#genuinely can't believe this is all about

[dduane]

As a former psychiatric nurse, I am here to tell you in utter seriousness that OUR ENTIRE DAMN JOB is to listen carefully enough to you that we can feed you the lines that will get you to this place: where you HEAR the thing that just actually fell out of your face while you were so busy trying to hold your act in place that you couldn't keep it from doing that.

The human mind—that exquisitely complex thing—is ALL about maintaining its current smooth operational status. EVEN when that status is wildly dysfunctional and/or destructive. I mean, the brain says, hardly ever hearing its own desperation, everything's working pretty well right now, isn't it? And it can't hear the (internal laugh track) audience's painful response.

Our job is to startle you into hearing the internal laugh track: and yeah, the pain. There is no other way to get out of the pain than to acknowledge that you're in it, and at least to begin acknowledging the sources of it.

...All those light bulb jokes? About really having to want to change? They're bullshit. Believe me when I tell you that no one really wants to change. The one thing everyone I ever worked with in therapy wanted was to to stay just the way they were... just (somehow, magically) less uncomfortable. And surprise!—that's not how getting better works.

Meanwhile: this is one reason I'm lucky as a writer... because having helped actual human beings walk through this process is one of the best possible forms of preparation for walking fictional characters through it.

And if having done it with real people sometimes makes it come across in the fiction as perilously close to comedy in the timing of how it unfolds? Well, sometimes it comes across that way with the real people too. And the laughter associated with your client realizing who the joke's been on may sometimes be painful, but (when it's genuine) has a uniquely joyous sound through the pain that can't be matched by any other human experience. It's a privilege to be part of that when it happens.

All you can do is keep feeding the person you're working the straight lines they've been telling you they need... and then wait for them to give up and bite.

Therapy is risky because sometimes they'll just ask you their standard "why can't you, though", and you think you're making some good point by saying something like "well if I don't do anything with my life then what's the point of being alive in the first place" and your therapist gets that look on their face and you immediately realise that your dumb ass just got caught, pinned to the ground with your stupid-ass neck between the spikes of a pitchfork, and you are not going to wiggle out of there before you two unpack what the fuck you just said.

[applesauce42069]

In the 1800s and 1900s pogroms all throughout Europe, they too genuinely believed Jews had done wrong. We look back and we see a glaring lack of evidence but to them it was real. The point is that regardless of what Jews do and even if the most heinous lies were true and we did do everything they accuse us of, it all comes from a place of Jew hatred.

It's not about some Israeli Jews being racist. It's never been about that. It's about hating Jews and doing whatever they can to harm us. Antisemites wait for us to slip up.

So when a pogrom happens and everyone's quick to say "you can't be a victim because you're capable of wrong just like me and you have flaws" then we are in the darkest of times because now every single antisemitic incident preys on the humanity of every single Jew (our human ability to do wrong) and therefore we can never be victims.

.

[watchyourbuck]

okay i feel like i have one more thing to say tonight and that is that the fact that im a buddie endgame shipper does not mean i am not saddened and upset about the way they went with the bucktommy breakup. ive been trying for months now to remain impartial in the whole fandom war bc i genuinely feel like they are useless. as a multishipper, i like to see my characters happy, no matter if it breaks one or even my main ship. but the way they did this, in my humble opinion, that could very easily not be yours, was bad writing, rushed, and to some extent distasteful. if the story gradually moved towards a breakup that made sense, i would've grieved the ship ive thoroughly enjoyed since april, but i would've understood (and i know some fellow bt shippers feel the same, even if they dont partake in buddie) ((also, yes, im aware we're just on ep6)), but to me, tonight's ep felt like a testament that they, in fact, have no idea where they're going with the storyline. i wish to believe we shouldnt take the interviews to heart, as we've been lied to and played with before, but i also can't help but feel disappointed. they (tim particularly) painted this couple as some sort of lighthouse for buck. yes, new and exciting, but also, beautiful and consensual and not in some weird gratitute exchange. do not get me wrong, i am in love with the way they're slowly but surely moving towards the queer eddie-possible buddie arc bc yes, that is what i wanted from the very beginning, but i also feel like we lost a very important, very pioneer ship that meant a lot for the community - viewed from a media representation pov, of course - in the most graceless way possible. if the plan was to break them up all along, for buck to end up with someone else, whoever that may be, they could've handled it with more delicacy. i hope im wrong and they give them a proper ending, should that be the case.

[joejhang]

andrew minyard.

finally andrew is getting the essay treatment from me. i love this man and i just needed to yap about him. spoilers ahead and continue at ur own risk.

people (both within the series and in the fandom) like to think of andrew as super unemotional and stoic. i don't think people realise it but the whole "andrew is soulless" mindset has bled into the fandom, and the way people write and talk about him really makes me think they do just consider andrew to be extremely cold and unreachable as a person. i lowkey find this funny because andrew's not even that monstrous or difficult or stone cold he's literally just bipolar (canonically) with some clinical depression in there. like???

and it's weird because people like to think of andrew as super out of control and violent and yes, he was unpredictable when he was on his drugs and he does still play by his own rules, but he honestly rarely incites any violence? i can't really think of a single instance he's been violent for no reason. he punched matt for hitting kevin. he choked allison for slapping aaron. he choked kevin for lying to him and also because he was understandably panicked and angry about neil being taken from him. what i find interesting is that when one-dimensional booktok men and the stereotypical book boyfriends do this typa shit it's seen as cute and protective and bf material but when andrew does it he's seen as violent, out of control and emotionless. and what also doesn't make sense is when people see his ability to inflict fear and violence on people (usually retaliatory but whatever) they consider it to be proof of his inability to feel emotion, but it seems to me that it's proof of the opposite? all of his violent and "out of control" moments to me are literally displays of how much he cares.

andrew is such an acts of service show don't tell kinda person and you'd have to be pretty blind (or biased) to not be able to see how his actions reflect his thoughts and emotions. he agreed to everything neil asked of him because he was interested in and a little (a lot) in love with him. he agreed to let kevin stay and protect him from the literal mafia because kevin believed in him and believed he was worth something and was willing to be patient and give him something to live for. he's friends with and hangs out with renee because she's kind and honest and genuine with him and isn't immediately dead-set against him because he doesn't fit into the conventional values of what a guy is supposed to act like.

does he have problems and flaws? yes, absolutely. many of his issues do stem from his existing trauma and the biases he's developed from that, but he's working through them, with other people's help, and it's so bizarre when people in the fandom talk about him like he's so far gone and to "rehabilitate" him would be a miracle when...he's literally already in the process of healing?? and he's not resistant to it at all?? before neil even shows up, he's seeing and talking to betsy, he's doing things (in his own way, sure) to try and patch up his relationship with aaron, he's protecting the people he cares about, he isn't honestly as self-sabotaging and self-destructive as he says he is. betsy is right when she says that he's done exceptionally well despite everything the world and his life have tried to throw at him.

people like to accuse aftg of demonising mental illness and people like andrew but i actually think the aftg fandom does that a lot more than the actual books. i think anyone with critical thinking can see that despite the nickname, andrew isn't a monster at all, and i think anyone that really knows him in the novel would see that too. and people in the fandom still write him like a sociopath even though it's explicitly stated he isn't, he literally has bipolar disorder, and it's funny and ironic to me because the fandom is like the general public in aftg, and the fandom (at least to me) demonises andrew a hell of a lot more than the actual books do.

andrew isn't the emotionless, stony, cold, unreachable, violent monster the fandom seems to think he is. i think he does have some problems expressing his emotions and probably has some issues coming to terms with a lot of them, but i think he definitely experiences the full range of emotions and they show themselves pretty frequently, intentional or not.

[megabuild]

hey megabuild can you elaborate on the complicated feelings re: bdubs apologizing to tango thing because I too have feelings about it that are complicated and i either need you to confirm I'm insane, confirm I'm not insane or make my insanity feel more enabled

(cracks my knuckles loudly and uncomfortably) the number one c!bdubs defender has logged on for another take hated by all

i think the most key thing to take away from this interaction is not that bdubs is being manipulative and dishonest but that it very clearly lays out the main issues with tuff guys' ability to function, that is, they all have different goals and ideals of what an alliance should function as, but also they have far too much baggage and history that they are all either unable to or unwilling to move on from.

looking at this conversation and taking it at face value- that is, bdubs went in with the intent to manipulate and lie, and then immediately caved when called out- is extremely uncharitable at best when similar behaviours from other players (such as scar) is often handwaved away as them playing the game correctly or exhibiting trauma responses. why these players are afforded such leniency while bdubs never is.. well, that's simply a mystery because i can't think of anything that immediately and obviously might set bdubs aside from the majority of his peers (hint: there is.). this coupled with the fact that bdubs has spent the first two sessions making genuine, if extremely flawed attempts at communication and problem-solving (see: horse discourse, which DID actually work though only after etho defused and approached it on his own terms, and the formation of tuff guys, which is an extremely flawed plot but also tackles the main issues at the core of the alliance- etho's commitment issues, tango's fear of betrayal, and bdubs' reputation) and i find it extremely difficult to believe that this conversation is entirely made up to gain some sort of leverage, because by saying that one must imply that retroactively both of those prior conversations were also probably in part manipulation- at which point we're painting bdubs as a multi-session plotting mastermind and that's just not who he is.

reading over the transcript there's a few key points that i think are really important-

bdubs comments that he's truly apologising, because he apologises in last life (poorly, but still) right after the matter, saying "he's sorry, but he had to". not in any way justifying his treatment of tango in last life, because moments before he also calls him fodder, but this gives us some insight into what bdubs is thinking- that is, it is likely he DOES feel genuinely bad about tango, or at least is able to acknowledge that they need to resolve their prior conflicts if they have any hope of succeeding. otherwise, there is little point in bringing such conflict to the forefront of tango's mind; that's manipulating him in the wrong direction by reminding him of his past traumas and giving him more ammo against bdubs. strategically i cannot understand why he would do this (outside of from a creator standpoint having more drama to mess with, because cc!bdubs is known for this, but if i get into the very murky territory between cc and c here it'll stretch everything out a million miles longer).

bdubs also barely gets a chance to defend himself after his initial apology is not accepted- tango is the one who builds up a "self reflection hole", both immediately dismiss it as manipulation (they are the first ones to suggest this, not bdubs!), and they pick on small tells such as him not having his head down and smiling as proof that he isn't genuine. indeed, when bdubs goes into the hole he asks them to come up with a plan since he won't be leading them, and tango openly laughs at them, signalling to Me that there was never any chance of genuine communication; tango has already made his mind up from the get-go that this is bdubs fucking with him and is unwilling to take it any further. (the phrase "i'm not going to perform my rock bottom for you for the sake of being believed" comes to mind.) it's only after this sentiment is echoed (more unsurely) by etho that bdubs gives up. at no point does bdubs add anything of his own to the conversation past this, he only agrees with what tango and etho are saying about him. with his attempt at communication having failed he defers to "yes and"-ing all the negative things they are saying about him. when bdubs has just spent most of secret life imo proving that he doesn't need to be dependent on others after being dismissed as such for multiple seasons, i think that immediate rejection of his independence and ability to stand up for himself must sting, a lot.

I know they're his teammates but jesus christ he could not have picked worse people to do this with. every character can be assumed to be extremely traumatised as is the nature of the game but etho and tango both have severe issues with communication and trust, both of which stem in part from bdubs' actions in last life (which again, i will defend him to the grave but that was fucking insane of him.) tango on the whole, however, is a character to me defined by his bitterness, especially in WL where he's acting out and being openly cruel to others (which given his previous experiences is honestly understandable). his immediate dismissal of bdubs is exactly what i would have expected of him given everything right now. meanwhile, etho is more cautious and unsure, only committing once he has tango's backing, because despite his issues with bdubs he has more reason to believe him (see: horse discourse once again) and also he's just extremely insecure. go girl.

little to say on this point but the bravado he exhibits after being dismissed also to me reads in line with other bdubs moments where he's putting on a show- he isn't gloating about pulling the wool over their eyes or laughing about how quickly he was found out, he's just.. bigging himself up for the sake of it? i don't know exactly how to word this point but i hope you understand.

tl:dr; i don't think bdubs is intentionally trying to manipulate people here, though i also don't think his timing and choice of apology was especially well-thought out; he's making a lot of attempts at genuine communication this season, for better or for worse, but it's coming from a place of recognising the necessity for it if he wants to get anywhere rather than a sign of genuine emotional growth. and while i wish they could have heard him out i do not fault etho or tango even for a second for assuming it was a ploy.

[cynthiav06]

I was just having a Percy jackson Brainrot and I was curious about something...

Considering the fact that Most Demi-gods Rarely ever Live that Long it makes me wonder just How Dark the Percy Jackson Series is

Like despite casting Neglectful Gods Aside, I can't imagine wanting To be a Demi-God due to the fact of how much Danger your in the moment you realize your a Demi-God

Percy said that once you figure out your a Halfblood it's only a matter of time before *They* Figure it out too and they'll come for you

I'm guessing he's talking about The monsters but even if he's not I can't imagine wanting to be a Demi-God cause I Genuinely wouldn't be able to handle being in that much Danger

And worst imagine how your mortal parent would feel, well that is if they care about you enough to care

It's just thinking about some of the things that were in the books it really made me think about the amount of Danger the Demi-Gods are in just really thinking about it

I mean it is the main premise of the Percy Jackson and the Olympian series, not to mention the opening words of the book.

It's also the theme that haunts the narrative of Heroes of Olympus or any other sequel after that.

It's the driving force behind Luke's actions, behind Percy's actions and beliefs, it's literally the motto of being a demigod.

It's the reason Kronos was able to rise with an army, it's the reason why Percy loathes all if not most gods.

Because Demigods are stuck in an all loss system. Choose the Olympians and suffer through neglect and quiet oppression, living and dying by whims of ignorant gods, or choose rebellion and be exterminated like pests. Do nothing and let yourself be molded by the gods into a dutiful child and even then death awaits you at the mouth of monsters.

Even having to suffer many abuses from their mortal parents at times and lack of any safeguarding system or protective group.

No matter what bargain they pick, the demigods will always get the shorter end of the stick. It's inevitable.

Even Poseidon, despite how greatly he loves Percy and how dearly he favors him, still tells him immediately after they meet that a heroes fate is always tragic. That even a god cannot undo it. That he, a god, is entirely and utterly sorry for the fate he has subjected Percy too. That it's his greatest mistake because he has doomed his son to die a painful death.

Hermes foresaw to some extent what would become of Luke and did nothing for he could do nothing.

It's why Hades promptly had to leave his children to their fate after their hiding place was uncovered. It's also why he could even if, in a fit of anger, dare imply that Bianca would have been of better use to him than Nico to Nico's face.

It's why Zeus, the supposed strongest Olympian (I have doubts), couldn't prevent Thalia's death and could only trap her essence in a tree. It's also why he has the audacity to offer up Jason, an actual child he sired as some sort of collateral and apology gift to Hera.

An object to use and throw. That's what gods view demigods as. They can always sire more, at least that's what they believe.

Even Athena, enraged and blinded by her hate for Romans, had no problem sending her children (who are quite literally a manifestation of her own essence) on a death quest to retrieve her statue of power, not a few times but for countless centuries, with no remorse not even when she regained her sanity as Athena.

Even Chiron is but all too happy to send demigods to die to fulfill the whims of gods.

It's also why the series should end in Percy and the two camps overthrowing Olympus. Maybe not all the gods but Zeus definitely. A new order. Maybe they team up with the so-called minor gods (I think the title is derogatory and an inaccurate term), and Percy will need to ascend (let's admit it, that's unavoidable. He is more god than mortal at this point. But maybe just maybe he will not become a god but another type of immortal, something different and stronger. (Cause he had the power to manipulate and take control of the domain of one of the protogenoi and use it to overpower the said protogenoi in their own place of power).

Either way, your ask is literally the entire premise of everything, small or big, that takes place in the books. It is also why Rick should commit to the idea of toppling down the system that enables such a thing.

I have no hopes for Riordan but in my mind, that's what Percy and the Seven and all the demigods from both Camps did with the help of minor gods and even Atlantis [Poseidon won't say no, not to this, even he knows the extent of Zeus's depravity, of his own past actions. He will help, and so will Hades. After all that's been done to his children. I think Tartarus was the final straw for both Poseidon and Hades. After that, they would do anything to protect their children. The true canon really, but Rick is too much of a coward to write it. ]

Sorry, I just had to rant. As you can tell, I have thoughts and feelings on this. Quite a lot of both.

[spiderace]

This is an interesting point about art.

People in 2024 will say that for e.g. far right art can't be good, but the thing is, people who believe terrible things have made great art since always. Ayn Rand genuinely moves people. I don't get it, I find her prose dull, but she does. Hitler wrote a bestseller. Thomas of Aquinas blamed women for many of his problems and is still more revered than not. And of course every year another Joss Whedon turns out to have been terrible all along and we all have to discover that we didn't REALLY love everything he did for twenty years. I'm not even going to address the elephant in that room, but you all know its looming sorting-hat-shaped shadow.

The reason most extremist art is terrible now is, I think, that extremists are no longer willing to traffic in implication. For example, I'm a Christian (I love you gay Methodists), and I like the Conjuring movies even though the Warrens were terrible.

These movies are explicitly pro-Christian. They believe in an afterlife, heaven, hell, demons exorcism. On the culturally conservative end, they're about a loving cis heterosexual married couple with a beloved daughter, and they never mention or acknowledge that LGBT people exist that I can recall.

Right-wing Christians will not watch or accept these films, because they are horror films, or because they don't adhere strictly to the doctrine of a given denomination. For a movie to be publicly acceptable as a Christian film by contemporary American Christianity, it has to either be a Bible story or be God's Not Dead, a movie where (spoilers!) an atheist left-wing college professor gets hit by a car and Christians coerce him into converting in order to ensure that he goes to Heaven.

This creates a bizarre environment where left-wing films are unacceptable because they have left-wing implications, but films with right-wing implications are unacceptable because they are not right-wing enough.

As a horror fan, this is not only bizarre but hilarious. Many horror fans will watch something based on a vibe regardless of its philosophical implications, because you don't have to agree with a film in order for it to scare you. I think this is why The Conjuring franchise is so popular even though I suspect horror fans lean further left than a lot of other filmgoers.

So the ultimate result of this is that fundamentally conservative art is more likely to be observed and discussed by people further to the left than the artist, just like this social media post. This is important, because ideas should be seen and discussed so that we can openly decide which ones are hot garbage, just like the original anonymous message. And I think it's also important because if we only acknowledge and boost what we disagree with that actually has artistic merit, the overall marketplace of ideas still benefits by examining different perspectives without admitting the ones that amount to inarticulate screaming at a minority group.

This is especially important to me because it's how I was de-radicalized as a young person from my very right-wing conservative upbringing - by interacting with critical examination of ideas in art as well as by meeting real people that did not reflect the demonized image of minorities that I grew up around. I think both of those things are important to those that process. And that can't happen unless someone drags forward anonymous pieces of artful hate into the light of day so that we may submit them to the dissecting pins and scalpel of real criticism.

Normally, I just block people and leave their nonsense unposted... but this is art.

[fenrysmoonbeamswife]

I posted this in a reblog already but I feel like it needs its own post

The original post was about how people say that "Rhys didn't touch her below the waist" isn't a sound argument that he didn't SA Feyre because he showed he can manipulate the paint so that isn't proof that he didn't touch her.

I agree and my thoughts on it are also, even if he truly didn't go below her hips he still

• forced her to drink fairy wine (essentially drugging her due to the effects it has on humans) when she explicitly said no and pushed him away multiple times

• dressed her in pretty much nothing and paraded her around naked in front of everyone for absolutely no reason

– Please keep in mind when people make pretty fanart of this scene, they have to censor it for social media and they're romanticizing it. It isn't accurate. This was not romantic or girl boss, Feyre was essentially naked and it traumatized her

• had her dance naked on him in front of everyone for absolutely no reason—to the point that she vomited and he *checks notes* made her keep going

• forcibly kissed her

• spied on her through the tattoo he forced on her

And he still touched her. There are a lot of places you can touch someone above their hips/waist and if they don't want it, it's assault. And in this specific scenario, with these other instances of assault/abuse, it was sexual assault. It's not a debate.

Feyre had immense trauma from what he did to her and she even tries to bring it up but he makes it all about him (ironic that his fans do the same).

You Rhysand stans have a freak attack when someone tries to debate or invalidate Rhysand's SA (which is valid, so why is it okay to debate Feyre's when it is written right there on the page for you? If you genuinely and truly believe that Rhysand did not SA Feyre then I beg of you to check your internalized misogyny (and your literacy) because the "logic" you're using is the exact same logic that people who say Amarantha didn't SA Rhysand are using.

And if you can't even handle comprehending what happened UTM when it's spelled out for you then prepare yourself for this one:

Rhysand SA'd Feyre when they had unprotected sex because he knew the risks and she didn't

Oh and every time he has sex with her to shut her up/get his way is manipulation and is absolutely in the SA grey area because it's part of his emotional abuse towards her

[ehh-is-the-name]

People have probably already made this connection but I personally haven't seen anyone say this. Will the way s3 went, it's basically confirmed that Mephone made all the side characters that show up. I mean Ballpoint Pen was a confirmed creation, so I don't think me saying that is much of a stretch. And if we're saying that, then the whole Groscars situation not only about Mephone desperately wanting validation for the show he made, but also not getting that. All of that is assuming that the Groscars are something he created too.

I might be pulling shit out my ass, so please tell me to stfu if am, but I feel like he made antagonists for his own show. Originally I thought Walkie Talkie was made by Cobs, but with he way the finale has been going I don't think so. Cobs said that he's been watching 'cause he's intrigued the way there "story" has been going which to me implies that he hasn't interfered much. S3 feels different too. Now, I don't think Mephone straight up wrote s3 to go the way it did, since I honestly can't believe that whatever sentient beings he creates don't have minds of their own, but it's also clear that he can't tweak their heads. Since he did all that time shenanigans with Knife and Suitcase, and all. I wouldn't put it past him to create a Groscar character to genuinely review his show, (kinda like BP), and for his show to not make it.

Idk if y'all are picking up what I'm putting down, but I think Mephone set himself up for failure in that regard. I mean, besides submitting the show despite the fact he knew II didn't have enough eps to qualify- I'd also like to clarify that I don't think the Groscars ceremony isn't real in the II universe, he probably saw it on TV when he was first at Meeple, but I doubt that the host for the ceremony is a groscer award, and able to go to Mephone's little fake island on a whim to vote to not kill him.

I think Mephone made Groscar (the award person), set her up so she basically was the host of the Groscars (award show), and submitted the show knowing that it might not work out. I know from this, and literally fucking everything we've seen him do, (cough cough)

(cough cough) that he DESPERATELY craves positive validation for his work so he can feel alright in the end.

All of this is to say this phone makes me ill and I hope he's ok in the finale. Cobs took away his hope and... by jove I think we all need some hope in these trying times.

[gryffin-who-cannot-fly]

[ID from OP: a tweet by @JeremyPoxon, posted Nov 6 2024, that reads "[guy whose country is about to elect Peter Dutton] can't believe these idiots voted trump". End ID]

I hope y'all don't mind me adding on, but I've been doing election campaigns for years so I wanted to share some stuff.

first of all yea definitely vote 1 green! your local greens candidate will also have a "how to vote" card which might be helpful if you aren't sure which conservative fringe parties are better or worse than the Liberals, so keep an eye out for that when election day rolls around.

but also - if you really want to have your say in the future of the country and help mobilise people to be a progressive force for change, get involved!

if you want to get involved in election campaigning, the greens are ALWAYS looking for volunteers. just 3 hours per fortnight of your time could be invaluable for your local greens campaign. the greens run a candidate in every seat, because even where there's no chance of winning, having a lower house candidate is a great way to get people to vote greens in the senate - and the greens nearly always get senate seats.

volunteering for the greens is easy and fun, and I promise I'm not exaggerating by saying that. there's all kinds of different campaign activities whether you want something active or that you can do from home, it'll connect you with all kinds of people from across your community, and it's really rewarding to know you're supporting a movement that really genuinely cares about making a difference.

if you happen to be in victoria you might be able to achieve the same thing with a socialist party, but I can't really speak to that and anywhere else the greens are 100% the most legitimately outcomes-oriented political group. in victoria it depends on how fractured the socialist movement currently is lol.

if election campaigning isn't your thing, definitely look into volunteering for local activist groups campaigning on issues that matter to you. climate, free Palestine, homelessness, environment - you name it, there's people working on it and they need volunteers. if you live regionally they might be harder to find, in which case you could connect with people in your nearest city online and/or start something locally yourself.

basically, while voting is great, if you want to achieve change you have to change how other people vote too. that means getting out and campaigning, meeting people where they're at, talking to them about what concerns them, and linking those concerns to the greens' progressive, evidence-backed policy. and you'll probably get some free pizza along the way, greens campaigns look after their volunteers.

some links:

volunteer for the greens ~ https://greens.org.au/volunteer

greens policies ~ https://greens.org.au/policies

join as a member! ~ https://greens.org.au/join

p.s. the greens are still looking for candidates so if you join as a member that might be an option, especially if you have a background being involved in your community or in advocacy. just be aware that greens candidates that will actually be elected at the next federal election have already been preselected, so the ones remaining aren't 'winnable' seats. non-winnable candidates are really valuable though, both for providing a platform to talk to voters about progressive issues, and to get voters to vote greens in the senate where the seats are winnable. plus, a high greens vote makes Labor nervous and they adopt greens policies when that happens!

I'm so scared guys I'm so scared

[shall-we-die]

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{Regret}

Would they ever feel guilty about abducting their darling? Would they ever let their darling go?

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↬[Fandom]•⊰ {Obey me!}࿐

↬[Warnings]•⊰ {Yandere behaviors}࿐

☰[Main list]•⊰ ────┈┈{0093}┈─╮

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╰┈➤Likes/Reblogs are appreciated࿐

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↬|Lucifer|

He definitely has no guilt. And absolutely he’d never let you go. The idea of you out there, in the world with other demons who could take you from him makes him feel disgusted and furious. If he had you, he’d never let you go- no matter what. You’d belong to him entirely. There wouldn’t be any way for you to escape him.

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↬|Mammon|

Mammon would likely never feel guilty about abducting MC, and would never willingly let them go. He would see MC as an object to possess and control, and would do everything in his power to keep them under his control. His obsession with MC would be so intense that he would not allow them to have any freedom or autonomy. Mammon would view MC as something that he owns, and would not feel bad about forcing them to stay with him.

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↬|Leviathan|

Levi might feel a sense of doubt or guilt about abducting the MC, knowing that it's wrong and that they are hurting them. however, his obsession and possessiveness would likely overshadow those feelings and he would justify his actions by believing he is doing what is best for their relationship. as for letting MC go, that would almost certainly be a no. he might promise to change, or even genuinely try to be better, but his possessive nature would prevent him from ever truly letting MC go.

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↬|Satan|

Despite being a yandere, Satan would likely have occasional moments of guilt or remorse about abducting MC. However, these feelings would quickly be overshadowed by his obsession and possessiveness towards MC. He might even try to justify his actions by convincing himself that he's doing it for the sake of their relationship and that MC would thank him someday. As for letting MC go, a yandere like Satan would likely make it as difficult as possible for them to leave, using manipulation, threats, or even physical force to keep them under his control.

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↬|Asmondeus|

Asmodeus is pretty unhinged and has a twisted sense of right and wrong. He wouldn't feel guilty for abducting MC at first, as he sees it as a necessary step to keep them all to himself. However, over time, it's possible that he might start to feel a little guilty for keeping MC captive like that. He might start to question his own actions and doubt if he is doing the right thing. However, he would probably not let them go, either way.

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↬|Beelzebub|

Beelzebub may struggle with feelings of guilt about abducting MC, especially if he has any shred of conscience or empathy. However, his obsession and need for control would likely overshadow any guilt he feels, and he might justify his actions to himself in some twisted way. He would be unlikely to willingly let MC go, as his entire reason for abducting them was to have them all to himself. He would likely go to great lengths to ensure MC can't escape or be rescued.

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↬|Belphegor|

At the start, definitely no. He'd be smug and arrogant about it, probably teasing you for falling into his trap. But after some time? Once he is sure that you're completely his and you won't try to go anywhere, and once he's fallen in love with you, he would start to feel guilty and maybe a bit remorseful about it. But would he let you go? Hell no. Even if he felt guilty, the thought of letting his beloved go away would make him furious and scared.

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↬|Diavolo|

Diavolo's guilt over abducting MC would be minimal if not completely absent. He would likely feel more satisfied and fulfilled by having MC in his possession. He would also never willingly let MC go, as he would see them as his most precious and prized possession. He would do everything possible to keep them trapped in his grip, even resorting to more sinister and dangerous methods to ensure that they never escaped.

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↬|Barbatos|

Barbatos would likely feel no guilt for abducting you. In his own mind, he believes that he is doing what's best for you and that you belong solely to him. Whether he would let you go would depend on his level of obsession and how much power he feels he has over you. If he believes that he has full control and that you have fully submitted to him, he may let you go - but only on his terms. In his mind, you are still his.

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↬|Simeon|

He may feel a twinge of guilt for abducting mc, but his obsession and need to control her would overpower any guilt he feels. He'd likely try to justify his actions to himself by convincing himself that it's for their own good, and that he's protecting them from the world. He may tell himself that he's doing it because he loves them and wants to keep them safe. He would also likely feel a sense of possessiveness and entitlement over them, and may feel that he has the right to keep them all to himself.

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↬|Solomon|

It is unlikely that Solomon would feel guilty about abducting MC, as he would likely see it as a necessary measure to have her all to himself. However, he may occasionally have moments of doubt or guilt, especially if MC expresses distress or sadness about the situation. As for letting MC go, it is highly unlikely that he would ever willingly release them, as his main goal would be to keep them under his control. He may only let her go if he feels that mc has become completely dependent on him or if he is somehow forced to.

||[🅁egret]||

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     ⇆ㅤㅤ◁🅀ㅤㅤ❚❚ㅤㅤ🅂▷ㅤㅤ↻

Coming soon...

[lovegalor333]

fresh start

part nine (chapter 25) previous part • my masterlist

word count: 2.8k

content warnings: none!

Lily

Paige and the team left early yesterday morning for their game at Minnesota today. Travelling for game days, unfortunately, wasn't part of my job so Kayla, Madison, Hannah, Kelsey and I were all lounging on the couch, each tucked under a blanket, excitedly waiting for tip off.

After agreeing to go home with Paige for Thanksgiving, it was decided that I would travel there after classes finished tomorrow and Paige would pick me up from the airport. After Thanksgiving, Paige had to fly directly to the Cayman Islands for a tournament so I'd be flying back to campus alone.

Now the season had started, I had to get used to Paige being away more often, I didn't like it but it was inevitable and it just means that the time we do spend together is even more special.

"Are you all packed for Minnesota, Lils?" Madison asks me from her place at the end of the couch.

"Pretty much, just need to add the last few bits but I'll do that before I leave in the morning." I tell my roommate.

"I can't believe you're going home with your girlfriend for Thanksgiving break! Who would have thought it?" Kelsey says from beside me, leaning her head on my shoulder, "Single Sisters was extremely short lived." She laughs referring to the pact we made when we first met.

"I know! It feels weird but also right at the same time." I say thinking about my relationship with Paige and how it was never my intention to have a girlfriend again so soon but life and love works in mysterious ways and I'm so glad it worked out like this.

The conversation faded out as the game between UConn and Minnesota started and all of our attention was fully focused on the TV as familiar faces in white jerseys moved about the court.

Kayla had kindly offered to drive me to the airport to catch my flight and we had just arrived.

"Thank you for dropping me, K." I say as she pulls into departures parking.

"No worries, have a safe flight and enjoy Minnesota." She smiles her signature smile and I hug her over the console before getting out of the car.

After leaving Kayla, I immediately put my headphones on and shuffle my playlist. Controversially, I really like airports. I would always arrive earlier than necessary to ensure I didn't need to rush. I enjoyed picking out snacks for the journey and most of all, I loved knowing that I could be in my own world, listening to music, staring out of the window for the entirety of the upcoming flight.

After passing through security and buying my favourite snacks, Jolly Ranchers and Gold Fish, I just sat and patiently waited at my gate for boarding to begin.

hi pretty girl

have a safe flight, cant wait to see you

love you

hi p

boarding is just about to start

ive missed you so much

see you soon, i love you

I smiled at the text conversation between Paige and me. I felt extremely grateful for how my life had done a complete one eighty spin from a few months ago. I was happy, I had a beautiful girlfriend who loved me without reservations, I had genuine friends that supported me, I had a job that I adored and I wanted to be alive and stay alive. If I could go back at tell past Lily that, I know for a fact, she'd call bullshit.

The flight was quick, less than three hours and once we were up in the air it felt like we began our descent almost immediately.

I had collected my luggage, it wasn't big as I was only here for a few days, and was making my way through arrivals where Paige said she would be waiting.

"Oh my god." I say under my breath as Paige finally comes into view. She's stood a few feet away from me, looking as beautiful as ever. Her hair is down, tucked behind both ears and from the slight wave in it, I can tell it's been recently washed and left to dry naturally. She's dressed casually, in a grey tracksuit and Air Max 95s but it's the huge bouquet of flowers in her hand that has my jaw on the floor.

It takes a moment for Paige to register that I'm walking towards her but when she does, her face breaks out into a big grin and she takes the few strides needed to close the gap between us.

"Hi babe." I say melting into my girlfriends hug, taking in her scent that I've been deprived of the last few days.

"Hi my pretty girl. How was the flight?" Paige asks with me still in her arms.

"Super quick but I'm tired." I respond. Admittedly I'd not slept well the past few days, sleeping alone, without Paige wasn't something I was used to, so her being gone definitely felt foreign.

"You can sleep in the car. Oh and these are for you, obviously." She says handing me the bunch of flowers. They were a mix of pink and white dahlias with the odd stem of leaves, they were beautiful.

One thing about Paige, she was the best flower giver. She knew the perfect time to get them and every bouquet I've received from her and has been filled with the most pretty flowers.

Paige took my bags and I carried the flowers as I followed her to her car. She opened the passenger door for me before loading my bags into her trunk. I reached into the back seats and carefully placed my flowers down.

"Here." Paige said getting into the driver's seat handing me a blanket. Her blanket. Her favourite blanket that she slept with every night in Connecticut.

"Thank you." I say covering myself over and resting my head on the window. The blanket smelt like Paige and even though she wasn't, it felt like she was hugging me, it was comforting.

One of Paiges hands rests on my leg as the other steered the car as we began driving to her family home. My eyes fluttered shut, feeling safe and content and most of all loved beyond belief.

Paige

Having Lily here in the house I grew up in felt natural as soon as we stepped inside. My heart warmed watching her interact with my family, especially Drew.

They were currently stood side by side at the kitchen counter, sleeves rolled up to their elbows as they took it in turns pouring in various ingredients and mixing together the cake batter.

I kept my distance and just observed as the two most important people in my life bonded and got to know each other.

"Paigey actually ruined Thanksgiving last year." My little brother tells Lily and she laughs.

"Really? What did she do?"

"She said she was going to make the best cake ever and nobody was allowed to help and I didn't eat any candy all day because she said her cake was so good." Drew reminisced on last year, "And then we tried it and it was actually the worse cake ever! I had to spit it in the trash."

"Hey, it's not my fault I confused the sugar with salt." I interject, poking my brother in the side causing him to giggle and in turn fling his arms up to protect himself,  but as he does a dollop of cake batter flies off the spoon and lands on Lilys face.

Once Drew realises what he's done he quickly apologises to Lily but I can't hold back my laughter.

"It's OK Drew, no harm done." Lily says with a sweet smile but when her eyes flick to me, she's glaring intensely. "Funny, Bueckers?" She asks raising her brows.

"Just a bit, yeah." I say still giggling.

"Oh OK, so you won't mind if I just," she dips her hand into the batter mixture and before I can register what she's about to do, she smears it across my cheek, "do that."

As quick as my giggles stop, Lilys and Drews start and I'm too busy focused on Lily to notice Drew also dipping his hand into the mixture before wiping in down my arm.

"Oh I get it. It's two against one." I say slightly offended my own brother would choose Lily over me but at the same time loving it because them having a good relationship means a whole lot to me.

"Drew, I think we should run." Lily says being able to read my facial expression perfectly and both of them set off running away from me but I grab the full bowl and go after them.

"I'm literally an athlete, I'm going to catch you guys." I say as I follow them.

Drew is running at full speed whilst screaming and dodging pieces of furniture so he doesn't trip and Lily isn't far behind him, also dodging furniture but laughing so much it's slowing her down.

I change my tatic and go back on myself knowing that Drew and Lily will walk or...run into me and I'm right.

"Ha! Got you!" I triumph as Drew unknowingly runs right into my path and I scoop him up with one swift movement and with my hand already covered in cake mix, I swipe it across his face.

"Lily, save me!" Drew shouts in my arms and he kicks and wriggles his body trying to get me to release him.

Lily's by our side seconds later, "Don't worry, I've got you!" She reassures and lunges for the bowl picking up the spoon and flicking it in my direction, sending mixture straight into my face.

"OK that's it!" I say adjusting Drew so he's over my shoulder and I run full speed at Lily.

She lets out a screech but she can't move fast enough so I manage to hook my free arm around her waist, "Now everyone say Paige is the best." I say gripping onto both of them.

"Paige is the best." They both mummble knowing they've been beaten.

"And Paige always wins, she never loses." I try my luck.

"OK, that's pushing it P." Lily says and she manages to wriggle out of my grasp so I place Drew down too.

"Truce?" Lily asks out stretching her hand, "Truce." I reply shaking her hand and then my brothers.

We salvage what's left of the cake batter and pour it into a tin before it goes into the oven to bake.

"OK, go clean yourself up buddy." I say to Drew and point him in the direction of the bathroom before Lily and I start to tidy the kitchen.

"He really likes you, you know?" I say to Lily as she washes dishes at the sink and I wipe down the surfaces.

"I love him." Lily says and my heart bursts, "Being an only child, I feel like I missed out on something. I wish I had siblings to have these moments with."

"You can have these moments with us. My family is your family, Lils." I say going over and standing behind her, I wrap my arms around her waist and rest my head on her shoulder, "Thank you, P. I love you." She says spinning around so we're face to face.

“I love you." I lean in and press a kiss to her lips, "Although, you're slightly sticky." I say as I pull away.

I pick up a cloth, "Come here." I motion for Lily to come over to the kitchen island, she does and I lift her up onto the counter.

I gently wipe away any left over batter residue on Lilys face and from my place inbetween her legs, I'm taken back to the night in my bathroom after the frat party.

I think about how much Lily and I have been through since then and how much my love for her has grown and I can only hope it continues that way.

"What are you thinking about beautiful?" Lily asks cupping my face with her hands.

"You. Me. Us. How much I love you and want you in my life forever."

"You've got me Paige. In everyway." She says pulling me closer and crashing her lips to mine. My hands instinctively rest on her thighs and slowly make their way up to her waist. I feel her groan into my mouth at my touch so I deepen the kiss, making it needier, sloppier. Lily's legs are around my waist and her hands are in my hair and it's a feeling I want to bottle and save for later because I know my little brother will be back in the room at any moment.

I reluctantly pull away, "Drew will be back any second." I say and right on cue the boy walks back into the kitchen.

He looks at Lily and me and the way we're positioned, Lily still perched on the counter top and me inbetween her legs, hands on her thighs and his head tilts to one side and I know he's about to say something.

"Paigey, are you going to marry Lily and have babies?" He asks full of innocence but Lily and I almost choke.

"We're still really young right now buddy." I try and answer as diplomatically as possible.

"What about when you're bigger, like mom and dad?" He continues to push the topic.

"Well, don't tell anyone," Drew nods rapidly in agreement as I speak, "but if Lily will have me, I'll happily put a ring on it and make her a mommy." I say cheekily squeezing Lilys thigh, earning a shove from her.

"Your sister is one of a kind, you know that Drew?" Lily ask jumping off the counter.

"Uh huh." Drew agrees and I smile as we all make our way into the living room to inevitably watch another cheesy holiday movie.

Lily

Paiges dad and stepmom had filled the table with the most delicious looking and smelling food I'd even seen. Thanksgiving dinner was not like this back home in Boston, in fact if my mom could avoid cooking all together, she would. I spent a lot of Thanksgivings at Emmas house and Christmases too, as a family we weren't very festive but the Bueckers were the complete opposite.

Paige was sat inbetween Drew and me with their parents opposite us, we each had a small glass of wine - Drew excluded and Paiges dad, Bob raised his glass, "It's tradition that we say something we're thankful for before dinner. Lily, as our guest, would you like to start?"

I look to Paige, slightly put on the spot but I don't know why because I know what I'm thankful for. It's easy, I don't even need to think about it. Paige sends me a small smile and a quick nod and I pick up my glass, "I'm thankful for my life right now and everyone in it. A few months ago things were very different and it was hard for me to see an end to that but going to Connecticut, changed everything. It saved my life. I wanted a fresh start and I got that. I'm thankful for all of the beautiful friends I've made, I'm thankful for the opportunities I get everyday to learn and grow and I'm especially thankful to be sat here. I'm thankful for being welcomed in your family and home as if I've always been a part of it. It truly means the world to me."

Under the table, Paiges hand squeezes my thigh in support and she leans over pressing a kiss to my cheek.

"I think that deserves a toast," Paiges stepmom says and everyone raises their glass of wine, even Drew picks up his juice, "to Lilys fresh start. May she continue to grow and blossom."

We all clink our glasses together and I have to fight back tears.

"And let it be known," Bob says, "anyone who makes my daughter as happy as you is always welcome in this family."

˖ ᡣ𐭩 ⊹ ࣪ ౨ৎ˚₊✧˚ · .

[tubbytarchia]

Wild Life Session 4 smallidarity thoughts (+ some Scar and Lizzie)

See it was all fine, nothing to worry about!! Joel couldn't bring himself to kill Jimmy, he barely even harmed him. I'm pretty sure he shot him just once (after Jimmy trampled their crops so. fair)? Joel calmed down, he rebuilt his car, everything is fine. He says at the start that he's wary of Jimmy because of him going after Joel last time, and that's about it for the time being

Jimmy dies and Joel makes a deal out of it and calls him a muppet. As per usual. Meanwhile Jimmy is still adamant to get at Joel whilst Scar tries to deter him because they want to be an alliance

He and Jimmy meet up at some point after their brief interaction at the start where Joel shot him, and they just banter. And Gem and Scar are just standing there like "guyss we're a family come on" meanwhile Joel and Jimmy's exchange goes as follows: Jimmy: "you're the ones with tasty lives!" Joel: "yeah bet you wish you could have a chunk of me!" "Oh I'm having a chunk out of you!" "Yeah and you know where to take that chunk out of!" "Oh I'm gonna take it! I'm taking it!" "You should!" ? what the fuck? Genuinely WHAT are they talking about. is this an innuendo of some sort. is this another ambiguous smallidarity sex scene sorry who said that

Jimmy gets a double kill (in the most adorable way btw. The way he weasels his way in there and backs off and comes back to try again all crouched. animal) and goddd people hyping him up is so so sweet. He deserves this. He's also a little bit evil, he's getting the murder rush but I'm happy for him. He needs to kill more people, he needs to get this out of his system, he deserves this, things need to get worse before they get better. ANYWAY Scar all "that was the greatest kill ever on the life series" is so cute. And man I gotta agree. There's more unique and funny and impressive kills but I would not mind calling this the best just for the fact that it's Jimmy. He's competent, he can do shit like this, but it feels like most everyone and the world is continuously against his survival, but here he is... my son...

And then Joel coming up to congratulate him... Really blummin cute. In Joel's POV also, he says "I went to congratulate Jimmy and we had a moment" which I wager he might be referring to the creeper incident as 'the moment' but that'd make no sense to call it that. With that tonation. Why did he say it like that. Stop being cute

But yeah Scar tries to blow Joel up with creepers only for Joel to save him from his own creeper and he's so casual about it. He is incredibly kind to the bamboozlers, it's really cute...

And then Jimmy does it!! He gets Joel!! And he gets him real good!! And can you believe that the first person to kill either of the family duo is Jimmy, of all people. Scott has died by this point too and Jimmy is the one to make a dent in the full 6-life alliance. Crazy. I'm so proud of him. It was seriously really good too, see, when Jimmy puts his mind to something and is able to focus he excels, he really does. And Joel, oh Joel is such a good sport about it. He keeps saying how it was good and fair and that he still wants an allyship with him. Tells him "welcome back to green" aww. And they make a truce, Jimmy got it out of his system and now they can be friends and go kill other people instead and Joel is proud of him... Jimmy "Joel, I finally got you, so I will stop now, so let's do the perfect dap" and then they both count down and clap their hands to simulate slapping palms. Awesome. All of Joel and Jimmy is just really cute this time around. Very happy about them being a more proper alliance now, but we'll see if it sticks... Joel can only be so mean to Jimmy at this point though I don't think he has it in him to betray him or anything lol. Can't speak for the rest of them but not too worried for the smallidarity, it's a plentiful crop...

Also a very important exchange between Lizzie and Jimmy at some point: "I just finangled a load of diamonds off of Joel" "Oh? How did you do that?" "I asked him just really nicely" (lie btw she was moreso extorting Joel) "Oh, that doesn't work when I... I guess... you are his wife, I guess..." "Yeah..." "Lucky for some I guess- right (unrelated topic)" I'm not 100% confident that's what Jimmy said at the end, it's a bit hard to make out but. what? Hello?

I also extend gratitude towards Lizzie for being so nice and supportive of Jimmy, she was the one to suggest the cobweb creeper trap that ended up taking Joel out, but she also insisted that he drink a health restoration stew beforehand in case anything went wrong. Jimmy didn't end up doing so (he was full) and Lizzie is all "why?" and "something could have gone wrong". man. Nice to him...

[selfproclaimedunicorn]

Aha I’m back for the oc ask game! This time around, mayhaps any of these?: Kaleb x Taryne, Sarra x Yorick, Aldreda + Brandon, and Kaleb + Cassana?

Can I hear a round of applause for world class slut & professional other man for Lord Kaleb Dormaire?

We have already established with the Aldreda ship that this man is willing to bottom, but I really think Taryne would push that limit. Does he love a strong woman? Yes. Will he take the strap like a champ? I fully believe in his ability to do so. Can he exclusively be a sub? Honestly, I don't know if he's got it in him & Taryne will not give up control in the thing she's doing Just For Herself. That said, I don't think they wouldn't not work. I feel in my bones that Kaleb & Taryne would be more a "friends with benefits" type thing than whatever exactly she has going on with Gwayne.

It'd probably start out in a similar way of "I have a pre-established relationship with Alicent, & when I came back to King's Landing to see her here is some rando she's made part of her household since Lyonel Strong's promotion/Jasper Wylde got a job. Things have now spiraled a little out of control a little bit." Kaleb would definitely have more tact than Gwayne upon first contact, but he'd wind up in a similar situation of picking up the queues of how awful & traumatizing Taryne's marriage is, & once some level of comfort was there between them he'd offer some form of companionship at the very least just to give her some moments away from her husband, & from there it just kind of builds until they act on whatever attraction is there. They'd both definitely be having a nice time, & letting Taryne be in charge on occasion is probably nice, but bestie I am looking at this man's amount of kids & his pullout game is not good enough for Taryne to have him be her regular Other Man unless he's willing to never put it in. Kaleb, I see your breeding kink. You can't hide it from me. My son, Yorick, is the same fucking way, I perceive you whether you like it or not. Taryne's definitely fond of him though! He's an actual good, genuine man who won't hurt her, & that really goes most of the way for her. Not a long way, like 90% of it. The bar is on the ground.

They've definitely got "judging & side-eyeing people at the function, & maybe they hookup after it" vibes.

Yorick & Sarra sounded familiar, so I did hunt through the tag & I have ruminated on this before actually! So linking

Oh, you mean her step-son by way of fucking both his parents?

Gonna be real, she looks at him & just sees her youngest brothers, because some of them died young enough that temporarily being heir to Lonely Light or the expectations of their dad or Ironborn (specifically at Lonely Light) never had a chance to super get to them. So Brandon is kind of a What If scenario for her. "Would any of my brothers have been like him? Would they have been friends?" That type of thing

I think he'd be interested in Aldreda as a person regardless of what canon we're going with (Alicent alive at Lonely Light with Aldreda or her canon fate) just because she's important to his parents & "she's a cool warrior woman who let me have a knife!" And that would obviously evolve as he gets older to probably seeing her as some sort of extra parent or aunt or something--how that plays out I think would just really depend on what happens with Alicent (& by extension probably where he winds up going)

Honestly though, Aldreda would probably waffle a lot on if she wanted to be around him when he's younger. She'd never be outright cruel to him or send him away, it'd be more a "do I have the mental capacity to be around a child?" Part of it is her having never thought about her own ability to have kids & the subsequent having of them/motherhood & being at least a little confronted with it by now kind of being his step-mom, & part of it is the weird "my younger brothers were all this age once" that turns into "he's older than [brother x] ever got to be." It's, like, "am I mentally okay to be around the happy, optimistic child? If yes go be near the child. If no, decide if you want to do emotional self harm or not & proceed from there." (I never said Aldreda was the healthiest person out there). She'd definitely be encouraging of him & would probably give him pointers for training, but she'd also be rolling her eyes at the knight thing, I cannot lie. But you can't totally blame her, there's no knighthood culture on the islands! She wouldn't discourage him though, she'd just privately think that there's better things to dream of. Also, she's definitely taking him out on her longship at some point because "every boy needs to go out on the ocean. It puts hair on their chest." Did she tell Alicent or Kaleb beforehand? Maybe.

I think they'd be at least casual friends, with varying closeness depending on if it's SOTF or TRP. Because, like, they were both growing up in The Red Keep, but she was also never really a part of Rhaenyra's friend group until they were both a little older.

In SOTF, it'd definitely be a case of "this is my husband's cousin's boy (aside from Laenor, of course) that I also know & have a positive opinion of. Of course I am going to be kind & welcoming to him!" Because Cassana Strong is, first & foremost, a big sweetie pie. She's a little insecure, but she's a sweetie pie & she will never make someone feel unwelcome unless they've given her a reason to. She'd maybe be a little judgey about him having so many bastards (because she's even judgey about her brother in that regard), but she wouldn't say anything to him about it. Because that's rude & also it's kind of just expected in Westeros. Not stopping her from being gossipy as hell though.

In the TRP crossover AU though, they're definitely closer since he's married to Her Girl. Like "that's Daenys's man, your honor. I have to giggle about him with her, that's girl code." Also, like Rhaenyra, she's definitely encouraging them & probably helping to set them up, because she's watching Daenys moon over him too! Her insecurity would make a bigger impact, temporarily at least, on their relationship here though. I'm not going to go into too much detail, because that's spoilers for her arc in that fic, but there would be a rough patch where she kind of ices him out & is kinda harsh towards him for a couple months. Yes, it would be a bitterness thing & she is butting heads with at least Daenys & maybe even him depending on how much he's willing to try to pus that due to her very sudden 180 on how warm & friendly she normally is. It's not beyond repair, & she gets over it, & I also think she'd be willing to tell Kaleb what was going on more than she probably is Tyland in noncrossover TRP since, like, she's known him since he was a kid.

Overall, I think Kaleb & Cass would have a very nice friendship. Maybe not a best friendship, but a comfortable one.

[hooked-on-elvis]

A lovely story of Elvis on set of "Paradise Hawaiian Style," by actress Irene Tsu.

Principal photography in Paradise, Hawaiian Style began in Hawaii on July 27, 1965 (with the working title of "Hawaiian Paradise") and finished on September 29, 1965 in Los Angeles.

"It was the very first day on set and I was so nervous. So I decided to go take a nap and if I was needed on set, they would call me. I went to my trailer and the air conditioner wasn’t working. I was just hysterical - really hysterical. I walked around the set when I discovered a big hut and thought there would be air conditioning inside.

All of a sudden, there was a hand stopping me. And I was told, 'That's Elvis' dressing room. You can't just go in. I’m going to have to ask if you're allowed.'

Security let me in and I ended up taking a nap on a couch in the cool area. Elvis was near me looking at me when I woke up. He was putting a cold compress on my face. He thought I must have passed out or something.

He was absolutely beautiful. I didn’t even know what to say because I was so shocked. And then he went, 'Don’t worry about it. I just want you to feel good. Are you hungry? Do you want something to eat? Are you thirsty?' I couldn’t even talk! I was overwhelmed by his presence. He smelled like baby powder and milk. And he kept insisting if I needed or wanted anything.

We became friends while working together. We were united by our admiration for martial arts and spiritual ideals."

Article: "Irene Tsu, Paradise Hawaiian Style co-star Remembers the King." Source: Fox News August 7, 2020. Credits for sharing this story: Elvis In The 70s Facebook group, article and pictures posted by fan Sarah Horsfield.

MY OPINION SECTION: If you remember the behind the scenes story on Elvis's personal life, he was miserable with the Hollywood contracts for a while... 1965/1966 weren't his best years emotionally. Elvis was feeling terrible with how his career was going at that time, musically and cinematographically. It's really cute to me how gracious and generous with his time and attention he was even when he was feeling terrible inside. Skeptical people would say "Oh she was a very attractive woman and he was just hitting on her." It could be, but do you really think he needed tactics to get girls? He was Elvis! Besides, there's reasons to believe he was just being genuinely worried about Irene. EP was a very caring man since always. That story reminded me of Elvis on August 11, 1956 in Jacksonville, Florida. There's pictures of him holding the hand of a fan who fainted after seeing him in person at the hotel he was staying in. If Elvis wasn't the huge music star he was - but still had the financial means to do so - I bet he would have been an excellent doctor or caregiver of any kind. That man had so much love to give!

[antianakin]

This encapsulates why I think it should've actually been Jacen Syndulla in Sabine's place if they REALLY needed to give Ahsoka a "Padawan" character to play with.

Jacen being very young would hit at her feelings about having been assigned early as a Padawan, especially if he is with her because he ran away from his guardians (whether that's Hera or whether he was staying with Sabine on Lothal at the time maybe, it doesn't really matter), so he has that same sort of impetuous recklessness that she and Anakin both had that gets him into trouble.

Jacen's youth and the fact that he'll never know his father would provide a really good explanation for him doing something as stupid as going along with Baylan just to get Ezra back. Maybe he just wants to connect to the person who everyone talks about like he's Jacen's brother. Maybe he wants to save Ezra because they CAN'T save Kanan and this is the closest he feels he'll ever get to getting his dad back. Maybe he just wants to prove himself to his family because they keep wanting to protect him and keep him safe and won't take him anywhere even remotely dangerous and he gets why, he does, they lost both Kanan and Ezra already, but if he can get Ezra back then maybe they'll finally let him DO things! Maybe he wants to get Ezra back because even though Ahsoka and Luke are theoretically there as options, he's insistent that it has to be Ezra.

Jacen's a blank slate character, we know who his parents are and he has a name, but other than that, he doesn't have a personality already which means he's basically just as good as an original character in this scenario. He needs to be fleshed out in a way Sabine simply does not, and so giving him a fatal flaw to overcome can only ADD to his character rather than taking AWAY from his character the way it did with Sabine.

And of course, Jacen being Kanan's child provides an obvious reason for his Force sensitivity. Even if you went with the idea that he WASN'T Force sensitive, or wasn't SHOWING Force sensitivity, there's more reason for Jacen to either believe that he COULD be Force sensitive or to just be really invested in becoming a Jedi no matter what. It might even be more compelling if he genuinely isn't Force sensitive at all, but he feels like that's the only connection he has to Kanan, the only way he can remember and honor his father he never met, and his arc over the course of the season is to learn to let go of that. He doesn't have to live up to Kanan and Ezra, he doesn't have to BE Kanan and Ezra, he can just be himself, and he doesn't need to be Force sensitive OR a Jedi in order to be worthwhile.

But if you need Ahsoka to have a Force sensitive child, it makes way more sense for Jacen to BE Force sensitive since there's an obvious connection there, and Jacen being a blank slate character means that there's absolutely no proof that he ISN'T Force sensitive in prior media that would make that choice really confusing (unlike Sabine where she's so clearly established as someone who isn't Force sensitive throughout Rebels and so they had to work REALLY REALLY HARD to explain why Ahsoka would ever take her as an apprentice and why Sabine would think this was a reasonable choice to make).

Sabine might not be his actual mother or his primary guardian, but she's somewhere in the realm of being his aunt/older sister and the connection there would clearly be very strong anyway, especially if Hera had dropped Jacen off on Lothal and Sabine was supposed to be looking after him for a while as Hera dealt with some other things on Coruscant or whatever and it's HER that Jacen ends up running away from.

It's not even like we haven't seen a variation of this done really well already with the Kenobi show where Leia is ALSO quite young in comparison to her titular character Jedi master counterpart. So Jacen being young doesn't have to be a reason for why he COULDN'T have fulfilled with this role in the Ahsoka show just fine if they needed a pre-established character with an easily explained connection to Ezra who would be willing to give up everything to save him and who could become Ahsoka's new padawan.

The only reason it had to be Sabine is because Rebels set up that Ahsoka and Sabine were going to go look for Ezra in their epilogue and that story got combined with whatever the original Ahsoka show narrative was going to be, which likely involved some sort of padawan character for Ahsoka to help parallel her relationship with Anakin. So in order for Sabine to remain a main player in the narrative and fit in with the already pre-established set-up from the Rebels epilogue, Sabine got slotted into that role. That was clearly supposed to be Sabine's story and putting someone else into the role of Ahsoka's padawan sidelines Sabine from the story quite a lot.

So even if you do put in Jacen or some other new character in the role of Ahsoka's padawan, you either run into the issue of sidelining Sabine in her own story, or you exacerbate the issue that already existed of there being too many main characters within one narrative which muddied so many things about the show since it was impossible to tell what the story was actually ABOUT or whose story we were meant to be following. The stupid show was a mess and it couldn't have been fixed by just tweaking one or two things. It needed to be wholesale ripped apart into at MINIMUM two separate shows if not three or even four separate shows (Hera's whole prequel to the Sequels narrative about the New Republic didn't belong in The Mandalorian, Ahsoka's narrative, or the Search for Ezra storyline; and if the Mandoverse needed an "Empire Strikes Back"-esque middle part, it should have been its own thing rather than co-opting Ahsoka and Sabine's completely unrelated stories).

The Search for Ezra as a story, and especially the idea of continuing the Rebels story through Sabine rather than through Ezra and shining a spotlight on her in a way that didn't happen very often in Rebels, is a GREAT concept. Whether it was exploring the edges of their known galaxy or going into a whole new galaxy, it opened up a lot of ways to be really creative while telling what could've been a really great parallel story between Ezra's survival and Sabine's search.

Ahsoka dealing with her past and her feelings about Anakin's betrayal was a necessary next step to her story that needed to be told and I was genuinely really intrigued to see how that got handled and how Ahsoka slowly learned to let go of all of her fears and pain and learned to embrace being a Jedi again after so many years. I REALLY wanted to see Ahsoka find her way back to reclaiming that identity after she had given it up and then had it ripped away from her. I wanted to see how Ahsoka taking back her own story was integrated with Ahsoka dealing with her feelings about Anakin's betrayal.

Both of these stories are GREAT on their own and really provide a way to highlight some of the best female characters Star Wars has ever had.

It's too bad what we got ended up being the most Frankenstein'd hackjob I have possibly ever seen that butchered two of the best female characters Star Wars has ever had.

Yknow, a lot of the Sabine characterization problems in ahsoka (having act like an impulsive teenager when she's almost thirty and was never like that even when she was a teenager and had grown out of her negative teenager traits by the end of Rebels) could have been solved if "Sabine" was a different character

And this "not sabine" could have still been connected to Sabine

How

Adopted daughter

Have the role of Sabine in Ahsoka be taken by an adopted child of hers, someone young and impulsive, has heard stories of Ezra Bridger and how much her mother and her adopted family that is the Ghost crew misses him and wants nothing more than to bring him back to make her family complete again, to the point of making several dangerous mistakes

And it also would have fixed the bullshit "sabine has the force now" nonsense