#i think it qualifies since i drafted it

[p0cketw0tch]

Made this for my daughter. She was so upset to say goodbye to Zelda and Tri when we finished Echoes of Wisdom

[solardrop]

love bites

spencer reid x reader

summary: a drabble where spencer won't give you a hickey on the neck tags: fluff some suggestiveness. no smut but its implied so ill say 18+. inaccurate medical discussions. talks about veins and arteries and strokes. i think this can be read as gender-neutral? word count: ~0.9k a/n: something short and sweet from my drafts I decided to pull out of hell so it's very rough around the edges but I still think the concept is cute! I was watching tiktok and a very qualified and well-trusted source said this can happen so obviously its a real statistic that spencer reid would believe. Let me live ok. Not proofread!!

“People actually underestimate the dangers of certain erotic activities like love bites. There have actually been some well-documented cases of people dying as the result of hickeys. There was one case in Mexico about a 17-year-old boy dying of a stroke caused by a blood clot in his artery from a hickey his girlfriend gave him”

You blink slowly at the man you were sitting on, baffled by the absolute nonsense pouring out of his mouth. 

“Spencer, you do realize you’ve left marks on me before?”

“Never your neck,”

“Yes you have-” you pull back to think. You bashfully recall the few times you two have been intimate. Marks littered across your thighs, chest, and ass; hell even a few on your shoulder blades. But for the life of you, you can’t recall the sharp sting of his teeth marring you anywhere above your collarbone.

“Ok fine, but you have bitten me on my thighs a lot.” you recall, “I remember when you got shot in your leg and damn near bled out. So is my femoral artery not a concern of yours doctor?”

He looks away with a coy smile. HIs cheeks redden as he stutters to put his words together. 

“Your femoral artery is a bit deeper in your body than your carotid is in your neck. The skin on your body is actually about two times thicker than..”

Spencer begins to ramble about delicate nature of the neck, firing off related statistics and study facts without missing a beat. You listen carefully, still amazed by overflowing well of knowledge your boyfriend could be all the time.He looked confident like this. His eyes would brighten and every trivial connection he could make to another topic would have his lips twisting with mirth. 

This time, with the topic at hand, you find your focus locked on his neck. His adam apple bobs with every syllable out of his mouth. The pale skin of his collarbone exposed beneath his frumpled collar teased you from your high vantage point. The skin was pristine, not a blemish or scratch in sight. You pause. Have you never given him a hickey on his neck?! You run through the cataloge of your most intimate moments all over again realizing the clear absence in your relationship. 

“... so you aren’t in much danger with your femoral artery for superficial injuries like a brui-oh—!” 

His words are cut short by the graze of your teeth at the base of his neck. You don’t bite down yet. If this was something he wanted to back out of, you’d let him. You wait for him to react, kissing the pulse point that picked up pace since the first touch of your lips to the delicate skin.

You continue to mouth as his neck. Licking at tender spots behind his ear earn you little moans, followed by sharp gasps when your teeth follow in their wake. You move to pull away after a moment. He didn’t throw you off and scream attempted murder when you started, but he also hasn’t been begging you from more either. You’ve teased hm enough for one day, kisses and lovebites on his sweet lips and elsewhere were more than enough for you anyways. But before you could pull away a firm hand at the back of your head presses you back into the crook of his neck. His other hand wraps tighter around your waist, sliding you closer to him, every inch of your body pressed against his. Got him.

“Please..” he whispers. 

“Hm..?”

Spencer’s voice starts with a crack, he takes a moment to clear his throat before he continues, “You can… You can leave a mark”

“But Spencer!,” you mock a startled gasp, “Your precious and delicate carotid!”

“I think just this once is fine..” he murmurs, “and I trust you”

You beam at his honesty, ending his suffering to press your lips to his neck again. You remain gentle. Running your lips along his skin, sofly grazing him with your teeth now and again. His breath hitches above you when your teeth graze that spot behind his jaw once more. You focus your attention there. Kissing and licking and blowing until you sink your teeth down into the flesh. 

A choked groan bubbles from his throat, the sound egging you on. You suck the spot into your mouth, careful to not be too aggressive— while you didn’t totally believe hickey strokes were that much of a danger, you still dont want to fuck around and find your way into that embarrassing statistic. 

When youre pleased with the variety of sounds you pull out of your love, you sit up to admire your work. Spencer looked at you in a daze, eyes cloudy and bottom lip pulled so tight between his teeth you’re sure he’d have a bruise there too later. Your eyes drop to the love bite at his neck, the skin deepening in color the longer you look at it. You tap the spot gently with your pointer finger beaming at the wince it earns you. 

“Feeling any signs of stroke or a heart attack doctor?” you tease.

“No, but we’ll need to run a few more trials to have a real experiment here.” you cackle at his sly wording when he pulls you off his lap abruptly, pinning you below his body instead. 

“We may also need additional test subjects for this research to be truly viable.,” Before you could fully process his meaning he attaches his lips to your neck with a smile.

[summer-of-bad-batch]

SUMMER OF BAD BATCH 2024 HAS COME TO AN END…TUNE IN NEXT YEAR FOR SUMMER OF BAD BATCH 2025!!

2024 Participants, Completionists & Overachievers!

SUMMER OF BAD BATCH 2024: POST CREDITS (Ao3 Collection)

EVENT BADGES

PARTICIPANT FORM

☀️GENERAL INFORMATION BELOW THE CUT☀️

Bad Batch Would You Rather Game Suggestions

FREE EVENT BANNERS AND DIVIDERS

Summer of Bad Batch 2024 Prompt List

***Fill prompts all summer! No deadlines! See below cut for more details 😎***

200 Followers Celebration Bonus Prompt:

Bonus Alternate Prompt: "Can you braid my hair?"

300 Followers Celebration Bonus Prompt:

Bonus Alternate Prompt: Light in the Darkness

Week 1

Main Prompt: Water Gun Fight

Alt. Prompt: “It’s not what you think.”

Week 2

Main Prompt: Injured

Alt. Prompt: Comfort Zone

Week 3

Main Prompt: “It’s just a scratch.”

Alt. Prompt: “Forget I asked.”

Week 4

Main Prompt: Cadets

Alt. Prompt: "You really think you're going without me? Not going to happen."

Week 5

Main Prompt: “You’re a bad liar.”

Alt. Prompt: “Need a hand?”

Week 6

Main Prompt: Battle Scars

Alt. Prompt: “Get out of my room!”

Week 7

Main Prompt: “Don’t avoid the question.”

Alt. Prompt: Getting a Haircut

Week 8

Main Prompt: Swimming Lessons

Alt. Prompt: Lula

Week of 9

Main Prompt: “Hold still.”

Alt. Prompt: Stargazing

Week 10

Main Prompt: Hugs

Alt. Prompt: “Just when were you planning on telling us that?”

Week 11

Main Prompt: “I didn’t think I would get this far.”

Alt. Prompt: “Yeah, kid, we’re fine.”

Week 12

Main Prompt: Nightmares

Alt. Prompt: Radio Silence

Week 13

Main Prompt: “Stop touching me!” // “I’m not touching you!”

Alt. Prompt: Crashing Hard

🥳🥳That’s the end of the Summer of Bad Batch 2024 prompt list…feel free to use all prompts and tags forever and ever🥳🥳

You can find the Ao3 collection HERE!

And I know that sometimes, it can be a pain to figure out how to add to collections (please tell me I'm not the ONLY one who has struggled with this 😭), so here's a step by step!

STEP ONE: Post a New Work OR Edit an existing work.

STEP TWO: Under the Associations category, you’ll see “Post to Collections / Challenges”

STEP THREE: Type summerofbadbatch2024 (no spaces)

STEP FOUR: This is where it gets tricky...the collection may or may not auto populate. If it doesn't, that's okay. Just leave summerofbadbatch2024 in there as is, and save the post (you can even save it as a draft and see if it worked!) It should add it to the collection even if it didn't auto populate 🤓

Q: What is Summer of Bad Batch??

A: Summer of Bad Batch is a laidback, summer prompt challenge from June 1st-August 31st. Every Sunday (12am CST), a prompt and alternative prompt will be released to inspire creativity in the Star Wars: The Bad Batch fandom! By filling prompts by August 31st, you can qualify as a:

Participant (completed 1-12 prompts)

Completionist (completed 13+ prompts)

Overachiever (completed 13 main prompts + the 13 alternative prompts)

At the end of the challenge, there will be a form for participants to fill out to let me know what category of completion they fall into. A post will be made for each category giving a shoutout and (if you’d like) a link to your Master List of completed prompt fills.

Q: What can I do to fill a prompt?

A: Anything you want! Fanfic, fan art, drabbles, doodles, cartoons, poetry...the possibilities are endless! The only real criteria is that it has to be based on Star Wars: The Bad Batch.

Q: Will you reblog prompt fills?

A: Yes! However, since I am keeping this blog PG, I will only reblog prompt fills that fit within that criteria. Basically, if it could be in the literal show itself, it could be reblogged here ☺️

(That said, I won’t reblog any clone x clone content simply because it is one of my main squicks 😅)

Also, make sure you tag your prompt fills! That's the only way I'll be able to find them in the wide world of Tumblr! So, tag your prompt fills with #summerofbadbatch2024 so I (and anyone else who is looking for Summer of Bad Batch goodness!) can find your posts!

(And everything is welcome on the Ao3 Summer of Bad Batch 2024 Collection — so make sure to add to it if you’re on Ao3!)

Q: When will prompts be released?

A: Every Sunday (with the exception of Week 1, which will have a special release date of Saturday, June 1st) at 12am CST.

Q: What if I don’t understand a prompt?

A: Send me a message or an ask! I’d be happy to help!

Q: What if I don’t like the weekly prompt?

A: Every week will have an alternate prompt available! And alternate prompts can be swapped out for any main prompt, regardless of which week!

Q: Where can I post my prompt fills?

A: Anywhere you'd like! Personally, I'm only on Ao3 and Tumblr...but I know that this fandom is literally all over the internet, so wherever you feel comfortable posting, do it!!

Q: What if I don't finish filling the prompt within the week?

A: One of my favorite parts of this prompt challenge is that there are no deadlines! If you want to be a Completionist or an Overachiever, you just have to have the prompts complete by August 31st!

Finished week 2 during week 5? Great!

Finished weeks 1-13 during week 13?? 😅 That works!

Q: Do I have to post/publish my prompt fills to be considered a participant/completionist/overachiever?

A: Nope! I know not to everyone feels comfortable sharing their work, and that’s totally fine!

You don’t have to post/publish a single thing to qualify. At the end of the challenge, I’ll link a form for anyone who participated to fill out. This is all based on the honor system…so if you say you completed “such and such”…I’ll take your word for it 😊 If you want, you can still be given a shout out for whatever level of participation you said you completed. Just let me know!

Q: Can I combine prompts?

A: Yes! Mash up those prompts and make a custom, super prompt if your heart so desires!

Q: But can I combine prompts with other challenges?

A: Absolutely! If the other challenge allows it, feel free to combine Summer of Bad Batch as you see fit ✨

Q: Can I apply prompts to works I've already completed/posted?

A: Prompts should not be applied to already completed works.

But if you have a WIP that's been gathering dust that would fit the occasion, that would be fine!

Have a story that you're adding chapters to? You can apply prompts to new chapters! That's fine too!

Q: Will there be a complete prompt list available?

A: Not until after the event, since prompts will be posted weekly 😘

Q: Can I use the prompts even after the event has ended?

A: Absolutely!

You didn’t find your question here?? Send me an ask, I’d be happy to help!

[withlovelunette]

How to construct character psychology!

– Introduction

Hello hello! :D I’ve been very slow with my writing lately due to uni work (and some unforeseen health issues), but I’d like to still be able to make content and be interactive in the writing community, so I’m here again to share some advice based on my own experiences! One of my favourite things about writing is writing characters, specifically constructing a character’s psychology. I’d like to preface this post by saying that while I’ve had formal classes in psychology, I’m by no means any sort of expert within the field, and I also don’t believe that every aspect of how a character is written needs to be rooted in realism. However, I do want to share some insights that I got from it, and also because I feel like “character psychology” has this very mystified weight to it that makes it seem a lot bigger and intimidating than it needs to be.

So! My goal is just to share some advice on how to break down a character’s psychology and work from there! If you like what you read and would like to read more, I’ve also written a post about creating “complex” characters, which you can find the link to here! Aaand yes I think that’s about all I have to say beforehand, I hope you enjoy :,)

What do I mean when I say psychology?

Before getting into the nitty-gritty, I’d like to start with the basics, just to make sure people are on the same page when reading this post. When I’m talking about psychology here, I’m specifically referring to a character’s cognition, as in how they process information and act on it/make judgments. I’m not necessarily referring to personality in this case (although personality is an aspect of psychology, but I’m more so referring to personality as a consequence of cognition here, rather than as a collage of traits and behaviour).

Another thing I want to clarify is that exactly how much of human behaviour is nurture vs nature is a hotly debated topic that I’m completely under-qualified to take a stance on, but for the sake of this post; I believe both are equally essential aspects of human behaviour, so just keep that in mind! (I’m looking at any behaviourists in the chat rn). That being said; I’m not really comfortable treating psychology as “nature” (as such rhetorics are often used in gender-essentialist and other bigoted ways of thinking), so my main focus will be nurture, since that’s what is most readily observable!

Determining character motivation

If you’re working with very little or bare minimum characterization, my recommendation is to consider; what motivates a person to act? And by this, I’m not referring to the external quest or goal behind the character, but rather, what’s the core of what motivates your character to act at all? Even in grand, epic adventures of good vs evil, where the external goal is as simple as “putting an end to whatever evil the bad guys are doing”, there needs to be a reason a character is specifically on the side that they’re on. Multiple characters can be on the same side, but they might find themselves on that side for vastly different reasons, even when their exterior goals are the same. From there, you’ll want to consider what informs this motivation in particular.

One technique I love to employ, when still figuring out my character, is to have them make some sort of bizarre decision, a decision I’d initially think to be improbable for this particular character, and then try to list off various justifications or variables that would allow for this character to make this particular decision. There’s a couple of reasons for why I do this.

1) It removes some of the pressure to have a perfectly cohesive, perfectly put together and neatly defined character from the get-go. The drafting process isn’t just for plot and story structure’s sake, it’s also there for you to experiment with characters! Having your characters make story altering decisions that possibly challenge or contradict themselves is a great way to make sure that you’re writing active characters as opposed to more passive ones, and I think the first couple of drafts should really be a playground for you to see just how far you can stretch your characters based on their characterisation.

2) It helps me clarify what is and isn’t important in my character’s decision making. I’m a firm believer that most decisions/actions aren’t inherently in or out of character; it just depends on whether or not the readers/viewers can understand the character’s thought process behind their decision, and this ultimately comes down to how well you, as the writer, conveys the character’s priorities when they make decisions. If you’re established that a character acts based on a code of honour, an exterior source to morality and conduct, then the justifications and reasonings they would use to justify murder would likely be very different than a character who acts based on their own convictions. This is also a great way to show character development; by showing how a character’s decisions gradually change as their cognition change as they develop.

3) It allows me to explore nuance and make note of potential contradictions within the character’s way of thinking—which is often the most interesting aspects of a character’s psychology, at least in what I enjoy to write and read. Most real people don’t have perfectly cohesive morals, and most people can’t always act congruently with their morals either, so allow for your characters to make some bizarre decisions! See how far you can stretch their cognition! These decisions don’t have to be canon to the story, but it’s a good way to actually solidify what line of thinking your character makes when faced with difficult and potentially morally indicative choices.

Work your way backwards!

If you already have the overall traits and behavior of your character pinned down, you can always work your way backwards! As a pantser, this is a very common occurrence for me. I have a character with a clear goal and defined characteristics, but they’re completely uninformed so far, as I usually discover the cause of their motivation and characteristics as I write the story. As such, most of my characters don’t have any sort of backstory established until I’m much further into the process, as I discover it as I go along. So here’s some things I look out for in my character writing when creating a backstory after I’ve already established a character.

1) What are some things the character is often drawn towards? Humans are typically very habitual, a lot of us enjoy some sense of familiarity (to varying degrees depending on the person), and taking note of what your character tends to gravitate towards can be a great stepping stone to fleshing out backstory. An example could be a somewhat cold, stoic character who’s incredibly picky with their relationships due to trust issues (pretty common characterization) has a tendency to let their guard down more when around elderly people. Why is that? Maybe they were raised by very old parents, or even grandparents. Maybe it’s a cultural thing to treat elderly with more respect. Maybe it’s a religious thing. Maybe it’s because elderly people have treated them with more kindness in the past, etc. Note that this can be flipped too! Maybe this character feels uneasy around people closer to their own age, or even people who are younger than them.

2) How does your character socialize? The way a character approached social settings can often be very indicative of how they were raised, as that tends to affect how people form attachments (according to attachment theory in psychoanalysis, at least). Are they very sociable? If so, why? Is it because they’re accustomed to being around a lot of people? Maybe they had a very large family, or maybe they had a family that took part in a very active social sphere. Maybe this character just comes off as sociable because they understand the value of social connections. Why’s that? Maybe their family have a political influence, or maybe they have a business they want to sell, etc. Or maybe it’s the complete opposite; maybe this character grew up with little to no family at all, and that’s why they want to make friends and connections. If so, then maybe that affects how they make decisions, leaving them incredibly loyal and somewhat co-dependent. Even the smallest character traits and behaviours can be expanded upon to inform you of how that character was possibly raised, it’s really just about digging into said behaviour!

3) How receptive are they to new experiences or other people’s perspective? This is also somewhat linked to attachment theory, but it doesn’t have to be approached that way! The reason I bring this point up is because I find that a character’s receptiveness is often a good way to gauge their relationship with their parent. For example, a character with very strict, traditionalist parents might adopt that outlook on life because it offers them a sense of stability and security. They weren’t raised to be adaptable or to adjust themselves to new experiences, and thus have a difficult time accepting things outside of their established paradigm. This would suggest that this character likely didn’t rebel much to their parents’ outlooks on things (or if they tried, they failed), since they adopted said outlook for themselves. Another way to write this character (with the same premise) is to have them react in the opposite way; maybe they are super open and receptive because the rigidness of their parents prevented them from ever experiencing anything. Maybe the status quo bored them, or maybe they see their parents as narrow minded. This characterisation suggests that there’s possibly more tension (not necessarily in a negative way) between the character and their parents.

Interplay between morals & behaviour

A character’s morals and behaviour don’t always have to align. Like I mentioned in an earlier point, humans hold a lot of contradictions, and how people cope with those contradictions can vary. However, how do you determine if a contradiction is purposeful rather than a case of out-of-character writing?

Let’s say you have a character who views all animals as sacred, and this is something they were raised with. Suddenly, this character is thrust into a situation in a different world/kingdom/region/etc. where eating animal meat is the only viable food option to survive. They decide to do it, despite their morals directly conflicting with this behaviour.

One way this character might justify this is by thinking “well, my intentions matter most, and my intention was never to hurt animals, so while I feel bad for killing an animal for food, my intentions of doing so respectfully makes this action more acceptable to me.”

But another character in the exact same situation might not be satisfied with such logic. Maybe they see intentions as irrelevant, and only care about the consequences of their actions. If it’s been established beforehand that a character is consequentialist, then this action, paired with the justification above, would feel incredibly out of character, because the logic behind the justification is not intuitive to the reader.

Whether a contradiction feels purposeful or out-of-character ultimately boils down to what information and how much of it you’ve given to the readers, so that they have the information necessary to break down the interplay between the character’s morals and behaviour. 

Using other tools (cognitive functions, socionics, enneagram, etc.)

As I’ve mentioned before on this blog, I’m very interested in various types of typology (mbti probably being the most popular and well known one), and while I consider all forms of typology to fall under pseudo psychology, I often use these tools to help me better understand my own characters better! I personally gravitate towards cognitive functions (which is not the same system as mbti, even though it uses the same letter system) as they help me put into words my character’s cognition, and enneagram, which describes behaviour and motivations that arise from a person’s upbringing and coping mechanisms. There’s other things you can take into consideration as well, like socionics, temperaments, attitudinal psyche, etc!

I’m not suggesting you use these as replacements for developing characters, but they can be great supplements when trying to dig deeper into your character’s psychology! I’d also argue that you get more out of putting these systems into use if you learn about typology and analyse your characters yourself instead of taking a test for them, but I’m also very biased in this regard, since I enjoy analysing my characters myself :,) And there are times where I’ll take a few tests to help solidify my breakdown if I’m having a difficult time labelling my character correctly. Honestly, just have fun with it!!

– Outro

Sorry for yet another lengthy post! And sorry it was a bit later than I’d anticipated, I had a much busier weekend than I thought I’d have, so I kept having to squeeze writing in anytime I had enough spare time to sit down, and then I stumbled across a series of health complications that I’m still trying to sort out. Which, speaking of, thank you so much to everyone who’s been wishing me good luck! I’m still working on figuring out what’s wrong, but I’m making progress!

As usual, my asks and messages are always open, so feel free to shoot me a message about anything! Even if I may be slower with my replies ^^; Thank you for reading! <3

[youunravelme]

okay but how does mat propose??? (like a pt. 2 follow up to the wedding cake fic)

omg omg omg a proposal request!! let it be known, i have never been engaged, BUT all my friends got engaged/married last year so i think i'm uniquely qualified (edit: this was started in 2023, you know, when this request was sent. once again, my b). (though this might just turn into my dream proposal bc i'm in love with him).

for those of you who wanna check the part 1 of the wedding cake fic, here it is!

another edit: i wrote this to distract myself from my absolute disdain at scott mayfield.

carry on.

his hands were sweating all day.

which was weird, considering it was february.

but it wasn't weird, given what he had planned. he didn't know if he wanted to scream or throw up. the idea of you becoming his wife surely made him giddy, but it was soured with the slight chance that you might say no. he was supposed to propose before the season started up again, but he was plagued with anxious thoughts.

it's not the right time.

i'm not ready yet.

or the worst one: i don't think i'm that serious about you.

which, in hindsight, wouldn't make sense considering you were already living together and have been for quite some time. you wore his jersey to games, you had conversations about starting a family, you texted his mom and sister more than he did. there was no reason for you to say no.

right?

right?

after he chickened out back in september, mat's new plan was to wait until the bye week to propose. he was going to take you on a vacation to conil de la frontera, spain. he had everything booked and ready.

but then he was drafted for the 2024 all star games.

he could see it in your eyes, you were ecstatic for him to be recognized, but when you took a week and a half off of work, you were planning on packing your bathing suit, not taking a short flight to toronto.

you bore the slight disappointment well, smiling and kissing him and hugging him tightly when he got the news. he beamed when he saw you post about it on your instagram.

he couldn't wait any longer to ask you. your reaction to a change in your vacation plans from something warm to canada in the winter solidified what he was anxious about for months.

you loved him, there as no doubt about it.

you were the most selfless human being he knew.

his teammates had been crucial in the planning process, well, at least their wives were. bo, marty, anders, brock, and clutterbuck had been chirping him since the start of the season when they noticed that your left hand was still devoid of a ring.

"what're you waiting for, barzy?" bo asked after a practice one day. "you found a good one, she'd probably wait forever for you, but why're you making her wait?"

mat shrugged at the time, too embarrassed to admit that despite being one of the best players in the league and having millions to his name, he was terrified that it still wouldn't be enough for you. not that you'd ever demanded more from him, you'd taken him as he was and cheered for him even when he was having the shittiest time of his life.

he could give you the moon and still wouldn't feel like it was enough.

so when mat finally told his teammates about his plan in toronto, they immediately communicated to the wives who were closest to you. sydney, grace, and holly took you out to get your nails done while marty, anders, bo, and mat started researching the most romantic places in toronto on anders' laptop just in case you spontaneously went through mat's search history.

the day was planned, the photographer and necessary tickets were booked, he'd propose at the evergreen brick works after texting auston matthews about cool places to visit while he was in town, (he had to clarify that he didn't care about cool bars, and was looking to bring you along).

you'd been talking nonstop on the plane ride to toronto that you didn't even notice mat was quietly stewing. everything had to be perfect.

it was the very least that you deserved.

the first day in toronto, both of you explored the city by going to coffee shops and restaurants recommended by players and their significant others. when you made it back to your hotel room, your feet were aching.

you fell face first into the bed, whining into the comforter. "my feet hurt," you groaned.

mat laughed from his position leaning against the wall. "i told you to wear better shoes," he said.

"i didn't anticipate you dragging me all over toronto today."

"well, that's what we'll be doing tomorrow too, so prepare yourself."

"mat," you whined, finally flipping over so he could see your pretty face again. you had a cute pout on your lips that he wanted to kiss away. "we're on vacation."

"and you've never been in this city before, you should get to see it." he walked over to where you were and grabbed your hands. "c'mon, let's go take a bath and then we can order room service and spend the rest of the night in bed."

you were quick to agree.

the following day was pretty mundane. but wednesday was the cause of mat's stress.

his phone lit up with texts from his teammates, his parents, liana, tito, and ethan, all wishing him a good luck. the two of you woke up early enough to go to a local cafe and grab breakfast before taking the bus to evergreen brick work.

"you okay?" you asked, placing your hand on his knee to keep it from bouncing anymore.

he thanked whatever possessed him to keep the ring box in his coat pocket on the side that wasn't pressed up against you.

"yeah," he smiled. "just ready to get there."

when the two of you hopped off the bus, you slid your hand into his almost immediately. out of habit, mat tucked you into his side, happy to just have you close. it was a little cold outside, but it was like he couldn't feel it because of your proximity.

"mat!" you tugged on his arm and pointed at one of the signs. "they have ice skating here!" you grinned widely up at him and he couldn't help but smile right back. "we should go!"

"we will," he said. "i wanna do this trail first."

you looked at him funny. "you wanna go on a walk?"

he shrugged, tearing his eyes away from you to focus on the signs in front of him. "auston suggested this place."

"you're asking for a lot of suggestions from auston. it's unlike you..."

"there's no need to be suspcious, babe. i know that you wanted to be in a tropical place for vacation, that was the plan and everything, but since we're here, thought we'd make the most of it."

you scrutinized his face for a moment longer before nodding and pulling yourself closer to him.

after you secured another hot coffee to combat the cold, mat started leading you on the trail. while you were ordering, he was coordinating with the photographer to make sure she was in position.

the trail itself wasn't that long, thankfully because mat couldn't get a word out and if it was any longer, he feared you would've caught on that he was incapable of speaking.

you were still talking about work drama when you got to the lookout point. your voice was taken away by the sight of toronto in the background.

you hadn't always been the most observant person ever, you didn't even know he liked you until he told you verbatim when he couldn't take it anymore.

"oh my god, mat," you gasped. you pointed at the skyline in front of you with the hand that wasn't holding your coffee. "look how pretty it is!"

he swallowed and knelt down on one knee while your back was turned. mat took the ring box out of his jacket pocket, doing his best not to drop it despite how much his hands were shaking.

"have you ever seen anything that--" you whipped back around to look for him. he watched as confusion filled your face when you didn't see him standing behind you, but kneeling in front of you.

"oh my god," you whispered, dropping your coffee on the ground so you could cover your mouth with both hands. "mat what--"

"i love you," he said. "i love the way you squeal at every cute baby that comes across your for you page or the way you cry at the drop of a hat. i love how you celebrate everyone around you. you are the brightest thing in my life and if i quit my job tomorrow, i know my life would still be fucking amazing because i'd have you.

"i know that my schedule is hectic, and you could probably find a man better than me, who was more consistent, who wasn't going to play games or have practices on your birthday, who could take you out of the country for a vacation to somewhere warm instead of dragging you with me to an all star game. but i promise you, i will do whatever it takes to give you the best life possible if you'd let me. i wanna grow old and crinkly with you, i want our kids to have the same last name as both of us. i want to be able to point you out in crowds and tell strangers that i somehow managed to convince you to marry me.

"i have never been more terrified in my life than i am right now," he admitted. "but i have never been more certain of anything i want more in my life than you. so will you have me? will you marry me?"

in the middle of his speech, mat didn't realize when he'd started crying, didn't even notice that you were all but sobbing. he just recognized the scent of your perfume when you lunged towards him and kissed him hard on the mouth, your tears mixing with his.

"yes," you mumbled into his mouth. "oh my god, yes."

mat let out a watery laugh and managed to slip the ring on your finger even though his hands were shaking. you pulled him up to stand and immediately wrapped your arms around his neck to pull him close.

you were sniffling as he pulled you in for another kiss.

"i love you,' he whispered against your lips.

"love you more," you smiled back.

[centrally-unplanned]

Time for a pet peeve take response - let me capture our target below:

[Unpopular Fantasy Opinion Take:] The fantasy genre by-and-large took the wrong takeaway from Tolkien, and has been generally spiraling since as a result. They took his surface-level aesthetics and fantastical elements, and left his engagement with real, historical texts, his philology & his moral seriosity. In a different timeline, subsequent authors would have adopted Tolkien's erudite love of language and mythology and applied it to other cultures & mythologies - not just superficially, but by engaging with the great Chinese novels or the Shahnameh like he did with Beowulf. Even when you *do* see more recent novels "inspired by" other cultures, they are very blatantly just taking the (degraded distillate of the) Western, Tolkien-esque tradition and coating it in a thin veneer of Chinese or Mesoamerican lore.

This is not the first time I have seen this specific take, and it is part of a "fallen literature" genre that is always confusing supply & demand, with a hefty bout of selection bias for good measure.

To get the obvious out of the way, the "lessons" people took from Tolkien are entirely what audiences want to read, and were never going to be any other way. Most people don't wanna read hard, heavy books! Even if they want that sometimes, for every one Gravity's Rainbow they are gonna read a dozen Gone Girl's as a palette-cleansing snack, which means by-the-numbers the latter will dominate. Fantasy did not invent the genre of adventure stories and swashbuckling heroes and hot maidens to woo and mystical mumbo-jumbo; people stapling tried-and-true genre tropes onto elves and orcs once they took off was a given. The "shallow" part was the only part that could have changed; a world where the median fantasy novel is dealing with theological issues could never have been.

And to top this all off, no disrespect to Tolkien at all, but like...he isn't that deep? The "moral seriousness" of the Lord of the Rings is very simple - characters are often cartoonishly evil or blatantly good, the conflicts they face are often black and white, and in particular the moral dilemmas faced by characters boil down to tests of courage more than half the time. What Tolkien does have is his own unique interests? Like in Middle Earth the "act of creation", from art to life, is itself a moral undertaking with metaphysical implications. This is super cool - but it is also again very simple, it is barely even discussed in the novels and his ideas can be summarized in a paragraph. This is all good btw! The novels would not benefit from more complicated morality. But modern books are just as complex, and often more so.

Actually just a little aside here - a lot of people do this thing with Tolkien where they mention his letters and drafts like that is canonical story text? Yeah he wrote like an essay about the theological implications of the various orc origin stories, but he didn't publish that, it is nowhere in the Lord of the Rings and is barely in the Silmarillion. Other authors have notes like those; you just don't read them.

And the "other cultures" stuff is particularly egregious - I'm sorry, are we just not reading many modern stories? You think Spinning Silver isn't pulling great threads from Slavic folklore? You think the Chinese Gays in Mo Dao Zu Shi/The Untamed aren't dropping refs to Daoism and the four classics in between their will-they-won't-they necromancy shenanigans? In response this author would, of course, pivot from their bailey of "no one references other traditions" to the motte of "and if they do it is shallow" with no definition of what qualifies as such, nor again any admittance that audiences care way more about getting the gays than the deep cut cultural refs. The fact that the median person in the west prefers their Dungeons & Dragons campaigns in a default Tolkien-esque setting because the point is to have a comfortable backdrop for ease of play of a combat dice game will just not factor into their analysis.

The elephant in the room for all of this is that foundational texts differ, structurally, from modern texts, because they were made in different environments. The Lord of the Rings probably wouldn't sell well today! The prose is wooden, the characters are flat, it throws random lore it never explains at you, Tom Bombadil is just there as a walking momentum-destroying plot hole, etc. People read it because it was a first in a world that didn't have books committing to this level of world-building & detail in a fantasy environment. And as a new genre, things like his crazy level of language building are appealing, it's all so new and different, something cool to dig into.

But imagine picking up your 185th elves-and-orcs sword & sorcery book in 1998 and reading "ah yes Quenya is just one of two alphabets for the Elven tongue and it is inspired by Finnish-Germanic and I write entire poems in it even though I never finished a cohesive dictionary or grammar system but I do have 15 pages of pronunciation notes"?? You would throw at it at a fucking wall, absolutely insufferable. It was cool the first time, and that is why you learn Elvish, just like you learn Klingon. That was never gonna keep as a zeitgeist - instead just popping up here or there as this or that series takes off.

You have to accept that audiences are in the driver's seat on this one - they have infinite stories to choose from, they are absolutely not being dragged along by willful writers. Which means genres will evolve and change over time - and that is fine.

[juniperpyre]

I don’t want it to seem like I’m trying to be hateful towards you. I don’t think it’s fair to blame James for his and Lily’s death: whole victim blaming isn’t right. Voldemort was winning the war and the walls were closing in. Peter wasn’t just some friend - and it wasn’t only Peter that James was trusting. Lily and Sirius agree to Peter. Sirius was the one who came up with the plan. I feel like that goes beyond James and his moral views. His brother and wife also agree to Peter, wouldn’t that greatly impact James’s opinion? Yes, Remus, years after and harden by grief, thinks James was too blind, but again, Peter is wasn’t just some person - he had earned their trust, kept their secrets, and fought alongside them. I understand James had his flaws and I’m not denying them, but it wasn’t arrogance or black and white thinking that brought James down - love did. He loved Sirius and Peter.

this is about this post.

hi okay, i don't take this as hate lol, i am a bit frustrated bc i almost put a qualifier like "(of course their deaths are the fascists' fault)" but it felt unnecessary.

the idea of james' trust being a reason his family dies is thematically interesting to me. dumbledore's fatal flaw (fatal for a bunch of people, not just him) is not trusting people. he thinks lily and james trusted the wrong person. and they did.

but if just a few more people had known about the plan sirius never would have gone to azkaban. maybe peter would've been too afraid to go through with turning them over to voldy. so there's a narrative tension between trusting too much and not trusting enough. dumbledore is egotistical and should have created a more cooperative resistance rather than being the ultimate head.

i very much reject the idea that love brought james and lily down. again, this is bc it weakens the narrative. i really stand by:

his high self-regard and his loyalty meant he couldn't fathom someone he considered a best friend betraying him. if he sees someone as good, they must be good. he'd never been wrong before!

i have a lot to say about james potter and black & white thinking that's in drafts, so that's for another time.

the responsibility for james, lily, and harry's deaths falls on voldemort, peter, and arguably dumbledore. jily shouldn't have been having to make choices to save themselves from being murdered!!! however, that doesn't mean james and lily's choices had no impact.

giving james flaws that are normal, human flaws and relating them to his canon positive traits (trust & loyalty) and then seeing how the mix of those traits contributes to his and lily's death is interesting. it is complex and tragic, because no one is perfect, and that shouldn't be a death sentence.

i hc that james struggled a lot with how to be a husband and father since (in my hc) his dad died before he and lily married. i imagine that, as a man in the 70s, he feels like it's his job to protect his family (he doesn't think lily is weaker but damn these gender roles have hands) and not being able to do so bc his wife is in a group that is being genocided and they're both fighting a war eats him up

so i do imagine him making the call. he knows peter better than lily does, and sirius obviously doesn't get final say. so james makes the call that results in their deaths, and sirius comes up with the idea that results in their deaths, and lily is passive and allows these "wrong" choices.

this isn't a fair way of putting it, but it's how each character sees themselves. this isn't a real-world cause and effect, it's exploring themes present in the og books thru character analysis and hc

i talk fairly often about the DE being fascists so honestly i don't think i need to qualify my posts with "of course the DE are the villains and the order are just trying their damnedest"

[pokeberry5]

i'm not really sure what the main thrust of this post is, but this yj98 arc has been haunting me literally since I read it months ago, so I've put together a brief(ish) overview of the salient points and the questions it's left me with

aka

that time young justice was sent to a literal intergalactic war front

aka

young justice has even more complex ptsd than you probably thought!!

yj98 #35

the premise is that there's a global war against imperiex, spearheaded by president (blech) luthor. as minors, they can't be drafted into it

(i hunted around and apparently Our Worlds at War, with Imperiex as the big bad, is the broader context, which i didn't feel like reading for this)

instead, they're going to be attached to a "sort of super medical unit" called the "paradocs"

the way they're persuaded to accept their role (instead of?? fighting on the front lines?? jeez kon) is to conceive of themselves as saving active-combat superheroes for their children they're leaving at home (creating an implicit distinction between those children and themselves, which i find sad)

yj is specifically a "search and rescue team"

with a civilian cissie king-jones as their qualified emergency medical technician (so her public persona is an olympic champion, actress, and volunteer veteran of an intergalactic war???)

is cissie the only one performing medical services then? do any of the others pick anything up from her, if these missions last long enough? (do tim and cissie bond as the only non-powered people they know going into a space war?)

yj98 #36

they've run "a couple" successful missions behind enemy lines: what does this mean for the duration of this role?

(i'm not sure if reading Our Worlds at War would help determine how long this all lasted, but if someone who has read it has answers, i'd love to know)

also, were they in space the whole time or going back in between? (i also really really want to know what batman thinks of his protégé being part of a space war. related, did cassie tell her mom??)

---

Superboy Vol 4 #91: War Letters gives some context to this

(kon putting on a brave face!!)

but also:

even as paramedics they were participating in active combat, fighting off scavengers

the lack of specifics, the mention of the fact that he's met "a lot of interesting cats in the field," and of "things" he's seen—there's a sense that he's seen a lot but not enough yet for it to no longer be shocking. or, that what they're seeing is so savage that it never ceases to be shocking.

this also implies that they've met and rescued a slew of people from across the universe. does yj have intergalactic connections? do random alien soldiers remember this small group of earth children that saved them?

this panel also shows kon (and likely the rest of them) amidst recovering jl members. what does the broader jl think of this group of kids in an acknowledged war zone, seeing them beaten down like this? (it's unclear whether kon actually went and rescued kyle rayner here or is just helping him around the medical area, but there must be some sort of lasting impression from this)

they get diverged from their rescue mission and end up on apokolips

bart experiences death when one of his "scouts" is killed—this has a lasting impression on him (addressed later) and kon blames himself, since it was his decision to chase after steel that landed them here. do the two of them ever talk about this? (they don't in yj at least)

---

yj98 #36 contd.

kon's accusation shows that this arc happened right after the drama between batman and the jla during tower of babel (the secret contingency plan drama)

and after batman's betrayal of tim's identity to spoiler (rip tim being betrayed on multiple fronts)

(tim putting on a strong front :'))

i find it interesting that tim considers his state "a world of grays" in contrast to kon's "black and white" attitude. balancing a multitude of considerations is a "world of grays?" anyway, tim staring death in the face and admitting he's scared :')

and then tim gets to watch lil lobo die (he does technically come back but!) and says explicitly that another part of innocence he didn't know he had died with lobo. this can't be his first time witnessing a death given gotham's everything, so is it because this is the first time he's watched a comrade die (and so brutally too)?

yj98 #37

and then! we get extended(?) mental torture on apokolips, enough to drive to tim to attempted homicide (both in the dream world and out of it)

(he was made to watch kon and cassie get murdered brutally in front of him jsyk)

and once he's out:

(does this ever haunt tim? that he almost broke batman's one rule? also parallels with dick beating the joker to death later on tim's behalf)

yj98 #38

the fallout:

we see that after experiencing his scout's death on apokolips, bart's been left with a fear of death strong enough to get him to leave yj (i don't actually know how this gets resolved?? it must happen in his solo bc he just sort of reappears a few mini arcs later...)

("i quit for a bunch of reasons ... but not a single one of them had to do with being afraid i'd get killed," cissie you're sooooo well-adjusted. she doesn't think bart's valid rip)

this is the moment where tim quits yj because he can't deal with their lack of trust (oof) and because“i don’t need the grief of young justice,” referring to everything else going on in tim's life (batman betraying his identity to spoiler)

(he'll lose them later on anyway—does it haunt him that he came back?)

(it's sweet that kon has someone he feels he can talk to and ask advice from)

i'm not sure if tim ever gets that apology

tldr: i kind of want one or more of yj to end up as a paramedic

[acourtofthought]

Lol you're hilarious. Everything about the story and SJM's recent online activities AND the articles point towards elriel endgame but y'all will only stop when elriel is announced I guess.

Anons like this are always better than a cup of coffee because wow, do they wake my brain up in an instant.

Articles pointing to an E/riel endgame? You mean articles written by journalists who never sat down with SJM and who never even spoken to the author or Bloomsbury regarding the content? Articles that were factually incorrect, one originally claiming that SJM was the author of the Elemental series with a hyperlink to a different authors Amazon page? Journalists who definitely are not more qualified than Sarah's own best friend who is on record as saying she doesn't think E/riel is happening?

Also, if we're really claiming her posts as possible clues of which we have zero evidence they are, those clues suggest Elain more than any ship.

Bloomsbury tweeted flowers and fire (not stars or a night sky). Which actually would hint at Lucien over Az.

She had the book of flowers displayed during her live. It's cute how some tried to claim there was a black bat on the spine of the book but alas, it was a blue petal.

She wore a Bambi sweater with flowers during an IG and yes that sweater was on a black background but only because that's how the shirt is produced. I'm sorry but you can't be so ridiculous as to think that the author would want to wear that particular sweater (something she's owned for years as it was mentioned in another article from way back when) but second guess herself because the black background it was already on might have people thinking it hints at Az.

The Spring story had nothing, NOTHING to connect to Az but if you recall from the actual books, Lucien is permanently stationed in the Spring Court.

Let's break down the Az clues you're so confident in.

She was writing ACOTAR 5 in September. She was already into the process to the point that she was obsessed with the book, that it felt like having a crush, that she was so focused on it she didn't even have time to make a treat for her childs school. So that probably means she was at least a few chapters in? A third in? In February, about 5 months later, she did a fan made bracket (that did not include Lucien). and said Az was someone she'd be exploring more in the future.

She wrote the current version of HOFAS in a month. If she had already been working on ACOTAR 5 and had already spent 5/6 months writing about Az, why would Az be someone she wanted to explore more in the future? Shouldn't she have already explored him in e/riels book?

The post where SJM went up North to draft and stopped in front of a small body of water in the middle of the mountains? Guess what, Koschei's LAKE is hidden in a forest, surrounded by mountains. Illyria is not the only place in their entire world with mountains and pine trees. Also, Vallahan is surrounded by mountains on the map! Places SJM could easily have written about in this next book, places more connected to Lucien, Elain and Vassa. And as mentioned above, she said she was up north to draft. It is now 7 months since she did the Live interview talking about how she was working on ACOTAR 5. Chances are, whatever she was up North drafting is not ACOTAR but her next project.

Onto Guilty as Sin. My point mentioned above twice still stands. Why are you assuming it made her think of a book that's probably already written rather than a book she may be working on? Maybe it gave her the feels for the LoA / Helion's love story as they were forbidden lovers who were not yet lovers in their youth. Sarah has often spoken about wanting to write an ACOTAR book set in the past, maybe it's time for theirs. Mor heard rumors that the LoA waited before agreeing to Beron's proposal, after having met Helion at an Equinox the previous year. Helion claims that he heard her family wanted ties to power. At that time (before they ever had an affair), the LoA and Helion would have been forbidden because he had no real power. If you recall, he only became HL during Amarantha's reign after she killed the HL of Day and most of their family. Or maybe she is writing about the Seraphim from 500 years ago, before the first war. Where Miryam and Drakon fell in love when she was with Jurian.

Would it honestly make sense for her to be excited about a song that she just heard for the first time three days ago over a book that should be finished save for maybe final edits?

I like imagining how these things might hint at Elain and Lucien too, it's fun in this drought of ACOTAR info. But I don't have such blinders on that it makes me unable to consider other possibilities.

Stop claiming you see the whole picture when you are only selecting the puzzle pieces you like best. Trying putting the entire thing together if you want to have a chance at sounding like you know what you're talking about.

You guess we'll stop when e/riel is announced? You mean the ship that ended on Solstice, the ship Elain did not shed a single tear over the way she cried for Graysen (someone we know that she loved)? Elain returned Az's necklace and never once looked like she was struggling with moving on. What kind of Elain stan are you, having Elain daydream of being with the guy who rejected her and couldn't confirm real feelings to his own brother? Are doormats now the rage?

I think I remember the Bryce / Az shippers saying the same thing, how we'd see when CC3 was released, but guess who was victorious on that front? The people who believed Bryce was ending up with her mate.

[puffyducks]

DCRC Week #16

Wiggity what's up my fellow book clubbers, today we're taking a look at the ethics of treating artificially made intelligent lifeforms as second class citizens and what the qualifying factors are to determine a being as truly "sentient" and deserving of basic social rights. And by that I mean we're reading PKNA #12: Second Draft which is a comic where nothing bad happens!

This post is LOOONG btw.

okay we're just gonna start off our comic as normal and-

WOAH who's this handsome young devil in his little fancy suit??? What's that? Head of Ducklair Industries?..... yeah sure that makes sense I think.

Everett Ducklair 🤢🤢🤢 get a job stay away from him. Also this is a really nice way of saying you had to stop him from being overtaken by insane homicidal tendencies and putting guns in all his inventions btw

Haha woah what was that. Did the fabric of reality just tear for a second there or did my ADHD meds just kick in. Probably just me.

MASTER Donald???..... I don't even think I can write out the jokes I wanna make here they're too inappropriate for this blog sorry. But also what the fuck.

Uno stop mothering maybe I WANT to get frostbite and lose all my fingers

Not to take a sudden side tangent here but is this supposed to be like, a good thing? Don't the other seasons exist for a reason? I always thought fall and winter were meant to be like a cleansing period, they bring balance to the two other hotter seasons. If it's eternally spring, do some plants just never die? Are animals ALWAYS in the breeding season? Today we're going to overanalyze this one concept in an essay where-

OH MY GOD IT'S ODIN wait nevermind hiii Odin hiiiii. what's lookin good cookin. I mean- shit. fuck. shit.

I'm kind of obsessed with the way Odin is drawn in this comic. His whole body is all wiggly like a bendy straw. His stances go crazy.

gayass

Guys ever since I made that post about Odin's outfits and noticed that he's barefoot here it's been haunting me. Like it might just be a coloring error in this panel but also... why'd he take his shoes off. Also sorry for immediately revealing that it's Odin but um uhh I totally don't know who the OTHER cloaked figure is.

girlll you're giving away the game SHUT YOUR MOUTH

TWO Lylas?!?!?!

I'm loving Donald's shock lmao bro is fucking flabberghasted

This picture is so fucking silly bro. Nooo you can't put Odin in jail, he has such a nice suit on :(

Donald getting offended on Uno's behalf, not knowing that Uno is literally sitting right behind him. SURELY he'll figure it out eventually right.

Omg guys it's Geena!!! Remember Geena? From Portrait of the Young Hero? Anyways she has a gun now

Way to go Donald, you showed her basic empathy for like 2 panels and it gave her an actual sense of self value and NOW she thinks she deserves rights 🙄 she's gonna Detroit Become Human up in this bitch

beaming you with my evil lasers. what if he just fucking fried her brains here I think it would've been funny

Oh that's. probably bad.

ohhhh noooo.....

OOOOHHHH NOOOOOOOOOOOO

Ok so bad news, Geena fucking exploded and her droid rebellion is presumably over. The GOOD news though is that droids are destined to get their rights anyways, just in a less violent manor than in the timeline Geena had started. So... I guess that's a win?

Disappears in a cloud of beautiful sunset smoke... Goodbye Odin 👋

Donald. Please. DONALD.

Okay so there's a LOT to say about this comic (so much that I kept hitting the image limit and having to make edits to my post to make it more concise) but if I could summarize it into one word: damn. Like I'm just kinda sad now.

The whole concept of "do robots deserve to be treated like human beings" is a common argument to explore, we've seen it in all kinds of media before. The ethics that get touched on in this comic are nothing new, but I can't help but find this comic incredibly interesting to read in the year 2024. Maybe in 1997 the idea of robots integrating into our society seemed like a far-off concept, but in present day the ever-growing integration of AI technology really makes this chapter feel a little more close to home.

I mean, it's easy to be like "yeah, well of course the droids deserve to be treated like people." I mean, Lyla and Odin are droids, and we like Lyla and Odin! Odin is literally so lifelike that people don't even KNOW he's a droid. But I can't help but think about how this all ties back to the current ongoing debates surrounding the usage of AI, and specifically AI-made content. Obviously the AI we currently have is nowhere near the level of the characters in this series (chatGPT fucking WISHES it was Uno) but there's really interesting debates to be made here.

What qualifying factors determine whether or not a living being is deserving of the same rights we humans give to ourselves? Is it being biological? I mean, there are literally millions of types of animals on our planet, but we don't even treat them with the same level of respect we give to ourselves. So, is it intelligence? If we were to create a computer with the intelligence level of a living, breathing human person, would they be entitled to basic "human" rights? HELL IF I KNOW.

I love the way this comic handles exploring this topic. Geena isn't WRONG for wanting more, she's wrong in the way she went about it. Going as far as to literally alter the course of spacetime only further complicated things, for her AND for the other droids. Had Geena instead devoted her energy into droid advocacy in the modern day, things may have gone differently. This story isn't the end of droids getting rights, but it is unfortunately the end of Geena.

We ended on a happy note, but overall this story is a pretty melancholic one. Especially that whole "only machines can be rebuilt" like DAMN.

Anyways that's enough media analysis for today, time to take off my smart thinking hat and go back to being generally kinda stupid. I'm not gonna add anything about Angus Tales here at the end because I already hit the image limit lol. Umm shoutout to Angus Fangus for having like 110 parking tickets. Idiot.

[deke-rivers-1957]

King Creole Review

There's a lot of history with this movie. Based on the Harold Robbins book A Stone for Danny Fisher, Hal Wallis bought the rights to make a movie with the intent on casting James Dean in 1955. However, with the death of James Dean in that same year, this movie was initially canceled. It wasn't until Hal heard of the successful off-Broadway version in 1957 that Elvis was considered for the lead role. Production was very troubled due to Elvis getting his draft notice a month before filming began. To avoid losing money that was already invested, Elvis had to get a 60 day deferment.

With Elvis officially able to film, the plot had to be retooled to fit Elvis' southern roots including changing the setting to New Orleans as well as making him a singer instead of a Jewish boxer. This movie has the luxury of being filmed in New Orleans' French Quarter with the Fisher family living right on the infamous Bourbon Street. Given the nature of the original story, famous director Micheal Curtiz was selected in addition to well experienced cast. Once filming was completed, Elvis was officially inducted into the army only two weeks later. Considered by fans as the most cinematic Elvis movie, does it deserve the title as the best Elvis movie or is this movie overrated and a complete rush job to cash in on Elvis astronomical rise to fame? Let's find out.

We are immediately greeted by pure New Orleans aesthetics with various black street vendors singing about their wares. I know it's not on the official soundtrack so I'm lumping it in with "Crawfish" as it marks the first time we ever get a duet in an Elvis movie. When I think about that song, I actually don't think about Elvis. I think about Kitty White and all of the vendors vocals. I was impressed that we emphasize the history of New Orleans by focusing on the French Quarter as that's the oldest neighborhood in the city. I couldn't think of a better way to start the film off.

Danny and his family are introduced and we're told that both Danny as well as his sister Mimi have to work. Ever since their mother died, Mr. Fisher couldn't keep a job to save his life. You can tell this is a dated movie because programs that would've at least slightly helped this family wouldn't exist until the 1960s. Heck food stamps wouldn't even exist until 1964. While there were programs meant for unemployment and dependent children, it's obvious that they don't qualify for that. Even if they did, the apartment they live in is all they can afford. It's a very bad place to be in so of course you understand why Danny wants to graduate and start working full time.

Before going to school, Danny works a couple hours at a nightclub as a bus boy. We see based on the sign outside as Danny walks in that it's interestingly enough called the Gilded Cage. The name as we'll find out is more than fitting. Some men are completely drunk and one of them wants to dance with a woman named Ronnie. The interaction makes you feel very uncomfortable because you know that while Danny can just keep his head down to avoid trouble, the situation was getting wildly out of hand. So to avoid having to listen to Ronnie getting beat, he decides to sing. It's incredible how right off the bat, this movie doesn't hesitate to build off the gritty nature Jailhouse Rock tried to develop.

"Steadfast, Loyal And True" feels like a moment of irony. Danny is being made fun of for going to school. Ironically it also represents Danny's innocence. It still doesn't stop the man from hitting Ronnie again and we see Danny directly get himself involved so the situation doesn't continue to escalate. He makes sure that Ronnie is safe on his way back to school. Yet when he does get in trouble for getting into a fight, the teacher decides to fail him. The principal goes along with it as if there was no other alternative and he has no authority to overrule her judgement since they didn't even hear Danny's side yet. Danny wouldn't have gotten into that fight, if he didn't get Ronnie out of there. And now he's being punished by a system that's meant to keep kids off the streets. Had Danny been allowed to graduate, none of this would've happened. But because it didn't, we are seeing Danny come to a point in life where he's questioning if doing the right thing is worth it anymore.

Deciding to quit school, Danny runs into Shark's gang. Shark gets mad because Danny punched his brother. We get introduced to his two lackeys, Sal and Dummy. Naturally there's a lot wrong with a man being called Dummy when he's very clearly mute (or at the very least has severe issues with speaking), but this is 1958. People with disabilities were treated poorly on a regular basis to the point of it being normalized. While Shark wants to get even for what Danny did to his brother, Danny doesn't mess around by immediately pinning Shark against the wall. Having a certain amount of respect, Shark offers to let Danny in with the gang about a possible job. Danny still wanting to have a good moral standing of course says no and heads home.

As soon as he gets home, everyone's disappointed to hear that he wouldn't graduate. Somehow Mr. Fisher makes an agreement with the principal that Danny can graduate after one semester if he can get the job at the pharmacy. That's right his dad's a pharmacist and you really start to question what on earth he did with his life if they fell on hard times that fast. I know that they lived in the French Quarter for 3 years because he went into a depressive state and couldn't work, but you seriously have to question on how someone can go to medical school to get a pharmaceutical degree and not have any kind of nest egg saved up. Even back in the 1950s, people in the medical field would've been comfortably well off. But regardless, I get why you have this since you need to have Danny make it very clear why he's so aggressive. Mr. Fisher has no backbone or self respect that even when he gets punched in the face, he didn't do anything about it.

To prove his point that he'll never end up spineless like his father, Danny decides to join Shark's gang. While he doesn't actually steal anything, he does sing "Lover Doll" to distract the crowd. I have no idea why the entire store gets distracted by this but it works. I also have no idea why a nickel and dime store would have anything expensive like watches or jewelry but at that point you just have to say "whatever". So to avoid suspicion, Danny hangs around the counter where he meets Nellie. For some reason, she says that she knew he was in on it, but doesn't do anything about it. I admit this whole scene is just weird but we have so much movie left that you kind of forget about this. I'm also just realizing that if Nellie is just now meeting Danny for the first time, yet we see that she's in walking distance from her house, she's older than Danny. The Fisher's lived in that apartment for 3 years and that school looks small enough where everybody knows everybody. For all we know she could be Mimi's age.

Meanwhile we get a very blatant case of ageism in the workforce. Mr. Fisher goes to the pharmacy for a job and if it wasn't for the head pharmacist's boss saying if he's qualified he should get the job, he wouldn't have gotten the job. Mr. Primont outright says that he wanted a younger man to Mr. Fisher's face. Throughout the movie we see that Mr. Primont only wants a younger man so he can train them to do it his way. It's pretty progressive to not pull any punches when showing this. They do not hesitate to make it clear that Mr. Fisher is being discriminated because of his age as opposed to a genuine display of incompetence. In fact, Mr. Primont's boss makes it a point to say that Mr. Fisher shouldn't be judged by his age or by the quality of his suit but his competence and that they've gone through a lot of younger pharmacists that couldn't cut it. So Mr. Primont begrudgingly hires him.

Later that night Danny runs into Ronnie again but also finally meets his boss, Maxie Fields. Maxie being the jealous type, thought she was cheating on him with Danny. She tries to make it clear that things were innocent as she heard him sing and Danny of course goes along with it. After all, any decent human being who already saw someone like Ronnie getting abused would do what it takes to make sure it doesn't happen again. Calling his bluff, Maxie wants Danny to sing right on stage. I genuinely think "Trouble" has one of the most natural build ups in an Elvis movie. It's a character defining song as you get the idea that Danny is singing it directly to Maxie. The black jazz musicians also showcases the sense of scale where people of color aren't just used as window dressing to fill in the shot. If Danny was asked to sing a capella or with the Blue Moon Boys cameoing as his back up band, it wouldn't work. It would feel like an Elvis song. But because we did get black jazz musicians to reflect the New Orleans setting, this is no longer an Elvis song but Danny's. And he makes his point loud and clear.

He gets introduced to Charlie LeGrand who owns the King Creole and offers Danny a job. In an act of foreshadowing, Maxie comes in and says that even if Danny leaves he'll always get what he wants. Knowing that Danny can sing, Maxie of course would want him too. Danny leaves the club as he doesn't want to make a rash decision and we see more of Shark's gang as well as a blatant case of ableism. Shark doesn't want to give Dummy (which I'm not calling him for the rest of this review) his equal share of the money made from their theft and that he should be thankful to be getting anything. But that's where we get Danny making the decision to step up and take the money out of Shark's hand so he can give it to the man. This is where Danny shines as a character since we see that even when he does something wrong, he still has some morality to him. While he did participate in the larceny, he also made sure that the money was distributed fairly even though he knew this would put him in Shark's bad graces. There will be times when he very easily could've made a bad moral decision if it benefited him, but instead tried to keep kind.

Danny picks up Nellie after work and we get another instance of him making a bad decision but still keep kind. When he takes her to the motel, he pays the man at the front desk to get a room. Obviously his intention was to bed her, but Nellie starts getting nervous. Once he sees that she while she does like him, she isn't ready for that type of relationship he backs off. Even though he just paid for the room and there's even images of a deleted shot of them in the room, they leave. This is when we see Danny realize that despite his reputation of being a hoodlum, he really doesn't act like one.

When Ronnie shows up, even when he kisses her, I don't take it as him actually being interested. He just thinks he is because he thinks this is the type of girl that he deserves. A good girl like Nellie would just be wishful thinking since he was only minutes if not seconds away from bringing her down with him. Of course, Danny still has his moments of morality as he's willing to stick up for his father. After checking in on him at the pharmacy, he sees Mr. Fisher getting berated by Mr. Primont. While he doesn't reveal that he's Mr. Fisher's son, he does stick up for him by saying that his father saved his life after getting a bad prescription. Sure it's a lie, but he needs Mr. Primont to see that even though Mr. Fisher isn't a young man, he's competent. All he needs to do now is to get a spine.

Once he talks with Mr. LeGrand, Danny invites him to dinner so he can try to convince Mr. Fisher to let Danny work. Then we get a weird scene where he expresses interest in Mimi. If we're assuming she's in her 20s that's fine, but Mr. LeGrand looks way older than 40. I know people back then didn't put that much thought in preventing wrinkles, but it visually looks weird to have this man want to date a woman young enough to be his daughter. I don't hate it though since if Danny makes his club a success and Mr. LeGrand marries Mimi, she'll be able to stop working. Since we don't know exactly what she does, we can assume that she's really only working so they don't starve as opposed to genuinely being interested in it.

Despite his father's wishes, Danny has his first show at the King Creole. But first we're treated to Forty Nina in Hollywood's tribute to Josephine Baker. It's so on the nose that not only is she French, but her song is literally called "Banana" and she has that same strip tease outfit with bananas on it. I highly recommend looking up Josephine's story as she did a lot more than just work as an erotic dancer. My personal favorite factoid was that she was a prominent black figure who aided the French Resistance during WWII. Anyway, Danny has his first performance at the King Creole. At first the crowd sits on their hands, but after "Dixieland Rock" it's hard not to get the club buzzing.

With Danny being a success, he tries to take things a little further with Nellie. He goes on a ferry ride with her so he can show her the old house his family used to live in. You really get the idea that this house is his motivation to work so hard. He wants to be a success so one day he can buy that house back. And this to me also confirms that whatever feelings he has for Ronnie aren't that serious. He never opens up to her about this the way he does with Nellie. If anything this is a tieback to the mindset people had where good girls are for serious relationships. Bad girls were for fooling around and with how they parallel Nellie and Ronnie it's obvious that both represent the two paths Danny can take. At his second show he sings "Young Dreams" and I love how it fits into what we've seen about Danny so far. The songs really add to the narrative as they reflect Danny's emotional state.

After getting an update on his father and seeing that nothing changed about Mr. Primont, he runs into Shark again. No harsh words this time, but a way to get Danny in with Maxie. Shark proposes that if Danny comes with him, he'll help Danny take care of Primont. This goes about as well as you think as Maxie turns Danny off with every sentence he utters. The way he has Ronnie show off her legs makes him feel uncomfortable and I get why. The objectification of her when she clearly hates it, is enough to make anyone feel gross. Even if he did have feelings for her, watching her do this knowing it's because Maxie is baiting him makes him feel sick inside. Leaving the apartment with no deal made, Danny sings "New Orleans" and I just love how with every song, the atmosphere around him seems to get darker. That indicates that while things might look good, we're actually being led to something more sinister.

That something sinister very quickly comes as Danny leaves ahead of his next show to call the plot off with Shark. As angry as he was with Mr. Primont, he knew that he couldn't go through with it. He realized that if this success lasts, he can get his father out of this trouble on his own. Things go from bad to worse when we see that instead of Mr. Primont, Mr. Fisher goes to take the money to the bank. Even though they saw that it was Mr. Fisher, they still go through with it. They were already in too deep to quit and knowing Maxie and Danny, this is exactly what they need to get Danny under his thumb. Danny meanwhile just runs away feeling guilty about it. Mimi sends Nellie to get Danny and bring him to the hospital where they find out there's a lot of pressure in his brain. To save his life, a specialized surgeon will have to be brought in and it's very expensive. I'm well aware that insurance exists and it would've covered a good portion of it since this was a life or death situation, but even then the bill for his eventual recovery would still be a lot more than what they can afford.

Enter the surgeon courtesy of Maxie Fields who is willing to pay for everything. Naturally Mr. Fisher lives and we get the most vulnerable acting in any Elvis movie. Danny reminds us all that he's only 19. While men were expected to be mature by then, from a modern perspective you get the idea that this is a boy. Danny age wise might be an adult, but experience wise and emotionally speaking he's still a boy. He very much does his best to act like an adult, but this was his breaking point. I wouldn't be surprised if he actually fainted because of how stressful it was to wait all those hours. Thankfully he's able to go to another show and sing "Hard Headed woman". It's amazing how light everything is now reflecting how Danny thinks everything will be ok. We're treated to the titular song, "King Creole" and Danny's on top of the world.

That is until Shark shows up. Knowing Danny's in debt to him, Maxie asks for him to be sent to the apartment. That's when we see the trap being laid up when Ronnie is shown in an attractive dress and Maxie's dead asleep. She even makes it clear that her job is to seduce Danny so Maxie can then present him with a bill for using her "services". Every scene with Ronnie is sad since it's obvious that she's being abused. This clearly isn't a situation where she can go to the police. She does fight back against Maxie, so fear isn't the reason behind her silence. Maxie wouldn't be doing this without fear of being punished if he genuinely thought the police would do anything.

Danny of course empathizes with her since she was once a singer like him and tries to give her some affection in spite of it being a trap. And of course, Maxie wakes up in time to see Danny. While Danny does evade the bill trap, Maxie succeeds in trapping him via blackmail. I mean if it was just "sign with me or I'll tell your dad about your involvement with the robbery" Danny himself made it clear that he doesn't care about it. However, Maxie ups the ante by saying "sign with me or Charlie's place'll be filled with stink bombs. Maybe even real bombs. Anything can be made into an accident after all". That's right we got a threat of terrorist attack if Danny doesn't sign. Even if it is a bluff, you don't mess around with innocent lives like that. The meme above summarizes my thoughts on the matter since no rational human being would be able to make a good decision in that situation either.

We return to the dark scenery as Danny makes his final appearance at the King Creole. "Don't Ask Me Why" indeed. I don't think Danny telling anyone now would be any good. All it would do is drag them all down. Can you imagine having to look your sister in the eye as she chews you out for betraying everyone? Insanity. And yet Danny does this because he doesn't want anyone else getting hurt.

This includes Nellie. He breaks things off with her but can't tell her why. You just feel bad because as much as it's a self sabotage, you can't really blame him for doing this. Things continue to get worse as his mute friend writes a note saying Mr. Fisher is talking with Maxie. While he doesn't know the situation, he at least tries to support Danny's career by pleading for Maxie to let him stay. He's worried that the loss of Danny would result in LeGrand's club closing. That would mean his daughter's future would be in danger too. After seeing Shark come in, Mr. Fisher says that he's going to go to the police. That's when Maxie let it slip that Danny was in on the robbery.

The outcome is when things officially get out of hand. The look on Mr. Fisher's face when he found out Danny would sink so low. He's so angry that he doesn't even say anything. He basically disowns Danny for this. With the agreement being broken, Danny has nothing to lose. He attacks Maxie with such a ferocity, that you think he could actually kill Maxie if he didn't get hit in the head with a chair. Interesting fact, that chair was real. It was simply made of balsa wood so it wouldn't be as painful. Walter Matthau who played Maxie once said in an interview that during a practice shot, Elvis actually vomited after being hit because he just had lunch. And when you hear the sound of him hitting Danny with the chair, it sounds so real that you forget you're watching a movie.

Danny of course recovers long enough to take out Maxie so he and Ronnie can escape. Maxie meanwhile, notifies Shark and his gang to attack Danny. Knowing that he's being followed, Danny tries to hide long enough for him to knock one of them out. Biding his time until Shark appears, the two scuffle with a knife. In a scene where you genuinely worry that Danny might die in this fight, the tension is through the roof. It gets so serious that while Danny does succeed in not dying but letting Shark stab himself in the chest by accident, the damage was done. Danny had been stabbed himself in the arm.

The cinematography of Danny trying to get back home is so beautiful. You know things are looking bad with how he stumbles just getting up the stairs. I was in total shock to see blood running down Danny's arm after Mr. Fisher turned him away. Based on the blood flow being that heavy that you see it already dripping down to his hand, you just know a major vein was severed. With the adrenaline waning, Danny starts to faint from blood loss. This is when you know if it wasn't clear earlier that this movie has teeth. It's not afraid to show someone die and also isn't afraid to show Danny almost die too. But this is when we get to see his fate turn around where as bad as things are, him choosing to be kind is being rewarded. Because we clearly saw that he wasn't completely uneducated, Danny's mute friend communicated to Ronnie that Danny was in trouble. If he didn't do that, Danny would've bled to death right in that alley because she wouldn't have known to look for him.

I don't fault Ronnie at all for not taking Danny to the hospital. While it was a big risk to not address his wounds as you have no idea how long Danny would last after passing out, going to the hospital would've made him an easy target for Maxie. Maxie already had one doctor in his back pocket, so he would've been untouchable and "made it look like an accident" when he would kill Danny. In Ronnie's mind, going to her hideaway was her best shot at saving him and giving them both enough time to recover. Danny was in no position to function so quickly after losing blood. We even get a cinematic shot that once they make it to her hiding place, he's sweating bullets and is so dizzy that he can't even see straight before passing out again.

After waking up, Danny realizes that Ronnie saved his life. They fool around for a while and at this point you just know that she's going to die. Every scene where she's talking about Maxie's abusive nature, you know that this story isn't going to end well. So I don't mind at all to have what feels like a moment of peace here because it serves a purpose. Ronnie and Danny would never get together even if she did live. She just wanted to know what it was like to have someone give her genuine affection. Even though Danny does feel conflicted, I don't think it's because he genuinely feels attracted to Ronnie. It's because he feels bad that she was in that situation and wants to comfort her.

Of course you have Maxie eventually find them. As confusing as that is, we just have to assume he had people follow her since it would've been very suspicious to have her disappear that long. She did say after that Danny was in and out of consciousness for the past 2 days. You know ahead of time that they couldn't just stay in that shack forever. Maxie with full intent on killing both of them brings a gun and starts to shoot at them. Danny's kindness is once again rewarded in a way as if his mute friend didn't warn him the best he could about Maxie, both him and Ronnie would've died. He even goes as far as to go up to Maxie to try wrestling the gun away. While he did try Ronnie gets shot in the process, but thanks to Danny's friend getting into the scuffle, Maxie fatally shoots himself by accident. Danny might have been saved but it was too late for Ronnie as she dies in his arms happy to know that at least for one brief moment she was loved again.

After Ronnie's tragic demise and Maxie's downfall, Danny is free to go back to the King Creole. Even though we don't know how much time passes, we don't need to for us to figure out that things have gotten better. Normally I would criticize something like that being resolved in a way that the audience doesn't get to see, but that isn't the case in this movie. Danny breaking things off with Nellie so he can keep her safe from Maxie is a justifiable action that she would easily understand. Her agreeing to wait for Danny to recover from the traumatic events shows that she's a level-headed woman. As for his father, Mr. Fisher almost had his son die. That's enough to erase anything that he didn't agree with. Unless he's inhumanly unreasonable, I don't think Danny explaining that if didn't sign with Maxie, actual acts of terrorism would've been committed would result in Mr. Fisher saying that he could've done anything different. Any normal human being would understand that this was a horrible situation that Danny had no way of preventing without completely throwing away his core values.

The bittersweet ending is very well balanced. Danny singing Ronnie's song "As Long As I Have You" makes for a nice tribute. I appreciate that the movie doesn't just time skip to Danny singing a musical number about how great everything is. It would be a severe case of emotional whiplash and would have gone against what the tone of the movie was. Danny went through a traumatic event most people can't even fathom happening. He should be allowed to grieve while also getting closure. Singing Ronnie's song on stage does both as it's making it so her song is heard and never forgotten. That being said, I wish we got to see what happened with Danny's mute friend. Knowing that he was only working for Maxie because he had nowhere else together really makes you wonder what will happen to him now that Maxie's gone. Either way, seeing Danny squint through the dark room as his father steps into the light is so beautiful. It shows that all was forgiven and his father finally approves of what Danny wants to do in life. Danny can finally have peace now that he has a support system who loves him.

This is the most emotionally complex Elvis movie I've seen that perfectly executed its vision. I have been waiting a full year since my Wild In The Country review to talk about why I didn't like Glenn's character arc. Danny is what Glenn tried to be. Danny is that troubled youth who makes bad decisions because there is no good decision to be made. There wasn't a single path Danny could take that didn't involve suffering. Even as far back as Danny sticking up for Ronnie wasn't an obvious choice to make. Sure not getting involved would've meant Danny wouldn't get into it with Maxie, it also would've meant that Ronnie would continue to be abused without ever getting a bone thrown to her. It wasn't until later on that he realized Maxie had an insane amount of power. Based on how Maxie operated, you already know that he's got the entire bureaucracy and law enforcement of New Orleans in his back pocket. Shark's gang being able to do as they please without a significant fear of getting caught under Maxie's command shows how Danny going to the authorities for help is completely off the table.

I know I had some complaints about some scenes not really making sense, but those are so easy to fix that I'm giving this movie my first 10/10. Those plot holes don't take away from the emotional impact of what we saw. The amount of songs felt natural as you can't have Danny working at night clubs without having him sing. The character interactions were perfect as you understand exactly what their motives are and have their actions reflect that. Shark looking like he's 35 doesn't matter either since the movie already introduced him as being an older brother of a boy Danny went to school with. Shark said he smokes and since we know smoking can cause premature wrinkling, I'll give him the benefit that he isn't more than 10 years older than Danny. I highly recommend watching it, but surprisingly to some as the last Elvis movie you watch for the first time. To me having it be first would give you an insanely high expectation for an Elvis movie. This movie best serves as leaving it for last as it perfectly captures why fans always talk about what could've been.

AN: Happy Birthday Elvis and RIP! Also shout out to @vintagepresley for writing a companion review of the book. I usually don't talk about the book when talking about the movie so it's nice to have the opinion of someone who read it. I can't wait for it to come out.

Tagging: @codalysssssworld, @presleysweetheart, @smokeymountainboy, @arrolyn1114, @peaceloveelvis,

@mercsandmonsters, @eapep, @atleastpleasetelephone, @without-him, @lucy114505,

@blighted-star, @rjmartin11, @elvisbdoll, @dragonkingsdaughter, @ifyouloveweedletsgosmoke,

@ilovequeen978, @fuzzymusic94, @halieghhh, @tacozebra051, @hooked-on-elvis,

@lola-1013, @father-of-2cats, @southcarolinawoman, @elvisflowerchild, @elviscinema,

@i-r-i-n-a-a, @jadeeloveselviss, @xanatenshi, and @thelonelyheart.

[harknessxo]

I’m Your Papi

Paring: Rhea Ripley x Andrade

Summary: Rhea has a new papi.

Warnings; smut, cheating, unprotected sex.

Word Count: 1.6k

A/n: This was supposed to be a very short draft but I got carried away…

Rhea stood next to Dom who was talking to Andrade. She had been eye fucking him ever since he stepped in the room. She was so focused on stripping the man naked in her mind that she didn’t realize Dom had asked her a question.

“The Judgment Day is a very exclusive club and not everyone gets an opportunity to get in. Right, Mami?”

“Hm? Oh- yes. I heard you have a match later on today, right?”

“That is right.” Andrade said with his thick accent.

“We’ll be watching then.” She shook his hand with a flirtatious smile on her face before he left. Her eyes followed his figure until he was out of sight. She turned to look at Dom who was giving her a weird look.

“Are you okay, Mami?”

“Yeah, of course.”

“Okay. If you say so.” Dom replied, still unsure. Right in that second, Damian and Finn came in talking about DIY winning their qualifying match for WrestleMania.

“We need to keep an eye on em, big man.” Finn said.

“I completely agree. This ain’t going to be an easy match,” Damian placed his arms around Finn, “We need to stay focused.” Finn nodded in agreement then turned to look at Rhea and Dom.

“Now that we’re done talking about DIY, what are we going to do about Ricochet?” Finn asked.

“I was thinking my Latino heat could take care of that,” Rhea placed her hand on Dom's shoulder, “Right, Dom Dom?” She smiled at him.

“O-of course, Mami.”

“Alright, then it’s settled. Why don’t you go get ready while I talk to Pearce, hm?”

“Yeah, I’ll go do that.” Dom walked away while Rhea made her way to Pearce’s office.

Rhea was on her way back to the judgment day’s clubhouse when she, once again, came across Andrade who was stretching.

“Getting ready for your match?” Andrade quickly turned at the sound of her voice.

“I am. You’ll be watching, right?” He smirked.

“Of course I will. I would wish you good luck but I don’t think you’ll need it.”

“Thank you either way. I’ll see you after my match, hermosa.” He winked at her before heading to gorilla. She bit her lip before continuing her way back to the clubhouse. When she got back she informed Dom his match was right after Andrade’s. They all sat down to watch his match. Andrade was going against Apollo Crews.

The match didn’t last long. Andrade had Apollo exactly where he wanted him in less than two minutes. He did his finisher and-

“1…2…3! Here’s your winner, Andrade!” The ref rose his arm in the air before he slid out of the ring and walked backstage. When he got there, Rhea was already there waiting for him.

“I didn’t doubt for a second that you would win.” She said once he stood in front of her.

“Really? You seem to have a lot of faith in me then.” Rhea only smiled in reply. He suddenly leaned down towards her ear.

“Why don’t you meet me in my locker room, Mami? While your Latino heat does his thing against Ricochet?” She hesitated for a split second before responding.

“I will be there.” She assured.

“See you then.” Right as he walked away, Dom was making his way to Rhea.

“Hey, Mami. What was that about?”

“Oh, nothing. Just small talk- but anyway. Are you ready for your match?”

“Mhm.” He hummed. Right then, his music hit.

“That’s your queue. Don’t disappoint me.”

“You aren’t going out with me?” Dom asked with sadness in his voice.

“No. I have something to take care of, okay? I promise I’ll be right here when you win.” She kissed his cheek before walking off.

-A few minutes later-

Rhea stood in front of Andrade’s locker room door. She looked around before knocking. A couple seconds later Andrade opened the door. A towel wrapped around his waist, his wet hair laying on his shoulders, and water droplets all over his chest. She just stared until he finally pulled her out of her trance.

“Are you just gonna stand there or are you going to come in?” Rhea came back to her senses and stepped inside, locking the door behind her.

“Do we need to do small talk or can we get straight to the point?”

“Let’s get right to business.” Rhea quickly took off her shirt and jumped on him, wrapping her legs around his waist. She pressed her lips against his. It was messy. Both of them fought for dominance until he took a hold of her jaw and pulled away.

“Uh uh. Conmigo, yo soy tu papi, entendido? I’m in charge whether you like it or not. It’s up to you.” Rhea was taken aback by his statement but also turned on. Her stubborn self wanted to get up and leave but another part of her wanted to stay and get dominated for once.

“Whatever you want…papi.” She said once she finally made up her mind. He chuckled before taking a seat on his couch with Rhea straddling his lap. They continued making out, their tongues in each other’s throats. Rhea’s hands were gripping his hair while his laid on her waist.

He soon started leaving a trail of kisses from her jaw to her neck and finally, her collarbone. His hands moved up her back and took a hold of the clip of her bra.

“Can I take this off, hermosa?” She nodded. He took his time unclipping her bra and taking it off her shoulders. He took one of her breasts in his mouth and sucked.

“Hmm…don’t leave a mark-”

“Por qué? You don’t want your ‘Latino heat’ to find out?” He mocked. Rhea only pouted and shook her head.

“Don’t worry your pretty little head about that, okay? I’ll make sure he never finds out how submissive you are for papi.” She whined at his statement and hid her face in his neck.

“Please…”

“Please what, muñeca? What do you want?” He ran his fingers through her jet black hair.

“I want you. I want you to fuck me. Please?”

“Since you asked so nicely,” he hooked his finger around her waistband, “Why don’t we take these off?” Rhea lifted her hips and he helped her take off her pants along with her panties. He unwrapped the towel from his waist, freeing his hardened member. With his hands on her hips, he aligned himself with her entrance and slowly lowered her body down on his cock.

“F-fuck…” Rhea wrapped her arms around Andrade’s neck. She started to bounce up and down his cock, shuddering every time she bottomed out. Her quiet moans soon got louder and Andrade was enjoying every second of it. He looked down to where their bodies were connecting and noticed how a belly bulge formed each time his cock went in.

“God, baby, look at you,” he pressed his hand against the bulge, “You feel that? You feel how deep papi’s in your guts? I’m going to fill you up nice and full.” He flipped them over so that Rhea was now laying on her back with her legs over Andrade’s shoulders. He started pounding into her pussy full force, letting all his pent up energy out. Rhea became sensitive and tried to push Andrade away but he took her wrist and pinned them above her head.

“Papi-”

“Shhh, let me have you. Just a little longer.” He assured.

“I c-can’t-”

“Yes, you can, mami. You’re going to feel good, I promise.” He slowed down his thrusts a bit after he noticed how sensitive she was. He brought his free hand down towards her pussy. He gently started rubbing her clit, watching her mouth fall open with desperate moans.

“Papi, I’m c-close…”

“Yeah? Are you going cum for me?”

“Yes-”

“That’s right. Come all over my cock.” He sped up once again, making it his mission to make her scream his name. He let go of her hands and let her cling to him as she went over the edge and rode her orgasm. Her whines alone made him reach his climax. He released his load inside of her before laying back down on the couch with her body on top of his, not pulling out just yet.

“Are you okay?” he brushed her hair away from her face, “How are you feeling?”

“I’m okay, just a bit sensitive.”

“You want me to pull out?” She shook her head ‘no’. He chuckled a bit before hugging her body closer to his and kissing her forehead. Right then they heard the crowd in the arena cheering and Rhea remembered what she told Dom.

“Shit- I have to go!” She scrambled to get up, putting her bra and shirt on.

“Why?” Andrade asked as he sat up.

“I promised Dom I would be waiting for him at gorilla after his match.” He scoffed and shook his head. Rhea found her pant but she couldn’t find her underwear.

“Goddamnit- where are my panties?” She asked, a bit irritated.

“You mean these?” He raised them up for her to see. Shea reached up to grab them but he quickly snatched them away.

“Andrade, I need those.”

“No you don’t.”

“Give them to me!”

“Maybe you’ll get ‘em back the next time I see you.”

“How do you know there will be a next time?”

“I know you’ll come back to papi.” He winked and she blushed in response. She took a deep breath before putting her pants on and walking out but not before giving him one last look.

Taglist: @riptideripley @mexxs-blog

[giddlygoat]

loved that description of their dynamic!! i can see why the ship is so appealing :o do yoy imagine there's any hostility/bad blood/complicated feelings between each other if, for instance, felix gets a moment with turbo in his bug form, after everything's all gone to shit? how would they react to each other (especially with felix being more w calhoun)?

oh, absolutely.

some time after the turbo incident, i personally headcanon that turbo sought out felix and attempted to explain himself to the nicelander. after all, he was injured, and turbo never wanted to live all by himself in the bowls of central station anyhow. felix was understandably horrified by turbo’s recent actions, claiming he wanted nothing to do with the racer, but he wouldn’t just let turbo die either [i imagine he had a pretty severe leg wound that wasn’t healing properly] so he automatically offered to fix turbo’s leg. [i still hc that turbo used a cane from then on due to code weirdness or something? still workshopping]

ANYHOW the point of all of this is to say that felix was going to turn turbo in to surge protector, insisting the racer needed mental help that felix was definitely not qualified to provide. turbo obviously couldn’t have that, so in a last ditch effort to save his skin, he dove into the code of fix it felix jr and hastily severed felix’s recent memories of turbo. the job ended up being sloppy and imperfect, but it accomplished what turbo was aiming for. felix no longer had any idea that turbo was still alive.

all of THAT is to say that when felix recognized turbo up on the big sugar rush cam, it was the first time that he had seen turbo since the RB incident [to his knowledge]. felix had long since mourned and moved on, having lots of time to process both the loss of his friend and his horrendous actions. seeing turbo again, only just as wretched as the last time felix saw him, was an ENORMOUS gut-punch. suddenly he was forced to grapple with the fact that his ex-partner had not only survived the arcade’s most unspeakable tragedy, but repeated the act, having taken over an unsuspecting game and lived there in hiding for years. all of that while ATTEMPTING TO MURDER A CHILD ON LIVE TELEVISION!

so yeah that’s why i think felix is 1000% disgusted by turbo BUT. i also like to entertain the idea of a reunion. realistically, i think felix would be terrified of cyng candy [get it? because cyng sounds like king and he’s a cy-bug? haha i’m so funny] and attempt to tell him off right before realizing he doesn’t stand a chance against the monster, at which point he would turn tail and run. candy could easily pin him down and hold him hostage, and it would be hard for him not to toy with felix like a cat might play with a terrified mouse.

but i think the dynamic would shift once candy figures out that felix isn’t just scared of being ripped to shreds, he’s scared of what turbo specifically has become. like, it starts to show in felix’s behaviors that he’s confused and desperate for answers, and the deal is sealed when he blurts “what happened to you?!” with a horrified expression.

i can see candy flippantly monologuing about his steady decline into power-hungry madness, answering in excruciating detail how he got to be the way he currently is.

arachegeek i’m so sorry but i’m late for a thing and i have to run I’LL FINISH THIS POST SOON BUT I CANT SAVE IT TO DRAFTS SO!!! SORRY ☹️

[extraliga-related]

Kraken fans need more Aleš Stezka lore to appreicate him I fear...that is my request

HELL YEAH

2009/10 - 2014/15 -> Liberec Juniors

Plzeň-adjecent Třemošná-native who laid foundation for his career in Liberec, earns title among junior comps twice

could have gotten to start in 2nd league with BTL affiliate Benátky nad Jizerou a season sooner, but in came Vítek Vaněček who, upon first being drafted, was left to marinate in CZ due to the language barrier

MIN selects him 111th overall in 2015 draft

2015/16 - 2016/17 -> NA part 1: USHL

jumped at the chance to head to NA a year later

very put off by "crazy" American customs around [lack of] maternity leave, accuses US citizens of not having a sense of humor (a trait he likes to claim he possesses)

1st year was meh (had to adapt), 2nd one clicked

did not get to be around for the birth of his first son due to advancing to the USHL post-season, ultimately winning the cup

deemed it necessary to return, since prolonged stay in NA Juniors would've let him fall into a wide-spread trap of desperation where a young player's development stagnates

thought developing in the US was great for maturity as he was essentially left to his own devices while having to figure shit out on his own, hockey-related + otherwise...

2017/18 -> return to CZ: Liberec & Co

aimed to profit off Ján Lašák's demise (career-ending injury) and fight Roman Will for BTL's starting spot

praised as youngest emerging tandem in top-league, went on to say: "I think there'll be a healthy rivalry between us, we won't just give each other a handout. [...] I'm not settling for the role of number two. I like to be under pressure."

he didn't have to! fresh off signing a 2-year-contract and their goalie coach claiming he'd "definitely give him a start to raise Will's competitiveness" -> Will got the spot, Janus played second fiddle

Stezka? demoted to 2nd-tier affiliate -> struggling as much as the rest of a not particularly well-constructed team which didn't make the playoffs (way to crush a guy's ambitions)

letting a guy who admits to being nervous when first put into a new environment only have 2 starts is not exactly indicative of his overall capabilities... but ok :/

bonded over the whole NA-experience with tandem partner & fellow NHL-draftee Kořenář

Rinse & Repeat for another year

on the verge of calling it quits, disillusioned by previous team's promises that never came to fruition & doubting ability

2019/20 - 2020/21: Kid's encouragement & Havířov

Havířov, back then still an Extraliga team, extend an olive branch by taking him on as starting goalie

plays 50 games on a team which would've qualified for the playoffs if it wasn't for Covid

Vítkovice: -> passion reignited, tunes the fuck in & evolves to;

2021/22: lead league in goaltender wins (24)

2022/23: become Best Goaltender in the League with 2nd ranked Vítkovice, has the time of his life, plays insane Extraliga series

get nominated for Czech National Team for the first time since earning Silver @ Hlinka Gretzky Cup as a Junior in 2016

receive multiple NHL offers, signing with Seattle

2023/24 -> AHL & Beyond

went from a need to make it to the NHL to it being a non-guaranteed option he wouldn't have to make as long as he can claim he did his best

last shot at NHL + NA, got to prioritize education of kids

February 23, 2025 -> NHL DEBUT

Miscellaneous Array

back in USHL, he said no one bothered to learn how to pronounce any part of his name, this time around people should finally put some fucking respect on it

despite being born in Plzeň, he's got no emotional connection to the city beyond his "grandma being in the area", whom he would love to play in front of (she keeps nagging him to come closer, but hey, he's got places to be)

never actually saw an NHL game while first in NA, ticket prices are horrendous ($100) and the kid had USHL try-out fees to pay ($200 per session)

arguable whether or not he's joking, but apparently he very much did intend to have a kid at 19 specifically so that he'd one day get to play with them... hard to achieve since he wants him to be a goalie (his oldest voluntarily opted to do just that, the other seems to be a decent skater)

one of those "team first, personal achievements second" people

has a way of entertaining the crowd after games, thrives on fan-interaction

2nd favorite sport to watch is F1

sole complaint about Seattle would be that he's a winter kind of guy

initially fascinated by Fleury, took inspiration for his game from Bobrovski

rumored to return to Extraliga next season (particularly Brno, his prior destination before Seattle), so keep an eye on him before it's too late

tldr: Man who almost gave up and abandoned his dream turned into a beloved figure, heralded as one of the best to ever wear a Vítkovice jersey, achieves his dream.

[evidence-based-activism]

Feminism is essentially a woman’s supremacy movement woman want the right to vote, but not to be subjected to the draft, they want coupe but they don’t want to contribute to the workforce equally. Feminists will never fight to make the divorce court equal and when laws are being passed to equalise it, feminist organisations are against it. Feminist organisations also love to support confirmative action. Would you give women a free pass without them being qualified in the US military when women’s fitness standard is lower than men’s and I can go on. No woman has ever been drafted. The only women who have been in the military are women who volunteered not to mention the lower fitness standards that women have in the military because they can’t meet the male standard and when men turn 18 in this country, they have to sign a ballot that subjects them to the draft, whilst women don’t. And Biden tried to pass the bill to equalize the draft but feminist organisations were against it. Feminists live in La La land, it’s not an equality movement it’s a female advocacy movement it’s so much more than just the draft equalizing divorce court etc, feminist organisations are against equality when it comes to violence they don’t wanna be equal how many feminist do you hear say you can’t hit a girl even if she hits first it’s not the same When a girl does it. they want a guy to pay for the first date they want the guy to protect them. They want equal pay, but not equal work. They don’t wanna work the hard dangerous dirty jobs feminists are just stupid people I don’t take them seriously, but we live in a clown world where our government does. but as for the voting thing for me, it’s simple if feminists want women to vote, they need to be subjected to the draft in fact, I don’t think you should be allowed to vote unless you’ve served at least 3 years in the military. 

women have already got the same rights, it’s been decades since they did, you’re calling for equality of outcomes despite not putting in the same efforts and amount of work. This is calling for superiority rather than equality. They work less dangerous jobs, less hours, take more leaves, usually cost companies more etc. there actually no gender pay gap at all once you take those things into account, hence why I believe todays feminism strives for female superiority rather than equality. Feminism, at least in theory, should strive for equality. 

For context, this was sent by the Anon in this ask, who isn't the author of the above but has asked me to help contest these claims.

Sorry I deleted your original ask, Anon! Thank you for re-sending it!

I started to respond to this line by line, but realized that this person is repeating the same thing in slightly different ways a bunch of times. As such, I'm going to respond to the topics instead.

---

Feminism is a supremacy movement

This is a ridiculous claim backed by incorrect assertions. I'll explain each of the errors in turn, but I also want to point out that there has never been a feminist movement that attempted or proposed the murder or subjugation of men as a class. (Note: de-prioritization of and separation from an oppressor class are not subjugation.)

Later he states instead that feminism is a "female advocacy movement," which ... yes, that's correct. Feminism is a movement by and for women that seeks equality between the sexes and/or liberation from patriarchal power structures. This is, again, in no way comparable to a supremacy movement.

Women's voting and the draft

The argument that women shouldn't get to vote unless they are subject to the draft is illogical for a couple of reasons. First, we have never tied voting to military service, so it's unclear why he has even linked the two issues together.

More importantly, though, feminists generally take two sides to this argument (1) women should be subject to the draft or (2) the draft should be eliminated completely.

For example, here's the National Organization for Women [1], the largest American feminist organization [2] arguing for the inclusion of women in the draft. They note that, when the exclusion of women was first legally challenged in 1981: "Prominent feminist organizations, including the National Organization for Women, submitted briefs to the Court in an effort to emphasize the inherently sexist nature of this exclusion."

What's more, a primary contender against this reform (i.e., arguing against women's inclusion in the draft) was Phyllis Schlafly, a prominent anti-feminist [3]. Notably, this New Yorker article also describes how "Feminist groups had fought off efforts to add a provision to the [the equal rights amendment] that would have exempted women from the draft [emphasis mine]"

Further, the only recent effort I can find about equalizing the draft was proposed by Senate Democrats and opposed by Republicans [4]. So again, this was not a push by feminists to exclude women from the draft.

And here is a resolution to the National Organization for Women, calling for the complete abolition of the draft [5].

As for military fitness standards, the reasons for adjusting standards based on sex (and also age, which people leave out) is because the tests are better used to "assess a soldier’s general physical fitness, and not to predict job performance" [6]. I've talked in the past how men and women have different physical capacities (and why this isn't an assessment of value), so it's reasonable that tests meant to simply ensure physical fitness would have different standards (i.e., because men and women at the same relative level of physical fitness will still have different capacities).

Notably, "qualifying for certain Army jobs, particularly more demanding combat positions or specialties such as Ranger school, will continue to require that everyone — regardless of age or gender — must pass the same fitness tests and standards" [6]. In other words, military jobs that actually require something beyond normal levels of physical fitness will still require everyone to meet those standards.

(I also find it mildly amusing that he appears to both want women excluded and drafted into the military. Of course, his apparent desire to limit voting rights to those who serve in the military makes this less amusing and more sinister.)

Women and the workforce

Feminists have always been explicitly fighting for the right to be in the workforce and do "men's work", so much so that it's considered a core part of feminist history [7]. I've also talked recently about how men are still purposely excluding women from many occupations, which also addresses his (incorrect) claim that there is no gender pay gap.

And here's an additional source [8] by the US Department of Labor explaining how the factors he listed only account for about 30% of the wage gap.

Women and divorce

Again, the claim that divorce is discriminatory against men is nonsensical. I have discussed in the past about how divorce is not discriminatory against men and about how the belief that custody courts are biased in women's favor is a misogynistic myth.

I have no idea what divorce laws he could possibly be referring to. In doing some research, though, I found this horrifying article [9] that explains all the ways divorce laws are set up to "create unnecessary financial hardship for women", so there's that as well.

Other

I would love to live in the world where women have "already had the same rights" for decades. Tragically, it's just not this one [10]. The referenced timeline describes some of the major milestones of women's legal history in the US, dozens of which have taken place in the last couple of decades.

I've recently talked about how men do not protect women.

Lastly, I made a recent post explaining why MRA's "equality of violence" logic is flawed. In summary, defensive violence is expected to be proportional and necessary. Men's retaliatory violence (against women) generally does not fit this requirement, as they are both capable of and choose to use substantially more force than is needed for ensuring their safety.

I hope this helps you, Anon!

References under the cut:

Issue advisory – women and the draft; moving two steps closer to equality | national organization for women. (2016, August 19). https://now.org/resource/issue-advisory-women-and-the-draft-moving-two-steps-closer-to-equality/

National organization for women (Now) | history, goals, & facts | britannica. (2024, September 13). https://www.britannica.com/topic/National-Organization-for-Women

Kolbert, E. (2005, October 30). Phyllis schlafly and the right-wing revolution. The New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2005/11/07/firebrand

Bolton, A. (2024, June 20). Senate Democrats push for women to register for the draft, sparking controversy [Text]. The Hill. https://thehill.com/policy/defense/4730560-senate-democrats-require-women-draft/

National Organization for Women. (2022). Resolution to the National Organization for Women on ending military draft registration. https://now.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/RESOLUTION-TO-THE-NATIONAL-ORGANIZATION-FOR-WOMEN-ON-ENDING-MILITARY-DRAFT-REGISTRATION.pdf

Army eases fitness test standards for women, older troops. (2022, March 23). AP News. https://apnews.com/article/army-8107bd2d5ad1db574a72e98dd789fbff

History of the women’s rights movement. (n.d.). National Women’s History Alliance. https://nationalwomenshistoryalliance.org/history-of-the-womens-rights-movement/

U.S. Department of Labor. (2023, March). Understanding the gender wage gap: Causes and remedies. U.S. Department of Labor. https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WB/UnderstandingTheGenderWageGap.pdf

Laurenzi, S., & Feinglos, R. (2023, August 23). “It’s hell”: How divorce laws are designed to create unnecessary financial hardship for women. Fortune. https://fortune.com/2023/08/23/divorce-laws-designed-create-unnecessary-financial-hardship-women-personal-finance/

Detailed timeline. (2023). National Women’s History Alliance. https://nationalwomenshistoryalliance.org/resources/womens-rights-movement/detailed-timeline/

[k9effect]

Oh okay, you've twisted my arm ;) I was gonna ramble anyways. Info under the cut!

So the basis of the story, for some quick context, is that its a new world settlement narrative. Earth is severely over populated and simply cannot house as many people as there is, so since technology and science can allow it, they decide to expand to the stars ✨️✨️✨️ and send out a bunch of settlement missions. A lot of the people on these missions chose to be there. They signed up and understood the gravity (pun intended) of what they were doing, that they'd never be able to come home. But they needed to fill a certain amount of roles and quotas for these missions and when people stopped volunteering, they filled these roles via draft, a population lottery. So not exactly everyone wanted to be there.

Here's some info on my blorbos!

Scuttle is the og oc for this. He was the first fella in my head. (Idk why he's named Scuttle, its probably a nickname that stuck but i havent thought of an actual name for him yet lmao) He's a mechanic who signed on voluntarily. His grandparents, who took care of him and raised him after his mother was gone, had passed away and he was needing some drastic change in his life, lest the grief consume him. So without really thinking, he signed on for the settlement mission as a mechanic. Since he has a degree and a passion for it, he got accepted pretty easily. Admittedly, he shouldn't have passed the medical (he's disabled, has a prosthetic leg after an accident) or the psychological (was doing this for the wrong reasons (to get away from his problems)) but the organisers were desperate for people and he was quite qualified so they overlooked it. He's still happy with his decision, even if he misses home a lot sometimes.

He's kind of a short king, stocky and densely built with muscle. Rocks a mullet, is also a natural ginger.

This is Paxton! He goes by Pax tho. He was an army grunt who took a transfer opportunity to join the defence regiment for the settlement missions. Hes part of the security and defence team in charge of keeping the settlement safe from any hostile life forms on the new worlds that may pose a threat. Spoilers, he gets pretty fucked up by a bear-type alien and, after he's rescued, gets medically discharged from the defence/military team and transferred to a much easier and less stressful job after hes recovered. He ends up worked in the agricultural field, but moreso just keeps to himself tending to a few of the planet's native flowers. He makes some real strides and figuring out how propagation and such work on the planet.

Him and Scutt have kind of a thing going for a while but its not until after his maulling that he really starts to rely on Scuttle's support and they become more of a serious romantic couple.

Pax is tall and lanky, had a lot more muscle on him from his military/defence days but after the maulling, he drops a lot of that and slims down. He has a cute little gap in his front teeth <3

This is Kashvi! More often referred to as just Kash tho. She's the resident smartypants. A desi girl who graduated from university with a major in biology, when she went to further her education (probably headed towards a doctorate or smth) when she was offered a full ride scholarship/opportunity to join the settlement mission on the science team due to her outstanding work. It was a lengthy decision making process but inevitably the deciding factor was that the scholarship included accommodation for herself and her immediate family, meaning they could all come with her. They collectively decided to relocate and join the settlement mission. She then got taken under the wing of the science team and began her training and study in becoming a xenologist (thats the term ive been using anyways ahah idk if there's a better one?? For like, the study of alien life).

Her family kind of adopt Scuttle since him and Kash are very similar ages. They become his family and he has a sibling dynamic with Kash. She also spends a lot of time with Pax post his injury since he has first hand experience and information on the wild life, they form somewhat of a friendship that is only deepened when Pax realises how close she is with Scuttle. Kash, like Scuttle, tends to overwork herself. So the two of them make sure to remind each other to take breaks and drink water and sleep, even if they themself don't follow their own advice lmao.

Now finally we have Leisha. She Does Not want to be here. She was one of the unlucky people who got conscripted/drafted via the population lottery. She is here completely against her will and is not happy about it one bit. She's the newest of the four and is still earlier in development than the rest so she's not as grounded. She's got some very justified and valid anger issues about the whole situation. Spends a lot of her time, along with other conscripted people, trying to forge a plan on how to get back home, but its millions of light years away.

I'm not certain exactly what her role in the settlement is yet. She grows quite close to Kash, it's unintentional but turns out having a friend is good for her. Kash kind of makes this whole situation liveable. Leisha takes interest in her work and quickly takes a more romantic interest in Kash. She's a bit of a bad influence on Kash but in turn Kash is good for her <3

-

I love all these lil goobers so much and they are quite literally all I've been thinking about lately. I'm so down to answer questions about them if y'all have any <3 I've been doodling them a bunch so I might do a doodle dump at some point. I'll do more fandom stuff eventually but I'm riding this out right now :)

Tagging some people who may be interested: @catstrophysics @sephieblue @calkale @yeah-w-r-i-t-e

Edit: i do have a little tiny discord server for these guys, just to organise my thoughts and ramble about them in there, so HERE IS THE LINK if you wanna come hang out perchance