#a little late to the polls party but i just got them so

[ailomo]

I GOT POLLS THAT MEANS I CAN DO THE REALLY IMPORTANT RESEARCH

[tokischaaaaa]

distraction 🌀

notes!!: inspired by tiktok above ^^

warnings: fluff

word count: 1.1k!!

y/n was 2 hrs into her stream on her twitch channel, she had just begun a poll on her stream to listen to albums she hadn’t had the chance to listen to before.

basically a listening party, and a way for her viewers to input and spread their music taste.

“so admins can yall show what are the albums chats saying i should listen to?”

moments later and a few clicks later, y/n moved the poll to the screen to show her viewers.

options of albums to listen to were:

orquídeas - kali uches

negro swan - blood orange

cowboy carter - beyoncé

late registration - kanye

considering the biggest/ most well known artist was beyoncé and kanye , the polls showed the competition between both albums.

seconds later, the poll ended and cowboy carter by beyoncé had won.

30 minutes later, after gasps, snapping and humming, y/n was 75% done with the album. as she heard the beginning another comentary interlude and got up and stretched, still being visble to chat she jumped once she heard a loud chanting in her head phones.

spaghettii had started playing, y/n got up and started tapping her foot while placing her hands on her hips. she was so distracted that she didn’t hear hamzah come inside their apartment, he was became quickly aware that y/n was streaming due to the blaring light from her monitor.

as the lyrics ‘like a snap of my fingers im thanos!’ was yelled by beyoncé, y/n couldn’t help but start twerking due to the hypnotizing song. she wasn’t showing her junk to the camera but having her backside face the wall.

hamzah on the other hand was having a fun time. he couldn’t help but laugh as y/n kept making faces as she rocked her hips.

soon she got lower and lower, THAT caught hamzahs attention. he began to feel his chest tighten as he his desire to be behind y/n as she was dancing grew stronger.

as the song started to progress and get a little slower instrumental wise, y/n went back to her seat and was quickly made aware of hamzahs presence by chat.

“who’s here chat?” y/n said looking around, her eyes meeting hamzahs.

“you saw all that?” y/n blurted as her face turned red.

“yeah, never knew you had that in you y/n,” hamzah chuckled, walking closer to her monitor.

“mhm, guess you never knew i was apart of the beyhive.” y/n said raising her eyebrows.

“yeah, guess not.” he said, still thinking about y/n’s dancing, getting closer to y/n.

y/n could tell hamzah was feeling dirty, but she had to warn him before he kept talking stupid.

“babe i’m on stream,” y/n said pressing her mute button.

hamzah took her finger off the button, and grinned to her.

“babe i don’t care, plus you was bucking your hips in the air.” hamzah snickered eyeing y/n down, putting his warm hand on her back, slowly inching his fingers under her shirt.

y/n’s back straightened quickly, hamzah grinned shifting his head to the camera.

“how’s the listening party going?”

“good, wait you’ve been watching?”

“yeah, nonifications always on for you babe.” he said giving her cheek a quick peck.

soon y/n’s chat filled with hearts and you and hamzahs ship name.

“bruh, look what you did.” y/n groaned. “i still got like 7 more songs. all chats gonna be doing is asking for this.”

“so, give them what they want.” hamzah smiled putting his bag down and letting his hand on y/n’s back go deeper and grab her ass.

a audible gasp came out of y/n.

“hamzah.” she hissed under her breath, holding onto the mic.

hamzah shrugged in response.

y/n took a deep breath, giving hamzah a playful glare before turning back to her chat. "alright, alright, y'all. let's get back to the music!" she said, trying to regain her composure.

as she clicked to start the next track, the chat was buzzing with excitement and heart emojis. "you two are too cute!" one message read, while another said, "this is the best stream ever!"

y/n couldn't help but smile. despite the unexpected interruption, she loved how supportive her community was. and she couldn't deny that hamzah's presence added a special touch to her streams.

as the next song started playing, y/n leaned back in her chair, letting the music wash over her. she glanced at hamzah, who was now lounging on the couch, watching her with a smirk. she felt a warmth spread through her chest, a mixture of love and amusement.

hamzah, sensing her gaze, winked at her. "you know, i could join you for the rest of the stream. make it a duet," he teased.

y/n laughed, shaking her head. "oh really? you think you can keep up with me and beyoncé?"

"absolutely," hamzah replied, standing up and moving closer to her setup. he pulled up a chair next to her, and the chat went wild with excitement.

"alright, chat, you heard him. hamzah's joining us for the rest of the listening party!" y/n announced, her smile widening as she saw the flood of positive reactions.

hamzah settled next to her, slipping his arm around her shoulders. "so, what's next on the list?" he asked, peering at the screen.

"let's see," y/n said, scrolling through the remaining tracks. "ah, here we go. this one’s a classic." she clicked play, and the opening notes filled the room.

as the music played, hamzah gently swayed in his seat, occasionally singing along and making y/n laugh with his over-the-top yapping. they shared stories about their favorite songs, playfully debated the best albums, and even took turns reading out the funniest comments from the chat.

at one point, hamzah leaned in closer, his voice soft in her ear. "you know, watching you like this, so happy and in your element... it’s one of my favorite things."

y/n felt her cheeks warm and her heart flutter. "glad you enjoy it as much as i do," she murmured back, giving his hand a squeeze.

as the final track played, they both leaned back, content and relaxed. y/n turned to hamzah, her eyes shining with gratitude and affection. "thanks for joining me tonight. it made this stream extra special."

"anytime, babe," hamzah replied, pressing a kiss to her temple. "you know i'm your biggest fan."

as they wrapped up the stream, y/n felt an overwhelming sense of joy. not just from the music and the wonderful interaction with her chat, but from the simple, beautiful connection she shared with hamzah. it was in moments like these that she felt truly blessed, knowing that they had something extraordinary.

"goodnight, everyone!" y/n called out, waving to the camera as the stream ended. she turned to hamzah, her eyes sparkling with happiness. "now, where were we?"

hamzah grinned, pulling her close. "i believe we were just getting started."

tokischaaaa speaks: idk why but i jus like writing fluff now lol 🤭

[skz317cb97]

Drunk Confessions pt 1

Chan x Female reader

Word count: 2.1K

Synopsis: What will Chan do with you when you stroll into your apartment late and extremely drunk?

A/N: 18+ ONLY! Welcome to part one of a new series I'm calling Drunk Confessions. One for each member a story of someone drunkenly confessing their love for another. Keep an eye out for polls that I'll be posting for the next in line! If you like this part give it a reblog, comment, like, hit up my ask box, love to hear from you guys! Warnings and smut below the cut!

Warnings: 18 + ONLY MDNI! Cursing/strong language, mentions of drinking alcohol/over drinking/getting drunk, oral (f reciveing), unprotected piv sex (please use condoms), cream pie. I think that's everything but if I missed something please let me know and I'll add it asap!

You stumbled into your shared apartment drunk. You had been out with some girlfriends for a bachelorette party and you had just been dropped at the door of your apartment building. Somehow you managed to make your way up the sixteen floors to the apartment you shared with Chan. Your best friend and the man you secretly were head over heels in love with. You tried to be as quiet as possible so naturally you were like a bull in a China shop. Chan came out of his room rubbing the sleep from his eyes. 

“Baby girl is that you.” You giggled and slapped your hand over your mouth. 

“Tsk. Yes. Sowwy Channie I didnmean to wake youuu.” Your words slurred out of you and you stumbled a little. 

“Hey are you okay?” Chan hurried forward a bit to help keep you upright instead of the end table. You giggled again and your heart pounded. How could you be even more in love with someone just because you were a little drunk. Okay maybe a bit more than a little.  

“Here let’s get you to bed.” You protested. You tried to prove you were okay enough to walk without him and your first step you rolled your ankle and started to go down. Chan got you before you made it to the floor but you had hurt your ankle. You took your heels off and tried walking on it again. 

“I’mokay Channie jus alil drunk I think.” Chan could smell the sweet scent of the lemon drops you had drank all night. He tried not to think about how your lips were probably sweet from them as well. When you left earlier and Chan saw how great you looked he worried you might not be home later.

He couldn’t blame any guy that approached you that night. The black sparkly body con dress you were wearing hugged each of your curves perfectly. Your long legs ended with a pair of red heels. Your hair was up, your neck on display but now in your drunken state it had fallen a bit, whisps laying on your neck and around your face, framing your beauty.

You never over did it in the makeup department but you had gone bold for the evening with winged liner and red lips. You had wiped off the lipstick in the limo on the way home and your eyeliner was only a little smudged.

You were a drunken angel and Chan wondered how he could be even more in love with someone just because they were a little drunk. Okay maybe a bit more than a little.  

“OW!” Chan threw your arm around his broad shoulders and you couldn’t help but squeeze the muscle you held onto now. He cleared his throat and sat you down on the couch then sat down on the table across from you. 

“Let me see.” You stretched your leg out and put your foot in his lap. 

“Okay Channie.” You said with a lilt to your voice. Chan grabbed your ankle and goosebumps rose all over your skin. 

“Cold?” Chan asked when he noticed you shiver. 

“No I...OW!” He hissed and apologized. 

“Sorry sorry! I think you just twisted it a little.“ You pouted.  You were starting to get tired and whiney. 

“Will you take care of me Channie? I can’t walk...” He sighed. 

“Of course I will baby girl. Come on let’s get you into some jammies and into to your bed.” You shook your head as he helped you up. 

“What!?” You drug your finger down the side of his face tracing his cheekbone and jaw line. 

“Wanna sleep in yours with you.” Chan’s head popped up quickly. You had never said or done anything like that before.

Sure you fell asleep on the couch together a time or two, maybe one of those times the two of you woke up wrapped up with your arms around each other, but you’ve never slept in the other’s beds before. Chan always felt like it was a risky boundary to break with how he felt about you.

Sober you had the same thought process but drunk you wanted to be next to Chan’s warm body, to hug him close while you slept off the alcohol in your system. 

“Wanna sleep with you tonight Channie. Please?” You rested your head on his shoulder, your eyes blinking up at him sleepily. 

“Uh... well... I mean...” You sniffled and Chan was getting whiplash from the mood swings you had when drunk. Silly, sleepy, flirty, sad. He’d never seen you quite this drunk before. 

“You don’t like me.” You started to cry and Chan shushed you. 

“WHOA! WAIT! Let me get you a shirt!” You kept your balance holding onto Chan’s desk as you stood there in your bra and panties waiting for him to pull out and toss you a shirt from his dresser. He kept his eyes cast down as he went to hand you the shirt. 

“Shhh shh I didn’t say that now come on I just... wasn’t sure if it was a good idea with you being drunk. If you want to sleep in my bed that’s fine okay. Please don’t cry.” He wiped the tears from your face.

Chan led you to the bathroom and let you wash up and brush your teeth before leading you to his room. As soon as his door was closed you started stripping off your dress. 

“You don’t think I’m pretty?” You sniffled again and Chan pressed his fingers into his eyes trying to keep his composure. 

“You know I think you’re pretty y/n but you should put on the shirt. You’re drunk.” You sighed and put on the shirt. When Chan put an arm around you to help you to bed you wrapped both of yours around him and tried to kiss him. 

“What are you doing y/n?!” You leaned in again and he stopped you again. 

“I love you Channie don’t you know that? I love you and I want you.” You leaned in trying to kiss him another time and he gently stopped you this time. 

“I love you too y/n but you’re drunk. Let’s talk about this tomorrow when you’re sober.” You gripped at his cut off shirt he wore trying to lift it up and off and he stopped you again. 

“Look if you don’t behave I’ll put you to bed and sleep on the couch.” Your eyes got big and glassy again. 

“I’msorry. ‘M too drunk. I’ll be good.” He smoothed your hair down. 

“Thank you. Come on lets get to bed.” Finally you stopped and let Chan help you to bed. You crawled in and he couldn’t help but notice your cute panties peeking from under his shirt. He got in after you and as soon as his body was laid next to yours you rolled over and held onto his arm. Chan looked down at you smiling. 

“Good night baby girl.” You fell asleep so quickly you didn’t even hear him say good night. The next morning you woke up burning up. You were undercovers and had a warm body wrapped around yours. When you stirred it woke up the human furnace clinging to you.  

“You up?” The person sized ball of lava asking you was Chan. Then the night before came rushing back into your memory. Oh god! 

“Uh yea.” Chan stretched out, now face to face with you in bed. 

“Sober?” You nodded. 

“Mhmm.” Chan looked at you for a long moment. 

“Did you mean it?” You didn’t know what he meant for half a second and then remembered your confession the night before. You nodded again but couldn’t bring yourself to look into his eyes. 

“Do you want to stop?” Chan looked at you seriously. You sat up a little. 

“Yes.” Suddenly Chan’s lips were softly pressed against yours. You flinched then melted into the kiss. Chan wrapped his arms around you pulling you close so your bodies were touching. His tongue traced along your bottom lip and you opened your mouth allowing him to dip his tongue in. 

You made out laying in his bed together for what felt like forever. Just lips and tongues and teeth, hands roaming, groping, squeezing. Chan pulled away for a moment and you took the opportunity to get a full breath of air. 

“Do you want to?” Chan thought for a moment before speaking. 

“I want to nail you to my bed and make you scream my name.” Your jaw dropped and you slapped his shoulder. 

“Channie! You thought before speaking and that’s what you say.” He laughed and you couldn’t help but laugh along with him. 

“I was just being honest. If you want to stop we’re stopping but if you don’t then I’d like to do that second thing I said.” You wrapped your arms around Chan again pulling him down and pecking his full lips.  

“Well then...” You pressed your lips to his ear. 

“Holy fuck Chan! Feral much?” You laughed but stopped when his face was hovering over your throbbing cunt.  

“Make me scream for you baby.” Chan growled and attacked your neck with kisses and bites, he lifted up and quickly whipped yours and his shirts off before going back and to nibbling down your neck and shoulder while you gripped his strong arms and then his hair as his kisses peppered down your chest.

He stopped and ripped your bra open from the front, then practically shredded those cute panties, tearing them off you as well. 

“I really want to eat your pussy...” He was entranced by you. 

“Chan oh my god! Fuck fuckfuckfuck!” You pulled his curls tightly as you melted on his tongue for a second time. He kissed your thighs, your tummy and breasts, up your shoulder and neck, he kissed your lips while you laid there completely fucked out already. 

“God Channie you keep saying the filthiest things fuck! Yes please!” He smirked at you and then his head was buried between your legs savoring every inch of you. You gripped his hair and your hips jerked up.

Chan’s hands spread across your tummy and held you down as he continued to absolutely feast upon you. Your toes curled when he pushed you over the edge and your feet dug into the mattress when he didn’t stop. Hell bent on giving you another orgasm quickly. 

“You good?” He checked in with you. 

“So fucking good.” He kissed you again and you deepened it. You grabbed his cock and guided it towards your soaked entrance. 

“Need you inside me please.” Chan would never deny such a request from you. He pushed his tip inside you and slowly sank in deeper until you took all of him. 

“FUCKING HELL! Tight!” You hummed and moaned. 

“So big! God damn Channie can’t believe you’ve been hiding this from me.” he laughed a little. 

“It’s yours now baby girl.” You clenched and he felt every bit of it. 

“You like that huh? You like knowing I’m yours now?” Clenched again and moaned. He pulled out and pushed back into you. 

“Yours baby girl. I’m all yours.” You moaned out louder when he thrusted harder. 

“And you’re mine too.”  

“OH FUCK YES! I’m yours Channie!” At your declaration Chan started fucking you hard. He loved hearing it just as much as you did. You held onto his broad shoulders as he did exactly what he said he wanted to, nail you to his bed. 

“ChannieChannieCHANNIE FUCK!!!!” You gripped him tightly as you came around his cock screaming his name like your neighbors didn’t exist. He slowly rocked his hips into you as you came down from your mind numbing orgasm, kissing your cheeks and nose making you laugh. You pushed his unruly curls away from his face. 

“Cum for me Chan.” You moved your hips urging him to chase his own high now. His hips snapped into you faster and he felt so good inside you it wasn’t long before Chan was coming, filling you with that warmth that radiated from him. 

“Such a good girl. Fuuuucking hell! So good to me.” He leaned in and kissed you sweetly as he filled you then laid down next to you, catching his breath. After a minute he looked over at you smiling ear to ear, his eyes disappearing the bigger his smile grew. He pulled you close and kissed the side of your head. 

“You can have first shower if you want.” You pouted. 

“I thought we could take one together?” Chan looked down at you. 

“Yea?” You nodded. 

“Whatever you want. Together it is baby girl.” 

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[saturdaycitrus]

Ven and Vel getting jobs xD

Dancer AU!! (technically Veneer isn't a dancer in this but my explanation will be on the bottom! TLDR it was just cool so yippee [there's lore!!!!!!!])

Also! sorry@imadumdumjewel for the late reply!

If you guys req anything, I'll get to it, just may be a tad late...

Anywho! I ran a lil poll on Twitter to decide on the types of jobs they would have so here we go:

So I actually forgot to put dancer Vel/artist Ven because I kinda thought Ven would kinda fit the thing but after I finished this art I was pretty happy I didn't put it on there lol.

I honestly think that the other job options seemed pretty interesting, but no one really suggested any other jobs, and almost everyone was enthralled with the idea of dancer Ven & Vel.

For Veneer:

At first, my friend and I were planning this, but nothing really felt right to us. I did suggest Ballerino, but it didn't feel like something Veneer would do without Velvet, because they kinda come in pairs. Gymnast was also a suggestion, but after a couple minutes, it was swiftly discarded because I didn't want to draw Veneer's toes.

Anywho, while searching for other options, ice skating appeared, and my friend suggested an interesting idea as to

Lore time:

When Veneer was young, his parents pushed him towards traditionally male hobbies, such as sports and more sports. When his dad saw a flyer for an ice hockey team, he signed him up immediately. However, some mischievous kid had taped a different number to the hockey flyer, so Veneer's father ended up signing him up for figure skating instead.

At first, Veneer thought he was out of place, after all, the ratio of boys to girls was significant and he found himself to be the only one in that class. He didn't enjoy it much and regretted that he didn't join Velvet in her breakdancing course. However, as he unwillingly went to classes, he slowly started gaining a love for the sport and noticed how beautiful it was.

That led him to go down into professional figure skating and join competitions, eventually leading him to go down in history. For Velvet

My friend suggested swapping traditionally male and female dance styles, which led to the eventual conclusion: breakdancing. Velvet is a strong-willed character who would definitely try to get her way (as shown in the trailer of the movie) and take the classes that she liked.

Lore time:

When Veneer got signed up to do ice hockey, Velvet felt like she didn't have to deal with her little brother all day, and felt that she had a lot of time to herself. At first, she found a lot of things to do every day, running to places, going to parties, and just generally having fun.

At this point, Veneer was still unwilling to go to figure skating classes, (turns out Velvet was the mischievous kid who changed the number on the ice hockey flyer into a figure skating course phone number) but since his father had already paid for a year, he had to go anyways. Velvet would purposely use this to upset Veneer when she didn't get what she wanted, but then would accidentally make Veneer cry, resulting in her getting lectured by her parents, and Velvet holding back tears as she apologized to Veneer (she was totes in the fault here tho).

She realized that the more free time she had, the more her parents would lecture her. She decided right then and there that she would sign up for a class. She spent days, scrolling her phone and watching videos of different skills to decide what she wanted to do. However, nothing caught her eye.

Then, one day, she saw a kid do a flip, and slip and fall miserably. First, she took a video and laughed, and then thought to herself, "Hey, I could do that waaaayyyyy better. That kid's a failure!" And so she threw herself into learning it, but unsurprisingly, she fell flat on her face.

She was unhappy with this result, so she immediately went to her parents and asked them to sign her up for a breakdancing course. However, she had a tendency to give up when things got annoying/hard, so her parents turned her away each time. However, both the nonstop pestering and the fact that she no longer was bullying Veneer (because she was too busy following her parents around and throwing tantrums), they finally gave in.

From then on, she started breakdancing classes, and Veneer was upset because now his sister got to do something she liked, but Veneer was stuck in ice skating hell. He was very unhappy for some time, but then decided, "If she's gonna be happy, I gotta be happier. I gotta upstage her". So, he took to ice skating and started focusing all his efforts on it.

Velvet, seeing her twin brother become increasingly devoted to learning the trade she had forced him into while she had just started to get bored of breakdancing, felt a spark of competition and decided to practice harder.

Her parents were really impressed. Periodt. Now they are famous both nationally (Veneer) and on the streets (Velvet, for breakdancing, not giving up). YIPPEE

THE END

[digitaldiarystuff]

Our Secret Pt.2

sooo i’m starting to write before the poll is over hope the result stays the same lol

also thank you for not giving up on me💕

you can read part one here

————

pairing: Pedri Gonzalez x Y/N x Fermin Lopez

summary: you are Pedri’s girlfriend and know his friends, one of them being Fermin. It doesn’t look like he likes you very much but what if he likes you too much?

genre: angst

————

That night after Fermin dropped you at your place you had a weird feeling in your stomach you couldn’t quite place, you didn’t do anything wrong, you kept reminding yourself. Fermin is literally Pedri’s friend, he was just doing you a favor and you’re mad at Pedri because he left you alone, that’s it.

After taking a much needed shower to clear your thoughts you laid on your bed hoping to sleep quickly but unfortunately, you weren’t that lucky and had trouble falling asleep. You felt upset about Pedri’s behavior at the party and suddenly realized all the other times he made you feel uneasy in public, there were times he didn’t feel comfortable being seen with you because you weren’t official yet and that’s understandable given the fact that he’s insanely famous but a part of you felt like you shouldn’t be hidden no matter what. The more you thought about it, the sadder you felt but finally, you felt your eyes closing.

The next morning you woke up a little late and with a headache, great, you thought. You found your phone in between your sheets and looked at missed notifications secretly hoping to see a good morning text from Pedri but there was something else. An unsaved number texted you at 8.32 am

Hey, good morning! Hope you’re okay and don’t have a headache or stomachache, I think eating McDonald’s that late was a mistake 😅

You immediately realized it was Fermin and your heart warmed with his thoughtful words, he didn’t have to text you or check up on you but still did it while your boyfriend couldn’t even bother asking if you went home okay. It’s not like he was asleep because you knew for a fact he had practice this morning so he had to be up. You decided not to let it get to you and started typing.

Hey thank you so much for everything, I don’t know how I’d survive last night without you! And yes the nuggets definitely were a mistake lol, hope you’re okay too

You reread the text trying to make sure it’s not weird but why would it be weird, it’s just two friends checking up on each other even though you didn’t even know he had your number before today. He could’ve easily got it from Pedri, right?

Fermin didn’t text you back after that and you thought maybe it’s for the best but you also didn’t hear from Pedri until well into the afternoon when he called.

“Hey” he smiled softly like he wasn’t black out drunk last night

“Hey” you said with slight coldness in your voice but you weren’t doing it on purpose.

“Are we still on for tonight?” he asked without even mentioning anything about the previous night’s events and you were kind of taken aback.

“What’s tonight?”

“We have that charity event, remember, I told you a week ago.” you suddenly remembered him asking you to accompany him to this fancy event.

At first you were thrilled with the idea thinking this may be the night you make your relationship official but he quickly shut the idea down by telling you he’d pose for the cameras out front and meet up with you once the auction starts. You were less excited now but still said yes and forgot about it all till now.

“Oh yeah, sure we’re still going. How are you planning on going there?”

“The boys and I were thinking about getting a limo, can you take an Uber and meet me there?”

“Do you not want me in the limo?” you asked shocked by how inconsiderate he was being. First he hides you from the world and now he wants you to step in an Uber with a fancy looking dress and ride there alone.

“No of course not, you can come get ready at mine then. I’ll be at the house by five.”

“You know what, I’ll find my own way Pedri. You don’t have to worry about me, not that you care.” you said and ended the call feeling agitated.

He tried calling you a few more times but you didn’t pick up, you even considered turning your phone off and not showing up but wanted to have a nice night with him, maybe this could solve your issues.

You started getting ready for the event, trying on 2 different dresses. One was an off the shoulder black silk maxi dress and the other was a dark red spaghetti strap maxi dress with a wide slit on the side and a corset as a top. You took mirror selfies with both dresses and sent it to your best friend who was on top of your messages app and started on your makeup as you waited for an answer. Your phone pinged not long after and you picked it up expecting it to be Elena but was shocked to see Fermin’s name on the screen. You remembered saving his number in the morning. He sent you a single text.

Definitely the red one

Your cheeks heat up immediately realizing your mistake, you sent the photos to Fermin instead of Elena because he was the last person you texted.

I’m so sorry, it was meant for someone else lol

You wrote back but made a mental note to wear the red dress, maybe it was that much better. You anxiously waited an answer from Fermin but it never came and you felt stupid, did he think you did it on purpose or was he being the cold and stoic Fermin you know again? You felt like you managed to make him open up more and made progress in your friendship and would hate if he went back to being distant. You thought about what can you text him that would make him answer but before you could find something your phone started ringing.

Fermin Lopez

You picked it up slightly nervous.

“Hey”

“Hey, are you not riding with everyone else to the venue?” he asked straight away without even asking how you were.

“No, um, I’ll go straight from my place so…” you drifted off not knowing how to explain why you weren’t going with your boyfriend.

“Are you ready?”

“Well, I’ll probably be ready in 15.” you looked at yourself in the mirror, you had the dress on and your makeup was almost done.

“Okay, I’ll pick you up then.” he suggested but his voice was so neutral you couldn’t understand any emotion behind it.

“What? Fermin you don’t ha…”

“I’m on my way Y/N. I’ll text you once I’m outside.” he said and hung up before you could even reply.

You stood there for a few moments trying to understand what just happened, why was Fermin this interested in how you’ll arrive at the venue or how you’re doing and more importantly, why wasn’t Pedri?

You decided to push these thoughts away and put on your accessories for the night but was a little too slow because Fermin already texted you before you could put everything on. You told him you need 5 more minutes and he was welcome to wait in your living room whilst you finish up and he soon rang the doorbell.

You opened the door revealing Fermin in a suit, this was the first time you’ve seen him this formal and admittedly, he looked nice. Actually he looked so good that you had to tear your eyes away from him but he didn’t look like he noticed, he was too busy looking at your figure with wide eyes. This may be the longest he’s ever looked your way but once you made proper eye contact, he immediately looked away.

“Hi” you smiled and hugged him softly, kissing one of his cheeks. He smiled at you and placed his hand on your waist careful not to put it too low. It felt more like a fancy first date than two friends carpooling to a charity event where your boyfriend was waiting for you and the thought made your stomach turn. There was something about Fermin that you couldn’t understand, he was never inappropriate or weird with you but you couldn’t help but feel something and that something scared the living shit out of you.

“You look amazing, told you this was the best dress.” he shyly said and your cheeks turned red with his compliment, you knew he preferred this dress but it was also your favorite. You didn’t wear it for him.

“So do you.” you replied and it was his turn to have reddened cheeks. He looked down at his shoes and didn’t look back up until you spoke again.

“Let me put on my shoes and we can go.”

You went into your shoe closet and picked out the nude heels you had in mind. They weren’t too high but still elevated your look. You dropped them in front of your door and tried getting in them but struggled because of your dress hugging your body tightly, Fermin soon noticed your uncomfortable state.

“Here, let me help you” he didn’t even let you reply and kneeled down in front of you to help you step into your shoes and buckle them, he did one foot and lightly tapped your calf for you to hold the other one. His one hand on behind your calf steadied you while the other helped you and you were standing so close that you could feel his breath on your exposed leg which made you shiver. You placed one hand on his shoulder and he looked up at you, his eyes were filled with yet another emotion but this time you knew it wasn’t something like sadness or anger, it was pure lust and you hated that you also had the same look on your face.

He slowly rose to his feet but you didn’t let go of his shoulder, you felt glued to him at that moment. Fermin must have felt the same because he stood so close to you that your noses nearly touched and he made no effort to pull back, you knew better you really did, you should’ve taken a step back thank him for helping you and go to the event but Fermin had other plans.

He suddenly closed the gap between you two and pressed his lips onto yours in a hasty manner like he had to do it, he did it so urgently as if he needed you and you couldn’t help but move your lips with his placing your hand on the back of his neck. Your judgement was too clouded to stop as he walked you back into your living room without breaking the kiss, he only stopped when your back hit the wall and a soft moan escaped your lips.

“Fermin” you mewled as he was moving his hands all around your body and on your exposed leg.

He pulled back slightly, your foreheads still touching and both of you panting. His eyes opened for the first time since he kissed you and looked straight into your soul.

“Fermin” you whispered this time not even sure if you were asking him to stop or carry on.

“Y/N, I want this. I want this so fucking much but if you don’t, I can get out of here now and we can pretend this never happened. I’ll never bother you again.” he softly said and you were surprised at how calm he was talking contrary to how passionate he was being mere seconds ago.

You closed your eyes to try to slow your heartbeat down, your whole body was shaking a little. You tried to think but all you could think about was his lips and hands on you.

You stood there for a moment before leaning in again and he happily accepted your advances telling you to jump and you obliged not caring about anything else in the world other than Fermin. He was making you feel that alive.

“God, you’re perfect” he said while carrying you to your room and kissing every inch of skin he could find.

“Just make me feel good” you begged him and he nodded eagerly. He was going to do just that.

[hotvintagepoll]

Propaganda

Gladys Cooper (Now, Voyager, My Fair Lady)— Best known for tyrannical mothers or put upon wives, she was a gorgeous early star too. Bette Davis thought exceptionally highly of her 'On the day following Cooper's death, her Now, Voyager co-star Bette Davis appeared on The Dick Cavett Show and called Cooper "Without a doubt, the most beautiful person as well as actress, and a professional ... never was she late one minute, never didn't she know every line."'

Joan Crawford (Dancing Lady, Mildred Pierce, The Women)— God, where do I start!!! Her face is so UNIQUE and compelling and stands out so much. I love her thick brows and high cheekbones. She has a school-marmy hardness too her that makes her a little scary and therefore sexy. Her low thick voice also does it for me. Despite being an unusual looking woman with an unusual face, she never loses her glamour. Just a gorgeous talented actress, AND she was some sort of gay!!!

This is round 4 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut.]

Gladys Cooper:

Joan Crawford:

I just love women that are very mean.

she was a smoke show in every decade, from the 20s to the 60s.

The classic matronly beauty with amazing eyebrows

of course there's a space for MILF joan but i want to just take a second and say she was so cute in her early movies (like grand hotel and the women)! those parts often get forgotten but her stardom shines in them just as much as in her older #queen #icon roles

Misremembered for wire hanger hatred, this original screen queen mastered the art of the comeback and refused to let Hollywood toss her aside as she aged. The term “auteur” is usually revered for directors or writer-directors, but most critics have one actor they’ll give that title to as well: Crawford—anyone who knows classic movies already has a “Crawford picture” in their head. She knew how to style herself and promote herself. She made herself a star and kept herself fixated in the Hollywood firmament. What’s hotter than knowing just how hot you are?

(don’t think about Mommie Dearest right now) Joan was known for being super nice to all the like crew of the movies she worked on and she’d get everyone gifts. Joan would hold movie nights at her house and knit at the back of her home theater. Joan was sooo obsessed with other women including Greta Garbo, whos dressing room she would obsessively and purposefully walk by. She said that while working on Grand Hotel, Garbo grabbed her face and “if there ever was a time in my life where I would’ve been a lesbian, that was it.” But like Joan also probably did sleep with women including Barbara Stanwyck. Joan was so obsessed with Bette Davis, screening multiple movies of hers in a day at her watch party, constantly trying to spend time with her or do a movie together, insisting on the dressing room next to hers at Warners and sending her daily gifts… etc. Once Bette said that sex was gods joke to humanity and Joan said “I think the joke is on her.” Joan fucked a lot. Joan got caught publicly fucking a man and sent a letter to the woman who saw them basically saying “I bet it excited you” and the woman was like you know what. It did. Joan was best friends with a gay man. Joan was an actually genuinely good actress even though people mocked her a lot for being like cheap and stupid (partially because she never finished school because her family was broke). Joan was so insane and so cool that’s all.

[thisisnotthenerd]

ok, i know i put a poll up and that relationship tracking won the poll for what came next on the stats series.

but consider this: relationship tracking takes so goddamn long. i had already started it by the time that i put the poll up, and as of now i'm still not done. granted the list is comprehensive: romantic, platonic, familial, and adversarial relationships, separated by pc-npc and pc-pc. for every season.

anyway, i started tracking character ages in the meantime while i build up the motivation to finish the relationship tracking.

without further ado:

d20 character ages

some of these are listed in the wiki. some of these are based on vibes and more vague indications from the seasons in question. all of them have some element of my commentary. if there isn't an age given i will explain why. it's in the seating chart because that compacts the format into an understandable block and not an infinitely long list.

to be clear, some of these are confirmed with actual numbers, but some aren't, and i'm listing them as unknown and offering my opinion in place of a confirmed number.

fantasy high freshman year: i am convinced that the ages the cast give are vibes based. as someone who did not fit the normal age range of high school, i can tell you that in the US, freshmen are typically 14-15, sophomores 15-16, juniors 16-17, and seniors 17-18. that's not to say that someone can't fall out of those ranges. i did. anyway:

fig faeth: ~15. this is a rough estimate--she'd be born just after fall cutoff for her year to start at 15.

gorgug thistlespring: 14-15. he was confirmed 14 at the start of the season, and presumably turns 15 at some point during the year.

adaine abernant: 14-15. this is based on the fact that she turns 16 before the events of sophomore year

fabian seacaster: 16. a bit older than your average freshman, but i knew people who were 16 freshman year, so it's not that weird.

kristen applebees: 15-16. again a bit older than your average freshman, but younger than fabian.

riz gukgak: 14. this was confirmed in episode 13 iirc. riz is the youngest of the party

escape from the bloodkeep: this party has some major age differences that are very unclear. no real confirmed ages.

maggie: unknown. she and zaul'nazh had been in a relationship for ~100 years, so she's probably got a good couple of centuries under her belt

leiland: unknown. similar deal to maggie--he spent centuries serving zaul'nazh. how many? who knows

efink murderdeath: unknown. she's a tolkienesque high elf. if we go full lotr comparison to arwen, she's over 2000 by the time she marries percival.

sokhbarr: unknown. again, we don't really get confirmation of an age for him--he's just kind of an ageless bog-lord.

lilith: old as time. she ate the stars. definitely the oldest of the party.

markus st. vincent: unknown. human, so he has a human lifespan. i'd pin him in his 30s. given that his closest comparison is probably faramir, who's 35 at the start of the war of the ring, i think 30s tracks.

the unsleeping city: here we have a mix of confirmed ages and some straight up vibes.

ricky matsui: late 20s early 30s. more specifically around 26-31. this is vibes-based. i based this on his career progression.

sofia lee: early-mid 30s. another vibes-based one. again based on career progression. she feels a little older than ricky and pete, but not by much. married to dale for 5 years, so if they got married when she was in her late 20s, this tracks.

kingston brown: 55. thank god a confirmed number.

misty moore: ~400. at least that's how long she's been on earth. this actually comes from tucii. i'd put her misty form in late 70s early 80s, and her rowan form in her mid 20s.

kugrash: ~60, based on his 30 years as a rat druid.

pete conlan: younger than 31. this is based on a reference ally makes in tucii to big business (1988), so i aged him back three years. i would guess mid-late 20s during tuc; he mentions not having seen his dad in 6 years. assuming pete fully transitioned during college/around college age, it would make sense for him to be around 25-28 during the first unsleeping city.

tiny heist: some of these characters just straight up don't age, so they don't really count when evaluating age.

rick diggins: unknown. he's a clicko man. he cannot age except in spirit.

boomer coleoptera: unknown. vaguely middle-aged, though that might just be clint mcelroy's general dad energy

agnes: elderly. no confirmed number, though she's old enough to have a grandma schtick, a reputation, and a terminal illness prognosis of 2 months

ti-83: a teen. and that's all we know. probably younger than bean.

bean: late teens early 20s. a vague range, but at least it's something.

car-go jones: another ageless toy. at least a decade in human years, if we estimate that max got him at a similar age that he gives him to dylan.

a crown of candy: finally some goddamn numbers.

liam wilhelmina: 17-18. he starts at 17 and turns 18 in ep 15 iirc.

theobald gumbar: ~50. this tracks for him assisting lazuli and being amethar's friend during the war

jet rocks: 18. and she never lived past 18.

saccharina frostwhip: 23-24. this tracks for her being born around the ravening war, before the rocks sisters were killed.

ruby rocks: 18. and she keeps living.

amethar rocks: 48. reasonable. he'd have been in his mid 20s during the ravening war.

lapin cadbury: old man. yes that is the actual entry. i'd say he's probably 10-15 years older than amethar to really be considered old.

cumulous rocks: late 30s early 40s. tracks for being created by lazuli while theo was starting his knighthood under her.

fantasy high sophomore year: i'm halfway convinced that the intrepid heroes just don't know how old high schoolers are. granted, they may be going for general teen, i.e. 13+1d6, so the more batshit stuff they do comes across as a little more normal. it's like having actors in their 20s play teens. except they're actually dnd characters. and they're in their 30s.

fig faeth: 16-17. another rough estimate for fig.

gorgug thistlespring: 17. a little funky, since he was 14 at the start of fhfy. the principle of 13+1d6 comes across here

adaine abernant: 16. her age range for the year is 15-16, which is normal for a high school sophomore.

fabian seacaster: 18. definitely stretching it a bit. the listed current age is 18-19, which i'm assuming is using boy's night as reference.

kristen applebees: 16-17, which tracks with her progression from freshman year

riz gukgak: 16. confirmed in ep 14 iirc. since he was 14 in feb of freshman year, and assuming spring break is ~april, he has a spring birthday.

pirates of leviathan: there's a pretty clear split of age groups in this season--the first to introduce adults in spyre.

sunny biscotto: 18. her first adventure as an independent person, even though it was technically her running away from home.

barbarella sarsaparilla gainglynn: 22. it tracks; she grew up isolated on leviathan and isn't super far into her career, though she has a pretty strong base

cheese stormcrank: 16. the youngest of the party, even though he's his family breadwinner. the left table is the young people in this party.

myrtle: 30. aabria calls her a 'dirty thirty'. so that may not be exact.

jack brakkow: late 50s equivalent. granted he's a ratkin, and middle age starts at 25 for them, with old landing at 40. so he may actually be younger, probably closer to myrtle's age if not a little older.

marcid the typhoon: unknown. he's never given a specific age. given that he's known myrtle for a long time, and at some point was nearly drowned in a shipwreck, i'm going to put him in his 30s as well.

the unsleeping city chapter ii: again, a mix of confirmed ages and vibes.

ricky matsui: early 30s. 29-34. this is just three years aged up from the first unsleeping city.

sofia lee: mid 30s. another age-up from

kingston brown: 58. thank god a confirmed number.

iga lisowski: 45. it feels like she kind of plays up the old lady schtick for her job, bc 45 isn't that old.

rowan berry: ~400. at least that's how long she's been on earth. rowan form in her mid 20s.

cody walsh: 26. this is a 26 year old hot topic manager with 12 swords and extreme mediocrity. truly a character designed to cause chaos.

pete conlan: younger than 34. again based on the reference ally makes in tucii to big business (1988). i'd put him at around 28-31. definitely around cody's age, a little older, but not much.

mice & murder: they are animals using variant human stats, so they're using human ages.

gangie green: 55. he definitely acts younger in certain circumstances.

buckster $ boyd: unknown. probably younger than gangie--late 40s perhaps? we know he's a gemini.

daisy d'umpstaire: almost 60. she's past her prime and wondering if she really wants to do this for the rest of her life

ian prescott: unknown. definitely middle aged, probably around buckster's age.

lars vandenchomp: 18, supposedly in dog years. also a cancer. i don't know how, given that they served in the schnauzer war and supposedly have a business degree.

sylvester cross: 55. another person past his prime, and wondering what's he's doing with the rest of his life.

misfits & magic: the first school season to actually have consistent ages, assuming they're entering as sixth years who were in their junior year in the us.

whitney jammer: 16. born around 2005.

k | dream: 17. born around 2004

sam black: 16. another 2005 baby

evan kelmp: 17. born around 2003. this tracks for him not having formal education-- a little old for the grade.

the seven: the first spyre school season to have the ages be consistent. the ladies know teenagerhood well.

the fact they lost a year or so in the palimpsests makes placing their grades a little fuzzier: we know sam, ostentatia, and zelda get taken during the school year. penny goes missing just before the start of the year, and antiope, katja, and danielle get taken beforehand.

antiope jones: 18. she lost a year in the palimpsest, so she's technically a super senior, making her a junior during fhfy.

katja cleaver: 18. another technical super senior, who was a junior during fhfy.

penny luckstone: 18. again, she lost her junior year during fhfy.

danielle barkstock: 16-17. i'd say 17, because that makes her a sophomore during fhfy--she'd have repeated the year to be a junior during the seven.

ostentatia wallace: 16-17. leaning toward 17 again, but younger than danielle. we don't get full confirmation of how old she is/what grade she's in during fhfy, but given the fact that she's established enough to host a party at her house during fhfy, i'd say she's a sophomore, and that's the year she repeats.

sam nightingale: 18. i'd say close to 19, because she's definitely in penelope's age group if not grade, and i'm pretty sure i recall penelope being a senior during fhfy. she may have been young for her grade initially, but came out on the other end after fhfy.

zelda donovan: 16-17. leaning towards 16 for zelda; she's a freshman with the bad kids during fhfy, and is the last maiden to be captured, at some point during the second semester. she could conceivably retake classes over the summer and catch up in order to be a sophomore the same year as the bad kids.

shriek week: this is a college season, so they're college aged. i don't have that much to say--we know exactly how old they are.

terry talbo: 22

megan mirror: 23

tuti iv: 21

seven: 22

a starstruck odyssey: there's a mix here--some vagueness, some numbers. in-universe their ages would be counted differently anyway, since they work off of 6-month cycles and not 12-month years.

gunnie miggles-rashbax: mid 30s. he's got two PhDs and a master's as well as a cyborg body and years of trying to pay off debt.

riva: unknown. it's reasonable to assume that they're on the younger side, given that they are on their galavant. i'd assume around early-mid 20s for their species.

norman takamori: unknown. based on the art and his general timeline, i'd say ~40s. maybe 50s.

skip | valdrinor: unknown. he's a cerebroslug who was presumably raised somewhere, tried to escape, ended up in space and then in a crate of powdered egg substitute.

margaret encino: 24. a savant who began working at 18. truly a girlboss on a quarter life crisis.

sundry sidney: n/a. she's an android--aging doesn't really apply to her. i think it's only been a year or so since the line was shut down, since it's been revamped as the warfare whitneys.

big barry syx: 38. this also carries over to barry nyne. we know barry bohunk created the barry battalion before anarchera 200 (current=220), but they were born as 25 year old beautiful big boys. in short, barry's age is a little questionable.

coffin run: another age split season, since half of the party is immortal.

aleksandr astrovsky: 41. young to be florina's zayde. also 15 sons? especially when he and marina had not been in contact for ~7 years? insane.

squing: old as time. younger than dracula, but only just. just a squishy headed vampire who eats letters.

wetzel: 26. has not even lived a majority of his lifetime and already wants to be a vampire.

may wong: 24. granted that's because she was turned at 24 so as to be eternally young and hot, so she's a bit older than that probably.

a court of fey and flowers: they are archfey that don't die. blooms are centuries apart. assume these age ranges are going to be like the bloodkeep ranges.

andhera: unknown. younger than most of the fae--he's the current heir to the unseelie, but has had many siblings who died previously in pursuit of the throne. most of the others knew them when they were younger; hob unhorsing him on the field of battle is only one example. so definitely like just of age for this prince.

k.p. hob: unknown. definitely older than andhera and likely binx, he's in the prime of his military career. getting closer to middle age, but still a relatively eligible bachelor, given that the goblin court sought to make a marriage alliance with lady sylmenar.

chirp featherfowl: unknown. i'd put her at the archfey equivalent of late 20s early 30s just based on vibes. she's still getting down at the bloom but has a 4 year old at home on the material plane.

squak airavis: unknown. i'd say slightly younger than chirp, but they've been cousins for so long that the difference is irrelevant. late 20s, getting down and breaking hearts at the bloom. considering marriage but shopping around.

delloso de la rue: unknown. rue is a little tricky--they were brought to the court of wonder as a child and presumably aged normally to that point, but they've been an archfey ever since. closer to hob's age than the lords of the wing.

binx choppley: unknown. the crisis of the court of craft happened relatively recently in fey terms and she was an adult by that point, though not truly the leader at the time. i'd say she's older than andhera, younger than the lords of the wing.

neverafter: some weird age splits in this party; kids, adults, inexplicable trickster spirits.

rosamund du prix: 18. technically 118, but that doesn't really matter.

timothy goose: unknown. he's old enough to have greying hair and an adult son--late 40s-early 50s maybe?

pinocchio: 12. this is based on both him and ylfa being 21 during the epilogue, so i'm assuming they're the same/a similar age.

puss in boots/pib: unknown. we meet him when he's on the older side for a cat, but also he's an eternally reincarnating trickster spirit, so that doesn't really matter.

gerard of greenleigh: 32. the other adult in the party, even though he doesn't have everything figured out.

ylfa snorgelsson: 12. this is confirmed in story, and she and pinocchio are the same age.

the ravening war: this season is a little weird because of the time skip and the fact that some ages are unconfirmed.

delissandro katzon: starts at 19, 21 after the first timeskip, 26 after the second. a young man.

raphaniel charlock: unknown. i'd say he starts in his late 60s and ends the season in his mid-70s. old enough to be deteriorating and have specific signs of age, but still spry enough to pull off a cunning action dash.

karna solara: 14 to start, 16 post-timeskip 1, 21 post-timeskip 2. rotting from a young age.

colin provolone: unknown. i'd place him in his late 20s to start, mid 30s by the end, based on his art and the start of cheese pattern baldness.

amangeaux epiceé du peche: unknown. mid 20s to start, early 30s by the end. she and her husband had been trying for heirs for a while--assuming she married young, she's not past her prime, but not having a kid in her position would be a little sus. also the fact that she must have had a relatively healthy uncomplicated pregnancy points to her still being pretty young to start.

dungeons & drag queens: a lot of variance here as well. mostly vibes-based.

troyánn: 242. she's got a combination of elf and immortal mermaid queen--this is reasonable.

princess foehammer: unknown. probably in her 20-30s.

gertrude: unknown. explicitly immortal--the only sign of age is her hair. she's been around for a while.

twyla: unknown. she's another fairy of unknown age.

mentopolis: some of these characters have stated ages. they are also concepts in a brain.

conrad schintz: 10. his growth has been stunted for years.

anastasia tension: 24. an up and coming journalist running form her rich family? say no more.

hunch curio: unknown. he's a concept in a brain. on vibes? 40s.

imelda pulse: unknown. i'd say she's probably around anastasia's age, given that they demonstrably grew up together.

dan fucks: unknown. another concept in a brain. 20-30s on the vibes alone.

the fix: unknown. concept in a brain. old enough to be a father and a contract killer is all i'll say.

burrow's end: this follows stoat aging--some of these are confirmed, some are guesses.

tula: 1-2 years old, leaning towards 2. old enough to have kids of a reasonable age, if the 1 year mark is adulthood (male stoats achieve sexual maturity at 10-11 months)

jaysohn: somewhere between 6 and 8 months old. growing up fast.

viola: 1-2 years old, same litter as tula. i looked up stoat reproduction against recommendation.

thorn vale: 1-2 years old. in the vague adult range with tula and viola.

ava: 4 years old. potentially could live for 15 more winters. unbelievable.

lila: somewhere between 6 and 8 months old. same litter as jaysohn, but is the elder of the two of them.

and that's all for this time! despite being this long, this is still going to be shorter than the relationship tracking. as always the spreadsheet is available for perusal.

[k-slla]

You let go of me, so let me go.

A/N: part 2 of Hello, Goodbye. - I was sent an ask by anon, who thought that in the first part Jensen threw everything away too easily and should have some regrets- so now he does. But it's a little too late already.

This is also the one I did the poll for, but I've decided not to use any certain characteristics for Tom, so you can imagine here any Tom you want (for me it's Hardy 🤍 but Hiddleston, Holland or I'm sure even Selleck would work- whatever floats your boat😘)

Warnings- language, angst, fluff

WC: ~2K

My Masterlist

Dividers by @saradika-graphics

As always- feedback is golden! 🤍 All mistakes are mine.

Hope you'll enjoy!

You arrived at Gen and Jared's home and waited at the door with Tom. It was their annual New Year’s dinner party again. This time Jared didn’t allow you to miss that. In his words he had “just been lenient with you” last year, because your divorce from Jensen was so recent, but now you had no excuses not to go.

You squeezed Tom’s hand hard. “Wait.” You said anxiously when he almost started to knock.

“What’s wrong, Doe?” Your felt insides melt a little hearing him say his nickname for you.

“I’m a little nervous. Jensen’s probably going to be here and I haven’t really heard from him since…you know?”

You felt dumb for being all worked up for such a thing. He was the one who wanted to divorce. And even though you initially reacted rather calmly at that, it really got to you when you had moved out from your sister’s and got your own place. For months, you waited and hoped every day for that one phone call from him telling you that he'd made a mistake. That he regretted leaving you. But it didn't come and as the weeks went by, you started to think about him less and less.

For a while you just kept to yourself, stayed home, and tried to get used to living alone again. Well, you were alone a lot even when you were married to him, but this was different from that. Call it a force of habit, but your mind still wandered around, thinking when he'd be home again, and unconsciously every now and then you reached for your phone to call or text him. It took a lot from you to completely get over him, but you managed to do just that.

And now you had Tom, who stood like a rock next to you, when you slowly took your time to climb out of the hole that Jensen had thrown you into.

“I am right here with you. Take a deep breath.” You looked into his eyes that almost sparkled, illuminated by the porch lights. He breathed deeply in sync with you, calming you down.

“Ready?” You squared your shoulders and sucked in a quick breath.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

Both Jared and Gen welcomed you with big smiles on their faces. “Y/N, hi, you look gorgeous! Tom, so glad you could make it, too!” Gen offered both of you flutes of champagne.

“Thank you, sweetheart, you do, too. We’re glad to be here, Gen!” You smiled back at them, but Jared eyed you with suspicion.

“Well, I couldn’t help but to come when I've heard such stellar things about your parties.” Both men greeted each other with a quick pat on their shoulders. Gen blushed deeply at the compliment and pulled both of you into the house. Jared hanged a little back.

“Y/N.” He called after you when you started to walk into the house. “Go on, I’ll be right behind you.” You smiled at Tom and placed a quick kiss on his cheek.

“As you say, dear.” He turned to follow Gen to the kitchen.

Feeling Jared’s eyes on you, you started to anxiously fiddle with your clutch. “Y/N, how are you?” He knew exactly what buttons to push to get you talking. But you didn’t want to make him worry, not more than he already is all the time.

“I’m okay.” You kept your eyes down because you knew he’d see right through you.

“Are you really? It’s about seeing Jensen again, right? You know…” he lowered his voice just a little. “He’s not doing very well. He was nervous about seeing you, too.”

Involuntary scoff slipped past your lips. “Well, as I said, I am doing okay, couldn't care less of him.” You snapped a little too harshly and apologized immediately. “I’m sorry. I just... I don’t really want to talk about him today.”

You turned around and almost bumped into Jensen. “Sorry!” You smiled at him quickly, brushing off the fact that he probably heard your and Jared's conversation. “Hi, Y/N! You- you look beautiful.” You saw hesitation in his eyes. “Can we please talk for a second? I really need to-”

“Sorry, Tom's waiting for me.” You pointed behind him towards the room where Tom was making small talk to other guests. The truth was, you just didn't have anything to say to him. Not something nice anyways. Jensen didn't push for more, just nodded sadly and walked past you. “Right. Okay then. See you later.”

You took a deep grounding breath and plastered a smile on your face when you joined Tom and other quests. You tried to blend into the conversation, but couldn't really pay attention to them. Tom saw you zoning out, and pulled you aside and guided you out to the garden.

“Hey, is everything alright?” He waited patiently. You moved closer to him, silently asking for him to hug you. He wrapped his arms around your small frame and you closed your eyes, enjoying his body heat that was now surrounding you.

Finally you managed to speak. “I ran into Jensen just now. He wanted to talk.” Your voice was quivering a bit. You wanted to think it was from cold, but you knew inside that it was not.

“And?”

“And what?” You were confused.

“Did you talk to him?”

“No.”

“Are you going to talk to him?”

Your eyes focused on the vapor from your breaths floating around you, almost if the answer to his question was to be found there.

“No.” Your heart felt heavy, saying it out loud. He pulled you in thighter.

“But maybe you should?” He asked cautiously. You weren't expecting his reaction to be…that.

“What? You really think so?” You looked up at him surprised.

“Hear me out, dear. Just listen to what he wants to say. I know that it might be hard, but maybe it will be good for you, too?”

You were thinking hard at what he said. Maybe it would be good for you. But you're not going to look for him. If he wants to try to talk again, you'd listen, but that's it.

“Ugh, I hate it when you're right.” You smiled through the quick kiss you pressed on his lips.

You and Tom went back inside the house and Jared immediately pulled him along to play charades they had going on. He was a little bit hesitant at first, but quickly let it go. You settled on the couch in the corner to relax and cheer him on from the sidelines.

While you were quietly sipping your champagne, you saw Jensen approaching again. Now that you got a good look at him, you saw that he really did not look very well. He looked at you expectantly, waiting for permission to sit down.

You looked at Tom, who gave you a quick encouraging wink, and then you turned to Jensen again. “You can sit down, I'm not gonna bite you, you know.”

“Can we maybe go somewhere more private?” You really were not looking forward to this talk, but decided it would be best to try and be open-minded.

“Alright, we can go outside. I'll be right there.” You put on your jacket and walked out to the outside seating area.

Jensen was sitting down already on a garden bench, and clearly hoped you'd join him there, but you decided to give yourself some distance and sat down on a chair a bit farther.

“Y/N, I am so fucking sorry about everything.” He stared into your eyes and you didn't turn away your gaze either. “I- I love you, and I miss you so much, sweetheart. I have now realized what a huge fucking mistake I've made.” You cringed internally at his nickname he'd given to you when you were still together.

“Is there any way possible that you still feel the same? That we might still have a chance?” His voice was quiet, broken.

You stared at him in disbelief and felt yourself almost burst from frustration. “Are you serious?” You kept your voice at a quiet tone and you knew he must've heard it the wrong way, when he looked at you hopefully. And you knew you were going to crash it. Did he deserve it? Maybe, maybe not. Tears started to prickle in your eyes.

“Where do you get the audacity to come here and tell me that you miss me? Tell me that you still love me? It has been over a year, Jensen.” You breathed in and out deeply through your nose, to keep your tears at bay.  “Where were you, when I left you countless messages, wondering, where you are, when you were just blatantly ignoring me? Oh, right....” His eyes fell down to the ground.

You went and sat next to him, waiting for him to look up. But he didn't. “Look at me.” You begged him and he finally did. “Where were you 8 months ago, when I still hoped for you to call to say that you've made a mistake? Where were you then, when I was still waiting every day for you to come back to me?” Jensen turned away again.

“I didn't know tha-'' you cut in before he could finish his sentence.

“You didn't know what? That I still loved you, even after you broke my heart? You knew that I did, I even told you that then.” You couldn't control your trembling voice.

“You could've called..”

“Oh, please, I have more self-respect than to go beg for someone to take me back after I've been dumped.”

He looked at you, brows knitted together. “That's not what I meant, you know that.”

You stood up from the bench and looked down at him. “Doesn’t really matter anymore. You're a year too late to come here to talk to me. I have finally moved on and I’m actually happy. As I said then - I want the best for you, but you can honestly now go screw yourself for even thinking that I’d take you back.”

You turned to leave, not waiting for his answer, and saw that Tom was waiting for you by the door.

“Ugghh..” you groaned loudly, letting him clearly know, how the conversation with Jensen went. “You probably heard everything, right?” you looked up at him.

“I wasn't eavesdropping, if that's what you mean,” he kissed your temple. “But yeah, I caught the last bit. You okay?”

You let out a deep sigh. “Not right now, but I will be, I guess.” He held you still in his embrace.

“Do you want to leave? I'm sure Jared and Gen would understand.”

“No, that would look.. I don't know…cowardly. I'm not afraid of being here with him. I just wish…” you stopped to think what to say, and finally sighed. “-I didn't have to see him tonight.”

You heard heavy stomps in the snow behind you, and a second later, Jensen walked into the room without another word. Tom didn't even have to say anything, you already knew exactly what he was thinking. “Were you too hard on him?” Like it mattered now.

You smiled at him, but it didn't reach your eyes. “He'll get over it. I did.”

You let go of him and took his hand into yours. “Let's take a little walk, before we go back.”

You were walking in silence around the snow covered garden, occasionally throwing a look up at the starry night sky.

You knew you weren't lying to Jensen. You really were happy again. You stopped so suddenly that Tom almost slipped when he continued walking. You pulled him back, and put your arms around his neck, gently pushing your fingers through his hair. With your eyes closed, you kissed him sweetly before whispering close to his lips: “Thank you.”

“For what?” He smiled down at you.

“For everything. I love you.”

Finally you could say for sure that Jensen and everything he did was put behind you, and you could look forward to your future with Tom.

Tags: @jackles010378 @cevansbaby-dove @alternativeprincess94 @deanwinchestersgirl87

[gimmethosedaddymilkers]

The Stronger Desires

So, starting off strong, we're doing the request for @cantchoosejust1 first, who lovingly requested a femme fatale reader.

Now, I haven't written anything like this, so hopefully you enjoy my spin on things.

Now, let's see exactly what happens with these two.

*Side note, I may have a poll later regarding a pfp change, just to see everyone's thoughts.*

Warnings: Cursing, canon like violence, sexual innuendos, perhaps even fluff, Female reader

The gif is unfortunately not mine, and Tumblr didn't wanna work with me, so it's from Pinterest.

Anywho

Arthur wished, truly, that he could explain exactly how he ended up in this spot, but honestly he'd be just as lost as whoever he was telling the story too.

The night had started off pretty good in all honesty. The gang had been celebrating, enjoying their success on the last job they'd managed to pull off, drinking, laughing, and causing problems for everyone else around them in the saloon.

The place had been lively. Hell, even Arthur had ACTUALLY been having fun.

The biggest smile on his face as he took a seat in the far corner to catch his breath from all the dancing and singing he'd been doing, which he was sure had made him look like an absolute fool.

He chuckles to himself as he quietly lights a cigarette and places it between his lips.

The Saint Denis saloon was...surprisingly more lively than what he'd expected it to be. Rich folks sure knew how to party properly.

Out of the corner of his eye he spots something, a brightly colored dress, not out of the norm for this place, but, for some reason, this one seemed...different.

He turned his head to look, and he was honestly surprised he managed to keep the cigarette in his mouth with the way it nearly fell open.

The woman wearing the dress was far prettier than the actual dress itself.

A gorgeous face, and absolutely wonderful hair as well.

The only part that didn't quite make much sense to him was the fact that you were all over a fat aristocrat. Balding with an awful mustache, but you seemed to be rather excited to stand next to him.

He couldn't quite understand it, how absolutely stunning you are, yet you're following a man like that around.

It boggled him.

The night continued, as they usually do, but now that he'd seen you, Arthur couldn't quite stop staring at you.

You were absolutely beautiful. You were...stunning, and it was damn near impossible for him to focus on much else.

It was hard not to when they man you were clinging too was a big as a house, and being followed around by at least four body guards.

What he was doing in a saloon he'd never know.

It's pretty late at night when things really start to get confusing for Arthur. It's about here that he'd be a little...confused when trying to retell the tale.

Due to the confusing nature of it all as well as all the apple pie moonshine in his system.

Things seem to be going smoothly, until all the sudden the entire saloon is screaming rather than singing.

Instinct takes over and Arthur's hand grabs the butt of his pistol before he realizes exactly what's going on.

The crowd quickly disperses, and it's then that Arthur realizes exactly what happened.

You, you're what happened.

There, on the floor is the aristocrat, though he's much less lively now that there's a bullet wound through his head.

How the hell he hadn't heard the shot he still didn't grasp.

The body guards all surround...you.

Arthur almost jumped up right then and there to defend you. He could take out all four of them in a matter of seconds, and he knew that, but right as he contemplates it he watches you pull a revolver out from under your dress.

The evening suddenly got much more interesting.

"Back off! Or I'll kill you too, that fat bastard had more money than he needed anyway, and if he'd put his hand up my skirt one more time he was gonna die in a much worse way, so be fucking GRATEFUL!"

Arthur nearly laughs out loud at the venom in your voice. It was...well it wasn't funny actually, it was more...attractive to him than anything.

For a moment you make eye contact with him, and it's a strange sensation, the way the two of you seem to talk with your eyes.

Arthur gives you a soft nod, a small smirk on his face and then he nods towards the saloon doors.

You give a nod in return and Arthur takes it as his que to leave discreetly.

It's only a moment later when you exit the saloon at a sprint, and Arthur holds his hand out for you to grab as he sits atop his horse, a black Shire.

You take his hand and he hoists you up easily, as if you weigh nothing at all.

The moment you're on his horse he takes off, the remaining guards rushing out of the saloon too.

It's only seconds after that, that the sound of the lawmen's whistles can be heard. One of the patrons must have reported the gunshot.

You hold onto Arthur for dear life, an arm around his torso and the other holding out your revolver.

"Nice to meet you mister! I take it you aren't exactly a friend of the government either?"

"No ma'am!"

Arthur laughs at the absurdity of it and keeps riding hard as the lawmen start to gather behind the two of you.

"Quick on your feet back there!"

He states, taking a turn down an alleyway that appeared to be just big enough.

"Thanks, you too, saw you reach for your gun!"

You chuckle to yourself.

"Don't exactly look the rich type. In fact, don't look like the Saint Denis type. I take it you might be in the uh...'bodyguard' business."

"If ya mean shootin' fools who deserve it, then yes, I am."

"Yeah, that's what I mean."

"Arthur Morgan."

"Y/N L/N."

"Nice to meet ya. Let's get the hell outta here."

Arthur did his best to do just that, out running the law as quickly as he could get his poor horse to go.

Finally after quite some time the two of you make it into the woods, just outside Saint Denis, the sound of the lawmen steadily fading.

You're nearly out of the woods, metaphorically of course, when a stump seems to have other ideas.

Arthur and you both go flying off the horse, and directly into the mud below.

It's dark as hell and Arthur has no clue exactly where he is, and you just barely do.

Both of you are covered in mud and Arthur's horse: Mayhem, is currently writhing on the ground attempting to right itself.

You sit up in the mud, scoffing and trying to wipe mud off your face as Arthur does the same.

"Christ Alive..."

Arthur groans, flicking his arm downwards, trying to get the mud off.

You do the same, looking at him with a look of disgust on your face, only for a moment, before you start laughing.

"Well, Mr. Morgan, how very kind of you to dump me in the mud like this."

"Well I didn't mean-"

You laugh and stand up, before you tear off your skirt, now soiled with mud, to reveal your pants underneath it.

"I needed to get that thing off anyway, I was about tired of it."

You reach your hand out, and Arthur takes it, a sort of sheepish grin on his face.

"Well, glad ya ain't too mad at me."

"Nah...you ain't crossed the line just yet cowboy."

Arthur laughs this time and pulls his hand away to run it over his stubble in an attempt to try and get the rest of the mud off.

"I'll be stinkin' for weeks with this stuff, even if I take a damn bath at the hotel."

He sighs and takes his hat off, wiping mud off the brim.

He looks up at you.

"So...Miss L/N...You...sure seem more than capable of takin' care of yourself...I assume you got somewhere you can hide out for a bit until the law gets off you?"

"Course I do."

You laugh and step closer. You take the hat from his hand and gently place it back on his head, pressing your hand to his chest in the process.

"All worried about me there, Mr. Morgan?"

"Worried? No. Curious? Yes."

You offer yet another chuckle and then step around him, letting your hand travel over his shoulder, gently taking it away as you step closer to his horse, and offer it an apple from your bag that had been hidden beneath your dress.

"Well Mr. Morgan...if you're so interested, I suppose you'll have to bump into me again sometime soon, won't you? After all you did save me back there...even if you threw me into the mud afterwards."

"Hey I said-"

"So defensive."

You tease and step back towards him, you flick his hat, making it tilt upwards slightly.

"Send me a letter sometime Mr. Morgan...I could use someone like you for some of my...endeavors. If you're willing that is."

"Depends...You ain't gonna make me dress up and sing the can can are you?"

"No, I wasn't but...now I might."

You laugh and look towards Saint Denis' in the distance.

"Well...Mr. Morgan, if you could do me a favor and drop me off near Rhodes...I think I'd be forever in your debt."

Before Arthur could really register it, that's exactly where he was, stopped in front of the Rhodes train station, holding something you'd given him as he watched you climb onto the train.

A heavy locket, sat in his palm, as well as a handkerchief you'd insisted on giving him, with your initials sewed into the corner of it.

You smile at him, and wave from your seat as the train pulls away, and something within Arthur tells him that it won't be the last time that he sees you.

He couldn't quite remember exactly how he'd managed to end up here. In all complete honesty, the only thing he really knew for certain was that you were....something, that was for sure. Spitfire and kick to you.

He'd see you again. he'd make sure of it.

Okay, so, like I said, this is slightly different than what I write, not by much, but it is a little different, so I hope it was good, and I hope that you enjoyed it! As always, I'm always happy to rewrite something if it doesn't hit the spot just right!

[thehollowwriter]

Summary: Poll winner. Some Silas and baby Finn fluff, with accidental angst (Lamentations' lovey dovey shenanigans have kept ya'll too happy)

Word count: 1982

(Pls reblog and leave a comment ❤️)

Pup

If there was one word to describe how Silas felt right now, it would he antsy. Tired, too. So so tired.

They had been out for three hours, drifting through the waters and ensnaring what prey they could find. There was a notable lack of fish compared to last season, and they were forced to swim further out.

Silas was exhausted. He didn't want to be here right now. He wanted to go home. He needed to go home. He was at home without him, he can't leave him at home without him-

Silas' fins twitched, and his tail coiled in discomfort. He sucked in a breath and tried to calm down, fearing the loud beating of his heart may alert their prey.

He needed to go home. Anything could happen without his presence there. Timo can't-

"-We can cover for you, sir."

Sleep deprived and distracted, it took Silas a few moments to process the fact that someone was talking to him. He blinked, then turned to face who had a spoken- a young member of his hunting party- with a frown.

"What?"

"You can go home if you want." The blue ringed octopus mer repeated. "We can cover for you. It's getting... late... and-" She faltered. "You... seem... anxious about... your..."

Silas stared at her as she trailed off and shrank into herself, avoiding his eyes. "If you want, sir."

Silas simply observed her a minute or so, watching her fins flick and quiver nervously. Behind her, the other four waited for an answer with wide eyes.

"...Don't come back empty-handed."

Silas was darting through the water towards home before any of them could respond. They would manage just fine. They were a talented group of mers.

"Anxious"? "Antsy"? Neither could even begin to describe the pit in his stomach and the weight on his chest, the sense of dread that hung over him like a dark cloud.

He's going to open the door to an empty, silent house. He's going to be met with the stench of blood. He's going to fail. He will be gone. He's going to be alone again-

Timo's surpised yelp when the front door burst open made Silas feel just a little better.

The cuttlefish in question looked at him in surprise, a hand over his heart and skin bright yellow with alarm.

"Mister Silas, sir, you're back early!" Timo exclaimed, his colours slowly turning back to normal.

Silas ignored him, continuing to swim anxiously down the hallway.

"Where's Finn?"

"Uh... asleep? In your room?" Timo's tone was quizzical, and he followed after Silas with an incredibly confused look on his face. "Is something wrong?"

Silas didn't answer. He simply swam into his room and towards the cradle crafted from coral and bone at the foot of the bed and peered inside.

A glorious feeling of relief flooded him, and the weight on his chest lifted.

Curled up around a clam on a mattress of seasponge, his son slept soundly, the rise and fall of his chest and the flutter of gills gentle and calm.

Finn was fine. He was breathing. His heart was beating. There was no blood. He was safe.

"How was he?"

Timo took a few moments to realise Silas was talking to him. "Oh! Yeah, he was great. He was a bit fussy and started chewing on me, but I got him the clam to play with, and he fell asleep just before you arrived."

"And his food?"

"Pureed shrimp and seaweed, like you showed me. He ate it all really fast. I think he's due to eat some more now, though."

Silas nodded slowly. "Thank you, Timo, I... I appreciate it."

Tino lit up like a light. "No problem, Mister Silas!" He said, making an awkward salute gesture. "I'm happy to help."

Silas sent a small smile the teen's way. "You can take a few extra madol and a few scallops and lobsters home. I'll see you tomorrow, Timo."

Surprise adorned Timo's face, and he nodded slowly, almost like he didn't believe what he was hearing.

"T-Thank you so much, Mister Silas! I'll see you tomorrow!"

'Swim safe.' Silas wanted to say, but the words would not leave his lips. He simply watched Timo disappear from sight and waited until he heard the door open and shut.

A comfortable silence settled over the house, and, finally alone, Silas reached into the crib to gently thumb at Finn's cheek.

His chest tightened when he got no response, but the sight of the tiny, beating heart through Finn's translucent skin made him relax once more.

"You're safe..." He murmured, moving his hand away to rub his temple. "Safe."

With that mantra repeating in his mind, Silas moved away from the crib to the large clam shell bed with sea sponge and seagrass nestled inside. He settled onto it and rested his chin on his wrists, gaziny at the cradle as if he feared it would vanish if he blinked.

However, finally relaxed and lying on something soft with his pup in sight and perfectly safe, his lack of sleep began to creep up on him. Before he knew it, his eyes slid shut, and he drifted into a state of unconsciousness.

A series of clicks, whistles, and squeaks shattered his peaceful sleep, followed by the sound of crying.

Silas sat up and tiredly dragged a hand down his face in frustration, growling to himself. When he fully registered what he was hearing, he shot off the clam shell and scooped Finn into his hands, clicking to let the pup know who was there.

"What's wrong?" He asked softly, cupping his hands to look Finn over carefully. He didn't seem hurt...

Finn simply cried and squeaked in response and coiled his tail around Silas' thumb. He began to chew on it, and tiny, glazed over eyes darted around as he tried to find his father.

"I'm right here." Silas murmured, shifting Finn into one hand and using his free hand to gently stroke Finn's back. "Are you hungry?"

Finn's subsequent bite into his thumb seemed to answer his question. Finn's teeth were brittle but still sharp, and little streaks of blood bloomed in the water before dissipating.

The scent hit Silas' nostrils, and for a brief moment, an overwhelming and primal sense of dread and panic washed over him.

'There's blood in the water,' Something in the back of his mind snarled at him. 'Hide.'

Silas cursed at himself but didn't move. He stayed frozen in place with pinpricks for pupils as that little voice continued to berate him.

'Idiot. Stupid. Foolish. They will smell it, they will smell you, you put yourself and your pup in danger with no one to protect you, and-'

Silas closed his eyes and took in a deep breath through his nose. He doesn't live in the abyss. Not anymore. Not for over twenty or thirty years. He lives inside a kelp forest, with a group of staff and a city nearby. It was fine.

It took Silas a few moments to realise Finn was still chewing on his thumb and to gently move him away. He could see the puncture marks and smell the blood, but he felt... nothing.

Finn squeaked at him and wriggled around, annoyed his chew toy was taken away and trying to find it again.

"It's alright, I've got something even better for you." Silas murmured. He snapped his fingers, and a tiny bottle the size of his thumb appeared in his hand.

"Shrimp and seaweed. Isn't that nice?" He asked, whistling a few times. He carefully pressed the teat of the bottle against Finn's lips, hoping the little pup would be as co-operative with him as he was with Timo.

To his relief, Finn grabbed at the bottle and started drinking the liquefied food as if he had never eaten anything in his life.

Silas sighed and smiled a bit as he supported Finn's little head with his finger and used his another to stop the bottle from dropping onto Finn's face.

"There we go. That's nice, right? Yummy yummy shrimp."

He wasn't good at 'baby talk', as it was called. He never knew what to say or how high his voice should go. Morrigan was far bett- no. Don't go there now. The dreams had just stopped tormenting him.

Finn finished the entire bottle in the span of about five or ten minutes and then pushed it away, chirping softly in content. Silas let go of the bottle and let it float to the floor. He could fetch it later. For now, his focus was entirely on Finn, who was now chewing on his own tail.

Silas gently moved Finn to the clam shell and silently observed the little one crawl off his hand and start curiously pawing and playing with the sea sponge.

Finn was so small. Only about the size of Silas' hand. He had frail bones and delicate skin and was completely blind. It would be so easy to kill him. Silas could curl his hand into a fist and crush him. Just a dash of magic could end him. Just a snap of teeth, and he could be eaten.

Silas was no longer in the abyss, but there were still threats lurking around every corner, from the alleys of the city to the wide plastered smiles of the citizens.

'At least most issues are dealt with if Leech keeps his word,' Silas thought. 'Perhaps I should speak to him abou-'

"Da."

Silas' train of thought came to a sudden stop, and he lowered himself down so his face was in front of Finn's, wondering if he had heard correctly.

"What did you say, my darling?"

At the sound of hus voice, Finn wriggled around and reached out to pat his face with a tiny, stubby hand. "Da."

Oh.

"Yes," Silas gasped, his voice barely above a whisper. "Da."

"Da!" Finn repeated. A delighted giggle left his lips. "Da!"

Silas sucked in a breath and bit his lip. That was the first time Finn had ever laughed.

Silas nodded his head, the long forgotten feeling of excitement lighting up inside him. "Yes. Yes, that's right, Finn. I'm your dad."

Finn squeaked and clicked in response, then shuffled away from Silas to play with the seasponge. Silas picked up a teething ring from his side table and placed it in front of Finn, still feeling elated.

"There, how's that? Something for your sore teeth."

Finn's hand closed around the familiar object, and he pulled it towards himself with a delighted coo. His teeth, sharp and monstrous, sank into it easily but didn't pierce through. He chewed on it happily , his tail flicking back and forth in quick succession.

Silas rested his head on the sponge bed and curled his tail to form a protective circle around Finn. He was tired but awake enough to watch his baby tucker himself out playing with teething ring and other toys Silas had placed on the bed.

After about twenty minutes, Finn lost interest in the toys and went still. A moment or two passed, and he put his hand in his mouth and looked around nervously.

"Da?" He called, following the word up with a click. There was a tremble to his finns, and he sounded like he was about to start crying. "Da?!"

"I'm here, I'm here." Silas said quickly, gently placing Finn onto the palm of his hand and bringing him close to his chest. "I'm here, precious."

Finn didn't make any further sound. He relaxed and curled his tail around Silas' finger, and then he was asleep.

Silas smiled at his lovely, wonderful, precious pup and leaned forward and gently kissed Finn's forehead. He didn't move, deciding that it was alright if Finn slept with him tonight.

"Sleep well, my treasure."

...........................................

A/N: I hope you all enjoyed! It was fun writing this, even though I'm too happy with the ending and don't think it's one of my best. Ah, well, I'll blame it on school.

BONUS:

Here's what Finn's squeaks sound like:

https://youtube.com/shorts/u_r7WwfZlFQ?si=QRFUlTUDQKROE9yZ

Tagging: @distant-velleity @theleechyskrunkly @cyanide-latte @cynthinesia @the-banana-0verlord @jovieinramshackle @oya-oya-okay @officialdaydreamer00 @krenenbaker @skrimpyskimpy @boopshoops @kitwasnothere @krenenbaker @casp1an-sea

@br3adtoasty @rainesol @galaxies-and-gore @elenauaurs @am0nline

@1dont-really-know @kazumify @minteasketches @ramshacklerumble @elysia-nsimp

@skrimpyskimpy @casp1an-sea @offorestsongs @skriblee-ksk

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

In June 2022, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturned more than a half-century of Supreme Court precedent. Five justices voted to deny constitutional protection for a woman’s right to choose and gutted privacy as a fundamental right. Texas and 13 other states now bar abortions in almost all circumstances. Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina have enacted six-week bans.

Writing for the Supreme Court majority, Samuel Alito, a George W. Bush appointee, explicitly compared the death of Roe to the end of state-enforced racial segregation, 68 years before. Back in 1954, in a landmark ruling, Brown v. Board of Education, a unanimous court overruled the doctrine of “separate but equal.” These days, Brown is under attack from Alito’s allies on and off the bench.

In their new book The Fall of Roe, named for Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that previously safeguarded federal abortion rights, Elizabeth Dias and Lisa Lerer masterfully lay out how the cultural right and pro-life movement refused to take “no” for an answer, played the long game, and attained the victory for which they had yearned. Dias and Lerer also capture the somnolence of the left and how “intersectionality” came to divide old allies.

Dias is the New York Times religion reporter. A graduate of Wheaton College, the late Rev. Billy Graham’s alma mater, she holds a master’s degree in divinity from Princeton Theological seminary. Lerer, a veteran of five presidential campaigns, covers politics for the Times. The two of them got Hillary Clinton to speak for the record.

The Democratic presidential nominee in 2016 acknowledges that her party underestimated its adversaries, but doesn’t point the finger at herself.

“We didn’t take it seriously, and we didn’t understand the threat,” Clinton said. “We could have done more to fight.”

“I just think that most of us who support the rights of women and privacy and the right to make these difficult decisions yourself, you know, we just couldn’t believe what was happening.”

“Our side was complacent and kind of taking it for granted and thinking it would never go away.”

Even as polls show that abortion rights have widening public acceptance, the mechanics of federalism have left legislatures in red states to act as a counterforce to the more liberal national ethos, a point stressed in The Fall of Roe.

“Republicans had the state legislatures,” Dias and Lerer write. “They had a top-to-bottom network. They had the court. They had the power to change American life.”

The Fall of Roe also sheds light on the infrastructure that undergirded opposition to Roe. Libertarian-minded donors didn’t particularly care about curbing abortion access and David Koch personally supported abortion rights. That having been said, Freedom Partners, a Koch-driven industry group, donated almost $1 million to anti-abortion efforts, which could be paired on election day with tax cuts and lower regulation.

Said differently, fetuses weren’t the only reasons large checks were being cut to the Federalist Society, or that constitutional originalism had become the civic religion of the right. FDR’s legacy has to be gutted. Social security may no longer be so secure.

Leonard Leo, the driving force behind the Federalist Society, receives particular attention.

“Who’s this little fucking midget?” Donald Trump once said of Leo, a close friend of Justice Clarence Thomas.

Short answer: Leo helped get each of Trump’s Supreme Court nominees across the finish line. Think of him as the straw that stirs the drink.

“After Alito was confirmed to the court, Leo connected him with ideologically aligned businessmen, some of whom had cases before the court,” Dias and Lerer write.

They add that Leo “spent time with Thomas at… a private lakeside resort owned by a major Republican donor, Harlan Crow. Their visits were memorialized in a painting, hanging inside the lodge.”

Thanks to ProPublica’s Pulitzer-winning reporting, the painting is now well known. The group is shown thoughtfully smoking cigars.

Leo’s connections also helped found a nonprofit, the Judicial Crisis Network (JCN), “on the same hallway in a downtown office building as the Federalist Society.”

Which all brings us back to Brown v. Board of Education and where the right goes next.

In Justice on Trial, an examination of Brett Kavanaugh’s elevation to the Supreme Court, conservative talking heads Carrie Severino, of JCN, and Mollie Hemingway, of the Federalist, trashed Brown.

According to Severino and Hemingway, social science wrongly played a role in the court’s calculus. They declared that such decisions “may have been correct in their result but were decided on the basis of sociological studies rather than legal principles.”

Notice the word “may.”

Fast forward to May 2024, when Thomas—who joined Alito’s opinion in Dobbs—turned his fire on Brown.

“Such extravagant uses of judicial power are at odds with the history and tradition of the equity power and the Framers’ design,” he wrote in a concurrence, sustaining a South Carolina congressional map in the face of voting rights challenge.

As another election looms, abortion and contraception have emerged as campaign issues, to the horror of Trump. On the stump, the presumptive Republican nominee has vacillated over possible restrictions on contraception. Then again, Stormy Daniels testified that Trump did not wear a condom during an encounter Trump still denies, notwithstanding 34 guilty verdicts in the case arising.

As for meting out punishment to women who have abortions, Trump would leave that to the states.

“The states are going to make that decision,” he told Time. “The states are going to have to be comfortable or uncomfortable, not me.”

He also declined to say “no” to states monitoring women, to identify those who terminate pregnancies. Think The Handmaid’s Tale.

In the 2022 midterms, Dobbs cost the Republicans their “red wave.” In 2024, it may lead to another Trump loss and Democrats retaking the House. Right now, things are that close.

[nhasablogg]

But you keep me alive

Fandom: Criminal Minds

Characters: Hotch, the BAU team

Summary: Reid and Garcia host a Halloween party. Hotch isn't sure if he should attend.

A/N: The team bonding/Halloween party option in my Criminal Minds poll won, so here you have some Hotch angst and found family set in season 3. Enjoy!

Words: 2k

(Read it on AO3)

Hotch wasn’t sure why he’d agreed to come. Maybe the prospect of spending another weekend alone at home, or sneaking into the office to work when he wasn’t supposed to, was finally starting to look too gloomy even for him. “Remember to dress up,” Reid had told him, all excitement that Hotch had never felt for Halloween until Jack had been born and he’d been picturing what it would be like to bring him out with him for trick or treating. But Jack was too little for it, or maybe had just become big enough to appreciate it had it not been for the divorce. Hotch didn’t dare ask to have him for the weekend in case he would suddenly have to get on the jet and leave. He wasn’t sure his heart would take it, this time.

He stood in front of Garcia’s apartment, for Reid and Garcia seemed to both have this shared love of dressing up that they decided to host together, and wondered if anyone was even expecting his presence. If not, would he be bringing the party down if he knocked? His costume was in his pocket, some stupid devil's horn he was certain wouldn’t go well with his regular suit anyway, but if Reid showed any disappointment over his half-assed attempt at dressing up he would say he was dressed as a bad cop. It wouldn’t be a lie.

It was warm for late october. Humid. It nearly pissed him off, that everything in his life had been turned upside down and even the weather wasn’t what it was supposed to be. He found himself lamenting over the unnecessary nowadays, maybe as a coping mechanism. Stepping in a puddle he hadn’t seen. His coffee being too hot, or too cold, never just right. When someone decided to buy the team cookies and got the kind he’d never told them he didn’t like. It was stupid. He felt stupid. He didn’t even feel proud over not snapping at anyone for silly inconveniences because he wasn’t supposed to be doing that anyway. His team had enough on their plates without him being unreasonable. From Rossi appearing and seemingly replacing Gideon before Reid had even gotten over his departure, to Garcia being shot, to JJ and Emily having to witness yet another woman around their age get killed for no reason other than that she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. And then there were the unspoken things, like the sobriety coin Reid kept fiddling with when he didn’t think anyone could see him. Hotch supposed his own divorce was an unspoken thing too. He wasn’t sure if he wanted anyone to bring it up with him when he wasn’t ready for it.

As he stood in front of the door, hand hovering over the doorbell, he wished Gideon hadn’t disappeared from the face of the earth. He was, not too surprisingly, the only person he would consider talking to about this, not from a friendly perspective necessarily but more because they’d been forced into this sort of proximity. Both older, both in a position of power over the rest of the team. Sharing rooms, sharing afternoons. He reckoned Rossi, with his usually flawless observational skills, would eventually replace him, but they weren’t there yet. Hotch didn’t know what to say to him, or where he had him. And Rossi was bolder than Gideon. Rossi wasn’t afraid of provoking the truth out of him.

Hotch dropped his hand. Wondered if he was a coward for never speaking plainly to his team members about their problems or if he was doing it to allow them some sort of guise of privacy. Partying with them was not giving them privacy. He would simply be a presence looming in the corner which would make them less relaxed.

The door opened just as he was about to turn around. “I gave you enough time, but this is getting ridiculous.” It was Emily. She was dressed in cowboy attire and had something glazed over her eyes and Hotch realized most of his team were probably several drinks in. “Are you coming or not?”

He straightened, surprisingly happy that she was speaking to him like a friend, with a tinge of impatience, nearly exasperation. “I’m coming. Just needed to brace myself for what I was about to see in here.”

She grinned, her smile always reaching her eyes, and grabbed his wrist to pull him inside. The staircase was echoey, but the sound of blasting music could just about be heard over their steps. It wasn’t loud enough to warrant a warning this early in the night, which was good because it would be just their luck if a team of seven BAU members got arrested for something so stupid.

Would make a good story though.

Hotch made sure to put on his horns before Emily pushed the apartment door open and they were met with music, laughter, and the delicious scent of something homebaked, something sweet and nostalgic.

“Was I supposed to bring something?” he asked, suddenly horrified, but Emily just shook her head before he was engulfed by the rest of his team, all dressed in ridiculous costumes from fairies to some sort of obscure fantasy creature he’d never seen. Morgan was, hilariously enough, dressed as a cop.

“Check this out,” he said, showing off his fake baton. “I’ve also got handcuffs for when Garcia starts dancing on tables and I have to restrain her.”

“Kinky.” Garcia was dressed in something purple and fluffy that probably only made sense to her and maybe Reid. She was behind the kitchen counter, stirring a red concoction which looked both terrifying and maybe a little appealing right now. Hotch had had a long day.

“You dressed up.” Reid appeared in his wizard costume, smiling from ear to ear even though Hotch’s horns could barely be called dressing up.

He cleared his throat. “I was afraid I would be turned away at the door if I didn’t.”

“Reid brought an extra costume in case you didn’t,” Rossi said, dressed as a very unrealistic vampire complete with fake fangs and red color dripping down his chin. He was grinning, as if showing off the fangs. “You should be happy you got dressed up because it looked complicated.”

“I should totally do a closet change in the middle of the party,” Reid said, vibrating on the spot at the thought, or maybe due to the bass of the music. It was bound to give Hotch a headache. He could tell.

“Here you go, sir,” Garcia said, suddenly in front of him with a glass filled with the red punch. “Tell me if you think it’s too weak and I’ll rectify that immediately.”

Hotch took a sip and nearly spit it out from how strong it was. “No, no, it’s good, Garcia, don’t worry.”

She smiled giddily and disappeared. Hotch would find she had trouble being still, just like he would come to discover that JJ, who he’d nearly missed due to how still she was on the couch, became calmer the drunker she got. Reid became giggly and bold, unused to drinking, but he seemed to also know his limits well enough. Rossi would be the same, as would Morgan, except that he would be dancing more than anything. Emily would also become bolder, louder, none of them self conscious. All of them at home.

And Hotch? Hotch would stay sober. Hotch was terrified of losing control that night.

He settled next to JJ once the attention wasn’t on him anymore. She smiled, but didn’t say anything, which he appreciated. The music seemed to have gotten just a tad louder, with an old 90s club banger making the silverware in the cupboards clatter, Morgan already swaying to it while holding onto Garcia’s hips, the two of them moving together, platonic soulmates in a way Hotch had never fully understood but never questioned. Reid was circling around them, placing fake spiders and spider webs around the apartment even though they were everywhere already. Fake skulls on the coffee table. Candy which looked like ghosts on plates. Hotch was watching him, watching him come into his own the older he got. He’d been so busy that he’d nearly missed the signs, but he’d noticed when he’d stopped. When he’d stopped and had started getting help. It had been Hotch’s first indicator that if he needed to lead this team well he needed to get out of his own head.

“You’re not drinking,” JJ said, leaning closer to be heard over the music. She had her own half-empty drink on the table in front of them, although it was more pink than red. Hotch wondered how late he’d been if Garcia had had time to make a whole new punch for his arrival.

“Don’t tell them,” Hotch said, pointing to the others with his glass. “They’re too excited to be reasonable about it.”

She let out a laugh. “Fair enough. I’ll cover you when you want to pour some out to not raise their suspicion.”

“And I’ll pretend as if I didn’t hear,” Rossi said from behind them. Hotch hadn’t realized he was there.

Hotch found himself, miraculously, grinning. “Thank you. I’ll remember this next time we have our annual evaluations.”

Emily had joined whatever Morgan and Garcia were doing, all hips and arms, with Morgan occasionally dropping it low in a way he knew he wouldn’t be doing around colleagues had they not been forced into the intimacy only a family had. Reid was still circling them in a way that it nearly looked rehearsed, all of them knowing exactly where they belonged, until Emily grabbed for Reid, too, to bring him into the huddle. He seemed uncertain for the first time since Hotch had arrived, his role suddenly changing from the excited Halloween enthusiast into something else. Something he wasn’t used to. He glanced back at him, or possibly at JJ, whom he knew he was close to anyway, as if asking for help, but JJ simply leaned back with a smile. Once Morgan joined in by grabbing Reid’s hips to force him to move, Rossi sat down beside Hotch, as if wanting to enjoy a show.

“I don’t know how to,” they heard Reid say as the song changed, looking alarmed, but Morgan simply curled his fingers over his side, something Hotch had seen so often that he knew exactly that that was what he’d done without really seeing it properly. Reid jerked away, and then twitched to the other side when Morgan repeated the action on his other side, tickling the kid into moving.

“That’s brilliant,” Rossi said with a chuckle, and Hotch had to agree, although he felt a bit bad for Reid when Garcia and Emily joined in, all three of them poking and prodding at his midriff, lower back, ribs, until he’d curled up with laughter, unable to get away and promising to dance. At least that was what Hotch assumed, as he started swaying to the music the moment they backed off, looking flustered, but not necessarily uncomfortable. Aware that he was safe here, with all of them.

“You gonna join them?” Hotch asked JJ, who simply shook her head, opting instead to grab her drink to take a sip.

“Are you?” Rossi shot back, and Hotch nearly laughed at the question and then laughed for real when Rossi suddenly stood to join the group, swaying hips and shaking shoulders in a way that made Hotch wonder if he was dreaming.

“Okay, I feel compelled to join now,” JJ said, taking another sip before standing. “Emily will kill me if I don’t.”

As if on cue Emily broke out of the group and went to grab her, pulling her onto the makeshift dance floor by the hand, the two of them embracing each other tightly as if they’d been friends for years.

Hotch leaned back and cradled his drink, watching his team and realizing he was happy to have come, after all.

[littlespacereader]

Halloween Fic Ideas!!🎃👻

Hey guys! I just wanted to pick your brains for a little bit. I want to write a fic as a Halloween Special for my Tumblr but I’m not sure which fandom to write it for. So I’m putting it to a poll and letting you decide what I write! Here’s my ideas:

Hannibal (tv show) - Caregiver! Hannibal & Will take Little! Reader to a Halloween party. They all dress up in a group Halloween costume. Their little one gets scared at the party but nothing to fear, Hannibal and Will are here to protect their little one. (My personal fav)

Criminal Minds- The BAU have a Halloween party (either at Rossi’s house or over the office) and they all have to keep an eye on Little! Reader from eating too much candy. (We don’t want a repeat of last year!) Complete with party games, little scares and such. Morgan and Rossi trying to scare everyone, while Spencer, Hotch and Emily all protect you from the scares and Garcia and JJ slip you a piece of candy when no one is looking.

Supernatural - Dean never really got to experience Halloween to it’s fullest as a kid. With Sam away on a case and the Bunker to himself with Cas, he regresses and hve the Halloween he always wanted. A Halloween with Little! Dean and Caregiver! Castiel. Watching scary movies and dressing up together.

Moon Knight - The three personalities all wonder what you’ve been up to lately because you won’t show them the art project you’ve been working on for Halloween. Turns out you made a makeshift moon knight suit to wear when you go trick or treating for the first time. Enter Caregivers! Marc, Steven and Jake with a Little! Reader going trick or treating in London.

Let me know below what you would like to read on Halloween! 🎃👻

I’m going to decide on a fic by Friday night so I wrote it over the weekend. That being said please vote as soon as possible! If you have any suggestions to the ideas listed above comment below! I’ll make a post announcing the winner. Thank you all so much! I can’t wait to see what you pick!😁💞💞 -Clara💞

[la-tramontana]

when it comes to voting

It's time to stop relying on political machines and staffers to do the work and act like organizers. Anyone and everyone can do it, but it's important to remember that if you want to move someone from INACTION to ACTION, the biggest influence on that person's behavior is going to be a personal relationship with strong rapport.

That means you.

Make a list of your contacts. ALL your contacts, including the annoying ones. Online and offline. Your neighborhood. Everyone who could roughly be called your monkeysphere. Your target is a list of 10 - 300 people who you have some ability to contact.

Next, power-mapping.

Who knows who? Who influences who? Who is in a friend group together? Chunk them up into key groups. Try to find a person in every group who you think could influence others, and who you could also influence. Identify people in powerful positions.

Do you have friends who have more influence in their particular friend groups than you? Do you have friends who you might be able to convince to go to a protest with you?

It's time to agitate, which means targeted asks. Get your identified influencers, people who already want to be engaged in politics, who will vote but won't do more yet (in unions, we call these "strike captains") to say "yes" to actions such as: protesting, spreading the word, joining a project like Sister District, registering people to vote, as you are able. If they say no, that's fine. Let them cool off, rebuild the relationship stronger, and ask again.

Ask people to ask people, specific people who you know they know, to vote. Check in a couple weeks later to ask about what so-and-so said.

You can't do all of this yourself. Organizing means pulling other people in and sharing responsibility. Your goal is to spend as little time "in charge" as possible.

Document barriers to voting and organize mutual aid to cover those barriers. This may mean helping people pay for their IDs, driving people to the polls, etc. The likely fact is that if you know 50 - 100 people you probably know some people who have some resources and some people who are going to need some help. Connect these people to each other.

Leave the hard no's, the ones who want nothing to do with politics whatsoever, alone and focus on influencing as many people as you can around them. You might be surprised at the outcomes you can achieve.

Something that's worked for me, but YMMV: if anyone asks, you aren't agitating and you aren't organizing and you definitely aren't a leftist of any type. You're a centrist leaning slightly conservative with neutral values (smile). You don't care about specific outcomes, you just want the election to be representative of people's views. You want to get young people involved in "something." It's important to participate in democratic traditions.

Make a timeline of 3 months or so leading up to the election with concrete, achievable goals every week. Your goal is to flip as many of your targets to a. VOTE and b. ORGANIZE their own monkeyspheres. Use gentle peer pressure: "I know so-and-so registered to vote lately, have you? Do you need help?"

Don't forget to remind people of both a. the stuff that pisses you off and b. what you hope to win. Without hope ya got nothing.

Don't use regurgitated lines or scripts; come up with your own motivations, your own way of saying things. The less you sound like you're working for the democratic party, the better.

Here's the money line that got my famously "neutral" and "apolitical" turf of 200 to swing active and anarchist: "No, I'm not going to tell you how to vote. That's your business. Check the issues and see what you think. I just want you to vote in the strike authorization. Don't you think our group should get a say in the outcome?"

[fuck-off-im-ace]

Warrior Nun Update │ January 10th edition

First of all, last i checked we reached at least 5,5 millions #SaveWarriorNun tweets! With the speed we’re going, we might be real close to 6M by the time i post this. To give yall an idea, i’ve heard that the Manifest fandom, who managed to get their show saved after a cancellation, did 10M in a year? Not sure how true that is, but it is what i heard! 

They were also big on signing the petition, which reached 100K signatures. We reached that goal at the end of december, we’re now at 104K last i checked. 

We’re also borrowing the Billboards strategy from the Wynonna Earp fandom. A Go Fund Me is still taking donations, the more we are the bigger the billboards will be! For legal reasons, we need fanart for them, so if you’re interested in getting your art out there or know someone who would do great representation, go to the Discord to get the specs! 

A lot of people all over the world are getting together with fellow fans that live near them to put up posters to publicise the effort. An Instagram account has been made to share WN things (such as art, memes, stories and more), i think there’s a tiktok account too, so go follow if you’re into that

If Twitter is more your thing, the wonderful team behind the Discord made a little game to get some quotes trending! Each day got its own sentence to get trending along with the general hashtag, like “For all nunkind”, “Just your job?” or “And my pleasure”. That last one was used by Simon himself on a tweet about keeping up the effort to get the show to a new home, so don’t give up hope! They know we’re still there, and they are working on this too. We have some fun ones for the next days, like “Lemon drop”, “Warrior Nun New Home” and “Love you Alba”, cause she deserves all the love. 

The admin team is giving a big effort in the general organisation of the fandom this week. They’re looking for artists for the billboards, video editors for publicity, but also for a ton of other skills! They need coders, tiktokers, data analysts, graphic designers, musicians and people that are real good with management. All the info is on the Discord, as usual.

Some good news, to make this less tedious: We won some shits! As i said in a previous post, Warrior Nun won “Show of the year” on the SpoilerTV poll! KTY won the performer of the month for december, and Alba the performer of the month for november. That puts them both in the “Performer of the year” poll! They are up against some really good and popular actors, so be sure to go vote for them both.

For the next weeks, the admin team is putting together more watch parties, fanfiction events, WN themed D&D, trivia nights, all sorts of fun! Not too late to join on the action if you’re not already in the Discord Server!

It is very important to know that tweets and other ways to publicise the show will not get us a renewal. Netflix doesnt care about a bunch of fans tweeting about it. What matters is views. All this is just to get the show noticed, cause Netflix sure as hell didnt spent a dollar on getting the show out there. So be sure to stream it, suggest it to friends, family and colleagues, and always always finish a season! What Netflix pays attention to is if people watch the show, and if they finish both season. 

To close this big ass post, i just want to remind everyone that Warrior Nun got cancelled less than a month ago. How incredible it is, that we managed to get all that done in a month. Couldn’t be prouder of us. 

[the-physicality]

ok long election post incoming

it wasn't one thing. it was every thing. and it starts at the top. when democrats don't govern, thy don't give anyone a reason to vote for them. and when they only cater towards specific groups [for example the college educated] they may end up losing other groups

campaigning against something but for nothing is not a persuasive strategy. especially when people have experienced it before and came out on the other side.

governing you can blame on joe. you can blame the administration for not taking enough credit for its accomplishments. you can blame them for only bragging about it to people who aren't listening. you can blame the administration for writing a blank check to israel.

campaigning you split the blame. joe dropped out too late and not having a primary*. and harris lost momentum when she started listening to the consultant class. she didn't distance herself from the things that got joe a 38% approval rating. you can blame biden for not building a campaign.

But. she started listening to the consultant class i'm sure because they were showing her numbers like people think you're too liberal. and that only happens when you lose the culture war. [the culture war says Black people and women want to take away everything good in the poor little white man's life [and anyone who aligns themselves with the white man] which started in like 2008, and has only grown exponentially with the strengthening of the conservative media empire, the 2016 election, the 2020 protests. not just podcasts but sinclair media and fox news.

democrats are so proud of their ground game and their volunteer numbers and their donations but no one ever stops to think why they need all of this, especially after trump wins with basically none of it.

it's their media empire but it's also because democrats aren't doing enough in office. I also want to say that the premise behind all liberal aligned outreach is horrendous. they put your number on 150 different lists and everyone wants to make sure you vote and you're registered. because they don't have a large enough loyal base. because they don't do enough in office to earn people's support.

and the people who are their strongest base, the ones who turn out - Black voters, are far more likely to be subject to voter suppression- be that too few polling locations in a region or voter id laws or Bomb Threats or Ballots Getting Burned.

fundamentally the party also doesn't understand its broader base, mostly because of the consultant class. therefore , they don't know who they're supposed to govern for, and they would rather keep donors happy [because again, see the outreach problem]

Democrats should look to push popular policies** and focus on the economy [in an inclusive way]. returning to the running against vs running for point- if your opponent only sees you as running against something, that is a huge hole that they can fill with whatever they want. and for them, it's culture wars.

if democrats are only seen as the party that is socially liberal with no economic policy [because they do not talk about it] then republicans [who have no morals] will fear monger uninformed voters with lies.

and how do these lies get reinforced? how do they gain traction? how did republicans grow their base and maintain turnout? they created a media infrastructure outside of the mainstream media. this is through podcasts and streamers and alt right pipelines on youtube and elon buying twitter. inundating people with fear tactics about how diversity will create a zero sum game that you. will. lose.

if you look at the map of voter swing [all the red arrows] people at first said that's insurmountable there's nothing she could have done. then they said well she is underperforming 2020 numbers and he is holding. 2020 had abnormally high turnout because of the pandemic. many people for the first time in their lives had access to ways to vote other than in person on election day.

2020 was in a sense a perfect storm. trump was bungling a pandemic that everybody still acknowledged was happening, deeply unpopular, and joe biden was able to unite the party after [amid] a messy primary enough to come in and play hero.

and then they arbitrarily decided the pandemic [and public health] was over. that it was too taxing on the public. too unpopular. when in actuality people are begging their governments to lead them. They never sent out checks they promised in the name of fiscal responsibility.

they passed the inflation reduction act but didn't know how to publicize it enough. they decided the only way to get back on track was to raise interest rates, which increased the cost of borrowing money, which limited things like building housing.

meanwhile if you look at exit polls, people said they voted republican because their cost of living was too high.

harris did start running on affordable housing. but it was too late. the party didn't have a strong enough platform. they REMOVED mention of being against the death penalty. they take no human rights stance on palestine. they alienate people who wanted so badly to lib out.

now, why would a presidential candidate have to run on something like building more homes? because the states aren't building enough. the big blue democratic trifectas don't govern as they should. their schools are funded by property tax and property tax is based on the value of a home and if you add more homes or more people [people who are not the same as you] the homes may lose their value. and of course school funding isn't why homes aren't being build in cities [cities that need to run up their D votes to offset more conservative areas in the state]. it's because people were raised with the idea that real estate is an investment. it's a way to make money. and with the basic principles of supply and demand, if you have less, demand will increase, and if demand increases, you can sell for more.

so now you have red states building lots of housing for cheap, not getting fucked over in the census, and gaining population and therefore congressional seats and electoral votes. these people do not vote out republicans. they agree with them or the state democratic party isn't strong enough or they don't vote at all. meanwhile blue states won't ban single family zoning until it is too late and because of their high taxes [to pay for social services] and wages [because of the cost of living] the cost to build is higher, and less gets built. so these states lose population, they undercount in the census, they lose representation. now their representatives have to cover more ground. which leads us into the second biggest problem the democrats have:

after /during trump, they don't know what their identity is. they don't like their base. many of the democrats in leadership positions are overly intellectual and aim for a kennedy vibe. they like their consultants and they really don't mind the old republican party either. they've grown used to the reagan republicans like frenemies. because as many really wealthy people will show [with their votes], they won't be affected by a rollback of the social net, of healthcare, of abortion. they'll find a way. after all, money can get you a lot of things in life.

because of this they open the tent. they say anyone who is not a trumpie can come in. we want all the help we can get to go against this guy. show the country that there is one sane option. [but what is it that they say ? the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. hmmm.] they invite the cheneys in. they say we will govern for everyone. and this means doing things like not playing hardball in nominations and appointments, not doing enough to push things through. mitt romney was right when he said 49 percent of voters don't matter.

the best way to govern as the head of your party is to be strong. let your members carve their own path, but people like politicians who have a backbone. who stand for something. who fight for something. not people who say " when we win, we'll codify roe v wade!" that's bullshit and everyone knows it. moreover, it's not even a sound legal decision. you're still letting five lawyers set healthcare policy for the nation and enshrine it as a constitutional right. literally what? [not to mention the trimester shit .. when does life begin blah blah blah]

**and now, the biggest problem of the democratic party: nobody likes them. the party as a whole is DEEPLY unpopular. it does not make sense that candidates up and down the ballot are outperforming a persidential candidate like this. it doesn't make sense for progressive policies [ballot measures] to outperform candidateS like this in red states.

but post LBJ [into nixon, reagan-present] the party fell apart and never got back. they've had flashes of charisma [W Clinton, Obama] to get them through, but we are living in a republican era. in the same way people who lived FDR-LBJ lived through a democrat era. [my apologies to jimmy carter]

nixon awoke the modern republican base and reagan made it mainstream. his minion bush kept it moving and then bush's son brought it into the new millennium. many thought there was a new era with obama, that we wouldn't look back. but it turns out it was just enough for one of the greatest conservative backlashes in politics. and just because republican insiders were new to the trump ways didn't mean they didn't pounce on the opportunity to regain power.

all this to say, since LBJ democrats have been clinging to scraps with every democrat in office, just enough to keep the country functioning. which means, once again, that they do not govern enough to be likeable. they do not campaign to be likeable. because they value policy, but they cannot communicate it. Republicans are great communicators because they lie. and their base doesn't care.

every once in a while there will be a great communicator from the democrats- FDR, JFK, Obama. but so often the party, at all levels, will shun this talent. because it's not their time yet. because someone else was here first. because that's not the message the party wants, now or ever. they like their consultant class, they don't mind being republican lite, especially when the alternative is trump.

the name democrat is bad vibes and we lose elections because of it. that's a branding problem, it's a policy problem, it's a candidate problem.

*the primary. people say well there should have been a primary. okay. and who would have won that? after forcing biden out for age? do you think gavin newsom would have won? do you think the party would have let sanders or warren get it? shapiro [who I don't like but obviously has aspirations] had one year in the Pennsylvania executive. AOC isn't old enough.

the democrats have no bench. why do they have no bench? because they are constantly getting wiped out by the red wave. i mean, they have a supermajority and don't govern. they let republicans dictate policy. they cede whole arguments to republicans [see "balancing the budget" and the culture wars]. republicans put effort and money into recruiting every race. they bankroll new candidates and they send them to seminars to get all the talking points they need. they create a whole judicial ecosystem with clerks from their supreme court nominees.

meanwhile democrats are too worried about getting beat by republicans, about making sure everyone in line gets to die in office. they don't invest in the infrastructure to build and coordinated campaigns and recruit strong candidates. in fact, some of the strongest candidates have come from primary challengers, people who were at one point shunned from the party because they didn't wait their turn.

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the democrats need to take a good long look in the mirror and then smash it with a hammer. they need to break it all down and start from scratch. they need to exile the consultants and work to create an independent media infrastructure to get young minds on the pipeline to progressive ideals. they have fucked up royally a few too many times for it to be coincidence. they froth at the mouth to run against trump and they blow it most of the time. they wouldn't know how to run against a "regular" republican if a campaign plan hit them in the face. they need to create a coalition, they need to create state party infrastructure, they need to campaign on the things that are popular and use persuasive messaging. if they can do a better job if they can understand actually what needs to happen maybe they'll have a chance. i'd like to see it, but I won't bet on them.