#everyone wants to rule the world or whatever the 80s said

[respectthepetty]

Well hello, Pat aka grandson of the vampire governor!

Nice to see you so light when you wake up next to your light-coded vampire not-yet-boyfriend.

Even though you are still very much a Black Brooder who keeps BIG secrets.

Like whatever you're hiding in this box!

Might it have anything to do with this little bad boy that Mick has been carrying around since he crossed over into the human world?

Which is probably connected to the Book of Life since it ties the human world (yellow) to the vampire world (red).

Because the kids were doing some pretty human stuff this week like getting married.

And giving honeymoon massages as the colors mixed.

But everyone was looking awfully beautiful in yellow while attending the wedding.

So when are these two vampires going to do something human and get married?

I got questions (like is this really Kiw who broke our young vampire's heart and not his "twin" Kin),

And I need answers!

[bestworstcase]

Ancillary to the posts about wet paper bag oz: I would love to see a RWBY prequel special or something set during the great war? I would bet REAL LIFE DOLLARS whatever he did with the sword was also when he finally had to admit that Salem was right all those years ago, and it fucked him up so bad we got the weak attempt at unification via the huntsman system and his next incarnation disassociating on the regular.

I am rattling him like a cookie jar. What horrors have you seen old man.

i think about this SO much. like

The King of Vale personally led his army into battle alongside the soldiers of Vacuo and decimated the enemy forces. Crown atop his head and armed only with a sword and his scepter, he laid waste to countless men. As the sand was soaked red with blood, the Grimm came in droves. It was the single deadliest battle of the war, and legends of the greatness and terror of the Warrior King were born that day. Historians will tell you that most of these stories are nothing but grandiose hyperbole. Unusually violent weather conditions, combined with Mantle's unfamiliarity with desert combat, are likely what led to such a high death count. But whatever the reasoning, everyone bowed to the King of Vale by the time it was over. The Great War had ended. The world was ready to live under the rule of Vale. But the King refused.

laughs weakly. this is a war that began with oz rolling out a welcome mat for mistrali colonists in his own kingdom, ignoring the protestations of his own people, so desperate was he to avoid an armed conflict. (with… the imperial power busily conquering his kingdom wshgfk OZMA. PLEASE.)

ten years later he ends it doing… that. the great war broke something in him sure as sure. i think that final battle was his:

“you said we had to bring humanity together; in order to do that, we have to spread our word, and destroy those who would deny it”

decimated the enemy forces. the sand was soaked red with blood and the grimm came in droves. the single deadliest battle in a war that lasted ten years. unusually violent weather conditions. the greatness and terror of the warrior king… who laid waste to countless men and routed every army on that battlefield. even his ally surrendered.

it’s also. well. the great war. extremely pointed thing to call your fictional global war that happened 80-90 years ago, following a century marked by increasing global tensions and smaller scale conflicts between imperial powers, and is now remembered for precipitating a devastating military arms race, the complete destruction of innumerable settlements, and ending with a treaty that "redistributed territories" ie gave independence to vacuo and menagerie as new sovereign states. oh, and an indeterminate amount of time later there was a second huge war that is now remembered for [checks notes] …the genocide.

glances at modern history. ok.

glances at

this nonsense also, courtesy of general "never fought a war but rules the country that made cosplaying the great war its whole national identity" ironwood.

it was trench warfare. that broke him. king oz sat in the trenches under never-ending artillery bombardment watching soldiers die by the thousands in a miserably futile grinding war of attrition for ten years until he shattered and personally slaughtered more people than had died in any single battle in ten years of TRENCH WARFARE with the divine relic of destruction. the war to end all wars, right?

and then—if it didn’t happen within that lifetime—he reincarnated to humankind being "quite, quite adamant about centralizing the faunus population in menagerie" (😶) and consequently another major war lasting at least three years.

what horrors has he seen, indeed.

tiny tdt draft snippet because when i say i think about this a LOT… ->

“I…” Wetting his lips, Osiander rasps, “want to put an end to war.” “You’ll need to consult my sisters,” the spirit says without inflection. “Abstractions are not in my purview.” Of course. There’s a poisoned laugh caught between his ribs, a bubble of reckless despair; he shuts his eyes, and grits his teeth, and grinds out, “This war, then.” “Narrower.” “I want,” Salem, indifferent, advising him to crush those who would not see reason. Salem asking him to try. Paradise. He chokes back a sob. “To rout every army on this battlefield,” he says. “I want a victory so absolute that it cannot be answered by anything less than unconditional surrender to myself, personally. I would end this, here and now.”

he’s fine. he’s fine

[sarroora]

Hey sorry to bug you but uhhh things aren't looking too hot in the good ol US of A right now because Mr. Overcooked Rump Roast is expected to win and basically has already

In my current situation I should be safe for a while but a lot of the people I know won't be

I'm hoping that whatever dumpster bonfire is going on over here doesn't affect Egypt too bad but shit damn I also thought that Kamala would win but look how that turned out, heh.

(You don't have to respond I just wanted to give you an update and some prayers ❤️🙏)

Hey dear ❤️ - no, please do, I too NEED to reach out and talk to people.

Like I only have a surface level understanding of how elections in the US work, but I know that the system is bullcrap. And yes, Trump’s a psycho so please protect yourself. The very idea that not every vote has the same weight at the end of the day is steeped in racism and classism but nothing surprises me anymore.

Really, if there’s anything the Zionist-American genocide against Palestine confirmed in clear light is how evil of a lie ‘western democracy and morality’ is. Like - the rest of the world already knew it for centuries (most of us endured long histories of abuse and settler colonialism since the Romans, after all) but now even people living in the west have their eyes open and no longer fall for the lies and propaganda. But it feels awful to be associated with what our govs are doing when we had NO choice in the matter.

GOD don’t get me started on Egypt - did you know that our complacent ‘leadership’ has allowed a ship carrying weapons to IsnotReal through our waters? People went nuts. Everyone is in a rage and feels humiliated that this happened.

Like here’s a short vid taken by a woman that went viral and even made it to foreign news channels. You may not understand what’s being said in the vid, but the people are aghast, and you can hear rage and panic and profanity all around. The lady recording could only keep repeating in utter disbelief, “you sons of bitches.” (Referring to our president and posse)

Yeah. Things are going to hell here overall. We as civilians are literally held hostage by a draconian military regime that’s throwing everybody in prison on one hand - including minors - and robbing people blind with unexplained ‘taxes’ and insane inflation on the other. The middle class is crushed. No economical reform and no jobs. And people go to prison for objecting - kidnapped by the police in the middle of the night and thrown in secret prisons across the country where their own families can’t find them.

The currency rate to the USD right now here is 1 USD to 50 Egyptian Pounds. FIFTY.

And it’s projected to reach 80 by the end of the 2024. EIGHTY. In less than 2 months. Shifting the blame onto anything else but the consequences of their own decision-making. All while the president and ruling class (military generals) are becoming wealthy and sit above the law. The justice system is in their pockets.

And guess what, Trump loves our guy. Why wouldn’t he, I wouldn’t put it past him that he do anything - even sell his own country and its people and the people next door in Palestine if Trump asked him to. And I’m sure Trump’s gonna push for Palestinians to be expelled from their land and settle in Egypt (which is another country Isnotreal is VERY interested in occupying next, btw) thus helping the Zionists fully take over what remains of Palestine and expand into Greater Isnotreal.

These freaks are insane, istG.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but from what I heard of Harris, it’s not like she was gonna be much better than Trump. Just perhaps a little sneakier. US has treated Isnotreal as its 51st state for decades, it’s not like the politics of the country will change with her. Congress deals with Isnotreal as if it’s more important than America itself. Who’s given the title of ‘president’ doesn’t matter.

Until the US political system is completely changed and the settler colony that is Insnotreal is wiped off the map, we’re all gonna do what’s right in whatever small ways we can and be each other’s backs, even if we live on different continents ❤️.

[terrence-silver]

Would Terry be into pda?

Well, what do you think?

Admittedly, Terry uses (or rather, abuses?) touch as an invasive weapon. Touches people for a great many reasons. To disconcert them. To confuse the senses. To catch them off their guard. Signal friendliness where there is none. Establish trust. Tear down boundaries on purpose. As a method of intimidation. To make people secretly uncomfortable and garner glee off of it. Purely to, yes, invade their space simply because he can (he is a larger, stronger and taller man than most, so what is anyone really going to do about it?) But, Terry also very much doesn't seem to like himself touched and appears to avoid it at any given opportunity, at least from people he hates or doesn't really have particularly positive feelings towards. Bows instead of shaking a hand, passes it off as respect to Mr. Miyagi and Daniel. Doesn't enjoy Mike Barnes's hand even accidentally grazing him as instinctual self-defense during a mutually staged fight. Even people he casually dates in passing, like in the case of Cheyenne --- everyone keeps their hands strictly to themselves for what little we've seen. Nobody touches nobody. Nobody's hands are thrown over anyone's shoulder. No skin grazes anyone else's skin. No trace of affection is there. Not even in private. These are all people he deems antagonistic, perhaps temporary, cool on the scale of his affections, tools to be used and tossed aside; each and every one in their own respective way. Safe to say, when Terry Silver has someone in that 'enemy box' or 'indifferent box' he loathes or avoids everything stemming from the people in said box, even their purely nonchalant, random touches, all while he can go around touching whoever he pleases and however he pleases, for whatever reason. That one guy at the club back in the '80's, for example? Terry doesn't even know him and immediately goes in and touches the man to the point that to an outsider looking in it can almost seem suggestive.

Daniel gets touched by Terry even when it is absolutely not necessary purely so he'd mess with that kid's mind and because in this dynamic and student and teacher, teenager and adult, there's overtones and overtones of grooming and skewed power levels involved. Terry knows that. One either accepts the touches, or the covenant of teaching is potentially over. Daniel might not be taught the precious knowledge he wants to garner, so he better take it. Take all the touching and all the pain.

Like, I said, Terry does what Terry wants.

Yet, people cannot do whatever they want to Terry, no. One set of rules for him and a totally different set of rules for quite literally everyone else, because in his ego-driven, narcissistic world, he's at the top of the totem pole and everyone else is beneath him. He makes the rules. Breaks the rules too. He calls the shots. He's in control. Is it hypocrisy? Perhaps. Does Terry care? No. Try touching him? Get aggressively pushed and slapped off.

Get ridiculously close inside of someone's personal bubble? Why not.

Meanwhile, he can and very well will touch a total stranger almost like a lover would.

Because my god, what is this?

Now, Terry can also, on the flip side, be incredibly and almost overwhelmingly affectionate towards those he holds in high esteem. Terry can actually be quite...a warm person, dare I say? To those he is devoted to, of course. Those he loves? Those that are classified into a positive box, garnering positive outlooks from him. Hey, like in the case of John Kreese; Terry practically, and I am not overexaggerating, runs into his embrace singlehandedly and they are seen touching each other one way or another constantly, going as far as a playful shoulder squeeze from Terry to John in the middle of them antagonizing Daniel, so go figure. When Terry cares for people --- really cares --- he cares about every aspect of them, even their unabashed, open, outright, loving touches, yes. Their physical affection. Their PDA, as you called it. But, this can only come from people he has fond feelings about. Only people that are innately special one way or another. One is either allowed in, or they're not. They're either worthy or they aren't. He deals in absolutes in that regard. He isn't touch averse when it comes to his own body. He is merely averse to the unworthy touching him. To the enemy touching him. And if one is deemed worthy, well, those touches become frequent and mutual. They lose their sinister undertones. Terry becomes as affectionate as much as he craves affection.

The most 'sinister' undertones his touches would have towards loved ones is him taking over the movements and leading them exactly where he wants them led at any given moment. Oh, but that is more or less universal, towards enemies and friends alike. Terry simply knows best, and as such, Terry guides.

[tathrin]

💙 a ship that you like, but disliked at first

[from this ask meme]

Thank you for taking pity and not asking for more crack-ships lol (even though I now have another one to offer, what the fuck okay).

This one is...okay tbh I was half-afraid and half-hoping that somebody would ask this one, because you're probably not going to believe the answer given what's dominated like 80% of the posts and fics I've been making since LotR Feelings consumed my brain again a while back, but...

Legolas and Gimli.

Yeah no for real. See when I was a teenager, I didn't know what aromanticism or asexuality were; I just knew that I Was Not Interested in romance or sex at all very much no thank you NOPE. But back then I thought the only "options" for people were gay, straight, and bi. So I, and everyone who knew me, thought that I was either a "late bloomer" or just that whatever "toggle" puberty flips in most people's brains that makes them Become Interested In Other People Like That was broken in mine, and had not flipped. And I was, frankly, thrilled! Because I did not want it to ever "flip" no way no how no thank you. Being "broken" was awesome for me, actually.

But the terrifying thing about "broken" things is that broken things can sometimes be fixed. And I DID NOT WANT my broken toggle to ever repair itself. I liked being me, I liked the way I was! I did not want icky romance-sexy-stuff to eat my brain and turn me into something that I wasn't, and until I discovered that asexuality existed I lived in this sort of constant low-level dread that someday it might happen. Which was terrifying! Being broken was fine with me; potentially getting fixed was not.

(As soon as I discovered asexuality was A Thing the fear evaporated, which is just one more example of why Representation Matters y'all.)

Anyway, the side-effect of this was that I was VICIOUSLY defensive of any and every platonic fictional relationship or romance-free character ever written. They were "proof" to my scared brain that Not Everyone Gets Fixed; Not Everyone Falls In Love. Maybe You'll Stay Like This! Maybe You'll Be Okay! Maybe Your Entire Understanding Of Yourself As A Person Will Not Be Subsumed And Obliterated By Feelings You Do Not Want To Have!

(Now that I no longer need to fear that my own brain and hormones will someday betray me and turn me into a total stranger to myself, I'm way more chill about that sort of thing obviously.)

So while most of my fellow queers were learning to read between the lines, I was learning to keep my eyes very very tightly closed to even the most obvious not-stated-outright romances. Anytime somebody that I had decided Wasn't Like That fell in love, it was such a betrayal (even when the author had clearly been setting the romance up; you can't see what's set-up in front of you if you don't want to look at it!). Friends-to-lovers was basically my kryptonite.

And nobody outright SAID that sailing to elf-heaven in defiance of all the rules and expectations of all of history together with the "great love" of your life that you'd spent a whole trilogy being written as one-half of a pair with was coded as pretty damn romantic (and extremely queer) especially when every other survivor went off and got married...so that meant that they were not and could not be "together" like that nope no thank you never. Just gals dwarves and elves being pals. The end forever goodbye.

Mind you, even then I could see the obvious; I just spent a long time trying to pretend that I didn't. And poking nervously at those early slash-stories with them the way one might wiggle a loose tooth. Trying to see if it was okay. Trying to see if I was okay. Finding excuses why it was "okay" to like this story or that one, on an individual basis only, just as exceptions you understand! But obviously not shipping it. Obviously not approving of it. Obviously not agreeing it was real.

But eventually loose teeth fall out and the world goes on. And I realized that my brain wasn't going to betray and eat me, and my broken toggle was never going to flip, and I was going to be okay. And if I was going to be okay, then it was okay for some of these fictional characters to not be proxies for my own romance-free self, because I didn't need that anymore: I was safe, so their falling in love with somebody wasn't a betrayal of happily-loveless me.

After that it was pretty easy to come to terms with the fact that yeah: this ship sails itself all the way to Aman.

[luucypevensie]

🐸 + my baby boy and Drew’s bestie James??

MY BOY, THANK YOU FAE! Tagging @carmens-garden because I know how much she loves James as well

1. Something they collect: James has his extensive comic book collection; seriously, it’s ridiculous how big it is and how anal he is over keeping it in mint condition

2. Their sun, moon, and rising star sign: Sagittarius, Capricorn, and Aries (December 17th, 2001 at 12:45 pm)

3. The first thing they bought with their own money: It was a Superman comic book, whatever was out on the stands at that time and James was a giddy loon about it

4. One positive personality trait of theirs: He isn’t a judgmental person by any means; James prefers to get to know a person first before making any snap decisions about them

5. Their favorite ‘80’s song: Everybody Wants To Rule The World by Tears For Fears

6. If they’re a good or bad cook: James is okay at cooking, but he prefers to let Lucy do the cooking since she’s the one aspiring to be a personal chef

7. Their favorite horror movie: Friday the 13th

8. Who would play them in a biopic about their life: Jacob Elordi

9. Who would play their older/younger version: Jacob Tremblay for his younger version, Eric Dane (who also plays his father) for his older version

10. An event from their High School reunion: Josie and the Pussycats were performing that night, and Josie asked James if he wouldn’t mind singing with them as well as play the guitar. She would’ve also asked Archie, but he was already overseas by then, so he couldn’t make it. James was honored she asked and said absolutely. When they performed, they KILLED it and everyone was on their feet

[mlobsters]

supernatural s15e18 despair (w. robert berens)

well, i know what happens in this one. curious how i'll react because historically i haven't connected emotionally much with cas. also no idea the plot machinations that lead us to that point. ah, didn't realize this is a speight jr directed episode too

laughed at sam bitchily throwing the book on the table instead of handing it to billie and going to sulk on the weird little step things. my middle kid pulls similar moves

dean's turn to sulk attractively. he was almost 2/2 for killing death

DEAN Sam, I'm sorry. About everything that– SAM Dean, you don't have to... DEAN I pulled a gun on you. It's like I just couldn't stop. You know, we were so close to beating him. It's like I could smell Chuck's blood in the water and I... Nothing else mattered. It was everything. And I just couldn't snap out of it. SAM Well, you did. You've snapped me out of worse. DEAN Mm. SAM You have.

power of their love snapped dean out of god's manipulations and snapped sam out of lucifer's possession in swan song

cheesy fucking music reminding me of a 80s-90s emotional beat in a sitcom. let us see who we can blame.... surprise surprise, it's mr jay gruska

JACK I feel... strange. I don't know if that's because of what happened to me, if it means something, or if I just feel strange because... It's over. The plan. My destiny. I was ready to die, and I wanted to. For Sam, for Dean, for the world. I wanted to make things right. And now... I don't know why I'm even here. CASTIEL Jack, you never needed absolution from Sam or Dean, or from me. We don't care about you because you're useful or because you fit into some grand design. We care about you because you're you. JACK God, The Empty, Billie... Everyone's so mad at us, and I don't have my powers. There's nothing I can do to protect us.

well this is awful

CHARLIE A pattern? I said I wasn't gonna do this again. The love thing. And I do. And the second I let my guard down, Stevie is just… She's gone. So, what, is she just some collateral damage to you? Is that what I'll be, too?

and even more awful. despair is right

and then run out to get to eileen to... somehow keep her from being zapped by billie

so where is she zapping them to? out of existence via their home world? back to heaven/hell as the case may be? to the empty? i don't even know what sort of teleportation range capabilities she should have -_-

DEAN Sammy? SAM No. I can't... Um... If I let myself go, then I'll lose my mind. I can't right now.

they've done the least when it comes to this relationship but padalecki is making up for it with his reaction in selling that it matters a lot to him

and now dean is gonna try to make it 2/2 on killing death after all, with cas tagging along

CHARLIE Yeah, um… I just don't want this to happen to anyone else.

bond over nebulously dead girlfriends

BOBBY They get it, Sam. Now whether you like it or not, you're the big man, here. Told them getting here was the order from the boss, and they came runnin'. No hesitation.

do we really need this big leader sam thing again?

BILLIE I didn't hurt your friends. DEAN What? BILLIE You're in the wrong place, Dean.

color me not surprised

everyone gets the good makeup and styling in their last episodes

chuck, presumably, snapping everyone away a la how he snapped becky away. which i don't recall if we ever determined if that was actually dead or whatever

BILLIE It's you, Dean. It's always been you. Death-defying. Rule-breaking. You are everything I lived to set right. To put down. To tame.

and now billie wants to kill dean even though she's already dying just because he makes her mad

DEAN We'll lose. I just led us into another trap, all because I couldn't hurt Chuck. Because I was angry and because I just needed something to kill, and because that's all I know how to do.

this is a little much. pretty sure my reaction verbatim was "ugh", really going heavy handed with the despair theme

CASTIEL The price was my life. When I experienced a moment of true happiness, The Empty would be summoned, and it would take me forever.

this is gonna be the moment of true happiness???? oh my good god. take a moment to observe the really not great musical score for the big moment

CASTIEL I always wondered, ever since I took that burden, that curse, I wondered what it could be? What my true happiness could even look like. I never found an answer because the one thing I want… It's something I know I can't have.

cue me shrieking/squeaking out a "WHAT??" what the entire fuck, man. that whole speech made me feel so awkward i couldn't even watch and i started sweating

from 12x12 stuck in the middle with you DEAN Cas, come on. CASTIEL No, you listen to me. You– Look, thank you. Thank you. Knowing you, it… it’s been the best part of my life. And the things that... the things we’ve shared together, they have changed me. You’re my family. I love you. I love all of you. Just please… please, don’t make my last moments be spent watching you die. Just run. Save yourselves. And I will hold Ramiel off as long as I can.

cas has said i love you to him before, so this was clearly supposed to be Something Else if this was his moment of true happiness but talk about out of left fucking field??

what in the world, man. i was not prepared

[cianeto666]

Header of a men's magazine from the early 80's. Does anyone gets the change in morals, censorship, etc., in 43 years. One can claim that these magazines were sexist - made for men's pleasure (Id Est - as a teen, wanking off). Well, that's a load of shit - society itself was more sexist and the pro-moral 'majority' was (not) satisfied by slutting down models and shaming readers/users (I'm mixing the 'then' jargon with nowadays reality. Notice the Sex, Drugs & Rock 'n Roll underline. Is this possible today (unless it's an underground fanzine? I don't think so.) And about what I said above, slut, sluttish, is not even a word that should be admitted. ANYONE can do whatever he/she wants with his own body, if not coerced. I have been in the punk/ metal scene since the mid 80's - I did engage with the sound before that, but let's say that 16 years old in the mid 80's was like manhood. Most of us, then or until the mid-90s became addicts - either to chemicals, alcohol, heroin or coke. A third of my teenage friends are dead. Even in a small country (Portugal) the offer to do nude/ porn pics existed. I was invited, but didn't do it (16 at the time), some did - both guys and girls. When the hard drugs came in, a lot of my girl friends (not as in girlfriend - pardon my English) prostitutized themselves. I guess some of my male friends also did it, but they wouldn't admit to that at the point of a gun. I don't have a single bad word for them. Only LOVE. I could have been there.

It was 1984, when I started sniffing glue, taking amphetamines and downers - even before trying hashish (that makes me paranoid) and I started drinking.

By 1990, I was addicted to heroin as (almost) all Lisbon punks.

By then, my first band (C.I.A.neto), became a chaos due to to drugs, alcohol and compulsive military service for some. A band that will disappear in history - we just recorded 2 songs for a compilation, but that was influential in the Lisbon area: 1 or 2 minutes hardcore songs, mixed with experimental jazzy/funky hardcore rock songs. And a NO MEANS NO attitude towards fascists and nazi skinheads - in the following years, after cleaning off drugs of the system and having grown muscle, my third band was decidedly Antifa - by 1995, no fuckin' nazi would even try to get inside a concert where we played.

All these are old stories. I'm an Arts Teacher now - well, mostly I teach Descriptive Geometry (10th, 11th graders love it... No, they, don't).

I'm still fighting fascism. By information, the most I can.

Sadly. I'm still fighting addiction: alcohol and benzodiazepines. I'm 53 now - for me it means it means 40 years of punk metal. In the meanwhile, I still have been an artist (painting) and studied an awful lot of History, Religions and the Occult. Also, Sociology and Marx (that deserves a chapter of his own). I'm a fuckin' walkin' encyclopedia of Rock Music! Ahahah... Of course, I'm not sobber - but hey, the homework is done and tomorrow I only begin at 12:00 AM.

The point of this was...

AH! WE ARE LIVING IN A PURITANE AGE. TRULLY!

This is not some old fuck talking gibberish. My father was (not now - he's old and sick) one of the great Modernist Portuguese Poets. I have two sisters: the older one is 58, an accomplished theater actress/director; the younger one (from a different marriage) is 27, lost girl, unsure of her feelings, uneasy with her body... Not her fault, not an education fault, but the outcome of a specific time and culture. Getting back to the photo, in 2023 ocidental society, in general, is much more puritan than what it was in 1980. Thank you, Gringos. First, I hated You because I was a communist; then, I hated You because I was an Anarchist; Then, I learned to respect everyone; Then came the Internet... And I Fuckin' Hate the way that American 'culture' and it's Puritan stance makes the rules in Social Media - that, either you like it or not, affects a large part of the world's stances, opinions, acting, etc.

[horizon-verizon]

I know I’m probably not going to be welcome here, but whatever.

FIRST OF ALL in Fire and Blood, Rhaenyra and Daemon marry around 6 months after both their spouses’ deaths, which in the eyes of many was still seen as too soon. Still better than how the show makes--just a few days after their deaths. And there isn’t a real standard of time for when people should remarry after the death of their spouse. (Check out this page).

SECONDLY, having a son is the dream of most noblemen and warlords, regardless of house or ethnic descent. The Dothraki, the people of the 9 free cities, the people of Astapor, nearly 80% (arbitrary number for figurative language) of the AsoIaF world wants sons over daughters. And this is a world (all of it) that values lineage and blood lines above most else. It is through sons, usually (Viserys chose Rhaenyra over his sons) and customarily that a house will continue to carry its legacy and its very existence, because only men are entrusted military materials and to fight in battles. Daemon is not special in this. Every single house in Westeros marry cousin to cousin at one point in their house’s existence and it’s only not considered incest because the Faith of the Seven rules it so. And the point of marrying cousin-cousin is to reduce the amount of competition for the house’s resources and name. Marriage is always about marrying for blood and power, because it is through blood that the house remains itself. The blood of the Blackwoods is always emphasized as coming from the First Men, and we saw it in episode 4, with Ben Blackwood saying so in front of Rhaenyra. The Targaryens and Valyrians are basically the already incestuous world and blood-driven world of Westeros turned up to 11. Ned Stark muses that Arya will eventually be more of the patriarchal image of a woman when she gets older. Yes, Daemon would inevitably value blood and having a son of his own. That is the ASoIaF way.  Again, Daemon is not special nor especially evil for this.

THIRDLY, let’s pretend the blacks won and everyone survived. I don’t think that Daemon would be as stupid as to plan and carry out assassination plans against his stepsons. It would be too obvious and others around him would instantly suspect him, for the reason of wanting his own son on the throne as you pointed out. Plus, he’d have to kill all three of these boys, and truly, do you think any person who didn’t want to go to war and who postponed the use of dragons in the war (as he did in Fire and Blood) would do so stupid a thing as to kill all 3 of his stepsons (in any frame of time or large of gaps) and not be targeted himself?! 

And before we argue that Rhaenyra getting away with having three illegitimate kids and no one doing anything about it, the existence of illeg. children passed as trueborn princes versus the actual deaths of the assured heirs to the throne after Rhaneyra does become queen are scenarios that are allowed to happen because the ruler in either scenario allows it to happen. Viserys said that Rhaenyra is the heir. What did Daemon do then? He whipped the messenger, but he did raise up arms and attack Rhaenyra? Then Viserys said that her first 3 boys were definitely the heirs after her. What did the court and the other lords do then? Who are the ones who actually set things into motion for the lords to protest (the greens). Which all means that the court and the lords, as by custom, did not contradict the present ruling person because the king/ruler’s word is law. And they wouldn’t want to involve themselves too much and end up like Vaemond. Plus many already swore to Rhaenyra, and oathbreaking is a serious taboo in this culture. 

If this is all true for Viserys, what happens if Rhaenyra were to become queen? Her word, both vocalized and implicit, would become law. And what if Daemon were to actually try anything against even her firstborn? He’d immediately send himself to the chopping block. And he’s not stupid enough to not know this.

I would say that if Rhaenyra actually ever thought that Daemon would be inclined to do this, these are all reasons for why she would feel confident that he wouldn’t.

And none of this is to say whether or not Daemon would actually want to kill his stepsons. That’s for another post.

FOUR, their kids watching them marry. Again, six months have passed in Fire and Blood, not a few days. It would be a little easier for them then. 

Viserys told Rhaenyra about him having to marry again after Aemma’s death and this is a world where marriage ensures power, so we can deduce that children of a dead parent would grow up expecting that their living parent would remarry. 

And it is custom to have the family of the marrying persons there as witness to the ceremony. Even in F&B, they’d likely be there because Viserys wouldn’t have been told and there would have been no one else. Any time would be the wrong time and place, and in any circumstance, those kids would be there. 

FIVE, “people in-universe believe daemyra had laenor killed so they could marry.” Jacaerys only looked somewhat reluctant and intimidated by daemon when Daemon was at the table giving orders and gave him a look. Before then he was very willing to confront him, and being from an abusive household myself, how the actor played Jace and how the scene was written, this isn’t a sign of abuse. Jace and Luke don’t appear to really believe that their mother and stepdad actually killed Laenor, his believed-to-be dad. 

But let’s argue for something else. We saw in episode 6 that Jace already had some inkling, even as a child, that Laenor wasn’t his, Luke, and Joffrey’s father.  Jace and Luke also probably already know what Daemon is like by being trained by him. Being taught to be unyielding and ruthless. Along with him not being cowed by Daemon and feeling free to speak his mind, Jace would probably not put much thought into what he’s think are just rumors against his mother, knowing how controversial she is already just by being the first female heir and having illegitimate sons. 

Other than that, there is no evidence of the blacks having trouble parenting or having the trust of their kids. And we need evidence to bring up strong conclusions.

SIX, Laenor died this way:

The Lord of the Tides and his lady were still in mourning for their beloved daughter when the Stranger came again, to carry off their son. Ser Laenor Velaryon, husband to the Princess Rhaenyra and the putative father of her children, was slain whilst attending a fair in Spicetown, stabbed to death by his friend and companion Ser Qarl Correy. The two men had been quarreling loudly before blades were drawn, merchants at the fair told Lord Velaryon when he came to collect his son’s body. Correy had fled by then, wounding several men who tried to hinder him. Some claimed a ship had been waiting for him offshore. He was never seen again. 

The circumstances of the murder remain a mystery to this day. Grand Maester Mellos writes only that Ser Laenor was killed by one of his own household knights after a quarrel. Septon Eustace provides us with the killer’s name and declares jealousy the motive for the slaying; Laenor Velaryon had grown weary of Ser Qarl’s companionship and had grown enamored of a new favorite, a handsome young squire of six-and-ten. Mushroom, as always, favors the most sinister theory, suggesting that Prince Daemon paid Qarl Correy to dispose of Princess Rhaenyra’s husband, arranged for a ship to carry him away, then cut his throat and fed him to the sea. A household knight of relatively low birth, Correy was known to have a lord’s tastes and a peasant’s purse, and was given to extravagant wagering besides, which lends a certain credence to the fool’s version of events. Yet there was no shred of proof, then or now, though the Sea Snake offered a reward of ten thousand golden dragons for any man who could lead him to Ser Qarl Correy, or deliver the killer to a father’s vengeance.

(Fire and Blood; “A Question of Succession”)

Mushroom is the one who speculates Daemon’s fault, and Mushroom is a person who would have heard the nobles at court speak freely about their thoughts. I think that Daemon could have had Laenor killed but it isn’t a certainty. Plus, I’ve heard people on both the blacks’ and greens’ side say that we can’t trust Mushroom’s account on anything. Yet the show uses a lot of Mushroom’s as opposed to Septon Eustace and Runicter’s accounts for how things went down. And Mushroom wasn’t even there in Spicetown to hear how things might have been said by those in Driftmarl or Hight Tide.

But, to be fair, Daemon could have killed Laenor. My fifth reason still stands, because there is no way that daemon would have told the kids about that and he would need to for them to either believe it or put any real thought or feeling to it.

All this shows that HotD is more fanfiction than a true adaptation. A fanfiction that shows that the writer(s) have not read any ASoIaF book and seriously thought about its themes and imagined themselves in the characters’ world. We should start treating HotD as a fanfic that knows little about the world and people it carries then.

rhaenyra is so... oblivious when it comes to daemon. not only does she marry him, but she also gives him pureblooded Targaryen sons, which is something daemon always wanted. does she truly believe that her blood supremacist husband would let her bastard children inherit the throne ahead of aegon the younger? she was doomed to watch them get picked off via unfortunate accidents one by one 😭

the blacks carry this aura of being one big, blended, non-dysfunctional, happy family, but i'm not convinced that's the case. people in-universe believe daemyra had laenor killed so they could marry. they dragged their children the next day to their deranged wedding ceremony on the beach. right after laena's funeral AND after laenor's "death". are you telling me the black children are all fine with this? 😭

[oliviapasso]

The History

Throughout the decades, dance wear has changed drastically. Dance has always been a part of many cultures so there has been a lot of room for evolution. In the 1800’s, modesty was highly valued. With that being said, dancers typically wore long tutu skirts and tight corset types of dresses underneath. There was typically no “dress code” so everyone got to wear what they pleased. Moving forward to the early 1900’s, you could start seeing changes. Before and during the 1910’s, someone was brave enough to step out of the comfort zone, her name was Isadora Duncan. 

She was the first dancer to boycott the tight corsets and wore “draped tunics” and went barefoot. She paved the way to modern day dance wear. You could describe the 1920’s as more relaxed than previous years. Fashion started evolving and dance wear followed. It wasn’t a drastic change, but dancers started adding accessories to their leotards like feathers and sequins. Through the 1920’s and 30’s fashion continued to impact dance wear and dance wear impacted fashion. Broadway and Swing dancing were introduced in the 1940’s. Dance was also made more accessible for all social classes because before it was more for people living in upper class. 

Fashion trends continued to influence dance wear, swing dresses consisted of either short sleeve or tank top dress that went to about the mid-calf. Then in the 60’s people were pushing boundaries related to modesty and 70’s disco was all the rage. The 60’s brought Especially in the 70’s disco fashion made an everlasting change to dance wear. In the 70’s, more people wore two pieces and there was more creative freedom. “Crop tops” as we call them these days, became a significant part in fashion in the 70’s and the rules around modesty were broken and have stayed broken. This is when the gear shifted from tight and short, to more relaxed styles, halter tops, and longer pants. In the 80’s is when you got high cut leotards, leg warmers, and sweatbands. Workout classes were very popular in the 80’s and you would typically see participants wearing those. The high cut leotards and leg warmers are just two examples of different things that dancers adopted. 

Lastly is the 90’s until present time, dancers have put their own personal style into it. As a dancer in the professional world, you now have creative freedom to wear whatever you want. But for students and children, you still have a strict dress code in the studio and on the stage. Dance wear today wouldn’t be an artistic choice if it never evolved. 

[cowboyjen68]

What are your thoughts on gender neutral parenting?

This is the question I have next up. I have 30 minutes before I need to be on the Farm making kettle korn after a long, hot day yesterday of landscaping for a little side money. So here is goes My parents raised me in a sort of gender neutral way.. without awareness of it. This we the late 60's and early 70's. I still was praised for being "pretty in a dress" and told to smile because "I have such a pretty one". My mom wanted me to get perms and she always, always said when I was leaving to go anywhere, "don't be loud." (As a youngster I was very loud and outgoing. I tamed a bit as I got older, pretended I was shy so I didn't have to hide being a lesbian so hard.. just stay in the background.) But they also encouraged me to play with whatever I loved, to run around out side “GO OUTSIDE!!”, to be very independent, often riding my horses for hours without contact. They gave me chores from helping in the kitchen to cleaning the garage. They didn’t quell my passion for being rough and tumble AT HOME... in public mom tried a little harder to get me to settle and be more passive. They mostly let me dress in what I wanted except for fancy occasions like weddings and out to dinner with Uncle Jerry from Chicago. They did not force gendered things on me all the time for two main reasons. My sister (who is straight) was very independent and head strong. She did what she wanted and they figured I would too. AND my siblings were 17, 20 and 23 years OLDER than me. They were tired. They were over it. So they didn’t fight me on what I liked. (And dad was HAPPY to have help on the acreage since they moved there on my behalf to get horses and let me be more wild). When I told my mom, at 12, I wanted to be a boy she told me I did not (colorful description of why not... and not flattering to the male body) then said "what do you really want". I wanted to do what boys did. So she said "do it.. talk to your father". I did. He had been bypassing me in favor of the neighbor boys on manual labor since I was 9. He thought I was not interested. From then on, chainsaw, mowing, (not just the easy parts) hay, oil changes, and such. When he was dying he told me to take his belt, "good leather last you a life time and you pass it to your kids" and he made sure I got his "wedding suit". A brown 1970's 3 piece JC Penny suit that he wore for every "suit" occasion since he retired in the late 80's. He said I would look good in it. Mom was way more into making sure I followed the rules of my sex and the gender society applied to that. She was concerned I would not fit in, would have a hard time, or be bullied for not conforming to the expectations of females. Women=feminine. Which is odd considering she played softball, was known to be very bold and outspoken (there are stories worth telling there). She bowled, always worked full time and managed the financials of the house. She shared cooking with dad. Her worry came from a mom knowing her kid was different and if she could lesson that "oddity" she could protect me. OF course.. a butch in a dress is still a butch and everyone who can see knows it. So gender neutral parenting. It is a great theory. It should be a thing. When I say gender I mean the set of stereotypes and societal expectations placed on us because of our sex. The engrained response to gender is little girls get pink and teddy bears and little boys get blue and trucks. Most parents don't even realize (there have been studies) that they do it. They tell a little girl in boys clothes "you are so strong and tough" and a little boy in a dress "aren't you just precious and pretty... boys will love you". They are using visually gendered clues to determine the sex and therefore the gender and ROLES this child is supposed to abide by. Not just abide by but thrive on. Praise for following the rules. And kids figure that out very quickly. Little girls stop trying "hard or dirty" tasks and little boys stop being tender with a doll or each other because they don't earn praise for those behaviors. Unfortunately no matter how perfectly neutral a parent (or family) is the world exists. Day care, the park, grandparents, cousins and on and on also affect this child's view of themselves in the world. Gender Neutral purity can be dangerous. You child will get into the real world and be hit with reality. We are expected to follow certain rules based on our sex and not doing so can cause issues at school, jobs, summer camps etc if that child does not have an idea about what is happening. Gender awareness parenting is much more important once the child is past the stage of being only with mom and dad. Actively speaking to your son about the benefits of dolls (sesame street has a short clip about this and IT IS STILL amazing). Speaking to your daughter about what she loves and encouraging that. If a little girl loves pink and dolls GO FOR IT> Parenting is NOT and never should be a political statement. DO NOT use your chld to prove your wokeness on gender. If your little boy likes motorcycles and buzz cuts don’t make him grow long hair and ride a pink bike because “color is not gendered” Kids should be encouraged to love and pursue what they love not what their parents want or think they shouldwant  in order to make a statement. I am going to repeat that. Kids should never be a statement of their parent’s political wokeness. Kids are people.. they deserve to love what they are passionate about. THAT Is the core idea behind gender neutral parenting.  You can’t send your kid, unarmed and unaware in to a world still very flush with gendered jobs, clothes, actions, hobbies etc based on their sex and expect them to just blindly power through. Actively educating kids to understand gender expectations and empowering them to do as they please is parenting at it’s finest. A child kept in the dark about the reality of the bad effects gender roles has on each one of us can be dangerous. They need to be actively involved in making decisions to keep themselves safe, to understand why gender exists and to let them choose when and where to push back.

[wenellyb]

Woke mess as in forced diversity and obvious pandering to minorities and lgbtq.

Hi Anon!!! Thanks for specifying, but that's the thing, "forced diversity" doesn't exist. It's sometimes Straight White males have invented to make sense of a world that doesn't seem to center around them anymore, and they're trying to convince other people (and sometimes convincing them) that forced diversity is a thing. It is not.

In my group of friends from high school, we were only two Black persons, then there were two White people, and all the rest were Asian (originally from Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia),....Would you say that it's forced diversity??? And also, not everyone was Straight!

That's what movies with a diverse cast are, they reflect the world we live in. That's it. It's just that some people just refuse to acknowledge that the world they live in isn't all White anymore.

Black actors exist... and they get cast in stuff... dudebros can be mad all they want about forced diversity, pandering or whatever but it is what it is.

The other day, I was having a discussion with a man in his forties and we were discussing women in the corporate world and how hard it was for some of them to get promotions etc,... And then he said that there was this regulation in our country were at least 20% of the boardroom members or executive roles had to be women. Then he proceeded to tell me: "This rule is making it harder for men like me to make it to the top"..... think about that. 20% women VS 80% men but he still saw that as a barrier for his career.

Worse part is a lot of companies still don't reach the 20% target.

Women make up more or less half of the population, but having a rule to force companies to have at least 20% of women at the top is considered as making it harder for men. Straight White men, and men in general to be honest, have a different world view so don't let them try to convince you with stuff they have invented.

Saying that a cast with White characters, Asian characters, and Black characters is "forced diversity" is like looking around you and saying the world is forced diversity...

I have some newsflash: This may surprise some people, but White people aren't the only people on earth. I know that a lot of people didn't get the memo because Hollywood has conveyed the opposite message for the past few decades.

[beautifulhigh]

The last... two decades? ...in bullet points:

[eta: I swear I meant for this to be short]

Date: 2008. Ish.

World economy goes boom. Gordon Brown, the Labour UK PM at the time, has a boring plan which will take time but he says it will work

Conservatives run a campaign about how they will fix things sooner and get a lot of support

We finally get televised debates and Nick Clegg, the leader of the "token" third party - Liberal Democrats - does REALLY well in them

Hung parliament result, Tories and Lib Dems go into coalition. David Cameron becomes PM, Clegg is deputy

Economy doesn't improve the way the Tories promised. Other countries put Brown's economic plan in place and they DO improve. Huh.

Lots of in-fighting, LD make concessions which pisses off their supporters, and in an attempt to try and get some order back, Cameron calls an election. To get some support for this he promises that if Conservatives get a majority he will do a referendum on leaving the EU

Conservatives get a majority. Cameron didn't really expect this, but he promised so...

Referendum happens. Leave wins. Cameron did not expect this at all and so he resigns. Theresa May takes over.

May has a poison chalice, there is no way she can get a Brexit deal that satisfies everyone (or anyone) and even though the Conservatives have a majority she's dealing with a lot of rebellion so she calls a snap election in May 2019, hoping to get some more support.

It's a hung result as no one hits the magic 50%. Tories are the major party and so get into bed with the DUP (Democratic Unionist Party - a Northern Ireland party) and deals with the devil have been less problematic. May ends up quitting.

Boris Johnson enters the chat.

Johnson decides he wants to stop the opposition blocking the Brexit stuff and so he sends the Victorian Child Jacob Rees Mogg to lie to the Queen and parliament is proroged (suspended). Opposition kicks off, TAKES THE GOVERNMENT TO COURT, and it's ruled illegal so everyone has to go back to work.

So he calls ANOTHER election, this one in September 2019.

Not another one.gif enters the chat and becomes a standard internet response

Tories get an 80 seat majority and there is much celebrating because the Tores can now do whatever they want.

Covid-19 enters the chat.

Lockdown happens, furlough happens, and for about two seconds it seems like the Tories actually want to help the country.

The scandals start coming and they don't stop coming: they give PPE contracts to their mates and spend billions of public money on shit that is, well, shit; they party in Downing Street (most horrifically the night before Prince Philip's funeral - the photos of them dancing are contrasted with the Queen sitting by herself as she buries her husband); so many people are left hanging with no support

Johnson lies to Parliament which is the BIggest No No ever. There were no parties. There were parties but I didn't know about them. I attended a party but didn't know it was a party. I was at a party but only briefly.

I wish I were making that shit up but I'm not.

Chris Pincher enters the chat. (Real guy, actual name.) Known as "pincher by name, pincher by nature" and reports come out of him, well, pinching people's bums. And that's the least of it.

Johnson swears he knew nothing about this.

Turns out Johnson is the one who said "pincher by name" so...

And despite EVERYTHING that has happened, this is apparently a step too far and he quits. But only after pretty much all of his cabinet resigns.

There's a leadership race and it ends up looking like Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak. Truss wins because ⭐racisim⭐ and she becomes PM.

Liz T meets Liz R (the Queen) who then dies days later. The events are most likely unrelated.

UK goes into a period of mourning because we love pagentry and so Liz T doesn't really get to do any Prime Ministering for a few weeks.

Truss and her chancellor announce a "mini budget" on a Thursday lunchtime. So many unfunded tax cuts and spending policies. She's basically trying to buy a brand new car with a ten pound note that is probably fake.

Within HOURS the UK economy is crashing as the markets think "there's an idiot in charge". They roll back some policies. This causes MORE drama because now they're thinking "oh there's an IDIOT in charge".

By Monday almost everything has been rolled back and the letters of no confidence are rolling in.

Someone does the maths and works out that the number of days Liz T has been in charge, when you remove the mourning period for Liz R, is less than the shelf life of a lettuce. There's a joke that a fresh lettuce will outlast Liz T's premiership given how things are going.

The lettuce does indeed outlast Liz T.

The party needs a new leader and given all the drama they hold their noses, and despite the ⭐racism⭐, Sunak gets in. He makes a speech promising that he will bring back "integrity, professionalism, and accountablity". Within 30 minutes he has re-appointed someone fired the week before for a serious breach of the Civil Service Code.

Cost of Living is biting everyone. Sunak goes on about "stopping the boats". People can't feed their families. Sunak wants to stop the boats. People can't pay their mortgages. Sunak is throwing money at Rwanda to take our refugees.

MEANWHILE. Labour, having lost the second 2019 election, is going through a massive change. Jeremy Corbyn is out, Sir Keir Starmer is in. A report shows there is institutional anti-Semitism in the party and Starmer has a lot of work to do. Corbyn is suspended having been named in this report as not dealing with reports. (I think. This part is more fuzzy and controversial.)

Sunak is now under pressure to call an election. We're in 2024 and the latest he can call one is December 2024 thanks to the Fix Term of Parliament Act meaning we need to put a cross in a box every five years at the latest.

Sunak stands in the rain and calls an election when Tories have the lowest ratings ever. The campaign is just a catalogue of errors, not including D-Day.

Starmer is one step away from getting CHANGE tattooed on his forehead.

Ed Davey, now the leader of the Lib Dems, just has so much fun on his campaign trail.

Nigel Farage says he's not running, then takes over Reform Limited (they are a company, not a political party) and starts with the whole "send them back" and "pfft climate change" narrative.

Labour's campaign is about CHANGE; Tories is basically LABOUR WILL TAX YOU (with a figure that is rejected within one hour of Sunak saying it) and then STARMER WILL BE A PART TIME PM (because he said he likes to keep Friday nights free to have Shabbat dinner with his Jewish family)

Ed Davey does interviews on fairground rides and goes bungee jumping

4 July we go to the polls. Exit poll at 10pm has a Labour landslide.

Results are a sobering read. Yes, Labour won the majority but only got about a third of the total votes. The Greens get four seats, but if we had proportial representation they'd have 34 seats. Conservatives lost so much to Reform who have (IMO) four more seats than they should have.

Ed Davey is still having fun because the Lib Dems have had the BEST result in recent times.

Sunak keeps his seat but concedes defeat. He says he'll stand down as party leader because they clearly have had the best results in picking their leaders. So many "big names" in the Tories have lost their seats, including Liz T and Victorian Child Rees Mogg.

Scotland's SNP is basically wiped out, Wales kicks out all of the Tories, and naturally the UK news gives exactly zero fucks about what is going on in Northern Ireland.

I need a UK Election for Dummies

This is what I DO know:

Conservatives (aka Tories?) have been in charge and that has only led to Brexit and attempting to dismantle the NHS

Nigel Farage is basically a British MAGA (MBGA?)

Labour might win the whole thing, but:

Reform UK is pulling votes away from the Tories? Which the far right is treating as a win (and that can't be good)

There are other parties, and Corbyn won as an independent (do we like him? IDK?)

I'm so lost...

[stxleslyds]

Has Jason met the Flashpoint Universe's Thomas Wayne? Like, actually spoken with him or voiced an opinion on the guy? If not, how do you envision their interactions?

Hello friend! I really like your questions; they make me read new stuff!

To answer your first question, nope, Jason Todd from main continuity hasn’t met Thomas Wayne from flashpoint! The only issue in which they “appear together” is Batman (2016) #71, but Jason only appears there when Barbara calls him so he can team up with the “Batfamily” to help Bruce. And that’s where this iconic Jason panel comes from!

Now, as a little heads up, I haven’t read flashpoint but I have done my research on Thomas Wayne’s story in Flashpoint. What I have read, though, is Batman vol.3 issues, 21, 22, 50, 58, 60, 69, 71-77, 80-85. I read that to answer this question Batman is not necessarily a book that I follow, from those I think I had previously read four or five issues.

("City of Bane" was so boring, confusing and stretched out too long. It would have been an easier read if Tom King stopped writing everything in pauses, I really don’t know how to explain it, but between that and the “Bat” “Cat” stuff I was ready to cry).

But because I read all that and did my research on Thomas Wayne, I believe I can give a pretty solid answer to your other question, “If not, how do you envision their interactions?”

I think Jason’s first impression of Flashpoint Thomas Wayne would have been, “I now understand why Bruce is so scared of killing the Joker, he just won’t be capable to handle himself and go on a killing spree. Suppose being not strong-willed runs in their blood”

Then as time passes by and he gets a glimpse at Thomas’ actions in main continuity I think that Jason would have reached the conclusion that Thomas was pathetic, crazy and dangerous. I can really see Jason writing down Thomas’ name in his own “to kill” list.

I really don’t think they could have gotten along from the very start. Yes, they both kill criminals but Thomas is deranged compared to Jason as he is now. (I will be talking about Jason as if he were a solid mix between UtRH and RHatO Jason).

Jason kills criminals such as drug dealers that sell drugs to children, rapists, people who work for the wrong kind of people and monsters, or things like the Untitled. Thomas on the other hand kills every kind of criminal, and sometimes he thinks that killing innocents and children is a means to an end.

In the Batman run, Thomas wasn’t happy about Bane killing Alfred but those were the rules, basically, he stepped aside from protecting Alfred because Bane had set a rule that said that if any of the Bat-People stepped foot in Gotham Alfred would be killed, and Damian went to Gotham so Thomas was like “oh well, time for Alfred to die, I guess”. After Alfred was killed by Bane, Thomas took Damian hostage and decided to use him as leverage now that Alfred was dead.

Thomas was nasty. But, I kinda started explaining Thomas’ thinking process from a weird place, so let me give you a little context if you haven’t read this arc.

Thomas Wayne is the Batman from Flashpoint. Flashpoint isn’t another universe, it is like a re-written main continuity universe so that Thomas is main continuity Bruce’s real father. How are they both in main continuity? Flash and Reverse Flash nonsense, I am not a Flash person so that’s the best way I can explain it. Reverse Flash and Flash did something weird and Thomas ended up in main continuity after they deleted the Flashpoint “timeline”.

Thomas Wayne asked Bruce while they were both in Flashpoint that he stopped being Batman, he told Bruce to find happiness and leave Batman behind because it would only bring him pain and suffering. (Batman vol.3 #22)

When Thomas Wayne woke up in main continuity, he got to see Bruce proposing to Selina, and going on a double date with Selina, Lois and Clark. But he also got to see that Bruce and Selina didn’t get married. That was what made Thomas Wayne go to Bane so he could help him break Bruce’s mind so Bruce finally let Batman go.

Yeah, Thomas really thought that the best way he could make his son give up the vigilante life was by helping Bane take over Gotham and breaking Bruce’s mental stability (or whatever he has left of it).

By helping Bane take over Gotham, Thomas was actually working with people like Joker, Riddler, Scarecrow and other villains. So, from that alone Jason would have been like “Who the hell is this guy and how can I kill him before Gotham falls apart?”.

I have to be honest though, I am really happy that Tom King didn’t include Jason in this stupid story, it just wouldn’t have made sense because even though Gotham was falling apart and villains were roaming free and terrorizing Gotham’s people, King actually made the “Batfamily” fight only for Alfred (who was already dead) and then they all got beat by Thomas. Tom King never made anyone care for Gotham itself, and no, I am not counting Selina and Bruce because those two were fucking and having drinks while Gotham fell apart, they only showed up at the very last second.

But your question wasn’t about my thoughts on this dumb story, it was about Jason and Thomas interacting. Well, I think that if Tom King had invited Jason to this party, he would have shot Thomas without hesitation and then would have told the “Batfamily” to get their shit together because Gotham’s people were suffering while everyone was looking away.

Thomas was working with Bane and letting Gotham’s rouges do whatever they wanted, Jason would have killed Thomas instantly! There would have been no talking, no “What are your thoughts on the Joker being alive after he killed me that one time? Do you think Bruce was right?”, Jason would have wasted no time on that because he would have seen his city fall apart at the hands of Thomas and Bane AND Bruce’s negligence. Oh, yeah, I blame Bruce too, I can’t really help myself, I hate that guy.

So, that’s what I think Jason would have done if he got to interact with Flashpoint Thomas Wayne.

Now, there was one thing in Thomas’ whole speech and idea that I kinda thought UtRH Jason (mostly) would have agreed on.

“All of you. He made you. Children fighting for him. An addict spreading his poison. Trying to make himself seem normal”.

Alright, Thomas, I hear you, you are one crazy mf but I see your point! That’s what I think and what I think Jason would have thought if he heard him say that but he would have killed Thomas anyways. Thomas really fits among the type of people that both UtRH and RHatO Jason would kill, so even if he kinda agreed with that statement Thomas would have been done for, no hesitation.

I wish I could have come up with something else but really, I don’t see Jason ever agreeing with Thomas’ ideals as a whole. While Thomas’ initial motivation to kill was to avenge his son then he went on a path of pure destruction, killing just to kill, and that has never been Jason (Battle for the Cowl and Batman and Robin vol.2, I don’t know them), in UtRH he expressed his desire for Bruce to kill Joker but he also said that he didn’t want Bruce to go on a killing spree, that wasn’t going to solve anything! No matter what Zdarsky tried to tell us with his two interpretations of Bruce and Jason’s perfect worlds, Jason has never wanted Bruce to kill every one of his rouges so then they can become a happy family.

That’s just an obscene lie. Jason knows better than everyone else that Gotham is corrupt beyond salvation and that killing Batman’s rogue gallery won’t solve Gotham’s problems. If it were that easy Jason would have done that a long time ago.

Anyway, I hope this isn’t a lame answer, I just don’t think that Jason would want to see or hear more about Thomas in general.

Thank you for the ask! I hope you had a great day!

[maddogofshimano]

Goromi Character Story

I really liked this one even if it was a pain in the ass to translate. Damn all that kansai slang! I have some pics to go with this one unlike the Goromi Event where I forgot to take any screencaps.

Character stories are split into three parts with a fight in each part, and this one will be a little more paraphrased because there’s a lot of back and forth dialogue that doesn’t matter too much. Here’s Goromi’s card!

Summary: Turns out it takes several days for Kiryu to actually show up to club SHINE to meet Goromi (he’s busy!) so Goromi spends her time working there and taking care of problems. She’s not the number one hostess for nothing!

<Part 1> <Majima Goro, as Goromi, has been working at club SHINE for several days now> The shop manager has been having to deal with this and he doesn’t know what to do.

Majima shows up again, as usual, and the manager fumbles over himself on whether to say Majima or Goromi

He asks if Kiryu has shown up yet and Majima complains before heading to the back to get changed, where Goromi continues to complain that she’s a good woman and Kiryu is a horrible lazy bum for standing her up for so long. She’s bored to death! (I wonder, does Majima leave the Goromi outfit at the club or take it with home each time?)

A rowdy customer comes in and makes a scene and Goromi steps in to wallop on him, because she’s bored and he spilled a drink on her dress.  <Fight Happens> Goromi wins, easily, and makes him leave his wallet. The manager pulls her into the backroom to tell her that she can’t fight customers. Goromi counters that she can’t allow a threat to women to go unchecked. 

Another hostess on the floor shouts at a customer to stop because touching is forbidden. Goromi says that sounds like trouble, she might as well handle it since Kiryu hasn’t shown up yet. The manager says absolutely not, those are Sakamoto Family men (probably, it’s not spoken out loud but Sakamoto is the most common reading).

The manager goes out to deal with it and gets hit by a Sakamoto Family goon for his trouble, but the guy leaves. Turns out the Sakamoto Family has been showing up a lot and never paying, and it’s a real pain. Goromi tells him to get his act together and fight back already! The manager says there’s no way he can win, going along with them is the best way to protect the club. Goromi calls him a coward, and leaves. <Part 2>

<the next day> Majima once again shows up and has a brief struggle with the wig until... Tada! A perfect Goromi~❤️

Goromi is certain Kiryu-chan will show up today! He definitely will! ...Why the hell hasn’t he shown up yet? She notices yet another unruly customer, once again a Sakamoto Family goon, hassling the manager, but this time she just watches. The manager tries to explain that the rules clearly state you aren’t allowed to touch the hostesses, and gets hit for it again. He stands back up, repeats himself, and gets punched another time. The goon grabs the hostess and says they’re going to the bathroom together.

Goromi steps in to stop him, but the manager beats her to it, and finally hits the guy back. He’s remembering what Goromi-san said to him... He’s not going to run away!!

<Fight Happens>

Manager gets his ass KICKED, goon taunts him and says he’d never win in a million years. Manager gets back up anyways, tells him he has to leave... just in time for the patriarch of the Sakamoto Family to arrive. He’s heard this is a fun place, and wants to sit with a lady ASAP. His goon shouts at the manager, the manager fumbles, and Goromi steps in.

Sakamoto thinks this is just great, that eyepatch is really getting his fighting spirit going! His lackey is less sure. The manager tries to step in, Goromi cuts him and says she’ll be his hostess tonight. Sakamoto is falling over himself trying to offer Goromi a seat, he’s just smitten.

The manager wonders what Goromi is up to...

<Part 3>

We start off immediately with Sakamoto telling Goromi how cute she is, and how much he likes her, and that she’s got a real tight lil butt.

“Stoooop~, ya pervy patriarch❤️” 

Sakamoto says he really like Goromi, too many girls nowadays would throw a fit if he grabbed their ass. The manager is wondering what the hell is going on, why is Goromi being so nice??

Sakamoto asks what kind of men Goromi likes. She likes strong, beefy guys, of course! Sakamoto says that she’s gonna love him then. Sakamoto: I was the strongest guy in his whole town! I’ve heard that the strongest guy in Kamurocho’s the patriarch of the Majima family, some moron named Majima Goro. Goromi: Oh, is that so? Sakamoto: I’m pretty sure him being crazy strong’s just a silly rumor though. If I were up against him it’d be like beating up a baby. Goromi: Woahhhh, that’s so cool~ 🎵 All that strength is really making my heart beat fast~

Sakamoto lets Goromi order whatever she likes from the menu. The manager worries that she’s going to order a fight! But no, she just asks for Don Perignon, the most expensive thing on the menu. And she convinces him to get 10 bottles of it.

<2 hours pass>

Sakamoto: Bahaha! Goromi-chan, you're the best girl of them all! Goromi: Before ya go I got one more thing for ya Mr. Patriarch! Sakamoto: Ehhhh, is it a kiss~ Goromi: It's your bill! Sakamoto: Ah....? Haha, great joke Goromi-chan! Goromi: It ain't no joke! Between the drinks and the service... you've racked up 5 million yen. How would ya like to pay that?  Sakamoto: Now hold on, I ain't payin' that! Even if you're cute!! Goromi: Eh, you really won't pay? Sakamoto: No! I absolutely will not pay!! Goromi: So that mean's you're not a customer now, is that right?

Goromi: Since you're not a customer, Goromi can be a little... rough Sakamoto: Tch, boys, let's teach this lady a little discipline! Goromi: Discipline....? Idiots, Goromi is the butterfly that dances in the night. I don't take orders from anyone, especially morons like you!! <Fight Happens, Goromi obliterates them> Sakamoto: You, you're actually...! Goromi: What are ya talking about? I'm Goromi, Kamurocho's number one hostess. Goromi: If you disrespect the women of this city... I'll show you a world of hurt. Sakamoto: W-Wahhhhh!! P-Please forgive me!! Goromi: From now on you're banned. Don't let me see your face here again. Got it?  Sakamoto: Y-yes ma'am! I understand! P-Please excuse me... Goromi: Wait. You still got a bill to pay. Sakamoto: Wh- um, well, I don't have that much right now... Goromi: Haw? Then why'd you eat and drink so much! You got some nerve takin' whatever ya fancied. But... I could forgive ya if you go on an after hours date with me. Sakamoto: ...Eh? Goromi: Until the money's collected, we're going on dates. ...Be prepared. 

<the next day> Manager: Majima-san, thank you so much. Goromi: Eh? What're you talkin' about. This is just Goromi gettin' paid properly for her work. Manager: Ah. I see. Goromi: And... I'm glad you stood up for your girls. Ya finally showed your guts. You've got a real good crew here, keep workin' to be the best. Manager: Th-thank you so much! Uhuuuuuu! Goromi: Don't get all emotional and cry! I'm countin' on having your full cooperation when it comes to fighting Kiryu-chan! Manager: Yes ma'am! By all means.   Door Greeter: Maji- I mean, Goromi-san! K-Kiryu-san is coming here!! Goromi: Ohh, nice timing! Well, let's do this thing! Manager: Yes! <Goromi goes to greet Kiryu at the door> Goromi: Heyyy, it's Goromi~  

<END>

Another bonus fact that relates to both this and the event: the rggo twitter put up a poll asking everyone which of these girls was their favorite

(Lady that does the gatcha rolls, Mayumi from rggo’s story, Yuki, and badly photoshopped Goromi)

in a shock to no one reading this, Goromi obliterated the vote, coming in just shy of 80%...

...which was apparently a shock to the staff! They immediately tweeted "Goromi got 80%...! What a crazy result 😵 We're having an emergency planning meeting now. Thank you all for voting so much!"

I have to wonder if this was a turning point in how they wrote Goromi, with the event and substory presenting her as not strictly a one off occurrence! Maybe the fan enthusiasm got them to take her a little more seriously

[siswritesyanderes]

If it had been Jasper-Sadie or Alice-Sadie as the vampires and finding their third later, how if at all would any of the “prior” story (the Twilght saga proper) have changed?

This turns the timeline inside out, but Meyer was never great at those anyway.

(Hi, if you're from the Twilight fandom stumbling across this post without context, Sadie is my OC in a yandere Alice/yandere Jasper/OC fic that you can read here.)

Ohhh, so much potential there! I can't answer that in full, because doing so would spoil what Sadie's potential vampire ability is. (Super sorry about that. Feel free to ask again after that information has come up in Rule One!)

I can say that both Bella and Edward would take to confiding in her and seeking her counsel with regards to their relationship. Especially if it's a Sadie-Alice duo; Edward would be super close with both Sadie and Alice (like he's close with Alice in canon), and while he sometimes gets frustrated with Alice, he pretty much always respects Sadie. It's like, Alice would be Bella's best friend and Edward's partner in crime (since she's still the one who would agree to kidnap Bella, whereas Sadie would never), and Sadie would be Bella's confidante and Edward's moral compass. Both Bella and Edward would go to Sadie for advice about each other, and Sadie, though startled by their neediness, would always have something valuable to say.

(Picture Bella or Edward bursting into Sadie's room with a question, and Sadie, wide-eyed, putting down whatever she's doing and saying, "Alrighty then, have a seat.)

Edward trusts that Sadie wouldn't lie to him, so the urgency in having Bella run to him in Italy before he sparkles in front of people (lest he read Alice's thoughts and assume she's lying to him) wouldn't be a thing; Sadie just runs Bella to Edward with vampire speed and is subjected to that whole reunion as an awkward third wheel while Alice parks the stolen car.

Also, Sadie would tip every fight slightly more in favor of the Cullens, but she would also have a habit of really wanting to talk to the enemies instead of attacking them. This is good/useful with the Volturi but not so good/useful with Victoria and Riley.

Oh! Also, Sadie would realize that Victoria will probably follow Edward's scent, in Eclipse, and Sadie would accompany him and Bella in sitting the battle out, so that they have more backup against Victoria. Jasper and Alice wouldn't be privy to the fact that Victoria is coming; this is just a realization that Sadie has that Edward hears in her mind. (As far as Jasper and Alice are concerned, Sadie is sitting the battle out just to be safe, and they're happy that she won't be in harm's way.) This is where Sadie's need to talk to enemies would become a problem, because both Victoria and Riley are too far gone to listen to reason, but Sadie really believes in them and wants to convince them they don't have to die today. It still turns out fine, though. Sadie gets a little hurt, but she's fine. Alice and Jasper would be absolutely smothering, after. Victoria is lucky she's already dead, because they would make her suffer.

And Sadie would think to explain things to Irina before Alice realizes that Irina is going to the Volturi, so that whole misunderstanding never happens.

All of that being said, the thought of "Yandere Alice meets Sadie first" and "Yandere Jasper meets Sadie first" got really interesting to me. So I have to talk about those scenarios immediately.

I'm going to place Sadie sometime in the twentieth century in both cases, and I'm going to try to let the time period matter as little as possible, but feel free to imagine them in 50s or 60s attire, lol. (Or 70s or 80s; again, it doesn't matter that much; I'm just placing her in the twentieth century to keep the rough order of events the same, kind of.) I'm approaching this with the assumption that Alice and Jasper still become vampires in the same way/at the same time as they do in canon; they just meet at different times. I'm not dealing with the Confederate thing here, though, because I'll be dealing with it in Rule One.

I'm gonna go ahead and put it all under the cut. (And if your experience of Rule One is more invested in the potential for wholesome romance than the yandere aspect, maybe the rest of this isn't for you, because this is definitely more yandere-leaning, lol.)

Alice-Sadie

Alice knows three things: 1. Her own name. 2. That she is going to join the Cullens. 3. That Sadie, whom she has not yet met, is her soulmate.

Though she slips up every now and then, Alice does her best not to eat humans. She wants to fit in with the Cullens by the time she finds them, so she's accustoming herself to the animal diet. Anyway, she has a mate out there whom she will meet as a human, and she has to get herself under control before she can risk being around her.

The thing is, Alice knows about Sadie before Sadie is actually an option, so she has to kill time so that she doesn't meet Sadie too early. And Alice hates waiting, so she goes ahead and introduces herself to the Cullens before Sadie. She tells them all about how she'll have a soulmate soon, and how it's killing her to keep her distance but she knows things will be way better if she never meets Sadie as a child. She decorates her room with things that Sadie likes, anticipating that one day she'll be sharing the room with Sadie. Honestly, if it weren't for Edward's mind reading, the rest of the Cullens might think Sadie was an imaginary friend or something.

(Rosalie would normally take issue with Alice's plans to intrude on the life of a human she's never met just because of a potential future where they're in love, but she doesn't really take Alice's fantasizing seriously until it's too late.)

One day, Alice just sort of disappears from the Cullen house, and only Edward knows where she's gone.

Sadie is finally at the right age; it's time.

Alice appears in Sadie's life, and everything she says and does is perfect. She rockets from stranger to friend to best friend at an impressive rate, her precognition easily compensating for Sadie's hesitancy (and Sadie would start off more wary than she is in Rule One, due to the time period). Having left the rest of the Cullens, for the time being, there is nothing (read: no one) holding Alice back from being absolutely surgical about making herself important in Sadie's life and subtly isolating her. She gives expensive gifts, and comprehensive compliments, and she always knows what to say to make Sadie like and trust her more.

When Sadie starts to become suspicious about the evolution of their friendship, Alice drops the vampire bomb and the soulmate bomb all at once, showing Sadie her speed and strength and sparkles. There was no better way to do it. Alice checked; this was the absolute best set of circumstances for the reveal.

Sadie asks for time to process the information. She asks for space. Alice graciously allows it; she's practically living with Sadie at this point, anyway. (Not that Sadie knows it. But yeah, she's in Sadie's house pretty much 24/7 (minus her hunting trips), dodging notice with stealth and psychic powers.)

When Sadie is ready to talk again, Alice pours out every reassurance: how she will never stop loving her; how she would never hurt her; how she thinks about her all the time and loves her so much. Sadie isn't fully won over by the whole vampire lover concept, but Alice does convince her to come meet her family.

They go to the Cullen house. Alice shows her off to everyone, and Rosalie is stunned, and Emmett laughs incredulously. Edward and Carlisle make polite introductions, and Esme hugs her, just glad to see Alice so happy. (Esme has been so worried about her newest daughter, so flighty and constantly pining for someone who wasn't there. And then she disappeared, and anything could have happened to her! But now she's back, and she's brought someone lovely, and she looks happier than Esme has ever seen her.) Carlisle and Edward give Sadie a more in-depth explanation of how vampires operate and why the bond between mates is a big deal. Esme cooks her a huge meal. Before they know it, nighttime has come, and Sadie falls asleep in Alice's room.

She wasn't drugged or anything; Alice just perfectly orchestrated a set of circumstances in which she would be tired by this exact time.

When she wakes up, Alice is an utter angel, offering her breakfast and a bath and telling her that there's more to see, around the house. She hasn't seen Rosalie's garage, yet! She hasn't seen Esme's garden. And soon enough she's sleeping over again.

On that third day at the house, Rosalie pulls Sadie aside to say that she'll drive Sadie home, if Sadie needs her to. But Alice has done her job well; Sadie likes Alice, and she likes the Cullens, and most of all, she's so curious about vampires and the world thereof. She's willing to stay and learn, provided she can visit her friends and family, and provided Alice doesn't try to change her. She fills several journals with what she learns about vampires, all in the span of a single year. She learns so much, and she's never satisfied that she's learned enough.

When Alice asks her to let Carlisle change her, she chooses exactly the right conversation, exactly the right approach, and exactly the right time. Sadie agrees and becomes a vampire. (She kind of has to, for this prompt, lol.) Rosalie is annoyed, but she knows that Sadie thought the matter over thoroughly.

When the day comes that Alice sees Jasper in their future, she drags Sadie off to meet him, barely explaining herself beyond "We have another mate!". Sadie goes along with it because she's used to Alice's antics.

They meet this crimson-eyed, roguishly handsome vampire, and Jasper is pretty instantly enthralled with them both. He's curious about their golden eyes, charmed by Alice's forwardness, and amused by Sadie's mix of intrigue and wariness. The emotional flavor of Alice's joy and cheerfulness, and of Sadie's curiosity and uncertainty, are enough to pretty much have him wrapped around their fingers right away.

Sadie's reaction is more "Ohhhh, Alice, this guy eats people..."

Alice just goes, "It's okay. Jasper will be willing to change his diet if we ask him to. Won't you, Jasper?"

And it's so presumptuous, but also he's into it, because Sadie has already made it clear that eating humans is a deal-breaker for her, and he doesn't want this meeting to end.

He joins the family, and it feels like the best thing ever; he has two amazing soulmates, and he belongs to a large coven that will always be safe from strangers. The animal-eating thing is a downside, but there's no help for that.

The dynamic for the next little while is that Alice is already in love with both Jasper and Sadie, Jasper is already in love with Alice and Sadie, and Sadie is in love with Alice and polite to Jasper but isn't quite sure about him. Like, she's in a peculiar place of "We are soulmates, and I do like you and feel an attraction to you, and I understand how our personalities are good together, but I don't know how long it'll take me to become comfortable with your past", and Jasper is just falling over himself to earn her approval, but she's comfortable with allowing it to take time.

(Rosalie is secretly very entertained by the whole thing, and Emmett is not-so-secretly entertained.)

Unlike in canon, Jasper would never suggest eating any human ever again; even once Sadie is comfortable with him, he never wants to risk making her doubt him the way she did in the beginning.

Jasper-Sadie

So at this point in his life, Jasper is eating people. His eyes are bright red, and he is ruthless, and Alice isn't around to temper that side of him.

This is absolutely a kidnapping situation.

When he runs into Sadie (entirely by happenstance), he doesn't know immediately that he is in love with her; he just knows that he wants to follow her, so he does. He stalks after her like he has stalked lots of prey in the past. Her blood doesn't sing to him, though; after several hours of just tailing her, he realizes that he just likes to hear her breathe and speak and laugh. He likes to look at her. He likes to taste her emotions on the air. He likes this human.

Then he realizes that he's in love with her, as much as Peter is in love with Charlotte.

He never wants to stop looking at her, listening to her talk...

He manages to get her alone, and he introduces himself in a charismatic, gentlemanly fashion. He kisses the back of her hand (managing to ignore the feel and sound of her pulse so close; he shouldn't take a risk like that again) and says, "Good afternoon, ma'am. My name is Jasper Whitlock. May I ask what your name is?"

She notices the coldness of his skin and the redness of his eyes (and again, time-period-wise, this interaction is very weird), but he is sending her the most powerful waves of comfort and calm that he can. She is dazed and perplexed, but not afraid, as she answers, "I'm Sadie Gilder."

It's the most beautiful name he has ever heard.

He abducts her pretty much then and there; he leads her away with a request that she accompany him and a heavy layer of mood control. Sadie is able to break out of the daze (through sheer overthinking) after they've walked together awhile; by the time she asks, "Wait, where are we?", they've reached the secluded mansion of an old widow.

(Jasper doesn't need a place to sleep, but his Sadie does, so he quickly identified this place as the best option.)

The order in which Jasper eats the occupants of the house and brings Sadie inside the house is up to your imagination, as is whether or not Sadie ends up seeing any bodies or seeing him with blood on his face and clothes. Either way, just the kidnapping itself is enough to have Sadie panicking, and he hates to feel her fear.

He holds her, gives her calming energy, and whispers to her. "Don't be scared. I won't hurt you, Perfect Sadie. I won't eat you. You're too special. Just gonna keep you right here." (He's just eaten a lot of people, so he's okay with breathing right next to her, so that he can keep whispering to her.) She falls asleep in his arms. He doesn't stop holding her, and he doesn't stop whispering. (Also, remember how the first thing he says to Sadie in Rule One is that she's warm and soft? Yeah, he still says that, pretty much verbatim, in this scenario. I'm not putting it in quotes, because it sounds dirty in a kidnapping context, but he for sure says it.)

The next day, since he's keeping up the comforting vibes to keep her from being afraid, Sadie asks Jasper a lot of questions. He tells her everything he knows about vampires. He isn't fully versed in vampire mating, so he isn't able to really inform her that his obsession with her is, to some degree, an inherent vampire trait, but he is very good at conveying to her that he is obsessed.

With no one to tell him to cool it with his power, and with his diet of human blood making his power more potent than it would be on animal blood, Jasper uses it at pretty much full capacity every time, instead of subtle shifts in emotion. So, while Sadie does notice that it's happening, she can't keep herself from the effects of his power by self-awareness alone.

He generally doses her with the same kind of peaceful calm he uses when he meets strange vampires for the first time, instead of the lethargic calm he uses to keep prey docile. He uses the latter when he wants her to sleep, but for the most part he just wants her to be unfearful and communicative.

She eats the food that's in the house. When he's able to convince himself to leave her unattended (usually after he's put her to sleep), he picks up more groceries and abducts some humans for himself. He keeps them in the cellar, far enough away from Sadie that she needn't know they're there but close enough that he can still hear her when he goes down to eat them. It's actually very convenient, not to have to hunt often; he just has to pop down to the cellar and enjoy a few of the already-injured occupants. Having a steady home has its upside. It's a shame someone will eventually notice the widow missing and he'll have to move with Sadie. But there will always be another empty mansion, or a mansion that can be easily made empty.

(When it's time to change homes, Jasper carries Sadie to the new destination while she's sleeping.)

Partially due to the mood control and partially due to the upfront-ness of everything, there's honestly very little tension between them. There's fear, sometimes (The one time Sadie tries to leave the mansion while Jasper is eating, he runs up from the cellar to stop her, and he's still covered in blood, and she's terrified, and it takes him a lot of soothing to get her calm again. It upsets him when she's scared.), but no tension. Sadie would like to leave, but she gathers that she can't, so all there is to do is maneuver within the new situation and learn more about her captor.

And neither of them is inherently a romantic. Jasper loves her, but even he isn't under the impression that they're dating or something. As far as he's concerned, he's keeping her; as far as she's concerned, she's studying him. Jasper is ecstatic with the arrangement, and Sadie is as comfortable as the situation allows.

Peter and Charlotte follow Jasper's scent at some point, wanting to hang out, and Jasper socializes with them outside the mansion, explaining that they can't go in because there's a human inside whom he is invested in keeping alive, and he can't risk them eating her. When they learn that he's in love, they ask if he plans on changing her, but he says that he can't yet. His control isn't good enough.

One day, Alice shows up.

She meets Jasper while he's in town, gathering food for Sadie and himself. They still have the little "You kept me waiting" "My apologies" flirtation, but he's a little more guarded, because he has to get back to Sadie, and as much as he is already beguiled by this weird-eyed stranger, he doesn't want her following him home. She's a vampire, and no vampires are allowed near his Sadie.

Alice really wants to skip the wooing; she's already seen herself with Jasper and Sadie. But she knows that mentioning Sadie too soon could make Jasper defensive, so she has to sprinkle herself slowly into Jasper's life, meeting him when he comes to town and letting his instinctive attraction and fondness for her grow into trust over a span of months (even moving towns when he does). She doesn't say anything about him switching to an animal diet, either; she tells him that she eats animals, but trying to influence him at this stage could alter her chances of seeing Sadie. Better to just let him murder.

Once they're at the right place, trust-wise, she tells him that she is already as in love with Sadie as she is with him, due to her psychic visions, and she asks to meet her. At first, Jasper isn't ready, but after she's asked a few more times, he allows it.

Alice has to be extra careful, because she wants to just run and hug Sadie as soon as she sees her, but if she makes a sudden move, Jasper will react badly. (Especially since the speed that comes with her small frame makes her a genuine threat to Sadie, even with Jasper there.) Not to mention, she has to endear herself to Sadie, whose only experience with vampires has been abduction.

"Sadie Lily Gilder," Alice says, barely restraining her excitement. "I am Alice Cullen. I'm your other soulmate."

Sadie is mostly perplexed and a little exasperated, but Jasper feels suddenly as if the sun has broken through the clouds. (Which means a lot, since he was already happy before.) Alice's joy at finally getting to see Sadie seems to fill the room, and this is his first time hearing Sadie's middle name, and...

"I like seeing you together," he realizes.

For the next few months, Alice is allowed to visit Sadie every now and then, under full supervision from Jasper. He can feel that she loves Sadie as much as he does, but he's still got to be careful. Humans are so fragile, and he's used to only trusting himself. When she comes, Alice brings Sadie little gifts that she never thought to ask Jasper before. She brings a new spritely energy to the house that Sadie comes to enjoy.

The following few months, (and after Jasper has watched her hunt animals) she's allowed to stay over full-time. They watch Sadie sleep, together. She's able to answer more of Sadie's questions.

Alice introduces Jasper to the idea of joining a family she's seen in their future. He doesn't want that many vampires around their Sadie, but as always, Alice says just the right things: they're all animal eaters; she hasn't seen a single future where any of them hurt Sadie; and the eldest of them could change Sadie for them.

(She also has to convince Sadie to want to become immortal with them, since she knows that Carlisle and Edward would be against turning her against her will. It helps that Sadie has been captured by a vampire for a while, now, and being a vampire herself would give her a chance of exerting some control over her future.)

When they meet the Cullens, Alice acts like they're already best friends. Jasper is more formal in asking the patriarch if he can change Sadie for them.

Edward calls them out on kidnapping Sadie, but Sadie points out that, unless things come to blows between the Cullens and Alice and Jasper, the only way for her to no longer be kidnapped is by becoming a vampire.

So Carlisle changes her, and she stays with the Cullens so that she can have someone to help her overcome her thirst during her newborn years without slipping up and hurting someone. Alice and Jasper stay with the Cullens, too (and the Cullens tell Jasper that he has to switch to the animal diet if he wants to stay). Eventually, all three of them are close enough to various members of the Cullen family that they just sort of become part of it.

Having been kidnapped at the start of all this, though, Sadie exerts her autonomy in pretty much every way. In her newborn years, in which she is more temperamental (though that isn't saying much; she's still pretty mellow by newborn vampire standards), she confronts Jasper for what he did, and he pretty much just takes it; things have worked out pretty great for him, so it's only fair to let her get it off her chest. Sadie can feel the bond between her and Alice and Jasper, but she can also feel that he didn't have to do what he did. She goes to visit her human family, once she knows that she won't eat them; she and Rosalie go on lengthy road trips; she and Emmett go to football games; she goes volunteering and home renovating with Esme; she learns languages and musical instruments from Edward; she learns vampire history from Carlisle and even joins him on a trip to Volterra.

She lets Alice buy her clothes but overall gives Jasper a wide berth.

Alice, having gained full trust from Jasper, is able to convince him to allow Sadie her space for a while, as she comes to terms with everything that happened. Jasper agrees, since Sadie isn't so fragile anymore and he knows that Alice is keeping an eye on her. So long as they know where Sadie is at all times, and so long as she is accompanied by at least one of the Cullens, he can bear to spend uninterrupted one-on-one time with his newest mate, especially if doing so will help Sadie to forgive him.

The diet of animal blood makes him less wild (but more tense, as he can feel that he is weaker), and the newness of everything in Sadie's life raises her spirits. Maybe eventually she'll be willing to hang out with him again, but it'll take a few years.