#Everyone here apparently hates their wife??? And children??? And families???

[caterpillarinacave]

hELP

[cynthiav06]

I have been living with this headcanon/brainrot about Athena (both from Epic the Musical and pjo) for a long while and a warning for the faint of heart, you know what read it anyway cause it haunts me , so everyone else has to be haunted by it too, cause I am petty like that.

Most people might be aware of the myth that Athena sprung from Zeus's head fully formed and in battle armor, but a few might not know the preceding myth, so here's a quick recap:

Zeus married the titaness Metis, who was the titaness of wise counsel, wisdom, and planning. She was also Athena's mother. Metis was his advisor, both an indispensable aid and threat to him, given her power and cunning. But it's no Greek mythology without a son overthrowing the father archetype haunting the narrative. There was a similar prophecy about Metis's second child being so powerful that he would overthrow Zeus. Mind you Metis was pregnant with Athena when the following events transpire:

Zeus being Zeus, paranoid and power hungry, the King of the Gods and the God of "Justice" manipulates Metis into playing a shape-shifting game and when Metis turned into a fly , he swallowed her whole. [I know Greek patriarchs have a thing for eating their children or spouses pregnant with said children. Runs in the family, apparently]

Mind you in Greek myths, swallowed children, or in this case, swallowed wife pregnant with said child stay alive for a good amount of time even inside someone else's organs. So Metis gives birth to Athena inside Zeus's head and raises her there. She teaches her warfare and strategy until Metis herself eventually dies, i.e., her essence fades. Knowing what she must do to not meet the same fate, Athena hammers on Zeus's skull from the inside to escape. Everyone knows the rest of the myth.

But imagine Athena's first lesson being that the man she calls her father is the one who killed her mother and almost killed Athena herself by swallowing Metis so she must do everything in her power to survive and avoid that fate by staying on his good side. To try and fit in this twisted family of immortals, half of who hate her existence and half who are indifferent to him. So she does exactly that.

Think of Athena asking to be a Virgin Goddess from learning of what comes of marriage with gods.

Now, the continuation of Athena's myth is that she goes to Atlantis to train with the sea nymphs. There she makes her first ever friend and someone she comes to dearly love, Pallas. Greek myths being allergic to happy endings, one day when Pallas and Athena are sparring as they do a bit more seriously this time; Zeus being a nosy bastard decides to spy in just when Pallas is about to land a finishing blow on Athena. Thinking she might kill his daughter, he kills Pallas by blasting her with his lightning. Athena, being heartbroken , Zeus gave her Aegis as an apology. The continuation of this is that Athena adopts the namesake Pallas Athena and even carves a statue in likeness of her friend called Palladium and then more.

But think of Athena heartbroken and bitter as the Goddess of Wisdom learns her second lesson, then she must abandon all personal relations and sentiment before her father ends it for her in one way or another. For Pallas was the first true relation in her life after her mother.

Keep in mind that Pallas is Poseidon's granddaughter through his firstborn son and heir Triton. This is the point that sparks eternal enmity between Athena and Poseidon, and all those who come after will suffer in the wake of this tragedy.

So Athena chooses to remain alone and without a friend to avoid such a situation. Imagine Athena being hurt, especially brutally, when Odysseus says: "Since you claim you are so much wiser, why's your life spent all alone? You're alone!"

Because that's exactly it. Athena is wise. She knows the consequence of endearing herself to someone again so she stays alone to avoid such a thing and yet coming from someone who is so close to being her first friend in a long time, hurt and enraged she leaves.

Now, when finally Athena comes to terms with her friendship with Odysseus she finds yet again that her father Zeus struck him and his crew in a similar fashion to Pallas , yet again ripping her only friend away from her .

He is not dead yet, and Athena isn't about to let that happen. This time, she fights against Zeus, risks her life and position of being the favorite, and her survival method all because she can't bear to see Odysseus die.

Think of the agonizing fate of Athena, repeatedly being traumatized by her father yet having to do his bidding and stay on his good side to survive and live not for herself for she lives in misery but for the people who suffered for died for their association with her. In her eyes, she must suffer tenfold for letting this happen thrice, for all eternity under the man who so wretchedly ruined her life.

[blushweddinggowns]

Steddie Drunk Dialing Fluff

Steve Harrington-Munson was probably one of the happiest men to be alive in the modern era. He had the perfect life, against all odds. Because apparently having your late teens and early twenties ruined by demons equated to a fantastic adulthood.

He had it all. A loving family, the best friend/surrogate sister he could ever ask for, and he was married to the love of his life. And okay, yes. That had included some extremely embarrassing revelations and internal meltdowns and... a pretty brutal disownment. But he had figured it all out in the end. And here he was, a decade later with a ring on his finger and a nice hyphenated name. Not to mention how he was basically a trophy husband.

Eddie hadn't wasted a moment of the last decade. A symptom of almost dying it would seem. He went for the GED, gathered the band back up, moved across the country to chase his dreams and play in every shitty dive bar he could until they were discovered. All while dragging Steve along for the ride.

As much as Steve had believed in him, neither of them had been prepared for his music career actually taking off. Especially not to the level it did. It was undeniable that his husband was an A-Lister, despite how universally hated he was by half the country. You don't get many out and proud metal front man who loved parading around his high school sweetheart at every social event he could. But Europe loved him, as did the entirety of gay, rebellious youths world wide.

It was so stupid. There Eddie was, painted as an insane freak who was fake-married. With tabloids running story after story about his secret children, his drug addiction, a wife from another country, anything that they could think of. All while Eddie spent every free moment at Steve's side, always opting for a night in with his baby when given the choice. And when he wasn't doing that, he was busy playing surrogate fun uncle to the kids, who were definitly not kids anymore. But that didn't stop them from all getting together for Dungeons and Dragons once a month, hundreds and hundreds of campaign hours on everyone's belts. And that was his life. Spending time with his family, forcing them on hikes and runs, volunteering, working occasionally to help Robin with her translating work, all while coming home to the sweetest thing that ever existed.

God, did Steve love that man. Reminiscing about the love of his life while he was on tour was not helping his fretful sleep. He just... really had given him everything. He loved him so much in fact that he was only slightly pissed when he was woken up at three a.m. from the phone ringing off the hook.

Steve reached for it blindly, still half-asleep when he mumbled, "Mm-Eds?"

"Steeeeeeeeeevie," Eddie's voice slurred back at him, "Baby booooy. How's my baby boy? I miss my baby boy."

Steve smiled despite himself, yawning into the phone. Eddie was lucky he was so cute, considering how the love of his life who could not remember what time zones were, "He misses you too. And he's a little tired right now babe. What's up?"

"Day drunk," Eddie sighed, "Guys, morning show, mimosas, hotel room to sleep it off. Missing you."

"You won't be missing me for long," Steve softly laughed. Though... hearing his voice was quite the reminder of how cold the bed suddenly felt, "Just... one more week. That's not too long right?"

"Too long!" Eddie groaned, dramatic, "I miss you now. Why can't I see you now? Wait-Can I see you now? Cause planes and trains and-"

"And no," Steve interrupted with a chuckle, "You'd only get me for a few hours before you'd have to leave again."

"Worth it," Eddie mumbled out, his voice a little muffled as he tumbled around in his hotel bed, "Want my baby."

The pathetic tilt to his voice was enough to make Steve's heart clench. God he was too precious. Suddenly a red-eye in the middle of the night for a two hour make-out session didn't sound like such a bad idea. But he could be the strong one for tonight, "You have me sweetheart. Want me to stay on until you fall asleep."

"Yes please," Eddie sighed, "Love your voice. It's so... nice. Like... audible perfume. Like poetry or something."

"Oh baby you are wasted," Steve said as he laid back down, nestling the phone to his ear, "Please tell me you drank some water before laying down?"

"... maybe?"

"Babe."

"I knoooow. Keep nagging me though. I missed that too."

"Is my bitching your bed time story?"

He could hear Eddie nodding, rusting against the fabric, "And it's the best. Keep going?"

Steve rolled his eyes, but he did what he was asked. Saying every silly little grievance he could think of. He whined about how cold it was in bed without him, how Eddie had promised to take out the trash before he left and forgot. Again. How he hated how quiet it was without him, how much he missed hearing his voice trailing in and out of every room.

And Eddie listened, mumbling out a few sleepy m'sorrys and I love yous along the way. Until all Steve could hear was the slow, steady sound of his breathing. But he didn't hang up. Not when that was one of his favorite sounds in the world. And the perfect thing to fall asleep to.

Steve smiled to himself as he closed his eyes, a little amazed that Eddie could still make him feel so loved, from hundreds of miles away.

But one thing was for sure. He still had to be the happiest man on earth.

[kirislovelygf]

haunted pt. 1 (ronal x metkayina fem! reader)

content: you and ronal have been married for about 14 years and have lived with the metkayina happily ever since you left the forest. now imagine your surprise when your ex appears out of nowhere with the man she cheated on you with and the family they built together.

content also: ronal x reader, a bit of neytiri x reader, flirting, arguing, secrets, fluff, angst, and uhmmm ronal being the best wife

wrd count: 3.2k

a/n: this might be a two-three parter but i saw this idea floating around here somewhere and thought i’d make my own version without tonowari being part of it bc why. (can you tell i hate men)

꒰ 🥥 ꒱ؘ ࿐ ࿔*:･ﾟ

it was a perfect morning so far. ronal and i were at home, i was taking care of her. the kids were out and about.

tonowari was somewhere, i didn’t really care.

the sun was out and we were happy. until the outsiders came.

i was sitting in our shared marui, styling ronal’s hair while she sat in front of me. i hummed to myself while gently combing through her wavy hair.

“i have to train some of the children today. on the ilu.” i informed her.

“how fun.” she muttered.

i slapped her shoulder. “children respond easier when you don’t yell at them, my love.”

“if you don’t yell, they don’t listen. look at ao’nung.” she said, gesturing to her son playing in the water with his best friend.

one of them tackled the other info the water and was keeping them under the surface.

“that’s strange. when i ask him to do things, he does it the first time i say.” i said.

“yes, with you. i feel like i repeat myself 10 times everyday just to get that boy to listen.” she sighed out. i laughed slightly.

“he’s a teenager. he will grow out of that disobedience phase soon.” i put a finishing charm on the back of her head and then reached for the shell that ronal put on her forehead everyday.

i handed it to her to put on and i looked through my things for a mirror.

once i found it, i held it up to her face so she could look at her reflection. she held it and she started to touch her cheeks.

where her wrinkles were, her birthmarks. any sign of aging she could find.

“i’m getting old, my love.” she sighed out, putting the mirror down. she stands up and turns to help me up as well.

“no, you’re just growing wiser.” i smiled. she laughed and put my arms around her neck.

she hugged my waist closer to her body and kissed me. she pulled away and examined my face.

“you’re not getting any younger either, you know.” she muttered.

“wow. all you know is how to insult, don’t you?”

“i thought it was funny.”

“no.”

“i’m sorry! you know i love you.”

“no, too late.” i tried to get myself off her, but she pulled me back into her embrace. she held my face up to hers and kissed me again.

i laughed against her lips and pulled away when a horn began to sound in the distance.

i turned my head to see the opening of our marui. na’vi we’re running past, diving into the water, rushing all into one direction.

“what’s happening..” i muttered to myself. ronal and i walked toward the tarp that covered the entrance and i pulled it to the side.

i asked one of the villagers why everyone was running.

“apparently other na’vi have landed on the beach.” he said simply.

i looked at ronal all excited to greet the newcomers. but she looked.. worried. and unpleasant.

“let’s go meet them. maybe they’re nice.” i shrugged.

“hmph.” she huffed. she walked past me and onto the woven pathways.

we walked together to the growing cluster of green villagers gathering on the beach.

tonowari, ronal’s ex-husband, had already approached them and was greeting them.

my heart raced when i saw ikrans. my ikran passed away from old age years ago and i hadn’t seen one since then.

“ronal, they’re from the forest! i wonder if they’re omaticaya like me. maybe we’re from the same clan.” i smiled excitedly, grabbing her hand.

“even if they are, they’re still outsiders.” she mumbled.

“ronal. please.” i sighed.

she rolled her eyes. i tugged on her hand to make her look at me.

“i was an outsider too. and you accepted me into the clan.” i said.

she stared with more sympathy. “that’s different.”

“how? you didn’t know me when i arrived. i could’ve been a threat. but you took the time to get to know me, and ended up loving me and who i am.” i said. her gaze softened as i spoke to her.

“please be kind to them, whoever they are. for me.” i nodded.

she stared and kept quiet for a moment. i just kept a smile on my face until she gave in.

“fine.”

i smiled and kissed her cheek. excitedly, i guided her by the hand through the group until we were at tonowari’s side.

in front of me was a na’vi man with long locs, a strong build, and a tired face and a woman beside him with a slim build and the same fatigue.

something about her looked familiar.

her face was mature, like mine.

she looked at me and her eyes struck something in my memory. the way she eyed me curiously, the way her entire family eyed me curiously.

“you.. you’re omaticaya?” the man asked me.

“yes! you come all the way from the forest to here?” i asked. i was astonished that this whole family came here in one piece.

i looked at the wife again and her gaze changed from curiosity to fear.

“y/n.” she spoke.

i tilted my head when she said my name. then i remembered.

i remembered the heartache and the anger i felt when i left home. all of it caused by them. my smile faded away as i spoke her name.

“neytiri..”

she sighed out. i look up at the man. the man who took her from me. he changes so much. he was bigger, stronger.

“jake sully.” i said.

“yeah, uh..” he looked at his wife and she was looking down at the sand, one hand attached to her small daughter.

her family was beautiful. two sons and two daughters. neytiri aged so gracefully. she looked happy. but right now..

“you can’t even look at me?” i said to her.

she said nothing.

ronal put her hand on my shoulder and i looked at her.

she asked if i was alright. i gave her a simple nod, excused myself, and walked away from the group.

i hadn’t seen neytiri in 14 years. i almost forgot what she looked like. she was regal now.

i stepped into the marui and started pacing the floor.

why in the world would she come here? why did she, of all the people in that clan, have to be here?

and oh course, she had to bring that stupid sky person with her. as if her leaving me for him wasn’t enough.

someone walked into the marui, bringing me out of my thoughts. tsireya looked worried and walked toward me.

“mama, what happened? i thought you would be excited for these people, they’re just like you.” she said.

“i’m sorry, tsireya. uhm..”

“what is it?” she asked kindly.

“i know these people. and i’m just a little shocked, i haven’t seen them since i left the forest maybe 14 or 15 years ago. but don't worry about me, i’ll be fine.” i explained.

“are you sure? because mother’s hissing at them.” she said.

“i’m sure she is. don’t worry, i bet your father is going to let them stay anyway.” i chuckled.

tsireya sighed out and i plastered a smile on my face so she wouldn’t worry.

“i’m okay.” i chuckled. i hugged her tightly. she looks up at me and i tuck a few stray strands of hair back into place.

“my little flower. always worried.” i muttered. i held her face in my hands before kissing her forehead.

“my father’s making us teach their children.” she said. i pulled away and held her hands in mine.

“oh, fun! how did ao’nung react?”

“he tried to argue and now he’s being

forced.” she laughed softly.

“aw, poor boy. well, at least you’ll make some new friends.” i said to her.

ronal pulled the tarp aside and walked inside.

“tsireya, go find your brother. i need to speak to mama.” she said kindly.

tsireya nodded and walked out without another word. she let the tarp down and walked toward me.

“what happened? you were so excited a moment ago and then you ran off.” she said.

“i’m sorry, ronal. i shouldn’t have left the way i did.” i sighed.

“is there something i should know about this family? i already know they’re half-demon. whatever you have to tell me can’t be worse than that.” she continued.

“well, i knew them. the mother and the father.” i said.

i never told her the full story of why i left the forest. it hurt to even think about it, so i always gave her the brunt of it whenever she asked.

i always said “i was in a relationship, it ended badly, and i left for a fresh start.” i never gave names or specifics.

“i would have suspected you did. you come from the same clan. that woman, neytiri, knew your name. and you knew hers.” she continued.

“she’s my ex girlfriend. except, she wasn’t a very good one. and it took me by surprise to see her here. i never thought i’d see her again.” i said to her.

ronal sighs softly. she picks up my hand and holds it.

“i wish you would tell me what was so bad about the forest that made you leave. i hate when you leave me in the dark like this.” she said.

i still didn’t want to tell her. i didn’t know how she’d react. ronal is a passionate woman. and her emotions can be a lot.

especially when she’s angry.

“i’m sorry, my love.” i pulled her close and hugged her.

i pull back and hold her hands. “you’ll have to tell me sooner or later. tonowari let them stay.”

“stay for how long…?” i asked.

she winced and hummed, hesitating to give me an answer.

“ronal.” i laughed out.

“well… they’re not leaving any time soon.” she shrugged.

“ugh, i’m going to kill that idiot.” i huffed, letting her hands go. i covered my face and groaned as she chuckled lightly.

“tonowari was being nice.”

“he’s always been too nice.” i grumbled.

i removed the hands from my face and sighed.

“oh right, i need to go. the kids with the ilu, uhm..”

“go. it’s fine. we’ll discuss this later, alright?” she smiled.

i smiled back and gave her a hug before tonowari walked in.

he held his arms out, looking all confused. “what happened?”

“ugghh.” i groaned loudly before walking past him.

“what-“

“don’t speak to me. big-headed idiot.” i grumbled, holding my hand up to his face.

i did what i needed to do for the afternoon and made my way home in the evening as the sun started to go away for the night.

i walked past the marui that neytiri and her family were in. the tarp was pulled to the side so i imagine someone in there saw me walk by.

i confirmed this when i heard her voice call for me.

i looked back and saw her, one foot inside the hut and the other stepped outside.

i sighed out. i knew i’d have to face her sooner or later. i just didn’t think it’d be the day she got here.

“hi, neytiri.” i muttered.

she smiled weakly. she stepped out and pulled the tarp down, walking a bit closer. “i didn’t expect to see you here.”

“i could say the same.” i said as i crossed my arms.

“i know. so this is where you ran off to all those years ago.”

“mhm. thankfully, ronal didn’t threaten me when i arrived.” i said.

“oh.. you heard about that.”

“yes, i did. i also heard that tonowari let your family stay. i didn’t hear for how long though.”

her small smile faded away slightly. “oh.. well the forest isn’t safe for my family. i think we’re staying here for a long time. forever, even.” she winced.

i nodded. i kept my cool, but trust me, i was fuming.

“look, i know what you must think of me after what i did. but i felt really awful for how i treated you, and i still do. the fact that i couldn’t ask for your forgiveness had haunted me these past 14 years.”

“yeah. you hurt me terribly and i just couldn’t stand to be around either of you.” i shrugged.

“i get it.”

i glanced at the open window inside her hut and saw her children inside.

her son was holding her youngest daughter in his lap, both of them smiling and laughing.

“my kids asked about you. they were surprised to see another omaticaya here. of all places.” she said.

the young daughter spotted me and gave me a shy wave. the son said something to her making her look up at him before they both stood and walked away.

“you have a beautiful family.” i smiled.

“thank you.” she muttered.

“i’m sorry i couldn’t give you that.”

she raised her head to look up at me. she was confused and took a step toward me.

“oh, y/n-“

“that’s what you always wanted right? a family. obviously you couldn’t have that being with me.”

“that’s not why i left.” she said loudly. she looked like she said it louder than she should have and glanced at the window of he hit to see if she had caught anyone’s attention.

i just glared at her. i know i didn’t tell my family what happened but the reason she hadn’t told her was because she knew what she did was wrong.

“i didn’t mean to fall in love with him.” she said in a more hushed tone.

“what kind of excuse is that, neytiri?” i laughed out.

“i know how it sounds. i know i lied to you about jake and how i felt about him. and i’m so sorry.” she reached for my hand but i took it away.

“you didn’t just lie. you tried to convince me you two weren’t in love. told me i was crazy and jealous and how you couldn’t possibly love a dreamwalker.”

she sighed out and glanced at the hut.

“what? you don’t want your kids to find out you’re a liar-“ she grew terrified and grabbed my head, one hand holding it in place and the other covering my mouth.

“and a cheater!” i yelled into her palm.

“stopstopstop! please, i’m sorry. please don’t say it so loud.” she hissed.

i glared up at her. she removed her hand and winced.

“i’m really sorry.”

“oh you’re really sorry?”

“are you going to behave this way the entire time i’m here?” she snapped.

i shrugged. she sighed out and looked at her hut. “you’re still the same.”

“what is that supposed to mean?”

“you’re sassy and argumentative.. and getting on my nerves.” she snapped.

i laughed at how irritated she was getting.

“i’m going inside. will i have to see you tomorrow for training?” she asked, crossing her arms.

“no.”

she sighed out.

“you’ll see my wife, though. have fun with that.” i smiled.

i left her there before she could respond to me.

the next day comes and everyone splits off to train with the new family.

tsireya and ao’nung were out by the ilu pen with neytiri’s children, tonowari and a few of his friends were training jake sully.

and ronal was getting ready to go with neytiri.

“are you sure you will be okay by yourself?” she asked me as she looked in a mirror, fixing her headpiece.

“i’ll be okay. i have friends besides you and wari.” i chuckled.

“that’s funny.” she said with a blank stare.

“i’d honestly rather have you help her than me.” she said as she stood up.

“why? we would just bicker and get nothing done. all neytiri likes to do is argue.” i grumbled.

“i know, but it’s awkward for us. your ex girlfriend being trained by her ex’s new wife. it’s just too much.” she groaned. i laughed.

“i know this must be so hard for you.” i dragged on dramatically.

“stay strong for me, my love. you’ll get through this.” i kissed the tip of her nose, making her deadly stare fade into a laugh.

“if you need me, i’ll be on the other side of the island.” i walked past her and left the marui, smiling at the sound of her laughter.

i had to walk past the sully hut to get to where i was going and i just did my hair, so i couldn’t dive in the water to just swim there.

i sighed out and walked past really quickly, trying my best not to look inside.

i turned a corner and a little girl was staring up at me and standing in my path.

“oh!” i muttered. it’s neytiri’s youngest daughter. wow, she looks exactly like neytiri when she was that age.

“hi, little one. are you lost?” i asked.

“oh… no. i’m not.” she answered.

“uhm.. okay.” i nodded. i hesitantly walked past her but her stare never let up. i start walking away when she calls for me. “wait!”

“yes?” i looked back at her.

she starts nervously fidgeting with her hands.

“are you.. omaticaya?” she asks.

i smiled softly. “yes, i am.”

“really?! i knew it! i told my mom but she didn’t believe me!” she exclaimed.

“aw, well.. now you know.” i shrugged.

“i’m tuk! how long have you been here?” she continued.

“uh.. hi, tuk. i’ve been here a long time.”

“wow.. dk you like it here? i like it here a lot, but i miss home. do you miss home?” she spoke super quickly and it made me laugh.

“uhm.. yes i love it here. and i miss home sometimes, but it’s okay.” i told her.

“you’re very pretty.” she smiled.

“aw thank you! so are you, little one.” i said, putting a bright smile on her face.

“tuk? tuk!” her mother called. i grew horrified but quickly changed my face when i remembered her daughter was standing in front of me.

“your mother’s looking for you.” i said.

and just in perfect time, neytiri turned the corner to find her daughter and i. her eyes grew wide before looking down at tuk.

“tuk, come.” she held her hand out.

“okay..” tuk takes her moms hand but looks back at me.

“bye.. uhm, what was your name?” she asks.

“oh..” i glanced up at neytiri who avoided my eye contact like the plague.

“it’s y/n. i’ll see you both around.” i bowed my head slightly before quickly walking away.

“don’t look back, don’t look back, just keep walking,-“ i muttered quickly as i sped up.

-neytiri’s pov-

“tuk, come.” i said to her.

i watched y/n nervously and tried to get tuk away as quickly as i could but i know she can’t help her curiosity.

“okay.. bye, uh.. what was your name?” she asked y/n.

shit.

y/n glanced at me and i tried so hard not to look at her.

she told tuk her name before leaving and we walked back to our marui.

“mama, you should be friends with y/n. you will enjoy having someone like us here.” she said sweetly.

she smiled back at me before jumping back into the marui. i sighed out.

“i think you’re right, tuk.” i smiled at her.

i looked up at the sky before muttering. “i’m sorry for lying to her. i’ll tell her when she’s older.” i prayed.

eywa might strike me with lightning.

꒰ 🥥 ꒱ؘ ࿐ ࿔*:･ﾟ

[moutainrusing]

party

dorlene july event, 702 words, @enbysiriusblack

For her sixtieth birthday, Dorcas did not want a party. She did not want a big deal to be made about her increment into old age, the fact that her first digit would now be six instead of five.

Sixty was proper old. If she told someone she was sixty, she may as well be telling them that she was old-fashioned and confused about the times. Not not with the times out of choice, but genuinely perplexed, with a worn-out brain struggling to process things. Obviously, she knew sixty year olds weren’t like that; in fact, most of them, if not all, were like their fifty-nine year old selves but more educated, like their fifty-eight year old selves but with a broader range of understanding, like their fifty-seven year old selves, constantly growing and learning new things. But according to society, it was impossible for old people to grow, apparently.

The younger generation. Dorcas hated calling them that. There wasn’t even time for evolution between her and the so-called younger generation. They were all homo sapiens, humans with emotions and reason, people who could relate to each other, except for some reason, they chose not to.

Old people were too old. Therefore, Dorcas would simply not declare herself as old.

With this in mind, she’d requested her wife, Marlene, not to throw her a party. (Honestly, how could someone call her backward when she was a woman married to another woman, who’d adopted all their children to make their beautiful family?)

Dorcas’s present would be the gift of ignorance, the fact that suddenly, the whole world seemed to forget it was her birthday. Surely that meant she wasn’t ageing. Surely that meant she was just living another day in her good old fifties. Perfect, not too old. Fifties sounded so good.

- - -

“Fifty is too old,” Marlene hissed in an imitation of Dorcas ten years ago. “Dorcas always says this. I’m throwing a party anyway.”

Lily bit her lip sceptically. “But won’t she suspect it then? She’ll remember that every time she says this, you go and do it anyway. What if she disappears for the whole day?” From worried to playful in an instant, Lily smirked, “I would, if I knew you were planning my party.”

Marlene scowled. “Well, I’m not the only one planning this party. You’re here to help me,” she grudgingly admitted.

Lily smiled, “For obvious reason.”

Marlene flipped her the bird, but instead of leaving, Lily got to work. She was so good at reading body language. Perfect party planner. Marlene wasn’t going to tell her that though.

- - -

“Okay, fine, you’re the perfect party planner,” Marlene gushed after five hours, because this party was going to be through-the-roof spectacular thanks to her best friend.

- - -

Dorcas was having an ordinary day, one like any other. She was happy. No mention of birthdays anywhere.

Then why did she feel so gutted? She wanted this! This was perfect!

Dorcas felt a bit hollow. Someone just acknowledge her! Just… remember she existed! But she didn’t want that!

When she got home, the house was exactly as it had been in the morning. Her grandkids hadn’t even thought to at least visit her! She raised them!

Marlene wasn’t even home yet! That was her wife! Could she not even kiss her wife on her… well, not birthday, but shouldn’t she at least get a kiss from the love of her life?! Was this too much to ask for?!

She shouldn’t even have to ask! Their love should be one hundred percent unconditional, but no, apparently, everyone had forgotten her existence.

Sulking, she stormed through the corridor and into the living room, reaching to switch on the light—

“SURPRISE!”

- - -

Marlene grinned at her wife, holding up a huge cake decorated with icing sheets of Dorcas’s face through the ages, a celebration of the life of the most amazing person on the planet, who lived in the terrains of Marlene’s heart so comfortingly and comfortably.

Their children and grandkids and friends and family surrounded her, all cheering, “Happy birthday!”

Marlene stepped closer to Dorcas and whispered, “No one cares how old you are. All we care about is the fact that you’re here with us.”

[abbysimsfun]

Sims In Bloom: Generation 2 Pt. 51 (Unflirty Heather Said 'No More Free Love!')

Brindleton Pawspital was always a hotbed for local gossip. More than once, Heather caught her employees and her customers cheating on their spouses in the lobby - sometimes even in the exam rooms!

Heather was so unflirty, the town's hands-off approach to extramarital romance had started to get a little disturbing. And now she had a boyfriend in town, so the last thing she wanted to think about was "free love."

None of it should have been any of her business, but she could get drawn into salacious rumours as much as the next person - especially if they were making out right under her nose!

But she had a hunch one such rumour would interest her mother, and called her one morning to pass on what she'd learned.

"I heard a rumour about the old creature keeper and grocer from Henford. You remember Hayes Harms and Abby Goldbloom, don't you?"

"Of course! They moved to Brindleton Bay and had three children together! It was a lovely happy ending to all those years of pining."

"Apparently it wasn't always happy ever after once they got here. Do you remember that old vet tech who used to work here when I was in high school? Our pets loved her, but then she left town without a trace and no one ever heard from her again."

"Emi Kudo! She was so sweet. I always wondered what happened to her!"

"I overheard someone at the clinic say she left town pregnant with Hayes' baby when he chose his wife over his mistress!"

(She had twins, and she lives in world. I know where she is and she will be back. Less so for her and moreso because one of those twins is evil and I've earmarked them to be hated by all of us for good reason in the future, so that'll be fun!)

Daisy gasped. "You're kidding? He did that to his wife?! He was always so quiet and unassuming."

"It might not be true. I'm not about to talk to the Harms, but if it is true, he might've been influenced by the free love action plan. It makes people flirty with people they barely know, or know are married. They're practically possessed. And all for influence! I can't imagine seeing someone else flirt with Conrad!"

"So maybe you should try to repeal it," suggested her mother. "Your father spearheaded a couple campaigns to get rid of things like public fighting here in Henford, and with how popular you and your clinic are, you should be able to get enough signatures in no time."

Taking her mother's advice, Heather started working to convince the locals to repeal the provision and replace it with something less scandalous, like support for performing arts.

Campaigning was going well, and she was happy to see Cassandra's brother Alexander one morning when he arrived with one of the Goth family cats. "Al, hi! How was the honeymoon in Sulani?"

"It was incredible. Lydia didn't want to leave."

"I hear it's beautiful there. But I expected to see your mother with Frankie today. Is she alright?"

"Oh, she'll be fine. She's just packing up Diego's things and she'll either be throwing them into the bay or taking them over to the Chopra place down the road. I don't think she's decided yet."

"What do you mean? What happened?"

"She found Diego in bed with Rahul Chopra. She broke up with him on the spot and I heard Diego and Rahul ran down to the courthouse to get married the same day."

"I'm stunned," said Heather. "Who gets left by their partner for another man twice but your poor mother? I'm so sorry."

"Don't be. She was fine after my father left and she knows she'll be fine again. She has no intention of being anything less than fabulous this time around, too. She's already talking about taking a trip to Ciudad Enamorada to test out the singles scene."

Heather chuckled. "I believe it." She grabbed the clipboard next to her espresso machine. "I'm not sure if you checked the community board on your way in, but I'm actually sponsoring a repeal of the free love action plan this weekend. It won't stop everyone from unnecessary public displays of affection, but it might be nice if your mother's next partner is a little less focused on scoring romantic influence points around town."

Alexander reached for her pen. "I know my mother can take care of herself, but I'm happy to sign it. Lydia's the only one for me as it is."

Once Alexander signed the petition, she had enough signatures for it to pass. Though a few of the town's randier residents were unhappy, most Brindletonians appreciated that their marriages were now much less under threat.

Heather returned home to find her son and Conrad laughing and playing helicopter upstairs, and she smiled with gratitude. ->

<- Previous Chapter | Gen 2 Start | Gen 1 Summary | Gen 1 Start

NOTE: Diego really did this and I was so annoyed. I went out of my way to hook up this randomly generated townie spawn with THE Bella Goth after she thought he was handsome, and spent way too much of my time during Cassandra and River's wedding building up their friendship and flirting. The one thing I didn't do was get them married because it felt way too soon. And he repaid me like this!

One might say it was the final straw in the Watcher's tolerance for the Romantic Aura neighbourhood action plan that had been on by default since Heather moved, and set my unflirty sim in motion. 😂 Although I'm big on control over sims in-world and that's the real reason I don't like this action plan, Heather's negative moodlets from catching the cheaters messed with her work so it had to go. When she was upset she couldn't be warm with animals, so she couldn't start exams unless she was rude, which meant exams were taken by her less-skilled vet techs and didn't help the rating I'm already struggling to raise!

FUN(?) FACT: I never got any good screenshots of the cheating because it always happened out of nowhere with sims I had no control over, so I tried to stage some to set up this post (AFTER the repeal because I'm so good at this!) and Liberty (Lee) Huntington understood the assignment just enough, but this is how Brant Hecking reacted to getting hit on by Mitchell Kalani 🙉 😂:

[chromotps]

uhhh thoughts on alabasta ratman sleep-deprived and weed fueled ace vs peak chad energy fuckboy prime wano ace?? like which one do you prefer, do you have any thoughts if he’d treat/think of luffy any different? in these two periods of his life?

(also ugh I adore both and there’s something special about alabasta ace who went after luffy to drum island, made sure everyone knew he would be waiting for luffy in alabasta, then went and sat there for 10 days with no other purpose but to wait for luffy. bc he just wanted to see him so so much. brocon alabasta ace is uhhhgggghh insane vibes but. there’s also something about wano graciously giving everyone big tits and a healthy layer of fat tissue on top of all that muscle. also the fact that portgas d “i hate when little children follow me around” ace willingly befriended and took care of tama. also promised her the same thing he promised luffy. idkidkidk I just like to think luffy was on ace’s mind 90% of the time, wherever he went, and he often just thought about him bc a lot of thinks reminded him of luffy. like things luffy would like, things he’d like to eat, things he’d find funny etc)

I thought this would be easy to answer but then I had like a whole essay typed up in my head. so. thank you for this ask, I have a lot of feelings about it apparently. 😂😂

they really do feel like 2 different characters, maybe bc Oda was still firming up the details of marineford/wano when Ace first appeared in alabasta? In any case it's always fun seeing which "version" of him fans lean into in fanart/fic/headcanons hahaha. like do they make him more scrungly and sleazy (but maybe also secretly doting)? you got yourself a greasy Ace fan. do they make him all upstanding and softly affectionate and soulful? wano ace wano ace wano ace

(a lot more rambling from here)

I have to admit...... and I'm ashamed to say it............... but I was only half-aware of Ace in Alabasta—like at that point, he was just another "wacky cool shounen guy" to me. It took Marineford breaking my brain down to its component parts and rearranging them for my full Ace brainrot to set in, and at that point he was closer to Ethereal Fridged Wife wano Ace, so I'd probably go with that one? God I do need to rewatch Alabasta tho, I feel like it'd be such a trip of fawning over greasy ratman Ace this time around ahahahah

I think it took until Marineford for me to really latch onto Ace bc it was outwardly like: Alabasta Ace: I'm cool Marineford Ace: I'm cool [ironic][hiding INTENSE self-worth issues]

I agree with everything you said though... I love wrinkly, wrung-out-to-dry Alabasta Ace and his devil-may-care coolness. His vibes of being just a bit more of a rebel than any of the Strawhats even, the thing that makes people cast him as a guitarist or artist in modern AUs. that fuckin,,,,, crouch/perching thing he does,,,, The WAITING... he's so understated with his devotion, like, this panel??

he's trying to be so cool and older brother-y but really he just wants his little brother to visit him sometimes!!! he waited for luffy for 10 days when he's been prioritizing this mission over everything else, even being with his other found-family crew, and I just!!! sigh

"any thoughts if he’d treat/think of luffy any different" I so agree that Wano Ace is pre-Whitebeard Ace, meaning that even though he's presenting himself as independent and a leader/captain, there's a part of him that's still very angry and searching for acceptance. And yesss, bc of that he was probably holding his memories of Luffy so close all the time, seeing his brother who loves him in the innocent, trusting kid he helps, and unable to stop bragging about his brave little brother to the brash, impressive club-weilding guy he runs into.

meanwhile I feel like Alabasta Ace is actually more mellowed-out in his feelings toward Luffy, in a way? like idk, maybe—I might be completely off—but he's more secure in himself and his attachment to Luffy... or at least he tells himself he is. I just feel like that explains why he's shown to be so openly brag-y about Luffy in his Wano days, but seems way more laidback in Alabasta, haha (but the brocon devotion is still there, just better-hidden, lmaoooo) (and it gets ripped to the forefront during Marineford—he's forced to confront all that fear and attachment when he sees Luffy hurtling through the air toward him AH)

god tho. wano ace. wano ace and this gif

the things. the things i want to do to this man. the morals i would abandon. unspeakable.

and this???? him??????????????? sunkissed angel backlit like the once-in-a-lifetime love interest in a twee indie film???

yeah I... in summary, I feel like I have 60/40 preference for Wano Ace over Alabasta Ace, but really it's that mix of all those qualities that I like to bring in when i can.

(my secret third answer is Marineford Ace. the blorbo who started it all, lmao)

[zenia62]

Daendels Downfall as Governor-General

Hii everyone!! ✨️ As I promised, I'll be explaining on why Daendels was replaced as a governor-general of the Dutch East Indies. It's going to be a bit complicated n long but I'll try my best to summarize them ^^

In an article I've read, when Daendels ruled the Dutch East Indies, many Dutch people despise his action as it was heavily inspired by the French Empire style. Before Daendels arrival, the Dutch ppl had divided powers among themselves and basically did some corruption to enrich themselves aswell. Ever since he came, they all lost many of their income n those who disagree with his way of ruling etc, will be sent back to their homeland by boat.

Those who got sent back complained abt Daendels to the minister of Holland at that time, Van Der Heim. The thing was, Van Der Heim also hated Daendels. So he used this opportunity to bring him down. Van Der Heim started a campaign to remove Daendels from the position of governor-general. He believed that Daendels should be replaced by Jan Willem Janssens.

"Jan Willem was shy of a good job. Although he realized that he might not have been the most capable person for the Indies, he really wanted to tackle something new"

Van Der Heim n Janssens are friends and Janssens himself was able to make a good first impression on everyone. The example can be seen bellow.

"At that time he was part of the Dutch segation that came to inform Napoleon in Rambouillet of Louis's 'decision' to resign. On the spot, he had a long meeting with Napoleon about Indies affairs on August 16, in which he – apparently successfully – conveyed the last gossip about Daendels."

The worst part was that Van Der Heim said to have stopped paying Dutch salary (maybe like a subsidies?) To Aleida, Daendels wife, while he was ruling in the Dutch East Indies.

"On July 31, in a new letter to the emperor, he wrote: "Daendels is a bad man, but we have his wife and his children". It does say something about the level of Lebrun, or about the culture of the French empire at that time, to immediately see the family of the governor-general of the Indies as a hostage."

Why would Lebrun (Friend of Van Der Heim I believe. I kinda forgot 😔) held Daendels family hostage?? I still don't understand this part to be honest. But it doesn't end here. Van Der Heim also wrote a critic report about Daendels.

"One of his biggest aproaches against Daendels was that he had wrongly reported that it was quiet in Bantam (Banten)."

"Another accusation was that Daendels brigadier, Sandol Roy had been deposed on Java."

Actually, talking abt Sandol Roy, he was a commander-in-chief of the Batavian army in Dutch East Indies. He was actually planning to arrested Daendels when he arrived in the Indies, but I think before he can do that, Daendels sent him back to homeland for being too old in the army? (istg I read this somewhere but I forgot 🫠)

Back to Lebrun, on August 20 1810, he wrote the most horrible things abt Daendels to Napoleon. Lebrun also agreed to replace Daendels. He wrote this to Napoleon.

“There is a French officer here, a brigadier general, a brother of Rouget de Lille, the author I believe of the Marseillaise. He was supposed to go to Batavia with Daendels, but was captured during the crossing. I believe he can be trusted.”

Napoleon responded w this.

“I don't know who Rouget de Lille's brother is. I think I'm going to send a Dutchman.”

September 6 : “Because of the language I want to send – from Saint Malo – Dutch troops, a small battalion with four companies of 120 men each. Find good officers for me. Send me Daendels' correspondence.”

At this point, I feel like Napoleon had been influenced by those ppl that Daendels is bad. Not long after this Napoleon sent Denis Decres, a French minister to Holland. According to him, Daendels must be replaced immediately.

And finally at November 16, 1810, Napoleon made his decision to send Janssens to Java, his salary (500.000 francs) were 3 times higher than Daendels. At November 24, 1810, Decres officially wrote a resignation letter to Daendels on behalf of Napoleon.

“The Emperor has informed himself of your correspondence, especially your letters to the king. The king had an unpleasant feeling left by your letter of November 30 last year. The poor state of your health was the reason for him to send you a successor. He thought it was good for you to give you some peace after a few years in the bad climate of Java.”

Decres was js yapping reasons imo as I never found any evidence so far abt Daendels complaining being ill or anything but anway-

On May 16 1811, Daendels handed his stuff to Janssens who had js arrived in the Dutch East Indies. While all this were happening, Napoleon was informed on how they (I assumed are soldiers) saw that Daendels had served the French well.

“The French flag flies everywhere in this colony. Daendels has implemented the change with caution and wisdom”

“I have seen the most beautiful country in the world. No one in Europe has any idea about this. Daendels has achieved great things in a short time. In times of war, he was completely on his own. He restored authority, built up an army without help from abroad and built major roads so that communication, transport of troops and ammunition is possible from one end of the island to the other [more than 1000 kilometers].”

“When we arrived in this country, we found the French flag on all the forts. General Daendels had made everyone swear the oath of allegiance to the emperor and that went very solemnly. You cannot imagine how active this general is and what he has done for the service of the colony."

When Daendels returned back to France on November 1811, he met Decres. After having an interview w him, Decres told Napoleon that they had made a mistake for replacing Daendels as he had done much better than they had heard/assumed. Not long after this, Janssens in the Indies had failed to protect the attack of the British and Dutch East Indies was later ruled by Raffles.

That's all for now ^^ I'm sorry if there is misinformation due to translation 🙏 Feel free to correct me or if u know more, pls do tell me 🫶 This topic to me kinda made me feel angry at Napoleon for js believing those ppl so easily without thinking twice 😮‍💨 The fact that Janssens ended up js giving away Dutch East Indies so easily to the British was the worst part. If Daendels replacement were at least the same level as him then maybe it would be a different story but- 😭😭 I feel bad for Daendels at this part 😕 Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this n if y'all have any questions, feel free to ask🫡 I'll try to answer them. Thank you guys for reading this n have a great day!! 🌙

[tiredbonbon]

…Affairs

Pairing: William Afton x gn! Reader

Summary: You lived in your small, shitty town all your life, with nothing very interesting happening to you, until at least, you catch the eye of one of your dad‘s friends.

Warnings!: age gap (reader is an adult), flirty William bc thats how it is, inappropriate relationships(?)

A.note: soo this is the firt time i write anything on this blog, if the writing in here isn’t the best please excuse me I am trying this kind of stuff for the first time and have to see if I feel comfy with it and what the response is, feel free to offer criticism in my dm‘s or leave requests in my inbox, reader is gender neutral btw.

——————————————————————

Picture creds: Noisx

______________________________________________________________________

You had been living in the small town you were born in for all your life, and that meant all your life, you never spent a year abroad, never went to schools outside and even vacations or visits out of town were never longer than a week. You basically knew this place like your right pocket, and everyone there knew you and you and your family as well.

It wasn’t that you particularly hated it, it was more that you were so goddamn bored of it, this place felt like a desert at times, and really, the only thing that even attracted people from outside was the diner down the streets, ‚Freddy Fazbears Pizza‘ a pizzeria ran by two of your fathers friends he met in college. The place was actually a huge hit all around the state, gradually extending its popularity all around the country, which was because of, you guessed, the children’s entertainment animatronics that had always been the face of the franchise.

Despite it easily being the hottest place in town for both children and adults, it wasn’t a place you particularly liked to spend your time at, first of, the animatronics always creeped you out a little bit, secondly, since Henry was particularly close to your dad, should you have run into him at the restaurant, you‘d always have to awkwardly try and chitchat, which was nearly unavoidable with him being at the place like every day anyway. The only time you ever really went down there was when your parents asked you to go and pick up some pizza to eat for lunch or dinner and despite him sometimes being a bit too friendly for your own taste, Henry was a nice man, often times telling you to keep the money your dad gave you and to take the food on the house, that was always a welcomed boost for your wallet.

Right now, you sat on the sidelines of your family’s garden in the shade trying to block out the soldering heat that was a summer in Utah, your family was hosting a barbecue at your house, inviting Henry with his wife and kid, as well as the Aftons from down the block, you never knew them as well as the Emilys, but you were always well aware of their existence.

In the garden, three kids ran around the active sprinklers, Charlotte, Elizabeth and Evan. Out of the bunch, Charlie was the one that you were most comfortable with, she was a nice and respectful kid and most of all knew her boundaries, while on the other hand Elizabeth was just too extroverted and energetic for your taste, and while he was a good kid at heart, Evan always felt like a bit of a time bomb. You never wanted to handle the awkwardness of accidentally making a small child cry that you always felt came with interacting with him.

Both Liz and Evan belonged to the Aftons, they did have another brother called Michael, but just like you, he was long an adult and instead of jumping around the cold sprinklers rather sat in the shade, far away from anyone else.

You looked up to the parents mostly standing out in the middle of the porch, your mum and dad were both next to the active grills, chatting with Henry and his wife, while off on the side a bit away from them, there he was, William.

Honestly, you never spend a lot of time around him, for one, when you were down at the pizzeria, he was apparently working in the back and when you were home, if Michael was telling the truth he was usually in the downstairs basement working on new ‚creations‘. All enough to tell you that he wasn’t very sociable which felt a bit ironic knowing he managed a restaurant chain targeted at kids.

The only times you saw him was when he occasionally chatted with your dad in front of the house, peeking out his office at the pizzeria or that one time he helped your mom fix her car, but really you didn’t remember the last time you saw him like this, in a populated area with his family, standing around in the open.

Visually, you didn’t find him particularly …unappealing, he was a tall, slender guy, with short and messy brown hair and most times in mediocrely formal attire, his eyes were quite cool and most times sunken in with a typical, wide, british grin, which was also mirrored in his accent.

Who were you really kidding here? You didn’t think of your dad‘s friend as unattractive, he was the typical, dilfy, older guy for you, and finding him so appealing was also one of the factors why you didn’t really come around to the pizzeria the last few years. You questioned your tastes a little bit, after all, a lot of the neighborhood kids and even some teens were straight up terrified of William for one reason or another and avoided his mere sight at all costs.

You sighed, trying to brush the thoughts out of your head, you wished you could have just watched this all from your room, but your parents insisted that you stayed outside with them now that you were ‚one of the adults‘.

„Y/n!“ you flinched suddenly realizing your dad was calling out to you, you shifted from the stones you were sitting on as quick as possible as you hurried over to know what he wanted.

„Gosh darling is your hearing okay?“ he shook his head as you tried recovering from your total daze earlier, he sighed, „ugh… would you be so kind and fetch some plates from inside, oh, and some ice pops for the kids?“ he asked.

„Oh uh, yeah sure.“ you replied swiftly, you didn’t mind getting away from the others outside for a little. You quickly walked inside and into the kitchen, leaning over the counter to pull around a recent newspaper, your eyes scanning around the articles for a bit as you slacked down into one of the kitchen island‘s stools and reading trough the texts, losing grasp of what you were even supposed to do.

„Still in here, eh?“ you perked up at the sudden voice in the room, mortified to see William of all standing at the opposite side of the kitchen island, crossing his arms.

Your scrambled up, nearly knocking over the stool you were on with you on it and barely preventing a fall, „Oh uh- Mr. Afton, do you need anything?“ His lips twitched up at your sudden nervousness and loss of composure, „Your fatha‘ told me to go in here to check on you, said��� he didn’t want you sneaking off to your room.“

You hissed a little, knowing thats the exact type of thing your dad would say, not taking into account if it‘d embarrass you or not. You folded the newspaper back up and quickly pushed past him to go to the kitchen cabinets in which the plates were, almost feeling nervous as his arms barely crossed yours. „Don’t rush, I‘m not gonna blame ya‘ „

You turned back to him raising an eyebrow in confusion, „I‘m not an ‚extrovert‘ myself yknow‘ , Henry‘s usually the one handling the kids down at the diner.“ he leaned against the counter behind him as you pulled out a few plates from the cabinets and set them down, chuckling awkwardly.

You undoubtedly felt embarrassed being completely alone with him, not that it had even happened before anyway. You had no idea what to say, or talk about, but then, one small thing still came to your mind. „So uh, are you building any more of those …robots?“

He chuckled, „oh yeah, plenty, are you interested in that sorta stuff y/n?“ fuck, that was the first time you think you had even heard him say your name at all. „Heh- A little maybe, I was kinda curious I guess.“

„hmhm, well I‘m flattered, you can come down to the diner sometime, I‘d be happy to show you some the endos we use.“ he offered, it did seem sorta interesting… you always kinda wondered how those animatronics looked like without the faux fur covers, although, you weren’t sure if it wouldn’t be equally terrifying.

You turned back to the plates, you weren’t sure how many would be used, so you just got a good stack. You bent down to the cooler, cramming around for any ice pops to keep the children at bay for a while. „So, you got yourself a fit bloke round‘ here?“ you felt yourself a bit startled at the sudden questioning, trying to keep your eyes fixed on the cooler and not up to meet his.

„Eh- no Sir, I‘ve uh.. I‘ve never had a boyfriend before I don’t really like the guys around here.“ you replied, that was actually the truth, most the people your age around here were far from your type, your mom had asked you plenty of times what you thought about Michael, and while he definitely aged better than most around there, you couldn’t see anything like that with him.

„Well, what about the men?“ you nearly choked for a moment, awkwardly laughing as if what he said was just some generic joke, yet you had no real idea what he actually meant by it. You finally scrambled out the ice pops from the freezer, putting them on top of the stacks of plates, „Are ya sure you can carry all that by yourself?“ he asked, you paused, looking at the stack for a moment, but before you could reply he had already pushed himself beside you and picked up half the stack himself.

You smiled awkwardly, „Thank you Mr. Afton…“

You quickly picked up your stack, following him outside as you didn’t want to bother your parents anymore with your reluctance, “there you are y/n, what in the world you took so long?” Your father asked seeing you finally leave the building, you were already prepared for a long lecture and being damned to stand next to him by the grill but to your surprise, before you had to say anything, William answered for you, “Bloody hell Bill give them a rest would you? We were just inside having a chat.”

Your father looked over to William, then to you, before seemingly calming down, “Whatever you say Will…” before you could turn to thank him however, Elizabeth and Charlie were already scrambling to steal the ice pops you had from you. Precious kids.

Quickly after you were done handing out ice pops to the kids, you were urged by your mom to help deck out the table for everyone to eat, while doing so, unwillingly your gaze often wandere back to William, who had taken back the spot at the side of the porch, simply leaning against the wall, on occasion meeting your eyes only to have you scrambling back to deck our plates with napkins to which you swore you could hear him chuckle in the distance, his mere presence was seriously starting to kill you.

After everyone sat down to eat, of course he had to be sat right next to you, and sure maybe the bench you sat on was a little cramped since elizabeth wanted to sit right next to her father, but surely not so cramped that his shoulder had to be constantly pressing against yours right..?

“So y/n, are you still on the lookout for a job? Like I said I’d always offer you a place down at the diner.” Henry mentioned, “Ah no worries, I’m still trying to manage my work from home since its the easiest at the moment.” You replied, your form stiffening even more when William turned his head to you.

It probably didn’t look weird to the others, but for you he was starting to be so close you felt his breath on your neck, his eyes always threatening to meet yours should you just risk the tiniest glance over at him.

“Thats a shame, I’m sure you’d look fantastic in one of our work uniforms.” The comment made most adults at the table chuckle, even Henry, but for you, it split your mind, you felt your emotions make you dizzy

Before he could say anything else, as if your hand moved on its own, you ‘accidentally’ knocked over your glass of lemonade, spilling it all over your top and shorts.

“Oh- Y/n are you okay??” Charlotte peeked up from her side of the table, you quickly stood up, “Oh yeah- please excuse me I’ll go change in my room!” And before your parents or anyone else could say something you rushed back inside and upstairs, sliding down your door as soon as you slammed it shut.

Fuck

You had absolutely no idea what had just happened to your mind, it was like the pinnacle of tension in your body, not even neccecarily awkwardness but something else. You slowly got back up and took a deep breath before taking off your now very sticky shirt and shorts, ‘ am I letting myself get so tense just because of that man? What is wrong with me??’

You crammed out a new pair of shorts and a tshirt, god previously you didn’t even talk to William and now after so little interaction you were letting him get to you so much? For gods sake he was your dads friend and probably old enough to be your father too, this… this wasn’t becoming more than a silly crush right?

You grabbed a pillow from your bed and hit it atop your own head, trying to quite literally bonk yourself, by now, the sun had gone down, and surely it was time for everyone to leave anyways, you could surely go downstairs now right? Sure your dad would be pissed for you not saying goodbye to your guests, but you’d just have to deal with that.

You slowly made your way back down, it was awfully quiet, ‘huh… maybe they left already?’ It would have been much to your gratitude.

‘Huh… seems like it’ the front porch was empty, only the grills coal slowly burning out, you breathed a sigh of relief slowly backing away to lean against your kitchen island in victory, but ran into something else halfway, immediately flinching back.

Great. Just your fucking luck.

“AH- Mr- Mr. Afton, Im so sorry I thought you and your family were already gone-“ you stuttered, trying to hold composure even though you had just blatantly walked right into his chest, but he once again, merely chuckled.

“Its all right luv, I just wanted to say goodbye to ya, its not even me and you see each other aight?” You felt your face heat up, now it wasn’t just tension, it was straight up making you blush, was he meaning to do this????

“Oh of course- have a good night Mr. Afton, I- I’ll say hello next time in down at the diner!”

“Just visit me in my office, I’d be happy to have you around.” He grinned, one last time, before turning away from you, “Liz, Evan, Michael! Get over here we are going home.

You stood in the kitchen for another few moments, dumbfounded, red and confused.

This was, definitely becoming more than a silly crush.

[slytherinshalo]

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑 & 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐀𝐌𝐁

parts: 𝐈,𝐈𝐈, 𝐈𝐈𝐈

「 𖤐 TOM 𖤐 」

𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐒 𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐑, seventh year the year everything went to shit muggle borns started disappearing and dropping like flies. The year I created the Knights of Walpurgis, to help protect the muggle borns children of the next generation of witches and wizards from whatever was causing them to become more vulnerable.

In creating this group morana, my love, my fiancé was there with me every step of the way, she became my second in command, she’s the reason why the girls of this group are also here with us now besides the fact that we all have the same goal.

「 𖤐 MORANA 𖤐 」

𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐒 𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐑, I can’t believe what I just what I just found, professor dumbledore and the order are killing muggle born witches and wizards. Once I told the knights of my finding, Tom was shaking with anger, Lilly, Edward shaking with anxiety, the rest of us shaking with fear for not only our friends but for the muggle borns that attend our school.

I grabbed Tom’s hand knowing it calms him down, so he doesn’t do anything that puts him in azkaban. We vow to keep not only Lilly and Edward safe but also the muggle borns of Hogwarts safe, the muggle borns of the next generation safe, we vowed to not only keep them safe but we found families that would take them in as wards, raise them from birth if they have to until they are of age when they can decide if they want to stay in the magical world or live in the muggle world.

𝐓𝐖𝐎 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐒 𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐑, I can’t believe it a year after finally getting married to the love of my life, I gave him his first child, a baby boy, named Tom Marvolo Riddle Jr, after his father just with a different middle name. My sweet boy he’s so small, yet so adorable.

「 𖤐 TOM 𖤐 」

𝐓𝐖𝐎 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐒 𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐑, I can’t believe it, he’s finally here, my first son, my first child, my name sake, my wife, merlin it still feels so surreal to be calling her that, my beautiful wife is so strong, her labor wasn’t the easiest but they’re both still here, both sleeping peacefully.

Our friends and my family came to see her and the baby, morana at first was very hesitant to allow anyone but me to hold him, but after an awhile she let everyone see him, we even showed baby regulus him.

𝐅𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐒 𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐑, shit shit shit, this wasn’t supposed to happen, I had no other choice he was going to hurt my family, my wife and my sons I couldn’t allow that, I had to kill that muggle man, this was never the goal of the knights, Fuck!

“Morana, my love where are you” I called out to my wife looking for her in the knights of walpurgis manor. “I’m here my dear, i’m in the living room” I followed her voice seeing her with our sons Tj is now three and mattheo is now two, my sweet boys asleep next to their mother. I run to her, she greets me with open arms, we huge for what feels like an eternity, before we let go, I check her over to make sure she’s not hurt, then I check our sons and they seem fine as well.

“My Little Lamb, I was so worried about all of you, I-I had no other choice, I didn’t want to do it please don’t hate me, my love-“ she grabbed me stopping my tangent, “Tom, my dear, I am fine, the boys are fine, my love that man wanted to hurt us, you did what you had to do to keep us safe, I could never hate you” she said before kissing me on the lips, until I felt I small tug on my pants, looking down I see little Mattheo rubbing his eye, i pick him up placing him on my hip before placing a kiss on his forehead and ruffling his hair.

「 𖤐 MORANA 𖤐 」

𝐅𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐒 𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐑, he had no choice, he was protecting us, this wasn’t his goal, it was to keep the worlds separated as possible.

I apparated me and the boys to the knights manor, it’s the safest place for us right now, I waited for my husband to return to us. The boys were next to me sleeping on the couch, it’s was just yesterday they were born now they’re two and three years old. I watched between them and the clock, waiting for Tom to return. My thoughts were on overdrive, racing so fast I couldn’t keep up, until I heard his voice call out to me, he’s back, thank you merlin.

“I’m here my dear, i’m in the living room”, I call out to him, waiting for him I played my wedding ring, until I felt his presence before seeing him he ran to me, I opened my arms hugging him, before letting go he checked me over then checked over our sons. After he started rambling which I cut off, before kissing him on the lips, until he felt a small tug on his pants, looking down I saw little Mattheo rubbing his eye, Tom picked him up placing him on his hip before placing a kiss on his forehead and ruffling his hair.

My two boys, I look over at baby Tom, seeing him looking at us, before reaching up to me. Picking him up he put his head on my shoulder before going back to sleep. Me and Tom take the boys to our room before getting into bed and falling into a dream less sleep.

© 𝐬𝐥𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐡���𝐥𝐨 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒. do not copy, translate or claim any of my writing or works as your own.

[xplrvibes]

some people on twitter are getting really mad at colby for apparently ‘ditching’ shea for his new girl saying shit like oh he led shea on and now he’s pushed her away lol

they’re fully acting like he’s committed an awful crime like why are they cancelling him 😭

(side note - i’m actually, whole heartedly convinced that half of the fandom genuinely hates colby and everything he does fills them with rage lmfao)

This is going to be a one and done, on this topic. I don't like Shea, don't like what she's doing. Never did like her, as you all know, because she has been an absolutely awful and manipulative bully and generally trash person over the years and I don't want her taking up too much space on my blog because of it.

But I felt the need to just put this out there before I move on, so here we go, behind a cut for anyone who doesn't want to hear it lol.

You know, I find this whole "taking Shea on her word all of a sudden" thing interesting.

According to Shea, they had a 10 year (even though he was still living in Kansas 10 years ago) "on-again, off-again thing" that was "mostly just talking" and was "never official," although it was "almost dating, but not official" for 2 years (even though there hasn't been a 2 year period where Colby hasn't been at least seeing someone, if not hooking up).

She doesn't seem to know any of his friends and not a single one of them follow her on socials - in fact, most of them unfollowed her several years back. Of particular note is the fact that Sam, after all these years of her being Colby's future wife, still hasn't followed her back...but has followed several of the other girls Colby's been linked to over the years, including M.

She never seems to have a clue about what is going on in his life and has been promising (and not delivering) fans content with Colby for years now - including her telling everyone that her and Colby were going somewhere to film a documentary in January of this year when Colby had already told everyone on xplrclub that he and Sam were going to be in Vegas or in Texas filming in all of Jan and then in Australia for most of Feb. She promised to have him on one her streams on a day when he was actually in Hawaii, then another day when he was actually in Kansas visiting family.

She hasn't been invited to a single party or group gathering of theirs since 2019, save for one time when she visited Colby and Sam in Las Vegas - which came across as very awkward, given the above.

She complained about never getting invited to snc's Halloween parties - you know, the ones that have 500-1,000 invitees and snc have claimed include an invite to every single person they know and are friends with? Yet Colby's soul mate gets left on the list somehow, 6 years running?? (One year he had four different past flings there at once. But the future Mrs. Shea Brock just didn't make the cut somehow)

Oh, bonus: she once told a gc full of her fans that Colby asked her out, but she turned him down because she valued the friendship too much. Funny how those turns tabled.

Colby meanwhile, has never hidden that he considers himself single, does not think he's met "the one," uses Raya to find dates, hooks up and has flings....he's not just pretending to be single, he IS single.

So. to recap: They have had a 10 year friendship and emotional bond that Shea deluded herself into thinking was more. Colby comes around her again after having had a cancer that could've easily rendered him unable to have children, and her grand idea is to tell this guy she freely admits she was never even dating that she wants to cash in on some vague promise he may or may not have actually made to her about getting married and having CHILDREN???

I'd have left her ass, too.

But sure. He's the bad guy. By the way, to hear Shea tell it, Colby did the same thing to her that Sam did to Kat. But all the people trashing Colby were the first ones in line to defend Sam from big bad mean Kat and her hurtful words because "he wasn't ready" and wah wah wah. Isn't that funny...and on par.

So yes, lol. Most of the people pissed about this are using any excuse put in front of them to trash Colby cause that is the only enjoyment they get out of life. Trust me when I say they are backing the wrong horse with Shea. She's not the hero victim y/n sainted good girl she pretends to be.

[that-one-i-think]

More Prince Au Liochant, cause that was my original fic idea, and now it is fun to see it with the lore I have made now. So this time Kai lore! (I like my MCD version of Kai, and he is fun to bash)

For funsies, Liochant and Kai were originally in an arranged marriage. The marriage was soley going to be for alliance purposes, and since both were incredibly unlikely to ever inherit the thrones of their respective kingdoms, producing children was optional. In fact, it was preferred that alliance marriages didn't produce children in case the alliance fell through. Should either have needed to ascend to the throne.... well, that is what mistresses are for.

The marriage was arranged shortly after Liochant's 5th birthday as that is when Kai came to South Tu'la as an advisor... At 15. This was determined by the King of the North, Kai's uncle and the queen of the South, Lio's grandmother. It did face some backlash, especially from Lio's parents, but there wasn't much they could do as they knew it would help prevent further disagreement and war. (Except it did not D: )

It soon became apparent that Kai was very much against this marriage and started treating Liochant like a pest, and Liochant picked up on it rather quickly. The unfortunate thing for Kai was that Liochant was a stealthy and vindictive child so it quickly became a prank war. Except, Kai who was praised for his intelligence, was loosing to a child (with the help of his parents, cause they found Kai a bit pretentious).

The prank war lasted for the next several years and eventually everyone thought that they would grow to like each other but when Lio hit ten, Kai just fully stopped interacting or even indulging Liochant. Nobody really knew why until 2 years later when the entire royal family is massacred, besides Liochant. Not because he wasn't on the list, but Liochant was the only one not resting peacefully in his bed and was instead making breakfast for his family.

After that, Liochant was delegated to prisoner and servant, but oddly enough, he was still technically married to Kai. King Kozuka, of both North and South Tu'la thought it would be an even greater punishment, for Lio to remain married to the person responsible. Sure, it was only in name, and Kai brought various lovers around the castle so it was obvious that it meant nothing but it still hurt. Didn't help that everyone in the Castle thought it was a hilarious joke and would occasionally say "Wow, wish my husband let me bring my lovers around" while Liochant is forced to serve his husband lover.

It soon became apparent that it was a punishment for both Kai and Lio. Cause as much as Kai pretends, he does have a conscious, so he helps Liochant from time to time and takes care of him when Lio is punished for breaking something, or standing in the way, or talking, or breathing too loudly, or just existing around cruel Royals.

This does end up with Garte (who is being held prisoner here) going "Fuck, at least when I forced my son to marry they were the same age" and also become very against arranged marriages. Garte also started hating Kai cause even when his wife had her affair, it was when he was absent and a dick and wasn't directly in his face. Garte's entire time in Tu'la is him just realizing how bad of a person he is, just really having it hammered home.

Will result in this scene:

Aph: A man saying he is your husband is here?

Lio: I don't have a husband? Call the guards

Kai: Your Ex-Husband

Lio: I'll call the guards

(The marriage was never consummated, they never had a seremony, only an engagement celebration every year to enforce it, so they both were never married but are very much divorced.)

[deansnotstraight]

please read umineko

did you just finish succession? Are you wishing for more inheritance thunderdome, bickering siblings, eternal death spiral of turning into your parents, horrible people backstabbing one another, family drama of rich and powerful and utterly miserable people?

this story is primarily a murder mystery and fantasy story. but! it also contains all of those things. and more. Here's a roundup of the main characters, to get an idea what its like. I hope I can convince some people to get into it.

Kinzo: abusive and erratic family patriarch, hates all of his children, also everyone else, obsessed with some girl he met briefly like 5 decades ago or something. she happens to be magic, but still. Miserable old alcoholic, on the verge of death, he was supposed to die within a year like three years ago, but he's still kickin! (for now.) His kids largely hate him back.

Krauss: evil eldest brother failson. he sucks. theyre all failchildren but he is the failest. supposedly has his father's 'gift' for predicting future market patterns or whatever but he always chickens out right before it comes true and works out for him. Awful towards his wife.

Natsuhi: Krauss' wife. This woman is not unhinged. she is holding on to those hinges by the tips of her fingernails but by god is she holding on to them. she is HINGED goddamnit. perpetually has a headache. Her aggressive loyalty towards & defensiveness of the family name & status does not ever result in any respect or power.

Eva: bitchy second child eldest daughter. she loves the inheritance thunderdome. she is made for this. she is living. Eva & Natsuhi have an ongoing vaguely homoerotic bitchiness contest.

Hideyoshi: Eva's husband. wife guy. also kind of a malewife.

Rudolph: maybe the most together of the kids. this is not a high bar to clear. been married twice, immediately after his first wife died he married a woman he worked with at his high-powered corporate job.

Kyrie: logical, calculating milf-type. second wife of Rudolph. shes smart and together and her biggest failure is the fact that shes married to Rudolph. also the faschy vibes. whats up with that armband girl.

Rosa. also a milf. abusive single mother. youngest daughter, disrespected by all her older siblings, has a stupid haircut. likely acted much like her daughter as a child, now screams at and hits her for 'acting weird'. her siblings often try to close her out and avoid discussing things with her as the youngest child.

Jessica: Krauss & Natsuhi's daughter. Generally considered to be the most likely ultimate inheritor of the family wealth & name. (through her father but i think everyone's hoping he is in charge for as short a time period as possible) does not particularly care for her position as heir apparent.

George: Eva & Hideyoshi's son. was considered the likely heir until Jessica was born, which happened late into her parents marriage. was a whole thing. is the most competent & business-minded of the grandchildren, practically he's probably the best pick of their generation.

Battler: what is up with this guy's name. anyways. Rudolph's son with his first wife. hates his dad, gets on fine with his stepmom. mostly irrelevant to the inheritance plot, though as the perspective character we get information about the inheritance drama through him. he carries most of the mystery part of the plot.

Maria: Rosa's daughter, best grandchild. incredibly autistic. more relevant to the fantasy parts of the story than the inheritance thunderdome, but i love her and you should too.

Ange: Rudolf and Kyrie's daughter, the youngest child in the family. she is absent from the family conference due to being sick, and is thus not initially relevant at all

NON-FAMILY: due to the magic plotline, any of these people could hypothetically inherit all the money instead

Nanjo: family doctor. would like Kinzo to stop being an alcoholic, but he won't. he's really just vibing, mostly tries to keep himself out of the way when family arguments arise

Genji: devoted lifetime servant of Kinzo. has a weird gay thing going on with him. the children dislike and distrust him bc they consider him a pawn of Kinzo, which is completely fair. would also like Kinzo to stop being an alcoholic, but also will absolutely never do anything to try and stop him.

Shannon & Kanon: young servants currently on the island. have served long enough to be very trusted by Kinzo. these arent their real names; they have servant names bc insane rich family rules. Shannon is dating George and Kanon has a romance arc with Jessica.

Gohda: personal chef of the family. aligned with Krauss instead of Kinzo.

Kumasawa: fun old lady, bad at her job, has apparently quit multiple times and then just like showed back up at work i guess?

And finally, Beatrice: woman who Kinzo is in love with. he hasnt seen her since before any of his kids were born but devotes all his time to magic rituals to be able to see her again. she is much more relevant to the fantasy & mystery parts of the story, as she is both fantastical and mysterious. largely distrusted by the rest of the family, especially because she, and Kinzo's obsession with her, throws the whole inheritance thing into chaos. whether she actually exists is under debate.

there are others but they show up later in the story and are not potential heirs.

[sushigal007]

Whoops, it’s been a while, hasn’t it? I blame the covid. Totally wiped me out. It’s also been a busy few weeks at work, plus my kid got themselves a theme park pass, and half my free time is now spent driving to Thorpe Park. And, my sister has been to Greece about four times this year already ‘cause our mum’s been unwell, and that’s me on airport driving duty. Basically, too much real life, not enough simulated life. But! I’m ill again, which means I’ve finally managed to claw a few hours spare to post the Ramirez household. Say hi to Checo, everyone!

Right, time to drug your army of children.

Checo and Lisa: Actually, we would like to bang.

And I would like you to train your quads. Lisa: Isn’t that what the nanny’s for?

Huh, apparently so!

But we can also add in a little parentification now that Tessa’s ageing up.

Tessa: These hands were made for jazz.

Yep, Tessa’s LTW is to become Lord of the Dance. We’ll see how that goes.

Max also grew up! Nobody noticed.

So yeah, this is Tessa’s life now. Tessa: It’s not quite the dance party I was expecting.

Still, there are sweet moments along the way. Erica: Huggles? Alyson: Huggles!

Terence: Huggles? Jacob: DOG FOOD ATTACK RARRRRGH.

Terence: D:

Tessa: Lock my door.

Lisa: I AM NOT- Having a good time? Lisa: GET SOME NEW MATERIAL. Lisa: AND USE IT TO ENTERTAIN ME.

All right, here’s something funny. Lisa: The... nanny? Keep watching.

Nanny: I was so busy potty training the children, I forgot to potty train myself! Lisa: It’s mean, but OK, it’s a little funny. (That’s not all nanny piss btw, I’m just very bad at catching Max in the act.)

Speaking of piss.

Jacob: There there, good potty.

Checo: He can pee in a pot, he’s my favourite now.

Jacob: High chair. Checo: You’re so right!

Lisa, alas, is not enjoying toddlers quite as much. Lisa: I’m too pretty for this.

Erica: RELEASEEEEEE MEEEEEEE!

Terence: Laid a fresh one for you, mom.

Lisa: This is fine.

Tessa: OK, you put your left leg in, your left leg out. In, out, in, out, and shake it all about.

Terence: Sis, hey, sis, hey. Erica: Hush please, I am concentrating.

Terence: That’s right, hand it over. Erica: Oh. I see how it is.

Bath time for stinky boys.

A problem for future Sushi.

At last, the toddler stage is over! Tessa: Do you wanna go first or...? Checo: Oh yeah, sure, no problem.

Checo: But first, let me ogle my wife. Tessa: Soon I will be at university and all of this will be behind me...

First up, Erica! Erica: Yay!

Then Alyson! Checo: Hooray for me! Alyson: Hooray for cake.

Tessa ad Sharla: Happy birthday to the wall!

Next up is Jacob, assuming I haven’t got the names mixed up.

Kennedy: Toot toot.

Jacob: Limbo!

Lisa: Whew, right in the nick of time. Lisa: So long as we ignore the bit where time kept going looping for three hours so I could finish this.

But yes, finally it’s Terence’s turn to grow up.

Benjamin: I’m gonna punch him. Please don’t. Benjamin: Gonna punch him so hard.

Celebrate good times, come on!

Erica: Wait a minute...

Erica: I hate that stupid bear outfit. Alyson: I think he’s hibernating!

Jacob: Does he have to do it at the bottom of the stairs though?

Erica lives at the piano now. Her OTH is Sports.

Tessa: Something about emergencies, I guess.

Lisa: Finally, I can start working on the damn car.

Good Lord.

Let’s have a little playtime interlude.

Mailman: Bills. Erica: Do you accept lemonade? Mailman: Not in exchange for bills. Erica: How about in exchange for money? Mailman: Technically, that is also bills.

Fuck that librarian.

Lisa: Whatever. I’m taking a nap.

Um.

Checo: Hot wife! Freezing cold wife, actually. Wanna do something about that? Checo: Nope!

Why? He hasn’t done anything. Alyson: Yet.

Tessa: Ahhh, dance time!

Chess party.

Gaming party.

Just lots of cute family bonding moments.

Checo: I’m too sexy for my shirt.

Bath time for stinky boys. Which I know I said last time too, but I just really like this pet bath.

Werewolf: Is she OK? No.

Lisa: Zzzz... piss... Checo: On it.

Yeah she might actually die.

Gilbert: Yeah good luck with that.

Lisa: Ugh, what happened? You lost your job and passed out in the absolute worst place possible.

Lisa: I’m freezing! Don’t worry, you’re about to warm yourself up.

Lisa: Eek nooo!

Wanda: HAHAHAHAHA! Lisa: This is because I laughed at the nanny, isn’t it? Yeah, that probably didn’t help.

Anyway, over to Tessa. Tessa: Look, somebody else is pissing themselves! Buck:

Tessa: BAM! In the face!

Decided to check out the furniture store and once again, it is borked. Cashier: It’s Kevin’s fault. Other cashier: Yeah, definitely Kevin.

But you know what? I don’t know how to stop it from happening again, nobody’s got a business LTW anyway, so bye bye business!

Checo: And now to spend the profits.

Lisa: Mmm, that piss puddle really sets the mood. ...There is way too much piss in this update.

If you two make more quads, I will genuinely kill you.

Newspaper kid: Shake? Tessa: Salute.

Tessa: Love love peace peace?

Cute little family dance party. Terence: Except me. Except you.

Jacob: I wanna join in! Go right ahead, sweetie.

Alyson: Are you OK? Terence: Clearly not.

Erica: You might be watching me, but who do you think is watching you? Please don’t, I’m too ill for dep thinking.

Cute!

Please don’t die. Lisa: Frostbite couldn’t do it, and electrocution ain’t gonna do it either.

Weekend! I sent Tessa out to do some singing...

...And then decided to start working on those dance contests for her LTW.

Alas, her first attempt was a failure.

Still, at least she doesn’t take it as badly as this poor townie. Townie: I JUST WANNA DANCE LIKE NO-ONE’S WATCHING! Everyone’s watching. Everyone.

Erica: I’m dying. Alyson: You’re wearing a vest and shorts outside in winter, of course you’re dying.

Alyson: But now, a message about recycling.

Ah how sweet, doomed townie love.

Tessa: Hey, don’t mind me, just gonna practise my moves.

Wait a minute, that looks familiar...

I mean, without the shotgun, but yeah!

And the week ends with Alyson doing a little stargazing. Next up is a single sim household, so hopefully it won’t take me three months to write up. Hopefully!

Uberhood Index

[wellpresseddaisy]

I found out things that my mother would probably not have thought to tell me by looking into the family genealogy.

My great-grandmother loved opera (even living out in literally the middle of nowhere) and named her daughters for different characters from her favorites.

One of them apparently liked to get married. I found three or four marriage licenses for her. My mother: Oh, I forgot. Aunt N loved to get married! We used to say it was her hobby.

Her mother's family hated her grandfather's family for some reason and told everyone her grandfather immigrated alone. His family was on the other side of town, had been here a few generations, and ran a bar.

My many-times great grandfather on my dad's side came over from Ireland in the late 1840s. He joined the Union army in the Civil War and later married, had children, and settled where many of the Irish families lived (it's now a city park). He died in 1901 (likely of complications from the lung problems he brought home from the war), just weeks after his wife. They were married for 53 years. His obituary made me cry.

My father's father was (according to family stories) run out of town for a while for Unionizing. While waiting for things to calm down at home, he met my great-grandmother and they married. He died pretty young, but great grandma just got to work and between two census counts went from being a renter to a homeowner. She never remarried.

i think we as modern humans have a tendency to forget that historical people were also humans who had thoughts and feelings and dreams just like we do

[rourhksapocolypse]

So, the other day I mentioned to my brother (who is in leave, atm) @deadcatwithaflamethrower 's post about Ashoka being potentially anti semitic, and he just looked at me and asked, "So?"

This may seem insensitive. But it's actually profound.

When I was a kid, this kind of thing was silly. It was stupid. Why should I care that Brad Pitt broke off a "stable?" marriage because of Mr & Mrs Smith? Should I stop enjoying a dumb action movie because a marriage stopped?

A week ago or so, Mom made a fuss about me only wearing an undershirt at work, when that keeps my top shirts clean (and her making a fuss meant one of my only pure white shirts got permanently messy).

Why? Because it is unprofessional, and because, apparently, my corner of Colorado only associates undershirts as wife beaters and "Gay People Clothing". Because Queen wore undershirts without a top shirt.

Am I supposed to be offended by that? Am I supposed to change my ways so they don't think I'm gay? When I'm autistic, probably FIM Asexual, and leaving a social life or friends that aren't family because I drive people away by accident?

...

These thoughts come because of one simple question. "Have I become too 'Woke'?"

The answer, obviously, is yes. Because, as Mom put it, I had three mothers growing up, and only one of those wasn't a sibling. Because everyone, at all times, corrected me to what they thought was right, leaving me unable to form my own opinion, however well meant those controlling tendencies were.

Now, for those offended, those genuinely hurt, I'm gonna quote Xomniac in This Bites! here:

"I can't speak for you. I don't know what You've been through. I don't know your pain, your hardships. I can support you, but to keep the cycle of hatred from flourishing, I can't speak for you. You have to speak up and take action yourselves."

Is Disney hating on Jews with casting a traditionally "Jewish" actor as a greedy Imperial? Or are they just playing on public perception and image, using what's already there to convey the message?

Or is it even purposeful? Because I've hurt a lot of people with word choice and action that I didn't consider would hurt them. And all I can do is look for brightness in these dark times.

As I wrote this I remembered something else from the radio, K-LOVE, specifically. A guy who reads Bible passages and adds context in his little segment, Ruis Balau, once mentioned that he was having dinner conversation with his family and his daughter asked why he was focusing so much on the bad that he wasn't talking about the good in the world anymore.

Because, that was one of his jobs, as a Christian. Or, part of what he's supposed to do, same as me. To acknowledge the bad, yes, but to shed light onto the world with kindness and caring.

Am I falling into the same cycle of focusing on the bad and forgetting about the good?

Are we?

As the American people, are we forgetting the good in the world, and thus only spreading more of the bad?

Are we nitpicking enough, that we forget to appreciate what we have?

I needed to get this out of my head, so I leave my questions here, unanswered.

Goodnight, and get home safe. Hug your families and loved ones, if you have any left. Send love and support, monetary or emotional, to all those who need it in your lives.

Maybe that's me (and yeah, probably).

Maybe that's Flamethrower, who lost one of the last people who cared about her growing up and fears for her children, struggling with politics and money troubles.

Maybe it's someone I know nothing of and whose existence is meaningless to me, but everything to you, dear reader.

I don't know, but love them like a dog to his/her "Best Friend in the Whole Wide World" (tm).