#but the other two are adult (20 and older) and 15/16

[marimareepy]

heromari kisses

wip sketches. (fore)head, neck and mouth

muah muah

[r0achlezbian]

i'm sorry but i refuse to view kids being weird about sex as an actual societal issue. like the whole "puriteen" bit i've seen around here, i really don't think it's that big of a problem or that deep, teenagers are gonna have weird opinions about sex and sexuality because on the whole it's new and intimidating and complicated to them. + teenagers really do not hold that much societal power and it's batshit to imply or outright state that the recent wave of conservative outcry and legislation against lgbt folks and sexual expression is like, the fault of teenagers who don't like bdsm or think puppy play is weird.

[emma-o-yt]

Rick Riordan's problematic age gaps

Apparently reddit hates criticism because this got removed from there after a few minutes, maybe I can get it back up...anyways.

The age of consent in Texas is 17, Texas is where Rick lived (according to wikipedia) up until 2013. And yet...here we are.

Where do I even begin with this bullf*ckery? How about the most egregious of all?

Luke and Annabeth

We have two lines confirming their mutual feelings, one from The Demigod Diaries:

"Overtime, Annabeth developed a crush on Luke. As Annabeth got older, Luke developed feelings for her, too."

Mark of Athena (from her conversation with Venus):

"First there was Luke Castellan, her first crush, who had seen her only as a little sister; then he’d turned evil and decided he liked her—right before he died."

Now let me remind you, Annabeth and Luke have a seven year age difference, they knew each other at 7 and 14. By the time he died, Annabeth was just 16, while he was 23. And it's implied he begun returning her feelings a little before he asked her to run away, perhaps when she was 14. He's paralleled with Percy as Annabeth is his string in the river styx. He asks Annabeth explicitly if she loved him romantically (and she denies because Percy is there).

It's disgustingly inappropriate but at the very least they don't end up together...as for when they do...

Sadie Kane and Anubis

When it comes to immortal romance, I usually go for coded age. Anubis is thousands of years old but is mentally and physically 16, which is fine and dandy except for the fact that Sadie is 12. What do you want me to say except Rick is disgusting for promoting this.

Speaking of extreme age gaps:

Calypso and Leo

When you have a philosophy that every character must end up in a relationship, you run out of sensical options to pair up. Now, I'm a Caleo hater mainly because of how it retconned PJO and also because they are very toxic.

Now hold on, doesn't Caleo fall into coded age? Calypso is 15/16 and Leo is 15, so it's A okay! I suppose, if it wasn't for Calypso's past loves.

Odysseus, he had a wife and a son who was 20 years old in his final year on Ogygia, he is well into adult age. She also mentions the privateer Francis Drake and his wife Elizabeth, he was 45 when he married her.

If your defence is that she's actually thousands of years old, then that must also apply to Caleo. You cannot have it both ways.

Hazel and Frank

It's not that bad but it's necessary to mention for the point I will be making.

The timeline is messed up but I think they're 13 and 16 and meet at 12-15. I mean, come on.

Misogyny and Racism

What do these have in common? Well in 3/4 or 4/4, the younger one is female. In 2/4 or 3/4, the younger one is a person of colour.

Remember Nico? His crush on Percy as revealed in HoH? Well in MoA, there's a cheeky little red herring that happens a bit before Annabeth's talk with Venus (where it is revealed that Luke liked Annnabeth back). She wonders if Nico had a crush on her, but denounces him as too young. Now, Nico's age is inconsistent, I am unsure of his gap with Annabeth but I do know his gap with Percy. It's 3 years 5 months in PJO and 2 years 5 months in HoO (the series we are currently in).

So in RR's messed up mind, a white boy having a relationship with someone 2 to less than 4 years his senior is inappropriate. But a black tween girl dating someone 3 years her senior is just fine, a 12 year old biracial black girl dating a 16 year old is daijoubu, a 15 year old mestizo Latino boy dating an elderly woman is relationship goals, or the reverse a 15 year old girl dating middle aged men is a tragic romance and a 12 year old girl having mutual feelings with a 19 year old man is a "love story for the ages"!

The tv adaptation is so infuriating for this, they made Annabeth black, a lot of the changes they made came off as micro aggressions but especially her relationship with Luke. It's reduced to Luke simping for Annabeth behind her back and it's even worse because you can visibly see how large their age gap is. Heck, Charlie Bushnell and Leah Jeffries have a smaller age gap than book Luke and Annabeth.

Adultification is a huge real life issue. Children of colour and especially female children of colour are seen as less innocent than their white counterparts. Rick, who is dedicated to inclusivity should've known better than to include these illegal relationships. Stans will try and make excuses but it's there, deal with it.

As a black teenage girl who has been a fan of Rick's work for 12 years, I am disappointed.

[mondothebombo]

✨Small Canon Things in Ninjago That Aren’t Necessarily Important to the Plot, but Important to Me Pt 2✨

(in honor of the first post reaching 2.5k notes)

1. the reason the ninja can’t summon their elemental dragons anymore is bc they’re too traumatized

2. Kai takes laxatives

3. Lloyd felt responsible for Nya’s sacrifice

4. Morro took a shot while he was in Lloyd’s body

5. Cole’s favorite color is orange

6. Chamille, the master of form, is a “bad girl” post s4

7. the ninja were literal children when they waltzed into Chen’s tournament and proceeded to beat all the adult EMs in the competition

8. prior to seabound, Nya resented her parents for not being there in her childhood, her mother more so than her father (✨mommy issues✨)

9. Nya is hyper-independent as a result of her childhood; while Kai is more openly accepting to his parents because he has a better memory of them

10. Wu was close enough with Lilly that he could remember whether or not she wore a necklace

11. Cliff Gordon was a “womanizer”

12. Lloyd didn’t naturally hit puberty until s8

13. Cole and Jay are best friends

14. whether or not you see Pixane as a bf/gf situation in canon, they are canonically soulmates

15. Jay has not yet received his inheritance letter

16. at least up until the Merge, Zane’s statue is still in downtown Ninjago City

17. ninjago citizens are fully aware their only protection are six super-powered teens/young adults

18. the ninja are still famous, public figures

19. Jay is the only ninja who hasn’t died (yet)

20. despite being a terrible actor, Lloyd is always sent on the undercover missions

21. the ninja are on first name basis with each others parents

22. Cole’s favorite genre of music is soft rock

23. Zane has selective memory

24. after Nya’s sacrifice, each ninja depicted a different stage of grief (Zane-Denial, Kai-Anger, Lloyd-Depression, Jay-Bargaining, and Cole-Acceptance)

25. Cole never actually had feelings for Nya, he was just flattered by the attention and petty about Jay being mad at him

26. elements react based on the master’s emotions

27. Jay is so emotionally dependent on being around other people that he loses his mind when he’s alone for too long

28. Lloyd had a chat with god and wasn’t impressed

29. Cole’s snoring can be heard throughout the monastery

30. Nya is not a morning person

31. Kai and Skylor have been in a situationship since s4

32. Lloyd being the grandson of god is not common knowledge

33. the group of civilians that were on the bounty when Cole fell are probably the only ones who truly realize the danger the ninja put themselves in on the regular to protect the city, and how close they are with each other

34. Wu didn’t want to tell the ninja about the green ninja prophecy because he was afraid of having a repeat of Morro

35. since s8 at the very least, the ninja all shared a room on the bounty until the monastery was rebuilt

36. Jay’s confidence in his own abilities fully depends on what others believe he’s capable of

37. several villains have called the ninja out on being “just a bunch of kids,�� and then proceeded to get their shit rocked by said kids

38. the overlord can gloat to Lloyd all he wants to in crystallized, but fact of the matter is Lloyd defeated him when he was like twelve

39. Kai and Nya raised and took care of each other, it wasn’t just Kai doing all of the work

40. Kai is two years older than Nya

41. Zane’s biggest fear is losing his humanity

42. Lloyd’s biggest fear is becoming his father

43. Nya’s biggest fear is losing her individuality

44. Cole’s biggest fear is letting his family down

45. we the audience are the only ones who see the characters as legos; they’re real people in-universe

46. Kai likes spicy food

47. while elemental masters are immune to their elements to some extent, their elements can also be shown to hurt them in some circumstances

and as always, feel free to add on!!

[yamujiburo]

i think my main issue i've had with the F/F ship tournament is that a decent chunk of the ships in the tournament are between two characters that are both like 10-11 and i'm in my 20s and really don't care much anymore about any ship involving characters younger than like 16 like i really don't feel strongly one way or the other if these preteens kiss not that the ships or bad or anything i've just kinda outgrown them

That’s fair haha (ive also been mostly voting for the older women/not kids). the anime in particular definitely suffers from from having like,,, exclusively 10-15 year old protagonists and characters haha

but i do think there’s merit to enjoying a ship because of how their personalities mesh. i know a lot of people, myself included, like to imagine what some of the characters are like in the future when they are older! even when i was a kid and a big pokeshipping fan, i was mostly invested what they’d be like together when they were adults. there’s definitely fun to be had in just liking the dynamics between characters imo

[mxtxfanatic]

So I just did some math, and y’all got me fucked up. I’ve seen so much handwringing in this fandom about the age disparity between Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian’s body because “oh, lwj is soooooo much older than Mo Xuanyu, it ‘basically’ counts as a grooming that wwx was given such a young body and lwj is still attracted to him!”

It’s literally not true. Lan Wangji is around 33 at the start of the present-day plotline. Mo Xuanyu is 27. Y’all are so full of shit.

The math:

Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian are around the same age, give or take some months. They are 15/16 at the start of the Cloud Recesses arc, the discussion conference in Qishan happens less than two years later (16), the Wen indoctrination camp happens definitively when they are 17 (madam yu says so) a year later, then the Sunshot Campaign takes place 2 weeks after that with Lotus Pier’s fall. The war lasts for around a year or two, but wwx mentions he is 20 during the Phoenix Mountain hunt. This means he’s still 20 when he breaks the Wen remnants out of the labor camps 2 months later, and they abscond to the Burial Mounds. For Burial Mounds arc timeline, you have to go by A-Yuan/Lan Sizhui’s. A-Yuan is a teething toddler between one and two (jc deduces) in the Burial Mounds. He’s 15 at the start of the story 13 years later. The Burial Mounds settlement, therefore, lasts about a year. By the time of the siege, wwx should be 21 (again, give or take a few months). Thirteen years later, lwj is 33/34.

Mo Xuanyu, on the other hand, is given a definite age start. He is 14 when he is taken by Jin Guangshan back to Koi Tower. This happens after the siege but  before Nie Mingjue dies (Jin Guangyao mentions this in the chapt. 79 flashback during his argument with Nie Mingjue about Xue Yang), and Nie Mingjue dies a year after the first siege takes place. This would mean that Mo Xuanyu is 14 when the siege happens and, 13 years later, he would be 27 when he sacrifices his body to summon Wei Wuxian.

Mo Xuanyu is not some barely-legal young adult at the start of the story, and the age difference, besides, would be 7 years at most. The fact that this is regular discourse is embarrassing.

[mlbfemslashfebruary]

Miraculous Ladybug Femslash February 2024 is here…! 

I tried to include most female characters in these ship lists, including some newer characters from Season 5.

All main girls get at least one or two pairs, but some are more popular in this chart than others. Once again, f/f starring older female characters are double-booked to allow more pairings.

.

Rules:

• Any fanart, fic, playlist, or edit is welcomed in this event. Just tag your work #mlbfemslashfebruary or @ this blog so your work can be reblogged here!

• You don’t have to follow all the key words or ships for each day, they’re just prompts to help the creative process.

• If you have another femslash pairing you want to write over a certain day’s theme, go ahead! This includes creating content for poly femslash ships.

• Please no male characters or m/m ships that are genderbended. Male characters and slash ships get much more attention in fandom spaces than female characters and femslash ships. This event is supposed to help elevate femslash content, which is much rarer in fandom (and especially lacking in Miraculous Ladybug outside of a small handful of ships.)

• This event is meant to be for romantic pairings, but you can also write platonic or queerplatonic interpretations.

• No NSFW content will be reblogged for this event, but can still be created and posted on your own time.

...

Below is also a written out list of the prompts, for accessibility purposes and in case the image is too hard to see.

[Image ID: A calendar for February 2024 filled with prompts for Miraculous Ladybug Femslash February 2024. Each day has two prompt words and one f/f pairing, with some days instead having two f/f pairings to showcase adult women f/f.

Day 1

• Warm • Lipstick

Marinette/Kagami

Day 2

• Lovely • Blush

Aurore/Ondine

Day 3

• Wicked • Mascara

Juleka/Zoe

OR Olympia/Barbara

Day 4

• Fixed • Shirt

Kagami/Zoe

OR Emilie/Nathalie

Day 5

• Equip • Sweater

Alya/Sabrina

Day 6

• Method • Jacket

Chloe/Alya

Day 7

• Succinct • Jeans

Zoe/Fei

Day 8

• Lonely • Skirt

Marinette/Chloe

Day 9

• Successful • Shorts

Ondine/Kagami

Day 10

• Hold • Dress

Juleka/Rose

OR Amelie/Nathalie

Day 11

• Mercy • Classical

Kagami/Alya

OR Miss Bustier/Gisele

Day 12

• Lucky • Jazz

Alya/Lila

Day 13

• Belong • Pop

Chloe/Sabrina

Day 14

FREE SLOT

Day 15

• Faulty • Rock

Marinette/Lila

Day 16

• Enthusiasm • Hip-hop

Aeon/Alya

Day 17

• Brave • Country

Rose/Mylene

OR Miss Bustier/Ms. Mendeleiev

Day 18

• Learned • Lightning

Kagami/Chloe

OR Anarka/Penny

Day 19

• Giddy • Fire

Alya/Zoe

Day 20

• Beautiful • Ice

Chloe/Lila

Day 21

• Trace • Earth

Zoe/Mylene

Day 22

• Quaint • Air

Marinette/Zoe

Day 23

• Indoor • Light

Aurore/Mireille

Day 24

• Atmosphere • Water

Juleka/Marinette

OR Anarka/Claudie

Day 25

• Gentle • Hear

Kagami/Juleka

OR Nora/Clara Nightingale

Day 26

• Idea • Taste

Alya/Marinette

Day 27

• Redeem • See

Chloe/Alix

Day 28

• Lament • Touch

Zoe/Jess

Day 29

• Scrape • Smell

Marinette/Socqueline

End Image ID]

[spotaus]

New Age AU (Age Line-up)

Hello guys, I decided that I would put the guys into a (loose) comprehensive list of ages. This is all relative to whenever Nightmare first became 13 again. This is set 7 years after the coronation and Dream's banishment. (More Explanations below the cut)

So I'll start in the order of when these goobers met Night.

Ccino! He met Nightmare when he was born, and is 7 years older than him when they were children. Now, thanks to the gap in time (in which Nightmare appeared somewhere between 20-30) they have 14 years apart in age. Ccino is 27 at the start of the main plot.

Killer! He met Nightmare one year into his rule, almost on the dot. He is 25 when the main plot begins. (They met when Killer was 19. Killer was the correct age to be put up for death, a legal adult, while his partner in crime was too young and therefore was still imprisoned.)

Dust! He met Nightmare during his second year of rule. He is 30 when the main plot begins. (Dust was about 25 when Nightmare released him from imprisonment to help him learn about the black market.) Dust is the oldest of the Knights. Yes he gets teased ruthlessly about it by the others.

Horror! He also met Nightmare during the second year of his rule (though later in the year than Dust). He is 28 when the main plot begins. (He met Night when he was about 23, almost old enough to take over his family's farm, but his brother could handle it, so he chose to accept Night's offer and teach him to improve farms across the kingdom.)

Cross! Cross met Nightmare 5 years into his rule, and is 20 when the main plot begins. (His home kingdom collapsed when he was 16, he spent 2 years wandering with Ink, then met Dream. Dream asked him to spy on Night, and he was caught, so he met Night when he was just 18 and spent 2 years with him.) He's young, and he always kinda felt out of place, but the others adopted him in really easily, and the bond between a family is something Cross won't risk losing, so he's ultra loyal.

Error! Error met Nightmare 6 years into his rule, and is 15 when the main plot begins. (He ran away when he was 14 when Geno left, and was almost immediately scooped up by Nightmare within the same year. Hence why Fresh couldn't find him.) Error has very little time to acclimate to Nightmare's adult habits before he's slammed with the Young Night information (therefore he didn't have as many weird apprehensions)

The others and their connections to the others start... here!

Dream! Dream has been aging normally, so he is now 20! (He left the kingdom harboring him at age 15 with Blue, and when he returns to finally face Nightmare he's about 21.)

Blue! Met Dream during his second year in exile, and is now 21. (He left with Dream when he was 16.)

Ink! He has a crazy backstory, but he met Dream when he was 17, and brought Cross w/ him and stayed when Dream was 18. Start of the plot? He's 24! (Ink my beloved, he's crazy, and might be lying about his age, but for the sake of this, he's generally 24.)

Fresh! Age 22 at the start of the story. (He's only 7 when Error is born, and 21 when Error runs away.)

Geno! Age 32 when the plot begins! He leaves when he's about 30 to move and work with Reaper. (I'm retconning some things here, to say that the news of Error disappearing took over a year or two to finally reach Geno's ears. There are a few years worth of conflict between Dream and Night that need to pad out before Geno enters the narrative, so we're gonna say Fresh took a LONG time searching for Error before he finally told Reno the truth.)

Reaper! He's actually so so old. Like. Dusty musty old guy who acts/looks young <3. No canon age for him because he's so outside the range :)

[givemewallywestorgivemedeath]

figured i'd ask you since you're like, The Flash Fam Expert, but do you happen to know the rough ages of the flashfam? like i know irey and jai are nine, ace is somewhere in his late teens, and wally has to be late twenties at the youngest but i can't find many specifics on other characters and wasn't sure if you might be able to help!

OOF. That's a rough one buddy. You don't understand what you have just unleashed upon the world.

God. Alright.

Irey and Jai are nine physically and mentally. Chronologically speaking, they're still toddlers but don't worry about it.

Ace is around 17? Not yet 18 but older than 15. I would bet on 17 but 16 wouldn't be crazy either. Avery is the same age.

Jay and Max are over 100 but by how much, I couldn't tell you. They play their age close to the chest. Physically they look 50-60 though.

Here's where it gets tricky.

Barry, Wally, Jesse and Bart.

So, Wally would've been in his early 30's when his children were born. Definitely by the time Barry came back Wally would've been at least 30.

However, during the N52 reboot everyone got deaged around a decade younger, Wally included. Wally came out of the Speedforce wearing his Kid Flash costume, indicating that he was physically 19 at the oldest. It's been a few years since Wally emerged, so physically he would have to be around 21 at this point.

Wild! I know!

So yeah, Barry would've been... late 30's? Ish? When he died. He came back at roughly the same age and chilled for a bit. He would've had to have hit 40 at least by that point. But speedsters also don't really physically age? So he looked like he was in his early 30's.

The N52 reboot hit, putting Barry at... late 20's- early 30's. I would say, by now, that the man is at least 30. Potentially even 35. But he looks 25 because speedsters don't age. (Iris would be around 30)

Bart is going to be the most wild one here. Alright. I'm speedrunning this one, so if you don't understand what is happening, I'm sorry but it is too late for you.

He exits the time portal at physically 12, ages to 14 before stabilized. He ages to 16 at which point he disappears. He comes back as an adult for a year but is killed. He comes back, again, back at 16 and is allowed to chill for a bit (potentially a year), bringing Bart to 17 years old (physically) when Flashpoint and the N52 reboot hit.

Bart was somehow spared the ~10 year deaging but he wasn't spared the deaging entirely. Bart pops out looking around 12-14 years old again. He runs around for about a year ish, which brings Bart to physically 13-15 years old currently in comics.

HOWEVER, it must be stated that, like Wally and Barry, Bart's mental age has never been reset. His mental age did not reboot with his body, so mentally Bart is around 19-20 years old.

Jesse... Jesse is weird. DC likes to keep Jesse ambiguously young. When in doubt, Jesse is around the same age as Wally. So, currently she would be around 21. The same applies to Linda.

So yeah. It's weird because Barry was a guy in his 30's with a little baby ten year old Wally and there was at least a 20 year age difference there. And now it's maybe 9 years? But also Barry looks 25 because he's a speedster, so it looks like Barry is only 4-5 years older than Wally.

Honestly if you went off looks alone, it'd be Jay (50), Max (50), Barry (25), Wally (21), Jesse (21), Avery (16), Ace (16), Bart (14), Irey (9) and Jai (9). Which is WILD?! Their family looks like two gay dads adopted 8 kids. Other than Max and Jay, they all look within five years of each other. It's wild.

Speedster aging man... They just... don't. They don't age. They live on Neverland time 24/7.

[besaya-glantaya]

While the previous exorcism was fairly sucessful, new brain gremlins appear with repeated rewatches. So, here's another incomplete list of my rambling thoughts and favourite moments from the Red White and Royal Blue movie:

1. Breaking doors down to get a wedding cake through - actually a thing that happened. Well, almost. Prince William and Kate Middleton's gigantic 8-tier wedding cake was so large a palace door had to be removed to allow it through. Apparently the Queen was "unimpressed".

2. Henry snubbing Alex in the reception line at the wedding is hilarious. Way to ensure Alex doesn't fixate on you for the whole party, Henry. A+ job.

3. Alex drunkly navigating the wedding reception, swiping drinks, petting rich people and hiding foul smelling canapés behind furniture. Adorably comedic.

4. HeNnrrYyy!

5. Aww. I wanna see pictures of Jonathan the Shih Tzu too.

6. Shaan's scathingly dry wit is everything - I can see why he's such a great match for Zahra.

7. "No-one is more mystified than I" is another phrase I am stealing for people who exist purely to vex me.

8. Shaan shoving Alex bodily through the low hanging branches of a chestnut tree to stand beside Henry for a photo op. That had to be at least partially improvised on location.

9. Dogs in jumpers. This must be some British thing that I have simply failed to notice. Is this a thing Americans associate with the UK?

10. The ridiculously small child's costume that Alex is wearing for the puppet show in the hospital.

11. Alex saying "WRONG!"

12. Henry, on the phone, opening with "Good God, man, what have you done?" Honestly, is there any other response when your crush sends you a picture of a caged turkey, in their bedroom, in the small hours of the morning?

13. Nora strutting into the NYE party in that head turning, jaw dropping, red outfit. Stunning.

14. Henry's face after Alex tells him he's going to do "very bad things to him". Every single fantasy he's ever had about him and Alex is flashing rapid-fire through his brain and he just... overloads a lil' bit. Error code 54 [NETWORK_BUSY].

15. The emotional connection between Alex and Henry when they are making love in Paris. The eye contact, the unspoken communication. Ugh. Hats off to all involved - especially Robbie Taylor, the movie's intimacy coordinator - for creating this scene.

16. Alex, talking about being someone his father never had: "You can't know what that means." Henry responding with a heartfelt "I'm learning". Just... yes. All the yes.

17. In the mood for love might be one of the swooniest movies of all time, but it's heartbreakingly sad. It's a doomed romance - two people who are irrevocably in love but can't be together, trapped as they are by the pressures of societal expectations and their own psychological barriers. That this is a version of romance that Henry holds dear is telling and painful to think about.

18. Alex's bloodshot eyes when he's laying on his bed with Nora, hugging that cushion for dear life, pining hard for Henry. Did they do that scene after another intense emotional one? Were there lots of other teary takes of that same scene? Did they rub onions in Taylor's eyes? I need to know.

19. I often think that the core of who we are as teenagers - our hopes, our desires, the things we cherish - are the beings we settle back into as older adults after we're done trying to fit in or live up to other people's expectations. One of Alex's greatest gifts is helping Henry to reach out and reclaim those seemingly distant hopes and dreams. To dance with the person he loves, in a place of beauty that brings him peace.

20. I love the Perfume Genius cover of "Can't help falling in love". It hits you squarely in the feels.

21. God, the casting of this movie was a stroke of genius. Taylor and Nicholas truly become Alex and Henry on screen.

22. On the private air-field: Henry's little overwhelmed smile when Alex squeezes him in the tightest hug and tells him, "I love you, I'll be as patient as you need."

23. Immediately after 22, Alex leaning in for a kiss goodbye but pulling back quickly as he reads Henry's discomfort. Alex might not always understand Henry's reasons but (if he's paying attention), he's so very good at reading Henry's needs and responding to them.

24. In the aftermath of the email leak, Alex has been "hanging in there" - he's had people supporting him, with agency over how to respond. But Henry is understandably not OK - he's been put back in his box, and the Firm has taken over in all matters. There's one scene where you can see Henry shrinking, literally making himself take up less space at the table.  Poor baby.

25. Zahra to the rescue. Truly the MVP.

[commonsenseyouneedit]

Here are many controversial discussions regarding the owl house and its fandom.( I witnessed it during the show's run and it was my worst mistake ever going to online)

📌 Headcanons such as sexualities for example even though they're not integral much to the plot it's just there that being said they're more obsessed with having a sexuality given to a character than the actual arc/personality of the character themselves.

📌 I will admit the show has some flaws but the fandom just make it more obvious and worse. Flaws such as ignoring many characters , favoring one character than the others , introducing many characters late in the series, introducing plot points that are forgotten and never brought up again etc.

📌 Having criticism about the show and it's characters like we're the viewer not the writer.

📌 this character , episode , couple , plot , pacing etc is rushed well duh the show is cut.

📌 Obsessed with the other characters and ignore the main protagonist most of the time.

📌 The fans who drew weird stuff literally showing up in the feed showing how they are sexualizing minors for most of the show's run.

📌 Thirsting for the characters most of which are minors most of the show's run who are ages 12 , 14, 15 ,16.

📌 Ignoring and not respecting canon only what the fans believes go.

📌 Don't go to TikTok , Twitter , Instagram any application don't go search the owl house they have most questionable opinions and behavior.

📌The fans hate anything that isn't LGBT such as there are many people hating on a canon straight couple which is Hunter and Willow.

📌 Saying my headcanons matter I don't care what the show/crew said even though they're head canons meaning not canon. Even a question of fan answered by the creator where she clearly stated that it's just her headcanon but fans make a big deal out of it and treated it as canon without any evidence that it's canon. Remember if it wasn't shown in the show therefore it is not canon.

📌 Shipping like the show isn't about that but the fans literally ship two characters who barely acknowledged each other existence saying it's better than the already established couples such Lumity , Raeda and Huntlow. Even going so far do literally ship themselves with a character 😕 who is already in a relationship and make negative things to hate on the character paired with.

📌 Also the fans disregarding sexualities like Amity is lesbian and disregarding age gaps to like Gus you can't ship him with the others older than him he is literally 12 the entire series and now in time skip 16 which is still a minor while his friends are all adults.

According to the show

Gus - 16 yrs old

Luz Amity Vee - 18 yrs old

Willow - 19 years old

Hunter - 20 years old

📌 Fans having ridiculous reasons why this ain't gonna work for the show the character , the ship , the plot , the episode etc.

📌the fans saying some parts of the show are forced and fan service ie character, plot , ship , development etc. like the show is planned way before any fan can knew about the episodes. Like the episodes in the production process such as writing , ideas , concepts and storyboards are finished years before it aired.

📌 The fans being a hypocrite saying this show is better than that show even though the two show they're comparing are radically different.

📌the fans Blaming other Disney shows for the cancellation of the owl house such as Big city greens for example even though it existed way before the owl house aired.

📌Also the fans harassing many accounts of Disney tva mentioning why they cancelled the owl house just because it has LGBT.

All I can say is Accept things the way it is.

The owl house I will admit is a great show but the fans are the ones who make it the worst show.

Honestly after 1 year after it ended I just want to let you know my experience. There are some fans who are pretty nice but it doesn't change the fact there are many not so nice ones.

Until today it is still happening with new fans entering the show making the show about them and completely disregarding and disrespecting what the characters and show have brought to the table in terms of what is canon to the show.

Honestly going online is the worst mistake ever and look at me still defending this show to the ones destroying it.

[joanofexys]

hi i know absolutely nothing about anything dc related but i would love to hear about your ocs if you'd like to share (and if you'd like to wait for someone who knows dc to talk to about them that's absolutely chill i just think your characters are cool & that there's no harm in mentioning im interested haha)

HI YAY THANK YOU FOR ASKING ABT THEM

okay so real quick

Harlowe Wayne:

She/her, lesbian

Blind with some light perception

Minorly enhanced senses

6’0

Ellis Wayne:

He/him, unlabeled, aspec

Glasgow smile scarring

6’2

The two of them are basically copy and paste of Bruce Wayne appearance wise. Ellis is easily mistaken for his father if people don’t notice the scars. And Harlowe often takes over as the Bat when Bruce is out of Gotham because she’s built like a brick wall and with a vocal modulator she can easily pass as Batman

They’re the eldest of all the Wayne children (despite him having 10 million kids jfc) and because there has to be a little bit of projection in everything, Bruce was a teenager when the twins were born (which also leaves them growing up pre-Batman and seeing Bruce create the hero which I’ve had fun with). Typically with the timelines I go for Bruce is usually in his 40s which puts the twins in their 30’s most of the time (sometimes late 20’s).

Harlowe went blind at 13 and can perceive light and shadow, and a few years later at 15 an accident enhances her other senses slightly though her sight worsens

At 16 Ellis is the target of one of the Joker’s attacks where a permanent smile is carved onto his face. Out of all the Wayne’s/Bat’s Ellis becomes the most frequently targeted for his civilian identity, while he’s rarely targeted when he’s out acting as a vigilante. Scarecrow takes a particular interest in him which leads to a lot of fear toxin being used on him, he develops not exactly an immunity to it but a less severe response, he’s less likely to hallucinate or experience true fear unless in high doses and insteads becomes restless and irritable until the toxin has worn off.

Harlowe becomes a lawyer and works for Wayne Enterprises for awhile. Ellis’ focus tends to be engineering and tech though he doesn’t exactly have a steady job and spends a lot of time travelling. As adults the twins actually tend to go long periods of time without seeing or even contacting each other even though they might be more consistent with their siblings (not because of a lack of care or closeness it’s just something they don’t tend to think about).

Harlowe takes after Bruce even when she’s not in the suit and as a vigilante she’s known to be brutal but she has an inflexible moral code. When she’s not working as Batman she tends to stick to smaller areas of the city and doesn’t focus on the big rogues, people know she’s pretty reliable to seek out because she usually can take the time out of her patrol to help people as needed.

Ellis has a much more flexible moral code and could probably be convinced to kill if given enough evidence it was necessary or the lesser of two evils. His constant traveling has the added advantage of him being able to track criminals and organizations for long periods of time and that tends to be where his focus is. He can get very single minded about things and can struggle to tear away from an ongoing mission to work on another one or to help people.

Ellis is 3 minutes older and it doesn’t really matter until they’re arguing and suddenly it really matters (he’s taller AND older so obviously she has to listen to him). They’re both bossy little shits but Harlowe at least knows how to work with a team, Ellis will try his best but that same flaw with being narrow minded can cause problems and he’s not much of a team player.

Ellis somehow ends up the most emotionally intelligent one here against all odds and he’s the most likely to reluctantly sit down and actually talk about his feelings.

Harlowe’s the most likely to actually acknowledge her injuries and take at least most of the proper time to rest and heal rather than pushing herself the next day

Uhhhhhh I have other stuff to say about them I’m sure but I’m blanking now so that’s a little bit about my babies

[hanna-kin]

Some time ago I made a post with random Swedish facts based on some very common misunderstandings or misconceptions I've seen in this fandon. I was asked to make more of these.

Some points will be repeats because I see them in fics and discussions all the time.

Again this is just made to share swedish culture and some fact about swedish society. Not to point blame at people. Research can be tricky and it's easy to assume that things work as they do in your own country.

And at the end of the day it's not that deep. However if you have any questions or want to discuss my ask box is open and I'm always happy to help. You can also dm me if you prefer that.

⭐️ Swearing is no big deal at all. For a Royal and in public yes, in every day life, no teenager will scold another for swearing and alot of parents wouldn't bat an eye.

⭐️ Sex is also not a big deal. Teenagers have sex. Parents expect them to.

⭐️You don't adress eachother with Mr and miss/Mrs/Ms. Hillerska is a little different because the students formally adress their teachers but that is not how things work outside of school. The teachers call the students by their first name. Noone will day Mr Eriksson to Simon. Not Malin, not the Queen, not a teacher, noone.

⭐️ Legal age for drinking is 18 but you can only buy it at 18 at restaurants, bars and nightclubs. The legal age to buy alcohol elsewhere is 20.

⭐️You are allowed to get your drivers lisence at 18. Most people get one for stick shift and stick shift is very common. You can start practicing at 16 though.

⭐️Simon and Wilhelm are 16 or about to turn 16 the year they start Hillerska. So in season 1 they are either already 16 or about to turn 16. In season 2 they are going to turn 17 that same year. Unless they for some reason skipped a year or were held back. Which there's no reason to believe.

⭐️ Sara is a year older than Simon. They are not twins. She was held back. This is why she turns 18 amd becomes a legal adult in season 2.

⭐️ August is 2 years older than Simon and Wille so is about to turn 19 during the year that season 2 takes place.

⭐️ The age difference between August and Sara is not considered weird. Neither is the age difference between Marcus and Simon (2years) it doesn't really matter that Marcus is an adult and Simon is not. The legal age of consent is 15 and if people are close in age people won't think it's weird.

⭐️ School is free. There are laws that prohibit schools from charging anyhting. I don't even think the uniforms would cost anything. Getting them tailored would of course. I might be wrong about this but the first 9 years of school before Gymnasiet (High school) are not allowed to cost anything. Simon and Sara are not on scholarships. Sara is on one for boarding but not for attending.

⭐️ University is also free. Most people have the opportunity to go to uni since it's free and there are loans you can take to cover living expenses that you pay off once you've done with your studies. You also get a little amount every month that is not a loan. You get in based on grades. The police school also have physical tests and interviews to make sure you are fit enough and suitable to become a Police officer. Other than that it's basically grades for most educations. So everyone has the same chance. (Almost)

⭐️ Many students work extra but not everyone. I did but not all of my friends did.

⭐️ Both school and university are based on two terms. For school the autumn term starts in kid August and ends just before Christmas. Then the Spring term starts in the beginning of Janaury and ends in the beginning of June.

Uni is a little different. Autumn term starts at the end of August or at the beginning of September (typically) and ends in the beginning of january.

The new term starts around the 9th of January and ends at the beginning of June.

⭐️ Uni on really has a summer break but not all teachers and professors are dickheads but you can technically have both lectures and seminares only days after Christmas which means no Christmas break. You will most definitely have something to study for or write during Christmas because the beginning of January always almost mean a written exam or a deadline for an essay.

⭐️ Normal school has breaks. 10 weeks of summer break from beginning of June to middle of August.

Autumn break in late October/beginning of November. 7 days. Or like 5 weekdays.

Christmas break is around 3 weeks. From a few days before Christmas to beginning of January. A few days into the new year.

Then we have what we call Sports break. Typically in February but it warries and different regions have different weeks to not crowed skiing resorts etc. 7 days.

Then we have easter break which is also devided ao the break either begins with the easter weekend and Good Friday (almost wrote black Friday lmao) or ends with easter monday. In total it's 8 days.

⭐️ As a full time employee you typically get 25 paid days of leave which is 5 weeks. There is a law that states that your employer has to allow you three weeks of paid leave in a row during summer (June-August). You also get more days the older you get. In addition you also get a kind of vacation bonus that is added on to your salary when you take time off.

⭐️ Very typical working hours are 8 hours a day for a full time job. Some work a little less though. For my full time is 7.75 hours a day. Those who work shift sometimes have a little less than 8 hours or 40 hours a week.

I worked shift at my old job (Group home) one shift was from 07.00 am to 16.00 or 16m30 with 30 minutes break. One shift was from 13.30-21.30 if I remember correctly. Also with 30 minutes break. The night shift was from 21.00-7.00. If you worked late nights, the night shift or weekends and holidays you would get paid extra. So on weekends I got around 53 kr extra per hour, around 5 euros. During holidays such as christmas, new years eve, easter or midsummer you'd get around 100 kr extra per hour.

If you end up more than full time you also get paid extra or get more days you can take off. For me you get paid double or can take time off instead.

This varies though depending on where you work and your title etc.

⭐️ The hospital has similar working hours with three shifts. We know Linda is a nurse so she probably works as least both day shifts and evening shift. Maybe even night shifts. If she worked overtime she would be paid extra.

⭐️ Labour unions are also very common and very important. There are many unions depending on profession. The unions protect the workers rights and interests. They can help you should you get in some kind dispute with your employer. They also negotiate terms and conditions for workers as well as wages.

⭐️ Sweden has fairly strong laws around work and employment that also set duties and responsibilities of employers. You can't fire people based on nothing and are obliged to follow strict laws.

⭐️ Over all Sweden has a fairly strong welfare system. Not perfect by any means but fairly strong and not something to take for granted.

That includes free health care, free school, child protective services, etc. Of course its funded by taxes so it's not free but you get it.

⭐️ There's protection of you don't have a job, can't work because you are physically or mentally unable to and when you retire. (This could definitely be better though)

⭐️ There are also protection for children. There would not be shelters for Lgbtq+ teenagers that have been throwned out by homophobic parents etc. There is social service that would help and there is a foster care system though.

School also have very strict rules to follow and are obliged to report if they believe a child is in danger at home or that their parents are not fit to care for them.

Orphanages for children and teenagers are not a thing but there are group homes but for other reasons.

⭐️ There are shelters for homeless people and other socially vulnerable people like drug addicts. Many are funded by the Church.

⭐️ I used to work with people with mental illness and or drug addiction and they were also surrounded by a sort of support network. (I would say that too would need improvement but they got help and they had somewhere to live.)

This is what I can come up with right now. Thank you @darktwistedgenderplural for coming up with ideas.

If you have any questions feel free to ask and if there's something you want me to adress don't hesitate. And feel free to add points.

[lovelyladyabsinthewrites]

Love Song for a Vampire Pt. 31

Pairing(s): Edward Cullen x Wolf!Reader, Jacob Black x Witch!OC

Warnings: none

Words: 2107

Part 1  Part 2  Part 3  Part 4  Part 5  Part 6  Part 7  Part 8  Part 9  Part 10  Part 11  Part 12  Part 13  Part 14  Part 15  Part 16  Part 17  Part 18  Part 19  Part 20  Part 21  Part 22  Part 23  Part 24  Part 25  Part 26  Part 27  Part 28  Part 29  Part 30  Part 32  Part 33  Part 34  Part 35  Part 36  Part 37  Part 38  Part 39

Edward's fingers tighten on the steering wheel at the three people standing in front of Sam's cabin. Neither of you move, not right away at least as his eyes switch from Sam, to Jacob, and finally landing on Bella. Both of you gauge the situation, why both Bella and Jacob were there. Hesitantly, you glance at Edward; his fine jawline is clenched tightly. Wounds were still healing, not yet even scabbed over from when he made the decision to move on from Bella and take a chance with you.

You’re overly aware of this and perhaps self conscious about your fresh relationship that could so easily be squashed.

That was if you weren’t so worried about why Jacob was there. While you could sniff out Evita's citrus scent, she was nowhere to be found and that caused you to worry even more. Sam didn’t look concerned about his presence but you proceed to cautiously unclip your seatbelt and swing open the door.

The outside air struck you with a new type of energy you’d never felt before. It zaps your brain and fills your lungs with zest. The hairs on your arms stood at attention and even produced goose pimples along your tanned and scarred skin.

Round eyes turn to Sam in question. Not needing the pack telepathy, Sam just shoots you a tired smile. “Nice to see you two back safely. You missed out on quite the show.”

“Show?”

”It was more than a show.” Bella abruptly counters, her cheeks normally so pale were looking feverish-pink. She struggles to find the proper words to describe what she had witnessed. You'd never seen Bella's face so lively. The few times you were around her, she tended to have a shy and contemplative expression that hid what she was truly feeling. That mask crumbled in the charged air that swirled still around the cabin. “It was an experience.”

To explain better, Sam adds “Evita was making the first ward.”

You want to groan for having missed it. Being with Edward in Alaska though would never be something you regret doing. There would be other chances to see Evita at work.

Finally, Jacob spoke up instead of looking blankly into the distance. “Definitely quite the experience.” All youthful light was erased from Jacob’s face making him older. Yes being a shape shifter had sped up your growth so that everyone in the pack looked to be the age of a young adult where before acne and baby fat were present. But imprinting and coming to terms with it robbed him and created dark circles around his eyes as well as heavy lines between his brows from where his face was fixed in a permanent scowl.

His frame even appeared to have lost some muscle mass from being cooped up in a small room. You made a mental note to talk to him later, just the two of you. Before all of this supernatural mess happened, you and Jacob had been very close friends. Out of him, Quil and Embry, Jacob lived closer to your house. He’d been your first playmate to go to before fetching the others. He was the first to go through the transformation. The first to pull out of your intimate group.

You’d felt hurt in the beginning along with Quil and Embry. That hurt had been worked out though once you too went through the change. You want to be there for him and help him through such a difficult time.

Nervously, Bella finally addresses Edward who was trying to casually lean against the hood of his car and pretend that seeing her didn’t effect him at all. “The Denalis?”

Edward nods. “They’ll have our back and hopefully keep Irina in check until we can get the rest of the wards up. But. . . It definitely wouldn’t be a bad idea to find more allies.”

Sam frowns but nods. “I figured. Do we have a timeline to work with? How long would it potentially take for the Volturi to find out?”

“It could be a matter of days.”

Some life springs onto Jacob. “Days? Just one ward nearly made Evita pass out She won’t be able to make five more if all we have are just days.” You detect a protective tone in his voice making his words come out more harsh. One glance from Sam has Jacob back in line though. Still, his hands clench and unclench anxiously at his sides.

“We have to work with what we got.” Sam replies in a steady stream. “Maybe there’s something we can do to help her out. We may not have magic ourselves but there’s got to be even the smallest task that we can help her out with. Leah mentioned something about Evita calling a friend to help her. Hopefully this is true and that friend is on their way.”

You wonder what a friend of Evita’s would look like. Evita herself didn’t really dress like the stereotypical witch that you’d seen on tv. She dressed in comfortable clothes much like you and the rest of your pack members: Tank or loose shirt, shorts and running shoes. Would this witch be the same? Would it even be another female?

You nod to Sam’s words. “We can’t loose hope just yet. But we have a lot of work ahead of us. Edward called Carlisle and Jasper on our way back to inquire about their connections with other nomads and clans.”

“I believe Jasper has already set off on his search.” Edward says, able to hear the thoughts of his family members from leagues away. “Carlisle will be leaving in a few days once he gets his records together. He’s written down all the nomads he’s come across in his life.”

While you voiced a positive outlook, you did have a worry toward the nomads. Through the speaker phone of the car, Carlisle did admit that he may have spent time with them, but couldn’t say he overly trusted them. Vampires didn’t really trust one another. So why would the risk the wrath of the Volturi for people they have never met? Worse may be when they find out about your pack. The elders will be uncomfortable with the prospect of so many vampires being harbored near their home.

They may not even be vegetarian which would be addressed when you came up to that hurdle.

Like many of your worries of the future, you force them to the back of your mind. They had no place in your thoughts, not now. You’d take one day at a time. Focus on the present. That was all you could do. Even Alice, who could see into the future, could do little in the end.

“Get her home safely.” Sam faces Edward. “It must have been quite the drive and I know her parents are worried about her.”

“We should get going too, Jake. Charlie doesn’t like me driving home at night now.” Bella bumps her arm against Jacob who still held a vacant quality to his eyes. You can tell by the way he subtly angles his body that he wants to go back into Sam’s house where Evita is.

He didn’t even seem to acknowledge what Bella said at first but eventually he grounds himself back and stiffly nods his head. “Yeah, let’s get going.”

They trudge to Bella’s small car, watching as the headlights flick on; near blinding. Brakes groan and her car rolls back until she can turn the car around and head back down the road.

It doesn’t take too long for Edward to drive to your house. The front windows were glowing, alerting you that your parents were still up and waiting.

You couldn’t make yourself open the passenger door though and Edward didn’t appear to be in too big of a hurry to be rid of you. “Thanks for inviting me to Alaska. It really was a pleasure to meet others like you and your family. Reassuring.” It’s become an anxious habit of your’s to toy with Evita’s homemade protection charm.

“I would have insisted on your presence there. It’s thanks to you as a person that the others agreed to join us.” There’s a smile in his voice. Sweet, but he was definitely exaggerating on your role there. If anything you helped by being a good ambassador for the wolves.

Forgetting about your parents who were patiently waiting, the two of you sit there in a silence filled with the pounding drum inside of your chest. What excuse could you come up with to see him again? Did you need an excuse or could you simply ask him to hang out?

Ask him out on a date!

How could you when you’d never asked anyone out in your life?

I don’t want to embarrass myself.

How will you truly get to know him unless you explore on a date?

Thank whatever deity was looking after you because you wouldn’t have to worry any longer.

“When you’re free, I would like to take you on a date.” Funny how sheepish those words were and when you look over to him, his smile only widens. “I would really like to get to know you. Even the bits I’ve got have me wanting to know more.”

Your smile grows to an identical width. “I’d really like that. Call you later?”

*

A flurry took over Edward as he watched (y/n) close her front door.

When was the last time his cheeks hurt from smiling so much? Had to be when he was still a human. He could feel the strain though in his face as well as the smile that just couldn’t be wiped off.

(y/n) excited him.

When she was around, life was fun. Even as a human, there had been many tribulations that robbed Edward of his joy from a young age.

He’d have to think of something fun that she’d enjoy. Bella and (y/n), while being completely different from one another, shared the similar hobby of reading. Other than that, Edward still didn’t know much about her personal life. What did she want to do when she graduated high school? What did do when not on wolf patrol?

Entering the Cullen house, Edward knew by the look on Carlisle’s face meant that Edward would not be making any date plans that night. “Are you leaving too, Alice?”

Alice normally wore her leather jacket when she planned to travel or get some time to herself. In her hands dangle the keys to Jasper’s Ducati. “I have a long journey to make. I had a vision just a while ago.”

“A good one?” Edward asked hopefully.

Stars twinkle in the honeypot of Alice’s eyes. She wouldn’t say anything in case it would jinx her whole trip. But the glow in her eyes and her petite smile was enough for Edward. He’d hold onto that hope and nurture it. It was all he had.

Carlisle comes down the stairs with his own keys clutched in his hands. He stops in front of Edward and placed a hand on his shoulder. “We’ll be okay. Keep an eye out for any Volturi activity.”

Alice paced them and opened the door. She glanced over her shoulder “I’ll call everyone if I have anymore visions.”

“You sure you don’t want to take me with you?” Emmett shoulders his way from the sitting room and leans against the doorframe. His expression is one of brotherly worry. “I know you can handle yourself, but I don’t like the idea of you being alone.”

She turned back around and with a big grin, Alice bound toward Emmett and threw her arms around him. He returned the gesture before letting her go. “I’ll be fine, Em. You take care of the home front.”

Edward and Emmett follow them out to the porch where Alice had already pulled out the Ducati from the garage and was situating herself atop of it. Carlisle gave Esme a quick kiss before he too descended down the porch steps and to his car.

From the sad downcast of Emmett’s face, Rosalie holds his hand and rests her head against his bicep. “There, there, Big Guy. She’ll be okay.”

Esme attempts to face them bravely. “Like Alice said, we must hold down the fort while they’re gone.”

“What if the Volturi come while they’re gone?” Rosalie whispered gravely. Her eyes trained on the back lights of Carlisle’s car until even her vampire eyes couldn’t find them.

Her question was carried off in the wind. No one dared to answer because none of them had one to offer.

------

TAGLIST: @saltedcoffeescotch , @dangerouslittlefairy , @burn-crash-rqmance , @casedoina , @avadakadabra93 , @daryldixonstorm , @blue-aconite , @xanniestired666 , @esposadomd, @godinho11 , @arin-swear-rose , @alexizodd , @melaninsugarbaby , @lyeatoalinatoheaven , @ronwownsme , @itsmytimetoodream , @afro-hispwriter , @mutandis-extremis993 , @hxgemxscles , @nightly-polaris , @corrodedcoffins-slut , @ellesalazar , @itgetzweird08 , @crybabyatthediscooffandoms , @sassyandclassyx , @scarlet2007 , @theroyalbrownbarbie , @jennyamanda8 , @stevenandmarcslove , @biancaindaeyo , @loversjoy , @turningtoclown , @vixorell , @xxthackerybinxxx , @daredevilonmyheels , @dumbbitch-juice , @southern-bell-give-hell , @nat-the-gemini , @imdoingathingmom , @emmettcullenswife , @yoong1c0re , @daddykylokenobi , @minjix , @magical-spit , @krismdavis

[topazshadowwolf]

GoopTales: Part 21 Cuddles with Dadmare

Lyra tends to the boys as Nightmare sleeps, but after bed it is time for bed...

Parts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21(you are here)/34

AO3: Ch 1 (1-4), Ch 2 (4-8), Ch 3 (9-12), Ch 4 (13-16) Ch 5 (17-19), Ch 6 (20-23), Ch 7 (24-27), Ch 8 (28-31), Ch 9 (32-34)

---

What had been the “entertainment room” now looked more like a playroom, with toys and games in easy reach of the boys. There were some movies and video games, but only a scant amount, considering they had been adults before who preferred watching more grown-up movies and shows. They didn’t care; the boys enjoyed playing board games together rather than video games alone. This was true even if they chose to break the rules so they could somehow all win.

Actually, it wasn’t breaking the rules so much as coming up with their own, occasionally midgame. Lyra didn’t mind since they were all having fun, even if she honestly had no idea what was happening most of the time. Killer and Cross were definitely the ring leaders in all of this, and Horror, though he seemed older, just seemed to enjoy following along in the chaos.

After a while, Horror moved over by her and leaned against her side with a yawn. Placing a hand on his back, she looked down at him. “Are you done with the game?” He gave a tired nod, and that was when she noticed the tears in his sockets. “Is your head bothering you?”

The child sighed, then looked up at her. “i try to ignore it…” his voice was quivering, and she scooped him up.

“I know you do, but you do not need to,” She stood up. “Killer, Cross, can you both play quietly until I return?”

“uh huh!” Killer replied.

“i wanna color!” Cross announced, and then he waved at Horror. “g’night!”

“night,” replied Horror, who then cuddled further into her chest—the poor dear.

She walked to the kitchen, where she knew she saw a bottle of pain pills safe for someone so young. She dosed out some and gave it to him with a glass of water. “There you go. Now, do you want to stay up a bit longer or go to bed?”

“bed, please, mrs. lyra,” Horror replied.

“Of course. How could I not help you to bed when you ask so nicely?” She answered as she picked him back up and carried him down the hall to the room Nightmare had picked out.

She entered the room and approached the bed. Before she could set him down, he asked softly, “where is dust? i thought he was sleeping.”

“Oh, well, he asked to sleep with Mr. Night,” She explained.

“oh…,” He said quietly. And there was continued silence. Part of her had a feeling she knew what he wanted to ask.

“Horror?” She started, and the child looked up at her. “Do you want to sleep with Mr. Night, too?”

Then the child looked away momentarily before turning back to Lyra and nodding. “but… i should be sleeping alone, aren't i?”

“It will be alright,” She said, and she turned around to leave the room and made her way to Nightmare’s room.

Opening the door, she listened and could only hear the soft breathing of sleeping. Her soft paw pads made her walk across the old, wood floor silent as she made her way over to the bed. Dust was still cuddled up to Nightmare, but she could see that the guardian now had an arm around the child. She set Horror down, and he crawled closer. She helped him under the covers so he was on the other side of Nightmare, cuddled up to his side.

Not long after she finished tucking the child in, she noticed the covers move as a tendril curled around Horror. Happily, the child wrapped his arms around the limb and hugged it like one might a teddy bear. Still, Nightmare was asleep, and this action was done unconsciously. This made Lyra smile as she moved a paw to her mouth to hold back a giggle.

Oh, how she will tease him once this ordeal is over. For one so adamant that he is not a father, he has taken to a fatherly role so naturally, he even fathers the boys in his sleep. Content that everyone was comfortable, she made her way back to the other two.

Cross and Killer were coloring near each other to share crayons. She walked over and smiled at them, “May I join you?”

“sure!” Cross replied as Killer moved over to make space for her, even if there was plenty of space already.

She thanked Killer for being so polite before joining the two on the floor and picking a coloring book. Opening it, she found a picture of a castle with a dragon with four hatchlings. It was labeled “A Mother Dragon And Young,” but nothing about the dragon made it male or female. Lyra decided that she would change this picture to fit her narrative for the image.

As they colored, Cross and Killer took turns talking about their days being here with Mr. Night and the others. “sometimes, i take my coloring book in, and i color in mr. night’s office. i always ask if i can help him, and sometimes he tells me he has a paper that needs some colors or drawings to make it nicer. so i make it look as colorful and nice as possible! mr. night always tells me i did a good job, and he pats me on the head before setting the paper aside,” Cross explained.

“he lets me help him wash up after dinner sometimes!” Killer said happily. “mr. night lets me dry stuff, and then he uses his tentacles to pick me up so i can put some of the stuff away!”

“It is so nice that you two are willing to help him,” She praised.

They continued to color until she had almost finished her picture. She was rather pleased with it and the edit of crossing out “Mother” and writing “Father.” It was then she noticed how quiet it was, and she looked up to see Cross was sleeping. Killer’s coloring had become lethargic while his sockets drooped, meaning he was ready for bed, too.

“Alright, I think it is time for bed for you two,” She said as she carefully picked up Cross. The youngest clung to her and nuzzled his face against her neck. Killer sat up and stretched his arms up to her. Sweeping her free arm over, she scooped up the last little skeleton.

As she made her way to the bedrooms, she glanced down at them, “Now, Horror and Dust are sleeping with Mr. Night. Is that where you would want to sleep too?”

“can we?” Cross asked, opening his tired sockets as he asked.

“please, oh please!” Killer said while he started to wiggle in her arms.

“You can if you two promise to be quiet and sleep. Remember, Mr. Night needs his sleep, so you can’t be noisy,” She insisted.

“we will,” Cross said.

“i’m going to be super quiet, i promise!” Killer said loudly.

Well… time will tell.

Before long, she was setting Cross on one side of the bed and Killer on the other. Cross was curling up near Horror when a tentacle embraced him. He smiled at the limb and started to pet it softly. Then, as his sockets closed, his hand stopped when he drifted off to sleep. 

Killer wiggled around near Dust, who grunted in annoyance but did not wake. Dust did yawn before he snuggled closer to Nightmare. Rolling so his back was toward Dust’s back, Killer then scootched back until they touched back to back. This also meant he wiggled his way under Nightmare’s arm, which was still over the smaller skeleton child.

Luckily, Nightmare did not wake, but like the others, a tentacle curled around the child, and Killer hugged the limb while nuzzling it. At least Killer was being quiet.

Killer reached out to her then, and she tilted her head. “i need a goodnight kiss,” he whispered.

Lyra smiled softly, then leaned down and placed a kiss on the tiny skeleton’s skull. Killer smiled back up at her before he started to settle into sleep. With that, she took a moment to admire the little family before her.

With a pleased smile, Lyra left the little family to sleep. Now, to finish tending the animals.

---

Nightmare sat in the shadow of his mother, reading a book silently to himself. It was a pleasant afternoon, not too hot, but not cold either—just the perfect temperature. Dream was away, as usual, helping the villagers. So, Nightmare was left to entertain himself, and he did so by reading.

That is until he noticed a lost child approaching him. Nightmare was a child himself, but this one was clearly younger than him.

“Hello? If you are here for the golden apples, my brother is away, and I am not to touch them,” Nightmare stated.

“n… no… i just… i don’t know where i am, and i…” The child was trembling as he looked around. The child was wearing a shirt with a sloth and matching bottoms. Odd clothing, really. He had never seen anyone dressed like that before. He looked around, clearly confused, with red eye lights, though the left eye had cyan blue in the middle.

“Where did you last see your parents?” Nightmare asked.

The child stiffened and looked down at the ground for a moment. He fidgeted with his shirt hem for a moment before finally muttering a question so quietly that Nightmare could not understand him, just the inflection of his voice.

“I am sorry, but what did you say?” Nightmare said with a sigh.

“what… what does ‘parents’ mean?” The child asked quietly, but at least this time, it was loud and clear enough for Nightmare to understand. But the question startled him.

“You do not know what the word ‘parent’ means?” He clarified, but that appeared to be the wrong thing to do. The child quickly turned and ran, but Nightmare jumped up and followed. His taller body meant longer legs, and he quickly caught up with the small child and grabbed him in a hug. 

The small boy was crying. He kept repeating that he was sorry. “sorry, i…i… shouldn’t have bothered you. i’m sorry… sorry that i… i’m stupid and a failure.”

“Shhh? Now, when did I utter such words?” He asked, and the child shivered in his arms. “A parent is the mother and/or father of a child. Or caregivers of a child who considers the child theirs.”

“oh…,” The small child looked up at Nightmare, tears in his sockets, but spoke with a happy tone, “i just learned about moms and dads!” The child then looked down and muttered the word ‘parents’ a few times as if committing it to memory. If he just learned about mothers and fathers, then this child is likely an orphan from an early age. One that has not had kind guardians. “mr. night is watching me for… the doctor. but he says i don’t have to go back to the doctor. i don’t think mr. night is my parent though… but he is nice… i mean, he’s not nice! he’s mean and horrible! oh! and very scary!”

Yeah… Nightmare wasn’t believing that last bit. The child seemed way too happy talking about this ‘Mr. Night.’ In all likelihood, this Mr. Night was some hermit who just didn’t want a bunch of people coming around by putting up a front that he encouraged this kid to perpetuate. Nightmare will gauge how ‘nice’ this Mr. Night is when he finds this child.

“Come with me, then, sit under my tree beside me and wait for Mr. Night to find you,” Nightmare said as he finally released the child from a hug before taking his hand and guiding him back to his mother.

I do not think this is wise, my child. A mortal is a mortal, even when small. His mother said. But Nightmare could not just leave this little child to wander around alone. He knows firsthand how cruel the village can be. And as much as Nightmare loves nature… a child so small would not last long alone. Saving his spot, he flipped back to the beginning of the book and started to read aloud.

After some time, a voice called out, “dust!” And Nightmare looked up to see another child approaching. The poor thing! His skull was cracked and he had… “dust! you’re here too?” The child wore a white shirt, fur-lined hoodie, and black shorts with a white stripe.

… Horror… Dust…

As the children talked, Nightmare remembered that he was no longer a child, that this was a dreamscape made by his tired mind that he drew these children into. Even in exhaustion, he seemed to want these mortals near, it seems.

How interesting that their minds choose to dress them in clothes they wear as adults…

“i am waiting here for mr. night,” Dust explained, and Horror nodded.

“okay, can’t miss this tree, so it makes sense!” Horror said as he sat down next to Dust. Horror then looked at Nightmare and smiled, “hello, mind if i stay here too?”

“No, you are welcome to wait here as well,” Nightmare replied, then continued the story after Dust explained what was going on so Horror understood.

Cross quietly walked up with a wave and sat next to Horror. Much like Dust, he wore pajamas, though they were pajama bottoms, with his favorite ‘anime’ themed t-shirt. Nightmare smiled at Cross, who waved at him before listening intently to the story. Mother chided Nightmare for keeping such mortals around. He… didn’t like the things she said about them. He could understand some of it, as he will admit, they were not the best ambassadors for mortal kind. Still, they were his, and that was all that mattered to him. He hated ignoring her, as she was his mother, even if this was a dream.

Thankfully, Killer’s boisterous entrance did drown out those hurtful things she said. The child, dressed in his regular clothes, white shorts, black sweater, and hoodie with a fur-lined hood, dashed forward and pounced on Dust. The smaller yelped out as Killer loudly proclaimed “tickle fight” before mercilessly assaulting Dust’s ticklish areas. Dust yelped and squeaked before giggling away. Horror was the one to come to his rescue, grabbing Killer and tickling the babybones, who squealed with laughter.

Dust scurried over and hid behind Nightmare as Cross faced a decision. Who does he back up? After a moment of debating, Cross jumped up and started to tickle Horror. Horror started to turn to defend himself when Killer sprang up to get the larger of the three back.

“Oh dear,” Nightmare said as he closed the book. He glanced back at Dust, “It appears the odds are against your friend. Two against one.”

Dust frowned for a moment, then looked up at Nightmare. “I am sorry for disturbing your peace, but I need to help horror.”

“That is quite alright. You do what you need to do,” Nightmare said with a smile. That was all Dust needed before running forward and tackling Killer. The two rolled around in the grass in a fit of giggles as they tried to tickle the other. That gave Horror the opportunity he needed to grab the youngest and tickle him until he surrendered.

Once the giggling died down, Nightmare stood up. “Care to join me for a walk?”

“sure!” Cross said, and Horror helped him stand.

Killer looked up at Nightmare briefly, then smiled big, “yeah! let’s join him!” Killer stood and pulled Dust up onto his feet.

With that, he led the children to the forest that he often played in with his brother, away from the ominous village and the insulting words of his mother. Once in the shelter of the trees, he helped them climb and explore…

… He almost didn’t want to wake up.

Almost… for a dream is just that, a dream. What matters more is the events in the waking world.

---

next

[solarishashernoseinabook]

What are some major YA series you have read and did you enjoy them? Or was the Hungergames beef big enough to bleed over in other ya series

I'm afraid "major" is the sticking point here. When I was growing up, the "major" YA series were twilight/its major knock-offs (house of night, fallen, etc.) and THG/its knock-offs (divergent, etc.). You had some odd one-offs that weren't really knock-offs of either (Mortal Instruments is one - though you could very easily argue that was a boy wizard knock-off instead (also i never picked them up)), but it's truly difficult to express how much those series completely dominated the teen section when I was growing up and how everything was influenced by them. You genuinely had to hunt for books that weren't related to them in some way.

If you're curious, though, check below the cut for some random YA recommendations - though be warned that some of them wouldn't be so easy to get your hands on now, as they're fairly old at this point

Okay, I lied. Before we get to the recommendations, we're gonna have a talk about what counts as "YA". Allow me to digress heavily here

When I was growing up - basically until somewhere in my 20s - "YA" as we know it was not a category. The Canadian bookselling market is dominated by one major chain (Indigo - then called Chapters Indigo), and back then, they organised their books thusly:

Babies - board books - you'd get ones that listed colours, or shapes, or animals, etc

Children's books - picture books. They overwhelmingly star young children as the protagonists

Early Readers - very short chapter books, typically under 50 pages. These books would be a kid's first transition into novels, had larger text that was more widely-spaced, some illustrations, and typically had main characters who were in their early childhood and going to school

Young Readers - longer chapter books. This is where the boy wizard series or Percy Jackson started out. They were longer chapter books with slightly older child protagonists, more complex plots and characters, and more similar to adult novels in design

Teen - similar to Young Reader, but they had a teenage protagonist

Adult fiction - anything with an adult protagonist. This "section" really just means "the rest of the book store", because everything for adults was subdivided into actual genres. Meanwhile, if you were looking for a teen book, you'd get a mundane high school romance on the same shelf as an action-packed thriller, a high fantasy epic, and a dark story of abuse. Yeah, if you were a kid or teen who liked one particular genre, it wasn't easy having to look through the entire kid or teen section just to find it

Nowadays, "YA" as a category is much different. It mainly seems to refer to "book staring a teenage girl with a heavy focus on romance", because a lot of books that do star teenage protagonists but don't have a romance focus get classified as either Young Readers, if they're more light-hearted on their subject matter (see Once There Was by Kiyash Monseff, filed with children's fiction despite its MC being 16) or more heavy (see To Shape A Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose, filed with adult fiction despite its MC being 15). Even when I was growing up, the age categories could be a little wonky (Ranger's Apprentice was always filed with Young Readers, even though Will starts off 15 and ages into adulthood), but it seems like YA as a category now is distinct from the "teen" section I grew up with. So, for the purposes of these recommendations, "YA" is "anything with a teen protagonist".

Congratulations, Solaris, for writing 447 words just to say "I'm gonna recommend books with teenagers in them", that was very necessary

Okay! Onto my recommendations (some of which I've recommended before but go with it):

Patricia C. Wrede - Some good fantasy books here! I like "A Matter of Magic" (it's actually a two-book series that was published in one volume when I discovered it), about a girl named Kim who starts off as a street rat and thief and gets apprenticed to a magician, and the Enchanted Forest Chronicles, about a princess named Cimorene who decides to live with a dragon instead of dealing with the mundanities of castle life. To be fully honest, I found the quality of EFC a little spotty - it's a four-book series, and I liked books 1 and 3 (they have female protagonists - Cimorene in book 1 and a witch in book 3), but books 2 and 4, which have princes as their MCs, were more boring, slightly derailed Cimorene's character (she's back to normal in book 3, though), and I generally skip them on rereads. But book 1 is a good enough stand-alone that you can read it as-is if you like

Shatter the Sky by Rebecca Kim Wells - a cool dragon fantasy about a girl going off to save her girlfriend. I know there were sequels, but I only read the first one (though i did enjoy it)

The Oathbreaker's Shadow by Amy McCullough - this one had a super cool concept. In this world, promises have magical weight behind them - breaking one results in a magical cloud following you and marking you as an oathbreaker. For kids, this is temporary, but once you're an adult, the cloud is permanent. Also, important to note, promises can be passed down from one person to another, so someone might be bound to a promise generations old. Our MC is one of these people who inherited a promise, but he doesn't know what it is. He's friends with the future khan of his people, and makes an oath to protect him...and, in doing so, breaks the oath he inherited. And it's got sequels!

The Knight and Rogue series by Hilari Bell - I mentioned this one in a previous post, so I won't go too into it again, but it's a knight errant named Michael who takes convicted criminal Fisk to be his squire, and they go around solving crimes. It's also got a fun magical system and cool banter between the MCs

To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose - another one I mentioned previously, but basically: PEAK dragon fantasy, absolutely masterful

Once There Was by Kiyash Monseff - another one I talked about before. A girl becomes a vet to magical creatures. Actually the thought put into these creatures was really interesting to read, and our MC is complex and flawed

Margaret Rogerson - I first read A Sorcery of Thorns and really enjoyed it! It's about a librarian who deals with demonic books, and has really interesting magic. Tho my favourite book by the author is actually her next one, Vespertine - it's about a world where people who die get resurrected as spirits unless they're properly blessed by a nun, and our MC is one such nun who binds an extremely powerful spirit to herself to protect the world from someone trying to wield armies of such spirits. Again, super cool worldbuilding and a very interesting MC, and I've got some theories about it that I keep itching to share with people

Naomi Novik - she's written a couple books with teen protagonists (tho they're not classified as YA because one has an explicit sex scene) - Uprooted and Spinning Silver. Uprooted is about a girl who lives in a village, surrounded by a malevolent forest, who gets taken in by the mage guarding her town and becomes his apprentice. Spinning Silver is a Jewish retelling of Rumpelstiltskin, also featuring demons and elves

D: A Tale of Two Worlds, by Michel Faber - this one had a super cool concept. In this world, the letter D disappears, and our MC is the only one who remembers it exists. The text can get a little difficult to read, as the letter D completely disappears from dialogue (for example, instead of saying "I didn't do it", a character would say "I in't o it"), but I thought this was a super cool portal fantasy

Dragon Seer by Janet McNaughton - early-medieval Celtic fantasy where a girl becomes the new dragon seer of her people and protects them from Viking attacks. Again, it's got sequels!

Flight or Fight by Diane Haynes - realistic fiction about a girl in a small town who notices a bird who got caught in an oil spill and rescues it. She becomes involved in animal rescue after that and fights for justice in her town

Take Back the Skies by Lucy Saxon - okay so this one is YA dystopia, mixed with steampunk. My dad got it for me for my birthday, and despite it not quite being my genre, I did like the steampunk aspects, so give it a try if you like that sort of thing!

Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor - Afro-futurism, where a girl with the power to kill anyone she touches and disable any technology she comes across travels Ghana looking for answers about herself and her past. Full disclosure, I'm not smart enough to fully understand the ending, but I enjoyed reading it

Hope you enjoy :D