#at the end of the day everyone is gonna do what they want

[spilledcoffeeonthefloor]

"i want to end this"

Neil knew something was up with Andrew for the last few days. he was, a little off, he could say; he ate less, smoked more, and most importantly, left Neil more often.

Neil always respected Andrew's boundaries. hell, he acted, and felt, like Andrew's boundary are devine rules set by god,

but he also knew Andrew, so he was both surprised and not surprised when he heard him say "i want to end this"

𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵? that crossed Neil's mind.

𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘪 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘢 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵

𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘪 𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘸𝘩𝘺.

Neil kept quiet. he wasn't exactly sure what was being ended. the sex? the night drives? it's not like he could end his feelings. if he could, he would do way before baltimore.

"ok" Neil said.

Andrew was quite for few second. Neil could swear he saw a flash of something near disappointed flash through Andrew's eyes.

"good" and with that he left a room.

Andrew woke up the next day on his own bed. well, he didn't fall sleep, but he was in his own bed, cold andlonely, because of a choice he made himself.

𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘶 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 he told himself. got out of bed and walk toward the kitchen.

if he hadn't woken up in his own bed, he would thing yesterday was all just an imagination, because everything was kinda, the same.

there was his coffee Neil usually made for him, and Neil himself sipping his own coffee and arguing with kevin over something Andrew didn't care enough to pay attention to. he felt like he was staring at his coffee too much to be normal. he considered not taking it, but he wasn't a fucking child, so he took his coffee and took a slow sip, like every other normal day.

they drove to the court, Neil sat in his usual seat next to Andrew.

he sat on the couch of the lobby in his usual place, again, next to Andrew.

another day passed, still the same.

his coffee was there.

Neil brought ice cream when he got back from his class, like he always did.

he showed him those stupid cat videos, like he always did.

turn the TV down and told everyone to shut up when Andrew was having a headache, like he always did.

days passed.

Neil would still let him know when he was gonna take longer runs so Andrew wouldn't get worried ( "I'm not dead, just running a bit more" Neil texted him right when he was ready to take his keys and go search for him."idgf" he replied, of course he didn't give a fuck. )

that was stupid. everything was stupid. Andrew ended this cause Neil is stupid and tolerates things he shouldn't. so why didn't he get the fuck away from Andrew when he had the chance? it sure as fuck wasn't for the convenience. Andrew is farr from being convenient, if not difficult as fuck to deal with. so why is he still hovering around, when there's nothing to hold him obligated? when he didn't have to and more importantly when no one was expecting him to. Andrew was eating himself alive with the thought of Neil forcing himself to handle Andrew.but because of what? he didn't know. they didn't have any deal, so it must be the obligation of whatever they had, right? Andrew knew the only form of emotional bound Neil had with anybody else beside the foxes, was his mother. he knew Neil would tolerate anything when he had to.

they went for night drives, like they always did. Andrew wanted to say no when Neil asked if they could go for a drive, but his yes was a reflex. Andrew knew he still had a heart because it sure as hell wasn't his brain that was dancing with the thought of night drive with Neil.

like it always did.

he heard footsteps when he was on the roof smoking.

Neil sat beside him. he didn't ask. he knew when it would be a no, and it was both humiliating and stupid that he knew today was not a no. and they days before. and every single day after the day when they finished their this.

"what the fuck is wrong with you."

"hm?" Neil looked at him, and he had the audacity to actually look confused.

"are you really this stupid, or you're just playing dumb? "

"you have to be more specific cause i do both of this on daily routine."

"Neil." wasn't it a nice day to murder the love of your life?

who u just ended things with and should act on it.

"are you talking about the movie night? i didn't-"

"Neil, why the fuck are you here."

"to smoke?"

he was hundred percent playing dumb.

"what the fuck is your game? trying to, what, exactly? are you fooling yourself into believing you know what's better for me, or did you assume i didn't mean it when i said this is over.

so much for your 𝘪 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯."

"what the fuck. of course i know u meant it Andrew. and i said ok. i don't understand what is the problem you're referring to. do you want me to stay away from you? cause you didn't mention that part."

"are you so stupid you couldn't make that out yourself?"

"you know i don't assume things, Andrew. do you want me to stay away from you?"

Andrew couldn't believe this man.

"what I'm asking is how do you fucking not."

"why should i."

"you're so stupid."

"ok but you still didn't answer my question. if you want me to stay away from you, i will. you didn't say anything, you just said it's over and i said ok."

"and then you use your brain and find out that when something is over between you and someone else, then nothing holds you responsible for spending time with them."

"i know that."

"then why the fuck are you still here"

Neil didn't Answer.

𝘩𝘶𝘩

when Neil was quite for too long, Andrew turned to look at him.

𝘰𝘩 𝘪 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 that's the first thing that came to his mind when seeing the look on Neil's face.

he hated that look. that looked always meant Neil was about to say something that would make Andrew want to throw him off the building.

"Andrew, hey, look at me"

He sat on his Knees and scoot closer to Andrew

"i am, you blind"

"no, no, look at me, i am long, 𝘓𝘰𝘯𝘨 past the point of doing things i don't want to. i am long past just surviving, long past doing everything for a reason. I'm not here right now because , i don't fucking know, because i think i have to, or because i want something or because I'm expecting anything or any fucking other reason.

ask me why I'm here, and i say i don't fucking know. the closest reason i have is because it's you. because why shouldn't i. how could i not. you said let's end this, i said ok. i don't need to be in a relationship with you in order for you to know i care about you. or for myself to value my feelings for you. labeled or not, i like spending time with you, i like everything about you, actually, whether there's something between us or not. if you tell me you don't want me spending time with you, I'll accept it, doesnt matter how difficult it is for me, but you know i will. I'm happy right now. I'm happy just by being with you. you make me happ and you don't even have to do anything.

you underestimate my ability to leave. if i was unhappy, I'd be gone long ago, and you, you of all people know that. yeah yeah everytime i look at you i wish i could trade my soul for a kiss, but I'll still be happy to be by yourside even if we don't get to touch for the rest of our lives."

Neil thinks for a second then frowns a bit

"ok i don't know if I'd still be happy in a situation where you're with someone else, like, when someone else get to have this. i mean, you know I'm like, I'll never get in the way... wow that's so heavy to imagine give me a second i forgot what i was saying"

Andrew was not gonna give him a second. he would throw him off the building.

Andrew was ruined for everyone else the moment Neil said "if it means losing you, then no". he has fallen long long ago, and was willing to live with the burnt mark on his heart for the rest of his life.

how stupid,

of both of them, to not know.

Andrew was not gonna give him a second.

trade his soul, he said?

sure. Andrew was not gonn give him a second. he was gonna kiss his soul out of his body.

[curioscurio]

Why we have to start being nicer to eachother:

I know it sucks and is hard, but I think we really do need to start treating techbros and incels and our fellow humans with a bit more compassion, empathy, and understanding before we jump to bad faith interpretation. Especially when seeing a bad take online used as bait for arguments. We have to give other people the opportunity and knowledge to think for themselves, and make the choice to become a better person on their own.

"Hold on! Why should I be nice to people like that? THEY'RE the ones who are being bigoted to US!"

Well, I'll try and answer that question below! I ended up writing a lot, so check out the "read more" if you're curious. At the end of the day, I'm not an expert or a professional on human behavior, so keep that in mind. This is just something I've been thinking about based on my own past experiences.

Conspiracy theorists, the far right, gun enthusiasts, and even MAGA's all operate on the belief that modern society hates them for who they are. They think the entire world is against them.

And, looking at the kind of hate rhetoric and harmful ideologies they talk about; the cruel acts of casual and extremist violence that stem from that community, it easy to see why the world has turned its back on them. Right?

It makes you wonder: "Why are they like this?"

The easy way out is to simply hold on to the belief that they are behaving this way because they are bad people. Bad people do bad things, after all.

But when the world turns its back on a group of people, those people turn their backs on the world. They will naturally gravitate towards whichever group of accepting humans they come across first. Whoever validates their feelings and makes them feel accepted and safe instead of rejected and fearful.

The far right preys on young men who don't know know any better because they are never treated any better. They have influencers, exactly like Donald Trump, that make you feel safe. They also are lying to these people and using their fear of rejection to control them.

It's very similar to how the Church will help you out and feed you if you're homelss... as long as you join the church and donate 10% of your earnings to "God." (The churchs bank account. )

That is to say, people don't usually pop out of the womb with these prejudices and fears programed into their heads. It's something that has to be taught to them by somebody else. Their parents, the church, their school, their friends, youtubers, etc.

"So, what do we do? How do we save future and current generations from being sucked into this hateful spiral of far right bigotry?"

"How do we help our conservative parents, who we know love us but are absolutely convinced that they need guns to keep their families safe? How do we help our Trump Train family members who used to be loving, compassionate, people?"

Well, you're not gonna like the answer. We have to start being nicer to everyone. We have to be nicer to incels, dude bros, techbros, Karen's, and yes, even your average Republican voters. We have to show them compassion and empathy when they're expressing their fears, without immediately attacking them for it. We have got to prove to them that there's a place for them to come back to.

Their fears are being taken advantage of by a system that benefits from pitting the general population against each other. If we're too busy fighting eachother, we can never join forces and fight the system.

And so it turns into a self-sustaining system of fear and reactive lashing out. They start believing that everybody is against them, except the few people who understand. Until the only safe place left for them is the Q Anon message boards. Quite literally an orobourous of hate.

"But Curio! They literally want us dead! These people are violent and irredeemable!"

Many of them are. So many of these people are groomed into believing that the only way they can keep themselves safe is by killing anything they think has caused them harm. It's an intentional system maintained by those in power to control those who are not.

Some of them, however, are just normal people who got in with the wrong crowd or are too young to know better. Some people were never given the chance to be better.

"So, what SHOULD we do? Be nice to our oppressors? Let them get away with hate crimes and bigotry?"

No. But we DO need to stop thinking of "them" as this massive malevolent demographic who have no souls and are inherently evil. The majority of these people were lied to and manipulated and groomed into these beliefs.

We have to try harder to stop ourselves before we start calling them names and attack them, regardless of if they deserve it or not. We have to engage with them on good faith. Learn about WHY they believe conspiracy theories and why it stems from fear.

"Why? What will this help?"

Because you're quite literally showing them that there's another option available for them to take. You're showing them that, if they do change their minds and want to change their behavior, that you are a safe person to approach with these thoughts. You have the power to create a space for them where they're allowed to think for themselves without punishing them for it.

Once you create that connection, it's like you're showing them another road in life they can explore. They now can see a new future for themselves. A future where their kids start talking to them again. A future where they're not terrified of being humiliated for being soft. A future where they feel listened to.

And that's all. You just have to give them that chance. It's not your job to change their mind, or to tell them that they're wrong for thinking thoughts. In fact, trying to do just that will usually encourage them to double down.

But what you CAN do is build an environment where they have the OPPORTUNITY to change their mind. You can be kind, empathetic, and educational. Be patient and listen and have a respectful conversation with them.

It is especially important for people with privilege to step up and be those kinds of diplomats. People who are able and willing to look past the surface bigotry to address the scared humans underneath. People who can do this without endangering themselves or their community. This may be other cis straight white people who can get away with bringing these topics up gently, without triggering reflexive defensiveness. Who then have the patience to gently educate them and steer them towards a better path.

"But Curio, I can't do this. I've been hurt too many times by these people, and doing this would cause me significant mental distress."

Then don't. You're not obligated to be the better person for every situation and circumstance. Nuance must be taken into account. You don't have to be nice to every troll or ragebait Twitter post. I certainly don't want you to put yourself in a situation that causes you emotional, physical, or mental harm. Hell, you don't even have to give them the time of day. It's your own responsibility to make the judgment call regarding your health.

But people simply won't change if there's no room for them to change. And some people have the power to make that room for them little by little.

"I've tried everything. I've begged, cried, been nice, and shown them that we won't reject them. They won't change their minds no matter what."

And that's also ok! It can happen. When you give people the opportunity to make choices for themselves, there will always be people who still choose to believe the system they were groomed on. They can do that because thats free will, baby. There will still be people who will not change their minds and who will actively choose to become more radicalized.

And it's sad to see. But you also have to respect that sometimes people aren't ready to change at the same time that you're ready to help them change.

But you should try to do it for all the young men and children who are being taught by their parents that White Genocide is real. You should do it for the parents who love their kid so much, but are so terrified when they say they're transgender because they don't know what to do. Because they know the world will not treat them fairly or are afraid of ruining everything.

You should do it for your 10 year old nephew who watches Andrew Tate because their mother doesn't give a damn enough to check what kind of YouTube videos their kid is watching. You should do it for the depressed and hurting teenager who thinks they have no option left but to buy a gun and shoot up their school, because no ones listening to them. You should do it for the tradwife who's alone and hurting after her conservative husband cheated on her and left her with nothing; because she thought she would be the exception.

"...How do you know this will work? What if you're wrong, and nothing changes?"

I don't! I'm just a random person on the internet. I dont know who might read this. It's just my opinion.

But at least, at the end of the day, you tried your best to be a good person to another human being, and I don't think that's such very a bad thing. For me, I'm going to try because I don't want to lose my father to that kind of environment. I want to be able to have a normal conversation with him again.

There's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it's worth fighting for.

[witches-dream]

Imagine you have a son, and he's growing very disciplined, which is good, but he's very introverted, not really in a shut-in kinda way, he just seems very unapproachable to people, and he is, because he's just so serious all the time. Like you look at him and, yeah, he's gonna be great warrior, but you also wish that he could. Socialize a little?

So your son grows up and leaves to fulfill some kinda grand goal and you're like "ok, son", still kinda worried about him, but he's not your baby anymore, he can do what he wants. So he leaves and after a few days you hear this earth-shattering lightning strike, no storm before or after or anything, everybody is wondering what happened and if you'll all die soon. Nothing happens past that, actually, it feels strangely peaceful. So after a few days your son comes back and he doesn't look any different, but he has definitely changed in like a week or two that he was gone. So he says "father, I have defeated the black and white dragons". You're kinda shocked, but that explains the lightning strike and how everything went quiet after it, and your son is not one to lie, so you you say "oh, for real? neat". "They are not going to bother anyone anymore." Your son says in a solemn tone. Later, everyone celebrates but he doesn't come. You knock into his room, and, even through a closed door, you can feel some sort of power, warmth radiating from it. He opens the door and his sword looks... Different. First of all, it's much bigger. It has a completely different shape. And there's this... Purple gem on its handle and it's glowing brightly. Nobody in this village could've forged such an otherworldly masterpiece. So you ask "got a new sword, son?" He says "Yeah. It's a Soul Jam, actually." "A Soul Jam? Never heard of it." "I will tell you later."

He reluctantly agrees to join the celebration, but after a few weeks he leaves the village. He starts building a citadel, and walling off the coast of the Licorice Sea. People are already calling him Your Majesty, though he's slow on accepting that title. Many decades pass and you're so old you can't get out of the house on your own anymore. Your son visits and he looks the exact same as when he left. He takes care of you, with the same cold face he's always had, though his hands are warm and him just being there warms your heart. You strain your old and tired vocal cords to utter "I'm proud of you, son." He's silent, but he nods, and his long hair obscures his face, but you can imagine he's happy to hear that.

It's after you die that he accepts the throne, and the title of King that was decided by the people whose respect for him towered the mountains. And, as it turns out, your son is immortal now. And, through the years, through the decades and centuries and even millennia, he takes the utmost care of all his subordinates, he remembers every face of his every warrior and he etches out their names and immortalizes them and prays to them each day.

Your son does many great things, many heroic deeds. He defends the kingdom he founded with a resolution of a true warrior. Your son made friends. There's only four of them, they are heroes of their own lands just like him, so they're busy most of the time, but they go on adventures and they have fun once a couple of centuries. Your son also makes many mistakes, says things he deeply regrets. He has a son, and, even being thousands of years old, he still thinks of you and wishes he could be even half as great a father as you were.

Maybe sometimes your son wishes you were around to lend a word of advice, or to say "I'm proud of you" one more time. Other times, he's ashamed of a thought that you might be out there somewhere, watching him from the heavens and shaking your head in disapproval. You have no way of telling him you love him either way, with all his virtues and all his vices alike. What matters is that, in the end, your son overcomes all adversities and becomes a better person. He was given a unique chance in life: to have infinite time to learn, and he uses all that time to become a better person.

You have no regrets. You can rest peacefully, knowing you have raised a hero.

[chosos-lesbo]

i was gonna peruse around the jjk smau tag, read a few, but i encountered a post talking about dark content and how prevalent it is. while it is not my duty to speak about this, i felt like i might have some insight on this??

anyways, this is an argument that’s been had by different fandoms over the years. i’ve honestly actively participated in some of them lol. and one thing i will remain firm on is that i don’t believe it is appropriate to age up minor characters.

but at the end of the day, what everyone is reading and writing about is fictional. if you don’t want to see certain things depicted, FILTER THOSE TAGS!! it is effective for more than just avoiding spoilers. (i know the filtering system isn’t foolproof. i.e. i block content relating to pregnancy bc it makes me uncomfortable, but sometimes i still encounter it)

however, when you ask people to use this method to avoid these kinds of fics, it is just as important that CREATORS TAG ACCORDINGLY AND MAKE PROPER WARNINGS!

!!disclaimer!!: while i am saying all of this, i do not agree with any forms of ped0ph!lia, and i am absolutely NOT condoning the works that have it

at the end of the day, even though i don’t read dark content, that doesn’t mean i get to stop anyone else from reading what they want. and if you’re like myself, block the tags you don’t want to see. WE ALL NEED TO WORK ON OUR TAG ETIQUETTE!!

also, if you feel the need to send hate, don’t think i will not troll you :))

[mattyriddlesbitch]

The Princess and The Knight(Chapter Two)

Mattheo Riddle x F!Reader

Warnings: mentions of the basilisk

By your second year, Mattheo had made a reputation of being a dick and getting into fights. Many people avoided him, only his few friends you met on the train on the way to Hogwarts talked with him.

And you. You tried, at least. He would give short replies the whole time. ‘Yes’ ‘No’ ‘Maybe’ ‘I don’t know’ ‘Okay’ “Whatever’ That was pretty much his whole vocabulary with you.

His friends were okay with you. Not particularly friendly or went out of their way for you, but they weren’t rude to you and you were never one of their targets, which you were thankful for.

Second year started, and that was the year that there was something roaming Hogwarts, killing students. You were terrified, as any normal person would be.

You sat down in Potions next to Mattheo the day after the first attack, still a bit shaken up from the news.

“Did you hear about what happened?” You asked Mattheo as you started setting up your things for class.

“With the cat? Yes.” Mattheo answered, seeming unphased.

“I can’t believe something like that could happen here.” You said, shaking your head in disbelief.

“It's just a cat. It'll be fine, probably.” Mattheo shrugged.

“What if it happens to a student though?” You ask, leaning forward to lean on the desk.

“Are you scared?” He furrowed his eyebrows as he looked at you, like he was confused about your reaction.

“Well, yeah. That could've happened to anybody. That's terrifying.”

“You don't have to be scared. Nothing's gonna happen to you.” His expression softened slightly.

“How can you be so sure? How are you not scared?” You asked, confused about his laid back attitude about it all.

He shrugged again, refusing to answer the questions. “Do you need me to protect you? Will that make you feel safe?” He asked in a sarcastic tone.

It almost took you back for a second. He was sarcastic with you often, but the question caught you off guard. But you quickly recovered. “Aw, are you offering to be my knight in shining armor?” You smiled at him.

He scoffed and rolled his eyes. “As if. You're not a princess, you know.”

“Only princesses get knights then?”

“Correct.”

You were about to respond, but Snape spoke up, starting his lesson.

After some more attacks, the school implemented a rule that you couldn’t walk alone and to always walk with someone else. You didn’t really know anyone in your potions class other than Mattheo, so you weren’t sure who you were going to walk with, but you figured you’d find someone when the time came.

So now, potions class had ended and you were packing up, watching everyone walk in pairs or groups out of the classroom. You grabbed your bag and headed to the door, but noticed everyone was gone. You frowned, but figured since the halls were filled with students, you shouldn’t have an issue getting to your next class and headed out of the classroom.

“Breaking the rules now?” You heard Mattheo say after you took a few steps out the door.

“What?” You turned to see him pushing himself off the wall and coming to your side.

“Not following the ‘walking with someone’ rule. You’re alone.” He said, grabbing your arm to make you keep walking before letting go.

“Everyone had someone else already.” You shrugged as you fell into step beside him.

“I guess that leaves us then.”

“You didn’t want to walk with anyone else?” You asked curiously.

“They’re all idiots, I’m not walking with them.” He answered simply.

“You know, I think I recall you saying something about only princesses getting knights.” You said in a playful tone.

“Yeah, and?”

“Does that mean I’m a princess now?” You joked.

“And I’m a knight then?” He raised an eyebrow at you.

“Yeah.” You smiled at him.

“Fine then, princess. I guess I’ll be your knight for our 5 minute walk to your class.” He said sarcastically.

He walked with you between classes when he could, still keeping up the defense that he didn’t want to walk with anyone else since they were idiots. When they finally lifted the rule, he walked you to class one last time.

“Guess you won’t be needing my protection anymore, princess.” He said as you approached your class.

��Unfortunate. I was getting used to you walking with me.” You said, pouting playfully.

“Not like you’re never going to see me again.” He rolled his eyes at your pout.

“Might as well, though. It was the most you ever spoke to me.”

“Oh, shut up.” He stopped in front of your classroom.

“Well, I guess you’re retired now, my knight. Your services were appreciated.” You said with a small smile, chuckling when he rolled his eyes again, but this time with his own small smile.

“You’re stupid.”

“I know.”

There was a small moment of silence as you stared at each other, finally breaking when another student squeezed past you two to get into the classroom.

“Well, I better get to class. I’ll see you later, Mattheo.” You said and headed to your classroom.

“Yeah, later.” You heard him say before he started heading to his own classroom.

Taglist:

@jeannie-beannie @mixvchelle @helendeath @evaslytherpuff @leandre2006

@call-me-mishi @hpnsfwaddict @mayamonroem @brittney-121 @leovaldezsbitch

@dracoslovergirl @littlemadamred @mattheoriddleluvbot @acornacreacure @opheliamalfoy236

@demieyesore @akira1246 @queenshu @prettypinkprincess15 @starryslytherin0

@jolly4holly @st0n3dbarbi3 @kurumbukaari @whydoireadanymore @sweet-afternoon

@ilovehpb0ys @princessluvssleep @satosugu4-ever @reys-letters @mattiesgirl

@alwayslatetothefandoms @satosugu4-ever @whydoireadanymore @reys-letters @mcdonaldshelppage

@shaquilles-0atmeal @feistyfox47 @gillyweeds @pluto-9456 @jooniebluesworld

@hereticdance @lxserriddle @cindyss @saint-marvel @atadoddinnit

@simpforromance @yours-truly-5

Let me know if you wanna be added!

[my-wild-imagination1996]

Is There Somewhere?

A/N: This is not proofread and I am not perfect. There will be spelling and grammatical errors. No smut here. Just some angst and fluff 

Inspired by this song: Is There Somewhere by Halsey

THIS IS A WORK OF FICTION BASED ON THE AMAZING HUGH JACKMAN AND MY CRAZY IMAGINATION

Word Count: 2.0k

Warnings: Swearing, Angst, Age gap (referenced frequently), reader is in late twenties and Hugh is 55 

You and Hugh had been sleeping together since filming started for the marvel movie that you were both in. He had warned you in the beginning that you and him could be nothing more than good friends as far as anyone else was concerned. He told you that since you were only a few years older than his oldest child, he didn’t think that they would approve and that he really liked you but given the age difference there’s no way anything real could be there. At the time, you thought it’s okay, you weren’t gonna catch feelings. You verbally promised him that you would be fine and you wouldn’t want anything more than sex and friendship. He literally made you verbally promise him that you wouldn’t fall in love with him. As corny as that promise sounds, and you had actually laughed at the time thinking you could totally handle this. You fell for him a hell of a lot quicker than you thought possible. 

You were in denial about it for a long time. Even your friends had noticed there was change with you and that you were absolutely smitten with the secret friends with benefits you were in. Your friends knew you were hooking up with someone from the set, but they had no idea who it was. Not even Hugh’s best friend, Ryan, knew that you two were sleeping together. Everyone believed that you two were just good friends despite being love interests on screen and having “amazing on-screen chemistry”, no one suspected that there would be anything going on between you two. Truthfully as far as you were concerned, you couldn’t care less what anyone said or what anyone thought about your age difference. I mean you were almost 30, you were old enough to know what you wanted or even who you were in love with. 

You had rented an apartment where filming was located but you ended up staying at Hugh’s place more than your own. You finally accepted that you were in love with Hugh, when you were doing a press tour with him for the movie, this was a few months after filming finished, and while on this press tour, you both had often shared a hotel suite, unbeknownst to anyone else of course. You had both finished your interviews for the day. By the time you both were finished, it was around dinner time but neither of you had wanted to go anywhere but the hotel room and just finally relax. You had both agreed on ordering room service for the night. Your relationship, at this point, had developed beyond sex, and there was truly a friendship there. 

While you and Hugh were waiting for your food to come up, you and Hugh were currently smoking your cart while in the kitchen of the suite you both were staying in. You were sitting on the counter while he was singing and dancing around. He was wearing a white tank top with sweatpants and tube socks. He invited you over to dance with him by extending his hand out to you. You jumped off the counter to accept his offer and he playfully danced and sang with you til a knock at the door startled you both, making you both break out into laughter before you exited from view while he grabbed the food. It was that night that you finally accepted that you were completely in love with this man. He had been extremely flirtatious with you and playful. 

“So, y/n, I’m thinking of, maybe, pursuing a secret passion of mine.” Hugh told you after you two had finished eating.

“What? Porn?” You said, sarcastically but with a serious face. 

“Yeah, that’s exactly what it is. I’m glad that I didn't explain and that you just knew.” He responded seriously while looking you in the eyes before you started laughing, but then he continued. “No, you fucking jackass, and don’t make fucking fun of this, but poetry. I write poetry in my free time and I’ve got enough of it that I could publish it.”

“Oh, well, what kind of poetry?” You asked.

“Mostly just about life and some about parenthood.” He said sincerely.

“What about romantic poetry?” You asked him.

“Not really my thing.” He responded.

“I think that it’s really amazing that you write poetry and I think that you should absolutely publish it, if that’s what you wanted.” You responded with all sincerity.

You were an actress but you occasionally released original music. You did more of a hobby than a career. However, as your acting career grew, so did your music career. Only problem was, you wrote music based on events in your life. As a few weeks went by and some of the press tour was finished. Unfortunately for you, Ryan, had let it slip during a comic con that you had a special hook up friend, meaning you and Hugh had to be even more careful and you couldn’t really stay in the same room like you had done so many times before. You could feel it in your gut that it was wearing on Hugh’s mind, that someone was going to find out. It got to a point where he was practically avoiding you. 

You were in your own hotel room, watching some random show when your phone buzzed with a text from Hugh. It was your only two days off before the next leg of the press tour began.

“We need to talk. Is now a good time to come to your room?” As you reviewed the message, you felt tears come to your eyes, knowing in your heart that it was over. Your vision blurred as you typed out a simple “yes, now’s good.”

You fixed yourself up in the mirror before he came over. He took longer than you expected to get to your room. It was about twenty minutes after you sent him your room number that he showed up at your door. You let him in and he immediately began pacing the room, before finally settling on the be, while you stood leaning against the wall in front of him.

“Y/n, I need you to know that these last two years have been amazing.” He said with a sigh avoiding your gaze.

“Don’t.” You said, holding back tears while looking at him.

“We can’t do this anymore. There’s too much that could be jeopardized if anyone found out about you and I.” He went on, causing tears to build up in your eyes threatening to spill over. “If I was years younger or maybe you were older, we could work out.”

“If it’s truly over, then I want you to look me in the eyes and tell me that you feel absolutely nothing for me and that’s over.” You responded tears already falling, you wanted him to look you in the eyes and tell you because then maybe it’d be easier to move on.

Without missing a beat, he stood up from the bed keeping a fair amount of distance between you two before looking you in the eyes. “There is nothing more than friendship between you and I. There never will be, so this has to end.” 

You let the tears flow freely and a sob escaped you before you went on to tell him that he needs to leave. He did as you said but made sure to tell you if you ever need him, he’s always there for you. You almost scoffed at his words given how hurt you were. The funny thing is, there were moments when you two had been together that truly felt like love and now you wondered if you had been delusional in thinking so.

After a three month hiatus, the last leg of the press tour was beginning. You hadn’t spoken to Hugh since that night. You preferred it that way, you buried yourself in your creative outlets to keep him off your mind, but unfortunately, he was always on your mind. A month and a half after your last conversation with him, it became news that he had released a book of poetry. It wasn’t until 3 weeks after it’s release, that you learned it contained romantic poetry which Hugh had denied being something he’d do. Curiosity eventually got the best of you and you read some of the romantic passages on various sites. It didn’t take long for you to realize that he was referencing moments from yours and his relationship in his poetry which made you break down that day. Feelings that you had buried, coming to the surface.  

You decided to do what you do best. You wrote a song about it and fully intended to release it as quickly as you could. After you released the song, some celebrity gossip blogs put two and two together and speculated that you and Hugh had a “torrid” affair. You figured that the following verse of your song was what maybe gave it away. 

“You're writing lines about me; romantic poetry

They’ve got red in their cheeks, 'cause we're something they can’t see

And I try to refrain but you're stuck in my brain

And all I do is cry and complain because no one will be the same

I'm sorry but I fell in love that

I didn't mean to fall in love

You're looking like you fell in love tonight

Could we pretend that we're in love?”

You felt bad that someone had somehow figured it out but you figured since it was in the early stages of a rumor, you could deny it completely for Hugh’s sake. You didn’t want his relationships with his kids jeopardized because of you. You knew deep in your heart that you loved him and always would. You had a comic con panel with Hugh and Ryan coming up in a few hours and you were going to address the rumors. 

However, unbeknownst to you, after Hugh ended things with you, he was a wreck at first and ended up confronting everyone close to him about yours and his relationship. His kids didn’t approve at first, but upon seeing how genuine his emotions were when it came to you, they came around. They even helped him put a video together using your song with the hopes of winning you back. 

When you all were sat in the panel room, nearing the end when you all were doing Q/A, someone had asked about the rumors regarding you and Hugh. You were about to speak when Hugh cut you off. 

“You know, I think that now would be an excellent time to address those rumors and I would like to direct everyone's attention to the screen to get the perfect answer to that question.” He said, making you extremely confused as the lights dimmed and a video started playing.

As you watched the screen, you saw pictures of you and Hugh together throughout the last two and half years, with your song in the background. Nearing the end of the video, Hugh’s kids appeared on screen.

“Y/n, listen, our dad finally fessed up about you and him.” His son started.

“We were apprehensive at first, but we can see how much he cares about you.” His daughter continued.

“And we would like you both to be happy.” His son finished before in unison Hugh’s children said that you’d have their approval. Shortly after, the lights came back on and your eyes darted from the screen to Hugh, waiting for him to say something while there was hushed murmuring from the crowd.

“Y/n, I tried so hard to deny what I felt for you and I was so scared of what this meant that I pushed you away. I want to say that I love you and I hope that you still love me too.” He said.

“I love you too, Hugh.” You said before getting up from your seat and kissing him, causing Ryan to start clapping while the crowd followed, making you laugh.

You didn’t know what the future was going to hold, but you knew that as long as you had Hugh, you would be alright.

TAGLIST:

@enchantedbats

[qiu-yan]

3 6 7 11 16 20 25

bro is trying to get me killed lmao /s

choose violence ask game

3. screenshot or description of the worst take you've seen on tumblr:

this shit

6. which ship fans are the most annoying?

gonna be honest here, the single most annoying part of the MDZS fandom is that one hyperspecific sort of wang and xian stan who insists on shitting on not only the other characters, but also other wang and xian fans who ship the characters in ways they don't approve of. this kind of stan can not only be relied on to have the worst possible takes on everyone ranging from jin guangyao to jiang cheng, they can also be relied on to harass other wang and xian fans simply for putting wang on the bottom. fun times.

7. what character did you begin to hate not because of canon but because how how the fandom acts about them?

surprisingly, no one yet. sometimes i feel the hater urge to dunk on the morally-pure version of wei wuxian that the diehard wei wuxian stannies have collectively hallucinated, but i still find the wei wuxian from canon to be quite compelling.

11. number of fandom-related words you've filtered

the "canon jiang cheng" and "canon jc" tags. everyone stfu

16. you can't understand why so many people like this thing (characterization, trope, headcanon, etc)

"morally pure wei wuxian who did nothing wrong ever." to me, wei wuxian's hubris, his unique capability for inventing new kinds of cruelty, his failure to think of the consequences of his actions, his tendencies to run away from negative feelings, and his ultimate failure to protect the people he was trying to protect, are what make him a compelling character to me. these flaws in parallel with his courage, kindness, stalwart moral compass, and genuine love make him interesting to me. so i don't quite understand fans who instead insist on erasing all the morally grey and highly interesting stuff he did in favor of insisting he did nothing wrong ever.

20. part of canon you found tedious or boring

not quite what the question is asking, but i found the actual wang and xian romance in the original novel to be a bit lacking. mainly because (as other people have said already) a lot of the romantic development happened when lan wangji was drunk. at the very least, i wanted to see lan wangji's reactions to his various drunken adventures once he sobered up the next day, and i'm rather disappointed we never got to see that.

furthermore, on wei wuxian's end, it did kind of feel like wei wuxian was using this exciting new romance to distract himself from his past problems, even though it also seemed like he didn't actually know all that much about lan wangji. the only version of the romance that makes sense to me is the one where wei wuxian was already into lan wangji (subconsciously or consciously) in his first life; otherwise, wei wuxian falling in love with lan wangji during his second life, when he's yet to process any of the shit that happened in his first life, feels too much like him running away from his problems with a guy he believes will validate all his decisions. meanwhile, on lan wangji's end, i feel like the novel just did not give us a lot to work with in regards to his character. so it feels like, if you want to be a fan of lan wangji, you have to do a lot of the legwork of building up his personality yourself.

what also disappointed me a bit about wang and xian, as well as lan wangji's character arc itself, is that lan wangji is never really challenged on a moral-dilemma level in the same way that many other characters are challenged by the story. how do i explain this...alright, i'll put it this way. i've been brainrotted about madohomu (madoka magica) since i was in middle school. and that's partially because i know for a fact that, if homura was put in the trolley problem and had to choose between [killing 5 strangers] and [allowing madoka to die], she would choose to kill those 5 strangers to save madoka. but after reading MDZS, i realized i legitimately did not know what lan wangji would do in such a moral dilemma. because MDZS equates [being morally righteous] with [supporting wei wuxian], lan wangji is never placed in a dilemma where he has to choose between sacrificing wei ying and doing something the audience would think of as unforgivable.

these are just my own hyperspecific tastes, though.

25. common fandom complaint that you're sick of hearing

gonna put my hater hat on for a second, but i kind of roll my eyes at the jiang cheng haters complaining about how jiang cheng stans keep posting in the "canon jiang cheng" tag. dude, if it bothers you that much, just block the jiang cheng stans. then things will be peaceful in your favorite tag again.

[pizzabox-box]

I feel like when Peppino realizes that constantly yelling at Peppi-no for taking his place isn't the best solution for getting him to confess, it's already gonna be too late.

Like what if eventually Peppi-no gets to a point where the constant guilt of what he did just... breaks him. He just gives up. He finally goes out and announces what he did, and when one or more of Peppino’s friends inevitably come to take revenge, he does... nothing. He doesn't try to fight it, he doesn't try to run away, he just sits there, accepting his fate...

And Peppino sees this all happening. He got what he wanted. Peppi-no finally told the truth. Everyone finally knew what he did. Peppi-no was finally facing the consequences of his actions... But he didn't feel any better. In fact, he felt worse. Staring at Peppi-no's broken face as he just sat there, waiting to die... He had been trying so hard to avoid this very thing, to avoid these consequences so that he wouldn’t get hurt, but now, Peppino had pushed him so far that he didn't even care anymore...

What has he done...?

That would certainly be an interesting turn of events! How far is Peppino willing to go to get justice? As I stated before, breaking Peppi-no is not his intention. (He's a vengeful ghost, but he still has some humanity in him.) However, if things continue as they are, he’s going to resort to increasingly more and more drastic measures.

Peppino is going to insist that the truth must come out, while Peppi-no will do everything he can to prevent it. And this will continue until one of them finally snaps—or the truth slips out! Either way, the truth will eventually come to light.

I can't really imagine Peppi-no just giving up. He's very stubborn and will do anything to keep the "Peppino train" going. He's willing to go to great lengths to keep his secret. Let's just say that if a character Peppi-no deems unimportant and easily disposable were to find out the truth, he would silence them for good. He's genuinely sorry for what he did, but he's also trying to save his own skin. (Otherwise, he would have already come forward with the truth by now.)

Also, side note: Fake Peppino—and by extension, Peppi-no—is very hard to kill. So unless they bring out a flamethrower, he would just be waiting for a beatdown.

(That's a reasonable punishment, if you ask me!)

At the end of the day Peppino just wants justice.

[angelliicc]

promise

“i’m your shining light

even in the darkness.”

masterlist

a/n HI BESTIESSS. so i got back into editing and it ate down literally. anyways there was no hw or practice so enjoy this thats been hiding in my drafts

warnings not proofread

| as practice ended, and your teammates huddled in a circle, you ran to the bathroom as it finished. tears started flowing down your face. you hated off days. you always compared yourself to other players, saying “why can’t i be like them? am i not good enough? what do i need to do to be better?” it was an endless cycle, especially as an athlete that started your sport late. that meant you had to work 100 times harder than everyone else.

you sobbed and sobbed in the bathroom, the same questions racing through your mind. “why am i even trying? i should just give up.” you texted ellie, telling her about practice and how you played.

r: “i hate this im so tired and exhausted.”

e: “baby whats wrong? talk to me”

r: “i had an off day and i can’t stop crying.”

e: “wait for me at the gym, ill be there in 10 minutes.”

those 10 minutes felt like an eternity. you kept sobbing and sobbing, letting your emotions pour out. if your emotions weren’t shown on the court, you’d bottle them up and explode later. you looked in the mirror, then down into the sink as you saw the tears exit your eyes. you tried to pull yourself together, making sure no one would walk through the door, but you emotionally couldn’t. next think you know, you hear the door open and freeze.

it was ellie. you ran into her arms, sobbing. “shhh.. its okay. its okay.” she said softly into your ear, then resting her chin on your head. “you wanna stay here or go to my car?” she asked you.

“lets go to the car.” you said. “i don’t want anyone to see me upset.”

“alright.” she grabbed a paper towel then patted it on your face, drying your cheeks. “go get your bag and your shoes, tell me what happened in the car, kay?” you nodded in agreement.

you grabbed your gym bag and basketball shoes while ellie walked next to you the whole time. you put your stuff in the back, then opened the door to the passengers seat. you sat down and close the door. you looked into ellies eyes, looking like you want to sob again.

“whats wrong my love?” she asked.

“i played terrible today. i hate off days. im tired of comparing myself. i dont think ill ever play at the college level. i should just give up. im not good enough and i never will be. defense was sloppy, handles were loose, didn’t make any shots or catch any rebounds.” you said. you started to tear up.

“you need to stop thinking this way. you need to realized that you are good enough. you just don’t realize your own worth because of the people you’re surrounded by. you can do it baby. you worked so hard to be here today.” she told you, cupping your face. “everything will work out, don’t cry. yea today may have been off for you? so what? just reset for next practice.” ellie wiped a tear from your cheek.

“but im just not confident anymore.” you said in a shaky voice, tears all over your face.

“let me ask you this, do you still find love for basketball?” she asked.

“well, yes.” you replied, sniffing.

“then don’t give up. if the love is still there, its gonna be okay. but when it runs out, it’s time to move on, okay?” she said, looking at you.

“i love you, so much. and you are so good at basketball. i know you’ll make it far.” she told you as she kissed your face. “lets get you home baby.”

“even when only my light is left

i promise you, i promise you

always together, be your light.”

[bougiebutchbinch]

Hey hai, sorry for the long ask but I wanted to hand deliver a snippet to you if that's okay, cus I'm half way through the stone trans top logan fic and am way too excited to finish it (obviously you don't have to post this, I'm just writin for sillys :3 and I wish I could put a -read more- cut in an ask)

Logan was sick and tired of Wade. Well, not Wade, he could never get tired of Wade, he was tired of Wade's non-stop never-ending jokes. Well, some of the jokes-

Dammit he was pissed off at Wade's sex jokes.

He was always putting jokes everywhere where they didn't belong and usually Logan just ignored him, but in the past few days the jokes were getting less and less varied in their subject. All about how good a fuck would be and all the things he would do to Logan in bed and Logan had to stop himself from growling whenever the man even joked about his dick anywhere near Logan.

Sure it wasn't Wade's fault he felt his way, but nothing was going inside him, and that was final.

And one night they were down at a bar, neither drinking much, Logan needed to cut down on his alcohol and Wade was enjoying sipping at his stupid fruity cocktail.

He scowled as he brought his beer back up to his lips.

Wade had brought his suit mask, pulled up to his nose as he sipped, wearing some shitty hawiian shirt or oter, obnoxious kahki shorts that clashed horrendously, knee high white socks with sneakers, and he didnt know what the fuck kinda look wade was going for but it sure was something, logan just chose to come out in his flannel and tank top and jeans, his outfit he felt most comfortable in, although the jeans were pissing him the hell off too, maybe that was just because they couldnt hold the shape of his packer and it looked like he had no dick, he really hated to admit how self concoius he felt going round outside when he felt he didnt look right.

But he could distract himself from those feelings by letting himself get pissed off by wade.

Wade, who now he had tuned back into the mans ramblings, he realised he was talking about logan, apparently his favourite topic of conversation,

“Y’know I'm not a natural bottom, but I'd be willing to do anything for you, babygirl!”

Logan just turned his head round very slowly, ever so slight fuzz of alcohol feeling comforting instead of drowning,

“Yeah yeah haha, real funny wade.”

Wade looked over at him with a grin, this was the first time Logan replied to him all night,

“Who said I was joking peanut?”

Logan hesitated for a moment before scoffing,

“Take off your mask and look me in the eyes while you say that and I might just believe you.”

SKDJFGKLJDSFGSDF I AM ABOUT TO GO TO UNI YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO MEEEE

I have to sit in lectures all day and pretend I'm not thinking about Wade getting absolutely fucking WRECKED. this is going to haunt me. haunt me. :screams:

Also I love how every time Wade says 'not a natural bottom' you can just TELL he is lying. The lady doth protest too much, etc. etc. etc.

Logan's packer-woes are relatable, lmaoooo. I love him and I am so excited for this. Seriously. Thank you and everyone else who's also latched onto this headcanon - having more rep with the character I'm majorly projecting onto really does mean the world!

I can tell this fic is gonna be great fun already.... I can't wait.

[666writingcafe]

Greed (Part One)

Author's Note: Welcome to season two of Nightbringer. Things are about to get real interesting around here.

MC

Barbatos has prepared a bunch of fortune cookies for us as thanks for helping with the final touches of RAD before the opening ceremony. One of them has a coin inside that he swears is lucky, so inevitably Mammon's tearing through them at a pace nearly rivaling Beel's.

Amidst the chaos, I manage to grab a couple cookies and crack them open. The first was empty, but the second...

The glint of the coin catches Mammon's eye, and before I can put it in one of the uniform pockets, he snatches it from my hand. Once the others catch on to what just happen, they begin berating Mammon for stealing from me. He then protests, claiming that the coin is his and that he's not going to give it to anyone else, not even to me.

But the sound of everyone's voices gets drowned out by the one inside my head. Yes, it's irritating that Mammon yanked the coin right out of my hand instead of asking if he could have it or, at the very least, take a closer look at it before giving it back to me. In that regard, it makes sense that I feel upset.

But not this upset. At the end of the day, it's just a coin. I'm sure Barbatos could find another one if I asked him to. There's no need to fight Mammon over it, and yet the urge to do so grows exponentially greater with each passing second. It's my coin, not his.

I quietly excuse myself and walk out of the castle's parlor to a spot in the less noisy hallway. Once I've sat down on the ground, I close my eyes and try one of the meditation exercises I was taught so long ago in order to clear my mind. As the brother's attendant, it would be highly improper for me to cause or add onto a scene, and I'm not about to embarrass myself in front of everybody by exploding at Mammon.

"MC?" Satan's voice cuts through the relative silence. "Is everything okay?" Keeping my eyes closed, I shake my head.

"Do you want to talk about it, or do you need to be left alone?" He probably felt my anger drastically spike and decided to check in on me, which I do appreciate. It shows that he's taking some of our lessons to heart and wanting to help others navigate through their wrath. Even if it's just me he's doing this with, it's a start.

"I'll be okay in a few minutes," I respond. "I just needed to get away from--"

"As long as I have this coin, the money's gonna come rolling in. Piles and piles of sweet, sweet money!" Great. Just great. "C'mon world, bring on the good luck! Hit me with that cold hard cash! Gobs and gobs of moolah, rainin' down on the Great Mammon!"

Whatever anger I'd managed to dissipate comes back ten-fold, and I can't decide whether to bang my head against a wall or to lunge at Mammon, demanding he give me back my coin.

Or worse.

"Give me your hand." Lucifer's stern enough that I'm able to follow his simple command. I find myself squeezing his hand as soon as I'm back on my feet, and the momentarily pained look in his eyes suggests that I'm causing him some discomfort. However, he seems to take it in stride, for he doesn't say anything about it as we begin walking.

At first, we're keeping up with the other brothers as we leave the castle behind, but then we approach a fork in the road. They go one way, and we go the other.

"They'll be fine," he explains once we've put some distance between us and them. He must have caught the confused look on my face but didn't want to tip off the others. "At least for a little bit. Satan's in charge until I return from dropping you off at the cabin. Consider this a mandatory vacation from work."

"But--"

"I will ensure that your duties are covered in your absence, but this is not up for debate." Abruptly stopping, he lets go of my hand, only to turn around and put both of his hands on my shoulders so that he's looking directly at me.

"Please understand that I'm not doing this to punish you, MC." His voice has gotten softer. "I know you were trying your best to maintain control, and I appreciate you resisting the urge to attack my brother. However, you were very close to snapping, and I don't know what would have happened if I didn't step in when I did." He sighs, briefly glancing down at the ground.

"I care about you and want to keep you safe. I don't know why this is happening to you, but I can at least ensure some amount of protection if you're staying with Solomon. That won't be the case at the House, especially if these outbursts keep happening."

I don't remember where or when I read this, but freshly-born demons go through something similar to a human's puberty, except most of it occurs on a magical level. So, Lucifer's concern is valid, because if this is them going through their puberty, it's going to be very difficult for them given their status as Avatars of Sin. The last thing anyone needs is for me to get caught in the crossfires of that.

After all, I can't return to my timeline if I wind up dead in this one.

Taglist: @lost-in-time-wanderer, @fuzztacular, @dianedancer18, @sweetbrier2908, @flare-love, @completelyshatteredbrokenmschf, @thunderlightning351, @l3v1chan, @anxious-chick, @5mary5, @expressionless-fr, @tenkobitch, @budbuddnbuddy

[starch1ldz]

Friendly reminder; don't make queer ships straight by making one of them a woman! If you want one to be a woman, both should be women. You can't just make the small twink character a girl and not make his big buff counterpart also a girl it feels gross and fetishy cause at that point why are you shipping queer ships at all? Just find a straight ship? Subtract the twink from the equation all together you don't have to make him a woman to make the ship better in some way, he's adding nothing if you make him a girl then it's just the same ship we have a million times in any other media. Gay erasure in fandom space is so annoying cause it's like YOU LIKE THE GAY SHIP OBVIOUSLY, WHY ARE YOU MAKING THEM STRAIGHT??

[frostbite-the-bat]

talked w/ a friend about this and wanted to post something similar yesterday after a convo i saw also

about people criticizing ttcc / ttcc fans for just... being cog fans? being cog centric? usually coming from people who only like the toons.

and everyone likes what they like! it's okay! but saying that people who like the cogs are horrible and support the bad things they do, is just blatantly wrong. i thought we knew that enjoying villainous and morally Bad / grey characters is... okay? it doesn't mean you support what they do. it's interesting to explore these topics.

i've seen many people just... paint anyone who likes the cogs as horrible because they're "apologists of x and y" and... i dunno. rubs me the wrong way! you do have a point and recognize the cogs do bad things, but liking them as characters means nothing about who you are as a person.

and this is not to say that people who are in toontown for the toons are bad. hell! they are right this IS toontown. i may be on the cog liker side but i like the toons! maybe ocs more than the npcs - mostly because i like my friends and the sheer creativity the toons can bring out!!

SO what i wanna say... i dunno. let's not point fingers...? let's have fun in a goofy cartoon game together??? also complaining about people liking VILLAIN ROBOTS on TUMBLR is kind of funny to me. do you realize where you are. but then again a lot of this i see on discord and in-game as well since i avoid things on tumblr... i am a sensitive little fella i avoid misty fight bc of One Really mean "Critic" guy i saw there and i have been shivering in my bootsies since. so you get me

but like yes ttcc is more cog centric but... that's okay? things could be written better and i still wanna speak on it, and i do thing the toons deserve attention and better writing... but the fact it focuses on the cogs isn't... bad? if you don't like how con centric it is you can go play ttr...? god forbid people have fun and explore the villain's side of things...? i'm not saying either toontown server is better or worse than the other... and everyone can like their own things!!

but like... people will just like the cogs and that's okay and it doesn't make you bad. let's all be friends okay? both sides may be going at each other's necks in-game and the cogs in fact do horrible things - but it's what makes them fun, and it gives the toons things to do in the game!! but we don't gotta !!!!!!!! i may be really sarcastic and sometimes mean in private but like that's me just privately sassing, deep down i think people should just... y'know..? enjoy things.

so yea that's the guzma / cathal thought of today. toon people cog people both people are all awesome as fuck and you keep doing what you're doing i love you toontown isn't toontown without you

[starryalpacasstuff]

Last Twilight; Mee's legacy continues

I know that we're all mad at how episode 11 went. Believe me, I am too. I'm not going to be talking about the issues in the episode, several others have already done so, and far more eloquently than I could. Because despite the episode's failings, there are still some things about this episode that I think deserve to be talked about.

I've loved keeping up with Mee's story as the show has progressed (written about it here and here). I thought that Mee's story ended in episode 9, but it continues to be present in the narrative. The most obvious clue to this is, obviously, Porjai's daughter, whom they named Mee. In addition to that, episode 11 focuses on highlighting the fact that Day 's blindness is not something that can be cured, just as Mee could never return to her life before she was cursed. Just as Mee had hoped that the last twilight would allow her to return to her normal life, Day hoped, even fully believed that the surgery would allow him to become "normal" again (the medical inaccuracies of the process aside). In the end, neither can return to a sense of "normalcy", as Mee turns to stone and Day's surgery fails. Both stories are haunted by a sense of grief, helplessness, and hope that is given and taken away. But the end of Mee's story isn't written as tragic, it's written as joyful. The exact same ending could have been written as tragic and solemn, but it wasn't. In the end, Mee was able to revel in the fact that she would never turn invisible again, despite turning to stone. And that's what I'm hoping that Day's final arc will resemble. Because we know that Day is still insecure about his blindness, and about people's pity for him. His buying that cane was a massive step in the right direction, because it showed that he was willing to "announce to everyone that he's blind", to be less afraid. But, as the breakup showed us, he's still insecure about his blindness. If the theory is right, episode 12 should show us Day accepting his blindness, and maybe even celebrate it as a part of him, as Mee does.

Mee's story has run parallel to Day's since they began to read it. Mee's story is over now, but Day's isn't. We see that Mee continues to have a presence in Day's life, be it metaphorically, through her story predicting his, or literally, through Porjai's daughter. Besides fixing a lot of the damage that was done in episode 11, if there's one thing I'd like from episode 12, it's one final call back to Mee's story.

[carefulfears]

what do you consider the heart of californication? like really carries through the series & makes it compelling

thank you for this question, i really love it. to me, it's a number of things, starting with that the show cares deeply about hank and takes him seriously in a way that the culture doesn't. in a way, yes, he's their dog and pony show with the funny one-liners and the salacious pull. but the arc of the series is unequivocally aligned with him and his desires and his needs and his values.

hank wants to be with his family, wants to be better for them, wants to not let them down- and the show needs him to fail at all of those things. for the dog and pony of it all, for their viewership and for their thesis and for the food in their mouths, but it simultaneously feels bad that he is failing. simultaneously knows that this isn't what he wants, and that it's sad. and it can be as simple as a dream sequence or a look or a quiet final scene, but every single episode is ultimately going to remind you that everything you're laughing at is a loss.

which, like i said at the top, speaks to a level of respect that the show had for the character that is just gone in discussions of the series. they take the time to recognize that he is missing something. he is losing something and he is without everything that means anything to him, this is the cost. equally important, duchovny respects that character and understands the same.

i was listening to an interview last night (trish you heard this) where he was speaking with some podcast dudebros and one of the hosts said that he always wanted to be just like hank moody, and then he made some "bad decisions" and got there, and he doesn't like it. and duchovny said that every time people come up to him saying "i'm just like hank moody," he says "i'm sorry."

men watch and they want to be just like hank moody and women watch and they want to fuck hank moody so bad, and all of you miss what the source comprehends: that it's an irreparable deficit.

other than that, i feel like what roots that show is that it really isn't all that cynical. not in the way that it could be. and the show believes in hank.

there is a lot of kindness and hope (often false hope) that runs underneath most every relationship and interaction and dynamic in the series and i really really appreciate that about it. it's like in the pilot when hank is being mean and he wants marcy to yell at him and she just says "go home, honey. sleep it off. tomorrow's another day."

there's always a little bit of understanding and grace amongst the crazies and i think there's something really special about that

[maxiwaxipads]

Romarriche - “Your company is one of a kind… I would never lie to you. I would never say a half-truth or be quiet.” “What is it in your mind, Merold?” “Hearing your voice, complaint or not—it is music to me either way.” Merold - “If there is one constant in this world… Let it be you.” “You’re the cruelest and the kindest thing that happened to me.” “…If only you continued to look at me like that.” Romarriche - “…Merold?” Merold - “But~ It’s only a minor case of bad-mood-itis.” “So Romarriche, spoil me with a spar, will you?” Romarriche - “Merold.” Romarriche - “Look at me.” Merold - “…” Romarriche - “Is something… Wrong?” Merold - “Instead of a spar…” “I might want to lie down on your lap after all.”