#it is like Lord of the Flies but the kids had a reason to go absolutely batshit

[xxgalacticambitionsxx]

so. uh. any Scar Island enjoyers out there

[reidrum]

hit me baby one more time | s.r

pairing: spencer reid x fem!bau!reader

a/n: i have no explanation for this i just really want spencer to fuck me in a mini skirt. this was also fueled by me listening to baby one more time on repeat for the last week so enjoy my horny thoughts hehe

cw: 18+ minors dni, smut, p in v sex, munch!spencer, blowjobs, soft!dom!spence the loml, praise kink, spanking, suggestive dancing, kissing, afab reader, reader wears the outfit from the baby one more time mv (skirt and bra), i picture s11 spence so don’t mind the inconsistencies, idk if kirk actually wears a tie i am a star wars girlie not star trek, lowkey perv spence at the end but i would do the same tbh

summary: halloween brings spencer joy in many ways, this year he finds a new, and super fucking hot, reason to love the holiday more

wc: 3.3k

___________

spencer loved halloween. this was a known fact by many, he loved the lore behind the holiday, loved dressing up as his favorite characters, and loved playing tricks on morgan and jj around the office.

spencer also loved halloween because he gets to see you. not that he didn’t see you on a daily basis in the office or on the field catching killers, but in a state where you were carefree and didn’t have to worry about the behavior patterns of a psychopath.

in past years spencer has dressed up as different versions of the doctor (still claiming his tenth doctor costume was the best, because it was your favorite), the hobbit from lord of the rings, and nosferatu (to the dismay of morgan’s very scared reaction). you would go a more pop culture route, dressing up as characters from recent movies and shows including barbie, the scarlet witch, and wednesday adams.

he loved being able to tell you the lore of the different characters he was and he loved listening to you explaining the cultural significance and impact that barbie had on society. he could listen to you talk about literal garbage, actually, and still be hanging onto your every word.

what he loved the most, however, was your choice of costume tonight at the karaoke bar the team was out at.

for halloween this year you decided to go with a more nostalgic costume. clad in a black mini skirt, tied up white button up showing your tummy and just the right amount of cleavage to have your hot pink bra pop out, gray cardigan, knee high socks and mary janes, you were the spitting image of britney spears in the baby one more time music video. complete with the ribbon entwined pigtails.

the moment you walked in the bar, spencer knew he was utterly and absolutely fucked.

morgan knew about spencer’s infatuation with you, because, he’s morgan and spencer’s not subtle. so when he watched spencer’s mouth hang open like a beckoning for flies to land in, all he could do was pat him firmly on the back and say, “good luck, kid.”

he watched you walk over to the table the team had claimed, making your rounds at saying hi and hugging everyone. he was last, and when you reached up on your toes to wrap your arms around his neck he had no choice (lie) but to rest his hands at your hips while his thumbs brushed the bare skin of your stomach. he also had no choice (still, a lie) but to be deathly intoxicated by the smell of your shampoo and perfume as you placed your head in the crook of his neck.

“hi spence! your costume looks so cool, i love how it turned out. were you able to find what you needed at that store i told you about?” you bubbled happily.

it took spencer about ten whole seconds of staring at you (and definitely not at your chest) to realize that you were asking him something and tried to quickly (embarrassingly) recover, “um, yeah no i was! she knew so much about star trek and was super helpful, she told me how much she loves seeing you in the store.” 

you giggle, “i’m glad admiral kirk, she’s a sweet old thing.”

he should be ashamed at how you calling him that went straight to his crotch.

“y- you also look great, who are you supposed to be?”

“i’m britney spears! in the baby one more time music video?”, you’re met with a blank stare, “spence, we have to educate you better on the true icons of our time.” you playfully grab his forearm.

he laughs nervously at your joke and the contact and proceeds to down half his beer in one gulp. thank god garcia comes out of nowhere to gush over your outfit, “oh my god girl, you look so hot. you have to get up there and sing it, it’s only right!”

“let me get a few shots in first and then i’ll see, penny” you chuckle back.

after about two shots you were already feeling loose, whatever anxiety you had about tonight dissipated as the alcohol overtook your bloodstream. truth be told, you had a super secret mission up your sleeve. 

you would be a terrible profiler if you didn’t notice the way spencer changed whenever he was in your company, and it never made you feel uncomfortable. you only craved his attention even more, and it made your crush on him run even deeper. he was kind and smart and caring. and undeniably sexy. you knew for a fact he wanted you too, and you were determined to make him do something about it tonight.

knowing spencer hasn’t seen the music video therefore not knowing why the schoolgirl outfit, it turned you on even more knowing he was going to lose his goddamn mind after you were done. the plan was already rolling in your brain as you sauntered up to the karaoke stage and got ready to put on a show.

the beginning beats of the song play and you get a couple of cheers and “let’s go, baby!” from the crowd and your team— sans spencer, who was hanging on your every move as you started swaying your hips.

“my loneliness, is killing me. and i-i-i. i must confess, i still believe, still believe.” you sing and dance the choreography to the song you know so well.

“when i’m not with you, i lose my mind.” you make direct eye contact with spencer, and are more than excited to see him locked in on you too.

you decide to kick your plan up a notch, and walk off the stage mic in hand towards the bau’s table, earning many cheers and phones capturing the moment. you play up the theatrics a little by getting emily and jj to sing along with you, morgan and rossi leaning into you as you wrapped your arms around their shoulders.

“give me a si-i-i-ign,” you’ve reached spencer, and the last step in your plan.

your finger leaves featherlight touches around his shoulders and across his collarbone as you stand behind his chair. a flat hand trails down his chest closer to the bulge in his pants, spencer’s eyes widening at the gesture. your hand reaches the final destination at the base of tie, and you pull it so he’s looking up at you directly.

“hit me baby one more time.” you finish with the biggest smirk, never breaking eye contact with spencer. the cheers and claps became louder but all you could focus on were the deep breaths he was taking to compose himself. you give him a wink as you hand the mic back to the stage guy and walk back to him to sit on his lap.

“you don’t mind, do you? all the seats are taken,” you smirk as you feel his hard on through your lace panties, “plus i really want to hear what you thought about my performance.” you finish whispering in his ear. he shudders in your hold, but the feeling of your ass weighing on the place he needs you the most, his primal instincts take over and suddenly he has a boost of confidence.

he lifts your head so his mouth is right on the crest of your ear, “how about i show you what your performance did to me?” he shifts a little and lightly thrusts up into your clothed core and you let out a small gasp. luckily the team had all but dispersed throughout the bar, getting drinks or dancing, so no one has to be privy to your conversation.

the glint in your eyes was all the confirmation he needed. you stood up slowly with his tie still wrapped around your fingers, and you pull it over your shoulder so he would trail behind you as you walked. spencer followed you like a dog getting tugged by a leash, literally, and stumbles at first when you pull him but he quickly regains his composure as you navigate through the crowds, placing his hands on your waist protectively.

you end up in front of the women’s bathroom and spencer doesn’t hesitate to push the doors open and lead you inside. it was one of those single person bathroom with no other stalls, but it was definitely one of the more nicer bathrooms you’d been in. the maroon pattern of the wall adding to the sultry vibe you’re setting, not to mention a spacious countertop for the sink and amenities.

the possibilities of what was going to happen run wild in your brain, only being pulled out of it by the sharp lock of the door and the feeling of strong hands snaking around your waist again.

you look up to meet his eyes in the mirror and watch spencer fiddle with the edge of your button up, “i don’t think i told you how much i really like your costume.”

“yeah?” you lean back in his touch, “what do you like about it?”

he moves his hands to the middle of your chest, “well, i like how soft the blouse is,” he deftly undoes the knot, “and i really like the color you got on underneath.” he lets the ends of the shirt fall to your side and slides his hands up to cup your breasts through your lace bra, massaging them gently.

you let out a half gasp-moan, “what else?”

“this skirt is really cute, fits you well.” he hums while he smooths over the front close to your core, leaning down to press love bites into your neck.

you turn around in his embrace to face him, lay your hands flat on his chest, and look up at him with the biggest doe eyes you could muster, “want to see what’s underneath it?”

the ghost of a smirk lies on his face and he leans down to capture your lips in a heated kiss. his hand cups your cheek closer to him while his other one grips your ass and lower back.

his tongue slots between yours as he deepens the kiss, and he reaches down to the backs of your thighs to lift you up onto the counter. your legs open up instinctively and he steps in between them letting his hand run up the plush of your thigh to the band of your panties. he toys with the lace pattern of it before he detaches his lips and pulls the skirt all the way up.

he slowly sinks to his knees, never breaking eye contact with you as he whispers, “this is definitely my favorite costume on you.” he’s face to face with your pink panty covered pussy and he lets out a groan when he notices the wet spot in the center. he tentatively traces a finger up and down your slit, gauging your reactions.

soft whimpers fall from your mouth as you let out a whiny, “spencer…”

“don’t worry baby, i’m gonna take care of you.” he coos, “lift your hips.” you oblige as he gently pulls your panties down and stuffs them in his back pocket. his large hands push your legs apart, giving him better access as he tugs you closer to the edge and leans in to draw a long stripe up your core with his tongue.

you let out a high pitched moan at the contact, bracing yourself on the counter with your palms flat down. his tongue draws shapes on you and you feel his finger prodding around your hole before plunging in, driving you straight to delirium.

the sensations begin to overwhelm you and you feel the peak rising in your gut. you tangle your hands in his curls, “pl- please don’t stop.” you whimper.

he groans into your pussy and you feel the vibration sent throughout your entire body, enough to push you over the edge and let the white hot overtake you. he doesn’t stop pumping his fingers or his tongue as he drags out your orgasm for as long as you’ll take it, before you’re yanking him by his hair off of your core and up to your face to kiss him dumb.

the salty taste of you lingers on his lips as you grab his face with both hands and keep him close to you. he lets out a whimper when you tug his hair again, and you smirk as you break the kiss to slide off the counter and drop to your knees. you quickly undo the clasp of his belt, the sound of his zipper going down making spencer’s heartbeat go faster.

the size of his bulge through his boxers was intimidating but it only spurred your desire to please him more. you look up at him and offer an innocent smile as you lean forward to pull back the fabric of his boxers with your teeth and let it fall back into place with a snap.

the impact caused spencer to moan out loud, and he watched with bated breath while you slowly tugged his boxers down to let his cock spring free. you let out a tiny gasp, “spencer…i never knew you were so pretty.” 

his preening turns into a sharp moan as you take in the head of his length into your mouth. swirling your tongue around like a lollipop. you lay your tongue flat on the underside of his cock and slowly let it enter your throat until your nose is flush with his tummy and you’re gagging to keep him inside.

“ho-o-ly shit, fuck.” spencer groans when he looks down to see his whole length down your throat and your eyes bulging with tears at the fullness in your mouth. he wishes he had a photographic memory so he could engrave the vision of you on your knees for him in his brain forever.

you retract back and start bobbing your head on his cock, using your hand to pump whatever you couldn’t easily fit in your mouth. expletives and moans fall from him every millisecond, the feeling being so irrepressible that after a minute spencer had to pry you off him so he didn’t finish in your mouth.

“what, too much?” you grin mischievously, dragging your thumb across your bottom lip to wipe the spit.

his heavy breathing is the only answer you got as he turns your body around to face the mirror, and bends you down at the waist to lean your upper body on the counter. he flips your skirt up so your ass is on display for him and draws his hand back to give your right ass cheek a big smack.

you moan out languishly and he lets out a small chuckle, “kinky, are we?”

“you’re the one who spanked me.”

he bends down to whisper in your ear, “yeah, but you liked it. i can feel you getting wetter.” his fingers return to your core to spread the new wetness onto his cock before aligning it at your entrance. he slowly pushes in, stretching you out bewitchingly. he breaks his gaze from where you connect to look back into the mirror, and god, is he so fucking glad he did.

your face is beautifully fucked out, eyes glistening with tears about to fall over, cheeks flushed, eyebrows furrowed, your arms pressed so perfectly against the sides of your chest your breasts are threatening to spill out of your bra.

“god, you look like a dream,” spencer whispers from behind as he begins thrusting into you. you moan back in response and push back on his cock to meet his thrusts. the noise of your hips meeting and him sliding in and out of you filled the bathroom. 

“i’m so close, fuck, oh my god.” you whine pathetically. spencer can’t help but smugly grin in response, “already? it can’t be over that fast, hold it.”

you gasp out, “i can’t, please, i need to come.”

he wraps one arm around the front of stomach to hoist you up and uses the other hand to tug on your pigtails to lean your head back towards him, “you’ll come when i say you can. you’re my good girl, right? gonna show me how good you can be for me?” he whispers hotly in your ear.

a loud moan escapes your throat as you try to keep your composure and hold your orgasm at bay. his precise and timed thrusts doing nothing to help you, you feel yourself starting to float away, becoming so cockdrunk off of spencer you can barely keep yourself conscious.

“almost there, pretty girl. you’re doing so well, ‘m so proud of you.”

you make the mistake of looking back up at the mirror, becoming grossly entrapped by the image of spencer pounding into you from behind and his equally fucked out face tucked into your neck, “spence…baby, please.”

he whines at the pet name and finally gives in, “okay princess, you can come now.” your second orgasm of the night ravages through you, leaving nothing behind but thoughts of spencer. he continues fucking you through your peak, chasing his own release to come shortly after.

“fuck, i’m close. where d- do you want me to..?” he stutters.

“in my mouth.” you breath out.

he groans out loud, “on your knees.”

he pulls out of you and you immediately drop to your knees, not hesitating to take his length into your mouth and using both hands to pump the remaining. spencer puts a hand on the back of your head and guides you to thrust onto his cock until he lets out another stuttered groan, spurts of his release coating the inside of your mouth.

you make sure to get every last drop of him down your throat, seductively sliding your mouth off his cock with a resounding pop. you’re breathing heavily and you remain on your knees as you try to remember what fucking world you’re even in. spencer grabs you by the forearms to pull you back up to him, and gently perches you back on the counter noting you probably wouldn’t be able to stand on your own anyway.

spencer breathes hotly into your face, his hand coming up to caress your cheek and brush a few loose strands of hair behind your ear. his other hand remains on your waist, drawing soothing circles. you grin widely, and spencer notices and matches your smile without hesitation.

“what?” he laughs lightly.

“nothing, it’s just it looks like my plan worked.” you replied.

“and what was this plan of yours?” he grins.

“well, i just wanted you hot and bothered. i did not expect you to fuck me in a bar bathroom,” he blushes at your admission, “plus, you don’t even shake people’s hands. i definitely thought having sex in a public place, let alone the bathroom of a bar, would be so not your style.”

“i think if you keep wearing outfits like this around me,��� he gestures to your disarrayed button up and bra, “you’ll be surprised at what i’d be willing to do.”

“so, is this a good time to tell you that britney has other music video outfits that are just as iconic as this one?” you gleam up at him.

his eyebrows raise in curiosity, “it certainly would be. on a totally unrelated note, i’m parked right out front.” he half jokes as he pulls you off the counter towards the door. you giggle and follow blindly behind him, when your eyes draw to the back pocket of his trousers and you notice a flash of hot pink.

“spencer! my panties, oh my god. give them back.”

he looks over his shoulder at you, “i have no idea what you’re talking about.” he feigns. you roll your eyes and let him have it, totally ignoring the way he shoves the panties further down his pocket out of sight.

[opal-owl-flight]

Something wicked this way flies….

Watched Wicked and was finally motivated to finish this piece I had in my wips for AGES

More abt this fella below!

Her name is Cynthia and shes mad ALL THE TIME. A simmering fury, always bubbling below her calm exterior.

Her reasons were mysterious to me for the longest time. I always thought she was just a bastard who likes to lord her power over everyone. To an extent she does enjoy doing so, but theres more beyond that.

Shes angry, shes frustrated, and she vents it on her foes in turf. Kids included. Especially the kids. Shithead.

Shes known as the Wicked Witch of Turf, the Iron Maiden, And EEEVERYONE wants her down.

She only has one person shes close to. Odessa.

Shes here bc she wants to tag along someone whos actually making waves in turf instead of messing with low-ranks that very much dont impress her... (among...other reasons)

Odessa only cared for her bc she thought she was pretty, but it slowly evolves into something deeper over time.

And...it makes Cynthia melt, I guess.

------

Cynthia's...from somewhere far, far away. She doesnt like talking about where she came from. Shes reviled there. Despised.

Reviled so much she became what everyone feared...She doesnt look bothered but she is.

Oh yeah and she has parent issues of course.

...she had ONE good friend from that place. Part of her anger is bc of him. She failed to protect him, or something. Or maybe hates the fact that she can never see him again. Never go home. Hates that she cant protect him anymore..? I just know that shes filled with such tragedy that she snapped.

-------

As time passes, she changes her attitude regarding the kids.

Shes....less harsh. But she doesnt hold back.

"If you cant handle me, you wont survive out there.

Be ready to lose..." she says with a glower.

"Youll be seeing their poses before you can do your own."

Odessa is shaking her head and rolling her eyes at her.

So Cynthia sighs.

"But youll win. Eventually. After much hard work. And youll lose less and less.

You have to be ready to lose before you start winning.

Be used to the sting of defeat before tasting victory. It makes it all the more sweet."

In a roundabout way, shes inspiring those kids -- to BEAT HER ASS!

Hah, shes become a figure one must defeat. A common enemy, just like the titular wicked witch.

When the kids eventually catch up to her, and defeat her, she nods her head in respect.

Odessa claps, "Youve defeated the wicked witch! Congratulations!"

"Go far, squirts."

--------

If 3 inspires people to believe in themselves, Cynthia inspires kids to win through SPITE. They dont approve and dislike her bc of it. (One of the few people 3 holds an active dislike for...)

BTW. I NAMED HER CYNTHIA BC THE DPP OST WAS PLAYING IN THE BG WHILE I DESIGNED HER. Its a WILD coincidence that Elphaba is played by someone named Cynthia as well. Jesus christ

[fortunelowtier]

I still 100% unironically wholeheartedly believe that this scuffed ass reality tv show from 2007 where CBS stranded 40 children in the middle of the NM desert a la Lord of the Flies is one of the most genuinely fascinating pieces of TV I've ever watched just because of how ABSURD it is on every level

-Their society is a bizarre Communism/Democracy hybrid whose entire economy is based on the barter system

-There is a set class system everyone is sorted into against their will who each get paid more or less money depending on how high or low they are on the ladder, and at the end of each episode they must compete in competitions to decide who gets to be at the top, with the "strongest" being able to get the esteemed title of "upper class"

-Every time they would complete a challenge, at the very end they were given a choice of 2 things that could be added to the town, to which the leaders of the teams would vote on which to get (For example, in one episode they had to choose between fresh produce or 50 pizzas). One of these things was letters from the children's parents, implying that the adults on site were receiving the mail from these kid's parents and deliberately withholding it from them

-In one episode the district leaders of each of the 4 teams (the classes) go out and find a chest full of buffalo nickels (the town's currency), they bring the chest to the town and naturally, this creates unprecedented inflation near instantly, as there's now a mass amount of currency that suddenly appeared in the economy

-Their entire society existed in relative stability until the moment religion was introduced in the form of various religious texts (Bibles, the Quran, etc), after which the town immediately started to go to shit. The Jewish kids and Christian kids were at each other's throats about which religion was """better""" (because they're children who had religion forced upon them at a young age before they were able to think for themselves but that's an entire can of worms I won't open), while the 1 (one) Hindu kid was trying to keep the peace

-At one point the kids start to crave meat, as their food up to that point was mostly canned goods and various produce, so one of the """eldest""" members of the group, (I say """eldest""" because he was still only like 14 or 15) who had worked as a butchers apprentice, took one of their chickens and lead the kids into the desert to where he then taught them how to decapitate, pluck, drain, and cook a chicken.

-One of the kids later did a Reddit AMA about his experience on the show, where he then disclosed various things that happened outside of the camera such as, but not limited to: Oil burns, a kid drinking bleach, scorpions, venomous snakes, an outbreak of herpes, the lack of showers, the lack of multiple toilets (up until I believe a few weeks in they only had one outhouse), etc etc etc

-The parents of these kids allegedly had to sign a 22 page waiver that was basically CBS going "If ur kids get hurt you can't sue us", specifically noting "acts of god" in the contract of things that they weren't to be held accountable for

-At the end of every week, the 4 leaders got together to choose which person would receive that week's "gold star", a star made out of 20,000 USD of solid gold (around 30k after adjusting for inflation), an unfathomable amount of money to give to kids who likely had no concept as to how much money 20 grand was

-The town used for Bonanza City is actually a ghost town/film set located just 20 miles from Santa Fe used as a filming location for movies like A Million Ways to Die In the West (2014) and The Legend of the Lone Ranger (1981). The reason I bring this up is because it's the same film set in which 14 years later, Alec Baldwin would accidentally discharge a firearm on the set of Rust, resulting in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins

To anyone asking where to watch this, I genuinely don't know. All of the 13 episodes used to be available on YouTube by someone who re-uploaded them in 2010, but the channel was terminated last year. I've heard that there are a few Google Drive folders floating around that have the raw MP4 files and you could watch them that way but you'd probably have to go digging for it

[ask-the-koopa-kingdom]

can we get a bit of info about each kid?

[YAPPING TIME, LETS GO!!! - OP]

In addition to the info presented here:

Larry has the least amount of abilities in comparison to his siblings. With only fire breathing and magic blasts, Larry has to get creative in battle. He'd actively practice to get better at magic... if he had the level of commitment required. As mentioned in the first post, he started the ask blog to avoid problems with press - but it's also because he adores any attention he can get. Makes him feel special (T▽T)

Lemmy and Larry are birds of a feather.

Larry could be considered the weakest of the seven, but Lemmy is undoubtedly the smallest. The two hang out more than anything, and can always rely on each other when they need company.

In addition to fire breathing and magic blasts, Lemmy is capable of casting illusions and summoning those silly circus balls he can run over opponents with. A feat achievable with an enhanced balance and acrobatic support in comparison to the others.

Morton is more complicated than he seems. What he lacks in intelligence he makes up for in compassion and perception. Streets smarts rather than book smarts. He can tell when something is wrong much faster than the others and is quick to act on it. He's even quicker to put himself in between those he loves and any trouble.

At the moment, he's struggling with anxiety surrounding that specifically. A hunch that there's a danger lurking, ready to attack if he doesn't keep an eye out. (It's not exactly an unfounded one, it's come up after the events of Bowser Jr's Journey where he and his siblings were forced under mind control... that'd make anybody a little worried.)

Only time will tell if he's actually right on this hunch.

(There was this sighting, but... not really reliable)

Similar to Roy, he's one of the strongest Koopalings (he knows this), as such, barely needs to use magic in battle instead of his brute force. So, he thinks learning to use it is a waste of time.

Iggy is EXTREMELY hyperactive, and loud. If there's one thing he doesn't have, it's any lack of intelligence. He's the fastest Koopaling, and prides himself on being a genius (though mad genius is a better way to put it).

His impulsivity can bar him from making the BEST decisions, but his own unpredictability gives him a leg up when required.

Owns a pet Chain Chomp named Chompi, who he treats like a pitbull named Princess. (Most accurate description of that thing as he is GLAD to sic on either unsuspecting plumber).

Wendy is sweet, but extremely cunning. She uses that sweetness to get whatever she wants out of someone, almost imperceptively, whether that be a chat, sweets, or information. (She understands the saying "You'll catch more flies with honey rather than vinegar" and by god does she USE IT.)

She does use magic, moreso for convenience rather than a true desire to learn. She's content with what she knows already. (Sometimes she wishes she could use hypnosis though...)

Good Lord, Roy. On the outside, a tough guy. On the inside, reasons upon reasons to be that way. Dude has layers.

He's a believer in tough love, as such, isn't as outwardly affectionate towards any of his siblings - however, he will still defend them just as fiercely in the event of an emergency.

One of his most important dislikes is the dislike of press

(This one's actually shown up from as far back as the intro post!)

He considers news reporters to be vultures waiting to use something against him and his family. (This is due to a past experience out of canon that's kind of tainted his view on all sorts of press entirely. And makes his relationship with this ask blog pretty complicated too...)

Ludwig has similar beliefs to Roy (Tough love and all that) but he can't help but be a BIT affectionate here and there. However, he's barely had the time due to what he's been doing on his day to day. He keeps a very tight schedule, training at every opportunity he gets, whether it be magic, or hand-to-hand combat, and as mentioned previously, barely sleeps. Not for the best reasons, either. He doesn't have the same anxiety Morton does that something bad's coming their way. He just wants to prove to someone (and himself) that he's the best at what he does.

[If you guys need more specific info, pls ask, these are practically the basics - OP]

[anynerd]

William T. Spears with an Angel! Reader

Headcanon

[ Not my artwork! Credits to the artist ]

You were a youthful angel. The words to describe you were pure, elegant, yet classy.

Angel! Reader was known to be kind, good with kids, and as curious as a cat, Angel! Reader would always watch from above on the human realm or maybe even disguise herself (aka hide her wings) to interact with the human beings.

William first saw you when he was called down to the human realm to "assist" Grell, and Ronald with their mission. (During Grell the ripper era)

There he saw you, with your wings protectivally covering Ciel, and covering the young Lord's eyes for Angel! Reader thinked that it was too crucial for an "INNOCENT" child to see.

After that night, the grim reaper found out how you were the angel who everyone was talking about.

- the angel that sometimes tried helping some grim reapers locate a soul when they had trouble finding,

The angel that helped the Earl of Phantomhive from a reaper and it's master who were trying to harm Ciel and his demon butler.

William and you officially met one another when he was on a mission in England, where he was above a building's roof and suddenly you bumping into him.

Angel! Reader's POV:

As I was flying in the sky I suddenly got distracted with the birds flying with me to even notice that I was about to fly onto someone.

*OOF* I yelped.

As I dusted off my white dress, I was met with a man wearing a suit and glasses, whom I suspected was a reaper.

"I am terribly sorry for bumping into you mister" I apologized,

William's POV:

A woman with wings flied directly at me, causing me my glasses to fly off of my face,

My vision was blurry as a heard the woman apologizing.

She had a very suiting voice, that had a hint of a British accent into it.

"I am terribly sorry for bumping into you mister" she said,

"It's quite alright, though can you perhaps hand me my glasses miss.. "

I paused "-Miss L/N, oh and here you go"

She, herself placed the glasses onto my nose bridge and bumped it up.

Giggling slightly

William and Angel! Reader later introduced themselves to one another, with Angel! Reader being as "ladylike" as possible and William being as a gentleman as he could.

Who knew after that William, the known work-oholic, the strict boss, the "pusher", the nonchalant man, would start to fall for the Angel? 🤷🏻‍♀️

After that interaction, William found Angel! Reader to be quite fascinating, from her wings, her aura, her reputation as a "goody two shoes" everything

Angel! Reader was the reason why the William T. Spears started taking more missions in the human world with Grell, Ronald and other reapers.

Eventually you got used to him appearing on earth that you and him made a calling sign. (๑ˇεˇ๑)•*¨*•.¸¸♪ whistling

One low note whistle from William, and you were summoned like a genie in a bottle-

One "singingly" note from you and William was there with his death scythe, ready to help you in danger with other dreadful creatures that you couldn't complete on yourself on your Guardian Angel Duties.

Grell found out about how close you were with her man, and wrote your name on her to-die list, with the Nun and Beast from her bassy (ifykyk 😭🙏🏻) above your name

It takes a while for him to accept that he had taken a liking to another creature, but he was thankful it wasn't a demon- (MAN HAS BEEF WITH SEBASTIAN ISTG 😭LMAO)

He, at first denied his feelings but he soon found himself taking you out on a date (a secret one ofc)

The dates he takes you on are mostly private ones, and the ones you take him to are consistently visits to heaven (You're a high ranker in heaven, as a Guardian Angel, like how William is in the Shinigami world)

Visits to the gates of Heaven, walks in the clouds in heaven, or even William seating on your back as you fly above in the sky with your wings.

When your and his relationship is finally public, you make visits at him at his building to his office to drop off homemade and home-packed Lunchboxes for him (as you understand how focused he is during work hours and understand how late he can get home)

Now you're a known power couple with your guys High ranked statuses, in both Heaven and the underground.

[lampmanliveblogs]

Luz: ”Do… you not understand what death means to mortals?” Collector: ”Noooo… no, I don’t think so. I think one of my cousin’s friends decided to check out what being dead was like… haven’t heard from them for a long time. I wonder what they found there?”

(okay, last at4w reference, I swear)

Going back to the idea of The Collector as a kid: Their ignorance of death doesn’t stem only from the fact that they’re an immortal god, but also the fact that they’re a child. And all children start out as ignorant.

But it might not be just that.

The implications in the last episode were that the little space cherub that we call The Collector was part of a group of Collectors that came to this world long ago. They waged war against the mighty Titans, the only beings that could contend with them and created the Titan Trappers for that purpose. And they might even be the reason why this planet looks the way it does.

The little Lord of the Fireflies, perhaps being the annoying young kid of the group, or maybe the cosmic equivalent of a runt was tossed aside and made friends with some Titans… until he was sealed away by King’s dad.

The point is that The Collector’s already got some baggage. And that baggage might be holding him back from processing why certain things are wrong.

Collectors: ”We have rid the world of the only beings that stood in the way of us creating a perfect collection of all the universe’s specimen.” Me: ”You ruined a perfectly good child is what you did. Look at it. It’s got trauma.”

Collector: ”So let me show you some of my favorite games…” Luz: ”Oh no! Not Knife Monopoly!” Collector: ”I was actually going to hunt you for sport, but now I’m really interested in what Knife Monopoly is.”

Pictured: you’re a really supportive person, but your neutral expression is perpetually annoyed.

More importantly, Raine’s fighting back against Belos! And they’re… doing alright. For some reason, the little crescent moon sticker peeled off and Raine turned back into a flesh and blood witch instead of a puppet, which seemed to help a little. Not sure if the sticker falling off was due to the distance from The Collector, or Raine fighting back, or if the possession by Philip caused it to decay and that’s why it fell off?

I’m kinda worried about Raine, because, well… Hunter had Philip cling to him for a few minutes and look what happened to him. Philip’s been leeching off Raine for who knows how long. Maybe Raine being a puppet helped a little, like maybe they were sturdier because of that? Still, that can’t be good for their health.

After RayRay flies off on one of Kirby’s warp stars that’s been painted blue to make it legally distinct, we get to see the inside the archive part of the Archive House, where The Collector keeps all their puppets. We see here Amity, Hunter, Willow and Gus, unceremoniously dumped on the floor.

A close-up of Amity’s hand reveals it’s beginning to twitch.

Hmm… Hooty was very briefly able to communicate last episode despite being turned into a puppet, but Lord Hooty is built different AND was using the Power of Friendship. Amity could be using the Power of Love here to break free of The Collector’s spell; maybe being briefly aware of what was going on inside the nightmare lessened the effects of the puppet spell.

It could also that my theory above about how putting some distance between The Collector and a puppet will cause the spell to lose power. The Collector’s off to some pocket dimension or something. Though I’m gonna say it’s because of the Power of Love and Friendship. After all, as we’ve established before, The Owl House is an anime and thus the power of Love and the Power of Friendship are real forces within this world.

AH YES THIS IS SURE TO MAKE THEM WANT TO BE YOUR FRIENDS COLLECTOR

So The Collector’s favorite game is Pac Man???

[debbeh]

Recap of every Yonderland episode but only until my legs fall asleep and there is no context.

Season 1

Debbie is your run-of-the-mill mother who likes to eat crisps and watch TV. For some reason an Elf appears in her Cupboard and she’s all like wtf, why is there an elf in my cupboard. And Elf is like, wtf I have a name? And the stick he’s holding is like, oi, my names nick. Anyways, Debbie and Elf consult the wise Elders about why she’s here and they’re like, idk ask the oracle and the oracles like, yeah you’re the chosen one or whatever. You gotta like save the place from evil or whatever- oh also your gonna meet some guys named Jon or Robert or something. Debbie’s still like wtf but then she stops a fight between some goofy little guys and everyone’s goin crazy cuz woah! Not klling people? Crazy. And Debbies like bro its just commons sense. I just had to tell these guys to apologize- what are they’re names again? JOHN AND ROBERT!!! (air horn + vine boom) OH SHIT. and then, what’s this? After credit! ITS FUCKING NEGATUS

She wants to figure more about why it is foretold that she has to save Yonderland or whatever so they go to this temple to find a scroll (insert literal lesbian love story that they never talk abt again) and they get a wizard to help. Yada yada yada… they get in the temple but they lose the scroll, oh well. Anyways, hm this Negatus guy sounds pretty nasty huh?

Yoooo Negatus totally burned down a temple and now all the monks are homeless. Negatus sends his demons to hunt down Debbie and the monks. Whats this? The monks can lie now??? Wahoo, Negatus gets yelled at. So sad. 

OMG ITS THE OLYMPICS BUT WITH KISSSSING?????

Debbie misses her kids but the elders are like, oooh we make song for you and make your hair pretty and she’s like ok I guess I’ll stay. 

King what’s his face says he knows where another prophetic scroll is- sike he just wants to bang her- oh no negatus is here! But don’t worry! He has no pants! Negatus gets stabbed in the foot and Debbie learns the value of sharing

Speaking of idiots, Debbie gets kidnapped by a whole town of them! They’re called Ninnies and they wear potato sacks (so sad). This episode is basically The Giver. She teaches them that reading: good and that they shouldn’t be giving Negatus precious diamonds for free. Meanwhile, Negatus, in an attempt to woo his boss, a mysterious shadowey figure, hires a guy named Kenall (the twinkiest twink you’ve ever seen) to cut the diamonds he stole so he can buy an army. Sike, kendall is an idiot. The end

Negatus dresses up as the embodiment of Bo Burnhams's Shit and tricks Debbie into going to his lair. Little does Negatus know, Debbie has friends and ALLLLMMMMOOOOSSTTTT gets Negatus to see the power of friendship but last minutes hes like byeeeee bitches!!! And kidnaps her (this is a common theme). Luckily her friends save her last minute but as she is teleporting out using Nick the stick who is also the portal to her cupboard (I forgot to mention), she sees Negatus’s boss and is like huhhh, you look awful familiar……..

End of season one!!!

Season 2

Negatus buys mech suit to kill debbie, Elders go on lockdown and do a lord of the flies. I love this episode but I DO NOT remember what was important abt this one besides Evil boss lady get mad at Negatus >:(

Debbie goes to a fair and solves a murder mystery, Negatus gets audited.

Knight flirts with Debbie and Debbie teaches him the value of realizing you are geh. 

Ninnies are back but they’re all finance bros but they don’t pay their workers. Debbie helps them fix that so Elders can get pillows.

Debbie finds out that mysterious boss lady is her twin sister!!! Saves Mathew Baynton (AKA gross kangaroo nany) from a gas leak. 

Debbie joins the french revolution

Debbie saves an endangered species with phalic-ass noses.

TRANS HOTAN TRANS HOTAN <3. Big showdwon with evil twin

The end!

Season 3 (last season)

One of the old elders is back and Negatus does not turn into a gross idiot for 10 minutes

Oh no! Old elder is evil and Elders go into hiding, Debbie is framed and they break into their throne room thingy

Nobody trusts debbie but she helps knockoff batman find his true passion in becoming Mr. Cav (Accounting teacher for the 5 of you that are reading this that I don't know in person)

Drag bake off becomes war zone and Negatus gets his feet massaged.

Negatus arrested for writing Dick smellz on a wall. Debbie helps him break out- SO CLOSE TO A CHARACTER REDEMPTION ARC ITS NOT EVEN FUNNy

NEGATUS DO SOME SPYING VERY SILLLY Y GOOFY

Beauty contest but if you’re not pretty you fucking die

Time travel take da pain away. 

Christmas Special!!!

Sike, its called Thanktival here (and there’s 143 days instead of 12). Chompus eat da presents. Negatus redemption arc FINALLY???????? He become santa, insert balls joke x 5. Elders’s kiddos compete in a singing competition and wow everyone with this thing called carols????? Elder Vex wears sweater. Balls joke. Negatus go sleepy in PJs. the end :3

:3

[decadent-hag]

“There are a lot of things you can say about why the Beatles attract the teenage crowd. “The music is loud, primitive, insistent, strongly rhythmic, and releases in a disguised way (can it be called sublimation?) the all too tenuously controlled, newly acquired physical impulses of the teenager. “Mix this up with the phenomena of mass hypnosis, contagious hysteria, and the blissful feeling of being mixed up in an all-embracing, orgiastic experience, and every kid can become ‘Lord of the Flies' or the Beatles. “Why do the kids scream, faint, gyrate and in general look like a primeval, protoplasmic upheaval and go into ecstatic convulsions when certain identifiable and expected trade-marks come forth, such as ‘O yeah!’ a twist of the hips or the thrusting out of an electric guitar? “Regardless of the causes or reasons for the behavior of these youngsters, it had the impact of an unholy bedlam, the like of which I have never seen. It caused me to feel that such should not be allowed again, if only for the good of the youngsters. "It was an orgy for teenagers."

[alotshouldbeoneword-thegrey]

That Lil Demon Baby

The first words the child said were "I am to destroy the world". Their parents, two respectable and completely normal humans by the names of Pam and Lionel tried to ignore it. They strained to ignore all the instances of snake carcasses, the red markings on the walls, and all of those pesky cockroaches that scuttled behind the baby as they crawled. But, two months after their birth when the baby looked like the healthiest eight year-old to play with sticks, Pam and Lionel started to worry.

At three months they decided their name was Maggot due to their love of rotten meat. Pam yelled and Lionel wept. Maggot ran loose through the countryside leading their parade of beetles and rodents. Cats hissed and dogs growled when they strolled past. Maggot recruited local teens to burn abandoned barns and steal from Walmart; it did not take long for them to become the boogeyman of every reasonable adult in the small town of Halter.

As Maggot gained more juvenile followers and prepared for the big day, the townspeople gathered the torches and pitchforks. Swarms of flies and hornets gathered around the five-month-old teenager and rain gave way to burning pieces of toenails when it hit them. Maggot taught the children of Halter many things like speaking to pests and creating plagues. The kids turned against their parents with arguments and accusatory looks, but the parents weren't going to surrender their children to this demonic influence without a fight.

Lionel and Pam made the decision that they could no longer support their child's deviance, so they kicked Maggot out. All this was going perfectly to Maggot's plan, and they moved into the woods where they had been preparing The Weapon. When they learned where Maggot was staying, the adults formed a mob and marched on the forest, prepared to burn the child alive.

The Weapon was ready and Maggot was so excited the snakes that sat on their neck and waist tightened until Maggot's eyes popped out and they had to shove them back into their sockets. When the murderous crowed arrived, they were met with a horrendous sight. The mob hurled itself at the child, but out of the trees came the children of Halter to defend Maggot from their parent's wrath. Uncaring and blinded by love the mob trampled, and strangled, and stabbed until not one child is left standing. All this they did in the pursuit of protecting the children, but when they finally reached that devious infant lord of hell, all that was left was a giant pattern of dead cockroaches that read "I love you Mom and Dad <3".

[consistantly-changing]

[Image descriptions in order: a photo of a sign in a school, which says "don't be a target: Bullies pick on people that they think are weak and quiet. Look the bully in the eye, use a strong voice and tell them you don't like what they are doing and to stop. Then walk away. Next time, the bully may choose somebody else to pick on."

On the sign, there is a simple drawing of a boy in a red shirt with a white number one in the centre, holding his pointer finger up. In front of the boy there is a "no" symbol, followed by the text "to bullying".]

[A Facebook post by Sophie Labelle, which says:

(capitalized) hoo boy. (End capitalization)

I know I should just toss this overstuffed suitcase straight into the nearest dumpster fire, but it'll be much more satisfying to unpack each item and throw it into roaring flames one by one.

That's a very long-winded way of saying "We're a bunch of social darwinists who don't want to do our jobs."

Does whoever created this monstrosity even know the definition of bullying? The bullies know you don't like what they're doing, that's why they're doing it, you dipshits.

The first rule of Survivor Club is that you never fucking turn your back to your abuser. The corollary to the first rule of Survivor Club is that you ESPECIALLY don't fucking turn your back to your abuser right after confronting them. It must be nice to be sheltered enough that you reached adulthood (and then some) without having to learn this.]

[There's a reason that bullies are gonna make life hell for the gender-ambiguous black kid who doesn't make eye contact, and there's a reason why said kid is likely to go quiet. It's because both parties know that school authorities won't lift a finger for an autistic kid, a child of color, or a gender nonconforming kid, let alone someone who's all three. They also know that the minute the victim stands up to their bullies in a way that actually fucking works well enough to get them to back down and go hide behind an adult, that adult will go into Zero Tolerance Mode and punish (only) the victim for being "just as bad."

This poster just feeds into the problem by presenting bullying as an inevitable part of education rather than a choice that humans of all ages can just not make or condone, tacitly or otherwise.

I get the impression that none of the alleged educators at this school ever actually read Lord of the Flies, because if they had, they'd know it was pretty clearly not supposed to be aspirational.]

[And let's not forget

7. If they were gonna give the reader a big "fuck you," they could've at least drawn the right finger.]

[A screenshot of the comments, which say:

Courtney McIntyre: I'm sorry "next time, the bully may choose somebody else to pick on" WHAT? Because THAT'S the correct outcome???

Garnet Shredder: Was just coming here to say this, should've included that on the list too haha

Joe Ricciardelli: No way to stop bullies so we won't try. Good luck kids, try to pass them off to another target.😁👍]

[ladystoneboobs]

8 TV shows to get to know me better

i was tagged by @isitcasualnow. here goes.

friday night lights-i'd just always like more people to watch this to grow the fanbase, which was small enough when it was still airing. so that every season until the last two we had good reason to think it was cancelled until a last minute turnaround. a teen drama set apart bc it was anchored by two parents and that actually worked. one of the last great network tv dramas, even accounting for a weird turn in the end of s1-early s2. as a lifelong tx resident (tho not in a small town thank god) a lot of it does ring true to me, and the little things that don't used to drive me crazy. disclaimer that i have no interest in nonfictional usamerican football and every game i attended was a purely social occasion, esp since our hs team sucked.

yellowjackets-the only currently running show i am willing to hunt down unofficial ways to watch each ep right after it comes out. that's a recommendation for you when roku has made me lazy and spoiled about wanting to watch stuff on an actual tv screen. it's girls going wild lord of the flies-style and milfs doing crime, something for everyone.

the simpsons-esp the golden years in like s1-10. i still watch this pretty much every day through the beauty of syndication.

jeopardy!-another show my family has watched every day for decades. you should still be able to find some of the old alex trebek ep on youtube.

er-if fnl was one of the final new great network tv dramas, er was one of the last running with 15 seasons. i dipped sometime after s10 but came back near the end. i used to sneak out from my room to watch this show in the living room with my mom as a little kid. the first two seasons of er and the fnl boxset are the only tv i've bought on dvd. which should tell you something tho it's all kinda unusable now.

degrassi: tng-esp the original classes of '06 and '07. a cringe interest i am old enough to admit to now, having been involved in the fandom ironically back then on multiple forums where we both discussed and made fun of the show. i'm sure it still has plenty of unintentional entertainment value, and its precursors, djhs and dhs are what we have to thank for bh90210 and every usamerican teen drama that came after.

it's always sunny in philadelphia-curse the fx/hulu deal for making this harder to find elsewhere. i still remember when it was on netflix.

derry girls-only 3 seasons as uk show that's not downton abbey or midsomer murders or the like, but i've the entire run on netflix multiple times now

[medicinemane]

Maybe I'm just extra annoyed by it because I grew up around my grandma, who despite thinking of herself and normal and refined, and thinking I'm some boorish idiot; her favorite dinner topic is stuff like shit, and maggot, and murder (and I'm not even slightly joking or exaggerating)

Like she was an RN, and boy did she love nothing more than to talk about people who'd shit themselves that day at the nursinghome

Or my uncle is a paramedic, and I remember one time we were having a meal at a fucking restaurant, and she's saying to him "tell them about the poop", and he's just kind of sighing and being like "one time we showed up to a call at a store for someone in the bathroom, and they'd managed to get shit everywhere"

She once got seriously mad at me when I was like 12 and went to go spit my bratwurst into the toilet because she was sitting there talking about maggots (and remember, I have a serious issue with flies)

She spent one christmas dinner just talking about murders that had happened in the area over the years (she's the normal one though, and I'm the weirdo)

So yeah... maybe that's why I just get tired of how gleeful the whole damn world is about putting smiling coils of shit everywhere. Like hell, I'm not saying you can never be crass, but it's just fucking... everywhere, like every section of the world and it gets tiring

Then we have such fucked up priorities that a game like Binding of Issac is hunky dory to be playing on youtube, but people can't even say that they're "shooting the shit" while literally doing that, because the naughty word isn't advertiser friendly, as opposed to... literal just depictions of shit (not saying anything about the game here, just about the contradiction between what is deemed acceptable vs not)

Wears me out, and like... legit thinking about it I wonder if it isn't cause of stuff with my grandma using up all my tolerance for it when I was a kid and just kind of sick of... I'm not kidding that when I was young it was practically every meal her and my grandpa would spend talking about scat

Like there's a reason I use the term shit all the time, and never poop, and it's just cause somehow poop is way grosser to me. Maybe it's cause I hear it non fucking stop... I don't know

And the funny thing is, talking about literal bowel movements doesn't even bother me that much. Like it's not a fucking dinner topic, and it's not like it isn't a little gross, but if someone's telling me about how their stomach has been... doesn't bother me, I don't mind, I literally don't care. Cause like... we're actually having a serious discussion about something going on in the world

But dear lord do I just get sick of all the shit emojis and how often people on youtube will make jokes that the begging middle and end of the joke is just "poop"

Sorry, it just legit annoys me, has for... since forever honestly, and I guess I just really needed to rant about it

Like hell, crass jokes are fine, but like... have some fucking moderation

[taiblogcomics]

Locket, Stock, and Barrel

Hey there, black magic dances. We sure got into a thing last week, huh? You ready for more? I hope so, coz this whole series lasted 18 issues, so we're not nearly done. It won't be constant rage, I promise. I can't keep up hate for that long. But it was very important to put in the hate for the first issue, you know? Let's just say it made its first impressions accurately.

Here's the cover:

...Symbolism...? I dunno. I feel like this cover's trying to say something. Like, the trade I'm reading this from doesn't even include the flies in the cover's image, so that's mysterious. Like, okay, it's a Lord of the Flies homage, that fits the "kids killing each other" theme, but why Reptil? I never read Lord of the Flies, not even for school. I only know it's a reference because I looked it up. I got nothin' here~

So, last time. Arcade decided his murder boner wasn't being satisfied, so he kidnaps 16 C-lister teen superheroes and tells them "Okay, do some murders", and when no one was willing, he murders Mettle to kick things off. It was also suggested to me by a reader--and I totally agree--that Arcade's justification of "Hey, I bet some of you are killers deep down" is still a really shitty way to kick things off. Like, isn't that just gonna incentivise the decent heroes to work together to protect each other from the murderous ones? This whole premise is flawed at best~

So we start the issue focusing on our new character, Deathlocket. She's relating an anecdote in her internal narration about her dad telling her about the fight or flight reflex. Apparently Red Raven can hear her caption boxes, and is spurred into the "flight" option. Unfortunately, Arcade also has a giant invisible forcefield above his Murderworld, and Red Raven crashes right into it, snapping her neck and falling to the ground. That's right. This character from the '90s, dragged out of retirement, and hasn't had a single line has been killed two pages in.

Coz, I mean, we just killed a character last issue. That wasn't enough, was it? You only have 14 left now, you'll have to stretch them over 16 issues after this one. Much like this premise. Anyways, now that that's over, the characters begin to split off into groups. The Braddock Academy kids all go off together, because of course they do. Deathlocket approaches Hazmat and tries to say she's sorry for what happened to Mettle. Hazmat interprets this as pity and begins to power up. This sets off Locket's automatic systems in her cybernetics. But her cannon blast isn't strong enough to put Hazmat down, and now she's mad.

So then we get some flashbacks. Seems Deathlocket was one of those over-achiever students, with a heavy focus on her swimming lessons. Big champ for the school swim team. Anyway, she gets home from practice late, to find Deathlok in her house, pointing his arm cannon at her mom. Which Deathlok this is (seriously, there's been, like, eight at least) is never mentioned. Nor why he's pointing a gun at her mom. Given his positioning, it's like he was waiting for someone to show up for a dramatic reveal. It's a little contrived is what I'm saying. Next thing she knows, the whole thing blows up in her face.

Back in the present, Deathlocket goes wandering off, having been spurned by Hazmat's group. Before she can get too far in the forest, Cammi jumps out of a tree, points her ray gun at her, and tells her to back up slowly. And the reason she does this is because Locket was about to step on a land mine. Cammi has prevented another needless death in this issue, so Cammi gets 5 points on my chart. I like Cammi now. Sadly, as grateful as Locket is, Cammi just didn't want shrapnel in "her tree", so she makes Locket walk off in another direction. So much for friendship.

So we get another flashback, now showing us how Deathlocket survived the explosion of her house: her dad did it. He hauled her mangled body out of the wreck and has been working on repairing her damaged bits with cybernetics, including her brain. Which just woke up and come online. As he's explaining how he plans to use the Deathlok tech on his daughter, SHIELD comes calling. Seems they don't like when one of their scientists goes off the grid and holes up in a bunker, so they proceed to arrest him, discovering Locket's brain in the process.

It's gotten dark out now, and Locket's wandered her way towards a fire, when she's captured by Kid Briton. Seems she's come across the Braddock Academy gang, and so, after Apex gets them to let Locket go and share their fire, we get a huge exposition dump on all these guys. This is just so we can find the writer's OCs cool and demand a spinoff starring them, and it really shows. Like, Apex fully lays out all their names, power sets, backstories, and everything. Like, on one hand, you appreciate it because they're new characters. But on the other hand, you'd rather be seeing the characters we actually care about. And I don’t care about them enough to relate their stories here.

So as Apex explains that she stuck up for Locket coz she knows her father’s science credentials and that she has a girl-crush on Reed Richards' brain, we slip into another flashback. This one's of Locket now in a hospital, where another scientist comes in to talk with her, get the story of what happened to her. He's also the one who has to break the news to her that she's a Deathlok cyborg now. Her dad is... indisposed at present, but he does assure her she'll be all right eventually. And in the present she laughs. Apex doesn't get the joke, but Locket just says she's had a really long day. Which, by contrast, we’ve had a pretty short issue.

I think I expressed well enough that Red Raven’s death was nothing short of disgusting. Lovely way to treat a character. Otherwise, this whole issue exists just to dump the backstory of all the new characters they invented for this comic. Like, I get we have to because we know nothing about these characters. But it does kinda feel like Exposition: The Issue. I guess everyone’s just down to play out Arcade’s sick little game now, because they’re branching into groups and making survival plans. I hope there’s no more deaths next issue, because the series will barely be able to keep up at that rate~

[theabstruseone]

I loathe Lord of the Flies. And I probably wouldn't (or at least not as much) if I had competent teachers.

Due to a scheduling issue (I had to change teachers because one marked me a zero on a major project when I was out of school for a week attending an out-of-state funeral and refused to offer a make-up since "I should've done it while I was away" despite it being assigned and marked as due during the time I was away so I had no way of knowing there was a project due), I ended up having to cover this goddamn book TWICE.

In neither classroom...ONCE...was it explained...that the ENTIRE POINT of the book...was that these were RICH PRIVATE SCHOOL KIDS and the reason why they're sociopathic assholes is because they've literally never faced a consequence before so kept acting like there were no consequences when they had no safety net of their parents' money and a society tilted in their favor to protect them.

Oh, we lot lots of lectures on the fact that man is nothing but animals and we return to our baser instincts without the protections of civilization and the symbolism of killing Piggy and Simon representing the death of intellectualism and faith and yadda yadda yadda...

...but it's a pretty big part of the fucking point of the book that the kids were smug Eton brats. Golding wrote the book as a satire of the entire genre of novels released at the time that depicted rich private school (I'm going to keep saying private school even though I know it's called a public school in the UK, but I'm American and likely most of the people following me are so it makes more sense) kids getting marooned on an island and, because of their innate pure British superiority, were able to recreate a complete functional society with modern technology equivalents (and sometimes even bring civilization to the "savages" who lived on the deserted island and have fun unpacking that sentence because it's above my pay grade). Golding's point was that these little shits would NEVER get themselves together and would descend into chaos and violence BECAUSE they're rich privileged little shits.

And because of that, I still to this day fucking HATE Lord of the Flies. Even though I wouldn't if either of the two Grade 11 English teachers I had knew what the fuck they were talking about.

PS. It's not just that "I was taught this wrong", it's that I so vehemently disagreed with the message presented by my teachers that I hated the book. I was taught that Romeo & Juliet was a sappy tragic love story when it's about a 20-year-old guy who just got dumped getting into a rebound relationship with a 13-year-old girl that results in the deaths of six people including both of them.

got thoughtful about opinions on bad books so here’s an inverse: what’s a book you had to read for school that you actually enjoyed/have grown to like? mine is Lord of the Flies

[symbioticsimplicity]

Based on an idea @thediktatortot and I workshopped in the tags of this post. Enjoy Tommy, Steve, Eddie and Billy being trapped in a room together!

Part 2! Part 3! Part 4! AO3 link!

                                                               *

The world was hell bent on making Steve Harrington suffer. He was sure of it, dead-set, knew it in his soul.

Why else would he have gotten trapped in the high school teacher’s lounge with Eddie Munson, Tommy Hagan, and Billy Hargrove of all people?

“--you didn’t skip gym every fuckin’ year then maybe you could have kept up, freak.” Tommy hissed at Eddie, his teeth gritted as he leaned against the door a demodog was currently trying to knock down.

“Oh yeah cause tackle fucking football really prepares you for the goddamn apocalypse!” Eddie snarled back, marring the effect a little by tripping over his feet as he brought over a chair to prop against the door.

“Shut the fuck up!” Billy growled at them both, “‘M tryin’ to fuckin’ focus!”

He had his back pressed against the door, and was probably the real reason that it hadn’t been caved in yet. Ever since he’d survived his face off with the mindflayer last summer, Billy had been different. Not just in such that he didn’t try to take a bite out of anyone who got too close to him half as often, but in that he could bench his fucking car. Steve knew, because he’d seen him do it one of the days he’d picked Max up for whatever dumb thing the kids were up to. 

“Oh sorry Lou, don’t let us get in the way of your ‘roid rage.” Tommy snitted back, unable to keep his mouth shut for love of life or limb.

“Tommy, for fucks sake shut your mouth for ten goddamn minutes and help me move this vending machine.” Steve cut Billy off before he could escalate what was quickly devolving into a miniaturized Lord of the Flies reenactment.

Tommy aimed an ugly look his way while Eddie snickered.

“King’s callin’ Hagan, be a good little pawn and attend him.” 

“Munson, get your ass over here, you’re helping too.” Steve turned his disapproving glare on Eddie too.

Tommy bowed dramatically, “Ladies first.”

“Age before beauty.” Eddie bowed back.

“Hurry. The. Fuck. UP!” Billy was losing ground by inches. 

Tommy and Eddie took their places on either side of Steve and the three of them started to push the vending machine, inch by screeching inch, across the floor and in front of the door. It filled almost the entire door frame. While it wouldn’t keep a pack of demodogs out for long, it would give them long enough to get their shit together again.

“Okay, so plan?” Steve looked between the three men he now found himself stuck with, “Anybody got a plan?”

“Munson’s the ‘Dungeon Master’, isn’t coming up with plans to beat monsters kind of your thing?” Tommy poked again, securing his place on the mental list Steve knew Eddie kept of people he would eat first in a crisis.

“What the fuck is your problem, douchebag?” Eddie turned his full attention on him, “We’re in the middle of some supernatural life or death bullshit, and your go-to is still ‘Shit on the Freak’? My fuckin’ plan is to trip you while we’re running so they slow down to eat your stupid jock ass.” 

Steve pressed his fists into his eyes, trying to force himself to breathe through the headache he could feel forming at the base of his skull. Of all the combinations of people…

��I was trying to be nice!” Tommy shouted back, and even with his eyes closed, Steve could see the way his hands were gesturing, “That stupid game you play with your weirdo friends has a lot to do with making shit up as you go along! That’s a skill!”

“....did you just admit to knowing what DND is about?” Eddie sounded more confused than angry, like all the fire just burnt right out of him.

“I-! No- I just…”

“Table that,” Billy cut in, “I’m not getting torn apart by another one of those fucking things because you two can’t focus for shit.”

“Who died and made you boss, Hargrove?” Tommy snapped reflexively.

“Your fucking Dad, Hagan. It’s why I’m fucking your mom now too.”

“ENOUGH!” Steve shouted in a voice that sounded so much like Richard Harrington he hated himself a little bit for it, “None of us like each other, we all know that, it’s whatever, old news! But I’m pretty sure none of us want to die, either. You two know better than anyone that this shit is not a game.” 

Steve pointed a finger at Billy and Eddie each in turn before turning his attention on Tommy. 

He was scared, of course he was. Tommy had always used his sharp tongue to cover up his weaknesses, and right now he had to have been feeling about two feet tall and made of tissue paper. Steve had stopped flinching about bodies years ago, but Tommy hadn’t been by his side for that change either. 

So he tried to make himself sound calm, familiar, like they were just talking like they used to when they were dumb little boys sharing secrets during the secret hours of the night where nothing had to mean more than it meant. 

“I know it’s scary as hell, but we’re not going to let you die, Tommy. No one here is dying, not tonight. We’re all on the same team here, and that means we’re going to look out for each other. Okay?”

He held Tommy’s eyes for a moment more, before letting his attention move to Billy, then Eddie in turn.

Eddie was the first to respond, because of course he was.

“Alright, fine. For one night only, coming to an amphitheater near you, the freakiest Friday you’ve ever fucking seen, Off Brand Motley Crue!” Eddie imitated the distant cheering of a crowd and to Steve’s surprise Billy fucking snorted.

He shoved Eddie’s shoulder almost affectionately, muttering “You’re a fuckin’ idiot, Munson.” 

Tommy was still staring at Steve when he looked back at him. There was so much going on in the valley between his eyebrows, Steve could practically hear him thinking.

“Spit it out, Tommy.” Steve sighed while Eddie and Billy wandered off to see if they could scavenge anything of use.

“Is this why you stopped talking to me?” He asked with no preamble.

Fifteen different responses flashed through Steve’s head, all in varying degrees of bitchiness. His patience was more like a roulette wheel than a chord close to snapping at this point. There was every chance he’d say something stupid by sheer chance.

“Kind of?” He shrugged, relieved he’d started off neutral at least, “Some of it, I guess.”

“But not the big part.” Tommy laughs humorlessly, filling in the gaps between what Steve means and what he says as effortlessly as he ever did, “Well shit. Here I was telling myself my best friend ditched me to save me from some crazy horrible death or some shit.”

He laughed again, but the sound was as cruel as it was watery.

“That’s not-- you know that’s not fucking fair Tommy!” Steve could feel his expression folding in on itself.

“Not fair? So you’re saying you didn’t completely bail on me instead of being like ‘Huh we’re kinda assholes and I don’t really like that maybe we should work on that’ like a normal fucking friend would?” Tommy snapped. 

“If you’d said you just wanted to yell at him yourself, I would have ceded the floor to you without a fight, Harrington.” Eddie weighed in from across the room.

“Shut up!” Steve and Tommy chorused together, causing Eddie to raise his hands in surrender with a mischievous smile playing on his lips.

He turned back to Billy, the blonde rolling his eyes as he tore through a drawer full of seasoning packets.

“I’m not fucking stupid, Steve.” Tommy said firmly, his expression looking far more present and alert than Steve was used to, like he’d come out of whatever place he sent himself when there were other people around, “I know you hated what we were like. You’re a nice guy, you always have been. Even though you’re also a total bitch sometimes.”

Steve almost laughed, but the noise caught in his throat instead.

“Yeah well maybe I didn’t think about it. Maybe I was too caught up in needing to change that I told myself I had to get rid of everything to do it.” Steve clenched his jaw, remembering how hard everything had been back then, how alone he’d felt in the canyon between who he was and who he wanted to be.

“I would have changed with you.” Tommy said to his shoes instead of to Steve, “You know. It’s never been about-- about popularity. It’s always been about making you happy.”

The admission caught him like a blow to the stomach. He felt his eyes tearing up and pressed his thumb and forefinger into the bridge of his nose.

“I think near-death experiences with monsters from other dimensions are pretty good catalysts for second chances.” Steve said, when he felt like he could without his voice breaking on him.

“Catalysts?” Tommy raised an eyebrow, “You spend a couple years around a group of nerds and suddenly you start using the big words?”

It’s an insult but it’s good natured, it’s barbed, but like one of those foam prop spiked bats they sell for Halloween. It’s familiar, and it’s easy, and God has Steve missed bantering with someone who knows how to tease him without actually hurting his feelings.

“Pretty face isn’t gonna get me by my whole life.” Steve replied, a smile sneaking onto his lips as a matching smile spans Tommy’s.

Tommy claps him on the shoulder, “Damn straight, once you hit forty that hair is gonna move onto your back and then you’re screwed.”

Steve laughed, feeling relieved by the resolution of something he hadn’t been aware was still bothering him.

“Yeah, yeah, you can’t say that like your skin isn’t gonna melt like your uncle Fred’s did when you hit thirty.”

“Don’t you dare bring Uncle Fred into this!”

                                                             *

To Steve surprise, the demodogs didn’t come crashing through the vending machine door. After about an hour, they stopped trying to get through entirely. 

They thought for a moment that they’d left, but when Billy started pushing the vending machine aside to check, the growling started back up and he quickly moved it back.

“They’re keeping us pinned down.” Eddie muttered around his thumb where he was nervously biting at the skin, “Out of the way.”

“Yeah.” Steve agreed, trying not to let himself think through all the reasons that could be, “Split the party, classic.”

“So you do listen when I talk to you about DND.” Eddie beamed, “Knew it. Closet nerd.”

Billy muttered something that vaguely sounded like ‘closet something’ but he was standing on Steve’s bad side and he couldn’t really be sure. 

Steve rolled his eyes, “You try having six kids and a really hyper metalhead talking your ear off about the same thing all the time. See how much you remember.”

“Jock to nerd pipeline not withstanding, you know why splitting the party is a problem, right?” Eddie continued stubbornly on.

“We’re most of their muscle.” Billy answered instead, “Take us out or pin us down, the rest of them are easier to take out.”

“Ten XP to California.” Eddie clapped.

“So you think they’re trying to keep us out of something?” Tommy asked, surprisingly mindful of his tone.

Eddie nodded, gnawing at his nail again, “We need another way out.”

“Not a lot of options.” Steve glanced around quickly, his leg starting to bounce.

“Pretty much just the front door.” Billy agreed.

“So we need a battle plan.” Tommy summarized, “Okay, right. Munson, what are you good at?”

Eddie frowned and Tommy threw his hands into the air.

“I’m not trying to start shit, I’m asking so we can figure out where the fuck to put you. Hargrove is a one man demolition team, Steve has that bat and he’s really good at taking a punch, I’m good at defence and I can lift a lot more than those things, so what’s your deal?”

Eddie thought for a second, and Steve honestly couldn’t tell if he was considering his answer or if he was pausing for dramatic effect.

“Well,” He started eventually, “I’m good with a shield, and I’m pretty strong too. Don’t look like it, but I can manhandle Stevie here pretty easily.”

Tommy shot him a look that he pointedly ignored. There was no way he was explaining any of that right now, or ever if he had the choice. 

“Steve is easy to manhandle. Barely even fights it.” Billy replied, “That’s not a good gauge of strength.”

“You could rip an airplane in half, you’re not a good gauge of strength.” Eddie gesticulated in Billy’s general direction.

“I fought him way before that.”

“He’s right though.” Tommy shrugged, “Steve never fights being manhandled.”

Eddie scoffed and Steve was pretty sure he was going to choke to death on embarrassment long before the demodogs ever got him.

“Anyway, back on track, guys. You thinking Billy as the spearhead, you and Eddie flanking and me taking up the rear?” Steve tried to guide the conversation back to safer ground before they did something stupid like bond over having all manhandled him at some point.

“Yeah.” Tommy nodded, “Exactly.”

“That’s what I would have said.” Billy shrugged.

“Jock mindmeld.” Eddie shuddered, “Normally, a sign that conformity is alive and well, but right now? Might just save a life. I hate to say it boys, but sportsball might just save the day this time.”

“I’m telling everyone you said that.” Tommy grinned.

“That tripping you plan can still be enacted.”