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I just want everyone to know that to this day I still think of the moment when Klaus said to Caroline “it’s ok, it’s ok. It’s just me. You’re safe.”

AND SHE BELIEVED HIM IMMEDIATELY

SIX EPISODES AGO HE WAS THE BIG BAD VILLAIN TRYING TO KILL THEM ALL!!!

THAT is how we do enemies to lovers PEOPLE!!!

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Fanfiction writers be like:

"here's the immensely time consuming 100K word novel-length passion project I'm working on between my real life job and family! It eats up hundreds of hours of my one and only life, causes me emotional harm, and I gain basically nothing from it! Also I put it on the internet for free so anyone can read if they want. Hope you love it!" :)

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utilising the gift of imagination to hallucinate moments of tenderness between fictional people

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Caroline Forbes knows the words to every Taylor Swift song, therefore Klaus Mikaelson knows the words to every Taylor Swift song.

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im so charmed by characters who are likely to have the worst day of their life at any given time in the story where we happen to check in on them

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No but seriously. Normalize finding love in your 40's. Normalize discovering and chasing new dreams in your 30's. Normalize finding yourself and your purpose in your 50's. Life doesn't end at 25. Let's stop acting like it does.

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I love being friends with prostitutes and transsexuals and artists and drug dealers and perverts and queers

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A lot of these big issues surrounding kids and teens stem from the adults in their lives, viewing them only as an extension of themselves and not as their own individual. And, listen, parenting is fucking hard. It's a lot of pressure, and there's no way to do it perfectly (both the mental health of parents and their kids would be better if we stopped trying to reach that unachievable goal and accepted the inevitable mistakes easily, but that's another rant). It's understandable why someone would slip into viewing their child like that when they are a helpless infant or developing toddler because they haven't formed their own sense of identity yet, and they're looking to the adults in their lives as a basis for what a person is, so in many ways, they are an extension of their parent in those early years. The problem comes in when the child outgrows that stage, is exposed to more of the world than their immediate circle (which happens much faster each generation), and starts to form a more unique sense of self. Parents have a hard time switching their mindsets as their children grow, which causes a lot of conflict because while your kid is solidifying who they are, you're still viewing them as that helpless baby that thoughtlessly mimics everything you do, and that's not who they are anymore. They're nearing a fully developed human being capable of rational thought and independent desires. If someone older than you treated you like a baby when you so clearly are not, it would be condescending and demeaning, so why should you expect your teenager to feel any different?

Being preyed on by partners is just one of the many adult situations kids and teens find themselves in as they grow, and as the trusted adult in their life, your job is to prepare them for that eventuality. This doesn't mean handling it like you would when they were little by simply telling them "no, don't do that," and punishing them when they don't listen. This means listening to their side of things, providing your own experiences if you have them, explaining warning signs, and for God's sake, giving them a better alternative. Give them the tools to fight their battles for themselves, trust that they are capable and make sure they know you believe in them, and support them when they need it. Do not put them down, make them feel stupid or childish, and even if the worst happens, they will get through it. Don't treat the bad things that may happen to them like they're the end of the world just because you're so desperate to protect them. All that does is make them believe they can't move on or heal, and they can, they will.

Okay, here's my criticism of this post I keep seeing -- and no, it's not what you think. I know, my longtime followers who know the kinds of things I post about a lot are probably thinking, "Oh, I know what their objection is going to be. It's going to be that 18-19 year olds are adults who can date older partners if they choose to." But no, that's not it this time! Yes, I do believe it's fine for young adults to date older adults if they choose to (and am accordingly rolling my eyes at all the "This should go up to 25!" comments in the notes), but. That's not my issue here. In fact, precisely because I believe that young adults dating older adults is morally neutral, I'm not at all concerned about the efficacy of the messaging against it. My concern is that underage minors being in sexual/romantic relationships with adults is actually harmful and dangerous, and therefore young people actually should be warned against it, and this is not an effective warning.

Fellow old people, do y'all remember being 14? At all? Would you have found this warning effective and compelling at that age?

I for sure would not! I did not! Quite the opposite!

Put yourself in the young person's position here. You have no rights. You're treated as someone with no agency. Your parents, teachers, government, and society as a whole treats you as some combination of "nuisance," "ticking time bomb," and "unthinking blob." Developmentally, you're at a phase of life when you should be transitioning to a more adult role, but everyone around you demonizes you for that desire. All your thoughts, feelings, and opinions are dismissed as the inconsequential ravings of Just A Dumb Kid Who Doesn't Know Any Better. You meet someone who treats you with basic human politeness, tells you that he likes you and that you're mature, actually treats you like you have two brain cells to rub together. Of course you're going to be drawn to him. And then when other adults warn you that obviously of course he doesn't really like you, that's impossible, of course you're not really mature, no one could possibly see you that way; actually you're naive and incapable of making your own decisions, and the way your parents/teachers/society treat you is completely justified. Are you going to heed those warnings?

Why are adults absolutely constitutionally incapable of giving good, necessary advice to teenagers without fucking insulting them in the process? Of course teenagers don't listen to it! Why would anyone??

"Oh, well, of course teenagers don't listen, because they're stubborn, and immature, and biologically determined to make bad decisions, which is all the more reason they need to be controlled," say adults, completely oblivious to the actual problem.

When I was a teenager, the big moral panic at the time was teen pregnancy, and we were all inundated with the least effective cautionary tales in the world: "If you get pregnant as a teen, you'll have to leave your parents' care and function as an adult!" Which left every girl who'd intentionally gotten pregnant for the explicit purpose of escaping her abusive parents saying "Yeah, that was the goal." And every girl who was looking for a way of escaping her abusive parents to think "What a great idea!" Today the big moral panic is older partners, but if the appeal of an older partner is that he treats you like someone capable of making your own decisions, why would you be persuaded by a counterargument of "Don't listen to him, of course you're not capable of making your own decisions!"?

Again. I'm saying this because I agree that adults dating minors is a bad thing and that minors should be warned against it. EFFECTIVELY.

That said, this is my advice to any 17-or-younger person being pursued by an 18+-year-old partner: Listen. You deserve so much better than the way society treats you. You deserve to be taken seriously. You deserve to make your own decisions in life. You have a mind of your own, and people should recognize that instead of treating your pesky "free will" as a personal affront or an inconvenient glitch. You can and should think for yourself. You deserve, and I hope you have, relationships with older people who validate those truths about you. However. You are still legally and materially powerless. I don't have to tell you that. You live it every day. Someone older than you -- and therefore, inherently, legally, more powerful than you -- should not be trying to extract things from you. Money, sex, unpaid labor, anything of value. Someone more powerful than you who truly values you, values your friendship, values you as a person, will be mindful of your status and not try to extract anything from you. Cross-age friendships are good. Older people can and should genuinely like and appreciate you, and you can and should genuinely like and appreciate them. But if they try to extract anything from you, run away.

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283,000 likes………giant meteor strike the earth rn holy shit. oh my god.

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Every night I ask myself "is it better to stay up and make sure something gets done, or bank on going to sleep early-ish and being more productive tomorrow" and then land on a worst of both worlds compromise.

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"You know it's love when all you want is for that person to be happy, even if you're not part of their happiness."

You know, this scene lives rentfree in my head. When you really look at it, Caroline was the only woman who wanted to see Klaus genuinely. When he told her about Cami, her expression was so pure, a little amused, and maybe even curious—perhaps even proud. She wanted to see Klaus truly happy. Not necessarily happy with her, but just happy for himself.

She wanted him to find that light within himself because she knew he was still capable of being saved —capable of changing because he wanted to, not because he wanted to please anyone.

Aurora told Hope that she wished Klaus would change for her. Camille said she thought she was the light in Klaus’s life, but realized she wasn’t—because that light had always been in him, just as Caroline knew long before her, and in far less time.

This brings us back to when Klaus let Tyler go just to make Caroline happy. Or when Tyler surprised Caroline at prom and came back to town, despite Klaus telling him he’d kill him if he returned. Klaus saw him and still let him go, simply because they shared the same desire to give Caroline the night of her dreams.

And when Klaus saved Stefan—despite his better judgment—it was only because he didn’t want to see her in pain. He wanted her happy, even if it wasn’t with him.

That’s the purest, most selfless form of love: not possessive, not demanding—just supportive, patient, and lingering. The complete opposite of what Klaus believed himself to be.

That’s true love. The kind that changes you without you realizing it, without needing permission.

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art will save you, being unreasonably passionate about something niche will save you, letting past sources of joy show you the way back to yourself will save you, earnestness over composure will save you, the natural world will save you, caring for something bigger than yourself will save you, daring to be seen will save you, kindness not as a whim but a principle will save you, appreciation as a practice will save you, daring to try something new will save you, grounding will save you, love will save you, one good nights sleep will save you

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Spike knowing how to sew, and stitching up Dru’s pretty dresses after a fight (or alternatively, fixing Buffy’s clothes after every apocalypse).

Spike always maintaining Dru’s manicure (and painting his to match).

Spike stealing DVDs and CDs for Dawn.

Spike having to get help bleaching the back of his hair after that time he missed a spot, and Buffy never let him live it down.

Spike begrudgingly letting Dawn take him trick or treating, but refusing a costume (someone asks if he’s dressed as Billy Idol, and he has to hold back from biting them).

Spike and Giles having virtual “Passions” watch parties (sometimes Giles has to put down the phone, because honestly, who talks through the whole show? It’s bad form).

Spike learning how to restore old motorbikes again, because he forgot everything he learned in the 70’s, he was too drunk all the time to really remember anything.

Spike drinking blood out of a “World’s Best Big Brother” mug that Dawn gave him, that he refuses to admit is his favourite (but he won’t let anyone else touch it, just in case they break it).

Spike and Anya drinking in a demon bar and gossiping about their mutual friends from back in the day (“I mean, Halfrek? Really?”).

Spike getting way too into Love Island.

Spike going to night school and getting his double degree in Poetry and Literature.

Spike being banned from teaching Dawn to drive after that one time he got such bad second hand road rage that Dawn learnt about 5 new ways to curse.

Spike ranting about the poor quality of clothes these days, and accidentally becoming an advocate for slow fashion (Tara drags him to protests and petition campaigns, and he’s so passionate about it they ask him to speak at a conference).

Spike going to girls’ night with Tara and Anya (and getting so wine drunk that he calls Clem to tell him how much he loves him).

Spike taking one of the kittens from kitten poker home, and totally falling for this little bundle of fluff (Buffy finds them on the couch one night, a little ball of grey fuzz curled up on Spike’s chest, purring loud enough to wake the dead (though not Spike, he’s somehow still sound asleep)).

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A 3-5 min walk is a LOT for people whose bodies don't work correctly. Whether it's a temporary injury or a chronic condition, those few minutes are the equivalent of a few hours for people who are at peak health, and it's important to remember that when planning eco friendly urban areas.

I would love to cut out my carbon emissions by walking or biking everywhere, but due to my chronic joint pain and fatigue, it's just not feasible. There are so many people in the same situation, and it doesn't make those people selfish or lazy. It's a matter of healthy people simply not considering us. Many of us want to do all we can to support the dream of a better, cleaner world, but when that world's not built for us, there isn't much we can do.

walkable cities also means sittable cities send tweet

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wait whaaatt???? I'm literally seeing a cardiologist for that shit and your telling me I just need to horse tf up and get a salt lick???

standing up and blacking out for a few seconds is just transitioning from a cutscene to the actual gameplay

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I find it very offensive that the more unwell you are, the more things you have to do to maintain your health. Things like following special diets, going to medical appointments, making big and important decisions about what treatments to use. At the same time, the more unwell you are the less energy you have to do all of these extra things. It seems grossly unfair.