#I get where you were coming from with it being subjective

[wowbright]

I have seen this post, along with reblogs containing massive amounts of misinformation, cross my dash many times. I have ignored them, thinking "what's the use of getting into this on Tumblr"? But I have finally hit the tipping point. seeing mutual after mutual reblog this along with "only ecofascists believe in the concept of human overpopulation; if you even consider arguments about overpopulation, you are sliding down the slippery slope to eco-fascism" commentary, apparently without questioning the content or the source, is disturbing to me.

The tweet above and the statements about eco-fascism are not factual statements. They are propaganda. Now, I don't think propaganda is in itself a bad thing. But it not being bad depends on people being able to identify it and critique it. You need to be able to evaluate the content and the source in order to weed out the objective information from the subjective. If you can do that and you still agree with it, more power to you.

In this super long post, I am first going to address the tweet. After that, I will talk a little bit about eco-fascism and overpopulation discourse.

Let's address the source first. Here are some other opinions you can find on the Hampton Institute site (quotes are from x):

There was no evidence of Russian interference in any U.S. election and any investigations into it are pro capitalist political theater

Go ahead and let Russia have Ukraine

Cornel West is not socialist enough

"We need to understand that electoral politics are both a time suck and a dead end if the goal is to win elections, assume office, and enact legislation. Therefore, campaigns should only be used to educate, agitate, and form counter-hegemonic and liberatory institutions and organizations."

"liberal identity politics" are a sideshow; capitalism/class is the ultimate root of all oppression

"Democrats are not anti-fascist; they are just as much a part of the transition to overt fascism as Republicans are."

Bernie Sanders sold out the working class by endorsing Biden (among other sins)

Every single report of sexual violence conducted by Hamas during the attack on Israel on October 2023 is false. (Not just that there were misreportings or it's difficult to pin down numbers, but that not a single incident happened.)

It's a waste of time and capitalist shilling to critique communism/historical communist systems

If there's anything in the list above you wouldn't take at face value, then why take the tweet at the top at face value?

As for the content, let's look at the numbers:

7.7 billion --it could be more, it could be less. It's close enough. I'm not going to argue with this.

95% of people live on 10% of the land-- where does the statistic come from? What is it even saying? Is it saying that, of all the land occupied by humans, 5% own or occupy 90% of that land? Is it talking about all arable land on earth? Is it talking about all land on Earth? Because if you look at statistics for arable land use, there is not a single inhabited continent where arable land use is less than 25%. That is, of all the arable land that exists, at least 25% of it is being used for agriculture (cropland or grazing land). Worldwide average is around 35%. That is way more than 10%. If you single out cropland alone and don't count grazing land, because you want to look at how a vegetarian diet might change land use, you will find the cropland takes up less than 10% of arable land in parts of the world. But in europe, the us, argentina, mexico, china, India, Pakistan, Kenya, and a bunch of other countries, more than 10% of arable land is used for crops, with some countries having as much as 50 to 70% of their arable land used for crop land. x

We produce enough food to satisfy 10 billion people -- I'm not going to argue with this. There are plenty of studies that support the argument that this will be possible soon if not already x (but no one should be surprised that it includes the assumption of shifting to a more plant-based diet, which does not line up with actual food consumption trends x)

We can double how many people we feed in a more sustainable way -- another point that sounds nice, but what does it even mean?

Okay, Now we move on from the Hampton Institute to the ecofascists. Wow, what a fun way to spend my Saturday afternoon!

True claim: Eco-fascism argues that overpopulation is the ultimate root of climate change and environmental destruction. x x x x

True claim: Eco-fascism is racist, white supremacist, and genocidal. (See links above.)

Unprovable claim: Overpopulation is inherently and only an eco-fascist myth/arguing point. That is actually something that you will need to decide for yourself after you research the issue. But here are a few starting points: Isaac Asimov and Jacques Cousteau had concerns about human population growth and its effects on the environment. Are they necessarily ecofascists? Are white people living in Western countries who support immigration and reproductive freedom worldwide being eco-fascists when they make a personal choice to have fewer children because they are concerned about the effect of population growth and land use on their local ecosystems? Is it inherently fascistic to draw a mathematical correlation between number of people and amount of land used for agriculture and habitation? Is it fascistic to think about what the worst consequences of human population growth could be, in order to figure out ways to minimize or eliminate negative consequences while allowing human population growth to continue? Is it possible to use the concept of overpopulation in a non-misanthropic way, i.e. as a tool for identifying numbers that would be unsustainable under current conditions, and figuring out how to change things so that those numbers would be perfectly sustainable?

No conclusion here. I'm not going to tell you what the interest to those questions should be.

To show my hand, I don't think they necessarily have a single answer. And that is what led me to spend way too much time on a Saturday writing about this post when my sinuses are stuffed and I can't even think clearly. Because every single reblog I've seen of it gives off the impression that this is a closed discussion, that there is a single right conclusion that everybody should come to, that all the statements made are objective and supported by fact, and that everybody but an eco-fascist would agree with the whole reblog chain.

It's Tumblr and i shouldn't care because no one will take the time to read this anyway. But hey. I have a cold and I'm not thinking straight. Have a great day.

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[runnning-outof-time]

Someone For Christmas - Tommy Shelby x Reader

“You’ve been a better man since she’s entered your life, Thomas,” Polly commented, a knowing look present on her face, “don’t go back to the man you were before her.”

She was the first to visit the brooding Tommy Shelby that evening, and she brought back to light all of the poor choices he’d made in the past.

“She’s done way more for you than anyone else has,” Ada said as she sat down across from her brother, “I see how she helps you every day. Only a fool would let her go, Tom.”

Tommy stared straight ahead at the Christmas tree as his sister rehashed all of the correct decisions he’d made recently…and she made sure to point out how the woman being mentioned was part of every one.

“I really like her, dad,” five year old Charles Shelby’s voice was soft as he held onto the doorknob of his father’s study. “Will she come back for Christmas?”

This time, Tommy looked at the person — the third of the day — addressing him. He opened his mouth to speak, but the words wouldn’t come out. “I…I, I don’t know, son,” was all he managed to get out.

“Why’d you call me here, Tommy?”

This time Tommy Shelby was the one who requested a visitor.

“I wanted to speak to you,” he answered, not realizing how business forward the sentence sounded until it left his lips. The fact that her one eyebrow quirked upward immediately after he finished speaking told him that he’d be fighting an up-hill battle.

“About?” she asked, her guard still very much up. She couldn’t believe he called her back again….she couldn’t believe she gave in and listened, again.

“I need you to come back, (Y/N),” he decided it’d be best not to dance around the subject.

“If you want to win me back, that’s not how you do it,” she blatantly responded. Tommy sighed, running a hand over his face. “Did someone put you up to this?” she then asked another question, “because it seemed like where we stood was pretty final the last time we spoke.”

“Charlie came to me,” he chose the one out of his previous three visitors who he felt would cut through her reinforcements the deepest. “He said he missed you, asked if you’d be here for Christmas. He really likes you.”

“I really like him too,” a soft smile formed on (Y/N)’s face as she thought of the boy. Tommy thought he was finally gaining some headway. “Shame his father’s a terrible man,” she couldn’t resist getting a dig in.

“(Y/N)…” Tommy locked eyes with her, a deadpanned expression present on his features.

“You brought this upon yourself,” she didn’t crumble under his gaze, instead returning it to him.

“I don’t want to argue with you,” he paused to sigh, pressing the pads of his thumb and index finger against his eyelids, “this meeting was meant to be an extension of an olive branch.”

“Tommy Shelby offering peace?” the surprise was clear in (Y/N)’s voice as her eyes widened greatly. “Well I’ll be damned…it’s a Christmas miracle!” her sarcastic comment had him sending another glare her way. She couldn’t help but smile at it…she was having fun getting under his skin.

A moment’s pause fell over the conversation as Tommy took some time to regain himself. There was no use blowing this up to more than it had to be. He knew (Y/N) was trying to push his buttons, and he had to hand it to her…she was succeeding. There was no hiding the fact that they had some things that they needed to hash out, and he had no doubt that they’d get to that soon enough. Christmas Eve wasn’t the time for that though. Right now all that he could think of was his son, and how he so desperately wanted someone other than his preoccupied father sitting beside him in front of the Christmas tree come tomorrow morning.

“Will you accept it?” he finally asked, affirming that he wanted no parts of getting into the details of the animosity that stood between them.

Now it was (Y/N)’s turn to think. She truly did love Charlie, even if his father had been getting on her nerves as of recently. What she didn’t want was this to seem like her seceding to him so quickly. If he wanted her back this time, he was going to have to work for it.

“(Y/N)?” Tommy called out, bringing her out of her thoughts and back to the conversation they were having.

(Y/N) pursed her lips as she looked at him again. His eyes were already intently on her, and she knew that he wouldn’t wait much longer for her response. Thankfully she’d decided - right now they didn’t need to discuss what their future would look like…right now they needed to focus on going one day at a time.

So with that in mind, she answered him: “everyone should have someone for Christmas…” she paused, letting those words sink in for a moment before she added the second half of her statement: “and right now, that’s all you’ll have me for.”

A/N: congrats on 17k, Chi! I’m sorry that wasn’t able to write something more than these few lines. This was my take on the movie/book A Christmas Carol - I hope it came across as such.

MASTERLIST

Tagged: @mystcldydrms @succubaby @cloudofdisney @look-at-the-soul @elenavampire21

@mrsalwayswrite @julkaamazing @evita-shelby @theshelbyslimited @peakyswritings

@just-a-blackhole @watercolorskyy @strayrockette @peakyduchesss @alexxavicry

@captivatedbycillianmurphy @yummycastiel @dark-academia-slut @mischievouslittlecreature @stevie75

@lyarr24 @signorellisantichrist @zablife @anotherblinder @cillmequick

@dandelionprints @letal-y-poetica @garrison-girl-08 @insanitybyanothername @depxiety

@justrainandcoffee @dragons-are-my-favorite @mrs-bond @cljordan-imperium @brummiereader

@red-riding-wood @everythingelseisextra @little-diable @thomashelbyswife @shaddixlife

@ryecosse @padfootdaredmetoo @novashelby

[venomous-qwille]

Hi Qwille!

So I was wondering because I’m struggling with this myself- how did you continuously improve with art when you were first still building upon your skills? Like to get to a level that could be professional?

And I think I mean this in more of a mental capacity way. I tend to get angry at the fact that I’m not better by now and feel like I struggle by the skin of my teeth to improve from where I’m at every time, even if objectively speaking I’m already better than people would expect me to be.

I just feel like there’s a better way to go about it than being fueled by anger or spite. I enjoy art, and I’m proud of my work, but I don’t know how to *not* be angry at myself for not being better at it. How do you accept self criticism with grace when it comes to your work? Or how did you, when you were younger? If that’s a question you’re willing to ask, of course! Thank you <3

Hiya! So, I'll start out by saying that this is absolutely the hardest part about learning to draw/paint. The continuous failure and discontent with the work we produce is a constant struggle that is, I believe, the main reason people stop trying to learn at all.

It's okay to get angry and sad, it's okay to be dissatisfied. It's a very cruel joke that, as artists, our eye will improve faster than our ability to draw. We are constantly chasing a carrot that is being pulled further away from us. For me: my improvement was not constant. There were several points where I didn't draw for years, because of other life factors and because the art I was creating brought me no joy.

Things had to change when I decided that I wanted to do art professionally. I needed to improve and improve fast, so I bent a lot of time towards studies. I found that the things I got better at the fastest were the ones where I found studying to be really fun. I really enjoy copying master paintings- especially the nineteenth and twentieth century realists. Finding fun in doing them for the sake of doing them really helped me improve fast because it wasn't stressful- I was just creating art I liked, even if they were copies.

I think accepting that the main joy of art is in the creating, not the result, really helped me be at peace with my artwork. Also, becoming a professional artist and realising that I didnt own what I created- and that I was subject to the (often questionable) tastes of my commissioners/art directors/stakeholders really allowed me to unlatch my emotional self from my work.

Every piece is a step, sometimes you will hit your bellcurve, make the best thing you are currently capable of making- and fuck that feels good- but often you wont, and you wont know why you dont like it. Learning to enjoy the push towards those small moments, the slow improvement as you gradually grasp new skills, learning to love learning, that is the most curative thing. Once I started to enjoy failing, because it meant I was learning- and once I started forgiving myself for not picking everything up straight away- I was much, much happier.

It's okay for it to be hard and your emotions are valid. Forgive yourself for having them and try to find something you enjoy about the process. Recontextualise your mistakes as what they are: not a failure, but just another step up the giant mountain of your art journey. There is always a higher peak. The journey never ends. Stop looking at the top and just enjoy the view and the mountain air. (And for fucks sake don't compare yourself to other people. They're not even climbing the same landmass.)

[jessiexflem]

- all-american | jessie fleming x reader

content: fluff, UCLA Jessie! (and Teagan being a butthead)

requests are open :)

“You’re staring again,” Teagan pokes her teammate with the eraser on her pencil.

Heat rises up Jessie’s neck and face as she turns her head to glare at the Australian, “I am not!”

“Oh, whatever,” Teagan scoffs, rolling her eyes, “you’ve been giving her heart-eyes the entire time we’ve been here.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yeah? Then what’s the answer for number twelve?”

Jessie glances down at her calculus homework, the paper mostly unaltered except where she had scribbled her name in the top corner. 

“Thought so,” Teagan replies smugly, “Gotta get your head screwed on, Jess, our grades depend on it.”

“You aren’t even supposed to be talking right now,” Jessie points at the ‘quiet please’ sign above the librarian’s head before focusing back on her homework, hoping it would encourage her friend to drop the subject.

“Come on, Jess, why don’t you just ask her out?” 

“I thought you told me to focus on our homework,” Jessie sets her pencil down with a huff, “Plus, why would I do that?”

“Because you like her?” the Australian gives her a ‘duh?’ look.

“No, I don’t!” Jessie’s cheeks flush, “What makes you think that?”

“Well, for starters, we’ve been sitting here for over an hour, and you haven’t noticed that I moved your calculator underneath my notebook” Teagan chuckles, “Not to mention, any time you see her, she’s all you can talk about for hours. ‘Y/N’s so smart, Y/N showed me how to do this in lab, Y/N wasn’t in class today, and I missed her so mu–’”

“We’re just lab partners, that’s all,” Jessie shakes her head. 

Teagan crosses her arms, tipping her chair onto its back legs. She narrows her eyes at her roommate, a cheeky smile tugging at her lips. “Alright, so if you insist you don’t like Y/N, you won’t mind if I ask her out on a date?”

“You’re ridiculous.”

“But you don’t like her, right? So, you wouldn’t be jealous?”

“Go for it,” Jessie replies dryly. She knew there was no way Teagan would actually ask you out, she barely knew you. She wouldn’t even know who you were if she hadn’t (annoyingly) crashed one of your study sessions during midterms last semester. 

Putting her head down, Jessie redirects her attention back to her neglected math problems. The assignment was due at midnight, and she managed to make zero progress. Copying the numbers from the first question, she starts working through the equation until she realizes she needs a function on her graphing calculator.

“Can I have my calc–” Jessie stops mid-sentence as she looks up to see Teagan waving you over to their table, “What are you doing?!”

“You said I could ask Y/N out, so I figured I’d catch her as she was leaving.”

Backpack slung over your shoulders, you weave your way toward where the two were sitting. You notice Jessie’s posture tense as she whispers frantically to her teammate. Catching her eye, you direct a smile at your lab partner.

“Y/N!” Teagan greets cheerfully, “Done studying for the day?”

You shrug, “I should probably look over my ethics study guide a bit more, but I could feel my brain going numb and figured it was time for a break. What about you two?”

“Well, if you’re needing another study break later this week,” Teagan starts. Intrigued by what she had to say, you didn’t notice the color drain from Jessie’s normally rosy cheeks. “We were wondering if you were free Saturday afternoon? Jessie and I have a game at 4, and we wanted to invite you to watch.”

Jessie, realizing she was subconsciously holding her breath, let out a deep exhale. 

“I’d love to! I haven’t been able to make it out to one yet,” you say as your phone begins to buzz in your hand, “I’ve got to head out, but text me the details, Jess?”

Jessie nods rapidly, her brain unable to form a coherent answer. She watches you walk away, feeling Teagan’s eyes burning a hole in her cheek. She didn’t even have to turn her head to know that her friend had the biggest smirk on her face.

“So, if I ever think that my lab partner’s getting asked out on a date, should I look like I’m about to puke, too? Or are you going to admit you have a crush on the girl?” Teagan teases.

“I hate you,” Jessie mutters, glaring at her.

“Bet you can’t wait to show off your first team All-American skills, huh? You better practice what goal celebration you’re going to dedicate to her.”

“I’m done talking to you.”

“Jessie and Y/N, sitting in a tree, K–”

“Just give me my calculator back.”

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

Jessie was having a horrible game. She couldn’t remember the last time she played this poorly. Constantly losing the ball in the midfield, getting outrun and out-muscled by her opposing mark. Her head was running a thousand miles a minute, and the only thing she could focus on was that Y/N was sitting front row. 

It was the opposing team’s corner, and Teagan was shouting directions, ensuring each of her outfielders had their mark. The ball gets served in, and Jessie goes up for the header, making contact square on her forehead. However, instead of directing the ball out of the 18, her body was angled slightly toward the goal, meaning the ball veered toward Teagan instead. Luckily, it hit off the post and fell to their teammate, Hailie’s, feet, who cleared the ball toward midfield.

“Jessie, what the hell?” Jessie hears Teagan shout from behind her.

The halftime whistle blows, and Jessie couldn’t get to the locker room faster. Before she could reach her cubby, Coach Cromwell pulls her off to the side.

“Fleming, do you want to explain why it looks like you’ve never touched a soccer ball before in your life?” Coach Cromwell raises an eyebrow at her. 

“I–I don’t know, nerves, I guess,” Jessie gnaws on the inside of her cheek, unable to make eye contact with her coach.

“Well, you better get your nerves sorted by the end of halftime unless you want to get benched for the rest of the game.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Jessie nods, keeping her head down as she shuffles to her locker. Teagan, assigned the cubby next to her, frowns at her, brows furrowed with concern.

The second half went smoother for the midfielder. Her tackles were timed better, and she had better possession of the ball. The game remained tied at 0-0, UCLA pushing the ball into the opposing half of the field. Hailie sent a ball into Jessie’s feet, and she dribbled down the sideline, the opposing winger closing in on her. Faking left, she got the opponent to bite, leaving her a hole for Jessie to slip the ball between her legs. The crowd went nuts, you included. Jessie laid the ball off for her teammate, Ashley, who took the ball into the corner drawing a defender so the Canadian could make a run in. Ashley crossed a low-through ball into the box, which Jessie met at the top of the six, slotting it into the bottom-left corner of the goal. 

You jumped to your feet, cheering as loud as you could. Noticing Jessie scanning the crowd, you give her an overexaggerated wave, to which she acknowledges with a smile. The game ends 2-0, Ashley tacking on another goal in the final two minutes. Waiting for Jessie and Teagan to complete their “good games” and post-game huddle, you stick yourself by the fence in a spot where they could easily find you. 

“Y/N, you made it!” Teagan exclaims, jogging over, Jessie not far off her heels. 

“Wouldn’t have missed it for the world,” you beam, “you guys did awesome! Great goal, Jess.”

Jessie’s cheeks flush as Teagan throws an arm around her, “She nearly had two.”

“You’re never letting me live that down, will you?” she groans, trying to avoid Teagan’s soft punches to her ribs.

“Teagan!” the three of you turn to see Hailie motioning Teagan back over to the bench, giggling, “Come here!”

“I’ll be back,” Teagan says, shooting Jessie an obvious wink before running off. Jessie throws her hands up in protest, grumbling something under her breath. She turns back to you, cheeks still red.

“Um, thanks for coming to watch,” she smiles sheepishly. A few yards behind her, she can hear Teagan making loud, fake coughs. Their conversation from the other day flashes through her mind. “I still have to shower, but would you, uh, maybe want to get dinner? With me, I mean?”

“Teagan and Hailie, too? Or, are you asking me out on a date?” you grin.

“I–well, I mean,” Jessie stammers, her face hot. 

“Because I’d much rather it be a date,” you assure.

Relief floods through Jessie’s entire body. “Then it’s a date.”

[scartale-an-undertale-au]

i see, it seems i had misread it since i confused the subject of the sentence? (if that makes sense? sorry, english isn't my first language) so it felt more like 'dont be a bitch and just tell them what you feel', which kinda continued the paragraph prior to it that mentioned telling your friends about how you feel. it's what i was addressing basically.

with your addition, i didn't read it as oneself's life experience but as a 'btw, this situation means that you could be this!' which could also stem from me not understanding the context. i do apologize for making you feel that i'm attacking your pov or life experience, i simply was trying to show that this seemed like a very limited world view. i didn't realize it was supposed to come as across as one world view meant to be taken as one option.

the issue i had wasn't when friends are busy and have lives that simply get in the way, which is very normal and i mentioned that as well, but rather that they never tried to reach out first or even try to check on the sole instigator when things grow quieter. like if after a month, you notice you haven't heard from them and send a message asking if they're alright, that's good! but if you notice and simply dismiss it or just don't notice at all? that's where the issue i addressed exists.

i'm glad your friend group makes sure to tell you that they appreciate your efforts, and that you find joy in being the instigator. and it's truly relieving to hear that this is your reality.

but also it's important to take note that many (not all) sole instigators didn't become instigators because they wanted to, but because they were the only ones who noticed the need or were forced into the role. and most of the time, it's not so easy to simply move away from that group and find other friends. my approach is also only one option and a very hard mindset to achieve. but i do believe it's one that would be a good mindset for those that were forced into the sole instigator role.

thank you for your further explanation

every now and then the internet decides it should revamp the ole “stop texting first and see how many friends you lose” when in reality you could literally just communicate that u feel bad that ur the only one texting first

[kazumikissu]

CRYBABY !

tutor!scaramouche x fem!reader

✧ — making you cry is part of the learning process!

— nsfw, university au, scaramouche has dacryphilia, spanking, sex with an object, humiliation, reader is the stereotypical sorority girl for the plot, not beta read | 1,378 words

no amount of pleading from different subject professors could ever get scaramouche to tutor. with pay or not, the last thing he wanted to eat on his place was a stupid student who can't fend for themselves in a field where mental strength and intellect mattered over beauty and fashion. he cared little to how you even passed the opening exams and got accepted into a high-demanding university like this, the exact same one scaramouche attends, unfortunate for his luck.

if that wasn't enough, you took the same program as scaramouche did, leading you to share a few too many classes together—too much for what he would consider his liking. you're no more than brain-dead during lecrure hours, having evaded from conversing with you one-too-many times. a no-good partygoer in his eyes, with a face caked with layers of make-up and an IQ as little as your personality.

if he could, scaramouche would've gladly ignored your existence for the rest of his years and acted like you never existed first thing. yet he could only bet on his luck for the nth time he's turned down his professor's request in tutoring you. when his phone rung to his mother's number, no longer pleading, but demanding scaramouche just for the extra points he'll get after a hell of a session with you—or at least that's what he'd like to imagine being with you for a few many hours.

after a cacophony of cursing over the line, he ends up in front of your doorstep, fingers ticking by his side as he finds himself to be less and less interested in entertaining your stupidity, all by the passing minute.

yet scaramouche couldn't find too many complaints now that this session brought you draped over his lap, teary eyed and snot down your nostrils. "how many times are you going to get this question wrong, stupid bitch?" a tone as sharp as the slap he drives against the plush of your ass, stinging your reddening flesh a prominent red. a shade addictive, the darker it gets, the better he saw it.

"s…scara, m'sorry!" drool dripped down the corner of your lips as sniffles left your lungs, the tips of your fingers quivering with an electricity that goes through your veins, buzzing with every harsh smack from scaramouche. "I don't know what… what the question means…"

words fumble out your lips as slippery as a rock in a river, tongue smooth on the roof of your mouth as you took in a heavy gulp. there was little to no mercy in scaramouche's piercing gaze, however, yet he was heavily entertained with the stupid little delight he had draped over his lap. "oh, but wouldn't this be the sixth time i'd have to explain it to you? are you that much of an imbecile?" another slap bounced against the walls of your room, cries coming louder than words with the parting of your lips.

"the only thing you're good at is opening your legs. the professor might as well make you the class whore, if he wants you to be so useful. i don't see anything that can nurture you in the brain if not between your legs," scaramouche has mocked you more times you've spoken a coherent sentence over the time he's been with you. but, unfortunately, pain came little from all your crying. rather, a show of pleasure, as it seemed your lower legs were weeping wetter than your eyes were spilling out tears.

scaramouche has never seen anything more pathetic. well, maybe his mother trying to reconcile with him after years off adding pressure to heavy his plate, but this was another category. you were another category, and one he surprisingly enjoys. "stop squirming, shitface," he hissed, brows knitted as one hand held you down, the other finally straying away from your ass, reaching for something.

a something that had your eyes widen looking back, twirling a pencil enticingly between his fingers. "what, cat got your tongue again, dumbo bitch?" that bite never left his tone as scaramouche brought his hand back, now right between your legs as you're left restrained in horror. "move and I'll drive the tip of this until the lead is flush against your thigh bone, okay? i'll make my own hole to fuck with if you don't stop pissing me off."

that threat had you frozen immediately, the air in your lungs thinning within seconds of anticipation. your heartbeat was assaulting your eardrums with every little breath you started to heave, a shudder breaking through as you felt the eraser side of the pencil trace the outer of your labia with deliberance. slowly, mockingly, as if scaramouche is taunting you—and he is.

the blunt surface pressed against the pearl that peeked between your slit, making you suck in a breath before scaramouche does it again, squishing your clit with every toe you curl from the sensation. your back arched an angle you didn't know you could curve at, the moment he pushed the slender wood into you, with the intent to seek out that spot that made your vision start to blur at the edges. well, if they weren't already.

with how turned on you got by a spanking, cloud 9 was closer to your reach with how loose your mind has gotten. and throughout, scaramouche found a sick sense simmer inside his stomach. perhaps, a sense of satisfaction… or a something that wells his ego at the sight of you so stupid. perfectly fucked-out type of stupid, and he's yet to start! "you're getting off to this? fucking disgusting." he swirled the pencil inside of you, purposely rubbing every wall and nudging at every crevice. "had the professor's known you'd be so whorish, you're better off being a prostitute than live out a life where you start business and make money.

"because, unfortunately for you, the main foundation of a company should be the founder's brains. but you? you're only a waste of meat," scaramouche's tone lowers in volume, a taunt underlying each hurtful words, meant to make you sniffle louder than the last time. make you cry more vibrantly, where your voice is bouncing off the walls, moans and cries with the sound of your pussy slick as the cherry on top. "then again, you're not so bad. you're a waste, but certainly a… pleasant looking one."

the backhanded compliment made the lower of your stomach hot, accompanied with the persistent push of the pencil's blunt tip inside you, aiming at your g-stop with impeccable precision. you always loved to flaunt your looks, anyway, what could a superflouos of talent stand for if there's already a pretty face catching everyone's attention?

"scaramouche," his name bubbles at the surface of your tongue, forming words become a much more even difficult feat—had it been earlier when he punished you by spanking and making you read, you would've failed by a landslide. scaramouche's name was the only coherent thing you could manage out your drooling lips, and even then, it was still muffled by the sound of sex in the air. "i'm gonna… scara, 'm gonna cum," the words squeezed out your lungs the same time as your pussy clenched around the intruding object, velvet walls contracting like it's seeking for more. and more did scaramouche give, drilling the pencil fully into you after a click of his tongue.

only then did you finally feel the object kiss your cervix, causing you to immediately sieze across his lap. finger clenched inwards, burning onto the palm of your hand to the point your knuckles go white. back arching further up that scaramouche's internally impressed you haven't broken the curve of your spine yet, and the tense curls of your toes with your knees throwing at the air in pleasure. "holy shit," scaramouche grunts, pausing the movements of his wrist, fingers slipping as they kept their hold on the pencil sheathed fully in you. his whole arm was soaked beyond his bewilderment, but that quickly shifted into something else.

manifesting a smirk on the corner of his lip, scaramouche hummed. "you're really a dirty fucking bitch. but that's only good for me, yeah? let's see how much more times i can make you fucking squirt." certainly more times that you can get a good grade for your subjects on your own—or lack of thereof—but only the loud stretch of the evening will tell.

a/n; um... don't do this at home unless your pencil is clean, i guess? keep your kitty infection-free ❤️😝 i'm not actually sure if i wrote this properly so uh boombayah!!!

[gaywarcriminals]

YQY getting hit with truth serum so he has to confess The Secret to SJ is definitely a thing, because jesus fucking christ ANYTHING to make that man talk, but I think the potential for an even larger audience is fantastic.

A scenario like SQQ's trial. Things are dug up. Other things are implied or even fabricated. YQY is on trial. He's presented with some kind of truth serum. He refuses to take it until it's clarified that it won't compel him to speak, just prevent him from lying. He takes it.

They were lying. It absolutely does compel him to answer any questions asked of him. And the results are completely unhinged.

The Xuan Su thing doesn't even come up. It doesn't need to. In an attempt to paint him as scheming and ambitious, he's asked why he became sect leader.

"So I can give Xiao Jiu whatever he wants."

The assembled crowd: ?????

Is this Xiao Jiu a....mistreess? A son? What the hell. Questioning continues, and Yue Qingyuan's insanity is put on full display.

"What if 'Xiao Jiu' wanted to be the sect leader?"

"I would make him the sect leader."

"Surely the other peak lords of Cang Qiong would object. What would you do, then?"

"Whatever I had to."

Whatever they were originally asking about gets seriously derailed as they realize that this guy, arguably the most powerful cultivator in the world, is singularly obsessed with a person he calls 'Xiao Jiu.' Why did he seek power? Xiao Jiu. What is his ultimate goal? Xiao Jiu.

It's also starting to seem like maybe Xiao Jiu isn't exactly a willing participant.

"What does Xiao Jiu ask you for?"

"To leave him alone."

Okay. So his attentions are unwanted. Yikes.

Further questioning reveals that this mysterious person seems to hate Yue Qingyuan, but is regularly subject to his attentions anyway.

The one question he won't answer is 'who is Xiao Jiu.' He's bleeding from the mouth and eyes, but he just shakes his head or says, "He told me not to call him that."

In the audience, no one noticed Shen Qingqiu's total bluescreen, because honestly? All of the peak lords are feeling pretty lost for words right now.

I dunno, I just think it's specifically interesting to a) have a public reveal that this man is a lunatic, and b) have SQQ find out the depths of YQY's devotion without being able to get the answer he wants most.

This would drive SJ absolutely insane. On the one hand he’s happy that YQY isn’t spilling every little detail of their past for these vultures to pick through, on the other hands where the fuck is this coming from??? What sense do these answers make in the mouth of the man who abandoned him? If it was anyone else saying these things he’d be wildly uncomfortable, but this is just confusing (if he were to really sit with his feelings, he might realize that any immediate sense of revolution was swept away by a long-dormant sense of possessiveness). He intends to grab YQY and shake him as soon as YQY stops giving the OPM grounds to charge him with stalking or harassment or something, and YQY will just give him guilty eyes because he things SJ is mad about every he said on the stand 😔. Actually scratch that for qijiu’s benefit the potion should still be in effect, so the moment they’re behind doors SJ can furiously ask why, if YQY doesn’t despise him, he saw fit to abandon him back then and every day since their reunion. YQY can try to hold himself back from speaking to the point of coughing up blood again, which only enrages SJ further, and eventually YQY is forced to speak his explanation through his rough and bloodied throat. SJ is have every single emotion today and has a 50/50 chance of learning what YQY’s blood tastes like (for normal kissing reasons. Normaler than usual).

On a different note, I felt palatable anxiety reading the first part of the ask because I thought you were going to say that YQY confessed about Xuan Su in public, his greatest weakness and a questionable/unnatural feat of cultivation that he could well be criticized for. I legit think that if that happened SJ would consider killing everyone else in the room to stop the secret from getting out— he doesn’t have time to process all the complicated emotions from what YQY just told him, he only knows that’s it’s intolerable for YQY to be this vulnerable in front of people SJ distrusts or despises.

[maythedreadwolftakeyou]

(DATV thoughts with spoilers ahead; i think my tags will keep it filtered but just in case it doesn't since i dont want this in the actual game tags)

i just... man. i don't have a well formulated thought for this yet (and its my PERSONAL OPINION and other people can feel as different as they want, this is not an attack) but it keeps bouncing around my head, so. i know the popular thing right now is coming up with in-universe justifications for The Pantry Almost-Kiss Scene in ways that imply Lucanis didn't mean it/it doesn't represent him as a person/he was Faking It.

and i just don't like any of them. they make me sad!!!!!! i don't like the idea that one of the like 4 romance scenes we get in this game is him Pretending in some way, even if he does at that point like Rook back at least somewhat. None of the justifications i've seen make me feel Better about that being the point where we declare him as a romantic interest, which is what it is in the game, functionally. It doesn't lock you in yet but that point IS where the game says "they will take your flirting more seriously now". I did those same scenes for Davrin, Emmrich, and Taash and this is the formula the game uses (the "interrupted almost-kiss/confession" happens for almost all of the companions).

so if the answer for Lucanis' is "actually he stopped because he Didn't like what he was doing/feel that way yet" or that he felt he had to pretend for Rook's sake... it's kind of a letdown you know? esspecially when it comes right after what seems like an actually authentic moment (dispelling his "perfectly gathered clouds of doom"). Because, at that point in the game from my/Rook's perspective, it was like he finally was reciprocating. It made me hope that he'd acknowledge whatever was between him & Rook more in future scenes, especially because you get so little else from him at any other point, in terms of flirting back/showing you he IS interested. like up to that point I felt kind of bad for continuing to flirt at him, when he'd just change the subject right after! if someone did that in real life i would take it as a hint to stop. This is pixels and not real people so I didn't but they have done "reluctant/fearful interest" better in other characters if that's truly what they were going for in this one.

so after finishing the romance and getting the rest of content... idk. I don't like saying "one of the major chunks of characterization we get needs to be Thrown Out Actually because he was Pretending". because it's not like he or Rook ever actually address it in game--you just don't get to talk about feelings until some dialogue choices only in the act 3 romance scene, and then his speech at endgame (not even a full conversation, so much as his personal declaration). like it takes until the VERY end of the game for him to say the thing about "he was afraid to want you", but that comes after you've already hooked up, even.

I think truly what annoys me is that it's a story choice that can only make sense in HINDSIGHT not AS PLAYING. Only once you have all the scenes can you say "this one is out of character" and then you either have to accept it as bad writing, or come up with some in-universe justification to explain it... and so far none of the in universe ones feel good to me. i wish they did because maybe then I'd be less annoyed, rip. but at the end of the day i think even if there was some intent there, it was a poor choice for his story arc, because it doesn't effectively convey anything... and the reason why we can project a lot of different explanations onto it is simply because it is never addressed again (and again, Lucanis Dellamorte is NOT A PERSON he is a CHARACTER used to further a story for you the player, and so the reasons I don't like this choice are story-level and not a dig at how real life people feel or act).

So yeah at the end of the day. that is simply not a narrative device I would ever personally use in this way on a player/reader. certain kinds of hindsight revelations have their place (see: what the devs tried to do with Varric though I also think that falls apart on close inspection, but at least it has justification in-universe), but for a romance it just makes me embarrassed for Rook. In a game where you don't have nearly as many back-and-forth conversations with characters and have to resort to eavesdropping on them talking to each other, it's sad that one of the like 5 times you actually get to talk to Lucanis one on one we're maybe supposed to believe he wasn't being authentic, and also that Rook can't respond to this ever. It would be different if it had any kind of follow up, imo. or honestly as i've said before i would rather it have been swapped out with something entirely different or where we get to talk about their feelings instead, before i get labeled as one of the "people mad he's not Zevran 2.0/a sexy latin sterotype".

But having to step back to player-level analysis versus in-character analysis when looking at his whole romance arc just feels sloppy. but i'd much rather stick to "bad writing" than "intentional character choice" in terms of how to interpret the scene I guess, at this point, for poor Rook's sake. and i know people disagree with when I've said that before bc as much as I love Mary Kirby in other areas, she has said many times that she doesn't like writing romance, and I think it really does show here. As much as I love Lucanis and the scraps we got I wish I didn't have to do so much filling-in-the-blanks on our own.

[illuminatedferret]

"At this point, I might as well just tell it to you straight. I've got a whole bunch of opinions about you." "Uh... well... I knew that already. For ages now," Xie Lian said. "Oh really?" Mu Qing said coldly. "Then do you know that I often thought you relied on your status too much- that even though you were His Highness the Crown Prince, even though you had good fortune, your skills weren't that much better than mine?" "..." "I also thought that you probably only liked doing all those good deeds for show, because you wanted all the praise and flattery. And that you only helped me because of that- I was the perfect subject for you to demonstrate your sympathy and kindness on. To be honest, some of my opinions haven't changed, even now." (Vol. 8, pg. 54-55)

This does not sound like a guy who has/had a good opinion of Xie Lian.

This sounds like a guy who thinks Xie Lian is an arrogant nepo baby who does good deeds for the optics. And while he mentions Xie Lian's circumstances, it's all couched in what Xie Lian is doing with them. If there is a place in the novel where I'm meant to take away that Mu Qing's issues with Xie Lian were actually with his circumstances, please point it out to me. Because from where I stand, it looks like Mu Qing spends most of the novel with a pretty poor opinion of Xie Lian. He definitely feels resentment over the (original) differences in their stations, but that resentment very clearly rolls over into his resentment regarding Xie Lian and what he sees Xie Lian doing with his station.

Not only that, we see him react positively more than once to Xie Lian suffering/doing bad things. He's a little "cheered" to learn Xie Lian's living in a shack (1.219). He's in an "excellent mood" when Xie Lian is put under house arrest, and he's "uncontrollably excited" to think Xie Lian is responsible for the Gilded Banquet Massacre (2.183). He's smug and passive-aggressive when they're talking about Xie Lian's past as General Hua (1.323) He also accuses Xie Lian of only offering to help 'his general' re: the fetus spirit in hopes of sabotaging his case (5.55). All this is to say, we see throughout canon that this guy does not think highly of Xie Lian. They parted ways on bad terms, and Mu Qing spent 800 years convinced Xie Lian hated him. It took him seeing Xie Lian again after 800 years and being hit in the face again and again with how good he is to finally start admitting both his negative opinions and that despite them, he still admires Xie Lian "more often than not." (8.55)

You also mention how Xie Lian and Mu Qing might have been different if they'd swapped places. But they do swap places!. Xie Lian spends 800 years scavenging for scraps with the worst luck possible. Mu Qing spends 800 years in the heavens, one of Thee most powerful men in the Three Realms. One stays kind and generous, the other stays skeptical and paranoid. Childhoods can be formative, yes, but there comes a limit on when we can attribute everything to a difficult childhood rather than a person's character, and the feasibility gets really stretched when we're talking about characters who have been alive for over 800+ years. TGCF definitely focuses more on nature rather than nurture, for good reason. It's a central theme of the novel.

TGCF makes it clear: to change or to stay the same are both choices. Staying the same is not a default action- often, (especially under pressure) it is an active choice someone makes. Mu Qing had 800 years to unpack his issues and grow as a person. He didn't. I find it both lazy and boring to throw everything about Mu Qing under the label of 'virtually sealed' because he had a difficult childhood, especially when we see none of said childhood. On top of that, you're assuming Mu Qing likely would have been a better person had he been in Xie Lian's position, but the opposite is just as possible- who's to say being a prince wouldn't have made him worse? Look at Qi Rong. Xie Lian's parents are permissive as hell. That Xie Lian turned out how he did speaks to his character, not the people around him. And in canon Mu Qing may dislike being compared to the Crown Prince he once served, but I imagine that if their positions were swapped, he would have hated even more being outshone by a mere servant.

Also, forgive me if this is unwelcome, but I feel like your argument would be much stronger if you relied on textual evidence from the book from phases of Mu Qing's life that we actually see- for example, I do believe that watching Xie Lian crash and burn in Book 2/4 definitely discouraged him from ever sticking his neck out for someone else. It would discourage me! But talking about Mu Qing's childhood as crucial for understanding him when we get maybe a few sentences about it isn't very compelling. Mu Qing is an interesting character with a lot of depth and complexity, but reducing him down to 'he couldn't help it, and it was always about their stations anyway' does him a disservice.

There's something to be said about how Mu Qing and Jun Wu both held these ideas about Xie Lian and who he really is as a person- specifically, that his kind and forgiving nature is a lie, and deep down he's actually just like them. These are ideas Mu Qing and Jun Wu spent centuries believing, refusing to be convinced otherwise until they had no other choice.

But that's where their similarities end. Because while Mu Qing resents Xie Lian for his good character, he also honestly admires him for it. Jun Wu, on the other hand, 'loves' Xie Lian, but grows angrier each time he's reminded of how different they really are. And so I think it's very fitting that when Mu Qing finally swallows his pride and admits his preconceptions and faults to Xie Lian, it's on the Heavens-Crossing Bridge, the literal wreckage of Jun Wu's hopes and dreams.

[themuseumofwitchcraftandpaganism]

Did Christianity Steal From Paganism? Yes... No... It's Complicated. Part 2: Vikings

Tis the season so I figured I'd talk about the topic that's been the subject of debate for a long time, most recently with the 2024 Olympics. I will be discussing the visual aspect of these religions, not the theological aspects.

Short answer: Yes

Long answer: No

Let's get into it: The Viking era is from 800-1050 AD and can be divided into seven parts based off the style of visual art that was popular. The first style is called the Oseberg style (775-800 AD) and would be the basis of all the Viking styles of art after it. It was made of three forms that were derived from Pagan pre-Viking art: ribbon animals, gripping beasts, and ambiguous forms. You can see it on the bow of the ship below; the ship dates to the 9th century and was found in a burial mound in Tønsberg, Norway. Remember these forms because they're going to be important later.

The Vikings started coming into contact with Christian Anglo Saxon (modern day English) missionaries in the 700-800s, but they had little effect. The missionaries were well received by the kings but when their Pagan chieftains threatened to rescind their support, the missionaries were sent away. Another example of that is in 878 AD, the Christian king of the Anglo Saxons, Alfred the Great of Wessex, and the Pagan king of the Vikings, Guthrum the Old, were at war. King Alfred ended up winning and as part of the peace treaty, Guthrum had to get baptized into Christianity. He did so but maintained his Pagan worship and did not implement Christianity.

Besides the kings, common people had also started to slowly assimilate to Christianity. Christians had a rule that they couldn't trade with Pagans so Pagan Vikings began primsigning. Primsigning is an old Norse word meaning "to make the sign of the cross," the way to show you followed Christian beliefs before converting all the way through baptism. Even though they weren't being baptized and were still practicing Paganism, primsigning was enough for Christians to feel comfortable trading with them and brought the Vikings more into the world of Christianity.

An interesting example of this is in Kopparsvik, Sweden, where a large number of Viking individuals were buried in a prone position from 900-1050 AD. This is completely different from traditional Pagan Viking burials: there were no grave goods, no animal sacrifices, no mighty ships. Typically, a prone position is a sign of showing humility towards God and all the figures had notches carved into their teeth (below). Historians theorize that they used the notches to secretly signal to Christian merchants that they were also Christian to get discounts while not being alienated from their Pagan communities.

The coin below is from ~921 AD. It's a Viking coin from York, England and wonderfully shows the mixing of Pagan and Christian iconography. Coins like this typically had the name of the Viking king engraved on them but this one has "St. Peter." However, it also depicts the hammer of Thor on both the head (left) and reverse (right). It really demonstrates the visual mixing of religions.

Sometime between 940-1000 AD, the cross below was made. It was found in St Andrew's Church, Andreas, Isle of Man (between England and Ireland), and is another great example of the combination of Pagan and Christian art. On one side (left) it depicts Odin with one of his ravens fighting the wolf Fenrir at Ragnarök. The other side (right) depicts Christ triumphing over Satan. Both of these are stories of good vs evil and depict a god triumphing at the end of days. It would have drawn attention to the theological similarities between Christianity and Norse Paganism, making it easier for people to conflate the differing theologies.

Remember the Oseberg style from before? We're going to revisit it. By the 900s, Viking art was being done in the Mamman style; the ribbon animals and gripping beasts had combined into an icon called the Great Beast. The Great Beast was a symbol of power and strength, frequently put on longships and other Pagan items. In 986 AD, Viking King Bluetooth, a recent convert to Christianity, had the jelling stone below erected in honor of his deceased parents. On one side, he included a Great Beast; this was to show the strength and nobility of his parents and the nation they ruled. On the other side, he put an image of Christ Triumphant. This makes sense for a cenotaph as the promise of a resurrection is a comfort in the face of death. But the combination of a Pagan symbol of strength and an image of Christ is very interesting; it's doing more than pointing out the similarities between the two religions, it's uniting both Pagan and Christian subjects under his rule and proudly displaying the two different sources of the Viking's strength.

I can't end this without also talking about architecture. The last Viking art style is called the Urnes style and it's primarily because of the church below. It was built in 1132 AD in Urnes, Norway and is a stave church, meaning the whole thing was built without any nails!! The entire thing is self-supporting wood made using the post and lintel system. It's a Chrisitan church but has Pagan iconography on the sides: the last version of the Great Beast (right) and Pagan runes. It's fascinating how a Christian place of worship is decorated and protected by Pagan icons, once again showing the combination of visual cultures and methods of thought.

So, the answer everyone is looking for is NO.

The Christians didn't steal anything from the Pagans, they made an association. They produced art in the style that was popular and followed the artistic trends of the time. Christian and Pagan imagery was produced in the same medium and combined until Paganism was phased out over hundreds of years. They saw similar gods and iconography and combined them to make a message that was understandable to all audiences.

Happy Yule! Happy Winter Solstice!

Further reading:

Smarthistory – Art of the Viking Age

BBC - History - Ancient History in depth: Viking Religion

The Vikings and Christianity | History of Christian Vikings – Sons of Vikings

Treaty of Wedmore - Wikipedia

Manx runestones - Wikipedia

Prone Burials and Modified Teeth at the Viking Age Cemetery of Kopparsvik - Historische Beratung Dr. Matthias Toplak

Ancient Viking Art - Medievalists.net

Gamla Uppsala - Wikipedia

[papasbaseball]

The Wizard x Reader (Wonderful Wonderful Girl) | Chapter 6

Pairing: Wizard x F!Reader

Rating: Teen (Rating to Increase)

Warnings: Power Imbalance, Boss/Employee Relationship

Summary: Being a maid in the Royal Palace of Oz is not half so bad. Despite the meager wages, everything else is provided for you for an honest day's work. It can be unnerving working for the most powerful man in Oz, but you are able to avoid him most of the time. This changes during Lurlinemas, your paths soon becoming inextricably intertwined.

Word Count: 2,514 of 15,526

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The carriage is at least twice as tall as the team of the six horses that pull it. It is flanked on both sides by four riders each that sit astride sleek black light horses. The carriage horses are spotted in such a way that the dapples trail in long and winding lines that create a dizzying effect when all eight of the steeds lock footsteps as they pull up to the palace. The parade of the highly ornamented blue and gold carriage and horses catches my eye from the sideboard that overlooks the main turnaround as I pour myself another cup of coffee. I bring my cup and saucer back to the oversized table where the Wizard and Humak Tigelaar sit, figuring that it must be some expected dignitary of the day.

"What?" The Wizard says, eyes still on his newspaper. "No coffee for me?"

I smile politely, trying to set the cup down with as little clinking as possible – he'd told me a few nights ago that I made far too much noise and was more like an animal at the table than a lady. "I didn't know you wanted more."

"Well... I could use a little bit of sugar," he says. He's looking at me over the tops of his golden-wired readers and somehow I think he's not talking about coffee anymore.

I feel aware of Humak’s eyes on the Wizard’s attempt to embarrass me and I push the coffee away, busying myself with the last bit of sausage that I was ignoring. "I saw a carriage pull up in the driveway," I say, cutting the piece of meat into smaller and smaller bites. Anything to change the subject.

"What?" the Wizard says. He noisily folds the newspaper into quarters, and soon he's out of his seat headed for the window. Despite his unnerved demeanor, I take a moment to admire how nice the white sleeves of his shirt look against his fitted deep green waistcoat. I'm pulled back to the table by Ambassador Tigelaar.

"Did you see who was in it?" Humak says timidly.

"No. Just some blue and gold carriage with some funny looking horses," I say. This causes Humak to push out of his chair and waddle after the Wizard toward the window. I take a bite of sausage, watching the two of them press against the sideboard to get a good look at the turnaround.

The Wizard soon hurries back over to the table, a panicked look on his face, and grabs his jacket from the back of the chair where it had been hanging on one of the wooden spindles. He lowers his voice and tells me, "You... uh, come with me." He's waving his hand frantically in a motion that is urging me to hurry up with my plate. I set my fork and knife down, placing my napkin on top. The Wizard directs his attention to Glafly, who had been standing by the door, waiting for Humak to finish his breakfast. "Uh... Glafly, take our ambassador back to his room. I have to inform our Wizard of some business."

Glafly nods and approaches the quickly deflating Humak Tigelaar as I am being pulled out of the room by the Wizard.

We wind our way through the Emerald hallways, taking passages I have never seen or noticed before. When we reach the throne room, I am out of breath. He pulls me through the many ropes of different shades of green that are obscuring a face made of many sheets of metal. I have never formally had an audience with Oz, but when I was elevated to working with the Wizard himself, Esmet had explained to us that the Wizard we worked for was not the reality for most people and that we were sworn to this secret under penalty of death. This metal giant must be that reality, I think.

"What's going on?" I ask, still winded. He drags us up a small metal staircase until we're standing on some kind of golden scaffolding that has a control panel and wires and warm lights illuminating the whole contraption.

"You, doll... just- just stay here and be quiet, okay? I gotta..." He doesn't say anything else, rather dashing back down the staircase.

The control panel glows with temptation. There are all sorts of buttons and wheels, levers and knobs, and they are all just itching to be pressed. I reach for them, but think better, snatching my hand back at the thought of what punishment might come from playing with them. Ever since the trip to the children's home with Bruno, I had been more mindful of the things that I said and did, worried that they might come for Fileah because of my words and actions.

I don't have to withstand the temptation for long as the Wizard quickly scrambles up the stairs again. "You didn't touch anything, did you?" he asks.

I shake my head, trying to hold fast to his quiet rule.

"Good girl," he says. He points to a corner of the scaffolding away from the control panel. "Just sit tight over there. This will be over soon."

There's the sound of the great doors opening and then shutting, what sounds like several footsteps, and then he flies into action. It's impressive how quickly he moves about the levers and wheels and the rest of the equipment as if he were still a spritely man of 20. He raises a microphone to his lips and a terrifying booming fills the throne room.

"I am Oz... the Great and Terrible." I can see the Wizard's lips moving, but it is not his voice. The voice breathes as if it were some nightmarish pipe organ, echoing in the confines of the throne room.

There is a pause, and then a voice that is light and somehow handsome speaks up. "I am Prince Fiyero Tigelaar of Winkie Country, heir to the Arjiki throne."

The Wizard is moving with ferocity again, and the ghastly voice booms once more. "Why have you come to the Emerald City?" This time, the ending is punctuated with an explosion. I jump and grip the spindles of the scaffolding, feeling a gust of heat that blows through the soft green vines.

"I received a letter. Is that not invitation enough?" Fiyero says.

"No. You must leave and do not come back," the booming voice says. Several blasts of heat punctuate that sentence.

I'm tempted to crawl from the spot I've been told to stay in, just long enough to get a glimpse of this Prince Fiyero, but think better of it. I need to remember not only to be on my best behavior for Fileah's sake, but also so that I can go visit her before Lurlinemas like I promised.

"I'm not leaving here without my cousin," Fiyero says. "You’ll find you'll be very sorry if you do not let him go."

I slowly creep up, steadying myself against the back railing, and through the eyes of Oz the Great and Terrible, I can see not just one, but at least a dozen or more men, surrounded by the Wizard's own elite Emerald Guard.

"NO ONE THREATENS OZ THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE!" The voice cracks like thunder and the explosion from the heat – which I can now see is from canons that breathe fire all around the room – knocks me back to my seated position in the corner. Once my legs stop shaking, I rise again to see the entourage that Prince Fiyero has brought with him is not standing quite so tall and sure either.

"Then let's not threaten," Fiyero says. "We can talk this out as friends."

The Wizard doesn't dignify that with a response besides another blast of hot air.

"We can just talk it out then," Fiyero says.

"There is nothing to talk about," the voice booms. “You must leave.”

"Your Ozness," Fiyero says, "Let's be honest: You want your firewood for your city, I want my cousin back. Even if you turn us away, nothing is to stop us from staying in your city until you let him go-"

"You will be removed," the voice says.

"You could," Fiyero says, "but you won't. It would make too much of a mess. Then you would have no wood and a mess on your hands."

The Wizard seems to be considering this, realizing what I am also realizing: it is too late. Whoever has let this smooth talker into the gates will probably disappear by tomorrow, never to be seen again, because Prince Fiyero is right: there is no way to end this mess-free besides negotiation.

A light blinks on the panel, and the Wizard curses under his breath. His hands move lightly across the panel, not putting as much force behind his movements as earlier. He speaks into the microphone again.

"We will negotiate, but until then you will be my guests," the voice says.

"A lot of good that did my cousin," Fiyero says. "Our guards will also be your guests."

"Yes, yes," the voice says, practically cutting him off. I can see a panicked look on the Wizard's face. "Guards, please find room for Prince Fiyero and his company. We will resume negotiations tomorrow. Tonight you will be our guests of honor."

I can hear a grunt from one of the Emerald Guards. Footsteps fill the room once more, and the Wizard keeps his hands on the control panel until there is the echo of the large doors closing once more. He slumps to the floor, back against the control panel, trying to catch his breath. An exhausted hand feels around at the top of the control panel and slaps a red button that creates a whirring sound that leaves us in complete darkness except for a few emergency lights.

I try to make sense of all that just happened, looking at him for any sort of answer. A weak but genuine smile spreads across his face.

"So what'd you think?" he asks me.

I try to find the words to express my awe of it all: the fact that I've witnessed what an audience with the Wizard of Oz looks like, even from the inside, the way he could bring a group of the finest soldiers in Oz to their knees. After a pause, I manage, "It was... incredible."

"Well you know..." he laughs sheepishly, "I am Oz the Great and Terrible."

"So how does it all work?" I ask.

"What? The..." he gestures in the darkness of the control platform. "All this?"

I pull myself up by the back railing and go to the now darkened control panel. The light that was once blinking has turned a solid red. Above it, there is a gauge labeled as "Fuel". I can't make out much of the buttons and levers in the dim light, but many of them have had bits and pieces of their labels worn away, some fully disappeared. Even if someone wanted to operate this machine, it would only truly ever serve one master. I look down at the Wizard, a smile on my face. "Can you show me?" I ask.

He's looking at me with an excited glint in his eyes and a genuine smile as he picks himself off the floor. The room is still toasty from the heat of the several fire blasts, but he steps behind me and I feel warmed anew as my back presses against his chest. His hands ghost over mine, and I can feel old scars that have healed with time as they guide my hands to unseen buttons and levers.

"It's out of gas," he says gently, "but if it had the juice..." Our right hands touch a group of buttons. "Here are the eyes. You can open and close them using the up and down buttons. Left and right are for brightness... It's a little fanciness I added." I press the buttons, even though they don't do anything, and I can hear their quiet clicking in the silence, followed by a snort from him.

"You said they'd be your honored guests tonight," I say.

"Mmm yes, " he says, guiding our right hands back to a wheel. "I'm having a Lurlinemas party tonight. Ironically, they couldn't have picked a better time to come busting down my doors – this is how the fuel is fed into the machine." Our hands spin the lifeless wheel. Nothing happens on account of the power being shut off. "I suppose he could have picked a better time when we weren't short on wood."

"I didn't know you were having a Lurlinemas party tonight," I say.

"I wanted to surprise you," he replies. The starched cotton of his sleeve presses against the bare skin of my arm as he guides our hands to a stout lever. "Here's where the fire comes from." We pull the lever and it springs back by itself. Nothing happens.

"What are you going to do about negotiating with him?" I ask.

He laughs and I can feel it fully – even if it is half-hearted – through the way his chest rumbles, his gentle breath that ruffles my hair, the way his guiding hand unsteadies. "You know, you ask a lot of questions..."

I had never considered it before, but his answer makes me think that even he doesn't know what he’s going to do. I'm pushing my luck with the topic of Fiyero and his guards, so I turn to look at him. His face has been completely shrouded in darkness, the glow of the emergency lights only touching the back of his head and shoulders. "How do you move the mouth?"

His breath catches, and for a second, I think that he's forgotten. "The lever here," he says, clearing his throat as he guides our hands to a well-worn wooden handle that is near the bottom of the control panel. "To speak you just..." Our right hands grab the microphone and bring it to my lips. I hold it there, unable to think of anything to say. Should I pretend to be him? What could I possibly say that would be worth hearing?

His right hand leaves mine and I can feel his thumb drag along my jaw until it touches my bottom lip. "Speak," he says lowly.

There goes my stupid heart again, pounding as if it had beats to spare. I know he's toying with me, but I can't help but shut down. My hand shakes as it sets the microphone down and I slip out from between him and the control panel. "I need to get ready for tonight."

I don't even wait to hear his reply before I fly down the scaffolding stairs, away from the rush that could lure any girl: the rush that comes with the touch of a lover in the privacy of a darkened corner. I run back up the flights and flights of stairs into my cold and not-so-fancy cell, where I'm greeted by Emily and a green velvet dress, already picked out.

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

My theory is that Blake wants to discredit justin because he owns the rights for the second book (sequel to this one?! Idk). And she wants to make this her own franchise now. It's purely business reasons.

And saying that he launched a smear campaign against her in the media ... Well, she did it too! She launched her own smear campaign against him with the promo for the movie. Infact the talk about this movie took off with discussions that there was something not quite right between Justin and Blake. So she used those tactics herself.

Now, ofcourse, if more comes out about this and it turns out Justin is a bad guy, I will eat the humble pie and admit my mistake and send out an apology into the universe that gets to blake via the ethers. (Mainly because I'm scared of her mean girl tactics). But from what justins lawyers has said , it turns out he did change his behaviour and rectified whatever whas bothering blake on the sets.

But so far, it looks like this is a clash between two very dominant personalities, one of them being girl bosswannabe blake who wanted to break free from her image as Ryan reynolds' baby making machine ans was actually hoping to win some awards with this movie.

Most of the things blake was called out for wasn't internet constructs via pr plants. People saw her behavior during the promos and reacted. That old interview with the Swedish/Danish/Norwegian journalist where ("congrats on your little bump") was what did the most damage. That wasn't Justin's doing.

That's where I am too - she's trying to discredit him for the sequel rights and/or profit.

But I do think it's important that we acknowledge there's validity to Blake's allegations, because it has been acknowledged by others on set that Justin was confronted about his behavior and afterwards, there was noticeable and marked improvement in his behavior and in conditions on set.

I also think that some of the things Blake is upset about is, like you pointed out, her own behavior and attitude in the promotions of the film. People were really and genuinely upset she was promoting the film as bubbly and frothy rom-com when the subject matter was this heavy and triggering. Of course people are going to be angry at a bait-and-switch and when Blake dismisses their concerns so breezily to promote her brand and merch Louboutins instead - of course they're going to turn on her.

Since there are more stories about Blake's bad behavior -- making light of Kategate and then apologizing via IG story (which deleted after 24 hours so it's a nonapology), sleeping with Ryan on Green Lantern while he was still married to Scarlett, sleeping with Ben Affleck on The Town while he was married to Jennifer Garner, being a Weinstein apologist, feuding with everyone on Gossip Girl, feuding with Anna Kendrick, having a plantation wedding, using slurs for the transgender community -- than there are about Justin...

But that doesn't mean Justin can't be a horrible person or that he couldn't target Blake. He can and he could.

All it means is that this is messy and the courts have a heck of a job ahead of them - the real court, the Hollywood court, and the court of public opinion.

[snoopyracing]

Hii, if its ok with you, could we please get a sneak peak of the max fic ur writting 🥺

hi!! sorry i didn’t answer this sooner! been busy with family stuff and the upcoming holiday! but here you go. it’s unedited so beware lol.

You’d been playing good racing driver and making small talk all night, talking to sponsors and random rich men who loved to hear themselves talk. You’d finally escaped the tortuous sea of networking and found yourself at a somewhat secluded table with a flute of champagne in front of you. You hadn’t been at the table for very long before you heard a familiar Dutch accent coming from behind you.

“Is this seat taken?”

You turned to see the one and only Max Verstappen standing there with his hand on the back of the seat next to you. Your eyes scanned across the white linen tablecloth to the several empty chairs surrounding the table and then back to Max. “I think they all might be spoken for, but I’m sure they can find another table to sit at.” He lets out a little chuckle as he sits down and you notice him fidgeting with his tie, clearly trying to loosen it. “It’s weird seeing you in anything other than your race suit or team kit.”

His movements halt as his eyes comb over you and it makes you squirm slightly in your seat. “Could say the same about you.”

He’s not wrong though, the dress you’ve picked out for tonight is nothing shy of stunning, but it’s not you. You always felt like these events were a form of torture more than anything and having to get all dressed up was just the cherry on top.

“I saw that you had a good season.” You state before taking a sip of your champagne.

Max’s eyebrows raise in surprise towards you, like you’ve just said the craziest thing. “I don’t think we should be talking about my season when you’ve just won a championship.”

You lean back in your seat, crossing your legs as you adjust your dress. “It’s only an F2 championship Max.” There’s still a part of you that’s slightly bitter about him leaving you behind and you wonder what this night would be like if you were an F1 driver like him.

“It still means something.” His baby blue eyes narrowed at you as he spoke.

The remaining champagne in your glass is gone in seconds, this isn’t where you wanted this conversation to end up, but somehow you knew it was inevitable. “It doesn’t mean much if it can’t even grant me that seat I want. I won that championship basically halfway through the season, but can’t get anyone to offer me anything higher than a reserve driver. How does that mean anything?”

Max shifts in his seat, he knows this is a sensitive subject to you and he knows what he’s about ready to tell you will probably get him slapped, but he has to at least try.

“It could mean something and I came over here to talk to you about it.” Your eyebrows furrow at his words, confused as to what he could possibly mean. “I want you as my teammate.”

You can’t help but laugh slightly at him, the dutchman had clearly had one too many glasses of champagne tonight. “Did you think to express that to Red Bull before I had that world shortest meeting with them months ago? We all have dreams Max and yours is nice, but it’s a pipe dream.”

He shakes his head and scoots his chair closer to you. “It’s not a dream. It can happen. The team wanted to see how the rest of your season played out, but they for sure want you now.”

“Where is Daniel going then?” A waiter comes past and you snatch another flute of champagne off of their tray. “And why is this not being discussed in a formal meeting setting?”

“The team thought you might be more willing if you heard about this from someone you knew pretty well first. You know I’ve always been in your corner.” Max knows this is where the conversation will either go south or you’ll hear him out and he fears the latter isn’t the most likely scenario. “ And Daniel isn’t going anywhere”

It takes you a moment to understand what Max’s words mean, your glass of champagne hovers near your lips as you slowly realize what he’s insinuating. And this time you actually do laugh at him because how could he think that after your disgruntled conversation just moments ago that you would want the one thing you were dissatisfied with?

“Max, you've got to be kidding me.” You feel like this is one big prank and your tone is more defeated than upset at this point

[spotlightlowlife]

Few hits, a helluva lot of misses this sinsmas

Season one was better. I stand by this. The foreshadowing of characters to come and what to expect from them, showing more than telling and the courage to have likable characters just be horrible seems lost this time around.

So here we will look into what and who had moved forward or back since season one.

Where there was progress

Handing over Stella's revenge to her creep of a brother, as disappointing as it is to have her sidelined here, I appreciate that he had his own objective to replace Stolas, it really leaves the door open to questions of who this family actually are (and typing this out only makes the suggested incestuous stuff even more solid, if this wasn't so safe they could lean into this more).

Still, she wanted revenge and she got it, acheiving more than most, she's now back in Stolas's fancy home a position to live it up again and her husband who humiliated her has now been humiliated 7x for all of hell to see. This worked out better than the hit.

Maybe her relationship with Octavia, whatever it is, will strain or maybe her brother will become and annoyance, both of which could spoil her comfort and how would she react to this? As before, with little screen time and all efforts intended to make her look bad, there's still a helluva lot that can be done with Stella.

moderate progress

We don't see or hear much from Millie but I actually think there have been numberours times she has hinted towards her relationship not being all wholesome and lovey dovey. Though you do have to combined the shorts and season one.

We meet Millie's family towards the start and get to see her hometown and know her upbringing, though she could have been cropped out the episode what we got was Millie not want Moxxie to try to impress her family who clearly didn't think he was good enough and not speaking up in defence of her choice. The next time her family get some time it is during a short when she would spend the day with Sallie and Moxxie would make the considerate move of silently and secretly passing by without interacting, in his own home. This tells us that these two families are separate and she's doing anything to change that. We had forced Sallie angst over Millie leaving which was a sidestep since Millie is now comfortably married to a partner they don't like and she works a job her family don't believe is a real one. In Sallie's few lines she poked fun at Moxxie as her parents made him know he wasn't welcome in their coldness, so as much as Millie episodes have been known to become Moxxie episodes, we could have addressed and maybe wrapped up a plot point in allowing Sallie to question, respect or agree to disagree with her sisters marriage, this too could still have served as Sallie angst rather than the parents being conveniently useless.

A short was the first to tell us that Millie doesn't like the musicals that Moxxie enjoys, this was bought up again in the finale, though one thing she does like is being serenaded, yet she has also shared that she likes attention, which could be a clue as to why she wants to be away from her hometown and in a city where she's different, and in a relationship with very someone different from her. A massive change from what she was used to and what is expected could have been a part of the appeal of her relationship with Moxxie and the best way for her to get the validation she craves?

On the subject of different, when and why did she date Chaz? Still one of the most pointless parts of this show to date was giving Millie and ex, an ex she's furious with and a shared ex with her husband, buy not exploring any part of that while we get a rundown of Chaz x Moxxie. When we finally saw Millie's background, we see that she was living as some rough neck when Blitzø was starting IMP, which was after Chaz and Moxxie ended where Moxxie would meet Blitzø in prison. What would the appeal of Chaz to this Millie?

There were multiple jokes about Moxxie being pegged and his bisexuality, other times he is in over his head and encouraged to toughen up and go battle, he has also proven to be naive and immature which has Millie having to be his keeper. Millie opened up about liking attention as she spoke about feeling unsupported, in the same episode she looked forward to going on a mission with just Moxxie and was ignored when she when she solved a mystery which would have saved a load of time and theatrics had she been heard.

When she had the moodswing and accused Moxxie of not being man enough, it didn't come out if nowhere.

Millie's pregnancy being the reason she gains some signature angst that all empathic characters get is such a waste of time, its formualic and bypasses an excellent reason to shelve her

this could be a great opportunity for more to be done with her besides getting an occasional action scene to give her some content. Any fallout from

work (the workplace she's nonchalant about not being a good source of income, the same work place that her husband works at)

family (who don't respect Moxxie and there's no proof Sallie warmed to him when she visited and they didn't interact, and Millie is just fine with that and why aren't they more worried about Crimson? an actual successful gangster who doesn't care for their marriage, tracked them down and used his estranged adult son as property, dispite setting up a decent villain he was reduced to a throwaway Saturday cartoon villain)

her life (does she have one? we learnt that she's greatful to Blitzø because she believed they were only good for being lackies, so her whole life is her hardly paying job where she met her man? her only friend seems to be her sister even though she managed to get a man before Moxxie and Millie and Sallie's dat out was so generic that we leant nothing about either of their hobbies and interest)

Could easily follow too. The end could have simply been Millie finding out she's pregnant as the cliffhanger minus joining the drama club and it would have made little difference to whatever actual story followed on in season 3. Millie being pregnant was a top topic in the fandom with some seeing suspicious behaviour, i see how people came to this conclusion of adultary seeing as the episode was otherwise dominated by Stolas's life being a mess down to his affair with Blitzø, but I'm willing to bet it's just drama for the sake of drama, which is unnecessary because she has been one of the better characters.

Some progress

Loona making progress with Blitzø has been nice, but he was and always will be supportive of her.

Loona's interactions with others however have held so many misses dispite us making great strides away back when Loona revealing herself to be friendless in season one, showing us that even though she was nervous and shy in the presence of Vortex, it was more than just a crush. It was interesting to see someone actually want to interact with others as Blitzø's loneliness was entirely comedic until the finale and actual finale and Millie and Moxxie just having eachother was played for cuteness.

Then Loona is casually invited to a casual party by Tex, which just so happens to be thrown by his girlfriend, the sin of gluttony herself, Beelzebub. She didn't have a good experience at the party but gave it more than one chance, she needed Blitzø popularity and charisma to piggy back off.

At Sinsmus, it was possibly a cute moment that Loona wanted to go out on a job with Blitzø, or she was just bored sat in the office and it's only now an issue? She has been a lot more chill as of late which could be down to their recent major trauma, or it could be because she now has friends? When did this happen? The only time we have seen her out socializing was during the actual finale of season one. The previous episode where Blitzø dragged Stolas to Ozzie's let us know that she had taken up the invite from earlier in the season and went to a party, actual finale would have us follow Loona and see for ourselves that this party and its godly host just weren't it. Loona leaves as the designated driver that night having been very publicly threatened by Bee who could have squished her in a moment, and for doing nothing to fit in with the 'good vibes' of the fakes around her, yet at some point between both season finales, she made friends?

There have been two great windows for Loona to stand out to others

When Bee made a scene at the party

When Bee failed to acknowledge her presence during a televised court proceeding where she was facing execution with three imps

Neither make Bee look good and since the public have been so quick to turn of Stolas, these friends, fellow hounds, could easily have been people who saw her and thought she was brave and cool. We could have seen communications with her in messages on the phone she us frequently scrolling through.

If they had bonded with her over these things, then would it not have made a good subplot to have the drinks Loona pulled out not be Bee's line of drinks?

Loona's ties to Bee are so strong, from the orphanage/prison/dog pounds, to the easily accessible parties the lowest of classes are welcome at, to drinking at home, yet efforts have been made to double down on how Loona and Bee mean nothing to eachother (seriously Blitzø stands out on trial and not the one and only hellhound who is muzzled) in a series that hinges on the plight of the abused and traumatised, but then I look to the late actual finale of season one and see that the first half started strong but soon descended into a taster of what was to come in season 2, with the neutering of powerful characters in order for us to just like them and see them as nice...

No progress at all, counter progress even

Royalty. The sins and Stolas.

Again, season one mapped out who was going to be important in the future well. From Verosika the sucubus travelling with an asmodean crystal, being a functioning addict who knows Barbie doing what a lot of addicts do and not straying far from their vice by taking with her Bee's alcohol with her, which wasn't to be consumed by non demons, to Mammon's Loo Loo land being a cheap knock off staffed by Fizzbots made by Ozzie, they played their roles before we ever met them.

Also Stolas was the powerful prince indulging in a fantasy regardless of how uncomfortable Blitzø was, to then look ashamed at being publicly called out and teased by Ozzie. This is how we left things in season one.

As mentioned earlier, the actual finale of season one had Bee start off strong with a catchy song, showcasing her powers and letting us know that she's a shallow love bomber. All this worked until her concern for Blitzø dispite encouraging destructive behaviour and wanting to get her hands on drugs that are another sins territory.

Now we have Loona and her new friends drinking Bee's supply at a party. As common as groups of friends drinking is, it's almost like Bee managed to get in there with consumption of her thing.

Do the not have options to boycott her? Does she supply all alcohol?

What about small business selling alcohol, do they exist and do they feed back to her, are they her jurisdiction?

Are bootleggers (please don't buy bootleg drinks people) and moonshiners commiting a crime by stepping into her territory and are they dealt with?

The last question seems unlikely when we factor in season 2 very disappointing neutering of fun mean guy Ozzie, who now isn't at fault for the Fizz sexbots that season one had no issue with because now he's nice, so blame is bypassed of these so sort after dolls that they managed a series crossover to Hazbin onto Mammon, and for what reason? Not wanting others thirsting over his boy toy yet the example of a creep predated Fizz's mainstream fame? There was no explanation other than wanting Fizz to quite his other job that he worked hard in and was what he had known all his life. We saw that Fizz was showy, his widespread fame complimented that and he looked a great example of a rags to riches success story, but one irrelevant knockback is the perfect opportunity for smothering Ozzie to coerce him into giving up and staying at home. It's sad how his behaviour is universally seen as sweet and not possessive. Sad for numberours reasons

coercive control is a real thing and hard to spot

this is an adult cartoon, this behaviour fits perfectly with lust, this could be a good things story wise with Ozzie being intentional in this behaviour because it's in his nature or not being intentional but realizing that he's being irrational for many the first time

They want to tell is that some sins have 'positive aspects' but at the same time the few deemed 'good' don't have the negative aspects?

Ozzie almost encouraged Stolas in his fling with Blitzø that ruined his royal marriage and divided his family, why is carrying around Fizz and doing whatever in privacy in any way a scandal? They look like like two people indulging in a fetish, which suits him. Ozzie is big on consent too and doesn't believe in love potions, so what is he doing about those who make them since he's do aware?

And another thing

So far IMP have used the asmodean crystal to carry out their work, we leant that the crystal means they're under Ozzie's jurisdiction, but we never leant what that meant even though this crystal would be a big deal because it replaced Stola's book.

In this last episode we watched IMP show up on earth, do nothing and leave. Do they not report anywhere on their reason for travelling? Are they commissioned to do stuff? If earth travel is no big deal than why is this magic so heavily kept under lock and key? What are royalty even doing with their ability to travel to earth?

We missed many opportunities in mastermind to

have the importance of Stolas's grimores be told and how it can't be in the wrong hands

importance of contracts which are a big deal in parent serise Hazbin Hotel

the fact that the book isn't missing from Stolas's possession

IMPs line of work being any form of big deal or not, can they continue? Obviously they did and how exactly are they getting to earth now?

that fact that IMPs are responsible for new sinners which contradicts the plot of the parent series Hazbin Hotel which this time around ran alongside HB

Ozzie is a side character who has got a good share of screen time, there's easily more to him than his relationship, especially when he's responsible for so much, but who had received a massive chunk of screen time and has legit been stripped of his power? Stolas. Who I'm sure the pilot that informed us that he was responsible for global warming, but now we don't know his role in anything, it now doesn't matter and he's only in his mid 30s.

The good guy badge has prevented so many things being allowed to be a thing. Bee, Ozzie and Stolas got off to a great start on introduction, their characters are a shell of what they were and were built up to be and Hazbin has told us that this is just fine. Good news is, when the bar is low, thing can only get better?

Anyway. Happy holidays readers.💗

[jackfrostimposter]

genuinely why is there so much misinformation about the guardians of childhood book series?

[fisheito]

welcome to elysium part 2: trial time...

Kuya asks question 1: I'm. I'm stressed for olivine. I can feel my chest tighte ning. I ma sweat.ib

Kuya asks question 2: YIKES😬. AND a HaLf i. I have to leave

(minimises the app and lies on the floor for a solid minute)

ok. Ok let's keept his goin. It's ok It's ok olivine confronting his truths is ok he will be better after airing it all out IT WILL BE FINE deepbreathsdeepbreaths

*coughschokes and falls flat back onto the floor*

(....)

(Regains consciousness a few moments later)

Phew, ok,,, we're safe, olivine is facing it head-on and kuya is-

What THE EVERLIVING FR$* ISTHA*passes out again*