#and in his defense he doesn't know my religion or anything because why would i tell him that information when he talks/talked like that.

[shalom-iamcominghome]

As much as I appreciate and admire my family's religion because it brings them comfort and strength, there really isn't anything else like being told to youtube search for videos about atheists going to hell and then coming back to life, and knowing that, functionally, you are the same as an atheist because you aren't xtian to them. Like!!! Being told inadvertently and in a roundabout way that I'm going to hell by my dad is very odd, and the only thing to say in his defense is I have never delved into my religious beliefs and practices at all once. I'm just in awe about the idea of hell frankly

[sanriokamabodo]

college!bf douma

A/N: im struggling w writers block + had a heavy day so i decided to write smth i conjured up instead of a request!i will be back in business soon my sweets!heehee<3 if y'all want a part two feel free to ask djdjd

CW's: hes kinda sleazy in the beginning, reader sucks at math. suggestive themes>:) douma is goth in my college au bc i said so. the day i proofread is the day i die!

A psychology major with a minor in religious studies. Doesn't practice any religion himself but finds the subject interesting nevertheless.

Barely studies but somehow manages to pass with flying colours.

That one hookup you regret with all your might, let me elaborate;

Douma tutors math and it's no coincidence he slept with majority of the people he tutored.

No, you're not an exception. Cute try though!

Something about Douma's piercings, his choppy hair that he probably cut himself and his 'don't give a fuck' attitude managed to dissolve your IQ and last bit of self respect around him.

He knows how to give you just enough attention to keep you interested, but little enough for you to purposely screw up your math tests for an excuse to see him.

Yes, he mocked your intelligence by asking if rats ate your brain or whether you were just born this stupid, but the way he ruffled your hair as he fake-pouted at you made something bubble in your stomach.

It's no surprise you ended up with Douma in the men's restroom, a hand smacked tightly over your mouth that day.

You weren't allowed to ride the high of having hooked up with the hottest guy on campus for long.

Throughout the night you were bombarded with messages from your friends, all of them being about Douma. Why didn't you tell them? Was he good? ... Was he big?

You thought your heart was going to thump out of your chest. Sweaty hands refreshing the messages five, ten, twenty times.

This had to be a sick joke, right? Was this Douma's true nature?

About to throw your phone away in defeat, it vibrated once more. You didn't want to look but curiousity got the better of you.

[Douma, 11:06]: I think we need to talk.

Your chest thundered with anger at the message.

[Y/n, 11:07]: You think!?

[Douma, 11.07]: I know you don't owe me anything, but can we please meet somewhere?

[Y/n, 11.08]: I don't feel like showing my face today, thanks:)

We're you being dramatic? Maybe a little. But you were an introverted person. Being known by everyone on campus wasn't on your to-do list, and the reason why just made it that much worse.

[Douma, 11.08]: Text me your adress, I'm coming over.

[Y/n, 11.09]: No.

[Douma, 11.10]: Please, give me a chance to set things straight. I'll fix it, I promise.

You pondered for a moment. Fuck it, what's the worst that could happen? You texted him the address of your dorm and within an hour you heard a knock on your door.

Opening the door Douma stood on your doorstep, looking rather apologetic. You waved him inside, a thankful smile grazed his lips.

"I like what you did with the place."

"Shut up."

"Fair enough." He nodded.

"So..?"

"I did tell my friends we hooked up." He said, making you scoff. He threw his hands up defensively, before you could say anything.

"But! But! I didn't want them to tell everybody else..! They know I like you... a lot."

A small blush across up your cheeks at the sudden confession.

"You like me?"

Now you've done it, Douma started rambling.

"I get really fucking dumb about crushes. I wanted to text you all the time but I didn't want to come across as creepy. I thought we could just... hook up and I would forget about my stupid little crush and of course it just made me like you even more, because c'mon you're hot as fuck." He sighs pinching the bridge of his nose dramatically. "So what I'm trying to say here is that I would really like to make it up to you because I'm really fucking sorry and I would also really, really like to take you on a date and have a fresh start, please?" A shy smile painted his features.

You laughed. You were stupid if you were to deny him like this, especially considering you really liked him too.

"I'd love to go on a date with you."

[anamericangirl]

You and @theconstitutionisgayculture

How would you two refute the idea of being a woman or gay while also a conservative/republican/right winger is not traitorous to your own sex or sexuality as the left usually comments about.

I refute it with the simple fact that my political beliefs and values aren't dictated by my biology. The left makes those comments because they base their entire existence on their identity and falsely believe that everyone else must to do the same or we are "traitors." But I would ask them why it's traitorous for a woman to want a limited government? Why is it traitorous for a woman to believe she has the right to life, the right to self defense, freedom of speech, of religion, etc? What is it about conservative values that are so anti-woman?

I love freedom, I love my country, I want the government to stay out of my business, I want to be taxed less, I want the freedom to do what I want when and where I want and I want others to be able to do the same (unless they're harming others, of course) and none of that has anything to do with being a woman, it has to do with being a human being. Nothing about being conservative is at odds with also being a woman. Conservatism doesn't require you to have any particular identity, it just requires you to hold particular values.

Funnily enough, I get more woman hating rhetoric thrown at me from the left than I have ever seen in my entire life from anyone on the right. It's not right wingers who toss sexist, racist, and whateverphobic slurs at people who don't fall into the party line. And that's because leftists can't attack ideas so they attack people instead.

You'll have to ask @theconstitutionisgayculture if you want to know his thoughts as I'm sure he has his own reasons, but in my opinion the same goes for sexuality. Doesn't matter who you are, it just matters what you values you hold.

[divorcingjimmatthews]

time to inflict my jade and khatri AU headcanons on yall. jhatri AU masterpost

i hadn't thought about khatri in a while and that lovely ask brought back all the khatri thoughts please bear 🐻 with me

khatri is so repressed gay priest coded to me that i actually forget that's not a canon plot point most of the time

to me he's constantly having sexual thoughts about boyd that he is sooo deeply ashamed of, mostly because he believes that boyd is straight and would change the way he sees him if he knew

in any case with the dead wife situation boyd's got going on it's definitely just easier to push any lustful thoughts aside. until jade shows up :)

yall khatri was soo sweet and caring with jade!! and his reaction when jade flirted with him while high? kristi rolled her eyes, boyd slapped him away, but khatri had a fucking experience there, you cannot change my mind

pictured above: what could have been the start of a beautiful relationship if the writers were not so concerned with superflous things like "story" and "plot"

it might have been the first time in his life that another guy openly called him beautiful or looked at him like that. or it might also have reminded him of a boyfriend he had or almost had in his youth. take your pick. both work

also, we cannot ignore that jade is a really attractive guy and that he's literally handcuffed in this scene. it's such a peak meet cute come on look at them. look at their hands

now, i can see khatri going to check up on jade the next morning or a few days later. jade is completely alone after all so i feel like khatri would tell him that he can stop by the church if he wants. jade would just laugh it off and then be like oh you're actually being serious?

but he would go. not for his own sake but because tobey was catholic or something and he was kind of losing his mind when they buried him so he didn't get to give a proper goodbye. khatri does a little funeral service just for him and jade is a mess afterwards

they would sit and talk and khatri would ask him if tobey was his partner and jade would feel safe enough with khatri to explain the complexities of their situationship. khatri would share some of his own memories about loving other men in return

khatri is basically resigned to eternal unhappiness tm but jade is clingy and needy and entitled so he would find excuses to see khatri all the time. i stand by my belief that khatri couldve fixed jade. imo most of jade's bratty attitude comes from being defensive against what he percieves as threats but with khatri i think he would just feel safe to be himself

jade would obviously have a big problem with khatri being resigned to unhappiness tm and i think he would just rope him into projects like he did with jim and tabitha

they would have a lot of discussions about religion where jade would be a total prick but khatri would humor him because jade clearly needs the venting session and because khatri can really use a lighthearted break from his internal monologue of guilt and shame. symbiosis

obviously people would talk because it would make no damn sense. why is a priest going around collecting car engine parts

and indeed a big part of why they're spending time together at all is because they enjoy each other's company. just like with boyd the situation doesn't really work in their favor because jade is not really thinking about anything besides finding a way out of the town

one day some people are looking at them a little weird and jade knows that look so he gets really worked up and yells something like "yeah i'm fucking your priest if that's what you wanna know, can you move along now?"

as soon as he turns back to khatri he realises that he really fucked up, though. once they're alone in private jade apologises and admits that he said that because he kind of wishes he was fucking the priest but "listen, that's not the point, the point is that i'm really sorry, i shouldn't have said that, and i shouldn't have said that here, and... fuck"

"i'm just sorry, alright?" before leaving the church while feeling terrible for having fucked up that bad. sadly i think they... wouldn't really get to fix it? since jade would be getting sucked deeper into the whole visions situation around this time and khatri has the whole deal with sara going on

which is another reason why khatri would shut jade away. maybe jade would go try to fix things and ask to come in and khatri would have to tell him no. because he literally has his best friend's murderer locked up in the basement LMAO

if someone else wants to add to this or sees a way in which it could work please do add to this i am literally so starved and i have so many cute headcanons for them if they were together but i cant see khatri going for it so i just suffer

[herroyalbubbliness]

In Throes of Increasing Wonder

Photo Credit: IG @immortal_amc

From Daniel's past works, it is clear this is someone that is not scared of finding out the truth, digging it out, and confronting people with those truths through his work.

Hate and Ashbury dive into the Haight at its height

Haight- A street in San Francisco named after California pioneer and exchange banker Henry Haight; a 1960s rallying point for drug culture, especially LSD (hallucinogenic acid).

Even with just playing the tapes as he initially receives them, you can sense he is restraining himself and fuming and I want to tell the real story... He cuts it off because that was bullshit. But fuming or not, Daniel wants this story, the truth, and even protects his source's identity when he tells his editor, he is in Russia.

Louis still doesn't address himself as the Vampire Louis (but later on in the finale, he addresses Armand as the Vampire Armand). Does that mean he hasn't fully accepted his identity? Or doesn't know who he is? Or wishes to go back to being human?

As soon as Louis points out his health concerns, Daniel uses his other hand to cover the one with tremor and immediately becomes defensive

Daniel: I know the Emirates are big on privacy and I know that's important to you, but I gotta ask, what does it cost, this haven't-aged-in-half-a-century-killer-views-in-all-directions anonymity?

Louis: Quite a lot

Well having met the Vampire Armand, I wonder what quite a lot meant.

Louis says his purpose of this do-over is "truth and reconciliation"

"Anything that can't be verified, I send to my researcher"

The moment Daniel says this, Rashid immediately stands up and says no third parties. Louis doesn't object to any of these terms. Why Rashid? And Daniel insists on a one-on-one

I love the way Lestat is introduced, lurking in a corner and stalking his prey, Louis.

It starts from a cat-and-mouse relationship and is still at that stage but I believe it would evolve into a cat-and-cat relationship.

I love the introduction of Lestat with the camera panning downwards up revealing his back showing us this is a character who may not totally reveal who he really is. And the camera pans to him looking at the Blue book as a horn diverts his attention and he gazes upon Louis dé Pointe du Lac riding proudly in his car like he owned the street and the camera focuses on his cane.

His initial attraction to Louis is when he sees him pull a knife with no hesitation, a primal instinct for the brother he loves. And as Louis said, you never know who is watching.

Louis' mom was a hypocrite closing her eyes to the nature of the family business while profiting from it and condemning her son and how she completely ignored Paul when he said Louis pulled a knife on him.

Everyone in his family judged Louis for something, at least Paul always said to his face

Louis and appearances, taking on masks for different occasions.

"My business and my raised religions were at odds, and the, uh...latencies within me, well, I beat those back with a lie I told myself about myself that I was a red-blooded son of the south, seeking ass before absolution"

Sadly, Louis hasn't stopped telling lies to himself about himself. He saw what he really wanted smiling and then put on his mask once again to follow his delusion. You know what they say tell yourself a lie repeatedly and maybe someday it will become truth.

It makes sense that Louis could separate the locals from those from other southern states. Because he had a reputation among the locals while the outsiders would stare wondering why this black man could walk into an exclusive white salon.

Lestat asks Louis if he speaks French like he didn't know before and didn't purposely raise his voice just at the right moment for Louis to hear him.

He goes after Lily, who has come to be somewhat a source of comfort and hiding place for Louis and I think she knows the truth about his sexuality and accepts him still. He receives a lot of judgment from home, from the streets, and everywhere. Lily represents his escape room where he can feel safe for a time. Lestat goes after Lily in this dangerous game piercing his core slowly.

That whole meeting was Lestat's lavish introduction to Louis, inserting himself into his safety net

This reminds me of this quote from Killing Eve

"She is a parasite, Eve. She gets into your brain, she eats you up to make space for herself like that book, uh with the hungry worm and all that food, pickles, tomatoes. The hungry Caterpillar? Yes. That's her burrowing in and creeping around."

, getting a rise out of Louis, banter, impressing him( getting the hardest table), emasculating him (speaking to his race, with Miss Lily)

"His gaze tied a string around my lungs, and I found myself immobilized."

"Emasculation and admiration in equal measure. I wanted to murder the man and I wanted to be the man."

When Louis speaks on his business strategy, he is enraptured as if under a spell, gazing upon him in awe and with the same breath enraged as to how Louis cannot see what he sees, how beautiful his whole self is. Lestat was mesmerized and in awe, as Louis broke down the business prospects.

The word "labour", is a condescending word to reduce Louis' contribution to insignificant and justify that even paying him a meagre sum is a kindness and he should receive it in appreciation with a thank you, sir. The audacity!

Paul represents us the audience in this scene, we are impressed and enraptured by his love for these books. We are finding out new information from this mysterious man and he is being vulnerable too. We empathize with him and the next minute swiftly turns to rage and you are confused, alarmed, and realize too late that you probably shouldn't have trusted him. And Sam Reid does a fantastic job of switching between those spectrums of emotions flawlessly.

"A pair of misfit beauties"

The sex scene is almost like a competition especially when both of them start removing their clothes and as soon as Miss Lily is out of the way, Louis makes the first move. And his body movements are with so much longing and like he wants to consume Lestat at the same time, a lot of friction/resistance there, and when Lestat clasps Louis' hands, brings them down as their muscles strain, it's like completely breaking down his defences and bringing him to ultimate surrender.

And as he adjusted his clothes the next morning looking into the mirror, he slipped on his mask with a hint of a smile on his face and reassured himself of his 'faux identity'.

I find it curious that Rashid shows up for the first time since the interview started when Louis is talking about the death of his brother, although one could say he just came to open the balcony.

Discombobulation of Louis. The guilt is borne out of his brother's death. Lestat's first comment is on the elegance of his brother's coffin and where he might be able to obtain one, after all, you know Lestat has fine tastes in everything.

Lestat immediately cleans the blood off his mouth as he removes his black cloak knowing that Louis is scared out of his mind at this point and he needs him to listen...

[a-student-out-of-time]

While the sexuality secret logistically is likely to play a part in the trial, is it bad I’m nervous about it? I know despair time has handled serious topics pretty well but. I still expect the worst I guess? I think it has more to do with how some people I’ve seen bent over backwards to claim Nico was lying about the specifics of their secret after episode 6 and some used “he” pronouns, but I’m… I guess I just don’t want people to find more excuses to make remarks? Idk?

//Yeah and I totally get that, but that's not really a problem with DT, that's people being douchebags in reaction to it

//Immediately after that episode came out, I saw a lot of frankly very stupid theories about Nico, and I have to ask what series they were watching

//It seems pretty obvious, at least to me, that Nico's situation with Ace is a complete red herring. We keep assuming that this was, as Ace claims, an attempted murder, but if that's true, why hasn't Nico said anything about it? Why haven't they said anything?

//Let's also take another look at the secrets board:

//If my theory is correct and that's Ace's secret, that means that Nico knows that Ace has an eating disorder. Likewise, given that this is more than likely a deliberate red herring, this was not a murder

//My guess? Nico went to exercise (hence the outfit), found Ace trying to unsubscribe from life, and save his life (explaining the thud and the fallen fan). Ace is pissed because, to quote The Incredibles, "you didn't save my life, you ruined my death!"

//I'm certain that Nico doesn't have a malicious bone in their body, but after being mocked by literally everyone in their lives for so long over their identity, can you really blame them for being angry or defensive about it?

//I know we like good representation, but we also need to keep in mind that characters are not solely their identities- their race, color, sex, gender, religion, etc.- and thinking of them purely in that way diminishes them to just a collection of attributes

//I like that DT is allowing Nico to be a more complex character who's also nonbinary. And I'm certain that all they did was try to save Ace, in spite of Ace's bullying, and they aren't speaking up because they know Ace himself has serious issues too

//I think it would be cool if maybe those two started to become friends after this chapter

[faith-nerd]

Feel free to ignore/delete this. I need to make a quick little vent and didn't know where else to put it

It bothers me when something branded "a critique of religion" boils down to "I can't do whatever I want without someone telling me it's wrong why do people want other people to have standards?"

Because there are rules in place bigger then what any of us can see and some people can't think of anything outside of themselves.

Hypocrisy is a thing in the church, I'm fully aware. But these "critiques" tend to boil down to "make up your own rules because someone was mean to you" Maybe I'm over simplifying but I feel like there too much disrespect for something that matters a lot to me personally. There's also the underlying issue of "respect other's believes but be hypercritical of Christian ones"

Yes people have been hurt, yes they have the right to express that, but this is an anonymous vent post because I couldn't say this on main without possibly starting a fight. I can't just ask people to respect me because the internet doesn't work that way.

Anyway you can delete this if you don't want to respond. It's just a vent since I woke up still thinking about a really bad take I saw last night that only holds up if you literally did not read the bible

I think a lot of it is there's no clear answers to anything involving religion.

I'll be honest, I was once super defensive against anyone who critiqued Christianity because that was the world I grew up in. Kinda an "How dare you insult something I care so deeply about?" I still get like that sometimes.

What really made me rethink things was back in high school. I was the traditional white Christian kid, and my best friends were two women of color and two gay guys. We were part of an honor group that was expected to do volunteer hours, and so whenever my church youth group was doing a volunteer something, I'd invite them.

After one of these events, I was driving one of these friends home, and she said she was surprised that I was a Christian because I was so nice. She didn't think of me as a church person Because my friends were poc and queer.

I was glad she felt safe enough to tell me, but also, I didn't know what to feel. Offended that her perception of Christians was so mean? Flattered that she considered me one of "the good ones"? Angry with other Christians who made her feel unwelcome because of the color of her skin?

In the decade since, I've gone through a lot of waves with my faith. Sometimes I wear my belief proudly, glad for the good works in the world. Other times, I see how Christianity has been used to hurt people, both on an individual basis and systematically in society, and I don't want to be associated with them.

The only thing that's been consistent is my faith in Jesus, and the belief He was someone who would sacrifice Himself for others, meet and become friends with everyone, and encouraged his followers to live everyone.

I read and study, and instead of answers, I get more questions, but maybe that's what God wants. God wants us to have differences and individuality, to think for ourselves and be unsure. Otherwise, God could just give us all the answers, or take away our free will and have little faith robots.

I don't know how much this relates to the post you were venting about, but I hope you get something from it. Just, there's a lot of translations, a lot of different versions, a lot of analysises, a lot of writings from the time that didn't make it into the Bible, just... a lot.

And I try to do research and learn, I try to listen to those who have been hurt so I can avoid hurting people in the future, but to me, faith comes down to two things, what Jesus said was the two greatest Commandments:

Love God

Love Others

Beyond that, it's up for debate. Most rules that matter fall under one of those two, usually the second (don't murder, don't steal, etc.). The others, dig a little deeper. Is it something that it's just always been this way and it may be time to reconsider? Or is there an actual legitimate reason it is done that way?

And yeah, we might not all agree on if something is worth following or not, but it's part of the whole "Love Others" thing to not judge unless it involves hurt to themselves or someone else (and even then, that can get debateable).

I don't know. I'm honestly terrified that I've not covered some base and what I'm saying may get taken out of context (especially on the 'how dare you say we piss on the poor' site). But you know what, if this resonates with someone, go in peace and love your neighbors.

[typewriter83]

First of all, glad to see you're back❤️ secondly... I've read chapter nine and I have a lot of things to tell.

First, I was mad at jesse before but now I'm extra mad at him lmao. Last chapter he was acting like dina was at his place and he said he told dina about the kissing, but none of that was true wow. Such a fricking manipulator and for what😭👍 also, I wasn't expecting Dina's story to be like that... Actually I was, I just wasn't expecting Talia in the middle of this. Part of me think that... Well, dina telling maria even before she met ellie would have been the smart thing to do, but I also won't judge because david is the only to blame here.

The bathtub scene was so cute somehow. Just picturing him crouched talking with ellie while she's venting to him on that bathtub while drinking the tea he made for her is something special. Like she's his religion and he's just there; meeting all her needs.

The rest... The rest of the chapter reminds me of that tlou meme gif where ellie opens the door and everything is pure chaos (I hope you know what gif I'm talking about because otherwise I would feel shy rn lol). So, things escalated very quickly: in one moment the pastor was exchanging barbs with joel while tommy was more lost than a nun on her honeymoon, and in another second, ellie's reaction to david invoked something primal and full alpha on joel (which I'm sorry but it was too fucking hot) and broke david's wrist. As much as that made me go 🎉🎉 for david's wrist, that whole chaos shouldn't have happened... Because joel getting all riled up in front of tommy even before david insinuated anything, ellie getting out of his house in his shirt and joel getting agressive and defensive over ellie, All of this, just made Joel look like the big bad wolf in front of people. At the same time, the scene that happened afterwards was... A bit funny, I'm sorry🤣 I mean, it was tense: maria is mad, tommy is confused and mad, everyone is fucking mad. But that whole scene (they mad at joel and ellie sassing maria while tommy was like "ellie, attitude!") seemed like two parents that just found out their sassy teenage girl is in case with an older man she has a crush on. Kind of reminded me of the movie "crazy stupid love" lmao. But well, back to being serious: While maria made it very clear that he never thought well of Joel, tommy is... A hard deal. Like, we can see he's questioning joel's morals and getting protective of ellie, but at the same time it's like he's not believe his brother would do something like that without genuine feelings involved but he doesn't say that out loud because his wife is his boss. I will re-read to see if I'm right, but even seemed like Joel was scowding tommy for that too when he was arguing with him behind the cells. Like when joel was "why are you letting this pastor free out there?" there was an you're letting your wife rule your head like that? unspoken. Or maybe It's just nonsense from my head, idk.

Last but not least: there was two things I wasn't waiting until this chapter: thing number 1 is the fact that our lovebirds were discovered faster than I thought they would. I mean, they started their relationship and david was a new character, I I thought that there was still some stuff to happen between both things before it all went to wind, so that's why I'm as surprised as every character was on this chapter. Thing number two: Ellie knew about David's creep head even before he did anything to her, so I thought "that's the first story that david doesn't try/doesn't have time to put his hands on ellie"... But then someone came and said there was fire at the church, and then I remembered instantly of the burning restaurant scene from the last of us and... Well, I guess this emoji is what I felt🤡🤡🤡🤡 Poor ellie, I bet something happened with her and that's why there's fire at the church. (Good thing is that joel scaped prison right now😈david might meet hell sooner than he was expecting).

*out of breath* so, that was alll tense. Got me anxious thr whole chapter, so I feel like I need to talk about the few less tense things that happened so I guess less anxious: first, joel getting all hot with that bratty behaviour🤭homegirl almost crying and joel thought that was foreplay made me laugh. Which remindes me.... When out of this shit gets calm again, are we gonna find out if the spanking talk is serious???😏cause I think sir Joel liked the idea a little too much huh. he definitely must be holding a belt in his drawer for this moment.

Also he almost said he loves her🗣️🗣️🗣️ I don't think I even have anything to say about it, don't think I could find the words.

Sweet cub, Mama Bear is sat for this. By the time you see this response, I will have been working on this since last Wednesday. Anyone who takes the time to read and analyze something I write to this degree deserves my attention.🫶🏻 maybe we can consider this the appendices to Learning to Walk - let’s dive in:

Let’s talk about Dina, Talia (who will just be a character that is mentioned in passing) and Jesse. Jesse has been in Jackson - with his mom and siblings - the longest, he has the strongest bonds (or so he believes) with the community. Dina and Talia arrived a few years back - and then David and his few survivors sometime after. For the first time in Dina’s life, she was protected, and Talia could rest knowing her sister was safe. So, imagine this young woman’s horror when her r@pist shows up to this safe community and welcomes him with open arms - Talia remembers the old world, she knows what Maria did for a living (I’m playing off show-Maria in this story, that she was a prosecutor), she knows that men like David didn’t pay for their crimes and could twist the truth to their favor. Talia is trying to protect Dina, Jesse is over protective of Dina, and Dina just wants to live her life.

That being said, this is not the Dina from part 2, this Dina - like Ellie - is younger, and they don’t know one another. Dina is protecting her sister, trying to keep them both from being kicked out of Jackson because that’s what Talia has been telling Dina could happen. Jesse, because his head is up Tommy’s ass all the time, agrees with this assessment, because Jackson operates within a very delicate balance - despite Maria believe there’s law and order, it’s really people just trying to get by, keeping their noses down and staying out of trouble.

Enter Joel. Everyone in Jackson knows the stories about Joel because Tommy is a storyteller, he wants to feel a sense of belonging, and he never thought Joel would show up in Jackson. When Joel asks Maria “why did you let me stay,” she tells him she thought he was deserving of a second chance, but in reality it’s Tommy protecting his brother. Joel tries to carve out a place for himself in Jackson, but even with a partner - Esther - he can’t settle, can’t let himself live.

Which is where the story began way back on the side of a mountain in December 2035 😉

Ellie’s been kind of off for a couple chapters - the whole world came crashing down around her shoulders - she walked into the room on fire, right? Now that things are on the mend and her fuzzy brain is starting to clear - let’s just fuck with our poor girl some more, why not, right? Because a showdown has to happen between her and David and that man (if we can fucking call him that) is not going to like that Ellie knows about Dina and Talia, and we’re assuming other girls. He thinks it’s his job to be her protector and.. oh wait, we’re not there yet! 🫢

But - the showdown is coming at the church, and we’re gonna go back to the night Joel was arrested and see those 3 days Joel was in jail from Ellie’s POV. Someone mentioned to me that this whole thing with David and Ellie happened too fast - but remember that the winter sequence happens over a matter of days, David sees Ellie and decides he’s keeping her (whether your a game follower or show follower) - so this build up was coming.

Last - but most certainly not least - our lovebirds. Yes, Joel almost said it, they got caught, and Ellie being a brat turns them both on. While I’m not gonna give away the farm, this part of the story is winding down, and will go to a resting place until the next arc starts up. Ellie being a brat will be revisited in the future. As for someone saying the L word - just to put on “But Daddy I Love Him” by Taylor Swift while you wait patiently for Chapter 10!

🫶🏻

[the-firebird69]

Watch "Shinedown - 45 (Official Video) [HD]" on YouTube

So these two might be a little weak-minded they look like they're starting to get it this kind of Tommy F changed my brother around he says and had him do this Jesus routine and it's very evil cuz he wants to imitate the good guys who may have done it or may have gone and trying to do it because he did that for him to imitate I've seen you guys do it the smaller stuff and I've seen him do it on bigger stuff and he's a bigger fool now this is the case for a friend cuz he's saying he's Saint John the Baptist and he's worshiping Jupiter by having things happen to people and it's a lot of cork and the idiots are fighting each other and it's not like even a worthwhile fight and it looks like I'm going to take over but this idiot did this loop and he's not stopping and no we had stupid people and what he's saying is no somebody will send back to make stupid people and someone's doing it in real time in westborough and it's probably d****** to try and dumb you down and that's the real answer he is so bad it is it's kind of like this as an example he's doing it right now and you're the policeman it's pretty good acts means for his people it's not bad and you have a family and you're keeping it together and you're falling the rules and you're trying to get nobody hurt he takes Jesus Christ is a good guy living by faith doing the right thing he gets broken up from his family and what happens he has to leave because there's no place for his religion he goes to heaven to the father that's what you wrote and people can copyright act as a cop and it can cause think about copying it act asjesus or thinking about the story of escaping so why would you write something like that back then

Mac

So later on he told me we're in the sky so we're trying to find them I said you guys will suck and it's in there there that's not what it is as soon as we're trying to escape the plan now and I think you found out a way to do it and show me this bag it says when you put the stuff in it expands massively and it'll salt water and uranium it went all over the place all over me and had salt water bath and I know about it I said the kids crazy but it's got a point so he doesn't know if that happened or not but we didn't have talks about that and it seem to think that he could so he did this weird Jesus s*** and it went around that he was having him walk around and teach people how to be the good guys he's going around making them bigger and then killing them taking their stuff and his story was they were not ours and they were not holy so he thinks he's made it all up and then he was the cause of it all I tell you what there's so much mental illness going around illness people I have to blame and I found them and they're nuttier than a freaking wood owll they're so crazy it's not even funny.

And a friend says Dave was a spy they were doing that on purpose and our claim is not dumb and there's something wrong no he says maybe some of these knew something and he's not pushing for us to look but he does think that they had hypotheses why these huge trees growing on this planet and we don't see any elsewhere and we didn't look hard enough okay but there's a question but where they went that brings us back to today these videos think that s*** is below us and it could be above us and it's building all these lasers and stuff and take them away and it's building defenses and he might have a huge ship on Saturday with those pyramids dropped and it's going to pick the pyramids up that's all they won't get irradiated. Answer the phone saltwater and then underneath it and they can sit in salt water now and I get something it's not stupid and he's admitted it

And our friend says story of the allegory of Jesus Christ is very plain and simple and doesn't have any backup it says they went anywhere he hasn't really heard anything from his family or anything from them and or me and we would be the ones who would know but Tommy f is knocking the family off and build a huge shifts and then again I starting to fall something these are interstellar so maybe you just want someone to escape and no one can follow him and he can supposedly destroy it but sorry for you that's something I figured out something here's a question if people escaped there's a question what Tommy f plan is. And we can't seem to get the bottom of it what he says is it seems quite extravagant quite elaborate and it's full of massive threats sounds like clans were whether the idiot lose it or not. Looking to repeat the words but he seems to be at a loss for their their meaning anyone can say that they're is large enough doubt that we should prepare for it. And he says even ghwb can say that and our friend says yeah but he probably would have large enough down but there are reasons for it and those are probably found in the mansions and he told people about it to try and hide it and he openly admits it he says I learned the technique here cuz they'll ruin it and it's getting ruined I don't want the slabs at it cuz they're going to ruin it no matter what to do he doesn't want us at it or foreigners either now I understand what he's saying to George she had a well-structured branch I got friend does here and will and Bill and me and says this it could be within the realm of possibilities and maybe George had evidence it would bring it from our roughly 20% to 80 and a friend says it's right there near the Grand canyon monument valley and some more like it and I say this it's starting to really suck here and what he's saying is so awful that I don't want to talk about it this is what if each one of them had a 20-foot glass and he says I mean 20 mi pyramid or five mile pyramid and it adds up to 20 miles so I want him to tell to shut the f****** but we've seen these fleets and we sort of get the idea but we don't know how they're propelled and Tommy F supposedly showed me back then but no but that's the idea now that's reasonable doubt and it seems that they may have left Tommy up here with the bag and with a mission if they perish their computers are doing something but that's just theory and conjecture he says but that's something that he did not think would exist those ships and.

We off to Westchester the wall is up all the way to pierce fort Pierce and all the way to the panhandles inside corner

Mac

[megbonney]

✃ 02/02/23

dance in your bleeding passion / dance in the violet passion

first week of school - it's not as bad as i thought it would be. i feel dumb, like i'm behind in my work and that none of it makes sense, but i just think i'm not alert/ready enough for my brain to process any information. it wasn't that bad, then there's him. calling him..him, feels so gross to me. he's not the one, he's not my 'when he.. <3' he's not any of that. simply put, i'll say it this way; i was into him for the last term of last year. i never made any moves; he was too far out of my league, i was told he didn't date, and he's christian. i think religion means a lot in a relationship. christians get picky about hellenism, other practices that aren't theirs. it irks me, so many of those hardcore cunts are so selfish. it sounds insane, i know, but in a way, i'd kill to date him. he's gorgeous, i worry that no one would be able to appreciate him properly. he's sweet, at the peak of my interest in him i'd find ourselves meeting eyes and it being all dorky-like. like something was there, but i know there wasn't. it can't be. never. we messaged for a bit over the break. it was fine til he suddenly went dry in conversation. i asked about it, he got oddly defensive, saying "wdym" as if i was making it up, i decided to not bother. i went to bed. if he's gonna go all dry then be a sook when i ask it's not worth my time. i'm not the kind of person who's gonna sit there for 30 minutes trying to figure out why you're upset when you don't even have interest in me, nor would the chance of you doing the same for me being next to impossible. i messaged him for christmas, he left me on seen, unfollowed me soon after. i didn't care. i still don't care, but now he acts like i'm not real. he gives my friends and i these almost disgusted looks and makes sure to really barge their arms when they walk past one another. they're asking me if i think it's personal, i don't know. he hasn't done it to me. the only time he acknowledged me as a human being was when he wanted a laptop charger, which i didn't have. i was quick to brush him off, same way he had been these past 3 days. it's odd, really. he got on really well with my friends before this. it's not my business, i'm not gonna pretend like it's my place to pry. c says he doesn't want to talk because it's awkward now. but that doesn't make sense. he made it awkward. he doesn't even look uncomfortable or awkward about anything, he just looks bothered by my presence. it's not the hair, is it? and if it was, why would i change it for him? his friends whom i was friends with previously (some dating back to primary school) won't speak to me either. part of me thinks it's related to whats-his-face and that chick breaking up, in which i think they're back together. it feels like everyone outside of my friends just cannot stand me, like i'm shunned. it doesn't bother me as much as i expected it to, which is good. he's really been an ick recently though. having to take off the rose tinted glasses sucks, especially when it feels like he'll be the one i 'can't get over'. i keep seeing shitty tiktoks acting as signs for love, that 'the one i'm thinking of is avoiding me because he wants me so bad,' but i'm not thinking of anyone. nor do i care. right now, love is a distraction. real love, i mean. fictional men solo.

happy febraury! valentines day is soon.

[haechanokeh]

I'm Right For Your [pt. 6]

(you can play Die For You by The Weeknd while reading this 😌)

pairing: popular college! mark x average! reader

genre: romance, smut, angst, series.

warning: corruption, oral sex (both receiving and giving), cream pie, rough sex, anal sex, mention of religion, rough sex, self-esteem, psychology, public sex, sub! reader, sex toys. possessive mark two-faced mark

I think I’m right for you, babe. You know what I’m thinking, see it in your eyes. You hate that you want me, hate it when you cry. It ain’t workin’ ‘cause you’re perfect and I know that you’re worth it I can’t walk away. (Die for you by The Weeknd)

the next morning you made it at the right time in your first class. it's a usual morning, everyone was talking except for two things.

mark did not greet you and he's not sitting beside you nor his bads or anything from him. bit you felt relieved because for just at least one day, you want a mark-free day. he's giving you so much stress lately.

there's a quiz for your first subject and you studied it with mark on saturday. okay, you're just an average student so of course it's very hard for you but you were very thankful that you studied with mark because you're very confident answering some questions. you felt guilty for being mean yesterday but… you couldn't help it. you were afraid and it's as if it was your defense mechanism to became rude to him yesterday. yes, you're afraid of wanting something that you think you don't deserve.

after the quiz, your professor continue on its lecture and finished the whole slide.

"okay, for your homework. of course, it's always by pair. i'll give you 3 minutes to look for your pair and tell me who you are going to pair with because you will choose a number that has your case question. don't worry, it's not hard, it'll just test your good decision making and morality. so, you may start looking for your partners " he announced. you cursed inside your head because it's another homework or activity that is by pair. you hate pairings or groupings, you prefer doing things alone.

they all started to talk to each other, going to one person to another asking if they wanted to be their partner or if they already have a partner on the other hand, you remained sitting on your seat. you said to yourself that you're going to be partner with someone who's the same with you, unwanted. but half of you was waiting for mark to approach you but it seemed like he already got his partner, mina. you were stealing glances at them so yeah, now you'll have to wait for whoever doesn't have a partner.

you're sighed and tucked your hands on each side of your blouse' pocket, resisting to pout. but someone sat beside you, your heart almost jump and excitedly looked beside you. but to your disappointment it's lucas.

"you look disappointed," he chuckled. "do you have a partner?" you shook your head as an answer. "do you want to be my partner, i mean i'm not as smart as mark but i-"

"what?" why did he bring out mark's name? "no, really i'm fine whoever i'm going to be partnered with. i just want this to be over."

"yeah, of course." lucas laughed. well everyone knows you're the type of person who prefer to be alone. "you should smile more often, i thinks he likes girls who always laugh and giggle."

"who?" your forehead knotted in cluelessness. he gave you playful smile and scooted closer to you.

"i know you like mark." he whispered into your ears. your eyes circled in shock.

"no, i don't. what are you talking about?" you lowered your voice. but lucas wasn't convinced.

meanwhile, mark who's controlling his facial expression as he secretly watching the both of you, now broke. his face became serious when he saw lucas' shoulder touched yours and when his lips were near your ears and whispered something. he's glaring at him. mina saw it all, he always watches mark.

she knew that there's something between the two of you, and she felt scared. mina likes mark, everyone knows that already and when they heard that you like him, she feared that she would lose her chance. but mark's face says it all. mina is not dumb, she notices how mark's been all over you and now he witness another side of mark, a jealous mark.

"mark?" mina called his name. mark blinked and shifted his attention to mina.

"what?" he politely asked.

"do you want to change your partner, i mean... you obviously want another." mina slowly glance at you and mark followed you. mark swallowed nervously.

"ha, i am that obvious?" he asked nervously. mina smiled.

"yup." she replied. mark stared at you for a couple of seconds but you're comfortable with lucas, he guessed that you have a partner now.

"let's just be partners." mark smiled at mina. her heart skips a beat but with pain.

it's been three days of no mark but his presence is still there. you missed mark's touch, you missed the frustrations and highs.

that's why while your mom's aways, you're making the most out of it.

you put your vibrator into max.

"mark!" you screamed his name, your eyes rolled pussy and legs pulsating. you were screaming his name with shame but pleasure.

you sat up and stared at your room blankly while catching your breath. you remove the bullet from you. you get out on your bed and go to your bathroom to clean the vibrator. you put it back in its bag and hid it in your closet. you crawled on your bed and lay there hugging tightly a pillow.

"i miss him." you became honest to yourself. you don't know if you miss him or just his touch but attachment you feared is finally happening.

you should've stopped him or yourself from touching you... or you should've totally give in?

the next morning, you groan in pain. as if your head was being drilled. nobody noticed it because you're good at hiding your expression and emotion. unlike your classmates, mark see all through you. your switching brows, discomfort face, quick massage on your forehead, and your quick nap when you have a chance.

"hey." lucas nudged you. you lifted your head and your are squinting adjusting your vision.

"hmm?"

"some of our classmates will go to mark's house to answer legal ethics case. i was thinking if maybe we-"

"no." and you shove you head back down.

"why? you can meet your in-laws already." he grinned. you sat up and pinched his hard arms. "ah! okay okay i will not tease you. but i mean, we're having a hard time in what laws will be used against the defensor." he has a point.

your professor don't worry, it's easy is a lie.

you sighed. "fine."

"yes!" lucas fist pumps and jumps out of his seat just to tell he's going.

mark was watching all along. he saw you shove your head back again. he wanted to detach his ass from the sit but what if you ignored him again? mark giving you time to think, and of course he also wanted to think. but those days without you is absolutely a frustration, he never thought he wanted someone this much. he also thinks, and hopefully he's right, that your reaction the last time you talk was because of jealousy. but what he hated the most is your fear of loving him just because the two of you don't fit in. so does she think someone suits her better than him?

no, i'm right for you and there's no one else but me. it's an obsessive statement but mark is already aware of that. you turned him like this.

now you understand why they always wanted to be in his house. it's huge, and you know this house too. you never thought the nearby huge house is mark's house.his house is very popular, well not his house itself but his mom and dad who's a pastor because they are so kind and loved by the neighborhood.

mark's mom is already outside the door greeting each on of us. mark and mina is infront of you.

"lucas! i missed you dear." she hugged lucas. her eyes landed on me. "oh my, a new face." she smiled at you. you smiled back (don't forget the work awkwardly.)

"nice to meet you, i'm y/n." you politely said.

mark's mom gazes at you and lucas as if she's teasing both of you.

"you're girlfriend?" her brows were bouncing up and down. you and lucas just awkwardly smiled at her but before you deny it to her, mark’s nerves snapped.

mark turned his back and walk towards you, he literally squeezed himself between you and lucas. he put his arm across your shoulder and the other arms are on lucas. your breath hitched. you missed him this much.

"mom, we're getting inside." mark covered his irritation with a lovely smile.

"okay fine fine. make sure that you won't do anything dumb okay?" she said to his son and reach him for a kiss.

"nice meeting you again sweetie." she looked at her son again. "i already cooked some food. be back at 1 in the morning. don't wait for me and your dad." she patted mark's chest and left.

mark removed his arms from you and look at lucas.

"c'mon." he said and entered the house. he did not give you a single glance.

i knew it, he's mad at me.

you literally wearing your flat face. you are bot hiding it as you sat on the end of the couch with lucas beside you.

"how is this a group study? I thought we're going to answer the homework?" you told lucas with a low voice and teeth gritting in disbelief.

"mark already reading it, let's just wait for his notes." he said eyes never leave the huge tv.

you squeezed the bridge of your nose and stood up. you want to go home but before that you have to take your paper from mark, so you walked in the dining area. he's there reading about 5 papers in total.

why is he tolerating their laziness? you said annoyingly while watching him from behind. you sighed and gather all your courage to walk towards him. you were beside him and he felt your presence so he looked up. he noticed your eyes looking for something.

"care to tell me what are you looking for?" his brow lifted.

"our paper. i want to go home, i wasn't supposed to be in here. i thought we will answer it." you finally saw your paper and grabbed it. you look down on him straight in the eyes.

"you shouldn't allowing them to make you answer their homeworks mark. you're not helping nor being kind." what you're doing right now is obviously called scolding, and you know what? you made mark smile,he felt that you cared for him..

"it's okay, it's my advantage too. i got to read a lot of cases, i'll just treat it as if i'm studying theirs." he looked back at the paper he was reading. you rolled your eyes

"geek." you murmured and he clearly heard you.

"have you taken a paracetamol at least?” he said out of the blue.

“excuse me?” you were kind of lost. he looked at you.

“your head ache.” he said. your jaw dropped in amusement.

“how did you know?” he just smiled at you and shrugged as his answer. “i already did but i think i need to rest.”

both of you weren’t aware that you were having a casual conversation.

“you can use that room.” mark pointed at the 3rd room from the corner next to the kitchen.

“oh no, thanks. i’ll just head back home.” you politely declined but mark was not having it.

“you will rest there or else i am going fuck you in this table.” he threatened you. of course he wouldn’t do that, mark never will share you.

“you wouldn’t” you chuckled knowing that he was just joking.

“try me.” he challenged you but his tone of voice seemed like you wouldn’t dare. you swallowed nervously.

“they’ll look for me.” you whispered.

“no they wouldn’t. you’ll have to take your bag, i’ll just tell them you already left. once the tv is open they don’t care about anything.” he convinced you. his tapping his index finger on the table growing impatient. “rest because you need energy later.”

“for what?” you furrowed your brows.

“for me.” he gave you an eye smile… a scary one. it was fake but looked so genuine… but twisted.

you finally woke up. you looked at the digital clock table near you. it's 8 in the evening. you sat up but good lord you screamed when you saw a figure sitting at the end of your bed. it was mark.

"mark!" you touched your chest and tried to make your heart calm.

"eat your dinner and your medicine." he said in a monotone voice.

"are you mad at me?" you ask him the dumbest question, EVER. you obviously at fault, you just threw him outside your house without any explanation.

"no. " he replied and stood up. "let's eat." he's so cold, he left the room.

your chest became heavy. you followed him, eyes sticking at his icy figure. you felt suffocated and you just saw yourself chasing his back and embracing it. mark's body tensed as he felt your tiny figure behind him and short arms around his waist.

"i don't like it when you're mad. don't be mad at me." you were shoving your face against his back. his sweet but masculine cologne lingers into your nose and it made a calming effect. "i'm sorry if i was being mean." you shove your face more because of embarrassment.

"fuck…" mark cursed under his breath. you were so irresistible. he turned his body, facing you still arms around him. he witness your red as beet face. he cupped your cheeks and stared at your eyes.

"was it jealousy?" he asked referring to what happened that day. you shyly nodded your head. "i have something to tell you."

you blinked waiting for him to say whatever he wanted to tell you.

"i love you." mark missed saying those 3 meaningful words.

he then captured your lips. you shared an aggressive and eager kiss, your teeths are almost clashing with each other because of how aggressive mark is. suffocation was there but you love it. there was drooling, but you love it. they are moaning, and you fucking love it. mark squeezing your breast, fondling it, massaging it. until your shirt and bra were sitting on top of your round firm breasts. he then lifted you and made you sit on the dining table. thank god the table is long and that the food was far from you.

his gave you kisses down to your breast. he was nipping and your breasts. all you could do was moan. your hands playing the tips of his hair.

“i missed you so much.” he sincerely said while hungrily eating your breast.

“you were ignoring me.” you were supposed to sound lonely and sad but you moaned your words. it's impossible not to because gawd his wet and cold mouth feels good.

“i gave you some space but i don’t like it when someone occupies that space other than me.” he murmured. he went back to your face, giving your feathery kisses.

mark felt threatened when everyone keep on saying that lucas and you seemed close and actually look good together. they say that you need someone like lucas, bubbly and noisy. every time he hears that his blood boils. the fuck they know. he say.

you are quiet yes, but you have a lot of side. you are funny, you're savage, cute, and funny- and noisy especially when... you know. you are hardworking too, even though you sometimes procrastinate you make sure you study and understand the lesson. the down side is you just have low self-esteem and not honest to your feelings. but you are not just the quiet and the loner

“head still hurts?” he stared at your face.

“kinda.” you answered honestly.

“should we try if orgasm really make-” before he even finish his sentence you lift your back. you were expecting him to move back his body but he stayed still. you stopped before your lips touch.

"i'm hungry." you said. mark's eyes fell on your lips.

"do you want to do it here or to my room?" he asked. your nose scrunched.

"no, i mean i'm literally hungry for food." you said almost laughing at how disappointed he looked.

"food can wait." mark mumbled like a little kid throwing tantrums.

"you don't let the grace wait… right? i thought christians are thought to be like that." you were being cheeky. he widely smiled at you.

yeah, they don't know anything about you. you are more than the quiet and loner girl. i will never let anyone know this side of you, no one will appreciate you like i do. no one fits with you like i do. no matter how many times you deny it, i'm right for you.

"hmm? is there something on my face?" he was staring at you for quite long now so you felt conscious on how you look.

"let's eat? i thought you want me to take my paracetamol." you pouted.

"how about we go to nonpharmacological management?" you cringed when you hear his technical words.

"what? water?" you snorted.

"no, orgasm." he smirked and pushed your chest down, you felt the cold glass on your back. you cursed under your breath because of his sexiness.

mark rolled up your skirt and pulled down your panty. he did not waste any seconds, he dive into your wetness. he flatly licked your slick. you purred in excitement. mark pressed his thumb on your clit which added to your pleasure. mark sucking your folds, and every juices inside you while rubbing your clit.

"mark…" you moaned signalling that you are going to release. mark switched his thumb to his mouth and tongue, eating and rubbing your clit. he inserted two fingers inside you, and your back arched in intense pleasure.

"mark, please don't stop." he curled his finger and swear your eyes crossed when he hit your spot. "right there, right there, right there!" you cried loudly.

he never missed hitting your spot, and he was literally becoming aggressive in your clit. softly biting it, eating it, spitting on it.

"ohhhh…" you couldn't think properly nor talk properly. you legs involuntarily squeezed mark's head. his free hand pushed your one leg flat on the table to spread your legs. you couldn't handle the extreme pleasure building up on you.

"no… fuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!" you sat up, pushing mark's head away from you. your head threw back and eyes rolled back, you almost saw your brains. hands unconsciously rubbing yourself as you release… so much?

you squirted on mark's pants. your back fell on the table, it hurts but you're too high to complain. you were catching your breath and you were light headed. you're aware of what happened but you don't have energy to get embarrassed.

while your lashes are still fluttering and your chest aggressively going up and down. mark was really satisfied. he wiped his face using the end of his shirt. he leaned forward, arm resting on the side of your face.

"no headache?" he was teasing you. you laugh through your highs.

"yeah."

✨if you want to be added in I’m Right For You Tag List, you can DM or Ask me so i can add you ✨

Tag List: @cloudykeiji @jjikyuu @sunshinedhyuck @wassup-haeyadwae @erisxczenie @mrklyy @resceluwu @jenotation

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

Stannis/House Baratheon stan here. For what it's worth, I don't think he'll have anything to do with Shireen's burning in the books. Book Stannis was not in on the plan to kill Renly/doesn't know he played any part. Also when Edric Storm escapes Stannis is secretly relieved. You're right that he got ruined in the adaptation. Stephen Dillane's acting is the only good thing about Show-Stannis. My guess is either that Ramsay will murder Shireen to mock Stannis and the Lord of Light, or Melisandre will perform the ritual behind his back.

You know, I'm glad to hear it. 

Because there are a handful of scenes where I feel like I'm supposed to like Stannis and support his claim for the Iron Throne. Like, the scene when he offers to naturalize Jon. So few characters actually show Jon any respect, at least among the Highborn. (Not counting his siblings.) I felt my own respect for Stannis going up in that scene, just a little bit. Davos clearly worships the ground that he walks on but much like Ned Stark, his opinion is normally a good indicator of whether or not another character is trustworthy. At a guess, I feel like Davos didn't take his Knighting for granted because it happened at the same time he lost his fingers? Still, I can't say I'd feel that close to the man who was responsible for both.

Let's talk about kin-slaying. Renly was a rival for the throne. It would have come to blows between them no matter what, I understand that. And while the use of magic to assassinate him is taboo...I don't know, it just doesn't feel nearly as dirty as say, violating guest right. It probably prevented bloodshed overall. Still...that was his brother. I know the three Baratheon brothers have never really gotten along, but...still. How salty is Stannis over not getting Storm's End? I am glad to hear that this was presumably Melisandre's doing entirely in the books, though if Stannis doesn't know what happened...he's less of a villain but much more of a fool, if that makes any sense. He's completely under her thumb. Still, I can also understand how embittered he probably feels at his lack of support. I mean, if Robb and Renly had just backed him from the start, he'd no doubt have had the numbers to take King's Landing during the Battle of Blackwater. I feel like that isn't lost on him.

People in the show keep talking about how he has the "personality of a lobster" and how he "never wanted any friends." Which is coming back to bite him now that he's making a claim for the Iron Throne. Renly and Stannis are like Joffrey and Tommen. They're stark opposites and this gives both of them strengths and weaknesses when it comes to ruling. The one thing Renly has over Stannis is popularity, and that's for a reason. In Stannis' defense, he's right - the throne belongs to him in accordance with the Baratheon dynasty. I'm skeptical of his claim that he doesn't want it and only acts out of duty, but I don't fault him for trying to take the throne. I do feel like he gets way ahead of himself by declaring himself King and acting as though he is one before he sits on the Iron Throne...but hey, he's hardly the only character to do this. (Looking at you, Daenerys of the Dozen Titles.)

I also don't hold it against Stannis that he converts to the Lord of Light religion. All faiths are valid. We see that people can support this religion and still be chill about it - just look to the Brotherhood without Banners. We also see that people can subscribe to other religions like the more common Faith of the Seven, and take it way too far, like the Sparrows do. The problem is, Melisandre is one of those people who takes faith much too far. I still think Stannis has way, way too much faith in her. It's not even entirely about morals - he makes a good point that Aegon the Conquerer used dragons to take the Seven Kingdoms, so why shouldn't he be allowed to use the Lord of Light's magic? To which I say, yeah, you're right. That's fair. But he gives Melisandre too much power. I also have an issue with "sacrificing" (read: murdering) people for religious reasons, or even to cast spells.

I hope to god that he doesn't kill Shireen in the books. Because after he did that...look, I was never a big fan of him even up to that point in the show. But I still understood that he was basically supposed to be a good guy and naturally, I was rooting for him when it came to the upcoming fight with the Boltons. But after he murders Shireen? Ramsay could have given him the "Reek" treatment and I wouldn't have cared. I wouldn't wish that on anyone but I also wouldn't have shed any tears for Stannis if it had happened to him, if that makes any sense. Same goes for Melisandre. I'll never get over her deflection when Davos confronts her about killing Shireen. "So did her father. So did her mother." At that point I paused the episode and literally said aloud. "Yeah, so? They're dead. You're not. Can we fix that please?" Ugh, Melisandre is a whole other discussion by herself...

The other thing about Stannis that has always kind of made me cringe, low-key, is all of the nicknames that the fandom gives him. Notably "Stannis the Mannis" like...it's fine the first time, but there are people I've come across who literally refer to him as such every single time they mention him. Then again, that one isn't nearly as stupid as calling Robert "Bobby B" I just...I'm not saying anyone is stupid if they use these nicknames, but I am saying that I lose years of my life when I hear them. Might just be a personal thing. I don't know, I feel like both Stannis and Robert are idealized and so often have their flaws downplayed. Especially Robert. His willingness to kill children is something I cannot ignore. Stannis actually does kill his own daughter, but everyone seems to think that Robert would have done the same to his daughter, and his sons, if he'd learned the truth about their paternity. Not to mention, he wasn't the most adept ruler. It's easy enough to say that the realm was fine under his reign, but he ruled in peacetime for the most part. Given how he never attended the Small Council meetings, we can assume that Jon Arryn was the real ruling power anyway. Robert's main contribution seems to have been racking up a truckload of debt for the crown - thereby giving Tywin Lannister yet more power.

But that's not say Robert is a terrible person either. It is only fair to point out that in the case of his children, and of Jon Snow, he never found out the truth. So we can't say for certain what he would have done, he was never given the chance to speak for himself on those subjects. And while he may have only rebelled against the Targaryens because they offended him...I do appreciate his loyalty to the Starks, and the Mad King's crimes against Ned's family are as good a reason as any to say "Enough is enough." We never see him interact with Lyanna, and while it's clear that he's idealized her...it's not clear how much of that is a conscious choice. The Three Eyed Raven says "Robert's Rebellion was built on a lie." But...did Robert know that? Did he know that Lyanna wasn't kidnapped? That she eloped with Rhaegar out of love? When he talks about how Rhaegar "took Lyanna away from him" is that jealousy, or does he genuinely think Lyanna was a victim? He's long dead by the time the show reveals the truth of the matter, so it's a little ambiguous. Either way, he was not ready to be married to someone else and Cersei was made to suffer the the pain of Robert's heartbreak over another woman. Look, Cersei is despicable, I hate her more than any other character on the show...but if her version of events is to be believed, she was making a genuine effort at the start, and Robert never bothered to try, or treat her with any respect at all.

[lowkeyorloki]

I really love how you weren't afraid to call out the mcu actors and their bs. I was hoping for some advice if that'd be okay? Who else besides Loki would in your opinion be safe to stan from the mcu that doesn't have someone with a lot of bs playing them? I understand if this question isn't your cup of tea, thank you anyways

Well anon, first let me thank you for your praise, though I don’t entirely deserve it: I took the post telling rdj/mark ruffalo/zoe saldana to develop critical thinking skills about fifteen minutes after I posted it. There’s a lot of reasons for that, but the main one is (despite all my angsty content) I want this blog to be a source of escapism for myself and my readers.

However, I’m willing to answer your question because I always encourage conversation and I am more than willing to give my opinion on anything, I just prefer to be asked it first. If you came to me, I want to honor that. I also want my blog to be open for my readers to discuss any and everything. 

This is a really hard question to answer. I’m going to preface by saying that I am minoring in ethics (which is directly what this question is about) and I have read a good handful of philosophy books. That being said, I am still just a 19 year old girl on the internet and while my perspective can influence your opinion, it should not form it. I hope you take what I say seriously, but do not take it at face value. Doing your own research is still necessary. I’m okay with contributing to your views, but I do not want be directly responsible for them. I don’t want to take that power from you. 

A lot of behavior from the MCU cast and your thoughts on that is going to be dependent on your experiences your personal morals. For example, because I was raised Jewish, Robert Downey Jr publicly defending two men (Mel Gibson and Chris Pratt) who have said or belong to groups with anti semitic rhetoric, I’m going to be more critical of RDJ than someone who was raised or still practices more mainstream religions. These are the types of questions to ask yourself when you’re deciding how you feel about certain people: What behavior is okay to me personally? Should I change that? How is my bias/privilege affecting my view?

It’s also important to note that no one in unproblematic. No one. Even Tom Hiddleston worked with one of the scummiest men alive. Your own core values will dictate what is and isn’t okay from people. I can excuse Tom for working with Woody Allen because he worked with him in 2011- a pre #metoo world. Tom is also English and Woody Allen is American, meaning that there’s a fairly big chance he never heard about Allen’s issues and demeaning behavior towards women at that time. Furthermore, Tom has never (to my knowledge) publicly supported Allen since around 2015. Would it be nice for him to address that he worked with one of the world’s most hated men? Sure, but until Tom expresses he still respects Allen, I’m not going to have an issue with him. However, not everyone will agree with me on that. It’s subjective. 

No one, especially people who grew up before the 2010s, is going to be without fault. What’s more, we shouldn’t expect them to be. We have to make mistakes to grow- first mistakes aren’t an issue. Repeated behavior is. Tom Hiddleston is one of the only MCU cast members who hasn’t repeated his shitty choice. That’s why I’m still comfortable being his fan.

I also want to express: You can like the characters even without liking the actors! That’s totally okay. Actors do not have to dictate if you like their characters! I promise.

All that being said, I don’t think the majority of the cast should be “cancelled”. If you’re looking for my opinion, I only really have a problem with three other cast members. 

I do not support Scarlett Johansson. Almost all of her behavior falls under that of a white feminist. She also has immense problems with transphobia. For that same reason, I don’t like Benedict Cumberbatch. He also had a horrible incident when he got defensive over being asked if his character on BBC’s Sherlock was autistic, and acted as though being autistic was bad and that people shouldn’t think Sherlock was that way (not cool! very mean). That was also a show with crazy problems over queer baiting (which was literally confirmed by Mark Gaitiss).

The reason I can’t look past these things is because Johansson and Cumberbatch in particular have a complete inability to take accountability. They consistently defended their behavior, with Scarlett Johansson claiming it was okay for her to take POC and trans roles, and Benedict Cumberbatch not thinking his performance in Zoolander 2 could be harmful. They can’t take criticism, even when marginalized groups are begging them to. 

Jeremy Renner... just do a google search. I can’t unpack all his shit. Actually, just search up the movie “Neo Ned.” That should give you enough perspective. 

Again: I am just a teen girl on the internet. I don’t know every single bad thing every single cast member has ever done, and I don’t want to. I’m not interested in holding people to impossible standards. That isn’t fair, and it’s a really self-indulgent stance to take. Who am I to decide if someone’s a bad person? I can only make that decision in regards to myself. I’m not going to tell you to unstan any of those people because it’s not my job or right. I can only give you my views and my justification. 

My personal method of when to stop supporting someone is when I see repeated bad behaviors. Everyone makes mistakes, but when we see the same ones happening over and over despite the ignorance being addressed, that’s when I begin to struggle with justifying it. That’s what works for me, that’s how I choose to live my life. You can do what you will with this information. I hope I answered your question or gave you some clarity. 

[ma-gic-gay]

Knock Before Entering

If Chase had simply knocked before he went in that room, there would be nowhere near as much awkward tension right now between the three of them.

But alas, he hadn't knocked and they were all in an uncomfortable position.

Let's set the scene: Just an hour ago, Michael and Willow had made their marriage official. In Wiley's playroom they were supposed to be painting stars on the ceiling in so their son could have stars to see when he was an astronaut. He was going to be one when he grew up and so they had begun painting them when the annulment papers had came in.

Instead of annulling their marriage, however, they'd finally said everything they felt about each other to each other- and acted on it. Several times.

They'd decided to go again and were making out like fifteen year olds when Chase barged into the room.

The mood had never been killed quicker.

Glaring at Chase, Michael and Willow threw on their shirts and tried to look somewhat presentable as Chase was standing there awkwardly, looking at everything but the sight in front of him. Willow blushes a deep red color, more embarrassed than upset. For her especially, this is an awkward situation.

When everyone's fully dressed, she excuses herself to go find Wiley. As she leaves, Michael's glare returns, as well as his bulging neck veins. "You wanna explain what you're doing here right now?"

"Brook Lynn and I made a deal where if she and Ned talked, I'd talk to Willow," Chase explains, clearly digging himself deeper and deeper into the hole he's created.

"Why are you and Brook Lynn making deals? And what do you have to say to Willow?" Michael asks.

"We're friends. For God's sakes, she's living on my couch! So, since we both have things we don't want to do but should, we made this deal. She tries to work things out with her dad and I tell her how I feel."

Confused, Michael asks, "What do you feel for my cousin that involves Willow?"

"No, not Brook Lynn. She's great, and very interesting, but I don't feel that way about her. We're just friends, nothing more. The deal was I tell Willow what I feel for her. Willow, she told me you two were getting an annulment so I thought it was my final chance to tell her how I feel about her."

Taking a deep breath, Michael asks, "And what do you feel for my wife, Chase? Please, tell me. I'm dying to know. I'm dying to know how you feel about her."

Chase can sense the anger in his tone as he says, "I love her. I-I know what you two-"

"You cheated on her with Sasha. The two of you broke our hearts when you did that, and I don't think you can say you love her if you can have an affair. I get that your conscience might not have let you date Sasha afterwards, but you still managed to cheat on her while you were supposedly in love with her. It's been months Chase, months since the affair," Michael reminds him. "So don't tell me you love her when you broke her heart and didn't care about that. Don't you dare do that."

"I didn't have an affair with Sasha! We faked it for the custody case, so you two would get married and keep Wiley safe from Janelle and her manipulations," Chase exclaims loudly.

Suddenly, everything comes to a halting stop. How loud was he, could Willow hear? Could Brook Lynn hear? What had he just said? The affair was fake?

Willow walks back into the room, confused. "What did you just say?"

"Willow, I love you. Sasha and I never cheated on you and Michael, we made up the affair because you two needed to get married for Wiley's sake. Now that you're getting annulled, I thought this would be my last chance to tell you that I love you and I don't know if I'll ever stop loving you. I need you to know that I still love you." The look on Chase's face is one of anxiety, but it's obvious he's telling the truth.

"You two were making out on a couch! That's still cheating, you just didn't have sex. Do you want an award? Some applause? Chase, you broke my heart. You broke Michael's heart. I've moved on and I don't love you anymore. It's best you move on too," Willow explains to him.

Brook Lynn opens the door, seeing the three of them in an awkward conversation. "We heard yelling from Chase and it was decided I'd be the best to come up here and figure out what's happening."

Angry, hurt, and annoyed, Chase kisses the Quartermaine girl intensely. Is he using her? Only slightly. The kiss feels right though, and so they pull away moments later breathless. Neither were expecting that to be... That. For a first kiss, it was a solid 10/10.

Anger fuels through Michael as his cousin actually kisses him back. "What the fuck are you two doing? Chase, you love Willow but somehow you're making out with her? You can't make a decision for the life of yourself. When you chose to play god with all of our lives, you knew what you were doing. And now you don't want to deal with the consequences of your own actions."

"Michael! I'm an adult, I can take care of myself. Look, I'm fine, alright? That was the first time him and I did that," Brook Lynn reassures him and his breathing calms slightly.

There's a pause before Michael's anger at Chase continues to spew, uncontrollable. "I can't believe you! Saying you're in love with my wife one minute and the next you're making out with my cousin. Brook Lynn, I trust you can take care of yourself, and I trust you told the truth. But Chase, how can you do that? How can you break someone's heart and then say, months later, that you love her? Tell me, please. I'm begging to know. Maybe I can break someone's heart who doesn't deserve it like you did!'"

"Look, let's all take a deep breath before we do anything we're going to regret," Willow suggests, bringing Michael back to reality: they're still in the playroom, trying to solve a problem. With annulment papers conveniently somewhere around here if they so choose to get them and sign.

After that momentarily breather for everyone, Chase says, "I do love Willow, and I think you might love Sasha still, Michael. Things could go-"

As he says that, Michael can't hold back and, neck veins bulging, punches Chase. It's a good punch, one Jason taught him to throw years ago. There are perks to having your mother's best friend being a hitman and your father being in the mob, and one is punching lessons. Well, really more self defense lessons, but still. It's a perk to growing up in dysfunction.

Chase and him fist fight for several minutes to the protests of Willow and Brook Lynn, who both were trying to stop it. But alas, nothing can stop two angry men from fist fighting each other like 12 year olds over an XBOX.

They finally stop the fight, both having taken good punches and thrown good ones. Fury burns in Chase's eyes as shame fills Michael. He let his temper get the best of him and this happened. "Look man, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have thrown that punch and started that-"

The detective throws another punch, this time leaving a bloody lip. "Damn right you shouldn't have. But now, you're going to be arrested for assault."

"You do not want to arrest him. Arrest me," Brook Lynn suggests.

"As much as I'd like to, Brook Lynn, you don't have any grounds for arrest at the moment and he does," Chase reminds her.

"Chase, please don't do this. At the very least, let me take care of his bloody lip," Willow begs and Dante walks into the room.

Whistling, Dante says, "What the fuck happened in here? It smells like sex and Michael's got a bloody lip and Chase has what looks like a bruised forehead. Is this some weird sex thing I don't know about because if so I feel like it's illegal."

"Do not start that conversation or there will be more blood," Brook Lynn warns him. "But currently all I know is Chase told Willow how he feels and Michael punched him when he said that she still loved him and he still loved Sasha. But I'm guessing that the sex thing came from Michael and Willow, so I'm pretty sure that's actually encouraged in most religions. Also Chase made out with me."

"How much did I miss? But Detective, arresting him is a shoddy at best move. Trust me, I was with the police department for a while." Dante chuckles.

"Thank you for your input Dante, but I'm going to go and bring Michael to the station," Chase says before reciting the Miranda rights to him. "If you don't want him to be in jail tonight, I suggest you go to the police station."

"I feel like this is harassment and that that's how the commissioner will see this as well," Dante informs him.

But the protests of his family don't have any meaning as Chase handcuffs him and he's dragged out to the police car, absolutely silent while everyone sees him being arrested by his former best friend.

An hour later, Diane's there and clearly displeased with him. "Michael. I would expect this behavior from, say, Jason or Carly. They've actually both been in a situation like this at one point. Irony's a beautiful thing. That's not the point. You are supposed to be the good one! Not the one fist fighting people with no real reason except you're mad they're in love with your wife!"

"I know, I know. I overreacted to it and I'm sorry for that and I let my anger get the best of me which I shouldn't have and I feel like hell but it was so great finally punching him. But, in my defense, he also said false things that we'd already said we're false and made out with Brook Lynn after insisting they were just friends. And he gave me a bloody lip, so I'd say we're even," Michael struggles to defend himself. "Is it still bloody?"

"Yes, it's still bleeding. Carly, Sonny, and Jason have been made aware you're here, and I'm sure that you and Chase have very different sides to the story but, provided he drops the charges, you'll be let free. If he doesn't, someone will need to post bail money for you and this petty case will be taken to court."

Chase walks back into the interrogation room. "Michael, I think we can make an agreement. I'll drop the charges if you and Willow get annulled."

Diane steps in, chuckling. "This form of agreement seems harassing, as does the proposition in question. Detective, I understand you decided to arrest him on the grounds of assault but a jury or the commissioner will just see this as you harassing my client. Additionally, the annulment papers were received by them today."

"Diane, we're not getting annulled. We, uh, we decided we're staying together. Chase, he walked in when we were making out and then told us he'd lied about the affair and that he still loves Willow and so Brook Lynn came upstairs to figure out what was happening and he made out with her and I asked him how he could do that and he insinuated several things about my love life so I punched him, not hard, and he fought back so we had a minor fist fight and then I apologized for throwing the first punch because that wasn't smart or productive and he gave me a cat lip," Michael explains.

"Detective, I strongly advise you stop harassing Mr. Corinthos here because that's what it looks like to me. Willow can make her own decisions, that's her choice who she wants to be with. She is not to be sold as property."

Chase, exhaling, says, "You're right. I shouldn't have arrested him in the first place, and I'll drop the charges, but someone does still need to bail him out."

"What is bail set at?" Diane asks, smiling.

"$500. I'll alert his family, which is loudly congregated out there," Chase says, standing up from the table.

"Thank you," Michael smiles.

As Chase leaves, Diane's smirk widens. "What's this I hear about no annulment? Did your grounds for it become, how shall I say this, void?"

"Well, the Quartermaine's already know, why not you. Yes, we did decide not to get annulled. It isn't something either of us want, so sorry for wasting your time."

"It's your private life so I'm not going to dig into it, Michael, but for what it's worth, I wish you and Willow the best on your marriage. Trust me, she's probably the only woman who both of your families will agree is good for you and who can deal with the chaos that is your life."

"Thanks, I think," Michael chuckles as she leaves and he finds out his bail has been posted and gets uncuffed.

He walks out of the room, embarrassed but fine minus the bloody lip, and sees that there's a good fifteen people out there for him; Carly, who's pacing and talking to Jason very loudly, Jason, who's remind her they're at a police station, Willow, who's trying to just ignore the situation, Brook Lynn, who's harassing Chase about how he acted, Dante, who's smirking about everything that's happened, Wiley, who clearly isn't comfortable with this situation, Sonny, who's just scrolling through his phone, Diane, who's discussing something with a disinterested Sonny. Dysfunction at it's finest.

Willow looks up and sees he's there and runs up to hug her husband. "You're okay? Your lip's not bleeding, but are you sure you're okay and we don't need to go to the hospital right now to get you checked out?"

Chuckling, Michael says, "Willow. Look at me. I am fine. Trust me, I've been through worse than my busted lip and soreness. You have absolutely no reason to worry."

"You were arrested! For punching him over me! I feel like there was plenty of reason for me to worry and be upset," she smiles.

"Well, I promise you, I am fine and don't need to go to the hospital. Your overreaction is, though adorable, unnecessary right now. I'm fine, Wiley's fine, you're fine, and that's all that matters," Michael assures her.

Smiling, she quickly kisses him which is convenient seen by everyone there. "Promise on your life?"

"That's a bit extreme."

"Then you're going to the hospital," she declares as Carly and the adults are laughing. "What's so funny?"

"How casually you two just kissed. Yesterday, you were getting an annulment and today there's this. We clearly need to be caught up on what happened. Besides, your concern is just so much like a wife, you two really are married now," Carly laughs.

"I'm still making him get checked out at the hospital. Would any of you like to join me?" Willow asks, earning another chuckle from them.

"Sure, why not?" Dante chuckles as the rest of them minus Brook Lynn agree to join; she's doing a thing she does where she just stares blankly while you talk so you can't see her emotion with Chase.

"You are way too worried about me," Michael protests.

"You wouldn't swear on your life."

"You're lucky you're my wife."

"I am," she agrees as they walk out, him kissing her forehead. "And you're lucky I'm your wife."

"That I most certainly am."

wsdfgbhnjm words

[nari-writes]

Donnie decides he's going to prove scientifically that his crushes are stupid so he codes the World's Best Dating Software, and it says Casey and April should date so he doesn't check his own name

“So, I ran the numbers-”

“How fast were they?”

Donnie glares at him, but April’s smothering laughter behind her hand so Casey counts that as a win. 

“I crunched the-”

“Did they taste good?”

“You should date,” Donnie blurts in an angry rush. Casey’s grin freezes, tight and uncertain. 

“What?” he says. 

“How do numbers-?” April mutters, then holds her hand up. “Date who? It’s not like saving the world gave us much time to meet new people.” She smiles at Donnie, teasing and light, but there’s an edge to her smile that Casey can only catch because of the time they’ve spent together. He looks to Donnie, watching as Donnie sinks a little, defensively, into his shell. 

“Not new people,” Donnie mumbles, and then he takes a deep breath and pulls himself out of his shell. Shoulders back, head high, the pose of a dutiful son trained into him, but he’s looking at the wall over their shoulders instead of at them and Casey feels a frown start to pull at his mouth. “You should date each other.” Donnie looks to Casey, a familiar, frustrated scowl on his face as he picks his next words carefully, “I made a program, for- to see if I- no. To see if you two would be- to prove that you’d be bad for each other. And it- proved I was- wrong.”

Casey turns the start of his frown into a teasing smile, trying to crush the uncomfortable feeling growing in the pit of his stomach. “Think that could’ve sounded anymore painful, D? And, hey, mind repeating it so I can get a recording?”

“Casey…” April says, in the soft tone that means he’s overstepped some boundary, and he knows it but he can’t- Donnie can’t be serious. 

“No way, Red. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. When does Donnie ever say he’s wrong?”

“Casey,” she says, and leans into his space to pinch the back of his hand. He grabs her wrist, pulling it behind her back, and she twists out and over the back of the couch and he lets her go- 

She covers his mouth, and he thinks about licking her palm, but decides to give her and her empathy powers the floor. For now, he thinks, frowning as Donnie shifts on his feet.  

“I made a program that analysed- the viability of relationships,” he says softly when April stays silent, looking at him. “It proved that you and Casey’s efficiency in battle would improve by approximately 20%, as would his grades and your general happiness, April. That’s- you two being happy is important.”

“So why do you look so unhappy right now, Don?” she asks, and takes her hands away from Casey’s mouth. Slowly, so he knows not to speak, but something about Donnie’s posture, the expression on his face, tells him it’s wiser to shut up. 

Donnie manages a smile for her, because he always will, but even Casey can tell something is off about it. To April’s powers it must look like a neon siren. “You heard Casey, April. This is pretty rare for me - I don’t like being proved wrong.”  

“What were you trying to prove right?” she asks, and Donnie stiffens. 

“April-” he says, and then, “don’t-” 

Donnie scrubs at his face roughly and just before he pulls his mask back down, Casey catches the dark bags under his eyes. This hadn’t been some idle project; he’d poured sleepless hours into it, and for what? To be told by a machine - Donnie’s religion, if ever he’d believe in a god - that April and Casey should date. Why had he even been doing that? 

“Donnie,” she says, in the tone she uses when she wants something, when she wants answers, and Donnie crosses his arms over his plastron. “Why were you making a program to prove Casey and I should-” she pauses, her voice dipping pained, and Casey tries to ignore the sting, “-date?”

“It was to prove you shouldn’t date,” Donnie mutters. “And it backfired.”

“Not an answer to ‘why’,” Casey says shortly, and Donnie glares at him. 

“So I used the program to help me analyse common romantic scenarios,” Donnie says, ignoring Casey entirely, and pulls a sheet of paper out of his belt, unfolding it in front of them. It’s colour-coded, because of course it is. “And I figured out the most efficient dating plan. Being in life-threatening danger together has actually helped the plan a lot; there’s a whole section here you can skip if you want to.”

“Donnie,” April says, and the second her hands are off Casey’s shoulders, he’s up and pulling the plan out of Donnie’s hands. Donnie makes a pained little noise as it flutters to the floor.  

“Look,” he says, poking Donnie in the chest hard enough that Donnie startles backward. “I know you’re still bad at people interacting and all that bs, but you don’t just do this stuff, D, got it? I’m not gonna date April just because some stupid program says I should, not when she’s been more than clear on not wanting a boyfriend right now, and I sure as hell ain’t doing it based on a chart. We’re not gonna date just because some stupid program says so.”

“It’s not stupid,” Donnie says, and he reaches for his chart but Casey shoves him again, ignoring April’s hey! in the background. 

“It is too. You’re stupid if you think some machine gets to tell me who to date and how to do it. It’s stupid.”

“It is not!” Donnie says, baring his teeth, and he finally looks normal. He’s finally snapping back like he should, all loose-limbed and slouched shoulders drawn tight in indignation. “I don’t make stupid things, it isn’t stupid, I spent hours on it! I programmed it with Professor Honeycut’s simulator tech, it can run thousands of scenarios and extrapolate the likelihood of common threads working in real life-”

“Stupid,” Casey says, and Donnie snarls. 

“You’re stupid!”

“I’m not the one who made a useless machine!”

“It is not!” Donnie says, and he shoves Casey, making Casey stumble back over his own feet before he lunges forwards and into Donnie’s space again.

“Oh yeah? Then what’s it do but tell you bull about me and April dating?”

“It proved my crush on you two is stupid!”

“Will you both stop it?” April yells, shoving both of them apart with her hands and her powers, and Casey’s too stunned to catch himself, falling back onto the couch. Donnie hits a beanbag and goes down too, his eyes wide. 

April, between them both, is panting hard as her arms drop to her sides. Her hair is loose around her shoulders, and usually Casey would go to her side to keep her up while Donnie pressed his hand to her forehead, then to check her pulse, but right now Donnie looks like he’s about to bolt and Casey’s still reeling. 

Silence reigns in the lair, some water drip echo the only distant noise, and then Donnie says, “I didn’t mean that.”

His voice is too soft, too scared, to be anything but a lie. 

Casey doesn’t know if they’re supposed to let Donnie get away with it. 

[yogenderranawat]

via Bravehearts : Indian Defense forces