#((and honestly; you and me are in solidarity because i was also absolutely TERRIFIED of needles/shots as a kid!))

[theheadlessgroom]

"Ah, I like workin' with my hands, bein' on my feet," Wilhelm grinned, feeling pleasantly as though he were on a nightly news program with this little interview, as he elaborated, "Comes from the way I was raised; y'know, you grow up on a farm, you get used to doing physical labor most days, so when I started looking for work here, I looked into doing something similar. I don't think I'd do well behind a desk, to tell ya the truth."

He came from a long line of laborers, always on their feet and with their hands in any number of situations at any given time: His father Cillian was the same way, affectionately referring to less physically-demanding work (such as that behind a desk, say) as "arse work", the sort of work he could never do. Wilhelm came by it honestly; neither he nor his old man could sit for too long; no, they both got too antsy, they needed to move. Ergo, anything that allowed him to move around, he was open to.

"When Randall was a boy, I worked briefly for a gas station," Wilhelm explained-it was the first job he worked after he recovered from his accident, he started right after Randall started kindergarten, and June had gotten her job working as a pediatric nurse. "Not a bad job, honestly; I didn't mind being out in the weather, but it was a bit too slow-going for my liking, so I started looking for other work, got my job at the construction site, and the rest, as they say, is history!"

@beatingheart-bride

"Oh yes, giving shots is never the easiest part of my job," June chuckled, endeared by Emily's recounting of her childhood games of playing doctor with her toys-she remembered doing the same when she was little with her own stuffed animals and dolls. "I have a number of little tricks to help the kids feel a little less scared, such as asking them to tell me about their favorite toys or counting out the ceiling tiles, but it can still be a challenge."

"Randall used to be a pretty finicky lad when it came to getting shots," Wilhelm commented with a sly smile, adding, "He used to try and hide under the table when it came time for it, and he wouldn't hardly come out for anything. Even having his teddy bear friend Knox with him only helped a little bit; he just had someone to hide with!"

"Oh, Pa..." Randall blushed in embarrassment, putting a hand over his face with a little smile, at which his father replied, "It's true! It took a lot of convincing, but he got there eventually-and besides, once he got the sticker Junie hands out to the lads and lassies she sees, he forgot all about being afraid of the needle!"

June laughed softly at her son's bashful look in response to this, before turning back to Emily, quite touched by her kind words as she said affably, "You're too kind, dear girl, too kind!" She seldom got praise (outside of her family, at least) for her work, and so her words were a very pleasant surprise.

[onceuponalegendbg]

Ok so, I just wanted to kind of pick apart my problems with the Arlong Arc in the Live Action a bit. And I’m going to avoid the whole “needed more time/should have cut some of the marine storyline” complaint and just focus on the details that didn’t quiet work and were kind of baffling.

And I want to reiterate this before I get into it: I loved the Live Action. It was fun and goofy and the passion behind it was palpable. And this isn’t me going “argh, how dare they deign to change anything! I wanted a shot for shot remake! Argh!” No. I’m okay with changes. I love that all we get of Don Kreig is Mihawk humiliating and then killing him because god was he annoying in the anime. Least favorite arc I sat through. Nami’s one on one conversation with Kaya? Fantastic! I’m not even that big of an OP fan, but this kind of made me wish I was.

I just really love the Arlong Arc in the anime (horribly paced fights aside). It’s honestly the only arc I care this much about so I wanted to talk about this.

- Arlong’s Betrayal: Ok, so in the anime Arlong makes it very clear that he will let Nami and Coco Village go once she hands over 100 Million Berry. It’s made explicitly clear that he’s a fishman of his word and that he’d never go back on a deal involving money. And then of course he sends Nezumi to steal Nami’s money once she has it all. Ok. So that’s all pretty much the same in OPLA.

However, in the anime, Arlong does not immediately move to destroy the Village. In fact, when Nami comes charging in after realizing Arlong’s betrayal claiming he broke his word, his reply is “When? When did I go back on our deal exactly?” Because he technically didn’t! And instead of moving to destroy Coco Village, he tells Nami (to paraphrase), “guess you’ll just have to start over with stealing all that money because a deal’s a deal. Oh, and if you think about bailing then I’ll kill everyone in the village.” This way Arlong keeps both his chart maker and he gets to keep extorting the Village. This shows that Arlong is very cunning and slick, as well as a terrifying force.

But, in OPLA, that’s not the case. The fact that Arlong in OPLA is really just going to wipe out the village now that Nami got all that money is so wasteful. And if there was one thing Arlong wasn’t, it was wasteful. If he could use someone he’d do it, provided they paid his fee. Arlong in OPLA, while still a decent threat (the actor does give him some serious presence), he kind of comes across as an idiot.

- Nojiko/Village Knowing: In the anime, we find out very quickly that Nojiko did know about Nami’s deal with Arlong. Little Nami told her sister after they made it, and after Little Nami put on a big show of betraying the village so they wouldn’t go fight and die. The kicker is, when Nezumi comes to take Nami’s money, Genzo reveals that the village also knew about her deal, and pretended to hate her so that she wouldn’t feel bound to come back if she ever decided to leave, to escape Arlong.

Also, because Nojiko knew, she got her tattoos as a sign of solidarity. Little Nami talked about how she hated her tattoo and how it made her feel like Arlong owned her. So Nojiko, being the amazing sister she is, got her tattoos so Nami wouldn’t feel so alone. It was a symbol of their bond. Now in OPLA I guess she just… got tattoos… because they’re cool?

- The lead up to the breakdown: Okay, so this one kind of lends into the “they needed more time” category but also I just wanted to mention this. While I still say Emily Rudd gives the best performance in the series here (my opinion, don’t @ me) and I did feel emotions, I really feel like we needed just that extra smidge more.

We needed that moment where everyone is ready to fight and then Nami walks up, putting on the biggest, most fake smile, ready to absolutely throw herself onto a metaphorical sword again so that everyone she loves won’t run toward their deaths, only for Genzo to pull her into a hug and tell her “it’s okay. You’ve done enough. You’ve carried this burden too long by yourself. The least we can do is try to win our freedom ourselves now, and if we die then… hey, you’ll be free.” So when the Village ignore her pleas to stop and move to basically die, Nami finally just collapses because everything she worked for, everything she spent eight years trying to achieve was all for freakin nothing.

This moment more than anything shows who Nami is at her very core. And it just… doesn’t exist in OPLA.

- Rapid fire, minor complaints that don’t actually ruin anything but I did notice: It is really bizarre that they never say Bellemere’s name out loud. It’s on her grave marker but that’s it.

While I don’t think Nami should have been a baby when Bellemere found her and Nojiko, perhaps just a smidge younger?

The catalyst for the argument in which Bellemere slaps Nami after Nami says they aren’t an actual family. In the anime Nami says this because Bellemere has been skipping meals and only eating tangerines so that she can give all the food to her daughters. Nami’s guilt over that and the fact that she believes if Bellemere didn’t have to look after them she could afford to take care of herself leads into that fight and slap in the anime and it’s Genzo that tells Nami about Bellemere’s backstory after she runs away.

Could have used Nami denying help just a little more when Luffy stops her from stabbing her tattoo. Throwing dirt, telling him to leave, just this horrible last ditch effort before… “Luffy. Help me.”

[elsiebrayisgay]

20 questions for fic writers

thank you @purlturtle for the tag; i'm honored to be thought of! The questions!

1. How many works do you have on ao3?

just one right now but i think it's extremely good! i worked very hard for a long time on it. more of these queer feelings (https://archiveofourown.org/works/43759465/chapters/110039971) is a college AU of phyrexian praetors sheoldred and elesh norn! i also have a second that is very soon to be posted once beta is finished!

2. What’s your total ao3 word count?

currently 25,912 and yes i do know off the top of my head :3

3. What fandoms do you write for?

i don't know if i'll write more magic: the gathering but i would like to; beyond that baldur's gate 3 has had a huge impact on me in basically every creative work i do and i keep going back to it!

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

there is only just the one i've posted but i will take the opportunity to talk more about more of these queer feelings! it spawned from my girlfriend and i talking about phyrexian high school/college AUs and the fact that magic doesn't have a lot of canon disabled characters; i thought (in my opinion) sheoldred would not be able-bodied in a human au and it is essentially an exploration of two characters who are brutal and terrifying but who get to learn vulnerability if they are just normal humans on earth.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

i used to let my girlfriend and co-writer do all of this to remain aloof and cool but i've decided that everyone is cringe in the end and so every commenter will receive all my undying gratitude (as long as it keeps being a reasonable number.)

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

i think my current WIP, which is shadowzel ballet academy AU has a lot more potential for an angsty ending; shadowheart is pretty set from the start to be on a very limited clock to keep being able to dance and probably will not have any prospects to by the time it ends but i think negotiating the gap between expectations for the future and what reality brings you still has a lot of potential for growth and learning and self-acceptance so it's probably not going to be super brutal if i'm being honest. i like to give queer girls at least happy-ish endings if i can.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

in the middle of writing more of these queer feelings i decided i wanted the very end to be sheoldred and elesh norn, now happily girlfriends, saying they love each other but specifically because i want anyone who feels they relate to either character to know that they are loved and cherished if not immediately then at least through me, through the act of love of sharing parts of myself through my writing. the ending of that fic is about solidarity and love for queer women and disabled women and ND & mentally ill women. absolutely the most earnest happy ending i've ever written.

8. Do you get hate on fic?

i never have and hopefully never will but know this: if being a shadowzel blog means i am a karheart anti, i will take up arms in defense of what i believe is good and right.

9. Do you write smut?

haven't yet, probably won't, nothing against it, just isn't for me i don't think, for a number of reasons.

10. Do you write crossovers?

i find that a lot of my inspiration to write fic is in the intersection of a piece of media and the au i want to write. i don't know if college aus count as crossovers but while i haven't written anything including many media franchises, i think there is a transformation and a fitting-together of pieces that feels very similar in my great enthusiasm for a modern/period earth AU, which has been a lot of what i've written.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

no but i would be kind of honored, honestly. if what i've written is so good that someone else tries to put their name on it, i'm flattered! (uh but please don't though it's still probably bad ;-; my girlfriend said she would beat you up if you stole my writing.)

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

oh lord no, but the above answer times a thousand. if someone was to go to that effort i feel like i'd need to send them a special gift basket with seasonal fruits and everything.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

yes! more of these queer feelings was co-written from the very beginning with my now-girlfriend, and though i think we probably would have ended up together anyway by knowing each other, i don't think the writing process did anything at all to dissuade us from our mutual romantic interest.

14. What’s your all-time favourite ship?

before bg3 i don't know if i would have had an answer, maybe like mailee or katara/yue or something but i didn't have particular ships i was super into. that being said, shadowzel has hit me full force and even when it isn't being nominated for goty those ladies are still going to be living rent-free in my head.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but probably won’t?

i've been messing around with some wolfic (FFXIV player character, for those unaware) that is probably either just for me or only to inform my roleplay in that game; i have a document but it's probably never getting posted anywhere. still, i think about it and add things sometimes.

16. What are your writing strengths?

i think images and ideas or concepts are my strong suit. i'll have ideas for characters or a scene or a description of something, and try to develop my writing around what i feel is a strong central idea.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

actual narrative structure and more traditional prose fiction skills are not where i developed my writing skills. my english literature education focused largely on poetry, and my extracurricular writing was almost all text-RP so there's a lot of stuff i haven't practiced.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

i am a mostly monolingual american and while i have retained some french from speaking it at home with family and from school, it's conversational and jokes at best. that being said if i can get a « qui me frappe avec ce poisson ? » in anywhere i will absolutely try.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

i don't want to talk about the atla OCs RP beyond "those happened, and for a lot of other fandoms as well" but more of these queer feelings was the first time i gave anything a serious go with the intention to produce something good enough i'd be proud to post it.

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

i'm going to copy john darnielle and say of course i'm always the most invested in the new thing when i have something new i'm working on, so most of the thoughts i'm having are about hoping other people like shadowzel ballet AU because i'm proud of it, but queer feelings will always have a place in my heart. maybe it's trite but i think i've done a good job with the writing i've put serious effort into; i hope any readers think the same.

[chipped-chimera]

So I dipped into the comments section to look at the discourse for a few seconds (it is exactly as you think) ... and honestly this got me thinking back to when I made a post about JKR on an old blog when that game came out and everyone was yelling about her - I wanted to throw the rarely-remembered-and-usually-forgotten hat into the ring that 'also she hates disabled people and autistics'. Normally I write an essay to get my point across because, hello, autistic and terrified of being misinterpreted. But I knew that was less likely to get 'clicks' so I purposefully made it short, snappy, and had hyperlinks to references instead of a text wall.

While a lot of people got it, those who were pro JKR (and likely Terfs anyway) immediately ignored everything and decided to zone in on the fact I had used the word Bitch to describe her, accusing me of 'not being a feminist' (nowhere in my post, had I said anything about feminism but sure go off fam).

I didn't engage with them at all (I know that these types? waste of energy. They'll just continue doubling down no matter what you say) - but it did get me thinking about why that was so 'offensive' that it apparently made my whole "she literally cast the villain of her mystery novel as a 'terminally online' woman with several disabilities and then held up her protagonist ignoring his OWN PAIN of his disability as the 'golden standard" and "she said Autistics basically shouldn't be able to have medical autonomy, especially over gender transition because 'we don't know what we're doing' in her transphobic manifesto" a moot point.

And honestly? I think there's this problem with mostly Americans (I'm unsure how true this is, this is just me measuring my experiences and vibes - Americans please weigh in, it could also be generational) that - y'all have literally no language nuance. Like none. Zero.

I'm Australian right, and it's probably well known we cuss like sailors. We will use curse words with both a positive AND negative connotation - despite being the same word. It's all about situational context.

Back to Bitch as the example. I don't use Bitch exclusively as negative. Heck I call myself 'chronically tired bitch' often. I know this isn't isolated either. Take 'best bitches' for example - that's positive. 'They're an absolute bitch' - that's negative. Same word.

To get really Australian in here - 'cunt' can either be used as a top grade swear or a term of endearment - depending on context. If someone amicable to you said 'onya cunt!' that's actually positive. whereas 'you bloody cunt' in any circumstance is probably negative (though honestly, I could see this come back to being positive in the right context, like teasingly at a mate who did something stupid).

It's all. About. Context.

So I look at the above picture, of four gay men who are being very supportive of Lesbians. That's great! Sure I know that language might not fly now but who cares! The sentiment is right. They're not bad people. Also this is clearly dated. So language they used at the time has no bearing on what we think now, right? This is queer history. It's something we should be proud of - and considering the growing sentiment in the lesbian community that there is a lot of misogyny happening in the gay community - this solidarity is something we should be happy about! Encouraged even!

I know from experience and talking to people all over the world outside of America a lot of cultures have this kind of nuanced language with 'bad' words, and it's always about the context.

But there is this ... subset of people, who tend to be American (or maybe gen Z? Sorry gen Z. It ain't all of you but it's definitely a sizeable chunk if it is) who just can only see the word in ONE specific way or definition, regardless of the context, time, knowledge of the individual or even the PERSONAL FEELINGS of the individual about the word they're using - they're either using all the politically correct terminology or they're the literal devil.

I love the word Dyke personally. Dyke is a soft word for me. The first time I heard dyke it was not in reference to homosexual women, it was not an insult or derogatory - it was in Scotland when I was 10 and used to describe a stone wall assembled by carefully stacking each stone by hand. To those outside that cultural context, they're often called Dry Stone walls, but to me? To my Scots mother? My Scots uncle? They were Dykes. I am not kidding. They call professional Dry Stone builders Dykers.

For me the word Dyke is loving. Soft. Warm. It takes me back to a time when I was strongly connected with my ancestry in a land that felt like home, surrounded by loving relatives who I rarely got to see, walking around their farms framed by dykes. It's a word that feels like home for me, and I proudly wear as a lesbian too. The meaning is different. But the context feels the same for me.

You know what was used in a derogatory fashion when I was in High School? Gay. You don't see me going around lambasting anyone who uses the word gay now, do you - just because in my personal experience it was used as a synonym for shitty that was so habituated I had to actively work it out of my vocabulary. I didn't use it out of malice, it was ignorance. It was trying to fit in.

But that's the thing about language. It's fluid. It's evolutionary. It's a living thing and the context of words change over time! Do people just forget this shit like? Gay used to mean happy. Fanny used to be a name. Meme really meant a different thing when it was first used back in 1976. You want a real fun one? Read up on the history of okay/OK. Okay has an origin that I could only compare to yeet - and it is a cemented, habituated word in the English language.

So, for anyone who sees someone using a word they don't like or think is 'incorrect', before you jump on the hate wagon you should ask yourself the following:

What is the context surrounding the word being used?

What is the relationship between the individuals using the word? (I mean I'm pretty sure we're all familiar with friends giving each other shit that would NOT be acceptable to say to a stranger)

What is the individuals understanding of the word they are using compared to your modern context? Are they older than you? Was that normal language and is only 'incorrect' now?

What is the sentiment behind the word usage?

Is this even an actual problem for you or are you getting ready to fight someone based on a cause you don't even actually have a stake in just so you can pat yourself on the back? Have you even asked a person who may be affected by this how they feel?

Are you even part of this conversation?

I know my experience with the word Dyke is not going to be universal. I know for some people it will evoke horrible feelings and may take them back to a traumatic time in their life. But does that mean we should stop people from using it if they feel comfortable with it's context - and especially if a large group of people use it as an identifier with entirely positive connotations? NO!

If a word is making you feel uncomfortable on a personal level, for personal reasons, here are some additional questions to ask:

Are you even part of this conversation? No you are not part of the conversation if it's a public space. It's only about you if you choose to make it about you. Are you choosing to make this about you?

If you are part of this conversation, how well does this person know you? Does this person even know it's a trigger?

What is the context this person is using it towards you? Is it with malice? Is it ignorance, do they come from a different cultural context? Do they have different feelings about that word than you? Is English even their first language?

And this one - very important: HAVE YOU TOLD THEM YOU DON'T LIKE HAVING THAT WORD USED?

People are not psychic. They don't know your entire history. Nor do they know your personal preferences. They don't deserve to get screamed at, out of the blue just because you feel icky - especially if you're complete strangers (and if that is your reaction I highly recommend seeking professional help actually because it's likely you need to develop some emotional regulation strategies). What you should do is tell them, politely, that word makes you feel uncomfortable and you'd prefer they didn't use it around you. Not blanket 'not use it ever' - you are just asking for a basic accommodation and mutual respect.

THIS ONLY APPLIES IF YOU HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH THE INDIVIDUAL. NOT RANDOMS IN A PUBLIC SPACE. IT IS NOT ABOUT YOU. YOU ARE CHOOSING TO MAKE IT ABOUT YOU.

This does not make all behavior of individuals excusable btw. It's more I'm begging people to develop basic critical thinking skills around language. If someone is clearly using words with malice, and are being openly homophobic or racist or ableist - absolutely school them. My favorite motto for life is Do no harm, take no shit. If they're harming you? Or someone you care about? Take no shit. But if they're not doing any harm? Leave them alone. Stay in your lane. This isn't about you and going after them about it is causing harm.

Also, for anyone who wonders why I put 'chronically online' in quotations - I feel this is one of the words that is fast heading towards the naughty shelf with all the other fun words like trauma dumping and gas lighting that people don't either know the literal definition of or aren't even correct. It's overused and lets face it - WE ARE ALL. CHRONICALLY. ONLINE. There is no 'offline' space anymore unless you are literally off grid. The online space influences the real space and there is no way around that anymore. Second, it's kind of throwing those who have no option but to be in online spaces (disabled, immunocompromised, anyone highly isolated in some way) as their only social outlet under the bus. Yes, I know me saying 'don't use chronically online' is kind of in contradiction of my entire point but here is my LAST recommendation when it comes to whether you are reactive to use of particular language or not -

Ask yourself: is what is being said normalizing something potentially harmful, and to what group - and is the group actually bothered by this.

I think back to 'gay' being used extremely casually by nearly all teenagers when I was in high school. That was inherently harmful. Gays and Lesbians calling themselves Fags and Dykes in solidarity if anything, is reclaiming of a word. It's developing nuance for that word. It is evolving it. It is not normalizing it in a harmful context. Using autistic or OCD as a descriptor for someone being overly pedantic in a negative context is harmful - because it is implying that someone with these conditions which they literally have no control over are somehow lesser. You wouldn't use diabetes or cancer in the same way you might say 'oh I'm so OCD' because you have to fold your washing the second you bring it inside. There are some words we shouldn't be normalising the context of, but Fag and Dyke ain't the hill to die on here.

Anyway everyone go watch this video of Stephen Fry talking about language and how it changes over time. Thanks for coming to my TED talk. I wish you all a very develop some critical language skills, hugs and kisses.

Go Girls Go! | First Dyke March in Washington DC, 1993

[lemonstars8583]

Hi hi hi got another story!

so I was doing another run of doors with some other players I didn’t know but THEY WERE CRACKED. Speed through Figure 50 in like 3 minutes (password included) so there was me, cracked player one, cracked player two. Current on level 100 (my first time there but I knew the figure skip) and I’m trying to put in the technical code thingie but then one of them puts it in.

And I didn’t notice.

SO I ENDED UP DYING AND COULDNT REVIVE CUASE I SPENT ONE AFTER AMBUSHED GOT MY ASS LIKE 4 ROOMS AGO

So that was sad :(. Losing door 100 by not noticed we’re already done and ambush took a life.

But now I’m no longer as terrified of Figure and can quickly get 4 books which is good :D

—

Also, The Eyes are my least favorite entity as my reaction time is very bad so I’d end up looking at it for 2-3 seconds and lose so much hp

—

yesss Seek is so chill and professional with the other entities but around Hide/Rush he’ll start chucking paintings around in a fit of anger whilst cursing to hell and back.

I feel like Rush’s dumb energy was what drawn Seek into it. Loud, carefree, and also it runs into their room when they’re busy raging, then leaves soon after. Doesn’t bring it up during the next meeting.

conversely, Rush was super curious about this Seek guy since it had consistently barged into Seek’s rage sessions at full force before zipping out, but 30 minutes later Seek is all put together and calm and totally not what it had saw.

Hides also joins in the rage session by chucking out all the wrappers and other junk past players had dropped into the closet. damn why is it so fucking dirty. Which just fuels Seek and Rush’s shenanigans by giving them more things to throw.

—

The Eyes and Figure friendship :D (<—— fucking hate them both in game)

The eyes being a collective of identity all just chatting with each other which sometimes means it’s hard to talk to them as there’d be 17 different opinions on just this one topic and their voices overlap.

Luckily, Figure’s hearing allows it to be able to pick out each conscience’s voice and slowly answer them all. Figure can also get more voices for whenever they ask a question like “What does the outside look like?” Then the Eyes would be like, “just like silence! Feels like Seek a lot of the times. Very reminiscent of Halt during the day. Also warm like the fire. Without the hurting part!”

—

I have another ask being written, just taking time to properly word things out and such. It’s about Lights this time :).

NOOOOO OUGH that so sad rip, dying at 100 must SUCK... well, i mean, if you got there once, you can get there again! good luck lol

also hell yeah rush and seek being chaotic together sounds so fun lol, i can imagine seek just like getting rlly mad and punching a hole in the wall just in time for someone to walk in and rush is like "....oh no... a hole in the wall that I PUNCHED and am BEING SCOLDED FOR BY SEEK whatever shall i do.." and seek just rolls with it and they kind of have this solidarity of rush is the one who usually gets into dumb situations and seek is insecure about its angry side so they kind of cover for each other i guess. or something. like rush covers for seek and in turn seek will do favors for it.

i'd imagine rush and ambush also have a system like this but instead its "ok who knocked over the bookshelves when speeding past this time" and its a 50/50 of "ok ill cover for you" or "ok im going to wrongfully blame you because lol"

i absolutely love all your ideas and about the collective consciousness thing YES YES YES figure being able to handle all the voices bc of its better hearing is definitely something that helps whenever they talk.

also OOOH honestly i rlly need to give the lights much more thought, theyre so cool but like. oogh. my brain must dust of its gears and get thinkin.. see you in the next ask lol

[laurelier]

An anti/former harry fan has made several long blog entries about why harry is not political, just privileged and out of touch. Can we please prove them wrong? It makes me sad.

x/x/x

Listen, like.

Ok. Sigh. Big sigh. Because—here you know what I’m gonna put this under a cut bc frankly I don't wanna clog my blog up with discourse. So. If yal care what I think about this then keep on readin.

Honestly? Honestly. Honestly I know this isn’t what you want to hear but I…….. think this person raises some important points. I don't agree with everything, obviously—I wouldn’t be a fan of Harry if I didn’t see such gracefulness and compassion and strength in him and his work. But. Yeah. Some of this is stuff we should consider.

Here's the thing: personally, I don't necessarily think that H's reputation for quietness on social issues or for making soft statements is as awful as it's made out to be. Would I be elated if he said more? Sure, absolutely. He is so, so, so privileged, and he has such a huge platform. But what I see in him is a careful and thoughtful person who prefers to show solidarity through action or appearance rather than words. Which is, frankly, usually enough for me. I understand why it's not enough for some, but most of the time it is for me: I can take what he does and my interpretation of it and apply the goodness and kindness I see there to parts of my own life.

But really, getting to your actual question, I think this person’s point that if you’re pro-choice but are not willing to make unequivocally damning statements about abortion, you shouldn’t weigh in, is..... a fair one. It's interesting. Like, I don't totally know how I feel about this, to be 100% transparent with you. I don’t think I’d want to entirely gatekeep that conversation, and I want H to be able to express support for his fans in the ways he feels he can and should, but I do see where op is coming from there. Seen from a certain angle, H's statement does feel like a flippant nod to an issue that is very, very, very contentious and painful. And personally, I would appreciate a full-throated denouncement of laws prohibiting abortion from Harry much more than this kind of sort of maybe TPWK thing that we keep getting—but I think we have to remember that that kind of statement is not Harry’s thing. It's not, and hasn't really ever been; Harry’s music is all navel gazing and figuring yourself out, internal rather than external, and I don't think he promises us more than that. I don't think he needs to. And, like I said, I can understand why some would resent him for that, given his immense privilege, but really—Harry’s a human, and no matter what he says or doesn’t say people will scream at him and tell him he’s awful horrible evil or amazing gorgeous perfect, the combination of which has to be incredibly confusing, and not to baby someone who’s been read as a white man his whole life but—I don’t know that I’d want to try to make eloquent and perfectly measured statements on social issues if I were in Harry's position, either. I'd be terrified of my own platform. I just—he’s a person. Let him be one.

Granted, this particular instance is a bit tricky because being pro-choice *is* black and white right-wrong for me, where something like gender or sexuality (other issues he's often demonized for not "speaking out" enough on; utter BS, that) is very much a gray-area ~different for everyone and he'll share when he's ready or able~ type thing, but this idea of entitlement to all of Harry’s opinions and thoughts is still so tiring and frustrating to me. I'd like it if we could just let him figure things out at his own pace.

And, also: listen to what he's saying. Right? Like. He literally never said "abortion". I do think he was making a nod to it, but honest, the way I read that statement originally was—Harry doesn't want anyone to tell *him* what to do with his body. I hear, more than anything, just straight-up bodily reclamation there. Someone had to point out that it could be applied to the Texas law for me to get that part of it. It's layered. I feel like he's letting those who hear him decide what he means (yet again). And I see why someone might take issue with him making a statement that, because it's vague, could be misconstrued (even to the point of being twisted into an antivax statement, but I don't really think that's Harry's fault, it's pretty clear where he stands on that issue)—or see this as him maybe kind of going, eh, let's just throw abortion in there while we're at it as if that's not an issue that would deserve its own statement—I just. That's not what I take from it. And in any case I agree with op, in a twisty turny kind of way: I can't expect my politics to come from Harry Styles. I am a fan of Harry Styles because I think it's awe-inspiring that he shares his shifting, expanding knowledge of himself through his art, always with his trademark, ever-present grace and softness and vulnerability.

Really what it comes down to is. The person whose posts you linked said that his statement, if it's about abortion, is inappropriate because it puts the onus on those people actually harmed by the issue to "fix" it by supporting one another, and again, yeah, I can see why they said that—but I still don't think that's the only way to read it. What I hear when I hear Harry ask us to have one another's backs is: kindness is absolutely foundational, kindness is everything; acting human towards yourself and others, even when others do not, is not weak but is rather an act of defiance and it is very, very brave; is a way of fighting, really, for goodness; this is a world in which we all must take care of one another, and it's courageous to do so. He didn't say all that any more than he made a clear-cut statement about abortion, but still.

Whether H means for all of his equivocation and shallow-seeming statements to have so many interpretations isn't really my concern, at the end of the day. I don't know what's in H's head. What I do know is what his art has done for me—so even though it might sound hard to believe after reading this longass answer that I've written you today, nonnie, I do try to focus on only what I can see of H, remember that he's a privileged human being who, like all of us, is far, far, far from perfect, and not idolize him too much. It's important to encourage accountability for what he doesn't say and maybe should, but equally so to hear what he does.

[wizardcommune]

gundham sfw alphabet

pairing - gundham tanaka x gn!reader

warnings - none!!

word count - 1.8k

a/n - FUCK YEAH GUNDHAM (also i apologize, i got lazy near the end)

a = affection (how affectionate are they? how do they show affection?)

in the beginning of the relationship, he would definitely be very hesitant to show physical or verbal affection since it wasn’t something he was used to. he’d show his love with acts of service and giving, most likely. (giving his s/o one of the devas if he knew they’d be separated for a short period of time, bringing them small trinkets he found like pretty rocks or bones, helping them with homework, etc.)

as time goes on, though, he’d become more comfortable with showing physical affection and would grow to become a huge cuddle bug!!! please hug him for me

b = best friend (what would they be like as a best friend?)

literally the coolest friend ever. especially if you had an alternative fashion sense, he’d be so down to go clothes shopping with you LMAO

if you were okay initiating physical affection outside of a romantic relationship, and were able to make him comfortable with that, he’d totally be That Friend who cuddles with you all the time!! he’d never mention it though, and would die on impact if you brought it up in front of any of his other friends/classmates

c = cuddles (do they like to cuddle? how would they cuddle?)

once he’s comfortable with it, yeah! he’s definitely super touch starved because of him not having friends most of his life, so having someone to cuddle would make his brain go ^^^^^

honestly, he’s good with any position so it’s up to his s/o. he prefers being able to see their face, though

the first time he ever cuddled with them he cried :(( shh don’t tell anyone though

d = domestic (do they want to settle down? how are they at cooking and cleaning?)

man that’s his DREAM!! the idea of just getting to live with his s/o + animals makes his serotonin machine go BRR

honestly, i think he would fucking suck at cooking. baking, however. :))

because of having to clean up after his animals and keep things out of their way, he would naturally be a pretty neat person out of habit!! i don’t think he’d mind too much if his s/o was messy though.

e = ending (if they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)

I DIDNT DO THIS ONE BECAUSE IT MADE ME SAD IM SORRY

f = fiance(e) (how do they feel about commitment? how quick would they want to get married?)

gundham already sets up so many walls, and for his s/o to be able to break those down would already mean he’d be willing to commit. i don’t think he would ever just like.... date random people for funsies, so being in a romantic relationship with someone is already so big to him.

honestly, i can’t see him being the type to want to get married. he’d definitely want to settle down! but the idea of having a traditional wedding stresses him out. (of course, that doesn’t mean he’d be any less committed :))

g = gentle (how gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?)

dealing with small animals like the devas has left him gentle by nature!! he doesn’t even notice it, but he is always extremely careful with his s/o with the subconscious fear of accidentally hurting them/scaring them off :(

emotion wise, i think it’d be the same. when he cares about someone (whether it be romantic or platonic) he’s always cautious of teasing them too much since he knows that it can hurt sometimes. 

h = hugs (do they like hugs? how often do they do it? what are their hugs like?)

HE FUCKINGNF LOVES HUGS

they’re probably SO good too, like he’s the type to give those hugs that make you feel so safe. full on wraps his arms completely around you and rests his head on yours if you’re shorter (since he’d such a fucking giraffe my god)

i = i love you (how fast do they say the L-word?)

it would definitely take a while for gundham to admit it. i can see him saying it on accident, like when he thinks you’re sleeping or not paying attention to him. he’d also need a lot of reassurance afterwards, just because of that initial fear of rejection

j = jealousy (how jealous do they get? what do they do when they’re jealous?)

if he sees someone flirting with his s/o and they’re uncomfortable, he’ll immediately wrap an arm around their shoulder.

“they said they’re taken, respect that knave.”

sometimes he does get insecure that’s he’s too much for his s/o, considering he’s an evil tyrant, and that they might want to leave him for someone who’s..... not an evil tyrant.... (once again, please give him a hug)

k = kisses (what are their kisses like? where do they like to kiss you? where do they like to be kissed?)

like i said before, he’s very gentle when it comes to affection so his kisses are vv soft!! he’ll always hold their chin or one of their hands.

his favorite places to kiss his s/o are probably their forehead and hands!!

he loves being kissed everywhere, but he really likes neck kisses and any kisses around his face :^)

l = little ones (How are they around children?)

he’s great with kids!! he’d tell them stories of how he defeated different warlocks that tried to test him, or giant manticores he tamed.

i think he’d really like kids too, mostly because they’re so easy to impress LMAO

it inflates his ego a little bit whenever one gets really into one of his stories

m = morning (how are mornings spent with them?)

if he wakes up before his s/o, he’d gently pull them into a hug while he waits for them to wake up (sobbing)

morning voice morning voice morning voice morning voice morning v

he memorized how his s/o likes their tea/coffee and will make it really groggily HAHA

n = night (how are nights spent with them?)

okokok hear me out

i think that gundham is a really good singer, so he would 100% sing u to sleep

he’d be embarrassed as hell though LMAOO

he’d probably cuddle them before they fall asleep and talk about each other’s days or just random stuff until they get tired

o = open (when would they start revealing things about themselves? do they say everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?)

i think a few months into their friendship? he would talk about his childhood randomly, but would prefer if they don’t make a huge deal about it.

he’d open up more if his s/o did first! he would take it as they trust him enough to talk about it.

p = patience (how easily angered are they?)

it depends on the person! with someone like hiyoko, he can get pissed pretty quickly, but his patience is VERY thick with his s/o. generally, it takes a lot to anger him. 

that being said, if they put themself in danger he would get ticked off out of fear.

q = quizzes (how much would they remember about you? do they remember every little detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything?)

especially in the beginning of their relationship when he was hesitant about physical/verbal affection, he would focus heavily on listening to them. he really wanted to show them that he respects them a lot, and remembering small things they mentioned would convey that well.

r = remember (what is their favorite moment in your relationship?)

after coming out of the shower, he walked in to see them asleep on his couch with the devas curled up on top of their chest. he went to go lay down with them and it just kind of.. hit him. that he wasn’t alone anymore and they loved and were there for him. :( 

s = security (how protective are they? how would they protect you? how would they like to be protected?)

he’s very protective!! (especially if you’re in the killing game) the thought of something happening to you is his worst fear. 

t = try (how much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?)

ALL THE EFFORT

if his s/o asks him to do something in passing, you BET he’s gonna make sure he does his best

he keeps track of anniversaries/important dates religiously because he’s terrified of accidentally forgetting LMAO

u = ugly (what would be some bad habits of theirs?)

sometimes i think he might come off as cold when embarrassed because his persona is so important to him, but if they expressed being upset he would backtrack SO fast

v = vanity (how concerned are they with their looks?)

not very much?? like, i think he would brag about his hair or something sometimes but he’s always joking LMAO

w = whole (would they feel incomplete without you?)

yes and no? if something ever happened to his s/o, he would feel horribly empty for a time. but i also think that being in a relationship could help him not feel so lonely and teach him better ways to take care of himself, so if they were to ever split he would be able to heal after he got over the initial sadness.

x = xtra (a random headcanon for them.)

he’s a Mitski Understander (TM) his favorite songs are crack baby, pink in the night, and i bet on losing dogs, i’m up for debate

and yes i absolutely will be making a gundham playlist

i don’t know if this counts since i’m 90% projecting, but i hc him as trans and ND so like. solidarity if you are too wink wonk

y = yuck (what are some things they wouldn’t like, either in general or in a partner?)

a/n - just so everyone knows, i honestly think every character would be fine with any type of person since projecting is so important to a lot of us. these are just my personal headcanons, and if they don’t apply to you please don’t take it personally!! <3

i think he would really want a kind s/o. especially with what he’s been through, someone who’s gentle/patient would mean the world to him

also someone who likes animals!! they mean so much to him and were basically his entire life until he met the others, so having someone who shared that interest would make him so happy

z = zzz (what is a sleep habits of theirs?)

it’s not uncommon for him to sleep with his animals!! he mostly just sleeps with the devas though; he would probably place them near his head or on his chest so he wouldn’t accidentally roll on them.

he also really likes cuddling with his s/o when they sleep! he wouldn’t mind being the big or little spoon, either.

[symphonic-scream]

Whoops, More Differences for my Jocks Kwami Swap

Copycat, Evillustrator, and Puppeteer time

Okay so, lemme just say that Copycat is my least favourite episode so far

I didn't like the vibes

This is also your reminder that this is my first time watching the series so I'm planning these as I watch them lmao

Okay so both Crimson Beetle and Chartreux Noire show up to the unveiling, and when the artist tries to hit on Kim after having him sign his cut out, Alix, knowing he's a minor, just gets them both out of there

Edit: so apparently artist dude (Theo?) Is like 16? So Alix just yeets Kim outa there because he's about to detransform and the dumbass doesn't notice cause he's too flattered

Artist dude thinks CB and CN are dating and gets akumatized because he thinks he could treat CB better

Alix, visiting her dad at the Louvre because I refuse to believe she actually lives there, sees Copycat happen live and is super offended because this dude CLEARLY doesn't sound or act like her and yet everyone's so quick to think "yeah CN sucks"

She follows him back to his warehouse where she transforms and calls Kim to come help her out

To tell them apart, he asks them to tell him the secret they share and Copycat says that they're dating

Kim just starts laughing. Hard.

Copycat is like hella confused and Alix just smirks up at him

"bitch, I'm gay"

They fight blah blah and artist guy promises not to blab about CN being gay until she's ready to publicly come out so he's chill

Okay so now on to my favourite of these three

Evillustrator, Nathaniel, my man

I love this episode a lot actually, and I don't wanna change it too much

Nath is upset with Chloe cause she's always meanest to Mari, so that's still there

For the science project, Alix is paired with Juleka and Nathaniel, and Kim's with Max and Rose

Honestly I just wanted to write Juleka,Nath, & Alix hanging out because they are my three favourite classmates hands down and you can't tell me their dynamic wouldn't be the absolute best

All of them are in the library when Evillustrator comes in to attack Chloe and Alix and Kim transform to fight him before going to guard Chloe at the hotel

Chloe is like all over CN, and Kim just keeps winking at her which is so not helping bro

On Chloe's bed in the episode there's a ladybug pillow, so this time she's got a little black cat (her custom CN doll sits on a table or something)

Alix figures out that Marinette may need saving and leaves Kim with Chloe

Chloe asks him to do the project and CB's like "haha, yeah, no. I know nothing about that lmao"

And they kinda cry/bond over not knowing what the projects about

Marinette in the room agrees to meet Evillustrator later for his 'birthday', after spying CN trying to signal her outside the window

Alix tells Mari that her and CB need her help to capture the akuma and return Nath to normal and Mari's like oh hell yeah

CN calls CB to get him in on the plan and tell him Chloe's safe so they go to stalk the boat date

They fail again because these dumb jocks just jump the gun and Nath catches them

Then they drop Mari at home and go to keep Chloe safe

Same ending really, but before class when Juleka and Alix go to catch Nath up on their project, Alix pulls him aside to talk

This is when they become friends, they bond over art

So, Puppeteer.

This one was hard to watch because I have a pretty big fear of small children and Manon terrifies me like no joke

Anywho, Nath and Alix are on that subway too because they also happen to be going to the movies because they are art mlm/wlw solidarity and sometimes Alix needs a break from her jock bro and small smart friend

They see Mari freaking out because Lady Wifi appears again and Alix just shoves Nath into Adrien on her way to transform with some stupid excuse

"uh, I have to go pick up some milk because Jalil forgot to when he went shopping haha he's so dumb, right?"

The Alix/Jalil dynamic I'm going with is me and my youngest sister; bastard siblings who are either fighting or teaming up for shenanigans, no in between

Anyways, Alix transforms and calls CB and they meet up at Mari's to grab their dolls

Uh oh they didn't get the CN one

Honestly this one won't be much different until they see Puppeteer and they're both like

"that's a child!"

In like the meme voice, if you know it

The jocks don't even debate fighting a child they're like "welp, an akumas an akuma" and get ready to wreck her shit

That part may just be in there to soothe me but can you really believe that these two wouldn't fight a child? Check and mate

They win and at some point Mari ended up at the station and CB and CN like beg her to make them copies of their own dolls because like, they're so sick and they want them

They totally meet up for patrol sometimes with them and have little battles with them that they do not talk about.

So uh yeah. Here you go. If you've got any suggestions, comments, concerns, or just want to question my tastes in episodes and akumas, go right ahead! I don't know much about this show and I'm very new to it, so I'd love to hear from some of y'all who have been fans longer than about a month lmao

[cuban-feminist-that-gives-a-hoot]

Trails of Cold Steel IV

Been about a week or so since I've beaten it and I have thoughts. Lots of them. I don't expect everyone to agree or for my thoughts to be fully coherent, but here we go:

1. Gilliath Osborne is a fucking asshole. Holy shit, he is the worst father of all Zemuria, hands down. Abandons his son at 5 years old after his push into politics got his wife killed and his son nearly killed, then doesn't even tell him that he's his father until a traumatic moment happens. Then, he proceeds to use his son as a tool in his expansionist policies, followed by using him to cause the end of the fucking world. On top of that, his wife was 10 years his junior, so we can potentially add him being a creep depending on how old he was when he met his wife. 0/10, complete and total fucking asshole to the very bitter end.

2. Black Alberich's an asshole too. Second-worst father of all Zemuria, if only for being responsible for spawning Alisa Reinford rather than being an absolute, complete dick (Not to say that he isn't, he is). A shame that we only get glimpses of Franz Reinford towards the end, as it would've been a lot more interesting to learn about him directly.

3. Cedric Reise Arnor is a dick. But he's an interesting, entertaining dick. He is someone that has a very interesting story development throughout the four games that make up ToCS and I'm fascinated by where he's going to go now that he's a member of Ouroboros. Plus, it's nice to see Shirley take him under her wings in solidarity with folks that underwent trauma.

4. Rufus Albarea is the worst brother in all of Zemuria. Like, holy shit, how much of a shitbag do you have to be to basically throw all that nobility out the door to stab a teammate in the back? Glad he got arrested. Also, an excellent performance from D.C. Douglas, who shows off why he's so good at playing upper-crust assholes, on top of robots. There's a reason why Legion and Albert Wesker are his best known roles and him playing Rufus and Valimar showcase both sides easily.

5. The Black Workshop level is one of the most fun levels to play in ever. You have to switch between three different parties, manage orbment levels, and get to see Rean at his most evil & lost-looking ever so far. Him looking all hollow-like? Niiice! But more importantly, the gameplay there was so much fun. The salt pillars are a close second for fun levels to play.

6. Fighting the true final boss was equally awesome. It reminds me of the Bizarro Sephiroth fight where you're fighting with 3 parties and you're fighting different sides of the final boss. It's an awesome mechanic and I love setting up my parties to kick ass. Roselia and Vita in the same party? Absolutely dangerous and fun.

7. Machia Regnitz is the most terrifying accountant-looking inspector from the Government Accountability Inspectorate one will ever meet. Imagine being a regular person working, only for him to show up to inspect your workplace. Then, when your workplace fails the inspection, he immediately starts blasting away with multiple guns. This is a PTO day if I've ever heard of one.

8. I'm honestly glad that we got to see the normal ending first before we can see the golden ending, as it allows us to see what happens if we don't get that Earthen Prison to trap Ishmelga in it.

9. Crow Armbrust is what I'm talking about when it comes to someone that is a likable character that did some really shady shit. Yes, he was a terrorist, but you understood and got why he did what he did. It didn't exactly justify his actions, but you got where he was coming from. On top of that, he holds a lot of respect for those that he works with, from his teammates in the Imperial Liberation Front to Class VII to even his peers with Towa, George, and Angelica. He never crossed what could be considered a moral event horizon, where he could be considered irredeemable. In short, he's not Goro Akechi.

10. The voice acting for all the games is top-notch. Props to the folks that did the voice casting for each and every role because every last one of the parts played by the actors was perfect. This was a voice dub that was done so perfectly that turning on the Japanese voices seems offensive in comparison, and not just for this game, but for all four games. This is a voice dub that deserves all the love and respect it earns because it is such a flawless performance from everyone. And even the voices that do falter a bit is not enough to take away from how good it is.

11. If you haven't played any of the Trails of Cold Steel games, what are you waiting for? They are worth it. All four are available on PS4 and PC. You owe it to yourself to play these games now. If you love a turn-based JRPG that will take a decent amount of time to play, then this is the game for you.

[damienthepious]

I would love a going through changes commentary that picks up where the previous one left off, or really anywhere else you want in the most recent chapter

[Pick a short passage from any fanfic I’ve written and send it to me, and I’ll give you the equivalent of a DVD commentary on that snippet!]

o w o thank you for ENABLING me i am incorrigible :Dc

[prev post]

["I am sorry that your mind has been circling such vexing thoughts," Damien says, his tone gentle and radiating calm.] GOOD IN A CRISIS BOY T.T ["To allay at least the lattermost of them, however, my lily..."] he works backwards, mostly because the last thing that Arum said was the MOST worrying. better to address that self-destructive urge early, yeah?

[Damien's hand moves away from Rilla's back, and then she feels one of Arum's replace it, and she thinks- yes, Damien's fingers too, laced between Arum's cooler, longer ones, gently pressing the monster's hand against the small of her back.] ah. oof. arghh. Okay so Damien can tell, so easily, that Arum wants to hold Rilla. But he can ALSO tell that the monster is holding himself back, likely for some of the same reasons he just listed as reasons why getting his memory back might be scary! he doesn't know HOW to hold them, like this. So Damien shows him, gently, and he leaves his hand there too, in support and in solidarity. like. of course you want to hold her. I do too. we can do it together, that would make it easier, wouldn't it?

[Arum hisses quietly, his breath catching beneath her. "Damien-"] he's reacting as much to Damien as to Rilla, just then. He does not know how to react, but - yet again - he DOES NOT pull his hand away.

["We are fully aware of the dangers inherent in our relationship, Arum, and we have been since the moment we decided to try. Would we be safer, were we not in love with you?"] here's the thing, Damien is even calmer than usual right now because they've DEFINITELY had a version of this talk with Arum before. Because i expect that... the more he cared about them, the more terrified he became about putting them in danger by loving them. Damien has already won this debate. He's calm, and certain, and so, so in love.

[He pauses, hums lightly, presses a quick kiss to Rilla's shoulder as if he cannot help himself.] he cannot. boy too full o love. ["Perhaps so. But that does not matter, because we would not trade what we have with you for merely the chance of mitigating that risk. You are too important, too precious, too deep within our hearts. I told you, Arum, that first day. It has been worth every single pain, every single risk, to be with you."] they're in LOVE they're in LOVE they're in LOVE. that's not useful commentary! I'm just heartsick for them always. He has already made a version of this speech. He means it. And Damien is getting less shy about telling Amnesia!Arum the way he feels out of nerves, now. Damien suspects that it's helping more than hurting, to reassure Arum that he's not going to change his mind. To reassure Arum that he is loved, no matter what.

["Ridiculous," Arum hisses, more breath than word.] awkward, embarrassed deflection. my beloved lizard..... T.T

["I have it on good authority that my ridiculousness is rather charming," Damien says, lilting and bright, and Arum shakes with a barely suppressed laugh.] again; getting less shy with being himself around Arum even in this state, and i absolutely... gods i love more confident, flirty, charming Damien.

["Moving farther back in your musings, if I may. It is curious to me that you are so keen to estrange yourself from- well, yourself. It is a fascinating philosophical qualm, I suppose, but in practice... can you truly not imagine yourself in... his position?"] The second most concerning of Arum's worries. Damien noticed Arum mentally separating himself from pre-amnesia!Arum way back in an early chapter, but he didn't realize how wide that chasm was. And he doesn't quite know how to address the idea of... how much memory makes a person who they are, because he doesn't think that treating Arum's CURRENT EXPERIENCE as a philosophical debate would be... even a little bit helpful? but addressing that separation in at least a SMALL way seems safe.

Damien is thinking of... the difference between himself now and a year ago, and he can obviously understand how he USED to be, but the reverse- how would his own old stubbornness fare, faced with his current position? i might also be writing THAT version of this amnesia hellfest, quietly, in the background, slowly. pretend you don't know that. Arum's uncertainty makes sense, but he wants to interrogate the depth of that particular separation just a little more, to hear how Arum explains it, how he understands it.

[The monster rumbles for a long moment, another of his palms settling on Rilla's waist, careful and light.] Getting bolder, getting more comfortable as Rilla holds him and as Damien speaks to him with such focused patience. He's thinking it through, honestly, and realizing that the way he felt a day ago has already begun to shift, but that's embarrassing to admit or explain, so-

["I... well. I think I am in his position. At the moment."] SLIGHT FLIRT! SLIGHT BRAT! FULL ARUM!!! But, also, importantly! he's sort of answering the question without answering it. He put his own hand on Rilla, without Damien's hand encouraging him this time, and then admitted a likeness in his position to that of his former self. Even jokingly- he's kidding on the square, really. He doesn't need to imagine his pre-amnesia position, really, because they're comforting him exactly the same now as they would have a week ago, and he's beginning to understand that. 💖💘💖

[sammyblep]

Hey sorry I’m just rambling on here in your inbox but I’m too scared to actually share this but I just need to tell someone what I think, which is about all the hate police are getting. Yes, it’s horrible what some are doing and actions should be taken but I don’t know it feels wrong to lash out against all of them? Most are actually decent people, punished because of a few bad. It feels like the world needs to step back and take a deep breath. There’s a solution somewhere, but this isn’t it.

Let me as best I can explain the reasoning behind the “all cops are bastards” mentality, which is what you’re referring to here and which I agree with:

If you stand by knowing that someone is doing something deeply wrong - like, say, taking advantage of their power to murder people of color for doing innocent things - and you don’t do anything when you absolutely could, even if it was doing something as simple as saying “hey that’s wrong,” that’s a bad thing. A person who does nothing in that situation is a bad person.

And that is what all cops do - regardless of whether they perform the murders themselves - all cops do this. The entirely theoretical number of cops who actually report and turn in their fellow cops for police brutality, abuse of power, and murder is so low as to be utterly negligible. Cops don’t report each other. There’s this whole mentality about cops being a sort of brotherhood, a family thicker than blood, whatever descriptor you want to use - basically, cops are expected to have each others’ backs above all else. That’s why they don’t turn each other in, deliberately tamper with evidence to hide their fellows’ crimes, outright lie about what happened, use excessive force in so many situations, and do so many other unjust things that harm the people they’re supposedly working for.

Even if they are good people at home, in the community, at the fucking puppy shelter where they volunteer on the weekends - when someone is a cop, because of what I explained above, they are a bad person. Because at best, they do nothing to stop the racial violence that is so incredibly prevalent in their more murderous peers. At worst, they do the murder themselves.

This is why the protests are happening. This is why people are so against cops, are calling for external investigations, are calling for them to be demilitarized or shut down or whatever. Because until the people who are supposed to stop racial violence are actually guaranteed to do their job or otherwise face genuine consequences, the fight for social justice and an end to racial violence cannot stop.

And like I said, all cops at best do nothing to stop racial violence. So we keep protesting and demanding justice for the people it kills, whose killers get to walk away without consequence.

So no, I do not currently have any sympathy for cops. I can appreciate why you might, anon, but I do not agree with it.

That said: I recognize the times right now are terrifying. I just learned an hour ago that my city now has a curfew that lasts nearly half the day because the looting got so bad and because someone got shot. I’m also terrified - I think it’s healthy, honestly, to be scared. I’m terrified of what’s going to happen to protestors next. But we tried kneeling. We tried marching peacefully. We have tried so many ways to fight this fight without violence - nothing has worked. So there are riots, and right now, that is the solution available to us.

I’m guessing none of this is what you wanted to hear, anon, but I’m still glad you reached out about it. Take care of yourself, take some time off the internet, go snuggle your pets if you have any. Let me know if there’s anything else you want to know, or any other opinions you’d like to share (and thank you for being polite about it despite the topic, by the way. Always a nice thing.)

And in the end, the bottom line is this: Black Lives Matter. And the way this country works should goddamn reflect that for once.

A note: I am a white ally who is doing her best to be accurate and express these things in solidarity with POC and BLM, but I am also, frankly, quite new to actually discussing this. I’ve been doing research and taking notes from the protesters and POC I’ve seen talking about it, but please let me know what I’m doing wrong and how to fix it. More than anything, I want to help.

[nellie-elizabeth]

Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Casecation (6x12)

I'm... kind of mad.

Cons:

I liked the angst and deep emotions of Jake and Amy's conversations. But I'm honestly really frustrated with both of them, that they didn't discuss kids before getting married. That feels like a rookie mistake, and not something that Amy would ever let happen, even if Jake screwed it up somehow. It feels unrealistic to what we know of them as a couple, because they're normally such great communicators. This is a situation where the premise of the episode itself is a bit annoying to me, but what they did within that premise was really strong.

Pros:

I'll admit, the reveal of Pam as a sleeper villain was something I did not see coming, even though I totally should have. I think the episode was smart to keep the case-of-the-week very low-key, and not have it come into play very much at all until the end. It means that we're focusing on the interesting character work, not on the case for which we have no personal connection. Pam was there to be a silly color commentator, adding comedy to Jake and Amy's anniversary. And she was hilarious the whole way through, especially when she was rambling while holding an explosive device, and Jake was trying to calm her down. Antonio Banderas in Outlander? Okay, I'm interested!

I like that even when this show stretches my credulity a lot, the emotional underpinnings still feel sincere. So, yeah, it's annoying and unrealistic that Jake and Amy wouldn't have already talked about having kids. But with that scenario in place, it feels enormously true to life that Amy would try to solve it with logic and competition, before realizing that she needs to be open and honest. That moment when Amy talked about "starting over" and Jake just froze... that was really cutting, and hard to watch. Of course, this is sitcom land, where Jake, who had previously never wanted kids, can come around to the idea within a single half hour episode. But this is a good sitcom, one where Jake, true to character, can be brave and can grow as a person, but who will probably also have a hard time with the thought of fatherhood, no matter what. I want to watch Jake and Amy navigate the challenges that come with deciding to start a family. I think they're up to the task.

I like that there wasn't really a subplot in this episode, just moments when the rest of the cast came in and contributed to the central theme. It was smart to keep Charles out of things for the most part, because dealing with his personal feelings on Jake and Amy having kids together could easily take up a whole episode all on its own. Instead, we see Holt attempting to be an impartial judge during the debate. This was played mostly for laughs. I loved the bit with Kevin being on the phone, and then various other certified debate judges. Jake talking about his daddy issues, and Amy, Holt, and Kevin all immediately confirming that, was really great. This was a good bit for comedy, but it also warmed my heart to see that Jake was willing to go along with Amy's method of discussing the issue. He's very ride-or-die for her, and that was evident throughout this entire episode.

Rosa and Terry also had their sides in the debate. Rosa decides that Amy should definitely have kids because of how cute they'd be. I liked this brief moment of uncomplicated solidarity between these two colleagues. And then you have Terry, who loves being a father, but who actually tells Jake not to have kids. Why? Well, Terry doesn't regret his family at all, but he knows how hard being a parent can be. He tells Jake that if he's not 100% sure, he shouldn't become a father. That's really important. There's this annoying thing that happens where people just make a default assumption that everyone wants and is going to have children. I firmly believe that the default should be the opposite - why would you assume that someone would want to bring a life into this world? That's a huge decision, and one that should be made actively and carefully.

This show is a comedy, and Jake is often portrayed as silly or ridiculous, but I've got to say, I absolutely love the moments when he gets to be a bad-ass. The way he kept calm during such a tense situation was really impressive. He's ultimately very, very good at his job, and the fact that he was able to handle a terrifying situation with a bomb so well proves to him that maybe he'll be able to handle being a father too.

So, yeah, this episode has a big problem, in that the premise itself feels out of character. But I really enjoyed the scenes and moments that we got!

8/10

[teacupfulofstarshine]

PLEASE CONSIDER: sanders sides cinderella!au

ft: romantic analogical, romantic royality, lots of brotherly platonic logince and brotherly platonic moxiety 

@malfunctioning-human since it’s sanders sides content!! <3

ok, kiddos, i’ve been thinking about this for weeks, here we go

TW: deceit being deceptive and slightly manipulative; he hits patton once and locks him up, but that’s about it 

thomas is the eldest of the kingdom’s three princes, incredibly charismatic and beloved by the people, and the one who’s next in line for the throne 

logan is the middle child, and he spends his entire life studying everything he possibly can about the kingdom so that he will be able to help thomas run it efficiently 

roman is the youngest prince, the captain of the royal knights, and a renowned adventurer across all the neighboring kingdoms

dorian (aka deceit) is the older stepchild and the technical lord of the sanders manor, and an asshole to virgil and patton

virgil is the younger stepchild, who starts out as kind of an asshole but gradually becomes more likeable (earning dorian’s disgust, but he doesn’t care anymore) and who has not-so-secret magical abilities

patton is the biological child of the (deceased) lord of the sanders manor, and the ever-cheerful servant of dorian 

actual story under the cut!!! : ) 

fair warning: it is bulleted and it is long it is so fucking long i hope you like it 

patton sanders is the only biological child of lord and lady sanders, but lady sanders dies of an incurable illness (probably tb, it’s always tb that gets people in olden fairy tales) and lord sanders is heartbroken

little seven-year-old patton is heartbroken, too, but he does his best to keep a smile on his face for his papa

then his papa remarries, and the new lady sanders is nice enough but she treats patton with something approaching contempt 

she has two sons, dorian (who’s three years older than patton) and virgil (who’s about patton’s age, maybe a couple months younger) 

dorian is nice to patton in public, but it’s the fakest shit you’ve ever seen 

in private, he reveals his true nature as a manipulative asshole who gets patton to do whatever he wants to earn half-hearted, shallow, meaningless praise 

virgil is kind of a dick to patton at first, because dorian bullies him into it (dorian tells virgil that if he doesn’t do what he says, dorian will tell everyone about virgil’s magic, which he can’t control that well, and virgil is terrified of that prospect)

dorian slowly coaxes patton into doing more and more of the household chores as more and more of the staff have to be let go, and virgil doesn’t really agree with this but he’s too afraid of dorian telling everyone to speak up

he tries to help out secretly where he can, with little spells, and it’s not nearly enough to make a difference but he still tries 

a few days before patton’s fourteenth birthday, his father and step-mother are killed in a carriage accident

patton puts on a happy face in public, tries not to show his pain to virgil and dorian, but he spends every night for a week sobbing silently into his pillow

in the will, dorian is named the heir of the sanders estate only - and this is the key part here - only until patton comes of age 

once he does, the estate is his, but dorian is so desperate for control that he lies to patton and virgil, and tells them that he’s the lord of the manor, full stop

patton becomes a full-scale servant, the only one on the entire estate bc dorian fired the rest of them to “save” (read: hoard) money

virgil tries to do more with his magic to try and help patton, and patton walks in on him magically washing the dishes and virgil is so scared he breaks one 

patton stands there for like fifteen seconds and then, starry-eyed, spends ten minutes telling virgil how fucking cool he is, honestly, that was so amazing! 

and that’s what tips virgil to stand up to dorian, because the only person left for dorian to tell is patton, and patton already knows and is fine with it

dorian starts to treat him exactly as terribly as he treats patton, and they both end up his servants, but they don’t care as much because they have each other for solidarity now and it’s a little less terrible with someone else helping you out

patton even shows virgil where the secret cache of magic books are in the estate library and helps him start to hone his abilities

this continues until virgil and patton are twenty and dorian is twenty-three, and then the actual plot commences

BACK TO THE CASTLE

the three dashing princes are running into a bit of a dilemma 

thomas (twenty-four) is the unofficial heir to the throne, everyone knows that, but he hasn’t been officially named the crown prince yet

the reason for this is that, legally, the crown prince (or princess) cannot be named until their siblings are married off (if they have siblings) 

(it’s some obscure law created to deter siblings trying to lead a coup against the rightful leader, bear with me here) 

so logan and roman (twenty-two and twenty, respectively) aren’t married yet (neither is thomas) and thomas is perfectly willing to wait for them to find someone they truly love to marry

but the king is getting old, and weak, and it becomes apparent that they need thomas named crown prince asap bc otherwise, the kingdom will be thrown into chaos when the king dies 

thomas doesn’t want to force his younger brothers to marry, but logan and roman understand the gravity of the situation

logan is fairly disinterested in romance/marriage in general, and roman has always dreamed of being a dashing hero sweeping someone off their feet, but ultimately they want what’s best for the kingdom

thomas decides that they’re going to have three days of festivities in the castle, a ball of EPIC PROPORTIONS 

officially, it’s to celebrate roman’s twentieth birthday, but in reality it’s to try and find suitable partners for logan and roman

the invitation is clear: every available bachelor and maiden in the kingdom is to attend

the invitation shows up at the sanders estate, and patton is ecstatic

he shows the invitation to dorian, who smirks, because this is perfect for his power-hungry ambitions

patton is so excited to be able to go, and dorian just laughs and tells him that there’s no way a servant boy can possibly go to the royal castle

virgil steps in and tells dorian that patton is the biological heir to the sanders estate, so he has more right than either of them to attend, and dorian casually reminds him who the “real” lord of the manor is 

still, dorian knows that if he shuts this down cold, they might finally snap and rebel against him, so he tells patton that of course he and virgil can go, provided that they complete all their work and find something passable to wear

and patton is so happy, he doesn’t even realize that dorian has nearly doubled their chore lists in order to make sure they don’t get anything done

patton finds some old suits of his father’s, and when he goes into town to do the shopping he sneaks into the tailor’s shop and begs him to help alter the suits so that he and virgil can go

he doesn’t have any money, but he offers to do work to make up for it, and patton used to frequent the town when his parents were still alive and everyone in town still kind of has a soft spot for him, so the tailor says that if patton helps out with some gardening he’ll alter the suits 

patton works himself to the bone trying to get his chores done and help out around the tailor’s

virgil, meanwhile, is growing suspicious of dorian and his motives (and he doesn’t believe for a hot second that dorian will actually let them go) so he spends a lot of time researching arcane magics that he thinks can help him (and also poking around dorian’s affairs, covertly, of course)

he also takes on the lion’s share of patton’s chores so that he can do work for the tailor

finally, finally, the first day of the ball arrives, and patton is exhausted but so, so happy because the suits are ready and they look so handsome!

even virgil has to admit that he likes the way the suit looks on him, and he’s anxious about going but also super excited

but on their way downstairs, they run into dorian, who circles around patton telling him how handsome he looks even as he tears the suit to shreds and patton runs off sobbing

he doesn’t even pretend with virgil, just tears the suit apart while he rips virgil’s new self-confidence apart, laughing as he slinks out the door to romance the princes 

virgil finds patton sobbing in the garden, running his fingers over the torn suit, and tells him to get up, because they’re still going to that ball

patton sniffles, asks how they’re going to go with no outfits, and virgil just smirks and snaps his fingers

“i’m magic, patton. i got this” 

virgil shows patton this new illusion spell he’s been working on, and suddenly they’re both dressed in impeccable suits and - what’s more - there’s a glamour on their face so that dorian won’t recognize them if he sees them

patton’s is light blue and virgil’s is dark purple, and patton hugs virgil and twirls him around because he’s happy, sure, but he’s also so proud of his little brother!!! 

virgil warns him that this is a complex spell to hold, and that he only has enough strength to hold it until midnight, so they have to leave before then 

patton promises that he only wants to have some fun, and he’ll be ready to leave well before midnight, and virgil just smiles and drags him out the door 

FASTFORWARD TO THE PARTY

roman is having the time of his life, dancing around and flirting with all these different men and women, but he hasn’t found anyone he thinks he might love, and then

then

t h e n

then he sees this absolutely gorgeous boy in a blue suit who looks just - absolutely starstruck by everything, and roman politely excuses himself to go and talk to him

“well hello there” and he makes this deep bow “i am prince roman, and you are?” 

“having the time of my life” the boy responds earnestly, and that isn’t the answer roman was looking for but he finds he doesn’t much care 

“well, would you care to dance with me?” 

patton just kind of gapes at roman, because the prince of the kingdom is asking him to dance with him and he doesn’t know what to say

“i - i haven’t danced since i was very little,” patton tells him. “like, seven” 

“it’s alright if you have two left feet,” roman says, “i’m talented enough for both of us

“i’m pretty sure i’ve got one of each foot, actually” and patton is so delightfully confused that roman just laughs and pulls him into middle of the dance floor

virgil is leaning against the wall, thoroughly disinterested, when someone else leans next to him, but his eyes are focused on patton and roman whirling around the dance floor and he doesn’t look at who he’s talking to

“you got bored of the party too, huh?”

“quite. i find these things illogical and senseless” 

“people are so confusing, honestly, navigating one conversation is like a chess game” 

“you like chess?”

“haven’t played in years, but yeah, i was pretty good. why, you challenging me?” 

“if you think you’re up for it, there happens to be an excellent chess set in the royal library”

virgil scoffs. “just cause they let us into the royal ballroom doesn’t mean we can go wandering through the palace” 

the other person snorts, amused. “well, i cannot imagine that they’ll keep a prince out of his own palace, can you”

and virgil jumps away from the wall and stares because the person he’s been exchanging sarcastic banter with is none other than prince logan himself 

virgil splutters and bows - “your highness!” - and logan just raises an eyebrow and smiles 

“do you still wish to take me on in chess?” 

virgil looks at patton, dancing the night away with roman, and looks back to logan and smirks 

“bring it, your highness” 

they spend hours on one game, and just as virgil is about to make the final move, he sees that it’s eleven fifty-two, and he stands bolt upright

“i have to go, your highness, i - thank you for an excellent game”

logan catches his wrist - “please, wait, i know nothing about you, but that was the best game of chess i’ve had in years. promise - promise me you’ll come back tomorrow night?” 

and virgil hadn’t been planning on it, but the prince is so kind and he had so much fun, and he knows that patton will want to come back

so even though he knows the risks, he smiles, kisses the prince’s hand, and says “of course i will” 

he sprints through the dance floor to find patton waiting at the door. they burst out into the cold night air and they start running, and they make it halfway home before the glamour drops and they’re leaning against a tree, wearing torn-up old suits again, laughing and breathless

“i know i said i only wanted one night, but i met the most amazing boy, virge, his name is roman and -” patton cuts himself off and whispers 

“oh my stars i spent the evening dancing with the prince” 

“if it’s any consolation, pat, i spent the night playing chess with his brother. he’s good, too, but i think i can beat him” 

patton turns to virgil with stars in his eyes and begs him to cast the spell again tomorrow night, and virgil is more drained than he thought he was but he still agrees because patton is so clearly head over heels for roman

it has absolutely nothing to do with the sparkle in logan’s eyes and the flush in his cheeks and the confidence in his smirk, absolutely nothing at all

they sneak into the house before dorian gets back and pretend they’ve been there all night, with patton begging him for details about the party

“i barely got a chance to talk to the princes, the youngest one spent the entire evening dancing with some pathetic boy in a blue suit and the middle one disappeared half an hour in” 

“it’s a good thing you guys didn’t go, it was a total waste” 

virgil and patton share a secret smile behind dorian’s back 

they go back on the second night, and virgil makes the illusion even more elaborate than the first night

just like the first night, patton spends the entire night dancing and talking with roman and virgil spends the entire night playing chess with logan

just like the first night, virgil jumps up before he’s about to make the final move and runs out, and just like the first night, logan stops him

“tomorrow night is the final night of the ball. my absence has not gone unnoticed, and they will expect me to dance with someone at the final dance. will you be my dance partner?” 

virgil blushes, but says that he’ll definitely come back

he meets up with patton outside again, only to discover that he has, in fact, been asked to the closing dance by roman 

virgil promises patton that they can go, but he warns that the glamour is super taxing and they’ll have to be super careful if they don’t want dorian to get suspicious 

so it’s the third night of the ball, and virigl has whipped up his most elaborate outfits to date, trimmed with silver and everything - the works 

patton and roman don’t dance right away this time, instead choosing to go for a walk through the royal gardens

roman tells patton that he’s the most beautiful boy he’s ever seen, and patton blushes 

“clearly you’ve never looked in a mirror, then, prince roman” 

roman turns scarlet and reaches under his jacket, pulling out a necklace with a golden medallion on it

the medallion has the royal crest on the front and another crest etched on the back, the personal crest of prince roman

roman hands it to patton, saying he wants him to have it as a memento

patton balks, because he can’t just take something from the youngest prince like that, he can’t repay it, and roman smiles and says “there is one way you could repay me”

he cups patton’s cheek, leans in, and asks, “may i?” 

patton presses his lips against roman’s and whispers, “you may”

virgil, on the other hand, jumps straight into his chess game with logan, because come hell or high water they are finishing tonight’s game

and they do finish, just in time - virgil checkmates logan at the last minute 

logan laughs, and he looks so pretty that virgil leans in on impulse and just kisses him 

logan is too stunned to respond and he pulls back almost immediately, panicking, because oh my god he just kissed the prince without permission - 

but logan just smiles and pulls him into another one, and another, and another 

just before they go downstairs for the final dance, he tucks the black queen into virgil’s pocket 

“a keepsake of this evening. i hope you will accept it”

virgil kisses logan again, one last time, just to remember the feeling of his mouth and of being loved for when he and patton are back on the sanders estate 

“of course i will”  

patton and virgil both dance with their respective princes for the final dance, and then the clock strikes midnight and they both freeze

virgil does his best to maintain the glamour, but the magic keeping their anonymity dissipates, and patton makes direct eye contact with dorian and knows instantly that dorian knows

patton and virgil both blurt hurried apologies and run from the palace, but it’s too late, because dorian knows 

sure enough, when they get back he slaps patton full in the face, and when virgil tries to shield him, he throws virgil against the wall

he sees the medallion that roman gave to patton and tries to take it, but patton fights back - for the first time in his life, he fights back against dorian

dorian ends up locking patton in his room, but when he goes to deal with virgil he finds him conspicuously absent

(virgil, meanwhile, is breaking into dorian’s office looking for a very specific document, because he knows that if the princes come looking, he needs something to back himself up)

back at the castle, roman and logan tell thomas about the handsome strangers they found at the ball

thomas just kind of shakes his head 

“you two mean to tell me you both think you’ve found the love of your life and, not only do you know nothing about them, you have no way of finding them?” 

roman and logan just kinda look at each other and facepalm

“do you remember anything about them that we can use?”

roman remembers the the medallion at the exact minute that logan remembers the chess piece, and they both gasp 

thomas rolls his eyes “door-to-door search it is” 

when they come to the sanders estate, dorian presents roman with a facsimile medallion even as patton slams his fists against the door so hard that they start to bleed 

roman doesn’t remember his dance partner having such cold eyes or such a lifeless smile, but dorian and patton look very similar and dorian has the medallion and he doesn’t know what else to do

until he flips it over and realizes that his personal crest isn’t there

all at once he has his sword out, point at dorian’s throat

“this isn’t mine. mine has my crest on the back, and this does not.” 

even as he speaks, the paint begins to flake off the wooden coin dorian used to fake it

“roman, shh, listen - do you hear something?” 

roman listens, and he can hear the faintest banging noise, along with some muffled shouting 

“who else is here?” 

“no one, your highness, i live by myself,” dorian purrs, but roman is having none of it 

logan goes upstairs to check, finds a door barred with a plank of wood with someone slamming against it frantically

he picks the lock easily and pulls the wood off, the door slams open, and a young man falls into his arms, and his worn-out shirt is the same color as the suit roman’s dance partner was wearing 

logan helps him to his feet and he bows - “your highness!” 

logan notices the gold medallion hanging from his neck, and he knows that this is the boy roman’s been searching for 

“i do believe my brother is looking for you”

patton snaps up, mouth agape 

“he . . . he is?”

“we came all this way - he’s downstairs, if you’d like to see him” 

patton flies down the stairs, and the second roman sees him, the sword lowers, because patton has the medallion on - his medallion, he knows, because it’s reversed and he can see his crest on patton’s chest 

roman crosses the room in five quick steps and sweeps patton into his arms 

“hello there, my love. what do you say we get out of here?” 

dorian interrupts, desperate to hold on to his power 

“he’s nothing but a servant boy! and someone of royal blood cannot marry someone who isn’t at least a nobleman” 

“good thing he’s a nobleman, then” a new voice says, and everyone looks over to see virgil coming down the stairs with a piece of paper in his hands

dorian’s face drains of all color, because virgil is holding the original will

“the sanders estate was only supposed to be yours until the biological heir came of age. patton turned eighteen two years ago - for two years you’ve been holding his title when you’re not of noble blood and you’ve treated the rightful heir like he’s nothing and that’s a crime if ever i’ve heard one!” 

logan makes a motion to the guards that accompanied them, and they seize dorian and lead him away

virgil snaps his fingers and bright blue light wraps around patton, transforming his worn-out old clothes into an elaborate blue suit 

it’s no illusion, this time - patton’s clothes actually morph around him

“patton” roman whispers, pressing his forehead against patton’s 

“that’s my name” 

“it’s a beautiful name, befitting of a beautiful person such as yourself, lord sanders” 

roman leans in and kisses him, and patton has never been so happy in all his life

logan smiles, watching his brother be happy with the boy that he loves, and then he turns to virgil to see the black queen sitting in virgil’s palm 

“you’re - “

“i have magic,” virgil says. “i can’t always control it, but i’m trying. and i’m not of noble birth, i’m not worthy of you, your highness, but -”

logan cuts him off with a kiss midway through 

“i don’t care about the status of your birth. i care about you” 

virgil lets his magic wrap around himself, and suddenly he’s wearing a beautiful purple suit 

“my name is virgil, your highness” 

dorian is imprisoned for treason against the rightful heir to the sanders estate, fabricating a will, etc. etc.

roman and logan introduce patton and virgil to thomas, and he loves them instantly 

thomas appoints virgil the kingdom’s official magician, a position which carries with it the status of a nobleman 

(not that it matters, because logan was going to date and marry the hell out of this boy either way)

the two princes are married to patton and virgil three months after the ball, and immediately after the marriage ceremony thomas is named the crown prince of the realm 

and they all lived happily ever after (except deceit) 

i hope you guys enjoyed it!! if you want to make art or fics or whatever based off of the au, tag me in it / send it to me so that i can see it and appreciate it and share it with everyone!!! if you have questions about this au (or any headcanons you wanna share with me about sanders sides, au-related or not), hit up my ask box!! i hope you guys enjoy!!! 

i love you all <3<3<3<3

[andyourmotherthatslut]

Let's Talk About "The Dirt"

Alright so as always a little bit of information before I begin digging into every tiny piece of this movie and tearing the awful parts to absolute shreds.

This will be a very lengthy post and idk how to do that read more shit so bear with me ok. Also there will be spoilers (duh), swearing, and lots of criticism. Also also, don't rip me to shreds for the shit I say.

So, ever since I was a baby I listened to Mötley Crüe it was and always will be my favourite band in all existence. I almost had the chance to see their final show but due to money issues I didn't get to. Spoiler alert I fucking sobbed when I found out I couldn't go.

When I found out they were making a movie -based on the book- based on the band, I was absolutely ecstatic. I had already seen Bohemian Rhapsody (based on Queen clearly) and was absolutely blown away by the acting, the visuals, the casting, and just the overall story that they were trying to tell you as a viewer.

So, when my mom told me she found the trailer for The Dirt I rushed to her room to watch it and we sat together and watched. And we were very disappointed. The casting was completely off (no offence to the actors at all I absolutely adore some of them) and it just seemed awkward.

Now flash forward to today my mom had watched the movie while I had showered and so I asked her how the movie was and what she thought of everything that I had previously criticized about the trailer. She said it was ok but not her favourite and then we went on to talk about it for a while.

Now, I told my mom I probably wasn't going to watch it because my expectations for the movie were already buried in the ground and I was terrified they'd find some way to still disappoint. But like always, morbid curiosity dragged me in and I decided to watch it at 1am.

Now that you know that let's talk about the casting for a minute.

Let's start with our lead singer Vince Neil. Complete asshole with a "minor" Superiority complex and a shit ton of women lining up at his dressing room door. Vince Neil is played by Daniel Webber. Not good casting on this one boys. Not good.

Then we have Nikki Sixx. Also an asshole but not as much. He's known for his drug addiction in the eighties that stopped his heart (thankfully he's still alive to this day), his boyish good looks, and his wicked skills. Nikki Sixx is played by Douglas Booth. While Douglas is quite attractive and does very well as an actor he just doesn't quite fit the infamous Nikki Sixx.

After him we have our crazy drummer, Tommy Lee. Known for his public stunts, amazing deumming skills, and hotel trashing, Tommy is played by Colson Baker (also known as Machine Gun Kelly). I'd say that Colson as Tommy is the only good casting they've done for this movie, and that's not saying much.

Last but not least, Mick Mars. The wonderful guitarist known for his skills, his awful disease, and his determination. Mick Mars is played by the wonderful actor Iwan Rheon. And while I do think that he's an amazing actor as previously stated, he's just not Mick Mars.

While all of these boys put on a wonderful performance and I do mean wonderful they're all excellent actors. They don't live up to Mötley Crüe. But that's looks and some minor movement and personality nitpicks and I'm being dramatic about it because I grew up on them. To really sell it as this band you have to put in every part of your being the same way they did just being themselves and still do.

Now I still think looks wise the casting is God awful I think acting wise they made the right choice. I've never seen Douglas Booth or Daniel Webber in anything but I have seen Colson Baker and Iwan Rheon and know that they're excellent actors. I think all four really did well doing what they did.

Now less tearing apart the actors and the casting and on to tearing apart the movie. Now, I will be honest and tell you that I've never read the book simply because I've just never had the chance so I'm just going off facts that I personally know about the band and how they came together and all that.

Let's start on the name shall we? Mick did not come up with the name. It was some other guy who saw them (a producer I think) and said something along the lines of "well isn't this just a motley fuckin crew." And it was Mick who said "that's it that's the name" But he didn't just come up with it out of the blue. Thats just incorrect and kind of annoying honestly.

My next point. I'm sure the book had parts where it was talking about how they fucked this person or that person but, did they have to make it pornographic scenes? Hell, not even 20 minutes in and Tommy Lee has already eaten out some chick at a party in front of a ton of high and drunk people who will never remember it the next day. And I get that it's Mötley Crüe and that's their thing trust me I get it, but seriously man you're gonna get this banned in places.

And can we talk about the constant voice overs? I understand you're trying to tell this story and that voice overs are necessary sometimes but not every five seconds of the first half of the movie. Sure narrating their back stories was ok (not as much as they did but whatever I can let that slide) but all the rest i did not let slide. You don't need a ton of voiceover lines in your movie. You also don't need characters (Mick) looking into the camera like they're on The Office.

Why is this movie so short. This movie is an hour and a half long (rough estimate) and glanced over details that NEEDED to be talked about. For example in the second half of the movie with Tommy's hair and the shaved side. That wasn't just a style choice. Tommy fell from his drums (the bungee ones) and hit the concrete injuring himself. He had to have that part of his head shaved so he could get stitches. Afterwards he shaved the other side and Nikki did the same in solidarity. And that is just one important part of their lives that was skipped over.

Now clearly I have many other issues but I'm running out of room on Tumblr and it's very late and I'm very tired. Overall it's not a terrible movie but it's also just not that good.

[petergender]

finally rested up from the nonstop con run, so here’s my pictures!!!

con highlights:

-guy on the street serenaded me with the spiderman theme on his ukulele in Chinatown (a real tobey maguire throwback)

-tiny captain phasma (girl was INTO IT, she was like 4 but Mighty and Terrifying)

-SO many little kids just staring up into my face like :0 and then whispering (or yelling) “hi spiderman” 

-one dad of those little boys asked me where I got my costume (he actually approached me while I was sitting down and I was rlly happy abt it bc ppl don’t usually do that!!!), and true to peter parker I got to say “I made it myself!!!” so ty random dad for validating me, and I hope ur little guy gets his costume made for next yr!!!

-one kid looked me in the eye, deadly serious, and flipped me the spidey sign and I honestly dont know if it was a threat or a gesture of solidarity. Kudos, kid, I’m very scared of you.

-I saw a kid dressed up as miles morales and I gotta be honest I was rlly hoping he or his dad would ask to take a pic w me bc his costume was Spot On, but I didn’t wanna ask kids for pictures in case they were shy

-one little boy had the plastic mask and silly string webshooters and his dad lifted him up so he could see me and he waved v slowly cause he was lookin at a Full Size Spidey and it was rlly wholesome that dad was So Pumped to see me.

-one kid just fuckin LOST IT when he saw me, like straight up staring at me In Awe, and I’m ngl, that really made my Whole Life, I felt like I rlly was spiderman

-EVERY Deadpool I ran into was nothing but cool and respectful, and I was honestly a little nervous going in, so thanks to all of you who managed to stay in character and not cross the line cause u did a Stellar Job 

-there was this one Thor and he was there all three days I was and I stg he always had a little plastic beer cup in his hand and I saw him drinking it but it was always full???? 

-I yelled “mr. stark!!!!” Every Time I saw an iron man cosplay to get their attention for a picture (I hope they were amused, I rlly tried)

-spEAKING OF IRON MAN that first guys costume was the Coolest Shit I Have Ever Seen In My Life, his mask flipped up like on command??? mr stark??? hook me up blease??!!

-I had the Actual Backpack and no one commented on it but it made my whole experience 2000 times better

-got to ride public transit in a full spiderman costume???? wow 11/10 experience 

-saw a J Jonah Jamesson and when he saw me he just yelled “MENACE!!!!”

-a guy dressed as green goblin saw me and said (in the low scary voice and eveyrthing) ““really??? you know no one like spiderman!” and I was cackling

-got to see the lotr panel???? so wild

-also the last quarter of the justice league panel, Ezra miller and ray fisher are both Delights

-flipped off some protestors from the west boro Baptist church (only after they verbally attacked my family personally, which was super gross and I hope they fall off the Ben Franklin bridge!!!) but it was rlly a freeing experience flipping them off in full spidey costume 

-A LIVE BAND PLAYING THE GOTG SOUNDTRACK WHEN WE WALKED IN ON FRIDAY????

-and oh my god the parade-like line on Saturday, that was amazing

-a dumbish thing, but no one looked at me and said “:0 spidergirl!!!” Like everyone called me spider m a n, they rlly knew I was tryna b peter parker and it felt good ngl

-this one girl filming on the balcony above the escalator (I genuinely didn’t notice she was waving at me for a long time but it made my Entire Day when I realized she was???? @mystery girl where r u hmu w that vid) was So Happy to see me??? wow. 

-oh and every now and then??? ppl just Snappin Pics. Not even asking to take a picture w me, just takin em, I Love It I hope I get to see some of them online sometime 

-oh and I Love when I was an absolute moron and ppl had to ask me like 4 separate times for a picture bc I had No peripheral vision and two layers of fabric over my ears (every time I told my family to wait up they just said “lol use ur spidey senses” and Id be more mad if it wasn’t so funny)

-wildly, i was actually one of the Only girls I saw dressed up as spiderman, and it kinda made me feel good for no reason??? Especially since no one treated me differently than the boys dressed up as spidey idk. (that being said, every girl I saw dressed up as spidey added 10 yrs to my lifespan)

-saw a star Lord carrying a sign that just said “sorry guys”, and the other side said “justice for Gamora” and I’m fuckin dhdndns

-every friend group dressed as the guardians really made my Whole Day

-group of four guys dressed up as the anchormen, all walking in formation. I tried to get a picture w them but I stg they just fucking disappeared after passing behind a pillar and I never saw them again

-I probably actually seemed a lot like peter parker to everyone because I just started jumping up and down and gasping every time I saw a Single Avenger, I was really just losing my fucking mind

-dressing up as your favorite superhero really does improve ur quality of life

-not a highlight but For Real If u dress up as spiderman I’m begging you to drink water and take off the damn mask when you can bc holy shit I went home after each day and just Died Immediately, please take care of urself lol

-if you recognize me and have pic PLEASE tag me in them, I’m a hoe and love seeing myself lmao (and if you see yourself, hmu and I’ll tag you in the post if you want!!!)

[gettin-bi-bi-bi]

Hi, so I’ve been really trying to figure myself out as of late and I’m really confused about something. I’ve never been sexually attracted to anybody, so I thought that I was asexual. But recently I’ve been finding that I find both boys and girls attractive but I still don’t think I want to have sex? I’m also terrified because I’ve grown up being taught that being anything but straight is wrong and I’m honestly freaking out. Is there something wrong with me? Am I asexual or not?

You’re not wrong. The heteronormative world around you is wrong. But you are wonderful the way you are.

Unfortunately I cannot tell you what your sexuality is. It’s something that everyone has to figure out for themselves but the good thing is that you are the only person who gets to have any say in which labels fit you. You are the only authority that gets to decide who you are, what your sexuality is and whether or not you want to have sex with anyone!

It’s very much possible to be bi and ace at the same time. For exmaple you may be asexual but biromantic. Or you could be demisexual (which refers to people who develop sexual attraction only after a strong emotional bond has been established) or somewhere else on the asexual spectrum. Not all ace people are the same - some are completely sex-repulsed, others enjoy having sex with a romantic partner or simply to achieve an orgasm (because asexuality does not inherently mean a lack of libido).

Anyway, as long as you are somehow attracted to more than one gender - even if it’s rarely or only under certain circumstances or only a certain type of attraction (like romantic attraction for example); even if you do not want to have sex with anyone - you can also claim the bi-label.

It may seem absurd to someone on the outside but the bi community and the ace community have a lot of overlap and there’s a lot of solidarity between us. So you are welcome to join both communities if you want to. And if you one day realise one or both of these labels don’t suit you anymore, it is absolutely okay to change them. Humans change and nobody should shame you for discovering something new about yourself.

Maddie