#i should be enjoying speak now tv’s announcement

[najaemism]

… so there’s a tiktok user who posted the “my exes as taylor swift songs” mini smau ,,, they already posted my other mini smaus from my filo blog before and i thought they stopped already but someone told me they posted two smaus of mine again recently and i think they’re planning on posting the whole ttds au there too… i don’t know what to do now lmao their comments are off and i cant send a dm to them 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫

yall pls dont do shit like this ?? i already said i dont want my works to be posted anywhere else, and if u wanna post a smau just make your own ???? dont steal other people’s work ????? man i rlly dont know what to do now this is just really shitty and annoying at this point like ?????? i already called them out once and they’re doing it again idk 🫠🫠🫠🫠

anw this is their user 😐😐😐

[katiemccabeswife]

Awkward Conversations Outfits

Alexia Putellas x Teen!Reader || Alexia overhears a conversation and assumes the worst, leading to a confusing and awkward conversation.

she wrote something! i apologise for the lack of fics but i don't want to give you guys some half-assed writing that i'm not proud of, and i haven't written anything anywhere near my own standards lately (not that i've been able to finish anything) so i hope you enjoy this and that i can get back into the grove of writing and give yous some more fics x

"And then once I think I've figured it out, I second guess myself and think it's too ugly and that I'm going to be judged and then when I look around, there's just clothes everywhere and all I wanna do is out on my frumpiest sweats and cry into my pillow! I don't understand how you guys do it!" Alexia was stunned to hear you rant so freely about a subject she had never heard you utter a word about.

She walked through the door halting your conversation, "Hola, chicas!" She announced herself and watched you slump back into your chair while Ingrid and Frido shared a glance.

"Hola, Ale," You grumbled out, disheartened.

Ingrid struck up a new conversation between the four of you as the rest of the team began to trickle into the changing room. Alexia remained silent though, trying to come up with a reason as to why you wouldn't come to her about this sort of thing, why it had to be Ingrid and Frido you chose to confide in. While it would definitely be an awkward conversation, Alexia would be more than happy to have that sort of talk with you. After taking you in at a young age, you had both bonded so well your relationship resembled that of mother and daughter.

You noticed Alexia seemed to be a little distanced and quiet so you made a move to check in on her when the team started to head out to the pitch, "Hola, Ale," You greeted, wrapping your arms around her and pressing your cheek to hers.

Her arms came to hold yours but she moved her cheek away from yours to lay a quick peck to it, "Hola, bebé, everything ok?" She rested her cheek on yours once again, relishing in the closeness and comfort it provided.

Your brows furrowed slightly, "Of course, I actually came to check on you," You giggled.

Alexia sighed as she saw this as you deflecting. She pulled away from you wholey before holding your face between her palms, "Well thank you for thinking of me, I'm fine, thank you," She pecked her lips against your forehead, filling your soul with warmth, "You know you can always talk to me, right? About anything. No judgement, sí?" She was looking deep into your eyes for any sign of sadness or lies.

All she could find was confusion, "Sí, you sure you're feeling alright?" You jokingly placed the back of your hand on her forehead.

Alexia responded by shoving your head in the opposite way, "Enough now," The lightness in her tone assured you that she was only joking.

Training went on, as usual, you were paired with Keira for drills meaning that you never got the chance to speak directly to Alexia until you were heading out to her car. You spent the drive home with a furrow in your brow uncanny to the one that rested on Alexia’s face as the older woman remained quiet and seemed lost in thought.

Once you arrived home Alexia haphazardly threw the keys onto the kitchen counter before turning to you who stood awkwardly between her and your bedroom, “You can go shower, Cari, dinner should be ready in an hour,” The small, tight smile she wore forced you to reciprocate but filled your mind with anxiety and guilt that came from an unknown source.

After showering, unpacking and repacking your training bag you shuffled out to the living room stiffly to find Alexia resting on the couch, watching some trashy reality tv. Her head raised from its slumped position, “Hola, Princesa,” She tapped the seat next to her, signalling you to join her which you did instantly.

She wrapped her arms around you and ran her hands through your freshly washed hair, “Are you sure you are feeling alright?” She spoke softly but her tone was heavy with concern.

You shrugged your shoulders, admitting defeat, “I feel like you’re upset with me,” You mumbled into her chest, limbs tense and eyes trained on the tv.

You lowered your head as Alexia manoeuvred the two of you so you were facing one another, “Why would you think that?” She lifted your chin with her fingers.

“You just seem…off, and I can’t help but think that I had something to do with it because you seemed fine in training laughing with ‘Tana and stuff.” You unknowingly jutted out your bottom lip, reminding Alexia of your youth.

She shuffled apprehensively in her seat, “It’s just that I accidentally heard your conversation with Ingrid and Frido and felt a little upset you didn’t come to me about it,” She was shy to admit she had basically eavesdropped on your very private conversation.

“Oh,” Alexia was too busy looking everywhere but your eyes to notice the relief in your tone.

“So,” She shrugged now feeling awkward and uncomfortable, “Is there anything you want to ask me?”

“I guess just how you manage to feel sure of yourself and confident with whatever you’re wearing?” Alexia’s eyes bulged out of their sockets and her mind began to run 100 miles per minute.

She turned pink at the question, her reaction throwing you off significantly, “Wearing!? I didn’t think you- I thought-” She was stumbling over her words and by now you were in a state of total confusion. She managed to get herself together and forced out a string of advice, “Well, everyone looks different but everyone is beautiful and there is no one way to look and if you are truly scared your partner is going to judge you, you shouldn’t be with them, let alone trust them with your body,” She had you in the first half but your brain completely melted by the second.

You cut her off instantly, “Ale, what are you talking about? That whole conversation was about how I never know what to wear before games and going out to dinners, stuff like that. I was frustrated with how you, Ingrid, Frido and the whole team to be fair, always look so cool and confident. What are you thinking it was about?”

“¡Oh, gracias a Dios!” She looked to the ceiling as she fell against the back of the couch, “I thought it was a whole other conversation about something way more uncomfortable,” She laughed to herself.

“Oh, Ale! Gross!” You whacked her while joining in on her laughter.

She took a deep breath before continuing, “You just have to own what you’re wearing, you are gorgeous and will look good in anything! Trust me,” She emphasised when she saw you roll your eyes, “How about after dinner, we go look in your closet and pick out some outfits so this weekend you have options for before the game? Sí?” 

You nodded with a smile on your face, “Gracias, Ale,” You moved over to her and she wrapped you in her arms, laying a kiss on your temple. You stilled for a moment before taking a deep breath, “I think dinner is burning,” You said calmly.

Alexia hummed before taking in what you said, “¿Qué?” She yelled and pulled away, running to the kitchen as you doubled over with laughter.

[cryptidghostgirl]

Make You Wish (Alastor x Reader) Chapter One -- Seven Years

Pairing: Alastor x Reader (Hazbin Hotel)

Warnings: Um, language?????? no gore in tis one. Tbh, this chapter is pretty chill.

Word Count: 1,278

Master List Links:

Master Lists 

Hazbin Hotel Master List 

Make You Wish Master List

A/N I'm back from the dead. Hi.

"Love you... Bye." Charlie hung up the phone.

Quietly, she slipped back inside the hotel, shutting the door behind her. Things had not gone as planned today and they had not gone well either. She wanted this hotel to work, more than anything in the world she wanted to do what she could for her people. At the same time, it was hard not to feel hopeless after the mess on TV earlier and the lack of response from her mother. Letting out a protected sigh, she shut her eyes, leaning against the door.

As soon as Charlie's back hit the stained glass paneling, there came a quiet knock. Opening her eyes, she pulled herself from the door and tentatively turned towards it. Hope and a twinge of fear battled for control of Charlie as, at the sound of the person knocking a second time, she opened the door.

"Hel-"

Charlie shut the door right in the Radio Demon's face. Brow furrowed with confusion, doubt at what she had seen obscuring her mind, she opened it again.

"-lo!"

Charlie shut the door once again. Turning slowly, her eyes wide and her mind whirling, she headed into the main sitting area of the lobby.

"Hey Vaggie?" Charlie called for her girlfriend as she entered.

"What?" Vaggie asked, throwing her head over the back of the couch she was resting on as she did so, meeting Charlie's anxious eyes.

"The Radio Demon is at the door!" Charlie replied, her tone hiding nothing as she mocked the demon's well known smile, pointing back to the hotel entrance.

Vaggie straightened up immedeatly.

"What!" she exclaimed.

Angel, who was sitting on the couch beside her enjoying a popsicle, looked over in mild confusion. Shrugging, he decided he didn't really care and returned to his treat.

"What should I do?" Charlie practically begged.

"Well, don't let him in." Vaggie almost seemed more stressed by the situation than her girlfriend.

Charlie sighed, turning to look back at the door. Slowly, ignoring Vaggie's protests, she approached it once again. Steeling herself, Charlie opened the door.

"May I speak now?" the Radio Demon asked.

Charlie crossed her arms over her chest, looking up at him with an unamused expression.

"You may."

The speed with which the demon shot out his hand to shake her own took Charlie aback.

"Alastor." he announced, bowing so that they were eye to eye, "Pleasure to be meeting you. Yes, quite the pleasure."

--

Y/n's life had changed a lot in the past seven years. From the top of Hell to the bottom, her own personal fall. Not that she'd ever really been at the top, no. Just next to it. The spotlight had never really been her thing.

Hell had been Y/n's home for nearly seventy years. The picture perfect housewife gone mad. In life, she had secured her place after death in blood. Abusive didn't look good on her dearly departed husband after all and what was the point of life if not ridding out the rot to save the flowers?

Death had not come easily or without pain. After the police had caught her, she'd been found innocent for reason of insanity in the courts and sent to an asylum. No one seemed to want to hear or believe her part of the story. Just a year or so after her husband's death, she found peace through a failed lobotomy in 1955 and woke up to red skies.

Thankfully, Hell was large and inhabited enough that she never seemed to run into him down here. Y/n wasn't proud of what she had done in life, but she didn't regret it either. The truth was, she loved Hell. It was vibrant and lively. It was interesting. She had quickly found friends, moved up in the world. Then, the world had changed.

Seven years nearly to the day. Things had been rough at first, there was a new way in which she had had to learn to interact with the world around her. That was when she'd met Blitzo, in those early days of being on her own. Y/n would've thanked god but, god didn't come around these parts and far too many awful things had happened since then anyways but, she still saw their meeting as an odd sort of blessing. She had never been very good at being alone and he did save her, in a way. Even gave her a job at I.M.P., his business.

It was odd for a sinner to be working subservient to an imp in Hell, but not unheard of. Y/n got some looks on the street, sure. Some clients asked some rude questions and she wasn't technically allowed in the human realm but, neither were any of them really. Overall, she found her new life to be quite enjoyable, the good with the bad. Not as cushy or pleasant as her old life, but she saw no use in dwelling on any of that. It had been seven years, for heaven's sake. She couldn't hold out hope for something that would clearly never happen. Besides, she had always had a bit of a mean streak and the job helped deal with that.

She was a sinner, it was obvious. About a head taller than Blitzo, she was a 1950s dream: all movie star hair and legs. When he had first joined I.M.P. a few years ago, she'd even worn the dresses to match. Once they started getting actual jobs, once Blitzo had found a way to travel to the human realm, that had changed. Y/n had seen the fashions of the knew world and enjoyed them quite a bit.

Rings on five of ten fingers, heaps of necklaces, even a tattoo or two. She topped off the whole look with black cargo pants, tank tops, and a choker with spikes and a ring on it. It all went rather well with the attributes she'd acquired once arriving in hell.

She come off lucky in regards to changes in her body when she had died. When people fell into the pits, they received attributes that somehow related to the person they were on earth as well as how they died. Y/n had been harmless on the outside, and able to cause real harm if pushed to it. Docile and gentle, but angry. So she'd ended up like this, with little freckles and a white dots of various sizes marring her now grey skin. Sweet little horns perched on the top of her head, a thin forked tail, and sharp teeth when she was provoked. It made sense, if it was a bit stereotypical. Overall, she couldn't complain.

She had been lying in bed in the apartment she now shared with Blitzo and Loona when she'd felt it in her bones. It was an odd sort of shiver that went down her spine, a tingle at the back of her head. The world had changed again. Y/n didn't know how she knew that, or why, or even in what ways things had become different, but laying there in the dark, something shifted.

She sat up, looking out the window over the darkened landscape of pentagram city. Off in the distance, she could just barley make out the lights of the Princess of Hell's new passion project, some rehab center for sinners or something of the like. Y/n let out a sigh.

The last time she felt this way, her whole life had fallen apart. As she laid back down, she couldn't help but pray to whoever was listening it wouldn't be happening again.

----

Next Part -> Chapter Two -- Where Is She

[rhiaarrow]

Today was an up and down day as a Ghostie to be honest, but right now? I'm actually happy.

I'm not gonna be consuming any qsmp content unless Bad decides to play on the server and I'm extending my Qsmpblr break indefinitely BUT I just wanna share why I'm not upset about this development in the hopes that I can help other Ghosties or other communities who might be a little bit more upset, see things from the brighter side.

I came back from having dinner, I'd left Bad's stream up on my TV so I just sat back down to continue watching the chat torment Bad while he played.

I'd already seen the documents on Twitter so I knew what had happened and I was just trying to enjoy Bad's stream and not think about it too much that our little Sunshines were now officially gone.

But I literally only managed to watch a minute or two of regular chaos content before I heard Bad's sad little "Hi Pomme" and he started talking with Lumi in chat. I was literally fudging crying by the time Shade (Dapper) showed up as well.

Then with Lea (Dansir) and Pancks (Agent 18) hanging out for a little bit too I was just, I mean it's Bad's allergies bro, they're contagious I swear.

The only thing that was upsetting me about the announcements earlier in the day about their admins leaving the project wasn't that they were leaving. Nah fuck that, they should do whatever they feel is their best option and if that's leaving the server then they should leave the server, simple as.

What was upsetting me was the thought that after a year of getting to know them, not just as their characters but as their adms too, we might just never see them again.

Those little guys were just amazing within their eggy shells or not, I mean hell when they were playing other characters like capybaras we still knew who they were, we just got to know them as a whole and I was so sad that we were likely gonna see a few of them go as they left the Quackity Studios team.

But seeing Lumi and Shade tonight hanging out with the Ghosties and Bad, teasing him and talking to him like normal even after they've formally left the project. I'm honestly glad that people have decided to do what was the best option for them.

The situation was toxic, there's no denying that, and I'm so happy that people are realizing that and doing what they feel is best for them.

But I'm so so so glad we still get to see them and they're not just a blip in our memories. I imagine we'll be seeing Shade and Lumi in Bad's chat every once in a while (I mean hey, Lumi said that Bad wasn't getting rid of them lmao) and it's just nice to know they're still okay even if we won't see their eggy characters any longer ❤️

They probably won't see this but

Thank you so much for everything, you were everything to us for months and I know I speak for every Ghostie when I say that we wish you all the best, and feel free to stop by in chat whenever you like, we'd love to have you around.

[dilemmaontwolegs]

Hey love! I really enjoy your writing specially another lie it was so good and i really loved it and enjoyed the two endings but can you please give us maybe a drabble about what charles' reaction to the 'announcement' maybe from charles' pov? No pressure if you don't wanna do it and thank you for giving us such a great work!

A/N: not proof read and written on my phone. It’s my baby girls birthday this weekend so I’m mostly offline 💕

Another Lie (Blurb) ||CL16 {5.1}

F1 Masterlist || One || Two || Three || Four || Five (Max’s Ending) || {5.1} Blurb || Five (Charles’ Ending)

Charles had never accepted that you were no longer his. Not even marrying Max had stopped him from thinking that one day you would be back where he knew you belonged. He refused to acknowledge your surname even two years after it had changed to Verstappen.

But this announcement crumbled those dreams.

He should have paid more attention. He knew your body better than his own yet he had been blinded to the changes. He should have questioned why you backed away from him, why you gave up the fight he knew you were always up to having. It was narcissistic but those arguments were the only time any of your burning passion was spent on him, so he would take the acerbic lacerations from your tongue just to have you speak to him.

There would be no more arguments.

Charles couldn’t shake the image of you standing with his son, exactly as it should have been. But those were not your features on Jules face and it was all his fault.

You would never be the mother of his child. You were already a mother to Max’s.

Charles fist collided with the tv screen in front of him, the image of Max kissing you suddenly turning to jagged lines of purple hues as it broke. “Fuck!”

Knowing why you backed away from the fight only made him feel worse. Had you really thought he would hurt you? He flinched as he remembered how your hand had floated across your stomach when he released your wrist. He had hurt you in so many ways, but he would never do that.

If he wasn’t so caught up in the anger he held towards Sapphire he would have noticed how the material of your shirt hung differently, or how your breasts were larger than the last time he saw you. He missed the signs that were right in front of him.

“Charlie? Have you seen Jules?” Sapphire asked with that grating voice of nails on a chalkboard.

“Where the fuck have you been?” he growled as she stared at the broken tv screen and the blood running down his knuckles. “He was roaming the fucking paddock alone!”

He didn’t need an answer as she tossed her bleached blonde hair back ready to make an excuse. The evidence was clear. Purple marks littered her pale neck, marks he knew didn’t come from him.

“Fucking whore.”

“Get off your high horse, you’re no better than me,” she scoffed, pulling her hair back into place.

Charles open his mouth to give his scathing response but he had none. His cheating was the very reason he lost the greatest thing he ever had and now any hope of repairing what he broke was gone.

“Get your shit and go,” Charles said quietly as he turned back to the broken screen, flickers of your face fading in and out. This flashes were just enough to catch the glimpse of pure joy for moment before it was gone again. He looked at his fist and sighed in defeat. “My lawyer will be in touch with a settlement and custody agreement. You’ll be taken care of, just get the fuck out of my sight.”

“You can’t be serious. Is this because of her?” she asked as she pointed to the TV.

“I don’t love you, I never have. In fact, just the sight of you makes me sick and the only good thing to come from you is Jules.” He took a step closer with each brutal slap of honesty, but it was all for nought as she knew this already. “We’re done.”

“I’m glad,” she spat as she stood a little taller and looked down her nose at him. “She is never going to choose you. Who would? You’re never going to be world champion.”

“Take your shit and go, Sapphire,” Charles growled as he took a step forward, forcing her to take a step back to the doorway. “Don’t bother saying goodbye to Jules, he won’t even notice you’re gone.”

[p-receh]

AMAZING EPISODE EPISODNYA BEST BANGET DKJDOFJOFJFODNKFKFKFI

I am not ok, BELIUNGGGGGG

What was your fav part? Mine? ALL OF IT

3 things.

1. ALL SEVEN ELEMENTALS BEIBEEEEEEEEH!!!!!

Not one by one like the comic counterpart, but literally Boboiboy used a freaking Hepta Split!

Tbh my expectations were low cause I was skeptical that Monsta not want to bring them after that last ep (link). But HOLY SHIT WTF???!!!!

I am absolutely jumping in my seat like a football supporter, I can't--

They got short screen time--I DON'T CARE. They still got a chance to team up once again after a whole 8 years since the first movie! Besides, that movie also shortened their screen time.

Whoever decided to make Oboi's armor resemble an ant needs a raise. That's freaking clever.

Btw it seemed their hats were locked with Oboi's position. Also, Hali, and Duri were the only elements that used their sword? Interesting...

"Kembali Beraksi" rearrangge version in the background during the whole scene?? Yes please!!!

Even though it is just short, their portrayal somehow solidified my deduction about the elementals.

Anywho I am still in tears that they finally showed up on screen again. That is my personal wishlist ever since when they announced the show. I am already satisfied with that alone tbh (like really, why should Monsta need to cut that part where they were essentially the big part of the promotion during the Windara comic arc??)

2. Finally Monsta went bold.

Oh, I looooooove that moment. Monsta started to not hold back and I am captivated by every single one of it. The dying scene was well executed, all voice actors were perfect, and this scene reminds me of this.

In my opinion, this scene was also a test for their next project which honestly more dark and horror(the most horror arc throughout the galaxy series for me)

3. IT IS TIME FOR BELIUUUUUNG!!!!

Can I say Nurfathiah Diaz as Beliung here was downright phenomenal? Like holy shit, this is by far her best performance imo, yet.

Her voice acting was blown me away and I could see her improvement from Taufan's first debut to Beliung's was....I'm-I'm lost for words right now.

Look at this line delivery! (Her laugh felt diabolical and I love it.)

"Tuanku yang seksa penduduk planet ni, paksa orang tua dan budak-budak kerja di lombong, tapi saye yang biadab?!"

Edit: Turns out she was pregnant when recording Beliung??

My Respect to her went rocket. Wow.

As a person who watch her performance since the very first season of Upin&Ipin until Boboiboy... I couldn't be more proud :')

And the animation team seriously packed the action right to the tea! Reramos was absolutely blasted the whole way by Beliung. He's as ruthless as Taufan's OG era!

See? See??? Being patient is worth it guys. Therefore I was easily enjoyed the design choice of Beliung's TV ver without seeing leaks.

Taufan's upgraded board also acted as weapons and wings? Genius. And also directly parallel to the first fight with Maripos. He even said this:

The way Beliung flies on his board almost looks like this.

Now I am 100% ready for other 3rd tier designs if this is what Monsta decides to continue on.

(oh I will draw this with the cyber Sonic for sure.)

To end this, Monsta decided to some sort of "invite" Oboi and Kuputeri into a small dark room, purposely to give a more in-depth conversation between the two, linked by Kuputeri's telepath power.

In my opinion, I prefer this strategy rather than the comic counterpart. Cause in a way, Monsta wants to show the bond between Kuputeri and Oboi as same as how Tok Kasa did with him in movie 2. Symbolize by placing the hat as they entrusted their power to the very same boy.

It might be exaggerating but that jumbled corrupted effect when Beliung's struggled? Impressive. Even more impressive that Monsta knowingly used the same effect when "finally" showcasing Beliung's card.

Speaking of ads, now they released the merchandise after the debut.

Talk about self-aware :/

Everything's not perfect and I do have slight issues, but honestly? I'm pretty satisfied with this episode! They ended it nicely done!

Lastly—

Are they not use DWIFUSION as their next title? If so, Gentar arc and Baraju arc are separated! Thank god! My biggest worry apparently will not come true! Alhamdulillah!!

PS: Oh wow, would you look at those numbers! 2 million within 3 hours when I screenshot this. What an impressive improvements.

[ghostofthemost141]

Heard

Pairing: Johnny 'Soap' MacTavish x F!Reader, First POV, no use of (Y/N)

Word Count: 2,388

Themes: Platonic Relationship, Fluff, Comfort, Some Angst

!Warnings!: Some Homophobia Violence (none of it comes from you or any of our main men and isn't graphic) and some !18+! Suggestive Talk

About: You and Soap have been best friends for many, many years and are completely inseparable. When he is home from a mission one night, he invites you to y'alls usual late night talks in the park, except this time it is different.

Notes: I'm a little iffy about this one but I hope y'all enjoyed it and I promise I will do more Ghost x Reader soon I just wanted to give Soap some love. I am gonna pick Bonnie again for this fic but for my next Soap x Reader I will pick another name to use and reader also has a accent in this. And this is an AU were Graves and Shepard aren't traitors (even though Shepard is the absolute worst). Enjoy!

“What a damn day..” I mumble to myself as I saunter into my apartment. 

Today was a rough and busy day at the job, but at least I was off for the next two days so I can just relax with a good beer and watch some good TV and maybe even catch up on some reading. There’s so much you can do in two days of freedom. Speaking of beer, I think I will have one now. As I was walking into the kitchen to grab a beer, my phone started ringing. That’s weird, nobody really ever calls me this late at night. Probably my mum. I grabbed my phone to look to see. 

Soap 🧼 is calling..

Oh Johnny! Damn it’s been a day or two since I heard from him, he must’ve just now gotten a break from the mission he was currently on. I answered it quickly. 

“Johnny!” I greet him. 

“Hey Bonnie.” 

“You doing alrigh’, mate?” I ask. 

“Meh could be better.” 

“You back home yet?” 

Silence was met between the two of us. I knew Johnny was still on the line for I could still hear his breathing on the other side. Usually he is a big converser, so he must be tired. 

“Johnny?” 

“Can you meet me now? Please.” Johnny begged. 

This was unusual for Johnny. He sounded frantic, worried and even scared. I knew exactly what he was talking about. Everytime he would come home from missions, we would meet out at the park nearby to talk about his mission and anything that happened while he was gone. I assume he was back home if he was frantically asking to meet up with me. 

“Yeah, of course. I just got home so it will be a minute. Are you okay?”  I ask, hearing his tone that was out of character for him. 

Johnny was silent for a moment except for his shaky breaths. What happened Johnny? 

“MacTavish. Are you okay? Are you safe?”  I asked. 

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m safe. I promise. I’ll be at our usual spot.” Johnny told me. 

“Okay, be there in ten.” I said, going through my clothes to find something to throw on. 

“A’ight.” 

Johnny then hung up the phone and I couldn’t help but feel a very sour taste in my mouth from that. I don’t think I have ever heard Johnny sound so..scared. Man goes into battle with a high risk of dying and would always retell it to me as if it was nothing but a walk in the park. Something must’ve happened to make him really scared. I eventually found a long sleeved t-shirt, some lounging pants, and mismatched socks to put on and did just so. I thought maybe I should bring some tequila or bourbon but then again, Johnny always told me what to bring and this time he didn’t. Fuck it, I’ll bring it just in case. You never know. I grabbed some bourbon, slipped my shoes on, grabbed my keys, and rushed out the door, knowing Johnny is probably waiting for me. 

~

“There ya are, MacTavish.” I announced my presence as I made my way to the park bench he was sitting on. 

“‘Ey, Bonnie.” Johnny softly said. 

Okay, something definitely has happened. Normally Johnny would come up to me and greet me with a bear hug or even a handshake when he first sees me, but now he was sitting still and speaking oh so softly to me. What’s going on? 

“What’s going on, Soap? Talk to me. You sounded panicked over the phone.” 

I sit next in front of him, offering my hand for comfort. Johnny immediately took it and held it, squeezing it even. Johnny and I have been best friends for many, many years now that you could consider us as non-blood siblings. We talk to each other about everything, do just about everything together, and are always there for each other. As we grew up, everyone thought we would end up together as a couple but we never did. We just stayed really, really close best friends and stuck with each other through the thick end. And yes we have had some arguments, as any normal pair of siblings would, but that was mostly when we were younger. Now we are both older adults, we just bicker at each other until the other gets annoyed enough to just ignore the other. Johnny kept squeezing my hand, and I could even feel him shaking. And it’s not from the cold weather that’s going on right now. 

“Johnny..” I reminded him that I was here. 

His bright blue eyes looked up at me. He looked terrified. 

“Lass, talk to me.” I reassure him, leaning in close to him, “you know you don’t need to be scared with me.” 

“I know..” He softly said. 

He was finding the words to say to me, but I will sit out all night if that’s what it takes for him to talk to me. 

“Something..happened, during my mission.” Johnny started. 

“Go on.” I ushered him. 

Johnny paused once more, still trying to gather up the right words to say. 

“You want somethin’ to relax ya?” I offer the bottle of bourbon to him. 

He stares at it for a few seconds before shaking his head. 

“No, but thank you, Bonnie. I appreciate it. I appreciate you very much.” 

I know he wasn’t necessarily thanking me for thinking about him by bringing him the bourbon, but for just being there for him in general. 

“Remember last time we talked?” Johnny asked me. 

I racked my brain to remember and luckily I did. 

“Of course I do. You were talkin’ about how Price was cursing under his breath about how he lost a damn good cigar when the airplane crashed.” I recalled. 

Johnny chuckled when I said that. Of course we talked about much more than that, but I figured I’d try and lift his spirits a little. 

“I had to hold back me laughter when I heard that over the coms.” Johnny admitted. 

“I don’t blame ya.” 

I have met Price plenty of times and you can tell he cares about the boys a lot but also doesn't take shit from nobody. Would offer his shoulder to cry on but will get pissed at them if they touch his whiskey kinda guy. The mood quickly went back to the way it was before, so it was time to be serious. 

“You mentioned to me how you were working through your feelings and emotions. As well as who you are attracted to.” 

The second it left my mouth, Johnny’s eyes wallowed in tears. I squeezed his hand as he sniffled in response and leaned his head forward, his forehead resting on our locked hands. 

“Johnny..” I call him, rubbing his head. 

Suddenly Johnny broke out into incoherent sobs. Tears ran down my hand as he just sobbed and sobbed. 

“Johnny, come here.” I called him as I got up quickly and got next to him so I could hug him. 

Johnny immediately accepted my hug, sobbing into my shoulder. 

“I’m so stupid, stupid..stupid.” 

I heard Johnny mumble through his sobs. I held him tightly, rubbed his back, and cooed at him with as many comfort words as I could think of. What in the bloody hell happened? 

“Johnny you’re not stupid.” 

“Yes I am.” 

“No you’re not Johnny. I am here for you always. No matter what it is.” I reassured him, hoping to soothe him a little bit. 

Johnny managed to finally calm down a little bit and I let him pull away from me. 

“I’m sorry..I just..” 

“Don’t you apologize you wanker. You never ever have to apologize with me, Johnny and you bloody know that.” I gently got onto him. 

He knows better than that. 

“Just talk to me. Tell me what happened so I can help you out.” I told him while squeezing his shoulders. 

Johnny wiped his face clean and managed to calm down, just enough to talk to me. 

“We were out at dis bar where we were stationed at. And at that poin’, the only person I ever told about how I was feeling internally was Simon.” Johnny started. 

“Does he accept you?” 

“Fuck yes he does. He told me ‘I don’t bloody care if you’re gay or what, you’re still my teammate and friend, Johnny.’” 

I felt relief wash over when he told me that. You’re a bloody good guy, Simon Riley. 

“That’s good, Johnny.” I say. 

“Yeah,” Johnny sighed before continuing, “it was aye, Simon, Gaz, Price, Laswell, Shepard, and Graves there. Um, there were these arseholes who were picking on a kid who was dressed very femininely. They assumed he was gay and started hurting him. Of course, I step in despite Shepard telling me to back off.” 

I could feel anger boiling inside of me. Their own General telling Johnny to not help an innocent civilian? What a coward and ball-less of a man. 

“What a focking jerk-off.” I cursed. 

“So I stepped in, didn’t want to make too much of a scene. They leave the poor fellow alone but they target me. I ain’t afraid until they started accusing me..” 

“Accusing you of what, Johnny?” I ask. 

Johnny squeezed my hand tightly and I could feel his whole body start to shake again. I rubbed his hand, trying to soothe his nerves. 

“Accusing me of being a..I don’t even wanna say it, but that word they use against gays. I just..shut down when they said it. Like I didn’t want to even accept it, ya know?” 

You shook your head over what Johnny just told you. You hated that he went through that, especially since he was still internally trying to figure out his own feelings. 

“And because I shut down, they were able to swing at me and I was knocked down on the ground. Simon had to step in and help me and I just felt so stoopid. I let something like that get to me.” 

“Johnny, you don’t need to feel stoopid over something like that. It’s understandable since you’re still figuring out your feelings and you were caught off guard.” I reassure him. 

“Yeah, well now everyone knows about me. I wanted it to stay with Simon, but now they know.” 

“How do they know?” I ask. 

“I..” 

Johnny paused. 

“They don’t really, but I can tell they know something is up. And I am scared.” Johnny confessed. 

“Why? Literally the only person I am iffy about is Shepard, but everyone else, they should be supportive of you, Johnny.. And if they don’t, then you’ve got Simon. Fuck everyone else if they don’t support you, but at least you have Simon Riley.” I say, trying to lift his spirits of the only person he can count on. 

“There’s something else..”  Johnny softly said. 

“Oh? What is it?” I ask. 

Whatever Johnny was about to tell me, I could tell it was going to be harder than what he just told me. 

“Please, just don’t judge me for it..” 

“Johnny, you know I never would judge you for anything.” I reminded him. 

“I know it’s just..Simon and I..” Johnny paused once more. 

“Yeah?” 

“Well, by the time we all left the bar, all of us were kinda tipsy except for Simon. Bloody lad is never drunk or acts like it no matter how much he drinks. So we went back to our base and later on, Simon came to check on me. And uh..” 

Johnny’s face instantly turned red. Beet red. I didn’t even need him to tell me what happened cause I already knew. 

“Oh Johnny!!” I cried out with excitement, poking him in his ribs making him giggle and flinch. 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Johnny said. 

“Sooo?” 

“So wha’?” 

“All I am gonna ask is, was it a good night?” I ask. 

“Steamin’ bloody Jesus, yes it was.” Johnny answered, making me laugh. 

“That’s good.” I say. 

It fell into a comfortable silence between us, but there was a question burning in my mind. 

“Johnny?” 

“Hm?” 

“Why were you so scared to tell me that, you know, you’re gay or bi? Whichever you feel like you fall more on.” I question. 

Johnny sighed deeply. 

“It ain't 'cause I didn’t think you’d accept me, I guess it’s cause I am having a hard time accepting it myself.” 

“That’s who you are and clearly Simon accepts you at the very least and I am sure everyone else will too. But if they don’t then Simon and I can beat their asses.” I half joked. 

“You’re right. I am just glad you are in my life, Bonnie. To know that if everyone else hates me for whateva reason, that you’ll still be supportive of me.” Johnny told me. 

I don’t think I have ever heard Johnny ever be this sentiment ever in over twenty years of being friends. 

“Of course, MacTavish. I’ll always be here for you.” I told him. 

Johnny then pulled me into a tight hug and I hugged back, instantly feeling the guilt and fear rolling off his shoulders. 

“Now, give me that damn bourbon. Let me tell you what Price did while we were gone this time ‘round.” Johnny announced, instantly back to his normal self. 

I laughed as I passed the bourbon to him, knowing he won’t drink enough to make him not be able to drive back home. We talked for hours and hours, till the sun started peeking over the horizon. Despite the both of us being exhausted, it was worth it in the end to be able to talk with my best friend, my non-blooded brother and to let him know that he indeed had at least one permanent supporter in his life. If Johnny has no supporters, then Simon and I must be dead, cause that’s the only way he wouldn’t have any supporters in his life until we know for sure how the rest of the task force feels, but I know they are going to accept him. They have to, or else they’re gonna get a special paid visit from both Simon and I personally. 

END 

[papas-being-papas]

Where we are now

9 years came and went since Erron was first brought to the ministry. Terzo and his husbands were just now bringing him back from performing his first “show”. Mimicking his dad, he lip synced to “Circe” at his school talent show. His fathers could not be more proud of him. The group enters the ministry together, Omega holding the door open for his little family.  Alpha lifts the young boy off the ground with ease, “That’s my boy! You were amazing out there, just like your dad!” He announces with a smile as they walk through the ministry doors, more than a little eager to show off the home video Omega had taken. Erron laughs and playfully pushes away from Alpha, “Babbo, you’re embarrassing me.” He whines, the smile never leaving his face. “Ah, let your babbo hold you, figlio.” Terzo tells his son, reaching up to ruffle his hair, “He’ll only be able to do it so many more times, you are getting too big.” He reminds the boy. Though it was untrue, Alpha could lift Terzo without issue, Erron would not be growing too big to be held anytime soon if ever. Though at some point Terzo would get Alpha to stop lifting their son like that, maybe. 

Sister Imperator looks at the four from her seat on the couch, and almost catches herself smiling at them. Though she quickly cools her expression before speaking up, “I take it the show went well then?” Erron smiles excitedly, running over to Sister, eager to tell her all about the show, “It was awesome! You should have seen it, Sister! With the lights and everything!” He explains, his voice a little too loud for the quiet of the ministry. Terzo shakes his head with a fond smile as he sets his hand on his son’s shoulder, “I think we may have just gotten the perfect music video for Circe.” He says proudly, causing the boy to look up at him with wide eyes in amazement. He couldn’t believe that his dad actually wanted to use his performance as a real music video. “Hm, well, let me see it before we make that decision. We do have standards to meet after all.” She replies, even if deep down she already knew what she would say. Terzo rolls his eyes but doesn’t protest as Omega happily makes his way over and hooks up the camera to the tv to show off the video of their son performing. Alpha also makes his way over, scooping up the young boy again and bringing him to sit with him on the couch next to Sister. Terzo takes his place on an armchair nearby and Omega finds a spot on the floor that he deemed comfortable enough, more than happy for the chance to show off the talent that their boy possessed. Copia is on his way back to his room from the kitchen when he sees the video beginning to play and he also takes a seat on the couch, curious to see what his nephew had done.

As the video plays, Sister keeps her expression neutral but to anyone who knows her, they know she is impressed by the young cardinal’s work. Copia looks over at Erron a few times, and gives him a few thumbs up at parts he particularly enjoyed from the performance, and when the video ends Copia claps. “Ehm well done, ragazzo, well done.” He says, “You will give your dad a run for his money when you are older with talent like that, eh?” Erron can’t help but smile at his uncle’s words, “You think so?” “I know so.” Copia says with the most confidence Erron has ever heard from him. Terzo clears his throat and looks to Sister Imperator, “Well, Sister, what do you think? It is good, no?” Sister Imperator gives Terzo a momentary side eye before turning to face him, “I suppose it will suffice, but do not think you can use our young cardinal as a replacement for you in all of your music videos, hm?” Terzo waves off her concern, “Yes, yes, this one is special though, it’s his first and the world should see it.” He says, the pride in his voice evident.

“Mhm,” She replies, still eying him with some suspicion. Though after a moment she looks back at Erron, “Well, little cardinal, will you let us use your video?” 

Erron nods his head up and down so quickly Terzo thought he was going to give himself a headache, “Yes! It’s okay! I would like that a lot!” He says again too loudly before clearing his throat and correcting himself, “I mean, I would like that a lot, Sister.” 

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Ron Filipkowski at Medias+:

Imagine every week, somewhere in America, there is an event featuring nationally prominent Democratic elected officials, TV personalities, celebrities, artists, state and local officials, candidates, podcasters, journalists, and social media influencers. A one-day or weekend event, sponsored and hosted by different organizations, each with their own group of speakers, in different states, all year round. That is what the Republican Party has had in place for a decade to recruit, build, inspire, organize and motivate their base.  The Democrats have MSNBC. Since I have attended, watched and covered these events on the Right for years now, I am often asked why the Right has embraced these so enthusiastically while the Left has virtually nothing equivalent. My theory always was that Republicans enjoy doing things in groups and Democrats are more individualistic. But every time I would mention that while speaking to a group of activists, their response was always the same - 'I would go to something like that!

Democrats do some of this in the final few months of major election campaigns, but it is nothing like the network that the Right has created. Sure, we have all made fun of these events. Many of the speakers at right-wing conferences are nutty conspiracy theorists, christian nationalists, charlatans and grifters, and people who attend them can be fairly culty, but they are effective. While Democrats laugh at them or criticize them for what is taking place, they are doing nothing of their own to counter it. Let's say, in a few months after the mourning period is over for 2024, a major conference was announced in a major city of a swing state that featured Gavin Newsom, Gretchen Whitmer, Wes Moore, Andy Beshear, Eric Swalwell, Jared Moskowitz, Jasmine Crockett, AOC, along with a few celebrities of the entertainment industry, TV news commentators, journalists, podcasters and social media influencers. Would you go if that was in your state?

Although the formats vary, most of these conferences on the Right play out a similar way using the CPAC / Turning Point USA model pioneered by Matt Schlapp and Charlie Kirk. Early on they feature panels of 3-4 speakers discussing a specific topic for 30-60 minutes, taking questions from the audience. Then speakers begin with local officials, then podcasters/influencers, then TV hosts, then celebrities, then the headliner politicians being featured. They talk about what is on their mind, what they think people need to do, propose new ideas and vision. Panel topics for one of these conferences on the Left could be: Why Are We Losing Men under 40? Why are Latino Voters Disillusioned With Democrats? How Can We Talk About Abortion in a Way That Doesn't Alienate Christians? Democrats Need to Articulate a Border Policy, What Should It Look Like? Trans Athletes and Competitive Sports. I'm sure we each could think of many more. And the panelists could be chosen who are experts in these areas, but also have diversity of thought on them.

[...] These conferences need to be a safe space where orthodoxies and conventional wisdom can be challenged and debated. People can disagree, argue their points passionately, hash things out, and still part as friends. Those kinds of debates happen on the Right, not so much on the Left where people have great ideas, new approaches, different perspectives, but are afraid to share them for fear of being shouted down, scorned, ostracized, or tagged with a odious label.

The Right invests in these conferences and events. Spends millions of dollars on them on advertising, venues and speaker's fees. But over time they have been so well attended, with attendees buying tickets and advertisers and sponsors lining up, that they now turn a healthy profit for the people who run them. While you don't have to pay for an elected official or candidate who just wants face time with activists, speakers lower down the food chain need their travel paid for and modest fees for their time.  People don't even have to attend in person anymore. These events are all livestreamed on X, Instagram, Facebook Live, Rumble, YouTube, and get lots of coverage from Fox, Newsmax, Real America's Voice, Right Side Broadcasting and other right-wing channels. Hundreds of thousands of people on the Right watch these conferences from home and on their phones, week after week after week

In addition to providing a forum to hash out ideas and policy, these conferences also provide amazing organizing and networking opportunities. Podcasters and social media influencers gain new viewers, listeners and followers so they can continue to maintain the messaging every week long after the conference is over on their own platforms. They can meet each other, help each other, and start to coordinate their efforts. Politicians and celebrities can meet these influencers and grass roots activists in attendance, get to know them, exchange emails or phone numbers. These conferences, rallies and events are how the Right has built a powerful network of activists all over the country. They meet each other, get to know each other, coordinate, and help each other. New email and donor lists are compiled. New voters are registered or brought into the party. People are convinced to switch parties, get off the fence, or become more active. 

[...] With that said, the main point of this article is that we can't look for cable news channels to be our thought leaders or the vehicle for grass roots organizing. They don't exist for that purpose. That is not their mission. Their mission is to entertain, while hopefully also informing, while achieving ratings to bring in ad dollars. But the problem is, too many Democrats are camped out in front of MSNBC as their central organizing instrument.  We need to wake up, and we need to do it now. I am certain that we have better ideas, are more sane and rational, less narcissistic, less conspiratorial, less grifty, and care about other people more. Don't get me wrong, we have plenty of issues, characters, grifters and BlueAnon conspiracy theorists - but not nearly as many and it is more of a bug than a feature, unlike MAGA.

Ron Filipkowski wrote a solid piece in Meidas+ that the left needs to get their game together and have their versions of CPAC and TPUSA’s summits, though Netroots Nation is the closest equivalent.

See Also:

MeidasTouch News: The Right Supports a Network of Conferences, Podcasters & Rallies; the Left has MSNBC

[forevfangirlwrites]

Hii it's my birthday today and that got me thinking, for the how to handle fame au maybe it'd be a cool idea to have a how to handle fame and birthdays story. I'll leave the details up to you but just a random thought. Hopefully you enjoy! Love the series and look forward to your next work as always!

Somehow it all starts with a caramel macchiato.

Because she’s older now and finally allowed to drink coffee.  Plus, she thinks adult conversations should happen with an adult beverage, which is why she’s calmly sipping on her drink as her dad stares at her in a mixture of confusion and surprise.

“What?”

She takes another sip before responding. If she’s being honest, it’s more bitter than she was expecting (caramel is in the name after all) so that must be the macchiato part. But the bitterness somehow eases the twinge of anxiety she feels before she speaks again.

“I’d like to become an actress,” she repeats as if it’s the most casual situation in world. As if this isn’t her first time voicing this out loud (or drinking coffee for that matter).

Her dad looks at her over his glasses. “I thought you’d ask for a car,” he says finally. “Isn’t that what 16-year-olds usually ask for?”

Annabeth rolls her eyes. This is more serious than a car, which is why she saved this request specifically for today.

Shrugging, she takes another sip of her coffee and waits for her dad to continue. She needs to be calm, otherwise he won’t take her seriously.

“Are you serious?” he asks.

She nods. It’s a question she’s prepared for.

“I’m in all the plays at school with lead parts and have—”

“Theater and Hollywood are different,” her dad cuts in.

“I know,” she replies with a frown, taking another sip of the coffee. (It’s starting to grow on her, actually). She decides to cut to the chase.

“There’s an audition coming up for a TV show,” she starts. “I want to try out for it and if I get it then you have to agree.”

Her father lets out a heavy sigh.

“This is what I want for my birthday by the way,” she specifies, using the last card she has. She’s not asking for much, really.

Just a chance.

“Caramel macchiato for the birthday girl,” Percy announces loudly, breaking her out of her thoughts. “Though I could make you something way more—”

She shakes her head. “No, I want this.”

“Ask and you shall receive,” he jokes as she reaches forward to take a sip of the drink he placed in front of her.

KEEP READING ON AO3

A/N: Thank you so much for the prompt! I combined it with a few others and came out with this so I hope you like how it turned out! Thank you again!

[tellthemeerkatsitsfine]

I finally decided to listen to the Perfect Brains podcast, did all four episodes that are out so far in the last couple of days. And, okay, I wasn’t going to say this because I didn’t want to be pointlessly negative about something people enjoy – but now that I no longer hold this opinion, I can say, I was pretty skeptical when this was first announced. It felt like a weirdly manufactured pairing, since as far as I knew Sam Campbell and Lucy Beaumont had nothing to do with each other before Taskmaster, and it’s not even like they clicked with each other especially well during Taskmaster.

It felt like one of those things where people on Reddit (or, to be fair, Tumblr) see two people on a panel show and say “Oh my God, they should have a sitcom!” And then Avalon just gave them a sitcom podcast, not because there were any artistic reasons to believe that would actually work, but just because fans thought it would be a funny concept. This seemed especially true since they didn’t even have a format when they launched, just said “Okay you guys liked these two on Taskmaster, well here, subscribe to this then.”

And I wasn’t convinced it would work. Sam and Lucy don’t have anything that would make them work well together except that they’re both weird, and they’re not even the same type of weird, or particularly compatible types of weird. Zany characters can be very funny on their own, but when bouncing off someone else, the “straight man” role exists for a reason. The weird one has to be paired with someone who’s been tailored to fit with them.

I can say all those now because it turns out my concerns were unfounded – this shit’s hilarious. It still seems like a bit of a cynical idea that might have just got lucky, but it really works. Possibly because I didn’t need to be worried about the lack of a straight man. They have a “straight man” in the podcast, and his name is Sam Campbell. And it turns out it’s amazingly funny to listen to Sam Campbell playing the straight man. He’s surprisingly good at it.

There’s a kid at the autism centre where I work who speaks almost entirely in “scripts”, in which he’s repeating things he’s heard elsewhere (songs, TV shows), mostly talking to himself, sometimes he can be persuaded to answer a question but only if it’s a very simple one and he can answer with something from his repertoire of quotes. By last week, I’d spent probably 50 hours with him one-on-one in various sessions over several months, and I was very used to his voice. But then we introduced a new program that he didn’t like, and when I started doing it, he suddenly said “All done all done!” in a completely different voice that I had never heard before. It was significantly higher-pitched. He normally mumbles a lot but this was clearly enunciated. If I heard that voice out of context I’d never have guessed it was him. It was shocking to realize I’d heard him say thousands of words and this was the first time I’d ever heard his “real” voice. How he sounds when he’s talking as himself, and not scripting from other things he’s heard. (Not relevant to the story but just to be clear: I didn’t finish the program after he said that. I do not torture children for a living.)

That’s what I thought of the first time I heard Sam Campbell respond to one of Lucy Beaumont’s most absurd statements. Sam stays in character on everything, even situations where most comedians break character (Taskmaster podcast, Off Menu), so the first time Lucy caught him so off guard that he just gave a genuine surprise response, his answer shocked me almost more than her statement. I had that same moment of “Oh shit, I’ve heard you say a lot of words before but I think I’ve just heard your real voice for the first time.” It’s not constant or anything, Sam’s still mostly in character throughout this. But every once in a while Lucy will throw him right off and it’s delightful. Her mother had him unable to keep up any persona for pretty much the whole time he was on, I think he nearly forgot he was meant to be acting and just enjoy the stories. (Please note: That moment of “Oh shit, you became a different person for a moment there and I think that’s the real one” is as far as this analogy goes, I feel the need to clarify because I know the internet is full of speculation about Sam being somewhere on some spectrum or other and that’s not the point I’m making here. I have no theories as to what spectrum Sam Campbell may or may not be on. But I do have views on how funny it is when someone gets emotionally pushed to the point of suddenly turning into the “real” person, my view is: not particularly funny if it’s a child confronted with a therapy program they don’t want and you should probably back off, but very funny if it’s a comedian who’s too confused by another comedian’s mother’s holiday anecdote to remember to do his inflection.)

The biggest downside to this podcast is I just can’t imagine anything living up to that guest episode. Tim Key was so good that by the time his segment finished, I felt bad for Lucy and her mother trying to live up to that. But I needn’t have, as by the time Lucy’s mother was done, I felt bad for Tim having given his time to that podcast only to be comedically upstaged by someone who isn’t actually a comedian (although Lucy’s mother is a playwright, and she sure crafted some theatre in that episode).

I’ve gone through various phases in my assumptions about Lucy Beaumont. It started with – well obviously that’s a character, it’s funny. Then – she is committing to that bit really hard, is there any chance she’s just actually like that and has lucked into her career? Then – oh that was some shitty misogyny of me to even consider that, no one wonders whether someone like Sam Campbell is a character act, obviously Lucy Beaumont also has a differently-pitched voice of a completely different person that she uses in real life, she just never lets it come out in a performance. Then I listened to her on the Comedian’s Comedian podcast where she started talking about how all famous literature was written by ghosts, and Stuart Goldsmith gave her so many opportunities to clarify herself, he kept saying that’s an interesting idea but she means it metaphorically of course, and she kept saying “No I mean it completely literally, I think people are possessed by spirits”, and you could hear the moment when it clicked to Stuart that he wasn’t going to get her to admit she’s doing a bit because she’s not, and he finally said “Are you pulling my leg, Lucy?” and she said no, and then he hurried off the topic. And after that I stopped feeling bad about wondering whether Lucy Beaumont might be actually just like that, not some carefully crafted character. I mean, obviously some of it is crafted. Obviously she couldn’t get where she is if she didn’t know what she was doing and understand that some of her absurd thoughts are funny, and funnier if she plays into that. But I think she does mean this stuff.

Hearing her mother on that podcast has broadened my view of Lucy Beaumont further, to thinking – oh, she might be the normal one. She might be genuinely like this but only because that’s her compromise between the normal she was taught and objective reality. And she, being very intelligent (and you can’t have as successful a career as Lucy Beaumont with having lots of intelligence, even if that someone goes alongside the belief that 1984 was written by an angry spirit), figured out where to find the humour in that compromise and in the gaps, and it’s worked out great. That’s my current working theory. I’ll let you all know how it evolves in another ten or so episodes.

The guests were great, but the three episodes with just the two of them have been funny too. Sam Campbell obviously brings a lot to the table, I’ve had the theme song stuck in my head for 48 hours straight, so fuck him for that, and Paul Williams too for good measure. It is fun to listen to them pass the brain cell back and forth, jockey for which one gets to be the weird one, and Sam Campbell normally loses, which is funny. But he still gets to be the weirder one often enough for that to also be very funny. Four episodes in and I'm sold.

[taylortruther]

yeah most of it is just them feeling guilty for stanning someone they thought was Unproblematic™️ but actually isn’t, so now they’re all “i love taylor but that doesn’t mean i can’t criticize her.” well yes but what do you think your rejection of her relationship will do for the world? she’s not gonna make decisions based on what allofmechangedlikemidnightrain13 thinks. y’all just want her to go back to being clean and unproblematic so you can enjoy her music again guilt-free. if it makes you so upset then you can just distance yourself from her which truly is the best way to go about this. it’s a lesson to not be so deeply involved in a celebrity’s life because we do not know them!!

i don’t like the guy either and i am so sick of hearing about him and the shit he’s said over the years but i genuinely don’t see the point of ‘calling him out’ bc men like him never truly change their edgelord ways. like i wish people would just stop engaging with this bullshit because what the fuck are you hoping to achieve by doing so other than announcing that you are morally upright. it’s all empty fucking outrage and y’all don’t actually do shit for minorities irl it hurts. anyways speak now tv out july 7th :)

YEEEP. have you seen that tiktok that is like 'we can unite and force taylor to see how much this is hurting us and hold her accountable' because i fucking lost it. you can't control what taylor does nor should you try but these fans also don't want to lose their comfort idol so they'd rather create a petition (essentially) to get her to break up with matty than simply disable their stan accounts. like. what??? you can't honestly tell me that's the best use of your energy.

[alieinthemorning]

Congrats on the 500 followers!! 🎊

Hello! May I request GN!Reader with Ais from Touchstarved? You can say, I'm starving for contents sjjdkskdkkd

I just want to see some domestic stuff. Maybe watching a movie or having dinner together. Maybe they were cooking together with soft music in the background and they started dancing together (Cliché, I know). Any domestic scene you want to write really-

A Night In [Ais]

Content: Hurt/Comfort, Written Before Game's Official Release, Modern AU

Pronouns: None

Reblogs: Let me know that you enjoy my work and want to see more, so don't forget to like and reblog (and comment in the tags. I love seeing people’s rambles in the tags)!

This work's concepts, plot and original characters are my own which means I do not allow any sort of creative theft nor do I allow my work to be entered into any sort of A.I. bots. Thank you for respecting my space and boundaries.

Continuation: Little Things Help | Ais

This past week had been, well, a week.

Between classes at the Senobium, late shifts at Wet Wick and past midnight study sessions, you were so ready to reign in the weekend with Ais.

You had it all planned out down to the letter.

You made reservations for this new fancy restaurant and had already bought tickets to a movie that the two of you had been excited for.

You were almost done getting ready when Ais had called you.

“Hello? Are you outside? I’m almost done—”

“I’m not outside, sorry. Traffic is pretty heavy.” He sighed. “I don’t think we’ll make our reservations.”

“Oh…” You bit your lip. “That’s okay! We’ll just pig out at the movies then!”

But that never came to be.

Ais ended up showing way later than expected

But at least—

“I brought pizza.” He announced as he came through the door.

You had wiped off your makeup and changed into more comfortable clothing. Shuffling into the living room, you greeted him. “Hi. Thanks.”

You let him give you a peck on the forehead, then watched as he shuffled pass to set the pizza down in the kitchen.

“You mind setting things up while I change?”

“Yeah…” You waited until he disappeared into the bedroom before letting your shoulders drop.

You really didn’t want him to see just how disappointed you were.

And honestly?

You wanted to cry.

Get angry and throw things since, you know, you wouldn’t be getting any of that money back.

Curl up under the covers and wait until next week, when things could go right

or wrong again…

You angrily wiped a hand across your face as you entered the kitchen.

It was fine. Everything was fine.

You were fine.

Even though it wasn’t—you weren’t.

Things had to be. For Ais.

You made quick work of setting up drinks, sweets and other little snacks to go alongside your pizza and set everything up in the living room. Then you grab a blanket and a few extra pillows from the hallway closet.

“I guess I should find something to watch…” You mumbled to yourself as you plopped down on the couch.

But you really weren’t in the mood to watch anything.

You sighed in frustration as you tossed the remote to the side. Screw it, you’d have Ais pick.

Speaking of him, he entered the room just as you had pulled your phone out for some old reliable doom-scrolling.

“Quite the selection we’ve got here.” He remarked as he sat beside you, grabbing the remote as he did.

You shrugged, scooting closer. “I figured we’d be here a while.”

At least you’d hope so. You really wanted your mood to improve so that you didn’t have to cut things short.

You quietly added a few things to your plate before staring somewhere near the TV, but not quite at it.

Until you heard the familiar tune of your favorite show's opening.

You smiled, leaning even closer.

“Thank you.”

He didn’t answer right away, just piled his own plate. Then,

“...I just want us to enjoy this night in together, Sparrow.”

Thank you for the congratulations!

This woulda been out earlier but I kinda messed up.

Anyhow! It's out now!

So listen, this was supposed to be cute. The cooking, dancing and a movie, the works.

But uh, the dots connected and the story took the wheel.

It was outta my hands at that point lol

Enough rambling tho, I hope that the person who requested this enjoyed and thank you for requesting!

Ko-Fi | Commission | Masterlist | 500 Follower Event

[lenniharrisonsims]

Behind The Scenes...

Winden Palace, Windenburg, 11:53pm

⚠Content Warning; Sims in their... Simtimates... and implied simspice⚠

Jonas: I wish you didn’t have to leave.

Phoebe: One day, I won’t.

Jonas: That day can’t come soon enough for me.

Phoebe: Me too. There’s just too much work to be done in Tartosa.

Jonas: I know, and I’m proud of all the hard work you’re taking on to fix the mess my father made.

Phoebe: But, speaking of never leaving- eventually we’re going to have to announce our relationship.

Jonas: What do you mean? Everyone knows.

Phoebe: Our families know, our friends know. The media, the public, they don’t know.

Jonas: Do they have to?

Phoebe: You’re the King of Windenburg, I’m the eldest daughter of the King of Tartosa. It’s a big deal in the media when relationships like this start. Especially if we’re as serious as we both said we are.

Jonas: I am!

Phoebe: Then we should find a way to tell our respective peoples. Especially especially since our relationship began during your father’s occupation of Tartosa, things could get…

Jonas: Yeah, yeah, I got it. I guess I was just enjoying having you to myself, and this, us, not being about my title for once.

Phoebe: You and I are our titles. Everything we do belongs to our titles.

Jonas: I know.

Phoebe: We’ll find a way. I’ll talk to my parents and we can-

*knock knock*

Captain Finlay: Sir, I’m so sorry to wake you-

Jonas: Just a minute Finlay! (to Phoebe) you’ve got to be kidding me!

*they stand and get dressed*

Jonas: Alright, Captain.

*Captain Finlay enters*

Captain: Sir, Ma’am, I’m very sorry. But there’s a story breaking on the news right now that requires your immediate attentions-

*Captain turns on the TV*

TV: This weekend, watchful paparazzi spotted the new King of Windenburg walking along the Old Bluff Ruins, but not alone! HM was seen walking arm in arm with Princess Phoebe Kalogera of Tartosa!

Phoebe: Well… I guess we don’t have to find a way to announce it anymore.

Jonas: Jeez… 

Captain: Would you like me to do anything Sir?

Jonas: No… no, it’s fine. But Captain?

Captain: Sir?

Jonas: Let’s increase security sweeps to prevent paparazzi snaps like this. The privacy of Princesses Emma, Della, and Greta in their own home has to be one of the highest priorities, and I wouldn’t mind some privacy either.

Phoebe: *laughs*

Captain: Yes Sir. Goodnight, Sir, Ma’am.

[donnydamakkk]

pls, consider tips, if u appreciate my work. also i do plan to create products both digital n physical. however, they are not available as of yet. they will b announced when the time comes. my links will b updated as needed.

my link(s): ko-fi

ao3: ro-wrrites, ro presents: fic list

welcome to my blog, my name is cairo. u can call me that but ro is acceptable as is donny. im in my 20s. my pronouns are he/him/his. ima stud (lesbian) -- it is both my gender n my sexual orientation. all power to u if u understand that. don't interact w me if u don't respect that. being that ima stud + my pfp, i feel as if it goes without saying but i am black. specifically, i am black american.

i am a writer who writes both fanfic as well as original/oc works. i often merge the two as a intro to my oc worlds. i write a lot of sapphic primarily, especially when the works features canon!characters. if i do write het dynamics or about men as a focus, it'll b thru oc work. additionally, i don't create nonblack love interests for canon characters. black women are priority. in addition to that, aside from my love interests (for canon characters), the main characters of my original works are also black. what can i say, i like writing about my folks. sometimes (not often), i dip into reader!fics n the same thing applies: all reader!characters are understood to b black. i used to write more canonxcanon than i do now, but as of now, while it's not off the table, it shouldn't b expected. for canonxcanon, i write for any ship i like. also, i do love crossover fics.

i really enjoy visual storytelling (tv shows n movies). i read, too, but i'm not gonna post n talk about books fr, jus being honest. i am constantly watching n discovering new things. i rb lots of tv shows n movies n as i watch new things n fall in love w new things, the characters n ships n i am willing to write for expands more n more so i'm not gonna list them all. but, i really love the show psych. i have a love-hate thing w criminal minds, but it def has it's grip on me n it's likely to b unrelenting. um, i do love cop shows in general -- b it procedural like shows or those dramatic shows or the shows w more comedic or lighthearted undertones like castle or psych or rizzoli n isles, etc. i jus enjoy cop shows a lot. i recently got into x-files n i do love it sm. honestly, it's so many things but a scroll thru my blog should give u a fairly good ide. sometimes, i give text commentary, but a lot of times, it is rbs.

show n movie recs are always welcomed.

also, i like sports, so don't b shocked by those rbs. also, that unless it is music related or sports related, i'm prolly not gonna rb actors outside of character a whole lot bcus aside from my few exceptions, characters are what i care about more. musicians n athletes jus don't offer much separate between them n what they do, which is why they end up on my blog. but i do engage w the acting world more on here, so thats fasho character focused like 97% of the time.

i have other blogs, but unless they are tied to my writing specifically, i'm not gonna attach them. i have jennifer jareau community, if u would like to join hmu.

major dni: racists, homophobes/biphobes/transphobes, fatphobes, ableists, misogynists, xenophobes, abuse apologists n zionists. also, minors n trolls.

it's my right to curate my blog n interactions as it is urs. so, no hard feelings, if u make my additional dni list. jus respect my shit n keep it pushing, block me if it makes u feel better. i would prefer not to interact w bi/pan/mspec lesbians - the "validating history" u speak of is rooted in terfism as well as lesbophobia/biphobia. i prefer not to interact w men. i do it enough irl, lemme alone here fr. if u hate literally any character that i really love n engage w frequently/write about, i prefer not to interact. there really is no point. if u engage w fandom/media in a v male-centered way, especially if it reflects how u treat female-characters, i don't wanna talk to u, either. also straight people; i'm surrounded by straight people irl, this is my safe space. this is likely to expand, so i will update as i see fit. don't come into my ask box on no bullshit if ur on this list, like i said earlier, jus stay out my space, if u feel raw about. u can even block me, it's fine n free. if u come into my ask box on some bullshit, ima jus block u. we all have the right, will n freedom to curate our own online experiences.

this doesn't quite make my additional dni list but it also doesn't not make the cut. it's in a strange in between space. but aaron hotchner n spencer reid stans, if u come into this space n interact w me, ur ice is not thick. if ur a strict stan n u prefer not to talk to people who hold strong disdain for ur babes, then u can add urself to my additional dni bcus i don't like them.

my ask box is open, if ur 18 n older. also, fair warning, my ask box does not have an anon option n it won't. if u wanna say somethin to me, say that shit w ur chest.

my dms are open if ur like 20 n older. also, im a bit of an awkward mf, a lil bit of an anxious type nigga. i meantion that bcus if ur gonna dm me to b friends, u gotta go about it a certain way. i have to reiterate that i have no issue w dms. jus, don't dm me dry or as if we're the strangers that we are. like, yes, ofc, don't b overly familiar n b respectful but also, don't jus b like "hi, how are u" by itself. i get why people go that route, but after the niceties are over, idk where im expected to go from there, so im likely to jus drop it. if ur gonna try to b my friend, identify somethin u n i both have in common n go from there n remember, i can only carry a conversation as well as u. if idk how im supposed to respond to something, im not gonna.

[emwallas176]

Since Speak Now (TV) was just announced, I thought it might be relevant to bring this up. As a Taylor Swift fan, I’ve often heard the comment that Swift writes too much about her exes. Now, as a fan, I’ve always argued against this but without any real research or evidence, I’ve always been brushed off. Well, today I finally did the research, and I think some people might be surprised…

Disclaimers:

(Only including the studio albums 2-10 (TV replacing older versions + deluxe versions replacing standard versions) which is around 170 songs)

(Any additional singles, repeats, covers, and the debut album (Sorry, I’m not super familiar with this one) will not be included in this analysis)

(All of these numbers are either based on math I did myself or pulled from online sources, so the numbers might not always be exact, but the general estimates and trends should hold true)

[Song Subject Breakdown]

* Songs about Past Love:

TS = 58/170 songs = 34%

* Songs Current Love:

TS = 75/170 songs = 44%

* Songs NOT about Love:

TS = 37/170 songs = 22%

Therefore,

* Songs about Love (GEN):

TS = 133/170 songs = 78%

If you compare this to the average artist’s percent of songs that are written about Love (GEN) which (according to a scholarly article by journals.sagepub.com titled “What has America been singing about? Trends in themes in the U.S. top-40 songs: 1960–2010”) is around 67% it is true that Swift writes more songs about love than the average singer. However, this does not necessitate that Swift deserves her *reputation* for only writing songs about exes.

If you look at the breakdown above, you can see that Swift has many songs (37) that have nothing to do with romance and even more than that (75) that do not set out to talk ill about love or past relationships. The majority of Swift’s songs are full of positivity and compassion as well as fears and insecurities that have nothing to do with someone she used to date. Even the number of songs about her exes is inflated as I did not bother to discount songs she has already discussed in interviews to be fictional (including but not limited to: Blank Space, Betty, etc.).

I would love to provide further clarity about the average percentage that other artists have written about their exes, but unfortunately the media/internet is heavily saturated with speculation and discussion about Swift’s “disproportionately high” number of songs about exes and there is not much information about any other artists pertaining to this song category. So, the only information I have to go off of is about songs written about love in general, not specifically past relationships (“exes”).

With that, the data does show that Swift writes more about love/relationships than the average artist. Is this a bad thing? Certainly not. Does this mean that she writes more songs about her exes than the average artist? It’s hard to know for certain without exact numbers, but based on the general trend of percentages regarding other categories, it is reasonable to believe that she does. Then again, this is the AVERAGE. There are plenty of artists who write more or less songs about their exes than Swift.

The point is that the media has inflated this idea past what is either reasonable or fair to Swift. She is a talented artist who has written many great songs about varying subject matters. To make the assertion that Swift only ever writes songs about exes, is to discredit her diverse discography and song-writing capabilities. I know that a majority of people appreciate and genuinely enjoy Taylor Swift and her music — she would not be such a world-renowned success otherwise — but I just wanted to lay it all out there in case anyone was look for proof that she is much more than just “a girl who only writes songs about her exes”.