#i need to know if the problem affects all people

[mixingandmelting]

Secretly Admiring You Artistically

Summary: How he's expressing that you're in his mind through art

a/n: based on scenes in the comics as civilians

Dick: Doodles

He’s dying. Actively decaying in real-time. Why he brought back the notepad from his day job as an officer home or why Haley pulled it out from his bag and gave it to you, he has no idea. To make matters worse, he’s crouching on the ground with both hands covering his very-much burning face as you stand in front of him silently, flipping through each page that’s filled with doodles of you rather than work notes he should’ve been taking for the cases he’s working on.

 It isn’t an exaggeration to say his world revolves around you. He’s not ashamed or has any problem expressing how much of a simp he is for you whether it’s to you or everyone both verbally and physically, 24/7. Seriously, he can’t go a day without getting a kiss from you or telling you how much he loves you, no matter the situation. He’s constantly stuck to your side, always smiling from how you showered him with affection back, spoiling him silly to the point he’s thinking he’s the luckiest man in the world. But artistically? He drew a stick figure once during a game of Scribble. Tim was for sure that it was a basketball hanging on a fishing pole. Bruce had told him he can help him get enrolled for art classes. 

“So, did the sarge or corporal see any of this yet?”

“No…,” He manages to wheeze out. He needs the ground to swallow him up right now. He still can’t believe this is how his (poorly and very much terribly drawn) doodles of you are discovered and exposed to you of all people. When he hears the notepad being closed shut, he musters all the strength in his mind and body. “...Can I please have my notepad back now?” He knows the answer. And he knows what’s about to happen next. But maybe today he’ll be lucky he’ll get it back- 

“Nope.” The way you pop the “p” at the end of the word - of course you wouldn’t. He doesn’t even need to look at you to know the type of grin you have on your face.

With that, he gets up and yells your name as he gets up to chase after your running form. Sure, he’s dreading what exactly you might do with the doodles but his heart is filled with adoration from how he still managed to give you happiness from them. You are the most lovable person in the world to him - he can’t wait to kiss the ever living lights out of you when he gets you.

Jason: Poetry

Oh. Well. This is embarrassing.  He rubs the back of his neck, face completely dyed red. You snuggling your face into the crook of his neck while embracing his biceps is fine. In fact, he loves waking up to see you sleeping peacefully next to him. His heart always swells with affection from how you feel so warm and right in his arms while being reminded how you genuinely enjoyed and appreciate him and his presence.  The problem was the book lying open on the coffee table next to him. The book filled with romantic poems that he placed on his face after deciding to take a power nap which ended up as a snooze session.

He had been reading each poem, using a sticky note and red pen (because he’s not a heathen to ruin such beautiful and sacred text) to mark which parts or lines reminded him of you the most. Each sticky note had arrows drawn with whatever note he’d make about you, placed on the long-edge of the pages. It was obvious you had found out the contents of the book before joining him on the sofa as you had done the same, only your sticky notes were sticking out from the shorter-edge. 

“Jason… What’s wrong?” He quickly turns his head away, covering the lower half of his face. The fact you aren’t even letting go when you usually would makes things worse, your grip tightening instead of getting loose. He doesn’t turn around to know the expression you’re making, feeling you nuzzle into his side.

“...Are you telling Roy or the others about this?” 

“What? Hell no. This is only for you and me- why would I want to share it?”

With that, he topples over you and wraps himself around you like a giant, warm teddy bear. On top of relief, he’s filled with childish glee from getting to share something that’ll only be meant between you and him. It gets a chuckle from him when you laugh at how ticklish he makes you as he snuggles into you, eventually making you two fall asleep in each other’s embrace with smiles on your faces.

Tim: Photography

He’s pacing in circles in his room. Then he’s flopping onto his bed and screaming into his pillow. Pacing in the room. And again, screaming into his pillow. He’s been repeating this exact pattern for ten minutes straight now after finding the photo album on his desk. How Stephanie found out about them or why she showed them to you when you stopped by while he was out, he doesn’t know nor want to know. But he’s pretty sure  that he's doomed. Best case scenario is break up. Worst case scenario is you choosing to never see him again because you found him creepy. 

But, it’s not his fault, okay? He’s really down bad for you. Even when he’s dating you, he keeps finding himself falling for you deeper and deeper to the point he doesn't want to miss a single moment whenever he’s with you. So, every time the two of you went on dates or plainly hung out, he’d take pictures of you. You standing on a hill during a sunset, looking outside with the window down in his car, laughing in front of a bonfire with a marshmallow on a stick in your hands. He can’t imagine life without you. He needs to be with you even if it’s in a photo. 

Finally, he  gets back up and dejectedly drags his feet to the desk. Might as well put the album away before more people find out about it. Or so he thought when he suddenly freezes at the sight of a note sitting on top of it. There’s only a single sentence in your hand writing, making him do what it says. Having memorized the order of the photos in each album, he immediately finds a photo of him laughing while sitting on top of the hood of his car. It sits adjacent to a photo of you doing the same, making it look like the two of you were laughing while looking at each other. Heart skipping a beat with tears threatening to spill, he doesn’t look away when he grabs his phone and dials your number. 

“So? Are we hanging out tonight?” 

“No, we’re doing more than that. We’re going to go all out, my treat.” 

The way you chuckle does so many wonders to him. With that, he rushes to get ready. Even if he can’t give you the whole world now, he plans on making tonight the best night of your life since there’s no other way for him to express how much he loves you when words can’t cover half of them.

Duke: Notes

He’s an idiot. That’s what he mentally screams to himself when he drops the pile of handwritten notes right in front of you. Not once had he ever mentioned that he had collected all the notes you wrote to him including the ones back before the two of you even got together. All of them were written as your way to cheer him on, secretly giving them to him in every way you possibly can. It’s as if nothing could stop you from passing him a note, whether it’s during class, passing in the hallways, eating lunch, or slipping them in his school bag. There were even times you managed to place them in his textbooks, right where the assigned reading starts.

All those notes you passed to him, he found solace. He feels that he’s being mentally and emotionally supported unconditionally, no matter the circumstances . You don’t know how he cherishes the smiley faces you draw on them or the words you write. Each and every note he treats like they are a piece of you. It led him to keep a few in his pocket, pulling one and reading it to get the extra boost he needs to get through whatever he’s doing even if it’s homework or patrolling the city. 

Now here he was, caught red handed. He’s so nervous and on the verge of a mental breakdown, fearing that you might think he’s strange. Immediately he starts to ramble, spewing every excuse in the book while watching you pick the notes that dropped from his pocket off the ground. 

“They were growing into a pile inside my bag, so I was kind of in the middle of-”

“Do they work?”

He stops and blinks at you. What do you mean they work? There’s a light blush coloring your cheeks, your hands gently straightening each note to stop them from wrinkling and getting damaged further. 

“Are they making you happy?”  Oh. Oh. He pulls you into a strong hug, hoping his actions convey how he feels about you. It’s not the notes that’s making him happy- it’s you and your efforts to make sure he is that makes him the happiest man in the world.

Damian: Sketching

No. Just no. He’s so embarrassed that he can’t muster a single word right now. You were teasing him a minute ago about how he must have sketches of you when he refused to show you his notepad he carries around. Little did you know and much to his horror, you were completely right and that exactly was the reason why he didn’t want to show it to you. In fact, he had been finishing another sketch of you before your so-called attempt to sneak up on him. You being you, you kept probing him into showing his sketches and with him being so flustered, he ended up getting the notepad snatched out of his hand leading to the current situation where both of you are standing with the biggest blush to be seen from mankind. 

It’s not two sketches he’s drawn too. There’s a whole comic strip he drew in there featuring one of his favorite moments he had with you on top of all the other sketches, some being portraits, some being a compilation of various expressions you make on a daily basis. The way he’s constantly stuck about you has gotten to where Jon had gotten smug at guessing what he was thinking of when Jon found him suddenly grinning to himself. That day, the two of them got grounded by their parents once Damian started to threaten Superboy by getting kryptonite out and the other shot lasers out of his eyes as self defense. 

“They’re so beautiful.” Your muttering snaps him back to reality.

Not wasting a second, he grabs his notepad back. Pride damaged and completely panicked by showing a pathetic side to himself to you, he tries to go somewhere, anywhere, away from you. Only to stop when you grab his wrist. 

“Damian, you're absolutely talented.” 

He mentally groans. He hates how you’re sincere and genuine in these moments. You don’t know how much he treasures you because of this - being open, honest, and accepting of his every being. Worse is you not being aware or truly choosing your battles - it’s how you are; it’s part of your nature. Accepting his loss, he sits back down. He refuses to admit how affected he is by the way you smile with excitement when you pick up his sign. Letting his shoulder brush against yours, the two of you go through his drawings with you commenting on each one while he snarks back though it’s softer and filled with fondness.

[pawsnread]

I have a strict policy in my class that we do not use genAI at all, for any reason. The only mention of AI is in a discussion forum about how its use adversely affects environmental issue (ecology section of intro bio class). Other than the environmental impact, the primary reason I don’t use it is because I want my students to know the basics of the subject matter upon which is base their further analysis and opinions.

“But they don’t need to memorize that! They can just look it up when they are in their careers. People look stuff up all the time!”

Sweet summer child, if you can’t tell me whether Staphylococcus aureus is Gram positive or Gram negative without looking it up then you have a serious problem. If you can’t tell me that tetracycline is a broad spectrum antibiotic that targets protein synthesis without asking chatGPT, then I don’t want you treating me in an urgent care clinic. This is the fundamental shit you NEED to know offhand without having to reference anything.

Furthermore, you are not learning how to properly analyze information if all you do is plug in a prompt to chatGPT and submit whatever it gives you. Unless you are dissecting what the output is to determine whether it was actually helpful or hallucinating, it is going to end up literally hurting someone at some point.

I am the only hold out in my department who refuses to use AI, but recently learned the entire English department is also refusing. So there are higher ed professors who are not blinded by the shiny new AI toy.

ur future nurse is using chapgpt to glide thru school u better take care of urself

[emo-toaster]

Okay, since chapter 6 of my beauty and the Beast fic isn't out yet, I wanna make it up to you!

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No warnings. Just fluff Headcanons

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Gyutaro - Dating Headcanons ๋࣭ ⭑⚝

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╰┈➤ It takes him quite a while to get used to the new relationship dynamics you have. He's overthinking a lot and doesn't know what to do at first. Trust me tho, when he gets the hang of it, finally, he'll be the sweetest boyfriend he can be. He'll sure try!

╰┈➤ Gyutaro will take anyone who shows him genuine affection and care. Male, Female, Non-binary, it doesn't matter. He's simply happy to have you.

╰┈➤ Gyutaro is usually the big spoon, occasionally he'll be the little spoon, it makes him feel better. Like he doesn't have to be the one to deal with every problem all the time, finally rest and be vulnerable.

╰┈➤ If you have long hair, he'll brush it and braid it. He used to do the same thing for Daki back when they were human, and it brings him comfort. He'll be over the moon if you do the same for him. Gyutaro is pretty touch-starved, so when your fingers go through his hair, brushing it, braiding... he'll melt.

╰┈➤ He isn't fond of mirrors. Even though he learned to be proud of his ugliness at some point, he's like that only with other people around. When he's alone, he truly hates his appearance. He'll often doubt himself, wondering if he even deserves you and all the good things that happened to him so far. Gyutaro will then claw at himself, muttering insults and curses directed at himself, well, at least until you find him and get him busy with cuddling with you instead. He'll need a lot of comfort and reassurance from you, but eventually he'll feel better.

╰┈➤ Expect a lot of random gifts from him. Pretty rocks, flowers, hairpins, sweets or anything he'll find good enough will go straight into your hands. Gyutaro will make sure that everything he brings makes you happy, so overtime he's gonna bring more and more stuff that you may like and find useful. Favourite sweets, accessories that go well with your favourite pieces of clothing, random trinkets in your favourite colour. Gyutaro will make sure to pay attention to your preferences.

╰┈➤ There will be a lot of learning, that's for sure. Gyutaro grew up poor and unlike his sister he didn't get great education afterwards. He can read and write alright, but his handwriting is pretty wonky and looks like chicken scratch, he makes hiragana and katakana characters look complicated or unrecognisable— he'll need help with reading too, he can read kanji of course, but it takes him a good minute or two to remember it's meaning.

╰┈➤ Since Gyutaro and his sister reside in the entertainment district of Yoshiwara, your dear demon boyfriend will make sure that no-one bothers you, and if they do...well, he'll take care of them alright. He's very protective of you and his sister, so anyone who messes with you or her will get the same treatment.

╰┈➤ It took a while for Daki to finally accept you. She wasn't very fond of you at the begging, but she grew to tolerate you. She doesn't see you as an equal tho, but she doesn't see any human as such, so it's nothing to worry about. Daki is acting pretty nice around you actually, putting on the sweet facade she also uses in the presence of Kyogoku House's owner. She'll keep all the nasty things she has to say to herself. At the bottom of her heart she is happy that her brother found someone for himself, and she doesn't necessarily want to ruin it.

╰┈➤ Gyutaro will ask you to become a demon. Once in a while he'll bring it up in a conversation, asking if you'd want that. If you refuse, he'll just ask you another time, but if you agree, he'll be more happy to give you his blood so you can join him and his sister.

╰┈➤ He probably doesn't have fleas anymore! Probably.

╰┈➤ It's very surprising, but from time to time Gyutaro tries to show off, prove that's he's good enough for you. He knows he isn't handsome, so if he's not gonna be the good-looking boyfriend, he'll be the strong one. Gyutaro will show off his strength a lot, at some point he'll also want to teach you about fighting with his sickles if you're willing to try. Gyutaro enjoys fighting, it's the first thing he was actually good at, so doing something related to it with you will bring him a lot of joy.

╰┈➤ He's pretty shy if it comes to kissing, but he'll try to be more confident for you. Just be patient with him, he still has so much to learn.

╰┈➤ It's not a surprise, but you're actually his first partner. Back when he was human people wouldn't go near him if possible, after he became a Demon people were even more terrified of him, so it's truly a miracle that he has you with him now.

╰┈➤ If you have a bit of a tummy, then there's nothing to worry about! Gyutaro will be very happy about that, after all it means that you're eating well and you don't go to sleep with an empty stomach. It makes him glad, knowing that you don't have to worry about the same hunger he felt so many times as a human. Besides, he'll love to lay his head on your stomach during your cuddling sessions.

╰┈➤ If you like painting your nails, he'll do it with you. Gyutaro has naturally dark nails ever since he became a demon, so if you like having black nail polish on, it will make him feel great. After all, you two now match! Any other colour will be fine too, but he's still more comfortable with darker shades.

╰┈➤ Well, Gyutaro never had the greatest hygiene, but for you'll he'll try his best. He likes when you take care of it tho, he can then do the same for you afterwards and it brings him comfort.

╰┈➤ he likes listening to your talking. You can yap about anything to him for hours and he'll just sit there with a dumb grin on his face, happy to learn more about your interest or the topics you like.

╰┈➤ Gyutaro doesn't have to sleep since he's a Demon, but from time to time he'll happily take a nap with you, and he'll definitely enjoy it.

╰┈➤ Once, when there was a spider in the room and you asked him to take care of it... he ate the damn spider. After that you begged him to never do that again, and now he just throws them out or kills with one of his sickles.

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[shaiprsly]

𝐂𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐁𝐲 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 - PT.3

𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 : Elvis Presley x Fem!Reader

𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 : 1972. Fame, wealth, and the haunting allure of Elvis Presley—everything Y/N could ever want, except the one thing that really matters: a simple, normal life. Hired as the nanny for Lisa Marie Presley, Y/N is thrown into the heart of the Presley world, where she quickly becomes more than just a caretaker for Elvis's daughter. As Priscilla remains distant, Y/N steps in, offering Lisa Marie the affection and attention she craves. But it’s Elvis, cold and aloof at first, who soon becomes captivated by her. With 15 years between them, Elvis begins to blur the lines between professional and personal, showering Y/N with gifts and flirting dangerously. He may be married, but that doesn't stop him from wanting Y/N. Torn between duty and desire, Y/N must face the growing tension, knowing that giving in could shatter everything she’s worked for. Will she resist the King of Rock and Roll, or will his love prove impossible to escape?

𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬/𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 : Cussing, cheating, age gap (Elvis is 37, reader is 22), emotional manipulation. I guess that all !!

It’s 1 AM when Elvis stumbles through the front door, his movements a little unsteady, the weight of the night’s argument still hanging over him. He’s a bit drunk, the pills he took earlier working their way through his system, dulling his senses. The fight with Priscilla echoes in his head, her voice ringing in his ears after he kissed that fan for a photo. Every damn time he makes a move, she throws a tantrum, and he’s had enough of it.

He mutters under his breath, irritated, kicking off his shoes as he drags himself through the hallway. All he wants now is to see Lisa Marie. After the tension with Priscilla, she’s the only thing that brings him any peace. She’s the only one who hasn’t been a damn problem today, she's never been.

As he walks toward her room, his steps slow and careless, he’s barely thinking straight. When he pushes the door open, expecting to find his daughter asleep, he freezes in the doorway.

There you are, curled up beside Lisa Marie in her bed, both of you sound asleep. You’re still in your clothes, looking peaceful despite the chaos of the night. Your arms are wrapped around Lisa Marie protectively, and he can’t help but feel a wave of something unfamiliar when he sees you both like this.

He hadn’t realized you’d stayed the night, Priscilla didn't tell him, but seeing you there with his daughter—so calm, so natural—it stirs something in him. He’s always been guarded, always kept his distance from the people who work for him or his wife, but right now, looking at you, he feels something shift inside him.

He steps closer to the bed, careful not to wake you, and leans down to kiss Lisa Marie’s forehead. His lips brush against her skin, and for a moment, everything feels right. But then his eyes flick to you, and that strange feeling intensifies. You’re lying there so quietly, looking so peaceful, and something in him softens. He reaches out before he even realizes what he’s doing, his fingers lightly brushing your cheek.

The contact is brief but electric, and he quickly pulls his hand back, his heart racing. He doesn’t know why it affects him so much. You’re just the nanny, after all. But seeing you with his daughter... something about it makes him feel vulnerable. It makes him feel like maybe he’s been too hard on you yesterday, too violant.

He stands there for a long moment, watching you both, his chest tight with emotion. He’s not sure what to make of it, but he knows he can’t stand there any longer. Without a word, he turns and walks out of the room, his thoughts heavy as he heads toward the living room.

Once there, he sits down on the couch, grabs the bottle of pills in the pocket of his jacket, and takes a few, washing them down with only his saliva. His mind drifts back to Priscilla. Damn her. She’s always making things harder than they need to be, throwing fits every time he does something she doesn’t like. And now, she’s throwing a fit because he kissed a fan for a picture.

He leans back on the couch, rubbing his temples. She can’t even take care of their daughter without losing her cool. He doesn’t even know how to make her happy anymore. All he ever does is try, and it never seems to be enough. He thinks about the way she’d treated Lisa Marie earlier in the morning before they left—like she couldn’t even be bothered to be a real mother. It frustrates him more than he cares to admit.

Another pill, another pill, and another one, the frustration won’t go away. But for some reason, when he thinks about you again—how you were there for Lisa Marie, how you held her without hesitation—it doesn’t make him feel anger. Instead, it makes him feel... something else. Something softer. He doesn’t want to feel soft. He doesn’t want to feel vulnerable.

But damn it, here he is.

____

You wake up with a jolt, the quiet darkness of the house making you feel disoriented for a moment. The soft moonlight peeks through the curtains, and you glance at the clock on the wall. It's 3 AM. You look at Lisa Marie, still peacefully asleep beside you, her tiny body curled up in her blankets.

A small sigh escapes your lips as you slip out of the bed, careful not to disturb her. You pull your shoes on quietly, trying not to wake her up, and head out of the room. You’re still exhausted, but your thoughts are buzzing, wondering where her parents are. Are they home yet ?

You move down the hall and toward the stairs, the house still as quiet as a ghost. You can hear the distant sound of a low hum from the living room, and as you reach the bottom of the staircase, you stop in your tracks. There, slouched on the couch in the dim light of the room, is Elvis. He’s still wearing his clothes, the collar of his shirt slightly open. A cigar hangs loosely between his fingers, the tip glowing red as he takes another drag, and there’s an air of recklessness about him that makes you hesitate. The smell of smoke lingers in the air, mixing with the faint scent of whiskey.

You take a deep breath, your nerves on edge. He’s high, his eyes half-lidded, but he’s still awake.

“Mr. Presley?” you call softly, not wanting to startle him.

His eyes flick over to you, and he lets out a quiet sigh, but doesn't say anything at first. The way he stares at you sends a small shiver down your spine. Something in his gaze feels off, like a storm brewing behind his tired eyes.

“I should go,” you say, shifting your weight from foot to foot. “It’s really late, and you're back, so…”

“No,” he cuts you off, his voice hoarse. “It’s too late for you to be goin’ back home now. You stayin’ here.”

You can feel the tension building in the room, a mix of confusion and frustration. “But it’s so late. I don’t wanna—”

“No,” he repeats more forcefully, sitting up straighter on the couch, his hand tightening around the cigar. “You’re stayin’. Ain’t no point in goin’ home alone. just stay.”

You open your mouth to argue, but he interrupts again, his tone sharp now.

“Why the hell you gotta make everything so difficult, huh? It’s not safe out there, especially not now!” He stands up suddenly, his words slurring slightly, the alcohol and pills still clouding his thoughts.

The anger in his voice escalates, and before you can even register what’s happening, the room grows tense, the walls almost vibrating with the force of his frustration.

“No, I have to go home,” you insist, your own voice shaking now, but you stand firm, trying to make him understand. “Mr. Presley..”

He doesn’t listen. His patience is wearing thin, and in a sudden outburst, he shouts, his voice reverberating in the stillness of the house.

“Goddamn it, will you just stop?!” he yells, stepping toward you. “You stay right here, do you hear me? It's too late for you to go home alone, I'm not letting you leave at two in the fucking morning.”

The force of his words fills the room, and your heart pounds in your chest, a mixture of fear and disbelief rushing through you. It’s all happening so quickly. Before you can even react, you hear the soft sound of sniffling behind you.

You turn to see Lisa Marie standing just behind you, at the end of the stairs, crying and clutching her teddy bear.

“Daddy…?” she says in a tiny, quivering voice. Her lip trembles, and her eyes dart between you and Elvis, the fear clear in her gaze.

The sight of her breaks something inside you. You feel a wave of guilt wash over you as the tension hangs in the air. You know that this isn’t what she should be waking up to.

“Shhh, baby, it’s okay,” you rush to her, your voice soft and soothing as you kneel down in front of her, trying to comfort her. But she’s too scared to listen, the tears flowing freely now as she trembles in your arms.

“I-I’m sowy,” she sobs, her tiny body shaking. “don’t like it when you yell, daddy…”

You glance up at Elvis, who is standing there, looking furious, his face twisted with frustration. His anger flickers for a moment as he sees his daughter upset, but it’s quickly replaced by a quiet, bitter remorse. His eyes soften for a brief second, and he runs a hand through his hair.

But the damage is done. Lisa Marie is crying in your arms, and you feel helpless. You don’t know what to say, how to make things right in this moment.

“Mr. Presley…” you begin, your voice small. “Please, you’re scaring her.”

He stands there for a moment, the weight of the situation sinking in, and for the first time tonight, he seems to realize what he’s done. But he says nothing, just lowers his head, and walks past you two, going upstairs to his bedroom without saying anything.

You scoop Lisa Marie up into your arms, her small hands clutching at your shirt as her tears dampen your shoulder. Her sobs are soft now, but they still tug painfully at your heart. You carry her back to her bedroom, whispering gentle reassurances as you go.

“It’s okay, sweetheart. I’m here,” you murmur, stroking her hair as you settle her down onto the bed. “Daddy didn’t mean to scare you. Sometimes grown-ups get upset, but it’s not your fault, okay?”

Lisa sniffles, rubbing her eyes with her fists as she looks up at you, her voice trembling. “Why was Daddy yelling? he mad at me?”

Your heart aches at the fear and confusion in her voice. You sit beside her on the bed and pull her into a tight hug, rocking her gently. “No, baby, Daddy’s not mad at you. He’s just… having a tough night. But you don’t have to worry about that. I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere, okay?”

She nods hesitantly, her head resting against your chest. You rub soothing circles on her back, humming softly to calm her down. After a few minutes, her breathing steadies, and the tears finally stop.

“Do you want hot chocolate ?” you ask gently, brushing her hair away from her face.

Lisa shakes her head, her voice barely a whisper. “No… want you to stay wif me.”

You nod, giving her a small smile. “Of course, I’ll stay. Let’s lie down, and I’ll tell you a story, hmm? How about that?”

She nods again, a hint of a smile peeking through her sadness. You help her settle under the blankets, tucking her in snugly before lying down beside her. She clings to your arm, her grip tight, like she’s afraid to let go.

“What kind of story do you want?” you ask, your voice low and soothing. “Something about princesses? Or maybe animals?”

Lisa looks up at you, her big eyes still glassy from crying. “you sing again? Like you did before?”

You hesitate for a moment, “Alright,” you say softly. “But only if you promise to close your eyes and try to sleep.”

“I pwomise,” she whispers, snuggling closer to you.

You take a deep breath, your voice soft and steady as you start singing “La Foule” by Edith Piaf. The gentle melody fills the room, and you notice her eyelids growing heavier with each verse. Her grip on your arm loosens, but her hand is still on it, and soon, her breaths even out into the quiet rhythm of sleep.

You sit beside Lisa Marie as her soft breaths even out, her little hand still loosely holding onto your arm. Sleep doesn’t come for you, though. The events of the night weigh heavily on your mind—the yelling, the crying, the tension. You glance at the clock. It’s barely past 4 a.m., and the hours crawl by as you stare at the ceiling, trying to push away your thoughts.

By the time the soft morning light filters through the curtains, it’s nearly 7 a.m. You carefully got up from the bed, making sure not to wake Lisa Marie, and sit by the window, letting the quiet of the early morning ground you.

A little over an hour later, you hear her stirring behind you.

“Good morning, sleepyhead,” you say softly, turning to see Lisa rubbing her eyes.

She yawns, sitting up and clutching her stuffed animal. “Gwood mornin’. Did Daddy stop bein’ mad?”

You kneel beside her, brushing her hair back gently. “I think so, sweetie. And I have an idea, how about we do something nice for him this morning?”

Lisa’s face lights up, her curiosity piqued. “Like what?”

You smile, an idea forming. “Well, how about we make him some breakfast? Do you know what your daddy likes to eat in the morning?”

Lisa’s excitement grows as she claps her hands. “He looooves bacon! And pancakes! And coffee—he drinks it all time.”

“Bacon and pancakes it is,” you say with a grin. “You’ll be my little helper, okay?”

She nods eagerly, and the two of you head downstairs. In the kitchen, you let her stand on a stool beside you as you pull out the ingredients. Lisa insists on cracking the eggs for the pancake batter, giggling every time a bit of shell falls in, and you patiently show her how to scoop it out.

“Good job, chef,” you say, handing her a whisk. She beams with pride, stirring the batter as you fry the bacon. The kitchen fills with the warm, delicious smell of breakfast, and Lisa sneaks a piece of bacon when she thinks you’re not looking.

Once everything is ready, you set the food carefully on a tray—pancakes, bacon, a small dish of syrup, and a steaming cup of coffee. Lisa carries a napkin, beaming with excitement as you both head upstairs.

“Shhh, let’s surprise him,” you whisper as you gently push open Elvis’s bedroom door. The room is quiet, and Elvis is sitting up in bed, looking groggy but much calmer than the night before. His eyes widen slightly at the sight of the two of you.

“What’s all this?” he asks, his voice still rough with sleep but noticeably softer than the night before.

Lisa Marie bounces over to him, holding up the napkin. “made you breakfast, Daddy! Look, pancakes! And bacon! And coffee too!”

You step forward with the tray, offering him a small smile.

Elvis’s gaze shifts to the tray in your hands, his brow raising slightly. He looks... different—calm, almost like nothing happened last night. “Well, ain’t this somethin’. My girls takin’ care of me now, huh?”

“We thought you could use a good start to the day.” you say softly, watching for any sign of recognition about last night.

But Elvis doesn’t even flinch. He acts as if nothing happened, as if the yelling, the pills, the cigar, all of it, didn’t exist.

Lisa giggles, climbing onto the bed beside him, while you stand awkwardly by the door. Elvis notices and gestures toward the chair by the window. “You can sit down, y’know. You don’t gotta run off.”

You hesitate but nod, taking the seat. As Elvis takes a bite of the pancakes, Lisa watches him expectantly.

“Good?” she asks, her eyes wide with anticipation.

“Best damn pancakes I ever had,” he says with a small smile, making Lisa beam with pride.

For the first time in what feels like forever, the air in the room feels light—like things might just be okay.

____

Lisa Marie fidgets beside her father, suddenly pulling at his sleeve. “Daddy, I gotta go pee pee!” she announces loudly, hopping off the bed before either of you can respond.

“Alright, go on then,” Elvis says with a small chuckle, waving her off as she darts out of the room.

As soon as the door closes behind her, the air in the room grows still. You glance at Elvis hesitantly, fiddling with the hem of your top. His attention is on the tray in front of him, lazily stabbing at a piece of pancake with his fork.

Clearing your throat, you muster the courage to ask, “So... uh, is Mrs. Presley back yet? I wasn’t sure if I needed to stay again today.”

Elvis’s hand freezes for a moment before he sets the fork down. His expression hardens slightly, though his voice remains calm. “No, she ain’t back.”

You nod slowly, unsure if you should press further. But the way he avoids looking at you makes you curious—and worried. “Do you... know when she’ll be back?”

He finally looks at you, his blue eyes sharp but not unkind. “Probably not today. Maybe tomorrow. She’s stayin’ over at Sonny’s place.”

“Oh,” you murmur, his words settling heavily in your mind. “Is everything okay?”

Elvis leans back against the headboard, rubbing his temple as if the conversation is giving him a headache. “We had a little... disagreement last night. She’ll cool off. Always does.”

You hesitate, wondering if you should leave it at that. But his tone, combined with the tired look on his face, pulls another question from you. “Did it have something to do with why she didn’t come home last night?”

He snorts bitterly, running a hand through his disheveled hair. “Somethin’ like that.” His gaze shifts to the window, distant now. “Priscilla’s got a knack for blowin’ things outta proportion. I kissed some fan for a damn picture, and she acted like it was the end of the world.”

You blink, unsure how to respond to that. The frustration in his voice is clear, but so is the exhaustion.

“Guess she thought makin’ a scene and stormin’ off would make her point,” he adds with a sarcastic edge, shaking his head.

“I’m sorry,” you say softly, not knowing what else to offer.

Elvis looks back at you then, his expression softening just a fraction. “Ain’t nothin’ for you to be sorry about. You just doin’ your job.”

You hesitate for a moment before adding, “So… does that mean I can go home? Do I have the day off?”

Elvis’s gaze flickers over you, his expression guarded. “If ya really gotta go, then yeah, you can. But…” He stops himself, running a hand through his disheveled hair.

Before you can respond, Lisa Marie comes bounding back into the room, her little hands clasped in front of her. “I’m back!” she chirps, smiling brightly.

You kneel down to her level, smoothing her dress. “Lisa, I need to tell you something,” you begin gently.

Her smile falters slightly, and her head tilts in curiosity. “What?”

“I have to go home now, sweetie,” you say softly, brushing a stray curl from her face.

Her face immediately falls, her big brown eyes shimmering with unshed tears. “No…” she whispers, her voice trembling.

“I know, baby, but I’ll come back soon,” you reassure her, reaching out to stroke her cheek.

Lisa’s little hands ball into fists at her sides, but she doesn’t say anything at first. When you stand up, she suddenly lets out a loud wail, throwing herself onto the floor.

“ NOOO ! Don’t go, Y/N!” she cries, her tiny body shaking with sobs. “Don’t leave me!”

You drop to your knees beside her, pulling her into a tight hug as she clings to you desperately. “Shh, sweetheart, it’s okay,” you murmur, your own heart breaking at her tears.

But Lisa doesn’t stop crying. Her little fists pound against your chest as she buries her face in your shoulder. “I don’t want you to go!” she sobs.

Elvis steps forward, his deep voice cutting through the chaos. “Lisa Marie, that’s enough,” he says firmly, but not unkindly.

She looks up at him, tears streaming down her face. “But Daddy—”

“No buts,” he says, crouching down to her level. “Y/N’s gotta go, but you’ll see her again real soon, okay? I’ll make sure of it.”

Lisa sniffles, her lip trembling, but she doesn’t argue further. Instead, she wraps her little arms around your neck one last time, clinging to you as if letting go would break her.

You hug her tightly, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “I love you, Lisa. Be good for your daddy, alright?”

She nods reluctantly, wiping her tears with the back of her hand.

Elvis places a hand on her shoulder, giving you a brief nod. “I’ll take it from here,” he says, his voice softer now.

You stand, giving Lisa one last smile before turning to leave. As you step out of the room, her quiet sniffles echo behind you, and the weight of her tiny heartbreak lingers with you.

____

You drive home from Graceland, the quiet of the empty streets mirroring the exhaustion you feel in your bones. Everything seems blurry—the night, the arguments, Lisa Marie’s tearful goodbye, and Elvis’s unreadable gaze. Your mind is racing, but your body just wants rest.

When you finally pull into the parking lot of your apartment complex, you don’t linger in your car. You’re eager to get inside, to shed the heaviness of the night. The moment you step inside, the quiet of your apartment welcomes you, but it feels different now—more like an escape, a refuge from everything that’s been happening.

You head straight to the bathroom, shedding your clothes from the day before. The water in the shower feels like a cleansing ritual. You scrub away the tension, the makeup, and the exhaustion, but your mind is still consumed by thoughts of Elvis. You think about his smiles, the way he looked at you when you brought him breakfast, the gentleness in his voice earlier. Even though he had his moments of coldness and frustration, there was something about him that was hard to ignore.

You step out of the shower, wrapping a towel around your body, and stare at your reflection. You didn’t expect this—feeling this drawn to someone like Elvis. But you can't help it. His presence lingers in your mind, even when you try to push him out.

After getting dressed in something comfortable, you flop onto your bed, the quiet of the apartment enveloping you. Despite the bright sunlight creeping in through the window, you can’t fight the pull of sleep. It’s only 10 AM, but you haven’t had any proper rest after the emotional rollercoaster of last night and this morning. Your body, sore and exhausted, finally gives in, and you close your eyes, hoping to escape into the peaceful silence of sleep.

As you drift off, you wonder if Elvis thinks about you too, if he’s feeling the same pull. But for now, all you can do is let sleep take over, hoping for a few hours of respite before the day truly begins again.

To be continued...

tags : @pxpresley 🤍

[fallenrocket]

My god, Cassian is just so young in season 1 of Andor. On this last rewatch, it kept jumping out at me everywhere. Especially at the start of the show, which makes sense--he goes through a pretty intense education over the course of the season and transforms before our eyes. But there's just so much in Cassian that comes from being young, traumatized, and desperate.

We see it in his moments of unabashed fear, like when he's stopped by the two corpos in the pilot, the first time he sees the TIE fighter fly past on Aldhani, or as the prison transport takes off for Narkina 5. Even when he tries to hide it, we can see it in his eyes, the parts of him that are still that scared kid from Kenari.

We see it in the chip he has on his shoulder, like the attitude he cops with Luthen in their first meeting: "I don't know you." He's not just guarded and distrustful, he kind of actively resents this guy trying to get too familiar with him. When he's scared, uncertain, or guilty, he tends to push others away, a product of having to fight most of his life and of losing many of the things and people he's cared about. I also think of him coldly telling Bix, "You won't have to worry about me anymore," at the end of their argument in "Announcement."

And yet, by the same token, he can also be surprisingly open and earnest in his affections. For me, this is most apparent in his scenes with Maarva in "Announcement." There, we see his naive optimism that the money he got from Aldhani can solve all their problems. He's so buoyant and hopeful and loving as he suggests running away, saying, "What do we need but the three of us?" Later in the episode, we see that same naivety when he insists, "We'll find a place they haven't ruined yet." But it crops up in other places too. On Aldhani, he chooses Clem's name as his pseudonym, even though he already realizes Luthen has a lot of intel on him and will probably recognize it--in that moment, his distrust of Luthen is outweighed by his desire to go into this dangerous mission carrying a small piece of his dad with him. Then there's that beautiful hug with Brasso in "Rix Road," especially those few extra beats past when you'd expect them to part. When he hugs Melshi in the previous episode, Cassian is rushed, on the brink of falling apart and not wanting Melshi to see. But with Brasso, Cassian needs that touch for a few extra seconds, and he's not afraid to hold on a little longer.

Most of Cassian's dumbest mistakes in the season are very youthful ones. He's an incredibly smart and observant guy, so he's not dumb very often, but when he is, it tends to come back to being young, traumatized, and desperate. We see this especially in the opening Ferrix arc: insisting on bringing an unsecured comm to his meeting with Luthen (oh my god, the way he bickers with B2EMO about them beforehand!) and trying to go back for the starpath unit when the shit hits the fan, even after Luthen repeatedly tells him to leave it. With the starpath unit, part of it is naivety--"What if it's just one guy left?"--and part of it is growing up poor and scrappy. This box represents more money than he's ever had at any one time, and he simply can't process the idea that his buyer would just leave it behind.

Finally, every now and then, Cassian has this subtle but impeccable "little shit" energy. We definitely see it when he messes with Timm in the pilot, deliberately goading him instead of trying to defuse the situation when he sees that Timm is jealous. It's a dumb, petty moment of cheap satisfaction that winds up with some intense blowback when Timm IDs him to Pre-Mor. And I love Cassian's refusal to give up on Kino on Narkina 5, always believing he can be brought into the fold no matter how many times Kino tells him to forget about it. It's a great reflection of how Cassian rejects the Empire's attempts to divide the inmates by pitting them against each other, but part of why he's able to keep at it is his annoying-kid tenacity. I love the scene where Kino brushes him off by saying how many shifts he has left and Cassian immediately responds with, "So...tell me what you know before you go."

It's simply wild to compare the Cassian we see in "Kassa" to the one in "Rix Road." He goes through so much in twelve episodes and really comes into his own, and it's fantastic to see some of the qualities he displays in Rogue One starting to peek through. He's already come so far in his character growth--I cannot wait to see how season 2 gets us from "Rix Road" to Rogue One!

Oh yeah, and Diego Luna is simply stunning. You can really feel how he traced Cassian's life backwards to this point, see how different the Cassian of "Kassa" is from the Cassian of Rogue One and yet still fully believe that this is the same character. All the little hints he drops, all the tiny moments where you can see Rogue One Cassian starting to gestate. It's such beautiful, brilliant work!

[blackberrybuds]

Hi! Genuine question, could you explain what crohns is? I saw from your blog that Kamimura apparently has it and he's my favorite so I was hoping you could explain it and how it affects him. Thank you! /nf -🎱

YES anon i absolutely can i LOVE getting disability asks

okay so crohns disease is an inflammatory disorder that affects your digestive tract. its super super crazy painful and comes with like a billion symptoms but to keep things simple: the main things are stuff like severe diarrhea, fevers, severe fatigue, and weight loss/malnutrition stemming from those. having crohns makes it really hard for your body to absorb nutrients so its normal for people with crohns to be really exhausted and underweight, which like.......

erm yeah this guy is pretty small. look at those legs. he weighs nothing.

with that in mind lets get into HOW IT AFFECTS KAMIMURA SPECIFICALLY!!!

as we know, kamimura's blood doesnt clot. that makes crohns especially dangerous for him, because there can often be a lot of bleeding involved in crohns. if crohns inflammation gets particularly rough, there can be quite a bit of blood passed, which is obviously bad for him so i hope hes TAKING SOMETHING. there can also be a lot of issues with ulcers or fissures that bleed as well, so im not surprised kamimura has anxiety problems, because he basically has to be constantly on edge about this kind of stuff.

one of the classic wonderful fun things about crohns is episodes of very sudden, very urgent need to use the washroom. like, within the minute. non-negotiable. very fun!! especially fun when you are kamimura kazutoshi and you get a decision game punishment that bans you from the dormitories and all the bathrooms are locked at night!! its no surprise that he made a comment about all the motives feeling like they're specifically meant to target him, because this one was particularly harsh for him. this is actually why i headcanoned him as a diaper user in my other post because god i fking hope he is if he had to be locked out of the bathroom for like nine hours a night. diapers/incontinence products in general are fairly common for crohns users so i wanna think he is not SO stubborn that he would refuse to wear them but........i mean youve seen how he is. also considering he has cataplexy episodes that cause him to lose all muscle tone i would HOPE he has something on in case of emergencies

i think we sort of see kamimura's first in-game flare up (crohns episode) way back in chapter one, when he's acting really sick in the morning and ends up hiding out in his room during breakfast and cant really get out of bed and just wants to be alone. crohns is genuinely so painful and uncomfortable and for someone like kamimura who is very private it would probably be pretty embarrassing to be flaring up in a group of strangers so it makes sense that he'd just wanna fuck off and hide out in his room for a while and hopefully ride it out. we also find out in the second investigation that he gets up really frequently during the night, which is another thing thats common if youve got crohns because unfortunately your bathroom needs do not care abt your sleep needs. hooray.

we are all rooting for this little diseased freak!!!!

[chokisnumber1fan]

reblogging this at 2 am so my thoughts are SUPER incoherent and very offtopic and tangential, sorry about that </3

this is such a good analysis of nagi's possible backstory! and while i haven't read past the BM v MC match yet, to me this gives a lot more depth to the relationship that nagi and reo have. i might be delusional since nagi is one of my favourites and also since i don't know much about the later chapters other than a really vague direction but i think this serves as a good reminder that neither nagi nor reo are inherently 'bad' or take up an antagonistic role— they are just two boys that got too codependent and need some space away from each other to develop on their own.

i see a lot of people jump to antagonising either nagi or reo, or judge their duo as a good/bad one, but imo it's more important to view them from a more neutral lens since this isn't just about football or just about their personal lives outside of it— we can see just how much their 'personal' affects their 'field relationship' and vice versa.

from here on out i'm probably straying from the main point that OP is trying to make, so you've been warned!!!

also, if we were to assume that nagi is indeed one of the neglected to some extent kids— then i believe that chris and agi could truly have done better with how they handled nagi. it's pretty obvious that nagi is heavily dependent on reo, but instead of cutting reo out entirely they could have trained the two of them together in a way that allows them to still play together but not be completely dependent on the other. but then again i can see why this would be a much harder task to pull off because of their respective goals and their feelings towards each other (more specifically, reo's feelings towards nagi) that would definitely get in the way. like, reo is entirely capable of scoring goals on his own but he chooses not to because his main objective has always been to assist nagi— and because of this, nagi's had everything handed to him on a silver platter by reo. their formation served them well in the initial stages of blue lock but it's falling apart now, in major part because it was mostly an emotionally driven formation, which makes it a lot easier to predict especially if you're someone like isagi who knows them and their relationship.

nagi and reo are somewhat unique in that their struggles are against their own inherent natures and pasts and not because of them lacking in some sort of skill or whatever. nagi doesn't have the drive to do anything unless he has a solid goal that he wants to reach— he just won't bother putting in effort it (just like OP mentioned).

reo is willing to give nagi the attention and validation he needs; and while this was fine in the beginning, you could say he's almost starting to smother nagi now— almost mirroring the relationship reo has with his own parents, ironically enough. it's gotten to the point where reo cannot be trusted as a narrator since he let his feelings distort the words that nagi really said to him at the start of the second selection. he projected his worst fears regarding nagi and made them true in his mind. i think that reo has a problem with idolising and devoting himself to people to the point of detriment, especially to himself.

lord help me i have rambled so much about this, honestly i don't think i'm even making any sense right now. i feel like that deranged connect the dots meme man right now. somehow this all links up and makes sense in my head so i hope my disorganised addition to OPs post will somehow telepathically make sense to anyone else reading this too 🙏🙏🙏👍👍

I have this foreboding feeling that while we are prepared for Sae's and Shidou's backstory, Nagi's backstory is going to sneak from behind and punch us in the gut.

No, I don't think it's going to be straight up depression like Kaiser's, but I do think that it'll hit close to home.

You see, Nagi got Laissez-faire parents which means they never really interfered with his life. Like, these type of parents—as I have read on some websites—will basically set their child free and let them do whatever they want with no or very few rules/restrictions. They will not tell you, "Oh! You should do this!" or "Oh! You shouldn't do this!" They will simply let you figure out your life all by yourself.

I'm not an expert on this and I'm not calling this type of parenting bad in any way. Every child is different with different needs, and I'm sure there are many who grew up in this kinda family and liked this parenting method. However, I do think that Nagi didn't like it that much, and I got two reasons to think this way:

1. "That's nice."

When Reo said that his family constantly meddles in his life, Nagi's immediate reaction was, "That's nice" instead of being surprised or disgruntled. If Nagi really liked his parents NOT meddling in his life, then he should've said something like, "Really!? Sucks to be you, Reo. I can't imagine living a life like that!"

You getting me?

Also, we all know how Nagi is—he definitely feels that telling someone to do or not to do something is a hassle, so he, probably, feels that if someone is doing all this for you, then you are important for them.

And before any one says, no, I don't think Nagi was tying up his tongue thinking, "They are his parents. They wouldn't want anything bad for their own child, right? I shouldn't say anything against them and should say good things about them just to be safe." I don't think he has this kind of filter in him.

2. "Don't die ."

So, why would you not want someone to die? Of course, because you care for them and want them to be with you.

"Want"

That's really what I'm tryna highlight.

It's a pretty common knowledge that some children are just naturally more independent while others are a bit more dependent and seek guidance from the elders. Considering Nagi's first reaction to knowing about Reo's parents' meddling, I think that Kiddo!Nagi falls into the latter category—someone who likes to be guided and helped by the adults. Now, place Kiddo!Nagi with his Laissez-faire parents... You are getting where I'm going with this one?

That's why I think that Kiddo!Nagi, probably, thought that his parents didn't love him/care for him. And what happens if someone doesn't love you or care for you? Yeah, they don't care if you die which, somewhat, explains why Older!Nagi was happy to hear, "Don't die [before us (probably)]" from his parents.

I have already talked about his potential backstory before too, so it was actually when I heard he had longer bangs as a child that made my head turn to him again—something felt odd.

I understand that having long bangs is not a big deal—Niko's bangs literally cover his eyes, but having it as a kid is way different, y'know. Once you are like 12-13, you somewhat become capable of doing your own hair and clothes by yourself, so you can manage whatever aesthetics you prefer. However, for a kid younger than that, it's the parents' responsibility to look after his/her hair and clothes, and we all know that long bangs are quite bothersome—blocks our vision, sometimes stabs the eyes, and even irritatingly itches the nose.

All in all, till his backstory drops, I'd firmly believe that he was, though unintentionally, a neglected kid—at least, emotionally.

Now I can't get this image out of my head where Kiddo!Nagi is longingly staring at other kids in a park where everyone is learning things like riding a bicycle or maybe playing baseball and stuff with their parents while he is just.. there, probably, all alone.

[ochrearia]

I don't think I should be allowed to have a brain at this point literally can't do anything without my brain making leaps between vaguely related topics all just to prove I'm untrustable and a love bomber and I'm gonna be honest I think the latter is actually true considering how I've been acting this whole time. And I hate that it took me this long to understand that yes I have been too much and all these other things etc etc

And then I'm self aware it's a spiral but I also don't care that it's a spiral because for once I need to hear it because I know what I'm like and I know I just end up scaring people out of telling me the truth out of guilt or whatever and god I make myself sooooo mad sometimes holy shit. But this is my problem that I caused so now I get to lie in this bed because I told myself I was too much and couldn't act like this and did it anyways. And in my quest that was never going to end well wanting to make everyone feel special. I have made my words mean nothing and thus it's like no one is. Incredible job Ochre

I know what the problem is and I'm going to fix it by stopping all of this because that's really all I can do. And I really have no right to feel like shit because I'm the one who was doing it. And I'm tired of making everything about me too I've needed to stop that shit for a while. Just. No more of all this overbearing affection amongst other things. This is not how I should exist

Literally a bunch of top results of how love bombing works good job me. Actually just fuck off for once. And I need to stop talking about everything like I keep telling myself to so just. One. And that's it. Still better than writing another overdramatic cringe toxic one-shot and dragging YS's character down with me or any of the others at this point. I'm just pissed at myself. Like get real. And in an hour or two I'm going to get even more mad at myself for acting like this outwardly, find someone else to bother

Whatever. Just start over. Again. You'd think I would know better by now. Christ

[gender-alchemy]

There’s a thing I’d like to point out that I talked to my girlfriend about recently involving transandrophobia (or whatever u wanna call it, the stuff that specifically affects transmen by a significant margin). So first off I think it’s important to point out that transphobia is something ALL trans folks experience, and is something we should be fighting together, rather than infighting. Additionally, transmisogyny is always something to look out for and I want it to be clear that transmen 100% are capable of and DO perpetuate transmisogyny, often without even realizing it.

That said I wanted to talk about the things that are unique* to transmen so y’all who deny transandrophobia understand that there is, in fact, some trans things that transmasculine folks experience.

*this is not entirely accurate, as there are things here that affect intersex and transfems to some extent at all. Unique in this sense would be more like “primarily affecting”

Infantilization

Now this isn’t something that is exclusive to transmen, there are absolutely situations in which transwomen are infantilized, but the degree in which transmen are infantilized is honestly insane. This whole “uwu soft boi” thing that has plagued the transmasc community is a huge marker of it. It’s not a problem to be feminine or cutesy as a transman, but it is to constantly treat all transmen like that whether they want to be or not.

“Confused little girl”

This one honestly is top of the list for examples of transandrophobia by cis and trans people alike. It also tends to damage nonbinary or transmasculine folks even harder as often we don’t conform to gender stereotypes and binary which leads to being accused of appropriating transness. This needs to stop. If you want an example of this being used, literally every transphobic bill regarding healthcare mentions the “removal of perfectly healthy breasts” amongst other things that treat us like we aren’t aware of what we want simply because we were born female.

“ROGD” or the idea that trans friends are peer pressuring us

So this one is complicated. This is not something that is always unique to transmen. I had to chat with my gf for a bit about this to get her experience as a trans woman to understand exactly what causes this.

In a nutshell, we talked about how when you’re younger, AFAB folks tend to form really close circles in comparison to AMAB folks, especially in high school. What happens then is (as we know, us queer folks tend to travel in flocks lol) when one person in the group comes out as trans, in many cases, others do too. This is where people see a group of once female identifying folks suddenly “turn trans” and they “must be pressuring each other!” Which consistently dismisses their identities and often leads to these trans men being denied the ability to transition without intense scrutiny.

Other issues that are incredibly fucked up

Alright so I’m just gonna rapid fire a few other things to drive my point home, this post is pretty long.

- Forced pregnancies in order to detransition AFAB folks

- Mourning of transmens bodies (ex. “What do you mean you want top surgery your breasts are so nice!”)

[velvetvexations]

Really just saw the take that "if misogyny and transphobia didn’t exist anymore trans men wouldn’t be discriminated against anymore (which is why we don’t need a word like transandrophobia), but trans women would still be hated, and that’s why we need the words transmisogyny"

I don’t really see the logic here. Like. How would one intersection of misogyny and transphobia still exist if neither misogyny nor transphobia existed anymore. Huh.

And. Like. "Transphobia" includes transmisogyny. For transphobia not to exist anymore, transmisogyny, transandrophobia and exorsexism all couldn’t exist anymore either. Else there would still be transphobia. Because these are all different types/intersections of transphobia.

So how. How can you even come to that conclusion?

"Yeah, trans men are hated because of transphobia and misogyny (something the person above did state, but of course those two things never intersect for trans men. They’re either hated for "being women" or for being trans, obviously. Those two things exist completely separately form one another and no one has a problem with both of these things at the same time /s), so if neither of those things existed anymore, they wouldn’t be hated anymore. But trans women are hated because of transphobia and misogyny, so of course they’d still be hated if neither of those things existed anymore (and a bunch of more batshit conclusion they jumped on from this hypothetical that I’m not even going to take seriously tbh)."

I know these are just, like, a handful of people who think like this but WHAT. What is the thought-process here?? I’m so confused.

Like… if being a woman wasn’t seen as something lowly and shameful, "becoming*" a woman wouldn’t be seen that way either. If women weren’t seen as below men and the property of men, women "becoming*" men wouldn’t be a problem anymore either. Those two things do not exist separately from one another.

The only thing I could see as still being a problem in such a hypothetical society without misogyny in relation to trans people would be people under the non-binary umbrella, but even that. Would still be a society where transphobia exists.

And this hypothetical world with no misogyny and no transphobia (where for whatever reason just trans women specifically are still oppressed) does not exist. We cannot fight with stupid hypotheticals of who would be off the worst in this scenario I just made up. I can make up a scenario in which trans men are off the worst while trans women are accepted, too! Doesn’t make it any more real or logical to do! We’re in this world, where all trans people are affected by misogyny and transphobia, because both of those things exist, and they’re typically affected by it in different, though also often similar and overlapping, ways. Which is why we need different words to address it.

And this is not even to begin with the fact that trans men are affected by transmisogyny, just like trans women are affected by transandrophobia. And non-binary trans people often are affected by either or both, and binary trans people are also affected by exorsexism! Funny how that works, right?

[*for lack of better word, but I hope you get what I mean here. A lot of trans people have always been their gender (tho not all), ofc.]

(I'm so tired off these far-too-online people. I want to just throw away my phone sometimes but there’s also so many nice people here too and I don’t want to loose them and I can’t really access in-person spaces, so I just block a lot but still…)

lol

lmao even

peak fucking soul gender "they know we're really women" bullshit

they don't hate trans women because they hate cis women and see people they consider men trying to be women revolting as a result, they hate trans women because trans women are simply cursed to be magnets of hatred

why? just because, apparently

this is so stupid I can't see straight

[manixpixiefangirl]

MelJayVick Wasted Potential…

Okay bare with me now this really gonna be rambling than a full thought meta(i’ll might make one later) but the more i sit the finale and listen to fans interpretation of the Jayvick vs Meljay especially the idea that Vicktor was always gonna be one and Mel was a stepping stone or “mirror” for Jayce to realize his feelings for Vicktor the bigger ick i get. One it’s just a straight up the disposable black gf trope that a lot of jayvick stans don’t see how harmful it is to say he never love mel, he only loved her cause he reminded her of vicktor, and just such a gross way to take an aspect of mel’s character and lore to center it around men.

Two I truly don’t think that is the case and that’s not just coming from me being and Mel fan looking at the writing of Jayce’s character the parallels of Mel and Vicktor i just don’t know if i can unbiasedly agree with it being one or the other for him. Jayce is someone is driven by inspiration, intellect, and the idea of making a difference in the world he’s a big dreamer so much of dreamer he falls apart at the idea of failing at this dream he attempts kill himself. He doesn’t know what to do with himself if he isn’t contributing to change he mentions how his family were builders that helped build Piltover he’s seen the wonders of magic he knows that he can make significant change so it’s understandably devastating coming from humbling beginnings being a dreamer and having the means and opportunity to make change taken away. This also showcases how ungrounded and unfocused he is(i can relate to this lol) he sometimes misses the small steps to achieve his goals or why his goals are important which is where i think Mel and Vicktor equally come into play.

Vicktor quite literally saves him from committing seeing the potential in his work and Jayce himself he is able to ground Jayce plan the necessary steps forward in achieving now their shared vision. Then you have Mel who without her taking a chance on them they wouldn’t have been able to move forward with their plan and see it to it’s full vision. Mel is the only councilman that truly sees their vision on an intellectual level she is also able to ground Jayce when it comes how to work with people and further work with him and Vicktor to see their full vision come true. Also side point hate that fans try to make it seem like she used him for her own gain she believed in Jayce’s and Vicktor’s vision and although she could’ve taken advantage as councilman she doesn’t she argues against using hextech for full on weaponry and she ensures jayce she won’t let the rest of the council corrupt his dream. She has plenty opportunities to use her relationship with Jayce to make nefarious deals with our politicians but she doesn’t cause that isn’t her.

Anyway i like to think Mel is the brains, Vicktor is the heart, and Jayce is the soul of their idealistic dream and all together they could’ve been unstoppable. Vicktor being from Zaun and being disabled being directly affected by poverty Piltover has subject to the people of Zaun reminds both of them who they’re doing this for. Mel being from Noxus a war driven roman like empire(from what i gather of LOL lore) and being an empath know how ppl work individually level and collective she reminds them to be practical and understanding. Then there’s Jayce who is from piltover and a poor house represents unlimited potential his unbound passion is what attracts both Mel and Vicktor. I think they’re all idealist but need each other to achieve their shared dream. I feel like writers not only dropped the ball on the Zaun vs Piltover plot and discussion I think they really did using their relationship dynamics to explore and solve the problems of Zaun and Piltover.

Now specifically why i think it’s not one or the other with jayce is that again i think Vicktor and Mel is that he needs both to stay grounded and that one doesn’t do a better job at than the other and the ground him in diffrences ways. Vicktor reminding him why he’s from the undercity and how their work affects the people. Mel helping him cope the thought of Vicktor’s death in season one and how people operate. Call it the meljay shipper in me but Jayce saying “when i’m with nothing feels impossible” to Mel doesn’t feel like a line you say to someone who’s just a stepping stone to your “real true love”

Another side thought but Jayce searching for magic is whole life and Mel turns out to be a mage??

Anyway this is getting way to long i hope y’all get what i’m trying to say if there’s anything y’all want me to expand my inbox is open! and sorry for any typos:)

[chirpingfromthebox]

Some random thoughts:

I actually did put Ottawa as my pick for last in the standings. And not because I think they're gonna be bad! But because someone has to be! Think about it. I believe in the power of New York this season. I'm not gonna count the inaugural champions, so I'm not putting Minnesota. Toronto has way too many proven powerhouse players for me to ever put them in last. Montréal plays a gritty game like Boston, but had the offensive power to back it up last season, so I'm gonna take that long shot. And so I'm left with Boston and Ottawa. While Boston lacked some real offense, but they drafted with that in mind. So I'm curious how it will pan out. But the deciding factor for me is that I can't count out a team with that much grit, especially when they have Hilary Knight and Aerin Frankel at the helm. So I'm left with Ottawa. And I am fully prepared to eat my own words. Because they've always struck me as the giant slayer team. Anytime someone counted them out they'd come back and make them regret it. Plus if their new goalies can take some of the strain off of Maschmeyer? No matter what happens though, you can always trust the Charge to be an exciting team to watch.

Love seeing that I'm not alone in thinking Hilary Knight is gonna be a force this season. I'm really curious to see what Boston's lines wind up looking like.

On one hand, in my mind I know Minnesota won't trade Britta Curl. If they did it would be a Jaques/Tapani-level holy-shit of a trade. But as a Frost fan I would love it. Not only to get her off my team, but to make all the high-horse naysayers realize she represents a league problem, not some Minnesota-inherent problem.

While she'll never win the title, I just want everyone to know that Lee Stecklein is one of the most impressive defenders in the league. She tends to get overshadowed by the more offensive-defenders, because it's harder to collect defensive stats. But in terms of pure defense she is a true menace to the opposing team. I just need you to all be aware of the beauty of her game.

I'm also gonna take a moment to cheer on the Frost a little bit. I do get why y'all hate on the Frost, in spite of the fact that we are the victims here. But if you seriously think the Frost is gonna be on the bottom? Like that isn't just anger at Klee's menagerie of bad decisions coming out? Think about it. The image everyone has in their minds is the Frost's massive losing streak after the international break. People act like they accidentally got into the playoffs. When you should be thinking, "here is a team that was so good all year long, that they didn't even need to play their last 5 games to get into the playoffs." And that's considering their star player was injured for a chunk of the year!They had the best goalie tandem in the league. They have a host of offensive powerhouses. They already had some top-tier defenders and just picked up Thompson and Batherson? They have a type of depth that allows them to be able to adapt their game in really interesting ways. Some of the real questions are: Is Ken Klee really the hot shit that the league seems to think he is? How will having a new GM who seems incredibly wet behind the ears affect the team? And can the Frost shake off their tendency to be streaky?

And isn't it all just so exciting? Who knows what will happen?! No matter who wins and who loses, we the fans will have won, because this is gonna be some damn great hockey.

2024-25 Season Prediction Survey Results

Read below or read a better formatted version here

The second PWHL season looms heavy on the horizon, and with preseason camps underway, the prospect of change, a new season with new storylines and new team names and logos and new players, haunts us all. We may not all be sports experts, but after watching the first season for months and eagerly awaiting the second, we all have our own ideas of how season two might go. Whether they’re logical ideas or not will be seen upon the future, but I, lover of data and spreadsheets, decided to gather up all your opinions and predictions of how season two will go, from the biggest honor (The Walter Cup) to random questions regarding trades and penalty minutes

Team Predictions -

This was the easy part of the form. Minimal prior knowledge, you didn’t even need to know the team names because I put them all in as multiple choice questions. Hypothetically everyone could have just picked randomly and I wouldn’t be any the wiser. That being said, some interesting trends emerged from you folks, some predictable and some less so.

Walter Cup Winners: Boston Fleet or Montreal Victoire (35.3%)

This was probably one of the closest races beneath the team with only about a single vote difference between Boston winning it all and Montreal winning it all at any one time. As an entirely unbiased Boston fan and casual Montreal enjoyer, I think this prediction is definitely founded in something. Montreal and Boston project to be two of the stronger teams, but I also think I’m biased if only because of how many Montreal and Boston fans I see in comparison to other teams. With all that being said, I’d be disappointed but not surprised if some other less represented team (Seriously does no one believe New York can win? Even Ottawa got a single vote and y’all really hated Ottawa) wins it going away after a hot season. But as my father always says, that’s why we play the game and this game/series in particular is quite a far ways away.

Walter Cup Runner Ups: Montreal Victoire (35.3%)

Honestly, I was expecting pretty similar results for this question as the question above, after all if the general consensus is that one of those two teams will win the cup, then one of them would have to lose it, right? Well Montreal was right up there, but unexpectedly Toronto came in second with 24% of people having enough faith in Toronto getting to the finals and then very little faith in them actually winning it, girlfailures that they are. Montreal tied with them to get second in the cup, followed by Boston (please god don’t let it come to that I don’t think my heart could take two years in a row) and then the mish mash of the Sirens, Frost, and Charge. 

First in the standings: Toronto Sceptres (32.4%)

So Montreal was leading this right up until I was actually writing and then I had to completely change my paragraph mid writing which was so much fun and definitely not irritating at all, but Toronto overtook Montreal for first, aiming for that repeat first in the standings and dare I be speaking sacrilege against the Victoire (who I do like more than the Sceptres) I honestly think they have a better chance. Like a 45% chance vs. a 40% chance. Boston carried up third place in voting and as much as I love the Fleet I think lots of things would have to go right for that to happen (another stunning season by Frankel, more consistent offense, an actual power play, so on and so forth). 

Additionally, as much as I hate to say it, I think we’re seriously underselling Minnesota, just because they made some inadvisable choices during the off season doesn’t mean they still aren’t largely the team who won the Walter cup and has theoretically gotten better during the offseason. Then again, I’d be as happy as anyone to see them crash and burn a little bit so it’s all speculatory. New York got a grand total of two votes but I’m secretly rooting for them to surprise some people. Ottawa got none, but we can cover that in the next section.

Last in the standings: Ottawa Charge (52.9%)

Guys. Guys, really? Ottawa fans, I am begging you, come represent your team because this is embarrassing. Like I don’t know much about what Ottawa’s been up to other than rebuilding the Czech National Team (shout out to Carla Macleod I am manifesting you knowing what you are doing). Like they weren’t bad last year, they were second in goals for, and they did lose a bit but they had tons of overtime losses which means they were in the games. Hell, they were very nearly in the playoffs, they were in the same category as Minnesota and Boston, the two finalist teams! Apparently my unpopular opinion is that Ottawa isn’t going to suck (They hopefully have two solid goalies now so Masch won’t be overworked, they signed some good players, I feel like I’m going crazy.) Otherwise, there’s not much notable in this section other than some doubt about the Sirens and the Frost (lord let it be the Frost /j) but shoutout to the one person truly going against the grain and saying that Montreal is gonna get dead last, I applaud your bravery.

The Four Playoff Teams:

This question was a little less straightforward so we’re gonna split it into three sections. The (Predicted) Shoe-ins, The Contenders, and Ottawa.

The (Predicted) Shoe-ins - 

The Sceptres, the Victoire, and the Fleet all had about 30 votes with nearly 90% of respondents selecting them each as one of the potential playoff teams. This fits pretty well with the previous votes of the Walter Cup winners and runner ups, so I wasn’t too surprised at any of these. All of these teams should have a decent shot at the playoffs and my own mostly unfounded misgivings about the Sceptres aside, this is all pretty reasonable and I largely think there’s a good chance that this is how it goes..

The Contenders - 

The Frost and the Sirens were pretty evenly matched, about half of y’all voted that they’d be one of four playoff teams and I generally agree that they both have a pretty good shot at the playoffs so there isn’t much to talk about here. I’d personally be more excited for the Sirens to make a run at the playoffs, I think they have a chance to be good after last season and hopefully put some things together over the summer, but we shall see.

Ottawa - 

You know I already wrote a whole ramble about this and since then Ottawa beat Boston 6-1 in the preseason and I think they heard how little faith you guys had in them and decided to take it out on my team. That’s all I’m gonna say on that.

The Trade Predictions:

These answers were definitely a bit less clear cut due to the nature of the question, after all it’s a lot easier to say who you think will be good than try and get into the head of GMs and coaches, but a few trends emerged nonetheless. The Frost, the Sirens, and the Charge all got 19 or 20 apiece and I think it makes a bit of sense. After all the Sirens and the Charge seemingly stand the most to gain through trade having missed the playoffs, and from later responses those who voted Minnesota were manifesting a Britta Curl trade which I’ll refrain from judging at the moment. I will say I’m a bit surprised that less people voted for Boston, after all unless my memory is entirely wrong they had the most trades over the course of last season and seem to hold very few qualms about it.

0.500+ Winning Percentage: Montreal Victoire (84.8%)

Guys, I respect this take, I’m 90% sure this was one of my votes for an above .500 team as well, but may I speak a little bit of heresy against the Victoire? Like they’re gonna be good, I don’t have doubt in that, but I don’t know if they’re gonna be that decisively good. They’re a bit injured which could lead to a rocky start and do we all still remember how much they relied on those top few players especially in the playoffs? I’m pretty sure in the Boston series their fourth line may have gotten less than ten minutes overall which I’m not an expert on hockey but isn’t a whole thing about balancing ice time and having solid lines all the way through so your stars aren’t having absurdly long nights (shout out to Erin Ambrose you deserve a gun)?

Otherwise this follows the general trends of the playoffs with a bit more faith in the Frost than in the Sirens, a reasonable amount for the Fleet and Sceptres, and absolutely none in Ottawa which I think we’ll all come to regret but I’ve said my piece about that already so I won’t beat a dead horse into the ground.

Higher Goals For than Goals Against: Toronto Sceptres (68.8%)

This risks getting into actual smart people hockey stuff that I am by no means an expert in, so I won’t spend too long other than to just share the results. Toronto and Montreal are the only two teams with a confidence rate of over 50%, followed by Boston, Minnesota, New York, and Ottawa. I think it’s interesting to think about potential offensive numbers but really can’t speak much to how accurate these have the chance of being because my main reaction is “huh yeah that’s a statistic people can make predictions on”

Player Predictions -

This definitely was a lot less definitive on almost all fronts, and I joked while advertising this that you could just type in MPP for all the answers and get half of them right, which seems to be the approach that some of you took. It’s fair, but expect a lot of repetition looking at these charts due to that because she is just that pervasive. I’ll try to mention as many players you guys picked as possible but you might have to look at the charts because I am neither an expert in all players nor a good enough writer to say anything other than “Yeah that’s certainly a player”

Above 1.00 points per game played: Marie Philip-Poulin (13 votes)

And here is the start to our MPP sweep, starting strong off the bat, about half of the 26 answers to this question included her which makes sense. She was second only to Natalie Spooner last season, with 1.1 pt/g and unless something weird happens I see no reason to suspect otherwise from her. I honestly didn’t expect as many other players to be suggested, after all it was only Natalie Spooner and Marie Philip-Poulin which makes sense, it’s an impressive statistic, but everyone seemed to have their favorites. Sarah Nurse was one player who hasn’t really been on my radar but you guys seem to like her, for this question and a bunch of other ones. I personally am partial to a Hilary Knight comeback season from this list but would be interested to see anyone make that jump.

In the Top Ten Points Getters: Marie Philip-Poulin (15 votes)

Everyone raise their hands if they’re surprised MPP won this in a landslide, oh wait literally no one is surprised I could have told you this when it was literally only my vote on the board. You’ll learn very quickly that oftentime the runaway winner of these simple questions aren’t really the interesting ones, it’s everyone else that got nominated that you can really dig into. Everyone who got top 10 last year, 18-27 points was up here in this list except Brianne Jenner and Katerina Mrazova which I’m chalking up to you guy’s Ottawa hate. Shoutout to Tobi and the one other person who voted for Gabbie Hughes and also Ronja Savolainen, you are the real ones rooting for the Charge.

Also I don’t know if it’s because with Natalie Spooner just kind of ruled the world coming out of Toronto I was completely blindsided by Sarah Nurse on most of these questions sorry Nursey I forgot you existed a little bit hopefully the Toronto girlies don’t tear me apart for that one.

PIMPG Over 1.00 Minutes: Abby Roque (16 votes)

The certainty of the questions ticks up by one for the next few and as much as everyone believed in MPP being awesome overall, one more person believed in Abby Roque being a criminal on skates and/or overly penalized, I didn’t leave room for that distinction. Tereza Vanišová earned the dubious distinction of second place but only with 6 votes and Emma Maltais earned third with a measly 3. Not a ton of Rookie representation here but I’ll be interested to see if any of this draft class take up this mantle. Also shoutout to the two people who voted Kaleigh Fratkin despite her not playing that’s so real and valid of you.

Save Percentage Over 0.920: Aerin Frankel (17 votes)

With the most votes of any player for a single category, Aerin Frankel, The Green Monster, love of my life and the blockade of the Boston Fleet, absolutely swept this category. I might have been thinking this in my head, but it’s good to see my Frankel love reaffirmed for the upcoming season because she deserves it all. And maybe a gun if Boston decides to have a few repeat performances from last year (cough two fifty+ save games in a row cough). The goalie questions have an inherently smaller pool so there were fewer surprises because as a certified goalie lover I try to keep tabs on the situation in net across the league. I’m shocked ARD didn’t get as much of a nod here from Montreal fans but suppose the appeal of Montreal is dissimilar to Boston in that regard as you theoretically have a consistent offense.

20+ Games Started as a Goalie: Aerin Frankel (16 votes)

Honestly I’m surprised Maschmeyer didn’t run away with this question because if it’s who I’d like to see start 20 games and do wonderfully it’d definitely be Frankel but I think with the possible addition of Klara Peslarova Boston shouldn’t be overly reliant on her with Soderburg and potentially Peslarova to back her up. I suppose it might be overwhelming faith in Gwyneth Phillips to be a solid number 2 in Ottawa but she wasn’t that represented in other goalie questions so maybe it was just an oversight considering Masch had the most starts of any goalie in the league last year. More interestingly, I respect the one person who refrained from answering and basically said that there’s so much depth in the league that no goalie will get 20 out of 30 starts. I’m not sure if it’s accurate, but the depth is real so it’s possible.

Billie Jean King (MVP) Nominee: Marie-Philip Poulin (10 votes)

And now we’re officially back in MPP territory and I’m not gonna spend too much time breaking this down because yeah. If Poulin has a repeat performance from last season and Spooner’s out for a significant portion of the season on LTIR, it’s her award to lose. But let’s look at some of the people you think she has the chance to lose it to. Once again you guys are on the Sarah Nurse train and you know what I support. Seeing the team ratios, lots of Toronto, a smattering of everyone else, no Ottawa, is definitely interesting but I’m not nearly smart enough to make conclusions as to what that means so I’ll leave it up to you to decide. (Something something teams with depth might have less obvious candidates if they’re all kicking in?)

Forward of the Year Nominee: Marie-Philip Poulin (10 votes)

Wow. MPP for forward of the year, who possibly could have predicted this. Definitely not me. And yes, you all are probably right but that’s not interesting! That’s not fun and cool and interesting so let’s move on. More Sarah Nurse love in this house and I think I can confidently say there aren’t very many of you confident in a repeat performance from Spooner/think her injured status will prevent her from potentially making this list. It’s a bit more prominent but there’s definitely a big Daryl Watts faction of supporters and honestly I endorse this. I might not be a huge Toronto girlie but I always have a soft spot for players who move teams and she just seems like a very easy person to root for. I just hope she doesn’t do too well against Boston this Saturday <3

Defender of the Year Nominee: Ella Shelton and Erin Ambrose (7 votes)

See isn’t this fun, isn’t this interesting, a tie for first place and none of them are named Marie-Philip Poulin! (ignore the fact she isn’t eligible) Honestly, I think Ella Shelton and Erin Ambrose are the obvious but objectively correct candidates. They were both nominated and both deserving but I think Shelton was a little robbed, after all she was second in points for her team as a defender and fifth yes that’s right, fifth place for points overall. But alas Erin Ambrose is a titaness and also deserved the award so that’s not the point. The point is I think I’m slightly biased towards Shelton between our two winners. As our runners up, we’re really feeling that Sophie Jaques love and I might be anti-Minnesota but I can’t bring myself to be ant-Sophie Jaques. Of course I endorse Keller (Go Fleet!) and can’t say I know enough about the rest of these players defensively to speak definitively on their chances.

Goalie of the Year Nominee: Aerin Frankel (13 votes)

Peace and love on planet earth there’s not much to say that I didn’t already say in the save percentage or games started section so I won’t dawdle too much here other than to say that there was a little less variation of who you thought would be nominated versus who you thought would have a good season (starting 20+ times, high save percentage). You guys tend to stick with proven goalies, which makes sense and I can’t see any place I’d disagree other than to say I think that if Corinne Schroeder keeps up her save percentage (higher than Soupy last year) and New York lets her see less of a volume of shots (she saw about 31 per game as compared to Campbell’s 24) by actually playing defense, she could separate a bit from the other goalies in the league. I’m always rooting for Aerin Frankel and think she got robbed last year, so if she stays the Green Monster she was last season I think she has a really good chance.

Rookie of the Year Nominee: Sarah Fillier (12 votes)

This really reaffirmed for me that most of us have absolutely no clue anything about the depth of this rookie class. Of the nine players named, ⅔ of them were the first round of the draft, one of them isn’t even a rookie (Sorry Daryl Watts you won’t be getting this piece of hardware), and Curl and Daniel were second and third round picks respectively. Meanwhile over 20 rookie skaters got points in the preseason games alone and only Serdachny and Fillier from this list got more than 1 point. The rest of those seven players were all but forgotten. And I get it, preseason is preseason, but my prediction is we’ll have a few unexpected standouts who really break out in the league when no one really saw them coming. I don’t think Sarah Fillier will be snubbed with nominations, her preseason hatty proved that she’s coming out on all cylinders, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the other two are people not listed here. We shall see.

Significantly Better Year (Pt/G increased by at least 0.4): Hilary Knight (7 votes)

Listen, I might be biased as she is the Captain of the Fleet (which sounds so cool and I do need art of her in a pirate uniform immediately if not sooner) but I personally am rooting for a Hilary Knight revenge tour. I think we saw it at the rivalry series and in the single preseason game she graced the ice with her presence, but I think she’s the type of player who underperformed last season and is now prepared to rip the league a new one. This was definitely one of the more varied questions with most candidates getting 1 or 2 votes so I’ll let you make your own opinions though I will say a lot of you are on the Daryl Watts train and think she’ll find her footing in Toronto. My one note is I’m not sure if some of you got the question because there are some candidates here (Sarah Nurse most notably) who had great and/or good seasons (above 0.5 points per game) and going up by 0.4 or more would mean they’d become transcendent players on the same level as the Spooners and Poulins of last season. I’m not saying you’re wrong, I’m just saying there’s only so high players can go reasonably.

Involved in a Trade: Britta Curl (2 votes)

If the last question was a wide field of answers, this was a complete crapshoot. Aside from what I assume are two Minnesota fans hoping to dump Britta Curl on some other team, everyone else seems to be selected at random, so I won’t bother with any conjecture, you can observe and draw conclusions for yourself.

[mcx7demonbros]

Testing, testing, is this thing on

Mine seems to be working ☺️🌻

Yeah, I can see the GIF and image.

But mine still not working.

Answering is fine, but asking is not. Link, GIF, image, audio are nowhere to be found (as seen in bottom left) 😭

[dykedvonte]

You ever just see a Mouthwashing take that makes you want to bang your head into a wall? I literally just saw someone claim Curly couldn't have been emotionally abused by Jimmy before the crash because he was in a higher position of power than Jimmy.

-Shrimp Anon

The mouthwashing fandom has shown me that people genuinely do believe that certain types of abuse are not as detrimental as other types especially when they deem those immune/resistant, ergo, believing one is objectively worse no matter how it affects the person nor the intersections of power, history and dynamics at play.

Get ready cause this is a yap session:

Cause like it's heavily implied that Curly and Jimmy's friendship was toxic and abusive, pointedly in the direction of how Jimmy uses Curly's belief/comfort in him. Curly wasn't forced to enable Jimmy but he was emotional and mentally on edge around him in almost every scene in some way. Mental and emotional abuse are not contingent on what positions you have at work. Yeah, he's Jimmy's boss but he was Jimmy's friend first and it's like getting into Psych discussion to talk about how social power tends to overshadow any perceived organizational power in the human mind. People are concerned about their jobs ofc but they tend to hang onto and put more value/investment into their personal relationships, hence why there tends to be laws and restrictions around mixing the two.

I always see the sentiments that "Curly is a grown ass man", "Curly is bigger than Jimmy", "Curly is Jimmy's boss", "He just needed a backbone" as criticisms of Curly and while I do agree that on the surface level all of these to be true and viable ways Curly could've taken more control of the situation, I often look at the parallels of Anya and Curly as victims of Jimmy pre/post crash.

The way Jimmy talks to Anya post crash is how he talked to Curly in the pre-crash segments. It's hard to pin-point mainly because we know he hates and wants nothing to do with Anya compared to his contrary but similarly handled obsessions with Curly. It's a weird sort of "honey-moon" effect of abuse Jimmy does in terms of emotional and mental victimization. He is always horrid to Anya, always talking down or questioning her abilities and thoughts in a situation, this of course includes the harassment and assault. However, he has a moment of attempted gentleness/conditioning when he question her about the mouthwash when she's contemplating drinking it at the table. The key difference is he has no personal investment in Jimmy outside wanting nothing to do with him, meaning there is no sort of romanticized version of him that he can condition her off of. He knows this, hence, why he always reverts to trying to make her to scared to oppose him.

This sort of give and take of "kindness" doesn't work on her because she knows he is just doing it to take more from her than whatever he could possibly give but it reflects even the "softer" scenes between him and Curly where he always rewords or rephrases Curly's sentiments and concerns to sound more shallow. He is feigning a deeper understanding by reworking Curly's emotions into something bad and needing to be hidden. Everything is laced with envy and resentment, an outburst just around the corner, I mean he even slams the table in the birthday party scene, a tactic in emotional manipulation to set the victim on edge and cloud their ability to respond. Even if Curly knows Jimmy won't get physical in that moment, the physical actions is intended to make him back down in the confrontation in case it does. This is something that is just not person specific. It ingrains itself into how you interact with the world and life and it shows in major and minor ways with Curly.

Post-crash, the abusive nature is more in tandem to the physical victimization Anya went through and the stripping of voice and autonomy we see take place. Like the parasite in HFIM, Jimmy speaks for Curly most of the time and puts words in his mouth, similarly to how he takes Anya's plans as his own. He very commonly, with the both of them mind you, supplements the worst aspects of himself into them; pettiness, selfishness, lack of understanding... And tries to cover himself with their best qualities; kindness, planning, initiative, etc...

These parallel are just to say that positional power has little to do with if a person can be abused and how it can even be flipped to further the abuse. There is no doubt that Curly could've picked up on Jimmy's envy of his position hence another reason he never confronted him as a Captain but as a friend as doing so would immediately put Jimmy in a space to be confrontational/combative.

I think the disdain some people have when they talk about the heavily implied if not implicitly stated emotional/mental abuse Curly experienced being Jimmy's friend is when treating it as an excuse to why he didn't do more. I can understand that completely because it is not an excuse to why he didn't do more but is a very real reason people in his position in these scenarios can experience whether in the context of a work or social environment. However, I also think the way people talk about it really does demonstrate a bigger problem when talking about abuse when somehow who is/was abused is either part of the issue or enabled it.

Harkening back to the sentiments about Curly's inaction regarding Jimmy, I think the exact phrases I used/have seen show how there is an inherent belief that it is easier to overpower the effects of emotional/mental abuse that go in tandem with the perception of Curly as someone who should be able to. There is not an age you suddenly stop being susceptible to abuse nor a set point or low where you realize how it has affected you. You don't suddenly know to stand up or put a face on to face your abuser nor admit that you inadvertently enabled them to subjugate someone else to the same treatment. Maybe it's my psych brain but their is this growing belief that direct action is somehow easy or always the best method with the game shows you instances where it is not always the case. In real life that rings true too. He should have done more, but it's not impossible to see why he struggled to find a way or didn't even if it makes us mad.

It's not easy to suddenly gain a "back-bone". You don't immediately want to resort to aggression, especially if it mirrors the type you were a victim to. You don't want to believe you allowed yourself to be treated this bad, let it get that bad or allowed something bad to happen to someone else. It is easy to be in denial, to retreat to your thoughts or make excuses to avoid the painful truth. It's frustrating but in a way we know is relatable. It why we both hate and love Curly for it. We know we'd be better, we think we'd be better, we like to think we wouldn't falter in the same ways but it's always easier to say that from the outside looking in. It's easy to see what he was doing wrong because we are seeing it, not him, but the game really does make you picture what you would do if this was your raw reality and it's why this debate about Curly seems so never ending/contradictory. We can all say what we'd do but bottom line is that's much different when you're in the moment with all the emotions and human feelings attached.

I personally think Mouthwashing tackles the themes of rape culture, enabling, toxic masculinity, types of abuse and patriarchy in ways that are meant to deconstruct the typical straightforward views we mostly have of these concepts and how little subtilities of them are just as, if not more, detrimental than the overt/obvious parts. The game deals with the idea of little details and bigger picture in a way to show that sometimes the bigger picture is not the issue but the little details that make it up. It's why I have a personal dislike of depictions of Jimmy as the typical horrible person who would of course do something like this because the game is about noticing the little warning signs, the foreshadowing and foresight.

It's why I dislike the typical discussion of "bro code" and "boys will be boys" for the game because the game makes a point to avoid the standard depictions of such. It is about the type of men who still enable despite not condoning, agreeing or even perpetuating harmful beliefs because they can't see the little details or the ways it seeps into their everyday. The severity is not obvious to them as it was not obvious to Curly, Swansea or even Daisuke the way it was to a woman like Anya. There are little details about Jimmy that should ring alarms but if you are too naive like Daisuke, too distant like Swansea or too conditioned like Curly, they are just off markers.

There is 100% more constructive/concise ways to say "Curly was a victim of Jimmy's abuse on an emotional and mental aspect that clouded his judgements and perceptions in the scenario" while also critiquing on the side of "Curly still had a responsibility to protect Anya as a crew mate and Captain that he failed to do due to biases and stigma's he failed to surpass" without the weird condemnation people give him about should've knowing better than to let himself be manipulated by a person he considered a close, if not family/best-friend and had his own reasons to trust initially. Also stop being weird about victims of abuse in general with this fandom, like sorry not everyone has a like social epiphany the moment someone's nasty to them. People are treating it like you immediately know when you are in a toxic relationship immediately or comprehend when a person is actively dangerous and either it's your fault for not knowing how to leave/cut them off or you deserve it. Like the hypocrisy of people believing how certain fans treat the story reflect their irl views but not their own is crazy.

End statement is: I honestly don't even know man, I've been writing this too long and just like no man on that ship was perfect or really helped Anya when it mattered and I feel like pitting them against each other in discussion on who did the least or most or how it was justified sucks cause in the end Anya always did the most and best thing for herself.

[aeolianblues]

it is literally not about legality, if you’re in your late 30s literally what are you hitting up 21 y/os for. Don’t you have investments to make.

[larmegliamori]

Everyday I open Twitter, I see the infamous mafia thread and I am reminded of how stupid people can be