#ALSO why do they keep doing the same shit

[ms-katonic-of-tamriel]

Is it in character for people is always the question to ask.

Someone who's previously been written to be very articulate and self-aware should not suddenly lose all communication skills because now they're in a romantic relationship (unless partner is being a manipulative arsehole hem hem - make sure the READER finds that out!). Whereas someone who's always been a force of chaos will not suddenly develop a brain unless hit with Consequences. Teenagers, kids and young people in general mostly won't have high levels of emotional maturity (unless they've had good role models growing up who taught them things like this), but you expect better from the over 25s unless you've previously flagged that adult as Unreliable/Fucked Up/Awful.

Tension is also important - build that up in whatever direction and you won't have a problem. Maybe it's a tense situation that's spiralling towards Disaster! Having the adults get together and save the situation through Generally Being Responsible and Averting the Crisis will be very satisfying, but the reader needs to believe Disaster was a real possibility. If you aren't able to do that, you're going to need to find another avenue of tension for your story.

Writing the actual disaster playing out because no one was mature enough to avert it can also be satisfying, but it needs to be a believable disaster. It needs to be believable that no one had the skills to sort this. It needs to be a believable set of consequences playing out. Your idiots need to be believable idiots, and if there's a bad actor or two intervening, they need to be well written too. You want them to fuck up on a grand scale? Establish this trait by having them fuck up in the same way on a smaller scale first. Or even have them display the same traits in an adaptive manner. They're prone to losing their temper? Have them lose their temper at small but understandable things first. They're paranoid and untrusting? Show them being knifed in the back by someone they trusted as an explanation for how they got that way. They're too trusting? Establish that by having them behave in a trusting way and being rewarded for it. What traits do you need them to have for the fuck up to work, and establish the traits in your characters. When disaster plays out, and they keep right on acting in the ways you've already established, and it all falls apart? Your readers will love that shit because they all saw this coming, or at least they'll absolutely get why it happened.

honestly sometimes stories where characters have self awareness and solve their problems maturely can be really refreshing sometimes. and sometimes it feels like therapyspeak slop. intense stories where no one is capable of understanding themselves and act out in incorrect ways can be very fun. and sometimes it feels like contrived bullshit. whatever makes "a good story" is harder to make happen than just using the right kind of characters using the right words

[dcxdpdabbles]

I love love all your writings!!

I like your depictions of John Constantine.

I'd like to see you write the sad trenchcoat persona as just that a persona in the same fashion as how Brucie Wayne is a persona.

Maybe he's been the de-aged Danny/Dannies father for years and is an actual functional adult. The sad trenchcoat is just used to keep people from calling on him to frequently because he's a dad and has dad-like things to do.

He could help tim with the time stream thing, like 'oh, yeah that does look like Bruce. Alright kid pack a bag we're going in the time stream I know a guy. No Nightwing I'm not joking this looks like solid proof'.

Maybe Bruce has a oh shit he's actually competent and could kill me, that's hot moment. (Kids I have found your other father, help me get him home)

"I would love to offer more of my time to waste on monitor duty, but I have a previous engagement. A particular fit lady needs help getting her dress on the floor. The cloth always gets stuck on her horns. " John leers, wagging his eyebrows at the grimaces his words cause.

He takes a puff of his cigarette, inhaling the smoke like a drowning man. He never smokes at home, not with Danny's sensitive lungs or Dani's general disgust at smoking, so he only had the chance when called away on missions.

Plus, Danny was trying out for ballet soon, and he wasn't going to ruin his son's chances of being a star because of his own poor habits.

It helped that the rest of the heroes believed he was consistently pumping nicotine into his system. Rather irresponsible for the hero to publicly commit frowned-upon activities - at least in the States. Back home, no one cared that much.

It didn't matter that the Justice League was a global team; the main hard hitters and founders were nearly all American, and they tended to uphold those social expectations, either subconsciously or not.

One more reason why they shouldn't bother John, he can't have him smoking at a big awards ceremony or seen going through an entire pack of cigarettes mid-fight. Oh no.

John Constantine was one of the best magic users of this universe, but he was a last resort. There were plenty of other magic users like Zatanna, Dr. Fate, Zatara, or even Etrigan that came to mind first.

John was likely too busy drowning his misery in bottles or the arms of any willing partner. That's what they all thought.

Or more importantly than what he wanted them to think.

"Well, this has been a time." He announces, snapping his fingers to open a portal to his house. "But I have to run. My lady needs a knowledgeable hand to help her-"

"Enough," Batman growls. Though he has complete control over his emotions, John can tell he's irritated by the meaningless detail. He smirks as the hero waves a hand, "Just go."

He offers the rest of the meeting room a cheeky two-finger salute as he struts out, letting the portal close behind him so his trench coat flares dramatically. It's a nice view, he's sure, but it's also unnecessarily showy, and he is sure at least three pairs of eyes are rolling at his exit.

A chuckle escapes his mouth, straightening from his slouch to properly stand straight and bend it far enough to pop. Goodness, his act always leaves him with a sore upper back; maybe he shouldn't hunch over so much, even if he was playing the part of a no-good punk.

John only had a few seconds to shiver at his own thoughts- he was a punk. A real one! He was in a band!- before he heard the tell-tell sign of a rapidly approaching double set of footsteps echo down the hall. He scrambles to fling his lit cigarette into a water portal, chucking the pack for double security, while summoning a random suitcase from thin air.

All that's left is his rather eye-catching coat, a little too worn down and old to work well with his well-put-together outfit underneath. Without it, John has a clean, pressed white shirt, a respectful tie, and a pair of slacks that make more than one head turn as he walks.

All in all, he looks like the office businessman his worthless father always wanted to be.

John throws off his coat over a chair at the same time the door is thrown open with a pair of excited yells. "Welcome home, Dad!"

A grin stretched across his face before he could think about it, feeling his heart swell at the sight of them, as he knelt down, arms open wide. Two tiny bodies slam into him without a second of hesitation, nearly knocking John backwards.

He lets out a soft grunt as Dani's arms attempt to wrap around his left arm and right shoulder. She clashes against Danny, who's trying to bury himself into John's right side, little face squished against one of John's pecs, like a bunny burrowing into the snow.

"Hello, my little lambs!" He gushes, squeezing the kids close. "How was your day with the House of Mystery? Did you two behave?"

"They were angels," Black Orchid confirms, gliding into the room at a much slower pace. They had their regular, impassive expression on their faces, but John could tell that Orchid was happy with the kids by the way they gently tapped the tops of the children's black hair.

"Dad! Dad! Now that you're home, can we please go get my new ballet shoes?" Danny begs, bouncing on his toes.

For a moment, John doesn't see his son, but rather his own blue eyes staring up at his father, when he was also five, begging to join Lily, the next-door neighbor, in beginners' ballet class.

His father had beaten him nearly to death for wanting such a girly interest. It was the last time they spoke about it. It was also the last time John ever bothered asking to start new hobbies.

"Dad! Dad! Can I do Karate?" Dani asks then, snapping John from his memories better left buried, as she presses her check against her brother's in an attempt to get John's attention. "I want to break a board with my fist!"

He gives the children another squeeze, laughing at the squeals he gets. "Of course you can do karate, little lamb. We're going to get your brother his shoes, and then I'll find a gym that offers the classes at the same time."

"I already provided that service." Orchid cuts in, holding a flyer for Flying Graysons' gym, founded and run by the eldest Wayne in Gotham. "I took the liberty of signing Danny up for a class with Casnadra Wayne, and Dani will join Duke Thomas's class. It starts in a week."

"Plenty of time to go get them everything they need and a new book series for our bedtime stories," John announces, loosening his arms so his children can cheer and bounce up and down in excitement. His knee is starting to cramp up, but he ignores it so he can hold his kids.

It's moments like these, so small and mundane, that John is grateful he thought of his persona. When he first learned how to use the magic he was gifted, he always made himself available for any crisis.

This was before the Justice League days, so anyone who sought him out was familiar with the occult world. He adored helping, and he built an incredible amount of skill and knowledge in magic, but soon John was facing disaster after disaster, dragging his exhausted body from one place to another.

Those who came searching for him never cared. They wanted John to jump at the drop of a hat. He tried for years to always be ready, always be willing, but years of isolation and desperate battles tried him to the core.

Then he took in Danny and Dani, finding the pair of babies in a basket at the feet of the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep. He had gone to investigate the legends of the famous King Pariah Dark, only to find what he assumed were originally sacrifices, well and truly alive.

Their names were attached to their feet with a letter written by a Jazz Fenton begging the two to grow and live well. She had died to save them. In her honor, John kept their names.

Daniel "Danny" Fenton and Danielle "Dani" Fenton. He often wondered what Jazz had been to the kids, with their identical last names. It is a question he will never get the answer to.

They could have been no older than five months, but when they opened their eyes and reached up for him, John realized he no longer wanted to be the go-to man of magic.

He wanted to be their father.

To discourage people from calling him away from his children, John created his persona of a man barely honorable enough to join a team. Over the five years of his raising his kids, his reputation plummeted until only Batman called to him unless absolutely necessary.

It was a breath of fresh air. John had fought for too long and too hard. He was retired now, just like his band days, the days when John would speed off to save the world were behind him. He only stepped in if a friend asked for a favor.

He had other priorities now.

The best part? The Justice League would never know that.

"Dad!" Dani screamed into his ear, making him grimace.

"Inside voice, darling."

"Sorry." She twirls her fingers, a nervous habit she picked up from John, before brightening up "I'm just super excited. Orichad said Mr. Bruce Wayne will be at the gym! Do you think he'll sign my Wayne Space shirt?"

Ah, yes, the man who was funding some space program or another. He only knew about this because his twins adored anything to do with space travel, as if though he couldn't just teleport them to a different planet.

"I'm sure he will, darling."

[littlegrapejuice]

Too Vanilla | FC43

Pairing: Franco Colapinto x Reader

Summary: Franco is very open about his past sex life - maybe a bit too much for you, which eventually makes you insecure.

Author's Note: this is super short but i got the inspo after seeing a small extract of franco on the nude project (i then proceeded to watch the entire thing even tho i barely speak spanish lol) and yeah, I'll say more in the end notes lol but iykyk😭

F1 MASTERLIST🏎

“You’re quiet tonight”, Franco pointed out. “More than usual.”

Shit, was the only word now echoing in your mind. You didn’t think you had been that quiet. Franco and you were having a peaceful night in, cuddling in bed while watching some stupid show whose laughing track was way funnier than the actual jokes.

“Just enjoying the time with you, that’s all.”

Franco knew better. He knew from the way his arms were around you, your hands on your lap and not holding his like you usually did. He knew from the way your body wasn’t entirely relaxed against his.

He just knew you.

“I kinda wanna call bullshit on that, I know you’re lying. Or at least hiding something,” he clarified.

“And what would I be hiding?”

“I don’t know”, he admitted.

And that was it. You both stayed silent for several minutes after the exchange. But now that it was out there, you could feel Franco’s eyes on you. And with the way that he was now holding one of your hands in his, his thumb gently stroking your skin? It was just a matter of time before you were spilling whatever secret you were hiding. Which you did, when you felt him hugging you a bit tighter from where he was sitting behind you.

“It’s about the videos”, you eventually blurted out.

“The videos?” Franco repeated.

“That one video where you did the put a finger down thing”, you explained. “And the most recent podcast.”

“What about those?” He asked, slightly straightening up, before muting the TV.

“Well, you talked about having had sex in a car before, and the podcast…”

“Did I say something wrong in the podcast?”

“It’s not something you said, it’s just how I felt about it.”

“Okay.” Franco nodded, still a bit confused. “Please communicate with me, how did that make you feel?”

“You were talking about pre-race sex somehow helping with your performance, because it was like– relaxing. You also mentioned that having sex on the first date was more than fine for you... And then, I got insecure about it.”

“You got insecure because I’ve been whoring around?” There were certainly better ways to form the question, but at least Franco was trying his best. “You know it all happened before we got together, yeah? I haven’t done that in a while.”

“And that’s the issue!” You exclaimed as you shifted a bit away from him, your side profile now facing him.

“What? You’re saying you’d want me to do those things again?” Safe to say, he was lost. “I'm not sure I get it, what’s the real issue regarding us?”

“The sex, Franco!” You had raised your voice a bit, immediately regretting it. You moved again to sit cross-legged, now actually facing him. “Or more like the lack of it.”

“And that’s the issue because…?” He encouraged you to keep going, still not getting your point.

“Because I’m not having sex with you?” You tried to make him understand. “Because I will probably never have sex with you? Because everything between us is just too vanilla – even more than a middle schoolers’ relationship?”

You expected any reaction from Franco, literally anything. Except him laughing. But that’s what he was doing right now. He had just bursted out laughing.

But you weren’t laughing, far from it. You were just looking at him, widened eyes at his reaction.

“Oh my… oh God…” Franco did his best to calm down, slowly breathing in and out to stop laughing. “Since when is the lack of sex in our relationship an issue? You never brought this up before.”

“I mean, we did talk about it when we got together.”

“But still, I thought we were on the same wavelength? Why is this so important to you all of a sudden?”

“It’s not like– important…”

“Kinda seems like it is”, Franco interrupted.

“Okay, maybe it is. But it’s just that– like– yes, we had agreed that it wasn’t necessary between us… but just watching the podcast and seeing you talk about it, seeing people comment on it–”

“Fuck the comments.”

“Yeah, I shouldn’t be paying attention to them…” You admitted. “But I just got in my head, and then I started overthinking…”

“And you thought that us not having sex had become a problem for me? Without asking me what my actual opinion was?”

“Bingo,” you confirmed with a dry laugh.

The silence settled once again between the two of you, but it wasn’t as heavy as earlier. Franco took your hands in his, squeezing them in reassurance.

“How much of the podcast did you watch?” He eventually asked.

“The segment of you talking about pre-race sex, obviously.” You rolled your eyes at him as your voice was full of sarcasm. "And the sex-on-the-first-date moment.

“But did you watch what I said after?”

“Yeah, a bit.” You tried to recall how long the extract had been. “The whole thing wasn’t entirely subbed so I didn’t actually watch everything but–”

“So you remember what I talked about after that?” Franco waited for you to nod before he continued. “About the difficulty of creating real bonds with people, finding a connection, something that matters… That’s you”, he claimed. “You’re the person with who I share an actual bond. The person who I know is here for me, who loves me, and who I love back. What’s between us is precious, something I wanna cherish and care for until you’ll stop having me.”

“I’ll never stop, though.” You tried to avoid Franco’s gaze, ashamed of having doubted his feelings.

“Well, I hope so.” Franco squeezed your hands once again, before he let go of them to cup your face and wipe your cheeks. “You shouldn’t be crying because of me.”

“Bro”, you said with a deadpan tone. “You’re out there declaring your love for me and I’m not supposed to cry?”

“When you say it like that…”

He laughed. But this time, you enjoyed hearing it. And it made you laugh too.

The situation shouldn’t have been a laughing matter – not for most people – but still, you were laughing together. Then, Franco leaned in, his hands still on your cheeks. You leaned towards him as well, and he closed the space between you to kiss you.

For every insecurity you would ever have, Franco would be there to appease them. And for every dumb insecurity like this one, Franco would just have to remind you that the ‘vanilla’ relationship between the two of you was worth so much more than any pre-race sex he could ever have. And maybe he would also remind you that despite not having sex, the make out sessions between you two were sometimes far from being vanilla.

..........

Ok so this one's a bit more personal than others (not counting that one logan fic in which i poured my heart lol)

Ik there's this franco persona we all see as being the epitome of no pr training bc bro is sharing loads of private stuff - and it ain't even that deep tbh like he's just a guy🎀 (btw i did watch the entire pod which was super interesting bc i didn't know that much ab franco before f2 so i recommend!!)

But yeah, this one's for my ace girlies out there who, like me, might think that it's impossible to find love bc most people will expect sex in a relationship💜

This was just a short n' sweet fic that i thought went well w franco (who's the green flag we all need in our lives) - mostly written for my own mental health bc i needed some self love & reassurance🤍

Thanks for reading<3 I'll see you soon, take care of yourselves, i love y'all xx

[biancadoes1]

The nominees who attended didn't really do press, it wasn't only Nicola who skipped it. There's an account on Twitter of someone who did press there and clarified that a lot of the actors basically walked the carpet and went inside the venue.

Nicola and her team are taking a gamble with the PR with Jake and I don't see it as only a response to the shipping there is more to it than that. People are saying she's stubborn, doubling down, not listening with this and it's not a good look for her. I'm not hating on Nicola, let me just state that upfront. I've looked at the comments across different platforms and the biggest thing I see from fans and GA is disappointment. I have actually seen fans who like her with Jake express their disappointment that she let it be about him and not her achievement. The party was a party not the awards but it nevertheless again moved the conversation away from her work that she says she worked so hard and so long for. Imagine a Jakola agreeing that she shouldn't have walked the carpet with her, like other events he could have stayed away and met up inside. And I agree, I'm not saying he shouldn't attend but if they found ways for her to walk alone then meet inside at other events why not this one?

Also, what fans are seeing is that whether she is with Jake or not, her PR and her persoanlity are getting to be inconsistent and not genuine to fans and some GA. Fans like me who followed Nicola for her other work not only Bridgerton noticed a shift since last year to now. People were glad to see her yesterday, see the recognition for her work, love that she's a badass and is taking on things other actors don't. They see her doing that while being herself.

That's where some fans are stuck - between Nicola as human being, actor and advocate who's doing so much while just being herself as authentic as can be to the Nicola who is then pushing something publicly that goes against what she herself said publicly. There is Nicola who admits to watching trash TV but then is a professional and the Nicola who knows she's already a target in the media and entertainment industry but is leaning into something that will make it a little more difficult for her. Every single article is pointing out that man's age and the wording of the articles, AI or not are casting heavy shade. Like heavy on the shade. It's almost like the press all agreed to show this unconventional woman can only be with an unconventional partner - same shit from last year when this whole thing started. I get that she's doing whatever for PR but wow this is a lot. I will never fully understand it and some of it don't make sense but I also remember don't know them and their game plan.

I don't see it as totally detrimental to her career and she's a person who will never get it right 100% she's just like anyone of us making mistakes. But she's also in a fickle industry, we can say the Bridgerton fandom is loud but small and GA don't care but when she acquires new fans for new projects and the same things happen she is at the risk of eventually being painted in a way that she may or may not like. We've seen things about actors and she is not stranger to it.

My point here is I hope whatever PR gains and losses she is willing to endure, whatever backlash she calculated she will get, is worth it for her. If your TL is mild good for you keep it that way because trust me the gc and spaces are eating her up. Jake too, and Luke who was no where near anything yesterday is catching heat because the PR again with Antonia is something that isn't consistent. They're comparing the two.

For the love of God that damn pap pic of her in the orange cardigan is rearing it's head again and already the talk about her looking drunk and scruffy that time is resurfacing. It's painful to watch and other vile stuff is coming out. They're using those photos as much as the ones from last night to report "her new man". From trans hate last week to now this. We can see her play book and the patterns but it still is a damn shit show.

It’s the biggest fucking mess and I feel like we’ve hit rock bottom tbh.

[riastarthe]

sure whatever. Yes. that's fine. i do think it's pretty irresponsible to say all this and not offer alternatives, something to go on that Can be trusted. i think providing exceptions helps prove the rule, no?

The people in the notes, particularly, who are very comfortable asserting that the vetters themselves are suspect would do well to share their own criteria, what their methods of vetting are, who they DO trust. if the answer is no one then you're as much of a fool. much of the vetting is also done offsite by talking to multiple families and their friends. yes, many of these people know each other, or know friends of friends, just like people from enclaves in a city are more likely to. "why so many emojis in a war zone" "why do so many messages sound the same" look, most of these people don't speak fluent english and don't know that this is the shit that looks like spam/scams to you. as someone who habitually talks to palestinians on bluesky and whatsapp,

1) emoji usage aren't grounds for disqualification. they're trying to express how they feel, like yourself.

2) they aren't FLUENT ENGLISH SPEAKERS! THEY COPY THE SAME MESSAGES OVER AND OVER BECAUSE IT'S A PAIN IN THE ASS TO MAKE NEW ONES! and many explicitly ask for help writing new messages because they KNOW that goes much further than what they already KNOW is brushed aside— worse, reported— as spam.

3) YES they have time to "panhandle" during a genocide. how do you think time works? how many people do you think there are who need help? no one can go to work anymore, there is no work, no fun, no hobbies to enjoy. everything is taken up by trying to get food and water and get a stable enough connection to ask your mean bitch ass for help. but they have some time to do that, and the people doing it are often mothers and their older children. they have the time.

4) you don't have to like what they say. no one in Gaza wants to be talking to you, personally, about their abject horrific circumstances. you wouldn't like it if you were in their position. when someone says "i've thought about killing myself" or "i'm ashamed to be their parent" or somesuch thing, think about what the fuck is going on. you don't have to listen, you don't have to reply, but there's nothing outrageous about this. bombing. starvation. illness. planes overhead. an armed quadcopter hovered in my friend's window before thankfully leaving. you can think you'd act better in this scenario! you can chide a desperate parent in front of everyone to prove it! i hope you never have to go through it yourself.

it is much easier to block, delete, and ignore suspicious messages than it is to escape a war zone. if in fact the messages are dishonest, then it should be no trouble to shrug it off. please put whatever overwhelm you feel into context— either it's people who cannot act their best and cannot communicate in keeping with your personal standards while trying to survive, or, it's scammers/bots.

yes, you DO need to be able to filter this stuff for yourself and do work that is difficult and time-consuming in order to learn to be discerning. you need to be more uncomfortable with the fact that real people who are suffering, even dying the slow death of starvation and disease, will slip through. you need to figure out how you're going to deal with that. the confidence you have that there is a one size fits all way of judging these things is false. it's not enough to say "yeah i get a bad vibe"— does that bad vibe just help absolve your conscience?

also the people in the notes saying "what's the point of donating money when there's not even any food to buy :/" hey: go to hell anytime. many organisations can't reliably or consistently distribute aid, let alone enter gaza. israel is blocking that aid so donating to orgs is not going to reach palestinians effectively. maybe sometime. but PEOPLE can withdraw money via gfm and chuffed, and gfm is pretty stringent, maybe overly so, given how many Very Verifiably Factually Confirmed For Real people have their donations returned and fundraisers shut down. many people also sponsor or otherwise facilitate these campaigns, and there are extensive guides on how to do this, which includes knowing how to be smart and fact check, or vet, people.

but how can you do that without organising with and learning from the people who have dedicated their time to doing exactly this, dedicating their time to establishing networks in and outside of palestine, educating others on how to both identify scammers and even through language barriers help palestinians differentiate themselves from these scammers— but when everyone's hungrily and racistly looking for a way to write them off, very often no amount of evidence is good enough. these networks of dedicated assistants even facilitate the apologies necessary when photos are sometimes taken from verified real palestinians to be used by Other verified real palestinians— something which near-exclusively occurs because they can't take new ones of their own, or, feel everyone has lost interest in the facts they've already provided. this is something which is completely understandable given the situation, but is looked down on as a major faux pas by palestinians themselves, and will call each other on it. this stuff doesn't go unnoticed. and if you are capable of noticing it, it's worth saying so, but you ALSO MUST COMMUNICATE. there's no sense in making a callout for a person you can so easily cut off and to relegate them to such terrible circumstances while leaving no room for improvement, that's just bastardly.

i have been honest with my dear friend in Gaza about my limitations. they have no reason to be as patient with me as they are— i have no money to offer— but following my honesty, they are. they are consistently patient and understanding even under constant threat.

but seeing you go "ummm that is NOT how you speak to someone when you want their help!" and "phew! i support palestine or whatever, but come on!" in the responses to this post, i actually do not trust that you are capable of the diligence you believe is required!

I miss when I would get Tumblr asks that actually said things and weren't just digital panhandling scams.

[a-dauntless-daffodil]

vaggette toxic one-sided idea purge

how carmilla inducts vaggie into the overlords only partly for fun and velvette is so pissed off about it she plots to fake romance vaggie in revenge

and Velvette maybe might have been slightly more into her and Vaggie's rap battle then she realizes oh whoops, oh no

@barblaz-arts this is your fault not mine. Point the blame inward.

the set up

Carmilla satisfied with her investment in the hotel and Vaggie, gets her to come along to the next overlord meeting purely just to increase her new ally’s power and her own, completely with no ulterior or petty motives

Alastor horrified static twitching smile, politely raises the point that he considers the hotel to already be HIS turf

Zestial amused, tickled, and delighted Carmilla has made a friend and is finally having some fun, politely pulls out a chair for Vaggie at the table

Other overlords scared of Zestial, respectful of Carmilla, fresh from rewatching footage of Vaggie gleefully impaling exorcists with the spear she brought along to the meeting. Say nothing

Velvette arrives late on purpose bc she doesn't give a shit WHY THE FUCK IS /SHE/ HERE??

Carmilla maybe smiling just a little

The battle over letting Vaggie sit in as an honorary overlord, as rapped very intensely at each other by Velvette and Vaggie:

Velvette: Hear ye, hear ye! Look what the Carmine dragged in~

(cue music number)

Here’s a chirpy little birdy, the harpy of hell’s daughter, come demanding things left and right like her words hold any water. No souls no turf, sorry girl, nope, no seat at the table, and with one eye gone she sure doesn’t even look so able. Appearances are everything- if that’s something you can see, your optics next to ours would get hashtag embarrassment from me.

Overlords, over all you know hells a hard-ass place. Charity and mercy? Ha! Weakness and disgrace! Carmilla says she’s worthy, Carmilla made a deal, the more fights they pick with heaven the more sales for Carmine’s steel.

Don’t buy the crap they’re pushing, say fuck that and resist! We’re the power of earthly Sinners, and she’s a-

(Velvette just barely remembers her plan to keep the Exorcist intel she's dug up as a secret from everyone, fellow hothead Vees included, until exactly the right moment shows up- and being sat in the same room as Carmilla, Alastor, and Vaggie, within easy spear range, is /not/ that moment)

-she’s just some lacky with a list! We’ve got our own cred to keep up, to keep hells Sinners all in check. She’d be the collar on the leash of a royal rope tied round our neck.

Vaggie: Are you done?

Velvette: Sure thing, sweetness.

Vaggie: Great.

My name’s Vaggie and I’m busy, I’ve got bigger fucks to fry, so sorry if I’m blunt but I’ve got no time to lie- Your cred’s a bunch of bullshit. You think this is where I wanna sit? I’ve got our hotel to go home to, with heaven hellbent to destroy it.

We all saw you sit back, cowards, and watch the Radio Demon run, so whose turf really is it? Who faced Extermination and won? Who’s been there for Sinners while you’ve used them like a knife? Charlie’s the real Sinner’s power, she protects them with her life.

She’s got better stuff to do than listen to you whine, someone’s gotta hear it though, and if it’s me then fine. You’re not the worst assholes I’ve seen play with others souls, and you’re all Sinners scared of dying, so we even share some goals.

Unlike all of you though, me and Charlie we don’t have to pay and trade. Instead of buying a Sinner’s soul and time we can trust the friends we’ve made. I didn’t make them stay and fight, they gave their all for free. Who looks weaker in that light? You overlords, or me?

Vaggie: Also, you really think poking fun at the half blind woman is a win for you? Ask the corpses of the Exorcists who thought they could get the drop on me. My girlfriend says the eyepatch looks hot and hers is the only opinion I care about. So fuck off.

.....

Velvette can't think of a good clap back, weirdly having trouble thinking at all while Vaggie's glaring at her, but also kinda doesn't want the battle to end just yet

Velvette Warns her to sit quietly during the meeting and let the REAL overlords talk, then gets up close and personal with Vaggie and excuses it by whisper-threatening that it’d just take one text to make her friend Angel Dust’s work hours a living hell

Vaggie, irritably pushing her back at spearpoint, clearly resisting the urge to Stab reminds Velvette that Angel’s work hours with Velvette’s pathetic manchild of a friend are already a living hell for him, and he STILL talks back to Val anyway, and that’s WHY Vaggie is taking a seat at the overlord’s table, to try helping the other sinners that people like Velvette have left behind because they're too scared and spineless to help anything except themselves

(Ding! Bullseye)

Velvette looks actually pissed and not at all smirky anymore, leans in while ignoring the spear-

Carmilla smoothly starts the meeting right then before anyone other than Vaggie ends up losing an one eye

Velvette ends up being the one who spends the whole meeting unusually quiet, staring thoughtfully at Vaggie between making furious vent texts. She's somehow less upset about Charlie's pet murder angel sitting with the overlords than she is over losing her cool and almost skewering herself on Vaggie's spear like an idiot

That's a Vox and Val thing to do, that's why they need her, the only one of the Vees to NOT screw herself over some random looser who doesn't even like her

... but what if she could MAKE Vaggie like her?

If she could steal Carmilla's new tamed Exorcist- Charlie's right hand woman, part of why Val's toy still had a bolt hole in hell to hide in, and the only reason Alastor had met a hell princess with enough hope for her dreams she'd throw in with an overlord to finally get the ball rolling on them-

And Vaggie's switched sides before, miss ex Exorcist living in hell and picking fights with heaven. Why not help her do it again?

Poor overworked glorified secretary. Velvette knows for a FACT that her and the princess haven't been seen out on a single date since the hotel opened. With nothing else in hell for her but her girlfriend, that has to be getting to Vaggie, right? She could do with some appreciation.

If nothing else, the hell princess will probably be very sensitive to anyone else openly and personally appreciating her girlfriend. She might even do something rash, something to show the overlords and all of hell just how far they could trust in hellborn royalty.

Vaggie or no Vaggie, Velvette could work with that too.

She might even be able to blackmail Vaggie into working for the Vees, in exchange for NOT letting all of hell know that the hotel of supposed love and hope had a Exorcist stalking it's halls.

The beauty of that is Velvette wouldn't even have to sic any of her own souls on them. Just tell the Sinners the truth and watch the angry, vengeful, terrified mob tear Vaggie and everything she'd ever touched to shreds. All win, no loss. Vox would have already done it if he knew. She wouldn't mind sitting back with some popcorn and liveblogging the carnage with him and Val, if it came to it.

Ohhh but the satisfaction if she COULD take the Exorcist right out from under all of them...

And having an angel on their side would give the Vees one hell of leg up in whatever shit heaven thinks up next. They could really use a manager too, at this point in their business expansion- Velvette's got too much of her own shit these days to deal with Vox and Val's on top of it. A fourth Vee, in a coordination role, not interested in farming any souls or turf of her own, would be perfect- especially one that can cut through both bodies and bullshit.

Her name even fits with their theming. Velvette and Vaggie, the flipside to Valentino and Vox...

Hmm.

Velvette: Realizes she's been staring at Vaggie again, and Vaggie's noticed, and spares her exactly one second to give her a quick Glower before going back to arguing with someone.

Velvette: smiles and snaps a picture

The princess of hell is right about one thing. The eyepatch really is quite a Look.

-

Velvette some unspecified time later: It’s just for the bit okay

Vox: You seem to be wearing one of her feathers as a necklace

Velvette: Duh I'm wearing it- almost got hellfire crisped by the princess while snagging it off her

Vox: And the uh, stroking of it?

Velvette: Alllll part of the plan

Vox: You've made a whole private website of her

Velvette: You think faking being in love is some bullshit commercial you can just half-ass your way through with a pretty face and the right outfit? Especially when she used to be an Exorcist? I need intel! Research! The woman dresses as sharp as she is, Vox, and her fav accessory is a soul killing spear

Vox: You and your fixation on women with weapons...

Velvette: Ew. Shut up. This blog is about going down on h- getting my roleplay down right, damn it! This is WORK!

Vox: It looks like a fanpage-

Velvette: BLOCKED

[bwobgames]

“Woah… a real ghost…”

“You seem well educated, why are you scared of ghosts? Or even believe in them?”

“Well, its hard not to! Everyone says they are real and scary!”

“Also, ugh, I was forced to tell you sorry for being ‘creepy’ or whatever. I’m not creepy though!”

“It’s normal for girls to look at other girls and appreciate how attractive they are!”

“It’s true, I was the same at your age. Comes in every girl’s life”

She ignores the fact that she is married to a woman.

“But at the end you end up with a guy regardless, yeah?”

“…Maybe”

“I’ll have to end up with Fede, which is kinda gross but I’ll get over it probably”

“Wh- What do you mean you ‘have’ to? Is someone forcing you to marry him?”

“No, no, it’s not like, planned or anything, it’s just…”

“We know each other for a long time, and our parents know each other for a long time and are good friends and they love to say we’re like a couple and plan stuff for when 'our families become one' and …”

“I’m not like, being forced to marry him or anything but like. Seems like things are heading that way”

“It wouldn’t be awful really, he’s my friend so we already get along, And! I get to stay at home all day while he fucks around in his dad’s business! I’ll be set for life!”

“And then what”

“Huh?”

“Once you achieve the life of your dreams, the perfect life”

“What comes next?”

“Uh. Kids?”

“Would that make it better?”

“Well, I wouldn’t get bored with kids…”

“And you’ll be happy with that?”

“Of course! It’s the dream! Everyone wants that!”

She’s right, of course. Anyone would want that life.

The correct life.

The one she’s been following, set for her, sacrificed for her.

Her parents might’ve been strict, but they taught her well, she will never fault her for doing what they thought would make her happy.

(But did they ever really do it for me?)

They taught her to take shortcuts, to cut all possible loses, to cut the floor beneath another person if necessary, to lie, to cheat.

To live with the sacrifices of others.

To love numbers, to live numbers, to see people as numbers.

To recognize the opportunity of a lifetime when it’s presented to her.

She could always recognize people like her by the way they smile.

Too perfect, too controlled. Too aware of their teeth.

Unlike her uncle’s smile. Yellow and crooked. Unbothered.

She was not unhappy, by all means she cannot say she was miserable.

Having high quality health care at her hand is more than most of the population could ever wish for. Not having to worry to survive until the next pay is a relief as well.

She is with her best friend, working together, being successful.

She has reached the top.

But she’s hungry.

She can differentiate right from wrong, she has let her family into an idyllic state of never worrying about money again. She is what everyone desires.

So there must be something deeply wrong when she’s still hungry

A hunger that is only satiated when she brushes her own hair. When she chooses her own clothes. When she’s in charge of decisions. When she can stand her ground in an argument.

A hunger that only grows with every stolen glance, with small touches, with an unbothered smile, an understanding voice.

Something that beckons to her to run away, to forget everything and start anew, to call her uncle and finally have that camping trip he offered. To say No to the ring.

But she can’t.

Because it’s not right.

It’s not what’s supposed to happen. It’s not what’s supposed to make her happy. It’s what she was taught. It’s what made her who she is.

It’s what everyone says.

And they’re all full of shit.

“I don’t think you’d be wrong to share the rest of your life with your friend, as long as you keep things as they are”

“Forcing yourself to a role you didn’t ask for is… detrimental in the long run”

“You’re young, surely someone as tenacious as you won’t bend down to the whims of some old rich guys, yeah?”

“Huh…?”

“You’ll get it when you’re older. I know you got a heart in there somewhere”

“I know it wants more than what they can offer.”

“Oh, it’s dinner time. Let’s go. It’s rude to keep people waiting”

“Wuh, uh ah, yes!”

Sometimes she really wishes things were different.

That she didn’t make so many mistakes.

That she noticed the lie sooner.

She grieves her youth.

<-PREV START NEXT->

[leupagus]

Tentative title is "Dana once offered to spread the rumor that she and Jack were sleeping together just to get the gossipers off his back, but Jack truthfully told her that everyone would know she was too good for him" although it might be a little long

continued from this, because there is nothing funnier than a middle-aged doctor who keeps getting nonconsentually paired up with every hot colleague at his hospital and would like it all to Stop Please.

-

Jack’s used to it, is the thing. Has been for his whole life; he’s the only boy in a family of five, with all the attendant you-must-carry-on-the-family-name expectations. Starting when he was about nine years old, people had questions about every girl he talked to. Ooh she seems nice, oh what’s her name, ooooh do you liiiiiike her? He’d probably be more annoyed about it except for the fact (which his mom liked to remind him at every opportunity) that the first time it ever happened was with Leslie, who he married as soon as he could and stayed married to as long as he could.

Turned out it wasn’t long enough, but the point is that he honestly can’t remember a time when people didn’t take a weird, invasive interest in his personal life.

“What personal life, out of morbid curiosity?” asks Lena, peering at him over her glasses. “Also why are you here?”

It’s 0300 the night of (technically, the morning after) Pittfest; the custodians are still getting the last of the rooms cleaned up after the chaos, but everything else is more or less back to normal. Jack managed to get almost four hours’ sleep before his bum leg prodded at him with phantom pains, the kind that only go away when he’s giving himself some actual pain to focus on. So here he is on his night off, and the charge nurse is giving him shit.

“Ow,” Jack remarks, pressing his hand over his heart. “Starting to feel a little unloved, boss. Didn’t you miss me?”

“Didn’t have a chance to,” says Lena, with a twinkle in her eye. “You left four hours ago, remember?” 

“Like it was a mere four hours ago,” he says agreeably. Lena’s mean as shit to most of the attendings and actively violent with HR, but she’s got a soft spot for Jack, which is usually a good thing.

Except for times like this, when it leads her to add, “But sounds like someone on days loved you plenty.”

“Oh, no,” Jack mutters, and tries to brace for it even as he scans the board — relatively easy night so far, Ellis and Shen and Yao with four patients each and Chairs down to an eight-hour wait. “What’d you hear, boss?”

“I heard that Doctor Mohan was very impressed with you,” Lena coos, just as Shen goes striding past.

“Woah, we talking about Sam? Dude,” Shen says, and offers what Jack assumes are very supportive finger guns. “She was talking about that little warzone crike kit you pulled out for hours. So after you guys left, did you and her—” He makes little pah-pow noises, his eyebrows raised interrogatively.

“You call her Sam?” Jack says, not sure if he’s more disconcerted by the noises, the nickname, or by the brand-new rumor that he’s shtupping Mohan. “And no, we didn’t, and no,” he adds, turning to point at Lena, “she wasn’t. Isn’t.”

“Wasn’t isn’t what, hon?” Lena asks innocently. 

Ellis, walking past with Janie, slows down with a way-too-alert expression on her face. “Who wasn’t isn’t?”

“Nobody,” says Jack, at the same time as Shen says, “Sam,” and Lena says, “Doctor Mohan,” with relish.

“Ohhh, so that’s finally happened?” asks Janie, clasping her hands together. Jack hates all of them and is going to ask for a transfer to a hospital in Anchorage. Or Mars, that weird rich guy must need doctors for colonizing Mars, right?

“No, it hasn’t happened,” he says, as level as he can manage. “Just like it hasn’t happened with… let’s see, last year it was Dr. McKay, year before that it was Nurse Jesse, year before that it was you,” he points to Ellis, who looks as grossed out as he’d been at the time. “Yeah. So thank you to all my yenta people—” he’ll have to ask Robby about the plural of yenta is— “but Dr. Mohan and I are not dating, nor are we…whatever that finger guns thing was supposed to imply.”

“It was supposed to imply fucking,” Shen says helpfully.

“You know, they had a betting pool on the two of us at one point,” he says, just for the joy of seeing all the color drain out of Shen’s face. Then multiple GSWs come sailing in from the ambulance bay and they’ve got to deal with that, and he hasn’t even put his bag down yet.

[moniquill]

@plaidos 's tags:

#i searched trans on OP’s blog and not only are most of her posts about it like ‘why do i keep finding terfs in my notes??’ (i wonder.)#but she also made another post like this last year and doubled down when trans people told her that all our surgeries are considered#cosmetic.#this is another case of cis people thinking they can wholly separate trans surgeries from cosmetic surgeries#if you think that women are ‘all gonna get surgery to have the same face’ because cosmetic surgeries are accessible#then what you’re saying is you think women can’t think for themselves and only care about how they look.#dozens of people have said this already but here’s another trans woman:#’COSMETIC SURGERY’ was coined so that insurance companies could stop giving people necessary payouts.#if you hate western beauty standards come for western beauty standards#not the physical right to change your own body#holy fucking shit people on this website are stupid.

girl on tiktok was saying that getting cosmetic surgery is about women taking back their bodily autonomy in a time where our rights to our bodies are being taken away

[amphitriteswife]

Goo dating headcanons

💸 Dating goo can be a real roller coaster. A fun roller coaster that is. There could be problems here and there but in his eyes it’s nothing he can’t solve. Yes it is true that sometimes he prioritizes his job over you sometimes. But that’s because his job is very ‘demanding.’ But it pays well, so he hopes you understand.

💸 Fair dates, cinema dates, shopping spree, restaurants, coffee dates and karaoke dates. (Sometimes with jonggun tagging along even though he himself doesn’t want to and goo forced invited him to go) he can’t always make it, but he does make it up to you in one way or another. Always.

💸 if you go to a far date, expect him to scream and yell in every attraction you go to. Yes he’s afraid of heights. Too bad you didn’t know, you have to put with him now. Luckily he don’t throw up. Oh but he WILL try the claw machine’s and not win shit. He spent a lot of money on it too by the way. Bro might start crying. Or just sit on the ground or sum. You might even feel bad for dawg😔

💸 if you are the one to actually win a plushie and give it to him, bro will scream. He’ll immediately hug it and start thanking you. You bet he’s taking pictures of it and posting it on all his socials. Even sending it to groupchats and Jonggun himself with a caption of ‘look what my girlfriend got me hehe😝😈’ and yes he also sends it to you. He’s putting the plush on his bed or in a special shrine he made with a gifts from you.

💸 personally, i think Goo also seems to be a best friend and boyfriend. He would want to be in love and love you if you get what i mean. Ofcourse his best friend is jonggun, but that’s different from how he loves you. A main thing that is important to him is understanding, you don’t need to accept. Just understanding for him is enough.

💸 If you date Goo, it’s high likely that you too are a fan of anime. He doesn’t really mind which type you are. Manga, manhwa, anime, donghua even BL or GL. He doesn’t really care which one you enjoy. He just likes the swords in em you know. He would probably talk for you about his favorites and you about yours. It could be that the two of you read/ watch together of that you made trades on watching each other’s faves. For him it feels like he can share a hobby with you which he appreciates.

💸 I can see you meeting Goo at a bookstore. Both of you at the Manga section eyeing the same manga. You having if in your hands first and Goo demanding that you give it to him with a serious gaze, however his face would twist in mild surprise when you do actually hand it to him. He would say he is joking but you would insist that he can take it, he would find your indifference and calm nature intriguing. He would stare at you for a while you pick at another manga and decide to buy that one instead. You didn’t bother arguing with him because you didn’t think you’ll see him again. Unfortunately, he kept showing up even when he saw you avoid him. Which eventually made him say. ‘Miss. Go on a date with me.’

💸 Goo likes to call you ‘sugar’ or ‘sweetheart.’ Because he thinks you’re lively, sweet, addictive and always lighten his heart. He feels as if he can say anything to you, no matter what it is. Sometimes he even wants to tell you everything about his job, but he knows he can’t because it’ll put you in danger and he can’t risk that. You mean too much to him to make you see the stuff he does.

💸 Now when it comes to you being Goo’s girlfriend. There are a lot of people you don’t know who are in Goo’s life. And he also doesn’t think it would be relevant for you to know all of them. He would probably introduce you to Jonggun who wonders why you haven’t left Goo yet. And maybe James who is rather aloof and is on pretty neutral terms with you. Its save to say that James likes you better than Goo. Jonggun on the other hand doesn’t necessarily engage with you, but does little things like asking you to look after Goo or keeping him on a leash.

💸 Goo would go to concerts with you. Even if he doesn’t listen to the same music as you. He’ll make sure he handles everything from tickets to seats to time stamps. He’s pretty laid back about it too, he has it handled but isn’t stern about it. He’ll buy you merch if that’s what you want, even going as far as to go buy it himself during the concert so that you can still enjoy seeing your artist(s). If it’s in another country he’ll ditch his work probably and still go with you anyway. If the concert has lightsticks you can be rest assured: he already bought those.

I’m sorry it’s short. I ran out ideas😭

[sorryitsmyfirstdayonearth]

hii !!

how do u think sam would react in a gender swap situation? like would he avoid everyone or ask for advice from his partner ??

First of all, can we all acknowledge how absolutely, insanely beautiful Sam would be as a girl? Tall, muscular, dark hair and eyes, strong features? Wait, why am I on one knee? Where did this ring come from? 💍

Dean already calls Sam a girl 24/7, so nothing much would change in that regard. I feel like Sam would already have good understanding of the female body - not just from personal experience of ravishing yours, but also because Sam just knows stuff. I also headcanon him as a feminist ally, and that entails knowing things about what women have to deal with (cis women in this case, but Sam's a trans ally too, cause he's a good person ❤️).

Anyway, while it's of course reason to freak out if you wake up in a different body, Sam remains mostly cool. He takes note of the changes, of how differently people look at him, talk to him. He knew all that in theory, but experiencing it is something completely different. He throws you a couple of unbelieving looks, and what can you do but shrug?

Maybe it takes a few days to reverse the spell. Maybe you and Sam lie in bed at night and he's staring up at the ceiling. He can't believe how different the world seems. He's still him, but it's like everyone else has changed. Dean's even more protective than he usually is, but it doesn't feel good. It feels a little condescending, even though he knows his brother means well. It's like simultaneously everyone decided he's much more breakable while at the same time making him feel like being that is the most important part of him.

He feels you stir beside him, looks at you as you slowly open your eyes. You haven't changed how you behave. You're still just you, give him shit, tease him. You blink yourself awake and look at his face, the features there softer. He's a little bit shorter now, but you say you don't mind. Easier kissing distance.

Except you haven't done any kissing since all of this happened. Touching, yes, like holding each other at night. But it makes Sam wonder.

"Can't sleep?" you mutter, and Sam nods. Keeps looking at you, until he finds the courage to say what he wants to say.

"Why haven't you kissed me since all this?" he says, indicating his changed body with the arm that isn't around you. You move your head, the skin of your cheek rubbing against the pillow.

"I didn't know if you wanted me to," you reply, voice still scratchy from sleep. Sam chews his lip.

"Do you want to?" he asks. Your gaze roams over his face slowly.

"Sam, I always want you," you reply and it makes his heart flutter. "I always think you're beautiful."

Sam knows better than to get comfortable with stuff like this. Leaning into spells and the changes they cause, illusions they create - he knows better, and so do you. But he feels you shift, press yourself closer to him.

He kisses you before he can think about it for another second, pulls you close. Your hand goes to his cheek, then slowly wanders down.

The spell is broken and Sam's turned back the next day. He's surprised how happy he is to be back in his body, considering he and it haven't always had the best relationship. But he actually missed it. You take his hand, squeeze it. Things are back to normal.

Except you'll always have the memories. Except Sam will always know what it felt like to have your hand cup his breast, thumb swirling over his nipple. What it was like when your hand slipped into his PJ bottoms. The feeling of wetness between his thighs. How he had to stop kissing you when you touched him, his breath catching with the intensity of it, how different it was and at the same time not.

When Sam came with two of your fingers inside him, your palm pressed against him, he was sure for a second something was wrong. Nothing should feel that intense, right? He turned his face to you, kissed you deeply, desperately. Felt you grin that sinful grin against his lips.

"And the best part?" you whispered into his mouth, your hand already moving again. "We can go again right away."

Sam smiles at the memory now. And swears that he will make the most of this new found understanding.

This was so FUN! Thank you for this amazing ask, I hope it sort of did what you were hoping for? ❤️ Also now I just want to immediately write a bunch of gender swap smut. Dang it! 😄

[bforblitz]

mages guild questline in oblivion sucks ass for a variety of reasons but imo one of main ones is that mannimarco is truly a shit villain in this.

like there’s potential, j’skar and the bruma mages guild is probably one of the most impactful scene in the whole game for me, but mannimarco is so poorly used otherwise. he’s already a god, he’s already defeated his greatest enemy, why is he down here dicking around. he wants to study hannibal traven’s soul but like really???? hannibal traven???? the lamest wizard to ever exist????

which is why I propose that if I was oblivion dictator for one day and could rewrite this questline + insert my interpretation of mannimarco’s character into it, his actions should surround the one thing that they always do: the divorce.

not to keep tying mannimarco to his college bf, but he did write most of his autobiography about how he needs to deadname vanus. not to mention the giant bone statue of vanus he just has in his lair in a dev rp. most powerful necromancer, successful cult leader, and soon-to-be-god, yet all he can do is talk about his haters. he is OBSESSED with this man.

so I can’t imagine he’s very satisfied when vanus dies. I know it’s softly implied he keeps his corpse in his closet, but it doesn’t feel the same. mannimarco at this point has spent most of his life obsessing over his greatest rival, and now he’s suddenly unopposed. being a god is cool, but he’s alone. He’s centered so much of his identity around love-hating this one guy that he can’t truly live anymore. the solution?

bring vanus back.

mannimarco is a god of death. he can do it, he just needs to put him back together. he + the worm cult begin to target the former archmages of the guild, tearing parts away from them so he can frankenstein his ex back to life. no archmage survives more than a few years into their retirement.

by the time oblivion happens, he’s almost done. he needs is a soul, and while it’s not ideal, he’s willing to take traven’s (also, volonaro is an altmer with beautiful shoulder-length auburn hair…)

then the player shows up. someone who is gifted in magic and has a strong sense of justice + determination. and he decides that YOU are the missing piece. fuck hannibal traven, he’s found the perfect person to bring back his beloved.

[technofeudalism]

i addressed why this is a dog shit defense like a week ago. i am going to make the assumption that you are entirely too intellectually lazy to go read it, so i'll paste the important part below.

the problem isn't what Van Hollen said, but how he said it, and what that framing reveals about liberalism's continued suicidal obsession with procedure over principle. you are right that conservatives will exploit soundbites regardless, but the issue is that this defense constantly centering the "rule of law" reinforces the logic that grants permission to fascists to dehumanize people in the first place. when he says, "this is a person who the courts have determined was illegally taken," he’s tacitly accepting the premise that the legality of the deportation is the primary moral question and not the fact that this is a human being who was kidnapped and tortured. this is the same kind of morally bankrupt liberalism that treated Jim Crow as a "states' rights" issue and framed lynchings as "local legal matters" for as long as they could. i think both of us can agree that the Civil Rights Movement didn't gain anything by repeatedly appealing to the "rule of law." that's why the appeal was "I am a man" and not "I demand an adequate court hearing over the way that I was tortured and dehumanized." it's successes were gained by forcing the rest of the country into recognizing the basic humanity of Black people, something liberals today are totally allergic to doing for migrants. the law is not a neutral entity. it is a tool of class power, and what we refer to as "due process" (once again, while important) has always been selectively applied (see: above, and also the Fugitive Slave Act, Stop & Frisk). making an appeal to the public that someone's worth hinges on the precarious whims of the federal court system and not their inherent human dignity is part of the entire problem that we have created. and history has proven what happens when you cede that ground: the right will escalate, liberals will keep retreating and insisting the fight take place on narrower, more "respectable" terrain until all of a sudden we're having real debates over whether a crown tattoo should subject you to waterboarding or not.

i beg you to obtain some semblance of political instincts whatsoever rather than defaulting to assuming the most charitable interpretation of a fucking politician's words. the hilarious thing about this chain of responses is that it's all entirely based on the fact that the most important thing to protect, as always, is not human beings, but the institutions that have been built that we pretend have been designed to protect them.

the number of reblogs that these additions have gotten is pretty indicative of the total and complete inability of this website as a whole to analyze anything deeper than how it makes them feel on a surface level. you people exist in a state of permanent vibes and feels. you suck up and spit out whatever makes you feel good uncritically and repeatedly needle and deconstruct everything that makes you feel bad like you're fighting for your life.

the institutions do not matter if you do not value human life. laws do not govern morality. once again, for the ten quintillionth time, due process is an extremely important bedrock legal standard that should be followed. but realistically, it never has.

this is the last time i'm responding to this post. read a book and stop harassing people because you can't think beyond a world where judicial precedent actually means something to wider society.

yeah.......... i truly hate the democratic party with everything i have in my soul. all he had to say was "yes, i'm defending this innocent man because he did nothing wrong but come to america seeking a better life" and he couldn't even do that. naturally the comments i've seen say shit like "i don't have to agree with you but i'll defend your rights" and i ask once again what are we disagreeing with Kilmar Abrego Garcia on???????? what did he do besides be brown and have tattoos???????? why shouldn't we defend him??????? oh my god this fucking country

[microwavesaferat]

Batfam Headcanon Time!!!!

I'm bored, so I'm gonna list some of my headcanon about different Batfam members.

🚨 Disclaimer 🚨

Most of my shit is made from an evil concoction of DC canon in various shows, movies, and comics, along with some fanon for flavour.

Dick Grayson

Was trained to be a Talon but unknowingly. Still does shit that only a Talon should be able to do, but people chalk it up to the acrobatics.

Speaks several languages semi-fluently from life in the circus, is a bit out of practice though since that was a long time ago.

Given that the Joker exists, circuses are not common in Gotham (like I'm sorry, are you gonna go see a clown when there's a chance it's the Joker?) so everyone assumes that Dick misses the circus to some degree cause it's home. As such, they take him to a circus for his birthday one year and it's instead a massive trigger. This makes him really sad as his connection to his parents has been tainted.

Eventually overcomes the fear surrounding the circus, but, despite doing what he does every night, will not go anywhere near a trapeze.

Still says old Golden Age catchphrases out of habit like "Holy blank Batman!" The others poke fun at him for it.

Superman's favourite nephew. If you've seen some of those old comics where Dick, Bruce and Clark are just doing random activities, you'll know what I mean. Superman is like a jungle gym for him to climb.

Jason Todd

All his hair turned white/grey after the pit but he thought it made him look old so died it back to black. Started keeping parts white for the vibes. (This also explains why designs are inconsistent with the white streak, he is inconsistent when dyeing it)

Ages and timelines are inconsistent with DC, so while Jason was only dead for 6 months - 3 years depending on the source, he still missed 1988 - 2005. So he has no idea that the USSR is gone, that the Berlin wall fell. He also doesn't know who Bush is, or what the hell the "world wide web" is. Dick is very excited to introduce him to the concept of the Pokémon TV show.

The Bats realise he's missing a substantial part of history when they're going to Germany for something, and he asks if they're going to the East or the West.

Moves to a different safehouse every time a member of the family shows up at his current one. It's not that he's trying to be tough and mysterious, they just keep eating all his food.

Sneaks all the money he makes off of being a crime lord into the manor then asks Bruce to transfer him some money for stuff. Bruce thinks he's building bridges with his son, Jason is just laundering money through him.

Has mostly adjusted to the sound of laughter so it's no longer a trigger every time. Maybe occasionally if there's some particularly loud laughing or Joker Venom Victims, it'll fuck him up a bit. (Tim's laugh always sets him off though, there's just something about that giggle and the way the corners of his mouth twitch up almost uncontrollably)

Tim Drake

Not a big fan of the idea of him addicted to coffee, but I do think he would like caffeine in general. He strikes me as a fan of Monsters.

Also not a huge fan of the whole sleep deprived vibe. I do think he's got something wrong with his sleep schedule (I mean, he's really busy) but I think it's more an inconsistency than anything else.

Looks almost exactly like Cassandra. One day she cuts her hair the same length as his and it's genuinely confusing to people. They both get sick of being confused to decide to get an eyebrow piercing to help distinguish them. Issue is they both have the same idea and go get the exact same thing done, so now it's even worse.

Stephanie is concerned that, with Cass looking like Tim, she has a 'type'.

Tim will regularly get lifts home from Kon rather than ride home.

Bruce: Good job today Red, want a lift back to the cave or?

Tim: Na, got my own ride.... KONNNNN!!!!!!!

Kon, appearing for a split second to pick Tim up then fly him to the Manor: Hi B! Bye B!

Tim doesn't laugh much after the whole ordeal with Joker Jr. Every time he does, Bruce and Babs get a Look (TM) on their faces and Jason gets mildly triggered (he also has a chance of triggering himself). As such, he restrains himself to small giggles in the manor. With the Young Justice though, he is free to fully belly laugh without risk. His full laugh doesn't sound like He did, so it's safer.

From growing up a Drake, he has his own "Brucie Wayne" persona. Not quite as severe as Bruce, but still got a charming, if dumb, persona he can adopt at the drop of a hat. Uses it infront of everyone once and, while the majority are shocked, Bruce couldn't be more proud.

Also, his parents weren't neglectful and abusive, not the best parents, but not actively hateful. All around C+ or B parenting. They were out a lot, but never left him alone with no food and shit. Bruce is also a C+ parent, still emotionally stunted with a weird thing about killing.

Damian Wayne

Stopped calling himself the "Blood Son" after someone said that meant he was the only kid Bruce didn't choose.

No longer trying to kill Tim, but will put stuff like food dye in his drinks, or throw a pebble in to prove how easy it would be to poison him.

Will work on cases in the barn with the Batcow because he finds comfort in it and being close to someone/something without being vulnerable. Will claim it's because Batcow gives better advice than the others.

Legally, Talia has visitation rights and used this initially to flirt with Bruce. Damian has given up trying to get his Mother's appreciation and, at some point, switched from calling her Mother to calling her Talia. Eventually, begins calling her "Al-Ghul".

Claims he is not the youngest as Jason is technically like 3 since the Pit reset it.

Jon will stay the night and the conversation will go like this:

Damian: Father, Jon has provided insight into this case I am working on and I believe his presence will prove useful later into my investigation. I would like to complete this in a timely manner, so I am requesting that that Jon is permitted to remain here until dawn.

Bruce: ?

Jon: We're having a sleepover!!!!

Damian: It is more akin to a stakeout as we will be using security footage to track the movement of the Condiment King.

Jon: We're gonna stay up aaaaallllll night, and read scary stories, and watch movies, and paint our nails!

Damian: Also we wish to paint our nails.

I'll write more about the extended fam some other time as this has gotten long.

[ancientnapdragon]

the most self indulgent svsss au i will never write is like a double reach-around cross-universe type shit.

Luo Binghe is the tragic villain of Pathetic Demon's Immortal Revenge (or some equally stupid name). LBH is the Qing Jing Peak Lord who was well liked and well respected by the Cultivation world at large; rumored to be the most powerful one like ever. Had a super tragic backstory and always came across kind if a bit self sacrificial and distant.

This and the story is all experienced through the eyes of the Scum Protagonist, disciple Shen Jiu. SJ ALSO had a tragic past and was saved by LBH before being taken into the Sect. But he's like. You know. SJ. So he has it out for LBH and doesn't trust him because SJ would never allow himself to change or get any happy ending.

It culminates into SJ taking every chance to secretly slander and tear apart his Shizun's reputation until finally LBH is like tried for all these crimes he didn't commit. LBH ends up having like a qi deviation and gets real quirky before it ends up this like epic battle where SJ finally kills LBH. And SJ like gets away with all these years of framing his Shizun for all this terrible shit he never did. It's the most beautiful story that Shen Yuan has ever read! Critically acclaimed, multiple adaptations, ect ect. This real deep cut into trauma and how it effects people and their perceptions of others and all this stuff. When the story closes out SY cries so hard he chokes on a meat bun and then fucking dies. And woah! he gets transmigrated! As SJ! Except, like, the System kinda fucks up. And instead of actually taking SJ's body over, he becomes like his twin? But this works, because now he has a chance to save his favorite character ever, LBH, from his tragic death! And maybe he can also help out some of the other well rounded characters who suffered because of SJ in the novel!

EXCEPT. EXCEPT.

THE DOUBLE HORSESHIT REACHAROUND.

Meanwhile, one universe to the left, another SY is dealing with this exact same thing. He's the twin brother of Scum Villain SQQ, the Qing Jing Peak Lord. He's working SO HARD, even with his System limiting him, to keep his 'brother' from blackening white sheep LBH in this shitty novel he fucking hates.

After finding some bullshit artifact from Airplane's shitty writing, some wife plot happens and SY activates it by accident. SQQ and LBH end up in the perfect spot to BOTH try and drag him out of it's range, only for both of them to get effected as well.

What it ends up doing is (somehow?) dragging Peak Lord!LBH and Disciples! SY and SJ into PIDW. So then they all just Spiderman Point Meme at each other. VERY IMPORTANT NOTES ABOUT THIS STUPID AU:

Disciple!SJ is just as, if not more, psychosexually obsessed with PL!LBH as canon LBH is about SY. More so, even. It's a 'if I can't have him no one can' type situation.

Both SY figure out pretty quick they're transmigrators and do their best to compare notes. Adult SY is pretty mad that he got stuck in the shittier story.

Both SJ like hate each other instantly. Somehow the 14 y/o is crazier and tries to pull off loony tune plots to kill his adult version. It never works.

Adult LBH and Child LBH have no idea what to do with each other. Adult LBH still ends up adopting Child LBH like instantly tho because he wants the kid to 'have a better life' than he did.

Adult SJ finds himself charmed by the sad wet dog aura that Adult LBH has and gets a crush on him. He hates himself for it. This is a factor in why Child SJ wants to murder him.

YQY is over the moon because now he has FOUR Shidi to dote on. Child SJ takes the most advantage of him because the other three are not really interested.

Child SJ ironically ends up being fantastic for Child LBH. Because Child LBH is kind of his Shizun, and no one can be mean to his Shizun except Child SJ. So he WILL break bully bones. Even if Child SY does his best to curb that.

Adult LBH is still half heavenly demon but he like hides it.

The underground Cang Qiong Fujoshi Alliance is going insane because of everything happening. This is like a perfect honeypot storm for them.

[lacunammmm]

We talked about how much LoV are a bunch of loser. And what about the heroes?

Let’s cut to the chase: Hero society in MHA is a rotten system, and the story kinda fumbles its own critique.

First off, the heroes are hypocrites, full stop. They drag kids into warzones, park high-value targets in hospitals they know villains will attack, and stay silent when one of their own gets exposed as a domestic abuser or a murderer-for-hire. Endeavor screams about Shoto being his “masterpiece” (read: tool) in public, and nobody cares. Not All Might, not the media—nobody. If the #2 hero can openly treat his kid like a science project and still get worshipped, what’s stopping other heroes from doing worse behind closed doors? Spoiler: nothing.

Then there’s the redemption double standard. Lady Nagant murders people for the government, pulls a half-hearted “I’m sorry,” and gets to walk free because she’s “useful.” She chooses to stay in Jail. Hawks would have let her out. Meanwhile, Stain—who at least had principles, even if they were insane—gets butchered for trying to save All Might. Machia? Brainwashed, used as a meat shield, and left to die. But Gentle Criminal, a dude who wanted to be a hero before life kicked him down? He gets a cozy ending with his girlfriend. The lesson? If you’ve ever dreamed of being a hero, the system will cut you slack. If not? Enjoy the ditch.

And let’s not pretend the heroes have moral high ground. They break rules, cover up crimes, and let abusers keep their jobs—just like real-world power structures. Cops with 40% domestic abuse rates? Swap “cops” for “pro heroes” and it’s the same story. Endeavor isn’t a freak exception; he’s the product of a system that says, “Be strong, and you can do whatever you want.” The narrative acts like his abuse is a personal failure, but where are the checks and balances? The oversight? Nowhere.

The kicker? The story wants us to root for these heroes while also showing them as incompetent, reactive, and morally bankrupt. They win not because they’re better, but because the villains are written to trip over their own shoelaces. At the end of the day, it’s all monkeys flinging shit—heroes just have nicer costumes.

TL;DR: MHA points out hero society’s flaws but chickens out on dismantling them. It’s all “Endeavor feels bad now!” and zero “Let’s burn this corrupt system down.” So yeah, why should we respect these heroes? They’re just villains with better PR, who get rewarded with a completely unearned utopian ending that magically solved all of the issues off screen. You see, the problem with All Might beating All For One to death is that he didn't do it on live TV and in front of witnesses, and he also didn't finish the job. Deku beat Shigaraki into dust, and so that solved crime forever. That's why he's better than All Might and the greatest hero.