#I think this was originally made like a year ago in response to a joke of discord?? maybe?

[heyitsrink]

I was cleaning up my RotE folders and found the greatest thing I ever made

[bendyartistic]

Be Aware of alexbstudios. (Part 2) TW: uh.. slur, sui mention.

Recently I've been requested by some people to make another awareness post about Alex, and what has been going on since I made my last callout. So.. let's take a look. I'm gonna be honest I have been paying little to no attention to him at all since my post up until this point, didn't think I'd have to.

Ever since I made it, Alex has been talking about me a lot more, and it feels much more obsessive in a way. I think it's funny but also pretty weird considering some of the things he's said about me. Eugh.

Anyways let's get to the stuff from after my callout to the present. This is just a rundown of everything, and there is some stuff I skipped since I didn't feel it was worth mentioning. Once my post had been made, a lot of people went over and said stuff to him (Though I didn't encourage that behavior, I only wanted to make my post so people knew about him, I'm not covering those unless it's important in this.) Little afterwards he made this... post. Erh, are you stalking me and other people?? ALSO don't say the r slur man, like what.

I find it really creepy that he has this list, and has notes along with them about why/who they are. Also why'd he spell my partners name like that? 💀 Next a little after that he reblogged someone's art and introduction saying this. (I don't want to really @ people in this, nor get anyone involved unless they asked to be.)

I still don't understand how Alex views me, but saying this in a reblog no less is so strange. Reblogging another post, saying this with it...

You're right Alex, I didn't need you in my life, yet here we are. Unfortunately. Besides that, no, 12 year old's should NOT be on Tumblr at all, even with restrictions, said restriction should be having the app blocked from their device.

I'm just gonna.. move on from that. Alex reblogged an art post, where he proceeded to @ over 50 people, myself included, saying "surely you can see the problem". I can't fit the entire thing sadly. I don't get what the point in these posts are honestly, besides annoy everyone. He's done it before as well. He got into a small bit of beef with a handful of folk not too long ago, which I got @'ed in at some point I think, didn't really pay much attention to it. Basically the original post is someone talking about art supplies and asking what one's other people use, which I personally think was a very neat post. Alex comes around though for some reason going off on nonsense. Hello? Who invited you!? (Again, censoring names cuz I don't want to get ppl involved.)

I'm honestly kind of wondering why he even showed up. He pretty soon after made this dumb post as if it could have some effect on the situation.. uh?

I guess mark your calendars guys for this date, where we have to immediately forget everything and forgive him! /j And there's this response he gave to an anon responding to his ✨patience✨ post.

Dunno, so far it hasn't because he's still talking about it, so clearly he hasn't gotten over it enough to let it blow over.

He's giving me those like.. stupid sigma edit vibes sometimes. Y'know what I'm talking about? Yeah. Also I'm not sure what to say about this really, but it's pretty funny.

Context for this next one: You and the person on your lockscreen fight god..? That's a weird one.

Wdym racist though? 🤨 Genuinely kinda curious about that. Btw wouldn't that make you like.. 9?? On a different note, I saw him previously talk about this "friend" he has going to a mental hospital, but I know nothing about it, nor do I really want to, however reblogging on an art post saying this feels off. Think the emotes are what do it.

Don't joke about mental hospitals at all, I shouldn't have to explain why. I'm going to move on from all the short stuff now because I do wanna start talking instead of making short joking comments.

Alex made this post, and so it begins with him talking about me again, eh?

Alex, you're already doomed. I can't put it any other way but from what I've seen maybe only 1 or 2 people even like you. The rest either hate you or want to avoid you at all cost, and I don't blame them at all considering you act like a fool and make everyone uncomfortable.

For my thoughts on you? I don't like you, never did. I just have to put up with you because this is the internet, and you'll probably never truly leave me alone like I once hoped. It's a shame honestly that you cannot follow a simple request from anyone. Don't think I don't know about your planned "response post" you're making, I'm still waiting for it. I don't know what good it's gonna do you though. Personally I don't care if you make one, I'd just read it to see the stuff you make up in it lol. (Edit: He decided to stop working on it after seeing this post lol.)

Enough of my rambling, I should continue with this so I can stop talking about him sooner. Regrettably I had to actually look up what this was about, I felt.. iffy reading it.

Saying gyatt right afterwards wasn't funny. At all. I'm quite upset now. There was absolutely no reason for that.

I was gonna be reasonable and say something genuine but I don't feel like it anymore, this ruined my mood. All I have to say is as much as I dislike you, don't actually do that. Sadly moving to the next nonsensical thing, he made a poll post asking this. (It's still ongoing btw)

Are people like.. forced into giving a reason? Like if I for example chose Bendy, am I immediately supposed to state my reasons? What if I don't want to, are we being held at gunpoint? What's up with that? I'm too lazy to interact with the post, I don't really feel like it anyways even if I wasn't lazy. Which one would you choose though lol I'm going to be serious now again cause this last thing is really just.. what the fuck. Palestine related 🍉, someone asking for help came to Alex, and this was his response to it...

MY GOD Alex. Did you really have to respond to that in this immature, insensitive fucking manner? Could it have not been in one of your stupid rambling posts. It should've been. I'm sorry to the person and I'm sorry I had to read it. You're pretty sick honestly. You need help.

That's it. I'm done.

In conclusion:

Alex is still the same and is still never going to change probably. He still shouldn't be here and I believe he really should get off now more than ever. If not I fear what else he might do next.

All I can really tell you folks is please, DNI with Alex, just leave him alone and block him. You're again not obligated to, but I am suggesting it if you want to be left alone by him. And hey, maybe you'll make it onto his dumb creepy list too, who knows. Alright, I'm finished, I stayed up way too late for this... I'm tired. Cya.

Reblogs are much appreciated, it helps spread the word, thanks.

[hamcakevaletguy]

My thoughts on the Damien situation, from the POV of someone who’s relatively uninvolved with posting on social media:

As a newer fan of Smosh myself (I watched some videos in 2012, but haven’t really kept up since, and only started regularly watching the last year or so), I went through the backlog of content that they have because I enjoyed their more recent videos. Zayna, a newer Palestinian fan, did the same and found this joke in an old TNTL disappointing and wanted him to address it firsthand and make his stance clear.

For anyone saying Damien has already made it clear that he is in support of Palestine: it’s not a given that the fan who brought up the clip would have already known about Damien’s stance on Palestine. Yes, he’s talked about it in a couple of his streams and posted Insta stories about it, but a newer fan of Smosh, not necessarily Damien himself, wouldn’t know about those unless they were looking for it because they are:

temporary (IG stories only have a lifespan of 24 hours unless you take screenshots) or

a few minutes hidden under several hours of game streams on a separate platform (he talked about Palestine several months ago and has streamed a lot since, unless you know the specific Twitch stream and the timestamp when he talked about it or had clips of it, most casual fans wouldn’t know either)

In his defense, Damien himself has recently said that more fandom stuff has reached his timeline than he would like, so maybe he thinks more people know about his activism because of that. However, even if Zayna did know, wanting a straightforward statement apologizing for the insensitive joke (because bringing up the "Israeli-Palestinian conflict" [as it was called back in 2019, not accurate to what has been going on for 70+ years and counting, which is an ethnic cleansing] for shock value, as he himself said, is insensitive) is not an unreasonable request.

More under the cut

When all you have is 240 characters per reply, the things that you do choose to say matter even more. When you parse out everything in Damien's replies, he doesn't come out looking too good. Yes, he did apologize for the original joke. In his replies, he said:

using it as shock value was in poor taste and naive of him,

it was in poor taste back in 2019 and he wouldn't make it now

(in response to his first couple of replies) he is sorry for reacting in frustration and he'll learn from it,

and, in his final reply, his parting words were "With all my heart, I hope for safety for your loved ones. Be well."

However, he also says and does things that undermine his apology in the same replies:

questioning why the clip was brought up in the first place, as if bringing up old content wasn't something fans regularly do with things they're interested about and as if it's not still a public video fans can easily find,

bringing up that the fan in question had 19K followers, a fraction of the followers he has as a public figure,

saying that this conversation could have been done in private, as if an initial DM request wouldn't be buried in his other requests as a public figure, and as if he doesn't have the capability to start a DM himself to clarify things after the initial reply/post,

saying that the original tweets tagging him should have been deleted after his first response when he never asked for that, and just assumed it would happen for some reason,

deleting his replies a couple of hours later,

and blocking Zayna and several others who were only interacting with Damien through quote tweets (I'm not sure how quote tweets work, do they notify the OP?), some who don't even say anything remotely critical of him - in his defense, blocking is not inherently a bad thing, it just means that he doesn't want any further interactions from them for whatever reason. However, silencing any Palestinian voice isn't good, to say the least.

Damien has always been a proponent of “trying to understand and see from different perspectives” so his response here surprised me, personally. I get that he has a fear of being misunderstood, but jumping to the conclusion that the other party is purposefully trying to be incendiary is the opposite of that.

I'm not going to try to make excuses for him. He knows better. He's been a content creator for years. He knows he has more influence than any normal fan would. His autism is not a part of this conversation either. Mental illness is an explanation for behavior, it doesn't absolve you of the consequences of it. If you're citing Damien's autism as an excuse for his behavior, you have to also account for Zayna's autism.

People are also bringing up the possibility of Damien getting death threats as a result of this, which we have no proof of and won't have proof of unless Damien himself decides to disclose that. He has only stated that he is taking a social media break, which has been a long time coming, not necessarily only because of this, because he has been busy and tired in recent months. What we do know has happened is that Zayna has received death threats (weird of people to want the death of a Palestinian when the original argument they're defending Damien for is that he is in support of Palestinian liberation).

This isn’t an issue of cancel culture, it’s an issue of accountability and frankly, hero worship of Damien in the part of people attacking Zayna and other people on Twitter.

When the only people who had spoken about their support of Palestine in their own words, however briefly, are two or three cast members, some people are naturally going to put them on pedestals. This hero worship of Damien has been exacerbated by his image as the most politically correct member of Smosh, and Smosh’s (until recently) silence about the issue.

While we're at it, for people saying Smosh's sudden outward support for Palestine and joining Creators for Palestine is in response to backlash about Damien, or only in response to the block list going around:

It's only been a few days since the Damien's whole ordeal. Smosh is not that fast, and historically, their response to backlash would have been either complete radio silence or unlisting or privating the TNTL that the clip is from, combined with silence.

I’m sure Shayne, Ian and Courtney have been working on it for more than a few days, based on their liked posts, to get everything straightened out with the organization themselves and adding their names to the list of creators.

People have been asking for Smosh to be more public about their views on Palestine. Some of the cast members have said their piece on their personal social media, but their views could have changed. Those posts were made shortly after the events of October 7 brought even more media attention on Palestine and the Gaza Strip, which was not necessarily in favor of Palestine because of the effects of U.S. propaganda. It's been several months since then and people have a lot more information now, and more clarity.

Up until now, the only indication of Palestinian support not from social media is a brief statement from Ian who said something along the lines of "travel watermelon", while they were talking about their rejected roasts during Anthony's Funeral After Show in December, which are codewords that were used in TikTok for Free Palestine. However, this is heavily censored, behind a paywall, and temporary, because of the nature of their live shows. This support of CFP is the bare minimum of what Smosh could do, but the bare minimum is more than they were doing before.

They listed Smosh as the name under their $15,000 donation to CFP, not just Shayne, Courtney and Ian, which could be intentional, referring to Smosh as a whole company, or just referring to the three that have posted about it as a collective. Unless Smosh makes a full statement about it, themselves, it's still up in the air.

The timing of it is unfortunate. Damien has been silent about it so far, making his original posts about Palestine seem performative to some. However, it’s only been a few hours and he is on a social media break. The only thing he has briefly gone back online for is to promote something he's doing with Nintendo, which he could have been contractually obligated to do. He may or may not say something when he fully comes back from his social media break, but for now, that's everything we know. People can make their own conclusions based on all of this.

I am being very intentional with every single word I say on here, as to not be misconstrued in any way, however, if I missed anything or anyone else has anything to add (constructively, like images of either the actual conversation had by Damien and Zayna, or the cast and crew's support of Palestine prior to CFP, not outright anger and disagreement), please do. If anyone has any genuine questions about the situation, please feel free to message me directly and not bring it into this post, which is supposed to be a civil discussion surrounding more facts and events, less speculation. If I feel those questions have relevant points to add on here, I will add on in reblogs.

[propertyofwicked]

people watching | spencer reid

spencer reid x bau!reader

inspo - people watching by conan gray

2.3k words

warnings: none really - canon character death, angst to comfort :)

they're counting months they've been together, almost 49

“y/n - how long have you worked with the BAU?” morgan asked, shooting you a smirk as you threw your head backwards with a load groan. 

“i don’t know? like, 4 years?”

“4 years, and 34 days, 2 hours and based on when we got called out for your first case, 34 minutes,” reid interjects the conversation without looking up from his file. 

“for someone who has worked here for 4 years, wouldn’t one assume that you would know we never get a whole week without a case?” morgan continued, ignoring reid’s comment, chuckling slightly at the face you pulled. you knew he was right, but something about garcia announcing there’s a new case made you grumpy. as a result you simply whined in response and pushed yourself up to walk to the round table room. morgan and jj walked ahead, but spencer stayed back to walk by your side. 

“hey, that made me realise we’ve been friends for 4 years - we should celebrate!” he said, not looking at you but carrying a smile on his face. 

“depending on the case, maybe we could do movie night when we get back?” you responded, but unlike him, you turned your head to respond to him. 

“that sounds good, did you know research has shown that spending time with loved ones, even doing something as mundane as watching a film, can increase your mental wellbeing?” this time he looked at you to respond, the smile still present on his face.

“so spending time with me is mundane?” you quipped, chuckling at the end of your sentence, so he’d know you were only messing. 

“reid, y/n, thanks for finally joining us,” hotch’s voice sounded across the room.

“sorry dad,” spencer joked, taking his seat next to alex.

they met in class for metaphysical philosophy

he tells his friends, "i like her 'cause she's so much smarter than me" 

they're having talks about their futures until 4:00 a.m

“hey spence?” you asked, filling the silence. the film you had been watching ending a while ago, but the two of you stayed sat on his sofa. at some point you had turned to face him, stretching across the chair with your legs over his. he didn’t mind - he compared it to the calming effects of a weighted blanket, rattling off the statistical benefits on anxiety. 

“yeah?” he looked up from his book, with a soft gaze in his eyes. 

“if you weren’t in the bau, what would you be doing right now?”

he paused for a moment, as if to think about his answer.

“i honestly don’t know. i don’t think i knew before i joined the bau either. had i not joined the fbi when i did, i think i’d still be in college just collecting degrees until i’d done them all,” he laughed to himself, “maybe a professor, i have taught a few classes.”

“i know - that’s how we met. you told that god awful joke about a horse who became hyper aware of his own reality.”

“hey! it wasn’t that bad.”

“spence - no one laughed.”

“you did.”

“and i regret that decision almost daily,” you respond, earning a light smack to the shin that was still thrown other his lap. 

“what about you? what would you be doing?”

“i used to think id be married by now but we both know how that ended,” you mention, referencing the ex boyfriend you and spencer both hated, “honestly though, i think id still be in the FBI but with counter intelligence like i had originally planned.”

“im glad you’re not,” he said with a smile. did he mean married or in a different department? you felt safer assuming the latter - it was safer to than getting your hopes up that some feelings might be reciprocated. so for now, you simply hummed in response and allowed the room to fall back into a comfortable silence. 

im only looking just to live through you vicariously ive never really been in love, not seriously

it was clear you had been mistaken, and in the most cruel and soul destroying way - through no fault but your own. he was happy, you could see. the way he no longer had bags living permanently under his eyes - he was sleeping. he’d sneak away to the payphone, assuming no one noticed. it started off serious, like he was only asking the other person direct questions. it didn’t stay that way. soon enough you found yourself sitting in the SUV, staring at him as he laughed into the phone, basically twirling the wire around his finger like a giddy teenage girl. spencer wasn’t yours anymore. you know he never was yours really, but still you held out hope that the lasting glances, the jokes, the comfort and the spontaneous movies nights meant something more to him. it was clear you had been mistaken. 

“you know if you keep staring at him like that your eyes might dry up,” JJ spoke from besides you one day. it made you jump - you hadn’t realised she was stood next to you and you certainly didn’t know how long she’d witnessed you staring at the side of spencer’s faces as he laughed and smiled over the phone. 

“i wasn’t staring,” you defended, but she gave you a look that said she knew you were lying, so you moved on, “who’s he talking to anyway?”

“we don’t know, but morgan and i think spencies got a girlfriend,” she taunted. you didn’t react, this wasn’t news to you - it didn’t take a profiler to work that out. jj didn’t say anything else, she just adjusted the strap of her bag and walked off to find hotch. eventually spencer put the phone down and walked over to you.

“hey you guys find anything?” he asked, it was a general question but it was clearly aimed at you. 

“nothing yet from me, garcia’s still digging stuff up on the victim though. it’s clear the unsub is organised, he’s been disposing these bodies for years, concealing their identities and he’s never been caught.” concealing their identities, you should know all about that reid, you thought to yourself but didn’t allow your face to waver.

“did you know that despite the rich history in the town, only 2,000 visit the area per year on average?”

“i didn’t, no.” it was a blunt response but you hoped he wouldn’t notice. but of course he did, mr 187 who couldn’t gauge most social cues but could tell when you were off with him. it wasn’t fair. how he could act like he loved you still, even though he clearly had someone worth keeping secret in his life. 

his hand reached up to rest on your shoulder, his tall frame towering over you, giving you an intense stare as he did.

“what’s up?” damn you and your profiling skills. you contemplated saying nothing, but that would only lead to more intense questioning, so you deflected, saying you were thinking about the profile. he seemed satisfied and left you to find hotch, just as jj had. 

cut people out like tags on my clothing i end up all alone but i still keep hoping

maeve was gone. that was her name, that was the woman that had made spencer happy in a way you couldn’t. she was gone, and emotionally, so was spencer. for weeks he moped, refusing to leave his apartment. but he was still your best friend. everyday, you sent him a message asking if he was ok, or needed anything, and everyday, it was left on read. whilst he needed his space, it wasn’t in your good conscience to leave him without support. 

walking up to his door was terrifying. why? you had been here thousands of times, spent hundreds of hours watching films on his sofa and yet your heart was beating so fast you felt as though it would tear through your ribcage and fall out on the floor in front of you. if spencer was here, he’d tell you that wasn’t physically possible and you’d more likely have a heart attack. he’d then reassure you by noting the statistical unlikeliness of having you having a heart attack. but he wasn’t, emotionally anyways. you knocked twice.

“go away garcia, i really appreciate everything you’ve done but please leave,” you heard him shout through the door. it was his voice alright, but deep and strained as if he had been crying for weeks - on second thought, he probably had.

“it’s me spence, not penelope. can you let me in?” you called back.

“no. please, i need some space.” ok, if that’s how he wanted to play it, tough love it was. 

“spencer reid if you do not open this door within the next ten seconds i will have morgan kick it down.” it seemed to work, you could hear a muffled sound of him standing up, shuffling across the floor and undoing the latch. you were not expecting the sight you saw when the door opened - it made your heart shred into tiny little pieces that you wanted to sew together and give to him. his hair was greasy, his facial hair had grown more than you’d ever seen it but worst of all, his skin was pale and his face seemed almost a hollow shell of the spencer you knew and loved.

“what do you want y/n?” he grumbled.

“i wanted to check in on you?” suddenly any tough love had gone out the window, and you doubted every word you said to him.

“ok, well im alive. you can go now.”

“spence ple-”

“i said i’m fine. y/n, i know you want me to sort myself out but im not ready to. please leave.”

“i don’t want you to ‘sort yourself out’ spence,” you paused to breathe, “you need to grieve, i understand that but i need you to look after yourself. however, you clearly don’t need me, you’re clearly coping so well on your own.” sarcasm was a defence mechanism - seeing him like that hurt you down to your very core, but they way he was treating you wasn’t fair. you turned on your heal, intending to leave with your dignity mostly intact, but as you go to take your first step a hand grabs you wrist, stopping you from moving.

“y/n, im sorry, please come in.” you offered him a restricted smile and stepped into this apartment, he followed close behind. you were expecting the worst, but this took it to another level. the curtains were drawn closed, takeout containers littered the counter, the floor and the coffee table - at least he was eating. spencer moved to the sofa, shoving books to the floor and offering you a seat. 

“talk to me spence, tell me everything going on in that big brain of yours.” and he did, you must’ve sat there for 2 hours as he told you about maeve, how he first contacted her, how she understood him, the way she laughed. he spoke about guilt, he believed it was his fault and that he’d never be able to forgive himself. only towards the end did he begin to cry, so you wrapped you arms around his torso and pulled him down to rest on your shoulder. to your surprise, his arms snaked around your waist and held you tight. the room fell into silence, as it had hundreds of time, but this one was not one of comfort as it usually was. 

after some time he sat up, “you know, IQ has no effect on the size of your brain. it may be cause a change in external appearance but the size itself will not change.” you couldn’t help but laugh - it wasn’t condescending, just the mere fact that he had spent two hours talking but still remembered to correct your original statement.

i wanna feel all that love and emotion be that attached to the person i'm holding

years passed since that day at spencer’s apartment. it took him a few more weeks, but he returned to work and returned to his normal self. he no longer thought of maeve, he thought of the future, he moved on in life whilst still holding a spot in his heart for her. soon, he became your best friend again - movie nights and take out were reinstated. sometimes he had to beg you to come round after a case to watch a movie. he remembered what life was like. 

that night was a night like many others. the credits rolled and the room became dark with no light blaring from the screen. silence. a comfortable one. tonight, you found yourself with your head laying on his lap, facing the tv, his arm rested on your hip and his fingers played with a hair tie absentmindedly. you said it was comfortable, he didn’t argue - spencer liked your presence. he appreciated you being in his life and never giving up on him. he admired your work ethic, and your friendship. you provided him an outlet, an escape from the stress and constant work.

“hey y/n,” he whispered, and you hummed in response, “i love you.”

“i love you too spencer.” your heart skipped a beat, but you knew he meant as friends, that’s all you were and all you’d ever be - you had grown to accept that. 

“no, y/n, i love you.” this made your head turn and you rolled onto your back to look up at him. “i mean it. i think i always knew deep down, but i couldn’t establish that that was what i was thinking. did you know studies show that some people have to feel love in order to love?”

“i love you too spencer.” you smiled up at him, squinting through your tired eyes, and his hand came down to stroke your cheek softly. 

[juniperss]

Dollface

Bill Guarnere x Reader (Fem)

Warnings/Comments: Uhhh i dont think there’s any warnings beside Bill making a somewhat flirty/sexual comment towards the end

A/N: This was originally written on my main account a few years ago but I decided to move it here since I don't change this URL as often and it makes easier to find my writing! Also It's been a while since I wrote these so I'd like to think that I've improved somewhat since then!

Bill’s shoulders shook with laughter as Luz reached the punchline of his joke and the small crowd of soldiers erupted with cheers. Moments like this at the base were rare but welcomed bits of distraction from the realities they knew all too well. Today was their day off. No training, no drills, no worries of responsibility. Not that there was much to do on base which was why they had planned to catch a movie and maybe stop by the pub in town. They were just waiting for the stragglers to arrive before heading out.

Just then a low mummer seemed to ripple through the group and the few other soldiers hanging out against the military supply cart near by. Toye’s elbow jabbed into Bill’s side.

“Damn! You clean up nice!”

It was this comment from Talbert paired with your chuckle that made Bill peer around the rest of the group. There you were clothed in civilian clothes for the first time in a long time with a warm smile as the group welcomed you with compliments and pats on the back.

“Well let’s go!”

Luz led the way, the rest of the group of soldiers following his lead jeering and joking as they went, and Bill fell in step with you easily matching your stride. He felt his chest tighten when you stepped closer.

“Heya, doll.”

Normally Bill would’ve proudly shouted this to you as soon as you’d appeared, but there was something about seeing you almost unsure of yourself in your civilian clothes that made the urge to wrap you in his arms and ensure you felt safe that stopped him doing so this time. So instead his greeting was saved for your ears (and Shifty and Alley’s who were behind the two of you). He was rewarded with a blush and smile from you, the typical result of his favorite pet name for you.

The first time he had called you that was before he knew you were apart of Easy Company and you quite literally ran into on your first day at training. It had been a flirtatious and almost schoolboy greeting, “Heya doll face, you lost?” You had been lost. All the buildings looked the same and the uniformed officers and soldiers didn’t help you catch your bearings. But you hadn’t admitted it and instead, despite your butterflies, you simply scoffed and kept walking.

The second time the pet name had been used it was during another midnight hike up Currahee. Easy Company had run it earlier in the morning before combat training and lessons, but Soble was....Soble.

Out of the guys around around the two of you, you held your own well. Even compared to Bill who was huffing slightly. The only respite of the march was the cool breeze.

“How you doing, doll face?”

Over the months of getting to know the men in Easy Company you had grown to not only respect Bill Guarnere but treasure him as a friend. Bad jokes and occasional sour attitude included, you enjoyed his presence. The pet name was now secretly cherished by you and you simply replied, “I’ll make it.”

The pet name persisted throughout basic training, throughout the trip over to Europe, even after the D-Day jump. But that time....that time when he murmured out, “It’s good to see ya, doll face” as you embraced him covered in dirt under the moon, somewhere under the moon in Normandy. That was different. From then on the pet name was understood to be more than a friendly greeting. It marked a significance to your relationship even before the two of you had ever shared a kiss or held hands.                                                 

��You do clean up nicely, you know?” 

Bill remarked, allowing you to take his hand as the two of you trailed after the rest of the group, enjoying the sights of other civilians around you and the bustling of activity that fed into the illusion that the war wouldn’t touch you here. Not right now at least. 

“You don’t think it’s too much?”

“I think you wearing anything is too much,” Bill was met with swift SMACK to the back of his head from you at that and continued, “but ya look beautiful, dollface.” 

[colourstreakgryffin]

hiii! can i request a fic for Nanami with an S/O who's the literal definition of sunshine?

(he's been rotting my brain for weeks 😭)

Ooohh~! This is my first ever Nanami request so thank you! To think this man is younger than Satoru is just crazy, I love it!

Nanami Kento- Eclipse Heart

Kento is very protective over you, your pure heart is too much to not be blocked out from the scary world. You’re such a sweetheart; a positive, optimistic being and he is truly emotional attached to you

Kento always wants to shield you from the world. It’ll damage your beauty and he can’t take that, you’re the only thing motivating him to work overtime and tolerate it. You motivate him to fight, he needs you the way you’ve always been

Kento never lets his own pessimism reshape you and he apologises if he thinks he has gone too far. He may be a bit grumpy but he still is affectionate, don’t shy away from him. Give him a hug!

Kento originally never wanted a relationship, since he couldn’t bear the idea of worrying somebody and that logic still applies to you but he is so attached to you, he can’t just let go of you now. So, he decides to work even harder as to not worry you

Please. For god, please don’t bond with Satoru. Kento can’t take that

��Awwww~! Kenny~!” You giggled and smiled widely at both yourself and practically the sky as your all-so-lovey-dovey boyfriend, Nanami Kento growled in pain and flinched as a number of areas on his fit, built frame were patched up firmly with snowy white bandages. The savvy businessman had returned after a gruelling fight with a young student, Itadori Yuji and as you were cheerfully wrapping him up, you got Kento to spill the beans entirely on the incident

“Dokusha… it was nothing but business, you know that” Kento responded in his usual gruff, responsibility-absorbed tone and it just made your playful grin widened, wanting to mess with Kento more to try take his mind off the cursed spirit that supposedly escaped. Thankfully now, after the few months of dating him, he has learn to be able to take your harmless jokes. Kento has learn to lighten up significantly, thanks to you and only you

“I hear ya, but you can’t deny that the boy is brilliant and even adorable!” You chime excitedly, wanting more than anything to meet this Yuji. It seemed very cute, as cute as your overstressed dull Kento smiling and laughing but at the same time, Kento didn’t want you to meet another man. Even if the kid was younger, he had worked so hard for you and had been crushing on you since Jujutsu High

You’re so positive… so cheery… so optimistic that you mesh well with a man like Satoru but you chose him, the most blunt and serious man ever. He doesn’t really understand how he managed to charm you all those years ago but update to the present day at twenty seven, he is still a little boy with a massive crush on you and it drives him mad with humiliation. He would have beaten that stupid version of himself into the ground if you didn’t like it so much and he didn’t like you so much

Anything you like. Is something Kento grows accustom to; you like a different coloured tie? He will wear it and get use to it neutrally. You want him to put a sheathe for his blunt sword, he will look into it. Is Kento attached and swayed by your words? Yes, with a hint of insecurity following his passionate love. He just wants to give you give you everything want and be the man of your dreams, even if he can kill the light-hearted mood you put up so easily

You give him chances over and over and over again, even though. Kento doesn’t believe he deserves those chances with the way he is and the way you are but then again, he won’t pass down such chances to improve his romantic connection to you. Kento, for the first time this session, let out that light warm smile you just adore and those gorgeous brown eyes of his make your heart go pitter-patter faster than ever. His effect on you is quite significant

You just simply loved seeing Kento smile. Even if it was rare, you knew deep down that he’d always smile for you

“You always know what to say to make everything ten times more positive, my love. Thank you, Dokusha”

[showakyonen]

ON THAT "GOOSEWORX" DOCUMENT:

I THINK THE INTERACTIONS WITH THE ONE GUY LISTED FIRST ARE WORTH AN EYEBROW RAISE. SOME OF THE ART BEING POSTED AND REPLIED TO IS RIGHTFULLY UNDER CONSIDERATION, ESPES SINCE THE GUY WAS 17. HOWEVER, SINCE THE "VICTIM" DID NOT PERSONALLY SPEAK UP THEMSELVES, I'M INCLINED TO BE A LITTLE... EH. SKEPTICAL ISN'T THE WORD, MAYBE HESITANT? DESPITE SUCH INTERACTIONS BEING PUBLIC, I HAVE TO WONDER IF THE CREATORS OF SUCH A DOCUMENT GOT INTO CONTACT WITH THE NG ARTIST MENTIONED IN THE FIRST PLACE. I WAS PUT IN A CALLOUT DOCUMENT PAINTING ONE OF MY CLOSE FRIENDS AS HARMFUL WITHOUT MY OWN CONSENT OR THE ABILITY TO SPEAK UP ON MY OWN, AND IT FUCKED ME AND MY FRIEND UP HEAVILY. BUT I WILL SAY NOTHING ELSE ON IT

HOWEVER, THE OTHER POINT IN THE DOC IS... REALLY FUCKING STUPID. SORRY. GOOSEWORX HAS A FOLLOWING OF OVER 350K AND IT'S UNREASONABLE TO EXPECT SOMEONE TO VET THAT, AS WELL AS CHECKING THE ACCOUNTS OF ALL OF THE PEOPLE THAT REPLY TO HER. NOT TO MENTION THAT IT IS HER PERSONAL TWITTER ACCOUNT, IT'S NOT GLITCH'S AND IT'S NOT AN OFFICIAL TADC ACCOUNT.

HER AUDIENCE WAS MATURE PRIOR TO TADC. TADC WAS NEVER INTENDED FOR CHILDREN, THAT WAS JUST THE AUDIENCE IT HAPPENED TO ACCUMULATE. HER ACKNOWLEDGING AND SORT OF POKING FUN AT THE YOUNGER FANBASE OF TADC ON HER PERSONAL TWITTER ACCOUNT IS NOT AN ADMISSION OF GUILT. THAT CONTENT, AND CONTENT MUCH MORE EXTREME THAN IT, IS RAMPANT ON TWITTER. I DON'T DESIRE TO GET INTO THE DISCUSSION OF "PARENTS ARE LARGELY RESPONSIBLE FOR CONTROLLING WHAT THEIR CHILDREN SEE ONLINE AND WHAT SOCIAL MEDIA THEY HAVE", BUT THAT'S WHAT IT LARGELY BOILS DOWN TO. SOME OF THE SCREENSHOTS IN THE DOC ALSO DATE BACK TO 2022, WHEN GOOSEWORX WAS VERY VERY FAR FROM THE PUBLIC SPOTLIGHT SHE'S IN NOW, SO THE "LE MINOR FANBASE!11!11" THING KINDA... FALLS FLAT.

THE INCLUSIONS OF HER TWEETS ABOUT "DRIVING AWAY THE FANBASE" AND WHATNOT ALSO FEEL VERY INGENUINE, CONSIDERING THE FACT THEY'RE OBVIOUSLY JOKES. GOOSEWORX HAS SAID THE WRITING IS SET IN STONE AND SHE ISN'T GOING TO BE CHANGING IT

AND, MAN, I FEEL IT SHOULD BE VERY OBVIOUS THAT SHE DOESN'T HANDLE THINGS LIKE MERCH LISCENSING OR THE OUTSELLING OF THE IP TO BE MADE INTO MERCHANDISE. GLITCH IS CORP. THEY HANDLE THAT. I WAS LEGITIMATELY UPSET WHEN I FOUND OUT THEY HAD COSTUMES MADE IN CHILD SIZES BECAUSE THAT. GOES AGAINST HER VISION ENTIRELY. BUT WHATEVER

EDGY BULLSHIT IS EDGY BULLSHIT. EDGY BULLSHIT IS ALSO FROM 3 YEARS AGO.

TL;DR: SEEMS LIKE A LOT OF OTHER RANDOM SHIT IS BEING SHOEHORNED ALONGSIDE THE ORIGINAL POINT TO MAKE THINGS SEEM WORSE THAN THEY ACTUALLY ARE. READ CALLOUT DOCUMENTS WITH NUANCE AND DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH PLEASE I AM BEGGING WOW!

[helaelaemond]

The Light Beneath Your Skin - Billy Washington x plus size!reader

Pairing:  Billy Washington x plus size girlfriend reader - thank you @arcielee for letting me borrow your Billy x reader origin story, you slay

Word count: 2k

Summary: you're a plus size woman who's insecure about it. Billy finds a way to reassure you, at least for now.

She/her pronouns, established relationship, no sex

Content warning(s): in-depth talk of body issues/insecurities, fatphobia, mentions of past sexual harassment

Rating: Gen/Teen

You never thought that anyone you were attracted to would want you back. No one ever had, not really. Your father used to tell you that you were pretty, that you looked so much like your mother. Across the table, your mother would agree and smile. By the time dinner was over, she would lament how monstrous she looked.

Billy isn't much of a cook. He can't afford to take you out much. But he's trying more often now. He made you a pasta and mushroom dish not long ago, and he smiled when you ate it together.

You were never teased to your face. But once, the boy you liked grinned at you across the classroom in Double Science, and you blushed. His friend then joked that he liked you, and he'd been almost violent in his response. 'Eugh, that's disgusting! Don't fucking say that!' He shoved his friend so hard that he fell off his stool, and they both cackled. That kind of thing happened a few times, actually. The mere hint that you had interest in a boy put a target on his back. A laughingstock by association.

Billy holds your hand, his long fingers resting easily between yours. "You're quiet tonight."

You smile faintly. "Just thinking."

"Hm. Wanna share?"

Shrugging, you wrap your arms around yourself and try to hide your double chin in the neckline of your jumper. He watches you for a moment, before leaning forward and resting his forehead on your shoulder.

The first time someone kissed you, you hadn't wanted it. Nineteen, you'd been, on a date with a man who seemed nice online. In the booth of the restaurant he had taken you to, he slipped his hand up your skirt so high that it had frozen you in place. "You like this?" he asked. The memory of his face is a haze now, all grey shapes and soft shadows. A void, a memory that you no longer sink into. You shook your head slightly and managed to whisper the words, "please stop." And he did. For a moment. He smirked, and after, you thought it would be alright. An hour later, though, he dragged you outside and into the alley, where he pushed you against the wall and ground against you. He kissed you and it felt strange and alien and made your throat close up in fear, disgust.

At some point, the man without a face told you "you should be grateful for this. Who else is gonna want someone like you?" and you believed him. You tried to enjoy it.

He was right. No one else even looked your way for years. You got a few matches on dating apps, but as soon as you were honest about your size, the matches were gone. You didn't even get a first date.

"Hey," a voice calls to you. "What's wrong?"

You smile and shake your head, laughing softly. "Nothing. Nothing!"

Billy sits up and tries to touch your cheek, but you pull away. The sudden movement spills the tears gathered in your eyes. The smile stretches into a wince. He watches you in silence, and when your face cracks into something sadder, he squeezes your hand. "Tell me."

Your voice is strained as you try to find the right way to say it in a voice that is steady. On both counts, you fail. "I don't have the right words."

"Use the wrong ones."

"Who else is gonna want someone like you?"

You remember an advert you saw for a food product once. Odd, you thought at the time, that to advertise food, someone like you was ridiculed. A man in a workplace break room was sat at a table with a larger lady who was making eyes at him. The whole premise was that with a better lunch, he could sit with the pretty and thin ladies, and the fat lady cried from the rejection. It was supposed to be funny.

The man in the advert had been slender and tall, like Billy. Billy has never given you reason to think he might not find you worthy of love. But the whole world tells you that one day, he will.

"Why are you with me?"

"Oh." His voice is soft. You've asked him this before. The first time you asked him, he was understanding. By the third time, he was irritated and angry at needing to repeating himself. After that, things got worse for a bit.

That was a while ago now.

"What's brought this on?" he asks, and his large hand strokes your leg.

You shrug. It's impossible to look at him.

"Hey?"

You bite your lip before speaking. "Tried to find a nice dress for next week. Nothing in my size."

Billy sighs and shifts on the sofa. "Try another shop."

"In a shopping centre of fifty thousand bits of clothing, not a single one was for me." Your chest hurts.

"You'd look beautiful in a bin bag."

"But..." your lip trembles again. You wonder if your chubby cheeks shake like some gruesome creature gobbling a foul feast. "I just want a pretty dress."

Dissolving into tears makes your cheeks burn with shame. Billy wraps you up in his arms anyway. He's so tall.

He pulls you against him on the sofa, and eventually, with a pillow for your head, you lie in his lap, and he strokes your hair soothingly. He doesn't say anything. Billy is a man of few words. Tender fingers glide through hair, gentle on any tangles they find. Occasionally, his nails make contact with your scalp and a quiet noise sounds in your throat.

When you try to get away from him, he holds you down. Quietly, he shushes you, and you melt. He murmurs your name. Your cries are softer now. The headache begins to fade.

"I'm sorry," you whisper thickly.

"Don't apologise."

"Billy, I'm so sorry, I-"

"Shh."

"No, I-"

"Are you gonna listen to me?"

You look up at him blearily. He shaved earlier, and his cheeks are soft. He uses the aftershave you got him for his birthday. He'd turned the box over in his hands quietly, and sniffed the bottle in curiosity. The pleased face he had pulled was so endearing. You remember everything with him. He smells like that birthday.

"Tell me what you thought of me when you first saw me."

Your brow furrows slightly. "Eh?"

"Eh?" he echoes with the hint of a grin. "Tell me."

"You know."

"I wanna hear it."

Licking your lips, you take the hand in your hair and pull it down to your chest to play with his fingers. He lets out a shallow breath. "You came through the door out of the rain with your hood up. But it was wet. Just cotton. Bit dirty." You remember everything. "You ordered a black coffee, and you were so quiet that I couldn't really hear you."

"First thing I ever bought with you was a raincoat." He rubs the back of your hand with his thumb.

It soothes you. "Yeah."

"But what did you think of me?"

"That you looked like a sad, wet cat." You laugh when he gently presses your sides, tickling you slightly. How you used to hate him touching you. Always afraid he'd recoil in disgust. Still afraid. "I wasn't sure about you. You looked a bit..."

"Hmm?"

"Stern."

"Hmm."

"Why're you asking?"

Billy's gentle smile - the secret one, the contented one - fades slightly. He leans his head back against the sofa cushion. "I dunno... I dunno how I can ever convince you that between the two of us... it's you."

Knots twist in your stomach. Around his fingers, your hand tightens. "What's me?"

"You're... you're the one."

"What?"

"I... I ain't got the words."

You smile faintly. Closing your eyes, you let your head sink deeper into the pillow on his lap. "Any'll do."

"I'm just some bloke. But you?... God, you've got this, this, this light in you."

Not the words you expected. "Billy."

"Nah, I mean it. I knew it the first time I saw you. This bright old smile, this loud and happy voice, you just... shot into my life. It was stupid to spend money on coffee every other day, but I couldn't... I couldn't stay away."

Loud. Happy. Pictures of jolly clowns dance across your eyes. No one wants to fuck the clown.

"Yeah, I'm a laugh a minute." It's impossible to keep the bitterness out of your voice.

"Listen to me," he chides. "Don't make me feel stupid for saying the wrong thing."

"Sorry."

"I know."

You sigh. There's always somethng you need to apologise for these days. He deserves someone whole and kind and beautiful and sexy and-

"You got this light in you," he murmurs again after a long pause. "It comes through your skin like the sun."

Billy doesn't talk like this. It's not like him. You hold back snide comments, the knee-jerk instinct to say something funny. Instead, you listen.

"After Cranstead, I didn't think I'd ever see something beautiful again. And then I found you. Shining."

Pain gnaws away at you. It's sweet, it really is. But he could say that about a friend. No one wants to fuck the clown. No one wants to fuck the sun. "That's a pretty thing to say."

"Yeah?" He looks down at you and lets go of your hand. Instead, he strokes the hair back from your forehead and kisses it. "Pretty words for a pretty girl."

"Promise?" you ask. The word almost chokes you.

"Yeah, of course." He sees your face threaten to crumple again. "I love you. You know that, don'ya?"

You nod. It's hard to keep it together. "Yeah. But... but do you... you know..."

"What?"

"I'm worried that... that I'm not..."

He is more patient now than he used to be. Your asks for reassurance were met with anger once. But you learned him - and he learned you. By heart. He will be your broken record. "You're beautiful."

"I need you to promise. That you... that you want me still. Despite how I look. How... how much of me there is."

Billy lifts your hand to his lips and kisses your palm. For the briefest moment, he takes your fingertip between his teeth, before you stroke his smooth jaw. So pretty.

He whispers your name. "I want you every moment of every day. Sometimes, I can't even think straight because all I can picture is you. Your eyes, your mouth, your hands. God, these hands. They make me feel so good."

Blood heats your cheeks. He kisses them.

"And your perfect face. I wish you'd watch us fuck in front of a mirror. You don't know how good your face looks when you're taking me inside you."

Fuck. He's getting so good with his words. He saves so many of them for you. "You think about it?"

"Yeah. I think about coming home and finding you naked. I wanna come home and find every inch of you bare for me. All for me."

"Promise? Promise I turn you on?"

Billy laughs breathlessly and nods. Craning his neck down, he presses a deep kiss to your lips. His tongue meets yours and you taste coffee and sugar. Sweet Billy, dark and hot, steals the breath from your lungs. "You do so much for me," he murmurs between kisses. "You make me laugh. Make me feel safe. You make my dick hard. And," he pulls away enough to look into your eyes, "that light beneath your skin. It saved me. It's like... it's like it was midnight forever, and you brought the dawn."

"You're turning into a poet," you whisper. There is no jest here, though.

He kisses you again, and cradles your head in his lap. "It's what you do to me. Make things beautiful. Even me."

[blues824]

Hello, If it's not too much trouble, I can request headcanons of (Fem) Reader x Silver, Jade, Jack, Deuce and Leona. Where they discover that in the past she had a lover in her original world, but said lover committed suicide. That new information spreads like wildfire in the school, reaching the point where other ill-intentioned students. They mock the suicide of the deceased lover.

you can refuse if you consider this topic very dark, take care of yourself and have a nice day

It is very dark, but unfortunately I have written about darker things. I hope you had a nice day yourself when submitting the request.

TW: Mentions of suicide, slightly yandere?

Deuce Spade

He was looking for you all over, and he was asking everyone about your whereabouts. Well, some people were joking about how that ‘crybaby, loser, Prefect of Ramshackle’ ran back to their dormitory. No one was going to talk that way about his girlfriend and get away with it, so he left a few with them with a black eye and a bloody nose. The rest ran with their tails in between their legs.

After finally arriving at Ramshackle, he knocked on the door, asking you if he could come in. When there was no response, and he found that the door was open by accidentally pushing it, he rushed inside, thinking something must have happened to you. However, upon listening and searching, he heard sobs coming from your room.

The First Year bolted up the stairs, running to your door, only to find it locked. Grim was standing in front of it, saying something about how he was going to get those no-good losers back for what they did to his henchman. Deuce had to ask him what went on and he told him to just ask you.

Gently, Deuce went up to the rickety, slightly rotted door to ask you what happened exactly. You opened up, and immediately you wrapped your arms around him as you continued to sob. You eventually got it out that those idiots found out about how your lover in your world had committed suicide some time ago, and were teasing you about their death.

To say this disturbed your boyfriend would be an understatement, as he didn’t know anybody could be so sick and twisted as to do that. He continued to hold you in his arms, letting you sob and get it out. He would tell you that it wasn’t your fault, and he would get you a box of tissues so that you could wipe away your tears and blow your nose. After that, he made sure that no one would ever bother you ever again.

Leona Kingscholar

You were late in meeting with him after his Spelldrive practice. He tried calling you and texting you, but you weren’t answering or picking up. As a result, he got worried, and went to ask your dumb First Year friends if they knew where you were. They seemed pissed off about something, but they told him that you were at Ramshackle and that you weren’t responding to them either.

Because of his abilities as a beastman, he was able to hear soft sobbing coming from inside the old dormitory once he got there. He opened the door, noting that it was unlocked and his instincts kicked in and told him to run to you, and so he did. He entered the dorm and heard your sobs growing louder, and they showed no signs of stopping.

In front of your room, Grim was setting random pieces of trash on fire in anger about what ‘they had said to you’. Leona knew that he was not going to get an answer from the cat, so he just went straight to your door and knocked. He heard your cries grow closer and closer as you got nearer to the door.

Eventually, you opened the door, and there were tears continuously falling down your face. Leona gently (surprising you) grabbed your face in his hands and asked you who had the audacity to mess with his mate. You couldn’t get their names out even if you wanted to, so he just settled on asking you what happened.

Well, this was a partial mistake on your part, because instead of hurting those bastards he now wanted to kill them. Or, at least make them suffer the same amount of physical pain as they dealt to you in emotional pain. For now, he just pushed you onto your bed and started cuddling with you, hoping to make you feel even just a tiny bit better. If any of them were in his dorm or the Spelldrive club, he would gladly make them run thrice as many laps as the rest of the people there.

Jack Howl

He had never wanted to fight anyone more than he does now. Everyone knew that the two of you were together, so it wasn’t surprising that a rumor about his girlfriend had reached him. He was very shocked about it, and thought that the best move would be to ask you about the happenings back in your world.

But, when he tried to find you, you were nowhere to be found. You weren’t answering him or your group, and he was growing more and more worried. He checked the first place he could think of: your dorm. He was right in going there as well, because his ears caught your sobs coming from your window upstairs. Jack entered the dormitory, and the hair on the back of his neck stood up upon finding that the front door wasn’t even locked.

Grim was in front of your room, and he almost set your boyfriend on fire for spooking him, but also because he is very angry (and rightfully so). Then, Jack knocked on your door. You answered it and just clung to him, still crying. He wrapped his big arms around you; this all served as confirmation to the rumors, and his heart broke for you.

Once you have calmed down enough to speak a full sentence, he will listen to you if you want to tell him about your late partner back in your world. He hopes that he can bring you as much joy as they did when they were alive. He knew that you were still hurting because of it, and he understands that you may not want to talk about it at all, and he won’t make you. However, he will let you know that he is there for you.

Before I forget, the next time you see your classmates who made fun of you for your former partner’s death, they will be in casts. He may or may not have convinced an upperclassman to rig their brooms during PE so that they would fall off. Of course, it all looked like an accident and like they were either goofing off or incompetent, so no one but them was at fault for their own injuries.

Jade Leech

Word travels quickly within the Mostro Lounge. He heard about your past lover from the rather rowdy table in his section, and he gladly… dealt… with the guests in the most appropriate manner. I will spare you most of the details, but let’s just say that the lot of them ended up spending a whole week in the infirmary.

He told Azul that he was going to find you and he knew exactly where to look. He went straight to Ramshackle, and once he was inside he called out your name. Your sobs reached his ears, and he heard Grim saying that you were upstairs. Your crying got louder as he got closer to your door, and he knocked on it.

The door opened to reveal you, sniffling and crying, and once you saw your boyfriend you ran into his open arms. He knew about your former partner, and he was sad to see you in such a state after being reminded of their untimely demise. But, he needed you to know that it wasn’t your fault, and that the bullies have been dealt with at his brother’s discretion. So, he just holds you.

Jade wants to hear about them if you are up to it, and will lend you his ear. He is there, wiping your tears, assuring you that you won’t have to deal with anyone because you’re not going anywhere else without him. He will be there, and no one will bother you again because no one would ever try to hurt anyone who is within the protection of the more murderous Leech brother.

He makes good on his promise as well, and it’s almost suffocating, but you are grateful that he cares so much about you. Jade is so dedicated to you and your happiness, as well as his mushrooms, and he doesn’t mind going everywhere with you. Floyd points out that his brother is always in a bad mood whenever he’s not with you, which is surprising considering he is usually the one with mood swings.

Silver 

He was sleeping in a spot near the group of students, and their rowdiness woke him up. He leaned towards them, however, trying to listen to what they were saying. They were talking about you, and how you were… probably responsible for whose death??? He had to go see you immediately and confront you about these rumors that probably weren’t even true.

However, you were nowhere to be found. He asked around and no one had seen you since earlier that day, where you were kind of shoved into a bunch of lockers. How long had he been asleep?? He broke his promise to you; he promised to protect you from all those trying to do you harm, and he failed to do so because he was sleeping.

The knight burst into Ramshackle dorm in a frenzy, trying to find you, when he stopped and heard your sobs coming from upstairs. He ran as fast as he could and barely acknowledged the flaming cat in front of your bedroom door before going up and knocking on the old piece of wood. You opened it and just glomped him, sobbing into his chest, which made him feel even guiltier.

He will just rub soothing patterns on your back, before asking for names. After he knows that you’re safe and tucked into bed with Grim beside you, and you’re asleep, he will go out and personally hunt those motherfuckers down. Also, because of his training, he knows how to deal with them without anyone knowing it was him.

When he returns and he finds out that you’re still asleep, he will join you and fall asleep next to you, satisfied that his damsel in distress has been rescued and is safely by his side. His arms wrap around your torso, pulling you closer to him in his sleep, reassuring himself that you are going to be alright.

[awryval]

death of an author, reclamation, and you

"We never are what we intend, or invent 'Cause I make little lies and then I pull them apart Think something dark's living down in my heart And if I wanted to die before I got old I should've started some years ago digging that hole"

Brand New. "At the Bottom." Daisy, 2009.

Brand New was among one of my favorite bands in high school, and I still listen to them today. Their music is important to me and shaped a big part of who I am. Their lyrics about being tortured, burnt-out, and choking on the weight of your own self-perceived flaws are relatable! Their compositions ooze with a level of self-hatred that can only be genuine. It's utterly depressing, and I adore it!

That's not not the full story, though. Jesse Lacey, the vocalist of Brand New, is a sexual predator. This informs everything about how the music of Brand New is. It's self-loathing for a very good reason. I love Brand New. I condemn Jesse Lacey. These two statements coexist. I used to be a part of the /r/brandnew subreddit, and when the allegations against Jesse Lacey came out in 2017, many redditors of that sub were quick to claim "death of the author." After all, the band had broken up immediately after the news broke, and they had also cancelled their tours. Currently, the people using that subreddit mostly talk about buying old BN merchandise and discuss what their favorite concert memories were. Jesse Lacey himself confirmed that the allegations against him were true, so there isn't much debate to be had. The subreddit serves as a monument for fans who still enjoy the music, and as a platform to speak about it with like-minded fans.

In my opinion, claiming "death of an author" is a slippery slope. We can't always claim that Miku is the creator of Minecraft. But often, we see that that is the response people have when a creator is outed to be problematic; "I still like the thing So-and-So made, so I will ignore that the creator exists!" The reason that this worked for Miku Minecraft is because, by the time that Notch was publicly making transphobic comments, he did not own Minecraft anymore. The joke is quite literally that he does not own the thing that people like. He sold it to Microsoft, so he doesn't get royalties from it anymore. You can play Minecraft devoid of supporting its original creator. This joke works so well because it is an actual case of the death of an author! That's great and all for Minecraft, but what about other instances? What happens when we claim "death of the creator" erroneously? And why are we so obsessed with this concept anyway?

So like, back to Brand New... they released their last album, Science Fiction, back in August 2017. The allegations came out later that same year. I own all of Brand New's discography physically, including their last release. I bought most of it off eBay when I was 15. I was not supporting them post-allegations. But that leaves me with a lingering question- what do I do with all these CDs that I still very much enjoy the music of? From how I see it, there are two firm camps on this topic:

Camp 1: You know about Lacey's crimes now and his music cannot be separated from his actions. Solution: Throw your CDs away.

Camp 2: It's something you bought without knowledge of Lacey's crimes, so you should enjoy it anyway. Death of an author! Solution: Continue as usual.

I'm not fond of either of these answers. They come off as too polarized for a situation that is the entire Pantone swatch library of grays. "But, how are there any shades of gray when its clear that Jesse Lacey is in the wrong?" I want to provide some counter questions for you to think about:

What about the other people in the band? You might not be directly supporting the sexual predator anymore, but there are other victims here too- effectively his band mates lost their jobs overnight. (Another example would be LOSTPROPHETS)

Is it feasible to destroy each object you own because it was created under problematic circumstances? When or when isn't this the case? Does it apply to your cup of coffee? Does it apply to the clothes you wear? What about any product with palm oil in it? What about the hardware in your computer? If you look into any company, you're going to find some horrific things you don't like about it. The takeaway here is that it isn't beneficial to treat situations like these as black or white. I don't think that destroying my CDs is going to do anything to take away the abuse that Jesse Lacey caused. Nor do I think ignoring the context of his music will do anyone any favors. The music he made is a product of his crimes. To ignore that fact would be disingenuous to why people enjoy his music and why the music exists in the first place. There's another element here, though. I, and many others, are no longer monetarily supporting Jesse Lacey. You can't even officially support the release of Brand New's music anymore as their record label (Procrastinate! Music Traitors) doesn't even seem to have a functioning website anymore? Regardless, I wouldn't want to support his music in a way that supports him, anyway. Yes, I enjoy the music and the themes of it, but I do not want to be directly supporting abuse that happened BECAUSE he was a vocalist in a band. And I can safely do this with CDs that I bought secondhand, right? This is death of the author. So what's the issue?

I believe there is an issue when people claim “death of the author” far too quickly and scramble to reclaim the media for themselves. It’s an increasingly popular trend these days to pluck characters/concepts from an author deemed to be problematic. "I'll save [Character I like] from this shitty piece of media!", they claim. I don't think people realize how multifaceted in effect that is, though. For instance, if the author is actively making money from their creation, you can't truly "reclaim" a character from them. It's more like you're paying homage to them with fanart.

My best on-going example of this would be Floraverse. There are a multitude of reasons why people do not like the author/s of Floraverse, which I will not go into here. To put it simply, though, since its inception in 2013, many artists and writers involved with Flora either left or were kicked out. These artists either directly contributed to the art and worldbuilding of the webcomic, or were heavily influenced by it. To this day, there are many times someone links me to art on Discord and I’ll say “oh I remember that person, they used to be a Flora fanartist!” and the other person is absolutely floored that that artist was ever linked to Floraverse. Anyway… There have been multiple attempts at people trying to reclaim Floraverse from the author, and this never works out. Like, it really doesn’t work out. Any time that someone tries to reclaim Floraverse characters for themselves whilst condemning the author, that person is dogpiled by the Floraverse community. Which is a weird behavior for a CC BY-SA webcomic, but I digress. Here are some highlights:

In 2019, there was a thread dedicated to Redesigning Floraverse that immediately got taken over by Floraverse itself a month later.

An artist got harassed for multiple years (I think it was 2020-2023) for having an oc based on Beleth, a character in Floraverse.

Just 2 months ago, an artist got harassed for drawing fanart of the characters

Historically, reclaiming Floraverse characters from the author hasn't worked out. And I mean.. why would it? It's an actively running "webcomic" (I'll be charitable) and with an active community that supports the author's current works and views with their wallets. It's one thing to enjoy a piece of media with a problematic author and want to reclaim that media for yourself. It is another for this reclamation to actually be effective. Attempts of "reclaiming" Floraverse get written off as fanworks that the community dislikes. You cannot reclaim Floraverse characters as they do not exist in a vacuum. Listening to secondhand Brand New CDs does work in a vacuum; Jesse Lacey's career is dead in the water. The same cannot be said for reclaiming the art of Glitchedpuppet and co. Floraverse characters and stories are not divorced from the abuses they cause. Characters will be used as strawmen to abuse community members, past or present. Or entire works will be up dedicated to making light of your childhood trauma! These characters were made by an abuser, and will be used to abuse. That is a simple fact about Floraverse. Except... in that statement, I'm not even talking about Glitchedpuppet, the current author of Floraverse. I'm talking about Marlcabinet, the previous author of Floraverse. This statement does however, apply to both of them. Hey, wait a minute, that's weird! I've been talking about "death of the author" for this entire post, and I just said that reclaiming Floraverse characters can't work because the way the characters were used to abuse real people doesn't exist in a vacuum. So like, why does this work within the Floraverse webcomic itself? Marl is the abuser of Glip, but Marl is also the author of the majority of early Floraverse. Isn't the story itself, as it currently stands, an act of reclaiming characters used to abuse community members, minors, and any detractors? Then who is to say that those who contributed to Floraverse and were similarly abused are not also allowed this same privilege? Their real-world suffering is what fuels the comic. When I was 13-16, I adored a Floraverse character named Cayenne. His whole deal was that he was an autistic child slave and was horribly abused by everyone around him. Weird character to connect to, but he’s the character that made me figure out I had autism! I drew a LOT of fanart of this character and I even own a (gifted) life-size plush of him. The authors only ever treated him as a joke and it was a joke even within the Floraverse community that I was the only person who actually liked/cared about him. Sometimes I think about reclaiming him for myself. But I also don’t want to get harassed, and I know I could design much better things, and write better things. Conversely, I also think about how this is the exact character that made me get into contact with Marl when I was 16. It’s a heavy weight to carry knowing that this exact character was the reason I was almost in the clutches of a child predator. Glip personally deferred me to him. Reclaiming Cayenne would hold emotional value for me as a reminder of my triumph over a predator. Would it be wrong for me to reclaim an abused child character from a comic that abused me and many others as children? I've no clue. And I don't think anyone can answer that. I've waffled on it for ~2 years now. Reclaiming Cayenne would give attention to an individual that profits off abusing others, myself included. I'd say that reclaiming Floraverse characters wouldn't be a case of "death of the author", but the original creator of them was a child predator that's no longer on the internet. Floraverse is already practicing death of an author, and it is a shell of its former self. That being said, it is not a story that only has one author. Its other authors are still active, and these authors include every person that it has abused in its wake. After all, it's a comic that relies on you to know about its dramas with and traumas of real people. Tell me: Does a death of the author matter when its being written about you?

[atopfourthwall]

Geez Louise that was an aggressive response. I wasn't advising you on how to make everyone stop teasing you, mid level youtubers will always have jerks. I was talking about a proven method to deal with it in a healthy way- judging from your response alone I felt you needed. Think of its this way: you made that comic 17 years ago. Do you really want to be still getting SO angry and snapping at people in another 17? If not at LB but whatever else they'll come up with? But up to you, best of luck.

You're absolutely right it's an aggressive response. Maybe it was an unwarranted one... but your message was frankly unserious and unoriginal. Because your "proven method" is horseshit. "If you let people bully you, they'll stop bullying you." That's what you're recommending - be good natured about people insulting me. It is in fact not healthy to sit there and bear it and pretend I'm okay with it. I was quiet about it for a year or two before I finally started pushing back on it. I was miserable and it was affecting my mental health. They kept doing it - some because they honestly did not realize it upset me (and again, that's who the thread is for and I repeat - speaking out about is what got people to stop). But the other ones? "Do you really want to be still getting SO angry and snapping at people in another 17? If not at LB but whatever else they'll come up with?" Here is what you need to understand and I don't think you do: THESE PEOPLE DON'T FUCKING LIKE ME. They don't like my face. They don't like my voice. They don't like my show. They don't like my sense of humor. They don't like my hat. They don't like that I'm liberal. They don't like that I support LGBT+ people. They don't like that I analyze Power Rangers. They don't like me when I'm happy. They don't like me when I shout. They don't like me when I'm successful. They don't like that I was part of Channel Awesome. They don't like that I'm NOT part of Channel Awesome. They don't like my friends. They don't like me streaming. They don't like me criticizing truly awful people. They don't like when I don't dance to their little nickname. They. Don't. Like. Me. I am a joke to them - a clown, a living meme that they can throw my name out and it's an automatic laugh. I am not a person to them with thoughts and feelings and something that can be hurt. I am only real to them because they think I'm pathetic and they want to bully someone that they think is more pathetic than them. They do not and never will respect me. They see me as the guy who invented Lightbringer 17 years ago. That's it. That is all I will ever be to them... if I'm lucky, because these are the same kind of people who will try to find ANY weakness, anything that's slightly embarrassing I've said or done as a weapon... or just make up complete bullshit to attack me and make that into more memes against me, too. And the fact that you just refer to it as "teasing" me shows everything I need to know, frankly. Because that's all that it is to you - not something that was hurting me. Not something that was affecting my mental health. Not something that I respectfully ask people to stop doing because it makes me uncomfortable. Hell, your original message said I was "constantly" doing it. Two threads a couple years apart with a smattering of me asking one-on-one "Hey, can you not do this? It's actually intended as an insult." The assholes doing it to be assholes just get a block, because why the fuck would I try to engage with them? So yeah, if I'm aggressive in my response, I'm sorry, but your way is NOT healthy. Maybe my way isn't the right way for everyone, sometimes it CAN make things worse... but that's not the case for me and I get tired of bad advice from people who think they understand what's going on.

[psychic-refugee]

This reblog was in response to my call to empathize with an actress who may not be comfortable doing certain scenes because we don’t know her.

Apparently they really want to preserve their right to put pressure on a young actress to take on roles they may not be comfortable with. Big yikes indeed.

This is not “bad news” as none of what they posted is proof of anything.

Firstly, none of these screen shots have any date, and they’re broken from their originating post. I have no way to verify if these are real and I don’t have context for them.

These very well could be fakes, so they are meaningless.

For the sake of argument, lets say they are real.

Using hyperbolic affectionate language on social media with your friends is not proof you’re queer or that you’re comfortable portraying queer roles which may include physical intimacy.

Once again, neither Emma nor Jenna have come out as anything. Emma still hasn't done a role where she played an explicitly queer person/woman and has done physical intimacy with them such as kissing.

Further, this fandom really has a hard time with recognizing jokes. These posts of them with hyper affectionate language are in jest.

Emma has stated outright they JOKED about wenclair. (NME, 27 June 2024) These posts are part of the joke.

I would also like to point out the PFPs for these posts are very old if they’re real to begin with. They have not joked like this in years.

Even with Emma’s new show, Jenna’s reaction to Emma’s social media has been a lot more subdued.

Lastly, using hyperbolic affectionate language was simply how Jenna was with everyone, at least several years ago.

Emma is not special in this regard. Here are examples, with dates and actual posts, of her using such language for both genders and other friends.

Jenna's overall social media engagement is much more subdued. I think in direct consequence of her fan's inability to recognize a joke. They sexualized everything and made it weird.

Emma also never explicitly supported wenclair, she has been neutral about it. (Variety, 30 Jan 2023)

So, I stand by what I said. We don’t know Emma well enough to say she’s comfortable portraying a sapphic character. The amount of pressure she's getting could very well be detrimental to her mental health.

I hope you have the day you deserve. ☀️

[baby-alien11]

Needles and Stitches

Chad Meeks-Martin x Fem reader

A/N: I had appendicitis two years ago, and I can't forget that experience so I'm putting it in some of my fics (wattpad and here)

warnings: hospital and all things related, fluff, reader being under the effects of anesthesia and meds

After everything that happened months ago in Woodsboro, Chad didn't want to step into a hospital ever again

But here he is, by your side while they were prepparing you for appendicitis surgery

It all started three days ago when in the middle of a study session in the library when you started to get strong headaches which made Chad worried, but you minimized the situation saying it was because of stress

The next day, while you and Chad were in the middle of a make out ssession in his dorm, you stopped the kiss the moment you felt a pain in your right side of the abdomen

"What's wrong baby?", Chad asked with concern, "Are you okay?"

"I think I ate something in bad state", you responded with your face hidden in Chad's bare shoulder holding your right side

"Hey, what if we just lay down and I bring you some medicine?", Chad suggested circling your waist with his arms, "Does it sounds good?"

"Yeah", you answered in a low voice

Carefully, Chad lift you from his lap to left you in the bed covering you with the bedsheets before standing and searching for the medicine

The next symptomes were the lack of hunger and fever, along with the pain in the abdomen that didn't stop with meds

So, tricking you into thinking that you were going on a breakfast date, Chad took you to the infirmary campus were after several tests they took you to the hospital to get appendicitis surgery

"I still want my breakfast date", you said getting out of the bathroom with the hospital gown on

"First we need to get your appendix out", Chad responded helping you get to the hospital bed, "I already told the group, Sam said she is coming right now and the others are coming after classes"

"I can't believe I'm having appendicitis at 19 years old"

"Well, the doctor said this was the limit age, and if you think about it, this organ doesn't have an utility at this point"

"Since when do you know all about this stuff?", you joked

"I read everything about the appendix on the way here", he answered making you laugh, "Hey, everything is going to be fine, okay?"

"I know, it's just that I don't like needles"

"Hey, if I survived being stabbed last year, you can survive an appendix about to explode"

"I can't belive you actually compare both situations", you laughed in disbelief

In that moment, the nurse returned with the things to prepare you for the surgery; during the IV placement, Chad held your other hand and covered your eyes so you don't see the needle in your hand

During the whole way to the surgery room, Chad didn't let go your hand giving you assurasing words, leaving kisses in your forehead and lips before getting separated

Openning your eyes after what felt like the longest nap you've ever taken, you noticed that you were back in your hospital room, and the whole friend group was there too

"I'm back", you said in low and raspy voice

That phrase made everyone get closer to you bed with concern

"I'll call the doctor", Sam said pressing the button next to the bed

"How you feeling?", Chad asked sitting in the bord of the bed

"Sleepy and empty", you answered

"Yeah, they took a whole organ out of you", Quinn joked, "Actually is in here"

"What?", you asked in confussion

In response, Tara showed you a small plastic cup with you appendix floating in liquid making you frown with disgust

"Who would think that this small organ could kill anyone", Tara commented

"It looks like a cheeto", Ethan pointed

"I would say a shrimp", Anika continued

"Looks more like the parasite of REC", Mindy followed, "Like the one in the original movies, not the remakes"

"I can't believe you are making fun of my appendix", you scoffed

"Well, it's out so is no longer part of you", Chad said, "But you are going to feel well from now on"

Interrupting the conversation, the doctor and a nurse entered to the room, which made the whole group get apart from the bed except for Chad who stayed by your side holding your needleless hand

"Hi, Y/N, how are you feeling?", the doctor asked while the nurse checked your vitals, "Any pain?"

"From the inside no, but my stitches hurt a bit"

"That's normal, but we still going to give you some medication for the pain, you are going to stay for the night and tomorrow you can leave, liquid diet for the next week, complete rest for three weeks or a month until the scar is completely cured, I will remove the stitches in a week from now", the doctor instructed

"What do you mean by liquid diet?", Chad asked with a notebook and pen in hand

"Juice, water, tea, fruit, soup, jelly, things like that", the doctor answered, "Nothing to strong for her stomach, and be careful while taking showers because of the stitches, if someone could help you, the better"

"We would take care of her", Sam spoke

After a few moments, the doctor and the nurse left, leaving the friend group alone

"I really wanted a burger", you comented making everyone laugh

[thedarkmongoose]

okay, so. the hannibal panel at c2e2.

this might be a hot take, but it was a rehash of basically every other interview they've ever done. regardless, i highly enjoyed attending the panel and getting to see a live interview between them with lovely fannibal friends. they have a great dynamic and it was heartwarming to watch in-person.

it's been 11 years since the show aired, so they probably stuck to the same/safe questions/answers bc hugh and mads didn't remember much of it. which is fair! but even they looked exhausted from the same repetitive questions and were itching to hear something new. mads did answer one of the q's which was like, "what was your favorite memory on set?" with "there's tons of them. the problem with favorite stories is that you can't remember them. but when you're in the midst of it, it's funny and crazy. but when you get the question, you can't remember." which is true.

and also tbf (i think) hugh said that he flew in and got drunk with mads. if i remember correctly, they joked about how hugh was late for his first fan op (bc the had such a good time drinking the night prior), but mads made it a point to say that he still showed up to his. 😂 mads also said he missed hugh and it was sweet. you could tell he was being genuine.

thus, you have 2 hungover older actors doing a panel about a show they did 11 years ago at an event that was hastily thrown together at the last minute. it's no surprise they played it safe. the fan q's were pretty lame tbh. some were what i consider inappropriate. but hugh/mads seemed to light up at the silly questions the most. (which ofc, they're there to have fun). the fans would cheer/clap/shout "i love you!" after everything they said, which you could tell was grating on them after a while. like there were definitely appropriate times for commotion, but it happened after EVERY SINGLE QUESTION/COMMENT. (it's impossible to focus in a setting like that) also the "hugh dancy loves fake blood" bit got old real quick and you could tell he was over it lol.

on top of that, bc it's a reunion, they probably went for the nostalgia angle vs trying to do something contemporary. it's the safest way to ensure the guests/fans have an easy, fun time. the moderator had the right energy and knew how to ask questions/transition the convo properly. just the questions themselves were not interesting or new. they also cut the panel like 10 mins early.

the only real "new" bits we got was hugh dancy's answer to the q "why did will graham wear glasses sometimes?" his original answer from back in the day was "because i thought it/will would look cool with blood on his glasses" but his updated response was sth like "because it helps shield him from the world"

that's all for now lol. i'll post more panel bits as i remember them.

[siryouarebeingmocked]

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse: I may have activated my own trap card

Spoilers for a movie that's two months old and also out on home release.

So, Miles, Gwen, Pavitr (Spider-India), and Hobie (Spider-Punk) all seem to have modern left-wing politics, though Gwen's got edited out. Hobie's introduction specifically says he hates "fascists", which carries over from the original comics.

By the time Hobie came around, I assumed he was just another poser, cooler than the hero rival character, expressing generic leftie politics, and his punk ethos wasn't sincere.

Which is exactly what the writers wanted me to think.

Not only is Hobie perfectly sincere about being anti-authoritarian, but he's been helping Miles since before they even met. He's been blatantly stealing junk from the Spider Society to build his own universe-jumping watch, and disguising it as petty vandalism.

He even tries to talk Miles out of trying to join the Spider-Society before the reveal that Miles himself is an anomaly, and the SS (geddit?) tries to detain Miles.

When Hobie says he's against authoritarianism, he really means it.

Speaking of the left-wing politics, Miles has a "#BLM" pin on his bag. It's very visible while he sits next to his dad.

Who's a cop.

(TANGENT: A few years ago, someone drew a stupid, very bad comic where Spider-Man (Peter Parker) was a) black, b) hated cops, and c) assaulted and subdued riot cops when they asked him for help.

That the comic didn't even show the riot cops were wrong. We were just supposed to assume they deserve to be left to the mercy of an angry mob.

Also, in this comic, Uncle Ben was killed by a cop, not a random thug who Spidey could've stopped but chose not to. Which makes me wonder how that would shake out.

It's kind of weird for someone to look at a character who's about personal responsibility to an unhealthy degree, and use him to express their collectivist anti-cop terrorism fantasies. That, or they didn't think through their fantasies.)

During Spider-India's opening, Miles says "I love Chai Tea!" And Pavitr goes on a rant about how "Chai" means "tea". Later on, The Spot says he's been on a "journey of self-discovery", and Pavitr basically says he's racist.

Which is a tad ironic, because Spot is literally white. And also because Pavitr is the one making the racist assumptions.

And I personally go to a church - in England - that has a lot of non-white non-British people. Mostly Africans. And me, of course. I wonder if any Asians ever went on a journey of self discovery to South London.

And I don't just mean as a cab driver.

"Wait, SYABM, didn't you move to the UK for self-discovery?"

W-well, yes, partially.

Aside: I made the mistake of watching a Youtube video with the Chai Tea joke, and then I looked at the comments.

One guy said "tfw when Twitter users write a movie". An idiot (with much more upvotes) said "bro out here wanting blatant racism in movies".

...When the whole point of the joke is that the racism is not blatant.

It's only "blatant" if you're insufferably Twitterized. There are loads of redundant phrasings in English, like "ATM machine", and words often shift when they're adopted from other languages.

Also, "I dislike this joke" is not the same as "I want racism in this movie", when the "racism" in the movie is only there so it could be mocked.

One of the issues with putting real world movements in worlds that are drastically different - it's one of the main selling points of the franchise - is that it may seem odd that those movements exist in very similar form to the IRL version.

For example, Miles supports BLM in both his video game, and this. Which makes me think "did Trayvon Martin get shot in Florida? How about Mike Brown? Wouldn't the existence of supervillains throw things into a new perspective?"

Did I mention the giant George Floyd-style "REST IN POWER" mural to Miles' dead uncle? I cringed at that in the Wakanda Forever trailer, and I rolled my eyes at it here.

Floyd wasn't a saintly martyr, he was an unlucky violent thug.

Also, Aaron was a supervillain killed by another bad guy who nearly destroyed the city, not a cop.

Also, this is at a party to celebrate how Miles' dad is about to be promoted. Assuming Floyd died and the 2020 protests/riots also happened in Miles' universe, then it seems a tad tasteless to have a mural inspired by an anti-cop movement overlooking it, even if the party is not full of cops.

Spider-India lives in "Mumbattan".

The people who settled the Manhattan area were originally Indian. But the other type of Indian. The Indians we're not supposed to call Indians anymore.

The name "Manhattan" is even Native American.

The first permanent settlement was Dutch. Then the English got it. I guess the English could've shipped Indians to the other side of the world and eventually ceded the area to them, or maybe in this world India was a world-conquering superpower and Mumbattan is the result of...importing Native Americans?

Which would make Pavitr's complaint that "the British stole all of our stuff and put it in their museums" seem a tad hypocritical.

Of course, since I wrote all that, someone reminded me that Pavitr explicitly says the joint is in India.

"SYABM," you say, "you're overthinking this."

Yes, I am. Because the filmmakers didn't think it through. If you want to use ha-ha-funny to make a serious point, you invite examination of that point.

Miles (as Spidey) now works with his dad, though he disguises his voice. At one point, Miles tells his father that men bottle up mental health issues.

This is true (and ironic, considering Miles is hiding who he is from Jeff), but it's not the first time I've seen some progressive work try to address men's issues in an very awkward way. At least here, it's played for comedy.

Also, seems a tad hypocritical coming from a guy who wears a "#BLM" pin in the presence of his cop father.

Also, if you work the timeline, that would mean Miles was about 7 or 6 when BLM started. Which means he's gone most of his life knowing nothing else.

There was a controversy over a "protect trans kids" trans flag in Gwen's room, which was apparently edited out.

IMO, it seems a tad strange for a girl who feels estranged from everyone in her world to join a social movement, but what do I know? Maybe it was there before then.

Some people came to the extremely logical conclusion that Gwen herself is trans. Even though she's distinctly physically feminine and possibly too young for puberty blockers depending on Earth 65′s laws.

Like the "oh great, it's Liv" shippers, people are reaching really hard to see what they want to see.

Some people have said that Gwen's issues with her dad and herself seem awfully similar to the issues LGBTQIA2S+ kids go through.

Gee, it's not like, y'know, feeling estranged from one's family is a common theme in fiction about teenagers and superhero, and the whole "superpowers = minority" thing has been done to death for most of the past century.

Perhaps most notably - and clumsily - in X-Men.

I'm not saying this wasn't the intended subtext. I'm saying if it was, it would just be really, really cliche.

There's this recurring theme of people telling miles "how [his] story is supposed to go".

When he's at a meeting with his parents and his guidance counselor, the lady says his story of being a black-Latino son of an immigrant would sound great in the college application letters. His mom is a tad miffed, given that they're a) solidly middle class, and b) as a Puerto Rican, she considers herself American.

Miguel (Spider-Man 2099) doesn't want Miles in the multiversal council of Spiders, because Miles was bitten by the radioactive spider from a different universe. Which is why his local Spider-Man died, and the spider's home dimension has no Spider-Man.

Also, Miguel is fixated on "canon events". The idea that there are certain things, especially tragedies, that have to happen to Spiders, or their entire universe falls apart.

And he knows this, because he tried to take over for a version of him that got shot dead by a thug. Tried to raise his daughter.

And he watched as the universe collapsed in front of him.

So he's projecting his own guilt onto Miles, a tad.

According to TVtropes and other sources, this was actually about the people who didn't accept Miles as a replacement Spidey, possibly out of racism.

Yeah, that's real hard-hitting topical meta-commentary about a character who debuted 12 years ago. 8 years when the first movie came out.

I'd also like to point out that despite stereotypes of comic book fans, certain minority successors to banner superheros have been fairly well-received. Like Jaime Reyes, or Cassandra Cain.

(Note: I wrote that before the Blue Beetle movie came out. And flopped.)

And, of course, loads of people like Miles specifically because he's a minority Spidey, which is also racist, just from the other direction. In fact, a lot of his fans seem to forget the "Latino" part of "Afro-Latino". From what little I've seen of Miles early comics, they did actually put strong emphasis on his race.

I also suspect the filmmakers may be misinterpreting the usual successor knee-jerk reactions

as racism. If you're using an established brand name for your new hero, you're creating some expectations.

Also, you know the most popular meme about regular Spidey that I see? That Marvel's writers just keep making him suffer and don't want him to actually develop. Which would kinda make Marvel closer to Team Miguel than Team Miles.

Miles also gripes that Miguel is letting "some algorithm" tell him what to do. While I agree with the sentiment, I'd like to point out that, again, Miles supports BLM.

A movement popularized by an algorithm.

A movement made up of narratives and assumptions.

A movement which has never proven a single incident was because of racism.

During the big chase scene, we see a Spider girl in a wheelchair, aka Sun-Spider. She's from the comics. Same initiative that gave us "Web-Weaver".

Who is, of course, an extremely effete gay fashion designer Spidey. I kinda like his outfit, though the Spider-eyes with eyelashes is a little too far.

And Sun-Spider seems exactly like a character a stereotypical 90s executive and focus group would come up with. Down to the backward baseball cap.

(Turns out she's Dayn Broder's actual Spider-Sona.)

Also, while I was looking up that one black and white Spider who said "nowhere to run" (Metro-Spider, played by record producer Metro Boomin [/sic]), I found out that Aunt May's full name is "Maybelle", not just "May". TIL.

There's a bit of a double standard with this version of Spider-Woman, who's black and pregnant. -People in the movie - including Peter B - regularly point out how Peter B endangering his infant daughter Mayday by taking her along with him. But for some reason, nobody says a word about Jessica, who's an active-duty stunt-biking superhero.

Even regular motorbiking can be dangerous for pregnant women.

In fact, the movie portrays this as heroic and impressive. When Gwen sees  Jess is preggos, she asks if Jess can adopt her.

Not to mention the whole "afro and hoop earrings" thing, which seem like a bad idea for a type of hero who often gets into melee combat, even with Spider-Sense.

Yes, I'm aware that female heroes, including the Spider-Ladies, often have exposed hair. It's a genre convention. Incidentally, it was nice to see Batwoman wore a detachable decoy wig in the comics. Some bad guy tries to grab it in a fight? It comes right off.

Also, Jess doesn't have much actual character.

Being pregnant is not a character trait. In fact, her only real traits are basically "cool but stern sassy mentor", to contrast with Peter B. -Incidentally, someone on TVtropes pointed out the double standard. And when I saw the page again, a page-camper had deleted it, with no explanation.

Guess they couldn't stand someone pointing out the flaws of their waifu.

(One) Spider-UK in this movie is Muslim. I know she's Muslim because she wears a Spider-themed headdress. Note that regular Marvel 616 has a muslim lady Spider-UK, but her name is Zarina Zahari and she doesn't wear a hijabi.

(Also, she could be mistaken for Ms. Marvel.)

ms marvel.jpg

You might be thinking "wait, isn't a headdress impractical in a melee fight? Doesn't it give your enemy something to grab?" Yes, it is.

But so are Jess's earrings, afro, and being pregnant, so clearly there's a lot of artistic license going on.

Maybe it's partially tearaway, like Batman's cape.

I gotta wonder about the religious rules of wearing a head covering over a mask that *already* covers your entire head. Did she go see her imam and go "Okay, I have a really weird question..."

Come to think, Spidey is usually slim, but a lot of lady Spideys in this movie seemed to have wide hips. Including muscular ladies. Kris Anka's concept art goes really hard on wide hips. I don't know why. Stronger, faster character reads during the big chase?

I guess Spiders could be expected to have strong legs.

BOTTOM LINE:

I liked the movie overall, though the progressive bits made me roll my eyes a little. I...want to see the third one, with reservations.

[lysol1201]

Thirty, Flirty, and Thriving

Vendetta!Leon Kennedy x GN!Reader (mostly platonic but can be read romantically)

Summary: It’s your 30th birthday. Thirty, Flirty, and Thriving, right?

Word Count: 1845

Genre: Uhhhhhhhhhhh i guess can be seen as fluff

TW: Drinking, mentions of death, mentions of alcoholism, mentions of suicidal ideations, lmk if more, not beta read we die like luis

++++

Leon went to the bar alone. Again. Normal occurrence. Whenever he had the time, he was always at some type of bar.

He sat at the bar, ordering his whatever usual and sat in silence. This was normal for him. Just sitting in silence until he gets fucked up and then stumble his way on home.

You changed that tonight.

“I’ll have whatever this dude is having,” You huffed out pointing to Leon and took a seat one away from him. “Don’t feel like choosing and he looks like he probably has good taste.” You explained with a sad chuckle while looking at him for a slight second before you turned your attention back to the bartender.

You wore a stupid “birthday” crown and sash, dressed up in your best, and found yourself alone at the bar.

Leon snorted as the bartender gave him his usual and passed you the same. “Happy birthday,” he politely muttered.

You smiled at him, but you seemed so tired. “Thanks, pal,” you took a sip of the drink and made a small noise with a wince before nodding. “This hits the spot. Good choice.” You praised him.

Leon chuckled following your steps and taking a sip of the alcohol, but with no reaction. “I know,”

“Can I ask you how old you are?”

Leon scrunched his eyebrows a little taken aback by your random question. “Why do you want to know?”

“Just want to see if being 30 is worth it,”

“It isn’t,”

“Yeah, had a feeling,” You sighed, taking a big gulp of the drink in front of you and slamming it on the table. “Roaring 20’s my fucking ass,” you mumbled to yourself, but Leon heard.

You were going through something, and he somewhat understood. He never got his roaring 20’s either. “You turning 30 today?” You nodded in response. “You don’t look a day over 29 years and 364 days,” he smirks to himself before taking another drink.

You chuckle at his stupid joke. “Thanks, you’re such a charmer,” you messed with your hair a bit before leaning on your arm that was propped up on the bar counter to be able to steadily look at Leon. “I needed that. Thanks.”

Leon shrugged. “My 30th wasn’t great either. I’m 37,” He finally answered your question.

“Wow you don’t look a day over 36 years and 364 days!” You smirked with your quip.

He chuckled at this. Leon doesn’t necessarily like talking to strangers or even small talk, but he didn’t seem to find this. He almost found it… endearing. “What brings you to the bar for your 30th?”

“My life sucks, my friends are assholes, I hate my job, if I wasn’t too damn stubborn I would’ve ended my dumb old life a long time ago,” You groaned in annoyance, taking another swig of your drink downing the rest. “Another!”

Leon huffed with a small smile. He understood far too well. He felt and thought the same. “The power of being stubborn, huh?”

“Right,”

“What do you do for work?”

You opened your mouth, but then quickly shut it tight. You took a moment to think. “You know,” you began, fully turning your body to face him. “When I said I wanted to act when I grew up, I didn’t mean this.” You said, pulling a badge out of your pocket and putting it in front of Leon. It was a government badge stating you worked for the government of Santa Barbara, California. “I can’t say more than that,” You sighed in a defeated tone and put the badge back in your pocket, returning to your original position before you faced Leon head on.

Leon almost felt… relieved. Happy? It was a strange feeling, but it wasn’t negative. It almost felt positive. He’s not the only one in a shitty government position who felt this way. You did too. He wouldn’t wish that feeling upon anyone, the way he feels is much too dark to do so, but it was strange to know that he wasn’t the only one. As much as he hated that you felt the same, he was quite happy to find someone he knew would understand.

He kept a soft smile to himself as he reached into his pocket, sliding his badge over to you. “This is my reason for being in Washington D.C. What’s yours?”

You looked at the badge in a slight shock, seeing a similar looking government badge. His just seemed fancier. Once he took the badge back, the soft smile remained on his face while he looked at you waiting for your answer. “It’s issued in Santa Barbara but apparently I’m ‘so good’ at my job that I’m passed around cities and states. I’m rarely even in Santa Barbara anymore. It’s nothing but a place of employment to me. I don’t even live there.” You scoffed and ordered a refill for Leon. He tried to deny it, but you insisted saying that for your birthday you wanted to treat the one person that was making that day somewhat good.

You downed the drink, abruptly setting your glass down with a loud thud, you stood up and turned to Leon. “Wanna go to the park with me?” You asked. “It was my original plan after the bar. Kind of like hanging out with you, though,” You spoke honestly. You probably would’ve been more awkward about it if you weren’t mostly drunk.

Leon turned to his glass and tightened his grip. He wanted to say yes, genuinely, but it also felt wrong to do so. This wasn’t like him. But… maybe it was. Maybe this was like him. Like how he was before Raccoon City. The friendly police officer in training just wanted to make friends and make people happy. “Sure,” Leon decided, downing his drink and standing up.

After paying the tab, the both of you took a 5 minute walk to the park nearby. It was basically empty, it being late at night so the city slept.

You two sat in comfortable silence for a bit while you looked at the stars and enjoyed the cool breeze against your skin as it sobered you both up a bit. Finally, you let out a heavy sigh. “I’m bait,” You said without looking away from the sky. “And I’m good at being bait,”

Leon looked away from the sky and turned to face you with his eyebrows furrowed. Slightly confused, but he also had quite the assumption of what you meant. “What?”

“You asked what my job was,” You responded. “I’m bait,” You finally removed your gaze from the stars and turned to him with a defeated look on your face. “They send me to missions and I act as bait. I get captured by the bad guy and I get rescued. I get the things they need or the location, whatever. I act as whatever they tell me to act as. Apparently most people who take this line of work die fast. But I’ve been doing this for about 8 years now. Still alive,” You chuckled with disappointment. “I’ve seen… so many innocent people die and I just… had to watch. Wait until it was my turn and to be rescued. Watch people be experimented on, murdered, mutilated, eaten alive, I’ve had to just… watch…” You continued to speak and looked back at the sky to avoid Leon’s concerned look.

“Why are you telling me?” Leon asked genuinely. He wasn’t annoyed. He was concerned. Worried. He felt sympathy. “Are you even allowed to?”

“I’m not allowed to,” A sigh escaped your lips. “But you also work for the government, probably also doing some fucked up shit. What do I have to lose?” You smiled gently while you closed your eyes and leaned back into the bench you two sat at.

It was silent for a bit again. It wasn’t awkward. It was more refreshing than anything. Gave you time to breathe after finally being able to let out words you’ve never been able to say out loud, and gave Leon time to comprehend your words and figure out his next ones.

He decided on saying, “I guess that makes me the one that rescues,” his deep ragged voice rang through your ears. It was your turn to face him with furrowed brows. Leon chose not to look at you. He opted for the ground. “I travel the world stopping… the weirdest fucking shit that shouldn’t even exist,” He chuckled quite angrily. “And it’s death. More and more death, people I can’t save. And it’s just covering it up. I’ve dealt with-“

“Zombies? Mutants? Some of the most comic book-esque creatures you could think of?”

He turned to you in shock and almost fear. “How do you-“

“I had to see my teammate be eaten alive by a fucking zombie right in front of me as I played bait and I couldn’t do a goddamn fucking thing,” Tears fell down from your eyes as some angered bubbles inside of you, but you were able to calm yourself down. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to raise my voice,”

“It’s okay,” He assured you and left a small pause of quiet before saying his next words. “I’ve had to save the president’s daughter once in Spain,” Leon chuckled lightheartedly as he attempted to change the direction of the conversation.

You smiled lightly in return. “I had to pretend to be the Prime Minister's daughter once in Portugal,” You giggled. “Almost didn’t make it out of that one, actually,” Your giggle turned more into laughter. “Shit was insane,”

Leon joined in on the laughing. “Can’t believe your employment says Santa Barbara when you’re basically doing work for where I am,”

“I feel like it’s almost another ‘act’ or ‘part’ I need to play,” You shrugged. “They just never revealed to me my role. I think I could piece it together though.”

Instead of silence this time it was just comfortable smiling. You felt bonded to this person you had just met, and it couldn’t have made you any more happier.

“Hey, Leon?”

“Yeah?”

“That flask in your pocket,” You pointed at the pocket on the inside of his jacket. “Is it filled?” Leon scoffed with a smile and nodded. “Can I have some?” He shrugged and passed it to you. You opened the flask and raised it, looking at Leon in the eyes after.

“To being Thirty, Flirty, and Thriving!” You toasted, taking the flask to your lips for a swig. You offered the flask back to Leon and he took it with a smile.

“To being Thirty, Flirty, and Thriving.” He chuckled along and joined in by taking a drink out of the flask.

The two of you laughed for a bit at the toast, soon to turn into laughing for no reason. Once the laughter stopped, Leon just let out a content sigh and smiled at you. “Happy Birthday,” He gently said to you. “Genuinely,”

“Thank you,” You returned the smile. “Genuinely.”

You couldn’t have asked for a better 30th birthday.