#but also do i really *want* to know me? ive got grievances with the me i do know

[skellyflowers]

Too Many Beds

Ployvessels x reader

The world tour is going amazing. We just finished the Australian leg where IV really stole the show. Our next destination is America. We got a flight and landed a few days early so we could recover and be ready for the next part of the tour.

Management got us a hotel to recover in. The room would be purchased home for the next two days before the tour starts. We kick off in Las Vegas at a music festival. Check in was a quick process and we were given our key cards and room numbers in no time.  Wait numbers? Like more than one?

If I wasn’t so jet lag l would have said something earlier but I didn't really pay attention. I  wanted to take a shower and get a nap. When we get to our room I take my bag to the bathroom.  II and IV planned to go get a drink at the hotel bar and III wanted to go to the hotel casino. Vessel is only one without a plan, so he is either going to stay with me all night and get room service or wait until I fall asleep and join the others. 

The bathroom is pretty big, it has both a shower and a bathtub. I put my bag on the counter and went to report the information to the boys.

“The bathroom is nice. Shower and tub are only big enough for two.”

I was expecting to hear III moan out a complaint about no group showers. However that is not his main grievance.

“There are too many beds! And they are all too small!” He yells.

“What do you mean too many? How many is too many?”

“THE NUMBER IS NOT IMPORTANT V!”

Vessel and IV watch us talk back and forth. Both clearly trying not to laugh.

“What III means,” interrupts II, trying to defuse to tension “That we have 4 Queen size beds in two rooms”

“We have two rooms?” I ask, still confused.

“Yes they are adjoined right there.” II points to another door that must lead to the other room.

Why did we get two rooms? It’s not like management didn’t know about the five of us and our relationship. We were not trying to hide it. We regularly turn the back lounge of any tour bus into a big bedroom.

“Relax, it's not the end of the world.” Says IV.

“This shouldn’t have even happened!” III grumbles. “We always get a king size.”

“It was pretty last minute. This may have been the best they could do.” I defend.

“That’s enough bickering.” Vessel finally speaks up. “V, go take your shower. We will wait and go get dinner.”

I do as asked and hope the boys calm III down. I decided to dress up a little and not get into my cozy clothes. All five of us go to one of the restaurants near the hotel. It was fun and really what we needed. Afterwards, we walked around the casino and played a couple of slot machines.  We eventually got back to the hotel room.

When I get ready for bed I finally check out the adjoined room. As I expected the room is exactly the same, just flipped. I walk to the bedroom and see that one of the beds is missing a mattress. I head back to our main room to ask what happened.

When I get there I see what happened. All of the furniture has been pushed into the corners, I assume that Vessel was responsible for that, and all three mattresses are on the floor. Vessel and II are making the bed. IV comes up behind me and gives me a hug.

“You ok with this?”

“Yes. As long as it makes your boyfriend stop freaking out.”

“When he’s like that he is their boyfriend.”

That comment makes me laugh. I am not sure how long we are standing next to the new super bed. The others are busy arranging blankets and pillows. I feel my eyes starting to drift close, all the activity from the day catching up with me. IV swaying us is also putting me to sleep.

My eyes open when someone grabs my hand. It’s II, he gently pulls me away from IV. Now it’s time to arrange the sleeping positions. III is in the center on his back, me on his right and II on his left. Vessel is my big spoon and IV settles next to II.

“Four beds really is too many.” I say.

“THAT'S WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT!”

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for always keeping my phone on silent?

I’ve been doing this non-stop since I (21 F) first got a phone (almost 10 years ago) because I always find the sound really jarring, even when it is on vibrate. I have ADHD and having sounds go off makes it really hard to focus especially because I have a hard time switching between tasks so once it breaks my focus it’s hard to get it back. As well, I’m a university student and the jobs I worked at usually wanted you to keep your phone off at work. I also can never remember to turn it off before classes/tests.

This was brought to my attention by my mother again recently. She is really frustrated because I can be difficult to contact. I can take anywhere from a few minutes to 7 hours to respond. Although when Ive gotten really busy Ive let it get past 24hours. This doesn’t happen often though and it’s usually because I saw she asked a question about something that I know I’ll need time to answer. My family have brought up there grievances many times in the past but I just could not do it. It’s so annoying to have to stop what I’m doing and then have to try to refocus. I only turn it on when I’m expecting a call but even then I just end up checking my phone enough anyways that it normally doesn’t do much.

Her argument is that I do not talk to her enough and that I won’t respond if there is an emergency. While it’s true we don’t talk often taking my phone off silent wouldn’t fix this issue, if anything having to stop everything to answer a text about student loans or other stresses she tends to bring up would just lead to me resenting her and wanting to talk less. We have an okay relationship but she has a tendency to put a great deal of pressure on me and also puts her own anxiety onto me. Additionally I don’t know many emergencies that wouldn’t be better solved by 911 then myself.

Most people I know only turn it on silent for certain things like sleep? Is there a way I can keep healthy boundaries with my phone and still respond faster? Do I need to respond faster at all? Or should I just get over myself and start setting the phone to only go silent at night.

What are these acronyms?

[retaurd]

So sorry if this is an annoying or repetitive question, but I’m in a similar family situation and I was curious if you experience maternal feelings toward your brother? Or if the knowledge that he is your brother and not your son is enough to stave this off? I’ve read accounts from surrogates where they develop a maternal attachment during pregnancy that makes the handoff of the baby really difficult. Was it easier since you’re not really being separated from your brother after birth? Again I’m sorry if this is something you’re tired of explaining, one of your posts about it floated across my dash and scrolling your blog for a while I haven’t seen any posts about it that could answer my questions without directly asking. Have a good one

hi! happy to answer, especially if it helps you in some way

to clarify, just in case: what i did isnt considered a surrogacy, but a gestational carry, because my own eggs were not used in any way. surrogacy, from my understanding now (because i had no idea there was a difference or that surrogacy entailed horrors when i started this ~1.5yr ago) is when a woman gives her own genetic material in the creation of the child, carries it, then the child is removed from her and raised by someone else. what i did was have a lil test tube guy, a week old fetus basically, implanted into me, a fetus that belongs(ed? he ain't a fetus no more) to my parents. all i did was help my mom out with gestating him. basically.

anyway to answer you: i've had a heavy hand in raising all of my siblings since i was about 12 years old so i think i have a weird relationship with maternalist feelings but i'll do my best to answer as clearly as i can because for me those waters are a bit muddied. for me the most clearly maternal i felt was immediately post-birth and i will explain. the entire time i was pregnant i was fine, i had a wonderful peaceful easy pregnancy (im pretty sure comparably, aside from a couple gallbladder attacks) without much stress or anxiety mostly, but the minute i saw him, and specifically saw other people, medical professionals, touching him, i got extremely emotional like rapturously overjoyed and then also extremely anxious. they had to take him a few times for a few tests, some examinations, a bath, et c., and i remember getting overwhelmingly anxious and upset that he was apart from me and that they could possibly hurt him because a lot of them are dumb as fuck but that's a separate grievance for another time

im lucky in that i have him half of the time, im with him during the night and early day and my mom is very very freely giving with him and i am as much involved as she and my dad are, just like with my other siblings. the first night i was home he was with my mom and i couldn't sleep just weepy and wondering what he was doing. literally. wondering what a newborn was doing lol. but after a few days for me this wore off as my hormones settled and my anxiety and worry relaxed about him getting hurt, that was a constant fear for the first like 4 or 5 days for me. sleeping helped my body and mind return to normalcy, i had a c-section so i am still recovering from that and my physical inability at the time also had something to do with my fears i think, i had this sense of inadequacy that i would fail him and being physically vulnerable didn't help

overall now, im fine i think. ask me again in a couple months though, who knows about then. i definitely get all the time with him i want or need. my mom from the beginning has been discussing the possible difficulty with me and i think ive organized things mentally well enough. i never thought of him as anything but my brother so i think that helped as well, i think if i wouldve basically poisoned myself into considering him to be my child it would've made things a million times harder as well as that being biologically untrue.

my parents trusted me to do this extremely important thing for them because i volunteered several times over the course of years and have worked to prove my responsibility to them. so it really felt like an act of love for me, i love them, i love my other siblings, i love the baby, i love everyone. all i wanted was to give more. and from the beginning my parents told me this isn't just their baby, it's 'our' baby, as in my whole family. thinking about it that way helped me too.

i hope this helped. i was very scared at some points and very nervous or fearful but nothing was ever as bad as i thought and i was never presented with anything i couldnt handle. please if you need or want to, come off anon and talk to me. im here for you if you need it, even if it is still anonymous but we are able to talk privately and i can do whatever i can to help, i'd be more than happy to. thank you for coming to me, i hope with all my heart that you're okay and your family too

[vanana-r0tat3]

I'm sorry for this weird question but can you please say how you'd describe Henry Stein (Batim) personality wise ? /gen

I have hard time understanding personalities.

And because of this , i don't know what to say about him outside of him being animator/Joey's ex business partner and Linda's husband .

I know about all bendy content ( read and played by myself )

I can note that Buddy has strong sense of justice and i can note that Audrey is disorganized based on her desk from prologue being a total mess. (my friends helped me with putting this together with some more things about them.)

But i struggle with Henry really badly . It's feels like a huge shame

no need to be ashamed of anything! henrys personality is also a bit bland at least in the games just because he doesnt do much but be the quiet protagonist you can project onto (much like audrey)

the way i see him though, he seems quite aloof but very determined. definitely the type of guy to overwork himself just to get the job finished

he also seems like he mightve been a bit of a people pleaser pre batim, but definitely isnt incapable of feeling distain. we know from his secret tape that he quickly got fed up with joey bossing him around as well as the strict deadlines, despite being a very reserved guy. though with him being so reserved he definitely isnt one to voice his grievances, he seems like the type to just keep his feelings to himself especially any negative ones

i imagine he just tries to hold it all in. i mean- seeing how he dealt with malice he really just sucked it up and pressed forward, but never really verbally expressed anger when he had every chance to

i feel like he just wants to help people but often takes on more than he can chew. hes willing to do anything to get home, ans he misses his wife. unfortunately with batdr i doubt thatll ever happen. hes clearly in much worse spirits when we do see him in batdr, the cycles and being imprisoned obviously took a toll on him

hopefully this makes sense! i also have trouble discerning character personalities, especially when theyre very reserved like henry or audrey is. whereas characters like joey, buddy, and sammy are much more intense in their own ways, which makes it easier for me to understand them

i also never know how to describe personalities so i hope i did a good enough job here 😭 maybe i could get more input from others either through replies here or in my ask box bc id love to see other interperetations of him

TLDR; hes determined, reserved, and even stubborn. hes adamant on sticking to his goals no matter how futile they seem. hes a tired old man that needs a break 😭 IVE ALSO GATHERED HE'S QUITE FRIENDLY WHEN HES COMFORTABLE as we see with buddy

[hellhoundlair]

Tagged by @saltbind @seanwinchester @deanwinchesterpregnant @applecrumbledore @math-should-die, thank you all for tagging me! (and sorry if im missing anyone!)

Last Song: i got carried away answering this because i have a lot of thoughts okay SORRY. im a big kate bush fan and i've been listening to this kate bush tribute concert on repeat recently. its insane to hear her songs with like a whole orchestra performing them its INSANE okay its so good.

i wont forgive them for kinda fumbling whats probably my fave kate bush song (sat in your lap, which is a very frantic and all over the place type song. i have no idea what type of direction they were trying to go with for their version of it, but all of the charm and chaos of it is lost both in the way of the orchestral arrangement and the vocal performance) or the goofy vocal choices they make in hounds of love. my small grievances aside though, i do love a lot of the fun new directions they take a lot of the songs (their version of babooshka is so much fun) and i have straight up bawled to this concerts performance of this womans work before on multiple occasions (its at 21:10 if you care to cry with me)

you can also watch their performance of running up that hill here on yt bc i know thats like the only kate song ppl care about lol

Currently Watching: i just finished watching all of the twilight movies with my sister and i enjoyed them way more than i thought i would. i had so much fun watching them i understand the cultural hype behind them now.

Currently Reading: this is embarrassing but i dont read many actual novels. fic-wise i've been reading Brothers by Sera_Necto23 because i think josiah @/twochildreninamoteldemo mentioned it a bunch and yeah its good. also yeah no i totally forgot but i downloaded Brokeback Mountain a few days ago, loved the movie for ages and wanted to read the book for a while, ive only read like 5 pages so far but im looking forward to reading more

btw if anyone has book recs (especially horror and books featuring heavier topics) pls 🤲 id love to hear them! i feel very illiterate when it comes to books like i feel i havent read a lot of classics so feel free to rec ur fave most fucking basic high school book report books i promise theyll be like brand new to me

Current Obsession: god i dont know ive been feeling a little burnt out lately so i havent really been feeling #obsessed with anything aside from supernatural but im sure you already know that

Tagging: not tagging anyone because i think like all of my mutuals have been tagged already (im kinda late to this)

[lepoppeta]

*Sits down at a desk like I've just arrived at a meeting* Tell me about your ships and their theme songs and your thoughts, for any fandom/ships you currently feel like rambling about, even if I personally don't know them. Don't hold back c:

hhh oh boy this… "dont hold back" i could simultaneously go on forever and also… not. what im going to try and do for this is concentrate on songs that could be applied to both sides at once, rather than one individual person referring to the other. im also not going to be too narritively focused. these rules help me to keep the ask response to a minimum; i dont really like writing obscenely long posts, and would rather categorise them more concretely.

(by coincidence, this basically narrows down my ship themes to just my bioshock pairings).

if you want to inquire about particular character themes in reference to their respective pairings, then dont hesitate to send another ask! that goes for anyone else reading this post.

that being said… shakes hand thanks for coming today and expressing you interest. we really love to see that kind of go-getter attitude on this blog!

since i asked you about DELTACLAIR themes a little while ago, i figured id repay you and start with them first. deltaclair i find to be very interesting because has the intense aesthetic of a soulmate au but without any sort of weird macguffin to go along with it; theyre simply two people who had an instantaneous connection and an initial sense of deep, unwavering trust. in a lot of media ive consumed concerning these two, they dont really care about their past actions (either for themselves or for the other), but rather focus on the present and how that can affect the future. its a very interesting dynamic and honestly not one ive explored before in any other fandom.

the night we met (lord huron)

i am not the only traveler who has not repaid his debt ive been searching for a trail to follow again take me back to the night we met

the melancholy nature of this song really drives home the directionless nature of themselves and their relationship. they just seem to exist suspended in time and space and outside of finding eleanor and getting out of rapture neither of them have any especially lofty goals to strive towards. sinclair never comes off as particularly ambitious, more placidly curious and perhaps mildly vengeful. delta is… well, delta.

and then i can tell myself what the hell im supposed to do and then i can tell myself not to ride along with you

despite me noting that they never seen to distrust each other, im sure there was a part in the beginning where both of them were waiting for the inevitable screwing-over. as they slowly get more comfortable with the situation theres still this lingering feeling of "i shouldnt be entertaining this at all" and yet they do anyway and its so brilliant and angsty.

like real people do (hozier)

i will not ask you where you came from i will not ask and neither should you

theres this silent understanding that ive always garnered between these two that some things are better left unsaid. sinclair has no idea who delta was before the alpha series, and delta knows that sinclair (chatty as he may be) is pretty tight-lipped at the best of times. its not that important information is being swept under the rug in lieu of a shallow fantasy, its more a silent agreement that bringing past grievances up isnt particulalry helpful. neither of them come across to me as particularly petty (although one could argue that sinclair is the Pettiest Bitch in Existence).

so i will not ask you why you were creeping in some sad way i already know

(see above for explanation)

devils backbone (the civil wars)

dont care if hes guilty dont care if hes not hes good and hes bad and hes all that ive got

delta and sinclair definitely come across as relitively apathetic about each others seedier choices, and quite readily move them aside for the sake of a survivable present and more important a fruitful future. theres simply a distinct lack of shits given, but in an accutely unyeilding way.

in comparison, JATLAS is extremely passionate and volatile compared to deltaclairs mutual, silent acceptance. their songs also tend to be a lot more narratively involved and arent suspended in space like deltaclairs are. they stand out more as individuals who happen to be part of a pair, rather than two characters viewed as a whole. dismissing the themes that contribute to the story rather to them just as inidviduals, jatlas for now only has one song.

exile vilify (the national)

youve got suckers luck have you given up? does it feel like a trial? does it trouble your mind the way you trouble mine?

atlas and jack never expected to be so important to one another. it all happened so quickly and so intensely that neither of them really stopped to consider how they felt about the whole ordeal until much later. they plague each others thoughts for entirely different reasons; jack has experienced a loveless existence (especially after his mother died) and atlas has never met someone who strikes him as fiercely as jack does. theyre the victims of poor luck and overwhelmingly shitty circumstances and all they have at the end of the day is each other.

[professorxsmokesweed]

What’s your opinion on the movie now that you’ve seen it?

oh boy.... what is my opinion! it's a terrible movie no one watch it is the short answer the long answer, which i am putting under a cut:

it's still a terrible movie! the plot.. the plot makes no sense! it is never explained! there's fucking ALIENS??? and i know. i know aliens exist and are involved in the comics. i know comics charles has an alien girlfriend at some point. they should not have been introduced this way!

i don't think we ever even got names for them? unless i missed them? i was just calling the main blonde one "alien bitch" the whole movie like what is going on..... moot found the answer thru google but i will be honest i forgot it like immediately and i know it was dumb as shit like verk or something

anyways. so right off the bat we got space shit and i was clearly supposed to be cool it just... wasnt to me probs cause the budget was $2 and they divided those $2 among paying the cast (having no budget it not a bad thing!!!! ive seen many good movies with no budgets!!! but here its like. they didnt care. also they gave the worst wig in the world to james.) im gonna move into characters now cause thats where my biggest grievances lie like even a movie about dumbass aliens would be bearable if the characters were good and thats often whats carried me through other xmen movies like apocalypse

i don't even know where to start this is such a fucking mess so im gonna start with charles!

uhhh charles was. fucking awful this movie. like genuinely awful i wanted to beat his ass at the beginning i do think charles can be manipulative and put a big goal ahead of the wellbeing of a person in the moment! i love charles having negative traits i love those traits being explored! this.... wasn't it and it felt very abrupt in comparison to the previous movies, which did not really touch on his more dickish traits besides the god complex & how he made raven feel + his awful coping mechanisms. it wasn't movie charles! idk who it was but it wasn't him! if they wanted to show him as a dick they needed to develop more they cant just Do That! raven! ohohoho my beloved raven... ive pointed this out before but the alt timeline is awful to female characters which is especially pathetic considering the og's came out 10+ years before them i cant believe movies from the very earliest of the 2000s did better but they did.. how are you worse than the movies you based yourselves on. back to raven my babygirl. i am so so so sorry you never had any real development or plotline besides the first class "accepting yourself" thing and then nothing actually solidly fleshed out since. the raven that lives in my head does. but thats not the raven in the movies and she got thrown back into her "i wanna leave and do something meaningful!!!" role which i found extremely tired. her and charles can have an extremely meaningful and nuanced relationship but the movies never actually go there and im miserable about it and in this one they just argue about shit they argued over in first class then she got fridged goodbye my sweet angel... sorry they made you say that stupid x-women thing as a throwaway #girlpower! moment at least you didnt live to see the aliens

(on that note i do appreciate the way they showed charles having a relapse with alcohol over her death. that was a small good detail)

hank was like. im glad he developed a spine this movie but also he was forgettable to me personally after the scene where he yelled at charles. him siding with erik was hilarious as fuck but im ???? idk i need to rewatch his scenes to develop strong opinions on him in this movie but im also never gonna do that lmao

erik my other babygirl im very glad the movie had you take a backseat i cant imagine what they wouldve done if he had a bigger role.... the scene where jean showed up was good until he valued the military's opinion more. my king would never. he was hot also in most of his scenes so good for him!!! the entire "im gonna kill jean over raven!!" thing... eh. if they showed us an actual strong relationship be that platonic or romantic between erik & raven it probably would've hit more but they didn't! and so it was just! i mean okay i guess! also very funny how he was sitting on his little gay socialist island like "i've found peace finally" but then they immediately had him go out to kill jean!

regarding the kids in general. i liked scott the most this movie but they were all very! idk the alt ones pale in comparison to the og's for me personally i dont think thats their fault i think its the writing.. it wouldve helped if they all got more than 10 minutes of screen time besides jean but they did not. there was just too much going on it needed Less

they almost had flavor with the entire jean & her little kiddy repressed trauma + her adopted father relationship with charles but it fell super flat probably because of the fucking aliens they also had to work in i think that plot line had the most potential out of all of them tbh

moving on from that the stair scene. that is the most ableist thing i have every fucking seen and i didn't even actually watch it the chat was going crazy about how awful it was so i luckily realized what was gonna happen and paused + skipped over it like im sick thinking of it even now and im abled so i cant imagine how disabled fans feel. whoever came up with that plague on your house burn in hell etc that sounds like a joke but its not i legit want to smash a car with a bat over it (for those that don't know, jean makes charles walk up stairs/drags him up stairs with her powers. she tells him to walk to her before doing this.)

the train fight was good as hell. and the proposal!!!! erik proposed!!! but im gonna say something unpopular: this movie was not worth that one minute of cherik. its like they stabbed me and instead of proper care they gave me a band-aid. anyways,

[jeysbvck]

top 5 911 episodes 👀

NINA I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO ANSWER THIS FOR LEGIT HOURS!!!!!!

there's SO many good episodes you know this alsksjdhduwua, these are NOT in order bc this was hard enough😭😅

1. the searchers (s3 ep3) - i don't need to explain why this is one of my favourite episodes, this was such an easy pick for the list. the whole tsunami arc really cemented this show as my favourite show, i was on edge the entire 3 episodes, the acting in it is sublime, and do NOT get me started on that last scene bc i will not stop!!!!! (if you know, you know, and i know you know nina!😏) this episode is the moment i realised i was going over the cliff with buddie and i couldn't stop it, even if i wanted to!

2. 911, what's your grievance? (s4ep4) - okay it was between this, buck begins and eddie begins. as much as i love the begins episodes, i chose this because of one scene; bucks "love me anyway" scene. i think about that scene at least twice a day, and every single time i watch it, it makes me tear up. we also get the adorable buddie being sherlock and watson scene!

3. survivors (s4ep14) - yeah i absolutely do not need any reasoning as to why this episode is here. the shooting, the will reveal, because, evan!!!!!!

4. may day (s5ep16) - seeing eddie being a firefighter again, and seeing him truly smile again for the first time was too much to handle, i was so emotional! not to mention sassy eddie (to josh), buddie rescuing the electrician together (you should take this act on the road!!!!), how they fell in sync seamlessly like they'd never stop working together and bobby saving may (he's my dad!!!😭) the episode had me so emotional and the twist I didn't see coming! (the death, not the jonah stuff cos we been knew that!)

5. hero complex (s5ep17) - this episode was absolutely anxiety inducing, i've never been so happy with how many adverts american tv has!! this episode really showcased hen and chims friendship, which truly is one of the best tv friendships ever, possibly one of the most evil things ive seen on tv (jonah, hen & chim scene), and on top of all that, we got to see sassy eddie again, & we saw him confront & reconcile with his dad! also shout out to domestic buddie (buck just chilling in the room for no reason while eddie packs, supporting him and giving him advice while playing with the dinosaur toy jfc they're really trying to kill us!)

i hope this list was worth the wait, it probably wasn't it's just me screaming about buddie, although honestly, this is why you follow me, not for concisely thought out questions or posts, just for me screaming into the void😅😅

[beukefarm]

This is a rough one. Do not read if youre sensitive to the topic of animal death! I know, I usually keep this blog very positive, but I feel like not sharing this experience would be an insult to the purpose of this blog, which is primarily a diary for our garden.

Here we go.

--

tw animal death

Our chickens hatched last wednesday. It was a lot of work leading up to this point, and it really paid off. 8 eggs incubated, all of them hatched. But of course, theres always a catch.

Nothing will ever go completely right, thats just life.

8 hatched, only 5 of them without issue. The very first one had trouble getting out of the egg, and we decided to help. Its doing well, its healthy, aside from some slightly deformed feet. Those are easily fixed, some tape to keep the claws in the correct position.

The last two..

they both had problems. They hatched late, first of all, almost an entire day. Both of them had deformed feet as well, and the last one couldnt stand up no matter how hard it tried. It was heartbreaking. We would prop it up, put it underneath the heating pad, and we'd just hear it flop over instantly. We would look at eachother, and we both knew where this was going to end. This is our first time hatching, but we read a lot and watched a lot of videos. This wasnt a fixable issue.

The guy who sold us the eggs, lovely dude he was, he gave us lots of tips, also told us what to do with sick chicks: rip the head off. Quick, easy, painless.

And of course we couldnt do it, because this little fluffball was only a day old and we still gave it our entire heart, and so we went to the vet.

It was a long wait, a saturday and lots of people and animals with their own grievances.

And suddenly, we got called in, and the vet told us what we already knew. The chances of survival for our little angel were slim to nonexistent, it was most likely a neurological issue.

Do you know how small baby chickens are? Have you ever held one? These little bundles of fluff and undeterred peeping, tripping over their own feet, picking at everyone and everything they can get their little beaks on.

Even the sick ones were full of life. Loud, flapping their tiny wings, stumbling -or crawling- along.

It was the hardest decision Ive ever had to make. Not my college major, or cutting ties with a friend Ive known for over a decade. The decision to end a beings life, especially of one who you love so so dearly, one who was meant to live a long and happy life under the sun.

I have a fishing license. Ive caught and killed fish before. But they had a purpose, they were food for me and my partner.

This little bird was not meant for this earth, and its so, so unfair.

It deserved to live. I wish it could have lived.

We were holding the little guy throughout our entire discussion. It was always so cold, the only thing it ever wanted was warmth. It would cry and cry if we werent holding it with warm hands, and it would fall asleep almost instantly when it had made itself comfortable under our fingers.

It just wanted to be warm and comfortable.

We called the vet in, our decision being made long before we had ever even entered the building. Yet speaking the words out loud was the most raw, merciless feeling Ive ever experienced. I wasnt even the one to say them, it was my partner who carried the weight. I was already struggling to hold back tears, I couldnt have spoken a word even if I wanted to.

I was holding our treasure, and handing it over to the vet took all of my willpower. She had a syringe, and the baby cried as it was injected. No turning back. No undoing. I couldnt just let it die in unfamiliar hands. I grabbed it as soon as the medication was fully administered, took it in my hands and let it get comfortable. My hands were warm. It stopped crying. It was safe with me. I wept.

We sat down, the chick in my hands, slowly drifting away into endless sleep. Its so quick, god, it was over so incredibly soon. I could feel that the life had vanished almost as soon as I sat down.

It had died in my hands.

My partner and I silently cried alongside eachother. He wiped my tears for me. My hands were still cupping the body.

We sat there for mere minutes, and yet it felt like hours.

It was the right decision, rationally were aware of that.

I hope theres a heaven for chickens. Im not a believer, I dont think theres an afterlife. But if anyone deserves it, its the two little baby chickens that were simply here in the wrong place, the wrong time.

We didnt put the second one down. It had died while we were at the vet with the other one. It came as a shock, we were hoping it would make it.

We buried two little birds that day, and neither of them deserved it.

My thoughts are with both of them, the one whose limp body I held in my hands until I couldnt deny its passing anymore, and the one who we found laying head down on the ground, body still tucked underneath the heating pad.

At least it was warm.

At least they were warm.

[minghellafine]

Full article below.

Spiral is now available on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, DVD, and digitally. The Saw spin-off stars Chris Rock, Samuel L. Jackson, and Max Minghella in the lead roles and is directed by Saw II-IV director Darren Lynn Bousman in his return to helming the horror series. While it exists in the Saw universe, it’s very much its own thing and provides a fresh experience.

ComingSoon Editor-in-Chief Tyler Treese spoke with Spiral star Max Minghella about the film, a possible sequel, his relationship with the Saw franchise, and much more.

Tyler Treese: I really liked Spiral and it’s this great mix of genres as you’ve got the Saw-type horror and the torture scenes, but the first half of the film is very much kind of like a buddy cop movie. Can you speak to that interesting blend of genre that we have?

Max Minghella: I was very excited when I started to realize that that’s the direction the movie was going to go in. I love buddy cop movies. I really miss movies like that. I had been craving it as a movie fan, so I was really relieved by that. And then I thought that the needle thread of the Saw franchise and the identity of that franchise into this other story was so brilliantly handled in very kind of successful, you know what I mean on the page. I can really see how this works and is very much the movie I’d go and see even if I had nothing to do with it.

You couldn’t get a better buddy cop partner than Chris Rock. He just has so much natural charisma. He’s so funny in the first 30 minutes of the film. Can you talk about your chemistry on set and how it was getting to have him as your buddy cop?

Yeah, I mean, it’s an insane privilege and he’s just somebody I love so much in every way. I love him as a actor performer. I loved him as a filmmaker and it was really fun just getting to have meaningful time with somebody you look up to so much and see how they work and pick their brain. I’m sure Chris got very bored of me badgering him with questions all the time, but I had such a good time getting to work with him. We really had fun together.

Before signing onto Spiral, were you a big fan of the Saw franchise, and what was it like coming into such an established series? It just crossed the billion dollar mark. What are the expectations of coming into a series like that?

I think it’s the first franchise thing I’ve done. I love franchises just in general. I love the concept of them. I love how they exist in film culture. I like the challenges of having to keep them alive and what’s about them and it really appeals to me. So that was just exciting, just fundamentally to be a part of a franchise, like you said, and sort of take on that responsibility, I suppose. I also love so much about the DNA of Saw movies, so I love the kind of whodunnit element of them. I love how sort of visceral it is an experience for an audience, especially when you’re watching it. It’s so fun to watch these movies with people. To answer your question about my familiarity with the franchise. I had seen several of them, but the one I’ve always loved, and I think I owned on DVD like way before being involved in this, was Saw II. I love Saw II. I’m a big twist guy, like a big twist fan, and that movie has got a great twist.

Spiral saw the return of Darren Lynn Bousman as the director. How exciting was it to get to work with him? He has helmed so many great Saw films in the past and now he gets to reinvent it here with you and Chris Rock onboard.

Yeah. It was great to have Darren back. He was such a smart choice. To have somebody who was one of the architects of the Saw aesthetic, which is a very specific aesthetic. I don’t think any other movies share this sort of visual technique. So there’s a lovely, I mean, I think the movie is a great blend of the old guard and then the new kids, you know, Chris [Rock] and Sam [Jackson] and Marisol [Nichols], myself, we’re all completely new to the franchise, but then almost everybody else involved has been there for a minute and it’s like a family, you know what I mean? It really does feel very kind of an intimate group of people and very familiar.

You grew up around movies, you’ve gotten to work with so many incredible actors, so I’m sure it’s not super often where you’re like, “Wow, I can’t believe I’m with this guy,” but Samuel L. Jackson. If that’s ever going to happen, it’s probably him. How cool was it getting to work with a legend like him and cross that off your bucket list?

It’s pretty cool and unexpected. This movie was sort of almost always a pinch yourself kind of job, to be honest. There’s very few days on set where I wasn’t like, I can’t believe I’m going to [do this]. Sam Jackson is truly one of the great actors of all time, it’s a pretty ridiculous situation to be in.

One thing I really like about your character is that he has these very valid grievances about police corruption and that’s a true-to-life issue. Spiral spotlights it, but it’s a very real issue and very timely for the society that we’re in. Did having that interesting backstory for the character really help you dive into playing this role?

I love when you have compassion for a villain. I think it’s so much more compelling than when they are impossible to relate to. So that was really important to me that when he said things. It was his own sort of mad logic to him, obviously the way that he goes about practicing his beliefs is completely wrong, but there’s something there sort of relatable I think to what he’s saying. That’s much more interesting always.

We see that in the original series with Jigsaw and Saw always had some social commentary and some interesting morality questions. Can you speak to Spiral also bringing those philosophical elements and how the series has stayed really interesting? It would have been so easy to just be leaning into just the gore element, but instead, you keep that philosophy and having the moral ambiguity.

Like you said, man, it’s so essential to the DNA of these movies. There’s John Kramer and he always had some interesting perspective on things and reasons for doing things. I think it’s essential that that sort of stays in it, even though Spiral is obviously a very different direction. I think for these movies it is its own story and its kind of its own sort of journey in a way, but there are certain things you don’t want to lose and that’s one of them. You want a compelling villain and I think compelling villains aren’t just being idiots with their point of view.

There’s not many people that can say they fought Chris Rock in a fistfight. How fun was that final fight sequence in the film, and you got the punch Chris Rock! How cool is that?

Again, man, it was all so much fun. Everything was so much fun. I just felt like a kid on the playground. It was crazy. I mean all of it’s like the stuff you sort of dream about doing as a kid. I think there’s a line in the movie where, “I started dreaming about this since I was 12 years old,” and I felt that was pretty resonant for me because I really have. I grew up with a Beverly Hills Cop poster above my bed since as long as I’ve been a conscious person. I really like movies like this where the genre movies have real stakes, but have a sense of humor and aren’t pretentious. It’s very specific to what I want to go and see.

Before we get the big reveal of yourself as the villain, we see the villain in a pig mask a lot. Was it actually you wearing the mask in those scenes?

That’s funny, man. You’re the second person to ask me that question. Yes, not always. I mean it depends on what we’re doing. But absolutely. As long as it’s not some big dangerous stunt.

There are some gruesome and really clever traps in Spiral. Did any of those stick out as a particular favorite for you and what was it like getting to see how they’re actually, with the movie magic and all that, how they’re actually concocted?

It’s dope, so cool. It’s really fun. The subway trap is my favorite. I feel it was really brilliant way into the movie, so cinematic, and that set was crazy sort of built that station. That was so cool. I felt like going to Universal’s studio tour thing. That was how I felt.

Saw fans are very passionate. How’s the reception been? You talked about this being your first franchise, how cool was it to enter that fandom?

I’ve got to say, I would be lying to you if I said I wasn’t anxious before the film was released. Obviously I felt a huge amount of responsibility to the fans of these movies and didn’t want them to feel let down by the performance. I’ve been so like grateful and moved by how kind of nice that community is. I mean, nice is maybe a weak word to use, but they’re really supportive. They love these movies. They’ve been really supportive of the movie and supportive of us, the new actors, and I’m very relieved and it means a lot.

With the way the film ends, there’s obviously some unfinished business between yourself and Chris Rock’s character. Would you be interested in returning for a sequel?

For sure, if there was an appetite for us to come back. I think we both love to do another one. But we did this without any expectations of anything beyond. I think it’s a very unusual ending and also very unique and exciting one. I haven’t seen something that sort of ends with such a pronounced cliffhanger. So I’m certainly curious to know what’s gonna happen.

For your other projects, you’ve got Babylon coming up, which has just the most incredible star-studded cast. It even has Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

I know. That’s cool, right?

It’s really cool. I believe filming starts on that soon. How thrilled are you to just get to work with so many talented actors on one set?

Yeah, man. Amazing. I’m a huge fan of Damien Chazelle and he’s sort of one of my sort of heroes. So I’m really looking forward to getting to be on set with him and see how he works. All of this is sort of like an education, you’re really just trying to work with people you can learn from and hopefully, we’ll make it better. I can’t think of a group of people to be around that’s more talented.

We spoke about passionate fans earlier. The Handmaid’s Tale has so many passionate watchers and Season 4 had a really shocking ending. What are you looking forward to the most in Season 5?

Season 4 is, by some pretty wide margin, my favorite season we’ve shot. I really loved the season. It’s funny because it’s an ensemble show, and as a result,I don’t know what everyone else is doing. I’m not there on set when everyone else is shooting that stuff. I play a pretty small part in the show, so when it comes out, I get to watch it like an audience member and go along for the ride. I just had such an amazing time watching it this year. I was so proud of everybody in the cast and crew. It was tough circumstances, as you can imagine, shooting during a pandemic and especially Elisabeth Moss just was incredible this year, really just took care of everyone and for it to come out as strong as it was, was really amazing. I never thought I’d be so excited to go into Season 5 of a TV show, but I get more and more excited every year as we get further into it and it just keeps staying so strong. It’s amazing. I can’t believe how lucky I am to be on a show that is that good.

It’s kind of rare to see a show building on its quality over time. Usually it peaks in Season 2 or 3, but like you said, Season 4 is the best one yet. It was very exciting as a fan to see how it’s going to continue.

Thank you. It’s amazing and that people are still watching a show and sticking with us. We are all so conscious. It’s sort of pathetic actually, whenever The Handmaid’s Tale cast talk about anything, we’re just all so conscious of how singular this experience is and how we can’t take it for granted. I think stuff like this comes along very, very rarely, and when you’re lucky enough to be a part of something that you like so much and other people seem to like.

Over the past five years, we’ve seen you find success as a screenwriter and a director as well. Working behind the camera and looking at the scenes from that different perspective, does that help your acting as well?

That’s a good question. I dunno. I don’t know if I can do anything about my acting talents, but it comes from a very simple place, man, because I just love movies so much. Just the fact that I don’t really know about anything else. Like if you asked me about where any country is on a map, I would have no idea, but I’m okay with movies. Like I kind of know movies and, and so I get impatient. I’m a bit of a workaholic and I just want to do whatever I can. So it would be on set. So we get to engage creatively and I can do it a little bit. It’s really different. Well, what I think is interesting about it is often have a day where I have to have a call maybe as a producer and then a call as a writer, then a call as a director, then a call as an actor, and each conversation I’m treated quite differently or my job is so different. Switching those hats is I think quite good and keeps you in check and keeps your feet on the ground and keeps you hungry and all that stuff. So I feel very lucky I get to do different things.

When you were growing up, one of your goals was to be a music video director. Is that something that you still want to wind up doing down the line?

I got to make a movie that I think exorcised a lot of those demons. So I have to be honest, I have less of a burning desire to sort of work in that space because I felt like I got to sort of express that part of me a little bit. That said, I love music videos. It’s one of my favorite mediums. The tricky thing, and I’m sure most people would tell you this, is that music videos have very, very limited budgets. When I was a kid, this was the year of like Francis Lawrence and Hype Williams where people were getting like $4 or $5 million to make these two-minute clips. Now when I’m sent music video stuff, it’s like the budgets are very, very limited. So you really have to be passionate about it because you’re basically going to have to spend money to make it. So to answer your question I would love to do some music videos, but I think there has to be things that I was really, really married to.

In the past decade and some change we’ve seen superhero films become all the rage. Would you be interested in those types of projects and are there any comic characters that appeal to your acting sensibilities?

I kind of like all kinds of movies. I don’t have a genr that I’m not into. Yeah, I’m totally open to that. I think as long as I felt useful ther., I mean, that’s totally how I approach everything. It’s not so much about the glamor of an opportunity so much as whether I think I could actually contribute something. If I can’t, I don’t think it’s helpful for me to do it, then nobody wins. But if there was a show that I felt like, oh, I could do this and maybe not sink the ship then for sure.

[bookwyrminspiration]

waitwait so ive been working on a future!au (and by 'working on' i mean 'constantly daydreming about but never writing') set in the same world as healer!tam and ive become...so attached to the idea of sophie becoming a councillor, but specifically before that being an emissary and going on assignments for both bronte and oralie. i just. i wants it!!! i feel like sophie would be the kind of person to keep pursuing what's right- as much as it would be painful, i dont think she'd say "fuck it" and stop fighting after the neverseen are gone. its just not like her. and i feel like, maybe after growing older and getting new beliefs and values and whatnot, itd be really interesting to see her both working with (and specifically for) two councillors, one of which is her biological mother (something she will never be able to tell anyone, and something she will always condemn oralie for) and the other is...well, it's bronte- he's the mean one, the cruel one, yknow, and i dont think he's exactly well-liked among the elven people. and her working for them, one hated and the other a traitor, and eventually taking one of their places, putting her in a position where she can enact the change they didnt (or couldnt, idk their circumstances) would just be....so good? i have no idea if im making sense here but...yeah. yeah. also i want to see sophie bonding with oralie and bronte. not necessarily liking them, but like. you know what i mean. i think.

but yeah. councillor!sophie.

- pyro

oof I know what you mean with that daydreaming thing. I've got an entire universe with ocs and everything that I guarantee will never make it onto paper. They're just going to live in my mind rent-free forever. Maybe i'll draw them one day tho--

that's off topic! anyways. I think Sophie as a councillor could have so much potential and the idea has fascinated me for a while, but it's a slippery slope between having her engage reasonably with the government and with a grain a salt and with the intention to make a change and with all the horrors they let happen in mind, and with her just becoming a councillor and giving in to what they want and ignoring all her experiences and thoughts for the sake of oo councillor!sophie!! at least that's how it is for me.

it like...it's so good but only if you approach it just right, if that makes sense. and you're right!! she'd do it for the right reasons. I don't think she's capable of resting, same way I don't think Tam is capable of stopping either. The two of them are similar in that sense: they're just going to keep going and going and going forever. They don't have an off switch. sophie is too opinionated to ever take a step back, not when she has such compelling morals that she literally can't ignore even if she wants to. They both have personal vendetta's against the system in a way most of the others don't. Sure, Keefe, Biana, and Fitz have been made aware that their world isn't everything they thought it was, but it was never working against them the way it was for the two of them. The others, Marella and Maruca and Dex feel like they want quieter lives. They either want things to go away or to deal with their problems on their own and actively say Fuck You to the system, not to fix it. Not that there's anything wrong with that, it's just different. Sophie broke the law when she was twelve! and essentially said she'd do it again--she's not taking a break just because the Neverseen are gone.

Sophie has had critiques about the elven world outside of the Neverseen--things like working class cities seeming unfair, not liking the matching system, ashamed of how Exillium worked, thinking the council isn't doing enough, etc. Her grievances aren't just with the dangerous rebels, it's with the system as a whole. So an opporunity to start fixing it from the inside out? She'd absolutely take. I think she might feel so guilty at passing up the opportunity later that she couldn't stand not to become a councillor.

also, your idea about her becoming an emissary is really interesting to me. i don't think Sophie would want to be a councillor (something something that one quote about the best leaders are the people who don't want to lead), not at first. i think she'd avoid the responsibility and possible restrictions, preferring to do things her own way. But working for the council? for Bronte and Oralie? that brings her a lot closer to the center of things, a chance to see how things work. she could compile a list of things she didn't like, things she wanted to change, so then when the opportunity arose for her to be elected she'd already be ready, knowing what she wanted to do and why. she's always had the drive to make change happen, and as much as she might dislike the idea of being a councillor and all the theatrics and appearances, it could be the best way to make those changes.

i'm kinda going off on my own tangent now so I'll stop, but I think the idea of sophie becoming a councillor has so many possibilities and avenues to explore that I love talking about it! because I did get distracted, if there's a specific part of your ask/idea that I glossed over that you'd want me to focus more on feel free to send me another ask because I'd be happy to talk more about councillor!sophie. pyro your ideas are excellent and I am eternally honored I get to hear them <33

[palmett-hoes]

hello!!!! how do u feel about the pairing of kevin day and allison reynolds, if u dont mind me asking

uuuhhhhhhhhhhh,,,

in all honesty i have very few thoughts on the matter

like i've scrolled past the handful of fics for them and seen maybe one fan art and just kinda went "okay" and moved on

it doesn't really do much for me, though i can definitely respect bi4bi relationships

so i did spend a little extra time thinking on it to answer this ask, and my conclusion is that i don't think it would really be a stable, healthy relationship, which is usually what i talk about when i talk about good ships bc i'm a romantic and a coward who tends to only like ships that i think should get married and grow old together

to comment on their dynamic though, i think they could be good bitchy, judgemental friends and i think allison would be a good person to pull kevin out of his head and force him out of his comfort zone and away from exy. as a romantic relationship though? i think she would steamroll him

look, i love allison, but she's a ball-buster tbh it's part of the reason i love her, she's totally unapologetic

we see it with seth, and later a little bit with neil, too: allison does not tip-toe around your problems, and she's not nice about confronting them either. she throws them right in your fucking face and she doesn't give a shit if you can't handle it. and then in return, she expects the same back. she likes to yell and she isn't afraid of being yelled at

in fact, the thinks that the yelling and the insults is all a part of airing out grievances. she's from a very stuffy, uptight world where no one actually says what they think, where issues never get addressed head-on and where resentment can fester underneath a smile for years or even generations

her attitude is a direct response to the superficial, two-faced world of the super-rich. it's a powerful statement of her own identity and individuality, and to her it's the most direct and most effective way to solve problems

unfortunately, this also means that her relationships with other people are going to be ROCKY

when she's upset, her focus is on feeling and expressing all of her emotions in the moment, not preserving someone else's. she doesn't care about harmony and she doesn't care about the long-term consequences of her words, but she also probably hits a lot of nerves that don't blow over in a day. just because she doesn't internalize insults doesn't mean everyone is like that

allison and seth had an explosive relationship, but they seemed to be on the same page about this, and it's probably because they were both the types of people that dealt with their emotions like this that their relationship lasted as long as it did. the other upperclassmen got used to allison over time, but it was rough, and it was clear in the summer practices in tfc that she wasn't always on their sides, and was just as open to starting fights with them as her boyfriend

and that brings us to kevin

kevin seems very tough on the outside. he's rude and condescending and judgemental and picky, just like allison. but unlike allison this attitude doesn't really go both ways. kevin is actually somewhat delicate

kevin is from an environment of open, constant criticism. of high achievers aiming for perfection. but that criticism wasn't a two-way street. he couldn't tear down riko or the master the way they tore him down, he could only transfer that censure by proxy onto the lower ranking ravens or take it to heart and internalize it

remember "As brutal as Kevin could be toward the rest of the team, he was hardest on himself"?

kevin has an inferiority complex enforced by years of abuse, and he's been taught to shut up and bend the knee to people with more power than him

i think that kevin and allison could go toe-to-toe, tit-for-tat for a while, but i think that there are lines kevin has that allison would be willing to cross that would bring him to his knees, and she wouldn't even realize. but once she did her relationship with kevin would never fully be the same

it's not the same as with riko, allison doesn't actually have power over him, but ince the association is there even subconsciously it would color the way he sees her. he would become afraid of her

she probably wouldn't even know what she'd done, let alone know how to fix it

but yea, that's my take on kevin/allison

i really think that kevin needs a partner who is supportive and kind. (in the same way, allison needs a partner who is confident and opinionated)

i think a good way to determine what someone needs out of a partner is what they look for when they're under stress.

when kevin is scared he seeks goes to abby. he seeks out comfort and compassion. he seeks out kindness.

people like allison or neil or andrew confront the issue head on. they prepare for the worst so they want the bitter, jagged truth

kevin wants to be told it's going to be okay

if there are any foxes that i think kevin would be compatible with, it's either matt or renee or maybe even nicky tbh. i also like,, just don't care for any of those options as ships so pls don't ask me for more on this i'm not about to become a mevin content machine

i'm also actually pretty shocked that kevin/jeremy isn't a bigger ship, given that it was all but stated out loud that kevin has a crush on him, and tbh it's kinda sad that kevin's crush gets written off as a joke because of the popularity of jerejean which ive spoken about my feelings on before. like,, jeremy is kind and genuine and fiercely committed to exy, and in just the one scene he appears in it's very clear that he's super familiar with kevin, knows that he's a grumpy asshole, and is extremely fond of him anyway

like,,, what's not clicking?

[radiovisual]

(( quick, post the introspective baby thoughts before all the mutuals wake up--

(( honestly like... im gonna try not to get Into it bc this post is abt my Alastor, but to preface, i just gotta say. The way fandom usually tends to approach the concept of canon characters having Babies has always Severely weirded me out, and i only recently figured out Why, and how exactly to put it into words.

(( its by no means a bad thing--its just fictional fun, i know!--but the portrayal of pregnancy and surprise children always being a very "oh no, look at this pregnancy test! Im PrEgNaNt, this is a travesty! I HAVE to keep it though, because everyone else wants me to so we can have a little tiny version of me to dote on a get into shenanigans about heehee haha!" Is... frustrating. To say the least.

(( and its... important to me, that You all know that when i talk about my alastor having kids, or wanting kids, that that's not the way I look at it. Thats not at all the way i envision it, or look at it. In another case of me being Classic Lil Old Me, a lot of these feelings i give Alastor are me projecting my own experiences with the topic on him, and me taking the opportunity to live them vicariously.

(( Alastor looked up to his mother, and by extension, his aunts and grandmother so, so much. Growing up he saw them all go through a lot of hardship, and still doing what they could to take care of their children, to keep them happy and safe, and to help them feel free and boundless--like they could go out in the world and do anything they could dream of. And he also saw mothers who clearly weren't ready to be mothers. Women who resented their children, and often only coasted by giving them the bare minimum, or were downright cruel to them. These experiences in his childhood were very formative for him as a person, and they sculpted his feelings on the prospect of having children quite a bit--in having seen both the best and the worse, he made the conscious choice that when he had children one day (never if--always w h e n), he would take these lessons he learned from watching others, and that he would use them to do his damndest to give his child the best, happiest childhood possible.

(( the main reason he never got around to it was because he was so apprehensive around men--particularly the ones stemmed from how his father was. His primary source of information on how fathers were was in his own--a man who was inexplicably possessive, volatile, and unforgiving, who expected to have total control over the lives of both the mother and child at all times, regardless of marital, living, or financial status. He expected everything to belong to him simply by virtue of having added a single ingredient to the family pot. And while they were less drastic or important in his formation of these feelings, Alastor noticed a watered down version of this mentality in pretty much every adult man he met in his entire life--and it didnt sit well with him in the slightest.

(( an overbearing, abusive father who refuses to back off would throw a major wrench in his plans to give his child a worry-free life, as you can imagine. As would financial troubles--though he would admit, choosing to pursue a career over family was moreso an excuse to keep his mind of his father anxieties--and the fact that he was just too nervous to try to find a solution to that problem.

(( and then he died. And he never got the chance to go through with any of his plans. That lost opportunity, that grief over wasting his chance, was another othe the puzzle pieces in the collage of grievances the spurred his explosive reaction to arriving in hell, and the destruction and ruin that followed.

(( he doesn't know it, but because ive decided to go through with making him half hellborn, ive also decided that he does have the potential to get pregnant still--just to sooth my own aching heart. Even if it never happens on this blog, just the potential being there makes me happy. And should be ever find out--he'd be very happy too. And far more eager to actually pursue that wish of his, likely without much thought to how being in Hell will complicate matters and make his goal that much harder to achieve.

((If it happened, whether or not hed regret it would depend quite a bit on the specifics of the situation--but that regret would always be for failing to think it through, and forcing his innocent child to live a life condemned without any way out. Not for realizing he didnt really want children. He's spent his whole life thinking about it. Hed never expect it to be easy, and he believes that fact is important to the experience--and perhaps indeed even the point. That he should be able to handle all of the bad things, so that his child wont be the one suffering through them.

[vampireqrow-moved]

hey so I agree with a lot of the stuff in your post about the transphobia involved in the origin of the pansexual label, but I just have one question: what are the actual impacts of people with good intentions calling themselves pan? If you don't hate pansexuals and consider them bi, why type up a paragraphs long manifesto on the harms of the origin of the label if it means the same thing in the way that most non transphobic people (your audience) use it? a lot of identities can be used in transphobic ways (like bi and lesbian and anything really) and plenty of valid identities from problematic roots and evolve over time as people use them differently (queer, transsexual). so how is a person with good intentions using a not-perfect label in a way you don't like a threat to the community? if someone is using the label pan transphobically, wouldn't their bigotry exist independently? if pan people do not act in transphobic ways besides using the label pansexual, realistically what is changing if they call themselves bi beyond holier-than-thou aesthetic activism? plus, a blog on the internet isn't going to get everyone to stop identifying as pansexual, especially considering multiple prominent celebrities ID as pan. so why spend all that energy quibbling on semantics because some bi people use a slightly different word when you could be worrying about Literally anything else? just feels like you want to find something to argue about lol. extremely disappointed that I had to break a mutual

im going to respond to each thing you bring up chronologically- im not trying to nitpick or prioritize certain things you say ill just forget things if i go out of order and i dont want to miss something important. ALSO! i will be typing less formally (like keysmashes and shortening words n stuff) in this response than my og post bc its 1am as im starting to type this so im tired but i want to be clear that i am like. taking this seriously and im not like. mocking u in anyway if it could read that way?? i hope not but just in case anyways here it goes!

in terms of actual impact people with good intentions identifying as pan: honestly im not  sure the full scope of the impact this has, so ill only be speaking to what ive personally seen which might not be all. but like... id argue my younger self has good intentionals iding as pan. i wanted to support trans people, even if i didnt understand a lot of the nuance involved. as a result of this, i developed a sense of superiority over other bisexuals and a mentality that bisexuality was a primitive and lesser sexuality. that mentality is harmful, and although im not sure if it affected bisexuals around me (of which there are many most of my friends are bi ajfjfjf) its still a harmful mentality and can easily hurt people even if i specifically didnt. also using it even with good intentions, which i know many people have, still spreads and further normalizes a label that imo can not be separated from its transphobic origins. this effect is not as extreme as other forms of transphobia and biphobia by A LONG SHOT. the bi community faces a lot of other issues but that doesnt mean this one isnt worth addressing if that makes sense?

if i dont hate pansexuals: ik this is part of a larger point which i will adress but i specified this in my post bc i see a lot of other posts that are negative towards pansexuality have "i hate pan ppl" somewhere in it or a close equivalent. i do not shame these ppl for their anger, i just wanted to be clear i think a lot of pan ppl are bi ppl with good intentions choosing a label they dont fully understand based on a misunderstanding of bisexuality.

why write a paragraphs long manifesto on the harms of pansexuals origin: ok 😭😭 the real reason here is that im literally just bad at summarizing. like thats literally it. i also like talking, its a bad combination. plus ive been thinking abt this for like. over a year im not even kidding and just like i have a lot of thoughts and figured if i was going to bother making my own post instead of rbing someone elses that i might as well get everything i wanted to say off my chest. ALSO BTW i literally got an ask like a week ago that was several paragraphs long asking me to explain my thoughts on why pan was harmful and some other stuff so like. this is partially responding to that and partially just me wanting to air my grievances ? idk if thats the right expression 😔😔

why write the post if my audience of people who identify as pan arent doing it in a transphobic way ? again sorry i didnt really understand the phrasing so i hope this is a vaguely correct summary!! um but like... again imo i think pan cant be separated from its transphobia and like. again imo iding as pan is like. a transphobic action/choice? obviously one transphobic thing does mean someone necessarily is like officially a Transphobe (it CAN be depending on the action but i dont think that applies here) but that doesnt mean there arent problems with what they did. this is like very complicated, but like. someone doing something harmful without the knowlege that its harmful doesnt make that person a bigot by any means it just means they didnt know. and i feel thats the case here? a lot of ppl (myself included until recently) know next to nothing abt pansexualitys origins so a trans inclusve sexuality might seem like a safe and good bet just because they dont know too much abt it, and like? i cant hate those people cause that was me for 5+ years and djgjfjdj you just dont know what you dont know!

basically i think iding with a transphobic label is inherently a singular transphobic action that doesnt make the person transphobic by itself, but is still a transphobic instance.

a lot of identities can be used in transphobic ways like bi, lesbian, etc.: this is true and a point i attempted to make on my original post, but i might not have clear enough. my issue with pan is specifically that it is a transphobic response to a preexisting identity. lesbian isnt an attempted trans inclusive indentity that replaced an identity that already existed (which have many trans ppl identifying with the og label). transphobes can use whatever labels they want, but transphobes using a label vs a label having a transphobic origin is very different. bigots use inclusive and supporting language for their bigotry all the time but language that originated with that bigotry is worse.

many valid identities stem from problemstic origins (like transsexual and queer) but the words evolve: ok my paraphrasing is a little weird there. anyways. the thing here is that. those are slurs. reclaimed slurs that can be empowering to many people, yes, but slurs nonetheless. reclaiming a slur is taking a harmful word and wearing it as a badge of pride. first off, pansexual is not a slur (ur not implying that in anyway just. saying) and it isnt being reclaimed when people dont treat it as having harmful origins. transsexual is the way some people identify but ppl acknowlege its a slur and originates from transphobia. ppl love to act like queer isnt a slur, which is an issue in and of itself, but just. factually it has historically and is currently being used against ppl with the intent to hurt them. pansexual isnt on the same level as these and other words like the f slur, d slur, etc. pansexual originates from trans and biphobia WITHIN the community and not outside of it, and most pansexuals dont see themselves as reclaiming the title because they dont think anythings wrong with it in the first place. and reclaiming it just seems unnecessary considering its history? theres no empowerment from using pan as a label as opposed to queer or transsexual, and it just divides the bisexual community for no reason.

how is a person using a not-perfect label a threat to the community? ok i dont think its a threat but still an issue if that difference makes sense? id like to reiterate a few things ive said before, but for me personally, it made me look down on bisexuals and see them as lesser, and it made people around me see pan as the "trans inclusive" sexuality as opposed to bisexuality, and basically its usage just leads to further biphobia. is this the worst of biphobia? no!!! but its still biphobia and why not attempt to target and minimize that? i have no way to singlehandedly stop biphobia, but my post might get through to my friends who id as pan and that small thing is better than nothing.

if someone used the pan label in a transphobic way, wouldnt that bigotry be different from people using it not transphobically?: someone claiming all bi ppl are transphobic and only pan is the acceptable label is obviously a lot worse than someone iding as pan and saying bi/pan solidarity but again, the second isnt not an issue because the first one is a bigger issue, its just a smaller issue in comparison. i wouldnt say the bigotry is different, one is just worse than the other, but it still has the same problems.

if pan people dont do anything transphobic other than id as pan then what changes with iding as bi over pan other holier-than-thou activism: its just one less person using a transphobic label? which isnt that big but it might lead to their friends stopping iding as pan and cause fewer people around them to see bi as a transphobic identity. which is small scale stuff, i wont try to blow it out of proportion, but thats still a step in the right direction and hopefully more people follow with it. its not terribly huge or lifechanging but something small that may only affect the people close to you is still something rather than nothing.

a blog the internet isnt going to get people to stop iding as pan: oh absolutely not. honestly i expected to get unfollowed/blocked more than change peoples minds regarding the pan label (im surprised i only lost two followers so far honestly) but again, someone literally asked me to do this and i wanted to be clear on my stance on the label, since in the past ive been supportive of it. im not expecting the post to get more than five likes, its more directed to my followers rather than the internet as a whole. im not expecting a large impact, im hoping to change the minds of my followers and friends who id as and support the pan label. thats it. if something bigger comes from it- great! but thats not what im aiming to do.

prev point + many prominent celebrities id as pan: the first name that comes to mind is someone im not a fan of for separate reasons but thats irrelevant. i mean im repeating myself a bit but some celebrities in the past validated and made me feel excited abt my identity as a pan person when they came out, and it justified the label to me, even when i had doubts. i have never interacted with a celebrity and do not plan to change their minds abt their identity. again, my post was for my friends and followers and maybe who ever was scrolling through the biphobia tag and decided to read my post.

why spend that much energy worrying abt the pan label instead of something else: ive spent waaaaay more energy thinking abt a singular meme i didnt like regarding my favourite rwby character so like. maybe i just overreact to things lol. maybe i have a lot of energy and since i cant talk my friends ears off abt my favourite fruits or the different voting methods i learned in my math class or what would dreams taste like, then i gotta put my energy into something. idk. i have a lot of energy and honestly? this didnt take that much. but i felt it weighing on me as my friends talked positively abt the pan label, when i felt guilty for the superiority i felt over my bi friends INCLUDING my best friend and favourite person in the world so like. i spent enough energy worrying abt it, and like. in hindsight since its been over 12 hours since posting it, im thinking abt it less. i was more worried abt feeling dishonest with my friends than actually worrying abt pansexuality, but i figured i owed them an explanation for why my feelings around it had changed.

just feels like you want to find something to argue about: okay i DO love arguing but im not pulling this out of my ass for fun. its in response to posts ive seen on my dash, asks i recieved abt pansexuality, and my way of letting people know my views have changed and why since i know at least some people are curious.

i am sorry to lose a mutual as well, and i genuinely hope things go well for you, but uh yeah thats that.

again, if people have further questions im willing to answer them i just might take a while bc i have school and other stuff 2 do but uhhh yea sorry if im clogging ur dash sjfjfkkf

[morganaofcamelot]

If Wishes Came True (Chapter 4)

Title: If Wishes Came True Chapter IV: Killer on the Loose Pt.II

Fandom: BBC Robin Hood

Ships: Guy of Gisborne/Original Female Character, Guy of Gisborne/Marian of Knighton, Original Female Character/Original Male Character

Definately an AU - Sir Guy of Gisborne has served the current Sheriff of Nottingham for five years prior to the beginning of the first season, and is considered a part of the family, both by Vaisey and his daughter Valerie. The chapters are from Val’s POV, as she struggles to maintain her youthful innocence in a place that’s all too willing to steal it away from her, and navigate the intrigues of her father. [Many changes from the show, although the fic loosely follows season 1]

Important Note: English is not my first language, so I’d appreciate if you can point out any mistakes I make.

On AO3

Tumblr: Ch I, Ch II, Ch III

Valerie had never seen the guards being so agitated; they ran from corner to corner, checking even the cracks on the walls. That a stone cold killer was hiding in their midst unnerved her; Lady Marian’s stay was also suspicious – Sir Edward was forced into an early retirement, in favor of Vaisey of Nottingham. Maybe her grievances were extended to her person, as well.

The situation laid heavily on Valerie’s soul – on the one hand, she was afraid of the elusive killer who had escaped her father’s justice. On the other, Valerie had made the decision to keep a close watch of Marian. What better way to do that, than to ask for the pleasure of her company in this dire time?

Lady Marian had agreed, and so the two women strolled about with two handpicked guards to protect them should the need arise.

“Your father believes it is Robin Hood is responsible for yesterday’s attack?” Lady Marian asked. Valerie contemplated her answer; the spring air carried the scent of flowers in bloom, and the sunshine felt warm on her face. It was easy to get distracted in such a rare spring morning. Lady Marian seemed to have little patience for it, though. “Lady Valerie,” she said tartly. “Are you not listening?”

Valerie clicked her tongue. “I heard you,” she quipped. “I have thought it over, and again in my head. That Robin Hood is the assaulter, is about the only thing that makes sense.”

Marian was not completely satisfied with her companion’s answer. “Yes, but why? What is it that makes you think he is the culprit?” She pressed.

“Well, I have seen the murderous look in his eyes myself, when he aimed an arrow to my father’s heart.” Valerie offered. “Furthermore, the use of bow and arrow rather gives up his identity. And he knows how to move around this castle unseen. As I said, it makes sense.”

Lady Marian shook her head in disbelief. Why are you so keen on discrediting the facts? Then, Valerie braved a question she wouldn’t otherwise dare to ask.

“You were once betrothed to the man, isn’t that right?”

The older woman paled and Valerie wondered why. It wasn’t a secret, and if it was, it was a poorly kept one. “I-I…Yes. It was a long time ago, and we broke off the engagement when he went to war.”

The younger one lowered her head. “Did you not believe that he would come back?” she asked in a low voice. Her thoughts strayed to Sir Guy, her brother in all but blood. Had she never worried about his well-being while he was off doing her father’s bidding? Had she not cried in the privacy of her bedchamber, when days had gone by and no news of him had reached them?

Valerie had done all these things and more for a man who wasn’t even promised to her. She remembered how her heart ached, making it impossible to sleep. When she was younger, she had told herself that she felt this way because Sir Guy was the closest thing to a brother, and a friend. As of lately, she had found herself to be mistaken.

It was Marian’s voice that brought her back the solid earth and the grim present. “I guess I did not want a man that would choose war over me, and he thought it his duty to release me.”

Yes, Valerie thought. I can understand that.

“May I ask you a question, Lady Valerie?”

She nodded. “Your lord father, he is not particularly fond of women. I have heard him speak with less than favorable terms of them. But what about your mother?” Marian’s inquiry took Valerie by surprise. It was an attempt to change the painful subject of being discarded in favor of warmongering.

“Oh, he loved my mother, there is no question about it. He often told me that the only other woman he would give his heart to would be I. He kept true to his word, even as the fancy ladies lined up, seeking his approval.” Valerie recalled with a smile on her face. A strange time, it was, when her father was first proclaimed a sheriff. He had barely spared them a look.

“What happened to her?” Marian asked with genuine interest. She has lost her mother, too. Valerie reminded herself.

This was an old, painful memory Valerie tried to conjure. She was burning with fever at the time, and she was really young. She only remembers her mother’s coughs, and the blood that trickled from her mouth.

“She suffered a very bad case of consumption,” Valerie started. “I was four or five, at the time and suffering from this malady myself, although my bout was much milder. She died a few weeks after, while I was still bedridden, but well on the road of recovery.”

Marian offered her sympathies. “I never got to know my mother,” she said, sadness heavily laced in her voice. “She died from childbed fever.

“I am very sorry,” Valerie offered, patting Marian’s back. Marian’s answer was a smile. “Shall we start back? Lunch will be served soon.”

“Yes,” Marian said. “I am very hungry.” A giggle escaped her, and Valerie mimicked her, musing on her feelings about this very strange woman. She has charm in abundance, Valerie’s mind supplied. No wonder Guy is so taken with her.

They made their way to the castle courtyard, their hands adjoint, their spirits a little lighter. It all changed when they neared the steps.

The familiar woosh of an arrow flying was heard. A grunt of pain from behind them; one of the guards had been shot straight at the neck, the wooden shaft protruding. Valerie saw him gurgle on his own blood, and turned her head away. She did not like the sight of blood. Their other guard drew his sword, but he was rendered useless when another arrow hit him on his sword arm. He screamed in pain and dropped his sword.

“Go!” Valerie shouted to Marian, grabbing the sword of the dead guard. “Now,” and the women raced up their stairs, holding their skirts. “We should split,” Valerie suggested. “I’ll go this way.” Without waiting for a response, she ran. She just hoped Marian would know to hide, since she isn’t the killer, apparently.

The sight of a guard a few paces away was a welcoming sight. “Guard!” She shouted with all the authority her status gave her – she was after all, the lady of this castle. “Raise the alarm. Hood is here!” She was frantically panting, her breath winded from all the running, and her chest burning from the spring dust. She had survived consumption, but long-lasting effects still remained with her.

The guard had not move, instead he just examined her. She was close enough to him by now, her mind slowly settling in. “Are you deaf? I told you to sound th-“

The gleam of steel flashed before her eyes. The guard was raising his sword to her. By instinct, the forgotten blade in her hand was raised to block the violent assault. He seemed surprised, as if he was not expecting her to be able to defend herself. She thanked Guy and his lessons, they might just keep her alive for a few moments longer.

Taken aback as he was, he was also quite determined to kill her. Valerie used the little time she had to correct her stance, to better face the traitor. She hadn’t been taught any offensive moves, but a loyal guard might come to help her. Then, a flurry of attacks hit her one after the other. Most she parried, albeit with much strain, others she blocked, and some slipped by her, despite her best of efforts. Still, there was no sight of help.

She held her sword with two hands now, because her right hand – her sword arm, Guy’s voice supplied – was tired and burning from the exertion. This was not as she had practiced in the abandoned side of the stable with Guy. He had been going easy on her, all this time.

Her breathing was heavy, too heavy. It made her head with swim. Still, she could not give up now. She was Vaisey’s daughter, and if there was one thing her father had taught her was to never give u-

She felt the blunt of the blade hit her straight on the side of her head. She was engulfed in darkness before she hit the ground.

***

When she came around, she was lain on a very uncomfortable kind of bed – too narrow, with no mattress or pillows. Her head ached as if the whole castle had fallen upon her and the buzzing of voices didn’t help.

A grunt escaped, attracting their attention.

Her father’s voice was the first she heard closely to her ear – somebody had come to save her, after all. “Hush, darling, you will be alright. The physician had assured me. Just some cuts and bruises, is all.”

“Father,” she said and opened her eyes. There he was, standing upon her, his hands cradling hers, the concern written all over his face.

Just as her head was relishing the sudden quiet, the thunderous voice of Guy was demanding answers.

“What is going on here? Three people have been killed under your nose!” he demanded. Curious, Valerie raised her head a little – it was Sir Marcus that Guy was raging against.

The master-at-arms was cool in his response. “It is unfortunate.”

“Unfortunate?!” Guy was now seething with the eerie quiet menace. “Valerie’s life was in peril and you call that unfortunate? It is incompetent!”

“And what have you achieved, so far?” the other man challenged. “You have discovered a food storage, some layabout outlaws roaming the woods, a few hastily ridden off horses, but Hood is still on the loose.”

“At least I have found something! And I have not endangered the lives of those in this castle”

“Stop it, you couple of women!” Her father hissed. “Be rest assured, Gisborne, that Sir Marcus will be held accountable for this, but not now. This is not the time to fight amongst ourselves.”

Sir Marcus bowed his head and left the room. Sir Guy was offered a goblet of wine from Lady Marian. He silently thanked her and drank it with one long gulp. “Lady Valerie,” he said, approaching the stretcher. “How are you feeling?” His voice was not devoid of emotion, but in her state she could not figure it.

“I-I,” her throat was dry. Realizing this, Sir Guy passed her the water from the table. Her father helped her sit uptight, his touch tender. She took small sips at first, but her thirst was awakened soon. She emptied the goblet. Better, she thought. “Cuts and bruises, Sir Guy.” She said slowly. He exchanged a glance with the sheriff, which Valerie did not miss. “Although I feel like my head has been split in two.”

Her father hastily assured her that everything was alright and that she should rest. The physician had declared her in good health, and that tomorrow morning he would examine her again and then order her to her chambers.

It felt too good to be true. “What about the guard that attacked me?” She asked, remembering his passion in seeing her dead. “Was he an associate of Hood?”

Sir Guy wanted an answer to this, as well, she knew. He had been out with his men chasing the blasted outlaw. “He certainly sympathizes with his cause, but he hasn’t been very forthcoming insofar. I hope that now Gisborne is back, he can make the man talk.”

The black-clad knight nodded in agreement. “On my way, my lord.” He took Valerie’s hand and kissed it in a true gallant fashion. Then he retreated, sparing an apologetic look at Marian.

“Was he truly a guard, my lord, or was he an impostor?” Marian’s question held some suggestion in it.

From the way her father pondered on it before giving his answer, made Valerie believe that none of them had thought of it so far. “Sir Marcus will undoubtedly figure it out – after all, he is the one responsible for every recruit. Him – and the Captain of the Guard.”

So, Valerie concluded, nobody had thought of it, so far. “If he is a corrupt guard, then he should hang, isn’t that right, father?”

He reassured her. “He will hang either way.”

Her head hurt from all the thinking she had to do. If only he’d been a little more forthcoming with information, she wouldn’t strain her mental capacity that much. “Which means that you are keeping him alive, in hopes that he would give you names. Names, like his likeminded peers and so on.”

The sheriff smiled. His daughter was smart, indeed. “Yes, my darling daughter. This is exactly what we’re hoping for.”

She found it in her heart to smile. The left side of her face wasn’t cooperating as much as she’d like to. “But, how would be able to tell whether the people he gives up are genuine peers of his? He could easily name the most loyal to you, in hopes of weakening you and the defense of this castle. He will still hang, but he’ll take a few men with him.”

The shock on their faces was evident. The sheriff recovered quickly, however. Before he made some speech or another, Valerie spoke again.

“Can I have a mirror? There’s something seriously wrong with my face.”

Her father agreed with a grim, tight smile. It didn’t bode well for her, she knew. Lady Marian produced a handheld mirror, gingerly offering it.

Valerie’s fingers felt weak, but she closed them around the hilt all the same. Steadying her breaths, she dared to look at her reflection.

The moment she gasped, her father placed his hands on her back, soothing her. It was a most hideous sight to behold and as soon as her gaze lingered on the large mauve bruise that covered most of the left side, the swelling accompanying it, and the little scar that above her eyebrow, where the sharp edge of the sword had met with her head, a stream of tears fell down her face. Lady Marian quickly took the mirror off her hand and her father embraced her.

“Hush, my darling,” he was almost pleading. “It will soon pass.”

And to think that Sir Guy had seen her like this…

She wished that she could kill that guard with her bare hands. She wished that he could inflict the same pain upon him. She took solace in the thought that her father would deliver justice on her behalf.

[mcheang]

School trap

What if Feng Jiu was present when Dong Hua showed up at the classroom?

Feng Jiu stared in surprise at their guest teacher.

There was no way she was greeting this man after he left her in the valley.

When Xiao Yan looked like he would lecture Dong Hua and stop him from falling into the trap, Feng Jiu interrupted him.

“Xiao Yan, this immortal isn’t worth talking to. Don’t waste your breath.”

Xiao Yan looked angrily at Feng Jiu but she is staring expectantly at him and almost pleadingly.

“But he-“ Xiao Yan tried again.

Feng Jiu tugged on his sleeve. “Please? For me? If not we will get into trouble.”

Xiao Yan understood her. He would get reprimanded by the teacher.

Teacher: Hmpf. The two of you are so arrogant and rude. Who do you think you two are?

But then Meng Shao had to suggest Dijun host the class outside.

Dong Hua eyed the trap floor.

Meng Shao felt his 2 new friends glaring at him from behind his back. But what did they know? This was Dong Hua Dijun, they couldn’t risk offending him!

Dong Hua agreed.

Dong Hua provokes Xiao Yan until Feng Jiu tugs him to be silent.

The teacher falls into the trap anyway.

Feng Jiu sighs. “There goes my name in the contest.” She then looks at Dong Hua regretfully like why couldn’t he have been the one to fall into it?

While the students get the teacher out, Feng Jiu escapes.

Or at least tries to. But Dong Hua keeps blocking her.

Feng Jiu: 让开

Dong Hua: shouldn’t you take responsibility for your actions?

Feng Jiu: you’re one to talk! You kidnapped me and left me here for months. If anything, you are the role model for procrastination!

Dong Hua: so you are angry about that?

Feng Jiu: I have no time to talk to you. Get out of my way! Xiao Yan, run interference for me!

Xiao Yan: Hey, Ice Face, leave her alone! I’ll fight you in her place.

Feng Jiu: Xiao Yan, 加油!

Feng Jiu escapes while Xiao Yan summons his sword and points it at Dong Hua. Of course, the students pretty much restrain Xiao Yan who finally airs his grievances.

Dong Hua, unhindered, pursues Feng Jiu.

Feng Jiu realized she is at a disadvantage outside. So she heads home where she can at least set traps for her teacher should he come knocking.

Dong Hua again appears in front of Feng Jiu but she just keeps running around him. When he keeps on appearing out of thin air, Feng Jiu is frustrated and transforms into her cute fox form and pounces on Dong Hua, before jumping off his shoulder and smacking him in the head with her tails.

When Feng Jiu finally makes it to her home, she turns around and tells Dong Hua; who is unsurprisingly behind her, that he can’t enter because he isn’t invited. So stay out.

Dong Hua invites himself in since he is a guest teacher chasing after a student.

Dong Hua finds the door locked so teleports inside.

Ah, turns out Feng Jiu is rushing around her house, laying out booby traps.

If the teacher forces his way into the door, a bucket of cold water will drench him, leaving time for a swinging hanging plant to knock him back outside.

Feng Jiu rushes past, carrying a chair. “Why do you show up when you are not wanted?” She is too busy to pay attention to Dijun.

Dong Hua: you are amusing to watch.

Feng Jiu: your majesty must be truly bored in the ninth sky to actually seek me out for entertainment. What happened to your love of fishing or reading?

Dong Hua: finished already.

Feng Jiu: speaking of fish...

She heads off to the kitchen. They could make launching projectiles.

Feng Jiu: if you are just going to stand there, at least stand to the side and don’t block my way.

Dong Hua finds a chair and sits down.

After half an hour, Feng Jiu has finally finished defending her front hall. Exhausted, she sits down opposite from Dong Hua and accepts a cup of tea from him. (He had brewed the tea while watching her)

Feng Jiu: and now I wait.

Dong Hua: how long do you plan to stay here?

Feng Jiu: until Xiao Yan or Meng Shao tell me it is safe to leave. If not, I will have to start planning to lock the teacher somewhere until he promises to behave.

Dong Hua raised an eyebrow at that.

Feng Jiu: I’m hungry. Would you like a snack?

He may be an unwelcome guest but she would be a gracious hostess.

Dong Hua: Yes, I would.

Feng Jiu prepares some cakes.

Just as it is put on the tables, they hear angry footsteps.

Teacher: princess Jiuge, come out and face your punishment! Show your face like a proper princess!

Feng Jiu just ate a cake and gestured for Dong Hua to help himself.

The teacher opened the door, and naturally got soaked and chilled, and smacked by the swinging plant.

Coughing, he cursed. “You still show no sign of repentance! If I fail to correct your behavior, I will resign from this post as a failure.”

Doggedly, the teacher headed back into the hall. Again. And again. And again.

Watching from the kitchen, Feng Jiu asked Dong Hua in concern. “How many traps do you think that guy can stand?”

Dong Hua: about as many as you have set up. And I can see a rope in his hands. Looks like you can’t run away after all.

Desperate, Feng Jiu turned back into a fox and cuddled up to Dijun’s hand, whining.

Her fox form was very cute and very fluffy.

Dong Hua petted the princess. “I don’t do things for free. Do you think I have forgotten how you pushed past me, let alone that you set a trap for me before that?”

Feng Jiu huffed, before turning around and nudging the now empty plate of cakes towards Dong Hua.

Dong Hua looked at the plate for a while before returning his gaze to her.

The teacher finally endured the last trap and came stomping toward the kitchen.

Feng Jiu changed back to her human form, sighing in resignation and annoyance. All trace of pleading and helplessness gone from her pretty face. At least she would go down with her chin held up.

Teacher: Aha! Ive got you, you impudent student! (spots Dong Hua) Ah! Dijun! Greetings.

Dong Hua slowly turned to look at the teacher. “There is no need to punish her. Princess Jiuge will be serving me for the rest of my stay here.”

The teacher protested, “but that honor is usually reserved for the Musician-“

Dong Hua looked at the teacher, whose eyes shifted between Feng Jiu and the king before comprehension dawned on him. He smiled and quickly left.

Feng Jiu’s mouth was open. “I wasn’t offering to be your Chef. I was saying that since I made you cakes, you should do something nice for me also. And you owe me more than I owe you!”

Dong Hua: too late for that. Besides, I’ve decided I like your cooking.

Feng Jiu: I am not moving out. And Xiao Yan won’t tolerate you either. So your plan is a flop. Oh well. I have to go look for Meng Shao now. He promised to take me and Xiao Yan to lunch. I assume you are going back to the school?

Dong Hua: I have some arrangements to make since you disrupted the class schedule.

Feng Jiu: you disrupted my life schedule. 告辞

And with that Feng Jiu walked out. Dong Hua found her livelier than before.

When Feng Jiu and Xiao Yan returned home, they found Dong Hua in Xiao Yan’s residence.

When they complained, Dong Hua mentioned Xiao Yan would be living with Jiheng.

Pausing, Xiao Yan turned to grin at Feng Jiu. “All’s fair in love and war.”

Feng Jiu just made a face. “That doesn’t mean I have to be Dijun’s Chef.”

Dong Hua: did I mention that I am the judge for the contest.

Xiao Yan has already left but Feng Jiu haughtily crossed her arms. “Xiao Yan already told me how you took advantage of him to do your chores. I am not falling for the same trick.”

She stormed off. Dong Hua just stared after her. Maybe he should ask Lian Song to retrieve an amnesia potion for him.

Meanwhile, Jiheng got a shock to see Xiao Yan instead of Dijun.

In the end, Dong Hua threatened Xiao Yan he would switch places again unless Feng Jiu cooked for him.

Xiao Yan begged Feng Jiu until she relented.

Jiheng is sad to know Dong Hua prefers Jiuge’s cooking.

Feng Jiu also takes Jiheng’s place for tea class despite having no experience since Dong Hua is insistent she learn where he can keep an eye on her.

To make matters worse, Feng Jiu can’t join her friends at restaurants since she has to cook for Dong Hua. If she tries to go out, he will call her back inside, demanding a random dish or for her to serve him tea with her new knowledge.

On the bright side, she still manages to arrange for the fruit theft with Xiao Yan.

Downside: Dong Hua interferes.

After Feng Jiu falls ill, Dong Hua tends to her and she can’t think of a reason to escape because she is in her own bed.

Feng Jiu herself also tends to Dong Hua’s arm wound.

Then comes the restaurant scene. Feng Jiu relishes the chance to eat with her friends again. Jiheng serves Dong Hua soup out of concern that Jiuge doesn’t really know what Dong Hua likes to eat.

Lian Song’s brain: after spending weeks together, i am pretty sure Feng Jiu knows what Dong Hua likes to eat. And he obviously prefers her cooking.

Feng Jiu doesn’t understand why Dong Hua feels jealous. He has tried her meals and cakes before. And Jiheng has already made his favourite soup. Why is he still unhappy?

She assumes it is because he is also in the mood for cakes.

And things continue as canon