#also; don't like any found footage because I can't fucking see what's going on

[medicinemane]

Anyway... as always I'm just so very very very picky when it comes to horror. I just have this very narrow window of what I personally like, and there's just so many things that just have horror elements rather than being horror to me (and don't even get me started on stuff with a human killer, for me personally that's a thriller rather than horror, and I don't care for it cause sadly we've got plenty of human killers in real life)

It's just so hard to do good horror. It's hard to ride the line between showing too little and showing too much, between building tension and being boring... and dear god is it so easy to trend into being goofy

Then you've got the issue of generally having to come up with something totally new that we don't have in the real world (to please me anyway) and having enough lore that it's actually something... but not talking about it so much that you make it sound stupid or open it up to plot holes

Very very very very tricky genre... I think I still respect bad horror, even though I also have disdain for it and don't like it at all... at least they tried, or... at least... some of them tried (some is just schlock)

[roboyomo]

GRABBING YUO. hai :] 1 + 6 + 8 +29 for th ask game !!

GETS GRABBED. hellooooo there pik!!! :D

"1. Have you ever picked up a habit from developing/writing one of your own characters? And if so, who and what?" ough,,, a tough one because my memory is quite bad,,, I think i never had that?? i really can't recall,,,ueeghheh :[ <- can't remember anything

"2. Are there any other preexisting characters that inspired an OC?" Well.

you tell me. and by that i mean my 2016 obsession with bill cipher has DEFINITELY showed up in kenix. yea bill cipher is partially the reason that kenix is silly™ like this. and no i will not elaborate. As for other characters, I don't think that has happened? Most of them just. popped into existence on a random day and i let them

"8. Is there a certain song or playlist of songs you have that make you think of an OC/your story for them?" OUGHHHH. I HAVE QUITE THE AMOUNT SO BUCKLE UP.

first of all SLAMS THE ENTIRETY OF KODOKU NO SHUUKYOU/THE RELIGION OF LONELINESS BY SYUDOU FOR KENIX. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE JUST LOOK AT THE ENGLISH LYRICS.

one example. the entire fucking song is so fitting for him it is driving me insane. ALSO IF YOU WANT TO CHECK OUT THE SONG ITSELF AND NOT JUST THE ENG LYRICS OF IT THEN PLEASE LISTEN TO SENRA’S COVER OF IT. SENRA’S VOCALS DRIVE ME SO FUCKING INSANE BECAUSE OF HOW GOOD HE SOUNDS AND I LOVE HIM A LOT. THANK YOU

as for other beasts,,, this cover of brain revolution girl by maretu for amor. (THIS COVER HAS AN EDITED MV AND I THINK THERE ARE FLASHING LIGHTS SO BE CAREFUL). I KNOW I BARELY TALKED ABOUT HIM. BUT LISTEN

i do prefer the eng translation of the song in the reol and ill.bell cover cc because i feel like the lyrics fit his anger a bit more there but still. this does just as well.

LAPLACE’S ANGEL. FOR BOTH KENIX AND YAKU. AND THIS PART IN SPECIFIC. DOESN’T ELABORATE FURTHER I HOPE YOU CAN JUST UNDERSTAND ME ON THIS ONE

and augh,,,, found footage by shikakuzakana for apollo. WARNING THAT THERE ARE FLASHING COLORS IN THE MV

i don’t have a lot of songs which lyrics make me think of apollo only but this. this is one of the very few. i hold apollo very close to my heart

you know what. The mind electric by miracle musical. for amor, apollo AND kenix. yes i think this part right here fits the three of them. i will not be elaborating further

HEAT ABNORMAL BY IYOWA. AND SPECIFICALLY MIYASHITA YUU’S COVER OF IT. this with yaku from his peak insanity chapter. my poor little guy is going through it

and this might be it for the songs!! this reminds me of the amor playlist i made a year ago,,, should probably check up on that one

"29. Do any of your OCs have AU designs/stories?" WELL I DID TRY TO PUT THESE BEASTS INTO THE PMVERSE.

i had ideas of them as nuggets and also as limbus company sinners. for the nugget stuff i gave apollo da capo as his signature ego suit and weapon and feather of honor as the ego gift. amor was supposed to have the twilight ego gift + suit as well as the mimicry weapon (because shapeshifting beings!!). or maybe some mountain of smiling dead bodies stuff,,, yaku was supposed to have just full laetitia ego stuff and kenix,,,, never decided anything for him actually but honestly it might just be judgement bird ego gear for no reason, and azrael with possibly little red riding hooded mercenary ego gear? As for limbus stuff, i just see amor trying to kill kenix at every possible moment with dante having to rewind the clock. a lot. they are trying to kill each out here and apollo and yaku are just. there. we don't know where's azrael don't ask me where he is

YEA THIS WAS FUN THAMKYOUUU. and!!! i might actually draw them as lobcorp agents at some point i think it'd be fun to do :]

[mrs-monaghan]

So are you a Jikook supporter or are you a Jimin solo?

JIMIN SOLO, from now on

And I hate JK as much as I love Jimin now.

I can proudly say this. I can't stan an artist who works with most ugly people in the industry who are known for paying their way to charts, who uses all his privileges knowing his so called brothers and partner didn't got it, one who gets everything on a silver platter for him, one who commits works which will rile up his y/ns and Fandom, one who's finding it so enjoyable to grind on a woman while shooting a MV, one who pretends to be a good person and being completely innocent of everything evil his company is doing for him. His whole success is build purely on agency push and white men help. LETS BE HONEST FOR ATLEAST ONCE.

Jimin achieved EVERYTHING from his own hardwork and dedicated fans while JK who was 'resting' (his own words) got a payola guaranteed song handed over to him from that ugly pig of a CEO and rjs challenging it will go a no.1 of hot 100. Aren't they ashamed???? Aren't you ashamed ????

Where are the jikookers who announced they'll just concentrate just on jikook while Yoongi got some privileges Jimin didn't ? Didn't they said they can't act like everything is OK and unstanned rest members when Jimin was sabogated? Now what they have to say when JK is getting all payola guaranteed promotions for him? Or is it applied to other except JK ? Jk can do any shit under this sun and you all will still support him just because you think JK * might be * dating your favorite ? Think what kind of person JK really is if he is stepping over Jimin every chance he gets ? Did you forget that works for this song started immediately after Jimin got that no.1 ????

Everyone associated with this song, be it producers, writers, singer and his new fav actress,promoters everyone are going to hell for this. They are achieving all this over a innocent man's hardwork and tear and his fans dedication. This is mocking the fans who supported him with everything by giving their company favorite all promos jimin deserved

Fuck Jungkook

Fuck hybe

Fuck scooter

Fuck bang pd

A bunch of pathetic dicks

I honestly don't even know where to begin with u

Which Jikookers are these you're talking about? I dont remember Jikookers unstanning the members because Suga got more than Jimin. Those are not Jikookers. They're your fellow solos. So stop waiting for us to start hating on JK coz that aint gonna happen.

Jimin solo from now on. Bitch no! You've always been a Jimin solo. Who are you lying to with this from now on, bullshit??!!

Why are u getting mad at JK NOW for accepting what is being given to him when the injustice to Jimin has been happening forever? Why aren't u mad at other members for accepting what they've been all these years? I am confused by people like you. What do you want JK to do exactly? Quit his music career? Refuse to drop an album as is expected of him? Breach his contract? The fuck do you want from him, huh??

One who is finding it so enjoyable to grind on a woman while shooting a MV

Can you please share the link of JK grinding on this woman? It seems you have exclusive footage of this?? Do you mind sharing please? Because I fear July 14th came and went and I didn't even notice??

Aren't you ashamed?

And you all will still support him because you think JK *might be* dating your fav?

See, you're not just a Jimin solo, but you are also a JK anti. And it didn't start today. You've always been this way. It's quite clear from this fucked up ask that you are and have never been a Jikooker. Idk why u pretended to be??

I do not have any energy for an illogical person if I'm being honest. So please don't come back. This whole ask is messed up. You're messed up. You know dick about what happens behind the scenes but have contorted this theory that has u filled with all this hate. It's... no. Just no. I can't deal with u or anyone else like u. Idk how u found me but please don't come back. I'll block u. I can't deal with this amount of hate. You're toxic. You're the people we go after on twitter for shitting on JK. Please get off my blog.

[wiredaughter]

@tropetember 24: accidental baby acquisition

A Little Antichrist

outlast × waylon park/miles upshur × the cult baby is real × 589 words × ao3

'It's crying again!' Miles says with exaggerated distress as they make their way back to the jeep, holding the baby at a distance. 'I think it's hungry.'

'It won't be too hungry right away. It's probably cold.'

'I told you we should have killed it! The engine doesn't let women get actually pregnant, how is this thing even...'

'We're not killing a baby.'

'We could at least put it to a vote.'

Waylon stops on his tracks at this, looks at Miles like he can't believe him. 'A vote? We're two people having a disagreement there's no way to achieve a majority.' Miles shrugs. 'Okay, those in favour of killing the infant? This is the part where you raise your hand.'

'Nope. You've won me over to the no-baby-killing side.' He presses a kiss to the older man's cheek and resumes walking. 'Because you're cute when you're mad.'

Blushing like a teenager in the site of what's probably the largest mass suicide in the state is not something Waylon thought he'd do tonight, but here they are. They make it to the car and, as a show of good will, Miles offers up his jacket to wrap the baby up. He turns it down, in favour of his softer cardigan, but appreciates it all the same. He carries her inside, mumbling a lullaby while Miles drives away. They got a lot of material, and they haven't even checked the footage in the camera they found. It's been a difficult night, but they push through it.

'Stop when you see a supermarket, we'll have to get formula.'

'I knew it was hungry!'

'Stop calling her it.' He yawns.

'Right. Lynn wouldn't have liked it.' He looks straight at the road, but Waylon can tell he's going over the events of the night past. He puts his hand over the younger man's in the stick shift. He hadn't known the woman and was still horrified thinking of her gaunt corpse, the dead man at her feet cradling the baby.

'Were you close?'

'Not really. We were together on an assignment years ago, I was surprised when she called. I didn't know she wanted to have kids, let alone what she'd name them.' It's so fucked up, Waylon can't hold back a burst of hysteric laughter. 'What?'

His fit has upset the baby, who resumes her crying to Miles chagrin, but he just gives him a worried look. 'It's nothing. I just- When Lisa was expecting we used namebooks, do you suppose they had any back in the suicide cult?'

The last words are panted out through what sounds like sobs and now it's Miles who reaches for his hand, his usual annoyance at the mention of Waylon's wife forgotten. He snorts at the idea, in better humour than he expected himself. 'You know that's all online these days, don't you?'

Waylon sobers up enough to give him an unimpressed look. 'No, I'm actually the only software engineer who hasn't heard about the modern internet.'

'Shut up.'

They drive in silence until Miles pulls up in a Target carpark. It's well and truly morning by then, and it makes them hopeful even throught their exhaustion. The baby's fallen asleep, and Waylon moves as slowly as he knows to when he gets down in an attempt to keep her that way. Miles thinks they can also get a carseat here, but for the moment they're having enough trouble trying to settle on a formula category. It's no problem, they'll figure it out together.

[sailorsenshishitposter]

MGR office au part 2 electric boogaloo

Cue the theme from the office except it's World Marshal instead of Dunder Mifflin

Everyone was waiting in the reception area again. Armstrong really needed to get a proper office, especially since one could only take his ranting about cherry trees for so long. While waiting, Sundowner rushed over to the others. "HEY GUYS! WANT TO SEE SOMETHIN' NEAT I FOUND!" Mistral sighed. "If it's another dead body then the answer is no, sacrebleu!" Sundowner protested back. "C'mon, there's enough blood left to play finger paints!" Everyone else cringed.

While this was going on, Monsoon put down his Nintendo Switch. "Hey Minuano? Why do you get two codenames?" The Brazilian man looked him dead in the eyes. At least he would have if he could have. He was just staring into what looked like a strange headset. "I'm allowed two names because Armstrong took my free rights away." Monsoon then mumbled something about free will being a myth and went back to playing Hatsune Miku Project Diva.

Finally Armstrong arrived. "Alright everyone, today we'll be covering the basics since Sam is new here." The older members groaned. "Can't he do that in VR training?" Armstrong said this was a task involving all of their skills. Today they would be climbing up the wall of World Marshal headquarters. Sounded easy enough. "Alright I just want you to all know this isn't a race but rather a way for me to observe your skills. Also whoever makes it first gets a gold star."

Mistral began to complain that it was unfair because everyone knew Monsoon could just walk right up the wall but Armstrong wouldn't hear any if it. "On your marks, get set, GO!" Armstrong pulled out his stopwatch. Monsoon turned toward Mistral and grinned. "Nothing personal. Rain falls, wind blows and you were fated to lose. See you later scrub!" He began to walk upside the wall while laughing maniacally.

Mistral yelled "Two can play this game!" and she summoned a dozen dwarf gekkos. She tore their limbs off and attached them on to her body so she could climb the building like a spider. Sundowner just said "Fuck this!" and pulled out bloodlust. He pressed the blades into the wall like some kind of pick axe and began climbing like he was trying to conquer mount Everest. Sam just stood there, amused by the situation. Armstrong was already waiting at the top so it's not like he could yell at him to move or anything.

Several stories in the air and there was Monsoon, sending his sais hurling towards Mistral with his magnetic powers. "MAGIC MISSLE, MAGIC MISSLE!" he kept shouting. Mistral groaned and she used an extra hand to try and block his attacks. "I REFUSE TO LOSE TO A MAN THAT WALKS AROUND LIKE HE'S A BOOTLEG NINJA TURTLE!" Monsoon gasped. Raphael was clearly the best. He assumed she must have been a fan of Donatello because she had a staff as a weapon and those were lame.

Sundowner just tried to climb without being noticed by the two of them and was grateful that they were distracted. It was going to be close. Soon all three were at an even pace and meters away from the finish. They managed to get to the top around the same time and were going to demand to see footage so they could pick the clear winner but to their horror they had already lost. Sam was wearing a gold star sticker that he had proudly attached to his left butt cheek. "...But how did you-" The man proceeded to interrupt them.

"Don't you guys know? Everyone from Brazil can double jump. I guess I did it so fast that none of you must have noticed." Sundowner began to get angry. "THIS IS BULLSHIT!" he cried. He threw down his blades. "FUCK!" Armstrong grabbed him and put him into a chokehold. Soon Sundowner was unconscious and everyone was glad that their boss just prevented another killing spree.

"Remember that you still have training to do so I expect to see the rest of you tomorrow."

[risu5waffles]

If Roppongi Is Six Trees, What's the Word for TEN Fires?

Here we are again, something, something pleasure.

We played these on stream and i just fell in love wiv them. The concept is just so good. Little dioramas clearly conveying the feel of the different story mode stages? Like, that's inspired. And it largely works. There're a few bits here and there where they could have tightened and polished, but it totally works, and i'm surprised it took this long for me to stumble across someone who did it and did it well.

The concept here is cute and funny, and it's another one where i found myself thinking "why haven't i seen someone try something like this sooner"? The execution leaves a little to be desired, tho'. i feel like the course takes you away from the scoreboard to soon and for too long, so you kinda lose that little extra spice that sells you on the play. Still, the race is a solid one, not top-tier, but definitely good and fun. Kuro_96_33 did another really good level that i may take a look at in the future, but that @soupum has covered on his channel, where they go through the basics of level design and how connectors work, wiv a little bit of simple logic (LBP1-era) set-up for good measure (that area's unfortunately broken, but you can leave the level after the basics have been covered). It's really good advice for new creators, and presented clearly (bilingually, no less!), and not in any kind of jerky way. i really enjoyed that one.

Someone on the subreddit asked "hey, how do i get the Simon Says pin", and someone else rec'ed this level, and i thought "hey, i don't have the Simon Says pin either, and now i do, and you could too. i should play wiv state sensors more. i feel like you could get up to all kinds of shenanigans. Maybe next level.

It's a level about K-trucks. i like K-trucks. i have fond memories of riding home from bbq's when we'd visit honeybunny's folks down in Amami. Everyone drunk as hell and piled in the truck bed. i've also got a pretty bad story that didn't directly involve me, but hurt some folx i care a lot about, so maybe i should shut my mouth before i go and make myself sad. Still love k-trucks tho', and this level's a fun little race, so i can't complain about that.

We talked about this on Friday. It's still very much what it is. This particular footage was from before i figured out you could get that score bubble sign, unfortunately, but i was too busy putting out fires to go and swap the videos. Such is life, sometimes.

i really loved this level. Some of the bits were actually kind of tricky, and i was kind of proud of myself that i got them figured out. i feel like it's pretty rare anymore to see these kinds of puzzles; working both the brainmeats, but also actually physically manipulating things. It was super cool to run into this one.

This one was alright enough, i guess? Pretty standard post-MGS DLC kill everything wiv the paintinator platformer. It's fine. Not particularly inspired, but fine. It is a shame it's broken the way it is. The level might not have been top of the pops, but i was having a good enough time wiv it. Just LBP1 things, i guess.

This one's actually surprisingly good. Solid, robust platformer, nicely presented. The enemies are a bit of a mixed bag, but i think that's fairly par for the course for an LBP1 level. It could be a bit tough to make things act wiv dynamism. Not impossible, but i feel like it was a limited palette for the types of enemies you could work in. Still, just looking at them from an objects standpoint, they're nice enough, and that dragon-y thing at the end was pretty cool.

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

So that's the ten for this go about. If you missed the last post, i have to write a term paper about why i'm trans, and why i totes need this fucking on-paper diagnosis, and it can't be 5000 words of "because immigration fucked me and won't update my paperwork the way they're supposed to." Actually, i don't know how long it's supposed to be; the nurse didn't specify. She just said "from childhood," and i wanna be, like, "bitch, i am 45 fucking years old. 'From childhood' covers a goddamned lot of goddamned ground by this point." i may be experiencing a little stress.

[wetthandss]

OP asked for context, so here's what I was able to find. The video is from a 1996 commercial for a Columbo collector's edition VHS. The specific (and only) footage I could find of any of these collector's edition commercials was for the premiere episode. Searched the fuckin library of congress but the only useful video ended up on YouTube of all places.

You can see the exact frame in the video where the UNCENSORED image is taken from. All of the collector's edition boxes looked the same, but I can't find commercials for anything other than Prescription Murder. So that brings the actual text of the commercial into consideration. This isn't just the whole first season these were sold episode by episode, narrator says "apprehend your first classic mystery" and "to get your first video", and if you look at people selling these on ebay or amazon or whatever they list specific episodes.

The only Columbo episodes I can think of that would even possibly include boobs that need to be censored and are now uncensored are Suitable for Framing (S1E4) and Grand Deceptions (S8E4), and even then Grand Deceptions is really stretching "censored" because the only boobs there are covered by sheets. Very PG. I can't imagine how that could be "uncensored" as it appeared that way in the TV version that I checked just for this post. Also, Grand Deceptions does not even appear to have a Columbo collector's edition VHS. So that just leaves Suitable for Framing.

Suitable for Framing is a bit of a different case considering that episode actually has a nude model in it. I checked this episode too, TV version. She's almost completely covered by a canvas the whole time, just her head and shins sticking out but still! That's the only relevant thing the "uncensored boobs" could possibly be talking about. And it's season 1 so yes that episode does have a Columbo collector's edition VHS, which you can really buy online but I don't have the money or a VHS player to do it.

Oh, one more thing.

Y'see, somethings been botherin me when I've been poring over all these commercials and parental guidance ratings for episodes from the early 70's and VHS collections. The image that you posted, OP, it's got a different typeface. Not just a font but a whole new typeface. Through the whole commercial I found on YouTube, it uses the exact same typeface. Now it could very well be that they decided to change it up to somethin more intense just for the uncensored boobies and cussing, but I don't think they'd go through the trouble. Oh, and uh, I looked through the entire script for Suitable for Framin yknow the only episode with boobs in it and well, I didn't find a cuss of any kind. Now I just find that interesting... What's my point? No, no no point. Just that, uh... It's a unique situation.

What I'm getting at there is that this could very well be fake. As far as I can tell there is no episode of Columbo that has all three qualities of

-Boobs

-Cussing

-Collectors edition VHS

The video from the image, like I said before, is taken directly from that 1996 commercial for Prescription Murder collector's edition.

My personal theory is that this was edited. Any more evidence to the contrary would be fantastic because I really love the image. May seem a bit anti-climatic but bein a detective doesn't always mean you're gonna find what you wanna find.

i lied columbo opens his jacket in season 2 episode 1 and we see his massive fucking honkers they tried to take it off the air they tried to censor it this image is the only surviving memory please you gotta believe me you have t

[saddest-little-sheriff]

My head is spinning from everything I have read so far, and I'm gonna add in my worthless two cents.

Don't know if I missed anything....but *checks notes* there are accusations against Ted that have no proof and are vague. There are people saying that he groomed Emily.

Now, I've looked over A LOT of footage from MM so I could enjoy other people's posts besides Emily's after the con. All I found were people praising how kind and gentlemanly Ted was. No post or video did I see him chloroform and drag some woman out against her will.

So, if he was busy with some ladies that weekend, that's his and their business, not ours. If he was rude, that happens sometimes, we don't know the context from what I have seen about why he was rude. I did read a post and the gist I got from it was that MM wasn't the best at being organized. That would annoy the fuck out of me. Also, can we stop with the narrative that celebrities have to be nice all the time? I am definitely not nice 100% of the time and it would be hypocritical to expect that of anyone else.

I read Emily's posts a lot. To live vicariously through them. I did not think anything inappropriate happened myself, but that isn't for me to decide, that is up to Emily. I also believe that everyone is forgetting an important aspect of Emily's posts (which I am uncomfortable in mentioning, but sigh). She told Ted that he helped her with her self-harm. Anyone with an ounce of empathy would be concerned. It warmed my heart that he spent time with her and took an interest and let her know that she was important. She has now deleted those posts and I am disheartened because I know there will always be this spot on her amazing time with Ted because of all of this. If she had felt like he was being inappropriate with her in any way, why would she provide these in depth posts about her amazing time? If I was uncomfortable with my interaction, I wouldn't have even posted a pic with that person. I would not go into what happened everyday. But again, that's me. Why wouldn't she delete her posts now, they are being used in a way she didn't intend. I hope she isn't going over everything and wondering if she did this or if the way she wrote something made someone think something. Shame on everyone for ruining her amazing time that she obviously enjoyed.

In conclusion, if you don't have proof, you have nothing. That is the way it is. If you have a feeling, there is no need to post it. It is a feeling and feelings aren't evidence. How you interpret something is different from how someone else will interpret it. Your comfort levels are different from someone else's comfort levels. Don't project yourself onto someone else's experience.

Don't start shit if you can't finish it with actual proof.

[toiletwipes]

mmm. having thoughts about soulmate au's with superpowers but like. not really superheroes? think more like umbrella academy. or the mr incredibles universe. either they don't want to be heroes or they were forced to come down from the post. also the soulmate part is where they can feel the other's emotions and sort of hear their thoughts.

warning: a bit of gore. and lots and lots of rambling from me. ~1.8k words. also because i said so, here's a song to listen to as you read this.

nothing in particular but on the mind where these two people, they're quite the pair. quite showoffs. everyone speculated it but because everyone assumed that once you met your soulmate, everything would make sense, and in a way it did.

and with wilbur, nothing made sense in this world, especially when he could hear, see, feel more than anybody, could do more, could... withstand.. more than people would normally be able to.

nothing clicked more with wilbur than the little routine he's built with this person. the arguments, the puns, the late-night confessions of their life. but never did they reveal their identity to him. they never wanted this. he wanted it more than anything. they weren't good, whatsoever. but somehow the moment he woke up this morning, he needed to find them.

and deep in his gut, something was wrong. something had gone wrong and it involved them. turning on the news just to get out of his head while slipping into his vigilante outfit, he finds that some weirdo decided to publicly call him out. as if he had any real standing on the council. he snorted, lacing up his boots but his blood freezes in the veins when he sees the footage of the apparent meetup between their weirdo and him.

he stares down as he recognizes the area and sees the familiar stance of his "nemesis". and he leaves as soon as the next minute, when he realizes that the note was to destroy him. but that's not him. that's not him and what the hell are they doing?

and on the other side of the coin, nothing ever made sense with wilbur, they couldn't understand why he'd want to help people, help others when the both of them were in so much pain because these people would never understand. nothing made more sense, though, when they recognized the handwriting on the note found in wilbur's normal spot for crime watching, recognized everything about it. and nothing made more sense than to go in his place, make sure that whatever this person wants with him, he never gets it.

and standing in front of them, about a few yards away but clearly hearing crazy talk, how they need to join forces and rid the world of all the actual evil. politics. big companies. but he had planted several bombs in schools and with a single button in his hand, they'd all go off. they needed to make sure that button is never pressed so..

using their portal-making abilities, they reach and grab it out of the air, watching as his face contorted when he realizes what happened. and then as they discharge the portal, a hand reaches all the way through their stomach.

they can't feel it initially, but it hits them a bit after they drop to their knees, breaking the button. and the person responsible pulls their hand out but a gunshot rings, and he drops too.

and wilbur knows he's late as he watches them drop, dropping his own gun. he feels his own throat clamp up on him, time slipping between his fingers as he tries to pull them into his arms, "what the fuck were you doing?" and he tries to sound angry for impersonating him. he wants them to know it was stupid. he didn't need protecting and they hated each other so why would they-

their face says it all. or maybe it doesn't. maybe they didn't need to say anything, he could hear it. hear them. hear them in his head. the panic, the blood seeping from him putting pressure on the wound, the dizziness, the way they could hardly stay conscious.

"answer me," but he needed to hear them, make sure they stay awake until the paramedics arrive.

"you're reckless," they choke out, blood coming out of their mouth and staining their teeth. and he curses time and that bastard, holding them close to his chest, rocking them both on his knees as he looks for the paramedics. they're in a demolition site downtown next to a police station and local hospital so why are they not here yet?

"like you're one to talk, you're gonna die because i'm reckless?" and they smile.

as much as they could as the tears dripped from the sides of their face, blood spilling between his fingers and the other arm wrapped around them to keep them close.

"better me than you," wilbur shakes his head but they keep going, "and for the record, i'd do it again."

"you fucking- i'm gonna kill you, we're gonna have a talk when you're all healed and better, and then i'm gonna kill you." wilbur rants and pats their face several times with his bloodied hand, trying to keep them awake. "asshole, you stay with me. fucking stay awake."

they try, they honestly try, holding with a faint grip on his wrist but the pain was so much, the only reason they've managed this long is because of who they are.

and it isn't even worth it. the only good thing in their life.. had been wilbur. but he's safe from that son of a bitch so all is well. so it was worth it. but they mourn the chances they know they're losing. the chance to tell him everything, to show their face to him willingly, to hold his hand other than to wrap it in bandages, to stare into his eyes for hours, to lay beside him. all the things you get to do with a soulmate.

and wilbur hears, sees it all. and he doesn't think twice before pulling them even closer even as he sees the paramedics, sees them and feels them dragging him away and he can hear himself beg to let him near. they tell him to let them do their job but how could he when his soulmate is pretty much dying and he couldn't ever explain to him why it shouldn't have come to this. how much they mean to him. and he hopes they can hear him confessing his feelings in his head.

from adoring their snorts when they laugh, how they punch him every time he says a bad joke, how they love pushing him off buildings just to make a portal beneath him and above them to catch him like a bride. how he wanted to hold them close and invite them back to his apartment that night when they told him about their childhood, about their parents. what they did.

the next time wilbur is able to see them, they're laying in a hospital gown, hooked up to a machine tracking their heartbeat, staring the crappy tv down. no mask. and they try to hide it but he can see it, see the way their heart jumps at the sight of him, and he tries to hide it too but he rips his mask off, hair coming out and sticking to his forehead. he kicks the door behind him. they need the space and privacy. drawing the curtains.

"never do that again, yeah? don't just- steal my identity and die in my place-" "-to be fair, i never said i was you, i just showed up and he assumed, okay." but they don't get it. they shouldn't have gone in his place because- because-

"you know i can't die right?" and the look that crosses their face, he knows they heard the real reason. not just because his immortality.

"i'm.. aware. but you didn't know this guy."

"i could've taken him."

"maybe but i couldn't chance that! last time i saw him- he-" they catch themself and then they notice the fact that he took his mask off. and that they don't have theirs. wilbur only knows this because they cut themselves off and all they can think about is his face. his hair. how his hair might look when it's not damp with sweat. how they want to touch his face, hold his hand and- well they cut themselves off when they notice he's paying attention to his thoughts.

"we're soulmates." he says, and they bite their lip, nodding after a pause, mumbling a soft 'yeah'. "when did you know- and more importantly, why didn't you say anything?"

they glance to the side, but their eyes don't stray from him for long, back on him, memorizing every detail on his face as he waits. they clear their throat, "well, i knew when you passed out on top of that building you're always at, the one by the ludo cafe, and i could see the dream you were having. it was about your family i assumed, two blondes and a twin, and you were swimming and stuff. but then a dragon, i don't know, burned the lake down, it was weird stuff."

it was a weird dream, wilbur admits.

"why didn't you say anything when you woke me up? rudely, by the way." and when they glance to the side and their eyes stick to the peeling wallpaper, they tell him inside their mind.

letting him feel the insecurity, the aching inside of them when you know you're not good for the world, when you want to carve your insides out for not being good enough for the world, for someone who is your world. how they weren't meant to love or be loved. just another experiment to plague the world with evil and destruction. so why would they deserve a soulmate? one so good to his city, even when it hasn't been good to him.

and it's enough to push a few tears down his cheek and he sits beside them, reaching over to hold their hand, even when they jump, seemingly lost in their thoughts where wilbur could hardly pull out of them.

"once you're discharged from the hospital, i'm going to make up for lost time and kick your ass. and then i'm moving you into my apartment."

and then they groan, with a small smile on their lips, "that shitty place, doesn't your a.c. go out every week?"

he smiles back at them, "yeah but that just means you'll have to stick close to me."

and though they bite their cheek, trying to look upset or disgusted by the idea, he can feel the hope, the joy inside of them. the kind you only feel inside of a dream of everything you want.

and so he pinches them, even when their punch to his shoulder makes it ache and almost not worth it.

"this is real," he reminds them, "this isn't a dream. besides, could i do this in a dream?" he pulls their hand towards his mouth and he kisses it, keeps it against his face and when the nurse comes over hours later to kick him out, he leans over them to kiss their forehead, pressing their palm to his cheek and whispers to them they have a date tomorrow. he'll pay. they punch him again, this time in the stomach but they've got a soft smile.

the nurse, when asked about her patient and their visitor by a reporter, cannot describe a single detail about their secret identities.

wilbur's landlady tells them they do not get an extra key now that wilbur has a roommate, and he doesn't mind that, he can just a spare a couple dollars to make his own copy.

and well, his soulmate has their doubts, they always do, and the fighting doesn't stop but wilbur gets to hold them close, gets to beat their demons away with a metal bat without their stupid secret identities getting in the way. and they get to be held, get to run their fingers through his hair, gets to indulge in every want and need they had since meeting wilbur, since knowing they've got a soulmate too. since their feelings developed for him.

and wilbur knows, knows it won't be easy but for them? it'd always be worth it. they'd always be worth it.

[bartletforamerica]

How the Bartlet Administration Reacts to COVID-19

Abbey: is not taking any chances. After losing the fight to get the President to retreat to the farm or Camp David, she gets him to agree to limit himself to the oval office and the residence, with as few in person meetings as possible. Even before they’ve pulled together a White House task force, she’s made sure that everything is being disinfected and that her entire schedule is either canceled or made virtual. Her staff is the first to be working from home (and oh boy does she scold if she finds out any of them did something she thinks is foolish), with most of the rest of the White House staff following shortly after. She makes it her mission to do PSAs on what people should be doing and even does a virtual Sesame Street collaboration to teach kids how to wash their hands.

Zoey: Is not super pleased to be stuck in the Residence 24/7. She’s doing classes from her bedroom, so yay to not having to get out of bed early, but she can tell people are super disappointed that her camera is set up so that she has only a blank wall behind her [it turns out the secret service is very touchy about where you take video calls]. She also gets officially hired and given a security clearance for the sole fact that she’s one of the only people allowed to be near her dad who is tech-literate. She ends up doing some of her reading on the couch in his office so that she's on hand for when he's supposed to be skyping with the senior staff and can't figure out what link to click. She spends a lot of time worrying about Ellie, who helping do research about the virus, and texting her friends.

The President: is not happy to be closed up away from people. He also thinks that Abbey is overreacting where he's concerned. He misses actually getting to be around the younger staff. He and Zoey do a cooking from home video at C.J.'s suggestion, so that the country can see he's alive and to encourage people to not go out. They make chili and fight over whether it needs more cumin or oregano while Abbey records it and pipes in from behind the camera. The country is treated to a history of chili and a diplomatic incident nearly happens because apparently Mexicans deny having any association with it, even though most food historians say it has Mexican roots. The flaming debate doesn't stop a second episode at Thanksgiving where the country is treated to the history of the yam and all the secret spices that go into the President's stuffing. A large portion of the country gives him flack for putting Oysters in his stuffing. [In a small bedroom in an Illinois apartment a woman finally figures out why Joe Bethersonsen sounded so familiar.]

Leo: moved into the Residence because there was no way he was going to talk the President off ledges via skype for however long this lasted. He can only do so much. Zoey helps him learn to use Skype and he finds himself missing Margaret desperately even when he spends most of the day with a computer dedicated to having her on Skype so he can turn to it and ask her questions. She insists he get exercise and eat healthy (something he thinks she’s collaborating with the first lady on behind his back—they say very similar things much of the time). He skypes with Mallory on Sunday mornings over breakfast in his room and they pretend they’re at a hotel having a fancy brunch.

Charlie: is not particularly happy. He got sent home with everyone else because he’s not particularly necessary to have on hand if the president isn’t going anywhere. He’s still getting paid and he does do some work (the most important bit being hanging out on the phone with the president so he can ramble about history so Zoey can get her own reading done, Leo can browbeat the staff, and the first lady can do her own job) but he’s been ordered by the president and first lady to focus on getting extra school done while he can.

Donna: started freaking out the first day there was a rumor of a new disease in China. Then the White House shut down and even senior staff got sent home unless they absolutely needed to be in the building (basically just C.J. and some of her staff). And her roommate (not the one she'd really liked, who had a cat, but one she hopes is only temporary) works for a GOP congressman who thinks the whole thing is a hoax and bans masks in his office, so Donna is not at all happy and spends time she should be working cleaning things her roommate touches and that's sixty percent of how she ends up living with Josh.

Josh: is struggling with not being allowed to leave the house on pain of the first lady taking him to task (something about his lungs and the bullet). Even when he was putting his nose to the grindstone to make it through college and law school, he liked being around people while he studied, so he was usually in the library or a cafe rather than his room. He works best when he can bounce ideas off people and take in new ideas. When he was grounded after surgery it absolutely sucked and that was why he drove everyone crazy calling them all the time. Yeah he was bored, but he was also lonely. Plus he's not the best with technology. He very nearly went on national tv with his boxers showing, if not for Donna skyping him beforehand and making sure he fixed the camera. Between needing not to be alone and needing his assistant to be able to actually help him, the invite for Donna to stay with him slips out when she's complaining about her roommate. She shows up two hours later with two suitcases of clothes and two suitcases with pasta, toilet paper, and flour.

Donna and Josh: are handling the pandemic much better now that they're together. Josh can bounce ideas off Donna without it tying up his phone line. And she can listen in on his calls to the various members of congress about the stimulus package that they're working on. It's an even better look at Josh's job than she had before, and while it makes some of her work harder to focus on, she feels like she understands some things better than she ever has before. Josh even starts listening to her about how to sway certain congressmembers to their side. When they're not working, Donna forces Josh to cook with her so they're not entirely subsisting on delivery. They tried making bread and managed to spill half a bag of flour on the floor in the process but they ate all of it, even though it tasted pretty bland. Josh finally got Donna into baseball when it came back. Toby spit out his beer when he was on speakerphone with them and he heard Donna accurately yelling at the Mets for screwing up. Donna wears Josh's clothes more than her own, since she doesn't have to be on camera most of the time. They're platonically sharing a bed because they haven't found a convertible sofa for his living room that they like, they say, and it doesn't make sense for one of them to sleep on the couch, which they say has a spring that makes it uncomfortable to sleep on, even though Donna lounges on it all day with no problem. They are absolutely not dating and so they tell all their friends.

C.J.: spends five minutes laughing every time she gets off the phone with Josh or Donna. She loves her friends but god they're so completely in denial. It does, however, give her a much needed break. Her job has always involved a lot of people and knowing what venue to meet them in to ensure that she gets or passes on the information she needs. COVID protocols mean no more one-on-one meetings with journalists in her office, no more gaggles following her through the halls. The press corps were not happy when they moved all briefings outside and insisted on face masks and shields in addition to everyone sitting six feet apart. She gets asked about the president's health at least once a day and they start doing weekly waving from the balconies just so the press corps can get footage of him, healthy and shouting down to Danny and some of the others. Someone makes a cartoon of the president in the tower, with Abbey as his dragon keeper and though no one is willing to justify a cartoon with a comment, privately C.J. thinks it's accurate. She's always admired Abbey's fierce protectiveness of her family, even when she doesn't agree with every way it expresses itself or when it interferes with C.J.'s job. She has to come up with new ways to push the White House agenda (keep the economy afloat, stay home, no, don't listen to the GOP governors or those running for the primary, those ideas are not good, go the fuck home and stop having parties) and while some work, others bomb. It would help if everyone would stay on message and not screw up.

Sam: would like to make it clear that he did not know how many people would be at that gathering. He thought he was going for an outdoor meal with just a few old friends who could help raise money for the democratic party, not a fifty-person birthday party. The media fallout nearly gets him fired. Instead he gets yelled at by C.J., then by the First Lady. Mallory even sends him a card about how stupid he was. He's pretty sure that having Donna around is the only reason that Josh hasn't made the same mistake by now. It had to have been a toss up as to which of the two of them would screw up. Sam just isn't lucky enough to have a Donna (Sam is very happy that Josh has a Donna, Sam just wants Josh to realize that he talks about Donna the same way most men talk about their wives, because it's really hard not to respond to "why do I put up with finding her hair clogging the shower drain" with "because you love her and can't live without her, stupid"). He instead has adopted a cat for company. It tries to scratch him every time he tries to pet it. Sam spends his days trying to find a way to say "fuck the economy until we've beaten the virus" in a way that is palatable to the American people while trying to remind Toby that they can't actually say that outright. This is not an easy task.

Toby: would like to tell most of the American public to shut up, stay indoors for two months, pretty much nobody excepted, and if you don't, then you get tossed out to sea. He's come within an inch of telling anti-mask people they deserve to get sick on the record and is strongly advocating that the federal government figure out a way to mandate that every person in the country, minus those with legitimate medical exceptions, get the vaccine as soon as possible. He is also about to get evicted because it turns out his neighbors do not appreciate having rubber balls bounced against the walls for hours on end. Apparently, the thud is rather annoying. He worries about everyone, though this is delivered brusquely. Out of everyone he's taking the new work from home situation the best. No one can pop in to distract him, or comment on his eating habits. And if he doesn't want to talk to someone, he can always turn his phone to silent and pretend not to have seen they called. He's not pleased the Yankees lost to the Rays (necessitating rooting for either the Dodgers or the Rays, one of which beat his team and the other which betrayed New York), but he can at least take solace in the fact that the Mets didn't even make the playoffs.

[afreakingdork]

-cracks knuckles-

OKAY LET'S SEE!! So right off the bat you added canon Donnie in here so i am going to kick him out of the picture (love you, boo, but also this is about Weak Spot) so from hence forth when i say Donnie, we are talking about Weak Spot Donnie!

Now

I SAID I WAS SORRY AND NO PROMISES BECAUSE...

Donnie would DESPISE the Monarch's mask. As someone who we've found wears his own, that's not what Donnie believe. Donnie believes that his stoic, barely emotive persona is the real one and that showing emotions and being happy isn't an authentic him (he's learning, but I digress because we're putting Monarch in for reader here). This means he would ping Monarch's mask in a hearbeat and fucking hate how inauthentic they are. The way they switch depending on the person would be something he despises because to him it speaks of their character. It spells out manipulation to him and it means he will be ten times on his guard.

He'd also very much not like them doing things for the sake of it. When Donnie does something seemingly off handedly, he at least has the excuse of science to fall back on. He hates stagnation and loves creation and if that means he has to make the first move he will, but doing so for no sake other than the chaos is not something he cares for. Take the double date chapter 54, he's referred to that as chaos more than once, but he still had a goal as revealed in recent chapter 56. He wanted Warren and Hypno to break up because he saw steps ahead and how he could use that.

Now those things being said, I think I can see their first meeting as Monarch doing something chaotic that interferes with Donnie's plans. He wouldn't try to save her, but he would approach her if this happened. She'd already be someone he'd log because he logs everyone even if they don't matter because it helps with work. She wouldn't be a name he remembers, but he wouldn't kill her immediately because he'd want to take information in from the source (you only get so much from security footage and intel). This is where he'd see the mask, make his decision on her personality, but also he'd see how unhinged she is. He'd make a comment about letting the moth die to the flame (referencing the Monarch moniker butterfly) and assume that she would snuff herself out in the process. Now that's what he would say, but from what you've said I can also see him agreeing with her philosophy of living in spite and getting her due. I'd imagine she'd continue to live because of this and they'd have many more run-ins. Donnie doesn't like to change his mind once decided so he'd continue to let her live unless she royally fucked up something in his arsenal. He'd probably try to direct her into his plans once he left the hidden city for strategic blow-em-ups where he can't be the one to plant the bombs if she was willing (assuming he'd probably twist the rhetoric to make her want to).

Regardless, any person you repeatedly interact with opens the door!

So there ya go! I have another one where I just needed more information and I believe I've made it work to an extent! Ahh such a fun exercise! Thank you @derp-the-arson-cat for giving me this chance and sharing your character I hope I did you at least alright; I'm going to say net neutral with the positive and negative.

A quiet part of me wonders (mostly because the oc I’m using in the place of Y/N for weak spot is… morally questionable in oc canon) how would the story change if Y/N was a villain themselves? Either former or current.

You got that John Krasinski joint inside you? 👀

Sorry couldn't resist 😂

Put those OC's in! Let's go! We love to hear it!

-cracks knuckles-

BET

So, I think my first immediate thought when I read morally questionable is that it changes nothing!

Anticlimactic, yes I know.

Why?

Because while I've never said such, reader is morally grey. I see comments about how reader is good or reader is becoming bad by being with Donnie. Reader has thought this themselves. Less we not forget, however, that reader is an unreliable narrator. We've seen this occur in a multitude of ways. This is my own personal philosophy coming out (and also plays in conjunction with the themes of Weak Spot, mentioned here) is that, on the whole, most people are morally shades of grey. Very few, if any, people are truly bad or good. It's part of why a good villain is redeemable and people love to see it. It's also why there's sometimes nothing tastier than a hero who's moral compass pushes them too far! Life isn't black and white!

But that's not reading your actual question, that's just me taking a chance to say that. You asked how the story would change if reader was a villain.

Now that changes everything!

First off, the story wouldn't be about if you're worthy of love, we would be playing with a tango! As we've seen, Donnie folds in players he finds useful, takes out those in his way, manipulates them if he finds them beneath him, or further yet, completely ignores them if they don't fall on his radar. He's sort of ambivalent in that way, but it's walking eggshells for another villain. Especially in his younger years, if you toed anywhere near his line, he'd be on your shit. This is a man of information. He is more connected than Big Mama without question. He'd know about you the second you committed your first petty crime. Now the real question would be if he would actually remember your name or if he'd drop it into the monitoring stack where 99.9% of all the other villains go.

As we know in general, he had never once trifled with love and I'm less inclined to think he would do so for another villain. He has his persona to uphold and no matter how much of a small fry you are, you are still another rogue and to him that will always be a threat.

Are you retired? You were weak and couldn't stay in the game. That speaks to your resolve.

Are you small potatoes? You're not hungry enough. Why should he waste his time on you?

Are you in the big leagues? You are an opponent and he will move his chess pieces accordingly.

Dang, here I go again coming up with only bad endings. i swear I'm not doing this on purpose, but this just falls in line with the goals of Weak Spot and how changing the parameters alters the whole thing. The story is meant to be an examination of what makes you worthy of love and if your job really defines you. If you are both evil, of course you are both worthy because there is nothing standing in your way, but from the way Donnie has been crafted and come to be, it's difficult to see him dropping any of that for a fellow villain. The exact same could be said about a hero except we have already have textual examples of that (the other turtles). The thing about reader is they needed to be a regular person, because at his core Donnie just wants a chance to live authentically and who better to illustrate living for the sake of living than the every man? They had to be someone outside his world to open his eyes, otherwise he'd be looking through the exact same lens. No one is driven to crime just for the fun sake of it (look back up to my earlier general consensus, this is simply a blanket statement stemming from that). I'm not saying someone broken or 'bad' couldn't have reached Donnie, if we shift Weak Spot, there is absolutely some hot hot tension to be had of going toe to toe with a villain (case and point chapter 49), but within the framing of Weak Spot, I would say, overall, we have yet another dead end.

Lovely exercise though! Thank you for giving me a chance to answer!

[airyairyaucontraire]

I'm left feeling a bit bemused by the What We Do in the Shadows finale.

I'm not surprised at all about what happened with Colin Robinson, I was anticipating that he was doing some kind of phoenix life cycle thing. Other things felt a bit off to me, though. I don't know whether I think Nandor meant what he said to Guillermo after their fight - at the train station he did really seem to be expecting and hoping that Guillermo would join him and then disappointed and confused that he didn't, and yet I have not had the impression at all that he doubted Guillermo's commitment or thought that he was going soft, so why did he say that? He just saw Guillermo lay waste to a wellness cult to rescue him, hardly the act of a softie. Was the promise to finally turn him genuine or was he just trying to stop the fight and appease Guillermo before either of them really hurt the other? Why the total reversal from "I care too much about you to inflict vampirism on you"? (And Guillermo seems to have forgotten saying that he doesn't care about that any more, he just doesn't want Nandor to leave - which seemed like an important development so I was sorry to see it fall by the wayside.)

There didn't seem to be any real emotional reason (and I don't expect a rational reason from Nandor, he's a ditz) for him to make the changes of direction that he did. I also can't help wondering whether the vampires see all the footage the documentary crew assemble - like, if Guillermo could show Nandor the found CCTV footage of Jan leading her remaining followers to a fiery death, would that change how he felt about Guillermo so aggressively rescuing him? It feels like a lot has been left unresolved from that plotline which it would have been more satisfying to deal with before this season ended.

And why, when Guillermo kept trying to press the others to acknowledge their feelings about Colin Robinson dying, was he still refusing to address his real feelings to Nandor, saying the only reason Nandor was alive is "because I let you live" without giving him any reason why? (eg "because I love you," fucking DUH)

I was confused about what the Guide actually thought about what was going on - like, who's going to run the Vampiric Council in Staten Island with both Nandor and Nadja leaving? Does that matter to her? Is she just looking forward to running it herself without any knuckleheads interfering? I kept thinking she was going to try some sort of power play or switcheroo, possibly involving the Cloak of Duplication, or sending Nandor into danger, but nothing there.

Laszlo's expressions of love to Nadja seemed sincere and very touching, as is his determination to protect the new, larval form of Colin Robinson, but still...

basically, the way the season ended up felt more like a way to split everyone up so that the next season would have to be largely taken up with gradually getting them back together again (as well as whatever sort of growth process Colin Robinson will go through), thus delaying the conversations that Nandor and Guillermo really need to have.

Can Nandor actually manage travelling by himself? It doesn't seem likely. Either he doesn't get far and comes limping home pretty quickly, or he's going to have to find someone else to take care of him. He doesn't even know how to pay for things properly in shops, and he can't hypnotise people to do things they're not already willing to do, and he's incredibly easily distracted by things like slot machines and the Macarena.

And how is Laszlo going to manage on his own with a baby, albeit an uncanny baby which presumably feeds on energy rather than needing milk? Is he going to ask Sean and Charmaine for help or try to muddle through alone?

I wouldn't be surprised if Guillermo managed to make himself heard while being loaded onto the ship and got let out, but what would he do then? Or will they just have him fetch up in London with Nadja and be stuck there for a while, purely so he can't do the obvious thing, leave the ship, get back to the mainland and try to catch up with Nandor and explain what happened to him? Nadja and Doll Nadja can manage perfectly well by themselves; she was always the most sensible and competent vampire in the house, for a vampire value of sensible and competent. Even if Viago is tricking her, which seems awfully likely, she doesn't need Guillermo to look after her.

(Once again, how Viago has gone from dwelling in obscurity in Wellington to being in a position of authority in worldwide vampire society is an enduring mystery - do you think his, Vladislav's and Deacon's stock actually rose because they were in a documentary? Do they perhaps consider Nadja a threat because of the risk of her gaining popularity by the same route? Or do they just hate to see a girlboss winning?)

It wasn't very satisfying and it didn't leave me really excited to see what happens next because it seems like what happens next is mostly going to be a hassle to get out of the way before anything interesting or important can happen.

But I did really enjoy Laszlo accompanying himself on the piano and changing the tune appropriately while telling Guillermo his story. And it seemed like Donal Logue had fun.

[violetarks]

Just A Game: Nope

Anime: My Hero Academia (SMAU)

LEVEL DOWN | MENU | LEVEL UP

A few hours later, he came around with some sushi.

Kaminari went to the bathroom and as he passed the hallway window, he noticed Shinso getting out of his car. So he raced back to warn Y/N.

She stood there for a few moments before taking a deep breath in. She said she would talk to him. It stunned everyone.

Judging by the last time she faced a conflict like this, the way she acted now was way different. She didn't want to ignore the problem, she wanted to face it. It was unusual for her to do so.

Kaminari offered to come. He was worried for Y/N. Everyone there was. But he felt his heart heave the most when she said she wanted to talk to him. Although, Y/N still insisted on going alone.

"What are you doing here, Shinso?" Y/N asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

Shinsos stopped on his tracks. He wasn't even inside yet and she was in front of him. "I... was gonna' drop off some lunch because you seemed a little out of it during our texts." He claimed, holding a bento box, "Are you okay?"

Y/N tilted her head to the side and mumbled out, "I'm fine. Although I was wondering when your part in Uraraka's video comes up." She watched as he stiffened in his shoes. "Because I watched the full 45 minute thing, and you were nowhere to be found."

"My parts were probably cut out." He told her, shrugging his shoulders, "Don't worry about it, I don't do much."

Y/N squinted at him before clenching the fabric of her shirt. "That's a lie, Shinso." She stated, "I talked to Uraraka. She said you had nothing to do with the video. And that you weren't even filming with them."

Shinso froze. He didn't think she'd go so far. But she did and now he was found out. "Okay..." He sighed out, dropping his shoulders into a slouch, "I'm... I wasn't in the video and I didn't help... I'm sorry, Y/N."

"Why did you lie to me?" She asked, lofting her head up to stare him in the eyes.

"Because I..." He started, but found himself struggling to finish. Todoroki's words rang in his head. 'You have to tell the truth to some of us'. Why did that stop him now?

"Because I didn't want you to know why I really missed out on our date."

"And why did you miss out on our date?"

A part of them wanted to be thrilled for announcing that it was officially a date, to the both of them. But they couldn't right now.

"I... drank too much coffee the night before because I wanted to make sure which one I liked before going out with you." Shinso stated. It felt like a weight off of his chest, but he knew just admitting this wouldn't make things any better.

No matter what, that little part of him wanted for Y/N to never know the real reason he don't make it to their date. Or maybe for her to forget now that she knows. Maybe it was his pride or his insecurity.

She only grit her teeth and pinched the bridge of her nose. On the inside, she found it kind of cute that he was going so far. But that doesn't mean lying was okay for that.

"Shinso, why are you keeping secrets from me?" She huffed out.

"Why not?" He retorts, his defenses pulling up, "Why should I always tell you the truth?"

This was his barrier. He'd become snarky and sarcastic in times when he was freaking the Hell out, like now. His mind was screaming at him for doing this whilst his mouth kept ratting off whatever bullshit he thought of. It was horrible and he knew full well that it was.

She was shocked. She took a step forward to him. "I thought we were finally getting somewhere, Shinso..." She mumbled out to him, blinking her eyes, "I really wanted to get to know you. Maybe we could've been friends or—..."

Shinso's heart was beating so fast at what she was saying. It's been weeks since they met. Shinso would be lying if he said his YouTube history wasn't filled of her videos and best stream moments. He adored her. Even from the start. His first 'research' task was when they went to the shops together. He liked how she seemed like a normal person and not some big time streamer. She was amazing and he knew that from the start.

Getting to know Y/N was like a very hard game that only few dare to play. You have to get passed her jokes and Daisuke talk to see that she's actually very caring and wants to please everyone. Under that, she was hard-working and driven. And beneath that, she was insecure of letting people in.

He could tell by the fact that she became so wary and walled in after he didn't show for their date. It took a while to break those walls down.

They had texted for weeks after that and he simply made it back to his respawn point where Y/N would make jokes about Daisuke being her child. He could go in with another life.

"I don't know if this is just a game to you, but this is my life, Shinso." Y/N stated, pulling Shinso out of his gaming thoughts, "I... really wanted to let you in. But not anymore."

Shinso could feel his embarrassed anger piling up. He didn't want the dam to break but it most definitely did. "You only wanted me in my life because you think I'm pretty, Y/N." He told her.

"That's not true!" She called out, feeling even more offended now.

"You don't know anything about me." He claimed, waving a hand in the air, "You only like me because you think I'm hot. Name one thing about me. Go on."

She looked angered by his statement, like she wanted to pound his face in. But when Y/N relaxed a little, she released her fists at her sides. She looked up to Shinso, furrowed brows.

"No. I don't want to name the things I know about you." She said lowly. She stepped forward, jabbing a finger into Shinso's chest harshly.

"Because fuck you, Shinso. I thought I knew you enough to say you were a good person, but now I see that I really don't know who the Hell you are. And if this is you, then I don't want to."

With that, she turned away and shut the door behind her. Looking up, she saw Jirou, Kaminari, Kirishima and Bakugou standing there. They most definitely were eavesdropping.

They didn't say a word, only making their way back up to the studio.

"Get off your phone, Y/N."

She looked up from her screen, seeing Bakugou standing in front of her. He had his hands on his hips, one of them with his drum sticks encased inside. He looked irritated and strict, making Y/N sigh and place her device back on the couch. She was going through her silly text messages with Shinso.

It had been two hours since he left, Y/N declaring that she didn't want anything to do with someone who wouldn't tell her the truth.

"Right, right, I gotta' focus." She said, rummaging through the piles of papers that had lyrics written on them, "I can't get distracted anymore!"

They were all pre-written, half of them Jirou's and a quarter each for both Y/N and Kaminari. Some of them were absolute shit, written at 4 AM with alcohol running through their systems. Others were well-written but only half done, abandoned as soon as another idea popped into their head. Only few were great and finished.

"Still mad about Shinso?" Kaminari asks from apposite her, sitting on the floor with his electric guitar on his lap.

Y/N nodded her head slowly. "Yeah. Yeah, I am." She responded quietly back, trying to re-read the sentence over again, "But that doesn't matter anymore. We're working on a video. I can't let you guys take all the work."

They all exchanged looks before Y/N grabbed her drink from the table. As she sipped, Bakugou clicked his tongue and stood up from his spot on the couch, moving to the drum set.

"That bastard doesn't deserve it." He claims, twirling the drum sticks in between his fingers, "He should've just told you the fucking truth from the start."

Y/N had reached out to Uraraka as soon as she realised that Shinso had lied. She asked the brunette if he was in the video at all, and she asked for the truth. Uraraka did tell her the truth. That Shinso wasn't a part of the video. At all. She also apologised for the things he did. Y/N said it wasn't her fault and that she didn't need to apologise.

"What's so great about him anyway?" Jirou questioned, tuning her bass guitar.

Y/N blinked a fee times at her. "He's just... so calm and I felt loose around him, like with you guys." She admitted, playing with the corner of the paper in her hand, "It was like he went out of his way just to talk to me. It was nice."

The smile she wore soon fell. Because she realised she was smiling. And needed to stop.

"I guess not anymore." She mumbled out, placing her hand on the table, "If he has to lie about filming a video as an excuse."

Everyone noticed how down she was. Usually when she was upset, they'd play games and stuff to help her. She would even play Minecraft, it was relaxing. Kaminari once deleted a whole lot of footage for an upcoming video and got Y/N to calm down by building her a flower garden in her world.

But she refused this time. She didn't want anyone to see how badly Shinso affected her. It was horrible. But she wanted to work.

"Maybe if we liked each other some more, then this wouldn't have happened." She whispers to herself.

Kirishima eyes a stack of papers. "Hey, what about this one?" He asked, trying to pull her out of her thoughts, "Have you done this one yet?"

Y/N plucked the paper out of his hands. She then shook her head upon reading it. "Nope. I haven't." She informed them, passing around the paper to Jirou, "Me and Jirou worked on it but we can't get the third verse right."

Once Kaminari got the paper, he gasped and searched for another one. "Wait, wait, wait!" He shouted out, waving the lyrics in the air, "I've got something perfect for this!"

He shoved the stack of papers into Y/N's lap. She chuckled, reading through them, "Wow, Denki, these are great. I bet we can use them for this song." She stood up and walked over to the other electric guitar. "Katsuki, can you follow along? Jirou has bass line and I have main plucking."

Bakugou nodded his head, ready to play.

The air seemed better now that she was distracted. Everyone silently cheered for Kirishima, thanking him for finding a solution to this unspoken problem.

They started playing, Bakugou falling in line with the drumming and Jirou teaching Kaminari the base chords.

Kaminari said the lyrics he wrote didn't quite suit his voice, which is why he dropped the song after getting to the chorus. He has asked Bakugou to sing it and he refused. He said he'd kill him if he asked again. So Kaminari asked Kirishima, who sheepishly accepted after the blonde assured him that his voice fit perfectly.

"Y/N, you doing okay?" Kaminari asked, hand on his hip, "You seem more tired than usual."

She waved her hand. "I keep messing up the plucking. It's freaking hard to keep it in line while singing." She sighed out, stretching her fingers out.

"Why don't I play the plucking while you sing?" Kirishima offered, crossing his arms over his chest as he stood by Bakugou, "You sing the chorus' and the first and second verse. So I can play the rest to take it off your hands. Easy."

Y/N smiled, looking at him with a grateful gaze. "That'd be great, Eijiro. Thank you." She said, handing him the electric guitar. As she began teaching him the chords and the plucking, Jirou, Kaminari and Bakugou stood by.

"Really brings you back, huh?" Kaminari said, staring at them. They all looked so happy.

"Yeah. Back in high school, when all this was just a pipe dream." Jirou laughed quietly, shaking her head. She would've never dreamed of having her own studio.

Bakugou hardened his glance at Y/N. "Should've kept her safe." He told them.

Jirou and Kaminari shared a look.

"There's only so much we can do for her. She's bound to fight for herself at some point. Y/N's strong."

Fun Fact: Y/N and Jirou have a bunch of things they've worked on. Jirou's played alongside her in many video games, sometimes with Mina too. And Y/N's featured in many of Jirou's songs. 'On Board Bebop' is Y/N's most recent project that her fans begged her to make with Jirou featured, which is a pile of songs she wrote with her passion and emotions. That's because the way 'Cowboy Bebop' ended made Y/N feel different than she was before she watched it.

TAGS: @just-some-stars @freyafolkvangr @headfirst-halo @wotsitgirl @falling4fandoms @katsuki-bakuhoee @adorable-punk-superheroes @firecet @ouijaeater15 @swoonhui @thegalxe @caitff @camry-orphanaccount @angelofdarkness1020 @someweirdshitman @jazzylove

[ifartsparkswithkaty]

Cows are not sexually abused, and if you knew anything about working around large animals you would know that. A cow in heat doesn't care whether it is artificially inseminated, which is really obvious if you've ever seen it done (or met a cat in heat, they're the same way - hornier than you or I could possibly imagine.) Bulls are extremely violent and will often injure cows by mating with them aggressively and repeatedly, even if they don't want it or try to get away, which is why farmers use artificial insemination - it is actually significantly more expensive than using bulls, but much safer and gentler for the animals. Calves are also only taken away from their mothers for safety reasons with some breeds - a friend of mine working on a dairy had a cow calve in the middle of the night and they didn't notice right away, by the time they found it she had trampled the baby and it was so injured it had to be euthanized. It's not the only story I've heard like that either. Beef breeds are good moms and their babies stay with them after birth. Cattle of both sexes and all breeds are slaughtered at one year at the earliest, unless they have some kind of incurable health problem that's a welfare issue, and in beef slaughterhouses the animals can't see each other when they are killed, so they have no idea it's coming and don't have time to panic. The slaughtering method used in modern slaughterhouses is amazingly fast, it's like a light switch getting flipped off, not at all like the awful videos from years past that you see. It's hard to imagine it being more fast or humane. I don't have personal experience with pigs because my family all warned me never to work on pig farms because they are so horrific. I know from family who have worked in chicken houses that chickens are kept in very poor conditions. As someone who really cares about animals it bothers me to see misinformation spread, because it leads to a place where people assume that because there is so much misinformation about cattle, then the horror stories about chicken houses and pig farms must also be fake. I would really like for pigs and chickens to get the same consideration and care that cows do, and I think we should work toward that - my family raised our own pigs and chickens when I was a kid, and we always treated them as well as our cats and dogs, despite them being raised for meat, so I know it's possible. Hopefully in the future laws can be passed protecting these animals from abuse.

Yes, I also hope that laws continue being passed to protect animals from abuse. I’m glad you said that you really care about animals. Having said that, I’m a little worried about everything else you mentioned. Your family treated your pigs and chickens as well as they treated your cats and dogs? Did you also kill your cats and dogs for meat later? If not, why not? You treated them the same and cared for them the same except for the part where you killed the pigs for food but kept the dogs around for cuddles? In some parts of Asia dogs are killed for food - how do you feel about that? Do you feel dogs and pigs should be treated exactly the same except for the part where you kill one for food but not the other? Why?

Let’s address the point of the misinformation about cattle next. You started off by saying that cows aren’t sexual abused but then went on to say that well when they’re horny they don’t care what happens to then. Yeah, fuck off. Every sentient being should have the right to their own body and should have the right to consent to what happens to them. Even if you disagree with that (shame on you for thinking of other sentient beings who can feel pain and trauma can/should be impregnated without their consent), here is an article reporting violence and non-impregnation relation sexual assault on cows in factory farms. It also has video footage if you’d prefer. These are animals capable of feeling psychological trauma, so don’t fucking dare tell me that being impregnated without their consent isn’t going to be traumatic. And don’t try to bullshit me with the ‘its safer and gentler for animals thats why we do it’ because honestly an industry which kills male calves as soon as their born or tortures them after birth so they can be sold off as veal doesn’t give a shit about being ‘safe and gentle’ with their animals. Sure, you might have wanted your own small number of cows to be as healthy as they can be before you murder them - but don’t expect factory farmed animals to be treated like anthing other than an object.

And let’s talk about the murdering part, shall we? You said: “Cattle of both sexes and all breeds are slaughtered at one year at the earliest”. Do you know what the natural lifespan of a cow is? Well take a look at this:

Don’t you fucking dare come here and tell me that ^this is ethical in any way. The analogous age for a human (who would otherwise live for 80 years) to be slaughtered would be 6 years. Killing a cow at 18 months for meat is analogous to killing a 6 year old human child in terms of how much they’ve lived and experienced of life.

The next thing you say is that “in beef slaughterhouses the animals can't see each other when they are killed, so they have no idea it's coming and don't have time to panic”. Let me counter that by showing you some real life examples. A warning for anyone clicking these links - it has videos from the inside of slaughterhouses where animals are panicking because they know they’re about to die. The animals are risking their lives to try and escape.

By the way, if you don’t believe me or don’t bother watching the videos - you can read this confession of a former slaughterhouse worked posted on the BBC. Not only does it confirm what’s shown in the videos that animals do see others being killed and they do panic and that it’s all very barbaric, it also talks about why slaughterhouses are horrible for the humans who works there. It’s literally awful for everyone involved.

The next thing you say is “The slaughtering method used in modern slaughterhouses is amazingly fast, it's like a light switch getting flipped off, not at all like the awful videos from years past that you see. It's hard to imagine it being more fast or humane.” Did you ever have to euthanise your cats or dogs? Did you take them to a slaughterhouse or did you take them to a vet? Why wouldn’t you want your cat or your dog to be euthanised in a slaughterhouse? After al, you did literally say “It's hard to imagine it being more fast or humane” and wouldn’t you want the most humane possible way of saying goodbye to your beloved pet? Literally no one would even think about taking their pet to the slaughterhouse to be euthanised because everyone knows it’s not fucking humane.

As for the modern methods for slaughterhouses? Let’s take a look at these modern method. Here’s an excerpt: “The simplest mechanism consists of electrodes or probes built in the form of tongs with insulated handles and applied between the ear and eye of the animal for 1–4 secs.” You can read more about that here. How fucking dare you call having metal tongs inserted in your brain and being electrocuted ‘humane’? Just because it’s “fast” doesn’t mean it’s not painless. If you want to have your dog euthanised and you see the vet inserting metal tongs in between your dog’s eyes and ears you’d fucking start screaming animal abuse and just ask another vet for an injection. So don’t you fucking dare come over here and say ‘oh modern methods are very fast and efficient so theyre very humane’ when theyre just fucking barbaric.

Now, if you do really care about animals then put your money where your mouth is and join the movement to end animal abuse. This means not killing them. This means not gassing them or electrocuting them. This means not stealing their babies and killing them because it’s cheaper than rearing them. If you care about animals then protest against their exploitation. They’re sentient creatures capable of feeling pain and trauma, so protest against the industries who keep them in traumatic conditions and inflict pain upon them. If you care about someone then you don’t kill them when they clearly don’t want to be killed. There’s no ethical way to kill someone who doesn’t want to die.

If after reading all this you still disagree with me, then kindly fuck off. I don’t want you here in my inbox trying to defend animal cruelty. And I don’t appreciate you sending me an ask that forces me to go look up instances of animals cruelty so I can back up the points I’m trying to make. You’ve successfully ruined my day, and I don’t want any more asks that defend the instituitionalised torture of helpless animals.

[buddha-in-disguise]

5.18 So that was a lot!

Posting without editing, so apologies for any errors. I am running on barely any sleep, but really wanted to get this written while I could.

Overall impressions were great episode .... but again there were issues for me. However I will address them as I go through my thoughts on it all, and please don't think I am trying go bring this episode down. I'm not. It really was great! I just still see things that haven't been done that could've easily occurred to appease fans further or are examples of why 5b has been so problematic for me.

The opening was good, in that they actually explained that Leviathan were no longer at the location they'd used in Earth 38 before Crisis. These little pointers are what have been missed a lot this season (a couple of examples later ref Kelly). Too often it's been, we need to find their location; no explanation as to why that is.

Now onto the whiplash with Kara and her anger towards Lena.

Kara is angry over Lena being at the fortress and the reaction over her use of Myriad. Alex is the one actually acknowledging Myriad is a trigger for Lena.

Alex, who suddenly starts defending Lena? Then Kara is convincing herself Lena is involved with Lex. Look, I get that she would feel suspicious, I get she has the right to feel angry. But it is this sudden, seemingly out of nowhere anger, not recognising the good in Lena she has staunchly defended until now. With Alex understanding Lena's position.

As I say, I'm not saying Kara doesn't have a right to be hurt and angry. But to see such a quick role reversal in the Danvers sisters in how they're talking about Lena? That is what I find difficult to get my head around.

I don't expect Kara to be there fully defending Lena as she has done. But this just feels OOC yet again. This really isn't normal for Kara. We've seen her angry and feeling betrayed by those closest to her before, but you could see how it built. Understanding as to why those actions left Kara feeling like she did (Astra and J'onn anyone?)

Did I mention whiplash? Because, whiplash.

But it is good to see Kara once again around a table brainstorming with most of the Superfriends. Using her intelligence and skills to try and figure things out.

Nia is also finally able to be involved properly. I still feel annoyed Nia isn't really in CatCo at all these days, because as much as I love seeing her as Dreamer, I want to see Nia as more than just a Superhero. I want to see her continuing as a journalist, and like Kara, use both skills together when feasible.

The Tower is actually getting used (those computers aren't simply sitting there looking pretty). How many episodes has it taken to see this used properly for more than a brief scene? Too long.

M'gann is back. I love M'gann, and despite still feeling angry that they had J'onn throw her into a DEO cell, with no due process simply for being a White Martian, I've always enjoyed the dynamic between the two characters, and it wasn't a surprise they kissed. Although god damn it, where was our Dansen kiss. Even a hug? But onto Dansen in a bit.

Alex got into some action. That car hood slide?! Phew. It is suddenly very hot in here. We certainly wouldn't complain if they throw a few more of those hood slides in future episodes.

This is the sort of thing a lot of fans love Alex for. Her kick ass, throwing herself around best.

Plus the scene with Kara in the library just before that, also had the Danvers sisters vibe we have just missed a lot this season, especially 5b.

The DEO being destroyed. Of course we knew it was coming, but it was still good to see the whole sequence of action leading up to it. Kara jumping through that window! Day. Made.

The Nia and Brainy scenes though. My poor Brainia heart. Actually the way Nia and Kara turned and walked away outside after the collapse of the DEO .... oof. Understandable but still gut wrenching. The parallels to Lena and Kara, with Brainy and Nia are also there. God damn it, what is with all this pulling apart relationships and friendships on the show this season.

Kelly, while still frustrated she is working with William, in this episode it made more sense, as Nia and Kara were out doing Superhero things. I've said for ages though, William really isn't needed to simply stand over Kelly's shoulder as she does her thing. Okay, so he realised an image inducer was being used, but if Kelly was working this on her own, (with the Superfriends at The Tower), you can't tell me she wouldn't have been giving the footage the same level of detailed going over that William was. Nothing in those scenes couldn't have been done without him. Kelly is far more capable to do this. She is ex-military for gods sake.

Which leads me onto Dansen, but also Alex.

Once again we had them acknowledge that as ex-military Alex was finding it difficult to adjust. I broached this in an earlier piece I wrote when J'onn and Alex were talking about it. I would've far preferred Kelly had that conversation with her girlfriend, at home. That end scene with Dansen was great, but the dialogue with Kelly's ex-army buddy - that should've been Kelly when Alex says her actions led to it happening. That whole segment had Kelly and Alex talking written all over it. Another wasted opportunity of so many this season. It is especially galling as we've had so little meaningful Dansen content. That small change would've made a huge difference. Plus no hug? No kiss? M'gann and J'onn get one, but once again Dansen don't, and they don't even get the intimacy of a hug. It is ridiculous. And people wonder why fans have had increasing issue of the LGBTQ storylines. Or rather lack thereof.

Which brings me to my other bugbear from this season. Does Kelly know Kara is Supergirl? I mean I think she does after last weeks episode, which I've covered at the time. But that is only conjecture on what we saw, not what we know for certain. Where is Alex getting her income from? Is J'onn paying her, and if so, where is he getting the income from? Are Kelly and Alex actually living together? Because Kelly sure as hell looked comfortable in Alex's apartment, and Alex certainly looked as if Kelly not only was expected to be there, but belonged there. I know we can't get every minute detail about their lives, but these aren't small things. Plus it would only take brief dialogue to explain what the situation really is.

As for Alex becoming a vigilante. I will be honest, I've never been overly comfortable with vigilantes in shows, however they are littered throughout The Arrowverse. In fact, without them most Arrowverse shows wouldn't exist. As for the support of Kelly, that was a pleasant change. She understood the difficulties Alex faced, and offered a solution. After all, she has the Guardian shield. Whether she becomes her own version of Guardian I guess we wait and see. But since Alex needs to try and stop both Lex and Leviathan and has no other means to do it effectively, a vigilante is the most logical step. After all, isn't that what they've all been doing since Alex left the DEO? They just haven't placed a name to it until now.

Time to go onto Lex and Lena. Possible trigger warning here.

"You're a monster. But that doesn't mean I have to be one to."

First off. Jon Cryer and Katie McGrath were masterful in the scene where it all came to a head in the prison. Despite my misgivings of the overuse of Lex this season, there is no doubt this is why he is so good! His emotional range just came shining through. Just as Katie McGrath's did.

Him getting up into her face like he did, and her flinching. Here is what I tweeted about it: "Listen, I've been in an IPV relationship. I can't speak for victims of family abuse and if they grow up in the same way, but the way Lena flinched in this scene. That was me when my ex did what Lex did. That was real.

Katie McGrath's shone in tonight's episode."

Katie just completely nailed it. This is when I wish I could just stand there and tell her just how amazing that scene was. The same for Jon.

Those who have denied time and again Lena wasn't a victim of abuse, or it didn't excuse her for her actions in how Lex manipulates her, this is why we spoke about it. This is the victim of abuse. If she wasn't expecting that to escalate into a violent reaction, then that scene wouldn't have happened like it did. She was expecting the blow. That whole scene was visceral. I'm still trying to get to grips with how once again, the acting just brings through a depth so often lacking. So please spare me the excuses of she isn't a victim of abuse. That scene is canon now to the story. Between Lex last season, and this leaves no room for doubt, and if you do - you're not doing it for any other reason than to simply hate on Lena.

That last scene with Kara and Lena. Fucking finally! It's only taken 18 episodes to get there. Again I am still frustrated Kara is being so defensive against Lena, but I also do kind of understand it. She is also feeling hurt and no doubt worried. Is Lena trying to trick her again, like she had earlier in the season. Will she get her heart ripped out if Lena is presenting her with an act. Trust goes both ways, and both of them have found it difficult to reestablish it. I get that. I really do. Again though I just wish it hadn't taken until 5.18 for any kind of resolution between them to begin. Even if it had gone to the 20 episode season as planned, we couldn't get time to really get this sorted. Kara needs to let Lena explain why Lena did what she did with more than that speech. She needs to understand just how abusive the relationship is between Lex and Lena, and why to some degree Lena fell back into old habits like she did. Much like we had Lena and Andrea get that backstory, to really help show why Lena has trust issues, Kara and Lena now need to lay those cards out on the table in a similar way. No more hiding. Sadly I doubt we will get anything of that depth, and we certainly won't this season. But it is a start and that's more than I could've hoped for before the episode began.

Lastly, William getting black bagged by Eve. I wonder if her anger at Lex will make her use William as a pawn to gain revenge? Or will she let William know Lex was the one who has fed William those details, or activated him? Still a weird ass way to describe it by the way. But we will see. Honestly, William as a whole holds absolutely no interest for me. So I didn't even find myself reacting to what happened. It was ... meh.

And that's it for now. I've almost certainly forgotten something, but it was a lot to take in this episode.

Overall, I felt this episode was far better than some of what we've seen so far this season, particularly in 5b. It certainly leaves me looking forward to 5.19 with less dread than of late.

[goddessofthundathighs]

Happy early birthday to my twin @panthergoddessbast! Always remember that I love you immensely! 😘

—————————————

VI. THREE-HEADED MONSTER

The sexual tension on the ride back to O'Shea's house was so thick it could be cut with a knife. Erik could feel the way her eyes bore into the side of his face, her stare unrelenting. She wanted more, but he still didn't think she deserved it. She was gonna have to work for the dick, no matter how many times her hand brushed against his hardening third leg.

"What are you doing, Ms. Powell?" he asked, his eyes never leaving the road.

"I was a good girl at dinner. I think I deserve a treat."

"You got one in the bathroom, don't be greedy Princess." This made Shea pout, but she was determined to make him break.

"Please Daddy?" she tried again, sliding her perfectly manicured coffin nail up his thigh.

"O'Shea, I said no," he scolded firmly causing her to recoil slightly.

"No?" she inquired, her eyebrow raised in confusion. Being the spoiled Daddy's girl she was, no wasn't a word she was used to hearing. Erik noticed her change in demeanor and decided to exploit the situation.

"Yes, I said no, Bianca. Any other questions?" She huffed loudly, turning her body back to face the windshield.

"First of all, I'm an adult and you will address me as such. You're going to give in eventually. That tent in ya pants will need to be handled somehow."

"I have Skylar for that," he added just to antagonize her further.

"Nice try, but Skylar is a lesbian."

"Skylar is just like you, she doesn't give a fuck who eats her pussy, I'm just the only man she lets do it," he replied with a shit-eating grin. O'Shea remained silent the rest of the ride to her place, not even bothering to give him a look back as she walked up to her door and into the house. He couldn't exactly explain why, but he loved getting her riled up the way he had. He loved seeing the fire in her eyes when she was angry at him. It made his dick even harder and the dormant beast within him began to come to life.

Let me have a taste, the beast growled.

"Soon, big fella. Soon," he told himself. Little did O'Shea know he had his own Bennie, and Killmonger was an expert brat tamer.

--

"Why in the fuck would you tell her that? She should've punched your ass," Skylar fussed from her seat behind Erik's desk. She was on the computer, her long nails tittering away on the keyboard as she worked on an informative pamphlet for her own clients.

"The three major components of the cognitive-behavioral approach are: (a) replacement of sexual anxiety with sexual comfort; (b) adopting positive sexual attitudes and learning sexual skills; and (c) a program of individually designed sexual exercises to be done between therapy sessions. The goal of this therapy is to develop a comfortable, functional, and satisfying sexual style... How does that sound," she asked aloud.

"Like you copied and pasted it from a generic article but it serves its purpose and describes what we do. I might just change the name of the practice to mine and steal your pamphlets."

"I don't think so," Skylar mumbled printing multiple pamphlets before ejecting her drive.

"You couldn't do that in your office?" Erik teased watching her lips purse in indignation.

"I could've but I was already here," she replied, taking a sip from her caramel macchiato. "So how are things going with you and Shea?"

"Oh the usual, however, I think we're making progress with her attitude. She's starting to learn that acting out and misbehaving gets her nothing but blue balls."

"I don't think women can get blue balls, but go off I guess."

"Shut up you know what I meant, nigga," he replied, blowing the wrapper of his straw in her direction. The pair shared a laugh before Erik grabbed his leather notebook from the desk drawer.

"I need help coming up with the next method I want to try with her. She's the ideal candidate for experimental therapies. We can really take this thing as far as it goes with her. Hypnotherapy was successful, I've taken thorough notes on that session after watching the footage a few times. And the toy. The toy did exactly what it was designed to do. However, it's not just toys and hypnotism. I've found that engaging her in non-sexual ways are just as effective to bring out her little personalities.

"Oh, so you met them already." Sky leaned forward interested in where the conversation was headed.

"I've tapped into her Little behavior and experimented with some of her kinks. Buttercup is the Little and she appears whenever she feels that I'm upset with her. There are layers to that psychologically that I'd like to examine."

"Hmm," Skylar nodded intrigued.

"Bianca is the brat you and I are used to."

"Too used to it." Skylar's eyes roll.

"She's obviously triggered by the word 'No' and tends to act out when she doesn't get her way. She's also fairly easy to contain... Bennie-"

"You don't need to tell me about Bennie, I work in a sex shop. Bennie comes to work every day."

"I'm kinda stuck now... I have all of this leeway yet I can't decide which method to use next. When I look at her I see endless possibilities. Since you know her, what do you suggest?"

"How about you do some type of exercise in which you bring all of her little personalities to the surface? Get her high."

"Seriously? That's it?"

"Yeah. You'd be amazed at what you'll learn from her when she's under the influence." Erik rubbed his chin as he pondered the thought.

"But you know how I get when I'm high, Sky," he said, sending a sly grin her way.

"Boy get your slick ass away from me. Save the bedroom eyes for O'Shea, thanks."

"On some serious shit though, how do I go about asking her to the crib? That violates all types of rules and crosses all types of barriers."

"Well technically it doesn't because it's possible to file it under intensive in-home services," she chuckled.

"Sky..."

"Okay, seriously working with the client in their home is not out of the ordinary. Don't make this weird."

"Aight, so you think we should do this at her crib since I've already been there before?"

"Yes. Her home is easier to justify on paper since it's familiar territory and she'll be more relaxed in her own space versus yours."

"Yo smart ass! That's why I keep you around," he said kissing her forehead repeatedly.

"I thought it was because I rolled the best weed but both compliments will do."

"You know I love you girl. That reminds me, you still got that dispensary connect in LA?"

"Maybe, why? You tryna get some specialty shit?"

"Yes, ma'am. Something that will ease her mind and body and allow her to open up to me."

"I know just the thing. It's called Green Goddess."

"Ooh, sounds exotic. I need two ounces."

"$2500."

"You know my account info. Get it for me and bring it by. Oooh, bring some In & Out too. And Cold Stones."

"Nigga is O'Shea the female in this situation or you?"

"Hush woman and do what I say," he said with a sharp smack to her ass.

"Yes Daddy," she teased in a soft, Princess-like voice.

"Aye chill out, it's been a minute." Skylar's soft giggle rang throughout the hallway as she walked towards the entrance. He thought for a minute before typing a quick text to O'Shea.

Busy tonight?

Nah why?

Netflix and chill at your crib? I'll bring the bud and food.

You had me at bud. See you at 7.

"Spoiled ass," he chuckled as he put his phone away.

The rest of the work day went by smoothly and soon it was time to head to his patient's house. As usual, Skylar came through with the bud he requested and both his and Shea's favorite meals from In & Out and ice cream from Cold Stones.

"At this point, you owe me your life," Sky fussed from her desk. "Traffic was hell. There was an accident, a four-car pileup." She was working late due to Erik and his needy ways so she opted to facetime him as he made his way to O'Shea's house to make her frustrations known.

"I knew it would be something that's why I knew I wouldn't have the time or patience. But you know I always got you, ma. If all else fails, I'm marrying you."

"Choke on rocks," she pouted. "Always using me for the shit you don't wanna do. I'm getting a new best friend, one that respects how great I am and loves me for me."

"If it's a dude, I'ma kill him. Killmonger don't share."

"I ain't Killmonger's bitch," she countered. "And murder is very much so illegal. This ain't the Navy." He smiled, revealing his bottom row of gold. He cleared his throat before dropping his voice several octaves.

"You sure about that, ma?"

"Oh no, put the demon away."

"Nah, you said you were replacing us. You sure you wanna do that?"

"Unlike O'Shea, I can do what I want, but no sweetheart, I'd never replace you."

"Pinky promise and swear on Crip."

"On Crip, I'd never replace you and you know we don't lie on the hood."

"Aight we good. I'll call you later to let you know how things go." The pair shared their goodbyes and Erik exited his vehicle.

"You're early," O'Shea noted as she stepped back to let him in. The clock on the microwave read 5:30.

"Work was light and I figured I'd just go ahead and come over. Problem?"

"No. Is that Cold Stones?" She asked wide-eyed.

"Yes it is and no you can't have it."

"B-But why?" she pouted.

"Later, Bianca."

"How many times must I remind you that I am an adult?"

"Barely," he regarded with a smirk as he made his way to her kitchen. She followed him the whole way, pouting all the while as he pulled everything out of the bags.

"Fix ya face or you won't get any at all."

"That's not fair!" she pouted harder, folding her arms over her chest.

"Life isn't fair, Lil' Mama."

"This is some bullshit," she fussed as she walked to the couch.

"Bet. I'll keep this sweet cream and oreo shit to myself," he teased, noticing how her mouth dropped in shock. Erik's grin only widened as he walked over to the couch with their food and drinks.

"So what we watching, Bianca Boo?" he asked, reaching for the remote.

"First of all, my name is O'Shea."

"You're acting like a brat so your name is Bianca, now answer my question."

"Can we watch Hercules?"

"Fuckin' child," he mumbled as he pressed play on the movie. The couple ate, sang, and smoked as they breezed through their little Disney movie marathon. From Hercules to Mulan to The Emperor's New Groove they relived their childhoods while the Green Goddess indica worked its magic to mellow them both out and allow them to talk and bond on a more personal level. Several hours into the Disney and chill session, O'Shea figured she'd try her luck again. She noted how much more mellow Erik was when he was under the influence, using this opportunity to fully appreciate how good he looked dressed down. The charcoal gray turtleneck clung to his muscles effortlessly, barely covering the Patek Phillipe watch on his left wrist. His black slacks fit him well, as though they were tailor-made just for him. Her eyes remained glued to the bulge in his pants as he sat with his legs spread wide on the couch. O'Shea fought hard to keep herself from staring, but of course, Erik noticed. He had been watching her watch him for the last 20 minutes and the beast within him noticed too.

"You gone suck or just stare at it?" Killmonger growled, startling O'Shea from her shameless eyefucking. The deep timbre of his voice had her quaking and before he could change his mind, she dropped down to her knees in front of him, seizing her moment to strike him down to a base level of weakness. Surely he could not withstand her oral talent no matter what contenders he'd faced before. Skylar was a master of oral sex when it came to women, but O'Shea was the oracle when it came to men. She looked up at him innocently as she took him into her mouth, lightly teasing his tip with gentle licks before finally taking as much of him as she could down her throat. Though she was cursed with a gag reflex, she was still a master at her craft and the way he was moaning above her proved that she hadn't lost her touch. His stout, thick fingers found their way into her curly mane, lightly gripping her tresses to help guide her head up and down his shaft.

"Just like that, Shea. Grip that shit, stroke what you can't fit in that wet ass mouth," he encouraged. O'Shea moaned around his shaft, using his praises as encouragement to show out on the dick. She wasn't sure when she'd get him this loose again and wanted to make sure this experience was memorable. Just as she was finding her groove, he made the most awful sound above her.

"Ah, shit! What the fuck?!"

"Wait, stop moving!"

"That shit hurt, what the fuck did you just do to me?" In all of the 5 years that O'Shea had had her braces, never once had they gotten caught on anyone. Leave it to Erik Stevens to be the unlucky contender.

"I-I'm sorry, that's never happened before," she said fighting back her laughter. He was being more dramatic than the situation really called for.

"Oh, that shit's funny to you? I'm fucking bleeding."

"You're not, but ok," she said standing from her position on the floor.

"Man move," he fussed, rushing to the bathroom to assess the damages.

20 minutes. 20 whole minutes was how long he left her to her own psyche while he calmed down. He knew she didn't mean to do it, but the fact that she laughed is what really pissed him off. Once he composed himself, he walked out to see her back on the couch with her head down towards the floor. He didn't speak to her, only went to the kitchen to throw away the trash and grab his keys.

"So are you going to leave and not speak to me? I told you it was an accident."

"I know, Buttercup and I'm not upset. I just think it's a good idea to end this session where it is. I'll have Harper contact you about your next appointment. Have a good night." With that and a kiss to the back of her hand, he walked outside and back to his car, leaving O'Shea a confused, sad mess. She didn't do well with people being mad at her, especially at this point in her life when her little personalities were fully functioning entities. The buzz of her phone brought her out of her psyche.

"Daddy's sorry for the way he left you, Buttercup. I meant what I said about not being angry at what happened, but what really pissed me off is the fact that you thought it was funny."

"But you laugh at my pain all the time," she replied meekly, curling up into a ball on the couch.

"I don't laugh at your pain, I laugh at the fact that you think you run shit. How about this, let's meet somewhere and talk about it."

"Where?"

"Cold Stones."

"But I have ice cream in the freezer."

"Since when have you turned down more?"

"Touché. Give me 10 minutes." She quickly dressed, happy that he wasn't upset and that he still wanted to continue their therapy and build their potential relationship. Though he was indeed her therapist, she felt comfortable with him. More comfortable than she had felt with anyone in a long time and if she were being honest, it scared her. She hated how vulnerable she was around him having been so guarded for most of her life, yet she liked that she could be her true self without fear of judgment and ridicule for her behavior. The benefits of having him as her therapist outweighed her fears. He got her on a level that no one else had before, not even Sky.

Excitedly, she met him in the air-conditioned shop finding him with ice cream in hand. On her approach, he rested his palm atop her head as if to say welcome.

"So now I'm a dog?"

"Nah, you just small. Have a seat, baby girl." She sat down beside him and began eating the cold sugary concoction of sweet cream, chocolately brownie chunks, crumbled graham crackers and walnuts all drizzled with thick caramel. She bounced happily in her seat as the divine mixture set her tastebuds ablaze. This was one of her all-time favorite combinations and she was glad he'd remembered it to the smallest detail. He smiled as he watched her smiling and bouncing in her element, happy that she was happy. She was eating so fast that she dripped ice cream onto her chin and brand new royal purple Disney spirit jersey. She pouted, but he merely grabbed a napkin and cleaned her mess.

"Why the long face, Buttercup? I thought a messy little girl was a happy little girl."

"Sky just bought this for me, though. I didn't want to get it dirty. There's even a stain on Mickey." She turned her body slightly to show him the smudged caramel on the sparkly D emblem.

"Well that won't do, will it? You're welcome to take it off. You wouldn't want to spill again."

"But I'm not wearing another shirt," she pouted further.

"Less material to worry about. You should enjoy your ice cream freely. Do remove the shirt, Buttercup.. for your own good." She nodded, slowly lifting the sweatshirt over her head and laying it on the table. He grabbed and folded it neatly before placing it on the booth beside him. Now free from the constraints of the jersey, she tore into her ice cream like a woman starved.

"Doesn't that feel better? Your sweater is now safe from any harm and Daddy will worry about having it cleaned. That's not something a little girl should concern herself with."

"Yes Daddy, thank you," she said with a wide grin. It had been so long since she had been allowed to freely be in her little space, especially to this degree and it was nice to put the stresses and worries of adulting to the side, even if it were just for a little while.

"Um... I'm sorry sir, but um.. shirts are required in this establishment... Sorry..," the gangly scooper spoke nervously, obviously intimidated by his stature though he was not in his imposing state. The anxiety in the guy's eyes rubbed him the wrong way. Another negative profile. If that was the case while he wore a sweater and a name brand watch, he thought, the man deserved to feel fearful.

"Several pale skinned patrons are wearing sports bras and cropped bandeau tops, similar to my date's. Are you going to say the same to them?" Erik asked with a raised eyebrow watching the guy stammer in distress.

"I- It's just- Nevermind," the scooper stumbled, making his way back behind the counter. He started to pick up a phone, but when Erik made eye contact and mouthed a message, he put the phone back down.

"What did you say just now," O'Shea inquired, looking from the counter back to Erik's peaceful expression. The behavior of the scooper didn't match his face.

"Nothing you need to worry your pretty little head about, Buttercup. Take your time. Finish your ice cream and we'll be on our way." O'Shea shrugged but continued to bounce happily as she ate her ice cream, even going as far as to ask Erik for another bowl for later. Because of the way he behaved earlier, he obliged.

"Whadya know, Buttercup! We got this one free."

"Yay!" she squealed, happily thanking the fearful scooper who nodded without eye contact.

"I-It was no trouble, really," he stuttered, eyes never leaving Erik's menacing scowl. As the couple turned to leave, Erik bucked at the young scooper, laughing loudly at the way he flinched, dropping a tower of ice cream all over himself.

"Damn, nigga. You need to lift weights or something," he smirked opening the glass door for O'Shea.

"Where do you wanna go now, Buttercup?" he asked as he brushed a rogue curl behind her ear.

"I wish it wasn't so late. I really wanna go to Disneyland." Erik checked his watch and noted that the park would indeed be closing soon.

"We can't get into the park, but Downtown Disney is still open."

"Ooh can we go to Salt & Straw?" she asked, bouncing on her toes.

"Buttercup you just had ice cream and got a free one to go. Not to mention you still have ice cream in the freezer from earlier."

"Yeah, but none of those were honey lavender with whipped cream and a waffle cone," she pouted.

'You're right, but considering the fact that I'm a doctor who also cares about your physical health, the answer is still no. You are sweet enough." She was upset but didn't protest further for fear that he'd just decide to take her back to her house. No matter how upset she was, Disney fixed everything. As the pair roamed the district, O'Shea's eyes grew wide watching Erik walk into to the Pandora shop. She'd been wanting new charms for her princess-themed bracelet forever, but never had the time or the extra funds to splurge on herself the way she wanted.

"How about I make my Buttercup something special?" he beamed down at her, rubbing circles into the small of her back.

"Oooh, what is it?" she asked happily.

"It's a surprise, but why don't you go get us two of those honey lavender cones and it'll be done by the time you get back."

"Ok!" she squealed happily, taking his card and running out of the store before he changed his mind again. It took her all of 10 minutes to go and come back with her half-eaten cone and his full one. Her grin was wide as she regarded Erik standing in front of the counter with both hands behind his back. His shit-eating grin was back like he knew he was that nigga. And at this moment, he was.

"Whatcha got back there, Daddy?"

"Just a little something for my second favorite princess," he replied stepping closer to her. "Close your eyes and hold out your left wrist." She quickly complied and her beaming grin grew even wider as she felt the cold metal against her skin.

"Alright, open." He watched smugly as her eyes opened and widened. Her heart was so full she thought it would burst. She hadn't even realized that he had slipped her princess bracelet off her wrist until she saw it in its complete form.

"You finished my bracelet?"

"Yes ma'am, chronologically just the way you had it and I started your villain one." Her fingers toyed delicately with the Tinkerbell and poisoned apple charms on the princess bracelet before moving to Maleficent and the Evil Queen charms on the villain bracelet. Then her eyes met his. She wanted to cry.

"Thank you so much, Daddy."

"Anything for my Buttercup. I even left off Anna and Elsa because I know those are the ones you like the least." Again, he'd remembered something seemingly frivolous solely because he knew it was important to her. She felt her little heart swell two sizes.

"You're the best, really." She rewarded him with a sweet kiss on the lips, which he deepened when he grabbed her chin and added a little tongue. Just enough to leave her wanting.

"Come on, pretty girl. Let's get you home, we both have work in the morning."

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