#but then again i think some of them are too extreme to be that??

[chimerafeathers]

i really love how intensely Mirabelle reacts to act 5 Siffrin botched friendquest.

Isabeau is mostly operating out of concern and, eventually, hurt. he already knows something’s up before Siffrin gets to him. he knows something truly awful must be wrong for Siffrin to be lashing out like they are, and as soon as he can’t handle the situation anymore, he leaves and asks (with strained cheer) for time apart to cool off.

most of Bonnie’s anger comes from being upset and afraid that Siffrin would willingly put themself in danger for no reason, when that’s exactly why they’ve been so unsettled since the eye incident. they hate that Siffrin values their own life so little, they hate that they’re the cause of any pain or loss for him, and here he is, putting himself in that situation AGAIN. on purpose. it’s loud and explosive, but it’s familiar, too, being “hated” by Bonnie for this reason.

Odile pushes, and keeps pushing, until her concern overwhelms Siffrin and they strike where they know she’s most vulnerable. she gets physical, just for a moment, grabbing his collar before controlling herself and letting go. her fury shuts down into cold detachment, and she walks away.

but Mirabelle—dear, sweet, gentle, loving Mirabelle, “the most wonderful being on earth,” with her secret “ruthless side” that largely involves lightly badmouthing people behind their backs and then apologizing—slaps them. immediately.

and then COMPLETELY RENOUNCES THEIR FRIENDSHIP.

not just “we’re not friends anymore,” but “we were never friends in the first place.”

that’s!!! pretty extreme!!!!

of course, she ALSO starts by asking what’s wrong. something must have happened for him to act like this. but as soon as Siffrin brushes her off, she jumps past that line of questioning and dives headfirst into re-evaluating everything she thought she knew about them as a a person.

if he could say something like that to her and not see anything wrong with it, then she was wrong to treat him as a friend, wrong to read camaraderie into his teasing, wrong to think they must care about them all under their aloof demeanor.

that’s how Mirabelle phrases it—“I was wrong about you”—but i think that there’s a hidden layer of I was right about you, too.

she talks about the way they tease her like she had to convince herself that he was doing it in a friendly way. she says they talk like they “know better than her” like that’s a thought she’s had for a LONG time.

“Always soooo mysterious, Siffrin, always talking as if you're better than me! As if you know me!!! But you don't, Siffrin!!! You're just as lost and useless as I am!!! So stop!!! Talking!!! As if you know me!!!!!!”

none of this comes across as a new, sudden way to view Siffrin for her. it doesn’t shock or confuse her. it makes her angry, defensive, almost like she was waiting for something like this to happen at some point. the feeling of resentment, frustration, jealousy, being patronized and condescended to—this is something she’s been actively pushing down and rejecting this entire time, but they’ve given her ample reason for it all to boil to the surface. violently.

Mirabelle’s kindness is not inherent or easy. it’s a choice she’s making. she treats Siffrin warmly because she gives him the benefit of the doubt—refusing to act based on anxiety-fueled, cynical speculation, and reassuring herself that his actions are driven by care and friendship even if she can’t quite see it.

“I was wrong about you” doesn’t mean she always and without question believed them to be a fundamentally kind, caring person from the beginning—it’s that her first, colder instincts were right, and she was wrong to convince herself otherwise.

never mind that she asked what was wrong at first. she barely gives them time to speak in their own defense, to explain what they really meant by what they said. all of her suppressed doubts and frustrations are getting aired out now, now that all the trust she’d so deliberately placed in him has been betrayed. her pain feels bigger than this singular moment, so when she hurts him back, she makes sure it extends back through the entirety of their relationship for him, too.

“You're awful. You're not my friend, not my ally, not anything. You never were.”

like the others, she goes back to the clocktower and tells Siffrin not to come back until later. but there’s a finality to the way she ends this confrontation that isn’t quite there with the others. Isabeau and Odile reach their breaking point and remove themselves from the situation, asking for space to cool off but still somewhat leaving the door open for Siffrin to tell them what’s really going on at some point. Mirabelle is the only one who tries to fully cut ties—after everything else she says, her “I don’t want to see you until tonight” reads to me somewhat as “I don’t want to see you anymore unless I have to.”

I can’t wait to never see you again.

even back at the clocktower, Mirabelle doesn’t really defend Siffrin’s place in the party when Odile suggests leaving them behind out of concern for their trustworthiness on the most important day of the journey. Isabeau and Bonnie protest out of sentimentality and faith in Siffrin’s abilities and connection to them, and Mirabelle agrees, but…

“I agree, but... B-But would he even agree to come with us, still? Maybe they won't even come back tonight...”

she doesn’t say much outside of that. maybe the stutter and hesitation here are signs of regret about how things happened, but she lacks Isabeau and Bonnie’s confidence that Siffrin even wants to come back to them in the first place. she doesn’t trust that their bond was real anymore. maybe it never was in the first place, or maybe she broke whatever was there herself.

and she’s still mad when they finally catch up to Siffrin at the King! and she makes sure Siffrin knows that—after saving them, assuring him that he no longer needs to fight, that they’re all there for him. she still cares, of course she still cares—she’s still hurt, too, but they can figure that part out once there’s less world-ending stuff going on.

she’s the first to say that they all reserve the right to still be angry at Siffrin later—and that they’ve already forgiven him.

she’s also the first to say we want to stay with you, too. it’s not just you.

she was wrong! she thought they didn’t care but they care so much, it’s overwhelming, it’s world-ending.

i think she’s gonna be wallowing in guilt post-canon the moment she remembers what she said and did TO SIFFRIN and not just what Siffrin said to her. especially now that she knows Siffrin’s exact hangups, and especially especially if she figures out what Siffrin was trying to say.

they put themself through hell out of loneliness and fear that none of the others cared about him the way he cared about them, he was going insane from repetition and exhaustion and hunger and trying to keep them all safe and together, and all they did in the midst of all that was say something kind of mean to her one time (that turned out to not even be MEANT to be mean it was supposed to be HELPFUL they just SAID IT ALL WRONG) and she SLAPPED THEM? and told him that they WEREN’T FRIENDS AT ALL??? how could she!!! she should have known better!! what they said hurt a lot but still!!!

so when they eventually manage to try to talk about it, they end up almost in, like, a guilt competition.

Mirabelle apologizing for how she reacted, that she shouldn’t have yelled or hit him, that she doesn’t want to be the kind of person who acts that way out of anger and she’s sorry that she made Siffrin expect that reaction from her, she should have known better and believed in him more and they only messed up like that because they were losing their mind in a time loop but what’s HER excuse—

and Siffrin going nononono stop I deserved it—(HUH DON’T SAY THAT NO YOU DIDN’T)—and that he should never have said such awful things to her, ever, and she was under so much pressure already with the weight of the country and everyone’s lives and futures and her religion and their whole party counting on her to do this impossible task because she’s the only one who can, all this unbearable expectation and hope crushing her, and they KNEW that but they thought they could skip to the ending as though her feelings didn’t matter at all, like helping her wasn’t as important as saving a little time—

until they’re just. in tears together, apologizing for all the horrible things they did in between complimenting each other’s strength and kindness and resilience and how much they admire each other and saying that no, everything you did was completely understandable, actually, the only one who sucks here is me. which neither of them will accept coming from the other!!

they’re so similar, in ways they couldn’t really understand, before.

warm, affectionate, perfect Mirabelle, the resolute hero, a beacon of compassion and hope for all those around her, who wears her heart on her sleeve, her fear making her courage shine all the brighter—nothing like the insignificant, forgettable Siffrin, too terrified to be known, too fragile to touch, too selfish and disgusting to bear letting go.

cool, mysterious, unflappable Siffrin, the worldly traveler, as charming and silly as they are confident and skilled, who brushed off losing an eye like it was nothing, accepting the risks of this journey with barely more than a shrug—nothing like the anxious, stagnant, undeserving Mirabelle, a fraud and a nobody crumbling under the weight of a mission too important to be entrusted to someone like her, doubting herself, doubting her friends, doubting her mentor, doubting her faith, too weak and brittle to bend and change the way the world needs her to without breaking.

not worth bothering others with their problems. they should be able to handle this alone. stay positive, stay calm. breathe in, and out.

they’ll struggle with it, still—the hiding, the minimizing—but now, they understand each other a little better. they can hold each other accountable for what they leave unsaid.

it’ll get easier, eventually. they have plenty of time.

[bpdloop]

my really quick thoughts on loop pronouns journey

i have too many thoughts on this to make them more concise than this... but fuck it ill try!

basically, i think theyd get to a point where theyre like Oh god. Who the fuck is "Loop" Who the fuck am i. all i have is tied to those stupid loops. maybe if i change my pronouns ill feel real and like myself and also maybe this can be My Thing. Pronouns Georg. Yes this is perfect wonderful awesome this will not go bad at all whatsoever

it goes bad. they hate it. but its only been a few weeks since they said something. maybe they can keep it going a bit longer and theyll get more comfortable with it? (they dont.) odile notices it, waits a bit longer to make sure shes right, and then informs the party of her findings. siffrin would have noticed too, but not really have put two and two together by now

i think in order from how sudden the change back to they/them for loop in their vocabulary, from instant to more gradual, would be bonnie and siffrin, odile, and then mirabelle and isabeau. loop would notice at some point theyd only been correctly pronouned again for x amount of time and get an extreme longing to keep it from slipping back, but theyd probably still be too nervous/scared to say anything directly. especially since the issue seems fixed...?

ofc the partys not gonna let them go without knowing for sure theyre completely Allowed to be uncomfortable with any pronouns and only use the one set. this would lead to a big ol blubbery breakdown, overwhelmed with the fact that they dont have to be uncomfy anymore AND that the party actually NOTICED something was wrong and said something. crazy shit. theyd probably have to fight themself later about needing A New Niche Now, but eh. that sounds like a them problem that isnt my job rn

this is not to say they couldnt find other pronouns good later in life, but i just personally dont see it. shrugs! i think theyd have a second bout of this where theyre like Actually im fw neos. and then after one grimace from them after someone uses a neo theyre like We're not falling for this one again loop. Youre allowed to want only they/them. You dont have to force yourself. and then theyd probably be set for. Until the third bout. But like muuuuch later down the line. maybe theyd actually fw something else by then, if theyve gotten good therapy for the loops, but outside of that i think this star's a they/them for life

this was my first time really trying to do image descs also! i hope i did ok!

[fromchaostocosmos]

I'm going to post some sections from this highly relevant article that I think are helpful, but I really really suggest reading the whole thing because of important I think it is. As well of just how much insight it gives into RFK Jr's thinking which is one that is based on extremely outdated model of understanding science.

one thing is plain: Kennedy's thoughts and actions make a lot more sense when you realize he doesn't believe in a foundational scientific principle: germ theory.

It's important to note here that our understanding of Kennedy's disbelief in germ theory isn't based on speculation or deduction; it's based on Kennedy's own words. He wrote an entire section on it in his 2021 book vilifying Fauci, titled The Real Anthony Fauci. The section is titled "Miasma vs. Germ Theory," in the chapter "The White Man's Burden."

In the chapter, Kennedy promotes the "miasma theory" but gets the definition completely wrong. Instead of actual miasma theory, he describes something more like terrain theory. He writes: "'Miasma theory' emphasizes preventing disease by fortifying the immune system through nutrition and by reducing exposures to environmental toxins and stresses."

In all, the chapter provides a clear explanation of why Kennedy relentlessly attacks evidence-based medicines; vilifies the pharmaceutical industry; suggests HIV doesn't cause AIDS and antidepressants are behind mass shootings; believes that vaccines are harmful, not protective; claims 5G wireless networks cause cancer; suggests chemicals in water are changing children's gender identities; and is quick to promote supplements to prevent and treat diseases, such as recently recommending vitamin A for measles and falsely claiming children who die from the viral infection are malnourished.

For some experts, the chapter was like a light bulb going on. "I thought 'it now all makes sense'… I mean, it all adds up," Paul Offit, pediatrician and infectious disease expert at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, told Ars Technica. It's still astonishing, though, he added. "It's so unbelievable, because you can't imagine that someone who's the head of Health and Human Services doesn't believe that specific viruses or bacteria cause specific diseases, and that the prevention or treatment of them is lifesaving."

There is a lot in the full article that is so alarming and again insightful. Since there is no paywall I'm not comfortable with posting the whole article here. I really suggest you read the article especially for all the information and nuance that these small bits I posted can not provide.

I am disgusted that RFK Jr. would actually title a chapter "The White Man's Burden" and yet I not all that surprised by it. He comes across as the type of person who adhere to that type of thinking. Now maybe, just maybe, there is some greater context that puts the title of that chapter in a better light or something. But, I highly doubt it. There is very few places that phrase could be used in a non-racist context and I do not think this is one of those rare instances.

Reading the article gave me a lot of clarity on the choices of RFK JR. and I too, based on what I read and thinking critically about his behavior and actions, think that he does not believe in the germ theory. Something that is beyond worrisome especially for a person in position in the government to believe or in this case not believe in.

This is like saying you don't believe in gravity. It is not really a matter of belief at a certain point, it just is. Reality is reality. Germ theory is the reality.

I was trying to think of a way to explain why this is stupid and also ghoulish. I think I came up with something.

Imagine you are an engineer designing body armor. You are tasked with making sure the body armor can stop 10 different types of bullets. In your first attempt, you create body armor that stops 6 of the 10 bullets. You start selling those because that's pretty good protection. You can save some lives while you continue to improve things.

You already know how to stop 6 bullets, but you really want to figure out how to stop the last 4. So you do exactly what you did before, but add a few more layers of Kevlar and a steel plate.

Your boss, RFK Jr., says he wants a test of the new and improved body armor. But he says you have to give one test subject the real thing and the other test subject fake body armor that does nothing.

And you're like, "Hey, can I at least give them the body armor that stops 6 bullets? We already know that gives some protection. We only need to compare the new armor to what we already accomplished."

And RFK says, "No, please shoot a person dead. It's science."

[errorcode-33]

Pretty pt. 2

Choso x reader

NSFW fem!hot!reader // choso

pt. 1

warnings; choso is bad at feelings, slightly less clueless choso, handjob, reader is hot, kinda long-ish but mostly just smut.

Note; might make this into a series? possibly

Enjoy~

It has been about a week since your 'experience' with Choso, if you could even call it that considering that it didn't last very long and wasn't that eventful.

For you at least, for Choso it was very eventful, though I digress. Ever since then it almost seems as if you've made it your life mission to get even closer to him, not even bothering to try to hide your attraction anymore, openly hitting on him, even in public which you didn't really do before.

Well, to him it seems like it, though in reality he just started noticing more and being able to actually understand what you were trying to get out of your comments.

Which was to apparently fluster him, most of the time, which you happened to be very good at.

It almost starts to annoy him, not because he doesn't like the attention, he really likes the attention, but because often your comments and actions would cause certain reactions from his body that made it kinda awkward to do or think of anything other than that.

It seems that now that you've gotten more comfortable around him, it's not rare for you to get more touchy too. Nothing extreme of course, just casual light touches here and there, but even they seem to drive Choso absolutely insane and he doesn't know what to do with himself.

Take for example right now, after a mission (that he obviously accompanied you on), you're celebrating with the other sorcerers as usual except this time as you're sat beside him on the other side of the table from them, your hand was casually resting on his thigh as you spoke. Nothing extreme, it wasn't even close to anything, having been positioned lower on his thigh more towards his knee, but god he wished it was elsewhere.

Despite how minimal the touch seemed to be, it mixed with the way you were smiling (and laughing, which was a whole other issue), and wow just like that his hard on is pressing up against the fabric of his pants and he has no way of fixing it in the moment, so he's left to just sit and endure the torture of hearing you're voice while you sit so close to him, literally touching him.

Naturally, it doesn't take long for him to get a bit squirmy. It starts with some mild shifting, trying to find a more comfortable position to at least relieve some tension, which he finds completely pointless because no matter what position he shifts into he can still feel it, and that is what bothers him the most. It doesn't matter if he feels it less in some positions, it's still there so what's the point?

So he gives up and just sits there, enduring the way heat shoots downwards every time your voice goes even remotely close to the tone it had when you spoke to him that one time, and the way he feels it twitch when you meet his gaze and ask if he's ok, getting what could be mistaken as a calm 'mhm' if not for the way his whole body seemed to be so tense (which only you had the honour of seeing because only you were close enough to him to notice), and the way he seemed a bit flushed despite not drinking anything with alcohol, which, once again only you noticed because only you cared enough about him to notice what he was drinking.

So you took that as your cue to wrap things up, telling the group they did a good job in the mission and that it was nice catching up, but it's getting late and you should probably head off. When you turn to Choso and nudge him to get up, you're acutely aware of the way his adams apple bobs as he swallows before shifting up and leading the both of you out of the venue as you wave everyone goodbye.

It doesn't take long for Choso to realise that all that torture he endured at the restaurant was all worth it if it meant you'd be all over him when the two of you got home. How could he even think of being annoyed when you're on his lap, in his bed, lips pressing to his in sloppy movements, tongue sliding against his and sending sparks through him. He was anything but annoyed, his heartbeat speeding up slightly and he found himself increasingly grateful that you were nice enough to not start this in the hallway otherwise he was sure his legs would've failed him.

He's so lost in you, hands gripping your waist and keeping you close to him as his lips move against yours in an attempt to mimic their movements, occasionally letting out soft noises that he fails to hide. Not that it bothers him when he does begin to get a bit more vocal, it's not like he's been conditioned by society to think he should be quiet or whatever bullshit most guys seem to believe, which is all the better for you since his voice is just so hot.

The small groans he makes against your lips only seem to encourage you to continue, sliding your hands over his shoulders and down his clothed chest, earning you a small shudder from him.

After a few more moments you pull away from his lips, gaze flicking over his face to take in the way your lipgloss is smeared over his lips, giving them a slightly sticky appearance, and the way his eyes dart over your face in return, flicking down to your lips every now and then as he catches his breath.

All it took was some making out, and he was already such a mess, which excites you to no end.

Moving your arms to wrap loosely around his neck as you lean onto him, chests pressed together and lips just barely hovering over his as you look at him. So close to him, yet not close enough. You make sure not to press against him just yet, choosing to instead keep some distance between your hips.

"Choso~" your voice is a low purr, sending another barely noticeable shudder down his body "you're so easily riled up, how have you even survived so long?"

"I- I've never-"

You don't let him finish, pressing your lips against his again and he whines, closing his eyes as his brows furrow slightly, fingers tightening their grip on your waist.

Of course, you knew that you were the reason for all of this. You've seen how he is around other people, it's clear that it's not women he's after, it's you.

And that makes it just feel so much better for you.

When you pull away once again, he follows your lips, clearly not wanting to stop just yet but you've got different plans.

"Choso, sweetie, want me to make it better again?"

His eyes widen slightly and he has to force himself to swallow so that his throat doesn't go completely dry.

"like last time..?"

You hum, shifting back slightly to rest your ass against your ankle.

"hm... not quite, I was thinking something a bit... different this time"

"different?"

"mhm~" you purr, sliding your hands down his torso "y'know, like with my hand"

"ok"

You open your mouth to say something but he quickly cuts you off, having noticed the way your brows rose slightly, as if surprised by his lack of hesitation.

"I mean- anything you do feels good, so I don't see why your hand would be any different..."

He trails off, looking off to the side slightly bashfully, yet you don't fail to notice how his hips slightly shift in an attempt to get some friction, even if it's just from the fabric of his pants.

You almost feel a bit bad, he's so obviously worked up, and he's been like this for a while, but he doesn't know what exactly to ask for. You'd wager that he's not even sure what you mean by 'using your hand', he's probably just going along blindly trusting that you know what your doing, which lucky for him, you very much do.

You smile slightly, leaning in to press your lips to the edge of his jaw, revelling in the way he draws in a breath at the action, hands gripping the fabric of your top ever so slightly tighter.

"I'll take care of you"

The way you say it makes him almost melt on the spot, the warmth in his body spreading into his chest from the way you're being so sweet to him, almost overpowering the throbbing going on between his legs.

You notice the way the corners of his mouth twitch upwards slightly, and that gives you the confirmation you need, carefully moving your hand downwards to rub gently over the outline of the bulge straining against the fabric of his pants.

Choso lets out a slightly strangled gasp, throwing his head back against the headboard, clearly in a whole other headspace at the moment, and you continue tracing him through his pants, fingers wrapping around as much as they can with the fabric in the way. Sure you've felt him before, but that was with your ass, now you actually get to feel him out almost properly, which is exciting for some reason.

Noticing the way his breathing gets a bit heavier, you decide that he's endured enough of your teasing.

"mind getting your pants off for me?" you lift your other hand up to the side of his face, tilting it slightly so that he faces you, "and boxers too"

His eyes shoot open and before he can even register it he's fumbling to get his clothes down, thumbs hooking under both waistbands to shift them midway down his thighs.

Noticing the way his erection springs free and stands up makes his face heat up, and the way it's already dripping slightly doesn't seem to help.

You choose not to give him the time to get too embarrassed or nervous about his reaction, moving your hand to wrap around the base and giving him a few small strokes, avoiding getting too close to the tip.

Choso let's out a whine, dick twitching slightly in your hand as his hands move to hold him up against the bed, breathing speeding up the longer your hand remains around him.

"all good?"

He answers with a small 'mhm' before swallowing thickly and letting out a shuddered breath. You take it as a go ahead, moving your hand up his length, thumb brushing over the tip, smearing the slickness over your fingers and allowing them to glide over him better, beginning to properly stroke him base to tip, flicking your wrist around the head.

Choso's whines and whimpers mix with the occasional moans, getting slightly louder as you continue your movements, hand seemingly working magic on him. He's never felt this before, even when you were on his lap it didn't feel nearly as good, this was just so much more intense than anything he's ever experienced, and it overwhelmed him slightly.

He did not want this to stop.

And neither did you.

His voice was making you never want to stop. The way his breathing would hitch and he would let out strangled groans every time you'd bring focus back to the tip, swiping your palm over it in circular motions making him feel like he would burst right then and there.

It's when he lets out a breathless plea of your name that something in you snaps, hand tightening slightly around him and giving him a particularly harsh jerk that makes it impossible for him not to finish, ropes of white shooting over your hand as his head is thrown back hard enough against the headboard to make a thump, which goes completely unnoticed by the both of you.

Something about the way he said your name made you want to keep doing this, even if just to hear him say it again. You're brought out of your trance when he finally speaks up.

"sorry- about... that"

You blink at him in confusion for a moment before looking down at your hand, noticing what he meant.

"oh, don't worry about it, I don't mind"

You hum, shifting up to reach over to grab some tissues, wiping your hands and passing him a few to clean up his softening dick, noticing the way his cheeks redden slightly as he mumbles a small 'thanks'.

"and no need to be so awkward about it" you lean in, pressing your lips to his cheek, before getting off the bed to go toss the tissues, though not getting far as his hand finds your wrist, keeping you from walking away.

"no- I- don't leave-"

His panicked expression sends a pang through your heart, and you let yourself shift back down onto the edge of the bed, leaning in to gently press your lips to his.

"I'm not, I'll be back in a second"

He pauses, sighing before letting go of your hand, giving you the chance to pick up all the tissues and hurry out to go toss them out and wash your hands before coming right back and into his bed once more, where you spent the rest of the night

Masterlist.

Requests are open!

[themorningsunshine]

Apple pies

Pie eyed over you - Chapter 4

Mafia - Baker AU

Masterlist                        Series Masterlist

Previous Part

Pairing - Mafia!Bucky x Baker!Reader

Summary - When a new baker in town refuses to abide by his rules, Bucky has no option but to go and take care of it himself. But nothing could prepare him for what stood on the other side. Nothing could prepare him for you.

Warnings - Some talk of weapons, and a scene where the reader feels she is being followed

Word count - 3.7k

A/n - Took me 2 years, but the chapter is finally here. I am extremely sorry for extending my break this much. I am not sure if anyone is still interested in this story, but I really wanted to get back to writing, so here it is :)

The elevator doors slid open with a whisper, revealing the cold marble floor of the mob tower’s top level. Bucky stepped out, dark coat swinging behind him.

Steve stood near the railing with his arms crossed, jaw tight. Sam paced beside him, checking his watch for the third time in two minutes. Both of them turned at the sound of approaching footsteps — heavy, measured, familiar.

“Dude, where the hell were you?” Sam was the first person to speak, stepping beside Bucky as they walked to the conference room.

“Good morning to you too, Sam.” Bucky rolled his eyes, but his lips were tucked slightly upward. There was a certain softness to his expression, a skip in his step.

Sam squinted his eyes. “There’s something on his face, Steve.”

Bucky’s eyes narrowed, looking at his reflection in the marble of the walls. “What?”

Steve elbowed Sam lightly. “You’re smiling, Buck.”

Sam interrupted, “No, no. That’s not possible. There has to be some other explanation. I bet on – He’s dying.”

Bucky rolled his eyes again. “Shut up. Can’t a man just have a good day?”

Sam’s eves widened. “A goo - ? Steve. I am telling you, he cannot lead this meeting in this condition. We need to rush him to the hospital, or even the cemetery is fine with me.”

They stepped into the conference room where Stark had been waiting for 15 minutes. As soon as his eyes landed on Bucky, his grimace grew. “Barnes, you’re late. Some of us have other empires to run, you know.”

Bucky didn’t flinch, didn’t argue back. “You’ll live, Stark.”

Bucky straightens up and claps his hands once. “So, let’s get to it.”

Tony picked up his tablet, presenting the screen to the whole room. “So, the Mark IV. Still think it’s too flashy?”

“I think it’s unstable,” Bucky said, sliding into the chair opposite. “I need reliability, not a light show.”

Tony clicked his tongue. “So, you want boring.”

“I want functional,” Bucky replied, voice calm. “If it fails, people die.”

“Alright, alright,” Tony grumbled, thumbing through settings. “I’ll strip it down, swap in a tri-core stabilizer. Loses some edge, but it won’t jam in a blizzard.”

“And the recoil sensors?”

“Upgraded. Thermal override. But you’ll lose two percent on range.”

Bucky gave a slow nod. “I can live with that.”

He leaned forward, folding his hands on the table. His voice was still quiet, still measured. “But I want eyes on every shipment. No third-party drops. Your men hand it to mine. In person.”

Tony raised a brow. “So that’s what this mellow version of you is about— trust issues wrapped in a velvet bow.”

“Call it what you want,” Bucky said. “Non-negotiable.”

Tony leaned back and gave him a crooked grin. “Fine. But if this goes south, don’t come crying to me.”

“I don’t cry, Stark.”

“No,” Tony smirked. “But you used to break tables when you didn’t get your way.” He stood, offering a hand. “Progress.”

Bucky clasped it once, firmly.

Tony smirked. “Also, congratulations on taking down Pierce. It was about damn time.”

Bucky nodded. ”But we still haven’t caught that bastard. Escaped like a mouse.”

“I am sure you will.”

Across the room, Sam leaned toward Steve again. “Okay, what the hell? Bucky isn’t yelling, hasn’t clipped commands or threatened to break someone’s jaw or burn them alive in half an hour. Trust me, I am not complaining but what has gotten over him?”

Steve didn’t respond right away. Sam kept his voice low. “Maybe it’s not bad. You’ve seen him like this before?”

“Once,” Steve said, jaw tightening. “Before everything went to hell.”

Sam whispered slowly, “You think it’s her?”

Steve didn’t answer. He knew what Sam didn’t. Knew Bucky.

The meeting wrapped up with a handshake and a few nods. Tony left with a smirk, mumbling something about miracles and therapy. The room emptied slowly.

Bucky stayed behind, gathering the files. Calm. Almost serene. Steve didn’t move until the door clicked shut behind the last man.

Then: “You’re not even going to tell me what’s going on?”

Bucky didn’t look up. “Nothing’s going on, Steve.”

“You show up smiling, speaking in full sentences, not threatening to break anyone’s jaw—Sam practically started doing the sign of the cross.”

Bucky shrugged. “Can’t a guy have a good day?”

Steve walked closer, voice dropping. “It’s not just a good day. Something’s changed.” A pause.

Then Bucky met his eyes, and Steve saw it — the softness. The warmth. Something achingly human behind the cool blue.

“She’s good for you,” Steve said, softer now. “I see it. So does Sam.” He didn’t ask. He stated it.

That earned him a glance. “What are you getting at?”

Steve exhaled, rubbing a hand over his jaw. “You care about her.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t have to.” Steve turned to him fully. “But you’re not just smiling, Buck. You’re softening. Letting her in. That’s not something you do lightly.”

Bucky’s jaw clenched, the moment of levity gone. “I know what I’m doing.”

“Do you?” Steve asked, and his voice wasn’t accusing, just heavy. “Does she know who you are?”

Silence. “Buck.”

“No.” The word left his mouth quietly. “She doesn’t.”

Steve exhaled. “Then you are building a deep damn hole for yourself, Buck. Because this thing—whatever it is—it’s real. And she doesn’t know who you are.” Silence. “She doesn’t know what we do. The people we’ve hurt.”

“I know,” Bucky snapped, sharper than he intended. “You think I don’t lie awake thinking about that? You think I don’t see it every time I look at her? That every single time she smiles at me, or holds my hand, I feel like I am somehow tainting her with the blood on my hands? Every damn time she says my name with a softness I won’t be worthy of in any universe, I hate myself a little more.” He stopped, breath caught. His voice dropped, almost to a whisper, “because god damn it, how does someone like me get to even breathe the same air as someone like her?”

Steve’s voice softened, his heart aching for his best friend. “You need to tell her. Before someone else does.”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

Bucky ran a hand through his hair, suddenly restless. “Because I finally have something that doesn’t feel like blood and ash. Something soft. And good. And real.” His voice cracked slightly. “She looks at me like I’m just… James. Not a monster. Not a mob boss. Just… James. And the moment I tell her truth, I lose that. I lose her. She would never want to see my face again, Steve. She will hate me.”

Steve takes a step forward, “You don’t know that.”

A broken expression flickered across Bucky’s face. “That’s the thing. I do. I have stood there and listened to her talking about how much she hates the mob. About how she despises them with everything she’s got. And even after that, I am such a fucking terrible person, I didn’t tell her truth. You know why? Because the moment I do so, everything comes crashing down. She will stop looking at me like someone worthy. Like someone anything more than a monster. Like someone she could love.” Bucky’s voice echoes in the hall room.

Steve had never seen his friend so scared, so vulnerable. He was seeking the light and he knew it, but he had to save his friend from the fire too. “She deserves to know the truth.”

“I know she does.”

Steve moved closer. “So tell her. Would you rather build something on a lie?”

“It’s not a lie—”

“It is if you’re hiding the worst part of yourself.” Bucky flinched. “I’m not saying you don’t deserve this,” Steve added gently. “God, Buck, if anyone deserves a shot at something good, it’s you. But you’re terrified she’ll walk away, and what then? You spiral? You burn down everything again?”

Bucky was quiet for a long time. Then, finally: “She’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me, Steve.” His voice was almost broken. “And I don’t know how to let go of that.”

Steve put a hand on his shoulder, his voice gentler now. “Then don’t.” He squeezed gently. “Just don’t wait too long. Because the truth always finds a way out. And if it comes from someone else… you won’t just lose her. You’ll lose yourself.”

Bucky looked away, jaw tight, chest rising and falling like he couldn’t catch his breath. “I don’t know how to do this, Steve. I’ve never had something I wanted to protect this badly.” “You don’t protect someone by lying to them,” Steve said quietly. “You protect them by giving them the choice.”

Bucky didn’t reply. He just stared out through the window, eyes far away, knuckles white. And Steve, watching him, didn’t say anything else. Because he knew that look—the look of a man dangling off the edge, holding on with bleeding fingers, too afraid to fall and too afraid to let go.

＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊*•̩̩

You step out of the grocery store just as the sun slips below the skyline. The sky is that in-between shade and the streetlights buzz to life with a flicker, casting long shadows that stretch across the pavement.

You hug the paper bag closer to your chest. It crinkles in your arms. Feels louder than it should in the quiet. The walk to the bakery isn’t long. Ten minutes, maybe less if you don’t stop.

Your phone is silent in your coat pocket. Still no message. Still no call.

You tried not to think about it. Tried not to let the silence weigh too much. Last night meant something. Right?

Your fingers gripped the paper bag tighter. You could still feel the ghost of his touch on your skin, still remember the way he had looked at you—so gentle, so unguarded. But the doubt crept in, quiet and mean.

What if it hadn’t meant anything to him? What if you were just another soft place to land? You hate the way your chest tightens, how the silence starts to sound like a verdict. Maybe he woke up and realized it was a mistake. Maybe he left it behind like it was easy. You swallow the thought. It feels too sharp, like chewing on glass.

The city is quieter than usual. Not empty, just… muted. Like it’s holding its breath. A man across the street leans against a lamppost, smoke curling from the tip of his cigarette. He doesn’t look at you. Still, something prickles at the back of your neck. You ignore it. Tell yourself you’re being dramatic.

Another streetlamp flickered overhead. Buzz. Flicker. Dark. Light again.

You glance over your shoulder. Nothing there. And yet. There’s a feeling. Like breath on your collarbone. Like something just barely out of sight. You shake it off. Adjust your pace. Just a little faster.

Then— A sound. A footstep that doesn’t match your rhythm. You stop. Pretend to check your phone. You glance back. No one. But you feel it. That sensation. Of not being alone.

You pass the florist. Closed. Lights off. The reflection in the darkened window catching your eye. Someone was behind you. Far back. Walking slow.

You start walking again, quicker this time. Each step lands harder than the last. Your heartbeat starts to climb, matching the tempo of your feet. You pass a row of darkened windows. Your reflection moves with you. And then—a footstep. Not yours. Measured. Delibrate.

You don’t turn. You just know. Every hair on your arms stands on end. Your hands tremble, the grocery bag rustling like dry leaves. Your breath fogs in the air. You try to keep it even. Try to make it to the corner. One more street and you’ll see the bakery. The lights. The warmth. Another step behind you. Closer now.

Your mouth goes dry. You think you can hear your heartbeat—too fast, too loud—thudding in your ears like it might give you away. You grip your phone so tight your fingers ache. You don’t unlock it. Don’t text anyone. You don’t want to look down. You just want to get there.

You turn the corner. There it is. The bakery. Lit up like a beacon. You break into a near-run, not caring how it looks, not caring if you drop the stupid groceries. You don’t look back. You don’t want to see what’s behind you. Not yet.

You stumble the last few steps to the bakery. The bag crushes against your chest, your breath coming in short, shallow bursts. The warm glow from the bakery providing a moment of relief. Your heart hammering in your chest – But then you see him.

Just to the side of the door, half in shadow, half under the flickering bakery sign. James

He doesn’t see you at first. He’s looking at the ground like he’s arguing with himself.

“James” You call out, still out of breathe. He looks up immediately. His shoulders are tense, eyes sharp. Like he’s been waiting.

His gaze lands on you, narrowing with concern. He steps forward quickly, hand reaching out on instinct before halting just short of touching you. “Sweets, you okay?”

You nod too quickly. “Yeah. Yeah, I just—”

But your voice betrays you. It's thin. Unsteady.

His brows pull together. “What happened?”

You hesitate. “I think… I think someone was following me.”

“Where?” he asks, instantly alert. “Where exactly?”

“I don’t know,” you say. “Back on Hemsworth. Maybe earlier. I didn’t see a face. Just—heard footsteps. It could’ve been nothing.”

James takes a few steps away, peering down the sidewalk. You know that look—like he’s slipping into some version of himself you haven’t met yet. “I’ll check—”

“No,” you say, reaching for his arm. “Don’t.” His eyes meet yours again, searching.

“There’s no one now. And if there was someone… they wouldn’t still be standing around waiting to be caught, right?”

He doesn’t answer. Just studies you like he’s trying to read more than you’re willing to say. “Please,” you say, quieter. “I just want to go inside.”

After a beat, he nods. Gently takes the bag from your arms like it’s instinct. The touch makes something in your chest ache.

The doorbell jingles as you both step inside. Warmth spills over you. Bread and sugar and safety. But it doesn’t chase away the cold in your stomach.

James sets the bags on the counter, then hands you a glass of water. “You sure you are okay?” You slip slowly, trying to calm your trembling hands before nodding. “Yeah, yeah.”

You glance at him. He runs his hand through his hair, visibly torn. It looks like he is wrestling with something. You watch as his mouth opens slightly, like he’s going to say something – but doesn’t. And just like that, the fear creeps back in—but a different kind this time. Maybe this is it. Maybe this is the part where he tells you it was a mistake. That last night was too much. Too soon.

Maybe he waited here not because he missed you—but because he needed to end it before it went further. You assume the worst—because it’s easier than hoping. You watch him battle something inside himself. Like it’s taking everything in him just to stay put.

So, you try to defuse the tension. You clear your throat. “So, I’ve been thinking about renovating the bakery.”

Bucky’s head snaps up at that. “Really? I thought you loved this place exactly how it is.”

You nod. “Yeah, but.. change is good, right?”

A smirk tugs at his lips, “Sweets, you once threatened to track down a customer and burn their house down because they moved a flower pot.”

“I - The pot is supposed to be by the window so it gets enough sunlight, everybody knows that.”

He lets out a laugh, and the sound steadies you a little.“Okay, but why the sudden change of heart?”

“Well,” you shrug, “I’ve saved up. Thanks to someone who keeps stuffing the tip jar every time they visit.” You point an accusatory finger at him.

He looks away, feigning innocence. “Could be anyone.”

“With hundred-dollar bills? Seriously?”

Bucky chuckles innocently.

Silence falls again, but this time, it’s heavier. That uneasy weight presses down again. James is still fighting something. Steve was right—if he wants this, and God, he’s never wanted anything more—he can’t build it on lies.

But the fear that the truth will destroy it—that you’ll walk away—that fear is choking him. Still, he tries. “Y/N,” he says, voice low. “I need to talk to you about something.”

One look at him, and you know it is killing him to get the words out. Why was it so difficult for him to break your heart? So, you make it easier for the both of you. “James, you don’t have to say it. I know.”

Bucky’s eyes widen. It couldn’t be, right?

You took a deep breathe before continuing, “I understand if last night didn’t mean anything. It was late. You had just come back after so long and were clearly in a rough space. I just want you to know, it’s okay. I’m okay. I mean, I know we didn’t say anything about what it was… I didn’t expect anything. It was late, we were both tired, and emotions were—high, and that happens sometimes, right?”

You let out a nervous laugh. It sounds awful. Tight. He takes a step toward you, eyes narrowing.

“Because I don’t want to make this weird,” you continue, forcing a smile that trembles at the edges. “We’re friends, right? And I hope that doesn’t change. I sincerely hope that. So if that’s where you’re at,” you rush on, “if you’re standing here because you want to say it was a mistake, or that we should just pretend it didn’t happen, or that you’re sorry—please, just say it. I can take it. I’d rather you just be honest than—than stand there looking like you’re trying to figure out how to break bad news.”

“Stop.” His voice is low. Firm. Not angry—urgent. You freeze.

He takes another step closer, and now he’s right in front of you. Close enough to feel the warmth rolling off him. Close enough that his voice drops even lower when he says— “Stop talking like that. Like it didn’t matter. Like you didn’t matter.” You blink, lips parting—but no words come out.

“It meant something to me,” he says. “It meant everything to me.”

Your heart stutters. “James…”

He runs a hand through his hair, frustrated—but not with you. With himself. With this moment. With whatever war’s been playing out behind his eyes since the second you arrived. “You think I’m trying to figure out how to walk away from you?” His eyes are on you now—unflinching. “I’ve been trying to figure out how to stay.”

He takes a breath. “I’m not good at this. I never have been. I screw things up. I keep things in. I second-guess the people I care about because… I never really let myself care before.” You can’t breathe. Not properly. “But last night?” he says, shaking his head. “I didn’t get caught up. I didn’t lose control. I chose it. I chose you. Every second of it.”

Your chest is tight now, full of too much and not enough at once. He exhales, shaky. Runs a hand down his face. “You think I could just forget what happened? That I could hold you like that and not have it break something open in me?”

He reaches out—hesitant still, but when you don’t move away, his hand finds yours. “I could never think of it as a mistake,” he says. “You could never be a mistake.”

You look at him—really look at him—and your heart stumbles over the truth that’s been sitting in your chest for hours. “I was scared it mattered more to me than it did to you.” You let out a shaky breath. “I don’t know when it happened,” you murmur. “Maybe it was the night you stayed after closing just to fix the jammed drawer, or when you started learning the names of all my regulars like it mattered to you. Or maybe it was way before that, when you started showing up like clockwork, always pretending it wasn’t on purpose.” You lift your eyes to his, voice gentler now. “So if you’re scared, you’re not alone. I’m terrified. Because you matter to me in ways I don’t know how to say without sounding like I’ve already given you too much of me.”

And his thumb brushes your knuckles like he’s grounding himself with the contact. You don’t say anything.

Because suddenly, standing there in the warm light of the bakery, your hands tangled together, everything feels…right.

James steps closer. And before you can even catch your breath, he kisses you—soft and warm and real. You smile into it, wrapping your arms around his neck, kissing him back like it’s the easiest thing in the world.

When you part, you laugh quietly. “What was that?”

His smile is so warm it could light up the world. Yours, especially. “I’ve wanted to kiss you since the day you pulled me under your ridiculously floral umbrella.”

You squint at him. “First of all, my umbrella is beautiful. Second--creepy much?”

Bucky wraps his arms around your waist, pulling you closer, “You know you love it.”

And you do. He will never know just how much you love it. Love him. Standing there in the heart of the bakery, wrapped in his arms, your faces close enough to count the freckles on his nose—you love all of it.

But you don’t know the war raging inside his mind. The things he hasn’t said. And the truth he was still hiding had teeth—and it was already circling the edges of everything you’d just begun to build. You just didn’t know it. At least not yet.

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[ravangie]

ALL MOST OF THE TULIA AND MIGUELLA LORE SO FAR

All the art can be found under this tag

Ok. I have to start with the craziest concept in order for all of it to make sense, so I hope you're sitting down. Here I go:

Tulia and Miguella are ethereal immortal lesbian Goddesses of the Sun and the Moon who from time to time get reincarnated on this earth to find each other all over again.

Did that sink in? Ok, let's continue.

Tulia is the Goddess of the Moon, and Miguella is the Goddess of the Sun, as you might have guessed. Say hi to them next time you look up at the sky! In contrast to the usual confrontation of light and dark, Tulia and Miguella exist together as one. These two extremes are not mutually exclusive, quite the opposite actually, they are complementary to each other.

They've been around long before us and they will be here long after us. The ancient civilizations actually witnessed them as they are and kept them in their beliefs.

The two have been getting reincarnated on Earth since forever now. There were countless lifetimes of them already and there are countless lifetimes ahead of them. I might explore some of them in the future. For now I got focused on two of their lifetimes: the 16th and the 19th century. Let's explore them, shall we?

The 16th century.

The closest you can get to the canon story of The Road to El Dorado. Let's start with their backstories.

Unfortunately for Tulia and Miguella, they don't exist in Lesbianland, they have to deal with harsh realities of the real world and the conditions that are given to them by the centuries in which they live.

Tulia doesn't know where she's coming from. And I'd like to keep us in the same darkness about her origins for her sake. At least for now. She didn't have a family and grew up a nobody first and a thief second. She had a tough life from the get go and grew up to be just as tough.

The poor woman doesn't even know her birthday. Apparently in medieval times people used to celebrate the days of the saints after whom they were named instead of their Birthdays. But there ain't no saint after whom Tulia was named. So she celebrates on All Saints Day, when everyone who doesn't have a birthday during the year can celebrate. It's on November 1.

Miguella, on the other hand, does know when to celebrate her birthday. She's been named after Saint Michael, so she celebrates on September 29 with her whole family, consisting of her mother, her father and her older sister named Agata.

Now picture this. One day, when Miguella was in town, she unsuccessfully stumbled into a scheme of a beautiful woman, and because of her wrong move the woman had been caught redhanded. To her own surprise, when the stranger started running away from the furious crowd, Miguella started following her, making herself look guilty in the people's eyes as well. The strange woman was Tulia and she did NOT appreciate this little sissy getting involved with her. She helped them both get away, but was very adamant that she does NOT take responsibility for Miguella.

They talked for a bit after the fact and Miguella confessed that she heard that some women in town have been getting jobs in workshops and she wanted to try her luck too, that's why she came into town. See, she DESPERATELY needs a job. And she doesn't understand why she couldn't get any, even thought she has all the skills needed.

Tulia chuckles at her naivety but still carefully explains that it's not because of Miguella's lack of skills, but rather the way the society is set up. Yeah right, thinks Miguella, that's exactly what I was trying to avoid by getting a job. Tulia then says she has to go and pack her stuff. She can't stay in this town any longer, since she's been caught because of SOMEONE. So she hopes to catch a ride early morning, before the wanted posters start to show up. She wishes Miguella good luck, thinking this is the last time she sees her, and leaves.

And what do you know. The first person she sees next morning? Miguella, of course. She's right there, waiting for a ride as well, hoping to go with Tulia. Of course Tulia says No. She says No very angrily, very adamantly. No. She will not take Miguella with her. No amount of begging is going to change her mind. Until Miguella says "Fine. It doesn't matter whether or not YOU take me with you. There's no way I'm going back ..there"

Tulia understands the implications behind these words perfectly, so she has to go though all stages of denial, then pull this move

take a deep breath and hesitantly take Miguella with her.

She didn't plan on sticking around with her for long. She just wanted to get Miguella to the closest safe location and be done with her. But along the way, the unexpected partnership started to bloom.

Tulia has been stealing to survive from the cradle, quite often being unscrupulous in her methods. And she has always put herself first. That was the only way to survive for her. But when Miguella comes along, she starts to impose her moral beliefs onto Tulia. Tulia was very angry with her at first. Who does this little booger think she is, having the audacity not only to tag along, but also to argue with her. Tulia doesn't plan on starving herself just because this spoiled by the possibility of choice lady doesn't like her ways.

Eventually though she comes around. Migella has the magical ability to persuade Tulia to do anything with her puppy eyes. She contributes to Tulia's schemes and finds dozens of new fun ways to cheat people. She brings her mandolin and her singing into it. Miguella believed that if they gave the crowd a show first, taking their money was their payment for it. And Tulia believed that if the crowd was stupid enough to fall for their tricks, it was their own damn fault.

The duo won two pairs of gold earrings together at their first successfull "performance" and since then always wear them for good luck. In desperate moments they use them as bait and bet everything on them. But as you can see, both ladies still have their earring with them.

The two would spend countless evenings coming up with the most ridiculous plans, constantly interrupting each other and giggling hysterically. They didn't stick around in one place for too long to avoid being caught, so they travelled a lot and tried on many roles, such as: Tulia as the mysterious foreign fortune teller; Migella as a lively and charming villancico performer; Tulia and Miguella as two very successful card games players (because they are cheaters).

Eventually romantic feelings start to blossom towards each other as well. Tulia is hesitant to express them, since she feels responsibility for taking Miguella with her, and she doesn't want to seem as if she's taking advantage of her. But not to worry, Miguella feels the same way and she, being her open-hearted self, makes the first move.

Before meeting Tulia, Miguella was running out of options on how to escape the societal fate that was in store for her. Every method failed and trying to reach deep into the soul of this stranger was her last desperate attempt. And to both of their surprises, it worked. Something in both of them told them to go with it.

And before meeting Miguella, Tulia was already done with life, she didn't want much out of it. just enough cash to live carefree. But when Miguella comes along, everything changes. To Miguella, this criminal life on the road is very exciting and new and fun. And her excitement is contageous. She shares her fun with Tulia, shows her that there's beauty to be found in the simplest things. And maybe, there is something to hold on for a bit longer. Even without the cash.

And so we come to the point where we meet the protagonists of the movie. Blah-blah loaded dice, boat, horse, all that jazz, you know it you love it, EL DORADO.

When Tulia and Miguella get to El Dorado, they stumble upon a civilization, that actually remembers them as the Goddessess that they are. The people of El Dorado have been separated and hidden from the outside world, so there was noone to scew their beliefs.

Still, there were corrupt people, using power to their advantage, so the conflict with Tzekel Kan still remains.

Chel is still her chipper self. She still joins the duo on their scheme and tries to get her way by flirting. That doesn't work though. Here's the big difference that my ladies have with the original: there is no romantic plot-line with Chel. The two are too precious to each other, I fear, to be cheating. The whole cheating plot-point felt forced and unnecessary in the movie anyway, the conflict of interests and the moral of the story would be conveyed just as well without it. Plus because of it one party ended up winning much more than the other in the end. That doesn't seem fair to me. So I got rid of it :) They duo helped Chel run away, travelled with her until she found a place or a person she was happy to call home and that was that.

Also here's a fun fact for ya: out of curiosity I googled some Mayan Goddesses and I came across:

A Goddess called Ixchel, also known as Lady Rainbow, often depicted as a beautiful young woman with long dark hair sitting on a rainbow;

And a Goddess called Chen or Chin, a Goddess of corn, who apparently introduced homosexuality to Mayans (of course Miguella would be the one to do it).

So. Ya know :)

The 19th century.

Tulia and Miguella of the 19th century meet in America.

Miguella has been in America for as long as she can remember. When the cattle business in America bloomed and the demand for skilled cowboys rose up, the whole family packed and moved there. The father was a classic vaquero and worked with horses, while the mom of the family handled the business-y side of things. Two sisters - older sister Agata and younger sister Miguella - grew up on the ranch and learned all the skills of the family business while working alongside their parents. By the time they were adults, both were first class cowgirls.

As for Tulia... She went to America as a grown and skilled thief already, because a little birdie told her that there's gold waiting to be discovered there. She never reached the actual mines, but she sure did reach other people's pockets.

The two met because Miguella saw a fellow spanish-speaking woman in pants in town and wanted to help her out. Who would have thought that she's wanted for robbery?? Tulia didn't believe in Miguella's good intentions though and tried to interrogate her on why the hell she's trying to be nice to her: if she wants her gold, she's not getting any! Miguella tried to tell her that she doesn't know what she's talking about, but it was too late, the two were spotted together because of the racket they caused, and now EVERYONE thought that they were partners in crime.

Needless to say both were outraged and offended. Miguella was offended because she literally didn't do ANYTHING, never saw any gold and was only trying to do a good deed. And Tulia was offended because how dare these people think that she wouldn't be able to pull off a robbery alone!!

That same day Miguella demanded Tulia take her with her. Not begging this time, demanding. She argued that Tulia has pulled her into this mess in the first place and now she has to take responsibility. Tulia understood, that a person who was content with their life wouldn't just just drop everything and run away with an outlaw. They would try to fight for it, they would use their connections and good name to prove their innocence. Miguella didn't try any of that.

So yet again Tulia can't resist Miguella's charm, takes a deep breath and takes her along.

By this time Tulia already has a list of convictions, and at first Miguella was considered merely an accomplace. But the more shenanigans these women caused, the more mischief they did, and the more crime they commited together, the more people started to recognize them as a criminal duo. And frankly, the weight of their crimes, or even the fact whether or not they were actually successfull didn't matter, since they were women. In pants! Tulia and Miguella became a local legend in no time.

Let's talk about the differences between Tulia and Miguella in 16th century and Tulia and Miguella in 19th century.

By the time they meet in the 19th century, both women are older than they were in the 16th century. Both of them are much more mature and confident in themselves and their skills, so they argue A LOT more, trying to make things happen their way.

I know for a fact that Miguella makes fun of Tulia's horseback riding style. Tulia never even intended to have a horse in the first place, she just happened to steal this one and she kind of... stuck around. So she truly doesn't know what to do with her. Miguella helps her and teaches her, after she's had enough laughs, of course.

And I know for a fact that Miguella, living on the ranch, got educated. As a "good woman" she knows how to embroider, just like she did in the 16th century, and embroiders a lot of her and later Tulia's clothes. But she also learned how to read and write on the ranch. Tulia never got the chance to get educated. Miguella doesn't make fun of her for that. She reads for Tulia out loud.

Tulia from 16th century tries to lay low and do her deeds quetly, not wanting any more trouble, but Tulia from the 19th century has a new and exciting advantage: guns! She still tries to find a diplomatic approach, but if that doesn't work, she takes out her revolvers without hesitation. Miguella is very hot-headed, she skips the whole diplomatic part and is ready to fight anyone at any point. That's why Tulia doesn't trust her with guns. No worries though, Miguella knows how to use her lasso flawlessly and uses it all the time to help them in their crimes.

One other thing I'd like to point out is how by the time 19th century rolls around, all the famous Spanish dances that we know and love today become common. I LOVE imagining Tulia and Miguella performing flamenco for the unassuming audience and pickpocketing them at the same time.

The relationship dynamic is pretty much the same as it is in the 16th century. The two have a lot of time to bond with each other on the road and between all the bickering they do just that. Tulia is the type of woman who is used to suppressing her feelings and hiding her emotions due to the tough conditions of her life. But when Miguella tags along, suppressing her emotions forever becomes impossible, since they are always together. Miguella on the other hand has been living with an older sister her whole life, she knows that this tough exterior is just that - exterior. So she patiently stumbles through Tulia's walls time and time again until she manages to earn her trust. And when the moment comes for Tulia to finally break down her walls and be vulnerable in front of another person, she's right there, quietly supporting her. I think they both saved each other in their own ways.

Ok. I'll have to cut it here. There is still so much more I have to talk about. Miguella's sister Agata, for example, I know you all are wondering about her. Or the Bounty Hunter of the West, who tries to hunt down Tulia and Miguella. Sounds pretty exciting, eh? But I'll have to keep their stories to myself until I formally introduce you all to them. This post is already WAY too long.

I will mention one more thing before I go to the closing thoughts, however. About the wrong spelling of Miguella's name. Yes. I am very much aware that the double L in the name would give it a soft sound by the spanish rules, and that's not how her name is pronounced. I have an explanation for it though!

Picture this: Miguella finding her wanted poster and being pissed off that these damn english speakers spelled her name wrong!! But the posters were famous and everywhere, and so her name went down in history with an american spelling..

So there it is.

One person asked me what I see in their future and I think it's bright. The brightest it can be. After finding each other they get to live the longest and happiest lives. And I know that no matter what they end up doing, they never lose sight of each other.

It's very convenient for my heart that Tulia and Miguella are immortal and will forever be here. Do you understand? The Sun and The Moon themselves are lesbians! They've always been around and they will continue to be around long after us! Doesn't that fill you with hope?

I'm sure there were lifetimes on Earth when they couldn't find each other until late into their years. And maybe there were even lifetimes when they weren't lucky enough to find each other at all. But don't let that sadden you, but instead give you hope. Because even despite the odds and the despite the harsh reality that they have to face, they still keep on going and keep on trying again and again, cause in the end it's all worth it.

So I hope next time you look up at the sky and you see the sun and the moon being there at the same time, you'll think of Tulia and Miguella having a date and that will cheer you up.

P.S. If you saw any grammar mistakes: good for you. English is my second language.

[illusionremember]

ngl it is almost funny to me that the time when Dean is the MOST adamant that Cas is not himself, is this last moment, when Cas is protecting Jack. Especially in comparison to the subtle reaction to Lucifer possessing Cas. With Casifer, Dean was just kinda like *hmm something's kinda off* but when Jack reached out to Cas from the womb and Cas decided to become his protector Dean is full-on "I did not recognize the guy staring back at me."

As if Cas, famous defector of his family and cause for a vulnerable figure that powerful cosmic forces have plans for but just wants to be left alone to live his life, is somehow unrecognizable for... siding with a vulnerable party with a lot of powerful players gunning for control over them.

In many ways to me this is a writing thing more than it is a Dean issue. In terms of Casifer, plot reasons dictate that Dean can't be TOO suspicious of him yet, because Dean needs to trust him enough to later allow Casifer to time-travel with him. They already had plans for the big reveal at that point and while Dean absolutely is and should be suspicious that something is off, the filmmakers erred on the side of subtlety.

Meanwhile, Dean's response to Cas protecting Jack echoes his terrified response to soulless!Sam before they realized what was wrong, calling Bobby in a panic because *who is this stranger and where is my brother*, which seems almost excessive? So I wanted to work through some of the difference in this scenario with Cas and fetus!Jack.

In the case of Cas protecting Jack, the perceived antichrist, I think there are a few reasons the alarm bells went off so strong. First, because Dean watched it happen right in front of him. The special effects in place when Jack reaches into people's minds is extremely visible and flashy. It reminds me a lot of the effects they used when Cas drew Sam's cage-scars out of Sam's mind and into his own. Which of course was followed by Cas' own hallucinations, catatonia, and extremely erratic behavior. In this case, that obvious exertion of power is followed immediately by Cas using powers he shouldn't have, and smiting Dagon.

Second, at this point, Dean is also accustomed to, when something IS off with Cas, it's usually a case of possession (the leviathans, Lucifer) or otherwise outside influence/brainwashing (Naomi, purgatory souls). And this time, as mentioned before, he watched it happen — so he's already on alert trying to figure out what the unborn antichrist even did to Cas.

Furthermore, the switchover in Cas' behavior feels very sudden. He goes from making it his mission most of this season to track down Lucifer and then Kelly Kline, to instead wanting to protect their offspring, which as far as any of them know at this point is apocalyptically dangerous. He seems... mostly like himself, but he's got that look again, the one of purpose and devotion, and it's directed in favor of something Dean perceives as an enemy. And he turns against Dean to do so. At this point in the series, Dean is usually the person that Cas would protect at the expense of all else, often to disastrous effects. He's not used to being at the opposite end of that.

So looking at it closer, it makes sense that all Dean's alarm bells have gone off with the Jack situation. I just wish a few more went off when Cas was possessed by Lucifer. Most of the other incidents, it's still Cas, he's just under the influence of one force or another - Heaven, Naomi, Jack, Leviathans & Purgatory Souls... But with Lucifer, he's literally not even there. And I wish they'd allowed Dean to pick up on that more than they did.

As a quick aside, the other time that we see a wrong!Cas who is wholly not Cas, is when it's Jimmy Novak. And he announced himself immediately to Dean and Sam, so we never got to see Dean figuring this out himself. Lucifer, on the other hand, puts effort into masking his presence, because if he has the Winchester's trust, he can use them and access their resources. That said, he limits his interactions with them as much as possible, trying his best to obscure their view of him, to protect the ruse.

People have mentioned that Casifer's hand landing on the wrong shoulder is the thing that tipped Dean off, but tbh, I feel like that's too subtle, especially compared to other differences — the most obvious of which, to me, is Casifer not wearing Cas' coat and suit jacket. Cas only ever changes his clothes up when something is up with him, so why doesn't this catch Dean's eye? Unless, we are to assume, Dean has seen Cas in other states of dress offscreen, in which case why do we not get to see that?? let my boy wear different oufits. Or how about the fact that, even if he is trying to mimic Cas' behavior and vocal tones (and kudos to Misha for the masterful way this is played), there's an emptiness there. An edge of playacting at being Castiel, but with none of Cas' warmth or earnestness.

I think perhaps, what this comes down to, is Dean's tenuous relationship with trust when it comes to Cas. There have been times where Cas was definitively not himself, like with Naomi. And there have been times where he WAS himself but went down the wrong sort of path with full best intentions, like S6. And through most of their friendship, Dean needs some sort of visible confirmation that Cas is compromised before he loses trust. In S6 that comes from catching Cas in a lie, and then confronting him to confirm.

In S8, however, coming on the heels of Godstiel/Leviathans/purgatory, Dean is still rebuilding trust, and i think the thing that cements it once again comes from Cas outright saying Naomi's name while attacking Dean. Suddenly he has confirmation that this isn't really Cas's choice, that someone else is pulling the strings, and he can throw his trust wholeheartedly behind Cas again.

We also have Rowena's attack dog spell, where Dean can see that Cas is influenced, and that makes him wary, but he knows that it isn't Cas' fault or his will. There's Godstiel, where he thinks that the Cas he knew has been consumed by his mission for power. The Leviathans, where Dean knows there are other creatures inside the vessel. And then the Jack incident. All of those have visible elements of outside influence.

And with every instance, Dean's first response is not necessarily to distrust Cas as a person, but rather to assume something is wrong, and that Cas is in trouble. So with Casifer, he clearly thinks something is off, but Casifer makes a point of avoiding the Winchesters whenever possible. So Dean doesn't catch on just how bad things are until Lucifer decides he doesn't need to keep playing with them and reveals himself. And he loses patience with that game pretty quickly.

TL;DR - don't mind me, just puzzling through Dean's different reactions to Castiel under the influence :P

Dean noticing something's wrong with Cas

[mintedwitcher]

hi, i have this thought that it's kinda bothering me but I swear i'm not trying to start anything and this is a genuine question. Sending it to you because I've been scrolling your blog for a while and I liked it <3 and it is also connected to the firefam disgregating lately...

Why do you think Bobby asked Buck to take care of everyone? Because I mean, I love Bobby, and he was dying so he has the right to worry about his people, but he must have known, he must, that Buck would take it to heart, to the extreme, and neglect himself. And it's kinda like Bobby too, like everyone else there, cared a bit more about everyone else than about Buck, but I hate to think that, because Bobby would never...

But really, that's an incredible burden to put on buck without also saying "take care of yourself" or something, so I don't know, I'm kinda conflicted about that specific line...

hi nonnie !! okay so as I said, I have thoughts on this scene. I'm gonna try and keep it concise but I am Bad at that so this might get long.

I think this line was twofold. On the one hand, I think Bobby genuinely believed that the others would need Buck, because over the years, Buck has become Bobby's sort of protege, and we see that really clearly in 8x16, in the way that Buck is making sure everyone is ready and present for the funeral, even going to collect Chimney and giving him some very Bobby-esque advice ("I think you're just supposed to live" is a very Bobby line). So with Bobby facing his imminent death, he assumes and believes that his team will look to Buck the way they have been looking to him.

On the other hand, however, I think it was for Buck, more than the team. Buck spirals without direction, he takes the losses the hardest of anyone on the team, we've seen it time and time again. He's also incredibly bad at taking care of himself (not in that he's incapable, but that he's the type of person to put everyone else first), so looking after himself in the wake of a loss like this is practically impossible for him, he doesn't want to be a burden. I think Bobby told him that "they're gonna need you" in order to give him a purpose in the aftermath.

Buck has grown a lot throughout his time with the 118. He's not the irrational, impatient, arrogant probie anymore. He's a capable adult, he's a damn good firefighter, he knows how to work in a team structure. He doesn't seek glory anymore, he doesn't want to be the Star of the 118 anymore. And all of that growth can be attributed to the way he has learned to take care of others. First with Abby, then Maddie, then Eddie and Chris, and now the entire 118. He views them as his family, he loves them as his family. And Bobby knows all of this, he's seen this progression firsthand. He knows how much Buck loves the team, he knows how badly Buck needs to take care of people in order for him to feel settled. Buck needs to be needed, and that's not necessarily a bad thing, but it can get in his way a lot of the time.

Bobby knows all of this. He also knows that Buck is about to lose his biggest tether, his mentor, his father figure. So what does he do? He offers Buck a new lifeline and begs him to take it. "They're gonna need you," was not a case of putting a burden on Buck, it was Bobby trying to make sure that his pseudo-son won't isolate himself in the aftermath of his biggest loss.

I think Bobby was trying to be kind. But I also think that he overestimated the rest of the team. I don't think he realised, not entirely, that their relationships to Buck weren't as strong as his own. I don't think he realised just how untethered Buck has become over the last few seasons. Of course, I'm not saying that Buck should take priority for everyone, over their spouses and children and families, that's just unfair to say. However, I do think that somewhere along the line, except in very rare instances, Buck has become the "kid brother" of the 118. Hen and Chim still see him as the impatient probie, Eddie still sees him as the tantruming brat he first met. Ravi, I think, is the only person on the team who has actually managed to look beyond his first impression of Buck and see who he is now (evidenced by their conversation in the locker room and both of their bar nights).

Somehow, they've all missed him growing up. They treat him like a child, and therefore everything he does is, in their opinion, childish. He tries to be there for them, and they make fun of his method behind his back. He probably researched for hours on how to take care of people during grief in order to find that psych eval questionnaire, and his "friends" made fun of it behind his back. And okay, sure, the questionnaire is probably not the best method, but I think if Buck had tried to meet them on a personal level, he would've lost it, because he's not coping. So he is trying to take care of them and their grief while separating himself and his, because otherwise he can't get through it. He is struggling, and they think it's funny because he's not behaving the way they think he should.

And I think it's just incredibly unfair how seemingly everyone else's grief is totally validated and understood, except Buck's.

That's the part that hurts me the most about Bobby's farewell to Buck. Because he genuinely believed it, but Buck is finding out that Bobby was wrong.

If this show had any sense of continuity or narrative cohesion, this would be an excellent time to delve into the complexities of fallen heroes - Buck had put Bobby on a pedestal for years, but now Bobby's wrong about this one fundamental thing - the 118 doesn't need Buck - so what else might he have been wrong about? But they won't do that, so instead I'll eagerly await the fanfics about it.

[rekino2114]

could you write to 4, 7, 31 or 28 for Reo Mikage?? you can write whatever you want, I have no preferences

Prompts 4 and 28 for fem!reo mikage

Pairing:fem!reo mikage x gn reader

A/n:Sorry if I did only 2 prompts instead of 3. I had a lot of stuff to do. Also, I don't know if I mentioned this, but every time I'll write for fem!reo I'll change his name to rei

🦎Prompt 4:you help them do their hair

"Treasure do you mind passing me the hair tie?"

You looked away from your phone and at your girlfriend who was on the bed looking at herself in a pocket mirror and holding her hair in a ponytail

"You're already preparing? The reservation isn't until an hour"

"I know, but I like to get ready early. If we’re late by even 5 minutes, they're gonna give away our seats"

"Wow, talk about extreme"

"It's a five-star restaurant for a reason, I thought you'd be used to this by now"

"I don't think I'll ever get used to dating a rich girl"

"Are you gonna help me or not?"

"O-oh yeah sorry"

You stood up and started to look around the room for the hairtie she asked for

"Where is it?"

"There should be some in the drawer"

"Which one?"

"The bottom one"

You opened the bottom drawer and saw that it was full of little plastic bags containing tons of different hairties

"..............."

"What's wrong?"

"Why do you have so many?"

"I put a different one in every game, you didn't notice?"

"How would I? Your purple hair is gonna stand out way more than an hairtie"

"Whatever"

"So which one do I pick?"

"Whichever one you want"

"Really?"

"Yeah I don't mind"

Rei turned around and winked at you

"Besides I know whatever you pick will be great"

You smiled and opened one of the bags to take out a purple hairtie from it and sat on the bed behind rei

"Do you mind if I help you do your hair?"

"You know how?"

"I saw you do it so many times it's kind rubbed off on me"

"OK then, but don't do it badly, I care a lot about my hair"

"Yeah I know"

You proceeded to help her tie her hair in a ponytail with the hairtie you got. When you finished rei looked at the mirror and smiled

"Hey you did pretty good"

"What did I tell you?"

"Thanks"

Rei stood up and kissed your cheek

"So how much do I owe you for that?"

You giggled at her joke and smiled back

"100 dollars"

"Oh sure, let me get it"

She actually started looking around the room for her wallet before you stopped

".....i-it was a joke rei...... you really spend your money like it's nothing"

"........oh.....sorry"

"......it's fine....just another kiss would be nice though"

"Now that I'll happily do"

🦎Prompt 28:seeing them in a swimsuit for the first time

Rei had randomly invited you to the beach. When you asked her for explanations, she just told you that she had rented the entire beach for a day for you two to hang out at (plus nagi cause he often third wheels on your dates because of rei)

You put on your swimwear and approached the deck chair that you knew rei was lying on

When you got in front of her, you blushed seeing that rei was wearing a two-piece purple bikini. It was the first time you had seen her in anything this intimate so you froze for a while and blushed even more

Rei raised her sunglasses and saw that you were staring at her so she started smirking

"Enjoying the view?"

"O-oh s-sorry"

"Don't be, we're dating it's fine if you stare, plus I'd be lying if I said I'm not staring too"

You saw rei's gaze moving away from your eyes and to your body which caused her to blush

"......y-you're really hot"

"H-huh?"

"Sorry you just are"

".....y-you too"

".........so what do you wanna do?"

"O-oh, swim I guess, what do you want"

Rei pulled down her sunglasses again and looked at the sun

"I wanted to sunbathe, I was waiting for nagi to come so we can swim together"

"When is he coming anyway?"

"I don't know, knowing him he'll probably be two hours late or something"

You groaned and sighed disappointed

"Really?"

"You know how he is"

"I guess"

"You can sunbathe next to me to wait if you want"

"...alright thanks"

You laid down on the deck chair next to rei's as she handed you a can of your favorite soda she took out of a cooler box

"Want a drink?"

"Sure thank you"

She gave you the can and kissed your cheek, then laid back down next to you and held out her hand for you to take, which you did

"Hey sorry for this, I know nagi can be kinda annoying sometimes"

"No it's fine, I know how much he means to you"

"I'm glad but remember that you mean much more than him to me alright my treasure?"

".....yeah.....thanks I love you"

She raised her sunglasses again and smiled brightly

"I love you too"

[ultrafagg0thellb0ss]

Of all the South Park characters, the most ambiguous one for me is Tweek. Most often in fan works—whether art or fanfiction—he’s portrayed as a weak, cornered, frightened little animal, trembling at every sound. Of course, this image generally holds some truth, but... I see him differently.

So uhhh long story short here’s Tweek’s top three ^^^oh god this makes too much sense^^^ forms :P

On the left—this is probably the version I encounter most often online. A gaunt teenager, consumed by his own fears, anxieties, paranoia, and depressive states. Nothing unusual here.

On the right—hah, this version of Tweek is extremely rare in the wild (if it exists at all?). Ladies and gentlemen, behold—a (mostly) mentally stable Tweek Tweak. I can clearly imagine a Tweek without a mountain of mental issues because... well, if Mr. and Mrs. Tweak suddenly stopped feeding their son coffee laced with unTEGRIDY meth... or maybe even stopped replacing his water with coffee altogether... then maybe, just maybe, something mentally healthy could emerge, I think.

In the middle—well, this is just fucking insane :) but I love it. This is Tweek, completely gone off the rails. Tweek, driven to madness by his personal demons and his parents' neglect. A person who never got the help he needed in time. This reminded me of the episode where Tweek is once again suffering from terrible paranoia (I think the issue was North Korea), and all his dad does is shove a fidget spinner into his hands. SPIN THE GODDAMN SPINNER TWEEK JUST SPIN IT. And I imagined how, in the same way, instead of giving him real help, his parents could just pump him full of every possible pill, as long as his abnormality didn’t inconvenience them.

That’s about it :)

[project-sekai-facts]

Im sorry i know you said not to ask you to elaborate on that last point, but i cant help myself.

I mean yeah it's not biphobic to dislike bi minori, but it's still hurtful when ppl are super strongly against bi hcs (to the point of acting like lesbian minori is canon, and bi = morally wrong -- not you but fandom in general) over an implied sapphic character because as you said, ppl treat bisexuality as just Straight Plus. I just want to know why you added that last part to support why it's ok to not like bi headcanons. like.... are you saying people only have bi headcanons as an excuse to ship "het" couples?

As I said with Minori specifically, she's a character strongly coded as lesbian, so the fact that some people do not like headcanoning her as bisexual is entirely understandable, because she's like the closest thing to canon lesbian rep next to Kohane so obviously a lot of fans see themselves in her and want representation.

What I mean in regards to the fandom treating bisexuality as straight plus is that a lot of the time the whole "prsk fandom is biphobic" issue is brought up is with regards to m/f shipping. Such as with the Minori discourse afaik it started because of a minori fan account shipping her with men. And I'm absolutely not saying you can't hc a character as bi and ship them m/f, that's totally valid, but it's that commonly people only start bringing up biphobia when people don't like a m/f ship.

Like, it may be your headcanon that the characters in that ship are bi, but m/f couples are not inherently a bi thing. As a bi person it bothers me that a large portion of this fandom still defaults to "some people don't like m/f ships = biphobia" like what are you talking about. I think it's largely due to the english speaking side of the fanbase being made up of a lot of young queers and generally people assuming every character is queer off the bat. But it's very telling when people start calling biphobia over not liking a m/f ship that they're just viewing it as straight plus in a lot of cases.

Like again, I'm not saying you can't hc characters as bi and ship them m/f without shipping them with characters of the same gender as well. For the least discourse-inducing example I have, I like kaimeiluka and hc them all as bi, and I only ship kaito with those two and not any men. Like that's not my issue that's just normal my issue is that when people get upset over a m/f ship be it because they don't like it or because it features a character who is coded as exclusively gay, the people who like the m/f ship immediately jump to "you hate bi people" when that's not true and extremely disconnected from reality. m/f relationships are not inherently bi in the greater scope of reality, and it says a lot when someone immediately assumes m/f relationships as being the ones with bi people. We like both that's the entire point m/m and f/f ships can have bi people too.

Also in fandom terms as I've said before, everything comes down to preference. Some queer people don't like m/f ships that much and that's okay. That's not biphobic and also the characters in their slash and femslash ships could be bi. In the prsk fandom specifically you are not obligated to like any m/f ships, there's not many options in the first place. Sexuality goes hand in hand with shipping so people will ship and headcanon whatever they want regardless of what's implied in canon, because at the end of the day nothing is confirmed. As much as Minori is lesbian coded people are never going to stop shipping her with men, and if one day it gets confirmed they'll probably just start genderbending. (before anyone brings up Mizuki that's a different can of worms since there is confirmation in the text she is 1. amab and 2. identifies as female so going against that is blatantly transphobic)

[a-bad-case-of-the-stephs]

Do we ever see Steph in a mentor type roll in the comics? I’m trying to write something for her and I’m not sure how she would act if she had to be a mentor to someone younger. I can’t tell if she’d be good at it or not. Maybe she would in a non traditional way?

Not really, unfortunately.. Funny you ask, as there was an idea for a comic w Steph mentoring a group of young heroes floated a while back that never ended up getting made. However, Steph is pretty consistently portrayed as good with kids! The closest thing to what you’re looking for I can think of is probably Steph’s interactions with Damian in Batgirl 2009! While not quite a mentorship exactly, it might be a good basis for how you might want to write her interacting with a kid she saw as is need of her guidance. Checking it out might be a good idea!!

On my opinion on the type of mentor Steph would be, that’s a great question, I think a lot of it would be a natural product of her own experiences w mentorship.

Steph has had some truly shitty mentor experiences in her past (looking at you Bruce Wayne cough cough), and I think that would make her very cognizant of certain things. For instance, I think she would want to be very open with a mentee, as one of the biggest things used against Steph during both her stints working with Bruce was how much information was kept from her and how far she was held away. We can see some evidence for that openness with how Steph interacts with Wendy Harris (Proxy) during Batgirl 2009, Steph basically tells her everyone’s secret id and backstory with no compunctions. So I think Steph would absolutely be very open with a mentee and would try not to keep secrets from them. On the other hand, one of Steph’s flaws is she is kind of a secretive person, she’s introspective and she likes to figure stuff out by herself, so I can see this being an internal conflict for her, where she is very willing to tell a mentee important secret info, but still holds more emotional stuff close to chest.

Another thing abt how I think she’d act as a mentor, Steph is extremely dedicated and determined, and tends to see things in a black and white sort of ‘giving up is weakness’ kind of way? I think she’d have to balance her 1) incredibly determination and focus causing her to want to push her mentee to be the best they can and 2) Steph’s (again) terrible experiences being mentored by Bruce making her not want to push too hard / berate / not provide enough verbal encouragement to her mentee. It’d be a balance, but she’d probably end up being super encouraging and verbally affirming to a mentee while holding them to a pretty high standard.

Just generally, when it comes to Steph interacting with kids, she has had a pretty regular habit of projecting her own experiences and traumas onto them. Not a bad thing per se, just she seems to tend to see her younger self in abused kids particularly and it engenders her to be protective of them.

If you want to take that to explore a flaw Steph might have as a mentor, you could write her projecting her own past difficulties or past feelings onto her mentee in a way that isn’t helpful or accurate.

All in all, I think Steph could be a great mentor! She gets along well with children and is stubborn when it comes to making friends and forming bonds, and has experienced pretty much the worst case scenario mentorship wise (dropped by BOP, dropped by Batman. Twice. Being insulted/used as a tool/held at arms length etc etc) which has pretty much given her a valuable perspective on exactly what NOT to do! However, those very same experiences might also hinder Steph’s abilities as a mentor. She might fixate on screwing up with them like she was screwed over, or project herself onto them. No matter what, I think she’d try very very hard to be present as a mentor and would want to be there for her mentee no matter what. Hope this was helpful, thank you for the ask, and good luck with your writing!!

[corseque]

another clair obscur spoiler thought that might be wrong because I would need to do another playthrough

it really strikes me that the first real world character that you speak to and have an exchange with is Aline at the end of act 2!!

Every character who speaks to Maelle before that is in some way a creation of Aline. And what is very interesting is how the ONLY criticism that Maelle ever goes through is when she's speaking to people from the real world.

When I played the game, I found the criticism from her family to be harsh, but watching the scenes again, I think the only ones that sound actually cruel still are some of the things her mother says, but even those, I think the cruelest things are things Maelle/Alicia SAYS that her mother thinks of her, not anything we actually see or hear the mother actually saying outright.

Clea especially, after hearing her really caring advice that she gives to Maelle/Alicia if you get to the top of the Endless Tower where she advises Maelle to follow her heart... her tough impatience feels different on rewatch too. She's just in mourning and her personality is sharp and she's a little condescending, but she talks about loving Verso and she compliments Maelle when she hides the painting well. She's just a normal person with her own priorities and battles. The father as well.

But none of the painted characters in the painting act even a little irrationally cruel in their grief toward Maelle when the act 1 spoiler happens. They always act extremely loving toward her, and you think that it's just a found family thing, but then you start to wonder about - like she would still have Painter powers that she could use to influence the people around her to love her. I remember there's certain lines that Lune etc say that imply Of Course They Love Maelle, almost like it's maybe something they have been painted to do, maybe just by Maelle being around them. This could also explain why Maelle wanted to get away from Lumiere as a child...? To get to somewhere real? (She is such a complicated character, I need to think about it more)

But anyway, there's SOMETHING about how the only people who seem to talk to her in a normal, real and even slightly critical way are her family with real lives and real concerns that exist outside of her....? And then this seems to be supported by the ending where she has painted Lune and Sciel to wear the exact same clothes as each other, styled the same (even though when the two were created by Aline, they had very unique fashion senses).

I've seen people call Renoir's painting of Alicia cruel and unflattering and Maelle speaks as if he doesn't understand her in his painting ("I get vertigo" she says), but imo it's genuinely such a true and heartbreaking depiction of her, like he sees her truly for who and what she is and I think he painted her accurately. It's literally a portrait of her in the last frame of the Alicia ending, stuck in place and not working on anything or even moving at all.

Like I think it was purposefully done in the story that the real people that she actually knows in her family can give her insight into herself that will help her grow and change, while she cannot get pushback or growth from the paintings....?

[wincestwhispers]

I think the most likely era Sam would choose to time travel to actually stay, even temporarily, would be when Dean goes to Purgatory or post finale. Both are times when Sam was fairly sure he’d never see Dean again. I prefer Purgatory era because Dean can crash the party eventually but post finale is great for an extra fucked up and depressed Sam.

In this Purgatory version I think Sam did spend time searching for Dean or any kind of answer and in the process came across a time travel spell. At first he tucked it away for later use but the more time dragged on and he came up short for answers, the more appealing it seemed. He could have his Dean back. Maybe even fix some things. So a few months into Dean disappearing he starts preparing the spell. It’s a generally simple spell but with extremely rare ingredients he is lucky to have most of. Not long after, Sam can perform the spell and, finally, get back to Dean.

Sam knows if he wants things to go how he’s envisioning, he’ll need to make sure Sam from the past won’t get in the way, so really it’s a no-brainer to go back to when he was at Stanford, blissfully unaware of his horrific future. It’s a taxing process but the spell works! He finds himself back at the bus stop where he and Dean said goodbye so long ago. Of course, Dean isn’t there this time, but Sam will find him. He brought his journal with him and it has an abundance of information about his brother, mainly of the things Sam wasn’t there for. Like now.

Stanford Sam has no idea where his brother is or if he’s even okay. He’s probably flirting with Jess at this moment, or studying for a pointless test. Sam doesn’t dwell on the fact that he’s more bothered by his past self’s ignorance than the thought of his dead lover.

It takes some time but Sam manages to narrow down a small list of hunts Dean could be on and makes his way through each town, checking motels all the way. Finally, after about a week, Sam finds his brother dangerously drunk at a shitty bar in Kansas.

Sam stands in the entrance of the bar, stunned by the sight of Dean. Beautiful, young, living Dean. He looks.. much younger than Sam remembers. Only his eyes aren’t full of life the way Sam was so used to then. No, instead they’re dull and exhausted. Sam hates it.

He positions himself at the end of the bar and watches Dean. The bartender, an older woman, pours him two shots of whiskey at his motioning and sighs when he immediately downs them both.

“Am I gonna hafta cut you off?”

Dean waves a hand and grins lazily, “I haven’t even fallen off the stool yet.”

The bartender just shakes her head, passes him a glass of water and gives him a stern look before making her way over to Sam.

“What’ll it be?”

Sam blinks, mind still on Dean, and forces himself to ask for a beer so he can go back to staring. He misses the woman rolling her eyes. She grabs the same brand of beer the green-eyed boy has ordered the past two nights and slams it in front of Sam, splashing it onto his hand. He startles and sends the bartender a glare she ignores entirely as she walks away. Sam shrugs it off and turns his gaze back to Dean. He’s got his phone out now and stares at it like it’s a bomb he needs to diffuse. A distant voice in his head says this is around the time Stanford Sam stopped talking to Dean entirely, his feelings too conflicting and painful.

Dean must have zoned out glaring at his phone because he jumps when it starts ringing. His eyes widen in what Sam can only describe as anxious excitement only to narrow in confusion when he reads his screen. Dean takes a deep breath and answers.

Immediately Sam knows their father is on the other end. Dean’s suddenly stiff body language telling enough. Sam can’t hear whatever Dean mutters in reply to the voice in his ear but he can see Dean nodding every few seconds. Eventually Sam hears, “Got it. I’ll take care of it, Sir.”

So this is how it went. John off hunting down Azazel while Dean bounced from town to town, bar to motel, with no backup Sam knows of. It looks like John’s only contact with Dean was to feed him information on hunts. Sam’s not sure how accurate that is, Dean never talks much of this time, but he hates John nonetheless.

Sam grew out his facial hair the past few weeks and he thinks it just might keep Dean from questioning his identity. Sam quickly finishes his beer and strides over to sit beside Dean.

His brother glances his way then stops and not-so-subtly gives Sam a long look. Sam grins and calls over the bartender. She gives Sam another eye roll that he ignores. He orders two more beers. She sets Dean’s down much more gently than his.

Dean raises an eyebrow at Sam in question. Sam nods to the beer, “Come on. You’re not considering the water, are you?”

Dean shrugs and takes a long drink. Sam shamelessly watches his wet lips wrap around the glass and his pink tongue poke out to grab a stray drop as he puts the glass down. Dean gives Sam another long look. “You seem familiar. You come here often?”

Sam laughs lightly and shakes his head, “No. I’m just passing through. You?”

Dean nods, “Same here. Gotta skip town for a new job tomorrow actually.”

Sam takes a small drink of his beer and smiles at Dean, “Well that’s tomorrow. Must mean you’re free tonight,” he leans in until his lips are a breath away from Dean’s ear.

“Must means I have time to fuck you in every position I want.”

Dean makes a noise in the back of his throat and flushes a beautiful pink. “You got a room nearby?”

Sam nips at Dean’s ear and leans back. “Follow me,” he stands and waits as Dean stumbles off his stool but true to his word, does not fall. Dean somewhat clumsily walks up next to Sam and he places a large hand on the small of Dean’s back. Sam leads them out of the bar and into the cool night air. Dean trips over a rock and Sam easily catches him, keeping him tucked against his side the rest of the way to the motel.

Soon, Sam will make Dean his. And he will never let him go. He’ll swallow every moan and plea, memorize every inch of skin, claim the deepest parts of him. And Dean will beg for more.

@sharedblood

[bluiela]

This is a personal rant about the ACOTAR fandom, specifically extreme pro-Elain/E/riel shippers, and the harassment my pregnant friend endured. Please read with care.

Rant: Why I Can’t Stand Extremely Pro-Elain or E/riels Anymore

TW: harassment, threats

Two years ago, when the shipping discourse in the ACOTAR fandom was absolutely vicious, a close friend of mine and I both deactivated our Facebook accounts and stepped away from fandom spaces. It got that bad. She and I actually live in the same prefecture and were on same facebook groups.

Last year, around July or August, we slowly started re-engaging—rereading the series, interacting here and there. I was finishing up school and doing an internship, and diving back into fandom was a way to cope with all the stress.

Then she found out she was pregnant. She had some complications, so she was resting more—and like anyone would, she joined in on the rereads and discussions again to take her mind off things.

Only a few weeks later, the threats started—death threats, rape threats. She was seven months pregnant.

And the worst part? She wasn’t even engaging in ship wars or discourse. She simply said she didn’t like Elain’s character and wanted to critique how the fandom treats her character in a toxic way—with zero hate, just calm, valid critique.

In return, she was called a misogynist, anti-woman, toxic, and worse. The stress got to her. Her blood pressure was affected. She ended up deactivating again and has since stayed completely away from the fandom.

What truly disgusts me—what makes my stomach turn—is that she got messages saying things like “I hope your baby dies” and “you should die like Feyre.” There were worse messages, ones I can’t even bring myself to repeat. After she left, I deactivated facebook and came to Tumblr because people told me it's tag based.

But again they send hate on the tags repeating the same threats. When we called it out?

And what did the other side do?

They blamed us.(Saying we send them to ourselves) And they played the victim💀

They’ll defend a fictional character like Elain with all their energy, but won’t even pause to defend a real human beings and their children

And it’s not just anti-Elain people they attack. Even if you like Elain but ship Elucien or Gwynriel, they’ll bully and gaslight you into thinking your opinion isn’t valid. “You don’t really love her,” they’ll say, unless you agree with every single one of their takes.

I just needed to get this out. I'm so tired. Watching them always spin the narrative so they’re the victims—it’s vile. It makes me sick.

Now I guess there's drama on their side and again "we" are sending them this

Honestly, if Maas doesn’t announce the next book soon, I might take a break too. Because this? This toxic, obsessive, joy-sucking fandom behavior? It’s killing the fun. And that was the whole point of being here in the first place.

[kittiegut]

Can you give us good murdersim games to check out?

YAYY SURE!!

!! games listed are nsfw and contain gore !!

okay so first of all we have btd,btd2 and tpof, i dont think i have to talk much about them cause everyone knows em

theres also Till death do us part by EP, but i played it and it was kinda ass ngl, but if you played all the btd games u can check it out too :p

theres also two other games by ep called code zero and mark of belial but i havent played them yet

Dont romance me

Okay this one is defo my fave, its very much like btd, exept you dont get kidnapped, you instead get taken to an alley, where u get (yk) and killed, theres one ending tho where u survive ;3

She was swallowed by the sun

Okay, this isnt really a murdersim, there is no mc and you only follow the story of two lesbians, not making any choices, but the ARTSTYLE , soundtracks and lore (that im honestly too stupid to comprehend, but it sounds interesting lmao) makes up for it. by definition its an ero guro yuri vn, but i think it fits.

wh4t 1 w0ulndt d0

Okay this one is very very extreme so uhhh

anyways,, some time ago you succesfully escaped from your delusional psychopath (a really hot one at that, with big fat ol titssSSSsss) kidnapper, butttttt hes back, and he kidnapps you again and keeps you in his shed, also the mc is actually pretty smart and the game overall is quite realistic, i think its really great and i really recommend it if youre into more extreme stuff!

Perfect love

Okay this one is not murdersim either, but i just havvve to recommend this,, the MC is cruel and manipulative, theyve been always searching for the 'right' one for them (aka a yandere) but since no one is insane enough, theyve decided to manipulate a soft vurneable boy, and shape him into the perfect one for them. The artstyle is really nice, you get to be mean and evil, and you can also shape him into anyone you want ; from someone who will protect you with his entire soul to someone who will cut your limbs off and keep you in his basement. lotsa endings and lotsa choices! super cool!!!

tbh thats it really, so heres a list of links to murdersims that i havent finished or played yet ;p