#Should I be listening to the Zoom I'm on? Yes.

[3pirouette]

Preview of a Currently Untitled Steggy Work

So, I'm a little bit bummed that I didn't get to do what I wanted to do for Day 7 of Steggy Week. Between my wrist and a CEU course this weekend I paid WAY too much money for, the odds were stacked against me. Especially since I basically only had an outline.

So, I'm a little late, but I'm going to post a preview of the story. This would probably be chapter 1 or the prologue if I was going to do it in chapters, but in my brain it's absolutely a one shot.

This way, my brain feels like I've managed Day 7 (even if I'm late... oops) but I'm still going to eventually be able to write the whole story in a way I feel like it needs to be written (because I'm absolutely not going to post WIPs at this time. Sorry)

Oh, And I'm not revealing what this is an AU of... I'd love to see if you can guess. ;)

Title: Untitled Steggy AU Preview

By: TriplePirouette/3Pirouette

Disclaimer: They're not mine.

Distribution: Tumblr Only Preview, not beta'd

~*~

Peggy got this feeling, sometimes, that things weren’t quite right. 

Standing over the stove, stirring the noodles as they softened in the boiling water, the sauce bubbling in the pot next to them, she suddenly got the feeling something wasn’t right. Things felt… fuzzy. Soft. Just out of focus. For a second, she couldn’t feel the heat of the steam or smell the tang of the tomato sauce. For a second, there was nothing. 

Then it all came rushing back. Her face was warm and the sauce burbled next to her and the timer was ringing just to her side to remind her to take the garlic bread out of the oven. 

With a sigh she shook her head, pulling the spoon from the pot and opening the oven below, the fragrant cloud of garlic and oregano overtaking her as she carefully wrapped her apron around the edge of the pan and pulled it out. 

Steve would be home soon. She needed to be ready. 

~*~

He pulled into the driveway just like every night. She watched as he cut the lights and waved to Bucky as he stepped out of his own car just next door. The base housing was cookie cutter and mass produced. It was so similar it depressed her some days, but sometimes the symmetry of it, the way the men all pulled in at the same time and the lines the manicured lawns made up and down the streets surrounding the Lehigh Camp, made her feel safe. 

Feeling safe was a novelty. After years on the front in Europe, she still felt every day like there was someone around the corner, sneaking up on her. She couldn’t get over the feeling of being watched, being hunted. 

The base psychiatrist said it was normal, that all the men, and some of their wives, felt it. Dr. Werner had offered her a little vial of pills with a smile that sat, untouched, in her bedside drawer. 

She looked at Steve, and she felt safe, even if the rest of the time she felt like she was in terrible danger. 

~*~

Peggy sighed, looking over the rollers before picking one up. She nearly jumped when she saw Steve’s face in the mirror. “I forget how quiet you can be,” she smiled at him in the mirror when his smile dropped when he saw her startle. 

“Didn’t mean to sneak up on you,” he replied, leaning against the doorway. 

She swiftly pulled a section of hair away from her face and rolled it around the soft material of her rag rollers before pinning it to her head. “On an observation mission?” she asked, eyeing him in the mirror. From her vantage point in the reflection, all she could see were his broad arms popping from his military issued undershirt. She knew he still had his slacks on, knew he liked to pull the stuffy collared shirt off as soon as dinner was over. It was a look she loved. 

Steve ran a hand through his hair and ducked his head, suddenly shy. “Am I that obvious?”

Peggy picked up another curler and repeated the process, smiling. “You are staring at me.”

He licked his lips, huffing out a light chuckle. “Can’t get anything past you.” He moved away from the frame, coming oh so close to touching her but not. Her hands stilled as he took the roller from her fingers. “Don’t,” he said softly, putting it back in its spot in the bag on the counter. His hands moved back up as he met her gaze in the mirror, softly undoing the two curls she’d already done. “Not tonight.” 

Peggy didn’t say anything as his fingers undid her curls. There was a sharp retort on her tongue about the women’s club tomorrow and being presentable in public that never formed, the words slipping away as she tried to keep her breathing even. 

“I missed you today,” he started as he set the last curler down, his attention turning back to smoothing the two ringlet’s he’d left into the waves of her hair. 

She let her eyes slip shut, lips curving of their own accord into a smile as he combed his fingers through her hair. “Did you now?”

He hummed, sweeping her locks to the side and pressing his lips to her neck. “I miss you every day.”

She let her hand weave up, wrapping around his head, holding him to her as his hands slipped around her waist. She leaned back into him, a retort forming on her lips that pulled her from the softness of the moment. The words she wanted to say, they felt rough and it snapped her eyes open. She looked at him in the mirror, watching as he intently ran his lips up the side of her neck, focused only on her. 

She needed the comfort of his arms more than she needed to say the words, and something about that scared her. 

She didn’t say them out loud, couldn’t find a way to let them form, but she mouthed them to herself in the mirror, anyway, desperate for them to escape her being. 

I should be there, though.

[koolades-world]

Animal lover Mc!

y'all one of the first questions I had when I started playing obey me was "what is going to happen to my pets while I'm gone??" obviously I would find a way to bring them with me I will NOT be separated from my babies just for some hot demon men

currently I have three cats and a dog, all rescues and eight foster kittens, like, who's gonna feed that many critters for the whole durations of the exchange program not to mention I would miss them!

the first question mc is asking is "where is my entourage?" and when Dia asks what, they're gonna continue to describe their pets in a way only a pet owner would understand. Lucifer understands because he himself is a pet owner

"Welcome to the Devildom! Any questions?"

"where is my entourage?"

"What are you talking about?"

"you know, my zoo? my shadows? my cutie babies? my sillies? my children?"

"Oh, do you mean your pets?"

"Lucifer how did you understand that"

life in the HoL is about to get ten times more chaotic let me tell you

since my dog is a rescue we don't know too much about her past but she does not like tall men and omg what a coincidence! the HoL is all tall men!!1! anyone that doesn't look like me is a red flag to her she's super sweet though once you give her time (one time my school bestie shook a posterboard at her like three years ago and she still remember it to this day and hates him for it)

she warms up eventually if you respect her and listen to her whims but girl... we all know Lucifer would be too prideful to conform to what a dog wants that isn't Cerberus. Satan is a cat person, Beel is a literal giant, Levi would be afraid. she would def like Mammon since he kinda looks like my dad, Belphie is always asleep and therefore can't be a threat to her, and everyone loves Asmo! including me and my dog!

idk about other dogs but my dog just loves to beg and I give in every time. Beel is always eating and probably will give her a little too since he also seems like the puppy eyes would work on him.

I feel like dogs love Levi but he's probably afraid

"AWUBCUOBWVCGJ MC HELP"

"Levi we talked about this"

"THAT THING IS THE REAL DEMON"

"Are we talking about the same dog? The one that gets excited every time someone arrives home? The one that does a cute little roll over trick? The one that warms your feet on cold nights?"

"DEMON DOG"

"She's just looking at you"

"IT GOT CLOSER WVADUVJIOSUBSDFO"

"Not helping you"

all of my personal cats are kinda jerks lol... don't get me wrong I love them but like if you aren't used to them (or if they aren't used to you) you will get bitten. two of them have valid excuses, one is an old man, a curmudgeon if you will, and one is a blind kitten so she doesn't take well to new sounds, especially new voices. but my other cat, about three years old now is literally just a brat LOL he once attacked me in my sleep cause i moved a little too much love him tho

just cat things in general, they knock over everything on counters and shelves, they zoom around in the middle of the night, they attack ankles! Satan is in love but Lucifer nearly kicks them

the middle cat loves to sleep in my bed with me, like right on top of me. on my head, on my chest, on my stomach, on my shoulder, on my face. so like, there's no room for anyone else in my bed. yes there might physically be room but my cat's ego is so big there isn't room for another

sorry hot demon men my cat comes first

Belphie would make an excellent pillow for all cats, he's warm, he doesn't move much and he won't care

"Do you know where Belphie is?"

"My room, but don't bother."

"Why?"

"The cats have taken him as their own"

"THAT SHOULD BE ME"

The more Asmo doesn't want cats in his room the more the cats will want to enter his room

omg Satan is about to be your bestie so much quicker than in the original arc. I love the love and care that was placed into befriending Satan but this is the quickest way into his heart

"You must be the exchange student. I... what's in there?"

"My cats"

"Lucifer is letting you have them in the house?"

"Yes?"

"You're coming with me. Bring the cats."

"What does that mean? Do you like cats?"

"there are no words to describe my love for cats as deeply as I care for them. they are magnificent creatures. you have single handily done what I have tried to do for millennia. you are my best friend now"

"We will get along just fine"

This isn't even mentioning all of the strange Devildom critters Mc would def befriend

They drag a different brother along each time to feed weird animals that show up in their yard

Feeding stray cats with Satan!!

Dia would totally take them on expeditions to go see Devildom animals in the wild even during school days

Speaking of that, Dia also makes regular trips to the HoL to visit any and all pets

He will never hear the end of it from Barb oh god he will die from all the animal fur he brings back with him

I love rodents but Barb does not...

Nobody tell him that Mc may or may not have a rodent

Mc rescues all of the rats that Barb tries to eliminate and sets them free far away from the castle

the possibilities are endless with this might make a part two

[hoardlikegoldenirises]

more self-indulgence!!

one part headcanons one part this is just how they are in my AU probably—uh... watching a parade? idk actually. i just. drew them.

because... i felt like it.... there are still missing characters because spider-man has five million supporting characters which is truly both a blessing and a curse (also like, i didn't include any foes or villains lmao but rest assured at least two of peter's rogues are queer...)

i decided this is like 2019 or something for?? no real reason other than i guess a lot of the adults finally being out or whatever... idk... that would make peter and his friends around 30-32 on average (well no felicia would be like 34) so still youngish but also definitely Adults™...

the kids are meant to be late teens early 20s but drawing that very specific age group is like, way difficult... also all the youths are short compared to peter's friend group of exclusively 5'9" to 6' people XD (well gwen and harry are shorter so i guess it's fine XD)

some of these are more firm than others. like. should randy be straight? i dunno. is aunt may straight or are all the alive parkers bisexual lmao? idk. what about literally all of the teenagers except andi? i have no clue and a lot of the stuff with them is waaaay later and I am not anywhere close to, so i just put them all in rainbows cause why not! but i do think janine is a token heterosexual in this instance lmao—see, not ALL of my AU versions of characters are queer, just most of them

also i'm going to put a few close-ups/crops below the cut just because it's hard to see them in the lineup without zooming in or w/e

obviously felicia and peter are bisexual and flash is... probably also bi? but i'm really still not sure... but she is trans :) and they're probably poly together but even after writing man-spider i'm genuinely... not actually sure if felicia is peter and flash's girlfriend or not 😂 they've got SOMETHING going on with the three of them but what it is, idk... i think peter is definitely polyamorous regardless, it's just a question of whether their relationship is or not.

red and blue hearts on peter's cheek technically poly but double as spider-man LMAO—plus earplugs cause pride is loud…

obviously felicia's also into leather and bdsm and stuff (and so is peter...) so i included some little hints of that... but didn't bother including any of the kink flags cause there's only so much i can fit tbh a collar works well enough.

i made his tie teal satin because of the teal ribbon for sexual assault awareness. but just a hint, cause i don't think he would be comfortable being public about that. he's out and proud as a bi jewish dude with a trans wife but he's really not out about being a survivor to anyone except a few very close and trusted friends/family. similar for kaine. so a teal necktie is just something for him. he's been through a lot in his life but he's happy 🙂

anyway i think i made flash's hair shorter than it's supposed to be here but it's fine, maybe she got a trim or something

supportive aunts!! i already established like 3 years ago or something in some offhand line that MJ's aunt is an Eccentric Lesbian (huh wonder where she got that from—) so i'm sticking with the lesbian spinster aunt there. I don't know about Aunt May though. I always kind of waffled there on whether she's like straight, or bi... cause I like the thought of old ladies in love. I think maybe they have some kind of queerplatonic thing going on or something... either way she is proud of her boy :>

MJ I never know so I just go with the umbrella—she's Queer. What kind? Gender? Sexuality? Yes, (relatable)

What matters is that she is always Glamorous.

i don't have any deep reason for making Glory bi, i just thought it would be fun, and also cause I like Glory/MJ... they are so fun... they compliment each other so much... I know that can be a just straight gal pals thing but listen, i like it

Gwen is the lesbian who's a teeny tiny bit bisexual but mostly into women. Also: not dead. lmao.

Harry is 100% gay (and divorced) but I still don't know when/if he ever comes out. Liz will def be out as a lesbian by the late 20-teens though cause I think she starts exploring her sexuality w/in 3-4 years after she and harry get divorced... also cause i thought it would be funny if liz and lily (who i did not draw) hooked up LOL

i didn't draw the babies because i ran out of steam for that but they would be... what... i think normie might actually be in like 5th grade or something at this point now that i think about it... stanley would be like... 5 though

Hobie is bisexual almost entirely because when I read the newspaper strip and the prowler showed up, he and Peter were giving me Flirtation Vibes so he is bi, and also punk because I enjoy the aesthetic Spider-Punk has going on, so even though that's not going to be a thing in this universe, I still like to make some little nods to it. also it just feels like a fun combo. he's a kind of alt guy, he's not very straight, he's not very normal, he's had issues in his life trying to figure out who he wants to be... it feels like it just fits well... i like it

he gets MORE punk AFTER college and shaves half his head etc. (instead of having his twist-out), which is funny to me but you know, it takes time to figure shit out sometimes... i didn't draw his girlfriend Mindy (wife? idk if/when they get married in this AU...) cause like i said, omg, so many people to draw... also idk if she's like, straight or what. probably? there's gotta be SOME straight people XD how does she feel about hobie's fro-hawk...? hmm

ah, cain and abel ben (and janine)

Ben is bisexual... like Peter. They both prefer women to some extent, but they have slightly different tastes (...well maybe not SO different) and Ben is more uh, subby? LOL—at least with Janine. Switchy. Unlike Peter, Ben has/had? a crush on Robbie LMAO but that's more of a like, mentor/mentee admiration kind of thing... not like a "i wanna make out with you" situation. Robbie is far too old for him. and also happily married.

In my notes I have that Ben was ofc also abused by Warren but a lot of his was medical and psychological (some physical as well), but... i would think there is an undercurrent of medical sexual abuse there nonetheless esp as much of this w/ warren hinges on sexual power dynamics and control, but i won't get into that here as it's partly still being developed and I don't want to get TOO heavy on this post lol

Kaine is, like I mentioned, a little complex and i'm not 100% sure about (also aracely painted his nails) I think that he's ~bi/pan in general? but maybe not? could be only into men? or not into anyone at all. but the thing about Kaine in this universe is that he's got a difficult relationship with sex and sexuality because of what he was put through by Warren, so while I don't necessarily think he's asexual I do think in this universe he's a little bit sex-averse or sex-repulsed and has a difficult time dealing with that stuff. He also just really desperately wants to be loved and he doesn't care who as long as it's someone, which is toxic in a lot of ways i think... being around Aracely would imo help him a lot in coming to terms with having like, normal, platonic, non-sexual, non-romantic, healthy (or at least healthier) interpersonal relationships, and understanding things like that... idk where he's at by 2019 though, mental health-wise... but yeah i wasn't really sure what colors or patterns to put on his clothes so i went with the dark purple and gray tones since they are the kind of common recurring colors on a lot of ace-spec flags including repulsion and related stuff.

as a sidenote as someone who has a kind of aro and ??? relationship w/ my own bisexuality etc. (idk if i consider myself ace necessarily but it's not totally irrelevant) i also don't want to like, Just Make Him Ace because trauma (but obv betty is aro at least) cause it's not that simple etc etc etc but also there absolutely are people who consider themselves asexual from trauma or for whom it's informed by trauma (though trauma would inform any aspect of interpersonal relationships, of course, and for kaine it does)... idk idk kaine is always like, much to think about for me. He's def not like... "normal" in the eyes of cishet patriarchal culturally christian society. I mean he's disabled for one thing,

ofc peter has many similar traumas esp after meeting kaine and HE'S def not asexual (though peter is also disabled)

idk idk i am always thinking about it and never quite sure. kaine has a very complex and largely negative relationship with his body.

i was also considering genetic mosaicism (46,XY/47,XXY) but i did not include any intersex colors etc. because a lot of this wasn't fully hammered out yet when i drew this. I think Kaine is probably intersex though. It's not necessarily obvious to anyone who looks at him, but it's also not something that comes as a huge surprise to him.

obvs the tiny hint of a teal ribbon is the same as for Peter, sexual assault/abuse awareness, and it's small and easily hidden. probably was given to him by someone trying to be supportive (ben and janine maybe? idk)—i mean ALL of it is from other people really. the sticker on the noise cancelling headphones? def from Aracely or someone else. his presence in the first place? dragged out of the house by a 19 year old girl. he didn't even have time to do his hair and he would rather be drinking coffee in a dark room alone :/

Anyway, Janine. Less complicated.

I decided at some point Janine is straight (but not narrow, as they say) so she gets an ally shirt lol. Like Peter and Kaine, I put her in some teal including a little ribbon bow on some satin ballet flats—obviously her history as a sexual abuse survivor etc. is very, very public in contrast to peter and kaine (and arguably ben, though i don't think he necessarily conceptualizes his abuse by warren in the same way, in part because it was very medicalized) but... it's not like she would want to draw a lot of attention to that. but i also do just like teal so i think it looks nice.

like those are just genuinely cute shoes 😂 but also it's to tie it all together.

the kids, the teens, the youths,

i really don't... feel like i know enough about them to figure out sexualities or if any genders are involved, and I'm a million years away from including them in any fics so a lot of that stuff simply has not been built out right now cause finer details aren't relevant to me yet (like. i'm in 2007 rn? miles is like... 8. lmao), so I just put them in some fun rainbow-y stuff. teens like going to pride and wearing rainbows right??? i mean i did.

i'm SURE miles and ganke have got something going on i just don't know What Exactly. nerdy friends...? nerdy boyfriends?? something else??? miles is wearing a tracksuit to hide his spider-man costume lol.

aracely is an enigma, i don't think anyone knows what's going on with her tbh. she is there to have candy thrown at her. she seems to like boys at least a little though.

i actually do know what's up with Andi cause she's actually supposed to first appear in 200...8? when she's like. 10. she is trans, and she is also why Flash was able to accept herself more and also why Flash transitioned. Flash wanted to be a good role model to help Andi feel good about herself and to not make her feel like there was something wrong with her, and then later re: transitioning, Flash saw how happy Andi was and wanted to also... be happy like that even though she was scared. and Andi herself really was (will be, idk i never know what tense to use for this stuff) helped a lot by Flash trying to self-improve, by having a supportive babysitter, and a dad who loves her, and so on and so forth... makes a big difference!

Andi and Flash are kind of intentional contrasts here in that, where Flash took until her late 20s to really fully be able to accept herself, Andi is the kid who goes on puberty blockers in high school and knew right away she wasn't what everyone said she was. (Flash had like, hints of that, but really didn't even realize until around ~19 years old and wasn't able to act on it for like... 9 years whereas Andi just really got motoring lol)

also Andi is a lesbian 💖

As far as Betty! I wasn't sure about her at first but I was chatting with Kita and I was like, thinking about her relationships and stuff and thinking, you know, she seems kinda aro... and then i was like... I can just do that. If I want. So I did. so now Betty is aromantic (at least, in my little alternate universe) and ALSO bisexual 😂 Peter's social circle is just a bunch of quirky bisexuals. bi4bi4bi

also dolled the fuck up. Betty said "overdressed? i don't know her. a pearl necklace goes with everything." (...😜)

I also am not sure about Randy (he also just has not come up yet i guess...) but I was thinking, you know, IDK, maybe he's straight as well. two whole straight people. i know he's dated a couple of girls in 616 (...i mean... so have most of the male characters lol) including like, Norah... but I'm not 100% sure what I would do there. I did end up making him a little bit of a hipster 😂 he's probably like... heteroflexible or smth... 🤔

Maybe Randy is ALSO bisexual??? or queer of some flavor.............. at least seems to KNOW about community stuff

idek what the hell is going on with these four but Robbie and JJJ sure do run a bisexual-ass newspaper (...well now that i think about it peter doesn't technically work for them anymore by 2019 but i'm sure he drops the occasional photo) (still a lot of bisexuals)

jk jk there are plenty of other employees of presumably various sexualities including straight ones AND gay ones (probably?) but like, betty, glory, ben and peter are all bi here which struck me as amusing. Two 60-something year old men supportive by way of having a bunch of homos working at their newspaper. Also because it's funny to me to have Jameson be actually very chill about The Queers. something something "you don't tell me what to do in my private life, and i don't tell you what to do in yours!"

anyway that's it. have a gay day 🌈

[imaginarylungfish]

AUDHD 👏 GOJO 👏

I’m right there with you so, in true AuDHD style, I’m zooming into your inbox to infodump because I’m ALWAYS desperate to scream about this (shout out to @ellionwrites for patiently and compassionately listening to my unpolished rambles about a lot of this stuff in private)!

I actually have a LOT of thoughts about 236 and how it’s Gojo’s “unmasking”. That chapter is really emotional for me because of how well it articulates my personal experience of navigating the world as an autistic person. This post (and especially its tags) from right after it came out says it in a much more concise way, but Gojo’s upset pout breaks my heart because, to me, that's evidence of “no matter how much you try, people will misunderstand you” and damn… that hits a little close to home 🥲

It’s why his death had such a strong impact on me, especially when it felt like half the internet was ignoring the actual words Gojo said to claim “he never cared about that stuff, he was arrogant from the start and you just misread him". In combination with “it was the best ending for a character like Gojo" — right after we find out how deeply lonely he’s been, never able to truly connect with anyone after Geto left? Well, it was mindblowingly meta and, therefore, pretty painful to read.

I wrote an analysis of Gojo’s character in 236 and, even though I wasn’t viewing him through an autistic lens for that particular post, I think my words under the cut still read that way — that’s how baked into his character I think this stuff is! I genuinely think the two pairs of sorcerers sitting with their backs to each other is a visual representation of the double empathy problem. I'm not sure autistic and allistic people can ever arrive at a place where we fully understand each other, but that doesn’t mean autistic people have to carry all the burden and remain isolated. That’s why it’s meaningful that Gege makes it clear that all the characters care about each other, even if they don’t see eye-to-eye.

Glad to see you shouting about this reading of his character, because I haven’t seen many people talking about it. Some people are very hostile to ND headcanons, especially for characters as popular as Gojo, which is why I haven’t really talked about it much myself. However, I feel like any fellow AuDHDers who read my fic must be side-eying me constantly because I don’t think I’m subtle about how I write Gojo’s character at ALL 🤪

Maybe it’s time to be brave and publicly share my 236 AuDHD!Gojo manifesto for the five of us who are standing in a circle screaming about this! Cheering you on and sending lots of love ♥️

Ahhhhh thank you so much for this infodump!!!! I was on a AuDHD!Gojo rampage last night as my brain worm hit right as I should have been going to sleep. But such are things....

Like idk why it didn't truly hit me until now, but I can't unseen Gojo as AuDHD. (It was probably because I re-watched "Everything's Gonna be Okay" with some AuDHD representation and then I started thinking of other AuDHD characters and immediately thought of Gojo.) I did play with the idea a few months back, but it hit me with full force yesterday.

Idk like I get a little annoyed with people who think I or others like Gojo just because "he's hot" because like okay fine yes (but also I think I just have gender envy but that's a whole other can of worms). But also, no no no that's not it! My love for Gojo is more than that! He speaks to me as a character. He's misunderstood. He's seen as something he isn't. In my eyes, he's neurodivergent (and queer). And Geto was the only other person who ever saw him for who he really was.

Gojo's death was really hard on me. I remember exactly where I was when I read that chapter. And then the airport. Fuck. EmOtIOns. At first, I tried understanding Nanami's words. I really did. But really, I just didn't if I'm honest. Those words were a shock to me. Like yeah okay he's selfish (but like aren't all humans?). He also helps though! Isn't that obvious? And at the end? He wanted to have an equal to go all out with in a fight. Again, why was that bad? He was also helping! What's the issue? He's a fallible human. Like you said in your analysis, he contains multitudes. What's wrong with that?

So, like many others, I thought maybe I misread Gojo. But no. Now I think the missing piece was that Gojo is AuDHD and Nanami didn't quite get that. He didn't understand Gojo's actions. (And ahh god that lil pout. Gojo was just living his life and people saw him but they never ~saw~ him.)

I think the visual of the sorcerers back-to-back is a great metaphor for the double empathy problem. I never saw it that way, but I see it now and like it! And I think you're so right with the fact that the characters still respect and support each other even if they don't understand each other fully. I think that's a theme woven throughout the story.

Blahhh I feel like there is so much textual support for AuDHD Gojo. Like him being blindsided by Geto's defection because he didn't see Geto's decline (and don't get me started about Autistic!Geto with his strict black-and-white thinking), him just blabbing about sweets when he meets up with Megumi before fighting one-finger Sukuna at the beginning, the fact he thought revealing Yuuji to his classmates at the exchange event would be funny (cause hey, I thought it would too until it happened and I saw oh hey, it wasn't), etc. Plus, his blindfold. His overall personality. Like, it's such a heavy mask. Now I see that.

I feel like people either love Gojo or they hate him. (I immediately gobbled up your analysis and 100% agree. And I think people's reactions to his death are pretty telling.)

So, thank you for the yummy AuDHD!Gojo content. Please feel free to send me more/link me to things. I feel like I have a million more things to say but my brain is jumping all over the place and I've already spent 40 minutes this morning on this when I should have been getting ready for work. Hehe, whoops.

Gojo is AuDHD. I will die on this hill. Let's keep staring and screaming at each other about this. Sending you good vibes and love as well 🤍

[mrs-monaghan]

Kinda funny how all those years Jikook dressed alike, matching almost head to toe or in exactly the same outfit, this whole fandom wrote it off, even after RM asked them point blank if they were a couple. Then to hear when JK was watching Suchwita, ask why YM were wearing similar clothes, even tho their clothes really were nothing alike, but triggered him enough for a response, really made me laugh. I saw YM & TK shippers saying its cause he knows about YM. LMAO idiots, their clothes weren't couple clothes or matching, they were just too similar for JK's liking. Hey Suga, go try to peel off JM's leaf for him, with JK watching. I just wanna see something for research purposes. We always tease JK & Minimoni, but he also gets high key annoyed with Yoonmin, too.

Anoooooooooon why do you think JK reacted to Suchwita in the first place?? Yes JK is a Minimoni anti. That's been established. But he is also a major Yoonmin anti. Like big time and it's been going on for a long ass time. He he hee. JK is not a fan of Yoonmin moments which is why we don't talk about Yoonmin so shh

But also let's talk about Yoonmin shall we? Only because JK's dislike for their moments is underrated. No other reason 🤭🤭

Before we begin. Here is a compilation of Suga checking out the Jibooty. Tbf he does check out other members as well but....this is about Yoonmin. He hee

So! Off the top of my head exhibit A) this BBMA 2017 Live. JK did not take his eyes off Suga until he got off Jimin

First of all, there is ALOT happening on this live. Like alot. Which is why I'm not clipping the exact moment because you should absolutely watch this entire live. JK has a stronger reaction to RM being on Jimin but he also kept an eye when Suga did it 👆🏽

Exhibit B) Is my own personal theory. Remember in winter package when JK went with Yoonmin for beer tasting and gave up zip lining?

In what world would thrill seeker JK give up zip lining so he can go beer tasting? Now don't get me wrong, JK loves his liquor much like the rest of them. But still, it was kinda sus to me, alright? Could it have been satellite Jeon wanting to be with his man? Maybe. Still, knowing Jimin was gonna spend all day with Suga getting tipsy... idk. I can see JK wanting to be around for that 🤭🤭🤭

Exhibit C) incase someone missed Suga drooling during this

(Put your phone on landscape and u can zoom in and take a closer look🤭)

Exhibit D) do we really need to talk about Suga Vs Blood sweat and tears Jimin?? I'm sure we've all seen this.

Exhibit E) this segment. Jimin's letter said everyone should tell Suga they love him. Everyone did except one person..can u guess who? Even Hobi called him out. Asked JK "why didn't u say it?" 🤭🤭🤭

Exhibit F) should I include this? Coz I'm not seeing the difference here. Btwn this

And this

Moving on.

Exhibit G) (watch Jimin) Suga touches Jimin's ear and what's the first thing Jimin's does?

Also don't think JK and his grandpa clothes is not watching that through his periphery. Mans always aware of what Jimin is doing at all times.

Exhibit H) They're discussing Jimin's armpit. JK is smiling, quite big. Then Jimin asks Suga if his armpit is sexy. JK's smile is no longer anywhere to be seen 👀

Exhibit I) this was a favourite of mine. Ngl. Listen. People can deny till the cows come home. But JK reacted the way he did here for a reason. Memories 2021. JK looked away as soon as Suga touched Jimin's chin. Not before. Not after. As soon as Suga touched Jimin, JK looks away so fast I got worried about his neck there for a second. It happened. Anyone who said it didn't well... idk what to tell ya. JK has been looking away for years when something that he doesn't want to see, is happening. Especially after he got a hold of his possessiveness he started to just look away instead of acting on it. It is what it is 🤷🏽‍♀️

Last one but definitely not least is Exhibit J) this was a popular Jikook moment after this run episode aired. The thing is though... yes we gushed and we "awwed" because JK's ears moved as soon as Jimin started dancing. But you know who else's ear moved?? And he was the only one apart from JK that was affected by that 😏😏😏😏

I could do this all day guys. 😂😂

If JK is staring... so is Suga. If JK is checking out the Jibooty, so is Suga. And we have not even started on how Jimin is clearly Suga's favourite. Be it vocals, be it in general; always choosing him no matter what. And we haven't even talked about how Suga isn't big on skinship but with Jimin that doesn't seem to be a problem???

You guys think JK doesn't see what we see? Doesn't know what we know? Huh? How can he not? I mean, this was right infront of his salad 😂😂 kinda makes me wonder if he blocked Suga on purpose 🤭🤭

What I'm I saying? Even though we will never see Jimin reciprocate whatever this is, (Mans only has eyes for JK. Always has, always will) Yoonminers are the only shippers allowed to try to argue with Jikookers. Them and them only. And genuine Yoonminers. Not tkkrs who ship Yoonmin coz they wanna shove Jimin somewhere to keep him away from their ship.

Bonus: everyone is looking at Jin except Yoonkook. JK its okay, coz that's his man. But i'mma need Suga to get his shit together. Fr fr

[theflyingfeeling]

hi hello I'm here with another establishement to the terrible Olli/Allu infidelity AU, yes I should stop I know I know I knoooooww but listen, this time it's a sort of sequel to this fic of the same theme and inspired by this so yeah, to sum up:

Olli comes to the possession of Aleksi's shorts and proceeds to pleasure himself while wearing them, thinking of Aleksi. There's lots of pining, angst, and general misery in it too. Rommi and Rilla are mentioned.

~

Olli was exactly where he was supposed to be.

Instead of city lights, there was the sun still greeting him from behind pines and birches when he sat up to look out the window, despite his smartwatch reading half past midnight. Instead of the noise of traffic or the strangers in the next room talking too loudly, Olli heard the chirp of early morning willow warblers and the occasional rustle of leaves in the wind.

And the deep, calm breathing next to him.

She was sleeping peacefully, a rosy blush still colouring her cheeks from their earlier lovemaking. Her hair was spread on the pillow under her head, long and blonde like a mermaid's, and so very unlike Aleksi's. Suddenly Olli remembered all those mornings on tour, when he had woken up to blonde hair on his face, on his eyes and mouth and cheeks, and he had to get out the cottage before the sobs that were building up inside his chest would burst out and wake her up.

He grabbed his phone and a pair of black shorts to pull on his naked self, and then he sneaked out, tiptoeing past Niko and Minna's bedroom to not raise any unneeded attention as to why he was going out alone at that hour. There was no sound from the other room, so Olli assumed the other couple was already finished with their nightly activities as well and were now soundly asleep, enabling Olli's escape, even if he wasn't going any farther than the back porch of the Moilanen’s family cottage.

The tears that had been burning the rims of his eyes finally came when he sat on the cushioned garden chair on the porch. He let them stream down his cheeks soundlessly, knowing he'd feel better if he did, while still swallowing his sobs back to wherever they had come from. No matter how much he wanted to cry out his yearning for something he was never allowed to have, so loud that Aleksi could hear him all the way from Lapland to the south of Finland, he could not risk anyone inside the cottage to hear him, especially not her. She had already seemed suspicious earlier that day, eyeing the shorts he had been wearing (or maybe he had just imagined it, feeling tense from just having the garment touch his thighs).

"Why can't I remember seeing those before? Did you buy them on tour?" she had asked, seconds after they had gotten out of the car in the front yard of the cottage, with Minna waving at them from the window.

Olli's mind had instantly filled with perfectly believable explanations to give her. 'They're Aleksi's, in fact, but he doesn't wear them anymore, so he gave them to me, because the other alternative would have been to throw them in the trash I guess', or 'Aleksi couldn't fit them in his luggage when we left Hilltop Forest last week, yeah, I don't know how that was possible either, but in any case I promised to take them and give them back to him next week after midsummer, please don't tell him I've been wearing them though, haha, that wasn't part of the deal, but they're just so comfy' and she likely wouldn't have even batted an eye at either explanation. She probably would have even baked biscuits for Olli to give Aleksi with the shorts. Yet, there was something that had kept him from mentioning Aleksi's name.

"Uh, yeah. Got them from Tokyo."

Olli's paranoia had turned into a relief that had soon mixed with guilt as she had complemented how nicely the shorts brought out the curve of his ass, just in time before Minna would step out of the cottage to welcome them with Rommi zooming past her. Either way, Olli had been glad she had asked about the shorts before they'd see Niko, who might or might not have recognized them as Aleksi's and blown Olli's cover in the blink of an eye. Then again, their clothes mixed on tour all the time so that sometimes they weren't even sure which clothes were their own, let alone whose socks or t-shirt was stinking on the tour bus floor, so perhaps Olli was safe in that regard. Perhaps Niko had only glanced at them and then at him with a sorry angle to his eyebrows when the girls had browsed gowns to wear to the wedding of the century.

To his defence, Olli couldn't have told the truth about the origin of the shorts anyway, for he had no memory of putting them in his own backpack after the Hilltop Forest party. He wanted to call Aleksi and ask, knowing the man would still be awake, but if he did call him, he feared he was going to be crushed by the pressure of having to speak about what they had done there (given each other handjobs while everyone else was asleep), or even having to speak about the unspeakable (the ring Aleksi had started to wear in his left hand), so he was forced to abandon the idea before it would consume him; before the thought of hearing Aleksi's quiet voice on the phoneline would trump everything and have him do something erratic, such as getting in the car and drive all night, just to ask Aleksi to call off the plans of pink roses on every table and his brother's band playing at the reception.

Aleksi had made his choice, and Olli was not it. Olli accepted it too, knowing there were too many obstacles on their way for anything more to happen, other than hasty handjobs in the tour bus or sucking each other off in backstage bathrooms. That was all there was ever meant to be, and even that should never have happened; Olli should never have let that happen, but when he was stuck in a truckstop in the middle of Texas and missed being that close to someone and having his heart crush his ribcage to little pieces, what chance did he have to hold himself back? What chance did he have, when Aleksi was right there with his bluest eyes and his lips sculptured from the finest marble, prettier than–

Olli should have slapped himself for even thinking that.

Wiping his cheeks, he sat back on the chair and felt a streak of light in his eyes from behind the woods. He turned his face away from the midnight sun, the only witness to what they had done the week before, and now to Olli's meltdown as well. Great, he thought, first Niko, who knows more than he should because we forgot to lock the bathroom door once, and probably Minna too, who knows because Niko knows, and now I can't face the sun anymore either, in fear of it spilling all my secrets about how much I need Aleksi.

Olli shook his head in frustration and cast his eyes to his lap, to the black garment wrapping around his thighs. Why he was wearing the shorts that day in the first place was almost a bigger mystery than how he had come into the possession of them. Maybe he genuinely thought they were comfy, or at least comfier than his only clean pair of shorts. Maybe, in some strange, self-destructing way he thought they'd make him feel closer to Aleksi and the most recent night they had shared. He stroked the white embroidery with his thumb and immediately remembered how warm Aleksi's skin had felt underneath it, soft and full against Olli's palm as he had slid his hand inside the pant leg. A sigh turned into a groan when memories of Aleksi panting and squirming filled his head, and something would throb below his palm, just like something had throbbed below his palm in the moment they had shared on the porch of the fancy rental cottage a week ago.

He had told Aleksi to stay quiet, nibbled on his earlobe and the earring Aleksi had put back on after sauna. Aleksi hadn't needed to be told twice, as he, too, was well aware they had way more to lose than to win in this reckless little game they kept playing; kept and couldn't stop despite the warning signs, despite each touch that they shared becoming more needy and thus more dangerous. It had not been Olli's plan to let it happen there, where they had been surrounded by not only their bandmates but also their business associates from the record label, but when Olli had seen the tent on the front of Aleksi's swimming shorts in the sauna after they had given each other a good old beating with the vasta, there was little else he was able to think about for the rest of the evening. A stronger man would have fought against the temptation and just saved the moment for a private fantasy when jerking off. Olli, however, could not blow his own trumpet in that regard, and so he found himself seeking Aleksi's proximity all night, waiting until the others would retreat to their rooms so that he could finally put his hands on Aleksi.

Sure, he wasn't the only one to blame. If Aleksi had wanted to, he could have told Olli to back off, could have asked Olli to respect his decision and that stupid, shiny piece of jewellery on his finger, but he hadn't, not once. Instead he had spread his legs to give Olli more room to massage him through his shorts, those shorts, and leaned his head away from Olli to expose his neck for Olli to mouth on. They rarely kissed – only when they were tipsy or heartbroken enough – perhaps so that they could pretend none of it meant anything to either of them. In reality, it meant the world to Olli, to be allowed to touch and kiss Aleksi's body as if he was meant to do it, as if they belonged only to each other and not to some completely different people.

Shivers ran down Olli's spine as he remembered how Aleksi's cock had pulsated under his touch, similar to how his own erection was now pulsating inside the shorts. He shoved the remorse and shame aside for the sake of letting the memory swallow him, for the sake of travelling back in time and space to that chilly summer evening that had had them both sweating and breathing heavily by the end of it. Slowly rubbing his own hard-on, he closed his eyes and wished he could be doing that to Aleksi the way he had done then, making the man panting, writhing, whispering into Olli's ear to beg for him to make Aleksi come, darned be the fresh pair of underpants he'd ruin. Olli bit his lip to not laugh out loud at the memory of Aleksi suddenly stopping him, remembering he would have no extra ones to change into if he was to jizz his pants, so as a compromise he had pulled his hard cock out of his boxers and fit it inside a pant leg so that his tip had been peeking from under the black fabric. The sight had mesmerised Olli and had almost made him switch from sucking Aleksi's neck to sucking his dick instead, if the small noises Aleksi had been making into Olli's ear hadn't convinced him to keep on kissing Aleksi's neck and jawline.

Olli squeezed his own cock and remembered how hard Aleksi had been for him. He remembered Aleksi's hot, heavy breaths, similar to his own breathless sighs now. He remembered Aleksi's lips finding his at last, hungry and greedy just like Olli's own had been. He remembered Aleksi whimpering into his mouth as he had approached his peak, the sound of it alone almost enough to make Olli come too. He remembered how Aleksi had grabbed the front of Olli's shirt, how he had muffled his sobs against it when his orgasm had washed over him.

Olli had not been sure if they had been sobs of pleasure or of something else. He hadn't dared to ask, afraid the answer might be something he didn't want to hear.

Almost ready to come himself, Olli rubbed his cock through the shorts with more force and decided to focus on the memory of Aleksi's climax instead of his cries, of Aleksi's cock pulsating inside the pant leg and finally shooting thick cum on his own thigh. It was pathetic, Olli knew, but it was hardly the first time during the past week Olli had masturbated to that image, and if he wasn't missing Aleksi so much, if he wasn't so consumed by the longing he had for his friend, he would have felt ashamed for cumming as hard as he did while thinking about Aleksi's semen dripping down his thigh. Olli's hips jerked and he felt the fabric of the shorts getting damp from his jizz, and just barely he was able to keep himself from moaning into the summer night from the strength of his orgasm, to have the reindeer they had seen on the road to the cottage earlier that day hear his groans of euphoria and misery alike.

The guilt returned faster than it usually did, but Olli supposed it was because he was alone. He sniffled, then, feeling sorry for himself for having no panting, blissed out Aleksi next to him to nuzzle on his shoulder, to carry half of Olli’s sins. He sniffled again, remembering he did have someone inside the cottage who'd do exactly that and more; someone who had made him a chocolate cake for breakfast when he came back home from tour and had offered to give him a massage to wash off the frown that seemed to be stuck on his face as of late; someone who cared for him, needed him, and didn't go around putting rings on other people’s fingers.

It wasn't her sin to bear, though. She deserved far better than that.

His hands were shaking when he took out his phone from his pocket. He wasn't even sure why he had taken it with him when he had gotten up in the dead of night. It must have been an unconscious choice, much like the one he had made in the morning, looking at two pairs of almost identical shorts and choosing the ones his stupid heart had told him to.

In spite of his earlier hesitation, his finger was soon hovering over Aleksi’s name. 

He didn't expect Aleksi to pick up at almost one in the morning, even if it was summer and holiday and Aleksi was probably still awake at his studio, working on a solo project or scheduling emails to be sent the next day. At the same time he knew Aleksi would, for those exact reasons.

"Hey."

"Hey," Olli answered. He wiped his nose on his wrist.

"Can't sleep?"

"Yeah."

"Me neither. Fucking jetlag..." Aleksi's voice was strangely quiet. Olli didn't want to think about him taking the call while upstairs, with her.

"Watcha doing?" he asked, just to have Aleksi tell him he wasn't.

"Nothing much. Just... killing time at the studio."

Olli sighed. 

Killing time because you're bored and sleepless, or killing time until you'll get to climb back upstairs to an empty bed when she's already left for work?

"What about you?"

The sniffles wouldn't stop, no matter how Olli tried to keep them in.

"Thinking about you."

He didn't know what else to tell Aleksi.

"Oh."

The line fell quiet then, and Olli saw no need to break the silence. He settled for listening to the distant cuckoo from deep in the woods and wondered if Aleksi could hear it too; if that way they could pretend they were together.

"I've been thinking about you too. A lot. I know I shouldn't, because–"

"Don't say it," Olli spoke over him.

My heart's already as if stabbed, I don't need you to twist the knife any further.

They said nothing again for almost a minute, just listened to each other's breathing. In that moment, it was enough, and much better than filling the silence with truths that made Olli want to groan in agony.

He looked down at his hands, at his lap.

"I have your shorts," he told Aleksi. He could lie to himself and say he did it in case Aleksi had wondered about them, but he knew that wasn't the reason.

Aleksi stayed quiet for another moment before answering.

"I know."

It couldn't have meant what Olli hoped it meant. It wouldn't have been fair of Aleksi.

"I'll give them back to you next week," he forced out of his mouth, managing to do so without his voice trembling. The white text on the pant leg was beginning to blur.

"Okay. Thanks."

My fucking pleasure, Mattson.

"Can't wait to see you next week," Aleksi said, as if he had sensed Olli was about to hang up on him out of sheer bitterness.

Bitterness over Aleksi torturing him like this, or bitterness over the situation in general? Be as it may, Olli knew he wasn't entitled to such a feeling in the first place.

On the other end of the line, Aleksi exhaled.

"Fuck it, Olli, I miss you. I know I shouldn't, but... fuck," the man swore out his evident frustration.

No matter which way Olli tried to put it, the situation wasn't fair for any of them. He sniffled again.

"I miss you too. Too much."

A silence fell on the phone line once more, a melancholic one this time, rather than a tense or an expectant one. It was broken when Olli heard Aleksi's office chair creak.

"I think Rilla's awake upstairs. I may need to go up and let her out. She's been having stomach issues."

"Say hi to her from me," Olli said and wiped something off his cheek.

"Yeah, I will," Aleksi promised. After a brief pause, he spoke again. "Thanks for the call. I was...actually thinking of calling myself, but–"

Olli couldn't bear hearing Aleksi's reasons. "See you next week." 

"Yeah. Bye."

One last, self-pitying sniffle and Olli was back on his feet. The cum inside the shorts was starting to cool, making him despise the piece of clothing for the discomfort and guilt they were giving him. Back in the bedroom, with her deep asleep and thus oblivious to Olli's absence, Olli stripped himself naked again and crammed Aleksi's shorts deep in his backpack, hoping he'd be able to do something about them without her noticing. It wasn't going to be easy, with her on her annual summer leave from work and always home with him now that he was there too for once, so maybe he'd have to sneak out at midnight again to scrub them clean. Whatever Aleksi's intentions had been, Olli doubted he wanted his beloved shorts back all crusty from dried-out semen.

Careful to not alert the sleeping woman on the other side of the bed, Olli slid under the duvet and lay on his back, eyes on the ceiling.

Olli was exactly where he was supposed to be.

But wasn't it funny, how the place where he wanted to be was some place else entirely. 

[liketwoswansinbalance]

A continuation of this post.

⸻

[One day, Rafal's students upload a video that doesn't conform with his usual content, and it causes his viewers to start turning out conspiracies. Rafal had left his phone unattended in a classroom one day, and Marialena got ahold of it. She is the ringleader in maintaining the online presence he doesn't know about, and she curates all of "his" content.]

[A shaking phone camera turns on and starts recording a red speck perched on a branch. The sound quality is poor and it sounds like Rafal is filming inside a wind turbine. The camera zooms in and focuses on a bird, and Rafal's voice is heard as the camera stabilizes.]

Rafal: Log, the second, overcast Tuesday, four hours in, stationed outside the mortuary, sighting #1 of the elusive scarlet tanager. She's a beaut, isn't she?

[Then comes the sound of heels clacking on pavement, and a second voice chimes in.]

Unknown speaker: Who's a "beaut" that isn't me? Why are you wearing that welding mask? And what are you doing behind that shrub, Rafal? You told me you were taking a stop at the mortuary, and said you'd drive us to Rhian's luncheon.

Rafal: [groans] Quiet. Just wait a little longer and I promise I'll get you a new set of earrings. I'm trying to get it on film!

Unknown speaker: That bird? I've been waiting four hours in your car, you know, thinking that all along you were checking the thermostat, so your new "acquisition" would be properly refrigerated, and now, I step out of the car to powder my nose only to find you out here! Doing God knows what in that contraption!

Rafal: I didn't want to get a sunburn and this mask was the only thing available to cover up with. The electrician must've left it last time he came around to check the lighting in the vaults.

Unknown speaker: You should've listened to me when I told you to buy a sunhat from this season's catalogue, darling.

Rafal: Please just stop talking so loudly—we can discuss this after I get my recording.

[The bird flies offscreen in that instant.]

Rafal: Shoot. Look what you did.

Unknown speaker: Hmpth, well, your neck looks as red as the silly bird of yours.

Rafal: For the last time! It's not silly! If I'd gotten useable film without all your wittering on, I could've sold it to the natural history museum.

Unknown speaker: Goodness me, if you keep pursuing hobbies like these you might as well be a fossil yourself.

Rafal: It's gone. I've lost it.

Unknown speaker: Oh, boo-hoo. Can we leave now?

Rafal: No. There's a nest. It might return.

Unknown speaker: Rhian will be mad if we're late.

Rafal: The luncheon won't start 'til we're there. Rhian always waits for me.

Unknown speaker: Fine. Be like that. Marry your rare bird instead of me.

Rafal: I never said I wanted to marry it!

Unknown speaker: Well you're spending more time with it than at your own wedding shower!

Rafal: Wait. That's today?

Unknown speaker: Yes.

Rafal: ...so that's why you told me to wear a suit.

Unknown speaker: And you've mucked it up with-with dirt and worms, and, and—what is that? EEG gel?

Rafal: Liquified organs and vitreous fluids. An eyeball burst on me.

Unknown speaker: Oh, eww. We can't go one day without you soiling something, can we? At least it's not blood this time.

[There's a shuffling sound and the phone falls to the ground, screen going dark.]

Rafal: That's it. I quit.

Unknown speaker: Oh, no. Are you sure?

Rafal: Sure. Let's be fashionably late to the luncheon and give my brother a heart attack.

Unknown speaker: Finally. Remember, you're a host this time. Try to socialize with our guests.

[There's a scraping sound.]

Unknown speaker: And, you're not bringing that tripod on my watch. There won't be any birds indoors.

Rafal: What should I do with it then?

Unknown speaker: On second thought, you could use it to film the guests.

Rafal: Would it get me out of greeting duty?

Unknown speaker: Might as well do it myself—you look too slovenly to do it now.

Rafal: Deal.

Unknown speaker: Lovely. I'd kiss you if you weren't disgusting. Oh! Look at that—your phone's still filming.

Rafal: Hell. Is it—

[The recording clicks off.]

[david-talks-sw]

Hi! I’m a big fan of your SW takes (particularly ones addressing the criticism towards Jedi) lol

I was wondering what you thought of the Deception arc in TCW? Personally with most of the Jedi’s decisions during TCW i feel like they’re making the best choices they can, but with this arc it seems almost uncharacteristically cruel. Even if Anakin had not been attached to Obi-Wan (which the council surely knew he was?), his death would’ve been very painful to Anakin. Doesn’t that kind of go against Jedi compassion and the kindness we consistently see?

Again I’d love your take on this, but either way I’ll continue to enjoy your blog in the future!

Hey @soopisoop! Thank you very much for the kind words 🙌! I'm glad to hear you enjoy the posts!

So I lightly touched on the "Obi-Wan undercover" arc in this older, more general post about Anakin's relationship with the Jedi Council, but, hey, let's zoom in!

Not telling Anakin... was wrong. Plain and simple.

Yoda says so himself.

But the train of thought was:

"The chancellor - leader of the free world - is gonna die if we don't do this, so the stakes are high. We gotta send Obi-Wan deep undercover behind enemy lines, but Anakin is very close to him and known for being volatile, so there's a 50/50 chance he'll go AWOL and fuck the mission up and those are unacceptable odds."

It's not an excuse, but a justification.

And, in a slightly different context, Anakin seems to use this justification too.

Hell, if anything, Anakin thinks the Jedi should employ even harsher methods in the war and that their values are holding them back.

It's just that, in this case, it hit closer to home.

There's a "hypocrisy" argument to be made, but honestly... that's the Clone War in a nutshell for you!

The Jedi repeatedly told the Senate and the Chancellor "please don't ask us to fight, we're not made for this, we're diplomats, we act on compassion not violence”...

... because they knew that's what the war would force them to do: compromise on their values, tarnish every principle that defines them and that they hold dear, turn them into hypocrites.

Yes, the Jedi are compassionate, but they're also at war, and they're forced to pick between two shitty choices on the daily.

And the deciding factor, EVERY time, is not "which option is the better/more compassionate one" but "which option does less damage?"

Lying to Anakin is just one of these hard "no other choice" choices.

And EVERY time they see an opportunity to step back from the fighting and let diplomacy start again, guess what Palpatine says?

"Fuck you, go back to the front."

And when you listen to Dave Filoni's commentary on this arc, it turns out that this whole plan by Dooku and Morallo Eval was actually engineered by Palpatine to:

1) Distance him even further from the Jedi so Palpatine can swoop in and manipulate him more and more.

2) Set the board for another Anakin vs Dooku confrontation, to gauge how much more powerful Anakin has become.

"Y’know, ultimately, what we realize is that the whole thing is a fake-out on the Jedi. That Dooku is conspiring with Sidious to set-up this whole bounty hunter plot to make the Jedi believe that they have once again saved the day, and it’s all an effort to get Anakin isolated. So what I really liked about this story that, y’know— as George handed it out, was: we tell the story that’s really about Anakin and Palpatine trying to tempt him to the Dark Side… and we tell it more from Obi-Wan’s point of view. And you see this whole other tale that’s going on, and we check in with Palpatine and Anakin every now and then, until finally, it’s really about them and their struggle. And we see that this is a point that Anakin really wasn’t ready to become the Sith apprentice. He wasn’t strong enough, I think there’s a possibility that Dooku would’ve killed him here." - Dave Filoni, The Clone Wars: “Obi-Wan undercover” video commentary, 2012

So, again, like... sure. The Jedi made a mistake.

But ultimately, had Palpatine not hatched this particular plan, hell, had he not engineered a whole war designed to corrupt the Jedi's morals... that mistake would never have been made in the first place.

To use an analogy:

If a dude tries to make his way in a pitch black room (the Jedi playing catch-up to Sidious' plans) and steps on a Lego brick (their mistakes)... you don't blame him for it, you blame the guy who turned the light off and emptied the Lego box on the floor in the first place (Sidious).

[http-mianhae]

05 ➛ matthew, the worst trainer in the world (0.8k)

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you know he's nervous behind that fake smile but you do something nice called 'not acknowledging it'. it doesn't help the case at all because the boy, shortly after he introduced himself as 'matthew' continues to be a mess.

he zooms through the explanation of how each of the machines work and you thank god that you took a barista course so you could keep up reasonably well. you stood there, staring at him explaining everything blankly and then, something snapped in you at last when he went into a tangent about how they use biodegradable forks because it was better for the environment.

"i'm not going to bite your head off, okay?"

he purses his lips tight.

"that's quite literally what i told him―"

"mind your business, hao!" matthew interrupts, shooting the older a glare.

hao is quick to return the glare and he points towards the front, "customer."

matthew almost dashes to the register where a customer is approaching with a pondering look on their face.

"y/n, you should stand next to matthew and learn how to take an order." hao instructs you.

you're hesitant but follow through with the instructions, standing next to matthew who greets the customer with his fake smiles.

"w-welcome to sip & soothe, what can i get for you?"

you're shoulder-to-shoulder and you catch the sweat drip down his forehead.

do i make him that nervous?

the customer tells him their order but matthew is staring right ahead, a smile vaguely on his face.

he isn't doing anything.

just standing there and smiling.

oh, lord.

"yeah, no worries, we'll get that for you." you jump in with a smile, tapping the drink on the register. the customer whips out their card and with a few clicks, you're pointing at the card machine, "whenever you're ready."

matthew's still standing like a monument.

"that's it. matthew, go catch a break." hao comes in between the two of you.

"but, i―"

hao glares.

matthew doesn't argue back. he removes his apron, leaving from behind the register with a face so disappointed you felt a little bad.

do i have that much of an effect on him?

you try brushing it off as hao began explaining to you, the right, nicely-paced way of how to use all the machines and as much as you were listening, your mind was on matthew.

he's in the corner of your eyesight, facing away from you as if he doesn't want to see you.

it bothers you.

he must be having a hard time.

"i'm sorry, do you mind if i go talk to matthew really quickly?" you finally ask hao.

you don't really care about the impression this makes with hao.

hao, surprised, slowly nods, "sure...i think that's a good idea actually."

with that, you also remove your apron, putting it on top of where matthew's was.

walking towards him, you realise you're sort of an obstacle towards his job. it disheartens you, you don't want to be the type of person to distract him from his job.

the guy seems nice and you would love to be friends with him but if he lets this gets in the way, you're going to lose him and he's going to lose his job.

you had the natural responsibility to fix it.

"can i sit?" you ask him, pointing towards the chair.

he looks up from his phone, eyes widening at your presence―the very person he was running away from, "yes."

you're quiet for a second.

"how long have you liked me for?" you begin.

matthew doesn't look at you, "maybe four months."

you didn't know you could keep someone's interest for that long. you hiss audibly, "that's a long time."

he nods, cheeks flushing rose.

"the whole pickup line thing wasn't my idea by the way. so please don't associate me with that."

you laugh, finding it funny how defensive he was over something so small. he'd just confessed to you and now, he's speaking about some pineapple joke, "if it helps, i thought the pickup line thing was weird. i'm glad you told me that though."

and it's quiet again.

you say what you want to say.

"listen, matthew," you start, "you seem really nice and i'd like to get to know you better! but i can't really do that if you're so nervous all the time. again, if it helps, i'll take you having a crush on me as a compliment."

matthew nods again. he seems to be ending the war with himself, "okay."

"lets start over?" you ask.

he nods once more.

"want to show me how those machines work?"

"i thought hao-hyung already showed you."

"i want you to show me." you press on.

and for the first time, you see his real smile.

please comment or lmk in any way for the taglist!

TAGLIST ˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ @tocupid

[hidefdoritos]

Adventures in Stage Costuming

I am Costume Mistress for a play this Friday/Saturday

Had pants for everybody except three guys

We'll call them Landon, Mark, and Joe, because that's not their names but it's close enough for me to remember 'em.

Had everyone self-report pants sizes.

Spent last Saturday in Salvation Army (I know, I know) thrifting pants in the requisite sizes.

washed the pants

kept forgetting to go to rehearsals and have a try-on sesh (adhd go zoom)

Rehearsal today had lunch break

Handed out the pants and told them to come show me.

Landon

(tall, skinny, all leg, 32 x 34)

announces "THEY'RE CALVIN KLEIN!" at his standard volume, bursts into the gymnasium, and slides across the basketball court on his socks.

He does a little spin for me and I approve.

My assistant (fun person who we'll call Lydia) asks, "Can you move?"

Landon breaks into the Orange Justice fortnite dance, with a little extra hip swaggle for emphasis.

(cue laughter from the cast)

(this is nothing less than I expected from a man who once won a cardboard boat race by making a surfboard and kicking his way across.)

Success!

Order him to go put his pants on his special labeled hanger.

(only you are allowed to touch only your special labeled hanger, on pain of death and dismemberment. everyone has been told this many times and They Fear Me.)

Mark

(weightlifter, 34 x 32)

walks in like his legs are chopsticks.

Shirt is not tucked in.

Zipper made it about halfway up

Lydia looks concerned. "Are they buttoned?" she asks.

"Yes," Mark wheezes, and the tone of his voice is one of fear.

(Landon finds this hilarious.)

Mark hobbles in a little spin for me

can almost hear the fabric whimpering for mercy

they are too tight in the everything.

choke down laughter

"Go change. Carefully," I say.

(maybe I can let them out? probably not)

"Do you just need dark dress pants?" asks Mark, voice still strained.

"Yeah?"

"Can I bring my own?"

"Yeah."

task-failed-successfully?.jpg

the goal was to have more pants that the drama department owned

but the more important goal is for him to have pants, I guess.

Order him to bring his dress pants to Monday rehearsal for approval

(and, once approved, to put them on his special labeled hanger which nobody else can touch, on pain of death and dismemberment)

and to bring the ill-fit pants back to me.

will put them in a tote to think about their crimes until next play.

Joe

(track and field athlete, 29 x 32)

(listen, this man has a 29" waist and a 39" hip.

I know women who would kill for a 10" differential.

It's not his most prominent feature, but he's draggin' the wagon.)

(should also emphasize that he's my little brother & I'm not being weird abt it we commiserate about problems of Pants Fit all the time.)

Joe struts into the gym.

The pants fit!

They are a leeetle bit snug in the thighs.

"Can I keep them?" he asks.

He does a little spin for me

taxidermy-fox.jpg

From the back, the fit is more accurately described as "gratuitous."

"Joe, do a squat!" Landon encourages, as he himself charges across the gym into a Newsies jump and almost turfs it.

Joe tries carefully

gets about halfway down

(didn't think he'd get that far)

"Never mind," he says sheepishly, standing back up.

"Go change. Carefully," I say.

(maybe I can let them out?)

backstage

Joe hands me the pants.

He's been interested lately in listening to me ramble about sewing stuff.

I turn Mark's pants inside out

literally just serged together, no extra fabric anywhere

"Rats!" I say creatively, and show Joe how this does nobody any favors.

They don't get to go on Mark's special labeled hanger. I chuck them into a storage tote to consider their crimes until next play.

I turn Joe's pants inside out

praise be to Van Heusen brand

It ain't much, but it's honest seam allowances.

start rambling at him about how it all works

there's a scoatch extra on the outer seams and inseams of both legs

and the center back has extra built in!

The waistband fits him fine but the everything else needs More.

Promise my best work

Joe smiles with hope.

back in my room

never altered pants before

brief moment of doubting why I signed up for this, my sewing abilities, the meaning of life, etc.

* Knuckle Crack *

Turn on a Nicole Rudolph video for fun sewing accompaniment

Decide not to mess with the complicated parts (pockets, front seams, zipper, and the seam intersections in the undercarriage)

Sew the replacement seams first, anchoring the replacement ends HARD in the seam allowance AND in the original seam threads

Cut those OG seam threads and knot them off HARD

The OG threads are a chain stitch sorta thing, so once they're clipped, all I gotta do is pull and they ZOOP right off

(most satisfying thing in my life btw)

head back to gym with newly embiggened pants.

Joe takes the pants. "Do you need me to try them on?"

*looks into the camera like I'm on The Office*

"Yes Joe, lemme see how they work."

He leaves.

oh gosh these better fit

I didn't spend two hours hunting pants in a Salvation Army (I know, I know) and half an hour ZOOP-ing Joe's seams just to be 1 for 3 on the pants actually fitting the actors.

Joe returns.

!!!!!

If I thought he was strutting before

This kid fully dances into the room.

You know how it is when you walk into a thrift store and the sign says "Half price color of the week: Orange" and then you find stuff you love and it has orange tags too?

That was his level of enthusiasm.

"They fit!" he cries.

He does the little spin for me

it's incredible

they fit, no longer gratuitous in the seat, there's thigh space, his knees bend, the waistband stays up without a belt!! definitely need to be ironed but they look So Good

I can't stop smiling

so relieved it turned out well.

Joe's smiling

He does a little Pants Dance of glee.

Gosh. I know he likes them, and dress pants are so hard to find.

"Do you want to keep them?" I offer.

"How much?" he asks, wallet appearing in his hand.

The receipt from Salvation Army (I know, I know) shows $4.59.

I offer "$5 for the pants and $5 for a half hour of labor?" (yes that's too cheap, but he's a college student and also my brother.)

"Look what I've got!" he says, all but throwing a $10 at me.

"Great! I say. "Now Joe, listen closely.

Go change carefully and put them on your special labeled hanger. Only you are allowed to touch only your special labeled hanger, on pain of death and dismemberment."

"Yes ma'am!" he chirps with a salute.

[hockeyboysimagines]

omg I'm sorry!!! I should have looked at the list first sorry

can I switch brothers then? lmao. Matthew in Otta for Brady's game and meet the girl at the candy machine? I can cleary imagine him bragging about the hat trick and looking at her across the ice.

No worries Anon! And you never EVER have to ask me if you can request or talk about Matthew Tkachuk. The answer is always yes. This was so cute. Hope you enjoy it!!🤍

The absolute LAST thing Matthew wanted to be doing was sitting in a dimly lit roller skating rink, listening to bad 80’s music but because he was a good brother and future brother-in-law here he was.

His game in Ottawa had so happened to coincide with Emma’s nephews 6th birthday. While he liked Brady most days, he loved Emma so when she had asked him nicely with her best smile, he’d sighed and flatly agreed to come. Brady came over and kicked his foot.

“What’s your problem?”

“Nothing.”

“Yeah okay. If you didn’t wanna-“

“I’m here aren’t I? What am I going to do? Strap on a pair of skates and do laps?”

“If your planning to do that, let me get my phone out. Wanna document the moment.”

“Fuck off.” He stood and stretched “I’m going to the bathroom.”

He made his way through screaming kids, falling kids, and crying kids nursing injuries in various spots from falls and collisions. As he neared several candy and soda machines, a girl caught his eye. The lights from the large spinning disco ball were catching her long hair, as she reached a hand forward and shook the candy machine.

“I don’t know buddy I can’t get it.” She shook it again, and the little boy standing next to her sighed and pushed his glasses further up his nose.

“Excuse me? Do you need some help?”

She turned, and smiled. He felt like he’d been hit by a bus. He was certain that she was the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen, and he wanted to clasp his hands and thank God that he’d decided to be a good sport and come to the party he didn’t want to come to. He also wanted to personally thank whatever moron had decided to put a candy machine from the 1930’s in a high traffic roller rink, because it’s malfunction had now given him the chance to come in like a knight in shining armor and offer her the assistance she needed.

“Yes please. It’s stuck I don’t know-“

Before she could continue, Matthew wound up a fist and punched the machine, not enough to break it but enough to make it teeter and knock the candy loose. The boy gave a cheer and reached down to pull it out, before turning and zooming away.

“Hey! What do you say!” She yelled after him.

“Thank you!” He called over his shoulder before disappearing back to his friends.

She turned back to Matthew and smiled “Thank you. You just saved me from hours of complaining.”

“My pleasure. I’m Matt.” He extended a hand.

“Y/N.” He hand was soft and warm, and fit perfectly inside his own. He realized as he shook it that he was holding it a little too tightly, and staring openly at her. He released her hand and cleared his throat, thankful for the bad lighting to hide the redness that was creeping up his neck.

“So is that your-“

“Brother. He’s here’s for a birthday party, and I’m lucky enough to get to take him.”

“Funny enough I’m also extremely lucky to be here at a birthday party.” He glanced around before his eyes landed back on her “Maybe in more ways then one.”

And that’s how it started. They talked, and talked and talked some more, talking so much in fact that Brady had wandered the rink twice looking for him, thinking he’d left. As parties began to wrap up, and kids filtered out, Matthew panicked knowing his time with her was coming to an end. He spotted her brother making his way over and as a last ditch effort to see her again he blurted out “Hey, crazy idea but would you want to come to my game tomorrow?”

“Game?”

“I uh-I play hockey. My brother Brady-“

“No way!” She turned to look at her brother who was staring at Matthew open mouthed revealing several missing teeth, and slid his glasses back up his nose “ Matthew Tkachuk!” She looked between them and pointed at him.

“You know how this is?”

“Of course I do. He’s only the best player ever and-“ he went on to list all his stats, which was actually pretty impressive if Matthew was being honest.

“I had no idea.” She said laughing.

“So? Wanna come?” He asked, nodding his head at her brother “Maybe bring my number 1 fan with you?”

“Oh we’ll be there.” He looked up at her and made a face “Well don’t look at me that way. You can stay home but I’m going.”

She glanced between them for a moment before she pursed her lips “Oh-okay. Sure.”

“Wait really? Awesome, and then maybe after we-“

“Slow down Casanova. Let’s start with a hockey game. And then maybe a date. We’ll see how you play.”

“Oh yeah? Okay I’ll make you a deal. I score a goal we go on a date. If I don’t, you can forget I ever even saved you from a day of complaining.” He held his hand out “Deal?”

“Okay. Your on.”

He did score. In fact he scored 3 times.

She chuckled, shaking her head as he scored his third goal and turned to point at her in the crowd. The stadium booed around her, as it was mostly Ottawa fans in attendance, but she couldn’t help the smile that crept across her face. He made his way to the bench, various teammates giving him fist bumps as he went and sat down next to someone, turning to them as they spoke. She saw him shake his head and point across the ice at her. She felt her face get red, thankful he was so far away, and glanced at the scoreboard.

“He scored that hat trick for youuuuuuu.” Her brother teased, giggling and making kissy faces at her.

“Oh be quiet.” She gave him a nudge and rolled her eyes. She would never hear the end of this.

She watched as he celebrated with his team when the clock wound down, buzzer sounding to signal that Ottawa had lost. She watched as he made his way across the ice to the side gate and slowed down in front of where she was sitting. He knocked on the glass and grinned a mile wide.

“Guess this means I won!” He said gleefully, winking at her and pointing towards the score board. She felt a surge of excitement as she watched him skate to the side gate and exchange words briefly with an arena employee, pointing in her direction and waving before he disappeared down the tunnel.

She walked her brother out of the arena to where her parents were and made her way back inside, waiting quietly until she heard the doors bang open and turned to see Matthew standing in the doorway.

He smiled widely at her and for the first time in a long time, maybe ever, she was glad she’d lost a bet.

[octan-computer]

TC-Lore-Page-FD-2

Monday: TC-Lore-Page-FD-2

-First Day-

[checking cameras...]

[Notifying]

[reporting...]

"Hey Lord Business, I've been- What??"

"Oh, hello BadCop, I didn't see you there, did you need something?"

"WHAT- COMPUTER! What are you doing in Lord Business office chair?"

"oh, you didn't even know about the update?..."

"N-No! What is it?"

"I'm the one directing now, LB is away for a few days."

"uh... You... Think you're able to... handle... everything? You're a computer!"

"an advanced, hologrammatic, intelligent Octan computer."

"ugh... You know what? Forget it, I'll talk to LB via text messages.."

"you can't"

"what..?"

"I'm the one who directs now, I know how I should do things, text message is taking a while, just tell me. What do you want?"

"but what I need to tell Lord Business is something only he knows!"

" ... "

[watching cameras...]

[Viewing tasks...]

"Okay...I'll go now."

"If you need anything else..tell me.."

2:14

[checking cameras]

"...?"

"what are you doing?... Why...?... what are you..? Oh, it'll just be a malfunction."

[Looking]

[static? Strange sounds...]

"oh wow... Refresh... Refresh... Come on!"

[static]

"REFRESH."

[the static is gone..]

"Well... Oh... What happened here...?"

"hm.. SKELETRON-18!"

"yes computer?"

"I need you to go to the kitchen in room 5... can you sort out what happened there? Everything is lying on the floor."

"yes computer!"

[open cameras tab]

[skip cameras]

[viewing..zoom.]

[Connecting with the individual..]

"Hey! What are you doing? Why are you hanging around? Why don't you do your work?"

[listening]

[unanswered]

"Stop playing with me! This never happened before! What do you have??"

[look]

[individual looking towards camera]

[camera disconnection, static.]

"AGGH! Really?! Why does this always happen where he is?!"

[salieri27]

to trust a secret an Arthur spy au fic for @chocolatecak3

the kids that Nigel Ratburn subbed were by the bike rack of the school they were discussing the strange events that happened

"We used to say The Rat was weird,but what that janitor lady told us makes him a total villain" said Sam

"Remember when we said Mr Ratburn was going to remove our brain and replace it with a monkey brain whenever we git an answer wrong" said Andy

"But the good news is The Rat won't be subbing tomorrow because Mr Cooper will be back" said a girl named Annette

Patty appeared

"Hey kids want to come with me on a mission" said Patty

"So it was true ok were in but how would we find out were Mr Ratburn lives" said Sam

"We should stalk him" said a boy named Matt

"You mean we should hit him with celery" said Sam

"No stalking means"

Patty never got a chance to finish her sentence because at that moment Nigel zoomed past them on his bike

"Look there he goes" yelled Patty

they all hopped on their bikes and followed Nigel being careful not to let him see them

"I heard he hypnotized Princepal Nick is this true" said Sam

"Yes he's planning to mind control the entire world and another thing I'm his sister" said Patty

"WHAT the entire class shrieked

Nigel came to a stop at a warehouse

Patty and the kids parked their bikes nearby

Three other people were in the warehouse

"Did you bring it" said Mr Ronsen

"Yes i did phase one is complete now to enacte phase two testing the hypno ray on the entire school" said Nigel

"And then we get married" said Patrick

"Patrick how many times I have to tell you we will get married once we manage to take over the world" said Nigel

"Sorry" said Patrick sheepishly

"So it's is true" said Sam as she and the class were walking away

"What do we do now" said Matt

"Listen to me if Nigel subs again keep an eye on him" said Patty

"We will the fate of humanity rests in our hands" said Sam

[lizardlicks]

Nine People You'd Like To Get To Know Better

I was tagged by @blu3berrydraws, @erisenyo, and @paramouradrift lol thanks guys!

Relation Status: Married to my best friend and high school sweetheart

Favorite Color: green. any green. give me a green I will show you how beautiful it is

Sweet/Spicy/Savory: Sweet tooth is currently satisfied. Spicy is just kind of a bonus. I think savory is looking good rn.

Three ships: Zukka is the obvious current answer, but I am a habitual multishipper by nature, so here are three ships that I very much enjoy which might not be on your radars!

First is @ablueeyedarcher's fault: How/Piandao. The SS CapyPanda. Are they minor characters who only show up for two or three episodes a piece? Yes. Do I care? No. Let them smooch.

Number two is Jee/Bato. Look. Jee is a tired gay man, He has served his time. Let him get out there and get the good dick. He's not a home wrecker though, he's not gonna get between whatever Bato has going on with Hakoda... unless maybe they invited him to get between them more literally.

Third is Zuko/Kuei. I know the the post canon comics pitted these two sad bitches against each other but listen, here me out. They're both young, inexperienced leaders dropped head first into navigating attempting to deescalate their countries post a century of hostilities with minimal helpful guidance, and they were also both used and betrayed by the father figures they we supposed to trust and rely on. What if when left alone, face to face, they bonded over venting their similar frustrations? What if that bonding turned into an unlikely friendship? What if that friendship tripped and rolled down a rocky hill of something more and they ended up in a secret affair between the heads of two of the world's most powerful states? What if it all came crashing in on them, but they couldn't untangle their very real feelings from their duty as leaders? What then?

First ever ship: Oh snap this is reaching back into Ye Old memory banks here. If I'm being totally honest I think it was the pink and green (later white, much later all the rest of the damn colors) rangers from the original run of the American version of Power Rangers. The internet didn't exist as we know it today so it was just a group of a half-dozen 7-9 year olds G O S S I P I N G on the playground between rounds of pretending to be actual velociraptors.

Last Song:

(Two Steps From Hell is my go-to writing times tune everything out music)

Last Film: Technically it was me and the rest of the adults post Thanksgiving diner keeping a running background commentary going on the worldbuilding choices in the Paw Patrol Movie that the little kids insisted on watching. Real answer, the last movie I sat down to watch with intention was Across the Spiderverse.

Last thing I Googled: solar chistmas lights. My coworker was complaining that her only outdoor outlet shares a load with an indoor one (which?? rude!) and her partner wouldn't let her put up more Christmas lights. I had to show her. The way her face lit up as she IMMEDIATELY zoomed to Amazon and started filling her cart. Apologies to her poor family and neighbors, but I definitely made her week and possibly her entire New Year.

Currently Reading: Hey did you know that @erisenyo is already releasing stuff for zukki week because she is. you should definitely go read that.

Currently Watching: Rewatching Blue Eye Samurai while spouse watches it for the first time. He's been big into old samurai and wuxia films since I can remember so I'm just sitting here anticipating his reactions to every easter egg and trope call back they've stuffed into this show and also spotting things I missed on the first round.

Currently Consuming: Peppermint mocha and a cheese, egg and sausage tornado. Don't question me.

Currently Craving: My cozy bed. Also a nice big bowl of curry.

Currently Working On: The next chapter of Learn to Carry Love. I'm so so so close to the finish aaargh!

Current Obsession(s): *Gestures at my blog*

And with that I'm gonna taaaaaaag @ablueeyedarcher @rainbowbarnacle @paintsplattere @allgremlinart @saccharineomens @thepioden @siggymcpissyface @curlicuecal and @yandereleorio! No obligation of course, just for a fun time if you wanna :D

[edge-oftheworld]

no but i can't get over how actually well done the last few days were. announce a surprise and not 48 hours later we find out that 1) tour movie, the same thing taylor swift did a few months ago and now everyone wants plus we know it's a show they worked super hard on, 2) it's free, excellent for anyone who couldn't afford to go etc (we've all been there) and out literally right now on a (mostly) free platform (the very same one that they got started on but anyway) and perhaps most notably, 3) it's free with the hopes that you might instead of paying for it donate to gaza, and the links are right there.

like they could've charged us $20 each for the show and sent all their profits there themselves (with the hope that we believe they're being honest that it's 100%, for them of course we would but i know others have lied about similar). but instead they gave us autonomy over our donation just like. encouraged it. like cmon who wouldn't listen when ashton tells us to donate to something if we can? (also did anyone else say so, i'm not the best at keeping up with social media so lmk if there's more of them to give credit to here). anyway we gotta talk about it more. how perfectly this was done: we get a gift!! be it for christmas if you celebrate or just in general, that we expected we'd have to pay for. now we get asked, hey, if you have any money could you send it to these people who Really Need It So Badly if you can? I know not all of you do so we won't stop you from watching the movie if you don't but

also this is a really clever way to show their support for gaza. like they are (deliberately i think) trying not to be leaders in an area that they aren't experts in, and there has been a lot of misinformation around, a lot of misunderstanding, like yes they did stand up for ukraine last year but the media was a lot more black and white for that one (or should i say blue and yellow) but when it comes down to it they're not stupid and they're not fooled by whatever the country they currently live in is pushing and they've actually taken their time to not say shit to save face prematurely but actually do something that's, even if not big or dramatic, gonna be impactful? they've not put themselves out there campaigning for a ceasefire, yes, but they've posted links that are. they've not guilted us into donating but please tell me you're not at least feeling some obligation to. it's simple, it's actionable, it's right there in the caption and takes like 20 seconds. and if any of us in the fandom (global family or whatever they're building) are leading in the ceasefire decolonisation space we have our little encouragement to see that yes, these musicians we love aren't gonna sit there and do nothing. it's not monumental, but it's something.

and tbh i wouldn't be surprised if this was all planned like a week ago in a zoom call between australia and the usa when ryan texted to say that the film was done. like it was in their random spontanous lightheated style. i also think we can learn something from the fact that it's okay to not jump on everything the minute it comes out but actually every lasting impact is a long-haul effort that you've gotta sustain yourself for by doing what you love as well. and also sometimes the right opportunity to do something about what we care about comes and you just take it, don't think too hard, don't wait either if you don't need to, if there is a cause that needs your effort whenever you get an opportunity to give it will always be the right time. hopefully they've set a precedent for something--i have no idea if any artist has done similar but i'm really proud of them.

and that's why i don't get the fact that we've been talking about how horrific this genocide is and then going right to which songs they cut or kept. like i would like a live version of you don't go to parties! but i would like an entire fandom to donate to aid for gaza even more and be thinking about why we need a ceasefire and maybe doing something about it even more. i've been unwell yes and under financial and other stress yes but i'm not starving or freezing to death and so i'll take that L and i won't go home. i won't stop talking about what's important. i'm starting to find my voice again and this has been a big inspiration for it between all the discouragement.

have we not figured it out? they're not just dumbasses sometimes they do something towards a cause we really care about so let's give them credit for that. heck they even filmed bad omens in ukraine in 2022 have we forgotten about that? they don't put themselves out there as influential figures in any way but that's sometimes the best way to humanise the people we care about (and i think honestly they just do this naturally because when you're not chasing clout and you're trained to recognise talent and potential talent in even the worst situations, you'll automatically think like that). it's small in the face of everything going on, yes. so am i! and if i learned anything over the last 24 hours it's that small things can be meaningful. this has been to me and i don't doubt to the recipients of the donations of (i hope) an entire fandom.

(also if you don't mind the tag @littledrummerangie i know you were talking along a similar vein a few weeks back and i'm keen to hear if you want to, if you found this as satisfying as me)

[loonatic-the-art-fox]

Episode 3: Waterlogged Pizza

The scene opens to the inside of the Run of the Mill pizzeria and our group of bunnies and turtles are standing at the entrance of the pizza joint. They can smell melted cheese and baked dough. The atmosphere was warm and safe. There was a crowd of staff customers alike and Blossom was zooming around sniffing the air excitedly. The turtles lead the girls to a table.

Blossom: It smells so good here!

Mikey: The food tastes even better!

Lavender: *she grabs clovers arm, to slow her down; waiting for Raph to pass them and lowered her voice* Clov… Are you sure about this?

Clover: About eating? Yes, I'm sure I'm hungry and we are at a restaurant highly unlikely to get hurt in front of other um beings?

Cherry: *turned an ear to listen in, but not slow down*

Lavender: What? No, about the turtles and showing them our powers. They did take us from our world-

Clover: Lav I'm fully aware of the situation. I have it handled.

Lavender: But-

Clover: I have it handled Lav. Don't worry, ok? When they see my power it'll partly be a show of force. So, relax. 

*Before Lavender could protest, Clover catches up to Leo and the others. Cherry slows down to walk with Lavender.*

Cherry: Hey, are you okay?

Lavender: No, I'm not okay. Blossom’s taken to the turtles. Clover isn't being the leader we need by befriending these guys. She says she's got it handled and you’ve been fucking around with the big guy, since we got here instead of being the worry wort big sister I know you are. What is going on?

Cherry: Lav, I am worried. I'm scared to the whole underworld. But I trust Clov. She's a great leader and if she says she’s it handled, then she’s got it handled.

Lavender: But Cher-

Cherry: Lav, we haven't opened up to them. We are just being friendly and trying to gather info. You like collecting data. That’s what we are doing. Collecting data. 

Lavender: And showing our powers to them, is it a part of collecting data?

Cherry: *smiles* No, that's us showing them that we aren't to be messed with if they are planning something. The point is we don't know where we are. This isn't our world. So, until you can fix that portal, we play friendly and follow Clov’s lead. 

Lavender: Fine.

Lavender and Cherry catch up to everyone else.

Clover: I know this is a restaurant but what type?

The four brothers gasp in shock. Donnie and Leo being more dramatic than they need to be.

Donnie: Gasp! You don’t know what a pizzeria is?

Leo: Uncultured!

Lavender: We don’t have pizzerias where we come from.

Mikey: D-do you know what pizza is?

The sisters look at each other in confusion and shake their heads making the turtles act like they were either grieving or dying. Mikey and Leo were hugging each other and crying. Donnie and Raph looked like they were having a heart attack.

Blossom: What is pizza made out of? *she was trying to get Mikey to focus on the Pizza and inform herself and her sisters*

Mikey: It is made of a disk of dough, with sauce, usually a red sauce called marinara sauce, cheese of your choice and any toppings you want, from different meats to veggies and pineapple~

Donnie: I don't recommend the pineapple, sweet should not be on pizza. Sweet and savory just don't go together.

Lavender: I have to agree with that sentiment. Pineapple, if it's sweet, shouldn't be on anything savory.

Leo and Mikey gasp in shock while Clover and Blossom groan in annoyance. Raph just sighs, while Cherry looks uncomfortable.

Donnie: A woman with good taste-

Lavender: Oh shut up. I have a sensitive palate and can’t handle some textures or flavors mixing.

Donnie looks away from the white rabbit with a mixture of both understanding and annoyance and frustration.

Cherry: Lav that was uncalled for.

Lavender: He knows what he did. *she folds her arms and looks away from the disappointed looks of her sisters. Except, for her youngest sister*

*They arrive at a round booth table and sit. Raph and Lavender at the end. Leo sat next to Raph. Donnie next to Leo. Mikey next to Donnie. Blossom sat next to Mikey. Cherry was next to Blossom. Clover was in-between Lavender and Cherry.*

Clover: Please forgive my twin. She’s in a mood and can’t seem to control what she says. OW! *Lavender had kicked her under the table they had sat at* You bitch! 

Lavender: I don’t -

Cherry is about to say something, until Lavender shuts up due to a look Blossom gave her. A look the turtles missed; because it disappeared when they looked at the youngest bunny.

Before the conversation could start back up, a white male bunny in a server uniform for the pizzeria walks up to the table, with a big smile on his face.

Bunny: It’s the turtles~! I see you brought some girls with you this time. Are they just friends or your girlfriends~

Raph and Cherry: Just friends.

Clover: I have a Girlfriend.

Leo: And I h-have someone else in mind. *Shyly looks at the White male bunny*

Lavender: Enemy

Donnie: …. Not a friend.

Mikey and Blossom blush as they mumble that they are just friends.

Bunny: *grins* Well ladies, the turtles know me as I am their usual server~ My name is Usagi Yojimbo~

Blossom: *she leaps over the table to shake Usagi’s hand excitedly* I'm Hopimato Blossom~ and the big bunny is Hopimato Cherry, the black and white bunny is Hopimato Clover, and the gloomy white one over there is Hopimato Lavender~.

Usagi: *he smiles and lets Blossom shake his hands* It's nice to meet you~ If you'd like to let go so I can get your order~

The whole table laughed as Blossom let go with a smile and sat down. The boys take the lead and order for the table a pizza supreme, a cheese pizza, a mythic pizza, and a pizza with pineapple, (leo was trying to spit Donnie).

Donnie: Disgusting.

Leo: You have no taste.

Usagi left to put the orders in.

Clover: Soooo leo~

Leo: Oh no.

Clover: Are you going to tell me who your crush is or do I have to guess?

Leo: Guess.

Before Clover could even guess Lavender answered.

Lavender: It's Usagi, He’s crushing on Usagi.

Leo’s whole face turned red at once, Clover kicked Lavender under the table looking pissed, Cherry and Blossom looked at Lavender in shock, Donnie and Lavender showed no emotion, while Mikey and Raph smirked as if they'd already known.

Lavender: What?

Clover: I wasn’t going to actually guess the real answer, no matter how clear the signs were on his face!

Lavender: Why waste the time?

Clover: Other than the fact it's fun to guess, I wanted to give him the chance to admit it for himself! How would you like it if we blurred out who you were crushing on?

Lavender: I don't have a crush.

Clover: THAT’S THE PROBLEM-

Blossom: CLOVER DON’T!

Cherry: *reaching for Lavender as Clover realized what she was about to say*

Lavender: *she stands up* Say it! I dare you to say it!

Clover: N-No.

Lavender: SAY. IT.

Cherry: Lav-

Lavender: NO SHE SHOULD SAY IT! THAT I…. that I’m heartless.

Clover: Lav-

Lavender: If I'm heartless then fine you don’t need me…. You don’t need me as your twin or your sister! *she leaves the table and runs to the bathroom*

Clover: *she goes to follow but it was Leo who stopped her*

Leo: Donnie go after her please.

Donnie: But she hates me. I’m the Last person she’ll want to talk to.

Leo: If I am right, then you are the only one who understands or has an idea what might be going through her head.

Donnie: Are you saying she might be-

Leo: She might be.

Donnie: Ok. *he gets up and heads for the restroom*

When Donnie gets to the restroom he knocks on the door.

Donnie: Lavender I know you’re in there can we talk?

Lavender doesn’t answer but Donnie can hear the sound of tools working on something in frustration.

Donnie: Sigh, if you don’t want to talk then just listen ok. *He leans against the door so she can still hear* I know you hate me for pulling you from your home by accident, but I also know you have a heart. It’s big and squishy and…. Breakable. Easy to hurt. *the tool noises stop* Your sister is wrong. You do have a heart, but you can’t feel like everyone else or at least you struggle to express your emotions…. And you can't always read the room and because of that people think you lack compassion because you can't tell how they feel- *the door is yanked open and Donnie fell on his ass and he looks up at her*

Lavender: You’re right…. I don’t like you…. *she helps him up* but you've earned a couple points for getting on my good side for trying to help me. *she shoves him towards the table* Please do a fellow genius a solid and send my twin sister my way *and with that she closes the bathroom door*

Donnie: *stares at the door for a bit before heading back to the table* She asked for you. *points to clover who leaped out of her seat and ran to the bathroom that it made Donnie’s head spin*

Cherry: Should we follow her?

Blossom: no they need to talk twin to twin

Mikey: Family therapist?

Blossom: Yea something like that.

Usagi comes back with the pizzas and sets them down.

Usagi: Where's Clover and the angry white rabbit?

Everyone: Restroom talking it out.

Usagi: Oh, ok well if you need me I'll be around~

Leo: ok~ See you around~

Usagi: *winks at leo and walks away*

Blossom: you should ask him out~

Mikey: I can set the mood~

Leo: No… NO I-I’m not ready.

Cherry: *takes a bite of one of the pizzas and her eyes sparkle* Blossom, try the pizza! You have to try the pizza!

The boys’ and Blossom’s attention turned to cherry, who was excitedly putting a slice of pizza on a plate for the youngest sister. The boys chuckled as the Eldest sister tried to feed the Youngest sister who was leaning backward and trying to take the plate from Cherry.

Blossom: Ok ok sis! I can feed myself, I'm not a baby! *she managed to get the plate away from her eldest sister and takes a bite of the pizza* stop treating me like I'm a baby.

Cherry: *she looked so sad and both Mikey and Raph looked at each other knowing exacting how Cherry felt as they had the same fight many times* I know I just-

Raph: She just wanted you to try the pizza~

Mikey: Yea~ *puts a hand over blossom’s* she wasn't trying to make you feel small.

Blossom: I know… I'm sorry sis.

Cherry: It’s ok~

The scene rewinds and follows Clover to the restroom. She knocks on the door.

Clover: Lav? It's Clover you asked for me. Can… we talk… please?

After a moment Lavender opens the door.

Clover: *she sees lavenders tech scythe on the floor in pieces as she stepped in* Lav-

Lavender: *she sits back down and starts reassembling the tech scythe*

Clover: Lav, I know you aren't heartless. I know you aren't a robot. You are a living breathing  person with a heart that can be hurt… I know… that you don't feel the same way we do… I'm sorry I shouldn't have yelled.

Lavender: You were right to yell. I shouldn't have said anything. I just… can't read the room.

Clover: *she puts a hand on Lavender’s shoulder* no I shouldn't have yelled. I'll try not to yell. I'm really really sorry.

Lavender: …

Clover: … Can I help? Please?

Lavender: *nods*

Clover: *she kneels in front of the tech and Lavender* tell me what to do

Lavender: screwdriver

Clover: *she finds the screwdriver and hands it to Lavender*

Clover and Lavender worked in forgiving silence putting the tech scythe together again. Once the tech scythe was functioning again, they came back to the table. Leo made Donnie make room for Lavender and they all ate the pizza.

Leo: So Clover, since I showed off my awesome power, how about you show us yours~?

Clover: Not here and we should probably wear something to get wet in~

Donnie: Your power has something to do with water?

Clover: It might~

Leo: That’s not a problem~ I can get us back to the lair and we can all get into swimsuits.

Raph: Do you girls have swimsuits?

Lavender: Of course we have clothing we can swim in

Clover: Lav really? Swimsuits. Just say swimsuits. Say it.

Lavender: Swimsuits…. I always have…. Swimsuits for my sisters and I….

Leo: Perfect! *eats his last slice and throws down the money they owe and gets up* Time to go for a Swim~ *he runs to the exit*

They all get up and chase after him. Once out of the pizzeria, Leo portals them all to the lair. At the lair the boys lent the girls a spare room to change and they went to put on their own swimsuits. 

Once the girls were alone. Clover rounds them up.

Clover: Ok, time to recap. What do we know?

Lavender: We were in our training area when a portal opened up and sucked us in.

Cherry: We were brought to this world and came face to face with the turtles.

Blossom: They seem nice except Mikey.

Clover: Leo is the leader, is obviously gay, and can make portals.

Cherry: Raph is the strongest.

Lavender: Donnie is the smartest of the four. He's an inventor. He claims that he wasn't trying to bring us here. That we were a mistake, and he's an ass.

Blossom: Mikey is their family therapist. He's also flexible.

Clover: How do you know that? *She looked like she was going to throw up*

Blossom: We did what he called yoga and the boy can bend even with a hard shell. Nothing else I swear.

Clover: … Ok, but nothing else better had happened. What else?

Blossom: He’s super sweet and a shell of sunshine~

Clover: Blos, remember you are the next in line for leader, if anything happens to me. So, you can't be so trusting.

Blossom: I know… but they don't seem so bad.

Cherry: Just stay on guard ok?

Blossom: ok.

Clover: we keep playing nice and gather Intel ok?

Girls: understood.

Lavender pressed a button on her scythe and their swimsuits. The girls change as the turtles meet in the center of the lair.

Mikey: Do you think they have swimsuits like ours, where they are from?

Before they could answer Mikey, Lavender spoke up.

Lavender: How about you look at us, instead of asking that question. *she had a fist on her hip*

The boys turned to see the sisters.Cherry was in hot pink and orange swim trunks and t-shirt. Clover was in a light blue bikini. Lavender was in a purple crop top, purple and green booty shorts, and a green swim top was peeking from under the crop top. Lastly and more importantly to Mikey, Blossom came out with her white hair up and in a pretty yellow one piece. All Cherry, Clover, and Lavender were still wearing their ninja wraps.

Mikey: W-wow.

Raph: *reaches over and closes Mikey’s jaw as, Leo chuckles and Donnie grins*

Lavender: Told you, I had swimsuits~

Clover: Leo! Can you take us to a body of water?

Leo: Totally! Let’s go hermanos! *he makes a portal to an area in the sewer with a pool of water but it was dirty* this is a sewer tho so the water isn't clean-

Clover: Don’t worry about it~ That's not a problem~ *she goes there the portal followed by Leo, Cherry, Raph, Mikey, and Blossom*

Donnie: *was going to go through the portal next when something wrapped around his ankle. It felt like a vine made out of cotton and the next thing he knew he was yanked into the air and tossed. He spins and jumps off the wall and when he looked back at the portal, he saw Lavender lowering her arm; as she walked through the portal and it looked like her green wrap was a little lose* “Green…. Felt like a vine…. Does her ninpo have something to do with plants?” *He ran through the portal which closed behind him and was standing behind Lavender as everyone but Clover stood away from the edge. Clover was on the edge*

Raph: Raph doesn’t think this is safe.

Cherry: It’s safe. I’d be freaking out if it wasn’t.

Clover breathes and closes her eyes.

Lavender: You sure you want to do this Clov that water smells like shit. Literal Shit. Clov this is a sewer-

Clover: *takes a deep breath and leaps into the sewer water* 

Lavender: CLOVER GROSS *she gags*

The boys cheered, except Donnie; but they fell silent as the water stills.

Mikey: I-is she-

Clover breaks the surface of the water and the water starts to spin upward. Creating a water tub around Clover. As this happens, the water turns clear. Clover was purifying the pool of water.

The boys’ jaws dropped as Blossom and Cherry cheered. Lavender was still gagging. Once the water was pure, Clover used the water to get back on the ground and then splashed everyone. 

Leo: Hey~!

Clover: Come at me bro~!

Leo: Oh you’re on~!

The scene ends with Raph, Leo, and Mikey squaring up against Clover and her flowing water. Blossom and Cherry get ready for the water fight, while Lavender leaned against the wall. Donnie leans next to her, folding his arms.