#i believe we can still win and i know we might lose

[mulderscully]

hey did you guys know you don't have to celebrate or be defeatist? you can be normal

[uiruu]

I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you’re very young and aren’t deliberating spreading misinformation about how the US branches of government work. The president does not have ANY say in Supreme Court decisions. The president belongs to the executive branch of government. The Supreme Court belongs to the judicial branch. The only influence the executive branch has on the Supreme Court is if/when the president gets the opportunity to appoint a new justice, which only occurs when a current justice dies or steps down. Those appointments from the president’s office need Senate approval before a justice can be confirmed to the court.

The US currently has a conservative majority on the court: there are nine justices total with six being conservative — three of them were appointed by Trump due to vacancies that occurred during his administration* (technically one vacancy occurred under Obama, but the conservative-majority Senate at that time blocked his nominees until he left office, meaning Trump was in a position to fill that vacancy. Hm, almost as though voting does in fact matter because of how our branches of government are designed, and Democratic presidents alone can’t achieve unilateral change!).

I understand the frustration with the state of the country right now, but acting like Biden is a king with unprecedented power over the judicial and legislative branches is dangerously out of touch with the reality of how this country works. Although ironically, Trump and his allies plan to redistribute power into the executive branch when he takes office by minimizing the power of the legislative and judicial branches (see Project 2025). If Project 2025 comes to fruition, the executive branch WOULD have king-like power, which is what The US Constitution was written to avoid. I recommend learning about the limits and parameters of presidential power before you “voting is useless” your way into handing absolute power to Trump.

im not gonna respond to very much of this, except to say that i'm almost certainly older than you, and also it's funny for you to be like "Biden isnt a king and doesnt have absolute power, there's nothing he can do about the supreme court. but Trump will have absolute power". which one is it? is the president important or not? also, you people all say that the democrats will be better than the republicans. where's the proof of that? what have they done for anyone? commit genocide?

[astonmartinii]

rookie love | oscar piastri social media au

pairing: oscar piastri x hamilton!reader

sure it's a rookie mistake to lose it in a corner, but is it a rookie mistake to fall in love with lewis hamilton's younger sister?

request from the lovely @starfriuts

MASTERLIST | BUY ME A KO-FI?

f1

liked by lewishamilton, oscarpiastri and 1,324,772 others

tagged: oscarpiastri, yourusername & logansargeant

f1: welcome the rookie class of 2023 !! 2021 f2 champion oscar piastri will race for mclaren, 2022 f2 champion y/n hamilton will be racing for aston martin and 2022 f2 runner up logan sargeant will be racing for williams!

view all comments

user1: MY prema girlies

user2: 2019 rookies i am so sorry but there's a new favourite in town

yourusername: two hamiltons on the grid i know that's right 💅 👯‍♀️

lewishamilton: they hate us cause they ain't us

yourusername: they can't handle the sass

lewishamilton: neither can the fia

yourusername: ... yeah i've been briefed :(

user3: okay, walk with me. if y/n does all of grill the grid, lewis might do the secret santa again

user4: hopes and prayers

fernandoalo_oficial: i'm teammates with a rookie hamilton, i think i've seen this film before

yourusername: i lived through that old man, don't think i won't use your own tricks on you

fernandoalo_oficial: well there's no dna test necessary here

yourusername: the slay is hereditary, but clearly skipped your generation

fernandoalo_oficial: HEY

oscarpiastri: get her jade

fernandoalo_oficial: EY?

user5: the way the grid are not ready for how ride or die y/n and oscar are for each other

user6: bro just quoted COCO MONTRESE for her i am so ready

logansargeant: dude we're getting the band back together

oscarpiastri: f1 boyband have nothing on us

yourusername: xnda who?

lewishamilton: :/

yourusername: no one is safe sorry lew @charles_leclerc you're next piano boy

charles_leclerc: WHAT

user7: i know the aston martin pr department sweating buckets with both fernando and y/n

yourusername

liked by oscarpiastri, lewishamilton and 1,332,551 others

yourusername: the hamilton name comes with the wardrobe

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user8: finally lewis has some competition

user9: if there's something a hamilton is going to do it's going to be wearing a monochromatic outfit.

lewishamilton: was the third photo really necessary?

yourusername: yes!

lewishamilton: you're so corny

yourusername: i know this man ain't speaking.... DIGITAL FOOTPRINT

lewishamilton: girl. i've read your diary and your code names don't mean SHIT

yourusername: YOU WHAT?

lewishamilton: got bored when you had a work call ?

yourusername: come to aston's hospitality i got something to show you

lewishamilton: just text me

yourusername: no. spoiler: it's my FOOT up your ASS

user10: so i thought the tussles would be between fernando and y/n not y/n and lewis

georgerussell63: this is just how they are, they'll be besties again in like two minutes

oscarpiastri: why is my outfit not on here you said i slayed :(

yourusername: you did slay !!

landonorris: he literally wore a team shirt and chinos

yourusername: yes but on the oscar scale that is a slay

oscarpiastri: exactly

landonorris: ok?

yourusername: watch your tone mr. norris, you're being awfully loud for a ripped skinny jeans owner 🤨

landonorris: ????

oscarpiastri: :)

user11: okay i think i get the whole ride or die thing now

logansargeant: believe me it gets worse

lewishamilton

liked by oscarpiastri, yourusername and 1,844,902 others

tagged: yourusername

lewishamilton: bucket list moment ticked off to share a podium in f1 with my baby sister !!

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user14: two hamiltons in f1 and on the podium before gta 6

user15: we got two hamiltons on the podium but still can't escape a max win

yourusername: thank you for not posting the picture of me bawling my eyes out

lewishamilton: i thought i'd be nice, just this once. i'm proud of you

yourusername: thank youuuuuuuuuuuuu. insane to be on the podium with my biggest idol

maxverstappen1: y/n that's very kind of you

lewishamilton: really?

yourusername: 😭 😭 😭 😭 😭 😭 😭

maxverstappen1: saw the opportunity and had to go for it

yourusername: i respect that

lewishamilton: but i am your biggest idol right?

yourusername: yes.

user16: max really out here like i will make a double hamilton podium about me LOL

oscarpiastri: that's my best friend GO BEST FRIEND

yourusername: oscar piastri podium coming soon @mclaren get ur shit together

oscarpiastri: PR KNOW SHE DOESN'T MEAN THAT

yourusername: no i mean every word i wanna be on the podium with oscar :(

oscarpiastri: slumber party ?

yourusername: i'll be there @logansargeant u coming?

logansargeant: i don't really feel like third wheeling

this comment was deleted

logansargeant: if you're buying the room service - yeah

user17: LOGAN WE SAW THAT

user18: y/n x oscar truthers we have some more evidence for the board

user19: gets first woman in f1 on the podium... immediately assumes she’s in a relationship with another driver

user20: i see where you're coming from but watch the prema videos and tell me there's no tension there

user21: idk if oscar can handle all of that ...

user22: i have faith in my goofy lil guy

liked by yourusername

user22: WHAT

oscarpiastri

liked by landonorris, yourusername and 612,094 others

tagged: yourusername

oscarpiastri: pookie was on the podium

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user23: okay you shipper bitches may have had a point...

yourusername: when pookie calls you pookie you know it's real

fernandoalo_oficial: i have never felt older than when i listen to you and oscar talk for more than five minutes

yourusername: the girls who get it, get it

oscarpiastri: and the girls who don't.... well

fernandoalo_oficial: i am a 42 year old man

yourusername: and it shows

oscarpiastri: ... oop

user24: oh they annoying... KEEP GOING

lewishamilton: so this is what you left the after party for?

yourusername: yeah and what about it?

lewishamilton: okay like maybe i need to separate you and oscar cause why are you eating me up

yourusername: i'm me but oscar is a victim of the sassy man apocalypse

oscarpiastri: guilty as charged (i learnt everything from your sister)

user25: you guys acting like oscar being like this is a surprise ... we didn't all see him scalp alpine last summer?

user26: the way in my head him and y/n wrote that tweet together and were giggling the whole time

yourusername: we can neither confirm or deny

user27: that's confirmation to me

logansargeant: when will the logan sargeant erasure end?

yourusername: when you serve as much as me?

logansargeant: i am TRYING

yourusername: plus this is an appreciation post for me, stop trying to steal opportunities from women

logansargent: HUH?

oscarpiastri: so disappointing from you logan...

logansargeant: i'm so done with you two

yourusername

liked by lewishamilton, oscarpiastri and 1,309,562 others

yourusername: summer break is annoying i wanna go racing again

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user31: WHO IS THAT MAN?

user32: my brain (psychosis) tells me it is oscar

user33: i'll believe you

lewishamilton: HOW DARE YOU SOFT LAUNCH WITHOUT TELLING ME

yourusername: girl. sort the tone and i'll call you

lewishamilton: do you think i am dumb? i know exactly who that is, i just need the confirmation so i can beat his ass

yourusername: why would i tell you if you're gonna beat his ass?

lewishamilton: JUST TELL ME

yourusername: you'll have to find me to do that, see you in zandvoort xxx

user34: i think lewis is having brocedes flashbacks

user35: i know bro is PACING

fernandoalo_oficial: you wanna give me a tow in qualifying?

yourusername: why would i do that old man?

fernandoalo_oficial: @lewishamilton i know.

lewishamilton: ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? FERNANDO KNOWS?

yourusername: NOT ON PURPOSE HE'S JUST NOSEY AND LIKES TO READ MY TEXTS OVER MY SHOULDER

fernandoalo_oficial: guilty 💅

yourusername: fine. one tow.

fernandoalo_oficial: thanks girly

user36: we have to study the girlypopification of fernando since being teammates with y/n

oscarpiastri: it's missing pookie hours

yourusername: i am having separation anxiety

user37: these hoes think we don't know 😂

user38: they think they're throwing us on their scent ... YALL NOT SUBTLE

oscarpiastri

liked by landonorris, yourusername and 802,778 others

oscarpiastri: does this count as a win?

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user39: sorry max we got an oscar win we don't care about your championship win

yourusername: LET'S FUCKING GO POOKIE

oscarpiastri: slumber party is gonna eat i fear (why do we have to race tomorrow?)

yourusername: you know who else ate? YOU TODAY

oscarpiastri: hehehehe i guess i did

yourusername: no i am so fucking proud of you

oscarpiastri: love you

yourusername: luv you too

user40: okay so they're just playing with our feelings now?

landonorris: proud of you bro (please turn down the beyonce)

oscarpiastri: don't make me enter my lemonade era

landonorris: are you threatening me with a brocedes?

oscarpiastri: maybe?

yourusername: lmao watch your ass lando, i gave him the play-by-play i was in the brocedes trenches

lewishamilton: 1. happy for you oscar 2. SHUT THE FUCK UP

oscarpiastri: oops?

yourusername: sorry lewis, we'll stop joking about britney if you finally call him

nicorosberg: stop calling me that

lewishamilton: why are you here?

nicorosberg: just observing...

user41: poor lewis having his trauma used as a joke 😭

logansargeant: i'm defo skipping this slumber party

user42: you want to elaborate?

logansargeant: no. i don't think i will

user43: JUST SPILL

yourusername

liked by lewishamilton, oscarpiastri and 1,903,448 others

tagged: oscarpiastri

yourusername: got my first win, me and my boyfriend are better than you x

view all comments

user44: I FUCKING KNEW IT

user45: i'm gonna need all the bitches who came for me for shipping them so give me my flowers

oscarpiastri: finally. you're too cute not to kiss all the time

yourusername: then hurry up and come here

oscarpiastri: gladly

user46: no i think he actually went, these bitches usually never shut the fuck up

lewishamilton: ...

georgerussell63: oscar RUN THE BREATHING TECHNIQUES AREN'T WORKING

alexalbon: no he's actually going to scrap you RUN FOR YOUR LIFE

landonorris: those dumbasses don't know what is about to hit them

yourusername: why is logan texting me 911 who is being dramatic

yourusername: wait

yourusername: is that him already

georgerussell63: yes for such a short man he's surprisingly fast

lewishamilton: OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR

yourusername: no!

lewishamilton: I JUST WANNA TALK

oscarpiastri: your tone is scaring me

yourusername: OSCAR NO

lewishamilton: OPEN THE DOOR

user47: it's been 20 mins, can we have an update

oscarpiastri: i am alive!

lewishamilton: regardless of what just happened, i am so proud of you y/n !!

yourusername: i love you big brother :))))))

lewishamilton: you're such an inspiration, here's to many more!

user48: lewis being all supportive now after he's scrapped oscar?

lewishamilton: i didn't fight him, he had 30 seconds to convince me not to kill him

oscarpiastri: i did very well :)

lewishamilton: sure

yourusername: you did great babe

oscarpiastri: :)

oscarpiastri

liked by logansargeant, yourusername and 1,099,457 others

tagged: yourusername

oscarpiastri: please don't put me into the barriers lewis, i love your sister

view all comments

user51: i think it's safe to say that the 2023 rookies have out done the 2019 rookie sorry not sorry

yourusername: POOKIE, I LOVE YOU POOKIE

oscarpiastri: I LOVE YOU TOO POOKIE

logansargeant: can i like have a medal or some championship points for 1. dealing with this nonsense and 2. keeping this a secret

yourusername: you're our favourite third wheel? that's all i got

oscarpiastri: we also pay for your room service every time

logansargeant: ... fine

user52: they're all so close to me, need y/n and oscar to be the first husband and wife to both win a championship

yourusername: that's the plan 🤞

oscarpiastri: are you PROPOSING TO ME?

yourusername: not yet...

oscarpiastri: hehehehehehe

lewishamilton: SLAM ON THE BRAKES, I JUST GOT USED TO THIS LET'S NOT BRING UP MARRIAGE

yourusername: maybe you need to leave your slag era so i can wife oscar

lewishamilton: DO NOT SLUTSHAME ME

user53: the hamilton piastri house about to be ground zero for the sassy man apocalypse

landonorris: you people are so grossly in love, how did we miss it?

alexalbon: speak for yourself it was so obvious

yourusername: we we're pretty obvious

oscarpiastri: yeah i can confirm that when we told you we were having a pillow fight, we were not

landonorris: WHAT

lewishamilton: delete this.

fernandoalo_oficial: @yourusername did you guys do this so you didn't have to give me a tow?

yourusername: yes xoxoxo

note: i hope you enjoy. life is insane right now but i got my first article at the top of the google rankings so there's that. also ordered my graduation gown and dress!! much love x

[darlingdaisyfarm]

👁️⃤ evil!Ford x reader

author note: okay im sorry for post spamming but this idea been sitting in my mind for too long and I had to write smth about it, would be glad to read your opinion on that Ford x reader dynamic!^^

so this is a bit of an au situation where evil!Ford is working with Bill now. in this version, reader is Ford’s former ex partner, someone who used to be close enough to him to know his work better than anyone else, including the equation Bill wanted from Ford in canon. Although here Ford doesn’t know the equation anymore, but you do

You’re trapped.

The chair beneath you creaks when you try to move, your wrists aching from the coldness of the handcuffs that keep your hands pinned behind your back. Your breathing is shallow from fighting, your throat feels dry from screaming, but you keep your head high. Defiance in your eyes, even as Stanford’s gaze burns holes through you.

He sits across from you with his legs spread wide and his elbows resting on his thighs, watching you. You squint, noticing a little glow of that infernal symbol on his wrist. Bill’s mark, his new goddamn religion. 

“You’re only making this harder for yourself, darling.”

You don’t answer, you won’t give him the satisfaction.

Ford leans back in his chair, tilting his head as his eyes drag slowly over you. “Still playing the martyr, i see,” he drawls, unable to hold sarcastic laugh. “you always did have a flair for the dramatic.”

“Fuck you,” you spit.

“Oh, but, sweetheart,” he says, standing now. “you don’t get it, do you? you can’t win this.”

“You think you’re protecting them,” Stanford continues. “Stanley, the twins. You think they’ll thank you for this? For your stubbornness?”

“You won’t touch them.” you answer through clenched teeth. 

Ford crosses the room in a few strides, towering over you now and it feels like his shadow is swallowing you whole. His hand comes up to grip your chin, forcing your face upward to look at him and you don’t recognise him, instead of your Ford, it’s a shadow of a man who’s sold his soul, body and mind, to something far worse than the nightmares you’re used to. Ford digs his fingers into your skin.

“Just tell me the equation, that’s all i want. you give me what i need, and this—” his eyes flick down to the cuffs, to the bruises blooming on your wrists, “—this ends.”

“Go to hell.”

His grip only tightens, and his jaw clenches. For a moment, you think he might snap, might lose that careful control he prides himself on. But to your surprise, he lets out a low, bitter laugh, releasing your chin and pacing a step away.

“Always so stubborn, it’s admirable, in a way. Stupid as fuck, but admirable. But we both know i can make you talk.”

Before you can react, his hand is in your hair, yanking your head back sharply. You gasp, your neck arching painfully as his face appears damn close you feel his breath against your lips. God, this is not how you imagined kissing Ford. Not after he joined Bill Cipher.

“What’s with that fear in your pretty eyes? I won’t bite, not unless you ask.” 

“Fuck. . . you,” you say again, but the words sound weaker this time and you hate the fact that even after Ford Pines isn’t the man you remember, you still feel attached to him.

Noticing your hesitation, Stanford’s lips curl into a smirk, and then he’s kissing you, if you can even call it that. Ford is forceful, rough, demanding, his kiss is nothing gentle, his other hand grips your jaw to keep you in place he takes what he wants, biting your lips, his tongue sweeping into your mouth and he groans when you make a pathetic muffled sound.

When he pulls back, your lips are swollen and you swear you can taste the metal, your skin burns from how hard he squeezed it.

“I can do this all night,” Ford trails his long fingers down the side of your neck, brushing the pulse that races beneath your skin. “You’ll give in eventually. . . they always do.”

“I hate you.” but you don’t believe your own words.

That truly makes Ford laugh, the way you say it so dead serious, with that cute glare when you both know it’s not like that. 

“Hate me?” he repeats in mockery, as if the very idea is absurd. His fingers tighten in your hair, pulling your head back to force your eyes to meet his. “Is that what you tell yourself to sleep at night, sweetheart?”

You glare up at him, biting down on the words that threaten to spill from your mouth.

“Funny. That’s not what my muse showed me. Not in your little head, darling.” he talks, savouring every word, enjoying your reaction as you already have panic written all over your face. “let me tell you, in there, you’re begging for it, desperate for me to fuck you.”

Your heart slams against your ribs and the air seems to vanish from your lungs. 

“All those filthy little thoughts you try so hard to hide. I had no idea my ex-lab partner was such a slut?”

You feel mad and humiliated at same time, your face burns, but you clench your jaw, refusing to give him the satisfaction of a response.

“Oh, don’t give me that look, sweetheart, we both know exactly where it’s gonna get you.”

[ktaerssoi]

wrestling for attention

summary:

paige bueckers x fem!reader

(509)

not proof read please don't hate me!!

"you couldn't beat me in an arm wrestle."

that's what your girlfriend had said twenty minutes ago when you had made a comment about being stronger than you looked. now, you and her were sitting at the kitchen table doing what seemed to be the thirtieth arm wrestle of the past half an hour.

you smiled as you pushed to make paige's hand hit the table again, not even straining yourself to do so. "P, i think we know who is better, can i please go make dinner now?" you had invited kk and nika over for dinner at your guys' apartment that night and you were supposed to get cooking by 5:45 and it was now nearing 6.

"no y/n. i don't know how your cheating, but there is no way your beating me fairly." you roll your eyes as you get up, now standing behind your girlfriend as you rub her shoulders up and down. "face it, you just need to work out your arms more." she groans as you turn and walk into the kitchen, not accepting defeat. "i will win one!"

"sure you will babe."

-

you were cleaning dishes an hour or two later when you were cornered by paige, nika, and kk in your kitchen. "how can i help you ladies today?" you dried the rest of the cups, putting them on the rack to dry.

"paige tells us you're an arm wrestle god. we find that hard to believe." nika crosses her arms and kk narrows her eyes at you as you laugh at their competitiveness. "if you guys think you can take me.." you put your hands up in defense as you round the counter to lean on the table.

nika had sat down after attempting to beat your four times, eventually admitting that you really were a force to be reckoned with. kk on the other hand not only made you go against her eight times, but made you switch hands for two of them.

"freak of nature over here." you felt paige's arms snake around your waist as you leaned over the table for the last round against kk. her head was on your shoulder and you rubbed her forearm that was resting on your hip.

"not my fault a bunch of college athletes can't beat some random at an arm wrestle. seriously, should i call Geno and let him know?" kk laughs at your comment and her and nika leave shortly thereafter.

-

lying in bed later that night with paige's head resting comfortably on your chest, she whispers up to you. "i might actually have to start working my arms more because damn babe, they're sore from wrestling." you let out a giggle at the possible double meaning of the sentence and nodded.

"you're still the arm wrestle champ, i'll tell anyone who askes that today was a fluke." you smile as you kiss her forehead goodnight, thinking about all the other inside jokes the two of you would have by the time you grew old together.

um anyway, the girl i like told my bsf that she likes me so yk, your girl got game or wtvr. i was actually losing my mind but shhhhh..anyway thats all, not proofread, also please give me more CC requests!! - kate

[verdantlights]

Thoughts/Analysis Part 2 (but its coherent)

OKay so i slept (finally) after staying up since wednesday morning and only getting roughly 5 hours of sleep in total?? until I finally managed to get decent hours of sleep last night. anyways. i am still not normal in the slightest over round 7 but i have many more thoughts, am a lot more coherent, and have had it swimming in my head for a while.

TW for mentions of drug use. I'm gonna start with Luka. I've stated in the edit I made of the original post as well as in a few reblogs, but Luka is a victim. A lot of people are Luka haters, and that's valid! I am also, to an extent, a Luka hater.... even if I have a thing for blonde twinks with issues. But his character is also incredibly interesting. If you are familiar with Honkai: Star Rail, then you might understand what I'm saying when I think Luka is a combination of both Sunday AND Robin. He has the trapped bird in a cage mentality from Robin with the need for order and control mentality from Sunday. Order and control referring to winning being the only thing keeping his sanity in check.

Luka, as a human pet, is aware that he is playing a losing game. He needs to win, but he knows that winning Season 50 is not the end. He may have won against Till, but now the segyein are going to put him against Hyuna, considering Hyuna and Mizi were referred to as special guests. The way he looked at Hyuna in that last scene was part of him realizing this. It's the face you pull when you realize something horrible, but you need to keep face/keep your composure.

Their ear pieces are similar to their collars in that they show the emotions of the wearer. We can clearly see Till's earpiece glowing red the entire time (up until Mizi appears), and Luka's is constantly glowing green. Luka was seen in hysterics pretty much the entire time like the one frame where he's holding in his laughter.

Luka was drugged on something that makes him euphoric and lose his sense of control, like weed or cocaine. He found fucking with Till to be the funniest thing ever, but it's not normal for Luka to be so outwardly expressive of his elation. We know he enjoyed fucking with Mizi, even if it let to getting his ass beat, but even then, he wasn't as expressive then as he was with Till. That leads me to believe that he has something in his system to heighten his emotional output as well as some sort of adrenaline drug like what Till was most likely given.

What bugs me is that they don't show us what color his earpiece is as he looks at Hyuna. We see Till's earpiece turn green at Mizi, but does Luka's stay green as he looks at Hyuna? I feel it was orange, but that's just me.

Luka now knows what's about to happen, which is also why Hyuna tries to stop Mizi. Hyuna knew the whole time that if they were to save Till, they'd be walking straight into the trap. Mizi's heart is too kind and she's desperate to save Till.

Thankfully, what Hyuna had gone there for originally seems to be completed. Whatever files she was downloading was complete before she went after Mizi, and I think that's where were gonna see Issac and Dewey again. I think she might've been uploading those files to them so that they can take the lead from there. This leads me to my prediction for the next episode. (ill get to till last, hes my little meow meow and im not normal about him)

I don't think Blink Gone is done. I believe there is a part two to the Finals, and that round 7 wasn't even the final round. I've already stated that the most likely thing to happen next is Luka v Hyuna, but then I also talked about Issac and Dewey.

Hyuna could have gotten her hands on high profile data regarding Alien Stage. She sends the data to Dewssac, and they shut down the stage from the inside, allowing the resistance to come in and do a massive sweep, hopefully before either Hyuna, Luka, or Mizi dies.

Now, as for Mizi. We know Mizi is the main character, and there are people who are saying Till's death boosts her hero arc. Now there are two ways I see this happening, either:

Vivinos keeps up their streak of tragedy and kills off everyone, leaving Mizi isolated entirely.

Or someone (dewssac, hyuna, mizi, maybe even luka) pull through and live to save more people.

If it's the first one, Till is dead dead. If the second, Till has a chance at being alive.

There are many reasons why Till is most likely alive, and as a hopeful feeler... I also am clinging onto the more hopeful ending (the second option). Not just because "Haha guys I need Till to be alive, he's my bias" but also because seeing Mizi completely isolated and forced to fake a smile and perform would absolutely fucking destroy me and I don't think I'd ever be the same after that, honestly. Like that genuinely scares me.

There's the narrative of ALNST and vivimeng's beautiful storytelling. That is my number one hopeful reasoning for Till being alive. If Till dies here, it would be utterly nonsensical and it would ruin the narrative. It would completely void all of Ivan's character, for starters. I was just talking about this with @rockwgooglyeyes and Vant (idt they wanna be tagged here), but Ivan's character is static. He is not dynamic or fluid, but he is extraordinarily complex which makes up for it. He never really had an arc of his own unless you count what happened in his past during/before being bought by Unsha. His death is meant to haunt the narrative, meant to haunt Till. So why would he die, only for Till to die a few hours later? It would completely ruin what he was meant for and it would be so unsatisfying and bitter.

However, there's also the thematics of ALNST. Rock called out @pwippy for this already, but I'm gonna call them out too because fuck you plip (/j i love you plipster). Rock put it really well in these two excerpts I took from his post:

"Alien Stage is a universe full of suffering and pain for humans, forced to perform until they literally die on stage, all for the entertainment of the audience. It's not even meant as a way of exerting control or oppressing them, though it serves that purpose, because why would the seygein bother to oppress something that can't even fight back? Why go to the trouble of controlling something that is just a pet, whose cries are the fuel for a new age?"

Once again mentioning the Hunger Games because I genuinely can't help myself I love THG way too much, but that's the key difference between ALNST and THG: the human pets aren't being forced to do this because of a past rebellion and are being punished by the oppressing government... They're being thrown into this for fun. Full credit to @alien-til-i-stage who said this as a joke, but it is really fucking real, but the segyein bringing their human pets to watch ALNST in the audience are like people bringing dogs to a dog fight in real life. And that, I fear, puts into perspective as to just how much of a pet the humans are to the segyein. They are only there for entertainment. The resistance is mostly a thorn in their side as of right now (dewey and issac better change that next episode or istg) and killing these humans is simply just fun for them. They know humans can be hostile, just like dogs, but they tame them and make them docile and obedient, only to make them kill each other in the end, even if it's through a singing competition rather than an all out teeth and claws brawl. (except for round 5, that doesnt count)

"In this world of pain and suffering, perhaps death is a mercy. If Till is truly dead, then he no longer a tool for his oppressors, he is free of their control. For Ivan and Sua both of their deaths were mercies to them- Ivan was able to die for the one he loved, as was Sua, and neither of them were forced to live in a world without their beloved."

(thank you rock i love you pookie snookie)

He also mentions that it's not in character for Till to die, which I completely agree with. Till's persona is that of someone who wants to win, but not in the same way Luka needs to win. Till wants to win to live and survive with those he loves, he wants to win to beat the system, but considering how dystopian of a world this is, as much as he wants to win and save Mizi, he craves death as a freedom.

That out of the way, another thing that @junebluues actually got me to think about was this:

The bomb has Till's eyes and is crying as it knows it's going to die (assuming it's a sentient alien like Freddie). And the comparison here honestly opened my eyes a little bit and got me thinking.

Was Till a catalyst? Because that was a smoke bomb. I ended up thinking about it for a minute and came up with three possibilities where Till is a bomb/smoke bomb:

Mizi is using Till to hide her feelings

Till is the bomb that sets off a chain of events

Till is used to hide/cover up the real plan for either the segyein or for the resistance

I don't think it's the first one, I feel like it'd be closer to the other two, but any three of those could work. Because Mizi's feelings of despair over her situation can be hidden behind the hope as she reached out for Till. But as the smoke clears (Till dies) she remembers that it was, in fact, a bomb.

EDIT: Also, the lyric that plays during the smoke bomb scene is "No, don't look back now" which also kinda leads me to believe that Till is the start of a chain/domino effect. Once you knock the first domino, you can't go back.

I think someone somewhere had also talked about Till being forced to be used as a catalyst/bait again considering how well it worked here. There's a good chance Urak might have supplied the drugs to Till and also paid out or WAS paid out by another person to use Till as bait. Urak wouldn't want his pet that he is grossly possessive over to die that easily without every ounce of use being wrung out of him,,, something something Till being a Trojan Horse of sorts (thanks rock for that one, too).

EDIT: I also remembered that during the sequence in the song where the audience is singing the chorus and we see Ivan on the screens, is when Till looks like he's about to pass out. What gets me here is the fact that it is quite literally a chorus of vultures. The audience singing the chorus with images of Ivan surrounding him and seeing Luka mimic Ivan made Till realize that he was surrounded and that's when he started losing hope. It's why his reaction to Mizi is so prominent, because it's like she was there to save him from the vultures. The audience singing is my favorite and also least favorite part of the video/song because the feeling of being surrounded and cornered with everyone against you and their voices echoing in your head... really does it for me. I really want to animate this sequence from up close in Till's POV.

Anyways the 4th reason i had for the bomb theory was that Till is smoking hot (sorry). okay im done now i think,,,,,, i might actually come back with more because i think i forgot something... but i cant remember..... i forgor.....

other tags: @shakingparadigm @aakaneeee @ivanttakethis @k9punkout @crustyfloor @apriciticreveries @bluemoonscape @tsukacchako @nottoonedin @paperstarry

side note that i genuinely put more effort into my analyses than i have ever put into any school essay ever

edit: FUCK I WAS SUPPOSED TO ANALYZE THE LYRICS AGAIN GOD DAMNIT i dont feel like doing that anymore ill just do it later maybe

[vanesycho]

welcome to stray kids headcanon！| m.list | 1,7k word

stray kids as friends with benefits | who can continue without any feelings? who can't?

방찬 bang chan | he will be completely gentle and protective towards you. he will consider your wishes rather than his own and will make sure you are getting enough pleasure.

It would be hard for him to form a bond with anyone else, so I can see that he will only be with you. even thinking about being with someone else makes him question his loyalty and even if he tried, he wouldn't be able to. for him, this kind of relationship is only between you and him.

I think he will succumb to his feelings, he is an emotional person and it seems like he can't sustain this kind of relationship for long, but he can still stay silent. he may occasionally compliment you during sex, but you can't tell if he really means it. he will try to keep it up as long as he can. If his feelings start to get the better of him, he may decide to end this relationship and distance himself from you.

"I wanted to keep quiet just to be with you, but it's getting harder to carry this burden, y/n. I can't hide my feelings for you anymore."

리노 lee know | he is definitely controlled. he acts as close as he needs to be in a relationship and doesn't cross boundaries. he is someone I think he can handle. he will talk to you outside of this relationship but even in this he knows how to maintain boundaries. If he realizes that you are unknowingly getting close to him he will back away, he doesn't want you to think the wrong things or get carried away. he has no intention of being friends with you, just sex and that is enough for him.

as long as this thing between you continues he won't be with someone else, he just doesn't prefer it. he doesn't need someone else when he already has someone, he doesn't care if you are with someone else, all he cares about is you being there for him when he needs you.

"I see how much you value me, but maybe the best part is that we don't push each other too hard."

창빈 changbin | oh he's definitely falling for you. it'll be hard for him to stop. this kind of relationship is not for him at all, he had no idea why he got into it but now he's paying the price by liking you. changbin is an emotional person, even if he tries not to show it. so the slightest bit of interest you show him will make him think that you have an interest in him in his delusional world.

this will bother him for a while and he'll wonder if he should tell you. if you're with someone else, he'll 'joke' about it.

'It's not fair for you to do this when you're the only one in my life. that's not what we agreed on.'

i still don't think he'll be able to handle it for long, he doesn't want to lose you but the confusion in this relationship is wearing him out.

"i don't want you to misunderstand but i don't think i'm the right person for this. i feel like i'm falling for you more and more every day. maybe it's better if we end this."

현진 hyunjin | It 'might' be easy for him to have a non-emotional and fun relationship. he might invite you on dates outside of that and whine about not being able to win a plushie as if he didn't ruin you last night. It might be normal for people to think you're dating, you deny it every time, but after a while, he might start to wonder. If you're coming to the dates and you're not with anyone else, then why aren't you guys dating? that would solve everything faster.

he feels like it might help it put sex on the back burner for a while and focus on him.

'look, I'm the one who understands you the best, I wouldn't miss me if I were you'

'can you believe jisung said we look like a couple again today? that's weird, but you have to admit that we look good together'

he'll try to confuse you with things like that, well...whether it works or not is up to you of course.

I don't think he'll say that by asking you out on a serious date. more often he will say it out of the blue when you are together on a normal day, petting the dog or shopping at the grocery store.

"how do you feel about dating with me? I am the only person you do these things to and the only thing missing is a ask. I don't think there is any need to complicate things, besides i think we both like each other anyw- look! here is the chocolate you wanted."

한지성 han jisung | jisung is the worst person for this relationship and he still doesn't know how he got into it. for some reason i can see him doing it because he likes you and can't say it and then starting this with you so he can be close to you. or maybe he got nervous because others provoked him and told him he couldn't do it things like this.

because dude, i don't think there's a chance he won't have feelings. this topic will hurt him more emotionally and he might ignore you for a while. he might compliment you every now and then, try to show it somehow. he'll try to make things more than just sex between you. but if he can't show it, he'll eventually give up and say it.

he'll probably blurt out that he loves you during sex.

"i love you, i fucking love you so much. why can't you see that? i want to do these things as your boyfriend from now on."

필릭스 felix | he's complicated. you don't know if he's acting so close because he really loves you or if you're misunderstanding because he's really kind. he can really be the sweetest and best partner you've ever seen and thinks about you in this relationship. if felix doesn't have feelings for you, he can still act close to you. more like a friend you can talk to.

'look, i know what this relationship is but if you really need help, don't hesitate to call me. i want you to know that i care about you beyond that.'

if he does have feelings for you, he can spend some time alone to clear his head, he'll respond to your messages briefly and tell you that he's busy. during this time, he'll gather his thoughts and think it's more appropriate to tell you, he can't continue this knowing that he has feelings for you.

"i think i started to have feelings for you without realizing it. i'm sorry if i ruined everything y/n. but i don't think i can do these things anymore knowing that i love you."

승민 seungmin | this might be easy for him. he knows what not to do before starting a relationship like this and of course he doesn't forget the most important rule 'no emotional attachment'. knowing this and trusting himself, he doesn't think he can form an emotional attachment. if you're really in a difficult situation and don't have anyone to talk to, he'll be there for you but he doesn't see it as appropriate to meet up outside of that.

don't get me wrong, I'm not saying he's not an emotional person but if he's not sure of himself, he won't get involved in such things. he has a side to his life that you don't see and he prefers only those close to him to see him like that.

it's important for him to know what makes you feel good during sex, he wants to do it properly and if you don't like something, he wants you to tell him clearly so he can act accordingly afterwards. talking about such things comes easy to him and he wants you to feel comfortable too. do you want to hold hands during sex? he'll definitely keep that in mind.

"come on, tell me. I can't make you feel good if I don't know what you like. we're both in this together, and I care about what you like. I want my partner to feel good."

양정인 yang jeongin | this is fun for him for a while. the idea of freedom that comes with being young entertains him and he might start this to be like the others in a way. he's someone who doesn't know how to keep boundaries, so he'll invite you out on dates other than that. more fun dates where you hang out as friends and where sex isn't at the forefront.

you can see that he's the same in real life like he's the same in sex, he's hyperactive and never stops, he's not quiet during sex and he likes to tell you how good it feels even if he doesn't moan.

you can still see that he's more cheerful on dates, he might make flirty moves on you without realizing it, he's a total boyfriend material and he likes that idea.

still, this thing he started for fun and to be like the others might end up costing him. he might think like hyunjin, since you do everything together, what's the point of you not dating?

it might be hard for him to figure this out on his own, so i can see that he'll get help from someone. he gets advice from each of them and wants to make the right decision.

he's starting to love you and he doesn't want to lose you, all the time he spent with you so far is precious to him, you are precious to him. that's why he won't hesitate to tell you that he loves you when he's sure.

"this situation was fun but now every moment I spend with you makes me feel like my feelings are moving to another dimension. It's hard for me to continue like this but if you let me...I want to continue as your boyfriend from now on."

[sashaforthewin]

"Eddie Munson! I didn't think you'd show up!" Tommy H exclaimed, looking shocked as he came over to shake Eddie's hand like they were old friends instead of old enemies.

"How could I miss the twenty year reunion?" He asked.

"You didn't seem to have any trouble missing the ten year reunion," Tommy pointed out.

"Yeah, well, ten years isn't enough time for people to lose their egos. Last time I set foot in Hawkins, people were still hunting me for sport."

"Uh. Yeah. Listen, man, I'm actually really glad you're here. I want to apologize for the way we treated you back then. Not just with Chrissy's death, but in general. We were just dumbass kids."

"Yeah, appreciate that," Eddie recited for the seventh time this night. Whatever. Eddie's life was amazing and all these fuckers looked rough as hell and pretty pathetic, so let them have their little breakthrough moment or whatever this was for them. Eddie didn't lose anything by letting these folks think they had become better people. Maybe they had, who knows, Eddie couldn't care less.

"No, really, I feel so- holy shit, is that Steve Harrington?"

"Oh, yeah, he's with me."

"He's with you? Like, as in…"

"Hmm? Oh, no, we aren't actually gay, we just got stuck playing a really long game of gay chicken. I thought he'd give up by now, it's been twenty years."

"Ha ha, that's a good one. I can't believe Steve Harrington is gay."

"Like I said, he's not. We are both just really competitive. We have three kids and two cats and a really nice house together, he's a great roommate but I know he'll crack first."

Tommy's smile wavered.

"If you don't believe me, you can ask him yourself."

"No, I, uh…"

"Anyways," Eddie said, patting him on the shoulder and taking his leave, "I'd love to stay and chat about how great my life is so you don't feel so bad about your past self, but I see other knuckleheads waiting to apologize to me and I'd rather get it over with quickly so I can go fuck my roommate in the school bathroom in the hopes that he finally admits I win."

Tommy stood staring after Eddie, completely baffled. Then he hurried over to his former friends along the wall.

"Babe, why is everyone looking at us weird?"

Eddie glanced around as if he hadn't noticed everyone watching them and shrugged.

"Standard homophobia, probably."

Steve sighed.

"No, I know what homophobia looks like. You did something. What did you do?"

"Hmm? Oh, uh, I might have… told them we were playing gay chicken."

Steve groaned. "Eddie, you didn't! Ugh, this is the elementary school all over again! You know I still have to see those teachers every day at pick up, right? No matter how much I explain you were joking I can tell they don't completely believe me and it's been three years!"

"Yeah, but you don't ever have to see any of these folks again after tonight," Eddie pointed out, face full of mischievous glee.

Steve sighed and rolled his eyes. Any attempt at true anger was pointless in the face of Eddie's playful charm.

"Fine. Let's go grab each other's butts while we slow dance to confuse them more, I guess."

"That's the spirit!"

[brucewaynehater101]

I want to see the destruction of Tim's ability to trust people.

Fic idea: [Timeline might be a little whack, but I tried]

It starts when Tim is a kid. I don't know much about boarding schools, but I doubt they inspire trust. Just a brief examination of boarding school trauma, his parents breaking promises, and Tim learning to emotionally fend for himself (his parents love him, but are unavailable. The other adults in his life are paid to care about him).

Still, he has a naive childish trust (as developmentally appropriate for his age). He has full faith in Robin, Batman, and Dick Grayson (any iteration of Dick). He also believes that Robin is magic and his heroes will always win (as kids tend to do).

To stray a little from canon, Tim meets Robin!Jason on patrol. Jason's not Dick, but he's Robin. He's kind, a bit of a mother hen, and funny. They only meet three times, but Jason has proven he can and will protect Tim (or the camera kid).

Jason dying shatters Tim's worldview a bit. He didn't think that was possible (logic and emotions are different, especially at that developmental stage).

His faith in Batman shakes with the man's violence, but he logics it away. The man just needs a Robin. Tim can help.

Then we get Dick Grayson. Although the man refused to be Robin again, he's still Tim's hero. This relationship gets built over time to be a strong bond where Tim implicitly trusts him. Dick becomes everything to Tim and the one person Tim knows he can always rely on. This will need to be shown again and again throughout (and will highlight how Tim's perception on trust will constantly flux [because, up to RR, Dick proves to always be there for Tim as much as possible. No matter what else is happening in Tim's life, he can rely on Dick]).

Tim gets sent away to Paris and exposed to Lady Shiva's worldview. It doesn't fester, but it allows Tim to understand there's more perspectives to the world than what he's known. It's a background realization.

Tim's mom dies.

When Tim temporarily becomes Bruce's ward, he's kind of confused. His previous experiences with being under guardianship outside of his parents are transactional relationships (his parents pay the boarding school to take care of Tim for them). So, the guardianship is included with Tim's work as Robin. That makes sense. Tim has full faith in Batman.

Bruce, however, is different. Tim doesn't really know the man behind the mask. During this time, Bruce tries to become close to Tim. Tim starts to trust Bruce as well.

Then the whole chaos of Jack waking up from his coma happens. For Jack and Tim, it centers on Tim trying to trust his father despite them not really knowing each other. There are differences in their desires, wants, needs, and communication styles. There's Jack struggling with his grief, his brush with death, and a kid he hasn't spent enough time with. Robin being revealed ignites the tension and Jack's fear of losing Tim (to death or distance).

Jack and Tim's relationship becomes real rocky due to their beliefs conflicting each other (about Robin, Jack's role in Tim's life, trust, perception about Tim's experience of being directly and long-term parented, etc). It's rough. They fight a lot, but they start to understand each other.

Steph becoming Robin and dying shakes Tim's faith in Batman. He has faith in him as a hero, that the man wouldn't purposefully hurt Tim, but he now thinks Bruce doesn't always make the right decisions (though feel free to add Bruce victim-blaming Steph and gaslighting here to highlight how Tim might still trust Bruce).

YJ is so important for Tim's story about trust. They teach him about relying on others, communication, boundaries, interpersonal relationships, and someone always having your back. They can and will do anything for each other. It required time and effort, but YJ proves that dependability can be built. After Tim trusts them with his identity, they become some of the few people (besides Dick) to know Tim deeply.

Dick taught Tim about reliability and that he'd be there for him, but Dick's tied to Tim through Batman. Dick needs to interact with him (though the nature of their relationship is entirely up to them. Dick chooses to be caring, which Tim acknowledges and appreciates and loves him for). There's also slight power imbalance due to Dick being a mentor and adult (and not a peer). YJ, on the other hand, doesn't need to interact. They can walk away at any point. This means Tim has to put serious work to maintain those relationships. While Tim does know some of this socialization stuff from civilian friends and boarding school, that's different from trusting those friends to protect or defend him on the battlefield.

Tim's civilian friends also need to be lied to for the "greater good." He loves and cares about them, but can't have honest and authentic relationships with them. This is where Tim's trust in himself and self-belief about his trustworthiness can be explored (fear gas and such can also be used).

Jack dies right when Tim is starting to have a decent relationship with the man. This fractures Tim's ability to hope and be optimistic. He still can, but it's harder and more wary.

Finding out "Jason is alive and he did slit Tim's throat" while being beaten up in a place he was supposed to feel safe obliterates Tim's notions that "what has once protected you always will." In fact, what has protected you may turn around to harm you (both Jason and the TT lock down procedures).

For Tim's 16th birthday, Tim learns that Batman can and will harm Tim (and children) if the man thinks his reason is justified. Tim doesn't believe, after it's all done, that his friends or family will betray him. Despite that, he spent days internalizing that someone he trusts could and would betray him unexpectedly, leading to great harm. That lesson stuck, even if he doesn't actually believe in it. Lack of confidence doesn't change that it could happen.

He also learns the answer to a question he never wanted to know: Would Alfred choose Bruce over the batkids? Tim doesn't have proof that Alfred would do the same to the others, but he does have proof that Alfred will follow Bruce's plan even to someone he loves' detriment.

Tim kept shit from Bruce due to his previous experience with adults. Now Tim actively doesn't trust him in regards to some matters. He still believes in Batman.

Then there's Bruce hitting Dick and/or Jason (especially while dressed as Batman). Tim can't let go of his faith in Batman [habit and sunken cost fallacy], but this wars with what he sees Bruce doing to his kids.

Kon and Bart die.

Which... Tim knew that was possible, but there's a certain level of delusion that one needs to be a hero. Tim needed to have faith that his friends would be safe and that they would always come home. They were metas, after all. It doesn't matter that Tim's seen so much death, lost so many people, and watched other metas die. He's also seen his friends survive impossible odds.

Then there's the unfair emotion of them not being there when he needs them (because they are dead). Even when they return, he can't rely on them like he used to. There's no guarantee that they will be there.

Continually, their death rapidly reduces the number of people Tim can fully be himself with and can rely on them for hero stuff. While the retired members of YJ are loved, cared for, and trusted, their relationship is more distant after they retire. Tim doesn't blame them and is happy for them. That doesn't change the outcome of their relationship reflecting the status of retirement.

I'm not entirely sure on the timeline of Steph coming back to Gotham, but that fucks with Tim. To add on, their whole relationship has a ton of secrecy and lies on both parts (particularly when Bruce gets involved).

Damian coming to Wayne Manor fucks with Tim's sense of safety and trust too. He's pretty jaded by this point, but he wasn't expecting to be stabbed by a ten year old. Being attacked in Wayne Manor (probably the last place Tim trusts to protect him) disintegrates any notion Tim has with the ability to associate physical spaces with safety (this could morph into, later, him having issues letting his guard down in spaces he doesn't have full control over [like his nest]).

Then the BotC happens where Tim trusts Jason enough to release him from prison (which then bites him in the ass. This isn't an argument whether Tim should or shouldn't have done that, but just a reflection on how this impacts Tim's ability to trust).

When Tim walks in on Damian in the Robin suit, that's straight-up betrayal to the teen from the person he trusts most in the living world (perception is also important for trust. Dick doesn't see it that way and is trying his best, but Tim feels a dagger in his back). Dick getting Cassie and other heroes to stand against Tim is the cherry on top for all of this (again, this isn't hating or disparaging other characters. They had their reasons, some of which come from a place of concern. Tim is also not blame free. Despite that, this is about Tim's perception of trust and reliability).

Then RR is a representation of Tim knowingly putting some form of trust in people he shouldn't (Pru, Owens, Z, and Ra's). By this point, he expects betrayal and harm. That makes it easier for him to form transactional relationships with these people (though Pru, Owens, and Z form a tentative friendship with RR [which fucks Tim over when 2 of them die]).

When he comes back, he lies to Dick about expecting to he caught. Tim still loves, cares, and trusts Dick, but not about that. He also doesn't want to hurt his brother either.

A cool twist would be to see Tim have a better relationship with Jason and Damian. He doesn't trust them, and they don't trust him. They all expect the other to stab them in the back. This is what paves the way to mutual respect and understanding (though Jason and Tim would bond over their feelings about the other Bats). Tim still somewhat trusts Dick, but not with his emotions or mental well-being. This trust is still more than what most others have with him.

Anyways, I want to see the progression of Tim, as a child, knowing that adults can be trusted for some things (like food, shelter, education, etc.) and not for other things (emotional security). I want to see this morph over time as he learns and relearns what he feels and knows about people. In the end, he's a paranoid, distrusting, wary, and jaded individual.

[femsolid]

"Feminists have long avoided putting too much emphasis on the biological differences between men and women, knowing that these will be used against us to classify us as inferior. In doing so, we have painted ourselves into a corner, accepting a politics which continues to regard male-bodied people as the default humans while downplaying the equally important experiences of female-bodied people. We have fallen victim to a patriarchal protection racket, which promised us the right to be considered as something more than walking wombs in exchange for the denial of our existence as a sex class, in much the same way we were promised sexual autonomy and reproductive choice in exchange for waiving any objections to hardcore pornography and the growth of the sex trade. In both instances, men have got what they wanted without delivering their side of the bargain, but still we wait. We don’t want to make a fuss, because to do so would only draw attention to the fact that we remain female, after all. This is gender equality conceived of as a polite lie: men agree to overlook our quite obvious "female inferiority", in return for which we ease up on the demands relating to actual sex differences. As the protagonist of Elisa Albert’s 2015 novel After Birth puts it, ‘Heaven forbid it might be true that female bodies are different [. . .] Because, what? We might lose the vote? Because we might get veiled, imprisoned? Best deny it, deny it, make it to the Oval Office, win, win, win.’ And yet, as we know from 2016, we don’t make it to the Oval Office anyhow.

Meanwhile, older mothers, menopausal women, those with longer back stories, are less willing to pretend sex differences don’t matter, and are terrible at keeping quiet about it. The longer you live in a female body, the harder it is to deny its impact on your position in the world. We are encouraged to believe that any serious acknowledgement of sex difference and why it matters – and particularly any recognition of qualities which female people possess which male people lack – will lead to backlash, but once we examine what female bodies do over the course of female lifecycles, the difference between their socially constructed low status and their actual worth could not be clearer. Ageing can mean the shift from ‘I will be treated badly if I am overly identified with what my (shameful) female body can do’ to ‘My (brilliant) female body did all this, and still I get treated this way?’"

- Hags by Victoria Smith

[yuurei20]

Short translation from Twisted Wonderland: the second novel.

Post-Overblot Leona (the flashback monologue)

"I grew tired of thinking, so I decided to enroll at Night Raven College, though I had no interest in it. I knew  I was just running away from the pain, but my heart felt lighter, nonetheless. 

If something is far away enough, you cannot long for it. 

The intensity of the sun, the scent of new leaves, the damp wind of the rainy season—it is so far away that it’s nothing but a blur, from here.

The restlessness dulls, and the pain slowly numbs. But, at some point, even that started to change.

A new pack was formed, and with it, new despair. 

‘Help us,’ they said.

‘You’re the only one who can do it. Please. Just as expected of our Housewarden. Our king.'

As king, I cannot let the pack starve. I knew that, but I also knew that Malleus cannot be defeated head on. I had to come up with a plan to take him down and win, by any means necessary. Anything to win. To win. I want to win. No matter what, I want to win.

And if I don’t, if I give it everything I have and I still lose, what should I do?

‘Ah…just forget it.’

When I realized that the plan to remove Malleus had failed, suddenly, I understood.

That everything is pointless. That the future throne I desire does not exist.

It didn’t bother me as much as I’d thought it would.

It's a fool’s errand to strive for something that cannot be obtained.

I want to forget it all as soon as possible, and be at ease.

But the pack spoke eagerly about the future, with sparkling eyes. 

That alone is terrifying.

It's not their expectations that scare me.

I’m scared of myself. Of how pathetic I would be if their words inspired me, so that I am never able to give up hope.

‘Weren’t we going to turn the world upside down together!?’ ‘You could take on Diasomnia, if you actually tried. I still remember that play you did three years ago!’

Somewhere in my heart, there's still the lingering hope that, maybe, I can still do it. It's an unbelievably optimistic, sweet thought, filled with wishful thinking.

Ruggie, Jack, and the others all talk about these foolish dreams that will never come true, but in the end, I'm just as much a fool as they are. 

I'm not strong, I’m not wise, and I'm not loved. Is this who I am? I can't accept that.

That's the one thing I do not want to admit. 

I'm utterly fed up with how unreasonable I am. Don't make me think that there might be a chance.  Just let me believe that there is no point in having expectations. 

I am tired of struggling and suffering for things I cannot attain.

I hate knowing how insignificant and boring I am.

People say I should try. What else can I do? I've already given it everything I have.

Maybe what I should be striving for is the strength to give up. 

And that sounds like the most painful thing of all.

Ah, life truly is unfair."

[sissylittlefeather]

Kinktober Day 16: Mirror Sex

Easy to Love

Warnings: 18+ Minors DNI, SMUT, body image issues

Word Count: ~1.6k

Kinktober Masterlist

“Honey, I've told you and told you. Yes, I still think you're sexy.” Elvis follows you around the house as you tidy and move things and generally just try to keep from letting him win. 

“I know you say you do, but I'm not sure when the last time you really looked at me was.”

“I look at you every day.” You huff and roll your eyes. 

“You know what I mean.” 

“Well, I would look at you naked every day if you'd let me!” He catches a baby toy that you throw in his direction and tosses it into the pile in the corner. Why you insist on tidying things up never ceases to amaze him. You have a maid to do that, but you weren't raised with that kind of luxury, so it's in your blood to clean things in your own house. 

“Honey, please. The baby is with your mom. It's just you and me here tonight. I would like to make love to my wife without the lights turned off and you fully dressed.” 

“Maybe you should've married someone else, then.”

“Oh stop it. I married you because I love you. And I'm gettin’ real tired of your whole song and dance about how I wouldn't want you if I saw you.” You look over at Elvis and he stands there with his hands on his hips. He looks better than he ever has in his life, having just started playing shows in Vegas again after all those years doing movies. And you'd be happy to make love to him, but you had a baby less than a year ago and it's proving more difficult than you expected to shed the baby weight and get back to who you were before. You were a tiny little thing, so small he could almost wrap his hands completely around your waist. And now you're not exactly big, but there's definitely extra soft parts where there weren't before. You turn and face him, as defiant as he is. 

“I just don't look the same and I don't think you'll like it. Just give me time to lose this weight and we can go back to how things were before.”

“Baby it's been almost a year. Almost a year of making love in the dark or under the covers. I want to fuck you like I used to.”

“Have ya seen you? You look great. Maybe you should just… find a fan…” He walks over to you and takes your chin between his thumb and forefinger. 

“Don't you dare suggest something like that. I'm tired of this, Satnin.” He bends over and picks you up over his shoulder. You protest, trying to get him to put you down, but he refuses. He carries you to your bedroom and flops you on the giant bed. 

“I'm just sayin'. I'm never gonna be what you want. And you have women everywhere. Just pick one of them and do whatever it is you're needing.”

“I need you! God you're a pain in the ass.” He rolls the heavy, full length mirror up beside the bed. 

“What's that for?”

“You'll see. Take your clothes off.”

“Elvis I-”

“Damnit for once in your life don't argue! Just do what you're told.” You pout and then start to pull your clothes off. If he won't believe you then you'll just have to show him. “Come here.” 

He takes his own clothes off, seating you in between his legs with your back against his front facing the mirror. 

“El, what are we-”

“Shhh. Look at yourself.” You turn your head to look away and he grabs your chin and forces you to peer into the glass. “Look at that sexy woman.”

“All I see are rolls and squishy parts.” You see him purse his lips over your shoulder. 

“Damn it, honey just stop!” He starts to run his hands over you and you wince in discomfort when he gets to the parts that you don't like. 

“Please stop touching my belly.” You whisper pleadingly. 

“What? This belly?” He puts his hands on your stomach. “The one that carried my baby so well? I'm supposed to not love this part of you?” 

You meet his eyes in the mirror and he's dead serious. Part of you thought he might be making fun of you, but he's obviously not. He sets his chin on your shoulder and runs his hands up to your breasts, squeezing gently. 

“And you can't tell me this part didn't improve.” He's not wrong. Your breasts did kind of come out of nowhere when you were pregnant. Still, they're not as perky as they used to be and you open your mouth to say something but he stops you. “No. You don't get to argue with me.” 

He slides his hands down your sides to your hips and grazes his fingertips over your stretch marks. You'd been so tiny that your hips widening to make room for the baby had caused your skin to split into these scars that you hate. You groan when he touches them and lean your head back to look at the ceiling. 

“Look in the mirror.” His tone is firm, and he's obviously tired of fighting you, but you're too ashamed. You shake your head and keep your eyes up as they fill with tears. “Damn it, y/n, I said look in the fuckin’ mirror!” 

When you look back down at his reflection, a fat teardrop rolls down your cheek. He softens immediately and wraps his arms around you affectionately pressing his cheek to yours. 

“Honey, please don't cry. I know it's hard for you to believe me, but I'm not just sayin’ this. You are beautiful. You see all the ways your body has changed as bad things, but I see them as evidence of my wife’s strength. You made a miracle for me, honey. I wanna worship you for it. Please let me.” 

His eyes are so sincere that it's impossible not to believe him. You turn your head and meet his lips with yours. After a short time you pull back and he just looks into your face for a while. Your heart is pounding as the tension builds between you. Finally, he can't stand it anymore and he dives in fully, his tongue slipping into your mouth to dance against yours. His hands run all over your body, touching and squeezing any part of you that pleases him and you don't protest. The heat in his kiss is too much to interrupt. Eventually, he spreads your thighs and his fingers make their way to your center. The tip of his middle finger gathers some of your arousal and finds your clit, slipping over and around it easily. You moan softly into his mouth and he smiles. 

“You wanna see how sexy you are? Look.” He nods towards the mirror and you turn and watch as he slides his finger up inside you, his thumb playing with your clit now. He adds a second finger and pumps them in and out for you to see. Your eyes are glued to his hand in the mirror as he works your pussy. “I want you to watch yourself cum. See what I see.” 

You nod and whimper as your orgasm begins to build in your hips. He pulls his fingers out and rubs them over your clit harder and faster. 

“Come on, baby. Cum for daddy.” He whispers, nibbling on your earlobe. 

“Mmm, fuck, Elvis…” You moan loudly, balancing right on the edge of your release. He pumps his fingers inside you again and then goes back to your clit. 

“You're so sexy, mama. Cum for me.” That's all it takes for you to fall headfirst into oblivion. You moan loudly and watch in the mirror as the waves of pleasure crash into you and you shudder and pulse. “You see now, how sexy you-”

But you interrupt him by pushing him down on the bed and climbing on top to straddle his hips facing the mirror. You watch with your eyes wide as you sink onto his cock. He laughs loudly and grabs your ass. 

“Yes, baby. There's my sexy girl.” You're entranced by watching yourself in the mirror as you fuck him, bouncing and rolling on his dick, moaning as you see him slide inside you over and over again. He holds your hips and whimpers. You haven't fucked him like this in a very long time. “I'm gonna cum fast, honey. Slow down.”

“No.”

“No?” He closes his eyes and bites his lip as he tries to hold on. 

“I like the way my tits bounce when I move this fast.” 

“Yeah me too. Damn, I've created a monster.” He whimpers and grasps at the sheets. “Honey, I have ta- OH GOD!” 

He holds your hips tightly as his cock throbs inside you and shoots you full of his release. Somehow, the mirror is angled just right for you to be able to see his face as he cums and it's the most beautiful thing you've ever seen. You forgot how powerful it makes you feel to bring him to the place that only you can. When his body relaxes, you climb off and turn around, crawling into his arms. He kisses your forehead. 

“Sorry I didn't last longer-”

“Not a problem. We'll do it again later.” He looks at you in his arms. 

“We will?”

“Mhmm. With the lights on and everything.” You kiss his lips softly. “Thank you for loving me so well.”

“You’re easy to love, honey.”

“Can we have the mirror again?” He laughs and nods his head. 

“You're a pain in the ass. But you're easy to love.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Taglist:

@ccab @atleastpleasetelephone @deltafalax @msamarican @angschrof @lustnhim @jhoneybees @polksaladava @searchingforgravity @librababe99 @hooked-on-elvis @theelvisprincess @makethemorning @your-nanas-house @peaceloveelvis @mrspresley69

[ssentimentals]

love you goodbye {charles leclerc/carlos sainz}

pairing: charles leclerc & carlos sainz

rating: mature

prompt: charles thinks carlos is the only one with who he'll do this stupid challenge of falling with eyes closed; he'll do it without an ounce of fear, because carlos will be there, just like he always has been.

OR, carlos is leaving ferrari and charles realizes he still hasn't confessed.

warnings: nsfw (minors dni even if it's not very detailed). and uh, it's kinda like, songfic? i mean, it's based on 1d 'love you goodbye' song, so in case someone doesn't like song lyrics in between then yeah ;/

it's inevitable, everything that's good comes to an end

charles stares at the bright red wall in front of him and thinks that he can't stand this color anymore. it reminds him of everything he has and all in all it would've been nice, because charles has a lot and he is thankful, but it also reminds him of everything he has lost and is about to lose. red is the color of his car, of his tracksuit, of blood that pumps through his veins slower and slower the closer they get to the end of the season. red is what he sees when someone overtakes him, red is what he breathes when tifosi scream his name, red is what- red is what suits carlos so much more than him.

charles focuses on his teammate, who is currently posing for their photographer. red suits carlos so well - it accentuates his tan skin, attracts even more attention to his built; red fits his character so well too, his passion, how fierce he is on track, the way he seems to just love to live. red is the color of his bottom lip when he chewed on it too harsh, red is the color of his cheeks when he gets particularly shy after compliment, red is what charles sees when someone else gets too close to carlos for it to be considered friendly. feeling his gaze, carlos turns a little, smiling at him. it's not his pr smile that he gifts to all reporters at the paddock, no, this one is sincere because it reaches his eyes and softens his features. charles wants to scream, to crash and burn this entire facility because no way in hell he's not going to see this smile next year.

unforgettable together, held the whole world in our hands

'you did it,' carlos whispers, eyes wide with awe and joy, staring at charles like he can't believe him, like he's seeing god instead of him. 'you did it.'

charles lays in bed and thinks about his win in monza. he thinks about it quite often actually, but not for the reasons one might think. he can't shake off carlos's voice after the podium, the way he spoke to charles almost reverently, how he hugged him too intimately for it to not mean anything. he thinks about carlos's strong grip on his neck, his hand fitting there like it was made to stay there, to keep charles close to him. he thinks about celebrations in monza, how carlos smiled like he won, how pride shone in his eyes, how he shouted charles's name along with others, not holding back. he doesn't think only about monza. he thinks about all the times they laughed together during media stuff, meetings or events together. he thinks about carlos always being the calm ground while charles is a raging tornado, thinks about his big warm hand always rested on charles's knee whenever charles is visibly upset about something. he thinks about how easy it always was with carlos: charles never doubted him to not get his humor or to not have his back during anything. charles thinks carlos is the only one with who he'll do this stupid challenge of falling with eyes closed; he'll do it without an ounce of fear, because carlos will be there, just like he always has been.

unexplainable, a love that only we could understand.

charles knocks on carlos's door before he can think any better. it's almost midnight in qatar and he can't sleep - won't sleep until he at least sees carlos face, he knows it. the door opens after few moments and if carlos is surprised then he doesn't show it, simply taking one look at charles and stepping back to let him in. they don't do this often; in fact, they don't normally do it at all. they are not like yuki and liam who get along so well that it's natural to find one of them in another's room and they are not kevin and nico for whom watching football together is a plain thing to do; charles is not sure why, but they never really spend time with each other outside of media duties. he stands in the middle of the living room, tracing several clothes carlos has thrown on the sofa and half finished chicken burito on the table. his room looks exactly like his own-

'why are you here, charles?' carlos asks, infinitely patient and calm, as always.

what a great question that is. charles doesn't know. he does not know and it kills him more than he can admit, because this is a purely emotional decision and he now has to live with it. he walks further into the room and chuckles sadly at the sight of williams cap. he grabs it without any gentleness, barely thinking straight at the sight of another logo. 'getting ready already?' he asks, trying to make it pass for a joke, but he might as well choke on the venom in his tongue. 'can't wait to go?'

'some fan chucked it at me,' carlos replies, still calm. there's a pause and then- 'why are you here, charles?'

'you think you'll be okay with alex?' charles asks, ignoring the question to him, because he still doesn't have any answers. 'better than with me?'

charles has the urge to throw this stupid cap on the floor and stomp on it and almost does it, but then he hears footsteps behind him and big hand on his back and quiet whisper to his ear render him immobile: 'no one is better than you, charles.'

he turns around sharply, instantly meeting melted chocolate of carlos's eyes. before he can ask anything, carlos interrupts him with a soft: 'why are you here, charles?'

he knows. carlos is very smart and charles fears he knows why he's here even though he himself doesn't fully understand the reason. carlos is so close that their breaths mingle, that charles can feel the heat coming off his body, that he can hear his unsteady heartbeat. without thinking he raises his head and places it on carlos's left side of the chest, right where his heart is. he shivers, when carlos places his own hand on top of his, looking at charles like-

'you'll always be here.'

my heart's already breaking, baby, go on, twist the knife

their first kiss is nothing special. it's nothing to write the book about, cause it's a bit uncoordinated with their noses bumping and teeth clicking, but it's still perfect for charles. everything is perfect when it comes to carlos - the way he kisses, how his hands roam all over his body, small noises that leave his mouth. he turns charles into a blubbering mess surprisingly quickly; charles has half a mind to think that this is the real 'carlos sainz effect'. naked underneath carlos, charles arches his back with a quiet moan, when his torso gets decorated with love bites, while impatient hands free him from his underwear. 'don't leave,' charles whispers despite any logic. it comes from his heart, this desperate wish that he can't hold inside. carlos freezes with his lips on charles's hipbone. he doesn't react at first, but then sucks on the skin hard enough to leave a bruise - an answer of some sort, but charles has no idea what it means.

'under the pillow,' carlos says and charles quickly finds the lube, not even bothering to make any jokes on this. he places it in carlos's fingers and bites his lower lip hard enough to hurt, when carlos leans in and kisses his fingers. 'gracias, amor.'

charles ignores it. ignores the petname that makes his heart two times bigger and focuses on the talented tongue on his shaft and a shy finger prodding at his entrance. 'i'll never hurt you,' carlos assures him in a promising way, urging charles to relax.

liar, charles thinks. liar liar liar. you are hurting me now, you are leaving, you are hurting me with this more than anyone have ever- 'oh,' he lets out, when first finger enters him in a slow pace. 'oh.'

'doing good, guapo. relax for me, okay?'

of course carlos is a talker in bed. charles should've known all of his fantasies were right; he imagined this many times and never thought that he'd ever learn the real thing. and as it turns out, the real thing has nothing on his fantasies. carlos in bed with him is exactly like carlos is with him outside of it - attentive to any signs from him, focused fully on him. charles thinks he's burning from the intensity of carlos's gaze, can't believe that all his want and desire is mirrored back at him. there's also something else there too, but he can't even begin to look into it, because it'll hurt even more-

'shit,' he groans, when carlos insistently presses on the bundle of nerves that sets him on fire. 'fuck- get inside me, carlos. now.'

charles can't handle this gentleness, not right now; it breaks his heart, this gentleness because it makes him dream of how this can be more than just fuck and well. he can't think about it now. carlos withdraws three fingers from where they were buried deep inside him and quickly moves to grab condom from the bed drawer. once he's done, he turns to charles and kisses him deeply. there's an unspoken message in this kiss, an intent that starts fireworks in charles's heart - his hands fly out to grip carlos's shoulders with an aborted whine.

'don't leave,' charles repeats shakily. he doesn't look at carlos, says it with his eyes closed and their foreheads smashed together. 'carlos, i-'

'i know, carino.' the sweetest kiss lands on his eyelid and then on another one. 'i know.'

when carlos thrusts into him in a one go, charles whines so high that he's sure everyone heard him. strong arms grip his hips and pull them higher, low groan resonates in the room when charles locks his legs behind carlos's back, bringing them even closer. charles fears he'll never be able to look at carlos and not think of this - it's impossible. when carlos moves, it's both hell and heaven - hell because his strokes leave charles no room to hold his peak back and heaven because sex never felt this good, this charged with feelings. carlos is a grunter and soon he's grunting right at charles's ear, caging him with his arms on both sides, his hips never faltering in their pace.

'you're the only one, charles.' carlos breathes into charles's mouth, his brown orbs locked with his hazel ones. 'i promise.'

charles closes his eyes because it's too much. he doesn't think carlos is cruel enough to lie about this, but his heart twists from pain and he comes with a muffled shout and his teeth on carlos's shoulder, biting down hard enough to hurt.

oh, baby, let me love you goodbye

'don't.' carlos says strictly, when charles starts sitting up on bed to find his clothes. 'stay here tonight.'

'i can't,' charles says, not looking at him. he stares at his body which now looks like it belongs to carlos with amounts of marks he left; god, this stupid spaniard - having charles's heart wasn't enough for him? 'i need to go.'

'charles,' carlos sighs, exasparated. he grabs his wrist and tugs at it insistently until charles doesn't fall on his chest. 'stop acting like-'

'like what?' charles looks up sharply, glaring. 'like this isn't just some one night stand?'

carlos, as always, stays calm even though charles can see that he did not like what he heard. 'si, yes. you know it isn't.' when charles doesn't reply, carlos frowns and sits up too, staring at him intently. 'you know that isn't, right, carino? you can't not know.'

'how could i know?' charles asks, trying not to sound snappy. 'you never said anything.'

carlos blinks. 'but i always showed, no?'

charles thinks that ground beneath him will open up right now and swallow him and carlos. 'you are leaving,' he states, not being able to keep offended notes out of his tone.

'i am, yes. leaving ferrari. not you.' carlos places their joined hands on top of his heart. 'i told you - you are here. you are the only one.'

this sounds like a confession and it makes charles's head spin. he stares at carlos looking for any hesitation or lie, but finds only complete sincerity in his eyes. 'were you ever planning to confess?'

'were you?' carlos counters with a small smile.

'why do you think i came here tonight?' charles asks, huffing. he leans in, brushing their noses together. 'it- it hurts me. this whole williams-'

'i know,' carlos interrupts, voice solemn and strong. 'we don't have to talk about it now.'

charles knows that the good decision would be to actually talk about it now, but he can't bring himself to do it; he leans on carlos and lets himself be taken into his strong arms with his plush lips on his hair. they will talk about it tomorrow. but for now he'll have carlos all to himself for - hopefully - not the last time.

a/n: phew, getting this one out was hard. you decide on your own whether they make it or not. hopefully you all liked it, let me know! - nini

my other formula 1 works are here

[d-targaryenshoe]

Forgotten Destiny - Anthony Bridgerton

Summary: When one wants a thing it does not mean the other lover would want the same thing, is it not?

Word count: 1543

As the sun dipped below the horizon, casting the sky into a tapestry of fiery reds and oranges, Anthony Bridgerton paused in his work, his pen hovering above the paper. 

He glanced at you, as you were sitting primly on the edge of his desk, your delicate features set in a familiar expression of determination. 

Your argument had been raging for the better part of an hour, and it showed no signs of abating. 

The air in the room seemed to crackle with tension as if a storm were brewing, waiting for the right moment to break free.

You leaned forward, your voice taking on a pleading quality that only served to enrage your husband further.

 "Anthony, I am your wife," you said, "and I am begging you to reconsider. We have three healthy children, which is just fine to me."

Anthony bit back a retort, unable to understand how you could be so content with your current situation. 

"But y/n," he said, his voice strained, "don't you want to give our children the gift of another sibling?"

You sighed, your gaze drifting to the floor for a moment before meeting his eyes again. "Of course I do, but yet I still think we shouldn't."

Anthony frowned, his eyes narrowing. "But why? What's the problem? You know that I can provide for any number of children."

You hesitated, unsure how to put your concerns into words. You glanced around the room, feeling a sense of overwhelm. 

Your house was beautiful, yes, but it was also filled with so much noise and activity. 

Three children were a handful even when they were well-behaved, and you worried that another one might push them all over the edge. 

"Yet it is my body, Anthony," you began.

He looked up sharply, his expression softening. 

"I understand that, dearest. I do not take your sacrifice lightly. But I feel like we are such a close family, and I want our children to have the same bond that we share."

You sighed, running a hand through your hair.

 "I know you do, but sometimes I feel like we lose ourselves in being parents. I want to be a wife to you too, Anthony. I want us to have time for each other, just the two of us."

Anthony's eyes widened at this admission. He hadn't realized how much you had been craving your alone time. 

He set his pen down on the desk and reached across the space between you, taking your hand in his. "You and me talking in my office isn't the same as spending time together?"

 "No, it's not the same. This is us being parents, have a good night, Mr Bridgerton." You snapped before walking away and smashing the door closed.

Anthony sat there for a moment, stunned. He couldn't believe you had just left him like that.

 He watched your retreating figure until you disappeared around the corner, and then he let out a frustrated growl. 

He knew you were upset, but he couldn't help but feel like you were being unreasonable.

The next morning, Anthony awoke to the sound of one of the servants knocking on your door. 

He groaned, rolling over and burying his face in the pillow. It had been a restless night, plagued by thoughts of you and the argument.

 He wished he could just apologize and make everything better.

When he finally dragged himself out of bed, he found you already dressed and sitting at the breakfast table, sipping your tea. 

Your expression was still stony, but he couldn't help but feel a pang of hope at the sight of you. 

He walked over to you, took a seat across from you, and gave you his most winning smile. "Good morning, my love. I hope you slept well."

You looked up at him, your eyes guarded, but not answering or saying a single word.

Anthony frowned, feeling the tension between you grow tighter. "Y/n, please," he said, reaching across the table to take your hand. 

"I know we didn't part on the best of terms yesterday, but I truly am sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel like you're not important to me."

Your eyes met his, and you retreated your hand, going back to reading Lady Whistledown's new gossip.

Anthony sighed, feeling defeated. 

"Y/n, I truly am sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel unimportant. I just want what's best for our family. I want us to have another child, but I also want to make sure that we don't lose sight of the love and connection we share."

You looked up at him but turned your head towards the butler who stood at the door. "Finley, would you mind cleaning the table, It just got to me that I had a talk planned with the Duchess of Hastings."

Anthony frowned, his eyes narrowing. "And what would you like to discuss with her?" he asked warily.

"I'll be back in an hour or two for tea, Finley, thank you very much."

Daphne Bridgerton rose from her seat when you entered the sitting room, your graceful movements a testament.

 "Y/n, how wonderful to see you!" she exclaimed, giving you a warm hug. "It's been far too long."

You smiled, returning Daphne's embrace. "It has been, hasn't it? I do apologize for not visiting sooner. I've been rather busy with the children."

You sat down on the plush sofa, and a servant immediately brought in a tray of tea and biscuits.

 Daphne poured you each a cup, taking a sip before asking, "So, how are things going with you and Anthony? I must admit, I was rather surprised when Mama said he wanted another child."

You took a deep breath before answering. 

"He does...at least he does," you admitted. "Anthony is so focused on his duty as a Bridgerton, we've been arguing about having another child."

Daphne raised an eyebrow. "Oh? have you?"

"Well, Anthony is headstrong that we should try for another as soon as possible, while I want to enjoy the time we have together as a family before we add to it."

"I see," Daphne said thoughtfully, taking another sip of her tea.

 "It's a difficult position to be in, isn't it? On the one hand, Anthony is right in wanting to continue the Bridgerton line, but on the other, you both need to consider your happiness and the well-being of the children you already have."

You nodded, your eyes downcast as you toyed with your teacup. "Yes, it's been rather strained between us. I feel like he doesn't see how important it is for us to have that time together."

Daphne smiled sympathetically. "Well, I can understand where he's coming from as well. Anthony is a devoted father and husband, but he's also a man of duty."

Anthony cleared his throat as he entered the room, his eyes immediately darting between you two. "Ah, I didn't mean to interrupt," he said, his voice a little strained.

Daphne glanced up at him, her expression softening. 

"It's quite alright, Anthony. We were just discussing the challenges of maintaining a happy marriage while balancing family obligations." She motioned for him to sit down. "Please, join us."

Anthony hesitated for a moment before taking a seat. He cleared his throat again and looked at you, his expression contrite.

"I know I've been insensitive. I shouldn't have pushed for another child without considering how it would affect us as a couple, and I never want anything to come between us. I just..." He trailed off, searching for the right words.

Daphne reached out and placed her hand on his arm, offering him a reassuring smile. "It's alright, brother. We all make mistakes. The important thing is that you recognize them and are willing to apologize."

You took a deep breath, trying to calm your racing heart. You knew Anthony meant every word he said, and you loved him for it. 

But you couldn't help feeling a twinge of uncertainty. You had been through so much already, and the thought of adding another child to the mix was both exciting and terrifying.

"I do appreciate your apology," you said finally, your voice quiet but steady. "But we need to find a way to move forward together. We need to decide what's best for our family."

Anthony nodded, his expression serious. "You're right. I want us to find a solution. I want to be the best husband and father I can be."

You considered his words for a moment.

 "How about this? Let's wait until the end of the season. By then, we'll have had some time to reconnect and renew our focus on our family. If we still feel the same way, we can discuss the possibility of having another child. Does that sound fair?"

Daphne smiled encouragingly. "It sounds like a very sensible plan, y/n. And if you ever need someone to talk to or someone to bounce ideas off of, please don't hesitate to reach out."

The three of you sat in silence for a moment, each lost in your thoughts. But there was an understanding between you, a sense of unity that gave you hope. Perhaps, just perhaps, you could find a way to make everything work.

[cosmerelists]

Cosmere Protagonists as Villains

As requested by @idontknowanametouse :)

Let's talk about what Cosmere protagonists would be like if they decided to play for Team Evil!

[Spoilers for book series mentioned in titles--but no Wind and Truth spoilers included]

1. Kaladin [Stormlight Archive]

What turns him evil: I think Kaladin could honestly go down a Moash road, where he decides to take justice into his own hands and punish people who have hurt him, his friends, or What's Right.

What he'd be like: Abso-storming-lutely terrifying. Imagine a Pursuer-esque figure, but it's Kaladin coming to kill you. I mean, you'd die. He once ripped a guy's head off by lashing it to the floor. He never loses a fight. He wouldn't sneak up on you assassin-style, either. He's blowing the front door off its hinges and entering like a glowing Angel of Vengeance to MURDER you.

2. Vin [Mistborn Era 1]

What turns her evil: I can see a few possibilities: like she does take up the power in the Well of Ascension and becomes the new Lord Ruler, or Zane is just a lot more persuasive than he is in the original. But I'm gonna go with "Ruin gets to her so completely that she becomes his agent."

What she'd be like: Vin already has some...villain-esque actions in the original, like when she pretty much slaughters an entire Keep with Zane. But always in the original she was doing it to protect, and she had friends to give her moral and emotional support. But if she was Ruin's, then she really would be a Natural Disaster Made Flesh, bringing Utter Destruction and Ruin to the whole world. Like, she's taking down whole cities single-handedly.

3. Shallan [Stormlight Archive]

What turns her evil: Listen, Shallan already kills a lot of people. We know this, and we still love her. But perhaps she gets a little too into killing people and just goes straight serial killer.

What she'd be like: You ever seen Hannibal? I'm seeing the most beautifully artistic but horribly deranged Murder Sculptures. You know, where she's killed someone and but then turned their corpse into Art.

4. Tress [Tress of the Emerald Sea]

What turns her evil: It's hard to imagine Tress being evil, tbh...but, I mean, she does sell Crow into slavery to avoid the same fate, so there's something there. I'm gonna say that either the Sorceress does kill Charlie or Tress believes that he's dead, and she turns totally to the dark side.

What she'd be like: She already plays with hugely destructive powers and captains a Pirate Ship--plus her crew is actually loyal to her. She'd be what Crow wanted to be.

5. Yumi [Yumi and the Nightmare Painter]

What turns her evil: I mean...Yumi faced religious abuse for like thousands and thousands of years. She took it pretty well, all things considered, when she found out. Imagine if she didn't...

What she'd be like: Yumi is, like, the most invested being in the Cosmere. She's nigh unkillable. And she likes to stack things.... In this case, mountains upon mountains... of skulls.

6. Adolin [Stormlight Archive]

What turns him evil: I think Adolin could break from the combination of (a) finding out his father burned his mother alive and (b) killing Sadeas with virtually no consequences. Maybe he figures that if his dad can do all that and still be a beloved political figure, then he might as well do whatever he wants too.

What he'd be like: Adolin is great with people. As a protagonist, this makes him the sort of guy who makes friends easily, remembers everyone's name, and wins over even people determined to dislike him. Evil Adolin takes those skills but goes straight manipulator. He's winning people's trust only to poison them with lies, turn them against each other, make them think he's the only one they can trust. And if manipulation doesn't work, well, he can always challenge you to a duel...in a dark hallway with nobody around...

7. Sarene [Elantris]

What turns her evil: She just gets tired of not being in charge, considering that she's smarter and more strategic and just better than the men actually in charge...

What she'd be like: Honestly, Sarene would be a fantastic Evil Vizier, the real power behind the throne who is actually controlling everything for her own evil whims. I can see her doing it to Iadon, but that's almost too easy. I know in canon they love each other and are actually good 'n' all, but imagine her controlling Raoden from the shadows and tell me it's not kinda cool...

8. Marasi [Mistborn Era 2]

What turns her evil: She gets the Bands of Mourning...and decides she's never gonna give them up.

What she'd be like: Ultimate Power Marasi would decide that SHE knows what will keep a society happy and healthy, and that's her control. I see her creating a terrible police state where everyone's actions are very tightly controlled and every infraction is punished...but only because she wants what's best for you, you know?

9. Jasnah [Stormlight Archive]

What turns her evil: I mean, remember Jasnah's Philosophy Lesson to Shallan where she baited out some robbers and then murdered them in Cold Blood since they were hurting people and no one else would do anything about it? Now imagine that Jasnah takes it upon herself to fix all societal problems through whatever means are necessary...

What she'd be like: Jasnah could be a sort of Vigilante, who makes sure that "bad people" and "political problems" are dealt with swiftly and murderously. Like imagine the Urithiru coalition of monarchs, only Jasnah's is gonna assassinate you and replace you with a puppet if you're not persuaded by her arguments.

10. Spook [Mistborn Era 1 / Secret History]

What turns him evil: I mean, Spook had a lot of voices talking to him--first Ruin, pretending to be Kelsier, and then Actually Kelsier. And the voices were always pretty darn pro hemalurgy. I'm not 100% sure Spook wasn't evil by the time he was in charge...

What he'd be like: Spook suggests in his book that old people should let themselves be killed via hemalurgy to make sure their powers get passed on. Think that, only it's not a suggestion and it's not just old people and oh my god Scadrial is Hemalurgy Power Planet now.

11. Navani [Stormlight Archive]

What turns her evil: She just gets lost in the sauce, the "sauce" in this case being Scientific Advancement and Discovery.

What she's like: I see her as an Evil Scientist who is simply making terrible weapons of mass destruction more or less because she can...and no longer worrying about the consequences.

12. Ulaam [Tress of the Emerald Sea]

What turns him evil: Listen, he TRIED asking people politely for their organs and limbs after they died, and NOBODY ever said yes!

What he's like: Let's just say he got tired of waiting. And asking.

[evilbihan]

MK1's Lin Kuei

Can we take a second to talk about how bad the Lin Kuei are at what they're doing in MK1? They're supposed to be this ancient clan of elite warriors with years worth of combat experience and knowledge and skills beyond anyone's comprehension... but they're actually so comedically terrible at their job.

I won't include the teahouse fight in this since it doesn't count because they had to hold back against Kung Lao and Raiden but everything happening from there just contradicts all that the story wants us to believe about the Lin Kuei.

Cage mansion fight

Both Sub-Zero and Scorpion get absolutely destroyed by Johnny (who doesn't even seem to have any special powers in the new era, unlike the old timeline's Johnny). Of course, one might argue that they had to still hold back here since Johnny wasn't an enemy, they were just trying to recruit him and Liu Kang was there too, but it only gets worse from here.

2. The Ying fortress

This is one of the most hilarious scenes in the story mode. "No, you two can't come with us although you effortlessly defeated the three of us before because it takes YEARS to master the art of stealth."

What stealth????

Fast forward to the Lin Kuei trying to get inside the Ying fortress. Surprisingly, they can't make it three steps until they're discovered by Nitara and one of them almost dies because he had to show off instead of climbing the wall efficiently and, most importantly, without raising unnecessary attention.

How did Smoke not consider that a guy floating in mid-air would be spotted from a mile away? You can almost pinpoint the moment his brothers realized it was a mistake to bring him with them.

Not that they're doing much better though. On their way in, the three trigger pretty much every single defense the fortress has to offer. Nitara, Ermac... the guards that show up later on.

In fact, this whole thing couldn't have gone any worse if they had brought a marching band along with them.

Next, we get to see Bi-Han and Kuai Liang sneaking up on Shang Tsung so close behind him I'm pretty sure their footsteps would have given them away. They're completely out in the open, Kuai Liang is not even watching his back. It's surprising they made it this far.

3. Capturing Shang Tsung

As we learn, their plan to capture Shang Tsung is, in fact, nonexistent.

I don't know where their experience and years worth of training suddenly went in that moment, but this scene of them just... jumping out of their hiding spot and running at their enemies full speed with no real strategy behind it was so ridiculous and disappointing to me. It just feels rushed and unprofessional and of course, this not at all thought through maneuver triggers the guards to show up and intervene.

It's such an amateur mistake it makes you wonder why Liu Kang trusted them with this task in the first place.

Somehow, the brothers then get overwhelmed and end up captured themselves. The story really wants us to believe the two of them combined couldn't take on a few guards, but later on Scorpion is able to defeat them alone using the power of plot armor.

While Bi-Han had at least some significant wins against Nitara, Ermac, Quan Chi and Shang Tsung, the story of course forced him to lose in the end, Kuai Liang's losing streak for some reason magically ended the second he left the Lin Kuei and Smoke??? He got to beat up an old lady in a staged fight.

It's sad to see how little the writers care about the Lin Kuei, even with the franchise's most iconic characters both being Lin Kuei in the new era. I will never not be upset about the potential that went to waste here. Smoke didn't even get to be in a single fight, we saw nothing of Bi-Han's strategical genius and cunning and the rest of the Lin Kuei only showed up for the staged teahouse fight. They all deserved so much better.