#i would say late 40s early 50s for her honestly. but i moved it down a lil bit bc of vanessas age

[themyscirah]

This is technically a Diana's age poll but I framed it partially around Julia's rescue because that's the event I need to contextualize and whether or not Diana is a thing yet is p important for my purposes. I would keep the Pérez run and postcrisis continuity in mind when answering this bc that's when this is relevant but I'd keep in mind that even though Diana is very young there (like early 20s) we don't know I don't think if she ages differently as a child (esp as a themysciran AND being made from clay) and in some versions she is older than she looks and was made earlier

Edit: I accidentally logic-ed this out in the tags lol 🤦‍♀️but feel free to still vote however you want. Going to publish this anyway bc I think I made some good points later in my tags

[twinklelilstarkey]

Cuddles - Mathew Barzal

Words: 2.7k+

Type: Fluff

Summary: Every time Mat comes back from a roadie, he becomes the clingiest person known to Earth, which means that he will do absolutely anything to get your attention and his god damn cuddles.

Warnings: PDA - just Mat being really touchy and stuff. There isn’t a mention on reader’s gender.

Mathew is not really the type of person that constantly seeks affection. He just likes his own space from time to time. Especially outside of the house, he’ll hold your hand but he’s not one to hug you out of nowhere, unlike some couples in your friend group.

But, that is only when he hasn’t been away from you for some time. If, for example, you two go spend the holidays with your families (separated), Mathew is not leaving your side when you’re back together. He absolutely will not let you go to do anything. 

So you better take the week off work, every time, you got a man to cuddle. 

And now that you two have been dating for a longer time, officially living under the same roof and doing everything like a whole married couple, Mathew’s seeking for affection after being away is through the roof. Like, he’s out for 2 weeks for a roadie, expect that men to hug you by the bus and never let go of you until you need to pee.

You believe that it might be because he now gets so used to seeing you everywhere in the house that when he leaves, he has that silence and that person missing. 

Yet, still, you never, in a million years, expected him to take his hugs so seriously.

And that is exactly what’s happening right now. He went out for a long roadie, which he can’t complain much because the Islanders won a lot and he had a great time with his friends, but, god damn it, he hated that he had to spend such a long time away from you and just staring at you through a screen.

He came back home late at night, around 4 in the morning, and even though you two felt exhausted - and you were half asleep - he still hugged you and stayed with his arms around you for a good 5 minutes. That is even without closing the front door when he came in.

And when you did reach the bed, you two fell asleep in just a few seconds.

You were able to wake up, naturally, early and Mathew looked so peaceful when you woke up that you tried your best not to move too much and wake him on accident. That man needs rest, and you seriously can’t take that away from him. 

So, you used your silent Sunday morning to the best of your ability, did a lengthy morning routine, just to have that moment with yourself in calm days: take a long relaxing shower, and even do a mask and test new products on your face.

You’re honestly living your best life.

And even after those good 40-50 minutes in the bathroom, Mathew is still asleep when you walk out. 

So, you decide to go have breakfast and probably, just if you’re feeling like it, clean the apartment - an activity you’ve been hesitating to do for days, but, sooner or later, you do have to do it.

And you, like the brave soul that you are, started working on it as soon as you can. Literally downed your coffee like a shot, ate a granola bar, and cleaning you went.

The living room and bathrooms were fairly easy and quick, but as soon as you started with the kitchen, a wild sleepy Mathew makes an appearance.

“Morning.” You say with a smile.

With his eyes still half-closed yet a grin on his face, Mathew walks over to you, slowly starting to open his arms. You put down the rag onto the counter and meet him halfway to wrap your arms around his torso. His arms wrap around your shoulders and squeeze you close.

He leans his cheek onto your head and you close your eyes, feeling and enjoying Mathew’s warmth through the thin shirt you’re wearing.

“How did you sleep?” You ask him.

“Good. I was so tired.” He says while letting out a sigh.

You squeeze him one time and move your head back to stare up at him. He looks down to meet your gaze and gives you a quick kiss, almost as if he’s stealing one.

“What do you want to do today?” He asks you, and you can’t help but hold in a cringe.

“I don’t know if we can do anything exciting today.” You tell him slowly.

“Why?” He asks with a confused frown.

“I have a lot to do today.” You start, “I have to finish cleaning the house, probably go grocery shopping and do my meals for the week.”

A loud and long groan leaves Matthew’s mouth as he throws his head back dramatically and you unwrap your arms from around him to hold his sides.

“I’m sorry.” You try to make it better with a soft tone. “Were you planning on doing anything?”

He brings his head back up and shakes his head.

“Just wanted to spend time with you.” He says before pulling you into a hug again, “And cuddle.” He says against your neck.

You wrap your arms around him again and run your hand up and down his back comfortingly.

“I’m still going to be at home. I just won’t be able to cuddle until I’m done with everything.” You tell him and he sighs dramatically. “You can always help me? So I’m done with all of this quicker.”

Mathew stays silent, still snuggled into your neck, and doesn’t even move a muscle.

Accepting his silence as an answer of ‘no, thank you’ or even ‘let me wake up first and I’ll answer you’, you try to move away from him, laying your hands by his sides again and pushing him away ever so slightly. But, right as Mathew feels the pressure of you pulling him away, he stops you by squeezing you a bit closer.

“Nooo.” He whines, making you laugh, “Just a few more seconds.”

(...)

Mathew, surprisingly, after his long morning shower and eating his breakfast (over the table you just cleaned), actually offered to help. He ignored your surprised look, looked at you, and just asked “what do you need me to do?”.

And off Mat went to clean your room and make the bed. You just finished off with the kitchen and swept some floors, and, honestly, you don’t think you’ve ever got everything done so quickly.

With Mathew still in the bedroom, you decide to start working on the list of groceries. Opening every cabinet and the fridge multiple times, you typed into your phone’s notes what is missing and what you’ll eventually need in a space of a few hours after cooking.

While deep into your task, you don’t notice Mat coming back from the bedroom with the full dirty laundry basket - mostly because he just emptied his travel bag and just changed the sheets. He walks through the kitchen to the laundry room and yet you don’t blink an eye in his direction. 

You are so focused that Mat is starting to think that someone could rob the apartment, right now, and you wouldn’t even notice them.

When the laundry is separated and some of it is already on the machine, which is already on, Mat walks back out to the kitchen and notices you typing on your phone.

“Do you want to go to get the food before lunch?” He asks you, in hopes you would answer him.

You just nod, while scrolling through the list to see if you didn’t repeat anything.

Mat stares at you for a bit, taking a second or two to admire you - something he was unable to do for a good few days. He takes a few steps closer, almost as if testing the waters, and stands right beside you.

He acts as if he’s checking the list you’re writing, and leans in close to you. You, still in your own world, pay him no mind and continue to type and check at least 3 times in the row if anything is missing on the list.

His arms sneakily wrap around your hips and he pulls you closer to him to the point of completely having you against him. He lays a kiss on the side of your head and looks down at your phone again, not wanting to disrupt you too much.

Your vacant hand lays over his arm, caressing it unconsciously as you delete a few words and type some new ones.

“Want to go to the store with me?” You ask him.

You look up at him as Mat doesn’t say anything and when your eyes meet, he gives you a quick nod. You smile at him and he kisses your cheek.

(...)

“You know...” You start while looking at the shelves down the aisle, “You’re making it really hard to walk, babe.”

“I don’t know what you mean by that.”

You laugh at Mat and he smiles against your shoulder. He has been doing this every time the aisle you’re walking down is empty - which is almost every aisle. He has his arms around your waist and is holding you from behind close to him while you try to walk with the shopping cart right in front of you.

You don’t even know how many times you’ve tripped over each other’s feet, but Mat doesn’t seem to mind it at all.

You look down at your list and delete the name of another item as you throw it inside the cart.

“You look really beautiful today.” Mat says against your ear before pressing a kiss over the side of your head.

You look over at him and he leans his head back to look at you better, as well. A small grin lifts off the corners of your lips and he smiles before giving you a kiss.

As you two pull away, you turn your attention back to the aisle in front of you.

“Good to know I just look like that today.” You say to him in the most serious tone ever.

Mat giggles at your words beside your ear and soon your serious act lifts off. In your defense, it’s hard to do so when he’s that close to your ear, giggling his sanity away.

“You know what I mean.” He says while poking your side.

“You’re lucky I do.”

He smiles brightly and goes back to leaning his head over your shoulder. Good thing for him, the store is almost empty, so he can do that for most of the time you’re here.

You stop the cart once more and start, with the best of your ability, putting the things you need from the shelves into the center of the cart.

Soft humming is heard a few meters behind you, yet both you and Mat seem to ignore it. An old lady, with a little basket on her hand, walks down the aisle innocently, looking through the products on the shelves, and as she studies all the varieties, her eyes land on you.

Her view is quite interesting. You’re looking down at your phone, lifting your gaze to squint at what’s in front of you - what she assumes is the signs about each aisle - and a man, Mat, is with his dark hair mostly covered by his hoodie, even though some strands are falling to his forehead, hugging you close to him while peeking down at your phone.

If she wasn’t such a romantic person, she would’ve thought about and probably criticized - in her mind - how clingy you both looked. Yet she’s not one to turn her nose in disgust at such things, quite the opposite. She’s the one that smiles upon seeing them.

“Mat, can you pass me that bag?” She hears you ask the boy while giving him a pat on the head to get his attention.

He doesn’t verbally answer, but, right away, he stands upright and reaches up for the bag your pointing at the top of the shelves.

“Wait- Not that one.” You told him.

“Why not?” He frowns in confusion.

“It doesn’t look good.”

He gives you a look as if you’re going crazy and grabs your wished bag of sugar while listening to you giggle at his annoyance. When the bag reaches the center of the cart, he goes back to behind you and goes back to his warm, kind of, hiding place. 

And that’s when the lady decides to not stare for much longer, in hopes she wouldn’t spook anyone, and walks away to continue her shopping.

You, without even blinking at Mat’s actions, start moving forward out of the aisle and onto the next one. And that’s when your eyes land on the lady, who is walking by you now, at a way faster pace - you got to blame Mat for that one; you swear that a sloth moves faster than you two.

(...)

“Are you done, now?” Mat asks for probably the 100th time in the past hour.

You put down the rinsed pan on the washing machine and finally look back at Mat while closing it.

“Yes.”

“Really?” He asks with widened eyes, “Or are you joking?”

“I’m 100% serious.”

Mathew stands from the high chair of the island and walks over to you right away. He grabs onto your hand and starts pulling you towards the living room and couch, finally going after what he has been wishing all day long. His god damn cuddles.

You have been cooking for the past hour and some more minutes for your meals to eat during the week for work - a habit you’ve started having for a few months and can’t seem to not do it when there’s a big week incoming.

In other words, the restaurants around your work aren’t that great, you’re tired of sandwiches and you’ve been finding yourself too tired during the week to do lunch in the morning or on the night before. So, meal prepping, it is.

You and Mathew walk into the living room and he’s quick to snatch the largest blanket you had just folded this morning. He lets go of your hand before giving a look, almost as if to tell you, ‘don’t you dare move’.

You smile at him as he lays over the couch and motions you to come closer. He grabs onto the tv remote first, probably to get a movie going, just for background noise, and you lay with him.

Your face lays over Mat’s chest comfortably and you feel him shake the blanket around before draping it over the two of you. A little grin is planted over your face as he practically starts tucking you in, close to him.

As soon as the movie is chosen, Mat’s arms wrap around you and he pulls you even closer.

The both of you stare at the TV in silence. You’re just curious to see what movie he chose, while Mat just wants to see if the movie is any good. 

But then, suddenly, an uneasy feeling hits the end of your tummy.

Oh no, he’s going to absolutely hate you.

How are you even supposed to tell him this?

You try to focus on the screen and forget about all your needs. You just got to focus, Y/N, come on.

Not even five minutes later, you feel like you can’t hold it in anymore. Ugh, just do it.

“Hey, Mat?” You ask, tone a little hesitant.

“Yeah?” He asks, moving his hand up and down your back.

“I need to tell you something and, please, don’t be mad.”

Mathew frowns and looks away from the screen at you. He’s confused, you can tell. You can’t really blame him, you were just fine a few minutes ago, and now you sounded like you were about to unleash a bomb.

“Okay...?” He says almost as if to encourage you to talk, since you stayed very quiet.

“I might need to go pee.” You tell him.

His hand abruptly stops moving on your back and his expression of confusion falls into an expression of disbelief.

“Are you serious?” He asks.

“Yeah.” You say, biting your lips as if to keep in your giggles.

“How dare you?”

A giggle finally escapes your mouth and you notice his lips twitching slightly as he tries not to smile and continue his serious act.

“I’ll be right back, yeah?” You tell him as you start sitting up on your knees.

“Screw you.” He tells you and you laugh again.

You’re quick on standing back on your feet and make your way to the bathroom, very fast-paced.

“I love you too, Barzal!” You tell him as you walk out of the room.

Hope this is good!

[tinytonysnark]

Hi Nisha love, Stevetony for #40 (Making a goofy face until they notice and laugh) in the 50 wordless ways to say I love you prompt list if you're so inspired? <3

40. Making a goofy face until they notice and laugh. 2.1K words, stevetony, fluff, tw: Howard Stark’s A+ Parenting

six

The first thought Steve ever has about Tony is, he looks sad.

He’s making his way into the school by himself, cause he’s grown now — his Ma’s car is still at the drop-off where he can see her still blowing kisses at him through the window, but who’s gonna know — when his eyes land on them. 

There’s a man standing in front of a boy who looks smaller than Steve does, something he didn’t even know was possible — and the boy looks sad, shoulders hunched in and staring at the ground while the man seems to be scolding him, like his Ma does sometimes when he gets into a fight with the boys down the road. 

But unlike Steve, the boy doesn’t stare back and let it be known that those boys had it coming for talking like that with his chest puffed up because he’s mad — and not at all because he’s pulling in big gulps of air. 

Steve can’t see what the man’s face must be like since his back is to him but he imagines it must be angry and that just makes him angry  cause the man seems like a big old bully and Steve hates bullies.

If the man wasn’t a grown up Steve might have just gone over there to tug the boy away and yell at the man about maybe picking on somebody his own size, but he promised his Ma he wouldn’t get into trouble — well, not on the first day at least. 

So instead, he sticks his tongue out at the man, blowing a raspberry at him that he doesn’t hear.

But the boy does. 

He looks, eyes darting up and around the man to stare at Steve who must have a silly look on his face because the boy looks a little shocked and his ears go red but there’s a smile, there and gone before he quickly looks back down at his feet. 

Steve decides then and there that this boy is going to be his friend and he waits for him, the man leaving with a dismissive wave as he walks over to his very shiny car. 

The boy watches him leave before making his way over to Steve, shoulders still hunched but not staring at the pavement anymore. “Hi. You - you didn’t have to wait for me.”

“Course I did,” Steve says with a shrug. “You and me are gonna be friends. I’m Steve Rogers,” he says, sticking his hand out for a shake. 

The boy stares at his outstretched hand for a moment before taking it with sweaty hands, “I’m Tony Stark and I - I really want to be your friend.”

“Well good, cause we’re going to be best friends,” Steve says confidently, dragging Tony through the front doors. “Come on, we can’t be late on our first day.”

[continue on AO3] or

***

twelve

“I’m just sayin’ that if you don’t come over for blueberry pie after Ma specifically baked it with you in mind, she’s gonna throw a fit,” Steve tells him, feet swinging under him because these benches were so high. 

Not because he’s short. 

It’s not. 

Tony’s hands are fidgeting, his fingernails plucking at the skin of his nail beds and Steve doesn’t even think about it when he reaches over to pry them apart. 

Tony just moves on to biting at the skin on his bottom lip. “Howard will be really mad if I miss dinner. He says the people coming over could really make or break the the company and he wants to make a good impression.”

His laugh is derisive when he tells Steve, “We have to be the picture perfect family complete with the great businessman but who’s also a loving father, the doting wife and mother with me staring as the golden son. What could possibly go wrong?”

Steve’s face must have morphed into the strange expression he does whenever Tony mentions anything about his home life because when he looks up from the plate of fries he’s not eating he gives a snort of laughter which only makes him embarrassed, covering his mouth like that would force it back in. 

“Shut up, you didn’t hear that,” Tony says, cheeks going pink. 

“Hear what?” Steve grins, swiping a handful of fries.

“Hey!”

“What? You’re gonna come over to eat my food so now I’m stealing yours,” Steve tells him. “Listen, you’re coming over today. Ma can be scary when she wants to be and not even your dad can stop her.”

Tony goes back to chewing on his lip. 

“Hey, trust me,” Steve says, grabbing at Tony’s hand. “It’s going to be okay.”

Tony looks down at their hands before looking right at Steve. “Okay.”

It doesn’t occur to him until much, much later that he and Tony held hands all through lunch and neither one had said anything. 

***

fourteen

They’re sitting in Math class — and why Tony is even in this class confuses Steve considering how smart he is — when he realises Tony isn’t paying attention to a single thing Mr.Vanko is saying. 

He’s staring at his phone, hidden behind his open textbook and he’s taking a selfie that Steve is just going to assume he’s sending to Rhodes because —

Because the other option is assuming he’s gonna send it to Stone who is a senior and all around jerk and Steve kinda wants to bash his head in whenever he sees the douche hanging around Tony and — well, Tony seems to enjoy Stone’s attention but there’s something not right about that guy and Steve —

Steve is not biased. He isn’t.

He makes a face at the camera when Tony angles the phone again and Tony doesn’t even notice until he looks at the picture.

He stifles a laugh into his hand but Mr. Vanko’s hearing is scary good and he always seems to have it out for Tony anyway so he turns away from the chalkboard to glare at where Tony sits. 

“Something funny, Mr. Stark?’

“No, no, just that you wrote out the equation wrong,” Tony says, shutting his book, his phone wedged between the pages.

“I doubt it,” Mr. Vanko sneers before looking at the board then scowling when he realises Tony is right. 

Steve tries not to roll his eyes because of course Tony is right. 

When he checks his messages later he sees that Tony had sent him the picture, with Tony front and centre but the perspective makes it look like Steve is popping right up from his head with a goofy look on his face.

He makes it his screensaver because really — who’s even going to know?

***

seventeen

Steve says the only reason Tony tries out for cheerleading is to be a rebel and to effectively drive Steve insane. 

Tony tells him that he does it so he can stay in shape since now he has to keep with Steve’s insane growth spurth over the past year and so he can be flexible and Steve — well, Steve tries not to go completely red at the implication in Tony’s tone. 

For all the years they’ve been friends, for all the dancing around they did about how they felt for each other — this, this is still new and real and Steve is completely terrified of messing this up. 

Losing Tony - that’s not even something his brain can comprehend. 

But when he shows up to practice, already making his way over to where the cheerleaders are to say hello and maybe steal a kiss, he thinks that Tony is trying to put him in an early grave because he’s standing there wearing the cheer uniform just —

The crop top and the skirt are fitted so well.  

For some reason, Steve’s brain latches onto the fact that Tony’s belly button is out.

He’s an innie. 

Steve must look an absolute fool right now because the cheerleaders burst into giggles around him, Tony included, who walks up to him and sweet jesus -

He shaved his legs and Steve thinks maybe there’s glittery body oil on them because there’s no way —

“Hi, handsome,” Tony smiles up at him. “You’ve got a real dumb look on your face so I’m assuming you like the uniform.”

Steve tries to say something back but his mouth just feels bone dry at the moment and he has to clear his throat to choke out a simple, “Yeah, baby. I really, really do.”

Tony kisses him, hard and fast -they’re lucky their teeth didn’t clack together - before pushing him off to the field. “Go on number 29! I can’t cheer for you if you’re terrible.”

“Thanks for that,” he says before hauling Tony in to kiss him once more, deeper and leaving him dazed before he runs back to his team. 

He gets a pom-pom thrown at him.

***

twenty-two

There’s a Taylor Swift song blasting from the speakers to commemorate Tony’s birthday but Steve — Steve can’t find Tony anywhere in this strange house he got off-campus that Steve is nearly certain is haunted because why else would it be so cheap it practically a robbery. 

Rhodes had mentioned to check the workshop but that had been the first place he looked anyway and he’s gone through the whole house at this point.

He’s standing by the kitchen before it comes to him and he’s off like a shot up the stairs, nearly bowling people over in his haste. 

He gets to Tony’s room, places the bag on the table and climbs through the windowsill when he spots him, sitting cross-legged on the roof. “Tony?”

The surprise on Tony’s face honestly makes the 4 hour long journey entirely worth it. 

“S-Steve? Ohmygod, Steve!” He yells, jumping up to crash into him and they nearly go skidding off the roof.

“Why don’t we head back in -”

“No, no, it’s fine,” Tony interrupts, “Let’s just sit out here.”

Steve isn’t really one to deny Tony anything, let alone on his birthday and definitely not when he’s beaming like that. 

He tugs Steve down, his back to Steve’s chest. “I - I got worried when you didn’t call. Thought maybe you forgot.”

Steve frowns, “Forgot? Baby, in these last 16 years I have never not once forgotten the most important date on my calendar and I ain’t gonna start now.”

He brings Tony’s hands up to him and places a kiss on the palm, “There was a slight hold up. Just, wait here.”

“There’s only one exit.”

“You say that like you haven’t rolled off a roof to prove a point before,” Steve tells him, reaching through the window to snatch the bag before coming back to sit in front of Tony. 

“Courtesy of the best bakery in New York,” Steve tells him, holding out the cupcake. “Bucky’s kitchen.”

He lights the candle he brought with him and sticks it in the middle. “Make a wish, Tones.”

Tony stares at him with a look so full of love with the flickering of the flame reflecting in his eyes that all the air rushes out of Steve’s lungs.

He blows out the candle before then promptly taking it out and smears the cupcake into Steve’s face that frosting goes up his nose. 

Tony laughs so hard when Steve just stares at him that he nearly does roll off the roof.

Tony makes it up to him by licking up all the frosting though. 

***

twenty-seven

Steve’s hands can’t stop shaking. 

He can’t believe that after months and months of planning, they’re finally here. 

That in just a few short minutes, he’s gonna get to call Tony his husband.

The doors open and Steve thinks his heart might have just stopped as he watches Tony walk towards him, resplendent in his tux and he just knows that the camera is recording his slack jawed expression because Tony is grinning at him as he makes his way down the aisle.

When they’re declared husbands, Steve kisses that grin right off his face and the camera catches their stupefied expressions. 

***

thirty

Tony drops the blanket, yelling out, “Peek-A-Boo!” 

Peter, completely amused, claps his tiny little hands from inside the crib. 

“The betrayal I feel right now is overwhelming,” Steve calls from the door of the nursery. “This is my favourite game.”

He crouches down next to Tony, both hiding behind the blanket before dropping it again, making silly faces. 

“Peek-A-Boo!”

Peter’s shriek of laughter can be heard all through the house.

[plasticnightmaredoll]

Ok, so I had to do this after reading @justasimplesinner ‘s absolutely adorable and precious h/cs for Arkham Knight Riddler meeting his s/o’s family for the first time. I mean, AK!Eddie being happy? Having some sort of family? It hits me right in the feels 😭

But I was inspired to write something similar for Telltale Riddler and his s/o but with a twist. I mean, it’s already going to be quite different considering how Telltale Riddler is, but I’m taking things a little further and getting a bit personal. Since I self-ship with him, I figured, why not turn these h/cs into self-insert ones? 

Basically, Telltale Riddler meeting my family for the first time on Christmas. 

The h/cs will reflect what the reality of my family is like but I won’t get, like, too personal. Y’all don’t need to know everything.

Pre-headcanons warnings to be fair: 

There is a little but of smut at the end. Nothing explicit but it’s a little bit spicy. 

These are self-insert headcanons, not reader-insert ones

This is an age-gap pairing since I’m 33 years old and Telltale Riddler is 60 years old.

Anyway, let’s head on into these h/cs for Telltale Riddler meeting my folks for the first time (and that seems awkward as hell to write but hey, I’m fictosexual so....🤷‍♀️)

There is a little bit of smut at the end. Nothing explicit but it’s definitely a little spicy.  

It’s the first Christmas spent with Eddie since becoming a couple, and it’s also kind of an awkward time because family, you know? And, well, my parents don’t know I’m dating anyone...let alone THE Riddler. 

It’s going to be a challenge getting them to accept me dating someone nearly twice my age (I’m 33 and Edward’s 60, but damn, did he age like fine wine or what?) But revealing that it’s the goddamn Riddler? 

So, yeah, I’m freaking out but I also realize that I have to tell them eventually because it’s only fair, for one, and keeping it a secret for a long time would just make things worse if -- or more realistically, when -- my parents found out on their own. 

Plus, I’m not ashamed or afraid to date Edward. He treats me much differently than he treats most other people, and I want my parents to know that, yeah, he’s Riddler, a criminal mastermind but honestly, he treats me better than any guy has and I’m actually happy.

Edward isn’t nervous but he’s concerned because he doesn’t want to complicate things between my parents and me, doesn’t want to bring unnecessary drama and angst into my life. He can handle people disliking him -- hating him -- but he doesn’t want the only person he’s ever truly cared for to have a damaged relationship with her family because of him.

But we discuss it and decide it’s better to just go ahead and do it. Rip off the band aid and get the pain out of the way as fast as possible, so to speak. Whatever happens, happens, and hopefully it’s nothing (too) upsetting.

I call my parents and tell them I’m coming to visit for Christmas, and I reveal -- while my hands are shaking and my heart is pounding from the anxiety consuming me -- that I want to bring my boyfriend.

Oh, I have a boyfriend? For how long? How did we meet? What’s he like? What’s his name? Why the wait to tell them about him?

I know it wouldn’t go over well to just show up at my parents home hanging off of the goddamn Riddler’s arm, like, “Oh, hey, my boyfriend is a criminal genius, don’t ya know?”

So, I approach telling them over the phone the truth slowly, cautiously. I say his name is Edward and we met kind of by accident and we’ve been dating for a good portion of the year. It’s my first Christmas with him, actually.

Wait, it’s been that long and I never told my them?! What the hell?!

Needless to say, they are baffled and also concerned about this news. 

I explain the awkward but less, uh, shocking news that he is an older man, and I was worried they’d be upset about that. They ask how old Edward is and I hesitate, wondering if I should lie and say he’s, like, in his early 50s because he could easily pass for that age. Hell, even I thought he was in his early 50s (or even very late 40s) when I first met him. 

However, honesty is the best policy, and this is not even the “bad” news yet. 

I say that he just turned 60 years old this year in a calm, cool, casual tone, like I’m talking about the weather and not revealing to my parents that I���m dating a guy who is my dad’s age.

There is silence and I internally panic because if they’re angered or appalled by this, they’re not going to handle finding out who Edward is well at all.

They are surprised, a little worried for my wellbeing because they think Edward’s some perverted Sugar Daddy to me. They don’t say it like that but it’s heavily implied.

I explain that’s not the case at all, that he’s actually very sweet towards me. 

My folks decide to go along with this bit of news because hey, I’m 33 years old. I’m an adult. I can date an older man if I want.

Then comes the “fun” part, which is revealing to them what Edward does for a living.

I laugh nervously, and Edward, who has been patiently sitting beside me on the couch, realizes what I’m about to tell my parents. He watches me closely, hoping this doesn’t turn into a disaster for my sake.

“Yeah, so, Edward, yeah...Edward is...well, he’s, um...Well, he’s, he’s a genius. Like a tech genius, great with electrical engineering, computers. And uh, his job, his profession, his, um, career? Yeah, that’s...well, he’s...”

I take a deep breath and prepare for the worst.

“He’s The Riddler, one of Gotham’s...elite....masterminds.”

The silence on the other end of the phone is so terrifying that I feel like I’m going to faint from how anxious I am. Edward places a hand on my knee as a means of comfort, still wanting to give me some space to breathe and calm down. 

My parents aren’t...thrilled, to say the least. I’m dating a fucking criminal mastermind?! I’m dating RIDDLER? THE RIDDLER? What the goddamn fresh hell is this?!

I start crying because I’m so stressed about this, and Edward moves closer so he can put his arm around me. He feels bad, he really does, and it shows in his troubled expression, but there’s not much he can do. It’s not like we can take this back and say, “Oh, hey, just kidding!” No, this was the truth and now we were dealing with the consequences.

I manage to get my parents to calm down long enough so I can get a word in. I get up off the couch and walk to another room to speak to them alone. 

I tell them I know it’s not the most pleasant news to hear, and I know it seems awful, but it’s the first time I have been with a man and he’s treated me well. Like, really well. It’s not just the nice gifts or expensive dinners. Edward does genuinely care about me. I don’t feel like a “booty call,” he doesn’t ignore me, he doesn’t threaten me, he’s never abused me and never will. He’s not the same person with me as he is with some other people. I wouldn’t be dating him otherwise.

It takes some more convincing, but once I get it through to my parents that yes, I’m actually happy and yes, I’m safe and yes, Edward is a very doting boyfriend, they decide to meet him at Christmas. I know they will still have concerns and may be a bit cold to Edward at first, but I hope they would see what I see.

The day arrives and I’m a nervous wreck. Edward is worried for me. He  assures me that everything will be ok, and I want to believe but I’m still scared.

Deep down, he thinks maybe dating me is a bad idea -- not because he doesn’t love me but because he feels like he could damage my relationship with my parents. However, he doesn’t bring this up as he doesn’t want me to be even more upset than I already am.

Edward had brought with him some gifts for my parents and my grandma (she was staying with them, too). He brought the most most beautiful bouquet of flowers and a necklace for my grandma, a very lovely diamond bracelet for my mom, and a high-quality (aka expensive) watch for my dad.

I had to dress to impress and by that, dress in things Edward had given me to give my parents more visual proof that he was taking care of me. But I was careful not to overdo it. I didn’t want my parents to think I was his piece of...eye candy.

When we arrive, my parents greet us at the door, giving me a much warmer welcome than they give to Edward. They’re not rude to him, but they look uneasy, even a little irritated. 

Edward, being the charming bastard he is, keeps his calm and showcases his gentlemanly side. It’s genuine because he IS quite the gentleman as I have learned, but I don’t know if it will be enough to convince my parents to accept him.

They appreciate the gifts, seem a little caught off guard by the pricey but very lovely things Edward bought them. They also notice I’m wearing a dress that cost a pretty penny and jewelry just as extravagant. But none of it’s gaudy. 

Basically, I don’t look like Riddler’s trophy girlfriend.

Edward is courteous and charming, which seems to help my mom relax a bit. My dad still looks rather tense, though.

My grandma, being 90 and having frequent issues with memory, doesn’t remember who Edward actually is. My parents told her but she had forgotten and it was probably for the best. 

My grandma is impressed with Edward, finds him to be a proper, handsome gentleman type. She also was very grateful for the gifts he brought her.

Edward is very patient with my grandma, which I know isn’t easy due to her memory problems. But he is very relaxed, behaving pretty much like he does around me.

We all have dinner and chat, and the tension in the air lightens. My parents even laugh at a few humorous comments from Edward. He thanks my parents for allowing him to visit and for the wonderful dinner, and offers to help my parents clean up. 

Good. This gives my parents time alone with Edward which, as nerve-wracking as it is for me, is something that needs to happen. They need a one-on-one with my boyfriend...and hopefully it didn’t turn into a mess.

I stay with my grandma and act like everything’s fine as I anxiously wait to find out what my parents will ultimately think of Edward.

They are upfront with him once they’re alone with him, asking him if he’s putting up some kind of act or if this is all really him. They also ask if he genuinely cares for me or if he’s just using me because I’m “young and pretty.” They don’t hide their feelings, my parents, and they are concerned for my safety and happiness above all else. They NEED to know that Edward is good to me despite being Riddler. They can’t tell me who to be with but it would put their mind at ease if they were assured I was in good hands.

Edward is honest with them. He isn’t putting on a front. He is gentlemanly by nature with people he likes and respects, and he’s a bit old-fashioned in some ways anyway due to his age. He doesn’t fake his feelings for anyone, and while he does want my parents to accept him as my boyfriend, he knows it’s not an easy choice. He also tells them they have every right to reject him, and he won’t hold a grudge towards them about it if they do. 

If anything, he’s earned scorn more than kindness due to how he’s lived his life, and that’s fair. He accepts that.

But then he explains that no, I am not eye candy for him. He’s not a play boy looking for a “good time.” He’s serious about me and feels things towards me he’s never felt--never expected to feel. I’m the one thing in his dark and violent life that is bright and soothing, even though he’s done nothing in his life to deserve such a sweet and caring partner.

He tells them that I’m always protected and cared for, and he has made arrangements to ensure I’m still protected and cared for if -- or more realistically, when something happens to him. 

Being Riddler’s girlfriend has its perks. No one messes with me, that’s for sure, because they know I’m important to him, and they know what he is willing to do to keep me safe.

As scary as that is to hear, my parents find some relief in that. Yes, Edward is The Riddler, a criminal mastermind who strikes fear into many. However, he takes care of what is precious to him -- and not much is precious to him. Actually, nothing is save for me. I bring him a lot of joy and much-needed peace, and he’d give his life to protect me. 

I deserve to be happy, he tells my parents, because I am a good person unlike him, and he works hard to make sure I know I’m loved and cared for, that I’m good enough and that he has no intentions of leaving me or cheating on me for someone else.

Edward also assures my parents that, should they need anything, he can provide. Of course, he won’t force his help on them but he won’t ever turn them away either. He looks out for those that mean a lot to me, who are close to me, regardless of who they are and how they feel about him. That is a promise he makes to my parents, too.

He also comments on how they have been taking care of my grandma pretty much on their own for a couple years now, and he knows from what he has observed and from things I’ve told him that it is a very exhausting duty. It’s an admirable one, though, for sure, and he respects my parents for being good people. 

He sees where I get my kind nature, he tells them.

He says that he can pay for live-in help for them, like a live-in nurse, someone who can help take care of my grandma and let my parents have a break every now and again. Also, should she need anything that isn’t covered by her insurance, he will cover the costs.

Same goes for my parents, who aren’t the healthiest people in their old age (Edward has the regenerative properties of the LOTUS virus on his side -- they don’t). He doesn’t tell them that obviously, that they’re unhealthy, but he says should they need any expenses covered for treatments, medication, etc., he can provide.

Because he is THAT serious about me.

My parents are, to say the least, much more confident in my relationship with Edward now that they’ve talked with him one on one. They give him their blessing, so to speak, to be my boyfriend, and appreciate his generosity. They do ask for help with live-in aid for my grandma, and Edward says pick who they want and he’ll pay whatever insurance won’t cover. 

I am beyond relieved that my parents have decided to accept Edward, and am so grateful to him for offering his help to them...because they need it and deserve it.

He tells me it’s no trouble at all, that whatever makes me happy makes him happy, and he’s more than willing to aid those that are important to me.

Edward and I stay over Christmas Eve so we can spend more time with my family on Christmas Day. We get the guest room which has a small bed, so we’re “forced” to get close.

Of course, I can’t resist tempting him even now, and he doesn’t turn me down. I do warn him that we have to be careful because, hey, my folks are here in this house and I’m not the quietest lover.

“Oh, don’t worry,” he tells me with a smirk. “I came prepared for any eventuality.”

Needless to say, I need to be gagged because Edward makes sure I have a Merry Fucking Christmas -- literally -- and also makes sure I know how much he both loves and desires me.

We decide to leave out the whole Dom/Sub aspect of our relationship in regards to my parents. 

We also don’t tell them about how I call Edward, “Daddy” almost any other time 👀👀👀👀💦💦💦💦💦💦

My mom also refuses to believe he’s 60 years old because he’s so good-looking  😄

[thesomberfest]

Star Wars: Timestamps and Thoughts; The Empire Strikes Back

Salutations to all. Welcome back to my blog thing? Anyways today is the one and only The Empire Strikes Back which I think may be the most iconic Star Wars movie. But, don’t quote me on that. I’m only saying that as someone who has heard about Star Wars movies from the outside and honestly out of all the movies The Empire Strikes Back is the one movie I’ve always heard about; name-wise. I don’t think I know any spoilers about this movie, so we’ll see. I’m new to this and I don’t know what I’m doing so please have mercy and help a sister out, thanks. I have some idea based on what the movie is about based on the name but I’ll just take what Disney Plus tells me. I honestly have nothing to say. Should I start writing predictions before writing the timestamps and writing my reaction if I’m right or wrong based on the last movie I watched. Does that make sense? I can’t think of any other way to word it differently but if it makes sense then okay, let’s continue. This isn’t a prediction but um is this the movie where Luke finds about his parentage? Or is it a bit too early? Am I too early? Oh well. While adding timestamps I thought it would be a cool idea to add a “Favorite Scene” section under my “Final Thoughts” sections, I hope y’all like it.

03/9 Edit: Y’all sorry this is late but tomorrow is my birthday and I decided to not do my schoolwork and instead watch Star Wars and write. Before y’all get any ideas: yes. I am in fact still a minor. thanks. 04/3 edit: I AM SORRY THIS IS LATE I HAVE NO EXCUSE

Movie: Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back

Release Date: 1980

Summary(?): So obviously the Empire is going to strike back right? And Luke has to find Yoda to learn the ways of the Force? No? Oh and a final show down with Vader? Am I wrong again?

Warning: spoilers (yea no duh bibi) and mild language on my part

Timestamps

00:00:06- 20th Century Fox is here, hello.

00:00:22- the words on the screen have made an appearance

00:01:41- the iconic words have left, bye-bye

00:04:28- Han Solo

00:04:43- It’s Chewie

00:05:04- Ya’ll it’s my queen Leia. She’s looking badder than ever

00:05:22- so the guy we first saw was in fact Luke, whoops.

00:05:40- Han is leaving? What about Leia? Am I missing something?

00:06:00- Okay so I’m convinced that something happened between Han and Leia, right? She looks pissed, he also looks pissed. Uhhh...

00:06:03- Oh shoot, she called out his name and went after him.

00:06:27- the way Leia feels about him? Sexual tension?

00:06:34- does Han want Leia to admit she has feelings for him? Does she have feelings for him?

00:06:42- “Afraid I was gonna leave without giving you a good-bye kiss?”- woah there Han

00:06:47- yeah, something did happen. I’m calling it

00:06:53- YES 3PO and R2

00:07:12- Oh shoot, Han doesn’t want to talk to Leia no more

00:07:19- ain’t nobody know where Luke is

00:08:06- aw Han said Luke is his friend. Character development

00:08:36- um is that Luke being hanged upside down?

00:08:47- uh oh, it’s the abominable snowman, let’s uh call him Yeti for short

00:09:00- Lukie-boy that might be a bad idea 

00:09:34- he’s using the Force to get the lightsaber, nice

00:09:40- oh no, the Yeti noticed

00:09:48- he got the Lightsaber yayy

00:09:50- did he just cut off Yeti’s arm???

00:10:00- run forest run

00:10:40- aw R2 :( I want to give them a hug

00:11:58- Leia looks really nervous. Uh-oh

00:12:53- I’m sorry but Chewie wailing/crying a few minutes earlier makes me sad.

00:13:42- omg Yoda? Han found Luke I repeat he found Luke

00:15:16- I wondered where they filmed or if this was effects or something.

00:16:01- are they going to be found? oh I hope so

00:16:13- yay! Found at last!

00:16:35- i’m sorry. is that a man baby???

00:16:48- oh wait was that man baby Luke? Oh god i kinda feel bad now

00:17:02- aww Luke and Han. Their friendship gives me life (junior)

00:17:05- my queen!!!!

00:17:15- ok but seriously what happened between Han and Leia? I know something happened.

00:17:25- I know Han did not just call my boy Chewie a FUZZBALL, please

00:17:31- alone? South passage? was that when Han claimed he was leaving? Her TRUE FEELINGS

00:17:50- why does Luke look sad? Is it... is it because HE HAS FEELINGS FOR HER???

00:17:58- (lets out a female lead in horror movie scream) OH MY GOD. I KNEW A KISS WAS TO HAPPEN BUT SO SOON? AND ON THE MOUTH WITH A PEANUT GALLERY LEIA HAS SOME BALLS. SO IT WAS NOT A PECK LIKE I’D ASSUMED HUH OMG tho I feel bad for Luke ‘cause (i think) she only did it to spite Han also if my math is correct IT WAS FOUR SECONDS LONG. But like is this the only kiss between the two or is there more cause ummm...... AREN’T THEY RELATED? SIBLINGS? TWINS I THINK? *Sweet Home Alabama now playing*

00:18:13- why why does he look so smug? also Han about to kill Luke a man

00:19:14- idk what’s happening

00:19:18- pew pew

00:19:44- THE IMPERIAL MARCH omgg yess... I live for the movies music

00:20:32- oh no, the music ended

00:20:38- wait nvm it’s continuing we stand

00:20:40- breathing problems much?

00:20:52- It’s Darth Vader

00:21:47- wait, didn’t he (Luke) almost die? shouldn’t he like oh I don’t know RESTING?!

00:22:47- have i mentioned that I live for the Imperial March? ‘cause I love it

00:23:39- OH

00:23:51- he really dying in the background huh

00:23:57- so he’s like dead, right?

00:24:02- what’s happening? Are they gonna go against Vader?

00:24:12- what the hell is a stardestroyer?

00:24:44- i’ve been told the dark side has cookies so uh peace out. If you would like to reach me please send me a letter via mail. thanks.

00:25:39- once again shouldn’t Luke be resting???

00:25:53- aww I want those binoculars. Is that what they’re called? Idk but I want one

00:26:05- what the hell are Imperial Walkers?

00:26:27- oh. are those Imperial Walkers? Those robot-looking dogs? omg I thought they were talking about Stormtroopers.

00:26:30- laser beam robot doggies did not hesitate

00:26:40- aw look at Luke being leadership material

00:27:09- wow these walkers are slow huh as to be expected

00:27:50- OH NO DAK bruhh nooo

00:28:09- are those robot dogs really gonna win?

00:28:21- LANDING? You mean Vader isn’t even fighting down there? Is he going to join? Or just find Luke and kidnap him and spill the beans? Or is that just my active imagination running too far?

00:28:39- the music...*beautiful*

00:28:58- tying the feet and tripping the doggies seems to be the moves huh

00:29:15- ooh and face first into the snow. how embarrassing...

00:29:20- I just know someone is losing their job or life like that one dude from before

00:30:18- i like the explosions

00:30:52- while one of the those little planes fall i’m sitting here thinking: most book/movie/tv shows that have the whole two sides thing (good vs bad) there always seems to be a traitor which makes me wonder if the good guys have a traitor? possible plot? idk, we’ll see won’t we?

00:31:18- the way these little doggies walk keep reminding me of some eerie Tim Burton movie and idk whyyy

00:33:04- two robot doggies down one more to go

00:33:25- man I just know someone from the Dark Force is gonna be dead fired

00:34:08- are those stormtroopers? They run funny

00:34:12- Darth Vader!

00:34:45- wait i’m dumb. did Vader invade the building/camp they were hiding at?

00:35:18- what does Vader want exactly? Princess Leia? Luke? the so-called “rebel plans”? What am I missing?

00:35:42- they really said: “peace out”

00:36:30- not regrouping? and what the hell is the Dagobah system?

00:37:30- did two ships just crash?

00:39:10- the music really makes this asteroid field detour awesome

00:40:25- did they--did they just go in a asteroid? Orr..?

00:41:18- and just what the hell is Luke thinking? he putting my baby R2 in distress?

00:42:04- where in the HELL are they?

00:42:21- did my baby R2 just fall in the water? Can he even swim? Is it safe? Is he going to die? Idc how cute Luke is, I will hurt him if 2D dies!

00:42:33- what. how is R2 okay? I thought--

00:42:53- Is that R2 whistling?

00:42:57- oh god, is that Nessie? oh no--

00:43:10- OH MY GOODNESS DID NESSIE JUST EAT MY BABY R2 WHAT THE FUC--

00:43:41- R2 MY BABY WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO YOU

00:44:01- YEA LUKE it was a bad idea going there! You put my sweet summer child R2 in danger! He almost got eaten as dinner!

00:44:18- ughhh the music is just AMAZINGGGG

00:44:38- whose brain is that? Is that what’s left of Mr. Anakin Skywalker? ooh now that I think about: what does Darth Vader look behind the helmet? I feel dumb for never thinking about that

00:45:34- hey you leave my man 3PO alone Solo

00:45:46- oh did Leia just fall into Han’s arms? ooh

00:45:56- “Captain, being held by you isn’t quite enough to get me excited” Leia woke up and choose violence 

00:46:56- oh OH Luke is looking for Yoda?

00:47:22- omg it’s YODA

00:47:48- man idk but lighting does wonders for Lukie-babe

00:48:26- is Yoda mocking Luke? ‘Cause I’m here for it

00:48:57- why is Luke lowkey being a pushover?

00:49:09- I KNOW Yoda isn’t hitting my baby R2 with a STICK the disrespect I-

00:49:56- at this point Yoda is just pulling on their legs for kicks and giggles huh

00:51:02- oh? alone? Leia and Han? my oh my

00:51:30- oh so now they hand-holding?

00:51:50- OMG when did they get so close to one another? I’m nervous

00:52:00- KISSING KISSING KISSING I REPEAT LEIA AND HAN ARE KISSING OH MY

00:52:04- ofc it’s 3PO to be the one to interrupt the kiss

00:52:14- oop-- Leia just left the crime scene. She’s going to pretend it never happened isn’t she?

00:53:04- wait. Vader isn’t emperor? Someone else is omg. I’m so dumb eye-

00:53:07- ew his side profile is not so good

00:53:10- the front is even uglier 

00:53:23- “young rebel”? my bby boy Luke?

00:53:25- “offspring of Anakin Skywalker”? wait a damn minute. Isn’t Vader oh idk ANAKIN SKYWALKER? Does that “emperor” guy not know? Or have I been lied to? WHAT AM I MISSING?

00:53:57- does this mean Anakin is considered to be a different person from Vader? I’m confused, someone explain please!

00:54:00- “could be turned”? say like Kylo? *dun dun dun* orr am I thinking too far?

00:54:16- “master”? you mean to tell me that Vader isn’t even the one pulling the strings? how embarrassing...

00:54:34- WHY WOULD YOU LEAVE R2 IN THE COLD RAIN?!

00:56:07- Luke my beauty dumbass just realized that Yoda was with the whole time

00:59:19- What is it?

00:59:29- Mynocks

00:59:35- oh hell no. I’m out

01:01:39- satan works hard but man does Luke work harder

01:01:57- “skinny boys are still the best oh i love when they slam and sweat.”-- Jack Off Jill, Lollirot (jolly good song) this one sentence describes it all :)

01:04:19- idk what’s happening but man does he look good. How long until y’all get tired of me simping over Luke?

01:04:40- wait WAIT THE FINAL SHOWDOWN IS IN THE FOREST? I THOUGHT-- I WAS TOLD--HOLD UP

01:05:01- but like, why it feel fake? Is this a dream? 

01:05:09- OH--[luke just decapitated Vader I-]

01:05:20- wait. it couldn’t have been that easy. This feels wrong-

01:05:29- omg. it’s luke! Wait what does this mean?

01:05:50- when i enter a room I would like the Imperial March to play, thanks.

01:06:26- uh, is that Boba Fett? If not I’m so sorry I’m new.

01:06:52- y’all I have a cofession to make: I have a fear of driving and my mother is forcing me to. How does this relate to the movie? Well, Han is steering the ship(?) so...

01:09:16- titanic part two?

01:10:31- my poor baby luke

01:11:37- luke please don’t give up :(

01:12:32- my man yoda showing up luke huh

01:13:35- uh oh. just like the first guy, he dead too. they’re just dropping like flies huh

01:16:05- and another kiss. a small peck, luke.

01:16:34- so is that Boba Fett or not? someone tell me please.

01:16:38- someone please run my baby R2 a bath

01:16:44-y’all the only time I can do a handstand is when I’m underwater (fun fact: i don’t like the pool)

01:16:51-[R2 is being levitated rn] if he falls and BREAKS into tiny pieces i’m quitting star wars

01:17:28- R2 good, he good “... I saw a city in the clouds.” you mean heaven?

01:17:37- “friends you have there” THEY’RE ALL GOING TO DIE WAIT--

01:19:50- they’ve [leia, han, chewie, 3PO] landed they’re safe, for now (i think)

01:20:25- [chewie replying “gahh!” to han] tell me why I laughed. I actually laughed like Chewie made a joke oh my...

01:20:34- uh oh [some dude just called han a slime(y)]

01:20:49- [they’re hugging now?] oh, wait. so they good now? or is this a joke?

01:22:01- i like the interior design of the building

01:22:49- [3PO gets blown up I think] what the hell just happened? 

01:25:13- he’s not coming back is he? [luke left to save han and leia]

01:26:13- finally. someone save 3PO or what’s left of him also I like leia’s new hairstyle it’s pretty

01:26:44- was 3PO decapitated? dismembered?!

01:26:55- good for chewie to fight for the parts of 3PO hopefully it’s all of his parts

01:27:35- my man 3PO in a box freaking dismembered and Lando out here flirting? 

01:28:30- what the hell? [its vader sitting at the head of the table] wait did Lando say a deal? as in turning in the princess? I--this is all happening so fast

01:28:41- [han and co. are now surrounded by boba fett and troopers] i bet they wished they’d stayed back in their rooms huh

01:30:31- oh so i’m assuming it was a stormtrooper who shot 3PO. what are they doing to han? omg is han being cooked alive?

01:31:33- wait I thought boba fett was a good guy? what the fvck.

01:32:05- what happened to han? mans looks traumatized 

01:32:34- oh leia...

01:34:14- i had also assumed all these years that vader was top boss and now i’m being told about some emperor guy? what 

01:35:18- i don’t understand why does boba fett want with han so bad? it can’t just be money, can it?

01:35:54- oh and another kiss and with an even bigger peanut gallery

01:38:22- what’s gonna happen to han now?

01:40:30- wait, is this where the showdown happens?

01:41:06- why is vader (his breathing) so loud?

01:41:10- OMG red vs. blue lightsaber

01:41:19- so this is it

01:42:01- oh, is lando helping them? does he feel guilty?

01:42:17- [chewie is currently choking the life out of lando] fuck yeah chewie

01:43:14- oh thank god R2 & 3PO have reunited once more

01:43:34- is it too late to save han now?

01:44:01- [back to the showdown, luke just lost his lightsaber] uh--this is why you never get too cocky too early, luke

01:44:27- [luke just flew?!] did he just fly like superman? what

01:44:31- who’s the emperor? I had assumed it was vader but i’m being told it isn’t?????

01:44:56- this showdown is a beautiful fight and those lightsabers are freaking cool 

01:46:15- it’s a beautiful dance and the Imperial March is giving me chills

01:46:32- [vader is throwing random objects at luke] aw that’s cheating. and nobody likes a cheater.

01:46:42- luke just flew out the window oh wait he good, now i think

01:47:12- hold up I just realized that they (han, chewie, leia) put 3PO in a fishnet bag (?) chewie really running around with 3PO like a backpack

01:47:49- [the citizens (?) are running] i’m getting titanic vibes and idk if i like it 

01:49:17- i hate to say it but these stormtroopers have really bad aim.

01:50:26- [vader just cut off luke’s hand] *shock* I-omg. He just did that. But, at the same time, I now understand the ERB Harry Potter v. Luke Skywalker so much more, make sense.

01:51:08- “father”? oh my...

01:51:17- “i am your father” oh my god. people this is not a drill, it happened, it happening uhh---

01:51:28- i feel so bad for luke. he looks like he’s about cry.

01:51:41- probs a bad time but luke’s kinda an ugly crier

01:52:14- [luke just fell & left vader standing] luke really said “i’d rather die”

01:54:04- wait, how does leia know where luke is? this some kind of force thing? maybe twin thing?

01:54:37- oh thank god they found luke

01:58:01- does vader care for luke? I mean probably not a lot since he DID chop off his sons own hand so idk

02:01:58- credits/the end

Final Thoughts? Wow. No yeah, I totally understand why Empire Strikes Back is a loved by all. It was amazing. I understand why it’s so talked about. This movie is beautiful; Leia/Han romance, 3PO and R2 banter, the good action. The soundtrack-THE SOUNDTRACK is SPECTACULAR and I would often fins myself rewinding scenes just to listen to the music. The visuals were so striking and appealing and it really showed during the showdown between luke and vader. 

Favorite Scene? Luke meeting Yoda and not knowing that Yoda was Yoda and every scene that included the Imperial March in the background.

If you have made it this far, thank you. I hope none of you people get tired of me fangirling over the Imperial March whilst simultaneously simping over Luke. Thank you for joining me on my adventure of watching Star Wars for the first time. If there’s any grammar mistakes I apologize. Also I got a cute R2 lego keychain from the lego store. Also if you want leave some comments I’m lowkey lonely. Thank you once again for joining me.

x bibi

[buddaimond]

Kristen Stewart is due at the Venice Film Festival tomorrow for the world premiere of “Seberg”, a political thriller inspired by true events and a movie that represents one of the boldest choices the erstwhile Bella Swan has increasingly made since she burst to worldwide stardom in the Twilight saga. Stewart has demonstrated an arthouse sensibility — even becoming the first American actress to win a César Award, France’s equivalent to the Oscar — showing range in a diverse array of films while not shying away from big studio fare either, with “Charlie’s Angels” coming in November. She is passionate about her work, gender equality and telling “confronting” stories. Stewart is also conscious of the reach and influence she has as a celebrity, particularly one who broke out in a global franchise. “Everything that I do, every conversation that I have, the way that I vote, the projects that I’m drawn to creatively… It would be impossible to go to bed without being really clear and open and honest in these times,” she tells me below. Seberg (which previously went by the title Against All Enemies and is directed by Benedict Andrews) plays into that. The film is centered on Jean Seberg, the titular Breathless pixie, an American actress who spent half her life in France. In the late 1960s, she was targeted by Hoover’s illegal FBI surveillance program COINTELPRO. Because of her political and romantic involvement with civil rights activist Hakim Jamal (played by Anthony Mackie in the film), she was also a target of the FBI’s attempts to disrupt, discredit and expose the Black Power movement. Seberg died at the age of 40 in what was deemed a probable suicide. That was 40 years ago tomorrow. Of the film’s resonance to today, Stewart says, “I mean, this is America and a bunch of dudes in power are never going to be cool with you taking it away.” Bearing a striking physical resemblance to Seberg in the Amazon Studios presentation, Stewart has more in common with the actress than a great haircut. DEADLINE: In some of the acting choices you’ve made in the past few years, there seems to be more of a European sensibility than where you started out. Was it a deliberate choice to go in that direction?

KRISTEN STEWART: Well I started acting when I was really young and I definitely never got any commercial jobs (laughs). As a little kid, the first few things you audition for are commercial work or TV work or parts for children which tend to obviously be a little less complex. I was seriously, like, thrown out of every “cute girl” audition that I ever went to. At that time, there was no way for me to be aware of my sort of ultimate trajectory. But it makes total sense. I was always a very sort of over-serious thoughtful kid. I was definitely not afraid to tell confronting stories and was much more interested in that.

DEADLINE: You worked with Jodie Foster early in your career, how influential has that meeting been later on?

STEWART: I think I grew up with this default admiration because of her, because I always felt a kinship with her. I sort of consistently used her as an example of something to strive for, so that detail was always very attractive. You know, there’s just something classically more existential and realistic in terms of what it feels like to actually live a life and have a brain and live amongst people that might have different ones rather than telling these compact perfect stories. I was always into that. But (working with Foster) was like the coincidence that luckily put me in a few correct places. I definitely kind of aggrandized that whole world before I even knew about it.

DEADLINE: When I first moved to France 26 years ago, I worked at the International Herald Tribune and that famous photo of Jean Seberg from Breathless was a source of pride for us. But I was surprised how little I knew about her life and the circumstances this film reveals. What did you learn about her?

STEWART: I really only knew her as the Herald Tribune girl as well. I hadn’t seen anything other than Breathless. I knew the dégueulasse moment (at the end of that film). I always found her to be iconically cool. I thought it was rad that this actress had been ingratiated into this culture that I also am really interested in, but I really never went into it any further than that. I read the script and was really shocked, I had no idea about the story about her sort of tragic end. I was interested in the complexity of her life, but I only knew her as an image before.

DEADLINE: Beyond being an American actress who has found success in France, were there any other aspects of Jean that you identify with?

STEWART: I think Jean was really committed to telling not the most commercial stories, it was why she was attracted to the people she was attracted to creatively. It was why she was drawn to the causes that she was as well — they weren’t digestible in the country that she was living in, they weren’t something that people wanted to hear both creatively and politically. So I think it makes total sense that she found a more sort of welcome home in France.

DEADLINE: Jean was also a very strong woman, but one who had a tragic end. How would she fare in today’s Hollywood?

STEWART: We’re living in such a polarized time I think, that luckily there are fewer — I mean I can’t justify this because there are some people functioning in order to preserve their careers and not necessarily reflective of how they feel as a human in a compassionate sense or in a political sense — but I do think that people are less afraid in a way because it’s just so pertinent right now. Not that it wasn’t then. We were just out of the 50s; there was more of a cookie-cutter conformist mentality especially in the States and especially for someone who wants to maintain their success. But I think now, I don’t know, Jean currently would probably have more of a crew to substantiate these ideas. I think that now the political climate doesn’t leave much room for middle ground, so I’d like to say she would fare better. I would like to think there wouldn’t be a f***ing oppressive conglomerate out there to destroy her life. But at the same time, that’s absolutely the world that we’re living in. I think it would depend on what she was getting mixed in with. Cautiously optimistically, I would like to say it would be better. But at the same time, the reason it would be is really jarring right now because I think we all feel like there is probably someone over our shoulders ready to take us down if we say the wrong thing.

DEADLINE: There are indeed parallels to today. Sort of a meet the new boss, same as the old boss?

STEWART: I think this oppressive energy is so ironically the foundation of our politics now. I mean, what was happening then is happening now and it’s gonna continue to happen. I mean, this is America and a bunch of dudes in power are never going to be cool with you taking it away — I don’t think they really care who they bowl over to maintain that.

DEADLINE: How important do you think it is today, and in a position like the one you occupy, to take a stance and speak out and use that celebrity to get a message across?

STEWART: I feel quite strongly. Everything that I do, every conversation that I have, the way that I vote, the projects that I’m drawn to creatively — I think that I wear my feelings and my stance and my politics. I think that some people are really inclined to stand on soap boxes and I think that they should, and some people are more inclined to do it quietly, but with intention and wield your power in different ways. But, yeah, I think it’s absolutely essential that you represent yourself, knowing your influence and the reach that you have. I think that it would be impossible to go to bed without being really clear and open and honest in these times.

DEADLINE: There was a perception about Jean that audiences wanted “the girl in the t-shirt.” As someone who was so closely identified with a role early in your career, do you feel like you’ve shed that connection? Would you want to?

STEWART: I don’t think it’s going anywhere. I think every step I’ve taken to this spot on the now I can say I feel lucky that some of the footprints are gouged out, I’m proud of that. I’m cool with that. I think the whole Twilight thing is pretty entrenched, which is funny and kind of crazy for me to think about now because it has been a really long time. I remember it like it was yesterday and at the same time it was another life. So it’s funny to have it consistently be the foundation of who I am in a cultural sense. But in a literal one, I couldn’t be further from it. But I’m down with it. It’s so trippy. I’m so proud to be part of it, I like the crew. I look at it really fondly and endearingly and silly, sort of like opening a sophomore yearbook, like, “OMG! Wow!”

DEADLINE: You were on the jury in Cannes in 2018, which was a pivotal year there in the fight for gender parity. What that was like?

STEWART: It was such a good year for me to be there. I’ve attended the festival a couple times with films and, oh man, I don’t know, it digs up feelings that I hold in such reverence and ones that not everybody does, quite rightfully, because that would be strange — the world is a lot more than just movies. But being there the year that it became really undeniable and really buzzy and fervently activated in terms of being a woman, I’m so lucky to have been there in that energy. Cate (Blanchett) was the president of the jury, and honestly I think that if we had to represent the earth and send one of ours out to an alien race and be like “Hey, this is us,” I think it would be Cate. So I was just so completely activated that whole time, I went home so inspired and turned on. My on switch was just slammed, so it was wonderful.

DEADLINE: Venice is getting some heat for a lack of female directors in competition. Would you sit on a jury here?

STEWART: Obviously I am a huge proponent of having more women and making films that are accepted… I guess if they asked me to be on the jury in Venice, it would be a step in the right direction. Sometimes if you act selfishly, your intentions and your politics sort of are in tow, so selfishly I would want to do that because I have everything to learn from that experience — and I think it makes a really solid statement.

Source

[kbrock9146]

THIS IS A LONG, LONG STORY. PLEASE READ TO THE END TO UNDERSTAND THE MAGNITUDE OF WHAT HAPPENED. But it is a longgggggggg story.

Ok. Buckle up folks. Here comes some crazy content for you to enjoy during Quarantine. Shout out to @gothicmagpie for letting me know that they were interested. ❤❤❤ Here we go, it's going to be a bumpy ride, and a long story (and yes, I will answer any and all questions afterwards, no worries about offending me or anything).

First things first, here is a picture of my maternal grandparents (featuring the grandmother in question):

I do not know the date of the above picture, but my GF was born in 1895, and my GM, 1898. They were in their late 40s, early 50s in the above picture. That, I do know. My mother was born in 1941, when my GM was 42, and my GF was 45, and this picture was taken sometime after she had been born.

With me so far? Okay, good. So those wonderful people above, they are both on their second marriage by the time of that pic. My GF's first wife died in childbirth, and my GM's first husband had been killed in the coal yard he worked at when a dump truck full of coal backed up and unloaded the coal on top of him. My GF and GM were both single parents in the early 1900s - they were both struggling, and going through a multitude of situations - INCLUDING GOING TO THE MOTHER FUCKING POPE (YES, POPE!) SO THAT THEY COULD GET PERMISSION TO GET MARRIED (the reason for that is another story for ANOTHER time).

Anyhow, they get married, blend their children into one household, have three or four more, for a total of seven, my mom being the youngest. My GF dies in 1962 from damage he took at the Battle of the Argonne during World Word One (he dry-drowned in his sleep). This leaves my GM windowed, and she remains this way until her death.

**as an aside, my GF died right before my mom was to get married to my dad (she was 21, and dad 22, at the time); when my dad came over to stay with my mom's family for the funeral, my deceased GF came to my dad with a message, so this is something that just apparently happens in my family - of course, I knew none of this when I saw my GM decades later**

From my first meeting with my GM, and until her death, she looked pretty much exactly as she does in the pic above. The only thing that really changed was that after she broke her hip for the 2nd time, she was pretty much confined to a wheelchair until she died. But kindly, smiling, gentle, and always wearing basically a mumu, that was my GM until she passed away November 2nd, 1990.

That year, on November 14th, I turned 10. My birthday that year was a bit strained. My dad wasn't exactly phased by what had happened, and while my mom wasn't exactly in pieces over it - my GM had been very sick in her last years and in a nursing home - she was sad, and was trying her best to run a family while dealing with the loss. The situation was made even worse when the wife of her oldest brother (he was 30 when she was born), called and berated and shamed my mom for not coughing up more money for the funeral and burial. My mom was EXTREMELY upset. Out of her other six siblings, she was the only one with a child under 25 at that time (remember, I was 10), and money wasn't exactly free flowing. My mom was a stay-at-home mom, my dad was a Baltimore City Police Officer, and I was going to private school. We weren't rich. And my mom's sister-in-law knew this, she just didn't care. She kept calling and harassing my mom to the point of tears. My mom was miserable; she was being driven to the point of shame and madness and didn't know what to do.

That brings us to the day of the visit. I don't remember why, but I was home alone. It was late in the day, and the sun was setting. I know this because the bedrooms of my house are on the west side, and they warm up nicely as the sun goes down. Out of the three bedrooms, I found myself in the middle one that day. The back room was mine, the middle my mom's, and the front/master bedroom was my dad's. I was not allowed into his room, but the middle room had a door that was shared with the master bedroom. That door was open and there was a noise coming from the bedroom, like someone walking around. I sat at the desk, looking towards the noise and the door, and just waited.

I can't say that I was scared exactly, but I was certainly curious. I cleared my throat, closed up the desk, and swiveled in the chair so that I was looking straight at that shared door. The movement continued, but there was no shadow being cast. I grew kind of bored just waiting, so I remember looking away out of the main bedroom door and then looking back.....

When I looked back, there stood my GM in the shared doorway. She was standing there, unaided, no wheelchair, but still rocking a mumu like a champ, and as solid as any living person. I remember her looking bemused and smiling at me before she said, "Hello."; I was more confused than anything at this point, so I mumbled some sort of greeting, and stood up to walk over towards her. I don't know why that was my first thought, but it was. Anyway, as I was walking over, I could hear that someome else was moving around in the room behind her as well, although I couldn't see who it was at that point.

Before I could get any closer, my GM said that she was here because she wanted to see my mom, and asked if I could go get her. I told her that my mom was out, and her smile faltered for a brief moment before she refocused onto me and asked if I could promise to relay a message. I told her of course I could, and waited for what she had to say. She glanced behind her and into the room for a moment, towards where the noise was coming from, and then looked back at me. She began to tell me that she was happy, and that it was VERY important for me to tell my mom that she was happy. Other things were said, like not to worry about what John's wife was saying in regards to the funeral and burial, she missed us, and a few other things that I honestly can't remember. At the end, noise was still being made in the room behind her, and she could see that I was not really paying attention to her (can you imagine the hubris of not paying attention to a dead relative that has come back with a message from beyond because you're concerned about the noises coming from another room?!?!?! My life has been wild.), so she called the person over who had apparently been making all the noise, and introduced him to me.

So now I have two very solid, very elderly-looking deceased people in my house. And this man, keep in mind I've had three grandfather's, this man is someone I have NEVER seen in my life, but my GM is just TICKLED with this guy. She introduces me to him, and he has the HUGEST smile I have ever seen a person have, and he nods his head in my direction, then looks back at my GM, and reaches out to hold her hand.

From this point on I do not remember any words that were said because I was laser focused on trying to figure out WHO this guy was. When I say in the above paragraph that my GM "introduced" me to him, she did, but the name was literally foreign, and having never heard this man's name before, I couldn't clearly make it out. The only thing I knew at the time was that this guy was NOT either of my grandfather's, I had NEVER seen him before, and this is going to sound crazy (oh, yeah, okay Kim, *THIS* is going to sound crazy.... *THIS* part coming up is going to sound "crazy"..... ok, Kim), but he just *looked* Italian. I didn't recognize his name or his face, but looking at him, I just remember thinking that this dude was Italian. And that made me really, really confused because my mom's side of the family and my dad's side of the family both came over together from Germany - they settled on the same street, for goodness sakes, so I had NO IDEA where this Italian guy came from. But I could tell that they made each other really happy in whatever afterlife they were in.

Then my mind started wandering even more because I was thinking to myself that if my GM and this random dude are having a blast in the afterlife, where are my grandfathers? Who are they with? What does this mean? Are there soul mates? When is my mom comimg home? What's going to happen when I die? WHO IS THIS GUY? Why are they in my dad's room? Why is anyone thinking this is okay to lay on a 10 year old? But for real, WHO IS THIS GUY? Does he speak? Why hasn't he spoken? What is going on?

About this time is when either my GM could tell that I was about done, or she herself had done all she could in this plane of existence, because I remember her saying, "Now, you'll tell her won't you?" And I let out a humourless laugh because we all knew that at that point in my mom's life, she didn't believe in ghosts or anything paranormal. So, I kinda laughed, and glanced away and said, "I'll remember, but she's not going to believe me." As I glanced back, they were gone, and the house was silent.

Many weeks went by and I said nothing. My dad, who was very "sensitive" to that sort of thing, and had had supernatural experiences, I avoided telling him because he would have thought I was lying and hit me. He didn't like being bothered with stuff. And my mom, well, she didn't believe in the supernatural, so even though she would have listened to me and let me get the whole story out, she wouldn't have believed a word of it. So for weeks and weeks I kept this story to myself and said nothing. Not saying anything was driving me crazy, especially because I wanted to know who the guy was that had been with my GM.

It was just my mom and myself one night at dinner. And that night my mom broke down over being harrassed about the funeral/burial by her sister in law. After we had finished eating, I took a deep breath and asked my mom if we could talk. She said sure, so I gingerly brought up her mom. I could tell that it wasn't a conversation she really wanted to have, so I just jumped right to the heart of the matter......

"Mom? GM was married twice, right?"

"Yes. I told you about that."

"I know. I was just making sure."

My mom looked at me strangely, "Why would you want to 'make sure', about something like that? What even brought this up?"

Not really knowing what to do at this point, I just jumped in with both feet and started telling her the story of my GM's visit. As predicted, my mom looked thoroughly unimpressed with what I was saying.... that is, until I mentioned the Italian guy.

My mom was an olive skinned woman, but when I mentioned the Italian guy, she turned white as a sheet. She asked me to repeat myself, and then, without a word, my mom got up and left the kitchen. I heard her climb into the attic, and there she stayed for quite some time. She had been gone so long, I was starting to doubt that she was coming back, and I got scared that I had said something that upset her so badly, that she had locked herself in the attic. Just as the situation crescendoed, and I was going over how I was going to explain everything to my dad when he got home and wanted to know why my mom was barricaded in the attic, my mom returned to the kitchen, out of breath, with a very huge, very old book, that she triumphantly thumped down on the table, hard.

With a flourish, she flipped open the book reveal two tin-types. One was a young woman, fashionably dressed, and posing as per the norms at the time. My mother asked, "Do you know who that is?"

I squinted a little harder at the picture. It was my GM. Young. I had never seen her young before. Was that a fox she had around her neck? She was dressed to the NINES. As I sat admiring the tin-type of my GM, I happened to glance over at the other side of the book, at the second tin-type.

This one was a bit different.

This one was a fashionably dressed young man.

THE man.

The man that had appeared all those weeks ago with my GM.

I looked up at mom. She was looking at me expectantly. "Is that him?", she asked. I nodded. It was. Much younger, but the eyes, the nose.... very much the same.

"Who is this?" I asked. My mom started to explain to me as she bade me to continue looking through the book. Before my GF, before my GM's first husband, there was this gentleman, my GM's Italian lover.

The book was full of letters, mementos, fabric, flowers, pictures, just about anything that they had sent back and forth to each other. My GM not only spoke German and English, but Italian too! Their handwritten letters were intermingled with the keepsakes within this book.

No one else in the family knew about my GM's Italian lover. The only reason my mom knew is because as my GM's caretaker towards the end, she had found this and asked her mom about it. Apparently my GM and this Italian gentleman had been together for a very long time. Something happened that forced him to return to Italy - I'm not sure of it was Visa related, or if someone had taken ill - but he had asked my GM to come to Italy with him, and she had declined.

Throughout the book, there were more letters from him after he had gone back to Italy, wherein he was trying to figure out different ways for my GM and him to be together, but eventually the letters stopped (probably because my GM refused to go to Italy). Shortly thereafter, my GM married her first husband, a fellow German by the name of Walter. And the rest is, as they say, history.

So, what did I learn from all this? I learned that once you die, you don't necessarily end up with who you were with while you were alive; you can make house calls to your grandchildren and leave messages for your own, grown children. And being on a different plane of existence will not stop a person from throwing shade when it's justified because the living are acting a fool.

Ah, the mysteries of the supernatural.

[jamiebluewind]

Character Descriptions for Fantasy High 2.9!

***

As always, let me know if I need to edit or add anything and tag/ask/PM me about art and stories so I can check them out!

Warning: trauma, abuse, mental abuse, neglect, starvation, manipulation, memory loss mention, dark themes, isolation, imprisonment, fantasy racism, vomit mention (please let me know if I missed any)

All pronounciations typed out have a rolled R.

***

Facts

The party is currently at 44,100 exp. each. Next level is at 48,000 (which will probably take 3 more big battles, 2 if Brennan is super generous with RP awards).

Abernant family had all their land and wealth reclaimed by The Court of Stars for their treachery and failure to prevent a war with Solace. Elianwyn committed treason and betrayal as well.

To save Adaine, the group decided to break up into 3 teams: Pylon 1 (Ragh, Tracker, Cathilda, and Sandra Lynn), Pylon 2 (Gorgug, Fabian, and Riz), and Recovery (Ayda, Fig, and Kristen). Team 1 and 2 would simultaneously take out the pylons. Then, the recovery team would go in (invisible and/or disguised) and gets Adaine and Aelwyn. They would all meet back at Van where they would most likely use Ayda's teleport to leave Fallinel (or regroup to plan their next move).

***

New Characters

Tell-ah-mine Low-men-el-da

Fabian's grandpapa

Tall elf with regal green robes, a silver circlet, long platinum white blond hair with a widows peak, and shimmering blue eyes

Crinkle in the corners of his eyes shows his age in sort of an Elrond way. He look of a dude in his late 40s/early 50s who took excellent care of his body and kept it tight

Moves with supernatural grace

Can turn into silver sand and float away

Has no concept of what time means

Obsessed with the fact that his grandson will die before him (Your human blood has brought mortality to this family. You will one day die.)

Offers to send word to an elf who is a fabled eye smith who lives on the high mountains at the heart of Fallinel that can craft a working eye (from songs, whispers, beams of moonlight, jeweled edges of the blue of the sea, and shimmering poems pulled from the ether itself) for Fabian, but has no clue how long it will take (a moment, a year, or a hundred years).

Can't pronounce words in common very well, especially words he's never heard before (which delights Fabian and pisses off Gorgug)

Calls Fabian Aramais Seacaster fa-bee-ahn ah-rye-ah-my-ess Seacaster (which might actually be the proper pronouncations of his name in that region as "Seacaster" was said correctly and that's how all the other elves say his name as well) and calls Hallariel ha-lair-ee-el

Weeps without moving his face, but also sometimes makes a soft eeehhhh sound when he cries (at one point he cried over a drop of water)

Gifted stewardship of Khy-low Meh-new-rah 3000 years ago after he crafted The Sword of the North Star (he was the smith of fung-dran-ghoor) for the ancient king of Fallinel Th-wrist-win Eversong.

"Without the Elven Oracle, we are lost."

Saw the Abernants as power hungry and cruel and can't understand why they would leave Fallinel. He found Anguin in particular to be a crass and small man with no nobility, only a thirst for power.

Thinks Riz has a harsh energy, is "a little dick", and calls him "a strange green mouse thing"

Got physically ill when a gun was explained to him, calling it gross and some dwarven kind of thing before vomiting which he turns into a flock of white crows

Vhan-lair-ee-el

Fabian's aunt

Tried to heal Fabian's pneumonia with elvan singing

Said "I have failed" when her singing doesn't work before she fades into starlight and vanishes

Hal-door-in and [unnamed youth]

Elven teens in white linen shorts arguing because [unnamed] believes Hal-door-in took his lute.

Calmed by a distant song which stopped their fight.

Faf-threth-riel

Lithe elven youth (around 17 or 18 years old) with a blond mop of hair covering one eye

Bakes elven whey bread

Lived a sheltered life

Ragh was the first half-orc he met

Mostly into Ragh due to Ragh being half orc, excessively talking about his green skin (like the boughs of a tree leafy, my leafy man), being big and beefy (your legs are like the mighty trunks of trees), was really into rage (like when Ragh punched a seat cushion) to the point of it making Ragh uncomfortable

Sang in bed

Treth-thren-ren

Elven youth who does morning dance yoga

Tried to get Fabian to eat a grape

Oak Warriors

Elemental plant based automaton soldiers made of pure magic

Look like 8 foot tall green men with leaves coming from their faces

***

Changes to Established Characters

Aelwyn

Matted long blond hair

Dry skin, chapped colorless lips, and thick bags under her eyes

Severely dehydrated and trance deprived (probably hasn't been allowed to trance for nearly a year)

5 points of exhaustion. Only magic is keeping her from going to the 6th level and dying.

Her "room" is a large large beautiful elven chamber with silver and marble. Ambiant light glows from the white stone.

Trapped inside a 15 foot diameter orb that's constantly turning so she can't trance

Crawling on hands and knees while trapped, shaking with the effort

Doesn't give Adaine up to Kear

Can still remember how to cast the message cantrip

Feels strange and addled (unable to think clearly; confused), can't remember what's real or imagined anymore, doesn't clearly remember what happened in her past (including what she did to get imprisoned), and forgets what she and Adaine have already talked about (causing a lot of reputation).

Thinks her parents "tried their best they could" and that "they expected quite a lot of us, but isn't that what- doesn't that... didn't that make us great?" (possibly due to something her father said or did since her imprisonment as it echoes a few things he's said)

Gilear

Looks scruffy (from not shaving), dirty, and has pit stains

Somehow didn't mess up being diplomatic with Fabian's grandpapa

Unbuttons the top button on his shirt when he "lets loose"

To Fig about Sandra Lynn and Garthy: Are you aware of such... hanky panky?

Learning of Sandra Lynn's infidelity with Garthy "Honestly? Perhaps this is... fucked up. It makes me feel... like there wasn't something uniquely wrong with me. Maybe a tiny little w for Gilear."

Spent the night walking through the forest with Hallariel's father, reciting poetry (badly)

To Fabian after Hallariel's father threw up "You're low and he's low. It's Gilear's day baby! It's Gilear's day."

Tried to ask Hallariel's father for her hand, but even though Fig gave him bardic inspiration and Riz helped by covering Fabian's mouth, he failed... so much. ("Lord Tell-ah-mine of Khy-low Meh-new-rah I like you am-" *makes himself throw up* "We get it. We both get it. We... We're the throw up boys." *passes out*)

Ayda

Hid in the van the entire visit

Might have rejection sensitive dysphoria (which is common in those with autism or ADHD)

Did a sending spell to Zelda for Gorgug for 150 gold (after reminding him that she very much does not like anyone in her debt or visa versa)

Offered to exact vengeance on Zelda for Gorgug

Is powerful enough to know teleport and learn plane shift (so level 13 or higher)

Stated that Adaine is her best friend and decides that since Fig is also Adaine's best friend, by the transitive property she is best friends with Fig as well (and Fig agreed). Learning this, she says "Fantastic. I grow richer by the day. I'm emotional." before starting to cry fire "I'm emotional. I'm gonna fly away." She then flew away, returning after she had calmed down.

Ragh

Ate grapes and started burping musical notes after he left Khy-low Meh-new-rah.

Lost his virginity to Faf-threth-riel who then got creepy and kinda racist, making Ragh very uncomfortable (and want to get out of there asap)

Fabian

Lost both points of exhaustion thanks to the 8000 thread count elven sheets (did they get to keep the sheets or at least one sheet for help with exhaustion?)

Felt really good when he tried out dance yoga, even wondering if he should be some kind of yoga dancer instead of a fighter (how about a whirling dervish dancer like Cathilda?)

The grapes he put in his pocket (after refusing to eat them) turned into song

Indifferent towards saving Aelwyn and doesn't want to be on the retrieval team

When he started feeling anxious about the Aelwyn stuff, Riz told him to lose himself in dancing again to feel free (Riz: You are the only one that I wanna see dancing right now.) It made him feel much better.

***

Other Characters

Adaine

Taken by Court of Stars

Her jacket and spellbook were taken

Trapped in an orb which is soft and doesn't hurt her, but the constant movement of its slow turning doesn't allow her to be still or trance

The walls of her room glow with runes and there are many perminant magical effects, making her captors capable of some crazy things (like prepared directional counter spells), but the setup wouldn't counter cantrips

Escaped the orb with dispel magic (dc 15) which makes a couple counter spells go off and an alarm sound

Hid in Aelwyn's room. The sister's spoke before she was recaptured and placed back in her orb. Adaine told Aelwyn that she was going to get her out

Discovered that her room was close enough to Aelwyn to talk to her via the message cantrip

Repeatedly cast Ray of Frost to turn her orb into a slip and slide to stay entertained

Instead of speaking to her father in elvish, she responded in common. Also cast Tasha's Hideous Laughter on him.

Anguin and Kear said she would be executed for treason for staying in Solace and refusing to cooperate. She demanded a lawyer and then the Ambassador to Solace, citing her age and being a student at Augefort Adventuring Academy which summoned a recorded hologram of Arthur Augefort.

Arthur Augefort

Has a recorded hologram that is activated when a student claims the need of his diplomatic help in foreign affairs.

It threatens the listeners with graphic and terrifying violence and doom, giving them the options of either rectify the actions that summoned him (Yes) or refuse and welcome the aforementioned punishment for their actions (No).

Gorgug

Fabian's grandfather called him Jhor-judge

Finally got a message to Zelda via Ayda using her sending spell (Zelda. Safe in Fallinel. Gonna finish cell tower soon. Sorry about everything, but hope your break is going well in spite of this. Miss you.) and got a reply the next morning a little while after waking up (Sorry. Was at a party. You don't have to build a cell tower. That's crazy. It's all whatever Gorgug. I don't blame you.)

Didn't sleep well, but still got the benefit of a full night's sleep due to elven sheets.

Kristen

Got in a fight with Tracker and then got 3 nat 1s on persuasion checks when she tried to make up with her.

Slept in Adaine's room

Doesn't know how to make a cell tower

Took one of the 40 to 50 foot long diaphanous silk scarves with her

Gave (inspiring?) speech ending with "Friendship is thinker than water and we need water to live." which gave everyone 11 temp hit points

Accidentally called Pok a "smiling elf" and then blew it off as being due to her being human

Can now see Shadow Cat in the picture (along with Tracker, Sandra Lynn, Garthy, Riz, and Sklonda and possibly the dead cambian, Pok, Jace, and Adaine's mom) and reacted by saying "Was I spooning the cat all night in the milk!?"

Sandra Lynn

Dropped out senior year and got her diploma after the fact to join an adventuring party

Joined as a replacement member for an existing adventuring party that was already active in the world and included an older much more powerful married couple.

Fresh out of high school, fell in love with one person from the couple (nonbinary or gender intentionally hidden) who "did not treat her very kindly"

When it all came out, she was ejected from the adventuring party, her romantic partner took great pains to smear her name (so no one would accept her), no other party would take her as a replacement, and she was forced to become a Celesian Ranger

Gilear knows who the couple were, but doesn't want to tell Fig (could she know the people involved?)

Key-heir/Khear

Child-like elven maiden with long brown braided hair, a white gown, and a large staff.

When confronted by Arthur Augefort's hologram, she chose to not heed his warnings.

***

More from 2.9!

***

Previous

[agl03]

Do you think s7 is going to be in the past past like 60’s and stuff or like the history of the show (s1-s6)? Considering the new Digital Spy article with Chloe, who do you hope or think may show up? We know sadly not Bobbi so maybe they aren’t going anywhere near s2 or 3

Hi Anon!

Thanks for the heads up on the article!"I can say we are back in time, so we have to get… the whole goal is to get back to where we were," Bennet told Digital Spy."So that means travelling through a bunch of different time periods and who knows who we see on the way back, if we even get back. It's actually one of the most… season 4 and season 7 are definitely my favourite seasons of SHIELD.

So that clue makes it sound like they will have to undo some damage that has already been done as well as stopping new events from being changed.  I also feel that we are going to get a nice mix of time travel in the larger context of Shield history but there are some events with the team that are so tied to Shield’s survival I feel like its impossible not to revisit them.  

Those that follow me also know that I feel like in about 8 we’ll stop with Time Travel Fun Times as the story shifts to stopping the biggest bad and wrapping things up.

What I think is the first Baddie Chronicom, Luke, stops showing up in IMDB in 6 so something big goes down there and we could see the newer bad emerging....or something major happens to the timeline.

Yes, sadly Adrienne confirmed at a con we won’t be seeing Bobbi but others on my radar:

Sousa:  We know Enver is in the mix in a big way because he got a wrap gift (thanks again Ming).  Those don’t go to one and done kinds of guest stars.  So this gives a wider window to pull him in but I”d say look late 40′s early 50′s for him.

General Stoner:  Patrick Warburton said at a con or in an article he’d reprised his role for Season 7 opening up the 60′s/70′s.

Koenig:  We know Patton returned in the Premiere but it would be a fun running gag if they kept running into different versions of him as they traveled through time.  Just putting it out there that I’d LOVE to see LT again.  

Ward:  Adapt or Die just screams Ward to me and the team possibly revisiting the events surrounding the fall.  And honestly Brett is the king of comebacks so I don’t know how they don’t bring him back one last time. Story wise can you imagine how hard it would be for them to allow those events to happen again.  Hand to Die, Fitzsimmons to be dropped into the ocean, stopping Ward from a cascade of other events....It would test a lot of them.  I also wouldn’t rule out maybe a younger Garrett somehow, I know they wanted to bring Bill back in the Framework but his surgery interfered.  The events around the fall also open it up for Trip to return again.

Robbie/Ghost Rider:  It would have been smart to bring Robbie back ahead of his Hulu show as a refresher and even though its not moving forward it doesn’t mean he’s out.  The Darkhold is one of those things I can absolutely see coming onto the chronicoms radar.  And along with Robbie it could open up Mace, Radciffe, and AIDA to return.  If its not the Darkhold then I can see LMD’s being the target.

Flint:  They need to wrap his story up.

B Squad:  Max was on set near the end of the Season so we could get one last goodbye with him while Brianna is on the cast list for the finale in IMDB. 

Cal/Jaiying:  I don’t know how deep into Inhumans but if Daisy has a punch to the gut episode/temptation coming it will in the form of her parents...or Lincoln.  If Lincoln is back I think it will be to give Daisy final closure and we’ll see her ready to move on Romantically after.

Hunter: Just because Bobbi is out doesn’t mean our favorite mercenary does’t pop up somehow. 

Talbot:  He was in and out for 5 Seasons so I can see them dropping him in at any point really either as himself or Graviton.  Though if the Chronicoms want earth for their own they won’t want Graviton blowing it up making me lean more to our favorite cranky general returning one last time.

Whitehall/Bakshi:  Whitehall was a fixture with Hydra for so many years he makes himself a large target. 

I think I’ll get a better feel for where they are going once we see how the Chronicoms are picking their targets.  In the premiere it was about stopping Hydra but does that continue is wait and see.  I do think at some point the Chronicoms will go after the team, especially Coulson, Daisy, or even the hidden Fitz.

As always with characters returning it has to make sense for the story.  They won’t throw someone in there just for fan service.  The other huge factor would have been availability.  IE they wanted someone but couldn’t get them due to scheduling conflicts.  

[fandomshatelgbtqpeople]

On JK Rowling, Dumbledore, lycanthropy, and cultural context

I want to address an idea I’ve been seeing pop up a lot recently, which is that JK Rowling added Dumbledore being gay and lycanthropy being a metaphor for AIDS years later in order to seem progressive, and I’ve put a lot of time into thinking about why these claims bother me (since I’m definitely not mad on Jo’s behalf because she’s been dead to me since 2016), and I think it really comes down to this. These claims are based entirely off of how things are today and show a fundamental disregard for the cultural context at the time that’s concerning and feels dismissive to the people who lived through it. Basically, it goes hand in hand with the lack of knowledge and sometimes intentional rewriting of our community’s history that’s so prominent on this site.

Note that I am not arguing that Dumbledore is good rep or that the lycanthropy-HIV metaphor was well executed (or even a good idea in the first place). I just wish people would stop treating these things like JK Rowling said them yesterday as opposed to 12 years ago.

1. Dumbledore being gay 

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows came out in July 2007 and Jo first publicly said Dumbledore was gay and in love with Grindelwald in October 2007, so the idea that she added it years later is just factually untrue. It came out three months after the release of the final book. 

Let’s take a look at public attitude towards queer people in 2007. I’ll preface this by saying that I’m American, so I’ve done my best to find data on the UK, but most of my info is from the US.

In 2007, in the US, Gallup reported that only 59% of adults surveyed believed consensual sex between two people of the same gender should be legal, that 46% of adults believed that same-sex marriage should be legal and come with all the same rights are marriage between a man and a woman, and that 50% of adults favored a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman. Despite all that, only 22% of surveyed adults answered that they thought gays and lesbians (the language in the poll) should be more accepted in the US and 27% of adults thought gays and lesbians should be less accepted. Jumping back to 2005, 43% of respondents didn’t think gay people should be hired as elementary school teachers and 36% didn’t think we should be hired as high school teachers. I mention these numbers specifically because they’re relevant to Dumbledore. 

On the legal side of things, there were enforceable sodomy laws on the books in 13 states until 2003, four years before Deathly Hallows came out and Jo announced that Dumbledore was gay. In 2004, the fact that Kerry was in favor of same-sex marriage was considered a significant liability in his presidential campaign because even a lot of democrats still didn’t support it. In October, 2007 when Jo did that interview, same-sex marriage was legal only in Massachusetts, civil unions were legal in four states, and domestic partnerships were legal in three states. Meanwhile, twenty-five states had constitutional bans on same-sex marriage and twelve of those states also had constitutional bans on other rights, such as civil unions and domestic partnerships or extensions of employment benefits to same-sex partners.  

In the UK in 2007, just under 40% of adults believed that same-sex relationships were morally okay, 17% strongly agreed that same-sex marriage should be legal, and just under 45% believed that a same-sex couple could raise a child as well as a man and a woman. A 2005 Gallup poll found that, 38% of Brits believed homosexuality should be more widely accepted, 15% thought it should be less widely accepted, and 44% thought the currently level of acceptance was about right. 

On a more personal note, my high school hired its first openly gay teacher in 2008, and the fact that he was gay was considered pretty scandalous among the student body. We had a gay band instructor, but he only ever referred to his partner as his roommate. When we did debates in social studies classes, same-sex marriage was always one of the issues we had to debate over. Of the eleven people I went to high school with whom I now know are queer, only three of them were out in high school. That’s how uncommon it was at the time to come out before you were relatively independent. 

So this idea that announcing that a prominent character who was a headmaster at a school and had a close relationship to the teenage boy main character in a wildly popular children’s book series was gay would have been a popular move in 2007 is pretty laughable to anyone old enough to remember what 2007 was actually like. No one was using support for queer people just to bolster their public image unless their product was specifically marketed towards queer people, because the general wisdom at the time was that it would hurt them too badly with straight audiences. In fact, if memory serves, the queer fandom’s reaction to Dumbledore was initially pretty positive because it was more than we ever thought we were going to get. I didn’t start seeing people talk about how it wasn’t enough or about how the entire plot line was homophobic until maybe 2012.

You can’t use today’s context to interpret why someone made a decision in 2007 because it’s difficult to overstate how different things are now. The only reason to want to look pro-gay in 2007 was if you genuinely thought it was the right thing to do.

2. Lycanthropy and HIV

I was genuinely surprised when this caused a stir when JK Rowling tweeted (?) about it in 2016 because I was pretty sure she’d talked about lycanthropy being a metaphor for HIV years ago. It turns out I was right. She discussed it during the copyright trial she was involved in in 2008 (you can find it here, on pages 72-73). So it didn’t come out until nine years after Prisoner of Azkaban and three years after Half-Blood Prince (when Fenrir Greyback was introduced), but it’s not something she first mentioned on twitter in between tweets about how she meant for Nagini to be a Korean woman in 1989. It was before she was shooting off her mouth about ridiculous stuff every other day.

Regardless, I can understand why that would feel like her pulling something out of left field today because HIV doesn’t get talked about as much, but you have to remember that these books were written in the 90s at the height of the AIDS crisis. It’s difficult to imagine how much that permeated our culture if you didn’t experience it, even for someone like me who was in elementary school in a white suburban area and, as far as I’m aware, didn’t know anyone who was HIV+. My school had a how-not-to-get-AIDS assembly every year.  They probably showed us every movie in existence about kids with HIV. After-school TV shows did special episodes about how you shouldn’t be “blood brothers” with your friends because of AIDS. 

So when my friends and I were reading Prisoner of Azkaban as middle schoolers in the early 2000s, those memories were still fresh in our heads. We didn’t need to be told lycanthropy was supposed to be a metaphor for HIV because it had just been a huge issue five years ago and we knew enough about HIV and how the people who had it were treated to see the parallels. I imagine it was even clearer to the people who read PoA right when it first came out in 1999. It didn’t even occur to me that the metaphor is less obvious to people who are younger until I started seeing claims about this was just something she made up years after the fact and was like, "What do you mean this wasn’t clear to you when you read the book?” It fits perfectly with the general public’s preoccupation with and faulty understanding of AIDS in the late 90s. You just have to acknowledge that things have changed in the past twenty years.

I know that this comparison calls on a lot of stereotypes that are homophobic and otherwise bigoted against people who are HIV+, but those aren’t arguments against the metaphor existing and being intentional, they’re arguments about why that’s not a good thing. Fenrir Greyback is straight out of a 90s detective show. The “person with AIDS who wants to infect other people because they’re bitter about it” was such a common trope that almost every crime drama in the 90s and early 2000s did an episode about it. The “adult man gives a young boy HIV” thing grew out of the “gay men are pedophiles” and “queer people want to recruit your kids” stereotypes. These were prejudices Jo had that misinformed her writing.

I don’t have a whole lot to say on this one other than that given when it was written and how close it fits, including how much it draws on negative 90s-era stereotypes about people who are HIV+, I would honestly have a harder time believing it wasn’t intentional than believing it was.

Anyway, really my point is that it wasn’t always 2019 and if you’re using only today’s culture to inform your opinions about why someone made a certain decision a decade or two ago, not only is your understanding of the situation going to be incomplete, but the fact that it’s incomplete is going to be obvious to anyone who remembers what things were like during the time period you’re trying to talk about.

[headoverjojo]

Part 2 of Griselda meeting the gang, part 3 coming soon

It was Sunday, the day she was due to meet Bruno and her gang. She got out of bed at eight and she made her bed. She brushed her teeth and washed her hair and dried it with a hairdryer as it took a long time for her hair to dry up. She brushed her light blond curls with great difficulty. She got dressed into her usual outfit which was a two piece above the ankle dress which had a plain white dress with thin straps and a lacy dress with long and wide sleeves. The second part of the dress had ribbons on the side of the sleeves and around her neck. She put on some light brown laced up shoes with heels and a white flower crown on her head.

She went downstairs to make breakfast for her and the older couple to try to be helpful to them. She made some tea and coffee with some buttered toast for them as she waited for Luciano and Rosetta to come downstairs. Eventually they made their way slowly and carefully to the kitchen to have breakfast.

Rosetta was a delicate and frail old lady who did not reach up to the mere height of 5’4. Her light grey hair was tied back with curlers which was put on in the night and taken off during the day. She wore a pastel coloured bathrobe with roses with matching slippers. Her expression was elderly with plenty of wrinkles and her eyes were chestnut brown. She had a light brown walking stick to help her balance properly. Luciano was an elderly man with the great height of 6’1, he was more fit and able than Rosetta as he held her hand as he gently led her to the kitchen. He was wearing a set of blue stripped pyjamas with nothing on his feet, his grey hair was cut short and his face was neatly trimmed.

“Good morning Griselda did you sleep well dear?” Rosetta asked her as she sat down slowly on her chair. “Yes, I did Miss Rosetta, did you sleep well?” she responded politely as she looked at her. Luciano didn’t say anything as he was a man of few words as he took his coffee and toast to eat it outside. “Yes, I did, it’s lovely that you made breakfast for us since it’s starting to become difficult to even walk since my age is catching up to me so it’s convenience for us to have someone make breakfast for us I appreciate it Griselda,” she said gratefully as she tucked in her breakfast. “No problem Miss Rosetta, it’s not too much trouble to prepare breakfast for both of you,” she replied happily as she was starting to eat her breakfast. “Are you planning to do anything today?” Rosetta asked her. “The theatre is closed on Sunday, so you have some free time, do you have any plans or are you going to sit in your room all day to play the violin or piano?” she inquired as she wished Griselda would go out more since she was concerned about her as she always seem to be alone.

 “Well…” Griselda started. “I was invited to have lunch with someone named Mr Bucciarati today with his friends after he met me after the show yesterday,” she said as she was not sure if she should come, she would honestly rather spend time in her room.  Rosetta seemed to choke on her tea with surprise. “Mr Bucciarati invited you for lunch?!?” she asked her as she knew Bruno as he was kind and respectful to other people, but he seemed to be only invested in his gang of teens. She couldn’t believe that he asked Griselda out of lunch “Griselda how did you manage to get him to ask you out for lunch with his group?!? Do you know he’s very invested in his group and he usually doesn’t ask civilians out,” she informed her as she continued to sip her tea. “What do you mean civilians Miss Rosetta?” Griselda asked her as she was confused with this sort of sentence. “Civilians? Oh, silly me, my tongue had slipped dear, you really don’t know much about Mr Bucciarati, do you?” she asked her. “It was only a few months since you moved here from Germany so it’s no surprise that you barely know him,” she continued. “What is there something I should know of Mr Bucciarati Miss Rosetta?” Griselda inquired her with curiosity as she wondered what Bucciarati’s secret was. “Nothing Griselda, I advise you go to have lunch with him and his group,” she advised her as she felt that Griselda would not be able to handle the news of Bruno being in a gang since she seemed so prim and delicate to her, she felt she would be heart broken to find out this news. “It will be good for you as you always seem to be alone, I understand if you need to spend time alone which is perfectly fine and harmless for anyone to do but you should try to form friendships since they are important in anyone’s life, I believe that you should at least try to go to lunch with Mr Bucciarati and his friends, if you dislike it then you don’t have to do it again but it’s good for you to try and step out of your comfort zone even though it’s extremely daunting, so what do you say Griselda?” she asked her in a serious voice as she looked at her as she waited for a answer from her. Griselda thought for a while as she desperately wanted to be alone and be away from other people. But she did want to form some meaningful relationships since she wanted more people to be accepted and loved for herself. She wanted to go despite being terrified of being rejected and hurt. She contemplated for a long and tedious time until she had made her decision. “Miss Rosetta thank you for the advice, I will go to see Mr Bucciarati and his friends for lunch,” she told her as she smiled bravely as she told herself that she would have fun. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING GRISELDA YOU CAN’T GO TO LUNCH WITH MR BUCCIARATI AND HIS FRIENDS, YOU WILL BE REJECTED AND MOCKED BECAUSE WHY WOULD MR BUCCIARATI INVITE SOMEONE LIKE YOU, YOU ARE TRASH!” Her mind screamed with horror. Rosetta smiled as she held her hand. “I’m glad you made your decision I believe you will enjoy yourself and make some friends,” she told her letting her know that she was very proud of her.

It was 12:09 noon as Griselda prepared to leave, she made sure her hair and clothes were neat at least ten times before going. She stepped out of the door when she decided to check her hair and clothes again. She stepped inside to look in the mirror. Rosetta was watching her. “Griselda this is the eleventh time you checked your hair and clothes you look perfectly presentable now go to the restaurant or you will be late,” she urged her as she pushed her out of the door and closed the door. Griselda turned to walk slowly to the restaurant as she felt very anxious. “GRISELDA, GRISELDA LET’S GO HOME PLEASE!” Her mind begged her, but she told herself she would have fun and she was not going home. She walked and walked until she found the restaurant. She felt her heart beating loudly and she was nervously sweating. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and checked the time on the front of the restaurant. It was 12:29 and she felt she needed to wait a minute until it was 12:30 as she felt she would be too early as she waited for it to be 12:30. One minute later, it was 12:30. Bruno was no where to be seen and she told herself that it was only 12:30. 12:35, she told herself he was running a bit late. 12:40, she was starting to wonder what happened to him. 12:50, she concluded that a cruel joke was played on her. She felt regretful and crestfallen as her eyes were brimming with tears. She turned to leave the restaurant as she planned to go home and cry to herself. Maybe play some miserable violin music to match her current mood.

Suddenly, a voice called out to her as she was leaving the restaurant. “Miss Griselda, where are you going?” called out Bruno as he walked up to her quickly from the restaurant. Griselda was astonished to discover that he was here, and she turned to face him. “I am so sorry Miss Griselda, I should have told you to go inside the restaurant to get the waiter to take you to me, I am so sorry!” he apologised as he felt so horrible for making her wait and forcing her to think he played a cruel joke on her. She blinked away the tears as she smiled at him, she felt so happy and relieved that he really means it to invite her for lunch. “It’s alright Mr Bucciarati, I should have gone inside the restaurant,” she reassured him as she didn’t want to blame him for keeping her waiting. “I’m happy that you showed up, my friends were really looking forward to meeting you so come on,” he told her smiling at her warmly as he led her inside the restaurant to meet the gang.

They walked into the restaurant and they made their way to the group. Abbacchio, Mista, Narancia, Fugo, Trish and Giorno were sitting at the table as they talked among themselves. Bruno had made sure to specifically tell Giorno to not steal her wallet, Fugo to try to control his temper, Narancia to also control his temper as well. He told them firmly for both Narancia and Fugo to not do their homework when Griselda was around. He told Mista to try to not react so much if he sees anything resembling the number four, he made sure to let Abbacchio know to not serve Griselda his urine as tea despite him telling him it was only once with Giorno. Finally, he told Trish to try not to show off her expensive clothes and products so much as it would make Griselda think the young girl was haughty. He didn’t want to scared Griselda off with his team’s eccentric nature since he wanted him and his team to get to know her.

They arrived at the table the group was in. “Hey guys this is Griselda,” Bruno said introducing her to the group. Instantly Mista, Fugo and Narancia got up to greet the young women. Mista grabbed her hand to shake it as he smiled at her in a friendly manner. “Hey Griselda, you know you are a very pretty women, Bruno told me a lot about you,” Mista flirted with her as he liked pretty women. Griselda found her face turning extremely red at his compliment as she felt very embarrassed at his flirtatious side of his personality but despite this, she found him to be very friendly. “Hey, her face is turning red, I think she already likes Mista!” Narancia teased her as he shook her hand very vigorously. “Hi Griselda, my name is Narancia and this is Mista!” he said to her in friendly manner as he was excited to meet her for many reasons. Griselda didn’t say anything to Narancia’s teasing as she let Narancia shake her hand as she felt he was shaking her hand a little too hard, but she found him to be very friendly and energetic. To her he seemed to still have his childlike nature due to his tenancy to tease her. She felt emotionally overwhelmed by both Mista and Narancia as she felt she couldn’t handle their extremely social nature. “Guys calm down! You guys are overwhelming her!” Fugo yelled at them angrily as he felt furious that Griselda was getting flirted by Mista and Narancia teasing her as he wanted her to feel welcome. He felt anger boiling up inside him as he walked over to deal with Mista and Narancia. But Bruno placed his hand on his shoulder. “Fugo please count to ten and take a deep breath, it’s very caring of you that you understand what Griselda is feeling but please calm down,” Bruno said to him in a calm and gentle tone as Fugo started to count to ten. He took several deep breathes before calming down and he composed himself. “Thank you Fugo I appreciated it,” Bruno thanked him gratefully as he was relieved that Fugo had calmed down as he can often be very sensitive, and he often struggled to keep his temper together.  Fugo was eventually calm and composed as he went over to greet Griselda. “Hello Griselda my name is Fugo, I think I saw you play several times when Bruno and I attended the concerts at the theatre correct?” he asked her politely as he shook her hand in a gentle manner as he smiled at her gently. “Yes, I think you do see me play at the local theatre,” Griselda replied as she shook his hand as well. “I just want to say that you are a really talented violist,” he complimented her as he really liked seeing her play at the theatre. “Thank you Fugo I really appreciate it,” she responded gratefully as she liked it that he appreciated her music.She found him to be polite and nice. “Anyway, let’s order our food, I’m sure we are all hungry,” Bruno told them as they all sat down at the table together.

“Griselda this is Trish who is the only girl in the group but now there’s two girls in the group,” Mista introduced her to Trish who shook her hand. “How do you do Miss Griselda I’m Trish,” Trish introduced herself as she continued to shake her hand. “You too Miss Trish,” Griselda responded as she shook her hand politely as well. She found Trish to be a very polite young lady. “Miss Griselda I really like your hair how did you make it so long and curly?” Trish asked her enviously. “I really like the colour of your hair as well, it’s a really nice shade of light blond and even your eyes are in a pleasant shade of blue,” she continued as she could see her looking really good in some channel clothes. “Thank you, Trish, I do take care of my hair quite well,” Griselda replied delightfully as she took pride in her hair. She took pride in Trish liking her hair and her appearance as she felt blissfully happy. “This is Giorno who can be awesome to be with,” Mista continued to introduce the rest of the group. “How are you Miss Griselda?” Giorno asked her politely as he shook her hand. “I’m doing fine Giorno,” she replied as she found him to be polite as well. “Want to see a trick?” Giorno asked her as he stuffed his ear in his head without waiting for her to answer. “How did you do that?” she asked him with astonishment and surprise as she was amazed at this trick as she examined at the hole in his head to try to study how he managed to perform his trick. “Don’t let his ear trick get to you Griselda,” Mista advised her as it was an extremely confusing trick to understand. “It’s something that very few people can do Griselda and I do it to impress other people since it’s such a complicated trick for other people to comprehend,” Giorno told her in a manner that sounded charismatic and he didn’t sound like he was flourishing this trick as it lead her to believe it was really a trick that few people could perform. She found him charismatic and very excellent at talking to her. “And let me finally introduce you to our man Abbacchio who may be a little imitating, but he will warm up to you soon don’t worry,” Mista reassured her as the introductions were finally done. Abbacchio seemed to glare at her as he didn’t remove his headphones as he listened to his music, he didn’t say anything to her as he continued frown at her as he was trying to read her like a book since he wanted to know what sort of person she was and what was her relationship with Bruno. “Hello Mr Abbacchio…” Griselda said to him in a nervous and anxious voice as he continued to glare at her, she found him to be extremely menacing and distrusting of her as she could feel his stares were burning through her soul.

“So, Griselda Bruno told me about your experience with the Berlin Wall tell me what it was like please,” Fugo suddenly spoke interrupting the awkward silence between her and Abbacchio. “What’s the Berlin wall Griselda?” Narancia asked her eagerly as he was really interested in this wall. She smiled at both of them as she felt happy that they were interested in the wall as she was born in East Berlin, the part of Germany that used to be in the USSR’s communist regime. “Well Narancia the Berlin wall was a wall that was placed they’re between East and West Germany between 1961 to 1991, I think it was there to split Germany after World war 2 between the Allied countries,” she explained to Narancia patiently. She turned to Fugo. “And Fugo during the time I remember the adults taking about how there was no free elections since it was a communist state, no division of powers and no freedom of movement as so many people wanted to live in West Germany since I heard it was better there,” she told him in a serious voice since she remembered it all too well. Bruno, Trish and Giorno looked interested her experience in East Berlin as they listened to her politely. Mista and Narancia looked completely confused as they had no knowledge of the Berlin wall or Communism from the USSR. Abbacchio didn’t even care as he had his headphones on. “Fugo what is Communism?” Narancia asked him as he looked confused as he tried to think of a definition of communism. “Yeah Fugo, since you are a smartass you should know,” Mista added as he was never so confused in his life. “Oh god looks like I would have to give both of you a history lesson of the USSR and communism, teaching Narancia is bad enough but I would rather die than teach both of you idiots,” Fugo responded as he knew Mista was almost as stupid as Narancia and one idiot was bad enough. “Come on Fugo I need to know,” Mista begged him desperately as he wanted to be on the same page as Griselda as he felt he needed to be smart to impress her. “Mista you just want to know about Communism so you can impress Griselda I can see through all of your tricks,” Giorno teased him in a light hearted manner as he thought about how hilarious it would be for Mista to tell her about communism to impress her since he knew Mista liked women a lot and he would do anything to impress them.

“He’s just all hair but no brains,” Trish teased him as well. “You two are so mean both you and Trish don’t need to do much to impress others,” Mista said sadly. “Bruno and Abbacchio can impress women with no effort, Bruno managed to ask Griselda for lunch who is a pretty women from Germany and Abbacchio gets all of the goth girls, I swear I will be single for ever and ever,” Mista continued to tell his tragic story of being single. Griselda felt sorry for him and she sympathised with him of wanting to be with somebody. “I’m sorry to hear that Mista don’t worry you will find someone one day,” she responded in a sympathetic tone as she patted his back awkwardly. “Yes, Mista someone will be yours one day,” Bruno told him as he also patted his back. “If you need any advice on women you know who to go to,” Bruno reminded him smiling. “But it would be a long-term project,” Abbacchio suddenly spoke out as he smirked at him. “But Mista if you get a girlfriend then the single trio will be a single duo!” Narancia protested childishly. “You are my bro Mista, if you get a girlfriend then I only have Fugo left!” he complained as despite Fugo being his friend, he could be boring to hang out with. “Narancia for god sakes I said I would not be part of a group where we act like Martyrs because we don’t have a girlfriend,” Fugo sighed feeling irritated, he didn’t see any point of trying to have a girlfriend since he felt his anger issues would just chase away any potential people. “Fugo you may be smart, but you don’t understand the purpose of the single trio,” Mista spoke up as he seemed to recover quickly from his sadness of being single. “Well he recovered from his sadness quite quickly,” Griselda thought to herself as she found herself glancing to Bruno as he smiled at her as she turned her head quickly with embarrassment as she still felt awkward with him. “But the single trio is there for poor saps like us who can’t get a girl which is Narancia, Fugo and me,” Mista explained to him as he placed his hand on his shoulder. “Mista I am not interested in relationships at all, so I don’t care about getting a girl or not,” Fugo responded as he felt that there was no point of him getting into a relationship due to his anger issues. “Everyone says that Fugo but one day when you fall in love you might be interested in entering a relationship,” Bruno spoke up as he knew that his anger could prevent him from building relationships. Fugo didn’t say anything as he continued to eat and drink. Mista put his glass of wine down and he felt his blood froze. He looked horrified as he realised he drank his fourth glass of wine.  

----

Adorable and funny!! I liked it a lot!

[lesbeanshitposts]

Personal Emergency : I Really Need Help and I Don't Know Where Else To Turn . . .

I have never made a post like this in my life, and I'm not much of one to ask people for help. . .Especially not Financial Assistance.

I really don't know where else to turn though - My situation is very stressed and honestly confusing to me. I feel as if I have been stuck on a loop of bad things finding their way to me these past few years.

Since I haven't really formally introduced myself to Tumblr yet - I go by Yama, I am 22 years old. I live in an area that is very financially poor. . .I am a home own, I inherited my grandmother's old home which happens to be falling apart all around me. I also have a very stressed relationship with my mother and stepfather. . .My biological father passed away almost five years ago.

A rundown of my situation :

As I mentioned my house is currently falling down all around me - it is an old house built ( poorly built at that ) back in the early '60s according to my grandmother. I have asked for help in the area that I live from places that usually provide help for families with low incomes, but the problem is is that the majority of the home's issues aren't things that those services pay for. . .As an example, my air conditioning and heating unit officially bit the dust about two months ago - I called about getting it fixed and the man who came to take a look at the issue basically told me that he couldn't fix it because I needed an entire new unit, which happens to be about $5,000. I am not asking for that much, I know plenty of other people need help as well. . .but due to the box fans running most of the time and the windows in the house remaining open to try and keep cool this summer has drastically raised my electric bill to $1,018. . .If I don't have the money at the first of the month then my electricity will be cut, I've already called the electric company and spoken with them about working with me during this tough time - I recently lost my job going on a month ago due to them being over-staffed. I have been lucky enough to find a new job, but I don't start that job until next week and they do hold the first paycheck. . .I've resorted to donating my plasma since a clinic near me provides money for donors, but due to my own medical reasons ( anemia ) I can't always donate, and I've not been able to save up enough so far since it's only a small bit of cash here and there - so far I have $50.00 all together. . .

I'm mostly looking for help with paying this electric bill - I would like to raise at least $900.00 if possible, but I will take anything that I can get - every penny really does help, and I'm open to advice on things that I will describe down below. . . I do really need some advice and if anyone knows of cheap housing or anything that could help I would be interested if you would just message me anytime!

A little more about my situation. . . :

I mentioned that my father died about five years ago - Well, when he did my mother wasted absolutely no time in finding someone new. . .I was eighteen, fresh out of high school, ready to start college. . .After my father passed away I ended up deciding against college because my mother is "disabled", I wanted to stay at home to help her. Shortly after I decided against college to stay at home and care for my mother she found my new stepdad. . .She has never once considered my feelings or well-being since my father passed on, and I know for a fact that she is not "disabled". Yes, my mother had a stroke almost seven years ago now - it did mess her up pretty bad at first, but she was lucky enough to make a full recovery. I am the only one in my house that usually has any sort of income, and both my mother and stepfather live with me for the time being.

I love my mother, but she is very verbally abusive and sometimes I do find myself worrying about my safety. If she doesn't get her way about something it sparks an argument, and lately, it has happened more and more often since things are so stressed here at home with the house and my and her relationship these past few years. . .I often think that she sees me more as a slave rather than a daughter. I am always cleaning when I am home, I'm always fatigued because of this - I only live with her and my stepfather, and you would assume it wouldn't be that difficult to take care of, but my mother is also a hoarder who will part with nothing. . .You could say my home looks like a pig sty, and it's so bad to the point where it is becoming unlivable. The walls are still standing for the most part, but the ceiling in the kitchen is almost totally caved in, there are major electrical problems which could also be a reason why the bill is always crazy high, the floors are beginning to fall in, around the windows and outside of the home there is black mold beginning to really take over. . .Ontop of it all, thanks to the clutter and her hoarding. . .My mother and stepfather's disgusting lifestyle has attracted rats, and I mean we have a full infestation. I have been bitten many times, and there is no way I could go to a doctor if I had to with all of the other bills piling on top of me. Most of my clothes and things have been ruined by the rats, and I have seen an exterminator. . .The woman literally told me I would be better off tearing the home down and rebuilding because our infestation is that bad. If I were to guess at just how many rats we have lurking about tearing the house apart - I would guesstimate about 40 - 50 +.

My mother and stepfather do not pick up after themselves at all - I do everything from the cooking, cleaning, working - be that yard work, home stuff, or having an income coming in. . .I am in between a rock and a hard place here because I want to leave and get away from the abuse - this woman has literally told me things like "if you want to kill yourself then go ahead" and "you're my child, it's your job to pick up after me and your stepfather". . .There has been plenty of other things that she has said to me that we're abusive, some far worse than those that I mentioned, but to give you an idea of what it's like living with her. . .I really do feel more like a slave than anything here, and I would love to find a way out of here with some low-income housing, go to college and get my life back on track.

I really want to be happy again, and I've been able to pick myself back up lately - I'm just now reaching out to people again because my mother made me push so many people away. I do suffer from severe depression and anxiety - I was diagnosed with those two, but I haven't been able to see my therapist for nearly two years because of my mother. . . You could say that I am afraid of her. I often wonder if there is something more going on with me - If maybe I have some sort of PTSD because I am beyond scared of this woman. My mother hasn't hit me since I was in middle school, but lately, she has had the same attitude towards me that she did back then, and I think it is because I want to leave here and put myself in a better place in life. . . I don't want her knowing about my moving away and that is the issues as to why I can't sell my house. . . Least not immediately. I can't afford to live here alone, and my stepdad does get a small amount of money from family that he uses to pay their share of the bills which happens to be very small. I pay the most of them. . . I also would prefer to find a place elsewhere and either sell this to my mother and stepfather, or sell it after I move that way I know that I am safe and away from my mom - I do not want her knowing where I live once I move, that's why I want to do it so discreetly. . . I feel safer that way, and it eases my worries a little to know that she wouldn't know about it until it's done, that way it can't be undone and there's nothing she could do to me.

I know people will probably wonder why I don't just contact police if I feel unsafe - it's because she hasn't actually done anything. I do plan on the day that I move my things out of here to have an officer stand by in case something were to happen, and then make sure that she is kicked from the property unless she does happen to buy it somehow.

I could go on and on about my situation, but I'm going to end it here. If anyone has any questions for me or any advice at all please message me! Any donations to my PayPal would be greatly appreciated, I do really need to pay that electric bill before first of August, but I have till the third before they shut it off. I need at least $900.00, I have a couple of friends loaning me the rest - what I hadn't already saved.

https://www.paypal.me/mindfang22

[simblrbreezycakes]

i was tagged by @chippedcupanddustybooks sweet bb. i am tagging @irrelephantsims @magnoliidae @simplymelaninated and anyone who hasn’t been tagged i swear i feel like the last person doing this LOL. heckin long ass questionnaire under the cut.

1. What is your full name? Brianna Leigh [Redacted] 2. What is your nickname? Breezy 3. Birthday? may 4th 4. What is your favorite book series? hmmmm series? idk.... i really like every single john grisham book and they aren’t related but when you have such a niche brand of book i feel like it counts lol.  5. Do you believe in aliens or ghosts? kinda on both. 6. Who is your favorite author? oh whew. tough one right here. idk man, i have a few? but if i had to choose i guezz i would say george orwell.   7. What is your favorite radio station? who tf listens to the radio like det anymore lmfao. i don’t have one. before i listened to 107.1 in memphis in the car sometimes, but i moved so. 8. What is your favorite flavor of anything? i loveeee pineapple anything. 9. What word would you use often to describe something great or wonderful? lit 10. What is your current favorite song? currently really into pink in the night by mitski and also sicko mode by travis scott.

11. What is your favorite word? good ole fuck(in/ed/etc.) i also really like voluptuous and bubbles. 12. What was the last song you listened to? last thing i listened to was another lifetime x nao.  13. What TV show would you recommend for everybody to watch? absolutely check out the good place. also hilda, the dragon prince, she-ra princess of power, criminal minds, law and order (the original), and snapped. 14. What is your favorite movie to watch when you’re feeling down? i used to watch the notebook religiously when it rained/felt upset like shit. but lately i’ve been watching say yes to the dress to combat my depression lol. 15. Do you play video games? yah 16. What is your biggest fear? dying alone and no one finding me. like literally alone not like meta alone “oh no one loves me” like dead ass alone somewhere isolated. 17. What is your best quality, in your opinion? hmmmmm idk that i care a lot about other people? 18. What is your worst quality, in your opinion? all of them lmfao. i’m annoying, i’m physically unattractive, i talk too damn much, i can be kind of a bitch both intentionally and unintentionally, i’m a trash writer, i can be selfish, and i self depreciate a lot (lol see above response “all of them”) and i’m sure that gets on people who love and care about me’s nerves ((but like....i mean it lmfao)) 19. Do you like cats or dogs better? whew tough. prolly cats though.  20. What is your favorite season? winter followed by a tie between spring and fall.  21. Are you in a relationship? nah lmfao.  22. What is something you miss from your childhood? not being so fuckin ugly and depressed lmfao. 23. Who is your best friend? “my person” as greys anatomy stans would say is ivy lynn [redacted] [redacted] but i also wanna shout out my home girl mary (i know you follow me on here), my home girl christina (also follows me on here but she never checks her simblr anymore), my smoothie gang bitches, my NSA bitches (which includes both ivy and mary lmfao), and my memphis as fuck family. honorable mention to loml [redacted] who is skating on thin fucking ice with me right now lmfao. 24. What is your eye color? brown 25. What is your hair color? brown 26. Who is someone you love? don’t make me answer this tumblr gods. 27. Who is someone you trust? all my best friends, my parents, my brother. 28. Who is someone you think about often? fucking murder me @ this question lmfao. my friend kate (RIP) my grandmother grannypeg (RIP) and [redacted] 29. Are you currently excited about/for something? i’m excited to spend christmas in a new country! forging new traditions and all that. 30. What is your biggest obsession? currently i’m obsessed with wedding stuff and mens fashion and how mens fashion such as suits translates into womens fashion. we love a hot lady in a tailored suit amiright? 31. What was your favorite TV show as a child? spongebob squarepants RIP :”( 32. Who of the opposite gender can you tell anything to, if anyone? [redacted] 33. Are you superstitious? kinda i guess? not really about stuff like stepping on cracks breaking mamas’ backs or opening umbrellas indoors but little things about familial traditions. 34. Do you have any unusual phobias? not really a phobia but i have misophonia. i also hate eye shit. like eye violence or anything fuckin around with eyes is a big no from me dawg. 35. Do you prefer to be in front of the camera or behind it? absolutely behind the camera. i used to be a theater kid so like being on stage i don’t mind but when it comes to the spotlight and being filmed??? no no no no no. lemme be a cinnamontawgrowfur all day.  36. What is your favorite hobby? watching movies, playing skyrim (I MISS IT SO MUCH), reading, watching music videos, modern calligraphy/hand lettering, baking (ALSO MISS IT MUCH) 37. What was the last book you read? lol a textbook about developing countries.

38. What was the last movie you watched? i just rewatched the swan princess the other day but in terms of watching something brand new i think it was this tom cruise movie my friend showed us and i thought she said someone else ( i don’t remember now. maybe tom hanks?) it was pretty good he was irish or sum with nicole kidman and they came to the united states and pretended to be siblings but the sexual tension was so fucking high dawg. 

39. What musical instruments do you play, if any? nothing i’m wack and a disappointment to my musically gifted family (my dad and brother)  40. What is your favorite animal?  polar bears followed by giraffes. 41. What are your top 5 favorite Tumblr blogs that you follow? i’m gonna go with my main tumblr because ion wanna hurt nobody’s feelings but i follow a celebs of color page i really love, a fashion page i really love, and a few artists i really love. 42. What superpower do you wish you had? teleportation or shape shifting.  43. When and where do you feel most at peace?  i feel most at peace when it is raining and i’m in my room, everything is clean and tidy, candles are lit, i have nothing to do so the world is my oyster, i have a nice cup of coffee or hot cocoa or tea, and i just am v i b i n g.  44. What makes you smile? seeing my friends, my brother (when he isn’t pissing me off), funny videos of red dead people falling off their horse in cinematic mode, pretty flowers, cute art, round birds. 45. What sports do you play, if any? i don’t lmfao. 46. What is your favorite drink? honestly a frozen margarita no salt. 47. When was the last time you wrote a hand-written letter or note to somebody? a month ago.  48. Are you afraid of heights? absolutely. 49. What is your biggest pet peeve? people chewing with their mouths open and people talking to me like i’m incompetent/assuming i don’t know anything about what they’re trying to talk to me about especially if it is my area of expertise lol. 50. Have you ever been to a concert? hail yeah. many. 51. Are you vegan/vegetarian? nope! 52. When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up? honestly i don’t know but i have a distinct memory of a bunch of girls in my second grade, yours truly included, wanting to be strippers. and i don’t know why or how this came up or if we even truly knew what stripping meant but. yeah. OH i guess around the time i was in 4th/5th grade i started wanting to be a harvard law graduate and be a lawyer but i gave that up in like high school and then bounced being a lawyer back and forth in my noggin up until i applied for grad school. shout out to my mary for doing it though.  53. What fictional world would you like to live in? hmmmm idk. none of em really. 54. What is something you worry about? if i made the right decision(s) in life lol.  55. Are you scared of the dark? not really.  56. Do you like to sing? yeah i do! doesn’t mean i’m good at it though haha. 57. Have you ever skipped school? yeah lmfao. 58. What is your favorite place on the planet? i miss Rwanda a lot. but honestly my favorite place is wherever the people i love are. my family loves to travel so whenever i’m with someone i love sharing an experience? i’m in heaven. 59. Where would you like to live? idk anywhere i guess. somewhere it is mostly cold most of the time though haha. 60. Do you have any pets? my bb boi fred lives with my dad and my mom has a dog and 2 cats. we used to have 3 but one of em ran away when she moved to her house, we caught him, he ran away again. oh whale. 61. Are you more of an early bird or a night owl? oh a big time night owl. big time. 62. Do you like sunrises or sunsets better? honestly i like sunrises better but i am never awake to catch em hahah. 63. Do you know how to drive? yah and i fuckin love doing it. 64. Do you prefer earbuds or headphones? i prefer headphones. like really quality ones too. but i tend to use earbuds more often because i don’t need quality while im working out or going to class just easy grab and go. 65. Have you ever had braces? nope but i used to want some so bad. 66. What is your favorite genre of music? i love rap, dream-y pop music and dream-y rap music, i love 80s music. all 80s music really lmfao.  67. Who is your hero? mi mum and mi dad. also viola davis queen of inventing acting and every single color in the rainbow. 68. Do you read comic books? kind of. i was trying to build up a collection before i moved but i only had my BP comics. 69. What makes you the most angry? injustice and offensive ass content and behaviors. also don’t fuck with my friends. i got two dudes on my shit list right now that it is *on sight* if i ever see them again. 70. Do you prefer to read on an electronic device or with a real book? a real book all the way. idk what it is about digital reading my brain shuts the fuck down. i am super fast reader but the second i try and read something digitally it takes me maybe like 10-15 min to get through just a few sentences. 71. What is your favorite subject in school? history lol i was a history major. 72. Do you have any siblings? yeah my chicken nugget puppy brother dylan. asshole. 73. What was the last thing you bought? some historical romance i think? it’s in dutch so idrk.  74. How tall are you? 5′7 i think. 75. Can you cook? yeah i love cooking but saddly don’t do much of it. 76. What are three things that you love? my teddy bear my momma got me for valentines day, my st. agatha figurine, and my yikes tapestry mary got me. i realize now after reading the next question you probably meant like shit in general so. the smell of a fresh cup of coffee, snuggly warm sweaters, postcards and tiny gifts from friends. you know the ones “i just got this for you because i thought you’d like it” 77. What are three things that you hate? funky ass attitudes, the smell and feel of lavender oil, corn. 78. Do you have more female friends or more male friends? female 79. What is your sexual orientation? i’m a big ole heterosexual. sorry to disappoint :/  80. Where do you currently live? the netherlands. 81. Who was the last person you texted? my friend and former roommate. today is her birthday. 82. When was the last time you cried? like an hour ago lmfao. 83. Who is your favorite YouTuber? i don’t have one haha. vevo i guess. 84. Do you like to take selfies? do i like taking them? not really. it takes me too damn long to get one that looks good enough. i like sending stupid selfies to friends though. 85. What is your favorite app? i use twitter probably the most but my favorite app is my spider solitaire game haha. 86. What is your relationship with your parent(s) like? we are very close. i would say both of my parents are my biggest supporters and cheerleaders but how they do that looks a bit different. my mom and i are very similar but sometimes how we handle certain things is very different so we can be the best of friends one day and the completely butt heads the next. 87. What is your favorite foreign accent? i loovveeeee a scottish accent and an irish accent. also tbrh i love a good southern boy drawl. like idk if i could play for you all the way this one dude who works with my mom talks? i would because i wanna bottle it and listen to it whenever i feel bad. 88. What is a place that you’ve never been to, but you want to visit? i would really like to go to norway for my birthday. 89. What is your favorite number? i don’t have one. 90. Can you juggle? nope but i did try and learn i have a video of it somewhere lmfao. 91. Are you religious? kind of. i’m more spiritual than religious and lowkey hate saying that because it sounds so hoitietoitie but it’s true. 92. Do you find outer space or the deep ocean to be more interesting? the ocean. so much of it we haven’t explored. thinking about space makes me feel existential and dead inside.  93. Do you consider yourself to be a daredevil? nah haha 94. Are you allergic to anything? yeah i’m supposed to take one claritin a day but like i don’t. 95. Can you curl your tongue? yeah 96. Can you wiggle your ears? nope :(  97. How often do you admit that you were wrong about something? i’ll admit i’m wrong if i’m actually wrong but you’re gonna have to a helluva lot of convincing to get me there lmfao. though if my being “wrong” has caused harm to someone else i’ll apologize quicker than lightning because the last thing i would want is for my stubbornness to hurt someone i love. 98. Do you prefer the forest or the beach? um the mountains 99. What is your favorite piece of advice that anyone has ever given you? "never turn down a date. you never know who you might meet while you’re out” -my grandmother to my mother to me. 100. Are you a good liar? lmfaooooo i am a reformed liar. 101. What is your Hogwarts House? HUFFLEPUFF BAYBEEE 102. Do you talk to yourself? yah 103. Are you an introvert or an extrovert? an introvert. i may be loud and talkative sis but i promise you i’m over compensating because i want you to like me lmfao. 104. Do you keep a journal/diary? i have a private twitter does that count. 105. Do you believe in second chances? depends. 106. If you found a wallet full of money on the ground, what would you do?imma keep it real with you chief i would keeps the money lmfao. in the past i would’ve tried to return it to the owner but i am big broke bois with a lot of unexpected expenses coming up so like... yeah lmfao. we keepin that coint. 107. Do you believe that people are capable of change? sometimes. 108. Are you ticklish? yes lmfao 109. Have you ever been on a plane? yeah! 110. Do you have any piercings? yah i got my lobes pierced one on each ear, my nose, and a cartilage piercing. 111. What fictional character do you wish was real? my girl nancy drew. 112. Do you have any tattoos? yeah i got 2 of em. 113. What is the best decision that you’ve made in your life so far? idk lmfao. probably when i applied for cityterm and when i appled to go back to undergrad. 114. Do you believe in karma? Yeah but not in a “oh you hurt me? you’re gonna get your come uppins” way but in a every action affects your soul and your being kinda way.  115. Do you wear glasses or contacts? im supposed to wear glasses but ask me if im wearing em right now lmfao. 116. Do you want children? presently i don’t see myself wanting or having kids but i want to foster. 117. Who is the smartest person you know? my friends lol. 118. What is your most embarrassing memory? literally every single memory has a tinge of embarassment lol. but probz when i walked into the cafeteria my first day of highschool as a smol freshman and my knees locked up and i fell forward and my giant ass backpack (because i never used my locker ever in any grade) wrapped around my neck and had me stuck in a strange position in the middle of the parting of the tables in the cafeteria.  119. Have you ever pulled an all-nighter? hell yeah lmfao. 120. What color are most of you clothes? blue or black 121. Do you like adventures? yeah! 122. Have you ever been on TV? yeah but like on the news and shit. 123. How old are you? 24 124. What is your favorite quote? i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart) 125. Do you prefer sweet or savory foods? OOF TOUGH BUT UHHH probz sweet. 

[kiwisimie]

𝐆𝐞𝐭 𝐓𝐨 𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐌𝐞 𝐓𝐚𝐠 !! 

RULES: Post a pic of your simself with your traits and answer the questions!

TRAITS: loner, music lover, clumsy

tagged by: the great @honeybeqr

✩ QUESTIONS 1. WHAT IS YOUR FULL NAME? um just esther is fine 2. WHAT IS YOUR NICKNAME? mum, wife, goldfish, and esti 3. BIRTHDAY? 3rd july 4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE BOOK SERIES? um I don’t really read series but princess diaries and dork diaries are pretty fun 5.  DO YOU BELIEVE IN ALIENS OR GHOSTS? honestly idk like I believe in the after life and there kinda has to something out there 6. WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE AUTHOR? rainbow rowell 7. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE RADIO STATION? I always force my dad to play capital when i’m in his car sooooo I guess its capital (?) 8. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FLAVOR OF ANYTHING? vanilla and chocolate ( cant go wrong with the classics ) 9. WHAT WORD OR PHRASE WOULD YOU USE OFTEN TO DESCRIBE SOMETHING GREAT OR WONDERFUL? cool, good, um great as you can see my vocabulary isn’t that advanced 10. WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT FAVORITE SONG? japanese denim - Daniel Caesar, closely followed by broke - samm hemshaw 11. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE WORD? pueblo, it means village/town in spanish 12. WHAT WAS THE LAST SONG YOU LISTENED TO? i’m listening to the schuyler sisters as I write this 13. WHAT TV SHOW WOULD YOU RECOMMEND FOR EVERYBODY TO WATCH? modern family and the simspons 14. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE TO WATCH WHEN YOU’RE FEELING DOWN? the princess and the frog, it has good songs 15. DO YOU PLAY VIDEO GAMES? not really i’m more of a lets play watcher 16. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR? disappointing people and death 17.  WHAT IS YOUR BEST QUALITY, IN YOUR OPINION? i’m very empathetic/sympathetic, I try to see things from the person’s perspective 18. WHAT IS YOUR WORST QUALITY, IN YOUR OPINION? I tend to shut down a lot and just hide away suddenly 19. DO YOU LIKE CATS OR DOGS BETTER? I guess dogs but i’m not really an animal person 20. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SEASON? summer for sure 21. ARE YOU IN A RELATIONSHIP? with stress? yes 22. WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU MISS FROM YOUR CHILDHOOD? being able to fluently speak french 23. WHO IS YOUR BEST FRIEND? um next 24. WHAT IS YOUR EYE COLOR? dark brown 25. WHAT IS YOUR HAIR COLOR? its really dark brown so it just looks black 26. WHO IS SOMEONE YOU LOVE? my family 27. WHO IS SOMEONE YOU TRUST? once again me family 28. WHO IS SOMEONE YOU THINK ABOUT OFTEN? my friends 29. ARE YOU CURRENTLY EXCITED ABOUT/FOR SOMETHING? the half term 30. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST OBSESSION? fanfics, kpop, bullet journals and stationary ( an odd combo of things I know ) 31. WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE TV SHOW AS A CHILD? totally spies, les zinzins de l'espace, and ratz 32. WHO OF THE OPPOSITE GENDER CAN YOU TELL ANYTHING TO, IF ANYONE? my brother, he’s a real g 33. ARE YOU SUPERSTITIOUS? not really 34. DO YOU HAVE ANY UNUSUAL PHOBIAS? I cant with butterflies I panic a bit when they fly near me 35. DO YOU PREFER TO BE IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA OR BEHIND IT? I like having the memories when i’m in front of it but I do like being behind it 36. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE HOBBY? playing instruments, reading and making sims 37. WHAT WAS THE LAST BOOK YOU READ? fangirl by rainbow rowell thoroughly enjoyed it 38. WHAT WAS THE LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? the greatest showman I think 39. WHAT MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS DO YOU PLAY, IF ANY? piano, some chords on ukulele and guitar, i’ve been taking violin lessons, and I have a clarinet from school that I have yet to play seriously 40. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ANIMAL? any baby animal is my favourite animal 41. WHAT ARE YOUR TOP 5 FAVORITE TUMBLR BLOGS THAT YOU FOLLOW? anyone that posts is amazing 42. WHAT SUPERPOWER DO YOU WISH YOU HAD? teleportation because i’m a lazy bugger 43. WHEN AND WHERE DO YOU FEEL MOST AT PEACE? in bed listening to music or reading 44. WHAT MAKES YOU SMILE? memes that my friends send me and being with people 45. WHAT SPORTS DO YOU PLAY, IF ANY? I play for my school’s football and netball team and we do loads of different sports during lessons 46. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE DRINK? orange juice 47. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU WROTE A HAND-WRITTEN LETTER OR NOTE TO SOMEBODY? I wrote little messages in all the Christmas cards I gave out last year 48. ARE YOU AFRAID OF HEIGHTS? I don’t think so, ooo do I love the feeling when you’re in a plane and your stomach does that thing when it goes down a bit ( I probably sound crazy ) 49. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST PET PEEVE? ermmm slow walkers and being late for no reason 50. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO A CONCERT? no :( I really wanted to go to love yourself tour but I couldn’t get a ticket 51. ARE YOU VEGAN/VEGETARIAN? I don’t think I could ever 52. WHEN YOU WERE LITTLE, WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GREW UP? an Olympian, still lowkey want to be one 53. WHAT FICTIONAL WORLD WOULD YOU LIKE TO LIVE IN?  all of them 54. WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU WORRY ABOUT? exams and nearing everything I say and do ( I am a very anxious child ) 55. ARE YOU SCARED OF THE DARK? kinda 56. DO YOU LIKE TO SING? yes but i’m definitely not talented so you’re not hearing that any time soon 57. HAVE YOU EVER SKIPPED SCHOOL? not without informing the school because i’m a good child 58. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PLACE ON THE PLANET? good question 59. WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO LIVE? in a city that’s maybe in another country 60. DO YOU HAVE ANY PETS? no and i’ve never had one 61. ARE YOU MORE OF AN EARLY BIRD OR A NIGHT OWL?  a bit of both I think 62. DO YOU LIKE SUNRISES OR SUNSETS BETTER? sunrise, gotta love golden hour 63. DO YOU KNOW HOW TO DRIVE? no as I am underaged 64. DO YOU PREFER EARBUDS OR HEADPHONES? depends on where I am and what i’m doing 65. HAVE YOU EVER HAD BRACES? no but like all of my friends have 66. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE GENRE OF MUSIC? there is a wide variety 67. WHO IS YOUR HERO? mi madre 68. DO YOU READ COMIC BOOKS? do webtoons and mangas count? 69. WHAT MAKES YOU THE MOST ANGRY? how ignorant someone people are 70. DO YOU PREFER TO READ ON AN ELECTRONIC DEVICE OR WITH A REAL BOOK? definitely real books, I have brought a couple 71. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SUBJECT IN SCHOOL? music and maths 72. DO YOU HAVE ANY SIBLINGS? yeah I have an older sister, two older brothers and a little sister 73. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU BOUGHT? tipp-ex, a clip-on light and a new moisturiser 74. HOW TALL ARE YOU? 169cm whatever that is in inches 75. CAN YOU COOK? only like the basic things 76. WHAT ARE THREE THINGS THAT YOU LOVE? family, friends and clothes 77. WHAT ARE THREE THINGS THAT YOU HATE? CUCUMBERS and AVOCADOS 78. DO YOU HAVE MORE FEMALE FRIENDS OR MORE MALE FRIENDS? my closer friends are basically all female 79. WHAT IS YOUR SEXUAL ORIENTATION? i’m your everyday heterosexual 80. WHERE DO YOU CURRENTLY LIVE? in the east of england 81. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TEXTED? my mum 82. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? a few days when I went to went to watch the curious incident of the dog in the night-time ( that show was a lot to handle ) 83. WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE YOUTUBER? bestdressed I love her personality and her sense of style 84. DO YOU LIKE TO TAKE SELFIES? occasionally 85. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE APP? tumblr, youtube, google keep and huji 86. WHAT IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR PARENT(S) LIKE? we are get along nicely 87. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FOREIGN ACCENT? I don’t really have a favourite I find them all pretty entertaining 88. WHAT IS A PLACE THAT YOU’VE NEVER BEEN TO, BUT YOU WANT TO VISIT? italy 89. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE NUMBER? 6 and 3 90. CAN YOU JUGGLE? unfortunately I am not that talented 91. ARE YOU RELIGIOUS? yes 92. DO YOU FIND OUTER SPACE OF THE DEEP OCEAN TO BE MORE INTERESTING? we always watch documentaries about the deep ocean in science lessons and that’s always interesting 93. DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF TO BE A DAREDEVIL? hecc no 94. ARE YOU ALLERGIC TO ANYTHING? i’m like 99% i’m not 95. CAN YOU CURL YOUR TONGUE? yes 96. CAN YOU WIGGLE YOUR EARS? when I raise my eyebrows they move 97. HOW OFTEN DO YOU ADMIT THAT YOU WERE WRONG ABOUT SOMETHING? more often then I would like 98. DO YOU PREFER THE FOREST OR THE BEACH? forests 99. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PIECE OF ADVICE THAT ANYONE HAS EVER GIVEN YOU? ‘if you mess up no one’s going to notice unless you allow them to notice it’ my music teachers always say that for performances 100. ARE YOU A GOOD LIAR? I think I can be pretty convincing 101. WHAT IS YOUR HOGWARTS HOUSE? Hufflepuff! 102. DO YOU TALK TO YOURSELF? all the time, it helps me sort out my thoughts and explain things to myself 103. ARE YOU AN INTROVERT OR AN EXTROVERT? I am an introvert ( big surprise there ) and my personality type is isfj 104. DO YOU KEEP A JOURNAL/DIARY? yes but i’ve always been inconsistent with it 105. DO YOU BELIEVE IN SECOND CHANCES? yes 106. IF YOU FOUND A WALLET FULL OF MONEY ON THE GROUND, WHAT WOULD YOU DO? give it to some sort of authority ( like a teacher or the police ) 107. DO YOU BELIEVE THAT PEOPLE ARE CAPABLE OF CHANGE? sure 108. ARE YOU TICKLISH? very 109. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ON A PLANE? yes and I love them 110. DO YOU HAVE ANY PIERCINGS? just my ears 111. WHAT FICTIONAL CHARACTER DO YOU WISH WAS REAL? baz and simon ( that’s two I know ) 112. DO YOU HAVE ANY TATTOOS? no 113. WHAT IS THE BEST DECISION THAT YOU’VE MADE IN YOUR LIFE SO FAR? applying for literally everything 114. DO YOU BELIEVE IN KARMA? not really 115. DO YOU WEAR GLASSES OR CONTACTS? I have glasses and I want contacts for when I do sports 116. DO YOU WANT CHILDREN? at some point in my life, yes 117. WHO IS THE SMARTEST PERSON YOU KNOW? I know a lot of people that are smart in different areas of life 118. WHAT IS YOUR MOST EMBARRASSING MEMORY? don’t really want that  on the internet 119. HAVE YOU EVER PULLED AN ALL-NIGHTER?  I always end up falling asleep 120. WHAT COLOR ARE MOST OF YOUR CLOTHES? white, black, a lot of yellow, and red ( I have a lot more colour then I used to ) 121. DO YOU LIKE ADVENTURES? yes 122. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ON TV? no but my school has been 123. HOW OLD ARE YOU? 14 124. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE QUOTE? ’ good-night, helen’ the only part of jane eyre I liked 125. DO YOU PREFER SWEET OR SAVORY FOODS? depends on my mood I encourage anyone how wants to do this to go for it :)

[verdigrisprowl]

Jan 11 Library Movie Night - BLoSC ep 2-6

Prowl’s alternate’s alternate showed up for the first time, sparkling in tow. Said sparkling immediately became the star of the night. Starscream spent the whole night glued to it.

Nobody is fond of the brain-squeezing scenes.

Today verdigrisprowl 7:40 pm *well hello Soundwave, early arriver.* ... Were you waiting for me to get here? NoodlesAtNight 7:42 pm [[Good evening.]] *Soundwave lowers his datapad and offers Prowl a small smile.* [[He was. He intended to steal a moment before the crowd arrives.]] MedicalMurdersaurus 7:43 pm *ARRIVES* thebestdecepticonleader 7:43 pm ((Hi everyone)) verdigrisprowl 7:43 pm I think you're a little late for that. But you can help set up the snack table. NoodlesAtNight 7:43 pm [[And there's the crowd.]] *Gestures.* [[Oh well. He'll do that, happily.]] thebestdecepticonleader 7:43 pm I can look away if you want privacy NoodlesAtNight 7:43 pm *Gets up and starts doing exactly as suggested.* MedicalMurdersaurus 7:43 pm Bird?? opatoes 7:44 pm /He's here early for once! And he brought along a few games this time, even./ Good evening. verdigrisprowl 7:45 pm Evening. MedicalMurdersaurus 7:45 pm *kartwheels up to Soundwave* NoodlesAtNight 7:45 pm [[Swoop! Do not do that. We are in a library. That is a place for quiet voices and physical restraint.]] verdigrisprowl 7:45 pm Alternate. verdigrisprowl 7:46 pm *right! Got the episodes lined up, he can finish moving chairs into place.* MedicalMurdersaurus 7:46 pm *has never been briefed on library manners and only vaguely seen them on TV ebfore his visits here* Pff! Where Bird? Me Swoop have snack for Her Bird : > Lieutenant10 7:46 pm *is here entirely for the library aspect* NoodlesAtNight 7:46 pm [[Not here today. She does not come to these particular movie nights.]] SCProwl 7:46 pm Captain. NoodlesAtNight 7:46 pm [[Try Monday.]] MedicalMurdersaurus 7:47 pm But. Me Swoop have goodie for Bird. : < verdigrisprowl 7:47 pm ... And /other/ alternate. You made it. NoodlesAtNight 7:47 pm *And that's the snack table worked out.*

[[Then eat it yourself and don't tell her. She has plenty.]] *Suddenly, deer in the headlights - specifically of two Prowls he ISN'T dating. Uh-oh. Better be on best behavior tonight.* MedicalMurdersaurus 7:47 pm Kehehhh! Her Bird get MAD if Her hear that! Too many! Pah! rulesandprotocol 7:47 pm Well I did say I would try and make it, Hunters fussy tonight so I dont know how long I'll be able to stay SCProwl 7:47 pm *oh there's another alternate here, that's... something* Swervester 7:48 pm [slides in] thebestdecepticonleader 7:48 pm Why are there so many Prowls? I feel outnumbered. Lieutenant10 7:48 pm *There are so many Prowl's. It's the best night* verdigrisprowl 7:48 pm Imagine that, a show that's hosted by a Prowl is popular with Prowls. SCProwl 7:48 pm *pings Soundwave a greeting anyway* Swervester 7:48 pm Amazing thebestdecepticonleader 7:48 pm 😕 yeah but... Swervester 7:48 pm Hi Prowl. Prowl. Prowl. opatoes 7:49 pm ... Wait, Is my vision fragged? verdigrisprowl 7:49 pm Swoop, if you get rambunctious tonight, you're getting bridged outside without warning. *there is a sparkling here and he's told they're delicate, he's not risking anything.* SCProwl 7:49 pm Hello. Swerve, correct? thebestdecepticonleader 7:49 pm I feel like you are going to get people to gang up on me with the three of you Lieutenant10 7:49 pm ((dangit gotta leave)) verdigrisprowl 7:49 pm If you're nervous, you can leave. Lieutenant10 7:49 pm ((why)) MedicalMurdersaurus 7:49 pm RamBUNKchus! Keheheh! thebestdecepticonleader 7:49 pm no opatoes 7:49 pm /He's glaring at all the prowls, trying to see if any of them will disappear if he does so./ NoodlesAtNight 7:50 pm *Soundwave perks at the mention of Hunter. The sparkling is here? He'll wind a feeler between various bots to get a peek with the claw optics.* SCProwl 7:50 pm *still here, blissfully unaware of the fact that she's being glared at by anyone* verdigrisprowl 7:50 pm Then keep it to yourself. I'm interested in watching a cop show, not irrationally ganging up on a guest who volunteered to come. Swervester 7:50 pm Yup I'm Swerve. thebestdecepticonleader 7:50 pm Can you sit together so that I can sit on the other side of the room? rulesandprotocol 7:50 pm Hunter: squeaks Swervester 7:50 pm [sparkling? hello let him see the baby???] Aw. rulesandprotocol 7:51 pm Hunter * makes grabby hand toward feeler* thebestdecepticonleader 7:51 pm *gasps* baby NoodlesAtNight 7:51 pm [[This is very different than the-- oof.]] *He'll allow that. Just don't drool on him, youngling.* [[The protoforms in your materials, Swerve.]] opatoes 7:52 pm /Finally decides one of the Prowls is probably Cerebros after all, and stops glaring./ So- how much have I missed of this show? What type of police work do they do? Swervester 7:52 pm Oh yeah. To be fair, the materials I sent were specifically for forged hot spot sparklings. The ones who are adults within a week, like our plague babies. verdigrisprowl 7:52 pm Sorry, Starscream, the baby's with a Prowl. Guess you've got to stay across the room from it. MedicalMurdersaurus 7:52 pm *notices everyone paying attention to a thing and wanders closer to see what is up* thebestdecepticonleader 7:52 pm aw 😕 rulesandprotocol 7:52 pm Starscream can meet him if he wants. thebestdecepticonleader 7:53 pm Can I? verdigrisprowl 7:53 pm Hey, he was the one who said he was uncomfortable. *shrugs* rulesandprotocol 7:53 pm Yeah if you want to. verdigrisprowl 7:53 pm *he watches Swoop like a hawk.* NoodlesAtNight 7:53 pm *Gently wiggles the claw in Hunter's grabbing hands to and fro, amused.* Swervester 7:53 pm [leans in for a better look] Hi kiddo. thebestdecepticonleader 7:53 pm Babies are more important than my safety verdigrisprowl 7:53 pm *huffs* rulesandprotocol 7:53 pm Hunter: *clicks giggles loving attention* MedicalMurdersaurus 7:53 pm *is a hawk (sort of) circling the adults entranced by the baby* MedicalMurdersaurus 7:54 pm *is actually walking and not flying (for now)* NoodlesAtNight 7:54 pm *Doesn't think Starscream is wrong, per se, but knows better than to say that. He can only get away with that when he is the host himself.* Swervester 7:54 pm [beeps quietly at baby] SCProwl 7:54 pm *if the chairs have been moved into place, this Prowl is going to find the chair nearest the door and take that* thebestdecepticonleader 7:54 pm *Kneels next to the sparkling* Hello little one MedicalMurdersaurus 7:54 pm *stands behind Swerve to look at the sparkling* rulesandprotocol 7:55 pm Hunter: puh -click- verdigrisprowl 7:55 pm *to the guy that definitely isn't Smokescreen* I haven't picked up any speciality. They seem to do /all/ police work, as long as it's out on the field. And occasionally fight evil emperors. NoodlesAtNight 7:55 pm *Now getting worried about overwhelming them with all the others; carefully withdraws the claw and pats the hand before reeling his feeler in and moving to the other side of the room. That's probably better for it.* verdigrisprowl 7:55 pm *well, he WANTED to go greet his alternate with the sparkling, but he seems a little swarmed right now.* Sorry, alternate. I didn't realize Hunter would be such a popular attraction. *he'll just stay across the room.* thebestdecepticonleader 7:55 pm Babies always are verdigrisprowl 7:55 pm Now I know. Swervester 7:56 pm Babies are great. [sidles back to his chosen chair tho bc that's a lot of people] rulesandprotocol 7:56 pm I didn't think he'd be that popular either honestly. opatoes 7:56 pm Evil emperors? Hm. Seems engaging. Thank you. I will have to catch up with the previous episodes later. NoodlesAtNight 7:56 pm *Hovers next to amica-Prowl, and pings his own timeline's. Good evening. Then all the other mechs in turn, if he hasn't already greeted them.* MedicalMurdersaurus 7:56 pm *glances at the baby, down at Swerve and back at the baby* PFFF! That a LAME baby. Me Swoop can take Him. thebestdecepticonleader 7:56 pm Just remember, if you need any help with them, I will do anything to protect them Swervester 7:56 pm There will be no taking, Swoop. NoodlesAtNight 7:56 pm *ALARM* [[Do NOT fight the newbuild.]] opatoes 7:57 pm /For now, Smokescreen's going up towards the table which usually has drinks, hoping to grab a few cubes before setting down towards the front of the screen./ thebestdecepticonleader 7:57 pm *moving back a bit but still nearby* rulesandprotocol 7:57 pm Hunter: *smiles* babbling nonsense verdigrisprowl 7:57 pm *Prowl's pretty sure that if he tells Swoop not to, he'll immediately try to do so. So watches silently and gets ready with a bridge.* NoodlesAtNight 7:57 pm *...Whoops.* rulesandprotocol 7:58 pm Hunter: *whines* MedicalMurdersaurus 7:58 pm Not much of a FIGHT! Keheh! Him suck. Me Swoop WAY tougher. thebestdecepticonleader 7:58 pm Do they need anything, blankets, energon, anything? rulesandprotocol 7:58 pm No he should be good, I fed him before we left, I have the poncho for him thebestdecepticonleader 7:58 pm Let me know though, okay? verdigrisprowl 7:59 pm *oh good, he doesn't seem to be taking it as a challenge.* rulesandprotocol 7:59 pm sure verdigrisprowl 7:59 pm I've got snacks on a table to the side if you or he need anything. ... Do sparklings drink high grade? MedicalMurdersaurus 7:59 pm *totally stares the sparkling down* NoodlesAtNight 7:59 pm @P: [[We have discovered the key to a Starscream's generosity: tiny Cybertronians.]] rulesandprotocol 7:59 pm no they dont but thanks for the offer MedicalMurdersaurus 7:59 pm *come AT him bro* verdigrisprowl 7:59 pm *has learned one (1) new fact about sparklings* rulesandprotocol 7:59 pm *watches swoopcarefully* Swervester 8:00 pm Swoop come sit with me, I got snacks ypou can have for Bird. verdigrisprowl 8:01 pm @S «Who would have guessed? NoodlesAtNight 8:01 pm *Strangely, that sounds like the key to his OWN sense of generosity - but in his defense, he's mostly programmed that way. Starscream just has a weakness.* verdigrisprowl 8:01 pm *Prowl was just thinking that sounded more like Soundwave.* MedicalMurdersaurus 8:01 pm *glances at Swerve* Bird? : > SCProwl 8:01 pm *has learned that many people, including Soundwave and Starscream, fall all over themselves in response to sparklings. is it a signal they're giving off? something else? we just don't know* Swervester 8:02 pm Yeah. SCProwl 8:02 pm *in Soundwave's case it might have something to do with carrier coding and minicons. sparklings do tend to be rather small don't they?* NoodlesAtNight 8:02 pm *IT'S A TINY PERSON, OKAY? IT'S HIS JOB.* rulesandprotocol 8:02 pm Hunter *suddenly cranky* thebestdecepticonleader 8:02 pm So what is their name? rulesandprotocol 8:02 pm Hunter, Hold on one minute I'll be right back NoodlesAtNight 8:02 pm [[Ah - is he all right?]] thebestdecepticonleader 8:03 pm Cool name Can I help? verdigrisprowl 8:03 pm We'll be here. MedicalMurdersaurus 8:03 pm Yah, snacks for Bird! *starts to go with Swerve, then pauses to look at the sparkling one last time* MedicalMurdersaurus 8:04 pm *smacks both of his palms on his chest, holds up his hands and grins .... before walking away* thebestdecepticonleader 8:04 pm *Starscream has a sparkling, but he left them with the Autobots, that's why he's going like this* Swervester 8:04 pm [snorts] MedicalMurdersaurus 8:05 pm *is clearly the most badass baby in the room and immediately grabs onto Swerve* Snacks for Bird! NoodlesAtNight 8:05 pm *Soundwave shakes his head at Swoop. A mighty victory, bananabeak. Which reminds him. He turns to amica-Prowl.*

@P: [[...Perhaps we should get one.]] Swervester 8:05 pm [amused. he allows the hanging] Yes, snacks for Bird. verdigrisprowl 8:05 pm @S «... Come again?» *where would they keep it.* MedicalMurdersaurus 8:06 pm Where? Swervester 8:06 pm Here. [pulls out bag from subspace] rulesandprotocol 8:06 pm *returns with Hunter in arms.* we should be all set now sorry thebestdecepticonleader 8:06 pm Why are sparklings so precious? Swervester 8:07 pm //i'm laughing three prowls i really should have come as roller he'd be dying rulesandprotocol 8:07 pm Because Ithey done let their Carriers sleep for months and if they weren't precious most people wouldn't tolerate them MedicalMurdersaurus 8:07 pm *grins and makes grabby hands* Him Sideswipe give Me Swoop snack for Her Bird too! Him being gross with Thundercracker. Me Swoop going to have lots lots of snacks for Her Bird! NoodlesAtNight 8:07 pm @P: [[A sparkling. A newbuild? He thinks we should look into this.]] verdigrisprowl 8:08 pm @S «... Why??» thebestdecepticonleader 8:08 pm True, you know, if he ever needs a babysitter Swervester 8:08 pm [amused noise] Was he? Here. Have the whole bag. verdigrisprowl 8:08 pm *aren't there professionals who can take care of them* MedicalMurdersaurus 8:08 pm Yay : > rulesandprotocol 8:08 pm Thanks but Ive got almost 10 on retainer and 5 of them I dont even know their names Swervester 8:08 pm I'm sure she'll enjoy the snacks. thebestdecepticonleader 8:08 pm Oh, that's good NoodlesAtNight 8:08 pm *Soundwave tilts his helm. Does Prowl really need that explained to him?*

@P: [[Your timeline is taking in many refugees. Someone who would like to see Starscream behave like a better leader is bound to create one of these some time. If they were willing to cooperate, we could test his susceptibility to their presence.]] Swervester 8:08 pm //im crying soundwave MedicalMurdersaurus 8:09 pm Sometimes Her too many snack for tiny flying kehehheheheh Swervester 8:09 pm Does she MedicalMurdersaurus 8:09 pm It funniest thing EVER verdigrisprowl 8:10 pm @S «Ahhh. That IS a vulnerability we ought to look into.» *HE THOUGHT SOUNDWAVE MEANT TO KEEP* cerebrosurgeon 8:10 pm [He's here and going straight for Swerve as usual. Everyone he recognises gets their waves. He's fascinated by the baby in passing; everyone figured out where to find sparklings except the mechs sitting on a hot spot, huh?] Hey, hey. NoodlesAtNight 8:10 pm *THAT'S A VERY DIFFERENT THING* verdigrisprowl 8:10 pm @S «... Can you bug a sparkling?» NoodlesAtNight 8:10 pm [[Greetings, Cerebros.]] Swervester 8:10 pm Hey Cere. NoodlesAtNight 8:10 pm @P: [[...He doesn't know. He could try.]] verdigrisprowl 8:10 pm Right. We should get started now. verdigrisprowl 8:11 pm Everyone ready? thebestdecepticonleader 8:11 pm yeah cerebrosurgeon 8:11 pm Hey! Hi. I'm good. opatoes 8:11 pm Indeed. SCProwl 8:11 pm I am. Swervester 8:11 pm Yup NoodlesAtNight 8:11 pm [[Oh, yes. Apologies.]] *He'll get himself seated, like a normal person who's totally not secretly scheming.* opatoes 8:11 pm ... /Wait, Cerebros is here? But he thought he was already here. Now he is glaring at all the Prowls and Cerebros./ rulesandprotocol 8:11 pm *sits on floor lays Lockdowns poncho out and placed Hunter on his stomach so he can watch the show* Hunter *calm and happy* verdigrisprowl 8:12 pm ((i haven't pre-watched any of these so absolutely no content warnings and I apologize ahead of time if anything is cringy)) thebestdecepticonleader 8:12 pm *sitting on floor near Hunter* cerebrosurgeon 8:12 pm [He is definitely here /now/. He knows he's normally earlier. Sorry, Smokescreen.] Swervester 8:12 pm //for a second i thought those were tfa bees thebestdecepticonleader 8:13 pm That's not... how black holes work MedicalMurdersaurus 8:13 pm *wanders over to find a seat by the screen, which brings him closer to Hunter* Swervester 8:13 pm Science verdigrisprowl 8:13 pm They might be a little misinformed. rulesandprotocol 8:14 pm Hunter * flutters door wings puts toy he's been holding into mouth* MedicalMurdersaurus 8:14 pm *sits down criss cross apple sauce* NoodlesAtNight 8:14 pm *Huh. He thought that was a toy, not a food item. He really should spend more time learning about alternate universe newbuilds.* verdigrisprowl 8:15 pm Why would you go into stasis in the middle of a dangerous maneuver? rulesandprotocol 8:15 pm Toxic gas possibly? thebestdecepticonleader 8:15 pm Maybe it was unintentional NoodlesAtNight 8:15 pm [[Now is a time.]] verdigrisprowl 8:15 pm He initiated the procedure, and he had a space suit on to protect him from gases—or the lack thereof, in this case. Swervester 8:16 pm [squints] NoodlesAtNight 8:17 pm [[...This must be a lie.]] verdigrisprowl 8:17 pm ... That seems improbable. Maybe they mean large, systematic evils? Swervester 8:17 pm That's weirdly insistent. verdigrisprowl 8:18 pm It could've been reduced to the sort of threats that can be addressed by planet-by-planet police forces rather than an overarching galactic police system. MedicalMurdersaurus 8:18 pm *stretches his wings out* NoodlesAtNight 8:19 pm [[They did seem insistent that it was all crime - such as the would be mugger that gave flowers.]] verdigrisprowl 8:19 pm Indeed. Hm. verdigrisprowl 8:20 pm ... All right. I'm skeptical. Swervester 8:20 pm [frowny face] I feel like it's a Zurg plot except why would Zurg have everyone celebrate Buzz opatoes 8:20 pm There is, without a doubt, something wrong with this universe. Swervester 8:20 pm Oh. opatoes 8:20 pm Ah. MedicalMurdersaurus 8:20 pm Kehheehhh Boob verdigrisprowl 8:20 pm A lotus-eater machine? Swervester 8:20 pm Wow that was not something I expected opatoes 8:21 pm ... Hm. Zerg is... Familiar. verdigrisprowl 8:21 pm As long as he thinks the galaxy is at peace, he has no urge to run out to fight crime? ... Ahhh. Intel. Swervester 8:21 pm Yeah, I guess tho he seems pretty uncontent with it so--Oh. NoodlesAtNight 8:21 pm [[...He saw an ancient film about a perfect town on Earth. The lack of crime, disagreement, and imperfection was due to a young outlier human with reality warping abilities. He would punish anyone who displeased him. He wonders if that is the case h-- oh. Zurg. He supposes not.]] Swervester 8:22 pm And now I see. He schedules his gloating? NoodlesAtNight 8:22 pm [[It's so efficient.]] *Slight admiring tone.* verdigrisprowl 8:22 pm Efficient. Swervester 8:22 pm .... Actually maybe that's smart, if he has it scheduled for a specific time it doesn't interfere with plotting NoodlesAtNight 8:22 pm *Soft huff.* verdigrisprowl 8:22 pm *huff* opatoes 8:22 pm ... Magnetic forces? Hm. verdigrisprowl 8:23 pm Ooh. That looks fun. opatoes 8:23 pm It does, doesn't it? thebestdecepticonleader 8:23 pm It seems like an unnecessarily long time for gloating though MedicalMurdersaurus 8:23 pm :V Me Swoop want to bounce! Swervester 8:23 pm That's not working as planned. opatoes 8:23 pm ... Zerg is even as incompetent as. Hm. NoodlesAtNight 8:24 pm ((oh my god they slipped that past the radar didn't they)) MedicalMurdersaurus 8:24 pm *snickers* opatoes 8:24 pm ((wait what'd they say NoodlesAtNight 8:24 pm ((the robot went "ooh, lower, lower")) cerebrosurgeon 8:24 pm For someone who spends a lot of time after these guys, he's not great at this. verdigrisprowl 8:24 pm ((i was picturing a back massage)) thebestdecepticonleader 8:24 pm ((oh gosh)) MedicalMurdersaurus 8:24 pm POOF! opatoes 8:25 pm ((OH adsvcxb NoodlesAtNight 8:25 pm [[A refuse hat?]] Swervester 8:25 pm //is that a fuckin star wars ref verdigrisprowl 8:25 pm Hatch. ((u know it)) NoodlesAtNight 8:25 pm [[Oh. That does make more sense.]] verdigrisprowl 8:25 pm The torture might not be working, but he DID just get the weakness to Star Command. Swervester 8:25 pm //god how did i ever forget how funny yhis show was Swervester 8:25 pm Why didn't he use this on everyone? It was obviouly a good plot. cerebrosurgeon 8:25 pm His simulation's not bad- Yeah! Swervester 8:26 pm Oh. cerebrosurgeon 8:26 pm ... Little more manual than a simulation, I see. verdigrisprowl 8:26 pm Because Buzz was the only one who was slungshot through space and would have a reason to think he was teleported into the future. Swervester 8:26 pm Wow, it'd be better if he hadn't found the trap. MedicalMurdersaurus 8:26 pm Kehehhe! Them RIIIIP face! NoodlesAtNight 8:26 pm *Mildly disturbed by the sight of fleshlings peeling apart to be robots.* verdigrisprowl 8:26 pm *could be worse. could be the other way around.* NoodlesAtNight 8:27 pm [[...The controls are a keyboard.]] verdigrisprowl 8:27 pm ((man, the animation in this episode is top notch. check out those faces.)) MedicalMurdersaurus 8:27 pm *ERUPTS in laughter* verdigrisprowl 8:27 pm ((mira and xr in particular looked great)) opatoes 8:27 pm ((I know right rulesandprotocol 8:27 pm Hunter * giggles cause others laugh* Swervester 8:28 pm She not used to leading I guess? cerebrosurgeon 8:28 pm 〈I'm constantly distracted by the art in this show〉 opatoes 8:28 pm . . . thebestdecepticonleader 8:28 pm That's why every group needs at least two capable of leading NoodlesAtNight 8:28 pm *Quietly wonders how much the sparkling can comprehend. They all seem to have differing levels from timeline to timeline...* thebestdecepticonleader 8:28 pm *pouting* MedicalMurdersaurus 8:28 pm Leader stuff is for leaders *nods and thinks of all the Grimlock noogies* NoodlesAtNight 8:28 pm [[Ergh.]] *Shudder.* Swervester 8:29 pm Oh. verdigrisprowl 8:29 pm It's the fake. rulesandprotocol 8:29 pm is he being fooled by the dummy? thebestdecepticonleader 8:29 pm think so? Lieutenant10 8:30 pm Suitable. Dummy for a dummy verdigrisprowl 8:30 pm He's too stiff. rulesandprotocol 8:30 pm Its probably what I would have done in his situation/ Swervester 8:30 pm Wait is star command just right next door to the Zurg base thebestdecepticonleader 8:30 pm apparently verdigrisprowl 8:30 pm Zurg has ships. He gets around. rulesandprotocol 8:30 pm thats just poor planning MedicalMurdersaurus 8:30 pm KEHEHEHEHHHH opatoes 8:30 pm ... He could have done that this whole time opatoes 8:31 pm Hm. thebestdecepticonleader 8:31 pm that's not how physics works verdigrisprowl 8:31 pm They're on a ship. They undoubtedly flew close just for this specific attack. NoodlesAtNight 8:31 pm [[Perhaps it is encased in rubber.]] Swervester 8:31 pm I think physics in this universe is a bit more flexib;e. MedicalMurdersaurus 8:31 pm *is just delighted every time Zerg is a snarky asshole* SCProwl 8:31 pm Not in this universe anyway. thebestdecepticonleader 8:32 pm ((wow, kiss our refuse hatch goodbye opatoes 8:32 pm Heh. verdigrisprowl 8:32 pm *HUFF* NoodlesAtNight 8:32 pm *HUFFS* Swervester 8:32 pm [chokes] MedicalMurdersaurus 8:32 pm ((O M F G)) NoodlesAtNight 8:32 pm [[He thinks XR has that out of order.]] SCProwl 8:32 pm Well. opatoes 8:32 pm Indeed, the order seems a bit off. ... Why is he 3d in this MedicalMurdersaurus 8:32 pm *snickers because the adults are reacting* verdigrisprowl 8:33 pm *XR, space hero.* opatoes 8:33 pm Oh. Oh, it's simply someone dressed as Buzz Lightyear. verdigrisprowl 8:33 pm Oh... *waves vaguely* They advertise a tie-in toy in the intro sometimes. NoodlesAtNight 8:33 pm (("I need a debriefing and I need it now" is a good pickup line for a spy/soldier.)) rulesandprotocol 8:33 pm Hunter *coos and toy falls out of his mouth a rolls away* NoodlesAtNight 8:33 pm *Absently reaches out with feeler to pick up the toy.* MedicalMurdersaurus 8:33 pm *glances down at the rolling toy* NoodlesAtNight 8:33 pm *Sets it back on the Prowl's belly and reels in.* MedicalMurdersaurus 8:34 pm Arson : > verdigrisprowl 8:34 pm No arson in here. Lieutenant10 8:34 pm Unpaid parking tickets rulesandprotocol 8:34 pm Thanks SOundwave * pick it up and places in subspace* MedicalMurdersaurus 8:34 pm Me Swoop like arson : V NoodlesAtNight 8:34 pm [[No unpaid parking tickets in here either.]] *Amused.* [[You are welcome.]] Swervester 8:35 pm Wow. verdigrisprowl 8:35 pm /He/ took the time to soak the atmosphere. thebestdecepticonleader 8:36 pm Not enough apparently verdigrisprowl 8:36 pm But, you'd think they would've checked how many arms his species has before attempting to arrest him. That seems like basic info. MedicalMurdersaurus 8:36 pm Are wings limbs? thebestdecepticonleader 8:36 pm Yes verdigrisprowl 8:36 pm If they're prehensile. Lieutenant10 8:36 pm Yes MedicalMurdersaurus 8:36 pm *waggles his* thebestdecepticonleader 8:36 pm *Wiggle, wiggle* NoodlesAtNight 8:36 pm *Idly imagines Prowl with arms like his. The long arm of the law. Hm.* Lieutenant10 8:36 pm *flick flicks* rulesandprotocol 8:36 pm Hunter *tries to copy Swoops wing waggles with his doors* verdigrisprowl 8:37 pm ... So that applies to everyone here. MedicalMurdersaurus 8:37 pm *glances over at Starscream and flairs his wings a bit wider* NoodlesAtNight 8:37 pm *...Nah. They wouldn't look good.* [[Hm? What applies to everyone here? Parking tickets?]] SCProwl 8:37 pm Wings? thebestdecepticonleader 8:37 pm Oh... were you not using wing speech? verdigrisprowl 8:37 pm *DID HE REMEMBER TO PING HIS ALTERNATE A VIDEO STREAM* *PINGS and apologizes* MedicalMurdersaurus 8:37 pm Wing speech? SCProwl 8:38 pm *the mun may have forgotten, whoops* thebestdecepticonleader 8:38 pm When you move your wings to add meaning verdigrisprowl 8:38 pm *the other mun may have as well* SCProwl 8:38 pm *retcon, it was there the whole time!* thebestdecepticonleader 8:38 pm For example "hello" *wing wiggles* MedicalMurdersaurus 8:38 pm Oh! *thinks Screamer means "body language" and bobbles his head* verdigrisprowl 8:38 pm Prehensile wings. verdigrisprowl 8:39 pm Parking tickets don't apply to anyone here. opatoes 8:39 pm ....... Hm. Lieutenant10 8:39 pm Ah It is the Frizzle bus opatoes 8:39 pm Parking tickets? ... What are parking tickets NoodlesAtNight 8:39 pm *Eyes his arms. Turns his head to one side, and then the other. ... Lifts his hands.* [][][]Prehensile wings.[][][] thebestdecepticonleader 8:39 pm Considering all of my crimes, parking tickets are the least of my worries verdigrisprowl 8:39 pm Sure, but they're not separate on you, so they don't count as additional limbs. MedicalMurdersaurus 8:40 pm *assumes a parking ticket is like a ticket to a show or theme park, which is really confusing this discussion for him and it shows on his face* NoodlesAtNight 8:40 pm [[Perhaps if he'd been sparked with his feelers first and acquired his arms in a contest.]] verdigrisprowl 8:40 pm In species that drive separate vehicles, many cultures have laws about where you can leave behind the vehicles when you're not using them. thebestdecepticonleader 8:41 pm My Cybertron actually gives out parking tickets 😕 rulesandprotocol 8:41 pm My universe give tickets for indecent Transformation, so basically transforming in places not allowed such as walk ways or in the middle of the road MedicalMurdersaurus 8:41 pm *is now imagining people dropping corpses in places in getting in trouble for the location, which is lame* rulesandprotocol 8:42 pm you have to find a transformation spot, similar to earths parking lots or spaces and transform there NoodlesAtNight 8:42 pm *Suddenly very glad to be a flight model these days.* Swervester 8:42 pm We had a whole lane on my Cybertron; transformation lanes against the sidewalk so that if you needed to drive you just transformed on the side of the road to avoid accidents. verdigrisprowl 8:42 pm Mine gives tickets for obstruction of traffic, but otherwise you can leave your vehicle anywhere. MedicalMurdersaurus 8:42 pm Driving sound BORING SCProwl 8:43 pm Says someone that's never driven before. Swervester 8:44 pm Do you trust him to drive. MedicalMurdersaurus 8:44 pm Flying better. Dinobots better! Us go wherever, DO WHATEVER us want : > rulesandprotocol 8:44 pm Drivings fun NoodlesAtNight 8:44 pm [[It isn't so bad. There are some things that cannot be easily done in the air.]] Lieutenant10 8:44 pm Flying is certainly better opatoes 8:44 pm ... Wait, is that what those pieces of paper are for? verdigrisprowl 8:44 pm Flying didn't do much for me. opatoes 8:44 pm I simply assumed humans were littering. rulesandprotocol 8:44 pm only way I've flown is via the Death's Head or the Arclight. NoodlesAtNight 8:44 pm [[And it is much, much easier to travel und--]] *Pause. Twist to look at Prowl.* [[When were you an aerial mech?]] SCProwl 8:45 pm I'd rather keep my wheels on the ground. opatoes 8:45 pm ... Relatable, Zerg. rulesandprotocol 8:45 pm same verdigrisprowl 8:45 pm The, uh. Er. Banana. MedicalMurdersaurus 8:45 pm BLOP! New guy! Lieutenant10 8:45 pm ((Thank you guys for this bc I'm now IN LOVE with this show)) NoodlesAtNight 8:45 pm [[Oh. Oh, yes.]] *Shudder.* [[Let's not speak of that.]] verdigrisprowl 8:45 pm ((IT'S A GREAT SHOW)) NoodlesAtNight 8:45 pm ((same! i've never seen any, it's so good)) opatoes 8:45 pm ((IT IS verdigrisprowl 8:45 pm ((i recommend watching the intro movie)) Lieutenant10 8:45 pm ((Zurg is my new love, and the animation is just SO REFRESHING)) opatoes 8:46 pm ((OH YEAH i saw that like... a couple years ago Lieutenant10 8:46 pm (( I watched the intro movie when I was like 8 )) verdigrisprowl 8:46 pm ((Zurg is SO great)) SCProwl 8:46 pm ((it's delightful Lieutenant10 8:46 pm (( Going to need to watch it again now)) thebestdecepticonleader 8:47 pm ((there's a movie?)) verdigrisprowl 8:47 pm ((yep! it explains how the team got together)) NoodlesAtNight 8:47 pm @P: [[He takes it there won't be any root mode repeats of the time you sat on him while he was flying, then? Intentional or otherwise.]] thebestdecepticonleader 8:47 pm ((cool I'll have to find it)) verdigrisprowl 8:47 pm *side-eyeing the guest who came in late that he didn't greet. is that Lieutenant? It looks like Lieutenant. He can't ask in case he's right and Lieutenant is still, for some reason, undercover.* Osmond 8:47 pm *Jazz slips in * verdigrisprowl 8:47 pm ((just search for Buzz Lightyear Of Star Command: The Adventure Begins. it's up on youtube.)) thebestdecepticonleader 8:48 pm ((cool verdigrisprowl 8:48 pm @S «Why, do you want there to be?» Swervester 8:48 pm Why didn't she do that at the start MedicalMurdersaurus 8:48 pm Shake shake shake! verdigrisprowl 8:49 pm *oh! other amica! that'll distract him from lieutenant. waves* NoodlesAtNight 8:49 pm @P: [[One never knows what may become necessary some day.]] Osmond 8:49 pm *smiles and waves, is there room from him to sit nearby? * NoodlesAtNight 8:49 pm *Like side-eyeing the latest of Prowl's guests. Which mostly looks like he's just watching the screen. Half visor. Still.* Lieutenant10 8:49 pm *sees Prowl look at him and gives him a nod and goes back to hoarding library books* rulesandprotocol 8:49 pm Hunter: *coos sleepily* verdigrisprowl 8:49 pm *sure, sit on his other side* *he got a nod! that's lieutenant.* MedicalMurdersaurus 8:50 pm *glances over at the cooing baby, what a loser, they should arm wrestle* thebestdecepticonleader 8:50 pm *coos back* adorable Swervester 8:50 pm [tweaks Swoop's wing lightly and offers another treat for distraction] MedicalMurdersaurus 8:50 pm :V *was tweaked* Osmond 8:50 pm *comes to sit with Prowl * sorry I'm late verdigrisprowl 8:51 pm It's fine. You only missed a couple of episodes. NoodlesAtNight 8:52 pm *Has to be nice and not say "You could've been later." Is trying to keep to that whole Not Being Nasty To Prowl's Other Amica thing. Do some of that Mild Respect business. Yep.* verdigrisprowl 8:52 pm We're watching a cop show. rulesandprotocol 8:52 pm *wraps Hunter in poncho so he's warm when he falls asleep* Osmond 8:52 pm Well I'm a fast study *smiles * so I'll try to catch up *nods to Soundwave as a gesture of mild respect * verdigrisprowl 8:52 pm It's episodic, you figure things out fast. cerebrosurgeon 8:52 pm [Oh, is that a Jazz? He doesn't know this Jazz, but he'll wave at him anyway. He's very absorbed in watching and missed anyone coming in.] rulesandprotocol 8:52 pm Hunter *puts entire hand into mouth as Prowl holds him so he can fall into recharge* opatoes 8:53 pm ... A group discount? MedicalMurdersaurus 8:53 pm Why you tie up baby? *grins* It a bad baby? NoodlesAtNight 8:53 pm *Damn. He nodded. Now he HAS to be nice.* rulesandprotocol 8:53 pm Nope he just needs to be warm MedicalMurdersaurus 8:53 pm *grins audio to audio* Me Swoop can WARM Osmond 8:53 pm *waves back but quickly notices other Prowl and a bundle * NoodlesAtNight 8:53 pm [[Ah. Does he require more warmth or will that be sufficient?]] thebestdecepticonleader 8:53 pm *whispering* Do you need someone to hold him while he sleeps? NoodlesAtNight 8:53 pm *Will break Swoop's beak off and feed it to him if he so much as hiccups smoke.* Swervester 8:54 pm [shoves a treat into Swoop's hand] Swoop tell me about Bird. rulesandprotocol 8:54 pm This should be fine, thanks for the offer thebestdecepticonleader 8:54 pm Because I do know how to look after babies If you need help MedicalMurdersaurus 8:55 pm *takes teh treat because it's there* UM! Uh. What about Bird? : > rulesandprotocol 8:55 pm If you want to hold him you can. thebestdecepticonleader 8:55 pm Really? Swervester 8:55 pm Tell me about Bird flying. Lieutenant10 8:55 pm Cosmos has his own stop it seems ((ASFHUIDSHFDS)) MedicalMurdersaurus 8:55 pm ((OH MY FUCKING GOD)) rulesandprotocol 8:56 pm Yeah you can hold him while he sleeps. Lieutenant10 8:56 pm (( SO SMOOTH )) Swervester 8:56 pm //lmao thebestdecepticonleader 8:56 pm *arms out* rulesandprotocol 8:56 pm *hands Hunter over to Starscream* Lieutenant10 8:56 pm ((She so cute )) rulesandprotocol 8:56 pm Hunter: *mutters lightly, removing hand from mouth* thebestdecepticonleader 8:57 pm *perfect hold for a baby* MedicalMurdersaurus 8:57 pm Oh! Her Bird really really maneuvering. Maneuverable. Her FAST and turn REALLY REALLY sharp! Keheh. Because little and LIGHT! *squeezes the treat a little and snickers* Except after BIG eating kehehhehehhh verdigrisprowl 8:57 pm I think there's probably a safer way to deal with large space debris than blowing it up. rulesandprotocol 8:57 pm Hunter *whines turns away from noise* thebestdecepticonleader 8:57 pm Like... moving the ship? NoodlesAtNight 8:57 pm [[Yes. Push it into someone else's sector and let them deal with it.]] thebestdecepticonleader 8:58 pm *gentle rocking* Swervester 8:58 pm //i enjoy that buzz is apparently a Good Customer verdigrisprowl 8:58 pm Or put it in an orbit around a star or planet where it isn't going to run into anything. Lieutenant10 8:58 pm Officer Lightyear is good verdigrisprowl 8:58 pm ... Well THAT didn't look natural. Swervester 8:58 pm Yeah? You fly with Bird, Swoop? verdigrisprowl 8:58 pm ((I CAN'T BELIEVE THEY GOT THAT IN)) Lieutenant10 8:58 pm ((ASSTEROID)) NoodlesAtNight 8:58 pm ((i missed it what was it)) thebestdecepticonleader 8:58 pm ((kick assteroid lol)) verdigrisprowl 8:59 pm (("kick some asteroid")) MedicalMurdersaurus 8:59 pm YAH! Lots of time. After movie sometime. There canyon by Dancitron. Us ZIP in there. It fun because FAST and dangerous. Swervester 8:59 pm Sounds fun. MedicalMurdersaurus 9:00 pm Yup. Me Swoop like CHASING buuuuuuuuuuuttttt Her a scardy bird Swervester 9:00 pm Why's that? MedicalMurdersaurus 9:00 pm Dunno. Her a scardy Bird always. NoodlesAtNight 9:00 pm *Slow look at Swoop.* MedicalMurdersaurus 9:00 pm *doesn't notice* Swervester 9:00 pm [squints] NoodlesAtNight 9:00 pm [[She is a courageous mech and you will say nothing to the contrary - or he will inform her of your opinion.]] Swervester 9:00 pm Ouch,. verdigrisprowl 9:00 pm See, this is why they shouldn't have blown them up. Osmond 9:01 pm More to deal with rulesandprotocol 9:02 pm Hunter * sneezes* MedicalMurdersaurus 9:02 pm *looks at Soundwave with big confused optics* But...... Her Bird IS a scardy Bird. Lieutenant10 9:02 pm Salude verdigrisprowl 9:02 pm Oh. This is an XR and Buzz episode. *pleased. his two favorites.* thebestdecepticonleader 9:02 pm This message has been removed. MedicalMurdersaurus 9:02 pm ((OMFG)) Swervester 9:02 pm Wow that head. NoodlesAtNight 9:02 pm [[She throws herself into battles when asked despite her misgivings. This makes her courageous. That is the end of the discussion.]] rulesandprotocol 9:03 pm It is probably a good thing she can float NoodlesAtNight 9:03 pm [[...Is the organic all right.]] Osmond 9:03 pm * briefly distracted by baby hunter noises. So cute* thebestdecepticonleader 9:03 pm Cute baby *cleans face in case of contaminants* MedicalMurdersaurus 9:03 pm *stares at Soundwave, completely caught off guard and confused about what is going on* verdigrisprowl 9:03 pm She seems to be fine with it. NoodlesAtNight 9:04 pm *...He supposes her powers would allow her to support a head that size on a neck that thin, so yes. He'll nod.* Lieutenant10 9:04 pm ((SNRK)) Osmond 9:04 pm Yikes... evidently she doesn't like mecha NoodlesAtNight 9:04 pm [[A good dungeon can be quite useful.]] verdigrisprowl 9:04 pm Evidently. MedicalMurdersaurus 9:04 pm *staaaaaaaaaaare* Lieutenant10 9:05 pm ((GIUWAD:SFUADHUSFD)) verdigrisprowl 9:05 pm ... Either that, or the organic prisoners rotted. Swervester 9:05 pm [nudges Swoop lightly] MedicalMurdersaurus 9:05 pm *nudges back but keeps staring at Soundwave* Osmond 9:05 pm Ah, good point. They do decay a lot faster than us thebestdecepticonleader 9:06 pm Organics can rot? Ew. NoodlesAtNight 9:06 pm [[Organics are in a constant state of rotting.]] verdigrisprowl 9:06 pm *shrugs* It just makes them softer. Swervester 9:06 pm Wow NoodlesAtNight 9:07 pm *Soundwave is no longer staring at Swoop* MedicalMurdersaurus 9:08 pm ((OH LORD)) opatoes 9:08 pm Hm. thebestdecepticonleader 9:08 pm But if they rot, then how do they still look whole? NoodlesAtNight 9:08 pm [[They rot in layers. The external ones die and flake away.]] thebestdecepticonleader 9:08 pm oh MedicalMurdersaurus 9:08 pm *keeps on staring because he doesn't understand what Soundwave's problem is* verdigrisprowl 9:08 pm *points at the screen* See that. Buzz's whole—complete failure to play along for the sake of this mission. cerebrosurgeon 9:08 pm [Wince.] It's not a pretty proces- Skeletal frameworks are more solid. thebestdecepticonleader 9:09 pm that's almost worse NoodlesAtNight 9:09 pm *Looking where Prowl is pointing.* [[Hm?]] verdigrisprowl 9:09 pm For anyone who's ever wondered—this is why I wasn't a field agent. Osmond 9:09 pm Yeah... he didn't do that all too well NoodlesAtNight 9:09 pm [[Ohh.]] SCProwl 9:09 pm He wouldn't be very good at undercover work. Swervester 9:09 pm I wouldn't be either. Lieutenant10 9:09 pm It is best left to more charismatic mechs Swervester 9:09 pm I'm a bad liar under pressure. Osmond 9:10 pm *was good at undercover * SCProwl 9:10 pm *was as well* verdigrisprowl 9:10 pm *and prowl appreciated it* rulesandprotocol 9:10 pm I never would have been good at UC work tried it once to help Wheelie with a target, it didn't end well. NoodlesAtNight 9:10 pm *At least he never has to worry about Prowl being the one to do that to him. ... Maybe the mech next to him.* MedicalMurdersaurus 9:11 pm *eventually can't handle focusing on one thing for so long and breaks his one sided staring contest with Soundwave* verdigrisprowl 9:11 pm *mumbles* Imagine an organic pet biting your hardline cable and hauling it all around a building. Awful. Swervester 9:12 pm [huffs] Osmond 9:12 pm Ah... yea, no thanks. NoodlesAtNight 9:12 pm *CRINGES LIKE HELL* *Maybe sorta. Pulls his arm in closer. Over the panel on his side. Yep.* Swervester 9:13 pm I'm concerned for her neck when they break her power. rulesandprotocol 9:13 pm as am I MedicalMurdersaurus 9:13 pm *has no idea what happened while he was staring* What her mad for? verdigrisprowl 9:13 pm I expect that she's got more than enough power to support herself—just not enough to take out Star Command alone. thebestdecepticonleader 9:13 pm ew MedicalMurdersaurus 9:13 pm Ew Lieutenant10 9:14 pm *heavy sighing* Primes, never let a mission turn out to be like this Osmond 9:14 pm Wait wait if she is fighting with pillows is it a pillow fight? MedicalMurdersaurus 9:14 pm ((OH MY GOD this isn't even subtle)) thebestdecepticonleader 9:14 pm I guess, bit one sided though Swervester 9:15 pm Was he even that shy earlier tho verdigrisprowl 9:15 pm He tripped all over his own name. thebestdecepticonleader 9:15 pm everyone gets shy around people they like though MedicalMurdersaurus 9:16 pm Us Dinobots NEVER shy! Lieutenant10 9:16 pm Duly noted thebestdecepticonleader 9:16 pm You will be one day, when you find someone you like verdigrisprowl 9:17 pm He has. He's not shy. opatoes 9:17 pm ((DSAXVC was that zim's va i zoned out and i swear i heard him NoodlesAtNight 9:17 pm [[Trust him. Swoop is not shy about that.]] MedicalMurdersaurus 9:17 pm *is weirdly proud of having people backign up how right he is* verdigrisprowl 9:17 pm ((... kinda sounds like him, don't it?)) rulesandprotocol 9:17 pm Some people just arent shy thebestdecepticonleader 9:17 pm Oh really, someone teach me how to not be shy Swervester 9:17 pm You do'nt look shy NoodlesAtNight 9:17 pm [[It is simple. Step one: Think of something you want to say or do. Step two: Do it.]] opatoes 9:17 pm ((there was one line that just. sounded exactly like him and it startled me thebestdecepticonleader 9:18 pm Romance is hard verdigrisprowl 9:18 pm *huff* Lieutenant10 9:18 pm Be extremely stubborn and deny any feelings you think you might have rulesandprotocol 9:18 pm It really is. Romance is a long complicated game. MedicalMurdersaurus 9:18 pm Be a Dinobot : > Lieutenant10 9:18 pm Or be a Dinobot SCProwl 9:19 pm Don't tell people you're shy. thebestdecepticonleader 9:19 pm I can lead an army with no trouble, but once I have to speak to the person I like... MedicalMurdersaurus 9:19 pm You suck kehehehh Swervester 9:19 pm I like how he emphasizes that he's evil emperor and not just a regular one. verdigrisprowl 9:19 pm No rubble left behind. thebestdecepticonleader 9:19 pm Probably would have been easier if my first target of affection wasn't Megatron verdigrisprowl 9:19 pm I bet they're teleported. Lieutenant10 9:20 pm Likely MedicalMurdersaurus 9:20 pm Gross! verdigrisprowl 9:20 pm *disgusted look* Swervester 9:20 pm Probably. cerebrosurgeon 9:20 pm Well, there's your problem. SCProwl 9:20 pm Oh. The problem isn't that you're shy, Starscream. It's that you have no taste. thebestdecepticonleader 9:20 pm He's not any more NoodlesAtNight 9:20 pm [[Consider this instead, then: Find a companion who likes getting orders. Discuss the possibility with them. If they agree, lead them.]] Swervester 9:20 pm [holds face] thebestdecepticonleader 9:20 pm I have other... interests now NoodlesAtNight 9:20 pm *Turns his head away so nobody can see him trying not to be amused by his timeline's Prowl* MedicalMurdersaurus 9:21 pm Me Swoop love Her Bird! Her the best! verdigrisprowl 9:21 pm *mumbles at Soundwave* Well, worked for you. Swervester 9:21 pm .... Hm. NoodlesAtNight 9:21 pm *P O K E R F A C E* rulesandprotocol 9:22 pm Hunter *sighs and starts sucking thumb digit doors laying flat against his back optics off* thebestdecepticonleader 9:23 pm ew NoodlesAtNight 9:23 pm @P: [[A /metonymy/ worked for him - but feel free to swap positions next time if you would like a change of pace.]] verdigrisprowl 9:24 pm @S «... Oh, right, I did talk about the metonymy when I was drunk.» MedicalMurdersaurus 9:25 pm mAAAAAAAAAARvalous kehehhehhehh Swervester 9:25 pm Do we ever get a backstory for his evil? Does he have a reason or is he jusdt evil for evil sake NoodlesAtNight 9:26 pm @P: [[You did.]] *Light nudge. He's entertained, not upset.* [[He is thankful for that documentary's existence.]] thebestdecepticonleader 9:26 pm Because it's fun MedicalMurdersaurus 9:26 pm Him Zerg awesome verdigrisprowl 9:26 pm He suggests it's a family job. Swervester 9:26 pm Oh. Osmond 9:26 pm A family job to be evil? Interesting career choice thebestdecepticonleader 9:26 pm Better than Megatron's reason at least MedicalMurdersaurus 9:26 pm KAHAHHAH nice Swervester 9:26 pm I still can't tell if he's a robot or an organicv in armor. verdigrisprowl 9:26 pm The emperor thing, I meant. He talks about the legacy left by his ancestors. Planet Z has probably been ruled by Zurgs for a long time. Swervester 9:26 pm Ah MedicalMurdersaurus 9:27 pm "Any means necessary" is FUN : > verdigrisprowl 9:29 pm ... Is her species telepathic, too? cerebrosurgeon 9:29 pm [Ah. Hm. Swerve's getting leaned on, that's a little close to home.] rulesandprotocol 9:29 pm must be only reason that type of thinking would work. Swervester 9:29 pm [leans back] Lieutenant10 9:29 pm That would impressive cerebrosurgeon 9:30 pm [Excellent. This is some prime leaning content.] verdigrisprowl 9:30 pm ... For the record, a 167-hour workweek gives them a single hour off a week. thebestdecepticonleader 9:30 pm wow rulesandprotocol 9:30 pm organics need sleep right? usually a lot of it an hour isn't nearly enough. Lieutenant10 9:30 pm Well. That is, thoughtful... verdigrisprowl 9:30 pm What did I say. Teleporter. thebestdecepticonleader 9:31 pm Unless they have a different time system verdigrisprowl 9:31 pm This is translated. rulesandprotocol 9:31 pm but I guess they could be on duty all the time - even when they are sleeping. thebestdecepticonleader 9:31 pm But then why leave out the one hour Lieutenant10 9:32 pm Those planets should not be that close together rulesandprotocol 9:32 pm mandatory possibly? thebestdecepticonleader 9:32 pm That is... weird but I guess rulesandprotocol 9:32 pm like they have to have one hour where they aren't on call? opatoes 9:32 pm ... Did she swear verdigrisprowl 9:33 pm Torture's less effective if there isn't a hope for a temporary reprieve? MedicalMurdersaurus 9:33 pm *rolls onto his back* verdigrisprowl 9:34 pm Good job, there, shooting their own equipment. thebestdecepticonleader 9:34 pm I don't know, I've had both temporary and unending torture and... temporary gives you too much hope verdigrisprowl 9:34 pm *ugh, Prowl sees where this is going.* *leans toward Soundwave* thebestdecepticonleader 9:34 pm *turns away* NoodlesAtNight 9:35 pm *Leans against. He's here.* Lieutenant10 9:35 pm .... Did Did he just preform mnemosurgery? On an organic? MedicalMurdersaurus 9:35 pm *puts his hands over hsi helm and pushes up to be a bridge* NoodlesAtNight 9:35 pm [[It would appear so.]] verdigrisprowl 9:35 pm Mhm. Osmond 9:35 pm *glances at Prowl with a flicker of concern * thebestdecepticonleader 9:35 pm Is it over? verdigrisprowl 9:35 pm It's over. Swervester 9:35 pm [sighs] Lieutenant10 9:35 pm *rubs his face* thebestdecepticonleader 9:36 pm *turns around* verdigrisprowl 9:36 pm ... Never mind. NoodlesAtNight 9:36 pm [[Yes. One is your hand.]] thebestdecepticonleader 9:36 pm 😕 verdigrisprowl 9:37 pm Last one for the night. NoodlesAtNight 9:37 pm *He liked her better when she just phase shifted through things.* MedicalMurdersaurus 9:37 pm *walks his feet closer to his hands until he can juuuuust sort of roll up into being standing up* verdigrisprowl 9:37 pm *he likes her better when she does that too* NoodlesAtNight 9:37 pm *Non-brain things.* Swervester 9:38 pm At least they're not altering memories I guess? [not much of a consolation, probably] verdigrisprowl 9:38 pm *stiffly* Not much better. thebestdecepticonleader 9:38 pm Do we know for certain that it didn't? Swervester 9:39 pm Is that the brother? verdigrisprowl 9:39 pm That's the brother. MedicalMurdersaurus 9:39 pm *faces the group* This boring sit blahblah talk time movie. Us go *throws his arms up* DO STUFF! verdigrisprowl 9:39 pm No. rulesandprotocol 9:39 pm Hunter *jumps started by nosie cries* MedicalMurdersaurus 9:39 pm *snaps his head around to look at the crying* thebestdecepticonleader 9:40 pm *more rocking and cooing* verdigrisprowl 9:40 pm *Swoop made a baby cry, he is THIS close to getting bridged out.* NoodlesAtNight 9:40 pm *Facepalms.* MedicalMurdersaurus 9:40 pm *walks over to look at the source of all this noise* thebestdecepticonleader 9:40 pm No little one, it's okay rulesandprotocol 9:40 pm *digs through subspace pulls out random sparkling items until finding pacifire and places into Hunter mouth* Osmond 9:41 pm *lightly glares a Swoop, and checks time * oops, got a late night gig. I'll catch y'all later? (( I'm going to call it a night y'all! Sorry for being late, and everyone take care!! Lieutenant10 9:41 pm (( Night night )) NoodlesAtNight 9:41 pm ((aaaaa goodnight!)) verdigrisprowl 9:41 pm Later, Jazz. thebestdecepticonleader 9:41 pm Do you want Hunter back? verdigrisprowl 9:41 pm ... Where is the gig? thebestdecepticonleader 9:41 pm ((night rulesandprotocol 9:41 pm Yeah I'll take him back. NoodlesAtNight 9:41 pm [[...Why are you gagging the sparkling? It is not his fault he is crying.]] rulesandprotocol 9:41 pm //Night Jazz cerebrosurgeon 9:41 pm 〈Night!〉 thebestdecepticonleader 9:42 pm *gently places them in his arms* MedicalMurdersaurus 9:42 pm *has no sense of personal space and all the sense of entitled curiosity so he attempts to stick his face right up next to Hunter* Osmond 9:42 pm Hm? Just Mirage's place. Familiar ground to start *smiles * catch ya around. thebestdecepticonleader 9:42 pm Thank you for letting me hold them, it was wondeful Osmond 9:42 pm *salutes and leaves * verdigrisprowl 9:42 pm ... Maybe I'll come by after this. NoodlesAtNight 9:42 pm *Takes note of where Jazz's gig is in the back of his mind* rulesandprotocol 9:42 pm It's a pacifier, *moves crying Hunter away from Swoop attempting to keep the pacifire in his mouth* rulesandprotocol 9:43 pm its supposed to be healthier for him than sucking on his hand, its a comfort thing I guess. MedicalMurdersaurus 9:43 pm *walks around to try to keep looking at the baby* Why him a cry baby? rulesandprotocol 9:43 pm Because its the only way he can communicate his dsipleasure right now thebestdecepticonleader 9:43 pm Because all babies cry MedicalMurdersaurus 9:43 pm Why NoodlesAtNight 9:43 pm *Hmm. As long as it's comforting and not a cruelty. He'll settle down.* rulesandprotocol 9:43 pm and your welcome starscream. thank you for holding him for a whiel. verdigrisprowl 9:43 pm Because you were loud. thebestdecepticonleader 9:43 pm It tells you that they need something thebestdecepticonleader 9:44 pm In this case, that they were being scared and needed comfort MedicalMurdersaurus 9:44 pm Me Swoop not being LOUD Lieutenant10 9:44 pm Oh no NoodlesAtNight 9:44 pm [[Again?]] opatoes 9:44 pm Uh. verdigrisprowl 9:44 pm *winces* Swervester 9:44 pm Jeez thebestdecepticonleader 9:44 pm *looking away* verdigrisprowl 9:44 pm *winces harder* cerebrosurgeon 9:44 pm /Yikes./ rulesandprotocol 9:44 pm *shutters* Swervester 9:45 pm Her hands are suddenly ten times more threatening. rulesandprotocol 9:45 pm *pats Hunters back* Hunter*calms to sniffles* MedicalMurdersaurus 9:45 pm *doesn't notice the show at all and tries to touch Hunter's face* verdigrisprowl 9:45 pm *guess who's getting bridged?* *it's Swoop* Lieutenant10 9:45 pm That was unnecessary and a violation rulesandprotocol 9:45 pm Hunter *scrunches face whines* NoodlesAtNight 9:45 pm *Leans harder into Prowl's shoulder. He'll be any kind of support that's needed.*

[[Thank you for protecting the newbuild.]] MedicalMurdersaurus 9:45 pm *WHOOP no more swoop* Swervester 9:45 pm //wait didn't they meet him before thebestdecepticonleader 9:45 pm Let me know if he needs anything that I can get him, anything at all verdigrisprowl 9:45 pm ((we skipped around to watch all the Nos-4-A2 shows)) Swervester 9:45 pm //oh opkay lmao. that explains it verdigrisprowl 9:46 pm ((this is XL's first chronological appearance)) cerebrosurgeon 9:46 pm 〈Wheezes〉 verdigrisprowl 9:46 pm ((from here on out we'll be watching them in order, I just wanted to watch the Nos ones first lol)) thebestdecepticonleader 9:46 pm Especially to help him stay calm Swervester 9:46 pm //lmao makes sense rulesandprotocol 9:47 pm We'll be okay *pats runs digits over Hunters door wings* verdigrisprowl 9:47 pm ... It's unfortunate that he's so determined to win the approval of someone so mechaphobic. thebestdecepticonleader 9:47 pm To be honest, I see why he's upset rulesandprotocol 9:47 pm Hunter *calms more to mostly hiccups* opatoes 9:47 pm Indeed. It's upsetting. Swervester 9:48 pm That poor desk. verdigrisprowl 9:48 pm "Lousy robots," he says, while one robot is trying to defend him from another. NoodlesAtNight 9:48 pm [[What fool does not change the security codes when someone who has them goes rogue?]] verdigrisprowl 9:48 pm That desk took on a giant war machine. He has NO gratitude. rulesandprotocol 9:48 pm that shoud be a criminal offense not changing the codes NoodlesAtNight 9:48 pm [[And that is a brave, brave desk.]] verdigrisprowl 9:48 pm Maybe the security codes auto-shuffle but the bots know the auto-shuffle algorithm. rulesandprotocol 9:49 pm possibly, but then change the algorithm opatoes 9:49 pm ... thebestdecepticonleader 9:49 pm Maybe people go rogue too often for them to reasonably do that? Lieutenant10 9:49 pm Days behind his paperwork! How could he Swervester 9:49 pm I'd like to rescue that desk. verdigrisprowl 9:49 pm Disgraceful. NoodlesAtNight 9:50 pm [[As would he. It would be a valuable employee in any office environment.]] Swervester 9:50 pm I think Magnus would appreciate it way more than this guy verdigrisprowl 9:50 pm *I'd* appreciate it. Swervester 9:50 pm True. NoodlesAtNight 9:50 pm [[Agreed.]] Swervester 9:51 pm //do u think anyone's ever rped the desk verdigrisprowl 9:51 pm ((I BET THEY HAVEN'T)) NoodlesAtNight 9:51 pm ((omg)) Swervester 9:51 pm //someone should verdigrisprowl 9:51 pm He just.... constantly insults him. For being mechanical. It's vile. cerebrosurgeon 9:52 pm 〈Tempting muse-〉 Swervester 9:52 pm //i mean yes lmao thebestdecepticonleader 9:52 pm I would totally rebel against this guy, at least he isn't as bad as Megatron, but he's pretty bad verdigrisprowl 9:52 pm He shouldn't be in charge of a law enforcement agency. There are so many mechanical citizens in this galaxy, how can he be trusted to adequately serve them? He won't even HIRE them. NoodlesAtNight 9:52 pm *Hm. Nice maneuver, there.* rulesandprotocol 9:53 pm thats a good point Lieutenant10 9:53 pm Talk about glass ceilings with that Commander. Swervester 9:53 pm I guess he's dedicated enough to his job that he'll serve them fairly regardless of feelings? I can't imagine any other reason that isn't favoritism verdigrisprowl 9:53 pm No, I doubt it. Swervester 9:53 pm He could stand to be less phobic regardless. thebestdecepticonleader 9:54 pm Absolutely NoodlesAtNight 9:54 pm [[Perhaps they should try knocking.]] Swervester 9:54 pm Please XR verdigrisprowl 9:54 pm Looks too bouncy to knock on. verdigrisprowl 9:55 pm Ooh. /Nice/ cables. NoodlesAtNight 9:55 pm [[Rather.]] thebestdecepticonleader 9:55 pm Honestly this guy is me Swervester 9:55 pm I question why they didn't just fix his program errors that sent him rogue instead of offlining him. Or trying to offline. Swervester 9:56 pm ll of it. verdigrisprowl 9:56 pm Mechaphobia. Lieutenant10 9:56 pm *siiiiighs* Swervester 9:56 pm Low bar, XR. verdigrisprowl 9:57 pm He's so desperate for acknowledgment of any kind. Swervester 9:57 pm Oof. verdigrisprowl 9:57 pm ... Both of them are. thebestdecepticonleader 9:58 pm That's gross opatoes 9:58 pm ... He doesn't have a heart, though. Lieutenant10 9:58 pm He does not deserve that kind of treatment *but understands that immensely* rulesandprotocol 9:58 pm that was a fun movie well show verdigrisprowl 9:58 pm We'll be watching more next time. thebestdecepticonleader 9:58 pm mhm NoodlesAtNight 9:58 pm [[Good! He enjoys most of it.]] Lieutenant10 9:59 pm ((The show was made when I was 4yrs old)) (( Damn)) NoodlesAtNight 9:59 pm [[It is a fascinating look into organic enforcing work.]] rulesandprotocol 9:59 pm it really is. NoodlesAtNight 9:59 pm ((y'all makin me feel old now)) opatoes 9:59 pm Thank you for showing this, Prowl. ((wait what year is this show SCProwl 9:59 pm It is nice to see something with slightly less police corruption than the Gotham show. *slightly* Lieutenant10 9:59 pm (( 2000 rulesandprotocol 9:59 pm //I was like 7 Swervester 9:59 pm //iirc i was old enough to watch toy story's debut verdigrisprowl 10:00 pm And especially on the cusp of letting mechanicals into the force. They don't touch on the implications much directly, but it's an historic occasion and you can feel the implications. opatoes 10:00 pm ((... oh, i was like 5 i think?)) verdigrisprowl 10:00 pm ((i was 9 or 10)) thebestdecepticonleader 10:00 pm ((oh wow, now I feel old, I was 8)) NoodlesAtNight 10:00 pm ((i was almost out of high school at the cartoon's premiere... ahaha)) Swervester 10:00 pm //same Swervester 10:00 pm //i left highschool 7 years later lmao Lieutenant10 10:00 pm (( Damn, I wasn't EVEN 4, I was 3 when the show aired)) verdigrisprowl 10:00 pm ((this was my thing in 4th grade)) NoodlesAtNight 10:00 pm ((y'all young'ns! get off my apartment complex's lawn *shakes a cane* )) cerebrosurgeon 10:01 pm [Now that he's not distracted, he can actually take stock of who all is arou- Are there two of that guy. Is the holomatter thing happening again. Swerve's being prodded about this.] Swervester 10:01 pm //i was 11 when it aired first thebestdecepticonleader 10:01 pm ((the show didn't air here for a long time though, I was almost in high school)) Lieutenant10 10:01 pm (( Pfffft )) Swervester 10:01 pm [leans at Cerebros questioningly] opatoes 10:01 pm ((i dont think i ever watched disney channel at that time though, i only knew the numbers for cartoon network and nick at the time asdxcv NoodlesAtNight 10:01 pm [[He cannot help that Gotham's police force is mostly corrupted. That is one of the main reasons the Batman becomes necessary.]] thebestdecepticonleader 10:01 pm ((Australia gets all tv shows really late, especially back then)) cerebrosurgeon 10:01 pm The- [Oh. It's gone.] Never mind. cerebrosurgeon 10:02 pm 〈We can't go one stream without something weird happening, can we〉 opatoes 10:02 pm ((oh! and animal planet. mostly because they were right next to each other SCProwl 10:02 pm ((legit trying to remember if Prowl's seen anything with Batman in it suddenly thebestdecepticonleader 10:02 pm ((Okay I have to go, night everyone)) Swervester 10:02 pm //i'm debating airing batman animated series on thursdays since i can't find a working version of extinct or alive that works on rabbit rulesandprotocol 10:03 pm *stands with a somewhat cranky Hunter* We should probably get going. NoodlesAtNight 10:03 pm ((goodnight! and AAAAAAAAH i would be there with bells on)) cerebrosurgeon 10:03 pm 〈Night!〉 rulesandprotocol 10:03 pm //bye guys opatoes 10:03 pm ((i was thinking of maybe doing batman beyond asdxcvnmbv we all do batman Lieutenant10 10:03 pm Farewell thebestdecepticonleader 10:03 pm Okay, comm me if he needs any help though verdigrisprowl 10:03 pm Evening, alternate. Good to see you. cerebrosurgeon 10:03 pm 〈I have a boxset of Beyond I should stream somet- Hello〉 verdigrisprowl 10:03 pm ((every stream running a different batman show at the same time.)) Swervester 10:03 pm //i'll have to find a working youtube copy of it and i can start next week lmao NoodlesAtNight 10:03 pm *ooc vibrating through floor in delight*)) opatoes 10:03 pm ((that would be hilarious adsxcb Swervester 10:03 pm /'/lmao SCProwl 10:03 pm ((i approve opatoes 10:04 pm ((wait youtube? i know watchcartoononline works on rabbit- is it not on there Swervester 10:04 pm //oh is it opatoes 10:04 pm ((i've never had problems with it? Swervester 10:04 pm //if it is then i can stream it from there. i haven't watched tas in ages that was always my fav batman opatoes 10:04 pm ((YEAH SAME it's good!! opatoes 10:05 pm ((i kinda wanna do batman beyond just because i like the concept and i think it just celebrated like... it's 10th or 20th birthday recently? Swervester 10:05 pm //i'll bookmark the page tonight so i can pull it up next thursday cerebrosurgeon 10:05 pm 〈Animated is Very Good. Beyond's my personal favourite. Twentieth!!〉 verdigrisprowl 10:05 pm ((20th birthday)) cerebrosurgeon 10:05 pm 〈Happy Birthday Terry Mcginnis, my favourite boy〉 opatoes 10:05 pm ((man i can't believe it aired in 1998 ((wati 1999 Swervester 10:05 pm //i never watched all of it bc it tended to air while i was still on my way home fro school and i'd only get home in time for the ending NoodlesAtNight 10:06 pm ((animated, gotham, both tim burtons, and then the one with the long haired riddler voiced by robert englund. everything else shares all the space right behind that)) cerebrosurgeon 10:06 pm 〈And it's /still/ gorgeous- You need to! You should read the original comics.〉 opatoes 10:06 pm ((the only show i have vivid memories of watching as a kid as much as possible was hamtaro and no one will ever want me to marathon that 😔 NoodlesAtNight 10:06 pm ((man it's your stream do what u want)) Swervester 10:06 pm //tbf i would lao cerebrosurgeon 10:06 pm 〈Every BBeyond comic after New 52 is... A trainwreck. Hamtaro Good〉 Swervester 10:06 pm //i liked hamtaro as a kid but i've never gone looking for it SCProwl 10:06 pm ((tempted to stream Avengers Assemble just to be contrary opatoes 10:07 pm ((adsxcvbvn maybe one day then,, i wouldn't mind watching at least all the english dubbed episodes NoodlesAtNight 10:07 pm ((PFFF)) *Soundwave's going to sneak clean while everyone's doing what they do.* verdigrisprowl 10:07 pm ... All right. Every time we stay late, weird things start happening in here. So we're not staying late tonight. opatoes 10:07 pm ((but there's like 296 episodes so i know i could never show all of it cerebrosurgeon 10:07 pm [Nodding.] Good plan. verdigrisprowl 10:07 pm I'm not tempting fate. opatoes 10:07 pm ... May I take a few drinks, Prowl? Swervester 10:07 pm //we can try anyway lmao SCProwl 10:07 pm *Prowl's going to leave because mun can't focus for shit tonight. appropriate goodbyes were probably made* Swervester 10:07 pm OH good point. verdigrisprowl 10:08 pm Sure. Just don't take the green stuff. It has to be specially transported. opatoes 10:08 pm ... What is the green stuff? Swervester 10:08 pm See y'all next movie nights then. Lieutenant10 10:08 pm *Is just going to borrow a few books and* */book/ it* verdigrisprowl 10:08 pm Mixmaster's. NoodlesAtNight 10:08 pm *...Now wants to take the green stuff to find out what it does.* verdigrisprowl 10:08 pm ((*rimshot*)) opatoes 10:08 pm ... Mixmasters? Is it safe to drink? NoodlesAtNight 10:08 pm ((lmao the books)) cerebrosurgeon 10:08 pm Thanks for hosting, Prowl. Night everyone. verdigrisprowl 10:08 pm Yes, but it has to be specially transported. verdigrisprowl 10:09 pm Evening. Lieutenant10 10:09 pm (( I have to get in at least one pun per movie night attended)) opatoes 10:09 pm ... How so? Swervester 10:09 pm Night! /sidles out after putting his chair neatly where it should go opatoes 10:09 pm I assume I shouldn't take a sip, though? NoodlesAtNight 10:09 pm *Nods goodnight to everyone. He heard Prowl say he was going to Jazz's gig, and he suspects that's supposed to be their own time - he'll finish cleaning, get a quick bunt-kiss, and move on, unless told otherwise.* verdigrisprowl 10:09 pm It's got a shock-absorbing cooler. *points at the cooler under the desk.* Sure, you can take a sip. Just don't transport it. opatoes 10:09 pm ... I suppose my tanks are fine for the transportation process, then. opatoes 10:10 pm /Smokescreen's taking a chug of the drink, before getting ready to head off./ verdigrisprowl 10:11 pm *collects up the drinks that need to be taken back, bridges the chairs back into place, and returns the bunt-kiss* verdigrisprowl 10:13 pm ... You wanted to catch me before the show. For something particular, or just to see me? NoodlesAtNight 10:14 pm *Pauses just in front of the bridge that would lead him out.* [[...A little of both - but he does not want to keep you from your appointment. He will tell you Monday.]] verdigrisprowl 10:14 pm I don't have an appointment, I have an idle speculation. What is it? NoodlesAtNight 10:16 pm *Considers snapping the bridge closed - but the dragon left more snacks than usual this time. They can afford to burn a little extra energon, just once.*

[[...He was thinking of fully finishing his return to how he looked before. Red instead of indigo.]] verdigrisprowl 10:17 pm *considers this* ... Your teeth will match my paint job better. NoodlesAtNight 10:21 pm *His mouth drops into a tiny o shape before breaking into a very wide and open grin*

[[That settles it, then, doesn't it.]] *Nodding.* [[It will take a while to heal. The protometal must be treated a certain way to prevent it from hardening where it is welded. He thought that might be important to know, given our respective lines of work.]] verdigrisprowl 10:22 pm *huff* That wasn't supposed to be an argument in favor of it. But all right. And, noted. Let me know when you'll be vulnerable. NoodlesAtNight 10:23 pm [[He will see favorable arguments where he does. And - very well. He shall.]] *Another pause, longer than the other.* [[...Thank you.]] *For a lot of things.* verdigrisprowl 10:25 pm *for what, exactly? Prowl's best guess is the implicit offer to watch over him while he's vulnerable.* Of course. NoodlesAtNight 10:27 pm *For not treating the paint job changes like a huge deal or throwing a fit about the colors, for not scolding him for putting himself in danger to do this, for the offer, for a dozen other things there isn't time or space to write.*

[[All right. He will return home now. Appointments to set. Enjoy your evening, Prowl.]] verdigrisprowl 10:27 pm I will. *... after leaning in for another brief kiss.* NoodlesAtNight 10:28 pm *Which he is more than happy to return. Extra nibble. Just to remind him of something he can look forward to in the future.*

*And then he's on his way.* verdigrisprowl 10:29 pm *this new half visor is very convenient.* *and Prowl's on his way as well.*

[markowendiary-blog]

🆕 Boy band? We're a dad band now! They’ve got 10 children between them, so what ARE Take That's parenting secrets? | Daily Mail/ Event Magazine

«Just a few months shy of their 30th anniversary, the remaining three members of Take That are gathered in a south London photo studio. Bar the row of drivers parked outside in Mercedes cars and the silent but notable presence of a single security guy, the vibe is casual, low-key, with that prickle of electricity that always hovers around a band that’s sold 45 million records.

I have known Gary Barlow, Mark Owen and Howard Donald since they were pop wannabes, travelling round the UK in the back of a van, existing on McDonald’s and takeaways. Back then – along with original members Robbie Williams and Jason Orange – they were five northern kids full of bravado, hair gel and ambition. Now they are men, all over 40, and all three fathers – two (Barlow and Donald) with teenagers of their own. All three are sporting facial hair, and flashes of grey are visible – as is that easy northern wit that kept them – even at the height of their pin-up fame in the mid-Nineties – so relatable. The fast food is a distant memory – a table in the corner is scattered with fresh fruit, herbal teas, vegetable juices, nuts, a half-eaten bar of chocolate and raw carrots. Times and diets have changed.

‘Jason was always into his health,’ says Owen. ‘We used to call it rabbit food. Now we’re all into it. But me and Howard still go for the Cadbury’s Dairy Milk.’

Barlow, slim and ramrod straight in his cream polo-neck jumper, crosses the room immediately to make his greetings and to find out what I think of their new album. It’s a selection of their greatest hits that have been – in the case of songs like Pray and Never Forget – completely rearranged with new and old vocals mixed together and different productions all devised by the band. The record also includes voice recordings from all five of the band, snatches of interviews they gave at the start of their career.

‘All bands hate greatest hits albums, and we wanted to do something different,’ says Barlow. ‘We wanted to reflect who we were at the start of this journey and who we are now.’ Owen nods. ‘All our albums are like our babies, something we’ve created together,’ he says. ‘We want people to love it.’

They are crammed together on a squishy black leather sofa that’s seen better days. Oldham-born Owen has been showing me pictures on his phone of a very nasty recent surfing accident he had, where his bloodied leg was cut to pieces. Barlow takes a look and raises an eyebrow. ‘Remember we’ve got a tour to do,’ he says in his laconic flat Frodsham accent. ‘There’s only three of us left, we can’t afford to lose any more.’

They are promoting a tour and an album but what we’re really here to talk about today is fatherhood and the fact that they are no longer a boy band but grown men with families – though they each have a very different style of parenting.

There is the action dad, who takes his children on adrenaline-fuelled holidays, the indulgent dad, who spoils his children rotten, and the dead-on-his-feet dad, who is currently struggling with the demands of a new born child. We’re going to meet them all.

First up is Donald, who’s the oldest band member at 50, but the one with the youngest child. Donald has four children: Grace, 19, his eldest daughter by his ex, Victoria Piddington, at university in Bournemouth; Lola, 13, who grew up in Germany, is from a long-term relationship with businesswoman Marie-Christine Musswessels; and his two baby sons, two-year-old Bowie and one-year-old Dougie from his marriage to illustrator Katie Halil. The knackered dad apologises for being tired.

‘I’ve had three-and-a-half hours’ sleep,’ he says. ‘The baby was up in the night. My wife said she’d get up with him because I had a photo-shoot but when he kicked off she was dead to the world, so I was running up and down taking him to the loo and looking after him.’ He pauses. ‘This is it for me. I’m too old to be a dad any more. I can’t have any more. It’s just too bloody hard.’

Barlow rolls his eyes and Owen laughs. Like the brown paper bags from Whole Foods that have replaced the Big Mac cartons, the conversation in the inner circle has changed over time. It used to be girls, chart positions and the latest tech. Now it’s marriage, fatherhood and babies.

‘It’s what we talk about in the dressing room,’ says Barlow. ‘That’s our lives. We’ve changed. We’re not boys, we’re men. We’re all dads. It completely alters everything, from the way you tour to the songs you write to the conversations you have – how long on the iPads, worrying about social media, the usual preoccupations. At the moment it’s a lot about Howard and his baby duties. He moans and Mark and I just laugh because we’re both past that stage. He does love to go on about it.’

Unlike their hard-working parents, each member of the band is a multimillionaire, something they all admit feels ‘strange’ when they compare their children’s lives to their own. The exhausted dad Donald is also the strictest. ‘I want my kids to do Saturday jobs, learn the value of money. My eldest daughter got into this habit of ordering Uber taxis non-stop from my account, which I had to pull her up on. I don’t care what kind of school they go to – state or private – as long as it’s a good school and they work. But I don’t like to spoil them. I went to school with plastic shoes my mum used to polish with Mr Sheen. That stays with you. My kids are lucky – I never want them to lose appreciation for what they have. And my kids are great. My daughter’s a teenager now, she sends me little clips of her and her mates in clubs dancing to Relight My Fire. They all look really happy even if they also look a little bit drunk, but it just makes me laugh.’

Donald’s parental conversation runs the gamut of worrying about Lola being too carried away with the YouTube generation and buying her trainers in return for good schoolwork, to his eldest Grace keeping up with her studies at university. He is very much a hands-on dad, changing nappies one day and dealing with university issues the next. ‘I’m the complicated one,’ he says. ‘I didn’t mean for it to be like this but that’s the way it turned out. That was down to me.’

In many ways he is a more typical rock-star dad. ‘I have a lot of guilt about the way things turned out for me. When we’d be on tour, we’d come back to the dressing room and I knew the other guys were going off back to their families. At the time I had just Grace and Lola and I would be desperate to see them. The fact that I had to fly to Germany to see Lola would cause a lot of band rows because I’d be away. But I didn’t care. I had to see her.

‘I grew up without a dad because he [Keith Donald] left home when I was a kid. He left four kids and my mum [Kathleen] in a two-up two-down. I don’t hold any anger towards him any more. In fact, I actually want to sit down and talk to him about it. But I didn’t want any of my kids not to have a dad present in their lives. If it’s a choice between band or family, family comes first.’

Donald talks about looking after his baby sons when his wife suffered twice from post-pregnancy induced reactive hypoglycemia (a condition that causes sickness, weakness and insomnia) that kicked in after giving birth.

‘My wife wasn’t in a good way so it was down to me,’ he says. ‘There is nothing I don’t do: changing nappies, feeding, winding, walking... My wife is in a good place now and to be honest I don’t feel guilty about going on tour. My kids will come out now and then, but I’m actually thinking of it as a nice break.’

In contrast to Donald is Owen, the action dad – the hippy of the band with a less traditional lifestyle. The 46-year-old has always been the most alternative one, with his cool clothes and penchant for meditation and yoga, which has rubbed off on his bandmates.

He reads books on parenting, moved his three children Elwood, 12, Willow, ten, and six-year-old Fox out of London to live in the Hampshire/Sussex border countryside, and has spent two months of the summer travelling with his family. He has learnt to surf and Elwood has become an expert skateboarder.

‘It’s been good for us as a family,’ he says. ‘I feel we are in a position now where we’re getting it right as musicians and as parents. And that feels good.

‘When the children were little, it was easier to bring them on tour, but now they have school, friends, routines and they don’t want to be hanging out in dressing rooms all day. So it changes.’

You might imagine their own children look up to them, these guys who came from the working-class north and became one of Britain’s biggest boy bands, winning eight Brit awards and earning millions from hits such as Back For Good, Shine and A Million Love Songs. But their musical accomplishments don’t give them any credibility with their offspring, as Owen admits.

‘Honestly, it doesn’t really impress them. All of our kids love coming to the shows but they are not in awe of us. My dad [Keith] was a grafter. He worked early shifts as a decorator and would be home at 3.30 and he cooked our tea, and my mum [Mary] went out to work [in a bakery] till 11.30.

‘My dad was also in a local band, so every week he’d put on his good trousers, pick up his guitar case and walk out of the door, and I don’t think either me or my brother or sister would even turn round from the telly. Sometimes when I’m getting ready for a show, I get dressed, pick up my guitar and shout “Bye”, and my kids are all watching telly and I have flashbacks to my dad. I’m turning into him in those moments.’

They are, in fact, a long way from any of their parents. Barlow’s late father, Colin, who worked in a fertiliser factory, remains Barlow’s hero, but the band’s principal songwriter reveals that he is the indulgent dad: ‘I’m happy to give my kids everything. They go to private schools, I love to spoil them. I want them to be polite. There’s no comparison to the way I grew up, but that just couldn’t happen. The only comparison I want is to give them the security and sense of family my parents gave me.’

Barlow, 47, has three children: Dan, 18, Emily, 16, and Daisy, nine, with his wife, Dawn. There was also his daughter, Poppy, who was stillborn in 2012 – a subject he broached for the first time in his recent autobiography, A Better Me. In the book, he spoke about stepping up to look after his wife and taking over the cooking for the family – something he still does, as does Owen.

‘I love to cook for my kids,’ Owen says. ‘I will spend hours making something really healthy and amazing like a beautiful curry and they’ll come home, take a mouthful and say: “Do we have anything else?”’

On stage they have the adulation of millions, at home it can be a different story, as Barlow reveals: ‘The most difficult thing about this business is that you are away a lot. Life at home goes on. You come back and sometimes you are like the lodger in the house. You go from singing a song to thousands to standing in a kitchen saying: “Come on, close your mouth when you’re eating.” And your wife is standing there waiting for you to ask for a cup of tea so she can say, “You’re not on tour now”. So there’s that adjustment, which can be very hard if you come home mid-tour.

‘Growing up changes you, fatherhood changes you,’ Barlow continues. ‘When Rob [Williams] introduced me to Ayda, who was then his fiancée, the first thing I did was call the other guys and say: “We’re OK. Rob’s going to be OK. I’ve met the girl he’s going to marry and she’s a keeper. Three kids later, Rob’s a different man. He’s a great dad. He loves his family – he loves nothing more than just sitting around his house with his kids. And that’s important. Our music has always been emotional, and the older you get, the deeper the emotion, and the more everything means.’

A few days later I receive a phone call from Owen, who’s clearly been thinking deeply on the subject of families. ‘I’m sorry to bother you,’ he begins in his classic self-deprecating manner. ‘But I was really thinking about those moments where what you do and how you are as a parent meet in the middle.

When I put my daughter Fox to bed at night she has always asked me to sing a lullaby. Apart from Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, I don’t know many kids’ songs, so I’ve always sung her Take That songs like Pray, Shine and Giants – because obviously I know all the words. At the moment she asks for the song about the lights going out, which is Everlasting, so that’s what I sing. It’s something the two of us have together and I realise that not only is it special to her, but it has actually changed how I feel about those songs when I go out and sing them on stage. It makes it even better. She has made it even better.

‘So if you want to know what it’s like being a musician when you become a dad, the answer is it can be hard, you can miss your kids. But then there are these moments when you get to share what you do with your children and that makes it all mean a whole lot more. That’s when it all becomes pretty magical.’

Take That celebrate 30 years by releasing ‘Odyssey’ – their greatest hits re-imagined – on November 23, takethat.com »