#susan sees a kid who acts a lot like how SHE did as a kid b4 she learned how 2 blend in w a crowd+got ahold of all--

[tetsunabouquet]

Patterns I Notice In (Male) Reviewers of Childrens Media

You know, I've started to notice something.

I've been watching a lot of movie reviews lately, not limited to children's movies but still a lot of children's movies as obviously children's literature is my main focus as a writer.

Remember how in my post where I talked about how Ruby Gillman showed some of the wrongs in children's media today and I had a back and forth in the comment section with someone who pretty much slammed Ruby as bad but as we talked more and more they ended up being like, "It's just not my cup of tea," as I pointed out his/her core issues with the movie was just personal opinions?

These past months, I became a bit more familiar with reviewers who will just claim a movie is bad if it doesn't comes with profound philosophy and/or not their cup of tea and I actually noticed a pattern.

In regards to the people who use their real voices in YouTube videos or the authors listed in review articles, its mostly men who will downright claim a piece of fiction is terrible based on their opinion instead of wether the story is approaching subject matters in a harmful manner, etc. I barely see any women acting like 'I hated this movie, so should everyone else'.

An obvious example that comes to mind, is Monsters vs Aliens.

To me, it's not a masterpiece either and there were definitely a writing decision or two that was made poorly. However, I don't think it has earnt the label of bad or terrible whilst I've heard/seen multiple men call this movie as such.

On an entertainment level of value, does it entertain kids? Yes. As a kid I thought it was okay at its worst, good at its best moments.

Does it have a harmful message or premise? No.

Are the minor storybeats problematic or unrealistic? No. In fact, Derek breaking of their engagement not only mirrors insecure men threatened by more powerful women but it also mirrors some of the douchebags people who developped a terminal illness or disability have dated. Because of the many ship edits, I know not a lot of people actually know the story behind Arcade, the Eurovision hit by Duncan Laurence.

In ship edits, this song often gets used for tragic ships or doomed star crossed lovers, but it's actually about having wasted everything for a relationships that is not worth it and that is the key part of the song people always miss. You see, the story behind the song is this;

Duncan Laurance had a friend who was diagnosed with cancer and she had no chance for recovery. Her boyfriend, rather then being there for her in her final moments, broke up with her and she spent her final days, lovesick on her deathbed waiting for him to come back but he never did. Duncan wrote the song in her memory but also to be a cautionary tale for himself, to never become the idiot wasting their final moments on a asshole who left you to die with a broken heart!

Susan and Derek reminds me of that story, because men like Derek would have also left Susan if he found out she was terminally ill or got into an accident that left her disabled.

So the movie's storytelling isn't downright terrible by any means and the animation is also decent. But again, I've heard multiple men take a dump on this movie for being trash.

I'll admit my brain is too foggy to remember how well the other monsters were written but considering the main story rested on Susan's shoulders and that was told acceptable enough and they gave her the self-acceptance she needed, how well they are fleshed out isn't too much of a deciding factor wether its good, okay or bad when it comes to stories aimed at younger children.

How well characters outside of the protagonist are developped and how important that is to the overall story really depends on the age demographic as well as the kind of story at hand. The more characters a child is meant to empathize for and follow their direction during the story, the more difficult it is to grasp for the really young ones. Small kids prefer having one fleshed out protagonist with a weaker cast over every character having a deeply developped backstory. Flat side characters are a thing in children's media for a reason.

Shows have a somewhat unique position for their ability to flesh out the characters because they have way more time to tell the story so they can easily create a filler episode where a background character shines even if its meant for a way younger audience and it also has the option to have the characters grow and become semi-fleshed out alongside the viewer if the show gets popular enough for a long-run.

In the case of a slightly older kid demographic, this can lead to fully fleshed out masterpieces like ATLA, though not every kid show should be on their level for us not to bash the property. Brain dumb entertainment can still be a masterpiece in a kid's eyes and could lead to them becoming a long-time fan for nostalgic reasons.

What we should bash, are harmful kids shows like Cocomelon who's animation was literally proven to be too fast for a young kid's brain to follow hence the infamous Cocomelon zombie-kid and the Cocomelon tantrums became a thing, because their brain speed has adjusted to a speed faster then real life speed. Anyone who listened often to Nightcore and then went on to listen to the original version, likely encountered this effect with the original song suddenly sounding slower then you remember it- thats your brain speed having adjusted to the Nightcore version.

I couldn't believe my eyes when the far right recently turnt on Cocomelon because of there being some LGBT episode, when Cocomelon was already proven to mess up a kid's brain speed and in kids with brains that are still that lacking of development we don't know how much fucking with their brain speed will lead to in their development. I saw parents turning away from that show during the Pandemic for this very reason so I was flabbergasted so many parents on the far right still let their kids watch Cocomelon in the first place!

It's cheaply made harmful material and I was quite literally fuming with all the stupid parents saying 'God, I really have to keep in mind what type of content my kids consumne', like yeah no shit Sherlock! The fact your kids were still watching all of it after the many controversies, proved you never cared about the quality of media your kids consumne in the first place, don't pull that stupid Pikachu face! The fact LGBT content is the straw and not the actual harm this show does to children's brain development makes me want to punch someone in the face.

Can male reviewers please start targeting the actual bad children's movies and shows and not shit on movies who simply didn't managed to strike the gold of a masterpiece in storytelling and possibly animation? If someone were to force me between watching Dreamworks' Trolls franchise the entire day over and over again and just one hour of Cocomelon, I'd still pick Trolls in a heartbeat.

Because watching an okay is always more better then watching a movie/show that actually deserves the label terrible.

#tetsutalk #writing #critics #reviewers #a trend I noticed #monsters vs aliens #trolls #dreamworks trolls #cocomelon #that a story isn't a universaly regarded masterpiece doesn't make it bad #harmful content is actually bad #brain speed #actually look into the shows your kids watch #don't blame it on the LGBT #Cocomelon has always been a cancer #arcade #the origin of the song and how everyone misuses it

[squidproquoclarice]

Yeehawgust Day 12: Stubborn as a Mule

November 1877

Blackfish, Montana

There was a certain meticulousness to Hosea Matthews, as Bessie had long since discovered.  Silver tongued and charming as the day was long, but he liked things just so, planned to the last nicety. Quite helpful to a rogue and a confidence man, admittedly, who prepared for just about anything, compared to Dutch who liked to more or less come up with things in the moment.  Made them an effective team, she supposed.

The thing with Hosea was that when something got a notion to put a crick in that plan and throw it awry, it stoked his irritation readily enough.  

Such as the fourteen-year-old boy glowering at Hosea across the table, bucking in the traces at Hosea’s insistence that he learn to read.  “The fuck do I need that for anyway?” Arthur demanded, scowling at Hosea.  “I got this far without a lick of reading, didn’t I?  Three years on my own, thank you very much.”

That was Arthur.  A wild young boy whose years on the streets meant he was still more or less growling and baring his teeth at any suggestion that he didn’t like, or the notion he didn’t measure up in some way.  Not to mention being stubborn as a mule to boot, and determined to show the four of them that things would only happen by his say so, thank you very much.  “Well,” Hosea said, eyeing the boy right back with that ferocity in his gaze that Bessie knew full well meant this had become a contest of wills and Hosea wouldn’t tolerate this particular wrinkle in his plan, “congratulations on being an illiterate delinquent.  Though I have to say, it’s only an idiot who’s proud of his ignorance.”

“This is going to be a very long winter, Arthur,” Susan pointed out with a sigh, “snowed in as we are, unless you cooperate some.”

Bessie saw the flicker of guilt, the way he cringed momentarily, before charging forth again with that defiant ferocity.  This was how it went–they vacillated between moments of him being grateful, almost shy for their attention to him, and then being a swaggering hellion again.  As if he couldn’t quite decide what role to play, and anything that challenged or scared him threw him right back into old habits.  She could see the fear in him so clearly beneath the angry bluster.  Surprised her that none of the others seemed to see it as well.  “What are you lot gonna do about it anyhow?  Toss me out into the snow?”

Hosea just stared at him.  “Try me, kid.”  Arthur glowered at him, eyes shining with an impotent fury, fists clenched.  “I don’t relish the notion of sitting through the next five months with you acting like a shitmouthed little brat, I tell you that.”

It was like watching two rams butting heads, and Bessie kept watching it go back and forth, looking for where she ought to possibly break in.  “So what, I just learn to read cause you say so?”  

“That’s about the way of it.  Our cabin, our rules.”

“You ain’t my pa!” Arthur barked at him, and swung to look at Dutch, chin tipped up defiantly.  “You ain’t neither!”

Dutch raised his eyebrows, pointedly looking up from his book.  “Did I say anything?  Though I’d advise you to do as Hosea says, Arthur.  As he points out, it’s a very long walk through the snow from here to anywhere.  And I thought you had real potential besides, my boy.  Shame if you choose to be nothing more than you are.  That’s…rather disappointing.”

Arthur looked crushed.  Dutch had that way about him that would make people want to go to any lengths for him, and she’d just seen him casually turn it onto Arthur.  The boy looked at Bessie, his look almost desperately pleading.  She saw her chance.  He needed some way to retreat gracefully, that was all, so he could pretend he hadn’t been brought to heel by running up against a force he couldn’t beat.  “Better you learn to read, Arthur.  It’s going to help you in life.  Ain’t no shame in you not having had the chance to learn so far.  Plenty of folk have it like that.  But there’s no reason to keep yourself in ignorance just out of foolish pride.  That lets them win.”

Hosea’s words, more or less, but less peevish and derisive.  She could see the angry tension in Arthur and Hosea both draining by it, and Arthur finally gave a single jerky nod.  “Fine.  Might as well have something to do for the winter.  But it ain’t just cause you say so, it’s cause maybe you’re right it’s a smart thing to do.”

Arthur took to reading like a duck to water, surprising all of them with the speed of his learning and then his sheer hunger to read everything he could get his hands on.  Including the labels on boxes, cigarette packets, bottles, and anything else in that cabin.  For a boy who’d insisted he had no use for reading and writing, he changed his tune considerably even before Christmas.  But sometimes watching him absorbed in a book by the fire in the evening, Hosea would look over at Bessie and smile, the first traces of something like pride to it that Bessie wished so much the boy could see.

#yeehawgust #yeehawgust 2022 #bessie matthews #arthur morgan #hosea matthews #susan grimshaw #dutch van der linde #rdr2

[horatio-fig]

The Mandalorian Season 3, Episode 1 - The Apostate.  

I never do these ‘My thoughts on’ posts coz I figured no one cares, but Don't knock it til you try it, I guess. Here are some thoughts I had watching it -  

An Alligator ruined that kids little party so I will be calling the covenants new planet ‘Space Florida’ until told otherwise.  

Did Din see they were in trouble and rush in to save them, or did he sit back and watch for a while as he tried to remember if this was part of the ceremony.  

When The Armorer first said the whole ‘bathe in the living waters’ thing and Din was like ‘but there’s no water?’ I thought it was Mandalorian Idiom like ‘when pigs fly’  

I low key hope there are no waters and Din has to realise the only think that makes him Mandalorian are the friends he made along the way or something like that.  

I love the Purrgil (I could do without everyone who recognises them from Rebels acting like they’re the only person who’s seen Rebels however) I just love Star Wars, so anything remotely related to the world of Star Wars and I'll lose my shit. If I see a Loth-cat, I hear the word caf, if they reuse a planet, I love it.  

They gentrified the pirate cove. The bastards.  

Of all the side quests Din has been offered ‘become a Thane of Nevarro, you can even purchase a house’ is my favourite.  

The episode paused to give us a truly batshit ‘let me drink in the school’ Monty Python sketch and I request they do this once an episode.  

I saw a lot of articles demanding to know what happened to Cara Dune but honestly, they all had the same energy as my Grandma asking ‘are you still friends with Susan from your year 9 English class?’ Like, we worked on a group project years ago and last I saw she was posting shitty all lives matter takes on Facebook.  

Considering the First Order is kind of supposed to be a look at this right wing resurgence. (The enemies where once nazis and now they're angsty little white boys who wanna be nazis) it could have been interesting to have Greef be like ‘hey you still friends with Cara?’ and Din go ‘she started saying stuff like ‘I don't always agree with the First Order but every now and then they say what we’re all thinking’ and now we don’t talk anymore”. But, I understand the importance of separating a character from an actor so it’s probably better they don't do that.  

I’m glad they didn’t bring back IG-11. I kind of don’t want them to cheapen his heart wrenching death scene, but this is Star Wars, when has death ever meant anything? Can't wait to have him back.  

90% sure Grogu was trying to eat the Anzellans  

If this season doesn't win an Emmy it’s because they cut out a scene where Din crawled on his hands and knees to get into that droidsmiths.  

I hope Din teaching Grogu how to fly becomes a Chekov's driving lesson and Grogu has to fly the ship to save the day. 

That dogfight with the pirates was pure Saturday morning cartoon and camp and it’s why I love Star Wars. 

I have never been sure if Mandalore was a planet or a planetary system so this episode did kinda clear some of that up. (And it’s always fun to see more Mandalorian places) 

Bo-Katan's hair is giving me Halloween Store Ginger Spice Wig realness and I’m sort of into it. I also love how all the other Star Wars ladies are infamous for constantly changing hairstyles and she just went ‘nah, this is the one’ 

Bo-Katan sitting/slouching/laying on her chair is me every day, sprawled on out the sofa trying to figure out why have back problems. Finally, the representation we need.  

Overall, solid first episode. It kind of felt like when you start up Skyrim again after not playing for a while and just spend the first hour or so just remembering where you got up to.  

I enjoyed the different in tone to this episode. The first episode of Season 1 showed a lone ranger type, mowing down enemies and having no time for people like Greef. In this episode he is much less bloodthirsty and we see him catching up with multiple friends throughout the episode. I understand the need to up the drama and stakes with every season, but it's also nice to see your character get to enjoy the benefits of their success and character development.  

I know some people are mad that the show had no planned ending and will keep going for as long as they want. People have been saying this will make the show ‘aimless’ but the Mandalorian has kind of always been an aimless wander through the galaxy, picking up friends and questing and I think this episode show cased that.  

Finally, I saw a review saying that the Mandalorian premiere fails to match the high bar set by Andor and it pales by comparison. That's like saying winter isn't as warm as summer. They’re different things, that do different jobs in the franchise. (Also, I remember when Andor premiered and there were plenty of revies saying it was no The Mandalorian) 

It’s too cakes! Two amazingly good cakes! Andor has a prison break episode and it's a gut punch of a saga that makes you feel the need to go for walk and appreciate your freedom after you watch it. The Mandalorian had a prison break episode and it was a fun romp of double crossing and cartoon violence. And we get to have both, and it’s great and I just love Star Wars in all shapes and sizes.  

I have more to say but I'm gonna leave it there, I might do one of these for the next episode, but we’ll see. All in all, it was a good solid The Mandalorian episode and I am a fan.  

#I have thoughts regarding gatekeeping and that but I got save something for the thesis 😚 #Might do this again might not might call it horatio finks #the mandalorion spoilers #the mandalorian s3

[disneyfan1955]

Floyd and Janice's lovechild OC #2

This is just info on Poppy/Alice

How old is Poppy? She is thirteen years old and will be fourteen on April 20.

What's Poppy's gender? Poppy is a girl.

What's Poppy's sexuality, and is she seeing anyone? Poppy is straight, and no, right now, she's letting herself be a kid.

How tall is Poppy? She is a short queen of 4'11

What does Poppy look like? She looks just like her mom, except she has her dad's hair.

What is her defining feature? Definitely her hair; I mean, you could see that hair a mile away, and she absolutely loves to play with it.

Does her name have any meaning? Yes, her mom saw her bright red hair, and it reminded her of the poppy flower. The Alice part, well, Susan wanted her to succeed in life, and Alice sounded professional to her, so yeah. She does answer to both names but prefers to be called Poppy.

Whose her family? Well, her mom is Janice. Her dad is Floyd. Animal is her big brother. Her aunt is Susan, but she knew Susan as her mother for the first thirteen years of her life. Dr. Teeth, Zoot, and Lips are her uncles.

What's her relationship with her family? Poppy is very close to both her parents. Janice is the definition of gentle parenting, always willing to listen and compromise but also to stick to her boundaries. Floyd is definitely the one dad that thinks his dad's jokes are hilarious while his kids are unamused. Animal is definitely the protective big brother, good thing she hasn't started dating yet, because, yeah, he'd be gone. Aunt Susan, well, Poppy still loves her but is trying to work through the hurt of being lied to and hopes to forgive her one day. Dr. Teeth is definitely the cool uncle that would let their niece and/or nephew hold their drink and let them take a sip here or there. Lips is the uncle who acts like a third (fourth?) parent within the set parameters. Zoot is, well, Poppy loves him, and he's fun to hang out with when he remembers her.

Where does she live? She used to live with her Aunt Susan in North Carolina. Currently, she lives with the band on the road, and she loves it!

Is it a safe place? At her Aunt's house. Yes, physically, but mentally and emotionally, not really. Except maybe in her bedroom with her dog. On the road, mentally and emotionally, yes, but physically, well, it depends on who's driving. If it's Animal, for example, definitely not, but if it's Dr. Teeth, Floyd, Janice, or Lips, yes.

Is she working, middle, or upper class? With her aunt, it would be upper-middle class. On the road, well, it's difficult to say; if you were to ask Poppy, it would be the upper class of her dreams.

Does she look up to anyone? She used to look up to her Aunt Susan because she always wanted to impress her. Now, she looks up to her parents and how successful they are in their careers and their relationship.

Who's her best friend? Her dog, definitely her dog, Callie.

Does she have any enemies? Nope... okay, fine. Maybe her bully, Wes.

Is Poppy a good shoulder to cry on? Yes, Poppy is very compassionate and kind. She is the type to help out a random stranger.

Is she well-liked? She was pretty well-liked by her classmates, mostly because she would help them with whatever, whether it be homework or just helping them carry stuff. Wes was an obvious exception. No matter what she did, he would find some way to turn it against her. Other than that, her family and dog love her.

How does she handle a compliment? She turns as bright red as her hair and hides her face somewhere. She will also quickly say a quick thank you. It was definitely concerning to her parents and others at first that she viewed herself that low. She just says it's because she's awkward.

Is Poppy affectionate? Not at first, but now after receiving a lot of affection from her family, she loves it.

Is she driven? Yes, that is something she's always had and actually likes about herself.

Has she ever been seriously injured? No, her aunt made her a very cautious person, and she's just now starting to take risks, so not yet.

Is she a fast learner? Yes, she also has an excellent memory.

Is she intelligent? Yes, she's a straight-A student.

#floyd x janice #janice #janpepper #muppet mayhem #the muppets #oc #q and a

[memes-saved-me]

so i kind of want to go on a bit of a tangent about the whole billy is racist situation. Dacre has stated before that he did not play or make billy out as a racist but no one ever takes this into consideration? they never listen to him, the guy that literally acted as the character. If they think the scenes with him are racist that doesn’t automatically make them racist because it’s just what they think but it’s not what dacre intended them to be? they take their thoughts of the scene in the car with him and max and completely see it as whats presented on screen. they won’t even try to look into it deeper, billy’s words aren’t what they actually think they are. his way of thinking and talking makes a helluva lot more sense after we get to see the scene with him and his father and his flashbacks. Billy not trusting any guy he comes across makes a shit ton of sense as to why he’s so aggressive towards everyone. Knowing what Neil did to his mother and seeing Max coming out of school in s2 constantly annoyed or angry and it all being a result of interacting with lucas gives us then an indication as to why billy gave Max that car talk. He could’ve very well meant Black people if that’s what people want to think but that doesn’t mean that’s actually what it meant. It could have meant how he sees every man as neil and thus think every one of them will do the same thing neil did to his mother. The talk very-well could have meant for her to stay away from people like Neil. People who abuse their partners and go on to abuse their own children. He was scared for Max thinking if she got involved with Lucas she could end up the same as his mother or Susan. The byers situation yeah billy was definitely wrong by going for lucas, he never should have laid a hand on him. But people always seem to think he singled out lucas because of the colour of his skin. Billy has not seen Max interact with anyone else in the party, ever. There’s obviously something going on between Max and Lucas so why the hell would he bother going for the others when he knows Lucas is the one who’d been ‘bothering’ Max. People are free to think whatever they want to but it pisses me off when they don’t even bother delving deeper instead of just reading and watching what’s on screen and barely even bothering to listen to what’s actually being said. Billy antis point blank refuse to do any sort of reading or listening that might potentially shatter this image they have of him and i’m quite honestly tired of it. There are many points to counter theirs yet they cover their ears whenever we say them. It was never about the actual characters, it was never about “calling out billy” or defending lucas it was always about having a group of people in the fandom to bully and ridicule 24/7. It was always about having a punching bag in the fandom. They think it’s so funny sending death threats to innocent kids or just the people on the internet over liking a fictional character just because they don’t like them. It’s extremely worrying how they think it’s okay and acceptable to act the way they do simply because someone doesn’t tailor to their fucking expectations. It’s disgusting. + side rant: After s4 was released, they took a fraction of the hate us Billy fans get and redirected it towards Chrissy/Edissy/Grace and it’s fucking awful. No one should be told to off themselves over liking different characters regardless of how “bad” the character is. They think they’re fighting some weird hero-complex fuelling war whenever they talk about us it’s borderline deranged. Sorry this is so long btw

I honestly don't mind genuine criticism or call out posts for things we might be doing wrong or pointing out flaws in someone's logic is fine but jesus christ most of the hate comments and posts in the tags are so wrong about the harringrove fandom its insane. They come at us trying to tell us to do certain things we literally already do ffs

If you're gonna be a dickhead at least be correct

[an-overcaffeinated-npc]

We have made it to probably the biggest episode of S3 and boy do I have a lot to say

Shovelwarewolf S3 E4: Bubsy 3D

Ok before even getting into the episode, endgame? Silly narrator that's next seasons plot line.

Ok first point of the episode, Bub manages to create a serum to keep Ivan from transforming. He says that he figured it out on the dark web, which raises the question of where that information came from?

We know the company has a concoction that can keep Ivan from transforming, we see that in Season 2's finale. So if the information came from the company then who leaked it?

I think personally there are two candidates:

1- Susan (accidentally)

2- A rouge employee

So it could be Susan when she exposed the company and all their secrets to the government, however we do know she stole all their research so the chances that she would let that information get out is low. So what about a rouge employee, where did that idea come from? Well we know that someone with a knowledge of Shovelwarewolf was able to record a song that could hold some important details about the company's involvement in Ivan's curse, so what if they did a lot lore than just record a song? What if they leaked all the information on Ivan's condition?

Next question: is it genuinely easier for bub to kidnap what he assumed was a hairy man and shave him to make a fur suit over just buying fabric from the nearest Michaels?

You know since Shovelwarewolf doesn't say it, I will. There is no way that Bub can legally get close enough to kids for a picture

The bubsy playstation is cute NGL

So you know that scratching riff they call out as annoying... I really like it. Like I don't know why but sometimes it will get stuck in my head but I don't mind cuz I think it's a nifty little tune to listen to

Oh hey look foreshadowing with that Aliens comment, how fun 😊

Now we get to bub's most sadistic construction of this season, play Link vs the Faces of Evil or die

Before we move on to the final episode, I just want to pull back a bit to analyze Bub and the roll that he plays in Ivan's process of addressing and working through his trauma. All Bub wants is the Shovelwarewolf and will refer to him and Ivan as two separate entities which is interesting because Susan is the exact opposite, transformed or not she refers to him as Ivan. Susan wanted Ivan to confront and work through the causes of his trauma, while Bub keeps pushing Ivan there for his own gain. Bub acts the same way as the Company, but with Bub it's arguably worse because he took advantage of Ivan when he was at his most vulnerable time. And we really see the greater effect that Bub has on Ivan verses the Company, this season has a lot more of Ivan referencing an action of harming himself. It's weird to call this out in a wacky Angry Video Game Nerd but werewolf show but it actually is really interesting to me that, following Ivan hitting this new low and relying on the Shovelwarewolf for survival we also see this rise in depressive and suicidal thoughts that correspond with symptoms of trauma sufferers, it is surprisingly well written

#randomencounters #random encounters #remusicals #shovelwarewolf #howlween #tw suicide mentions

[artemisocs]

Hi! I've been following your blog a bit and I would just love to hear more about Laurie!!! Especially since I've been wanting to make more friends in this community <3 Can you please tell me about her relationships with the boys in the show? Especially Steve, Billy, and eventually Eddie? ~ Emma

Hi!! thank you so much for the ask, I've been wanting to make more friends here too <3

and hell yes let's go!! This was a lot more detailed than I meant for it to be, but I hope that you enjoy it!

Billy:

I can't talk about any of Laurie's relationships without talking about Billy so let's just start there! Billy and Laurie are this weird codependent asshole duo who love and hate each other and can't live without one another. They had a history before their parents got together, and adapted pretty quickly to being step-siblings. While they both tried to keep Max away from Neil, Laurie is all too aware of his abusive nature and is usually the one to patch Billy up. Laurie has also dealt with a lot of shit from Neil but his abuse towards her has always been verbal and not physical.

But then, Neil finds out that Laurie isn't straight. He and Susan were supposed to be away for a weekend but came back early and he caught her making out with another girl. Billy already knew that she wasn't straight and Max probably did too, but Neil flipped his shit. It's the only time he's gotten physical with Laurie, until Billy stepped in to defend her. The fight was intense and destructive and led to Max running away, and the combination of all three was the push for them to move to Hawkins. That's also why, in this gifset, Billy blames Laurie for California and Laurie says that it wasn't only her fault.

But because of Billy defending Laurie, Neil starts accusing Billy of being gay and cracks down way harder on him than ever before, which is why Billy turns into way more of an asshole in Hawkins. The two of them spent the entire drive (30 hours straight together rip) planning how to deal with things in Hawkins, which include immediately becoming popular and immediately cementing themselves as straight. Laurie planned to find the most popular boy in school and Billy planned to sleep his way through all of the popular girls, and both of them planned to be bitchy and untouchable.

But Billy got out of hand. After how badly both he and Laurie were hurt after their last fight with Neil, he’s become a lot more controlling of both of his sisters. He first opposes Laurie’s relationship with Steve because he’s just being a dick, but as season 2 progresses he starts to see Steve as someone who will get Laurie into trouble and seeks to prevent that at any cost. When Laurie starts acting weird and disappearing all the time, and then he finds her with Steve hiding Max and some other kids, he blames all of it on Steve even while Laurie tries to explain things to him. And while Billy is an asshole and has always bullied nerds, his intense anti-Lucas stance is less about his own racism (is he a racist asshole? yes. would he beat the shit out of a 13 year old in other circumstances? less likely in this fic specifically but fuck billy) and more because of a combination of “Neil is a racist asshole and Billy is trying to prove himself” and “if Neil finds out that Max is hanging out with him, it will be a repeat of The California Incident”. That being said, he doesn’t get let off the hook for anything, we just explore more of the why to his actions.

Ultimately, Billy is still an asshole but Laurie is kind of an asshole too and they’re assholes who have each other’s backs and are used to only being able to rely on each other. Season 3 will also go into more depth on their dynamic, with Billy’s possession and Laurie’s history coinciding to create an absolute shitshow of a summer for both of them.

Also, their dynamic alternates between “Billy being exasperated at Laurie being a brat” and “Laurie being exasperated at Billy not wearing shirts”, at all times they both think that they’re the responsible siblings and at all times they’re both wrong

(I also want to clarify that this fic won’t be ignoring or erasing the horrible things that Billy does, but it will be looking at why he behaves certain ways. He is held entirely accountable for his actions and they won’t just be brushed under the rug I actually hate him sm pls don’t expect billy-positivity around here)

Steve:

When Laurie first gets to Hawkins, she hears all about King Steve and immediately decides that he’s the perfect boy for her plan. He’s rich, he’s popular, he’s hot, what more could she want? But then she finds out that he isn’t actually popular anymore, and she becomes so much more curious. She’s heard about his girlfriend, but she can’t imagine that being enough to make him give up his crown, and she’s determined to figure him out. Also, the more Billy antagonizes him, the more interested Laurie gets, because she’s a little brat that way.

She definitely flirts with him a lot and Steve is never quite sure how to react. He’s got a girlfriend, and she’s Billy’s sister, but she’s also clever and snarky and fun, so he gives as good as he gets and they fall into an easy camaraderie that the rest of the school doesn’t entirely know how to handle. Steve certainly isn’t looking to be popular again, but he does regain a lot of his old cred just because the hot new girl is into him. But what other people don’t get is that so much of why Laurie continues to talk to him and befriend him is because he’s also the only person who doesn’t just see her as the hot new girl but actually sees that there’s more to her than that.

But they get a lot closer after the Halloween party! When Laurie sees Steve leaving, she follows him and ends up sitting in his passenger seat while they drive around Hawkins and talk, and they become so much closer in the process. A lot goes on in this scene, but the main points are that Laurie comforts Steve about his breakup and, when they get too close to the woods, Steve comforts Laurie through her panic attack. She opens up to Steve about the major blank spots in his memory and he talks, albeit vaguely, about what happened the year before (not the demogorgon but that Barb disappeared from his pool and all that), and ultimately he invites her to crash at his house that night since she doesn’t want to go home. She’s still with him the next day when they run into Dustin, which is how she gets pulled into the entire Upside Down mess.

I’ll spare you the outline of that entire plot because it’s super detailed and also not the point, but a lot of shit goes on there (especially at the lab) which really cements their bond, and then Billy shows up! Obviously shit is super complicated and messy there, but ultimately Laurie chooses to side with Steve and that’s a very big moment for her.

They get together somewhere between seasons 2 and 3 and are a confirmed couple by the start of summer! They’re endearingly obnoxious, not so couple-y that it’s annoying (except to Max) but very affectionate and spend all of their time together. Because of their respective traumas, they both take communication very seriously and are entirely open with each other, to the point of codependency. I haven’t decided which plot Laurie will be in but I’m leaning towards Billy, and I know that being separated causes a whole lot of stress and panic to both of them. Laurie does also essentially move in with Steve once he learns about Neil and the California incident, which only adds to the codependency. They’re very sweet and love each other very very much, but they’re also very much the affectionate bullying type and enjoy teasing and mocking each other.

Eddie:

Eddie and Laurie are very much like Steve and Eddie in that by all logic they shouldn’t be friends, but they click so well! They both act tough (in different ways) but have hearts of gold and soft spots for looking out for kids. During the manhunt Eddie assumes that Laurie is with Jason and co since she was friends with them, but she’s actually the first of the teenagers to 100% believe him. According to Laurie, she knows what real (human) monsters look like, and Eddie’s eyes are innocent. They aren’t sure how to act around each other for a while but get closer in the later episodes and volume two! They’re similar to Steve and Robin in the unexpected queer besties dynamic but god they’re so ride or die for each other, and Laurie gets into at least one impressive showdown with Jason on the subject!

also eddie doesn’t die because i said so and laurie saves him

The Party Boys:

Laurie is fiercely protective over these boys! Initially she meets them as Max’s friends and is just glad that her little sister is making friends, but between the demodogs, the lab, and Billy, she very quickly grows very protective and the big sister instinct totally kicks in. She becomes closest to Will, once he isn’t possessed, and becomes the first person that he talks to about his sexuality. She also bonds with El during season 3, where she’s babysitting Max and El, but this is about the boys! She also becomes close with Lucas, and continues to always protect and defend him from Billy, and in season 4 we see her showing up to every single one of Lucas’ games and is always cheering the loudest. She helps him adapt to being popular but also makes sure that he knows that if he ever feels uncomfortable or like he’s being pressured into anything, he can just call or walkie her and she will always show up! He’s only done it once, when he got pressured into drinking and then freaks out, but she drops everything immediately to go get him. She’s very worried about Max and she’s struggling with losing Billy, but she refuses to lose these kids that she’s grown to love so much and she works hard to stay in their lives and to make sure that they know they can always count on her.

Thank you so much again for the ask! This was probably a lot more information than you were looking for but once I started I couldn’t shut up! I was initially planning to write about Tommy, Jonathan, and Jason too, but I figured this was already long enough so I ended up cutting them haha

#oc ask #laurie ask #starlightocs #oc: laurie mayfield #laurie & billy #laurie x steve #laurie & eddie #laurie & will #laurie & mike #laurie & lucas #laurie & dustin

[animefankotaro]

Trans Susan (Miracle on 34th Street)

December 1946

Susan Walker was a very special child Kris Kringle thought. For one she was almost like a grown up in a kids body. Her mother originally raised her this way teaching her the truth rather than lie. One thing that botherd Kris was that she thought her there was no Santa Claus. He thought that wasn't right. Susan is a kid and should get to act and think like one. She has all her life to be a bitter adult. That wasn't the biggest shock though. What was bigger was that Kris found out she was born a he. She used to be a boy named Stu but felt like a girl.

“What do you mean you were born a boy?” Kris asked.

“I was born wrong. I should have been a girl instead. I told my mom that I was one and she let me become a girl”

“Does your father know about this?” Kris asked. Susan hook her head.

“Mom thinks that if he finds out he'll take me away and make me be a boy again. He would also send mom to the nut house.”

“What about the other kids?”

“They make fun of me sometimes. One boy once saw me wearing a new dress and playing with a doll and said “What kind of boy plays with dolls and wear dresses?” and I said. “I'm not a boy I'm a girl. He then walked away with a weird face.”

Kris wasn't sure he understood. She claimed to have written to him once when her mom wasn't looking wishing to be a girl. When it didn't happen she believed her mother there was no Santa. Kris talked to Doris about it.

“She told me last year that she felt like a girl. At first I thought he just wanted my attention or was confused about something. So I bought him some dresses and called him by his new name Susan. Before I knew it Susan was here to stay.”

“What have the reactions been like?” Doris sighed.

“I have a lot of parents calling me crazy and that Susan should be taken away from me. One couple said they would cut Susans hair themselves. If that happened she would be devastated. It look her months to grow it long.”

“What do you plan to do for the future? Let her become a woman? There will be puberty in the future.” Doris nodded.

“I've read about how men used to have their bits removed so they're voice wouldn't drop back in the olden days. It would also prevent facial hair. Maybe if Susan is still sure in several years we can consider it. I'm not sure how she can get breast though. I know she could never get pregnant. I want her to be happy. I know she wants a new birth certificate with her new name and declaring that she's female. I've told her that won't be able to happen. I wish there was a way it could.”

During his court session Kris wondered it Susan would get a similar trial. While he was trying to prove he was Santa she would have to prove she was a girl. Kris chuckled. Maybe they weren't so different actually. Eventually Kris won the case and was legally Santa. It seems all was said and good. But he was unable to get Susan the house she wanted; or change her into a real girl. Susan was rather upset.

“I knew you weren't the real Santa.” Susan cried “You're just a nice man with a beard.”

“I'm sorry, Susan. I tried to get you that house but I was unable to.”

“And turn me into a girl.”

“That proved even harder. But look here.” He put her in front of a mirror. “Now what do you see?”

“You and me.” Susan said.

“Who am I in the mirror? Who's refection do you see?”

“Santa's.”

“Me too. And who's reflection do you see for yourself?”

“Me. Susan.”

“Exactly. Me too. I see a little girl named Susan. She's already proven she's a girl. She doesn't need a piece of paper for it.”

“I guess. You did though.” Susan replied.

“Proving to be Santa is a lot harder than proving you're a girl. Just remember Susan that this mirror already proves it.” Susan nodded though was still disappointed none the less. However, it didn't take long for Susan and her family to find her dream house. That wasn't it. There was also a birth certificate sent to them with Susan's new name and declaring she was female.

“I knew he was real I knew it!” Susan said happily. After Susan left the room Doris talked to Fred quietly.

“First the house now this. By law Susan is a girl.” Fred nodded.

“Yes. It seems like she got her wish.”

“We still have to worry about her in the future. She doesn't want a beard like Mr. Kringle.

“We'll find a doctor then who can fix her. Unless Kris can do something about it first.” He looked at a cane that was by the fireplace. Doris nodded happy that she meet Kris Kringle and made him Santa.

#miracle on 34th street #christmas #movie #headcanon #trans #transgender #one shot #transgirl #mtf trans #santa claus #Doris Walker #kris kringle #natalie wood #circa 1947

[beeapocalypse]

the idea here is bc of her Issues Disorder sophie always rlly struggled w connecting w kids her age+always kind of felt out of place and 2 compensate 4 that jack started bringing her around the bunny smiles warehouse especially after susan notices how excited sophie gets at the idea of being included in smth+jokingly takes her on as a little apprentice 2 give an emo explanation for why her dads coworkers faces in bunnyfarm felt so familiar :(

#tidbits #susan sees a kid who acts a lot like how SHE did as a kid b4 she learned how 2 blend in w a crowd+got ahold of all-- #--sorts of Manners and everything and goes is anyone going to befriend this kid and doesnt wait 4 an answer LOL #i rlly rlly like how susan is characterized in waht little we see of her like shes got a logical sort of thought process+implied 2 not-- #--panic (the image in bunnyfarm where she says shes still alive but her stomach feels weird :( like she is catagorical abt That shit) #but like still she Cares like in her audio log she says shes worried abt jack and everything and man :( i hate it when GIRLS die

[recurring-polynya]

*sees you like Discworld character, sees you like Renruki* how do you think a Discword Renruki AU would look?

Unfortunately, a Discworld Renruki AU is simply impossible, at least for me. The problem, you see, is that I crib my entire characterization of everyone out of combinations of Discworld characters. I get a lot of positive comments about my characterization of Byakuya and Renji, but I will tell you my secret. In fact, I made you a diagram:

Renji is six feet tall and red-headed and has a lot of muscles. He has an innate sense of right and wrong, he wears his heart on his sleeve and he has bags of krisma. But he also comes from the streets and he will break the rules if he needs to, and he would understand the Sam Vimes Boots Theory of Economics in his soul (or soles, as the case may be). 

Byakuya is rich and powerful, a Son of the Seireitei, but he doesn’t have the kind of power Veterinari has, he’s not a machinator. He really is sort of a man on the street, trying to keep the peace and sighing a lot. I constantly have Renji pulling one over on him by affecting an act of guileless goonishness, just like Carrot does to Vimes. Also, Byakuya would kill a king if he had to.

I admit, I also occasionally throw in a bit of Sybil when I am writing Byakuya-at-home-- he’s as noble as you can possible get; he’s good at being noble and knows how to work the system, but he would really just rather be at home with his dragons orchids. Also, he is easily charmed by dirtbags. 

Byakuya and Renji must be in the Watch, there is no other possibility, but the nobility in Discworld are disgusted by the Watch, except for Vimes, who came about his nobility illicitly. Rukia is mostly Angua, except when she’s Susan Sto Helit. She can’t work for Byakuya, but also be his sister. It just doesn’t work. 

(In other parts of town, Urahara is somehow simultaneously Moist von Lipwig, Rincewind, and Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler. All four Karakura kids smush together to form Tiffany Aching.)

I think the problem is simply that Discworld is a tremendous work of character writing. You could easily drop an OC in there somewhere, but I can’t do an AU where I replaced the characters, because Discworld is its citizenry.

Now, what would work is dropping Discworld characters wholesale into the Bleach universe. The Watch could just form a Fourteenth Division, except that Detritus and Littlebottom would have discovered the murdered Central 46 roughly 28 hours before Hitsugaya and Matsumoto did. Vimes would punch Byakuya in the jaw in the middle of a Captains’ Meeting for trying to get Rukia executed in the first place. Nobby would somehow managed to lift the Hougyoku off of Aizen as he was escaping to Hueco Mundo.

Edit (because I forgot): The Ramkins would be the heretofore-unnamed Fourth Noble House. Sybil loved Hisana, and has a good relationship with Byakuya because she Gets Him, even though Sam still wants to wring his neck 90% of the time.

We never actually see much of the Kidou Corps in Bleach, and I see no reason why they aren’t just the staff of the Unseen University. Who else would think it was a good idea to give Yamamoto a kidou cannon, but Mustrum Ridcully? (”D’you think we might be able to do a bit of hunting with it? Shoot a Menos, like?”) Akon and Ponder Stibbons would be besties.

Karakura Town, Lancre, same difference. Granny Weatherwax would take one look at the Karakura kids and declare them all Hers. She would also punch Urahara in the jaw. Nanny Ogg goes to Isshin’s clinic for her rheumatism medicine, and also to pinch his ass. Agnes would declare herself a Vizard (Perdita rather likes the idea that perhaps she is an Inner Hollow, despite the fact that she very much is not), and they let her hang around because she has a great singing voice.

Ironically, I cannot figure out where Death fits into this AU, but please enjoy one of my favorite fanfics of all time, where Death adopts baby Rukia. It is exquisite.

#i couldn't manage to fit this in anywhere #but i am constantly striving to make the Seireitei exists as An Entity the way Anhk-Morpork does #i am only partially successful at best but i try #i mean it's a city of inscrutable maze-streets and battle-grid floors it's kind of a miracle i do as well as i do #also every time i talk about rude rukongai songs i am talking about nanny's rude hedgehog song #there you go now you know all my 'writing secrets' #angua is from an entirely different branch of the werewolf family tree than komamura #they get along just fine but get pissy if you get their cultures mixed up #there is NO WAY renji and carrot would not be best friends #carrot would start a seireitei dwarf bread musuem and renji would come and ask polite questions about the bread #search your heart you know it's true

[jackshade21]

Buckle up, Buttercups this is gonna be a bumpy ride. It’s probably gonna be a long one cause I’m coming up with what I’m gonna say as I type this. I hope it’s at least entertaining. Also spoilers for Luca and Ponyo, if that matters to anyone.

For like a month now my latest hyperfixation has been Pixar’s latest film, Luca, as I’m sure anyone that actually pays attention to me may have noticed. During all this time I’ve seen some truly tepid takes.

It’s no secret by now that a lot of queer people have seen Luca as an allegory for coming out and for the queer experience. Myself included. I saw a lot of my own experiences as a 14 year old kid growing up queer reflected in this movie.

But we’ve all seen the backlash too. Reactionaries calling queer people perverse for daring to see themselves reflected in something.

“How dare you think they are gay! yOu’Re SeXuAlIzInG cHiLdReN!!!! WONT SOMEONE THINK OF THE CHILDREN?!?!?”

“UM, ACTUALLY...the director said they’re not gay!” 

(not gonna waste my time going over death of the author...again. Or how Casarosa has...UM ACTUALLY...supported the queer reading because art is, ya know, subjective.)

Whether it’s seeing queer allegory and subtext in the narrative itself or just thinking the two fish boys could have a crush on each other. Bozos are acting as if queer people want them to be explicitly sexual in a Pixar film. You all know this by now.

Well, I just watched Ponyo, because it’s Studio Ghibili, I hadn’t seen it and I’m a sucker for sea people. It was a nice movie. The animation was as gorgeous as anything I’ve come to expect from the studio. The story was admittedly not the most engaging for me personally but it was fun and I enjoyed myself. I loved all the old ladies SO much. Go off you old queens I’m here for it.

However, maybe it’s cause I’m late to the party, but where are the angry reactionaries at? Cause I don’t remember seeing them when the movie came out. Maybe cause I wasn’t engaged with the fan content for Ponyo I didn’t see it? All I remember is pretty high praise being heaped onto the movie.

You know the movie about a little fish girl that falls in love with a human boy? The movie where the little human boy has to perform “a test of the truest love” and to promise to love the little fish girl so she can become human? How she turns human from a kiss? The one where the little human boy and little fish girl are literally 5 years old. You know? THAT movie?

We all know why no one cared about that when it came to the 5 year olds in Ponyo and we all know why people are jumping over themselves to denounce any queer readings about the teenage Italian fish boy movie. But in case I have to spell it out for anyone it’s...

✨HOMOPHOBIA✨

Straight relationships are seen as pure and loving, queer relationships are seen as sinful and sexual. Also I see you people ready to type “but it’s called SEXuality!” That’s a dumb argument, you know it is, so I will only say if you think same-sex attraction is only about sex you’re wrong. If you don’t know it’s a dumb argument, I hate to break it to you Susan and Chet, but you’re heteroSEXual. Put that in your tea.

And to cover my bases, I’m not saying that if you don’t read Luca as an allegory for the queer experience or that if you don’t see Luca and Alberto as anything more than two platonic best friends that you’re homophobic.You’re not. There is a perfectly valid basis for that. The homophobia starts when straight people start dictating to queer people what their experiences are and telling them they are perverse for seeing those experiences reflected in a very obvious way right in front of them. The homophobia starts when you deny queer kids even exist. All queer adults were once queer kids.

Straight people don’t get to say we don’t love and that our relationships are based solely on explicit sex. We have been murdered for the crime of falling in love with people who society deemed as the wrong people. We have fought for that right to love. I’m tried of being afraid to walk down the street holding my boyfriend’s hand. I’m tired of seeing people with their “HOT TAKES” make insinuations that queer love is dirty and only about sex. You don’t get to dictate to me about what is or isn’t queer.

Side note, Can I please get a movie about how Ponyo’s parents fell in love? You know the sea-wizard and the sea goddess? Like please? Did you see that giant water woman? RADIANT!

#pixar luca #luca #disney #ponyo #studio ghibli #sosuke #luca paguro #alberto scorfano #lgbtq #queer coding #queer representation #queer #homophobia #double standard much? #how do you even tag this #rant #rant over

[dreaming-of-assclass]

Omg Reaper 2.0's misogyny? I'm intrigued LOL especially since I don't remember a lot of details about him. So if you'd be willing to spill the tea... 👀

Ok everyone buckle up, it’s tea spilling time 😌🍵

Meta: 2.0’s Misogyny and Views on Gender Roles/Sociology

⚠️ TW: child abuse, domestic abuse ⚠️

So the specific instance I think of is during the Reaper arc, when the kids are breaking in to save Irina. And they first come face to face with him, and have to engage in combat. He takes them down effortlessly, we all know.

But...there’s a moment in which he purposely hits Kayano especially hard with his knee, and believes he has broken her ribs. He callously remarks, “Females are so fragile.”

Let’s break this down:

A. Kayano is literally the smallest girl/student. She is very petite, and everyone knows this. It's obvious even when she's wearing their uniform.

B. He knocked down everyone so easily, but seemed to take a particular joy in brutalizing her. A petite girl.

C. Given that he's been watching the class, he must've known that she was actually stronger than she seemed. But again, I question this particular violence and the comment afterwards.

For a while, I thought maybe he had just said that to be cruel for no reason. To rile them up and be an asshole. I mean, it would be fitting, right?

No. I came to the eventual conclusion that this man is a misogynist, for sure. And there are indicators that Koro, his only role model, might bear some resentment towards women himself.

There's also proof in the way that he treated Irina, even when they were "allies." He seemed to really disrespect her and look at her like a joke, despite her accomplishments as an assassin. And whatever worth he did believe her to have, he only thought it came from her sexuality.

Like...why else was Irina dressed down to only lingerie in the arc? Because it was part of his plan, and he looked down on her and her profession.

Expanding the context a bit, it really also does prove how he looked down on women. He had Irina appear half-dressed, upset, and completely weak before she tricked everyone. The embodiment of female fragility, and how sexuality is tied into that. I hope this is making sense omg

Now, moving onto his past~

I really recommend you read this awesome meta by @akamayumura (sorry for the tag!!) They delved into his childhood and psychological state very well, in my opinion.

We can infer that 2.0 grew up in a terrible household, and that is an equal contribute to his behavior, as well as the possibility of him having an anti-social disorder. I mean, he was so happy to see his father get killed in front of him...

Not only that, but he literally romanticized the killer. In that moment, he didn't experience grief, but gained a rose-tinted view of death. He literally begged Koro to go with him and grow into someone like that.

Clearly, there was some psychological reason for this. But that isn't unordinary for abused children to feel, having such a disconnect. He didn't view it as his father being murdered, but rather: a person he hated finally leaving his life.

And then he gained loyalty for the person who was responsible -> The Reaper.

I cannot find it for the life of me, but there is apparently a moment in canon where 2.0 describes his father as "tyrannical."

And you know what?

Usually in a household with an abusive tyrannical father, there is a weak, complacent mother.

This is so interesting that we're on this topic now, because I just read a book detailed all about this. It's called "Men Who Hate Women, and the Women Who Love Them" by Susan Forward. Please read it omg, it's so good and informative on how misogyny is engrained in childhood, relationships, etc.

But yeah!

This exact dynamic is a formula for men who grow up to be misogynistic because their first example of a woman in their lives is their mother, who is the victim in an abusive dynamic.

Here are some pictures from the book to help explain.

^ 2.0’s hatred towards his father

^THIS.

Either 2.0 grew up having to provide emotional labor for his mother, or there was none at all between them. Overall though, there is a sense of resentment and abandonment given that the father was so dominating, and his mother was a victim too.

Men who lived in households like this, often grow up into believing that women are to be controlled, because this is the example they had to go by for so long.

On top of that, there's a layer of resentment and distrust towards women because his own mother didn't stand up for herself and protect him. Why would another woman do so?

But to sum it up:

2.0 believes women are weak, fragile, easily controlled, and cannot be trusted at all.

There's evidence in his attack on Kayano, and the way he treated Irina.

Ahem, also notice how he seemed to act more professional around Karasuma, and took him much more seriously. Like yeah, Karasuma is more serious, but why on Earth would one of the best assassins in the world regard a government agent over another top-notch assassin?

If Irina were a male assassin, I definitely think the treatment and attitude would be different honestly.

ALSO.

2.0 loves flowers, we know! But there's another reason why he possibly used a flower shop guy as his cover.

To easily manipulate women, the target customers of flowers.

Hmmmmmm.

Anyways, yeah, we can deduce that his misogyny was born from his childhood of having an abusive father and seeing his mother as a victim.

Not to mention, that he spent most of his life with Koro, who definitely didn't treat him to respect women lmao.

I actually feel like Koro has his own personal resentment towards women/femininity...but before I make a post about that, I'll have to do more research.

Anyways, we all knew 2.0 had dad issues, but there are a lot of mommy issues on top of that.

This isn't me trying to cancel him or anything btw! He's still one of my favorite characters, I love him. I just find this characteristic of his to be pretty interesting and worth diving into. (Although I will admit, that Kayano rib scene upsets me a bit.)

So yeah! Hope you enjoyed this meta! And I hope this tea is hot enough 🍵🍵🍵

#assclass #ansatsu kyoushitsu #assassination classsroom #meta #post #nidaime #nidaime shinigami #2.0 #reaper 2.0 #korosensei

[mediocre--writing]

Billy reconnecting with his mother somehow, whether she hears about Starcourt, they get in touch through letters, or maybe even Neil’s funeral - your pick! You can also come up with a new scenario.

Maybe it’s before him and Steve are actually friends. They’re still a bit hostile but seeing Billy with his mother changes things, even if just a little.

steve wasn’t quite sure what to think.

all through his life, he’s been told by his parents that when someone dies, it is a time for reflection and sadness. you will move on eventually, but it can and will take time to adjust.

which is why he was so confused when, after hearing about the heart attack that killed neil hargrove, why max didn’t seem to be all that sad.

she was hanging around the boys the same as she always did, she didn’t seem all that affected by his disappearance from the world.

the only exception was how she was with billy.

she doesn’t yell at him when he comes early to pick her up or when he honks rather than coming up to knock on the door.

they’re not as tense.

come to think of it, steve doesn’t think he’s seen max’s shoulders slouch around billy until just this week.

but steve’s been picking max up the past few times, the hargroves finalizing the funeral plans and all.

but there was a new car parked on the street. it was the same blue color of billy’s camaro but it was an older, chunkier model, though it shined as if brand new.

steve honked for max twice, waited about five minutes total, then decided to just go knock.

he and billy had made “amends”—enough to be civil—and he was kind to susan and knew max had to be there (her bike was on the front lawn)

after knocking, steve waits another minute and a half before the door opens, susan is tearing up a little, but invites him inside anyway.

steve’s thinking about how aggravated dustin is going to be about steve being late to pick him up.

but once he comes into the house, he forgets about dustins wrath and focuses on the uncomfortable atmosphere in the house.

max has a cup against a door in the hallway and susan is cleaning up pots and pans in the kitchen. he assumes billy—and possibly the mystery car owner—are in the room max is spying on.

steve mouths a ‘who?’ referring to what she’s listening in on.

she looks as though she’s going to respond before her attention is drawn away by a noise inside the room, one that could be heard without the glass.

it doesn’t take but a few seconds for max to scramble up and quickly seat herself at the dinner table steve was standing near and the door opened to reveal two people.

a woman, tall and blonde and had crows feet around her eyes, though it didn’t deduct from her obvious beauty.

behind her, linked by their hands, walks billy, who looks happy despite the tear tracks on his face.

“you’re a very bad spy, max,” she smiles and winks at max, who blushes at being found out. “but you can always improve. don’t wear shoes, they make noise. try socks, instead,”

max just nods and messes around with the glass as she tries to force the blush away.

steve thinks his presence just goes unnoticed because billy has draped his arms around the woman’s shoulders, resting his head next to hers and she rubs his arms in response.

“and who’s this handsome boy?”

“babysitter,” max offers. “not that we really need one, but he drives us around,”

“how sweet,” she smiles (it seems as though you can never adapt to how shockingly kind her smile is, no matter how much she does it). “do you go to school with boppy?”

billy, gently, knocks his head into his mother’s with a groan, whispering something about her ‘shutting up’ and she responds with a light, tapping slap on his arms.

“he’s embarrassed, let me rephrase. do you go to school with billy?”

steve, storing the nickname ‘boppy’ for later ammunition, nods to her question, “yes, ma’am,”

“carrie, nice to meet you,” she smiles, again.

“well, me and steve are gonna head off now!” max says as she jumps from the table and dragging steve out of the house.

“what was that about?” steve asks once they’re buckled in and he’s started the car.

“so... neil died,”

“i’m aware,”

“and carrie—billy’s mom—had heard through a newspaper back where they used to live that he’d died and found the address for the funeral and figured out where we lived by asking around and—“

“you’re allowed to take a breath, max,” steve joked, but max just looked lost in her own thoughts.

“he’s been all clingy and—and different now that she’s here,” max said, quiet and off handed.

“well, he hasn’t seen her in—“

“i think he was 7 or 8 the last time he saw her,”

“so 10 years,” steve was trying to pay attention to the road and keep an eye on max. “he’s bound to miss his mom,”

“what if he leaves?” max ponders quietly, “what if he doesn’t want to stay here and he goes back to california with her. he has no obligations to me or my mom, so why should he stay?”

“max—“

“no! he should go! if he doesn’t care enough to stay then he should just leave!”

“has he even said he wanted to leave?” steve asks, a little amused at max’s overreaction.

“a million times,” max looks around the car and out the window. “it was all he could talk about for months when we first got here,”

“what about now? recently?”

max shrugs, “i don’t know... not really?”

so steve does some thinking. while he picks up the other kids and when they’re off playing around the arcade.

he thinks about how stressed max is. thinks about susan’s tears that afternoon. thinks about how at ease and gentle billy looked while hugging his mom and whispering with her. thinks about how gentle billy has been this past week or so... right since neil was hospitalized for complications after a heart attack.

after all his thinking, steve makes a plan.

billy looks up from the hood of his car to a knocking on the garage wall. he’s interested, however, upon seeing steve standing there.

“yea, harrington?” he asks with a little eyebrow quirk.

“i just wanted to talk to you,” steve offers a half smile, “about max,”

“go right ahead,” billy leans against the counter along the wall across from steve, relaxed and wiping grease from his hands.

“she’s afraid you’re going to leave. she thinks your mom coming to see you means your leaving her,” steve looks around the small garage, “it might be true, i don’t know and i have no right to your life, but please talk to max. i think she’s really scared you are going to give up on her now. thinks you have nothing holding you here, but i know that the two of you have been getting closer and more civil, if not friendly,”

billy stares at steve for a minute, uses a blank stare—not threatening, but not kind, just blank. “i’ll talk to her, thanks,”

billy smiles at steve before he goes back to working on the car.

steve sees this—this something in his face. the smile wasn’t teasing or flirtatious. it was warm and showed actual thoughts behind it, almost made him glow. mad him look like his mom.

and—let’s be honest—the town of hawkins isn’t by any means large. people knew neil hargrove wasn’t the kindest man and max had alluded to his acts of aggression without explicitly stating anything numerous times, but billy is completely different now.

that’s not to say neil hargrove deserved to die—had it coming, maybe—but this was most definitely not the same billy hargrove that steve had seen screeching into the school parking lot.

and wether it was neils absence, carries arrival, or a mixture of both, steve could see a california glow wrap the boy in rays of sunshine, even on the dull, cloudy days in hawkins.

“you gonna stand there for a while or what, harrington?”

steve hadn’t realized he was staring at billy, who was smirking (though not maliciously) in his direction.

steve stuttered, finally excusing himself from the garage and going out to his car, going home.

he attended neils funeral. many people showed up, just out of a neighborly obligation, and it was a quick, run-of-the-mill service.

the highlight of the funeral, in steve’s opinion, was turning around just in time to see billy and carrie leering over the hole that neils casket was in, and sharing a sly smile before, at the same time, spitting into his grave.

and the next week, after steve had noticed carries car missing from they mayfield-hargrove house driveway, and was delighted to see billy snapping at max to not be late as he dropped her off at the middle school.

he was even happier to hear, from max and the party, that carrie had rented an apartment in one of the complexes by the center of town, applying for a few jobs so she could hang around for a little longer. apparently, her and susan had a lot of shared interests and a mutual dislike for how neil treated children.

#soooo not edited #also it’s an ironic death for neil since he died of a heart attack but he doesn’t have a heart #harringrove #not really but it’s kinda flirty?? #stranger things #billy hargrove #steve harrington #max mayfield #billy’s mom #susan mayfield #mw harringrove #mediocre—writing

[tcm]

In Memory of Brian, Fred and Jerry by Susan King

I mourn the loss of Hollywood legends, especially those I have interviewed over the years. I broke into tears when Debbie Reynolds died four years ago, recalling our last chat together in 2016 when we did a duet of “Moses Supposes.” And I still haven’t watched TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (’62) since Gregory Peck died in 2003. I had the opportunity to interview the handsome Oscar-winner at his now torn down home in 1997 and 1999. He was everything you’d hope he would be – sweet, intelligent and funny. He also loved Bob Dylan. His last words to me as he walked me to my car were: “You are a most interesting young lady.”

In 2020 alone, I lost over 20 former interviewees including Kirk Douglas, whom I interviewed eight times between 1986-2017, and my beloved Olivia de Havilland, who I found to be delightful and a bit ribald in the two interviews I did with her. I got more than a little misty when Brian Dennehy, Fred Willard and Jerry Stiller died this year. They were supremely talented and made our lives a little brighter with their performances. And, they all were great guys and fun interviews.

Brian Dennehy

I interviewed Brian Dennehy, who died in April at the age of 81, several times in the early 1990s when I was at the L.A. Times. The former U.S. Marine and football player was intimidating at first sight. He was tall, burly and barrel-chested. He had a no-nonsense quality about him, and he spoke his mind. But he also was funny.

In 1991, discussing how hard it was for some actors to land parts after starring in a TV series, he noted “coming off a TV series is a tough deal, and you go into limbo land for a while, if not forever. Most actors go immediately to the ‘Island of Lost Actors’ and stay there. Troy Donahue is the mayor.” Dennehy never went to that island. Not with the complex and often memorable performances he gave in such films as FIRST BLOOD (’82), SILVERADO (’85), COCOON (’85), PRESUMED INNOCENT (’90) and as Big Tom in the comedy TOMMY BOY (’95).

He was nominated for five Emmys, including one for his chilling turn as serial killer John Wayne Gacy in the miniseries To Catch a Killer (’92).

I had one of the most extraordinary evenings at the theater in 2000 when Dennehy reprised his Tony Award-winning role as the tragic Willy Loman at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles in the lauded revival of Arthur Miller’s masterpiece Death of a Salesman. It was a gut-wrenching performance that left me emotionally exhausted. He earned another Tony in 2003 as James Tyrone in the revival of Eugene O’Neill’s superb Long Day’s Journey into Night. And he never stopped working.

Shortly after his death, the drama DRIVEWAYS (2020) was released on streaming platforms. And it could be Dennehy’s greatest performance. He plays Del, an elderly widower and Korean War vet who sparks a warm friendship with Cody, the young boy next door. The reviews for the film (it’s at 100% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and Dennehy have been glowing. The L.A. Times’ Justin Chang wrote that Dennehy’s Del is as “forceful and tender a creation as any in this great actor’s body of work.” And Jeannette Catsoulis of The New York Times stated: “What we might remember most, perhaps appropriately, are Dennehy’s warm, weary features and rich line readings. In a lovely final monologue, Del advises Cody to avoid rushing past the experiences in life that matter, as they pass so quickly on their own. Much like the careers of beloved actors.”

Fred Willard

I first encountered Fred Willard as the clueless sidekick of sleazy talk show host Barth Gimble (Martin Mull) in the late 1970s on the syndicated comedy series Fernwood Tonight and its continuation America 2-Night. I quickly became a fan, and that admiration grew when he became a member of Christopher Guest’s stock company of zanies in such comedies as WAITING FOR GUFFMAN (’96) and BEST IN SHOW (2000). In the latter, he played the equally clueless dog show announcer Buck Laughlin who quipped in his color commentary, “And to think that in some counties these dogs are eaten.”

Willard told me in a 2012 L.A. Times interview that he didn’t think he was funny until he was an adult. “I always loved comedy growing up – Bob Hope, Red Skelton and Danny Kaye,” said Willard, who died in May at the age of 86.

Willard got a serious part in Tennessee Williams’ one-act in a summer theater group when he was in his 20s. “I was getting laughs on all the lines,” he noted. “The director got upset because the audiences were always laughing. I didn’t try to do it deliberately. Then I realized I would say things around people, and they would laugh. I didn’t mean to be funny. I have always been relaxed around comedy.”

Just as Dennehy, Willard kept working. In fact, he received an Emmy nomination posthumously for his hilarious turn as Ty Burrell’s goofball dad on ABC’s Modern Family. He told me he wished he could try to do more dramatic fare like in Clint Eastwood’s World War II drama Flags of Our Fathers (2006). Willard even called his agent to see if he could get a role in the movie. “Clint Eastwood’s people called back and said, ‘We love Fred, but we are afraid if he appeared on the screen, they might start to laugh.’’’

Jerry Stiller

Jerry Stiller was a real sweetie and also very thoughtful. He sent me a lovely thank you note when I interviewed him and his wife, Anne Meara, in the early 1990s. When I talked to him for his son Ben Stiller’s remake of THE HEARTBREAK KID (2007), Stiller sent me a lovely bouquet of flowers. Ditto in 2010 when I interviewed the couple for a Yahoo! Web series Stiller & Meara: A Show About Everything. I also received Christmas cards until Meara died in 2015.

Baby boomers remember Stiller, who died at 92 in May, and Meara for their smart and sophisticated comedy act, in which the majority of the humor came from the fact that he was Jewish and she was born Irish Catholic. They recorded albums, were popular on the nightclub circuit and did The Ed Sullivan Show three dozen times. They split up their act when musical variety series went away.

Both were terrific dramatic actors. In fact, I saw Stiller in the 1984 Broadway production of Hurlyburly, David Rabe’s scathing look at Hollywood, and he did a 1997 production of Chekhov’s The Three Sisters. Of course, Stiller garnered even more success in his Emmy-nominated role as Frank Costanza, the caustic father of George (Jason Alexander) on NBC’s Seinfeld (1993-98) and was the best reason to watch CBS’ sitcom The King of Queens (1998-2007) as Kevin James’ acerbic father-in-law

But I most remember that 2010 interview where Stiller and Meara bantered back and forth much to my enjoyment. Here they talk about Ed Sullivan:

Anne: I never liked him.

Jerry: You are out of your mind. You never liked him?

Anne: He scared stuff out of me. I am talking about Mr. Sullivan himself. I wasn’t the only one. There were international favorites throwing up in the wings—singers and tenors and guys who spin plates. It was live. We were scared.

Jerry: Ed Sullivan brought us up to the level that we knew we never could get to – him standing there on the right side of the wings laughing, tears coming out of his eyes and then calling us over and saying, ‘You know, we got a lot of mail on that last show you did.’ I said, ‘From Catholic or Jewish people?’ He said, ‘The Lutherans.’”

#Jerry Stiller #brian dennehy #in memoriam #Fred Williard #Ben Stiller #TCM Classic Film Festival #LA Times #Susan King #TCM #Turner Classic Movies #comedians #actors

[cult-of-artemis-and-athena]

The Grooming We Sustained

I watched this video by Illuminaughty, about the history of Victoria's Secret (link below if you want to watch it). I realized and I couldn't stop realizing...

https://youtu.be/u7rTN2dIhso

Despite its flaws, the #meToo movement legitimately outed a number of extremely sketchy men, such as Harvey Weinstein, who used their cocks to gatekeep the entertainment industry or used their employees as a sort of personal source of sexual amusement. I think #meToo, by exposing the disproportionate number of perverts in the elite of society, inadvertently increased society's receptivity to Pizzagate and theories about The Lolita Express, because why wouldn't these perverts stop at legal adults, consenting or not?

To sum up the video, VS started in the 60s as a faux-upscale lingerie store which catered to men who wanted to buy lingerie for their lovers. At a point around the 80s, it was purchased by L Brands, which also owns Abercrombie & Fitch, The Limited, The Limited Too, Bath & Body Works, Express/Structure, La Senza, and other mall stores.

The problem with the brand was the founder/CEO, Les Wexner, who hung out with Jeffrey Epstein and defended him from allegations. He sexually harassed women at his office, sexually assaulted models, made inappropriate comments, and fired or demoted models who refused his advances. He was with L Brands in one form or another from 1963 until just this year, 2021.

My impression of VS within the past 10 years is that it's been what the upper middle-class white-bread American woman thinks is sexy. It's been the Olive Garden of lingerie.

In the 00s, however, I remember VS being a sort of prestige brand with teens as early as 5th grade. It was the brand for the girls who wore the pants that had "JUICY" written across the butt, and I remember being on the bus listening to boys (I must emphasize this is on a middle school bus) saying girls who wore those pants were trying to advertise that they were "wet". Claire's, a store with teen and pre-teen consumer base, was selling chokers that looked bondage collars. Abercrombie & Fitch was in trouble with parents who realized the store their minor children wanted to buy clothes from sold A&F Quarterly, which contained soft-core porn, sexual commentary, and articles about sex. They were in trouble again later for selling thongs in the Abercrombie Kids store. The music marketed to minors contained questionable lyrics about being rubbed the right way, sweating til their clothes come off, and comparing themselves to a sex slave.

I'll be clear: Thongs and push-up bras, bondage collars, sexual photo magazines, and songs with sexual lyrics are not verboten on their own. The problematic part is that they were implicitly (or explicitly, in the cast of the A&F Kids thongs) marketed to minors, or at least did fuck all to temper their popularity with minors. A&F defended their A&F Quarterly magazine, saying that its intended audience was college students who were of legal age for the material. That is true. Likewise, the argument could be made that parents should parent their kids and set limits for what entertainment they consume and what they wear. That's also true.

However, minors were begging their parents for these things or simply accessing them on their own. If a teenager is just walking around the mall unsupervised (which I'd say they should be able to), the A&F or VS store, or wherever they'd go to buy Juicy-butt pants, wasn't going to card them. Claire's doesn't keep the pseudo-bondage chokers behind the counter. There's also an element of something approximating sensory overload for the parents. It's near impossible to screen everything, especially when the mainstream culture is designed by a cabal of rapists, whether intentionally, or simply because it's the cultural norm in the circles they run with. The 12 year old asked for some fucking bullshit pop album, the parent looks at the album and it appears to have a teenage girl/boy on it and there's no "parental advisory" label, so it can't be that bad, right?

For Millennials, VS was part of this weird push for sexual precocity. A lot of us were "not a girl, not yet a woman" and trying to assert our maturity and feel grown, which involved a lot of tight, short, low-cut, hiked-up, and thrust into a sexually appealing shape. There wasn't really a middle ground between children's clothing and that beauty standard. I suppose there was alternative style, but it was still cooler and more rebellious to wear your Jncos with your thong exposed, a slice of midriff showing, and "handlebar" pigtails. The Disturbed girlie tee that said "Mistress" was cool and someone in my 7th grade class had one. And you weren't alt unless you had a choker styled like a bondage collar or a blowjob gag. I was alt in middle- and high-school and remember there being pressure to be (or pretend to be) sexually open, kinky, and not have limits. This was middle school...

The culture at the time had such a racy tone that saturated everything because the people who architected it were perverts of the highest order. I would guess that parents probably overlooked what they were buying for their minor children due to mere exposure effect. It likely spread through "So-and-so's kids have that and they're decent people, too, so I guess I'll allow it." It's also possible that many parents were naive. I remember a girl in my 4th grade class wore a South Park shirt to school and got in trouble. Her mother said something like "I got it on vacation because it had cute cartoon kids on it and didn't think it was anything bad". I forget what setting this was, but a minor had a weed leaf shirt his mom thought was a palm tree. I think that's how a lot of this shit flew past the radar.

Boys were also equally victimized by this, similarly through media, music, and video games that would have been fine for an adult audience. They were pressured to act lewd, be ashamed of their virginity - retrospectively, it's ridiculous for a 13 year old boy to be making fun of another 13 year old boy for not knowing or doing some sexual thing, but that was normal and funny at the time - and listen to the most explicit music they could get ahold of for clout.

So...should teenage minors who are practically being beat over the head 24/7/365 by their hormones from age 11-13 onward be expected to remain innocent, sexless babies until age 18?

Of course not, but an entertainment industry and corporations run by perverts and literal rapists shouldn't have been the party that provided the sexual and behavioral guidance and norms to an entire generation. I don't think it's moralistic screeching to object to massive impact that rapists have had on popular culture.

The oblivious parents are partially to blame, but their ignorance wouldn't have been as harmful if there weren't a billion-dollar cultural machine in the picture mass-marketing sex divorced from love or responsibility to people who don't know better and saying, "Don't let your mom see this. It's a secret for cool people."

Boomer parents weren't exactly good, in general, about talking to their kids about sex. Susan spent the 70s getting her back blown out in the back of various vans with fur interior and water beds, and now she's too bashful to say "penis" and "vagina", and has to whisper when she refers to sex as "intercourse". Even a boomer who found the middle ground between 70s hedonism and 50s pearl-clutching repression is going to naturally have a hard time keeping ahead of cutting-edge, professional groomers.

The larger impact of all this takes the form of people who haven't woken up to realize how fucked up this all was, and how we may have been covertly groomed, in mass, by corporate pedophiles and rapists. Those people, perhaps, might be the ones so desensitized that it seems appropriate, if not preferable, to teach masturbation techniques to kindergarteners, promise teens they should start their sex work career on their 18th birthday, claim pedophiles are "just another sexual minority", and attempt to argue that queer acceptance means involving children in kink events and drag shows.

#victoriassecretangel #victorias secret #y2kcore #y2k icons #y2k aesthetic #2000s nostalgia #jeffery epstein #les wexner #l brands inc

[setaripendragon]

I don’t know if anyone remembers my silly little Narnia fic where the Pevensie kids all get meet-cutes with their future partners, but I’ve been working on a silly little sequel ever since, and I finally finished it. So, here’s the Pevensies finally getting together (sort of) with their partners, from the partner’s PoV, because I figured t hey deserved to get a say.

Jane had crushes before. A couple of really childish ones that were more her playing at mimicking the concept before the war forced her to grow up too fast, and then a few more serious ones after her little jaunt to Neverland as puberty dug its nasty little claws in. Peter was different.

Her Peter, not Peter Pan, even though Peter Pevensie wasn’t really her Peter at all. He was her best friend, sure, and had been since the day he’d let her flatten a couple of bullies by herself before he leapt in to de-escalate the situation, but he wasn’t hers. Not like she wanted him to be. Because not only was he kind of ridiculously handsome, and just carried himself with the sort of confidence and poise that could steal anyone’s breath, but he was also just an incredibly good person.

Which, Jane had found, was kind of rare, in boys. And maybe part of that was because Peter – her Peter, not- whatever – was a lot more grown up than the other boys her age, but she didn’t think so. He could be verygrown up when he wanted to be – which was awe-inspiring in it’s own way – but even when he was being silly and playful and ridiculously childish, he was still good. He was never horrid, never unkind, not even in jest. He never looked down on her, never held back if she instigated a bit of rough-housing, but he also never pushed her too hard, or gloated when he won, or sulked when he lost.

Jane had felt strangely alone after she got back from Neverland. She’d gained a new appreciation for the joys and wonders of childhood, but she hadn’t lost her understanding of responsibility and duty. She could get along with kids and adults, but she always felt so out of place. Like she was hiding half of herself just to fit in. That, and, she’d never been particularly lady-like to begin with, and living with the Lost Boys even for a few dayshad ruined her for any sort of delicate dignity and grace, so she didn’t really fit in with the girls her own age.

Peter – not-really-her Peter – was the same as her. Too grown-up for his age, but with a strong sense of whimsy and fantasy that would have most grown-ups giving him the same odd looks Jane got. He told the best stories, and her temper never seemed to throw him, and if he was sometimes a bit overbearing, like it didn’t even occur to him that she might, possibly, have a different opinion or a better idea, he never acted like she didn’t have a right to call him out on it. When they argued – and they did, fairly regularly, even – it was never with intent to wound, just with passion and ideas spilling out too fast and too loud and too important to hold back.

Jane was pretty sure she loved him. Her mother had warned her to be careful, not to hang all her hopes on one boy when she was still so young, and Jane tried, she really did, but she honestly couldn’t imagine a better man than Peter Pevensie.

Not that there was anything happening. Because the problem was that she and Peter had been best friends for years. Peter didn’t have quite her problems with his peers, he got on well enough with the boys in their year, but it was clear – to Jane, at least – that he was also holding a little of himself back, when he was with them. Not with her. And that was good, that was great – it was amazing, quite frankly – but it was also a little bit painful.

Because, of course, they got teased. A lot. A boy and a girl spending that much time together? Everyonejust assumed they were ‘together’. And Jane got flustered, and that made her angry, and that made her even more flustered. She yelled at the other girls who wouldn’t stop asking about her ‘boooyfriend’, and she punched the boys who wouldn’t stop making lewd commentaries, and blushed ridiculously at any mention of the notion.

Peter was phased at all. ‘Hey, Pevensie, is that your girlfriend?’ was invariably answered with the sort of stern-disappointed stare that would put any parent or teacher to shameand a bland ‘Jane is my friend’. Which, of course, Jane really did appreciate, because being Peter’s friend was just about the best thing that had happened to her since Neverland. It just… would have been nice to see even a hintthat he might possibly have even once thought of her as more than that.

Still, she’d thought, they were still young, they had plenty of time. Only they didn’t. Because then Jane found out that Peter had enlisted. He was too young, technically, but Jane wasn’t surprised that that hadn’t stopped him. He was pretty big on duty – a bit too much, sometimes, but Jane really kind of loved him for that, too – and on fighting bigotry anywhere and everywhere he found it, so it really, really wasn’t a surprise.

It wasscary, though. A little bit terrifying, because he might not come back. He might go out there to fight, and he might dieinstead. That would tear her apart no matter what, but it alsomade her think that she might not have another chance to ever tell him, to ever knowif maybe…

And if there was one thing Neverland had taught Jane, it was that sometimes the amazing things didn’t happen unless you believedthey would. Sometimes you had to jump off the damn cliff and just have faith that you would fly, instead of fall. She kind of wished she had a little pixie dust right now, though, just to give her that extra boost.

Because Peter was standing in front of her, and sometime while Jane had been fretting, they’d managed to walk all the way to the god damned train station, and he was literally minutes away from leaving. He looked kind of dashing in the uniform, but he also looked – hilariously – uncomfortable. She would have expected him to look at home in it, with how he was about duty and fighting and all, but no. He kept tugging at the sleeves and shifting his shoulders and grimacing.

And she loved the stupid face he pulled when he really just wanted to stick his tongue out in disgust but won’t because he was trying to be polite. She loved his stupid face no matter what expression he was wearing, and she needed him to know thatbefore he left. Just in case.

So she grabbed him by the front of his uniform – uncaring that she was interrupting whatever his little sister was saying, because if she cared, then she wouldn’t be able to go through with it, and then she’d neverget around to it – and told him “Don’t die.” in as stern a tone as she could manage before she yanked him down as she went up on tiptoes to press her mouth against his. Thatshould get the message across.

It wasn’t, exactly, the world’s best kiss. It wasn’t exactly even a proper kiss at all. Jane just held there for a long moment, not moving, eyes scrunched shut, her lips against his, until her courage faltered, and she dropped back down onto her heels and opened her eyes to stare up at him belligerently.

Peter looked… stunned. Which was at least better than disgusted. Or pitying. His eyes were unfocused, gazing off into nothingness somewhere a little above her head, and his jaw was slightly slack, lips just a tiny bit parted. “Oh.” He said, like it was a prelude to something, only that was it, he didn’t say anything else, just kept staring, and blinking, and staring some more.

Someone – probably Lucy – tried to pretend a snicker was actually a cough, and the noise seemed to knock Peter out of his trance. He shook himself, frowning for a brief moment before his gaze refocused on Jane, and- and everything just sort of stopped. Jane’s breath turned syrupy in her lungs and the rest of the platform just faded into fuzzy nothingness, because Peter was looking at her like he was really seeingher, like he was looking at something deeper than her damned bones, and was awed by what he saw. “Oh.” He said again, this time with a whole heap more emphasis and an entire world of meaning behind it.

It sounded infinitely better than the last one, so Jane tried for a smile. Peter grinned back, and Jane felt like she could possibly just float away without any helpful pixie dust at all. He reached up, curled a hand around the side of her neck – his hand was so warm – and leaned in. Then he hesitated, tilted his head, tried again, and finally managed to fit their mouths together. It was awkward, but also really endearing, and Jane didn’t care either way, because Peter’s – herPeter, and he really was hers– lips were on hers and moving and sliding and kissing, and her entire world narrowed down to that one sensation.

“I promise I will do my very best not to die.” Peter told her as he drew back.

“You’d better.” Jane snapped, letting go of his collar to poke him in the chest. “Because if that was all I getfrom you, Pevensie, I will drag you back from the land of the dead just to kill you myself.” Peter laughed, unfazed, and kissed her again.

---

The war was over, and Jack was finally home. Or, well, sort of home. He wouldn’t really feel like he’d made it home until he was back in America, but the Kingsley estate was close enough, the site of enough childhood misadventures to count. It was close enough, and if he was being honest with himself, he was putting off his return to the States, just a little. He could have been through the mirror and back home in a trice, without having to worry about boats or planes or travel time, but instead he was lingering about in London.

He made up excuse after excuse as to why he was staying, but the truth was, he was still hoping that he might run into Susan again. It was stupid, he knewit was stupid, she was a beautiful, clever, gentlewoman, and there was absolutely no guarantee that she’d even rememberhim, even if he did manage to find her again.

Everyone he’d asked from the pub where they’d met knew her, knew ofher, but no one knew any more about her than Jack did. Not even her last name. It was depressing, and made Jack feel like a stalker, so he’d stopped asking about her. He did not leave London, though, stupid hopeless romantic that he was.

Dwelling on it was even more stupid, he thought as he made his way back from a grocery run for Sunday lunch tomorrow that Lynn had forced him to go on to get him out of her hair for a while. He was being a pest, he should just go home, but the Underlandian in him insisted that home was where the heart was, and right now, his heart still hadn’t managed to let go of Susan.

Jack stopped dead on the sidewalk, staring, because there was no way- He was seeing things because he’d been thinking about her too much. Susan, walking with a younger girl at her side and arguing good naturedly with one of the boys a little ahead of them. “Susan?!” Jack called out before he could help himself, and jogged across the street towards her.

She looked up, eyes going wide with shock on spotting him. She looked so painfully youngin that moment, almost frightened, that Jack slowed uncertainly before he’d even reached her. Still, he pulled his most charming grin on, the one that she’d never been fooled by, but had seemed amused by, nonetheless, and swept her a gallant bow like he would if he unexpectedly ran into Lilibeth. “Jack.” Susan greeted, and that was definitely not the open, pleased greeting he’d been hoping for. She sounded reserved, wary, and worst of all, uncertain.

Jack let his smile dim a bit, and told himself it was ridiculous to feel disappointed. It wasn’t as if they had anything more than one evening of interesting conversation. But it had been the most genuineconversation Jack had managed in years, it had been so Underlandian, like a breath of fresh air in amongst the choking smog of the war.

“Su? Who’s this?” One of the boys asked, frowning at him.

“This is Sergeant Jack Manchester.” Susan introduced. “Jack, these are my brothers and sister, Peter, Edmund, and Lucy.”

Jack offered his hand to Peter, then to Edmund, and then to Lucy. “It’s a pleasure to meet you all.” He said sincerely, and then returned his attention to Susan. “I was hoping I’d run into you again, maybe get your permission to buy you a drink, this time?” He asked, and it came out a little tentative, because she still didn’t look nearly as at ease as she had when they’d first met.

“You mean you didn’task permission the first time?” Peter demanded, glowering.

Definitely a big brother, that one, Jack thought with a grin. “I asked forgiveness, instead.” He replied cheerfully.

“Oh, thatJack.” Lucy said wickedly. “I should have known when you bowed.” She added, nudging Susan, who was going ever so slightly pink. “Mum went ballisticwhen she heard Susan talking about you, you know.”

Jack blinked. Would parental disapproval account for how wary Susan seemed right now? Not that he could imagine whythey wouldn’t like him, unless they were some of the people who hated Americans. He could whip out his ‘noble’ English lineage if that would help. “I’m not that scruffy, am I?” He asked, playfully looking down at himself as if checking for dirt or mis-buttoned clothes, and then peeking back up at Susan, looking for a proper answer.

“Not at all.” Susan assured him, and therewas that bright, sharp lady he’d met last time. She was trying to hide her smile, and the appreciative look she cast him, but she wasn’t trying that hard, and it made Jack beam at her in hope that maybe he hadn’t blown this before there even wasa ‘this’.

“No, I think she was more upset about your age.” Edmund interjected, earning himself a truly fierce glare from Susan. He smiled back innocently.

Jack blinked again. “My… age?” He asked. “I’m only twenty-eight.” He pointed out, cautious and bewildered. Susan might be a little younger than him, but not by more than four or five years. He’d thought as much in the pub, particularly when she laughed, that she was maybeon the wrong side of twenty, but he doubted it. Only, he realised, looking at her now, that she stilllooked like she was maybe on the wrong side of twenty.

Susan wasn’t quite meeting his gaze, and she looked… unhappy. Lips pressed into a thin line, and expression carefully neutral in a way that Jack didn’t believe for an instant. “Ten years.” Edmund murmured thoughtfully. “That’s not quite as bad as Mum was afraid of, I think.”

Ten years. That meant that when Jack had met her, when Jack had teased and flirted and fallen just a little bit in love with her, Susan had been fifteen. It made him feel dizzy. After all, he’d started fights with the sort of creeps who would leer after his little sister that way, and Susan was the same age as Ruth.

That brought Jack’s train of thought to a screeching halt. Because trying to put Susan and Ruth next to each other and thinking of them as the same age just… didn’t seem to want to workin his mind. Susan had notbehaved like a fifteen year old in that pub. Not even a little bit. He wondered, giving Susan a slightly closer look, just how old she’d be on the other side of a mirror.

“At least I’m not as bad as Great-Uncle Tarrant.” Jack said, and then snorted, because, wow, that was an understatement, even if it was hard to gauge the exact age difference when some days he was actually younger than Great-Aunt Alice.

“How bad is Great-Uncle Tarrant?” Lucy asked curiously.

It was a bit of a struggle to do the maths. Underland didn’t really agreewith things like maths. “I’m pretty sure that, chronologically, Great-Aunt Alice is more than twenty years younger than him.” Jack answered, because that was as exact as he could get, and then he brightened as an absolutely brilliant idea occurred to him. “If you wanted, you could come meet them? We’re doing Sunday roast tomorrow, and the whole family’ll be there.” He offered to Susan, who looked just as shocked as she had when he’d called out to her earlier.

“You want me to meet your family?” Susan asked cautiously.

Jack nodded, smiling warmly. “I think they’d love you.” He told her, entirely honestly, and didn’t add the follow up that was sitting on the tip of his tongue; I think I could love you, my gentle queen.

“That sounds like a great idea.” Peter said, which startled Jack a little, since Peter didn’t seem to like him very much. The clap on the shoulder Peter then gave him was a little too rough to be called friendly. “We’ll be there.”

Ah, Jack thought, amused. Not letting his sister go off with a strange man into foreign territory alone, that’swhat that was about. “The more the merrier.” Jack assured him, and only realised just how right he’d been to say it when Peter wasn’t the only one who relaxed. Besides, it was true. If he was bringing Susan, then a good portion of the guest list from Underland probably shouldn’t come, and that meant that Lynn was going to make far too much food for just the ordinary human-like people. Three more mouths to feed would barely make a dent.

He gave them his address, promised them again that everyone would be delighted to meet them, bowed again to Susan and pressed a kiss to the back of her hand in farewell, and jogged off home with a spring in his step that hadn’t been there before.

---

Tavan was finding it increasingly hard to sit still. Lynn reached across the table and put her hand over his, and it was only then that he realised he’d been fiddling with his cuff to the point of fraying it. Sheepishly, he tucked his hands out of sight under the table, and Lynn rolled her eyes at him. “I don’t know why you’re fretting so, Tavan. Edmund’s already proven he’s not going to baulk at a bit of Underlandish magic.” She pointed out, going back to doing the household accounts.

Edmund had done a lot more than that, Tavan thought. Edmund had proven to be brilliantly sharp-witted, curious, and adaptable. Tavan didn’t think he’d ever once heard the phrase ‘but that’s not how that works’ or any of the derivatives from him, and he’d thought up as many of the more shocking things about Underland that he could, just to make sure. Edmund had figured him out in a hot second, of course, because Edmund was brilliant, but he hadn’t been upset. He just looked sneakily amused in that way he had, and asked drolly if he’d passed the test.

Tavan had kissed him.

It was only after, when Edmund had crawled into his lap and quite thoroughly marked up his neck, and rumpled his shirt, that Tavan remembered that he was in Upland, and the belated panic hit. Edmund had taken one look at his poleaxed expression, and said, in a fond murmur; “You’re fine. I don’t think bigotry is the natural order of things, either.”

Tavan had beamed at him. “Yeah, ye passed the test.”

So now, Edmund had an invitation to Underland. Which would be fine, it would be great. Except. Except Tavan had thought he’d be taking Edmund to see Iplam, to see the flower fields and show him Tavan’s study. Maybe to meet Grandma. And sure, Grandma was scary, but she was still family. He hadn’t counted on Her Majesty The White Queen insisting, all wide-eyed innocence, that Edmund “simply mustcome to Marmoreal and meet the wholefamily.”

Which meant that Edmund was going to be subject to meeting the Queen of Underland on his very first trip there. And, yes, Queen Lilibeth was like an aunt to Tavan, but that didn’t change the fact that she was the very literal heart and soul of the land, and that was intimidating no matter how sweet and gentle she, of course, was.

The doorbell rang, and Tavan jumped to his feet, nearly knocking the chair over in his haste, and rushed to get the door. Edmund was, as always, a lovely sight, and his shy, sly little smile as he stepped over the threshold was as charming as ever. He was unfailingly polite to Lynn, and if Tavan didn’t know him, he would never have been able to tell that Edmund was actually quite eager to get on with things, he was so cordial and patient.

Still, he did know better. Quite a lot better, actually, so he gave his cousin an apologetic grin and said; “So sorry tae rush off, Lynn, but we’ve an appointment we just cannae be late for.” while dragging Edmund not too subtly towards the stairs. Edmund laughed, and Lynn waved them off with a roll of her eyes, calling after them that Lilibeth would never be so crass as to be impatient.

Which was true, but still, her disappointment if you caused her to considersomething as uncharitable as impatience could be crushing. “Lilibeth?” Edmund questioned as they made for the spare room.

“Ah…” Tavan grimaced. “The White Queen.”

Edmund flinched perceptibly, and Tavan faltered a little, concerned. “Sorry. Bad memories. Why is she the WhiteQueen?” He asked cautiously.

“Tha’d be because she’s the moral center o’ Underland. White for purity, open-mindedness, compassion.” Tavan replied thoughtfully, and then looked at Edmund again, checking on him, because his reaction had been unusual, to say the least.

Edmund was nodding, though, expression the same intense curiosity he always got about all things Underlandish. “Some cultures associate white with death and winter.” He pointed out.

Tavan laughed a little. “Well, don’t tell Lily that. Not that the Queen can be anything but hospitable tae any o’ the seasons, but I think she might do something un-queen-like if you suggested she was supposed tae represent winter. She loves her roses far too much for that.”

Edmund relaxed properly at that, and just in time, too, because they’d reached the mirror, and Tavan paused to take a bracing breath before stepping through. Lilibeth, of course, hadn’t listened to a single word of Tavan’s request for a modicum of privacy, and had invited what looked like half the court to come meet Tavan Hightopp’s beloved.

Exasperated, but not surprised, Tavan turned back and stuck his head and one arm through the mirror, holding out a hand in invitation. Edmund grinned as he took Tavan’s hand and allowed him to pull him gently through the mirror. But as he passed through the rippling surface, something strange happened. Edmund Pevensie stepped into the mirror, but the man who stepped out on the other side into the White Queen’s court was no London school boy.

Edmund was almost as tall as Tavan, now, with a touch of dark stubble over his jaw and a silver circlet gleaming in his dark hair. His clothes, too, were different. They looked like they belonged here, a fine tunic with a crest in the shape of a lion on his breast, and leather breeches tucked into high boots, and a sword on his hip that his other hand fell to perfectly naturally.

Tavan quite lost his breath at the sight of him.

Edmund’s breath caught a beat later, and he looked down at himself, even as his free hand left his sword to touch cautiously at the circlet – the crown, it was definitely a crown– on his head, and then ghost down over the corner of his jaw. And then he smiled, so beatifically that Tavan’s breath caught all over again, and he actually felt a little weak-kneed when Edmund turned that smile on him and offered him his arm. He took it, of course, and subtly guided Edmund over to where Lilibeth was rising to her feet. The crowd of familiar faces parted before them like they never would have if it had just been Tavan. Or if it had been Tavan and Edmund as he’d looked on the other side of the looking glass.

Lilibeth rose to the occasion magnificently, despite the confusion, and was all smiles as she greeted Edmund. “I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure of a properintroduction.” She lilted curiously.

“Your Majesty.” Edmund greeted, inclining his head respectfully, but notably notbowing. “It seems I am, once again, King Edmund the Just, of Narnia.”

---

Benji loved it when Lucy came to stay at Pemberley. Somehow, she lit the place up, and made everything that was familiar to him new and exciting again. She ran barefoot through the woods and taunted him into going skinny-dipping in the lake with her and taught him new dances under the watchful gazes of his ancestor’s portraits in the gallery.

She never stayed for long. That wasn’t her way, and Benji didn’t mind. Sometimes, he went with her when she left, whether that was travelling to far-flung places to meet new people and learn new languages, or to meetings and charities and projects closer to home, watching her throw her considerable will against any and all problems she came across, but sometimes he didn’t. And they both liked it like that.

That, Benji thought, was the thing he loved best about Lucy. Loving her was never a trap, never a cage, never a duty. She was a wild thing and she would not be tamed, and in turn, never once tried to tame him, and never asked for more than he could give.

He got a little caught up in it, caught up in herand her way of life, riding the high of being known, so clearly and effortlessly, by someone who shared his feelings and values. Which is why it came as a complete shock to him when, on the first evening of Lucy’s third stay at Pemberley, when his father leaned forwards a little and said; “I’ve been meaning to ask you, Benji, what the hold up is.”

“With what?” Benji asked.

“The engagement, of course!” Father replied, and reality crashed back onto Benji with a feeling like being submerged in ice-water. At his elbow, Lucy went suddenly still. An alarming thing, given she was usually always so full of movement.

“What engagement?” Benji asked, half genuinely bewildered, although he had a creeping sense that his family had gotten the wrong idea, because they never had understood when he tried to explain what it was about the girls he stepped out with that put him off so badly every time, and half stalling for time.

“Benji, darling, please.” Mother said, fondly exasperated. “You haven’t exactly been subtle.”

“Don’t mistake us, we’re very happy you’ve found someone!” Father added. “But your mother is right, you’ve been very obvious about how much you like Miss Pevensie.” His lips pursed with something that was half way between amusement and disapproval. “A little tooobvious, sometimes. You’d better hurry up and make an honest woman out of her, or people will begin to gossip.”

“I beg your pardon,” Lucy said, before Benji could shake the feeling of a noose tightening around his neck and find the breath to speak for himself, “but I’m afraid you’ve all got rather the wrong idea.” She said it in her High Society Voice, which was a sure sign she was sharpening her metaphorical claws. “I’ve no intent to marry. At all. Ever.”

“You’re young yet, my dear.” Mother said, looking a little concerned. “I know marriage can seem intimidating. Lord knows you and Benji are very alike in that regard, but it’s a wonderful thing to find the right person to support you through life.” She shared a loving look with Father. “You shouldn’t let something like that, with someone who understands you, pass you by just because you’re nervous.”

Lucy closed her eyes for a moment. Benji suspected she was praying for patience. “I’m not letting anything pass me by.” She said sharply, a flash of fire in her eyes as she opened them again, the smile on her lips a challenge more than any sort of expression of happiness. “I appreciate having Benji in my life very much.”

Father chuckled, while Mother went a little pink at the rather salacious tone Lucy said the last two words in. Joan snorted, derisive, drawing everyone’s attention. It was a very unkind sound, and Benji startled, because he’d thought Joan and Lucy got on. They were of a similar age, and a similar temperament, and had had many a passionate argument about one subject or another, sparring with ideas in a way that Benji was entirely unsuited for. “He’s not the only person you’ve been appreciating, though, is he?” She asked pointedly.

The whole table went still. Benji’s other two sisters turned to stare at Lucy, suddenly resembling nothing so much as hyenas staring down prey. But Lucy couldn’t be preyif she tried, and met the sudden threatening stares with a complete lack of shame. In fact, her chin kicked up a little in stubborn, fierce pride. Benji almost smiled to see it, but the flicker of admiration was quickly dampened by the thick tension in the air. “Joan?” He asked carefully. “What’s this about?”

“You didn’t tell him?” She asked of Lucy. “You swore to me you would.”

Lucy raised her eyebrows, then smiled. “Benji?” She called, and Benji hummed an acknowledgement, wary of opening his mouth again lest he be talked over. Again. “Joan walked in on me kissing Viscount Cranbrook’s son at that wedding last weekend.”

Benji blinked, startled by that reminder and a little uncomfortable at having such things discussed at the dinner table, with all his family sitting nearby. Then, he began to realise why Joan was looking so very upset. Why everyonewas looking so very upset, actually. “Yes?” He said, deliberately playing obtuse. “You already told me about that.” He paused to smile faintly. “In vivid detail.”

Joan dropped her fork. Father choked on his wine.

“Benjamin Percival Fitzwilliam Darcy!” Mother snapped, putting her own wine glass down with a very inelegant thump. “Such things are notappropriate dinner conversation!”

Benji felt veryindignant about being scolded for something that wasn’t his fault. At all. “Why am Igetting scolded? Joanie’s the one who brought it up!” He paused, feeling a little guilty, because Joan had been trying to be a good sister, to protect him, even if she had been making assumptions., and it felt a little unfair to throw her under the bus after that. So before Mother could start scolding again, he turned to his sister. “Thanks for worrying about me, though, but it really is fine. Lucy did tell me what she was about. She always does.”

There was another one of those stunned silences. Benji was really getting tired of them, and this time he couldn’t even tell what had prompted it. “You mean she’s done this before?” Joan demanded, sounding more bewildered than scandalised, which at least cleared that up.

“Yes?” Benji offered, looking around the table. Everyone else looked significantly more scandalised, and a bit insulted, whether that was on his behalf or the family’s, he couldn’t tell, and it made him feel a stranger in his own home all of a sudden. “Why are you all so damn surprised?” He blurted out. “I told youhow trapped it all makes me feel, with girls who are all thinking of marriageand one and onlyand forever. I can’t even tell what I my favourite foodis going to be on any given day, never mind who my favourite personis going to end up being next year, or the year after that!”

Joan was the only one who had the decency to look a little shame-faced. The others just looked vaguely appalled.

Except Lucy, of course. Who washis favourite person, and might even stay that way for the rest of his life. But still, the idea of trapping her in that role, of binding her to him and him to her in any way more than a simple question asked every day they happened to be together – ‘do you want?’ with no demand upon the answer being yes – was abhorrent.

Lucy just giggled, and reached out to lace their fingers together. “Why not everyperson?” She suggested cheerfully.

“I haven’t met every person.” Benji pointed out as solemnly as he was able, with his lips persistently trying to twitch up into a smile.

“Yet.” Lucy countered brightly. “And on that subject!” She declared enthusiastically, banishing the weight of the previous conversation and his family’s judgement as easily as a spring breeze scattering morning mists. “I was thinking about going to help the relief efforts in Morocco, and I thought you might like to come this time?”

#Chronicles of Narnia #pevensie siblings #crossovers #Peter Pan #Alice in Wonderland #Pride and Prejudice #Peter Pevensie #Jane Darling #Susan Pevensie #Edmund Pevensie #Lucy Pevensie #Next Gen OCs #Queer Pevensies #Demi!Peter #Bi!Susan #Gay!Edmund #Poly!Lucy