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wynnyfryd · 3 months

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Trailer park Steve AU part 48

part 1 | part 47 | ao3

cw: mentions of smoking/sexual activity

Chapter 11

February

For two and a half months, Steve’s life goes perfectly. He didn’t realize how far into a pit he’d fallen until Eddie showed up to help Robin and the kids lift him out, but the difference is jarring. Golden hour sunlight after catching a matinée.

Steve spends two months blinking.

He sloughs off his sadness like a snake shedding skin; spends the winter getting back to being Steve, restocks his favorite hair products and restarts his fitness routines — morning runs through the woods, afternoon pick-up games with Lucas and some of his teammates when the weather doesn’t suck. Weightlifting in the evenings because Eddie says he likes how Steve’s arms look when they get a little big, says it’s more fun to pin him down when he knows it’s just for show.

And he tries new things, too, just because Eddie likes them or because the kids think they're cool. He reads a Vonnegut novel. He eats Indian curry. He even learns a song on guitar.

...Sort of.

Eventually.

(Actually, that whole thing goes pretty horribly and takes for-fucking-ever. Eddie spends an afternoon patiently encouraging him and doing his best not to tease while Steve clumsily moves through a beginner chord progression, and then breaks down wheezing when, after the sixth attempt with no improvement, Steve puts the guitar down in a huff and threatens to demote his pinky finger from his hand if it doesn't start cooperating. Eddie laughs so hard he tips face-first into Steve's crotch, and it takes them a sticky-spitty-sweaty half hour to get back to the lesson.)

Anyway, he likes the way their lives entangle. As easy as weaving his hands through Eddie’s hair.

He gets invited to band practice; he sits in on D&D. Sometimes he watches sports with Wayne when he's got a day off, then he heads out with Eddie for long joyrides through the countryside.

Eddie blasts his metal music when they get out to the backroads, and he talks too loudly over the bass and laughs even louder and rants about nothing and smokes cigarettes while he headbangs to his favorite guitar solos — almost lights his hair on fire on more than one occasion, fucking dumbass — and he does this silly, lewd shit that makes Steve's chest just ache. Makes it clench around the word that's been burning a hole in his tongue since New Year's Eve. Eddie wags his brows and palms himself through his jeans and asks if Steve wants to take another joyride when they get home, and Steve thinks:

God, I love you.

I love you.

How could I not love you?

And really, how could he not? And how much longer can he keep not telling him so? When it feels like the word is going to burst out of his chest Alien-style any second.

When it feels like Eddie's the reason he even has a home to get to.

Slowly — so slowly, hours spent thrifting and bartering and keeping an eye out for free stuff left out on the curb, even more hours sanding and painting and caulking and sweating to death between trips to the hardware store — they redo Steve's whole trailer. Floor to ceiling, wall to wall, they exorcise the haunted tin can. They make it his; they make it theirs.

Eddie injects life into every inch of the space, fills it with weird art and funky lamps and a big, comfy leather couch that he likes to bend Steve over. Comes inside him in every room when they get done working on it as a reward; gasps in Steve's ear about how he always wants to be inside him: in his home, in his body, nestled deep inside his heart. "Keep me right here, baby," he breathes as he fucks Steve against a wall, his left hand gripping Steve's chest while he fills him from behind.

It’s perfect.

It's perfect.

Everything is beautiful and nothing hurts unless Steve asks.

And then, because this godforsaken town and everyone in it are fucking cursed, one day it isn’t anymore.

—

part 49

tag list in separate reblogs under '#trailer park steve au taglist' if you'd like to filter that content. if you want to be added please comment and let me know (must be over 21; please either verify in the comment or have your age visible on your blog)

#trailer park steve au #steddie #steddie fic #steve harrington #eddie munson #my writing #my fic #oh giant joseph head we're really in it now

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alelelesimz · 5 months

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here are my favorite things i did this year :) thank you for tagging me @madeofcc <3

i was just gonna make a simple post and for some reason i decided to make this whole thing i guess, even features my stupid handwriting lol. everything written above + some more thoughts down below so you don't have to decipher whatever i wrote, also links to everything. thanks for following my messy blog and allowing me to rant about splatoon every other day lmao love u friends

harmony my beloved

i love splatoon ok! i've tried to recreate a few different splatoon characters before but they don't really translate well to sims. however i love how my harmony turned out! she's my fav character in the game and i'm quite proud of this funky little edit :)

leaf carrying a plant she stole

as soon as i saw that pose i knew i had to use it with my girl leaf! simple edit, but very cute <3 i wanna post more about my nymph!!!!!

what is this? a crossover episode????????

bojack horseman is my fav show ever. when i saw the horse pack trailer i KNEW i had to make this silly joke :p i didn't expect it to get so much attention but i'm glad it did! fun facts: 1) i painted bojack's face in game but basically redid the whole thing in photoshop bc sims textures are uh bad. 2) i recolored pc's dress and god i wish i could've made something better lmao. 3) i converted mr. pb's glasses and i SUFFERED. they actually look terrible ingame but ✨photoshop magic✨

this edit of an alien oc that i need to name still

i don't really use alpha hairs but ain't this one cute?! and i love this edit! if you read this give me a name suggestion for this sim please

YES THAT'S HAPPENING

I LOVE JUNO BIRCH!!! i literally need to stop myself from making another juno post every time she posts anything online lol. but that hot dog costume is iconic, what can i say.

sims in the city, baby + everything i made about them

i've been wanting to recreate these guys ever since i joined simblr back in 2019 (jesus christ) and i finally did! i'm very proud of them and happy so many people like them :) i loved this game growing up but none of my friends played it, so it's really cool to see more people who played it too!

also, that roxanna moxie lookbook i did? peak fashion

GRAP3FRUIT!

these guys!!!!!!!!! i really wanted to make a silly little band since forever and kari's edgewave fest finally pushed me to make them and I LOVE THEM! i can't wait to keep making more stuff with them babyyyyyyyyaskldjalskhdfklasj

#i'm gonna tag all of this arent i #ts4 #ts4 edit #simblr #sims 4 #tag game #a

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heartfullofleeches · 10 months

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Alien brain rot realll love our funky little unknown creature ❤️😭 spare us crumbs of them plz they’re my fave oc so far

The sky is beautiful tonight. Beneath the blanket of night, the stars shine for you alone - little, twinkling balls of green as far as the eye could see. You've never seen them so close before-

"Hey Alien, do you know how all those glowy stickers got on my ceiling?"

One of the patches lands on your companions face as its adhesive gives. They discretely slide it back into the horde within their pocket as they shrug. "nope."

"Huh. Been there for a while." Roughly a year if you had to guess. You've been finding space themed stickers taped in odd corners of your home tracking a few months back, but from dim of their glow, some had to be there far longer. Locations and numbers ranged from a single star on top of your fridge to the entire galaxy stretched across your bedroom ceiling. You haven't really paid attention to it until your friend asked if you wanted to stargaze with them and landed down on your floor. Funnily enough, the stickers began popping up a week after you formally met. They didn't seem that interested in them as they had been staring at you all night. When you asked them about it - all he said was he was looking at the brightest one.

"My bet is on ghosts."

"I thought you didn't believe in the paranormal."

"I don't. Complete horseshit if you ask me, but sometimes you just gotta believe in the unbelievable, Y/n. There is no logical reason to this. I'm sure everybody knows that you leave your window unlocked and you're cutest when you're sleeping."

You point at the far corner. "I think that's a camera spray painted silver someone duct taped to the wall."

"That is clearly a comet and should be left exactly where it is - just like this conversation."

"Alien, have you been sneaking into my-" "Yes I have, please kiss and or marry me."

#yandere alien #yandere oc #yandere x reader #yandere imagines #yandere x you #yandere headcanons #yandere insert #yandere blurb #yandere scenarios #yandere #alien my oc #yandere exophilia

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featherwingfae · 2 months

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So the nonhuman theme of the day that I've been seeing on the Internet seems to be self doubt both due to internal and external influences.

My response to this theme is this. You are who you are. And no one can tell you who you are but you. (The rest of the post is pretty much just this^^ in way more detail than necessary. You have been warned lol. Buckle up this is gonna be a long one. Literally took all day to write 😅)

Most of us live in a society where we've been told since infancy who we are are and what we must be, and if we don't fit in the predesignated boxes then there must be something wrong with us and we just need to be forced into a box. But just think about the vastness of life for a second. From macro to micro there's just so much to everything it's breathtaking. Everything is layered. Why should one being's existence be any different. There is what is seen and then there is everything else. Some thing's don't need to be understood by others, because they are not there for others. They are simply there. Wether we understand them or not. And that in itself (I think) is quite lovely.

I am Fae. Not just because of ______. I am Fae because it is simply what I am. It's what feels right.

It's ok to just exist. It's ok to live without ever fitting into boxes or labels. And if you find a label or box that fits you, that's ok too. It's your existence. Do what makes you happy. I've also found that sometimes, finding that feeling that you fit somewhere, comes first and the reasons why come after. Be patient. I know it's maddening sometimes when you've got a million questions bumping about in your head, or even just one or two burning ones, but life is a journey. A mystery to uncover through experiences.

I could give you a whole laundry list of reasons why I can call myself Fae. But at the end of the day, the only reason I need is that it feels right. I don't need to act like the stereotypical Fae (from folklore, media etc), I don't need to have magical experiences, I don't need memories. Keep in mind that your nonhuman identity does not need to match anyone else's.

If you're a Fae who loves technology and finds the modern age fascinating. Guess what? There's nothing wrong with that. (I LOVE Minecraft 😁 Though that may or may not have to do with the fact that I get to fly around and build whatever I want from nothing. Yes I'm obsessed with creative mode 😅 I usually get bored in survival)

If you're a Therian who's never enjoyed being on all fours or who doesn't like gear. It doesn't make you any less Therian. Do what makes you happy 😊.

If you're some ancient entity and you use an ungodly (hehe) amount of emojis and/or abbreviations (ex. Lol, omg, etc) it doesn't make you any less ancient or awesome. Do what you enjoy. You are too old to not be having as much fun as you can experience. I'm also an ancient creature, you really think I want to spend my time not doing what makes the happy chemicals 😊✨👁️🪽😁.

If you're an Alien who's not obsessed with space stuff. That's ok. Human portrayals probably don't do it justice anyway, and there's so many other things to be interested in. Like have you seen mushrooms? Those funky little guys come in so many varieties it's absolutely delightful 😊🍄✨.

If you're a vampire who can't stand the sight of blood. Don't worry about it. I can almost guarantee you're not alone (plus there's a lot of different types of vampires. If you know you are/were definitely sanguine then you're still valid 😊).

If you're fictionkin and you're absolutely nothing like your fictionkin type/character. That's ok 😊. People often change with their experiences, it doesn't make you any less yourself.

That last one applies to most nonhumans identities in general honestly 😅.

If you're an angel that doesn't/didn't have big feathery wings. You are still an angel. The universe is filled with too much color and variety for me to believe that all ______ have the same or very similar designs. I've never heard of an angel with dragonfly or beetle wings. That doesn't mean they don't exist 🙃.

You can be a plant who loves salads, a placekin who hates going outside, an objectkin that doesn't use it/it's pronouns or is super expressive, a vampire who adores sunbathing or just sunlight in general, a carnivore that doesn't like meat, an avian that's afraid of flying or heights, a demon with a heart of gold, a deity with social anxiety and/or low self esteem, an herbivore that loves going hunting, a dragon who prefers minimalism, an aquatic creature who doesn't like water, a void that's constantly overthinking, you can match all the known stereotypes for your nonhuman identity or none at all. You can have phantom shifts constantly or never get any, you can have countless identities, you can have just one, you can remember your past life/lives in detail or remember nothing at all, you can believe in past lives and souls, or not, your identity can be psychological, physical, spiritual, etc.

It's s your identity. No one else's. Just because you choose to share yourself or your identity with someone else does not mean they own you or your identity. It is, was and always shall be, yours. (Btw please please please, be careful who you share your nonhuman identity with. Not everyone is going to "get it". And not everyone is going to accept it. Stay safe, mentally, physically, emotionally etc.)

They say names have power. They also say not all things are what they seem. Whatever your nonhuman identity looks like, only you can know what it truly is. Understand that I am not saying that the appearance of one's nonhuman identity should be dismissed altogether, especially when one is still questioning. I am saying, that we shouldn't rely solely upon appearances. If your nonhuman identity fits in the category of x as far as appearances go but x just doesn't feel like it fits, then chances are, you're not x, or there's more to it than just x. I've known I was Fae since right around 2019. However I doubted myself for a long time because as far as I knew Fae were "supposed to have insect wings" and on top of having big feathery wings, I have a lot of them. In fact many of my nonhuman features could be considered angelic. However I've never felt particularly comfortable identifying as an angel. It just never felt like the right fit. It took awhile but eventually after I'd already accepted that my "angelic features" didn't make me any less Fae. I remembered why I had those features to begin with, and it all just clicked into place.

It's ok to not have all the answers or even the correct answers right away. Life is experiences. From moment to moment you are who you are. Things may change, new truths may be revealed, that doesn't make you or your identity any less real. You are whoever you are right now. Wether that is someone/something from everything you have ever been or ever shall be or just one thing right now, unconnected to anything else. You are not fake for changing. You're not fake for not changing. Most have doubts about themselves about all sorts of things. To the point where it seems like doubt is just part of the human world experience (not saying it's only a human world experience, just that everyone here seems to doubt themselves about something or other) and perhaps working through our doubts is a lesson of this place, then again maybe not 🤷. In the end what you believe is up to you😊.

Now, I'm not expecting that this single post from a total stranger will erase all your doubts. Not at all. I didn't write it to erase doubt, but rather to give it a little bit of something to fight against. To plant just one more seed in the hearts and minds of others who might need it or whom it might help in any way. This post is far from the only one out there, fighting doubt in its many forms and faces. And what I've said has already been said in many times and ways. But it's my take and not everything will click with everyone. If this post helps even just one being, then it has served it's purpose. Each and every single one or plural of us is unique in our own ways. And I truly believe that's one of the most wonderful things about life as a whole.

If you've read this far, I apologize if I got a bit carried away and made this post longer than necessary but it means a great deal to me and things that matter to me are very difficult to "sum up" 😅. And if you follow me. I warn you now that most of my posts will probably be a bit lengthy if not extremely so.

And now my dear creatures, crawlers, beasts, beauties, hellions, heavenlies (no I don't care that that's not a word it is now lol), magicals, marvels, wonders, wanderers, wildlings, winged things, whimsies, and whatsits (and everything beyond and in between) I wish upon you a most wonderful day/night. May you always know/remember that your existence makes the world a more magical place. 🌍✨ (And in my opinion we could use all the magic we can get 😊)

👁️🪽✨🍄🍀🪻🌱🥀❄️🌟✨

Till next time.

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crevicedwelling · 4 months

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taxonomic nightmare but may i request a chelicerate order ranking

sticking with extant ones, here.

Amblypygi - S

my little tree flatcrab spindle angels. maybe other arachnids have chemically interesting venom or are more colorful (amblys can do gray!! and sometimes brown) but amblys are really just suited to my tastes. long-living with both sexes having indeterminate growth, spiny, fast, nonvenomous, arboreal/scansorial, curiously social, and they just look great.

Alfonso says hi.

Thelyphonida & Schizomida — Uropygi? - A

great bugs for most of the reasons shared with above, being fairly closely related to amblys. vinegaroons are the tanks of the tetrapulmonates, built to burrow and clobber things with their freakishly muscular pedipalps. schizomids are very funny guys that deserve better. each group took “ain’t broke, don’t fix” even more literally than the amblypygi and truly all look identical; if you hid arachnologists’ microscopes there’d be a crisis.

Solifugae - A

fast, furious, fluffy: I love these little (and not-so-little) freaks. again, doing it all without venom, their crazy snipping chelicerae are some of my favorite insect anatomy. plus, they’re bizarrely diverse, from the mouth-on-legs of the rhagodids to the classic camel spider look and then there’s the hexisopodids that look like angry fur pillows.

Opiliones - A

there’s so much more to these than the ball-on-sticks (though that’s iconic!) that I used to think they all were. ornate armor and parental care (paternal, in some cases!) from the Laniatores, spindly guys abound, alien drone robots from Dyspnoi (Trogulus), and then whatever pudgy little Siro has got going on. possibly the most creative use of pedipalps, with funky lobster claws, bear trap spike-hell, “spoons?” (cosmetids), pinchy bits, glue traps, and spare leg all represented.

Araneae - B

sure. spiders are cool. everyone knows what a spider is. points for diversity, points for bizarre forms, yeah yeah. can we go home now? also, webs are cheating.

if it was only Liphistius, they’d get an A.

Ricinulei - ????

mysterious. elusive. built like a baked bean. what are they even doing? we don’t know. pay researchers more

Pseudoscorpiones - B

great bunch of little guys! phoresy is fun, and so are venomous crabby pedipalps. they have the best element of surprise—never know where you’ll find them next. in a book? under bark? in a beetle? lots of points for weird social lifestyles in certain species and associated chemical mimicry, plus all the wacky insular species and host specialists.

Scorpiones - C

they’re like pseudoscorpions, only less so. cute in a very dopey way. learning that a scorpion’s anus is at the tip of the tail ruined them for me forever.

Palpigradi - D

adorable but they’re not really doing anything let’s be honest. and I love them for that. you do you little eyeless guys I’m sure I’ll find you someday in the dirt

Acari/Parasitiformes - S

aha! I bet you thought I’d rank them poorly, but no, mites are the best arachnids (though not my personal favorites). if you disagree with that, it probably means you don’t know enough about them. mites can do anything and you are a fool if you doubt them.

yes, this includes ticks. ticks are cool and if you have an issue with this—sounds like a vertebrate problem

~~~~~under the water~~~~~

Xiphosura - C

overrated. great, and I love them, but just slightly overrated. stop stealing their blood pls

class Pycgnogonida - ????

Huh? What?

What? I don’t know. Maybe.

#creature rankings

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saliosis · 8 months

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your subway order total is $19.21

(extra notes below)

ok, so here's the deal with the slight design change! (i swear, it's cool)

i wanted to make chuck latino because i joked about it once (w/ fred stoller being on handy manny saying "my amigos 😆" and then saying his colors look like the flag of colombia 💀) but it stuck for some reason. to me, it works PERFECTLY.... if becky can be an alien who is

"ambiguously brown"

then why can't a sandwich person like chuck also be brown, yknow 🔥⁉️

(help i keep accidentally latinoifying wg characters--)

chuck? nah. he is now, officially

chuck el sandwichero perverso 🥪🇨🇴‼️🔥

(as they call him in the spanish dub aka chica supersabia)

for starters, i wanted to experiment with changing the type of bread he's based on. i can assume chuck is based on the classic sandwich made up of white bread (...💀) so i wanted to change it up for latino chuck.... yknow... yknow.... yknow.... 🕴️

i'm also just not a fan of plain white bread 🤕 LMFKAJDKSN

i had a couple of options to chose from so i can upgrade his sandwichness™ 💭 but i decided to settle onnnnnnn..........................

funky multigrain bread!! my favorite 🥄🥄‼️ anytime i make a sandwich, i usually reach for this bread... (and when i say "anytime" i mean the times i'm extra and watch a chuck episode while eating a sandwich 💀💀)

i like the idea of chuck having seeds and grains on his face... think of it like moles, freckles, or even acne scars if you will 🤷‍♂️ brent straight-up has seeds on him that represent freckles so why not, right⁉️ we can get creative here w/ it!!

plus- he's so much more bread-like this way

above is a fast doodle, but it is what i ended up sticking with for my design. if you see in the final drawing, i did shift around with some of his costume colors to make it work with the bread type-colors!!

i imagine brent being a variation of bread that looks similar to chuck. that way chuck can be multigrain bread and brent can be another type.

parent who is multigrain bread + parent who is another type of bread = two siblings, each being one of two options of bread because of genes™ (wow. sandwich person science 😍😍🥪🧬 /s)

my two options for brent's bread type? because i will probably never draw that man? either molasses bread (left) or even dark rye (right)?? but i lean towards dark rye brent because that idea seems so scrumptious to me

ngl i have never been too sure what type of bread brent is based on......

the wiki doesn't really help me decide. he has freckles that seem to be like seeds, so that means he's a type of bread that has seeds. but also, not that many seeds.... which is likely an animation thing since animating all those damn seeds must be hard. but idk? but his skin tone is very slightly darker than chuck so that makes me think he isn't white bread based™ (help what am i talking about)

if any bread experts™ out there have some guesses, let me know so we can talk about that more. for some reason, this is really fascinating.

anyways.... latino brent can be real too 🤷‍♂️

um...............

brent 😍🥪🇨🇴🔥‼️

(because i swear to god they just call him brent in the spanish dub instead of his long ass name)

but yeah 👍 that's my little hc-chuck related ramble. i may not talk about him, but i really fuckin love chuck 😭

............ .. . . . ... . .... . .. . ...... . .. ...... ....... .. .. .. .....typing this out has made me realize how much thought, effort, and research i have done all because of a joke i made. a joke i made about a cartoon character from a kids show where we haven't gotten new content in years. and that it's likely that i'm the only person thinking so deeply about a family of sandwiches--

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covertblizzard · 3 days

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Best Silver Age Teen Titans stories (according to me)

Narratively Significant to the Teen Titans

Teen Titans (1966) #53 "In the Beginning": The original Fab5 team formation story

Teen Titans (1966) #50-52 "The Coast-to-Coast Calamities", "Titans East! Titans West! And Never (?) the Teens Shall Meet!", "When Titans Clash": The first time Titans East and Titans West were defined (with the first massive team up of 15 Titans):

Teen Titans (1966) #34 "The Demon of Dog Island": Babies' first friend-got-possessed-now-we-must-save-them story!

Interesting Storylines

Teen Titans (1966) #17 "The Return of the Mad Mod": Honestly, I love this story for being the first story where the problem is solved by everyone but Robin because I was so used to the modern stories of Dick being the only one allowed to have a brain

Teen Titans (1966) #37 "Scourge of the Skeletal Riders": They legitimately face off with what seems to be the four horsemen of the apocalypse, maybe evade death, and got their bus fixed by the horsemen's blacksmith? It's all completely unexplained! (Fun to tie in with the implication that they may be immortal though!)

Teen Titans (1966) #38 "Through These Doors Pass the Bravest Titans of Them All": Explores Dick, Donna, and Mal's dreams and insecurities which is fun and it's a little funny to me that all the redheads (Lilith, Wally, Roy) escapes this exploration

The Brave and the Bold (1955) #102 "The Commune of Defiance": A story about civil disobedience portrayed in a good light where the Titans participate!! A story about improving a neighbourhood!!! It's so good I actually teared up a little. If you read nothing else, read this!!!!!!! I'm obsessed with this story actually!!!!!!!!!!

Teen Titans (1966) #41 "What Lies in Litchburg Graveyard": Another story with quite heavy exploration of the history of slavery in America. Is it accurate and sensitive enough? It's like really not my place to say but it seems to be written to teach people at that time about the impacts they have Mr Jupiter raised by a cool black lady which is cool to me!

Fun and Games~

Teen Titans (1966) #9 "The Big Beach Rumble": They have cute sweaters and scooters and fun, who doesn't love a beach ep?

Teen Titans (1966) #11 "Monster Bait": My favourite Fab5 story from here really, just fun and silliness

Teen Titans (1966) #13 "The TT's Swingin' Christmas Carol": A Teen Titans adaptation of the Christmas Carol, who doesn't want to see KF, A-lad, and WG as the Ghost of Christmas Past, Present, and Future?

Teen Titans (1966) #19 "Stepping Stones for a Giant Killer!": They clown the villain SO much in this one it's just fun

Teen Titans (1966) #27 "Nightmare in Space" (with optional pre-reading of #26 "A Penny for a Black Star" which is the set up): Teen Titans go to space to rescue a lost friend and Donn befriends some funky little cute aliens, what is there not to love?

Teen Titans (1966) #32 "A Mystical Realm, A World Gone Mad!": You get to see the JLA as knights which is very funny and it has lots of Wally and Mal moments in the silliest possible form

#teen titans #dick grayson #wally west #donna troy #garth of shayeris #roy harper #mal duncan #lilith clay #mypost #dc thoughts #robin #kid flash #wonder girl #aqualad #speedy #please read the brave and the bold 102 please #i promise it's SO good and if it's not i'm sorry you don't think so #but i think it's actually AMAZING #one of the last i've read and its like an instant favourite

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retrobr · 3 days

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Lazytown Shenanigans pt. 2

So this time I've watched two episodes in a row: "Sportacus Saves the Toys" and "The Lazy Cup." I can't say that I liked both of the episodes, but they weren't bad either lmaoo. And, well, I think I liked the "Sportacus Saves the Toys" episode more than "The Lazy Cup"

So,

"Sportacus Saves the Toys."

In the first of the above-mentioned episodes, there were – holy moly – some new locations, even despite the fact that they weren't shown for too long. I liked that China and France looked somewhat identical to Lazytown, like they looked funky and colorful as well as Lazytown, u know

This episode made me feel a little bad for Ziggy tbh. I mean, Ziggy is one of my favorite characters; he has a very sweet (badum-tss) and kind personality. I live for this kind of character who is mostly cheerful and happy about everything in their life. And this episode was one of those in which someone ruined his mood, so that made me feel sad. I am sad /ref

And it was Stingy and Stephanie again who did that, just like in the "Ziggy's Alien" episode. Bruh why are they doing that to my boy :(

OH AND ZIGGY'S AND SPORTACUS' "FAMILY BONDING." I fucking adore their interaction, and I fucking love when Sportacus tries to cheer Ziggy up. I just can't do it anymore why are they so adorable 🥺 But then Stingy and Stephanie (mostly Stingy. All the blame is on him /j) ruined his happy mood once again. DAMN WHY JUST WHY ARRERGH-

A few words about Stingy. My God, he can't even play peacefully without proving that things belong to him. BRO UM JUST PLAY NORMALLY, GODDAMMIT, WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?? Holy chimichangas, he even took all the sunscreen for himself, what the hell, seriously.... I just despise him at this point, but I can't help myself. He's just annoying.

Anyways. Milford and Bessie were adorable, as always. Can't help but smile like a dork when I see them interacting 🥺

And for goodness sake let Robbie rest and eep!! I can't say that much about him because, well, he was acting silly again as always, so yeah. But the machine that he built was a TOTAL MONSTROSITY. I would've shit myself if I saw that thing walking towards me omg 😭 /hj

And, finally, the "grab my hand" line. Nothing much to say because I'm shaking fiercely like a small pathetic chihuahua..... these dorks are going to be the end for me fr.

"The Lazy Cup."

Well, um, that was something I guess 😭 I don't even know what to say about this episode, except for some small things.

The Sportacus' "ball" shout from the very beginning set the mood for the whole episode, I tell you guys. (/j) I mean that was just very sudden, I just turned on the episode, and the very first thing I heard was "BOAHL" 😭

Won't say anything about Bessie and Milford again because I told about them earlier; they're just cute, like a married but not actually married old couple. Good for them

And speaking about old couples and stuff. There's no doubt to me from this point that Robbie is fucking obsessed with Sportadork. I mean, bro says that he hates him but at the same time HAS A GODDAMN MANNEQUIN OF HIM; bro says "ooohhh noo not him again" and still continues to watch him. Like dude, my dear, calm down 😔

But whatever. Robbie's disguise was pretty nice, I should say; I think his name was Sergio?? I honestly don't remember, but I think it's one of my favorite disguises of his.

And I would like to say that Robbie's team was SO FUCKING ODD I JUST UGH?? 😭 BRO GATHERED THE MOST CRINGE GUYS THAT HE HAS I SWEAR. And like, how did it even work? Did he just bring his own disguises to life? I don't know maybe I'm just stupid, but I didn't know that his disguise machine could do things like that

Finally, Stingy again. In this episode he actually did something nice – in other words, he helped Stephanie. Ok bud, that was a good act of yours 🙄

Well, I guess that's all.. It turned out to be a little longer than I expected, so I want to thank you if someone read this to the end :]

#lazytown shenanigans #lazytown #robbie rotten #sportacus #ziggy zweets #stingy spoilero #bessie busybody #mayor meanswell #my ramblings

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gorycze · 1 year

Photo

Inspired by the amazing @/arkelyon I decided to make my own lil creatures and that’s what I have been doing for the past few days!! I’m finally happy enough with the design so I can post it.

More under the cut. Everything is still a huge wip so it’s just me rambling.

I don’t have a lot to share right now, some lore pieces that I might use or not and some random facts.

They’re something similar to a mammal but mixed with a bug because I thought it looked cool. I can’t really get more scientific about that, it’s gonna be a job for future me, rn it’s design time.

I want to make them similar to Polisz szlachta (nobility from like 17th century I believe). They were big on sarmatism, they valued family a lot, treated women with honor and respect (although I don’t think I want them to have traditional human gender roles). They were big on chivalry and courtliness. Loved to spare, to hunt etc Enjoyed partying, drinking and dancing a lot etc etc

But! The problem with those guys is that there’s no nobility. I don’t want them to have money or any social classes so I’ve been thinking that something similar to real world szlachta existed in like their golden era and after decades and technological progress some wars happened and they decided to fuck it, fuck technology, fuck money because all it brings is death and suffering. And based on the sentiment to the times of their golden age they decided to bring the szlachta back (kinda). So they’re larping I guess.

I even drew them in the funky clothes. I want to redesign them more so they don’t look like the real thing but one step at a time.

And the creation process! I knew I wanted to base them on some kind of an animal and decided on aye aye lemur as they already look quite alien. Added some bat too to the mix later on.

It was a good start but looked too much like a furry lol I decided to add even more animals to the mix as a treat and already have been thinking about making them a little bit Slavic because why not.

I still wasn’t happy with it!!! It looked too much like some real animal so I decided to look how popular media designs aliens and it made me remember how much I like those thanatos doggies from avatar. They gave me an idea to have 4 arms and a funky face.

I’ll keep working on them more in the upcoming days so expect some updates :>

#xenobiology #spec bio #speculative biology #aliens #uhhh #worldbuilding

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noraunor · 5 months

Text

THE BEACH

Shuntaro chishiya x f!reader

Warnings : swearing, mentions of harrasment.

Genre : romance?

PART TWO

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

The walk to "the beach" this chishiya guy is taking me is.. Not so awkward nor tense, just a chill walk. He really gives off this mysterious and smart vibe yk? It's quite intriguing.

For after a long walk we finally made to a bridge and across the bridge there I saw a big.. Hotel? But the signs were crossed though. It's says "The beach Utopia" what an odd choice of name though.

And I guess he really isn't lying about the electricity and full of people part. Once we got inside I was greeted the smell of alcohol and the smell of sex in the air that made my nose scrunched up in disgust, blaring music and giggles and screams of people partying in the pool. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘷𝘦.

Walking through the crowds eyes of the people inside were stuck on me and chishiya. What's their deal? Why are they looking at me like I'm some kind of an alien. Feeling annoyed with their eyes, i glared to whoever I made I contact with.

" why are they looking at me like that. " I asked the man in front of me, chishiya.

"Probably because it's the first time I bring someone here. " he answered with his signature smirk. Seriously does this man can only make one expression?

I just nodded in acknowledgement as we continue on making our way to the head of this utopia.

Finally with all the walking we stopped into a big door with two Simingly guards in the side.

" you might wanna take a deep breath and lengthen your patience for this one. " he warns which made me quirk a brow at him. Is the boss here is that bad to make me loose my patience? Huh guess we'll see later, don't wanna misjudge a person again.

I chuckled on my thoughts as we opened the door and invite ourselves in.

I spoke to soon. Once we got inside I see this funky lookin man with a to bathrobe hanging loosely in his shoulders exposing his bare chest. And just wearing a.. Short..

He was freely. Making. Out. With. Two. Womens.

I had to hold myself back from throwing up here and there at the sight in front of me. I glanced at chishiay beside me, he also have the same reaction as mine but less visible?

Once this funky ol' man is done with his.. Session, finally. He greeted us with a warm smile which I find it odd and also walked over at us with his arms open. What the fuck is this guy doing?

I glared at him which he backs away, thankfully.

" why hello there my beloved executive, who's the lovely girl you bring here on our warm Utopia? In fact, it's the first time you bring someone here so I'm guessing she's worth it. " the "boss" chuckled.

" but first let's take a seat shall we? " he gestured at the sofa behind us. No I am not sitting there after knowing he probably make out with some girls in that. Chishiya, to, stayed in his position also having the same idea as mine.

I stared at the man who still had his hand behind him, pointing to the sofa.

" no? Don't feel like sitting? Ok then. " he chuckled.

" so what's your name dear? " he asked.

" L/N Y/N. " I replied shortly.

" well Y/N, it's very nice to meet you. As you may know chishiya here, never really bring someone here with him, so, I would like to know the reason what did you do to change the mind of our little chishiya here, hmm? " he smirked as he leaned closer to eye me up and down before looking at chishiya's direction. I literally smell the strong smell of alcohol in his breath and I almost lost myself there. He's disgusting.

I scrunched up my nose as I back away, glaring at him. I should've bring my pack of face mask before going here.

" she seems interesting, back at the game where I met her, she figured out the little twist on the game. Oh and the difficulty of the game was 8 of hearts plus, she remained calm in the entire game. Honestly, if it weren't for her I would've actually fall for the trick. " chishiya chuckled. Isn't he over-complimenting me right now?

" who knows, she might be a better player then I, she might even have played most of the cards we still haven't gotten. " chishiya added with a confident smirk. Why is he more confident then I am?

I glanced back at Hatter, he seems to be Intruiged at his "story" he hummed for a few moment before turning to me.

" if it's alright Y/N, may I see your cards? " I quirk a brow at him. What cards?

" you know the cards that you get after you played the game? " oh.

I slid my hands on my baggy cargo pants finishing out the cards I got.

" I'm not here that long, so, I don't have much. " I nonchalantly stated which Hatter nodded in response. I handed him the cards which he gladly took it.

Once he got the cards examining it careful, his eyes slowly widening. This also perks the blondes attention.

" my.. I guess you are right about her having good cards chishiya. " Hatter chuckled as he handed the cards to chishiya to see. Chishiya took the cards and examine it his eyes slowly widens.

" 7 of spades, 6 of diamonds, 8 of hearts, 2 of clubs, 5 of hearts, 6 of hearts. " chishiya began to list out the cards.

" this is.. Really impressive. " chishiya muttered in surprised as he hands them back to Hatter.

Hatter took the cards back as he pocket them in his short.

" well L/N Y/N, before we give you the warm welcome of the beach. I'll explain you what you must and mustn't do in this utopia. It's quite simple actually. " Hatter smirks as he started to walk back and forth while explaining. I crossed my arms on my chest as I quirk a brow at him.

" ok first, RULE NUMBER ONE, you must wear bath suit, bikini perhaps. " what.

" RULE NUMBER TWO, you can do 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 you want in the utopia, and by what I mean 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. Sexs, drugs, are permitted, get high is smokes AND get drunk however you like. " Hatter smiled. I grimaced at the thought of it. No way in hell i'd enjoy those.

" And last but not least, " his smile vanished and turned into a serious look. " Death to all traitors. " I stared at him for a moment before nodding. I don't really care to be honest, I mean, what else I'm about to rebel here? Well unless if this utopia thing gets really stupid.

" for you to stay alive and stay here, you must give me the card whenever you play games. " he explained. I quirk a brow at him before shifting my weight to the left side of my leg.

" why exactly I have to give you my cards? "

( too lazy to explain all of it. )

Hatter gave me a little smirk before starting to explain me on why I should retrieve the cards I could get in my games. He also show me a board with cards in print on it. Some were crossed to. Honestly, his little plan was stupid and ridiculous. It's unbelievable that people believed this without him having a proof to show them that that's the actual way for us to get out of here. Well I guess that's how a desperate person works.

I sighed before nodding and asking him if I could leave. He gave me one of his bubbly smile which I find it quite annoying.

" sure you may, but before all that, since you got some good cards and serious skills, I'm putting you next to chishiya's number. " the both man smirked.

" well L/N Y/N, welcome to the beach, no. 008. " Hatter smiled before giving me a bracelet with a tag on it.

I accepted the bracelet and wrapped it on my wrist before leaving the room with chishiya behind me.

Once were out of the room, I let out a deep sigh, relieved that I'm out of that room, away from that disgusting mans presence.

" so what do you think? " chishiya suddenly asked. I glanced at him for a second before groaning.

" he's annoying and I cannot stand another mere second in his presence. God. " I groaned which I earned a chuckle from the man beside me.

" we're in the same boat. Follow me, I'll show you your dorm. " I only hummed in response as I let him guide me to my suppose dorm.

Once we got there chishiya told em to pick any swim suit or bikini I want in the wardrobe and also adding a a little insult of that rule which I of course insulted it, telling him that it was ridiculous and nonsense which he agreed. He also told me after I'm done with everything he told me to meet him on the rooftop and I agreed. Chishiya and I bid goodbye before closing my door and went to the wardrobe and looked whats in it to wear..

When I laid eyes on them.. I felt myself glaring at them. All of them.. Were 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩. Well actually not all, I found a bikini that is comfortable enough for me to wear. It was a black bikini that isn't that much revealing. Like the panty was big enough to cover my whole ass, oh just to share this information. My ass is actually not that big nor small. And the bra is kinda like a sport bra. I'm honestly really glad there's at least good bikinis here.

I took a bath first before changing into my bikini, once I'm all done. It's time to meet chishiya.

Wonder what does he wants.

𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐎𝐍𝐄 :

#alice in boderland x reader #chishiya shuntaro #chishiya x reader

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doctor-octiddius · 7 hours

Text

This ended up being a long ramble about Siddig's characters whoops

Every time i think about Sid I want to fall to my knees sobbing. I feel like that gif of the wailing emoji that is disintegrating, like just knowing that this man exists gets me so aourhgrhghghhh :'(( I cannot believe that Julian Bashir and Ra's al Ghul are played by the same man; as in, I was incredibly into Gotham back in 2017, a little just before he joined the show and now years later he is stuck in my brain again. I remember every damn frame of him. How is that this same guy. (I wrote "gay" at first, help me 😭 I mean hey, with Sid saying that he played all his straight characters as a bit gay, anything's possible) Also i haven't really interacted with this whole Sid hyperfixation in a lil bit and it's making me so sad, god forbid i have other interests.

Actually, I lied, I keep relistening to the audio dramas he's been in. I'm now hijacking my own post to yell about some of his audio drama characters because they are my favourites ever of all time.

ROSTO FROM THE EIGHT DOCTOR ADVENTURES (Sisters of the Flame/Vengeance of Morbius)

My babygirl being a 10 foot tall centipede cop ??? It's more likely than you think !!! He is literally just that. That's all he is. He makes funky bug sounds when he talks, he's a bit silly, he's so cute, he disconnected himself completely from his home to focus on his job... I love him so bad, I want to hug him, but I think that's a form of affection he just wouldn't understand, but I am willing to try anything. I am ignoring his ending, I was able to save him actually and now he's all good again and we are best friends <3

THE SULTAN/THE SHANAKI FROM DOCTOR WHO: THE MONTHLY ADVENTURES (1001 Nights)

WE GET SID AS THE DOCTOR FOR A BIT TECHNICALLY ??? But also The Shanaki... OOUGGHGHH THE SHANAKI...... This guy has lived through several lifetimes and boy do I need to know all of them. What lives has he led exactly? Like, he could have been anyone, any celebrity, any public figure. What did he do to all of the people whose psyches he stole? Has he actually learned anything through them; have they only ever been human lives? How did the breakdown at the end with him mixing up lives and experiences influence him further on? Please I need to know everything about him immediately.

DR. REESE FROM ALIEN: RIVER OF PAIN

Motherfucker named Bartholomew Reese. He's a bitch. I love him. That is all. Thank you. (I read the book too, and every little description of him I ate up, though the book seemed kinda boring, lacking any suspense etc. I loved the little bit of regret he had before his end, which wasn't shown in the audio at all, even if it was very short and simple.)

THE PERSIAN FROM THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA

Don't even get me started on this one. The Persian in general is like my favourite character of all time, but him played by Sid? I am so biased in so many ways. My PotO hyperfixation has led me to so many places, and all I've learnt is that the ALW musical, which I used to worship as a kid, is mid (story wise, I still love the music), and everyone keeps fucking getting rid of the most important character of the story. This audio drama is so good, it's quite faithful to the book, it's the best adaptation in my opinion, I am in love with this daroga.

I feel like I have to mention Ted from The Flat Edge of the Earth, but I have to relisten to it to better form an opinion on all that (I say that since I've listened to all the other audio dramas at least like four times (PotO near 30 times, but we won't talk about that). That's the same reason I haven't mentioned Captain Nemo from one of the DW audios either since I've only heard that once.) He seems very goofy, though, and having just an hour of Sid and Nana in my ears was fun.

But yeah, that is all. If you read through this entire ramble then hi hey :3 I am so normal about his roles

#thought abt a man and now i'm on the floor sobbing #the usual #AOURHG #i am just insane over his roles i can't help it #I LOVE ROSTO. I LOVE THE SHANAKI.#WHY ARE THEY SUCH SMALL CHARACTERS IN THE DW UNIVERSE. I NEED MORE OF THEM #alexander siddig #siddig el fadil #gotham #ra's al ghul #julian bashir #ds9 #st ds9 #doctor who #doctor who audios #phantom of the opera #poto #alien: river of pain

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sesamestreep · 1 year

Note

Nick/Jess, 15!

15. i’ll save you a seat (from this prompt list)

IT’S MILLER’S TIME

The bestselling author of the hit YA series ‘The Pepperwood Chronicles’ opens up about seeing his work adapted for television, his new novel, and becoming a father.

LOS ANGELES - The lunchtime crowd at Gogo’s Tacos in Silver Lake is more plentiful and aggressive than the colleague who recommended the spot for my interview with Nick Miller led me to believe it would be on a weekday, which means I spend the twenty minutes between when I show up (ten minutes early) and when he arrives (ten minutes late and convincingly apologetic about it) fighting off other patrons who are convinced I’m lying about expecting someone and want to steal his seat. His appearance in the busy restaurant is welcome for more reasons than one.

We’re here to discuss the new Netflix adaptation of his bestselling book series, The Pepperwood Chronicles, into a television series. The first season, which drops this Friday on the streaming platform, takes on the Herculean task of adapting the first book in the series (clocking in at 628 pages) into just eight episodes of television. It’s a highly anticipated project for the army of Pepperheads out there, who want to see if Sebastian Stan truly has what it takes to embody the titular grizzled New Orleans detective from Miller’s beloved novels, but it’s not the only project that’s been occupying Miller’s time lately. He’s also got his debut novel for the adult market, the stylishly-titled HoBo, which draws heavily on his childhood in Chicago, coming out in November. But the project he’s most anxious to brag about is one he had—by his own admission—very little to do with, aside from the original idea. The lion’s share of the credit belongs to his wife.

“This is Reggie,” he says, stretching his phone across the table proudly, swiping through dozens of photos of a pleasantly chunky infant in a Chicago Bears onesie. “Oh, and that’s Mario,” he says, when we get to a photo of a dog sniffing the same baby, asleep in a car seat and wearing a hooded jacket with bear ears.

“I know he looks like a funky little alien right now, but my wife says that most babies get really cute around the six month mark,” Miller says, after suddenly remembering that he has tacos he could be eating. He takes an enormous bite of one before making a face. “God, don’t print that. My son is already adorable. I love him.”

We debate whether or not I can actually print that comment (guess who won) for a few minutes before Miller finally allows us to move on. I ask, given his penchant for drawing details from his own life to use in his novels, if this recent development for him means we can expect the next Pepperwood installment to find Julius Pepperwood and his leading lady, Jessica Knight, contemplating parenthood.

“I don’t know about that,” Miller says, with his mouth full. “It’s not that one-to-one for me. Yes, Pepperwood is based on me in some ways, but in many other ways he isn’t, you know? Same goes for Jessica Knight. She’s based on my wife, definitely, but I’ve never felt constricted by that. I’ve always felt like the characters follow their own path, though they take inspiration from my real life.”

In this answer, Miller has given me both an articulate response and neatly sidestepped giving any confirmation of further Pepperwood installments, which forces me to ask the question directly. His face goes blank for a moment afterwards, and he spends a while chewing before he attempts to answer.

“I’m not saying no,” he finally replies, wiping his hands on a napkin, while looking thoughtfully into the distance. “But I’m also not saying yes. There have been people—and my wife tells me not to read the reviews or the comments, but sometimes, you know, shit happens and you see some stuff—there’s people who think Pepperwood is too happy now. They liked him when he was tortured. Now, he’s got the love of his life by his side, he solved his brother’s murder, he made peace with his father. It’s like, where’s the tension anymore? But at the same time, I don’t want to make him miserable again just to sell more books.”

Miller talks about Pepperwood (and Knight and all of his characters) like they’re real people, a fact he shrugs off when I point it out.

“Of course,” he says. “Of course they’re real to me. It’s important to remember that they’ve been with the readers for six books now, but they’ve been with me for longer than that. And they don’t leave me alone when the book is done, either, like they do for my readers.”

They don’t seem to leave his readers alone after the last page, actually, if the healthy fandom producing fanart and fanfiction online are any indication. Miller, of course, has thoughts.

“I’m pleased about it,” he says, with his usual Chicago-born nonchalance. “It’s always made me happy that my work resonates with people, especially young people. I didn’t see that coming, in the beginning. It wasn’t supposed to be a YA series.”

The origins of The Pepperwood Chronicles are the publishing world’s version of a Cinderella story. Miller initially published the first book in the series himself at the encouragement of his friends, hawking the hand bound (!) copies at local bookstores with the encouragement of his then-girlfriend, as well as his future wife (“Two different women,” he clarifies. “It’s a long story.”) The hefty novel all about the seedy underbelly of New Orleans very quickly found a devoted fan base amongst a surprising audience: teenage girls. Where other authors might have bristled, Miller instead took his unexpected champions in stride.

“Like, there was definitely some initial shock to get over,” he explains. “If I’d known I was writing to teenagers specifically, I would have cut, well, a few things from that manuscript.” He’s referring delicately to some pretty explicit sex scenes and graphic violence, which definitely get toned down in later installments of the series. Confronted with this, Miller shrugs and says only, “That’s show biz!”

Speaking of show biz, how does he feel about the Netflix adaptation of his work?

“It was really interesting,” he offers, thoughtfully. “I’m grateful they didn’t ask me to write it, because it turns out I’m a terrible screenwriter.” Before I can ask him to elaborate on that, he continues, “But the team really did check in with me a lot and they made sure the tone felt right, and the changes they had to make worked with my understanding of the world and the characters. I felt like they really respected Pepperwood, which obviously means a lot to me.”

Miller is being generous, of course, considering he and his wife are both executive producers on the series. When I mention this, however, he waves it off. “They still could have told me to fuck off with my opinions,” he says.

As for working with his wife in that capacity, he’s more than happy to sing her praises. “She’s great. Aside from myself, she’s the person I trust most to get Pepperwood, you know? Like my editors and my agent and everybody, they’re amazing, but if I’m really stuck, Jess is the one I can turn to and be like ‘does this work? Or does it suck?’ And she’ll tell me. She’s always been that person for me. She’s the first person I shared the first draft of the first book with, so her input is invaluable. Or is it valuable?”

“They mean the same thing,” I tell him.

“That’s stupid,” he replies. “I mean, I’m not calling you stupid. The English language is stupid sometimes. My wife’s input is very important to me, is what I’m saying. Her instincts are spot on.”

And they should be, after all. When she’s not producing the Pepperwood TV series with her husband, Jessica Day (yes, you’re reading that right. Miller’s wife and the inspiration for his character Jessica Knight is named Jessica Day. Check the dedication on the first Pepperwood novel if you don’t believe me) works for Scholastic, as a part of their team that handles community outreach to K-12 schools across the country. (Miller’s publishing deal is with an imprint of Simon & Schuster, in case anyone is worried about favoritism.) Before that, she worked briefly in the nonprofit industry and as a middle school teacher and later vice principal.

“She understands the demographic perfectly,” Miller summarizes, fifteen minutes into an endearing monologue about how great his wife is. “I think the writers for the TV show liked having her around even more than having me. She really knows her stuff.”

When I follow up a few days later with Ms. Day for comment, her husband’s remarks amuse but don’t surprise her. “He’s always giving me too much credit,” she says, humbly.

Does it weird her out at all, to have so many people so intensely invested in the fictionalized version of her love life?

“It’s funny. I know the names are really similar and obviously Nick borrows things here and there from our real life,” she says, “but I really don’t feel like Jessica Knight is me. So I don’t take it personally at all.”

This isn’t the first time this attitude has come up in interviews. Last year, when casting was announced for the Netflix series, Day made headlines for defending the production’s decision to cast British actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Jessica Knight after many fans claimed she didn’t match Knight’s description in the books.

“Gugu’s a very talented actress. I’ve seen her screen tests and she will blow you away when you see the show, I promise!” Day took to Twitter to say at the time.

“She capture [sic] JK’s energy perfectly,” she added in a further tweet. “Please welcome her to the Pepperwood family as we have!”

Now, Day is less diplomatic in her response. “It was a small portion of fans who were upset,” she says, “but they were the loudest contingency. It was very upsetting, and honestly tacky. So what if she doesn’t look like me? The character isn’t me, first of all. And the books are set in New Orleans, for God’s sake! It would be stupid if the entire main cast was white people.”

When I accuse her of saying the quiet part loud, as the kids say, Day seems nonplussed. “It’s those new mom hormones, I guess,” she replies, as a baby cries in the background of the phone call as if on cue. “I just don’t give a fu…dge.”

Miller, during our interview, feels similarly. “The team went with the best people for the parts, and we made it clear, my wife and I, that they absolutely weren’t trying to cast our doppelgängers. That wasn’t the point. Honestly, it would have freaked me out if they had.”

So he doesn’t think he and Stan look alike?

“No, not at all,” he says, automatically. “Do you?”

“He kind of seems like a more Hollywood version of you, yeah.”

Miller takes a long time thinking this over. “That’s…huh…”

In order to distract him from the existential spiral I’ve inadvertently led him down, I switch us over to the topic of his new book, HoBo. It’s made several lists of most anticipated books for this fall (including this publication’s) but there was a while there where Miller feared the manuscript would never see the light of day.

“The publisher thought it was too dark for the teen market,” he says, without any of the smarmy pride one would expect from the average male author accused of being ‘too dark’ by The Man. “I had no idea! I thought Pepperwood was too dark for teens and they loved it! So, there was a bit there when I was like, ‘okay, so this is the end, I guess.’”

Miller isn’t being melodramatic either. There was a moment, according to him and confirmed by his editor, Merle Streep, where they considered parting ways. Luckily, they came to an understanding once the dust settled and Miller pitched the novel, then titled “Chicago Hobo”, for the adult market. The source of this brilliant solution? You guessed it: Jessica Day.

“My wife’s a genius,” Miller states. “It was so simple and yet none of us could see it. Of course they should market the book to adults, if they thought it was too gritty for teens. Obviously.”

Day, however, downplays her contribution. “The issue with the manuscript came to a head on our wedding day, if you can believe it. On our honeymoon, it was all Nick could talk about. He was worried he’d never publish another book again. I suggested he send the manuscript around to other publishers to see if there was interest, but pitch it as, you know, a book for grownups. I thought it would make him feel better. I had no idea that the minute he did that, his original publisher would come back to him with a deal.”

But that’s exactly what they did. He’s also on the hook for three more books after that, though he’s cagey with details about if those will be HoBo sequels, further Pepperwood adventures, or something else entirely.

“We’re in a really pivotal moment,” Miller says, looking a little bit sweaty as he admits it. “We’ll see how Pepperwood does as a TV show, we’ll see how people feel about HoBo when it comes out.” He pauses to laugh. “We’ll see if being a father completely fries my brain and I never write another coherent sentence ever again.”

Early reviews and chatter are saying that the new novel is every bit as cinematic as The Pepperwood Chronicles, which suggests a screen adaptation is more a matter of “when” than “if.” It is, by Miller’s own admission, even more autobiographical than Pepperwood (the preteen narrator is Travis Tiller, called “Trick” by his friends, so do with that what you will). It’s based, in many ways, on his childhood in Chicago, but it’s also equal parts dystopian speculative fiction and superhero origin story, with a heavy pour of magical realism to wash it down. The cinematic universe practically writes itself.

“We just don’t know,” Miller replies vaguely. No matter what I do, I can’t get him to speculate on bringing this book to the small or big screen. “I don’t want to jinx anything,” he adds, frantically, after many such questions.

Fine. But, as pure speculation, what actor does he think, potentially, has what it takes to bring the eponymous hobo to life on screen?

“Rock Hudson,” he says, after much bullying.

When I inform him that Rock Hudson is dead and has been for more than 30 years, Miller looks crestfallen. What about preteen Trick Tiller, then? Is there anyone Miller would entrust to play his younger self?

“Cate Blanchett,” he replies.

When I point out that she’s both older than him and a different gender, he frowns. “She played Bob Dylan, though,” he counters, confused. I concede that he’s got me there.

We return to the much safer topic of conversation that is the current adaptation of one of his novels. What’s he most looking forward to now that the show is finally premiering?

“Getting to go on a date with my wife,” he says, sincerely, with the dead-eyed stare of a sleep-deprived new parent. “Seriously. We’re getting a sitter to watch the baby, we’re bringing a few of our close friends, who are all getting sitters for their babies. It’s going to be really fun. It’s going to be a classic mess around.”

A what?

“Don’t worry about it,” Miller says.

Is there anyone whose opinion he’s particularly anxious about, when it comes to the TV show? Or even his new novel?

“I’m always worried about what the fans think. I want the Pepperwood fans to like the show. I want them to like the new book, even though it’s not about Pepperwood, you know?”

Does he think there will be crossover?

“Absolutely I do, yes,” he says, emphatically. “The kids who read Pepperwood when it first came out—this is terrifying to say, but—they’re grown up now. They’re in college or they’re young professionals. HoBo is written for their age group now. It will be marketed to them.”

It’s kind of like they’ve grown up with him.

“Don’t say that,” Miller replies, putting his head in his hands dramatically. “I’m gonna have a panic attack. Having an actual biological child is scary enough.”

Speaking of scary, to distract him from another existential crisis, I ask if he’s been starstruck at any part of the process of turning his beloved novels into a TV show, and his answer is surprising to say the least.

“I mean, I was a little bit starstruck meeting Alfred Molina the first time. He was already in costume as Schmith, too, which was an extra level of weird,” he says, referring to the iconic love-to-hate-him villain of the first Pepperwood book and a supporting player in many of the series’s other installments. Still, Miller eventually got used to the idea of Doc Ock himself being in the show.

“Oh, I know my big starstruck moment,” he adds. “When Taylor Swift tweeted about the trailer. That was like…Woah! Is this really happening?”

That’s right. When the show’s first trailer debuted in March, the Grammy-winning singer took to Twitter to express her excitement.

“I can’t believe how good this looks,” she tweeted with the emoji of the cat making the Home Alone face. “Is it September yet?!?”

Can we take his excitement over this interaction the confirmation we’ve all been waiting for that Nick Miller is a Swiftie?

“I don’t know what that is, but I like her. She’s really talented. When my wife’s upset, she likes to listen to Taylor Swift and cry while she drinks pink wine,” he says, before taking a troubled pause. “Maybe I shouldn’t have told you that.”

Day laughs when I tell her this anecdote during our phone call and gives me the go-ahead to print it. “It’s true,” she says. “Who cares?”

So, if they had to pick a Swift song to represent Julius Pepperwood and Jessica Knight’s relationship, what would it be?

Miller’s answer is simple: “You should ask my wife.”

Day’s response, on the other hand, is more complex. “I think it evolves over time, you know, from book to book. Probably in the early books, before they get together for real, it’s ‘Out of the Woods’ or ‘Wildest Dreams.’ Maybe even ‘White Horse,’ if you want to go back into her catalog.”

What about for her and Miller?

“That’s easy,” Day says, and the smile is obvious in her voice. “I’ve always thought of ‘Mine’ as our song of hers.”

This conversation mostly just confirms Miller’s assertion that his wife knows his characters just as well as he does. It also begs the important question of whether he’ll use this big moment in his career as leverage to arrange a meeting between Swift and his wife.

“I don’t know,” he says, honestly. “Maybe? I should ask Jess. She might kill me if I pulled that on her with no warning.”

As our meal and interview come to an end, I can’t help asking Miller a question that has been on my mind the whole time: with all this talk of how great and inspiring his wife is, and how integral to his creative process she’s become, does he happen to identify as a Wife Guy?

“I don’t know what that is either. You keep saying these things—I’ve never heard of them before,” he admits. “But I like the sound of it. So, yeah. I guess so. Unless it’s a bad thing. In which case, no. Was that—did I answer your question?”

In this case, just like so many of Nick Miller’s characters before us, we might have to make peace with an ambiguous ending.

•

The Pepperwood Chronicles premieres exclusively on Netflix this Friday.

#forgive any stupid mistakes it should go without saying that I’m not an actual journalist #also I genuinely don’t even know what year to pretend this is set in…who knows tbh??#I have a lot of feelings about the Pepperwood chronicles it turns out phew #new girl #nick miller #jessica day #nick x jess #god this was so fun to write #taylor swift song prompts #firstelevens #homelywenchsociety #<just my writing tag don’t worry about it #IDK IT IS WHAT IT IS!!#there’s so many Easter eggs in this….a whole basket’s worth #barely relates to the prompt I tried

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