#how about we take this sad man who at his prime was so good...and give him a boyfriend

[allpromarlo]

i'll defend cam newton with my life

[starscreamsleftarm]

We need to talk about Orion Pax’s fat birthing hips in tfone. I bet D-16 was giving him that D in secret because it’s just so damn big and then it only got bigger when he got the matrix of leadership!

Megatron was definitely hate fucking him on the battlefield when everyone is looking, he can’t help it😔

Ooh and I bet you Orion loved it!

Orion waddling around with those fat birthing hips like it’s nobody’s business should be a crime!

D-16 isn’t really listening to what he says, man he doesn’t even care, all he wants is to shove his fat spike into his valve and make him a carrier, maybe they’ll even hive them time off to take care of their young.

Orion can only gasp into his hand as D rocks hard into him, slowly thrusting more roughly and faster, mixing their transfluid like cream. Poor Orion’s nods have never been massaged like this before and it doesn’t help that D’s fat spike just somehow keeps getting bigger!

Orion can’t help but squirt on his best friend, why should he not? He feels so good and full.

D is grabbing his hips, thrusting up into him as he practically shoves the head of his fat spike into Orion’s womb!

Orion snaps out of his overstimulated state and immediately begs his best friend not to overload in him. D is rocking his hips with a glare because how can he pull out now when he’s already there?!

His tip is leaking so much it might as well be an overload and Orion is begging and squirming for D to pull out, he feels so good full and doesn’t want to carry yet! D only pulls out because he heard one of the guards coming, just great now he’ll need to jack off in a room later to finish himself😒

Of course when they ho on that whole trip and everything changes, neither was happy, especially Megatron.

And when they do meet again, they’re fighting and hurting and while Optimus Prime is sad and whiny about fighting his best friend, meanwhile Megatron is trying so hard not to shoot a load into his panel because Optimus’s whiny and even fatter birthing hips have been swaying the entire time!, ‘stupid Prime knows that I’m getting hard and is doing it on purpose!’

Then one day Megatron just has enough and shoves him down mid battle, Prime is on his hands and knees, ready to kick Megatron in the stomach but instead his memory back up kicks in and his panel pops open.

Megatron with the biggest smirk you’ll ever see, shoves into his valve like it was any other Thursday and starts thrusting into him like a wild mech in heat! Everyone has either stopped to watch or is looking away in shame.

Ohhh but it only makes it better because it wasn’t only Megatron’s frame that grew bigger and Optimus can feel that! Megatron’s spike is right in his womb, he hasn’t even pushed in all the way! It feels so good, too good to notice the stares and the gasps. He’s whining for Megatron to pull out but he just keeps thrusting, massaging all his neglected nods.

Megatron is gasping out that he’s won! Declaring that they’re precious Prime doesn’t stand a chance against him!

Optimus is overstimulated and pumped to the brim with transfluid by the time Megatron is done.

Poor OP is so full and thinks it’s finally finished when Meg just holds him up and open for everyone to see and thrusts back into him, rubbing his belly and kissing his neck while massaging his hips because Meg has been waiting for the day he would finally full him up.

Who knows, the war stops entirely because OP ended up pregnant and now has to take care of him!

Maybe OP is asking Megatron to put in another one😏

[thereadingaddic7]

It's a bit of a funny and sad mix, how much of a Lohrak around Dume's neck the Vahki are. Certainly Dume is meant to be flawed as a Turaga, a somewhat suspicious character and cranky old man who think Matoran these days need to learn to respect their elders, but ultimately he's a good guy who'd give his life for the cause while spitting in the face of whatever killed him (see him telling Vezok, Avak and Reidak to go do something anatomically improbable when they try to extort him with a Kanohi Dragon). And given how important Metru Nui is, and how dangerous the outside world was, yeah Metru Nui does need some sort of standing army/police force to ensure that shit like the Barraki rebellion or the Matoran Civil War doesn't threaten to kill Mata Nui and doom the MU to drift endlessly through space, but holy shit the Vahki are so insanely bad at it, it's hard to think he'd sign off on it.

As an army they're pretty okay, they're very mobile with two modes of walking and one flight mode, their equipment is also extremely good offensively (mind control, seeing through your targets eyes, you hurt yourself in your confusion, etc), as well as a Kanoka disc launcher for more direct combat, and they're smart enough to think tactically, all without risking any Matoran/Toa/Turaga in combat (and that's without getting into the elite versions). But for Police work... well, they're okay for a Police State where you don't have to give a shit about what your citizenry thinks, their borderline psychotic nature means they're very effective at terrorizing a population into compliance even before bringing in the Brain Hacking they can do, and they are supposed to be the Police for Makuta!Dume's Police State...

They just also happened to be the Police for Regular!Dume's (Police(?)) State, which is a really bad look for someone who's supposed to be Not Actually A Villain. Based on what we see of them, the Kralhi that preceded the Vahki were probably much better at police duties (given that after being driven out of the city by Matoran who tried to "shut them down" they were totally willing to aid and protect Mavrah without issue they clearly don't share the Vahki's abusive nature) without having to take a number of Matoran away from work to do the police work instead (and thus potentially imperil Mata Nui and the MU as a whole by having them not do the necessary work in his brain). If the issue with them was that they left Matoran too weak to do their job after being policed, then maybe all the Kralhi needed was an equipment overhaul rather than being completely scrapped?

I don't know, Dume is meant to be Flawed but Good, but historically he's just made such a baffling decision with the Metru Nui's police forces, spurred on largely I think by Out-Of-Universe needs than because it made sense in-universe, he kind of ended up accidentally being the BIONICLE equivalent of Sentinel Prime, but because it mostly happened off screen it's easy enough for the story to sweep that under the rug. A lore hungry fandom on the other hand is not so easy to shake and I'm left trying to come up with a reason why he'd agree to the Vahki beyond the incredibly unsatisfying "he doesn't really care about the Matoran" or "he didn't think it through" and variants thereof answers.

[thenightshadowqueen]

Livestream Watchthrough Thoughts (14-12-2024)

I loved this stream! It was a lot of fun, despite the heckler (they made some great jokes out of it, but it’s still a shitty thing to do), and… Yeah, I don’t have much else to say before I start my thoughts, other than I made a new tag for my watchthrough thoughts, because I’ll probably be making these again. They’re really fun to make, and it seems like there are some people who enjoy reading them, too, so it all works out quite well.

The audio is great!!!

“Lovely little Luke Manning” I love that this is a new thing Sam seems to be doing

Tom has his head in his hands a minute in… this is going to be a good show

Honestly, just settling in and listening to Sam’s intro is so comforting (can you tell my autism likes repetition?)

“I’m taking the joke about German train stations out of my head, because Tom doesn’t want everyone to hate me” this intro has had some edgier jokes and I’m here for it

Callback to the Prime Minister’s First Day!

“I almost understand everything you say!” He said it so earnestly

I know it’s a different tunnel, but… Cliff, is that you?

AJ inserting what’s meant to be a one-off atmosphere-setting singsong and then Sam making him change it over and over is peak SFTH

We made it all the way through munchkin land with Luke without a short joke—amazing!

“Your performance” okay fuck this guy (slight overreaction? …No.)

(They are doing a really good job of handling the heckler, though)

I love the new format of Letters!!!

“Jonathan Rolex” I genuinely have no idea if this is a real person involved with creating Rolex watches (I assume not, but I do not know anything about this sort of thing, so I could be wrong)

“How fucking dare you” Luke is amazing at picking tones of voice; he sounds so politely offended and it’s great

Ooh, we’re breaking the… It’s not really the fourth wall, but kind of?

“You’re. In. …Words.” I love AJ

“Yay!” That was so sweet; Tom is amazing

I love when they do this accent (I’m not sure what part of the UK it’s from and now I fear I’m living up to American stereotypes (I swear I used to know, but I’m exhausted and it’s been a minute since I looked it up))

“Shut the FUCK UP!” Fuck yeah Sam and AJ!

Also Sam indirectly calling the heckler an ass is iconic

“For a wise man, you’ve got to work on your mime” I love it when they insult each other (look insults are a love language, okay, and I like seeing people have friends)

“Tell me a little bit about gold, then” I love that AJ took not knowing what frankincense was (which I assume was genuine, although it could have just been a bit) and turned it into a running joke with the gold

This is so confused and I love it

“I’m Frank; it’s my incense” we can always rely on Tom for wordplay

“Then I put down the hammer” fucking plot twist, Luke, good god

“Cheryl is now…” “Knocked out.” Honestly, I thought they were going to go for ‘dead’, so it’s better than it could have been

“This is becoming a regular occurrence” Tom???

“Is this a robbery, Aaron? Are you robbing the company?” “Only if you force me to get the gun out of my pocket.” This show is gold

“You also have another gun, which is clearly in your belt” I really thought that we were going… somewhere else with that

I’m the tiniest bit sad we didn’t get two lesbians (but obviously I’m also very happy with the scene we got)

Honestly ‘in the round’ is a hilarious suggestion

“I don’t know how to cry. My childhood was bad.” Sam

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Wes Anderson film, but their impressions are always top tier

Luke desperately trying to get Sam to actually understand the Spanish and Sam just failing is amazing

“Get yourself... a drug problem” SAM

Is it a SFTH show if Sam doesn’t unbutton his shirt?

“Calm down” Sam is amazing

“I think I’m going to give Luke the most appropriate book that I've ever given him...” “I Want that Twink Obliterated” oh my god (also, like... I can’t believe that’s a real book) (I absolutely can)

“Pretty sure that's the title of one of our fanfictions” well I’m sure it’s going to be now (also I know they know about the fandom and fandom activities but it still kills me whenever they talk about it)

“Will you please stop trying to have a conversation?” I love that Luke and AJ are just messing up the way the game is meant to work

“Chapter fourteen.” “How did you know we're filing for bankruptcy?” Tom that was an amazing save

This was actually surprisingly wholesome considering the title of Luke's book

The five seconds of pure holding-back-laughter staring between Sam and AJ at ‘egg’

Sam

“I’m going to fuck you up, sun” as a person whose chronic illness gets worse in heat, I don’t think Tom has ever said a more relatable thing

“Well, aren’t we standing in two bland positions” Tom is great

“Here we are. The two men in the world with the longest penises, touching tips.” Well that escalated quickly

I know snake eyes is a dice thing, but... Snakehips?

“Calm down” pt. 2; I love Sam (although I do hope it doesn’t actually bother him)

“If you kiss me now” being interrupted by a kiss is brilliant timing

Also AJ’s still wearing the bracelet ❤️

Fucking hell, Sam (him just grabbing Luke unprompted like that caught me so off guard)

“I’m putting this in a museum” Tom???????

“Now, am I saying ‘see it, say it, sort it’ or ‘see it, say it, sorted’?” “Well, based on that poster, I think it's ‘sorted’.” Look, as an American, I am grateful for the clarification (also hi, SNftHitW)

“The next station is Cockfosters.” “That's not on the Metropolitan Line.” I said in my last watchthrough that I love when AJ makes an unimportant mistake and Sam latches on to it, and I stand by that statement. (Also, they mention Cockfosters station a lot; is that a particularly popular stop, or do they just pick it because it has a memorable name?)

“Yes, well, he does make a lot of promises, doesn’t he?” Oooh, drama (and sass)

“Good evening and welcome to Chip Harrington. I’m Chip Harrington—” Is Chip Harrington related to André Beetroot? (Also I love Chip Harrington already)

I realise AJ stumbling over his words is probably an accident, but I feel like it’s important characterisation for Chip

Also is Chip Harrington grown-up Chip from the Cardboard Stegosaurus? (Seems unlikely, but it’s possible)

Luke causing trouble is the best

“Be very scared” wow, what a news reporter

I adore the way AJ just said ‘~metropolitan~’ (and Chip Harrington and André Beetroot are definitely related, because that was almost a Beetrootian accent slip)

Luke as a child does the most adorable, innocent little faces, and it kills me

“Oh, I needed to tell you something...” see now i really want to know what that was

Luke’s abduction technique is… interesting

“I’m going to copy your face” Luke???

“Just because I fucked your wife Cassandra—” plot twist! (“You didn’t know that.”)

“I was going to give you anaesthetic before I did this; now I’m not so sure” Sam taking his cues from the audience’s response and going “kinky” killed me

“I’ve always thought you were a handsome fellow” hello (god damn it, another niche ship to add to the collection)

“These noisy streets” I love Tom’s passive aggressive way of calling out the people talking at the back

“You always say ‘this is Chip Harrington, and I’m Chip Harrington’, but it’s actually called the news?” I love Tom’s character, and I don’t think we got a name for her, but she deserves one

“I’m Chip Harrington” look he may not have any idea how but he’s trying to help

“I thought you were going to say anal” Tom

Okay so Sam’s acting as Luke’s character pretending to be Sam’s character is incredible

Tom’s baffled/disgusted face as he tries to figure out where they are is everything

“I need to be outside at all times” I know this is meant to be a bit character, but I’m genuinely really intrigued by this storyline

I can’t be the only one who feels like Chip and the mum have a bit of chemistry…

AJ messing up his name after saying it a thousand times might be my new favourite thing

I know we talk a lot about AJ’s singing—as we should—but Sam is also really good

“It’s like that, but really much weirder” AJ is amazing

Chip Harrington is the best

This is chaos

Honestly Tom’s character is a great mum

“There’s a man out on my lawn who won’t shut the fuck up” I love Tom

I genuinely think the mum might be the most sane character we’ve ever gotten

“The audience will ~never know~” god damn it, I’ve been entrapped by another play

I love that the Underground Murderer didn’t actually kill anyone

Tom and Sam’s high-pitched-voice bit at the end is amazing

“We’ll never see some of you ever again. Hopefully that motherfucker.” Fuck. Yes. Sam!

I really hate that they had to deal with that heckler (but they did do an amazing job)

[piratefalls]

welcome back to the latest edition of biweekly fic recs! as always, mind the tags, if you can't leave a nice comment don't leave one at all, and happy reading!

masterlist.

There's No Problem That San Diego Can't Solve by @historicallysam

Alex doesn’t even bother knocking; he simply twists the knob on the door and shoves it open. His eyes narrow as the door bangs against the wall and he sees Henry on the phone. Maybe (definitely) it’s rude but his blood is fucking boiling so he doesn’t really care.

All the Ocean was Sleeping by @sparklepocalypse

The worst part about being a siren in the modern era, Henry ponders as yet another ship flies past his cove at a speed that he knows will disturb the anemone gardens below, is the yacht bros. Between the sound of their vessels’ motors and the dissonant noise the humans call music, Henry’s singing has no chance of attracting anyone’s attention.

cause you're a classic, and i'm reckless by @firenati0n

“I've, actually, uh. I've never done this before.” At this, Henry stops short, takes a second as his gaze moves up and to the left, trying to recall something. “I've seen your films. You most certainly have done intimate scenes.” Alex clears his throat. He hopes his nerves aren't completely obvious, the slight waver in his voice about to give him away. “Yeah, well. Never with a man, so. Not at this scale, anyway.” “Would it help to, er, practice?" Henry winces a little as he says it, which does not inspire confidence. But Alex is shocked nonetheless. What the fuck?

Over Land and Sea by SatinBirds

Alex and Henry come from very different worlds, and still, they manage to find each other.

Clean Slate by smc_27

“Henry.” Pez comes over, puts both hands on Henry’s cheeks and looks him dead in the eye. “You are not a sad man who’s gotten dumped. You’re in the prime of your life, and I quite desperately need you to act like it.” “The prime of my life,” Henry scoffs, more incredulous than questioning. “I’ve just gotten out of a 15 year relationship, endured a divorce, am suffering an almost impressive case of writer’s block, and your hands are like bloody icicles.” Pez grins, doesn’t take his hands away. “Explain to me how this is my prime. Please.” Pez tilts his head, and sounds entirely serious when he says, “Literally anything can happen from here.”

in bloom by stutteringpeach

Yoo, can u hook me up with some flowers?? It's the busiest day of the year for florists. Alex texts Henry with a last minute request.

here is a map (with your name for a capital) by @alasse9

That day at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, Alex comes across the very same Prince Henry who just dismissed him having a panic attack in a bathroom. The choice Alex makes then has ripple effects neither of them could have ever expected. What's the story like, when they actually are friends all along? “So, you’re going back to England tonight, and you’ll spend the next three days pretending you two are the closest and best of friends until we can put this mess behind us.” And there are reasons he hasn’t told anybody this, good reasons, even though he’s sure June and Nora saw through him ages ago. Faced with his mom’s disappointment, though, and with the realization that the entire world apparently thinks he hates Henry and would willingly shove him into a fucking cake, he can’t stay quiet. “But we are friends,” he says, vehement and serious. “We have been for years. He’s—he’s probably my best friend, actually, along with Nora.”

thoughts of you consume by yrsonpurpose

Henry sees Alex appear on the red carpet in a blue suit that screams sex on legs and is ready to throw away all attempts at concealing their secret relationship in the name of dropping to his knees at the first available opportunity.

eyes on me by matherine

Alex’s hips buck back against Henry’s mouth the moment his tongue does more than tease, and Henry squeezes his hip in gentle consternation. But before he can say anything, Alex is already rambling. “Sorry, I’m — I’m sorry, I know you said not to move, and I’m trying, I — I’m trying to be good, I promise,” he blurts, voice shaking ever so slightly from something that certainly doesn’t sound like pleasure, resolutely refusing to turn his head so that he can meet Henry’s gaze from where he’s positioned behind him. Henry’s heart aches. “Alex — love, it’s alright. Where’s your mind?” Or: Sometimes, Alex needs a distraction. Something to take the edge off, to scrub away at the stress of the day. Some days, it works better than others. 

the evolution of intimacy by Poutini

There’s no spontaneity anymore. One might think this boring. That the novelty had worn off. The spark snuffed. Absolutely not

Want Me by OrchidScript

Henry had always been weak for a nice smile, but his was impossible to ignore. Blame it on summer heat and a fresh flush in his cheeks. Blame it on sunset painting the outdoor bar sweltering, romantic colors. Blame it on two healthy glasses of albariño thrumming in his bloodstream, or the good music floating on the air. Henry could blame it on anything liked if he thought long and hard about it, but that didn’t change much at the end. The core remained the same: he had been gone from the jump. -- Henry and Alex hook up on a vacation in Spain. Henry falls a bit deeper.

fill my lungs with sweetness by @priincebutt

Henry George Edward James Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor wakes up at 3 AM on his birthday to an empty bed. What could Alex possibly be getting up to at 3 AM the night before his birthday? The possibilities are endless.

got myself in quite a tangle by coffeecatsme

"It seems I've gotten myself in quite a tangle." "Tangle?" Henry's voice is hoarse, eyes darkened as they travel over Alex's body. They stop at his crotch, and Alex can see it even under the dim lights—Henry's growing hard too, a visible bulge pushing at his sweatpants. Alex's cock gives a desperate twitch. "Y'know, I was trying to put them around the tree," he starts, gesturing at the plain tree at the corner. It's clear he didn't even attempt to touch it. "And somehow I've managed to completely trap myself. Can't even move my hands." Henry makes a desperate noise at the back of his throat as his eyes snap up to Alex's face. Alex flashes him a suggestive grin, teeth biting down on his lip. "Seems I'm completely at your mercy."

The Forces of Chance and Coincidences by @stellarm

Bad weather leads to a late flight that leads to no one being where they wanted to be, but maybe everyone was where they needed to be.

I've never felt safer (than when I'm with you) by viciouslyqueer

Alex takes the bag and opens it slowly, careful not to rip it, and gasps quietly as he sees what’s inside. “H, you didn’t…” Strong arms wrap around his waist from behind, Henry’s chest warm against his back. “Do you like it?” Henry asks in a whisper, resting his chin on Alex’s shoulder. Alex doesn’t know what to say. Gingerly, like he might ruin it with even the smallest touch, he takes out the silky fabric and holds it up in front of them. It’s a gorgeous dress, fancy too, in a deep red color with thin straps and an open back. It’s long, almost touching the floor even as Alex holds it up and has a slit on the left side that would probably end a little above Alex’s knee.

An Amateur's Guide to Professional Gift-Giving by anincompletelist

Alex, a former-law-student-taking-some-time-off turned professional part-time gift giver, is tasked with finding a gift for the most high profile client he's ever worked with, both in and out of the world of law. It turns out finding the perfect gift for the Prince of Wales might be easier than he'd anticipated.

Love At First Bark by everwitch

“I still don’t know your name, do I?” Henry watches Alex where he’s crouched down in front of David and gently scratching David below his chin. David absolutely loves Alex. Henry can relate. “It’s David,” Henry supplies. “Cool,” Alex says. “And what’s the dog’s name?” Henry blinks at him. “... David?” “What?” Alex exclaims. He looks from David to Henry and then back at David again. “Wow, okay, that is a choice.” Henry wants to sink through the earth and never come back up again.

don't let me get drunk again by headabovethewater

Alex had never wanted to cancel plans as much as he had while watching Henry pull a pair of light wash, tight jeans over his stockinged legs and bare ass. Christ, he’s getting hard thinking about it now.

The Beginner's Guide to Floristry by clottedcreamfudge

As if there's anything romantic about it; as if it's not the most humiliating death Alex can imagine. This is why he doesn't do relationships. This is why he never will. The risk, as far as he fucking sees it, is too great. -- Hanahaki Disease is a fictional disease where the victim of unrequited or one-sided love begins to vomit or cough up the petals and flowers of a flowering plant growing in their lungs, which will eventually grow large enough to render breathing impossible.

Everything you take, you make it better. So go on, take forever by @hgejfmw-hgejhsf

It's 2024, and nobody knows they're engaged. But they will, just as soon as Alex can decide what to wear to his birthday dinner. Henry has an idea and a special gift to match.

false pretenses by rizcriz

Henry spins around, glaring at Alex. “For christs sake,” He hisses, holding a hand out between them. “Can we just not? I do not have the capacity to pretend to hate you today.” Alex splutters as Henry turns on his heel and starts to walk away. He stares after him helplessly. “Pretend?” After a beat, he starts to follow after him, “What the fuck do you mean pretend?” Three years of breathing down each others necks, fighting every time they come in contact with each other. And if Henry is saying every single thing on his end has been pretend, Alex Claremont-Diaz is going to have a fucking breakdown. Because he has been harboring this stupid fucking crush and burying it beneath false antagonism, meeting Henry where he’s at, for three years, and if Henry is implying that they’re both faking it— -- or, Alex learns better.

turn the desert to glass (you would be the one) by @taste-thewaste

Henry and Alex's domestic bliss has lead to some changes in Henry's body. Henry doesn't really mind being a little chubby, but he wonders if Alex does. Alex, it turns out, does not. Not one bit. He does not mind one bit, and he is more than eager to prove it.

coming on fast like good dreams do by cricketnationrise

When Henry recovers from his unexpected factory reset, he still can’t really breathe properly and somehow Alex is still standing in front of him with a hopeful and excited expression on his face. “Run that by me again?” he asks faintly. “I need your help.” “Right…” “I need you to edge me. Like a lot,” Alex says with a shrug. Nope, it’s not any clearer a second time around.

as always, let me know if you want to be tagged in future lists, whether you're a reader or writer!

tagging @starkfridays @stilesgivesmefeels @midnightsfp @sarahjswift @enablelove

[devilart2199-aibi]

IDW collection reading update! :D 📖 (Fixed!)

Phase 2 volume 4 done! This volume included: Monstrosity, RID issues 12-18 and MTMTE issues 14-16!

I ended up reading all the way to Phase 2 volume 6 before finishing this update so my notes are a bit scattered! Anyway! As usual my thoughts are below :3 ⤵️

Monstrosity:

This story is set in the past, when Optimus has assumed leadership on Cybertron after the senate and pervious primes were killed.

This story is, I dunno... For some reason I can't really get into these?? It feels... edgy?? Idk, I feel like that's not the best way to describe it. But there's something about the vibe with these ones in the past (like Autocracy and this one).

Of course everyone is becoming the characters we know since this is in the past. So there is going to be a lot of fumbling and growing from them and things that seem out of character. But given their situation at the time, i can't be super harsh on odd decisions.

They have to deal with the senate and their corruption, as well as that from the previous primes, the Decepticons uprising and wanting to take over, Cybertron running out of resources aaaaand I feel like something else I can't remember rn 🤔 but a lot is going on!! Haha.

There is a scene that references the OG animated movie where they toss Megatron out of Astrotrain and he goes "I still function...!" Which was a pretty cool homage tho.

But this kinda felt like a whole way to just show how badass Megs is meanwhile Optimus is going through it on Cybertron 😂 It was entertaining and interesting at parts, but some things I was 'eh' about

RID: 12-16:

Before i go on, I'm sorry, but... this Megs panel is giving me the same energy as that little alien guy that was in the news months ago 🤣 Now actually⤵️

Megatron returns!! This story was very entertaining!! I feel like I can usually guess where something is going, but I was surprised by a lot of the twists here! There was so many!

The character deaths had me shook! 😭 Wheeljack ahhhh!!! Metalhawk!! Also everything with Prowl and the Constructions! O_O;

I'm sorry Prowl 😔 I was pretty surprised when they started killing off the Decepticons at first, but then went: "Well, I guess he's being super ruthless now" I couldn't see you were brainwashed!! 😭🗿To my defense, him teaming up with Arcee and given Arcee's record, it kinda seemed like the natural progression of things lol 💀

Two things I kinda have mixed feelings about tho are:

1. Arcee just casually being part of the Decepticon gang and no one questioning her being there?? She then easily kills the guy controlling Devastator and that was like... Megatron's big plan. Why didn't she do it sooner? I imagine it was to draw out Meg's, but still it seemed weird.

2. Starscream killing Metalhawk after Metalhawk came to save Starscream. It's in his character and everything, and I'm happy that he did it bc it shows who he is. But OOF I thought he was leaning a different way for a bit and that I had Starscream wrong, But no, he's greedy boy. (I was starting to like Metalhawk T_T)

Anyway! Good guy Swindle!! 🥹

MTMTE 14-16:

💀💀💀💀💀 BIG SAD. But!!! It was a super interesting story!! I really enjoyed learning about Overlord and Chromedome.

Chromedome becoming Trepan's apprentice in the past was crazy!! :O And the whole scene with him and Prowl in Prowl's office. When Prowl asks/threatens Chromedome to go into Overlord's mind 😙👌 *chef's kiss* GET 'EM CHROMEDOME!! 💪👊🔪

The whole thing about how the Phase Sixers are made was very interesting too!! This frame ⤵️ Meg's saying this made me lmao 😂 I can now see the thing between him and Overlord better now.

As for Overlord getting out and obliterating some of the crew... ughhhhh 😭😭😭 Pipes man!! Ratchet protecting the medibay was awesome. Best doctor 🚑😌

I was shocked during the fight with Overlord that Magnus got so injured!! I've read ahead already, but I was sweating it, I thought he was gonna die too 😭😭 Overlord goes right for your spark man 💀

Luckily they got Overlord back to his containment cell, but- 😭😭😭😭 LITTLE MAN 😭😭😭 Why'd he have to hop in there to get the sword??? OTL

Then Chromedome blowing it up once the cell disengaged from the ship 😭 It was a perfectly painful sequence! 👏

When I saw the scene with Whirl and the cannon/ blaster shooting asteroids, I knew it would come around 😔

Also!! Learning that Chromedome has had other deep connections with bots (idk if Brainstorm meant Conjunx' specifically) and given them his innermost energon before and that's why he's dry!! Excuse me as I sob 🤧🤧🤧🤧😭😭😭😭 and then he makes himself forget!!! UGHH OTL My heart man!

The tape that Rewind made too!! 😭🤧

Drift taking one for the team too by getting banished 😔 he's a real one. Also pls come back.

RID 17-18:

We got more Shockwave lore here and I'm a big Shockwave enjoyer so I was very happy!! More heartache of course tho 😢

Him pitching/making the Jhiaxian academy of advanced technology is huge. Then all the experiments he did once he was turned purple 💀💀💀

Him going to Dai Atlas and injuring him before the attack on the senate so that he would escape death was a cool surprise. He's still in there ;_; ahhhh.

There is another story that happens in current time where Bee gets turned into Goldbug, but I think he's called "Goldfire" here? 🤔 He really got injured during the whole thing with Meg's so they had to fix him up with pieces of his old earth form.

It was cool to see included in the story :3

Final Random Thoughts:

This volume had a bunch of great stories in it! And I learned quite a bit about characters I like!

Though it was sad, I'd say my favorite story was the mtmte one with Overlord (The Overlord arc?). The art is always fantastic and so is the story!

I look forward to reading more and I'll be making another reading update very soon since I'm already on volume 6!

I didn't want to lump them all together bc I like using images as the story breaks and Tumblr only let's you use 10 per post 😔 Also... I ramble quite a lot haha, so 3 volumes worth would definitely be too much! 😂

Anyway! See you next time! 👋

[meteorstricken]

"But why didn't Jill go to Origin?"

In order to understand this, you need to keep FFXVI's themes of duty and atonement in mind. The reason Dion felt compelled to show back up and offer his aid as Bahamut was because it was his means of atoning for what transpired in Twinside, and it was very much framed as a *suicide mission*. He had promised Joshua his aid once matters with Annabella and Olivier were resolved, but with how poorly that all worked out, he clearly comes to view laying down his life as his duty.

However, Jill had already accomplished this part of her arc. She returned to Mt. Drustanus and killed Imreann--the one who coerced her into acting as a killing machine for a time, much like Ultima coerced Dion to lay waste to Twinside. Joshua, Dion, and Clive are the three characters who've been uniquely manipulated by Ultima. Jill was never possessed or puppeteered or primed out of control by Ultima--again, for her, that villain was Imreann.

As for Clive and Joshua, there's plainly a unique matter of duty. They're built up as the only two characters who've acquired the power (Clive) and will (Joshua) necessary to take down a god, and so they must. It has to be them, at the least.

Meanwhile, Jill has made peace with herself by the time Origin pops. Jill has done her duty and atoned. Had she gone to Origin, she might have gotten a few cool lines and a couple of hits in, and then Ultima would have very likely killed her, as he seems to have with Dion.

And for what? To help protect Clive and/or Joshua once more? Wouldn't we be having a sad conversation about yet another female character made to give her life for a man then? Isn't it a good thing that Shiva's Dominant didn't fall into that benighted "women in fridges" trope? Is it not enough, given the ambiguity of the ending, that the major female character is the *only one* who definitely survived?

I think it's wonderful that Jill is such a beloved character and that fans want to see more of her, but I think we need to keep in mind that our desire to see more of a character than we did doesn't automatically translate into evidence of their having been poorly treated.

(PS: You want to see a real case of a fridged character? Look no further than Benedikta. The only thing that makes it somewhat forgivable in this case is that I can point to male characters who eventually suffered the same, but the fact that she went first, was revealed to have a complicated past in retrospect only, and was primarily framed as a "shrieking harpy" raises a critical eyebrow for me.)

[sturnstvs]

the smallest man who ever lived - matt sturniolo

warnings: super sad, no happy ending, toxic matt, mentions of drugs

summary: in which being best friends with benefits doesn't turn out they way either of you would have expected

note: also quick thing I don't know if im doing the song justice I hope you like it. this is just my take on it. also I'm bad at grammer and spelling so sorry about that

bold - lyrics

matt x reader.

was any of it true? gazing at me starry-eyed

you wernt sure when It happened. deep down you knew this would ruin you but you still went with it. you wondered if the words he muttered and they way he looked at you was real. you knew it wasn't real but you also knew you couldn't get enough

in your jehovah's witness suit

matt dressed well. everyone who came in contact with him knew that. he had a style that was like no other. even when it was lying on the floor of your room. he cared what people thought of him sometimes but being in the influencer industry he couldn't

who the fuck was that guy?

you didn't recognize him sometimes, it was like he had different personality's for different people. or maybe just everyone else and then you. one time you were at a party for some influencer and nick had invited you, being their best friend and all you accepted their invite. you being who you are didn't go to party's often especially with the boys. so when you saw matt in his natural party state lets just say it more then shocked you.

he was all over girls. dabbing people up like he was best friends with everyone there. maybe he was, you didn't know. you vividly remember you asking nick where matt got all this random confidence from. nick just brushed it off saying matt was just being himself, however to you, you couldn't recognize him.

you tried to buy some pills from a friend of friends of mine

it came back to you one day from some people that you knew that sold drugs, that matt had tried to buy something to calm his nerves. apparently he asked one of his friends not knowing you were also friends with some of them. you knew he was having some trouble however you didn't think that it had come this far.

they just ghosted you

they didnt give a reply back to matt after you told them about what had more then likely been happening. it probly wasnt your place but you did care about him and you didn't want him to spiral.

now you know what it feels like

the first time matt ghosted you, you kept wondering what you did wrong. when you confronted matt about it he shrugged it off as it was nothing. making it up to you in the only way he knew how. sex. you thought he wouldn't ghost you again but you were wrong. at this point you were used to it. he was probably balls deep into another girl for all you know. when matt came to you after he couldn't get the pills you couldn't help but feel no remorse. you had been ghosted before and it didn't feel good, and now he knew what it felt like.

and I don't even want you back I just want to know

reflecting back on what you once had was always a challenge. it brought up painful memories. he had fucked up once again and it was your last straw, you were done. a few months later though you had to go back you couldn't resist

if rusting my sparkling summer was the goal

your summer was great. hanging out with your best firends when they were in their glimmering prime. hell you where even talking to a guy. you decided that summer you were going to start taking care of yourself more. you where having the time of your life. however when you and matt slept together for the first time that summer it was like it became something bigger. something that you couldn't get enough from.

and I don't miss what we had

you knew you shouldn't. you knew you where going to regret it but you couldn't help it. his touch was mesmerizing. he made you feel safe and welcome. but at the same time when you guys were away from each other you didn't miss him. you didn't miss him completely ignoring you after the amazing sex you had the night prior.

but could someone give a message to the smallest man who ever lived

when nick and chris found out that you wouldn't be around for a while they where beyond confused. they didn't think any of them had done anything wrong. but after all you said was "ask your brother" and hung up the phone they knew he had done something to fuck it up.

they didn't know. they didn't know you to were hoking up, all they knew was you were best friends. they yelled at matt telling him how fucked up whatever he did to you was, it was like your words were the ones shooting daggers in to his heart. but it wasn't you, it was your message.

you hung me on your wall stabbed me with your push pins

when matt hooked up with other girls you hated to say it but it hurt. it hurt like hell because you knew that one of those girls could eventually be his, even if the sex sucked. with you the sex was great, but that's all it was.

in public showed me off

in public weather it be a party or just simply around his brothers he acted like you guys where strictly friends. you knew deep down you weren't, but that also didn't mean he felt the same

then sank in stoned oblivion

when you to weren't having sex though and were alone, he acted like you weren't there. like you meant nothing to him but then when you came home with a mark on your neck he would ask where you got it from and that only he could mark you like that.

cause once your queen had come

he found is dream girl. you knew it was never going to be you, even though you wished it was. they clicked so well, like they were matches in the missing puzzle of life

you'd treat her like an also-ran

you found out the hard way he treated her like he did with you, just as her girlfriend. which in terms was way worse. you felt bad for her but at the same time, it was matt. this shit always happens with people like him

you didn't measure up in any measure of a man

matt wasn't a man. he wasn't a gentleman you would see in disney movies. he was fully grown and had the appearance of one, but he just wasn't actually one. he treated girls like they were a piece of gum. he was still in his douche bag phase

he kept repeating the same cycle with you over and over again. it was never ending.

you guys hooked up, he treated you like shit after, said you where friends to everyone, fucked something up with you, you would say you where done telling his brothers you wouldn't be over, and they would yell the same shit to him once again. he still however didn't seem to take the message to change.

you hated to say it but you wanted more, you wanted to be something to him but all your friends told you, you were crazy and you knew they were right. he wasn't going to change.

were you sent by someone who wanted me dead?

you always wondered if the world was against you. nothing seemed to go right in the endless void that was your life. you knew you had enemies. being attractive your whole life, getting guys peple wanted you knew you might have had enemies especially being friends with so many influences, so when matt started acting this way towards you, you thought maybe this was a clap back from someone who hated you.

did you sleep with a gun underneath our bed?

everytime you guys finished and you fell back to bed he seemed tense like their was a monster hiden under the bed.

were you writing a book?

you always wondered why you fell into this situation. it was something that you would read in a book. you never thought that you would live it. was this research for him. was it a book?

were you a sleeper cell spy?

was he doing this because it was his job? there was no way, the matt that you grew up with would ever do this to you but here he was doing this to you.

in 50 years will all this be declassifed?

you often wondered if he would ever tell you why he was doing this to you but you soon found out that it wouldn't be for years if he ever did say something.

and you'll confess why you did it

he finally told you after about the sixth time of the back and forth that he did it for you because he loved you and he didn't want what the fans would say to ruin that.

and I'll say "good riddance"

when he finally told you this you where happy, he finally told you the one thing that had been hanging over your shoulders. but you weren't happy with the way he planned it out.

cause it wasn't sexy once it wasn't forbidden

you could see it in his eyes, though you knew that he was still worried. a relationship wasn't seen in the near future and you both knew that. once he had confessed why he did what he did, it didn't make you immediately awe at him like he thought it would. he hurt you deeply and he was paying for it. and he was an idiot for thinking it would end well.

i would've died for your sins instead I just died inside

if you where to ask younger y/n if she would take the heat for matt she would've instantly said yes but if you were to ask present day y/n she would say "no he hurt me to much" her heart died with all the love she had for matt stored in it as well.

and you deserve prison but you wont get time

she thought after what he did he should be locked up for all the damage she knew he caused on her heart. unfortunately for her, however you don't go to prison for emotionally hurting someone.

you'll slide into inboxes and slip though the bars

he tried so hard to contact y/n once she ran out of his house that night but it was no use, she just left him on read. he even tired going to her house but she wouldn't answer

you crashed my party and your rental car

you had a party after your argument with matt wanting to let off some steam. nick and chris were invited but their brother was not. he was the reason you had this party, he was the reason you had changed. somehow (probably from his brothers or social media) he found out about the party and came to try and apologize but you wouldn't accept it. he left extremely annoyed at himself for causing you the pain that he did. he ended up crashing the car that he rented while his was in the shop, on the way home. and when you heard about it the next morning you just said it was karma

you said normal girls were "boring"

he always told you when you guys would have sex that you were very adventurous with the things you did. other girls before you weren't as exciting as you were.

but you were gone by the morning

he would leave instantly early the next morning. going from your house to his before his brothers woke up. leaving extremely late at night and in the early hours in the morning, he would always tell you that he did it so you wouldn't get caught but you were never 100% sure that was the reason.

you kicked out the stage lights but you're still preforming

he dropped the act he pulled when you were sleeping together but he was still trying to get you back even though that was the last thing you wanted.

and in plain sight you hid

it was hard to show his face after what he did to you but he had to put on a brave fake smile to the camera for his job. but you could tell he was trying to hide the shame he brought upon you.

but you are what you did

you could never forgive him for the pain he caused you. he wounded you so deep you had to cut off your childhood best friends because it was too much to even look at him. every time you did look at him you were just reminded of the heartbreak.

and I'll forget you but I'll never forgive

you moved on as soon as you felt ready enough to. even though it took a while to heal after the cut matt had dug deep in your chest, you were eventually able to move on. a year later you saw him again and you made eye contact, but you turned away quickly walking up to your boyfriend. you could never forgive the man that hurt you, while also hurting himself in the process.

the smallest man who ever lived.

note: some parts in here might be a little confusing and I'm so sorry about that. like taylor i dont know what you mean by some of these lyrics.

sorry this might be bad. I'm not great at writing.

make sure you check out my other one shots and my delilah series!

requests are open! so feel free to send me some! just make sure to look at my restrictions

[phoenixyfriend]

Entry of the Gladiators 6

Chapter 6: A Hutt in One

Murder, battle plans, and a dash of family bonding

The five stations are in an interesting part of the galaxy, which is ironically on the secret path to Kamino. It’s also only a few sectors away from Hutt Space.

Their army is not good. However, with Anakin and the clones at the helm, and Ben giving directions from Bruklinn, they do have enough manpower to first take over the criminal underworlds of the other stations, and then… well…

There is currently a giant, blown-up copy of a news headline declaring the death of Gardulla projected onto the presentation wall for a reason. Unidentified forces took out the ship carrying her and her entire retinue on a trip from Nar Shaddaa to Tatooine.

On a totally unrelated note, Shmi’s been helping direct several dozen slaves who are not entirely ready to believe they are now free.

“Well, now, I can’t say that I’m sad that they’re dead,” Ben hedges, “especially because we are not connected to the Republic, and so we do not need to worry about starting a war and all such things. However… Anakin is disturbingly cheerful about this, wouldn’t you say?”

Rex snorts. “He was a Hutt slave.”

“Well, yes, but—”

“I’d have killed Nala Se, if I thought I could get away with it,” Rex tells him drily. “Maybe Lama Su. Was tempted to take out Prime himself, some days.”

Ben grimaces. “I understand that. Unfortunately, this is not about the moral legitimacy of such a death, as such, but rather, how such emotions and actions impact our own relations with the Force.”

Cody makes a noise that is not a laugh, per se, but only because he’s very good at hiding it. Ben wants to call him out on it. He does not.

“He’s almost here, by the way,” Cody says.

Yes. Ben can very well feel that. Anakin’s flaring in the Force, and not in a particularly stable way.

Ben is worried.

The door opens, not quite slamming, but with the aplomb that Anakin cultivated as the Hero with No Fear. The man himself strides in with a manic grin and extensive char on his armor. There is also rather more blood than Ben is happy to see. It is clearly not Anakin’s, so at least there’s that, but still.

“Hello, Master!”

 Ben feels a headache coming on. “What did you do?”

“I’m insulted,” Anakin says, grin twitching in a way Ben is very unhappy about. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“The blood, Anakin.”

“It’s not mine.”

“Given that it’s blue, I’d guessed as much,” Ben says. “What happened?”

Anakin shrugs. “Don’t worry about it.”

“That just makes me worry more.”

“Pirates, fire, and a few dozen freed slaves,” Anakin says. “That’s all you need to know.”

Is it, though?

“You need a mind-healer,” Ben tells him.

“Pot, meet kettle.”

(Continue on AO3)

[mychlapci]

Episode 8 - Con Job

Interesting, Miko mentions chores. Do you think Optimus has a chore chart? It’d be really funny if they did. What do chores even constitute on a disused American nuclear bunker?

Hello Wheeljack. 

I thought Optimus said, “Wheeljack, I know him by reputation only.” And I was like, oh hey he/they Wheeljack. 

Arcee ships them. She’s like “Who’s the boyfriend?” 

Hey do they ever bring up the fact that Soundwave can apparently just make clones of people using vehicons? Like what the fuck? I’ve never seen this brought up in anything. 

Ngl, I’m not sure how I feel about Wheeljack’s voice. Like it’s a damn good voice, I just don’t think of it as Wheeljack. 

WHY DID THEY GIVE HIM SWORDS?!

His fuckin helm spike thing is so goofy. 

Oh it’s so fucking cute how Bulkhead just scoops him up and nuzzles his helm into his chest. <3

I think they should’ve put Prowl in the ship with Wheeljack, as a treat for me specifically. 

Okay so the con who replaced Wheeljack is named Makeshift…. Girl why do we never hear about him ever again and why is he just a normal Vehicon and why did Soundwave have to tentacle grab him in order for him to transform into Wheeljack. Also this adds to my growing pile of evidence that all the vehicons are sentient and have their own powers and abilities. 

It’s really funny seeing Soundwave from side view because they have to arrange his helm outstretched because otherwise he wouldn’t be able to see around his shoulder pauldrons. 

Oh hey they put Wheeljack in bondage. I wonder why they’ll do to him- *I am forcibly dragged away by the Kellog centipede*

“Strike team” Starscream says as the camera pans over 100 of the exact same canon fodder that have been ripped apart by the Autobots. 

Okay note down that pastimes on Cybertron include throwing a giant metal ball at each other. 

Bumblebee dancing my beloved <3

“Primes don’t party” tell that to G1 Optimus and get back to me later. 

I think Ratchet deserves 50 days of paid vacation. 

I feel so fucking bad for Makeshift. He’s just like. Some fucking guy, he’s not getting paid. If his disguise gets revealed he’ll probably get ripped to pieces. Do you think he got sad knowing how kind the Autobots are? 

“I’ll have to rip out your spark chamber” Okay Miko. 

Sorry I honestly thought Makeshift was gonna fucking squish Miko. 

The music and framing is so fucking ominous lmao. I cannot take it seriously. 

It’s always so funny to me whenever the show tries to make the vehicons actual threats because like, they’re not. There’s no universe where I’m ever scared for the autobots when they’re fighting the vehicons. Which is honestly just sad for the vehicons tbh. They should’ve gotten at least one W. 

God this soundtrack is so fucking dramatic. That’s not like an insult against the actual music, it just feels so fucking out of place. 

Man wouldn’t it have been so cool if Makeshift actually ended up killing Wheeljack and just took his place because he was sick and tired of running with the cons. 

Man…. why’d they fucking blow him up. He would’ve been so cool :[

Episode 9 - Convoy

Episode nine was not in the official TFP playlist on Youtube. The video is literally on Youtube, it’s just not in the playlist. So odd. 

I like how Optimus says they cannot transport the DINGUS through groundbridge tech because of potential accidents but never once does the groundbridge actually fuck up anything in the show itself. Like the actually machinery controlling it breaks all the time but actually transporting characters and it works perfectly fine. They could’ve just said that nuclear material interferes with the signal and that’s why they can’t use it. 

Oh yeah I remember this episode. Dreaded MECH introduction episode. 

Agent Fowler perfectly demonstrates what it’s like to drive on the roads in America. Some asshole will be honking their horn at your for driving the speed limit and it’s like, just go around asshole. 

God I feel so bad for Agent Fowler, none of the budget went into his model TwT

Man, I’m so mad about how MECH was handled. Like it’s so weird to me that they’re a season 1 introduction when Unicron, aka, robot satan, is literally the final battle of this season. 

Ough. Silas get the fuck outta here you homophobic cunt [he killed Breakdown that’s homophobic] 

Also is it ever explained why MECH was going after that nuclear material. Cause like, it’s shown that they didn’t know about cybertronians until this point in the timeline and yet non of their actions are ever explained. 

WHAT THE FUCK IS SILAS TALKING ABOUT?! NEW WORLD ORDER WHAT MY GUY??????? WHY DOES THIS NEVER GET EXPLAINED??????

Man if I was a vehicon I would just want to be on cleaning duty 24/7

Thank you Ratchet for being the only guy in the room that actually cares about these kids’ safety. But also I think it’s so funny that his main concern is the kids getting physical trauma from the ground bridge transportation, and not, y’know, the heavily armed adult humans who have guns. 

I like how Bumblebee fights like a boxer up close. He should be able to do that more I think. 

It is always morally correct to mentally redesign Arcee in your mind so she’s not built like a fucking twig. Give that girl some meat on her bones!

OPTIMUS SHOOT HIM OUT OF THE GODDAMN SKY. KILL HIM. 

Episode 10 - Deus Ex Machina

Yay Knockout debut episode <3

I love how you can see one of the girls who teased Jack in the opening episode in detention with Miko. What did she do? I wanna know. 

Once again, Miko and Bulkhead continue to be the best human/bot dynamic in this show. 

“You can’t just cut detention.” He says, actively driving her away from the school because she asked him. 

I love you Bulkhead <3 He supports union rights, he’s a union man. 

Literally I’m not even joking I actually physically squealed when Knockout showed up. I love him so much <3

“Yes right, you’re one of those.” HOMOPHOBIC STARSCREAM

The tubes they have placed all over Megatron’s body are so silly. There’s one attached to his knee, one on his chest vents, another on his shoulder pauldrons. What do they even do? From the looks of the animation, it seems like they’re forcing his chest to rise up and down, but like, Cybertronians don’t need to breath. Maybe it’s stimulating the energon pumps inside of him?

Where is my assistant.” They were too homophobic to say husband 😔

Breakdown’s tits are so massive good lord. How does he even see over those thangs. 

God I’m dreading Breakdown’s death so bad. He’s so cool and he has a rivalry with Bulkhead and I cannot remember if he and Wheeljack ever get to interact and rouoguaourogugh killing the TFP writing team for their decisions. 

“Megatron will have to wait.” How much you wanna bet that if Starscream got to keep the energon draining orb he would’ve set that thang to kill Megatron as soon as possible. 

Knockout is so fucking based for flirting with Optimus and then immediately telling him that his husband is going to kick his ass. I love him so much <3 “You’re reallllll heavy duty, just like my friend here.” God. I need him to show up again in another series. Also it’s so funny that Knockout manages to take out Optimus literally as soon as he shows up and he probably would’ve killed him if their goal wasn’t focused elsewhere. Like damn Megatron, do better lmao. 

I think this episode has the most Soundwave body animation since the series started and that’s not saying much since he literally just kneels down, grabs something, transforms, and takes off. 

Literally it’s so funny to me that this random fucking security guard is like, interrogating Miko and it’s like. Dude that’s a 14 year old. Her ass is not getting that orb out of there on her own. Like obviously it’s suspicious but kids do stupid shit all the time, I would’ve believed her when she said she just got lost or fell asleep past closing time. 

God the reaction time between KOBD seeing Bulkhead and them immediately giving each other smug ass smirks before they try to kill him. Get you a power couple like that <3

They should’ve let Starscream keep his life draining orb. He needs a W every once in a while. 

But Bulkhead smashing is it a very nice scene. The lighting is good. 

Knockout, at Bulkhead’s unconscious body: He’s a glutton for punishment

Breakdown: Hehe

GIRL THEY WANT HIM SO BAD. 

Anyways yeagh, sorry this took so long lmao. School’s been kicking my ass. My professor finally got around to grading my assignments which is nice. I would give these episodes a 7/10, a 5/10, and an 8/10 respectively. 

-burnt ice anon

oh helllou, we are so back. don’t worry, school has also been kicking my ass, but as long as we’re all kicking, am i righr fellas.

…. you know, i’ve seen people discuss Makeshift before, and i can’t lie, i’ve thought about him before. i thought he was an outlier or an experiment of sorts, with all the cloning and stuff, and he’s clearly done it multiple times already… I think it’s a pity he didn’t have a bigger role. A decepticon realizing that the autobots treat their own nicely and deciding that he wants to stay no matter what would have been so interesting, and very heartbreaking... also, I liked how his voice changes when the bots realize he’s a spy. Was he doing a Wheeljack impression this whole time?

also Wheeljack, i’ve had a thought about Wheeljack (you know what week it is, i can’t talk about anything so i have to fill our air time with other stuff), because they made him much unlike his other iterations, but he’s very clearly Wheeljack, the writers even put a nod to his previous selves by giving him explosives. What if he underwent a Perceptor-style transformation. He was a scientist, something terrible happened, and he turned himself into a warrior out of necessity and trauma… Would’ve been an interesting backstory, especially considering Bulkhead insisting that Wheeljack never changes. Maybe he changed once, very drastically, before he'd joined the wreckers, and that’s the stubborn Wheeljack he knows… many thoughts, and they are normal.

Convoy is absolutely hilarious. It’s an episode about robots transporting the DINGUS and they say it multiple times. That said, yeah, Silas is… God, I actually always really disliked the MECH episodes (maggot helped remedy this don’t worry maggot my friend). Still, “new world order” this and that, Silas I think you are a white supremacist of sorts. Maybe not good to admit that after we’ve tried to milk him for his sperm but yeah, he really does strike me as a nazi guy. That is my explanation for why the shit he says is weird, senseless lunatic shit. He doesn’t mean anything by “new world order” he’s talking about nazi stuff. yeah.

ah, yes, the Deus Ex Machina, also known as the episode where Knockout and Breakdown are thirsty for a third. Knockout is the best thing to happen to this show and to transformers as a whole. gay boy. so good for him. Can you see me straining to stop myself from saying what I need Knockout and Breakdown to do to Bulkhead? Do you see my pain, underneath layers of ramblings?, hrggh…

[alons-ycreeper]

Me, heelys-rolling up on the last day of kesett week with a Starbucks: here's days 1-7 clusterfucked into a single ficlet, enjoy 😎

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

"This is never going to work." Boba gripes as tugging on the stolen robes before coming to sit beside his Jedi at the controls. "I swear if we end up chained together again in some–"

"We haven't even gotten there yet and you're already complaining." Cal smiles, looking his partner up and down. "You look good in my robes by the way."

Despite the fact a blush would be harder to see on his complexion Boba still tugs the cloak hood further down to hide his face. Cal giggles at the frankly adorable display. It's rare that he ever gets to see his partner so flustered thanks to him wearing a helmet near 24/7. Cal has tried that helmet on multiple times and still can't understand how the bounty hunter is able to wear it for so long. That thing is stuffy!

"Why didn't I turn you in again?"

"Because you fell for my charm and wit. And you couldn't bear the thought of me rotting away in some prison."

"Wanna bet?"

They laugh. Their banter having eased the tension a bit that they soon fall into comfortable silence. A beeping coming from the dashboard alerts them that they've arrived at their designated location.

Cal can feel Boba's apprehension, his sadness. He reaches over, grabs Boba's hand and gives it a reassuring squeeze. He's a little surprised when the other actually accepts the comfort instead of his usual batting away.

"Trust me?" Boba nods.

Kamino, 7947. Just a two years after the Invasion of Naboo.

The planet is the same as he remembers it. Dreary clouds blocking out the sun as they pelt Tipoca's domes with constant heavy downpour. Dark waters crashing below hiding the unforseen horrors that lurk in their depths.

"Masters Jedi." A familiar voice greets them at the city entrance. Boba feels his heart sink to the bottom of his shoes. There in the doorway stands Taun We. She looks younger. She is younger. "Follow me, please."

Sterile white halls and bright florescent lights. The contrast between the outside world and the dome-life city are truly light and dark. Boba feels a bit sick from it.

"The prime minister is eager to meet you both. He's bit apprehensive about your arrival seeing as we have not yet produced anything worth–"

A loud crash followed by the small voices stops them in their tracks. But those are no ordinary voices. Those are the voices of clone cadets terrified out of their minds. The bounty hunter doesn't think twice, booking it down the hall in the direction of the cries. He knows Cal is right behind him so there's no need to worry there. This is his chance to do the right thing. All that matters right now are those boys.

Boba skids the corner finally coming upon the cadets. One of the clones stands poised I'm front of the others, a blaster pointed directly at their threat, Orun Wa. Boba hadn't known the Kaminoan personally like he had Taun We but he didn't need to. The sleemo was just like the rest of them.

"Get away from them!"

"Mister Fett?" Orun Wa stutters in shock.

Boba quickly steps in front of the six boys–because that's what they were, boys. Not units, not soldiers, but little boys forced into a life they had no choice in. Little boys sold off into slavery by a man who was once a slave himself.

"I said, 'get away from them'." Boba repeats, voice cold and demanding.

He sees Cal step behind him, slowly approaching the kids and calmly asking the one with the blaster to please lower his weapon and hand it over. Surprisingly the kid does. Once the weapon is in his Jedi's possession he quickly hands it Boba for safe keeping. Cal immediately goes back, checking the boys over for any injuries. The kids seem to take a shine to his Jedi. Good.

"Master Jedi," Orun Wa begins. "Please excuse these defective units. They may be highly intelligent but they are deviant, disturbed–and uncommandable. As Mister Fett is well-aware we only allow the highest quality to be produced here. That is why these units must be terminated."

Every word coming out the Kaminoan's mouth only serves to horrify Cal and anger Boba further. He lifts the blaster the young clone had been aiming with–

"Put the blaster down, boy."

Boba finally understands how Cal feels when a Dark-sider is near. Cold. So very cold.

He turns to face the man he hasn't seen since he was ten years old.

"Dad."

. . .

"What happens next?"

Cal meets the wide-awake eyes of his youngest. Of course A'den would still be up. He's the only one of his brothers that ever makes it to the end of Cal's stories. He never knows if he should be flattered or insulted.

"Guess you'll just have to find out tomorrow night." Cal tucks his son's blanket up under his chin and kisses the top of his head. "Goodnight, A'den."

The little clone yawns, "Goodnight, Cal'buir."

Quietly Cal exist the kids' room, entering the hall where his husband is waiting for him.

"Telling them false stories again."

"Have to entertain them somehow." Cal holds his arm out. Boba rolls his eyes but takes the arm anyway. "Shand back yet?"

"She just got in. Along with Vanth."

Cal groans, "Does he have to be here?"

"I don't see why you two can't just be civil."

"He's the one that starts it." Boba snort at the childish tone his husband's voice takes. "He's just jealous that's all."

"I'm starting to wonder if Din has these same problems with Skywalker."

"You wouldn't have it any other way."

Boba smiles, "Wanna bet?"

[batfoonery]

I’m sad tonight so have a stupid little headcannon of mine about how I think Damian grows up

Firstly, he cannot grow up this is Illegal that’s my spunky little guy!

But if he must (and I suppose he must)

Personally I don’t agree with DC’s tendency to make him Big n Bulky like Bruce.

Assuming Talia really did handpick certain traits, she probably would have leaned towards traits better for being an assassin. Like a more slender frame. Probably not as slender as Tim. If we chart it with Bruce n Jay being the Bulkiest and Tim being the most slim (but still very strong!) and Dick as the midpoint (aerodynamic but wider chest + shoulders) then I’d put him between Jay and Dick, but certainly a bit closer to the latter than the former.

I also am of the opinion that he’s the second most springy (flexible) after Dick.

So, I know with ballerinas the reason they have to start young is bc they have to start forming the flexible pathways (I’m not wording that right but the actual term eludes me rn) bc when you reach adolescence your joints start hardening into their final full adult spots and pathways. I’m assuming that the same applies to gymnasts.

Damian would’ve been a prime age for this development of sproingy joints. Tim and Jay were already teens, so although they have the ability to be damned good acrobats, they can’t develop the same range of motion that D & d have.

And yes, this would require developing the motions. But Damian likely already had learned techniques that required a particular level of flexibility in the LoA, and then when Dick was Batman (and in charge of training) I think he would have leaned towards more acrobatic skills. Both bc it’s useful and bc he needed a way to wear the kid out so he’d stop trying to escape and maybe take a nap for once. Getting bouncy kids (well. Not bouncy, but certainly Energized) to settle down by wearing them out by tricking them into doing cross wheels across the lawn is a classic older-sibling-stuck-babysitting tactic.

Overall this means his muscle tone would probably build in a way similar to Dick as well. Not totally the same! Part of our ability to build muscle is genetic—some of us are better at putting it in certain places than others

So where Dick’s generalized shape is like an upside-down triangle (or, if the artist is choosing to be particularly annoying about the poor guy’s rear then an unfortunate wasp figure—please that poor man’s back…. Shapely but reasonable is that really too much to ask for?) I think Damian’s thighs will be Thick like Bruce’s, making him somewhat of an hourglass (ass not as defined as Dick’s though) although the narrowest part of his waist will still only be slightly curved in (so not as severe as the description ‘hourglass’ typically invokes).

Height? No clue. Smaller than Bruce but not by much I’m guessing. Tall but not too tall and somewhat slender would probably help with assassin-ing in Talia’s eyes.

Although personally I think it would be really funny if he was second smallest (Tim reigning shorty supreme of course).

Features? No clue! Honestly kids can inherit so many potential features, who knows! I like when artists give him darker skin and Talia’s nose. But I’m biased bc I wish my skin was darker (I’m half Mexican half white and wow the pale is Blinding so unfortunately I am aware just how pale mixed children can be) and Talia is like. The hottest person in DC for me. I also like the green eyes bc it makes sense for him to have been exposed to the Lazarus pit, although I’m open to them having been a different color at birth for Angst purposes.

I just think there’s so many recessive traits that could pop up as he gets older. Or maybe he starts out being Bruce’s mini-me and then magically shifts into Talia’s boy. But I like the thought of him having something unexpected like one singular dimple on his left cheek—inherited from Martha and the Kane lineage but skipped Bruce (however Kate has the same dimple). Or maybe the droop of his eyelids recalls memories of Talia’s mother (not that Ra’s ever shared this info other than maybe once in passing when he first saw the baby).

That’s it that’s all! Agree, don’t agree, I don’t really mind either way. I just think it’s fun to think about sometimes.

[the-invisibility-bloke]

001 harry potter/albus Severus Potter

WHAT I was not prepared. I have not met any Halbus shippers on Tumblr. We need to talk, my friend. Okay.

-

001 | send me a ship and I will tell you:

when I started shipping it if I did: I. Don’t know. It was sometime early this year and it may have been this classic but that one's not very Pottercest focused so more likely something I just ran across randomly. It’s funny because. My friend was trying to get me into Orion/Regulus and I tried, man, I did (I even wrote one for her birthday, as you can see I had to pad it with Starcest for my own well-being XD) but ultimately I kept insisting “I just can’t get into parent/child.” LOL, cute. Turns out I just needed the right parent/child to drag me in. Enter Harry/Al.

my thoughts: My thoughts have been fueled by a lot of Chardonnay but listen. I take Cursed Child canon with several grains of salt. I use what I like and discard the rest. The idea of Albus as a Slytherin who resents the fact that he’s expected to not only live up to but exceed his father’s legacy and the fact that the whole world sees his sorting as a handicap is so fucking golden because of course he would grow to resent Harry, it’s middle child syndrome on steroids, you’ve got James Sirius who is basically James Potter OG, popular and athletic and probably a bit of a prick (which tbh makes for some prime Al/James shipping but I digress), and Albus who is... good at potions? (Fanon, yes, but well done because of course he’d excel at the thing Harry hated.) What I love about CC is that it creates a very plausible conflict dynamic between them and what I hate about CC is that it completely cheapens that beautiful dynamic by portraying Harry as a tone-deaf bumbling idiot of a father and no. I’m not buying it. He’s a bit thick but he would make every effort to be the most conscientious parent who truly works to relate to all of his children and make them feel valued for exactly who they are. Again, I digress, but if we accept this dynamic on a broad scale and ignore the minutiae, it creates this lovely scenario of James S. being more Lily’s kid and Albus being more Harry’s kid and everything changing when Al goes to Hogwarts and sorts Slytherin and learns what everyone else thinks of his father and befriends the kid of his dad’s nemesis and thus eventually sheds that daddy’s-boy skin and Harry just being heartbroken about it but not really knowing how to win him back.

What makes me happy about them: I think at their core they are so, so very alike which is why the conflict exists in the first place. I think they share the same sense of humour, the same ideological passions, the same deeply sensitive core, the same need for that desperate hungry all-consuming love that Harry hasn’t had since Sirius and Albus had but never quite trusted because he always felt like an outcast and he was probably always a bit jealous of James and definitely jealous of Teddy (...rightfully so but NEVER MIND). So they are a bit Drarry in the sense that they both need the same things but are coming at it from wildly different angles, so lots of room for conflict and misinterpretation. Yay. :)

What makes me sad about them: I mean, well, if they carry on long-term, they will never be able to flourish, they will never be able to hold hands in public, they will be imprisoned in secrecy the rest of their lives, and Harry will suffer unbearable guilt over that because all he wants is for his children to have the normalcy he never did, regardless of how many times Albus assures him he doesn’t give a fuck about normal. I think they also both have the potential to truly wound each other because of the depth of their love and their volatile personalities. They both have a temper and they both need each other so desperately that one misstep can leave them feeling very unstable. They very much know how to push each other’s buttons which can lead to a very toxic albeit passionate relationship.

things done in fanfic that annoys me: Eh, don’t want to offend any fellow writers.

things I look for in fanfic: Canon compliant/adjacent is always my preference; as with most cross-gen/incest I prefer Al to be the instigator and for Harry to suffer the Burden of Unfathomable Guilt™. I love bratty but intelligent Al who just literally does not give 0.5 shits about social mores and, hey, if his dad is fit af and the only person who truly gets him and makes him feel safe and protected and cherished, why shouldn’t they get it on.

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: Scorpius is probably the best choice for Al, but I’m a guilty Dralbus and Drarry/Scorbus OT4 shipper. I also love the idea of Harry/Albus/Teddy, i.e. Harry/Teddy are together but when Albus finds out he gets wildly jealous because he always had a crush on Teddy and Harry is his daddy, tyvm, so all the feelings get muddled and Teddy’s the one to eventually invite him in and mediate to help Al and Harry realize their feelings for each other.

My happily ever after for them: Best case scenario, they have to hide forever. They’re not exactly a happily ever after ship. :/

who is the big spoon/little spoon: Daddy is the big spoon. :))) But but but also I think Harry still occasionally has nightmares or just needs some of that cuddly comfort he never got as a kid, when work gets really stressful etc., and he’d never vocalize it, never admit it, but Al is very attuned to that need for occasional role reversal and knows when to simply hold him and stroke his hair and tell him everything is going to be okay.

what is their favorite non-sexual activity: I think they bond over films and music and maybe dueling. Lots of Muggle things, I think Al is curious about that world because he’s curious in general, which makes Harry feel relevant because that’s what he grew up with, and none of his other kids or friends (besides Hermione) really relates to it.

[iviarellereads]

Wheel of Time full series spoiler thoughts on EOTW 39-43

A probably semi-regular weekly bonus to my reread blog, since sometimes you realize things on reread that just make you need to yell in a full spoiler space.

I'm hesitant to say it outright in the main chapter, but I believe Gill's men think Rand would be good to have on their side in a fight precisely because his past life is starting to leak through. We've seen some of the stray thoughts Rand can't trace the source of, it wouldn't surprise me at all if RJ thought Rand might start comporting himself like a real blademaster, especially with the influence of ta'veren over him.

The Warders with the Reds still bother me. Sure, not all the Red Ajah are fully man-haters, but why are there so many Warders with them in this when none of them take Warders? Are there just unattached Warders hanging around to guard the Red on these trips or did RJ just not have the world hammered out yet? Another thing I'm glad the show is smoothing over a bit.

Logain's laugh, as Rand sees him, and as he sees Rand and knows that he's not the Dragon, but that he's about to see the world burn. So chilling.

ELAYNE! And Gawyn and Galad and the rest of the Caemlyn Crew, but ELAYNE! Cinnamon roll princess. The show has her EXACTLY right, brewing illicit beverages under her bed and dressing like a Disney princess in hiding. I'm a little sad that her first meeting with Rand was so abrupt at the end of season 2 of the show, but I'm fascinated at how it's under similar context but completely reversed circumstances: she's busting in on him and introducing herself for the first time in the show as just "Elayne" no Daughter-Heir or title or family name.

I don't think we ever get a real, like, confirmation that Gawyn takes up his role as First Prince of the Sword after her coronation, do we? Like, the world kind of rolls right from her accession war to the Last Battle, and we know he Travels back and forth from her to Egg a couple of times, but he's all Egg's at the end, not hers. Galad's off leading the Whitecloaks. Which leaves… who? as her First Prince.

Gawyn saying Elayne should marry someone from the Two Rivers, and then the narrative describing him as "babbling". Someone just got hit by ta'veren to give us that hint.

I still find it so fascinating that SO MANY PEOPLE take Elayne's side totally unthinking about Galad, though. Like, we're so primed to hate a goody-two-shoes as a whole-assed society that we just hate him with her the whole way, for the most part. It wasn't until my last reread that he really grew on me. (Gawyn… SIGH. I have a lot to say about Gawyn, but like Mat, he never grew on me, though unlike Mat I think Gawyn's potential was entirely wasted by the lack of any single conversation with Egwene about the bloodknives. We'll get there, someday, but MY GIRL WOULD UNDERSTAND, DUDE, JUST TELL HER.)

The rest of this week is mainly just catch-up, but there are a few fun moments. Egg being SO JEALOUS of Elayne is funny when she'll give Rand up to her willingly in a couple of books. Moiraine sitting in the chair by the fire, seeming to be in a throne, when she was first in line to the throne of Cairhien as the Aiel War ended.

[denimbex1986]

'Loneliness has never been this magical in this story of Adam. To keep us sane, let us describe him first: a writer for films and TV, he lives alone in this tall building apparently barely occupied. One day, outside Adam looks up and sees a person gazing down at him. They soon meet at the elevator. The other guy’s name is Harry, who offers to have a drink with Adam and do whatever he wants to do that night. Adam declines.

The next scene has Adam on a train. He is on his way to his parents’ home. Both died in a car accident when he was 12 years of age. As the cinematic signposts are telling us, Adam sees first a man across a wooded area making a sign to follow him. Closer to each other, they talk. He is Adam’s father and he brings Adam to their home. There, Adam meets his mother who recognizes him.

When this encounter takes place, rationality is never put into question. Nor logic.

Nothing is belabored. What we have in front of us is the most impossible of wishes coming true—that of seeing our loved ones already gone but now standing warm and alive with us. They are not phantasms and they are not fantasies; they are the gifts of of sadness pushing a man like Adam to see beyond life, to touch past death or anything that resembles vanishing.

Who would not want this pure happiness? Not Adam (certainly not us who also have experiences losing our loved ones), not this man who is alone and seeks no companion. Earlier, he was looking at old photos because, as we would find out later, he wants to write about his father and mother. Or, at most, remember them. That wishful thinking, that wistfulness is now rendered truthful. There is no time to doubt. There is time to catch up.

Perhaps, we could imagine and ponder on this: If the parents of Adam passed on when he was a little boy, would they recognize him at present when they are almost of the same age?

Look at the eyes, which parent said this? We always recognize each other through our eyes. Not the years gone by will ever erase those points of recognition. That night, there was nothing else to do but ask questions. And assure each other. And we can only envy Adam because now he can tell them he is fine, and they can rest forever (oh no, not yet) with the thought that their son did well after all.

But Adam has to leave, but with the promise to come back.

At the block tower, which he calls home, Adam sees Harry again. There is a bit of hesitation, timidity at first. It seems the words of encouragement from Adam (“I also love whisky”) come too late. But destiny is bound to put them together. Harry soon joins Adam. They naturally have a night of sex. It looks like these two lonely souls are in love. This time, we, as in Adam coming home, are personally happy about how time and space have been good to them.

More visits to the parents happen: Adam with his mother and next, Adam with his father. With the first, Adam comes out. To the persistent question of his mom about girlfriends, Adam tells her he is not into girls, not into women. The mother is distraught. But the mores have shifted, Adam assures her. The visit with the father recalls a more brutal childhood, with bullying and crying alone in the room in the dark. But, hey, who gets a second chance with one’s father? And yet we cannot avoid the devastation, when the father asks if he could give Adam a hug.

What is next in this existential dance till the end of love? Maybe Harry could meet Adam’s parents? Till when is this gift of the universe happening? Who has the right to alter the law of death so as to allow life to rule once more? What about life with Harry? Who is he in this parable of sorrow and existence?

Where happiness is the prime factor in love, here is a film where loneliness (also isolation) becomes the path not to separation but a reunion of beings. It is as if the heart has been badly broken, there is no other remedy but for the lifeforce to put it together again, weave a tale of endless redemption, and summon the wellspring of happily-ever-after narratives.

I can go on with my ruminations about love, life, how gay or straight or whatever men cope with being alone, and of how society invents alienation as a mechanism, but this is not what this cinema of sweet angst called All of Us Strangers is all about.

All of Us Strangers is about characters and the actors who fleshed them out. Claire Foy, distinctly lovely, is the mother to whom a scared boy could run to for comfort. In bed, as she faces Adam, an intimacy greater than all the cruelties in the world, reaches out to the boy/man and we are all blessed for this. As the father, Jamie Bell gives Adam, his son, the belated hug, making up for all the I-love-yous fathers in this world are always at pains to express. These two actors—Foy and Bell—have distilled their performances to a level of warmth, compassion and excellence. They make the unreal beyond reproach.

As the other human, Paul Mescal’s Harry offers Adam a ghost of a chance, proof of a role that requires sincerity and pain, no more and no less. That the most intense and truthful of kinship awaits all of us when we open doors and not see the shuttered windows. (Are the owners of this building scared that we would jump out and scare the prospective buyers, Harry once asked.)

But when all the passions—unrequited and unbridled—are consumed in this world, there is Andrew Scott as Adam, his grief bottled all throughout (his weeping is unshared, the face covered by his hands the way small boys cry, and his scream is distorted), teaching us the lessons about recriminations—they are never about the past but more about the future that requires all things (joy, apathy, bleakness) being kept in equilibrium. Not, for heaven’s sake, closure but keen understanding; not even regrets but simple embraces. Scott is us, broken but brave, a traveler in eternity where the deus ex machina is not in the form of human contraptions but disguised as an ethereal, epic journey where one of us and another can cease to be a stranger, at least for a moment in some kind of a forever.

Andrew Haigh, who wrote the film based on the novel Strangers by Yamada Taichi, is the navigator of this tale that opted to be spaced out, who dared to render the gothic in glorious terms, if only to plumb the depth of the human condition, where time is a tyrant who can gift you with tenderness or with tricks.

All of Us Strangers was named one of the top 10 independent films of 2023 by the National Board of Review and has been given six BAFTA Award nominations. The film also won the top honors for Andrew Scott and Andrew Haigh at the London Critics’ Circle Awards.

All of Us Strangers is produced by Film4, TSG Entertainment, and Blueprint Pictures. It is distributed by Searchlight Pictures.'

[facelesspassport]

Disclaimer: I know that you are not asking for a response. If you do not want advice from a stranger then please do not read this! I am only replying because I know that you will continue to get advice from people with opposing opinions who do not have your best interest at heart :Disclaimer end: ::: I have reached that age. And I can confidently say that what really made most of my peers "change their minds" was peer pressure. Everyone poked and prodded and degraded these women for following their dreams and eventually it got to some of them. Have you ever heard a man say "I don't want children" only for a crowd to gather around him and gaslight him about his own wishes? Do you ever see groups of men pressuring their peers into starting a family before they are ready? Probably not. But people will do that to you because they know that you need to be primed and groomed into marriage culture. Because deep down every woman has the innate knowledge that getting married to a man will likely be a miserable fucking experience. After years of this conditioning you may wake up one day and say, "I've had enough of this. I want the easy life". You'll tell yourself it's your idea so you won't feel bad about yourself. I have sad news for everyone- it only gets worse from there. The pain is worse later in life when you realize you traded your independence for a life you never wanted. How do I know this? I talk to women. I give them a safe space to open up and I let them know that I won't hold their words against them. You wanna know what nearly every "housewife" over 35 has to say to me? She tells me she isn't happy. And she tells me in every way imaginable. She tells me about her husband and the way he treats her and the way he won't listen to her. She tells me about her children and how they don't appreciate her efforts to be their mother. She tells me about her lost fantasies and her dull sex life and how she wishes everything was different and she looked like someone else. She has absolutely nothing good to say about her life. If I'm being honest a lot of these women seem to be suffering from Stockholm syndrome and even the "happy" ones can't tell you anything to reassure you besides "I love my children". Like okay. But do your love your life?? I've learned the hard way that they don't like that question. Now, believe it or not, I am not completely against marriage (through gritted teeth). I do believe that it is possible for women- even straight women- to find loving and attentive spouses. Just remember how easy it is for a woman to be trapped with the wrong man or even an abusive one. If you want to get married take your sweet time shopping around for a mate and educate yourself so that you know an abuser when you see one. Never forget how little people care for women as individual human beings, and how they often see you as "incomplete" unless you are using your body to serve a man and pop out his babies. How people will go so far as to pressure you to stay with a man who neglects or mistreats you- because to them you are nothing without a male companion. There is beauty in having children and without women who are *willing and ready to raise a family we would not have a society at all and I would not even be alive to speak with you right now. Just keep in mind that there is a darker side to that as there is with all beautiful things. Not all of us where meant to raise children- I know for a fact that my mother wasn't.

PS. There is no age limit for the things you love, I promise you.

it doesn’t happen often, but sometimes i envy girls who can genuinely envision themselves cleanly following traditional routes 10 years from now (marriage, kids, settling down) bc i absolutely don’t see myself doing any of these things. people always tell you “your mind just changes when you get older,” but that has yet to happen (and i doubt it ever will) to me. which is fine, bc no one way is inherently superior to the other, but i feel like there’s some sort of safety w being able to see yourself comfortably doing what society expects of you. we don’t really hear much about women who don’t follow this ideal and how they fare in the long run. so there’s always an associated anxiety w asking yourself “what’s next” when none of the typical things appeal to you