#I'm not going to do it for a number of reasons

[space929]

Obviously, first thing is that it doesn't fricking matter what other people want to be called. Does it hurt you? No? Okay, then use it. It's the mildest of inconveniences to change the way your brain thinks - an inconvenience that will do nothing but help you as you better your ability to reflect on yourself and decide who you want to be. It will help you develop empathy and make you more appealing to the people you actually want to be around. If you are nice and respectful, people will be nice and respectful to you. It's an inconvenience where the only downside is the shame and guilt developed when you learn to do better, but that will be there either way. It's just that you won't take it out on others in one.

Anyway, since we've done that, let's talk about grammar, my favorite subject in the world.

That makes it sound like I go around correcting everyone on anything, but I promise I don't, for reasons we'll get into in a minute.

Since I adore this topic, I'm gonna give you my full grammar rant. Because I'm evil and I want everyone to enjoy this. I'm not perfect with this. I'm just a trans creative writer with a knack for chaos and a love of sociology.

So often, especially in school, it's treated like a list of unchanging rules that you need to follow else your essay be banished to the depths of the ocean and utilized as what to never do.

This isn't how it works. I promise. Grammar is fluid. It isn't inherent or scientific. If you want something scientific involving it, there's sociolinguistics, the wonderful study of how society interacts with language. It's very interesting, and I recommend checking it out, but it only influences how grammar works. Like all branches of sociology, it's based around people. We change, and our communication isn't immune to that. So that is ever developing and grammar is ever changing.

Linguists study how people communicate and turn that into grammar rules and guidelines. It isn't how we "should" communicate, it's how we do. It's made to help us understand each other. It changes by region. It changes by year. It changes by how people talk to you because it literally doesn't matter most of the time. They're guidelines - if something outside of supposed proper grammar makes more sense, you use that instead so people know what you're talking about.

People who say stuff like the above have clearly never read a fictional book because every creative writer ignores some grammar guidelines in order to build emotion or tone or suspense or character. It's just how you write.

Also, singular they/them is grammatically correct. Because grammar doesn't matter but also because it's been used that way since literally 1375.

And if you want to make the argument that something that's commonly used isn't necessarily proper grammar - a valid argument, considering that I've been making that this entire time - it was also named Merriam-Webster's 2019 word of the year. So it's literally that way in the dictionary. It is proper as well.

But let's be real here: these people don't care about these facts, and I will prove it. Skip the next paragraph if you hate grammar police, I know I do, I just want to make a point.

They/them isn't a full sentence and has no period after it. Most grammar states that one and two should be spelled out - there is debate about whether that goes up to ten or 100 (I'm sure you can tell which I use), but I've never seen one that says to use 1 and 2 for such small numbers. Those rules are so, so annoying, and I will hate them to the end of time, but it's fine because I'm proving a point. "That's unmathematical." Is also not a full sentence. It doesn't have a verb. It has a pronoun and an adjective. But no verb. I think the last one is right, though contradictory to their own point, so kudos to them.

Okay, now that I'm out of my villain arc, I want to apologize for the emotional distress I may have caused. I would not have done it if I didn't deem the hypocrisy worth acknowledging.

I also understand that they never specifically stated that this was a grammar issue, but I mean. I think this argument is regurgitated enough for me to utilize this to make a point.

Now, to end my grammar rant. Use grammar if you wish. Don't if you don't. I don't care. Grammar is subjective 90% of the time.

But whatever you do, don't pretend that grammar is some unchanging science that will cause the world to crumble if we ever dared to change the plurality of a word.

That would be a really fragile world. That would be a really dumb world. That's not how any of this works. That's just... incorrect on every possible level.

If you like grammar, use it correctly. Don't use your powers for evil. Use them to create the chaos that we feast upon as we find new ways to break every last guideline in the book, ending with the society that we live in as rules become meaningless.

Also, no one tell these people about Cormac McCarthy. They might explode.

Aren't people just tired of dying on this hill?

It's not about you, it's about them and if someone wants their pronouns to be they/them, get over it.

[thanosscross]

Unsuspected hero - Choi Su-Bong/Thanos x reader

Summary: You hated Thanos, with a passion, so what happens whenever you're trapped in death games with him?

Summary: Thanos being an ass, him attempting to kill you for a second ><

Saying you hated Choi su-bong was an understatement, you despised that man, he was your upstairs neighbor, and was the reason you had to take strong as hell sleeping meds. So seeing he was a bunk below you gave you some sort of cockiness but also gave you a sense of even stronger hatred towards him. Standing in the middle of the field waiting for your next green light you felt a presence behind you along with two hands placed on your back, your heart dropped "What if I just..?" Thanos trailed off smirking, liking the way you shivered under his hands, he towered over you from behind to where you could see his shadow over yours, like yours had just vanished "W-Wait!" you whimpered trying to get a better footing, as the doll shouted you smirked, shoving your body weight back knocking Thanos onto his ass before taking off "You bitch!" He laughed, already having the full effects of his pills washing over him, while you hated each other, you didn't think he'd even attempt to get you killed like that. Right as the doll shouted out red light a flash of purple passed you knocking you down, you were forced to freeze in an awkward position with your ass in the air to prevent yourself from being eliminated, looking over slightly, Thanos was turned facing you with a stupid smirk on his face "I could so get use to this view" He said smirking as the doll turned it's head again, you took this as your chance to move quickly and grab a handful of his hair "If you wanted it rough, you could've just asked" You smirked before throwing him to the ground before taking off towards the finish, you were so close to the end, when you tripped, falling forward right as the doll's head turned to face everybody, that's whenever you froze mid-air, player 388 held onto your jacket tightly, not wanting to watch someone like you die like this.

"Let her fall!" You heard Thanos shout, you rolled your eyes, rushing to the end as soon as you were okay to, getting back into the room was an experience, everybody was panicked and Thanos was on a mission to piss you off.

You stood waiting to vote, watching as the others voted either to stay or to go, thats whenever two hands grabbed you holding you in place while Thanos walked up, this was different and it was too much, headbutting the person behind you to get away, Thanos was quick to grab you in a bear hug "where ya goin? Listen you're going to do what you're told, like a good girl, and vote to stay, got it? I'd hate to have to kill someone with such a nice body" He pouted looking at you, you tried to fight back to get away, but unlike the last guy, Thanos was taller, and stronger. "Let me go!" You shouted trying to fight back against him, he sighed letting you go, motioning that he'd be watching you. As your number was called you went to approach but Thanos stopped you "Vote x...I swear I'll fucking kill you" He threatened, you tried to shake it off, rolling your eyes "Fuck off, shrimp dick" you huffed walking up the isle looking at the buttons, hovering over the X before pressing O, trying to rush to the side as fast as possible, it wasn't that you were scared, but..what if he did kill you?

When lights out came, you couldn't sleep, focusing on any sounds, now wishing you were the one under Thanos's bed. You heard his cross necklace pop open and you couldn't help but scoff "Addict" You muttered, you turned to try and sleep, but jumped to see Thanos's face right next to yours "repeat that" He demanded, you just turned the other way "No. Fuck off shrimp dick, take more of your pills, ya know I'm sure our landlord would love to know whats in your little necklace" You threatened, he just laughed leaning closer to you "It's cute that you think I care baby" He smirked, you just closed your eyes tighter, thinking to yourself how badly you just wanted him to go back to his bed. "Aww did the feisty fire die out, princess?" he mocked laughing, you tried hard to calm your breathing to make it appear like you were sleeping, he continued for about an hour before finally leaving you alone.

The next game was even harder, finding a team whenever everybody had already found one was difficult, for a moment you thought Thanos would actually help you, but instead he told you to fail miserably and get shot in the leg, if you remembered correctly. The next voting cycle? hell. You were determined you didn't care about Thanos, you wanted to leave, so whenever it was revealed you'd be staying, you immediately curled up into bed, lights out went just like the night before, you heard Thanos's necklace pop, and his breathing getting closer, you could tell he was standing by your bedside again "Didn't I say..I would kill you if you voted to leave?" He asked, you didn't reply with a snippy comment though, you couldn't help it, but you busted out into tears under your blanket, you felt like a little girl again at a terrible sleepover, you just wanted to go home.

Thanos wasn't sure what to do, yea he hated you but he hated when chicks cried, it was really weird. You just kept crying, and for a minute, he felt something that wasnt hate towards you, he wanted to ask what was wrong. It wasn't really that he hated you, he was actually really into you at one point, but after you got him fined for noise disturbance, you guys' hatred for each other just started to grow. He had decided he was going to ask, but instead, all that came out was "Seriously? a crybaby too? Grow up" He scoffed, you just flipped him off trying to hide yourself more under the covers "Hey, why don't you leave the young lady alone, like she asked" A man asked, someone who you knew as number 1, you just stayed under the covers, hoping everybody would just leave you alone, but they just continued "I know her. so why don't you leave us alone, old man" Thanos snapped, you curled up tighter "Miss, My name is Young-il, just shout if you ever need a thing" He offered, you heard soft footsteps recede away "Fucking grandpa, get the hell away from my hard work" You heard Thanos whisper, at this point you just wanted get eliminated. "Stay the fuck away from him" You heard Thanos growl before giving you a slight shove, you huffed, never saying a word to him, just hoping you could go home tomorrow.

The next day wasn't any better, it started off with a nasty argument with fucking Thanos, and now you're on your own playing mingle, a game based on finding people to pair with. "Looks like this is your last game, y/n, so sad, byee!" Thanos cheered as the platform spun, him and Nam-Gyu dancing in a circle, that's whenever words from last night in your head, making eye contact with Thanos you huffed "Young-Il! Young il!" You shouted frantically starting to search for him, your search ending rather quickly whenever a hand grabbed your arm gently "Y/n, hey I'm right here" You heard him say stopping you from moving away and losing track of him "Are you in need of a team?" He asked softly, looking around for any team that was near that seemed concerned with you "Y-Yes, actually" You frowned, he just smiled, taking you by the hand to the others.

Thanos watched from a distance, his fists clenching, almost losing his temper whenever he saw Young-Il put his hands on your waist to keep you from falling over, you played about three rounds with young- il and his friends before it got complicated. "Two players" The speaker shouted "You guys go together theres enough, I'll find someone" You assured, Young Il stopped looking at you "Are you sure?.." He asked worriedly "Yes! Just go!" You yell, looking around, panic started to wash over you, most of the rooms were full and it looked like everybody found somebody. You froze, ready to hear the timer go off and to be put out of your misery, but somebody grabbed you forcefully throwing you into a room "Are you trying to die!?" You heard a loud voice boom at you, flinching back into the corner you spotted familiar purple hair, and most of the fear left "I had myself handled!" You shouted back getting up and shoving him harshly "You dick!" you shoved him again, going to throw a punch, but he just caught your wrist "I saved your life, you ought to thank me, damnit" He growled, you just rolled your eyes "Yea like I'd thank someone as shitty as you!" You snapped trying to free your wrists, he just held on with what seemed like ease. For moment it seemed like your comment actually hurt him, but he quickly pushed it down "Fine then. Be a bitch" He huffed jiggling the handle of the door trying to somehow get it to unlock faster, you felt bad, he did just save you, he could've left you for dead. "Thank you.." You sighed quietly approaching his back slowly "I..I appreciate you doing what you did" You continued, he turned around smiling "R-really?" he asked excitedly "Uh..yea" You replied, not really understanding why the sudden excitement towards talking to you.

You went back to the room that night, curling up on your bed like usual, but this time, Thanos was early, his face slowly appearing in front of you from below "You feeling okay?" he asked, you stared at him taken aback "Not that you care" You huffed, closing your eyes "I do....actually. I don't want you to be upset and cry again..I didn't like it" He tried to explain, but you just hushed "Yes I am so sorry I'm a crybaby and I did something the almighty thanos doesn't like" You huffed "No! That's not what I meant, Y/n please" He whispered resting a hand on yours that was under the covers, you sighed, deciding you could at least look at him "You're not a crybaby...okay maybe just a little bit, but you're also like...a chick" He explained before awkwardly hugging you whenever he saw the tears start to build up in your eyes again, you knew something weird was going on with him, but you couldn't tell why. "I want to go home" You whispered nervously, leaning closer into his touch, not realizing how badly you needed a hug until just then. "All you can do is hope..." He whispered holding you gently, you didn't speak for the rest of the night, just allowing Thanos to stay standing next to your bunk, hugging you gently or resting his head on his hands while he spoke to you.

Whenever you woke up, Thanos was still up by your bed, he just had his side to you, talking to Nam-Gyu, as you slowly sat up, Thanos was quick to notice you, turning slightly to face you with a smile "Senorita! You're awake!" He cheered happily, grabbing your hand in his as he pulled you out of the bed "I was wondering when you'd be awake!" He smiled brightly, hugging you as tightly as possible "I was sleeping because a purple haired asshole kept me up all night" You huffed grumpily, crossing your arms "Ooo senorita is feisty in the mornings, I like it" He smirked nudging you slightly as you walked towards the end of the breakfast line "Please shut up" You mumbled rubbing your forehead in annoyance "Come onnn, you love me, senorita!" He cheered, you wouldn't admit it, not for a few more months but you did, you loved him more than he could ever know.

--

You like?

also I'm sorry lovelies for the drop in fics lately, I've been having slight issues with my mental health and job, but I promise more fics are coming <3 Excited to hear from you lovelies!

--

Taglist!!

@onyxmango

@ag02212023

@acehasmyheart

@mitchko11

@learninglinesintherainn

@seunghyunwifey

@alexandralibbre

@jajabro

@heartsforseo

@lilou-0401

@maenoakasuna

@ericityyy

@alexandralibbre

@jajabro

@heartsforseo

@seunghyunwifey

[ditzydoe444]

prof jason x student reader!? i luv ur content sm

MDNI 18+

teacher's pet ૮₍˶ •. • ⑅₎ა ♡

prof! jason x student! reader

jason todd smut

jason todd was your professor at university, you were currently studying engineering, and struggling doesn’t even begin to describe your current situation. no matter how much you studied, participated in class, and asked questions you always found yourself barely passing. it was just something about the stupid numbers that didn’t make sense to your brain.

one night you were mentally planning on telling your professor about dropping the class, but one thing led to another of your fantasies going wild. jason was attractive, he had this rugged manly look going on, with his messy black hair, muscles that were huge and the charming crooked grin he would give. he really was attractive.

next day you stayed back at the lecture, preparing to tell him about dropping the class, your fantasies were fantasies for a reason. it was inappropriate, and god jason would never condone it.

“sir,” you mumbled shyly as you approached his desk, his pen cap held by his teeth as he marked work. you’ve never felt so shy talking to a professor. normally, you were the teacher's pet growing up, so why were you so affected?

“i was thinking about dropping the class,” your voice dropped lower the moment his eyes met yours, cold and calculating. jason shifted in his chair, placing the pen’s cap back on before leaning back, his strong arms crossing each other. “what makes you say that?”

well because you were barely passing.

“i’ve been struggling with this course, it’s like no matter what i do i'm always getting the same low marks.” jason let out a low chuckle, his smile lines becoming prominent, “you’re dropping because you can’t stand getting low grades? thought you were more resilient than that sweetheart.”

the endearment had more of an effect on you than you would’ve liked, your cheeks heating up whilst you fidgeted with the hem of your skirt. maybe wearing a mini skirt to class wasn’t the best idea. “you know i don’t like students who give up easily right? so no, i'm not letting you drop out.”

your eyes widen, that wasn’t the response you expected or wanted. “i need to maintain my average sir, if i stay here it’ll go down,” you pleaded, your voice shaky.

“there are different ways to get your credit up,” jason shrugged nonchalantly as he resumed marking his papers. different ways? what other ways would he be thinking?

“other assignments sir? or participation marks? i always participate maybe something could be gained from that.” you rambled, you were so desperate to boost your average it was a pathetic sight, to say the least, and you could tell jason was having the time of his life.

he shook his head, “you said you were barely passing and want another assignment? how desperate are you sweetheart?” he raised a brow.

very desperate. you would do anything.

jason stretched his legs out, his legs spreading far apart, showing his thick muscular thighs. suddenly your mind drifted back to the fantasy you had last night, what if you just kneeled down in between his legs and-

though jason quickly broke you out of your trance, his deep voice speaking up. “you going to keep starin’ in between my legs or respond sweetheart?” your cheeks heat up, you were basically begging to switch classes and now you got caught for staring at your professor's clothes cock.

he was on the slightly older side, you’ve heard he doesn’t really talk that much to other people, so he must have some sort of pent-up frustration right? what if you helped with that?

everything was embarrassing enough, usually, conversations with professors regarding topics like these would be shorter, them letting you drop the class, but no. you’ve embarrassed yourself enough so what if you just acted on your fantasies? if it goes wrong it’ll give you a reason to drop college altogether.

before you could even think rationally about the many, many things that could go wrong with what you were going to do, you kneeled right in front of him. “you gonna suck your way out of this?” he raised a brow, a small lazy grin on his face.

“will it work?” you asked, but you didn’t care if it didn’t, at this point this was for your own pleasure too. your hands fumbled with the belt, before unzipping his pants. “if you decide to put on your best show,” jason shrugged, despite how nonchalant he was acting, the large bulge in his pants gave his true feelings away.

you clumsily tugged his pants mid-thigh alongside his boxers, springing out his erection. you tried your best to not look intimidated by his size, but it was hard. his long fat cock was in your hands, with the slightly pink tip already leaking with pre cum. “gonna give it your best sweetheart?” jason groaned at your touch, his head tilting back with his eyes shut.

“yes sir,” you mumbled softly as your hands worked up and down his cock, watching it get harder in your hands. when he was big everywhere, he was big everywhere.

“stop playing around and suck,” he hissed sharply when your thumb wiped the leaking pre cum. obediently, you obeyed, shoving him into your mouth with no warning making him groan loudly. you were too eager to think properly, your nose touching his trimmed hair, whilst one of your hands was wrapped around the two inches you couldn’t take.

even though you didn’t fully take him in your mouth he was big enough to make you gag slightly, tears already welling up in your eyes, whilst you felt your jaw was going to lock. “aren’t you eager sweet thing?” he cooed softly, one of his hands gently caressing your cheek whilst the other gripped the arm of the chair.

slowly, you went up and down his length, your tongue swiping against his tip tasting the slightly salty fluid. “m-mph,” you whined as you tried to force the other inch down. “if you keep going ‘m gonna make sure you get full credit for everything, alright sweetheart?” jason whispered softly.

you were a mess and jason loved it, there was just something about seeing someone younger than him with their mouth stuffed with his cock, with tears streaming down their face whilst their saliva dribbled down. you’ve been sucking his dick to the point where you were convinced your jaw was going to lock, it was being stretched out to the point of being uncomfortable.

“gonna come sweetheart, mind if i fill your pretty little mouth,” he cooed softly. you hummed eagerly, nodding like a desperate whore. “so desperate to be filled up aren’t ya? how about i fill your little cunt up after as a reward?” you moaned at that, the vibrations sending shivers to jason.

you gagged the moment he filled your mouth, his hot salty fluid filling up your mouth. in a matter of seconds, he pulled your he had away from his cock harshly, making some of his cum dribble down your chin. “come here and ride me sweet thing,” jason groaned slightly as he patted his thighs.

you wasted no time straddling up, he pushed your baby pink lace panties to the side before shoving a finger into your cunt. “already soaked for me, aren’t you an easy thing to please?” his slight stubble tickling your chin as he kisses your neck.

it was a matter of time before you were bouncing on his cock, your lewd moans filling up the lecture hall paired with your skin slapping with jason’s. “there we go, bounce like a bunny sweet thing,” he praised as his large hands encircled the whole of your waist, supporting you whilst he thrust upwards.

“already drooling sweetheart,” he cooed softly watching as your saliva mixed with his cum dribbled down your chin to your shirt, staining it. you couldn’t keep your mouth shut from the moans you were letting out with his harsh thrusts, and also couldn’t swallow it as he would basically make you choke and gag on your own saliva come from how hard he was going.

“gonna keep this our little secret sweetheart?” jason groaned as he squeezed your waist tightly. “y-yes,” you whined out, one of your hands wiping your mouth to stop the saliva and cum dribbling down. jason quickly grabbed that hand, holding it tightly in his grip whilst he stared at you intently, “yes who?”

“y-yes sir,” you whined out, making a mess on your chin and shirt. jason gave a crooked smile, “good girl, can’t have the word getting out that you love bouncin’ on my cock can we?”

[tannedalien]

summary: a shinsou x fem!reader. NSFW!! reader sends her nudes instead of the maths homework she needed help on.

warning: may include graphic sexual content, 18+ readers only, characters are aged up,

It's four in the morning. ITS FOUR IN THE MORNING AND you have not done ANY of your maths homework that has been sitting by your bed for weeks now. It's due in 4 hours and your already stumped on the first question.

"..I think it's algebra" said the voice on your phone.

you're on a call with denki as he's the only person in 2A who DARES to be awake at this time. You decided your maths homework was a lost cause without a little help from someone and the first 3 people you called where already fast asleep. Considering denki is the only person awake, he was your last hope.

"y-yeah! I think its algebra!!"

"do YOU even know what algebra is?"

there's was silence after that, you facepalmed at the fact you've only just realised you are asking for help from dunce face himself.

"YOU asked for MY help! be grateful that I'm willing to stay awake for your ass"

you rolled your eyes playfully. looking at the empty papers in between your lap, deciding its no use to even try with denki, as sweet as he is, he isn't going to be the one to help you tonight unfortunately.

"hah, it's alright denki, I'll just say I forgot about it tomorrow"

you said, saying your goodnights and letting the poor boy get some sleep. only god knows what he put on his homework.

you decided scrolling through your phone for a bit would calm your nerves from aizawa's lecture in the morning. you where usually a bright student, always handing assignments in early and being polite to everyone around you. but something had caught your eyes recently. instead, SOMEONE has caught your eye.

A certain purple haired gentleman had been on your mind recently, since he had been placed in 2A you had seen him a lot more than you had hoped.

You originally saw him in the sports festival and you thought he was pretty cute then but now... this was unfair. Why did they have to sit him right in your eyes view, you could see him no matter what when sitting in that maths class and GOD was he GORGEOUS.

you smiled thinking about him "..shinsou......."

...

"SHINSOU"

the realisation hit you, of course, you had been looking for a reason to start a conversation with him and its a pretty common fact that shinsou is a night owl so maybe he could help.

You opened your contacts on your phone and went straight to his number.

Y/N: hey! sorry to bother you but I was wandering if you could take a look at my homework for me? I have no clue what any of this means and you're my last resort :)

you waited for what felt like forever, staring at your screen and biting the top of your thumb nail.

Shinsou 💋ྀིྀི: yeah sure, send it over :)

you automatically sent the photo, tapping quickly on your phone to get the interaction done and over with, not actually looking at what you sent.

as you went to look if the photo had actually sent through the dorms shitty wifi, you noticed something. that wasn't a picture of your homework, it was of you. naked.

You almost had a heart attack there and then, you wished you could crawl up into a hole and die.

You instantly try and delete it but for some reason your phone was buffering out and wouldn't let you delete your photo, your phone had just crashed at this point and the only way of resolving this would be to reset your phone, delete the photo and pray to All Might he didn't see that one.

you turn your phone off and start the process of waking it up again, your hands where shaking and it felt like you couldn't breath, you cannot believe you have just done that. to SHINSOU of all people.

As your phone turns back on, you're flashed with a *ding!*

"Message from Shinsou 💋ྀིྀི"

your heart sunk as your raised your phone to enter the password, thinking about all the ways this could go wrong.

....

what.

please let me know if this was dog this is only meant to be a little test draft to see if I still got my fan fiction mojo, thanks guys :)

[netscapenavigator-official]

Also, this is just beyond stupid levels of petty. Let's talk numbers:

The average US Electricity Cost is about 17¢ per kilowatt-hour.

This vehicle is charging via a Level 1 charger. This refers to the standard 120 Volt North American outlet that most Canadians, Americans, and Mexicans are familiar with. This outlet has a maximum output of about 1,500 Watts (1.5 kW) when under continuous load.

Therefore, if we assume this car left home with a full battery (like almost all EV owners do because they charge at home) and traveled the average American's commute (27 miles) to get to this garage, then the MAXIMUM amount of money this vehicle could cost this building is...

$1.36 - That's it. After it recharged those 8 kWh in the battery... it would just stop on its own and not draw anymore.

HOWEVER, it would take this car over 5 hours to do that (on this wimpy North American 120V Outlet). Therefore, what this person "costs" this building in electricity will probably be even less because they'll probably return to their car, unplug, and leave before the battery is topped back up. Whatever they pay in parking fees will FAR exceed $1.36, and I can guarantee whatever corporation owns this parking garage isn't gonna notice $1.36 extra on their electricity bill because they absolutely make WAY more than that in parking fees, every single day.

Also, it should go without being said: Don't fucking touch other people's property, even if you think they're doing something wrong. This car's owner may have called in advance to ask permission. They may have asked the receptionist for permission when they last visited. There might've been a sign you missed because you weren't driving an EV and looking for one. If this was a residential parking garage, that person might be paying an up-charge on their rent for access to that outlet. Hell, there might even be a meter attached to that outlet, which they're charged for.

Recharging EVs is NOT like refueling an Internal Combustion Engine Vehicle. The mentality is more akin to charging a phone or laptop, and the inner workings is something most people will never understand until they actually own an EV and experience charging etiquette and norms first-hand.

And hell, even if this was a worst-case scenario of some little gremlin going "hehehe, I'm gonna steal someone's electricity because i'm a moocher and don't wanna charge at home" WHO FUCKING CARES! It's not your business, and the garage owner isn't even going to notice because whatever fluorescent tube lighting they have installed for nighttime use almost certainly consumes MANY times what this car's single charge stop will.

Stop bending over backwards to protect the pennies of corporate American when they would never even consider doing the same for you.

Then again, I guess I'm screaming into the void. If every conservative had empathy and complex-world reasoning skills, they wouldn't exist in the first place.

This is a perfect illustration of how conservatives operate.

"If I don't get it, neither do you."

Someone getting free electricity for their car isn't going to make your gas more expensive. Unplugging their car isn't going to help you in any way.

You should be in solidarity with them. If they found a way to save money, you should follow their example instead of simping for corporations and thinking they'll value you more because of it. Newsflash, they won't.

[airenyah]

A LOOK AT STYLE'S JOURNEY | Ep 7

(Overview | Ep1+2 | Ep3 | Ep4 | Ep5 | Ep6)

Hi y'all, this is the longest one yet. Don't ask me how much sleep I've been getting. And don't ask me about how my uni assignments are going. Or the studying for any exams. You don't wanna know.

ENJOY <3

Disclaimer: I just want to remind everyone that I am not a Thai native speaker and also in no way fluent yet (I'm roughly at B1/B2 level). There is a whoooole lot of language stuff in this meta and I didn't double check every single thing with native speakers because I didn't wanna overwhelm anyone with the number of questions, even though I already split my questions between three different people. That's how much language stuff I've packed in here this time. Oops. (There may be mistakes. I'm open to corrections.)

Pronoun situation: As usual, just assume Fadel and Style use the rude pronouns guu/mueng with each other unless I specify otherwise.

To recap: When we last left Style he was absolutely stoked to have his boyfriend back. Fadel even confessed his love to Style, and while Fadel was acting a little weird, things were mostly all good, right? Nothing to worry about, thinks Style...

No. 1: How to Clean Your Boyfriend's Face

We start the episode with Style actually doing his (real) job for once, which is nice for a change, because I don't think we saw him actually working on a car ever since he started flirting with Fadel. However, he gets abruptly interrupted in his work when Fadel suddenly pulls him out from underneath the car with no warning and attacks him with a shower of kisses. Style is very amused about it, but it's not the right time or place for something like this and so he complains, reminding Fadel that Style's father could show up. Fadel asks him if Style is scared and personally, I don't think it's that Style is scared. I think it's more about how off-guard Fadel caught him, Style wasn't mentally prepared for a sudden kiss shower/potential make-out session from one second to the next. And also, Style knows his dad is out and could return at any moment and let's be real... This would be a very awkward situation to have your parent walk in on you, for both you and your parent.

But Fadel doesn't care and continues to shower Style in kisses anyway. Since the message didn't reach Fadel the first time or Fadel is deliberately ignoring the message, Style tries again, now explicitly asking Fadel if this was the time for kissing (I know in the subs it's a statement but in Thai he actually phrases it like a question). Instead of answering, Fadel goes into an explanation about the difference between a kiss and a peck which ends in a demonstration of what a kiss really is. Style is still very amused and even laughs, but he's getting more suspicious by the minute. He pushes Fadel away again and starts questioning him: "Why are you here?"

Now, this isn't literally what he's saying in Thai, but I can see why it would have been translated that way, because I, too, am struggling to find a way to make the literal translation sound smooth and natural in English. Plus, the second part of what he's saying can be taken a few different ways:

นี่มึงมาหากูอ่ะ มีอะไรหรือเปล่ว [nîi - mueng - maa hăa - guu - àh • mii - à-rai - rĕu bplào] [interjection] - you - come visit - me - [particle] • there is - something, anything - or not

Now, the literal translation of the first part is pretty straight forward, it's just "you came to visit me". The second part is slightly more complicated because the literal translation is "Do you have anything?" or "Do you have something?" which doesn't really make any sense in English. This phrase means something along the lines of:

What's up?/Is something up?/Is anything up?

Is there a problem?

Is something on your mind?

What's the matter?

Is something wrong?

Basically, the sentiment here is something along the lines of: "The reason why you came by, is there anything going on?" (Funnily enough I find this a lot easier to translate into German: "Dass du zu mir gekommen bist, gibt's denn was?")

Point is, Style isn't just asking "Why are you here?" because he's surprised and wants to know the reason, but he is specifically asking if there's anything up, because he can tell there is something off about Fadel's behavior and that there's got to be a reason for it. And when he says "You could have let me know you were coming", in Thai this is also phrased like a question:

Why didn't you let me know first? ทำไมไม่ทักมาก่อนอ่ะ [tam-mai - mâi - ták maa - gòn - àh] why - not - speak to - first - [particle]

Again, Fadel doesn't really answer any of Style's questions and just comes up with a counter question: "We’re dating. Can’t I just pop by and see you?" Style is still very amused about this and the way he looks at Fadel is full of love and affection. However, as much as Style appreciates the sweetness, it's very out of character and that has him even more skeptical now: "What is this? You’re being weirdly nice. What’s with you?" By the way, when Style says "nice", the word he uses in Thai is หวาน [wăan], which translates to "sweet". Style is explicitly calling out Fadel's odd overly clingy behavior.

And again, Fadel deflects Style's inquiries about what is going on with him, this time with a complaint: "You don’t like me being nice. You complain when I’m cold. What do you even want?"

I'm just gonna share the literal translation with you, even though it doesn't really make much of a difference (except for Fadel also saying "sweet" instead of "nice") simply just because I found it amusing:

When I'm sweet, you don't like it. ตอนกูหวานมึงก็ไม่ชอบ [dton - guu - wăan - mueng - gôr - mâi - chôp] when - I - sweet - you - [sentence link] - not - like When I'm hostile, you still scold me. ตอนกูโหดมึงก็ด่ากู [dton - guu - hòht - mueng - gôr - dàa - guu] when - I - aggressive - you - [sentence link] - scold - me How exactly do you like it? มึงชอบแบบไหนกันแน่เนี่ย [mueng - chôp - bàep năi - gan nâe - nîia] you - like - which way - exactly - [particle]

I just find it amusing that Fadel complains about Style scolding him, when Fadel has spent the first few episodes doing nothing but scold and yell at Style himself.

Anyway, Fadel turns it around on Style and Style is quick to conciliate him ("I’m just not used to you like this.") and then explicitly tells Fadel that he is being out of character ("You don’t sound like you, you know?"). And let me just share a literal translation with you, for funsies:

I'm just not used to the tone of your voice right now. กูแค่ไม่ชินกับน้ำเสียงมึงตอนเนี่ย [guu - kâe - mâi - chin gàp - náam-sĭiang mueng - dton - nîia] I - just - not - used to - your tone of voice - (right) now - [particle] You don't seem like you at all, you know? ดูไม่เป็นมึงเลยรู้วะ [duu - mâi - bpen - mueng - loiie - rúu - wá] seem, look - not - be - you - [particle for emphasis] - know - [particle]

Fun fact: the word that is used to say "seem like" is ดู [duu], which also means "to look". That is to say, the sentence could also give a feeling of "it looks like it's not you at all" or "you don't look like you at all".

Fadel doesn't sound like himself in the way he speaks, and Fadel doesn't seem ("look") like himself in the way he behaves. Something is wrong with the Fadel that Style knows and loves, and Style can very much tell. So he keeps pulling back, keeps refusing to accept Fadel's affection and kisses until he's gotten to the bottom of what is going on. But Fadel hits him with a (seemingly) romantic line: "Don’t you ever think that I’m only like this because of you?" This has Style smile. After all, Fadel isn't exactly wrong about this. Fadel has indeed changed through Style's influence since their first meeting. It's the most sincere thing Fadel has said in this entire conversation so far. Style looks at Fadel fondly and finally lets him kiss him without a protest. And that, of course, is the exact moment Style's dad has to arrive home. Our lovebirds ended up being walked in on by a parent after all. How awkward.

Fadel quickly jumps to his feet and Style sits up. After a short banter between Style and his dad, Style's dad turns to Fadel and asks: "You’re here so late. Where are you guys going?"

And again, I wanna share a more literal translation of the ensuing conversation:

Dad: Where are you inviting him to go to? จะชวนไปไหนกัน [jà - chuuan - bpai - năi - gan] will - invite - go - where - together Official subs: Where are you guys going? Fadel: I'm not inviting him anywhere. I was gonna come to ask to spend the night. ไม่ได้ชวนไปไหนครับ จะมาขอนอนค้าง [mâi dâai - chuuan - bpai - năi - kráp • jà - maa - kŏh - nawn káang] not - invite - go - anywhere - [krub] • will - come - ask for - spend the night Official subs: We’re not going anywhere. I’m just staying over.

It doesn't really make much of a difference here, but I find it interesting how just a little bit of rephrasing to "I'm just staying over" makes it sound like Fadel had already decided and was set on it (which to be fair he probably was anyway) while in Thai that decision is less straight foreward, because he says he wanted to ask to spend the night (he's not just barging in, but asks for permission first. Although, let's be real, I'm sure if Style had said no, Fadel would have done his best to talk Style into letting him stay over anyway. That is, if he had even planned on spending the night at Style's in the first place or if he just said that to appease Style's dad, considering Fadel didn't even seem to bring his own PJs for a sleepover).

Anyway, Fadel wanting to spend the night is news to Style. He looks at Fadel with question marks all over his face. This isn't helping in making Fadel's behavior seem any less odd.

Style's dad is cool with Fadel staying over, but wants to have a chat with him under the guise of Fadel helping him. Once the dad has walked off, Style starts questioning Fadel again: "Hey. Why didn’t you tell me you wanted to stay over?" Fadel crouches down, takes Style's head in his hands and says: "It’s only normal for boyfriends to cuddle to sleep, right?" Style smiles at him and while there is so much adoration in his expression, he is also not at all convinced or reassured.

Style goes uncharacteristically quiet and almost kind of passive after Fadel crouches down, as if he's letting Fadel's touches and kisses just sort of happen to him. Style clearly has a bad feeling about this. He doesn't even keep the smile up until Fadel has walked away, instead his smile falls the moment Fadel has turned his back to him.

Something is very much not right about any of what just happened with Fadel and Style knows it:

Side quest: Protective Dad

Okay, so by now you're probably well aware of the fact that for this meta series I only look at scenes featuring Style. However, I do wanna take a quick dip into the scene between Fadel and Style's dad, because it confirms what I said in my ep6 meta when I went into why I think Style's dad asked Fadel whether Fadel was Style's one-time thing or if he was taking Style seriously:

[I]t's more [Style's dad] being a bit of a protective dad who wants to make sure the people his son keeps company with aren't gonna cause heartbreak to his son.

And it already shows in the scene when Style's dad walks in on them kissing. I actually shared this specific literal translation for a reason:

Dad: Where are you inviting him to go to? Fadel: I'm not inviting him anywhere. I was gonna come to ask to spend the night. Official translation: Dad: Where are you guys going? Fadel: We’re not going anywhere. I’m just staying over.

What is happening in Thai is that Style's dad is addressing only Fadel with his question. Where are you taking my son? What are you gonna be doing with my son? What are your plans with my son?

Style's dad trusts his own son, but Fadel is a stranger to him and so he needs to make sure his son will be safe in Fadel's hands. After all Style's dad and Style only have each other now. And we've already heard from Style how important they are to each other. And when Fadel lets dad know they're staying in, dad is relieved: "That’s good. Stay over so I don’t have to worry."

After that, he immediately pulls Fadel aside to question him some more away from his son: "So I take it you’re serious about him, then?"

I wanna share some of the ensuing conversation with a more literal translation again:

Fadel: Serious in what way? จริงจังแบบไหนครับ [jing jang - bàep năi - kráp] serious - how, in what way - [krub] Official subs: What do you mean? Dad: Well, serious as in calling it dating. (lit.: "calling it being each other's faen") ก็จริงจังแบบที่เรียกว่าเป็นแฟนกันน่ะ [gôr - jing jang - bàep - têe - rîiak wâa - bpen faen gan - nâ] well - serious - like - that - be called - dating - [particle] Official subs: You’re really dating him, aren’t you? My son isn't imagining it, right? ลูกกูไม่ได้คิดไปเองใช่ไหม [lûuk guu - mâi dâai - kít bpai eng - châi măi] my son - not - imagining/thinking by oneself - right? Official subs: He’s not being led on, is he?

I wanted to share this mostly because of the last sentence. Usually, Style's dad uses the rude pronouns guu/mueng when talking to Style (he does with Fadel, too) and so he also uses the rude pronoun man when referring to him in 3rd person in this conversation with Fadel. But in the last sentence he refers to Style as "my son" specifically, which I adore. That's his son! Style is his son! And he doesn't want to see his son get hurt because the guy he's with was just playing him and it was all just one-sided on Style's part in the end.

Fadel says he's not leading Style on. Style's dad is a bit relieved and shares that he was worried since Style was the one who hit on Fadel first. Now this is a very interesting, because that feeds right into the discussions from after episode 3 dropped about Style preferring to be pursued rather than doing the pursuing himself which I also address in my ep3 meta.

Anyway, Style's dad says that he won't have to worry anymore and then continues to say:

I don't know what the world of two men together is like, กูก็ไม่รู้หรอกนะว่าโลกของผู้ชายกับผู้ชายมันเป็นยังไง [guu - gôr - mâi - róo - ròk - ná - wâa - lôhk - kŏng - pûu-chaai - gàp pûu-chaai - man - bpen - yang-ngai] I - not - know - [particle] - [particle] - that - world - of - man - with, and - man - it - is - how Official subs: I don’t know anything about dating boys, but if you like him, then like him for a long time. แต่ถ้ามึงชอบมันอ่ะก็ชอบมันให้นานๆ [dtàe - tâa - mueng - chôp - man - àh • gôr - chôp - man - hâi naan naan] but - if - you - like - him - [particle] - then - like - him - for a long time Official subs: but if you’re gonna date him, I hope it’s steady.

There is no deeper reason behind me sharing this except that it amuses me that the dad phrases gay dating as "the world of a man with a man" and that I think somehow the dad asking Fadel to like Style for a long time sounds almost sweeter to me than the word "steady". I don't know, maybe the word "steady" simply just sounds kinda weird to my ESL brain. And I like how phrasing it as "like him for a long time" makes liking Style something that Fadel actively does. Fadel is an active participant in this relationship, this relationship is not something that kind of just is. Fadel can actively influence how the relationship is gonna go and how it will affect the well-being of dad's son. It's almost like a task that Style's dad is giving him.

Style's dad closes with "My son may talk big and annoy people, but when he loves, he does with his whole heart. Just like his old man does." And we know dad is speaking the truth when he says Style loves with all his heart. Episodes 5 and 6 are proof of that. (Btw, the literal translation from Thai actually sounds less poetic in English: he says that when Style loves someone, he "truly loves them". I can't speak for the connotations in Thai, though, because I didn't ask anyone about it. Maybe it sounds more poetic in Thai.)

Anyway, I just adore this scene, because in episode 1 and episode 4 we already got some glimpses into the dynamic Style has with his dad and in episode 5 Style revealed just how important his dad was to him. And now in episode 7 we get to see dad's side of it as well. He is so very protective over his son and he will let Fadel know. In fact, so far in every single scene in which Style's dad and Fadel have interacted, Style's dad has made it very clear to Fadel that he is worried about Fadel's intentions with his son. Honestly, the fact that Style's dad is so adamant about this makes me wonder if maybe he's had to watch his son get his heart broken before and doesn't want a repeat of that. Either way, I just adore this father-son relationship and I hope Style's dad will make it out of this story okay (no one dies in a romcom, right? 🥺). And I hope he adopts Fadel in the end.

No. 2: Scent Addict

Just as a quick reminder, we left Style sitting on his cart on the floor of the garage looking very concerned and very confused, clearly suspicious of Fadel and uncharacteristically quiet. Now we come back to Style sitting on his bed on the floor, watching his boyfriend make a big show of sniffing his shirt (shout out to the costume department for using the chance to put Joong in a crop top! They're the real MVPs). Fadel compliments Style's smell and Style is not impressed. In fact, Style immediately calls Fadel out for being weird again: "I think something’s wrong with you. It’s not like you to talk so sweet." Or in it's more literal wording:

I think you're unwell. กูว่ามึงไม่สบายแล้วนะ [guu - wâa - mueng - mâi sà-baai - láew - ná] I - think - you - ill, unwell - already, now - [na] It really doesn't seem like you to be so sickly sweet. มึงหวานเลี่ยนแบบเนี้ยดูไม่ใช่มึงเลย [mueng - wăan lîian - bàep níia - duu - mâi châi - mueng - loiie] you - overly sweet - like this - seem, look - not - you - [particle for emphasis]

I mainly wanted to share this, because in the second sentence he uses almost the exact same wording like earlier on the garage floor when he said that Fadel didn't seem like himself:

ดูไม่เป็นมึงเลยรู้วะ [duu - mâi - bpen - mueng - loiie - rúu - wá] seem, look - not - be - you - [particle for emphasis] - know - [particle]

Compared with what he says now:

มึงหวานเลี่ยนแบบเนี้ยดูไม่ใช่มึงเลย [mueng - wăan lîian - bàep níia - duu - mâi châi - mueng - loiie] you - overly sweet - like this - seem, look - not - you - [particle for emphasis]

Again, the image Style is being presented of Fadel doesn't look like the image of Fadel that he knows and loves. Fadel laughs, says he's fine and sits down on the bed next to Style. Back in the garage, Fadel responded with "Don’t you ever think that I’m only like this because of you?" which was a truth so sufficiently sincere that it satisfied Style enough to the point to let Fadel kiss him without a protest, completely oblivious to the fact that Fadel didn't necessarily mean this truth in the way Style thought he meant it. Now in Style's room, Fadel's response to Style's accusation of not seeming like himself is similar to the one on the garage floor: "Meeting you has brought out a different side in me, is all. Didn’t you notice? I’m happier. I smile more." Again, Fadel goes for the truth. We know it's the truth because we've watched Fadel smile and laugh and just be happy whenever he was around Style ever since their conversation by the car in episode 4 that led to a change in their relationship status. We know this, and Style knows it, too. There is no need to be suspicious about this, what Fadel said makes complete sense. Style agrees: "You’re right. You were like a vicious dog before this. You even beat me up. I should get the credits for bringing out this sweet side in you."

Fun fact, Style actually doesn't want the credits himself but wants to give them to his charm specially instead:

I have to give credits to my charm for being able to pull this extreme sweetness out of you. นี่กูต้องให้เครดิตเสน่ห์กูนะ ที่ดึงความหวานเลี่ยนออกจากตัวมึงได้อ่ะ [nîi - guu - dtông - hâi - kreh-dìt - sà-nèh guu - ná • tîi - deung - kwaam wăan lîian - òk - jàak - dtuua meung - dâai - àh] [interjection] - I - have to - give - credits - my charm - [particle] • that - pull, draw - overly sweet sweetness - out - from - your body - be able to - [particle]

Fadel laughs and throws his arms around Style, resting his chin on Style's upper arm. But Style feels stinky after having worked on a car and really doesn't want to be hugged right now because it's kinda gross. Fadel doesn't care, though, and just starts smelling Style on purpose. In Fadel's opinion, Style doesn't smell bad. In fact, Fadel likes Style's smell. Or at least that's what Fadel claims, because Style just can't imagine it to be true. He jokes that Fadel must really be unwell if he likes the smell of gasoline. Style informs Fadel that you can get addicted to that and Fadel responds that he thinks he's already addicted, then. Style smiles fondly. Fadel says he hella likes it to the point that no doctor anywhere can cure it:

I like it very much. โคตรชอบเลย [kôht chôp loiie] extremely, very much - like - [particle for emphasis] Like this, no doctor anywhere can cure it. แบบเนี่ย หมอที่ไหนก็รักษาไม่ได้ [bàep nîia • mŏh - têe năi - gôh - rák-săa - mâi - dâai] like this • doctor - anywhere, somewhere - [sentence link] - cure, treat - not - be able do

What I love about this whole bit is that Style keeps complaining and keeps questioning Fadel's sense of smell, but he still lets Fadel hug him and smell him without trying to shake him off in any way. And ultimately, he is also charmed that Fadel is still so into him, even when he himself feels so dirty and smelly and gross:

(↑ This is Style's face in reaction to Fadel saying he's addicted to the smell of gasoline aka Style's smell, btw. Look at him smiling and leaning closer. This absolutely worked on him.)

Now, the question that we, the audience, get to ask ourselves is just how much of what Fadel is saying and doing here is for show and how much of this is genuine on Fadel's part. Personally, I do think all of the kisses and his opinions on Style's smell come from a genuine place and Fadel just takes what's already there and plays it up a lot more than he usually would. It's both genuine and ingenuine at the same time. In a way, it's also almost as if he's also trying to use the opportunity to get as much out of it for himself as well while he still can. In any case, from the moment he sat down on the bed, Fadel is definitely being more genuine and sincere than compared to earlier at the garage. And Style also reacts to Fadel's behavior differently. In the garage he kept trying to push Fadel away, kept asking him question to get to the bottom of things. But now, especially after Fadel has truthfully pointed out how he's gotten happier and has started smiling more because of Style, Style lets Fadel get closer again. Style still looks confused and skeptical when Fadel hugs him, and while he does lean away from Fadel a little when Fadel gets close, he doesn't try to push him off immediately. It takes over half a minute before he finally wiggles in Fadel's arms and insists on showering for the first time. And when Fadel then just continues to shower him with kisses, Style doesn't try to push him away like he did in the garage, nor does he try to get his own body away from Fadel in any way. He doesn't even try to wiggle his way out again when he repeats that he's gonna take a shower. What's more, back in the garage, Style also kept asking Fadel questions to find out what the hell had suddenly gotten into him, but now, even though it definitely registers that Fadel is clingier than usual, Style is still reassured enough to go along with it and to have flirty banter about being addicted to the smell of gasoline instead of interrogating Fadel about his behavior. Style isn't really pushing Fadel away this time, but goes along with it, not just in letting Fadel shower him with kisses for a significant amount of time or in taking part in the flirty banter, but also later in complying when Fadel asks for kisses. Style even leans a little closer to Fadel when he asks "Happy now?" after obeying to Fadel's wish. And of course Style is still weirded out about Fadel's uncharacteristically clingy behavior, but I think when they're sitting on the bed it's happening more on a subconscious level and his main concern really is that he is gross and stinky and just wants to go get cleaned up already.

And so he tells Fadel just that. That he'll go take a shower. But instead of letting Style go, Fadel just goes back to sniff kissing Style's arm. Style tries again. Fadel stares at him for a moment, then points at both of his own cheeks. Fine. If that is the price Style has to pay for Fadel letting him go take a shower, Style will gladly pay it in full. Style makes sure Fadel is completely satisfied now, even dropping a "krub" on him:

Happy? You happy, krub? พอใจมั้ย พอใจมั้ยครับ [poh-jai - mái • poh-jai - mái - kráp] be satisfied, content, pleased - ? • be satisfied, content, pleased - ? - [krub]

(German speakers: พอใจ [poh-jai]​ has the same vibe as "zufrieden" to me.)

Fadel finally releases him and Style gets up. But he doesn't get very far before Fadel catches his hand and holds him back. Style turns back around, laughs, and is affectionately annoyed. There really does seem to be something going on with Fadel and Style directly calls him out, questioning him again:

Why are you being so cutesy today? ทำไมวันนี้อ้อนจังเลยอ่ะ [tam-mai - wan-níi - ôhn - jang loiie - àh] why - today - cutesy - so much - [particle] Official subs: You're so weird today.

The word that Style uses here that I phrased as "cutesy" is อ้อน [ôn] which was explained to me as acting a certain cutesy way because you want something from the other person (which can also be something like simply just wanting affection). In the words of my friend, the mood this word conveys is basically "a cat rubbing up against you". And it makes sense for Style to call out Fadel for being so overly clingy and affectionate when Fadel has never really been that way with him before.

To Style's surprise, instead of being more clingy and affectionate (or asking to join Style in the shower, which I personally was expecting to happen), Fadel asks him on a date the next day. Fadel then reveals that it'll be Bison's birthday and Style wants to buy him a present, but Fadel says Style doesn't have to. That it's Kant's duty. Style should buy something for Fadel instead. Style asks on which day his birthday is and Fadel tells him it's on Christmas. Style loves that and tells him: "Lucky you. That’s a good day to be born on. I'll be your Santa Claus sneaking in your house and leaving a present for you." Fadel wants to know what that present will be. Style doesn't say anything, just looks at Fadel for a moment before he leans forward and plants a kiss onto Fadel's lips. When he looks at Fadel afterwards, his expression is full of adoration:

It's as Style's dad said: when Style loves someone, he really truly does. With all of his heart. And that heart full of love is exactly what he will give to Fadel. Fadel laughs. Style's smile widens a tiny bit*. He's in love. Then he turns around, making sure he gets his face just a liiittle bit closer to Fadel's while he turns, and then finally makes it to his shower.

*see second image above

Style can't see the way Fadel's expression darkens after Style has walked away.

No. 3: I Know You Don't Know I Know

The date turns out to be a BB gun war. Of course the lovebirds have teamed up boyfriends vs. boyfriends. Style is in the middle of firing a few shots towards the other team when Fadel stops him. Style tells him that he can handle the enemy himself, but Fadel says Kant has to go through him first. Then he makes a very shady comment: "He started all this, after all." Style squints at Fadel, alarmed and confused.

That's weird. Fadel isn't supposed to know this. Style asks for clarification and Fadel elaborates: "Because he hit on my brother, you got to know me." Or in his actual wording, because I'm having too much fun with this:

Ai'Kant came to hit on my little brother and you came to hit on me. ไอ้กานต์มาจีบน้องกู แล้วมึงก็มาจีบกู [âi Kant - maa - jìip - nóng guu • láew - meung - gôr - maa - jìip - guu] Ai'Kant - come - hit on - my little brother �� and - [sentence link] - come - hit on - me

Fadel then repeats that this is how Kant started it and subtly throws Style a challenge: "What did you think I mean?" Or also:

What were you thinking (of/about)? มึงคิดอะไรเนี่ย [mueng - kít - à-rai - nîia] you - think - what - [particle]

While this sure is plausible, Style still isn't very reassured. It seems like a weird time to bring this up, especially with Fadel having acted very out of character the day before. Not to mention, why would Fadel pull a correlation between Kant hitting on Bison and Style hitting on Fadel? For all Fadel should know, him and Style first met when Style crashed into Fadel's car. There is no reason for Style's flirting to be related to Kant hitting on Bison in any way. But Style can't exactly tell Fadel all that, so he brushes Fadel's question off, saying he wasn't thinking of anything. Then he brings the topic back around to their war game: "But you gotta let me play, too." Now here I do desperately need to share Style's actual words, because we've got something very interesting going on here:

But let me take a shot some time, too. แต่มึงให้กูยิงบ้างดิ [dtàe - mueng - hâi - guu - ying - bâang - dì] but - you - let - me - shoot - some - [particle]

(Alt. translations": "But let me shoot some too." or "But let me take some shots.")

Style doesn't just wanna play the game, no, he actively wants to take a shot himself. Might that be foreshadowing? Will Style be shooting someone at some point? If this was a video essay, I would now put a counter in a corner that takes note of every time there is a reference to Style shooting a gun this episode.

Style says Fadel doesn't have to act like his bodyguard all the time and then leans closer to tell Fadel: "I know you’re good at this. But I ain’t no loser, either." There is a lot of weight to Style's words, he really means what he says. This is important to him. He wants to be able to stand his own ground, too. Although, it's actually kind of ironic that Style says this. We all saw how he did in that fight at the host club in episode 3. But then again, maybe watching Fadel take on three grown men on his own while being completely useless in the situation himself has kicked Style into determination to be able to fight for himself alongside Fadel, especially once he found out about Fadel's hitman identity. Or maybe he's played a lot of BB gun war games before and is actually good with guns, but is simply just useless in a fist-fight.

Anyway, this time it's Style who's said something that suspiciously alludes to something that Style actually in reality should not know. He doesn't know that Fadel now knows Style knows and so when Fadel calls him out on it, Style is caught a little off-guard. "How’d you know I’m good at this?", Fadel asks. It's a very pointed question, a suspiciously specific question. Style stutters for a moment before he comes up with a plausible reason: "I can tell from how you hold your gun. It’s obvious you’re a professional." Without Style's knowledge his word choice betrays him again. Right after the words are out of Style's mouth, Fadel suddenly leans over to fire some shots at the other team past Style's shoulder (part of me wonders, if Fadel really did need to shoot right then and there or if he just did it for the dramaaa~~~), then grills Style some more: "Professional what?" Now, here's a the literal translation of how this conversation goes:

S: Just from that I already know you're a professional. รู้เเค่นี้ก็รู้ว่ามึงมืออาชีพ [rúu - kâe née - gôh - rúu wâa - mueng - meu aa-chîip] know - just that - [sentence link] - know that - you - professional F: What profession? อาชีพอะไร [aa-chîip - a-rai] profession, occupation - what

There is definitely something not right here with the way Fadel is phrasing his questions. With the way he is explicitly asking Style to state what Fadel's occupation is, an occupation through which one would gain expertise in how to hold and shoot guns. "What profession?" This is not a genuine question, it's a challenge. Does Fadel know anything that Style doesn't know?

Again Style takes a while to answer, searching Fadel's face for any hints before he says "Professional BB gun shooter."

Fadel laughs and finally stops grilling Style with questions he can't yet answer truthfully. Instead, Fadel drops a cheesy line on him. "I can’t help but get protective over my boyfriend." Although I feel like the Thai version sounds a bit less cheesy (at least the English translation of it, I forgot to ask my friend about the connotations in Thai):

I have a habit of looking after my boyfriend. กูติดนิสัยดูแลแฟน [guu - dtìt ní-săi - duu-lae - faen] I - have a habit (of) - looking after, taking care of - boyfriend

Then, Fadel takes up on Style's wish to get some shots in as well and suggests Style watches his back, telling him not to let anyone shoot Fadel. Style still looks at Fadel with that searching look on his face. Fadel is clearly playing at something, but Style can't figure out what exactly that is. Then Fadel hits him with another pointed question:

I can trust you, right? กูไว้ใจมึงได้ใช่ป่ะ [guu - wái-jai - mueng - dâai - châi bpà] I - trust - you - can - right?

Style still doesn't answer immediately, but instead of question marks, there is now determination in his face. This is a question he can firmly answer from the bottom of his heart. "Yeah. You can trust me." Fadel acknowledges it, but then waves his BB gun at Style in a subtle threat: "Don’t let me down." The message certainly reaches Style clear as day. He doesn't say anything, instead just searches Fadel's face again for answers he can't find.

Fadel gets up and throws himself back into the battle. Style stays put and watches him run off. Style squints a little as he stares after Fadel.

Something was very much not right about this conversations. Fadel's questions were too specific, too threatening even at certain points. Fadel is clearly onto something but Style just can't find the missing puzzle piece that would explain Fadel's recent behavior or all his probing questions. This isn't really the time to dwell on this, though, so after a moment Style gets back to playing as well.

The very first thing we see of Style next after Style says Fadel can trust him is Style shooting Kant in the back, which has me wondering if he will end up metaphorically shooting Kant in the back in a future episode. The "Style + guns" counter is up to 2. Style tells Kant "Love sure makes you do something stupid" which has got to be foreshadowing (exactly what stupid things are gonna be happening out of love?? 👀) and then Fadel walks over, puts his arm around Style's shoulder and brags about him. Style looks at Fadel, his expression content and pleased as they stand there arm in arm. Style got his shots in. He did Fadel proud. He did not let him down.

No. 4: The Power of Love

Now this scene is very interesting, because it's like Style does a complete 180. From the way he talks you'd think he's entirely forgotten how he's called out Fadel for behaving weird and saying weird things in literally every single scene from this episode so far. You'd think he's forgotten how Fadel was suspiciously dodging most of his questions on the garage floor. You'd think he's forgotten about how uncharacteristically sickly sweet and clingy Fadel was when he stayed in Style's bedroom. You'd think he's forgotten about how only earlier that day they were dancing around the topic of Fadel's true identity and how Fadel kept challenging and even subtly threatening him. What happened to the Style that was so very skeptical and suspicious of Fadel all episode?

Now, I think everything Style is saying here makes complete sense for his character. Style has always been a character full of optimism and hope (showcased perfectly well in episode 6) and especially in scenes with Kant he has often been the optimistic counterpart to Kant's pessimism and realism: When Kant was worried about James, Style suggested that James could simply just be out of town. When the Captain was about to arrest the brothers, Style figured the brothers would be free as soon as their boss was caught before Kant reminded him that that's not how it works in real life. When Kant and Style stood in front of closed restaurant doors, Style reminded Kant of and held onto how attached the brothers were to them. Now in the showers, when Kant voices his suspicions, Style is overly confident and optimistic again.

Style tells Kant "you think too much" when Style has done nothing but think a lot in all his scenes with Fadel so far. And all his thinking shows in the way he immediately has counter-arguments ready without even thinking about it. Style has been through all of this in his head already. I don't think that Style is necessarily actively talking himself into believing what he says, because his mood is too good for that and what he says sounds a bit too genuine for it to be addressed to himself. I think this really is the hope within him talking. And, frankly, also his confidence. I mean, look at the two of them. Who wouldn't quit their assassin job to be with them? Style and Kant are that awesome. Style fully believes that. And he fully believes in the power of love.

What was the thing that Style's dad again? When Style loves, he does truly does with all his heart. Style loves so sincerely, so intensely that of course it would feel powerful. Of course there is power in love. Of course it can turn a bad guy good. Why wouldn't it? Fadel went from a grumpy cat to someone who constantly smiles around Style because of Style's love. Fadel wore the matching couple shirts because of Style's love. Fadel danced and sang karaoke in public because of Style's love. Fadel wore fan make-up in public because of Style's love. Why wouldn't Fadel stop killing because of and for Style's love? And why would the same thing not go for Bison and the love Kant has for him? I know there've been some entertaining posts going around making fun of how Style puts killing people on the same level as stealing cars, but that's just genuinely how Style thinks. Because Style doesn't draw a comparison in which one is worse. Both are simply bad. Both, Kant and Bison did bad things. They can connect over that. And the power of love will fix things.

Just like in episode 6, Style refuses to just sit there in misery. He refuses to be stressed as long as there is still a small glimmer of hope that things end well. Yes, Fadel has been acting weird, but until Style has definite proof that something is indeed extremely wrong, he'll go and enjoy life. As long as there is still a positive, plausible explanation or a positive way out, he'll go and enjoy life. There could be something wrong, but there doesn't have to be and so Style chooses to hold onto the thought that there isn't anything wrong for now until proven otherwise. And with that energy, he goes bowling that same night.

No. 5: Eventful Evening

The four of them round off Bison's birthday with a double date at the bowling alley. Style is in the bestest of moods. Kant and Bison walk off for some bowling. Fadel and Style stay back at the table and watch from a distance as Kant hands Bison his birthday present. Style is impressed at how romantic Kant is is being. Style could never. And now that I think about it, that actually seems to be true. Style has been romantic towards Fadel, but from the top of my head I can't remember a single instance in which Style pulled a pre-planned and prepared romantic gesture on Fadel. But that's okay. Because Fadel likes Style exactly the way he is. And Style is cool with that. He continues to say: "But you know, maybe I get like that, too. I could spring a ring on you one day and just ask you to marry me."

You never know! Fadel reacts fondly. Style throws him another happy smile. They both go to take a sip of their beer. Out of the blue, Style starts choking and ends up on the couch. Fadel panics. Style springs a ring on him and goes: "Will you marry me?"

Pronoun time! For just this one sentence, for just the marriage proposal Style switches to the polite phom pronoun before he jumps back to the rude guu pronoun:

แต่งงานกับผมนะครับ [dtàeng ngaan gàp - pŏm - ná - kráp] marry - me - [na] - [krub]

Now, at this point I sincerely need to apologize to those who read my ep6 meta before I went ahead and edited it because I made a really big mistake: I completely forgot to mention a very important language note in a specific scene because there was so much else going on that scene and it was only when I watched the cast reaction to ep6 that it hit me. I have since edited my meta post and added it, but if you missed it let me tell you there is a word play I failed to mention in the scene where Fadel puts make-up on Style: you know when Style says "Then you should put some makeup on, too"? The word he uses here is แต่ง [dtàeng], which is used in the sense of แต่งหน้า [dtàeng nâa] which means "to put make-up on" or is also used in the sense of แต่งงาน [dtàeng ngaan] which means, well, "to get married" or "to marry". In Thai, Style leaves out the second part of the phrase that makes it explicit which of the two it is and so the sentence can be heard either as "So, will you put on make-up with me?" or as "So, will you marry me?"

And it's just veeeery interesting that Style asks Fadel to marry him for the second episode in a row. If it happens again next episode, I'm calling it. But for now, let's wait and see 👀

Style is absolutely delighted that his little prank actually worked on Fadel: "You’re usually too smart for me." Fadel stares at him for a moment, then shakes his head, sighs, and replies: "Not at all. I’m a damn fool. That’s how you got me."

And fun fact: when he says "That's how you got me", in Thai the word that was translated as "got" is หลอก [lòhk] which means "to trick" or "to deceive". Style tricked Fadel. And we know Fadel definitely isn't referring to just the marriage proposal alone. As perceptive as Style has been all episode about Fadel's weird behavior, now the double meaning slips right by him. Personally, I think it's because at this point he's too tipsy to pay attention to this and he's also too good in a mood to care. Besides, he's already decided to be optimistic about Fadel's behavior. Style grins at Fadel, slips the ring back onto his own finger, then holds out his hand to Fadel and looks up at him. With an eye roll, Fadel obliges and pulls Style up onto his feet. Style then excuses himself to go to the restroom.

Style is so tipsy, he is about to fall asleep at the urinal when a random guy he doesn't know walks in and strikes up a conversation with him. Now, I think the whole thing about "We gotta keep these good things, don’t you think? People don’t seem to appreciate antiques anymore" is definitely alluding to something, but we're gonna have to keep watching to find out. And Style certainly wouldn't know, after all he doesn't know this dude. The guy walks into one of the cubicles and honestly, considering the ensuing interaction between Fadel and Style, I think Style is drunk enough that this didn't even fully register with him or maybe he just immediately forgets about it the moment Fadel walks in.

Style is quite surprised to see Fadel enter the restroom as well, but is also very happy about it: "Did you miss me so much you had to follow me to the bathroom?" This thought excites Style. Then Fadel asks about the other guy and starts looking through the stalls. Fadel's behavior is kinda weird again, but I think this time around Style really is too drunk to properly take note of it and connect it with Fadel's secret life. And as mentioned before, Style has decided to focus on the positives and not to stress unless given a solid reason to do so. And so for a moment Style observes Fadel checking the stalls before pushing Fadel against the wall and asking if he is jealous. When Fadel finally says yes, Style huffs a little, looking kinda pleased. And I can't help but think of @secriden's post about how back in episode 5 when Style said "I hope you're not the jealous type like your brother is" his body was saying the exact opposite of his words. And let me just share @braceletofteeth's tag on that very post too, while I'm at it:

#Style wants Fadel to claim him as his so bad it makes him look stupid #just like he takes pride in choosing his own man #he would be proud to be chosen as Fadel's man #delighted‚ if Fadel let others (and Style) know he's the one who earned the space reserved for his special someone #in his heavily secured heart #if he was so special to Fadel that he wouldn't want him to be taken away #or to share him with anyone else

I think we can really see this here in this scene as well. Fadel claims he's jealous and from Style's POV is in search for the random dude in order to take it up with him and defend his position as Style's boyfriend and that thought immediately has Style horny for Fadel. He advances on Fadel, trapping him against the wall on one side and goes on a monologue about how he only has Fadel now. The thought of Fadel being jealous has Style so horny for Fadel, he's ready to hook up with him right then and there in the bathroom stall. By now, Style has most definitely gotten too distracted and as a result forgotten that the random dude from earlier is still there. Lucky for Keen, Fadel declines and leaves the bathroom. Style stays back for a moment, watches him walk away, licks his lips and then follows him out.

Side note: Okay, so over my previous metas I've been very clear about how I think that Style isn't the kind of person to enjoy sleeping around all that much (at least not as much as Kant does). And in my ep3 meta I said that I think Style enjoys flirting around much more than sleeping around, attention hoe and chatty cat that he is. Now here in the bathroom, when he says that he only has Fadel now that of course could be taken as Style hooks up with many people. However, what he says right before that strengthens my belief that Style much rather flirts than actually hooks up: "I know I’m cute and all that. It’s only normal people strike up a conversation." Style never shuts up. And flirting? Hitting on someone? Is typically done via talking. So of course he'll engage with people striking up a conversation. And also, Style calls himself cute. I mean, I'm ace so I wouldn't know, but if you wanna end up in bed with someone wouldn't you like them to consider you "hot" or "sexy" rather than "cute"? At least that's how I'm imagining it that it goes (allos feel free to share some personal experience that I'm lacking). Anyway, yeah. I think, Style very much enjoys the whole flirting part. After all, that'll give him both attention as well as an excuse to talk.

When Fadel and Style return from the bathroom, to Style's surprise he finds Kant with a kid. Style immediately walks over to say hello. I've seen discussions and headcanons on Style potentially helping Kant raise Babe. So far we saw Babe and Style in a scene together only one single time and they didn't even interact, so we don't really know what Style's relationship with Babe is like, but it certainly is quite likely that Style is an honorary older brother or uncle to Babe. Another thing I'm thinking is that Style probably also simply just likes kids. He is very excited and motivated to interact with the kid and I'm wondering if Style would like to have children of his own some time. After all, he did seem very open to the idea of being impregnated by Fadel back in episode 4.

But from one moment to the next his happy little interaction is interrupted by an unexpected gun shot. Some guy is waving around a gun and screaming bloody murder over his (ex) girlfriend. Style stays with Kant and the kid. That is, until Fadel claims to be the girl's new boyfriend. Maybe you've already seen a post about Style's outcry going around, but if you haven't, then let me just explain what Style literally says when he goes "Take it back!"

ผัวเค้าเหี้ยอะไร [pŭua - káo - hîia - àrai] husband - her - fuck, damn - what

Now, several things here: the characters use the word ผัว [pŭua] which is a slang term for "husband" which is also used in the sense of "boyfriend" (meaning, as far as I've picked up on the word doesn't mean that the people are married for real, though I might be wrong about this). In the following I'll use "man", because "husband" sounds too formal and "hubby" also sounds kinda weird in this context. Next, the word เหี้ย [hîia] is a curse word kinda like "fuck/fucking" or "shit" or "damn". Word for word the Thai sentence makes "her man fuck what" (alt.: "her man fucking what"). The sentiment of it is roughly:

Her man, my ass.

The fuck you on about, her man??

Her man, the fuck??

Her man, fuck no.

What the fuck, her man??

Take your pick. Style is very upset about this, even if rationally he knows that Fadel is doing it do protect the girl from being murdered. But in his drunken state and this being a life-or-death situation, he reacts emotionally instead (which tends to be his main route even when he's sober anyway, it's just worse now). This brings us back to: Style wants Fadel to claim him as his so bad it makes him look stupid (quoted from @braceletofteeth). Only minutes ago Style was excited at the prospect of Fadel being jealous and fighting for him and now here Fadel is, claiming someone else as his in a hall full of people. It stings, even if it's just pretend. Fadel is his boyfriend, thank you very much. Style's had to work hard, fight hard to even get to this position and he's not gonna let anyone, not even Fadel himself, take that away from him, goddammit. "Her man, the fuck?? You're MY boyfriend!!" But Kant pulls Style back down, worried about Style's safety. Style lets it go.

In the meantime, the assassin brothers are working on taking the shooter down and each gets hurt in the process. Both Kant and Style run to their respective boyfriends. Fadel shoos Style away, though, ordering him to check on Bison first. Style looks up and with terror realizes that the shooter isn't being checked on and could cause more harm at any moment. Style jumps to his feet and runs to the gun, picks it up and shoves it into the shooter's face without any hesitation. And that's a 3 on our "Style + guns" counter. Three times is a pattern, no?

Now, I've seen people wondering if Style maybe has some experience with guns from the way he confidently pointed it at the man. It could be a possibility (after all he seemed to have a handle on the BB guns as well), but I think a big reason why he reacted like this is that Style simply just likes to help and tends to act like a mediator (when he's not actively picking the fights himself). His reaction here really reminds me of the way he also threw himself into the fist fight at the host club, despite being a terrible fighter and standing no chance against those men. He sees that the situation is dangerous and his main desire is that it is resolved with as little harm being caused as possible. Style isn't really thinking here in this moment (in the sense of that he's actively using his brain). He acts on instinct and his instinct is telling him to keep the gun away from the shooter and to make sure the guy doesn't cause any more harm. Style's desire to protect his loved ones is so strong he doesn't even have the capacity to think about what he's doing here and whether he is even capable of shooting the gun in the first place and what that could potentially do to his mental state if he shoots (and possibly kills) someone. There is only "MUST PROTECT" going on in his mind. Finally, staff drags the dangerous man away. Style calls an ambulance at Kant's request.

No. 6: Signs (Of Worries)

In the process of taking down the shooter and saving the two women, Fadel hurt his arm and is now getting it treated at the hospital. And of course, Style is right by his side. As soon as the nurse is gone, Style starts asking Fadel worried questions. When Fadel claims that it doesn't hurt, Style is a little bit done with Fadel's constant need to pretend: "Just admit when it hurts. You don’t have to be tough all the time." Style loves Fadel, Style wants to be there for Fadel through the good times and even more so through the bad times. And especially in the bad times he doesn't want to spend the entire time having to guess how his boyfriend is doing, how his boyfriend is feeling. He wants to be a safe space for Fadel to be open and vulnerable. And just to hit the message home he tells Fadel out loud to make sure Fadel really doesn't miss it or can't ignore it: "I’m worried about you, you know? I thought you were a goner." Actually, in Thai he's more vague about it, he doesn't say that he was afraid of Fadel dying specifically:

I was afraid something would happen to you. กลัวมึงเป็นไรไปอ่ะ [gluua - mueng - bpen rai - bpai - àh] afraid - you - have a problem - [particle]

Also, he doesn't say he was "worried", he says he was "โคตร [kôht] worried". โคตร [kôht] is an intensifier, so basically Style is saying he is "super worried", not just "worried".

Fadel shoots him down, telling him not to overdo it. But Style isn't!!! He just watched his boyfriend go through a situation that could have potentially killed him if something had gone wrong. Not to mention, said boyfriend's brother is now lying at the very same hospital with a stab wound, because something went wrong. Style has every right to make a big deal out of it, because it is. To him it is. With worried puppy eyes he continues to say: "Can you please at least give me a sign before you do something like that again? I’m always here to help."

I want to share a more literal translation again, not because the content differs but because there's something about the original phrasing that I like:

Next time you're gonna do something, give me a sign. ทีหลังมึงจะทำอะไรอ่ะก็ส่งสัญญาณดิ [tii lăng - mueng - jà - tam - àrai - àh - gôh - sòng - săn-yaan - dì] next time - you - will - do - something - [sentence link] - send - signal - [particle] I'm always ready to help you. กูพร้อมช่วยมึงเสมออยู่แล้ว [guu - próm - chûuay - mueng - sà-mĕr - yùu - láew] I - ready - help - you - always - [aux] - already

I like that the first sentence is phrased like an imperative, not a question. Of course, in this moment Style is asking Fadel to do something specific, but the question is only implied. It's not a "Can you please do this?". No, it's a "Do this!", instead. It's an order. And what I find even more interesting (which we have in the translation too) is that Style doesn't say "Please don't do this again". He isn't keeping Fadel from doing dangerous things. Fadel is allowed to do them. But Style requires a sign first. A warning. A little heads-up so that he can mentally prepare. And even more so that he can help Fadel. "I'm always ready to help", he says. He is not just here to help but he is ready to jump to his feet at a moment's notice and help Fadel no questions asked.

He waits for Fadel to say something. Fadel asks about Bison. Style informs him that Kant is with Bison and Fadel starts to get up, saying he'll stay the night with his brother and orders Style to go home. Style has been sent home by Fadel many, many times before, so he is used to this. However, back then it was before they were a couple and Fadel sending Style away always made sense, because Style was in fact annoying Fadel and Style was aware of that fact. But now it's different, because now Fadel genuinely enjoys Style's presence and Style know that fact, too. And as always, Style won't let Fadel get rid of him so easily and so he holds Fadel back and starts questioning him about his weird behavior again: "What’s with you? You were so lovey-dovey an hour ago." Then he leans closer and takes Fadel's face between his hands, asking: "Is your brain okay? Did you hit your head?" And while the words Style is saying are certainly meant to be a joke, the sentiment behind them is 10000% serious. Something is not right with Fadel, something hasn't been right with Fadel since the day before, actually and lowkey even since the love confession at the diner. Style genuinely wants to know what's going on with Fadel. That's not a joke, there is nothing funny about this, even if he is phrasing it in a light-hearted way.

But Fadel shakes him off and moves to walk away again. Now Style gets stressed. There is absolutely no way he is leaving Fadel's side right now. He holds him back and yields, offering to take Fadel to Bison. Then he runs off to grab a wheelchair and maneuvers Fadel into it. Fadel humors him and Style wheels him off.

Bison is still sleeping when they arrive at his room. Kant gives them the update on Bison's health. Fadel announces once again that he'll stay with Bison overnight. Style is against it and comes up with sensible reasons why Fadel shouldn't. Fadel's arm is hurt and Style wants him to go home and rest. Fadel's well-being is a priority for Style right now. Kant can take care of Bison for a while, it's fine. Fadel can and should take a break and recover a little bit. Finally, Fadel agrees, even if he's not very happy with the situation. But despite him yielding to Style, he does speak out a warning to Kant: "But while I’m gone, if something happens to my brother, it’s your fault." The last sentence is even more direct in Thai:

You must take responsibility. มึงต้องรับผิดชอบ [mueng - dtông - ráp-pìt-chôp] you - must - take responsibility, be responsible

Fadel isn't just telling him that he will be blaming Kant for Bison's disappearance, but he's saying "You will be taking responsibility for his disappearance, you will pay for it". It's a threat. And in Thai, Style actually acknowledges that Fadel's words are a threat when he stands up for Kant:

And why are you threatening Ai'Kant? แล้วมึงจะไปขู่ไอ้กานต์ทำไม [láew - mueng - jà - bpai - kùu - âi - Kant - tam-mai] and - you - will - go - threaten - [prefix] - Kant - why, what for Official subs: Don’t give Kant a hard time, dude. Kant didn't do anything wrong. การต์ไม่ได้ผิดอะไรเลยนะ [Kant - mâi dâai - pìt - à-rai - loiie - ná] Kant - not - be/do wrong - anything, something - [particle] - [na] Official subs: None of this is his doing.

There is no reason for Fadel to threaten Kant when Kant was in no way involved with the insane man at the bowling alley that attacked Bison. Kant promises he'll take good care of Bison. Fadel just sits there wordlessly. Then, without a warning he gets up and walks out. Style calls after him: "Do you have to be so stubborn?" which in Thai is actually:

You're hurt and you're still stubborn?! เจ็บแล้วยังดื้ออีก [jèp - láew - yang - dêu - èek] hurt - and - still - stubborn - (once) more

I wanted to share this because I wanted to draw attention to how Style mentions Fadel being hurt again even when Style is complaining about his behavior. Fadel's injury is still very much on Style's mind. He just wants to take care of Fadel and be there for him. And so he runs after Fadel.

No. 7: Heed My Warning

Style follows Fadel into the hallway and tries to convince him to get back into the wheelchair again and to let Style take him home. But again Fadel tries to get rid of him: "I can walk. Just go back to your garage." Something is seriously not right about Fadel's behavior. Style looks at him searchingly, trying to figure him out:

Then he steps closer to Fadel and continues his fight. "I know you can. But boyfriends are supposed to take care of you at a time like this." I just want you to know that when he says "in times like this" the literal translation is something like "when you're sick and hurt":

ตอนเจ็บตอนป่วย [dton - jèp - dton - bpùuay] when - hurt - when - sick

Fadel is hurt and Style is worried and he just wants to look after his boyfriend, goddammit. But instead, Style is met with a warning: "Once my brother gets better, we have some business to finish with you two."

The word Fadel uses here for "finish" in Thai is สะสาง [sà-săang] which the dictionary translates as "to clear up" or "to solve" and my friend who I asked about this word defined as:

to finish something and leave nothing unfinished

Yeah, Fadel is out for murder and he's gonna make damn well sure the job will be done properly and to the end. The sentiment reaches Style. He's confused. Where is this threat suddenly coming from? "What are you talking about? Sounds scary as hell." Fadel agrees. He repeats what he's tried to tell Style before, except this time the warning serves as a threat, a direct attack: "You should probably be wary of me." Style looks taken aback. Fadel continues his threat: "Whatever act we’ve put on up until now won’t be necessary anymore." Then, Fadel walks off. Style watches him go, speechless and alarmed. He gulps, not once, but twice.

The time for optimism and hope is over. Style has to face it: something is worryingly wrong with the way Fadel has been acting. Once back at his garage, he sits and thinks about Fadel's words again. Fadel knows something, but Style just can't figure out what exactly that something is. He grabs his phone and calls Kant, presumably to discuss the conversation with him and to warn him and to make sure Kant is safe. Kant doesn't pick up. Style has a really bad feeling about this.

No. 8: The Naked Truth

It's the next day and Style is back at the hospital. He doesn't even make it to Bison's room before he is stopped in his tracks. The police is here. Style stops a nurse and learns that Bison has kidnapped Kant. Style hides in the restroom to call Kant. Kant still isn't picking up. This is very very bad. But before Style can take action, someone grabs him from behind. Only seconds later, Style falls unconscious. Headcanons are out on whether Style could tell it was Fadel who attacked him by the feel of his body or not.

When Style wakes up, he finds himself tied up at a pool wearing no clothes save for his underwear. As most people in this situation would probably do, Style starts calling for help. And what's interesting is that he doesn't really seem panicky about it when he initially starts shouting. It's more concern than fear. It's only towards the end once it starts to sink in for him that he really does seem to be completely alone that the fear sets in. Except then he hears a familiar voice: "Stop shouting and shut up. No one can hear you here."

When Style asks what Fadel is doing and why he tied him up half-naked, Style's voice sounds a little stressed but there is also something reproachful about it. Fadel demands to hear the whole truth (Or one could also say... the naked truth. With the way he stripped Style of all his clothing). "What truth?" Style asks, and now the fear that was there a moment ago right before Fadel revealed himself is gone. Instead, Style is truly angry. He ain't got no time for these games. His best friend has been taken god knows where by a killer who could be doing god knows what to him (after all, Style doesn't know Bison as well as he knows Fadel) and he also isn't in the mood to be sitting around tied up and naked at a pool while getting a gun waved into his face by his boyfriend. Especially when he has no idea what the fuck his boyfriend is even on about. But luckily, Fadel explains. Remember how at the end of my ep6 meta I said "Style is missing a key piece of the puzzle and even if he can tell that something is off, to Style it still looks like a happy picture. To Style it still is a happy picture"?

Style asks "What truth?" and Fadel says "That you and your friend have been fooling me and my brother. You work for the police." And there it is. The last crucial piece of the puzzle that Style had been missing since the end of last episode to see the full picture.

Oh. There are several realizations happening in Styles reaction here. Fadel knows. Fadel knows that Style knows. And now Style also knows that Fadel knows that Style knows. Style has been trying so hard to get Fadel to drop the truth and now the moment is finally here. No more dancing around this topic. And also, all of Fadel's recently odd behavior suddenly makes perfect sense. It's all falling into place. During the BB gun war Style already had his suspicions that there was something that Fadel knew about and then when Fadel threatened him at the hospital in a way it just proved his suspicions. And now Style finally knows what exactly it is that Fadel had found out about. And Style now also understands that Fadel found out a wrong truth, or rather an inaccurate truth that paints a wrong picture of Style. And so Style clears it up: "I don’t know anything about those cops. Kant asked me to take you out so you could leave him alone and he could freely investigate." The anger that was in Style's voice before the reveal subsides when he goes into his defense and instead he is annoyed and impatient. After all, he is still naked and tied up at a pool. And his best friend is still missing from having been kidnapped by an actual assassin. Style doesn't have time for this argument right now. Fadel asks him another question: "What did he get out of it?" Style replies "I don’t know. That ain’t my business" and his tone is even more annoyed and also kind of exasperated now. How the fuck should he know?? Why is Fadel bothering him with this?? His only job was to make Fadel his boyfriend. That was his only role in this. He didn't have anything more to do with this.

Fadel wants to know where Kant took Bison to. Style is even more annoyed at this point. Yeah, I was trying to find my friend, too, before you got in my way and abducted me, you fucking idiot. Fadel doesn't believe it when Style says he, too, was looking for Kant. Now Fadel is getting annoyed and impatient as well. "Stop freaking lying." Style is frustrated. "I'm not lying." He informs Fadel of what the nurse said about Bison taking Kant and running away to some unknown location. Style is fed up. He really isn't in the mood for Fadel's stupid interview. He just wants it to be over. "Don’t hurt me, Fadel," he continues. And what I love about this is that there is absolutely no fear in his voice when he says this, no plea for his life. Because he doesn't say it in reaction to something Fadel said or did. Sure, there's a gun to Style's head that could be triggered at any moment, but the thing is that Style has been having this argument with a gun pointed at him for a full minute now and nothing has happened so far and so Style doesn't feel like he is in any immediate danger. And Fadel doesn't even do anything to indicate that he's about to use the gun on Style or that he's about to hurt him in any other way after Style explains that it was Bison who took Kant instead of the other way around. Fadel just stands there immobile, not acting significantly more threatening than he has for the past minute, so there is no reason for Style to be afraid. And it shows in the tone of his voice that he isn't afraid. When Style says "Don't hurt me" his voice sounds annoyed and irritated and frankly, just kind of done. It's almost as if he's saying Just drop the tough act already. Because Style knows it's an act. And I just wanna share something that @secriden wrote here, and I know this paragraph is actually in relation to Fadel's uncharacteristically clingy behavior all episode and to Style's lines that are about to follow, but when I read @secriden's words they had me thinking that this also goes for the seemingly tough act that Fadel is putting up in front of Style, not just the played up sweetness:

In the midst of all the secrets and lies between them, ever since [Style] found out about Fadel's secret and decided he was going to keep pursing him anyway, Style has been chasing and chasing Fadel's sincerity. And each precious revelation that Fadel gave him -- his parents' murder, his inability to trust, his desire for something genuine from Style -- has been carefully stored away in Style's heart like nuggets of gold. Which is why Fadel's performance was doomed from the start; because Style was moved by the true things and not the lies, and Fadel's pretensions can have no effect when Style's heart now has the ability to recognise that which he has already grown to love.

Style has gotten to know Fadel so well that he can recognize when Fadel is being sincere or not, whether it's about Fadel's affections or Fadel's threats. He's gotten to know all these different sides of Fadel, has learned to read him and has learned to differentiate between what is true and what isn't, the way Fadel has learned to differentiate the sincerity and the insincerity in Style's words and actions, too. Which is another reason why Fadel is doomed as well, because after all this time he, too, can tell when Style is being sincere or not. And what Style is about to say to him is indisputably sincere.

Fadel demanded the whole truth from Style, but there is one truth Style hasn't told him yet, at least not in explicit words anyway. And so he continues: "I know I worked for the police, but that was before I knew who you are. Now that I know you, I really love you, Fadel."

And let me just share my own translations again:

Even if it's true that I was a police informant, it was before I knew the real you. ถึงกูจะเป็นสายตำรวจก็จริงอ่ะ แต่นั่นมันก่อนที่จะรู้ตัวจริงของมึง [tĕung - guu - jà bpen - săai dtam-rùuat - gôh - jing - àh • dtàe - nân - man - gòn têe jà - rúu - dtuua jing kŏng meung] even if - I - be - police informant - [sentence link] - true - [particle] • but - that - it - before - know - real you But now that I know the real you, I love you for real, Fadel. แต่พอกูรู้ตัวจริงของมึงแล้วอ่ะ กูรักมึงจริงๆนะฟาเดล [dtàe - poh - guu - rúu - dtuua jing kŏng meung - láew - àh • guu - rák - mueng - jing jing - ná - Fadel] but - when - I - know - real you - already - [particle] • I - love - you - really - [na] - Fadel

You'll notice that I highlighted something there. I actually discussed the term ตัวจริง [dtuua jing] (= real self) with a native speaker friend and I even showed him the scene (bless his heart for putting up with my antics) and he said when he first heard those lines he was a little confused why it would be phrased like this, because usually in Thai they'd phrase it a little differently. We were hanging out in person and unfortunately I didn't write it down, so now I don't remember what the way my friend said it's supposed to be phrased as was, but yeah, apparently this is odd phrasing. Which is why it's even more interesting to me that in episode 5 Fadel says this:

The real me might be scarier than you think. ตัวจริงกูอ่ะ อาจจะน่ากลัวกว่าที่มึงคิดก็ได้ [dtuua jing goo - àh • àat-jà - nâa gluua gwàa - tîi - mueng - kít - gôh dâai] real me - [particle] • might - scarier - that - you - think - [particle]

The wording is basically the same (yes, Style adds the word ของ [kŏng] (= of, from) before the pronoun, but this word is optional and the meaning stays the exact same) and it just makes me wonder if Style's words were written as a deliberate call back to the conversation in episode 5. Back then Style asked Fadel to fully open up to him and told him "I promise that no matter who you are, I’ll still like you". Except back then the message didn't fully reach Fadel, because the cards weren't all out in the open just yet. But now they are. Style knows who Fadel is and Fadel knows that Style knows who Fadel is. And Style has actually gotten to know even more sides of Fadel since that conversation from episode 5 took place. "Now that I know the real you, I love you for real." He loves the grumpy side that always yells at him, the badass side that takes down three grown men in a fight, the happy side that loves heavy metal music and putting on band make-up, the side that has a passion for cooking, and ultimately even the dark side that is capable of killing people without remorse, even if he has yet to witness Fadel actually murdering someone. He isn't scared of him, not even when Fadel is waving a gun around his head. Style loves all of what makes Fadel Fadel.

This, however, is the one truth Fadel does not want to hear, can't hear right now. When he yells "Shut up" at Style, it's the loudest and most aggressive tone he's had in this entire conversation so far. At the same time he also advances on Style, putting his leg up on the step and shoving the gun even closer to Style's head. The yelling and the movement comes so sudden that it actually startles Style. Fadel continues to speak out a threat: "Say you love me one more time, and you’ll be lying at the bottom of this pool." He even mimics a kick. Style complains: "Hey!" Don't kick me into the pool, the fuck!? "I mean it!" Or in his actual words:

I'm telling the truth! กูพูดความจริงเว้ย [guu - pûut - kwaam jing - wóiie] I - say - truth - [particle]

Style is starting to get a little stressed now. What's Fadel threatening to kick him into the pool for when Style is literally telling Fadel the truth just like Fadel demanded? He's been telling Fadel all the information he has, all that he knows but Fadel still won't release him. Instead Fadel just keeps threatening him. Style really doesn't feel like ending up at the bottom of an empty pool, especially not when his best friend is being held captive himself god knows where. All while Style is stuck telling truths that Fadel doesn't want to believe, despite having demanded to hear them. So Style throws Fadel a little reminder:

People who are about to die speak all of the truth. คนจะตายก็พูดความจริงกันทั้งนั้นอ่ะ [kon - jà dtaai - gôh - pûut - kwaam jing - gan táng nán - àh] people - about to die - [sentence link] - say - truth - all, every - [particle] Official subs: I wouldn’t lie with a gun to my head like this.

When people are faced with death they don't typically lie. They tend to speak the whole truth. So why the fuck would Style be lying now? Having this yelling match while being tied up and naked at an abandoned pool is getting really stupid now. It also won't bring Kant and Bison back. If the truth and the power of Style's love can't bring an end to this situation then maybe Fadel's concern and love for his brother will. So Style, still in a rather irritated mood, suggests a deal: "Untie me and I’ll help you look for Bison and my friend." But Bison is another vulnerable spot for Fadel, and just like before he reacts in anger, waving his gun into Style's face: "I ain’t stupid anymore. I don’t trust a word that comes out of your mouth." And for those of you who are curious about the literal wording:

Whatever the hell you're saying, I'm not listening to you. มึงพูดเชี่ยอะไรกูไม่ฟังมึงหรอก [mueng - pûut - chîia à-rai - guu - mâi - fang - mueng - ròk] you - say - whatever the hell - I - not - listen - you - [particle]

No matter what Style says, Fadel won't hear him. The previously annoyed and angered expression on Style's face falls and his eyes widen a bit. Oh shit, you're for real?

His words are his best and only weapon that Style has, a weapon that is essentially rendered powerless if Fadel refuses to listen in any way. I think this is the moment Style realizes that there is a good chance that he can't talk his way out of this after all. That he might be wrong about Fadel sparing his life. After all, Style once was also overly confident that Fadel liked him enough to not do him any harm only for Fadel to punch him in the gut and abandon him on the cold, hard ground in some random storage room. There is a good chance that Fadel will pull the trigger for real. Fadel continues to rage: "You chose the wrong man to fool, asshole."

I think this is the first time that Style is honestly afraid since the very beginning of the scene when it sank in that he was alone. Where before his "don't hurt me" was mostly annoyed, this time when he shouts "Fadel, no!" he is is genuinely scared for his life. He leans away from Fadel, his eyes squinted close as he waits for the likely life-ending shot. He can't see the way Fadel's hand is shaking. The shot doesn't come. Style opens his eyes again. The screen goes black and we are left to find out later how exactly this ends.

No. 9: Hitman Teerak

Fadel did not kill Style. And Style knows for a fact that if Fadel didn't kill him back at the pool then there is no way he's killing him now. Style can afford to be cocky again. All the fear from when we left him has vanished completely and he is back to his overly confident, charmingly annoying self. And he's also wearing clothes again.

Fadel is still pointing a gun at him, but Style doesn't give a shit anymore. In fact, he is very unimpressed. When he asks "Where are you taking me?", he sounds annoyed again, if not downright bored like a child that doesn't wanna do a chore their parent gave them. By the way, the Thai version of this is even sassier:

Where are you taking me to kill me? มึงจะพากูไปฆ่าที่ไหนเนี่ย [mueng - jà - paa - guu - bpai - kâa - tîi năi - nîia] you - will - bring, take - me - go - kill - where - [particle]

Fadel informs him that the place doesn't matter, because Style will die either way. Style sighs a tired sigh and closes his eyes. Fadel really is that set on killing him, apparently, huh? It's getting old. Fadel says: "But before I kill you, I have to see my brother." Style opens his eyes again and turns around to Fadel. He really is getting tired of this. "Do you know where he is?" Fadel says no, but Style needs to help find him. Then Fadel makes a vow: "Once I find him, I’m going to kill you both." Style hesitates, then decides not to fight Fadel on this. He's tired of fighting this stupid fight. If Fadel wants to be stubborn then alright, Style will yield. And so he exasperatedly agrees with Fadel: "I know I deserve to die." Then he turns a bit away from Fadel and says in a pouty voice: "Well, at least I won’t die alone." Style is sulking. Fine. Kill me if you must. But at least I will die side by side with a friend and it won't be a lonely death, I guess. It's the little things in life. He looks at Fadel again. Fadel squints. "Shut up and drive." Suddenly there is impatience in Fadel's voice which was so firm and resolute the entire scene up until now. Then, Fadel goes back to threatening Style with death: "One wrong move, I’m blowing your brain out." Style is severely unimpressed. Or rather, he is impressed but certainly not in the way Fadel would want him to be impressed.

Style knows he's got Fadel now. Any death threat from now on will be utterly meaningless. Fadel won't kill him. Style goes for malicious compliance, but makes sure he makes a big sassy and kind of flirty show out of it to demonstrate just how much not scared of Fadel and his tough guy act he is. Because that's all it is, by now. An act. An act that Style will go along with, if it makes Fadel feel better. "Kruuuub, Mr. Hitman." Yes, yes, you'll kill me, I got it. "I’m scared enough as it is, no need to threaten me." You really don't need to repeat your death threats over and over, I'm sick of hearing them, uh, I mean, just look how terrified of you I am. "I know my life is in the palm of your hand." You've been pointing this gun at me for ages now and I'm still here, alive and kicking. Yes, I really, truly am at your mercy and so very scared for my life. "Why don’t you just take a nap instead or something?"

The last line actually makes me laugh even more in Thai:

Why don't you take the time that you spend threatening me to take a nap instead? มึงเอาเวลาที่มึงขู่กูอ่ะไปนอนมั้ย [mueng - ao - weh-laa - tîi - mueng - kùu - guu - àh - bpai nawn - mái] you - take - time - that - you - threaten - me - [particle] - go to bed - ?

Threatening me is pointless. How about you do something more productive with your time? Ain't that an idea? Style ends his "Fine, I'll fold to your wishes"-monologue in our beloved iconic line: "I’ll drive you where you want me to go, my hitman-teerak." As stated before, I'm always ready to help you, my love <3

Fadel keeps a poker face and orders Style into the car. Style doesn't move, he just defiantly tilts his head and looks at Fadel like well, watcha gonna do to me if I don't?

Fadel loses his temper a little and yells at Style to get going. Style finally moves, but right before he turns he smiles as he looks at Fadel and his eyes are full of warmth and affection. He loves this man.

Halfway on the way to the car door, Style turns around again and throws Fadel another warm, amused, and very pleased smile.

He knows he's already won. Life couldn't be going better for him right now. Style gets into the car and Fadel follows. And off they go, driving into the sunset off on their little road trip to find Kant and Bison.

Once in the car, Fadel lifts his gun back up at Style's head. Style throws him a look. And we all know Style would have jumped Fadel and ripped all his clothes off right then and there if he hadn't been busy driving a car. Fadel lowers the gun again. Style keeps looking over at Fadel, which has me nervously scream look at the fucking road oh my god you're gonna die via a car crash if not by Fadel's gun. Fadel finally takes that nap that Style suggested. Style keeps driving. He is happy and content and very satisfied. Fadel may have put his walls back up, may be pushing him away and threatening him again like he did before they started dating, but that's okay. Style has annoyed his way into Fadel's life once before, he can easily do it again. Especially now that he actually knows Fadel, knows how to handle him, knows how to get through to him. And this time around the flirting is real from the start. And what's even better, what's the biggest relief of it all is that the big secret is now fully out in the open. It had been weighing Style down a lot, but now he can finally talk about it. They can finally talk about it. And now Style can finally hammer it into Fadel's head for good that he isn't scared of him in any way, that he really has embraced him with his hitman identity and all. Style won't have to allude to it anymore in the future, no, he can explicitly say it. And he can show Fadel that it's worth for Fadel to open up 100% to Style, that Style will stick by his side no matter what and that Fadel can absolutely trust him. Style will make him believe that he absolutely, undeniably, irrevocably loves him. Life is going great.

[ghouljams]

this might be super tmi but one ask that you answered had me thinking about a conversation i had with friends on NYE. one girl gave another a spare (new) disposable razor so she could shave down there bc she invited a guy over and it was a whole thing, and as they were both hanging out in the bathroom me and another girl were just talking about if we shaved. i don’t, because of mobility issues and i just don’t see the need for it. like yeah i trim the hair but that’s it and she was like ??? you don’t shave??? not even the bikini line?? and i said it depends but not usually and she was so shocked lol

like we’ve had this conversation before, but she was a little surprised to hear that i don’t shave everything!! they all three like to be hairless and im genuinely the only one who does not give a fuck lol

ive never been taught anything like how to shave there, ive learned all sex ed through friends and online besides what little conversations my private school did on the subject. ive learned a lot from you btw! just thought id share smth i found interesting

I think it's interesting how much of women's "hygiene" is based off the idea that not doing something is the weird option. Not shaving, not wearing makeup, not liking traditionally "feminine" things.

I mostly don't give a fuck about shaving, I swing wildly between not doing it because I'm lazy and then remembering that I could be a dolphin and getting waaaay too excited about it. I use a trimmer with a guard just to keep things "tidy" and I'll be honest the number 1 reason for it is because it makes cleaning up during my period easier (that and undies feel good when I shave). At the end of the day, it's a cosmetic choice.

I have found that most people who eat pussy genuinely don't care if they gotta go bushwhacking to get to it. So much like other beauty standards it's more to differentiate who is willing to conform to the dominant cultural norm and who isn't.

[artbyblastweave]

🔥Punisher: Last Gun on Earth?

This ask is referring to the fairly-obscure 2010 zombie apocalypse Elseworld Marvel Universe Vs The Punisher by Jonathan Maberry, as well as the two prequels following Wolverine and Hawkeye at different points in the same timeline. I've been meaning to do a more comprehensive write-up on this for quite some time, as it was a series distinct from but very visibly in conversation with Marvel Zombies, which Maberry was also peripherally involved with. The elevator pitch is that a fuckup by the Punisher during a hit on the Russian Mob results in a cold war bioweapon getting into the biosphere, eventually turning almost the entire human population, and most of the superheroes, into adrenaline-fueled 28-days-later style rage zombies. Content Warning under the cut for discussions of racism

Despite its many, many flaws, there was a lot I enjoyed about this series, and alongside Marvel Zombies it had a not-insubstantial impact on my own aesthetic sensibilities, which I think probably comes through in a lot of my zombie artwork. The first mini, Marvel Universe Vs The Punisher, is a pastiche of I am Legend, with Frank Castle in the role of Robert Neville, an infected Deadpool in the role of Neville's abnormally sentient neighbor Ben Cortman, and with a zombified Spider-Man the white whale that he's spent five years hunting through the remains of Manhattan. Before I get into the rancid shit, I'm going to talk about what I enjoyed:

While the series succumbs to all-too-common Punisher Wank in terms of his efficacy in taking down a number of the A-list infected heroes, it ultimately comes out the other side as a pretty competent piece of character work for Frank; the series is grimly aware that a virus turning most of the human population into a shooting gallery of sadistic cannibal maniacs would be something like Valhalla for Frank, regardless of his pretensions to the contrary. Moreover, it's subtly implied that Frank's belief that he's immune is incorrect, and what's actually happening is that a virus that turns you into a vindictive, dogmatic maniac with a hardwired us-or-them mindset had no effect on him because he was already like that. There are ultimately revealed to be thousands of other survivors in New York, all of whom have spent five years studiously avoiding him because they think he's batshit insane. Even zombie Spider-Man, played up as the Biggest Bad, is ultimately revealed to have retained enough humanity to protect his uninfected family the entire time, whereas Frank is ultimately painted as unrelenting genocide machine whose psychological inability to give quarter ultimately makes him worse than the infected.

From there the series extrapolated some hilarious commentary on the genre as a whole; the zombie outbreak was going on for months before reaching critical mass, and nobody noticed because the baseline levels of random street violence and superpowered brawls are already so high in these settings that nobody realized a lot of the fights were occurring for rage-virus reasons until Spider-Man killed and ate a supervillain on live television. The whole series can be viewed through the lens of the usual spectacle-bait crisis-crossover contrived-battle-between-heroes routine, distilled to its purest form and escalated to the point of Ragnarök; the art frequently deliberately obfuscates which combatants are infected and which are uninfected people fighting for their lives. In this way it's playing with the pre-existing logic of the superhero genre in a way that Marvel Zombies didn't.

Maberry knows how to use Deadpool in a supporting character role without having him eat the entire goddamn thing. It's a fun dynamic!

Unlike Marvel Zombies, which was deliberately unconcerned with logistics as part of the gonzo fever-dream aesthetic, Maberry put some actual thought into a semi-plausible model by which a zombie virus could overrun a superhero setting. The responsible mutagen is air-and-waterborne, causing people to start turning at random months after being infected rather than through bites or fluid contact, and sneaks around healing factors because the mutations it causes are parsed as improvements rather than disease symptoms. Mass swarms of infected, unpowered civilians are as relevant, if not more relevant, than the superhumans are in spreading the infection, leading in turn to a lot of Left 4 dead styled set piece co-op fights like the one depicted above, and leading to the failure state that a superhero might be able to mince human wave attacks all day but at a certain point they'll have chewed through everyone they were ostensibly protecting by doing so, even if they themselves survive. This is a dynamic that, ultimately, only Frank Castle is really capable of thriving within, because with him it was never about protecting people, just hurting "bad" ones.

Which leads to another major positive points- the series is also a lot more concerned with rendering the setting's downward spiral. Eight prequel issues depicting the superhero community going down fighting over the course of months, rather than folding like a dixie cup in a trash compactor for horror value. Dead Days is the closest that Marvel Zombies ever got to rendering that same process, and while that was a very good oneshot it was still a deliberately compact one-shot. Here you get tableau after tableau of survivors throwing down with zombies. Unlikely alliances, second-string deep-cut z-listers crawling out of the woodwork- all interspersed with the growing realization among the protagonists that this is not business as usual, the status quo is not going to hold this time, it's just the actual apocalypse.

Here's Punisher, Hawkeye, Iron Fist and Black Cat trying to hold the Holland tunnel. Here's Dr. Bong, Howard the Duck Ruby Tuesday and Hit Monkey making a last stand in Central Park. This shit unironically kicks ass! This is what I think a lot of people are gesturing at when they say that they want to see a superheroes vs zombies story.

And, on that note, if you're going to tell this kind of story, Punisher, Wolverine and Hawkeye are objectively three of the best characters to have as the viewpoint characters- precisely the right level of competence and street-level scrappiness to survive without having a prayer of turning the tables outright. "Shit, Man, this superhero war is fucked-" the comic.

One additional minor thing I enjoyed about the series, aesthetically, is that while Marvel Zombies was a deliberately anachronistic mish-mash where every character was depicted in their most visually iconic outfits from across decades of publication, This series was very specifically working with the Marvel Universe status quo circa 2010 when it was published- The X-Men in San Francisco, Red Hulk on the Avengers, now-long-forgotten Avengers Academy kids in crowd shots. It grounds the narrative in a way Marvel Zombies was deliberately avoiding, acting as a snapshot and a time capsule in a neat way.

Now onto the two big things I didn't like about this series, the latter of which sinks it really really badly:

One: Caption Cancer. Maberry is one of those authors who I like on balance but who also often lapses into Talking Just To Talk. How many times does the navel-gazey running commentary in the above excerpts double back on itself, and how much is it actually saying- particularly when contrasted with the story told by the art and dialogue alone? Either he felt a need to fill the space (bad) or worse, he thought that these were some kind of deep and compelling rumination on the human condition. In general the balance of exposition to action in this thing were.... all over the place, not always integrated gracefully. The best sequences in the book are the ones where the captions just shut the fuck up so we can watch these people clobber each other. This is not a problem the original Marvel Zombies had- one thing I like about Kirkman is that he's usually a caption minimalist, letting the art and the dialogue do the heavy lifting. You don't get a page as quiet and decompressed as the following in the entire 12 issue run of Marvel Universe Vs.

Two: It's Racist. Like, really really racist. The comic continuously lapses into extremely racist imagery with the infected, using the visual language of "primitive savage tribes" with seemingly zero awareness of the real-life groups that those tropes were used to propagandize against and dehumanize. It's one thing to have zombies that take human body parts as trophies- that's kind of a cool motif- it's quite another to have a zombified Hulk who braids his hair in an obvious caricature of Native Americans, complete with feathers. What the fuck, Maberry!

Moreover it's a comically unforced error- everything compelling happens outside of that imagery, it's adding basically nothing but an attack surface to the premise. 28 days later did this basic premise without the racism, Left 4 Dead did this basic premise without the racism, The Crazies did this basic premise without the racism, Fucking Crossed did this basic premise without using the same racist visual language, at least until after Ennis left the book. Congratulations- you found a way to make the zombies more on-the-face racially insensitive than Garth Ennis. Round of Applause, everyone. This specific issue is why I don't think I've ever brought this book up in depth unprompted, it's genuinely really gross.

Anyway, those are my unified thoughts on the Marvel Universe Vs. trilogy, hope you enjoyed.

[sprites4ever]

Dude, you've been doing nothing but try to spin logic so that I am somehow hating minorities. With how insistent you are and how you go on and on about being holier-than-thou, it's become clear that you're either projecting (using your minority member friends as a Get Out Of Jail Free Card á la "My wife is a doctor"), or you have a superiority complex and just latched onto me.

Actually, given how you use tokenism to defend both yourself and Trump, it's most likely the former. I'm guessing you identify with him. (Which would make you insane in my book.)

Because I hate stupidity, which is the same reason I joined everyone else [...]

Oxymoron. You openly admit to falling for groupthink. That can never not be stupid. Not saying that I'm necessarily super smart, but you're certainly stupid for this.

And regarding your single argument of minority members in the incoming Trump Admin 2: Bullshitastic Boogalo, I can give you an example of tokenism from a different country.

In Germany, the self-styled communist Sahra Wagenknecht, after exhibiting too many far-Right opinions, left the far-Left party Die Linke and founded a party named after herself, Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht. Her whole thing is that she wants to use this party to enact far-Left economic and far-Right anti-immigration policy. By far most immigrants to Germany are Muslims. Guess what the name of Wagenknecht's Number 2's is? Amira Mohamed Ali.

And finally,

Because this is tumblr, and nobody needs a reason to do anything here. In fact, if we had reasons to do things, we wouldn't be here in the first place.

What a cheap excuse.

Here's an Example as to why Donald Trump is fascist

Donald Trump wants Concealed Carry Reciprocity.

What is that?

In the United States, it is not automatically legal to carry a firearm in a concealed manner just because one has a firearms license. One needs to obtain a special additional permission to do so. Like most things in the United States, Concealed Carry is decided on a state-by-state basis, meaning a person's permission for Concealed Carry only applies in the state it in which it was issued.

Concealed Carry Reciprocity is the legal concept that a permission for Concealed Carry, issued in any state, applies in all states. So, if a gun owner was permitted to Concealed Carry in Oklahoma, he can currently only do so in Oklahoma. Doing it in any other state is a crime. Under Concealed Carry Reciprocity, it would not be.

What does Donald Trump intend with this?

Donald Trump knows that his most loyal followers live in deep red states, which also have the highest concentrations of gun owners. Due to the high concentrations and due to Republicans being generally against gun control, it is likelier that more gun owners in red states have Concealed Carry permission. Donald Trump wants to allow people to Concealed Carry in any state if they've received permission in one, because he knows that most people who will take advantage of this will be his most loyal followers.

Donald Trump plans to lay the groundwork for his version of Mussolini's Blackshirts and Hitler's Brownshirts, his own paramilitary force of loyal followers who are ready to attack and murder fellow citizens in open daylight for their political positions that oppose their idol. Concealed Carry Reciprocity makes it easier for them to do this.

This is fascism.

[tinfoil-jones]

How would Jerk Ford react to STCMO Ford (A ford edge lord who dedicates his life to trying to save Stanleys from tragic fates and bad time lines)

STCMO Ford is also kind of hated by the Ford community so I was wondering if Jerk Ford and Stcmo Ford would begrudgingly be okay with eachother.

Because 1.) Jerk Ford treats his Stanley decently

So there’s not a big reason for STCMO Ford to beef with him. But then again would Jerk Ford’s negative charisma win out and make STCMO Ford not like him?

Also I believe Stcmo Ford belongs to @nowimjustastranger

Jerk Ford isn't hated by the Fordverse because of his good relationship with his brother. He's hated because he's a huge, indiscriminate, unapologetic jerk. He's still an *sshole to other versions of Stanley, too.

There was one time, where he heard about an un-portaled version of himself, and he wondered if they were similar enough that if he studied his dimension he might have an easier time locating his own. But then he nearly got killed there, so he didn't make that or a lot of mistakes again.

I don't know a lot about the STCMO AU, but I imagine the Ford of that dimension would have a hard time believing that Jerk Ford was a good brother because he's such a d*ck for no reason. But don't take my word for it, that's just me speculating, ultimately that's up to @nowimjustastranger.

The only interaction I can imagine is;

Jerk Ford would be doing this from a safe distance because he doesn't get into fights he doesn't think he could win. If STCMO Ford is going around regularly giving alternate versions of them the business, a known runner like Jerk Ford isn't gonna stand a chance.

Surprisingly, Jerk Ford's Charisma is not low. Although this post by @rayyanishere1 put Jerk Ford's at a -500/500 CHA, this is actually a calculation oversight. You see, his CHA is actually a 1000/500, but because the stats don't measure beyond 500, it wrapped back around to the negative numbers. Jerk Ford's CHA is the DnD definition of Charisma.

I'm using the Dungeons and Dragons (Fifth Edition) definition of Charisma. At least, the way a lot of DMs rule the use of Charisma.

"Charisma measures your ability to interact effectively with others." His interactions with others always end in the way he intended; they know he's a jerk. Beyond a shadow of a doubt. Convincing them otherwise is a Herculean task.

Charisma can also be used for the following ability checks; Deception, Intimidation, Performance, & Persuasion.

The reason why Charisma isn't just considered likability is because vile creatures with no social skills can still have high charisma. (Like a Kraken. A Kraken has 20/20 Charisma)

Jerk Ford just uses his Charisma to irritate people instead of make them like him. There ARE rare times that he uses his Charisma to make himself charming. But, it's never for good reasons.

[mysecertdiaryofableedingheart]

A Lil Office Romance Pt 2

Troi fiddled with the zipper on her lavender cloth lunch box

"I'm sorry Troi, I need to be more prepared like you. I can just grab a sandwich next to the square" Terry while opening the front door of the office for her to walk ahead of him.

"We can share my lunch, I always bring extra just in case we have to stay late" Troi stated softly

"Only if it's extra and you gotta let me repay you" Terry smiled reaching to carry the bag for her. "I can't let a pretty lady be starving because of my big back" he added making Troi giggle sweetly

Walking across the street they scouted an empty bench recently vacated.

"I made a Seafood salad, it's has a bit of crab and shrimp with pasta and I got crackers, waters and some cookies I made for dessert " Troi explained as she opened her lunch block showing off her spread

"Damn girl this ain't extra it's a whole buffet" Terry reached for the cookies " you gotta be careful offering me sweets, you ever heard the saying if give a mouse a cookie"

"I kinda remember that book, didn't he keep coming back for more?" Troi carefully opened the sleeve of Ritz crackers "I don't remember about him, but you give me too many sweets I might come back for the baker" Terry winked at Troi biting into the Chocolate chip cookie with a groan.

At 26 she wasn't experienced at all hence the desire for a first kiss but at the sound of Terry’s deep groan and light flirting Troi couldn't help but notice the dampening between her inner thighs.

"You won't have to steal me. I always bake on the weekends and have way too much leftover you're always welcome to some" Troi reasoned trying to gather her bearings.

"You know, that sounds good. But I do think the baker might still be the better treat" Terry man spread showing off his thick thighs invaded on khaki slacks. His muscled arm reached behind the bench. Troi could feel his body heat on her exposed shoulder. This was blatantly flirty as oblivious to his subtle advance even she couldn't ignore this one. "Troi, I'm sorry I'm messing around too much, I don't mean to make you uncomfortable"

"It's okay Terry, it's not that. I'm just painfully awkward and not good at talking to people. You see why I'm the number girl and not in sales" Troi forced out a laugh that got caught in her throat as she felt his warm hand on her shoulder

"Troi, I think you're wonderful to talk to, and the awkwardness we came fixed that with becoming more familiar out each other . . . " Terry’s voice drowned out as Troi got lost in his sleep brown eyes "Would that be okay with you?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that" Troi blinked rapidly to clear up the blue/green eyed induce fog that caused her to miss the meat of his question.

"That's okay Troi, we could get to know each other better by maybe having a standing lunch appointment for the next couple of days.  Get to know each other better knock the awkwardness out? " Terry repeated his self softly stroking her shoulder with his thumb.

"Yes,we can do that" Troi squeak out. The pair spent the rest of their lunch in comfortable silence, Terry complimenting Troi's cooking and his hand never leaving her shoulder.

Terry Terry wasn't going to question his luck, on what aligned the day for him to end up so happy. He finally had a chance to wow the pretty girl in accounting he had his eye on for the past 3 months since starting at Oglethorpe Construction.

She was delicate, and shy painfully so. He almost gave up had he not noticed her peeking around the corner of her door last week to see him get on the elevator.

After a week of non date-dates he was able to get out of her. By the end he was going to have his girl he was determined.

Putting his hand on the small of her back to guide her across the street back to the office. He knew was going to have to stop stealing touches from her no matter how innocent they were. Even now he was craving just to snatch her up and devour her perpetually glossy lips; all he had done was stroke her shoulder and placed his hand on her clothed waist for 10 seconds.

The elevator ride up was filled with Troi excitedly explaining how she was going to make a cookie with a brownie center for their lunch date tomorrow. Terry couldn't help but admire her subtle makeup and fluffy hair that surrounded her like a halo.

The elevator dinged for the fourth floor prompting Troi to exit, Terry didn't want their time together to end just yet. Entering into Troi's office. Terry set the lavender lunch box down "Remember I'm in charge of food for our lunch date tomorrow. All I need for you to bring your mouse is a cookie and the baker of course" he winked

Troi gazed at her hands smiling "Okay Mr. Mouse a treat and a baker will be ready"

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Celeste looking back and forward between the two clearly confused at their inside joke.

Terry couldn't be happier with their banter, noting she was already a little more comfortable with him.

He didn't even care if she noticed him biting his bottom lip while he was backing out of the small office. But he sure did care that just maybe his adoring look was reciprocated.

[ropebunnykant]

aw, man. i actually don't like conflict or negativity, and i hate that some ppl seem determined to pit the couples against each other in the first place, but i've seen/read two things in particular today that have got my hackles up (the poll being one) so i'm gonna say it: i don't think i've seen a single post that enthuses about kb at the expense of fs (maybe one anon but that's bout it), whereas the number of times scrolling through the tag i've seen ppl feel the need to crow about how much more invested they are in fs, how fs are carrying the show, etc. - yes, we all vibe with different characters/dynamics and that's fine - vibe away! nay, enthuse away! but, shocker, you can actually do that without invoking your lack of interest in kb (which, frankly, is your loss!). and, since i'm being blunt, there are, imo, two fairly obvious main reasons for the scale of the disparity (so beyond general variation in taste), and neither are particularly flattering for those in question, so i'm not gonna say them out loud! and that's because i recognise some things you can just keep to yourself, and that way everyone gets to have a good time! sorry to be bitchy, but when stuff like that is in the general tag it's hard to avoid, and even though i know i should just brush it off (cos everyone's entitled to their wrong opinions!), it gets me down nonetheless.

yeah, i'll never understand the need to pit them against each other for one reason or the other tbh. like you said, everyone has their own feelings and opinions and sometimes you're just gonna be drawn to one couple over the other, or one character over the other! i know i personally enjoy both fadelstyle and kantbison, and i adore all of our main four characters in their own ways. it's funny cause in the first few episodes, i was sort of flipping back and forth in terms of who i was more invested in, which was honestly a shock to me because while i have enjoyed joongdunk in the past, their shows and characters haven't compelled me in the same ways that firstkhao's have, so i went into thk figuring that they would be the ones to hold my attention the most. and while that did end up being the case, fadel and style have ALSO become beloved to me in their own ways and there was even a period in the beginning of the show where i was MORE invested in them! but kb have definitely captured my attention the most and again, it does just come down to personal taste - i find the layers of their story to be personally more compelling, and i find kant's character specifically to be incredibly fascinating because of the absolute lack of agency he really has in anything he does up until now.

but again, it's all a matter of personal taste. i recognize not everyone is going to view these characters the same way i do or have the same attachment, and that's okay! and it's very odd to me the way that a lot of people who prefer fs will choose to hate on kb or flaunt which one they prefer more. like if you post about the things you love, we'll get the message either way without you needing to bring down the other pair and make others feel bad for enjoying them. i don't think anyone before now has really questioned which couple i prefer, but the only time i ever actually acknowledged that (outside of this ask) was to say that i was SAD fs didn't interest me more because i do genuinely enjoy them as characters, but kb take up so much of my brain that i just can't focus on them as much.

and it's not to say if you wanna be a hater, you can't be a hater, like that's fine. but at the same time idk. people that DO like those things don't wanna see that when they're just trying to enjoy the tag of their fave show, yknow? but that's also why i at least prefer to keep to my dash instead of going into tags, cause i prefer keeping it to those i trust to keep it tasteful than those that will go into main tags and shout their hate for things from the rooftops sjdfsdkj

[sakascal]

Thank you for the tag @bl0ndwave. I hope you'll find this interesting. I doubt I can find 10 people to tag who haven't been tagged yet, but I can at least attempt to answer the questions.

Last song: At the time of starting this (I'm listening to some kind of music most of the time, the style varies) Providence by Poor Man's Poison

Favourite colour: I have a huge issue declaring my favourite anything. But my go-to colours are: purple, deep blue and deep red, silver and black.

Last book: I always have multiple things I am reading. I just finished Delilah Green Doesn't Care by Ashley Herring Blake as an audiobook and started A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske. I have a three, no four longer fanfics I'm reading currently and there are a number of shorter ones I finish in between, on top of the ones I'm reading beta-reading (and what I write myself). Let's see if I can make an entirely incomplete list 😆

Sugar And Spice by ladydragona, SylWritesStuff

Light in the Darkness by ArtisticRising

Anatomy 101 by gingerhaole

Season's Greetings from Tadfield by Dragonfire42

recently read: Tomfoolery and other ways to say It by DoonaRose

almost finished the podfic of Old Vines written by sevdrag read by Literarion

(Entirely incomplete as I've said, doesn't include any of the stuff I'm beta-reading, my own WIPs or 99% of the shorter fics and I really have no clue what I read last... probably my own WIP because I was working on it earlier)

Last movie: Last new (to me) movies were Ghostbusters - Frozen Empire and A Quiet Place (I have kids! We finally managed to carve out some time to watch those over Christmas!) and last weekend we watch Lord of the Rings with our daughter (proper geek parenting 😁).

Last TV show: Started episode 8 of Arcane season 2 with hubby earlier (couldn't finish it, though) and I am still catching up on Doctor Who, last saw season 13, episode 2.

Sweet/spicy/savoury: (not sure what this is referring to but) all of the above?

Last thing I searched online: I think I was last searching for issues people might be having with reloading lead into the Kuru Toga mechanical pencil my daughter has (one that auto-rotates the lead) because it just wouldn't pull in the new lead... I hate it when the easy stuff that you shouldn't be able to do wrong doesn't work for some reason. Still haven't figured out what the problem is and am trying to find ways to solve it.

Current obsession: Good Omens. There I did it, one short answer in the whole thing! 😂

Looking forward to: Posting two of the fics I've been working on for some time. One is quite long and will be posted (all at once as per the rules of the Big Small Bang) in February, at least if the deadline stays this time.  😄 And the other one (four chapters) is only waiting for the last read through of the last chapter by my lovely beta readers and will start posting on the.... 17th I think. I'm not sure. I should probably check. Yes, January 17th 😄 (for the GO Reference Library Discord Server Gift Exchange).

I guess, I'll break the tag-chain because most people I can think of have already been tagged. Anyone who reads this and wants to do it, please go ahead. If you could make sure I see it (by making Tumblr notify me for example) that'd be great.  😊 

Ten people i’d like to know better

Thanks for the tag @hermiola

last song: one of the songs I loved most lately is 'In The Modern World' by Fontaines D.C.

favourite colour: blue

last book: that is not fanfic? 😂 The last book I've read is Persuasion (and yes, it was my first time). I'm currently reading Emma and a very Italian book written by the same awesome author who tagged me for this game (@hermiola 💜)

last movie: I can't tell you the last 'new' movie I watched at the cinema because I'm a bit ashamed (it's a Xmas movie made by two Italian youtubers, but what don't we do for our kids?). Last movie I watched on my couch, though, is Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (and yes, I don't feel fine about it 🤣)

last TV show: I'm watching THERE SHE GOES for the first time and I've just re-watched Around the world in 80 days. I'm also currently re-watching Scrubs and Staged with my husband (his first time, he's loving it 😂). Last 'new' show I've watched and finished is probably Dead Boy Detectives, though. Oh, I'm also currently re-watching Good Omens. Like constantly, always.

sweet/spicy/savoury: savoury

last thing i searched online: holiday vacation destinations for next summer (because the kids, again, you know 😃)

current obsession: Good Omens-Good Omens-Good Omens-Good Omens-Good Omens-Good Omens-Good Omens-Good Omens-Good Omens-Good Omens-Good Omens-Good Omens-Good Omens-Good Omens-Good Omens. Probably, also the whole M+D world (so, Staged too, apparently) 😂

looking forward to: those fu**ing pictures of Michael and David with dyed hair.

ten people i’d like to know better: (no pressure tags 🤩)

@anatomic-girl @ineffablerainstorm @somewhere-in-wales @captainblou @firephoenix2305 @phoen1xr0se @sunrisesinthesuburbs @bellisima-writes @yokohamama @missunderstoodlyrics

[aesethewitch]

I'm still on my advertising in magical spaces shit, so here's an important follow-up:

If you're going to advertise the sale of your products or services in any market, you should have at least a passable knowledge of advertising laws in your country (or state, as may be applicable). You should know about the regulatory bodies that oversee business and advertisement where you live.

In the US, for example, this means knowing about the FTC Act. This is a set of laws allowing the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) to regulate advertisement, endorsements, credential claims, and more on a national level. There's also the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and each state's Attorney General office. The BBB has offices all over the place, and they mostly deal with individual complaints. State Attorney Generals deal with a range of issues, from scams to employee rights violations to investment fraud to corruption to unfair online services and more. Check out your state's AG website -- the stuff they cover might honestly surprise you.

In any case, being purposefully deceptive and unfair in your advertising can get you into serious hot water. Get enough complaints or cause enough damage to someone, and you can be smacked with cease and desist orders or even fines.

You should have, at the very least, an understanding of what it means for an advertisement to be deceptive and unfair. This FAQ from the FTC is a great starting place to learn about these terms and to see some examples. This article about international e-commerce, also from the FTC, is a must-read if you're going to sell online.

Beyond that, you should look into your particular state's (or county's or even city's/town's, sometimes) laws about the sale of metaphysical goods and services. For example, in New York State, fortune-telling is illegal! I'm required to state that my divination services are for entertainment purposes only, because it isn't illegal to entertain -- just to claim to tell the future for money. These laws differ depending on where you live, so look into your local laws before setting up shop.

(And that's not even getting into business licenses and registering with a tax ID... but that's another topic, lmao.)

Basically, you need to know how you're allowed to advertise whatever it is you're selling. You can't just say shit, you know? There are rules about this stuff, and for good reason. Consumers should be protected from charlatans, scammers, and unfair business practices. The system sucks, but if we're going to have to operate inside it, regulations like the FTC Act and other fairness-related laws are important to have to keep businesses from exploiting consumers any more than they already do.

Now, it's important to note that a business can (seemingly) be following all of these rules and still end up being a scam! The number one way to verify the information found in an advertisement of a small business is to contact the seller.

If you can't easily find their contact information, if you have to jump through hoops to talk to a real person, or if they refuse to give you details about the product or service they're advertising, it's likely a scam, and you've dodged a bullet.

A reputable business, particularly a small one run by one person or a handful of people, should be more than happy to discuss details and terms with a prospective buyer. If they aren't, even if they're legitimate, why the fuck would you want to give your money to someone who doesn't respect you enough to take your concerns seriously??

Anyways, learn the basics of advertising law if you're gonna sell witchy shit on the internet or elsewhere. And frankly, learn the basics anyways so you can spot bullshit artists more easily.

[yeyinde]

Lev is there anything we can do to help with the plagiarism bs? Like can we report the blog/user? I'm so fucking pissed this is happening, but I don't know how to help.

I think only the person impacted by the user can report them for copyright, otherwise it leans very quickly into harassment which is something I absolutely want to avoid.

Like sure, what they did is utterly shitty and I'm so mad that I could scream, but I don't think they deserve to be maliciously targeted for it. At all. And (despite what the last few days might tell you lmao) tumblr is where I go when I wanna escape the insanity of my everyday life. Turning that happy escapism into a loaded gun/an angry mob makes me sad beyond words. That's the last thing I want.

I really appreciate where you're coming from, though. But I think maybe just ignoring them is probably the best choice in this situation. Let others know (with solid proof), and just block them. Disengage. Make it harder for them to steal from others. It's very clear that attention is what they're after. They're not doing this for any other reason than ego and to feed their appetite for arbitrary numbers that are utterly meaningless at the end of the day, so by not giving them that, maybe they'll move on. Or learn a lesson.

[ahedderick]

Snow flurries

Roll out of bed, dogs out for potty break, cats (starving! unloved!) fed, woodstove stoked. I got the idea to make hot mash for the hens out of their regular feed, so I tried chucking chicken pellets and water and some cooking oil and some leftover squash in a pot to heat up. I miscalculated and ended up scorching the bottom of the pot a bit, but they seemed pretty darned enthusiastic about getting a warm meal.

I got myself tidied up for an early doctor's appointment. Just a checkup, but I thought I'd ask {again} if there's anything that can be done for my wonky shoulder. Off I went into the icy morning. That's when things started going off the rails.

First, my 'check oil' light came on in the car. The oil was changed less than 1000 miles ago . . so it shouldn't be running low yet. When I got to the Dr's office and tried to check in, the receptionist told me that my appointment . . is actually next Tuesday. I goofed when putting it on my calendar last year. I trudged back out to my car to drive home. That's when my warning light for gas came on. I had forgotten to check it when my son and I came back from our little trip Tuesday. I wasn't too far from a station, and filled up. But I was starting to feel a little on edge!

I had other errands I was supposed to run in the afternoon, but that will have to wait until I can take it to get the oil issue checked. I decided to sit down with my tax paperwork and last year's taxes, to see if I could figure out a question I had about last year's retirement contribution. It was a nice round number, so I figured I could skim the [lengthy] 2023 IRS return and find it easily.

Mmmm. Nope. So I started skimming to try to find line item for IRA contributions. Found that - but it didn't have a value. I'm more than reasonably sure I made a contribution. I wanted to avoid calling the accountant with questions, but I ended up having to do that. Talked to his assistant, who was nice, but didn't know that answer to my question. This could have been . . such a simple chore. Alas.

In despair, I started undecorating the Christmas tree. I managed that with only one ornament broken (sheesh) and dragged the 9-foot-tall tree outside and down the steps. Way-to-go, me! Then I got to send half an hour setting the living room to rights, including extra vacuuming and many, many little cedar prickles.

The beasts will probably miss it, but it is nice to have more room in the living room again.

I walked the dogs (and cats) up in the woods while snowflakes fell softly all around us. It was pretty, and Rosalie enjoyed many dramatic zoomies. I need to cheer myself up a bit. Hmm.