#damage has been irreparable for some people frankly.

[steelycunt]

i’ve always thought regulus black and draco malfoy are essentially the same character except instead of cowering in the corner like a pussy the whole war regulus actually did something (and failed spectacularly ohhhh my god imagine talking so much shit in a locket and then dying before you even get the chance to destroy the first horcrux like be so serious right now.) but do i still like both of them? yes! is that because i’m a bully and draco malfoy in particular is very much pathetic and a joke? yea!

ohh yeah i mean. well i take ur point absolutely but i feel like its had the adverse effect for me in that as a result i do not like either of them. i love r/s and i think they are both pathetic in a good way like they are good people who just happen to be a little pathetic but to me draco is just pathetic in an unlikeable way. he is pathetic in a self-serving spoilt irritating way there is no affection to his patheticness. and as for regulus well i don't know that guy ill be so real with you rn but like idk. i am not fond of that guy. not when his brother is right there

[foldingfittedsheets]

Hands down one of my worst experiences in high school was when the seniors decided to extort the entire school by using tactics that were banned by the UN to get them to pay for the senior party! If that sounds like a wild sentiment stay tuned because this shit got crazy.

I was living in Arizona at the time and I was a freshman. Our campus was largely open air, with walks between class room buildings and some covered outdoor tables. Our event began with a morning announcement. The seniors were collecting donations for the senior party, and when they reached their goal, their fundraising method would stop.

Their fundraising method:

To pipe the entire schools speakers with "If You're Happy and You Know It" on loop. To this day, I cannot hear this song without experiencing a degree of rage and madness that is frankly alarming. One of the worst parts of the entire thing was that the recording they chose had the female singer do a little clap and say "Yay-ha-hey," at the end. So it wasn't just the song, it was this awful little cooldown stinger at the end.

If this sounds a lot like psychological torture you'd be extremely correct! This practice has been banned in some countries, but the good old US hasn't ruled it a human rights violation, and what a fun silly way to raise money, that definitely wasn't damaging to adolescent psyches!

Every morning for 15 minutes before school began, every passing period, every lunch, and after school for another 15 minutes they blasted that fucking song on unceasing repeat through every speaker in the school. Everyone found different ways of coping with this and mine was to observe my classmates descent into madness and categorize the stages.

The first stage was almost completely consistent, and it was a smug almost exasperated eye rolling phase. Often accompanied by derisive comments about the song or the tactic, this phase was extremely mildly annoyed. Most people figured it would blow over soon, and no one anticipated this continuing for a week and a half, creating a miasma of fraught tension.

The second phase was elevated annoyance, starting to snap and be less amused characterized this level of irritation. People would try to cover their ears or put on headphones, humming aggressively to block out the syrupy repulsive children's performer with her loathsome little clap. This phase had people picking their absolute least favorite part of the song. Her inflection on certain words, her timing between verses. I think it's pretty clear already which part I hated most.

The next phase was a bounce back out to absurdity. It became funny how annoying it was and people would sing along as if to challenge the song's authority over their psyche. This paired exceptionally poorly with people in phase two as they'd often lash out at the people giving more voice to their hell.

The fourth phase was a dead-eyed madness. People would stare straight ahead and their lips would silently mouth the familiar words. The song had pounded its way into their very soul and was inextricably linked to auditory output. They often didn't even realize if they began chanting along.

The fifth and final phase was pure uncut pubescent rage. Kids would scream, attack each other, and in a truly epic end to the event hurl a cafeteria chair with such force at the speaker in the cafeteria to irreparably damage the sound system.

The seniors got funding for a party, but some of it had to go to repair the damages, which were substantial.

[maxlarens]

ok so i had an idea for the rb photographer fic if you're up for it

first of all im like in love w ur fics i love em all

and nextly, listen to this..

charles isn't single but manwhore carlos probably is?

he flirts w our photographer and makes max jealous?? roped in by danny ofc to get them together?? what do you think??

anyway have a great day! <33333

UM OKAY THANK YOU! max x rbphotographer!reader are literally everything to me and i am SOO thrilled to have gotten this request. very in character for daniel to get everyone involved in scheming even tho max has told him not to😭 love it so much😇😇 hope u enjoy and i am SOOOO sorry this took so long xx

MV: tonight (i wish i was your boy)

pairing(s): max verstappen x redbull photographer!reader

word count: 1.9k+

Max likes to think he’s not a jealous person.

Max likes to think that— but it doesn’t mean it’s true. Daniel would and has, argued that Max is an abnormally jealous person. In the sense that Max doesn’t like to share. Doesn’t like other people playing with his toys. Not that he thinks of you (or Daniel) as his toy— that’s absurd. He’s a jealous person, not some territorial asshole with an anger problem. (Okay, sometimes he has an anger problem. He’s been working on it. It hardly crops up anymore, but he’s not territorial).

He is, again, bad at sharing, and also uniquely used to getting what he wants.

It’s not because he’s got a crush on you. Despite what Daniel would like to assume. It’s just that you’re meant to be his friend. You’re here with him, because of him. He’s meant to be able to hover around you all night, getting carried away as he tries to explain something meaningless while you give him that half-grin that you don’t even realise you’re doing most of the time. He’s the one who’s supposed to be putting his hand on your back, and leaning in to ask if you’d like another drink—

Not Carlos.

Definitely not Carlos.

(Well, at least it’s not Charles).

Instead, Max is standing next to an overeager Lando at the DJ deck, gripping his drink so hard that he’s mildly concerned the glass will shatter to pieces in his hand. Actually, that’s not such a bad idea to get your attention. Maybe if that happens you’ll stop looking at Carlos Sainz Jr with big googly eyes and you’ll come nurse his hand or whatever it is you’re supposed to do in pathetic little fantasies like the one he’s entertaining. You’re not really the nursing type though, you’re more prone to start freaking out and calling everyone on the Red Bull team to tell them that Max has irreparably damaged his hand.

Max stops entertaining that particular fantasy.

Daniel’s not here, he’s gone home to Australia for a few weeks and skipped out on this weird little grid (+ friends) party that Charles is throwing. This is good and this is bad for Max. On one hand Daniel is not here to rib him about his half-admitted crush on you, on the other hand Daniel is not here to distract him from his half-admitted crush on you. There’s Lando of course, who can be just as good in the distraction department, but it’s not quite the same. 

Lando doesn’t quite know about the raging crush, which is probably for the better. He’s been around when Lando’s tried to set up Oscar before and that was an absolute unmitigated disaster.

“Hey man,” speaking of Oscar, “You good?”

Max frowns and then half turns to look at Oscar who’s now hovering next to Lando with a fruity little drink in hand, “Yeah mate,” he answers, confused.

Oscar gets this weird little micro expression on his face that Max wouldn’t usually take any note of— his forehead creases, he raises a disbelieving eyebrow— but the skepticism grates at Max a little, leaves him wondering.

“Why?”, he caves.

Oscar shakes his head, shrugs, “You're kind of staring down Carlos."

Max's mouth falls open, just a little. He is not. His eyes flit to Lando unconsciously for confirmation before he has a chance to defend himself against what are frankly untrue allegations from Oscar. But Lando is already shrugging, making a face that says he has been.

Fuck. Max frowns. And doesn't say anything.

Better to stay quiet and look moody than to admit anything to these two. Total menaces. Well, no that's Lando. Oscar might be helpful. Still, Max isn't going to admit anything. Daniel and apparently Charles knowing about it is more than enough.

Their hushed conversation behind him fades into the background as Max turns again to look at you and Carlos— and alright he gets it now. There's definitely a different kind of set to his jaw, a scowl on his lips as he watches Carlos put his hand on your shoulder.

There is something in his gut. Something sick. The feeling he gets when he's on track and the car starts sliding, the wheels locking up. When hears the va-rum of a car go by, sees something that isn't wide open space in front of him. Something like panic starts to climb up his throat. He knows he shouldn't be this bothered by you and another person, but he can't get rid of this voice in the back of his head that says you might like Carlos more than him. That you might stop hanging around Max, texting him at all hours of the day with photos of your food or random questions, waiting for him in the garage after sessions and not just because you've got to take pictures of him, and going out for food on 'friend dates' as you've taken to calling them.

If you and Carlos... okay no, Max doesn't even want to think about it.

He starts walking over, trying to smooth his face into something less intimidating as he goes. He turns it into a strained, mouth-closed smile that doesn't reach his eyes. He directs it at Carlos.

There's a glint in Carlos' eyes that Max doesn't like the look of.

"Hi Max," he says, flashing his white teeth, he gestures to you, "I was just getting to know your lovely friend here."

Alright. Max understands instantly. This has Daniel's name written all fucking over it. Max's fake smile falls, turning into a flat look that he levels at Carlos. He's trying not to scowl because he doesn't want you to catch on to anything, but it's not easy. His phone is burning a hole in his pocket, he doesn't care if it's the middle of the night in Australia right now, he's itching to call Danny and ask him what the fuck he is thinking pulling something like this from 14,000 kilometers away?

"Mm," Max hums, unimpressed, unable to fake pleasantries even for your sake, "Great."

You look at him, eyebrows raised a little incredulously at his tone. There's slight amusement there too, he thinks, as he returns your look. You squint a little, as if to say, don't give me that look, Max Verstappen. He can feel himself smiling, the corner of his mouth lifting with ease even though the object of his anger still has his stupid hand on your shoulder.

He can't help himself when he reaches for your elbow, asks, "D'you wanna get a drink?"

You bite down on the edge of your smile, "Sure, Maxie."

You turn and say something to Carlos that he doesn't listen to. Partly because he doesn't care, partly because the sound of you saying Maxie is playing on a loop in his head, like it always does whenever you use the nickname. Which is more often than not. God, he loves it. Maxie Maxie Maxie. It sounds so syrupy sweet coming from your mouth. Smothered in affection. You're the only person, bar his mum and sister that he lets use it. Daniel sometimes, but Daniel would say it regardless, the menace that he is.

"Max," you say, hand on his bicep, thumb smoothing back and forth there, "Where'd you go?"

Max blinks. Carlos is gone now.

"Hm, no, nowhere," you frown, so he says, "Just a bit tired."

This seems to satisfy you. You slip an arm into the crook of his, linking them together as you tug him to the bar. You order him a G&T and yourself a glass of wine before the two of you head out onto the balcony where it's far quieter. Less people, less chatter. Max prefers it like this, with no one there to get in the way of your attention on him, his on you. He thinks you prefer it too.

He hopes you do at least.

You sip your wine, Max’s eyes linger on the line of your neck, the way your fingers curl around the glass, how your eyes glitter in the early afternoon sun.

“What was that earlier?”, you gesture inside, raising your eyebrows again, “With Carlos?”

Max laughs nervously without meaning to, “Uh, what do you mean?”

The ‘something sick’ is back in his gut again. He hopes you buy his nonchalance, but doesn’t feel confident you will. You know him too well. That’s his fault.

You sigh, “I mean the dick measuring contest, Maxie.”

Maxie. Maxie.

Then he finally registers your words around the loop of your voice in his head, he guffaws, almost choking on his drink, “The dick measuring contest!?”

“Yes,” you hiss, leaning forward on your stool, “Yes, Max. I’m not an idiot, you were getting territorial.”

Max blinks. Max feels red creeping up his neck. Max feels butterflies and maybe a chainsaw in his stomach.

“Wha—”, he tries again, “I—”

His mouth doesn’t appear to be working. Maybe because he’s not sure what on earth he’s supposed to say. What do you even mean? Are you trying to say that you know he was jealous of Carlos? That you know he has feelings for you? Or are you just referencing the fact that he’s weirdly territorial of his friends sometimes? What is he supposed to say in response to any of it? He can’t figure it out for the life of him.

Then you’re blushing you’re blushing and you’re saying, “You don’t have to worry, Max. You’re my favourite person here.”

Okay, alright, what the fuck does that mean? God. Max hates this. If you were any other girl he’d have asked you out literally years ago. But because you’re you and you’re his best friend besides Daniel, he can’t ask you out. He has to smother his feelings into something platonic because he cannot bear the idea of losing you.

Despite his better judgment telling him not to, Max asks, “Really?”

You hum, “Really, really.”

It happens in slow motion, it must. Or at least that’s how Max replays it in his head every night before he goes to sleep. You reach forward and put your hand over his, fingers on his wrist, thumb drawing a pattern on his upturned palm.

Then you say, in a way that he can’t figure out for the life of him, “Love you, Maxie.”

Chills run down the length of his spine, that chainsaw starts up again in his stomach. Love you, Maxie. He feels sick— like he might word vomit the entirety of his feelings for you right there and then. Instead, he forces himself to smile. Closed-mouth, eyes crinkled.

“Mm, yeah, love you,” he says back, his voice cracking as he tries to make it sound normal and platonic and not wracked with nerves.

You smile, warm, beaming and showing your teeth, like he’s made your day infinitely better by just saying those words. As if you’ve not just made his stomach churn and his heart take leaps and bounds in his chest. As if he’s not going to think about the way you’d said it every second of every day. As if he won’t dream of you saying it in every other context imaginable.

You pat his hand twice, then pull it back to take hold of your drink again. Smiling as if you’ve not ruined him for anyone else for good.

[moonsprings]

maybe it's because i've been through it these last two years with a shit ton of personal shit that happened (family deaths, friend with illness) that everything feels a lot more... more but this news of lee sun kyun's death has been shocking. it feels odd because i'm a lot more sad about it than i expected to be, just from a human perspective of not wanting other people to feel the kind of despair necessary to take your own life. i wasn't a die hard fan but a casual fan nonetheless (cue self callout about liking middle aged men with nice voices... lol.) and while admittedly i've been more of a fan of lee sun kyun's wife (actress jeon hye jin, who is famous in her own right) in recent years, he was undoubtedly an actor i watched growing up. coffee prince was the hit drama when i was in grade school, back when my family used to watch korean cable/broadcast tv at home. then pasta, then my mister which i consider his representative work, more so than parasite. it's a horrible thing that's happened.

there's a lot of context that's missing on the western side of the news, mostly to do with the whole hostess/escort blackmail situation that had been unfolding on korean news in the last 2-3 months which likely compounded the entire scandal and his decision to do this sadly. imo this entire thing has far less to do about drugs than people actually think though it's still a significant factor. lee sunkyun has always had a 'family man' image on kor tv and the revelations about him and the alleged hostess/escort who had been blackmailing him who supplied and took drugs with was a madame/hostess from a VIP (basically rich people only) room salon/hostess bar he appears to have been having an affair with for a while which irreparably damaged his image and reputation and likely his marriage and family. rumors had been circulating that his in-laws were urging jeon hyejin to divorce him, they supposedly sent their kids to an overseas boarding school because they were getting bullied in korea over lsk's scandal, and he was facing millions in won in contract violations penalty fees from cancelled CFs/advertisements and tv and film work that was delayed because of the scandal (also fucking hell, just saw the news report saying he left a message to his company's rep apologizing for the penalty fees right before his death). the same penalty fee situation happened to actor yoo ahin after he was convicted of drug charges and is now reportedly millions in debt. that is an incredible amount of pressure, even if part of it was the consequence of his actions. and to be clear, these were stupid choices he made but the reaction was so wildly disproportionate to what he's been accused of.

i feel like if it had "just" been drugs, or "just" been the hostess scandal, he could have made a come back after a few years as many other korean celebrities have (way more than people think, and he has more leeway as a critically celebrated, middle aged male actor who is not an idol), but it's the combination of the drugs, the 'room salon'/hostess club situation that just exploded, and the corrupt police placing this level of constant pressure and publicity on him that caused this imo. his private phone calls and messages he made with the hostess were leaked yesterday from a known r/ight wing kor youtuber before his suic-de. having seen it reported in the kor news, it's difficult to describe the contents of it other than being very personal and frankly, embarrassing (and i mean this as neutrally as possible. think adam levine-esque) in a country as conservative as korea when he's telling a s-x worker he 'really likes [her]' in the sense that he has feelings for her. and again, his wife is a prominent actress and their public images are tied together. given the timing, it likely wasn't just about the drugs. and i know the whole room salon/hostess bar thing is incredibly common in korea, in older stats some say something like 70% of korean men have frequented one (though it's increasingly becoming less acceptable and therefore less common, which is why the public reaction been harsh) and i really don't approve of the cultural aspects that have allowed this to be permissible (as a korean-american) but i feel like that's a personal issue that should have been handled by him and his family. if it was one or the other he could have made a return but i think the pressure of it being this public and detailed due to police likely being the ones intentionally leaking information from the investigation was just too much for him to handle. it feels like the police purposefully went out of their way to humiliate lee sun kyun in the press and public to try and get him to admit to the drug charges because g-dragon, the other celebrity that was implicated, proved his innocence rather conclusively and the police didn't have anyone else to use to get some high profile publicity.

...so we started the year with a suic-de and ended it with a suic-de. it's telling, i think. obviously i don't know any of them, they're 'just' celebrities who literally don't know i exist (as it should be) but honestly my chest feels heavy watching dark coats and emotionless faces walk into the university hospitals, the smiling portrait pictures atop the bed of flowers at the ceremonial funeral rooms, the whole lot - i don't know how many more times people can see this and not feel like anything's wrong. image is everything and the pressure to perform, be perfect, be successful is too much. i'm not even half as talented as any of them and i still felt it, a sea away, in a watered down version from immigrant korean parents and an immigrant community. everyone is way too damn casual about admitting their suic-dal thoughts but not really offering any real solutions and it's just so common. i've heard far too many interviews from kor celebrities who had scandals (and when i say scandals i mean in the asian sense again, dating, secret marriages, divorces or drugs or whatever shit that would barely even qualify as a line in the news in the west most of the time and not more serious crimes) who admitted years after the fact that they were considering suic-de because of the public reaction. or more mundane shit like 'i felt suicidal in school because of academic pressure' stuff i've heard a million times from korean friends, classmates. a lot of it gets dismissed as 'puberty' or 'everyone feels that way'. and again i ask why it's so normalized.

then even those celebrities that have died from suic-de are treated like virtual boogeymen afterwards, their names never mentioned even in places where it should be. the eggshells, the sidestepping because it could be considered 'sensitive' and thus they're erased because the only context their lives can be in is in position to their suic-des. other people who knew them, friends, acquaintances, coworkers they had - past the initial condolence messages, it's like they never existed because everyone is scared of controversy from saying the wrong thing, or not being serious enough, or whatever the hell people want to nitpick that week. people have literally been criticized before for being too sad or not being sad enough when a death from a suic-de has happened so i'm not surprised this was the end result, that literally no one talks about the deceased now outside of a very select few. if they are talked about, it's more so alluded to in an extremely vague manner usually not mentioning them by name, and they rarely, if ever say the actual word suic-de. they usually say that it was an "안타까운 사건" ('an unfortunate incident') even in official news reports, including of LSK's death, and it just bothers me that it's this taboo, everything from making stupid decisions and stupid mistakes (bullying, drugs, cheating, whatever the fuck) or just plain having mental illness, to ending their lives because of it, to having their friends and family not speak about them publicly because it's 'shameful' and they'll get judged.

i don't know what the point is, just that i'm really increasingly frustrated with the state of things. the police shouldn't have pushed him to the brink. this entire situation straight up should not have happened at all.

[omnic]

i've seen so much retrained, rebranded bioessentialism bullshit on my feed, both tumblr and twitter. and quite frankly, i've had enough. i've blocked several mutuals i previously thought fondly of over this. some of y'all are teetering close, too close, to radfem and terf ideologies and don't realise it. lumping the entirety of men (both cisgender men and transgender men alike) under the lens of "evil" and "wholly incapable of sympathising with the plights of women (cis and trans) under the compress of patriarchal society" is, quite frankly, troubling to see.

like, i get it, to a minor degree. i used to frivolously throw around disdain of the entirety of men, especially for the years following the assaults in my early 20s. my cptsd compounded this. but i eventually realised how counterproductive this was, not only to my own self-esteem, but to fostering friendships and also existing in the world without looking over my shoulder every 2 minutes. my paranoia got out of hand, and would proceed to irreparably damage many relationships of mine.

bad things still happen. i understand this. sometimes vigilance is not a luxury but a necessity. i understand this. people do what they need to survive, both physically and psychologically. but people need to learn to extend basic sympathies and empathies beyond their own circle. this goes for any gender, you need to be able to see past your own nose and own experience; isolation from diversity can kill emotional comprehension of other groups outside your own and make other groups appear alien and inscrutable. we need to be able to coexist, lest anger flare within us all; we will be unable to curb the flames of ire until it's too late.

before anyone comes a-knocking on my inbox like. are you saying we should have to accommodate men at every turn? no, i'm not saying that. men, especially cisgender and heterosexual men but this extends to all, need to work extensively on unlearning the toxicity and misogyny that seeps deep in their upbringing and, often, their contemporary lives. unlearning patriarchal imprints will benefit not only women but men as well. internalised misogyny is also a thing, and thus, plenty of women need to work on unravelling that as well.

but what i am saying is there is a growing vocal movement of people who're lumping all men together and stripping them of their humanity, sealing them as unreasonable and malevolent by virtue of their masculinity. i don't think y'all know dehumanisation is always a weapon. it isn't cute, it isn't logical; dehumanisation will always work against us, and has been deployed on larger levels historically to disseminate violence.

tl;dr i swear basic compassion between groups is good and healthy, y'all.

[vulpixelates]

last rb coming across my dash is funny bc i was just thinking about how funny it is that i had originally planned for saga to be a strict pacifist (i remember checking to make sure this wouldn't be annoying for everyone else at the table) and like. one of her first arc moments was talking her party into trapping and incapacitating a group of rich people who were exploiting a town and it's people in a room and killing them all one by one and now she drowns people from the inside out w a creepy cursed staff (she's going through it okay??? her little buddy just died)

but the thing is. i think she tried SO HARD to be a pacifist for so long. she thought the antithesis to being trained to be a killer was to never harm anyone ever again, to try to believe that violence never has a place bc the things that she had been forced to do had left such irreparable damage to her soul. and that was easy right after she left and she was safe and the people around her were safe and she had finally found people who loved and cared for her and would never ask such things of her

and then she started to leave the nest again and saw that not everyone got such opportunities. not everyone gets saved. and realized she herself wouldn't have gotten out of there if it hadn't been for other people taking up arms against her captors so now the way she gives back to the world doing the same for others and frankly, some people don't deserve to breathe when their next move after taking that breath will be to exploit and harm others

idk i think that's important. her dragonmark is labeled hospitality iirc bc she has abilities specifically designed to help others and it feels like using skills she used to be forced to use to harm people to serve them instead is healing for her, especially once she fully leans into her redemption paladin mojo

[robotapotheosis]

Eternally frustrated some of us rightfully pointed out the "learn to live with the virus" tning did not mean actually trying to control the spread, and we were right.

We said they were going to keep forcing us to work, let us get reinfected over and over, act like the pandemic was behind us, and sacrifice the disabled elderly and poor. They said no! Learning to live with the virus meant improved air ventilation, sanitization measures, and mandatory masking periods! Surely no one will be sacrificed for the sake of the economy!

I don't think some or most of the doctors saying learning-to-live with the virus were lying about where things would go but i do think they were extraordinarily naive. And if they realized they were wrong i dont know if I've heard any of them say so.

Every day customers and coworkers come in coughing unmasked, on surfaces, or on product, sometimes into their hands before they touch products. Children sit in carts with wet hacking coughs and chewing on merchandise. My coworkers don't wash their hands. My bosses come in sick. I'm one of the few people who masks and wash my hands before/after getting on the salesfloor.

And you can't complain. You can't ask people to keep their distance, or not to come near you when they're sick, or to wear a mask, or whatever, because somehow asking people not to cough into the open air is now considered rude, despite covid, you know, potentially causing irreparable neurological damage to your body, especially with repeat infections. So its completely on you to keep Yourself Safe.

Covid tests dont fucking work. My infection would not appear on anything but the hospital tests. Other people have been reporting only saliva tests are reliable. The nose sticks are basically garbage, the saliva tests are expensive.

It's very likely i have POTS. I still need to see a doctor about it but I would not be surprised if that ended up on my chart. I've had the symptoms my entire life, and I'm going to keep having them. I don't know what will happen if I get covid again. I don't know if ill have another lucky roll and just feel a little weak for a month and a half afterwards or end up with CFS or a tube down my throat. I don't know.

I don't know how long we're all going to put up with this. I dont know why IM putting up with it. I'm basically repressing my self preservation instincts at all times. Because polite society has deemed it Mean and Invasive to ask people to stay the hell away from you if they are sick.

This country fucking treats homelesness like its a moral failing on part of the person but if you get fucking infected with this thing and it fucks up your body and you end up on the street because you dont have family or friends to fall back on, you still get blamed!

Its incredible. This is what learning to live with the virus has amounted to. Society failing everyone but especially the most vulnerable. For a while I was waiting for people to wake up to this. That we cant ignore our way out of this fucking pandemic. But the people who i wanted to wake up wont. The naive doctors and politicians who are supposed to be on our side but have ingested the same flavor of denial.

They will not do their jobs unless we make them, and we can't make them until we start talking fucking frankly and openly about this.

[swaps55]

Hey Swaps, i’m writing this from whatever levels of consciousness i’ve transcended to having read lichrally all of your works several times now 👁 🧘‍♀️💕

I can’t wait for whatever you have in store next, but in the meantime, any ficrecs for my ratchet mshenko idiots in love craving soul?

Aaaaaaaah, that's amazing!!! The LEAST I can do to reward you, since I cannot physically hand you a cookie, is to give you some recs!!

This is by no means a comprehensive list, and I know as soon as I post it I will remember half a dozen I should have included, but here are some mshenko fics that I love!

One-shots

Mako, by @pigeontheoneandonly. (This is one of my absolute favorite shorts)

The first time I saw Shepard die, the Mako fell over a cliff. 

Touching Bottom, by stone_in_focus. 1,916 words, Teen and up. Kaidan has a conversation with Samara.

Maybe this time around, you'll get it right.

Greenstick Fracture, by spicyshimmy. 6,250 words, General Audiences.

Post-ME3 space husbands. Shepard gets a chance to bond with a son he loves a hell of a lot more than he understands, and they both share some of the same scars. Also, Shepard wears dad plaid.

For a Single Yesterday, by @makoparkingonly. 5,826 words, General Audiences (Note: this fic is BEAUTIFUL, but it is not a Shepard Lives story)

“You have to be fine,” he says, but doesn’t put in the message. He sticks it in the outgoing queue. No hails from Shepard before they’d escaped the local cluster. No telling exactly what that wave of green energy had done, if there had even been any ships able to go back and look for him.

Not knowing anything is the most frustrating thing of all.

There’s no telling how long it’ll be before they’re connected to any kind of network again, if ever. Maybe he’ll die of old age on this planet while Shepard searches the galaxy for them. At least Shepard would have survived to search.

Trikalon, by @dandenbo, 1,146 words, Mature.

Kaidan takes care of what's underneath the armour.

Long Fics

Soldiers Heart, by Lemon. 72,182 words, Mature.

When the battle is over and the war is won, the soldier puts down his gun and returns to the life he had before; a life of peace and remembrance. But what happens to those who can't let go? Whose peace never comes and whose remembrance brings only pain and suffering?

Shepard struggles to regain his sense of personhood after years of constant warfare, his life irreparably damaged by what he saw and did. But all is not lost-- not when he has the strength to ask for help.

Heavy Fire, spicyshimmy. 58,955 words, Mature.

Earthborn Shepard never makes it into the Alliance. Merc life suits him just fine, as does teaming up with C-Sec officer Garrus Vakarian every now and then. And then he meets Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko, poster boy for doing things by the books. 

Alke, by @mallaidhsomo. 52,766 words, Explicit. (One chapter away from being complete!)

The Butcher of Torfan. Frankly, Eric Shepard liked the nickname.

A Crystal Hewn from Stone, by @happychica. 476,150 words (series), Explicit. (Note: I have not read all of this, but I know just how talented happychica is, and zero qualms recommending it)

Giorraíonn beirt bóthar - Two People Shorten A Road, by @theoriginalladya, 186,364 words (series), Mature.  

Stories involving the life of Commander Caleb Shepard. Earthborn. Sole Survivor. Infiltrator.

[lookbluesoup]

You Wanna See My Eel? - Vampire AU

@seasaltandcopper and I have been working on a Red Mage AU fic lately where, in a world of dangerous vampire covens enthralling humans to sate thirst and consolidate political power... Rhun assembles a ragtag band of openminded vampires and humans to live a more balanced, less bloodthirsty way of life, protecting mortals rather than preying upon them.

They make a habit of rescuing enthralled humans when they can, offering them sanctuary and rehabilitation while helping them get away from their Masters. Mal is a rescued thrall, who is understandably suspicious of a bunch of vampires claiming to want to help people.

His first meeting with Rhun has been nothing but a laugh so we wanted to share this excerpt where Rhun shows off his pet eel (I promise that's not an innuendo)

TW: mild blood, animal bite, implied PTSD

Would love it folks gave it a read :3

---

Two days later, on an overcast, rainy afternoon, Rhun returned to the coven. Mal was alone in the common area, a spot he’d quickly claimed for his own. Nate was… somewhere, off with Alisaie probably. Others greeted Mal in passing, spoke if he seemed interested in speaking to them, but elsewise gave him his space. 

Rhun entered the room in a whirlwind, wearing a suit that looked straight out of the seventeenth century French court, dyed such a vibrant red it was almost offensive. Two long tears in the fabric on one side revealed a white shirt beneath, equally dated looking. He even had an ostrich feather in his hat. 

The vampire stopped his single-minded pace when he noticed Mal, eyes widening in surprise. Then he smiled broadly, “Ah! Up and awake, I see. And already making yourself at home. How are you faring?”

Mal froze. Shrank back, into himself for an instant, before drawing himself up, like a startled animal making itself look bigger. A wrapper from a discarded protein bar crinkled under his leg, and something else from the small horde of snacks and distractions he'd stockpiled in his makeshift 'room' clattered to the floor.

Two days had eased some of Mal's darkest fears about Rhun's coven. Not all of them; not by a longshot. But enough he'd decided waiting and gathering information, biding his time, was the smartest course of action over trying to walk out the front door. So far, it'd been...almost pleasant here.

A vast improvement over his time under his prior caretakers, and until this asshole came flaunting in the door, no one even bothered Mal unless he sought out their company.

The first time Mal had seen Rhun was a blur. A whirlwind of chaos and fast paced fighting as his group extracted Mal from the hideaway where Jericho had dumped him. Now, seeing him in the flesh again, in a less terrifying context...Mal wasn't sure what to think.

Other than maybe, Jesus, do you think this guy likes red?

"Is that a problem?" Mal mumbled. Not truly antagonistic, but maybe a tad defensive. His heart sped up, what he'd come to realize was just the default whenever a predator entered the room.

Tilting his head, Rhun leaned back on one foot, appraising. “No. Though I daresay you’ve accumulated quite a mess. I’m surprised Nate hasn’t impressed upon you the irreparable damage melted chocolate does to velvet cushions.” Still that borderline manic grin.

Was being insane a fucking requirement to be a part of this place?

Mal grimaced at Rhun, still unsure what to make of...all of him. The man was a chaotic sensory nightmare, decked out in crimson.

"Nate was the one who gave me the chocolate," Mal said, "And I'm pretty sure he assigned himself to be my keeper, so take it up with him, I guess." Another twist of his lip. "Do you—want something?" Probably a rude thing to say to the Sire of the Coven. Mal winced. "I mean...you're just...here. Talking to me. Uh..." Floundering a little, Mal shrugged limply. "Why?"

“Well frankly I was here to visit d'Artagnan, but as you were unexpectedly also present, I thought it better to say hello before proceeding. Apologies for the offense I have clearly given.” He gave a little bow. Then made his way to the eel tank, where the creature had come forth from its den and was nearly tying itself in knots trying to breach the surface at Rhun’s approach.

Brows knitting together, Mal answered with a quiet, "Oh." Then recovered enough to mumble, "I'm not. Uh, offended. I just...didn't expect—" Mal trailed off, unable to find a suitably non-offensive end to his sentence. In his haste to recover, his gaze drifted to the reason Rhun had appeared at all. "Does he really bite everyone but you?"

“Not always.” Rhun answered cheerfly, reaching into his pocket and unfolding a napkin with strips of raw chicken wrapped inside. “But Angie had to give out so many stitches a universal ban was deemed wisest.” He looked over his shoulder conspiratorially, “Would you like to feed him?”

Mal watched, only to freeze again as he found himself the focus of Rhun's attention. Recovering quicker this time, Mal blinked. Sat up straighter in his seat.

Well...he had been curious...

"I—yeah, alright."

Grabbing his crutches, he headed over to the tank, keeping a respectable distance between himself and Rhun. d'Artagnan continued to writhe and wriggle inside the massive tank, presumably anticipating a meal. Or maybe he really did care that much for his owner. Mal knew plenty of animals were smart—hell, some of them were smarter than a lot of people. It made sense that the eel had strong feelings about his vampire friend.

This close, it was easy to see Rhun stood out in more than dress. For one, he had wrinkles. Not starved-vampire lines of withering. Just… the passage of time.

You could never tell how old a vampire was by looking at them, but even the oldest ones tended to idealize themselves in a way that left no room for age lines. Young, vicious, charming. Immortal. Sires were meant to look in their prime. Rhun had an intensity, for a fact, and an athletic demeanor that assured physical prowess. But unlike any other vampire Mal had ever met, this one could have passed for a forty year-old man.

"So uh...how do I do this," Mal asked, glancing at Rhun. "Without losing any fingers, anyway."

“Allow me to demonstrate.” He grinned. Lifting the rock off the lid, Rhun had only about a full second before d’Artagnan had pushed the lid up himself and was winding his way out of the tank in an eager slither. 

Mal's eyes went wide. For some reason, it hadn't occurred to him that it might be coming out of the tank. Even partway.

With a laugh, Rhun lifted up a strip of meat from one corner, and held it just high enough that the eel could not lunge outright to grab it. D’Artagnan still struck like a viper, before retreating back into his tank to swallow the offering in a single bite. 

"Oh, shit," Mal said, quietly.

“There. Easy.” Rhun announced, offering the napkin over to Mal so that he could take a piece.

Easy. Right.

But not one to shrink from a challenge, or look like a fucking coward in front of Rhun, Mal grabbed a slice of the raw meat. It was slick and gross between his fingers, but presumably the eel thought it was tasty enough.

"Alright, buddy, dinner time."

Carefully, Mal held the food out like Rhun had, and offered up a silent prayer he wasn't about to spend the rest of his life short a finger for his own curiosity.

D’Artagnan honed in like a guided missile, shooting up and out of the tank with frankly unnatural accuracy and speed toward Mal’s fingers.

Mal jerked back. Dropped the slice of chicken into the tank with a 'plop' that didn't carry over the sound of his yelp as d'Artagnan sank sharp, needle-like teeth into Mal's hand.

Luck, maybe, kept it from severing anything, as the creature instead latched onto the meaty web of tissue between his index finger and thumb instead. It tugged before realizing what it'd caught was a little too big to pull back into the water, and dove down after the slice of chicken instead.

Blood dribbled into the water. Little drops of dark red that dispersed, a couple spattering against the glass side, and then wet the fingers of Mal's other hand as he instinctively clamped over the wound.

Panic hit immediately.

Not from the bite, but because now Mal was bleeding in front of a vampire and if Rhun decided to break his abstinence streak there was nothing in the world Mal could do to stop him. Mal stepped back automatically, eyes wide and fixed on Rhun.

“Ah, damn.” Rhun said, a little calmer than was maybe appropriate. 

"Shit fuck," Mal swore, considerably less calmly.

[meltwonu]

| 𝔲𝔫𝔱𝔦𝔩 𝔦 𝔪𝔢𝔱 𝔶𝔬𝔲 |     [Chapter 2]

pairing; fratboy!wonwoo x reader

this chapter’s notes; fratboy!wonwoo, dom!wonwoo, some soft ‘woo too, restraints, panties as a gag, dirty talk, degradation, name calling, oral(fem receiving), cum eating, sir!kink. My god it has been a week, a WEEK i tell you 🥲 Ldfkjdf I hope the lot of you are taking a big deep breath this weekend and doing something to relax or doing some self care cuz baby we all need it!💕 Treat yourself to something good! Take that nap! Buy that album! Get that coffee! I’ll try to bust out some thirst posts this weekend(i think we all deserve some, eh?🥴) should tumb1r not hate my blog and as usual, inbox round up tomorrow! 💕💕 For now, de-stress with ch 2 of UIMY, and have a great weekend! I love you!! 💕💕💕💕

chapters; 1 - 2 - x - x - x

You only get about 4 hours of sleep, if you’re being honest.

You won’t tell when asked because quite frankly, you’re a little embarrassed at how giddy you are to see Wonwoo today. You eagerly attend your morning class - panties already wet and mouth watering with the fantasies playing out in your head throughout the entire lecture.

“Hey, study buddy!”

Minghao slings an arm around your shoulder just as you turn to make a beeline towards the library, almost directing you into a different direction. “Where you headed off to? You wanna grab lunch?” Shit.

In the time that Wonwoo was gone, you’d spent a lot of time hanging out with other people trying to fill in the gap where, normally, you’d be spending underneath Wonwoo.

“I, um…” Going to get lunch with Minghao was one of the things that had become a normal thing after your morning classes and you hadn’t had the chance to tell him that your ‘usual’ schedule was back. “I--I’m gonna go study at the library for a bit! I’m really sorry! Can we go another day?” You pout at him which quickly melts off of your face when he shoots you a knowing smile.

“Gonna go ‘study’ Wonwoo-hyung, huh?”

Minghao lets you go - telling you to let him know when you weren’t busy.

You all but tear the front door open once you reach the familiar library; sheepish smile when it makes more noise than you anticipate.

“Careful, wouldn’t want you to pay the price of breaking the door.”

Wonwoo smirks at you from behind the receptionist table; familiar and warm when you step closer to the counter. “Maybe I do? What do you know?” You quip back, cheeks warm and head fuzzy at the sight of Wonwoo back in his usual sweater vest and slacks.

He leans in closer to you over the countertop, gesturing to you to lean in close as well. His lips ghost across the shell of your ear as goosebumps rise on your skin and shivers roll down your spine and the familiar thrum of arousal pours over your body.

“I know you were probably thinking about me all morning, sweetheart. Thinking of all the things I’d do to you.” Wonwoo chuckles under his breath, “Your panties are probably already soaked, hmm? Like my good little slut always ready to take my cock.”

His filthy, whispered words are enough for you to whimper quietly - eyes downcast as you only lean in closer. “Y-yes… Wonwoo, p-please, I--”

Wonwoo leans away from you and you find yourself letting go of a breath you didn’t realize you were holding.

“You’ll have to wait. I need to file these late slips and sort these books.”

There’s a teasing smile on his face as he watches your lips part in shock. “But you can do that, right? Be patient?”

No.

“I--y-yes...” 

You pick a table far from the others as you watch Wonwoo roll the cart with books into another row of bookshelves.

It felt a little odd to you now that you thought about it - waiting so patiently for Wonwoo when you were used to him caging you in against a bookshelf with his fingers knuckle deep inside of your cunt or even just tugging you straight away into an empty study room on days when neither of you could wait to get your clothes off.

There was a certain softness that he seemed to show with you now; one that you appreciated and made you feel things that you’d never felt in any relationship before.

Wonwoo would admit he wasn’t always good with showing his emotions with other people.

“He only shows it sometimes,” Jeonghan had said, “Usually to his hyungs and usually when he wants something.”

Which was true.

He struggled with letting his guard down and a lot of the time felt shy about voicing his emotions.

But with you, he felt differently. He wanted to show you that he was capable of letting his guard down and capable of showing you the affection and care that you deserved - even if the relationship the two of you had started was only physical at first. The time away from you only proved to him that he definitely cared about you more than he had initially thought too.

While his semester abroad was entertaining and educational, he found himself thinking about you often in the midst of his excavations and lectures. Wondering about what you were doing and who you were with; if you really thought about him as often as you had messaged him so.

“Um, excuse me?”

“O-oh, huh?”

He’s pulled from his thoughts just as another student steps in front of him in the aisle of books. “Sorry, I don’t remember where this book is from. Is it okay if I just give it to you?”

“Sure.”

It takes twenty more minutes of you pretending to study before Wonwoo’s legs step into your periphery.

You open your mouth to speak but Wonwoo is quicker.

“Miss, I’m sorry, but I need to speak to you regarding some books you failed to return.”

You try to hide the wide smile on your face when Wonwoo leads you down the familiar, lonesome side of the library.

“I’ll have you step into this room, miss.”

“Wonwoo, there’s literally nobody here…” Chuckling, you step into the empty, cleaned room that Wonwoo had painstakingly made sure was dusted before you came. “Unless we’re roleplaying, ‘cause then, I’m sorry, sir…”

Wonwoo rolls his eyes, locking the door behind him before easily walking you backwards until the backs of your thighs hit the desk.

“You should be sorry, sweetheart. First, slamming the doors earlier and now overdue books? Tsk, when will you learn.” He easily slips into character, fingertips already ghosting against the exposed skin of your thighs before playing with the hem of your short skirt.

“How are you going to pay back what you owe, hmm? The damages might be irreparable.” He drags his hand up and under the flimsy material; appreciating the way your legs part a little more for him. A quiet moan floats past your lips just as his fingertips press gently into the growing wet patch of your panties.

“Already wet, too? Why exactly is that, sweetheart?”

“A-ah, ‘c-cause I want--want you to fuck me, s-sir… Been thinking a-about it all day… Just--just like you said...” You clench around emptiness, already impatient now that he had his hands on you.

“You have, huh? I bet you played with yourself last night, didn’t you? Fingered your slutty ‘lil hole and filled it up with a toy just to prep yourself for me.”

“Y-yes, sir…” Your guilty eyes avoid Wonwoo’s stern gaze, “I’m s-sorry… I--I couldn’t, ah, wait... Just t-talking to you, yesterday, I....”

Wonwoo’s fingers press hard against you, immediately rubbing your clit through your soaked panties as you mewl and lean into his warm chest.

“P-please… punish m-me…”

You can only whine around the fabric stuffed in your mouth; hands tied behind your back with Wonwoo’s belt keeping them bound.

Your body jerks against the small desk as Wonwoo fucks you from behind in the small enclosed space you were used to and a certain warmth pours over you knowing that nothing really had changed since he’d left.

“Shit, I really missed cumming inside your tight lil’ pussy and making you walk home with my cum dripping down your legs.” There’s a soft chuckle under his breath; cock curving right into your g-spot as you whine and squirm underneath him.

“Bet you missed it too, huh? Getting home and fingering your filthy ‘lil cunt, fucking my cum deeper inside of you ‘cause you couldn’t get enough of me. Fuck, and when you’d send me pictures of your cute ‘lil fingers covered in my cum…”

Wonwoo smirks at your back, placing a hand on your bound arms as he uses it for leverage to fuck you deeper and harder.

“I’m back for good now though, sweetheart. Let’s see what else your cute cock starved body can take.”

You can only moan back in return - spit soaking into the wet fabric in your mouth as Wonwoo only fucks you harder. “God, your cunt is so fuckin’ perfect. Made to take my cock.” When you clamp down onto his cock tighter is when Wonwoo realizes he misses hearing your voice - chuckling softly as he leans over your trembling body.

“I think you’ve learned your lesson, huh, sweetheart?”

He reaches around, tugging the soaking material from between your lips and placing it next to your head before he straightens back up. “Ngh… I, ah, s-sir…” You turn your head to the side, watching the wall as your body jerks atop the desk. “P-please… I--I wanna see y-you, hah, when y-your fuh--fuck me…”

A soft blush coats Wonwoo’s cheeks as he halts his movements. 

He clears his throat, pulling his cock out of you before stepping back and giving you space to readjust yourself. And with your arms still bound, you struggle slightly but manage.

This time, you sit atop the desk, spreading your legs wide for Wonwoo who licks his lips at the sight of your slightly mussed hair, blown out pupils and soaked cunt.

“That’s my good ‘lil slut.”

He positions himself between your legs, wrapping a hand around his cock and rubbing the head on your sensitive clit as you whimper. He circles the nub with the head of his cock, teasing you and himself as you squirm. “I take it you’ll be at the party tomorrow night, right?” His question catches you slightly off guard as you nod shakily.

“Good. ‘Cause I got you a present that I want to give to you tomorrow.”

“O-okay…”

Wonwoo sinks his cock back into you; cock curving into you perfectly as you cry out in return. “O-oh, god, s-sir--Wonwoo, I--fuck…” A choked sob bubbles up your throat at the feeling of him starting a harsh and quick pace, just how you liked it. “Mmh, my t-toys don’t feel as, hah, g-good as you… Fuck, you feel s-so good inside me…”

You wrap your legs around his waist, digging your heels into the small of his back to push him in closer to yourself. “Use m-me like I’m your little cumslut...” The desperation sets in; tears freely falling from your eyes as the urge to cum on his cock becomes unbearable from the hellish months without him.

“Please, p-please… Harder, fuck me harder! I n-need it!”

He grins, knowing just how you felt but keeping his composure as he doubles his pace. “So fuckin’ desperate for me, sweetheart. You sound so pretty begging for me. Is that what you sounded like when you were touching yourself too? Begging for me all night long?”

“Y-yes, fuck! Ngh, fucking my ‘lil holes with my t-toys all night j-just to be satisfied… Oh, god, Wonwoo!”

You can’t stop yourself from cumming - toes curling and thighs shaking as your walls flutter around his cock. Wonwoo only fucks you harder as soft growls fall from his own lips.

“Fuck, I missed this, missed you. Missed your tight ‘lil cunt cumming around my cock, sweetheart.” He mumbles soft praises to you, although you can barely hear it in the midst of your orgasm; ears ringing and head feeling hazy at the intensity.

Wonwoo fares no better - cock throbbing inside your warm walls as his orgasm hits him hard only after a few more quick snaps of his hips.

Your bound arms behind you do little to keep your tired body upright atop the table but you do your best as he rides out his high. “Mmh, I can feel y-you cumming inside me… Fuck, it feels soooo gooood.” Drool pools in your mouth at the feeling of his cock throbbing inside of you for the first time in months and you mentally tell yourself to never let Wonwoo disappear for that long of time ever again.

“Ah, I feel so f-full…” Whining, you squirm as he continues to thrust into you, fucking his cum deeper into your pussy as you throw your head back at the fullness and wetness you feel. “Oh… Wonwoo…”

He lets out a deep breath before he slowly starts to pull out of you - cock covered in his cum and your wetness as he watches his cum drip from your spent hole. You slowly unhook your quivering thighs from around his waist as he steps back slightly.

“I--oh--”

You watch as he drops down to his knees, face right in front of your dripping cunt before he leans in.

“Oh, Wonwoo--” His tongue peeks out, lapping at your soaked folds before he drags it down and starts licking up the cum. “Fuck, oh, fuck…!”

Wonwoo dips his tongue into your hole, teasing you as your legs tremble and you try your hardest to not clamp your thighs around his head between your legs. You start to fight your restraints; fingertips wanting to thread through his hair as you grind against his skilled tongue.

 He licks up more of the cum before dragging his tongue up to your overly sensitive clit; rubbing soft, slow circles on the nub until you’re a whining mess above him.

“A-ah, I--I can’t, mmh, ‘m too sen--sensitive, sir…”

He takes his as his cue to stand from his position, standing quietly before leaning over you. He threads a hand through your hair, tilting your head up and kissing you on the lips as you melt into his gentle touch.

Your eyes flutter shut at his soft kiss, lips parting slightly for him as he uses his tongue to push cum into your waiting mouth.

The kiss turns hot and heavy as he moves the salty, sticky substance from his mouth to yours - lips covered in a combination of your wetness and his cum when he pulls away.

“So pretty for me, sweetheart.”

When the two of you are somewhat cleaned up and ready to leave, Wonwoo stops you before you can get your hand on the doorknob.

“Hey, you okay?”

You shoot him a confused look, head tilted slightly at the bespectacled male that only looks mildly disheveled. “Um… y-yeah? Why?” His hand on your wrist makes your heart do backflips in your chest as he looks you over once more.

“I should’ve had some water for you and done proper aftercare since it’s been a while. I might've hurt you? Are your wrists okay? I can--”

“Whoa, hey, slow down! You’re, like, freaking out, ‘Woo.”

A pale blush coats his cheeks, “Sorry, I’m just trying to… be more… Expressive? I don’t know. It’s been a while. I just want to make sure you’re okay.” He laughs lightly, somewhat embarrassed himself. “I don’t want to be weird but, y’know. I want to take care of you properly, sweetheart.”

“I--yeah, I understand! But I’m fine, I promise!” You beam up at him - happiness evident in your eyes and your smile. “Thank you… for making an effort, Wonwoo.”

“Of course, sweetheart.” 

[demonprincezeldris]

I have thoughts for Pack Mentality stuff, it's rough and I haven't thought it out yet, so bear with me.

Okay, so pack mentality is a thing, and yes everyone can square up and throw down as needed on command basically. However, there are roles that each person is just naturally inclined to. Some scholars, researchers, and even stories and books suggest that these Roles have many variables, such as rank, what kind of demon you are, and various personality traits.

Any demon who hears this will call bullshit. Nobody really knows the how's and why's of it, and frankly nobody really cares. Except maybe the other races but to be expected, demons do it with them too simply to try and understand the workings of the other cultures. It's normal and natural.

Kits also do it, but it's more a game to try and figure out what your innate Role will be.

A demons Role is kind of like a secondary instinct, something they're naturally inclined towards. All, or most, demons can fight or contribute to the safety and defence of the Pack, but that's usually during times of strife, war, and lean years that people focus more on combat skills and the like.

During peacetime, though? When demons can just be and settle into their homes and pack lives? Usually you only have two 'protectors' or 'enforcers', the actual combat oriented pack members whose main job is security and the protection of the Pack, it's their job to identify and remove any potential threats, or maneuver the situation (or people) so that potential threat doesn't become an actual one. Or on occasion break up fights/quarrels within the pack so mediators actually have a chance to do their job. You may have more of these types for larger packs, but typically you only need one or two.

Mediators are kind of exactly that. They're the advisors and diplomats, more often than not Pack Leaders because of this (no the stereotype of 'strongest leads' is not true, or rarely is, and even those packs have their secondary as mediators who focus on internal while the leader works on external).

You have the caretakers, the homemakers and busybodies, they do most of the cooking and like to keep things relatively clean and organised- every pack is different, so where one may have a 'everything has a place, every place has a system' kind of situation, another may be 'can you see the floor? Are the dishes done? We're good' kind of method. They're often the ones with practical skills, too, like small home repairs. (Meliodas is NOT a caretaker, and is not allowed in the kitchen unless he's getting a glass of water, and even then the pack prefers him to be supervised)

You have creche keepers (or whatever term you can think of), they're a lot like the caretakers but with an inclination towards kits and kids. They're usually the parents of the group. Don't be surprised if you have a creche demon among a pack of adults with no babes in sight, just because they're adults doesn't mean they don't need a parent. They help with personal issues that either can't be brought up with the mediator or they don't want to, for various reasons (think it's not important enough -parent will call bullshit but continue-, the mediators have enough on their plate, it's really a small thing, only really affects that one person, or they just need a listening ear, maybe some advice?)

Healers are another one, while less know and generally considered less needed due to rapid regeneration abilities of demons, they still hold an important role and only an idiot thinks them unimportant.

There are a lot of 'sub roles', like jesters/lighthearts, berserkers, tanks, scouts, teachers, etc.

For angst potential, it can be extremely detrimental for a demon to be forced to take on a role they aren't inclined to. Physically and mentally, and has been known to cause irreparable damage in extreme cases.

Now, while most have One Role they are naturally inclined to, that doesn't mean they can't or don't branch out into others. Healers can easily pull double duty as a creche or caretaker. A protector can also be the one to keep things lighthearted and fun.

And of course you can have multiple pack members have the same role, sharing the responsibilities, which is often necessary with larger packs.

So, what roles can you think of, who would have what role? This all accumulates into my thoughts that Estarossa would be a caretaker kind of Main Role, to everyone's surprise. He's surprisingly domestic when allowed to be. The problem was, thanks to Dear Old Dad (may he rot in pieces & pain), thought that wasn't appropriate for a Prince, even the forgotten disappointment of a son. Hence he was forced into the role of a fighter, and yes while he is an excellent fighter, hell that might of been one of his secondary roles because he enjoyed it so much, it wasn't his natural inclination. If he had been permitted to at least indulge in his nature, in his instincts, it wouldn't have been so bad. But due to the reinforcement and punishment if he was ever caught doing anything not befitting a prince, like cooking or mending clothes (even on the battlefield!) he couldn't really develop properly and became more of a berserker. Even his own pack mates could be at risk if he lost control.

...

Thankfully their dad is dead and all the realms are at peace and everything is nice and the Commandments have a Big Home with many cozy spots and nests and everyone has been allowed to begin healing and learning/relearning their true natures.

(This can probably be mixed with any AU, really, if you want).

Oh my goodness i LOVE this idea!

I definitely agree that Estarossa was forced into a role he wasn't supposed to be. He definitely strikes me as a caretaker-type rather than a fighter, because he was known as the 'worthless brother who couldn't even hurt a fly'. His dad automatically forced him to be a fighter, even though his instincts screamed at him that he didn't want to be a warrior, even though he was really damn good at it.

Ok so because I'm actually hooked on this idea I'm gonna make a quick little list of what I think each of the commandments' roles would be (and feel free to change it if you want!)

Zeldris- protector

Estarossa- caretaker

Meliodas- protector

Galand- peacekeeper

Monspeet- caretaker

Derieri- protector

Melascula - healer (i'm not too sure aout this one-)

Drole- peacekeeper

Gloxinia- Healer

Grayroad- creche keeper

[dreamteamspace]

They really went there huh

/rp (good lord I rly hyperfixated on this essay huh)

torture tw, abuse tw, manipulation tw, gaslighting tw

So the Dream SMP built a character, once maybe morally gray, who slipped straight into villany with little to no desire to change, and willing to cause a LOT of pain to get his way. Despite this, he doesn’t question what he does enough to stop, justifying his actions with a good intent that doesn’t come close to justifying what he’s done.

C!Dream is unremorseful of what he’s done, he’s quite literally manipulated and gaslit (like actually, not in the way everyone keeps throwing the word around) c!Tommy, almost drove him to take his last life- like, jesus christ. That’s not even to mention blowing up L’Manburg three times, encouraging c!Wilbur, wanting the discs JUST to have power over c!Tommy, etc.

SO, he gets thrown in a box for it so he doesn’t hurt anybody anymore, making his own hubris his downfall (narrative consequence my beloved). This leads us to a good finale - the bad guy, the person who’s caused objectively the most pain and destruction, is now unable to do so anymore, taken down by the person whom he tried to weaken. It is also revealed he was planning on blackmailing and threatening pretty much everyone, but now everyone gets their stuff back.

Good, right?

Especially for the finale, yeah! The message of the finale is good, c!Tommy manages to escape his abuser with nothing more but his clothes on his back and fights his way back to c!Tubbo and his home.

He doesn’t let his trauma (which is still very present!) let him become a terrible person (arguably the way that c!Dream DID let his frustrations make him a terrible person, c!Tommy, despite bearing quite a heavy weight, recognizes when he begins to turn that way and actively works against it).

It shows that while alone, c!Tubbo and c!Tommy were outfought by Dream, but because c!Tommy went the length to ask for help (which he didn’t even really seem to be relying on actually showing up), he wins! It truly is a good message.

C!Tommy escapes his abuser and manipulator, refuses and fights his trauma to not become someone he doesn’t want to be, and defeats his abuser by asking for help and receiving it, even more than he thought he’d get. He refuses to play c!Dream’s “game”, refuses till the very last moment to let c!Tubbo die, to surrender and say goodbye to him.

So, great! Good finale! C!Dream The Villain is boxed like a fish in a prison of, quite literally, his own making. It sent a good message to people. C!Tommy wasn’t expected to forgive him and did, in fact, axe him down twice, causing c!Dream to finally fall from his high horse.

Most media would stop at this point, say the villain is now defeated and never show them again, or have them come back another one or two seasons later, escaped and seemingly unharmed and worse than ever.

Alternatively, there’s a throwaway line, (or, in good media, a genuine, reasonable backstory, complete with remorse and bad role models and complicated situations), that allows the villain to be redeemed.

In GOOD redemption arcs (See: Zuko from avatar tbh), the villain was already never quite as heartless, or stressed their good intent, or felt remorse for what they felt they “had to do”. Then, ideally, the villain takes a looooong time adjusting their habits, regretting their actions and changing until they’re considered redeemed.

Not on the Dream SMP, though.

They don’t stop at c!Dream’s defeat.

He doesn’t dissapear off-screen and is never spoken of again. His life continues on, everyone’s does, just like it would in reality. He doesn’t magically want to become a better person, far from it. So no redemption. But he doesn’t dissapear, either.

They go on to, slowly, stress how awful the conditions in Pandora’s Vault are. c!Bad says c!Dream should be imprisoned, but at least at slightly better conditions. We’re in very VERY morally gray territorry here. Nobody says c!Dream is a good person, of course not, but even c!Bad - who knows Dream was planning on keeping c!Skeppy in a cage to control him with - goes, “yeah, he should stay boxed, but does he really need to like... suffer suffer?”

Still, c!Dream seems to be kindof inconsistent in his behavior. Is he faking his pain? Is he not? His actions don’t fully make sense for either take. He acts differently to each person, but at the same time some things he does don’t make sense if he were just fishing for pity.

Then c!Sam admits to trying (and thinking he succeeded) to “break Dream’s will”, to quite literally starving him for weeks.

Okay, so now we’re a step further. C!Dream is now suffering even more, although already boxed and unable to hurt anyone. Pandora’s Vault is one thing, but now c!Sam just seems to be out for revenge and nothing more. Instead of spending his time with c!Tommy, he spends his time pickaxing(?) c!Dream.

C!Sam isn’t an angel, and we should all know that by now. He does what he thinks is right, but he’s deeper than that, all characters on the DSMP are.

He cares deeply for the Badlands, and would always choose them above anybody else. He’s a capitalist. He built the prison because it would benefit the Badlands resource-wise, despite knowing Dream would probably use it on his enemies, and it was no secret that ALL members of L’Manburg, especially c!Tommy, are his enemies. C!Sam, undoubtedly, knew that. He still built it.

Arguably, he didn’t know about c!Dream’s attachment obsession at the time, but the point still stands.

People have already latched onto the untold story happening between c!Dream and c!Sam, and frankly, we barely know enough about it. Does c!Sam torture him regularly? Do they talk? Does c!Dream try to verbally fight back? CAN he fight back? We don’t know! We’ve gotten proof for both, between c!Sam saying that c!Dream is terrifying even in prison and c!Dream going silent to go on strike. We don’t have enough of an idea how bad or how good it truly is.

So the people who prefer to humanize c!Dream and explore morality imagine c!Sam to downright torture him, people that prefer to see c!Dream as nothing but evil due to his actions imagine prison on the DSMP to not be equivalent to real life prison, and thus nowhere near as torturous as people are making it out to be.

Now all that is thrown out the window as c!Quackity quite literally tortures him.

So now the internet is faced with a question that, judging by some of the impulsive reactions *cough cough* celebrating torture *cough*, it didn’t turn out to be ready for.

Tell me.

How far do we go?

C!Dream hurt a LOT of people. He did a lot of things that caused irreparable damage. Now what? Do we torture him forever? Why? Because he deserves it? How do we determine that without comparing one kind of pain to another?

It’s custom and kindof generally respectful not to compare people’s pain too accurately, because different things vary greatly in severity depending on the person that experiences them.

At what point do we say he’s suffered enough without comparing exile to the prison?

And if we DO compare, does that even make the question easier to answer?

And if he’s never suffered enough ever, killing them would be a mercy...

At what point has a person done enough damage that they “deserve” to die? What if someone only did half of the things c!Dream did. But if c!Dream gets infinite punishment, and half of infinity is still infinity, do they ALSO deserve endless suffering?

Do you think every person that did something you can’t emphasize with deserves to suffer for eternity and die?

I’m not saying we SHOULD emphasize with c!Dream. He did things we cannot justify, that NOTHING can justify. He did things that were, by their nature, unjustified.

I’m also not saying anybody should forgive him. I think it’s a GOOD thing that c!Tommy doesn’t want nor is narratively pushed to forgive c!Dream.

But c!Dream doesn’t need c!Tommy’s forgiveness to be... a person.

There’s a saying that I’m sure you know, that goes “I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.”, because there’s things you wouldn’t want any human being to experience. Not because you like them, not cause you think they’re right, but because they’re human.

And perhaps this is my personal opinion, but I don’t think c!Dream being a bad person justifies dehumanizing him, because then we get into an area where someone needs to meet criteria just to be human.

-

I met someone once, whom, because of outside circumstances I knew I probably wouldn’t meet again. We’d been getting along just fine for people who just met, and were both getting into an interesting discussion about morality. They kept insisting upon something I kept refuting, so they said they needed to get something off their chest.

They proceeded to tell me that they had, years ago, while a teen, manipulated someone in a relationship, pushed boundaries and tried to convince them to do things they didn’t really want to do to get what they wanted.

They cried, while telling me, too terrified to tell anybody they know, terrified nobody would ever speak to them again, insanely regretful of their actions. They didn’t know whether to go back and apologize or just stay as far away as humanly possible, didn’t know which one the right thing to do is.

It had been years, by then, and I talked them through it. I said that what they did was bad, and there’s no going around that. But I also said what I saw, which is someone who would never do something like that ever again. I saw a human being. Someone who regrets a mistake they did and now, after enough time has passed, would do anything to make it undone.

Someone who is too terrified to be close to anybody in fear that they would do it again. I don’t remember if they already went to therapy or not, but it was definitly on the table, or in the near future.

They asked me how I could possibly even keep talking to them after they told me all that. They implied they felt like some kind of monster despite literally chocking back tears, firmly convinced they don’t deserve to be close to anybody in their life ever again.

I never swerved from the fact that what they did was wrong, and harmful. But I also told them they’re human. The universe isn’t keeping score. They want to be a better person now, and they were never going to learn how if they never let themselves be close to anybody.

I told them to seek therapy, and to slowly, carefully, try. Assured them that the fact that they regret it so strongly will at least help them in not falling back into the same pattern, and if they do, they can learn to recognize that.

They thanked me after the conversation, genuinely, especially for the fact that I didn’t sugarcoat what happened, because I know otherwise it would’ve felt like I was lying, like I was just sparing their feelings. I wasn’t. I was thinking about how to make sure they get to live without hurting anybody.

As per the circumstances, we didn’t speak again after that, which we knew basicly from the very start.

-

I still think about that conversation a lot.

Do you think they should’ve been locked up for life after it happened, instead?

Do you think this real human being, that I spoke to, that took years to realize their mistake - and never would have realized it if they hadn’t had the time to, if they’d been killed right afterwards - deserves to suffer forever?

Let me tell you something, from someone who’s been in more than one abusive situation: People that hurt you are human.

That doesn’t mean you have to forgive them. That doesn’t mean you have to like them. That doesn’t mean you have to make an effort to understand them. That doesn’t mean you need to go anywhere near them ever again.

You can hate them. You can be angry at them. You can (and should) go as far away from them as possible, and/or defend yourself.

But that doesn’t mean you have to dehumanize them.

You’re allowed to hate and dislike people that are human, because you’re human, especially if they hurt you. That’s how life is.

And to go back to my original point - c!Quackity torturing c!Dream is not something that should be celebrated.

There’s a difference between necessary measures (locking c!Dream up so he doesn’t hurt anyone), and torturing people for fun.

It’s not right. It’s never going to be right, and do not justify literal torture on human beings, and do not make someone lower-than-human to justify torturing them.

Taking revenge on someone for what they did tenfold is romanticized, I know, but I promise you it’s not actually as cool as it sounds.

[sepublic]

A change in the Protagonists’ Goals (And a suggestion on Creepy Luz)

            I think Eda’s Requiem will establish a change in the protagonists’ agenda, as they go from mostly reactive, to straight-up proactive in a battle against Belos?

         Because up until now, they haven’t been particularly concerned, nor under the impression that there’s a final battle they’re building up to. All Luz knows is that Belos wanted the Portal for some reason, but she’s under the impression that she destroyed it, effectively putting a halt to those plans. Lilith is also aware of the Day of Unity, but we don’t know how much she knows… Which, given how Belos later explained it to the Coven Heads, leads me to believe Lilith was mostly clueless beyond Belos needing to consolidate power.

         My point being- The protagonists aren’t really planning nor considering any proactive steps against Belos! To them, it’s probably the status quo as usual, where they just live and mind their own business, occasionally evading the law for the odd crime they pull here or there, likely interfering when they see the coven system up to no good… 

        And that’s it! From Eda’s perspective, she might be under the impression that with herself and her family pardoned, Belos is just going to go back to business as usual- Ruling as he’s always had, for fifty-something years.

         So there’s a good chance that’s how the protagonists have been operating in Season 2 so far… Just focusing on surviving and getting by, like Eda had prior to Season 1- Rebelling against the system by leaving it and occasionally imploring others to do so, but there isn’t some particular idea of a full-on, focused revolution meant to target and actively supplant Belos’ influence. But, that gets us into Raine…

         Raine IS leading an active revolution, it seems- While Eda and the protagonists are focused on themselves because they frankly don’t have the resources for that, and aren’t aware of any drastic event/spell that Belos is building up towards… Raine does, they were fully privy to Belos’ plan to merge the worlds, and they know about the fixed portal, given how it was right behind Belos during that meeting.

         With their influence as a coven head, it seems Raine is gathering a proper, organized effort with an actual game-plan and everything, proactively dedicated towards overturning Belos’ dictatorship completely, by open confrontation if need be, and as it’ll definitely become. And they KNOW about Belos’ plan, so there’s an active time limit before everything is irreparable damaged-

         So regardless of how Raine and Eda work out together as a relationship… I think there’s a good chance that we’ll see the protagonists’ goals and status quo be shaken up now. While they were all preoccupied with just getting Luz back home, now they know that Belos plans to mess with BOTH realms as well- And that means we’ll probably see the protagonists rally up as they realize they need to do something, and start taking the fight to the Emperor’s Coven ASAP.

         The fact that they weren’t probably plays into Hunter sparing Luz, Eda, and King at the end of Separate Tides- Aside from the fact that he’s a kid with morals who is looking for any excuse to leave people be… They aren’t actively opposing the Emperor’s Coven with the initiative to overturn it, just minding their business for the most part, and interfering with the occasional, smaller scheme that they come across.

         But now they know that they HAVE to do something about it ASAP, lines need to be drawn now and sides taken… They have to focus on taking down Belos, and they’ll know he’s fixing the portal. Which, the synopsis to Eclipse Lake and Yesterday’s Lie indicate that Luz is still planning to make her own way back home- But it’s possible that with Raine’s information, the protagonists will consider, at least as a backup, using the repaired Portal by seizing it in a confrontation with Belos.

         Basically, this episode is definitely going to shake things up as the protagonists shift their goals to actively opposing Belos, because they’re aware of some endgame plan of his that will completely change everything- So no more living on their own like Eda had! We might see more of Raine’s rebellion, assuming it isn’t crushed and forced into hiding… 

        Or at least, the protagonists wait for additional information from Raine to act upon in the meantime. Their perception of Belos will change as they realize just how nuts this dude is, and that could really influence any later interactions with Hunter down the line, as they might confront him over this.

         Given how the Season 2 trailer shows Belos attempting to open the Portal with his own take on the key… That might end up coming into play with Yesterday’s Lie, and who knows! With Lilith’s Scrying Potion, the protagonists might attempt to take advantage of this… But on the other hand, Belos is aware of the Scrying Potion, and likely to weaponized that by tricking his enemies on the other end.

         On a final note- Now that we know Belos wasn’t looking for access to the human realm but to merge the worlds with a specialized Portal… This GREATLY increases the possibility that he has a reservoir of Titan’s Blood and has in fact sent people there- Possibly as research into Earth’s properties, and how it can nullify wild magic. Which means there’s a good chance that there are other people loyal to Belos, waiting on the other end for him….

         Which, increases the likelihood that Creepy Luz IS an agent of Belos- And that Belos was able to communicate with them across realms, when he realized Luz’s presence. He might’ve relayed a message to his scout to impersonate Luz to take Camila as potential leverage, while keeping an eye on the entrance to the Demon Realm from the human side- Especially if Belos took advantage of Luz opening the portal to send HIS own messages over.

        Belos would totally use this knowledge against Luz, especially to reveal that Camila is happier with Creepy Luz- Which could serve to demoralize Luz at a crucial moment, and make her liable to despair and desperation that he can manipulate.

[multimetaverse]

HSMTMTS 2x01 Review

New Year’s Eve was a great way to return to HSMTMTS especially after such a long gap. Let’s dig in!

Vladimir Lenin once said that, ‘’ there are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen". It’s been almost a year and half since S1 ended but this past week has seen revelation after revelation as the fandom has resurrected itself and promotion for S2 kicked into high gear: Joshua Bassett came out, Frankie and Joe confirmed that they are a real life couple, Larry seemingly confirmed that S2 will only have 11 eps rather than the 12 initially ordered, and perhaps most importantly Olivia revealed that she and the main cast are under contract for 4 seasons and made clear that she’s leaving the show as soon as her contract is up.

I really enjoyed this premiere, it felt like picking up right back where we left off. I’m guessing that S2 was originally supposed to premiere around Christmas or New Year’s but the holiday decorations and real Utah snow add a charming aesthetic to the ep. Tim Federle deserves credit for giving HSMTMTS more of an ensemble feel which is no easy feat with a cast as large as this show has. It likely won’t last due to covid restrictions  but at least for tonight we got to see all the characters hanging out together acting like a real group of friends.

The dialogue tonight really reminded me of Glee and I think I mean that as a compliment. Miss Jenn in particular seems to be doing her best April Rhodes impression minus the alcoholism. 

The rini scenes tonight were lovely. Perfect gift was a great song and I loved the rini duet during the music in me as the world faded around them leaving just the two of them. The Harry Styles reference is funny in light of Josh’s coming out interview. Of course, it’s hard now to separate Nini and Ricky and Olivia and Josh. Their chemistry shines through as 2x01, 2x02, and possibly parts of 2x03 were filmed pre Jolivia breakup which seems to have happened around summer 2020. Whether they can keep that same chemistry later on in S2, not to mention future seasons, remains to be seen.

A major theme tonight was communication and clearly Rini need to work on theirs. Poor Ricky had to learn that Nini’s moving to Denver the night before she leaves town which has to remind of him of his mom effectively abandoning him. Ricky saying that he’s never gonna breakup with Nini ever again sure sounds like foreshadowing for a disaster though the odds that this time Nini initiates the breakup are pretty good. 

I’m glad that the show is continuing to delve in the Bowen’s divorce story with their house being sold and Ricky and his dad having to move into an apartment. Divorce is expensive and the division of assets typically leave people less well off. Mike Bowen needs to work on his communication skills but he’s rocking that beard; it takes him from depressed divorced dad to depressed divorced daddy.

Seblos was cute and in a nice change of pace Disney doesn’t seem to be cynically teasing them then cutting their scenes. It was refreshing to see them just being a couple and to hear Carlos casually refer to himself as gay. In that regard tonight’s ep didn’t seem like it was a Disney show at all and it’s major progress that there are now two main gay characters on HSMTMTS. We learn that Carlos is rich which seems likely to be a source of conflict with Seb who comes from a large farming family.

Bet on It was really fun and I liked that Ricky apparently couldn’t stop singing it. The medley of HSM 2 songs was fun but I’ll be real with you wildcats, I never thought HSM 2 or 3 were nearly as good as the first movie so I’m not sad that they’re doing something else this year.

Wild that Big Red’s mom also calls him Big Red. Salt Lake Slices seems poised to be a big part of S2 both as hangout spot and work location for some of the characters. Redlyn are sweet together but sometimes Big Red comes off as a closeted gay guy which isn’t ideal for a het pairing that is supposedly a big part of S2.

Nice to see Gina so excited to have sleepovers with Ashlyn. We know from 2x03 that Gina contends with being single on Valentine’s day and from her glances at Ricky tonight she’s clearly not over him. Tim’s playing with fire and I can only hope he knows what he’s doing. I liked the little detail of Kourtney having AOC on her vision board, it feels true to the character (hopefully AOC gets elected president one day if the USA doesn’t collapse into a fascist dictatorship or civil war before then). EJ’s beard has got to go but I like that he seems committed to being a better version of himself; very doubtful his plan to go straight to Duke like his forefathers doesn’t change by the end of the season. 

Derek Hough did a good job of playing Zach as a subtly condescending man who managed to swiftly undermine Miss Jenn’s confidence, we’ll see what he and North High bring to the table.

Looking Ahead:

Next week are auditions for Beauty and the Beast, we know Ashlyn gets the role of Belle and EJ has conveniently removed himself from the running for Beast which presumably clears the path for Ricky to take the lead. There’s been some controversy over the casting choices and I’ll save my comments about it for the 2x02 review.

We get to see Lily who looks like a meaner version of season 1 Gina, we’ll see how much depth she actually ends up getting. Howie is introduced in 2x03 and Antoine likely shows up later on. Jack likely shows up towards the end of the season.

Howie seems to have a connection with Kourtney though the character synopsis does say he gets close to a wildcat or two which certainly leaves room to slide him into Gina’s plot. We know Antoine is into Ashlyn so that’s another love triangle to look forward to. Jack was described as having wanderlust and most of the cast seems not to have filmed with him so I think it’s likely that he plays a role in convincing EJ to take a gap year rather than head straight to Duke. 

A translation leak on TikTok reveals that in 2x03 Gina is sad that she’s only gotten a Valentine’s Day gift from her mom. A brief clip from the promo shows up her on her porch at night holding a heart shaped box of chocolates. If that’s supposed to be from a secret or semi-secret admirer than it has to be from either EJ, Ricky, or Howie. If it’s a platonic gift then it could be from anyone, we’ll see what Tim has up his sleeves.

Nini moving back to SLC is a question of when not if. It’s going to be very difficult to bring her back in a way that’s justified and also doesn’t leave the time she spends in Denver looking like a total waste. Frankly, I’d rather the show just bite the bullet and bring her back with as little fuss as possible.

We’re possibly around a quarter way through HSMTMTS given that the mains have 4 season contracts and presuming that the show is not cancelled earlier. At the very least the show will be radically different after S4 if they try to continue it as Olivia has made very clear that she’s going to leave asap to pursue her burgeoning music career full time (notably she’s only done the bare minimum of promo for S2). 

Looming over the remaining seasons of HSMTMTS is what the professional relationship between Olivia and Josh looks like especially since in many ways the show is built around Ricky and Nini. Off screen relationships have often caused on screen problems and dating a co-worker is rarely a good idea since even clean breakups leave lingering resentments. Obviously the Jolivia breakup was not clean, Driver’s License, Deja Vu, and Good 4 U (which is a certified bop) were clearly written from a place of hurt and in some ways were written to hurt. It’s no surprise that Joshua has dropped his duet with Sabrina Carpenter from his EP; someone on his team at least is trying to stop the damage to his reputation. There’s a decent chance that Olivia’s songs becoming such hits has irreparably damaged Joshua Bassett’s reputation among the same pool of largely young women that he’s targeting his music towards thereby cutting off his music career at the knees. If nothing else this behind the scenes drama should keep things entertaining for a while.

Until next week Wildcats 

[thinkingisadangerouspastime]

"Why is it considered horrible if people think either Bumi or Kya might be Zuko's child?" Hi I will answer your anon for you as a person who has watched LOK:

You're absolutely right anon. Their father didn't have to be an airbender. The thing is...he was. You're right that the show(s) are about loving unconditionally, but there are plenty of reasons why this hc just...doesn't work for a lot of the fandom. Other than the fact that this hc is controversial other than it "knocks the Katara/Aang lovestory on the head", here's a few reasons why it's controversial:

1. Saying Katara and/or Zuko would cheat on their spouses is the complete demolition of character. Not only is it OOC, but it's disrespectful to them. If you can say with a straight face that Katara would cheat on Aang or that Zuko would cheat on Mai (presumably it's Mai he married), then pat yourself on the back.

Frankly it wouldn't happen. Both Katara and Zuko are characters that probably love in some of the deepest ways in ATLA. How much did Katara love her mother that she was willing to bloodbend and potentially murder a man? How much did Katara love Aang that she literally gave Zuko a death threat? How much did Zuko love that her refused to fight his own father and didn't fight back when he was burned? And on that note, how much did Zuko love Mai and Iroh that he betrayed his own nation for them and hid it from Mai? These are characters who, when they love someone, do not easily back down. They love wholly and deeply and it doesn't sway them no matter what the circumstances. They are committed people.

2. Suggesting that cheating occurred is problematic in and of itself. Sure yes affairs happen, but cheating really isn't something that should be encouraged. It's an unhealthy mindset and saying that it's ok to cheat and just kind of live with those circumstances with no obvious conflict is wrong. There will be conflict and hurt. It will hurt badly. It would destroy Aang and Mai, no matter how you look at it. It could possibly destroy marriages and there would be guilt felt on Katara and Zuko’s end.

Yes you can fall out of love, but cheating isn't something people like to see headcanoned in fandom, sorry anon. It's much better if the characters separated rather than having affairs if that's your cup of tea.

3. It's not fair to Mai and Aang. A lot of the times this cheating hc is problematic because it likes to weigh heavy sadness on these 2 characters. It almost feels like these hcs read as anti these characters and like they should suffer because apparently they didn't do enough in their married lives to keep their spouses happy. This is especially put on Aang a lot in this hc. He's the Avatar. He has no choice but to do his duty and tbh Katara and Aang knew what they were signing up for when they they were just dating. That's hinted at in the comics btw. There's a scene where Aang has to go away to help Zuko in Smoke and Shadow and says he doesn't want to be away from Katara, but Katara says that "it just comes with dating the Avatar" or something like that.

This hc is putting burden on these 2 characters in a way they don't really need or deserve storywise.

4. The hc often comes with minimal consequences as I stated above. Like "oh Bumi or Kya are half siblings guess we'll just live with it". Sure Aang would forgive Katara and Zuko, but he's not infallible. He would feel betrayed by not only his wife, but one of his best friends too. Plus what do you think that would do to the rest of the gaang? It has the potential to split friendships. Toph and Sokka would pick sides, Suki would try to mediate but be disappointed. There would be this whole rift going on. And yeah sure the kids could grow up together and still love each other, but you think there wouldn't be any resentment there when Bumi or Kya believe they could've been growing up in the Fire Nation? Kids feel things a lot, and this hc is harmful to their characters too. They already had to deal with a das that needed to be away all the time and with a dad that needed to deal with reviving his culture that almost died out. The underlying resentment, even if they understood, would be so great that it would damage Tenzin's character too, and not only that but this adds potential resentment from the kids to their mother a Katara for keeping them there. Maybe they wouldn't see Aang as their real dad too, and that is a whole other can of worms.

5. I'm sorry but if this hc is a thing, there's no way Zuko and Aang would be able to maintain an amiable relationship. Literally there are some things that even though they are forgiven, they wouldn't be forgotten. Cheating with your best friend's wife is one of those things. The relationship would be almost irreparable if even. That alone destroys all the character development and trust built up in ATLA and would botch the entire story to the point where it doesn't seem real anymore. In LOK their friendship remains even after Aang dies. Korra asks Zuko for help on what Aang would do, and Iroh in the spirit world says that they ended up being best, lifelong friends. This alone should be enough to deter people from this controversial hc, if not for the fact that cheating is already problematic.

Anyways. Hope that helps answer the question!

thank you for such a detailed response, anon!! i appreciate you taking the time to share it 💛

[realisaonum]

book meme

thank you, jen @det395​ !! i feel like this meme got away from me a bit, but no shame! i love talking about books and writing so onward ~under the cut~

1- how many books are too many books in a series? 

mhmmmmm i guess it depends on the objective of the series, right? is the plan to have x number of books in the series and if so, when we finally get to the end will it be satisfying considering all the books we’ve read leading up to it? OR is the objective of the premise / characters just to exist doing whatever? both can be done well. i would say a lot rides on how much i trust the author.

2- what do you think about cliffhangers?

so this is meant for cliffhangers in a series like between books? i don’t really care if there’s a cliffhanger as long as i have the next book sitting right next to me. otherwise uh, only if the wait between books is tolerable, because at that point you need to know that the author can clear this mess up, right? there’s this other thing, like you know how if the entire series was already written, then they might release the books a month apart or a quarter apart - that could be alright too. but years in between? not especially a fan. is anyone a fan?

3- hardback or paperback?

jen, you and me are complete opposites here. paperbacks stress me out. i will go out of my way to buy a used hardcover if given the choice. of course, there are some publications i don’t mind in paperback —thinking poetry and super indie books that don’t have a hardcover release OR books where the spines are thin enough they won’t break and i won’t be holding them long enough for them to wear. hardcovers are sturdy and i don’t have to worry i’ll accidentally bend the cover in some damaging way. I am invested in keeping my books nice to the point that i create covers for my books out of kraft paper or brown grocery bags while i am reading them. this is something i started when i was in college and didn’t want these books i was hoping to probably resell get thrashed coming in and out of my bag for all these classes. My home library is probs more half and half paperback/hardcover but if given a choice usually it’s hardcover.

4- least favourite book?

i think it’s good to at least attempt to meet a book on its level. there are lots of books i didn’t like, but i wasn’t meeting them on their level and i know that so we’re ignoring those. i do however have a shelf on my goodreads dedicated to books that i have beef with so i’ll just go off on two of them.....

tana french’s the likeness for being plagiaristic shit. it is essentially poorly concealed alternate universe OC insert fic of the secret history. you’ve got french’s dublin murder squad folks and then this group they are investigating who bear a STRIKING resemblance to the greek students in tsh 🤔. this would be one thing. it is pretty well acknowledged that nothing is original and there are enough changes to The Likeness that MAYBE i could let it slide if not for this other thing: french’s book, the likeness, has lines that are just basically reworded quotes from the secret history and french positions these lines so they are said by the counterpart (essentially same!) character that gave them original life in tsh. i cannot stress this enough: you can HEAR how similar the sentences are and their core intent is always the same. it’s thinly veiled theft! it astounds me that French hasn’t been sued frankly. it is one thing to want to capture some of the genius that tartt’s debut novel holds, but it is completely lazy and disgusting theft to go about it in the way French did with this book. and YES the secret history was published before french’s book. if i could stomach how fucking goddamn boring the likeness was to read it a second time and cite every one of these offenses i would, but that’s yet a third strike against it—it’s too boring to be worth it. 

T. Kingfisher’s second book of the Clocktuar War duology : The Wonder Engine. this is a book that i feel violated the contract between writer and reader. the first book feels almost like a YA book. the stakes while described as very high are treated, as actions unfold, as very low. nothing truly irreparable happens until the climax of the second book and the fallout of that action is so off-tone of everything that came before i felt deeply betrayed. no, like, completely betrayed as in it ruined the rest of my afternoon, i am still viscerally angry eight months later, and i will never trust this author again. sure, maybe none of those actions that led to the climax were out-of-character, but there was nothing NOTHING in the proceeding action that even came close to that level of consequence. it’s a pity because right up till that point i was having a really good time. the entire vibe of the rising action to the climax of book one all the way through the rising action of book two was just a quippy fun version of roadtrip/quest - it felt like a comfort read. the abrupt tone shift had all the subtlety of dropping a graphically, brutal murder into Blue’s Clues. you don’t do that - this is a basic tenet of a writer / reader relationship. i’m not touching this bitch’s shit again.

5- Love Triangle, yes or no?

not so much. i like jen before me will scream ‘just be poly.’ love triangles that lead into poly relationships? yes, awesome will be glad i read. but i am at a stage in my life where your standard will-they-won’t-they-love-triangle is just fucking pointlessly frustrating to me. an example: i read a Nic Stone’s book Odd One Out a couple years ago and something about the synopsis or the hype made me think that it would resolve the love triangle that way, so when that did not happen i was incredibly frustrated and immediately wanted to resell the book. it’s the potential of the thing. stone’s book could have been the perfect vehicle for opening up the concept of polyamory to a ya audience but instead just really squandered that potential with weak floundering — in my opinion!

6- the most recent book you just couldn’t finish

uhhhhh i’ve got two and i’m not sure i’ve entirely given up quite yet buuuuuuuut 

fucking dune. i got really pissed off with this book. So just…setting aside the whole vaguing at a pedophilically inclined queer coded villain - it’s done so poorly, that it's almost funny? like it doesn’t (as of half way through) actually have any consequence on…anything at all and is tacked on like an afterthought to the end of his scenes. honestly it all could just be cut out entirely with no recourse to the larger story. So my actual beef with this book is the pacing is ATROCIOUS. like yo, not only do you expect me to give a shit about these Atreides cunts, when we just met them and we spend the same amount of time with them IF NOT MORE with the antagonist? but you also expect me to believe Paul was able to just convince the leader of the Arrakis people —the leader of an entire planet!!— with a single fucking sentence??? yeah, not so much. it was not set up for me to believe that Paul could do that! maybe if Kynes hadn’t died immediately after—or at least not died at that moment? baring the fact I thought he was by far the most interesting character, IF he had been convinced by Paul in that scene, it would have been great to see some actual work done around that - with a transfer or a liaise of power between Kynes and Paul and the Fremen. By not having any substantive scene that does it - it begs the question of what the fuck was the point of the character in the first place? unplumbed potential!!! over all there seem to be some key scenes missing to get the reader to where the narrative expects us to be? but the choices made of the characters we spend time with and the moments we see with them, the benefit to the larger story…is not always there. hey herbert, these words you have written aren’t doing what you want them to?? i feel like i should finish it but i reaaaaallly don’t want to :) the only thing i can say is it looks like from the trailer, villeneueve is giving space to these moments so that the viewer can foster a genuine connection with the characters? radical concept.

our lady of perpetual hunger - i started this one optimistically bc i like chef memoirs, but i am at the point where she has just given birth to her son and honestly DON’T CARE. i still haven’t officially given up on it yet since i actually fucking bought it like a dope. i certainly would not have if i knew how much NOT about working the line this was gonna be

7- book you are currently reading

Aside from the failures mentioned above, I am working on the second book in B. Catling’s Vorrh trilogy, The Erstwhile. Also very close to finally finishing Iain Sinclair’s The Last London - there’s a review of his work from the LA Times that goes “One of Sinclair’s greatest skills has always been his ability to take diverse if not chaotic source material and refashion it in a way that sometimes seems downright alchemical” which captures some of the wonder I experience when reading his work. His style and how he creates atmosphere and setting is just unique and astounding.

8- last book you recommended to someone

The Secret History by Donna Tartt. Before that I told my brother to read Eat a Peach, as we both love Anthony Bourdain and David Chang talks about him a bit here, plus it’s just a fucking great book. any book that gives insight into Chang’s methodology and paradigm is worth a shot.

9- oldest book you read

I think it might have to be Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night (which apparently according to wiki premiered on the stage a whole four months before Hamlet so that’s what we’re going with) and if plays don’t count, I don’t care. I think they count and that’s what we’re going with.

10- the most recent book you read ?

Given the previous question, the most recently published book, right? It’s gotta be the one I just finished: The First Collection of Criticism by a Living Female Rock Critic - Revised and Expanded edt., which like just came out this summer. I watched Jessica Hopper’s promo zoom, curtesy of my local indie bookstore, and went ahead and bought it. This was a great decision! It was just what I needed to read these last couple of weeks. i love there’s lots of short pieces that made the read quick and the fact that it’s non-fiction so there was no pressure of a plot or the emotional weight of character investment when I had a lot of big stressors dragging me down irl -it was such a relief. Hopper’s criticism is fun to read and there’s some real art in her appreciation of music here.

11- favourite author?

These are the top in a kind of order but not really: Donna Tartt, Jeff VanderMeer, Megan Whalen Turner, Flannery O’Conner, Chuck Palahniuk, Anthony Bourdain

Other faves very much worth mentioning: Emily O’Neill, Richard Siken, Brandon Sanderson, Warren Ellis, Nathan Englander, Stephen King, Eddie Huang, Carl Hiaassen, Anne Carson, and Iain Sinclair.

12- buying books or borrowing books?

Depends on if my library has it, of course! I nearly always see if my library has a copy first if i have never read it or the author before. If i’ve read the book before or trust the author, I’ll buy it. Like I’ll straight out buy new stuff from Jeff VanderMeer even though with him it’s either this-hits-exactly-and-is-my-new-fave or i-really-disliked-this-but-admire-the-boundaries-you’re-pushing-my-dude - so it’s always a gamble but a worthy one.

12- a book you dislike that everyone else seems to love

a little life (just bc it's torture porn elevated to art doesn’t negate the fact that it’s torture porn. Yanagihara’s project here is repugnant and the fact that this book is lauded as moving lgbt fiction makes my skin crawl)

sharp objects (good writing, compelling story, BUT typographical scarification doesn't work like that - i am not going to get into it but i know from first hand experience how Flynn described it is not accurate)

nesbø’s the snowman (what kinda dumbass detective would think THAT when a woman finds her missing father’s corpse? absolute idiocy - so obviously reverse engineered with that end in mind)

the raven cycle (fuck ronan lynch to start and then fuck him to end as well - there’s some other stuff but mostly he’s a total CUNT and if i don’t say that once a day i have probably died)

14 - bookmarks or dogears?

Bookmarks and sticky notes. Then I can place it pointing directly to the paragraph I last stopped on.

15- The book you can always reread?

This is my question because I reread all the time. ALL THE TIME. Books I reread often: The Secret History, Medium Raw (especially chapter 17 The Fury), Crooked Kingdom, The Violent Bear It Away, and The Goldfinch. Every year like clockwork (since it came out apparently) I will reread Stephen King’s The Outsider.

Other books I feel the urge to reread: VanderMeer’s Acceptance, Englander’s Dinner at the Center of the Earth, Frazier’s Nightwoods, Fresh Off the Boat, the Mr. Mercedes trilogy, the Peter Grant Series (which is queued up for another go here soon I think), any of the stories from A Good Man is Hard to Find, Sanderson’s Wax and Wayne Mistborn books, simon vs the homosapiens’ agenda, and there are two of Alan Morinis’ books on Mussar that I am technically always revisiting—when i need a reminder, i’ll jump around and read specific sections to get centered again.

16- can you read while listening to music?

Yes, but only ambient or near ambient (only usually one track on repeat) or a soundtrack I am extremely familiar with. No new music. I do usually need some audio stimulation or my mind will wander terribly.

17- one POV or multi POV?

Multi pov can certainly be done well (looking at the soc duaology and VanderMeer’s Acceptance) but working a multi-pov means there are more plates spinning, it’s more of a challenge, and some authors pull it off better than others.

18- do you read book in one sitting or in multiple days?

I don’t really do this anymore. that might have something to do with me picking up thicker books? but also i have a full time job now and let’s be real the book has to be hella good if i don’t want to put it down. the last book i attempted to shotgun was the final installment of my favorite series and it still took me two days so....i can get through a lot of books but none of them are ever in one sitting anymore.

19- who to tag:

@sybilius​ @mouth-rainboy​ @iwonderifthatisart​ @phereinnike​ @magnificentmoose​ @wambsgangs​ @moriarteaparty​ and anyone else if you feel so inclined!

Bonus Question: What’s on your to-read shelf? 

As for me, I am excited about one i just picked up, Danforth’s Plain Bad Heroines, which i might start tomorrow and I will be taking Paul Madonna’s Come to Light on my trip to see my brother this coming weekend.