#and it looks SO good for a book that's nearly 50 years old

[tetrafelino]

bro fabric book covers age so well, why did we ever use anything else

[number44newseries864962]

Need to rant for a minute because even though I have very much been enjoying the fruits of my efforts learning how to sew vintage style clothes, I just swapped out old fatphobia (nice plus size vintage clothes never making it to stores) for new fatphobia (trying to find patterns). Cause it doesn't end at what clothes you're able to buy already made.

I finally bought a Friday Pattern Company pattern the other day, and man it made the bare minimum feel like I was being spoiled. The sizes go up to 7X (that's XL, XXL, 1X, 2X, etc, so there's 9 sizes above L) they had a thin and a fat model on the cover! Usually I'm barely lucky enough to get an XL, and I'm just expected to guess how it's going to look on my body. The majority of their patterns have two differently sized models on the covers, and all of them have that full range of patterns inside.

It is so hard to find good plus size patterns, even if they're available, many companies just scale up their mediums and I can't guarantee they're actually sized correctly for a different shape. As good as Friday is, them and other modern indie pattern companies aren't easy to find.

Okay well what if I went another step deeper, what if I forgo patterns all together and decide to be completely independent and draft things myself?

Then I'll need a plus size dress form. I got lucky and found one at an antique mall for 50$ but these are incredibly rare and more expensive than smaller ones. I'll need to learn how to draft patterns, something that was taught to me on a XS form by my college and nearly every tutorial out there. Drafting close fitting clothes for fat bodies is a completely different skillset, because all that extra fat is much squishier and shifts more. Measuring yourself correctly and getting the shape you're looking for is far more important. Before I even got there I'd need to sketch out what I wanted to make, right? Well the patterning book my family got me only shows you how to draw tall, skinny people. A beginner would have to look up their own drawing references and tutorials because what what supposed to be a super accessible beginner's guide to fashion has decided their body isn't normal enough for the baseline tutorial.

We're expected to be the ones who put in the extra effort. Digging to find the pattern companies that fit our shape and actually prove they can, paying extra in shipping or driving farther to pick them up. Having to search specifically for plus size tutorials for drafting and sketching. It's always treated like it's not part of the beginner's experience to be working with a fat body, that's just going to make people more frustrated and lost and less likely to pursue something they're excited about! Especially if it's in response to already being frustrated about the lack of clothing options.

We need a little positivity to this post so to end on a high note, here's me modeling the blazer I just finished with a shirt I made a couple years ago!

Being able to finally wear clothes I really feel like me in has been an amazing confidence boost. It's not fair that there's so many roadblocks in the way for someone who looks like me who just wants to wear things they enjoy.

[the-offside-rule]

Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid) - Moving

Requested: yes

Prompt: Moving in with Jude Bellingham (this came at a good time cuz my fyp is FULL of Jude)

Warnings: cutesy shtuff

"Jesus, whys there so much books?" Jude asked as he unpacked a third black box filled to the brim with various schoolbooks. "University. I don't think I need to explain further." Y/n replied as she stacked the books onto the newly constructed shelf. "Yeah, but why so many? I thought everything was online nowadays."

Jude couldn't hide his excitement as he helped Y/n move into their new place in Madrid. The air was filled with a mix of anticipation and laughter, creating an atmosphere of warmth and joy. Jude grinned as he lifted another box, "You sure you want all these books in our room, babe?" Y/n chuckled and took a few, placing them on the Shelf above their bed. "Absolutely! They're part of the charm. Plus, they'll have a good view from the shelf." AsAs they unpacked, memories unfolded. Y/n held up an old photo, "Look at us here! Can't believe it's been that long." Y/n stumbled upon another photo of them in the Camp Nou. Their first holiday as a couple. "Remember that trip to Barcelona? Our first adventure together." It was....ironic how he ended up going to the rival team but that was a funny story to tell in the future. She grinned, handing it to her boyfriend. Jude chuckled. "Yeah, and now we're making a new chapter right here in Madrid. Who would've thought?"

They set up a cozy reading nook, and Y/n teased. "Imagine the adventures we'll have in this little corner." She winked. "Behave. I won't bother you when you're there. I'll wait until you get out." Jude said, undoing another box. "We both know you're impatient." She smiled. "You're awfully rude, you know." He muttered. "You love me really Jude."

Amidst the unpacking chaos, they found a quirky souvenir from a past vacation. Y/n held up a miniature flamenco dancer. "We got this in Barcelona too, didn't we? Jesus, I nearly forgot all of these." She turned to see Jude holding a cinema ticket and a receipt. "What's this?" He asked. "Remember our first date to the cinema? I kept the ticket." Jude nodded. "Ah yeah. How could I forget? I spilled popcorn and pretended it was intentional, just to hold your hand." Jude chuckled. "You were quite the romantic back then." Jude held her closely and smiled down to her, just centimeters from her face. "I still am, especially when it comes to you."

"You still know how to make me blush." Jude chuckled. "You'd swear we were married for like 50 years with how you're going on." Jude laughed. "Oh but I love these little tokens. It reminds me of how we got here." She said, holding the ticket in her own hand now. "Our own little museum of love." He joked. "Oh shut up." They shared a playful laugh, turning mundane tasks into moments they'd remember forever.

In between assembling furniture, Y/n looked at Jude with a mischievous grin. "Remember when we tried to build that IKEA shelf? It took us hours!" Jude shook his head. "I still blame the instructions. They're like a secret code only IKEA employees understand." Jude said trying to connect the leg to the new desk. "Or the Swedish." They both burst into laughter, turning the furniture assembly into a lighthearted competition.

While setting up Y/n's study space, Jude couldn't help but express his pride. "You're going to nail uni, Y/n. I'll be right here cheering you on." Y/n playfully tapped his nose. "We cam be eachother's cheerleaders. Go team us!" She smiled. "But I haven't exactly been the best cheerleader, have I?" Jude said. "It's understandable." Y/n replied. "I don't think it is. It would have been understandable for you to not come to my games and support me but you still did. But it's my turn now and I promise I'm going to cheer you on louder than anyone else." Y/n reached out her hand and he took it, interlocking their fingers and kissing them. "I am so happy you're finally here." He whispered.

They shared a sweet moment, realizing that every challenge they faced only brought them closer together. "Come on, last box." Y/n said, handing the heavy box to Jude. He obviously underestimated how heavy it was because he nearly dropped it. "Don't you deadlift at training?" Y/n teased. "Come here you!" She giggled as she ran from Jude around the house, further delaying them actually finishing up the moving process.

As the day unfolded and the furniture set up, the items and memorabilia all set in their place, the couple sat by the pool with the fireplace ablaze, sipping on coffee, and enjoying the peace and quiet of eachother's company. "This is home now, isn't it?" Y/n said, leaning into Jude. He nodded. "Our safe haven. Here's to new beginnings, love." They clinked their coffee mugs, sealing the promise of countless more memories Madrid, in what would now be known as their home.

The day ended with laughter echoing through the halls, love lingering in the air, and the anticipation of countless tomorrows in a city that now held not just their dreams but their shared adventures and cherished moments.

[cinnamontoastcrunch-15]

You know how with hippies they sometimes meet new people and instantly vibe with them because they're on the same spiritual level? Yeah this happened to Remus once with another person and Sirius was not having it. S was convinced that R would get it in their head that it was a sign that they're dating the wrong person and leave him so he just sort of tries to be a hippie for the day. Remus thinks it was adorable.

THIS THIS THIS

So this oneshot takes place much earlier in their relationship just to make it a bit more feasible because I fully believe that after a few years Sirius was part hippie by nature, so here’s hippie Remus and scientist Sirius a couple of months in :)

Sirius glanced around the small bookshop and bit back a smile. Of course Remus worked there. Everything about them was becoming less and less surprising. Remus had said he’d probably be on till, so Sirius strolled past the shelves adorned with vines and string lights, some with old books, some new, some full of crystals and cards called… tarot? The moment he saw the till, his face brightened. God, what was happening to him? He hadn’t been this sickeningly into anyone since he was 14!

Remus was stood with his elbows resting on the counter, talking to someone who was presumably a customer and laughing. A lot.

Why were they laughing so much?

Sirius stepped a little closer, catching the end of their conversation.

“Sorry, I just have to ask; are you an earth sign, by any chance? I usually get along really well with earth signs.” Remus asked the guy, and Sirius frowned, confused.

What the hell was an earth sign?

“Yeah! Are you a water sign?”

“Yeah, I am.” Remus said with a smile, and Sirius’ heart dropped just a little.

“I’m Edgar, by the way.” The guy introduced himself, as Sirius reached a conclusion that he really didn’t want to reach.

Sirius was… boring.

“I’m Remus.”

He stared at a fucking microscope all day. His house was full of notebooks and equations.

“Well, Remus, we’re meant to be friends.”

Remus was free, interesting. Amazing.

Shit.

“I was thinking the same thing.”

He wasn’t good enough for Remus, with his extensive jewellery, dark purple flowing skirt and white shirt, a gentle brown eyeliner accentuating their amber eyes. Remus lit up a room, Sirius just walked in and analysed stuff. Christ, Remus was probably going to leave him. It had only been a few months, he was probably going to get bored of him in five minutes. He was too sheltered for someone like Remus.

Throughout this very minor and not at all terrifying panic, Remus had looked over and spotted him.

“Sirius! Hi!” Sirius snapped back into reality, trying to slow his own heart. His eyes met Remus’, and everything melted into a smile.

How the hell they could do that, Sirius would never know.

Maybe he really was magic.

“Hi, Rem. You nearly ready to go?”

“Yeah, yeah, almost. As soon as Marlene arrives we can get out of here.” He said, reaching out and squeezing Sirius’ hand, sending a jolt of electricity through him and making his breath hitch. He really couldn’t think like a normal person when he was around Remus. “Oh! This is Edgar!” Remus turned and indicated to him enthusiastically, Sirius’ brain switching back on. He turned and smiled politely at Edgar, ignoring the fact that he wanted to scream. Edgar was covered in crystals. More so than Remus, to the point that it felt like he was 50% stone. Not only that, but they were the ones that Remus had said were his favourites.

It was like the universe was dropping people in between Remus and Sirius in an active attempt to split them up. Sirius almost wanted to start pre-grieving the relationship to prepare for the inevitable breakup. How the hell was he meant to hold on to someone as amazing as Remus when he was just… him?

That was when it hit him.

Surely it couldn’t be that hard to be a hippie. He loved it in Remus, he must have been able to do it himself. There went the next week, while he figured out what he was meant to do.

He was going to be interesting enough for Remus if it fucking killed him.

-

Sirius had been acting off all week.

Remus was good at reading Sirius, and he was pretty sure that Sirius ending any messages complaining about employees with ‘what an air sign’ or ‘the vibes are off with that one’ was pretty out of character. Still, it wasn’t anything too noticeable, not until Remus went over Sirius’ that Saturday.

The moment he opened the door, something felt different.

Firstly, the lights were dimmed, and there was… incense burning? What the hell was going on with Sirius?

“Uh… Sirius?”

“I’m in the kitchen!” He called, as Remus ambled over. The moment he got into the kitchen he stopped, stunned into freezing.

Sirius was wearing a skirt.

A long, flowing, sandy orange skirt.

While Remus’ first thought very well may have been that it was insanely fucking sexy, his second thought was what on earth he was doing. He really wasn’t one for wearing skirts, no matter what a crime it was that he didn’t, and he was baking. As in, not sitting and getting excited about his work like he usually was. It was nice to see Sirius trying new things, but there was something off about it. Like he was trying to fit in to something that he didn’t quite fit into. Not yet, anyway. It seemed like it was making him slightly uncomfortable. He turned around and his face lit up.

Okay, something Remus was used to.

“Rem! Hi!”

“Hey, Sirius. You alright?”

“Yeah, I’m great.”

“Are you sure?” He asked, wanting to get some sort of an answer. The switch had happened so suddenly it was like he had gotten whiplash, and he was desperate for answers.

“…yeah? Why, what’s going on?”

“It’s nothing, don’t worry about it. How was work yesterday?” Remus asked, walking over and kissing him quickly.

“Oh, I- I didn’t go.” Sirius admitted, cringing a little, and Remus almost cringed right alongside him, with the internal struggle Sirius seemed to have had with himself. “Gave myself a day off, you know? To be more… free.”

“Right, Sirius, what’s going on?” Remus asked. As much as he was enjoying Sirius baking in a skirt, him missing work was so odd that he had to get to the bottom of it. According to Sirius, the only other time he had was when he was so ill that James had forced him to go home.

“What d’you mean?”

“I mean you never miss work. You’ve found something you love, that you’re passionate about. That’s important. You’ve been acting different all week, what’s going on?”

“Different as in… bad?” Sirius asked, looking slightly stricken, and Remus’ heart immediately gave a slight tug.

“No, not bad!” He said hastily, quickly composing himself. “Just… different. It feels like you’re not being all that authentic to yourself.” He answered calmly. “You can talk to me. What’s wrong?”

“I just-“ Sirius’ breath caught in his throat as he let his eyes slide shut and took a deep, stabilising breath. “I’m so boring, Rem.” Remus frowned, confused.

“Sorry?”

Since when was Sirius boring?

“I- I saw you talking to that guy, Edgar, at the shop. He was just- he was interesting, and you two got along so well, and it just made me think.”

“Think about what?”

“Remus, you deserve someone like that! Someone who knows which signs are fire signs and won’t talk your bloody ear off about cells!” He exclaimed, going to pace and finally morphing a lot more into the Sirius that Remus was used to. “It felt like a wake up call that, at some point, I would get too boring and you’d leave. Rightfully so. So I took it upon myself to make sure I was someone who deserves to be with you.” Remus watched him for a moment, processing.

Honestly? That was so bloody endearing.

Sirius looked like he was about to start up again any moment, arms flailing just slightly as he paced, pushing Remus to step forwards and grab his wrists gently to stop him. Christ, how Sirius could think he’d ever want anyone else, he’d never know. Couldn’t he see just how completely and utterly perfect he was? Sirius paused, turning and facing Remus, slightly wide eyed.

“Sirius, I don’t think you understand how much I like all of that about you. I really love how passionate you are about your work, how much you care, and how much you care about learning about the things I’m interested in. Just because Edgar knew what they were doesn’t mean I’m going to run away with him, or something. Surprisingly enough, Sirius, I actually love listening to you talk about work. You should see the way your eyes light up. I’m not going anywhere, and you sure as hell don’t have to prove yourself to me.” As he spoke, he slid his hands down from Sirius’ wrists until he had both of his hands in his. He knew he was going to have to tell him. For someone who was typically pretty sure of himself, he was nervous as fuck to tell him. “Christ, Sirius, I don’t just like you, I’m in love with you.”

He had thought Sirius’ eyes were already wide, but it was nothing compared to once he had gotten the words out. Fuck, had he freaked Sirius out? He hadn’t meant to, he had just wanted Sirius to stop panicking about changing. He just wanted Sirius to know he thought that he was perfect-

“I love you too.” Sirius admitted softly, a smile starting to form on his face. Remus smiled straight back, breathing out a relieved laugh.

“Well then we’re set.”

“But what if-“

“No ifs, just kiss me.” Remus answered quickly, moving his hands to pull Sirius in and kiss him. He pulled away shortly after. “I do love the skirt, though. It suits you.”

“Y’know what? I do too. It’s making me question quite a bit about myself, though.”

“Question away, love, I’ll be here for it.”

[moons-cozy-corner]

Deserved it.

Whumpmas in July day three! (I know its the fourth - oops)

CW: Bad Caretaker, violence/gore, murder, force feeding(mention), cussing, abuse, mentions of murder and kidnapping, loss of parent, major character death(s), mental breakdown, torture

3. "______ deserved it"

Caretaker sat on the couch, his head in his hands. He could still hear sobbing coming from the other room, and as much as he tried to tune it out, it wasn’t long before he started getting irritated.

It had only been two days of being in this wretched house. At this point, maybe crying was a good reaction, but Caretaker wouldn't know. All he knew was that it was getting on his nerves, and nothing he did would get her to stop. Not after Whumpee had locked herself in her room. That was almost an hour ago.

But sitting on the couch moping wouldn’t help either of them, would it?

Caretaker stood, pushing on their knees for support, and shuffled over to the fireplace. It was all dusty, covered in old pictures that didn’t belong to him. He traced his fingers over frames of families he didn’t know, all the way down to the last. A small kid, giving the camera a crooked smile. Three teeth were missing, from what the camera could see. A school picture from… 7 years ago. Whumpee would have been 9 years old.

He placed the picture face down and went to the kitchen.

There was half a sandwich in the fridge that Whumpee hadn’t eaten. Caretaker had tried forcing them, but it only earned a fit from Whumpee. So Caretaker ate one half. A compromise. It didn't work.

“They need to eat,” he muttered to himself, grabbing the sandwich and a bottle of water. Taking a deep breath, he made his way down the hall, rapping his knuckles on the cheap wood twice. “Whumpee. Open the door.”

There was no halt in the crying. In fact, it only seemed to get worse. Caretaker knocked on the door. “Whumpee, now. You’re going to get sick, dammit.” When there was still no answer, Caretaker hit the door. “Whumpee, open the door!”

It was a mix of worry and anger. Who was Whumper to dump the kid on him? Caretaker had never dealt with kids before, making it well into his 50’s without having children or grandchildren or nieces or nephews. That wasn’t an accident.

“Leave me alone, Caretaker!” The voice was muffled by both the door and probably the kids' own hands.

Caretaker practically growled. “You need to get the hell over this fit! You need to eat! You need water! You need to- to-” He sighed, trying to open the door. It didn’t budge, to no one's surprise. “Whumpee, c’mon. Give me a damn break, I’m just tryin’ to help you. I- I’ve got a sandwich and some water for you, at least take ‘em.”

He waited a while for an answer, and Whumpees crying slowly subsided to aggressive sniffling. The door unlocked and cracked open to show Whumpee’s red, puffy face.

“Hey,” Caretaker sighed, relieved that the kid at least stopped crying. He tried to give a soft smile, but it didn't feel right on his face. “You don’t have to eat it,” since you nearly hit me last time. “But you do need to drink the water. All of it. You’ve been crying for almost an hour.”

Whumpee stared at the sandwich a second too long before glaring at Caretaker and took only the water, slamming the door shut in  his face. He opened his mouth to yell again, but clamped his mouth shut the next second. “I’ll see you in the morning, Whumpee.” He knew his voice sounded strained, angry, tired. He was all of those things. He didn’t know how to deal with this. He didn't have a niece three days ago.

But right now all he could do was sleep, so that’s what he did. The bedroom felt odd, as it had the last two nights. It wasn’t his room, it was Whumpers, and her room was strange. It was mostly bare, but the books and tapes that remained were… creepy. There were no pictures or posters, only those of Whumpee, and none were happy. Caretaker had placed them all face down since then, and now it only looked more grim.

“Couch it is, then.” 

He had to pass Whumpees room again. They were still crying, though much quieter now. They were also muttering something. It stopped as Caretaker walked by. “I’ll be in the living room if you need me,” he called, waiting only a second before continuing his trip to the sofa. While it wouldn’t be the most comfortable, it wasn’t something he was unused to. 20 years of pushing his luck earned him many nights in the living room.

The couch was softer than Caretaker’s old one, at least. He’d noticed that on the first day, along with how well-kept the rest of the place was, other than the dust issue. It wasn’t too firm, as if it was just bought. It also wasn't too worn, as if it had been used for years. If he had to be dragged away to take care of some far-relative he's never heard of, he was glad it was in a nice house, even if a bit eerie. Then again, Caretaker was used to his worn furniture and messy piles of paper over the tables that only got reorganized once a month or when his wife complained. He didn’t think he’d miss how annoying she was, but… the little things. 

Plopping on his back, he let his mind wander. He didn’t even know he had another sibling, or a niece for that matter. He hadn’t seen his mother since he was a young child. Finding out she’d left him for another life, to have another child to replace him. Well, that turned out well, didn’t it? His mother was dead, and her daughter was taken away, thrown in prison. Caretaker had been an only child… what would life have been like, had he a little sister to look after? He smiles at the thought, but it's quickly overridden. Right, his little sister was a maniac and serial murderer. But he can't help but think that maybe she would have turned out differently, if she had him.

Oh, who was he kidding. He was a shitty person.

He groaned and pulled the blanket over his head, listening to the ticking of a clock he hadn’t realized was there. Had there really been a clock in the living room for the past two days? It had all been really sudden. Like, 'Hey, you have a niece you need to come look after since your half-sister has been arrested for serial murder and multiple counts of kidnapping! Otherwise, this poor child will be sent to the orphanage, and probably fall into a life of crime like her terrible mother!' If it wasn’t for his need for a place to stay and his aching curiosity, that’s where she would be right now.

He woke up without remembering even falling asleep, the blanket was on the floor, and the pillow was somehow on his stomach. He groaned and rubbed his face as he sat up. When he opened his eyes again, he finds himself face-to-face with Whumpee.

“Holy- were you just watching me sleep?” He pushes her back, a bit more aggressively than he meant to. “That’s creepy, kid! You’re 16, why are you acting so-”

The knife was brought down on his leg before he can finish the thought, and he screams as it rips into his jeans, then into his skin, then into muscle. She left it in before backing up and staring at the hilt, the only part that wasn't embedded into his thigh.

“Whumpee! What the hell is wrong with you!” He hovers his shaking hands above the knife, not wanting to yank it out, but not wanting to leave the wretched thing in, either. He reaches for his phone, but he can’t find it. He’d left it in the bedroom last night. “Shit! That fucking hurts! What the fuck, Whumpee?”

She continues to stare, her gaze slowly rising to meet his own, noting how his face scrunches in fear, how his eyes begin to fill with tears . “You deserved it.”

“What the fuck do you mean, ‘I deserved it’? You stabbed me!” There wasn’t much blood, but the sight of a blade sticking out from his leg was terrifying enough. It was dizzying.

Her face scrunches up even more, twisting into a mask of anger. “You hit me the first day you got here! You’ve been yelling at me, you tried to shove a sandwich down my throat yesterday! You came here, and you made it so clear you didn’t care about me! You’ve hurt me more in two days than my mom ever did!” 

She was right, he had hit her. He’d forgotten about it, but she was acting… crazy, that first day. Yelling at police, yelling at him, yelling at CPS, throwing things. Then they left, and she started complaining and yelling over dinner. He’d had enough, and slapped her across the face for being ungrateful and for throwing a fit all day. Anything to get her to shut up.

Now that he was thinking about it, he did feel bad. Not that he could say that now - the situation was a tad bit too sensitive for sudden apologies to sound genuine. He stared at her for a second before speaking again. “Yeah, okay. I deserved it.”

The girl blinks in surprise, the tears that were forming falling down her face. She wipes them away immediately. “Yes. Yes you did.”

Caretaker leaned his head against the sofa, clenching his teeth. “This hurts like a bitch, though. Call an ambulance, won’t you, Whumpee?” He can’t see her face, but the silence tells him all he needs to know. He sits back up with a groan, trying to look at her through a swirling lens. “Whumpee, please.”

The girl is staring at the blade again, the skin around her eyes reddening. “They all deserved it…”

“What..? Whumpee, who are you talking about?” His mind drifted to the girl's mother… his sister, half-sister, to the murders and kidnappings. “Nobody deserves that, Whumpee. Don’t say that. Your mother did terrible things, you realize that, right?”

She shook her head, staring at his leg, never blinking. “She didn’t! E-everything she- everything she did was- was for the best! It was for- for good!”

Caretakers' brows furrowed together, and he started to stand, wincing at the pain in his leg. “You’d better stop this, Whumpee. You know that’s not true.” In all truth, he didn’t know for sure if she knew. He’d only known about this kid for a few weeks, at most, and met her two days ago.

She shook her head and pushed him back so he stumbled back onto the couch. “She made them better. And if she couldn’t make them better, they didn’t deserve to live.” She says it with such finality to it. She believes this, he realizes. His chest tightens and he looks around. “Don’t try to leave! Don’t look so scared as if you’re the victim here! You wanted this, right? Or was it just convenient for you, huh? To take advantage of a child’s situation to get a house? My house! And the first thing you do, on the worst night of my life, is hit me?!” She shook her head and laughed, a dry, humorless breath. “You’re my uncle, you should care! Right? Shouldn’t you care about me?”

“You’re messed up, kid,” he mutters, but she hears him. She starts crying again. What a wretched sound. “Get the phone, Whumpee.” His voice is more stern now, his gaze only focused on her. “You don’t have to get in trouble for this, I won’t tell them that you stabbed me, alright? But I need to go to the hospital.”

“I don’t want to!” She grabs her head, pulling at her hair. “I want my mom back!” Whumpee turns around, and Caretaker finally sees it, the lines that mark her back and arms. She’d been wearing sweatshirts before, but the tank top showed them off too well.

He stood up again, this time slowly with his palms out. “Whumpee, please calm down. Sit down, drink some water, okay?” His wound could wait- it would have to, if she didn’t let him get help. “Did your mother… uh… try to make you better?” He tried to rephrase the words punishment or beating, maybe torture even, to what this deranged girl seemed to believe. 

The girl whipped around to face him again, reaching for her back, eyes blazing. “That’s none of your business old man! But- but even if she did… even if…” Whumpee’s eyes unfocused. “I… she needed to… fix me… I deserved it…”

Caretaker watched her carefully, trying to gauge her emotions, her reactions. “You didn’t deserve that. Did she make you think you did? That you needed fixing?” 

The girl nods, but does nothing else, her gaze fixed somewhere else, a place Caretaker would probably never see. “Whumpee, we need to call the police. Please. For both of us, alright?” 

Her breathing picks up almost immediately, and her hands unwrap from her body as she fully turns to face him. She reached out quickly for the knife before Caretaker could even think to move to grab her, pulling it out of his leg with a sickening squelch, blood spurting out of his leg as he looked down in horror, feeling his throat close itself against his will. “Wh-whumpee- whu- h-holy shit-”

Whatever she hit, it was something important, because he was bleeding out fast, and the dizziness came soon after. “I don’t need fixing, Caretaker! You do! Mom already fixed me, she already did! I have the proof!” 

Caretaker fell down, luckily landing back on the couch, though it felt like he went right through it. His mind was reeling, and his head was spinning. “W-we don’t have ta… call tha… hah..” He couldn’t breath, clutching his chest as he tried to gasp, but doing so only made the world spin even more. It took him a moment to clutch his leg, hard, trying to stop the bleeding. “Won’t tell… need-” He groaned, opening his eyes just long enough to see the blood leaking through his red-stained fingers. His eyes fluttered up to the girl, who was standing over him with the knife. “Whumpee…”

Her resolve grows, her stance becoming more square, stronger. Less of the sobbing, shaking, angry mess she had been. Now she was calm. “It’s what Mom would want, Caretaker. She never wanted siblings.”

And the knife was raised high above her head, the blade swinging down moments later. It was less than a second, but even after it made contact with his chest, he could still only see it falling, over and over again. Caretaker could feel blood filling his lungs as he fell to his side, and could feel the stickiness of the blood-covered fabric beneath him. Through his darkening vision and ringing ears, he could only barely make out the girl's final words to him.

“Sorry, Uncle.” She raises the knife again, slick with his own blood, and turns it towards her own heart.

“We deserve this.”

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[all-pacas]

i'm reading The Shining and ahahaha boy

Like look. It was published in 1977. To say mental health was not super well studied is an understatement. But: [Doctor] Edmonds blinked. "My very words," he said. "Yes. Now I would guess that Danny was in a pretty good position to develop a full-fledged psychosis. Unhappy home life, a big imagination, the invisible friend who was so real to him that he nearly became real to you. Instead of 'growing out of' his childhood schizophrenia, he might well have grown into it." "And become autistic?" Wendy asked. She had read about autism. The word itself frightened her; it sounded like dread and white silence. "Possible but not necessarily. He might simply have entered Tony's world someday and never come back to what he calls 'real things.'"

I'm not trying to criticize Stephen King here. Like I said, it was written in 1975 -- almost 50 years ago! -- and more than that, King has actually always been a clumsily progressive writer, to this day. I'm fully willing to believe he honestly didn't know differently, because that was just what people believed back then. It's just. Fascinating to me. You hear "oh, things were different back then!" but whenever I encounter it in the wild -- in old books, for example -- I'm like. I wanna take notes. It's fascinating how beliefs and cultural views change, almost unremarked. It's particularly fascinating when it's coming from a more progressive, open minded source -- not trying to insult or demean, honestly using the language and beliefs of the day to communicate something utterly and totally incorrect.

[strictlyfavorites]

AUDIE MURPHY

Section 46, Grave 366-11

He wanted to join the Marines, but he was too short. The paratroopers wouldn't have him, either. Reluctantly, he settled on the infantry, and ultimately became one of the most decorated heroes of World War II. He was Audie Murphy, the baby-faced Texas farmboy who became an American legend. Murphy grew up on a sharecropper's farm in Hunt County, Texas. After his father deserted the family, he helped raise his 11 brothers and sisters, dropping out of school in the fifth grade to earn money picking cotton. He was 16 years old when his mother died, and he watched as his siblings were doled out to an orphanage or to relatives. Seeking an escape from this difficult life, Murphy enlisted in the Army in 1942 — falsifying his birth certificate so that he appeared to be 18, one year older than he actually was. 

Following basic training, Murphy was assigned to the 15th Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division in North Africa. First entering combat in July 1943, during the invasion of Sicily, he proved��himself to be a proficient marksman and a highly skilled soldier. He consistently demonstrated how well he understood the techniques of small-unit action. Murphy landed at Salerno, Italy to fight in the Voltuno River campaign, and then at Anzio to be part of the Allied force that fought its way to Rome. Throughout these campaigns, Murphy's skills earned him advancements in rank, because many of his superior officers were being transferred, wounded or killed. After the capture of Rome in June 1944, Murphy earned his first decoration for gallantry.

Shortly thereafter, his unit was withdrawn from Italy to train for Operation Anvil-Dragoon, the invasion of southern France that began on August 15, 1944. During seven weeks of fighting in that successful campaign, Murphy's division suffered 4,500 casualties, and he became one of the most decorated men in his company. But his biggest test was yet to come.

On January 26, 1945, near the village of Holtzwihr in eastern France, Lt. Murphy's forward positions came under fierce attack by the Germans. Against the onslaught of six Panzer tanks and 250 infantrymen, Murphy ordered his men to fall back to better their defenses. Alone, he mounted an abandoned, burning tank destroyer and, with a single machine gun, contested the enemy's advance. Wounded in the leg during the heavy fire, Murphy remained there for nearly an hour, repelling the attack of German soldiers on three sides and single-handedly killing 50 of them. His courageous performance stalled the German advance and allowed him to lead his men in the counterattack which ultimately drove the enemy from Holtzwihr. For this, Murphy was awarded the Medal of Honor, the United States' highest award for gallantry in action.

By the end of World War II, Murphy had become one of the nation's most-decorated soldiers, earning an unparalleled 28 medals (including three from France and one from Belgium). Murphy had been wounded three times during the war. In May 1945, when victory was declared in Europe, he had still not reached his 21st birthday.

Audie Murphy returned to a hero's welcome in the United States. His photograph appeared on the cover of Life magazine, and actor James Cagney persuaded him to embark on an acting career. Still shy and unassuming, Murphy arrived in Hollywood with only his good looks and — by his own account — "no talent." Nevertheless, he went on to make more than 40 films. His first part was just a small one in the 1948 film "Beyond Glory." The following year, he published his wartime memoir, "To Hell and Back," which received positive reviews. In 1955, he portrayed himself in the movie version of the book. Many film critics, however, believe that his best performance was "The Red Badge of Courage," director John Huston's 1951 Civil War epic based on the novel by Stephen Crane. 

Murphy retired from acting after 21 years, and subsequently bred race horses and pursued various business ventures. But he struggled financially, due to gambling and unsuccessful investments, and he declared bankruptcy in 1968. Murphy suffered from what is now known as post-traumatic stress disorder, experiencing headaches, depression and nightmares; he once said that he could sleep only with a loaded pistol under his pillow. In 1971, at the age of 46, Murphy died in the crash of a private plane near Roanoke, Virginia.

Audie Murphy is buried in Section 46, just across from the Memorial Amphitheater. A special flagstone walkway has been constructed to accommodate the large number of people who stop to pay their respects to this hero. 

Medal of Honor citation:

"2d Lt. Murphy commanded Company B, which was attacked by 6 tanks and waves of infantry. 2d Lt. Murphy ordered his men to withdraw to prepared positions in a woods, while he remained forward at his command post and continued to give fire directions to the artillery by telephone. Behind him, to his right, 1 of our tank destroyers received a direct hit and began to burn. Its crew withdrew to the woods. 2d Lt. Murphy continued to direct artillery fire which killed large numbers of the advancing enemy infantry. With the enemy tanks abreast of his position, 2d Lt. Murphy climbed on the burning tank destroyer, which was in danger of blowing up at any moment, and employed its .50 caliber machinegun against the enemy. He was alone and exposed to German fire from 3 sides, but his deadly fire killed dozens of Germans and caused their infantry attack to waver. The enemy tanks, losing infantry support, began to fall back. For an hour the Germans tried every available weapon to eliminate 2d Lt. Murphy, but he continued to hold his position and wiped out a squad which was trying to creep up unnoticed on his right flank. Germans reached as close as 10 yards, only to be mowed down by his fire. He received a leg wound, but ignored it and continued the single-handed fight until his ammunition was exhausted. He then made his way to his company, refused medical attention, and organized the company in a counterattack which forced the Germans to withdraw. His directing of artillery fire wiped out many of the enemy; he killed or wounded about 50. 2d Lt. Murphy's indomitable courage and his refusal to give an inch of ground saved his company from possible encirclement and destruction, and enabled it to hold the woods which had been the enemy's objective."

[my-spookybunnies]

With the X Files 30th Anniversary coming up I thought I'd just share this very long rambling thank you.

I only joined the fandom two years ago, when I was flicking through Prime and saw a show called 'The X Files' in the category labeled 'TV CLASSICS. Good ol' Mulder and Scully where on the thumbnail and while I had no idea who they were, by a stroke of fate I had seen a gif set earlier that day on tumblr of the two of them that had caught my eye. Maybe this is what made me click on that thumbnail or maybe the stars had simply aligned BUT whatever it was I was hooked. From the moment Scully drops her robe in that motel room with Mulder standing there like a confused lemon, I knew I was in deep.

As any sensible person does I then immediately binged the series while simultaneously routing through tumblr, looking for more X Files content. And boy did I find it.

I was so happy to find not only people where still making new content about the show, but there are amazing stories out there nearly 30 years old that can still be enjoyed and shared due to the efforts of The X File librarian's out there who have made sure that no ones hard work has been lost. It still baffles me sometimes that people had written 50+ thouasnd word fics (that are better than some books I've read) for free! Just because they love The X Files so much.

I've met some amazing online friends due to TXF and even started writing fanfic, something that I used to be ashamed of, but now I tell people with pride.

It's amazing to be part of a fandom that has such longevity, passion and genuine warmth. I want to say thank you to every single person who writes fanfic that makes me laugh and cry till my heart hurts, everyone who creates amazing fanart for our dynamic duo, every gif maker, gif reblogger, prompt maker and episode analysis sharer.

The fact that we are all here now 30 years on from when Mulder and Scully first graced our screens- whether you are an OG fan or a newbie like me, proves that there is something infinite about The X Files, it represents something bigger that the TV screens it was shown on. What was supposed to be an edgy sci-fi cop show, accidently turned into one of the best love stories of all time. Mulder and Scully took us along on their hair-brained adventures and even though their story is no longer televised, they now live on through us.

So once again a big thank you to everyone past and present in The X Files fandom for making me feel right at home and not alone when I worry I'm a little too obsessed with a red headed medical doctor and her spooky partner.

Here's to another 30 spooky years 👽🥳

[enigmaticdiary]

i am rewatching episode 1 for rewind the tape :) I've seen the pilot probably around 20 times at this point but I've only watched it by myself.... once! so for the first time since my first time watching it alone, im gonna do it again with a head full of knowledge of the iwtv book and the full season. and im turning off captions so it's less reading and more watching and close observing for me >:D

Below is a liveblog!

WARNING: I FUCKING LOVE TO TALK AND POINT OUT USELESS THINGS ON EVERY SINGLE THING I SEE. THIS POST IS GOING TO BE A MILE LONG. Also im still not great at putting my thoughts together.

hmm. I would read molloys book on kaposi sarcoma and hiv/aids. i love how well the fake book covers and this advert are put together because so many times I've been asked by friends who i showed the show to if it was an actual commercial LOL.

THE PIC ON THE BACK OF THE BOOK GOING FROM LUKE TO JUST AN ACTUAL PICTURE OF YOUNG ERIC BOGOSIAN? LMFAO. The casting is genuinely so perfect in this show. hehe i like how well the passage of time is depicted through the book covers too, not just in. the photos for daniel obviously but for the aesthetic styles of the covers. the cover they made for "the internets gavel" is sooo mid 2000s. I love the attention to detail for these things on screen for less than a second because it gives a fool like me something to look at and praise simply because the detail wasn't overlooked.

"hate and ashbury" man this is such a good title too. simply because im looking at it and sifting out details it's such a good way to get even more insight into molloy's character. while I don't need to get into a history lecture of haight-ashbury, it tells a lot because it was a historically hippie neighborhood in the 1960s and the birthplace of the counterculture movement, it says a lot for molloy especially seeing the previous three fictional books he wrote about, being hiv/aids crisis, the politics of climate change in the United states, the governments attempts at putting stricter regulation on the internet... I could get into how this connects with molloy's character more in relation to his desire for vampirism but i am barely over a minute in and I've been typing for 15 minutes now!!!

"Preparing For An Interview" NO WAY. GUYS!

No no no i will not pause every 10 seconds and try to connect the thematic dots of everything being presented to me. I need to save that for the video essay im writing!

louis' beautiful handwriting❤️

i dont know why daniels scrunched up face is so fucking funny to me.

Jesus okay watching this without captions is actually really difficult for me i see why i need them all at all times. If im not rewinding because i keep fucking pausing im rewinding because I didn't understand a fucking word i just heard. Despite seeing the episode 20 times.

Hmm.. What personally redemptive accomplishments could louis be referring to..?

UUGGGHHHHHHJJJJJJJJHHHHHHHHHHHHHFHHHH sorry Louis on screen and i started tearing up. Hello armand goodbye armand.

Yah.

Do you think louis goes on twitter sometimes.

Yah?

COVID MEDIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! COVID MEDIA!!!!!!!!!!!

Louis has changed... The only big change he's mentioned between Interview 1 and now that I can recall off the top of my head is that he stopped killing in 2000. I wonder why? I wonder many things

Truth and reconciliation....

Armand being concerned with daniels editor seeing/hearing what was said. I am vaguely aware of the theory that armand has possibly been up to mindfuckery with both louis and Daniel and i can only wonder if this has been mentioned to buoy that theory. To control the narrative.? Hmm... but why?

I know Daniel was annoyed by louis calling him "boy" but i think it's kind of cute. Even with nearly 50 years passing by, the old human is still young to the vampire who has lived going on twice his lifetimes. I am not 10 minutes in and I have been typing for 40 minutes!

FUUUUUUCK sorry. louis

I have no commentary on louis introducing. LESTAT. sorry, not him. On louis introducing new orleans and his the place he inhabited in it. I think its pretty self explanatory and explicit, yeah?

BRICKS❤️❤️❤️❤️

Oh my god the fucking "Oh—goddamn." upon seeing fenwicks diarrhea dick is Ao fucking funny. Louis acting like he would actually have a problem seein a dick or too. Probably would have a problem seeing fenwicks tho (unshitted on). I don't disagree there. Maybe the poop camo is for the best....

Yiu can't be saying that racist jake the dog

Id stick my finger in fenwicks wound and see how deep itd go.

Hi paul

The lord told me to cum. Sorry im 5 years old

Paul punching louis is genuinely so fucking. LESTAT AND HIS FUCKING GOOFY ASS HAT OH MY GOD!!. Sorry. Paul punching Louis was so fucking funny to me because I know that if they were not on that street and were at home or something they would be SLUGGING each other until grace has to pull them apart. Then hug it out :) Idk is this how siblings work im pretty much an only child

I keep having to google words help. HELP. NOT ME HAVING LOOKED UP "PULPIT" ALREADY AND APPARENTLY COMPLETELY FORGETTING WHAT IT MEANS.

Immediately another word I have to google. Im not gonna say I'm stupid for not knowing these words, i did not grow up with the church as closely as others...

i do think a lot about the pointe du lac household before their father died. like. A lot. Theres so much in that brief interaction mentioning him. The sugar cane, the hospital, the Diversion.

Ill never forget the first time i rewatched this ep After learning about the mayfair witches and seeing this scene and being like: GASP! OH MY GOD! ANNE RICE REFERENCE! IT'S ALL CONNECTED!

Paul is so fucking funny like the shade he's constantly throwing, please take a break LMFAO

hng. (louis)

Googling words again. Hmmm the internalized homophobia yes yes i see. Sorry need to google another fucking word. Oh. oh louis...... Ok I can see how my mom picked up on louis being gay so fast. I am a smart boy but my vocabulary is pathetically limited so "big" words going over my head made what should've been pretty obvious be absolutely indecipherable to me. Sorry for being stupid (im not)

I am 17 minutes in and I have been watching and typing for an hour!

Louis: everyone in here is white so its easy to pick out who's gonna call me a nigger to my face and whos gonna do it behind my back

Sir..... Mister....

Hes here

Microaggression 1

TWO.

THREE.

FOUR?

LESTAT CONTINUOUSLY HITTING ME OVER THE HEAD WITH BRICKS

His hair looks like shit

IM. GOING TO KILL HIM. Dont worry louis get behind me.

YOU GONNA FALL VICTIM TO THIS MAN WHOSE HAIR GOT CAUGHT UNDER THE IRON?

Oh my god Leswirl de lioncourt PLEASE PLEASE I CANT TAKE THIS. Actually started growling out loud and said "Shut rhr fuck up, oh mt God.!!!"

IVE EMPTIED A BANK VAULT SAMPLING. S. AJSHKSKSJZMSMS PLEASE SHUT THE FUCK UP OH MY GKD. PLEASW. ISNSSMJAKSNSMSJAJZMSUAUBZNZ

Lestat put your ears away, please.

Me, watching this for the first time at the age of 20: Is this gay...? No... it can't be. They would put gay in a show...? For real? (in denial and scared of being queerbaited despite the most explicit homosexual overtext)

MISS CARROLL THEYRE HAVING A DICK MEASURING COMPETITION.!!!!!!!

Unfortunately lestat did kind of serve there but throwing his dick down on the table embarrassing louis like that in front of miss carroll and lily was evil and racist somehow And he should be sentenced to 40 good slams in thr head with a brick

If paul didn't punch louis none of this would be happening

Lestat: God i love to troll

Who the devil you say.? Well...

Oh lord louis' face card sorry didn't mean to moan like that. I saw a maj so beautiful I threw up evrrywhere

Hmm. The racism

FUUUUUUCK LOUIS IS SO CUTE I NEED TO KILL MYSELF!

Lestat needs to put his ears AWAY he looks so bad with his hair that short.

What IS this insane time freezing trick lestat is doing? God when im actually giving myself a chance to really absorb myself in the show that scene is actually pretty fucking scary LOL

I NEED TO DIE I HATE HOW MUCH I LOVE THEM. CAN SOMEONE PLEASE SHIOT ME IN THE FUCKING HEADA

Lord have mercy the sheer SEX in his eyes as he looks at louis' neck. I nedd to die

Paul..... I need to kill myself for emotional reasons not related to loustat

Egypt reference! Wow! Gabrielle allusion ! "The means to make my way to paris" Ok well what if i

I FEEL SO FUCKING BAD AT HOW HARD I LAUGH AT PAULS SCENES. steven norfleet does such an amazing job in this role.

SAVAGE GARDEN!!!!!!! GUYS!!!!! B

Hooray! The scene that changed me literally Forever. Whatever, man.

Ykung violinist

lily and lestat circling louis like two lions descending on a zebra.

I had a dream about this scene once. I will not br elaborating.

Dude.

GUYS. SEX IS SO FUCKING AWESOME!!!

Guys.

God thid is so fucking crazy

Unfortunately this part does make me giggle especially having to see these two men floating naked and seeing sams fat ass Im about to start crying again

I wish vampires were real

Insert joe biden yelling faggot I don't have it on hand and i don't want to pause for 20 minutes to find it

MY FAVORITE SCENE EVERRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PAUL AND LOUIS TAPDSNCING SO CUTE AARRRGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!! The fact that thus scenr eas really all them, being jacob and steven, its so awesome.

WHEN THE BLACK JOY! And then thr Black suffering. Ok guys 21st time is a charm Im praying really hard I THINK I CAN STOP PAUL FROM JUMPING THIS TIME!

This is one of those scenes that really seperates black viewers from nonblack viewers because the way some of my nonblack friends have reacted to florence blaming louis has made me so insanely embarrassed.... I don't know how to explain it. But the shame from a black parent... especially the mother. I don't know. It breaks you in a different way than anything else. Theres a lot of nuance I want to say but I don't have the time or brainpower or expertise to word it properly so please just take my emotional response to this scene at face value.

sorry but lestat just openly asking during the funeral service where they got pauls coffin from is CRAZY.

Breaking finns arm was also crazy as fuck. Like would hs have done that if louis didn't get angry as fuck at him just then. Unfortunately knowing lestats character now seeing louis get mad like that probably made him hard as fuck and thr only way he can deal with it in the moment is to break that mans arm. Sorry I love how ar the beginning of this post i was like super into the nitty gritty and the details bjt then it just turned into me making fun of lestat and how hard he definitely was in like every single scene he was in

God. the pain.

Killing lily was in fact extremely racist and misogynistic of lestat. He should be stabbed many times for this

God.

Ok scene two that permanently changed me

Sorry to that poor stunt double that got knocked out then.

What rage you must feel as you choke on your sorrow. Unfortunately one of the hardest lines ever

No commentary. Hard to say things about this scene cause its just so good, man.

Oh my poor ashy grey blood deprived louis

Watching this scene with headphones on is crazy

GOD. GUYS. I LOVE SHOW. DID YOU GUYS KNOW I FUCKING LOVE SHOW???!!?? Pack it up guys This is one of the best pilots in tv history

To wrap up this post, it took me about 2 hours and 20 minutes to finish the first episode. I spent twice as long watching it BECAUSE I LOVE TO FUCKING YAP!

[gramarye]

im like 50 pages into my cop of the Holy Bible king james version my reactions from my notes so far. i was raised very secular btw this is all genuine

not very feminist so far. to be honest.

i know God is supposed to be feared but like he really is kind of a cunt and i do want to emphasize i am not trying to be edgy or anti-religion saying this cuz i love this stuff. i read this with love and fascination. but like he really is kind of a cunt do we really need to be punishing everyone like this. most of this is definitely your fault man you keep creating these people and problems and then getting mad at them and throwing suffering onto them. Male behavior i fear

^this is why while i appreciate the radical stance of "God is a woman" and what it represents its like okay the christian Bible God is NOT.... cuz that is a man. that is the behavior of fathers (derogatory)

people say Jason being a name in ancient Greece is crazy but that is not nearly as crazy to me as Jared being a name in the bible. jared is the name of a 17 year old stoner working at little caesar's like this is not a name you should mix on a page with Mahalaleel and Methuselah. its like Enoch yeah okay. bible ass name. Lamech? . Methuselah? yeah yeah man those are the Good Book Names for sure. then you hit Jared and its like boom why is the guy who showed his dick online here. its just not right

love that after God had his little joker moment with the flood he was like "okayyy sorry i wont do it again #prommy" like fair enough man

many times i read a chapter and i go "what ? did i miss something? am i stupid? what the fuck just happened" and then i look at wikipedia for the corresponding chapter and its like this and im like ah hmm okay.

thank you. im enjoying it a great deal

[that--fish]

《Hellfire》

Chapter 1: The Wedding

Synopsis of series: Yn gets married off to the head of the Kamisato Clan. Yn's family, Inazuma's wealthiest tycoons, were nearly on the brink of bankruptcy so they arranged a marriage with one of Inazuma's most powerful politicians to maintain their power. Would Yn be a sacrificed pawn in a bigger game or would she turn the tables?

A jug of angst and a pinch of fluff ☁️✨️

The bachelorette party wasn't as fun as I expected. But what could I have expected? Mainly relatives and my step-mother's acquaintances. Mostly everyone had passed their 50s years ago, it was as if I was visiting a retirement home. Everyone were catching up, talking about life and gossiping. But I have no life to talk about and I have no one to talk to. I'm sure father spent most of our money on this. The well decorated room, a giant chandelier hanging from the ceiling; he almost made a replica of a ballroom.

Today is the day. The day where I'm going to start my miserable life as someone's wife. Will he treat me like a servant? Will I get my freedom? It dreads me to think about it. I don't even know him, I don't even know how he looks like. Father didn't give me any pictures of him. Let's just hope he isn't too...undesirable.

My wedding dress looks stunning nonetheless. It looks like a ballgown, like of those princesses I read in fairytale books when I was younger. I know how to sew dresses, I could have just sewn one myself but father insisted not to. The dress was adorned with shiny pearl beads and flowery lace patterns. Slipping on the dress was not an easy task. The corset is tight! It's very hard to breathe in this, I'm as slim as it gets! Wait...this dress comes with heels? I thought I can wear anything I want under this. The heels are the perfect fit, but they are very high. I've never worn heels this high, I didn't have the need to. It looks like a glass slipper but with diamonds, a lot of diamonds, I wonder if these are real? One of the bridesmaids are doing my hair into a bun and another is doing my makeup. Luckily the makeup isn't as cakey as my step-mother's, given that my bridesmaids are my step-mother's friends. I suppose she has chosen a maid of honour for me, I can't tell who it is though, they all don't look too different.

The reception is starting soon. I'd better be prepared to be under the eyes of many old men. Kamisato Ayato, my soon-to-be husband. I hope the age gap isn't too big. I wonder how much money did father give to get him to marry me. We don't have much money to offer, our company is going bankrupt soon. Well, father might have played some nasty tricks, but that's not for me to know. Sigh Let's get this over with.

The reception is held in a ballroom, a fairly large one. There are murals on the walls and ceiling depicting a heaven, with angels and clouds and a clear blue sky. I requested a piece to be played when I entered, Winter. (Vivaldi Four Seasons: Winter) There is a whole orchestra playing. The piece is very dramatic, like the climax of a story. I walked down the aisle, holding father's arm. He is smiling ear to ear, I'm sure it's a fake one. I plastered a smile on my face, walking towards my fiancé.

He is more handsome than I expected. Father made a good choice for once. The person who I'm going to spend my life with, this blue-haired guy who is a head taller than me. My neck hurts from looking up. He gave me a soft grin...

Remember dear, do not trust anyone.

Mother might probably say that to me.

His lavender-blue eyes, soft features, his hair tucked back into a sleek ponytail...GIRL, GET A GRIP! He is probably way older than me. Father must have bribed him into this, just as he does for other things.

I said my vows just as how I practiced weeks ago. It went flawlessly, no stuttering.

"You may now kiss the bride"

Okay, this part - father didn't tell me about this - I didn't expect father would do me like this - I am so not ready.

He leaned in for the kiss, one hand pulled me closer by the waist, the other cupping my face. Act natural, Yn. I put my arms around his shoulders, deepening the kiss. Haha~ I wonder what father has to say about this. I pulled away. Such a coward. His face was barely pink, he doesn't seem fazed.

After cutting the cake, popping champagne and all, I am tired. How late is it now? Ah, I need to greet the in-laws. How do I do that exactly?

"Ah, Yn, we heard so much about you from your father. We knew that you would make a lovely wife for our son." I suppose that's his mother. She seems rather sincere with her words. "You should stay at our estate, to get you used to it."

"Yes, yes I agree. Your step-mother and I will miss you so dearly, Yn." His menacing grin could go unnoticed. Who knows what he's plotting behind my back.

Well, smile and nod, smile and nod.

The night is still young, Yn. Ugh, when will this end? I don't do social interactions and plus, it was father's idea to keep me cooped up in the estate. Was this how mother might have felt on her wedding day? I wonder what did she see in father?

"Yn, is anything the matter?" He asked. His voice... i-it's so...calming? His voice makes me feel like I'm melting in a warm embrace. I doubt father has ever talked to mother like this.

"Oh, n-nothing."

It was almost midnight, and it ended. Finally.

As everyone left, father ushered me to my husband's limousine, which I could have done very well by myself.

"Take good care of my precious Yn."

"I will, Mr Tanaka."

Father waved goodbye, dabbing away his tears. It's all just for show. The Kamisato estate isn't far from here. Now, father can't interfere with my life anymore.

I am my own person.

Freedom.

[hirik0]

You always meet twice part 7

part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | part 5 | part 6

Ghost/Soap

Implied tame NSFW

It's been 3 days since Soaps texted and Ghost did everything he could think of to stop thinking about it. He failed miserably no book was intressting enough, no TV show or movie could shut is brain off. The only time he had a little peace of mind was when he worked out. But he can't do that 24/7. He desperately tryed to work through his feelings. Nothing helped so now he sits in Margaret's livingroom Angel on his lap. The black cat jumped on there the second he sat down and haven't moved since. "So Sam what's going on in your head?", Margaret ask having some special Grandma sence that hes in trouble. "I meet someone at work and I can't get them out of my head", Ghost spills his guts out, what's a 75 old lady doing with his relationship problems besides telling them other old people at her bingo and bridge evening. " Oh what's their name?", Margaret ask exited for him. "Johnny. His name is Johnny", Ghost answers after looking at his tea for a few minutes. "What is he like?", Margaret asked with a soft smile on her face. "He's charming, chatty, always a smile on his face, liked by everyone, smart, laughts at my shitty jokes", Ghost recalls the things he remembered at the top of his head. Margaret smiles pleased at him, oh her boy is in love. Ghost became her inofficial grandchild the moment she saw his sad eyes, 3 years ago. "But you both travel a lot for work", Margaret concludes the problem, she's is keeping her mind sharp with cross word puzzels and watching old crime shows. "Yes, its also against company rules", Ghost explains the problem he is in. "People fuck their coworkers all the time", Margaret sighs making Ghost chocke on his tea, caught totally of guard. "Oh please Sam, I had sex with a lot of the doctors and other nurses when I was younger, we wanted to fuck after world war 2. And you know work hours are so long today, where else are you suposed to find someone for a little bit of fun? My youngest granddaughter works nearly 50 hours a week, she has no time to go out", Margaret overshares with him. Ghost just nods along this is way to much information from the old lady. "So go get your man, have some fun", Margaret trys to encourage him. Fuck he liked the way your man sounds. "I.. he rembers me a lot of my friend that died", Ghost sighs looking in his tea cup, referring to Tommy. "Sam, you're always the biggest obstacle in your own live. Let the dead rest, enjoy the living people around you", Margaret shares some of his old lady wisdom with him. "I will try", Ghost says unsure if he really will try. "Thats all I ask for", Margaret approve of his answers pushing the box with biscuits towards Ghost.

Ghost is starting at his phone trying to think about something to text to Soap. Margaret really did but some ideas in his head. But if he can't stay proffesional in the field its dangerous to pursue Soap, for the both of them. He puts the phone down not having written anything. He can check up on the rest of the 141 in the morning. Because Soap don't get special treatment anymore. Chicago was a one time think. He lays down on the couch trying to pay attention to the TV, but he's still thinking about Soap and Tommy. Oh fuck he still has to tell Soap about Tommy. That's a problem to solve for future Ghost.

>> You didn't blow up the base by now right?<<

He finally text to Soap, knowing the other will not answer for a few hours. He then like he learned from the various self-help books he read, after the disaster his attempt at therapy was, makes a pro and con list of the consequences of well fucking Soap ones he guess. Margaret says he should have some fun and date Johnny. Should he even fuck Tommys only good friend? Like what can Tommy even do about it he's dead. Is this wired? To date the friend of your sibling after not seeing each other for years? Well he did he even really know Soap back then, right? Are these strange things to googel, but he cant be the only person in this situation, right? He puts the aspect of it being forbidden by his work on the con site. What if the sex is bad? What if it's to good? He trys to push down all the thoughts that are popping up. He takes a dead breath and is now asking himself if it even maters how the sex will be if its only a onetime think, maybe he still needs to put anything on the pro site. He thinks about it and in the end desites he has time to fill the list before he returns and not to rush anything. With having this sort of battle plan Ghost feels himself finally relax. He picks up one of the books he tryed and failed to read and gets totally absorbed by it.

Hours later Ghost gets ripped out of the book by his phone.

>> You think Price wouldn't have ordered you back if I blow up the base? 🙄🙄<<

Soap texts back.

>> Price could be unconscious, for all I know <<

>> someone would have told you to punish me, if I did blow up part of the base. 🙄 Hows leave?<<

Ghost trys not to read to much in to the punish, Soap don't mean it in a sexual way.

>> Silent <<

>> 🤨 What's that supose to mean LT? <<

>> No busy base sounds and shit <<

>> ah, well I'm going out if Gaz to night LT, text you soon.<<

With that Ghost is putting his phone back down.

Soap is drunk, not only drunk but so drunk he will likely do something really dumb the moment he is alone. He should stay with Gaz, they can share a bed, no big deal, but Price makes sure both Sergeants end up in their own room, alone. The last functional brain cell is screaming at him to go to bed, but the drunk braincells tell him to text Ghost. Just letting him know he had fun with Gaz, harmless. Nothing can go wrong.

When Ghost wakes up he has a bunch of messages from Soap on his phone. 20 messages from Soap and Ghost has the feeling he should ignore them, just swipe the notification away, waiting for a 'sorry for drunk texting you' message to apear and forget the whole thing. Well, Soap just send him some drunk gibberish, they can both laugh about when he's back at base.

>> Had a blast with Gaz <<

>> Price had to bring us back to base <<

>> Would have been better with you there 🥺<<

>> Miss you <<

>> it's unfair that you are still so hot <<

>> You where already studiptly hot when I was 17 <<

Ghost knows he should not look at the rest of the messages. This was clearly not just drunk gibberish. He should close the chat, he should never read this.

>> if you where here, I would have sucked your dick instead of getting this drunk <<

>> so it's your fault that I have a hungover when waking up<<

>> hope you think about something to apologise for that <<

>> is your dick big?<<

Oh shit, no, fuck, put the phone away is Ghost brain screaming. But he can't he needs to read very singel one and then he needs a another tea time with Margaret to work trough his this mess.

>> want to ride your dick so bad<<

>> best ass you will ever stick your dick in<<

>> 🥵 <<

>> voice message <<

Ghost does not klick on the voice message, he will never unhear what ever Soap thought he needs to send via audio.

>> I'm so hard for you<<

>> wish you would wank me off right now<<

>> voice message <<

>> if you send me a dick pic in the morning I send you something back <<

>> 🍆💦 🥵<<

>> voice message <<

Ghost drops his phone on the bed, his morning wood, being very intresteted in Soaps text. Apparently Soap is a horny drunk, right Soap is just drunk and horny. No need to get to worked up about, Ghost trys to tell himself so he dont panics. Soap is intresteted in him, in a sexual way. He needs to put a stop to this. This can't happen again, he needs to tell Soap to keep it professional. He picks up his phone again, his hands are shaking. He accidentally plays the last voice message.

"Fuck, Simon. I wish I was covered in your cum instead of my own."

Ghost brain blue screens. The way how Soap is moaning his name, how fucked out and drunk Soap sounds, the dirty confession that Soap yerked of thinking about Ghost. Ghost thinks he was never in his life this hard. This is a problem, a big problem, he can't tell Price about this. Its already bad enough he knows about this text, but Price will send Soap away, this can't happen, not with Ghost knowing how Soap sounds in bed. Johnny made his next move, after Chicago something that should never happen in the first place. And he set Ghost check mate, freeing a hungry beast, that's only goal is to taste Soap till nothing is left.

When Soap wakes up he just want to die. He sent 20 very embarrassing messages to Ghost. And worst Ghost saw them, ge can inly hope the other didn't listen to the voice messages. He looks through his gallery seeing the selfie he 'promised' to send Ghost for a dick pic. Oh god, what did drunk Soap thought to make such a selfie. Who did he even wrote 'property of Ghost' on his ass? Drunk Soap has some concerning skills. Ghost will kill him when he's back from leave. He deletes the picture and well he has to ask Price to assign him to a new unit. This is so embarrassing, god he cant even tell anyone the reason he left the 141. I drunk sexed the Ghost and survived, everyone would want to see prove of this. He can't, he just have to hope Ghost kills him quickly on the next mission. The worst is he really wants this dick pic.

>> I'm so sorry LT, I fucked up. I understand if you kill me for this<<

[worldwide-blackfolk]

Stephen A. Smith Calls ‘Devil’ Jason Whitlock 'Worse Than a White Supremacist' in 45-Minute Takedown

Stephen A. Smith promised to go in on his former colleague turned enemy Jason Whitlock, and did he ever.

Smith released a teaser clip on Wednesday afternoon revealing he warned his employer ESPN and his family about the vitriol he would direct at Whitlock on his independent podcast. He even contacted his pastor ahead of time to apologize for what he was about to say.

The 56-year-old said he's "sat back for years, at least nine to 10 years," and not uttered a word about Whitlock directly. But with the habitual troll fervently questioning the authenticity of Smith's bestselling January 2023 book Straight Shooter: A Memoir of Second Chances and First Takes, Stephen A. felt it was finally "necessary" to break his silence—with the caveat that it will “never happen again—he’s irrelevant, he’s not important, he’s insignificant, and he knows it."

Early into the nearly 45-minute takedown (which kicks into full gear at the 18:30 mark above), Smith brought up a 2015 Deadspin article which mentions how several ESPN employees, Smith included, refused to work with Whitlock. "Did you tell them that once the same article in Deadspin came out, weeks later, you wrote a lengthy apology to me in an email, begging me to forgive you, pointing out how you were betrayed by this particular writer, so you know how I must feel that you betrayed me?" Smith said at the 27:50 mark. "Did you tell the folks that, you bitch? Did you tell 'em, you fat piece of shit?"

That same year, Smith inked a unique clause in his contract to avoid his nemesis. “I don’t know of anyone who has this in their contracts—I had it in my contract, and I have a copy of it, where it specifically stipulates that I never work with Jason Whitlock," he shared. "It’s in writing. No wonder you didn’t see him on First Take.”

Stephen A. admitted that "once upon a time I actually tried to speak up for this damn cretin," claiming he was just misunderstood. Suffice it to say he no longer feels that way about “this bastard [who] is worth less than a cockroach” and neither "moral" nor "ethical."

Some of Whitlock's uglier moments include peddling conspiracy theories about Michelle Obama being trans, comparing Black Lives Matter to the Ku Klux Klan, and—as recently as December—blasting women's right to vote.

Smith didn't mince words at the 33:30 mark. “As a Black man, I often told y’all, I cannot imagine—as a Black man, knowing our history—anything worse than a white supremacist. That is until Jason Whitlock came along. He's worse than them. He is the worst, most despicable, lying, no-good fatass human being I have ever known in my life."

Is it any wonder people are setting clips to the "Ether" beat?

Other remarks on the latest Stephen A. Smith Show include, “I mean it from my soul when I say this is the worst human being I’ve ever known. … He’s the dude that’s gonna have a funeral and ain’t gonna be no pallbearers. Might be two people that show up.” Elsewhere: "There is nothing good about him. Absolutely nothing. And I challenge anybody that knows anything about him to refute what I’m saying. I have the facts. They’re all here. I know what he’s done." And don't forget: “Look around—don’t y’all notice why Black people scurry away whenever this roach of an individual is around, named Whitlock? 'Cause we know what he is.”

The First Take host saved some of his harshest words for last. “I hate this bastard. ... He is the worst human being any of you will ever meet," Stephen A. said in closing. "You get within a mile of his presence, wrap your arms around yourself to protect your soul. He is Cain. He is a devil. The worst. That’s all I have to say. Y’all have a nice day, I’m gon’ go about my business. I will not speak about this piece of shit again.”

Though Smith promised he's "only going to do it once," the same can't be said of Whitlock, whose Instagram currently looks like a Stephen A. fan page.

"SAS just made a fool of himself," Whitlock, 56, responded to a Twitter user after the podcast went live. "We've never seen anyone at a major media company react this unprofessionally to a review of their work or just act this publicly unprofessional."

As of this publication, Stephen A. Smith's "Finally Responding to Jason Whitlock" clip has racked up a quarter-million views in three hours. Thursday should be fun.

DISCOVER MORE AT COMPLEX.COM

[thecleverqueer]

Random thoughts during The Mandalorian S3:E1 “The Apostate”

*******WARNING: SPOILERS*******

Last chance. Turn back now. No? You good!? You okay!? You sure!? Okay, then let’s get into this:

*Bo-Katan was right. They are absolutely a cult.

*Holy shit! TF with the giant ass crock in the river?!

*Um. If a massive reptile like that surfaced while I was in the middle of my weird cult baptism, I’d consider that a sign from whatever god or ancestors I worshipped that this shit just isn’t for me.

*Din coming in clutch for his cult.

*Crock guts all over the beach! Yes!

*So… Din and the Armorer are having EXACTLY THE SAME conversation that they had in The Book of Boba Fett… again. Because, oops! We did two whole ass episodes of the Mandalorian (which ironically had no Boba Fett despite him being the titular character) because we felt like the name “Boba Fett” couldn’t hold its own weight in fandom, and now folks are going to be lost and confused. Good work!

*Hmm… space whales… Wasn’t I JUST TALKING ABOUT SPACE WHALES!?!

*Is Din asleep at the wheel? He looks like he’s asleep at the wheel. Is it okay to sleep through hyperspace? Come on, Din.

*Wow. Nevarro has been glammed up!

*We have a tree full of Salacious Crumbs….

*Ooo! We have a street band!?! Holy shit! It’s like Mediterranean Europe!

*Greef Karga is dressed to the nines, and he has TWO droids pulling his train. Jeeze, bruh! Class. Nice touch. Carl killing it!

*Greef: I thought you had completely your mission, but you’re still running around here with the same critter.

Din: It’s complicated.*

TRANSLATION: I met a “Jedi” named Ahsoka Tano that freaked out because Grogu had formed an attachment to me, and she refused to have anything to do with his training. She sent me on a wild goose chase across the galaxy to a mountain top in the middle of nowhere so that Grogu may reach out to other Jedi that may take on the task that she was unwilling to do. The kid was kidnapped by the remnants of the Empire, so I amassed a rag-tag team of bad ass lesbians plus Boba Fett to help me rescue him. It nearly went bad, but another Jedi named Luke Skywalker came, rescued us and took Grogu to some unknown forest planet. I went to see Grogu on that planet with Luke, and damn it if Ahsoka Tano wasn’t there… convincing Luke that training Grogu was a bad idea, so Grogu came back to me. Now here we are.

Yeah. That is complicated….. good job making that shit simple.

*Is that a bowl of strawberry Skittles on Greef Karga’s desk? Those look like Skittles. Skittles are now canon. Space whales and skittles… but no gays (scratch that: Gilroy gave us two gays because he’s got balls).

*Wild theory, but hear me out: Greef arguing with these pirates at the doorstep of the school are currently harboring the kids that are going to show up in “The Skeleton Crew”. Jude Law is in there right now lecturing them about something mildly relevant, but he’s not going to be revealed here. The pirates are going to chase Law and the kids out of town because of this interaction right here, and they’re going to get lost when they veer off the trade route somehow (probably via those stinking purrgil). This is the Mandalorian tie-in. Wait for it.

*Oop! Cara Dune mentioned. RIP… your actress was an idiot.

*He, uh, slick passed Grogu like a basket ball just now. WTF? That’s a baby!

*Ahhhh!!!!!

The Babu Frik species!!!!

HEY HEYYYYY!!!!

*Din (when Grogu starts grabbing at the Babu Frik dude): He’s young.

Bitch, he’s like, 50. WTF!?! He should absolutely know better than to snatch up another sentient being like that. Train your child better, my man!

*Oh Din, don’t teach Grogu to fly. He still poops his pants. This is the real reason Ahsoka noped out of his training. Grogu is still in pampers, and Ahsoka is a 45-year-old auntie that just wants stir unnecessary shit in the galaxy after sleeping for 8 hours a night.

*Woo!!! Space battle!!!!

*Din: (during said space battle) SHIT! SHIT! SHIT!

Grogu: *chuckling*

*WTF was that fern pirate guy even!?! Oh my god. He was totally a house fern; a walking, talking, sentient, humanoid house fern. That was your inspiration!?

*Holy Shit!! Bo’s ancestral castle! Yum! It’s got concrete walls, House Kryze banners, an ocean view, greenery, fancy statues and a throne. Yes, Bo! Yes!

*Oh no… Bo is brooding on her throne.

*Hmm. Oddly, she doesn’t have her throne blanket in this scene… which absolutely leads me to believe that she becomes so insufferable later in this season that her wife (I can’t tell you if it’s Koska or Ahsoka, but it’s one of them) kicks her out of the bedroom.

*Good to see that despite what appears to be a pretty nasty depressive episode Bo-Katan is in the midst of, she still a seething bitch. That’s my girl!

*I feel like not giving Bo-Katan some sort of comfort animal for her to stroke while she sat sodding on her throne was a missed opportunity (maybe one of those weird dog creatures that were eating the Mantell mix on Shili in TOTJ would have been cool). Opportunity missed, man.

*Mmm… her hatred… I feel her disdain for Din. Damn. She’s tempering her more violent tendencies though, so this gives me hope that she will indeed survive this season.

*Someone call Ahsoka…. Ahsoka has this way of making brains release serotonin and oxytocin with her presence. Have her fix Bo-Katan!

Final thoughts:

Hmm. Visually, it was beautifully done. Nice sound track. Clearly talented director. The writing was kind of hokey (which, I blame Andor for the fact that I even noticed… as Star Wars was always hokey until Tony Gilroy showed up), but it wasn’t absolutely terrible. I love Pedro Pascal. That goes without saying. Katee Sackhoff did a great job delivering Bo, but she’s done it for so long, I feel like she IS Bo. Still worried for my girl, but not nearly as much as before. Not a bad episode. I’m for it. Good. Good.

[bayisdying]

Behind A Screen

Lucky's eyes hadn't moved from her phone in what felt like hours. That one little world bouncing around in her head. Squidward. The cruel nickname her bullies had bestowed upon her back in elementary school all because of her nose.

"You good over there Lucky?" Spicy asked as she wiped down the bar, her voice startled Lucky enough that she nearly dropped her phone.

"You scared the shit out of me Spice!" She tried to laugh it off.

Lucky knew that Spicy could read her like a book, and that she was a terrible liar when it came to her friends. But Spicy didn't press her, and for that she was grateful.

"Oh my God, is that Squidward?!"

The comment had come from a former classmate, one who had made her life hell. It shouldn't shock her, but it still stung. She was reading it over and over, hearing the laughter from her childhood.

"Babe?" Cin's hand rubs her shoulder.

"Yeah? Sorry. Got distracted."

"Are you okay? You seem very in your head."

Lucky smiled at that, of course Cin would be the one interrogating her. That's how their friendship worked. Spicy was the quiet supporter until you needed her to get loud - and get loud she could. Cin started at about a 50 and could go either way depending on the situation. Lucky? Lucky started at 100 and stayed at 100.

"It's nothing Cin."

"Doesn't seem like nothing."

Lucky sighs, she knew her friend wouldn't let her get out of telling her. So she just slides her phone over to Cin who takes it.

"Squidward?" Cin asks. "Who is Squid...ward.."

Cin hands the phone to Spicy who has a similar reaction. "Bay what is this?"

"It's a classmate, I'm Squidward. That was what the other kids called me. Because of my nose."

Spicy and Cin share a look.

"Your nose isn't even that big." Cin says

"Tell that to children." Lucky said "it's no big deal guys."

They drop it, for now. That was until Luckys phone buzzed with a text message and she had Bradley look at it for her. He read the text then got curious and read the post and comments.

"Sis, what is this?"

"What, who texted?"

"No what's these comments on a picture of you?"

Lucky snatched her phone back. "It's nothing Roo."

"Didn't look like nothing Lucky, sure looked like childish bullying to me."

"It's fine. I'm a big girl."

"Lucky..."

"Roo drop it I'm fine." Lucky snaps, causing the rest of them to look over at them.

Lucky took a look around at all their friend's concerned faces and bolted to the bathroom locking herself in, much like the very first time Drew Larson had called her by the name.

-----

They had been partnered together for an assignment. Baylie was doing most of the work and finally got tired of Drew not helping.

"Can you please help?"

"Shut up Squidward." He had retorted.

It shut her up all right, she was so taken aback by his comment that it stunned her.

"You know you really do look like Squidward, with that big nose of yours." He continued laughing.

Baylie went to the teacher and asked to use the bathroom, as she walked out of the classroom she heard Drew whispering to another classmate about her nose.

By the end of that day in first grade, Baylie was called Squidward and it would continue all the way through high school.

-----

A knock on the bathroom door brings her back to the present. She wasn't seven years old anymore, she was a grown woman, a Naval aviator.

"Bay?" It was a voice she hadn't been expecting, it was Jake.

She wiped her tears real quick before she unlocked the door, the worried look on his face greeted her.

"Did you draw the short straw to come and get me?"

"Actually I offered." He opened up his arms. "Come here."

She rolls her eyes then hugs him, he squeezes her tight. It was...not at all like the Jake she knew.

"What's up with you?" She asks, looking up at him.

"Listen, I read those comments. I know I haven't always been the nicest to you but I saw red."

She just looks at him puzzled, "who are you and what have you done with my friend Jake?"

He laughs, "I'm still right here dickhead."

He walks her back to their group, Mickey gets up and kisses her soundly. Rooster pretended to vomit, and Spicy elbows his ribs.

"So what are we going to do about this?" Cin asked.

"Absolutely nothing wifey, I don't need to justify any of them with a response. I got my besties right here. Even Jake."

They all laugh as Jake feigns being hurt.

"I'm not that bad Lucky!" He exclaims.

"Sure buddy."

-----

Little Baylie would be so happy to know that instead of Squidward she was called Lucky now. And yes, she had the best friends in the whole world. Even Jake fucking Seresin.

-----

Tagging the besties: @dragon-kazansky @mrsjaderogers @gracespicybradshaw @callmemana @cycbaby @callsignscupcake @breadsquash

[canonicallysoulmates]

I have read Queen of the Damned. I really liked it, it was fun to see the different POV's but I kinda wish we had gotten to see Gabrielle's or Louis's I would have happily read an extra 50 or 100 pages if it meant seeing how they feel about the whole thing instead of just getting small glimpses of it through the other characters, or to have gotten their POV instead of the Baby Jenks chapter which to be sincere I did not care for, but anyways, I really enjoyed the mystery aspect of what the story of the twins was and the meaning of the dreams/visions, that was probably my favorite part. I know this gets messed with in later books in the series but for now, I get to enjoy learning the story of how vampires came to be in this world.

I feel so bad for Lestat, he got himself into one of those fuck you up for life toxic relationships and he already had issues this did not help him. So many times reading this I was like Lestat, baby, run don't walk, run. That being said I like Akasha as a villain, I can't help but feel a little sorry for her and I can understand why she reached the conclusion she did but I, myself, have questions regarding her plan, I can't forgive her messing with Lestat's mind the way she did, and most importantly I can never forgive her for what she did to Mekare, Maharet, and Khayman like she had points but how is she gonna judge anyone with the shit she pulled when she, herself, was a human. Also, I can't picture her with the alabaster skin so I'm choosing to ignore that.

As for the other characters/relationships.

Devil's Minion 💖💖💖 I love them. Highlight of this book, favorite chapter, new favorite romantic pairing after Louis and Lestat, they are so cute together; yeah there are some very messed up aspects to their relationship but they are also weirdly sweet, and there was domesticity and they built a life together! And Armand loves Daniel so much, and he wants to keep him safe, and Daniel loves Armand completely even the most fucked up parts of him- I've said it before, and I'll keep saying it, but I really do think this relationship was good for Armand, I feel like we see him grow. And, actually, this is the most I have enjoyed reading Armand so far, if you know me you know I'm actually not a big fan of this character but progress was made in a positive way in this book. I do know that sadly this relationship isn't something we see a lot of in the next books but at least I have their chapter to cling to and nobody can take them from me.

Speaking of favorite romantic pairings: Louis and Lestat, my OTP, my favorite vampires, my babies, the hold they have on me increases with every book. The fact that Louis is the first person Lestat showed his new powers too, I am screaming. Also Khayman saying that Louis was at Lestat's concert out of love and that "Louis would go where Lestat led him. Louis would perish if Lestat perished." Khayman is a Loustat shipper pass it on.

I really liked Khayman (not just because of that line!) he wants companionship so badly, someone please get him a friend. He's like a golden retriever, every fellow vampire he meets he wants to befriend.

I ended up liking Jesse a surprising amount, her chapter was one of my favorites and I really hope that when this gets adapted to the show we get that moment of her exploring Louis and Lestat's old apartment and encountering Claudia's ghost because it's one of my favorite scenes, it was so creepy.

I love Maharet, she has so been through so much but she is so resilient, and she never stopped looking out for her family and her daughter, and connection for her is so important.

I'm glad for Mekare that she got to defeat Akasha, it took thousands of years but she finally made her pay for what she did to her and her sister.

Gabrielle, not nearly enough of her, but I continue to love her.

Marius...I have complicated feelings about Marius. I like how he is with Lestat, I like their relationship and that he's sort of like a father figure to him. But at the same time, there's something that keeps me from fully liking him, and part of that might be his relationship with Armand cause I don't really like it.....

All that being said, I wish Rolin Jones the best of luck adapting this book when the time comes, I don't know how he and the rest of the writers are going to do it because it's a lot happening all at the same time but I very much look forward to seeing this be properly adapted.

And with this, I am officially done with the OG trilogy! Ranking-wise, for me, I would say it goes: TVL, IWTV, and then this one.

Now it is time for me to hop into the rollercoaster that is the rest of this series....