#and inventing new horrible crimes

[whetstonefires]

i mean i am not immune to the appeal of Feanor and the idea of him maybe not fucking it up so bad if he got another go, but also one of his most iconic lines is "no other race shall oust us!"

(spoken to a crowd of armed supporters) ((soon after this they fell ass backwards into stabbing the neighbors for their stuff)) (((feanor EMPHATICALLY did not return the stuff)))

so i try to keep my expectations grounded ykwim?

[sweetbuckybarnes]

In My Hometown

Summary: At a crime scene in Y/N's hometown, they learn the tale of her hometown's three (somewhat, definitely evil) crooks. Boggis, Bunce, and Bean. After solving the case, the BAU team gets to meet some important people in Y/N's life.

1.7k words

Note: Boggis, Bunce and Bean are from Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl - one of my favourites as a kid.

As Spencer looked over the map of the small Pennsylvania town, he spotted the three large farms on the outskirts. "Y/N, who lives here?" He points to the board. It would be quicker to ask Y/N than to look through a census. 

"That's Boggis," she points to one farm. "That's Bunce," she points to another. "And that's Bean," she points to the final farm.

"Weird names," Morgan says as he walks through the door with Emily in tow.

Emily shrugs her shoulder. "Weird town."

"Hey!" Y/N calls, looking over at Emily Prentiss. "I can say it, you can't. This town traumatised me, but hey. Who's hometown didn't?"

Morgan nods at her statement, along with Spencer.

"Who are these three farmers then?" Spencer asks. When they spoke about their childhood on their second date, she never mentioned these three people.

She was able to borrow a book from Spencer, which had been reading about her hometown. She opened the page to Walt Boggis. "This is Walt Boggis. He is a chicken farmer. Probably the most successful in the world. He weighs the same as a young rhinoceros," she starts, watching as JJ's eyes widen as she walks in with Hotch and the small town's police chief. "He eats three chickens a day for breakfast, lunch, supper, and dessert."

"That's twelve a day!" Emily exclaims.

"How do you know this?" Morgan asks.

Y/N shrugs her shoulders. "Everyone knows this," which was echoed by the police chief.

She turned a few pages over. "This is Nate Bunce. He is a duck and goose farmer. He is approximately the size of a pot-bellied pig, and his chin would be underwater in the shallow end of any swimming pool on the planet," she explains, looking down at a picture of the possibly the least scary of the three men. "His food is homemade doughnuts, with smashed-up goose livers injected into them."

She then turned to the final page. "Frank Bean is a turkey and apple farmer. He invented his own species of each," she says.

"Impressive," Derek comments.

"He lives on a liquid diet of strong alcoholic cider, which he makes from his apples," she shuts the book and looks at the team. "He's as skinny as a pencil, as smart as a whip, and possibly the scariest man currently living."

Spencer looked over his girlfriend's shoulder and flipped the book open to see the picture of Frank Bean. "Definitely terrifying, I don't think Morgan could beat him in a fight."

Morgan agreed, having seen the picture in the book of the man.

"Tell 'em about the rhyme you lot sing," the police chief says, with a growing smirk on his face.

Y/N pulls a face. "In my defence, I was taught it by my brother, who learned it from one of his school friends. You get the picture, school kids have been singing this for years?"

When the team understood, Y/N sighed and started singing. "Boggis, Bunce, and Bean. One fat, one short, one lean. These horrible crooks, so different in looks, but nonetheless equally mean."

As much as Y/N wanted it to, there was nothing to tie the three businessmen/farmers to the murders found in their fields/yards.

But considering how crappily they treat their employees, anyone was a suspect...

By the time 9 o'clock rolled around, Hotch sent everyone back to the hotel to get some sleep and hopefully be well rested in case a new body turned up tomorrow morning.

After Spencer and Y/N let their relationship be known to the team, they have been able to share a room every time they go out of state for a case (something Morgan is grateful for, now that he no longer has to share with the BAU resident genius who had a bad habit for reading until 2/3am...)

However, now that Spencer is rooming with Y/N - he makes sure he is in bed at a reasonable hour.

After closing the case, Y/N turned around to look at Hotch. "Is it okay if I go visit my parents before the plane arrives?" She asked, looking at the unit chief almost pleadingly (but everyone knew he would say yes; no one could really say no to Y/N).

"Of course, but take those four with you," Hotch counters, pointing at her four other teammates.

Y/N looked from the four to her boss just as she was about to counter-argue (which would be like arguing against a wall; Hotch was a prosecutor). She scrunched up her nose. "Fine," turning to look at her colleagues. "I'm going to see my parents, you four are coming with me."

"Embarrassing pictures of Y/N? Yes, please!" Derek exclaimed, instantly climbing into the passenger seat of the car.

Emily climbed in behind the driver's seat, leaving Y/N and Spencer outside the car. "You okay, Spence?" Other than JJ, Y/N was the only other person to call him 'Spence'.

"Hmm? Yeah, I'm fine," Spencer said, climbing in behind Derek. This would be the first time anyone in the team would be meeting your parents (having only heard your mom talk on the phone), but Spencer - would be meeting his girlfriend's parents for the first time. Sweet, kind Y/N. Who wears her heart on her sleeve and hates upsetting people. Apart from serial killers, she has managed to make two of them burst into tears since she started working with them 3 years ago.

Sweet, kind Y/N who Spencer couldn't help but love. Lovely Y/N who didn't know the extent of Spencer's feelings. After what happened to Maeve, Spencer never thought he would love again, doomed to spend the rest of his life alone, haunted by a ghost he saw a handful of times. But Y/N appeared out of nowhere and practically knocked him off his feet.

Not practically, literally. She had collided with him in a flutter of BAU papers on her first day after a meeting with Hotch.

Morgan had reached for the GPS, only for his hand to be swatted by Y/N. "You do realise I grew up in this town, right? I know this town like the back of my hand. I'm pretty sure I have it imprinted onto my eyelids."

Derek holds his hands up in defence. "OK, let's go meet the parents!"

As they drove through the little town, Y/N would often point out different spots and what had happened there. Her old elementary school. The old shopping mall building where a food fight had once broken out and the police had to be called after a meatball hit a young boy who had glass in. The slightly run-down theatre where she had her first kiss.

Y/N was so focused on the traffic and telling stories of her childhood her driving went into autopilot, and before they knew it, they had arrived at her childhood home.

"Impressive," JJ comments on her driving.

Y/N got out of the car and looked at the home she grew up in. The roof, where she had gotten stuck stargazing (more than once), her parent's bedroom window had seen a baseball fly through it during a long game in the middle of the street. The patch on the porch where her childhood dog used to sleep for hours on end.

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a set of keys. Y/N found the one she wanted and unlocked the door, motioning her team behind her to please be quiet.

The entryway hadn't changed since she moved. Her mother's cherry red coat was hanging on a peg, and a slightly faded picture from her parent's wedding was sitting on the side table. She heard her mother call her father's name. She chuckled silently as she motioned for the team to come in. "It's me, mom!"

The sound of some kind of crockery hit the floor in the kitchen, and hurried footsteps made their way throughout the house. "Y/N! Oh, my baby girl!"

Y/N's mom wrapped her daughter and held her tightly to her chest. Spencer couldn't help but watch with a little bit of envy, how attentive and loving Y/N's mom is.

"Hi, mom!" Y/N's voice was a little bit muffled in her mother's shoulder. Once she was finally released, the newest member of the BAU turned around to look at her teammates. "Guys, this is my mom. Mom, this is Emily, JJ, Derek and Spencer."

Derek, Emily and JJ were all greeted with similar hugs until Derek spotted one of Y/N's baby pictures hanging on the wall. Leaving Spencer with his girlfriend and her mom.

"You must be Spencer then," her mother says somewhat slyly. Y/N's hushed 'Mom!' was ignored. "My daughter's told me everything about you."

Spencer feels his heart stop for a moment. Everything, everything?

"A literally genius, who can read a book in minutes and recite it back word for word. The resident genius on everything," her mom smiles.

Y/N could see the trio in the living room, who was looking at a picture of her parent's wedding day, so she hurried away to supervise them.

Leaving Spencer alone with his girlfriend's mom. "What do you mean when you say Y/N told you, everything?"

"Born and raised in Vegas, you were forced to grow up too quickly as you looked after your mom and jumped grades rapidly. Graduated high school when you were 12, three PhDs, the youngest person ever to join the BAU," Spencer flushed slightly. "And in love with my daughter."

Spencer looked up at her with wide eyes before he could say anything. "Don't try and lie to me, honey. The eyes never lie." Spencer dips his head to look at his shoes. "Now, come on. I have some more baby pictures to embarrass Y/N with."

Just as Y/N's mom was going to flip to a new page of Y/N's childhood, the front door opened. "Honey, I'm home," could be heard. This was obviously Y/N's dad.

Round the corner came... the police chief?

"Hi, honey," Y/N's mom greeted with a smile.

"Hi, dad."

Spencer looks between the police chief (who he now knows is Y/N's father) and his girlfriend. The similarities were uncanny - how he didn't pick it up when they first arrived, he'll never know.

"I'm sorry," Derek interrupts. "The chief of police is your father?"

Y/N nods. "He was the police chief when I was 17 and getting a driver's license. And he's still the police chief now."

[dream-lit-delights]

au idea

rose and miles were treated horribly by both their villages/families so they ran away from their respective homes soon running into each other and deciding to stay together for safety(slowly becoming family along the way). of course two kids out on their own with no experience or hero fame to back them up doesn’t really help them survive, so they turn to a life of crime. It starts as petty theft only stealing to survive but miles can’t stay away from inventing and starts to steal scraps making inventions he thinks will help them survive. catching the attention of robotnik who employs both of them. miles as his assistant and rose as the muscle, of course the take the job seeing a way out of their current situation. slowly they start to realize that the job isn’t as rewarding as they thought it’d be. a few years later and they meet sonic who helps them escape eggman and find a new way of life

it’s a work in progress but i think it’s pretty good rn

[akaranali]

Cosmic Horror V2

Kurt Wagner x Fem reader

In which: A girl infused with the cosmic powers of a celestial wakes up after sleeping for 1000 years wake up in the morden era

Warning: characters may be OOC. Slight spelling/ grammar mistakes. Overpower MC trope

After being a sleep for a couple of thousand year to self reflect on yourself. You walk through the 21st- Century mostly confused with the new technology. Being so use to being awake when new things are invented. For example being alive when the first paper was used. Though the newest thing you heard about was people called “mutants”

According to the people you inte- talked to. You gathered that mutants were basically the evolved species of humans that has powers. What you also learn is that most humans have a strange hatred for them. Being anger at evolution? That a first for humanity.

You keep walking and walking try to theorize what could’ve made humans hate evolution so till you hear the sound of screaming. You lift your gaze to the side to see some…you don’t even know how to describe it. Some huge humanoid thing running rampage. Over the screaming you can hear words like “Damn Mutant” or “I hate mutants”

You almost step into the fight but that damn thing in forcibly stop you. “That ant has no need for my divine justice. You can sit by and watch. I have a feeling some other will deal with it” a voice booms into your head. “God I hate you” you say outside distain in your voice. That stupid celestial that gave you this curse of immortality. Gave you its power but barely let you use it, only when its deems when a person crime is harsh enough for it justice. “One say I swear I’ll overcome-“

You were about to swear when you see huge pile of rumble coming your way. Shrugging it off. It not like this could even kill me, you think closing your eye waiting for it to hit you. But you hear a weird sound and something grabbing your arm. You open your eyes and see you are in a different place. You also see a blue face-a man?.

You look confused and the man seems to notice it. “Are you alright madam? I teleport you somewhere safer” He speaks with a accent you can’t quite make out. The world develop without you so your best guess was someone east from here. You stare very deeply at him and he smile uncomfortable. “Is this your first time seeing a mutant?” He say you can hear the teasing in his voice.

You don’t pay attention to it however. You step closer to him studying him. Blue skin, sharp ears, a bit of fur on the side of his neck, and a tail. Mutants are something. As you keep studying him going closer each second. The mutant starts to blush. You don’t know if he’s uncomfortable or just shy but he seems to shifted up. Before you can ask him anything you hear a voice call out.

“Kurt when need you back over-here!!” A voice yell. Just when that voice screams. The mutant. Now you know as Kurt teleport in a purple smoke leaving you alone. “I should’ve ask for a dna sample” groaning in frustrated you walk away.

Mutant have now peaked your interest. You went back to the battle and found out he was part of some group called the X-Men. Quickly fleeing before anyone of them spots you, you run and see a person who was also in the middle of that attack. Going to them, you quickly learn that the X-men was a super hero group of mutants that helps humans. Though you also learn how much the person hates mutants.

Now your main goal is to study the mutant race, how hard could that be?

An: I plan to Write more i Just wanted to make this one not that long 😭 also this is a horrible version I just didn’t want to go 2 years without posting….😕

[physalian]

Another 5 Character Types the World Needs More of (Part 3)

Part 1 Part 2

I did not expect these two posts to continue getting notes. So. Here’s some that didn’t make the cut and a few new ones.

1. Character who is immune to everyone else’s bullshit

This can either be funny or a breath of fresh air. I’m talking your drama cast of 15 all losing their minds over “he said/she said” and fixating on so many ridiculous and arbitrary problems… meanwhile Chuck over here is skinned with teflon and completely immune to tropes like manufactured miscommunication or drama, who’s juuust shy of being genre savvy to Get Shit Done like this is their second time around the block and they are not happy to be back.

The first one to pop into my head is Soundwave from TFP. He has no voice actor for 99% of the show and doesn’t have a face and is only the focus character for like, 2 episodes, but whenever he’s on screen you can just see “I’m surrounded by idiots” playing on repeat in his head. This con is brutally efficient, never messes up, and is never wrong and while everyone else is caught up on ladder-climbing and revenge quests, Soundwave is over here vibing and keeping the whole cause together.

2. The Femme Fatale, but a man

This is not sexy suave abusive asshole hero you’re supposed to root for, who’s a male power fantasy. This is literally the exact same trope, but a man. Meaning, he gets the same revealing uniform, the same “I’m letting you think you’re in charge but really I’m pulling all the strings”. Crucially, he’s straight, because most of them are gay-coded (because the man being in the submissive, ‘girly role’ is horrifying, he must be gay). This dude weaponizes toxic masculinity, making the villains extremely uncomfortable and throwing the villain’s own power fantasy back in their face.

This dude unabashedly flirts with his captors just to get in their heads, removes all concepts of personal space, and makes straight villains seriously question their sexuality. He has social engineering down to a science. I’m sure there’s one that exists, but every one I can think of is already queer-coded and that’s not good enough. So just. Black Widow. But a man.

3. Mary Sue/ Gary Stu who becomes the villain

Since these characters are the product of insecurity and lack of self-awareness… the example for this trope is Titan from Megamind. This character is absolutely the hero of their own story, practically perfect in every way. They think they’re the best at everything without trying, flawless in features and personality, and everybody loves them. And genuinely, they are just that good.

So good, that they live long enough to become the villain. Obviously people who write Mary Sues with full sincerity have no idea that anything’s wrong or problematic, but a genuine Mary Sue whose perfection is their greatest flaw without them even realizing it would be an interesting villain because I’m getting sick and tired of “sympathetic” villains who are really starting to feel like excuses for abusers to be abusive because they were smacked around as a kid.

4. Paragon who is wrong, but also right?

Apparently I’m in a Transformers mood today. There’s an episode where the Autobots’ medic/second in command does the whole “desperate scientist tests their invention on themselves with horrible results” trope and he gains the strength and speed he otherwise hasn’t had in like, eons, and starts kicking ass and taking names (and committing war crimes) to the point where his team is like “uh, buddy, slow down a bit, you’re starting to act like a Decepticon”.

The best part of that episode is where Ratchet (medic) completely unloads on Optimus about how he’s too soft, about how he’s had a million chances to end the war and murder Megatron (which is true) and yet Optimus lets the window pass again and again still hoping for Megatron’s redemption… while in the process, countless Autobots keep dying, collateral keeps happening, all because Optimus is stubborn and won’t just get it over with.

We know Ratchet is right, because throughout the next season, Optimus is a bit more… shall we say, ruthless, in trying to legitimately end the war, Megatron’s redemption be damned. But that episode ends with Ratchet nearly dying when trying to kill Megatron himself, and understanding that the Autobots are Autobots for a reason, because they’re “good,” and sinking to the enemy’s level won’t be a good foundation for a peaceful post-war survival of their species. Point being, sometimes being a Paragon is an incredibly selfish virtue.

5. Parents who know what’s up

So, while I am a firm supporter in the dead parent cliché because parents are super inconvenient sometimes, when it’s not that kind of story and the parents are a big part of the plot… while also being idiots (like Disney and Nickelodeon sitcoms circa 2008), just to make the kids sound smarter, it’s just been done to death. Everything you could think of, your parents probably did when they were your age so having competent parents in the plot as a well-meaning obstacle that continues to surprise the hero is pretty rare in stuff like YA. Usually it’s “I must lie to them to keep them safe” meanwhile Sally Jackson is over here murdering her husband with Medusa’s severed head.

They don’t have to join the hero team, but parents painted as bumbling idiots is a disservice to the mischievous teenagers they used to be. Or just the parent who really does know the kid better than they do, like when kids anxiously come out and the parent is like “honey I knew since you were 3 let’s go get ice cream”. I didn't watch Glee but that one dad who was like "son all you wanted was a pair of sensible shoes, I knew." So yeah. Smart parents. More please.

[degloved]

the main "criticism" (term used loosely) of saw x by and large seems to be not the cruelty of the traps themselves, but the utterly inadequate time given to complete them. cruelty does sort of come with the territory & debating the "right" dose for a saw movie is an exercise in futility, yet the almost laughably and woefully meager three minutes on the clock seem to be something of a hang-up to most people. "how were they meant to beat these traps?" "shouldn't john have given them a chance?" "valentina came so close, she did everything, it's not fair" which, while seemingly reasonable questions, all find their answer in one small fact: john kramer has an insatiable hunger for revenge. this is a character flaw that he himself cannot abide by, that he finds… distasteful. the jigsaw dogma is a metaphorical wool that he pulls over his own eyes, it's a distraction from the truth, it's his copium. the man invented a pseudo-religion to justify his crimes, which is… well, haven't men been inventing religions for this express purpose since the dawn of time? it's only in line with the trend.

point being, his gracious gift of a whole three minutes to saw one's leg off and extract bone marrow, to saw one's skull open and pick out brain matter, to break one's bones while being cooked alive by a radiation machine—it's… for his benefit more than anyone else's. deep down, he's never expected them to beat their tests. he never expects anyone to do so (but if they do, it's whatever at that point—because at the very least they've suffered.) though that's a tough pill to swallow, and he chooses not to. time and time again, he chooses not to. when he sat on that bench in that park, enjoying a lovely day out while fantasizing about a petty thief getting his fingers broken one by one & getting his eyes sucked out, he revealed everything. he revealed how much of a farce rehabilitation is, he revealed how much he'd rather see a person killed horribly than anything else. he revealed that he too likes how brutality feels.

he'd have us think the victims are picked somewhat at random, that he's simply being a good samaritan giving any old lowlife nobody a "new chance at life." he's not! cecil caused the death of gideon. amanda was one of the reasons cecil did what he did (and btw do not for a second think that hoffman was going to tell john something he didn't already know. amanda died for nothing in iii, because why else would have john targeted her in the first place?), easton and his buddies fucked john over insurance-wise, bobby offended john's sensibilities, kerry was too deep in the case, lawrence was a bit of a dick to him at the hospital... so on and forth. every last one of them a target of john's revenge fantasies, even if they did arrive wrapped up in layers of delusion and grandeur.

he still loved amanda though. and make no mistake abt that

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

What do the misogynists who threaten Maria da Penha, the woman after whom Brazil's domestic violence law is named, want?

It even sounds like a movie plot: a woman, after suffering numerous attacks and two murder attempts by her then husband, becomes paraplegic as a result of the crimes, but does not lower her head. She goes to fight. And her battle for justice is so strong and important that she becomes the name of a law that criminalizes domestic violence against women. And it changes women's rights across the country for the better.

I'm talking about Maria da Penha Maia Fernandes, this incredible activist who gives her name to Brazil's Maria da Penha Law. This woman should be celebrated as the hero she is and today, at 79 years old and still fighting at the head of the institute that bears her name, and should receive only our tributes, honours, and respect.

But no. Last week, the Minister of Women, Cida Gonçalves, confirmed that Maria da Penha would be included in the state of Ceará's Program for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (PPDDH) after receiving online attacks and threats from far-right fanatics, including incels, red pills, and other types of woman haters.

"It is unacceptable that Maria da Penha is going through this process of revictimization even today in Brazil, 18 years after lending her name to one of the most important laws in the world for preventing and combating domestic and family violence against women", stated the minister. And she's right.

Fake news

Attacks don't happen out of nowhere. They follow a very common logic to attacks carried out by digital militias. At the end of last year, Maria da Penha's attacker, Marco Antonio Heredia Viveros, who was sentenced to eight years in prison for trying to kill her and has already served his sentence, filed a request for a review of the case, claiming that he was innocent and victim of a flawed process.

Along with this, there are several theories circulating on social media that Maria da Penha was the victim of a robbery and not a crime committed by Viveros. The Public Ministry of Ceará rejects these statements: "The process took place with all the possibility of contradiction and ample defense, on both sides. Upon analysis of the evidence, the Court determined that Maria da Penha's ex-husband committed a double attempted murder against the victim." I'm talking about serious institutions of law and the rule of law. He was convicted. The Public Prosecutor's Office claims that the trial followed all the rites and was correct. End.

But, in times when the truth is worth so little and hatred is on the rise, websites and channels linked to the extreme right in Brazil have started to raise suspicions about the process. Maria da Penha would be a big liar. And her aggressor, the victim. In the narrative spread throughout the basements of the internet, Maria da Penha became a villain, a horrible woman, who allegedly set up a plot against a "poor man".

This is not a new procedure in times of fake news (and I repeat that I am sticking to court decisions here and not to fanciful stories).

It is also not uncommon for women who are victims of violence and abuse to be "revictimized" in abuse proceedings. From victims, they become evil women who invented things, to crazy women (and many other misogynistic clichés used against women).

The reason for so much hate

The story of Maria da Penha is old. She suffered murder attempts in 1983. But her strength is still enormous. And for that very reason, she is attacked. How dare she fight for justice? Who does she think she is?

Furthermore, there is also, obviously, an attack on the Maria da Penha Law. Calling into question the honesty of the activist who names the law is a clear attempt to discredit the Maria da Penha law.

Other than that, threatening to kill activist Maria da Penha is still a symbolic way of trying to end a law that is so good for women and so bad for its haters.

After all, for those who like to attack women with impunity, this law is quite a problem, isn't it? What do they want? To attack women without paying for their crimes? For women not to have the "privilege" (sic) of defending themselves from their abusive husbands or boyfriends? The return of "in a fight between a husband and wife, no one interferes?" The most radical ones, yes. On X (formerly Twitter) there are several comments to this effect. “F*ck Maria da Penha, I’m going to hit her in the face anyway,” says one guy. Is he talking about the activist or the law? I think both.

In a country where several feminist women are threatened with death, it is not surprising that the same thing happens to Maria da Penha. But how violent is that?

The activist, let's remember, is once again a victim of misogynistic crimes, more than 40 years after surviving two femicide attempts, when she is attacked online (threats and defamation are crimes, although many ignore this fact).

But you can even understand why there is so much hate. Maria da Penha (the activist and the law) mean respect and justice for women. Everything that misogynists hate most and also want to destroy. They won't make it.

Source, translated by the blogger.

[1002701]

The Tri-ni-stte skies hold most of the power of the Tri-ni-stte, even with Talbot's invention running and taking away most of the need for the other rings and pacifiers in the system, they hold a great connection to it as the pillars for the Tri-ni-stte system. This, of course means that they hold a great burden unique to them, but it doesn't mean that they have to hold it alone.

Byakuran's burden comes in getting constant glimpses of other realities. Sometimes the separate realities blend in together for him and he's simultaneously having a casual talk with Tsuna while morning over his dead body. He has to force himself to remember that this is his reality, under the fear that if he doesn't that one day he'll simply forget, overwhelmed by the infinite other universes. On certain days it feels like he will slip away from his reality and end up in a new one, but Tsuna and Yuni will ground him in this one, remind him that at the end of the day, this is where he belongs. It doesn't completely ground him, but it does make it easier for him to stay focused on his reality.

Yuni's burden comes in the form of visions of the future. They come to her as she sleeps and while most of the time they are minutes, some last for hours. (One particularly long vision even lasts for 4 hours.) Thankfully, life has been mostly peaceful for them since the representative battles ended, so most of them don’t show anything concerning. But, they are in the mafia (despite Tsuna's multiple wishes that he and his friends could just have normal, non-mafia related lives) so some of them are a bit more concerning. Sure, at the end of the day Tsuna and Byakuran can handle themselves in battle (And so can she, if it is necessary) but it doesn't stop her from worrying, sometimes. Sometimes she's too willing to sacrifice herself for them, like her mother and an alternate version of herself did for the world, once. But Byakuran and Tsuna will remind her that she doesn't always have to be so selfless, and that she's allowed to be selfish too. It doesn't mean that she's used to acting selfish, but it does mean that it's a lot easier for her to.

Tsuna's burden comes in getting the memories of the past Vongola ring holders. After all, the Vongola's ring miracle means that the past experiences of it's holders are perfectly engraved into it, including all of their crimes and atrocities. Sometimes, Tsuna will go through an entire life of them in his sleep and has to remind himself of who he is when he wakes up. (And has to fight down the horrible feeling that comes from the memories of so many people begging him to spare them, and how these pleas are ultimately ignored and they are killed). Sometimes Tsuna's fight to not become corrupted by the mafia feels like a pointless one and he wonders if he will commit just as many atrocities as the other ring holders did. But Byakuran will be there to remind Tsuna of the strength of his character, and Yuni will remind him of all of the good things that he has already done, and it doesn't completely clear away his doubts but it helps.

The burden of the Tri-ni-stte is a heavy one, sure, but it's not one that they have to bear alone.

[eleanoroliphant]

laura,,,, what’s your take on season 5? what were your ups and downs and what is your overall opinion?

i'm aware and so sorry i'm horribly late with this, i didn't realise i forgot about this ask until i did my season 5 rewatch. sorry again!

in case you're still interested (which you probably aren't!)

i comparatively liked season 5 because fred wasn't in it. i always thought serena was the better character (character doesn't equal person, although she's probably also a better person), and strahovski the better actor, between the waterfords, and i couldn't stand watching fiennes anymore. the fact that he wasn't around allowed me to enjoy season 5 more than i did 3 and 4.

unfortunately, just because i found the show was better it doesn't mean it's good anymore. it's desperately trying to be game of thrones and it's not. at this point, i see it as a soap with some dystopia used as background. the world building has gone down the toilet (what do you MEAN no one's ever seen the girls in purple? did gilead just invent this new color code or were they blind?), no one's believable anymore, laws are simply made up as we go.

i don't buy nick as ambiguous any more than i did in earlier seasons, which was little anyway. no one seems to notice he has nothing of the bigot or religious extremist he should be and he's just a thoroughly good person who doesn't belong in there. and characters who are supposed to have more urgent matters to deal with will just randomly have conversations on how much he and june love each other like it's a bridgerton novel.

lawrence is one of the biggest disappointments. not that i hate him, but he's become just a completely good man now, you can tell the writers love his one liners so much that they've resorted to completely erase his complexity and forget the fact that he came up with some of the most horrible stuff in the state. the audience already love to blame it all on serena anyway, and there's nothing bruce miller likes more than villainising her while absolving every single man around her from his crimes.

lydia should be much more fascinating but just like the flashback episode about her did nothing to explain her conversion i don't see why the new events would believably bring her to reason now rather than earlier. the girls were already in terrible pain before. what's changed?

and then there are june's plot armour and closeups, both a joke at this point. moss is very good and her struggle between being an inherently good person but also a traumatized survivor is great television, but the show suffers from spending all that time with her. the commanders can't seem to have any other topics to discuss. she can't possibly be the only handmaid who's smart, mad and resourceful enough to be a danger.

and when was the last time moira was allowed to do something relevant? it's bad enough that black people tend to die on this show, the ones that are still alive have little to do apart from supporting june and probably eventually dying so she can have the romantic endgame the fans want.

overall i'm stuck with this show, especially serena and lawrence (well, and mark) tbqh with you, i will definitely be watching the final season, but i found the testaments to be terrible so i also kind of can't wait to be done with it.

i am terribly sorry again and i hope you're doing well! xx

[alparlaboratories]

Even when I write him doing unspeakably horrible science in my stories, I can never get over how funny Colress is as a character. Mr. Malpractice himself. One day he figured out he could do as many unethical experiments as he wanted if only he worked for evil CEOs and ecoterrorists and he never went back. My man didn't hesitate for a second.

His MO is to develop and then sell dangerous tech to evil people, then hit the bricks right before they get beaten up by a 10-year old and eventually arrested. He has one of the highest bounties at Interpol HQ. He can't wait to invent new ways for Pokemon to explode shit and devastate everything around them. He's a really pleasant guy if you put the war crimes aside. His hair looks like that.

How can you not love the guy.

[prisoner-000]

speaking of milgram characters being mischaracterized, i really hate when people either stick new headcanons on characters that make them lose agency in their crime (making them appear more 'innocent') but also i hate when people try to just completely make shit up about a character because "what we've seen of this character isn't 'guilty' enough".

example 1: people inventing a specific bully/abuser for fuuta that forced him to cyberbully other people. his whole character revolves around group pressure and how much the will to impress your friends can harm others - making up a new character to effectively shove all this blame onto one person kind of ruins the message about that. no one person was at fault for fuuta's murder; that is his dilemma.

example 2: ...a LOT of kazui theories. examples i've seen include: him being a p*do, him being a sexual ab*ser, him being a misogynist, a creep, or a stalker. kazui's whole deal already is morally gray enough!! whether you forgive him or not for essentially faking his wife's dream life with their empty marriage is up to you, but so many of these theories are just made up to make him appear less forgivable (most of the time because of some pre-existing bias against him as a character). it's frankly baffling because most of these theories have no connection to canon, only really carrying over the 'forbidden desire' aspect.

example 3: mahiru plays both sides of this. some people insist that her boyfriend was abusive and she was just playing along, while others insist that she was a crazy stalker murderer who abducted her boyfriend and made him fall in love with her by force. one of these completely strips her of her agency as a character, the other makes her into a generic yandere character who is violent and cutesy for the sake of being violent and cutesy. these both look past mahiru as a person first and a girlfriend second. she grew up isolated from people she could get into a relationship with, according to societal norms, and jumped at the chance to get into a relationship. she didn't mistake kidnapping a person for love, she didn't immediately fall for a horrible person. it's a complicated situation she finds herself in, not her or her boyfriend are the villain.

(i could also get into muu here, amane, kotoko... any character really.)

it's extremely frustrating to discuss milgram with some people who do anything to make their favorite character appear as a perfect angel or completely put down other people's favorites for non-canon reasons. it's a project you can draw your own conclusions from, sure, but a writer is still writing milgram. it's not all up in the air and vague.

[space-blue]

I'm so glad there are people discussing the politics of Arcane! It's something that bothered me too while watching. One thing I wish they had portrayed more fairly was Silco's time in power. I mean, we only get one montage of the more advanced industrialized Zaun with clean air stations, and only one mention of "Silco the Industrialist." Meanwhile his Shimmer business got episode upon episode of "look at how evil this is".

It even seems to be common for watchers to think he was ONLY doing Shimmer. So many people didn't pick up on the industrialization of Zaun, the cars and new machinery, nor the clean air stations. To the point that it's common to say he only destroyed Zaun and did nothing to improve it. I'm just like.... why did the show not put in more effort to portray both sides of the coin of Silco's operations, especially when his faction is the ONLY one specifically fighting for independence from their oppressors. Just seems like an odd choice.

I feel like Silco has more implied time in the way he talks to the chembarons. He makes it quite clear that HE brought them up here, and they're now corrupted by their time in the sun. And it's set in a gorgeous cultivair... So I think Silco making the Lanes wealthy is really undeniable. It's just that making crimelords wealthy is dodgy in itself, even if we assume that everyone got richer and better.

But honestly I want to say... People have a tendency of forgetting that Silco is a private individual. It's not his job to make people richer or to modernise the Undercity. It's not his responsibility to keep the streets clean or control crime.

That's the Council's.

The scene where Jayce looks in wonder/disgust at all the children in the shimmer factory always strikes me as a great moment for him. I've seen a lot of bad takes on it, making Silco EVIL for having kids working there and Jayce GOOD for feeling bad. Like, flashnews, Silco is providing them with stable income! Kids in his factories don't need to steal or prostitute themselves.

Wouldn't it be great though if they didn't have to work at all? No shit. Shall we ask the Council why there is ZERO social wellfare programs for such poor kids in Zaun?

Well, probably because when they don't work at Silco's, they work at Piltovan factories and mines for scraps. Because Piltovans don't have a normal relationship with Zaunites.

Silco is basically the head of a mafia, and he operates in a power vacuum left by Piltover. If the council took an active interest in the well being of Zaunites, if they weren't starved and beaten and killed point blank for wanting rights, there would be no need for Silco's dream, and no show.

I think even if the show made a greater effort to portray both sides, people would still vilify Silco, because "drugs" have such a demonic reputation. What bums me out more is that they made no effort to make separate chemicals, and ended up making shimmer into the philosopher's stone. WHY wouldn't you make shimmer??? It powers crazy cool engines, saves people from imminent death with no visible bad side effects, gives people a strength boost, and is a cool party drug?

Those are all things we're shown as well. It's so weird.

It really bums me out how Ekko talks about the horrors of shimmer, what it did to Zaun as it flooded the streets, and yet what we're shown is a camp of a dozen people, and a couple homeless people begging in the street when Heimer visits. As well as a violent fight.

Like... Yes? Zaun apparently has been the pits for generations. Is that truly the worst you have? A few addicts and 1 homeless beggar? As well as being "told" it affected families?

I totally get this is horrible, but we are shown a lot more screen time of shimmer being super OP when well used, and used for years without bad effects at that, via Sevika. It makes the criticism sort of moot, especially after one drop of shimmer saves Vi from a horrendous gut wound.

I highly doubt Silco invented poverty or addiction. The show makes it seem like those are his responsibility in equal measure because he commercializes shimmer (which is true) and because they need him as a villain. If shimmer is too good, then he'll become a straight up hero, instead of an anti-hero in villain clothing.

The show just wouldn't commit to have the third act fully go with 'the council are the villains, Silco is in the right', and I genuinely think it's because Riot is an American Company owned by a Chinese one, and that nobody up the foodchain really wants a story in which an underdog character is morally justified in exacting violence on the powerful.

It's my tinfoil hat theory. The hopeful tinfoil says that the writers did their best to give us that story but couldn't realise it fully. The dark tinfoil says that everyone involved is too far deep the neoliberal hellhole to escape centrist narratives (in which Ekko and his useless, powerless artsy rebels are the true heroes).

I'm happy to take the show as it is though, and fill in the blanks my way. I don't have to bend the canon's arm too much to tell a politically charged story that fits my desires!

[elohyou]

yknow what would be a really silly goofy rottmnt (could be for all iterations but. Im a rise artist) au???

so theyre still turtles. but only if they. i dont. know. come in contact with. pizza. or something.

MORE UNDER CUT

so its like that h2o series— theyre humans most of the time but secretly theyre turtles that fight crime in the night but to do that they have to consume pizza

THIS COULD CAUSE SOME FUNNY MOMENTS LIKE. IN SCHOOL OR SMTH THEYRE ALL KNOWN AS THE KIDS WHO ARE ALLERGIC TO PIZZA. which makes them very sad because they Love pizza so if theres like pizza for lunch or smth THEY CANT EAT IT (its okay guys school pizza’s mid anyways) or if theyre hanging out with friends or at a bday party. THEY CANT HAVE PIZZA… OHHHH THE HORROR…… CUZ THEYRE TRYNA KEEP THEIR NINJA TURTLE IDENTITY A SECRET

imagine if a friend comes over and see pizza boxes in the recycling… like maybe:

friend: hey why are there pizza boxes in the recycling? i thought you guys didnt have pizza

the turtle boys:

the turtle boys: our. dad. ate it.

friend: your. barely 5 feet tall father ate 3 boxes of pizza

the turtle boys: yes.

AND LIKE THE AMOUNT OF PIZZA THEY EAT = MORE TIME AS TURTLES…. OOOHHH AND THEY EXPERIMENT A LOT WITH WHAT COUNTS AS PIZZA SO THAT THEY COULD HAVE PIZZA ON THE FLY SO LIKE THEYRE FIGHTING CRIME AND IN THE MIDDLE FO THE FIGHT THEYRE JUST LIKE “hey gimme a second” *eats a frozen solid pizza pocket* “alr we’re good”

maybe donnie invents some kinda compact pizza cube thingy (with mikey’s help for Flavor) too…

AND MAYBE THE TOPPINGS OF THE PIZZAS GIVE THEM A LITTLE BOOST ON A CERTAIN ASPECT OF THEIR POWER OR SMTH… LIKE RED PEPPER FLAKES/JALAPEÑO GIVES AN OOMF TO THE RAW POWER… MUSHROOMS… increase their size hehaha mario ETC

i think i came up with this au because i had pizza for a solid 2.5 meals today. It was the same exact pizza as well. Bbq chicken. I DONT LIKE BBQ CHICKEN. BUT I HAD IT ANYWAY. CUZ IT WAS PIZZA.

Anyways tldr its tmnt but theyre humans sometimes and cant have pizza in new york! Im thinking the name will be teenage mutant pizza turtles— no thats horrible… BUT IT FITS. IT FITS.

[yourpalmickeymouse]

Mickey, who would you say is your worst foe?

Mortimer, Pete, the blot, Julius, the mad doctor, or-

.....Other names I can't think of right now.

P.S, is it possible to be asking you too many questions? Don't wanna be a bother!

Hello hatred-n-hav0c,

Don't worry about askin' too many questions. I like answerin' them. Though it may take me a while to get to them all, haha. 😅

As for my worst foe. Gee, that's a toughie. I deal with a lot of terrible people who are all awful in different ways, it's hard to compare 'em. It doesn't help that it seems like every year each one tries to outdo themselves in horribleness.

I mean just goin' the list you mentioned, like Mortimer...

Well... So listen, Mortimer definitely can be a pain in the butt and I definitely wish he would get a clue and leave Minnie and me alone, but I dunno if I would call him my worst foe. To be honest he is more of an annoyance than anything. A BIG annoyance mind you. But nothin' I can't handle. He usually ends up embarassin' himself anyways haha.

Pete on the other hand is a piece of work. He's a big bully who uses his larger size to beat his way into what he wants. It doesn't help that he's a pretty crafty menace. Able to come up with all sorts of new ways to commit crimes and teamin' with just the right person to help him with the job. I've definitely dealt with him way more than I wish and would definitely put him up there near the top of my list.

In fact there's a lot of people I would put up there, Doublejoke with his nasty tricks, Miklos with his frustratin' mimicry, Portis with his immoral experiments (I think this is the mad doctor you are talking about?), Sylvester with his sinister schemes, Dr. Vulter with his harsh cruelty, Ecks, Doublex, and Triplex with their inhumane inventions (they could be the mad doctor I guess), The Rhyming Man with his... evil rhymes... I'm gettin' off track

To answer your question, I really think any of these guys could be my worst foe on any day. Dr. Vulter and the Rhyming Man are pretty particularly awful, but I feel like I don't see them as much. I mean Pete is more of a consistent threat in Mouseton. I feel like he is the one I have to deal with the most. I feel kinda connected to him as if we've been foes in many timelines or some nonsense like that. But I feel like the severity of his crimes varies, and sometimes he could even be reasoned with. I guess that leaves...

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention...

Him.

I talked 'bout him before. But the Phantom Blot is one of the worst. He's a twisted megalomaniac with no sense of morality and just doesn't know when to quit. I have to be vigilant when I am on a case he's involved in, or risk dealin' with a vicious surprise attack or trap he planned for me. I don't know why he specifically makes me feel this uncomfortable, but he just does. Honestly, sometimes I wish I didn't have to deal with him at all. Yet I oddly feel drawn to him. But someone needs to stop him, and I have a better record than most when it comes to handlin' him.

But maybe I shouldn't pick a "Worst Foe". Wouldn't want any villain to read this and try to outdo the others to get the number one spot. 🙄

[tstain-is-an-idiot]

The Fine Line Between Hate and Love

Melvin Sneedley had never been thought of as a “creative” kid, despite being known as “that nerdy kid who invents things” by the rest of his classmates and teachers. Apparently, inventing things didn't count as “art”. It didn't mean he didn't enjoy art. In fact, he somewhat appreciated it, even reading the comics created by George and Harold. Though he barely understood most of the jokes written by George, it was a different story for Harold's illustrations. At first dismissing them as nothing more than childish slop he was too grown-up for, he found himself growing to admire the talent and effort put into them as the drawings slowly started improving. The anatomy and linework got better and cleaner, and the colouring went from hastily scribbled (in order to push out a new issue of whichever character the boys had fixated on that week), to carefully inked between the lines with markers, leaving no white gaps in sight.

Of course, he'd never let the two boys know he had taken an interest in their comics (particularly the artwork), instead opting to read them whenever he felt there was nobody around to judge him, mostly in his room after school. That was exactly where he was headed as soon as he'd finished up the last of his extra homework (which he'd stay after school to do in an empty classroom, occasionally peeking under the desk at the cover of the latest issue of Captain Underpants that he'd managed to snag earlier), until he heard something coming from across the hall. Melvin quickly buried the comic deep into the back of his schoolbag. Someone else was still there. He listened. It appeared to be coming from the music room. He discarded his pencil with an annoyed sigh and got up from his desk before making his way across the hall to where those horrible sounds were coming from. Closer now, he started to make out the sounds as some people messing around with the instruments that had been gathering dust for years, in particular the sounds of someone attempting to play the piano. Key word being “attempting”.

The door to the recently re-opened music room had a window, but the thick layer of dust it had accumulated over the years it had been locked shut made it difficult for Melvin to make out the figures darting about inside at a first glance. There were two of them, probably fourth-graders the same as he was, and they were darting around the room, messing around with the various instruments and laughing like hyenas at the noises they were making. Well, at least one of them was trying out seemingly every instrument. The other appeared to be sitting at the old piano, trying to figure out the notes, only stopping to giggles at the antics of their crazy friend. Melvin soon recognised the giggles as coming from Harold, meaning that the other kid in the room was probably George, Harold's partner in crime (at least, that's how he'd describe the two of them together).

He thought about going in there and telling them to shut up (because unlike some people he was trying to do his homework in peace, like they should be doing after school), but he decided he'd rather live with the cacophony they were causing than them finding him and figuring out that he read their comics. He slowly slunk back to his desk in defeat and continued his work, gritting his teeth in frustration. He waited until he heard them leaving the school grounds about an hour later (they sprinted down the hallway, as usual disobeying the many ‘’no running' signs that were plastered everywhere) before he, too, made an effort to leave school for the day.

The next week, it was the same story. George and Harold took to the music room the second the bell rang to signal the end of the school day. And then between them they would play ALL of the instruments in the room (at times sounding like they were attempting to play them all at once) for an hour or so before heading home afterwards. This would become a weekly routine for them, much to the annoyance of Melvin. Instead of engaging with the troublemakers (dealing of them for six hours of the day was bad enough as it is), he opted for bringing in earplugs and wearing them during his after-school homework sessions. They weren't the most comfortable things in the world, but anything was better than putting up with George and Harold for an extra hour every week.

A few weeks later, as Melvin had gotten accustomed to his new homework routine, it all changed. To the surprise of everyone, Harold had shown up at school George-less. Apparently George was off sick or something. Melvin scoffed. He wouldn't dream of skipping school just because he was sick. He was the type of kid who, unless he dropped down dead right at that very second, would not miss school due to something as trivial as a cold. He smirked in Harold's direction. The blonde was moping at his desk, clearly upset that his best friend wasn't there with him to joke around in whatever classes they had that day. Melvin breathed a huge sigh of relief. Today was going to be a doozy.

The bell rang at the end of an uneventful school day (thanks to half of the class' comedic duo being absent), and the kids all grabbed their stuff and left the classroom as fast as they could, because anywhere was better than school (unless of course, your name happened to be Melvin Sneedley). He took a relaxed breath as he pulled out his extra worksheets. He figured he wouldn't need the earplugs, as he assumed Harold would have bolted out of school the minute it ended so he could visit his sick friend. The first few minutes of Melvin working on his homework were the most peaceful few minutes the kid had experienced since George and Harold had discovered the art of pranking. That was how he liked it, just him and his work in complete silence. He could already taste the extra credit.

About ten minutes in, as per previous weeks, he once again picked up a sound coming from the music room, but this time it was different. Yes, it was the familiar sound of the keys of the old piano being pressed, but it was like the person playing the notes was genuinely trying to learn how to play a coherent tune. Aside from the odd wrong note and the slam of discordant keys whenever the player obviously felt that they had screwed up, whoever this mystery pianist was was actually sounding pretty good.

Curiosity got the better of him, and he once again abandoned his work to go and see exactly who was playing the piano. Aside from the few teachers who stayed behind after the school day to grade papers and host extra-curricular activities, he couldn't think of anyone else (besides himself) who would willingly stay in school after the day was done.

The door to the music room had slowly but surely began to lose it's coating of dust in those previous few weeks, due to being in constant use once again. This time, Melvin was actually able to clearly see into the room. There, sitting at the piano, trying his best to play a simple melody was none other than Harold Hutchins. The bespectacled fourth-grader let out a quick gasp before ducking out of sight and comprehending the scene he had just witnessed.

Harold playing the piano? He had no idea Harold even had the attention span to learn the piano, but no, there he was, gently pressing the keys in order to play a short but sweet little tune. Melvin let his breath catch up with him before slowly resuming his position of staring through the glass window of the door. He could see Harold's determined face as he tried over and over again to get his song just right. Melvin caught his reflection in the glass pane as he was staring at the other boy. His usually pale cheeks were gaining a little bit of colour, and he got a weird sort-of feeling in his chest. He quickly dismissed any thoughts he had in that moment and dashed back into the classroom across the hall, vowing that no matter what he would bring his earplugs in and not let some silly music distract him from the more important things he was supposed to be doing.

Unfortunately the next week, he ‘accidentally’ left them at home, meaning he once again had to be subjected to the mayhem of the music room after school. George had returned to school that week, but fortunately he had ditched his assault of the instruments in favour of brainstorming new comic ideas, so Melvin could hear the beautiful sounds of Harold's piano playing. Scratch that. They weren't beautiful. He kept telling himself that he only listened to his piano playing because it was impossible to block out the sound of it, it certainly wasn't because he enjoyed it. He'd already decided to never go near the music room after school again, but for some reason he found himself returning again. And again. The same time every week, just to hear the (mostly) delicate sounds of the piano that stood in the old music room. Was he more drawn to the melodies, or the boy playing them?

With every passing visit, that line slowly became more blurred until eventually it ceased to even exist at all. Harold really was improving each time he played, and for some reason even in class Melvin couldn't help but direct his gaze towards him when he thought no-one else was looking. It's as if the blonde had unintentionally put some sort of spell on him, causing him to gradually notice (and eventually admire) his many quirks, both physical or otherwise.

The way he'd stash coloured pencils in the curls of the absolute mess of golden hair he had. Or how when the light hit them just right, you could see that his eyes were in fact two different colours, one green and one blue, resembling the colours of the globe that sat across the class from them at the teacher's desk. How his face would light up whenever you brought up marine biology, and how he would always end up shifting the conversation towards being about dolphins. What the rest of the class failed to notice, was that just as one face sparked with joy when marine life got brought up, so did another. A freckled face, usually covered up by a book and a mildly unamused expression would light up in almost the exact same way as his vastly more popular classmate's did.

A warm feeling tickled Melvin's cheeks once again, dusting them a soft shade of pink as he recalled the smile of the boy who had somehow stolen his heart… wait, no! He didn't have a crush on Harold Hutchins of all people, did he? One of the boys who was responsible for countless pranks directed at himself and most of the school faculty, and a constant target of his tattling? That would honestly be the most embarrassing thing to ever happen to him, possibly even more so than the possibility of being found reading Captain Underpants comics, and yet there he was, blushing like an idiot over him and possibly missing out on some extra credit, just to stand in the doorway of the music room listening to him repeat the same set of notes over and over again on the piano.

George was usually blocking the way to Harold, lying down and furiously scribbling what Melvin presumed to be new ideas for their latest issue, but the ginger didn’t mind. After all, it wasn’t as if Melvin wanted to be closer to the piano.

Although, when George decided to move his usual spot, Melvin couldn’t help but notice that if he wanted to he could enter unseen. Despite their excessive use of the room, they never turned on any lights but one, possibly to not attract the principal’s attention, and he was a rather small fellow to begin with.

Without realizing it, he took a step inside, just barely across the threshold. Just like expected, the darkness engulfed him and the two remained unbothered, too busy in their heads as always. Harold was still covered in more shadows than Melvin liked, but now he was only half hidden.

As his fingers danced across the keys he softly hummed along to the tune, so quietly you would miss it if not actively searching. His singing was soft and melodic, a sharp contrast from his loud and bombastic voice Melvin was used to. It was fragile and delicate, almost as much as glass. The melody itself was upbeat and gorgeous in its own way, which fit Harold in that aspect, he mused.

Heaven knew that he had the attention span of a goldfish, yet he hadn’t taken his eyes off his hands, focusing on it more than he’d ever focused for a test. It felt almost wrong, for the boy to not glance around the room and fiddle with whatever he had on him constantly. Furthermore, his smile was small and gentle, nothing like his infuriating smirk he wore when setting a prank or successfully annoying Melvin.

Before, Melvin would believe it didn't fit on such a person, but recently he observed the same expression when talking about what he liked, sketching, or seeing a friend. Unnoteworthy, but certainly there once you looked for it (in fact, that seemed to be true with a lot of his quirks.)

He hadn’t noticed, but he slowly inched his way closer to the piano, now only a few yards away. Snapping out of his trance, he tightened his hold on the books now against his chest, turning around to leave. His homework wasn’t going to do itself, and he wouldn’t dream of letting some stupid music drag his GPA down.

He tip-toed away, cringing when a book slipped out of his grasp and clattered to the floor.

Frozen like a deer in headlights, he didn't even get to turn around before his fears were confirmed.

“Hey.”

[velvetvexations]

"I haven't heard from the pro-kink/ship crowd since it came out that"

listen

pal

unless they invented a brand new never before conceived violation of human life and dignity this is unlikely to be the crime that changes my mind about jailing people for writing noncon

like I think there's been enough horrible stuff IRL and throughout literally every single day of human history since the species crawled out of the primordial ooze that it's gonna be hard to bring something new to the table you feel me