#idk if I like this one as much as the speak now one

[itzy-bitsy-spidey]

"Old enemies and spilled coffee pt.4"

Or "Something made a hole in my backyard pt 4"

Shadow the hedghog x reader (platonic)

Notes: I know I´m taking my time to actually make Shadow, well, do something, but we are right there, I swear. As always, if you want to be on the taglist leave a comment, and if you just want to leave a comment I don´t mind either.

Btw, idk if this is obvious but I am NOT proofreading anything of what I'm writing. Enjoy!

Part 1. Part 2. Part 3.

You had already taken your alien-ish friend out of the box and laid it down on your bed so that it would be more comfortable. Once again you had doubted yourself over how comfortable it could possibly be, but as long as it couldn´t act in a way that showed uncomformity then it would have to deal with what it was given.

You had agreed to have lunch at your uncle´s house the next day. But in the meantime you had texted your aunt Maddie to ask her to come over to the house you were staying in under the pretense that you would share some pastries and talk about life for a while.

And so you sat on the couch waiting for time to pass and hoping that Maddie would be there soon. And, just like an angel sent from heaven, the doorbell rang and you sprinted to open the door.

On the other side awaited your lovely aunt with a huge smile on her face which reflected your own excitement. Hugs that lasted a little more than necessary and greetings were exchanged, you invited her inside and prepared tea, all while she talked about how much you had grown, how much she had missed you, etc.

"So how´s life? Any cute work friend I should know about or something?" Of course that would be between the questions, it was an aunt´s classic.

"No, everything has been rather boring actually, I mean, I was working at the salon back at home last month because they were short on staff, but truthfully? The gossip was the only entretaining part" You answered as you stirred your coffee, she had chosen chamomille tea.

"Uhhh, does that mean you can braid my hair now?" She asked with a smile as she sipped her tea and proceded to add more sugar to it.

That was one of the reasons you loved Maddie so much (not the sugar part) but the fact that she never juged your style of working, you were a freelance artist, so all the time you weren´t actively working on a project you would spend doing some minor jobs. Usually people would be all over you telling you to ´get a real job´ or stuff like that, but never Maddie, she was your ride or die, you could tell her that you were gonna climb the Everest and she would cheer you from the bottom.

That was why it came so handy that she was a vet. She probably wouldn´t even question the fact that you had brought a weirdly shaped animal all the way across the state. She trusted you, and you trusted her.

"Maddie, there´s something you should know, and I need you to remain calm and trust me, okay?"

She looked at you for a few seconds, her expression getting serious, and as she looked you dead into your eyes she asked softly:

"Is it that you are gay?"

"What! No!"

"OH, sorry, I thought this was like you getting out of the closet or..."

"No, I didn´t mean that I´m not gay, that was not what I was going to tell you!"

"Wait, so you are gay then?"

"Does it matter?"

"No, I just thought that was the topic we were discussing"

At some point between the exchange you both had broken into laughter, and somehow half of your coffe laid then spilled onto the table.

"I-I am so confused hahaha" she tried to speak in between laughs, but you could see how she was struggling to breathe, laugh and talk at the same time.

While still in your happy state you cleaned up the coffee puddle with a rag and took in a few breaths to relax. Once there was air in your lungs once more, and she had calmed down as well, you continued.

"I brought an... animal with me from home, and it kind of seems to be in like a coma? I would appreciate it if you took a look at it." You explained.

"You brought an animal in a coma all the way to Green Hill? That could be very dangerous for it" She scolded you slightly as she got up from her seat to follow you to the bedroom.

"I know, but it´s like nothing I had ever seen before, and I only trust you for this"

"Does this have something to do with your mother not letting you keep pets? Because you are an adult, you can have pets if you take care of them"

You stood in front of the door and looked at her a little bit as if she had lost her mind.

"No, that´s not it, but you have to promise that you won´t say a word to nobody"

She answered an "I promise" under her breath and you opened the door slowly, allowing her into the room. Maddie didn´t scream, neither did she look back at you as she entered the room. You stayed a little behind, just waiting for some type of reaction.

Maybe if you had been by her side you would have seen the way she frowned, as every little detail on the creature in front of her fell in place perfectly with the description that Sonic, her son, had given her about the hedghog who tried to kill her husband.

She knew it was a dangerous being, but laying down on that bed among the fluffy pillows he just looked... so calm.

Silence reigned the room for a few moments, and for some reason you felt that as if the air had become thick. She approached Shadow and lifted his limbs one by one, making sure that none of his bones were broken, even squeezing a little harder than necesary. And then, Maddie turned around with a smile, walked up to you, ruffled your hair, told you that it was unlikely that the thing would be asleep for longer than three days and left with the excuse of having to buy groceries.

And so, after the sound of the front door closing, as you were looking the way your aunt had left you were once more on your own.

And, if you hadn´t turned back around, you would have probably missed the sight of red eyes fluttering open.

Taglist: @boogiemansbitch @vxllys @whoisgami @baby-bloos @sapphireravensworld

[in-a-bucket]

[Refulgence Post Mortem] OH HOW YOU HAVE WOUNDED ME IM NEVER GONNA RECOVER FROM THIS

seriously though, i'm just so devastated for ken, he sounds so drained. i am very happy that he was willing to open up to hama about kamimura, ken's been isolating himself but at least he's trying, he must have asked for hama's help with cleaning kamimura's room so i'm proud of him for trying. speaking of that, him saying he was so proud of kamimura making long term plans and have hopes and dreams for the future shattered my heart into a million pieces.

him saying "she ruined everything..." in regards to okazaki killing kamimura gave me some shivers, i don't blame him for hating her tho i would too.

but man, him wondering what the point is and how everything feels grey, it's just so dsaolk;sofkjofspjofsepjiopfjs to me. i think that even with him feeling and thinking like this, him allowing hama to help him clean out kamimura's room and tell him about kami tells me that there is still some small part of him that hasn't given up, and i'm holding on to that for dear life. just earlier that day when he was cleaning up the crime scene he refused ojima's help, but this time he let hama help out, that's a good sign i think.

there's been a lot of discussion on the server recently about ken dying this chapter as a victim or killer, cause he's making himself an easy target by isolating himself or he has no other connections besides kamimura so now he has nothing to lose and while i can't say those ideas don't come from anywhere, i really hope that's not what happens. i feel like it'd be way more interesting if gains the motivation to make new connections and try to make it out a live, so he can keep kamimura's memory alive and see his family again and find his own place in the world. that's something that's come up a lot with ken's character, that he isn't really sure what his future is gonna look like and he isn't sure what he wants to do with his life, and now with going on feeling more pointless than ever for him, i think it would be so cool to watch him develop and step outside his comfort zone and security to try and figure out what he wants for himself.

idk, i just really relate to ken in a lot of ways and find his character so interesting. i feel like there's still so much more to explore with him that i wish other tetro fans saw. idk this isn't a super coherent analysis or anything, but i feel like i can see an interesting path for ken's character to go that doesn't end with him dying this chapter or have it revolve around helping kamimura almost entirely, one of these day's i'm gonna write and actual good hasegawa ken analysis haha

[moowithmidnight]

Okay! My ranting nonsense thoughts on the fight Peggy and Jarvis have in the desert after Ana is shot and Jarvis tries to kill Whitney Frost

(I couldn’t find an easily accessible scenepack for screenshots so rewatch the scene if you need to!)

1. Peggy is a very mixed bag in terms of her reactions when she’s upset- throughout agent Carter she slides fully across the “stiff upper lip” to “unrepentant volatile emotion” sides of the spectrum but it’s also quite simple. She restrains her emotions more (note: not fully bc that’s so important to me) in situations where she feels unsafe.

The perfect example of this is in S1 when Howard tricks her into stealing Steve’s blood- we see her realize that Howard lied to her and grow upset, but before she can leave she runs into Thompson. He has his whole “no man will ever respect you” speech, and she’s clearly upset by that too, and while it shows, she doesn’t want to give him the satisfaction of seeing her upset. He isn’t “safe”.

Howard, ironically, in this situation actually is- despite the blatant misogynistic manipulation he tries 2.5 seconds later, Peggy knows that Howard knows how much Steve meant to her, and she recognizes how much Steve meant to him. There’s no need for pretense.

When Jarvis says “everyone around you dies”, we are shown Peggy clearly trying to compose herself before turning back toward him. Jarvis becomes “not safe” because she doesn’t want to reveal how much she agrees with him. Right now, she doesn’t think Ana has any lasting damage from her attack, so while she’s carrying guilt for the shooting, it’s easier to lash out and point out Jarvis’ hypocrisy.

The language she uses it very cutting and precise, but the calmness she’s trying to project actually speaks to how truly upset she is I think.

1.5. Agent Carter also does a good job of showing the way Peggy reacts faced with one vs multiple stressors, which I feel like way too many shows neglect- of course someone is generally going to have a bigger reaction faced with twenty issues compared to only one. And in this case, it’s definitely a multiple stressors type of situation, but that’s for another day-

2. She blatantly self soothes before she turns to face Jarvis!! This ties into the stuff British upper lip, but you can see her physically rub her hand against her clothes multiple times between the first and seconds shots.

Originally I thought she was clutching the wound she got from Whitney earlier in the season but that would be on the other side.

She also does it again after Jarvis reveals that Ana can’t have children- idk why that’s so special to me but it is.

3. When Peggy retaliates against the claim, the reason her reaction is so sharp and pointed and seemingly angry is because she knows (and believes) that what Jarvis says is true.

Throughout the series, as a general rule, Peggy doesn’t react strongly when people accuse her of something that isn’t true. She’s not immediately angry when they accuse her of treason or when Jack hands her the fake file of her “crimes” during WWII.

But she believes that she gets people killed, so having someone else say that, especially someone who knows how much she believes it, hurts more.

3.5. On that point, she very pointedly never denies what Jarvis says. She disputes this particular example (although only until the moment Jarvis reveals that Ana actually will have lasting complications from the wound) but she never says “you saying everyone around me dies is wrong��.

4. Also!! The words she chooses and her tone are all so telling. She says “lucky you” at the end, and it’s a dig, but the way she says it is loaded with genuine envy. She does think he’s lucky, she wants that. The whole speech is so reminiscent of Dottie’s speech to her at the end of S1, where she’s trying for anger but says how jealous she used to be of girls like Peggy.

5. I think the thing that really destroys Peggy here too is the fact that it’s Jarvis saying this. Replace him with any other character- even Daniel- and I truly think her reaction would’ve been different.

For one, Jarvis is the sole person who she confided in about how she believes being around her gets her loved ones killed, and this was the beginning of season 1. “Maybe lose is too nice a word- I get them killed”.

The other thing is that it’s Jarvis. Bumbling, well-meaning, kind of naive, very sweet and endearing, thinks so highly of her Jarvis. So to her, if he finally sees this as the truth, then she really is doomed.

6. The fucking tear, dear lord. After Peggy starts to walk away again, we get very clear shots of her face as Jarvis fades into the background. But it’s only after she whips around to face him that the lighting shifts and we see the tear sliding down her cheek- sick and twisted truly.

7. Peggy’s last sentence before Jarvis reveals Ana can’t have kids is “the moment we escape this desert, we can escape each other forever” which is obvious harsh. And while Peggy’s tone is very sharp and jagged, it doesn’t really reach angry when combined with her facial expressions- she’s clearly upset. It speaks to her attempt at restraint, especially the way “forever” is clearly choked compared to the rest of the sentence.

She wants to hurt him and lash out, yes, but I also think it’s partly her tendency to push everyone away from her peeking through again for a very important reason- Jarvis was the original person who encouraged her to form connections. He was the one who told her she couldn’t (and didn’t need to) take on the weight of the world alone. His encouragement led to her forming relationships outside of the SSR and eventually to letting him tag along with her, the thing he now resents her for.

8. In the gif set my original reblog tag was on, the first gif is right after Jarvis says that Ana “is married to a coward, who can’t bring himself to tell her [she can’t have kids].”

Hayley Atwell’s acting is this is incredible- the way Peggy clearly wants to reassure him at first, her face screaming “you aren’t a coward” but physically can’t bring herself to speak because you can tell as soon as she does her voice is going to break (which she does).

But even after that, you can see the exact moment where she fully processes and internalizes the blame. Before this, like I said, she’s so clearly jealous, because as far as she knows, while Ana did get hurt, she’s 100% fine. All of a sudden the rug is pulled out from under her and she has to reconcile with the fact that, oh shit, she did get someone else hurt. You can see her eyebrows kind of furrow and her face scrunch up slightly more as she goes through that process, leaning toward “I’m going to start sobbing” as her chin literally wobbles.

9. Jarvis’s apology. Jesus. “It’s not an excuse for what I did because it is inexcusable. But I am truly sorry.” Not only was it so incredibly genuine, but it’s so telling- the way his words are left purposefully vague so the audience can’t tell what he’s apologizing for— trying to kill Whitney and/or lashing out at Peggy— is delicious writing.

10. This is technically after the scene ends, but Peggy denying Jarvis’ obvious attempt to plan out their next move by saying “no, Mr. Jarvis, you need to be with your wife” is also very telling. It isn’t her holding a grudge and being petty, it’s the result of their argument but only because, again, she fully believes that what Jarvis said is true.

The obvious guilt she was carrying from Ana being shot is now multiplied into oblivion, especially because- simile to Colleen, who’s death sparked her confiding in Jarvis about this in the first place- Ana is entirely non-involved in this. She isn’t part of the SSR, a veteran, or anyone who has a stake in their job the way many of the other dead characters were. She was never supposed to get hurt, she was never supposed to even be at risk.

—

Anyways. Peggy Carter I love you and your terrible tragic life and I wish you could have had a long hard cry after this because you deserve it!!

Also I wrote these out of order- because rants- so the ones in the middle are probably a lot stronger than the beginning rip

(This might be my longest post ever I am so sorry @malewifegradyruewen LMAO)

[lukeynewtssimp]

When Nic is out and about with her bf all I see from Lukolas is pure hate and disdain for them both. It’s only now that the man brought out his gf that suddenly everyone is okay with it. Does that seem like equal treatment to you? Where was your defense before this?

You’re happy and proud of him for finally claiming her but where is the happiness for Nic? I’m still talking about Lukolas in general.

Do you not see the people saying he’s finally with someone well matched with him? And when people said the same hateful things after premiere night because of that stunt where was the support for Nic? You think his choices didn’t affect her, whether it was intentional or not?

This side of the fandom is extremely male-centered and you just don’t want to admit it. I am still very much hoping to be proved wrong in the future.

Wow okay there is a lot to unpack here.

Let me start by saying that my blog is very new. I only started posting like a month or so ago so excuse me for my lack of defence back when Nic apparently “needed” it.

Neither of them “need” anybody to defend them lol. We don’t get brownie points for proving we are their number one fan. They literally have no fucking clue who I am and don’t care to find out either. I just use my platform to express my love for the people I am a fan of and the things I am passionate about and to express my frustration at things and behaviours that annoy me. That’s the point of having a personal blog.

idk how to make it any clearer. Like it’s literally in my username, yea I am a fan of Nicola too but I’m a bigger fan of Luke. We all have our faves so I don’t get why you’re so angry that Luke is mine.

Yes I see the very small number of people making comments like that about Antonia looking good next to Luke or whatever. I choose to ignore it because I have seen a very small number of these comments and me talking about it would only amplify these pathetic people’s voices. I obviously do not agree with this take. It is rooted in fatphobia and those people can say whatever they want but they do not speak for Luke or Nic.

Nic is not some self conscious young girl waiting for a man to notice how beautiful she is. The fact that you think Luke’s decisions about who he’s dating affected her, then you’re the problem. You’re the one painting Nicola as this desperate girl crying for attention. Nic is a confident and very sexy woman and she fucking owns it and knows it. She literally ruled 2024 and has gained so much popularity last year as she deserves. And you know what? Luke knows it too and that man, unlike what you and other people think, is not and was never ashamed to show that he’s attracted to her and finds her beautiful and sexy and smart and talented. He’s not the most talkative when it comes to that stuff, that man literally blushes at everything. But his actions speak louder than his words. Just because he is dating a woman who doesn’t look like Nic does not mean he does not find Nic attractive and it also does not mean he rejected Nic by doing so.

As @jenhack beautifully put in the comments: Nic is not bothered! She is busy talking to other SAG nominees and being lauded by her peers. She does not need to, or have to be defined by any man she is connected with.

Crazy Lukolas do not only hate on Jake and Nic but they also hate on Luke and Antonia. Have you seen all the nasty stuff they have called this poor girl?

Sorry this has been very long but I just need everybody to stop projecting their hurt feelings and traumas on Nicola and Luke PLEASE!

PS: the “you” is not just aimed at you specifically anon, but everybody who agrees with that discourse of Luke hurting Nic by dating another woman and taking her to the premieres that I am tired of hearing about. And let’s not forget Nic took Jake to that premiere too…

[incorporealbombchelle]

Campion Hall : An Iteration

Mr. Reed × Fem! Reader (18+)

Synopsis : Pt. 1 - Upon returning to Oxford, (y/n) struggles with the harsh realities of a long-distance relationship...

⚠️TW: Texting, College Setting, Mention of Possible SA, Depression & Stress Mentions, Female Masturbation, Age Gap, General Melancholy 📖

a/n : ◇ hi!! I'm not sure this is my best work, but efforts were made. Life has been throwing a lot at me lately, so it's possible this is all just incoherent drivel, but hopefully it's enjoyable incoherent drivel 😅

Lighting a votive and setting the record onto its platter, I adjust the needle precisely before timing its drop. I flick the speed switch, pad across the room, back to bed and there are few seconds of silence before bell tolls and:

'swingin in the back yard, pull up in your fast car, whistlin my name...'

Slinking back under the covers, I wrap Mr. Reed's cardigan taut around myself and shut my eyes to inhale the smoky cardamom scent of his cologne.

'heaven is a place on earth with you, tell me all the things you wanna do, I heard that you like the bad girls honey, is that true?'

I miss him, it's been a month since Christmas. I wish I could've stayed in America, is he as depressed as I am? If I tell him how much I miss him will I sound dramatic? Does he miss me like this? Need me like this? I reach down to the side of my bed, opening my 2 day old emotional support Ribena and swigging the last of it as I open WhatsApp.

Me: hey

Reed: Hello, (y/n). You're texting me at 2am why? x

Me: idk. Why r u up so late?

Reed: 7pm in Boulder. I think you'll find *you* are the one up late. What's up?

Me: miss u. Listening to video games 💕

Reed: Having a wallow? I assume you're in that tatty old sweater again as well?

I look myself over, the cardigan is not tatty in any way whatsoever, and sometimes I hate how well he can predict me.

Me: not tatty + smells like you, shut up pls

Reed: Promise you won't fall into an audio-fueled masochistic depression spiral without me around, please. Worried. x

Me: no need 2 worry, promise. Just a little down since new years

Reed: Flip the record. Track 3. Posthaste. x

A small smirk tugs at the corner of my mouth and I pop out of bed again, resetting the record and adjusting the player's needle. This time, a lighter, less wistful feeling takes hold as Lana informs me that:

'my pussy tastes like Pepsi cola, my eyes are wide like cherry pies-'

His eyes, hands, his lips, the words and sounds that fell from them, all instantly flood my mind and I can't help but smile. This time, when I let myself sink into a chair and shut my eyes, we're in his kitchen, kissing, dancing. In his bedroom, fucking. In his living room, speaking with a simmering undertone that could blister through the surface at any moment- goosebumps stipple my skin at the thought and I wish I was there now.

These memories immediately wash away my melancholy and reaffirm my feelings as reality. What we have isn't farce. I didn't imagine it. We're connected. We understand each other. He wants me. I am his national anthem. He is my million dollar man. We will reunite and it'll be just like it was.

Better than it was.

Me: thx. feeling better. u always know what i need. btw when can u visit?? 🥺💕

Reed: Been anticipating your needs since we met. Soonest I can manage is 3 weeks out, would be in town for 2 weeks then. Is that workable with your current course schedule?

Me: Yes! pls come!!

Reed: Campion Hall, was it?

Me: yeah, on brewer

Reed: I'll book something at the Ethos across the river and you can stay with me during that time. That way you won't miss any vital courses.

Me: "vital" as if my entire course schedule isn't just analysis 🙄

Reed: Maybe so, but I won't let you slip behind just because I'll be in town.

Me: understood, excited to see you!!

Reed: And I you.

Me: will there be proof of this excitement upon arrival?

Reed: Will there be proof of yours *prior* to my arrival? x

Me: if u want me you'll just have to fly over here and get me 😇

Reed: Patience. x

Me: posthaste

Reed: Insufferable girl. Can't wait to see you. Get some sleep.

He'll visit. He's coming. He's serious. About us. About me, and I can't stop grinning as I rise to blow out my candle, shut off the record player, and shimmy back under the covers.

I fall into a dead sleep almost immediately which turns out to be a good thing because at 9a.m. sharp, there's a frantic knock at my door. I already know who this is, what it's about, and he's lucky I'm well rested enough to deal with his bullshit this time.

I pad to the door, buttoning Mr. Reed's cardigan over my pajamas and yank it open.

The shrimp-postured, spindly, spotty imitation of manhood stood before me is this floor's premiere serial perv-turned-RA, Keiran. Rumors have circulated recently about him attempting to violate some poor freshers at a nearby pub and subsequently being banned, and his slimy demeanor has done nothing to quash them.

I paint on a simper anyways as I look him over, annoyed, and he returns the favor.

"Keiran! To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"(y/n), I don't know how many times I'm going to have to tell you to stop burning candles and playing your music so loud at all hours, but I figure one more couldn't hurt. Keep it down and pitch the candle, yeah?"

"Strong maybe."

"Make it a strong yes."

"But a strong yes from a woman would taint your sterling reputation,"

"I'll report you to the housing board."

"You wouldn't."

"I would."

"Why haven't you then?"

"Because..." his eyes travel my body in a way that makes me want to rip my skin off "because I believe... that you are capable of change." He punctuates this with a sympathetic expression and a stern nod and I can't help but roll my eyes at him.

"Keiran, listen, it's a candle and some very soft Lana Del Rey. Solution is simple. Take your ear off my wall. And your nose for that matter."

"I have never put any part of myself to your wall, and frankly, I resent the accusation." He declares, crossing his arms over his chest and looking down his nose at me like I owe him an apology. Which ranks high on the long list of things I've decided he'll never recieve from me.

"I'm sure you resent all sorts of accusations..." I mumble under my breath, looking around aimlessly.

"What?"

"Nothing. Look. If I want to burn a candle for less than an hour in the dead of night is it... really.... that big a deal?" I blink up at him like I'm truly sorry and it won't happen again. I'm not, it absolutely will, and he knows this.

So to really sell my repentance, I bring a few fingertips to the side of his arm, trailing up and down in little circles as I pout. He melts, flushing at the slightest contact and if he were an attractive or good person, that might read as endearing. His eyes snap to mine and he takes on a more serious tone as I retract my hand.

"Fine. This is your last warning, though. If I hear anything out of sorts, anything at all, from the other side of that wall past...erm... 10 p.m., that's a report! Mark my words." He points a finger at me in a way I'm sure he believes is threatening and I smile at him. Men are just too easy sometimes.

"Right. Thanks Special K, great chat!" I fling the door shut, clicking the lock just in case.

"Twenty-seventh bloody time..." I hear him mutter from the hallway, and have to stifle a cackle as his footsteps disappear.

At the end of a day of lectures and an entirely too wordy typed analysis of how Camus' influence comes through in the works of Sartre, I'm wiped.

I take a long chug of the water bottle I've stored in my bag and jam my keys into the door, shutting it behind me and flopping onto the plush single bed to check my phone's lockscreen. Tumblr notifications, course reminder emails, some article from Dad about not overworking yourself, Duolingo demands I stop neglecting the French language, Instagram : ☆*•Chels•*☆ liked your post, and finally, at the end of the list, WhatsApp.

Reed: Your dormitory hall is on Brewer St., what's the address number there?

I open the app and tap back :

5

Reed: Thanks. x

I don't respond, he'll be here in a few weeks and I don't want to seem over-eager.

As I'm settling in with a book and some tea, another frantic set of knocks at the door. I may kill him. I yank the door open and there's Keiran, stupid as ever.

"Right, so I was wondering if you'd like to maybe... go somewhere later? Like a drink type thing, downtown?"

"For the... its the fifth time now, yeah?" He shrugs, and as I cross my arms over my chest I wish he'd keep his eyes to himself "for the fifth time then, no. I would rather be struck dead than find myself alone with you in or out of public."

"And if I said I'd report you to the housing board?"

"You threaten to report me to the housing board every week! I'd report you to the ethics council. I'm sure they'd be very intrigued to hear about the recent and known exploits of their most devoted student life coordinator."

"The claims those girls are making are baseless and you know it."

"Hm... But they're not, are they? Three girls, don't know eachother, all know you, all at the pub that night saying you were picking at them, vulture you are... it'd be a PR nightmare for the university... their top boy turning out to be a complete creep."

"You wouldn't."

"I would. Now stop bothering me."

I close the door in his face and return to my tea, which has gone cold. Fucking Keiran. Fucking Jesuit college making men feel entitled. Today has been too much. As far as I knew previously, the allegations against him were just rumors, all but confirmed now though. Makes my skin crawl.

I open my phone and send Mr. Reed a quick message:

I really really miss you ☹️

I undress from the day, tossing my jeans, bra and long-sleeve into the hamper and throwing on a sleep shirt. Flopping onto the bed, I pop in earpods. I decide on 'Religion', and let my eyes close as I take in a few slow, deep breaths.

'everything is fine now, let sleeping dogs lay,

all our minds made up now,all our beds are made

no one's out of time, no

chips fall where they may

leave it all behind, let the ocean wash away'

My mind drifts naturally to Mr. Reed, what he might be doing... what we've done... what I need him to do to wash away all this stress... all this tension...

If he were here... he'd probably wrap me up in his arms. Let me go slack. Melt me just with his presence, strength supporting my weakness, hands cleansing me of all this with a few light, deft touches... the depression, the stress, the annoyance and anger...

'cause you're my religion, you're how I'm living

when all my friends say I should take some space

Well I can't envision, that for a minute

when I'm down on my knees, you're how I pray'

I can't take it, and let myself have something good for once, imagining my hands are his as I let them roam my body. I can just imagine what he'd say, what he'd do, if he saw me like this: flushed, hot, needy for him... how he'd tell me I'm dirty, naughty, impatient, unrestrained, a bad girl, a good girl, beautiful, glorious, Brilliant...

As my body unravels itself, I can almost hear him: 'not so contrarian now, are we?'

As I come down from climax I'm warm, buzzing, blissed out, at peace. He'll be here soon. It'll all be alright.

But damn is it going to be inconvenient in the meantime. I pluck the earpods from my head, snapping them into their case, and check my messages again. No response. I circulate through various social media accounts before my brain and body come to an agreement: it is time to sleep. And I do, dreamless and serene.

Around 10:45 a.m., I'm awoken again by a series of knocks, less urgent than yesterday's, I assume because even Keiran must tire of his own bullshit.

I drag myself to the door, well aware another verbal sparring session is underway, and swing it open without even looking up.

"Listen, K, while I marvel at your ability to chastise and objectify me at the same time, I also think you should shove-"

When I finally drag my gaze upward, it's not Keiran.

[daintydoilypon]

Why don't you speak French as much?

My entire class got bullied by, specifically, older French people when we went bc...they thought we were Canadian French. Did we have an accent? Idk, but they were ruthless.

It's the same with Spanish, apparently. According to Silo who is Cuban/ Ecuadorian/El Salvadorian, each Spanish-speaking country thinks their Spanish is the "best/most correct/pure/etc" version, thinking other countries are butchering the language. Kinda like British vs the American accent. Same with France and Canada. It's that. It's mostly the older people that have this opinion/mindset. None of my French or Spanish friends on here have this holier-than-thou mentality, but Silo's older family? YEEEEEEEESH.

If I speak French anywhere else, but France, the old people appreciate it, but if I speak it in the motherland, I am a WORM. A LOWLY, allegedly Canadian, WORM. HOW DARE I UTTER ONE SENTENCE IN THE MOTHER TONGUE IN SUCH A CRUDE MANNER /j.

((Also, I have no one around that speaks it. I use Duolingo to refresh tho. If/When I go back, I'll be way more confident. Back then, I was bullied through school, so I was a pushover. However, I'm 30 now with no will to live except through spite, I will throw hands.))

[todayisafridaynight]

[fairyofshampgyu]

BASSIST BEOMGYU BASSIST BEOMGYU BASSIST BEOMGYU BASSIST BEOMGYU

[pokemon-radical-red]

I hate it when I headcanon a character who’s canonically a girl as a trans man and make ships of him and a character who’s canonically a guy and I refer to it as a gay/mlm/guyxguy/whatever ship and someone gets mad. Like omg let trans people have FUNNNNN. Why are queer headcanons and genderbends cool until they’re saying that the character is trans???

“OMGGG you’re so misogynistic I can’t believe you would erase FEMALE representation!!!”

and like half of the characters in the franchise are women, and a total of… NONE of the characters are trans men. Also, my headcanon doesn’t change the source material. If my stuff upsets you, you can block me and go engage with the source or maybe every single other fanwork, since mine is the only trans man hc for this character that I’ve ever seen.

or when people are like “WTF??? this is so transphobic!!! how dare you imply that a character who looks like that could be a trans man?!?! do you think that trans men are women or something??? she uses she/her, and you’re misgendering her!”

No, I don’t think that being a trans man makes you a woman or vice versa. That’s why it’s a headcanon, and the headcanon is that this character is actually a trans man and not a woman at all! You’ll never guess what pronouns most trans men had to use at some point in their lives, and you really won’t like it when you find out about pre-(or no-)transition trans men… or trans men who are in the closet… or trans men who don’t know that they’re trans yet.

“But the character is a kid!!! Saying they’re trans is sexualizing them.”

I’ve seen this one from other queer people. Like did you miss when all of the homophobes said this about your identity, or do you think that bigotry is only bad when it’s directed at you?

“Why would you say ‘testosterone could fix her’??? Are you trying to call her a delusional woman?”

Why would your brain even go to that first? This literally has to be a bad faith reading, because there’s no way that someone could see what I said and get this unless they were specifically looking for something to be mad at me for.

(Note for anyone unaware: “Estrogen would’ve fixed him!” was a meme going around at the time I said this. I’m not sure if it’s still super big, but this was a joke to the effect of that.)

“So girls can’t be tomboys anymore? You just wanna trans everyone?”

This is like actual real life transphobic rhetoric. This isn’t even just shitting on my headcanon, but in fact, sending transphobic hate to a trans man. Thanks 👍. Maybe you should go send JK Rowling another message about how much you loved her essay instead of bothering me.

[animangalover-writes]

Yk it really bothers me when I see people talking about eurylochus and the crew like they were the problem. It just feels like everyone is just missing the point. Yes they stopped listening to ody, yes eurylochus opened the wind bag, but that's what makes them so human.

Picture this, you leave your home to fight in a war. It takes literal years for this war to be over. You've lost friends, you miss your family, you've been through hell. You're starving and your captain tells you they found food on this island.

And then the cyclops happens. More friends die, you barely escape with your life, and your captain gives his name to the creature that killed your friends.

And everything after that is a direct cause of that decision.

So you hesitate to trust him. Yes he's smart, he's capable, he always has a plan. But he would do anything to get home, and you know that. So when he comes back to the ship claiming to have a bag full of wind, and when he refuses to let anyone near, refuses to trust his own crew, you get suspicious.

Its been about a decade by this point, and your captain seems to get more and more desperate to get home. A god is after you. Odysseus is forcing himself to stay away, all to make sure nobody touches that bag.

Its human, it's realistic, it makes sense that someone would open the bag. Because odysseus stopped trusting you, and so you stop trusting him. So you open the bag.

I just find it frustrating that people look at the crew/eurylochus as bad guys because of this, as pawns for ody to get home and thats it. The point of the show is that ody has become a monster, has dealt with and left behind his humanity. We, as listeners, root for him. We give him grace because of his circumstances. Because he's the main character.

But for some reason, people don't give that same grace to the crew. They're human, their circumstances are awful too. They have no idea if they will get home, they aren't sure then can trust their captain anymore. They question things. They make mistakes. They cause the deaths of others. It's human, its that feeling you get when you think that maybe hope is lost after all, it's what this story is about. Mistakes and loss and blame.

People dislike Eurylochus because he opened the bag. But odysseus gave the cyclops his name. And polites trusted the lotus eaters. And Athena told odysseus to be cruel to a fault. Nobody here is innocent, not really. And none of them knew better either. They were working with what they had, with the terrible circumstances at hand. It's no wonder they made mistakes. It's no wonder people died.

Why are we ignoring the humanity of the crew? Why are we arguing that they, or that eurylochus, deserved it? If the story was about them, odysseus would be seen as the bad guy. But he's the main character, so the others are stupid and wrong, right? All that matters is that odysseus gets home, right? Even if it costs the lives of his crew. His crew who stopped trusting him when he stopped trusting them. His crew who he sacrificed to get home.

I think we're missing the point here. Odysseus did become a monster, and although we cheer for him getting home and Penelope and Telemachus forgive him, we have to acknowledge that he did do terrible things. Those men will never see their families again. Why are we erasing that humanity in them?

Humans do bad things for the sake of saving themselves or the ones they love. That includes Odysseus. That includes Eurylochus. That includes the crew. And that includes every other character in this musical.

[shima-draws]

Also hehehe. HEHEHE guess who I managed to get my hands on in OPTC

[qoldenskies]

Okay, I finally read the "justice isn't mercy" chapter, and I just gotta say in the scene with Mikey killing Kitsune, I was SO satisfied by that scream. I know each of them have already had that scream. But this chapter it really shined.

It was an everything scream. A scream of pain, anger, and despair all in one. Mikey was screaming and crying through every horrible memory he would never forget because of what she did.

Even though I know he killed her himself, after that moment, the first thing that came to mind was the scene from the movie.

Like, I believe there was a parallel going on there. So I can just imagine that in that scene, in a moment of clarity, that both Leo and Raph were there with Mikey, conjoining their ninpo, to kill her together. All of them screaming and giving Donnie Vengeance together.

But, he carries the burden himself. At 13...

Which makes it all the more tragic.

And wow, my invision of that scene was so perfect. That entire witchtown part was so clear it might as well have been animated.

it was a parallel yes, mostly in the way that i was trying to invoke the same kind of righteous anger mikey was feeling in that scene, as well as the thing with the cracks in his arms (and THAT i chose because kintsugi metaphor, especially because its already been invoked before in ch7) im sure at the very least that was felt in the ninpo bond, because while mikey's sixth sense for it is way more intense (feeling donnie's ninpo break, noticing the absence first afterwards, feeling chills when leo gets particularly murderous) all of them still have that intuitively,,,

but also mind you, at the same time mikey mentions a little earlier that theyre united so strongly under one goal at that point that they may as well be one person, and considering things like raph and leo mind melding in the moment,,, it would make a lot of sense! :]

im glad my imagery was clear!! im not suuuper proud of some things in that chapter but there's a lot of moments i do like from it, very good animatic-bait. if i had the balls and patience to make one LMFAO maybe some day. mikey standing in front of the shrine is so clear in my head,,, you can tell he KNEW he was cool as fuck. guy with swag

[automatonknight]

here's the prick i was talking about^ i have so many thoughts and notes about him but they're mostly incomprehensible so when i organize maybe them i'll post them who knows

[wavesoutbeingtossed]

All I’m going to say I think now that my brain remembered part of what it was thinking is that Taylor and Joe went through a lot together (good and bad) and regardless of how it ended or what led to it they both seem to be determined to keep that private and not throw each other under the bus and in the end they’re just two very, very different people whose outlooks in the long term were just never going to align and never has that been clearer.

[not-poignant]

The latest UtR update on AO3 got me hooked and I could no longer constrain myself and had to read the other chapters on Patreon. Now I need to know: does Lucien have any redeeming character traits in the series or can I add him straight to the list of characters that deserve the worst? That attitude of his towards Faber made me so mad lmao

Hi anon!

This actually reminds me of the ask I got recently about how awful Augus is as a character and how it's impossible to consider him through a positive light after reading Falling Falling Stars. Because that's how he seems if you've never read him in anything else of mine!

My narrators are unreliable, anon. We only ever see Lucien very briefly through the jealous eyes of an insecure man.

(Spoilers for a future brief verbal encounter between Lucien and Faber in Underline the Red).

Lucien is an extremely vulnerable omega who is in an institution that has temporary custody of him. They control what he eats, what he does, whether he leaves or not (i.e. he's functionally imprisoned), who fucks him, if he gets to see anyone else, if he can talk to his partner and family back home and how often. He has significant psychiatric issues around his own insecurities re: jealously and his partner, and he clocks Faber as being in love with Caleb, and he's right.

And that's incredibly unethical of Faber, honestly, to not have disclosed any of this to Dr Gary (like Dr Gary will be right to consider firing him over this in the future). It puts Lucien's mental health in direct and severe jeopardy, and is ironically likely what causes his relapse that causes Caleb to suggest domestic discipline in the first place (oh, Faber, the irony).

Because Lucien's there to learn that actually a lot of his jealousy and insecurity is unfounded. Instead, he learns the opposite, that no matter who he bonds with, someone else is there loving his potential partner while he perceives himself as having very little control (and in the case of Hillview - this is true, all he has are his words).

He's a chronically disabled omega who needs a disability aid (walking stick) to get around, he's a second class citizen, he's agreed with his partner to stay at Hillview because they both recognise how sick he's getting.

Faber is not a mental health patient/omega like Lucien is. He's a staff member who is nursing unrequited loved to an alpha companion, that he's refused to disclose, while still interacting with Caleb and his omegas. Imho, while Lucien is very good at lashing out, he's not wrong to, and that's why Faber fully acknowledges what Lucien is saying and listens to him, and basically never interacts with him again, and avoids Caleb where possible.

Lucien's mean about it, but Lucien is right re: Faber trying to hide his feelings because he knows what will happen if people find out, and that it's also wrong/unfair to put Lucien in that position.

And Faber knows that.

So yeah. The reader is meant to hate Lucien on a surface level, in the same way that Faber does.

But consider that Faber also sometimes seems to hate all omegas. He finds the smell of their heats disgusting. It's actually pretty normal for people to go through a phase of rejecting the thing that they are, if that's something hated in society. Faber's oscillating mixed feelings of bitterness, resentment and cutting attitude is actually mirrored in Lucien.

Faber has thought extremely savage, scathing and unforgiving things himself to the people around him (and himself). Lucien responds to Faber like Faber is an omega (something Faber doesn't recognise yet), because Faber...kind of acts like one in moments like that. (Efnisien also picks up on this, Faber is not great to him in the beginning of Underline the Black, in a very specific way designed for Efnisien to pick up on, and for Gary to miss. Faber behaves jealously, and constantly suggests to Gary that he should get rid of Efnisien, before he finally adjusts to the absence of Gary in his life. Faber is possessive and manipulative!)

Lucien ultimately doesn't need any redeeming characteristics because he's a victim who is at Hillview to heal and Faber is jeopardising that. We can hate him, but that's just the fact. He didn't try to kill Kadek when he arrived at Hillview, he hasn't tried to destroy memories of James, things Efnisien has done even though we love him all the same (ideally). Lucien felt understandably jealous/insecure (literally the thing he's at Hillview to be treated for, safe from people who will be in love with his lover until Faber) and he lashed out meanly.

If a staff member of Hillview can't handle some rude words, they shouldn't work there.

But yeah, I like the Lucien and Faber encounter because they are both extremely similar people in some ways. They are both bitter, jealous, resentful people capable of very scathing thoughts (and words). The only difference is that in that moment, Faber is the recipient and we feel bad for him. I mean, I do feel bad for him. Faber is in a bad place psychologically, it's a horrible thing for him to experience.

If we were getting Lucien's story from his perspective, and saw the panic attacks he had afterwards, and the regression he went through, etc. it might be different. But it doesn't have to be! Lucien in that moment functions as a reality check for Faber, and a very effective one at that. We're meant to hate him, but also meant to understand that Faber's love for Caleb is not as subtle as he thinks it is in the sense that - omegas can see it for what it is.

I personally like the one moment where we see that Lucien might have a heart when Faber admits his parents are dead, and we can see that he doesn't react with savage satisfaction, but like Faber broke the narrative he'd built for himself in his own insecure, jealous, scared mind.

[claitea]

read through the shadow triad's quotes page again and i'm wondering why they (or at least, one of them bc they only say this once) still say "Lord N" in bw2. if they're all loyal to ghetsis they shouldn't really care about n since he was just ghetsis's pawn right? they could have been calling n lord in bw1 to keep up appearances that n is the true king of team plasma but they don't have to do that into the sequel. wondering exactly how loyal they are to n

on a related note they do Not say "Lord Ghetsis" until the second game, even after the reveal that ghetsis was using n. then, after ghetsis's defeat, they stop using the word lord again but call themselves "royal servants" which is interesting to me. i think its some kind of honor thing where ghetsis lost the privilege of being called lord in their eyes but they're still part of the kingdom he attempted to build and so they're royal. but then why Not call him lord ghetsis in bw1? the first time they refer to him by name is while they're still serving n, so that could again be keeping up appearances, and the rest of the times are after ghetsis is defeated so it could be the honor thing again?