#And we will continue to do so until morale improves

[theriverdalereviewer]

everyone jumping to team kamala we will never experience true freedom in this country

[justmeinadaze]

Created a Monster (Steddie X Kas Y/N)

Every time I hear this song this idea pops into my head but it's not what I'm used to writing per say. I wanted you guys to read like a preview and tell me if this is something you'd want more of or a one shot. Or whatever lol Just some feed back :) It's been sitting in my WIP forever but I can't stop thinking about it.

Warning: Steddie X Kas Fem Reader, mentions of grief and how much the boys miss her, I twisted some things from the show obviously. Instead of Eddie fighting, Y/N does. I also read up a bit on Kas so took some lore there. Not really expanded on in this preview but...

Word Count: 1956

Eddie and Steve stare at your gravestone as the preacher continues to spout some nonsense about young souls being angels on Earth and being called back home. No one understood what they were going through not even their friends they had fought with. You were their everything and now… you were gone. 

Steve and Robin sat in the cafeteria of the hospital picking at their food as they waited for Eddie to join them. For the past four months they had been visiting Max while continuing to be moral support for Lucas. Neither boy would let on how jealous they actually were of the former Hellfire member. At least he could still hold his girlfriend’s hand…see her face…kiss her cheek.

“The doctor’s said she’s showing improvement.”, Robin mused as she took a bite of bland rice in front of her. 

“That’s good. She’s a good kid who’s been through too much. She deserves to have a full life.”

His friend nods in understanding, scanning Steve over before reaching for his hand. 

“This is a stupid question but how are you doing?”

“I’m, um, I’m surviving. Eddie’s trying to keep it together for the guys but we’re both kind of floundering.”, he chuckles as he places his fork down and leans back. “I miss her laugh. Every time Munson would tell a joke, she would close her eyes and scrunch her nose… so cute.”

“Yeah, she was.”, his friend softly murmured. “She loved you two more than anything. Y/N would talk about you both nonstop to an annoying degree.”

When Robin playfully rolls her eyes, they both laugh almost uncontrollably until his gradually shift into sobs. Rising to her feet, she wraps her arms around his shoulders and in turn he does the same, his fingers digging almost painfully into her back. 

“I miss her so much.”

***

When both boys finally made it back home, Eddie silently flopped down on the couch as he grabbed the remote and turned on the tv. Since your passing, the metalhead had moved into the living room since their apartment only had one bedroom. Without you between them they saw no point in sharing anymore. Steve never said anything to contradict but he wished his friend had stayed. Even though they were never intimate in the dynamic, he would have rather shared a bed with his friend than be alone. It was just more of a reminder that you were gone. 

“Another group of men were found dead today outside of their homes, stabbed through the chest, and with nothing stolen or motive perceived from Hawkins PD. We reached out to reinstated Chief Hopper for comment but at this time none was given.”

“Something we should be worried about you think?”, Steve asked as he came up behind his friend to watch the tv.

“I mean, as long as they aren’t blaming me, I’d say no.”

“It doesn’t seem like Vecna either. No broken bones or eyes caved in—” Rising to his feet, Eddie hastily turned off the tv and reached for his jacket. “Eddie—”

“I agree. No Vecna. I’m, um, I’m going to go for a walk.”

“Is this how it’s always going to be?! Are we just going to be awkward around each other now? She wouldn’t have wanted that, Ed.”

A smooth, sarcastic laugh escaped the metalhead’s lips as he turned to face his friend. 

“Yeah? Well, I wanted her here and she’s fucking dead. We both don’t get what we want.”

“So, you’re just going to sully her memory like that?”

“Oh, fuck you, Harrington! She’s the one that ran off even though I told her not to move. She’s the one that decided to fight instead of listening to you and not being a hero. She’s the one who DIED IN MY FUCKING ARMS!” As his voice cracked, he paused to collect himself. “Y/N’s gone. She doesn’t get a say anymore.”

With that he turned on his heels and slammed the door. 

“He’s always been really hot headed hasn’t he?”, the vision of you giggles as you kick your feet against the counter. 

Steve never told anyone for fear of coming off as insane but this is how he processed you no longer being around; he pretended you weren’t gone.

“Yeah, just like you.”

“Excuse me! I was stubborn but not ‘hot headed’, jerk.”

His head hung at the word “was” as his bottom lip began to tremble. Jumping off the counter, you slide over till you were just inches from his side. Even though you weren’t really there, he swore he could smell you.

“Steve, baby, look at me. He’ll be ok… you both will.”

Shaking his head, he wiped the tears that had begun to fall but when he moved his hands away the image of you disappeared. 

“I love you, honey. I miss you so much.”

############

Eddie pulled his hood over his head as he powerwalked in what he thought was no particular direction. Even after being exonerated people still scowled and hurled insults his way. The ones that hurt him the most were the ones about you. 

Because they couldn’t bring your body back, it was assumed you had died with everyone else. Your family still held on to hope but in the worst way. You parents used to love him and Steve, treating them both like family but after Chrissy’s death everything shifted. They told you to stay away from him and in turn you told them to fuck off. 

Anytime they saw Eddie, they begged him to tell them where you were or where your body was so they could properly grieve. He ignored them as best he could but it killed him because he knew the truth. That’s something he and Nancy could connect on. Every time she told him about her experiences with Barb it comforted him to an extent. He hoped one day he could give them peace like her friend’s parents got. 

Stumbling over his feet, the metalhead finally took note of his surroundings realizing he had walked to Hawkins Cemetery. Sighing heavily, he gave in and let his feet continue to lead him till he was in front of your plot. 

“Y/N Y/L/N. 1986. Loving Friend, Daughter, and Girlfriend.” 

“Fucking basic shit. You were way more than that.”, he grumbled as he took a seat facing your stone. 

“I’m angry with you; so fucking angry. I told you to go up the rope but you insisted I go so I could catch you like Steve had. I should have known better. How could you do that? How could you leave us like that?!”

“I didn’t do it by choice.”, the vision of you replied in a sad but calm tone as you sat on top of your own stone. Eddie’s jaw tightened as he looked in the opposite direction. “Still ignoring me?”

“You’re not real.”

“True…but it helps Steve. At least that’s what you hope after hearing him talk out loud to me the other night. He really hates being alone, you know? He wants to talk to you but—”

“I can’t talk about you with people. Not yet.”

“Ok, then don’t talk about me. Maybe talk about D&D or Steve’s day. Anything else. Eddie, just because I’m gone doesn’t mean you two stop being friends.”

“Don’t preach to me, babe. I don’t want to hear it.”

“What do you want to hear?”

“Nothing. That’s all I ever fucking hear now. I don’t hear your stories about work or your family. I don’t hear you laughing at my jokes or your sarcasm when you’re making fun of Steve for his lack of movie knowledge. I don’t hear your fucking breath in the middle of the night when you’re sleeping or see you bite your lip when you’re thinking about something complicated. I don’t feel your fingers in my hair when I’m lying on the floor listening to music or your lips against mine. Why, Y/N? Because you’re fucking DEAD!”

The vision of you watched with sympathetic eyes as his shoulders shook and he sobbed in his hands. After a few minutes, he wiped his nose on his sleeve, finding you sitting cross legged in front of him with your knees inches from his own. 

“I don’t know how to live without you, sweetheart.”

“Eddie… I never loved anyone on this planet as much as I loved you and Steve. If it meant keeping you both safe…I would die again.”

“It was our job to protect you.”

“And you did such an amazing job.”

Shaking his head, he glanced towards a tree in the distance before turning your way to find you gone. 

“I love you, baby.”

################

Steve’s eyes snap open at the sound of glass breaking before quickly grabbing his bat and slowly stalking to the kitchen. 

“Jesus Christ!”

“I just go by Eddie but…” They both exasperatedly laughed as the other boy lowered his weapon. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you or anything. I just left the cemetery and I didn’t realize it was so fucking late.”

“Did, um, were you going to see her?”

He could have responded sarcastically but your words lingered in his mind. 

“Yeah… I just needed to hash some things out with her.”

“I know how you feel. Sometimes I get really angry at her to but then I get confused because I don’t know what to do with that.”

“Yeah.”, Eddie laughs as well. “Fuck, this sucks.”

As his friend nodded, a shadow on the wall caught the former jocks attention. It looked like a figure but that can’t be right because they were on the fourth floor of their complex. Just as he began to glance to find out what it was, their window shattered causing both men to fall to the ground and cover their heads. 

Steve recovered first, swiftly grabbing his bat and blocking the weapon that begun to swing down towards the metalhead. To his surprise it did stop it but as soon as he pushed the figure back, the bat cut cleanly in half. It took him a few seconds to realize the stranger in front of him was wielding a sword causing him to duck out of the way as the person continued swinging it at him. 

While trying to find something to defend himself with, he heard Eddie call his name and turned just in time to see him slide another sword his way. 

“Isn’t this fake?!”

“Please! We’re nerds! Do you think Y/N and I would buy anything fake!?”

Just as Steve unsheathed the weapon, it clinked loudly against the strangers. Both beings went toe to toe with the pretty boy surprising even himself. He got too cocky, however, lowering his guard just enough for the figure to punch his chest knocking the wind out of him as he fell to the floor. 

The armor the figure was wearing loudly tapped against each other as they stepped forwards and pointed their weapon at Steve’s throat. With wide eyes, he watched as the person took off their helmet and casually tossed it to the ground as their hair fell around their face.

“Y/N?”

The boy whined as you tilted the sharp weapon up towards his chin causing him to stretch his face out of the way. 

“My master sends his regards.”, you hiss as you step back and raise your sword. 

Before you can do anything, something hard collides with your head and you faint to the ground.

“Ok, I’m not dreaming right? Or hallucinating?”, Eddie asked as he reached for Steve’s hand to help him off the ground. 

“No, dude. At least I don’t think so…”

[27moremoons]

Senior Hamas leader Osama Hamdan to Al-Mayadeen:

I salute to the resistance fighters in Lebanon and say that Gaza triumphs because of them.

The occupation is trying to affect the morale of the resistance in Lebanon and its people, while escaping its obligations before the international community.

I don’t think the resistance in Lebanon was surprised by the "israeli" behavior, nor were we.

The United States is complicit with the "israeli" occupation in its crimes while pretending to seek calm and stability. The occupation cannot endure against the resistance in Palestine and Lebanon without American support. The international system needs reform as it has become incapacitated, and those who are paralyzing it should realize it’s on the verge of collapse.

Netanyahu is trying to make the world forget what's happening in Gaza, and the expansion of aggression to Lebanon shows that the occupation is criminal. We are not in competition between the news in Lebanon and Gaza, but rather we are in a unified battle against aggression. The injuries and martyrdom in Lebanon are the same as those occurring in Gaza, and this shows that the enemy is one.

Those who think normalization with the entity is the solution will pay a heavy price in the end. The escalation of the region into full-scale war is the responsibility of the United States. The United States does not control the developments because resistance against its plans continues. If the occupation wants to expand the scope of the war, we will confront this expansion, and the outcomes of the battle will be nothing but achievement and victory. The end of the war can only be reached by stopping the aggression on Gaza and Lebanon.

The negotiations between the Americans and "israelis" are about their interests, not about ending the war. The "israeli" army is no longer able to win battles, so the occupation leaders are seeking to fight until they achieve a political gain.

Targeting the military leaders of the resistance aims to impact the battlefield, but the occupation is mistaken because this does not weaken the resistance. The resistance has hundreds of martyrs and leaders in its journey, and it only grows stronger, with these sacrifices enhancing its stance. The plan to eliminate the Palestinian cause has failed, and we do not need statements calling for building a state through negotiations.

If Biden is serious about ending the aggression, he only needs to stop supporting "israel" with weapons and stop protecting Netanyahu at the Security Council.

For the first time in the history of the Palestinian cause, we are witnessing such steadfastness in the face of aggression with this level of strength and ferocity. This battle will be remembered for its goal of ending the occupation, not for improving negotiation terms. The resistance will bear the responsibility of fulfilling the hopes of its people, and we affirm our commitment to ending the aggression.

[ywpd-translations]

Ride 782: The winner's parade!!

Pag 1

1: So... shall we fly?

Pag 2

4: Huh....

Huh!?

5: What's that blackboard that they showed out of that car just now?

Yeah, it's the signboard. In road races, they write the results of the race progress on that board like that to inform the other cyclists

Pag 3

1: Like, who won the “sprint” or the “mountain” and the time difference....!!

The first place...

Who's that!? Number 181?

Where is he from? Gunma!?

2: And the group behind changes its shape based on that information, just like a living thing!

Is it their debut?

Ah?

Someone like that took the first result?

What about Hiroshima!?

No but who is he! That number 181!!

3: What about Kagoshima and Kumadai!?

4: Nagoya, too

5: I mean, wait, that's not the point

Sohoku and Hakoaku should have been ahead too

6: It can't be

That guy...

Competed against those two

Pag 4

1: He defeated Hakogaku and Sohoku and took the sprint line!!

Pag 5

2: It was so hard.... but

I did it

Waaa.... I'm so happy, yon

3: Amazing!

I've never seen that jersey before!

Gunmaaa

4: I'm from Gunma!

Amazing!

Nice!

Pag 6

1: I'm so happy to hear the cheers...!!

2: Well then

3: To answer the cheers

5: Ready... set

6: What's number 181 doing

He bent forward, what is he doing!?

Is he accelerating!?

7: Hayaaa

Pag 7

1: Thank you-chai

It's a wheelie!!

Pag 8

1: Amaziing, it's the first time I see a wheelie during a race!

What's that!? It's amazing, he's only running on the rear wheel!

It's a service wheelie!!

What an amazing sense of balance!

He's waving his hand this way!

2: Ohhh he's super cool, though

He's incredible

3: He's not only strong but also cool!! He's the best...

Yoriko, shoot a video

4: He's doing a wheelie!!

Wooo!! Taa-kun, that guy you know is too cool

5: I just became a fan!

Number 181!! From now on more and more people will cheer for him

People who come to watch road racing are always looking for it!!

Pag 9

1: For an overwhelming newcomer!!

4: Dammit!!

Dammit!!

Pag 10

2: Idiot

Idiot

Idiot

3: Are you kidding me

What am I doing

What am I doing!!

4: What!!

5: I did!! Everything I could think of to become stronger, to become faster!!

Pag 11

1: Aaaaaagh dammit!!

3: I practiced... I practiced until I collapsed...

I lost last year....

4: And this year too!? What do I need to fix? Ah?

7: There's nothing to improve anymore!!

Pag 12

2: Stop screwing around, what “newcomer”

3: It's several times harder for someone to keep winning....!!

4: Even though that day

5: I

6: Watch me, Izumida-san, I'll definitely take the colored bib!!

Pag 13

1: I'll look forward to it

2: I promised....!!

3: This year I got the number “4”

In Hakone Academy it represents the ace sprinter

How important and heavy

4: is the role of the number “4” bib

5: That victory would have been a moral pillar for the team!!

6: I even changed my orders for this, and this is the outcome...!!

7: I had to win even if it meant to use up all my trump cards!!

Pag 14

2: I should have cornered him perfectly and shut him off...

4: Was I too naive somewhere?

5: No, there was no problem with you

Even from my point of view you ran well and had the perfect timing, Orange

6: San-na...!!

Pag 15

1: It must be frustrating for you too

You're a third year.... so this was your last first sprint

2: I guess you were aiming for two consecutive victories, since it's even harder to continue winning

3: Orange....!!

4: But don't worry

I promise myself

5: I will definitely not let that guy do as he wishes from now on!!

6: I'll be the one who will take the sprint line on the second and third day!! Leave it to me!!

Pag 16

2: No, I'll take them!!

3: Stop screwing around, why does it seem like I'll only finish the first result!?

Am I wrong?

Don't underestimate Hakogaku!

Ah... well, then, shall we race then?

Don't take it lightly!!

4: Hahaha but I'm an all-rounder, so I should have a job on the mountain, too!!

6: Is he joking!? Or should I correct him!?

7: H...uh? Yeah....

Let's just let it go...!!

Pag 18

1: The running order has changed!!

Gunma, who took the sprint, went ahead and is pulling the pack!!

2: I've never seen something like this

It's their debut, isn't it? Is this okay!?

3: If you take the sprint then you have to go in the front and pull – what kind of rule does road racing have? Isn't it too difficult?

4: It seems like it isn't a rule, Sonomoto-san

It's like they concede control

5: Kiji-saaan!!

Wooah, you were amazing, fou!! Kiji-san!! Everyone, follow me!!

Ichifuji is the only one who's pulling with so much energy

Pag 19

2: Doubashi-san....!!

3: Doubashi-san being defeated at the sprint is a big deal,isn't it?

That Kiji guy

4: If there's a chance to race him, please give me the order, Joe-san

No wait, you're the ace....

5: I'll crush him

Pag 20

1: Ahhh, ahhhh

2: We lost, teh.....!! What should we do!?

Kaburagi-san and Danchiku-san have.....!!

3: It's not a big deal

Since in road racing you don't have to retire just because you lost one of the midway races

4: But still, this isn't good!!

Yeah!!

5: Kaburagi-kun and Danchiku-kun lost...!!

6: Kiji-kun....!!

Pag 21

2: Puku...

He controlled it....

3: Gunma's Kiji controlled the sprint... ohh

4: What should I do?

Crush him quickly?

6: Or maybe.... make friends with him?

Puku....

Make friends!!

[yibocheeks]

Translated excerpts from Wang Yang's interview with "Spotlight on the Legendary Drama" 《神剧亮了》

Did your impression of Yibo change after working with him?

WY: I don't watch a lot of dramas, even for my own dramas, so for Yibo, I had watched his movie, but haven't really followed his other works. But I think everyone knows of Yibo, plus with how handsome he is, I always see him on various ads. So I know of his level of influence. But I had never worked with him in a drama before and I also didn't know what kind of person he was, or what sort of mindset he would have coming into filming. But once we began filming, my first impression of him was quite significant; it was when he was strung up, after being interrogated by Lin Qiaosong. He looked to be in quite an awful state. Once he entered my line of vision and I saw how badly he had been beaten, first, for his makeup to look like that, it was unexpected, to look so tragic. Second, it was a very cold day, it was rainy and chilling. When I arrived on set at nighttime to film the scene, it was already past 8pm. Shanghai was very cold. He wore that shirt and was strung up, and he was there to be a point of focus for me during my scenes, after he had already finished filming his part. I stood there and was looking down upon him, and he would squat there, to help be a point of focus for me to look at. That left a deep impression for me. I don't know if every young actor who has this level of influence would be able to do this much, but on the first day that Yibo met me, he did this. He was covered in blood, wore very little, and squatted there to be a point of focus for me. Even up until the very last scene with Yibo, he would always fulfill this role, he never slacked on this, he would never say, "while Yang-ge is filming, please ask someone else to take this role of being a point of focus for him." Even when I said to him on that first day, "Yibo, you don't need to squat there, you can just stand on the side and say your lines and that would be ok, you don't need to keep squatting," he wouldn't listen and would continue to squat there. Also, when he first started, both Yibo and I are slow to warm up, but since I am his senior and we would have so many scenes together, I was willing to be the one to take the first step. I would always choose a conversation topic to start the conversation between us. I found that after a few days, Yibo would slowly start to open up. Although he is slower to warm up than I am, he is very sincere and would be very sincere in his interactions with me, no matter if it was just day-to-day or while acting. I feel that he is a young person who is both capable and has a good attitude. I think his attitude towards life is also quite impressive. He likes exercise, likes racing cars, likes motorcycles, and likes a lot of sports. When I was speaking with him, I felt that his understanding and knowledge towards these far exceeded me. So I think Yibo is very interesting and is a contender who is quite moving. In the process of making this drama, you could clearly see his growth. From the first day to our last scene together a few months later, he brought Wei Ruolai's character to life, and I was able to see how quickly his acting improved. Yibo is a very capable and zealous young person. I learned a lot from being with him.

When you mentioned that you watched one of his movies, was it One and Only or Hidden Blade?

I didn't watch One and Only, but he did show me some clips before it started playing in theatres, how he was when he was dancing. I watched Hidden Blade. Although it was a Republican era show, Wei Ruolai is still quite different from the character he plays in Hidden Blade. Because of this, you can see how much Yibo has grown, as well as his understanding and interpretation of characters. In Hidden Blade you can see how his character has his morally gray moments, with a slight deranged, perverse and twisted tendency, even obstinate. Although Wei Ruolai can be stubborn, he is not as perverse as the character in Hidden Blade. This is not easy to achieve. Although both characters are dressed in suits, you can see that Yibo is able to convey the characters differently.

Why did Shen Tunan decide to take Wei Ruolai on as a disciple? Was it because even when his life was under threat, he wanted to protect Shen Tunan?

This is the more personal reason. The public reason is because Wei Ruolai is a talent hard to come by. I believe Shen Tunan saw a younger version of himself in Wei Ruolai. He was not only ambitious but also capable. When the more senior Shen Tunan saw this junior Shen Tunan, it was impossible for him not to feel touched. This is the public reason. The more personal reason is that, when a disciple is willing to sacrifice their own life and put up with such cruel punishment and yet still not confess anything, for such a devoted disciple, even if he was not yet officially his disciple, would a mentor not want him to be his disciple, to recruit such a capable person to be by his side (more literally: to recruit his capable general)? Both for public and personal reasons, Shen Tunan making this decision was certain to happen. And when he said to Chief Deng, "One may choose the most advantageous path, but in doing so, one must not forget morality." I believe this is one of Shen Tunan's principles. That he will not forget those important to him in pursuit of personal profit.

Wei Ruolai is willing to sacrifice his life to protect Shen Tunan, what is Shen Tunan willing to give up to protect Wei Ruolai?

I really want to say, if it was in extreme circumstances, if Wei Ruolai's survival, or if the value of his survival was greater than the value of Shen Tunan's survival, then I also believe that Shen Tunan would sacrifice himself, as Wei Ruolai's survival was more valuable. Shen Tunan is someone who is patriotic and wants what's best for the country. If Wei Ruolai, with his strengths and capabilities, is able to help the people, the country, and the state, no matter if it is in Soviet Jiangxi or if it is under the communist regime, then I don't think Shen Tunan would second guess this decision, he would not think, this is just a disciple, how much responsibility would he have to bear, I don't think he would have these thoughts. He is someone who sees the bigger picture and has far-reaching goals and a vision for the future.

If you could only choose between Huang Congyun or Wei Ruolai to invite over for new year's dinner, who would you pick? This is similar to a question you were asked previously, who would you choose to save if both were drowning?

I think sometimes, it's hard for a person to be unbiased or not show preferential treatment, this is just common for human beings. If you ask me this, then my answer is still, I would definitely still ask Wei Ruolai. Especially after having received blood—within Shen Tunan's body there remains a portion of Wei Ruolai's blood—how could he not ask Wei Ruolai to spend the new year's at his home? Or otherwise, would he ask Wei Ruolai to go back to his home in Jiangxi and invite Congyun instead? Why would he do this, right?

In the drinking scene where Ruolai becomes drunk, Shen Tunan carried him home. How many people in Shen Tunan's life does he show this amount of care towards?

I think, other than family, there is only this disciple. Of course, if you bring up Congyun, before Ruolai showed up, if he had gotten drunk on behalf of his mentor for such an important matter, I think Shen Tunan would still carry him, but these were not the circumstances. Wei Ruolai got drunk, so sure, he'll carry him—his own disciple, who is like family. After all, why would there be this serving of tea between mentor and disciple? Although it is not a blood tie, it is similar.

After Shen Tunan carried Wei Ruolai up, what did he discover?

He discovered that the wall was covered with Shen Tunan. The object of Wei Ruolai's interests, including being able to discover Shen Tunan's secret about Kunpeng, this was all the result of Wei Ruolai's efforts. I think in that moment, Shen Tunan was thinking, "This youngster!" But actually, I think he was very happy. As a Central Bank economic advisor, to be so worshipped by a young person, to be studied so closely, it is a very happy thing.

Was it hard to carry Yibo?

Not at all, Yibo is about 60kg or so, so it was not difficult. Also Yibo is quite lean with long limbs, so he was pretty easy to carry. It was just that the stairs in the alley building were too narrow and steep, so it still took some effort. But, although we did a few takes of the scene, it was still feasible, it was not a problem.

When Shen Tunan ended his relationship with Wei Ruolai, and he broke the teacup, was this something you came up with on the spot?

This was something I improvised. The script did not say that I had to throw this, it was a spur of the moment action. When we filmed this, it hit the table with a bang and it scared Ruolai, it startled Yibo. Because I did not tell him, and I also did not think that I would do this. Through the interaction between the two of us, he helped set the tone when he urgently pled his case, and it reached a breaking point. Sometimes when a person gets angry, they will externalize it in some way, and this action was impromptu. I think it came out quite well.

Some people say that Wang Yang's acting is such that he can even bring out the veins on his forehead, have you seen this review?

I don't think this is a marker of whether an actor is good at acting or not. I think, once an actor feels these genuine emotions, when you really get angry, then the veins will come out like that, that's because my feelings were really moved, I became immersed, and entered this character's state of mind. I think this is something a lot of actors do, I don't think it's anything special.

[tallerthantale]

Effective Boycotting is a Matter of Leverage

I'm not writing this to be critical of or police anyone's personal position on continuing involvement in Good Omens fandom or whatever their state is with Amazon. Some people may never want to engage in the fandom again, and that's ok. Some people want to keep working on their art, that's ok.

For people who are actively interested in strategizing around their relationship to the fandom and the work, I want to give you my thoughts on how that can be done.

Amazon appears to be considering reducing Neil Gaiman's roles from Season 3. As far as I have seen we don't know what any of the details are that are currently being considered. That means right now is the most impactful moment to consider the role of fandom.

When we look at this strategically, the first step is, what's the objective? For me, the long term goal is to have an incentive structure for Amazon and other such organizations to drop people from projects. I'll explain a bit what I mean by that.

Imagine a labor union that's contracted with a store owned by an evil corporation. It's too much of a monopoly to realistically take down the corporation, a lot of people are stuck buying from the store because they don't have decent transportation.

There is a labor dispute, the evil corporation is doing something extra evil and the union calls for a boycott until they stop. So the people who reasonably can stop shopping at the store honor the boycott, and buy from somewhere else. If it's a well run boycott they also help other people out with rides to shop elsewhere through community organizing.

Eventually the store gives in on the labor dispute and does what the union wants. At that point, the union drops the call for a boycott, as the parties have come to an agreement. The evil corporation is still evil. Here is the really important part: When the union drops the call for a boycott, you go back to shopping at the store. Yes, even if the store is still largely evil.

You do that, because that is what preserves the union's power. If no one who participated in the boycott went back to the store after the agreement, the store learns to not bother to reach agreements with the union to end their calls to boycott. Corporations are not acting off of moral principles, they are acting off of bottom line. If reaching an agreement with the union does not improve their bottom line, why bother to negotiate?

So my point is, for fandom to become a base of organized power that can have and maintain effective boycott leverage, there has to be a thing that we are taking away, and a thing we want Amazon to do, at which point those strategically inclined will put back the thing we took away.

The most obvious option is to go back to supporting the show if Neil Gaiman is removed from it to a reasonable degree. Doing that contributes to an incentive structure for Amazon and other corporations to remove people under similar circumstances in the future.

If Amazon can avoid the financial hit of the protest by giving the protestors what they want, they will do so. That helps break down the cultures of looking the other way in the entertainment industry. If shows that remove people get full on protested even after the person was removed, they have no incentive to remove people because it's all sunk cost.

Given how often shows are cancelled these days, I think it is a stronger message to have a show fire its showrunner and carry on successfully than to have a show nebulously not return. I like that outcome better even if it leaves Gaiman with some residuals, because for me the priority goal is incentivizing platforms to publicly dump people in these situations. Gaiman's bank balance is further down the list.

Other people will have other things they want their end goal to be and that's ok. Just remember you aren't appealing to Amazon's better nature, you are appealing to their spreadsheet. What is their incentive to care what you think?

Plan like you are in a negotiation with Amazon. What do you want them to do? What are you willing to stop doing that you will start doing again if they do what you want? And if you find what your position is on that, tell them. People who can drop prime and then offer to reinstate it probably have the most power, but pausing fan content is a meaningful thing to mention too.

[golvio]

I think the metanarrative reason for the Princess being put into an antagonistic role in the “intended story structure” instead of being the protagonist is a big hint to her true nature.

While the protagonist gets to have the POV and make the major decisions that determine the story’s resolution, the antagonist is the one who actually makes things happen. Even when she’s not an antagonist and you’re working together, she’s still making things happen solely by being the only visible character present. Her mere presence changes things.

It’s very, very difficult to have a story without some external force or another character acting upon your protagonist and pressuring them to make a move. Even stories told primarily in flashbacks have the main character interacting with something, even if only in the past tense. A story where the main character just sat there, never interacting with anyone or anything, never having any experiences to learn from, would be incredibly boring. Simply having someone else there to talk to and play off of is enough to get things to move again.

Contrast this with The Narrator’s ideal story, which is a Wholesome™️ story where the main character does what they’re told and then never has anything bad happen to them ever because, as the only character left in the story, they’re safe from conflict, change, or heartbreak. Sure, it might not be a controversial story that would upset someone, but it’s also incredibly dull and unfulfilling. The credits roll and that’s it? That’s all we get?

It’s absolutely hilarious to me that, while The Narrator inserted his echo into the Construct under the conceit of being the literary device that’s the vehicle delivering the story to the reader, he really sucks at storytelling. He can’t build rapport with his audience (us) because he doesn’t understand what we want or how to persuade us beyond vague moral arguments with no emotional hooks whatsoever. He’s so inflexible and refuses to allow alternate interpretations that he can’t handle when things go off script, and can’t get the story back on track when we start going off the rails short of pulling a deus ex machina (which only works when the audience still has enough faith in him to take him seriously as storyteller instead of doing their own thing). Things only get interesting when the Princess gets involved. Things only move forward when she forces the issue, particularly in the Nightmare route, where you refuse to commit to a choice out of fear of potential consequences.

A friend of mine who recently did their first playthrough commented on how the underlying quest to collect perspectives for the Shifting Mound was basically an improv session. I think they’re right on the money. Each chapter is like a game of “Yes, And” between you and the Princess that continues until neither of you can think of anything else. The developers mentioned in an interview that Shifty M. only arrives to take the vessel home when the story “ends.” That is, when there’s nothing left to do. Improv is one of the genres of performance that best encapsulates Change in its demand for adapting to circumstances and new information, so of course The Narrator would be against it, preferring simple, linear narratives.

People tend to become fascinated with antagonists because they’re the ones who make things happen. Adding an antagonist who’s also a person is one of the easiest ways to start building a story. By making the Shifting Mound and her fragments our enemy and requiring us to get within talking distance in order to slay her, The Narrator shot himself in the foot by making Her the most compelling and interesting character by default.

[mansionofhaunts]

The nature of the happy not-endings they chose is interesting, because they didn’t really choose for there to not be conflict. Rosamund still had to face off against the wicked fairy. Pinocchio, Pib and Gerard all chose to do sequels to their works. Ylfa is wandering around into witch’s huts. Snow White still ends up unconscious in a glass coffin.

These conflicts are treated as challenges and learning opportunities along the path, rather than sustained moral lessons or...tales that give you no agency. Overcoming those challenges isn’t the end. Gerard gets divorced and finds friends and moves forward, and so on. 

Now, this is an improv show so these stories are goofy and light and funny and don’t engage too deeply with the themes, given that there was very little time to do so, but...these are very pointedly not endings. We’re to understand that their lives will continue.

Although they won’t continue, because they’re fictional characters, and when the story’s focus moves off of them, their stories don’t continue until someone imagines something new. Weird meta ending to this post, I guess, but hey, it was a meta season. What happens next only exists in our imaginations, and is wide open

So in a way, I hope this is the last we see of these characters, and this story. The real freedom a fictional character has is to be free of canon entirely, able to be imagined in countless situations by however many people know the original story

[getvalentined]

I understand people giving Lucrecia the benefit of the doubt with regard to what she did to Vincent, just like I understand people not realizing how undeniably fucked up Gast was, but the important thing to keep in mind about these characters is that the majority of them are written as being in the throes of some pretty extreme cognitive dissonance.

It's not bad writing, it's that they're hypocrites. They reached a moral event horizon at some point, and they did what they felt they had to do when crossing it.

Gast abandoned a child because he wasn't what he wanted—even having raised Sephiroth up until that point and knowing that he was a pretty normal kid overall, as we can see from his behavior as a young teen in Ever Crisis, Gast still couldn't bear to continue to be responsible for a monster. He knew what Hojo was capable of, because he knew about what happened to Vincent, because it happened in his lab, and he left a literal child in his care anyway. Sephiroth's only crime was not being what Gast thought he was, and Gast damned him to a lifetime of torture under a "father" whose only goal was to use him to prove his own genius. Why? Because Gast had a goal, and the goal was what mattered, the ends justified any means he could devise. He was a man obsessed, driven to the verge of madness in his lust for the Promised Land. A religious zealot with the most powerful scientific team in the world at his disposal, ready to prove him right—and then he wasn't right, and the whole world fell apart underneath him. Ifalna gave him back that stability, because she was a real Ancient, and she gave him a new, better child to care for. A child that wasn't a monster, a child that was his, a child that might one day lead him to the Promised Land, if her mother didn't do so first. When Aerith was born, Gast got to be right again, and therefore all was right with the world. Sephiroth (like Genesis before him) may as well have never existed at all.

Lucrecia openly experimented on a man who loved her enough to die for her, going so far as to apparently use data from those experiments to improve her own academic standing, because she couldn't bear the guilt of being responsible for his death. It wasn't about whether it was the right thing to do, it wasn't about whether she loved him back, it wasn't even about her thesis at that point—she just couldn't continue to live having lost everything as a result of her own impatience, her own lack of regard for everyone around her. She killed her mentor through her own impatience, she gave up her son for experimentation, she didn't stop her husband from experimenting on her ex-lover, and she had nothing to show for it but crippling Jenova toxicosis and an equally crippling cowl of regret.

I could even go into Hojo here, how what he did to Sephiroth was a result of struggling to escape Gast's shadow, how what he did to Vincent was a result of him struggling to prove that he deserved his wife, how everything he did was born from the all-consuming need to do just one thing for which no one else could take credit. Hojo got the director position not because he earned it, but because Gast ran away. Hojo got Lucrecia not because he wooed her, but because he didn't have eyes like the unrequited first love that she killed. Hell, Project S only happened because Project G failed! Nothing Hojo has ever had that was worth anything was because of his work, only because the work of others failed. Why do you think he talks about "failures" the way he does? The failure of others is the only reason he's gotten so far, and he knows that any failure of his own will knock him right off that pedestal—and he's terrified.

None of these people are good people. I don't know that any of them ever were. But in their eyes, everything they did was justified, they took the right course of action, because they took the only course of action that their personal understanding of reality would allow them to take.

Were any of them actually right? Probably not. Certainly not, in some cases. But there's no going back on it now. The arrow has left the bow of the goddess, and there's no calling it back.

[shina913]

Dandelion | KNJ

Dandelion

Pairing: Namjoon x Fem!Reader

Rating: M 🔞; NSFW

Genre: Infidelity!AU; exes!AU; angst; some fluff; smut

Warnings: cussing; sexually suggestive language; clit play; protected sex; questionable morals; open conversation about infidelity; hurt without comfort

Word count: 4.8K words

Summary: You and Namjoon reunite to celebrate a special evening.

A/N: If you don't like reading about cheaters - please feel free to skip! Thank you, Sim @roaminginthenights for your notes. They added more depth and nuance to the story in so many words. Thank you @midnightagust for looking this over as well and helping me simplify and improve some of the wording. I appreciate you both!

You’re sitting in the airport parking lot, tapping your fingers happily to the beat of the song playing on your car radio. You glance at the time, it wouldn’t be too long; he’d be walking out of those doors soon. Until then, you continue to hum to the song.

Tonight is special. A night you didn’t think you’d ever celebrate again. Yet here you were, in a rental car, in a town you’d left years before.

Other than one particular overnight reservation, there are no other formal plans. You’d order takeout and perhaps pick up a bottle of wine or two from the corner store.

Your phone rings. You bring it up to check the caller ID and smile when you recognize the name flashing on the screen.

“Hi, honey!”

“Hi mom,” your daughter greets you on speakerphone.

“Is everything okay?”

She goes on to ask permission to do a facemask with her cousin. While she rambles on about other activities they have planned for their sleepover, you distantly hear the passenger door open. You quickly turn your head to smile at him then bring your pointer finger to your lips signaling him not to say a word.

“Mom? Helloooo? Are you listening to me?”

You scramble to get back to your call as your passenger shuts the door. “Uh–sure, honey. That all sounds great. Just make sure you get some sleep and listen to auntie, okay?”

“Okay.”

“And you know I told you that I have a late-night meeting so no phone calls but you can always text–”

“I know, mom.” She’s exasperated in a manner that only middle-schoolers who know it all would be. You exchange ‘I-love-you’s’ before she ends the call.

And now, you can properly greet your new arrival.

“Hi,” Namjoon says.

“Hi,” you greet him with a smile. “That was Yuna.”

“So I heard,” he smiles. “Is she sleeping over at Emma’s?”

You nod. “She’s thrilled. It’s a school night and she gets to stay up late with her favorite cousin.”

He chuckles. “I don’t know if I can top organic facemasks when she comes over next week, but I’ll try.”

“I’m sure she’ll be happy with whatever you’ve got planned for her.” 

“Right. As long as she’s happy.”

You nod then let out a long sigh before telling him, “You know, at some point, we need to stop meeting like this.” That’s what you also said last time. And the time before that. You’re fully aware of it and you think that if you say it enough times, you’d believe it and actually stop.

“I know,” he breathes out before cupping your nape to bring your face to his, sealing his lips over yours. You don’t pull away or give any hint of protest. You melt right into him, your mouth parting to let his tongue savor you.

You miss this. You miss him.

Somehow, you find the willpower to wrench yourself away from him. “Easy there. We’re still in the parking lot.”

You can see the mischief in his eyes even through his glasses. “So? It’s not like that’s stopped us before.” His hands trail between your legs, cupping your heat.

“I know but,” you gently push his hand away. “We have a reservation and it’s late so we should probably get going.”

He sighs, relenting. “Okay.” He reaches back for the seatbelt then stops short of buckling in. “By the way, happy anniversary,” he grins.

You feel a flutter in your chest and your cheeks warm up. “Happy anniversary,” you reply.

******

Namjoon scrolls through his phone, scanning for the email confirmation that contained the security code and instructions to unlock the rental.

“Are you sure you have it?”

You are both standing on the front porch of your Airbnb, using your phone's flashlight to help him see his phone better. He was nearly blind as a bat, especially in the dark, even with his glasses on.

“I’ve got it! Trust me.” He scrolls some more until he exclaims, and finally sees the coveted email.

He carefully punches the code on the door’s keypad until you hear it chime, confirming that you’ve gained access.

You walk through the door and into this place that is known to you. But seeing it again after so long, makes it feel unfamiliar.

The first thing you notice is that the foyer has been redone. The divider wall that used to separate the kitchen and living room has since been knocked down to give it a more ‘open’ layout. 

The furniture is all generic. Not much thought was put into picking them out. The colors also don’t provide much contrast to the equally bland walls. It all blends in but not in a good way.

“Why is everything so white?” You remark.

“It supposedly gives the illusion of a bright and open space.” Namjoon sets your bags at the base of the staircase.

“Feels more like a hospital to me,” you reply dryly, to his amusement. He moves into the kitchen, helping himself to the contents of the cupboards.

You follow behind, wandering over to the counter, where there is a binder listing the ‘house rules.’

“No parties, no loud music,” you read random bullet points out loud. “Quiet time at 10PM. Interesting.”

His arms circle your waist from behind, and you feel him nuzzle into your neck, planting a soft kiss. “Can you stay quiet after 10PM?” He murmurs against your skin.

“Shut up,” you giggle and break out of his hold and playfully pinch him on his side. “Only if you keep your hands to yourself after 10PM,” you tease him back, making him burst into laughter.

You walk around the place some more, scanning and assessing. You’re surprised at how many more modifications have been made. Gone were the warm, earthy tones that you painted the living room and the kitchen.

What was wrong with the way things were before? The interior designer you hired found a great way to marry modern and vintage concepts!

You shake your head in mild irritation.

The upstairs bedrooms feel just as desolate with the plain white, sanitized walls. At least the new owners attempted to break the monotony with a few framed watercolor prints and scenic photographs, no doubt purchased from a big-box store.

You find yourself standing in the midst of your old master bedroom. You see hints of the old furnishings layered with the new. It certainly wasn’t how you remembered it.

“Huh.” Namjoon says when he walks in. “Why didn’t we think of putting the bed against that side of the room before?”

You roll your eyes at him. “Because you get up to go to the bathroom more often than I do so that’s why we put it on the side that was closer to the en suite.”

His mouth drops slightly with a soft ‘ah,’ in sudden realization. “Well, I’ll have to admit, you were right. You should have ignored me and gone with your original plan.”

“I appreciate you acknowledging that, years later.” You roll your eyes and brush past him on your way out. “But as you know, marriage is about compromise,” you call past your shoulder. 

“I’m ordering the pizza!” Your voice echoes down the staircase.

Namjoon spends a few more minutes in this room, allowing himself to reminisce before finding the strength to tear himself away and rejoin you in the kitchen.

******

You’re sitting at your old kitchen counter, eating pizza and sharing a bottle of wine that Namjoon ended up stealing from the owner’s kitchen. When you question him as to whether the alcohol was included in your AirBnB reservation, he shrugs and promises to replace it instead.

“So, are you seeing anyone?”

You stop mid-bite, taken aback by his question. “Wow, already?”

“What? I’m just making conversation.” He says casually as he takes a sip of wine. “And I’m nosy,” he snickers.

You giggle at his admission. “Nope, not seeing anyone. I had–what I thought was a connection a month ago…but that was a false flag. I’ve decided to hang back, take a break…be alone for a bit, you know? I’m not really looking for anything serious anyway.”

His expression turns sullen. He clears his throat before saying, “I thought you had a connection with Seojun. Things looked pretty serious.”

The reminder of your fatal mistake doesn’t sting as much as it did before. And he wasn’t as angry and bitter when he brings it up.

“Seojun was…” you sigh, collecting your thoughts so as not to create unnecessary ripples in this still water. “He was good for me at the time. He was who I needed at the time. But long-term?” You scrunch your face and shook your head. “I didn’t think that far down the road.” 

He used to always ask ‘why.’ Why did you do what you did? Why did you make those choices?

You were together for five years before you married. Two years later, you had Yuna and everything seemed picture-perfect. You thought that you were doing well and that you might really have a knack for marriage and monogamy. It was a point in your relationship when you thought that nothing could ever break you.

But it turns out that anything and everything can break you.

Seojun came along and it was as if something that had long been dormant ignited within you. You thought it would be a one-off, but it wasn’t. For months you thought Namjoon would suspect whether anything felt off. It wasn’t like you were trying to get caught but maybe some part of you wanted him to catch you. But that didn’t happen. Instead, he seemed happily blissful in his own world, seeing everything through rose-colored lenses.

You pick up your wine glass and tip the contents into your mouth, emptying it. When you set it back down on the counter, you look at him, staring at you.

“But you loved him, right?” He asks between mouthfuls of pizza.

You pause for a few long beats before responding. “Sure. In a way, yeah.” Your answer is noncommittal but the truth was, you didn’t know for sure if what you felt for Seojun was love. It certainly wasn’t the same as what you felt for Namjoon. He was in his own category.

“I don’t get it though. Why would you want to be alone?”

You scoff and straighten in your seat, feeling the urge to be defensive. “I don’t get why you’re suddenly concerned about my choice to be alone.”

“No, sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.” He switches tact, sensing that your walls start to go back up. “I remember back then, you used to say that a lot…that you like being alone and that you didn’t believe in marriage or lifelong partnership. And yet–you still agreed to marry me when I asked. So no, I don’t believe that your ultimate desire or goal is to be alone.”

You pour yourself another glass. “You were different. Being with you, what we had–it made me want to prove myself wrong. That perhaps I do have the marriage gene in me and I can make it last.” You pick at a piece of pepperoni on your slice. “I’d like to believe that I did. I tried to keep things together to make things work for us.”

Namjoon reaches for your hand and brushes his fingers over your knuckles in an attempt to console you.

“Turned out well, right?” You remark sarcastically, throwing your free hand up in defeat. “I failed. So, I conclude that I just don’t have it in me.” 

“The marriage gene?”

“Uh-huh. I’m doomed!” You laugh darkly.

You were happily resigned to that fact. Namjoon was a beautiful anomaly. While your time may have been short-lived, it still added meaning to your generally doomed perspective on marriage and relationships.

His fingers curl around your hand to give it a reassuring squeeze. “For what it’s worth, I thought you were great at it.”

You smile wistfully and bring his hand up to your lips to kiss it. “Thank you. That’s kind of you to say.”

******

You were in the upstairs bathroom washing up when Namjoon excused himself to retrieve a couple of things from his jacket pocket downstairs when his phone starts buzzing.

“Hello?” He answers.

“Hey, how’s it going? I’ve been trying to reach you. How was your flight?” the female voice says on the other line.

He clears his throat and hides away in what used to be his office. “Uh, yeah. Sorry, sweetheart. You know how it is at my dad’s house. The reception’s shit.”

“Why are you whispering?” She asks.

“Dad just fell asleep. You know how he’s such a light sleeper.”

“Oh, yeah. You’re right. Do you think you’ll be able to finish up whatever you need to over there? I have some miles on my card and fly out tomorrow to come over and help?”

“No, that won’t be necessary,” Namjoon tells her calmly. “Dad and I are just about done packing up some of his old things here so, he’ll be ready to move into the facility. He’s really looking forward to it.”

“Is he? That’s great.”

“Yeah. Anyway, I have to go. I’m trying to sort through a few more of his things here while he sleeps. I work faster when he doesn’t stop to admire each item and talk about what it meant to him.”

“Okay. Just call me if your flight changes. I love you!”

He hears the floorboard creak and looks up from his seat to find you leaning against the door frame, dressed in nothing but a black lace teddy. Biting his lower lip, he says, “I love you, too.”

As soon as he hangs up, he tugs at your wrist and ravishes you.

******

“You think she’d ever suspect anything between us?” You wonder out loud while you both lay naked in your former marriage bed, basking in your post-sex high.

He shakes his head adamantly. “I think ‘you and me’ is the last thing on her mind.”

You laugh at how confident he made that sound.

“I’m serious!” He says firmly. “This is not even remotely on her list of possibilities! She knows what happened between us so this is highly unlikely for her.”

You sit up against the headboard and stare at him in disbelief. “You told her about us?”

He shrugs, not seeing the problem with it. “It was all part of my therapy and healing process so…yeah. I told her everything.”

“So, does she think I’m, like, the devil incarnate or something?” You try to mask the pang of guilt in your chest by making light of it.

“Nah. She doesn’t really think about you.” Then he immediately adds, “I’m not saying that to be hurtful or dismissive. I think at the time she thought she was somebody who could, I don’t know, put me back together or something.”

Even though you’ve both said your pieces over the years and talked things over, traded apologies, and accepted them, it still felt inadequate.

“I’m sorry,” you say instinctively.

He sits up to mirror your posture and dips his head to kiss your bare shoulder. “You’ve said that already.”

“Yeah but–” He cuts you off mid-sentence with another kiss, his lips lingering over yours.

“No buts. We’re good, okay? I’m good.” He reassures you.

But you press him anyway. “Okay, I’m sorry to keep dropping the reality check here but what if she finds out?” 

He sighs, a wry smile on his lips. “If she does…” he trails off without finishing his thought. He straightens his posture, turning serious. “I guess you could say that I’m no longer scared of being labeled the bad guy. I spent a good chunk of my life trying to do the right thing and being a good person. Always doing what is morally acceptable.”

You tilt your head at him in curiosity. He’s changed a lot, but just like your old house, even though the fixtures have been replaced, walls knocked down and repainted, and furniture layout rearranged, you can still see hints of what it used to be.

He’s still the same Namjoon you fell in love with, beneath this new cynical, detached exterior. He wasn’t always open about his emotions but in the rare cases that he would wear his heart on his sleeve, you saw and felt it.

Right now, he was baring his soul to you.

“I’m not saying that I’m proud of it. You know, the affairs. I have needs that she can’t fulfill,” he shrugs. “There’s acceptance on my part. I’m not trying to claim righteousness or hide behind morals. And that’s okay. I’m okay with that!”

You’re silent as you take in his ruminations. In a way, it saddens you that he’s adopted this perspective. You always knew him as an idealist–someone who, as he said himself, ‘always did the right thing.’ Which was why it crushed him when you confessed your infidelity.

He stares at you for a minute before breaking into a chuckle. “What?”

“What?” You echo, your eyebrows furrowing.

“Say something!” He laughs.

“I mean, what do you want me to say?”

“I don’t know! Anything. Scold me or, I don’t know…tell me that this isn’t right. ‘Your wife doesn’t deserve this! You’re a terrible husband!’” He says jokingly.

“I am the last person to judge, okay? If it doesn’t keep you up at night…” you trail off.

He nods at that.

But then you cock your eyebrow at him, picking up on what he said moments ago. “So, ‘affairs?’ You mean, there’s more?”

“I had some fling a few months ago. It was meaningless,” he add quickly, as if that contributed to anything. “And there were a couple of one-night stands but I don’t think they count.”

“Mm…” you hum vaguely.

******

Namjoon cracks open another bottle of wine and brings it upstairs, where you both drink in bed and continue to trade stories.

“I didn’t really want to get married again. We were having a good time and she’s great,” he recounts the early days of his new relationship. “Sometimes it’s easy to confuse great sex with love.”

“Mm-hmm. Speak for yourself,” you remark.

He smirks at your comment. “But…there she was, down on one knee, asking me to marry her. And so I did. We’ve been living together anyway so, might as well, right?” He shifts and changes his tone, feeling the need to clarify that he’s not a complete asshole. “I hope you’re not taking this the wrong way but she and I are good. We’re comfortable. It’s like, we speak the same language.” 

He’s tipsy and babbling but you let him. “That’s great,” you smile softly, taking a sip of wine.

“The sex is not.” You nearly choke at his revelation. “A month after we got married–phew–” He makes a whistling sound and makes a quick, swooping gesture with his hand. “Out the door, it went.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” you say with all sincerity.

He shrugs. “It is what it is.”

“But don’t you love her?”

He purses his lips and tilts his head from side to side. “In a certain way, sure.” He mirrors your answer from earlier this evening.

You nod vaguely, letting the words hang in the air while you both fall into a comfortable silence.

After a few beats he says, “I’ll never love anyone the way I loved you. That’s a fact.”

This isn’t the first time he’s told you this. He’s declared it several times, at least once during one of your clandestine meetings.

“When we were together, I never thought we’d split up. That never occurred to me. So–what I have with her it’s…it’s an entirely different kind of love. But if or when she suddenly comes to me and asks for a divorce, I’d give it to her. I feel like that’s where this is headed anyway.” He downs the rest of his wine before setting it down on the nightstand. “I would compare it to a piece of tape. You stick it on then peel it off and try to stick it someplace else. It might take, if you tried hard enough but…it’s never quite the same.”

You lick your dried-out lips and let out a shaky breath. “God, that sounds really sad,” your voice cracks.

“Hey, it’s okay. I’m not sad about it so you shouldn’t be!” He maintains his lightheartedness. “I think it’s perfectly fine to have different types of love, different types of relationships. Mine happens to be unconventional.”

“Unconventional, yes. But the way you speak about it, it’s as if you’re saying that you’re totally comfortable with the fact that you’ll never truly love again. That’s what saddens me.”

“I never said that,” he says in defense. “I never said I’ll never truly love again.” Then he looks you in the eye and says matter-of-factly, “I’m here with you, aren’t I?”

The look he gives you sends an involuntary shiver down to your spine which makes its way between your legs. “Yes, but what we have is different. We’ve both gone through the worst possible thing that could happen in our relationship; which is why when you’re with me, there are no surprises. No unrealistic expectations. There’s no fear lurking around because it’s all laid out for you.”

His expression is steady and unchanged. “And I’m saying this is what works for me right now. This is what works for us–”

“Ugh, Namjoon…” you groan, sinking back into the mattress and turning on your side, facing away from him. “That’s such a fucked up way of looking at the situation. You know how fucked up we are! We’re still reeling from how our marriage ended and…” You bury your face in your palms and groan in frustration again. “Who would have thought even after we signed those papers, that it didn’t really mean the end…Like, right that second? I wish that somebody told us that breaking up takes much longer than that.”

You feel the bed dip behind you as he scoots closer, wrapping his arm around your waist to pull you flush against him. “It’s like we said, it just takes time, baby.”

“But it’s been five years!” You whine petulantly. “I just want to be done with it! You said that after we’re divorced, we’d move on and start fresh.” You turn your body around, his face is so close to yours. “Now, we’re just in this endless cycle of grief and trauma.”

You close your eyes and you feel him press his forehead on yours in silent agreement. You don’t remember how long you hold each other like that. He quiets your whimpers with the softest kisses until you both drift off to sleep.

******

“No!” Namjoon cries out, jolting you both awake. He sits up abruptly, with his head in his hands. His back is covered in sweat and his heart feels like it’s about to burst out of his chest.

“Hey.” You sit up and rub circles on his back consolingly. “Did you have a bad dream?”

“Yeah,” he sniffs and wipes his tears away.

You offer to get him a drink of water but he declines. He gets out of bed and paces around the room.

“Do you want to talk to me about it?”

“Uh…” he breathes before sitting back down on the edge of the bed. “Yeah. I’m…trying to remember bits and pieces.” He takes a minute to regulate his breathing while simultaneously collecting his thoughts. “We were walking down the street, coming back from a dinner party or something. And then, we needed to cross the street for whatever reason.”

You hug your knees to your chest while you listen to him.

“I was holding your hand so we could go together but you went on and darted out into the dark road. I kept calling out to you but you kept moving farther away from me. I tried so hard to run after you but it was as if my feet were sealed into the concrete.” A tear rolls down his cheek. “I felt so helpless because I wanted to get to you and–I couldn’t see you. You were gone.”

“Hey, hey, it’s okay. C’mere,” You open up your arms and beckon him to come back to bed.

He obliges and nuzzles into touch. “I couldn’t get to you,” he cried.

“It was just a dream, baby.” You whisper calmly into his ear, rubbing his back to console him.

He burrows his face into the crook of your neck. “It’s not the first time I had a dream about losing you. I’ve had different versions of that dream where you disappear into the dark and I can’t move my body to reach out to you. It’s like–I’m perpetually stuck or something.”

All you can do is listen. This was his trauma talking. You continue to rub his back and rock him gently.

“You know, sometimes I wonder if…if I’ll ever love anybody. Like, truly love them. Or maybe I’ve never been truly loved before. Maybe…maybe that’s what it means. I’ll never be able to have the ability to–“ 

“Hey,” you interject. You pull his face away from your shoulder and cup his cheeks. “Listen to me— I love you. In my own… twisted way. And I know that you love me. In your own way.”

He smiles ruefully, his eyes welling up with emotion.

You gaze at him, brushing his cheekbone with the pad of your thumb. “I will always love you,” you say reassuringly before bringing your lips to his.

Your gentle kisses turn hungry and you can’t help when your body responds to him instinctively. Your need for him is unrelenting.

One moment he’s telling you about a nightmare and the next, you’re wrapped up in each other’s arms, your legs on either side of his hips. It doesn’t take him long to be ready for you, especially when you’re naked and bare for him.

You undulate your hips, grinding your slick over his length. His hands gripping your waist, guiding you while you pleasure yourself with the delicious friction.

“Mm, you’re so wet for me,” he whispers, reaching between you to rub circles on your clit.

“Mm-hmm,” is all you can muster.

“You ready for me, huh?” He nips at your bottom lip.

You give him a nod and he manages to pause his ministrations to reach across the nightstand. Once he sheaths himself, he takes one swift move and slips right into your center.

Each thrust is purposeful. Your fingers grip his hair as you moan into his shoulder. He gently sinks his teeth into your tender flesh, groaning. You're both floating and it’s a special kind of high.

One look at him and you heat up to a fever pitch. You take comfort in the deep baritone of his voice, goading you, whispering his naughtiest fantasies about you when you’re apart. You feel him touch you and you know it’s what you’ve been missing. He completes you. 

You move in perfect sync as if you never separated. When you’re intimate like this, the questions and doubts fade when your bodies close in, filling every gap. Your connection is unrivaled.

He pulls back. “You close?”

Not that he needed an answer but he just loves watching you come undone. He ups the ante, cupping your ass cheeks and combining deep plunges with swivels, thrusting sharply and retracting slowly. Your head lolls back, dizzy with pleasure and at the same time awed by the heights he takes you to. Places where you can simultaneously forget and remember. Where nothing and nobody else exists except you and him and the mutual passion you share.

The sweat misting his brow glistens in the dusky light, his face beginning to strain as your release crests and finally crashes down. Instantly, you shudder, the tingling becoming too much to bear, your skin too sensitive. He is attuned to your body, because he stops his movements and applies pressure where you need it, keeping your hypersensitivity at bay, as his own climax hits him hard. His growls are suppressed, his face crimson with the rush of blood to his head. Your walls squeeze him greedily, prolonging your pleasure as he empties himself into you.

Namjoon drops you both onto the mattress, collapsing in a heap of exhaustion. He is glued to your slick chest, where he will remain for the next ten minutes, snoozing, nuzzling, and kissing your neck. You hold him and savor the moment before you part and return to the alternate realities you both worked hard to establish.

Deep down, you know you’ve ruined him. You didn’t mean to. He was nothing but an innocent bystander in your own path of self-destruction. Perhaps, as your lifelong penance, you’d spend the rest of your days assuring him that he’s not broken and that he deserves unconditional love. 

You breathe into his shoulder as you settle, holding him as close as you possibly can. In your own quiet way, you're telling him that you're happy to remain like this.

Main Fic Masterlist

You’ve reached the end! Thank you so much for reading!

If you loved it, please comment, reblog, or send me feedback! 📩. I love hearing from readers! If you didn’t like it so much, I would still like to hear about it. Help me become a better writer! 💜

[ilikekidsshows]

I'm just so annoyed that one can't even voice their frustrations with Canon anymore without being written off as a salter. Especially when it comes to Marinette. But at the same time, I know exactly that if anyone had said earlier that Marinette would pull all these things that season 4 and 5 have her do, the person would have been insulted and ripped apart as a salter and hater. But the moment Canon has Marinette actually DO it her fans turn around and claim that her having done it is either totally fine, not her fault, or must be tolerated cause it's part of the good and pure messages "they totally predicted this way all along with their totally unbiased Master-minds"

It is so obvious that this is what's happening in the Fandom. In season 4, everyone yelled that people are being too harsh on poor Marinette cause season 5 will totally have her fix for example her insanely negligent, dehumanizing, and self centered behavior towards Cat Noir

And yet, the moment season 5 showed that non of that will happen, they turn around and started talking about these hypocritical nonsense philosophies that it's totally fine that feeling sorry, taking accountability and improving one's shortcomings doesn't actually include feeling sorry, taking accountability and improving one's real shortcomings, cause poor Marinette needs to have servants and be pampered for her hurtful behavior, validated and excused in it, and crowned the queen of the world first and "you just hate WOMEN wah wah wah".

That they totally understand how canon works and Marinette will TOTALLY have this groundbreaking journey til season 10, and everyone is so unfair and horrible for being sexist and having expected so much of her as early as THE END OF SEASON 5. Whne she straight up isn't doing her best to make up for her mistakes, she barely even tries and instead sweeps everything under the rug, takes every excuse she gets and continues taking advantage of Cat Noir in particular so she doesn't have to feel uncomfortable for 10 damn seconds

Where was that energy in season 4, Marinette stans? You said something entirely else back then! What changed? The fact that canon didn't deliver on your endless excuses for Marinette, so you decided to continue adapting your excuses to whatever Canon has her do? Sounds about right.

I wished Marinette stans and even just her Fans would do us all a solid and just admit already that the morality of Marinette's canon actions and behavior doesn't truly matter to them. There is literally nothing they wouldn't excuse that much is obvious by now. No matter how much they themselves qualified her current behavior as "offensive salt" one damn season earlier.

---

I did comment at one point that Miraculous was starting to resemble a saltfic when it started lifting plotpoints straight from them (like Adrien apologizing for his really solid advice that instantly helped Marinette in Chameleon). But now it seems that canon has also lifted Marinette's new role from saltfics, except that the people she disregards haven't done any of the stuff they do in saltfics that makes them “deserve” Marinette's retribution. Unless Adrien totally did rip Marinette's sketchbook and I just missed it.

But, yeah, it's absolutely ridiculous that, if we traveled back in time a couple of years and simply described to people what happens in seasons 4 and 5, we’d get labeled a bunch of salters. Even now they call us salters just because we don't praise Marinette for doing this stuff, like it's our fault the main heroine of this series is an utter failure who never worked up the courage to ask the guy she likes out and whose response to being told her nemesis’ identity was to ignore it until he jumped her when she was digging for info on her boyfriend. And then she lost the fight. Marinette had two jobs as a protagonist, and she failed at them both. That’s not the fault of the fans who are disappointed by this; it’s the fault of the writers who think doing what will get them the most attention is more important than having their supposed role model, hero and protagonist actually accomplish anything on her own merit.

Because the writers claim that they had this “planned all along”, when they had a French historical hero walk on screen and call Marinette the best Ladybug ever, while they were planning on having her fail at accomplishing all of her goals. I used to think that the writers think Marinette should be praised for simply existing, but no, they think she should be praised for explicitly failing. And pointing out this utter failure of writing and heroism is salt. That's how low the fans of this trainwreck have brought the bar for what they consider good television, it's practically nonexistent.

[eggtrolls]

The Downton blogging (circa S3E5) will continue until morale improves

Ice in the veins, Kobe of the social scene — Mary Crawley would not, could physically not miss a chance to be ruthless to Edith. She sees Edith from 100 feet away and it’s On Sight. Edith standing in the churchyard about to be married and Mary is like listen we WILL NOT like each other a jot more in the future but good luck I guess. Sybil is lying DEAD on a bed in front of them and Edith is like 🥺 oh Mary 🥺 do you think we might get along a little better in the future? 🥺😭 and Mary just says “I doubt it”. She is a supervillain and I support women’s wrongs.

My favourite half-drowned bear cub of a man, Robert is like ‘no I can’t kick out my tenants who can’t farm and haven’t paid rent since the Norman invasion because they’re OLD wtf do you think I’m MEAN or something????’ and then he turns around and is like ‘but fuck Catholics for real tho lmao am I right or am I right, archbishop of banterbury’

The scene right after Edith gets left at the altar and Robert and Matthew go outside to talk about Reggie Swire’s fortune and the shot is them as tiny ants in the shadow of Downton’s walls…….that’s the shit I like

Cora saying goodbye to Sybil’s corpse with an insanely placid smile and her right (my left) eye twitching the entire time. Again the reminders of Iphigenia vis-a-vis a young woman dying in the house as a sacrifice, thus casting Cora being Clytemnestra which is just deeeeeeeelicious

The only part of Sybil’s death/mourning that actually made me feel some kind of way was Maggie Smith struggling alone with her cane in the hall……how many women has she seen die in childbirth over the last 70 years. Is it even surprising anymore? Does it hurt more or less?

Tom is still busy being fucking useless because he has no real purpose other than being a vague socialist life-size cardboard cut out to eventually be whittled down as a foil to Matthew who is himself being whittled down as a foil to Robert.

Also re: Tom and the Drumgoole house burning, WHY was he surprised by this being upsetting LET ALONE that it happened? He’s like omg I can’t believe I was upset by seeing rich people crying when their house burnt down, but the same fucking guy years ago canonically said nothing bad would happen to the Tsar and his family? Bro? Tf? Did you even do the readings of this shit you’re actively living through, while as a journalist to boot?????

Also also tremendously weak ass shit for him to answer Sybil’s “you didn’t tell me you’d gone to those meetings” with “I didn’t say I hadn’t”. “You didn’t tell me you were part of the Oklahoma City bombings”/“well I didn’t say I wasn’t” ass logic. unsurprising Tom L

Anna’s character is wearing so thin. She really has fuckall personality besides being pert, blonde, and vaguely saintlike while saying mihstehhhh Beyyyyyyyhtś every five minutes like a cuckoo clock

O’Brien playing the long game of slowly nudging Thomas and Jimmy towards each other, knowing it will get Thomas fired if not jailed, is a master class in scheming. Spy novels where the payoff is averting nuclear war are written with less attention to detail than this.

I need Thomas to get a mean lesbian best friend as a counterpoint to season 1 Miss O’Brien but since female sexuality wasn’t discovered in England until the 1970s it’s unlikely to happen :(

Mr Molesley as the permanent straight man of the show is maybe a little stale but it does crack me up every time. Sorry bro

The conversation around Downton as sentient being who kills those who don’t belong (Lavinia, and ultimately, Matthew) or who stray from the fold (Sybil) or those who endangered the Family (Kemal Pamuk) is still super interesting as the later seasons really let Edith hit her stride. It’s pretty clear that the flow of the Downton True Heir is set up as Violet to Robert to Mary but what if not. Mary is the bloodline (via Matthew) and has the money (also via Matthew) and the beauty* but Edith is the care and the maintenance that is completely ESSENTIAL to maintaining a house like Downton: in the little things of arranging seatings for dinners to keep the peace, to bigger things like helping with the Drake’s farm because the estate does boost the house, to her entire arc during S2 with the war. Mary as the roof and Edith as the walls…..let me cook

Lastly:

Okay hear me out but Vera Bates……..….would

*Edith isn’t even actually UNattactive, she just has the combo curse of Too Much Nose and Teeth. Mary’s features are roughly as pretty individually but much better proportioned for her face.

[artistformerlyknownasbutttrumpet]

You’re a genocide apologist, and we will remember until the day your favorite genocidal politicians wipe us off the planet - which you’ll pretend to care about until your own comfort is affected.

I hope nobody buys your book.

if there had been a choice available to me that would ensure not a single further act of genocide would ever take place--a choice that would make it so families weren't viscously slaughtered, children's bodies wouldn't be lining the streets, innocent people wouldn't be stuck with lifelong traumas i cannot even begin to comprehend the magnitude of--of COURSE i would have picked it. of COURSE. the problem, tho, is that there wasn't. my options were "pick the person who would kill everyone if he got the opportunity" and "someone who will make it so fewer people suffer," and i went with the one that would make fewer people suffer. bc at least that would save some children. some innocent people who did nothing but be born. bc to me, some was better than none

think of it this way: i work at a domestic violence shelter. sometimes we get calls from people who are in dangerous situations but for whatever reason (needs are too high, we don't have the resources available, they're out of scope, our grants will only pay for intimate partner violence, not family violence, etc etc), we can't offer them the resources needed to help them

now, what i could do, when that happens, is quit my job and refuse to work for an organization that would ever turn someone in need away. i could say "i don't care what your reasons are, letting even one person suffer is wrong, and i can't be complicit"

but the thing is, if i decided to take that stand, it wouldn't change anything, bc it wouldn't change any of the circumstances. it wouldn't provide more funding to the shelter. it wouldn't give us staff who can deal with higher needs. etc etc

what it WOULD do, however, is put me in a position where i am suddenly not helping ANYONE. my stance that nobody should be without services, no matter what, leading to a boycott, means that everyone suffers

what i CAN do, tho, is continue to work at the shelter, while actively advocating for improvements on the side. i can help with fundraisers, and offer suggestions to my higher ups, and help with grants. i can spread the word. i can make my voice heard. i can fight for these people we have to turn away, but i can do it while still helping the people we can serve

the moral stance of "these people should be helped" is an admirable one. it's the one you should have. it's one of compassion and human connection. but we also have to recognize that we can't always save everyone all at once. i would argue that most of the time we can't. sometimes we have to pick the choice that causes the least harm, and then continue to advocate for bigger changes on the side. abstaining from helping entirely just means everyone gets hurt, and that's completely counter to that core belief of compassion

i care SO much about the victims of this genocide. there is nothing i can ever do that will make me understand the horrors of what they're facing. and did it feel fucking gross to advocate for someone who aided the perpetrators? of course it did. but i did it, despite the discomfort, bc i knew that, in the end, it would at least save some people, and that was better than none

but too many people didn't agree with that. too many people abstained, or decided to try leaning to the right, and now i'm terrified bc i don't know how this ends, but i don't think it's good. i think a lot of people are going to be hurt, and i think we could have prevented it, but instead of coming together, we split apart and caused something terrible to happen. we didn't just quit working at the shelter--we shut the whole thing down. and now where do the people who need help go? where are they going to go? don't you see there is nowhere for them to go?

the doors to safety have been shut, and i don't know how to open them, and now we're all stuck outside

we have nowhere to go

and that's terrifying

[howlingday]

Team RWBY face off against White Fatalis from Monster Hunter.

COLD RAGE

"Are we there yet?" Yang yawned, walking at the rear of her team with her hands folded behind her head. "We've been walking for hours."

"Will you take this seriously?" Weiss chided from beside her leader in the front. "This mission was ranked five stars and handed to us specifically. We're essentially being told to fight on the same level as headmasters!"

"Is that weird for anybody else?" Blake asked, walking between Ruby and Weiss in the front and Yang behind. "If this mission is so dangerous, then why only send the four of us?"

"Apparently, the one who posted the mission said they didn't want to risk spending more than he needs to." Ruby said, tapping at her scroll. "The five star was actually something agreed on by the headmasters."

"It's still weird." Weiss said, cupping her chin. "Why only send us four without a headmaster?"

"Maybe it's to test us?" Ruby smiled.

"Maybe it's to be bait." Blake worried. A cold wind blew, making her shiver. She then felt an arm drape over her. "Huh?"

"Don't worry about it." Yang smirked. "Whatever it is, it won't stand a chance against Team RWBY!"

Yang pumped her fist into the air, making Blake smile. Ruby giggled as Weiss rolled her eyes. The trek uphill became a lot easier, though the cloudy sky did little to improve morale any further. Looking ahead, the team saw the path open up where it had previously been blocked by an avalanche. Upon passing over the crest, they eyed their mission objective.

"There it is." The team stopped, looking over the frozen remains of the former Castle Schrade. Legend said that a once great kingdom, now long past, was ruled by a good king. But then disaster struck and wiped out everything and everyone within the kingdom in a single night. Blake looked to Ruby. "What's the game plan?"

"Hang on, I'm getting an update from the headmaster." Ruby tapped her scroll. Her lips then pursed as she scrolled through the message. "Uh oh..."

"Uh oh?" Yang repeated. "Why uh oh?"

"Uh..." Ruby started. "Oh, well, um, see, the thing is that we... might need to go back?"

"Go back?" Weiss repeated this time. "Why in the world would we need to go back when we're so close?"

"Well, it's kinda because of the ranking."

"See, I told ya it was nothing to worry about." Yang said, tapping Blake's shoulder with her fist. "Rank's probably only a three at best."

"Well..." Ruby winced. "See, um, the thing about that is-"

"Oh, will you just spit it out already!" Weiss barked.

"SIX!" Ruby yelped, covering her head.

"Six?" Blake repeated, completing the set. She then asked for clarity for what she feared the only logical answer. "Six what?"

"Six... stars. This is a six stars mission."

The wind blew again but had no effect on the already chilled team. Their battles against Salem's Inner Circle, in which they had assistance from far more experienced huntsmen and huntresses, were four to five stars. Six was an all-headmaster emergency, as in it required ALL headmasters to accomplish the mission. It wasn't until somebody spoke up that the long silence ended.

"So, what do we do now?" Blake asked.

"Obviously we retreat!" Weiss shouted.

"Should we really leave the mission like this when we're already so close?" Ruby asked. "What if the threat only just got bigger and us leaving would only make it worse?"

"It sounds like a stretch, to be honest, Rubes," Yang sighed, shaking her head, "but it's also your choice. What's the plan, Leader?"

Ruby stared down at her scroll, then looked to the ruins of Castle Schrade. Something about it seemed to be calling to her, though it was more like a monster luring its prey than a friend beckoning their ally. She took a deep breath, then turned to her team.

"Here's my plan..." Ruby said with confidence. "I'm going to message the headmaster, let him and everyone else know that we're going to continue the investigation." At this, Blake and Weiss noticeably stiffened. "It could be nothing, but if there's a chance that there's something there that could hurt more people by us just sitting around and waiting, then we should at least try to slow it down." Though it wasn't by much, her team softened. "And if things get really hairy, then we'll pull back and regroup with the headmasters, who are probably on their way."

"Getting hairy, huh?" Yang grinned. "Sounds like we'll need a Schrave and a haircut~!" Everyone groaned. "Huh? Get it~?"

"You're gonna get it if you don't keep quiet." Weiss grumbled. "And while I can't say I like the idea of us charging headfirst into danger without knowing what's waiting for us, I like the thought of us doing nothing even less."

"Agreed." Blake nodded. "And if we can keep it stalled long enough for people to evacuate, then it's all the better." She then rubbed her arm a bit. "The headmasters are coming, right?"

"In the message, I got told that they were coming to relieve us of our tasking." Ruby answered.

"Not even sending somebody else in?" Yang whistled. "This thing must be pretty serious."

"Unlike some of us." Weiss said, getting a giggle from Blake.

Ruby tapped her scroll to message the headmaster. She'd likely get told to fall back and might even be scolded via some form of a strongly worded e-mail, but she had to hold firm. Especially when such high stakes were at play. She looked to her team as she pressed 'Send'.

"Ready, guys?"

--------------------------------------------------

Walking into the ruins of Castle Schrade was an eerie experience. Once a mighty and near-impervious fortress, what remained was little more than rubble upon rubble. Old weapon racks had become decayed wood piece that once held rusted swords and spears now strewn about the charred floor. Atop short-reaching steps were ancient bowguns that still functioned, in theory, but were unlikely to last longer than a few shots, if even one. What calamity that had befallen this once noble military outpost had rendered it completely uninhabitable and indefensible.

Blake rubbed her hand against the cold stone as she walked by the long-destroyed pillar. Her cat-like ears twitched and a shiver ran through her body. Looking over the ruins, she voiced her suspicions to the team. "Whatever did this wasn't a natural disaster."

"I think that depends on your definition of natural, huh?" Yang agreed, looking over the scorch marks on the wall. "Whatever happened here happened a long time ago, right? Has to be something unreal to leave scars this deep."

"Anything from the headmasters, Ruby?" Weiss asked.

Ruby tapped her scroll, hoping for an update. "Nothing new." She sighed. "They said they were on their way, but they couldn't give an ETA clearer than 'as soon as we can'."

"Ruby, I don't think we should be here." Blake said, looking to her leader. "I think this is way above what we're capable of."

"I hate to say it, but I kinda agree." Yang gave a sigh. "The last time we took on something capable of destroying a city, we nearly got wiped out. This..." She gestured to the smashed walls and collapsed arches. "This is way beyond that."

"I know, guys." Ruby nodded. "I'm nervous, too, but... I don't want to think about what would happen if..."

Dark clouds started to swirl above. Not just dark, but blue with red lightning. In the distant sky above, the shining sun was blotted out by a swirling mass as a dark circle took it's place. From the hole in the sky, in perhaps reality itself, like something out of a nightmare, a silhouette made its approach to the castle.

As it drew closer, the monster became much clearer to see. On beating wings, a reptilian beast with silver scales and snow-white hair made its descent onto the failed fortifications. With its long, ancient snout, it bellowed its declaration as red lightning crackled across the sky above. Team RWBY readied their weapons in defiance to the ancestral wyvern, White Fatalis.

With a thundering crash to match the sky above, the dragon-like monster spread its wings and let loose a mighty roar, shaking the ground and huntresses beneath it. The girls split apart, Weiss and Yang circling one direction with Blake and Ruby going the other. Leaping ahead of her Faunus friend, Ruby swung Crescent Rose around onto the scaled hide, only to find the blade bounce off without leaving so much as a scratch.

"It's too tough to cut into!" Ruby called out, hoping Weiss and Yang heard from the other side. Blake readied a cartridge of ice dust and loaded it into Gambol Shroud. "Look out!"

Blake was lifted off the ground, her former position swept away by a massive white tail. Before she could thank her leader, she shoved her away in time for red lightning to fall from the sky between them. Looking over to White Fatalis, it lowered its head from what seemed to be a roar to the skies. It had control of the weather and could call forth thunderbolts to strike its foes.

"Ruby-!"

"I saw!" Ruby replied before Blake could say anything. "I've never heard of Grimm doing that!"

"I have, but it wasn't red like that."

"What dust do you have in right now?"

"Fire." Blake lifted her weapon. "It's white and covered with fur, so I thought-"

"Got it." Ruby pulled out her own cartridge. "Do you think Weiss and Yang are okay?"

"We're fine." Weiss said, panting next to Blake.

"You don't look fine." Blake noted. "And where's Yang?"

Weiss pointed to the blonde brawler currently wreaking havoc on the monster ahead. Checking Weiss' aura, Ruby saw that she was already low in her reserves. Without saying a word, Blake ran in, opening fire on the titanic for. If she missed, she missed. If she hit, she hit. If she hit Yang, then it would make her angrier at worst. And she was already blazing with rage.

Yang crashed into the monster again and again, colliding like a comet with the white dragon, noticeably knocking it to the ground. Blades did nothing to pierce it's hide, but blunt force weaponry seemed to be doing the trick. Either that, or the flames of Yang's semblance made it noticeably weaker. Blow after blow was delivered, until finally the beast could take no more and fled to the other side of the ruins.

That's when things got worse. Either out of rage or pain, or a mixture of both, the scales around its eyes and chest began to glow red, like blood had been spilled in excess, and it bellowed a mighty roar that shook the world around them. In a blink, the monster was on top of Yang and slammed its claws down on top of her. She'd barely managed to dodge, and the near miss caused her to trip and roll on the ground.

"Yang!" Blake threw Gambol Shroud to her partner and, on her catching it, pulled her away in time as a lightning bolt came crashing down to where she was.

It was at this point that the sky itself was rumbling with rage. Beneath their feet, with little doubt in the danger presented and little room for shelter from the incoming danger, light began to glow all around, save for beneath the beast itself. All of Team RWBY rushed in, getting as close to the enraged monster as they could, as red lightning danced across their battlefield. Pillars crumbled and rubble was reduced to more rubble. Most concerning of all, however, were the less solid structures like the weapon racks and bowguns, which were destroyed with little evidence of their existence. Had any of the team been caught by this attack, then it was very likely that this mission would no longer be a problem for them in the worst possible way.

"What do we do, Ruby?" Weiss asked.

She looked to her sister. "Yang, when you were punching it, did it look like it was getting hurt?"

"Well, I don't think it's putting on this light show because it likes it." Yang answered.

"How much fire dust does everyone have?"

"I have enough for myself and to refresh one of you if you run out." Weiss replied.

"Okay, then stay out of the way until your aura recovers." Ruby said. "We can swing by to refill if we need to. Yang, stay angry and keep hitting him."

"On it~." Yang grinned with red eyes still blazing.

"Blake, you and me will shoot from a distance." She looked out to see the lightning die down. "Everyone ready? Let's go!"

Once the crimson lightning storm had settled, Yang immediately leaped out from beneath her mighty foe and began her head-first charge into the monster. Weiss, using as few glyphs as she could, retreated into an alcove and watched as her team spread out to avoid being hit all at once. Ruby ran to the beast's left, peppering its wings and hide with fire dust rounds while Blake used her ribbon to pull herself to the remains of a column and swung around and unloading a magazine of fire dust into their foe's left side.

With a loud cracking sound, the white wyvern reeled in pain as its horn snapped off from Yang's strikes. Tossing her down, it jumped into the air and landed on top of her, using its weight to crush her. The blonde brawler struggled beneath her enemy's mountainous strength, finding her semblance failing her to keep the giant held aloft.

"Yang!" Ruby cried, looking around for something to do more damage. It was then she noticed a ballista hidden away, untouched by battle and ready for use. Using her semblance to arrive sooner, she aimed the ancient weapon at the ancient devil, lining up her sights to the back of its scaled neck.

Click! Shoomp! Shing! Thunk!

The massive gear rattled and shook in place as the ballista released the ancient missile. Time, however, was not on the weapon's side as it's rusted metal and frayed wire broke and snapped, thankfully waiting until Ruby had already fallen over from the kickback to avoid being struck by the shattering apparatus. Climbing to her feet, Ruby awed that her target had been struck, though not where she had intended.

In her haste to strike a killing blow in the neck of White Fatalis, she'd failed to account for its shifting form. However, this proved to be a boon as the shifting monster had moved itself just right to be struck through its right eye. With a piercing scream, it fell over, thrashing on its side and release Yang from her weighted prison. Ruby ran out to her sister's side, though Blake was already there to help her to her feet. Together, the three unloaded every fire dust they had into the flaming red core of the raging cataclysm. With a few short clicks, they were out of ammunition.

"Weiss!" Ruby shouted, noticing the shattered building where Weiss had retreated. Terror gripped her heart.

"No need to shout." The heiress huffed. "Here." She tossed the remaining fire dust into the air before spun her rapier and stabbed it the ground. A glyph appeared ahead of the team as a giant, flaming knight took form. Jumping from Blake's hands, Ruby took hold of the fire dust and loaded it into Crescent Rose.

"Hey, Blake." Yang tossed her fire dust. With a crack of her knuckles, her hair flared to a golden shine. "I ain't gonna need it."

In a coordinated assault, the team of four huntresses unleashed a blazing fury unlike any felt before. White Fatalis screamed on the ground as it thrashed against its attackers, tail whipping around before it was cut off by Weiss blazing gigas. Blake moved to the side, carefully aiming inside the massive maw where it was likely weaker than its snowy scales. Ruby fired into the exposed wound of the eye, hoping for a quick end through the brain to end the monster's pain, though the scenario grew more and more hopeless with each pull of the trigger.

Yang blasted punch after punch at the red core, ignoring how red it was making herself and the ground around her. She could feel the blood burning her skin through her aura, but she didn't care. All that mattered was taking this thing out.

However, despite their efforts, it rose to its feet and bellowed a ground-shaking roar. The sky filled with black clouds that blotted out any light, save for the largest red thunderbolt zooming through the air to the highest object it could...

"RUBY!" Her team cried as red light vaporized any remaining rose petals. Tears filled their eyes as the petals drifted into ash. The clouds began to part to reveal the shining sun once more. It was as though the heavens wished to aid in finding the missing leader. Sadly, she was nowhere to be found.

Until they saw that the clouds had been perfectly cut. Like a scythe through its harvest tasking. And from the clouds, they saw a red dot growing bigger and bigger. In a red spiral, they saw Ruby Rose, weapon in hand as red electricity danced across the blade of Crescent Rose. In arrogant defiance, White Fatalis took flight and charged the descending huntress leader.

In a scatter of rose petals, the ancient wyvern was split in twain, blood spilling from its severed torso and body. Its chest smashed into the ground before Team RWBY while its body destroyed what was left of Castle Schrade. Landing atop the head was their team leader, dizzy and stumbling before falling off. Yang ran and caught her little sister, grateful she was alive.

"Ruby!" She called.

"How did you do that?" Blake asked.

"Since when could you do that?!" Weiss shrieked.

"Well..." Ruby chuckled. "I just changed my scythe and..."

"Team RWBY?" The girls looked over to see their headmaster, accompanied by other headmasters who each had their own variant of shock on their faces, approached them. "I believe I told you to abort this mission." A smile then grew in place of a scowl. "But I am grateful for both your initiative AND your productivity. I believe you have a mission report for me."

"Uh..." Ruby stood to her feet, looking back to the slain monster behind them. "I think this speaks for itself, doesn't it?"

"It does, but..." The headmaster leaned in with a smile. "I'd like to hear your side of the legend."

[aricr]

My thoughts on TED (the planet) and its people (just headcanons)

I had some thoughts/headcanons about TED (the planet + its people).  (Slight spoilers for s2 of Midnight Burger?)

It’s been established that:

An algorithm rules the TEDs. They trust it, and (allegedly) have no real leaders.

They worked on this algorithm for a long time until it learned to improve itself

The education system is geared toward people’s strengths, and the algorithm and presumably authority figures steer kids in the direction of a fitting career, and that will help push the Empire forward.

There used to be rainforests like the ones on earth

THEREFORE (and this is where my headcanons come in)

I think maybe industrialization took hold. They were the Earth before Earth in that way.

The difference is that because they’re a much more advanced civilization, it looks cleaner. They clean up nice and decorate their cities with artificial (and maybe electric/mechanical) trees, plants, etc.  This helps keep the younger population's morale up, while the workforce works to find a solution for their rapidly depleting resources. The algorithm works to train the younger generation and push them toward what they do best individually in a way that helps the workforce continue.

NOW we get into the good stuff

The TEDs got desperate and started looking for....more questionable solutions. 

Eventually, someone gets an idea. It's drastic, and they do some small tests. But it works. 

They start working on a larger model immediately and announce their success to the population; a way to connect their planet to others like it. An age for diplomacy and cultural exchange. Of planets helping each other. A bridge of sorts. My guess is that they were very open about their system of scanning for life on different systems because the corruption hadn’t taken hold yet, at least not completely. Everything would be okay if they followed protocol. If they stuck to the plan. 

A team had already departed to get a head start on construction.

MY THOUGHTS ON THE TEDs AS A PEOPLE/SPECIES (based on my Ted (singular) design and my inspirations behind it)

Building and tech have always been a lot easier for TEDs. Evolutionarily speaking, they can transfer small shocks of electricity from one place to another simply through touch. They're an electric bunch, like electric eels.

My good friend @mostdeviouswizard asked if the shocks are affected by emotions, and the answer is YES! So in my Ted design, his scales/freckles light up, along with sparks from the ends of his antennae. This also applies to other strong emotions and is a defense mechanism (evolutionarily speaking, against prey and such).  

Becoming an Earth expert was a great way for the TEDs to use his expertise to help find resources. He always loved the forests of his planet (or what was left of them). When he realized humans were chopping down their forests and burning through their natural resources, he could see them going the same way they were headed--only they didn't have the advancements of the TEDs. They would doom themselves, and those beautiful resources on their planet. That would explain why he has such strong feelings about life on other planets, especially their forests & other flora. 

I was just drawing and had the cute idea of possible small electric shocks bc I made his little scales/freckles glow blue and then went "......Why do they do that tho."

So naturally, I IMMEDIATELY came up w this lore.

[neptunescore]

zak brown hater anon here and heheh. I can’t explain how happy I am seeing Zak Brown look of disappointment after the race. Literally giggling and kicking my feet. I think I’m thriving. McLauren and RedBull were pretty equal but of course McLauren had batter pace at the end. Honestly I’m not mad about this race but also not too happy because this is a triple header. As a McLaren hater I pray on their downfall but as an Oscar fan if they must be successful I hope he’s the one winning.

ANYWAY, while I’m here I guess I’ll talk about the recent drama with Mercedes. My personal opinion, I’ve been thinking about this for a long time but I think Mercedes wasn’t pushing Lewis aside. Did they make questionable decisions? Yes 100%. But at the same time I don’t think they’re purposefully disregarding him just because he’s moving to another team. He’s been with them for years and while I heard Mercedes didn’t offer a promising deal to him in the end it was up to him. Lewis is getting older and it’s his career. Like what he said in DTS to Toto that Toto can continue being in the sport but he can’t. That’s just not possible.

It’s great progress that Mercedes is finally picking up the pace but I do not think the reason the car “magically got better” is because of the recent drama. Some people may have been joking but to those being serious, improving a car does NOT take a weekend. It takes weeks- months- even until the end of the season- to improve the car. We have seen that over the past few races Mercedes have been increasingly faster and a better race pace but it is not because of Lewis and his fans saying he’s being sabotaged. They are still a team and they have their morals and competitiveness- they want to win- why would they push it all away just because their driver is moving to another team?

One thing to note, I do think the social media admin was feeling a bit goofy and was not paying attention to Lewis as much as George. In one way, it’s reasonable with their standings but in the last few races I think it became apparent that the admin is just not paying attention to what’s happening with Lewis. So I understand people’s a very towards that.

I think it’s important to factor in that most of this escalated mainly because of the fanbase. And it kinda disgusts me how everyone is joking (and agreeing with the person who wrote the email) about the email that proceeded to defame the crew in Mercedes (especially Toto and George). If there were any members that WERE against Lewis, I believe it still shouldn’t excuse putting it up against the entire team because then it’s punishing the entire team for a few people that might not even hold important positions to make a difference. (In this scenario I’m talking they aren’t on the same level as who’s on the pitwall). Everyone saying “oh, car is better and not f**ked because of the email” is kinda bs. I will say Mercedes is now making sure they equally support both Lewis and George on social media but on track, the car was always the same. Strategy made the difference and you can argue that George gets the better strategy than Lewis but in the end they are a team. Whoever is in a better position to gain more points will receive the better strategy.

Lewis will always be Mercedes champion but it also doesn’t mean Mercedes can’t win without him. I’ve seen some recent tweets defaming George and- hate him all you want- but he’s a competitive driver. He may not have the skills to make up for it like Nico, but he’s consistently gaining experience and has shown his growth. A good example being the amazing start in the Spanish GP. Yes, he complains a lot, but don’t all drivers? People forget George looks up to Lewis and even if their relationship may have changed over their years as teammates it does not change that Lewis was and still is his role model.

anyone can disagree with me on this ofc. You can think Lewis gets the short end which is totally fine (I can understand your points, don’t get me wrong) but at least do not praise the email for defaming multiple people that might not even be involved if there is anything happening behind the scenes. I love Lewis and I was giggling and kicking my feet seeing him on the podium. I’m super excited to see what else Mercedes can bring to the table and try to fight for wins in the upcoming races. I’m a max fan but Lewis is really close up there (funny, isn’t?) so I can’t wait to see them fighting on track again soon. I feel like I my lifespan extends whenever I see them together on podium and fighting on track.

thank you for coming to my ted talk 🫶

ZB❌️ ANON!!! I missed you pookie😔✋🏽

God, SAMEEE. Like after his comment on how lando could be winning championships if they had the best car, the visceral and pure need that arose in me to see him swallow his words, literally none of u will understand how deep it went😭. BUT LOOK AT MY MAXY FULLFILLING ALL MY DESIRES AND SHOWING THEM THERES A REASON HES CONSIDERED ONE OF THE BEST!!! I LOVE HIM!! And I agree on the oscar part as well, like I'm the biggest mclaren hater to exist (the TEAM, NOT the drivers, please don't come at me ppl😭), but if they're doing anything successful I'd love to watch oscar bring it, acc... ugh, I don't know, I never wanna see that ugly orange on the podium (this is NOT me hating on the drivers, if they're on the podium then they deserve to be there, I just hate mclaren alot guys😔✊🏽)

Moving on to the mercedes drama, I've already made so many posts abt it, but ur ask summarises my opinions perfectly (as always🫶🏼). The main thing pissing me off is the fact that some fans genuinely believe that email, or if they don't, they still joke abt the things that were being said in it. Like, do they not understand how VILE the whole email was?? It literally accuses george of SLEEPING WITH HIS BOSS, says they're plotting to KILL LEWIS, and then makes the most indirect threats against George's own wellbeing. That's absolutely batshit crazy. There's no way anyone should believe/ joke abt that.

As a young POC girl (and just as a fan in general), I literally adore lewis, but the fact that when he was asked abt the hate george was receiving, he just chose to brush it aside and say how 'he's never heard of it' rlly got me irritated. Like, at least tell ppl that any kind of hate, in general, towards any driver is just straight up wrong❌️ and should not✋🏽 be a thing they do.

Anyway, fans that r saying lewis ended up on the podium bc they finally stopped sabotaging his car after the email are just a new level of delulu. I won't even explain this because no f1 fan needs an explanation on how long cars take to be built/ adjusted🙂. Also, in the end these comments are just taking away from lewis' efforts, bc despite the shit car, he STILL managed to put it up on the podium (tho the car rlly did seem to suit this track)

Overall, I personally (none of u need to agree with me) think merc is NOT sabotaging lewis (why would they, the team needs points so bad😭) but they ARE acting shit towards him, especially the social media team.

I love ur Ted talks ZB❌️ anon, come by whenever u want❤️ (what's ur opinion on the carlos and charles situation btw)