#and the johnsons one is such an absolute loss

[aceoflights]

Lucas Johnson

Saw an other post and wanted to write down my own thoughts and feelings. I haven't read tgr yet, because I'm waiting for the physical book to come out, so I'm only working on information from tsc.

I've seen some people say they hate Lucas. And I suppose I get it. I get why Jean would hate him for sure.

But as someone who loves complex characters and relationships, I really can't hate him. Because everything he does is very understandable (I wanna use the German word nachvollziehbar. Which means something like understandable, but feels less weighted. It feels less like you're justifying someone's actions) imo.

Like, put yourself in his shoes. His brother, who he was pretty close to, goes of to college. On a sports scholarship. Of a sport they both play and love. Very exciting. Lucas probably can't wait for him to come back and tell him all about it. But he doesn't. Grayson doesn't come back. For years. Lucas has essentially lost his brother. He doesn't even know what's going on. Probably thinks Grayson abandoned him. Doesn't care about him anymore (sort of correct).

I have a brother (although younger). We're not very close. Never really have been. But I love him so dearly. If my brother went of to college and just didn't come back, I would be heartbroken. I would honestly probably try to go there and get him. Because what the fuck?

Then he is back. His cult collapsed and he's finally home. Lucas thinks he finally has his brother back. But he won't even acknowledge him. The only thing he ever has a reaction to is Jean. So of course when he says he wants to talk to Jean, Lucas says okay. Lucas thinks this might be the only way he could possibly get his brother back. Maybe him having a talk with Jean could be a first step for something. Or Lucas' foot in the door to be able to talk to his brother.

Of course he should've at least told Jean in advance. Probably shouldn't have even agreed to it in the first place, if he paid attention to how Jean acts every time Grayson is mentioned. But despite the fact that he feels like he doesn't really know him anymore, Lucas still feels like his brother is in there. Like he could get him back. And the Grayson he knows would never harm someone in that way. Would never attack someone like that. Would keep his promise of "I only want to talk to him". He doesn't want to believe that his brother could ever do things like that. And obviously when it happens he tries to intervene. He obviously didn't want this to happen. He thought this could be a way to get his brother back. Obviously it was selfish, because he knew that Grayson hated Jean. And he knew Jean implied some not great things. But he's heard bad rumours about Jean for months, and that's his brother. His priority is to get his brother back. Now that he probably feels closer to the possibility of that than he has in years. Now that Grayson is at least physically there.

And then of course it goes horribly wrong. In a way Jean and we, the readers, immediately saw coming. But Lucas couldn't have. I think even in his worst case scenario, he wouldn't have guessed it would happen like that. Because Lucas knows essentially nothing about what went on in the Nest. he has no idea what kind of violence was common place. And he would never think that his brother could be part of that.

I understand why people are mad at him, but I just can't be (and I don't want to be. Because my heart just absolutely breaks for him. This boy who lost his brother in so many ways. First physically, then emotionally, and then the image he had of him. It is all completely shattered. And now Lucas is going to loose him in the most finite of ways. I don't even know yet, if he will be able to talk to him before he dies (as i said, haven't read tgr yet).

[tenthdocter]

I know he's young and he's not been with us long but I have to say I have not been impressed with tel one bit since he's joined us. I think he's looked like a headless chicken running around doing fuck all lol. I just don't get the hype around him at all 🤷🏽‍♂️

[herenvibing]

so glad the writers and directors of castlevania listened to fan feedback and gave Drolta a bigger focus in season two AND made her the big bad like i was riveted by everything about her story. she even managed to make erzsebet more interesting by association, seeing her grieve drolta’s loss (when I frankly don’t think drolta would’ve done the same at that point) was actually really cool. and seeing the differences in their relationships to sekhmet is so so interesting— one driven by a hunger for power vs one driven by pure fanatical love and devotion. drolta spent centuries as a willing servant, it was her life’s work before she was turned, and her casting that role aside as she finally decided that she was the one most worthy of wielding sekhmet’s power was such a satisfying and natural conclusion to her arc. having that power ripped away so callously by the one she spent her entire existence worshipping was genuinely really sad to see, that she doesn’t understand what she did wrong, why she was being punished after everything she did. and then the final part of her battle, all the grief and rage and fear spilling out of her as she sinks into her monstrosity, oooohhh it was soooo fucking satisfying. what a fucking character, kudos to everyone who brought her to life and a special shout out to Elarica Johnson for such a showstopping performance, easily managing to hold her own next to an iconic voice like James Callis as Alucard. I’d go so far as to say her performance is on par with Adetokumboh M’Cormack’s performance as Isaac, and extremely close in quality and emotion to Graham McTavish’s performance as Dracula. Absolutely stellar work on her part.

[soapyghostie]

Hey! Absolutely random request, but imagine reader being a tired person that out of wounds and stress they just fall asleep when they're being carried, about to go on a hook. How would the dbd killers(any, really) react?

Like, imagine. Being carried, without anything under legs can already make someone sleepy if they don't have adrenaline pumped through their veins. Plus, i know that having wounds(aka blood loss) can make people very tired.

Since this request it a little vague, I decided to get a little creative with it and wrote some angst because I’m a sucker for angst with dad slashers (except Frank is your big brother in this request). 😭 Hope you enjoy!

The Ghost Face/Danny Johnson

Danny would be confused at first, bloodlust still kicking through his veins even after killing all our teammates as he carries you, his injured daughter, to the hook (Sorry (Y/N), he’s just doing his job. No hard feelings). He’ll pause for a moment, trying to process the fact that you feel asleep on his shoulder.

As he realizes that you fell asleep due to exhaustion and stress from your wounds, Danny’s demeanor would soften and his parental instincts within him kicks in. He’ll gently adjust you in his arms from being thrown over his shoulder to being carried bridal style, ensuring that you’re comfortable even as he still proceeds to hook you. 

Seeing you in such a vulnerable state would stir up a lot of internal conflict in Danny. He’s torn between his role as a merciless killer and his love for you as his daughter as he hesitates to sacrifice you to the Entity. Danny’s had a lot of bad performances in trials lately and he really needs the 4K. However, to get the 4K he needs to sacrifice you. Of course it has to be you: the Entity is so cruel. 

As to not get punished by the Entity, sadly, Danny will throw you onto the hook. Danny would feel a pang of remorse and sadness. He knows that he’s the cause of your pain and exhaustion, and seeing you in such a vulnerable state serves as a painful reminder of the life he’s subjected you to. He silently reflects on his actions and their consequences. He’ll gaze at your sleeping form dangling from the hook, grappling with the complexities of his emotions and the choices he made. 

Despite his conflicted emotions, Danny remains committed to his role in the Entity’s twisted game. However, Danny’s determination to protect you remains unwavering. He’ll play the Entity’s game and continue this dark path as a killer if it means to ensure your safety as he doesn’t want you to be harmed as a result of his shortcomings… 

The Legion/Frank Morrison

Frank would be initially shocked and panicked to see you, his younger sister, in such a vulnerable state. Despite his tough ‘bad boy’ exterior, he deeply cares about you and seeing you hurt triggers his protective instincts. 

The sight of you falling asleep from exhaustion and stress while carrying you to the hook fills Frank with anger and frustration. He’ll curse under his breath, feeling powerless to protect you and frustrated with the situation at hand. First off, your god damn heavy after going unconscious and, secondly, he has no choice but to hook you due to the amount of failed trials he’s had lately to try and please the Entity. 

Despite his anger, Frank, also like Danny, would feel a sense of inner conflict. On one hand, he wants to lash out at the Entity for throwing her into a trial with him, but on the other hand, he knows he has to get the 4K by hooking you so you end up safe and sound at the survivor camp instead of the agony the Entity threatened to put you through if he didn’t start stepping it up in trials. You’re the reason he has the strength to keep going in this awful, twisted game of cat and mouse. 

Frank would grapple with the feeling of guilt and responsibility for your condition. As your older brother, he feels entitled to preventing you from getting hurt in the first place and blames himself for everything that has happened to you. Despite his conflicting emotions, he would carefully and gently place you on the hook, making sure you're as comfortable as possible given the circumstances. As he watches you sleep on the hook, Frank would have a quiet moment of reflection. He reminisces about y’all’s childhood together and vows silently to himself to do whatever it takes to keep you safe. 

Seeing you vulnerable would only fuel Frank’s determination to perform better in trials. He would be even more relentless in his pursuit of survivors, driven by the desire to protect you from the Entity’s hungry claws. 

The Shape/Michael Myers

Michael would pause, a flicker of confusion crossing his expressionless face. The sight of you, his daughter, falling asleep despite the dire circumstances briefly disrupts his usual relentless pursuit to satisfy his murderous desires. 

Deep within his obscured psyche, a conflict brews. While Michael is driven by an insatiable urge to kill, his parental instincts stir, conflicting with his murderous impulses. This momentary hesitation leads to a brief internal struggle, the likes of which observers of Michael would never perceive. 

Despite the task at hand and the chaos of the trial, Michael momentarily freezes, holding your unconscious body with an eerie stillness. His iconic breathing momentarily ceases, as if he too, like Danny and Frank, were contemplating the peculiar situation. 

In a rare display of tenderness, Michael gingerly adjusts your position, ensuring that you're comfortable even as he prepares to hook you. His movements would be precise, almost caring, as if he’s trying to shield you from further harm, even in your unconscious state. As he gazes upon your sleeping form, fragments of memories flicker through Michael’s mind. Images of you as a child, innocent and untouched by the darkness that now envelopes you both, momentarily soften his gaze, perhaps even cause a subtle twitch at the corners of his mouth – a long-forgotten smile. You are his world. 

Ultimately, the weight of his desire to kill and the futility of his attempts to connect with you wash over Michael. With a heavy heart hidden beneath his iconic mask, he proceeds with the task at hand – sacrificing you to the Entity. With a solemn determination, Michael carries you to the hook, his obsession with killing eclipsing any semblance of any paternal sentiment.

[charmandabear]

No Sandra Dee

Summary:

One quick little lie to your parents, and you and your hot vampire greaser boyfriend have the entire night to yourselves.

Pairing: Astarion/f!Reader

Rating: Explicit

Word Count: 2.3k

Tags/Warnings: reader is in high school but age isn't specified, reckless driving, 1950s greaser au, loss of virginity/innocence, vaginal fingering, piv sex, blood drinking, degredation if you squint, rough sex if you squint, praise kink if you squint, reader is a bit of a needy slut (affectionate)

I tell you the way this idea grabbed me by the collar and shoved me up against a locker and told me to give it my lunch money... I wrote it over the course of a few hours and it refused to let me go until I finished. I saw dovah_vakarian's Greaser Astarion and with some egging on from the lovely folks in the Rabid House server (join if you want a good hang) this little ditty was born. No thoughts, just greaser Astarion. (Dovah was kind enough to let me use their render for the cover photo are you SEEING IT? Are you KIDDING ME? Go give them a follow, right fucking now.)

Read on AO3

“Alright, Ma, Pa, I’m off to Suzie’s for the night!” Your heart is pounding in your ears as you shout the lie, and you can only hope it’s not in your voice, too. 

“Alright dear, have fun! Don’t forget to remind Mr. and Mrs. Johnson about the church potluck on Sunday!” your mother calls back, and without another word you slip out the front door and into the cool night air. You adjust your poodle skirt and bound down the front steps of your home, turning down the street where he’s waiting. He looks like an absolute treat, too, leaning against his shiny black convertible, the collar of his leather jacket popped, cigarette held delicately between long slender fingers. A shiver runs down your spine at the thought of those fingers. You know better than anyone what they’re capable of.

“Darling,” he greets you with that adorable foreign lilt of his. You can already feel your cheeks beginning to flush as he looks you up and down, sizing you up like a piece of meat. “Ready to leave?”

You nod vigorously. “Ma and Pa think I’m at Suzie’s, and she has strict instructions for what to say if they call.” Your mouth grows dry at the sight of his devastating smile.

“That’s my girl,” he coos, running a knuckle down your jaw and under your chin. He takes one last drag off his cigarette and drops it, grinding it into the pavement with the heel of his boot. He breathes out the cloud of smoke that obscures his features, and you inhale instinctively. The acrid smell is one that you used to absolutely hate, but now that you’re starting to associate it with him, it sends a little thrill down your spine every time. He slides into the driver’s seat and you throw your overnight bag in the back. 

“So, Astarion, where are we going?” You try to keep your tone light, but the quaver in your voice gives away your nervous excitement. He slides his red eyes over to you and a mischievous smile plays on his lips as he revs up the t-bird’s loud engine.

“Can’t some things remain a surprise?” he says slyly, and the sultry tone of his voice makes you unconsciously lick your lips. You keep your hands in your lap as he fiddles with the radio, and soon the dulcet tones of Nat King Cole fill the car. 

It’s not long before he’s speeding down the highway, and you haven’t the faintest clue where he could possibly be taking you. He pulls out the cigarette from behind his ear and pops it into his mouth.

“Sweetheart, can you grab my lighter? It’s in the pocket of my jeans,” he mumbles around the cigarette, and you glance nervously at the tight denim on his hips.

“Um, sure, just keep your eyes on the road,” you say automatically, feeling like you could kick yourself for sounding like such a square. But he just chuckles as you lean over and wiggle your fingers into his pocket. You can smell his cologne from here, a heady spiced smell that makes your chest ache. After a bit of struggling, you pull the zippo out from his pocket and flip it open for him to light his cigarette. You assume he’s going to let you bring the flame to him, but instead he fully turns his head toward you, red eyes boring into yours as you light it. 

“Astarion, careful,” you hiss nervously, your fingers shaking as you try to light the cigarette as quickly as possible. There isn’t another car in sight, but you’ve heard too many stories of reckless joyrides turning fatal.

He takes a puff and laughs, a cool, velvety sound. Your eyes trace his profile, his perfect nose and jawline, and the two small puncture wounds on his neck. You’ve fooled around with him a bit before, but you’ve never gone all the way. And you’ve always been morbidly curious about what it would be like for him to bite you. His eyes flick towards you and you flush, feeling like you’ve been caught. 

“Someone is having naughty thoughts,” he sings, and a timid giggle bubbles out of your lips. 

“What?” you squeak, and then clear your throat to try to sound more cool. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Is that so?” He takes a hand off the steering wheel and gently runs his fingers down the side of your neck, and you can’t suppress the moan his touch elicits. “So you’re not thinking about…” His hand continues its journey downward and stops right at your breast, fondling lightly over your sweater. You bite your lip as he squeezes the flesh, and even through the two layers of wool and satin, your nipples grow stiff with arousal. He pinches it between his fingers and you need to press your thighs together. You can already feel the cotton gusset of your panties growing wet, and with his heightened sense of smell, he knows it, too. 

“A-Astarion, eyes on the r-road,” you stammer, but he just grins wickedly before pressing his foot down on the gas, inching up dangerously over the speed limit. 

“Darling, I promise I won’t take my eyes off the road for a second,” he says with a wicked grin, lit cigarette bouncing with every word. He keeps his promise, but his hand continues to wander southward, brushing against your thigh. You squirm and whimper, simultaneously desperate for his touch and wanting him to stop. You wrestle with your conflicting desires for a moment, before temptation wins and you let your knees fall open for him. “Such a good girl for me,” he purrs as he pulls up the hem of your skirt, and even you can smell the debauchery wafting from between your legs. 

“Just please,” you whine as his fingers skate across your inner thigh, teasing you mercilessly.

“Please what, darling?” His voice is infuriatingly innocent while he’s making the dirtiest thoughts run through your mind.

“Please be careful,” you plead, your hips bucking forward to chase his touch. He steps on the gas again, increasing the speed even more. Your heart begins to pound loudly, and you can’t tell if it’s from hurtling down the highway or his fingers dancing just outside your panties.

“Hmm, I’m not sure if I can do both,” he pouts as the pad of his thumb runs up the length of your slit, and you grip the bar on the door as a moan escapes your lips. He begins to retract his hand and slows the car down slightly, causing you to whine instinctually in protest. “So love, which will it be?”

You stare in horror at your beautiful vampire boyfriend’s face. He doesn’t have the same stakes as you, he’d be able to walk away from a car wreck just fine, but you, not so much. But your cunt is aching from his relentless teasing, and your judgment is clouded with lust.

“Just… quickly, please,” you whine, and his lips stretch wide into a satisfied grin. He slams his foot down on the gas pedal as his fingers return to your soaked panties, tearing an unseemly groan from your throat. He pushes the gusset aside and slides his fingers along your slick folds as you grip the seat. You have no idea if your primary emotion is fear or arousal, but either way it's exhilarating.

“So wet, you dirty girl,” he tuts, and you can only cant your hips into his hand in response. “If only Ma and Pa could see their darling daughter now.” He inserts a slender digit and you push a saddle shoe against the dashboard to brace yourself.

“Ah- ‘starion,” you moan, your knuckles beginning to turn white from how hard you're clutching the leather seat. He pumps his finger lazily, still looking at the dark road ahead as it flies by. 

“What would Pastor Tom say if he knew you were getting fingered by your greaser boyfriend in the front seat of his t-bird.” He punctuates the filthy statement by inserting another digit, and you squirm into his hand needily. “Such a perfect little slut for me.” He curls his fingers and palms your clit, and you rock back and forth in the seat trying to push yourself down on him deeper.

“Please, ‘starion, I need more,” you pant and you catch the speedometer breaching 100 mph as he increases the pace of his fingers. He uses the heel of his hand to rub against your clit and you can feel your orgasm building deep in your core. “Yes, please, just like that.”

“My filthy girl, so good for me,” he praises you as you whimper and moan, and you grip his wrist to control his touch. You buck desperately against him, and your hand not holding his begins to pinch and fondle your breast, chasing your pleasure. “You hungry little slut, you can’t get enough, can you?”

You’re so close, and through your half-lidded eyes you see Astarion take his other hand off the steering wheel to take a drag on his cigarette. You cry out in both horror and pleasure as you crash over the edge, fucking yourself on his hand and gripping the back of the seat. Ripples of pleasure reverberate through your body offset by your heart pounding in fear. As the waves subside, Astarion pulls his fingers out and you can feel the car slowing. You’re still breathing heavily as he pulls off at an exit, driving deeper into the woods. 

As soon as the car rolls to a stop, he growls, “Get out,” as he crushes his cigarette in the ashtray. You scramble out of the car and before you can get your bearings he’s got you pushed up against the trunk of the car, kissing you forcefully. You paw wantonly at his neck, just barely keeping up.

“Please, defile me,” you groan as he pushes his bulge into your mound. You slide your fingers into his curls and guide his mouth towards your neck. “Bite me, Astarion.”

“What a disappointment you are to your parents,” he grunts into your ear before sinking his fangs into your jugular. The pain is exactly as exquisite as you had imagined, like icy shards that melt into a warm serenity. He takes deep gulps of your blood, and with each swig his erection grows harder against you. You grind into him, desperate to know what it’s like to feel him inside you.

He pulls away from your neck all too soon, but it’s worth it to see him panting, hair disheveled, and a monstrous bloody grin on his face. “Turn around,” he snarls, but before you can comply he’s grabbed you roughly by the waist and done it for you. He bends you over the trunk and rucks your poodle skirt up to your waist. It doesn’t take him long to pull himself out of his jeans, his cock hard and glistening. You try to turn around to see it but he grabs a hold of your ponytail, keeping your head firmly forward. 

“P-please, Astarion, I need it,” you beg, standing on your toes as you present your throbbing cunt to him. He pushes your panties to the side and aligns himself with your entrance, teasing it lightly with the head of his cock.

“Their perfect little cheerleader with the perfect grades,” he growls and you can only mewl helplessly in response. He pushes into you and you both groan, the sound mixing amongst the ambience of the forest. “You’re all mine, now,” he hisses as he bottoms out, and you claw at the shiny surface of his car. He shoves your face against the cold metal and begins to thrust into you. You cry out with every stretch, the mixture of pain and pleasure becoming quickly overwhelming. 

“Harder, Astarion,” you grunt and he yanks your ponytail back further, stretching out your neck and forcing you to look at him above and behind you. He obliges your request, pounding you into the car forcefully. His face contorts with pleasure as he slides in and out of your tight cunt, and you can already feel yourself building up to a second orgasm. You push yourself back into him, desperate to feel more, when suddenly he pulls out and you whimper from sudden emptiness. But before you can protest, he forcefully turns you around again and shoves himself back into you.

“I want to see your face when I make you cum,” he growls, and you wrap your legs around him to pull him in closer. You grab onto the back of his leather jacket as he fucks you mercilessly against the back of his car. 

“Please, Astarion,” you whimper, each thrust of his cock pushing your breath out of you. “Please don’t stop.” His rutting hips begin to grow uneven, he pounds into you a few more times before you feel the pulsing of his cock against your walls. His face in the throws of passion, his mouth still slightly bloody and his hair falling into his eyes are enough to set off your second climax. You don’t hold anything back, your cries mixed with swears and his name repeated over and over echoing off the trees.

You cling to the back of his neck as you both slow, taking your time to regain control over your breathing. Eventually he pulls out and sets you back down onto your feet. Your legs quake and he laughs as you need to grab his arms to stay steady.

“You said you wanted to be defiled,” he concedes, and you pull him into a comparatively chaste kiss.

“My parents don’t expect me home until morning,” you hum against his lips, “and I can think of a few more ways to defile me until then.”

[mariacallous]

Sarah McBride is the first openly transgender person elected to the U.S. Congress, but she is not the first trans politician to be banned from using the bathroom of her choice by a hostile fellow lawmaker.

Back in 2006 in Italy, newly elected Vladimir Luxuria was briefly barred from using the ladies' room when she took her seat in Parliament. She said her heart breaks for McBride, a Democrat from Delaware.

"They did that to me," Luxuria, 59, said in a telephone interview with NBC News from her home in Rome. "What is happening to Sarah McBride is rank politics."

Which bathroom McBride will be able to use in the next Congress became an issue last week when Rep. Nancy Mace, a South Carolina Republican and staunch supporter of President-elect Donald Trump, introduced a resolution to prohibit lawmakers and House employees from “using single-sex facilities other than those corresponding to their biological sex.”

When asked if the move was specifically in response to McBride, Mace said, "yes and absolutely, and then some." Not long afterward, House Speaker Mike Johnson, who is also a Republican and a Trump supporter, said he supports restricting “single-sex facilities” in the Capitol, including restrooms, to “individuals of that biological sex."

McBride, in a post on X, responded, “Every day Americans go to work with people who have life journeys different than their own and engage with them respectfully, I hope members of Congress can muster that same kindness.”

Luxuria, who left Parliament in 2008 and is an actress and activist, was following in the footsteps of the late Georgina Beyer, a New Zealander who became the world’s first openly transgender member of Parliament when she was elected in 1999.

The only other transgender woman who has served in a national parliament is Poland's Anna Grodzka, who was elected in 2011 and served one four-year term.

Luxuria said she had endured a lifetime of "cruelty" but was still shocked when Italian lawmaker Elisabetta Gardini, who was a supporter of then-Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, confronted her "outside the women's toilet."

"I always went to the women's bathroom because if I even tried to use the men's toilet they would be embarrassed and demand to know what I am doing there," Luxuria said. "So when I came out, I was surprised when Gardini began yelling at me, 'What were you doing in here! You're a man!'"

Luxuria said Gardini "was very angry" but she was determined not to back down.

She said she told Gardini: "OK, I am a trans woman. But if you don't want to see me in here, you should go use the men's toilet."

Luxuria said Gardini walked off in a huff and in no time "the matter of where I could go to the bathroom became a debate in Parliament."

"I was lucky because, in the end, the members of Parliament decided I could use the women's bathroom," she said. "But it was embarrassing that it became an issue."

Luxuria said she has her suspicions about why Gardini, who was a well-known actress and popular TV personality before she got into politics, went after her.

"I suspect Berlusconi's party wanted to make this an issue to attack my party, which was in opposition," she said. "So I am very sympathetic to Sarah McBride."

Gardini did not respond to an email seeking comment.

Noting that Mace once described herself as a pro-LGBTQ social moderate, Luxuria said she thinks Mace's attack on McBride was part of a bigger plan to try to divide Democrats and force them to defend an issue that still makes many Americans "uncomfortable."

"The purpose here is to generate hate for political purposes," Luxuria said.

McBride and Mace did not reply to NBC News' request for comment.

In the aftermath of Vice President Kamala Harris’ loss to Trump, some Democrats and pundits have pointed to the Biden administration’s support for transgender rights as one reason Republicans prevailed.

They noted that the Republicans spent more than $200 million on network television advertisements that underscored Harris’ past support for taxpayer-funded gender-affirming care treatments and that repeatedly aired during NFL and college football games.

During her four years in the Polish Parliament, Grodzka also faced verbal attacks and was repeatedly misgendered by fellow Polish lawmaker Krystyna Pawlowicz. In an interview with Pink News, an LGBTQ digital news outlet based in Britain, in 2013, Grodzka largely brushed off the transphobic comments.

“Krystyna is a very conservative person, therefore I guess I am probably just a little bit too much for her," Grodza said. “She has an imaginary idea of a [perfect] person who is supposed to go to church, etc. … In that case I ruin her picture, therefore it’s a reason for her to attack me."

In recent years — nearly a decade after she left Parliament — Grodzka is still occasionally on the receiving end of personal attacks from Polish lawmakers, as the country's right-wing has embraced anti-LGBTQ sentiments.

In a 2002 documentary about Beyer called "Georgie Girl," Beyer said she commonly faced questions about her gender identity that other politicians would not have to endure.

“I get asked questions no other politician would ever have to answer," she said. "Regarding the surgery, you know. ‘Did it hurt?’ or, ‘When you have sex now as a woman, is it different to how you had sex as a man?’ Well, honey, obviously.”

[theanticool]

Renan Barao vs TJ Dillashaw 1 - UFC 173

We're back to adding context to fights I think all new MMA fans should give a watch. This time, the first fight between Renan Barao and TJ Dillashaw.

I feel like Renan Barao is an overlooked character in modern MMA. A member of the legendary Brazilian gym, Nova Unaio, Barao was one of the top fighters P4P on the planet in May 2014. Much like his teammate Jose Aldo, Barao stormed through his competition on his way to winning the UFC bantamweight title. While he sadly did not get to face off with Dominick Cruz (the champ at the time), Barao did manage to stop Urijah Faber from winning a UFC title. Twice. Heading into his fight with Dillashaw, Barao had rattled off a 35 undefeated streak (34 wins, 1 no contest) after losing his first ever pro fight. He hadn't lost a fight since 2005. Heading into this fight, he was being argued alongside Aldo and Jon Jones as the best P4P fighter in the entire. Pretty sure he was 3rd in the UFC's official P4P rankings.

Enter TJ Dillashaw - a runner up on TUF and a burgeoning BW contender. TJ was an afterthought in this fight. Lacking in experience (this would be his 12th fight) and already having two losses in the UFC, Dillashaw also fought out of the 'cursed' gym Team Alpha Male. Alpha Male had produced elite talents like Urijah Faber, Joseph Benavidez, and Chad Mendes. All of which failed in their runs to UFC gold, running into generational talent like Aldo, Demetrious Johnson, Dominick Cruz, and Renan Barao himself. The prevailing thought was that if those proven top talents couldn't win the big one, what chance did the TUF runner up in TJ Dillashaw stand? It wasn't helped by the fact that this fight was only put together after an injury to Raphael Assuncao (who had beat TJ not too long before) had forced the UFC to stick Dillashaw in as a replacement. He really didn't stand a chance in many folks' eyes.

But that is why they fight the fights. An absolute classic bantamweight title fight. The coming out party for one of the best all around fighters the division ever produced. And sadly, probably the end of prime of one of the best fighters the division ever had. I think for a lot of people, this performance broke the mold of what MMA striking is 'supposed' to look like.

[forsetti]

On Sinead O’Connor: The Lioness And The Orchid

At the young age of 56, Irish singer Sinead O’Connor passed away today. I’ve loved her music since the first time I was introduced to it in 1987, when I was in grad school, by my close friend, Terry Johnson. There was something about her voice that struck something deep in my heart. I don’t know if it was the power behind it, the raw emotion, or something else. All I knew was that this twenty-one-year-old singer was unfuckingbelievable.

A few years later, when she covered Prince’s "Nothing Compares to U," her place among the top singers was etched in stone. If you listen to this song, you FEEL her longing, her pain. If you watch the video with the sound off, these same feelings come across. By the early 1990s, she had positioned herself as one of, if not the top, female musical artists. Her rise to prominence came to a screeching halt on October 3, 1992. During her live performance on Saturday Night Live, she pulled out a picture of Pope John Paul II and ripped it in half as a protest against the Catholic Church’s cover-up of sexual assaults. The aftermath of her performance was a tidal wave of condemnation, outrage, anger, banishment… In that one picture-ripping-moment, Sinead went from one of, if not the top, female artists to a cultural pariah. If you weren’t alive or culturally aware of how this all played out in 1992, all of this sounds unbelievable, knowing what we now know about the breadth and depth of the sexual abuse by Catholic priests around the world and to what extent the Vatican went to cover it up. What Sinead did in 1992 wasn’t just a protest. It was an act of sacrifice. She willingly sacrificed her fame, status, and career to protest the injustice and immorality that had been going on for decades in the Catholic Church. I have a real soft spot for and admiration for people who know exactly their position in life but are willing to sacrifice this for the truth. Malcolm X did this. Wittgenstein did this. Sinead O’Connor absolutely did this.  This sacrifice for the truth cost Malcolm X his life. It cost Sinead her mental health. The abuse heaped on her took a serious toll. She openly and bravely spoke about her mental issues, in the hopes that it would help others.  In January 2022, her seventeen-year-old son, Shane, committed suicide. I can’t speak to exactly what this did to Sinead, but I know what it is like to lose a child. I know the stress, depression, anger, loneliness, sadness... this brings. I can’t imagine what kind of toll this took on someone with an empathetic soul. All I do know is that the pressures, abuses, and losses Sinead suffered were unimaginable, and they would have destroyed most people. Sinead had a pure voice, a pure heart, and a pure moral compass.  If I were Pope Francis, I’d fast-track Sinead for sainthood, and when I made the announcement, I’d rip up a picture of John Paul II.

[fertilisedovumcell]

Heartbreak & losses quotes pt.1

"I had someone once who made every day mean something. And now…. I am lost….And nothing means anything anymore.” ― Ranata Suzuki

“It hurts to love. It's like giving yourself to be flayed and knowing that at any moment the other person may just walk off with your skin.” ― Susan Sontag, Reborn: Journals and Notebooks, 1947-1963

“Growth in love comes from a place of absence, where the imagination is left to it’s own devices and creates you to be much more then reality would ever allow.” ― Jamie Weise

“This was something she would keep hidden within herself, maybe in place of the knot of pain and anger she had been carrying under her breastbone…a security blanket, an ace up her sleeve. She might never use it, but she would always feel its presence like a swelling secret stone, and that way when she let go of the rage, she would not feel nearly as empty.”

― Jodi Picoult, Mercy

“I would rather a romantic relationship turn into contempt than turn into apathy. The passion in the extremities make it appear as though it once meant something. We grow from hot or cold, but lukewarm is the biggest insult.” ― Criss Jami, Killosophy

“Escapists have no right to love, Lovers have no need for escape. When you change exes like socks, It's a sickness, not a choice.” ― Abhijit Naskar, Dervis Vadisi: 100 Promissory Sonnets

“Twice my heart broke for a love so delicate as my own; and yet I did not find a piece of myself in between those lines.” ― Laura Chouette, Profound Reverie

“Irrationality is the absolute absence of ones mind and the full consciousness of every feeling.” ― Laura Chouette

“And I wonder what the sound of a heart breaking might be. And I think it might be quiet, unperceptively so, and not dramatic at all. Like the sound of an exhausted swallow falling gently to earth.” ― Sarah Winman, Tin Man

“My heart no longer felt as if it belonged to me. It now felt as it had been stolen, torn from my chest by someone who wanted no part of it.” ― Meredith Taylor, Churning Waters

“Losing him was like having a hole shot straight through me, a painful, constant reminder, an absence I could never fill.” ― Jojo Moyes, After You

“I found that the only way I could control this sorrow was not to think of [it] at all, which was almost as painful as the loss itself.” ― Robin McKinley, Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast

“If we must part forever, Give me but one kind word to think upon and please myself with, while my heart's breaking.” ― Thomas Otway, The Orphan: Or the Unhappy Marriage

“No amount of soul searching would fix my past. There was no magical Band-Aid I could stick on my heart, no special glue I could use to make myself whole again. I had shattered to pieces like a fragile vase on concrete; some fragments could be roughly cobbled back together, but many of my vital parts had simply turned to dust, pulverized and scattered by the first gust of wind.” ― Julie Johnson, Like Gravity

“One of the most difficult things he'd ever done was turn away and leave her standing in the shadows.” ― Rachel Gibson, I'm In No Mood For Love

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Nick Anderson

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

April 17, 2024

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

APR 18, 2024

Yesterday on the social media site X, formerly Twitter, Miles Taylor wrote: “After 2016, I helped lead the US gov[ernmen]t response to Russia’s election interference. In 2024, foreign interference will be *worse.* Tech[nology is] more powerful. Adversaries more brazen. American public more susceptible. Political leaders across party lines MUST UNITE against this.” 

Taylor served as chief of staff in the Department of Homeland Security under Trump. 

Today, Catherine Belton of the Washington Post reported on a secret 2023 document from Russia’s Foreign Ministry calling for an “offensive information campaign” and other measures that attack “‘a coalition of unfriendly countries’ led by the United States. Those measures are designed to affect “the military-political, economic and trade and informational psychological spheres” of Russia’s perceived adversaries. 

The plan is to weaken the United States and convince other countries, particularly those in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, that the U.S. will not stand by its allies. By weakening those alliances, Russian leaders hope to shift global power by strengthening Russia’s ties to China, Iran, and North Korea and filling the vacuum left by the crumbling democratic alliances (although it is not at all clear that China is on board with this plan).

According to Belton, one of the academics who advised the authors of the Russian document suggested that Russia should “continue to facilitate the coming to power of isolationist right-wing forces in America,” “enable the destabilization of Latin American countries and the rise to power of extremist forces on the far left and far right there,” increase tensions between the U.S. and China over Taiwan, and “escalate the situation in the Middle East around Israel, Iran and Syria to distract the U.S. with the problems of this region.” 

The Russian document suggests that the front lines of that physical, political, and psychological fight are in Ukraine. It says that the outcome of Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine will “to a great degree determine the outlines of the future world order.” 

Putin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky told Belton: “The Americans consider that insofar as they are not directly participating in the war [in Ukraine], then any loss is not their loss. “This is an absolute misunderstanding.”

Media and lawmakers, including those in the Republican Party, have increasingly called out the degree to which Russian propaganda has infiltrated American politics through Republican lawmakers and media figures. Earlier this month, both Representative Michael R. Turner (R-OH), chair of the House Intelligence Committee, and Representative Michael McCaul (R-TX), chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, warned about Russian disinformation in their party. Turner told CNN’s State of the Union that it is “absolutely true” that Republican members of Congress are parroting Russian propaganda. “We see directly coming from Russia attempts to mask communications that are anti-Ukraine and pro-Russia messages, some of which we even hear being uttered on the House floor.” When asked which Republicans had fallen to Russian propaganda, McCaul answered that it is “obvious.” 

That growing popular awareness has highlighted that House Republicans under House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) have for six months refused to pass a national security supplemental bill with additional aid for Ukraine, as well as for Israel and the Indo-Pacific, and humanitarian aid to Gaza. After the Senate spent two months negotiating border security provisions House Republicans demanded, Republicans killed that bill with the provisions at Trump’s direction, and the Senate then passed a bill without those provisions in February.

Johnson has been coordinating closely with former president Trump, who has made his admiration for Russia and his disregard for Ukraine very clear since his people weakened their support for Ukraine in the 2016 Republican Party platform. Johnson is also under pressure from MAGA Republicans in the House, like Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who oppose funding Ukraine, some of them by making statements that echo Russian propaganda.

While the White House, the Pentagon, and a majority of both chambers of Congress believe that helping Ukraine defend itself is crucial to U.S. security, Johnson has refused to take the Senate measure up, even though the House would pass it if he did. But as Ukraine’s ability to defend itself has begun to weaken, pressure for additional aid has ramped up. At the same time, in the wake of Iran’s attack on Israel last weekend, Republicans have suddenly become eager to provide additional funds to Israel. It began to look as if Johnson might bring up some version of foreign aid.

But discussions of bringing forward Ukraine aid brought not only Greene but also Thomas Massie (R-KY) to threaten yesterday to challenge Johnson’s speakership, and there are too few Republicans in the House to defend him. 

Today, Johnson brought forward not the Senate bill, but rather three separate bills to fund Israel, the Indo-Pacific, and Ukraine, with pieces that House Republicans have sought. A fourth bill will include other measures Republicans have demanded. And a fifth will permit an up-or-down vote on most of the measures in the extreme border bill the House passed in 2023. At the time, that measure was intended as a signaling statement because House Republicans knew that the Democratic Senate would keep it from becoming law.

Johnson said he expected to take a final vote on the measures Saturday evening. He will almost certainly need Democratic votes to pass them, and possibly to save his job. Democrats have already demanded the aid to Gaza that was in the Senate bill but is not yet in the House bills. 

Reese Gorman, political reporter for The Daily Beast, reported that Johnson explained his change of heart like this: “Look, history judges us for what we do. This is a critical time right now…  I can make a selfish decision and do something that is different but I'm doing here what I believe to be the right thing.… I think providing lethal aid to Ukraine right now is critically important.… I’m willing to take personal risk for that.”

His words likely reflect a changing awareness in Republican Party leadership that the extremism of MAGA Republicans is exceedingly unpopular. Trump’s courtroom appearances—where, among other things, he keeps falling asleep—are unlikely to bolster his support, while his need for money is becoming more and more of a threat both to his image and to his fellow Republicans. Today the Trump campaign asked Republican candidates in downballot races for at least 5% of the money they raise with any fundraising appeal that uses Trump’s name or picture. They went on: “Any split that is higher than 5% will be seen favorably by the RNC and President Trump’s campaign and is routinely reported to the highest levels of leadership within both organizations.”

Nonetheless, Greene greeted Johnson’s bills with amendments requiring members of Congress to “conscript in the Ukrainian military” if they voted for aid to Ukraine. 

A headline on the Fox News media website today suggested that a shift away from MAGA is at least being tested. It read: “Marjorie Taylor Greene is an idiot. She is trying to wreck the [Republican Party].” The article pointed out that 61% of registered voters disapprove of the Republican Party while only 36% approve. That approval rating has indeed fallen at least in part because of the performative antics of the extremists, among them the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas that made him the first cabinet officer to be impeached in almost 150 years. Today the Senate killed that impeachment without a trial.

As soon as Johnson announced the measures, President Joe Biden threw his weight behind them. In a statement, he said: “I strongly support this package to get critical support to Israel and Ukraine, provide desperately needed humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza, and bolster security and stability in the Indo-Pacific. Israel is facing unprecedented attacks from Iran, and Ukraine is facing continued bombardment from Russia that has intensified dramatically in the last month.

“The House must pass the package this week and the Senate should quickly follow. I will sign this into law immediately to send a message to the world: We stand with our friends, and we won’t let Iran or Russia succeed.”

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[ohsunnyboy]

the upcoming forecast ! ( the status page )

typing out... ( stuff i am in the middle of writing/editing! )

lee sohee { reader is sad :<, dramatically spending time in the rain, second chances? -> can confirm sad ! about halfway done need to flesh out final scene with dialogue then proofread/edit everything -> (LATEST) i genuinely haven't touched this in months will finish off after the anton fic

osaki shortaro {street racer!au, idk its like midnight i am tired but i'm COOKING trust me it's hot its cool it's got leather jackets

REQUEST 🍭: kum junhyeon { fluffy hs!au, he realises he's falling for the reader !! - sounds absolute adorable idk what pov you want me writing this from but i'll try my best :) i'm a bit run over rn so i'll attempt a draft this weekend or next 💪

predicted... ( fic ideassss )

mark lee { hockey!au/nonfamous!au, boy was raised in vancouver and the nucks had a hell of a playoff season, bet he'd be devastated by the loss in round two

jung sungchan { recycling a fic from my wannabe hockey writing drafts lmaoo wyatt johnson i hope you forgive me <3 college!au this is defo getting a collection probs if i don't turn it back into wyjo fic

sung hanbin { royalty!au, fantasy!au, lil bit forbidden romancish, royal tailor!reader, ties loosely into plot of against everything

ricky shen { highschool!au opposites attract typa thing with forced proximity

hwang intak { hockey!au, ehm idk it's like 11rn and i'm so sleepy but i swear there's an idea here

oncoming... ( waiting for the weekend to post! )

nothing yet ...

please note that i only usually type out one fic at a time! while i don't typically accept requests, feel free to send them in anyway. i might end up liking the prompt and add it into the queue :] REQUESTS ARE OPEN !

[mokkkki]

SWTE A1 C12 - 1 Winner, 6 Losers, 1 It's Complicated 

Because Lucius Malfoy is in a fucking Hooters uniform.

Guess who wrote this on Monday but forgot to post it? Anyways, another amazing example of what happens when I try to make Regulus happy, this 2 POV Halloween-themed monster is the most chaotic of Act 1, so far (and I know I say that every week, but it's because the shit that happens each chapter keeps increasing!). I like to think it has all of the staples of a solid Sleeping With The Enemy chapter: an excruciatingly dramatic inner monologue, truly bizarre behavior from all of the characters, ruined plans, and so many emotions that writing it gave me whiplash. Here is the 1 winner and many losers from "Trick ± Treat", alongside their Halloween costumes! Spoilers below the cut. 

Winner: Bellatrix Black (Black Swan)

Yeah, our only winner in this chapter is Bellatrix. Who isn't even a PLAYER in Orion's fucked up mind games? As Regulus identifies, she's the only person who uses their money in a fun way. While her family was getting emotionally tortured by Orion Black, she was in France, hosting a bacchanal, and flew home to NYC to have the cutest matching costume with her sister. Unbothered queen.

Loser: Renée Vance-Black (The Velveteen Rabbit, a costume she changed out of as soon as a nanny snapped a picture)

The seven-year-old hugged her dad, and he had fallen on the floor, having a mental breakdown. Then, she sawhim throwing up. THEN, her parents ditched her for a Halloween party. She's a child I'm sobbing this isn't fair.

Loser: Petra Pettigrew (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson In His Black Turtleneck)

Even though her costume was fire and her party seemed to be going great, I'm going for her as a loser since halfway through this great party, her old high school friend turned into a werewolf, and she had to scurry through the halls as a rat. Also, Regulus really kink-shames her after he gets locked in her love dungeon.

Loser that probably thinks he's a winner, the optimistic idiot: James Potter (Unknown)

James literally says three words in this chapter, but he's still oddly prevalent. He's a loser because Remus, who hasn't told James that he was attending, has transformed during a very public event, and if this gets out, MMG, alongside his reputation, is ruined. While he saved Regulus, this was not a victory; it was a necessity.

Loser: Remus Lupin (The Joker)

I don't want to hear ANY counterpoints on this one. I think a counterpoint would be impossible to form. The only reason he's a winner is because Sirius and Marlene had an argument; other than that, it's lose, lose, lose. He goes out and transforms in a public space full of friends and business partners. Sirius bites his shoulder. Marlene calls him a side chick. Literally the most ginormous loss.

Loser: Sirius Black (Conan The Barbarian)

He fights with his wife, then fights with his boyfriend, and said boyfriend turns into a monster and absolutely brutalizes the brother that he's arguing with. Like?? Do I need to elaborate??

Loser: Lucius Malfoy (Hooter's Girl)

His crush told him that she'd match costumes with him, but guess what! She didn't! Now, he's all alone in a tight nylon scoop top and booty shorts. Sirius found him hot for a millisecond, though?? But to Lucius, that probably makes for an even bigger loss. Either way, long live Himbo Lucius.

It's Complicated: Regulus Black (Hannibal Lecter)

Bro. I literally don't even know how to start. Regulus would be a loser, since his daughter catches him in the middle of a mental breakdown, he has a weird moment with Emmeline (tbh, all their moments are weird), and he hangs up because he literally can't handle the sound of James' voice. And that's just BEFORE the Halloween party, where he has a tense moment with his brother that he probably won't forgive anytime soon, a werewolf slams him against the wall and a red stag scoops him away and charges into safety, accidentally stabbing him with its antlers, and ending up in Petra's fucking love dungeon. That is a LOSS. But the very real, very large thing that makes me reject his status as a loser is that he's deprogramming himself from his father's bullshit. I don't know if this is because of James' influence or a part of his recovery from Slut in the Hut- but instead of having his Van Der Woodsen moment and throwing his phone out the window, he tracks down a homeless man and gives it to him, instead. Very rudely. But still. Regulus is undergoing a very subtle transformation (even a physical one, at the beginning on the chapter- go Animagus Reg!), and I just hope that he's able to complete it before his father finds out- and drags him straight back to where he came from.

read chapter 12 here!

[evillordzog]

For all my American friends

Consider this: Trump is +40% in the GOP primary. 78% approval rating with GOP voters, 29% of whom are ride-or-die-Trump. Barring an accident with choking on a well-done steak, he will be the GOP nominee, making this platform *the GOP platform.*

Then consider this: winning presidential candidates tend to lift House and Senate candidates of the same party. The current House speaker is a Christian nationalist who was one of the primary architects of Trump's attempt to undo his 2020 presidential loss. The 2024 Senate map has Dems defending most of its remaining seats in red states, with only 2 seats to give, net. You think "MAGA Mike" Johnson and Mitch freakin' McConnell will be a check on a Trump power grab? If so, I have some lofts in Trump Tower to sell you.

The likelihood of a Trump win is the likelihood of 2-4 years of unified government under Trump who does not face re-election, a go-along very conservative legislative branch, and a hard right Supreme Court, which means:

* Abortion outlawed nationally.

* Free speech rights abridged - particularly freedoms of protest and freedoms of the press (see: Thomas' desire to revisit libel laws vs. the media)

* Books banned, nationally.

* Muslim bans and family separation policy, reinstated.

* Military action against Mexico over the border, authorized (it's terrifying how popular this idea is in GOP circles)

* LGBTQ protections, particularly marriage and trans rights, overturned.

* Tax cuts for the ultra-rich expanded and made permanent.

* Union organizing cracked down upon.

* Green energy and environmental protections of the IRA, reversed and the EPA either crippled or dissolved.

* Ukraine, Taiwan, Gaza, all abandoned to their fates.

* and of course, all 91 felony charges against Trump are dropped.

And that's just year one.

This is not scare-mongering: these are the *public, stated policy positions* taken by MAGA and the GOP right now. The Heritage Foundation's innocuous-sounding "Project 2025" is a roadmap white paper on dismantling the federal government under a second Trump term, and you can look it up anytime.

I get Joe Biden is old, and things are not improving quickly enough - maybe you don't feel anything is improving at all. Maybe you disagree with some, or a lot, of the administration's policies. Maybe you want someone younger or more progressive or more willing to fight the system that's failing too many people.

BUT.

Short of some miracle in the primaries, that wishlist just isn't on the table. If you are naive enough to make the perfect the enemy of the good, you'll get neither. You have one simple, stark, choice:

Anything except voting for the Dem candidate -- and that includes abstaining because you think the candidates are just as bad as each other -- is a vote for Trump, and the naked unalloyed evil he brings with him.

That is it, folks. That's the whole game.

The costs of failure here are far too high, for you, your children, your neighbors, your country, and the world the rest of us live in. You CANNOT allow these fascists to win, and that means we must do everything - and anything - it takes to stop them from getting hold of the reins of power. You CANNOT allow a revenge-obsessed narcissist and his fascist little cronies to take hold of the government, where they will absolutely pull the the ladder after them, as they always try to when they gain power. Because as we all know, things that are done in the USA are very hard to un-do, by design. And if you fail here, there's not really much of a USA left anymore.

[thoughtfullyrainynightmare]

I got tagged by @atinyhellu to post the 10 first songs on shuffle from my spotify on repeat playlist! Thank you for the tag!! 

I put my liked songs on shuffle, and I really only listen to the ones on the top of said list, so there might be some old ones in there ^^’

1. Gone by Beth Crowley

I have no memory as to when I added this to my list, but it does give me angsty and faint warrior -like vibes. There are themes of loss and battle for sure though. Good writing inspiration. But nowadays feels a bit repetitive :/

2. I’m not the only one by Sam Smith

Another tragic love song. I think I added this for writing inspiration too, specifically for writing the last few chapters of BWHI, though the song itself isn’t a good fit for the story. But again, the feels of the melody, and some individual lines from here and there. 

3. Gloria Regali by Tommee Profitt, Fleurie

A song I stumbled on by accident, and it was again for writing purposes, because I felt it to have similar themes to the BC manga, but also went nicely with The Vows We Made. Though I would put this as a Queen Anima song as well (so essentially Embers thing).  Man there’s a lot of Embers inspiration songs here ^^’ 

4. The Moon Is Rising by Samanta Tina

A Eurovision song! I found it through Ukraine’s entry, and put it in my Liked Songs before I found that it’s a Eurovision song, actually. Just some sexy, warrior, goddess/valkyrie vibes. 

5. Wellerman by The Longest Johns

A fun sailor song. Miiiiight have been influenced by a friend ;) But it’s a fun song. 

6. Godhunter by Aviators

Don’t remember why I added it, but doesn’t really matter. It’s a nice song with hunter, mystery, and lore -vibes. If I want to feel badass while walking somewhere, I might put this one on.

7. Your turn to roll (Critical Roll theme) by Ashley Johnson, Laura Bailey, Sam Riegel

This is here because of DnD vibes. Stumbled on it by accident, but I had to put it there, especially because of the BC dnd game we’re playing.

8. The Fine Print by The Stupendium

Can’t remember why I added this, but it’s a ... funky song. In lack of a better word. But there’s the deal making -vibes, which can be very good writing inspo, so it could be that I listened to it while writing something specific. Can’t really remember. 

9. New Tradition by Saysh, Anderson Rocio

I think I just liked the vibes of this song too. It’s determined, as a nice spunk to it. Another song that I’d listen to while walking from point A to point B.

10. Surface Pressure by Jessica Darrow

Do I need to say something about this? Sometimes there is a lot going on in life, and it seems unbearable, but it’ll be alright in the end. 

I’m tagging (with absolutely no pressure) @acacia-may @trolling-the-interwebs @koneko-pi and @daffodilsinspring

[lostaroace]

A deal with Hades | Anders Johnson x OC Fem!Hades (Ch.2)

Series Masterlist

Previous chapter -- Next chapter

Fandom: The Almighty Johnsons

Pairing: Anders Johnson x OC Fem!Hades

Rating: Mature (cussing)

Content warnings: free call on mythology and beliefs, swearing and self-esteem issues.

Summary of the chapter: Anders meets with Hades to figure out the extent of his deal.

Word count: 2410

More content in My Fanfic Masterlist | Multifandom

Also avialable on AO3

This work was created to be part of the Deanobingo2023 event by @deanobingo​ It fills the Free Space on both the Character Card and the General Prompt Card; why not?

A deal with Hades | Chapter Two

A week after the incident, the Johnsons were yet to find the person that had tried to kill Axl and who knew that by doing so Odin and the other gods would be damned. They were genuinely afraid to contact Aïdi Ariti for starters, as she was Hades and all that, and tried to leave her a message at the law firm. She had not responded and her secretary had implied that she was out of the country for business. The idea that those businesses had to do with the afterlife was unsettling. Olaf and Ingrid were unable to find an answer to what had happened or what would happen in the future; they had absolutely no idea about ancient gods and if Greek myths were as reliable as theirs, they were in trouble, because they were all horseshit.

Anders had been taking some time for himself. His brothers looked at him oddly now and that was making him uncomfortable. They seemed to feel pity and gratitude at the same time that they thought he was suicidal. With this time for himself to think, alone and sober in his apartment, he looked at his reflection in the bathroom mirror.

He was twenty-one when he found out about this gods' situation, and like Axl, he had looked up for information. Unlike Axl, he had actually read it. Apart from that, he had also read the outlines of other mythologies. He had a great memory although he’d built all this personality and character on the premise of being an asshole that's too superficial to actually care for anything. He cared. He cared about his family.

The whole hypothesis of Axl dying before finding Frigg seemed to be a big joke at the beginning. Of course, people die every second, but he hoped that his brother would have a long life. The goddesses didn't want to kill him anymore once he had his two hearts, only to find Frigg before them. So, yeah, Anders was pretty confident in the fact that Axl would be able to live until his forty without finding Frigg. That did not mean that he had to like it. That's why seeing him bleeding out in front of him was worse than when he had this arrow in his chest. He was definitely going to die and with him, his brothers. Anders couldn't bare the idea of Ty dying… Even Mike, although their relationship had never been easy. Anders just assumed that he was the odd one; they didn't need him and most of the time they didn't even want him anyway. Giving his life to save them seemed like a good deal. If Mike or Ty, or even Olaf, had known anything about Hades they would've done the same, and their loss would've been worse than his.

Suicidal? Yeah, maybe. It might've been that which pushed him down the line and affirmed his resolution.

Did he regret it? Not really. It is true that some parts of him still were unaware of the heaviness of his contract with Hades, but the alternative was not an option.

When he deemed himself ready to face his destiny, Anders went straight to the law firm. Her main office was located in a luxurious business building. He walked decisively toward the secretary, ready to use Bragi's voice if needed. The woman at the desk barely glanced at him.

"She's been expecting you," she said doing a gesture with her hand for him to go inside the office, her eyes not leaving the computer screen anymore.

As he entered the new room, a combination of warm and cozy furniture and decoration welcomed him. Aïdi was not like Eva; at all. She was wearing one of her numerous lawyer outfits, seated at the comfortable chair behind her huge desk while scribbling something down. Next to her desk was a dog bed occupied by a golden retriever wearing a vest that announced it as an emotional support animal.

Anders was so overwhelmed by the scene that he froze in the middle of the room. She tore her eyes away from her documents to look at him.

"How's your brother?" She asked politely leaving her documents aside and providing Anders with her undivided attention.

He felt like blushing out of the blue. The chairs in front of her desk turned out to be comfortable as he sat on one, "Alive."

"Good. He'd better keep it that way or I'm going to end up with a collection of all the Johnsons." To his silence, she gave him an apologetical smile, "Too soon?"

"A bit." A pause for him to get more comfortable in his seat, "We're still looking for the person that stabbed Axl. Do you know what was of them?"

"I killed them, of course. That's where I've been lately, apart from doing paperwork. Don't think much about it. Zeus has always been the egocentric type. The idea of having another god known as 'the father' of the gods is insulting to him. At the same time, he's way too lazy to get down the Olympus and do the job himself. Pay him no mind, Axl is now under my protection against them thanks to you."

The dog got up from its bed, stretched letting its joints crack, and then walked its way to Aïdin who allowed the animal to put its head on her thighs. She scratched the dog absently while waiting for Anders to lead the situation; the dog licked her hand.

"Didn't know you owned a dog."

She gave him a genuine smile, "I'm sure you've heard about the dog with three heads, love. We have a ton in the netherworld. They do change their appearance when they're here too. He's Blanc."

"Blanc?"

"I ran out of names."

Anders couldn't help but smile. The tension in his body accumulated in his stomach. "Why am I not dead?"

"Why should you?"

"I changed my life for my brother's."

"No. You traded your souls. That's different. Plus, you gave yourself to me. You belong to me now. If I want you to be always young and healthy and alive, then that's what's going to happen. If you have a car accident and die, I can just give you another body or fix your former one and keep you alive. Or maybe just collect your soul and take you to my palace."

"You have a palace?"

"Of course I have a palace. Where did you expect me to live? I'm a god."

"I don't know! I didn't even know you were a god!"

"In my defense, you were not supposed to know." She explained to him all the history of her existence, and how she came to New Zealand looking for Loki and decided to give the Johnsons a little hand looking for Frigg from the distance when her path crossed with Anders'.

"So, this is all Loki's fault. Why am I not surprised?"

"Because you've met him. Is there anything else I can do for your curiosity, Anders?"

He got suddenly shy. She was a god, a proper one, and the idea of awakening her ire was frightening. "I thought Hades was male."

"Yeah… Let's say that most of us were misgendered at the beginning by mortals and that got mixed with the fantasies they wrote about us and– Just to be perfectly clear, I did not take Persephone nor did I marry her or anything like that. Did she come to my realm? Yes. Did Demeter freak out? Of course! He was a particularly obsessive father and she was kind of rebellious, you know."

"Demeter is a dude."

"Told you. We were missgendered."

"But you still refer to yourself as a god, not a goddess."

"You think of me like one of the gods from Classic Greece. I'm not greek. The existence of the death gods or gods of the dead is parallel to the existence of life. We were created with creation itself. I'm older than mortals, older than language and writing. Hades is one of the names I like best, to be honest, and Aïdi is just a way of interpreting it. When mortals started to worship me there was only one word to refer to us the-ones-that-are-divine: god. For you it might have a gender; for me, it's a neutral word.

"If that was all you needed for now, Misery has a copy of our contract for you and your brother. Just for you to keep. You can read it, if you like, that way you would understand better what you agreed on, Anders."

"Your secretary's name is Misery?" He smiled.

"Don't assume she's mortal, love."

She went back to her documents ignoring the nervousness that rushed over Anders to the pet name, again. Misery approached him once he was out with a heavy binder and a cream envelope.

"The envelope is for your brother. Some sort of receipt. This, on the other hand, is for you. Be good to her, Anders Johnson; she has a soft spot for you already." For once in his life he was out of words; he nodded and turned towards the exit when Misery talked again, with a dismissive tone, "It would be nice if you read your contract. The paperwork for this kind of trade is exhaustive. That's why she had to bring the dog with her this time."

"You're weird…"

"Wellcome to the family, Anders Johnson," she deadpanned.

*

Dawn talked to him with her usual tired yet angry tone in her voice. He wasn't focusing, like, at all. The binder rested on his desk, big and heavy looking; expensive. Anders' look kept drifting toward it instead of the documents. Dawn kept complaining about the missing clients and how they didn't want to meet with them; she kept pushing him to make the calls himself because he was the one with a silver tongue. If she only knew… Bragi's powers were only useful in person when he could engage the mortal with his eyes as well as his voice.

"You know what? You're right," Anders determined standing up and cutting Dawn's whining.

"Am I?"

"Yeah. I'll go talk to some clients," he picked the binder with his other things, "and you can close up once you're finished."

She followed him to the door. "No. No! Anders! Don't do this to me! You can't just leave me here!"

"Then go talk to some clients in person too, Dawn. Who's going to stop you, huh?"

"A–"

He placed his hand on her shoulder, "You got this. Bye."

Anders heard her curse through the door but didn't mind. He went to talk to a client; two of them in fact, but they didn't receive him. He drove to Mike's finding it closed to the public although all the gods and Zeb were there drinking for free, as usual. Anders greeted them in his fashion before handing Axl the cream envelope.

"What's this?"

"I saw Aïdi today. That's yours."

"You found her?" Ty questioned immediately.

"Not so hard, really. She was at work." He took a long sip of his beer noticing in the corner of his eye how Axl was opening the envelope.

"She wasn't there when we called," Mike replied.

"Been busy, apparently. Aïdi found the one that tried to kill Axl. As it turned out, they were Zeus' kid. Zeus wanted Odin finished forever. So, she was busy with that," another very long sip; the beer was almost gone just like that. "Oh, and the paperwork for our deal."

Axl, who had been reading the document inside the envelope, looked at his brothers with a frown. He gave it to Mike, who was about to snatch it from him. "Does this mean that if I don't sign, I'll be dead?"

"What? No! You didn't make the deal, I did. This is just a receipt for you. I have a whole binder with my contract. Heavy as a bad fuck. On the bright side," he finished his beer and opened another one, "I have all eternity to read it, don't I?" His smile was big and sarcastic.

"Then you don't sign."

"God of wisdom my ass," he mumbled. "Axl, you egg, I already sign it. That's why you are pretty much alive and I have this thingy in my skin."

The silence became pregnant and uncomfortable. Anders drank looking only at his hands wanting to sort out his own feelings and thoughts. He finished his second beer and looked around.

Frowning, he faced the others, "Come on, my soul belongs to Hades. So what? That's worse than the alternative. I'm not dead, stop looking at me like that! What's more, you are all going to grow old and die, and I will still be me and be alive if I want to because Aïdi is fucking awesome for a god of the dead. She's nothing like that emo-crazy child Ty got married to."

"But– What if you end up like Ty after he got with Eva?" Olaf voiced common concerns.

To Anders, the sole idea of Aïdi having that behavior towards him was so ludicrous that he couldn't help but burst out laughing; honest and freely. "Let me deal with her, all right? She's nothing you should worry about."

Oh… Oh, that was new. Was this what they call jealousy? Maybe not, but it hit quite close to it, though. The idea of his family drawing Aïdi's attention to the point of him not receiving enough was unsettling. True, it wasn't the first time that he had wanted her undivided attention on himself. It had happened before he knew she was a god, but he assumed it was the unsatisfied sentiment of accomplishment. He wanted her. He had wanted her badly, but flirting and dancing around each other was more satisfying than just using Bragi's powers to lure her. So he had waited and used his mortal methods on her without the desired outcome. However, no other guy seemed to be lucky either when they tried to hook up with her, and he always put some extra effort into distracting her from them. Anders had thought that the burning feeling in the pit of his stomach, the crawling of his skin, and the sudden sour mood were the result of him not getting what he wanted and not the fact that someone else was going to steal his place. Because it was. It was his place.

Fuck…

To be continued on Chapter Three

[eaglesnick]

The Truth, The Whole Truth And Nothing But The Truth

Question

What do the following political leaders have in common?

David Cameron, Nick Clegg, Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak, and Keir Starmer.

Answer

They all made pledges they did not keep.

Cameron broke several pledges, not least his promise not to raise VAT. “We have absolutely no plans to raise VAT” he told Jeremy Paxman during an interview about his first budget.  VAT was then raised from 17.5% to 20% despite Cameron’s pledge to the contrary.

Nick Clegg pledged not to raise university tuition fees. “I pledge to vote against any increase in fees in the next parliament and to pressure the government to introduce a fairer alternative.”  This pledge was abandoned immediately Nick Clegg became Deputy Prime Minister under the Tory/Lib/Dem coalition government.

Boris Johnson, as we all now know, is  incapable of telling the truth about anything if he sees a personal advantage in lying to us.

Rishi Sunak promised, on the steps of No 10 Downing Street, "This government will have integrity, professionalism, and accountability at every level. Trust is earned and I will trust yours.”  Since then Sunak has been accused of covering up ministers actions during the pandemic, and rather than being "accountable at every level” is being taken to court to force him to hand over information vital to the Covid Enquiry.

Keir Starmer made ten pledges during his bid for the Labour Party leadership. Having won that contest he has now abandoned nearly every one of those promises. Such is the disillusionment of Labour members that membership is haemorrhaging by the thousands. The BBC reported a loss of 90.000 members by August 2022.

Under Starmer’s leadership, the Labour Party no longer offers an alternative to the broken policies of the Tories. Just like Nick Clegg, Boris Johnson, David Cameron and Rishi Sunak, Keir Starmer is prepared to promise ANYTHING to gain power, but once elected go back on his word.

This country deserves so much better from our political leaders.