the naked concern there. He swallows again.

He climbs off the broom and unties the package. He carries both as he re-enters the bakery.

“Something’s wrong,” he says to Robin and Steve.

“What do you mean?” Steve asks coming out of the back room again.

“Dunno,” Eddie replies. “Broom’s broken or something. Can’t fly.” He shakes the broom in his hand.

“Does that happen?” Steve’s brow furrows. Eddie shrugs.

“Maybe you’re still sick,” Robin says. “You should go back to bed. Try again in a few days.”

“Yeah. Maybe.” Eddie looks down at his feet. He passes the box to Robin and then decides she’s right. Decides he should go back to bed.

“Don’t worry, Eddie,” Steve says, reassuringly. “It’ll pass. Robin and Dustin can keep doing the deliveries for a little while.”

~*~

Eddie’s magic doesn’t come back. It’s not just the flying either. Kitty stays away longer. Eddie finds himself misunderstanding her more often than not. He keeps messing up simple cleaning spells and the easy home remedies he’s been brewing since before he can remember.

He takes his broom out every night and under the cover of darkness tries and tries and tries again. Sometimes he feels eyes watching him from Steve’s apartment, but when he glances up, all he can see is the flutter of curtains.

~*~

After three weeks of a miserable, magic-less existence, Robin knocks on the door of Eddie’s small room.

“Wanna talk?” She asks from the doorway.

Eddie considers saying no. Instead he nods and gestures toward his small kitchen table. She sits.

“I saw you practicing,” she says, diving right in.

“Yeah.” Eddie doesn’t try to deny it or even play dumb and ask what she means. She’s a witch. She’ll know. “Flying used to be like breathing. I didn’t even notice I was doing it half the time. Think I learned to fly before I could even walk. Now it’s all I think about. Feels like something’s missing now, like my lungs or, like, a part of my heart or something.”

Robin nods, knowing. “That happened to me, you know. Lost my magic. Felt like I lost an arm.”

Eddie swallows. “What helped get it back?”

“I met Steve,” she says softly, a fond smile playing around the corners of her lips. “I left home earlier than other witches. I never really fit in. I wanted to go to school. Didn’t know if I even wanted to practice my magic at all. My parents said if I stuck it out, I could leave when I was fourteen. So I did. I waited and counted the days and finally it was time. Spent a year in the city. I loved it. But then, one of my friends… something happened to her.” Robin looks sad and twists her fingers together, fidgeting. “She had to leave the city. When she left, I got really sick. Couldn’t do magic for almost a year.”

“A year?” Eddie asks, mouth hanging open. “I can’t not fly for a whole year.”

Robin hums. “You figure it out. You have to. Some days it’s more noticeable than others.”

“But you met Steve. And you got your magic back?” Eddie prompts.

“Yeah. It’s like that saying, you know the one? ‘True love makes the best magic.’” She says it like she’s said it a hundred thousand times before.

Eddie grumbles. “Don’t think I’m gonna fall in love and magically fix my flying problem.” He crosses his arms over his chest.

“I didn’t say anything about falling in love.” Robin smiles again, big and bright this time. “There’s more than one kind of true love.”

~*~

Eddie thinks about what Robin had said to him for days. He turns it over in his mind again and again and again.

He starts laying out treats for Kitty. He misses her. Even before he got sick and lost his magic, he’d started to leave her behind more and more on his deliveries. He’d realized he could fly faster without worrying about her falling from inside his jacket.

She’s hesitant, but she starts coming back more. When they sleep, she returns to her place on Eddie’s pillow and Eddie feels good with the soft, warm weight of her next to his head as he slowly drifts into sleep.

Before he’d gotten sick, he’d taken on too many deliveries. He’d stopped having time to chat with the customers, to hear the little stories of their lives, of cleaning the clock tower at the center of town or a new plot point one of the writers had just figured out. He’d missed hearing the explanations of what celebrations he was delivering cupcakes or tarts or heart-shaped cakes for. Delivering on foot gave him a lot more time to stop and watch the street performers, to help tourists with directions. On foot, Eddie began to appreciate the city again, like he had before, when he’d first gotten here. When it felt like he’d been dropped right into the center of a dream realized.

He starts having more dinners with Robin and Steve. He’d stopped doing it so much, not wanting to feel like a wonky third wheel. But they slot him in right next to them, right in the middle. They fill him in on inside jokes and old stories. Sometimes Dustin joins them and Eddie tells stories of Wayne and the strange people who used to appear on their doorstep in search of some of his magic.

Eddie starts to feel happy again.

~*~

A week after he talked to Robin, Eddie brings his broom out into the center of the street. It’s close to dusk, the sun low in the sky, and the bakery is closed for the day. Steve, Robin, and Dustin stand shoulder to shoulder on the sidewalk, waiting.

Eddie breathes deep. He swallows. Breathes again. And then he mounts his broom like he has a million times before. He grips the polished handle. He feels it thrum beneath his fingertips. He takes another deep breath, closes his eyes, and kicks off from the cobblestones.

There’s a strange sort of hush to the street. Eddie can’t tell if he’s in the air. He squints an eye open and sees Steve, Robin, and Dustin waving up at him. He can’t help the grin that spreads across his face. He lets out a shout.

He does a few circles around, just above their heads, while they all scream and clap for him. Eddie can’t help but laugh. He’d missed this.

When he finally lands, they all rush to hug him. Dustin lets go first and then Steve.

Robin’s arms are still around him when she whispers into his ear, low enough so only he can hear it. “See? True love magic.” Eddie smiles again and gives her one last tight squeeze before letting go.

Dustin and Robin head back inside, leaving Steve and Eddie to stare at each other in the empty street. Steve is still grinning, his hands in his pocket.

“How’s it feel?” Steve nods toward the broom.

“Feels like breathing,” Eddie tells him, closing the space between them. Steve’s cheeks flush and Eddie doesn’t miss the way his eyes flick from Eddie’s gaze down to his lips and back again. Steve licks his own lips. “Feels like home.”

Steve is breathing a little harder now as Eddie continues to slowly close the distance between them.

“Feels like magic,” Eddie whispers, before he brushes his lips against Steve’s. He pulls back slightly. “Feels like love.” Steve’s hand comes up to curl around the back of Eddie’s neck, pulling Eddie in close for a real and proper kiss, right there in the empty street, under the setting sun.

now on ao3 :)

(For @outpastthebrakers for commenting on the post where I mentioned this!!!! Warning: this was fully written under the influence of a sleeping pill in abt an hour and a half. Don’t hold that against me :P)

#steddie fic #steddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #steddie fanfic #steddie fanfiction #steddie ficlet #stobin #platonic stobin #Eddie munson is a witch #Robin buckley is a witch #Robin buckley #Kiki’s delivery service au #steddie au #steddie fluff #sorry abt not putting a read more I still can’t figure it out on mobile despite 3000 of you trying to explain. it to me #I’m too exhausted to fix it rn literally abt to pass out as we speak

[gferamos]

Random assortment of doodles tiem (⁠づ⁠｡⁠◕⁠‿⁠‿⁠◕⁠｡⁠)⁠づ

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

#read more #my art #digital art #wow I sure draw MK a lot #sometimes I feel bad only drawing him but then I remember hey as long as I'm having fun screw all >:)) #... well sometimes it works- #also I blame a certain friend and also a mutual of mine because of my weird amount of Kine doodles.. #long post #sorry I have no idea how to do the whole thing is it because I'm on mobile orr? very confused on how to use it #man I'm not tagging everyone only the ones who show up often enough.. #kirby #bandana dee #king dedede #meta knight

[asukiess]

wanna do a smut series where it’s all the unpopular headcanons. vanilla toxigriffe. femdom marichat. service top adrien w/ladrien. super kinky PRE-REVEAL adrinette. uhhhhh idk ladynoir has been pretty versatile. I’m not saying this is revolutionary I’m just saying I like to explore The Dynamics

#smut talk #LMAO what a tag anyway #Asukies ramble #sorry read mores just don’t work on mobile ig

[casdeans-pie]

So I have this fic idea of Cas being magically kicked from his vessel somehow and desperately seeking Dean's help, even though he's weak and tired and stuck in his true form and its not like Dean can see or hear him anyway, but he needs him. so he tries to talk.

While Dean's driving.

Of course Dean nearly crashes the car because the windows explode and Sam is clutching at his ears, but Dean can hear something....

He pulls over and Sam's still in pain but Dean can hear....

-ean......... Dea- ....... Dean......... he...lp.....

"Cas?..... Cas, that you?"

And it's weird because the 'voice' sounds nothing like Cas - it's musical and tinkling, like a wind chime in his head - but Dean just knows.

He shouldn't be able to understand. but he can.

"Cas?" He says more desperately.

Dean?......... you........ hear.... me?......

"Yeah buddy, I can hear you. Whats going on? Whats happening?"

Sam, still wincing, says "That's Cas?!"

So Dean eventually leaves Sam with Baby and walks away from the road to get him away from anything breakable.

-orry... Dean..... no choice...... locked..... out....... vessel...... talk..... to........... you....... -eed........ help....

And Dean is absolutely on board to help Cas however he can.

He asks how he can hear Cas' true voice and Cas doesn't know. He asks if he can see him, and Cas says no, because he can't risk his eyes, and Dean points out that if he can understand what he's saying he can probably take a peak without the whole eyes burning up in his head thing.

But the wind chime tinkling can somehow sound exactly like Cas without sounding nothing like Cas when it says. No.

Dean has mixed feelings on how the familiar and unfamiliar overlap. He feels fond. "This is what you really sound like? Like a friggin' music box? That's what blew out all the windows and nearly exploded Sam's ears?"

The following silence shouldn't remind Dean of the squinty eyed stare he knows well, but it does.

So Dean is now the only one who can understand Cas, who is hovering nearby, invisible. he learns how to speak to just Dean so that he stops exploding all the glass around him. and the race is on to find his body and get him back inside before it's too late.

Why can Dean understand him now?? Interesting question.

(He secretly wonders if this is what his prayers to Cas feel like to him.)

He does in fact convince Cas to reveal his true form and of course he can see it just fine. It's a fun moment of really seeing the person you've become so familiar with in a new light. (You know the drill.)

(Also Cas' line about how big his true form is was hugely exaggerating for Samuel's benefit. Angels are big glowing multi-winged bird-like creatures with a halo on fire above their heads.)

Cas has to communicate with Sam via Dean and they have conversations that sound bizarre to Sam because he can only hear Dean's side of it. but it's also kind of normal and on brand for the two of them really.

It'd be a fun time.

When Cas does eventually get his body back Dean gets a little sad about the loss of the voice in his head and the cool bird creature, but he's happy to see his friend is okay. and that he's in a form he can hug with relief now.

then when he goes to sleep that night he has a dream. that Cas walks into. He hints at the reason Dean could understand him (their bond) and thanks him again. Finally they sit together on a sunny grassy hill in Dean's dream - Cas in his true form and Dean petting his feathers gently.

#ough this got long sorry! im on mobile so I cant do a read more aaa #destiel #deancas #destiel fanfiction #destiel ficlet #destiel fic #spn #supernatural #spn fanfiction #my fanfiction #i wish i had time to write this sm #castiel's trueform #trueform!cas #long post #pie's projects

[sinlizards]

do you have any more examples of your art before and after rendering? you have such a fun and distinct style!

I have a ton!! i usually post them along with the main pieces over on twitter but tumblr doesnt lend itself to that format as well </3 I'll throw a couple of more interesting ones here and if theres a specific piece you wanna see the comparison of feel free to lemme know and I can see if i have the sketch file for that to share :]

#art help #lizard inbox #sorry if the format of this post gets fucked on mobile it seems like they r small enough i dont need a read more but who knows with tumblr

[lucky-clover-gazette]

thinking about how bodily autonomy is a really consistent motif in the zelda games... the amount of times link is forced into alternate forms or zelda is possessed/transformed/literally removed from her body is really interesting. off the top of my head we have wolf link, link's forms in majora's mask, link's forced aging in oot and revelation that he isn't kokiri, link doing a sort of tactical drag in botw, zelda being sheik, zelda being possessed in twilight princess, zelda preserving herself in time as the goddess in skyward sword, midna being cursed as an imp, batreaux, and the skulltula people in oot. there's also so much cross-dressing (i know that term might have a negative connotation but i don't think it should in this context) and gender nonconformity. bodies are constantly changed as a reflection of a character's arc and actions, and often a character regaining control of their own body is a resolution to their arc.

but i feel like the more you think about it, the messier it gets, both in good and bad ways. for example, i think there's a reason lots of trans, gnc, and queer people connect to zelda games because of the many ways gender and transformation are weaved into the stories. that's great. but i also think there are some huge failings on nintendo's part in terms of representation and transformation of bodies, mostly in their characters of color and lack thereof. like, tetra. just tetra. and that's not even mentioning the way they gave me the ick re: her forced gender presentation as zelda. also some designs like the gerudo esp in the earlier 3d games and holy shit the bokoblins and gorons in twilight princess (seriously they're bad) are obviously informed by racial stereotypes. and it's extra super not great bc there are not many hylian/human characters who have dark skin, or even tan skin. it sucks. it's just a shame that these fantastic games, some of which are 20+ years old, experiment with gender presentation in such a fascinating way (hell, even link was designed so that everyone could see a bit of their gender in him) but very little attention was placed on representing non-white players. in fact, some of the use of racial stereotypes and exaggerated features is just more alienating and dehumanizing, hence the not-good side of zelda's focus on bodies. holy shit, i say again, why did they do that with tetra! i mean i know why they made her white as zelda (racism) but they sidelined her in a way that seems uncharacteristic compared to sheik in oot!

just, so many choices were made in the zelda games re: bodies and some are fantastic and inspiring and some are huge disappointments. not to be blunt, but nintendo should absolutely be putting dark-skinned Black characters into their games. tetra and the gerudo are fairly light-skinned and lack many features (hair textures for example) that a large amount of poc have. it would just be nice if in future games the scale tipped from some great stuff and some bad stuff to mostly great stuff, bc the series has so much potential for future stories about bodily autonomy and the world(s) are not bound to any real-world or historical structures. they could do whatever they want and make it work, and should seek to improve! it would only contribute to the already sophisticated and nuanced themes consistent in the series.

#loz #legend of zelda #the legend of zelda #ocarina of time #majora's mask #wind waker #twilight princess #skyward sword #botw #breat of the wild #link loz #link #zelda #tetra #tetra loz #nintendo #also im sorry i tried to add a read more but mobile didn't let me

[star-quill]

Hey! I absolutely adore your writing! I would love your take on Peter Quill x nurse!reader. Like, she's a home health aide who takes care of his grandpa and they meet when he comes back. I'd love some nsfw, but only if you want. ;)

omg this is so!!!!

he'd be totally sweet at first, when he met you after he came back. asking about u and when u starting helping his grandfather. u weren't totally sure if u were really needed anymore since he was back but he absolutely insisted u stay.

u showed him a few things he could help with whenever u weren't around and he was listening intently to everything u had to say, trying to memorise it all and not wanting to mess anything up.

however there was one night u had to stay overnight and he insisted u sleep in his bed while he took the couch. u were never going to win the argument so u gave in, grabbing a blanket from the cupboard nearby while he went to fetch some pillows for u.

however he didn't tell u that, u just assumed he was going to bed so u removed ur shirt, ur pants following suit before he walked in.

"hey so i got u some pill—oh shit, shit sorry.."

"oh my god!" u grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around urself, his hand covering his eyes as he dropped the pillows on the couch.

"sorry, i didn't know u were changing.."

"it's ok.. i didn't know u'd be back so soon.."

"i should've said.."

he awkwardly left after that, leaving u to grab ur spare shirt that u keep in ur bag just incase of an overnight stay. it took u a while to get to sleep admittedly, knowing peter's seen u in ur underwear. but then again, it's really only fair since u've seen him mow the lawn outside in just his shorts. you've been trying to fall asleep for thirty minutes now and ur sure that thirty of those minutes were spent thinking about peter. then u realised, all ur thoughts are really about peter. before long, u found urself pushing ur hand down ur pants, trying to give urself a release. peter was the only thing on ur mind, images of his back muscles flexing and his chest heaving with sweat were flashing through ur mind.

u had to turn ur head towards the pillow, muffling ur moans and whimpers as u brought urself closer to ur release.

"peter.." u breathed out as u came on ur fingers, legs slightly trembling. unbeknownst to u, peter was in his bed, thinking about u. he hasn't been able to stop thinking about u since the first day he came back and saw u. he thinks ur so pretty, but he'd never admit it to u. he tosses and turns for a few moments before sleep hit him and he passes out for the night.

he wakes up the next morning, later than usual and stumbles into the kitchen. his eyes haven't fully adjusted to the light and so he doesn't see u standing there and bumps into u.

"oh.. shit, sorry.."

"hey, hey.. u ok?"

"yeah.. still half asleep."

u just smile, holding his arms as he rubs his face, trying to wake himself up. he yawned as well, turning away from u to go to the fridge.

"i'm uh.. i'm heading out, need to pick up a few things but i'll be back later.."

"ok.. look, i'm still really sorry about last night.."

"it's alright.."

u and him both know it wasn't. u could cut the tension in the air with a fucking spoon.

"i.. it's just.. i-i think.. i don't know.."

u'd never seen him be this awkward over anything. u stood next to him, looking up at him as his eyes averted ur gaze.

"i.. i think i like u.. no, fuck, no.. i know i do.."

"oh.. uhm.. oh.."

u grabbed his face and kissed him then, his hands immediately finding ur waist and pulling u into him. now he'd confessed his feelings to u, u felt it was only right u did the same. however, u left out the part about how u touched urself thinking of him. that was for another day. right now, u just wanted to focus on him and the way he was kissing ur neck.

"couldn't stop thinking about u last night.. wanted to kiss u then as well.."

"mmhm?"

"mmhm.. u looked so pretty.."

u blushed, feeling him tug on ur waist to lift u up and set u down on the kitchen counter. he stood between ur legs and continued to leave a trail of kisses down ur neck and collarbone area.

"u just.. u tell me at any point u don't want me to continue.. ok?"

"o-ok.."

he kissed u once again, one of his hands running up and down ur thigh while the other was planted on the counter beside u. then all of a sudden he pulled away from u, leaving u slightly breathless. u were blushing pink, ur lips slightly swollen from the kiss, little marks littered ur neck.

"i uhh.. won't keep u from ur errands.."

oh he was a fucking tease, the smirk on his face said it all.

"asshole."

he knew u didn't mean it, and he just laughed, pressing a kiss to ur cheek.

"i'll finish this when u get back.. but we can't let my grandpa find out.. think it'd give him a heart attack.."

"ok.. ok.. i will finish these errands in record time.."

u hopped off the counter, quickly kissing his cheek this time. he gently slapped ur ass as u walked away and winked when u turned back to him. u blushed even more as u quickly grabbed ur back and headed out.

u weren't lying when u said u finished ur errands in record time, coming back to peter sitting watching tv in the living room. u glanced around the room and noticed nobody else.

"he's having a nap.. we're good.."

u shrugged ur jacket off and moved immediately to sit on his lap, ur lips already on his while his hands were on the small of ur back. instinctively, u grinded down on him, rocking back and forth, feeling his hands grip ur waist even tighter.

"fuck.."

u reached down between u two to undo his jean zipper, attempting to push the item of clothing off him. he bucked his hips up and let his jeans pool around his knees. u were still in ur uniform so u had to step off him and take the bottom half off, and he was so enamoured with u as he watched u. his boxers came off next, and to no surprise, he was already hard. u wasted no time in sinking down onto him, feeling him fill u all the way up.

"oh.. oh.."

"u can take it baby, c'mon.."

"mmf.." u slumped down, wrapping ur arms around his neck and burying ur head in the crook of his shoulder. his hands were on ur waist again as he moved u around, rocking u back and forth as well as bouncing u every so often, making sure u felt everything inside u. he would whisper so much praise into ur ear, making sure to go slow with u, absolutely wrecking u into next week.

he finally let u come, feeling u tremble and shake against him as he pulled out just in time, his own release hitting his stomach. he sighed out, feeling u kiss his neck as u released urself from his shoulder.

"u ok?"

"y-yeah.. feel so good.."

"good.. let's get u showered up, yeah?"

"ok.."

u let him carry u to the shower, washing u up and rinsing u off. he kissed u softly once u were out and wrapped in a warm towel.

"oh and this is definitely not just a one time thing.. i really like u.."

"mmhm, i know.. i like u too.."

#this is sorta long and i mobile post so idk how to add a read more sorry #but i finally finished this!!!! been in my drafts bc i didn't know where to take it #hope u like it!!!!! #peter quill #peter quill smut #peter quill fluff #peter quill x reader #peter quill drabble #guardians of the galaxy #gotg #✎ peter quill #answered #everybody-hates-mills

[popsartattic]

drew some pokemon variations for Hatenna. Every pokemon that can breed with Hatenna is represented here.

Little blurbs on each variation under the readmore.

Standard: One might think that being an all-female species would make standard Hatenna the rarest variant of all, but that's a common misconception. The majority of Hatenna are born standard, regardless of the species of the father. While any pairing aside from Ditto can result in a variant form of Hatenna, this is exceedingly rare, and actively breeding for variants often involves breeding Hatenna with the desired species for multiple generations, though the process can be sped up if one already has a variant Hatenna to start with, as their offspring are far more likely to be of the same variant.

Curly: While highly sought after for its cuteness and relatively friendly and outgoing disposition when compared to a standard Hatenna, they are very hard to come by due to the rarity of Clefairy and the difficulty in breeding the variant. It is prized for more than just its looks, as Curly Hatenna are often born with a secondary Fairy typing, rather than only gaining one upon evolution to Hatterene. The tip of its hat glows faintly under moonlight.

Lullaby: It sings to calm itself, and has the unique ability to learn the move Sing, unlike other members of its species. Because of this, once it evolves it's a lot easier to deal with than most Hattrem, as when it senses strong emotions, it's more likely to quiet the emotions by putting the offending party to sleep rather than responding with violence.

Sparky: Fans of Pikachu love the look of this variation. Rarely, a Sparky Hatenna will be born with a secondary Electric typing. When this happens, 50% of the time it will keep this typing even as a Hatterene and never gain the Fairy type. The other 50% lose the Electric typing upon their final evolution.

Charged: Hatenna bred from Plusle or Minun tend to be very excitable and love to cheer on their friends. They do however, have a tendency to get shocked or disoriented when the feeler atop their hat picks up their own strong emotions. This variant has a chance to be born with the Plus or Minus ability in addition to the usual possibilities.

Confetti: While it has the same ability to sense strong emotions that standard Hatenna do, Confetti Hatenna are usually only bothered by the presence of strong emotions if they are negative ones. This variant stays calm in the presence of positive emotions. It is thought they are drawn to happiness similar to the way their Togetic parent is.

Masked: Some people find this variant's face to be a little creepy, but there are others who enjoy its enigmatic vibe. These Hatenna give off different fragrances similar to their Spritzee or Aromatisse parent, though this fragrance is pleasant only when the people around it are calm. If agitated by the presence of strong emotions, the smell also becomes stronger, to the point that many people cannot handle it. Masked Hatenna are sometimes, but not always, born with a secondary Fairy typing rather than only gaining one upon evolution to Hatterene.

Poodle: This variant is often valued as a pet due to its fluffiness and goofy look. They are, however, just as skittish as a standard Hatenna and as such often require special care. Poodle Hatenna are always born with a secondary Fairy typing rather than only gaining one upon evolution to Hatterene.

Barettes: While all Hatenna are born female, about 50% of this variant come out of the egg with a look that evokes a male Indeedee more than a female one. No one knows why this is, as both forms of this variation are otherwise the same. They are similar in temperament to a standard Hatenna, though with a slightly higher tolerance for emotions.

Buoyant: These Hatenna love the water, and their 'hair' contains sacs filled with oil that help them float, similar to a Marill's tail. Buoyant Hatenna are always born with a secondary typing - 50% of the time, that typing is Water, and the other 50% of the time they simply have their secondary Fairy type from birth rather than gaining it upon evolution to Hatterene.

Braids: This variant is highly sought after for its unmatched cuteness, and is popular in contest circuits throughout the world. So popular, in fact, that it is more commonly seen in regions where Hatenna cannot be found in the wild than it is in its own native regions.

Fringed: Despite its relatively gruff appearance, this is one of the friendliest known Hatenna variants and for that reason it is quite popular as a pet.

Cloudy: In addition to its ability to sense emotions, it can also sense minute changes in the air around it, allowing it to predict the weather. This, unfortunately, means this variant gets overstimulated very easily and because of this is uniquely prone to anxiety issues.

Bowlcut: These Hatenna are of a fairly mild disposition and prefer to live in damp places. Rarely, Hatenna of this variant may be born with a secondary Grass typing. Bowlcut Hatenna with a Grass typing have the ability to release toxic spores from their hat, which they will do in response to strong emotions.

Luna: A popular variant highly sought after for its fancy appearance and the moon-shaped tip of its "hat". It has additional sensory organs at the tips of its 'hair' and can sense emotions much more strongly than a standard Hatenna. It is prone to panic if not kept in a completely calm environment.

Fanged: Due to the mutation of its 'hat', its ability to sense emotions is stunted. Because of this, it tends to be far calmer than a standard Hatenna and is only disturbed by the strongest of emotions. It makes full use of its fanged maw "hat" in battle to great effect, and as such is popular among professional Pokemon trainers.

Thorny: Many are enamored of the thorn-like appearance of its 'hair' and 'hat'. However, as the sides of the 'hair' are curled upwards and it cannot use them to balance itself, this variation tends to be a bit wobbly at times. Thorny Hatenna are sometimes born with a secondary Poison typing. The 'thorns' of the Poison type ones secrete a toxic substance.

Swaddled: Rather than fleeing when it senses strong emotions, these Hatenna tend to swaddle themselves up with their 'hair'. The stronger the emotion, the deeper they retreat into themselves.

Cheery: These Hatenna are possessed of a bright and outgoing disposition, and, similarly to Hatenna of the Charged variant, Cheery Hatenna will often surprise themselves with their own emotions. They will spin around looking for the source of the sudden spike of joy and make themselves dizzy. Some trainers find this behavior endearing.

Leafy: This variation's coloration becomes more vibrant the more time it spends in the sun. Whether the pastel coloration or the saturated one looks better is the subject of heated debate among enthusiasts. Leafy Hatenna are always born with a secondary Grass typing, though they lose it upon their final evolution into Hatterene.

Cottonball: These Hatenna are typically lighter than a standard Hatenna, in extreme cases even being light enough to float. They are popular for their fluffy appearance. Like Bowlcut Hatenna, Cottonball Hatenna are sometimes born with a secondary Grass typing.

Livewire: Similar to the Sparky variation, these Hatenna are sometimes born with a secondary electric typing. And if they are, then watch out! The Electric ones can zap people with the tips of their hair! Some people believe that the sensor atop its head can pick up radio stations in addition to emotions, but so far no one has found any proof of this.

Shaggy: These Hatenna often cannot fully support their weight on their spindly little feet and as such often support their weight with the tips of their 'hair', a behavior that, in most variations, manifests only upon evolution into Hattrem. Shaggy Hatenna have their secondary Fairy typing from birth, rather than only gaining it upon evolution to Hatterene.

Helmed: This variation's 'hair' is unusually hard and sturdy, and protects the Pokemon almost like a helmet. The spots on their hats are actually retractible spikes, though due to the inconvenient location they don't really have much use. Helmed Hatenna are sometimes born with a secondary Steel-typing.

Prankster: These Hatenna actually seem to like the strong emotions they sense - but only if those emotions are negative ones. While they may run away like a standard Hatenna when faced with positive emotions, they are just as likely to take action to make those positive emotions into negative ones, typically by playing mean pranks. This variant can be very hard to handle and is recommended for experienced trainers only.

Peckish: This variant behaves very similarly to a standard Hatenna, with one exception: It has a much faster metabolism and as such has to eat a lot more. It becomes upset if it does not have a lot to eat and will even brave high-emotion places if it is searching for food.

#popfly's art #digital art #pokemon #pokemon variations #fanart #hatenna #it has come to my attention that the read more isn’t showing up on mobile and the full post is displaying instead and I am sorry #at least not on MY mobile

[astragatwo]

missyouran ❤

(Static images UTC)

#project moon #limbus company #my art #lcb spoilers #<- spoiler tag jic #i have commissions to do but pm's women have my priority #sorry for the absolutely abysmal quality esp on mobile #and ezgif doesn't like transparency so the star's kinda jank unfortunately #anyways. enough of that man i love women #edit: added some static images under a read more bc ouch that compression hurts #lcb ran #fanart

[hawkinsp0st]

in my head this is mike’s realization scene:

joyce and hop are engaged. it’s byers-hopper moving day, and the wheelers are helping them transfer everything from hop’s cabin and the byers’ moving van to the blended family’s new, more size-accommodating house in hawkins.

in the commotion, with everyone else on their way to bring a load to the new house, mike is able to get a private moment with el, sitting on her bed in the cabin.

the breakup is amicable. she leans her head on his shoulder and says, “thank you for saving my life in the woods, and bringing me to my new family.” she pauses. “and especially for not lying. about your feelings for me.”

mike gives a soft smile. “friends don’t lie.” he thinks for a moment. “so, friends?” he sticks his hand out playfully for a handshake, and el laughs, extending her hand, shaking his and then pulling him in for a hug. she smiles. “friends.”

they pull away from the hug and mike moves to stand up from her bed, so he can head out and give el some space, and go meet the others. but first, he remembers something, and sits back down.

“oh, el!” she looks at him, surprised at the urgency in his voice. “el, i totally forgot. thank you so much. for the painting.”

“the… painting?”

“yeah, the one, you know, that will painted. from you, for me. the one where you told him… what to draw? he gave it to me when we went to get you from NINA.”

“mike... i don’t understand. will was very secretive about his painting. he never told me what was on the painting or who it was for.”

“so you didn’t—never said anything about… me being the heart of the group?”

el shakes her head no, equally confused.

mike looks down at his shoes. there’s no way el could be lying, he thinks. she’s probably the most sincere person on the planet.

el senses how perplexed he is by her answer and elaborates. “remember, in my last letter to you? i told you that he was painting something and was keeping it private.” she took a breath. “i thought he was painting it for someone he…”

mike doesn’t hear the rest of her words because something has shifted and his ears are ringing and now it’s a perfect game of tetris inside him, mismatched pieces that were once clunking inside his chest now sliding together perfectly and releasing the immense pressure he’d no idea had been building.

everything falls into place perfectly and paints a picture that isn’t, can’t possibly be, real.

“el… i don’t…” mike swallows. “he told me that you asked him to paint it.”

el simply shakes her head and continues to let mike process verbally.

“i think he lied to me.”

“i’m sorry to hear that,” el frowns, heartfelt.

“it just doesn’t make sense. he draws me things all the time… or, he used to, before you guys moved to lenora. why wouldn’t he just tell me the painting is from—“

realization hits mike in the fucking throat.

i think there is someone he likes.

these past few months, she’s been so lost without you.

you make her feel like she’s not a mistake at all… like she’s better for being different.

so yeah, el needs you, mike. and she always will.

mike feels tears begin to prick at the corners of his eyes.

“he lied to me.” his breath is starting to come in sharply, like his body is struggling to adjust to the new homeostasis created by this information.

el looks out the window, thinking. she looks back at mike and shrugs. “that’s strange. will is a good friend. and friends don’t lie.”

mike sighs, trying to take deep breaths and not show el how distraught he is, his brain still catching up with what his heart, pounding violently against his ribcage, has already pieced together.

but el is perceptive as ever. “mike?”

he looks at el. she blinks at him, like she’s unsure if what she’s about to say will help at all, but she still wants to try.

el continues. “friends don’t lie. but max told me…”

mike is confused at what max has to do with this. “huh?”

“max told me that boyfriends do.”

mike’s eyes widen and an invisible force within him pulls him into a standing position.

“fuck,” he breathes.

“fuck?”

“fuck. fuck.” he turns toward el. “el, i’m sorry, i have to…”

“go to him. tell him i’ll be there in a few minutes with the last of my things.” she smiles, knowing.

mike storms out the door and toward his bike. it’s pouring rain but it couldn’t possibly matter less. he has to get to will right. fucking. now.

part two

#anyways #sorry this is so long i’m on mobile and couldn’t do a read more #mike wheeler i know what you are #byler fanfic #byler ficlet #byler #duffers

[mymreaderlibrary]

Male reader / Natasha Romanoff drabble

(Note: this focuses on stuff around pregnancy and infertility)

If you asked the average person if Natasha Romanoff wanted to be a mom you’d get a solid no. She’s a busy woman, one of the most revered assassins working for a group of world saving heroes, she doesn’t have time for kids. She’s got jobs to finish, people to kill, people to save, and having some bawling toddler would only ruin that.

Besides, Natasha never seemed all that interested in children. While some may become completely enamored by a newborn’s squishy face and joyful squeals, she always managed to simply smile and carry on. She wasn’t immune to giving them a good tickle, but most people aren’t and her motions always seemed drained. It was as if she was losing energy by just seeing a child.

So the consensus was pretty easy to come to, both her life and personal interests showed no signs of settling down. But if you asked those close to her, more specifically Clint, you’d get a far different response. Natasha adored being an aunt to Clint’s kids. Watching them grow and become tiny people with big personalities struck a warmth and desire within her. A desire she could never fulfill.

The Red Room took many things from her, but one that haunted her in particular was her hysterectomy. Originally she felt neither which way about it, but after joining SHIELD and meeting Clint’s family it struck her just how permanent the surgery really was. For a while a sense of bitterness would waft over her, anger, frustration, sadness not necessarily for the loss of her uterus but instead for the loss of her bodily autonomy. It was necessary she told herself it’s not like I had a choice. Still some odd part of her took the blame and the thought that she could never have a family to call her own hurt.

However life finds a way.

She met a man who came to adore her. Beyond just her face and body (though you couldn’t lie to yourself and say she wasn’t exceedingly physically attractive), beyond her job as an assassin, beyond her involvement with the Avengers, she found someone who just liked her. And well… as the months to years passed that feeling welled up inside her.

Natasha had brought you to meet Clint, or well Clint wanted to meet you and gauge what you were doing with his best friend. He’s well aware Natasha can take care of herself it’s just that with friendship comes a defensiveness and he wanted her to be happy. Luckily it seemed you passed whatever silent test he was running on you.

The three of you chatted away by the coffee table, drinking wine as the sun went down. You had an arm slung around Nat’s shoulders as she leaned lightly into your side. She’d never been much for PDA but it was clear she felt safe here. The sound of giggling interrupted your chat as Laura came home with Cooper and Lila. Clint stood up to go greet them and as you watched him go something else caught your eye.

Natasha was smiling but… it was a bit strained. She seemed excited to see the kids but it was clear something was hurting her while watching them. You gave her a little squeeze on the shoulder in hopes of grounding her but it seemed to make her just brush things off faster.

Eventually Clint came back and the two of you gave your goodbyes as the Barton’s prepared for dinner. While you and Nat walked back to the car you couldn’t help but ask her what was wrong. It took a moment, but she decided to trust you. You deserved the know.

Kids or no kids you knew you loved Natasha and you met her in a tight embrace. She just leaned quietly against your shoulder but she felt lighter.

-

Surrogacy was the first idea tossed around. While she might not be able to have a kid you were still capable.

(If AMAB) finding a surrogate mother seemed daunting but Pepper let you know that she was down to help you guys out. There would be no way for Natasha to donate an egg so the genes wouldn’t be hers but that wasn’t all too important. If you followed through with this Natasha would be overly grateful to Pepper and making sure to check in on her constantly.

Do you snacks? Want ice cream? Do your feet hurt? How’s the baby doing? Is everything okay?

Pepper ends up complaining more about Natasha taking up the role as HER mom than her own pregnancy symptoms. Still, no one can really blame Nat for her antsy-ness and Pepper far from hates getting attention, especially from a friend. With each passing day you both couldn’t help but get more and more excited to meet your baby. Though she didn’t say it out loud, Natasha was relieved to be allowed in the room during labor.

(If AFAB) it occurred to you while Natasha had no uterus, you did. However this wasn’t a decision that could be made lightly as the process would include stopping your T for almost a full year as well as the risk of complications. Nat didn’t want to put you through all of that especially if it would strike up dysphoria or distress.

if you decided to follow this route you two would just need to find a sperm donor. No offense to the men in her life but Natasha didn’t feel like asking them for DNA so instead you two chose anonymous. It was kinda bizarre watching and feeling the baby grow, but Nat was ready to mother hen you at every turn. She did her best to buy all the odd snacks you wanted, get you some baggy clothes which didn’t pinch your waist, and let you have rest, lots of rest. She had a habit of rubbing your bump and you watched the silent thrill in her eyes when the baby gave a kick to her hand.

The main downside was that the baby now took the place of Nat’s own spot during bed time. She loved holding you close and feeling your heart beat against hers but now there was a living road block in the way. She joked about having a rivalry with the baby for your attention, something she knew would be a bit more real once the baby was born. Still, she was happy and so were you.

(AMAB AND OR AFAB) if neither of the previous options worked there was always adoption. Neither of you were sure if you wanted a baby, a kid, or a teen so you decided to just see who were available and decide then. It felt a little odd wading through the papers and picking which child you would take in. It felt almost a lil disconnected from the reality of what you were doing.

So many different children seemed like a great match but one in particular caught Nat’s eye. A girl, no older than 7 with no known family members. She was a trouble maker, combative, rough around the edges, and struck a sense of nostalgia within Natasha. She couldn’t help but think of her own fake family back in Ohio as she looked at the girl. She was perfect.

It took a while for the girl to get used to your home and her rowdy nature didn’t just stop because she was adopted. However Nat expected as much, being torn from one home to the next was not an easy process. Eventually the girl slowly got accustomed in her own silent ways.

She may not call you mom and dad but her affection was a lot higher. She laughed more and made some friends at school. You and Nat got to watch as the world seemed to ease up on the girl’s shoulders. Looking at Nat’s tender smile made you think about how you wouldn’t have life any other way.

#my writing #male reader #x male reader #amab male reader #afab male reader #drabble #more overly sappy and super messy writing from me jshfhdbfjdhf #im a sucker for fluff okay? #natasha romanoff #natasha romanoff x male reader #cw pregnancy #cw my inability to write characters accurately LMAO #no beta read #i just think natasha deserves to be happy and at peace okay? (is ignoring canon) #long post #sorry I don’t know how to do the read more thing on mobile #mw

[eldritch-thrumming]

i made this silly little post and then just did the thing myself :)

“I would say that Steve is… relatively smart. For a human.”

“Hey!” comes an irritated yell from the other room.

Robin turns to face the doorway, turning away from the camera. “Zip it, human! I’m doing my interviews. I have important things to say. People are very interested.” She turns back toward the camera again, a smile plastered to her face. “Now, what was I saying? Oh right, Steve. He’s… passably intelligent. I mean, he’s no Einstein, that’s for sure. That guy could party.” She laughs.

“Okay, and how long has Steve, uh, been with you guys?” Dustin asks from behind the camera.

“Um, maybe a year, I think?”

“I’ve been Eddie’s familiar for ten years,” Steve grumbles as he comes into the room with a cup of tea, which he holds out for Robin to take. He turns to Dustin and the camera. “It’s really just a matter of time before he turns me.” He rocks back on his heels. “He said literally any day now.”

Robin smiles placidly, nodding at him until he leaves the room.

“Between you and me,” she stage whispers to Dustin, “Eddie is never turning him.”

“Could you explain what a familiar is?” Dustin asks.

“Well… usually a familiar takes care of you, you know, does the cleaning, shopping, finds you victims.”

“Victims?” Will, another one of the producers, asks. He looks a little anxiously toward Lucas, the camera guy, who does his best to ignore it.

“Yeah, like. Food. You know.” Robin takes a sip from her teacup, waving her free hand in some vague gesture. “Nancy and I are partial to virgins.”

“Uh, right. Better watch out, Dustin,” Lucas laughs a little nervously, nudging Dustin with his elbow.

Dustin scowls, but before he can respond, Robin says, “Don’t worry. Nancy’s forbidden us from eating any of you.” She smiles again, like that’s supposed to make them feel any better.

~*~

“Okay, Steve, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?” Dustin asks Steve, who’s fidgeting on the couch.

Steve pulls at his collar as he answers. “Uh, sure. I used to be a kindergarten teacher. I actually really loved it? But then I met Eddie at a bar. Thought he was, uh, pulling my leg, you know, about the whole…” Steve rubs his palms on his thighs. “Vampire thing? Is that what we’re calling it?”

“Yeah, being a vampire. Sure,” Dustin responds.

“Right. Thought he was joking. Thought it was a line, you know. So I… this is kind of embarrassing.” Steve scratches at his cheek. “Well, I went home with him, y’know. You’ve seen him.” He laughs a little nervously. “Anyway, I found out that he actually was not lying, much to my… absolute horror really.”

“And… what made you stay?” Will asks.

“I dunno,” Steve shrugs his shoulders, eyes darting to the side of the camera, like he doesn’t really want to answer the question. “It’s an interesting prospect, isn’t it? Living forever? Being immortal?” He shrugs again.

“So,” Dustin starts, drawing out the ‘o’ sound. “Are you guys, like… more than friends?” Lucas visibly cringes at the phrasing.

Steve laughs, bright and surprised. “Uh, no. No. Just, uh. I’m just his familiar.”

“But you’ve been here ten years?“ The way the question comes out of Will’s mouth makes it sound like he hadn’t really meant to ask it. Dustin cuts him a look, scowling again.

“Yeah,” Steve sighs, looking down at his lap. “Yeah, I have.”

~*~

“Tell us about how you became a vampire,” Dustin says.

Eddie, who’s sitting on the couch in front of the camera, scratches at his neck, just under the collar of his shirt. “Hmm. I was turned in the 80s. Can’t really remember most of it. Was at some concert and some guy offered me some coke or something in the back of his van. Next thing I knew, I was waking up in a field feeling like shit. Thought I’d had a bad trip.” Eddie laughs.

“And have you ever turned anyone?” Will asks.

“No,” Eddie tells them, frowning slightly. “Don’t think I’d even know how.”

“But—“ Will starts, but Lucas digs his elbow into his ribs, cutting off his question.

“What about Steve?” Dustin asks instead.

“What about him?”

“He said he’s been with you ten years. That you’ve promised to turn him any day now.”

Eddie smiles, boyish and sweet. “Well. I say a lot of things. And look at him. Who’d give that up?”

Will and Dustin look at each other. “What do you mean?” It’s Lucas who asks this time.

“A pretty little human who does anything I say based on the abstract promise that I might one day make him a vampire?” Eddie grins.

Next to Dustin, Will lets out a long exhale.

#I tried to put a read more on this on mobile but I’m still so confused I’m really sorry!!!! i really tried but it didn’t work in my drafts #I’m sorry :( :( :( I will try again next time I know this sucks I’m scared to post bc I can’t do dumb basic shit on this stupid fucking app #bc I’m so fuckin dumb I’m sorry #steddie #steddie fic #eddie munson #steve harrington #steddie fanfiction #steddie fanfic #steddie ficlet #steddie blurb #what we do in the shadows Steddie au lolololol #i didn’t know what else to say so it ends at the most awkward place ever but will wants Justice for Steve looololl #I’m not really funny enough to pull off this au but I tried lol #wwdits steddie au

[unicyclehippo]

Hey, if you still want imodna prompts, raise and/or arise? Love your work (especially he most recent ones)!

forgive me, brain broken, im just gonna do a couple real quick things as fast as i can

//

‘do you think we should talk to her about it?’

orym, of course. ever cautious, ever sensible. it’s not a word she used to think synonymous with kind but it is now. it’s sensible to make sure everyone is safe and warm. it’s sensible to protect your friends with your body, if you’re faster, tougher. it’s sensible to make sure they are alright. imogen doesn’t think these things have much to do with sense but orym does; his mind is built so thoroughly on duty and care that kindness is as sensible to him as making sure his sandals are nice and snug.

‘about what?’

‘what she went through. what we went through to get her. literally. imogen, we went through her mind. or her memories, maybe? and—‘ he sighs. ‘i knew most of it already and she told me some, but i don’t think she’d told the others much about it. about what happened to her. she’s private. as - as eye-catching as she is,’ he says with a curl of a grin, ‘she’s private about things that hurt.’

‘i know that.’ imogen doesn’t mean for it to come out sharp but it does. the words have a heat to them because of course she knows. orym has travelled with laudna for all of a month; she’s been with her for two years. of course she knows. tempering her tone, imogen says, ‘i know. but she hasn’t brought it up and i get the impression she wants to forget about it. and unless she tells me otherwise, i’m gonna follow her lead. about all of this.’

orym frowns but nods. ‘i won’t bring it up.’ he adds, with a stubborn set to his chin and thoughts, ‘i still think you should.’

‘orym-‘

‘when it comes to laudna, you’re different. she’ll talk to you,’ he insists.

‘it has to be her choice.’

‘then give her that choice.‘ he takes a breath. braces himself. ‘now isn’t the time to be a coward, imogen temult.’

for a second after he says that, all she can hear is the roll and crash of thunder in her ears; when it dies down, when she lets her breath out nice and slow, she realises it was her own angry pulse and lets it fade and fade, opens her hands out of the fists they’ve formed at her sides. she turns on her heel and storms away. it’s tempting to glare at him but from the way her eyes feel hot and dry, they might have been without a halfling if she had. better to walk away.

she goes to laudna. of course she does. orym’s question, suggestion, prodding aside, imogen is always wanting to go to laudna. it’s been three days and she’s mostly recovered—physically, at least—but laudna seems to be dealing with it far better than imogen.

each morning, grief loops around her neck, her throat, and only eases up its strangling hold when imogen lays her eyes and hands on laudna. each moment of the day, she’s looking for her. she wants to slip into whatever space delilah hollowed out in laudna’s mind and fill it, leave a portion of her mind tucked away inside of laudna’s, always. it’s sick and wrong and awful. and yet, imogen wants it so badly. feels the want physically, nearly drooling with it, tongue to teeth, hands clenching tight to her skirt to keep from reaching out and taking.

there had been a moment, the day after laudna was raised, when they had been alone and imogen had woken to a cold, still body. terror dropped her walls and she had plunged into laudna’s mind. like diving off the cliffs into a cold lake. she wants to be there always, in the cold and dark and strange stagnant waters. wants to take laudna’s mind into her, open her mouth and drink it, fill her lungs with it. wants to know laudna inside and out—wants to take her apart, set her memories out, chronological, beside scarred skin and bones to look for fractures and breaks, beside organs, blood, gristle and guts, beside whatever form her magic would take. wants to know it all like these physical things might contain every secret every moment of laudna.

she had left laudna’s mind in an instant. hadn’t seen anything, hadn’t looked for anything. she wants to return, always. to her side, to her mind.

so she does.

‘hello!’ laudna smiles brightly when she enters the room. she’s perched on the edge of the bed, packing everything away neatly as she always does. ‘is it time to go?’

the walk has eased most of her fury. a few lavender sparks crackle at the ends of her fingers, in her curling hair. she wills it to stop, and smiles back.

‘no. take your time. i just—‘ she touches her head.

laudna coos, sympathetic. ‘too much?’

‘mm.’

‘sit, sit, let me get you some water.’

not all her irritation has left; it comes out, makes laudna’s name harsh when she goes to stop her from standing.

‘just—you don’t have to do that,’ imogen hurries to say. ‘i should be taking care of you, not the other way ‘round.’

laudna blinks big, black eyes. quietly, she says, ‘i just want you to be alright.’

‘i know.’ imogen steps deeper into the room, and then makes up her mind—damn orym—and crosses it entirely, sitting beside laudna on the bed. ‘it’s important that you rest, though.’

‘y-es, of course,’ laudna demurs, lowers her head.

imogen tucks a finger under it. lifts it, with a smile. ‘hey,’ she whispers. ‘please? let me take care of you?’

‘imogen-‘

‘please.’

‘of course i do, i will,’ she says, and fritters with her skirts, fingers crooked tangling when imogen only looks at her, pleading, waiting for her to mean it entirely. for as long as it might take. ‘such a rotten task, caring for someone like me,’ laudna whispers. ‘dead twice over.’

imogen shakes her head, a tight sharp movement. hardly enough to convey how much she disagrees with that. she’d like to explode everything around them to show the force of her denial.

‘no. no. it’s not, not to me. it’s -‘ she swallows. ‘everything. please, let me.’

laudna nods slowly. holds her hands out for imogen, who takes them. rubs sore knuckles. presses a kiss to those aching joints.

‘i’d like to talk to you about it. at some point. whenever you like. i want - to do it right. and i don’t know what that is. but i want—‘ she shakes her head again. ‘however you feel about it, i want to hear it and know. and help. i should’ve told you that when you - when you woke up. sorry,’ she adds, a little awkwardly.

it’s hard to talk, she finds, when she’s holding laudna and her heart both in her hands.

#tagging my stories #prompt fill #cr tag #imodna my beloveds #hm longer than I intended n sorry for no read more im writing this on mobile so

[preciouspiastri]

// the wolves - amy shark // outcast - kimberly heart // go home - julien baker // homecoming by logan sargeant

#idk if this ended up more emo than i wanted to be but there's something so special about logan to me so <3333 #have him in relation to the ocean and blue and wanting to go home and feeling like a bit of an outsider in f1 #this came to me last night before i went to sleep and i just needed to get it out of me lol #i literally cannot read the line he wrote about being home without tearing up KKQNEJKQBE #i hate this blond florida man (affectionate) #f1 #logan sargeant #login #also the wolves is so logan coded you don't understand!!!!!!!!!! #williams racing #the quality is Terrible on mobile and i'm sorry idk how to fix it #m #williams

[bonebrokebuddy]

Choked on my soul reading your wip thing booster gold being a Tiktok star I beg of you to elaborate

okokok. this is the lighthearted section of a fic concept that deals with the potential political impact and position Booster would have gained & lost as a result of him trying to get the most attention possible. But it backfires, causing him to lose most of his notoriety & alienating the fanbase he previously had. Thus landing him in the position where he is generally in the comics of desperately trying to regain the fame and status he once had & trying to make up for the lost money via so many fucking brand deals.

Because to me, that shit is fascinating and it would also be hilarious to see Booster as a "was been" famous influencer and highlighting his antics when he was in full popularity vs where he ended up after it all went down, would be very interesting. So if you want to know more about that side of this idea, please feel free to send in another ask about it!

--------

Do you think Booster Gold would be great or horrible at social media/TikTok? Because the guy is from the future. He most likely has a sense of humor that is very different from modern standards & knows about centuries of media and pop culture references that do not exist yet. He’s from the 25th century. That’s four centuries of time for humor, language, and entertainment to evolve.  But do you think Booster Gold would be great or terrible at social media/TikTok with his future sense of humor that’s riddled with slang, pop culture references, and idiots or sayings referencing events that have not happened yet?  Because I think he would make a fuck ton of trends & be very notable online. Mainly because he’d deliberately copy online viral hits that haven't happened yet and essentially is stealing ideas from people in the future. Because he’d absolutely do that to gain notoriety. And people would be fascinated with this weird dude online who simultaneously knows Jack And Shit about literally any modern media but somehow has the most advanced humor online. He’s constantly referring to things that don’t exist and his little robot behind him chirps up that “that film was made in the 23rd century, it hasn’t been made yet.” The younger generation would be fascinated by this superhero. I also bet the fucking merch line he would have would be either the blandest corporate thing ever made by a team he hired or he'd make it a gimmick of slapping a specific logo of his face on everything he owned to the point where it became a meme and people demanded merch of the shitty design. There would also be about a bajillion different plushie versions of Skeets though and I would totally buy all of them if I could.  And here's the thing. Humans Love to see other humans fumble through things that we perceive as common knowledge because it's charming and funny the way they mess up, misunderstand how something works, and are delighted when they finally get the hang of it or find out how it actually works. Sure, it's fun to watch someone who is really good at something. But I also think it's very fun to watch someone who has zero fucking clue what they are doing and are trying their best to find it out as they go.

There would absolutely be a compilation of all the times Booster was super excited after he found out that something very mundane existed: "Guys, I have wonderful news. I just found out that the Cavendish banana isn't extinct yet due to them being genetically selected to grow seedless so much that new plants could not be grown as there are no seeds and the existing plants got slowly being destroyed by a parasite! I forgot that they still were around in the early 21st century! So I'm going to try one for the first time!" Michael Jon Carter, aka Booster Gold, aka @/GoldstarNotBoosterGold then directly proceeded to bring the unpeeled banana up to his mouth and bite directly into it. 

He then proceeded to eat the entire banana in this fashion, his face visibly scrunching in distaste with every bite, very clearly not enjoying this endeavor. When he was done he looked off into the distance for a moment, compiling his next words, "Hm, honestly not bad. Kind of bland but I really wish the skin wasn't so tough. Makes sense that 21st-century fruits would be more of a hassle to eat. But overall, I'd give it a 5/10." Needless to say, the three-minute-long video became viral overnight and he became quickly well known online for saving people and being a hero, making bizarre TikToks with his sense of humor from the future, giving out free merch with a horribly compressed image of his face on it, and for trying out food, activities, media, video games, and etc. from the past and reviewing them.

And here’s the thing. Booster Gold is Not super subtle about wanting to be famous/get popular but like, that makes him actually more liked. At first this causes people to flood his comments and media with negative responses about how he’s “not a real hero” if he doesn’t do it out of the goodness of his heart via comparing him to figures like Superman and how he’s a fraud hero.

His response gets plastered all over every news site imaginable. (oh god now I'm imagining what YouTube apology videos would be like in the 25th century)

He responds very directly that “Yes. I am doing this for the fame and money.”

“Wouldn’t you?”

“It seems kind of weird to assume that nobody has an ulterior motive when being a hero. Some heroes help people out of the goodness of their heart but that’s an unrealistic standard to place on heroes. I’m constantly putting myself into danger and could die any mission. Is that not enough to prove that I’m a hero? Why do I also have to have this weird high moral standard that is super unreasonable?”

“Also, people seem to forget, this is my job.”

“I do not have another one. Making online content is how I get my money. I don’t get paid by the government or the Justice League. Just by what I earn from my videos and streams. Plus, everything is so outdated that the effort of adapting to what  a “normal” job in the 21st century is like would take forever. And yall seem to forget this a lot, but having a normal job would mean I would not be able to help anyone between 9-5. I need the flexibility that an online job like this gives me so I can help as many people as possible as I can without having to worry about being fired because I had to fix a time rift and had already used up all my sick days.”

“People criticize me for heavily promoting my merch and gaming the algorithm but people seem to not realize. Heroing is expensive. You think repairing technology from the future is easy with such outdated equipment?”

“Sourcing materials that don’t have synthetic equivalents yet is not cheap.”

“People don’t seem to understand how much money goes into maintaining equipment or the constant medical bills.”

“I have to promote it hard and keep my views up or else I won’t be able to help people anymore. I can’t help people if I can’t pay rent.”

“But hopefully I’ll be able to get enough money to make a company to have other’s take over the job for me so I can retire. That’s just how businesses work. “

“But, I will say that the 21st century has been so cool and it’s been so fun to been to be able to experience things I would have never been able to when I’m from and I wanted to share my experiences with other people even if they don’t really understand where I’m coming from. It’s been very nice to be able to get paid by people who like my videos and are entertained by me fumbling through what it’s like living in the 21st century. “

“But while I like helping people, is it really too much to ask to be paid for my job? This is not the first time I’ve expressed my reason to travel back in time to become a hero was to be able to start his own company and eventually retire. Is it not enough that I’m still a hero? I could just quit that and make making content my full time job? Did you ever think of that? I could just stop being a hero because I now can make rent. But I still put on the suit and help fight bad guys because I want to do good. I also don’t think it’s inhuman for me to want to be acknowledged that I did something good. People are selfish creatures. I deserve to want for people to acknowledge that I looked really cool after defeating a villain! I don’t think that’s too unreasonable.”

“Anyways, make sure to like, subscribe, and ring that bell!”

“My Twitter and Instagram is BoosterGold. Go follow me on Tiktok and Twitch at GoldstarNotBoosterGold. My second channel is BusterGold”

“And make sure to check out the new merch drop on Friday! You guys have been asking for a Skeets plushie and its almost here!”

“Booster Gold, signing off from the future!“

From then on after the video, he just amps it up and is super direct that he’s doing this as his job and for the sole purpose to make money & get more well known.

Like he’ll open up a tiktok or youtube video occasionally with “this is trending and you know me, I’m always ready to cash in on those views” and “I’m not usually a horror guy, but I’ve been seeing a lot of people play this game and you all think its fun to watch me shit my pants. But at least the ad revenue will let me buy a new pair”. 

It actually ends up having people like him more (there are definitely still some critics don’t get me wrong). But people see him as incredibly human. His obnoxious branding becomes a meme and just something to expect of Booster. But despite that, he’s genuinely a good guy and will drop everything if he sees someone in need. 

He’s much more relatable and human than the other god-like beings in the JL. He has videos of him talking about money struggles and rambling about how damn expensive it is to fix equipment that’s four centuries out of date and people relate and laugh at his frustration. 

Other videos about him contain him complaining about his medical bills (in the future the US has a Single-Payer healthcare system and the Medical Insurance industry is abolished. and the history books didn't accurately emphasize how much of a pain in the ass it was) and setting stream goals to pay off bills. He talks about things that people never heard heroes talk about before from their perspective:

- A stream where Booster cleans out the food in the fridge after being off-world for a month and now all his food has gone bad. 

- Booster asking for advice how to grocery shop because nearly all of the brands that make the snacks and foods he wants, haven’t been founded yet. And asking advice on what prices for food is normal because the difference in inflation   

- Booster asking questions about modern etiquette to his followers because those have definitely changed over 4 centuries.

- “Guys how the fuck do you navigate anything online? The layout of all of them is fucking awful! Has that law about standardizing format to cancel subscriptions not been made yet? Because it sure as hell seems like it!”

- A tweet of Booster in the hospital with about a bajillion things attached to him posing with a thumbs up with the caption “I might’ve broken all of my bones but at least they didn’t touch my handsome face”

- The first few times Booster mentions going to physical therapy or doing PT exercises his fanbase goes “Holy shit, I never realized superheroes would have to go to PT after getting injured.” Like, they saw heroes getting injured but it didn’t click in their heads that those injuries would have actual repercussions. To the viewers, it seemed like the heroes always bounced back. And they’re just now realizing that that’s not the case, there’s a lot going on behind the scenes

- “Dealing with Batman is Just as scary as you’d think. The guy gives me the creeps”   (Bruce has 100% worked with booster about spreading rumors about Batman to keep up his reputation so Anything that Michael says about him can only be about confirming rumors that support his reputation or pre-approved stories about Batman being intimidating even outside of fights. Booster does once say that there’s a betting pool in the JL if Bats is a vampire and Bruce was not happy that it wasn’t cleared with him before but it’s been easier to fight goons recently as they’ve been reaching for holy water rather than guns first. Bruce then decides to have Booster keep up these rumors as long as they are actually cleared with him so Bruce can have a firm control over the Batman vampire mythos.)

- “Does Batman go to PT? Pfft, I’ve seen the guy bounce back from every injury he’s ever had with inhuman speed. I swear, it’s like he gets a bullet wound or stabbed and is completely fine the next day!” 

- “Oh yeah, Superman is just as nice as everyone says he is! He overheard me talking to Flash once about how I couldn’t find a soldering iron fine enough to fix some of my more intricate gear and he said I can ask anytime if I needed him to use his laser vision to fix my stuff! He’s great.”

- Booster talking about fighting time monsters and being kinda sad that no one can actually see the amount of effort it takes to deal with those issues because if he’s done everything right, there should be no trace anything happened at all. 

But his streams can also reveal some of the more… undesirable parts of becoming a hero, namely the gruesome injures, trauma, and seeing friends get brutally injured:

And people realize this through Booster accidentally trauma dumping to his audience and them going “oh shit, I knew doing hero work isn’t easy but this guy needs a fucking therapist”: 

-  Briefly mentions how weird it was to hold in his guts in after getting injured really badly during a fight. 

- (warning there’s a description of a burnt corpse so skip this if you don’t like that): “The dishes have been piling up lately guys. I keep meaning to get to it but it’s just - you remember those burning apartments I had to sort though last week? The, uh, slightly grainy and squishy texture of the food under my fingers keeps reminding me of sorting through those houses and I just haven’t been able to get to it.” 

“ I was sorting through the debris, looking for potential causes of the fire. One of the walls was gone and you could see the metal pipes melted into a weird shape, it was kinda cool.”

“But uh, I went to shift what I thought was a burnt piece of furniture out of the way. And when I grabbed it, it like, gave away? sort of? I thought it was going to be burnt wood but the first few layers of the outside crumbled under my touch and flaked away, the non-burnt part way on the inside was still kinda squishy.”

“It, uh- it, turned out to be someone’s arm.”

“The firemen said the person must’ve been crushed under the falling wall and didn’t escape in time. And they just lied there, charred nearly to the bone.”

“The texture just reminds me of that happening and I haven’t been able to do dishes or eat anything with my hands in a while.”

“But anyways guys! I think I’m going to get Beetle to do them when he comes over tomorrow!” (The sudden whiplash of tone definitely gets viewers very concerned because that Cannot be healthy)

——

I also enjoy the concept that people mercilessly bully him online (but with no real ill intent, think Jerma’s fanbase type of bullying and memeing the shit out of the man)  

Ted Kord is absolutely a fan favorite. At first he was often visibly in the backgrounds of Michael’s videos all suited up. Then he was the supervisor and behind-the-camera context giver to Booster for the more stupid stunts he did for internet attention and answered questions Booster had about media he reacted to by filling in the meaning of what he was being shown. 

People Loved their dynamic and sure enough Booster capitalized the shit out of it by pulling Ted into his videos and having Blue Beetle be the voice of reason & the comedic contrast of “guy who knows how to do things” vs “guy who has no fucking clue what he’s doing. Their “High INT, High STR, Low WIS, Low CHA ” & “High CHA (with permanent disadvantage), High STR, Low WIS, & Low INT” relationship is much loved online. 

—

But at the same time, he could also accidentally be the cause of many technological breakthroughs in the 21st century because common knowledge to him would be so absolutely foreign to us as that’s centuries of advancement in the fields of technology, science, engineering, and math between current day and the 25th century. I’d like to imagine he corrects a physics equation with one made in the 23th century that was common knowledge for him, but not so much for the modern century physicist. And now he’s in the media focus for being a superhero influencer online who somehow caused a breakthrough in physics. With the intent of becoming a superhero with the sole purpose of gaining fame & money to eventually form a corporation based around himself to make a comfortable living.

#bones replies #bones writes #dc #booster gold #justice league #blue beetle #ted kord #booster gold and blue beetle are super good bros I love them so much #booster would absolutley gain a dedicated fanbase thats well known for putting the guys face on fucking everything #he would either get a jerma like fanbase or would get like 13 year old gamer nerds and there would be no inbetween #long post #i can’t figure out how to put ‘read more’ on mobile so sorry folks