#if i had an addendum to this: i FOUND friends. they were just also the 'weird kids.' we would play beyblades and kid icarus/monster high rp

[lemuel-apologist]

thinking about that nlog phase again. we see it as a moral failing on the part of the young, that some girls want to separate themselves from the conception of girls as a whole. i know the classic rebuttals are that it's fine to be like other girls and that to viciously separate yourself in such an admittedly cringe way is just buying into the myths of patriarchy--

but what of girls who really, truly did not fit that mold? who didn't have common ground with other girls as often as they did their male peers? i didn't become like that consciously. as best i can tell, it was a response to being socially sidelined for most of my childhood. i didn't consciously notice what was happening to me until junior high, around ninth grade.

because that's what you do with weird and gross girls. girls who eat out of the trash. girls who like stage tech. girls who have a weird thing about how cool frankenstein is. girls who won't touch middle grade or YA romance. girls who cannot relate to the common experiences of their peers. i was not the one who shot myself with toy arrows at sleepovers because i thought it was funny. i was not the one casting myself as an old lady in every play. i was not the one leaving myself out of social experiences, study groups, playing at recess. it was a social phenomenon i didn't have much control over, because i was different, they knew it, and it was socially weird to have me around. taking on an aspect of "not like other girls" in retaliation to being told you are not like your peers (and this is bad) is like baby's first reclamation. it's an attitude to grow out of, but the fact is that it's the attitude that needs to change, not the aspects of your personality that your peers picked up on before you did.

[ray-winters]

we just wanna hear any hcs you have for our boy misch

Alright, y’all asked for it, buckle up:

Mischa makes most of his money from an apprenticeship he has at the only tattoo parlor in Uranium City. He gets paid a bit, and on top of that he gets free tattoos (which is where he got all of his from). Plus it keeps him out of the house and also pisses his very traditionally valued adoptive parents off. Win win.

My Mischa only has tattoos on his right arm bc I am left handed so HE is left handed- he does his own tattoos mostly. He was going to start a sleeve on his left arm after he got home from the fall fair.

Speaking of his tattoos; the first tattoo he gave himself was one that says “Bad Egg” w/devil horns and a devil tail. “Bad Egg” was something his adoptive dad would frequently call him, so it was his way of reclaiming the name for himself, and pissing off his adoptive parents bc they were viciously anti-tattoo

He has another tattoo of a crescent moon with a “ - T” next to it bc he asked Talia to draw him something to put on his body. She drew the moon because of the time difference between Kyiv & Uranium, any time she sees the moon she knows she’s going to hear from Mischa soon. So she began to associate Mischa with the moon.

My personal fav tattoo I gave Mischa is that stereotypical “S” where you draw 6 lines and connect them. This is brand fucking new to Mischa, he had never seen it before, and he thought it was dope af, so he tattooed it on himself immediately.

He has a tattoo of a pot leaf, but it’s not very good so everyone always thinks it’s a Canadian maple leaf. Which drives him up the wall.

Mischa has taken in a small black cat that would hang around the tattoo parlor and would occasionally follow him home. It lives with him in the basement, it comes and goes, and it is a well kept hidden secret.

Mischa hangs at Noel’s house…a lot. Noel’s mom lets him stay the night often bc she knows about his home life and thinks it’s disgraceful, so she takes care of him.

Mischa was class clown and relatively popular at his high school in Ukraine- which is the polar opposite of how he’s received at St. Cassian’s. People either are afraid of him, or they try to make fun of him, so either way he has found himself alone most of the time.

He’d never admit it, but Mischa does actually enjoy hanging with the kids in the choir. He gets to hang with his bestie, Noel. He admires Constance’s patience and kindness, he thinks she’s probably the best person in Uranium. While he and Ocean get on each other’s nerves, there’s a small part of him that secretly looks forward to their fights. But only a little bit. He doesn’t notice Ricky is there until after the accident, and then spends a large chunk of his time trying to rectify that by getting to know/encourage Ricky.

He and Noel became friends bc some of the boys who were trying to bully Mischa were also bullying Noel. When Mischa was about to start defending Noel, Noel ended up proving he can defend himself with his quick wit rather than fists. This is a trait that Mischa admires a lot, so they pretty much joined forces that day and they’ve been the dynamic duo of Uranium City ever since.

Mischa has pretty severe abandonment issues and it prone to panic attacks because of it. He’s more of a “suffer in silence” kind of guy, so it takes someone with patience and kindness like Constance to give him some tips on how to calm himself down. I.E. remembering a calming situation like “climbing back into your bed in the morning and feeling the heat left over from your body.”

Mischa had been kicked out of a few schools in Uranium, and his adoptive figures (they’re not really parents, barely guardians) gave him one last chance at St. Cassian’s. When he was caught stealing the communion wine, Father Marcus told him he HAD to join the choir and that he HAD to at the very least sing at the competition. Which is why he doesn’t do any choreo during the opening number.

Addendum- he does ONE move during the opening number. The finger wag on “oh no no” because Noel came up with that move, and after Ocean tried to cut it, Mischa said it was the only move he’d do even if it was cut. So he forced her to keep the move in via malicious compliance.

Over the course of the musical, there isn’t really a moment where he thinks he’s gonna win. His life wasn’t fair, why should his death be any different.

He thinks Jane is THE coolest and THE most metal thing he’s ever seen. After she finishes her number, his heart is effectively broken for her.

When Constance punches Ocean, Mischa doesn’t have the “FUCK YEAH” reaction that you’d expect. It’s actually met with some sadness. He’s always encouraging Constance to stick up for herself, and to not take Ocean’s shit. But, he respects that she has patience and kindness. When Constance punches Ocean, he almost sees it as a failure on his part.

The reason in my head why Mischa and Ocean feud so much is because they remind each other of one another’s parents. Ocean is the poster child of excellence in Uranium, Mischa’s adoptive parents have said more than once that they wish he could “be like that Ocean girl” - on the contrary, Ocean has caught Mischa smoking weed before. His incredibly radically liberal world view reminds her of her hippy parents. They get that anger out at them on each other. But at the end of the show, they both have a deeper respect for one another. Ocean for Mischa because she sees the real him, who is gentle & compassionate. Mischa for Ocean because she does the most selfless thing she could possibly do, which he respects infinitely.

I’m sure I have more but these are the HC’s that immediately came to mind. This is what makes Majestic Rep’s Mischa, Mischa.

[mononijikayu]

“If i am with you” — gojo satoru.

This is what he’d like life to always be like, he told himself. This is why he went out there and did his thing. Why he bothered with trying to change everything from within, why he was gathering allies for his vision. This was his hope. This was what he wanted, what everyone deserved. He was glad. To have a place that was his. A place to be Satoru. Not the strongest. Not Gojo Satoru. He just wanted to be who he was in these four walls. The father, the husband, the friend, the hugger, the joker, the cook, the man of the house. This is what he wanted. This is who he is.

GENRE: post hidden - inventory arc (2010s)

WARNING/S: domesticity, fluff, angst, trauma, implied death, violence, romance, hurt/comfort, character death depiction of death, depictions of loss and depression, mention of pregnancy, depiction of the aftermath of birth, depiction of parenthood, depiction of blood, depiction of killing, depiction of suffering, depiction of anxiety, mention of death, mention of grief, profanity, family drama;

LISTEN: if i am with you from the jujutsu kaisen s2 soundtrack

NOTE: i was supposed to publish this yesterday but i got distracted by the s2 of house of the dragon and crying about rhaenyra and jace and luke. i love them so muchhhhhh. but to comfort myself, i thought about what we would satoru do on father's day. and i thought about this. happy father's day, satoru!!! and to all your fathers and father figures, happy belated father's day!!! i love you!!! <3

addendum: i also started a ko-fi. im still deciding what should be there, but this is not going to be by tier, because its not fair i dont offer something in return. so until then, im just announcing and telling you that i only have one ko-fi~

masterlist

u s and t h e m

YOU DON’T THINK YOU EVER HAD TROUBLE GIVING GIFTS. For all occasions, you seemed to be the best at it. Everyone of your colleagues would say you knew them too well when they opened their presents. But you were stumped this time around. You don’t remember any time in your life where you ever failed at knowing what to give someone for father’s day. 

Your father always liked what you gave him, especially ones you worked hard to make. You still remember when your father passed, you found all the father’s day cards and trinkets you’ve made him over the years. He especially loved the mewtwo one you gave him, during his last father’s day. That one he kept on his Jujutsu uniform when he passed. 

But this time around, you think you really do not know what to give a first time father for his special day. Father’s Day was coming up, and you wanted it to be special. It was Satoru's first Father's Day as Satoshi's father, and you wanted to make sure it was memorable. Being a father was Satoru’s favorite thing about himself. And you wanted it to be great. 

You shifted things over and over for the past month. You had  pinterest boards of cute little arts and crafts. You had special sweet dishes he wanted to try. You had those little ads about the best gifts to give fathers on their special day. But nothing really was peaking your interest. They’re good but they’re not great. And your husband deserved great, nothing less.

You wanted to give him the very best, because he gives you everything. He was there the moment Satoshi was born, he was there the moment you and him took guardianship of Megumi and Tsumiki. He was always doing what he could, from always doing everything when he was around to making sure he spends time with the kids when he had time off, most especially on family Sunday.

But as days passed — there was nothing that stuck as being the great thing that one could give to the best father you know. You pouted as you slapped the top of your head lightly. You’ve dug through everything and anything in your brain for days and days and here you were, panicking as two days remained before that special day. You had to come up with something before he got home. As you pondered over what to do, your thoughts were interrupted by Megumi.

“Hey, can you help me with something?” he asked, holding a piece of paper.

You blinked at Megumi and nodded. “Yeah, what’s up?”

 “I’m trying to draw a family tree for school….”

“Uh huh….”

 “But……. I don’t know much about my mom….or my dad.” He reveals to you, face echoing a scarlet fluster. “And I don’t….really know much about the Zenin clan.”

Your heart ached for him. Megumi didn’t know your Toji nii–sama, his own father, nor did he know much about his mother. You wondered sometimes how you were robbed of your father at such a young age, but you look at Megumi and Tsumiki and you wonder how it was for them. Because you at least remembered your beloved father. And they did not have that luxury.

Megumi has had a hard time trying to remember the past. And you can’t blame him or Tsumiki. His mother passed away soon after he was born. Megumi was three when Toji nii–sama left them with that woman he remarried. And only a year or two later, she too disappeared. The world was stacked against the two of them. 

You sighed, crossing your arms. You don’t even think it would be good to talk about the family you had grown up with either. The only ones truly worth liking are Mai and Maki. The rest were not worth noting.

After all, the Zenin clan’s history was complicated and often painful. None truly needed to know more than those words. You hesitated, unsure how much to reveal. The memories of Toji nii–sama were bittersweet, filled with both love and sorrow too. And that’s not something you were ready to talk about.

Before you could decide, Tsumiki walked in with a small smile. “Gen–san! Do we have any paint? I need it for a project.”

You and Megumi blink before you returned her smile and went to search the drawers. “You need help with the project,’miki?”

“No, thank you, Gen–san.” She grins at you waving her hands. “You don’t need to, I can do it!”

“You sure?”

“One hundred present.”

You handed her a small box of paints. “Here you go, ‘miki.”

She smiled brightly. “Thanks!” She hurried off, leaving you alone with Megumi again.

You took a deep breath and prepared yourself for the memory lane. You slowly started explaining some of the Zenin family history to Megumi, being careful not to overwhelm him with too many details. The one thing you didn’t want to do was to cause him some trouble with all of this. He’s still a kid. He would be fine with trying to know this when he’s a bit older.

“The Zenin family is one of the three great sorcerer families. Your father, Toji, was... unique among them. He’s my father’s cousin, so that makes me his first cousin, once removed. But he was like a brother to me.”

“First cousin once removed? What does that mean?”

“It means we’re one generation away in relation.” You pointed it out to him on the paper. “Because he and my dad were born from siblings, they are cousins. I am his first cousin.”

He narrowed his eyes, as though trying to understand. “Then what does that make me, you and ‘miki?”

“First cousins twice removed, for me to you.” You tell him, pointing again on the paper. “But since your dads are brothers, you guys are first cousins. But there’s two generations between me and both of you.”

“And then what’s Maki-san and Mai-san to you, me and ‘miki?”

“Maki and Mai are your second aunt, they’re born from your second grand uncle.” You say to him, trying to focus to not forget details. “Maki and Mai are my…..first cousins once removed, like your dad. ‘miki and you are their second nephew and niece.”

“Since your father was their cousin?”

“Yeah, That’s right, that’s right.”

Megumi listened intently, absorbing the information. You could see him trying to piece together the fragmented bits of his past. As he started drawing his family tree, you guided him, filling in names and relationships where you could. You talked about Toji nii-sama and his wife, but only briefly. You think it would be best if he asks you about it one day. You don’t want to push much on him. The Zenin family tree was already a lot to deal with.

“Is that all you need from me, ‘gumi?” You asked him as he started to finish up his work and he nodded at you.

“Thank you for taking the time to help me, Gen-san.” You grinned at him, rubbing his head as he pouted. “You didn’t have to rub my head like that. What if I grow bald?”

“Then we’ll figure out if Shoko can use the reverse curse technique on your hair!”

As you finished helping Megumi clean up the papers, your thoughts drifted back to Father’s Day. You still had time to plan something special for Satoru, seeing as he would probably come back tomorrow. Seeing Megumi’s determination and curiosity reminded you of the importance of perseverance. You’ll get that great present for him—

“Yahoo~”

You felt your eye twitch for some reason. Your husband, Gojo Satoru waved as he removed his bandages and took his dark rimmed glasses and wore them. He grinned at everyone from the genkan. You didn’t know he’d be back this soon. As soon as he stepped away from the genkan with his house slippers, he was greeted by the sight of Satoshi crawling towards him, his little face lighting up with a big smile. Satoshi had long abandoned his little blocks—his interest now was greeting his beloved father. Satoru picked him up, lifting him high into the air, making Satoshi giggle with delight.

“Hey there, little guy!” Satoru cooed, nuzzling his son with a loving gaze.

You emerged from the kitchen, surprised to see him. “You’re home early!” 

“Yeah, it was not that hard to defeat the cursed spirit this time around.” He says as you walked over to him and kissed his cheek. “So I’m here.”

“Well I’m glad you’re here, safe and sound.”

“Me too!” He cheered as he tickled your son, who laughed. “Oh, it’s good to be home with family~”

“Oh, you remember about ‘miki’s performance tomorrow, right?”

Satoru grinned. “Of course I remember! One of the reasons I even came home early. Wouldn’t miss singing ‘miki sing her heart out~”

Just then, Tsumiki came rushing in. “Satoru-san! You’re home!” she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around his waist.

Satoru crouched down to hug her properly with his free arm, with a smile. “Of course I am! I wouldn’t miss your performance for anything.”

Tsumiki beamed with excitement, her eyes sparkling. “I’m so happy you’re here! I can’t wait for you to see me sing tomorrow.”

After a moment, Satoru stood up and spotted Megumi in the corner of the room, looking stressed. “Hey, Megumi,” he greeted, concern evident in his voice. “Everything okay?”

You stepped in, explaining, “He’s still having a hard time digesting how we’re related. He asked for help in the family tree project for school. It’s been a bit overwhelming.”

“Oh? You mean the Zenin family tree?” He snickered back at you. “It’s a whole mess of a knot, isn’t it, ‘gumi?”

You lightly hit his arm. “Hey, its just as bad as the Gojo–Mikoto family tree!”

“It’s not my fault our ancestors liked each other.” You gasped at him.

“Satoru, not in front of the kids!”

“I mean….you and I are related too—”

“La la la, we shouldn’t be talking anymore–”

“You guys are so loud.” Megumi frowns as he crosses his arms on his chest.

Satoru walked over to Megumi and ruffled his hair gently. “Don’t worry, Megumi. You don’t have to worry. You finally got out of the family knot—”

“You’re insufferable, Satoru!”

“Hey, it’s not wrong if it's true!”

“Oh, I think the food's done!”

“This is going to be a long night.”

YOU STILL DIDN’T HAVE ANY IDEAS FOR YOUR PRESENT. You wished you could hit your head on the wall, to try and get an answer. But it would hurt and you would start crying even more. So you opted to suffer in silence. Satoru wanted to be early, because he feared he’ll miss the performance.

So, you all head to the school together. Gojo Satoshi happily giggled as he was nestled in the baby carrier strapped to Satoru's chest, gurgling with delight at the new surroundings. At least your baby was the cutest boy in the world. He’s so beautiful in your husband’s arms. 

As you walk, your mind races with. You still didn’t know what to give Satoru for Father’s Day, despite texting Shoko, Nanami, and even his wife for ideas. Nothing seemed quite right. Shoko suggested making a cake for Satoru but you do that all the time already. Nanami and his wife suggested making mochi but your husband buys that all the time already too.

You could feel a heaviness in you. What do you think is worthy to give as a gift to the best father in the whole world? You still didn’t know and that frustrates you. When have you ever been this stumped over a present?

“Are you okay?” Satoru asks, noticing your distraction.

You force a smile. “I’m fine, just a bit nervous. It’s my first time attending a much bigger school function like this. Well…for the kids.”

He gives you a reassuring smile and squeezes your hand. “Hey, don’t worry. I’m sure they’ll not mind that you’re nervous.”

“Maybe you’re right…..” You let out a gruntled sigh. 

“I’m always right, darling~”

“Uh, uh, don’t push it.”

As you arrive in the auditorium, you find your seats among the other parents. The school’s auditorium buzzed with excitement, people were whispering and talking with one another. Many parents took time off to cheer for their kids too, you think.

Satoru whispered to Satoshi, about how he should cheer for Tsumiki when she comes out. You smiled at them as you look at the stage. You don’t know when Tsumiki was going to be up. But there’s quite a few teams in her grade, after all. 

Each team that came sung a song that they made themselves. It was quite impressive, seeing young kids just being so lively and artistic. Jujutsu High didn’t really have much of these things, and even then, you and Satoru really didn’t attend any schooling outside your own clan’s comforts until you were of age to attend Jujutsu High.

So both of you were going to enjoy this, enjoying watching these kids have better joys than you ever had. Satoru was quite excited, clapping along and soon followed by your son who was also giggling and clapping along with his father.

Then when it finally came time, you immediately spot Tsumiki as she giggles nervously. She comes out with her team. Tsumiki shyly sent a wave, which made her pigtails bounce slightly. She was happy to see that you were both there. Your husband waved back, enthusiastically. You smiled as you waved too. But then Satoru immediately cheers, his voice booming with pride.

“That’s my kid!” Satoru shouts proudly, his eye glasses nearly falling off. Everyone was looking at you all. “You guys, isn’t she pretty?”

“Satoru, sit down!”

“But ‘miki looks cool! I wanna hype her up!”

“But she’s about to perform!”

The music starts and the auditorium turns dark. The lighting starts on cue and Tsumiki is the first to sing. You were in awe as she started mixing that with dancing too. Satoru immediately pulled his phone out and started recording with excited giggles. But it was quick to notice how he started to shift.

When he suddenly goes quiet, eyes wide with surprise. On the back of Tsumiki’s shirt, in those bright glittery bold letters, is written, "Gojo Tsumiki." Satoru glances around, noticing that all the other kids have their last names printed on their shirts too.

Tsumiki stops at the side as attention goes to another member of her group. Tsumiki waves at Satoru, her smile brilliantly radiant. Overcome with emotion, Gojo Satoru turns his head and buries his face in Satoshi’s tiny shoulder. Satoshi lets out a sound as though asking his dad if he was alright. You sighed, patting his shoulder.

You lean in, whispering, “Are you crying?”

His voice muffled, he replies, “No, I’m not.”

After the performance, Fushiguro Tsumiki runs over to greet you both, her face glowing with happiness to have spotted you. They won the top spot today, when Satoru was the loudest for. She was waving her medal as she rushed over to you both. You take Satoshi from Satoru, freeing him to hug Tsumiki tightly.

“You were amazing out there, kid.” Satoru says, his voice thick with pride. “I’m so proud of you.”

Tsumiki smiles up at him. “Thank you, Satoru-san!”

“You didn’t have to do that, you know! I was surprised, you wore my name on your back.”

“But I wanted to.” She beams at your husband shyly. “I can’t legally change my name, but I wanted everyone to see your name on my shirt, Satoru-san. After all, you’re the dad I have.”

Satoru starts to thank her, but his words become a jumble of emotions. Warm tears stream down his face, and you realize Tsumiki too started crying and wiping her tears. You let out a small sigh and smiled at them. You quickly pull out a tissue wrap and gently wipe Satoru and Tsumiki’s cheeks.

“Thank you for this, ‘miki.” he finally manages to say. “You have no idea how much this means to me.”

She beams, her eyes sparkling with joy. “I’m glad you liked it, Satoru-san.”

“I’m going to go and hang up that shirt in a frame, okay? I’m gonna put it in my office!”

Tsumiki grinned. “I’ll be happy every time I see it there!”

“Me too!” Your husband cried with joy.

“Gugah!” Gojo Satoshi joined in.

“Yeah, what he said!”

SATOSHI WAS FALLING ASLEEP. Satoru cooed as he cradled him back and forth, humming to your little son as he was trying to get him to sleep. Satoshi was getting cranky by the end of the picture taken for the group and when you noticed, Satoru refused to hand your little son to you. He said that he was making much of what time he had your little dawn. If he had to fall asleep, it would be in his arms. You didn’t have the heart to deny your husband, because you could see the love in his eyes shining through. And so you let him do as he pleased as you and Tsumiki sat down on the bench together.

As the program concluded, Tsumiki’s class was told that the rest of the day was to be dismissed. Since it would be time to prepare for the first term exams next month, they thought a day break is not going to be too bad. Coincidentally, it was also already nearly time to pick up Megumi. So, you decided to wait outside his classroom until his class was over. 

You were mulling over what would be a good dinner today, so you were trying to remember what you had in your fridge. Tsumiki had some suggestions and you took them in mind, but she was having cravings for something hot. And you kept thinking a spicy hot pot was going to be good. But a good question would be if your husband could take the spice. He really isn’t one to tolerate things he didn’t like. And every time you ate something spicy together, he seemed to not be as bothered. 

It wasn't long before  the bell rang in the school and you could see Megumi emerging, looking flustered. His hands were tightly pressed against his backpack straps. You quickly stood up, to take his school bag from him, but he pouts and tells you off softly. You nodded at him and ruffled up his hair tenderly with a small smile. 

Satoru was quick to ask, “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Megumi replied swiftly, and sensing his reluctance to talk, no one pressed further.

Tsumiki sang as she opened the door into the house. Satoshi was found asleep in the carrier while you started to tell the kids to go get some rest before they showered. You went to the fridge immediately while your husband settled your little dawn down. Satoru emerged from the nursery and smiled at you when he immediately suggested hotpot, a cozy meal perfect for the occasion, and since Tsumiki was craving something spicy, you could just add some togarashi on her bowl. 

As you and Satoru were talking in the kitchen about how grateful you were for the kids and what you guys should do tomorrow since it was still an off day, you felt Megumi approaching you. You looked at him as he pulled at your shirt. He lowered his gaze, his cheeks round and red. He opens his mouth but he doesn’t say anything. Satoru watches as he mouths towards you, asking what's going on. But you shook your head, not knowing what to say. Megumi gathered up his courage and then slowly placed a placard from his hands to yours. You could tell he was a bit hesitant to even hand it to you.

“I didn’t think it was right to submit in a Zenin family tree.” Megumi began, his voice steady but quiet. “I barely know them.”

You and Satoru looked at the placard together. It was simple, but it was colorful enough that you could call it lively. You could tell Megumi did it, it was his style. He likes beauty in simplicity. The tree was big enough to encompass all the information that he knew about each and everyone on the tree. Just as much, tender pictures that were neatly placed.

On it, Megumi had written that you were his mom and Satoru was his dad. Tsumiki was listed as his elder sister, and Satoshi as his younger brother. The simplicity and honesty of it touched your heart deeply. On the top, he wrote, ‘my family’ in that neat lettering that you had grown so fond of.

“I had to discuss my family tree and talk about my family,” Megumi explained bashfully, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. “I’m not gonna talk about strangers.”

You and Satoru looked at one another, eyes glossy with striking tears that were threatening to fall. When did you both deserve such beautiful happiness? What could you have both possibly done that made you both worthy of the love these kids have given you? You smiled at Megumi, looking at the placard again. 

Satoru’s eyes softened as he pulled Megumi into a hug, ruffling his hair with a laugh. “I’m so proud of you, Megumi. You’re right, family is about who’s there for you.”

Megumi mumbled, “Stop hugging me so tightly.” but there was no real resistance in his voice.

Satoru chuckled, “I just want to hug my son.”

“‘am not your son—”

“Too late, the placard says it. We’re adopting you!”

“We should have this framed.” You say as you gently touch the placard with a grin. “I’m putting it in the living room.”

“Please don’t do it.”

“Oh wifey, that’s a great idea!”

“It’s really not.”

“Not valid to your dad, son!”

IT WAS AN ENJOYABLE TIME AFTER THAT.  Your beloved little dawn Gojo Satoshi woke up just as dinner was finishing, and the whole family came back out and sat on the table all together to enjoy a lovely meal. The atmosphere was warm and filled with laughter and it was how it should always be. The meal was delicious. Tsumiki was right about the spice. It tasted good on yosenabe. As you predicted, Satoru didn’t like the spice and opted for some soy sauce. Megumi was satisfied with the taste without any condiments. 

Dinner together was never quiet. Satoru made many jokes today, almost half of which are dad jokes. Megumi felt bashful about them, but you knew that he liked them. Satoshi and Tsumiki giggled at each and every one of Satoru’s little quips. You laughed too, until it hurt your cheeks to do so. If there was anyone who could be the light in the home, the one who makes life ever so beautiful, it would be your husband. 

As you ate your mushrooms over the dashi, as Megumi drank his cup of orange juice, as Tsumiki grabbed a bite of her little pudding, Satoru couldn’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude and contentment. He had never imagined having a family this warm and loving, but here it was, a reality that he cherished deeply. 

This is what he’d like life to always be like, he told himself. This is why he went out there and did his thing. Why he bothered with trying to change everything from within, why he was gathering allies for his vision. This was his hope. This was what he wanted, what everyone deserved. He was glad. To have a place that was his. A place to be Satoru. Not the strongest. Not Gojo Satoru. He just wanted to be who he was in these four walls. The father, the husband, the friend, the hugger, the joker, the cook, the man of the house. This is what he wanted. This is who he is.

After dinner, the kids played for a long while. Satoshi had the most fun, trying to force himself to stand up. Megumi was making sure that he was not gonna fall, Tsumiki was excited to see Satoshi walk towards them. But the excitement also died down and everyone went to watch a movie. Tonight was Satoru’s pick and he chose Monsters vs. Aliens. He enjoyed it quite a lot, as much as the kids did. Satoshi had a blast copying the facial expressions of Insectosaurus which cracked Satoru up for hours. 

But now the older kids had gone and went to bed, and Satoshi was playing with his puzzle pieces just behind the couch. The rest of the night was you and Satoru both staying up to tidy up the house. It was already midnight by the time you finished. Both of you lunged together on the couch, exhausted. Satoshi, now disinterested with the puzzle, went and played with his squishy toys. 

You looked at the clock and then to your husband Satoru and, with a hint of regret in your voice, said, “I’m sorry I didn’t get you anything for Father’s Day.”

Satoru looked at you and snickered. He shook his head and pulled you into a gentle embrace. “You don’t need to apologize, darling. You’ve given me everything I could ever want for Father’s Day. You made all of this possible.”

“But I just….I wanted to give you something great.”

He looked into your eyes, his expression filled with love and gratitude. “You already have given me something great. You gave me a home, warmth, and the loveliest family. It’s everything, darling. It’s more than anyone could ask for in this life.”

“I love you, my love. More than you know.”

Cerulean eyes met your lilac. “I love you too, darling. More than life itself.”

You hit his hand lightly. “You keep one upping me.”

He laughs. “I have to make sure you know I’m the one who loves you the most.”

“I already do.”

“And I’ll tell you everyday.”

“I should hope so.”

“Until we’re old and wrinkled.”

You laugh. “Is that going to be your case, handsome?”

“I reckon I’ll always be handsome.”

You sigh at him lovingly. “You always will be.”

Satoru kissed your cheek. “Thank you for being the light of my home. I wouldn’t be the father I am without you by my side.”

“And I wouldn’t be the mother I am without you.”

“If I am with you, it will be happiness.” He whispers under his breath. “If I am with you, I’m going to be alive.”

“You make me fall in love with you over and over.”

He grins at you. “That’s the point. For all of our lives and even beyond that, darling.”

You hugged him tighter, feeling the strength and sincerity of his words. In that quiet, tender moment, you realized that the best gifts are often not material but the love and support we give each other every day. As you stood there, wrapped in each other’s arms, you felt an overwhelming sense of peace and fulfillment.

 You had your family all together.

With all its warmth and love, this was it.

This was truly the greatest gift of all.

As long as you were with him, it was alright.

Life would be the best there ever was.

epilogue

You were preparing to get to bed, but Satoshi was being rowdy, and the morning sun was already beginning to peek through the windows. Satoru, seeing how tired you were, gently told you, “Go to bed. I’ll meet you there once Satoshi’s asleep.”

Grateful for his understanding, you nodded and headed to the bathroom for a quick shower. The warm water helped soothe your tired muscles, and you felt more relaxed as you got ready for bed.

Meanwhile, Satoru was cradling Satoshi, rocking him gently in his arms. Satoshi, still full of energy, reached for his papa’s face, his tiny fingers patting Satoru’s cheeks. He giggled, his eyes bright and mischievous.

Satoru smiled down at him, murmuring softly, “Come on, little guy, it’s time to sleep.”

Satoshi started babbling, his sounds turning into something more distinct. Suddenly, he said, “Dada.”

Both you and Satoru’s eyes went wide in surprise and delight. You had just stepped out of the bathroom when you heard it. A smile broke across your face, and you couldn’t help but laugh.

“Did he just say...?” you began, looking at Satoru.

“Yeah, he did,” Satoru replied, his cerulean eyes shining with pride and happiness. “Satoshi said his first word!”

You walked over to them, and Satoru pulled you into the embrace, Satoshi nestled between you both. “His first word on Father’s Day,” Satoru whispered, emotion thick in his voice. “It’s perfect.”

You kissed Satoshi’s forehead and then Satoru’s cheek, feeling a profound sense of joy. “Happy Father’s Day, Satoru. You deserve all the happiness in the world.”

As the morning sun continued to rise, you finally crawled into bed, feeling the comforting presence of Satoru beside you. Satoshi was peacefully asleep in his crib, the excitement of the early morning finally wearing him out.

You turned to Satoru, who was lying on his side, his eyes still glowing with the joy of Satoshi’s first word. “You know,” you said softly, “I couldn’t have planned a better Father’s Day gift than this.”

Satoru smiled, reaching out to gently brush a strand of hair from your face. “I don’t think anything could top that. Hearing him say ‘Dada’ for the first time… it’s just perfect.”

You both lay there for a moment, soaking in the tranquility of the morning and the profound happiness that filled the room. “I’ve been thinking about how to show you how much you mean to us,” you confessed, “but seeing you with the kids, seeing how much they love you, that’s what really matters.”

Satoru pulled you closer, his warmth enveloping you. “You’ve given me everything I could ever want. This family, our home, the love we share… It's more than I ever imagined. Thank you for making it all possible.”

You rested your head against his chest, listening to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. “We did it together, Satoru. We built this life together.”

He kissed the top of your head, his lips lingering as if to imprint the moment in his memory. “And we’ll keep building it, one day at a time.”

The peaceful silence stretched on, and slowly, exhaustion began to claim you. As you drifted off to sleep, you felt a deep sense of contentment and love. The morning had brought an unexpected gift, one that underscored the beauty of the family you had created.

Satoru held you close, his thoughts echoing yours. He watched as you fell asleep, his heart full of gratitude and love. For him, this Father’s Day was not just about a celebration—it was a reminder of the journey you had taken together, the hardships you had overcome, and the beautiful life you had built.

As the sun climbed higher in the sky, filling the room with a warm glow, Satoru finally closed his eyes, ready to join you in sleep. The house was quiet, filled with the peaceful breaths of a family deeply connected by love and the promise of many more joyful moments to come.

[educating-bimbos]

The Pinned Post 2

new pinned post because tumblr hid my old one from my view so I can't see, edit it, or reblog it to add an addendum. I only have a few things to add, so I am just going to copy and paste it.

Who is Educating Bimbos?

My name is Nicolette. I am a technical artist, musician, and an outdoorsy type of gal. I enjoy the finer things in life, and I fancy myself a traditional woman and a bimbo. I don't really enjoy mindlessly obsessing over labels, but if it helps people gauge where my brain is at, I am pro-patriarchy, in favor of traditional gender roles and dynamics, an ex-feminist, and before all else a believer in one's ability to exercise personal freedoms. My beliefs, mannerisms, and presentation attract the ire of feminists, born-again-religious types, and any number of anti-fun douchebags. At the end of the day, just remember that behind this silly blog is a silly person.

What is Educating Bimbos?

It is a blog and small community of bimbos looking to learn more about and express a traditional lifestyle. It is also about people who may not be familiar with or comfortable around things like BDSM get a nice and soft introduction to it without being exposed immediately to the idea of how people can enjoy things in a pseudo-sexual context. At the end of the day, it is a blog and community where I and other like-minded people can express silly ideas without the fear of being lambasted by people seeking to harm others.

Where is Educating Bimbos?

Educating Bimbos can be found in one of these two places.

Why is Educating Bimbos?

Well for a while I was annoyed by the lack of communities that focused on a kind of "hyper-feminine" aesthetic while also promoting more traditional ideas. There was also the issue of communities that have tried this before of devolving into bigoted and abusive communities that would do everything under the sun to create an insular and ToS breaking community. I spoke with a friend of mine who runs a similar community a while ago and she inspired me to give this a shot. Now - close to 3 years later - I have a steadily growing community that pulls from all corners of ideology, cultural, ethnic, and interest level and the discord has been almost completely drama-free in its whole existence.

When is Educating Bimbos?

I am alive and doing silly stuff all day, every day. Except when it is nap time in which case I will be in the realm of dreams.

What's an ex-lesbian and why do you call yourself that?

For a number of very personal reasons, I have decided to call myself an ex-lesbian. I did this of my own volition, and I was not pressured into doing so. For a long time, I had thought of myself as a lesbian, mostly because of socialization and how all the girls around me were so might as well follow suit. I experienced a number of harmful and traumatic events when I considered myself a lesbian and it effected how I view myself. After a while and talking to some friends who I trust dearly, I came to the realization that I am not a lesbian and that it really isn't a thing I identify with the same way others do. I am still trying to come to grips with that given I only relatively recently had that realization. I also feel that people use that term in bad faith to harm people and to push bad narratives and ideas so I thought "hey might as well try and take back what should be an innocuous phrase."

In short, I think an ex-lesbian is just a way of identifying one's sexuality similar to asexuality or demisexuality. It is not that I am one sexuality or another, it's that my sexuality is defined by my experience and coming of age.

I have had a number of people confront me about this, talk to me about it in sincere curiosity, and even attack me. I welcome anyone who is curious or has a genuine contention to come to me in DMs, I am not a mean person, and I will love to talk honestly and respectfully. I find that disagreement is not grounds to discredit or avoid befriending people, I hope you can do the same.

Further questions for Educating Bimbos?

If you find that these questions are unsatisfactory in any regard, or you wish to try your hand at doing what I do, follow these two links!

Ask me anything!

Ask me anything you want! I have some personal rules with regards to what I can and cannot upload, but this is generally the best way for me to answer any question you may have. I also have anonymous asks enabled just in case you are shy.

Submit a post!

If you think I should be made aware of something, post something, or if you just want to signal boost something try this. So far, I have no real rules or expectations so do whatever you want with this button.

[vahalia-cress]

⸸ A Raven's Song ⸸

Another meeting under the belt and in hand, though as Vahalia often put it – a card in the back pocket. However this time it felt different, a sprinkle of personal connections dappled into business. She had quickly come to find a likeness and possible friend in the Lady Ravensong. Something she had not considered nor entertained was the equal likeness of the Lady Ravensong’s partner Signus – though there had been enough offered verbally. In the way the two looked at one another, fondly spoke, and shared sentiments that the Ravensong woman and her Viera companion were more than just a simple Lady with a strong name and her advisor. 

Vahalia knew well how to read between the lines and take things as they were afforded. She the audience and the willing receiver to absorb what she could from the two strangers she had swiftly become acquaintances with. Even reaching into reserves of kindness to invite Lady Ravensong to her abode, but also to bridge a possible friendship.

As it had been expressed by Kiarra herself, they were two women cut from the same cloth. A telltale sign of how swimmingly things could possibly go in the future between the pair as it very much seemed the case that Vahalia herself and Kiarra, we’re both women with difficult histories.

Struggle, pain, hardship and loss. Two women reaching through the dark in search for more. Ever grasping higher until it suited their pleasure.

Vahalia simply wanted to know more. She needed to know more about this soon-to-be business partner.

Lumber and ore would have gone a long way into her projects – useful at current even and enough to pique interest. The talks of trading silk and rice or possibly rice wine had been on the table but would require much more delegation and discussions with the Lady of Kiarra’s clan in trade for wines from Valnain.

All things Vahalia rattled around in her head as she climbed the stairs that overlooked the pavilion below within the busy city of Tuliyollal.

She rounded the lip of the final stair, skirts lifting at the hem as the plush grass beneath her feet found rest after the long climb. Signus was right, there were far too many stairs in the colorful city and not nearly enough lifts.

His gaze couldn’t help but linger on the inked expanse of skin above Vahalia’s hips before it became too difficult. Then he met her gaze and promptly when she halted and offered a shrug in response to her rambles "You'll either concoct a way to help each other kill your former spouses, or do that and abscond with each other." he offered, thinking out loud which was often the case when it had just been he and Vahalia, a safe space to share one’s thoughts so openly without judgment, "Oh, and Cordelia will have to be quite convincing to remain your sole provider of textiles." Hakan added with an addendum.

The Lady Cress scoffed lowly, "I doubt that, however, she does seem delightful along with her counterpart. Seems to be a man of science which I can thoroughly appreciate." she paused looking down towards the building where they had left from then back up to Hakan, "So....your Lady, huh?"

She couldn’t help herself to take the opportunity to taunt where she could. It was how Lady Kiarra Ravensong addressed her, no doubt a fond expression of how Hakan had seen Vahalia to him when he had met with Kiarra prior.

Once more, Hakan shrugged "Maybe you'll find her mind attractive enough to make an exception, once you pick it," he mused in a level voice. He folded his arms and hummed. "It was an appropriate title to use. Anything else would have been unprofessional, or potentially lessening."

"Are you hoping I reconsider my interests and bed her or simply that I pick her mind apart?" a hand lowered and reached out for the underside of Hakan’s folded arm beside her, "So you are about professionalism now or do you hide the fact you claimed me as yours?"

"The latter; I hadn't realized she lost her status, her land, and had to reclaim it. That takes more than simple grit and the backing of a more powerful clan." he let his arm be taken, fingers flexing open and closed before it too was likely claimed. "Professionalism. You are technically the Lady I serve and so, however, I might claim the reverse in private, that will remain."

Forever a well-oiled machine, it seemed. Vahalia couldn’t fault him for keeping much of what they shared to more private audiences, but even then such was only a party of two.

Hakan continued, "Whatever influence I may've claimed in the direction you take your House, you are the one with the final say, with the hand on the wheel or the rudder."

Vahalia remained quiet for a moment, appraising Hakan’s hand, looking over what she had known them to be and what they had become over time. Aiming to capture his hand she began to roll his wrist gently, palm up and placed a small, languid kiss along the side of his thumb, "Why should it remain private, what is there to hide now as we have no spouses, already have children and work towards common goals? I would argue we're beyond privacy or hiding unless you prefer to keep such quiet out of shame?" she paused eyes gazing up with venom but such was the way as she often looked, "Are you ashamed of me?" she prodded further. It wasn’t as if courtship was a promise in the books nor was the prospect of having a husband as that axe had long since been buried.

Instinctively his thumb danced up and down, before, during, and after the kiss she had placed upon it. The affection tugged at the corner of his mouth. That quirk eased the more he listened however, disappearing entirely when he noted her look. "No," he replied, answer as hard and heavy as steel. "Regardless of how close we are, what children we have, when I conduct affairs on your behalf to unknowns I will do so respectfully."

Vahalia’s attention shifted to rove over his features, searching for something more than one might have been keen enough for her to pick up on. Shadows raked through her mind and the distant chuckle behind her eyes she had known for far too long, her face free of any joyful expression to mimic what had been lulling within her head, "Why?" she asked. Perhaps not an actual question she wanted to ask but it came all the same.

"Because it is important -- imperative -- that whosoever might do business with you knows where the power is. That in any affair not personal, you're the one they need to focus on, to impress."

Smooth talker. Her brows came to knit and she stepped tentatively in front of him, hands moving around his own to part what stance he decided to take with crossed arms, inserting herself where she wanted -- against him, and lowering his arms around her near the waist out of the way, "There is more to this than the Cress name or what I carry. You should have equal impression." lifting her hands she slowly combed her nails along either side of his face and into his pulled back hair just above his ears. Others live so freely with their interests and desires, out in the open without shame or a second thought, they wear their connections proudly. I'm proud of you. Proud to have you. Were you to ask me to leave my name behind to take up your patronymic, I would. Not a right I reserve to no one else."

He felt her, even allowed her to nestle against his chest as she had often done, possibly finding comfort within the gesture and the loom of his frame in contrast to her own; only going so far as to arch a brow curiously while his hands went to rest on her hips. "In the beginning, I told you that I only wanted a small part of influence regarding whatever decisions you'd make for the House and the company because in the end, it's yours. I understand, now, that you want to share it with me. I appreciate that. But ironically, selfishly, I want you to remain the face of both because they're /yours/. I want you to understand that you can expand either, both, or drive it into the ground to nothingness with my support regardless of why. Maybe I'll take your name as you offer, but the company and house would still be yours to do with in whatever way you please."

Attentive fingers splayed out under the taught strands of Hakan’s hair, nails gently raking in their wake, "I'll keep whats mine as you wish, I just want you. That's all." She had voiced it before, perhaps not in the best of fashions and remembering herself her hands pulled away and lowered, a soft and singlar pat from both palms touching his chest, "I don't want you to think you are not important or that all your work has gone unappreciated. I can't help but want to clutch on to more than what you allow. You have your reasons -- I have mine for feeling how I do. Forgive me. I see others jovial and they seem so open and comfortable with their stations.Now that I say that out loud, I suppose it is selfish of me to not have considered that you are happy and comfortable with yours."

He took a deep breath, then deadpanned "I'm going to shove you off this cliff." There was no weight to it, of course, but the exasperation could be felt. "I understand my importance full well, Halia, believe me. And to how much you appreciate me? That isn't in doubt. But I'm not other people, my feelings don't get hurt if I'm not acknowledged in public as often as others are."

When he spoke she allowed her eyes to wander his expression and her hands drifted away knowing full well she had begun to aggravate him, "Very well, I'll leave you to your thoughts and business and won't linger longer than is necessary, I've taken up enough of your time as it is with current business with the Lady Ravensong. Else you might actually attempt to be rid of me." there was a hint of teasing in her tone elegantly mixed with a dash of defusion. Vahalia pulled away and took to looking over the small cliff nearby, "Do as you wish, I'll head back to the cabins. I should continue to prepare the ship for leave in the coming days to Black Water."

Harshly, Hakan’s tongue clicked in her direction. His hands, clutching her hipsas he sought to drag her back close to him and halting whatever path she had set before herself to leave his presence. "You will have to do more and far worse for that to ever happen. You should know I don't relinquish what I've claimed as mine so easily..." There was a twitch to the corner of his mouth as he stared down at her, fingers half slipping beneath the skirt to dig against pale skin. "I don't need to be acknowledged," he reiterated, "-- But that doesn't mean I think you shouldn't be. It would be too easy for me to disrespect you if I did so the way that comes normally, intimately, and that's not my desire. I want those who see you, those I might bring to see you, to see you first. A woman of too much character to describe. If they learn after that you're mine? They learn that after knowing your worth has impressed them first."

Asshole.

She hadn't much of anywhere to go as she was reeled back in to his space. His denying her leave caused a furrow to her brow as he opted to make his thoughts known, "I can respect that. I understand that and your wishes on the matter. I won't press or pry further, it was merely a curious thought I had acted on expressing. I care little of what others think, you however are a different sort entirely and will always care what you think." Natrually her hand came between them, "In several months; better if it were several weeks, I will have something I wish to show you. Hopefully then my gratitude will be made clear, even though it is clear to you by my words."

In turn her too furrowed his brow down to Vahalia, curious and suspicious. He had requested she 'compensate' him well should the meeting be successful – and it was, but...It was a hard thing, not pressing upon her to reveal what likely was meant a surprise. A painful thing, truthfully, to a mind like his. Pursing his lips, exhaling sharp, he nodded. "Fine. In that case, I'll start now to give what you'll see after several moons too, though the evidence will show far sooner. It won't do, having your brood compared to hers and be seen as less."

Vahalia would have scoffed had she not of laughed first and her hand patted several times between them -- trying its best with what little room there was. Had she of been the blushing sort, surely she would have, "Easy now. I'm speaking of something a little different than what you have in mind. But since you've so kindly reminded me, I'll get to that as well in due course when we both have time and I intend on showing you my thanks in my own way. Grant me that? Our brood or which you choose to call it will come in time. Hmm?"

He thumbed against her bare hips near the skin that decorated pale flesh, what definitely wasn't a pout bending the bow of his mouth. He took a deep breath, exhaled it, the scent of embers and spice and smoke upon the air from his cigar previously in the evening. "I would prefer to plant the next seed here...but, I will...relent."

Well sculpted brows raised as he spoke and Vahalia felt a small smile tug at her mouth, "You want children but have no care for them, simply the act of making them. Should it be a better option for you there is always the notion of simply pretending. But, what good is an empire without its legacies?" she gazed between them and where her hand rested a thought crossing her mind but she comforted herself internally with it, to sit silent with it a little longer.

Both of them knew there was no actual seriousness behind building an empire, simply a comparison he often made to her building upon the foundations of what she already had. Comparable to some, what the Cress name held and deviated from or was destined towards was their own empire to be sure.

Legacies they had built up for themselves since the groundwork had been first laid. Each stone part of the path in which they tred.

"Tst-- there's little enough to do with them beyond changing and feeding them, and as already evidenced, I'm selfish in regards to my food." Hakan eased his hold her hips, slid fingers free where they'd been pressing and pushing the skirt down with. She wasn't wrong through, despite the protest. He should feel terrible, but it wasn't in him to feel so,  "Legacies can be chains, and an heir needn't hold the same name to honor the first...but, if ours chose it of their own will...that'd be something to be proud of."

‘Ours’ He had put it so absolutely. A happy skip pulsed within her ribs.

Vahalia lingered within her quietness and sitting with her thoughts asshe eventually lowered her hands to stop him at the wrists, eyes natrually beckoned to his own as she scanned over the refined features of his face, soft golden orbs tracing the lines of his markings and scars, "If we have as say in this and planning to its fullest, where intent is solid then I want our next and the futures onward to be bore out of a place of care and adoration, not desire or needs in a moment. Whatever they choose then they will do so with something in their backpockets.”

She continued after a breath, fullying bearing her mind, “-- Proper support from parents neither of us had. I'd rather leave them to a legacy by choice than ash and ruins of failure thrust upon them."

"I see no issue with children born of the former -- The opposite, in fact. I'd not suggest nor attempt to make it a reality here, now, in this place, otherwise." He turned his hands away from her hips, sought to hold her wrists in the same manner she held his. "Yours would be a legacy worthy to inherit, of a builder."

Vahalia 's fullest attention darted over his eyes as she felt her shoulders relax when he took hold of her wrists – he was quite serious,, "I am no builder, but perhaps one of our children might. When we're dead and gone, there is little else left of us except for what we pass down. Mortal as I am, I still wish to have a lasting effect for those tied to me. To take care of them for as long as I can, even if it is only gil that holds my memory for them or a roof over their head. Heavens and hells forbid, if I leave before you, atleast there is something for you to take care of yourself with, and them as well. I think only of the long term. I leave the present to you."

Hakan leveled a flat look down at Vahalia. "You've not been paying attention to your work if you actually believe that you are no builder. Regardless, whatever comes after us won't be of issue. If we've taught them well, they'll succeed, and neither of plans on doing otherwise. And if you actually left the present to me, well..." He rolled a shoulder; he'd already expressed what he wanted in the moment and as heavy as the conversation could be, there was no changing that.

“Be it far from me to deny you the simple pleasures in life. There is work to be done, however.”

He hiked a brow as she spoke. It was only part of what he wanted, but it was the much larger part. The rest could wait as she wanted -- the work especially.

[ w/ @belgravexiv ]

[originalleftist]

Musk hired spies to surveil his critics and girlfriend.

Highlights:

"One of those critics is Vernon Unsworth, who sued Musk in 2018 for calling him a "pedo guy" on Twitter. A new Tortoise investigation reveals that the scale of surveillance used against Unsworth was greater than previously known: Musk used at least two sets of private investigators, both of which used deception to try to gather information."

"Musk deployed private investigators to follow a Tesla employee "24 hours a day". A former security operative at Tesla alleges the company also hacked into the employee's phone. Other whistleblowers also allege that they were followed."

"Unbeknownst to Unsworth, Musk's tam then paid about $50,000 to a private investigator called James Howard-Higgins to dig up dirt on Unsworth. Howard-Higgins promised that he would go through Unsworth's bins, pose as a charity worker to get information, and infiltrate his partner's Facebook page.

No due diligence. A Google search would have revealed that Howard-Higgins was a fraudster, jailed in 2016 for stealing from his own company. As the US trial, which Musk won by portraying his Twitter comments as a joke, his team portrayed Howard-Higgins as a one-off. In fact another investigation firm called Orion was also tasked with getting information on Unsworth. Emails show how Orion emailed one of Unsworth's friends, telling him, incorrectly, that they were "working on behalf of Vernon"."

"Musk allegedly placed his former partner Amber Heard under surveillance in Australia having become suspicious that she was cheating on him.

Around the same time a local newspaper received an anonymous tip that an Aussie Rules footballer was "spending many nights at Amber Heard's house" and "leaving early in the morning looking like the cat that swallowed the canary".

The paper traced the message to SpaceX, one of Musk's companies.

When one of its reporters spoke to Musk, he accepted that someone close to him had sent the tip but claimed it was done without his knowledge.

"My personal belief is that [Musk] definitely sent it," says the reporter, Sally Coates."

I've seen other outlets claim that Musk used infrared technology to spy on Heard's home and detect any movement inside, but can't confirm this from a source I consider credible.

Anyway, reminder that Muskrat is a serial domestic abuser and sexual predator as well as a fascist, that his supposed support for "free speech" (as always with the Right) just means "freedom for me to say whatever I want with no consequences, and no one else has freedom to disagree with or criticize me", and that how he conducts himself in his private life and in his businesses is mirrored in his goals for society as a whole.

Also, that this "genius" is so incompetent that he couldn't even use Google for two minutes before hiring a convicted con man.

(Addendum: I know a lot of people have accused Tortoise Media of being part of some grand Right-wing/transphobic conspiracy, but so far as I've found that's mostly desperate Neil Gaiman fans trying to make out that the accusations against him by multiple unconnected women, that he partly admitted to and others in the industry corroborated, are a vast Conservative conspiracy to frame him for being pro-trans. In other words- ridiculous and misogynist. Tortoise has some credibility issues of being fairly new, without much of an established track record and, like many major media outlets, having big business money behind it. But also, far Right psy-op outlets probably aren't inclined to write detailed exposes on Elon Musk and the Saudi Royals.)

[stereopticons]

An Addendum to Mournful Monday

So I’ve been reading everyone’s posts about their writing struggles and I found myself wanting to say two things: first, nothing you write is ever a waste, and second, your writing matters.

Sometimes you write things that you end up cutting or that don’t fit anywhere. Sometimes you write things that don’t get shared or published. But it’s not a waste. You still wrote! Writing is a skill, and like everything else, the more you do it, the better you’ll be at it. Sometimes, just flexing those muscles is enough. Sometimes it will even help shake loose the words you were hoping to write. I was struggling with getting the words to come out one time and the ever-wise @blackandwhiteandrose gave me a handful of random words and told me write 100 words using some or all of them. I wrote a 400-word ficlet that I’ve never published (maybe I will do that later, idk) but it made it easier to write the fic I was actually trying to work on.

When I was writing my dissertation, I had to cut huge sections because I ended up taking a piece out of the study that changed the background a lot. My advisor recommended that I never delete anything I write because you never know when you’ll need it again. So I created a file called trash (he objected to this title but i ignored him lol) and put everything I deleted in there. I’ve been done with my dissertation for a while but I have gone back to that trash file to use things I previously deleted. I also have a trash file for fic, for those sentences and paragraphs I love but can’t quite make them fit. It’s not a waste. It’s writing.

I think many of us are working with some degree of imposter syndrome. I would venture to say that probably the majority of people you think write the “best” (whatever that means to you!) have at one time or another, looked at something they wrote and said, “man, that is garbage. What is even the point”. For me, it happens at least once per fic. I call it my fic midlife crisis because it usually happens midway through writing. I start to doubt everything. The prose is clunky, the dialogue is out of character, the whole premise is flawed and doesn’t make sense. I usually message my friends and say, “can someone read this and tell me if it’s stupid” and they will usually read it and say something along the lines of “you’re overthinking this again, it’s great” and offer suggestions on where to go.

There are multiple posts floating around tumblr about how you can never see your art the way someone else sees it because you made it. My prose is always going to sound trite and overused to me because I wrote it and I’ve read it a thousand times. That doesn’t mean it’s bad or doesn’t have value. It just means I’ll never be able to experience it for the first time. But despite all of this, I guarantee that your fic has impacted someone somewhere. Maybe it made them laugh when they were having a bad day. Maybe you wrote a line that made them cry at their desk. Maybe you wrote something really hot that helped them discover something about themselves. It all matters.

[sea-owl]

Oh my goodness - I just fell down the rabbit hole that is the spouses friend group au (and the soulmates addendum). After they are all together do they let their tattoos out to be visible more? Or do you think there just isn’t much of a change (Anthony can be found in a suit or mostly covered whether he’s at work as a lawyer or having a picnic in the park or now that Polin is together, Colin is constantly ripping off his shirt to show of his matching back tattoos with Penelope)? (Also mini request for you to add to ao3 to put it in order? I was mostly following it and you don’t have to if you don’t want to but I’d love to read it all in one spot ❤️❤️❤️)

I forgot about Spouses Friend Group! I should add more to that au it was fun.

I feel like, at first, not much does change because a lot of the tattoos the spouses have do have personal messages, and their partners would respect that.

There was one time though that the Bridgertons were playing with their younger cousins, and the younger cousins had gotten new temporary tattoos they wanted to try. Eight different phones pinged, asking if they were really cheating on Sophie with another tattoo artist. How could you?!?!

The Bridgertons are so confused because they never got a tattoo?! Their lovers are the rude ones, knowing full well any tattoo they get appears on their soulmate! After some back and forth, they realize that oh, it's the temporary tattoos.

The spouses are calm now, but do add in post script that if any of them get a tattoo that is not from Sophie, they are dead to them.

As they get closer and become more serious the Bridgertons all notice a new tattoo on them.

Anthony was getting dressed one day when he noticed two small bees on his chest, right in the spot Kate got stung. They were sweet looking and appeared to be dancing.

The day Sophie went to visit her old tattoo master Benedict had this weird feeling to check his back. He did, and Sophie's prized Cinderella tattoo, the first one she ever designed, had been added to. A hand, one that looks like it would belong to the prince, was delicately touching the glass shoe now as if to cradle it.

There's another butterfly added to Colin's back, it's bigger than the others and the wings are all words. Reading it he realizes it's his love confession to Penelope.

Daphne noticed on the back of her hand where Simon's sleeve is a homey looking building was added, a prominent Daphne laurel tree was beside it.

There's a new flower in the garden Eloise noticed. Tied closely with the twin flowers, taking a closer look, it's the very first flower Phillip ever gave her.

The musical notes that Francesca and Michael dubbed their song were added to the half sleeve.

Another bird appeared on Gregory's ankle, one to join the uncaged bird in flight.

Hyacinth noticed the diamonds had now had an addition as well. Laying next to the diamonds as if it had just been unearthed was a crystallized style hyacinth flower.

As for the AO3 request, I'm honestly not sure how well this AU would transfer over without me doing rewrites like. Maybe one day.

[section-69]

Okay Destination Trek notes! First here's what I really liked:

- Everything was SAG compliant and there was so much important strike talk. Obvs this made some questions impossible to answer, and it was slightly hard to predict what would be wrong to say just since different actors had different comfort levels (big range from "I support my comrades but I'm not gonna pretend I'm not in Star Trek" from David Ajala to J G Hertzler encouraging us to threaten media executives with [COPYRIGHTED SPACE WEAPON] to Terry Farrell not wanting to mention working on TV or film at all), but honestly it just made the whole thing really friendly

- on that note, multiple guests said it was the best convention they'd been to in years. I don't have a lot of personal experience with them, but I was talking to a lot of older fans and many of them said this felt a lot like the early days of conventions which were also set in hotels

- being in a hotel made it a) more accessible (and there were So Many fellow disabled Trekkies to prove it!!), b) easier to hang out between activities, and c) just super personable. The guests could hang out in the bar with the fans, there were lots of comfy seats everywhere, and it was very easy to step away if something wasn't your speed.

- not being in London helps the vibes too

- not being Paramount affiliated made the tickets a bit cheaper (much appreciated)

- most of the activities were teamwork focussed. Initially I was a little freaked by that but actually it gave the whole thing a friendly social club vibe

- science talks! Community talks! Asking the actors questions about their lives and work outside of what they're most famous for! Stories we haven't all heard a thousand times!

- I'll make another post about the specifics of accessibility and why I liked this infinitely more than the official ones in London aircraft hangars, but I just really have to stress how important I found that here

- being fan organised and fan led, the focus was on us and how much we love this shit. I didn't find the old format Bad in this respect, but this really did hit different

- J G Hertzler is seriously the coolest person I've met. He stole my craft group's batleth and we couldn't be happier about it.

- So Many Cool Cosplays!!! Shout out especially to the drag queens, the older man cosplaying Admiral Janeway, the Voyage Home Spock and inflatable whale, the power chair decked out to look like a shuttle, all the babies in uniform, the tribble queen in her tribble pelt dress, all the Klingons who didn't artificially darken their skin, the furry doctor from lower decks, all of the Borg, the Klingon pug with a plush batleth, and so so many others I'm forgetting ❤️🖖❤️

Notes for Future Cons

- If you don't already have access to it because of an expensive ticket, I wouldn't bother paying for the opening ceremony. It's not actually at the start of the event and also it's literally just the actors coming on stage, saying hi, then rushing back to the autograph tables. Do go to the closing ceremony though! There's way more of a point to those

- If you're not a huge extrovert, already drunk, or completely happy in awkward situations, I wouldn't recommend being the first in the door at the parties. Give it an hour or so - they sounded very lively later on, but when I tried to go in earlier the primary school disco vibes were off the charts. Plus the music's too loud to actually talk to anyone, and no one's dancing yet. I did see one guy run past with a portable charger for his friend in a wheelchair that lost power on the dance floor though, so clearly they got cooler later on lol. Addendum here that I'm an autistic non drinker so that might colour things.

- to the white folks darkening their skin for generic Klingon cosplays, reconsider that one next year

- to the white guy wearing brown face paint to cosplay Worf specifically, what the fuck, man??

- to the person who boo'd the mention of Julian/Garak at the LGBTQ+ panel, fight me but also maybe skip whatever the equivalent is next year cause Andy Robinson's booked to come

- host mocked Scottish accents a couple times :(

- here's hoping the unions will have their demands met and we'll be able to talk about Star Trek publicly with actors who can access healthcare and pay their rent. But if not, at least we know the con will still be fun.

- maybe see you in Blackpool next July 💙

[echidna-auxiliatrix]

There's a post going around that mentions American Girl's first boy doll and it drudged up the two big reasons I and other people in the fanbase were pissed off about it. In no particular order:

1. It's ALWAYS things for girls that have to capitulate -- AG was founded with the intent of encouraging young girls to become interested in history and the humanities more broadly in higher education. It filled a void in both history education and the market for dolls.

History education, especially at the K-12 level, often leaves out girls and women entirely. Prior to AG, there were baby dolls and fashion dolls, and that was it. Baby dolls encouraged girls to be mothers and fashion dolls encouraged girls to pursue fashion and makeup (if anyone comes at me defending any of these things I will unleash a nuclear bomb of an argument on you that would make the CIA in fall of 1962 blush), but the AG dolls, at least at first, were all fleshed out characters that girls were meant to relate to and learn from. The target age range for AG was originally 8-12, something that's easily lost nowadays when people with too much money give them to their toddlers.

Boys' properties never do this without making the single girl character a stereotype, a smurfette, or a love interest. Boys' properties also generally create spinoffs that target girls instead of integrating girls into the mainline property (LEGO Friends et al). When these fail, they use it as an excuse that girls aren't interested in XYZ type of play.

2. The face mold that they used for Logan (I hate that I even remember his name) was created for Kaya, an indigenous historical character, for whom smiling with teeth was a cultural taboo. Logan was not from the same nation as Kaya, nor was he indigenous at all.

AG had deliberately only ever used that face mold for Kaya and had used this fact to publicize how respectful and culturally sensitive they are, only to throw all that away.

Logan and the two dolls he was marketed with tanked and so he hasn't been available for a while now. But they are still selling boy dolls -- all of which smile with no teeth, because that looks goofy and feminine I guess 🙄

Addendum 1: people have been making custom boy dolls for decades at this point. They would buy a doll secondhand and put a short wig on it. Ironically a lot of these people were conservatives who were outspoken about being homophobic and tranphobic. The irony of their boy doll being trans was totally lost on them all.

Addendum 2: way too many people take AG's depiction of history as gospel. There are so many historical inaccuracies, particularly with character design and names. Samantha, Kirsten, and Molly -- the first 3 dolls -- all have uncommon and unpopular names for their time period. These names were deliberately chosen because they were popular in the 80s, when the dolls were released. All three of them also wear thick, blunt, pie slice type bangs which were not common until after WWII. All 3 of their stories predate the end of WWII. AG was well aware of this -- look in the book illustrations. Almost no other characters have these bangs.

Felicity's name is also woefully inaccurate (she also has one of the most heavy-handed names for a fictional character ever lol). She was originally supposed to be named Lucy. Also, wearing a ponytail AND a mob cap was unheard of. According to social conventions of the time, if she was out of the house, her hair was up and under the cap. But a long shiny ponytail is more marketable!

There's also a lot wrong with Kaya's story culturally -- just do a Google search for "Kaya AG criticism" and you'll find a detailed blog post written by an indigenous person about it.

[stoopid-turtle]

BTS in Order Addendum 2

Second and final addendum for rn! This covers the translated bts clips for June that I found. Sadly, the playlist did not have July or Aug, so I can't go over those. If I ever do find July and Aug, I'll try to add it on.

As before, the timeline posts are already updated. I'm just highlighting some things here for those who don't want to hunt for the updates. Also, I tried to clean up some of the formatting but y'all, the formatting on Tumblr is just weird. I can't figure it out and I'm not gonna invest the time to do so, so I've done my best!

I can see where the WZC/GG pairing came from. GG and WZC seem quite close, often playful, and similarly physically affectionate to ggdd. Their dynamic is different, but I can def see how people could pull together a compilation of their bts clips for CPFs. (Not saying they were a real couple, like ggdd.)

Madam Jin did not seem to realize she was cast in a bl adaption.

There's much mentioned of dd's afterglow on 6.19 after the Dragon Boat Festival date, but I've never seen anyone mention that GG is also in a really great mood the next day. His first scene is in the forest with JC and JL, and he's all smiles and says, "I'm so happy this early morning. I really love my team."

JC says "Happy? What nonsense!" For some reason, this sets gg off on the giggles.

Needless to say, GG had his own afterglow.

Also on 6.19, there's this cute exchange between gg and the older lady producer (?), who is also from Chongqing:

Crewmember: So many beauties come from Chongqing. GG: I'm beautiful. Producer lady: More beautiful than me? GG: How can that be? Can't compare!

And then, a couple days later on 6.23, when dd is still gone, gg is in a hellishly rotten mood. He's visibly moody and unresponsive to xl and JC, both of whom try to cheer him up. At one point, he asks someone (his assistant?) if he has any crying scenes that day. And later he says, "Remember this feeling. After a month, when filming, definitely will..." I think he says something more to XL here, but I guess it was too quiet for the translator to hear. The implication to me is that he's gonna try to bring up the experience of his feelings in later scenes when WWX is having similar feelings.

Not everything with regards to the boys has to be about ggdd, so it's possible that gg's bad mood is bc of something else going on in his life. Family, friends, something with his company, politics, a stranger being a jerk, whatever. DD's one possibility among many. I did check out what dd was doing on 6.23 and 6.22, and he's on Produce 101, where he looks as DD (with a mullet) as ever. But there aren't any bts or unscripted clips of him where he might reveal a similar mood, so it's hard to say anything.

So basically, make of gg's bad mood what you will. It could be literally anything.

I need to talk about JC's fake butt

So the clip on 6.25, with JZX, Mianmian, dd, XL, and gg all chatting starts with them talking about JC wearing a "fake butt". I'm guessing butt padding? Some highlights:

DD is confused because he's "not even wearing jeans", to which gg asks if it makes sense to wear a fake butt in jeans.

The "reason" why JC wears this is apparently only known to XL and GG. XL refuses to explain.

GG says if she doesn't explain, dd will just walk up to JC and ask him, "JC, you wear a fake butt?"

Poor WZC did seem a bit put-upon on the set.

Also, unrelated, dd thinks sweat is sexy.

Also, the nasal spray that got passed around: looked sus, but not actually that sus. It's a Thai herbal nasal inhaler, which apparently looks a lot like people doing some uppers. (So much so that gg chastises the cameraman for filming it and XL turns her back to do it)

Also also, gg's rotten mood is gone. The clip on 6.23 of him being in a bad mood is only about 5 min long, and there's only a 45sec clip for 6.24. So basically, we have no idea what might have cheered him up and there are almost a full 2 days of stuff we know nothing about.

[k-martins]

Seventh episode aired, jujutsu nation! This is where Shibuya really starts!

_ To begin with, I really liked how they did the battle of Kokichi X Mahito. The movements and angles are much better than the first season. The neons from those laser beams were really cool too (reminds me of the shooting stars scene from Howl's Moving Castle).

_ My favorite scene from this fight was seeing Mahito changing his form to that of different animals while running away from Mechamaru, how fluid and natural it looked. Seeing him as a rabbit reminded me of what we're about to see in the anime with regards to Yuji. A really fun scene :D (Also nice to know GG agrees with me lol)

_ With this fight, I realized that there is a pattern in how GG conducts his fights. It builds a sense of assured victory over one side before a twist comes in and brutally destroys. In the first season we saw that special grade cursed spirit overcome Itadori before Sukuna appeared. We later saw a kindred spirit mistreat Megumi before he opened a Domain expansion. With Hanami it was the same. Now, in Shibuya, we will see Satoru very close to defeating the spirits before Kenjaku appears and defeats him. The same with Mahito X Itadori. Even the Yoruzo X Sukuna battle was like that from what I remember. Now, Kokichi thought he had beaten Mahito and was so confident that he could face Kenjaku, then die. This is just an observation, but given the current arc of the manga, I don't doubt that GG will follow the same pattern.

_ One sentence: THIS IS NOT MY SUGURU!!!!!!

_ Miwa is too adorable for this world! I feel like she is our Itadori in Kyoto. It's so sad to know that Kokichi just wanted to stay close to his friends and colleagues, live a normal life, and in the end end up dying. And her death was so brutal and sad… My throat choked when I saw that snippet of Miwa and Mechamaru and her so excited to visit him. The world did not deserve their love.

_ AHHH, SHIBUYA HAS ARRIVED!!!!! I loved that we have a female narrator. I don't know if they're going to keep it in my language or if it's going to be Ijichi narrating again, so we'll see. But I quite liked it. The extended scenes are also excellent! _ An addendum: These extras that appeared are very beautiful, haha! I even found one dressed as Mahito and another as Ghostface. GG always inserting pop figures in his works, kskkskks (next week I want to see Gojo stomping on these people's heads like the idiot he is)

_ The teams are finally formed. I particularly like Ino, Megumi and Nanamin's relationship. I felt high vibes from a parent with their two cubs, with Ino being older and showing off for Megumi. Oh, and Nanami saying that Megumi is talented was sweet (it reminded me of this fanfic here, which is an emotional weight more than the canon proposes).

_ The Zenin + Nobara team is not bad either. I know Naobito is a little shit, but I can't hate him after knowing that his favorite pastime is watching anime. And he looks really good twirling his sharp mustache. I'm excited to see how they adapt his ability, as it's literally taking frames. (Ah, I devoured that scene Nobamaki, Mappa, I can even forgive them for what they will do)

_ GOJO SATORU IS IN SHIBUYA!!!!!!! As far as I know the next episode will adapt his fight with the curses and Itadori X Grasshopper, so we'll probably have "Yo! Satoru" at the end as an impactful closing. I'm looking forward to seeing someone calling Yuji smart! He deserves it after an entire season of being declared "dumb."

Well, next week we won't have a manga chapter, which makes me worried. If I'm right and chapter 8 ends with Kenjaku appearing, Gojo's sealing will be in chapter 9. By the evil mind of GG, he's probably up to something with this. Perhaps Sukuna delivering one last, fatal blow to Satoru? Maybe Kenjaku showing up? I can't say, but it worries me…

[maladaptivewriting]

Just wanted to say thank you for sharing my playlist!! I love tgk so much and working on it helps keep me distracted between updates lol. It’s been such a joy to work on and having you link it in the addendum means a lot ☺️

Also I was wondering, the board you have for planning out your playlists, do you have anything like that for the fic itself? Or do you have like an outline written up that you check off as you go? Just curious how you keep all your ideas in order for it (especially with the chapters where you backtrack) cause it must be a lot to keep track of lol. Also I know you’ve said that you’ve had everything planned out since the beginning but have there been things you’ve decided to add along the way as the fic has progressed?

i actually have used that same white board to plan out portions of the fic before. one was when i mapped out where all the horcruxes were and when/how they would found and destroyed. the second time was when i planned out the entire battle at the department of mysteries so that i wouldn't forget anyone.

that's why i made the addendum for the golden king because eventually i want to share some of the photos i took of the boards i created. i figure a few of my readers will get a kick out of it.

as far as the major plot, most of it is just in my head. i talk about it a lot with my friends and my beta reader, so it's basically constantly on my mind. i do map out sections in an outline like when i went to write the first half of sixth year, i outlined everything that i wanted to mention/include before i started drafting.

there haven't been that many things that i've added along the way, but there have been a handful. one of them is the entire subplot with cedric diggory. i didn't even know if i was going to keep him alive until i was several chapters in to gof and the way regulus's opinion of him has grown has been totally organic. it's like regulus is speaking through me about his disapproval. there is also a huge plot point that happens in the deathly hallows portion of the golden king that i didn't know about until recently, it wasn't in the plan, but when i finally thought about it, i was like yeah of course that happens.

[pagerunner-j]

Still thinking about Barbie, the movie, and Barbies, collectively, and the very particular quirk of my childhood experience with the doll.

Here's the thing: I grew up in the '80s. (Yes, I'm old, hush.) I had several Barbies, and you'd probably recognize a few of them. Peaches & Cream Barbie even made it into the opening sequence of the movie, after all. That one was, justifiably, a classic.

But my favorite Barbies as a kid looked like this.

Yes, that's an officially licensed Barbie doll, made by the Takara company for sale in Japan. For several years there, from the early '80s to 1986, Japanese Barbies looked like they'd walked straight out of an anime, big, cartoony eyes and all. They came dressed in a variety of fashions, of course, just like their American counterparts, but it's hard not to highlight the traditional kimono. A friend of mine's dad did regular business trips to Japan, and he'd bring home dolls for her, so I got to play with her Barbies during visits to her house, and I always thought they were so much cooler than mine.

Years later, after the advent of the internet and, crucially, eBay, I decided to do some research and see if I could finally snag one of these dolls for myself. To my disappointment, I discovered that Takara no longer held the Barbie license, and the company that produced Japanese Barbies thereafter made the dolls look just like ours.*

*eta: Addendum here: Bandai had the license for a few years after Takara did, and their Barbies looked a lot like Takara's, although not exactly. The last thing I found said those were made until 1989. Correct me if I'm wrong about what happened after!

Returning to the main point, though--

But then I also found out what Takara had decided to do.

They'd lost the Barbie license, specifically. Mattel didn't have any ownership over Takara's doll design, since, after all, she didn't look like Barbie. There wasn't anything preventing Takara from producing the same dolls under a different name.

So this happened.

Meet the Takara Jenny. Same look, new name, new slogan ("Jenny is another yourself"). And without the restrictions of conforming to someone else's license, Takara had the license to do what the hell ever. Traditional dresses? Frothy, elaborate Lolita designs? Friend dolls modeled after famous J-pop singers? Why the heck not?

Takara did feel compelled to come up with an explanation for the name change, I note, beyond "Mattel won't let us call her Barbie anymore." The excuse they eventually went with still amuses me. I'll just quote Wikipedia for brevity:

Prior to 1986, the doll was known as Takara Barbie. In 1986 Takara ended their licensing agreement with Mattel, and, as they owned the rights over the Takara Barbie's design, came up with a new name for the doll. The explanation given for the name change was that Jenny was the name of a character Barbie portrayed in a play, also titled Jenny. The play was a success and Barbie had become so associated with her character's name that she decided to change it to Jenny. Jenny's boyfriend was renamed from "Takara Ken" to "Jeff."

Alas, alack, no more Kenergy for Jeff. Ah well.

(Seriously, though: Imagine that your girlfriend gets so carried away with a famous role she played that not only does she change her name, you have to, too. Poor Ken!)

Anyway: Takara Jenny's had a longer run than the Takara Barbie (interrupted during a discontinuation, but I hear she's back in 2023!), although of course Barbie still reigns supreme in the fashion doll world, and even in Takara's stable, their original fashion doll, Licca, was always more popular. But I've got a soft spot for the Jenny. After all, I'm a Jenny, too. And I still think the doll design is cute as hell.

Now, for an anime movie where Stereotypical Jenny looks like this...

Edit: Okay, I have to add this video. New Licca and friends, including Jenny!

[piastrinorris]

make me write!

ty for the tag @keerysquinn <3

THE RULES

Make a 24hr poll listing the titles of every WIP you want to work on. (It's fine if you only have one, still make a poll for the vote count)

Tag anyone you think might also enjoy this game (No pressure of course)

Whichever WIP title gets the most votes, write 1 sentence for every vote received.

If somehow that completes the fic or reaches the end of a chapter, move to the WIP with the second highest votes and continue where you left off on your sentence/word count. Repeat until you reach your goal.

(Optional) Share what you wrote in a new Tumblr post with a link to the poll or in a reblog!

More about each fic can be found under the cut at the bottom just in case you want to know what each one is before you vote.

tagging: @wordscomehither @corroded-hellfire @inourtownofhawkins @lunatictardis

neither steel nor torch: ralph penbury is bored. he always has been. everything that's exciting about his social life, is purely as an addendum to living with his socialite sister. he tells his sister all the time: one of these days, he'll be the sort of person people write stories about. victoria tells him that'll happen when pigs fly.

and then, while the pair are holidaying at their beachfront property, a pillage rages upon the town they're in. it's the most beautiful sight ralph's ever seen. the adventure of it all, the passion they all have. especially you, taking charge of it all. but ralph's no fool, he knows there's no way you'd take a man of high society such as himself seriously if he were to ask to come aboard. thankfully for him, ralph's always been good at not being seen.

✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

bsbl epilogue 2: (a follow up from this fic, to be posted on @busyralph) today, ralph penbury wakes up at 5:30am on the dot, thanks to his very handy silently vibrating alarm on his phone. not that he needs the humming beneath his pillow to wake him up. he already woke up at 2:17. and again at 3:39. and again at 3:52. and again at 4:57. you see, this is a big day for ralph.

today is the day he proposes to the love of his life.

✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

long time no see: years ago, when you were freshly 18, you'd had yourself a most epic whirlwind summer romance with the very cute handyman at the caravan park you were staying in. although it never ended on bad terms, university life just kept getting in the way and you and tom lost touch.

fast forward, years later, you wonder if it's a coincidence that the big business client your boss so desperately wants you to net happens to be called thomas grant. but there's no denying that face, those eyes, that spark between you.

✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

worth the wait: (an old wip i found that i'm kinda feeling again) you've got a real soft spot for tom, you have done since he started coming to your pub. you never wanted to say anything when you'd see how obviously his "girlfriend" was feigning happiness around him, but you hid your triumphant glee at the news of their breakup when he came to you to drown his sorrows.

and now that he's getting over her, he's starting to get a little more confident with the way he talks to you - flirts with you, even. if only you could get him to say all those things while sober.

✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

returning the favour: (part 2 to this) you and keys have built up quite a friendship since he made that one almost-career-ending blunder of giving you access to his personal phone number. but there's an elephant in the room, an imbalance in your dynamic, and keys knows it.

and so he gets to work on fixing that. to embody the... dirty stripper cop persona he's promised you, he needs to believe in it, he needs to become it. he just hopes you won't lose interest by then.

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man's best friend: you're starting a new jogging route, one you're hoping to take your own dog on once he's recovered from the Big Snip, when you're greeted by what looks like a stray, quickly followed by a guy who tells you he's taken her in until he can find her a good home.

the more you jog down the same route, the more you see keys and his dog, that's not his. he's just looking after her. in the same way you just go past the same places every day just to get a routine going. totally not in the hopes you'll keep running into your new favourite duo.

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dethroned: steve harrington has always commandeered the social hierarchy everywhere he goes. king of his high school, already king of college and only just starting his second year.

but chrissy cunningham won't fall for that schtick so easy. there's something beneath steve's surface. she can tell. she just needs to wear down this "king" persona of his until the real steve harrington shows his face.

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playing truant: the only good thing about chrissy being dragged to her mother's country club's debutante lessons, is that the guys' beautillion lessons happen at the same time. that means that when she sneaks out of her lessons, she's always met by steve harrington doing the exact same.

as she and steve open up to one another, share their lives, their dreams, their fears, chrissy's certain she has a surefire way to enjoy the hellscape that the debutante ball her parents so desperately want her to attend would be. but they've got one more trick up their sleeve to keep all the cards in their hand.

[theredlanternavenger]

The Saga of Fire King Zazzalil

(i WILL write this one day, i promise)

Inspired by Burn by lilfinch.

Setting is a somewhat futuristic world, where humans, machines and alien immigrants live in harmony. Hatchetfield was founded by a human and a bug, who were the first mayors of the town.

Some respects to the DCEU Snyderverse will be paid, such as the factor of the Super Friends being a league of six, with Mera as a seventh member.

The Lords In Black are morally ambiguous, and they and Webby were once mortals who ascended to godhood by going beyond the impossible and kicking logic to the curb. They promptly went against a crusade against the Abrahamic God, and each one had a hand in subduing him although it was Webby who dealt the killing blow.

Zazzalil, Lex and Hannah are Owen and Curt's adopted daughters, and they all have different powers, Zazzalil's being the most obvious one:fire.

Jemilla is the adopted daughter of the chief of police Molag, and unlike her mom, she firmly believes that superheroes are the cause of all trouble in the world and that puts her into conflict with Zazz.

The Princess is called Jasmine, in line with the Disney Aladdin movie.

Keeri is Max Jägerman's twin sister and they both lust after the same woman.

Installment #1:The Fire King

Zazzalil Carvour-Mega is a student of Galaxia High in the tiny town of Hatchetfield. After hearing the legend of the Lords In Black from her local librarian, Sherrezade, she aspires to be like them one day, despite being just a normal girl.

One day, she stumbles upon a mysterious meteor, and suddenly finds herself on fire...but not harmed by it. Impressed by her new powers, Zazzalil sets out to change the world, under the moniker of Fire King. But balancing school time and hero work is not an easy job, especially when Jemilla Jarrett, the most popular girl at school, loathes her Fire King identity. To make matters worse, Zazz finds herself falling for Jemilla...

Pairings:Zazzalil/Jemilla, Mouthface/Princess, Keeri/Grace Chasity, Grunt/Emberly, one-sided Tiblyn/Chorn, Bug/February, Lex/Ethan, Steph/Pete, Tim/Craphole, Tootsie/Mega-Girl, Taz/Up, Ja'far/Sherrezade, Paul/Emma, Curt/Owen

Installment #2:Fire King, Meet Super Friends

After defeating Snarl, Zazzalil becomes an internet sensation and, what's better, she's now officially dating Jemilla. Her newfound fame catches the eyes of the Super Friends, the protectors of Earth, and she is arranged to meet them. She expects to go to the big city...but turns out the Super Friends are coming to Hatchetfield, much to her surprise.

Meanwhile, Chief Molag reveals to Jemilla a deadly secret, along with what happened to her birth parents. Can Jemilla cope with the fact that she has powers? What is Mayor Spaceclaw plotting? And, most importantly, will the Fire King once again make it out alive?

Pairings:Zazzalil/Jemilla, Clark/Bruce, Barry/Victor, Arthur/Mera, Mouthface/Princess, Bug/February, Lex/Ethan, Grunt/Emberly, Junior/Pincer

Finale:The King's Last Temptation

A year has passed since Mayor Spaceclaw was exposed and peace was restored to Hatchetfield, and now Zazzalil and Jemilla are expecting to graduate from high school. They have made big name for themselves as the crime-fighting duo Fire King and Crystal Queen, while also having made peace with their new identities, the Destroyer Of Worlds and the White Devil.

However, things quickly get bad when Superman gets trapped inside a red sun, and the girls are summoned to the Watchtower. They need each other now more than ever—the Super Friends(and the world) are counting on them!

Pairings:Zazzalil/Jemilla, Clark/Bruce, Barry/Victor, Arthur/Mera

Addendum #1:Tales From Hatchetfield

(Chapter 1:In A Town Gone Mad)

One of the two unsung love stories from Hatchetfield. The Dikrats family's youngest child has always been somewhat of a ditz, but in his defense, he's just seven, and too young to think about love...right?

Craphole never gave a thought of what's going on between his mom and dad, or his sister and Jasmine. All that changes when he meets Tim Houston, two years older than him, on the playground, and for some STRANGE reason, he can't stop thinking about him. Could this be what the grown-ups call love?

Pairings:Tim/Craphole, Mouthface/Princess, Jack Bauer/Slippery When Wet, background Ja'far/Sherrezade and Tom/Becky

(Chapter 2:The Love Song Of Junior Spaceclaw)

Another of the two unsung love stories from Hatchetfield. Junior, the mayor's son, is being groomed to be the next evil overlord but he fails to live up to the standards his father set and copes by smoking pot.

One day, he meets Pincer, a wandering scorpion rogue looking for fresh human meat to eat, and what started out as a simple deal becomes something more but their evil love is put at stake when a new hero known as the Fire King emerges, and threatens to destroy everything. But if they're gonna lose, they'll do it together.

Pairings:Junior/Pincer, Bug/February, background Taz/Up and Tootsie/Mega-Girl

(Chapter 3:Zazzalil, I Am Your Father)

Set one year before the rise of the Fire King. Thirteen-year-old Zazzalil Carvour-Mega grew up idolizing heroes, and both her fathers. One day, Owen Carvour, her Pops, takes her to his workplace on Take Your Kid To Work Day, and there, she finds out a horrifying secret.

Faced with the fact that her Pops is a rogue, Zazzalil falls into a dilemma. But soon, she realizes that the Deadliest Man Alive is not your average supervillain, and there's more to him than meets the eye...

@mythuzalasheir3