#I also bet that they have a list 'BEEN THERE DONE THEM' and they compare it every time they meet

[iceinherheart-kissonherlips]

for anon:  I kind of wish that someone would do gif sets of the Cleopatra exchange in The Wedding of River Song and also that The Doctor just says "Down girl" when River briefly gets sidetracked by Ramone in The Husbands of River Song.  I'm pretty sure that it's an open marriage but also wonder if they are averse to either seeing or knowing about other people even when they are actually eye to eye.  I feel like there's a great discussion to be unlocked about trust between them that supersedes other people.  Of course, if this is too naughty to bring up pretend I didn't say anything :)

[rapunzellovesbooks]

The entitlement some people feel over Luke Newton´s career is baffling to me. Like, people out here saying "Oh, he has not milked the success of Bridgerton enough, his time has passed" or "He played his cards wrong" is just... wrong. Like, I get it, compared to Nicola, in the past few months, she has been much more active on social media than him, but can you actually blame him? Yall saw one picture where he was clearly uncomfortable, running away from the paparazzi and destroyed him online. Then he went on a vacation after months of press (and God knows which auditions, jobs or fittings on the side) and made it seem like he was committing a crime. Then he posts about a trip to Spain and some of you go call the hotel to check who he was with. If I were him, I would not post anything online ever again, because there is no winning, is there? He commented on one of Nicola´s post and she had to delete the awful comments people left. All because of what? A picture taken out of context with a girl who is not Nicola. News flash, people are allowed to have other people in their lives, romantically or otherwise. And to the people thinking that he did it to disentangle himself from Nicola, what drugs are you on? Like, he was holding so tight to her the night before, so excited for the premiere of Part 2, always praising her and looking at her with love in his eyes, even when no cameras were on them. I bet if people had not haunted him on social media he would have posted bts, or shared funny edits but the toxic fandom made it impossible for him to do so in real time. Because, apparently, to some people, if he had posted about Nicola while not being officially together with her, that is leading them astray. Umm, what?

And then you have the idea that he is not working. Nicola literally signed off to do Magic Faraway Tree before Part Two and has a small role in it, and the rest of her work has been in fashion. He went to fashion shows as well. Both of them are signed to Season 4 of Bridgerton and from what we have heard, they have quite a big part in it. If it took them 8 months to do their season, I can, at least, see them being there for maybe 4 or 5 months of shooting. That is work. Going to rehearsals and fittings is work. They literally get paid for that. It is astounding to me that Nicola has no future projects lined up yet, same as him, but everyone is on his ass for the same thing he has been doing for years, work in private. Now, I am a shipper, I do believe they will be together eventually, but I genuinely do not understand how that has anything to do with people trashing him for his upcoming projects. He may not have found the project he wants to do or is waiting to share info. Also, I bet you Nic or him would have shared a picture of going back to set already if some fans weren´t analysing pixels on screens.

I do feel like there is a double standard here, because if Nicola had done the same, gone on vacation or been photographed with a random guy, everyone would have been like "Good for her, etc.". She gets on the Top 100 List for, honestly, being more present online with the work she does, but there are so many people who do great work who are not and will never be on that list. If Luke had gotten on it, some people would be so mad at him, I just know it.

I just miss them together and I have to blame the toxic fans for not seeing them together anymore. I do not doubt they have been in contact since, I mean, this whole ordeal happened because we are so obsessed with their connection, they must have talked about that infamous day, but also, I think some fans are creating stories of them not talking or growing apart that are just hurtful. Even before the world tour, they did not see each other every day, they do not have to speak every day for them to have a great bond. They simply cannot share it online anymore or, at least he can´t, because people over dissect every thing, even if it is just a smiley. Taylor Swift was framed with the whole Kanye thing years ago and she disappeared for a year. She was still doing stuff and seeing friends but we just never knew about it. And I get it.

It hurts me so much to see a genuinely nice and kind guy who did an amazing job as Colin get so many negative comments over nothing. Every time Nic does something, people throw it directly in his face. Oh, he was not at the Emmys. Oh, he was not at a fashion show. Maybe he does not want to be?! Maybe he couldn´t? Does Zendaya have to be everywhere with Tom Holland? Like, what?!

#lukola #nicluke #lukenewton #nicolacoughlan

[maybe-boys-do-love]

The On1y One Loves School

Maybe it's a cultural thing, maybe it's the nerd angle, but The On1y One depicts my high school experiences with so much more accuracy (excluding one kidnapping that I think we can all collectively choose to ignore) than any other show I've seen. We got a field day episode, but we haven't attended one sports event. The one party we saw was the group going out to dinner together. Riverdale this is not.

The show really understands the perspectives and emotions of these bright students. In the first episode, there's an extended sequence observing the students while they take an exam. They could've played it to show Sheng Wang making faces or talking to himself as he struggled through it. Instead we pan across the room while the gentle guitar music plays. For these kids, there's comfort in the routines of school, especially for our lead couple who've struggled so much with their home life. We get so many scenes about studying and comparing answers, teasing each other with poetic structures.

But, despite their commonality as top students, they're still incredibly realistic teenagers, and a diverse group of personalities, at that. There are clowns, class president types, popular kids, loners. Even with those differences, episode 9 with its field day demonstrated the comradery that forms amongst a class, which was make-shift and oriented more toward their teachers than comparing themselves to their peers.

The teachers and the students' relationship to them also receives the same attention to detail. In high school, students, in my experience, have dynamics that are closer and more playful with their teachers. The back-and-forth about the Class A shirts and the bet felt true-to-life. As a former teacher, the depictions of the teachers throughout the series have also been spot-on. They have different teaching approaches, different ways of relating and showing care to students, and they don't all see each other that often. If Jenny had simply received a letter from Qi Jia's parents criticizing her (instead of, you know, getting kidnapped at knife-point and then going back to field day like it happens all the time), the list of doubts about her methods would be the same as those that go through teachers' minds all the time.

I sincerely wonder if the writer, either of the novels, or someone involved with the development of the show was formerly a teacher? The show sees the school and the people in it with such detail. The reason we don't need something big (like, say, an armed kidnapping) is because the intense teenage emotions heighten all the everyday moments. Qi Jia's confusion and breakdown about belonging, Jian Tiang's 'very moments' and poetic narration, Sheng Wang's affronted attitude toward his dad: these are teenagers overwhelmed by their hormones and trying their best to make sense of everything. But the show almost always (minus a certain event that I'm done naming) observes them from an affectionate distance, refusing to turn the drama of their minds into a dramatic narrative. Instead, we get a tender view of pencil boxes, forms, studying strategies, phone notifications, or mugs on teacher's desks: the mundane highs and lows in high school infused with secret feelings that made us all feel insane.

[diorsluv]

feather , part 4

“ when it’s on a platter for you ”

series m. list previous chapter next chapter

( socialmedia!au )

yourusername

liked by lhughes_06, _alexturcotte, trevorzegras, and 29,377 others

yourusername TELL ME I ATE IT UP 🥱

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username27 OH MY GODDDDD I THINK I’M IN LOVE

mackie.samo where’s my photo creds.

→ yourusername oops

jamie.drysdale is that the necklace i got you for your birthday?

→ yourusername it is 🙄🙄

→ trevorzegras aka the necklace I SUGGESTED

→ jamie.drysdale yeah yeah we get it 🫤 trevorzegras

username13 good genes run in the goddamn family

username5 I JUST WANT ONE CHANCE. JUST. ONE. CHANCE.

lhughes_06 woah

→ markestapa bro’s in love

→ lhughes_06 hold ur horses bro

→ edwards.73 HOLD UR HORSES??? mans in fucking texas 😂😂😂

→ yourusername okay everyone needs to stop using that emoji right now

→ luca.fantilli and she just completely ignores the first reply

→ lhughes_06 what first reply? luca.fantilli

→ yourusername fr what he said!! idk what “first reply” ur talking abt luca.fantilli !!!!!

username88 the umich replies are always so weird 😭😭

colecaufield lil drizz is growing upppp

→ yourusername i should just give up shouldn’t i

→ trevorzegras you’re never living the nickname down 😁

adamfantilli THOSE ARE THE RINGS I GAVE YOU FOR CHRISTMAS LAST YEAR

→ yourusername THEY ARE ☺️☺️

→ jamie.drysdale okay so are you just wearing everyone’s jewelry..

→ yourusername yes do you have a problem???

→ jamie.drysdale no…….

→ adamfantilli how’d i get roped into family drama

yourusername

liked by mackie.samo, jackhughes, jamie.drysdale and 50,736 others

yourusername mackie stole me from my quality hughes time and dragged me to quality samoskevich time

tagged: mackie.samo, msamoskevich, maddysamo

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lhughes_06 petition to bring her back to where she belongs (WITH US)

→ jackhughes SIGNING ALL THE DAMN LINES ✍️✍️✍️✍️✍️✍️

→ _quinnhughes BRING HER BACK.

→ yourusername thought u hated me quinny

→ _quinnhughes i’d rather have you here than with……….... THEM. 😒

→ mackie.samo i’d say she likes it better being here with us 😤

→ msamoskevich yeah, WE didn’t post bad pictures of her on our public instas

→ maddysamo and we didn’t almost drown her in a lake either

→ jackhughes this means war. mackie.samo maddysamo msamoskevich

→ yourusername wait WHAT

username91 oh god

username7 HUGHES VS SAMOS PLACE YOUR BETS HERE

username10 personally i think the hughes bros are gonna win

username64 she’s always had a soft spot for mackie so i think samos might win ngl

luca.fantilli LIL DRIZZLE WHAT HAVE YOU DONE

→ yourusername I DIDN’T THINK THEY WERE GONNA FUCKING FIGHT OVER ME

adamfantilli CAN I BE THE REFEREE

→ lhughes_06 this is WAR not a silly little GAME 🤬🤬🤬

trevorzegras what the hell is happening

→ jamie.drysdale luke and mack are fighting over my sister

→ yourusername THAT’S NOT WHAT’S GOING ON jamie.drysdale

→ trevorzegras LIL DRIZZY DID YOU JUST PIT TWO FAMILIES AGAINST EACH OTHER

→ yourusername i’ve officially given up

username57 THE WAR HAS COME

maddysamo

liked by yourusername, trevorzegras, colecaufield, and 30,007 others

maddysamo us on summer vacation in 2022 because SHE LOVES US MORE

tagged: yourusername

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yourusername oh my goddd LAST SUMMER WAS SO FUN i wish i could go back 😕😕

_quinnhughes oh please this is weak compared to ours

jackhughes c’mon you can do better than that

msamoskevich i’ve never seen her so happy 😊

→ lhughes_06 clearly you haven’t seen her when she’s on vacation with us

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jackhughes

liked by yourusername, adamfantilli, _quinnhughes, and 56,512 others

jackhughes spring break in korea 2021 when she BEGGED us to let her come with

tagged: yourusername

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yourusername UM HELLO??? you guys are digging in the ARCHIVES for these photos 😦

yourusername and also i didn’t beg you, it was actually the other way around……….. don’t spread rumors rowdy 🙄🙄

mackie.samo when the fuck did you go to korea????

→ _quinnhughes in spring break 2021 keep up

maddysamo oh so YOU haven’t been on a recent vacation with her like we have, i see i see

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mackie.samo

liked by edwards.73, markestapa, yourusername, and 62,628 others

mackie.samo since jack wanted to be all nostalgic, here’s a couple photos from 2020 🙄

tagged: yourusername

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jackhughes were subways even open in 2020??

→ msamoskevich no shit 🙄🙄 we wouldn’t have been able to even get these photos if they weren’t

yourusername I FORGOT ABOUT THESE PICS WHAT THE HELLLLL

lhughes_06 doesn’t matter bc she was at our house almost every day when covid hit

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lhughes_06

liked by _alexturcotte, yourusername, jamie.drysdale, and 78,280 others

lhughes_06 more korea pics bc lil drizzy was lookin dripped out

tagged: yourusername

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markestapa bro does NOT sound like he cares about the ongoing war

yourusername luke sweetie..

→ lhughes_06 yes? ☺️

mackie.samo stop taking pics from the same vacation you’re looking DESPERATE 🥱🥱

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maddysamo

liked by yourusername, dylanduke25, colecaufield, and 63,412 others

maddysamo look at my cutie 🥰

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yourusername STOP ITTTT I LOVE U

_quinnhughes when did it turn into them flirting

jackhughes i hear a certain someone getting jealous

→ lhughes_06 really who is it????

msamoskevich I TOOK THOSE PHOTOS (creds: me 2023)

mackie.samo barely heard a PEEP from moosey poo

→ lhughes_06 istg u better not call me that ever again

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lhughes_06

liked by yourusername, luca.fantilli, trevorzegras, and 85,680 others

lhughes_06 some pictures i snapped out in the city the night before my draft day

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yourusername LUKE STOP IT RN. ur making me tear up 😭

→ lhughes_06 miss those days

maddysamo THIS IS EMOTIONAL BARGAINING THIS CAN’T COUNT

→ jackhughes wtf is “emotional bargaining”

msamoskevich WE WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS INJUSTICE

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mackie.samo

liked by jamie.drysdale, rutgermcgroarty, luca.fantilli, and 79,006 others

mackie.samo last post, her when we took her out for her birthday last year AND HER WHOLE OUTFIT WAS CLOTHES I BOUGHT HER

tagged: yourusername

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yourusername best birthday i could’ve ever asked for 🫶

→ maddysamo NO STOP ITTTTT

_quinnhughes WHAT HAPPENED TO ALL YOUR BIRTHDAYS AT THE LAKE HOUSE??

→ yourusername YOU ALMOST KILLED ME EVERY SINGLE TIME

→ jackhughes u set a girl’s dress on fire once ON ACCIDENT and u never live it down 😔

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next chapter notes ) THIS WAS ACTUALLY SO FUCKING FUN TO MAKE AND THE FEUD WAS SO CUTE not giving an actual winner tho so u guys can decide 😈 this is also like the longest one i’ve ever done (obviously) AND I LOVED IT SO MUCH but i think i’m gonna stick to two-ish posts per chapter…….

[ashcal99]

Collarbones : Jasper Whitlock Hale IV

Chapter Four

"I can see your collarbones and baby I'm scared, Never thought I'd be so unprepared"

Summary: Camila Johnson was only 16 when she was diagnosed with leukemia. By the time she had turned 17, the doctors had tried everything to save her. Her family is close to giving up hope when they hear of a doctor who may be able to help her. The only problem is, he lives on the opposite side of the country. The small family soon decides to move to the small town in Washington, in efforts to prolong her life. In doing so, her life changes forever.

Warnings: Eventual smut (18+ only), mentions of death, depression, violence, descriptions of disease and weight loss, general angst, slow burn

Words: 7.4k

A/N: Please lmk if you'd like to be added to the tag list. Hope you enjoy. Made this chapter extra long for the wait x

Soundtrack

Previous Chapter

Series Masterlist

——————

January 29th, 2005

Camila sat there, frozen in time, for what seemed like an eternity trying to process what Jasper had just admitted. So, Jasper sat there, unmoving as well as not breathing. He wasn’t sure how she was taking the new information and suddenly found himself wishing that he held Edward’s power in that moment, willing to give everything just to know the thoughts that were going through her mind. Second best, he knew that she, remarkably, held no fright towards the admission, and he couldn’t help but wonder if she lacked the simple instinct that humans should be born with. The instinct to run away screaming when someone tells you that they’re a monster and could easily kill you. 

At the end of the day, he knew that was what he was. A monster. He may have changed his diet and tried to appear human, but he was far from it. He had killed people. Innocent people. He couldn’t even make the argument that his family had done the same, because their body counts were minuscule compared to his. He had fed off of human blood for nearly eighty-five years before Alice had found him. Even with his new found vegetarianism considered, he still slipped up. More than anybody else, and even though he knew that Camila was safe around him, he also knew that she had every reason in the world to fear him, and it confused the hell out of him that she didn’t.

He couldn’t help himself as he spoke, the silence eating away at his resolve. “Can you please tell me what’s going through your mind?” He asked, nervousness gripping his throat as he croaked the words out. 

Camila’s eyes flashed over to him, eyebrows creased in… confusion maybe? “I don’t know… I feel like I know I shouldn’t believe you, but for some reason, I do?” She said, eyes tracing his serious expression. “Can you prove it? N-not the vampire thing, I guess, but something to prove any of it is true?” She asked. 

Jasper’s mind reeled for a moment trying to think of something quickly, when an idea popped into his head. “Remember how you said I’m really good at reading emotions? Like an empath?” He asked, waiting for her nod before continuing. “It’s a little more than that. Some of us, when we turn, we get… gifts. When I was changed I could not only feel people’s emotions like they were my own, but manipulate them too.” He explained slowly, trying to find the right words.

Given the situation, he figured this was his best bet in not freaking her out any further. Eyes scanning her face to make sure that she was okay with what he was about to do, he pushed a wave of happiness towards her. He watched as the corners of her lips curved upwards, the crease between her eyebrows smoothing as her heart filled with overwhelming joy. 

She didn’t know nor care why she had become so  suddenly happy, but as soon as the emotion was ripped back from her, the pieces clicked together. The smile slowly dropped from her face as her mind returned to where had been just moments before. “Holy shit.” She huffed out. He was telling the truth. As soon as the feeling of joy had hit her, it was gone. 

Her eyes widened suddenly. Maybe this was the explanation as to why she felt so strongly towards him. Maybe it was him all along, manipulating her feelings. “Y-you don’t do that to me often do you?” She asked nervously. 

Jasper shook his head quickly, not wanting her to get the wrong idea. “No. I’ve never with you before.” He rushed out, hoping to whatever god that she would believe him.

Letting out a sigh, Camila let her shoulders drop as she let herself relax back into her seat. She had no reason to think he was lying. From what she could tell, all of her feelings and emotions involving him were genuine, no matter how much she wished that they weren’t there to begin with.

“So, is the whole thing about garlic true?” She asked trying to lighten the mood. Everything had suddenly gotten much too daunting.

Throwing his head back with a bark of laughter, Jasper ran his long thin fingers through his golden curls. How in the world was she taking all of this so well? The ball had to drop at some point, right? There’s no way that everything would go this smoothly. Surely after she learned about his past and how much of a monster he really was, surely then, she would run away screaming. But that admission would have to wait for another day, because in that moment, he would give anything keep Camila as far away from that part of him as possible.

——————

January 31st, 2005

The rest of her day with Jasper had flown by, and before Camila knew it, it was the start to her second week at Forks High School. After the exhaustion of her first week, and hanging out with Jasper on Saturday, the rest of her weekend consisted of sleep and cramming in the remainder of her homework. When Monday finally came around, she was well rested, at lest as well rested as she could be. 

Camila had just joined the end of the line in the cafeteria, Eric talking her ear off behind her once again, when her eyes finally met Jasper’s across the crowded room. She hadn’t seen him since he had dropped her back off at home Saturday night. Like a perfect gentleman, he had waited, car pulled against the curb and watched her figure until she had successfully made it fully inside her home, before he drove away. 

Now that her eyes had met his for the first time since she had been given the opportunity to fully, well mostly maybe, process his confession, she felt a weight leave her shoulders that she wasn’t even aware was there in the first place. The rest of their night on Saturday had consisted mostly of more light hearted conversation, so now that she had been given the time to think of more questions to ask him, she had began to grow anxious of waiting. 

She knew the questions would have to wait, however, but seeing his face, that alone, eased that stress and anxiety from her. Everything had happened so quickly that her mind didn’t know how to calculate what his confession actually meant, and over the remainder of the weekend her mind had time to wander. He was dangerous, that much was apparent, but somehow, she also knew that he wouldn’t hurt her. That she was safe with him. 

It felt almost like a fever dream, everything happening so quickly. They had only just met, but suddenly, she couldn’t remember the last time she had felt so comfortable with another person. So comfortable with being vulnerable, and content with sharing with him what she had been so keen on keeping from everyone else. Clearly he felt the same, that much she could gather herself, given his blatant honesty with her. 

Eric’s voice broke her from her thoughts as he continued his ramble on about how their trip to La Push Beach had gone and how she ‘had to join them next time’. She had to stop herself from cringing, not looking forward to coming up with another excuse in the future. She turned to him, attempting to give a reassuring smile. She didn’t want to come off rude, especially with the wide grin that was stretched across his face. He was just trying to be friendly, and that’s what she wanted. So, even if his persistence slightly annoyed her, she was still happy to have him around. 

Chills ran up her spine as icy fingertips brushed lightly across her lower back, bringing goosebumps quickly to the surface of her skin. She knew who it was, of course, before she looked up, having already gotten used to the feel of his touch, but that didn’t stop the flutter of her heart as her eyes met Jasper’s once more. He had sensed her unease from across the room and had decided to come to her rescue. 

“Will you sit with us for lunch today?” He asked, giving her a quirked eyebrow as well as a small smile. Alice had been pestering him since his return on Saturday to spend more time with the girl. As usual, she would get what she wanted, she already knew that of course, but that didn’t stop her from reminding him at every chance she got. 

Jasper watched as the gears in her head began to turn, slowly processing his invitation, her heart sputtering at his touch. He couldn’t help his smile from growing bigger across his face, enjoying hearing the reaction he had on her heart. “S-sure.” She stuttered out, turning back to the lunch lady to pay for her tray of food. She sent a small wave and smile to the boy, Eric, and fell in stride by Jasper’s side, his hand ghosting the small of her back as he lead her to the table that held the remainder of his family. 

Eric stood for a moment, mouth agape as he stared at their retreating figures. What was it with the new girls and the Cullens? Why was that family suddenly so sociable after a year of barely speaking to anybody? From across the cafeteria, the two were beginning to attract the stares from the rest of her friend group, and when she finally made it to the table, Jasper pulling her chair out for her to take a seat, the majority of the overcrowded room was practically ogling them. A fact, in which was doing nothing to ease the anxiety that had settled in the pit of her stomach.

Setting her tray down, she slowly dropped into the hard plastic seat, shoulders tensing as she took in the perfect faces sat in front of her. Camila had of course met Alice the week previous, but she had yet to meet Jasper’s other siblings. She wasn’t sure if she should feel more or less comfortable meeting the pale strangers now that she knew their secret, but the fact was, she knew and nothing would change that now. 

Feeling waves of anxiety and stress radiate from Camila, he decided now would be a time to use his powers, one that he hoped she wouldn’t be mad at him for later. He hated seeing the worry in her eyes and knew that her stress was unnecessary, so he did what he could and pushed feelings of calmness and comfortability towards her as he settled into the seat next to her. 

As the anxiety lifted from her shoulders, a polite smile formed on Camila’s lips. Jasper cleared his throat from beside her, gaining the attention of his siblings. “Camila this is my family.” He gestured towards the group. “Alice you met already.” He said pointing to the pixie haired girl on the other side of Camila.

The whole family already knew of his admission, and given the circumstances he was more that content with their reactions. He hadn’t exactly known what to expect from the situation, never having dealt with anything like it before. Carlisle and Esme had been happy for him, and though this slightly unnerved him, he knew it came with good intentions. He knew what coming clean to Camila could mean for her future, for their future, but he still refused to get his hopes up. Her knowing and having the choice to ‘live’ on had no guarantee that she would make that decision, and as much as it pained him, he knew that he would never be able to make that choice for her. 

Alice’s teeth shown brightly as she smiled at the girl, squealing lightly as she pulled her into a tight hug. Camila’s eyes widened, the immortal girl’s antics still surprising her despite already being on the receiving end previously. Before she was given the time to process and reciprocate the hug, Alice had pulled away and had returned to her comfortable position in her seat. 

Alice was of course ecstatic, even though she had seen the whole thing happen already, because now she was free to develop their friendship. She had seen the whole thing play out and knew just how close she would grow to Camila, and like a child on Christmas morning, was practically bouncing with anticipation when he had arrived home Saturday night. 

Jasper continued, stopping to roll his eyes at his sister. “This is Emmet and Rosalie.” He said, gesturing to the couple sitting at the opposite side of the table. Emmet gave a ginormous half smile half smirk to the girl, while Rosalie attempted the give a polite smile as well.

Emmet was of course laid back about the whole thing, only giving him a little bit of shit for finally finding his mate. Rosalie was surprisingly at ease with the situation, unlike her feelings towards Bella. Of course, Jasper knew why. She had always resented her immortality, having her humanity ripped away from her the way that it had been, and she wouldn’t wish that on anybody else. He knew her calm demeanor had to do with the fact that, unlike her human life, Camila had no chance of growing old. No chance of starting a family.

His heart ached at this knowledge, knowing that he would give anything he could to see Camila age into her beauty. To see her grow and start her adult life. To see her get married and have children, even if he wasn’t the one to give her that future. Unfortunately, maybe because God or whatever higher power was cruel or had a sick twisted sense of humor, she had no hope for that life. 

It had been an unexpected punch to the gut to meet her mother. She was such a perfect reflection of her daughter that it was almost like he was glimpsing into that impossible future. He knew that this would be how Camila would look, given the chance. But she didn’t have that chance, and that was his best guess as to why Rosalie had refrained from giving him the same shit she had been giving Edward. 

“And this is Edward.” Jasper said finally, turning to look at displeased expression of his adopted brother.

Edward had seemed slightly bitter about the situation. He obviously knew the differences between the two girls, but couldn’t help but feel slightly jealous at which the ease Jasper came by with telling Camila the truth. He himself would never wish the future of immortality onto Bella, but only wished that he didn’t have to suppress his want for the girl. He knew it was best to stay as far away from Bella as possible, hence why he had been avoiding her to the best of his abilities, but his resolve was beginning to waver. 

Jasper didn’t have to deal with any of this, despite having his own struggles. Camila already knew the truth about them, and soon she would be making that decision on her own. Hell, he didn’t even have to worry about his thirst around the girl, a fact that he couldn’t help but be bitter about. Edward had always had what he considered decent self control with human blood, something that he couldn’t say the same for with Jasper, and the one person that it truly mattered for, he was at his lowest point with self control. It was cruel irony. 

Despite not being able to read Edward’s mind like he could his, Jasper could feel his emotions, and he could fill in the rest himself. He didn’t want any animosity between him and his brother, but he knew that whatever Edward was feeling wouldn’t stop him from growing closer to Camila, and definitely wouldn’t stop Alice from begging him to let her spend more time with her. So that was why he had decided it was time to introduce her. What better time and place to break the ice between Camila and the rest of his family than the controlled environment of a school cafeteria? He had thought, and now, seeing the slight glare on Edward’s face, he couldn’t decide whether or not that had been a bad decision on his part.

As thoughts of anger rushed through Jasper’s mind, Edwards eyes flickered over to his. Edward’s glare softened as he processed Jasper’s internal dialog. He knew that it wasn’t his fault and he knew that it wasn’t Camila’s, but he couldn’t help how he felt. He was jealous and he was finding it difficult to hide his emotions. His eyes flitted across Jasper’s face, neck, and arms. The scars littered across his skin were a reminder to not push things with him. The crescents, nearly invisible to the human eye, were a gigantic red flag to any vampire. Neon lights that flashed bright as a warning to everyone around him to stay back or else. Although he knew that his brother would never hurt him, he also knew not to start a fight, because it would most definitely be one he would lose.

Huffing in irritation, Edward pulled out his chair, rushing to leave the cafeteria. He could try all he wanted to be civil and not start a fight, but he wasn’t about to sit there and take this torture. Over time it would get easier for him to cope, but in that moment, the wound was fresh and he needed to be far from the reminder. 

Jasper sighed in annoyance, rolling his eyes once again as he let his defenses fall back down to their normal level. “Ignore him.” He muttered to the girl beside him, slinging his arm protectively around the back of her chair.

——————

“So what’s with you and Cullen?” Tyler blurted out suddenly. Camila’s head fell to look at her boots that thudded along the hallway towards their last class of the day. She could feel the blood rushing up to her cheeks and knew that it would do little to help her case if he saw the growing blush. 

“What do you mean?” She asked, feigning confusion. It was a matter of time before someone started the inevitable conversation given Jasper’s display in the cafeteria that day, but she had hoped she would have a bit more time to prepare herself. 

Tyler stuffed his hands into his pockets awkwardly. “Yeah, you two seemed… cozy today at lunch.” He muttered.

Camila raised her head, quirking an eyebrow at the dark skinned boy in stride beside her. “Cozy?” She asked, a hint of humor tinting her voice. Tyler was clearly bothered by this whole situation, a fact that she found humorous given the circumstance. From the fact that Tyler had asked her to prom just a few days previous, she could gather herself that he was most likely jealous of Jasper. Not that he had any reason to be. Camila had every intention to stick to her plan of staying single and as much as she was beginning to care for Jasper, she didn’t see that changing.

A scoff sounded from the boy by her side as he rolled his eyes at her teasing. “Yeah. Cozy. You sat with his family at lunch instead of us, and he was practically all over you.” He argued. 

Camila laughed lightly at his words. “He was not all over me.” She argued. In fact, like usual, she had been hyper aware of every touch from the pale immortal. As usual, he had shown to be very hesitant in touching her, only giving the slight graze of his fingertips along her covered back as he lead her to the table. She of course was also extremely aware of the arm that he had slung protectively around the back of her seat after Edward’s whole display, but he had been very precise in not letting his cold skin actually touch her in any way.

Tyler groaned frustratedly. “Whatever it was, I don’t like it.” He complained.

Camila’s eyebrows knitted together. What was it with people at this school being assholes to them? The Cullen’s kept to themselves, sure, but they were never anything but polite to anyone they came into contact with. At this point, all these little comments that everybody kept making were beginning to piss her off. “And why should you not liking it mean anything to me?” She asked incredulously. Sure, she wanted to make friends, and be nice, but she was starting to become defensive over Jasper and she wasn’t just going to stand there and take everybody’s bullshit. Because that’s what it was. Complete and utter bullshit.

Tyler’s eyes widened slightly in surprise. He hadn’t expected her to respond in that way, never seeing her angry before. “I mean, he’s kind of creepy isn’t he? I’m just trying to look out for you. He doesn’t seem… good.” He said trailing off towards the end as he took in the expression of anger growing more and more prevalent on her face.

She had to bite back a snide remark as she tried to process how she could respond without sounding like a total bitch. An awkward silence rung between the two teens before she decided that she didn’t really care anymore. If he was going to give unsolicited advice to her when he barely knew her then she would respond accordingly. “No offense Tyler, but I didn’t ask for your shitty advice. I’m a big girl, I can look out for myself, thanks.” She said finitely.

Pushing her aching legs to move her forward at a faster pace, she let out an internal sigh of relief as the door to her calculous class came into view. Lunch had gone well, all things considered. Despite Edward’s little display, the rest of Jasper’s family had welcomed her with open arms. While the conversation mostly consisted of small talk and them asking her questions about herself, she could tell that they were all genuinely nice people. 

Alice had invited her over for the following weekend, in which Camila had immediately agreed to without thinking. Now that she had been given the time to think about the implications of the invite, she realized that she would be meeting their adoptive mother and seeing Carlisle. While she knew Carlisle fairly well, given meeting him the week prior, she realized how nervous she was to meet Esme. Jasper had talked the woman up so highly, but she couldn’t help but feel her nerves eating away at her. She would be meeting his mother soon, ‘adopted’ or not and it was only natural to have that kind of reaction. 

Jasper, as usual, was already seated at their assigned table by the time she had arrived to the classroom. Camila flitted to the back of the room to her seat, letting her body drop into the confines of the cool plastic, as she let out a heavy sigh. 

“Are you okay?” Jasper asked, concern lacing his voice. It was normal for her be exhausted by the end of the school day, but he could also feel her anger and frustration. The feelings set off warning bells in his mind and he was immediately on alert to what had upset her. 

Camila rolled her eyes, raking her slim fingers through the long dark strands of her hair. “Tyler Crowley is an asshole.” She said simply, annoyance still evident on her face as she recalled their conversation that had just taken place moments ago. 

His eyes flickered over to where said boy had just entered the classroom, narrowing as he took in the sight. “What did he say?” He asked, immediately defensive over the girl. 

“He apparently has an issue with you and ‘just wants to look out for me’.” She said, yanking her workbook and and pencil case from her backpack and slamming them down on the desk.

Jasper’s shoulder’s drooped at her words as he hummed in reply. He couldn’t even be mad. What Tyler said was clearly justified, whether or not Camila had realized. She should be warned about him. Just because he didn’t thirst for her blood didn’t mean that he wasn’t a danger towards her. Didn’t mean that he couldn’t hurt her, even if it wasn’t intensional. Didn’t mean that he wasn’t a monster at the end of the day.

Hearing his near silent response, Camila turned her head to see him looking down slightly defeated, eyes refusing to meet her own. “Jasper.” She said, trying and failing to get him to look at her. “Jasper.” She repeated, grasping at his hand  that laid in a tight fist at his thigh. 

Electricity shot through her fingers as they brushed the marble skin of his clenched knuckles, but she pushed on. “Can you look at me, please?” She asked, her soft voice contrasting the anger that had filled it just moments ago. 

His amber eyes flickered up to meet hers. As much as he wanted to sulk in that moment, he wanted more to give her what she wanted. Her eyes softened as she saw the pain that filled his. They were always filled with pain, but this was different. More of an inner torment and seeing it made her chest ache. 

She turned his fist over in her palm, nudging the fingers apart so she could intertwine them with her own. “He’s full of shit, Jazz. I know you would never hurt me.” She said, voice softly ringing in his ears. 

The pain in his heart grew at her words. He didn’t deserve her. She was too perfect for his damned self and he knew it, but that didn’t stop him from being grateful that she was there. It didn’t stop him from selfishly wanting her. He pulled their intertwined fingers up to his lips were he laid a soft kiss on the back of her palm, thanking her for her kindness. Thanking her for her comfort. 

The touch of his chilled lips on her skin sent her heart into overdrive, and knowing that he could he hear his effect on her didn’t help the blush that was creeping onto her cheeks. She had expected him to drop her hold after that, but instead, their hands remained, bound together and laying gently in his lap. 

Class continued, the two working together on finishing the next page in their worksheet. Jasper of course could finish the work in less than a minute, but anything that gave him the excuse to talk to Camila he would gladly do. She sat there, eyebrows furrowed as she worked over a particularly difficult problem on the sheet. Normally, she would have no problem solving the equations, but today her mind was wandering too much. She sighed, giving up as she let her pencil clatter onto the chipped veneer of the desk.

“Do you want to come over to my house today?” She asked suddenly. Clearly seeing that she had caught him off guard, she continued. “I have more questions.” She clarified. 

Jasper groaned internally. As much as he would love to avoid the inevitable conversation, he also knew that it had to happen at some point. At least he would get to spend more time with her, a definite plus. “Sure, I can just drive us after class if you’d like.” He offered. Alice had told him to drive separately to school that day, and now it was clear why. He would have to thank her later. 

Camila nodded, pulling her flip phone from her bag and trying to discreetly type a quick text to her mother letting her know that Jasper would drive her home. Doing so was a bit difficult to do one handed, but she wasn’t about to take her other hand out of his grasp. 

The remainder of the class trudged on slowly to Camila’s dismay. Now that she knew that she would be able to ask all of the questions that had been racing through her mind, she couldn’t seem to clear her head of them. Finally, a bell rang shrilly throughout the class, signaling the end of the school day. An unspoken agreement stood between her and Jasper as they both proceeded to pack away their belongings without undoing the grip on each other’s hands. 

She wasn’t sure what the hand holding meant to him or even herself, but she didn’t exactly care. She already had to constantly remind herself of her promise to keep any romance at bay, but hand holding didn’t necessarily have to mean that. It was comforting, having his cold palm pressed against hers, and despite her internal screaming at herself that it was a bad idea, she didn’t want to pull away. So there they were, walking down the hallway, hand in hand, attracting even more stares than usual. 

Camila let out a sigh as they reached the parking lot, the cool air feeling nice on her feverish skin. Puffs of vapor swirled in front of her mouth as steady breaths of hot air left her parted lips. Jasper had to rip his eyes away from the sight to make sure that he was walking in the right direction. He needed to pull his shit together. Kissing her hand had been bad enough, but he had to stop himself from thinking too much about her lips. Her soft warm plump lips. Jesus Christ, STOP. 

He wished so badly in that moment that he could’ve kissed her. Regardless of the numerous bystanders. However, he knew that it wasn’t safe. He didn’t trust himself enough not to end up accidentally hurting her. He didn’t even know if she would���ve kissed him back for fuck’s sake. And here he was feeling like an absolute creep again. 

Pulling himself from his thoughts, he pulled the passenger door of his car open for her. Reluctantly, she let loose of his grasp, immediately feeling an emptiness without it’s presence. She settled into the plush bucket seat, pulling her bag into her lap as he shut the door softly behind her. 

Flitting quickly, or as quick as seemed human, to the driver’s side, Jasper slid in and turned the key in the ignition. Shifting the car into reverse, he backed out of the parking spot and shifted back into drive as he sped out onto the street. He internally thanked his past self for buying a manual transmission before reaching over to grasp Camila’s hand once more. 

Camila let her hair fall in front of her face, hoping that the curtain of dark strands hid the smile that she couldn’t wipe away. For someone who was so adamant on not dating, she kept finding herself being giddy whenever he touched her. What was she a twelve year-old? He was just holding her hand, she shouldn’t feel like a swarm of butterflies was flying around in her stomach. 

The drive to Camila’s home hadn’t taken long, and by the time they arrived at the small house, he mother’s mini van was still absent from the driveway. She had replied earlier letting her know that she was going to go grocery shopping since she had time before she had to go to work, and Camila was happy to see that she hadn’t returned yet. One less awkward interaction with Jasper and her parents would always be a good thing. 

As they stepped through the threshold of the home, she found herself wishing she had cleaned her room. She hadn’t thought of the mess she had left behind before she had invited him over, albeit a small mess. Either way, she couldn’t help herself but try and hurriedly pick up the few pieces of clothing scattered around the room once they made it through the doorway. 

Once she was content with her ‘cleaning’ she shut the door softly behind her and plopped down on her mattress, the springs squeaking slightly in protest. Scooting backwards until her back met the wall, she patted the empty space beside her, gesturing for Jasper to join her. On one hand, she almost wanted to sit out on the couch in the living room, as it would probably seem less intimate that way, but she also didn’t want to be interrupted by her mother when she inevitably returned home from the store. So there they were sitting side by side awkwardly on her worn out used mattress and now she didn’t know how to start the conversation. 

Sensing her hesitation, Jasper spoke up. “So, you have questions.” He said, wanting to end the torture of waiting any longer. If she was going to run away screaming, he would rather it be sooner than later, because the anticipation was slowly eating away at him. 

Camila sucked in a breath. “How old are you?” She blurted out. Jasper groaned, rubbing his hands down his face. He should’ve expected her to jump right to the point, but, somehow, he hadn’t. “You said it was a conversation for another day. It’s another day now.” She reasoned.

“I know. I know.” He said with a sigh. “I’m just really old, Darlin’.” He said, hoping the nickname would distract her. It didn’t.

She scoffed. “That’s not an answer.” She said bluntly. 

Jasper closed his eyes, sucking in a breath as he braced for the impact of her reaction. “I’m a hundred and sixty-one.” He muttered lowly. Utter silence followed. 

Camila didn’t know what she expected, if the age he had given was younger or older than she had thought it would be, but hearing him say such a precise age made everything seem way more real. She couldn’t find the words to say in response, so instead, she reached over to grasp his hand once more, letting him know that she wasn’t disgusted like he had thought. 

“Will you tell me your story?” She asked, not being able to help her intrigue.

His bright gold eyes met her emerald irises. “It’s kind of gruesome.” He warned, trying his best to prolong the inevitable admission of his past, but knowing that it was just that. Inevitable.

“I want to know.” She said simply. “If you’re willing to tell me.” She clarified. 

Jasper was fucked and he knew it. Anything that she wanted, he would give her in a heartbeat, but she would hate him after this. “I didn't have quite the same upbringing as my adopted siblings.” He said, reaching his free hand over reluctantly, to roll up the sleeve on the arm that she held. 

She wasn’t sure how she hadn’t noticed them before, but there they were. Hundreds of crescent shaped scars shimmering lightly in the dim lighting emitted from her ceiling fan. Now that she knew what to look for, she could see the scars were scattered across every piece of visible skin. Down his arms, onto the hand that was holding hers, a few up his neck to his handsome face. “Are those… bites?” She asked incredulously.

“Battle scars.” He responded, a small smirk gracing his lips. “I was seventeen when I joined the Confederate Army.” He said, pausing when he saw her grimace. “I know. I wish I could say that I didn’t know what I was fighting for, or against, but I knew enough. I’m not proud of it.” He said hanging is head in shame. 

“I was the youngest major in the Texas cavalry. All without having seen any real battle.” He continued.

Camila perked up. “I knew that was a Texas accent.” She said smirking at him, gaining a small smile in repose. Leave it to her to try and lighten the mood as soon as it gets dark.

Still, he pushed on, knowing that it was about to become a much darker conversation. “I was riding back to Galveston...after evacuating a column of women and children. When I saw her.” He said dauntingly. “I immediately offered her my aid.” He continued.

“Maria was creating an army. A newborn vampire army.” He clarified. “Our kind are at their strongest in their first year after changing. Their human blood still lingers in their veins and gives them more speed and strength.” He explained.

“Newborn armies were very common in the South, and cost a brutal battles for territory.” He continued, losing himself in the story. “Maria won them all. She was smart, careful. And she had me. I was the second in command. My abilities to control emotions served her well.” He said, looking down to the warm hand he still had clutched in his own, trying to find comfort in her touch. 

“I trained her newborns. An endless occupation since she never let them live beyond their first year.” He said, cringing from the memory. “It was my job to dispose of them.” He said, voice thick with emotion. It pained him to remember what he had done. To remember their pain. “I could feel everything they felt.”

The crease between Camila’s brows deepened. It clearly hurt for him to recall these memories, and she found herself wishing that she could take that pain away. 

“I thought what Maria and I had was love. But I was her puppet. She pulled the strings. I didn't know there was another way. Until I found Alice in 1948. Now she'd seen me coming, of course.” He paused, remembering that this would wouldn’t make much sense to Camila. 

He gathered his thoughts quickly, trying explain the best he could. “She has visions, of possible futures. They change when decisions are made, but she knew when and where to find me.” He smiled slightly. “She saw you, even though she conveniently didn’t warn me.” He explained.

“I don't know what I'd have become without her. I’d done horrible, unspeakable things, and she helped me get past that. My family choses to feed off of animal blood rather than human blood, but it wasn’t always like that for me. I’ve killed innocent people. I’m not a… good person.” He ended his story with a sigh, unsure of how she was feeling. 

Her mind was filled with conflicting emotions that he couldn’t quite place all together. “I completely understand if you want me to leave.” He said, moving to pull his hand away from hers. 

Her grip tightened as her eyes shot up to his. “No, stay. Please.” She muttered. She knew how her reaction must seem. In truth, she had almost expected worse. As bad as his story was, at least he didn’t actively kill people. It was a horrible argument, she knew, but after being given the rest of the weekend to let her mind wander, she had tried to prepare herself for the worst. 

Her silence was agony and he couldn’t help himself when he asked. “Can you please tell me what you’re thinking?”

Camila sighed, bringing her eyes back to his. “I’m not going to sit here and act like what you did wasn’t wrong, because it was. But I’m also not going to actively try and make you feel any worse for it. You’ve had over fifty years to regret what you did, and you clearly do. I’m not going to judge you for something that you wish you could’ve changed, not when I know you’re a good person now.” She said. 

Jasper shook his head in disbelief. How was she this forgiving? It seemed impossible. He was sure she would be disgusted with him, but here she was forgiving him for something he couldn’t even forgive himself for. “How are you not terrified of me?” He asked.

She looked deep into his eyes as she answered. “I’m not scared because I know you won’t do anything to hurt me.” She said simply.

“I could hurt you on accident. Very easily.” He argued, looking ashamed. “I could crush you just by hugging you too tightly. I know you don’t understand fully, but it would be so easy that I actively have to try and not hurt you.” He said, a deep frown on his face.

Camila’s eyebrows furrowed as she brought her free hand down to trace the crescent shaped scars that littered his arm. “I don’t know what to tell you. I trust you, that’s the best answer I can give you, Jasper. You need to try and have trust in yourself.” She answered.

Jasper shook his head, baffled that she had so much trust in him to begin with. He didn’t deserve it. He didn’t deserve her. Seeing the sadness still in his eyes, she rushed, trying to find a change of topic to lighten the mood from the darkness that it had reached. “So, if you can manipulate emotions and Alice sees visions of the future, does anyone else in your family have a ‘gift’.” She asked, curiosity peaking once again. 

Jasper was thankful for the change of topic, already feeling himself beginning to spiral from the continuous self hatred. “Yeah, Edward is the only other one in our family. He can, um, read minds… I know it sounds ridiculous.” He said, slightly humiliated at how fictional everything sounded. 

“Oh god. That’s… embarrassing.” She muttered, her mind beginning to wander. Edward had no doubt read her mind and heard her thoughts of Jasper. Those were thoughts she didn’t even want to admit to herself and now he definitely had knew all about them. 

Suddenly her mind went to his exit at lunch. Was that why he had left? Was it something she had thought that had set him off? “What happened with him at lunch today?” She asked.

Rolling his eyes at the memory, Jasper tried to form the most comprehensible explanation. “He’s jealous that I can tell you the truth and he can’t tell Bella.” He said simply. 

“Bella Swan?” Camila asked.

Jasper nodded. “He… has a particular interest in her. He’s been trying to avoid her because he knows that it won’t end well, and he’s jealous that I don’t have to do the same with you.” He explained. 

“Why is it different with me?” She asked, trying to ignore the implication that Jasper had an interest in her.

His eyes trailed across the bare walls of her bedroom, looking anywhere but at her as he continued. “He has a really hard time with the scent of her blood, while yours is different for me.” He said.

“Because of the leukemia?” She asked.

Jasper nodded again. “It’s more dangerous for her than it is for you because of that. It’s hard for him to even be in the same room as her. Either way it would end badly.” He explained.

“End badly how? Surely it could end in more ways than just him killing her right?” She asked. She knew the subject had to be touchy and sensitive, but she couldn’t keep herself from asking.

Here it was. The scariest topic of them all. If he didn’t handle this just right, if he didn’t use the right words, then there went his chance of a future with her. He gulped, mustering the courage to speak. “He could kill her or he could change her. Both which he doesn’t want to do.” 

Camila’s eyed widened. She hadn’t even thought of that. Changing into a vampire. She wasn’t sure why her mind hadn’t gone there, but she hadn’t even considered that a possibility. She couldn’t help it when her mind wandered to what this could mean for her. He had said it like he was trying to imply something else entirely. He had to know the possible endings. Surely Alice had seen. 

“Are there more possible endings for me? Futures where I don’t die from the leukemia?” She asked. She had to know. She had spent a year coming to terms with the fact that her life would be cut short, but now she wasn’t sure. She knew that her illness would in no doubt end up taking her human life, but what if she turned. What if she changed into something else where the cancer didn’t effect her anymore? What if she wasn’t human anymore? She had to know, because suddenly, after a year of withering away, she might have another option. She might have hope.

Jasper turned his eyes back to hers. This was the make it or break it moment. He sucked in a breath, feeling a tightness in his chest regardless of the fact that he didn’t need the oxygen. 

And he spoke. “Yes… Alice has seen it."

Next Chapter

Tag List:

@jasper-the-beloved @parkchaeyoung1997 @bobaopal @izzyisstuff @itsmytimetoodream @soyeonrai @just-browsing101 @demirunner @dkbj14 @iloveramensm @imyelenasexual @bella7866 @ropickle @may-and-lay @breezybeesposts @emily-a13 @mamajaxx2511 @meyrryme @bertholdtswife @swagcopangeloop @idonotcareaboutyouropinion @honey132 @sakurayuki8655-blog @braveangel777 @illogic-ally @obsessed-with-pychopaths @natsvenom @iamveryholyiswear @too-many-fandoms-tbh @loser-syrus

[peacocks-pantomime]

In an empty theatre, teardrops echo like the sound of applause.

All I do is lay down a bet~ It’s out of my control if my opponent decides to lay down their life, isn’t it?

After the chaos, not much was left of Sigonia-IV, yet there were two malnourished children-- Kakavasha and his Big Sis, nearly perishing from the elements on the ruined planet.

One day, there was finally salvation in the form of a light-- a light, and a beautiful woman dressed in elegant clothing peering down at them under a wide-brimmed hat.

She told them that they would be safe, that they could trust her-- and what other option did they have? She looked so different, and seemed so kind compared to the others that have mistreated them... Big Sis had been willing to give her a chance.

And so, Kakavasha was whisked away to another world, offered clean clothes and a room of his own. He fell asleep immediately, curling up on the soft carpet of the floor.

When he awoke, his Big Sis wasn't there. But they said she would be. They told him she would be. So he wanders through the strange building against his better judgement.

It wasn't long before he heard muffled words coming from the ajar door of a bright room. He snuck over to peek into the room and he saw people dressed in simplistic black clothing, taking notes on some sort of devices and huddled around a bed.

And on the bed lay the body of his dead sister. But those people would never acknowledge her as such; to them she was only an experiment. One of the last Sigonians of the Avgin race, a miraculous discovery. And they weren't going to tell him. They were going to hide it from him.

Blinded by the emotions swirling around inside of him, Kakavasha threw himself through the doorway, grabbing the first sharp tool in sight, and ended the lives of all the professionals in that wretched room one by one.

He'd cried the whole time. He couldn't identify the emotion the tears stemmed from-- whether from sadness at the loss of his sister, or from the rage burning bright-- but as the boy stood there, he dropped his weapon, wrapping his arms around himself in horror...

He didn't feel guilty for what he'd done.

That sort of control-- the ability to watch the life of another mortal slip away between his fingers and know that he was the cause...

It was empowering.

Notes from the moderator:

~ Mod also runs the @aventurine-official rp account, so the format is her own and is not plagiarized :)

~ Art (2nd top picture and pfp) and concept credit goes to @day-night-darlix! Their original post is here

~ This Aventurine exists in the same universe as @the-truth-of-nothingness

A famous musical artist and actor, known for masking his true self.

Roams around Penacony but travels the cosmos to perform

Is quite sadistic and will bet others on their life-- resulting in their death, because he never loses.

Longs to destroy the IPC as vengeance for the lies and betrayal from which his sister suffered

The glistening teardrop hanging around his neck allows him to mesmerize others with a glance, if he so wishes-- the glow of his eyes is interconnected

(I might add more details later, or link a headcanon post!)

Guidelines:

~ Keep the asks sfw if you please, suggestive is okay!

~ No random links in asks unless they are links to other Tumblr posts (if they are there, please specify what they are)

~ Be kind, please. Any hateful comments related but not limited to racism, sexism, homophobia, ableism, ageism and transphobia will not be tolerated here and you may be blocked.

~ All ships (age-appropriate) are welcome. (I personally believe Aventurine is gay as hell, so he will have a noticeable interest in men versus women).

~ Try to avoid sending DMs to the mod unless you are another mod

~ Anons are more than welcome here! You may have a personalized tag and everything :)

List of current anon signoffs here

Key (if applicable):

" " : for dialogue

* * : for movements

( ) : ooc

Tags:

#ace of spades ♠️ : Art reblogs

#the flip of a coin 🪙 : Random thoughts and calm moments

#trump card 🃏 : Asks from anons and others

#life on the line 🎲 : Interactions with Honkai Star Rail blogs

#melancholy theatre 🎭 : Interactions with other members of the Masked Fools

#a warning spark 🎆 : Interactions with /mentions of Flare (a lovely mutual’s oc!)

#dear doctor 🍷 : Interactions with / mentions of the Veritas Ratio in his universe

Masterlist post of Honkai Star Rail-official blogs linked here

[mjblue]

Dorcas Meadowes headcanons developed (mostly) in the void

Hey Marauders Tumblr! I'm pretty new here, but I've seen people making lists like this of their headcanons, and as somebody who has never really interacted with fanon, I thought it would be interesting to share some of mine to see how they compare to what other people have come up with. I’ve had these for years, and my inspiration for them was literally just a few pieces of art on Pinterest (so, interestingly, the ways in which my headcanons are most similar to popular fanon tend to be in the characters’ appearances), the canon books, and my own overactive imagination. I'm starting with Dorcas, because from what little I've gathered she, Marlene, and Mary seem to be the characters for whom my interpretations are the most different from what's already out there (although it's fascinating how close they actually are sometimes).

Please do lmk what you think!!! I've put the list below the cut so as not to annoy people who just want to scroll ↓↓↓

First things first: like I said, I developed these before interacting with fanon much, so I am a Gryffindor Dorcas truther (I know a lot of people have her in Slytherin now, sorry 🙃)

“The weird and offputting one” (said with love)

One sibling. A brother, two years older, in Ravenclaw

Intelligent and creative. Would have been in Ravenclaw with her brother, but adamantly refused, as at the age of 11 she found him deeply irritating and could not stand to be in his presence

Very emotionally level. Difficult to excite, difficult to anger, difficult to deeply wound

Fatal flaw: stubbornness

Patronus: tiger 🐯

Acquired something of a reputation for casual meanness throughout her school years (though, importantly, not for cruelty). It wasn’t that she didn’t always think before she spoke; rather, it was that she cared more about what she thought than the feelings of those around her

Fashion-adventurous. As a child, enjoyed bright colours, patterns, and loose cuts; as an adult, enjoyed black, jewel tones, and artfully distressed items (would likely have enjoyed the goth subculture, but alas, ‘twas after her time)

Mastered colour-changing spells in third year so she could match the beads in her braids with her outfit, nail polish, and mood

Along with James and Lily, one of the few amongst her friends to have a happy upbringing

Would have done well in art school (mixed-media sculpture)

Did not dream of labour. Worked occasionally as a professional duellist, and won nearly all of her matches when she did, but devoted most of her time to the Order and her portraiture (which she hoped to one day make a living from, though she was unwilling to sacrifice her abstract, vivid style to satisfy her more traditional customers)

Genuinely confident in herself from an early age, including in her sexuality (asexual biromantic) (because gosh darn it this fandom needs some ace rep)

Figured the ace part out when she kissed her first boyfriend and hated it, but still wanted to know his mind and hold his hand; figured the biromantic part out when Marlene went on a date with her first boyfriend (which, in Marlene’s case, was comphet) and Dorcas also hated it

Confessed her feelings to Marlene straight away when she realised, but only to get it off her chest; never expected her feelings to be returned. Proceeded to date around a bit, and was pleasantly surprised a short while later :)

Had one Muggle grandmother, with whom she was very close. Passed away the summer between Dorcas’s fifth and sixth years (just after Dorcas received an ‘O’ on her Muggle Studies O.W.L.)

Took the maximum four out of five supplemental subjects after second year, mostly because a Ravenclaw bet she wouldn’t

Proposed to Marlene the night of James and Lily’s wedding, privately, in a dark corner of the dance floor after the newlyweds had left

Siouxsie and the Banshees #1 fan. Tragically too busy avenging her recently-murdered fiancée to listen to Juju, although she did hear “Spellbound” once or twice on the radio

Also an enjoyer of the B-52s

Anyway...I think about my version of Dorcas a lot (could you tell lol), and I'm pretty invested in these headcanons because they form the basis of her characterisation in the fanfiction I write, so I probably won't be changing my mind anytime soon, but it's always fun to hear what other people think! Seriously, please let me know :)

[halliescomut]

LITA (jpn) Episode 2 Feelings

Okay, so I did not go back to review the timeline so I could figure out how it compares to the og, instead I simply went and read a recap/review, but I'm pretty sure the the happenings in episode two of both versions are basically identical as far as the Arashi/Rei storyline.

Brief break to include my character note sheet, and also to mention since they have changed the name, assume if I say Phayu/Rain/etc I'm talking about the characters as a the canon characters or the Thai version. If I say Arashi/Rei/etc. it is specific to the Japanese adaptation. I know it's vaguely confusing, but I hope that makes it clearer. I'm sorry.

We do see the scene with Stop (idk if he's been given a new name for this adaptation) boasting at the restaurant switched/moved forward so that it occurs while Arashi is out having a drink with Fuma. Plotwise, I'm not sure how much it matters. I did like that Phayu was never really interested in the racing aspect in general, he was a mechanic and that was fine. The fact that he was good at racing was vaguely irrelevant. Here we see though that Arashi is a mechanic still, but he also races with some level of regularity, and so him dipping out because of Rei has a bit more consequence, presumably because these are underground races and the BIG BOSS that's putting them on is making money in various ways like betting, which means this switch could result in a lost race and lost money for BIG BOSS. Arashi doesn't seem to care overly about the race, it does feel more like a responsibility thing versus a desire to win like we see with Fuma. (Small detour here to say that this version of Payu & Prapai also definitely hooked up pre-finding their soulmates. What is this chemistry??)

So the major plot points for this episode for me personally are the confrontation at the school, the 'sneaking into' the race (which we've partly already seen) and the race aftermath with the spanking and Rain/Rei kissing Phayu/Arashi. In the og we do get some referral to Sky's ex, him being the one that is familiar with the races and getting the info for Rain, but here it's a bit different. I still am not really sure how I feel about that change.

But to the first kind of BIG plot point, there's some changes, instead of dragging him to a bathroom and into a stall , they go to Phayu's car. The conversation there is pretty word for word based on my memory, but truly that scene is ALL about the physical acting and the tension presented by the actors. Is it as good as the original? I have to say no. Truly the bathroom scene as done by Boss and Noeul is one of the most sexually expressive without being explicit that I've ever seen, and it's actually wild to me that more people don't talk about it when they talk about their onscreen chemistry. That's not to say it's poorly done here, I think it is effective, but just not quite at the same level. Even though in this case they do give that time and space for the anticipation to build...it's kind of has a ceiling.

I'm gonna veer off for a minute to add some context to my thoughts here and then we'll circle back around. Payu and Rain have a very clearly understood and portrayed D/s dynamic. It's pretty explicit in all of Mame's couples early on. I do think it peters off after LITA, but it's very clear in TT, DSN, and LITA. It's always presented as pretty organic/inherent in the characters, not the preplanned, 80 page contract way of 50 Shades of Grey. There's pros and cons to this. IRL anyone engaging in the BDSM scene safely will do so with very clearly articulated and understood boundaries. Maybe not an extensive itemized list of hard and soft limits (though those are a good place to start) but at least conversations. But that's not interesting viewing to most people. And there are certainly many couples who engage in D/s relationships in a more organic way without that heavy structure. There are also many people who are the people they are (specifically speaking about being Dominant or submissive here) who will simply gravitate towards a person that complements that. This is true in romantic/sexual relationships as well as platonic ones. In LITA, you see it with Rain and Sky. Rain has a very submissive personality, him being a brat aside, and you see him gravitate towards Phayu but ALSO Sky, who also has the ability to be Dominant with Rain and a submissive finds that comforting. That ethereal feeling of structure that you have when you are submissive and have Dominant people around you is very comforting, and its often very unconscious. You are not thinking, at least not in any structured way, this all kind of hind brain stuff. It's integral to you as a person, and so doesn't require any complex thought. Now back to my point--

In the bathroom scene with Rain and Phayu, you see Rain go basically mindless. It feels to me almost like Rain entering subspace, but of course he has no reference for what that is. Like there are NO COHERENT thoughts happening in there. And this scene with Rei and Arashi...it's close...but you can still feel the wheels turning in Rei's mind. Now if they weren't going to lean into that D/s dynamic as much as we've seen before, then that would be fine, but they do still lean into it. It just makes the scene just a smidge less effective emotionally in my opinion, I think the major themes and ideas being presented are still there, it's just not S-tier. Like we're talking Boss/Noeul get an A plus, and the adaptation gets an A-.

And with that we'll move onto the second scene which is the spanking. I think this one is kind of equal- one to one with the og. The Dominance from Payu/Arashi, the reaction from Rain/Rei where's he's finally understanding the danger he put himself in. Like there's jokes about how dumb Rain is, and I don't think he really is dumb. I think he's someone who hasn't really had to consider darker aspects of life. It's that naivety of the ingenue like I talked about in my ep one discussion. But in addition to that naivety, he is still a brat, he's very rash, occasionally thoughtless. He does not look before he leaps, and while in some aspects that can be an admirable trait, it's what makes his next moves make sense (we'll get there in a minute) it also has the potential to be dangerous. That potential danger is what Arashi sees. The fox knows what dangers lurk for the rabbit. And already Arashi is so enamored with Rei, that he has to give him that hardline, to understand that one of the things that simply can not be tolerated is him putting his life in danger. I think the scene reads almost as silly, if you don't have the perspective to understand the subtext that makes it impactful, but I do think its pretty subtly acted.

Now onto that last little bit, which is Rei kissing Arashi and 'threatening' to make him fall in love with him. Now if you don't know the full story from the og version/novel, spoilers for this next bit. But Arashi is kind of behind some of the 'meet cute' things that happen, specifically Rei's car breaking down outside the restaurant. And he does this because he wants to get to know Rei. He's been interested in him for a while. His intention is to basically get himself in front of him often enough to woo him, but this moment is not part of the plan and it's why Arashi finds it so amusing. He's happy to let Rei take on the work of wooing him, because he's confident already that Rei is physically attracted....kind of confirmed with the whole 'wow you're handsome' comment, and Rei's physical *wags eyebrows* reaction to Arashi in his car...so allowing him to put in work means that Arashi doesn't have to keep finding excuses to see Rei. The most I think telling thing is how Arashi responds. He says "I'll be waiting". He is basically daring Rei, because he's observed him enough to know that Rei really struggles to back down from a challenge, even one he's likely to lose. It's that rashness, and that kind of spark, that willful singlemindedness, that makes him confident that Rei will actively work to woo him if he makes it a challenge.

Also vaguely irrelevant in the long run, but I think who they've kind of copied the wardrobe choices from the og to the adaptation is both fun and a little weird. Like, I will campaign forever about how important wardrobe is to establishing a character...but like....you don't have to do direct outfit copies like it seems like they tried to do. Like it just feels like a lot of effort, but it is kind of fun.

[mouse-fantoms]

Questions for fic writers!

I saw @gay-flyboys do this and I wanted to join so- here I am

1. How many works do you have on Ao3?

19! I just have ✨ideas✨

2. What’s your total Ao3 word count?

Apparently just over 69, 800 words.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

So on my Ao3 is Jatp and then I have a Wattpad (my user on there is Mouse0415) (I’ve had it since I was 13 it’s just grown up with me as I write) where I write for Miraculous Ladybug

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

(These are linked in my master list that’s pinned on my blog)

1. Easier Than Speaking (What if Flynn didn’t find out about Nick asking out Julie until after school? What if she came into Julie’s room just started going on and on about it? Julie is just trying to get her to be quiet because there happens to be a certain ghost present in the room. Luke also finds out about Perfect Harmony?)

2. Improvise (Essentially Luke asks Reggie for help to learn piano bc he hears Julie humming Perfect Harmony)

3. Right Where I Need To Be (Jatp Camp Rock AU)

4. Reggie’s Magic (Julie has a crisis bc Reggie styles Luke hair and it just so happens to look like his perfect harmony hair)

5. The Discovery (A way Ray finds out about the boys)

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

I try to! I’m normally active right away when I first publish a fic bc I wanna see reactions to it 👀 I just imagine the person who writes the comment is like “I bet they’ll never see this” but responding to them I’m saying “yes! I see and appreciate your comment that you left 🥺”

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

I don’t write a lot of angst endings but I guess the one that comes closest is “An Opening Scene” (which is my version of how an opening scene to a new Jatp season would be)

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

Basically like all the fics I’ve wrote 😂

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Luckily no one has! People have just always been genuinely kind and positive with their comments and kudos/votes with what I write 🥺

9. Do you write smut ? If so, what kind?

Personally I don’t, I may imply things but I only ever leave it at I just leave those to your imagination if you will 💀

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one who’ve written?

I’ve done a few fics that have songs incorporated in them that’s the most like “crossovers” I’ve done

11. Have you had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Once again not to my knowledge

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

I have not but the idea is exciting to think about!

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

Out of the ones I write for 👀 (if this was an overall list of my ships we’d be here forever)

Juke & Ladynoir they’re just so 😭🤌 you can do so much with them it’s just beautiful

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

The WIP I’ve had for the LONGEST TIME is one where I had this idea for like a Willex date but it turns into like Juke date too so it’s double date kind of thing, this is the lil note I have in the document for it that’s to myself so I don’t forget what it’s about,

It’s just been a WIP for so long at this point 😭

16. What are your writing strengths?

I like to say that “I think in dialogue” when it comes to writing bc whenever I’m writing anything in my head, the dialogue is more prominent than the imagery in my brain. To me, it’s easier to hear how characters interact with one another in my head compared to what’s happening visually.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

To me, it’s hard to do description and not just make it a giant wall of text bc in books when I see that I find it distracting at times if it’s just like description over and over again, it does depend on the wording and if it’s “boring” or not. I just don’t want to make scenes that feel boring, I want to keep the reader invested.

It’s hard for me to fully translate what’s in my head into visual words

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

I’m not against it I just haven’t done it all too often

19. First fandom you wrote for?

I was in 7th grade, became obsessed with Miraculous Ladybug, had already written like 3 fics on paper (most during class) but I decided that wasn’t enough and sought out like fics online and discovered wattpad which is when I had the thought “I wonder if someone has already written this thing that I want to read?” And no one had in the specific way I wanted to read about so I wrote it myself… …when I was like 13… …so it’s not great and I cringe a lot when I look back at it but I still maintain that book to this day :) it’s a nice lil time capsule of like how my writing has involved and I continue to have ideas for it

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

“Right Where I Need To Be” (my Jatp Camp Rock AU) has a special place in my heart bc it basically was the first multi-chapter fic I’ve ever done especially for Jatp. I just had such a fun time with the AU and all the dynamics there were to be made. The comment reactions were so fun to get and I looked forward to reading them whenever I published a new part! (it do still be on hiatus 💀 I haven’t forgotten about it! It’s just life gets in the way but I have some parts written for the like “part 2” of it I just want them to be more put together before I release them)

I do also have a couple one shots I made for Miraculous that I look back on and I’m like “oh that’s a good one 🥰”

[cinamun]

One last thing since we’re comparing Indya and Darren to Jerri and Gabby,

If you would’ve asked me or really anyone at the beginning of this story if Indya would ever have get married AND have children I bet you everyone, even Indya herself would have said hell no. Look how wrong we would’ve been! Indya struggles a lot but she is SMASHING this motherhood shit. Her oldest owns a freaking PR firm and is marrying not only the love of her life who is a DAMN GOOD MAN but also the ONLY guy she’s given cheeks to which is the exact opposite of her momma and INDYA is who taught her to value her body and mind above all. She bought her first house fresh out of college, has bestselling books, the list goes on. The twins may be getting into trouble but what teens weren’t? Dira already knows her worth is more than being sexually available to anyone that asks for it from what we saw at prom I know that’s got to be hard for a girl her age just like it was hard for Hope, DJ flew to his sisters side as soon as he heard her in distress. He could’ve easily been embarrassed and distanced himself from the situation. Anyway, Indya relapsed MULTIPLE times. Her nights used to consist of dangerously mixing pills, cough syrup, and wine. Darren used to beat Indya’s ass so he wasn’t man of the year either, but look at him now. The first thing they said when they decided to have Hope was that they would NEVER let her go through what they did because they know what that stuff does to kids first hand. Why do you think her name is Hope?? They give their children everything and STILL check them for privilege and make sure they stay grounded. They aren’t perfect and they’re still learning but if they can grow and change from their bullshit, why can’t Jerri? Also, hello? What about Gabby??? She has been trying to sow goodness into Jerri since the day she met her so how do we know she hasn’t been nurturing Jerri’s broken spirit the way Indya and Darren did for each other?? Some people take longer to want to grow from their trauma and move on from their past, some people never have that realization but who are we to decide that for them?

Oooooo, putting down people that don’t have it as good as other people (especially black people) is one of the fastest ways to grind my gears to dust. I’m done now 😂 still no hate to Nonny! Just some education is really needed.

The way you broke this down is making me emotional istg...

I KNOW ITS LONG BUT read it all to really grasp these characters y'all. Especially YOU nonnyface.

[wench-and-jezebel]

Stranger Things Reaction: The Vanishing of Will Byers

Wench (@scripted-downfall) reacts: A Flashback Series

See this link for context

I ain't never seen an elevator whose doors are this slow to close, I'm sorry

I mean, I guess flickering lights might interfere with elevators, but still

Oof, elevator closing wouldn't have saved him anyway.

YOUNG DUSTIN IS SO CUTE!  MY GOD, HE'S ADORABLE!  I mean, not saying anything against him nowadays but he's so adorable here!!!

Okay, I'm sorry, but, from a DM standpoint, if the players are already guessing what "surprise" monster is coming, that's kinda unfortunate.  Like, they were already bickering about whether the demogorgon were coming before Mike (I think?  idk, DM kid) played his surprise thing

The surprise was well done --- I'd've added something after "that didn't come from the troglodytes"... instead of "That came from something else" I'd've said, "That came from whatever the troglodytes were running from", but it was still well done --- but them knowing the surprise already is still iffy storytelling

They’re all so smol!?!?!? Babies

NOOO NANCY WAS SO MEAN!?  DUSTIN GOES UP ALL CUTELY AND OFFERS HER A PIZZA SLICE AND SHE SLAMS THE DOOR???? RUDE!

Dustin = current beloved of the show

Wait, hold up.  Will just crashed his bike because of a creepy thing standing in the middle of the road, and said thing (about which I'd forgotten the first time) looked like Vecna.  Were they setting this up early, or am I making this up? 

Oh, or maybe not; apparently the Demogorgon was humanoid.  I must have been mixing it up with a different creature... maybe some of the zombie dogs in Resident Evil.  I thought the demogorgon had flower-teeth-face-things... idk

So weird seeing future regulars be listed as “also starring” or something like that

Okay, Hopper looks kinda like shit

alskdjflakdfj Okay, but Will's mom getting on Johnathan is a bit uncool

Dustin continues to be adorable

Well, shit, Steve… that's an entrance

"I'm stealthy, like a ninja" aslkdjf;alksdfj BUDDY Steve, you are not 

Nancy looks so different.  Well, they all do, but still

Well, at least I'm not the only one thinking Hopper looked like hell

Wait, hold up aslkdjflakjsdf CHRISSY CARPENTER?!  Someone had a girlfriend named Chrissy C and decided to run with it

Oop- biohazard, that always goes well

NOT THE DUCT TAPE

Hello there, Eleven

She's awfully calm and trusting for someone in a lab for ages (re. her walking in without any haste whatsoever)

I find it kinda hard to believe that he could see her over that counter when she’s soooo tiny, but oh well

Them geeking out over the radio is so cute

I love Mr. Clarke so much

The Australian accents too

Hopper already done with this shit

Mike’s looking pretty damn laser-focused, just saying.  If they’re all best friends, then why is he so serious compared to the others, hmmmmm?  *cough cough* Byler *cough cough*

"After school, you are all to go home and stay there" Yeah, right.  Hopper, buddy, when does that ever work

I love Joyce so much

El is very… yellow. I'm sure her being in a yellow shirt that looks too big for her and is all ill-fitting while she doesn't look comfortable there at all has nothing to do with Mike's color being blue and Will's being yellow and her and Mike having a thing, of course not. *cough cough* Byler *cough cough*

Wait, that’s right; she’s nearly nonverbal… how tf can she talk so much/well in the s4 flashbacks?

kasjdf I love that scene… she telekinetically turns off the fan and then just goes back to her fries like it was nothing

Oh, look, the Byers’ phone is yellow

Hopper acting like the doorknob hitting the wall is conclusive; buddy, she just said she had two boys, and I’m willing to bet that door gets slammed a bunch

Oop- flickering light and broken wood

Mike’s very… impassioned… about Will’s wellbeing *cough cough* Byler *cough cough*

Oh, Ted.  *sigh*

Not Mike being very.  Concerned.  About Will. *cough cough* Byler *cough cough*

ldkflaksdf Not Steve trying and failing to sneak into Nancy's house.  Yeah, bud, you're sure as shit a ninja, mmmhmm, of course

Also.  Knowing what I know from the future.  “Steve trying and failing to sneak into Nancy’s house” is kinda really sad.  Nancy might be pissed at her parents for putting her on house arrest, but it is at least them caring about their kids, so what's it say that Steve's easily able to wander around?

Oof, this poor dude.  I remember what happens to him and he deserved betterrrr

WAIT HOLD UP Steve's actually helping her study asld;kfja;lskdjf;alkfd

alksdjf;lakjsdf not Johnathan blaming himself for Will going missing and Joyce being all "don't do tht to yourself it wasn't your fault" after ragging on him for it less than an episode ago

The yellow phone is back

Eleven!  Dun dun duuun!

Ep 1 is done!

[givehimthemedicine]

Loving your theories! And the charts! So delicious! Forgive me, I obviously haven’t done as in-depth of a rewatch as you, but I’m not completely sold yet on ALL the kids within a family having the maternally inherited powers. I’m here for Max, Will & Joyce, and Holly & Karen for sure. Thank you for reminding me how baffled I was that Karen got a s4 poster. 😂 I hope you’re right, but it still seems just as possible that the power inheritance is so irregular that only one kid could get ‘em.

I do think that Will could sense the empty glowy space where the light bulb was via “true sight” or because of your theory about Joyce and the two-way electricity street. I just want to see a demonstration of Jonathan having powers because, although he does get drooled on by the s1 demogorgon, it sure seems like he’s going to get mauled. A hungry demogorgon could have come for Joyce and stayed/was lured by three regular-blood-bleeding teens for a convenience triple-yoink. The light show at the Wheelers could’ve been for just Karen and Holly. And it seemed like the possessed-flayed in s3 just wanted to normal-kill Nancy and Jonathan and have them regular-dead/absorbed. The s3 flesh monster at the hospital also drooled on Nancy, but it’s such a horror/sci-fi trope at this point. I also think the Lite Brite would’ve worked for any of the four older teens, not just Nancy. I just hope we see unquestionable demonstrations of Jonathan, Nancy and Mike powers, because one can even argue that both Victor and Alice were normies. Buuuuut if Nancy DOES have powers, and Vecna was using her as a messenger, was he inadvertently charging her with fear and guilt and anger as well with the taunting and visions of Barb? Not even half a charge because Nancy didn’t levitate, but if we see evidence of a little jolt in s5 I will squeal! Also, because Nancy survived a connection with Henry, wouldn’t she have the same spidey sense like Will (and Max)?

I wonder if people can age out of latent powers unless they’re given training at a very young age, and if they stay untapped into adulthood, maybe the most they can do is cause occasional electrical weirdness. Anyway, teens really are a perfect intersection of the most potential and the most vulnerable, and therefore the perfect target for Vecna to surge and consume.

During the glimpse of Vecna’s Cerebro, the audience is kind of led to assume he’s able to make a connection with anyone he wants and chooses to prey upon people with significant emotional damage. But now you’ve got me thinking that maybe the people shown are also just the portion of Hawkins that has latent powers.

Sorry this was so all over the place. 🤣 I appreciate your work!

Yeah definitely could be that not every kid in a family actually inherits it, or could get equally strong if they all tried to develop it. Just that they have a higher likelihood genetically than the average person if that makes sense, or at least Henry thinks they do? like I can't think of anything distinctly powersy that Mike has ever done (although I have yet to do a rewatch with all of this in mind). one thing I actually don't like about my own logic is how common it makes the powers, lol. I was excited about Max and then once I started listing everyone I was like.. hm that's fun but also somehow it isn't, lol. if as many characters have potential as I think they do, I bet they won't all become active, because then it's just kinda.. A Lot.

I am with you about the Nancy-Jon-Steve possibly being a regular blood convenience yoink, it's just Holly, not bleeding and being targeted individually, that makes me look again at all the Wheelers. and if that demogorgon really wanted to kill/eat Jonathan it had more than enough time (compare to the Russian one killing dudes faster than you could blink).

You could very well be right about the meat flayer parts, I'm fairly undecided on all that stuff with regards to what victims have powers. and great question about spidey Nancy? I assume Henry can trance normies and that's how I envisioned Nancy's tbh, like possibly trancing someone isn't the same thing as Making A Connection? Will and Max both definitely having The Connection because he took/meant to take their powers, but he wasn't doing exactly the same thing to Nancy (wasn't trying to take powers, open a gate, or kill her)(I don't think he would even want her powers activated yet if he wasn't also going to kill her, or else that's just another person who could fight him). but hey who knows. she sure doesn't seem to get a spidey sense about the last scene in 4x9.

V interesting idea about aging out and teens being most vulnerable, I bet there is a lot to that, because yeah why choose all teens. I think with the cerebro thing they definitely wanted us to think he could choose any depressed normie, but since I don't think he stands to gain anything from killing normies I bet he has it filtered to just latent powers people.

thanks for reading and I appreciate the in depth ask! :)

[fail-boy]

okok i did the playlists...i hope it sends bc i know tumblr gets weird with links

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUljoUDIIcPQogdOE124yj6sGb2WzrvSX&si=bQWn-xASUqMr6oJZ (video essay playlist, it hasnt been updated in a bit besides the couple i added on just now, but it's the ones ive watched more than once. ill definitely be adding onto it over time!!)

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4ZoTzZJYiXF3UwDmPEQnGO?si=Og-Yhho6SE2NUIxeWJt-MA&pi=u-GGePLzyXQOe6 (playlist !!!!!! it was only gonna be a couple but. now it's eight hours...)

im very normal and not thinking about your lap still (it's been plaguing me for days), and i also did Not (i did) consider that you'd look rlly hot smoking while i was there 😔 ive never smoked before but i kinda wanna try it with you 🫣 id rather try edibles though first bc of those thc(?) nerds ropes!!!! they were my favorite candy growing up :3333

weeee okok ill try to catch up with dnp....thank you for the suggestion :3

my faaaavorite musical is falsettos (and in trousers which is like the prequel to it!), and i also really love ride the cyclone!!!!! the character jane doe is my favorite :] if you ever have the time i recommend ride the cyclone, it's an hour long (compared to falsettos being two hours long...) n really fun !! you can find it on youtube :3 (i also like bmc, i like to reenact bits and pieces of it as michael when im bored !!!!)

hereditary !!!!!!!!!! i absolutely love hereditary ive only seen it once but aaaaugh....peter is my favorite character n i care about him a lot :[ i tried watching saw but i got sad bc i was worried adam was gonna die and i immediately got attached to him lol, but i wanna try again !!!!! everyone talks about it so much i gottaaaaa, ill be brave 😤😤

i hope you're doing good today :33333 sending you all my love and good vibes for your cornflakes !!!!!!!!

- 🫀🦷

hey sugar! it's so lovely to hear from you again <3

fuck yeah! i gave it a look through and ive seen a couple and some are new to me! im definitely gonna watch some tonight while me and my gf have the house to ourselves <3

ooooooh thanks cutie!!! im very excited to give this a listen as well! you have good taste pup i like lots of these songs <3

sweet thing <3 i want you in my lap more than anything, wanna cuddle you and kiss you and hold you while you try and be good for me <3 id love to smoke with you! that would be a lot of fun, we can start you with little joints and blunts and then build up to pipes and bongs :p i bet youd look gorgeous hitting a bong and getting all stoned <3

hell yeah! i rly hope you enjoy their videos, they're so good <3

oh yes ive heard of that! very good taste bb! ill try and check them both out this week, i have lots of time to myself! god ur really fucking adorable sugar id love to watch you sing your lil heart out

yippee!!! i have two hereditary tattoos; charlie's pigeon drawing in her notebook, and the little sigil that pops up everywhere (like on the grandma's necklace) <3 peter is my fave he's such a good relatable character! awww sugar thats so real of you, i wish i could watch it with you so i could hold you and keep you safe! maybe watch it with your partner and they can snuggle you while you watch it and keep u cozy and safe! its a really really good movie i think youll enjoy it!! adam is the scrunkly

my day was pretty good! busy as hell but im almost done for the day, just need to order dinner and eat <3 thank u sugar im sending good vibes right back and kisses and hugs <3

[thesugarhole]

so i think it was saturday i had a free two hours or so and since i was done with 2kki updates then (i know i saw dont mention it im waiting it out till the end of the week) i thought hey lets finally go finish dd2, i left the campaign right outside the 5th mountain

so i go in there and have a much easier time because i remember the gimmicks, and i reach the hateful god. and i painstakingly whittle down the hp from 999 to about 100 without once getting face your failures. and im like hey! what gives! did not dawn on me once that maybe i had to kill those two babies at the same time first.... and im still not sure if that was what didnt trigger it because when i finally got a ghost it only took up one slot since hateful god is strictly in the middle. but well, its nice to know for the future runs. so i defeated them! (me?)

the ending cinematic is alright but i think the one from the first game impacted me more. i think, might be rose tinted glasses, havent gone back and compared. ~85 hours total, first game i think was ~92 hours before i went into dlc and achievement hunting

so here comes the real meat of dd2, which is completionism and achievos. i highly doubt ill be able to unlock every single item thats not bought at the altar of hope, but theres nothing really quantifying them anyway so im not that bothered by it.

first achievo i want to get after completing the game is defeat death, since ive only ever seen her in the flashback. so i go at it in denial since its one of the shortest chapters, and as im reaching the brain, having gone to every single fight possible, im thinking mhm. what are the actual chances of getting her? 6%. bad idea to have started with this one, and i only got to 1 shrine too for the characters i havent finished the stories yet, so this run might have been a waste.

the very last battle, before the inn before the mountain, she shows up so yay! i got good luck. and of course, promptly got her ass kicked, so i unlocked the chievo. teehee

forgot to party wipe to denial so im gonna have to do it one more time with that in mind. also, i think this was the first run i was able to complete with a hard difficulty flame on (the very first on the list, i think infernal?, im currently in the process of unlocking stuff by 1 cheapest / 2 useful) and i wasnt trying very hard, so maybe ive finally gotten decent at the current mechanics.

i decided to look at what i hadnt gotten yet and make a list from easiest to hardest so i dont risk like, going for the worst thing first while disregarding easy wins. after that, my next run my goals were:

master 5 skills in one hero: fairly easy in a fuck-it run. surprised i never did it before i finished the game, even. i guess i distributed mastery points as evenly as possible.

heal disease, remove negative quirk, lock positive quirk: it was at the top for easiest, but a lack of money and lack of disease getting could make the going tough. at the first inn, i got a slime mold: it has 5% chance of giving a disease. i thought hmm... i never got a disease from this thing though. oh well theres no more food so eat up occultist. (he gets a disease) :)! and i had an hospital scouted right away, so this one was easy peasy

defeat a lair boss (killing blow) with the bounty hunter: his poster also showed up right away, so i replaced him with the jester and went.... to the tangle. yeahp. was actually very easy because i took zero chances: everyone either buff up teammates, attack the roots or move around. bh is the only one damaging the general (save a starting move or two from highwayman/occultist). surprised very few people have this one, but id bet its hard to unlock naturally.

defeat 3 lair bosses in one run: i was aiming for this one too but then i realized the first confession only gives me two regions. oops.

hero shrines: wip. currently trying to finish alhazreds. otherwise my team is *my* usual suspects (V, J, HWM, FreeSpace).

party wipe to all confession bosses: wip. im with the lungs denial again atm but still at the start of the run because i wasnt able to touch the game since.

i guess im sharing because being able to do all this in rapid fire succession was good rng and luck and made me feel happy. made me feel like the guy smiling with its hands on its knees. AND it has the jester outfit on. imperative. hold on let me get it

^ i named this image silly.png

here's my list, easiest to hardest (to MEEEE):

i have (x?) next to some inn names because im not sure if ive already been there or not, since the images/names sounded familiar when looking them up. but this one is not something i can control (and am also surprised i havent unlocked it during mainline gameplay, guessing i got many repeats- they might have rarity variables that i currently have no idea if they can be influenced or not) so its play until it unlocks. i like to keep 'missing' lists just because

i dont have a shamblino (shambler + bambino, hope you like it) equipped in my current run because i didnt want to make things unnecessarily harder when going for the other ones, so that one will have to wait until all my heroes get breathed on too hard by resentment. pass their turns to death. its actually a bigger effort to die to denial than it is killing it jesus

thats all i guess. have a good week everyone

[spaceageloveblog]

Phone in my hand Still checking if you called I'm double-texting No, I've never been cool

Sit down to watch the Champions League final. Twitter open on my phone. All sorts of seemingly normal people I follow that are Man City fans posting about the game. All sorts of engagement. Would be fun to post online about sports and have people respond and start discussions. I post all sorts of what I think are interesting takes and get nothing. I only have 21 Twitter followers so that's probably part of the problem. I post what I think are interesting takes via comments under other people's soccer Tweets and get the occasional like. Except that one time I posted a banal comment about not liking the ruling that Rashford wasn't offside in the Manchester derby and got like 1000 likes.

And I'll burn that bridge when I get to it Yeah, I'm on fire

She asked me why I was a Manchester City fan once and I had to think about it. My reasons aren't great. I little over a decade ago when NBC Sports started showing the Premier League in the US, I wanted to pick a team. I was already a fan of the international tournaments every 2 years, i.e. the World Cup and the Euros. I was off and on interested in the Champions League. But the EPL on NBC looked so good on TV, I wanted to follow a team. I didn't want to pick the English version of the Yankees or Cowboys, so the big teams were off the list. Going too small would be stupid. So maybe just outside the big teams, but nothing captured my interest.

I felt pulled to Manchester because that felt comparable to where I grew up in Western PA/Northeast OH, but United was out due to the big club rule. Then I saw City competing for the title with them in the spring of 2012. Then I watched the final matchday of the season, saw Aguero score the winner in stoppage time and was hooked. Then I saw Noel Gallagher was a fan and I was more hooked. But I only watched them off and on for the next few years, going in and out of cord cutting. Then Pep came and we had cable, didn't follow the Centurion season that closely, but fell in love with the 2018-19 domestic treble team and was hooked even further. I'd say I've watched >90% of their games from the 2018/19 season onward.

It's all blue You know I feel it and I bet you do (And I bet you do) And that's on you If you wanna take off, baby, you do you

So Man City won the treble. They were amazing this year. Especially Mar/Apr/May when they were relentless in the league, forcing Arsenal to buckle under the pressure, and steamrolling everyone in the knockout stages of the Champions League, culminating in a dismantling of Real Madrid in the semis. They sort of muddled their way through the final few weeks, but that happens sometimes. They got the job done.

Overthinking (Overthinking) You know I'm really good and you're a miracle You're so misunderstood I get so lost in your mind (I'm so lost) Daddy, teach me this lesson a thousand times

Being an American fan of European sports is funny sometimes. On an object level I literally can't quite understand the critique of the fans of other clubs complaining about how this feels. I'm like, if you are a Man United fan or Liverpool fan this isn't supposed to feel good. Then I realize on a meta level it all makes sense. They are doing whatever they can to diminish what their rivals accomplish, perfectly normal.

It's also weird sometimes being a non-expert at the sport but following along the team for the entire season and watching entire games, seeing experts on TV and hearing experts on podcasts say things that are wrong and your realize everyone is full of it. Like the complaints about Pep overthinking it by starting Ake over Walker, when it was obvious for City fans who have been paying attention. And the takes that Lautora Martinez obviously messed up by going for goal rather than squaring it for Lukaku, when it wasn't that obvious.

It's all blue You know I feel it and I bet you do (And I bet you do) And that's on you If you wanna take off, baby, you do you

The celebrations have been great. The joy from Pep, the players, the fans...it's been fun to watch. Feels like it's been building for a few years, as City has been the best team in Europe for a while now, just couldn't get over this last hurdle. And for the fans, there's one less thing the red side of Manchester has over them. Pep looks different than he did 12 years ago in Barcelona, like he understands the magnitude of this accomplishment a little more now. And I hope Jack Grealish has gotten some sleep.

I put down your pain, but I'll pick it up again It's all blue That's why I fit in with you You know I feel it and I bet you do (And I bet you do) And it's all blue You know I feel it and I bet you do (And I bet you do)

I remember when the Steelers won their first Super Bowl of my lucid lifetime. I was first happy for Bettis, as it was a long time coming from him. Then I thought of Cowher, as it was a longer time coming for him. But ultimately it was more about me, I waited my whole life. That's who I was happiest for, myself.

Sat in my car 'til the song stopped playing See, I'm blue with or without you, baby Sat in my car 'til the song stopped playing See, I'm blue with or without you, baby

I keep scrolling Twitter and Reddit for more fan reactions, more expert reactions. I keep watching ESPN FC and keep listening to them say the same thing over and over about this team. At some point this will get old, but I feel compelled to keep soaking it in for now.

It's all blue You know I feel it and I bet you do And that's on you If you wanna take off, baby, you do you

Pep's contract is for 2 more seasons, so hopefully he stays for those at least. One more would make 10, so I'd love an additional year to make a full decade, but that's probably too optimistic. So another league title, another Champions League title, they could both happen. And who knows what happens next. They money would still be there, but you need the coach too. I watch the revolving door of coaches at the other biggest clubs in the world and realize City has been spoiled to have Pep for 7 seasons. Would be absurdly spoiled to get him for 9 or 10.

I put down your pain, but I'll pick it up again It's all blue That's why I fit in with you You know I feel it and I bet you do (And I bet you do) And it's all blue You know I feel it and I bet you do

We cut off cable again so unless I do something about that, we'll miss half (or more) of their league games next year. With ESPN+ and Paramount+ we'll see all of their Champions League and FA Cup and League Cup game. Peacock will get us half (or less) of their league games. Is that enough? We'll see. There's only so much you can do to arrange your life around following a soccer team 4000 miles away across an ocean. But it's been really fun so far.

I bet you do too

[night-dark-woods]

Transcripts: a series of excerpts from the masquerade books.

one:

Baru thought: What I see of other people is the output of a hashing function.

I'll never know anyone's true self, will I? Their thoughts and memories, the selfness of someone, the me-ness of me: that's like a true name, a person in all their formless awesome grandeur. But we do not see that grandeur. We see each other only in the shapes we are forced to assume. Words constrain us, and also our laws, and our fears and hopes, and the wind, and the rain, and the dog that barks while we're trying to speak, all these things constrain us.

We all force our true selves into little hashes and show them like passwords. A smile is a hashing function, and a word, and a cry. The cry is not the grief, the word is not the meaning, the smile is not the joy: we cannot run the hash in reverse, we can- not get from the sign to the absolute truth. Maybe the smile is false. Maybe the grief is a lie.

But we can compare the hash to a list, and guess at the meaning.

two:

She couldn't imagine why he'd come to sleep near her. She never could imagine, could she? Her eternal mistake. Forgetting to put herself in other peoples' minds.

three:

"You've been very patient with me. Thank you. It means so much."

"My patience is not infinite," Xe said. "Not in all matters."

"What have I done?" Barhu asked, nervously. "What do I need to fix?"

The diver stared at her. Finally Barhu understood.

Afterward, with her open lips against Xe's throat, Barhu said. “I'll miss you.

four:

Barhu wondered if her parents would be proud or concerned that she was sitting here beside her half-naked lover arguing arctic survival tactics.

five:

"Flour," Barhu said. “De-germed flour keeps for a very long time."

"Oh, how's that?" Solit said, teasing her, although she did not realize it until she had already begun to explain: "The Butterveldt grows the grain, the mills make the grain into flour, barrels of flour provide compact long-lasting calories, so ships can travel farther without resupply, so the warships have a longer reach and the traders arrive more quickly than their rivals, and that quickens the blood of the whole empire, and oh Himu"—a burst of joy inside her—“oh, look at that…."

six:

"Did you know that they make the finest steel in the world? As hard, as flexible, and as beautiful as Tain Hu." This made Heia laugh. "Legend says they can tease a pound of steel from two pounds of raw soil. I heard in Aurdwynn that the secret ingredient is the mountain wind itself."

She cocked her hip to support the barrel she was filling. "Is this your idea of courtship?"

It was. "Did you know that in Oriati Mbo they have a lot of salt and spices, and not nearly enough steel?"

seven:

"Oh?" Iscend raised her head from the water. "What will you stake in the bet?"

But Barhu, already racing ahead into thought, entirely missed the flirtation.

eight:

No. That was accountant logic, the logic that had failed her in Aurdwynn. Because numbers alone couldn't count what Tain Hu had meant to her. She was one life on paper and yet a universe to Barhu. Kyprananoke was more than a tally

nine:

"People like me until I don't do what they want," she said, shortly.

ten:

My lord Baru Cormorant will very soon fight a great war. In this war the sides will be: Her mind and Her heart.

It is true that my lord has accomplished very much with her mind and that this organ often seems to rule her.

However I have learned through close inspection and some provocations and difficulties that my lord also possesses a heart which feels the full range of feelings. It is merely very well con- cealed and somewhat prickly like an urchin. I believe she thinks of her heart as an unfortunate growth. A sort of emotional hemorrhoid.

eleven:

"Your tactics are self-centered. You have forgotten that you are not the only player on the board, that inherent talent speaks for no more than experience, and that others around you seek to expand their authority and constrain yours. Your error is funda- mental to the human psyche: you have allowed yourself to believe that others are mechanisms, static and solvable, whereas you are an agent."

End transcripts.

Autistic Girlies Bracket: Round 1, Side A

Matchup 13

Only your vote can determine which of these autistic girlies will move on to the next round.

Baru Cormorant bracket art created by @anthyies

BARU CORMORANT MASTERPOST YOR FORGER MASTERPOST

[Image ID. Image with a purple to pink gradient background that is split down the middle by a jagged white line. There is a purple 'VS' symbol in the centre. On the left of the image is Baru Cormorant from The Masquerade Series. On the right of the image is Yor Forger from Spy X Family. End ID.]