#anyone who hurts her feelings (whether that's in response to her hurtful actions first or otherwise)? THROW THEM AWAY

[dollypopup]

This fandom gets more bent out of shape and upset about that entrapment line than Penelope herself does

one day peeps who get soooo mad at Colin for very easily understandable statements will finally just admit that they don't like him instead of twisting into pretzels to justify why they're so angry at him. y'all don't like him, but Penelope does. she loves him and tries to understand him, she was upset that she hurt him and she extended empathy to him in light of such, which is why her only response to it is 'I didn't mean to trap you, Colin, I love you', and YOUR response is to write fic after fic foaming at the mouth blowing a singular statement out of proportion and using a meangirl Fanon Penelope as a mouthpiece for your own bitterness

Penelope Bridgerton loves Colin. And knows she's hurt him and wants to heal that hurt. She wouldn't vibe with a fanbase who demonizes him the way we have

[just-aake]

Detecting Love Part 2

Pairing: Natasha Romanoff x fem!reader

Summary: Sequel to Detecting Love. Can a spy who's been trained to lie her entire life show the person with the power to detect lies the truth what it means to be loved?

Warnings: fluff, light angst, hurt/comfort

Words: 5171

Natasha Romanoff lies.

Now, that’s to be expected, considering she is one of the greatest spies in the world. Ever since she was a child, she has been trained to be able to deceive everyone she meets.

Lying comes as easily to her as breathing, and deception is woven into every fiber of her being.

A charming smile here. A flirty wink there. 

Sweet words flow from her lips like honey.

Making everyone fall in love with all of the different false personas that she created for herself.

With a life and a past as shadowed as hers, it makes sense why she never even dared to imagine finding a person who can tolerate, let alone embrace, someone like her.

Then, she met you.

With your unique power to literally see through lies, you can detect the truth from her even when she’s at her most convincing. And despite learning about who she was and how she is, you accepted her unconditionally, not just as a friend, but as a partner.

For Natasha, being with someone who can truly see her is scary, and yet, that feeling is also better than breathing itself.

The two of you have been dating for several months now, and Natasha has never been happier.

Even if she sometimes occasionally struggles to express her affection openly in public.

As the two of you stroll through the compound, her eyes drift down once again in contemplation to your hand swinging casually at your side.

As if sensing her silent deliberation, you suddenly ask her curiously.

“Do you want to hold my hand?”

Natasha straightens at your question and faces forward, responding promptly in an even tone, “No.” 

Now that is sure to sound honest to anyone else who heard it, but you’re different.

Natasha makes sure to trail back slightly behind your line of sight in an attempt to hide the glow she knows you’d probably see around her.

You don’t comment on her evading action, but a faint smile tugs at the corners of your lips as you maintain your pace toward the Avenger’s personal elevator.

The two of you stand side by side, waiting for the elevator to arrive when Natasha suddenly feels the back of your hand lightly graze her fingers before quickly pulling away.

She narrows her eyes in suspicion at you, but you maintain an innocent expression, your gaze fixed on the decreasing numbers above the elevator doors.

Facing forward once more, Natasha is about to dismiss the action as an accidental touch when she feels it again – the fleeting brush of your hand against hers. 

This time, she doesn't hesitate to shoot you an accusing stare. Yet, you continue to feign ignorance, your expression a perfect mask of innocence. 

A couple of seconds pass before your hand makes contact with hers for the third time. 

Before you can retract your hand, Natasha swiftly catches it and intertwines your fingers with hers before letting out a defeated huff.

You don’t utter a word about her actions, but a subtle smile curves your lips, exposing your amusement at her reaction. 

With a soft squeeze of her hand, you pull her into the elevator, the door closing shut behind the two of you.

It's moments like these that remind Natasha why she fell for you — your ability to see past her lies, even the most trivial ones.

Once the elevator door slides open to the private floor, the two of you are met with sounds of a heated argument between the Asgardian Avenger and his visiting brother.

“I know you did it, Loki! This is not the first time you’ve taken and hidden a treasure of mine!”

“Oh, would you stop being so dramatic? We're talking about a mug, not some enchanted artifact.”

You raise a questioning brow at her, silently asking her whether you two should come back at another time, but Natasha shakes her head resolutely in response, not willing to let anything prevent her from missing her morning coffee.

As the two of you walk past the brothers, Thor finally notices the new presence in the room.

“Y/n!” he calls excitedly. 

His hand lands on your shoulder, catching you in place between the two of them which in turn pulls your hand from her grasp.

Thor’s other hand points accusingly at his brother.

“Is Loki lying about taking my mug?”

Realizing that you’re being dragged into the middle of the argument, your eyes dart to Natasha for help, only for her to give you a thumbs up in encouragement as she takes a sip of the coffee that she just poured from the freshly made pot.

The other Asgardian crosses his arms and snickers derisively at his brother.

“Do you really think that this simple mortal can expose the literal god of mischief? I didn’t take your stupid mug, and she can’t prove any—”

“He’s lying,” you answer plainly, seeing the red aura surrounding the Asgardian.

Loki shuts his mouth in surprise, blinking at you for a moment in disbelief, before pointing at you with a disdainful look.

“I don’t like her,” he states bluntly.

“Ah ha!” Thor exclaims victoriously. “You did take it!”

The two continue with their arguing as you discreetly sneak away to Natasha’s side.

She hands you a cup of coffee which you accept with a soft thanks before an alarm on your phone rings, showing your reminder for the day. 

You groan lightly in disappointment, causing Natasha to raise a questioning brow at you as she raises her cup for another sip.

“I have some interviews to get to this morning, so I’ll have to see you later,” you tell her before pressing a quick kiss goodbye to her cheek.

“I love you,” you whisper against her skin.

Swallowing her sip quickly, Natasha turns her head towards your direction, the reciprocating words also on her tongue.

“I—”

But you’ve already rushed away around the corner, disappearing from view. 

“…love you too,” Natasha finishes in a soft disappointed tone, her lips twisting at your action. 

Public displays of affection aside, Natasha has no problem wanting to tell you how much you mean to her.

But for some reason, you always seem to conveniently find ways to escape whenever she’s about to say those words to you.

“Now I’m no expert on relationships, but that right there was some cunning evasion tactic,” Loki comments, smirking at Natasha. “It appears that she’s not really interested in receiving such words from you.”

A slap on Loki's shoulder propels him forward a couple of steps as Thor reprimands, “Stop trying to cause problems for them, Loki.” 

He then turns to Natasha with a firm nod. 

“Don’t listen to him, Nat. Y/n loves you.”

Of course, she knows that. 

You whisper those words against her skin every morning when you think she’s still asleep and then again against her lips when you wake her up. 

The problem is that it seems that she never gets the chance to return the gesture before you find some way to rush away from the room or keep her mouth otherwise occupied and distracted.

A thud on the counter pulls her from her thoughts as Loki leans against the table with a mischievous grin.

“That girl can detect lies, right? Then why don’t you just tell her that you don’t love her, and then she’ll see the truth. That should be easy enough for you. After all, lying is your specialty,” Loki remarks before a smug expression forms on his face. 

“Unless that is, the truth is that you don’t actually love her,” he taunts.

Natasha glares at him silently, refusing to fall for his baiting provocation. Not wanting to give the trickster god any more amusement, she quickly downs the rest of her coffee and leaves for the meeting room, deciding to try again with you later.

~~~~~~~ ⧗ ~~~~~~~

With the briefing finishing early, Natasha decides to visit your office during this break in between her meetings. Conversations flow around her as she walks past the front desk toward the administrative part of the building.

“I’m sorry, miss, but I can’t let you enter without an appointment.”

“Well, is there any way you can just send a message to Y/n to let her know I’m here?”

Natasha’s head snaps up from her tablet at the sound of your name and curiously turns to the person who said it, only for her eyes to widen slightly in surprise at their identity.

Your ex-fiancée 

Stopping in her tracks, Natasha redirects her attention to the two of them.

“What did you need to see Y/n for?” she asks.

Your ex turns to her at her question, and an expression of amazement crosses her face.

“Oh, wow, you’re Black Widow.”

Brushing off her awed exclamation, Natasha crosses her arm expectantly as she repeats, a slight tone of protectiveness entering her voice.

“Why are you looking for Y/n?” 

Noticing her serious gaze and intimidating demeanor, your ex fidgets with her hands nervously as she responds.

“It’s kind of a private matter with an old case that I need her help with,” she explains.

Despite being the one who broke your heart, your mutual break up with her meant that the two of you are still somewhat friends, and as much as Natasha wants to, she can’t prevent your ex from seeking you out, especially since it seems she needs your help.

With an internal displeased sigh, Natasha gestures with her head towards the direction of the elevators.

“I’m heading over to her office right now if you want to come with me,” Natasha offers, nodding at the receptionist reassuringly to indicate that it’s okay, before walking away without another word. 

Natasha hears your ex scramble to follow quickly after her once she processes her words.

As the elevator doors close with the two of them inside, Natasha pulls out her phone to send you a warning text.

I’m on the way to your office with your ex.

A read message quickly appears under her text, indicating that you have seen it, and then a text bubble promptly pops up as you respond.

?!?!?

“So, do you and Y/n work together often?” your ex asks, trying to fill the silence with casual conversation.

Natasha looks up at her question, tucking her phone away. She crosses her arms and leans back against the elevator walls, adopting an intimidating posture, as she gives her a hard stare.

With a calm yet assertive tone, she tilts her head curtly and replies with the truth. 

“She’s my girlfriend.”

An awkward silence fills the small space after her answer, and your ex’s eyes dart around the enclosed space, seemingly realizing she’s essentially alone with the Black Widow who just revealed that she is in a relationship with you. 

Sensing her nervous energy, Natasha relaxes her posture, offering a more friendly demeanor.

“Relax, if I was going to do something, I would have done it already,” Natasha reassures. 

Your ex nods hesitantly, acknowledging Natasha’s attempt to diffuse the tension. After a moment of contemplation, she gathers the courage to speak up again. 

“So, you know about Y/n and her ability?” your ex asks, her voice tinged with curiosity.

“Yes,” Natasha confirms, adding, “And about what happened between the two of you.”

The revelation hangs heavy in the air, plunging the elevator into an uncomfortable silence once again. 

Honestly, Natasha knows she shouldn’t keep putting your ex in these awkward positions with her responses. 

However, just because you are on friendly terms with her doesn’t mean Natasha has to be, especially considering she never held any goodwill toward the woman before.

Natasha redirects her focus to the digital display above the door, silently cursing and blaming Tony for the sluggish pace of the elevator. 

“I-I honestly did love her,” your ex confesses, breaking the silence once again.

At her statement, Natasha regards her with a raised eyebrow, silently prompting her to elaborate on her sudden declaration.

"I mean, Y/n’s great. It’s just…it got hard to imagine being with someone who always knows if you’re telling the truth or not,” your ex explains with a small sigh, offering a tiny sympathetic shrug before asking. “I’m sure you understand that feeling too, right?"

Irritation flares in Natasha’s chest at your ex’s words, her protective instincts surfacing in defense of you.

"Maybe the fact that she can see someone for who they truly are is what makes being with her so special," Natasha counters, her voice firm with conviction.

The remainder of the elevator ride passes in tense silence until the doors finally open with a ding, signaling their arrival at your floor. 

Throughout that time, one part of the conversation continues to bother Natasha, and she finds herself asking, wanting to know the answer.

“Did you tell her often?”

“What?” your ex asks, blinking in surprise and caught off guard by her sudden question. 

Natasha presses her lips together momentarily in displeasure at the topic before clarifying, “Did you tell Y/n that you loved her often, you know, before your feelings changed?”

“Oh, um, kind of,” she admits, a faint chuckle escaping her lips. “It’s actually kind of funny. Y/n would always have this cute little shy smile whenever I said it, so I ended up saying those words to her a lot.”

The irritation in Natasha’s chest intensifies at her answer, and her feelings must be evident on her face because your ex starts waving her hands frantically in a slight panic.

“But I’m positive Y/n won’t react the same way if I said it now,” she adds quickly.

Instead of responding, Natasha leaves the elevator without another word. 

Your ex’s reassurance does little to ease the irritation that she feels at not yet having been able to say those words to you herself.

The two of them arrive at the door of your office, only to find it locked with the lights turned off.

Just as Natasha is about to text you to ask you about your whereabouts, you emerge from around the corner, skidding to a stop in front of her.

Confused at your flustered state, Natasha gives you a questioning look as she asks, “Why are you rushing?”

You take a couple of deep breaths to catch your breath before answering.

“Because…I didn’t want to…to leave you waiting.”

Natasha feels her heart flutter at your words, her posture relaxing for a moment.

“…wow…you look good, Y/n,” your ex comments.

Natasha’s body immediately tenses again at the reminder of your ex’s presence, and she becomes further annoyed when she takes in the state of your appearance that prompted the remark from your ex.

You are in your usual workout outfit, a standard black tank top, showcasing your body with a gleam of sweat still on your skin, evidence of your workout session.

As if sensing Natasha’s increasing irritation, your ex gestures awkwardly in fear toward the waiting area some distance away.

“I’ll just wait over there.”

Natasha watches your ex walk away with a slight glare in her eyes. 

When she turns back to you, her expression instinctively softens with affection and curiosity.

“Where were you?” she asks.

“My last couple of interviews had to cancel, so I decided to go train for a bit,” you answer with a slight shrug. “You know, since you suggested that I try training whenever I’m bored and have some free time.”

Natasha's lips twist slightly in conflict at your response. She's happy you took her suggestion to heart, but now she's also upset that it led to you appearing in front of your ex in such a state.

Gesturing toward your ex, you ask, “Did she say why she’s here?”

Natasha sighs and shakes her head.

“She only mentioned that it was an old case that you can help her with.”

“Okay,” you say, nodding in understanding, probably already knowing what she’s referring to. 

Then you look at Natasha with a cute tilt of your head. 

“After I finish up with her, do you want to go out for some lunch?”

A small smile forms on Natasha’s face, her earlier irritation melting away at your suggestion. 

However, she knows she might not have enough time to wait and go out before her next meeting.

“How about I go ahead and pick up some takeout first, and then we can have lunch in your office when I return?” Natasha offers as a compromise.

You smile at her in response and press a soft kiss against her cheek.

“It’s a date.”

As you’re about to move past her, Natasha presses her hand firmly on your shoulder, stopping you and pushing you back to your original position.

You give her a questioning look in confusion.

“Did you take my hoodie again?” Natasha asks accusingly. 

Your eyes dart guiltily to your office before you mutter under your breath with a soft pout, “Maybe.”

Natasha nods slightly in contemplation, her eyes glancing at where your ex was waiting and then back to you.

“Put it on,” she says plainly.

You raise a brow at her in confusion and gesture to your body.

“Nat, I’m covered in sweat. I didn’t get a chance to hit the showers before you texted,” you explain.

“That text didn’t mean that you should come here all hot and sweaty in front of your ex like this,” Natasha remarks pointedly, crossing her arms.

A teasing grin pulls at your lips as a look of understanding crosses your face.

“You think I look hot right now?” you ask happily.

“Seriously?” Natasha deadpans. 

Unbothered by her signature intimidating gaze, you pull her closer by the loops on her belt and lean in with a slight tilt of your head.

“Are you jealous?” you tease lightly, your bottom lip caught in between your teeth as you try to hide your pleased grin.

Natasha rolls her eyes, though her lips quirk up briefly in amusement. She knows whether she responds truthfully or not, you probably already know the answer without the help of your ability, so she responds instead.

“Keep it up, and I’ll just come back with one takeout box for myself,” she warns.

You laugh lightly at her response, nodding your head in concession.

“Alright, I’ll put it on,” you promise, before leaning in to press a soft kiss to her lips. 

As you pull away, you whisper, “I love you,” the words brushing softly against her lips.

Natasha’s eyes had fluttered closed at the touch of your kiss, but they snapped open when she remembered she wanted to say those words back to you too.

However, to her disappointment, before she realized it, you had disappeared from her side. 

Turning around, she finds you already in your office, putting on her hoodie.

A mocking chuckle sounds beside her, and she turns to see Loki leaning casually against the wall.

“Oh, you didn’t even try that time,” he taunts.

Without hesitation, Natasha raises her wrist and shoots a widow bite at him. It flies through his body, dispersing the apparition that he had left there.

Groaning in annoyance at his presence, Natasha quickly leaves to go get your lunches before he can reappear and provoke her further.

~~~~~~~ ⧗ ~~~~~~~

“So this is the one lie detector that you can’t beat,” Fury comments with intrigue, as he examines your file.

Natasha closes the folder promptly and takes it from the table in front of him, stating firmly, “Her name’s Y/n, and no, you can’t have her. She’s just going to help review the list of potential recruits for you. Nothing else.”

She gives him a pointed look, stressing, “Especially not any SHIELD interrogations.”

Leaning back in his chair, Fury chuckles amusedly and raises a brow at her.

“Protective, are we?”

Before she can affirm the lengths she would go to minimize the risks you have to take, the door slams open, and you stroll in, giving her a wave and a charming smile. 

You stop in front of her, taking her hand suddenly in yours and giving it a light swing. 

“Ready to get started?” you ask. 

Natasha’s eyes narrow in suspicion. Something about your behavior was off and unlike you. 

She examines your expression critically, and then in one swift, fluid motion, she grabs your wrist and upper arm, pivots on her heel, and shifts her weight, seamlessly flipping you over her shoulder. 

With a resounding thud, Natasha slams you down onto the meeting table, the impact rattling the room.

Fury whistles lowly with a slight wince, a mixture of sympathy and admiration in his tone.

“Tough love, huh?” he remarks to her.

Natasha rolls her eyes at his comment and shakes her head, reaching to her side to grab something. She takes one of “your” wrists and snaps a golden cuff onto it. 

Immediately, the figure on the table shifts from your face and form to Loki’s. 

His eyes glare at her as he gathers his bearings, giving a slight grunt of pain when he moves.

“As if this woman knows anything about love,” he scoffs, standing up from the table with a groan.

Fury hums curiously at the sight of the trickster god, turning to Natasha.

“Who let him in here?”

Natasha sighs as she crosses her arms, replying, “Unfortunately, Thor and he are on friendly terms at the moment.”

Loki raises his hand and waves his finger at her in reprimand.

“Exactly. Now, is this any way to treat a guest of yours?” he taunts with a smirk before his eyes drift to the cuff on his wrist. His expression falls in recognition. “Where did you get this?”

A smirk forms on Natasha’s face as she answers, “Thor lent it to me when I asked. Since I know better than to just take his things.”

The cuff in question is an enchanted artifact that temporarily blocks the magical abilities of the wearer as explained by the god of thunder.

Loki scoffs in disbelief, placing one hand on his hips while waving his other wrist at her. 

“Hilarious, now take these off,” he demands.

Natasha’s smirk remains fixed as she shakes her head.

“I don’t have the key,” she admits, tapping her chin thoughtfully before revealing, “It must still be with Thor. But I’m sure you’ve already apologized to him for earlier, so you’d have no problem asking him to release you.”

Loki scowls, his expression darkening with disdain, and then he swiftly turns toward the exit.

“It’s no wonder that girl doesn’t want to accept any love from the likes of you,” he spits out angrily.

Natasha’s lips twist downward at his words, but before she can respond, a knock on the door interrupts the tense moment. 

Taking a calming breath, she calls out, “Come in,” already knowing who it is.

You open the door at Natasha’s invitation, only to dodge out of the way as Loki storms past you out of the room, muttering angry curses under his breath.

Turning back to Natasha, you notice the telltale red aura fading from around her and wonder what was the lie that you assume she had just told him.

As you approach her, Natasha’s contemplative, sullen expression quickly shifts to a neutral one when she catches your concerned gaze.

Before you can question her about it, Fury claps his hands firmly, looking between the two of you.

“Alright, let's finish this quickly then.”

~~~~~~~ ⧗ ~~~~~~~

Seated on your sofa, Natasha hugs a cushion pillow closer to her chest, seeking comfort as Loki’s harsh words echo in her mind.

Is it just a coincidence that you manage to avoid her every time she’s about to say those words to you? Or is it possible that the truth is you don’t actually want to hear those words from her?

You place a bowl of popcorn on the table in front of her, snapping her out of her spiraling thoughts as you finish explaining what your ex needed from you.

“So, I just need to submit my notes on the case so that the court can close it out,” you explain.

Natasha hums absently in acknowledgment, but her mind drifts back to her insecurities.

Was Loki just messing with her or were all of your previous evading actions really on purpose?

Unable to bear the uncertainty any longer, Natasha decides to settle this once and for all.

As you take your seat next to her and start the movie, Natasha initiates her plan. She quickly maneuvers herself over your lap, straddling you as her hands rest on your shoulders, pressing you firmly against the sofa with her body.

Your hand automatically rests on her waist and begins tracing light patterns against her side, but your lips twist into a small pout of confusion as you remark, “As exciting as this is, I thought this movie was your favorite.”

Natasha closes her eyes briefly, internally groaning at your adorable words and how incredibly in love she is with you. 

If only you could hear it from her for once.

Determined to not fail this time, she tries again.

“I lo—”

Her words are cut off, swallowed by you, as you pull her down into a deep kiss. 

Instinctively, she melts against your body, sliding her hands to caress the back of your neck, pulling you closer to deepen the kiss as she gets lost in the feeling of your lips moving against hers. 

Then, realization hits her, and she snaps her eyes open and pulls away. 

“Hold on, I’m trying to tell you that I—”

“I know,” you interrupt, your hand covering her mouth to stop her mid-sentence. 

That’s when Natasha sees it.

The fear in your eyes.

“I know,” you repeat, giving her a look of understanding before swallowing nervously. 

You close your eyes as your head drops to your chest, a sad chuckle escaping from you. 

“You know, in all my life, I have never been afraid to discover if someone was lying to me,” you admit, shrugging lightly. “I’ve always known that people can lie, so it’s never really surprising or hurtful when it happens.” 

You let out a weary sigh and look up to meet her gaze with a sad smile. 

“Except for that one time.”

Natasha knows what moment you are referring to — the night your powers revealed that your ex no longer loved you.

The memory flashes in your mind, vivid and raw, as if it happened only yesterday. The betrayal, the heartache, the crushing realization when the red aura appeared around her after she uttered those fateful three words to you.

Your attention returns to the woman in front of you, the one who helped heal your heart. The one who now holds it. 

The one who also has the power to hurt you in the exact same way, even though you know she won’t.

“I love you so much, Natasha,” you say with breathless adoration and honesty, but your expression pinches in fear as you continue, your voice trembling slightly. “But I don’t think I'm ready to hear it from you yet. Just…not those exact words.”

You sigh sadly, understanding how unfair your words are to her, and your chest tightens guiltily as you apologize, “I’m sorry. Look, I’d understand if you want to leave.”

You look away from Natasha, your mouth pressing together tightly, fighting the urge to cry. 

The silence stretches out in the room before Natasha gently cradles your face, bringing your gaze back to her.

“You make me happy,” Natasha declares firmly.

You give her a confused look at her words.

“Wh-what?”

Ignoring your question, Natasha continues, asking meaningfully, “Am I lying?”

Your eyes observe her for a moment, but you don’t see any indication of a red aura appearing.

“No,” you answer in confusion.

Natasha nods before continuing, “I don’t mind that your powers reveal truths about me, like the moments when I want to hold your hand or when I’m jealous.”

She tilts her head at you in question.

“Am I lying?” she asks again.

Still not seeing any red aura appear around her, you shake your head at her in response.

Natasha rests her forehead against yours, letting out a deep breath, before continuing, “I’m afraid that one day…” she pauses, taking in a shaky breath to prepare herself for what she’s about to admit out loud. 

“…one day you’ll wake up and decide that because of who I was, who I am now is not enough for you to stay with me anymore.” 

Your eyes widen in surprise, and you go to reassure her, “I wouldn’t—”

“Am I lying?” Natasha interrupts, not wanting you to worry about comforting her at this time.

Your eyes soften sadly when you see the vulnerability and fear in her eyes at her words. 

You reach up to cup her cheek, your thumb caressing her face gently in comfort as you whisper, “No.”

Leaning against your touch, Natasha lets out a steadying breath to compose herself for the final part of her point.

“So when I say I can wait…” she pauses, looking into your eyes with a serious and determined expression, making sure you can see the sincerity of her next words. 

“…I’ll wait for as long as you need so that one day I can say those words to you…am I lying?”

You watch her carefully for a moment, but nothing appears to counter her claim. Realizing her intentions to reveal her feelings in another way, your heart fills with love and adoration for her as you answer with a soft smile. 

“No, you’re not lying, Natasha.”

She gives you a gentle grin and cups your face, pressing a soft kiss against your lips before admitting, “That’s because when I’m with you, Y/n, it never feels like I’m living a lie.”

A breathless, awed gasp escapes from you at her words, and you can’t help but pull her in closer, her red hair falling around you like a curtain.

“I love you,” you whisper against her lips, the words filled with genuine adoration for the woman.

Natasha smiles softly at your words and closes the distance between the two of you once again, her kisses tender and filled with all of her unspoken feelings. Her lips move against yours with gentle urgency, conveying everything she can’t yet say aloud.

The warmth of her touch, the sincerity of her kiss, and the way she holds you protectively — all of it reassures you. 

It doesn’t matter that those three words haven’t been spoken explicitly — her actions, her presence, the look in her eyes says it all already.

Natasha may be considered one of the greatest spies in the world thanks in part to her exceptional ability to lie, but even she can’t hide the truth from you.

Without needing to hear her utter those fateful three words aloud, you already know the truth in your heart.

That Natasha Romanoff truly loves you too.

~~~~~~~ ⧗ ~~~~~~~

a/n: Thank you for reading and for all the love that you all gave to the first part! I hope you enjoyed this one too!

[eyeheartboobiez]

-> 𝗃𝖺𝗌𝗈𝗇 𝗍𝗈𝖽𝖽 𝗑 𝗌𝗂𝗇𝗀𝖾𝗋!𝗋𝖾𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋

-> 𝗌𝗈𝖼𝗂𝖺𝗅 𝗆𝖾𝖽𝗂𝖺 𝖺𝗎!

-> 𝖺/𝗇: 𝗉𝖺𝗋𝗍 6!! 𝗌𝗈𝗋𝗋𝗒 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝗍𝗈𝗈𝗄 𝖺 𝗐𝗁𝗂𝗅𝖾 𝖻𝗎𝗍 𝗂 𝗁𝗈𝗉𝖾 𝗒𝖺𝗅𝗅 𝗅𝗂𝗄𝖾 𝗂𝗍💕

liked by bigdickgrayson, cass.cain, and others

@rred_hood: hey guys. sorry for the radio silence, but i needed some time to figure things out w/ everything that’s been going on. just to give a quick update: these past few months i’ve been working on bettering myself, both physically and mentally. mostly though, i need to re-evaluate the people i allow to be in my life vs. the people i actually want around.

as you all know, artemis and i were seen out together a couple of months back, despite our very toxic relationship in the past. i’ve mentioned her abuse towards me here and there before, but now i wanna set the record straight.

me and artemis were NEVER happy. point blank. the first few months of our relationship seemed amazing, sure, but every moment after that felt like hell on earth. im not gonna go into the specifics of her treatment towards me (bcs frankly it’s not anyone’s business but mine), but the only reason we met up last month was to hopefully make peace with what happened during the time we were together.

as for the copyright situation and my alleged involvement in it; everything will be revealed before of the judge. while im legally not allowed to speak on it at this time, i will go ahead and apologize in advance for the news you’ll be hearing in the upcoming days…

before i post this, though, i publicly want to say this: @y/nforeal im GENUINELY sorry for any of the pain or stress all of this has caused you. i betrayed your trust, and have absolutely no expectations for you to forgive me. believe it or not, every second of our time together felt like pure bliss, and you’re the last person i ever wanted to hurt. i sincerely hope that you get everything you’ve ever dreamed of in life, regardless of whether i get to be part of the journey, or have to cheer you on from afar.

to end off, anyone who really supports me knows idc to involve myself in drama, so please, all i ask is that you be patient with me as i figure out a way to right my wrongs. peace✌🏻

View all 1,521,791 comments

user1: all the jason antis looking mad goofy rn💀

⤷ user2: this man js opened up about his trauma and you’re staring fan wars… get a life fr

user3: praying for ur peace jay🙏

user4: yea enough is enough artemis need to be locked up for life

⤷ user5: matter fact, put her under the jail

user6: i just hope that y/n understands🙁

— comments were turned off —

Case Closed, Artemis Grace headed straight to the slammer! Where does this leave us now? (2/27/2023 1:42 PM PT)

From TikTok, to Instagram; almost all of social media has been flooded with people's response to the verdict of one of the biggest cases in Hollywood right now. Fans all over the internet have been posting nothing but support of the court's ruling. The hashtag "#WHOMPWHOMP" has even found itself trending on twitter in response to Artemis' behavior displayed throughout the trial.

The celeb's unsavory etiquette is nothing new though. From sobbing in the witness stand, to lashing out at her own lawyer, Artemis has shown nothing but discomposure since the day charges were pressed against her. But, for everyone new here, let's start from the beginning.

For those who may not have been keeping up with the story, back in September, acclaimed singer Y/N Y/LN took legal action against Artemis Grace on the grounds of copyright infringement. After months of speculation, investigators found that Grace had illegally distributed a song that had absolutely no business being in her possession in the first place.

Although the track was taken very favorably by fans and casual listeners alike, the actual artist was nowhere near pleased. Once sharing her feelings about the situation online, Y/N immediately put her emotions into a new album, the same album that led her to receive the first grammy of her career.

Aside from the copyright violation though, Artemis is also being sued for causing emotional distress in regards to all the drama she got wrapped up in with her ex-boyfriend, Jason Todd.

While Jason and Y/N were presumed to have been dating since March of last year (if not earlier), that fantasy was quickly ruined when Artemis and Todd were caught being uncomfortably close with each other outside of a club last August.

Of course, many fans on both sides were reasonably hurt by the news. Those who have been following Y/N for a while now may know that she has had trouble opening up to people in the past; something she has expressed quite a bit in her music. So, when word broke out that Jason seemed to be playing with her feelings, her supporters were beyond furious.

Even songwriter Cassandra Cain, Jason's adopted sister, made sure to support Y/N in every way that she could. The two have been friends for years now, having officially met back in 2020 at the billboard music awards. While Cassandra isn't a woman of many words, she made sure that her actions spoke volumes.

Late last year, she helped Y/N write one of the songs for her latest album, basically ensuring her win at this year's Grammys. Outside of music though, posts have been made by the two besties seemingly having the time of their lives.

Between the high emotions and the immense camaraderie being shown, fans have come to the conclusion that both women may have gotten together at some point while working together.

Without a doubt, there was an obvious tension between the duo while doing promotions for their shared single. Cassandra, though a notable lesbian icon in the community, has yet to speak up on the rumors (and, knowing her, probably never will).

Back to the legal proceedings, the heartbreaker in question was also present during Artemis' trial. In order to shed some light on the story, Jason Todd appeared before the court as a witness in hopes of ensuring that Y/N wins this case.

Unlike Artemis, Jason showed nothing but absolute remorse for his actions. About a month ago, the Gothamite made a post to his instagram page detailing the shame he felt by being involved in such acts, although in reality he had little participation to begin with.

While on trial, it was found that Todd actually had little to no involvement with the illegal distribution of the track. In fact, Artemis herself confessed that he only talked about Y/N having a song that was "in the works". He also revealed to her that the track was "something his girlfriend (had) dedicated it to him", thus confirming our suspicions of their relationship status.

Alongside this, she also admitted that their meet up back in August originally had nothing to do with music, nor were they trying to rekindle their disastrous affair. Jason did state that he was notably intoxicated that night, while Artemis indicated that she "hadn't had anything to drink" prior to their conversation.

In the end, after the grueling legal battle, Artemis is soon to be locked up after receiving a firm guilty ruling from the judge. The now former singer has been sentenced to three years in prison without possibility of parole, in addition to paying $25,000 as compensation for emotional distress.

Outside the courtroom Y/N and Jason were seen speaking together away from everyone else, as well as sharing a meaningful hug before parting ways. The heartwarming image that was caught by paparazzi has given shippers more than enough hope that the two celebs can hopefully rekindle the love they once had.

a/n: thoughts?

taglist: @din0o0o @cipheress-to-k-pop @bonnie-tz @phatnyash420 @rwylm-things @sheluvv-gambino

[petalsthefish]

There is a clear moral distinction between killing in self-defense or protection and taking the life of someone who poses no immediate threat. Killing for protection is often seen as a necessary act in extreme circumstances, while killing without such justification is considered morally wrong because it lacks the imperative of defense or survival.

Given Snape’s past as a Death Eater, it’s highly likely that he has taken lives, whether through direct action or as part of a group. His close involvement in Voldemort’s inner circle, and the trust Voldemort placed in him—such as revealing the prophecy that targeted the Potters—suggests that Snape had proven himself through acts of violence, possibly including murder. He was indirectly responsible for the Potters' deaths, having informed Voldemort about the prophecy in the first place. As a spy, Snape would have witnessed, overheard, or participated in many acts that resulted in casualties. It’s hard to imagine anyone rising to such a high rank within Voldemort’s ranks without engaging in the same brutal actions as the other Death Eaters, including acts like torture, which often led to death.

I believe Snape’s soul was already scarred by his past, even if some of the deaths he was connected to were indirect or in self-defense. I think he did regret a lot of what he did, and that’s part of the reason he’s so bitter and nasty to everyone. He has always, always lashed out when he’s hurt. He turned all that guilt into a hatred and bitterness over any happiness because he’s literally never been happy. But the guilt rages on, and I’m positive he tried his hardest to make up for it by being loyal to Dumbledore…even though he could never let his hatred for the marauders (aka James Potter) and anything associated with them go…thereby making him particularly nasty to Harry.

BUT I DIGRESS. The murder of Albus Dumbledore was different for Snape—a premeditated act that was both personal and emotionally charged. Killing someone he knew well, who had trusted him, would likely have a much deeper impact on his conscience than killing a stranger in the chaos of war. The betrayal involved in taking Dumbledore’s life, with whom he had a bond, would have weighed heavily on his soul, creating far more guilt and inner turmoil than the detached violence of war ever could. The emotional gravity of killing a trusted figure would have corroded his soul much more.

ALSOOOO, I believe Snape deeply regretted revealing the prophecy to Voldemort, though his remorse was not exactly produced from noble intentions. Lmaooo His motives were entirely selfish. Snape’s request to save Lily was not out of a sense of justice or compassion, but purely because of his own unrequited love. Lily, of course, would never have stepped aside to save herself at the expense of her son. She died protecting Harry, and Snape had to live with the bitter truth that she sacrificed her life for a child she had with James Potter—the very man Snape had despised for years. This awareness must have tormented him deeply, a burden he carried to his last breath. She always, always chose James.

Snape’s inner conflict is heightened by the contrast between his feelings for the Potters. He spent a lifetime harboring hatred for James Potter while remaining hopelessly in love with Lily Evans. This dichotomy—his love for one and hatred for the other—became even more fateful driven as their union produced Harry, the child Snape would be forced to protect for Dumbledore as a spy for the rest of his life. The irony of this situation is not lost on me as a reader. Snape’s love for Lily bound him to a lifelong duty to guard her son, yet he had to constantly confront the fact that this child was also James Potter’s son. His role as Harry’s protector was not just a reflection of his loyalty to Dumbledore, but a complex penance for his past mistakes, an attempt to honor Lily’s memory while wrestling with the bitter resentment he felt toward Harry’s father.

[daydreamerwonderkid]

Kyoko is adding so much more credence to my theory that being a magical girl is more like a curse.

My earlier thoughts about how there's no incentive for magical girls to work together seems to be correct so far.

Yeah, sure, it could just be how the magic system operates that the more Grief Seeds you collect, the more powerful you become. And the fact that in order for a magical girl's gem to not "fade" aka not lose their powers, they have to keep collecting more Grief Seeds is just so ... convient.

It's starting to feel more like magical girls are meant to farm Grief Seeds for Kyubey to snack on vs "helping people."

I'm mostly saying this because of Kyoko and Sayaka's first interaction/fight.

The fact that Kyoko is willing to sacrifice people in order to "game the system" vs Sayaka's-and by extension, Mami's-blatant disgust at suggesting such a thing is very interesting to me.

To me, this really shows how manipulative Kyubey actually might be. They're still selling the idea that being a magical girl is like being a super hero, but Kyoko is living proof that this is not the case at fucking all.

It also shows that Homura isn't an outlier. Her cold personality, actions and words could absolutely be a direct result of her making a contract with Kyubey. Where Kyoko seems to find amusement at the expense of others, Homura is detached and seems to find no joy in being a magical girl.

So her anger towards Sayaka forming a contract with Kyubey is actually looking pretty warranted. I mean, sure, her anger towards Sayaka for doing it feels like a on overreaction to Sayaka and Madoka. But with all this added context, Homura's actions are starting to feel less like an overreaction and more like an appropriate response to, well, literally everything.

Kyoko and Homura are "veterans," but it's extremely obvious who has more experience here. Kyoko can still act cocky and brash, but the difference in perspective really highlights their difference in power, too. Something something the more powerful you become, the more of your humanity you lose.

Of course, from Sayaka's perspective all she sees is someone who let Mami die. But in actuality, Homura gave Mami ample warning and she still chose to fight the witch on her own. Mami died because of her overconfidence and it's a fucking tragedy.

But to Sayaka, Homura is directly responsible. So whenever Homura tries to offer any advice or warnings, Sayaka instinctively writes her off and refuses to listen.

So you have 4 different perspectives all at war here:

-Sayaka's righteous (and possibly naive) belief that being a magical girl is an honorable profession akin to that of a super hero/knight

-Kyoko's ambivalence towards human life all for the sake of self satisfaction and power, which is further validated and encouraged by the reward of Grief Seeds/more power

-Homura's emotional detachment as a possible result of witnessing far more suffering than any other magical girl before her

-Madoka's growing horror and desperate attempts to have everything be "okay" again, naively imploring everyone to use the "power of friendship" so she doesn't have to see anyone else get hurt

It genuinely feels like being a magical girl purposely sets you up to self isolate. Whether as a precaution to protect loved ones or to gain more power, there's just very little reason for anyone to work together.

Also, Kyubey's constant fucking pushing for Madoka to become a magical girl is so fucking suspicious. They're legit pressuring Madoka to keep entering into dangerous situations "just in case" Sayaka gets in trouble when we all known damn well at this point that it's absolutely guaranteed she will.

Kyubey using Madoka's fear of losing another friend in a horrific way by knowingly placing her and Sayaka in danger is so fucking suspect. And then them trying to convince Sayaka to persuade Madoka into forming a contract-BITCH, HELLO?!

Idk what Kyubey has to gain from all of this yet, but if getting more Grief Seeds translates to more power ... making a contract with Kyubey could potentially be a way for them get innocent and vulnerable girls to do their dirty work.

A part of me even wonders if Kyubey knew Mami was going to die and is using that traumatic event to further manipulate Sayaka and Madoka.

[deaddee-anime-brownfanlady]

Alright this is going to my last post regarding this Ze artist transphobia issue as well as regarding this Viv donation problem too & just getting this off my chest.

Now again, I truly felt like this Ze individual should've seriously come forward themselves on this Transphobia tweets issue. Like made a statement about liking these takes & express whether or not they are truly transphobic & have these views & feelings on trans women & trans people in general, and if not then simply just apologized.

Instead of letting some of their coworkers do it themselves. Perhaps, maybe they are taking advantage of the crew to simply save face & cover their own skin, Idk. Also, I felt the responses & poor choice of wording used from Tracy, including Ashley, could've been so much better worded on the handlement of this situation & a bit more professional. I'm sure there's a lot still going on behind the scenes, especially on the business side of things. Since this is still a business, there probably contracts involved. But again this Ze artist should still have their actions held accountable.

Now on this Donation rejection issue.

Why the Hell would you publicly post to your large following that your donation was rejected in the first freaking place? I deeply think that should be kept privately to yourself.

Vivzie should know good well by now that her fanbase is super dangerously overly-obsessive when it comes to her and been known to dogpile, threatened, and attacked anyone who dare criticized her works or dare to call her out on her own equally shitty behaviors and actions. She should have clarify that the donation rejection was politely declined and that there isn't any ill well between parties.

Given Vivienne own list of multiple countless records of ever-growing controversies & allegations, also how she has hurt so many people & done dirty to other artists & animators that used to work for her & others who been victims of her abuse.

I'm not surprised nor real shocked on how much a mess this situation ended up becoming with her involvement in it. The rejection situation could've happened because Lackadaisy already reached their 2 Mili goal & the extra money wasn't needed, or due to other reasons that is still unknown.

I just found the hypocrisy from Vivienne following on this issue to be both baffling & Ironic also tiring. On how they seem to always no matter what coddle this grown adult woman from also taking accountability of any kind in terms of her own unexcusable actions & refuse to see their idol as anything less than highly perfect or not as she seems to be.

Well, all in all. I just deeply think that this Ze person should be accountable. Also, that Vivienne and her awful actions shouldn't be constantly excuse and be equally held accountable too.

Again this situation could've been handled a lot better and way more professional on these issues.

[highwaytothedangerzone502]

Foxtrot Alpha Alpha - Chapter 31

Pairing: Hangman x Female OC

Word Count: 1629

Warnings: Talk of death, PTSD

Summary: Hangman learned his lesson a long time ago to never show his true feelings when someone's words or actions hurt him. To do so showed weakness that could be exploited, and Seresin men couldn't show weakness. Of course, there was an exception to every rule, and Jake's always came in the form of women, three in particular: his mom, Juliette Kazansky, and the girl whose name he could no longer bring himself to speak. She was the girl that got away; she was his biggest 'what if' and his biggest regret; she would forever be the ghost that haunted his dreams. Jake believed that's where she'd stay, for he would surely never see her again after what he did.

Or so he thought.

Notes: This is the sequel to India Lima Yankee; I'm using the same callsign for the Female OC as in Ghost Story because I just really like it, but they are different characters; chapters in italics are flashbacks.

Chapter Songs: The Reason Broken Halos

****

Ghost

Juliette waddled purposefully to the garage before giving either of the aviators a chance to argue with her. Ghost and Rooster were hot on her heels. They slid into Bradley's Bronco, and Juliette floored it to The Riptide. Ten minutes later, they swiftly entered the dimly lit establishment and found Hangman sitting at the bar, his cheek plastered to the dark wood of the counter. His green eyes were half shut, but he recognized his friends immediately, although he didn't appear exactly pleased to see two of them.

"I called Princess," he slurred, frowning. "What're youse doin' here?"

"You might've called Juliette, but you gave the bartender my callsign," Ghost explained, looking him up and down. "I happened to be with them when he called."

Jake sighed dramatically. "Shit. Sorry, Annie, uh, I mean, Annalise… youse can go. I'm… I'm good."

"It's fine," Ghost responded gently, gingerly placing a hand on his back, "but I'm not leaving here without you."

"Our place is closest. Let's bring him there. The sooner we get him to a toilet, the better," Juliette remarked, taking Jake's credit card from the bartender.

Rooster grabbed Hangman by the shoulders and pulled him into a sitting position. "Ghost, can you help me carry him back to the truck?"

"On it." Ghost and Rooster each grabbed one of Jake's arms and threw it around their shoulders, then proceeded to carry a deadweight Hangman out of the bar and into the back of the Bronco. He mumbled incoherent protests, but none of them listened. Ghost hopped into the back of the car first before helping Rooster slide Hangman onto the seat with her. Jake promptly slumped over into her lap. Ghost cradled him, heart thundering in her chest as she thought of everything that could've possessed him to drink so heavily. Never in all the years she'd known him had he ever drank that much. Hangman hated to lose control, and drinking did just that. She'd seen him tipsy, but never drunk, especially not like this.

"Jus- just take me home," Hangman mumbled.

"Negative, Ghost Rider," Juliette responded, glancing at him from the rearview mirror. "Our place is closest, and all that alcohol is going to come out one end sooner or later, and if it's from the top end, we want to make sure you don't choke."

Hangman sighed and whispered, "I'm not anyone's responsibility… I don't- don't wanna be a burden."

Juliette nor Rooster reacted to the comment, causing Ghost to believe they hadn't heard him. Otherwise, Juliette absolutely would've said something to dispute his claim, whether Hangman could've comprehended the response or not. Ghost took matters into her own hands and softly responded to him, "You're not a burden."

His green eyes narrowed in on her, perplexed. He opened his mouth to say something, but when Juliette slammed on the brakes and let out an impressive string of swear words at a driver who cut her off, Hangman clammed up. The group arrived at the Bradshaw household a few minutes later. Ghost and Rooster once more threw Hangman's arms around their shoulders and escorted him into the house. Juliette opened the door for them and said, "Let's get him to the guest bathroom. I have a feeling he's going to be sick soon."

"I'm fine," Hangman slurred before letting out a big belch.

Rooster scoffed skeptically as he set the aviator on the floor across from the toilet. "Yeah, and my last name isn't Bradshaw."

Ghost sat next to Jake, who had slumped against the wall. Juliette wiped the toilet lid with a Clorox wipe before she lowered herself to the ground by the cabinets diagonally opposite them. Rooster leaned against the door frame, keeping the curious German Shepherds at bay. Hangman scanned the room and asked, "Why are y'all here?"

"We're worried about you," Ghost replied, pulling her knees up to her chest.

Hangman snorted and slurred his words as he said, "You haven't been worried 'bout me since-" he hiccupped- "since the accident. Bradshaw only worried 'bout me when he competed against me for the position on the mission and when he thought I was makin' a move on his girl. Princess is the only one who worries 'bout me, but she shouldn't. I ain't worth the stress."

"You're my best friend, Jake," Juliette said sincerely. "You're worth the stress."

"It's… it's not good for you, though," he insisted emphatically. 'Specially when you're pregnant and-and have proclamsia."

"Preeclampsia," Rooster corrected.

Hangman rolled his eyes, "That's what I said."

"No, you said- never mind. So, what brought this drinking binge on?"

"W-why would I tell you? So you can give me another callsign? Least this time, it won't be based on me killin' someone…"

Rooster winced at the slight. "I never intended for it to stick."

"Yeah, well, it did. Got to be reminded of Ghoul's death every fuckin' time someone said my-" he hiccupped again- "my callsign until I managed to convince people it was because I'd leave them hangin' in the air rather six feet deep. You're lucky I'm so fuckin' persuasive, Bradshaw," Hangman said, pointing a finger at him. "Otherwise, the memory might've sent me over the edge that day before Coyote stopped me."

"What are you talking about?" Ghost inquired quickly, a dreadful sensation running through her veins at his words.

Hangman weakly shook his head. "Don't matter."

"Jake-"

"No. It's not of import. Besides, not tellin' someone who doesn't care and not tellin' it in front of Princess, who does care and would probably freak out. She's gotta be careful with that preplamsia."

"Preeclampsia," Rooster corrected again.

"Whatever. I don't-" Hangman hiccuped for a third time and covered his mouth, turning a sickly shade of green. He lurched forward to the toilet and hurled the contents of his stomach three times. He groaned and said, "This never leaves the room."

"Doubt anyone would believe us if we said you got smashed." Rooster looked to his fiancée. "Honey, I'm going to take the dogs out. They're getting antsy."

Juliette nodded and slowly pushed herself up with Rooster's assistance. "I'm going to find some Gatorade. He's going to be dehydrated, throwing up so much."

The couple disappeared, leaving Ghost alone with Hangman. He scooted back against the wall next to her, and Ghost, disliking the uncomfortable silence, broke it with a question. "Why'd you give my name but Jules's number?"

Hangman shrugged. "Musta got you two mixed up. Y'all remind me of each other. When I first met her, she reminded me a lot of you with her love of fighter jets and music. Probably why I fell for her. She's the only girl I thought I could love after you."

The news came as a shock to Ghost, who'd only ever believed Hangman had loved her like a best friend, maybe a sister at most. "I didn't- I never knew that."

"Why would you? I never said anything, and you think you meant nothing to me at the end of our friendship. Because, you know, what reason could I have to cause me to ignore you after the crash?"

"What was the reason?"

 Hangman fell quiet, staring intently at the toilet. Ghost couldn't tell what he was thinking- if he even was at all- but she allowed him the silence. He evidently didn't like the direction of the conversation with the way he shut down, and Ghost wouldn't push him. They weren't close enough for that anymore, and in no small part because of her. Still, wanting to keep him awake, she asked kindly, "What caused this? You've never gotten this drunk before."

"Got a call from my father today. I figured since I'd already fucked up my best relationship the night before, a good way to punish myself would be to open the door to my most toxic one," Hangman mumbled, wiggling his body so he inched up the wall to sit straighter. "I'm not sure who was more surprised I answered- me or my father. But I sure as hell was shocked when he apologized for being so shitty to me growing up. Explained he thought I'd been the child of an affair my mom had, only to find out she'd been tellin' him the truth the entire time that I was, indeed, his son. His own flesh and blood. And then..." Hangman trailed off, his brow furrowing. He slid down the wall a little.

"And then what?" Ghost prodded.

"He- he started breathin' funny, chokin' on his words. And then he was... gone. All I heard was the flatlinin' of his monitor. I-I stood there in shock because he was number four. I thought I had to be in the hospital for it to happen, but no, apparently talkin' on the phone halfway 'cross the country does the trick too. I mean-" Hangman held up his hand and lifted a finger for each person he rattled off- "You, Mom, Ghoul, Father. All y'all died 'cause of me."

"Jake, Ghoul didn't die because of you. Neither did I, your mom, nor your father. Is that- I know you blamed yourself for the accident, but we didn't- is that why you never visited me?"

Much to her dismay, although not to her surprise, Hangman refused to answer. Even drunk out of his mind, some small part of him actively remembered not to tell his reasoning to her. She'd been close to getting it out of him. They were on the verge of the truth, but Ghost wouldn't poke too much. Not in his state.

"Forty-one," Hangman said, voice barely above a whisper. He remained in the same position, staring straight ahead.

Ghost frowned. "Huh?"

"Forty-one," he repeated. "That was your heart rate when I entered your hospital room."

****

Tags: @lgg5989 @shanimallina87 @polikszena @summ3rlotus @icemansgirl1999 @supernaturaldawning @thedarkinmansfield @lyannaforpresident @lapilark @getmyprettynameoutofyourmouth @simpofthecentury @shadeops21 @pansexualwitchwhoneedstherapy @double-j @bradshawsandbridgetons @catsandgeekyandnerd @peachiicherries @multifandomcnova @fandomsstolemylife00 @bookloverhorses @mak-32 @midnightmagpiemama @luckyladycreator2 @ellamae021 @kmc1989

Chapters: Chp 1 Chp 2 Chp 3 Chp 4 Chp 5 Chp 6 Chp 7 Chp 8 Chp 9 Chp 10 Chp 11 Chp 12 Chp 13 Chp 14 Chp 15 Chp 16 Chp 17 Chp 18 Chp 19 Chp 20 Chp 21 Chp 22 Chp 23 Chp 24 Chp 25 Chp 26 Chp 27 Chp 28 Chp 29 Chp 30 Chp 31

If you're not on the tag list and want to be, just let me know :)

[koskela-knights]

https://archiveofourown.org/works/53243677

HUG - Saga & Ilmo drabble

Emotional hurt/comfort. A scene that's missing in the game 😤

Story under the cut or read it on ao3 as usual <3

After her battle with Scratch, Saga returns to the station to wrap things up. Before she meets up with Estevez and Casey who were both wounded during the attack, she first encounters the surviving Koskela brother. The man stands in the corridor, next to the covered body of his brother. He barely moves. The peppy persona she’d seen on the commercials and the contagious energy with which he had met her previously, all gone. Previously, she had felt betrayed by him. Hiding his Cult business right in front of her with a big, cheery smile and even bigger gestures. Whether their motives and actions turned out to be justified or not, Saga’s empathetic. None of the Cultist, including and especially Ilmo’s brother deserved such a brutal death. She gets closer. Ilmo Koskela doesn’t move, doesn’t even flinch at her presence.

 “I’m… I’m so sorry about your loss, Ilmo. No one deserves to go like that,” she says in her softest voice. She watches as he puts a hand on his brother’s body.

 “Jaakko was all heart,” he sounds at the verge of crying. “It’s my fault.”

“You didn’t know what you were up against,” Saga tries to remind him. Ilmo lets out a choked laughter, disguising a sob. Not sure what to say, she lets her actions speak instead. She sticks out her hand, hoping he’ll take it. Ilmo does. She can’t help herself but give him a hug because by God, does he need one. The man lets out a surprised gasp but she then feels him wrap his arms around her in response.

Hugging is Saga’s specialty, if she says so herself. Whenever her little girl is in distress, they tend to hug it out. One time, she had also hugged Casey after a specifically intense case. Initially, Casey had shrugged it off, but afterward she had detected that subtle smile he barely showed anyone else.

Eventually, they let go. Ilmo quickly wipes away some visible tears, smudging some of the blood across his face. Saga doesn’t say anything about it. “Ilmo, I also wanted to apologize for earlier. I reached the wrong conclusions without really listening to your side of the story at all.”

 “It-, it’s fine,” Ilmo mutters.

“Hey, if there’s anything I can do for you, let me know, okay?” She should actually ask him more about the Cult, but he is clearly in no state to do so. Profiling from a distance might reveal enough. “If you’d like I could grab you some coffee or Ahma?”

 “No, not necessary. I just need a moment to… to recollect myself.”

“I’ll be in the other room. You know where to find me,” Saga nods at him. Ilmo throws her a fragile smile. She smiles back and returns to Casey and Estevez.

[defaultfelix]

Returning online

My name is Felix Kramer, and I'm the creator of Goodbye Strangers. I haven't been active online for quite some time, and I wanted to address this. There was a major falling out with the former collaborative team, and later on, a public "callout" was made against me. Due to the number of falsehoods in the post against me, I don't feel that it is appropriate to comment on the post in full – and as the circumstances leading to the split were personal and not public, I do not feel comfortable disclosing any information that would violate another person's privacy.

I wanted to specifically comment upon the following two points, however. First, I can confirm my former collaborator's statement that she did not approach me at any time with any of her concerns.

This second point is one that cannot be emphasized enough: I absolutely do not share my former collaborator's interpretation of my work, and fully disavow such a hateful interpretation. If discrimination and hate are the values that you see when you look into my work, you are not my audience. A deliberate theme of the project as a whole is the idea that whether it's because of race, sexuality, gender, body type, mental illness, or something else - every person on earth knows what it feels like to be "left out", or like they don't belong. That is what it means to be a "sensitive", and why members of minority groups are more likely to be able to see the strangers.

I understand that there are people who may have questions or concerns about myself or my actions, and in this regard, anyone is welcome to email me with any questions or concerns. Please consider me an open book, as I am happy to discuss anything that does not violate another person's privacy. I don't plan to give any further statement regarding these individuals, other than to wish them the best.

In terms of what I've been doing the past few years, I will admit that this has been a very, very difficult period for my mental health. My mental state had been gradually worsening prior to the split with the team, and the mass public shaming/ostracism triggered a psychotic break from reality. Recovering has been gradual; this incident was the single most traumatic event I've ever endured, and it has taken countless hours of self-reflection, therapy, and outside support to pick myself back up again. I've talked about my experiences here, and am happy to engage privately with anyone who might benefit from talking further, but otherwise, I would rather look towards the future.

I wanted to end this post with one final note about my mental health and general status. I've been living with psychotic/delusional mental health symptoms for many, many years, and these have had a significant impact on much of my behaviour. Though I've talked to some extent about things like synesthesia and audio hallucinations, the full extent of psychotic states and delusional thought patterns is something that I am only very recently opening up about and addressing more directly.

These symptoms have been a major obstacle in returning online. The voices that I hear are cruel and endlessly critical; the abusive language used in the callout post became a constant internal dialog. In the years following the break from the team, I've drafted countless public statements and responses – and, it has taken this long to be able to 'quiet down' my mind enough to write this without hearing snarling insults and rebuttals to every single line.

I acknowledge that my behaviour prior to the split was erratic, self-destructive, and alienated those close to me. I made poor judgments, my expectations of both myself and others were not realistic, and I was grossly unable to distinguish fantasy from reality. I live with debilitating, lifelong mental illness that includes psychotic and dissociative symptoms. This isn't an 'excuse' for erratic behaviour, and I sincerely apologize to those people made uncomfortable by my actions, or hurt by the fallout of the project, and am happy to answer any further questions via private correspondence.

It will always be an ongoing process to address my mental health challenges and to develop healthier coping mechanisms. This is exactly why I want to do what I can to better live up to my own values of personal responsibility – as well as fight past my own fears in order to share my work with others and contribute my value to the world.

I don't know what the future holds, but I know that I'm not the person I was three years ago – the person I was three years ago would never have been able to write this post.

Thank you so much for reading my words. Please take care of yourself and those around you, and don't ever give up on your dreams.

[shinagawa-division]

Relationship: Family - Seir / Seizou Shinomiya

Sumire Shinomiya (17 Years Old) - Seizou’s creator. Like the rest of his siblings, Seizou has nothing but devotion and in his case, as close to “love” as he is allowed to feel for her. He is grateful towards her for giving him life and allowing him to experience all its wonder and beauty as well as all its trials and horrors. He often leaves her gifts of things he’s found on his “adventures” as thanks and as a way to express his love seeing as he can’t verbalize or express it well. Despite being pressured into creating him, Sumire loves Seizou very dearly and treats him with all the love and care imaginable, she’s protective over him and only wants the best for the newest member in her family which is why she hopes for him to gain sentience one day so he can fully comprehend just how much he means to her.

Aamon / Aiko Shinomiya (2 Years Old) - Seizou’s “older sister” and the reason why he exists in the first place. Aiko is the most closest to Seizou not only in age but also because he tends to gravitate towards her more and as such, looks up to her with such high regard, often following her and copying her movements to which Aiko finds absolutely adorable. Aiko loves and adores her little brother, she dotes on him every chance she gets and is the most protective over him as he is technically her responsibility to help nurture Seizou and help him grow. She often helps with his journey to gain sentience, wanting him to reach a new plane of existence through love and kindness. While the two of them have a very healthy and loving brother-sister relationship, there are times where Seizou tends to act like a brat and teases his older sister, whether it be calling her out or scaring her with bugs he found outside.

Malphas / Masuzō Shinomiya (6 Years Old) - Seizou’s “older brother”. Like his sister and creator, Seizou looks up to Malphas as well, not only seeing him as an older brother but as a role model and someone he aspires to be when he reaches sentience and forms his own personality. Despite not interacting much since his creation, Seizou and Malphas have a close and solid brotherly bond with Seizou also copying Malphas’ actions and Malphas being fond of his baby brother, often giving him headpats. Malphas didn’t expect to love Seizou as much as he does but now he can’t imagine life without him and will absolutely destroy anyone who dares to hurt his little brother, not only is Malphas helping Seizou reach sentience but he is also in charge of teaching him how to fight and defend himself, even installing a scorpion tail inside him to attack enemies (much to Aiko’s dismay). Even though they are brothers, whenever they’re out in public together, people always confuse them for being father and son, with Seizou looking eerily similar to what Malphas would look like as a child.

A.D.A / Ageha Shinozaki - Seizou’s sister-in-law and someone he also has much respect for and looks up to like his older brother, Malphas. Seizou likes A.D.A. and enjoys being in her warm presence, he’s grateful to her for helping him becoming sentient and he soaks up her affection like a sponge, he even seems to be more expressive whenever she’s around. What everyone except Malphas and A.D.A. don’t know is that Seizou had imprinted on A.D.A. due to her motherly nature towards him, as such, he had begun to see and even refer to her (only in private) as his mother, his hair even turning blue whenever he’s around her for long periods of time.

A.R.K. / Aruto Shinozaki - Seizou’s brother-in-law and much like Malphas, A.R.K. is also someone that Seizou looks up to and respects much to his siblings’ horror. They don’t interact much but when they do, Seizou always has a fun time with his new older brother even if it means that they’re running from the police 90% of the time but despite that, Seizou is thankful towards A.R.K. for helping him reach sentience and with A.R.K. training him for combat alongside Malphas, Seizou tends to emulate both of their fighting styles making him a real challenge to face against much to his older brothers’ pride.

A.M.U. / Amane Shinozaki - Seizou’s sister-in-law and his best friend in the whole world, someone who he loves dearly as a sister and even goes as far as to call her his twin much to the surprise of their siblings despite the two of them not being related. A.M.U. and Seizou were both made around the same time and had met shortly after due to Malphas and A.D.A. wanting them to get along since they were the only A.I. children that were the same age and wanting both kids to achieve gaining sentience together, however, nobody expected them to become as close as they are as Seizou is firmly convinced that they are twin siblings (their similar appearances don’t help much) and is very close to A.M.U., often sneaking out to go visit her and travel all over Tokyo together to sightsee and take in the world around them, it’s to note that Seizou is a tad protective over A.M.U. during their adventures.

[inukag]

Hi! I'm a huge fan of your blog. I'm new on tumblr and I couldn't be happier that I found you!

Anyway, I have just reread Inuyasha (this time more thoroughly) and it dawned on me that the story between Jinenji and Kagome was somewhat identical to that of Inuyasha and Kikyou.

I think Jinenji's feeling for Kagome can help explain well how Inuyasha felt about Kikyou.

Kagome was the first girl to show Jinenji happiness, his heart was warm when he was with her. I don't think Jinenji's feeling for Kagome was as intense as Inuyasha's for Kikyou, since Jinenji still had his mother around while Inuyasha had no one before he met Kikyou. Not to mention that Jinenji only spent like one day with Kagome. However, it was enough for Jinenji to admit that he wouldn't be able to go on living if he let Kagome die.

And the same goes for Inuyasha. He could never afford letting Kikyou die in his presence, just like Jinenji couldn't let Kagome die. Yet not only did Kikyou die, but Inuyasha was also TOLD that her death was partly his fault. Having seen how Jinenji felt, I can easily understand how depressed Inuyasha was about Kikyou and why he was always eager to know whether Kikyou was safe or not.

Inuyasha's feeling for Kikyou was not really... special or exclusive. Anyone in his position (in this case it's Jinenji) would feel the same way. I think it started out as affection and gratitude. However for Inuyasha it was coupled with the guilt that he "caused" Kikyou's death. All the more reasons why he wasn't able to forget about Kikyou. To be honest, I used to be so frustrated whenever he ran to Kikyou's side. But now, with the help of the Jinenji arc, his actions were quite understandable. I'm glad he'll always have Kagome by his side to heal his wounded heart.

Well that's my take. What's your thought on the Jinenji arc?

(So sorry for the very late response! thank you for the love 🥺 and welcome to tumblr!)

That's an interesting comparison, I never really thought of that because Inuyasha himself never seem to put that much importance to Kikyo being his "first". The only time I remember him mentioning it is when she dies, but even then most important factor that drives Inuyasha when it comes to Kikyo is his guilt (as you said, he was led to believe that Kikyo's death was his fault). Some people in this fandom do try to argue that since Kikyo is Inuyasha's first love, that makes her special and irreplaceable in Inuyasha's heart... but we see nothing of the sort in canon. Very early on in the series, back when Inuyasha still thought Kikyo had betrayed him, he promised himself he "wouldn't be swayed by a woman again" and we've seen him try to distance himself from Kagome by fear of getting hurt again, but him loving Kikyo before didn't stop him from falling in love with Kagome a mere few weeks/months after he initially found out that Kikyo was dead. He also never had any issue stating that Kagome was the first person he ever trusted, the first person to make him happy, the person he owes everything to and the person he was born to be with. In fact Inuyasha... never really says anything positive about his relationship with Kikyo. His best memory of their time together is him agreeing to be human to be with her, which we now know wouldn't even have worked because the jewel doesn't actually grant your wish. Kikyo was the first person to approach him and give him a chance, but at the cost of half of his identity. She gave him one option, the option to choose his human side, which he eventually realized wasn't necessary. That doesn't make his relationship with Kikyo insignificant of course, but there's nothing particularly special about it either that he can't get with Kagome.

Also, Inuyasha is extremely honor bound and despite his earlier claims that he "doesn't have time to save innocents" he is very much a savior who wants to help people in need. I raise an eyebrow when people claim that his dedication to wanting to save Kikyo from dying again is "proof" that he loves her "more than Kagome" because Inuyasha was also desperate to save Kohaku and he was heartbroken when Naraku seemingly managed to kill him..

He also felt guilty when Kagura died after he promised he'd tried to get her heart back from Naraku! Kagura, an incarnation of Naraku and someone who almost killed him before!

People who don't like Inuyasha and label him as a "two-timer" who "just can't get over his ex" don't understand just how good-hearted Inuyasha is. Inuyasha is a protector, that's his thing. His inability to protect Kikyo from Naraku is probably his greatest failure, asking him to just "get over it" because he has a new girlfriend is insane to me.

Anyway, I also wanted to mention that what I personally love about the Jinenji arc is that Jinenji's affection for Kagome and the way Kagome gained his trust pretty much parallel Kagome's relationship with Inuyasha. I mean, this arc was all about Inuyasha realizing that being by Kagome's side is were he belongs, and that he’s loved and accepted as a hanyo (something he never felt while being with Kikyo).

Kagome tried to befriend Jinenji and stood by him when he was called a monster, just like she did with Inuyasha:

Kagome asked Jinenji questions about himself and cared about what he wants to do, just like she did with Inuyasha: 

For both Jinenji and Inuyasha, Kagome was the first person to shed tears for them other than their mothers:

Jinenji experiencing warmth in his heart for the first time is very reminiscent of Inuyasha feeling relieved and content for the first time because of Kagome’s smile:

Like I said, those are not comparisons that can be made with how Kikyo treated Inuyasha, as she never really tried to learn more about him to understand what he truly needed and wanted. She never defended him against bigots who judged him, instead she thought changing him to fit human society would be easier. Inuyasha felt “like he did something wrong” at the sight of Kikyo’s sad face, he never felt happiness like he feels with Kagome and like Jinenji feels with her as well. 

So those are my thoughts on the Jinenji arc and how it parallels Inuyasha's feelings for Kagome!

[theinfinitedivides]

the MDL comment section for this drama is the gift that keeps on giving when it comes to (bad) takes on Gil Chae and Ryang Eum, and so i thought i should copy something i posted over there in response to several people calling Ryang Eum 'toxic' and a 'liar', as well as add a few extra things:

if we're going to bring up lying, then first off we have to establish that every member of this love triangle have lied to each other at at least one point or another during the series. Gil Chae lied to Soon Yuk about marrying him after he came home from the war if he protected Young Master Yeon Joon and also lied to Jang Hyun about said young master being the one she was thinking of when she called him husband at the end of ep 4, Ryang Eum lied to Jang Hyun about who Gil Chae had looked at when the announcement of war came during the sixtieth anniversary celebration in ep 2, and Jang Hyun lied to Ryang Eum about losing the dagger he had given him as a gift (token of love *cough*) when he had actually given it to Gil Chae to defend herself while they were on the run. it's probably not a good idea to start ranking the lies by the percentage of morality/who got hurt as a result bc that's mostly absent here—a driving concept in MD is that nothing is truly black and white—but that levels the playing field pretty evenly imo.

now the story Ryang Eum told in ep 8 on the journey to Shimyang is not toxic, by any means. it is a well-known folktale in Korea that has been retold both in various folk song recordings and in a 1972 film, and the basic gist of the story is that Gap Dol and Gap Soon loved each other but never quite said it directly/strongly enough (Jang Hyun and Gil Chae dancing around each other anyone?), hence Gap Soon getting married off to another man (Gil Chae's miliary officer suitor) and having his children. there are variations that have Gap Dol coming to ask Gap Soon to run away with him (besties if this keeps going where we think it might we're in danger), but that story was brought up in response to Jang Hyun's query of if it was possible to have one man in your heart for so long and not change, after his conversation with Gil Chae on the ridge; Ryang Eum said that it was, although he did note that 'you cannot do it by effort. nobody, no one can touch that forever until the day you die'. did he use this to partially warn Jang Hyun off of pursuing Gil Chae out of selfish reasons (i said in the tags of a previous post that that line sounded like he was talking more about himself than her)? yes. is he also genuinely concerned about Jang Hyun getting his heart broken by someone who is apparently in love with someone else despite her actions? yes.

we know, by now, that Ryang Eum is in love with Jang Hyun. we also know that Jang Hyun has squarely friendzoned him, though it's still up in the air whether he knows about Ryang Eum's feelings or not. so far, up to ep 8, he hasn't done anything we can really consider as sabotage to the main couple, and from what i've seen of the commentary on ep 9 hasn't done anything in that regard either (except return home early and possibly run into Gil Chae, but we all know the editing on these things when they want to conceal sh*t is shady af). if he really did decide to not to carry Jang Hyun's message in ep 10 specifically so that Gil Chae would go and get married anyway, then we can talk about crossing the line and entering the toxic SL arc and that, by extension, would warrant whatever tf is going on with him in the apparent ep 10 preview. (i have heard the rumors. they're not good) to me, he's not quite there yet. if he was, then we'd have to bring up Gil Chae and her multiple attempts to draw Yeon Joon away from Eun Ae early in the series, and i can hear the misogyny and Gil Chae hater brigade coming back again to join the party from here. if that doesn't happen, then, there's probably another reason why he and Jang Hyun are at odds. not sure if anything can be truly worse than that, but we'll see ig sksksksk

[indieninja92]

i saw this post on twitter and was so pleased to see it cross-posted here as well, i think it makes some really vital points about the episode!

it also made me think a lot about my reading of the episode and i hope its alright to pick up some of these ideas and turn them over/explore a bit? to emphasise, this is in the spirit of readings from other perspectives, not "this is right, this is wrong"!

first of all, the point about the anti-racism in doctor who being shallow really hits the nail on the head. you can make as many "anti-racism" episodes as you like but when your entire writing room is white, it rings very hollow indeed.

i think though that one of the tensions here is whether you read this as a white writer trying to tell a story about experiencing racism as a person of colour, or whether you read it as a white writer writing about the complicity of white people in racism.

as this post articulates really effectively, white people arent racist by accident, or because they dont know thats what theyre doing. theyre racist on purpose, by choice, because they benefit from racist structures and have a vested interest in maintaining them. it's also easier for white people to be racist than not - its the path of least resistence, its the default. in contrast, it takes active, intentional work to be anti-racist, and that anti-racism is only borne out in action - you can't be passively anti-racist within racist systems and structures.

i felt that the episode captured that feeling. the people of finetime want the path of least resistence, they want to do things the easy way and be led by the structures they choose to live in. theyre racist on purpose, because it benefits them, and its easier for them, not because they're stupid.

similarly, i didnt read lindy as being a bimbo as much as an embodiment of white women's belief in their own victimhood, their complicity in violence while refusing to take responsibility for themselves. she wouldnt let her bubble down because it was upsetting, it made her cry, it wasnt nice! never mind that it was reality and it was hurting people, what really mattered to lindy was that she was upset.

wrt the goofy tone of the episode, i think that really worked in its favour as a way of demonstrating how easily white people fall into the exact same patterns as the finetime citizens. it was easy as a white person for me to miss a lot of the microaggressions, and to let myself not ask questions about what was going on, and let myself be led by the hand and enjoy myself. which i think goes to my point about this being more about white people's experience of complicity than people of colour's experience of racism. dot and bubble is easier to watch if youre white, and i understood that as being part and parcel of the point it was making.

i also didnt read the all-white cast as a "ha your bias is showing" thing, or that the historical whiteness of DW undermines the episode. for me it drives it home more, it's DW criticising DW, saying, "see how easy it is for us to accept a DW ep with all white people? how fucked up is that?" i think the episode was more in conversation with that history and using it to criticise itself rather than being undermined by it.

at the same time, like OP says it necessarily rings hollow wrt the all-white writers room. you need to be perfect to criticise your past, but it doesn't make sense to do that when youre still making those same mistakes! im also absolutely not shocked to hear that white fans are reading ricky as being somehow immune to the society he was steeped in, and i wish the episode had demonstrated more that he's as much a part of this world and upholding those ideas as anyone else.

the decision to have 15 begging to save the finetime people was certainly... a choice. i wish there were enough people of colour, specifically black people, specifically black men, involved in doctor who - both in front of and behind the camera - so that 15 could be read as 15 and not as a stand-in for black people/men in general. unfortunately thats not the case so we can't talk about whether it was in character for 15 without talking about what it means for a black man's anger to be refused its proper time and expression.

that makes me think as well about the point re. the lack of racism in the 1960s episode. 15 has to be "the black doctor" so every time he's in a historical place and setting where that would be difficult, the writers are going to have to decide whether they want to engage with that or not. and, being white, they're likely to choose not to. they're also likely to keep putting him in situations where he would, historically, realistically, have faced prevalent racism, because they're defaulting to white narratives of history. thats not something thats going to change until they get black writers and other writers of colour into the writing room, and start taking the stories and voices of people of colour seriously.

(Reposting from twitter)

My POV as a Black fan that thinks Dot and Bubble's racism commentary is trash

Rewatched Dot and Bubble and I'm gonna break down from my POV as a Black fan why this episode didn't work for me & why it's an awful racism commentary. Long arse post incoming:

The whole "You should've noticed the cast was all white except for fifteen ha your bias is showing" doesn't work for a show that's been predominantly white for 60+ years. D&B casting has been the default for most of the show so its not abnormal enough to be a racial litmus test. An example is the Matt Smith era The only reoccurring character of colour in s5 (2+ appearances) is Liz 10. Artie n Angie in s7. 0 in s6. RTD's own era isn't fully safe either. For many eps Martha or Mickey are the *only* Black characters. Most POC are side characters or extras.

White fans should be aware of the predominantly white casting of the show but this late in the game feels cheap. Most of the show has gone through 100% white episodes including fan faves and it was never an issue back then bc it was beneficial. This is so hollow. Representing racists as cartoon caricatures SEVERLY underestimates the danger of white supremacy irl. White supremacy is system designed and constructed and rebranded over centuries. It is not accidental. People aren't racist bc they don't know they're racist because they *do* They know the system that oppresses POC, Black people especially, benefits them socially and financially and that is why they participate. Its not stupidity it's intention. That should've been the Finetime core not Lindy goofing around bc the arrows are gone or some shit.

Human Nature showed us racist young people that exercised this power bc they knew this. They may be children but they are still dangerous bc of their views. Martha knew this. The silly tech obsessed gen z angle erases this danger and that of actual gen z white supremacy

Instead of the camp goofy tone we could've gotten a serious focused episode. The slugs and millenial/gen z social media silly distracts from what could've been the main theme of colonisation instead of saving it for 10 mins of exposition at the end & scattering microaggressions. Saving Fifteen's racism scene for a goofy episode was a horrid idea. Spending 30 mins on representing racism as silliness then giving a dramatic dangerous score is the definition of tonal whiplash. Representing his oppressor as a blonde bimbo again does not take this seriously. Fifteen went to 1960s BRITAIN & got through it unscathed. Finetime is a fictional futuristic land but the racism of 1960s Britain was real. If anytime was right it could've been Devil's Chord. Distancing yourself from a panto villain is easy but addressing your history is hard.

The scene itself is incredibly performed so I'll give Ncuti his flowers but what he used this skill for could've been so much more. Having his FIRST SCENE begging to save a racist is disgusting. It isn't Black people's responsibility to show compassion to people that want us dead. Yes the Doctor helps the baddies bc they care. But they're aren't ignorant to prejudice. The liberal anti racism of who is so jarring and why I still think Thin Ice is performative. When white people are angry at injustice it's radical. When it's Black people we're aggressive.

Respectability politics is a tool of white supremacy. That if one pleads and is nice enough they can earn liberation. What would white fans think of Fifteen if he DIDN'T beg Lindy? If your allyship with Black people depends on showing kindness to racists you are NOT an ally.

Next up is Ricky. It was established ALL Finetime citizens have white supremacist views yet Ricky September stans refuse to see him in any negative light. Just like Joan Redfern white dw fans refuse to see racism if a character is likeable. If nice guy Ricky's a racist, then anyone no matter the niceness can be racist too and that's a pill white fans aren't ready to swallow. If racism is systemic and not about individual character, then what's keeping them safe? What happens when YOU are under the microscope.

THIS is why we NEED Black writers in Doctor Who. The nuances, depth and complexity of the Black experience can only be told at it's best by Black creatives and not guessed, assumed or spoken over by white fans and white writers. It's okay to put ego aside and say you don't get it.

"Im white but I loved the Doctor's reaction" "I'm white and i thought the racism commentary was great" "I'm white but i-" Yet again, we have to sit through another round of white and non Black fans of colour dictating Black representation for us. I'm so fucking tired man. AGAIN IM YELLING FROM MY HILLTOP TO WATCH SHOWS BY BLACK WRITERS. Almost EVERY single theme in Dot and Bubble and frankly most of the show has been done WAY better in other media. RTD is not the authority on Black stories. We are. Always have been and always will.

Tl;dr Dot and Bubble is an unserious and tacky racism commentary. It's core message is drowned by more RTD Who camp. Don't tell me this episode was good at representating my own experience. It wasn't. S15 having Black writers isn't a need it's a must. Goodbye.

[awwbuzz]

all was well sub-plots

004 // SUBPLOTS

001 // ST. MUNGO'S

A new curse has been flying through the dark streets of London. The wizards behind it have not yet been apprehended, but it can only be assumed that their intent is nefarious. Drain, as it's being called by the public, is a curse that nullifies a user's ability to use magic. It doesn't happen immediately. It starts slowly, gradually draining the wizard's magical abilities over a course of days and weeks before leaving them completely powerless, and in some cases, comatose. While some say it's only fear-mongering, those at St. Mungo's know the malevolent truth. Drain, or better known by the Ministry of Magic as Desiccatum Magus, is a dark curse that is suspected to have been released from the Department of Mysteries' vaults. In a race against the clock, St. Mungo's is grappling for a cure. Most wizards have been able to be awoken, but none with their magic.

PARTICIPANTS —

head potioneer, lyra malfoy the cursed the cursed the cursed cursebreaker cursebreaker

002 // GRIMOIRE UNIVERSITY

THE MURDER

Motive

During a group Divination session in Lethe society, a horrible future wizarding war was predicted. The prediction mentioned specifically that it would be started by one person. They are described as someone of great political ambition, who comes from a bloodline of change bringers, there was a sword on the table before them (Possibly seen as the House of Swords, or as someone who is a warrior, or a former Gryffindor - as in sword of Gryffindor), there was a crown above their head and a throne behind them (interpreted as the KING in Kingsley) but most prominently they had the Acheron society symbol around them.

There were some who interpreted the figure who started this future wizarding war as fitting the Shacklebolt daughter. The Lethe society leadership decided and announced to the members that they would bring this prophecy to the Department of Mysteries where it could be properly interpreted and actions taken if necessary. Shortly later, Elivinia was found dead.

The daughter of Kingsley Shacklebolt, Elivinia, also a member of the Archeron Society, was murdered. Many speculate that it was the doing of someone from the Lethe society, but in truth, this was a convenient coverup. Elivinia was cursed with Drain due to being targeted over an old fallout between her father and Silas Avery. Nobody knows Elivinia was cursed, as she saw the wizard who cursed her and was killed before she could tell anyone.

Start a war the Shacklebolt daughter might yet - but not in the way anyone anticipated. Will the students be able to piece together the mystery?LETHE

The Light //

Founded in the first year of Grimoire University, the Lethe society has been focused on exploring the different schools of magic beyond what standard curriculum teaches. They aim to go beyond what is known, thinking in terms of how and why, to practice new avenues of magic and expand on existing ones. There is an intense focus on society and the ways it can be improved when it comes to Lethe, and they often practice group rituals to divine the future in hopes of avoiding disaster, are responsible for upholding some of the protective wards for spellcasting on school grounds, and have funded themselves for years through innovative transfiguration castings.

Lethe’s members are known as upstanding members of society, and aim to leave the wizarding world better than they found it through this quest for knowledge. They attract members that have strong feelings about honor and morality, and refuse to participate in any of the darker arts — as they believe these only hurt society, resulting in the schism that created the Acheron society.

SCHOOLS OF MAGIC —

Abjuration, Divinatory & Transfiguration

INITIATION RITUAL —

Potential members are called to join the same whether they seek the dark or the light. A golden drachma is placed on their pillow with instructions on where to find the entrance to the meeting place. It's the initiations that differ.

Lethe initiates are handed a golden goblet filled with a shimmering blue liquid and told to drink, what it takes is not up to the one who drinks but by the magic itself. A memory taken and sent to the keeper, the memory may be as small as forgetting the ending to your favorite book, but as big as forgetting someone who you once cared for. No one knows why the magic takes the memory it does, only that in order to join the Lethe one must forget.

CURRENT MEMBERS —

one two three

ARCHERON

The Dark //

Ten years after the founding of Lethe society, it fractured into two different groups, of which one eventually became the Acheron society. There are many claims about the conflict being strictly about morality, but the truth is that it was about knowledge. While Lethe refuses to practice in any magic they do not see as improving, Acheron believes that all avenues should be explored, and that in the darker arts, much information can be found. Their vision is akin to fighting fire with fire, there should be no morality in the scholarship itself but more so on how it’s applied — if using magic with negative connotations can be used to create something new, it shouldn’t be banned.

Acheron members are known to be creative and resourceful above anything. They do not focus on morality as much, but their knowledge base is twice as large as a result. Acheron frequently hosts necromantic rituals to explore the world beyond death & in an attempt to figure out immortality, they have created ways to increase the intensity of many existing spells, and are working on a spell that replicates a similar effect to Polyjuice potion.

SCHOOLS OF MAGIC —

Necromantic, Illusion & Evocation

INITIATION RITUAL —

Potential members are called to join the same whether they seek the dark or the light. A golden drachma is placed on their pillow with instructions on where to find the entrance to the meeting place. It's the initiations that differ.

Acheron initiates are given a golden goblet with a black shimmering liquid to drink. And like the Lethe initiation it also takes from the drinker, but not permanently. For a week the initiate who has drank from the goblet will be unable to do anything but the smallest bits of magic. Forcing initiates to understand that the knowledge they seek may come at a price, and only those who are willing to pay it will find it.

CURRENT MEMBERS —

one two three

003 // THE BROTHERS GRIMM

The turmoil caused by the Drain curse has caught the attention of the Brothers Grimm, a vigilante group of ragtag animagi. Not favoring the way the Ministry has tried to play down recent affairs, whether it has been to prevent hysteria or save their own skin, the Brothers Grimm vowed to bring the offenders to justice themselves. While in the past, their focus was on taking out wizarding gangs, after one of their own men was cursed, the group turned their sights on something larger and more sinister. Some see the Brothers Grimm as heroes and are rallying behind them. Others, for exactly what they are - dangerous and out for revenge. The Ministry has sent their best hit wizards to contain them to no avail. United under a common cause, they won't stop until they have justice.

CURRENT MEMBERS —

 01. -- GRIMM.

Former auror turned vigilante leader. The oldest Grimm brother was always passionate about what he did. Maybe too passionate. The Ministry dismissed him due to his reckless behavior in multiple missions, deeming him too volatile to be part of the force. After months of feeling lost, he created the the Brothers Grimm with his brother and decided to take justice into his own hands.

 02. -- GRIMM

The younger brother and righthand man to the leader of the Brothers Grimm. He started the vigilante group with his older brother four years ago. He is the cool moon to his brother's hotheaded sun.

03. FIRST, LAST.

Before he joined the Brothers Grimm, he was part of a notorious gang. Balthazar saved him. He took him out of that life and showed him a new one, a better one.

04. FIRST, LAST.

They chose the wrong wizard when they cursed him. This is what set the Brothers Grimm's plans into motion. Before this, they focused their antics on taking out various gangs, drug dealers, and the vermin hiding in the cracks of Knockturn Alley. His powers aren't entirely gone yet, but they're fading fast.

 05. FIRST, LAST.

A former Ministry employee who worked in the courts of Wizengamot. He joined ranks with the Brothers after a particularly troubling case in which the killer walked free. Nobody knows of his involvement. He uses her involvement and status with the court.

 06. FIRST, LAST.

Owner of the Green Dragon, a pub and inn that serves as the meeting place for the Brothers. Warren opens his doors to his fellow vigilantes. They often meet there after hours.

 07. FIRST, LAST.

An informant working in St. Mungo's. She was abducted, as the Brothers planned to interrogate her for details. What they didn't anticipate was that, instead of resisting, she wanted to join them.

 08. -- SHACKLEBOLT.

The newest and youngest member. After his sister Elivinia, was murdered, he was the only one to suspect there was something more than the Prophecy at play. Wanting answers, he joined alliances with the Brothers Grimm. While they were reluctant to let him into their ranks at first, working in the Ministry, they decided that Shacklebolt would be a valuable asset. So they initiated him. He gained his animagus and now stands beside them.

004 // THE FIVE HORSEMEN

While it was thought that all those with the Dark Mark were apprehended or died in the Wizarding Wars, a group of radical pureblood supremists exist in the cracks of society. Unsuspected by those around them, they lead every day lives among their fellow wizards - among the assembly of Wizengamot, the auror you thought you could trust. These are the minds behind what some are whispering to be the Fourth Unforgivable Curse: Desiccatum Magus, or Drain.

CURRENT MEMBERS —

CONQUEST, SILAS AVERY (50S). The mastermind behind the curse's release. He pulls the strings of his lackeys like puppets, getting them to do his bidding, preying on what he knows each wants most. He believes magic should only be a privilege of pureblood wizards. They will reclaim it, no matter the cost. WAR, GREGORY GOYLE (50S) The one responsible for cursing the victims. While Avery sits on his throne and refuses to sully his hands, a lackey once again, Goyle carries out his commands. He is a hit wizard, whose position aids him in the mission and keeps suspicion at bay. FAMINE, --BLISHWICK (AGE) Working at St. Mungo's, he masquerades under the guise of a well-meaning potioneer, meanwhile relaying back what he learns to Avery like a snake. HE feeds on the man's approval like its the only sustenance he needs. DEATH, GALE YAXLEY (29). Wishing to protect Avery, who stood in as a father figure since Corban was apprehended for his crimes, Gale took the Shacklebolt girl's life to stop her from exposing the truth. Whether he truly believes in Avery's cause is uncertain. He is the wild card. FEAR, -- LESTRANGE (34). An Unspeakable working in the Department of Mysteries. Relentlessly loyal to Avery's cause, she was responsible for retrieving the curse from the vaults. She keeps the others in line should they overstep. It is said she knows a curse that can create illusions of the victim's worst fear to scare them to death.

[whcrror]

TOPIC: ALLEGED TRANSPHOBIC BEHAVIOR. PART ONE

INTRO: This is the big topic we wanted to speak about, because it has hurt real people in the community, and while we will not be taking a direct stance ourselves on the nature of this behavior, we do want to warn people who may be hurt by this in the future. In the grand scheme of things, the response to such behavior on Djaq's part has not been quite satisfactory despite her being upfront about the issues she's gone through regarding this topic in the past. However we also have monitored the situation as it unfolded, and do not believe she's being 100% transparent about the entire thing.

PREFACE: we know there are people who would like to call these allegations ridiculous in defense of Djaq. These people claim that the individuals hurt by this ,or the people who find Djaq's behavior offensive are invalid. The main reason these allegations are being swept under the rug, are because 'being sex positive about trans muses is not fetishizing' which we agree with wholeheartedly. we'll continue below.

While we agree, being sex positive of trans and cis muses alike isn't fetishizing, that's not the issues being raised with Djaq anyway. However, again, we understand if trans or non-binary people DO NOT have an issue with Djaq's actions. However that DOES NOT and WILL NEVER diminish the feelings of those people who are trans or non binary, WHO HAVE BEEN HURT BY HER BEHAVIOR.

So before going on, we'd like to say that the issue here is not regarding the idea of 'Djaq being "not allowed" to smut with, smut against, or write smut for muses that are trans'. We do not believe that has anything to do with it.

We believe the issue raised initially was regarding putting too much emphasis on genitalia in general, when it is in relation to gender. Cisgender, or transgender muses alike. (There's also another issue we'll discuss when we review the post, having to do with mutation)

To be transparent as well, we'd like to tag @whorrcr, @nintcnhoe , @whorrcr-moved , and @thewhorrcrs despite our respecting her decision not to engage. That is not the point of this point.

Now that we have that out of the way..

THE BEGINNING / INITIAL ANONS/SITUATION REGARDING SOMEONE FINDING DJAQ'S BEHAVIOR OFFENSIVE: The issues raised had been so on a now deleted blog. The URL of this blog was chryscs/laetuus (same blog, the url was just changed), and it was deleted as a direct result of the situation we'll go on to detail. Unfortunately we do not have screenshots of the original posts, however while we do not expect anyone to take our word for it: we have seen the post that originated the initial complaint regarding her behavior.

What we do have are the screenshots of the catalyst to the blog: chryscs/laetuus, being deleted. These include anons Djaq was sent by a concerned party, who is non-binary, that had been hurt or otherwise exhausted by her behavior. This individual saw it as a genuine issue. We will include those below and talk about it.

First we'd like to say that it seems Djaq was, and is open to the criticism. We're not trying to say otherwise. We've kept the URL private whom sent the ask, however you can read the screenshots above regarding the issues raised by this individual.

FETISHIZATION: We would like to say that while we do not know whether or not this was the opinion shared by the individual who sent the ask, we can understand that the issue of fetishizing is likely more-so in relation to the amount of smut that is featured on Djaq's blog. Smut is at the forefront, self admittedly, of Djaq's blogs and always has been. The amount of smut featured these days (and for the tenure of the recent URL whorrcr) is more-less the entirety of it, which supports the fetishization claims. If smut is the only thing a character is being used for, it could be seen as fetishization. Especially when putting such a heavy emphasis on this.

Like we said, the issues raised above in the ask (while Djaq hasn't been transparent about everything) can be read and digested at your own leisure, and we do not wish to make a direct statement either way. Other than perhaps an attempt to explain the overall point that was trying to be made, we can trust you to formulate your own opinions. I'm not sure which of Djaq's friends or defenders have seen this due to it having appeared on a deleted blog.

DISCUSSING A POST MADE BY DJAQ REGARDING THE SITUATION: This post, which is the pinned post on Djaq's callout blog (thewhorrcrs), She addresses these allegations. This is because we've brought them up in our first post. We'd like to break down some of the things we find upsetting in this post.

This was directly referencing the ask. While we would argue the ask certainly wasn't taken well, that's for you to decide as well, as an adult individual ingesting this information. However, the post Djaq made about wanting to have equal amounts of ftm/mtf muses was taken poorly when in direct relation to her previous behavior, which began with this specific incident.

WHAT INCITED THIS ASK BEING SENT TO DJAQ: If we recall, the POSTS specifying genitalia that prompted the asks shown above, were either small bios or starter calls (made by Djaq). These bios specifically mention the specific genitalia of each muse. We'll speak more about the post she's referring on her 'old blog' later , or in a separate post -- as I do think this might warrant two parts. However I don't want to get too off-topic.

DELETED BLOG: Djaq mentions she wasn't sure if she deleted the blog chryscs/laetuus, but we find that hard to believe based on the two post that Djaq had made directly FOLLOWING the posting of the asks she received (again, shown above).

Here's the claim made on thewhorrcrs:

Here are the posts that came before the deletion of chryscs/laetuus:

DISCLAIMER/REMINDER: We would like to make sure that everything is addressed here, considering the seriousness of the allegations raised in all of these screenshots. We apologize if we bounce around a little in terms of topics, however we are trying to organize all of the information in relation to the screenshots. We appreciate your understanding.

POTENTIAL BI-PHOBIA/ERASURE AND HOMOPHOBIA: Now, let us go on. It is referenced in this post that even after making changes, she's been labelled as bi-phobic, homophobic, and a terf. We have some potential reasons of why that might be, other than the fact that as far as we are aware, two of the three people she's attacked in the past have been bisexual, or lesbian.

POTENTIAL BI-PHOBIA / CHANGING GAEA'S SEXUALITY: Djaq's main original character Gaea's sexuality has been notably changed on more than one occasion. Mostly from pansexual to heterosexual. We could see how this could be described as erasure. We do have evidence of this, we'll include it below (first two being same character sheet with different sexuality - first from glysimachia-blog, the second from herbtm):

The idea of 'sticking to what I (Djaq) know' has also been said in relation to her changing the sexuality, as well.

DEHUMANIZING TRANS PEOPLE: Now I'd like to specifically discuss the 'portraying trans muses through the lens of being mutants or unnatural'. (issue raised in ask). I'll allow Djaq to explain:

I'd like to bring up that Djaq did mention that 'someone else' (aka the person whom sent the ask displayed above) had brought this up, and it had not been taken well.

Either way, there is not much responsibility taken, or understanding shown on Djaq's part. Especially regarding why this specific portrayal (or any of the issues raised back then, or now) could have offended trans, or non-binary people. It seemed to be all about Djaq defending herself instead of empathizing with others. We think this point is adequately raised by the non-binary person who sent in the initial complaint, so I'll let them explain below with an excerpt:

DEHUMANIZING/OFFENDED INDIVIDUALS: I'd also like to bring to light another trans individual who has raised their discomfort about the same behavior, and this is only relevant because people who defend Djaq are sweeping this behavior under the rug as something that does not effect trans people:

It doesn't matter if her friends that are trans don't have an issue with it. That is their human right. However, multiple people DO have an issue with it, and it's not fair people who are being hurt by this are being diminished and it is being reduced to not a big deal:

This was done to this character specifically for fetish purposes, and is fetishization. Period. This is admitted by Djaq to have happened, which is why we are treating this current topic as fact.

Here's another post below that backs up claims about the initial complaint being about heavy emphasis (unneeded emphasis) on genitalia, and the Lady D situation:

Djaq has said multiple times that she wants to learn from this behavior, which is much appreciated. However the tone we find she (Djaq) uses is very accusatory and not encompassing of the entire situation. It also includes language that may diminish the problem at large, and it will come into play while discussing the more recent attacks launched on cartaxus, Djaq's more recent inclusion on DNI's, and how this prior situation and how it was handled by Djaq played a role in people becoming uncomfortable with her more recent posts and behavior. (Reminder that the situation lead to the harassment of another individual on behalf of Djaq's friends, and arguably more than one individual which have been discussed prior).

Below i'm including a post we'll revisit in part two because it is relevant, but it is just another example of a trans person indicating the issues with Djaq's behavior (both in the past, and in relation to what she has posted more recently), and how they were effected by it. This screenshot was taken from a publicly available DNI before it was removed, and any identity has been left out for privacy (click for better quality):

The post above also validates the idea of the issue being far from the portrayal of different walks of life.

This is all for part one: as in part two we would like to get more in-depth on what has happened more recently -- all which lead to the DNI made by cartaxus, and the subsequent false smear campaign that followed )by those associated with Djaq). It goes over some additional behavior that could be identified as unsavory, in relation to this initial conversation. I believe it will be more beneficial to go over this in a separate post so that nothing is confused.

Thank you for reading and have a lovely night. Please remember do not harass anyone, including Djaq. See you soon.

[xtinyslip]

mark hated that she was right, that out of everyone who was going to take him down. it had ended up being a pederson. not the one that he had been expecting but it didn't make swallowing that reality any easier. he was a survivor, if there was anything that someone could rely on about him. it was that he survived. his attempts to drag himself away from her, to try to create some distance may have been some form of his survival instincts kicking in. however, that wasn't what he was trying to do right now. no, he knew what he was going to attempt to do. the only thing he felt like he could. "IT'S NOT OVER YET." it was and he knew it. "are you waiting for a congratulations? you're not going to get it." surprised that he was still wasting his breath talking to her but they all LOVED to talk, didn't they? and he was trying to buy himself just that little more time. he felt the pressure on his leg but it didn't hurt which he knew already wasn't a good sign. the fact his hands were literally sliding on his own blood as he tried to crawl also told him how fucked he was. FUCK. no, she couldn't see the phone in his trembling hand, he could barely see the screen from all the blood but he saw it was CONNECTED. whether will was on the other end or it was leaving a voicemail, will would get his message. "i don't have to touch them for you to lose them for good. your kid? parker? what will they think when they hear what you did? huh? sure your kid doesn't know how much of a psycho bitch you really are and parker? he's just looking for more excuses to leave your sorry ass behind. glad i could give him one." and perhaps LITERALLY hear, if this was a voicemail, it would be there to show everyone but he trusted will would know what to do with it. it was stupid, he knew, but the fact that will might be on the other end of that phone was almost a small comfort. he'd never admit it but he didn't feel so alone, sliding the phone that was still connected to will on the floor in front of him, out of her view and also out of her reach. she'd have to get past him first and he wasn't done just yet. "we both know who you're coming for next! you know all this time you spend thinking about will and his family and they don't give you a second thought! you're pathetic!" glancing across at the phone, good, he'd know. the knife in his stomach caused a shriek to leave him, although, at this point he wasn't sure if it was pain or just pure anger. he didn't really hurt anymore. he felt numb. feeling the blood in the back of his throat, bringing one hand to try and press against his wounds. "that's the only place your going so that's fine with me. know i'll be waiting for you!" bitch. mark couldn't even keep in the slouched position he'd been in, he found a wall, managing to use that to at least remain sitting. he didn't want to give her the satisfaction. grunting, struggling for breath but he was going to say this. "it was my fault, this was on me. i take full responsibility for my actions and i don't want anyone to blame themselves. this was entirely on me." that message wasn't for her, it was for will ; it was for his best friend. fuck, he wanted to say so much more but it was private. he wasn't doing that in front of her. @fcrafcrtnight

SHE HAD TRIED TO KEEP THIS.. SHE HAD TRIED TO KEEP THIS SIDE OF HER AWAY, FOR AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. it wasn't good and never had been and yet.. why would she give a damn? why would she give a damn, when trying to be good and decent had only ever brought her pain? she wanted to hurt someone for the way that her heart had been shattered when he had left and now? THIS? THIS WAS PRECISELY WHAT SHE NEEDED. "oh? did you say something, detective? i cannot hear you over the fact that i'm the one with the knife in my hand, am i not?" she only smiled and shrugged as she did so, approaching him. slowly, like a hunter about to close in on their prey. "maybe. STILL GOT YOU, THOUGH. WHAT DOES THAT SAY ABOUT ME? THAT I WAS THE ONE THAT GETS TO TAKE DOWN THE LEGENDARY MARK HOFFMAN?" that she wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. this? she had win and she wasn't afraid of showing that. smiling? oh, she was. "oh, no," she stepped on his leg on purpose, with her full strength. "you won't lay a hand on my daughter. and you know why? BECAUSE YOU WON'T BE HERE TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN. ME, ON THE OTHER HAND? I'M GOING TO HAVE FUN WITH ALL OF YOUR LITTLE FRIENDS. ONE BY ONE." she knelt in front of him, sending the knife right against his stomach. where she'd knew it'd hurt? yes. she was a doctor. "any last words before you go somewhere warm, i'd imagine? ain't no rest for someone like you. @xtinyslip