#but I think queen would win by a landslide

[ducksoup17]

rb for larger sample size if you can <33

[blushweddinggowns]

Steve was trying his damndest to not cry again, but Eddie was making that damn near impossible. Not when he insisted on slow dancing to their damn wedding song in the middle of their living room- the masochist. 

It was sickeningly romantic, and Steve wouldn’t have it any other way. 

They were married. They were actually married. He had always been a sucker for shit like this. Always fantasizing about the day he would fall in love and live happily ever after. 

He just never expected it to actually become his reality.

Maybe the marriage wasn’t “real” but Steve didn’t give a fuck. It was real in all the ways that mattered, and Steve was more than ready to be the first one to concede that a ceremony had been a great fucking idea. He was so grateful to have such weird control freaks in his life, especially the girls. It was without a doubt going down as one of the best days of his life, amazing enough for Steve to never want it to end.

He was so fucking happy, he didn’t even know what to do with himself. So he just clung onto Eddie tighter, burying his face into Eddie’s shoulder as he let the happy tears fall. 

“Y’know,” Eddie murmured into his hair, “I did write vows. And if you weren't so stupidly gorgeous I would have been able to say them.”

Steve laughed, muffled against the fabric of his shirt, “Oh yeah?”

“Mmhm,” Eddie hummed, leaning down to press a light kiss to Steve’s temple, “Made them perfect and everything.”

How was he supposed to resist that? Steve pulled back to smile at him, head cocked, “Well let’s hear them then.”

Eddie straightened a little, trying and failing to put on a serious face. It didn’t really work with the dopey smile, but he got points for trying, “Steve Harring- No, sorry it’s Steve Munson now isn’t it?”

Steve grinned, “Damn right it is.”

Eddie laughed, leaning in to kiss his nose before continuing, “I vow to always love you the way you deserve to be loved. I’ll never let you doubt it. Because you��re perfect. Maybe not as a human being, but as my soulmate? There’s no one better. I’ll always be there for you, in any way that looks like. If that’s listening to Queen or ABBA albums on loop, then so be it. No price is too high when it comes to you.”

“I’ll be holding you to that,” Steve softly laughed, “Just so you know.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,”Eddie said, squeezing him a little tighter. He brought a hand to Steve’s face, tilting his chin up to look him straight in the eye, “And most of all, I promise that as long as I breathe, you’ll never feel alone again.”

Steve could feel the tears building up, a pleasant heavy feeling in his chest. And then Eddie was kissing him again, hard and deep enough for Steve to almost forget about his own vows. 

“Wait, wait!” Steve wetly laughed, barely managing to hold Eddie back with a hand to the chest, “It’s my turn now.”

But Eddie wasn’t waiting. He was too busy hefting Steve up into his arms, bridal style, all while smiling like an idiot, “We can talk and walk.”

And just like that, he was kissing him again. Walking blindly to their bedroom. Steve laughed into it, especially when Eddie kept knocking shit over as he went, “You’re so dumb. I love how dumb you are.”

Eddie gently tossed Steve onto the bed, crawling over him with a grin. He was already unbuttoning his shirt, jokingly chastising him, “Princess, if these are your vows then I think I win at the romance here. By a landslide.”

Steve rolled his eyes before wrapping his legs around Eddie's waist. He batted his hands away, squeezing him with his thighs just hard enough to get some leverage to flip them over. He grabbed Eddie’s hands in his, pinning them down right above his head. He smirked over him, completely eating up the lovestruck look on Eddie’s face. 

His lips were parted, the smallest sliver of pink tongue peeking out as he blinked up at Steve with wide eyes,“It’s so hot when you do that.”

“Stop being horny and listen!” Steve laughed, “I vow to give you inside of me. It’s all yours, for as long as you want it.”

Eddie adjusted their hands, moving to lace their fingers together while still letting Steve hold him down, “Forever then.”

“That’s right,” Steve agreed, giving his hands a little squeeze, “I will never love anyone like I love you. No one else compares. You are everything to me. I love the way you take care of me, I love the way you let me take care of you. I love it when you’re loud, when you’re so happy you don’t know how to shut up. I love it when you’re so nervous or excited you can’t sit still, and I’m the only one who can calm you down. There isn’t a thing about you that I don’t adore.”

Now Steve really had his attention. Eddie stared up at him, his eyes getting wetter by the second, but Steve wasn’t done yet, “I never thought that I would find someone who could make me feel like this. I didn’t even know people could feel like this, but here we are. And sometimes it’s scary, how much I love you. How I’d do anything for you. But there’s no one else I’d trust to have that power over me. No one else could even come close. And I am so fucking happy that I met you, and so, so ready to spend the rest of my life with you. I love you Eddie, forever and always.”

Eddie blinked a few tears down his face, surging up fast enough to make Steve squeak. He smashed their mouths together, his arms shaking as he wrapped them around Steve’s back.

“You win,” Eddie mumbled against his mouth, the tears still falling, “Best vows ever, hands down.”

Eddie didn’t give him a chance to answer, too busy trying to shove his tongue down Steve’s throat. But he didn’t mind, he just smiled into it. He was right anyway.

Steve really had won, hadn’t he?

~

From the last chapter of this fic

[anghraine]

fanny-price-defense-squad replied to this post:

@anghraine who was it???

Oh!! I was so foggy when I posted the "which Austen character mainly contributed to my dissertation" poll that I actually completely forgot it existed. The people actually did vote, if barely, for the right choice—Mary Crawford!

(Darcy was right behind her in the poll but barely mentioned in the dissertation, while Henry Crawford—who only got 1.5% of the vote—also figured pretty significantly.)

Now I'm looking at other results of my own polls over the last year, as well:

The "Why is Elrohir's name in Gondorian rather than Elvish Sindarin" poll result: a strong vote for "actually it's Númenórean Sindarin" (the assumption I've always made myself, but it was interesting to think about other possibilities, since Tolkien never explained it).

The "Pick a fave from my Tolkien faves from each major text" poll result: Faramir narrowly beat out Gandalf with everyone else far behind (the closest was Lúthien).

The "pick a fave from my faves from five fandoms" poll result: Faramir again, closely beating out Luke Skywalker and Fitzwilliam Darcy (Moiraine and Gwen Thackeray never had a chance).

The "best dead guy from my dissertation" poll result: Jonathan Swift just squeaked past Olaudah Equiano!

The two women's wrongs polls: the first poll result was Clytemnestra, the second Azula.

The "what's your headcanon for the unexplained reasons the Stewards were not in the line of succession despite being descendants of Anárion" poll: by a huge margin, actually, the people chose "they were formally removed from the succession in exchange for the powers of the Stewardship."

The "pick your favorite video game/series" poll result: a very unsurprising and easy win for the Mass Effect trilogy (with BG3 the only thing even remotely near).

The "why do those of you who also like fics about ostensibly cis male characters in canon being genderbent to women" poll result: it's interesting to imagine how the character and plot would be affected, slightly beating out the option for "I neither like nor dislike the fics as a genre, I just like the good ones."

The "vote between my top Spotify Wrapped songs" poll results: "Landslide" by Fleetwood Mac slightly beat out Florence + The Machine's "King" and Queen's "Who Wants to Live Forever" (both exactly tied in close second place).

The "what is the best non-canon FemShep pairing" poll result: Shepard/Jack won pretty handily!

The "which of my ~controversial headcanons do you like best" poll result: Elizabeth and Darcy have separate bedrooms and this is good for their marriage.

The "which non-canon Darcy ship is best" poll result: Darcy/Anne Elliot, which mildly surprised me (I like it but am not sure they'd get around to talking to each other), beating out the world conquest pairing of Darcy/Emma.

The "which of my selected Queen songs is the most purely beautiful in your opinion" poll result: "Under Pressure" (with David Bowie), narrowly beating out "The Show Must Go On."

The "what would be the most awesome class/subclass for my Seldarine drow in BG3" poll result: Paladin of Vengeance! (I actually did make her and am just getting back into playing BG3 again after dissertation hell derailed her avenging of injustices.)

The "who played your favorite Marguerite St. Just" poll result: Jane Seymour, easily.

[zappedbyzabka]

i don’t know why but that last picture you posted makes me think of ex!pageant johnny who did beauty pageants when he was a kid/teenager (maybe because of his mom? or because of sid?) and now is super disillusioned with them and kind of doesn’t want to talk about them UNTIL he has to because (maybe) sam? gets into the idea of winning the valley pageant (probably to maybe make a statement about it and johnny kind of is into that idea too) and he starts training her for it and anyway this is my long way of saying i think daniel should witness johnny doing pageant training and lose his mind

- landslided

So, I don’t know if any of you have seen Insatiable but that is what popped up in my mind

It’s about a girl (Debby Ryan) who used to be a big girl and lost weight after surgery (I think) and becomes “hot”. Her lawyer was an ex pageant coach who shows her how to do everything.

(Spoiler) he was lifelong rivals with this one dude for in the show before it was revealed the rival had secretly been in love with him the whole time and they make out in a bathroom BUT I do not care for an AU of this because I much prefer Johnny being an ex pageant queen beauty who helps his non-blood daughter and they bond (instead of everything Patty does to her coach YIKES.)

Johnny shows her everything he can remember—including the tips he got from the beauty queens around him despite not having the opportunity to use most of said tips.

Dark lipstick makes your teeth look whiter. Double sided tape and safety pins are your best friend. Don’t forget your rollers. The higher the heel the longer the leg but the harder it is to have the perfect walk.

One foot in front of the other, good posture, delicate hands, big smile for the judges.

It’s all a performance that you have to be great at or you have no chance at winning.

He usually wore suits as what was expected of him, sometimes themed outfits depending. He would have liked to get to wear all the pretty dresses the girls wore to see if he’d win that competition too. He is, after all, extremely competitive.

He put on some high heels to be silly once when he was cozying up to the judges before the pageant began and got told it was a shame he wasn’t a girl because otherwise he would have been snatched up by a big agency with those perfect visuals.

It pissed him off that he couldn’t do everything.

The creeps that ran the pageants and the annoyance of guys at school teasing him for his forced girly hobby had him bitter and over all of it. The sashes and dainty trophies fit beautifully next to his All-Valley trophy, but had to go. (he couldn’t bring himself to throw them away. It’d be like throwing away his accomplishments. They’re somewhere buried in a box.)

But when Sam brought it up, Johnny jumped to offer his help—cutting off Daniel’s pondering over where they’d find a coach.

Sure, Johnny had to explain to about 4 adults and 12 or so kids that he was in beauty pageants but it only dampened his excitement a little.

Daniel was…really interested in watching him demonstrate for Sam. Really interested—enamored.

He can’t believe Johnny knows nothing about makeup! No wonder his hair was always styled.

Poor Sam had to learn to strut in a room filled with tension between her dad and coach so thick you could cook it in the microwave

Johnny was all “Impress Daniel. Impress Daniel. Impress Daniel” in his mind and Sam rolled her eyes so many times they hurt.

Watching Sam thrive and use her beauty to her advantage was a gift for Johnny. He knows she’s had trouble with people not taking her seriously for it and it genuinely made his heart ache with understanding -he’s also had issues his looks. ‘Pretty boy’ always seemed to be a way of pushing him down.

They don’t let her karate skills go to waste. There are so many things she could do as a talent that it was hard to pick, but they settled for the ice chopping that she knew would make her father happy as a surprise. (idk if they would actually allow that, but that would never stop Johnny or her lol.)

cough cough catch Daniel smitten with the man that helped his daughter and kissing him in the dressing rooms after she wins. Anyone that makes his little girl that proud of herself is a goodie in his book. And MAYBE Johnny had been feeding Sam advice on how to get the angry blond girl so very similar to him and Sam’s ALSO kissed silly in a dressing room until Tory’s face is stained with all her makeup.

[yazzydream]

JJK Playlists: Geto | Toji | Gojo

It's Me, I'm the Problem (Geto Suguru Playlist)

Playlist for Geto. Gotta admit, he gets the gears in my brain running. Main themes are about Geto's descent, follows life as a genocidal cult leader, to the end of his life. Manga SPOILERS ahead.

-> [Spotify Link]

1. Paradiso - Pia-no-jac An instrumental chosen by Akutami Gege. Unfortunately, not available on Spotify.

2. Enemy (feat. JID) - Imagine Dragons

Tell you, you're the greatest But once you turn, they hate us (ha)

3. The Wall - PatrickReza When Geto starts questioning his life and philosophy.

Banging my head against the wall Nothing makes sense, no sense at all Nothing can numb me from what I've seen Pull me down, demons, yeah, try me

4. Cradles - Sub Urban Lots of imagery about eating and disassociation.

I love everything Fire's spreading all around my room My world's so bright It's hard to breathe, but that's alright Hush! Shh Tape my eyes open to force reality (oh, no, no) Why can't you just let me eat my weight in glee? I live inside my own world of make-believe Kids screaming in their cradles, profanities Somedays, I feel skinnier than all the other days Sometimes, I can't tell if my body belongs to me

5. Savages - MARINA Covers how the lowly non-sorcerers are monkey--I mean, savages.

One man can build a bomb, another run a race To save somebody's life and have it blow up in his face I'm not the only one who finds it hard to understand I'm not afraid of God, I am afraid of man

///

Underneath it all, we're just savages Hidden behind shirts, ties and marriages How could we expect anything at all? We're just animals still learning how to crawl

6. Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen If there's any JJK character who suits Bohemian Rhapsody, it's Geto. The line about being a poor boy made me think of how he's from a non-sorcerer family.

Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality Open your eyes, look up to the skies and see I'm just a poor boy, I need no sympathy Because I'm easy come, easy go, little high, little low Any way the wind blows doesn't really matter to me, to me Mama, just killed a man Put a gun against his head, pulled my trigger, now he's dead Mama, life had just begun But now I've gone and thrown it all away Mama, ooh, didn't mean to make you cry If I'm not back again this time tomorrow Carry on, carry on as if nothing really matters

7. Wait For It - Hamilton: An American Musical The lines "Death doesn't discriminate between the sinners and the saints" popped into my head after watching s2e4. But when I went back to listen to it to add to this playlist I was blown away by how Burr's (Geto's) thoughts about Hamilton (Gojo) were so suitable. Also, it wasn't always intentional but there's so much religious imagery (and a few mentions of parents...) in this playlist that I'm loving.

Death doesn't discriminate Between the sinners and the saints, it takes and it takes and it takes and we keep living anyway. We rise and we fall and we break and we make our mistakes. And if there's a reason I'm still alive when everyone who loves me has died I'm willing to wait for it. I'm willing to wait for it.

///

I am the one thing in life I can control I am inimitable I am an original I'm not falling behind or running late I'm not standing still, I am lying in wait Hamilton faces an endless uphill climb He has something to prove He has nothing to lose Hamilton's pace is relentless he wastes no time What is it like in his shoes? Hamilton doesn't hesitate. He exhibits no restraint. He takes and he takes and he takes and he keeps winning anyway. He changes the game. He plays and he raises the stakes. And if there's a reason he seems to thrive when so few survive, then God dammit I'm willing to wait for it. I'm willing to wait for it.

8. Time of my Life - UPSAHL As Nanami would later say, being a jujutsushi is shit. No wonder Nanami's response was he doesn't blame Geto. Geto suffered from compassion fatigue; he was all burnt up.

I cleaned my room I paid my dues I did all of the things that they all told me to I filled my head With common sense I did all of the things that everybody said So how come all the worst days Are in the time of my life

9. Burning Pile - Mother Mother The turning point. Geto changes his aim.

It goes, all my troubles on a burning pile All lit up and I start to smile If I catch fire then I change my aim Throw my troubles at the pearly gates

10. Bang - AJR Geto certainly left legitimate jujutsu society behind with a bang.

So put your best face on everybody Pretend you know this song Everybody come hang (come hang) Let's go out with a bang Bang! Bang! Bang! I'm way too young to lie here forever I'm way too old to try so whatever come hang (come hang) Let's go out with a bang Bang! Bang! Bang!

11. The Other Side of Paradise - Glass Animals Reflecting on how Gojo (his strength) just went to a place Geto could no longer reach. So, Geto leaves too.

Bye-bye, baby blue I wish you could see the wicked truth Caught up in a rush, it's killing you Screaming at the sun you blow into Curled up in a grip when we were us Fingers in a fist like you might run I settle for a ghost I never knew Super paradise I held on to But I settle for a ghost

///

My thunder shook him down My thunder came and shook him down

12. Come Back Home - Two Door Cinema Club I usually prefer sandwiching my playlists with Akutami's music choices, but in this case it felt like it made more sense narratively to place this here. Lol. Sounds like a heartfelt plea from Gojo telling Geto to come back home honestly.

So now you're on your own Won't you come back home? To see you're not that kind And find the strength To find the strength, to find another way

13. East Jesus Nowhere - Green Day Yeah! Classic Green Day, this song popped into my head while thinking about Geto. Geto embraces his religious persona.

A fire burns today Of blasphemy and genocide The sirens of decay Will infiltrate the faith fanatics Oh, bless me Lord for I have sinned It's been a lifetime since I last confessed I threw my crutches in the river of a shadow of doubt And I'll be dressed up in my Sunday best Say a prayer for the family Drop a coin for humanity Ain't this uniform so flattering? I never asked you a goddamn thing

14. cult leader - KiNG MALA

I might be the villain in somebody else's story, but that's fine My methods are controversial, but at least it keeps 'em all in line In line I don't need your roses, I like men on their knees Praying up to their god, seein' visions of me I'm a cult leader, mind reader, heart eater Fear feeder, say I'm your favorite preacher If I wasn't a narcissist, I wouldn't like me either

15. Mental Funeral - EHLE From those devotees.

You're a criminal cute and creepy Dangerous for me When you're all alone, love me, dearly Psychopath

16. Godly Behaviour - ELIO "Monkeys have their roles. Money collecting monkeys and curse collecting monkeys."

Nothing comes for free, there's a fee for my time I'm so heavenly, hard to reach, gotta climb, 'cause I got godly behaviour And I'm not doing any favours I'll be in your dreams tonight, but I'm not an angel 'Cause it's confirmed, I got godly behaviour

17. Do It All The Time - IDKHOW He seemed pretty nonchalant about the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons.

We're taking over the world A little victim-less crime And when I'm taking your innocence I'll be corrupting your mind

///

Now we're so young But we're probably gonna die And it's so fun We're so good at selling lies We look so good And we never even try I don't wanna do it, but I do it 'Cause I do it all the time

18. Freak (feat. REI AMI) by Sub Urban Geto's family of curse users.

Welcome to our freak show, come meet my monsters Oh, such a fine collection of stranger things

19. Family - Mother Mother More found family music. Affectionate.

They is my family, they is my family They might be crazy, but they is my family You can't get to them unless you get through me You fuck with them, you fuck with me

20. cutlery collector - Sion POV: Geto when Kenjaku takes over his body.

Cutting me open and switching my insides Make me an avatar girl, just let me die And they all say that I have changed But oh, nobody knew why 'Cause you're a cutlery collector You cut open my mind

21. House of Memories - Panic! At the Disco Lots of melancholic death songs.

Baby, we built this house On memories Take my picture now Shake it 'til you see it And when your fantasies Become your legacy Promise me a place In your house of memories

22. Goodbye - Bo Burnham

So long, goodbye I'll see you when I see you You can pick the street I'll meet you on the other side

///

Am I going crazy? Would I even know? Am I right back where I started fourteen years ago? Wanna guess the ending, if it ever does I swear to God that all I've ever wanted was A little bit of everything all of the time A bit of everything all of the time Apathy's a tragedy and boredom is a crime I'm finished playing and I'm staying inside

23. Akari - Soushi Sakiyama The third ED best describes Geto I think.

Before my goodwill crumbles away I should have told you everything In a life descending and dissolving into the night Fuzzy emotions, a flickering light If accepting it as inevitable Means it's all over, even though I know It somehow doesn't feel worth it, there's No meaning to it

[speedyposts]

‘Forecasts of a Labour landslide are probably over the top’: UK analyst

London, England – Britain is expected to hold a general election in the second half of 2024 and Rishi Sunak, the United Kingdom’s Conservative leader, is under pressure.

The right-wing party that has governed Britain for more than 10 years is far behind the main opposition Labour Party in the polls.

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How to Get AdSense Approval Quickly a Personal Journey to Monetizing a Niche Blog

I will share my personal journey of getting AdSense approval quickly for my blog focused on the SME

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​​Earlier this month, a YouGov survey of about 14,000 people published by The Telegraph newspaper predicted that Labour could win 385 parliamentary seats. The Conservatives are on track to keep just 169 seats, a sharper loss than in 1997 when Labour’s Tony Blair triumphed over John Major.

On the world stage, observers say Sunak’s decision to join the United States in targeting Yemen’s Houthis in retaliation for their attacks in the Red Sea and his refusal to call for a Gaza ceasefire could affect his approval ratings.

Al Jazeera spoke to Tim Bale, a politics professor at Queen Mary University of London, about the upcoming election, the challenges facing 43-year-old Sunak, and Labour’s chances.

Al Jazeera: Sunak faces several crises. As he struggles with a bid to deport refugees to Rwanda, the Ukraine war is still raging, as well as Israel’s onslaught of Gaza. Is he the right person to manage Britain’s foreign policy and government right now?

Tim Bale: I think you’d have to say he’s a bright guy. He’s a hard-working guy. So he’s probably across all the issues in as much as any prime minister could be.

I think his problem on the world stage is that very few of his interlocutors presume that he will be there by this time next year, which means that his influence is inevitably less than it otherwise would be.

At home, he suffers from the same problem in that I think any of the solutions he proposes, or any of the actions he takes, will always be seen as temporary rather than Britain’s policy going forward.

Al Jazeera: Many British Muslims and pro-Palestinian Britons say they are disillusioned with the two main parties since neither has vociferously called for a lasting ceasefire in Gaza. What impact will this have on the Conservatives, when it comes to the election?

Bale: I think it’s very unlikely that it will have any impact on the Conservatives’ vote because very few people who would be exercised about the war in Gaza, certainly on the Muslim side, will be supporting the Conservatives anyway. Their vote among Muslim voters is generally very low.

It’s possible that were we to be drawn, for example, into a wider conflict involving Yemen and were to start having to commit more forces to that theatre of war, I think the public might react against that and that government very much.

Concerning Labour, there’s a lot written about the threat to some Labour MPs representing constituencies with very high Muslim populations.

But very often, they have very, very big majorities, so even if there are some people in those constituencies who feel very strongly about Gaza and therefore vote against Labour, they’ve probably got a sufficient cushion to survive.

Also, it’s kind of reductive to suggest that voters with an Islamic faith are purely defined by that faith. They also have to operate in an economy that is suffering from a cost-of-living crisis.

Al Jazeera: As the new year gets under way, what are Sunak’s priorities?

Bale: The obvious one is the stop the boats issue and the ability or inability of the government actually to bring an end to people coming across the Channel to claim asylum.

The other issues are perennials [like] the state of the economy. Some people now suggest that Britain will go into a recession before the election, which is never good for a government.

Clearly, inflation is going down, but perhaps not quite as fast as people might want it to.

People are still suffering the cost-of-living crisis that they’ve been in for a year or two now.

The other big issue that the government doesn’t seem to be able to do anything about is the state of the National Health Service, the huge waiting lists and the difficulty in finding a [family doctor].

One possibility, towards the end of the year, will be the US election and the extent Donald Trump does or doesn’t endorse Rishi Sunak.

The possibility that Trump should be elected before we hold an election will make people feel that the world has suddenly become more unstable and, therefore, perhaps more inclined to vote for the current government than for a new option.

Al Jazeera: Election polls signal an election defeat for the Conservative Party, with a loss not seen since 1997. Is this likely?

Bale: It’s very difficult to imagine a government this far behind in the polls at this stage of the electoral cycle, with a PM who is, relatively speaking, very unpopular, presiding over an economy that is at best bumping along the bottom, and an NHS that most people seem to think is falling apart, will be able to win an election.

Obviously, Labour have got a big mountain to climb because they did so badly last time around. They have to win an awful lot of seats in order to win a majority.

But I think that looks now eminently possible. Still, I think forecasts of a landslide are probably over the top.

Al Jazeera: What trends are we seeing from early polling, particularly among the Britons who traditionally voted Labour but switched to the Conservatives in the 2019 election?

Bale: It’s clear that the Conservative Party has lost a lot of support in those seats that it flipped from Labour. Partly because [ex-UK PM] Boris Johnson was quite popular, partly because [ex-Labour leader] Jeremy Corbyn was very unpopular and partly because those seats were heavily in favour of Brexit.

Now that Brexit has, to some extent, disappeared in the rearview mirror, it is less of an issue for those voters, and what matters more to them is the kind of bread-and-butter issues like the economy and the NHS.

One would expect a lot of those seats to return to Labour given how poorly the government is judged to be handling those particular issues.

The government is also in trouble with so-called blue wall seats (which are loyally Conservative).

These are seats in the south and the east, which are rather more affluent. [The Conservatives are] very hard-line on immigration, on “woke”, and all that kind of stuff is not popular among well-educated people who often live in those affluent areas.

Generally speaking, [the trends] show that the government is regarded as exhausted, out of ideas, and too right-wing for many – and that doesn’t really bode well for its electoral chances.

Al Jazeera: What could we expect from a government under Labour’s Keir Starmer and the impact on European politics?

Bale: I think that’s the $64,000 question, in a way, because Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, have presented a very cautious campaign.

They’re not offering far more spending. They’re not really levelling with people [on the] taxation required to help public services recover from the 10 years or so of austerity that we’ve seen.

I suspect that the Labour government would be rather more radical and more inclined to spend money than people think, and raise taxation.

In terms of the impact on European politics, generally speaking, Europe seems to be swinging to the right.

Were a Labour government to be elected, it would at least give some people in Europe the hope that it’s not completely impossible for a centre-left government, a bunch of social democrats, to win power.

Al Jazeera: Will the climate crisis be an election issue?

Bale: What is very urgent is the climate emergency. Although Labour has talked about a kind of big green investment fund, I think they will probably play that down because they’re worried about Conservative criticisms of the cost of that programme.

But if someone were to look back on this election in 50 years, when the planet will be much warmer, and we’re suffering all sorts of consequences as a result of that, they may well say, why were they talking about fairly trivial things when the world’s burning?

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.

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How to Get AdSense Approval Quickly a Personal Journey to Monetizing a Niche Blog

I will share my personal journey of getting AdSense approval quickly for my blog focused on the SME

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[leejungchans]

— juliet on kingdom (episode 6).

juliet’s masterlist

from may 6’s episode

note: read the tweets from the bottom up 💕 keep in mind that this contains spoilers in case you want to watch the episode first :3 more under the cut bc i also went a tiny bit overboard with this 💀

— juliet’s outfit;

disclaimer: the blurring of faces in my outfit collages is in no way meant as a form of disrespect, the sole purpose is to put the focus on the hairstyle and there is absolutely no ill intent. thank you for understanding!!

when they were deciding on the groups for round 3, juliet was so happy they ended up choosing stray kids and btob

right after announcing that decision she immediately went to felix and gave him a big hug :((

but we came here to talk about the sports day 🤩

let’s make one (1) thing clear: juliet is here to make friends ����

B U T she is also an ateez member, aka she is very competitive 💀

this is the same person who refused to sleep when playing the mafia game which was partly the reason for why it got banned from their dorms

probably texted felix the night before like “ily bestie but if we ever have to go head-to-head tmr ur going D O W N”

she said 🔥👄🔥

someone collect her please

ngl she was kinda jealous of skz’s pink outfits bc they looked so cute in them :(((

strawberry kids pls 🥺🥺🥺🥺

but her outfit was also adorable like what :((((

THE BUCKET HAT 🥺

this was also the tiniest she’s looked on kingdom since she always wore boots with some form of platforms for the performances :c

ateez and stray kids’ tables were next to each other so she finally had the opportunity to interact more with the others and not just chanlix!! (´｡• ᵕ •｡`)

pretty much became besties with jisung, changbin and jeongin after that day and also became friends with peniel 🤩🤩

there were still a lot of lixliet moments!!!! even in the background you could see them just chilling and having fun 🥰🥰

also bonded with changmin (from tbz, not the mc ahshjws😭) over liking horror movies and stuff

“you have a chUCKY DOLL??? CAN I SEE IT????? DO YOU HAVE A PHOTO??????? 🤩”

not them cooing over photos of his chucky doll like it’s a baby/pet photo 💀

ateez and the boyz: 👁👄👁 should we be afraid orrr...?

hongjoong, in the distance: you can admire it but don’t you dare bring one home

okay the vaulting competition ✨

while watching sf9 go she was like “:ccc but i’m already shorter than the first level (1.7m)” 💀

she got really shy when changmin read that she has 10 years of ballet experience uwu

changmin, jokingly: oh~ she’s shorter than the box already

juliet: ☹️☹️🥺🥺

changmin: whdjgjwhd sorry sorry sorry 😭

eunkwang: hey!!!! don’t make the baby sad!!!!!!!

she killed it!! mostly bc of her flexibility as she could lift her legs high enough to not touch the box!!

she made it past 2.2m so that’s pretty cool 🤩

eunkwang: maybe it has to do with being born in australia and being around kangaroos

gave the cameras a 🥰✌️🕺🏻😚 after every successful jump

everyone else being her biggest hypemen 😌 the privilege smh

okay but one time as she was running up to the box her hat flew off and she went “nooooo” in tiny and ran back to get it

literally everyone on set went 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 uwu

even the judge/referee laughed 😭

you know how people are like “hold my xxx”

that was juliet but with her bucket hat 💀💀

for her last attempt at 2.3m she uhhh... kinda body-slammed right into the box and knocked it over so they both fell onto the mat 🤕🤕

cue yunho, wooyoung, chan and minhyuk who immediately rushed up to her to see if she was okay :(

the others were like “is she okay???? :c”

ngl it hurt quite a bit but she was also very giggly bc she didn’t expect herself to make it that far

but after the adrenaline wore off she definitely felt the pain :(

so they had to vote for the visual king right

mnet was like ok juliet u can vote for the visual king but they can’t vote for u bc we don’t wanna start anything so u can be the visual queen and win by default 😄

“should i be insulted that they made me win by default 😅😅😅”

yes juliet actually said that on camera and they left it in 💀💀

she still took the selfie and mnet put hers up on the board with everyone else’s but with a little crown over hers that said ‘visual queen’ 💀💀💀💀💀

she was pretty embarrassed by that ngl but sigh what else can she do 😔

hyunjae, pointing to the tiny crown over juliet’s selfie: ohhhhhh does this mean we can’t vote for juliet?

eric: if we could she’d probably win by a landslide

sir we caught u in 4k 👁👁

when seonghwa said he thought felix was cute and wanted to adopt him as a little brother though 🥺

juliet went (◕‿◕) and immediately dragged him over to felix like “OI MATE HERE’S YOUR NEW FRIEND SEONGHWA”

Little Miss Indecisive makes a reappearance bc whO SHOULD SHE VOTE FOR?????

“can i vote for someone not on the show?”

she didn’t actually say that don’t worry

she ended up voting for minhyuk!!!

mostly bc she genuinely thought he was really cool but also bc they were far apart enough in age that people would be less likely to spread rumours

it do be like that sometimes :/

“minhyuk-sunbaenim was very charismatic in their performance from last round, and he was so cool just now during the vaulting competition so i’m going to vote for him!”

she did write a tiny disclaimer on her paper slip that said “everyone is handsome!! <3” though 🥺

WHEN FELIX PLACED 2ND IN THE VISUAL KING THINGY

biggest hypewoman

“YEAHHH FELIX THAT’S MY CUTE BESTIE RIGHT THERE EVERYONE SHUT UP AND LOOK AT HIM!!! FELIX VISUAL KING!!!!! SO TRUE BESTIE!!!!!!!!!”

hwjdbwjjs before they announced minhyuk as first the mcs asked juliet who she voted for and she was so shy when she said she voted for him 😭😭😭

she didn’t take part in the balloon snake tag game and the relay bc she was pretty exhausted from the vaulting (and also bc the boys told her not to bc they could tell she was still slightly in pain after she slammed into the box 🥺)

so instead she became everyone’s designated cheerleader :3

when wooyoung came first in the relay she was so proud!!!!

right after he crossed the finishing line she ran up to him and tackled him in a big hug :ccc

then she went up to eunkwang and asked if he was okay bc he fell during the relay :((((

in conclusion she had so much fun that day and was happy to make even more frens 🥰

— fan reactions;

a/n: this episode was so fun 😭 pls the vaulting game was so funny to watch ahdjjwjs but they all did so well???? i wouldn’t even make it past the first level so idk how minhyuk and chan both managed to go over 2.3m 😭 tbz were also so good at it though???? pls the way juyeon and changmin made it look so easy 👁👄👁 also eric was out for blood in the balloon snake tag game ahjshwjsb we stan 🤩 let me know what you think!! your support really means a lot to me and is what keeps me motivated so thank you all sm 💕💕

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

The 12 Nights of Christmas: Day 6.

[Flashback]

That will be the final hand.

Gambler 1: Wha-!?

*After some gamblers challenge her to a game, Celeste proceeds to beat them all in a landslide.

Gambler 2: Hm…what a shame…Looks like you win as always.

Gambler 1: As always!? What’s that supposed to mean?

I believe your friend gave you ample warning. I’m something of the queen of this place, and I have a winning streak that can’t be topped.

Gambler 2: Believe me, I’ve been trying.

Gambler 1: You bastard! Why didn’t you warn me beforehand!

Gambler 2: I did! Several times in fact, but you’re so foolhardy you don’t take my words seriously.

Gambler 1: GRGH!

*He glares back and forth between Celeste and his fellow gambler.

Gambler 1: So what? That’s it? I just lose all this money? Sorry, but I’m not gonna let myself get pushed around so easily!

Hm…A sore loser I see. Am I mistaken in believing that you’re new to this place?

The look of desperation is all over your face. You’re more than likely in crippling debt, and resorted to underhanded means like gambling in order to pay your dues…Up until now you’ve had to sell a lot, and your friend here has more than likely had to bail you out more than a few times.

But clearly, you have no idea how the world of gambling is. Well, I at least commend you for picking me as an opponent. High risk, high reward and all that…

But before you make an enemy of someone, you need to at least know all you need to about them. I’ve never lost a game. I’m just THAT good.

Gambler 1: Why you-!? My life is collapsing and all you can do is taunt me! How dare you!

You have only yourself to blame…Now, why don’t you start living life out on the streets like the savage that you are?

Gambler 1: I’LL KILL YOOUU!

???: Gentlemen! Gentlemen!

Huh?

Everybody just calm down…Is there any need for this? If there’s ever a dispute in this place, is it so worth getting all riled up over? Why don’t you boys just settle down and talk things over after we get a drink?

Gambler 1: Huh!? Who the hell are you scrawny!? And why the fuck would I ever want to grab a drink with you!?

I assure you, this is nothing new to me. I’ve had my fair share of spiteful opponents and I am more than capable of handling them.

Suuure you do. Is getting punched in the face a part of your way of handling them? Because to me, that looked like what was about to happen.

You’ve been here long enough to know that most societal rules don’t apply here. And hitting women is included.

…I’m sorry, do you work here?

Work? Me? Psh! The idea of me holding down a legit job sounds like a nightmare…

Gambler 2: So you’re unemployed? Forgive me for putting wood in the fire, but if you don’t work here, or aren’t part of the game, then I don’t think you have any right to get involved in this scuffle.

You’re right. And to be honest, if I see someone getting beat up on the side of the road, I grab a bag of popcorn and laugh.

Still, even though I have no right to get involved, perhaps you could show my late Grandma some courtesy? She owns the place after all, and she wouldn’t want one of her best income sources leaving here with a broken nose.

Gambler 2: Your late Grandma…Wait…! You’re Sumiko Kamiya’s Grandson?!

Gambler 1: Who the hell is that?

Gambler 2: Sumiko Kamiya is the owner of this casino, who died a few years ago. She set this place up for dangerous reasons, and her organization and allies still run it. We can’t cross this guy. Anyone associated with her is dangerous…!

Gambler 1: What…!?

Gambler 2: Listen to me when I tell you we really don’t need any sort of trouble with them. Come on, let’s just go and forget about this. It’ll give us one less thing to worry about…

Gambler 1: But-!

Gambler 2: Just shut up, stop whining, and come with me!

*Gambler 2 grabs Gambler 1 and drags him out of the casino.

I ain’t the most social guy, but we should seriously grab drinks someday! My treat!

…Yep, no response. Looks like I burned another bridge.

*Akira sits down opposite Celeste.

…

Aren’t you gonna say thanks?

For what? Spoiling my chance to see him squirm?

Ouch…You’re a savage one, aren’t you?

Is what he said really true? Are you really the late owner’s Grandson?

Yup. Name’s Akira Tsuchiya. Yourself?

Celestia Ludenburg.

Otherwise known as Taeko Yasuhiro, am I right?

…!

Yeah, I know who you are. But if you’d prefer to go by your little made up name, then that’s fine too.

Your help was unnecessary, I can assure you.

Oh, I didn’t do it to help you.

I’m sorry?

Those two had lost, and were spending too long dwelling on it. It’s my turn.

Oh, you desire a game, do you now?

Very well. Now you’re speaking my language. How about we start with 5000 yen from the start?

Yeah, about that…

I don’t actually…have any cash on me right now…

*sigh* Typical. Not only do you look like a hobo, you ARE one.

Actually, I’m the complete reverse of a hobo. Hobo’s are outdoors people, but I hate leaving my room.

Well, how are we expected to gamble with nothing at stake?

Yeah, that’s the thing. Instead of money, how about we place bets in a different way? If I win, you have to do something for me. Same goes for the other way.

Hm…Alright, in that case…

*Celeste thinks for a moment.

You said that you were unemployed, correct? What do you spend most of your time doing.

Hacking servers, running forums on social media, and concocting evil schemes in my sleep.

How charming~ If that’s the case, then my demand is as such.

If I win, I want you to open any social media account you have, go to the account of the first person you see, and Like every post on their wall going back a full year.

Yikes. But that’s actually pretty generous.

Oh, I wasn’t finished. I would also like you to take an embarrassing selfie and use it as your profile picture.

Ah, I see. Deal!

In which case, what are your demands? Do you intend to strip me of my clothes? Take a shot of pickle juice? Eat a raw egg?

Nah, nothing like that. I got an idea.

It’s the anniversary of this place, so the owners are throwing little disco party.

Yes. I’m not fond of them. Party life and loud music does not sit well for me.

I know, you don’t seem like the type. In which case, if I win this game…

I want you to dance with me.

D…Dance?

I know you don’t like disco’s, but you can at least dance, right? I think it’s a fair deal.

…Hmph. Fine. You have yourself a deal.

…

…What a shame. Guess I’m not skilled OR lucky.

…

*Akira pulls out his phone.

Service is kinda shitty here, so I can’t sign into any social media to do what you asked.

Sorry. But if I’m gonna meet my end of the bargain, I’m gonna need to do it later. Do you come here often?

You should already know I do.

I’m gonna…be hanging around this place. Hopefully I’ll catch you around. And if I do, I’ll show you my social media page.

I know this seems stupid coming from someone you barely know, but I’m not gonna just ignore what I owe you.

*Akira stands up and goes to leave. However, before he can, Taeko grabs his wrist.

What?

…

If you want…I’ll grant you your dance.

What? But…you won?

I know. But I owe you for a different reason.

I didn’t think I’d meet someone down here who’s so genuinely entertaining.

Not used to winning two out of three?

For some reason, the idle conversation didn’t seem to be a distraction, but that’s exactly what it served to be.

I find myself rather intrigued by you. You’re mysterious, if a little trampy, and I like that in a man.

What, so you’re saying I’m your type?

In your dreams buddy.

I would like to know more about you. I don’t think our conversation should end just yet, and if I must dance with you to withhold it, so be it.

Alright, then let’s get our groove on~

H-Hey!

*Akira takes her hand and pulls her to the dancefloor.

[1 month later]

Hey, Tae~ You’re here!

Ugh...stop calling me Tae. It’s one thing to refer to me by my real name, but to give me a stupid nickname like that...

Oh yeah, probably shouldn’t call you that unless we’re alone, huh?

Don’t phrase it that way, or else you’ll give people the wrong idea!

*A couple of men around Celeste start to giggle. She gives them all sharp glares.

Hey, mind comin’ with me a sec? I gotta talk to you for a bit.

Sure.

*She gets to her feet and follows Akira to a more private area.

I take it you don’t plan cheating at the tourney, do ya?

Who do you take me for? Cheating has never been in my nature. Be it gambling, or any other sort of sport, it matters not. I will always abide by the rules.

Good. Because the managers of this tourney aren’t the same way.

Pardon?

The people who have set up this tourney have been plotting something with the owners of this place. They’re setting up a scheme to try and get you to lose at all costs.

They’ve employed everyone at the bar tonight to hand in their cards in favor of the opponents, and they want me to be the one to give the signal, so that no one catches on.

Hm...I knew my winning streak was going to be problematic for them one day. But why are you telling me this?

Can I let you in on a little something?

*Akira approaches Celeste and pushes her up against a wall.

What are you-!?

My grandma may be the one who founded this place, but I’m not in league with these guys like they think I am.

I’m ACTUALLY working for some REAAAL bad people. People who might even be a major league threat to the Future Foundation one day.

Wh-What do you-?

I’ll get to the point. Once that tournament is finished, regardless of the result, this place’ll go up in smoke. No one’s getting out in one piece...’Cept maybe you.

You’re...not being clear enough to me. Are you...offering me a job? Or making a request?

A bit of both, but all I need right now is for you to win this thing. I wanna see that victory before everything goes south. So I’ll play against everyone for your sake.

I’ll talk more about what I need you to do once we blow this joint, figuratively AND literally.

...And what do I get out of this?

Hm...Power...Money...maybe even a castle?

...!

We can do it. Trust me, we can. We can make you a queen.

...

Alright. I don’t know what you’re planning, but I don’t feel like dying today. I’d appreciate it if you saved me.

Got a lot to live for, have you?

...Not really. Just my dreams. Alongside that, I do have my odd fun hobbies every now and then...I’m going to miss this place in that regard...

But so long as we both get out, I think I can manage. After all...the time I spend with you is very valuable as well.

...

Tae?

Nothing! Nothing...I’ll do it.

[2 hours later]

GAAGH!?

Tae!

*Celeste wakes up surrounded by bags of rubbish.

AGH! Gross! Disgusting!

Sorry! Sorry, it was the softest thing I could find. My place isn’t far, we can clean your clothes and you can use my shower.

*Akira helps her up, as police sirens and fire engine sirens scream in the background.

*sigh* I still don’t understand.

What?

You’re telling me this story of how you first met Lady Ludenburg, but...I REALLY just can’t understand it.

There are countless men in the world, and of all of them, she picked you?

What? Jealous little guy?

If I say yes, will you shut up? After all, anyone would be.

Lady Ludenburg is a gothic beauty after all, and she is strong and independent. And yet you try to convince me that this playing the hero story actually worked?

Not right away. But...that’s all I’ll leave you with for now.

*sigh* I don’t know how Narumi lives with you as a partner.

But...it should please you to know that we’re actively working on a plan of breaking Lady Ludenburg out. Hopefully you’ll be reunited soon.

Thanks Mikihiko, that’s actually strangely nice of you.

BELIEVE me Tsuchiya. My respect and admiration for Lady Ludenburg the ONLY reason I put up with you. Hmph!

*Mikihiko snidely turns his back.

Heh...

*Akira pulls out his phone and scrolls through his pictures, back to a certain date. December 24th 2020.

[Flashback]

[Beyond Horizons Party Club, December 24th 2020]

Hehe! Woo!

*At a disco club, Akira tries his best to dance when surrounded by countless other lively people dancing like mad around him.

I THOUGHT YOU SAID THAT YOU DIDN’T LIKE GOING OUT!

OH! Tae! How you doing!? I didn’t see you there, you kinda hide among all the colors!

Believe me, I’m not here because I want to be! I-I need to speak with you! I-It’s important!

Whaaat!? Mind speaking up a little!?

I-I said I needed to speak with you!

♩ Shoo-bee-doop-bee-doo! I can’t hear you! Shoo-bee-doop-bee-doo! Come over here you! ♩

D-Did you seriously just rhyme “hear you” with “here you!?” A-Are you even listening to me!?

Since we’re here, whatever you’ve gotta say, you can say it while dancing with me sweetpea!

N-No thank you. I’m not wearing dancing shoes...

Then just take your shoes off? Look, just c’mere!

WAAGH!

A-Ahaha!

Heh!

*Despite being opposed initially, Celeste gives up and starts to party hard with Akira, causing her shoes to fall off. Eventually, the two start to get closer and closer to each other.

Ah!?

...!

So...what did you wanna talk about, pumpkin?

*sigh*

*Celeste heaves out a heavy sigh when faced with Akira’s mischievous grin, and the two share their first kiss right there and then.

[perlukafarinn]

I posted two polls yesterday, asking who is your favorite potential love interest for Dean besides Cas and vice versa. I’ve tallied the votes for both polls and reblogged them with the results and some commentary but I thought it’d be nice to gather them in one post, plus some extra thoughts from me below the cut.

Potential love interests for Dean:

Benny (116). And yes, correct.

Cassie (77). Also correct. A few of you pointed out that Dean should have gone to her in season six instead of Lisa and are you wrong?

Victor (34). Tbh I wasn’t expecting Victor in the top three but I am very happy with all of you!

No one (28). Very Cas coded of you, very sexy.

Crowley (25). This is the one I feel like the character in question would be the most upset about. Only number 5??

Bela (13). I’d also like to interject that demon!Dean/demon!Bela should have happened.

Lee (8). Good for him, I guess.

Jo (5). I don’t know if I’m surprised by Jo’s ranking or not.

Donna (4). This one had a lot of support when her first episode aired, if I remember correctly.

Tessa (3). Good for her, I guess.

The rest got either one or two votes. With two we’ve got: Aaron (surprised he didn’t get more), Anna, Ash, Cain (very disappointed he didn’t get more), Deacon, Garth, Ketch (uhhh), Rhonda Hurley.

One vote: Balthazar, Daphne (lowkey feel like the two people who picked them read the question wrong), Donnie, Lisa (I also don’t know whether to be surprised by this ranking or not. On the one hand she’s Dean’s longest running textual love interest. On the other, they kinda forgot to give her a personality beyond ‘love interest’ and ‘mother’), Lydia (????), Me (lmao), Michael, Mick (also ???), Robin, Ronald (ngl I had to look him up), Sam (😶), Sarah Blake (this voter did admit they might be projecting) The Impala if it turned into a guy (this one might have the most canon support), That one hot desk officer from season 1 you know the one I mean (I don’t).

Potential love interests for Cas:

No one (33). I was expecting this option to be high up but not number one! Quite a few people specified he should be a single parent but what I really appreciate are the few of you who wrote dissertations in the tags on why this makes sense for Cas’ character.

Meg (26). Correct and very sexy.

Mick (25). I’ve seen like one episode with Mick so idgi but good for him!

Balthazar (6). Thought he’d get way more votes?? Idk might be my bias speaking.

Sam (6). Love the one of you who specified that Cas should not like him back.

Luca (4). Okay so there is a canon character named Luca who is a priest but I’m pretty sure y’all mean the Luca from In the Shadow of your Wings by ao3 user Enochian Things, who is also a priest (esp since a couple of you did say he’s not a canon character) and who actually meets Cas.

Benny (3). It should be noted that two out of three of you wanted to include Dean in this ship.

Crowley (3). Just as with Dean’s list, he’d be very insulted by placing so low.

Hannah (3). Hannah got three votes, two specifying in a male vessel and one just specifying “trans”.

Kelly (3). Makes sense, as she is the mother of his child and they have a friendly relationship. Also makes sense this didn’t get more votes since they have no chemistry and she is a republican.

These all got two votes: Djinn queen, Me, Pastor Sexy.

And now, a special category of those with one vote from people I’m pretty sure read the question wrong: Cassie, Lisa, Ash, Victor.

Another special category of Dean alternates who got one vote but don’t count because they’re still Dean: AU Dean, Amnesia Dean, Dean Smith.

And the rest all got one vote: Dabb-era OC, Hypothetical guy from centuries ago (from one of those times Cas’ mind got wiped), Jesus Christ (asdjifsdkl), Miguel from The Love Story of the Runner-Up by ao3 user Margo_Kim, Sergei (???), That angel dude who wanted him for his hands (okay who and what episode).

Okay so what jumped out to me immediately was “no one” topping Cas’ list (it placed pretty high on Dean’s list but Benny, Cassie and Victor still beat that option handily). 

A lot of people straight up did not like the thought of Cas with someone else (very Dean coded of them) but a lot of others just couldn’t picture it. Which I think can be attributed to none of Cas’ relationships with others being all that developed on the show, besides with Jack which is obviously not romantic. Tbh there aren’t a lot of deeply developed relationships on Supernatural that don’t include Sam or Dean (and lbr, mostly Dean).

People were also explaining their choices a lot more in the Cas poll. Idk what that means but I just thought it was interesting. There also wasn’t a consensus on Cas’ sexuality; while Meg and other female characters got votes a lot of other voters said they see him as gay and can’t picture him with a woman.

Most delightfully surprising result: Cassie taking second place! Honestly, it’s what she deserves. And Victor in third! The taste! 

Most expected result: Benny winning the Dean poll in a landslide.

Most surprising low placement: Balthazar only getting six votes in Cas’ poll. I thought this ship was more popular but that’s probably my bias speaking since I happen to like it.

Funniest vote: Those three of you who wanna shoot your shot with Dean/Cas. Go for it, I’m rooting for you!

Favorite specification on a vote: “Meg in a deeply lavender marriage way”

[stark-tony]

most recent bookmarks (5/8/21)

bnha

5 Times Midoriya Taught Class 1A about Memes and 1 Time they Found a Villain that Understood Them by MaddCatter (1.2k, G, gen) After being diagnosed as quirkless, Midoriya gets into pre-guirk media and finds memes. He shares them with Class 1A. Aizawa doesn't get paid enough for this.

a glimpse of tomorrow (looking back) by achievingelysium (7.9k, T, gen, bullying)  Subject: Aldera Time Capsule Ceremony Forwarded Message— This year marks ten years for the Aldera Middle School graduating class of 20XX.To celebrate, we would like to invite pro heroes Kingpin and Deku, Aldera alumni, to participate in a public time-capsule opening. We are incredibly proud to have helped them on their journeys to becoming heroes, and would be most honored to receive them as guests and for them to speak at the ceremony. [...]"Well," Deku says, leaning over to turn the monitor towards him. His eyes flick over the contents of the email one more time. "If they haven't changed, then I guess we could return the favor."Ten years down the line, Bakugou and Midoriya are invited to a time capsule ceremony at their middle school to read letters from their past selves, and look back on their past and how it shaped their future. For anyone else, it would have been a celebration.For the two of them, it's an opportunity.A look into Bakugou and Midoriya's past—through a future neither of them imagined—as pro heroes, agency partners, and friends. (Written for NWA: Prompts for All Event.)

Watch The World Burn by Quisanne (33k, T, gen, bullying)  Shouta and Toshinori were successful in their attempt to gather evidence about the wrongdoings of Aldera Middle School. It doesn't take long, though, to realize that there are many more things out there in hero society that need fixing. Fixing as in throwing a feral Yagi Toshinori at the problem and hoping everything turns out fine, that is.

Razzmatazz by xylophones (168.5k, T, gen) Izuku has plans for everything.He plans out what to say to the cashier when ordering coffee, he plans out his homework before even opening his textbook. He has a whole ten-year plan for how he’s going to get into UA’s hero course and get his hero license fully quirkless. He plans for every wild, unlikely scenario he can think of because his anxiety gets so bad if he doesn’t go through every possible outcome, every way his life could landslide into disaster–– but Izuku never planned for this.For once, he doesn’t have a plan and he doesn’t have time to think of one. All he can see is Yagi-san’s lined, kind face looking resigned as he stares down the villain in his shop. Yagi-san, who is the closest thing to a father figure Izuku has ever had.Izuku doesn’t think. He just moves.(Or: Izuku saves the number one hero, gets a hero license way earlier than anyone wanted, realizes that maybe hero society isn’t as great as he thought it was, and everything just kind of falls apart from there.) 

almost never losing by blueh (4.6k, T, gen) It’s been five years since Izuku has last stepped foot there, but the words Aldera Middle School still bring him an unprecedented amount of dread. It’s accompanied by middle school reunion scribbled underneath which has the added bonus of making Izuku want to go hide under Iida’s desk and not come out.He puts the letter, unopened, on his desk and resolves not to think about it.“You’re just going to let them win?”… Izuku resolves to not think about it for the two seconds that Kacchan allows him not to think about it.or: Two year after graduating UA, Aldera Middle School hosts its first middle school reunion in honor of not one, but two former students graduating and becoming pros.Izuku’s not quite sure he even wants to go, until suddenly he does.

Putting Infinity into Words by redrobin1989 (8.3k, G, gen)  Soul Mates have evolved with quirks to become Soul Bonds in which one feels the entire emotional spectrum and a fact about their future relationship. Or so Izuku had heard, he'd only ever two Soul Bonds and they both caused him pain. Until All Might and Yuuei and he finally learned what it was like to have a loving, thriving Bond.

an old friend or two by neon_air (8.3k, G, gen) When Midoriya Izuku began hearing whispers in his head after gaining One for All, he didn't think much of it. When the whispering escalated to full thoughts, suggestions, and that somehow escalated to a couple of ghosts tailing him around, then he began to think much of it.Or, how Midoriya Izuku and the vestiges of One for All become one big mish-mash of a family.

New Discoveries by deafmic (826, G, erasermic) Eri has never seen a cat in her life and when coming home for the first time, is terrified of Aizawa's.

Father's Day by Fallende (2.7k, G, gen)  “T-this is for you!” His successor says. "For me?" Toshinori Yagi asks. "What's the occasion?" "No occasion!" The boy insists. It's a lie.

One Step by GEMoore990 (5.2k, T, gen) Doctors and Izuku don’t mix.Which was why it felt like the floor fell under him when Aizawa-sensei announced they would be going to the hospital for checkups.Or just because Izuku has a quirk now doesn’t mean that his body physically isn’t quirkless anymore.

possession is only one-ninth of a quirk by PachiiRiisu (9.2k, T, gen) “You’re right on the money; to be more accurate, I’m in Midoriya’s body. In truth, I’m… one of the previous holders,” The words “of One For All” are left unsaid.What.“What the fuck,” Katsuki eloquently says. He can already feel a headache forming, if it hadn’t begun already.Or: 5 times Bakugou covers for Deku’s weird quirk, and 1 time he doesn't.

hp 

Official by BeeDaily (1k, T, jily) James is caught eavesdropping in the library.

mcu

the little things by crowkag (4.2k, T, gen, kidnapping) Minutes tick away, and by the time Tony finishes the three emails Pepper had copied him into, Peter is a snoring ball in his lap. Shutting his laptop, he carefully leans forward to place it on the coffee table, drawing back with the forgotten can of root beer in his hands. Peter prefers his sodas flat when he drinks them—probably because he’s weird and has no sense of taste—so Tony pops the tab open with a soft hiss and settles it on the side table.Tipping his head back on the couch, he lowers his fingers to run absentminded tracks through Peter’s curls.He’s my weird kid, though, he thinks with a smile, already drifting into sleep himself.(or: Ten little instances of love between Tony and Peter.)

i know who his dad is (it's you) by imeanthatsprettysnazzy (3.6k, gen, spideychelle)  “Spider-Man, as in the guy that stops robberies in Queens?” Pepper asked slowly. “That kid — that little tiny baby kid — is Spider-Man?”“Yeah…” Tony stared at her, still not really understanding what the hell was happening here. “As far as I can tell. All signs point to yes, and all that. Who did you think he was?”Pepper blinked again, slower. She shook her head hurriedly. “No, I — I thought he was your kid.”“What?”“Well, what else was I meant to think?” Pepper exclaimed, looking at him like he was insane. “You’re sitting there, very clearly pretending like you’re okay, with information on a kid that was born during the middle of your crazy years!” [People think that Peter is Tony's kid.]

atla   

Three-Body Problem by JustGettingBy (6.3k, T, gen) In this world, the war ends early.Events ripple out from there.AKA The Hakoda and Zuko arranged marriage turned adoption au

[malkaleh]

So @nocompromise-noregrets tagged me in this meme and it’s delightful (I don’t know that I got twenty but I think the pattern is that I have really long opening lines ;)). Thank you darling <3.

Rules: list the first lines of your last 20 stories. See if there are any patterns. Then tag your friends.

Agamemnons Daughter Pays (In Undeserving Blood) (Tudors, Anne Boleyn/Henry VIII/Thomas Cromwell): It might never have been remarked upon - after all, the child looked peaceful as though he had merely fallen asleep and not woken up - it might have been said that they could be thankful that the little boys suffering had been ended by his illness even if his majesty had lost his son well, the lord giveth and the lord taketh away.

To Be Brave, Beautiful Ones (Tudors, Anne Boleyn/Henry VIII/Thomas Cromwell): Mary finds she cannot think of talking to a priest, though she should.

Storms Of Desire (My Stars And Moon And Sun) (Tudors, Anne Boleyn/Henry VIII/Thomas Cromwell): His raven is shy in truth, at least when it comes to his own appeal - Henry knows it and has seen it when courting him and had come to understand that Thomas truly does not see anything of beauty in himself - nor does he see flirtations.

Folding It In (Not The Whole Story) (The Witcher, hunger games au, gen): The reason Tris wins without killing anyone is well - some of it was just pure chance, probably - there are times when things like this happen because a landslide takes out a huge chunk of the field or the arena is particularly ill suited and everyone but one dies and some of it was skill - she could hide and the little girl knew planets, knew how to survive, knew what to eat and what could be used to heal.

It’s Not Because Of You, It’s Because Of Me (Ted Lasso, Jamie Tartt): It’s all over everywhere - which of course it fucking is, this shit always is and Jamie…well the old Jamie (and part of the new Jamie, whoever the fuck that is turning out to be) would have just been a dickhead on purpose, would have fucked up someone’s life so they’d hate him, so they’d go away and he wouldn’t hurt them more.

You Both Alone (Are My Love And Longing) (Tudors, Anne Boleyn/Henry VIII/Thomas Cromwell): Henry had not meant to see either his husband or his wife - he had meant to divert himself with his true love but when he had seen them he had stopped. He had forgotten how beautiful they both were - and they were dancing.

Lucky Stars & Moon (For The Sun) (Tudors, OT3, modern royals): Of course what the young man has overcome is admirable - I’m not taking anything away from what he has accomplished but he’s not the right sort of person to be a royal - we all know that even if society has become so pc that we don’t want to say it out loud.

Golden World (Tudors, OT3): “Two babies?” Owen says in wonderment and Henry smiles down at his son and says, yes there are two and would he like to see them. There is an excited chorus of yes as the other children follow behind Henry and Henry takes Owen into his arms to walk back to the bedchambers he, Anne and Tom share.

Every Breath You Take/Every Move You Make (You Are Always Mine My Darling) (Tortall, Ozorne/Numair/Varice (past)): Ozorne thought he had always known that Arram and Varice were meant for him and him alone - he hated that others felt they had a right to them.

A Duke And A King And A Queen (Dancing Like Starlight) (Tudors, OT3): “I want to bestow a gift - though it is as much for me as for you my love” Henry looks down at Thomas with a soft warmth that the other man has always struggled to describe to the world - Henry is known as an amiable King but to have the privilege and the joy to see him as a man, to know that he loves you so dearly will never cease to awe him.

Consorts (Tudors, OT4): “No Harry, not every King and Queen falls in love with their consorts but when they do it is very special”

Battle Cries (The Witcher, jaskier, hunger games au): To the Capital he’s Julian - the charming victor who sings love songs and ballads based on the games and makes excellent arm candy in bed and out.

I Must Break & Shatter Beautifully (The Witcher, hunger games au, Tissaia): Mostly Tiss stays far far away from District 10 - she’s made herself useful enough to the Capital that she doesn’t have to serve as mentor there, doesn’t have to face that particular variant of sending children to deaths that are certainties.

There Is A Place (Of Peace & Spring) (Emelan, Rosethorn/Lark/Niko): Rosethorn looks at Niko, still asleep in their bed, Lark curled around him like a cat and smiles as she presses a kiss to both of her loves - a softness she only allows around a very few (she’s never felt the world has had a right to her heart, not in that way) and slips out to tend to the garden in the early light.

Darling Don't Be Afraid (I Have Loved You For A Thousand Years) (Tudors, OT3): “Open your eyes my heart” Thomas finds he cannot resist Henry’s voice in his ear, his arms around Thomas and the softness of Anne’s agreement from behind them.

It’s Not Pain (It’s Applause) (The Witcher, hunger games au, Jaskier): From the first moment they call his name Jaskier knows what to do - he’s thought about it, of course he has - you have to and part of being a performer, of doing what he does is knowing that much more goes into the games than just being a killer or luck or strength.

Once I Fall In Love (It’s Forever) (Kushiel, Melisande/Phedre, Melisande/Anafiel): She loved him as she did me. The realisation had come suddenly, a shock as I saw that Delaunay was beside me, bound as I was and Melisande running a hand through his hair - softly, possessively. Lovingly.

To Be Loved (As To Love) (Tudors, OT3 verse, gen, Mary Tudor, Thomas Cromwell): He is tired but truly, he does not mind it so much, this ending.

Tagging: @jackironsides @ruffboijuliaburnsides @eurosthewanderer @shes-a-voodoo-child @bibliothekara and anyone else who wants to do consider yourself tagged

[florbelles]

all of G & Y for the queen of new vegas, baby 😈🔥

thank you legend!!

— G. GORGEOUS.

i. what is their most attractive external feature?

it’s not something joss has given a lot of thought; she always understood that she was considered beautiful, and that usually meant she was bait for unsuspecting travelers who would stay at her father’s shack of an inn. the appeal is all in the facial composition, though — she didn’t have clean hair or skin or pre-war clothes, then.

ii. what is the most attractive part of their personality?

she learned early on how to manipulate people by saying the right thing, asking the right questions. dispensing the appropriate amount of approval at the opportune moment, withholding it just long enough to make it feel earned. to someone intimately familiar with how she operates, it’s not necessarily a charming attribute, but it’s what gets her what she needs and what draws people in to begin with

she’s also funny as hell, if your tastes run to the morbid or at the expense of others.

iii. what benefits come with being their friend?

she will not put out a hit on you!

full benefits of all her connections. an act if you want it. resources if you need them. the run of the strip and goodwill in freeside. exemption from getting kicked out of the tops if you’re winning too much ( swank hates this one ).

iv. what parts of them do they like and dislike?

well, she thinks she’s hilarious, thanks. she likes that she’s ruthless and cutthroat; it doesn’t really occur to her that she shouldn’t have to be, she just appreciates that it serves her, that it’s how she survived this long. she likes the way she looks; she’s not vain, but she likes the advantage it gives her. she’s proud of the fact that almost everything she knows is self-taught.

she dislikes that she’s so embittered, that she can’t let anything go. she didn’t really think about it when it was driving her — she’s going to get away from her father, she’s going to find her sisters, she’s going to ( from her perspective ) free new vegas — but when she’s left as a rebel without a cause she just has to sit with it, and she hates that. not enough to talk about it or do anything with it, even with her closest confidants she’ll never feel free to show what she perceives as weakness or vulnerability that way, but still. she wishes it were different, sometimes ( which, perhaps ironically, leaves her even more embittered and usually drives her out of vegas to go wander the wastes before she misdirects it more than she already has; she already slaughtered the strip once, she can’t do it again, it didn’t rid her of her anger last time ).

v. what parts of others do they envy?

relatedly, she envies anyone who is ( comparatively ) without baggage, insofar as that exists in the wastes, less in the sense of what’s happened to them but how they’ve coped with it and processed it. people who can be satisfied with what they have, who don’t have an anger or restlessness that consumes them. she thinks sometimes she would have been happier roaming the wastes all her life, and she envies those who do, to an extent, but that’s a thought she has the luxury to have when she actually has security & companionship for the first time in her life ( which she does not, in fact, walk away from despite technically having the option, so the insincerity of that envy is apparent even to her, if she’s being honest with herself ). is the appeal of the idea partly that benny absolutely abhors it to the point of bumping off others for harboring these potentially dangerous sentiments? yes. almost entirely.

— Y. YOU.

i. how old were you when you created them?

twenty-one. she was older than i was at the time. i now understand she is a fetus.

ii. what inspired you to create them?

unlike some of my other characters, joss was originally purely the result of in-game choices and mechanics. i just wanted a real bitch of a courier, not initially from the perspective of a fleshed out character but in the sense that she would take every chaotic asshole option available. lose to ringo at caravan? shoot him. end up shooting the whole entire bar and being the butcher of goodsprings. get villified by the ncr before even reaching primm. boone won’t speak to her because of this. break into his hotel room. shoot him. kill jeannie anyway because she found the receipts. shoot that guy who won the legion lottery because she thinks it’s an actual lottery and he’s gonna have cash. nope. just open fire on vulpes & company.

i started to develop a loose moral code for her by the time i reached freeside and adjusted my gameplay accordingly, but that is, in fact, her tragic origin story.

iii. were they different when they were first created?

honestly, given the above writeup, not as much as you’d think. obviously she’s different in the sense that character/developmental/background reasons now exist for her behaviors and choices, and a few things have been tweaked accordingly, but those were more additions than revisions to the extremely vague concept that already existed. she’s the same old very evil karma bitch she ever was.

iv. do you enjoy writing them more than other characters?

i don’t know if i would say more, but she’s one of my favorites ( there are obviously other characters i write more frequently now, especially in terms of what actually gets posted to tumblr dot com, but i originally wrote for her a good deal ). in terms of gameplay and early-stage development, yes, by an absolute landslide. her first playthrough is probably to this day the most fun i’ve had in my first runthrough of a game.

v. what’s your favorite thing about them?

exactly her aforementioned origins, actually! she’s a loose canon in every sense, just a real liability, but she is, horrifyingly, running this shit now. she also lets me play with a lot of my favorite tropes ( the femme fatale, the dark messiah, god save us from the queen ).

[trashydemigodmess]

👀 Nadia and Rory? 👀

gonna just.......put a pin in this maybe for the future who knows 📌

Who is more aggressive in bed? honestly neither they are both softies?? but, I feel like rory would be the one to take a chance and try something new or different? they are very slow and steady wins the race sort of vibes lol

Lights on or off? off, they're both kinda insecure and unsure and new to this and gotta work on their confidence 😔

Who does what chores? nadia runs a tight ship and would do the majority of the chores wether rory liked it or not gdfjkhgfdh

Who gets babied when they’re sick? nadia would take such good care of rory pls

Who makes breakfast? rory is getting the freshest breakfast with stuff straight from nadia's cute lil' farm

Where would they go on their honeymoon? they'd go to new zealand and see all the places from lord of the rings and narnia lmao

What are their quirks while sleeping? I stg you'd think nadia is dead she is a rock when she sleeps nothing wakes her up gkfdjhfdgh

What is their favorite activity as a family? like macey and rory they'd be very into game nights and movie nights. BUT, unlike macey, nadia would Get It and is a beast at board games and they'd like all of the same movies and shows :elmo:

Who is the stricter parent? oh nadia by a landslide lol almost to a fault and rory would have to work with her to loosen up because she's such a harsh stickler for the rules

Who would be the big spoon? nadia would always insist that she is the big spoon bc her cute lady deserves it 😌 even though I think they're both small girlies lol

Who would wake up first? nadia and she would make coffee for both of them

Do they have nicknames for each other? I think just pet names mostly, nadia likes to call her cute girl or honey 😊

What happened when they met each other’s parents? nadia's mom is a high ranking military person she is terrifying gkfjdhfgd but she would love that rory makes nadia so outwardly happy and vibrant 😭

How do they apologize after an argument? I feel like they wouldn't honestly fight very often? but more than likely nadia was being logical and stubborn and emotionless and it was frustrating rory. they'd have to both cool off for a bit and nadia would come around and apologize and admit she was being dense lol

What would they be like as parents? one of my childhood friends has two moms and literally they are what nadia and rory would be gkjfsg one is more extroverted and peppy and the other is more introverted and quiet. they had this lovely house full of art from all their travels, it always smelled like incense (I feel like nadia would have to turn to meditation or some shit to loosen tf up lmao), was one of the best places to have sleepovers, and it was just so chill and full of cozy good vibes??? they'd be such easygoing friendly moms who'd let their kids grow up to be whatever they wanted. their kids would major in super niche weird things at liberal arts schools and wind up like, making pottery for a living or something lol

Who is the better cook? nadia...? maybe? does rory cook? lol

Who is more romantic? I think rory is the more openly romantic one? nadia would take a long time to warm up to it all, break down the walls, and be comfortable, but, once she is?? omg being in love with rory would make her so soft and gentle and she would just be the biggest simp and wait on her hand and foot

What sort of gifts do they get for each other? they are the queens of sentimental gifts and experiences

Who gets jealous easiest? nadia absolutely

Who gets more excited for events? rory would for sure

Who is the most adventurous? they are both such homebodys lmao but I think rory would technically be the more adventurous one

Who is the most protective? if anyone did anything to hurt rory's feelings or make her upset...you better fucking start running. nadia is ares' favorite for a reason 😡

What would they have been like as childhood sweethearts? they would've been besties in middle school then wound up going to different high schools then oh look they both went to the same local state college and became friends again and oh shit I think I'm gay and in love with you?

Song to sum them up? it's nice to have a friend by taylor swift 😚

[lucy-the-cat]

Lover's Curse Chapter Twenty Two - On Display

Mare

He wasn’t bluffing.

I clutch the arm of my seat as if it were Maven’s neck, trying to steady my heartbeat to a manageable speed. Evangeline sits directly across, head to toe in metal she can no longer wield. She meets my gaze, discomfort shifting to something softer. Not pity. Not admiration. But something in between.

Maven rests a hand at my arm, and I resist the urge to roll my eyes. Of course. Who else would he sit across from him, the perfect angle to watch us interact?

Dread pools in my stomach as I meet Cal’s eyes, simmering with frustration, confusion and betrayal. I don’t expect him to understand. The girl he fell for kept him at arm’s length, yielding no scrap of herself without a brawl. I have none to blame but myself.

“Hi.” I smile, summoning all the warmth I can despite the silent stone seeping into my bones. “I hope you’re doing well.”

He doesn’t respond.

“To business.” A man I’ve never seen before sits at Cal’s other side, with Farley to his left. She glares at me with naked disgust. “I suppose I should introduce myself.”

My eyes snag on the Montfortian crest emblazoned on his uniform. He must be of higher rank than the twins, if he is here and they are not. A man who would offer refuge to newbloods, but no one else.

“Please.” Prince Braken sits at the other end of the table, and I must strain to see him. Unsurprisingly, Iris and her mother fill the chairs between him and Maven. “I’m sure you’re eager to boast of how you built this ‘Montfort’ of yours.”

“The people built it, not me.” The man chuckles. “There’s nothing more powerful than the will of a million reds, rising against their masters in a crimson wave of justice. I’m honored to have been able to help.”

At the other side of the table, Queen Anabel frowns. She raised Tiberias the Sixth, carved Strength and Power into his bones until Elara Merandus chased her away. What does she think of me?

What has Cal told her?

Queen Cenra waves a hand. “Enough posturing. Introduce yourself.”

“Representative of the Republic of Montfort.” Beside him, Cal stiffens. “Premier Dane Davidson.”

Republic. The phrase made Cal squirm, and Maven grips my arm like he’s trying not to laugh. I’ve never heard it before. I try to catch his gaze again, but he fixates on the floor tiles. Is that guilt?

“A republic.” Maven savors the word like a lion gnawing a steak. “How intriguing. Is it more convincing to win by a narrow margin, or a landslide? What favors must one make to be placed on the ballot? Tell me, is it possible to declare populations as unworthy of a vote?” His eyes narrow. “Like Silvers?”

He’s so predictable.

“Silvers are our equals, not our lessers. Plenty hold office, and far more are voters.” He folds his hands. “I married one, after all.”

Prince Braken perks his ears. “Hmm?”

“My husband would be distraught had I not mentioned him. He’s quite the character.” His lips quirk. “He told me to send you his regards.”

“I do not care for your personal life.” Cenra taps her fingers against the table. “Were we not here to discuss surrender?”

“Among other things.” Julian speaks from Anabel’s side, and my breath catches. “Your Highness. Congratulations on your new title.”

The consort rose smolders on my chest as all eyes turn to me. You will rise. And you will rise alone. “Thank you.”

Farley humpfs. “What a splendid bribe. How many jewels did it take for you to stay?”

“Commander Farley.” My eyes soften. “I suppose it’s General Farley now. How’s my niece doing?”

“You’re no family of mine.”

“Ladies.” Maven feigns exasperation, and I want to throttle him. “You may squabble another time. We have business to conduct.” My foot finds his under the table and presses. He will pay for this.

He strokes my arm. I’m sure I will.

“I have questions, actually.” Cal cuts through me, and I wish I were in chains again. That, at least, he could understand. “For Princess Mare.”

Maven clasps his hands. “By all means, Brother. Ask away.”

I press his foot harder.

“I imagine we all do.” Premier Davidson regards me with curiosity, not contempt. “I don’t believe this has ever happened before.”

Anabel scowls.

“Princess, huh?” Across from me, Evangeline raises a brow. “You’ve made yourself relevant again. And all you had to was fuck that thing.”

If not for the silent stone, her dress would frost to her skin.

I shrug. “We all make sacrifices.”

“Are these questions for my consort, or are we in awe of her existence?” Maven leans back in his chair, one hand propping his chin and the other petting my arm. “She is marvelous, I agree, but irrelevant to the discussion.”

I want to kiss him. I want to throttle him.

Perhaps I shall do both.

“Do you think you can change him?” Julian will not look at Maven. He barely looks at Cal, who shifts uncomfortably in his seat. “There have been many girls before you who thought their love was enough to save a monster. They all failed.”

He asks this now. Now, in front of Cal, Iris, my brother’s murderer, and so many others. “Lord Jacos. You have not seen me in many months. Do not presume to know my motives.”

“Then tell us.” Cal hangs himself with a rope gifted by Maven. “Why did you switch sides?”

I shift, removing my hand far from his brother’s grasp. “I thought if the Scarlet Guard fails, there ought to be at least one red voice in Norta’s court.”

“Mare’s not a fool, Brother. She knows who the winning side is.” He’s enjoying this far too much. His hand brushes against my leg and I tense. “Who it has always been, and always will be. Surrender while you still can.”

Melodramatic little shit.

“You haven’t heard our terms.”

“Enlighten me.”

Cal hardens. “Surrender, and we will allow you your life.”

Maven twitches, jaw spasming as he barks out a laugh. “Those are your terms? I suppose I have no choice but to kneel.” His eyes gleam. “I have a counteroffer. Surrender, and I will give you nothing.”

He’s lost it.

“Maven, darling.” I poke his shoulder. “They’re not going to accept that. Make a real offer.”

“It is a real offer.”

I lean closer with a whisper everyone can hear. “Sweetheart please don’t turn this peace conference into a dick-measuring contest, I am begging you.

Maven forces me back in my seat. “Love, you are a consort. Not a queen.”

“I’m still right.”

“For once, I agree with her.” Iris gives him a sideways glance. “Your pageantry dulls me.”

I smile sweetly. “You used to be so good at diplomacy. What happened?”

“Consort. Wife.” Maven sneers. “You would do well to learn the art of intimidation.”

“Yes, yes, you’re very tough and scary.” I pat his head. At least, I try to. My fingers catch in his curls, and it takes a few seconds to untangle them. “And you have too much hair.”

He sours. “Your nails are too long.”

“Not what you said last night.”

Chuckles rise, and his cheeks darken. “Negotiate yourself, if you’re so clever. You’ll find the rest of the world is not as forgiving as I am.”

“Does anyone have a pen and paper?” I look around, all business. “A map too, if you please.”

No one responds. I sigh. “Am I the only one who thought this was a peace conference?”

Iris pulls out her satchel, digging. “I came prepared.”

“I’m not surprised.” Grinning, I accept the papers she hands me. “Knew I could count on you.”

Maven stills. I called his bluff. I chased it to the Lakelands and back.

This conference is mine.

[chooseyouovereveryone]

Brittana Analysis Part 5: Season 6 (Coming Full Circle, Parallels and Callbacks)

It’s a long one, but it occurred to me the other day when watching the performance of Home in S6 just how much all the main Brittana S6 scenes parallel and call back to their earlier scenes/obstacles. We all know S6 was fan service and it was a way to tie up their story and had various nods to the past, but I didn't realise how many direct parallel's their were until the other day. Maybe I was sleeping on something most of ya'll already knew but...sharing anyway.

So breaking it down to their 4 episodes and some key obstacles/moments in their story and how they full circled it in S6:

Homecoming- Friends with benefits and Santana's denial and hypersexuality with men

Jagged Little Tapestry- Duets make out scene and Landslide

What The World Needs Now- Santana coming out

A Wedding- The break up and Santana's insecurities about Brittany's love, Artie, Sam etc.

Warning this is super long, and uses the word full circle like a billion times, but it's the whole point of this post 😂

Homecoming 6x02

So I'm starting off with the performance that sparked the theory. I'd say the Home performance is their most significant scene in the episode, the others are all either with other characters or background moments, but in Home they get a moment just to themselves. So here's how I see that performance.

Santana is referenced to be some form of former Homecoming Royalty in that performance, whether that be she was Homecoming Queen off-screen in her Senior Year or Homecoming Princess in another year, maybe the beginning of Sophomore Year just before she breaks up with Puck (as shown in S1). That would make sense because Puck appears to be her running mate, and Sophomore Year is the only year it would make sense for them to be voted in together. Perhaps that's what made Santana go for Puck in the first place, in the same way she used Karovsky to try and win Prom Queen. Perhaps she saw Puck's chances of being nominated and pursued him, then when she got what she wanted and won, broke up with him (using his poor credit score as an excuse). Anyway, that's going off on one, but point being that the scenes show us a flashback to what used to be; Santana and Puck.

Knowing what we know now, we know that Santana was never happy with Puck. She was a closeted lesbian using him for status and to deny her feelings, while she fell in love and slept with her best friend. Meanwhile, Brittany had to watch Santana do all this. She had to watch the person she loved ignore what they had and refuse to talk about what they were doing, and fake it all with Puck instead. She even has to hear Santana say she's just using her while Puck's in juvie- ouch! To sum up, I think it's fair to say that the Puck and Santana dynamic caused both of them a lot of pain and it was probably the first obstacle they had to overcome.

Homecoming is the first episode Brittana appear in on S6, therefore it's the first full circle moment. And that first full circle moment comes with a parallel to their first obstacle. The scene starts with Brittany leading Santana out to the pitch where she's about to partake in this Homecoming Royalty Alumni ritual. They are giddy, they are happy, they are in love. Santana is about to fulfil this commitment with her ex-boyfriend, and it's something that's probably going to transform her back to another world. A world where she was unhappy and scared for the future. It also may take Brittany back to another world, a world where Santana refused to be hers and where she had to watch her all over Puck instead. But in this world, in the here and now, the two of them are happy and you can see that in this scene. Santana may have to stand with her ex boyfriend for a few minutes and be momentarily taken back to her old life as Brittany watches from the sidelines, but Brittany is the one who walks her proudly to the pitch as they eskimo kiss in public (another testament to how far they've come), because that's where they are now. They're together and all that hiding and fear and pretending with Puck is long gone and put in the past. Santana might be standing up there with reference to the fact she was once Puck's homecoming queen/princess, but in reality she's Brittany's queen. That was hella cheesy, but you know where I'm going with it! & that's the full circle of it all. The lyrics they sing are also poignant "man oh man you're my best friend", because as we all know that's how they started out and how they've always remained throughout their relationship and even during their break up.

As Santana and Puck walk around with the sparklers, Brittany looks nervous. It might be because she's nervous for Santana in undertaking her duties, or nervous for how Santana might feel being transported back to that time with Puck. It might be that she herself feels uneasy seeing Santana up there with Puck because it reminds her of what used to be. Or it might be that she's just nervous that her girlfriend is walking around clutching a stick with fire on 😂 Whatever it is, as Puck and Santana do their duties, we then get a shot of Brittany shrugging which indicates that any feelings she used to have about Puck and Santana are now firmly behind her. She can watch her girlfriend up there with her ex because Santana is hers now, and she's no longer scared to lose her to denial, rejection or fear. The Home performance takes us right back to Brittana's rocky start where Santana used men to push her feelings away, and finishes that chapter for us showing how it's come full circle. Also pointing out that while Brittany is watching Santana, she is seated next to her own ex Sam, and next to him is her previous ex Artie which is again a nod to the past and a reference to the fact it's all water under a bridge. Both girls can stand by their exes and it will be okay both with themselves and with each other (there's no jealousy involved).

Jagged Little Tapestry 6x03

A big episode for them, once again their main scenes have direct links back to their past. Starting with the bed scene which is a parallel of the Duets scene from 2x04. The clue alone is in the way the scene starts. Both start with long shots of Brittany's room and when the camera pans up you see Brittany and Santana on the bed in both scenes. They also begin both scenes by talking about scissoring (🙄). I definitely think the mention of scissoring in 6x03 is done deliberately because it's meant to parallel the 2x04 scene. Another parallel is the fact they are discussing duets to perform in Glee Club in both episodes. The difference between both scenes is of course the dynamics of their relationship and their attitude.

In Duets, Brittany is nervous and tentative to suggest singing a duet with Santana as a gateway for her to express her feelings, in Jagged Little Tapestry she is confident and happy as she initiates a kiss with Santana and freely expresses her feelings and love for her. The Santana that we see in Duets is closed off, defensive and harsh but the Santana we see in Jagged Little Tapestry is open and expressive as she tells Brittany how much she loves her and she is super soft in this scene. Santana can't even bring herself to talk about doing a duet with Brittany in 2x04, but in 6x03 she's the one initiating a talk about their future, which shows how far they've come. Long gone are the days of rejection and Santana telling Brittany she is just using her while Puck is in juvie, this scene is all about their love for each other and their future together.

When Brittany tells Santana she will love her until infinity, Santana smiles although she's probably heard countless times how much Brittany loves her, but there's potentially another parallel within the parallel here and it could be a nod back to Santana telling Brittany she loved her for the first time - "please say you love me back". Even though Brittany did tell Santana she loved her back, it wasn't in the way Santana wanted because Brittany said she loved Artie also and stayed with him and we watched Santana's face crumble. In this scene, we get to see her smile because she's secure in the infinite love Brittany has for her. Something else this scene refers back to is the fact Santana was always seen as mean, and Brittany was always seen as stupid, but Brittany could always see the good in Santana and Santana always thought Brittany was a genius. This is replicated again in this scene with Brittany mentioning Santana's giant, generous heart and Santana calling Brittany a genius. But the main parallel is between 2x04 and 6x03, and both scenes end in a similar shot of Santana looking on. In 2x04 she is only thinking of the short term future, and who she's going to do a duet with since it definitely can't be Brittany, whilst a disheartened Brittany watches her from the bed. In contrast, 6x03 shows Santana thinking of the long term future, as she considers her life with Brittany and the fact she is about to propose to her and spend forever with her, while Brittany is cuddled up with her on the bed. With this episode, the writers replicated one of their first iconic scenes but showed us how far they had come and how things had changed for them.

Later on, in this episode, another iconic early Brittana scene is paralleled, the Landslide scene from 2x15. With Landslide, Santana and Brittany are scared, emotional and need the shield of Holly there to do the performance with them. Though initially opening herself up and allowing herself to be vulnerable, Santana immediately shuts down and gets defensive when Rachel mentions sapphic charm. She was brave enough to sing the song, but she doesn't want to be labelled. In contrast, their performance of Hand In My Pocket/I Feel The Earth Move shows them happily singing and dancing with each other and showing their love to everyone. This time, they don't need Holly in between them and they're so proud of their love that at one point of the performance they go to the back row and sit in between everyone. This is also a nod back to the past because it’s where they broke up, now they’re sat there in between all their friends right before Santana proposes.

The proposal is of course a parallel in itself, with Santana directly referring back to moments in their past about Brittany wanting her to be herself and “no matter how many times we tried to put our thing down and walk away from it we can’t”. But the biggest parallel is the comparison to the Landslide scene, where this time Santana is not scared to be labelled after singing with Brittany, she goes and puts a label on them herself by proposing to Brittany in front of everyone. She’s gone from defensive to literally wanting to scream her love from the rooftops. Like with Landslide where their moment is interrupted by Rachel, this time it’s Kurt who interrupts their moment but the two reasons for interrupting and by default the reactions from Santana are complete opposite. The two reactions Brittany has in the Landslide scene vs this scene are also very different. In Landslide she is happy that Santana has finally let her guard down, but as soon as Rachel opens her mouth you can see Brittany's face instantly drop. She knows that Rachel's comment is going to set Santana back and she is crushed when Santana walks away. But in this scene, Brittany gets to see Santana stand proud and demonstrate her love for her in front of everyone, promising to love her forever, and naturally Brittany is emotional at that and we get to see her happy tears in the realisation that nothing is going to come between them now and they've got to where they wanted to be. I’m saying it again, but this scene is literally full circle.

What The World Needs Now 6x06

This episode is less a parallel more a redo, because I see it as fan service in giving the fandom some of what they craved so much but didn't get with I Kissed A Girl (3x07). One of the main criticisms of that episode, was how Brittany didn't even speak. We were robbed of getting a conversation between Santana and her girlfriend, and seeing how Brittany could be there for her. What The World Needs Now gave us that, because it was all focused around Brittany noticing how upset Santana was that her Abuela wouldn't be at her wedding and trying to rectify that, and later being there for her and sticking up for her when Abuela said she wouldn't be attending.

There are some parallels in the episode too, such as:

The conversations with Santana's Abuela. In both 3x07 and 6x06, Santana takes the same angle of telling her Abuela how much she appreciates her and about the lessons Abuela has taught her. She then goes on to talk about her feelings and love for Brittany to try and get Abuela to accept her as a lesbian.

Abuela walks out on Santana in both episodes, leaving her devastated.

The Glee Club sing for Santana to remind her that she is loved and accepted, as they do in 3x07.

The differences are that although Santana is rightfully devastated by her grandmother's rejection, in 3x07 she tries to plead with her, but in 6x06 she stands proud and takes Brittany's hand and shows Abuela that this is who she is, and if Abuela doesn't like that she can walk right out of her life. She is visibly emotional infront of Abuela in 3x07, but in 6x06 she waits until Abuela has left the room before she finally rests on Brittany and lets that vulnerability seep in. It's likely a mixture of both having Brittany there with her this time, and being older and more comfortable with herself, but it shows how far Santana has come in her own acceptance.

A Wedding 6x08

As the final chapter in their story, this episode has many parallels and nods back to the past. Abuela is brought back and there's finally a happy ending on that when she comes to the wedding and accepts Santana for who she is, and one of my favourite parallel's is Santana walking happily and proudly down the aisle towards Brittany, a stark contrast to the Santana we see in 2x15 who walks down the school corridor towards Brittany to tell her she loves her for the first time, nervously glancing around and in fear of her secret getting out.

The scenes in this episode aren't as direct parallel as the infinity bed scene is with the duets bed scene or as Landslide and Hand In My Pocket/I Feel The Earth Move, but I feel there are a lot of references to their break up, the wedding of course being (saying it again) full circle of that. In the vows they talk about their earlier struggles and how they'd suffer it all for the tiny chance of being here getting married, so we can assume that's about both their confusing friends with benefits days and their break up.

The pre-wedding talk scene they have is one of their most prominent scenes, and in this I think there are some full circle moments, the biggest being when Santana says "you love me, and I love you, and no silly superstitions are going to change that". In the beginning of their relationship Santana struggled with a lot of doubt and insecurities, not only with her sexuality but in her relationship with Brittany too. She clung to the fact that Brittany didn't say she loved her back (2x18), even though Brittany did in fact say it, and she had to listen to other people doubt Brittany's love for her aka Finn (3x07). I feel like Santana worried a lot in the early days of her relationship that she was going to lose Brittany, and then when they broke up and Brittany ended up dating Sam and "choosing" him (which I think she only did because she wanted Santana to chase her dreams and go to New York) those insecurities were further recognised. I think that's why she made the comments she made to Dani about "straying for penis". I don't think Santana was innately biphobic or had a problem with Brittany's bisexuality at all (she verbalises her support for it on other occasions), and though her comments were wrong, I think they came from hurt and worry. Because of previous experience with Artie and her later seeing the same thing with Sam, and because of her own insecurities, I think she used to worry Brittany would leave her for somebody else or love somebody else more. I also think part of that was what held back her decision in getting back with Brittany straight away, because she was scared to be hurt. This scene in the wedding talk shows the development and the complete 360 Santana has had. By now she's confident in Brittany's love for her and she verbalises that. She's confident in their relationship, in their future. She knows they don't need to follow any traditions or superstitions because their love is strong and valid, and nothing is going to change that or take that away from them. Another reoccurring theme that's put in this scene, is the way Brittany and Santana struggle with any form of distance between them. It's the reason they broke up, and it's clearly a worry for Santana as she mentions Brittany moving to New York and them living together on two separate occasions so it's obviously something on her mind. She wants Brittany in New York with her because she finds long distance too hard, and in this scene she can't even go an hour without seeing Brittany before the wedding.

So to sum up, I'm so grateful for the S6 episodes because they really did tie everything up for us and it gave us most of the things we asked for. I really love the direct parallel's back to the earlier obstacles they faced, and I love how we got to finish their story seeing their relationship in a solid, strong place with lots of mutual love and appreciation, as well as seeing Santana comfortable and happy with who she is and secure in her relationship, and Brittany able to express her love and feel it back from Santana without any of the earlier fear, beards and confusion.

If you made it to the end, honestly congrats!!!

[residentraccoon]

Fave 2021 national finals songs

Since I don't have anything better to do with my life at the moment I decided to ramble about stuff. Okay, here are my thoughts about my fave songs from the national finals of 2021, in no particular order!

Norsk Melodi Grand Prix

• Monument was my absolute favourite and I still can't believe to this day that it didn't win :( Keiino are fking fantastic and they killed the stage (though I kind of preffered the black outfits from the 1st heat over the final ones, they suited the song's athmosphere better). I cried real tears when I saw they lost, for real. Heartbreak 💔

• Hero was such a nice throwback to 80s music style, the staging was also really neat. Would love to see Raylee come back next year in the selection, she has a cool stage presence

• Okay but Vi er Norge was a banger and I'm still listening to this one, a real shame it didn't even qualify nor win the 2nd chance round. As you already knew before, I have a weakness for violins because yes. The performance was so energetic and fun, should have def qualified. Underrated.

• Ut av mørket/Fallen angel was really good too. I wanted it to be kept in norwegian for esc but oh well. The stage show was just a tad messy but memorable.

• I can't escape was something I'd hear from Roxen ngl, the style matches her perfectly, even her cursive singing, everything. Either way I loved this one too, this song feels like a hug.

• Pages was so magical, I'm glad we got another joik song, sadly this didn't qualify 😥

• World on fire was kind of generic but puts me in a good mood everytime I listen to it, it's really catchy.

• Let loose is so g r o o v y and cool, it was my fave from the 1st heat when I got to listen to the songs. I'm lowkey happy it advanced to the final instead of Elevate, I'm sorry but I saw everyone praising that one in youtube comments, I never saw the hype, it was too regular and plain for me.

• Own yourself was so cute and funky, loved how it showed her ethnic background a lil with that disco sound.

• Witch woods...ehhh...While it's funny and unique, I think it's suited more for a witch Disney musical than Eurovision. But I like it anyway.

• Faith Bloody Faith oh yes I needed a rock song in this nf. Relieved it won the 2nd chance. Oh and I just realized, the superfinalists in mgp were literally the ones from the 1st heat. Crazy huh?

• Nordlyset is something I'd listen to near a fireplace with a cup of hot chocolate in hands watching the snow fall in my cottage located in a forest far away from civillization. So soothing and beautiful <3

• Eyes wide open was epic just like his 2020 viking schlager song (i prefer his 2020 song over this one but that's another story)

Melodifestivalen

• Little tot was amazing but def not as good as Bulletproof. It's still catchy asf and one of my favs from this selection.

• Dandi Dansa aka a banger, again another catchy song.

• Every minute sounds like a summer hit, it's awesome. It's also the spawner of all those haha eric on a kitchen tile memes I've seen around during that time.

• The world and especially Sweden wasn't ready for the masterpiece called Rena Rama Ding Dong. They should tone down their preference for safe pop songs and choose meme worthy songs like this one in the future tbh. They didn't even qualify, Sweden = coward.

• One Touch is a fun club track, I can see this as a summer hit as well. But her stage show...go girl give us nothing

• In the middle, once again The Mamas delivered.

• And finally Voices, which its nf staging was superior to the esc one. We are so sorry Tusse 😔

Festivali i Këngës

• Zjarri Im a total banger, it wasn't even in the top 5 ffs Era Rusi queen.

• Njësoj has such a nice party vibe, should have qualified.

• Haven't paid any attention to Karma until it won, then I said hey this isn't so bad, it's traditional and ethnic, I can actually see Albania in the final with this.

Dora

• Rijeka was the only one I thought it will win by a landslide and I was surprised it didn't. The staging was a bit too over the top, though

• Tick Tock grew on me after it won and quickly became one of my faves of this year's esc. I'm still sad it didn't qualify 😔

• She's like a dream is super uplifting and also sounds like an 80s song.

• Colors is something I heard a million times before but for some reason I'm jamming to this? Also I heard she's blind, is it true?

Eesti Laul

• Took me a while to have a fave from this nf but after some listens Magus Melanhoolia stole my heart 🧡 it's so different from the others and the staging looked so proffesional.

• Lost in a dance had me d a n c i n, I noticed we had a lot of 80s throwbacks in this nf season, this included. The live was so dissapointing though 😔

• Not so keen on 6 at first but now I absolutely love it, she has such a nice style and the song's athmosphere is so magical.

• Time was amazing, surprised it came 2nd!

• I actually liked The lucky one lmao, I found it much better than his previous entry.

• Heaven's not that far tonight was the party 80s bop we didn't knew we needed

Dansk Melodi Grand Prix

• Probably my biggest letdown of this nf season but I actually managed to like Står lige her, digging the electro 80s (again) sound

• I also liked Øve os på hinanden as well, this one really feels like a legit 80s track rather than a throwback.

• Silver Bullet was interesting as well, it was the early frontrunner when the songs first came out from what I remember.

Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu

• I love you is so wacky and catchy, and in finnish! I'd hear this as a soundtrack in an old video game.

• Dark Side was the definite winner ever since I heard it, and they even got a top 10 finish for Finland for the first time in years! Couldn't be more proud 😭

• Hurt was also one of my favs, Aksel needs to come back to esc, maybe in 2022 methinks 🤔

• Wait what is Laura Põldvere, an estonian singer tm doing in finnish nf? While I liked Play, I knew it wasn't strong enough to win, and she even came last. Do you get any flashbacks from another estonian entry with the same name that came last? 👀

C'est vous qui decidez

• Voila was the clear winner and that's about it, she deserved the win, it's just too beautiful for this world 😭

• Alleluia was an interesting sound of afrobeat, too bad their chances were killed because of messy staging :(

• Amour fou was so catchy and I loved the horse head thing lmao

Pabandom iš naujo

• Discoteque all day any day. The Roop world domination 💛

• Where'd you wanna go is so calming. I listen to this when I'm stressed and it works wonders, this was really beautiful.

• Open is so unique and soothing, a total contrast from her 2014 entry.

• Never fall for you again is a total earworm, even now as I'm writing this...even if I haven't listened to it since February.

Sanremo

• Zitti e Buoni was my instant fave, it simply stood out from the others by a lot.

Festival da Canção

• Por um triz is a beautiful ballad, was my fave.

• Saudade was the early favourite, reminds me of Telemoveis with its weird but artsy style.

Israel NF

• ...I really only liked Set me free tbh.

• La la love had a good potential but I can't not cringe at the corona reference like...ugh. Such a fun party song killed by one lyric, such a shame.

Russia's NF

• Just Russian Woman was the only one who deserved to win.

Spain's NF

• Yeah, they were both good but I liked Voy a Quedarme more.