#just the biggest most dysfunctional family ever

[supershot73199]

Ok I love this as well so let's make it weirder under the cut.

Alright I think Danny actually approves of VladxRasxGrandmaFenton because not only does it get Vlad to stop the whole kill your dad and marry your mom thing but it gives Danny an excuse to call him Grampa Vlad (I think he would hate being called old especially since his lovers are the cradle robbers dammit).

So maybe Damian shows up and at first he's concerned that Ras may want Danny or Jazz as heir only for them to be like "nah I'm good" which once Damian realizes they are sincere allows him to bond with them easier than he did with his siblings (let Dami go feral with the fentons).

Now we need to make this family reunion weirder so let's drag in some other love interests and their inlaws.

Tim is dating superboy in this au either with Bernard or without dealers choice and of course once the fentons learn he was made of superman and lex Luther's DNA decide obviously they have to drag Lex to pay child support and spend time with his kid (Metropolis watches as this small redhead woman drags lex kicking and screaming to a family reunion while her tank of a husband watches on just madly in love.

Jazz can be dating Rose Wilson aka Ravager (give Jazz a badass girlfriend with a sword) which drags Slade Wilson into this reunion.

Danny can be Dating Cassie aka Wondergirl (I liked this one cute prompt where Danny went to Hades and Persephone for dating advice and it actually works really well with the two having "kidnapping" dates) so that give wonder woman and potentially the Greek gods an excuse to Join the Fenton reunion (Hestia and Hera never misses one and enjoy gossiping with the Amity Grannies)

Dani can be dating Captain Marvel or more specifically Billy Batson "No bad Bruce you can't adopt him!" Says Dick "His name is literally Bat-Son its fate Dick let me go"

Secret aka Greta is there no one knows when she showed up but hey what's one more ghost in the family.

Just imagine the chaos they would cause

Okay but I just? Made myself snort?

Imagine~☆ Grandma Fenton. Young, hot, built like a tank.

She meets a SUAVE and well muscled man of mystery. With a CAPE! Fabulous facial hair. There are ninjas. She was hunting the Supernatural. Very, very badly.

But still! That Fenton STRENGTH. That smile! That "just back handed an assassin through a wall"! Mystery man is... intrigued ™.

They do unspeakable things to each other hot young nuible bodies against every surface they can find. There are explosions and sword fights. She has a BLAST! It was a great trip.

Prooooobably should have gotten more then his name though!

Maybe used protection!

WHOOPS ™!

Ah well, she always DID want kids! A jack is a wonderful kiddo! Strong as an ox! Bit obsessive, but what Fenton ISNT?

She goes about her merry way. Things to do! Monsters to HUNT! Crocodiles to WRESTLE! Feeling like... she's... forgetting? Something? But what could it BE?

It's only after YEARS, as she's retired, down a leg (damn Sasquatch) and two fingers, that she squints at some hoity toity shin-dig on the TV... and... huh.....

You know? That lil Wayne kid reminds her of someone. It's... it's on the tip of her to- OH FUCK! *slams down the morning paper* she forgot to tell her sprogs DAD!

Shit! He didn't know he got her preggers!!!

Which? Is how Ra's AL Ghul? Get a VERY sheepish call from that lion of a woman he had... relations *unholy smirk that makes SO MANY people around him uncomfortable* with, informing him? He not ONLY has a son.

But a grandson and granddaughter.

Neither fit to inherent, obviously. But his blood has run true. His son married the most powerful woman he could locate. Because studying the borders between life and death. And can snap lesser men in half like a twig. Grandchildren? Much of the same.

So obviously, he shall become... Supportive. A loving grandfather.

Why? Because he has no standards for them! They are but a pleasant suprise. The bloodline MIGHT be useful. Eventually. But for now? Charm champaign.

EVERYBODY loves Grandpapa Ra's, after all. :)

@hdgnj @babbling-babull @lolottes @dcxdpdabbles @the-witchhunter

[forthegothicheroine]

I've made a post about great lesser-known noirs, but it occurs to me that some of you might not be familiar with the classics, and might want to know where to start. This is a ridiculously short list- I have a million more to talk about- but here are some of the big stars of the genre.

The Maltese Falcon: Sam Spade, a clever but callous private detective, gets wrapped up in intrigue relating to an artifact that is functionally cursed. If he's an unscrupulous character, just wait until you meet everyone else. The whole damn cast is electrifying, lending charm and cruelty in equal measure.

The Big Sleep: Philip Marlowe, a kinder and more poetic detective for Humphrey Bogart to play than Spade, is called upon to deal with a wealthy, dysfunctional family, and it keeps on getting weirder from there. Is the sharp-tongued Vivian Sternwood the femme fatale she seems, or is she just another person trying to find the right thing to do in desperate circumstances? And will she and Marlowe keep their hands off each other until the plot has had its last twist?

Double Indemnity: Rich housewife Phyllis Dietrichson and sleazy insurance agent Walter Neff are, by their own admission, rotten people. It's only natural that they should plot a murder together, and that they should turn on each other the very second things go wrong. Every single domestic murder movie since 1944 has ripped this off.

Kiss Me Deadly: This is nominally an adaptation of a Mike Hammer story. Screenwriter Bezzerides hated Mike Hammer. As depicted here, he is one of the worst people in the world. Depending on the cut of the film you see, he may inadvertently cause the nuclear apocalypse. (For once, the theatrical cut is darker.)

Sweet Smell of Success: Cruel, all-powerful columnist JJ Hunsecker wants his sister's boyfriend out of the way (for reasons that are, um, ambiguous.) To accomplish this, he enlists the biggest weasel in New York, Sidney Falco, and the two completely deserve each other as they spend the rest of the movie trading elaborate insults. Popular on tumblr for its dialogue and chemistry between the leads.

Sunset Boulevard: Broke screenwriter Joe Gillis thinks he can con a has-been into hiring him as a script doctor, and that's the last free decision he ever gets to make. From then on, his life is in the hands of Norma Desmond, silent film starlet turned crazed recluse, terrifying yet intensely pitiable. This is as much gothic horror as noir.

Ace in the Hole: The story of a man trapped in a cave is turning out to be a big hit in the newspaper, and if the publicity will make a reporter's career, then what's the harm in delaying rescue just for a little while? This is as vicious as noir gets, but damn it, you've just got to see what happens next. (Watch Jacob Geller's video Fear of the Depths after this.)

Sorry Wrong Number: Of all the films on this list, this is the one that really scared me. In the days of switchboards, a rich hypocondriac woman is connected to the wrong phone line and overhears a murder being planned. It doesn't take her long to figure out she's the intended victim, and each call she makes or recieves makes the situation darker. But how can she escape her fate if she can't- or won't leave her bed?

The Asphalt Jungle: The heist movie. Maybe the only heist movie ever made. Every line is quotable. Every member of the team is an unforgettable personality. When things go wrong, they go horribly wrong. One minute you're laughing, and the next minute you think you'll never laugh again.

Gun Crazy: Laurie and Bart, two practiced sharpshooters, are perhaps the most perfect match in all of noir- and that's a bad thing. When one half of the duo gets a criminal idea in their head, the other can't say no. When the opportunity to ditch her man like a sap comes up, the femme fatale throws it away to be doomed at his side. He fell in love with her when she first aimed a gun at him. Quentin Tarantino kissed star Peggy Cummins's feet at a showing of the film, and I hope she kicked him in the head.

Laura: Everyone was in love with Laura Hunt, and somebody killed her- or did they? Did they get the right person? Is the cop on the case in love with a dead woman? Was her columnist mentor just her gay best friend, or was there something darker beneath that facade? And what would Laura think of all this? A big inspiration on Twin Peaks.

In a Lonely Place: Bogart isn't at all heroic here, as a screenwriter with a drinking habit and a violent temper. He's obviously a bad idea to date, but just how bad an idea? He's not the type of guy who'd kill a woman, is he? Bogart and Gloria Holden give perhaps their best performances here, and they'll wound your soul.

Touch of Evil: A Mexican cop (played, unfortunately, by Charlton Heston) finds out a nasty secret about the big hero cop Hank Quinlan: he's framed the culprit in most of his cases. Not because he's crooked, but because his intuition tells him they're guilty. Director Orson Welles as Quinlan is frightening, grotesque, and a little bit tragic in what some consider the last classic noir.

The Killers: The first twenty minutes or so are an adaptation of a Hemingway story, where out of town hitmen gun down a man so depressed he won't even bother to run from them. The rest of the film is an investigation into how he got that way. It had something to do with a radiant gangster's girl, and something to do with a few botched crimes. Sometimes a man can die before the bullets even touch him.

The Third Man: Everybody is lying about the whereabouts of an American expatriate named Harry when his friend comes looking. Did they do something to him? Or, more frightening still, is he the one who's been doing things to other people? Orson Welles is a more charming monster than he was in Touch of Evil; the light and shadows on his face cast him as a vampire, while his fingers sticking up through the sewer grate look like something terrifying emerging from the earth.

[32beesinatrenchcoat]

So I was going to write a detailed post describing my every thought on the last season of the Umbrella Academy, but that would have taken forever to write and read. Not to mention people here have spoken about most of those things more eloquently than I ever could. Instead, I want to mention a running theme in the show: family. That seems obvious enough on the surface considering the premise is a dysfunctional superhero family. However, each character is motivated by the nebulous concept of a family.

This has a different meaning for each main character. Sometimes it's by blood, by marriage, or by teams. Each character may have different motivations that could come in conflict with each other's. In season 3, Allison is motivated by a loss of her family (Claire and Ray), Diego and Lila are motivated by starting a family together, and Luthor is conflicted between his old family (the umbrella academy) and a new family (the sparrows).

The problem I have with season 4 is that this theme is tossed aside for no reason. They spend very little time with each other, and they seem so miserable whenever they do get together. Viktor wants to help Ben cause he's his brother, but they have no connection beyond Umbrella!Ben. Allison saves Klaus only to have it thrown in her face. Luther spends the first episode trying to bring the family together and never does it again. But at least these people tried to help. The rest of the family would rather do anything else it seems.

Ben and Klaus immediately walk away after the fight in Maine to do whatever they want. It's been shown that Klaus likes to have people when he's hit bottom, whether that's to help him or just provide company. Ben spent the entire wedding episode angry that he was unwanted. It makes no sense he would throw away several chances to be a part of a family just to be an ass.

Diego and Lila chose to have kids and be together last season. Why are they shown to be completely unhappy now? Lila always wanted a family and people who loved her instead of manipulating her. In this timeline, her parents are alive, she has children and a husband, and his siblings are all there for her. What was the point of telling us several times last season how good of a dad Diego would be to not have that shown? Even if his job sucks and his life is stressful and he misses heroism, his children should be the most important thing to him.

Finally, we reach Five. Five's definition of family has always been his siblings. He fought for them. He killed for them. So him wanting to hide away in some fantasy timeline instead of saving his family is ridiculous and completely out of character. I could believe him and Lila being stuck together and they grow close over the years. I could maybe believe some romantic feelings happened if they truly saw no way out. The problem is that they should have gone straight home once the cipher was found.

The biggest issue is that none of these arcs were absolved. Diego/Lila/Five is never reconciled either way, Allison saves Klaus again and he learns nothing from it, Ben dies a painful death again, and the children are punished for the crime of being born by being erased from reality. The conclusion to the theme of the show is not only do they cause problems in every relationship they have, but that they are the problem. The show asks, What is family? The answer: nothing that can last apparently

[magesforthedas]

Okay, newest discourse I've seen and want to share my opinion on... Mostly it's about Rook's companions. PLEASE be aware the are Spoilers for late game DAV below!

So, I've been seeing a bunch of people talking about how the companions don't really act like they care about you, because they aren't asking you how you are doing.

We've got some things to dissect here 😅 first off, not everyone's love language is words of encouragement haha. But on a serious note, even if it's true that they never asked "Rook, are you alright?" (Which, I'm pretty sure I got asked that by at least one companion...?) It doesn't mean they don't care about you. The more interactions and companion quests you do, the more you see that care come out.

Davrin asking you to join him for walks? He sees you need a break and fresh air.

Emmerich taking you to the gardens? It's probably the most relaxing thing he can think of.

Neve taking you with her to throw rocks, the thing she does when she needs a break and to clear her mind? She's hoping it helps you too.

Taash taking you to feed the birds? Again, something that helps them clear their head? Makes it easier to think? Also, their comment about you not knowing loss... Haven't you ever said something when you are angry that you know will hurt? Maybe that's how Taash sees you, or maybe they see the haunted look of grief in your eyes every day, and wanted to provoke you into getting mad and talking about it- exactly how they are apt to share their emotions. But Rook knows that comment isn't about them, it's about Taash.

Harding taking you with her to practice her new magic? It's something potentially fun and a little exciting, something brighter than the death and despair everywhere.

Tbh I'm having trouble thinking past romance stuff for Lucanis 😂 but like, making you food, he does check in on you, his quiet care in the way he would talk to you. I'll see on this second playthrough how much stays even when he isn't romanced.

Bellara taking you to check elven artifacts? You most likely have no idea what you are doing, she obviously just wanted you there. Now, it could be because she just wants support, but I wouldn't be surprised if she was hoping some knowledge of how to handle these artifacts rubbed off on you, and wasn't sure how to say that. She's obviously protective, and doesn't always know how to say what she wants.

Point is, sometimes it's words, sometimes it's actions, but they obviously do care. They also realize: you are the one leading this, the one with the most weight on your shoulders. They may be unsure how to actually ease that weight, and not just remind you that you have it.

It makes me really, really sad to see people say that they can't find it in them to care about the companions, because they don't ask you how you feel. Is their worth directly linked to your wellbeing? Is the only correct way of showing care or affection the way you prefer? I cried through multiple companion scenes because of the raw emotions they shared with me. Does that willingness to be vulnerable count for nothing?

Something I honestly appreciate about Rook, is there's a little bit we know for sure about them. You can decide their identity, if they're serious or joking, or optimistic or angry. There's room to fill your backstory. But the core of you is the same, and it's why Varric chose Rook: because you see a problem, you solve it. You see an injustice, you have to do something. Every backstory, you did something that saved lives or helped people and it got you in trouble; you know how to put others first, but without it breaking you.

There are a lot of similarities between Hawke and Rook that I see, the Found Family trope being the biggest. And you know, both families are maybe a little dysfunctional. But while there are similarities, it's unfair to compare how Hawke's friends approached their wellbeing with the Veilguard, because they are all, the protagonist and the companions alike, different people, who would handle and process trauma differently. And in a way that, whether the healthiest or not, kept everyone sane; though there are times when things could slip through the cracks.

My final thought is about Varric, or rather, his death. I saw people talking about how Solas couldn't have kept that ruse going if the companions had bothered to check in with you. Now, sure maybe no one ever said anything because they were concerned if it would help or not. You've been caught in the infirmary a couple times, talking to nothing: maybe that is what helps you cope?

But I think it is completely plausible that the magic Solas was using to make you think Varric was still alive, could also have been censoring outside mention of him. A lot of the time if Varric gets brought up in conversation by someone, they just.... Trail off? What if they said more, but Solas erased it for you? And the companions, well. If you don't want to talk about him, they won't force you. Same with anyone else, like Isabela. Solas is smart, he would know that the people around you would know he was dead, and may very well mention it in front of you. You think he wouldn't have something in place?

So yeah, next time something comes up that makes you go, "this is bad writing, I can't like this game, how can you like this game?" Maybe ... Look at it from another angle? A couple angles? Think about what could be happening offscreen? Or if you really just don't like the game or the characters... Why would you want to make others feel bad if they do? Not to be harsh, because also if you have things you don't like, that's valid and it doesn't mean you can't express yourself. But that doesn't mean nobody should like them.

Love you all ❤️

[chaifootsteps]

Saw a nice video essay on Blitzø the other day

Finally an essayist raised the point: blitzø stole the book with intent to use it to provide for not only himself but his two friends and daughter, who he considers family. Stolas on the other hand despite acting all noble hearted and pure, has only ever cared about his own pleasures and with this book thing, he broke up his own dysfunctional family in the most painful way possible. He got all wounded and uppity “i wish you the best with your business”(unspoken: since that’s all that matters to you) But to blitzø theres no separation between work and family. Stolas may as well be belittling his family’s importance to him. As a prince that’s something he’d never understand. Blitzø had to work to keep his family after he lost his first, stolas sees family as a burden he wants to get rid of. Even Via, in his mind, is a burden, but he doesn’t realise that yet.

And no stolitz stans, that doesn’t mean “oh all Blitzøs relationships are transactions so stolas sexually extorting him is perfectly acceptable and normal, to blitz someone asking for his consent is too intimate” Christ. Victim blaming mental gymnastics: Olympian level. That’s dehumanisation of sex workers right there.

Some of these fans come from a mindset that theft is pure evil no matter what, but in such an uneven world, it’s just not always pure evil. When it comes to survival, stealing food and other resources is morally gray. In my opinion green but hey I think using an impoverished persons theft as an opportunity for sex work is far more evil, and greatly overshadows the original crime. In fact it’s how most sex trafficking starts. Blackmail. The fans are allergic to nuance….

No lie, the Viv standom has the biggest discrepancy between "believes they're capable of nuance" to "actually capable of nuance" I've ever personally seen. They're absolutely convinced that the black and white answers and patchwork fix-its they've cobbled together out of headcanons are objectively correct and it's the rest of the world who lacks media literacy.

[waddleonmywaywardducks]

Practicing with adhd.... (A kinda long commentary on how to work with ADHD in your practice instead of against it)

(disclaimer: I'm making this post as someone who has a struggled with ADHD. In no way am I glorifying mental illness or symptoms of mental illness. This is just something I've dealt with all my life and i know other people have too. I'm just posting my own experience and advice. You do not have to use this at all.)

I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was either 7 or 9 and have been struggling with it ever since, idk why I never grew out of it. Over the years of practicing, I've encountered a lot of practitioners with the same problem as me, only all of their advice was to try to get rid of ADHD has much as possible, well I tried that, I'm still the same. But that's just it, ADHD is apart of me, whether I like it or not. For years, I've always hated my ADHD, I constantly feel stupid, childish, and not responsible, but I am, I just need to work with my ADHD instead of around it. And that my friends is what Im going to teach you all here today, so grab a nice comfort TV show and a fidget bc your ADHD ass WILL READ THIS POST!!!!!!!!

My biggest problem with adhd and witchcraft

honest to the Gods, my biggest problem has got to be that witchcraft isnt dogmatic, you aren't going to get a rule book, there is no duality, you pick what's right from wrong, you make your practice your own. I had such a hard time figuring that out because I'm a very hands on learner. I grew up in a Christian household, most historical events that I wanted to research I could read in the Bible, or go to a church, or if I wanted to find community to help me figure out where to go well....it's basically all around me. But we don't have that with witchcraft. We only have ourselves (unless you were born into pagan/witchy family then lucky you I guess 😭😭). So obviously the only thing we can do is research.

"but omg chaos,,, I can't research I have executive dysfunction!"

I understand. Executive dysfunction is so weird why do humans have this??? Why was this built into my system??? Anyways, the best advice I can give you for executive dysfunction is that you can either go one of two ways:

1.) while you are laying in bed, cursing yourself to get up and do something. At least do something, but you just can't. That's ok. Dont beat yourself up about it, honestly the more you do that the more you're not going to want to do it. Allow yourself to be like this, allow yourself to just lay there. If you need to give offerings but you just can't get up, say sorry out loud, I always find that this brings me comfort and that my deities will know I'm truly sorry. Then forget about it, now it's time to allow yourself to just be. And then you wait until you find the strength to do it. That's it. Just be.

2.) you're laying in bed and you really need to give offerings to your deities. Get up. Just do it. Immediately once you have the thought in mind don't even think about it just do it. I know this doesn't work 100% of the time but it does for me. So 🤷

"how do I know if my practice is my own or if it's just a hyper-fixation?"

OK OK. I don't know anyone else who has this struggle but I have. When I started out, I was just a bright eyed kid filled with questions about the "unholy". I really started practicing when I was like 13-15. During these times, I didn't know how strong my hyper-fixation was with Greek mythology and religion until I fell out of that fixation. It was very disappointing to see myself gain so much momentum only to come crashing down. One thing that helped me decipher whether my practice was my own or not was simply asking questions to myself about my own beliefs and upg. If I couldn't answer these questions then I knew I wasn't really practicing I was just researching. Without my own experience, my own UPG, my spells weren't working correctly, and my rituals were failing. If there is no emotion behind it for me then the spell is just a bunch of herbs in a bottle.

"I struggle with grounding and meditation, how can I become better at that?"

Firstly, I need people to realize that I don't believe there is one right way to meditate. For me, starting out, I listened to guided meditations which helped me A LOT. Guided meditations I feel like are really slept on but I got a lot of communication done with my deties through this way, I met one of my guides this way bro. Another way you could do is laying down. As long as you are allowing yourself time to get into the meditative state, and if you can't, oh well, don't beat yourself up about, you can always try again.

"I have trouble remembering herb properties, correspondences, and holidays"

Write. Everything. down. Every spell you've ever created, every experience you have with your deties, every tarot card reading. Write it all down. Cross-research everything until something sticks. Give up the idea that grimoires need to look a certain way or give off a certain vibe. Just start writing shit down. In any book.

How I work with ADHD in my practice

Have you guys ever seen those post, I think they were floating around here around like 2019 or 2020?? They we're like "spells to get rid of ADHD" or "spells to get rid of depression" and shit like that. Yeah, I never understood those. I don't understand why we are treating these illnesses/disabilities like they are monsters?? I hate the ideology that all illnesses are bad, because yeah they impose a great risk to our health, but we can always look on the brighter side of things. My ADHD allows me to feel more deeply, because of this I feel connected to the gods always. My ADHD makes me passionate about my Interests in the gods, my ADHD can work with me.

Some ways I work with ADHD in my practice is by making a schedule and sticking to it but a bigger importance to that is recognizing when I need a break. During days that are dedicated to the gods, or holidays, I often times have a big thing planned that might take up a lot of energy. I allow myself breaks with things that aren't witchcraft related at all, then when I'm ready I pick it back up from where I left off.

I honestly think if you are reading this and you're like "yeah maybe I should start working with my ADHD instead of against it....but none of this stuff is hitting for me."

Then I advice you to look at your own symptoms and try to see if you can find any way you can work with yourself. For example, if one of my symptoms was that I was impulsive, one thing I would do is dedicate something impulsive to one of my gods. Like dying my hair, going out of town for the night, getting drunk on a Tuesday afternoon (keep it stable buddy.), who gives a fuck. You are using your symptoms in a way that works with it instead of against it.

In conclusion....

I've had this post in mind for a while I just never had the words for it until now, and I still don't even know if this makes sense😭😭 I just hope to help atleast someone (it's 3 am and I literally decided to write this like....20 minutes ago.) this post was also me bashing on people who think ADHD is "all bad." Anyways, if anyone has any other advice or suggestions on how to work with ADHD, please leave them in the comments! I would love to get as much advice from adhd practitioners as I can! Alright I'm going to sleep now

[ninadove]

A word on Benedetto’s father figures

Because I’ve been thinking about it all week. Have some parallels and contrasts, my friends:

Villefort:

Starts off Benedetto’s story extremely strongly by literally burying him alive within minutes of his birth. No one has ever failed their son harder.

Might have been onto something when he said crime spread around him and from him like a disease. Seriously, look at this family! It’s so dysfunctional in so many ways!!! If you’re a nature-over-nurture person, it’s not that far-fetched to suppose Benedetto got the Criminal Gene™ from him.

Literally changed his name to hide his compromising origins (as much as humanly possible in the spheres he frequents).

Burnt Edmond’s denunciation letter. Guess who else likes to burn things?

Is brought down by the literal unearthing of his biggest secret, which in turn concludes Benedetto’s arc.

Bertuccio:

Is, literally, the one who gave Benedetto life, and the emissary of Providence™ who shows up to bestow blessings upon him at semi-regular intervals.

Unfortunately, those gifts are always cursed. Surprise salvation from the grave in the garden? Only happens because Bertuccio tried to murder the kid’s father first, and results in what is functionally a kidnapping. Surprise adoption? Results in Benedetto being raised by a literal criminal, who is #shocked when his protege starts hanging out with ill-intentioned older boys and disciplines him with what we can reasonably assume from the unreliable narration is the good old belt. Surprise life-changing information about his origins that Bertuccio held onto all these years? Only revealed to cement Benedetto’s status as Monte-Cristo’s puppet.

Crumbled the second Benedetto questioned his ascendance, therefore drawing a clear link between authority and paternity and reinforcing the kid’s desire to defy both.

“Major Cavalcanti”:

Is just Some Guy™.

And yet, they have so much in common: both are impostors trapped in Monte-Cristo’s web, both are passionate about scamming rich people. There’s a quasi-instantaneous recognition between the two and, because they share the same goal, they develop a strangely wholesome understanding…? It’s forced coexistence as much as it is respect, but it’s not deprived of a weird sort of warmth, and Monte-Cristo himself comments on how much it looks like actual familial love. The contrast with Caderousse could not be harsher.

In virtue of his fake wealth and fake fatherhood, the Major becomes the Ultimate Authority™ ‘Andrea’ name-drops every time he wants to advance in society.

Caderousse:

Outwardly, he adopts all the attributes of a good father. He taught Benedetto most of his tricks! He feeds him! He talks of all the hardships they’ve been through together, like a family would!

But, of course, what he’s really doing is blackmailing Benedetto. Caderousse wants money, and it’s taken him a while to actually get his hands dirty, but he’s finally graduating to murder! And his silly young friend should help him if he doesn’t want his blood spilled on Place de Grève.

Anyway Benedetto stabs that guy real bad. I thought it was hilarious of him.

Danglars:

As Andrea’s future father-in-law, Danglars is his ticket towards the life of luxury without effort he has always wanted.

Of course, Danglars is using Andrea for the same reason Caderousse uses Benedetto: for money. Both of them lie about what they own, ergo about who they are, to get their hands on what they think the other has. This is especially interesting when put in perspective with the brutal honesty Danglars employs when talking to Eugénie, who he treats like a son and almost business partner rather than like a daughter (Transmasc Eugénie Truthers, rise up!).

… But of course, he still wants people to think of he and Andrea as family to strengthen his own nobility: if his son (in-law) is a prince, a title Danglars repeats ad nauseam, doesn’t that make him a king?

All things considered, despite losing their freedom (temporarily in Danglars’ case), money and status, both of them get a relatively happy ending compared to most of the cast.

Monte-Cristo:

BUCKLE UP THIS IS THE MOST INTERESTING.

Twice Benedetto raises the possibility of Monte-Cristo being his biological father, a perfectly logical conclusion in light of what he has done for him; in turn, Monte-Cristo recognises Benedetto as one of God’s punishers, a title he otherwise only attributes to himself.

Both of them went through a symbolic rebirth after being buried alive.

Both of them were wrongly accused of being evil incarnate, but eventually graduated to Full-On Criminals. Talk about self-fulfilling prophecies.

Escape Artists™

Both had to completely reinvent themselves, down to their names and origins, to achieve their ambitions.

Ruined engagement ceremony!!! This also draws parallels to Villefort and, interestingly, to Valentine and Franz.

THIS:

🇫🇷 « Ce calme, cette parfaite aisance firent comprendre à Andrea qu’il était pour le moment étreint par une main plus musculeuse que la sienne, et que l’étreinte n’en pouvait être facilement brisée. »

🇬🇧 « This calm, this perfect poise told Andrea that he was presently held by a hand far stronger than his, whose grip could not be escaped easily. »

Both Edmond and Benedetto know they are prisoners of people more powerful than they are, of the narrative, of a superior power that wields them like knives; both Monte-Cristo and Andrea accept their role as knives in the hope of eventually slicing through their ties. Whether or not they succeeded in the end is up to the reader’s interpretation.

[osamucide]

ADA secret santa . . . .ᐟ

wc: 1.4k

cw: crack, everyone is a menace, no reader included, probably some ooc, language, alcohol, drug mentions, suggestive gifts but nothing strictly nsfw, this is really just silliness

reid: happy christmas to those who celebrate! this was fun to write and think about i hope you guys enjoy and get a kick out of imagining this chaotic group being a dysfunctional family as much as i do

. . . .ᐟ

first things first: who gets who?

just like everything else at the agency, it’s a fucking ordeal.

dazai writes down everyone’s names to draw out of kenji’s hat, but he’s given them all nicknames, some more horrendous than others, and kunikida’s standing at the whiteboard writing down everyone’s favorite colors and t-shirt sizes when naomi pulls a name and asks, “who is ‘bawss bitch’?”

“president fukuzawa, duh,” dazai chirps.

cue face-palms and eye-rolls around the room.

“naomi, draw again. the whole point is that no one else kn-“

“thanks, ranpo, we know the point.” yosano reaches into the hat for herself. “who is . . . ‘tightass’?”

everyone glances to kunikida, who freezes and turns slowly, threateningly, toward the bandaged menace.

dazai tries so hard to contain his laugh, but ends up snorting unceremoniously.

so, commence kunikida choking him out and demanding he write down everyone’s proper goddamn names so they all know what the hell is going on. atsushi’s on it, copying everyone’s legal, government-registered first and last name down onto one sticky note each, and the drawing restarts.

names are distributed. instructions follow. yosano lovingly requests the biggest bottle of tequila the budget will allow.

the office party will start on christmas eve at 6pm.

. . .

naomi’s forcing junichiro into the ugliest, most uncomfortable-looking matching sweater anyone in the office has ever seen in all of their days (it’s got glitter-hot glue balls and messily sown-in sequins all over it. it’s hard to tell if it depicts something festive or if it’s the cover of lil wayne’s 1999 studio album tha block is hot).

yosano has cracked into the bottle of wine she’s kept stashed under her desk all day and is drinking straight from it.

ranpo’s encouraging her to chug while he makes a sizable dent in the huge tray of cookies provided by fukuzawa.

atsushi’s on the verge of tears because he’s never celebrated christmas with anyone who cares about him before, and kenji’s doing a mediocre job at consoling him.

dazai has brought eggnog and announces to everyone, at the exact moment that kunikida finishes off his third glass, that it’s spiked.

kyoka’s dragging haruno toward the group, where she places a reindeer antler-headband atop the older girl’s head. kyoka smiles so purely at her. it puts the fear of god into poor haruno.

it is 6:08pm.

once junichiro’s in his sweater and thoroughly suffering and atsushi’s stopped hiccuping, fukuzawa summons everyone around the tiny office tree for secret santa.

and here’s who got who.

. . .

president fukuzawa has drawn ranpo’s name for the third year in a row. he always goes with some sort of snack, but this year he found these on etsy and couldn’t resist.

the boss lets out a chuckle. everyone is jazzed. atsushi covers kyoka’s eyes. ranpo sticks his tongue out at fukuzawa (but cracks into the bag immediately).

. . .

ranpo drew yosano.

yosano lets out an unhinged laugh and puts it on. ranpo, mouth full of gummy dicks, lovingly retrieves a bottle of tequila from hiding. already half a bottle of wine and two glasses of eggnog in, yosano throws her arms around the great detective for a siblingly hug. atsushi is covering kyoka’s eyes again. he wonders if he’ll have to do this for every present.

. . .

yosano got kunikida.

“sorry, I couldn’t find an actual prescription.” kunikida’s lips are pursed in disappointment, not out of lack of appreciation but for shame in her joke. everyone knows it holds weight. dazai is on his ass laughing. kunikida remarks how he’s been needing a back pillow for his desk chair anyway. atsushi has his head in his hands.

. . .

kunikida got junichiro.

dazai and ranpo are nodding solemnly. no one is laughing because it’s true other than naomi who insists kunikida really does have a sense of humor. wow!

. . .

junichiro drew dazai’s name.

“awww!” dazai croons, holding it to his chest before going to place it on his desk next to his nameplate. “tanizaki, I’m so glad you think so.” again, everyone knows it’s true and laughs because of it this time.

. . .

dazai got fukuzawa.

it’s extra funny to dazai at this point because the boss is such a cat guy and also he and yosano have already snuck off cousins-at-thanksgiving style outside to smoke whatever (all while he’s on his way to being plastered. yosano’s the resident alcoholic, yes, but no one can ever truly contain dazai’s festive substance use). fukuzawa laughs - it has to be an effect of the alcohol on him too, everyone thinks, because no way would the stoic man ever crack a smile at such a gift let alone actually use this fucking mousepad. dazai tells him he’ll cry if he doesn’t see it on his desk next week.

. . .

a break proceeds because kunikida swears something got fucked up in the drawing process now that half of them have looped around. yosano, dazai, and ranpo are doing tequila shots. haruno explains to kunikida that it’s fine - someone had to go first - and they should just pick someone to start the second round of gifts. kunikida’s scribbling in his notebook trying to figure out what they screwed up. kenji insists that they’re already playing the game, there’s no point in trying to rewrite it now as long as everyone has a gift! kunikida looks visibly intoxicated like he’s about to pop a vein in his forehead, so kenji just laughs nervously and takes the reins. he tells kyoka to go next.

. . .

kyoka drew haruno.

it’s in a pretty purple bag, christmas spirit somewhat lost upon the child. atsushi almost starts crying again (dazai’s been slipping him eggnog). kyoka’s already assembled and glued the flower together. haruno smiles appreciatively. it will go on the front desk.

. . .

haruno got naomi.

no one expects this from haruno but it’s a huge hit, especially juxtaposed with junichiro’s gift from kunikida. it’s a book cover over a blank notebook and the only thing she apologizes for is that it doesn’t say “sibling.” naomi is red in the face and forcing a laugh. dazai and yosano are a second away from hoisting the girl up on their shoulders like she just made a winning touchdown. atsushi’s head is in his hands again.

. . .

naomi got atsushi.

it’s him if he was a single-celled organism, kenji remarks. atsushi is wholeheartedly pleased with this gift and gives naomi an extremely awkward hug. he holds onto it like a lifeline for the rest of the night.

. . .

atsushi pulled kenji’s name.

he wasn’t sure how seriously to take the gift, but he thought these were fitting. kenji beams and jumps up and down and hugs atsushi so tight the older boy starts to go blue in the face.

. . .

and finally, kenji drew kyoka.

kyoka wants the spiderman one. kenji obliges.

. . .

new and old traditions alike arise; yosano and ranpo each gift each other $20. fukuzawa has given both of them the $20. it's a ritual they refuse to let die. dazai tries to get kunikida to do a shot out of his mouth which leads to shouting and beating. atsushi sits both of them down on the couch and forces them to drink water and be nice to each other. naomi, haruno, and junichiro pick out a christmas movie to project onto the wall as background noise; they settle on a cheesy musical hallmark movie suspiciously similar to the one they put on last year. kyoka and kenji join ranpo in raiding the dessert table. yosano is singing! she is trying to get everyone to sing with her. dazai is the only one who joins. he is wearing the i ♥️ cock(tails) hat. they start with silent night and end with skeeyee by sexyy red.

before long, drunken detectives fall into their chairs and couches with blankets and plates of sweets to get comfy for home alone 2. dazai wants a whole couch to himself but that's unfair, so he settles for stretching his gangly ass legs across kunikida and tanizaki. kyoka and kenji curl up on the floor in a pile of blankets; the girl looks on the verge of sleep. naomi and haruno squeeze into a chair; yosano finds herself flat on the ground, nearly finished bottle of wine in hand; ranpo's feet are kicked up on the nearest desk and he sits in his chair near fukuzawa, who overlooks his employees with tired satisfaction. atsushi glances around at his his colleagues, and for as unhinged as they are, he feels lucky to have a group of people so welcoming to call his friends. all is peaceful and happy, except for ranpo's incessant burping and yosano's eventual snoring. it's fine.

merry fucking christmas.

[yellowcry]

A bit of the cold sisters and being protective

Starting off with the eldest child, the one and only golden child. The way she protects is not so evident. As for the biggest part of the movie she was hiding her true self. Which makes it harder to solve. And as she was on bad terms with Mirabel up until WECID we usually left with a snarky bad relationship. But Isabela does get a few moments in her song when she tries to keep Mirabel safe. Pulling her away from sundew or checking when Mirabel is behing her at some point. We don't really get a chance to see Isabela fighting. Only her making sure Mirabel isn't in danger a couple of times. But there's not much aside from that. Not to say Isabela doesn't care, wouldn't protect her sisters, she just didn't get enough time for that

Looks at "Surface pressure" Do I even have to say anything?

Luisa has an entire song biggest part of which she spends protecting Mirabel from the craziest things ever. Before anywone says "It's just an imagination!" there is no way Luisa's character defining song would be not related to her personality/what she would do of it happened in real life, this is still shows Luisa's character really well. Her protectiveness in generally one of the biggest character traits that are undeanable. Which primarly comes with her gift, sure. But the gifts don't change the personality, so the fact that Luisa is protector should be kept regardless. Her gift only doubled this pressure as she's the one able to windstand any fight unscatched. Luisa's protection is the most physical out of three. Either coming off to kill Cerberus, internally comparing herself to greek heroes, carry Mirabel into safety or do whatever it takes. Again, a huge chulk of this is caused by Luisa's gift and expectations that came with it. But do I think Luisa would stop being the biggest physical protector between the three even if she had other gift? Not a single bit, as this fact is far too important for her character

Between the three, Mirabel is the least physical. We don't see her trying to prevent her sisters from harm. (Mainly because how is she even meant to do this? Both Isabela and Luisa are definitely stronger than she is) But we can see her terrified when Luisa gets crushed by Casita (Like sister, like sister/j) again, not a big surprise. Who wouldn't be?

Her most protective moment don't come in her song either how it was with Isabela and Luisa. The biggest protection of hers is starting in the argument, when Mirabel realizes she wasn't the only person who was hurting in the family. That even wonderful gifted Madrigals suffered from how the things were. This puts Mirabel onto completely opposite side of the spectrum from Luisa. Luisa was fighting against imaginary obstacles with her fists. Mirabel fights against Abuela with words, and by this essentially fights against family's dysfunction. Words, not violence.

The next moment of protection for Mirabel is that how self-sacrificial she is. Literally placing the candle above her own life. To the point when she covers it with her body while Casita is about to crash her. And, simular to Luisa's hyperprotection, this is caused by Mirabel's respective lack of a gift and self-esteem issues. Still, Mirabel is way more peaceful than Luisa.

[rumeysawrites]

IINTERDIMENSIONAL LORE POST #1 CHARACTER IMTROS: #1

Ever since college started last month, I could barely post anything. So instead, I'm doing a summary of the characters I was planning to post about throughout October. I was going to make brief lore posts about each of the characters during the birthdays I assigned for each character. But since I couldn't, here're s a 1-2 line summaries for each one! Enjoy!💙

Oh yeah! Some spoilers ahead-

~~~

October 2nd: Arwyn Iluthmil

Polite, quiet, abd naive and dreamer of an elven prince who who acted as a diplomat for his queen sister, who then gets entangled in legendary (and more) shenanigans far beyond even his imagination, and ends up having to be the peacemaker of the most delightfully dysfunctional and chaotic team in the entire Interdimensional series (yes I'm talking about Team Space).

October 5th: Melitia Solis:

A sweet and friendly but resilient craftswoman in training, later moves on from her unrequited love for the cute waiter boy from the café across the street, and becomes a respected and powerful enchantress, also becoming one of the main supporters of the Legendary Carriers throughout their missions.

October 6th: Nahia Bernalmi / Bluebell:

Non-magical firstborn princess of a magical kingdom in the sky, gives up her right to the crown after her younger susters are born and becomes a scholarly temple maiden, encouraging edication and literacy across the kingdom.

October 8th: Wendolana Witxen:

Adventurous and hotheaded, yet loyal and funny shapeshifter woman, raised as a Lightning Warrior, and now watching over the Legendary Spirit Hui, while also being an epically fun and chaotic older sister figure for the rest of Team Space.

October 9th: Taika Marisol:

The friendly neighborhood magic shop owner, who actively practices witchcraft and is known for her cheerful attitude.

October 10th: Ludus:

The playful messenger of an echanted city state thriving in the middle of a desert somehow, and the character with weirdest and most random lines and pranks.

October 11th: Alondra Busker:

A young musician and sound mage, still grieving her mother's loss, having to take her mother's former title amongst the ranks of BSA and act as a guide and protector to the young Legendaries. She's also one of the eight POV characters in book 1. Also, she's the leader of the band "Radiance" which falls apart due to interdimensional shenanigans but gets back togather in time.

October 13th: Sarannah Hudson:

The chaotic and moody younger sister of The Lawful Good of the Legendaries (Kent), who actually just wants equality between Trickers (people with magic but no powers like herself and her mother) and Ekermins (people with both magic and powers, like her father and brothers), but doesn't know how to go about it, yet.

October 15th: Selene Roussit:

Cheerful, adventurous, and charismatic mountain princess, prankster eldest child, and the leader to one of the Legendaries' most important group of allies.

October 17th: Ninlil Bernalmi / Bluebell:

Youngest sister of Nahia and Aella, and the most carefree, talkative, and humorous one.

October 17th: Koios:

Brilliant minded but also troublesome, little Elulai boy (Elulai are an original spieces), who followed Tom (one of the very main characters) around and persisted until Tom accepted him as his first ever apprentice for his craft (and inventing) shop, also hyping him and the other members of the shop as well as the people for whatever's to come.

October 18th: Maritza Renshaw:

Brave, fun-loving, and friendly noble lady of the biggest trade city & island in Yugenri, who accompanies and helps the Legendaries through the Solium War, then gets married to a kingdom with problematic traditions (which I can't go into detail just yet) which she starts a silent rebellion against.

October 20th: Florea Leratis:

The black sheep of the noble Leratis family, also the reason why some of her siblings ended up with a traumatizing amount of pressure throughout their childhood. While all ten of her other siblings are members (and some even chosen heroes) of BSA, Florea willingly joins Dark Crystal (the enemies of BSA) and currently acts as a healer and spellcaster for them.

October 21st: Naima Hakeem:

Wise and comforting elder sister of a Legendary Carrier (Nour) and one of the best friends of another main character (Alondra), as well asa master of light and illusion magic. (I also just realized there are three birthdays from that same friend group in October with Alondra, Naima, and Selene-)

.

October 22nd: Eliarys Greggoff:

Lady Wind Knight who ends up accompanying Miracate (Rosena's younger sister) in an epic quest, while she (Eliarys) herself is aiming to help rebuild her destroyed hometown and find her misding brother.

October 23rd: Elinor Hudson:

The only character who can balance having the full time job of an interdimensional guardian, and raising three kids and at the same time, while being fairly well at both (even if her daughter is a bit of a problem child and her oldest son gets into life-threatening quests in other worlds regularly from teen years onward). Despite her troubled past, she's also a really fun person and a bit of a prankster, famous for inventing a charmed hot chocolate that makes whoever drinking it breathe bubbles.

October 24th: Cassia Dacre:

An intelligent and perfectionistic small town noble girl from the kingdom in the sky again (Eliri, for reference. This is the fourth character from Eliri-), who's later involved in tracking and and unmasking of spies of Lorkness inside the Legendary Alliance, however falling in love with one of them herself.

October 25th: Cecimeric Wiannlieth:

A new character I'm developing. Is the king of the elves of Mirunia (the only kingdom in Meras who're openly allied with BSA and the humans in Yugenri) and the first target of Eihlor when he's released for this reason, along with the rest of Mirunia.

October 26th: Jake Springlet:

The moody, stubborn, and sarcastic prince of Yugenri's agricultural center region ((a kingdom but not reaaly), with the power of thorn manipulation, a noticeable hatred for the humans of Tiria (regular Earth), funny one-liners, and a temper even shorter than him somehow. :D (And he's the last nobleman for October! Thank goodness! Eiwen doesn't count-)

October 27th: Libet Lamarre:

A teenage shapeshifter girl who who was trained to be a "villain", swore to evenge her childhood best friend who was killed when the Legend was first revived, joined the Solium War on the "villains'" side, fell prisoner, and joined Team Space to reclaim her freedom, and became one of the most delightfully chaotic members of the most delightfully chaitic team in all of Interdimensional. Yeah. She's something.

October 28th: Eiwen Iluthmil-Niarien:

The weird aunt of Maerwynn, Arwyn, and Aelwen; who's married a member of a wealthy member of the Merchant Council in one of the trade cities in Meras, and lives a distant life. However, no one also knows the fact that she's started to hear voices...of the spirits.

October 29th: Kelley Trace:

Ey! It's Kelley! My first ever character in the Interdimensional series! She's a double agent, a healer, a die-hard survivor, used-to-be assassin; blunt, sarcastic, humorous, can be mischievious, but also has a caring and empathetic heart. There's far too much to tell about Kelley, but she's a blast for me to write regardless!

October 31st: Helevisse Arinimavel:

Of all my characters, she could be the best definition of a "don't judge a book by its cover". At first glance, she's a cute little wood elf girl with pigtailed pink hair, floral patterned dresses, and a magic staff with a cute flower shaped gem. Upon further inspection, you notice she's a master of poison, banned types of magic, and is the type to enjoy some popcorn while watching the world burn; is also among a class of 20 "villains" in training, being one of the two that even the higher-ups noticed the chaotic nature of. She heard of Halloween from her Tirian classmate Ellenie and loves the fact that her birthday is on a holiday where people scare eachother.

~~~

So, if you read them all, thank you! I hope you enjoyed this all! Let me know if any of the characters sound particularly interesting or if you'd like to hear more about any of them! And yes. I have A LOT of characters and only one of them in this post will be a POV character in book 1, two others in following books. But yeah. They all have a role. :)

Tagging: @dearunreliablenarrator @seastarblue @daishitheprofessionalfool @avalordream @heycerulean @author-a-holmes @writeblrfantasy @the-ellia-west @azz-writes @the-letterbox-archives @thecomfywriter @leahnardo-da-veggie @imsoveryveryconfusedatlife @illarian-rambling @paeliae-occasionally @charbroiledchicken @ and everyone else! I hope you all enjoyed this!

[crystal-cloudzz]

Heathers Incorrect Quotes because it’s my New Obsession

JD: You're the love of my life and my best friend, I would do anything for you. Ronnie: I want you to eat three meals a day and have a decent sleep schedule. JD: Absolutely not.

Ronnie: I've already sent good vibes your way… they’re coming. There’s nothing you can do to stop them. JD: This is the most threatening way I’ve ever been cheered up.

Ronnie: Bye JD! Bye Heather! Bye Heather! Bye Heather! Bye JD! Heather: You said ‘bye JD’ twice. Ronnie: I like JD.

Ronnie: Looking left cause you don’t treat me right JD: Looking right because you left Heather: Looking up cause you let me down Heather: Looking down cause you fucked up Heather: What is wrong with you guys

Ronnie: Look. I may not be a saint, but it's not like I’ve killed anybody. I’m not an arsonist. I’ve never found a wallet outside of an IHOP and thought about returning it but saw the owner lived out of state so just took the cash and dropped the wallet back on the ground. JD: Okay, that's really specific, and that makes me think that you definitely did do that.

Ronnie, pointing: May I sit there? JD: That's my lap Ronnie: That doesn't answer my question, JD.

Ronnie: JD… Why did you draw a pentagram on the floor? JD: Your text told me to satanize the house before you returned. Ronnie: Ronnie: I wrote sanitize, JD.

Ronnie: Change is inedible. JD: Don't you mean inevitable? Ronnie, spitting out coins: No, I did not.

Ronnie: Ok, maybe playing ‘whose family is most dysfunctional’ wasn’t the best idea we’ve had. JD's been crying in the bathroom for an hour. We can’t get them out…

JD: I can explain. Ronnie: Can you? JD: If you give me thirty seconds to think of a lie.

Veronica: So what do you do? JD: I work in genetic research, and I'm currently trying to eliminate all Cancers. Veronica: Wow, impressive. JD: Then I'll move on to Leos.

Veronica: Sorry it took me so long to bail you out of jail JD: No it’s my fault, I shouldn’t’ve used my one phone call to prank call the police

Veronica: What is your biggest weakness? JD: I can be uncooperative. Veronica: Okay, can you give me an example? JD: No.

Veronica: What the fuck is wrong with you?! JD: Wow, you could start with a 'good morning'. Veronica: Good morning. What the fuck is wrong with you?!

JD: Accidentally hits Veronica in the face JD: Trying to decide between saying 'I’m fucking sorry' and 'Are you okay' JD: ARE YOU FUCKING SORRY?! Ronnie: What’s wrong with you?!

Veronica: WHAT’S YOUR TYPE JD: Anything, honestly, but nerds especially Veronica, desperately, as JD bleeds out: YOUR BLOOD TYPE JD: Oh! B positive. Veronica: DONT TRY TO CHEER ME UP JUST TELL ME YOUR BLOOD TYPE JD:

Veronica: How do I deal with my enemies? JD: Kill them Veronica: That's a bit extreme, I was hoping for a more passive solution JD: Kill them only a little?

Veronica: Go to Hell JD, tearing up: I wish I could

JD: Someone will die. Ronnie: Of fun!

Veronica: Is something burning? JD: Just my love for you. Veronica: JD, the toaster is on fire.

Veronica: JD, stop! This isn't you, you've gone mad with power! JD: Well of course I have. JD: Have you ever tried going mad without power? JD: It's boring.

JD: Okay. I get it. You've had a really hard time lately, you're stressed out, seven people died- Ronnie: Twelve, actually. JD: Not the point. Look, they're dead now and really whose fault is that? Ronnie: Yours! JD: That's right: no one's.

[greeksorceress]

if i had my way ( you’d always stay) 

(brief mentions of mature content)

In hindsight, the night had been bound to be hell on earth since they received the current invitation for the Christmas dinner that religiously took place in the Red Keep every year. 

The invitation had been a family Christmas picture that Alicent forced upon her husband and their children every October —with enough time to prepare for the holidays, Alicent had said when Daemon made fun of her two Christmases ago—, and as soon as Lucerys and Jacaerys had seen the sender’s address, they had barely contained themselves from tearing the green envelope open with teeth and nails.

Viserys, Alicent, Aegon, Helaena, Aemond and Daeron wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. 

In the back of the card, just for “Rhaenyra and her family ♡” was written the time they were expected to arrive.

In the picture, Grandpa Viserys and Alicent were sitting on their burgundy designer couch, a piece of furniture more expensive than it had any right to be, and in the background the enormous fireplace of the main and biggest hall of the Red Keep could be seen alight and bright. Aegon and Helaena were standing by Grandpa Viserys’ side, carrying baby Jaehaerys and Jaehaera, while Aemond, pretty much like in real life, had preferred to stay by Alicent’s side. Daeron wasn’t even in the picture. The hilariousness of the situation wasn’t even about the rather ugly matching Gucci Christmas sweater that Alicent had picked for them this time. What truly sold the picture were the different stages of grief that could be appreciated as clearly as summer skies in the faces of the three Targaryen-Hightower siblings.

Spending some days in the Red Keep to celebrate with Grandpa Viserys and his second family has never been uncommon for them, truth to be told. However, Lucerys must admit that his mother and Alicent had come a long way with their relationship and it had influenced the rest of them, if not just to keep the two women happy. What had been broken once by lies and marriages, enhanced by the loss of an eye in a childish dispute, had been reconstructed and reinforced with no short amount of willingness and care, as well as time and all the perseverance in the world. Their dinners had gone from Rhaenyra and Alicent trying to claw at each other to a pleasant companionship that made Alicent feel safe and encouraged enough as to send them a personalised Christmas card every year. 

The first time they received one, Jacaerys hollered so hard that he woke Joffrey and baby Aegon up. Even Rhaenyra had unwillingly giggled, covering her mouth guiltily after that. Daemon had been the most enthusiastic about it, though, and had dedicated a little hall of fame in the empty study on the second floor for all the Christmas cards they’ve received. Now, just as it was tradition for Alicent to send them one, the Velaryon brothers as well as their step-father and littlest brothers hung and ranked the pictures with the same reverence one would fill stockings or decorate the tree. 

And yet, although the younger generation of the family have tried to keep it together for the sake of their mothers, it doesn’t always —almost never— work out in the end. There’s a sort of animosity that hangs above their heads as heavy as stones, and Jacaerys had mumbled once when they were about to sleep after a particular harsh toast three years ago that he thought it to be unfair that Alicent and their mother got to play friends and pretend nothing ever happened between them while their children had to carry the hate that had been fed to them by the adults. So yeah, while it wasn’t as bad as a few years ago, the invitation had meant hell on earth for the three Velaryon boys, for they had known they would have to endure poorly concealed jabs and jests through the entire duration of their stay.

Still, this has to be a first even for a family as dysfunctional as theirs. 

Lucerys looks at the present, neatly wrapped in black paper with a velvety green ribbon that met in a delicate and sophisticated bow in the middle, and his hands tremble. It’s Aemond’s, that much is clear. If the wrapping hadn’t been enough of a clue, Aemond’s burning stare would have been sufficient. Lucerys blames Jacaerys for not paying enough attention to the cues, handling Lucerys the present as soon as he saw his name written in the tag attached to the bow. 

He starts undoing the ribbon with clumsy fingers, almost mourning the perfection of the bow practically dissolving and then proceeds to slowly tear the paper, actively trying to ignore Aemond’s eye while being conscious of the eagerness of the rest of the family members. 

The present is a box as black as the paper that has been wrapped over it, and the cover has the name of a very expensive jewellery maker from Dorne that Lucerys follows on Instagram. 

As a rule, the first to open their presents are to be the children, so they had waited patiently for Jaehaerys, Jaehaera and baby Viserys to open theirs. Their excited screams and their little faces painted red with happiness had been as exhilarating and endearing for the older teens and young adults as it had been for the two older, married couples. Supposedly, baby Aegon was to be next, but Grandpa Viserys, never one to miss the opportunity to play favourites, had encouraged Lucerys to open his first. 

“Jace,” he tries, “why don’t you give me mom and dad’s—” he sees the way Jaehaera and Jaehaerys pause and look at him, toys forgotten in their confusion, and he has to bite his tongue, “I mean, Santa’s presents that he has left for me in honor of mother and father—”

Jace falters, as if he’s actually considering to switch presents and take the black box from Lucerys’ hands. He will feel bad later for taking advantage of his older brother’s weakness for hi., but right now, he just wants to dodge the literal bomb that must be concealed under the paper and the velvet, waiting for Lucerys’ fingertips to brush against it to set it off. Would the bomb be powerful enough to blow his eye out of his face?  

Aemond doesn’t let that happen, though. He stands up and calmly approaches Lucerys, skilfully avoiding stepping on the kids that are sprawled on top of the carpet, not a single drop falling from his champagne flute.

“But, Lucerys, that wouldn’t be nice, would it? That’s Santa’s present that he’s giving you in my honor… Would you wound me so by discarding it?” 

Lucerys blinks at him, mouth agape. Next to him, he feels Jacaerys tensing. His brother is starting to realise the potential danger of the present and he reaches a hand to take it from Lucerys. Aemond is faster. He knocks Jacaerys’ hand out of the way and pushes back the box into Lucerys’ arms, making the pointed corner jab at his ribs. He sits right on the stupid burgundy couch and looks at him with unadulterated self-satisfaction, raising the flute to his lips.

Lucerys is not proud of the way his eyes fixate on the bubbles disappearing into Aemond’s mouth, and in the movements of his Adam’s apple when he swallows. Lucerys’ neck itches, the spots that Aemond had thoroughly kissed and bitten a couple of hours ago, embroidering the tender skin with reds and purples by teeth as sharp as needles, burning up and pulsating under his clothes. 

He feels his cheeks heat up with shame and things he doesn’t want to admit in front of his family. Aemond dares to eye-fuck him back right in front of their family, playing with the kids’ naivety to get his will met at any costs, softening his voice enough to actually sound wounded, “Jaehaera, Jaehaerys, don’t you want to see what Lucerys got from Santa? Kēpus specially requested for it, it was the first thing I wrote in my letter!”

It works, it fucking works, of course it does. As soon as he says that, the kids turn to Lucerys and rush to assemble by his legs, peering up at the present like it’s the world’s seventh wonder. 

“Open it, Luce!” cries Jaehaera, resting her little chin on Lucerys’ knee, “it has to be a great present if Kēpus asked Santa himself!”

Lucerys has fought his fair share of puppy eyes in his life, having three younger brothers kind of makes you immune to it at some point, even more if you’re dubbed as the actual king of the look itself. Now, he finds he cannot say no to those sweet faces and sighs, ready to meet his destiny. 

It cannot be that bad, right? 

For the longest time, Alicent was the person that hated him the most, even more than Aemond, he thinks. And yet, as years have passed and things have been settled and forgiven, Alicent seems to appreciate him enough to actually get him presents that he might like. Ignoring his own version of the Gucci Christmas zipped sweater that she has forced him to wear over his turtle neck shirt and overalls, —Jacaerys and Joffrey had looked at him with glee in their eyes, it’s his own karma for making fun of the picture—, she has also given him an Apple Watch and the two pairs of shoes that he had added to his wishlist. So, if Alicent is actually being good to him, it means Aemond cannot be much worse, right? Lucerys knows he’s not fooling anyone, not even himself. 

He opens the box hesitantly, barely enough for him to peek inside. It seems Jacaerys is having none of it, and he yanks the fancy black lid open, ignoring Lucerys cursing at him, so they all can take a look.

Nothing would’ve have prepared Lucerys for this. 

Inside the box was a bomb in the form of jewellery, but a bomb nonetheless. 

It has to be a first, definitely. Because he certainly remembers some of the most chaotic Christmases they have celebrated and nothing that comes to mind can possibly hold a candle to this moment. 

Lucerys was too young to remember that one time when Daemon punched Otto, who was still being invited to celebrate with them at the time, and successfully managed to break the man’s jaw, forcing a pregnant Rhaenyra to take the children to their rooms and leaving Viserys and Aemond to take Otto to the hospital while Alicent wept. He does vividly remember that one time Aegon was three hours late to the Christmas Eve’s dinner and crashed his brand new Mercedes into the three foot snowmen that Alicent liked to set in the front garden of the Red Keep. Aegon had proceeded to puke all over Aemond and Daemon’s shoes when they pulled him from the car before losing his consciousness. He had needed three stitches in his right eyebrow, but otherwise, he had been okay. Lucerys doesn’t want to remember the first Christmas right after the eye incident, the one where Aemond and Alicent had been absent from the table, refusing to dine with them —with Lucerys— in the same room. Unfortunately, he does remember it, and he also remembers crying into his pillow that night. He had known Aemond wasn’t going to be there on the next morning to open his presents with them, so he had made sure to sneak out during the night and place the handmade package with his letters and drawings for the older boy by Aemond’s door. When Jacaerys had woken him up and had forced him out of their shared bed to rush down and get their own presents, the box was right by their door, stomped and ruined beyond recognition. 

So yeah, it’s safe to say that Lucerys and his family are used to complicated holidays. Nonetheless, this present is like a bucket of cold water poured over him.

“A necklace!” screams baby Viserys, big eyes wide open before the sparkling piece of jewellery. 

No. It isn’t a necklace. It’s a choker. A fucking full on collar, if you will. 

It’s beautiful. It’s frightening. It’s Aemond’s. 

It’s as velvet as the ribbon that had decorated the box, only this one is much smoother and as black as the ocean water during the night. In the middle of it, dangling from a beautiful chain made of sapphires, sits a beautiful heart with a carving on its center. The material of the heart is Valyrian steel, as elegant as silver —the preferred material of House Velaryon— and more expensive than twenty-four karat gold. The carved message is two mere words. 

ñuha taoba

Lucerys only needs to raise his head to look at Aemond, but he finds himself unable to do so. His stare is frozen upon the collar, and he holds the box tightly to his chest, to hide the fact that the tickling sound that seemed to reverberate through all the room was his heartbeat speeding up. He also wishes to hide Aemond’s deranged tribute far away from the kids’s curious gazes. 

The room falls into a deafening silence, Lucerys doesn’t even want to see his mother and father’s reactions. 

“Well. Do you like my present, taoba?”

The bomb does, indeed, tick off. Daemon stands up abruptly, the sheer force of his movement enough to knock the chair down, and rapidly stalks towards Aemond. “Is this a fucking joke to you, boy? Do you want to see how funny I can get, too?” 

His mother is stricken with the same kind of mortified silence that has overpowered Lucerys, and Alicent, who’s sitting beside her, looks as pale as a ghost. Their stupor doesn’t last much, though. Soon, they’re jumping on their feet, trying to pull Daemon away from his nephew while screaming profanities at both men and at each other. Jacaerys joins the argument too, and so does Daeron while a very stressed Helaena tries to pull the children away. It just takes a couple of insults from Aemond’s mouth towards Rhaenyra to make Joffrey interfere too. Grandpa Viserys is raising his voice, trying to be heard atop the shouts of his family to no avail. 

Lucerys’ abasement is fuelled when feels the taletelling wetness run down his thighs, and he hopes for the love of the gods that he doesn’t stain the couch. He wants to die. 

He feels someone sit next to him, occupying Jace’s previous seat and throwing an arm over the back of the couch.

“If they think that’s bad, wait until you open my present” singsongs Aegon, drinking from his own flute without the elegance that his brother possesses. 

[ellie-ramune]

Fatui Harbinger Dysfunctional Found Family HCs

Banquet Shenanigans

Dottore rarely shows up (he’s not allowed to send his segments in his place), so when he does its a whole thing. He eats ✨girl dinner✨, but if all else fails chicken nuggets it is. This is one of the few things the Tsaritsa finds amusing about him.

Pantalone just has one glass of wine he nurses during the banquet, nothing else. He doesnt feel safe eating because of previous assasination attempts. Bribes his way out of missions, talks the other harbingers’ ears off so they cave and take his missions, typical Pantalone stuff.

Capitano does get a lot of food, but no one has actually SEEN him eat it. Blink and he has finished already, everyone is at least a little intimidated by this. He seems to genuinely enjoy himself at banquets, so the Tsaritsa will give him a free pass once in a while.

Scara only ever eats one singular thing and if its not there he will high key complain the entire time and use it as a way to get out of missions he hates. Everybody avoids him like the plague (except childe, he’ll start shit on purpose).

Signora only has Fontainian foods with the most extra names imaginable, they are actually pretty good (though she may pair her meals with some Mondstadtian wine from time to time). The other harbingers tend to avoid her too but its not as bad as Scara. Constantly brags about her accomplishments, even ones from centuries ago.

Pulcinella will get the biggest portions, sometimes rivaling Capitano’s and will finish it all, no one questions it anymore. Every single harbinger will try to talk their way out of paperwork with him, this has a success rate of 65%, so its worth a shot (Childe’s chances are 15% higher).

Columbina only eats pastries, she tires to get Childe to eat them but he’s afraid that there’s poison in them or something. She doesn’t understand why he’s so scared, poison doesn’t even taste that good to her :(. When she’s requesting a change in missions, she is incredibly honest about her reasons as to why she doesn’t want to do them, The Tsaritsa appreciates her honesty (Bina is still stuck with most of them though).

Sandrone plays with her food, annoys the shit out of the harbingers next to her. Finds great joy in mixing different drinks together to make a “potion”. She knows this is infuriating and uses this to her advantage, she’ll stop if she doesn’t have to talk to any nobles, she swears!

Arlecchino is the most normal person when it comes to food, aside from Tartaglia. Plays mind games one second, and praising her children the next, her actions are predictable yet not at all. But there are times where she is so tired from running the House she just blankly stares while sipping hard liquor.

Tartaglia is his silly little deranged self, like always! Will eat just anything, as long as it wasn’t anywhere near Bina or Dottore. He can use his puppy dog eyes and get away with anything, he doesn’t do this often for some reason…

Pierro and The Tsaritsa dont eat anything, just observe the comings and goings of the harbingers. The Tsaritsa finds their squabbles very entertaining, Pierro not so much. In fact, Pierro does not talk at all, he just stands there, menacingly.

[oh-my-damn]

Feminist Icon-ism

I once posted on here that Taylor Swift is a feminist icon and then got told by some random anonymous person in the comments that she was far from it.

At the time, I paid it no mind – because isn't this the eternal struggle women have always had to go through? Isn't this in fact what Taylors song "The Man" is about?

"And everyone believes ya.. What's that like?"

But now I am rewatching The Eras Tour for the perhaps literally 100th time at this point and I am ready to make my rebuttal.

Unsurprisingly, it has to do with not only the patriarchy, and society, but the main man himself, the main character in many women's nightmare, Donald Trump.

The man who paved the way for a collapse of an already dysfunctional country that did and to some extend still do believe themselves to be superior in the western world, despite every empirical fact and piece of evidence telling them otherwise.

Donald Trump was an 80's icon. And then he went on to become a reality show and movie icon and then later graduated into simply being "an icon."

And this is the only reason he was elected president. Being someone born from money who had never had to struggle or work hard for his wealth, someone who decided to spend his family wealth on building a giant ugly building in New York and then tricked them into letting him skip taxes for forty years became an icon for "accomplishing" that.

The Trump Tower was legendary, Donald Trump was known around the world as the "savy" businessman he was claimed to be, despite never being any of the sort.

And then he was elected President, despite having never, ever, accomplished anything that wasn't outright handed to him, despite not having a career in politics, despite having committed several sexual assaults, and despite the fact he once said in an interview, to the world and the country he would become President of in the future, that were he ever to lose his fortune he would run for President and he would do so as a Republican because they will believe anything you tell them.

This man was elected President of one of the biggest superpowers of the world. And now, after being accused and convicted of countless crimes from before and during his presidency, he is still in the running to become President of the United States for a second time.

How does this all tie in to Taylor Swift, you might ask?

Well, the answer is simple.

Taylor Swift worked hard and fought for every single thing she has. She writes her own songs, and sings them herself, and has done so since day one. She started her career as a teenager, a fucking child, and powered through a grown man stealing away her moment because he was drunk and high and delusional – and she handled that moment with more class than most people could ever even fathom. As a teenager.

Her lyrics as they stand right now are literal spoken poetry, to a degree that people are unable to tell her lyrics apart from Shakespeare.

She has millions of fans around the world, she has worked tirelessly and relentlessly for what she has, and despite being one of the most famous people on the entire planet, you cannot find a single story of her out there where she seemed or acted ungrateful. She is humble and grateful for the millions of people who support her.

She was shamed and cancelled and took it all in stride, despite never actually doing what she was accused of, and she came back stronger than ever after it.

She is a feminist icon because she is just an ICON. But unfortunately, as it stands in 2024, we still need to put "feminist" in front of it because female empowerment and success is still an actual accomplishment and not just an ordinary expectation.

So yes. She is a feminist icon. In fact, she is an icon in general, and she is a hell of a lot better than a lot of the icons we have seen these past 100 years, even. She is an incredible inspiration who worked so hard for what she has accomplished, and both men and women are inspired and in awe by her every day, despite her career starting over 18 years ago.

Is she perfect? No, of course not, but why would you expect her to be? Would you honestly, truly, expect the same of anyone else?

The answer is no. Because you don't. You don't hold others accountable or expect the same as you do from her, even the ones working in the same field as she does. Where is your outrage against Justin Bieber, or Drake or even fucking Kanye West, who, might I add, is still being defended despite his anti-semitic remarks?

What's the major difference here? Please, do enlighten me. Because she does the exact same thing as those people do in regards to performance and portrayal of the brand she has created for herself, the major difference here is that she DOES IT BETTER and she is a WOMAN.

You never expected Donald Trump to act the way you expect Taylor to, yet you still adored him and labelled him an icon of New York. And then you elected him President.

Taylor Swift is more than just a feminist icon, because she goes way beyond that, but the world is not ready for that conversation yet, since it continues to excuse the behavior of men at their whim, yet shame women even if they do way more than said men ever could.

[unseriousmamba]

Ranking Universal Studios Hollywood Rides!!

I just got back from a trip to Los Angeles, and had the chance to revisit this park as well as Six Flags Magic Mountain and Disneyland. Here are my impressions of the rides at Universal Studios Hollywood. At the end I will give my overall review for the park as a whole.

Attractions I did not ride:

Despicable Me Minion Mayhem (uninterested, rode in Orlando many times before)

Fast & the Furious Roller coaster (looks cool but was still under construction)

Jurassic World - The Ride (closed for refurbishment 😢 )

8. Kung Fu Panda Adventure

This was ok. The DreamWorks theatre is essentially just a sit down short 4D experience that plays with interesting visual effects. The animation was fun but all over the place and it was hard to for me to focus on any one thing to look at. I also don't care that much for Kung Fu Panda, so I wasn't invested in the characters or story either. It was nice to sit down for awhile, but I wouldn't wait for this attraction ever.

7. The Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash

Secret Life is a very cute ride that doesn't make a whole lot of sense. The riders are seen by the characters as dogs who are going to be adopted by a family. It's not particularly entertaining, and is clearly made for small children.

6. Mario Kart: Bowser's Challenge

This ride could be great. It could be really fun, but it is so overwhelming, and that left me disappointed. Being one of the new attractions here, it had the longest wait time (we picked a slow day and waited an hour). I think it would benefit from being easily re-rideable to learn how the game works. You know... like a video game! But here's what I gathered in my short ride: You shoot shells at the enemy koopa karts (Roy, Wendy, Lemmy? etc.) and don't shoot your friends on Team Mario (Mario, Peach, Luigi, Yoshi, etc.) which means you have to have pay close attention to the video screens on the way in or have the foreknowledge of who these characters are in order to know what you are doing. The instructions are also just visual, with hardly any words and even less auditory verbal instruction. It's way too complicated for oversimplified instructions, but I suppose that won't matter so much if you aren't playing to get a high score. But it's clearly a game. If I had to compare it to another ride, I'd say it's most like Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin or the Toy Story Midway Mania shoot out ride, just with more modern, dysfunctional gimmicks. On the positive side, the queue was really fun, and I got my picture taken in front of the Bowser statue in his castle entrance. Besides the Simpson's Ride, this attraction had the best theming by far!

5. Studio Tour

This was the arguably the best, most unique feature of the park. You get on a tram and it takes you on a tour of the studio lot. It's interesting to see where tv shows are currently being filmed. The elements from Fast and Furious Supercharged and King Kong 360 3D (Skull Island) were also present on their rides at the Orlando park, but at least here they aren't mid standalone attractions. Seeing the sets of previous Universal sets was very cool! I especially liked seeing the Psycho house and the weather simulations. Our tour guide was excellent and full of energy. Low point would have to be the F&F Supercharged section, because the 'plot' doesn't make any sense at all. The King Kong part was very fun though!

4. Transformers: the Ride 3D

This is an exact replica of the same ride at Universal Studios Orlando. And you know what, it's still great! I'm not the biggest fan of live action Transformers, but the effects and simulated experience are just as fun as my favorite Islands of Adventure ride; Spider-Man.

It's just a shame that so many of the best rides here are also available in Orlando, and even worse, these duplicates are the best this park has to offer.

3. Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey

This is exactly the same as the Orlando attraction. Even the layout of Hogsmeade is the same, which, while it makes sense, was kind of freaky. I could easily imagine the doors opening to Hagrid's Motorbike adventure on my way in. Unfortunately, we aren't in Orlando and there is nothing new to see here. Overall, this ride is great fun! It's a simulation ride on a track, but has more practical effects (animatronics) than Transformers. The stand out feature of this ride, like the Mario Kart ride, is the queue! It's always a delight to go on a small tour through Hogwarts castle, provided you don't have to listen to Dumbledore cycle through the same presentation over and over again on a particularly busy day.

2. The Simpsons Ride

I think this is my second favorite simulated ride ever (behind Spider-Man). The theming is the best I have seen for just about any ride ever. Watching the Simpsons while you wait in line is literally the best queue line a person could ask for! It's very entertaining and even pays homage to the Back to the Future ride that it replaced. There aren't really any practical effects to speak of, aside from some water spray and the baby powder smell 😅. 10/10 always a good time.

1. Revenge of the Mummy

It's not really a contest here, lol. At the moment, the only other roller coaster is Flight of the Hippogriff while the Fast and Furious ride is still under construction. The theme is fantastic and just about as exciting as the Orlando version. Yeah, another duplicate ride. Unfortunately, I like the elements of the Orlando version better. Brendan Fraser is nowhere to be seen here. The queue is simplified and there is no 'fake ending'. The roller coaster elements were still very fun. My husband described it as the diet coke version. Nevertheless, still a fantastic ride! We rode it three times. 🥰

Conclusion:

Overall, I'd say this park is probably the least worthwhile visit of any of the three parks I have been to in California. It has the fewest attractions by far, and ALL of the best attractions are available to ride in Orlando, Florida too. If you have been to Universal Studios Orlando before and you are looking for new experiences, I would not recommend this park when there are so many other wonderful places you could visit instead.

Compared to other parks I have visited, however, this is a very clean and immersive park. The bathrooms are nice, There's great dining options available on the City Walk (I personally went to both the NBC Sports Grill & Brew, as well as Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., but I'm not a foodie so I'm not going to rate that.). The sheer amount of wonderful Universal merchandise is probably the best and most dangerous part of going to this park; there are so many cute and wonderful things to shop for both in the park and on City Walk. It's a very fun shopping experience!

[misfit-among-the-angels]

Perhaps give your dad some credit. It sounds to me more like: when he breathes wrong or says one wrong thing you immediately make it sound like he hates you. I don't know him and it's not my place either. But ever considered that he's just a human, not really realizing his behavior might affect you that way? Have you ever said it out loud to him? Have you ever had a communication about It? It sounds to me like it's a very big communication struggle between the both of you. I'm not even sure that he's aware of how bad it makes you feel.

Remember we are all humans and just try to live our lives the best we think is possible. Nobody is perfect and we all make mistakes.

I understand that you probably are either new or haven't seen my past posts during trips with him and that's ok. But the thing is that traveling with him is a headache sometimes. Like I'd understand one time mishap or whatever but it's not one time, it's constant.

He is quite selfish and forgets that he isn't traveling alone and that I'm not a kid that he can just drag along to anywhere he wants to go. Sure, he pays for everything but half of this trip's planning and stuff was on me and he also expects me to always talk for him and translate everything and shit because he can barely speak English. He forgets that i have my own needs and wants and that we're not tied so he can actually go alone and do stuff (but he doesn't for some reason or if he does he gets super angry and mad 🤷‍♀️). He also forgets that i have a disability and mental health issues and gets mad and accuses me when my disability/mental stuff inconvenience HIS plans.

Now, idk why you are asking me about communicating and why don't you consider that maybe he isn't communicating? Again, maybe your family is different and i hope so because my fucking family is a dysfunctional and abusive disaster. No one knows how to communicate properly and just assumes stuff or creates a problem where it shouldn't be. And yes to all of your questions, i have communicated stuff before everything, but every single trip is the same shit. At this point he should have learned that his behavior is bad and he should change it but no he doesn't. I can repeat stuff but at certain point it gets annoying and at certain point you know that if they actually wanted to change they would have. Like there wouldn't be a problem from my side if he'd ask me not to do stuff, he wouldn't need to repeat it again and again because i am way more considerate and paying attention to how people feel than he is and i am not a selfish person. In the past his behavior would cause me to have bad autistic meltdowns and he'd still not understand even though he'd even have fights, he'd just play a victim card instead. And in the past i mean last year, two, three, fours years ago, pretty much every single trip I have with him. If i don't do what he has planned (in his head) he gets angry at me, if I'm a picky eater and can't decide on food, he gets mad at me and suddenly i am a problem. If i want to rest and sleep more but he is awake and ready to go and has nothing to do but i tell him i need rest and maybe i don't want to go anywhere, surprise surprise he gets mad too. And like ok, i could ignore him getting mad at me easily but the biggest problem is that he talks with himself out loud and i can hear what he says and those things aren't nice and they are about me, most of the time how i am sleeping and ruined a whole day because i am resting or whatever else and he usually exaggerates it too, for example if it's 11am and I'm still in bed he'd say that it's 1pm now. And yes, i have called him out for this behavior in the past and nothing has changed. Oh, and if it's really bad he might threaten to cancel the trip and no more trips. 🤷‍♀️ And yes, this sort if behavior of his has made me hurt myself a lot in the past and he is very ignorant of that too. So yes, he is borderline abusive, he used to be way worse when i was growing up tho.

Now, in comparison i have traveled with other people too, ex-friends and also my girlfriend and i have never experienced this sort of stuff when traveling with anyone else. Why? Because i know i am not traveling alone and i always check in and ask what others want to do etc. and nobody else had a problem with my picky eating or needing to rest or anything else. You can literally ask my girlfriend about this (she has tumblr too) and she'd say that we never had any of this shit while traveling.

So no, the problem isn't me even though it is very easy to blame me and i understand because in the end i am always a problem 🤷‍♀️ and no i never want people to act perfectly, it's just that I can now see which behaviors are bs and which are not and rant about them, especially when it's about my absolutely dysfunctional family.